Optimal multitrial prediction combination and subject-specific adaptation for minimal training brain switch designs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spyrou, L.; Blokland, Y.M.; Farquhar, J.D.R.; Bruhn, J.

2016-01-01

Brain-Computer Interface systems are traditionally designed by taking into account user-specific data to enable practical use. More recently, subject independent (SI) classification algorithms have been developed which bypass the subject specific adaptation and enable rapid use of the system. A

Introspection of subjective feelings is sensitive and specific.

Science.gov (United States)

Questienne, Laurence; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Gevers, Wim

2018-02-01

Conversely to behaviorist ideas, recent studies suggest that introspection can be accurate and reliable. However, an unresolved question is whether people are able to report specific aspects of their phenomenal experience, or whether they report more general nonspecific experiences. To address this question, we investigated the sensitivity and validity of our introspection for different types of conflict. Taking advantage of the congruency sequence effect, we dissociated response conflict while keeping visual conflict unchanged in a Stroop and in a priming task. Participants were subsequently asked to report on either their experience of urge to err or on their feeling of visual conflict. Depending on the focus of the introspection, subjective reports specifically followed either the response conflict or the visual conflict. These results demonstrate that our introspective reports can be sensitive and that we are able to dissociate specific aspects of our phenomenal experiences in a valid manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Drilling in areas subject to environmental protection; A perfuracao em area de protecao ambiental

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendonca, Ricardo Teixeira; Guimaraes, Antimio Santos [PETROBRAS, XX (Brazil). Distrito de Perfuracao do Nordeste. Div. Tecnica; Santana, Manoel Messias de [PETROBRAS, XX (Brazil). Regiao de Producao do Nordeste. Setor de Seguranca Industrial

1990-12-31

This paper presents the practices developed for pollution control in areas subject to environmental protection. This well drilling operation was carried out in the Municipality of Marechal Deodoro, in the State of Alagoas, in locality named Massagueira. We stress the preventive methods for liquid and solid effluent generation and the use of Closed Fluid System or Anti-Dike System. (author) 3 figs.

Specific surface area evaluation method by using scanning electron microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrescu, Camelia; Petrescu, Cristian; Axinte, Adrian

2000-01-01

Ceramics are among the most interesting materials for a large category of applications, including both industry and health. Among the characteristic of the ceramic materials, the specific surface area is often difficult to evaluate.The paper presents a method of evaluation for the specific surface area of two ceramic powders by means of scanning electron microscopy measurements and an original method of computing the specific surface area.Cumulative curves are used to calculate the specific surface area under assumption that the values of particles diameters follow a normal logarithmic distribution. For two powder types, X7R and NPO the results are the following: - for the density ρ (g/cm 2 ), 5.5 and 6.0, respectively; - for the average diameter D bar (μm), 0.51 and 0.53, respectively; - for σ, 1.465 and 1.385, respectively; - for specific surface area (m 2 /g), 1.248 and 1.330, respectively. The obtained results are in good agreement with the values measured by conventional methods. (authors)

Malassezia intra-specific diversity and potentially new species in the skin microbiota from Brazilian healthy subjects and seborrheic dermatitis patients.

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Renan Cardoso Soares

Full Text Available Malassezia yeasts are part of the resident cutaneous microbiota, and are also associated with skin diseases such as seborrheic dermatitis (SD. The role these fungi play in skin diseases and why they are pathogenic for only some individuals remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize Malassezia microbiota from different body sites in healthy and SD subjects from Brazil. Scalp and forehead samples from healthy, mild SD and severe SD subjects were collected. Non-scalp lesions from severe SD patients were also sampled. 5.8S rDNA/ITS2 amplicons from Malassezia sp. were analyzed by RFLP and sequencing. Results indicate that Malassezia microbiota did not group according to health condition or body area. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that three groups of sequences did not cluster together with any formally described species, suggesting that they might belong to potential new species. One of them was found in high proportions in scalp samples. A large variety of Malassezia subtypes were detected, indicating intra-specific diversity. Higher M. globosa proportions were found in non-scalp lesions from severe SD subjects compared with other areas, suggesting closer association of this species with SD lesions from areas other than scalp. Our results show the first panorama of Malassezia microbiota in Brazilian subjects using molecular techniques and provide new perspectives for further studies to elucidate the association between Malassezia microbiota and skin diseases.

An investigation on impacts of scheduling configurations on Mississippi biology subject area testing

Science.gov (United States)

Marchette, Frances Lenora

The purpose of this mixed modal study was to compare the results of Biology Subject Area mean scores of students on a 4 x 4 block schedule, A/B block schedule, and traditional year-long schedule for 1A to 5A size schools. This study also reviewed the data to determine if minority or gender issues might influence the test results. Interviews with administrators and teachers were conducted about the type of schedule configuration they use and the influence that the schedule has on student academic performance on the Biology Subject Area Test. Additionally, this research further explored whether schedule configurations allow sufficient time for students to construct knowledge. This study is important to schools, teachers, and administrators because it can assist them in considering the impacts that different types of class schedules have on student performance and if ethnic or gender issues are influencing testing results. This study used the causal-comparative method for the quantitative portion of the study and constant comparative method for the qualitative portion to explore the relationship of school schedules on student academic achievement on the Mississippi Biology Subject Area Test. The aggregate means of selected student scores indicate that the Mississippi Biology Subject Area Test as a measure of student performance reveals no significant difference on student achievement for the three school schedule configurations. The data were adjusted for initial differences of gender, minority, and school size on the three schedule configurations. The results suggest that schools may employ various schedule configurations and expect student performance on the Mississippi Biology Subject Area Test to be unaffected. However, many areas of concern were identified in the interviews that might impact on school learning environments. These concerns relate to effective classroom management, the active involvement of students in learning, the adequacy of teacher education

Estimation of serum ferritin for normal subject living in Khartoum area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eltayeb, E.A; Khangi, F.A.; Satti, G.M.; Abu Salab, A.

2003-01-01

This study was conducted with a main objective; the estimation of serum ferritin level in normal subjects in Khartoum area.To fulfil this objective, two hundred and sixty symptoms-free subjects were included in the study, 103 males with 15 to 45 years. serum ferritin was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the mean concentration of males' serum ferritin was much higher than that of the females' (p<0.001). (Author)

Investigation of the effect of specific knowledge in functional areas of business on information systems analysis and design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laengle, G.B.

1988-01-01

Recent studies on the design of computer-based information systems have indicated that the content of the knowledge base and the reasoning behavior of systems analysts are two important factors in the development of computer-based, information systems. This study focuses on knowledge that relates to a specific functional area of business (such as accounting, manufacturing, or marketing) and the effect of the presence or absence of such function-specific domain knowledge on how systems analysts determine information requirements. Determining information requirements is postulated to involve the construction of representations utilizing modeling, discovery, and validation processes. Results indicate that presence of function-specific domain knowledge affected construction of representations as well as modeling, discovery, and validation processes. Subjects with function-specific domain knowledge were found to (1) build representations considering a larger number of facts and concepts relating to the information system's application domain; (2) discover and validate the representations requesting additional domain-specific information more frequently; and (3) model the information system utilizing analogical reasoning more often than subjects without function-specific domain knowledge.

Loud Noise Exposure Produces DNA, Neurotransmitter and Morphological Damage within Specific Brain Areas

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Giada Frenzilli

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Exposure to loud noise is a major environmental threat to public health. Loud noise exposure, apart from affecting the inner ear, is deleterious for cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems and it is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study we investigated DNA, neurotransmitters and immune-histochemical alterations induced by exposure to loud noise in three major brain areas (cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum of Wistar rats. Rats were exposed to loud noise (100 dBA for 12 h. The effects of noise on DNA integrity in all three brain areas were evaluated by using Comet assay. In parallel studies, brain monoamine levels and morphology of nigrostriatal pathways, hippocampus and cerebellum were analyzed at different time intervals (24 h and 7 days after noise exposure. Loud noise produced a sudden increase in DNA damage in all the brain areas under investigation. Monoamine levels detected at 7 days following exposure were differently affected depending on the specific brain area. Namely, striatal but not hippocampal dopamine (DA significantly decreased, whereas hippocampal and cerebellar noradrenaline (NA was significantly reduced. This is in line with pathological findings within striatum and hippocampus consisting of a decrease in striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH combined with increased Bax and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP. Loud noise exposure lasting 12 h causes immediate DNA, and long-lasting neurotransmitter and immune-histochemical alterations within specific brain areas of the rat. These alterations may suggest an anatomical and functional link to explain the neurobiology of diseases which prevail in human subjects exposed to environmental noise.

A Subject-Specific Kinematic Model to Predict Human Motion in Exoskeleton-Assisted Gait

Science.gov (United States)

Torricelli, Diego; Cortés, Camilo; Lete, Nerea; Bertelsen, Álvaro; Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose E.; del-Ama, Antonio J.; Dimbwadyo, Iris; Moreno, Juan C.; Florez, Julian; Pons, Jose L.

2018-01-01

The relative motion between human and exoskeleton is a crucial factor that has remarkable consequences on the efficiency, reliability and safety of human-robot interaction. Unfortunately, its quantitative assessment has been largely overlooked in the literature. Here, we present a methodology that allows predicting the motion of the human joints from the knowledge of the angular motion of the exoskeleton frame. Our method combines a subject-specific skeletal model with a kinematic model of a lower limb exoskeleton (H2, Technaid), imposing specific kinematic constraints between them. To calibrate the model and validate its ability to predict the relative motion in a subject-specific way, we performed experiments on seven healthy subjects during treadmill walking tasks. We demonstrate a prediction accuracy lower than 3.5° globally, and around 1.5° at the hip level, which represent an improvement up to 66% compared to the traditional approach assuming no relative motion between the user and the exoskeleton. PMID:29755336

A Subject-Specific Kinematic Model to Predict Human Motion in Exoskeleton-Assisted Gait.

Science.gov (United States)

Torricelli, Diego; Cortés, Camilo; Lete, Nerea; Bertelsen, Álvaro; Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose E; Del-Ama, Antonio J; Dimbwadyo, Iris; Moreno, Juan C; Florez, Julian; Pons, Jose L

2018-01-01

The relative motion between human and exoskeleton is a crucial factor that has remarkable consequences on the efficiency, reliability and safety of human-robot interaction. Unfortunately, its quantitative assessment has been largely overlooked in the literature. Here, we present a methodology that allows predicting the motion of the human joints from the knowledge of the angular motion of the exoskeleton frame. Our method combines a subject-specific skeletal model with a kinematic model of a lower limb exoskeleton (H2, Technaid), imposing specific kinematic constraints between them. To calibrate the model and validate its ability to predict the relative motion in a subject-specific way, we performed experiments on seven healthy subjects during treadmill walking tasks. We demonstrate a prediction accuracy lower than 3.5° globally, and around 1.5° at the hip level, which represent an improvement up to 66% compared to the traditional approach assuming no relative motion between the user and the exoskeleton.

The effect of teacher interpersonal behaviour on students' subject-specific motivation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brok, den P.J.; Levy, J.; Brekelmans, J.M.G.; Wubbels, Th.

2005-01-01

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. This study brings together insights from research on teaching and learning in specific subjects, learning environments research, and effectiveness research, by linking teacher interpersonal behaviour to students'

On the specific surface area of nanoporous materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Detsi, E.; De Jong, E.; Zinchenko, A.; Vukovic, Z.; Vukovic, I.; Punzhin, S.; Loos, K.; ten Brinke, G.; De Raedt, H. A.; Onck, P. R.; De Hosson, J. T. M.

2011-01-01

A proper quantification of the specific surface area of nanoporous materials is necessary for a better understanding of the properties that are affected by the high surface-area-to-volume ratio of nanoporous metals, nanoporous polymers and nanoporous ceramics. In this paper we derive an analytical

Sensitivity of subject-specific models to errors in musculo-skeletal geometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, V; van der Krogt, M M; Koopman, H F J M; Verdonschot, N

2012-09-21

Subject-specific musculo-skeletal models of the lower extremity are an important tool for investigating various biomechanical problems, for instance the results of surgery such as joint replacements and tendon transfers. The aim of this study was to assess the potential effects of errors in musculo-skeletal geometry on subject-specific model results. We performed an extensive sensitivity analysis to quantify the effect of the perturbation of origin, insertion and via points of each of the 56 musculo-tendon parts contained in the model. We used two metrics, namely a Local Sensitivity Index (LSI) and an Overall Sensitivity Index (OSI), to distinguish the effect of the perturbation on the predicted force produced by only the perturbed musculo-tendon parts and by all the remaining musculo-tendon parts, respectively, during a simulated gait cycle. Results indicated that, for each musculo-tendon part, only two points show a significant sensitivity: its origin, or pseudo-origin, point and its insertion, or pseudo-insertion, point. The most sensitive points belong to those musculo-tendon parts that act as prime movers in the walking movement (insertion point of the Achilles Tendon: LSI=15.56%, OSI=7.17%; origin points of the Rectus Femoris: LSI=13.89%, OSI=2.44%) and as hip stabilizers (insertion points of the Gluteus Medius Anterior: LSI=17.92%, OSI=2.79%; insertion point of the Gluteus Minimus: LSI=21.71%, OSI=2.41%). The proposed priority list provides quantitative information to improve the predictive accuracy of subject-specific musculo-skeletal models. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity of subject-specific models to errors in musculo-skeletal geometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carbone, V.; van der Krogt, M.M.; Koopman, H.F.J.M.; Verdonschot, N.

2012-01-01

Subject-specific musculo-skeletal models of the lower extremity are an important tool for investigating various biomechanical problems, for instance the results of surgery such as joint replacements and tendon transfers. The aim of this study was to assess the potential effects of errors in

Instantaneous Metabolic Cost of Walking: Joint-Space Dynamic Model with Subject-Specific Heat Rate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dustyn Roberts

Full Text Available A subject-specific model of instantaneous cost of transport (ICOT is introduced from the joint-space formulation of metabolic energy expenditure using the laws of thermodynamics and the principles of multibody system dynamics. Work and heat are formulated in generalized coordinates as functions of joint kinematic and dynamic variables. Generalized heat rates mapped from muscle energetics are estimated from experimental walking metabolic data for the whole body, including upper-body and bilateral data synchronization. Identified subject-specific energetic parameters-mass, height, (estimated maximum oxygen uptake, and (estimated maximum joint torques-are incorporated into the heat rate, as opposed to the traditional in vitro and subject-invariant muscle parameters. The total model metabolic energy expenditure values are within 5.7 ± 4.6% error of the measured values with strong (R2 > 0.90 inter- and intra-subject correlations. The model reliably predicts the characteristic convexity and magnitudes (0.326-0.348 of the experimental total COT (0.311-0.358 across different subjects and speeds. The ICOT as a function of time provides insights into gait energetic causes and effects (e.g., normalized comparison and sensitivity with respect to walking speed and phase-specific COT, which are unavailable from conventional metabolic measurements or muscle models. Using the joint-space variables from commonly measured or simulated data, the models enable real-time and phase-specific evaluations of transient or non-periodic general tasks that use a range of (aerobic energy pathway similar to that of steady-state walking.

47 CFR 22.960 - Cellular unserved area radiotelephone licenses subject to competitive bidding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cellular unserved area radiotelephone licenses... (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES Cellular Radiotelephone Service § 22.960 Cellular... applications for cellular unserved area Phase I and Phase II licenses filed after July 26, 1993 are subject to...

MEG reveals a fast pathway from somatosensory cortex to occipital areas via posterior parietal cortex in a blind subject.

Science.gov (United States)

Ioannides, Andreas A; Liu, Lichan; Poghosyan, Vahe; Saridis, George A; Gjedde, Albert; Ptito, Maurice; Kupers, Ron

2013-01-01

Cross-modal activity in visual cortex of blind subjects has been reported during performance of variety of non-visual tasks. A key unanswered question is through which pathways non-visual inputs are funneled to the visual cortex. Here we used tomographic analysis of single trial magnetoencephalography (MEG) data recorded from one congenitally blind and two sighted subjects after stimulation of the left and right median nerves at three intensities: below sensory threshold, above sensory threshold and above motor threshold; the last sufficient to produce thumb twitching. We identified reproducible brain responses in the primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices at around 20 ms post-stimulus, which were very similar in sighted and blind subjects. Time-frequency analysis revealed strong 45-70 Hz activity at latencies of 20-50 ms in S1 and M1, and posterior parietal cortex Brodmann areas (BA) 7 and 40, which compared to lower frequencies, were substantially more pronounced in the blind than the sighted subjects. Critically, at frequencies from α-band up to 100 Hz we found clear, strong, and widespread responses in the visual cortex of the blind subject, which increased with the intensity of the somatosensory stimuli. Time-delayed mutual information (MI) revealed that in blind subject the stimulus information is funneled from the early somatosensory to visual cortex through posterior parietal BA 7 and 40, projecting first to visual areas V5 and V3, and eventually V1. The flow of information through this pathway occurred in stages characterized by convergence of activations into specific cortical regions. In sighted subjects, no linked activity was found that led from the somatosensory to the visual cortex through any of the studied brain regions. These results provide the first evidence from MEG that in blind subjects, tactile information is routed from primary somatosensory to occipital cortex via the posterior parietal cortex.

The specifics of the Russian market of confectionery: subject-object certainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsarenko Elena

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes a study of the Russian confectionery market. Determining the specificity of the market in Russia, identified and examined the components of this market with the help of subject - object orientation. As well as the actuality of considering new approaches to promote sales of confectionery products.

Thermal Desorption Analysis of Effective Specific Soil Surface Area

Science.gov (United States)

Smagin, A. V.; Bashina, A. S.; Klyueva, V. V.; Kubareva, A. V.

2017-12-01

A new method of assessing the effective specific surface area based on the successive thermal desorption of water vapor at different temperature stages of sample drying is analyzed in comparison with the conventional static adsorption method using a representative set of soil samples of different genesis and degree of dispersion. The theory of the method uses the fundamental relationship between the thermodynamic water potential (Ψ) and the absolute temperature of drying ( T): Ψ = Q - aT, where Q is the specific heat of vaporization, and a is the physically based parameter related to the initial temperature and relative humidity of the air in the external thermodynamic reservoir (laboratory). From gravimetric data on the mass fraction of water ( W) and the Ψ value, Polyanyi potential curves ( W(Ψ)) for the studied samples are plotted. Water sorption isotherms are then calculated, from which the capacity of monolayer and the target effective specific surface area are determined using the BET theory. Comparative analysis shows that the new method well agrees with the conventional estimation of the degree of dispersion by the BET and Kutilek methods in a wide range of specific surface area values between 10 and 250 m2/g.

Patient-Specific Computational Modeling

CERN Document Server

Peña, Estefanía

2012-01-01

This book addresses patient-specific modeling. It integrates computational modeling, experimental procedures, imagine clinical segmentation and mesh generation with the finite element method (FEM) to solve problems in computational biomedicine and bioengineering. Specific areas of interest include cardiovascular problems, ocular and muscular systems and soft tissue modeling. Patient-specific modeling has been the subject of serious research over the last seven years and interest in the area is continually growing and this area is expected to further develop in the near future.

Sintering of uranium oxide of high specific surface area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bel, Alain; Francois, Bernard; Delmas, Roger; Caillat, Roger

1959-01-01

The extent to which a uranium oxide powder deriving from ammonium uranate or uranium peroxide lends itself to the sintering process depends largely on its specific surface area. When this is greater than 5 m 2 / g there is an optimum temperature for sintering in hydrogen. This temperature becomes less as the specific area of the powder is greater. Reprint of a paper published in Comptes rendus des seances de l'Academie des Sciences, t. 249, p. 1045-1047, sitting of 21 September 1959 [fr

Refractive error study in young subjects: results from a rural area in Paraguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Signes-Soler

2017-03-01

Full Text Available AIM: To evaluate the distribution of refractive error in young subjects in a rural area of Paraguay in the context of an international cooperation campaign for the prevention of blindness. METHODS: A sample of 1466 young subjects (ranging from 3 to 22 years old, with a mean age of 11.21±3.63 years old, were examined to assess their distance visual acuity (VA and refractive error. The first screening examination performed by trained volunteers, included visual acuity testing, autokeratometry and non-cycloplegic autorefraction. Inclusion criteria for a second complete cycloplegic eye examination by an optometrist were VA <20/25 (0.10 logMAR or 0.8 decimal and/or corneal astigmatism ≥1.50 D. RESULTS: An uncorrected distance VA of 0 logMAR (1.0 decimal was found in 89.2% of children. VA <20/25 and/or corneal astigmatism ≥1.50 D was found in 3.9% of children (n=57, with a prevalence of hyperopia of 5.2% (0.2% of the total in this specific group. Furthermore, myopia (spherical equivalent ≤-0.5 D was found in 37.7% of the refracted children (0.5% of the total. The prevalence of refractive astigmatism (cylinder ≤-1.50 D was 15.8% (0.6% of the total. Visual impairment (VI (0.05≤VA≤0.3 was found in 12/114 (0.4% of the refracted eyes. Main causes for VI were refractive error (58%, retinal problems (17%, 2/12, albinism (17%, 2/12 and unknown (8%, 1/12. CONCLUSION: A low prevalence of refractive error has been found in this rural area of Paraguay, with higher prevalence of myopia than of hyperopia.

Subject-specific computer simulation model for determining elbow loading in one-handed tennis backhand groundstrokes.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Mark A; Glynn, Jonathan A; Mitchell, Sean R

2011-11-01

A subject-specific angle-driven computer model of a tennis player, combined with a forward dynamics, equipment-specific computer model of tennis ball-racket impacts, was developed to determine the effect of ball-racket impacts on loading at the elbow for one-handed backhand groundstrokes. Matching subject-specific computer simulations of a typical topspin/slice one-handed backhand groundstroke performed by an elite tennis player were done with root mean square differences between performance and matching simulations of elbow loading for a topspin and slice one-handed backhand groundstroke is relatively small. In this study, the relatively small differences in elbow loading may be due to comparable angle-time histories at the wrist and elbow joints with the major kinematic differences occurring at the shoulder. Using a subject-specific angle-driven computer model combined with a forward dynamics, equipment-specific computer model of tennis ball-racket impacts allows peak internal loading, net impulse, and shock due to ball-racket impact to be calculated which would not otherwise be possible without impractical invasive techniques. This study provides a basis for further investigation of the factors that may increase elbow loading during tennis strokes.

Developmental Dynamics of General and School-Subject-Specific Components of Academic Self-Concept, Academic Interest, and Academic Anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Gogol, Katarzyna; Brunner, Martin; Preckel, Franzis; Goetz, Thomas; Martin, Romain

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the developmental dynamics of general and subject-specific (i.e., mathematics, French, and German) components of students' academic self-concept, anxiety, and interest. To this end, the authors integrated three lines of research: (a) hierarchical and multidimensional approaches to the conceptualization of each construct, (b) longitudinal analyses of bottom-up and top-down developmental processes across hierarchical levels, and (c) developmental processes across subjects. The data stemmed from two longitudinal large-scale samples (N = 3498 and N = 3863) of students attending Grades 7 and 9 in Luxembourgish schools. Nested-factor models were applied to represent each construct at each grade level. The analyses demonstrated that several characteristics were shared across constructs. All constructs were multidimensional in nature with respect to the different subjects, showed a hierarchical organization with a general component at the apex of the hierarchy, and had a strong separation between the subject-specific components at both grade levels. Further, all constructs showed moderate differential stabilities at both the general (0.42 < r < 0.55) and subject-specific levels (0.45 < r < 0.73). Further, little evidence was found for top-down or bottom-up developmental processes. Rather, general and subject-specific components in Grade 9 proved to be primarily a function of the corresponding components in Grade 7. Finally, change in several subject-specific components could be explained by negative effects across subjects.

Subject-Specific Sparse Dictionary Learning for Atlas-Based Brain MRI Segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Snehashis; He, Qing; Sweeney, Elizabeth; Carass, Aaron; Reich, Daniel S; Prince, Jerry L; Pham, Dzung L

2015-09-01

Quantitative measurements from segmentations of human brain magnetic resonance (MR) images provide important biomarkers for normal aging and disease progression. In this paper, we propose a patch-based tissue classification method from MR images that uses a sparse dictionary learning approach and atlas priors. Training data for the method consists of an atlas MR image, prior information maps depicting where different tissues are expected to be located, and a hard segmentation. Unlike most atlas-based classification methods that require deformable registration of the atlas priors to the subject, only affine registration is required between the subject and training atlas. A subject-specific patch dictionary is created by learning relevant patches from the atlas. Then the subject patches are modeled as sparse combinations of learned atlas patches leading to tissue memberships at each voxel. The combination of prior information in an example-based framework enables us to distinguish tissues having similar intensities but different spatial locations. We demonstrate the efficacy of the approach on the application of whole-brain tissue segmentation in subjects with healthy anatomy and normal pressure hydrocephalus, as well as lesion segmentation in multiple sclerosis patients. For each application, quantitative comparisons are made against publicly available state-of-the art approaches.

Subject-specific regional measures of water diffusion are associated with impairment in chronic spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Choe, Ann S; Sadowsky, Cristina L; Smith, Seth A; van Zijl, Peter C M; Pekar, James J; Belegu, Visar

2017-08-01

We aimed to identify non-invasive imaging parameters that can serve as biomarkers for the integrity of the spinal cord, which is paramount to neurological function. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices are sensitive to axonal and myelin damage, and have strong potential to serve as such biomarkers. However, averaging DTI indices over large regions of interest (ROIs), a common approach to analyzing the images of injured spinal cord, leads to loss of subject-specific information. We investigated if DTI-tractography-driven, subject-specific demarcation approach can yield measures that are more specific to impairment. In 18 individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), subject-specific demarcation of the injury region was performed using DTI tractography, which yielded three regions relative to injury (RRI; regions superior to, at, and below injury epicenter). DTI indices averaged over each RRI were correlated with measures of residual motor and sensory function, obtained using the International Standard of Neurological Classification for Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI). Total ISNCSCI score (ISNCSCI-tot; sum of ISNCSCI motor and sensory scores) was significantly (p injury epicenter (IRRI), the degree of which exceeded that of those measured from the entire cervical cord-suggesting contribution from Wallerian degeneration. DTI tractography-driven, subject-specific injury demarcation approach provided measures that were more specific to impairment. Notably, DTI indices obtained from the IRRI region showed the highest specificity to impairment, demonstrating their strong potential as biomarkers for the SCI severity.

nmsBuilder: Freeware to create subject-specific musculoskeletal models for OpenSim.

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Giordano; Crimi, Gianluigi; Vanella, Nicola; Schileo, Enrico; Taddei, Fulvia

2017-12-01

Musculoskeletal modeling and simulations of movement have been increasingly used in orthopedic and neurological scenarios, with increased attention to subject-specific applications. In general, musculoskeletal modeling applications have been facilitated by the development of dedicated software tools; however, subject-specific studies have been limited also by time-consuming modeling workflows and high skilled expertise required. In addition, no reference tools exist to standardize the process of musculoskeletal model creation and make it more efficient. Here we present a freely available software application, nmsBuilder 2.0, to create musculoskeletal models in the file format of OpenSim, a widely-used open-source platform for musculoskeletal modeling and simulation. nmsBuilder 2.0 is the result of a major refactoring of a previous implementation that moved a first step toward an efficient workflow for subject-specific model creation. nmsBuilder includes a graphical user interface that provides access to all functionalities, based on a framework for computer-aided medicine written in C++. The operations implemented can be used in a workflow to create OpenSim musculoskeletal models from 3D surfaces. A first step includes data processing to create supporting objects necessary to create models, e.g. surfaces, anatomical landmarks, reference systems; and a second step includes the creation of OpenSim objects, e.g. bodies, joints, muscles, and the corresponding model. We present a case study using nmsBuilder 2.0: the creation of an MRI-based musculoskeletal model of the lower limb. The model included four rigid bodies, five degrees of freedom and 43 musculotendon actuators, and was created from 3D surfaces of the segmented images of a healthy subject through the modeling workflow implemented in the software application. We have presented nmsBuilder 2.0 for the creation of musculoskeletal OpenSim models from image-based data, and made it freely available via nmsbuilder

Task-specific impairments and enhancements induced by magnetic stimulation of human visual area V5.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, V; Ellison, A; Battelli, L; Cowey, A

1998-03-22

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to simulate the effects of highly circumscribed brain damage permanently present in some neuropsychological patients, by reversibly disrupting the normal functioning of the cortical area to which it is applied. By using TMS we attempted to recreate deficits similar to those reported in a motion-blind patient and to assess the specificity of deficits when TMS is applied over human area V5. We used six visual search tasks and showed that subjects were impaired in a motion but not a form 'pop-out' task when TMS was applied over V5. When motion was present, but irrelevant, or when attention to colour and form were required, TMS applied to V5 enhanced performance. When attention to motion was required in a motion-form conjunction search task, irrespective of whether the target was moving or stationary, TMS disrupted performance. These data suggest that attention to different visual attributes involves mutual inhibition between different extrastriate visual areas.

Modelling of subject specific based segmental dynamics of knee joint

Science.gov (United States)

Nasir, N. H. M.; Ibrahim, B. S. K. K.; Huq, M. S.; Ahmad, M. K. I.

2017-09-01

This study determines segmental dynamics parameters based on subject specific method. Five hemiplegic patients participated in the study, two men and three women. Their ages ranged from 50 to 60 years, weights from 60 to 70 kg and heights from 145 to 170 cm. Sample group included patients with different side of stroke. The parameters of the segmental dynamics resembling the knee joint functions measured via measurement of Winter and its model generated via the employment Kane's equation of motion. Inertial parameters in the form of the anthropometry can be identified and measured by employing Standard Human Dimension on the subjects who are in hemiplegia condition. The inertial parameters are the location of centre of mass (COM) at the length of the limb segment, inertia moment around the COM and masses of shank and foot to generate accurate motion equations. This investigation has also managed to dig out a few advantages of employing the table of anthropometry in movement biomechanics of Winter's and Kane's equation of motion. A general procedure is presented to yield accurate measurement of estimation for the inertial parameters for the joint of the knee of certain subjects with stroke history.

Area-specific temporal control of corticospinal motor neuron differentiation by COUP-TFI

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Tomassy, Giulio Srubek; De Leonibus, Elvira; Jabaudon, Denis; Lodato, Simona; Alfano, Christian; Mele, Andrea; Macklis, Jeffrey D.; Studer, Michèle

2010-01-01

Transcription factors with gradients of expression in neocortical progenitors give rise to distinct motor and sensory cortical areas by controlling the area-specific differentiation of distinct neuronal subtypes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this area-restricted control are still unclear. Here, we show that COUP-TFI controls the timing of birth and specification of corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) in somatosensory cortex via repression of a CSMN differentiation program. Loss of COUP-TFI function causes an area-specific premature generation of neurons with cardinal features of CSMN, which project to subcerebral structures, including the spinal cord. Concurrently, genuine CSMN differentiate imprecisely and do not project beyond the pons, together resulting in impaired skilled motor function in adult mice with cortical COUP-TFI loss-of-function. Our findings indicate that COUP-TFI exerts critical areal and temporal control over the precise differentiation of CSMN during corticogenesis, thereby enabling the area-specific functional features of motor and sensory areas to arise. PMID:20133588

MEG reveals a fast pathway from somatosensory cortex to occipital areas via posterior parietal cortex in a blind subject

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Andreas A Ioannides

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Cross-modal activity in visual cortex of blind subjects has been reported during performance of variety of non-visual tasks. A key unanswered question is through which pathways non-visual inputs are funneled to the visual cortex. Here we used tomographic analysis of single trial magnetoencephalography (MEG data recorded from one congenitally blind and two sighted subjects after stimulation of the left and right median nerves at three intensities: below sensory threshold, above sensory threshold and above motor threshold; the last sufficient to produce thumb twitching. We identified reproducible brain responses in the primary somatosensory (S1 and motor (M1 cortices at around 20 ms post-stimulus, which were very similar in sighted and blind subjects. Time-frequency analysis revealed strong 45 to 70 Hz activity at latencies of 20 to 50 ms in S1 and M1, and posterior parietal cortex Brodmann areas (BA 7 and 40, which compared to lower frequencies, were substantially more pronounced in the blind than the sighted subjects. Critically, at frequencies from α-band up to 100 Hz we found clear, strong and widespread responses in the visual cortex of the blind subject, which increased with the intensity of the somatosensory stimuli. Time-delayed mutual information (MI revealed that in blind subject the stimulus information is funneled from the early somatosensory to visual cortex through posterior parietal BA 7 and 40, projecting first to visual areas V5 and V3, and eventually V1. The flow of information through this pathway occured in stages characterized by convergence of activations into specific cortical regions. In sighted subjects, no linked activity was found that led from the somatosensory to the visual cortex through any of the studied brain regions. These results provide the first evidence from MEG that in blind subjects, tactile information is routed from primary somatosensory to occipital cortex via the posterior parietal cortex.

Developmental Dynamics of General and School-Subject-Specific Components of Academic Self-Concept, Academic Interest, and Academic Anxiety

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Katarzyna eGogol

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The present study investigated the developmental dynamics of general and subject-specific (i.e., mathematics, French, and German components of students’ academic self-concept, anxiety, and interest. To this end, the authors integrated three lines of research: (a hierarchical and multidimensional approaches to the conceptualization of each construct, (b longitudinal analyses of bottom-up and top-down developmental processes across hierarchical levels, and (c ipsative developmental processes across subjects. The data stemmed from two longitudinal large-scale samples (N = 3,498 and N = 3,863 of students attending Grades 7 and 9 in Luxembourgish schools. Nested-factor models were applied to represent each construct at each grade level. The analyses demonstrated that several characteristics were shared across constructs. All constructs were multidimensional in nature with respect to the different subjects, showed a hierarchical organization with a general component at the apex of the hierarchy, and had a strong separation between the subject-specific components at both grade levels. Further, all constructs showed moderate differential stabilities at both the general (.42 < r < .55 and subject-specific levels (.45 < r < .73. Further, little evidence was found for top-down or bottom-up developmental processes. Rather, general and subject-specific components in Grade 9 proved to be primarily a function of the corresponding components in Grade 7. Finally, change in several subject-specific components could be explained by negative, ipsative effects across subjects.

Developmental Dynamics of General and School-Subject-Specific Components of Academic Self-Concept, Academic Interest, and Academic Anxiety

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Gogol, Katarzyna; Brunner, Martin; Preckel, Franzis; Goetz, Thomas; Martin, Romain

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the developmental dynamics of general and subject-specific (i.e., mathematics, French, and German) components of students' academic self-concept, anxiety, and interest. To this end, the authors integrated three lines of research: (a) hierarchical and multidimensional approaches to the conceptualization of each construct, (b) longitudinal analyses of bottom-up and top-down developmental processes across hierarchical levels, and (c) developmental processes across subjects. The data stemmed from two longitudinal large-scale samples (N = 3498 and N = 3863) of students attending Grades 7 and 9 in Luxembourgish schools. Nested-factor models were applied to represent each construct at each grade level. The analyses demonstrated that several characteristics were shared across constructs. All constructs were multidimensional in nature with respect to the different subjects, showed a hierarchical organization with a general component at the apex of the hierarchy, and had a strong separation between the subject-specific components at both grade levels. Further, all constructs showed moderate differential stabilities at both the general (0.42 < r < 0.55) and subject-specific levels (0.45 < r < 0.73). Further, little evidence was found for top-down or bottom-up developmental processes. Rather, general and subject-specific components in Grade 9 proved to be primarily a function of the corresponding components in Grade 7. Finally, change in several subject-specific components could be explained by negative effects across subjects. PMID:27014162

Soft tissue artifact compensation in knee kinematics by multi-body optimization: Performance of subject-specific knee joint models.

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Clément, Julien; Dumas, Raphaël; Hagemeister, Nicola; de Guise, Jaques A

2015-11-05

Soft tissue artifact (STA) distort marker-based knee kinematics measures and make them difficult to use in clinical practice. None of the current methods designed to compensate for STA is suitable, but multi-body optimization (MBO) has demonstrated encouraging results and can be improved. The goal of this study was to develop and validate the performance of knee joint models, with anatomical and subject-specific kinematic constraints, used in MBO to reduce STA errors. Twenty subjects were recruited: 10 healthy and 10 osteoarthritis (OA) subjects. Subject-specific knee joint models were evaluated by comparing dynamic knee kinematics recorded by a motion capture system (KneeKG™) and optimized with MBO to quasi-static knee kinematics measured by a low-dose, upright, biplanar radiographic imaging system (EOS(®)). Errors due to STA ranged from 1.6° to 22.4° for knee rotations and from 0.8 mm to 14.9 mm for knee displacements in healthy and OA subjects. Subject-specific knee joint models were most effective in compensating for STA in terms of abduction-adduction, inter-external rotation and antero-posterior displacement. Root mean square errors with subject-specific knee joint models ranged from 2.2±1.2° to 6.0±3.9° for knee rotations and from 2.4±1.1 mm to 4.3±2.4 mm for knee displacements in healthy and OA subjects, respectively. Our study shows that MBO can be improved with subject-specific knee joint models, and that the quality of the motion capture calibration is critical. Future investigations should focus on more refined knee joint models to reproduce specific OA knee geometry and physiology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validating atlas-guided DOT: a comparison of diffuse optical tomography informed by atlas and subject-specific anatomies.

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Cooper, Robert J; Caffini, Matteo; Dubb, Jay; Fang, Qianqian; Custo, Anna; Tsuzuki, Daisuke; Fischl, Bruce; Wells, William; Dan, Ippeita; Boas, David A

2012-09-01

We describe the validation of an anatomical brain atlas approach to the analysis of diffuse optical tomography (DOT). Using MRI data from 32 subjects, we compare the diffuse optical images of simulated cortical activation reconstructed using a registered atlas with those obtained using a subject's true anatomy. The error in localization of the simulated cortical activations when using a registered atlas is due to a combination of imperfect registration, anatomical differences between atlas and subject anatomies and the localization error associated with diffuse optical image reconstruction. When using a subject-specific MRI, any localization error is due to diffuse optical image reconstruction only. In this study we determine that using a registered anatomical brain atlas results in an average localization error of approximately 18 mm in Euclidean space. The corresponding error when the subject's own MRI is employed is 9.1 mm. In general, the cost of using atlas-guided DOT in place of subject-specific MRI-guided DOT is a doubling of the localization error. Our results show that despite this increase in error, reasonable anatomical localization is achievable even in cases where the subject-specific anatomy is unavailable. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Indirect detection of an epitope-specific response to HIV-1 gp120 immunization in human subjects.

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Evgeny Shmelkov

Full Text Available A specific response of human serum neutralizing antibodies (nAb to a conformational epitope as a result of vaccination of human subjects with the surface envelope glycoprotein (gp120 of HIV-1 has not previously been documented. Here, we used computational analysis to assess the epitope-specific responses of human subjects, which were immunized with recombinant gp120 immunogens in the VAX003 and VAX004 clinical trials. Our computational methodology--a variation of sieve analysis--compares the occurrence of specific nAb targeted conformational 3D epitopes on viruses from infected individuals who received vaccination to the occurrence of matched epitopes in the viruses infecting placebo subjects. We specifically studied seven crystallographically defined nAb targeted conformational epitopes in the V3 loop, an immunogenic region of gp120. Of the six epitopes present in the immunogens and targeted by known monoclonal neutralizing antibodies, only the one targeted by the anti-V3 nAb 2219 exhibited a significant reduction in occurrence in vaccinated subjects compared to the placebo group. This difference occurred only in the VAX003 Thailand cohort. No difference was seen between vaccinated and placebo groups for the occurrence of an epitope that was not present in the immunogen. Thus, it can be theorized that a specific 2219-like human neutralizing antibody immune response to AIDSVAX immunization occurred in the VAX003 cohort, and that this response protected subjects from a narrow subset of HIV-1 viruses circulating in Thailand in the 1990s and bearing the conformational epitope targeted by the neutralizing antibody 2219.

Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS). Volume 7: Sample and Data Tracking subject area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-06-01

The Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) Sample and Data Tracking subject area allows insertion of tracking information into a central repository where the data is immediately available for viewing. For example, a technical coordinator is able to view the current status of a particular sampling effort, from sample collection to data package validation dates. Four major types of data comprise the Sample and Data Tracking subject area: data about the mechanisms that groups a set of samples for a particular sampling effort; data about how constituents are grouped and assigned to a sample; data about when, where, and how samples are sent to a laboratory for analysis; and data bout the status of a sample's constituent analysis requirements, i.e., whether the analysis results have been returned from the laboratory

Porous silicon structures with high surface area/specific pore size

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Northrup, M.A.; Yu, C.M.; Raley, N.F.

1999-03-16

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gases in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters. 9 figs.

Activation of prefrontal cortex and anterior thalamus in alcoholic subjects on exposure to alcohol-specific cues.

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George, M S; Anton, R F; Bloomer, C; Teneback, C; Drobes, D J; Lorberbaum, J P; Nahas, Z; Vincent, D J

2001-04-01

Functional imaging studies have recently demonstrated that specific brain regions become active in cocaine addicts when they are exposed to cocaine stimuli. To test whether there are regional brain activity differences during alcohol cue exposure between alcoholic subjects and social drinkers, we designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol involving alcohol-specific cues. Ten non-treatment-seeking adult alcoholic subjects (2 women) (mean [SD] age, 29.9 [9.9] years) as well as 10 healthy social drinking controls of similar age (2 women) (mean [SD] age, 29.4 [8.9] years) were recruited, screened, and scanned. In the 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner, subjects were serially rated for alcohol craving before and after a sip of alcohol, and after a 9-minute randomized presentation of pictures of alcoholic beverages, control nonalcoholic beverages, and 2 different visual control tasks. During picture presentation, changes in regional brain activity were measured with the blood oxygen level-dependent technique. Alcoholic subjects, compared with the social drinking subjects, reported higher overall craving ratings for alcohol. After a sip of alcohol, while viewing alcohol cues compared with viewing other beverage cues, only the alcoholic subjects had increased activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior thalamus. The social drinkers exhibited specific activation only while viewing the control beverage pictures. When exposed to alcohol cues, alcoholic subjects have increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex and anterior thalamus-brain regions associated with emotion regulation, attention, and appetitive behavior.

Core subjects at the end of primary school: identifying and explaining relative strengths of children with specific language impairment (SLI)

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Durkin, Kevin; Mok, Pearl L H; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

2015-01-01

Background In general, children with specific language impairment (SLI) tend to fall behind their typically developing (TD) peers in educational attainment. Less is known about how children with SLI fare in particular areas of the curriculum and what predicts their levels of performance. Aims To compare the distributions of performance of children with SLI in three core school subjects (English, Mathematics and Science); to test the possibility that performance would vary across the core subjects; and to examine the extent to which language impairment predicts performance. Methods & Procedures This study was conducted in England and reports historical data on educational attainments. Teacher assessment and test scores of 176 eleven-year-old children with SLI were examined in the three core subjects and compared with known national norms. Possible predictors of performance were measured, including language ability at ages 7 and 11, educational placement type, and performance IQ. Outcomes & Results Children with SLI, compared with national norms, were found to be at a disadvantage in core school subjects. Nevertheless, some children attained the levels expected of TD peers. Performance was poorest in English; relative strengths were indicated in Science and, to a lesser extent, in Mathematics. Language skills were significant predictors of performance in all three core subjects. PIQ was the strongest predictor for Mathematics. For Science, both early language skills at 7 years and PIQ made significant contributions. Conclusions & Implications Language impacts on the school performance of children with SLI, but differentially across subjects. English for these children is the most challenging of the core subjects, reflecting the high levels of language demand it incurs. Science is an area of relative strength and mathematics appears to be intermediate, arguably because some tasks in these subjects can be performed with less reliance on verbal processing. Many children

Core subjects at the end of primary school: identifying and explaining relative strengths of children with specific language impairment (SLI).

Science.gov (United States)

Durkin, Kevin; Mok, Pearl L H; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

2015-01-01

In general, children with specific language impairment (SLI) tend to fall behind their typically developing (TD) peers in educational attainment. Less is known about how children with SLI fare in particular areas of the curriculum and what predicts their levels of performance. To compare the distributions of performance of children with SLI in three core school subjects (English, Mathematics and Science); to test the possibility that performance would vary across the core subjects; and to examine the extent to which language impairment predicts performance. This study was conducted in England and reports historical data on educational attainments. Teacher assessment and test scores of 176 eleven-year-old children with SLI were examined in the three core subjects and compared with known national norms. Possible predictors of performance were measured, including language ability at ages 7 and 11, educational placement type, and performance IQ. Children with SLI, compared with national norms, were found to be at a disadvantage in core school subjects. Nevertheless, some children attained the levels expected of TD peers. Performance was poorest in English; relative strengths were indicated in Science and, to a lesser extent, in Mathematics. Language skills were significant predictors of performance in all three core subjects. PIQ was the strongest predictor for Mathematics. For Science, both early language skills at 7 years and PIQ made significant contributions. Language impacts on the school performance of children with SLI, but differentially across subjects. English for these children is the most challenging of the core subjects, reflecting the high levels of language demand it incurs. Science is an area of relative strength and mathematics appears to be intermediate, arguably because some tasks in these subjects can be performed with less reliance on verbal processing. Many children with SLI do have the potential to reach or exceed educational targets that are set

Specific terms glossary for subjects taught in Physical Culture first year career

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Ana Isel Rodríguez Cruz

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Contents comprehension is an important element in the learning process; present didactic ways demand from teaching styles that favor communicative competence in the students. Taking into account the relevance of this topic in the teaching learning process it was decided to develop the present work, which has the objective to offer the students a tool that allow them an efficient comprehension of the contents they receive in the Physical Culture first year career subjects. To fulfil the goal a glossary with specific terms of basketball, chess, swimming, athletics, basic gymnastics, and morphology was designed starting from the results of the initial diagnosis, the scientific observation, as well as the detail revision of the normative documents that rule Communicative Spanish subject. The glossary use favor the students´ texts comprehension development from the mentioned subject.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Epitope-Specific CD4+ T Cells Are Inflated in HIV+ CMV+ Subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Abana, Chike O; Pilkinton, Mark A; Gaudieri, Silvana; Chopra, Abha; McDonnell, Wyatt J; Wanjalla, Celestine; Barnett, Louise; Gangula, Rama; Hager, Cindy; Jung, Dae K; Engelhardt, Brian G; Jagasia, Madan H; Klenerman, Paul; Phillips, Elizabeth J; Koelle, David M; Kalams, Spyros A; Mallal, Simon A

2017-11-01

Select CMV epitopes drive life-long CD8 + T cell memory inflation, but the extent of CD4 memory inflation is poorly studied. CD4 + T cells specific for human CMV (HCMV) are elevated in HIV + HCMV + subjects. To determine whether HCMV epitope-specific CD4 + T cell memory inflation occurs during HIV infection, we used HLA-DR7 (DRB1*07:01) tetramers loaded with the glycoprotein B DYSNTHSTRYV (DYS) epitope to characterize circulating CD4 + T cells in coinfected HLA-DR7 + long-term nonprogressor HIV subjects with undetectable HCMV plasma viremia. DYS-specific CD4 + T cells were inflated among these HIV + subjects compared with those from an HIV - HCMV + HLA-DR7 + cohort or with HLA-DR7-restricted CD4 + T cells from the HIV-coinfected cohort that were specific for epitopes of HCMV phosphoprotein-65, tetanus toxoid precursor, EBV nuclear Ag 2, or HIV gag protein. Inflated DYS-specific CD4 + T cells consisted of effector memory or effector memory-RA + subsets with restricted TCRβ usage and nearly monoclonal CDR3 containing novel conserved amino acids. Expression of this near-monoclonal TCR in a Jurkat cell-transfection system validated fine DYS specificity. Inflated cells were polyfunctional, not senescent, and displayed high ex vivo levels of granzyme B, CX 3 CR1, CD38, or HLA-DR but less often coexpressed CD38 + and HLA-DR + The inflation mechanism did not involve apoptosis suppression, increased proliferation, or HIV gag cross-reactivity. Instead, the findings suggest that intermittent or chronic expression of epitopes, such as DYS, drive inflation of activated CD4 + T cells that home to endothelial cells and have the potential to mediate cytotoxicity and vascular disease. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Automatic generation of a subject-specific model for accurate markerless motion capture and biomechanical applications.

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Corazza, Stefano; Gambaretto, Emiliano; Mündermann, Lars; Andriacchi, Thomas P

2010-04-01

A novel approach for the automatic generation of a subject-specific model consisting of morphological and joint location information is described. The aim is to address the need for efficient and accurate model generation for markerless motion capture (MMC) and biomechanical studies. The algorithm applied and expanded on previous work on human shapes space by embedding location information for ten joint centers in a subject-specific free-form surface. The optimal locations of joint centers in the 3-D mesh were learned through linear regression over a set of nine subjects whose joint centers were known. The model was shown to be sufficiently accurate for both kinematic (joint centers) and morphological (shape of the body) information to allow accurate tracking with MMC systems. The automatic model generation algorithm was applied to 3-D meshes of different quality and resolution such as laser scans and visual hulls. The complete method was tested using nine subjects of different gender, body mass index (BMI), age, and ethnicity. Experimental training error and cross-validation errors were 19 and 25 mm, respectively, on average over the joints of the ten subjects analyzed in the study.

Within-Subject Correlation Analysis to Detect Functional Areas Associated With Response Inhibition

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Tomoko Yamasaki

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Functional areas in fMRI studies are often detected by brain-behavior correlation, calculating across-subject correlation between the behavioral index and the brain activity related to a function of interest. Within-subject correlation analysis is also employed in a single subject level, which utilizes cognitive fluctuations in a shorter time period by correlating the behavioral index with the brain activity across trials. In the present study, the within-subject analysis was applied to the stop-signal task, a standard task to probe response inhibition, where efficiency of response inhibition can be evaluated by the stop-signal reaction time (SSRT. Since the SSRT is estimated, by definition, not in a trial basis but from pooled trials, the correlation across runs was calculated between the SSRT and the brain activity related to response inhibition. The within-subject correlation revealed negative correlations in the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum. Moreover, the dissociation pattern was observed in the within-subject analysis when earlier vs. later parts of the runs were analyzed: negative correlation was dominant in earlier runs, whereas positive correlation was dominant in later runs. Regions of interest analyses revealed that the negative correlation in the anterior cingulate cortex, but not in the cerebellum, was dominant in earlier runs, suggesting multiple mechanisms associated with inhibitory processes that fluctuate on a run-by-run basis. These results indicate that the within-subject analysis compliments the across-subject analysis by highlighting different aspects of cognitive/affective processes related to response inhibition.

Seasonal and pod-specific differences in core use areas by resident killer whales in the Northern Gulf of Alaska

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Olsen, Daniel W.; Matkin, Craig O.; Andrews, Russel D.; Atkinson, Shannon

2018-01-01

The resident killer whale is a genetically and behaviorally distinct ecotype of killer whale (Orcinus orca) found in the North Pacific that feeds primarily on Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp .). Details regarding core use areas have been inferred by boat surveys, but are subject to effort bias and weather limitations. To investigate core use areas, 37 satellite tags were deployed from 2006 to 2014 on resident killer whales representing 12 pods in the Northern Gulf of Alaska, and transmissions were received during the months of June to January. Core use areas were identified through utilization distributions using a biased Brownian Bridge movement model. Distinct differences in these core use areas were revealed, and were highly specific to season and pod. In June, July, and August, the waters of Hinchinbrook Entrance and west of Kayak Island were primary areas used, mainly by 3 separate pods. These same pods shifted their focus to Montague Strait in August, September, and October. Port Gravina was a focal area for 2 other pods in June, July, and August, but this was not the case in later months. These pods were responsible for seven of eight documented trips into the deeper fjords of Prince William Sound, yet these fjords were not a focus for most groups of killer whales. The seasonal differences in core use may be a response to the seasonal returns of salmon, though details on specific migration routes and timing for the salmon are limited. We found strong seasonal and pod-specific shifts in patterns between core use areas. Future research should investigate pod differences in diet composition and relationships between core area use and bathymetry.

Improving Students' Transfer of Learning among Subject Areas through the Use of an Integrated Curriculum and Alternative Assessment.

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Boidy, Tish; Moran, Michelle

An intervention program sought to improve third- and fifth- grade students' ability to transfer learning among subject areas and to apply their learning to everyday occurrences. Surveys and interviews revealed the lack of student transference of knowledge among subject areas; teacher surveys and an interview with the curriculum director provided…

Age-specific activation of cerebral areas in motor imagery - a fMRI study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Li [Chongqing University, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing (China); Third Military Medical University, Department of Medical Image, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing (China); Qiu, Mingguo; Zhang, Jingna; Zhang, Ye; Sang, Linqiong [Third Military Medical University, Department of Medical Image, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing (China); Liu, Chen; Yang, Jun [Third Military Medical University, Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China); Yan, Rubing [Third Military Medical University, Department of Rehabilitation, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China); Zheng, Xiaolin [Chongqing University, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing (China)

2014-04-15

The objectives of this study were to study the age-specific activation patterns of cerebral areas during motor execution (ME) and motor imaging (MI) of the upper extremities and to discuss the age-related neural mechanisms associated with ME or MI. The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to monitor the pattern and intensity of brain activation during the ME and MI of the upper extremities in 20 elderly (>50 years) and 19 young healthy subjects (<25 years). No major differences were identified regarding the activated brain areas during ME or MI between the two groups; however, a minor difference was noted. The intensity of the activated brain area during ME was stronger in the older group than in the younger group, while the results with MI were the opposite. The posterior central gyrus and supplementary motor area during MI were more active in the younger group than in the older group. The putamen, lingual, and so on demonstrated stronger activation during dominant hand MI in the older group. The results of this study revealed that the brain structure was altered and that neuronal activity was attenuated with age, and the cerebral cortex and subcortical tissues were found to be over-activated to achieve the same level of ME and MI, indicating that the activating effects of the left hemisphere enhanced with age, whereas the inhibitory effects declined during ME, and activation of the right hemisphere became more difficult during MI. (orig.)

Age-specific activation of cerebral areas in motor imagery - a fMRI study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Li; Qiu, Mingguo; Zhang, Jingna; Zhang, Ye; Sang, Linqiong; Liu, Chen; Yang, Jun; Yan, Rubing; Zheng, Xiaolin

2014-01-01

The objectives of this study were to study the age-specific activation patterns of cerebral areas during motor execution (ME) and motor imaging (MI) of the upper extremities and to discuss the age-related neural mechanisms associated with ME or MI. The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to monitor the pattern and intensity of brain activation during the ME and MI of the upper extremities in 20 elderly (>50 years) and 19 young healthy subjects (<25 years). No major differences were identified regarding the activated brain areas during ME or MI between the two groups; however, a minor difference was noted. The intensity of the activated brain area during ME was stronger in the older group than in the younger group, while the results with MI were the opposite. The posterior central gyrus and supplementary motor area during MI were more active in the younger group than in the older group. The putamen, lingual, and so on demonstrated stronger activation during dominant hand MI in the older group. The results of this study revealed that the brain structure was altered and that neuronal activity was attenuated with age, and the cerebral cortex and subcortical tissues were found to be over-activated to achieve the same level of ME and MI, indicating that the activating effects of the left hemisphere enhanced with age, whereas the inhibitory effects declined during ME, and activation of the right hemisphere became more difficult during MI. (orig.)

Subject-specific pedagogical content knowledge: Implications for alternatively and traditionally trained biology teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Ravgiala, Rebekah Rae

Theories regarding the development of expertise hold implications for alternative and traditional certification programs and the teachers they train. The literature suggests that when compared to experts in the field of teaching, the behaviors of novices differ in ways that are directly attributed to their pedagogical content knowledge. However, few studies have examined how first and second year biology teachers entering the profession from traditional and alternative training differ in their demonstration of subject-specific pedagogical content knowledge. The research problem in this multicase, naturalistic inquiry investigated how subject-specific pedagogical content knowledge was manifested among first and second year biology teachers in the task of transforming subject matter into forms that are potentially meaningful to students when explicit formal training has been and has not been imparted to them as preservice teachers. Two first year and two second year biology teachers were the subjects of this investigation. Allen and Amber obtained their certification through an alternative summer training institute in consecutive years. Tiffany and Tricia obtained their certification through a traditional, graduate level training program in consecutive years. Both programs were offered at the same northeastern state university. Participants contributed to six data gathering techniques including an initial semi-structured interview, responses to the Conceptions of Teaching Science questionnaire (Hewson & Hewson, 1989), three videotaped biology lessons, evaluation of three corresponding lesson plans, and a final semi-structured interview conducted at the end of the investigation. An informal, end-of-study survey intended to offer participants an opportunity to disclose their thoughts and needs as first year teachers was also employed. Results indicate that while conceptions of teaching science may vary slightly among participants, there is no evidence to suggest that

Specifics of Educational Texts Selection for Schoolchildren Doing the Humanities Subjects

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T. V. Oblasova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper proposes the new approach to educational text selection for the humanities teaching. Its specifics is based on the wide interpretation of educational texts, as the culture texts involved in cognitive learning activity and fulfilling the multiple tasks of the related subjects and personal development. The educational text is taken as a generalized model, its content and structure determining the scheme of a speech cognitive activity, as well as the meaning formation mechanism responsible for understanding and personal development. The texts and tasks selection is oriented on schoolchildren’s understanding with the reference to the psycholinguistic, psychological and hermeneutic approaches; information extraction and interpretation level related to the author’s and student’s context. The given approach could provide the basis for developing and structuring the textbooks content for the humanities subjects. 

The sensitivity and specificity of subjective memory complaints and the subjective memory rating scale, deterioration cognitive observee, mini-mental state examination, six-item screener and clock drawing test in dementia screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramlall, S; Chipps, J; Bhigjee, A I; Pillay, B J

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of dementia screening depends on the availability of suitable screening tools with good sensitivity and specificity to confidently distinguish normal age-related cognitive decline from dementia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the discriminant validity of 7 screening measures for dementia. A sample of 140 participants aged ≥60 years living in a residential facility for the aged were assessed clinically and assigned caseness for dementia using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revised diagnostic criteria. Sensitivity and specificity of a selection of the following screening measures were tested using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for individual and combined tests: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Six-Item Screener (SIS), Subjective Memory Complaint, Subjective Memory Complaint Clinical (SMCC), Subjective Memory Rating Scale (SMRS), Deterioration Cognitive Observee (DECO) and the Clock Drawing Test (CDT). Using ROC analyses, the SMCC, MMSE and CDT were found to be 'moderately accurate' in screening for dementia with an area under the curve (AUC) >0.70. The AUCs for the SIS (0.526), SMRS (0.661) and DECO (0.687) classified these measures as being 'less accurate'. At recommended cutoff scores, the SMCC had a sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 45.7%; the MMSE had a sensitivity of 63.6% and a specificity of 76.0%, and the CDT had a sensitivity of 44.4% and a specificity of 88.9%. Combining the SMCC and MMSE did not improve their predictive power except for a modest increase when using the sequential rule. The SMCC is composed of valid screening questions that have high sensitivity, are simple to administer and ideal for administration at the community or primary health care level as a first level of 'rule-out' screening. The MMSE can be included at a second stage of screening at the general hospital level and the CDT in specialist clinical settings. Sequential use of the

A Combined Experimental and Computational Approach to Subject-Specific Analysis of Knee Joint Laxity

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Michael D.; Cyr, Adam J.; Ali, Azhar A.; Fitzpatrick, Clare K.; Rullkoetter, Paul J.; Maletsky, Lorin P.; Shelburne, Kevin B.

2016-01-01

Modeling complex knee biomechanics is a continual challenge, which has resulted in many models of varying levels of quality, complexity, and validation. Beyond modeling healthy knees, accurately mimicking pathologic knee mechanics, such as after cruciate rupture or meniscectomy, is difficult. Experimental tests of knee laxity can provide important information about ligament engagement and overall contributions to knee stability for development of subject-specific models to accurately simulate knee motion and loading. Our objective was to provide combined experimental tests and finite-element (FE) models of natural knee laxity that are subject-specific, have one-to-one experiment to model calibration, simulate ligament engagement in agreement with literature, and are adaptable for a variety of biomechanical investigations (e.g., cartilage contact, ligament strain, in vivo kinematics). Calibration involved perturbing ligament stiffness, initial ligament strain, and attachment location until model-predicted kinematics and ligament engagement matched experimental reports. Errors between model-predicted and experimental kinematics averaged ligaments agreed with literature descriptions. These results demonstrate the ability of our constraint models to be customized for multiple individuals and simultaneously call attention to the need to verify that ligament engagement is in good general agreement with literature. To facilitate further investigations of subject-specific or population based knee joint biomechanics, data collected during the experimental and modeling phases of this study are available for download by the research community. PMID:27306137

CRIMINAL-POLITICAL FUTUROLOGY IN THE FIELD OF FIGHTING CRIME (CONCEPTUAL AND SUBJECT AREA

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Valery Novichkov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article considers the subject area of the new direction of pre-vision — criminal-political futurology (forecasting in the field of combating crime, absorbing in itself the main types of legal prediction: criminological, criminal, criminal Executive, criminal procedural, operational search and other.

Development of a certified reference material for specific surface area of quartz sand

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Egor P Sobina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents results of conducting research on the development of a certified reference material (CRM for specific surface area of quartz sand, which is practically non-porous and therefore has low specific surface area value ~ 0.8 m2/g. The standard uncertainty due to RM inhomogeneity, the standard uncertainty due to RM instability, as well as the standard uncertainty due to characterization were estimated using the State Primary Standard GET 210‑2014 for Units of Specific Absorption of Gases, Specific Surface Area, Specific Volume, and Pore Size of Solid Substances and Materials. The metrological characteristics of the CRM were determined using a low-temperature gas adsorption method. Krypton was used as an adsorbate to increase measurement accuracy.

A screening on Specific Learning Disorders in an Italian speaking high genetic homogeneity area.

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Cappa, Claudia; Giulivi, Sara; Schilirò, Antonino; Bastiani, Luca; Muzio, Carlo; Meloni, Fabrizio

2015-01-01

The aim of the present research is to investigate the prevalence of Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) in Ogliastra, an area of the island of Sardinia, Italy. Having experienced centuries of isolation, Ogliastra has become a high genetic homogeneity area, and is considered particularly interesting for studies on different kinds of pathologies. Here we are going to describe the results of a screening carried out throughout 2 consecutive years in 49 second grade classes (24 considered in the first year and 25 in the second year of the study) of the Ogliastra region. A total of 610 pupils (average age 7.54 years; 293 female, 317 male) corresponding to 68.69% of all pupils who were attending second grade in the area, took part in the study. The tool used for the screening was "RSR-DSA. Questionnaire for the detection of learning difficulties and disorders", which allowed the identification of 83 subjects at risk (13.61% of the whole sample involved in the study). These subjects took part in an enhancement training program of about 6 months. After the program, pupils underwent assessment for reading, writing and calculation abilities, as well as cognitive assessment. According to the results of the assessment, the prevalence of SLDs is 6.06%. For what concerns dyslexia, 4.75% of the total sample manifested this disorder either in isolation or in comorbidity with other disorders. According to the first national epidemiological investigation carried out in Italy, the prevalence of dyslexia is 3.1-3.2%, which is lower than the prevalence obtained in the present study. Given the genetic basis of SLDs, this result, together with the presence of several cases of SLD in isolation (17.14%) and with a 3:1 ratio of males to females diagnosed with a SLD, was to be expected in a sample coming from a high genetic homogeneity area. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are subject-specific musculoskeletal models robust to the uncertainties in parameter identification?

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Giordano Valente

Full Text Available Subject-specific musculoskeletal modeling can be applied to study musculoskeletal disorders, allowing inclusion of personalized anatomy and properties. Independent of the tools used for model creation, there are unavoidable uncertainties associated with parameter identification, whose effect on model predictions is still not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to analyze the sensitivity of subject-specific model predictions (i.e., joint angles, joint moments, muscle and joint contact forces during walking to the uncertainties in the identification of body landmark positions, maximum muscle tension and musculotendon geometry. To this aim, we created an MRI-based musculoskeletal model of the lower limbs, defined as a 7-segment, 10-degree-of-freedom articulated linkage, actuated by 84 musculotendon units. We then performed a Monte-Carlo probabilistic analysis perturbing model parameters according to their uncertainty, and solving a typical inverse dynamics and static optimization problem using 500 models that included the different sets of perturbed variable values. Model creation and gait simulations were performed by using freely available software that we developed to standardize the process of model creation, integrate with OpenSim and create probabilistic simulations of movement. The uncertainties in input variables had a moderate effect on model predictions, as muscle and joint contact forces showed maximum standard deviation of 0.3 times body-weight and maximum range of 2.1 times body-weight. In addition, the output variables significantly correlated with few input variables (up to 7 out of 312 across the gait cycle, including the geometry definition of larger muscles and the maximum muscle tension in limited gait portions. Although we found subject-specific models not markedly sensitive to parameter identification, researchers should be aware of the model precision in relation to the intended application. In fact, force

Literacy as Self-Expression: Interpreting the Subject Areas through the Arts. Research into Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Karen D.; Finke, Janet; Douville, Patricia

1999-01-01

Examines self-expression in art, drama, and gesture, offering practical strategies that can be used across subject areas to enhance students' literacy performance. Discusses the way creative projects can motivate student language use and participation in history and science projects. (JPB)

The effect of Kinesio Taping on postural control in subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Soheila; Rojhani-Shirazi, Zahra; Shokri, Esmaeil; García-Muro San José, Francisco

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible alterations in postural control during upright standing in subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain and the effect of Kinesio taping on the postural control. Twenty subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain and twenty healthy subjects participated in this study. The center of pressure excursion was evaluated before the intervention for both groups, and immediately after intervention for the low back pain group. Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney test and repeated measure ANOVA were used for the statistical analysis of the data. There were significant differences in the center of pressure excursion between the low back pain group versus the healthy group. The results of the ANOVA demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the mean COP displacement and velocity before Kinesio Taping, immediately after, and 24 h after in the low back pain group. There are poor postural control mechanisms in subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain. Kinesio taping seems to change postural control immediately and have lasting effects until the day after. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adsorption of water vapour and the specific surface area of arctic zone soils (Spitsbergen)

Science.gov (United States)

Cieśla, Jolanta; Sokołowska, Zofia; Witkowska-Walczak, Barbara; Skic, Kamil

2018-01-01

Water vapour/nitrogen adsorption were investigated and calculated the specific surface areas of arctic-zone soil samples (Turbic Cryosols) originating from different micro-relief forms (mud boils, cell forms and sorted circles) and from different depths. For the characterisation of the isotherms obtained for arctic soils, the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller model was then compared with the two other models (Aranovich-Donohue and Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer) which were developed from Brunauer-Emmet-Teller. Specific surface area was calculated using the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller model at p p0-1 range of 0.05-0.35 for the water vapour desorption and nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The values of total specific surface area were the highest in Cryosols on mud boils, lower on cell forms, and the lowest on sorted circles. Such tendency was observed for the results obtained by both the water vapour and nitrogen adsorption. The differences in the values of specific surface area at two investigated layers were small. High determination coefficients were obtained for relationships between the specific surface areas and contents of clay and silt fraction in Cryosols. No statistically significant correlation between the total carbon amount and the values of specific surface area in Cryosols has been found.

Quality of pharmacy-specific Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) assignment in pharmacy journals indexed in MEDLINE.

Science.gov (United States)

Minguet, Fernando; Salgado, Teresa M; van den Boogerd, Lucienne; Fernandez-Llimos, Fernando

2015-01-01

The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is the National Library of Medicine (NLM) controlled vocabulary for indexing articles. Inaccuracies in the MeSH thesaurus have been reported for several areas including pharmacy. To assess the quality of pharmacy-specific MeSH assignment to articles indexed in pharmacy journals. The 10 journals containing the highest number of articles published in 2012 indexed under the MeSH 'Pharmacists' were identified. All articles published over a 5-year period (2008-2012) in the 10 previously selected journals were retrieved from PubMed. MeSH terms used to index these articles were extracted and pharmacy-specific MeSH terms were identified. The frequency of use of pharmacy-specific MeSH terms was calculated across journals. A total of 6989 articles were retrieved from the 10 pharmacy journals, of which 328 (4.7%) were articles not fully indexed and therefore did not contain any MeSH terms assigned. Among the 6661 articles fully indexed, the mean number of MeSH terms was 10.1 (SD = 4.0), being 1.0 (SD = 1.3) considered as Major MeSH. Both values significantly varied across journals. The mean number of pharmacy-specific MeSH terms per article was 0.9 (SD = 1.2). A total of 3490 (52.4%) of the 6661 articles were indexed in pharmacy journals without a single pharmacy-specific MeSH. Of the total 67193 MeSH terms assigned to articles, on average 10.5% (SD = 13.9) were pharmacy-specific MeSH. A statistically significant different pattern of pharmacy-specific MeSH assignment was identified across journals (Kruskal-Wallis P journals can be improved to further enhance evidence gathering in pharmacy. Over half of the articles published in the top-10 journals publishing pharmacy literature were indexed without a single pharmacy-specific MeSH. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chewing side, bite force symmetry, and occlusal contact area of subjects with different facial vertical patterns

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Simone Guimarães Farias Gomes

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Craniofacial dimensions influence oral functions; however, it is not known whether they are associated with function asymmetry. The objective of this study was to evaluate chewing side preference and lateral asymmetry of occlusal contact area and bite force of individuals with different craniofacial patterns. Seventy-eight dentate subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the VERT index as follows: (1 mesofacial, (2 brachyfacial and (3 dolichofacial. Chewing side preference was evaluated using jaw tracking equipment, occlusal contact area was measured by silicon registration of posterior teeth, and bite force was measured unilaterally on molar regions using 2.25 mm-thick sensors. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA on Ranks, Student's t-test, and Mann-Whitney tests at a 5% significance level. Mesofacial, brachyfacial, and dolichofacial subjects presented more occlusal contact area on the left side. Only dolichofacial subjects showed lateral asymmetry for bite force, presenting higher force on the left side. No statistically significant differences were found for chewing side preference among all groups. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that craniofacial dimensions play a role in asymmetry of bite force. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01286363.

WHAT ARE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS PH.D. STUDENTS LEARNING ABOUT AGRIBUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS AND SUBJECT AREAS?

OpenAIRE

House, Lisa; Sterns, James A.

2002-01-01

This document contains the PowerPoint presentation given by the authors at the 2002 WCC-72 meetings, regarding what agricultural economics Ph.D students are learning about agribusiness research methods and subject areas.

Chemical evolution and the origin of life: cumulative keyword subject index 1970-1986

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, A. C.; Powers, J. V.; Rummel, J. D. (Principal Investigator)

1990-01-01

This cumulative subject index encompasses the subject indexes of the bibliographies on Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life that were first published in 1970 and have continued through publication of the 1986 bibliography supplement. Early bibliographies focused on experimental and theoretical material dealing directly with the concepts of chemical evolution and the origin of life, excluding the broader areas of exobiology, biological evolution, and geochemistry. In recent years, these broader subject areas have also been incorporated as they appear in literature searches relating to chemical evolution and the origin of life, although direct attempts have not been made to compile all of the citations in these broad areas. The keyword subject indexes have also undergone an analogous change in scope. Compilers of earlier bibliographies used the most specific term available in producing the subject index. Compilers of recent bibliographies have used a number of broad terms relating to the overall subject content of each citation and specific terms where appropriate. The subject indexes of these 17 bibliographies have, in general, been cumulatively compiled exactly as they originally appeared. However, some changes have been made in an attempt to correct errors, combine terms, and provide more meaningful terms.

Task-specific reorganization of the auditory cortex in deaf humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Bola, Łukasz; Zimmermann, Maria; Mostowski, Piotr; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur; Rutkowski, Paweł; Szwed, Marcin

2017-01-24

The principles that guide large-scale cortical reorganization remain unclear. In the blind, several visual regions preserve their task specificity; ventral visual areas, for example, become engaged in auditory and tactile object-recognition tasks. It remains open whether task-specific reorganization is unique to the visual cortex or, alternatively, whether this kind of plasticity is a general principle applying to other cortical areas. Auditory areas can become recruited for visual and tactile input in the deaf. Although nonhuman data suggest that this reorganization might be task specific, human evidence has been lacking. Here we enrolled 15 deaf and 15 hearing adults into an functional MRI experiment during which they discriminated between temporally complex sequences of stimuli (rhythms). Both deaf and hearing subjects performed the task visually, in the central visual field. In addition, hearing subjects performed the same task in the auditory modality. We found that the visual task robustly activated the auditory cortex in deaf subjects, peaking in the posterior-lateral part of high-level auditory areas. This activation pattern was strikingly similar to the pattern found in hearing subjects performing the auditory version of the task. Although performing the visual task in deaf subjects induced an increase in functional connectivity between the auditory cortex and the dorsal visual cortex, no such effect was found in hearing subjects. We conclude that in deaf humans the high-level auditory cortex switches its input modality from sound to vision but preserves its task-specific activation pattern independent of input modality. Task-specific reorganization thus might be a general principle that guides cortical plasticity in the brain.

The Measurement of Relevance Amount of Documents That By Using of Google cross-language retrieval About Agriculture Subject Area are Retrieved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Jamshidi Ghahfarokhi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, the relevance amount of documents has been investigated by using google cross-language retrieval tools about a agriculture subject area in cross-language retrieval form, are retrieved. For this purpose, by using Persian journals articles that have had English abstracts, Persian phrases and subject terms with their English equivalent were extracted. In three class us, thirty number of phrases and subject terms of agriculture area were extracted: First class, subject phrases that only in agriculture are used; Secondary, agriculture subject terms that in other fields are used too; Third class, agriculture subject terms that out of this field are considered as public term. Then by these phrases and terms, documents were searched, and relevance amount of search results are investigated. Results of study showed that google cross-language retrieval tools for two classes of phrases and terms, in cross-language retrieval of relevance document about agriculture subject area, aren`t succeed: one class, agriculture subject terms that in other fields are used too. other class, agriculture subject terms that out of agriculture field are considered as public term. Google cross-language retrieval tools about subject phrase and terms that only in agriculture field are used, are performance rather desirable than other two class of phrase and terms

Multiple-Input Subject-Specific Modeling of Plasma Glucose Concentration for Feedforward Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotz, Kaylee; Cinar, Ali; Mei, Yong; Roggendorf, Amy; Littlejohn, Elizabeth; Quinn, Laurie; Rollins, Derrick K

2014-11-26

The ability to accurately develop subject-specific, input causation models, for blood glucose concentration (BGC) for large input sets can have a significant impact on tightening control for insulin dependent diabetes. More specifically, for Type 1 diabetics (T1Ds), it can lead to an effective artificial pancreas (i.e., an automatic control system that delivers exogenous insulin) under extreme changes in critical disturbances. These disturbances include food consumption, activity variations, and physiological stress changes. Thus, this paper presents a free-living, outpatient, multiple-input, modeling method for BGC with strong causation attributes that is stable and guards against overfitting to provide an effective modeling approach for feedforward control (FFC). This approach is a Wiener block-oriented methodology, which has unique attributes for meeting critical requirements for effective, long-term, FFC.

Cortex Parcellation Associated Whole White Matter Parcellation in Individual Subjects

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Patrick Schiffler

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The investigation of specific white matter areas is a growing field in neurological research and is typically achieved through the use of atlases. However, the definition of anatomically based regions remains challenging for the white matter and thus hinders region-specific analysis in individual subjects. In this article, we focus on creating a whole white matter parcellation method for individual subjects where these areas can be associated to cortex regions. This is done by combining cortex parcellation and fiber tracking data. By tracking fibers out of each cortex region and labeling the fibers according to their origin, we populate a candidate image. We then derive the white matter parcellation by classifying each white matter voxel according to the distribution of labels in the corresponding voxel from the candidate image. The parcellation of the white matter with the presented method is highly reliable and is not as dependent on registration as with white matter atlases. This method allows for the parcellation of the whole white matter into individual cortex region associated areas and, therefore, associates white matter alterations to cortex regions. In addition, we compare the results from the presented method to existing atlases. The areas generated by the presented method are not as sharply defined as the areas in most existing atlases; however, they are computed directly in the DWI space of the subject and, therefore, do not suffer from distortion caused by registration. The presented approach might be a promising tool for clinical and basic research to investigate modalities or system specific micro structural alterations of white matter areas in a quantitative manner.

Sensitivity of subject-specific models to Hill muscle-tendon model parameters in simulations of gait

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carbone, V.; Krogt, M.M. van der; Koopman, H.F.J.M.; Verdonschot, N.J.

2016-01-01

Subject-specific musculoskeletal (MS) models of the lower extremity are essential for applications such as predicting the effects of orthopedic surgery. We performed an extensive sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of potential errors in Hill muscle-tendon (MT) model parameters for each of

Sensitivity of subject-specific models to Hill muscle-tendon model parameters in simulations of gait

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carbone, Vincenzo; van der Krogt, Marjolein; Koopman, Hubertus F.J.M.; Verdonschot, Nicolaas Jacobus Joseph

2016-01-01

Subject-specific musculoskeletal (MS) models of the lower extremity are essential for applications such as predicting the effects of orthopedic surgery. We performed an extensive sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of potential errors in Hill muscle–tendon (MT) model parameters for each of

Evaluation of thyroid function in female subjects living in the high natural background radiation area of Karunagappally, Kerala

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreekumar, A.; Nair, Raghu Ram K.; Jayalakshmi, P.; Sebastian, P.; Akiba, S.

2010-01-01

Radiation exposure has been reported to cause non cancer thyroid abnormalities like diffuse goiter and thyroid nodules. The present study was undertaken to see if there are any morphological and functional changes taking place in the thyroid due to chronic low level radiation exposure. 257 female subjects living in the four high background radiation panchayats of Chavara, Neendakara, Alappad and Panmana were selected for the study after getting informed consent. 5 ml of blood was drawn from these subjects for assessing thyroid function. The subjects were all staying in the same area since their birth and had not moved out for more than one year at a stretch. The average age of the subjects was 40.5y with a range of 17-66y. The cumulative dose had a mean of 226.3 mGy and a range of 20.6-937.8 mGy. 95 subjects from the low background area of Oachira and Thevalakkara were selected as controls in the age group of 18-63y with a mean age of 47.1y. The mean cumulative dose of this group was 35.9 mGy with a minimum of 5.3 mGy and a maximum of 106.8 mGy. 5 ml blood was collected from these subjects for thyroid function studies. All the subjects underwent ultrasound examination of the thyroid using a 10 MHz frequency linear probe. The following parameters were studied to assess thyroid function: Free T4, TSH, Antithyroglobulin antibody (ATG), Parathyroid hormone. Ultrasound images showed the following common features: Normal - 171, Suggestive of Thyroiditis - 106, Multinodular Goitre - 63, Diffuse Goitre - 5, Solitary Nodule - 31. 73 subjects had elevated TSH and 190 subjects had raised ATG. A significant numbers of subjects had features of thyroiditis. A comparative evaluation with control subjects will be done to assess its significance with reference to cumulative dose

Production and Processing of Subject-Verb Agreement in Monolingual Dutch Children with Specific Language Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Blom, Elma; Vasic, Nada; de Jong, Jan

2014-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors investigated whether errors with subject-verb agreement in monolingual Dutch children with specific language impairment (SLI) are influenced by verb phonology. In addition, the productive and receptive abilities of Dutch acquiring children with SLI regarding agreement inflection were compared. Method: An SLI…

Area-Specific Cell Stimulation via Surface-Mediated Gene Transfer Using Apatite-Based Composite Layers

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Yushin Yazaki

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Surface-mediated gene transfer systems using biocompatible calcium phosphate (CaP-based composite layers have attracted attention as a tool for controlling cell behaviors. In the present study we aimed to demonstrate the potential of CaP-based composite layers to mediate area-specific dual gene transfer and to stimulate cells on an area-by-area basis in the same well. For this purpose we prepared two pairs of DNA–fibronectin–apatite composite (DF-Ap layers using a pair of reporter genes and pair of differentiation factor genes. The results of the area-specific dual gene transfer successfully demonstrated that the cells cultured on a pair of DF-Ap layers that were adjacently placed in the same well showed specific gene expression patterns depending on the gene that was immobilized in theunderlying layer. Moreover, preliminary real-time PCR results indicated that multipotential C3H10T1/2 cells may have a potential to change into different types of cells depending on the differentiation factor gene that was immobilized in the underlying layer, even in the same well. Because DF-Ap layers have a potential to mediate area-specific cell stimulation on their surfaces, they could be useful in tissue engineering applications.

The specifics of uranium exploration in remote areas of western Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsurikov, N.

2009-01-01

The uranium exploration activity in Western Australia has increased significantly in the last two years. Total currently identified uranium resources are in order of 100,000 tons of U 3 O 8 and it is likely that more uranium deposits will be found in the State. The exploration activity is typically carried out in very remote locations in Western Australia and, frequently, on the land that is subject to the Australian Native Title Act (1993) - in the areas where the potential radiation exposure of the Traditional Land Owners has to be considered. Aboriginal groups are an integral part of dynamic ecosystems, for whom to separate man from nature is a convention with little meaning when dealing with environmental impact, and this needs to be taken into account by uranium exploration companies. Indigenous peoples potential exposure to radiation as a result of uranium exploration cannot be modelled based on common assumptions. Indigenous people may be at a higher risk of radiation exposure at and around uranium exploration sites that may not have been adequately rehabilitated due to, for example: travelling on dusty roads in open vehicles, sitting on the ground, living and sleeping in temporary structures with earth floors, lack of adequate washing facilities, eating local biota and cooking in the ground, recreational activities (particularly by children). The radiation protection regulations in Western Australia are complex and somewhat confusing as there are three State government departments administering different regulations that may be applicable to uranium exploration. The paper discusses the specifics of required radiation monitoring and potential radiation exposure assessments in remote areas of Western Australia. The methods for the co-operation between exploration companies, government departments, and Traditional Owners to ensure safe and successful uranium exploration are also discussed.(Author)

Sensitivity analysis of a validated subject-specific finite element model of the human craniofacial skeleton.

Science.gov (United States)

Szwedowski, T D; Fialkov, J; Whyne, C M

2011-01-01

Developing a more complete understanding of the mechanical response of the craniofacial skeleton (CFS) to physiological loads is fundamental to improving treatment for traumatic injuries, reconstruction due to neoplasia, and deformities. Characterization of the biomechanics of the CFS is challenging due to its highly complex structure and heterogeneity, motivating the utilization of experimentally validated computational models. As such, the objective of this study was to develop, experimentally validate, and parametrically analyse a patient-specific finite element (FE) model of the CFS to elucidate a better understanding of the factors that are of intrinsic importance to the skeletal structural behaviour of the human CFS. An FE model of a cadaveric craniofacial skeleton was created from subject-specific computed tomography data. The model was validated based on bone strain measurements taken under simulated physiological-like loading through the masseter and temporalis muscles (which are responsible for the majority of craniofacial physiologic loading due to mastication). The baseline subject-specific model using locally defined cortical bone thicknesses produced the strongest correlation to the experimental data (r2 = 0.73). Large effects on strain patterns arising from small parametric changes in cortical thickness suggest that the very thin bony structures present in the CFS are crucial to characterizing the local load distribution in the CFS accurately.

Leaf area index from litter collection: impact of specific leaf area variability within a beech stand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouriaud, O. [Inst. National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches Forestieres de Nancy, Champenoux (France); Soudani, K. [Univ. Paris-Sud XI, Dept. d' Ecophysiologie Vegetale, Lab. Ecologie Systematique et Evolution, Orsay Cedex (France); Breda, N. [Inst. National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches Forestieres de Nancy, Champenoux (France)

2003-06-01

Litter fall collection is a direct method widely used to estimate leaf area index (LAI) in broad-leaved forest stands. Indirect measurements using radiation transmittance and gap fraction theory are often compared and calibrated against litter fall, which is considered as a reference method, but few studies address the question of litter specific leaf area (SLA) measurement and variability. SLA (leaf area per unit of dry weight, m{sup 2}{center_dot}g{sup -1}) is used to convert dry leaf litter biomass (g .m{sup -}2) into leaf area per ground unit area (m{sup 2}{center_dot}m{sup -2}). We paid special attention to this parameter in two young beech stands (dense and thinned) in northeastern France. The variability of both canopy (closure, LAI) and site conditions (soil properties, vegetation) was investigated as potential contributing factors to beech SLA variability. A systematic description of soil and floristic composition was performed and three types of soil were identified. Ellenberg's indicator values were averaged for each plot to assess nitrogen soil content. SLA of beech litter was measured three times during the fall in 23 plots in the stands (40 ha). Litter was collected bimonthly in square-shaped traps (0.5 m{sup 2}) and dried. Before drying, 30 leaves per plot and for each date were sampled, and leaf length, width, and area were measured with the help of a LI-COR areameter. SLA was calculated as the ratio of cumulated leaf area to total dry weight of the 30 leaves. Leaves characteristics per plot were averaged for the three dates of litter collection. Plant area index (PAI), estimated using the LAI-2000 plant canopy analyser and considering only the upper three rings, ranged from 2.9 to 8.1. Specific leaf area of beech litter was also highly different from one plot to the other, ranging from 150 to 320 cm{sup 2}{center_dot}g{sup -1}. Nevertheless, no relationship was found between SLA and stand canopy closure or PAI On the contrary, a significant

Leaf area index from litter collection: impact of specific leaf area variability within a beech stand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouriaud, O.; Soudani, K.; Breda, N.

2003-01-01

Litter fall collection is a direct method widely used to estimate leaf area index (LAI) in broad-leaved forest stands. Indirect measurements using radiation transmittance and gap fraction theory are often compared and calibrated against litter fall, which is considered as a reference method, but few studies address the question of litter specific leaf area (SLA) measurement and variability. SLA (leaf area per unit of dry weight, m 2 ·g -1 ) is used to convert dry leaf litter biomass (g .m - 2) into leaf area per ground unit area (m 2 ·m -2 ). We paid special attention to this parameter in two young beech stands (dense and thinned) in northeastern France. The variability of both canopy (closure, LAI) and site conditions (soil properties, vegetation) was investigated as potential contributing factors to beech SLA variability. A systematic description of soil and floristic composition was performed and three types of soil were identified. Ellenberg's indicator values were averaged for each plot to assess nitrogen soil content. SLA of beech litter was measured three times during the fall in 23 plots in the stands (40 ha). Litter was collected bimonthly in square-shaped traps (0.5 m 2 ) and dried. Before drying, 30 leaves per plot and for each date were sampled, and leaf length, width, and area were measured with the help of a LI-COR areameter. SLA was calculated as the ratio of cumulated leaf area to total dry weight of the 30 leaves. Leaves characteristics per plot were averaged for the three dates of litter collection. Plant area index (PAI), estimated using the LAI-2000 plant canopy analyser and considering only the upper three rings, ranged from 2.9 to 8.1. Specific leaf area of beech litter was also highly different from one plot to the other, ranging from 150 to 320 cm 2 ·g -1 . Nevertheless, no relationship was found between SLA and stand canopy closure or PAI On the contrary, a significant relationship between SLA and soil properties was observed. Both SLA

Blood biomonitoring of metals in subjects living near abandoned mining and active industrial areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Madeddu, Roberto; Tolu, Paola; Asara, Yolande; Farace, Cristiano; Forte, Giovanni; Bocca, Beatrice

2013-07-01

A human blood biomonitoring campaign to detect the environmental exposure to metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb and Zn) in 265 subjects was performed in the South-Western part of Sardinia (an Italian island) that is a particular area with a great history of coal and metal mining (Pb/Zn mainly) activities and large industrial structures (as metallurgy). Subjects living near the industrial plant area had geometric means (GM) of blood Cd (0.79 μg/l), Cu (971 μg/l), Mn (12.2 μg/l), and Pb (55.7 μg/l) significantly higher than controls (Cd, 0.47 μg/l; Cu, 900 μg/l; Mn 9.98 μg/l; Pb, 26.5 μg/l) and than people living nearby the past mining sites. Subjects living next to one dismissed mine were statistically higher in blood Cu (GM, 1,022 μg/l) and Pb (GM, 41.4 μg/l) concentrations than controls. No differences were observed in people living in the different mining sites, and this might be related to the decennial disclosure of mines and the adoption of environmental remediation programmes. Some interindividual variables influenced blood biomonitoring data, as smoke and age for Cd, gender for Cu, age, sex and alcohol for Pb, and age for Zn. Moreover, blood metal levels of the whole population were similar to reference values representative of the Sardinian population and acceptably safe according to currently available health guidelines.

Spatial risk for gender-specific adult mortality in an area of southern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ochiai Rion

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although economic reforms have brought significant benefits, including improved health care to many Chinese people, accessibility to improved care has not been distributed evenly throughout Chinese society. Also, the effects of the uneven distribution of improved healthcare are not clearly understood. Evidence suggests that mortality is an indicator for evaluating accessibility to improved health care services. We constructed spatially smoothed risk maps for gender-specific adult mortality in an area of southern China comprising both urban and rural areas and identified ecological factors of gender-specific mortality across societies. Results The study analyzed the data of the Hechi Prefecture in southern in China. An average of 124,204 people lived in the area during the study period (2002–2004. Individual level data for 2002–2004 were grouped using identical rectangular cells (regular lattice of 0.25 km2. Poisson regression was fitted to the group level data to identify gender-specific ecological factors of adult (ages 15– Conclusion We found a disparity in mortality rates between rural and urban areas in the study area in southern China, especially for adult men. There were also differences in mortality rates between poorer and wealthy populations in both rural and urban areas, which may in part reflect differences in health care quality. Spatial influences upon adult male versus adult female mortality difference underscore the need for more research on gender-related influences on adult mortality in China.

Knee medial and lateral contact forces in a musculoskeletal model with subject-specific contact point trajectories.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeighami, A; Aissaoui, R; Dumas, R

2018-03-01

Contact point (CP) trajectory is a crucial parameter in estimating medial/lateral tibio-femoral contact forces from the musculoskeletal (MSK) models. The objective of the present study was to develop a method to incorporate the subject-specific CP trajectories into the MSK model. Ten healthy subjects performed 45 s treadmill gait trials. The subject-specific CP trajectories were constructed on the tibia and femur as a function of extension-flexion using low-dose bi-plane X-ray images during a quasi-static squat. At each extension-flexion position, the tibia and femur CPs were superimposed in the three directions on the medial side, and in the anterior-posterior and proximal-distal directions on the lateral side to form the five kinematic constraints of the knee joint. The Lagrange multipliers associated to these constraints directly yielded the medial/lateral contact forces. The results from the personalized CP trajectory model were compared against the linear CP trajectory and sphere-on-plane CP trajectory models which were adapted from the commonly used MSK models. Changing the CP trajectory had a remarkable impact on the knee kinematics and changed the medial and lateral contact forces by 1.03 BW and 0.65 BW respectively, in certain subjects. The direction and magnitude of the medial/lateral contact force were highly variable among the subjects and the medial-lateral shift of the CPs alone could not determine the increase/decrease pattern of the contact forces. The suggested kinematic constraints are adaptable to the CP trajectories derived from a variety of joint models and those experimentally measured from the 3D imaging techniques. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling subject-specific childhood growth using linear mixed-effect models with cubic regression splines.

Science.gov (United States)

Grajeda, Laura M; Ivanescu, Andrada; Saito, Mayuko; Crainiceanu, Ciprian; Jaganath, Devan; Gilman, Robert H; Crabtree, Jean E; Kelleher, Dermott; Cabrera, Lilia; Cama, Vitaliano; Checkley, William

2016-01-01

Childhood growth is a cornerstone of pediatric research. Statistical models need to consider individual trajectories to adequately describe growth outcomes. Specifically, well-defined longitudinal models are essential to characterize both population and subject-specific growth. Linear mixed-effect models with cubic regression splines can account for the nonlinearity of growth curves and provide reasonable estimators of population and subject-specific growth, velocity and acceleration. We provide a stepwise approach that builds from simple to complex models, and account for the intrinsic complexity of the data. We start with standard cubic splines regression models and build up to a model that includes subject-specific random intercepts and slopes and residual autocorrelation. We then compared cubic regression splines vis-à-vis linear piecewise splines, and with varying number of knots and positions. Statistical code is provided to ensure reproducibility and improve dissemination of methods. Models are applied to longitudinal height measurements in a cohort of 215 Peruvian children followed from birth until their fourth year of life. Unexplained variability, as measured by the variance of the regression model, was reduced from 7.34 when using ordinary least squares to 0.81 (p linear mixed-effect models with random slopes and a first order continuous autoregressive error term. There was substantial heterogeneity in both the intercept (p modeled with a first order continuous autoregressive error term as evidenced by the variogram of the residuals and by a lack of association among residuals. The final model provides a parametric linear regression equation for both estimation and prediction of population- and individual-level growth in height. We show that cubic regression splines are superior to linear regression splines for the case of a small number of knots in both estimation and prediction with the full linear mixed effect model (AIC 19,352 vs. 19

Numerical Treatment of Two-phase Flow in Porous Media Including Specific Interfacial Area

KAUST Repository

El-Amin, Mohamed

2015-06-01

In this work, we present a numerical treatment for the model of two-phase flow in porous media including specific interfacial area. For numerical discretization we use the cell-centered finite difference (CCFD) method based on the shifting-matrices method which can reduce the time-consuming operations. A new iterative implicit algorithm has been developed to solve the problem under consideration. All advection and advection-like terms that appear in saturation equation and interfacial area equation are treated using upwind schemes. Selected simulation results such as pc–Sw–awn surface, capillary pressure, saturation and specific interfacial area with various values of model parameters have been introduced. The simulation results show a good agreement with those in the literature using either pore network modeling or Darcy scale modeling.

Validating subject-specific RF and thermal simulations in the calf muscle using MR-based temperature measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Simonis, Ffj; Raaijmakers, Aje; Lagendijk, Jjw; van den Berg, Cat

2017-01-01

Purpose: Ongoing discussions occur to translate the safety restrictions on MR scanners from specific absorption rate (SAR) to thermal dose. Therefore, this research focuses on the accuracy of thermal simulations in human subjects during an MR exam, which is fundamental information in that debate.

200 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility operational test specification. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crane, A.F.

1995-01-01

This document identifies the test specification and test requirements for the 200 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility (200 Area TEDF) operational testing activities. These operational testing activities, when completed, demonstrate the functional, operational and design requirements of the 200 Area TEDF have been met. The technical requirements for operational testing of the 200 Area TEDF are defined by the test requirements presented in Appendix A. These test requirements demonstrate the following: pump station No.1 and associated support equipment operate both automatically and manually; pump station No. 2 and associated support equipment operate both automatically and manually; water is transported through the collection and transfer lines to the disposal ponds with no detectable leakage; the disposal ponds accept flow from the transfer lines with all support equipment operating as designed; and the control systems operate and status the 200 Area TEDF including monitoring of appropriate generator discharge parameters

Branch age and light conditions determine leaf-area-specific conductivity in current shoots of Scots pine.

Science.gov (United States)

Grönlund, Leila; Hölttä, Teemu; Mäkelä, Annikki

2016-08-01

Shoot size and other shoot properties more or less follow the availability of light, but there is also evidence that the topological position in a tree crown has an influence on shoot development. Whether the hydraulic properties of new shoots are more regulated by the light or the position affects the shoot acclimation to changing light conditions and thereby to changing evaporative demand. We investigated the leaf-area-specific conductivity (and its components sapwood-specific conductivity and Huber value) of the current-year shoots of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in relation to light environment and topological position in three different tree classes. The light environment was quantified in terms of simulated transpiration and the topological position was quantified by parent branch age. Sample shoot measurements included length, basal and tip diameter, hydraulic conductivity of the shoot, tracheid area and density, and specific leaf area. In our results, the leaf-area-specific conductivity of new shoots declined with parent branch age and increased with simulated transpiration rate of the shoot. The relation to transpiration demand seemed more decisive, since it gave higher R(2) values than branch age and explained the differences between the tree classes. The trend of leaf-area-specific conductivity with simulated transpiration was closely related to Huber value, whereas the trend of leaf-area-specific conductivity with parent branch age was related to a similar trend in sapwood-specific conductivity. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

On area-specific underground research laboratory for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ju Wang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Underground research laboratories (URLs, including “generic URLs” and “site-specific URLs”, are underground facilities in which characterisation, testing, technology development, and/or demonstration activities are carried out in support of the development of geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste (HLW disposal. In addition to the generic URL and site-specific URL, a concept of “area-specific URL”, or the third type of URL, is proposed in this paper. It is referred to as the facility that is built at a site within an area that is considered as a potential area for HLW repository or built at a place near the future repository site, and may be regarded as a precursor to the development of a repository at the site. It acts as a “generic URL”, but also acts as a “site-specific URL” to some extent. Considering the current situation in China, the most suitable option is to build an “area-specific URL” in Beishan area, the first priority region for China's high-level waste repository. With this strategy, the goal to build China's URL by 2020 may be achieved, but the time left is limited.

[Subjective illness beliefs of Turkish migrants with mental disorders--specific characteristics compared to german patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Franz, Michael; Lujić, Claudia; Koch, Eckhardt; Wüsten, Bernd; Yürük, Nergüz; Gallhofer, Bernd

2007-10-01

Knowledge about culture- and migration-specific characteristics of subjective illness beliefs in Turkish patients is necessary for adequate treatment. Analysis of subjective illness beliefs in Turkish patients (F3; F4; n = 79) in comparison to matched Germans (n = 79) using a modified version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire IPQ-R. Differences were explored by t-tests and chi(2)-tests. Turkish patients believed significantly stronger in a chronical timeline of illness and in negative illness consequences, while German patients believed significantly stronger in treatment control and personal control. Turkish patients more often mentioned external causes of their disease compared to Germans. The results provide explanations of the deficient health care situation for Turkish migrants in Germany.

Differences in Activation Area Within Brodmann Area 2 Caused by Pressure Stimuli on Fingers and Joints: In Case of Male Subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Mi-Hyun; Kim, Hyung-Sik; Baek, Ji-Hye; Lee, Jung-Chul; Park, Sung-Jun; Jeong, Ul-Ho; Gim, Seon-Young; Kim, Sung-Phil; Lim, Dae-Woon; Chung, Soon-Cheol

2015-09-01

In this study, a constant pressure stimulus was applied on the 3 joints (first [p1], second [p2], and third [p3] joints) of 4 fingers (index, middle, ring, and little fingers), and the activation areas within Brodmann area 2 (BA 2) were compared for these different fingers and joints by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Eight healthy male college students (25.4 ± 1.32 years) participated in the study. Each session was composed of 3 blocks, and each block was composed of a Control phase (30 seconds) and a Pressure phase (30 seconds). No pressure stimulus was applied in the Control phase, during which the subjects would simply lay comfortably with their eyes closed. In the Pressure phase, a pressure stimulus was applied onto one of the joints of the selected finger. For each finger and joint, BA 2 areas activated by the pressure stimulus were extracted by the region of interest method. There was a significant difference in the activation areas for the different fingers (P = .042) as well as for the different joints (P = .050). The activation area decreased in the order of the little, index, and middle fingers, as well as in the order of p1, p3, and p2.

Area-specific migration and recruitment of new neurons in the adult songbird brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vellema, Michiel; Van der Linden, Annemie; Gahr, Manfred

2010-01-01

sensitive to plastic changes, such as nucleus higher vocal center (HVC) and area X, recruited similar numbers of new neurons as their surrounding brain tissues, employing no specific directional mechanisms. The distribution pattern in and around HVC could best be described by a random displacement model......Neuron recruitment has been implicated in morphological and functional plasticity in the adult brain. Whereas mammals restrict neuron recruitment specifically to two regions of known plasticity, the hippocampus and olfactory bulb, newborn neurons are found throughout the forebrain of adult...... songbirds. In order to study the area-specificity of the widespread proliferation and recruitment in the songbird brain, six adult male canaries received repetitive intraperitoneal injections of the mitotic marker BrdU (5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine) and were sacrificed after 24 hours to study proliferation...

Specific surface area of overlapping spheres in the presence of obstructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, D R

2013-02-21

This study considers the random placement of uniform sized spheres, which may overlap, in the presence of another set of randomly placed (hard) spheres, which do not overlap. The overlapping spheres do not intersect the hard spheres. It is shown that the specific surface area of the collection of overlapping spheres is affected by the hard spheres, such that there is a minimum in the specific surface area as a function of the relative size of the two sets of spheres. The occurrence of the minimum is explained in terms of the break-up of pore connectivity. The configuration can be considered to be a simple model of the structure of a porous composite material. In particular, the overlapping particles represent voids while the hard particles represent fillers. Example materials are pervious concrete, metallurgical coke, ice cream, and polymer composites. We also show how the material properties of such composites are affected by the void structure.

Planar spatial correlations, anisotropy, and specific surface area of stationary random porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berryman, J.G.

1998-01-01

An earlier result of the author showed that an anisotropic spatial correlation function of a random porous medium could be used to compute the specific surface area when it is stationary as well as anisotropic by first performing a three-dimensional radial average and then taking the first derivative with respect to lag at the origin. This result generalized the earlier result for isotropic porous media of Debye et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 28, 679 (1957)]. The present article provides more detailed information about the use of spatial correlation functions for anisotropic porous media and in particular shows that, for stationary anisotropic media, the specific surface area can be related to the derivative of the two-dimensional radial average of the correlation function measured from cross sections taken through the anisotropic medium. The main concept is first illustrated using a simple pedagogical example for an anisotropic distribution of spherical voids. Then, a general derivation of formulas relating the derivative of the planar correlation functions to surface integrals is presented. When the surface normal is uniformly distributed (as is the case for any distribution of spherical voids), our formulas can be used to relate a specific surface area to easily measurable quantities from any single cross section. When the surface normal is not distributed uniformly (as would be the case for an oriented distribution of ellipsoidal voids), our results show how to obtain valid estimates of specific surface area by averaging measurements on three orthogonal cross sections. One important general observation for porous media is that the surface area from nearly flat cracks may be underestimated from measurements on orthogonal cross sections if any of the cross sections happen to lie in the plane of the cracks. This result is illustrated by taking the very small aspect ratio (penny-shaped crack) limit of an oblate spheroid, but holds for other types of flat surfaces as well

Region-specificity of GABAA receptor mediated effects on orientation and direction selectivity in cat visual cortical area 18.

Science.gov (United States)

Jirmann, Kay-Uwe; Pernberg, Joachim; Eysel, Ulf T

2009-01-01

The role of GABAergic inhibition in orientation and direction selectivity has been investigated with the GABA(A)-Blocker bicuculline in the cat visual cortex, and results indicated a region specific difference of functional contributions of GABAergic inhibition in areas 17 and 18. In area 17 inhibition appeared mainly involved in sculpturing orientation and direction tuning, while in area 18 inhibition seemed more closely associated with temporal receptive field properties. However, different types of stimuli were used to test areas 17 and 18 and further studies performed in area 17 suggested an important influence of the stimulus type (single light bars vs. moving gratings) on the evoked responses (transient vs. sustained) and inhibitory mechanisms (GABA(A) vs. GABA(B)) which in turn might be more decisive for the specific results than the cortical region. To insert the missing link in this chain of arguments it was necessary to study GABAergic inhibition in area 18 with moving light bars, which has not been done so far. Therefore, in the present study we investigated area 18 cells responding to oriented moving light bars with extracellular recordings and reversible microiontophoretic blockade of GABAergig inhibition with bicuculline methiodide. The majority of neurons was characterized by a pronounced orientation specificity and variable degrees of direction selectivity. GABA(A)ergic inhibition significantly influenced preferred orientation and preferred direction in area 18. During the action of bicuculline orientation tuning width increased and orientation and direction selectivity indices decreased. Our results obtained in area 18 with moving bar stimuli, although in the proportion of affected cells similar to those described in area 17, quantitatively matched the findings for direction and orientation specificity obtained with moving gratings in area 18. Accordingly, stimulus type is not decisive in area 18 and the GABA(A) dependent, inhibitory intracortical

Dependence of the specific surface area of the nuclear fuel with the matrix oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, F.; Quinones, J.; Iglesias, E.; Rodriguez, N.

2008-01-01

This paper is focused on the study of the changes in the specific surface area measured using BET techniques. The objective is to obtain a relation between this parameter and the change in the matrix stoichiometry (i.e., oxidation increase). None of the actual models used for extrapolating the behaviour of the spent fuel matrix under repository conditions have included this dependence yet. In this work the specific surface area of different uranium oxide were measured using N 2 (g) and Kr(g). The starting material was UO 2+x (s) with a size powder distribution lower than 20 μm. The results included in this paper shown a strong dependence on specific surface area with the matrix stoichiometry, i.e., and increase of more than one order of magnitude (SUO 2 = 6 m 2 *g -1 and SU 3 O 8 = 16.07 m 2 *g -1 ). Furthermore, the particle size distribution measured as a function of the thermal treatment done shows changes on the powder size related to the changes observed in the uranium oxide stoichiometry. (authors)

SYSTEM-COGNITIVE MODEL OF FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIVERSIFIED AGRO-INDUSTRIAL CORPORATIONS. PART I. COGNITIVE STRUCTURING AND FORMALIZATION OF THE SUBJECT AREA

OpenAIRE

Lutsenko Y. V.; Loyko V. I.; Baranovskaya T. P.; Makarevich O. A.

2015-01-01

In this article, in accordance with the methodology of the Automated system-cognitive analysis (ASCanalysis), we examine the implementation of the 1st and 2nd stages of ASC-analysis: cognitive structuring and formalization of the subject area. At the stage of cognitive structurization of subject area, researchers decide what to consider as the object of modeling, the factors affecting it and the results of their actions. In accordance with the results of the cognitive structurization, we prep...

Prostate-specific antigen testing accuracy in community practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adams-Cameron Meg

2002-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most data on prostate-specific antigen (PSA testing come from urologic cohorts comprised of volunteers for screening programs. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of PSA testing for detecting prostate cancer in community practice. Methods PSA testing results were compared with a reference standard of prostate biopsy. Subjects were 2,620 men 40 years and older undergoing (PSA testing and biopsy from 1/1/95 through 12/31/98 in the Albuquerque, New Mexico metropolitan area. Diagnostic measures included the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios. Results Cancer was detected in 930 subjects (35%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.67 and the PSA cutpoint of 4 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 33%. The likelihood ratio for a positive test (LR+ was 1.28 and 0.42 for a negative test (LR-. PSA testing was most sensitive (90% but least specific (27% in older men. Age-specific reference ranges improved specificity in older men (49% but decreased sensitivity (70%, with an LR+ of 1.38. Lowering the PSA cutpoint to 2 ng/ml resulted in a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 20%, and an LR+ of 1.19. Conclusions PSA testing had fair discriminating power for detecting prostate cancer in community practice. The PSA cutpoint of 4 ng/ml was sensitive but relatively non-specific and associated likelihood ratios only moderately revised probabilities for cancer. Using age-specific reference ranges and a PSA cutpoint below 4 ng/ml improved test specificity and sensitivity, respectively, but did not improve the overall accuracy of PSA testing.

Measuring the specific surface area of natural and manmade glasses: effects of formation process, morphology, and particle size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papelis, Charalambos; Um, Wooyong; Russel, Charles E.; Chapman, Jenny B.

2003-01-01

The specific surface area of natural and manmade solid materials is a key parameter controlling important interfacial processes in natural environments and engineered systems, including dissolution reactions and sorption processes at solid-fluid interfaces. To improve our ability to quantify the release of trace elements trapped in natural glasses, the release of hazardous compounds trapped in manmade glasses, or the release of radionuclides from nuclear melt glass, we measured the specific surface area of natural and manmade glasses as a function of particle size, morphology, and composition. Volcanic ash, volcanic tuff, tektites, obsidian glass, and in situ vitrified rock were analyzed. Specific surface area estimates were obtained using krypton as gas adsorbent and the BET model. The range of surface areas measured exceeded three orders of magnitude. A tektite sample had the highest surface area (1.65 m2/g), while one of the samples of in situ vitrified rock had the lowest surf ace area (0.0016 m2/g). The specific surface area of the samples was a function of particle size, decreasing with increasing particle size. Different types of materials, however, showed variable dependence on particle size, and could be assigned to one of three distinct groups: (1) samples with low surface area dependence on particle size and surface areas approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the surface area of smooth spheres of equivalent size. The specific surface area of these materials was attributed mostly to internal porosity and surface roughness. (2) samples that showed a trend of decreasing surface area dependence on particle size as the particle size increased. The minimum specific surface area of these materials was between 0.1 and 0.01 m2/g and was also attributed to internal porosity and surface roughness. (3) samples whose surface area showed a monotonic decrease with increasing particle size, never reaching an ultimate surface area limit within the particle

Fourier power, subjective distance, and object categories all provide plausible models of BOLD responses in scene-selective visual areas

Science.gov (United States)

Lescroart, Mark D.; Stansbury, Dustin E.; Gallant, Jack L.

2015-01-01

Perception of natural visual scenes activates several functional areas in the human brain, including the Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA), Retrosplenial Complex (RSC), and the Occipital Place Area (OPA). It is currently unclear what specific scene-related features are represented in these areas. Previous studies have suggested that PPA, RSC, and/or OPA might represent at least three qualitatively different classes of features: (1) 2D features related to Fourier power; (2) 3D spatial features such as the distance to objects in a scene; or (3) abstract features such as the categories of objects in a scene. To determine which of these hypotheses best describes the visual representation in scene-selective areas, we applied voxel-wise modeling (VM) to BOLD fMRI responses elicited by a set of 1386 images of natural scenes. VM provides an efficient method for testing competing hypotheses by comparing predictions of brain activity based on encoding models that instantiate each hypothesis. Here we evaluated three different encoding models that instantiate each of the three hypotheses listed above. We used linear regression to fit each encoding model to the fMRI data recorded from each voxel, and we evaluated each fit model by estimating the amount of variance it predicted in a withheld portion of the data set. We found that voxel-wise models based on Fourier power or the subjective distance to objects in each scene predicted much of the variance predicted by a model based on object categories. Furthermore, the response variance explained by these three models is largely shared, and the individual models explain little unique variance in responses. Based on an evaluation of previous studies and the data we present here, we conclude that there is currently no good basis to favor any one of the three alternative hypotheses about visual representation in scene-selective areas. We offer suggestions for further studies that may help resolve this issue. PMID:26594164

Environmental protection foliar fertilization in areas subject to limitation of fertilizers use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavriluta, I.; Alexandrescu, A; Budoi, G.; Bireescu, L.; Bireescu, G.

1999-01-01

Significant increases of plant productivity have been recorded in field experiments conducted between 1991 - 1994 using general purpose complex foliar fertilizers as well as aminoacid containing complex foliar fertilizers. These increases at the same time had positive environmental effects against chemical pollution, especially with nitrates. As a rule, the greater the degree of nutrient efficiency, especially of nitrate, the lower are the losses, which are subject to transfer to the environment. So in the light of environmental protection against chemical pollution using foliar fertilization is certainly beneficial for crops and for all other components of the agricultural environment giving rise to its significant improvement. Both, foliar and soil fertilization in areas with limitation of fertilizer use should be carried out under a continuous and strict analytical check of plant, soil and water. Refs. 14 (author)

Planning of Agro-Tourism Development, Specific Location in Green Open Space Sarbagita Area, Bali Province

Science.gov (United States)

Lanya, I.; Subadiyasa, N.; Sardiana, K.; Ratna Adi, G. P.

2018-02-01

Tourism development has a negative impact on agricultural land in Bali, resulted in the transfer of rice field of 800 ha/year. Subak rice field area as a world cultural heritage, requires conservation strategy, increasing economic and environmental value, through integrated agriculture development with tourism. Tourism destination planning in the form of tourist destination (TD) and tourism object (TO) by raising local genius, at specific location, is expected to preserve nature and culture, as well as the economic value of the region. Research Methods: (1) identification of agrarian cultures, (2) field survey, (3) mapping of site specific TD/TO plans, and (4) compile documents of agro-tourism road map based on local genius. Seven subak areas in the green open space area have the potential to develop new TD/TO, namely: (1) Gedon2Subak in Tanah Lot area, is developed for the preservation of agriculture, the implementation of the zoning plan of the sacred, madya and nista areas, (2) the Kerdung and Penatih Subak areas, developed for urban farming in Denpasar City, (3) Cangi south Subak area, built for agro-tourism plasmanutfah banana and Cemagi Let Subak area developed agro-tourism food crops and horticulture, (4) Erjeruk Subak area, developed tourism plasmanutfah coconut.

Peripheral erythrocytes decrease upon specific respiratory challenge with grass pollen allergen in sensitized mice and in human subjects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galateja Jordakieva

Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Specific hyper-responsiveness towards an allergen and non-specific airway hyperreactivity both impair quality of life in patients with respiratory allergic diseases. We aimed to investigate cellular responses following specific and non-specific airway challenges locally and systemically in i sensitized BALB/c mice challenged with grass pollen allergen Phl p 5, and in ii grass pollen sensitized allergic rhinitis subjects undergoing specific airway challenge in the Vienna Challenge Chamber (VCC. METHODS AND RESULTS: BALB/c mice (n = 20 were intraperitoneally immunized with grass pollen allergen Phl p 5 and afterwards aerosol challenged with either the specific allergen Phl p 5 (n = 10 or the non-specific antigen ovalbumin (OVA (n = 10. A protocol for inducing allergic asthma as well as allergic rhinitis, according to the united airway concept, was used. Both groups of exposed mice showed significantly reduced physical activity after airway challenge. Specific airway challenge further resulted in goblet cell hyperplasia, enhanced mucous secretion, intrapulmonary leukocyte infiltration and lymphoid follicle formation, associated with significant expression of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 in splenocytes and also partially in lung tissue. Concerning circulating blood cell dynamics, we observed a significant drop of erythrocyte counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in both mouse groups, challenged with allergen or OVA. A significant decrease in circulating erythrocytes and hematocrit levels after airway challenges with grass pollen allergen was also found in grass pollen sensitized human rhinitis subjects (n = 42 at the VCC. The effects on peripheral leukocyte counts in mice and humans however were opposed, possibly due to the different primary inflammation sites. CONCLUSION: Our data revealed that, besides significant leukocyte dynamics, particularly erythrocytes are involved in acute hypersensitivity reactions to respiratory allergens

Outline for Remediation of Problem Areas for Children with Learning Disabilities. Revised. = Bosquejo para la Correccion de Areas Problematicas para Ninos con Impedimientos del Aprendizaje.

Science.gov (United States)

Bornstein, Joan L.

The booklet outlines ways to help children with learning disabilities in specific subject areas. Characteristic behavior and remedial exercises are listed for seven areas of auditory problems: auditory reception, auditory association, auditory discrimination, auditory figure ground, auditory closure and sound blending, auditory memory, and grammar…

Reduced binding of Pittsburgh Compound-B in areas of white matter hyperintensities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.E. Goodheart

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The amyloid imaging agent, Pittsburgh Compound-B, binds with high affinity to β-amyloid (Aβ in the brain, and it is well established that PiB also shows non-specific retention in white matter (WM. However, little is known about retention of PiB in areas of white matter hyperintensities (WMH, abnormalities commonly seen in older adults. Further, it is hypothesized that WMH are related to both cognitive dysfunction and Aβ deposition. The goal of the present study was to explore PiB retention in both normal-appearing WM (NAWM and WMH in a group of elderly, cognitively normal individuals. In a group of cognitively normal elderly (n = 64; 86.5 ± 2.6 years two analyses were applied: (1 ROIs were placed over periventricular areas in which WMH caps are commonly seen on all subjects, regardless of WMH burden or size. (2 Subject-specific maps of NAWM and WMH were co-registered with the PiB-PET images and mean SUVR values were calculated in these NAWM and WMH maps. PiB retention was significantly reduced in the ROIs of subjects with high WMH compared to subjects with low WMH. Additionally, in subjects with high WMH, there was significantly lower PiB retention in subject-specific maps of WMH compared to NAWM, which was not observed in subjects with low WMH, likely because of the small size of WMH maps in this group. These data suggest that WM in areas of WMH binds PiB less effectively than does normal WM. Further exploration of this phenomenon may lead to insights about the molecular basis of the non-specific retention of amyloid tracers in white matter.

Effects of Temporal and Interspecific Variation of Specific Leaf Area on Leaf Area Index Estimation of Temperate Broadleaved Forests in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boram Kwon

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of interspecific and temporal variation of specific leaf area (SLA, cm2·g−1 on leaf area index (LAI estimation for three deciduous broadleaved forests (Gwangneung (GN, Taehwa (TH, and Gariwang (GRW in Korea with varying ages and composition of tree species. In fall of 2014, fallen leaves were periodically collected using litter traps and classified by species. LAI was estimated by obtaining SLAs using four calculation methods (A: including both interspecific and temporal variation in SLA; B: species specific mean SLA; C: period-specific mean SLA; and D: overall mean, then multiplying the SLAs by the amount of leaves. SLA varied across different species in all plots, and SLAs of upper canopy species were less than those of lower canopy species. The LAIs calculated using method A, the reference method, were GN 6.09, TH 5.42, and GRW 4.33. LAIs calculated using method B showed a difference of up to 3% from the LAI of method A, but LAIs calculated using methods C and D were overestimated. Therefore, species specific SLA must be considered for precise LAI estimation for broadleaved forests that include multiple species.

A process to enhance the specific surface area and capacitance of hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide

KAUST Repository

Alazmi, Amira

2016-08-26

The impact of post-synthesis processing in reduced graphene oxide materials for supercapacitor electrodes has been analyzed. A comparative study of vacuum, freeze and critical point drying was carried out for hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide demonstrating that the optimization of the specific surface area and preservation of the porous network are critical to maximize its supercapacitance performance. As described below, using a supercritical fluid as the drying medium, unprecedented values of the specific surface area (364 m2 g−1) and supercapacitance (441 F g−1) for this class of materials have been achieved.

A process to enhance the specific surface area and capacitance of hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide

KAUST Repository

Alazmi, Amira; El Tall, Omar; Rasul, Shahid; Hedhili, Mohamed N.; Patole, Shashikant P.; Da Costa, Pedro M. F. J.

2016-01-01

The impact of post-synthesis processing in reduced graphene oxide materials for supercapacitor electrodes has been analyzed. A comparative study of vacuum, freeze and critical point drying was carried out for hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide demonstrating that the optimization of the specific surface area and preservation of the porous network are critical to maximize its supercapacitance performance. As described below, using a supercritical fluid as the drying medium, unprecedented values of the specific surface area (364 m2 g−1) and supercapacitance (441 F g−1) for this class of materials have been achieved.

Chieti-Pescara Metropolitan Area: International Migrations, Residential Choices and Economic Deconcentration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armando Montanari

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The subject of human mobility – with reference to the migratory component – has taken on specific significance during the last decade, particularly with regard to the concept of place. This paper considers the subject in relation to residential and economic deconcentration. The specific point of reference is the metropolitan area of Chieti-Pescara, in the central part of Italy’s Adriatic coast. The research was carried out through quantitative analysis of official data from population censuses and register offices. The results highlight the links between movements of residents and those of firms, in which foreign residents show distinctive behaviour. The residential choices made by foreigners in the area are based on economic reasons and are primarily linked to housing and transport costs. Their communities tend to be concentrated in specific zones of the metropolitan area and in specific districts of the cities, as a consequence of a feeling of belonging and solidarity. Although there are no clear signs of segregation phenomena, the native population tends to avoid mingling with foreigners from marginal countries.

Sensitivity of subject-specific models to Hill muscle-tendon model parameters in simulations of gait.

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, V; van der Krogt, M M; Koopman, H F J M; Verdonschot, N

2016-06-14

Subject-specific musculoskeletal (MS) models of the lower extremity are essential for applications such as predicting the effects of orthopedic surgery. We performed an extensive sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of potential errors in Hill muscle-tendon (MT) model parameters for each of the 56 MT parts contained in a state-of-the-art MS model. We used two metrics, namely a Local Sensitivity Index (LSI) and an Overall Sensitivity Index (OSI), to distinguish the effect of the perturbation on the predicted force produced by the perturbed MT parts and by all the remaining MT parts, respectively, during a simulated gait cycle. Results indicated that sensitivity of the model depended on the specific role of each MT part during gait, and not merely on its size and length. Tendon slack length was the most sensitive parameter, followed by maximal isometric muscle force and optimal muscle fiber length, while nominal pennation angle showed very low sensitivity. The highest sensitivity values were found for the MT parts that act as prime movers of gait (Soleus: average OSI=5.27%, Rectus Femoris: average OSI=4.47%, Gastrocnemius: average OSI=3.77%, Vastus Lateralis: average OSI=1.36%, Biceps Femoris Caput Longum: average OSI=1.06%) and hip stabilizers (Gluteus Medius: average OSI=3.10%, Obturator Internus: average OSI=1.96%, Gluteus Minimus: average OSI=1.40%, Piriformis: average OSI=0.98%), followed by the Peroneal muscles (average OSI=2.20%) and Tibialis Anterior (average OSI=1.78%) some of which were not included in previous sensitivity studies. Finally, the proposed priority list provides quantitative information to indicate which MT parts and which MT parameters should be estimated most accurately to create detailed and reliable subject-specific MS models. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Highly Water-dispersible Anatase Nanoparticles with Large Specific Surface Area and Their Adsorptive Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Xueting

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Highly water-dispersible and very small TiO2 nanoparticles (~3 nm anatase with large specific surface area have been synthesized by hydrolysis and hydrothermal reactions of titanium butoxide and used for the removal of three azo dyes (Congo red, orange II, and methyl orange with different molecular structure from simulated wastewaters. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles are well dispersed in water with large specific surface area up to 417 m2 g−1. Adsorption experiments demonstrated that the water-dispersible TiO2 nanoparticles possess excellent adsorption capacities for Congo red, orange II, and methyl orange, which could be attributed to their good water-dispersibility and large specific surface area.

Signalling fiscal stress in the euro area - a country-specific early warning system

OpenAIRE

Hernández de Cos, Pablo; Koester, Gerrit B.; Moral-Benito, Enrique; Nickel, Christiane

2014-01-01

The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has increased the interest in early warning indicators, with the aim to indicate the build?up of fiscal stress early on and to facilitate crisis prevention by a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible improvements to enhance existing early warning indicators for fiscal stress, especially for the euro area. We show that a country?specific approach could strongly increase the signalling power of early war...

Evaluation of a subject-specific, torque-driven computer simulation model of one-handed tennis backhand groundstrokes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kentel, Behzat B; King, Mark A; Mitchell, Sean R

2011-11-01

A torque-driven, subject-specific 3-D computer simulation model of the impact phase of one-handed tennis backhand strokes was evaluated by comparing performance and simulation results. Backhand strokes of an elite subject were recorded on an artificial tennis court. Over the 50-ms period after impact, good agreement was found with an overall RMS difference of 3.3° between matching simulation and performance in terms of joint and racket angles. Consistent with previous experimental research, the evaluation process showed that grip tightness and ball impact location are important factors that affect postimpact racket and arm kinematics. Associated with these factors, the model can be used for a better understanding of the eccentric contraction of the wrist extensors during one-handed backhand ground strokes, a hypothesized mechanism of tennis elbow.

The Prevalence of Mathematical Anxiety in a Business School: A Comparative Study across Subject Areas

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Anna Howard

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mathematical anxiety is a phenomenon linked to poor attainment in mathematics and restricted development of mathematical skills among those who are afflicted by it. Unfortunately most undergraduate courses in business related areas require the further study of mathematics to enable effective business decision making and students who suffer from mathematical anxiety are placed at risk of underperformance or failure in such quantitative modules. This paper summarizes the results of a survey (n = 330 of students joining a university business school with a view to ascertaining the degree of mathematical anxiety exhibited by incoming students. Results of the survey show no significant differences in anxiety attributable to age or gender but significant differences attributable to level of study and subject area. Implications of the findings for a redesigned teaching approach are discussed drawing on suggestions from the literature surrounding mathematical anxiety.

Central Pressure Appraisal: Clinical Validation of a Subject-Specific Mathematical Model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Tosello

Full Text Available Current evidence suggests that aortic blood pressure has a superior prognostic value with respect to brachial pressure for cardiovascular events, but direct measurement is not feasible in daily clinical practice.The aim of the present study is the clinical validation of a multiscale mathematical model for non-invasive appraisal of central blood pressure from subject-specific characteristics.A total of 51 young male were selected for the present study. Aortic systolic and diastolic pressure were estimated with a mathematical model and were compared to the most-used non-invasive validated technique (SphygmoCor device, AtCor Medical, Australia. SphygmoCor was calibrated through diastolic and systolic brachial pressure obtained with a sphygmomanometer, while model inputs consist of brachial pressure, height, weight, age, left-ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, and data from a pulse wave velocity study.Model-estimated systolic and diastolic central blood pressures resulted to be significantly related to SphygmoCor-assessed central systolic (r = 0.65 p <0.0001 and diastolic (r = 0.84 p<0.0001 blood pressures. The model showed a significant overestimation of systolic pressure (+7.8 (-2.2;14 mmHg, p = 0.0003 and a significant underestimation of diastolic values (-3.2 (-7.5;1.6, p = 0.004, which imply a significant overestimation of central pulse pressure. Interestingly, model prediction errors mirror the mean errors reported in large meta-analysis characterizing the use of the SphygmoCor when non-invasive calibration is performed.In conclusion, multi-scale mathematical model predictions result to be significantly related to SphygmoCor ones. Model-predicted systolic and diastolic aortic pressure resulted in difference of less than 10 mmHg in the 51% and 84% of the subjects, respectively, when compared with SphygmoCor-obtained pressures.

[The subject repositories of strategy of the Open Access initiative].

Science.gov (United States)

Soares Guimarães, M C; da Silva, C H; Horsth Noronha, I

2012-11-01

The subject repositories are defined as a set of digital objects resulting from the research related to a specific disciplinary field and occupy a still restricted space in the discussion agenda of the Free Access Movement when compared to amplitude reached in the discussion of Institutional Repositories. Although the Subject Repository comes to prominence in the field, especially for the success of initiatives such as the arXiv, PubMed and E-prints, the literature on the subject is recognized as very limited. Despite its roots in the Library and Information Science, and focus on the management of disciplinary collections (subject area literature), there is little information available about the development and management of subject repositories. The following text seeks to make a brief summary on the topic as a way to present the potential to develop subject repositories in order to strengthen the initiative of open access.

Polyaniline nanofibers with a high specific surface area and an improved pore structure for supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hailing; Li, Xingwei; Wang, Gengchao

2015-10-01

Polyaniline (PANI) with a high specific surface area and an improved pore structure (HSSA-PANI) has been prepared by using a facile method, treating PANI nanofibers with chloroform (CHCl3), and its structure, morphology and pore structure are investigated. The specific surface area and pore volume of HSSA-PANI are 817.3 m2 g-1 and 0.6 cm3 g-1, and those of PANI are 33.6 m2 g-1 and 0.2 cm3 g-1. As electrode materials, a large specific surface area and pore volume can provide high electroactive regions, accelerate the diffusion of ions, and mitigate the electrochemical degradation of active materials. Compared with PANI, the capacity retention rate of HSSA-PANI is 90% with a growth of current density from 5.0 to 30 A g-1, and that of PANI is 29%. At a current density of 30 A g-1, the specific capacitance of HSSA-PANI still reaches 278.3 F g-1, and that of PANI is 86.7 F g-1. At a current density of 5.0 A g-1, the capacitance retention of HSSA-PANI is 53.1% after 2000 cycles, and that of PANI electrode is only 28.1%.

Automatized spleen segmentation in non-contrast-enhanced MR volume data using subject-specific shape priors

Science.gov (United States)

Gloger, Oliver; Tönnies, Klaus; Bülow, Robin; Völzke, Henry

2017-07-01

To develop the first fully automated 3D spleen segmentation framework derived from T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data and to verify its performance for spleen delineation and volumetry. This approach considers the issue of low contrast between spleen and adjacent tissue in non-contrast-enhanced MR images. Native T1-weighted MR volume data was performed on a 1.5 T MR system in an epidemiological study. We analyzed random subsamples of MR examinations without pathologies to develop and verify the spleen segmentation framework. The framework is modularized to include different kinds of prior knowledge into the segmentation pipeline. Classification by support vector machines differentiates between five different shape types in computed foreground probability maps and recognizes characteristic spleen regions in axial slices of MR volume data. A spleen-shape space generated by training produces subject-specific prior shape knowledge that is then incorporated into a final 3D level set segmentation method. Individually adapted shape-driven forces as well as image-driven forces resulting from refined foreground probability maps steer the level set successfully to the segment the spleen. The framework achieves promising segmentation results with mean Dice coefficients of nearly 0.91 and low volumetric mean errors of 6.3%. The presented spleen segmentation approach can delineate spleen tissue in native MR volume data. Several kinds of prior shape knowledge including subject-specific 3D prior shape knowledge can be used to guide segmentation processes achieving promising results.

Faculty Vitality in "Different Worlds": The View from Three Academic Areas. ASHE 1988 Annual Meeting Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Roger G.

The professional lives of "vital" professors in the areas of arts and humanities, mathematics and natural sciences, and the social sciences are examined, and common and subject-area specific factors (such as attributes, activities, and sources of support) closely associated with faculty vitality are identified. Subjects were chosen from…

Comparison of optic area measurement using fundus photography and optical coherence tomography between optic nerve head drusen and control subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores-Rodríguez, Patricia; Gili, Pablo; Martín-Ríos, María Dolores; Grifol-Clar, Eulalia

2013-03-01

To compare optic disc area measurement between optic nerve head drusen (ONHD) and control subjects using fundus photography, time-domain optical coherence tomography (TD-OCT) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). We also made a comparison between each of the three techniques. We performed our study on 66 eyes (66 patients) with ONHD and 70 healthy control subjects (70 controls) with colour ocular fundus photography at 20º (Zeiss FF 450 IR plus), TD-OCT (Stratus OCT) with the Fast Optic Disc protocol and SD-OCT (Cirrus OCT) with the Optic Disc Cube 200 × 200 protocol for measurement of the optic disc area. The measurements were made by two observers and in each measurement a correction of the image magnification factor was performed. Measurement comparison using the Student's t-test/Mann-Whitney U test, the intraclass correlation coefficient, Pearson/Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman plot was performed in the statistical analysis. Mean and standard deviation (SD) of the optic disc area in ONHD and in controls was 2.38 (0.54) mm(2) and 2.54 (0.42) mm(2), respectively with fundus photography; 2.01 (0.56) mm(2) and 1.66 (0.37) mm(2), respectively with TD-OCT, and 2.03 (0.49) mm(2) and 1.75 (0.38) mm(2), respectively with SD-OCT. In ONHD and controls, repeatability of optic disc area measurement was excellent with fundus photography and optical coherence tomography (TD-OCT and SD-OCT), but with a low degree of agreement between both techniques. Optic disc area measurement is smaller in ONHD compared to healthy subjects with fundus photography, unlike time-domain and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in which the reverse is true. Both techniques offer good repeatability, but a low degree of correlation and agreement, which means that optic disc area measurement is not interchangeable or comparable between techniques. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2013 The College of Optometrists.

The dose-area product in DSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gfirtner, H.

1995-01-01

In DSA, the dose-area product shows a very good correlation with the maximum incidence dose. It may therefore serve as a reliable basis for the assessment of radiation doses to patients. The dose-area product is also a useful tool for the detection pf peak shifts in the radiation curves for certain investigations. In view of the considerable scatter of the values for the dose-area product these must, however, be subjected to an additional statistical analysis. Provided that this rule is observed, the dose-area product will considerably gain in importance for the monitoring of radiation exposures of patients. A very noteworthy learning effect could be achieved, if it would be made mandatory for those statistical analyses to be carried out not only on an investigation-specific but also an investigator-specific basis. The latter is particularly true of teaching hospitals. (orig./VHE) [de

Problem Solving and Creativity and Design: What Influence Do They Have on Girls' Interest in STEM Subject Areas?

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Robyn; Heaverlo, Carol

2013-01-01

For girls there is a distinct loss in interest, lack of confidence, and decline in positive attitudes toward STEM subject areas that begins early on in their academic experience and increases with age. According to the National Academy of Engineering, students need to begin associating the possibilities in STEM fields with the need for creativity…

Dynamic Parameter Identification of Subject-Specific Body Segment Parameters Using Robotics Formalism: Case Study Head Complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Rodríguez, Miguel; Valera, Angel; Page, Alvaro; Besa, Antonio; Mata, Vicente

2016-05-01

Accurate knowledge of body segment inertia parameters (BSIP) improves the assessment of dynamic analysis based on biomechanical models, which is of paramount importance in fields such as sport activities or impact crash test. Early approaches for BSIP identification rely on the experiments conducted on cadavers or through imaging techniques conducted on living subjects. Recent approaches for BSIP identification rely on inverse dynamic modeling. However, most of the approaches are focused on the entire body, and verification of BSIP for dynamic analysis for distal segment or chain of segments, which has proven to be of significant importance in impact test studies, is rarely established. Previous studies have suggested that BSIP should be obtained by using subject-specific identification techniques. To this end, our paper develops a novel approach for estimating subject-specific BSIP based on static and dynamics identification models (SIM, DIM). We test the validity of SIM and DIM by comparing the results using parameters obtained from a regression model proposed by De Leva (1996, "Adjustments to Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov's Segment Inertia Parameters," J. Biomech., 29(9), pp. 1223-1230). Both SIM and DIM are developed considering robotics formalism. First, the static model allows the mass and center of gravity (COG) to be estimated. Second, the results from the static model are included in the dynamics equation allowing us to estimate the moment of inertia (MOI). As a case study, we applied the approach to evaluate the dynamics modeling of the head complex. Findings provide some insight into the validity not only of the proposed method but also of the application proposed by De Leva (1996, "Adjustments to Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov's Segment Inertia Parameters," J. Biomech., 29(9), pp. 1223-1230) for dynamic modeling of body segments.

Subjective well-being: gender differences in Holocaust survivors-specific and cross-national effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Carmel, Sara; King, David B; O'Rourke, Norm; Bachner, Yaacov G

2017-06-01

Subjective well-being (SWB) has become an important concept in evaluating older adults' quality of life. The cognitive and emotional evaluations which are used to appraise it differ in structure, characteristics, and effects on life. The purpose of this study was to support hypotheses regarding expected Holocaust survivors-specific effects and cross-cultural differences on three indicators of SWB. We recruited samples of 50 male and female Israeli Holocaust survivors, other older Israelis, and older Canadians (N = 300) for allowing us to distinguish survivors-specific effects from cross-national differences. State anxiety, depressive symptoms, and life-satisfaction were compared across groups of men and women. Where univariate differences were detected, post hoc comparisons were computed to determine which of the groups significantly differed. In general, a higher level of SWB was found among Canadians in comparison to both comparative Israeli groups. Level of depressive symptoms was significantly higher among women survivors than in the other two groups. Both groups of Israeli women had higher scores on anxiety than Canadian Women; less apparent were differences across groups of men. Life-satisfaction did not differ among the groups. Our findings regarding depression support the survivor-specific effect hypothesis for women, and a national effect on anxiety, but not any effect on life-satisfaction. These findings suggest significant differences in impacts of traumatic life events on cognitive versus emotional indicators of SWB. This issue should be further investigated due to its practical implications in use of various measures of SWB with people who experienced traumatic events.

21 CFR 1000.50 - Recommendation for the use of specific area gonad shielding on patients during medical diagnostic...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Recommendation for the use of specific area gonad shielding on patients during medical diagnostic x-ray procedures. 1000.50 Section 1000.50 Food and Drugs... GENERAL Radiation Protection Recommendations § 1000.50 Recommendation for the use of specific area gonad...

75 FR 26967 - Guidance for Industry: Use of Water by Food Manufacturers in Areas Subject to a Boil-Water...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-13

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2010-D-0236] Guidance for Industry: Use of Water by Food Manufacturers in Areas Subject to a Boil-Water Advisory; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug...

Pilates versus general exercise effectiveness on pain and functionality in non-specific chronic low back pain subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Mostagi, Fernanda Queiroz Ribeiro Cerci; Dias, Josilainne Marcelino; Pereira, Ligia Maxwell; Obara, Karen; Mazuquin, Bruno Fles; Silva, Mariana Felipe; Silva, Monica Angelica Cardoso; de Campos, Renata Rosa; Barreto, Maria Simone Tavares; Nogueira, Jéssyca Fernandes; Lima, Tarcísio Brandão; Carregaro, Rodrigo Luiz; Cardoso, Jefferson Rosa

2015-10-01

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common causes of disability, and the Pilates method has been associated with improvements in symptoms. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Pilates method, when compared to general exercises, on pain and functionality after eight weeks (16 sessions, 2×/week) and a follow-up of three months, in subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). A randomised controlled trial composed of 22 subjects was proposed. Subjects were allocated into two groups: the Pilates group (PG) (n = 11) and the general exercise group (GEG) (n = 11). The PG protocol was based on the Pilates method and the GEG performed exercises to manage NSCLBP. There were no differences between the groups. When analysed over time, the GEG demonstrated improvements in functionality between baseline and the end of treatment (P = .02; Cohen'sd¯ = 0.34) and baseline and follow-up (P = .04; Cohen'sd¯ = 0.31). There were no differences between the Pilates and general exercises with regard to pain and functionality in NSCLBP subjects but general exercises were better than Pilates for increasing functionality and flexibility. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arsenic methylation capability and hypertension risk in subjects living in arseniasis-hyperendemic areas in southwestern Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Y.-K.; Tseng, C.-H.; Huang, Y.-L.; Yang, M.-H.; Chen, C.-J.; Hsueh, Y.-M.

2007-01-01

Background: Cumulative arsenic exposure (CAE) from drinking water has been shown to be associated with hypertension in a dose-response pattern. This study further explored the association between arsenic methylation capability and hypertension risk among residents of arseniasis-hyperendemic areas in Taiwan considering the effect of CAE and other potential confounders. Method: There were 871 subjects (488 women and 383 men) and among them 372 were diagnosed as having hypertension based on a positive history or measured systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm Hg. Urinary arsenic species were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry. Primary arsenic methylation index [PMI, defined as monomethylarsonic acid (MMA V ) divided by (As III + As V )] and secondary arsenic methylation index (SMI, defined as dimethylarsinic acid divided by MMA V ) were used as indicators for arsenic methylation capability. Results: The level of urinary arsenic was still significantly correlated with cumulative arsenic exposure (CAE) calculated from a questionnaire interview (p = 0.02) even after the residents stopped drinking the artesian well water for 2-3 decades. Hypertensive subjects had higher percentages of MMA V and lower SMI than subjects without hypertension. However, subjects having CAE > 0 mg/L-year had higher hypertension risk than those who had CAE = 0 mg/L-year disregard a high or low methylation index. Conclusion: Inefficient arsenic methylation ability may be related with hypertension risk

Gender Specific Association of Serum Leptin and Insulinemic Indices with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Prediabetic Subjects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Israt Ara Hossain

Full Text Available Adipose tissue-derived hormone leptin plays a functional role in glucose tolerance through its effects on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity which also represent the risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD. The present study explored the gender specific association of serum leptin and insulinemic indices with NAFLD in Bangladeshi prediabetic subjects. Under a cross-sectional analytical design a total of 110 ultrasound examined prediabetic subjects, aged 25-68 years consisting of 57.3% male (55.6% non NAFLD and 44.4% NAFLD and 42.7% female (57.4% non NAFLD and 42.6% NAFLD, were investigated. Insulin secretory function (HOMA%B and insulin sensitivity (HOMA%S were calculated from homeostasis model assessment (HOMA. Serum leptin showed significant positive correlation with fasting insulin (r = 0.530, P = 0.004, postprandial insulin (r = 0.384, P = 0.042 and HOMA-IR (r = 0.541, P = 0.003 as well as significant negative correlation with HOMA%S (r = -0.388, P = 0.046 and HOMA%B (r = -0.356, P = 0.039 in male prediabetic subjects with NAFLD. In multiple linear regression analysis, log transformed leptin showed significant positive association with HOMA-IR (β = 0.706, P <0.001 after adjusting the effects of body mass index (BMI, triglyceride (TG and HOMA%B in male subjects with NAFLD. In binary logistic regression analysis, only log leptin [OR 1.29 95% (C.I (1.11-1.51, P = 0.001] in male subjects as well as HOMA%B [OR 0.94 95% (C.I (0.89-0.98, P = 0.012], HOMA-IR [OR 3.30 95% (C.I (0.99-10.95, P = 0.049] and log leptin [OR 1.10 95% (C.I (1.01-1.20, P = 0.026] in female subjects were found to be independent determinants of NAFLD after adjusting the BMI and TG. Serum leptin seems to have an association with NAFLD both in male and female prediabetic subjects and this association in turn, is mediated by insulin secretory dysfunction and insulin resistance among these subjects.

Neuron-specific caveolin-1 overexpression improves motor function and preserves memory in mice subjected to brain trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Egawa, Junji; Schilling, Jan M; Cui, Weihua; Posadas, Edmund; Sawada, Atsushi; Alas, Basheer; Zemljic-Harpf, Alice E; Fannon-Pavlich, McKenzie J; Mandyam, Chitra D; Roth, David M; Patel, Hemal H; Patel, Piyush M; Head, Brian P

2017-08-01

Studies in vitro and in vivo demonstrate that membrane/lipid rafts and caveolin (Cav) organize progrowth receptors, and, when overexpressed specifically in neurons, Cav-1 augments neuronal signaling and growth and improves cognitive function in adult and aged mice; however, whether neuronal Cav-1 overexpression can preserve motor and cognitive function in the brain trauma setting is unknown. Here, we generated a neuron-targeted Cav-1-overexpressing transgenic (Tg) mouse [synapsin-driven Cav-1 (SynCav1 Tg)] and subjected it to a controlled cortical impact model of brain trauma and measured biochemical, anatomic, and behavioral changes. SynCav1 Tg mice exhibited increased hippocampal expression of Cav-1 and membrane/lipid raft localization of postsynaptic density protein 95, NMDA receptor, and tropomyosin receptor kinase B. When subjected to a controlled cortical impact, SynCav1 Tg mice demonstrated preserved hippocampus-dependent fear learning and memory, improved motor function recovery, and decreased brain lesion volume compared with wild-type controls. Neuron-targeted overexpression of Cav-1 in the adult brain prevents hippocampus-dependent learning and memory deficits, restores motor function after brain trauma, and decreases brain lesion size induced by trauma. Our findings demonstrate that neuron-targeted Cav-1 can be used as a novel therapeutic strategy to restore brain function and prevent trauma-associated maladaptive plasticity.-Egawa, J., Schilling, J. M., Cui, W., Posadas, E., Sawada, A., Alas, B., Zemljic-Harpf, A. E., Fannon-Pavlich, M. J., Mandyam, C. D., Roth, D. M., Patel, H. H., Patel, P. M., Head, B. P. Neuron-specific caveolin-1 overexpression improves motor function and preserves memory in mice subjected to brain trauma. © FASEB.

Measurement of the specific surface area of loose copper deposit by electrochemical methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. A. Dolmatova

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the work the surface area of the electrode with dispersed copper deposit obtained within 30 seconds was evaluated by techniques of chronopotentiometry (CPM and impedance spectroscopy. In method CPM the electrode surface available for measurement depends on the value of the polarizing current. At high currents during the transition time there is a change of surface relief that can not determine the full surface of loose deposit. The electrochemical impedance method is devoid of this shortcoming since the measurements are carried out in indifferent electrolyte in the absence of current. The area measured by the impedance is tens of times higher than the value obtained by chronopotentiometry. It is found that from a solution containing sulfuric acid the deposits form with a high specific surface area. Based on these data it was concluded that the method of impedance spectroscopy can be used to measure in situ the surface area of the dispersed copper deposits.

Cell and receptor type-specific alterations in markers of GABA neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, David A; Hashimoto, Takanori; Morris, Harvey M

2008-10-01

Impairments in cognitive control, such as those involved in working memory, are associated with dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in individuals with schizophrenia. This dysfunction appears to result, at least in part, from abnormalities in GABA-mediated neurotransmission. In this paper, we review recent findings indicating that the altered DLPFC circuitry in subjects with schizophrenia reflects changes in the expression of genes that encode selective presynaptic and postsynaptic components of GABA neurotransmission. Specifically, using a combination of methods, we found that subjects with schizophrenia exhibited expression deficits in GABA-related transcripts encoding presynaptic regulators of GABA neurotransmission, neuropeptide markers of specific subpopulations of GABA neurons, and certain subunits of the GABA(A) receptor. In particular, alterations in the expression of the neuropeptide somatostatin suggested that GABA neurotransmission is impaired in the Martinotti subset of GABA neurons that target the dendrites of pyramidal cells. In contrast, none of the GABA-related transcripts assessed to date were altered in the DLPFC of monkeys chronically exposed to antipsychotic medications, suggesting that the effects observed in the human studies reflect the disease process and not its treatment. In concert with previous findings, these data suggest that working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia may be attributable to altered GABA neurotransmission in specific DLPFC microcircuits.

Jazz drummers recruit language-specific areas for the processing of rhythmic structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Herdener, Marcus; Humbel, Thierry; Esposito, Fabrizio; Habermeyer, Benedikt; Cattapan-Ludewig, Katja; Seifritz, Erich

2014-03-01

Rhythm is a central characteristic of music and speech, the most important domains of human communication using acoustic signals. Here, we investigated how rhythmical patterns in music are processed in the human brain, and, in addition, evaluated the impact of musical training on rhythm processing. Using fMRI, we found that deviations from a rule-based regular rhythmic structure activated the left planum temporale together with Broca's area and its right-hemispheric homolog across subjects, that is, a network also crucially involved in the processing of harmonic structure in music and the syntactic analysis of language. Comparing the BOLD responses to rhythmic variations between professional jazz drummers and musical laypersons, we found that only highly trained rhythmic experts show additional activity in left-hemispheric supramarginal gyrus, a higher-order region involved in processing of linguistic syntax. This suggests an additional functional recruitment of brain areas usually dedicated to complex linguistic syntax processing for the analysis of rhythmical patterns only in professional jazz drummers, who are especially trained to use rhythmical cues for communication.

Prediction of subjective ratings of emotional pictures by EEG features

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Dennis J.; Parvaz, Muhammad A.; Sarnacki, William A.; Goldstein, Rita Z.; Wolpaw, Jonathan R.

2017-02-01

Objective. Emotion dysregulation is an important aspect of many psychiatric disorders. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could be a powerful new approach to facilitating therapeutic self-regulation of emotions. One possible BCI method would be to provide stimulus-specific feedback based on subject-specific electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to emotion-eliciting stimuli. Approach. To assess the feasibility of this approach, we studied the relationships between emotional valence/arousal and three EEG features: amplitude of alpha activity over frontal cortex; amplitude of theta activity over frontal midline cortex; and the late positive potential over central and posterior mid-line areas. For each feature, we evaluated its ability to predict emotional valence/arousal on both an individual and a group basis. Twenty healthy participants (9 men, 11 women; ages 22-68) rated each of 192 pictures from the IAPS collection in terms of valence and arousal twice (96 pictures on each of 4 d over 2 weeks). EEG was collected simultaneously and used to develop models based on canonical correlation to predict subject-specific single-trial ratings. Separate models were evaluated for the three EEG features: frontal alpha activity; frontal midline theta; and the late positive potential. In each case, these features were used to simultaneously predict both the normed ratings and the subject-specific ratings. Main results. Models using each of the three EEG features with data from individual subjects were generally successful at predicting subjective ratings on training data, but generalization to test data was less successful. Sparse models performed better than models without regularization. Significance. The results suggest that the frontal midline theta is a better candidate than frontal alpha activity or the late positive potential for use in a BCI-based paradigm designed to modify emotional reactions.

Specific leaf area estimation from leaf and canopy reflectance through optimization and validation of vegetation indices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ali, A.M.; Darvishzadeh, R.; Skidmore, A.K.; van Duren, I.C.

2017-01-01

Specific leaf area (SLA), which is defined as the leaf area per unit of dry leaf mass is an important component when assessing functional diversity and plays a key role in ecosystem modeling, linking plant carbon and water cycles as well as quantifying plant physiological processes. However, studies

Bayesian longitudinal segmentation of hippocampal substructures in brain MRI using subject-specific atlases.

Science.gov (United States)

Iglesias, Juan Eugenio; Van Leemput, Koen; Augustinack, Jean; Insausti, Ricardo; Fischl, Bruce; Reuter, Martin

2016-11-01

The hippocampal formation is a complex, heterogeneous structure that consists of a number of distinct, interacting subregions. Atrophy of these subregions is implied in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, most prominently in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thanks to the increasing resolution of MR images and computational atlases, automatic segmentation of hippocampal subregions is becoming feasible in MRI scans. Here we introduce a generative model for dedicated longitudinal segmentation that relies on subject-specific atlases. The segmentations of the scans at the different time points are jointly computed using Bayesian inference. All time points are treated the same to avoid processing bias. We evaluate this approach using over 4700 scans from two publicly available datasets (ADNI and MIRIAD). In test-retest reliability experiments, the proposed method yielded significantly lower volume differences and significantly higher Dice overlaps than the cross-sectional approach for nearly every subregion (average across subregions: 4.5% vs. 6.5%, Dice overlap: 81.8% vs. 75.4%). The longitudinal algorithm also demonstrated increased sensitivity to group differences: in MIRIAD (69 subjects: 46 with AD and 23 controls), it found differences in atrophy rates between AD and controls that the cross sectional method could not detect in a number of subregions: right parasubiculum, left and right presubiculum, right subiculum, left dentate gyrus, left CA4, left HATA and right tail. In ADNI (836 subjects: 369 with AD, 215 with early cognitive impairment - eMCI - and 252 controls), all methods found significant differences between AD and controls, but the proposed longitudinal algorithm detected differences between controls and eMCI and differences between eMCI and AD that the cross sectional method could not find: left presubiculum, right subiculum, left and right parasubiculum, left and right HATA. Moreover, many of the differences that the cross-sectional method already found

Specific Antibodies Reacting with SV40 Large T Antigen Mimotopes in Serum Samples of Healthy Subjects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Tognon

Full Text Available Simian Virus 40, experimentally assayed in vitro in different animal and human cells and in vivo in rodents, was classified as a small DNA tumor virus. In previous studies, many groups identified Simian Virus 40 sequences in healthy individuals and cancer patients using PCR techniques, whereas others failed to detect the viral sequences in human specimens. These conflicting results prompted us to develop a novel indirect ELISA with synthetic peptides, mimicking Simian Virus 40 capsid viral protein antigens, named mimotopes. This immunologic assay allowed us to investigate the presence of serum antibodies against Simian Virus 40 and to verify whether Simian Virus 40 is circulating in humans. In this investigation two mimotopes from Simian Virus 40 large T antigen, the viral replication protein and oncoprotein, were employed to analyze for specific reactions to human sera antibodies. This indirect ELISA with synthetic peptides from Simian Virus 40 large T antigen was used to assay a new collection of serum samples from healthy subjects. This novel assay revealed that serum antibodies against Simian Virus 40 large T antigen mimotopes are detectable, at low titer, in healthy subjects aged from 18-65 years old. The overall prevalence of reactivity with the two Simian Virus 40 large T antigen peptides was 20%. This new ELISA with two mimotopes of the early viral regions is able to detect in a specific manner Simian Virus 40 large T antigen-antibody responses.

Sensitivity of a subject-specific musculoskeletal model to the uncertainties on the joint axes location.

Science.gov (United States)

Martelli, Saulo; Valente, Giordano; Viceconti, Marco; Taddei, Fulvia

2015-01-01

Subject-specific musculoskeletal models have become key tools in the clinical decision-making process. However, the sensitivity of the calculated solution to the unavoidable errors committed while deriving the model parameters from the available information is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to calculate the sensitivity of all the kinematics and kinetics variables to the inter-examiner uncertainty in the identification of the lower limb joint models. The study was based on the computer tomography of the entire lower-limb from a single donor and the motion capture from a body-matched volunteer. The hip, the knee and the ankle joint models were defined following the International Society of Biomechanics recommendations. Using a software interface, five expert anatomists identified on the donor's images the necessary bony locations five times with a three-day time interval. A detailed subject-specific musculoskeletal model was taken from an earlier study, and re-formulated to define the joint axes by inputting the necessary bony locations. Gait simulations were run using OpenSim within a Monte Carlo stochastic scheme, where the locations of the bony landmarks were varied randomly according to the estimated distributions. Trends for the joint angles, moments, and the muscle and joint forces did not substantially change after parameter perturbations. The highest variations were as follows: (a) 11° calculated for the hip rotation angle, (b) 1% BW × H calculated for the knee moment and (c) 0.33 BW calculated for the ankle plantarflexor muscles and the ankle joint forces. In conclusion, the identification of the joint axes from clinical images is a robust procedure for human movement modelling and simulation.

Species-specific gradients of juvenile fish density and size in pelagic areas of temperate reservoirs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jůza, Tomáš; Ricard, Daniel; Blabolil, Petr; Čech, Martin; Draštík, Vladislav; Frouzová, Jaroslava; Muška, Milan; Peterka, Jiří; Prchalová, Marie; Říha, Milan; Sajdlová, Zuzana; Šmejkal, Marek; Tušer, Michal; Vašek, Mojmír; Vejřík, Lukáš; Kubečka, Jan

2015-01-01

Roč. 762, č. 1 (2015), s. 169-181 ISSN 0018-8158 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0204; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0032; GA MŠk(CZ) 7F14316 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : trawling * juvenile density * horizontal distribution * vertical distribution * tributary area Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.051, year: 2015

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Highly Water-dispersible Anatase Nanoparticles with Large Specific Surface Area and Their Adsorptive Properties

OpenAIRE

Hu Xueting; Zhang Dongyun; Zhao Siqin; Asuha Sin

2016-01-01

Highly water-dispersible and very small TiO2 nanoparticles (~3 nm anatase) with large specific surface area have been synthesized by hydrolysis and hydrothermal reactions of titanium butoxide and used for the removal of three azo dyes (Congo red, orange II, and methyl orange) with different molecular structure from simulated wastewaters. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles are well dispersed in water with large specific surface area up to 417 m2 g−1. Adsorption experiments demonstrated that th...

Smartphone Restriction and its Effect on Subjective Withdrawal Related Scores

OpenAIRE

Aarestad, Sarah Helene; Eide, Tine Almenning

2017-01-01

Smartphone overuse is associated with a number of negative consequences for the individual and the environment. In the right end of the distribution of smartphone usage, concepts such as smartphone addiction seem warranted. An area that so far lacks research concerns the effect of smartphone restriction generally and specifically on subjective withdrawal related scores across different degrees of smartphone usage. The present study examined withdrawal related scores on the Smartphone Withdraw...

A Structured Review of Generic and Specific Instruments for Measuring the Subjectively Assessed Quality of Life of Seniors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika Kacmarova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study is to offer a review of the instruments designed for measuring the subjectively assessed quality of life of seniors. At present it is possible to notice an increase of interest in the issue of the quality of life of specific groups of population; in addition, there is a large number of tools for its measuring. The aim of the present study is to provide a systematic review of generic and specific instruments for measuring quality of life of seniors which have been published in peer-reviewed journals and whose psychometric parameters have been verified. The search procedure formed a part of a larger retrieval search in which we analyzed 4829 abstracts in EBSCO and ProQuest Central full-text databases. We found 831 instruments which claimed to be measuring quality of life and were verified their reliability or validity. We identified 3 groups of instruments suitable for use in the senior age-group: generic methodologies applicable to adults in general, 7 generic tools and 9 specific tools designed exclusively for the senior age. The paper presents the measures designed for seniors who were analyzed and compared with regard to their psychometric parameters, purpose and theoretical framework utilized for their construction. In conclusion the authors of the study provide recommendations for the use of the selected methodologies for measuring the subjectively assessed quality of life of seniors.

Cortical surface area reduction in identification of subjects at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hao; Sun, Yawen; Su, Shanshan; Wang, Yao; Qiu, Yongming; Yang, Xi; Zhou, Yan; Xiao, Zeping; Wang, Zhen

2018-01-01

Victims of motor vehicle accidents often develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which causes significant social function loss. For the difficulty in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, identification of subjects at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder is essential for providing possible intervention. This paper aims to examine the cortical structural traits related to susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder. To address this issue, we performed structural magnetic resonance imaging study in motor vehicle accident victims within 48 hours from the accidents. A total of 70 victims, available for both clinical and magnetic resonance imaging data, enrolled in our study. Upon completion of 6-month follow-up, 29 of them developed post-traumatic stress disorder, while 41 of them didn't. At baseline, voxelwise comparisons of cortical thickness, cortical area and cortical volume were conducted between post-traumatic stress disorder group and trauma control group. As expected, several reduced cortical volume within frontal-temporal loop were observed in post-traumatic stress disorder. For cortical thickness, no between-group differences were observed. There were three clusters in left hemisphere and one cluster in right hemisphere showing decreased cortical area in post-traumatic stress disorder patients, compared with trauma controls. Peak voxels of the three clusters in left hemisphere were separately located in superior parietal cortex, insula and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. The finding of reduced surface area of left insula and left rostral anterior cingulate cortex suggests that shrinked surface area in motor vehicle accident victims could act as potential biomarker of subjects at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Accuracy of 3D Optical Reconstruction and Additive Manufacturing Processes in Reproducing Detailed Subject-Specific Anatomy

OpenAIRE

Paolo Ferraiuoli; Jonathan C. Taylor; Emily Martin; John W. Fenner; Andrew J. Narracott

2017-01-01

3D reconstruction and 3D printing of subject-specific anatomy is a promising technology for supporting clinicians in the visualisation of disease progression and planning for surgical intervention. In this context, the 3D model is typically obtained from segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) or echocardiography images. Although these modalities allow imaging of the tissues in vivo, assessment of quality of the reconstruction is limited by the lack of a ref...

A subjective scheduler for subjective dedicated networks

Science.gov (United States)

Suherman; Fakhrizal, Said Reza; Al-Akaidi, Marwan

2017-09-01

Multiple access technique is one of important techniques within medium access layer in TCP/IP protocol stack. Each network technology implements the selected access method. Priority can be implemented in those methods to differentiate services. Some internet networks are dedicated for specific purpose. Education browsing or tutorial video accesses are preferred in a library hotspot, while entertainment and sport contents could be subjects of limitation. Current solution may use IP address filter or access list. This paper proposes subjective properties of users or applications are used for priority determination in multiple access techniques. The NS-2 simulator is employed to evaluate the method. A video surveillance network using WiMAX is chosen as the object. Subjective priority is implemented on WiMAX scheduler based on traffic properties. Three different traffic sources from monitoring video: palace, park, and market are evaluated. The proposed subjective scheduler prioritizes palace monitoring video that results better quality, xx dB than the later monitoring spots.

Gender Specific Association of Serum Leptin and Insulinemic Indices with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Prediabetic Subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Israt Ara; Akter, Salima; Rahman, Mohammad Khalilur; Ali, Liaquat

2015-01-01

Adipose tissue-derived hormone leptin plays a functional role in glucose tolerance through its effects on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity which also represent the risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The present study explored the gender specific association of serum leptin and insulinemic indices with NAFLD in Bangladeshi prediabetic subjects. Under a cross-sectional analytical design a total of 110 ultrasound examined prediabetic subjects, aged 25-68 years consisting of 57.3% male (55.6% non NAFLD and 44.4% NAFLD) and 42.7% female (57.4% non NAFLD and 42.6% NAFLD), were investigated. Insulin secretory function (HOMA%B) and insulin sensitivity (HOMA%S) were calculated from homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). Serum leptin showed significant positive correlation with fasting insulin (r = 0.530, P = 0.004), postprandial insulin (r = 0.384, P = 0.042) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.541, P = 0.003) as well as significant negative correlation with HOMA%S (r = -0.388, P = 0.046) and HOMA%B (r = -0.356, P = 0.039) in male prediabetic subjects with NAFLD. In multiple linear regression analysis, log transformed leptin showed significant positive association with HOMA-IR (β = 0.706, P binary logistic regression analysis, only log leptin [OR 1.29 95% (C.I) (1.11-1.51), P = 0.001] in male subjects as well as HOMA%B [OR 0.94 95% (C.I) (0.89-0.98), P = 0.012], HOMA-IR [OR 3.30 95% (C.I) (0.99-10.95), P = 0.049] and log leptin [OR 1.10 95% (C.I) (1.01-1.20), P = 0.026] in female subjects were found to be independent determinants of NAFLD after adjusting the BMI and TG. Serum leptin seems to have an association with NAFLD both in male and female prediabetic subjects and this association in turn, is mediated by insulin secretory dysfunction and insulin resistance among these subjects.

Validation and evaluation of common large-area display set (CLADS) performance specification

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann, David J.; Gorenflo, Ronald L.

1998-09-01

Battelle is under contract with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center to design a Common Large Area Display Set (CLADS) for use in multiple Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) applications that currently use 19- inch Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs). Battelle engineers have built and fully tested pre-production prototypes of the CLADS design for AWACS, and are completing pre-production prototype displays for three other platforms simultaneously. With the CLADS design, any display technology that can be packaged to meet the form, fit, and function requirements defined by the Common Large Area Display Head Assembly (CLADHA) performance specification is a candidate for CLADS applications. This technology independent feature reduced the risk of CLADS development, permits life long technology insertion upgrades without unnecessary redesign, and addresses many of the obsolescence problems associated with COTS technology-based acquisition. Performance and environmental testing were performed on the AWACS CLADS and continues on other platforms as a part of the performance specification validation process. A simulator assessment and flight assessment were successfully completed for the AWACS CLADS, and lessons learned from these assessments are being incorporated into the performance specifications. Draft CLADS specifications were released to potential display integrators and manufacturers for review in 1997, and the final version of the performance specifications are scheduled to be released to display integrators and manufacturers in May, 1998. Initial USAF applications include replacements for the E-3 AWACS color monitor assembly, E-8 Joint STARS graphics display unit, and ABCCC airborne color display. Initial U.S. Navy applications include the E-2C ACIS display. For these applications, reliability and maintainability are key objectives. The common design will reduce the cost of operation and maintenance by an estimated 3.3M per year on E-3 AWACS

Gender, Previous Knowledge, Personality Traits and Subject-Specific Motivation as Predictors of Students' Math Grade in Upper-Secondary School

Science.gov (United States)

Peklaj, Cirila; Podlesek, Anja; Pecjak, Sonja

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between gender, previous knowledge, different personality traits, subject-specific motivational dimensions and students' math grade in secondary school. A total of 386 first-year students (142 boys and 244 girls) from secondary schools in Slovenia (mean age was 15.7 years) participated in the…

The Accuracy of 3D Optical Reconstruction and Additive Manufacturing Processes in Reproducing Detailed Subject-Specific Anatomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paolo Ferraiuoli

2017-10-01

Full Text Available 3D reconstruction and 3D printing of subject-specific anatomy is a promising technology for supporting clinicians in the visualisation of disease progression and planning for surgical intervention. In this context, the 3D model is typically obtained from segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, computed tomography (CT or echocardiography images. Although these modalities allow imaging of the tissues in vivo, assessment of quality of the reconstruction is limited by the lack of a reference geometry as the subject-specific anatomy is unknown prior to image acquisition. In this work, an optical method based on 3D digital image correlation (3D-DIC techniques is used to reconstruct the shape of the surface of an ex vivo porcine heart. This technique requires two digital charge-coupled device (CCD cameras to provide full-field shape measurements and to generate a standard tessellation language (STL file of the sample surface. The aim of this work was to quantify the error of 3D-DIC shape measurements using the additive manufacturing process. The limitations of 3D printed object resolution, the discrepancy in reconstruction of the surface of cardiac soft tissue and a 3D printed model of the same surface were evaluated. The results obtained demonstrated the ability of the 3D-DIC technique to reconstruct localised and detailed features on the cardiac surface with sub-millimeter accuracy.

Estimating species – area relationships by modeling abundance and frequency subject to incomplete sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaura, Yuichi; Connor, Edward F.; Royle, Andy; Itoh, Katsuo; Sato, Kiyoshi; Taki, Hisatomo; Mishima, Yoshio

2016-01-01

Models and data used to describe species–area relationships confound sampling with ecological process as they fail to acknowledge that estimates of species richness arise due to sampling. This compromises our ability to make ecological inferences from and about species–area relationships. We develop and illustrate hierarchical community models of abundance and frequency to estimate species richness. The models we propose separate sampling from ecological processes by explicitly accounting for the fact that sampled patches are seldom completely covered by sampling plots and that individuals present in the sampling plots are imperfectly detected. We propose a multispecies abundance model in which community assembly is treated as the summation of an ensemble of species-level Poisson processes and estimate patch-level species richness as a derived parameter. We use sampling process models appropriate for specific survey methods. We propose a multispecies frequency model that treats the number of plots in which a species occurs as a binomial process. We illustrate these models using data collected in surveys of early-successional bird species and plants in young forest plantation patches. Results indicate that only mature forest plant species deviated from the constant density hypothesis, but the null model suggested that the deviations were too small to alter the form of species–area relationships. Nevertheless, results from simulations clearly show that the aggregate pattern of individual species density–area relationships and occurrence probability–area relationships can alter the form of species–area relationships. The plant community model estimated that only half of the species present in the regional species pool were encountered during the survey. The modeling framework we propose explicitly accounts for sampling processes so that ecological processes can be examined free of sampling artefacts. Our modeling approach is extensible and could be applied

Flow analysis of water-powder mixtures: Application to specific surface area and shape factor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hunger, M.; Brouwers, H.J.H.

2009-01-01

This paper addresses the characterization of powder materials with respect to their application in concrete. Given that powders provide by far highest percentage of specific surface area in a concrete mix, their packing behavior and water demand is of vital interest for the design of concrete. They

Flow analysis of water-powder mixtures : Application to specific surface area and shape factor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hunger, M.; Brouwers, H.J.H.

2009-01-01

This paper addresses the characterization of powder materials with respect to their application in concrete. Given that powders provide by far highest percentage of specific surface area in a concrete mix, their packing behavior and water demand is of vital interest for the design of concrete. They

Development of a Subject-Specific Foot-Ground Contact Model for Walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Jennifer N; Hass, Chris J; Fregly, Benjamin J

2016-09-01

largest errors in AP CoP occurred at the beginning and end of stance phase when the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) was small. Subject-specific deformable foot-ground contact models created using this approach should enable changes in foot-ground contact pattern to be predicted accurately by gait optimization studies, which may lead to improvements in personalized rehabilitation medicine.

A Computational Framework to Optimize Subject-Specific Hemodialysis Blood Flow Rate to Prevent Intimal Hyperplasia

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoudzadeh, Javid; Wlodarczyk, Marta; Cassel, Kevin

2017-11-01

Development of excessive intimal hyperplasia (IH) in the cephalic vein of renal failure patients who receive chronic hemodialysis treatment results in vascular access failure and multiple treatment complications. Specifically, cephalic arch stenosis (CAS) is known to exacerbate hypertensive blood pressure, thrombosis, and subsequent cardiovascular incidents that would necessitate costly interventional procedures with low success rates. It has been hypothesized that excessive blood flow rate post access maturation which strongly violates the venous homeostasis is the main hemodynamic factor that orchestrates the onset and development of CAS. In this article, a computational framework based on a strong coupling of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and shape optimization is proposed that aims to identify the effective blood flow rate on a patient-specific basis that avoids the onset of CAS while providing the adequate blood flow rate required to facilitate hemodialysis. This effective flow rate can be achieved through implementation of Miller's surgical banding method after the maturation of the arteriovenous fistula and is rooted in the relaxation of wall stresses back to a homeostatic target value. The results are indicative that this optimized hemodialysis blood flow rate is, in fact, a subject-specific value that can be assessed post vascular access maturation and prior to the initiation of chronic hemodialysis treatment as a mitigative action against CAS-related access failure. This computational technology can be employed for individualized dialysis treatment.

Soil protection strategies in Brandenburg - management of waste recycling on devastated areas subject to recultivation (soil protection in recultivation areas)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, M.; Bannick, C.G.

1996-01-01

The article reflects on consideration in the Land (Federal State) Brandenburg in the preliminary stages of a Land regulation on the recycling of wastes on devasted brown coal mining areas from the viewpoint of soil protection. Within the framework of a proposed recultivation, the benefit and harmlessness of recycling shall be examined. The benefits are derived from the preservation, improvement and restoration of soil functions without detrimental effects on other soil functions. In order to make full use of the benefits, a graduated, site-specific system for the main nutrients is presented. For pollutants, different approaches for limitation of the input are discussed. 36 refs., 1 fig., 12 tabs

Robot Towed Shortwave Infrared Camera for Specific Surface Area Retrieval of Surface Snow

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, J.; Lines, A.; Ray, L.; Albert, M. R.

2017-12-01

Optical grain size and specific surface area are key parameters for measuring the atmospheric interactions of snow, as well as tracking metamorphosis and allowing for the ground truthing of remote sensing data. We describe a device using a shortwave infrared camera with changeable optical bandpass filters (centered at 1300 nm and 1550 nm) that can be used to quickly measure the average SSA over an area of 0.25 m^2. The device and method are compared with calculations made from measurements taken with a field spectral radiometer. The instrument is designed to be towed by a small autonomous ground vehicle, and therefore rides above the snow surface on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW) skis.

Genetic structure and genetic diversity of Swietenia macrophylla in areas subjected to selective logging in Quintana Roo, Mexico

OpenAIRE

Alcalá, Raúl Ernesto; Cruz, Silvia De la; Gutiérrez-Granados, Gabriel

2015-01-01

The hypothesis that selective logging has a negative effect by altering the genetic parameters of tropical tree species was evaluated. The genetic diversity and genetic structure between adult trees (N = 47) and saplings (N = 50) of Swietenia macrophylla were contrasted within an area subjected to selective logging in the Mayan zone. Although differences in the number of alleles and in their frequencies were detected between both groups, the observed and expected heterozygosity and the coeffi...

MEG reveals a fast pathway from somatosensory cortex to occipital areas via posterior parietal cortex in a blind subject

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ioannides, Andreas A; Liu, Lichan; Poghosyan, Vahe

2013-01-01

magnetoencephalography (MEG) data recorded from one congenitally blind and two sighted subjects after stimulation of the left and right median nerves at three intensities: below sensory threshold, above sensory threshold and above motor threshold; the last sufficient to produce thumb twitching. We identified...... reproducible brain responses in the primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices at around 20 ms post-stimulus, which were very similar in sighted and blind subjects. Time-frequency analysis revealed strong 45-70 Hz activity at latencies of 20-50 ms in S1 and M1, and posterior parietal cortex Brodmann...... of information through this pathway occurred in stages characterized by convergence of activations into specific cortical regions. In sighted subjects, no linked activity was found that led from the somatosensory to the visual cortex through any of the studied brain regions. These results provide the first...

Specific diversity and morphological indices of muriform rodents in some areas of Semipalatinsk test range zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magda, I.N.; Chernykh, A.B.; Morozov, A.E.; Bushneva, I.A.; Ponyavkina, A.G.

2002-01-01

There were presented the results of the preliminary estimation of comparative specific diversity and morphological indices of muriform rodents inhabiting separate areas of the Semipalatinsk test site. (author)

Conserved regional patterns of GABA-related transcript expression in the neocortex of subjects with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashimoto, Takanori; Bazmi, H Holly; Mirnics, Karoly; Wu, Qiang; Sampson, Allan R; Lewis, David A

2008-04-01

Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit disturbances in a number of cognitive, affective, sensory, and motor functions that depend on the circuitry of different cortical areas. The cognitive deficits associated with dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex result, at least in part, from abnormalities in GABA neurotransmission, as reflected in a specific pattern of altered expression of GABA-related genes. Consequently, the authors sought to determine whether this pattern of altered gene expression is restricted to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or could also contribute to the dysfunction of other cortical areas in subjects with schizophrenia. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the levels of eight GABA-related transcripts in four cortical areas (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and primary motor and primary visual cortices) of subjects (N=12) with schizophrenia and matched normal comparison subjects. Expression levels of seven transcripts were lower in subjects with schizophrenia, with the magnitude of reduction for each transcript comparable across the four areas. The largest reductions were detected for mRNA encoding somatostatin and parvalbumin, followed by moderate decreases in mRNA expression for the 67-kilodalton isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase, the GABA membrane transporter GAT-1, and the alpha 1 and delta subunits of GABA(A) receptors. In contrast, the expression of calretinin mRNA did not differ between the subject groups in any of the four areas. Because the areas examined represent the major functional domains (e.g., association, limbic, motor, and sensory) of the cerebral cortex, our findings suggest that a conserved set of molecular alterations affecting GABA neurotransmission contribute to the pathophysiology of different clinical features of schizophrenia.

Sex-specific mediation effect of the right fusiform face area volume on the association between variants in repeat length of AVPR1A RS3 and altruistic behavior in healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junping; Qin, Wen; Liu, Feng; Liu, Bing; Zhou, Yuan; Jiang, Tianzi; Yu, Chunshui

2016-07-01

Microsatellite variants in the arginine vasopressin receptor 1A gene (AVPR1A) RS3 have been associated with normal social behaviors variation and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a sex-specific manner. However, neural mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unknown. We hypothesized that AVPR1A RS3 variants affect altruistic behavior by modulating the gray matter volume (GMV) of specific brain regions in a sex-specific manner. We investigated 278 young healthy adults using the Dictator Game to assess altruistic behavior. All subjects were genotyped and main effect of AVPR1A RS3 repeat polymorphisms and interaction of genotype-by-sex on the GMV were assessed in a voxel-wise manner. We observed that male subjects with relatively short repeats allocated less money to others and exhibited a significantly smaller GMV in the right fusiform face area (FFA) compared with male long homozygotes. In male subjects, the GMV of the right FFA exhibited a significant positive correlation with altruistic behavior. A mixed mediation and moderation analysis further revealed both a significant mediation effect of the GMV of the right FFA on the association between AVPR1A RS3 repeat polymorphisms and allocation sums and a significant moderation effect of sex (only in males) on the mediation effect. Post hoc analysis showed that the GMV of the right FFA was significantly smaller in male subjects carrying allele 426 than in non-426 carriers. These results suggest that the GMV of the right FFA may be a potential mediator whereby the genetic variants in AVPR1A RS3 affect altruistic behavior in healthy male subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2700-2709, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Differentiation chronic post traumatic stress disorder patients from healthy subjects using objective and subjective sleep-related parameters.

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Tahmasian, Masoud; Jamalabadi, Hamidreza; Abedini, Mina; Ghadami, Mohammad R; Sepehry, Amir A; Knight, David C; Khazaie, Habibolah

2017-05-22

Sleep disturbance is common in chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, prior work has demonstrated that there are inconsistencies between subjective and objective assessments of sleep disturbance in PTSD. Therefore, we investigated whether subjective or objective sleep assessment has greater clinical utility to differentiate PTSD patients from healthy subjects. Further, we evaluated whether the combination of subjective and objective methods improves the accuracy of classification into patient versus healthy groups, which has important diagnostic implications. We recruited 32 chronic war-induced PTSD patients and 32 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects to participate in this study. Subjective (i.e. from three self-reported sleep questionnaires) and objective sleep-related data (i.e. from actigraphy scores) were collected from each participant. Subjective, objective, and combined (subjective and objective) sleep data were then analyzed using support vector machine classification. The classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for subjective variables were 89.2%, 89.3%, and 89%, respectively. The classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for objective variables were 65%, 62.3%, and 67.8%, respectively. The classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for the aggregate variables (combination of subjective and objective variables) were 91.6%, 93.0%, and 90.3%, respectively. Our findings indicate that classification accuracy using subjective measurements is superior to objective measurements and the combination of both assessments appears to improve the classification accuracy for differentiating PTSD patients from healthy individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

English in the nursing degree: a pending subject.

Science.gov (United States)

Camacho-Bejarano, Rafaela; Barquero-González, Ana; Mariscal-Crespo, María Isabel; Merino-Navarro, Dolores

2013-01-01

The new competence profile of nursing professionals, scientific and medical development, the free circulation of health professionals worldwide, and the increasing social and cultural diversity requires that nurses have specific abilities in spoken and written English. The objective of this research is to describe the characteristics of the English language training required for a Bachelors of Nursing in Spain. A descriptive cross-sectional observational study has been performed in forty-six Spanish universities that offer the Bachelor in nursing degree. In line with the directives of the European Higher Education Area, all universities contemplate the mandatory credit of a second language emphasizing English, although there is considerable variability in the emphasis: 39.4% do not include any English subject, and of the remaining 60.6% who do include it, 60% considered it an elective subject, 32.5% basic education, and 7.5% mandatory. The English training has different characteristics in each university, which implies a different commitment from each center for this learning. This fact questions the adequacy of the education in relation to the new competence profile required by the European Higher Education Area, which may adversely affect future professional development.

Ambient pressure dried tetrapropoxysilane-based silica aerogels with high specific surface area

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Parale, Vinayak G.; Han, Wooje; Jung, Hae-Noo-Ree; Lee, Kyu-Yeon; Park, Hyung-Ho

2018-01-01

In the present paper, we report the synthesis of tetrapropoxysilane (TPOS)-based silica aerogels with high surface area and large pore volume. The silica aerogels were prepared by a two-step sol-gel process followed by surface modification via a simple ambient pressure drying approach. In order to minimize drying shrinkage and obtain hydrophobic aerogels, the surface of the alcogels was modified using trichloromethylsilane as a silylating agent. The effect of the sol-gel compositional parameters on the polymerization of aerogels prepared by TPOS, one of the precursors belonging to the Si(OR)4 family, was reported for the first time. The oxalic acid and NH4OH concentrations were adjusted to achieve good-quality aerogels with high surface area, low density, and high transparency. Controlling the hydrolysis and condensation reactions of the TPOS precursor turned out to be the most important factor to determine the pore characteristics of the aerogel. Highly transparent aerogels with high specific surface area (938 m2/g) and low density (0.047 g/cm3) could be obtained using an optimized TPOS/MeOH molar ratio with appropriate concentrations of oxalic acid and NH4OH.

Specific surface area behavior of a dissolving population of particles. Augmenting Mercer Dissolution Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scripsick, R.C.; Rothenberg, S.J.

1986-01-01

Specific surface area (Sp) measurements were made on two uranium oxide aerosol materials before and after in vitro dissolution studies were performed on the materials. The results of these Sp measurements were evaluated relative to predictions made from extending Mercer dissolution theory to describe the Sp behavior of a dissolving population of particles

Occupation as a factor of personality subjective wellbeing.

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Karapetyan L.V.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article examines personality subjective well-being and describes its psychological structure, general components and characteristics. An overview of foreign theories and studies on subjective well-being is presented. Correlations among related concepts such as happiness, life satisfaction and subjective well-being are also described. Subjective well-being is seen as a multivariate construction of a stable nature in mobile equilibrium. It is argued that a type of professional activity can have great importance and a positive impact on an individual’s social life, health, identity shaping and psychological wellness. This article’s findings are substantiated by the survey administered to 2229 respondents divided into groups according to their area of business: students, psychologists, doctors, teachers, engineering and technical staff, representatives of service industries, workers, military men, and prisoners. The descriptors identified two types of natures: positive, directed to a person’s inner world (happy, lucky, optimistic and to the outer world (trustworthy, competent, successful, and negative (pessimistic, unhappy, envious. This division of nature type was categorized according to the participants’ subjective well-being index. Empirical evidence has shown that occupational specificity influences a person’s subjective well-being. A substantial difference was found in subjective well-being index of the respondents. A higher index is typical of students and military men. Educators and industrial intelligentsia also demonstrate an increased level of subjective well-being, whereas prisoners tend to have a low level of subjective well-being. The same low index is characteristic of servicing trade representatives and psychologists.

SAFETY OF PASSIVE HOUSES SUBJECTED TO EARTHQUAKE, FINAL REPORT

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Vojko Kilar

2013-12-01

Full Text Available he topic researched within the applied project. "Safety of passive houses subjected to earthquake" stemmed from two otherwise quite unrelated fields, i.e. seismic resistance and energy efficiency that in European countries do not frequently appear together. Just in Slovenia these two fields join each other, so identifying the problem and establishment of research right in Slovenia represents uniqueness and specificity. The majority of Slovenia is situated in area of moderate seismic risk. In order to ensure adequate mechanical resistance and stability of structures constructed in such area, the consideration of seismic effects is required by law. In Slovenia the number of passive houses and energy efficient buildings increases rapidly. However, for the time being the structural solutions that have been developed and broadly applied mainly in the areas with low seismicity (where the structural control to vertical static loads is sufficient are used. In earthquake-prone areas also adequate resistance to dynamic seismic effects have to be assured.

Task-specific impairments and enhancements induced by magnetic stimulation of human visual area V5.

OpenAIRE

Walsh, V; Ellison, A; Battelli, L; Cowey, A

1998-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to simulate the effects of highly circumscribed brain damage permanently present in some neuropsychological patients, by reversibly disrupting the normal functioning of the cortical area to which it is applied. By using TMS we attempted to recreate deficits similar to those reported in a motion-blind patient and to assess the specificity of deficits when TMS is applied over human area V5. We used six visual search tasks and showed that subje...

Genes expressed in specific areas of the human fetal cerebral cortex display distinct patterns of evolution.

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Nelle Lambert

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The developmental mechanisms through which the cerebral cortex increased in size and complexity during primate evolution are essentially unknown. To uncover genetic networks active in the developing cerebral cortex, we combined three-dimensional reconstruction of human fetal brains at midgestation and whole genome expression profiling. This novel approach enabled transcriptional characterization of neurons from accurately defined cortical regions containing presumptive Broca and Wernicke language areas, as well as surrounding associative areas. We identified hundreds of genes displaying differential expression between the two regions, but no significant difference in gene expression between left and right hemispheres. Validation by qRTPCR and in situ hybridization confirmed the robustness of our approach and revealed novel patterns of area- and layer-specific expression throughout the developing cortex. Genes differentially expressed between cortical areas were significantly associated with fast-evolving non-coding sequences harboring human-specific substitutions that could lead to divergence in their repertoires of transcription factor binding sites. Strikingly, while some of these sequences were accelerated in the human lineage only, many others were accelerated in chimpanzee and/or mouse lineages, indicating that genes important for cortical development may be particularly prone to changes in transcriptional regulation across mammals. Genes differentially expressed between cortical regions were also enriched for transcriptional targets of FoxP2, a key gene for the acquisition of language abilities in humans. Our findings point to a subset of genes with a unique combination of cortical areal expression and evolutionary patterns, suggesting that they play important roles in the transcriptional network underlying human-specific neural traits.

Fabrication of mesoporous and high specific surface area lanthanum carbide-carbon nanotube composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biasetto, L.; Carturan, S.; Maggioni, G.; Zanonato, P.; Bernardo, P. Di; Colombo, P.; Andrighetto, A.; Prete, G.

2009-01-01

Mesoporous lanthanum carbide-carbon nanotube composites were produced by means of carbothermal reaction of lanthanum oxide, graphite and multi-walled carbon nanotube mixtures under high vacuum. Residual gas analysis revealed the higher reactivity of lanthanum oxide towards carbon nanotubes compared to graphite. After sintering, the composites revealed a specific surface area increasing with the amount of carbon nanotubes introduced. The meso-porosity of carbon nanotubes was maintained after thermal treatment.

Ventromedial Frontal Lobe Damage Alters how Specific Attributes are Weighed in Subjective Valuation.

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Vaidya, Avinash R; Sefranek, Marcus; Fellows, Lesley K

2017-10-23

The concept of subjective value is central to current neurobiological views of economic decision-making. Much of this work has focused on signals in the ventromedial frontal lobe (VMF) that correlate with the subjective value of a variety of stimuli (e.g., food, monetary gambles), and are thought to support decision-making. However, the neural processes involved in assessing and integrating value information from the attributes of such complex options remain to be defined. Here, we tested the necessary role of VMF in weighting attributes of naturalistic stimuli during value judgments. We asked how distinct attributes of visual artworks influenced the subjective value ratings of subjects with VMF damage, compared to healthy participants and a frontal lobe damaged control group. Subjects with VMF damage were less influenced by the energy (emotion, complexity) and color radiance (warmth, saturation) of the artwork, while they were similar to control groups in considering saliency, balance and concreteness. These dissociations argue that VMF is critical for allowing certain affective content to influence subjective value, while sparing the influence of perceptual or representational information. These distinctions are important for better defining the often-underspecified concept of subjective value and developing more detailed models of the brain mechanisms underlying decision behavior. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Memory and subjective workload assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Staveland, L.; Hart, S.; Yeh, Y. Y.

1986-01-01

Recent research suggested subjective introspection of workload is not based upon specific retrieval of information from long term memory, and only reflects the average workload that is imposed upon the human operator by a particular task. These findings are based upon global ratings of workload for the overall task, suggesting that subjective ratings are limited in ability to retrieve specific details of a task from long term memory. To clarify the limits memory imposes on subjective workload assessment, the difficulty of task segments was varied and the workload of specified segments was retrospectively rated. The ratings were retrospectively collected on the manipulations of three levels of segment difficulty. Subjects were assigned to one of two memory groups. In the Before group, subjects knew before performing a block of trials which segment to rate. In the After group, subjects did not know which segment to rate until after performing the block of trials. The subjective ratings, RTs (reaction times) and MTs (movement times) were compared within group, and between group differences. Performance measures and subjective evaluations of workload reflected the experimental manipulations. Subjects were sensitive to different difficulty levels, and recalled the average workload of task components. Cueing did not appear to help recall, and memory group differences possibly reflected variations in the groups of subjects, or an additional memory task.

Assessing the Implementation Fidelity of a School-Based Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Program in Physical Education and Other Subject Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Escartí, Amparo; Liops-Goig, Ramon; Wright, Paul M.

2018-01-01

Purpose: The Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model was developed to foster responsibility and teach life skills that transfer to various settings. The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation fidelity of a school-based TPSR program in physical education and other subject areas. Method: Systematic observation was…

Establishment of first engineering specifications for environmental modification to eliminate schistosomiasis epidemic foci in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Shibo; Tan, Xiaodong; Deng, Zhiqing; Xie, Yaofei; Yang, Fen; Zheng, Zengwang

2017-08-01

Snail control is a key link in schistosomiasis control, but no unified methods for eliminating snails have been produced to date. This study was conducted to explore an engineering method for eliminating Oncomelania hupensis applicable to urban areas. The engineering specifications were established using the Delphi method. An engineering project based on these specifications was conducted in Hankou marshland to eliminate snails, including the transformation of the beach surface and ditches. Molluscicide was used as a supplement. The snail control effect was evaluated by field investigation. The engineering results fulfilled the requirements of the design. The snail density decreased to 0/0.11m 2 , and the snail area dropped to 0m 2 after the project. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of frames with snails before and after the project (Pengineering specifications for environmental modification were successfully established. Environmental modification, mainly through beach and ditch remediation, can completely change the environment of Oncomelania breeding. This method of environmental modification combined with mollusciciding was highly effective at eliminating snails. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Non-parametric model selection for subject-specific topological organization of resting-state functional connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrarini, Luca; Veer, Ilya M; van Lew, Baldur; Oei, Nicole Y L; van Buchem, Mark A; Reiber, Johan H C; Rombouts, Serge A R B; Milles, J

2011-06-01

In recent years, graph theory has been successfully applied to study functional and anatomical connectivity networks in the human brain. Most of these networks have shown small-world topological characteristics: high efficiency in long distance communication between nodes, combined with highly interconnected local clusters of nodes. Moreover, functional studies performed at high resolutions have presented convincing evidence that resting-state functional connectivity networks exhibits (exponentially truncated) scale-free behavior. Such evidence, however, was mostly presented qualitatively, in terms of linear regressions of the degree distributions on log-log plots. Even when quantitative measures were given, these were usually limited to the r(2) correlation coefficient. However, the r(2) statistic is not an optimal estimator of explained variance, when dealing with (truncated) power-law models. Recent developments in statistics have introduced new non-parametric approaches, based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, for the problem of model selection. In this work, we have built on this idea to statistically tackle the issue of model selection for the degree distribution of functional connectivity at rest. The analysis, performed at voxel level and in a subject-specific fashion, confirmed the superiority of a truncated power-law model, showing high consistency across subjects. Moreover, the most highly connected voxels were found to be consistently part of the default mode network. Our results provide statistically sound support to the evidence previously presented in literature for a truncated power-law model of resting-state functional connectivity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EFFECTIVENESS OF INTEGRATED NEUROMUSCULAR INHIBITORY TECHNIQUE (INIT WITH SPECIFIC STRENGTH TRAINING EXERCISES IN SUBJECTS WITH UPPER TRAPEZIUS TRIGGER POINTS

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B. Jyothirmai

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Upper trapezius trigger points is a common cause for neck pain, decreased cervical range of motion and functional activities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of integrated neuromuscular inhibitory technique (INIT along with specific strength training exercises in reducing pain, improving ROM and functional activities in subjects with upper trapezius trigger point. Methods: Thirty subjects were diagnosed with upper trapezius trigger points were included in the study. These patients were randomly allocated to intervention group (n=15, which underwent a 4- weeks training program of INIT along with specific strength training & control group (n=15 that received INIT alone. The outcome measures were taken before and after treatment. Outcomes were measured by visual analogue scale, cervical range of motion and neck disability index. Within the groups VAS, NDI, and cervical lateral flexion and rotation showed significant change in the mean value. The comparison of pre and post VAS in experimental group and control group showed a significant change in the experimental group .Paired sample t- test was used to analyze changes from before and after intervention programmed. Results: There is a statistically significant (p<0.00 improvement in both variables from baseline to 4th week in experimental group and control group but compared to control group, experimental group shows highly significant values in all parameters. Conclusion: INIT along with specific strength training is proved to be effective in reducing pain, decreasing disability and improving range of motion in individuals with upper trapezius trigger points.

Enhancement of motor learning by focal intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) of either the primary motor (M1) or somatosensory area (S1) in healthy human subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Platz, Thomas; Adler-Wiebe, Marija; Roschka, Sybille; Lotze, Martin

2018-01-01

Motor rehabilitation after brain damage relies on motor re-learning as induced by specific training. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can alter cortical excitability and thereby has a potential to enhance subsequent training-induced learning. Knowledge about any priming effects of NIBS on motor learning in healthy subjects can help to design targeted therapeutic applications in brain-damaged subjects. To examine whether complex motor learning in healthy subjects can be enhanced by intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to primary motor or sensory cortical areas. Eighteen young healthy subjects trained eight different arm motor tasks (arm ability training, AAT) once a day for 5 days using their left non-dominant arm. Except for day 1 (baseline), training was performed after applying an excitatory form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) to either (I) right M1 or (II) S1, or (III) sham stimulation to the right M1. Subjects were randomly assigned to conditions I, II, or III. A principal component analysis of the motor behaviour data suggested eight independent motor abilities corresponding to the 8 trained tasks. AAT induced substantial motor learning across abilities with generalisation to a non-trained test of finger dexterity (Nine-Hole-Peg-Test, NHPT). Participants receiving iTBS (to either M1 or S1) showed better performance with the AAT tasks over the period of training compared to sham stimulation as well as a bigger improvement with the generalisation task (NHPT) for the trained left hand after training completion. Priming with an excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as iTBS of either M1 or S1 can enhance motor learning across different sensorimotor abilities.

Abnormal functional lateralization and activity of language brain areas in typical specific language impairment (developmental dysphasia)

Science.gov (United States)

De Guibert, Clément; Maumet, Camille; Jannin, Pierre; Ferré, Jean-Christophe; Tréguier, Catherine; Barillot, Christian; Le Rumeur, Elisabeth; Allaire, Catherine; Biraben, Arnaud

2011-01-01

Atypical functional lateralization and specialization for language have been proposed to account for developmental language disorders, yet results from functional neuroimaging studies are sparse and inconsistent. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study compared children with a specific subtype of specific language impairment affecting structural language (n=21), to a matched group of typically-developing children using a panel of four language tasks neither requiring reading nor metalinguistic skills, including two auditory lexico-semantic tasks (category fluency and responsive naming) and two visual phonological tasks based on picture naming. Data processing involved normalizing the data with respect to a matched pairs pediatric template, groups and between-groups analysis, and laterality indexes assessment within regions of interest using single and combined task analysis. Children with specific language impairment exhibited a significant lack of left lateralization in all core language regions (inferior frontal gyrus-opercularis, inferior frontal gyrus-triangularis, supramarginal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus), across single or combined task analysis, but no difference of lateralization for the rest of the brain. Between-group comparisons revealed a left hypoactivation of Wernicke’s area at the posterior superior temporal/supramarginal junction during the responsive naming task, and a right hyperactivation encompassing the anterior insula with adjacent inferior frontal gyrus and the head of the caudate nucleus during the first phonological task. This study thus provides evidence that this specific subtype of specific language impairment is associated with atypical lateralization and functioning of core language areas. PMID:21719430

Renal Function and Ultrasound Imaging in Elderly Subjects

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Luca Zanoli

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We evaluated in elderly subjects (a the ability of GFR formulas to discriminate chronic kidney disease (CKD, (b the correlation between renal morphology and function, and (c the usefulness of combined r-US and GFR formulas to detect CKD. A total of 72 patients were enrolled (mean age 80 ± 7 years, male sex 44%, serum creatinine 0.98 ± 0.42 mg/dL, and CKD 57%. Cockcroft-Gault showed the highest sensitivity (78% and specificity (94% for CKD and was correlated with kidney volume (R=0.68, P<0.001. All formulas failed to provide a reliable estimate of GFR. In multivariate analysis, Cockcroft-Gault < 52 mL/min and kidney sinus section area < 28 cm2 showed the highest accuracy for the identification of CKD subjects (AUC 0.90, P<0.001. MDRD and CKD-EPI differed significantly for GFR ≥90 mL/min. Conclusions. Cockcroft-Gault < 52 mL/min was able to discriminate subjects with CKD but all formulas failed to provide a reliable estimate of GFR. The combined use of r-US and Cockcroft-Gault formula improved the ability to discriminate CKD in elderly subjects.

Spatial variability of soil potassium in sugarcane areas subjected to the application of vinasse

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LAÉRCIO A. DE CARVALHO

2014-12-01

Full Text Available When deposited on land the vinasse can promote improvement in fertility, however, often fertilizer application occurs in areas considered homogeneous, without taking into account the variability of the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vinasse application on potassium content in two classes of soils cultivated with sugarcane, and characterize the spatial variability of soil using geostatistical techniques. In the 2010 and 2011 crop year, soil samples were collected from an experimental grid at 0-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m depth in three soils cultivated with sugarcane, totaling 90 samplings in each grid, for the determination of pH, calcium (Ca, magnesium (Mg, potassium (K, phosphorus (P, aluminum (Al and potential acidity (H + Al. The data have been submitted to analysis of descriptive statistics and the K attribute was subjected to geostatistical analysis. The coefficient of variation indicated medium and high variability of K for the three soils. The results showed that the spatial dependence of K increased in depth to FRce and decreased to PHlv, indicating that the attribute could have followed the pattern of distribution of clay in depth. The investigation of the spatial variability of K on the surface and subsurface soils provided the definition of management zones with different levels of fertility, which can be organized into sub-areas for a more efficient management of the resources and the environment.

SSDOnt: An Ontology for Representing Single-Subject Design Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Berges, Idoia; Bermúdez, Jesus; Illarramendi, Arantza

2018-02-01

Single-Subject Design is used in several areas such as education and biomedicine. However, no suited formal vocabulary exists for annotating the detailed configuration and the results of this type of research studies with the appropriate granularity for looking for information about them. Therefore, the search for those study designs relies heavily on a syntactical search on the abstract, keywords or full text of the publications about the study, which entails some limitations. To present SSDOnt, a specific purpose ontology for describing and annotating single-subject design studies, so that complex questions can be asked about them afterwards. The ontology was developed following the NeOn methodology. Once the requirements of the ontology were defined, a formal model was described in a Description Logic and later implemented in the ontology language OWL 2 DL. We show how the ontology provides a reference model with a suitable terminology for the annotation and searching of single-subject design studies and their main components, such as the phases, the intervention types, the outcomes and the results. Some mappings with terms of related ontologies have been established. We show as proof-of-concept that classes in the ontology can be easily extended to annotate more precise information about specific interventions and outcomes such as those related to autism. Moreover, we provide examples of some types of queries that can be posed to the ontology. SSDOnt has achieved the purpose of covering the descriptions of the domain of single-subject research studies. Schattauer GmbH.

Functional MRI in healthy subjects during acupuncture: different effects of needle rotation in real and false acupoints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, J.L.; Krings, T.; Weidemann, J.; Meister, I.G.; Thron, A.

2004-01-01

The cerebral activation pattern due to acupuncture is not completely understood. Although the effect of acupuncture on cerebral haemodynamics has been studied, no previous report has focused on different puncture and stimulation methods. We used functional MRI (fMRI) in 15 healthy subjects to investigate cortical activation during stimulation of two real acupoints (Liv3 and G40) and one sham point, needled in a random and, for the subjects, blinded order employing rotating and non-rotating methods, using a blocked paradigm on a 1.5 tesla imager. Compared to the non-rotating stimulation method, during rotating stimulation of the real acupoints, we observed an increase in activation in both secondary somatosensory cortical areas, frontal areas, the right side of the thalamus and the left side of the cerebellum; no such effects of the needling technique were seen while stimulating the sham point. The observation that rotating the needle strengthened the effects of acupuncture only at real acupoints suggests that, as claimed in Chinese traditional medicine, stimulation of these acupoints has a specific effect on cortical neuronal activity, absent with sham acupoints. These specific cerebral activation patterns might explain the therapeutic effects of acupuncture in certain subjects. (orig.)

Functional MRI in healthy subjects during acupuncture: different effects of needle rotation in real and false acupoints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fang, J.L. [Department of Radiology, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking (China); Krings, T.; Weidemann, J.; Meister, I.G.; Thron, A. [Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of the University of Technology, Aachen (Germany)

2004-05-01

The cerebral activation pattern due to acupuncture is not completely understood. Although the effect of acupuncture on cerebral haemodynamics has been studied, no previous report has focused on different puncture and stimulation methods. We used functional MRI (fMRI) in 15 healthy subjects to investigate cortical activation during stimulation of two real acupoints (Liv3 and G40) and one sham point, needled in a random and, for the subjects, blinded order employing rotating and non-rotating methods, using a blocked paradigm on a 1.5 tesla imager. Compared to the non-rotating stimulation method, during rotating stimulation of the real acupoints, we observed an increase in activation in both secondary somatosensory cortical areas, frontal areas, the right side of the thalamus and the left side of the cerebellum; no such effects of the needling technique were seen while stimulating the sham point. The observation that rotating the needle strengthened the effects of acupuncture only at real acupoints suggests that, as claimed in Chinese traditional medicine, stimulation of these acupoints has a specific effect on cortical neuronal activity, absent with sham acupoints. These specific cerebral activation patterns might explain the therapeutic effects of acupuncture in certain subjects. (orig.)

Organic solar cell modules for specific applications-From energy autonomous systems to large area photovoltaics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niggemann, M.; Zimmermann, B.; Haschke, J.; Glatthaar, M.; Gombert, A.

2008-01-01

We report on the development of two types of organic solar cell modules one for energy autonomous systems and one for large area energy harvesting. The first requires a specific tailoring of the solar cell geometry and cell interconnection in order to power an energy autonomous system under its specific operating conditions. We present an organic solar cell module with 22 interconnected solar cells. A power conversion efficiency of 2% under solar illumination has been reached on the active area of 46.2 cm 2 . A voltage of 4 V at the maximum power point has been obtained under indoor illumination conditions. Micro contact printing of a self assembling monolayer was employed for the patterning of the polymer anode. Large area photovoltaic modules have to meet the requirements on efficiency, lifetime and costs simultaneously. To minimize the production costs, a suitable concept for efficient reel-to-reel production of large area modules is needed. A major contribution to reduce the costs is the substitution of the commonly used indium tin oxide electrode by a cheap material. We present the state of the art of the anode wrap through concept as a reel-to-reel suited module concept and show comparative calculations of the module interconnection of the wrap through concept and the standard ITO-based cell architecture. As a result, the calculated overall module efficiency of the anode wrap through module exceeds the overall efficiency of modules based on ITO on glass (sheet resistance 15 Ω/square) and on foils (sheet resistance 60 Ω/square)

Testing thermal comfort of trekking boots: an objective and subjective evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Arezes, P M; Neves, M M; Teixeira, S F; Leão, C P; Cunha, J L

2013-07-01

The study of the thermal comfort of the feet when using a specific type of shoe is of paramount importance, in particular if the main goal of the study is to attend to the needs of users. The main aim of this study was to propose a test battery for thermal comfort analysis and to apply it to the analysis of trekking boots. Methodologically, the project involves both objective and subjective evaluations. An objective evaluation of the thermal properties of the fabrics used in the boots was developed and applied. In addition, the thermal comfort provided when using the boots was also assessed both subjective and objectively. The evaluation of the thermal comfort during use, which was simulated in a laboratory environment, included the measurement of the temperature and moisture of the feet. The subjective assessment was performed using a questionnaire. From the results obtained, it was possible to define an optimal combination of fabrics to apply to trekking boots by considering the provided thermal insulation, air permeability and wicking. The results also revealed that the subjective perception of thermal comfort appears to be more related to the increase in temperature of the feet than to the moisture retention inside the boot. Although the evaluation of knits used in the boots indicated that a particular combination of fibres was optimal for use in the inner layer, the subjective and objective evaluation of thermal comfort revealed that the evaluation provided by users did not necessarily match the technical assessment data. No correlation was observed between the general comfort and specific thermal comfort assessments. Finally, the identification of thermal discomfort by specific foot areas would be useful in the process of designing and developing boots. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Interrelations between orthostatic postural deviations and subjects' age, sex, malocclusion, and specific signs and symptoms of functional pathologies of the temporomandibular system: a preliminary correlation and regression study.

Science.gov (United States)

Munhoz, Wagner Cesar; Hsing, Wu Tu

2014-07-01

Studies on the relationships between postural deviations and the temporomandibular system (TS) functional health are controversial and inconclusive. This study stems from the hypothesis that such inconclusiveness is due to authors considering functional pathologies of the TS (FPTS) as a whole, without taking into account subjects' specific FPTS signs and symptoms. Based on the author and collaborators' previous studies, the present study analyzed data on body posture from a sample of 50 subjects with (30) and without (20) FPTS. Correlation analyses were applied, taking as independent variables age, sex, Helkimo anamnestic, occlusal, and dysfunction indices, as well as FPTS specific signs and symptoms. Postural assessments of the head, cervical spine, shoulders, lumbar spine, and hips were the dependent variables. Linear regression equations were built that proved to partially predict the presence and magnitude of body posture deviations by drawing on subjects' characteristics and specific FPTS symptoms. Determination coefficients for these equations ranged from 0.082 to 0.199 in the univariate, and from 0.121 to 0.502 in the multivariate regression analyses. Results show that factors intrinsic to the subjects or the TS may potentially interfere in results of studies that analyze relationships between FPTS and body posture. Furthermore, a trend to specificity was found, e.g. the degree of cervical lordosis was found to correlate to age and FPTS degree of severity, suggesting that some TS pathological features, or malocclusion, age or sex, may be more strongly correlated than others with specific posture patterns.

Distinguishing medication-free subjects with unipolar disorder from subjects with bipolar disorder: state matters.

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Rive, Maria M; Redlich, Ronny; Schmaal, Lianne; Marquand, André F; Dannlowski, Udo; Grotegerd, Dominik; Veltman, Dick J; Schene, Aart H; Ruhé, Henricus G

2016-11-01

Recent studies have indicated that pattern recognition techniques of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for individual classification may be valuable for distinguishing between major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Importantly, medication may have affected previous classification results as subjects with MDD and BD use different classes of medication. Furthermore, almost all studies have investigated only depressed subjects. Therefore, we focused on medication-free subjects. We additionally investigated whether classification would be mood state independent by including depressed and remitted subjects alike. We applied Gaussian process classifiers to investigate the discriminatory power of structural MRI (gray matter volumes of emotion regulation areas) and resting-state fMRI (resting-state networks implicated in mood disorders: default mode network [DMN], salience network [SN], and lateralized frontoparietal networks [FPNs]) in depressed (n=42) and remitted (n=49) medication-free subjects with MDD and BD. Depressed subjects with MDD and BD could be classified based on the gray matter volumes of emotion regulation areas as well as DMN functional connectivity with 69.1% prediction accuracy. Prediction accuracy using the FPNs and SN did not exceed chance level. It was not possible to discriminate between remitted subjects with MDD and BD. For the first time, we showed that medication-free subjects with MDD and BD can be differentiated based on structural MRI as well as resting-state functional connectivity. Importantly, the results indicated that research concerning diagnostic neuroimaging tools distinguishing between MDD and BD should consider mood state as only depressed subjects with MDD and BD could be correctly classified. Future studies, in larger samples are needed to investigate whether the results can be generalized to medication-naïve or first-episode subjects. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley

[Clinical-demographic factors associated with fear-avoidance in subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain in Primary Care: secondary analysis of intervention study].

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Cerrillo, Juan Luis; Rondón-Ramos, Antonio; Clavero-Cano, Susana; Pérez-González, Rita; Martinez-Calderon, Javier; Luque-Suarez, Alejandro

2018-01-30

To describe some sociodemographics and clinical characteristics of subjects with Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain (NCLBP) in Primary Care, as well as to investigate their association with Fear-Avoidance (FA). Cross-sectional. Secondary analysis of an intervention study. Basic Health Areas in Costa del Sol Health District (Málaga, Spain). An analysis was performed on 147 subjects with NCLBP from a previous intervention study database in Primary Care Physiotherapy (PCP). Characteristics: age 18-65; understanding of the Spanish language; absence of cognitive disorders, fibromyalgia or dorsolumbar surgery, and to be able to perform physical exercise. The main variable was FA level (FABQ and the FABQ-PA and FABQ-W) sub-scales. Clinical variables included: pain (NRPS-11), disability (RMQ), evolution, previous treatments and diagnostic imaging. The sociodemographic variables included: gender, age, educational level, and employment status. Just over half (51.7%) of the subjects had high FA on the FABQ-PA sub-scale. Sick leave (SL) [β=24.45 (P=.009 * ); β=13.03 (P=.016 * ); β=14.04 (P=.011 * ) for FABQ, FABQ-PA and FABQ-W, respectively]; primary studies level [β=15.09 (P=.01 * ); β=9.73 (P=.01 * ) for FABQ and FABQ-PA], and disability [β=1.45 (P<.001); β=0.61 (P<.001); β=0.68 (P<.001) for FABQ, FABQ-PA and FABQ-W, respectively] were associated with FA when they were modeled by multivariate regression. Some sociodemographic and clinical features of the NCLBP population are presented. Imaging tests (81.63%) and previous passive treatments (55.78%) could reflect problems of adherence to recommendations of CPGs. Sick leave, primary studies level, and disability were associated with FA. The findings should be interpreted in the light of possible limitations. Some suggestions for clinical practice are provided. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Modeling interchild differences in pharmacokinetics on the basis of subject-specific data on physiology and hepatic CYP2E1 levels: A case study with toluene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nong, A.; McCarver, D.G.; Hines, R.N.; Krishnan, K.

2006-01-01

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the magnitude of interindividual variability in the internal dose of toluene in children of various age groups, on the basis of subject-specific hepatic CYP2E1 content and physiology. The methodology involved the use of a previously validated physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model, in which the intrinsic clearance for hepatic metabolism (CL int ) was expressed in terms of the CYP2E1 content. The adult toluene PBPK model, with enzyme content-normalized CL int , facilitated the calculation of child-specific CL int based on knowledge of hepatic CYP2E1 protein levels. The child-specific physiological parameters, except liver volume, were computed with knowledge of age and body weight, whereas physicochemical parameters for toluene were kept age-invariant based on available data. The actual individual-specific liver volume (autopsy data) was also included in the model. The resulting model was used to simulate the blood concentration profiles in children exposed by inhalation, to 1 ppm toluene for 24 h. For this exposure scenario, the area under the venous blood concentration vs. time curve (AUC) ranged from 0.30 to 1.01 μg/ml x h in neonates with low CYP2E1 concentration (<3.69 pmol/mg protein). The simulations indicated that neonates with higher levels of CYP2E1 (4.33 to 55.93 pmol/mg protein) as well as older children would have lower AUC (0.16 to 0.43 μg/ml x h). The latter values were closer to those simulated for adults. Similar results were also obtained for 7 h exposure to 17 ppm toluene, a scenario previously evaluated in human volunteers. The interindividual variability factor for each subgroup of children and adults, calculated as the ratio of the 95th and 50th percentile values of AUC, was within a factor of 2. The 95th percentile value of the low metabolizing neonate group, however, was greater than the mean adult AUC by a factor of 3.9. This study demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating

Health Policy as a Specific Area of Social Policy

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Dominika Pekarová

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose and Originality: The aim of the article was to analyse the work of the health policy which is a very specific part of social policy. In the work we focus on its financing, which is a very important issue in the health care. We try to show, what is the role of the state in the health care system as well as the creation of resources and control costs in the health sector. The work is finding such as financing health care in Slovakia and in other selected countries, and which could be changed for the best operation. Method: The analysis was carried out on the basis of the information which I drew from books and Internet resources. The work is divided into two parts. Contains 9 tables and 3 charts. The first chapter is devoted to a general description of social policy, its funding, with a focus on health policy than its specific area. The second chapter analyses the financing systems of health policy in Slovakia and in selected countries. Results: The results showed that the Slovak health care makes is trying hard to catch up with the level of the best health care systems. However, there are countries, which are doing much worse than us, in terms of funding. Society: It is important to properly invest money but also communication between states. To get help on health and to ensure that citizens know states the best conditions of health care. Limitations / further research: This work is focused on how to bring closer health care and its financing in several different countries economically. IN doing so some other aspects such as what is best level of services, etc. were put aside.

14C specific activity of farm products and marine products collected from the Rokkasho area in Aomori prefecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muranaka, Takeshi; Honda, Kazuya

1996-01-01

We investigated 14 C specific activity of farm products and marine products which were collected from the Rokkasho area in Aomori prefecture from 1988 to 1990. The measured 14 C specific activity of farm products was almost equal to one another with the averaged 14 C specific activity of 0.261 [Bq/g·C]. On the other hand, 14 C specific activity of marine products was slightly lower than those of farm products. Especially that of squid was the lowest among studied marine products. This may be due to the low 14 C specific activity of the sea water surrounding squid. (author)

The dynamics of visual experience, an EEG study of subjective pattern formation.

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Mark A Elliott

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Since the origin of psychological science a number of studies have reported visual pattern formation in the absence of either physiological stimulation or direct visual-spatial references. Subjective patterns range from simple phosphenes to complex patterns but are highly specific and reported reliably across studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using independent-component analysis (ICA we report a reduction in amplitude variance consistent with subjective-pattern formation in ventral posterior areas of the electroencephalogram (EEG. The EEG exhibits significantly increased power at delta/theta and gamma-frequencies (point and circle patterns or a series of high-frequency harmonics of a delta oscillation (spiral patterns. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Subjective-pattern formation may be described in a way entirely consistent with identical pattern formation in fluids or granular flows. In this manner, we propose subjective-pattern structure to be represented within a spatio-temporal lattice of harmonic oscillations which bind topographically organized visual-neuronal assemblies by virtue of low frequency modulation.

Popcorn-Derived Porous Carbon Flakes with an Ultrahigh Specific Surface Area for Superior Performance Supercapacitors.

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Hou, Jianhua; Jiang, Kun; Wei, Rui; Tahir, Muhammad; Wu, Xiaoge; Shen, Ming; Wang, Xiaozhi; Cao, Chuanbao

2017-09-13

Popcorn-derived porous carbon flakes have been successfully fabricated from the biomass of maize. Utilizing the "puffing effect", the nubby maize grain turned into materials with an interconnected honeycomb-like porous structure composed of carbon flakes. The following chemical activation method enabled the as-prepared products to possess optimized porous structures for electrochemical energy-storage devices, such as multilayer flake-like structures, ultrahigh specific surface area (S BET : 3301 m 2 g -1 ), and a high content of micropores (microporous surface area of 95%, especially the optimized sub-nanopores with the size of 0.69 nm) that can increase the specific capacitance. The as-obtained sample displayed excellent specific capacitance of 286 F g -1 at 90 A g -1 for supercapacitors. Moreover, the unique porous structure demonstrated an ideal way to improve the volumetric energy density performance. A high energy density of 103 Wh kg -1 or 53 Wh L -1 has been obtained in the case of ionic liquid electrolyte, which is the highest among reported biomass-derived carbon materials and will satisfy the urgent requirements of a primary power source for electric vehicles. This work may prove to be a fast, green, and large-scale synthesis route by using the large nubby granular materials to synthesize applicable porous carbons in energy-storage devices.

Effect of toe-spread-out exercise on hallux valgus angle and cross-sectional area of abductor hallucis muscle in subjects with hallux valgus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Moon-Hwan; Yi, Chung-Hwi; Weon, Jong-Hyuck; Cynn, Heon-Seock; Jung, Do-Young; Kwon, Oh-Yun

2015-04-01

[Purpose] This study investigated whether the toe-spread-out exercise affects the hallux valgus angle, the cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis muscle, and the hallux valgus angle during active abduction. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four subjects with hallux valgus were randomly assigned to orthosis and orthosis plus toe-spread-out exercise groups. The orthosis group wore the orthosis for 8 weeks, while the orthosis plus toe-spread-out group also performed the toe-spread-out exercise. The hallux valgus angle, the cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis muscle, and the hallux valgus angle during active abduction were measured initially and after 8 weeks by radiography and ultrasonography. [Results] While there were no significant changes in the three parameters in the orthosis group, there were significant differences in the orthosis plus toe-spread-out exercise group after 8 weeks. In addition there were significant differences in the three measures between the two groups. [Conclusion] The toe-spread-out exercise reduces the hallux valgus angle and hallux valgus angle during active abduction, and increases the cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis muscle. The toe-spread-out exercise is recommended for patients with mild to moderate hallux valgus.

THE EFFECT OF STORAGE AT AMBIENT HUMIDITY ON THE BET-SPECIFIC SURFACE-AREA OF TABLETS COMPACTED FROM DIFFERENT MATERIALS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

RIEPMA, KA; DEKKER, BG; JAGER, RS; ELBERSE, PA; LERK, CF

1993-01-01

Tablets compacted from both water soluble and water insoluble particulate solids showed no change in BET-specific surface area when transferred immediately after ejection from the die in a dry atmosphere. Storage at ambient humidity resulted in an irreversible decrease in surface area, caused by

Optimization of operating variables for production of ultra-fine talc in a stirred mill. Specific surface area investigations

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Toraman Oner Yusuf

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Due to its properties such as chemical inertness, softness, whiteness, high thermal conductivity, low electrical conductivity and adsorption properties talc has wide industrial applications in paper, cosmetics, paints, polymer, ceramics, refractory materials and pharmaceutical. The demand for ultra-fine talc is emerging which drives the mineral industry to produce value added products. In this study, it was investigated how certain grinding parameters such as mill speed, ball filling ratio, powder filling ratio and grinding time of dry stirred mill affect grindability of talc ore (d97=127 μm. A series of laboratory experiments using a 24 full factorial design was conducted to determine the optimal operational parameters of a stirred mill in order to minimize the specific surface area. The main and interaction effects on the volume specific surface area (SV, m2.cm−3 of the ground product were evaluated using the Yates analysis. Under the optimal conditions at the stirrer speed of 600 rpm, grinding time of 20 min, sample mass of 5% and ball ratio of 70%, the resulting talc powder had larger volume specific surface area (i.e., 3.48 m2.cm−3 than the starting material (i.e., 1.84 m2.cm−3.

Inhalation of road dust by human subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Takishima, T; Nakamura, M; Sasaki, M; Miyano, M; Yamaya, M; Sasaki, H

1987-11-01

We measured pneumomagnetic field strength (PMFS) in 42 healthy control subjects living in districts of Northern Japan with low levels of road dust pollution and in 39 healthy subjects living in areas with high levels of road dust pollution. Suspended road dust produced by studded tires increases from 30 micrograms/m3 during the summer season to levels as high as 400 micrograms/m3 during the snow season in the downtown areas of Sendai, Japan. Road dust retained in the lungs, containing 3% iron, was magnetized from the surface of the chest wall, and PMFS was measured. Three to 5 sequential PMFS measurements were made in each subject in March and October of 1984 and 1985, and in March 1986. The PMFS in control subjects in March 1984 was 37 +/- 14 pico-Tesla (mean +/- SD) and did not significantly differ from the PMFS in October 1984 or that in March 1985. In March 1984, the PMFS of the subjects in highly polluted areas was 95 +/- 100 pico-Tesla (mean +/- SD) and was significantly higher than that of control subjects (p less than 0.01) and subsequently decreased in March 1985 and in March 1986, corresponding to a decrease in suspended road dust brought about by a campaign to eliminate the use of studded tires. Our findings suggest that some road dust caused by studded tires is retained in the lungs.

EVALUATION OF MAXILLARY BONE DIMENSIONS IN SPECIFIC AREAS FOR REMOVABLE DENTURES

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Dobromira Shopova

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The removable prosthetics is a big part of Prosthetic Dentistry. The prosthetic field is very important for successful treatment with partial or complete dentures. Maxillary bone is covered with soft tissues, but its anatomy is essential for retention, chewing stability and comfort of the patients. Purpose: The study’s aim was to evaluate the dimensions of maxillary bone in specific zones for removable dentures. Methods: Sixteen craniums were measured in 10 different zones. It was used an Electronic Digital Caliper 0-150 mm. Results: Consistently were applied F-test and Welch t-test for equality of variance and group’s comparison mean, respectively. The spread of the data was described by calculating range and standard deviation. The estimated value of range was highest in the FI-A1P, followed by FI-AC and FI-A2P. The smallest amplitude was established in the TM-PP and SNA. The estimated value of standard deviation was 2,57/2,51 in FI-AC zone, 2,46/2,59 in FI-A1P zone and a few smaller 2,08/2,13 in FI-A2P zone. The lowest values were in TM-PP and SNA areas. Conclusion: Tuber maxillae and Spina nasalis anterior have stable dimensions. The areas of canine and premolars are varied, because the zone is tasked by chewing function.

Sensitivity and specificity of a new MRI method evaluating temporo-mandibular joint disc-condyle relationships: an in vivo study.

Science.gov (United States)

Benbelaïd, R; Fleiter, B

2006-03-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of a new method to locate temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) disc using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and analyze disc-condyle relationships, in asymptomatic subjects and patients with disc displacement. Twenty-nine sagittal MRI of 16 subjects, 8 asymptomatic volunteers and 8 subjects with anterior disc displacement, were carried out during controlled opening from intercuspal position up to a 25 mm opening. Selected sections were analyzed with a graphic computerized system of coordinates. The total surface area (TS) of disc section was separated into anterior surface area (AS) and posterior surface area. Areas were determined by computer. Two trained examiners drew images at random. The reliability of AS/TS ratio index was evaluated in a previous study. AS/TS ratio sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were calculated closed mouth, 5 mm open and 25 mm open mouth. Best sensitivity (Se=0.63) and specificity (Sp=0.81) were obtained when MRI was realized with closed mouth and 25 mm open mouth. Lower sensitivity was observed when MRI was performed either with closed mouth (Se=0.54) or 25 mm open mouth (Se=0.18). Lower specificity was observed with 5 mm open mouth (Sp=0.68). In conclusion, it was confirmed as well that MRI of anterior disc displacement should be performed with closed mouth and opened mouth. Thus, further studies are required to assess disc displacement and mechanical alterations and to evaluate the risk of direct damage on TMJ tissues.

Main challenges of residential areas

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Oana Luca

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present article is a position paper aiming to initiate a professional debate related to the aspects related to the urban dysfunctions leading to the wear of the residential areas. The paper proposes a definition of the wear process, identify the main causes leading to its occurrence and propose a number of solutions to neutralise the dysfunctions. The three wearing phases of residential areas components are emphasized, exploring their lifecycle. In order to perform the study of urban wear, the status of the residential areas components can be established and monitored, and also the variables of the function that can mathematically model the specific wear process may be considered. The paper is considered a first step for the model adjustment, to be tested and validated in the following steps. Based on the mathematical method and model, there can be created, in a potential future research, the possibility of determining the precarity degree for residential areas/neighbourhoods and cities, by minimising the subjective component of the analyses preceding the decision for renovation or regeneration.

Energy Data Base: subject categories and scope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bost, D.E.

1985-03-01

The subject scope of the Energy Data Base (EDB) encompasses all DOE-sponsored research. Broadly defined, EDB subject scope includes all technological aspects of energy production, conversion, and efficient utilization, and the economic, social, and political aspects as well. Scope notes are provided to define the extent of interest in certain subject areas, particularly areas of basic research. Cross references between categories are provided to aid both the categorization of information and its retrieval. Citations entered into DOE's computerized bibliographic information system are assigned six-digit subject category numbers to broadly group information for storage, retrieval, and manipulation. These numbers are used in the preparation of printed documents, such as bibliographies and abstract journals, to arrange the citations and to aid searching on the DOE/RECON on-line system

The effect of air pollution and other environmental stressors on leaf fluctuating asymmetry and specific leaf area of Salix alba L

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Wuytack, Tatiana, E-mail: tatiana.wuytack@ua.ac.be [Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Wuyts, Karen, E-mail: karen.wuyts@ugent.be [Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, B-9090 Gontrode (Melle) (Belgium); Van Dongen, Stefan, E-mail: stefan.vandongen@ua.ac.be [Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Baeten, Lander, E-mail: lander.baeten@ugent.be [Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, B-9090 Gontrode (Melle) (Belgium); Kardel, Fatemeh, E-mail: fatemeh.kardel@ua.ac.be [Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Verheyen, Kris, E-mail: kris.verheyen@ugent.be [Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, B-9090 Gontrode, Melle (Belgium); Samson, Roeland, E-mail: roeland.samson@ua.ac.be [Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium)

2011-10-15

We aimed at evaluating the effect of low-level air pollution on leaf area fluctuating asymmetry (FAA) and specific leaf area (SLA) of Salix alba L., taking into account other environmental factors. Cuttings were grown in standardized conditions in the near vicinity of air quality measuring stations in Belgium. Variability of SLA and FAA between measuring stations explained 83% and 7.26%, respectively, of the total variability. FAA was not influenced by air pollution or environmental factors such as shading, herbivory, air temperature and humidity. SLA was increased by an increase in shadow, while NO{sub x} and O{sub 3} concentrations had only a marginal influence. The influence of SO{sub 2} concentration was negligible. Although our data analysis suggests a relationship between SLA and NO{sub x}/O{sub 3} concentration, the absence of a straightforward relationship between FAA and SLA and air pollution still questions the usefulness of these bio-indicators for monitoring air pollution. - Highlights: > Leaf characteristics of white willow as possible bio-indicators for air quality. > Fluctuating asymmetry is not a good bio-indicator for monitoring the air quality. > Shadow increases specific leaf area. > NO{sub x} and O{sub 3} change specific leaf area of white willow. - Specific leaf area of S. alba increased with increasing shade and, in less extent, with increasing NO{sub x} and decreasing O{sub 3} concentration, while leaf asymmetry did not respond to air pollution

The effect of air pollution and other environmental stressors on leaf fluctuating asymmetry and specific leaf area of Salix alba L

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wuytack, Tatiana; Wuyts, Karen; Van Dongen, Stefan; Baeten, Lander; Kardel, Fatemeh; Verheyen, Kris; Samson, Roeland

2011-01-01

We aimed at evaluating the effect of low-level air pollution on leaf area fluctuating asymmetry (FAA) and specific leaf area (SLA) of Salix alba L., taking into account other environmental factors. Cuttings were grown in standardized conditions in the near vicinity of air quality measuring stations in Belgium. Variability of SLA and FAA between measuring stations explained 83% and 7.26%, respectively, of the total variability. FAA was not influenced by air pollution or environmental factors such as shading, herbivory, air temperature and humidity. SLA was increased by an increase in shadow, while NO x and O 3 concentrations had only a marginal influence. The influence of SO 2 concentration was negligible. Although our data analysis suggests a relationship between SLA and NO x /O 3 concentration, the absence of a straightforward relationship between FAA and SLA and air pollution still questions the usefulness of these bio-indicators for monitoring air pollution. - Highlights: → Leaf characteristics of white willow as possible bio-indicators for air quality. → Fluctuating asymmetry is not a good bio-indicator for monitoring the air quality. → Shadow increases specific leaf area. → NO x and O 3 change specific leaf area of white willow. - Specific leaf area of S. alba increased with increasing shade and, in less extent, with increasing NO x and decreasing O 3 concentration, while leaf asymmetry did not respond to air pollution

Brief Report: Loss of Muscle Strength Prior to Knee Replacement: A Question of Anatomic Cross-Sectional Area or Specific Strength?

Science.gov (United States)

Culvenor, Adam G; Hamler, Felix C; Kemnitz, Jana; Wirth, Wolfgang; Eckstein, Felix

2018-02-01

To determine whether loss in thigh muscle strength prior to knee replacement is caused by reductions of muscle strength in the anatomic cross-sectional area or by reductions of specific strength. All 100 of the participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative who underwent knee replacement and whose medical records included data on thigh isometric muscle strength and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (58 women, and 42 men, mean ± SD age 65 ± 8 years, mean ± SD body mass index [BMI] 29 ± 5 kg/m 2 ) were matched with a control (no knee replacement) for age, sex, height, BMI, and radiographic severity. Thigh muscle anatomic cross-sectional area was determined by MRI at the research visit before knee replacement (time 0) and 2 years before time 0 (time -2). Specific strength (strength/anatomic cross-sectional area) was calculated, and the measures were compared by conditional logistic regression (i.e., odds ratio [OR] per standard deviation). ORs adjusted for pain (OR adj ) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were also calculated. Knee replacement cases had significantly smaller extensor (but not flexor) anatomic cross-sectional areas than controls at time 0 (women, OR adj 1.89 [95% CI 1.05-3.90]; men, OR adj 2.22 [95% CI 1.04-4.76]), whereas no significant differences were found at time -2. Women who had knee replacement showed lower levels of extensor specific strength than controls at time 0 (OR 1.59 [95% CI 1.02-2.50]), although this difference was not observed in men and did not maintain significance after adjustment for pain (OR adj 1.22 [95% CI 0.71-2.08]). Female cases lost significantly more extensor specific strength between time -2 and time 0 than controls (OR adj 3.76 [95% CI 1.04-13.60]), whereas no significant differences were noted at time -2, or in men. Prior to knee replacement, a significant reduction in knee extensor strength appears to occur in women through 2 mechanisms: one driven by pain (loss of specific strength) and one independent of pain

Area-specific development of distinct projection neuron subclasses is regulated by postnatal epigenetic modifications

Science.gov (United States)

Harb, Kawssar; Magrinelli, Elia; Nicolas, Céline S; Lukianets, Nikita; Frangeul, Laura; Pietri, Mariel; Sun, Tao; Sandoz, Guillaume; Grammont, Franck; Jabaudon, Denis; Studer, Michèle; Alfano, Christian

2016-01-01

During cortical development, the identity of major classes of long-distance projection neurons is established by the expression of molecular determinants, which become gradually restricted and mutually exclusive. However, the mechanisms by which projection neurons acquire their final properties during postnatal stages are still poorly understood. In this study, we show that the number of neurons co-expressing Ctip2 and Satb2, respectively involved in the early specification of subcerebral and callosal projection neurons, progressively increases after birth in the somatosensory cortex. Ctip2/Satb2 postnatal co-localization defines two distinct neuronal subclasses projecting either to the contralateral cortex or to the brainstem suggesting that Ctip2/Satb2 co-expression may refine their properties rather than determine their identity. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches reveal that the transcriptional adaptor Lmo4 drives this maturation program through modulation of epigenetic mechanisms in a time- and area-specific manner, thereby indicating that a previously unknown genetic program postnatally promotes the acquisition of final subtype-specific features. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09531.001 PMID:26814051

Sex-specific differences of craniofacial traits in Croatia: the impact of environment in a small geographic area.

Science.gov (United States)

Buretic-Tomljanovic, Alena; Giacometti, Jasminka; Ostojic, Sasa; Kapovic, Miljenko

2007-01-01

Craniometric variation in humans reflects different genetic and environmental influences. Long-term climatic adaptation is less likely to show an impact on size and shape variation in a small local area than at the global level. The aim of this work was to assess the contribution of the particular environmental factors to body height and craniofacial variability in a small geographic area of Croatia. A total of 632 subjects, aged 18-21, participated in the survey. Body height, head length, head breadth, head height, head circumference, cephalic index, morphological face height, face breadth, and facial index were analysed regarding geographic, climatic and dietary conditions in different regions of the country, and correlated with the specific climatic variables (cumulative multiyear sunshine duration, cumulative multiyear average precipitation, multiyear average air temperatures) and calcium concentrations in drinking water. Significant differences between groups classified according to geographic, climatic or dietary affiliation, and the impact of the environmental predictors on the variation in the investigated traits were assessed using multiple forward stepwise regression analyses. Higher body height measures in both sexes were significantly correlated with Mediterranean diet type. Mediterranean diet type also contributed to higher head length and head circumference measures in females. Cephalic index values correlated to geographic regions in both sexes, showing an increase from southern to eastern Croatia. In the same direction, head length significantly decreased in males and head breadth increased in females. Mediterranean climate was associated with higher and narrower faces in females. The analysis of the particular climatic variables did not reveal a significant influence on body height in either sex. Concurrently, climatic features influenced all craniofacial traits in females and only head length and facial index in males. Mediterranean climate

Retrieval of Specific Leaf Area From Landsat-8 Surface Reflectance Data Using Statistical and Physical Models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ali, Abebe Mohammed; Darvishzadeh, R.; Skidmore, Andrew K.

2017-01-01

One of the key traits in the assessment of ecosystem functions is a specific leaf area (SLA). The main aim of this study was to examine the potential of new generation satellite images, such as Landsat-8 imagery, for the retrieval of SLA at regional and global scales. Therefore, both statistical and

Area-specific information processing in prefrontal cortex during a probabilistic inference task: a multivariate fMRI BOLD time series analysis.

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Charmaine Demanuele

tool to assess how area-specific processing is altered in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and in healthy subjects carrying different genetic polymorphisms.

Vision as subjective perception; La vision, une perception subjective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reppas, J.B. [Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Biological Labs.; Dale, A.; Sereno, M.; Tootell, R.

1996-07-01

The human brain is not very different of the monkey`s one: at least, its visual cortex is organized as a similar scheme. Specialized areas in the movement analysis are found and others in the forms perception. In this work, the author tries to answer to the following questions: (1)why so many visual areas? What are exactly their role in vision? Thirteen years of experimentation have not allowed to answer to these questions. The cerebral NMR imaging gives the opportunity of understanding the subjective perception of the visual world. One step which is particularly described in this work is to know how the visual cortex reacts to the optical illusions. (O.M.).

2000 survey of window manufacturers on the subject of switchable glass

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LaPointe, Michael R.; Sottile, Gregory M.

2001-11-01

The results of a 2000 survey of United States window manufacturers on the subject of switchable glass are discussed. The areas covered in this paper include awareness of the overall product category of switchable glass and various types of switchable glass, attitudes toward specific features of switchable glass, expectations for manufacturer production of such products, expectations for market penetration rates among end-product consumers, levels of price sensitivity among window manufacturers regarding switchable glass, and expectations for the pace of new product development within the window industry over the next five years.

Prevalence, clinical profile, iron status, and subject-specific traits for excessive erythrocytosis in andean adults living permanently at 3,825 meters above sea level.

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De Ferrari, Aldo; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H; Dávila-Román, Victor G; León-Velarde, Fabiola; Rivera-Ch, Maria; Huicho, Luis; Bernabé-Ortiz, Antonio; Wise, Robert A; Checkley, William

2014-11-01

Excessive erythrocytosis (EE) is a prevalent condition in populations living at high altitudes (> 2,500 m above sea level). Few large population-based studies have explored the association between EE and multiple subject-specific traits including oxygen saturation, iron status indicators, and pulmonary function. We enrolled a sex-stratified and age-stratified sample of 1,065 high-altitude residents aged ≥ 35 years from Puno, Peru (3,825 m above sea level) and conducted a standardized questionnaire and physical examination that included spirometry, pulse oximetry, and a blood sample for multiple clinical markers. Our primary objectives were to estimate the prevalence of EE, characterize the clinical profile and iron status indicators of subjects with EE, and describe subject-specific traits associated with EE. Overall prevalence of EE was 4.5% (95% CI, 3.3%-6.0%). Oxygen saturation was significantly lower among EE than non-EE group subjects (85.3% vs 90.1%, P .09 for all values). In multivariable logistic regression, we found that age ≥ 65 years (OR = 2.45, 95% CI, 1.16-5.09), male sex (3.86, 1.78-9.08), having metabolic syndrome (2.66, 1.27-5.75) or being overweight (5.20, 1.95-16.77), pulse oximetry overweight (26.7%), followed by male sex (21.5%), pulse oximetry overweight or having metabolic syndrome were associated with an important fraction of cases in our study population.

Chromosomal aberrations in subjects exposed to ionizing radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovicic, D.; Milacic, S.; Kovacevic, R.; Tanaskovic, I.

2006-01-01

Occupational exposure is particularly delicate because of chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation and its cumulative effect, where it is important to consider the biological response of body to given conditions of exposure. The objective of this study was the observation of the recovery of the DNA damages in subjects working in the radiation area in two different intervals.Group I, consisting of 30 subjects, was exposed to ionizing radiation and unstable chromosomal aberrations were identified. Group II included the same, re-examined subjects (30) 9 months later. It was verified that 5 (16.67%) subjects still had unstable chromosomal aberrations, although they had been excluded from radiation area Controls groups (C) consisted of 64 subjects that were not exposed to mutagenic agents.The comparison of the control group with the two studied groups revealed the reduction of the unstable aberrations (p<0.05). The total effective doses, which increased with the years spent in radiation area, reflected the yield of chromosomal aberrations. The presence of chromosomal aberrations in some subjects, after the exclusion from the ionising radiation exposure, suggests that the time needed for the recovery of the DNA damages is different, which indicates the individual differences in radiosensitivity as well as different of the reparatory cellular response. (author)

High-resolution subject-specific mitral valve imaging and modeling: experimental and computational methods.

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Toma, Milan; Bloodworth, Charles H; Einstein, Daniel R; Pierce, Eric L; Cochran, Richard P; Yoganathan, Ajit P; Kunzelman, Karyn S

2016-12-01

The diversity of mitral valve (MV) geometries and multitude of surgical options for correction of MV diseases necessitates the use of computational modeling. Numerical simulations of the MV would allow surgeons and engineers to evaluate repairs, devices, procedures, and concepts before performing them and before moving on to more costly testing modalities. Constructing, tuning, and validating these models rely upon extensive in vitro characterization of valve structure, function, and response to change due to diseases. Micro-computed tomography ([Formula: see text]CT) allows for unmatched spatial resolution for soft tissue imaging. However, it is still technically challenging to obtain an accurate geometry of the diastolic MV. We discuss here the development of a novel technique for treating MV specimens with glutaraldehyde fixative in order to minimize geometric distortions in preparation for [Formula: see text]CT scanning. The technique provides a resulting MV geometry which is significantly more detailed in chordal structure, accurate in leaflet shape, and closer to its physiological diastolic geometry. In this paper, computational fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations are used to show the importance of more detailed subject-specific MV geometry with 3D chordal structure to simulate a proper closure validated against [Formula: see text]CT images of the closed valve. Two computational models, before and after use of the aforementioned technique, are used to simulate closure of the MV.

Factors Affecting Initial Intimate Partner Violence-Specific Health Care Seeking in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan.

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Kamimura, Akiko; Bybee, Deborah; Yoshihama, Mieko

2014-09-01

This study examined the factors affecting a women's initial intimate partner violence (IPV)-specific health care seeking event which refers to the first health care seeking as a result of IPV in a lifetime. Data were collected using the Life History Calendar method in the Tokyo metropolitan area from 101 women who had experienced IPV. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to assess the time to initial IPV-specific health care seeking. IPV-related injury was the most significant factor associated with increased likelihood of seeking IPV-specific health care seeking for the first time. In the presence of a strong effect of formal help seeking, physical and sexual IPV were no longer significantly related to initial IPV-specific health care seeking. The results suggest some victims of IPV may not seek health care unless they get injured. The timing of receiving health care would be important to ensure the health and safety of victims. © The Author(s) 2014.

Data on the weights, specific gravities and chemical compositions of potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers for food processing from different areas of Hokkaido, Japan.

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Sato, Hiroaki; Koizumi, Ryosuke; Nakazawa, Yozo; Yamazaki, Masao; Itoyama, Ryuichi; Ichisawa, Megumi; Negichi, Junko; Sakuma, Rui; Furusho, Tadasu; Sagane, Yoshimasa; Takano, Katsumi

2017-04-01

This data article provides the weights, specific gravities and chemical compositions (moisture, protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrate) of potato tubers, for food processing use, from the Tokachi, Kamikawa and Abashiri areas of Hokkaido, Japan. Potato tubers of four cultivars ('Toyoshiro', 'Kitahime', 'Snowden' and 'Poroshiri') were employed in the current study. The weights and specific gravities of potato tubers from each cultivar, harvested from three areas, were measured, and those of near average weight and specific gravity from each group were analyzed for their chemical composition. In this article, weight, specific gravity, and chemical composition data are provided in tables.

Discussion about the use of the volume-specific surface area (VSSA) as criteria to identify nanomaterials according to the EU definition

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Lecloux, André J., E-mail: alecloux@nanocyl.com, E-mail: envicat@skynet.be [ENVICAT Consulting (Belgium)

2015-11-15

In the EU regulation, a material containing particles is considered as nano if, for 50 % or more of the particles in the number size distribution, one or more external dimensions is in the size range 1–100 nm. Due to the difficulty to measure in a reliable way the number particle size distribution, it is suggested to use the volume-specific surface area (VSSA) >60 m{sup 2}/cm{sup 3} as simple screening criterion to identify nanomaterials. This threshold corresponds to monodispersed spherical particles with a size of 100 nm. In this paper, a theoretical study is carried out to identify the effect of the particle shape, polydispersity, agglomeration and aggregation on the VSSA threshold. It appears that the VSSA approach is overprotective because a lot of samples are identified as nanomaterials even if less than 50 % of the particles have a size lower than 100 nm, this 50 % in number criterion being the main identification criterion in the EU definition. Even if the VSSA is leading to many false positive results, it can be used to identify non-nanomaterials as soon as its value is lower than the threshold at the condition to take into account the shape of the particles and their external surface area. This conclusion is true for monomodal distributions of particles but is subject to some restrictions for bimodal distributions.

Discussion about the use of the volume-specific surface area (VSSA) as criteria to identify nanomaterials according to the EU definition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lecloux, André J.

2015-01-01

In the EU regulation, a material containing particles is considered as nano if, for 50 % or more of the particles in the number size distribution, one or more external dimensions is in the size range 1–100 nm. Due to the difficulty to measure in a reliable way the number particle size distribution, it is suggested to use the volume-specific surface area (VSSA) >60 m 2 /cm 3 as simple screening criterion to identify nanomaterials. This threshold corresponds to monodispersed spherical particles with a size of 100 nm. In this paper, a theoretical study is carried out to identify the effect of the particle shape, polydispersity, agglomeration and aggregation on the VSSA threshold. It appears that the VSSA approach is overprotective because a lot of samples are identified as nanomaterials even if less than 50 % of the particles have a size lower than 100 nm, this 50 % in number criterion being the main identification criterion in the EU definition. Even if the VSSA is leading to many false positive results, it can be used to identify non-nanomaterials as soon as its value is lower than the threshold at the condition to take into account the shape of the particles and their external surface area. This conclusion is true for monomodal distributions of particles but is subject to some restrictions for bimodal distributions

Fingersomatotopy in area 3b: an fMRI-study

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Rosén Birgitta

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The primary sensory cortex (S1 in the postcentral gyrus is comprised of four areas that each contain a body map, where the representation of the hand is located with the thumb most laterally, anteriorly and inferiorly and the little finger most medially, posteriorly and superiorly. Previous studies on somatotopy using functional MRI have either used low field strength, have included a small number of subjects or failed to attribute activations to any area within S1. In the present study we included twenty subjects, who were investigated at 3 Tesla (T. We focused specifically on Brodmann area 3b, which neurons have discrete receptive fields with a potentially more clearcut somatotopic organisation. The spatial distribution for all fingers' peak activation was determined and group as well as individual analysis was performed. Results Activation maps from 18 subjects were of adequate quality; in 17 subjects activations were present for all fingers and these data were further analysed. In the group analysis the thumb was located most laterally, anteriorly and inferiorly with the other fingers sequentially positioned more medially, posteriorly and superiorly. At the individual level this somatotopic relationship was present for the thumb and little finger, with a higher variability for the fingers in between. The Euclidian distance between the first and fifth finger was 17.2 mm, between the first and second finger 10.6 mm and between the remaining fingers on average 6.3 mm. Conclusion Results from the group analysis, that is both the location of the fingers and the Euclidian distances, are well comparable to results from previous studies using a wide range of modalities. On the subject level the spatial localisation of the fingers showed a less stringent somatotopic order so that the location of a finger in a single subject cannot be predicted from the group result.

Grouping subjects based on conditioning criteria reveals differences in acquisition rates and in strength of conditioning-specific reflex modification.

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Smith-Bell, Carrie A; Schreurs, Bernard G

2017-11-01

Averaging behavioral data such as the nictitating membrane response (NMR) across subjects can conceal important individual and group differences. Analyses were conducted of NMR data from rabbits that were grouped based on the point during NMR conditioning when subjects produced 8 conditioned responses (CR) in a set of 10 trials. This resulted in five groups (Early Day 1, Late Day 1, Early Day 2, Late Day 2, Early Day 3) in which group differences in CR acquisition rates were found. Percent (%) CRs were not found to increase monotonically and between-session differences in % CR were found. Conditioning-specific reflex modification (CRM) of the NMR is a type of enhanced reflexive responding of the NMR that is detected when the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented in the absence of the conditioned stimulus (CS) following paired classical conditioning. CRM occurred in some subjects in all five groups. Subjects from both the group that was fastest and the group that was slowest to reach the learning criterion had unconditioned response (UR) topographies following NMR conditioning that strongly resembled the CR-UR response sequence elicited during NMR conditioning. This finding was most pronounced when the US duration used to assess CRM was equivalent to that used during NMR conditioning, further evidence to support the hypothesis that CRM is a CR that has generalized from the CS to the US. While grouping data based on conditioning criteria did not facilitate identifying individuals more predisposed to exhibiting CRM, strong CRM only occurred in the groups that reached the conditioning criterion the fastest. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transport and solubility of Hetero-disperse dry deposition particulate matter subject to urban source area rainfall-runoff processes

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Ying, G.; Sansalone, J.

2010-03-01

SummaryWith respect to hydrologic processes, the impervious pavement interface significantly alters relationships between rainfall and runoff. Commensurate with alteration of hydrologic processes the pavement also facilitates transport and solubility of dry deposition particulate matter (PM) in runoff. This study examines dry depositional flux rates, granulometric modification by runoff transport, as well as generation of total dissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity and conductivity in source area runoff resulting from PM solubility. PM is collected from a paved source area transportation corridor (I-10) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana encompassing 17 dry deposition and 8 runoff events. The mass-based granulometric particle size distribution (PSD) is measured and modeled through a cumulative gamma function, while PM surface area distributions across the PSD follow a log-normal distribution. Dry deposition flux rates are modeled as separate first-order exponential functions of previous dry hours (PDH) for PM and suspended, settleable and sediment fractions. When trans-located from dry deposition into runoff, PSDs are modified, with a d50m decreasing from 331 to 14 μm after transport and 60 min of settling. Solubility experiments as a function of pH, contact time and particle size using source area rainfall generate constitutive models to reproduce pH, alkalinity, TDS and alkalinity for historical events. Equilibrium pH, alkalinity and TDS are strongly influenced by particle size and contact times. The constitutive leaching models are combined with measured PSDs from a series of rainfall-runoff events to demonstrate that the model results replicate alkalinity and TDS in runoff from the subject watershed. Results illustrate the granulometry of dry deposition PM, modification of PSDs along the drainage pathway, and the role of PM solubility for generation of TDS, alkalinity and conductivity in urban source area rainfall-runoff.

Urinary arsenic methylation capability and carotid atherosclerosis risk in subjects living in arsenicosis-hyperendemic areas in southwestern Taiwan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Y.-L. [Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Hsueh, Y.-M. [Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: ymhsueh@tmu.edu.tw; Huang, Y.-K. [Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Yip, P.-K. [Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan (China); Yang, M.-H. [Department of Nuclear Science, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Chen, C.-J. [Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Graduate Institute of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan (China)

2009-04-01

Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic from artesian drinking well water is associated with carotid atherosclerosis in the Blackfoot Disease (BFD)-hyperendemic area in Taiwan. The current study examined the arsenic methylation capacity and its risk on carotid atherosclerosis. A total of 304 adults (158 men and 146 women) residing in the BFD-hyperendemic area were included. The extent of carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by duplex ultrasonography. Chronic arsenic exposure was estimated by an index of cumulative arsenic exposure (CAE) and the duration of artesian well water consumption. Urinary levels of inorganic arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)], monomethylarsonic acid [MMA(V)] and dimethylarsinic acid [DMA(V)] were determined by high performance liquid chromatography linked on-line to a hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC-HG-AAS). The percentage of arsenic species, primary methylation index [PMI = MMA(V) / (As(III) + As(V)] and secondary methylation index [SMI = DMA(V) / MMA(V)] were calculated and employed as indicators of arsenic methylation capacity. Results showed that women and younger subjects had a more efficient arsenic methylation capacity than did men and the elderly. Carotid atherosclerosis cases had a significantly greater percentage of MMA(V) [%MMA(V)] and a lower percentage of DMA [%DMA (V)] compared to controls. Subjects in the highest two tertiles of PMI with a median of CAE > 0 mg/L-year had an odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of carotid atherosclerosis of 2.61 and 0.98-6.90 compared to those in the highest two tertiles of PMI with a CAE = 0 mg/L-year. We conclude that individuals with greater exposure to arsenic and lower capacity to methylate inorganic arsenic may be at a higher risk to carotid atherosclerosis.

Urinary arsenic methylation capability and carotid atherosclerosis risk in subjects living in arsenicosis-hyperendemic areas in southwestern Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Y.-L.; Hsueh, Y.-M.; Huang, Y.-K.; Yip, P.-K.; Yang, M.-H.; Chen, C.-J.

2009-01-01

Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic from artesian drinking well water is associated with carotid atherosclerosis in the Blackfoot Disease (BFD)-hyperendemic area in Taiwan. The current study examined the arsenic methylation capacity and its risk on carotid atherosclerosis. A total of 304 adults (158 men and 146 women) residing in the BFD-hyperendemic area were included. The extent of carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by duplex ultrasonography. Chronic arsenic exposure was estimated by an index of cumulative arsenic exposure (CAE) and the duration of artesian well water consumption. Urinary levels of inorganic arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)], monomethylarsonic acid [MMA(V)] and dimethylarsinic acid [DMA(V)] were determined by high performance liquid chromatography linked on-line to a hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC-HG-AAS). The percentage of arsenic species, primary methylation index [PMI = MMA(V) / (As(III) + As(V)] and secondary methylation index [SMI = DMA(V) / MMA(V)] were calculated and employed as indicators of arsenic methylation capacity. Results showed that women and younger subjects had a more efficient arsenic methylation capacity than did men and the elderly. Carotid atherosclerosis cases had a significantly greater percentage of MMA(V) [%MMA(V)] and a lower percentage of DMA [%DMA (V)] compared to controls. Subjects in the highest two tertiles of PMI with a median of CAE > 0 mg/L-year had an odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of carotid atherosclerosis of 2.61 and 0.98-6.90 compared to those in the highest two tertiles of PMI with a CAE = 0 mg/L-year. We conclude that individuals with greater exposure to arsenic and lower capacity to methylate inorganic arsenic may be at a higher risk to carotid atherosclerosis

A longitudinal study: changes in cortical thickness and surface area during pubertal maturation.

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Megan M Herting

Full Text Available Sex hormones have been shown to contribute to the organization and function of the brain during puberty and adolescence. Moreover, it has been suggested that distinct hormone changes in girls versus boys may contribute to the emergence of sex differences in internalizing and externalizing behavior during adolescence. In the current longitudinal study, the influence of within-subject changes in puberty (physical and hormonal on cortical thickness and surface area was examined across a 2-year span, while controlling for age. Greater increases in Tanner Stage predicted less superior frontal thinning and decreases in precuneus surface area in both sexes. Significant Tanner Stage and sex interactions were also seen, with less right superior temporal thinning in girls but not boys, as well as greater decreases in the right bank of the superior temporal sulcus surface area in boys compared to girls. In addition, within-subject changes in testosterone over the 2-year follow-up period were found to relate to decreases in middle superior frontal surface area in boys, but increases in surface area in girls. Lastly, larger increases in estradiol in girls predicted greater middle temporal lobe thinning. These results show that within-subject physical and hormonal markers of puberty relate to region and sex-specific changes in cortical development across adolescence.

A longitudinal study: changes in cortical thickness and surface area during pubertal maturation.

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Herting, Megan M; Gautam, Prapti; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Dahl, Ronald E; Sowell, Elizabeth R

2015-01-01

Sex hormones have been shown to contribute to the organization and function of the brain during puberty and adolescence. Moreover, it has been suggested that distinct hormone changes in girls versus boys may contribute to the emergence of sex differences in internalizing and externalizing behavior during adolescence. In the current longitudinal study, the influence of within-subject changes in puberty (physical and hormonal) on cortical thickness and surface area was examined across a 2-year span, while controlling for age. Greater increases in Tanner Stage predicted less superior frontal thinning and decreases in precuneus surface area in both sexes. Significant Tanner Stage and sex interactions were also seen, with less right superior temporal thinning in girls but not boys, as well as greater decreases in the right bank of the superior temporal sulcus surface area in boys compared to girls. In addition, within-subject changes in testosterone over the 2-year follow-up period were found to relate to decreases in middle superior frontal surface area in boys, but increases in surface area in girls. Lastly, larger increases in estradiol in girls predicted greater middle temporal lobe thinning. These results show that within-subject physical and hormonal markers of puberty relate to region and sex-specific changes in cortical development across adolescence.

Specific properties of the SI and SII somatosensory areas and their effects on motor control: a system neurophysiological study.

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Friedrich, Julia; Mückschel, Moritz; Beste, Christian

2018-03-01

Sensorimotor integration is essential for successful motor control and the somatosensory modality has been shown to have strong effects on the execution of motor plans. The primary (SI) and the secondary somatosensory (SII) cortices are known to differ in their neuroanatomical connections to prefrontal areas, as well as in their involvement to encode cognitive aspects of tactile processing. Here, we ask whether the area-specific processing architecture or the structural neuroanatomical connections with prefrontal areas determine the efficacy of sensorimotor integration processes for motor control. In a system neurophysiological study including EEG signal decomposition (i.e., residue iteration decomposition, RIDE) and source localization, we investigated this question using vibrotactile stimuli optimized for SI or SII processing. The behavioral data show that when being triggered via the SI area, inhibitory control of motor processes is stronger as when being triggered via the SII area. On a neurophysiological level, these effects were reflected in the C-cluster as a result of a temporal decomposition of EEG data, indicating that the sensory processes affecting motor inhibition modulate the response selection level. These modulations were associated with a stronger activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus extending to the right middle frontal gyrus as parts of a network known to be involved in inhibitory motor control when response inhibition is triggered over SI. In addition, areas important for sensorimotor integration like the postcentral gyrus and superior parietal cortex showed activation differences. The data suggest that connection patterns are more important for sensorimotor integration and control than the more restricted area-specific processing architecture.

Pengembangan Subject Specific Pedagogy (SSP Tematik Berbasis Local Wisdom Untuk Membangun Karakter Hormat dan Kepedulian Siswa SD

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Amaliyah Ulfah

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims at generating possible thematic Subject Specific Pedagogy (SSP based on local wisdom and examining the results teachers and students perception on the pedagogical approach developed in the preliminary field testing. Drawing upon the notion of research and development by Borg & Gall, this research was conducted through different stages involving information gathering, planning, developing preliminary product, preliminary field testing, and revising. The subjects were a small group of second grade students of SD Muhammadiyah Bodon and SD Muhammadiyah Sidoarum Yogyakarta. Each consists of 10 students. The data gathering instrument consists of product validation, character observation sheets, and teacher assessment sheets. The data gathering instrument consists of product validation tool, character observation sheets, and teachers’ assessment sheets. The SSP product generated in this study consists of lesson plans, teaching materials, worksheets, and expert perception. According to the experts of media, materials, and evaluation, the SSP product is in good categories. First grade teachers result a good score to the syllabus and lesson plans, while the worksheets and evaluation are in very good category. The results from the students responses to the textbooks is 78, which is in very good category, while the students worksheets score 71 which includes in excellent category. Therefore, the developed thematic SSP based on local wisdom can be declared appropriate for use in learning.

A case study of full integration of the arts into core subject area instruction in one East Texas secondary school

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Leysath, Maggie

This exploratory phenomenological case study investigated the influence the full integration of the arts into core subject instruction has on classroom environment, student academic achievement, and student engagement as perceived by administrators, teachers, and students in one East Texas secondary school. Participant interviews were analyzed using Creswell's (2012) six-step method for analyzing phenomenological studies. The researcher implemented three learning activities in which ceramics learning objectives were fully integrated with chemistry learning objectives. The first activity combined clay properties and pottery wheel throwing with significant numbers. The second activity combined glaze formulation with moles. The third combined stoichiometry with the increased glaze formula for students to glaze the bowls they made. Findings suggest the full integration of art in core subject area instruction has numerous positive effects. Participants reported improved academic achievement for all students including reluctant learners. Students, teachers, and the administrator reported greater participation in the art integrated activities. Participants perceived a need for further training for teachers and administrators for greater success.

A f-MRI study on memory function in normal subjects and patients with partial epilepsies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamoda, Sachiko

2004-01-01

To investigate cerebral regions concerning a memory function and presence of memory lateralization, activated areas and the difference between the right and left hemisphere in functional magnetic resonance imaging (f-MRI) during verbal and visual memory tasks were examined in normal subjects and, as its clinical application, in patients with partial epilepsies. Subjects were 39 normal adult subjects and 10 adult patients. Of the 39 normal subjects, 30 were right-handed and 9 were left-handed. Further, of the 10 patients, 9 were right-handed and one was left-handed, and 7, 2 and 1 had temporal lobe, frontal lobe and undetermined partial epilepsies, respectively. Following the three type of memory task were designed; verbal memory tasks consisting of covert and overt recall tests of 10 words given auditory and visual memory task of covert recall tasks of 6 figures given visually. Activated cerebral areas were imaged with f-MRI using 1.5 tesla Magnetom Vision taken repeatedly during these tasks and neutral condition. Most of the 30 right-handed normal subjects showed activated areas over the left hemisphere specifically on the anterior cingulate, superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri during the verbal memory tasks of covert recall tests. Left hemisphere dominant activated areas in the precentral gyri were added during the verbal memory tasks of overt recall tests. On the other hand, 4 of the 9 left-handed normal subjects showed the left side-dominantly activated areas in the above-mentioned regions during the verbal memory tasks of covert and overt tests, in common with the right-handed subjects. However, 3 of the 9 left-handed normal subjects had right hemisphere dominant activation during the verbal memory tasks, while none of the 30 right-handed normal subjects showed such right side-dominancy. Further, the bilateral occipital lobes were activated during visual memory tasks. The reproducibility in this activation during these verbal and visual memory tasks

Structural and functional plasticity specific to musical training with wind instruments

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Uk-Su eChoi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Numerous neuroimaging studies have shown structural and functional changes resulting from musical training. Among these studies, changes in primary sensory areas are mostly related to motor functions. In this study, we looked for some similar functional and structural changes in other functional modalities, such as somatosensory function, by examining the effects of musical training with wind instruments. We found significant changes in two aspects of neuroplasticity, cortical thickness and resting-state neuronal networks. A group of subjects with several years of continuous musical training and who are currently playing in university wind ensembles showed differences in cortical thickness in lip- and tongue-related brain areas versus non-music playing subjects. Cortical thickness in lip-related brain areas was significantly thicker and that in tongue-related areas was significantly thinner in the music playing group compared with that in the non-music playing group. Association analysis of lip-related areas in the music playing group showed that the increase in cortical thickness was caused by musical training. In addition, seed-based correlation analysis showed differential activation in the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor areas between the music and non-music playing groups. These results suggest that high-intensity training with specific musical instruments could induce structural changes in related anatomical areas and could also generate a new functional neuronal network in the brain.

A microbial-mineralization approach for syntheses of iron oxides with a high specific surface area.

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Yagita, Naoki; Oaki, Yuya; Imai, Hiroaki

2013-04-02

Of minerals and microbes: A microbial-mineralization-inspired approach was used to facilitate the syntheses of iron oxides with a high specific surface area, such as 253 m(2)g(-1) for maghemite (γ-Fe(2)O(3)) and 148 m(2)g(-1) for hematite (α-Fe(2)O(3)). These iron oxides can be applied to electrode material of lithium-ion batteries, adsorbents, and catalysts. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nitrides and carbides of molybdenum and tungsten with high specific-surface area: their synthesis, structure, and catalytic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volpe, L.

1985-01-01

Temperature-programmed reactions between trioxides of molybdenum or tungsten and ammonia provide a new method to synthesize dimolybdenum and ditungsten nitrides with specific surface areas to two-hundred-and-twenty and ninety-one square meters per gram, respectively. These are the highest values on record for any unsupported metallic powders. They correspond to three-four nonometer particles. The reaction of molybdenum trioxide with ammonia is topotactic in the sense that one-zero-zero planes of dimolybdenum nitride are parallel to zero-one-zero planes of molybdenum trioxide. As the trioxide transforms, it passes through an oxynitride intermediate with changing bulk structure and increasing surface area and extent of reduction. The nitride product consists of platelets, pseudomorphous with the original trioxide, which can be regarded as highly porous defect single crystals. By treating small particles of dimolybdenum or ditungsten nitride with methane-dihydrogen mixtures it is possible to replace interstitial nitrogen atoms by carbon atoms, without sintering, and thus to prepare carbides of molybdenum and tungsten with very high specific surface areas. Molybdenum nitride powders catalyze ammonia synthesis. A pronounced increase in the catalytic activity with increasing particle size confirms the structure-sensitive character of this reaction

Energy Data Base: Subject categories and scope: A reference manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grissom, M.C.

1987-04-01

The subject scope of the Energy Data Base (EDB) is defined, encompassing all technological aspects of energy production, conversion, and efficient utilization, and the economic, social, and political aspects as well. Coverage also includes the basic sciences as applicable. The subject areas within the scope of EDB are defined and hierarchically numbered, and scope notes are provided to define the extent of interest in certain areas, particularly areas of basic research

Broca's area network in language function.Broca's area network in language function: A pooling-data connectivity study

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Byron eBernal

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective. Modern neuroimaging developments have demonstrated that cognitive functions correlate with brain networks rather than specific areas. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the connectivity of Broca's area based on language tasks. Methods. A connectivity modeling study was performed by pooling data of Broca's activation in language tasks. Fifty-seven papers that included 883 subjects in 84 experiments were analyzed. Analysis of Likelihood Estimates of pooled data was utilized to generate the map; thresholds at p < 0.01 were corrected for multiple comparisons and false discovery rate. Resulting images were co-registered into MNI standard space. Results. A network consisting of 16 clusters of activation was obtained. Main clusters were located in the frontal operculum, left posterior temporal region, supplementary motor area, and the parietal lobe. Less common clusters were seen in the sub-cortical structures including the left thalamus, left putamen, secondary visual areas and the right cerebellum. Conclusions. BA44-related networks involved in language processing were demonstrated utilizing a pooling-data connectivity study. Significance, interpretation and limitations of the results are discussed.

Controlled cross-over study in normal subjects of naloxone-preceding-lactate infusions; respiratory and subjective responses: relationship to endogenous opioid system, suffocation false alarm theory and childhood parental loss.

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Preter, M; Lee, S H; Petkova, E; Vannucci, M; Kim, S; Klein, D F

2011-02-01

The expanded suffocation false alarm theory (SFA) hypothesizes that dysfunction in endogenous opioidergic regulation increases sensitivity to CO2, separation distress and panic attacks. In panic disorder (PD) patients, both spontaneous clinical panics and lactate-induced panics markedly increase tidal volume (TV), whereas normals have a lesser effect, possibly due to their intact endogenous opioid system. We hypothesized that impairing the opioidergic system by naloxone could make normal controls parallel PD patients' response when lactate challenged. Whether actual separations and losses during childhood (childhood parental loss, CPL) affected naloxone-induced respiratory contrasts was explored. Subjective panic-like symptoms were analyzed although pilot work indicated that the subjective aspect of anxious panic was not well modeled by this specific protocol. Randomized cross-over sequences of intravenous naloxone (2 mg/kg) followed by lactate (10 mg/kg), or saline followed by lactate, were given to 25 volunteers. Respiratory physiology was objectively recorded by the LifeShirt. Subjective symptomatology was also recorded. Impairment of the endogenous opioid system by naloxone accentuates TV and symptomatic response to lactate. This interaction is substantially lessened by CPL. Opioidergic dysregulation may underlie respiratory pathophysiology and suffocation sensitivity in PD. Comparing specific anti-panic medications with ineffective anti-panic agents (e.g. propranolol) can test the specificity of the naloxone+lactate model. A screen for putative anti-panic agents and a new pharmacotherapeutic approach are suggested. Heuristically, the experimental unveiling of the endogenous opioid system impairing effects of CPL and separation in normal adults opens a new experimental, investigatory area.

Controlled cross-over study in normal subjects of naloxone-preceding-lactate infusions; respiratory and subjective responses: relationship to endogenous opioid system, suffocation false alarm theory and childhood parental loss

Science.gov (United States)

Preter, M.; Lee, S. H.; Petkova, E.; Vannucci, M.; Kim, S.; Klein, D. F.

2015-01-01

Background The expanded suffocation false alarm theory (SFA) hypothesizes that dysfunction in endogenous opioidergic regulation increases sensitivity to CO2, separation distress and panic attacks. In panic disorder (PD) patients, both spontaneous clinical panics and lactate-induced panics markedly increase tidal volume (TV), whereas normals have a lesser effect, possibly due to their intact endogenous opioid system. We hypothesized that impairing the opioidergic system by naloxone could make normal controls parallel PD patients' response when lactate challenged. Whether actual separations and losses during childhood (childhood parental loss, CPL) affected naloxone-induced respiratory contrasts was explored. Subjective panic-like symptoms were analyzed although pilot work indicated that the subjective aspect of anxious panic was not well modeled by this specific protocol. Method Randomized cross-over sequences of intravenous naloxone (2 mg/kg) followed by lactate (10 mg/kg), or saline followed by lactate, were given to 25 volunteers. Respiratory physiology was objectively recorded by the LifeShirt. Subjective symptomatology was also recorded. Results Impairment of the endogenous opioid system by naloxone accentuates TV and symptomatic response to lactate. This interaction is substantially lessened by CPL. Conclusions Opioidergic dysregulation may underlie respiratory pathophysiology and suffocation sensitivity in PD. Comparing specific anti-panic medications with ineffective anti-panic agents (e.g. propranolol) can test the specificity of the naloxone + lactate model. A screen for putative anti-panic agents and a new pharmacotherapeutic approach are suggested. Heuristically, the experimental unveiling of the endogenous opioid system impairing effects of CPL and separation in normal adults opens a new experimental, investigatory area. PMID:20444308

The neural substrates of subjective time dilation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc Wittmann

2010-02-01

Full Text Available An object moving towards an observer is subjectively perceived as longer in duration than the same object that is static or moving away. This 'time dilation effect' has been shown for a number of stimuli that differ from standard events along different feature dimensions (e.g. color, size, and dynamics. We performed an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, while subjects viewed a stream of five visual events, all of which were static and of identical duration except the fourth one, which was a deviant target consisting of either a looming or a receding disc. The duration of the target was systematically varied and participants judged whether the target was shorter or longer than all other events. A time dilation effect was observed only for looming targets. Relative to the static standards, the looming as well as the receding targets induced increased activation of the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortices (the “core control network”. The decisive contrast between looming and receding targets representing the time dilation effect showed strong asymmetric activation and, specifically, activation of cortical midline structures (the “default network”. These results provide the first evidence that the illusion of temporal dilation is due to activation of areas that are important for cognitive control and subjective awareness. The involvement of midline structures in the temporal dilation illusion is interpreted as evidence that time perception is related to self-referential processing.

Predicting variation in subject thermal response during transcranial magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery: Comparison in seventeen subject datasets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vyas, Urvi, E-mail: urvi.vyas@gmail.com; Ghanouni, Pejman; Halpern, Casey H.; Pauly, Kim Butts [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Elias, Jeff [Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908 (United States)

2016-09-15

Purpose: In transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) treatments, the acoustic and spatial heterogeneity of the skull cause reflection, absorption, and scattering of the acoustic beams. These effects depend on skull-specific parameters and can lead to patient-specific thermal responses to the same transducer power. In this work, the authors develop a simulation tool to help predict these different experimental responses using 3D heterogeneous tissue models based on the subject CT images. The authors then validate and compare the predicted skull efficiencies to an experimental metric based on the subject thermal responses during tcMRgFUS treatments in a dataset of seventeen human subjects. Methods: Seventeen human head CT scans were used to create tissue acoustic models, simulating the effects of reflection, absorption, and scattering of the acoustic beam as it propagates through a heterogeneous skull. The hybrid angular spectrum technique was used to model the acoustic beam propagation of the InSightec ExAblate 4000 head transducer for each subject, yielding maps of the specific absorption rate (SAR). The simulation assumed the transducer was geometrically focused to the thalamus of each subject, and the focal SAR at the target was used as a measure of the simulated skull efficiency. Experimental skull efficiency for each subject was calculated using the thermal temperature maps from the tcMRgFUS treatments. Axial temperature images (with no artifacts) were reconstructed with a single baseline, corrected using a referenceless algorithm. The experimental skull efficiency was calculated by dividing the reconstructed temperature rise 8.8 s after sonication by the applied acoustic power. Results: The simulated skull efficiency using individual-specific heterogeneous models predicts well (R{sup 2} = 0.84) the experimental energy efficiency. Conclusions: This paper presents a simulation model to predict the variation in thermal responses

Morphometric analysis of vascular pathology in the orbitofrontal cortex of older subjects with major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Miguel-Hidalgo, Jose Javier; Jiang, Wei; Konick, Lisa; Overholser, James C; Jurjus, George J; Stockmeier, Craig A; Steffens, David C; Krishnan, K Ranga R; Rajkowska, Grazyna

2013-09-01

Late-life depression has been associated with risk for cerebrovascular pathology, as demonstrated in neuroimaging studies of older depressed patients, as well as mood disorder following cerebrovascular accidents. However, more research is needed on neuroanatomical changes in late-life depression, where there has been no clearly documented link to brain injury. Such studies should examine morphological changes in medium and small sized vessels that supply the cortical gray and white matter. The present study used a non-specific histological Nissl staining and a more vessel-specific immunolabeling with endothelial marker von Willebrand Factor (vWF) to estimate density and size of blood vessel segments in the orbitofrontal cortex of 16 older subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 9 non-psychiatric comparison subjects. The density of Nissl-stained vessel segments and of segments with perivascular spaces was higher in subjects with MDD than in comparison subjects in gray (GM) and white matter (WM). In GM, the density of vWF-immunoreactive segments with cross-sectional areas greater than 800 µm2 was higher in MDD. In WM, only the density of vWF-immunoreactive segments with patent perivascular spaces and diameters larger than 60 µm was higher in subjects with MDD. Also in the WM, only subjects with late-onset MDD presented a significantly higher density of vWF-positive segments than comparison subjects. In older subjects with MDD, there appear to be morphological changes that increase visibility of medium-sized vessel segments with some labeling techniques, and this increased visibility may be related to increased patency of perivascular spaces around arterioles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF VASCULAR PATHOLOGY IN THE ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX OF ELDERLY SUBJECTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION

Science.gov (United States)

Miguel-Hidalgo, Jose Javier; Jiang, Wei; Konick, Lisa; Overholser, James C.; Jurjus, George J.; Stockmeier, Craig A.; Steffens, David; Krishnan, K. Ranga R.; Rajkowska, Grazyna

2012-01-01

Objective Late-life depression has been associated with risk for cerebrovascular pathology, as demonstrated in neuroimaging studies of older depressed patients, as well as mood disorder following cerebrovascular accidents. However, more research is needed on neuroanatomical changes in late-life depression, where there has been no clearly documented link to brain injury. Such studies should examine morphological changes in medium and small sized vessels that supply the cortical gray and white matter. Methods The present study used a non-specific histological Nissl staining and a more vessel-specific immunolabeling with endothelial marker von Willebrand Factor (vWF) to estimate density and size of blood vessel segments in the orbitofrontal cortex of 16 elderly subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 9 non-psychiatric comparison subjects. Results The density of Nissl-stained vessel segments and of segments with perivascular spaces was higher in subjects with MDD than in comparison subjects in gray (GM) and white matter (WM). In GM, the density of vWF-immunoreactive segments with cross-sectional areas greater than 800 μm2 was higher in MDD. In WM, only the density of vWF-immunoreactive segments with patent perivascular spaces and diameters larger than 60 μm was higher in subjects with MDD. Also in the WM, only subjects with late-onset MDD presented a significantly higher density of vWF-positive segments than comparison subjects. Conclusions In elderly subjects with MDD, there appear to be morphological changes that increase visibility of medium-sized vessel segments with some labeling techniques, and this increased visibility may be related to increased patency of perivascular spaces around arterioles. PMID:23208772

Reperfusion of specific cortical areas is associated with improvement in distinct forms of hemispatial neglect.

Science.gov (United States)

Khurshid, Shaan; Trupe, Lydia A; Newhart, Melissa; Davis, Cameron; Molitoris, John J; Medina, Jared; Leigh, Richard; Hillis, Argye E

2012-05-01

To test the hypothesis that restoring blood flow to specific right cortical regions in acute stroke results in improvement in distinct forms of hemispatial neglect distinguished by reference frame: viewer-centered versus stimulus-centered neglect. Twenty five patients with acute right stroke were evaluated at Day 1 and Day 3-5 with a battery of neglect tests and Diffusion- and Perfusion-Weighted MR Imaging. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed Brodmann areas (BAs) where reperfusion predicted degree of improvement in scores on each type of neglect, independently of reperfusion of other areas, total change in the volume of infarct or hypoperfusion, and age. Reperfusion of dorsal frontoparietal cortex (including BAs 40, 46, and 4) independently predicted improvement in viewer-centered neglect, such as detecting stimuli on left in line cancellation and scene copying (r=.951; p<.0001). Reperfusion of a more ventral temporo-occipital cortex, including right BAs 37, 38, 21 and 18, independently contributed to improvement in stimulus-centered neglect, such as detecting left gaps in circles (r=.926; p<.0001). Reperfusion of right midfusiform gyrus (temporal occipital cortex), change in total volume of ischemia, change in volume of hypoperfusion and age predicted degree of improvement in reading (reduction in "neglect dyslexic" errors; r=.915; p<.0001). Results demonstrate that reperfusing specific cortical regions yields improvement in different types of neglect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

Size-Dependent Specific Surface Area of Nanoporous Film Assembled by Core-Shell Iron Nanoclusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiji Antony

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Nanoporous films of core-shell iron nanoclusters have improved possibilities for remediation, chemical reactivity rate, and environmentally favorable reaction pathways. Conventional methods often have difficulties to yield stable monodispersed core-shell nanoparticles. We produced core-shell nanoclusters by a cluster source that utilizes combination of Fe target sputtering along with gas aggregations in an inert atmosphere at 7∘C. Sizes of core-shell iron-iron oxide nanoclusters are observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM. The specific surface areas of the porous films obtained from Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET process are size-dependent and compared with the calculated data.

The triazine-based porous organic polymer: Novel synthetic strategy for high specific surface area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jin Kuen

2017-01-01

A new type of microporous polymer has been successively synthesized via a simple polycondensation reaction with the 2,4-diaminotriazine moiety and dianhydride monomer. Diaminotriazine moieties in M1 especially can provide effective branching sites, resulting in high surface areas up to 1150 m"2 /g. In addition, the specific pore structure of the polyimide POP in its solid state can be modified by the surface activation method. Therefore, it can be expected that the resulting material will be a promising candidate for gas storage, and with this synthetic strategy, various type of derivatives will also be optimized

The triazine-based porous organic polymer: Novel synthetic strategy for high specific surface area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jin Kuen [Dept. of Chemistry, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-15

A new type of microporous polymer has been successively synthesized via a simple polycondensation reaction with the 2,4-diaminotriazine moiety and dianhydride monomer. Diaminotriazine moieties in M1 especially can provide effective branching sites, resulting in high surface areas up to 1150 m{sup 2} /g. In addition, the specific pore structure of the polyimide POP in its solid state can be modified by the surface activation method. Therefore, it can be expected that the resulting material will be a promising candidate for gas storage, and with this synthetic strategy, various type of derivatives will also be optimized.

Comparison of soft-tissue orbital morphometry in attractive and normal Italian subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Sforza, Chiarella; Dolci, Claudia; Grandi, Gaia; Tartaglia, Gianluca M; Laino, Alberto; Ferrario, Virgilio F

2015-01-01

To identify esthetic characteristics of the orbital soft tissues of attractive Italian adult women and men. Three-dimensional computerized digitizers were used to collect the coordinates of facial landmarks in 199 healthy, normal subjects aged 18 to 30 years (71 women, 128 men; mean age, 22 years) and in 126 coetaneous attractive subjects (92 women, 34 men; mean age, 20 years) selected during beauty competitions. From the landmarks, six linear distances, two ratios, six angles, and two areas were calculated. Attractive subjects were compared with normal ones by computing z-scores. Intercanthal width was reduced while eye fissure lengths were increased in both genders. Orbital heights (os-or) were increased only in attractive women, with a significant gender-related difference. The inclinations of the eye fissure were increased in attractive subjects, while the inclinations of the orbit were reduced. For several of the analyzed measurements, similar patterns of z-scores were observed for attractive men and women (r  =  .883). Attractive women and men had several specific esthetic characteristics in their orbital soft tissues; esthetic reference values can be used to determine optimal goals in surgical treatment.

Seasonal variation in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigments in 15 woody species from northeastern mexico during summer and winter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, H.G.; Maiti, R.; Kumari, A.

2017-01-01

The present study has been undertaken on the variability in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigment content of 15 native woody species in northeastern Mexico. The species showed considerable variability in responses of these leaf traits. Majority of the species showed a decline in specific leaf area and epicuticular wax content. With respect to pigments, only few species showed a decrease, but some species showed an increase in pigments (chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll (a+b)) showing mechanism of adaptation to winter season.However, in few species there was a decline in pigment contents showing susceptibility to winter. (author)

DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN ALBA IULIA AREA OF INFLUENCE. AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. NICULA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Development Policies in Alba Iulia Area of Influence. An Integrated Approach. The paper represents an integrated and holarchical perspective on the spatial development policies and its component measures and projects related to the City of Alba Iulia, its area of influence and the all-encompassing County of Alba, Romania. The goal was to see how the development and management policies from all levels merge into a single strategic framework that might create a favourable basis for the sustainable growth of Alba Iulia and its area of influence. As this area surrounding the city is subjected to different hierarchical plans and programmes, some that are not properly correlated, it is extremely clear that this area and Areas of Influence in general need legislative stipulations made specifically for them and also a well-thought holarchical planning approach.

Metabolic rate in different rat brain areas during seizures induced by a specific delta opiate receptor agonist.

Science.gov (United States)

Haffmans, J; De Kloet, R; Dzoljic, M R

1984-06-04

The glucose utilization during specific delta opiate agonist-induced epileptiform phenomena, determined by the [14C]2-deoxyglucose technique (2-DG), was examined in various rat brain areas at different time intervals. The peak in EEG spiking response and the most intensive 2-DG uptake occurred 5 min after intraventricular (i.v.t.) administration of the delta opiate receptor agonist. The most pronounced 2-DG uptake at this time interval can be observed in the subiculum, including the CA1 hippocampal area, frontal cortex and central amygdala. A general decrease of glucose consumption, compared to control values, is observed after 10 min, in all regions, with exception of the subiculum. Since functional activity and 2-DG uptake are correlated, we suggest that the subiculum and/or CA1 area, are probably the brain regions most involved in the enkephalin-induced epileptic phenomena.

Environmental impacts of the transportation of radioactive materials in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finley, N.C.; Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.

1980-01-01

Radioactive material transport in urban areas is investigated and the specific urban features which influence environmental impacts are addressed. These features include the geographic and demographic make-up, and vehicular population and transportation patterns in the area. Previous efforts have not identified a most important population exposure pathway or group. This assessment examines several pathways and a number of urban specific population groups to evaluate their relative significance. In addition, because different causative events contribute to the overall environmental impacts, this assessment addresses four of these: incident free transport, vehicular accidents, human errors, and sabotage or malevolent acts. Not only does radioactive material transport produce radiological and economic consequences but also it can have social impacts. The objective of this study is to examine both the quantitative environmental impacts of radioactive material transport in urban areas and the more subjective social effects of this process. The social impacts assessment was performed by Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, Seattle, Washington and their conclusions are only summarized here

Dynamic characterisation of the specific surface area for fracture networks

Science.gov (United States)

Cvetkovic, V.

2017-12-01

One important application of chemical transport is geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste for which crystalline rock is a prime candidate for instance in Scandinavia. Interconnected heterogeneous fractures of sparsely fractured rock such as granite, act as conduits for transport of dissolved tracers. Fluid flow is known to be highly channelized in such rocks. Channels imply narrow flow paths, adjacent to essentially stagnant water in the fracture and/or the rock matrix. Tracers are transported along channelised flow paths and retained by minerals and/or stagnant water, depending on their sorption properties; this mechanism is critical for rocks to act as a barrier and ultimately provide safety for a geological repository. The sorbing tracers are retained by diffusion and sorption on mineral surfaces, whereas non-sorbing tracers can be retained only by diffusion into stagnant water of fractures. The retention and transport properties of a sparsely fractured rock will primarily depend on the specific surface area (SSA) of the fracture network which is determined by the heterogeneous structure and flow. The main challenge when characterising SSA on the field-scale is its dependence on the flow dynamics. We first define SSA as a physical quantity and clarify its importance for chemical transport. A methodology for dynamic characterisation of SSA in fracture networks is proposed that relies on three sets of data: i) Flow rate data as obtained by a flow logging procedure; ii) transmissivity data as obtained by pumping tests; iii) fracture network data as obtained from outcrop and geophysical observations. The proposed methodology utilises these data directly as well as indirectly through flow and particle tracking simulations in three-dimensional discrete fracture networks. The methodology is exemplified using specific data from the Swedish site Laxemar. The potential impact of uncertainties is of particular significance and is illustrated for radionuclide

The occipital face area is causally involved in the formation of identity-specific face representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambrus, Géza Gergely; Dotzer, Maria; Schweinberger, Stefan R; Kovács, Gyula

2017-12-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and neuroimaging studies suggest a role of the right occipital face area (rOFA) in early facial feature processing. However, the degree to which rOFA is necessary for the encoding of facial identity has been less clear. Here we used a state-dependent TMS paradigm, where stimulation preferentially facilitates attributes encoded by less active neural populations, to investigate the role of the rOFA in face perception and specifically in image-independent identity processing. Participants performed a familiarity decision task for famous and unknown target faces, preceded by brief (200 ms) or longer (3500 ms) exposures to primes which were either an image of a different identity (DiffID), another image of the same identity (SameID), the same image (SameIMG), or a Fourier-randomized noise pattern (NOISE) while either the rOFA or the vertex as control was stimulated by single-pulse TMS. Strikingly, TMS to the rOFA eliminated the advantage of SameID over DiffID condition, thereby disrupting identity-specific priming, while leaving image-specific priming (better performance for SameIMG vs. SameID) unaffected. Our results suggest that the role of rOFA is not limited to low-level feature processing, and emphasize its role in image-independent facial identity processing and the formation of identity-specific memory traces.

Professional continuous glucose monitoring for the identification of type 1 diabetes mellitus among subjects with insulin therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yin-Chun; Huang, Yu-Yao; Li, Hung-Yuan; Liu, Shih-Wei; Hsieh, Sheng-Hwu; Lin, Chia-Hung

2015-01-01

The identification of type 1 diabetes in diabetic subjects receiving insulin therapy is sometimes difficult. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether results of professional continuous glucose monitoring can improve the identification of type 1 diabetes.From 2007 to 2012, 119 adults receiving at least twice-daily insulin therapy and professional continuous glucose monitoring were recruited. Type 1 diabetes was diagnosed by endocrinologists according to American Diabetes Association standards, including a very low C-peptide level (diabetic ketoacidosis. Continuous glucose monitoring was applied for 3 days.Among 119 subjects, 86 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Subjects with type 1 diabetes were younger (33.8 vs 52.3 years old, P 1), had lower body mass index (BMI, 21.95 vs 24.42, P = 0.003), lower serum creatinine (61.77  vs 84.65 μmol/L, P = 0.001), and higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (108.71 vs 76.48 mg/mL/min/1.73m2, P 1) than subjects with type 2 diabetes. Predictive scores for identification of type 1 diabetes were constructed, including age, BMI, average mean amplitude of glucose excursion in days 2 and 3, and the area under the curve of nocturnal hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic states. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.90. With the cutoff of 0.58, the sensitivity was 86.7% and the specificity was 80.8%. The good performance was validated by the leave-one-out method (sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 73.1%).Professional continuous glucose monitoring is a useful tool that improves identification of type 1 diabetes among diabetic patients receiving insulin therapy.

How balance task-specific training contributes to improving physical function in older subjects undergoing rehabilitation following hip fracture: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Monticone, Marco; Ambrosini, Emilia; Brunati, Roberto; Capone, Antonio; Pagliari, Giulia; Secci, Claudio; Zatti, Giovanni; Ferrante, Simona

2018-03-01

To evaluate the efficacy of a rehabilitation programme including balance task-specific training in improving physical function, pain, activities of daily living (ADL), balance and quality of life in subjects after a hip fracture. Randomized controlled trial. A total of 52 older subjects selected for internal fixation due to extra-capsular hip fracture were randomized to be included in an experimental ( n = 26) and control group ( n = 26). The experimental group underwent a rehabilitation programme based on balance task-specific training. The control group underwent general physiotherapy, including open kinetic chain exercises and walking training. Both groups individually followed programmes of 90-minute sessions five times/week for three weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), a Pain Numerical Rating Scale, the Berg Balance Scale, the Functional Independence Measure and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. The participants were evaluated before and after training, and after 12 months. Significant effects of time, group and time × group were found for all outcome measures in favour of the experimental group. A clinically important between-group difference of 25 points was achieved after training and at follow-up in terms of the primary outcome (WOMAC function before treatment, after treatment and at follow-up was 84.8 (3.7), 39.8 (4.9) and 35.7 (6.2) for the experimental group and 80.9 (5.7), 65.2 (7.1) and 61.0 (11.1) for the control group). An inpatient rehabilitation programme based on balance task-specific training is useful in improving physical function, pain, ADL and quality of life in older patients after hip fracture.

Impact of Industrial Releases on Inshas Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Messiry, A.M.; Aly, M.M.

1999-01-01

Two Egyptian research reactors are located within the nuclear research center at Inshas area, 30 km north east of Cairo. This area are crowded by different industrial plants. The releases from them has a hazardous and economical effects on the research center workers and the surrounding inhabitancy. In the present work we study these effects. A meteorological regional specific data is considered all over the year, including a wind rose characterization. The study considered both normal operating conditions and an accidental releases. The results shows that there are a considerable risk due to normal releases in some areas downwind direction of the major releases, and a highly risk in areas subjected to major exposure. Regional maps of emission distribution, economical damage , pollutant concentration are obtained. The study helps to identify solutions to problems of atmospheric protection. It can be used as a decision support for the environmental, economic, and innovation planning at the national levels taking into consideration the national pollution standards and variety of existing emission sources

Reliable nanomaterial classification of powders using the volume-specific surface area method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wohlleben, Wendel; Mielke, Johannes; Bianchin, Alvise; Ghanem, Antoine; Freiberger, Harald; Rauscher, Hubert; Gemeinert, Marion; Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan

2017-01-01

The volume-specific surface area (VSSA) of a particulate material is one of two apparently very different metrics recommended by the European Commission for a definition of “nanomaterial” for regulatory purposes: specifically, the VSSA metric may classify nanomaterials and non-nanomaterials differently than the median size in number metrics, depending on the chemical composition, size, polydispersity, shape, porosity, and aggregation of the particles in the powder. Here we evaluate the extent of agreement between classification by electron microscopy (EM) and classification by VSSA on a large set of diverse particulate substances that represent all the anticipated challenges except mixtures of different substances. EM and VSSA are determined in multiple labs to assess also the level of reproducibility. Based on the results obtained on highly characterized benchmark materials from the NanoDefine EU FP7 project, we derive a tiered screening strategy for the purpose of implementing the definition of nanomaterials. We finally apply the screening strategy to further industrial materials, which were classified correctly and left only borderline cases for EM. On platelet-shaped nanomaterials, VSSA is essential to prevent false-negative classification by EM. On porous materials, approaches involving extended adsorption isotherms prevent false positive classification by VSSA. We find no false negatives by VSSA, neither in Tier 1 nor in Tier 2, despite real-world industrial polydispersity and diverse composition, shape, and coatings. The VSSA screening strategy is recommended for inclusion in a technical guidance for the implementation of the definition.

Reliable nanomaterial classification of powders using the volume-specific surface area method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wohlleben, Wendel, E-mail: wendel.wohlleben@basf.com [Department of Material Physics, BASF SE (Germany); Mielke, Johannes [BAM–Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Germany); Bianchin, Alvise [MBN Nanomaterialia s.p.a (Italy); Ghanem, Antoine [R& I Centre Brussels, Solvay (Belgium); Freiberger, Harald [Department of Material Physics, BASF SE (Germany); Rauscher, Hubert [European Commission, Nanobiosciences Unit, Joint Research Centre (Italy); Gemeinert, Marion; Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan, E-mail: dan.hodoroaba@bam.de [BAM–Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Germany)

2017-02-15

The volume-specific surface area (VSSA) of a particulate material is one of two apparently very different metrics recommended by the European Commission for a definition of “nanomaterial” for regulatory purposes: specifically, the VSSA metric may classify nanomaterials and non-nanomaterials differently than the median size in number metrics, depending on the chemical composition, size, polydispersity, shape, porosity, and aggregation of the particles in the powder. Here we evaluate the extent of agreement between classification by electron microscopy (EM) and classification by VSSA on a large set of diverse particulate substances that represent all the anticipated challenges except mixtures of different substances. EM and VSSA are determined in multiple labs to assess also the level of reproducibility. Based on the results obtained on highly characterized benchmark materials from the NanoDefine EU FP7 project, we derive a tiered screening strategy for the purpose of implementing the definition of nanomaterials. We finally apply the screening strategy to further industrial materials, which were classified correctly and left only borderline cases for EM. On platelet-shaped nanomaterials, VSSA is essential to prevent false-negative classification by EM. On porous materials, approaches involving extended adsorption isotherms prevent false positive classification by VSSA. We find no false negatives by VSSA, neither in Tier 1 nor in Tier 2, despite real-world industrial polydispersity and diverse composition, shape, and coatings. The VSSA screening strategy is recommended for inclusion in a technical guidance for the implementation of the definition.

300 Area treated effluent disposal facility operating specifications document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olander, A.R.

1994-01-01

These specifications deal with the release of treated water into the Columbia River via the TEDF submerged outfall. Specific limits are set for contaminants to be discharged in NPDES permit WA-002591-7. This section contains the operating ranges that will be used to best meet the permit limits

Improved patient specific seizure detection during pre-surgical evaluation.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Chua, Eric C-P

2011-04-01

There is considerable interest in improved off-line automated seizure detection methods that will decrease the workload of EEG monitoring units. Subject-specific approaches have been demonstrated to perform better than subject-independent ones. However, for pre-surgical diagnostics, the traditional method of obtaining a priori data to train subject-specific classifiers is not practical. We present an alternative method that works by adapting the threshold of a subject-independent to a specific subject based on feedback from the user.

Localization of cortical areas activated by thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Roland, P E; Friberg, L

1985-05-01

These experiments were undertaken to demonstrate that pure mental activity, thinking, increases the cerebral blood flow and that different types of thinking increase the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in different cortical areas. As a first approach, thinking was defined as brain work in the form of operations on internal information, done by an awake subject. The rCBF was measured in 254 cortical regions in 11 subjects with the intracarotid 133Xe injection technique. In normal man, changes in the regional cortical metabolic rate of O2 leads to proportional changes in rCBF. One control study was taken with the subjects at rest. Then the rCBF was measured during three different simple algorithm tasks, each consisting of retrieval of a specific memory followed by a simple operation on the retrieved information. Once started, the information processing went on in the brain without any communication with the outside world. In 50-3 thinking, the subjects started with 50 and then, in their minds only, continuously subtracted 3 from the result. In jingle thinking the subjects internally jumped every second word in a nine-word circular jingle. In route-finding thinking the subjects imagined that they started at their front door and then walked alternatively to the left or the right each time they reached a corner. The rCBF increased only in homotypical cortical areas during thinking. The areas in the superior prefrontal cortex increased their rCBF equivalently during the three types of thinking. In the remaining parts of the prefrontal cortex there were multifocal increases of rCBF. The localizations and intensities of these rCBF increases depended on the type of internal operation occurring. The rCBF increased bilaterally in the angular cortex during 50-3 thinking. The rCBF increased in the right midtemporal cortex exclusively during jingle thinking. The intermediate and remote visual association areas, the superior occipital, posterior inferior temporal, and

General surgery training in Spain: core curriculum and specific areas of training.

Science.gov (United States)

Miguelena Bobadilla, José Ma; Morales-García, Dieter; Iturburu Belmonte, Ignacio; Alcázar Montero, José Antonio; Serra Aracil, Xabier; Docobo Durantez, Fernando; López de Cenarruzabeitia, Ignacio; Sanz Sánchez, Mercedes; Hernández Hernández, Juan Ramón

2015-03-01

The royal decree RD 639/2014 has been published, regulating among others, the core curriculum, and specific areas of training (SAT). It is of great interest for the specialty of General and Digestive Surgery (GS and DS). The aim is to expose and clarify the main provisions and reflect on their implications for the practical application of the core curriculum and SAT in the specialty of General and Digestive Surgery, to promote initiatives and regulations. This RD will be a milestone in our specialty that will test the strength of the specialty, if it does not finally culminate in its degradation against the emergence of new surgical specialties. A new stage begins in which the Spanish Association of Surgeons should be involved to define the conceptual basis of GS and DS in the XXI century, and the creation of new SAT to continue to maintain the "essence of our specialty". Copyright © 2014 AEC. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

What Software to Use in the Teaching of Mathematical Subjects?

Science.gov (United States)

Berežný, Štefan

2015-01-01

We can consider two basic views, when using mathematical software in the teaching of mathematical subjects. First: How to learn to use specific software for the specific tasks, e. g., software Statistica for the subjects of Applied statistics, probability and mathematical statistics, or financial mathematics. Second: How to learn to use the…

MINI-THESAURUS, Energy Data Base Subject Thesaurus Generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulk, J.W.

2003-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: MINI-THESAURUS allows the user to subset into highly-specialized 'mini-thesauri' the Energy Data Base (EDB) Subject Thesaurus, which contains the standard vocabulary of indexing terms (descriptors) developed and structured by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) for the building and maintenance of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy information databases. This structured vocabulary reflects the scope of DOE's research, development, and technological programs and encompasses terminology derived not only from the basic sciences but also from the areas of energy, conservation, safety, environmental impact, and regulation. Entire word blocks may be copied from the primary Subject Thesaurus, from another mini-thesaurus, or both, and subsequently modified through the addition of new terms, the deletion of existing terms, and changes to the internal relationships among the word blocks within the mini-thesaurus to create a new, special-purpose thesaurus. MINI-THESAURUS also provides the ability to copy the entire Subject Thesaurus and to treat the copy as a mini-thesaurus, thus allowing one to examine the effects of major changes to the thesaurus structure without having to modify the primary, on-line Thesaurus. The copy operation also optimizes the Subject Thesaurus structure. An interactive user having update privileges for a specific mini-thesaurus and access to the TeX and PostScript proprietary software can produce the mini-thesaurus in printed publication format. Once the mini-thesaurus has been published, periodic supplements may be generated based on date of entry or change maintained by the Thesaurus software. 2 Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The system enforces the OSTI rules for Thesaurus development

Modulation of Specific Sensory Cortical Areas by Segregated Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons Demonstrated by Neuronal Tracing and Optogenetic Stimulation in Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaves-Coira, Irene; Barros-Zulaica, Natali; Rodrigo-Angulo, Margarita; Núñez, Ángel

2016-01-01

Neocortical cholinergic activity plays a fundamental role in sensory processing and cognitive functions. Previous results have suggested a refined anatomical and functional topographical organization of basal forebrain (BF) projections that may control cortical sensory processing in a specific manner. We have used retrograde anatomical procedures to demonstrate the existence of specific neuronal groups in the BF involved in the control of specific sensory cortices. Fluoro-Gold (FlGo) and Fast Blue (FB) fluorescent retrograde tracers were deposited into the primary somatosensory (S1) and primary auditory (A1) cortices in mice. Our results revealed that the BF is a heterogeneous area in which neurons projecting to different cortical areas are segregated into different neuronal groups. Most of the neurons located in the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB) projected to the S1 cortex, indicating that this area is specialized in the sensory processing of tactile stimuli. However, the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (B) nucleus shows a similar number of cells projecting to the S1 as to the A1 cortices. In addition, we analyzed the cholinergic effects on the S1 and A1 cortical sensory responses by optogenetic stimulation of the BF neurons in urethane-anesthetized transgenic mice. We used transgenic mice expressing the light-activated cation channel, channelrhodopsin-2, tagged with a fluorescent protein (ChR2-YFP) under the control of the choline-acetyl transferase promoter (ChAT). Cortical evoked potentials were induced by whisker deflections or by auditory clicks. According to the anatomical results, optogenetic HDB stimulation induced more extensive facilitation of tactile evoked potentials in S1 than auditory evoked potentials in A1, while optogenetic stimulation of the B nucleus facilitated either tactile or auditory evoked potentials equally. Consequently, our results suggest that cholinergic projections to the cortex are organized into segregated

Use of electromyography to optimize Lokomat® settings for subject-specific gait rehabilitation in post-stroke hemiparetic patients: A proof-of-concept study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherni, Yosra; Begon, Mickael; Chababe, Hicham; Moissenet, Florent

2017-09-01

While generic protocols exist for gait rehabilitation using robotic orthotics such as the Lokomat ® , several settings - guidance, body-weight support (BWS) and velocity - may be adjusted to individualize patient training. However, no systematic approach has yet emerged. Our objective was to assess the feasibility and effects of a systematic approach based on electromyography to determine subject-specific settings with application to the strengthening of the gluteus maximus muscle in post-stroke hemiparetic patients. Two male patients (61 and 65 years) with post-stroke hemiparesis performed up to 9 Lokomat ® trials by changing guidance and BWS while electromyography of the gluteus maximus was measured. For each subject, the settings that maximized gluteus maximus activity were used in 20 sessions of Lokomat ® training. Modified Functional Ambulation Classification (mFAC), 6-minutes walking test (6-MWT), and extensor strength were measured before and after training. The greatest gluteus maximus activity was observed at (Guidance: 70% -BWS: 20%) for Patient 1 and (Guidance: 80% - BWS: 30%) for Patient 2. In both patients, mFAC score increased from 4 to 7. The additional distance in 6-MWT increased beyond minimal clinically important difference (MCID=34.4m) reported for post-stroke patients. The isometric strength of hip extensors increased by 43 and 114%. Defining subject-specific settings for a Lokomat ® training was feasible and simple to implement. These two case reports suggest a benefit of this approach for muscle strengthening. It remains to demonstrate the superiority of such an approach for a wider population, compared to the use of a generic protocol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Doing Wholeness, Producing Subjects: Kinesiological Sensemaking and Energetic Kinship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gruenenberg, Kristina; Hillersdal, Line; Walker, Hanne Kjaergaard

2013-01-01

This article is concerned with the ways in which bodies and subjects are enacted and negotiated in the encounter between client and practitioner within specialized kinesiology - a specific complementary and alternative medical practice. In the article we trace the ideas of connections and disconn......This article is concerned with the ways in which bodies and subjects are enacted and negotiated in the encounter between client and practitioner within specialized kinesiology - a specific complementary and alternative medical practice. In the article we trace the ideas of connections...... and disconnections, which are conceptualized and practised within kinesiology. We attempt to come to grips with these specific notions of relatedness through the introduction of the concept energetic kinship' and to relate them to more general discussions about the nature of subjects, bodies and social identity...

Functional brain segmentation using inter-subject correlation in fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Pajula, Juha; Niemi, Jari; Hari, Riitta; Tohka, Jussi

2017-05-01

The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily-life situations. A new exploratory data-analysis approach, functional segmentation inter-subject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), was proposed to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is highly variable. FuSeISC was tested using fMRI data sets collected during traditional block-design stimuli (37 subjects) as well as naturalistic auditory narratives (19 subjects). The method identified spatially local and/or bilaterally symmetric clusters in several cortical areas, many of which are known to be processing the types of stimuli used in the experiments. The method is not only useful for spatial exploration of large fMRI data sets obtained using naturalistic stimuli, but also has other potential applications, such as generation of a functional brain atlases including both lower- and higher-order processing areas. Finally, as a part of FuSeISC, a criterion-based sparsification of the shared nearest-neighbor graph was proposed for detecting clusters in noisy data. In the tests with synthetic data, this technique was superior to well-known clustering methods, such as Ward's method, affinity propagation, and K-means ++. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2643-2665, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cytogenetic analysis chromosomal status of subjects from the regions in the vicinity of uranium-contaminated areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovicic, D.; Milacie, S.; Kovacevic, R.; Petrovic, I.

2004-01-01

The past application of nuclear technology has brought about free emission of numerous Due to the military application of the depleted uranium (DU) in our country, the problem of its radioactivity and hemo toxicity if actualized. Likewise every heavy metal, its is highly toxic and, in addition to it, also radioactive: Interaction of the water-soluble uranium forms with soil is an important effect. In this way, it penetrates into food chain and endangers human health. The study was aimed at determining possible karyotype genotoxic effects in individuals from the regions close to the contaminated areas. Biological dosimetry was performed using modified Moorthead's micromethod. Our studies included the targeted group of 29 patients from the affected regions. The subjects were averagely aged 39.5±2.8 years. Average age of the control group (k), unexposed to the effects of the known genotoxic agents comprising 22 individuals was 28.3±1.2 years. The presented data evidenced that increased incidence of the chromosomal aberrations was found in 6 subjects,accounting for 20.6%. Dicentric type changes were evidence, as well ring chromosomes and eccentric fragments, which are, at the same time the most frequent aberrations. The changes are considered reparable aberrations accounting for 2-3% in metaphases of the unexposed individuals. Statistical data processing evidenced significant difference (p<0.005) between structural chromosomal aberrations in the studied and control groups, as well as in the number of chromatid aberrations (p<0.05).Based on the obtained data it may be concluded that human karyotype changes were present in the studied group, resulting from interaction of ionizing irradiation and other genotoxic agents, with possibility of potent synergistic effects. It is necessary to stress the importance of further monitoring and control of the general population health, particularly due to possible late genetic effects that may affect future generations. (Author) 10

Short and long term effectiveness of a subject's specific novel brain and vestibular rehabilitation treatment modality in combat veterans suffering from PTSD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederick Robert Carrick

2015-06-01

Full Text Available AbstractIntroduction: Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD in combat veterans that have a long-term positive clinical effect has the potential to modify the treatment of PTSD. This outcome may result in changed and saved lives of our service personnel and their families. In a previous before-after-intervention study we demonstrated high statistical and substantively significant short-term changes in the Clinician Administered DSM-IV PTSD Scale (CAPS scores after a two week trial of a subject's particular novel brain and vestibular rehabilitation (VR program. The long-term maintenance of PTSD severity reduction was the subject of this study.Material and Methods:We studied the short and long term effectiveness of a subject's particular novel brain and VR treatment of PTSD in subjects who had suffered combat-related traumatic brain injuries in terms of PTSD symptom reduction. The trial was registered as ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02003352. We analyzed the difference in the CAPS scores pre and post treatment (one week and three months using our subjects as their matched controls. Results:The generalized least squares (GLS technique demonstrated that with our 26 subjects in the 3 timed groups the R2 within groups was 0.000, R2 between groups was 0.000 and overall the R2 was 0.000. The GLS regression was strongly statistically significant z = 21.29, p < 0.001, 95% CI [58.7, 70.63]. The linear predictive margins over time demonstrated strong statistical and substantive significance of decreasing PTSD severity scores for all timed CAPS tests.Discussion:Our investigation has the promise of the development of superior outcomes of treatments in this area that will benefit a global society. The length of the treatment intervention involved (two weeks is less that other currently available treatments and has profound implications for cost, duration of disability and outcomes in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans.

Integrated Curriculum and Subject-based Curriculum: Achievement and Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Casady, Victoria

The research conducted for this mixed-method study, qualitative and quantitative, analyzed the results of an academic year-long study to determine whether the use of an integrated fourth grade curriculum would benefit student achievement in the areas of English language arts, social studies, and science more than a subject-based traditional curriculum. The research was conducted based on the international, national, and state test scores, which show a slowing or lack of growth. Through pre- and post-assessments, student questionnaires, and administrative interviews, the researcher analyzed the phenomenological experiences of the students to determine if the integrated curriculum was a beneficial restructuring of the curriculum. The research questions for this study focused on the achievement and attitudes of the students in the study and whether the curriculum they were taught impacted their achievement and attitudes over the course of one school year. The curricula for the study were organized to cover the current standards, where the integrated curriculum focused on connections between subject areas to help students make connections to what they are learning and the world beyond the classroom. The findings of this study indicated that utilizing the integrated curriculum could increase achievement as well as students' attitudes toward specific content areas. The ANOVA analysis for English language arts was not determined to be significant; although, greater growth in the students from the integrated curriculum setting was recorded. The ANOVA for social studies (0.05) and the paired t-tests (0.001) for science both determined significant positive differences. The qualitative analysis led to the discovery that the experiences of the students from the integrated curriculum setting were more positive. The evaluation of the data from this study led the researcher to determine that the integrated curriculum was a worthwhile endeavor to increase achievement and attitudes

The soil-water characteristic curve at low soil-water contents: Relationships with soil specific surface area and texture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Resurreccion, A C; Møldrup, Per; Tuller, M

2011-01-01

dominate over capillary forces, have also been used to estimate soil specific surface area (SA). In the present study, the dry end of the SWRC was measured with a chilled-mirror dew point psychrometer for 41 Danish soils covering a wide range of clay (CL) and organic carbon (OC) contents. The 41 soils were...

PENGEMBANGAN SUBJECT SPECIFIC PEDAGOGY (SSP IPA TERPADU UNTUK MENINGKATKAN HASIL BELAJAR SISWA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fitri Yuliawati

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background of this research is the analysis of the results of interviews some junior secondary schools in Yogyakarta and the conclusion that teachers do not use an integrated science teaching and teachers still find difficulties in the application of learning science in an integrated manner. It can be influenced by several factors, such as the lack of reference used by teachers in presenting the material Integrated Science relevantly, most of science teachers are from educational background of chemistry, physics, and biology instead of science education, so that teachers find difficulties to create an integrated learning of science. In addition, teachers feel difficulty in determining the depth of the material, limits of integration in integrated science teaching, and did not know the concept of integrated science teaching. This research is a development research. Learning tools developed included : student books, lesson plans, student activity sheets and evaluation tools. The development of the learning which is done in this study use the models of 4D development which includes the step of Define (definition which at this stage conducted a needs analysis. Design : it is the stage of Subject Specific Pedagogy (SSP software design. Development, it is the stage of development after the draft was made followed by a learning device validation by experts. This stage is also conducted to seek input from all the responses, reactions and comments from teachers, students, and observers so that it can be used for further improvement of science teaching later. The Disseminate, it is the stage of field tests are widely but not done. Data collection instruments used in this study include : test items and questionnaire. The conclusion of this development research are as follows : the results of the validation SSP integrated science by learning tools expert, material experts and media experts indicate the category of Very Good (SB so that SSP integrated

Effects of specific surface area and porosity on cube counting fractal dimension, lacunarity, configurational entropy, and permeability of model porous networks: Random packing simulations and NMR micro-imaging study

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Bum Han; Lee, Sung Keun

2013-07-01

Despite the importance of understanding and quantifying the microstructure of porous networks in diverse geologic settings, the effects of the specific surface area and porosity on the key structural parameters of the networks have not been fully understood. We performed cube-counting fractal dimension (Dcc) and lacunarity analyses of 3D porous networks of model sands and configurational entropy analysis of 2D cross sections of model sands using random packing simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) micro-imaging. We established relationships among porosity, specific surface area, structural parameters (Dcc and lacunarity), and the corresponding macroscopic properties (configurational entropy and permeability). The Dcc of the 3D porous networks increases with increasing specific surface area at a constant porosity and with increasing porosity at a constant specific surface area. Predictive relationships correlating Dcc, specific surface area, and porosity were also obtained. The lacunarity at the minimum box size decreases with increasing porosity, and that at the intermediate box size (∼0.469 mm in the current model sands) was reproduced well with specific surface area. The maximum configurational entropy increases with increasing porosity, and the entropy length of the pores decreases with increasing specific surface area and was used to calculate the average connectivity among the pores. The correlation among porosity, specific surface area, and permeability is consistent with the prediction from the Kozeny-Carman equation. From the relationship between the permeability and the Dcc of pores, the permeability can be expressed as a function of the Dcc of pores and porosity. The current methods and these newly identified correlations among structural parameters and properties provide improved insights into the nature of porous media and have useful geophysical and hydrological implications for elasticity and shear viscosity of complex composites of rock

Quantification of lung surface area using computed tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Li

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To refine the CT prediction of emphysema by comparing histology and CT for specific regions of lung. To incorporate both regional lung density measured by CT and cluster analysis of low attenuation areas for comparison with histological measurement of surface area per unit lung volume. Methods The histological surface area per unit lung volume was estimated for 140 samples taken from resected lung specimens of fourteen subjects. The region of the lung sampled for histology was located on the pre-operative CT scan; the regional CT median lung density and emphysematous lesion size were calculated using the X-ray attenuation values and a low attenuation cluster analysis. Linear mixed models were used to examine the relationships between histological surface area per unit lung volume and CT measures. Results The median CT lung density, low attenuation cluster analysis, and the combination of both were important predictors of surface area per unit lung volume measured by histology (p Conclusion Combining CT measures of lung density and emphysematous lesion size provides a more accurate estimate of lung surface area per unit lung volume than either measure alone.

A Conceptual Framework for Leisure and Subjective Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byunggook

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine a conceptual framework for an individual's subjective perception of leisure that contributes to Subjective Well-Being (SWB). More specifically, this study was an attempt to examine causal relationships among social cognitive variables, subjective perception of leisure, and SWB. A survey was administered to…

A protected area influences genotype-specific survival and the structure of a Canis hybrid zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, John F; Patterson, Brent R; Mahoney, Peter J

2014-02-01

It is widely recognized that protected areas can strongly influence ecological systems and that hybridization is an important conservation issue. However, previous studies have not explicitly considered the influence of protected areas on hybridization dynamics. Eastern wolves are a species of special concern and their distribution is largely restricted to a protected population in Algonquin Provincial Park (APP), Ontario, Canada, where they are the numerically dominant canid. We studied intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing survival and cause-specific mortality of hybrid and parental canids in the three-species hybrid zone between eastern wolves, eastern coyotes, and gray wolves in and adjacent to APP. Mortality risk for eastern wolves in areas adjacent to APP was significantly higher than for other sympatric Canis types outside of APP, and for eastern wolves and other canids within APP. Outside of APP, the annual mortality rate of all canids by harvest (24%) was higher than for other causes of death (4-7%). Furthermore, eastern wolves (hazard ratio = 3.5) and nonresidents (transients and dispersing animals, hazard ratio = 2.7) were more likely to die from harvest relative to other Canis types and residents, respectively. Thus, eastern wolves dispersing from APP were especially vulnerable to harvest mortality. For residents, eastern wolf survival was more negatively influenced by increased road density than for other Canis types, further highlighting the sensitivity of eastern wolves to human disturbance. A cycle of dispersal from APP followed by high rates of mortality and hybridization appears to maintain eastern wolves at low density adjacent to APP, limiting the potential for expansion beyond the protected area. However, high survival and numerical dominance of eastern wolves within APP suggest that protected areas can allow rare hybridizing species to persist even if their demographic performance is compromised and barriers to hybridization are largely

Variation of solubility, biokinetics and dose coefficient of industrial uranium oxides according to the specific surface area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chazel, V.; Houpert, P.; Ansorbolo, E.; Henge-Napoli, M.H.; Paquet, F.

2000-01-01

The in vitro solubility, absorption to blood, lung retention and dose coefficient of industrial UO 2 samples were studied as a function of the specific surface area (SSA) of the particles. An in vitro study has been carried out on two samples of industrial UO 4 to compare the results with those obtained with UO 2 . Ten UO 2 samples supplied by different fuel factories or research laboratories, presented specific surface areas from 1.00 to 4.45 m 2 .g -1 . The wide range of values of SSA was due to the different conditions of fabrication. Dissolution tests in cell culture medium made on these ten samples have shown that the solubility increased 2.5-fold when the SSA increased 1.7-fold. The same tendency has been found for UO 4 , a soluble compound, and for U 3 O 8 , a moderately soluble compound. Four in vivo experiments carried out on rats by intratracheal instillation of dust suspensions of UO 2 , have highlighted the decrease in lung retention and the increase of absorption to blood with the SSA. The experimental absorption parameters calculated from the in vivo data allowed specific dose coefficients to be obtained which decreased from 6.6 to 4.3 μSv.Bq -1 when the SSA increased from 1.60 to 3.08 m 2 .g -1 . Thus, the medical monitoring of workers at the workplace has to take into account any change in the fabrication process of the uranium compound which can affect the physiochemical properties and consequently the dose coefficient. (author)

SPECT assessment of brain activation induced by caffeine: no effect on areas involved in dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Nehlig, Astrid; Armspach, Jean-Paul; Namer, Izzie J

2010-01-01

Caffeine is not considered addictive, and in animals it does not trigger metabolic increases or dopamine release in brain areas involved in reinforcement and reward. Our objective was to measure caffeine effects on cerebral perfusion in humans using single photon emission computed tomography with a specific focus on areas of reinforcement and reward. Two groups of nonsmoking subjects were studied, one with a low (8 subjects) and one with a high (6 subjects) daily coffee consumption. The subjects ingested 3 mg/kg caffeine or placebo in a raspberry-tasting drink, and scans were performed 45 min after ingestion. A control group of 12 healthy volunteers receiving no drink was also studied. Caffeine consumption led to a generalized, statistically nonsignificant perfusion decrease of 6% to 8%, comparable in low and high consumers. Compared with controls, low consumers displayed neuronal activation bilaterally in inferior frontal gyrus-anterior insular cortex and uncus, left internal parietal cortex, right lingual gyrus, and cerebellum. In high consumers, brain activation occurred bilaterally only in hypothalamus. Thus, on a background of widespread low-amplitude perfusion decrease, caffeine activates a few regions mainly involved in the control of vigilance, anxiety, and cardiovascular regulation, but does not affect areas involved in reinforcing and reward.

Disturbed functional connectivity of cortical activation during semantic discrimination in patients with schizophrenia and subjects at genetic high-risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaobo; Branch, Craig A; Nierenberg, Jay; Delisi, Lynn E

2010-03-01

Schizophrenia has a strong genetic component that is relevant to the understanding of the pathophysiology of the syndrome. Thus, recent investigations have shifted from studies of diagnosed patients with schizophrenia to examining their unaffected relatives. Previous studies found that during language processing, relatives thought to be at genetic high-risk for the disorder exhibit aberrant functional activation in regions of language processing, specifically in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area). However, functional connectivity among the regions involved in language pathways is not well understood. In this study, we examined the functional connectivity between a seed located in Broca's area and the remainder of the brain during a visual lexical decision task, in 20 schizophrenia patients, 21 subjects at genetic high risk for the disorder and 21 healthy controls. Both the high-risk subjects and patients showed significantly reduced activation correlations between seed and regions related to visual language processing. Compared to the high-risk subjects, the schizophrenia patients showed even fewer regions that were correlated with the seed regions. These results suggest that there is aberrant functional connectivity within cortical language circuitry in high-risk subjects and patients with schizophrenia. Broca's area, which is one of the important regions for language processing in healthy controls, had a significantly reduced role in the high-risk subjects and patients with schizophrenia. Our findings are consistent with the existence of an underlying biological disturbance that begins in genetically at risk individuals and progresses to a greater extent in those who eventually develop schizophrenia.

Enhanced subject-specific resting-state network detection and extraction with fast fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Akin, Burak; Lee, Hsu-Lei; Hennig, Jürgen; LeVan, Pierre

2017-02-01

Resting-state networks have become an important tool for the study of brain function. An ultra-fast imaging technique that allows to measure brain function, called Magnetic Resonance Encephalography (MREG), achieves an order of magnitude higher temporal resolution than standard echo-planar imaging (EPI). This new sequence helps to correct physiological artifacts and improves the sensitivity of the fMRI analysis. In this study, EPI is compared with MREG in terms of capability to extract resting-state networks. Healthy controls underwent two consecutive resting-state scans, one with EPI and the other with MREG. Subject-level independent component analyses (ICA) were performed separately for each of the two datasets. Using Stanford FIND atlas parcels as network templates, the presence of ICA maps corresponding to each network was quantified in each subject. The number of detected individual networks was significantly higher in the MREG data set than for EPI. Moreover, using short time segments of MREG data, such as 50 seconds, one can still detect and track consistent networks. Fast fMRI thus results in an increased capability to extract distinct functional regions at the individual subject level for the same scan times, and also allow the extraction of consistent networks within shorter time intervals than when using EPI, which is notably relevant for the analysis of dynamic functional connectivity fluctuations. Hum Brain Mapp 38:817-830, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interim performance specifications for conceptual waste-package designs for geologic isolation in salt repositories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-06-01

The interim performance specifications and data requirements presented apply to conceptual waste package designs for all waste forms which will be isolated in salt geologic repositories. The waste package performance specifications and data requirements respond to the waste package performance criteria. Subject areas treated include: containment and controlled release, operational period safety, criticality control, identification, and waste package performance testing requirements. This document was generated for use in the development of conceptual waste package designs in salt. It will be revised as additional data, analyses, and regulatory requirements become available

Iron, folacin, vitamin B12 and zinc status and immune response in elderly subjects in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry-Christian, J.R.

1986-01-01

The iron, folacin, vitamin B 12 , and zinc status of a group of economically and socially disadvantaged elderly persons in the Washington Metropolitan Area was evaluated. Factors related to deficiencies of these nutrients, the relationships between the status of these nutrients and cell-mediated immunity, and the relationships of iron, folacin and vitamin B 12 status to hemoglobin levels in the subjects were also examined. It was also determined whether there were any interactions among iron, folacin, vitamin B 12 and zinc status in their relationships to cell-mediated immunity. Socio-demographic and nutritional data on the subjects were obtained using a questionnaire. Dietary data were obtained using a dietary record. A fasting blood sample was drawn and the levels of ferritin, folate and vitamin B 12 , and the erythrocyte levels of folate were determined by radioassay. Plasma and hair zinc levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Cell-mediated immune response was determined by transformation of peripheral blood lymphocytes after stimulation by mitogens, and by allogenic lymphocytes in the mixed lymphocyte reaction

Bayesian longitudinal segmentation of hippocampal substructures in brain MRI using subject-specific atlases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iglesias, Juan Eugenio; Van Leemput, Koen; Augustinack, Jean

2016-01-01

and 23 controls), it found differences in atrophy rates between AD and controls that the cross sectional method could not detect in a number of subregions: right parasubiculum, left and right presubiculum, right subiculum, left dentate gyrus, left CA4, left HATA and right tail. In ADNI (836 subjects: 369...... not find: left presubiculum, right subiculum, left and right parasubiculum, left and right HATA. Moreover, many of the differences that the cross-sectional method already found were detected with higher significance. The presented algorithm will be made available as part of the open-source neuroimaging...... differences and significantly higher Dice overlaps than the cross-sectional approach for nearly every subregion (average across subregions: 4.5% vs. 6.5%, Dice overlap: 81.8% vs. 75.4%). The longitudinal algorithm also demonstrated increased sensitivity to group differences: in MIRIAD (69 subjects: 46 with AD...

A deductive approach to select or rank journals in multifaceted subject, Oceanography

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sahu, S.R.; Panda, K.C.

journal) whereas Bradford’s differential approach (articles in the bibliographies of specific subject field) to account/rank the core journals. Both these methods make sense in the journal selection/ranking process to a specific subject field...

Carcinogen specific dosimetry model for passive smokers of various ages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, Risa J.

2005-01-01

Studies indicate that being exposed to second hand smoke increases the chance of developing lung cancer. Understanding the deposition of carcinogenic particles present in second hand smoke is necessary to understand the development of specific histologic type cancers. In this study, a deposition model is presented for subjects of various ages exposed to sidestream smoke. The model included particle dynamics of coagulation, hygroscopic growth, charge and cloud behavior. Concentrations were varied from the maximum measured indoor concentrations (10 6 particles/cm 3 ) to what would be expected from wisps of smoke (10 8 particles/cm 3 ). Model results agreed well with experimental data taken from human subject deposition measurements (four studies). The model results were used to determine the dose intensity (dose per unit airway surface area) of Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the respiratory tract for subjects of various ages. Model predictions for BaP surface concentration on the airway walls paralleled incident rates of tumors by location in the upper tracheobronchial region. Mass deposition efficiency was found to be larger for younger subjects, consistent with diffusion being the predominant mechanism for this particle size range. However, the actual dose intensity of BaP was found to be smaller for children than adults. This occurred due to the predominant effect of the smaller initial inhaled mass for children resulting from smaller tidal volumes. The resulting model is a useful tool to predict carcinogen specific particle deposition

The cutoff values of visceral fat area and waist circumference for identifying subjects at risk for metabolic syndrome in elderly Korean: Ansan Geriatric (AGE cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koh Young

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Korea, the cutoff values of waist circumference (WC for the identification of metabolic syndrome (MetS were suggested to be 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women based on the analysis mainly in middle-aged adults. As aging is associated with increased fat, especially abdominal visceral fat, the cutoff value of WC may differ according to age. In addition, the usefulness of visceral abdominal fat area (VFA to predict MetS in the elderly has not been studied yet. We aimed to suggest WC and VFA criteria and to compare the predictability of WC and VFA to identify people at risk for MetS. Methods A total of 689 elderly subjects aged ≥63 years (308 men, 381 women were chosen in this cross-sectional study from an ongoing, prospective, population-based study, the Ansan Geriatric (AGE cohort study. VFA was measured by single slice abdominal computed tomography scanning. The metabolic risk factors except WC (plasma glucose, blood pressure, serum triglycerides and HDL cholesterol levels were defined using modified NCEP-ATP III criteria. We estimated the accuracy of VFA and WC for identifying at least two of these factors by receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve analysis. Results Two hundred three of 308 men and 280 of 381 women had ≥2 metabolic risk factors. The area under the ROC curve (AUC value for VFA to predict the presence of ≥2 metabolic risk factors was not significantly different from that for WC (men, 0.735 and 0.750; women, 0.715 and 0.682; AUC values for VFA and WC, respectively. The optimal cutoff points for VFA and WC for predicting the presence of ≥2 metabolic risk factors were 92.6 cm2 and 86.5 cm for men and 88.9 cm2 and 86.5 cm for women. Conclusion WC had comparable power with VFA to identify elderly people who are at risk for MetS. Elderly Korean men and women had very similar cutoff points for both VFA and WC measurements for estimating the risk of MetS. Age-specific cutoff point for WC might be

Ape Behavior in Two Alternating Environments: Comparing Exhibit and Short-Term Holding Areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ross, Stephen R.; Wagner, Katherine E.; Schapiro, Steven J.

2010-01-01

be balanced with the desire to maintain enriching and naturalistic exhibit enclosures that benefit ape residents and attract the visiting public. In these settings, examinations of ape behavior and welfare typically focus exclusively on activity in the primary exhibit area. However, physical, social...... and sensory experiences unique to each area may shape different patterns of behavior. In the current study, zoo-living chimpanzees and gorillas were moved each day from exhibit areas to off-exhibit holding areas for a short duration as a part of regular management procedures. Behavioral data indicated species......-specific reactions to the holding area, including increased aggression and self-directed behavior by chimpanzees and increased activity and prosocial behavior among gorilla subjects. Both species showed more feeding-foraging behavior while in the exhibit enclosure. Results suggest that holding areas may not meet all...

Designing area optimized application-specific network-on-chip architectures while providing hard QoS guarantees.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sajid Gul Khawaja

Full Text Available With the increase of transistors' density, popularity of System on Chip (SoC has increased exponentially. As a communication module for SoC, Network on Chip (NoC framework has been adapted as its backbone. In this paper, we propose a methodology for designing area-optimized application specific NoC while providing hard Quality of Service (QoS guarantees for real time flows. The novelty of the proposed system lies in derivation of a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model which is then used to generate a resource optimal Network on Chip (NoC topology and architecture while considering traffic and QoS requirements. We also present the micro-architectural design features used for enabling traffic and latency guarantees and discuss how the solution adapts for dynamic variations in the application traffic. The paper highlights the effectiveness of proposed method by generating resource efficient NoC solutions for both industrial and benchmark applications. The area-optimized results are generated in few seconds by proposed technique, without resorting to heuristics, even for an application with 48 traffic flows.

Increased overall cortical connectivity with syndrome specific local decreases suggested by atypical sleep-EEG synchronization in Williams syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Gombos, Ferenc; Bódizs, Róbert; Kovács, Ilona

2017-07-21

Williams syndrome (7q11.23 microdeletion) is characterized by specific alterations in neurocognitive architecture and functioning, as well as disordered sleep. Here we analyze the region, sleep state and frequency-specific EEG synchronization of whole night sleep recordings of 21 Williams syndrome and 21 typically developing age- and gender-matched subjects by calculating weighted phase lag indexes. We found broadband increases in inter- and intrahemispheric neural connectivity for both NREM and REM sleep EEG of Williams syndrome subjects. These effects consisted of increased theta, high sigma, and beta/low gamma synchronization, whereas alpha synchronization was characterized by a peculiar Williams syndrome-specific decrease during NREM states (intra- and interhemispheric centro-temporal) and REM phases of sleep (occipital intra-area synchronization). We also found a decrease in short range, occipital connectivity of NREM sleep EEG theta activity. The striking increased overall synchronization of sleep EEG in Williams syndrome subjects is consistent with the recently reported increase in synaptic and dendritic density in stem-cell based Williams syndrome models, whereas decreased alpha and occipital connectivity might reflect and underpin the altered microarchitecture of primary visual cortex and disordered visuospatial functioning of Williams syndrome subjects.

Subject-specific cardiovascular system model-based identification and diagnosis of septic shock with a minimally invasive data set: animal experiments and proof of concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geoffrey Chase, J; Starfinger, Christina; Hann, Christopher E; Lambermont, Bernard; Ghuysen, Alexandre; Kolh, Philippe; Dauby, Pierre C; Desaive, Thomas; Shaw, Geoffrey M

2011-01-01

A cardiovascular system (CVS) model and parameter identification method have previously been validated for identifying different cardiac and circulatory dysfunctions in simulation and using porcine models of pulmonary embolism, hypovolemia with PEEP titrations and induced endotoxic shock. However, these studies required both left and right heart catheters to collect the data required for subject-specific monitoring and diagnosis—a maximally invasive data set in a critical care setting although it does occur in practice. Hence, use of this model-based diagnostic would require significant additional invasive sensors for some subjects, which is unacceptable in some, if not all, cases. The main goal of this study is to prove the concept of using only measurements from one side of the heart (right) in a 'minimal' data set to identify an effective patient-specific model that can capture key clinical trends in endotoxic shock. This research extends existing methods to a reduced and minimal data set requiring only a single catheter and reducing the risk of infection and other complications—a very common, typical situation in critical care patients, particularly after cardiac surgery. The extended methods and assumptions that found it are developed and presented in a case study for the patient-specific parameter identification of pig-specific parameters in an animal model of induced endotoxic shock. This case study is used to define the impact of this minimal data set on the quality and accuracy of the model application for monitoring, detecting and diagnosing septic shock. Six anesthetized healthy pigs weighing 20–30 kg received a 0.5 mg kg −1 endotoxin infusion over a period of 30 min from T0 to T30. For this research, only right heart measurements were obtained. Errors for the identified model are within 8% when the model is identified from data, re-simulated and then compared to the experimentally measured data, including measurements not used in the

Regional cerebral blood flow during comprehension and speech (in cerebrally healthy subjects)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lechevalier, B.; Petit, M.C.; Eustache, F.; Lambert, J.; Chapon, F.; Viader, F.

1989-01-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured by the xenon-133 inhalation method in 10 cerebrally healthy subjects at rest and during linguistic activation tests. These consisted of a comprehension test (binaural listening to a narrative text) and a speech test (making sentences from a list of words presented orally at 30-s intervals). The comprehension task induced a moderate increase in the mean right CBF and in both inferior parietal areas, whereas the speech test resulted in a diffuse increase in the mean CBF of both hemispheres, predominating regionally in both inferior parietal, left operculary, and right upper motor and premotor areas. It is proposed that the activation pattern induced by linguistic stimulation depends on not only specific factors, such as syntactic and semantic aspects of language, but also the contents of the material proposed and the attention required by the test situation

Energy data base: subject thesaurus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redford, J.S.

1981-10-01

The technical staff of the DOE Technical Information Center, during its subject indexing activities, develops and structures a vocabulary that allows consistent machine storage and retrieval of information necessary to the accomplishment of the DOE mission. This thesaurus incorporates that structured vocabulary. The terminology of this thesaurus is used for the subject control of information announced in DOE Energy Research Abstracts, Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis, and various update journals and bulletins in specialized areas. This terminology also facilitates subject searching of the DOE Energy Data Base on the DOE/RECON on-line retrieval system and on other commercial retrieval systems. The rapid expansion of the DOE's activities will result in a commitant thesaurus expansion as information relating to new activities is indexed. Only the terms used in the indexing of documents at the Technical Information Center to date are included

A Link between Subjective Perceptions of Memory and Physical Function: Implications for Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Science.gov (United States)

Cosentino, Stephanie; Devanand, Davangere; Gurland, Barry

2018-01-01

Subjective impairment in memory is a frequently defining feature of subjective cognitive decline (SCD), a state hypothesized to precede objectively apparent cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to hold promise as a non-invasive, inexpensive, preclinical indicator of AD. However, a full model of the factors that contribute to subjective memory (SM), and therefore to SCD, has yet to be articulated. While SM impairment is widely known to be associated with negative affect, the extent to which SM functioning may also reflect other factors, particularly subjective beliefs or perceptions about one's health, is not known. To examine the extent to which SM is associated with subjective perceptions of health more broadly, the current study investigated the link between SM and subjective physical functioning (independent of depressive affect, and objective cognitive and physical function) in an ethnically diverse sample of 471 older adults enrolled in the population-based Northern Manhattan Aging Project. 199 (42%) participants endorsed no difficulty on a 5-point SM index while 272 (58%) endorsed some degree of difficulty. As hypothesized, SM correlated with both depression and subjective physical function, but not with age, education, global cognition, or objective physical function. When objective and subjective physical function were entered in two separate, adjusted linear regressions predicting SM, only subjective physical function and depressive affect independently predicted SM. Subjective perceptions of memory appear to reflect individuals' broader health perceptions in part. Articulating the various correlates of SM will improve identification of SCD specific to preclinical AD.

Kinetic studies of triiodothyronine (T3) in subjects with autonomous thyroid nodule using specific antiserum for the determination of labelled T3 in plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, R.; Zucchelli, G.C.; Giannessi, D.; Pilo, A.; Toni, M.G.; Carpi, A.

1976-01-01

The triiodothyronine (T 3 ) kinetics have been evaluated using a 125 I-T 3 and single injection technique; five patients with autonomously functioning thyroid nodule clinically euthyroid, one hypothyroid patient and three control subjects have been studied. Serum-labelled T 3 concentration has been measured by a new method based on extraction of the hormone on small Sephadex G-25 columns, followed by elution with specific antiserum. The analysis of experimental data has been performed using noncompartmental treatment (integral approach). Single compartment analysis of the same data has been also done and results presented for comparison. Average value of metabolic clearance rate was 26.0 1/day in control subjects while larger values (range 28.9 - 53.4 1/day) were found in patients with autonomous nodule and total inhibition of extranodular parenchyma

Vision as subjective perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reppas, J.B.; Dale, A.; Sereno, M.; Tootell, R.

1996-01-01

The human brain is not very different of the monkey's one: at least, its visual cortex is organized as a similar scheme. Specialized areas in the movement analysis are found and others in the forms perception. In this work, the author tries to answer to the following questions: 1)why so many visual areas? What are exactly their role in vision? Thirteen years of experimentation have not allowed to answer to these questions. The cerebral NMR imaging gives the opportunity of understanding the subjective perception of the visual world. One step which is particularly described in this work is to know how the visual cortex reacts to the optical illusions. (O.M.)

Scientific and General Subject Classifications in the Digital World

CERN Document Server

De Robbio, Antonella; Marini, A

2001-01-01

In the present work we discuss opportunities, problems, tools and techniques encountered when interconnecting discipline-specific subject classifications, primarily organized as search devices in bibliographic databases, with general classifications originally devised for book shelving in public libraries. We first state the fundamental distinction between topical (or subject) classifications and object classifications. Then we trace the structural limitations that have constrained subject classifications since their library origins, and the devices that were used to overcome the gap with genuine knowledge representation. After recalling some general notions on structure, dynamics and interferences of subject classifications and of the objects they refer to, we sketch a synthetic overview on discipline-specific classifications in Mathematics, Computing and Physics, on one hand, and on general classifications on the other. In this setting we present The Scientific Classifications Page, which collects groups of...

Tabla de Especificaciones e Instructivo sobre Elaboracion de Pruebas Objetivas en la Ensenanza Primaria, para las asignaturas de Estudios Sociales, Idioma Espanol, Matematicas y Ciencias Naturales (Specification Tables and Instructions for the Construction of Objective Tests in the Primary Grades in Social Studies, Spanish, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences).

Science.gov (United States)

Ministerio de Educacion, Guatemala City (Guatemala). Direccion de Bienestar Estudiantil y Educacion Especial.

This booklet presents specification tables illustrating the relative importance given to topics on tests within a particular subject area. The general subject areas are social studies, Spanish, mathematics, and natural sciences. Tables are provided for final exams in each of these areas for several primary grades, illustrating the importance of…

GPs' negotiation strategies regarding sick leave for subjective health complaints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsen, Stein Tore; Malterud, Kirsti; Werner, Erik L.

2015-01-01

Objectives: To explore general practitioners ’(GPs’) specific negotiation strategies regarding sick-leave issues with patientssuffering from subjective health complaints. Design: Focus-group study. Setting: Nine focus-group interviews in three citiesin different regions of Norway. Participants: 48...... GPs (31 men, 17 women; age 32–65), participating in a course dealing with diagnostic practice and assessment of sickness certifi cates related to patients with subjective health complaints. Results: TheGPs identified some specific strategies that they claimed to apply when dealing with the question...... to sick leave. Conclusions and implications: GPs seem to have a conscious approach to negotiations of sickness certification, as they report applying specific strategies to limit the duration of sick leave due to subjective health complaints. This give-and-take way of handling sick leave negotiations has...

The subjective experience of patients who received electroconvulsive therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopowitz, Leslie Frank; Chur-Hansen, Anna; Reid, Sally; Blashki, Miriam

2003-02-01

Despite the vast amount of scientific literature available on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), there is little qualitative focus upon the patients' subjective experience of this procedure. Using an exploratory descriptive methodology, this study aims to provide a more unique insight into what certain patients actually think of ECT. Semistructured interviews were conducted to explore eight patients' opinions and experiences of ECT. Interviews were subjected to analysis by a five-step framework approach that identified prominent themes in relation to five broad questions and in conjunction with issues raised by the subjects themselves. Eleven major themes were identified. Four of these were chosen for discussion, not only as the most prevalent themes (in terms of how frequently they were mentioned by the subjects), but also as the most striking (in regards to the intensity of emotions evoked, or their influence on their perception of ECT as a future treatment option). The four themes are fear of ECT, attribution of cognitive decline and memory loss to ECT, positive ECT experiences, and patients' suggestions. Using such a qualitative approach, the depth of the information obtained has revealed new perspectives on how patients perceive the experience of ECT. Fears reported by patients present an opportunity to address specific areas of the procedure that generate the most angst. These were closely associated with recommendations that many patients proposed throughout the interviews. Patients' perceptions of the cognitive effects of ECT do not necessarily correspond with those commonly reported in the literature on ECT. Positive experiences with ECT were more complex than simply its efficacy. There is a need for future research in order to explore and address patients' experiences of ECT.

Subject Retrieval from Full-Text Databases in the Humanities

Science.gov (United States)

East, John W.

2007-01-01

This paper examines the problems involved in subject retrieval from full-text databases of secondary materials in the humanities. Ten such databases were studied and their search functionality evaluated, focusing on factors such as Boolean operators, document surrogates, limiting by subject area, proximity operators, phrase searching, wildcards,…

Effects of canopy structural variables on retrieval of leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area from remotely sensed data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ali, A.M.; Darvishzadeh, R.; Skidmore, A.K.; van Duren, I.C.

2016-01-01

Leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and specific leaf area (SLA) are two important traits in measuring biodiversity. To use remote sensing for the estimation of these traits, it is essential to understand the underlying factors that influence their relationships with canopy reflectance. The effect of

Brain correlates of craving for online gaming under cue exposure in subjects with Internet gaming addiction and in remitted subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Chih-Hung; Liu, Gin-Chung; Yen, Ju-Yu; Chen, Chiao-Yun; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng

2013-05-01

This study aimed to evaluate brain correlates of cue-induced craving to play online games in subjects with Internet gaming addiction (IGA), subjects in remission from IGA and controls. The craving response was assessed by event-related design of functional magnetic resonance images (fMRIs). Fifteen subjects with IGA, 15 in remission from IGA and 15 controls were recruited in this study. The subjects were arranged to view the gaming screenshots and neutral images under investigation of fMRIs. The results showed that bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), precuneus, left parahippocampus, posterior cingulate and right anterior cingulate were activated in response to gaming cues in the IGA group and their activation was stronger in the IGA group than those in the control group. Their region-of-interest was also positively correlated with subjective gaming urge under cue exposure. These activated brain areas represent the brain circuit corresponding to the mechanism of substance use disorder. Thus, it would suggest that the mechanism of IGA is similar to substance use disorder. Furthermore, the IGA group had stronger activation over right DLPFC and left parahippocampus than did the remission group. The two areas would be candidate markers for current addiction to online gaming and should be investigated in future studies. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction Biology © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

The Formalization of the Problem area, Implementation and Maintenance of Business process by a group of unmanned vehicles

OpenAIRE

Kuandykov A.A; Kassenkhan A.M; Mukazhanov N.K; Kozhamzharova D.K; Kalpeeva Zh.B; Sholpanbaev A.T

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the formalization of the problem domain in which there is a business process that is similar in structure.For research and formalization selected a specific type of subject area in which at random time occurs the business processes that are close on the abstract structure.

Magneto encephalography (MEG: perspectives of speech areas functional mapping in human subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Butorina A. V.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available One of the main problems in clinical practice and academic research is how to localize speech zones in the human brain. Two speech areas (Broca and Wernicke areas that are responsible for language production and for understanding of written and spoken language have been known since the past century. Their location and even hemispheric lateralization have a substantial inter-individual variability, especially in neurosurgery patients. Wada test is one of the most frequently used invasive methodology for speech hemispheric lateralization in neurosurgery patients. However, besides relatively high-risk of Wada test for patient's health, it has its own limitation, e. g. low reliability of Wada-based evidence of verbal memory brain lateralization. Therefore, there is an urgent need for non-invasive, reliable methods of speech zones mapping.The current review summarizes the recent experimental evidence from magnitoencephalographic (MEG research suggesting that speech areas are included in the speech processing within the first 200 ms after the word onset. The electro-magnetic response to deviant word, mismatch negativity wave with latency of 100—200 ms, can be recorded from auditory cortex within the oddball-paradigm. We provide the arguments that basic features of this brain response, such as its automatic, pre-attentive nature, high signal to noise ratio, source localization at superior temporal sulcus, make it a promising vehicle for non-invasive MEG-based speech areas mapping in neurosurgery.

The Specific Heat of Matter at Low Temperatures

CERN Document Server

Tari, A

2003-01-01

Recent discoveries of new materials and improvements in calorimetric techniques have given new impetus to the subject of specific heat. Nevertheless, there is a serious lack of literature on the subject. This invaluable book, which goes some way towards remedying that, is concerned mainly with the specific heat of matter at ordinary temperatures. It discusses the principles that underlie the theory of specific heat and considers a number of theoretical models in some detail. The subject matter ranges from traditional materials to those recently discovered - heavy fermion compounds, high temper

Experimental research of the yielding behavior of a graphite cylinder subjected to line loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Hetong; Ma Qinwei; Ma Shaopeng; Wang Hongtao

2014-01-01

The graphite material cylinders are widely used in High-temperature gas-cooled reactor as connecting components. For engineering design, the deformation behavior, especially the yielding process of the graphite cylinder should be investigated in order to evaluate the carrying capacity of the cylinder. The yielding formation and propagation of a graphite cylinder subjected to line loading, which corresponds to the global behavior of the structure, was experimentally studied and evaluated by measuring the strain fields on the end of the cylinder using Digital Image Correlation. The global behavior of the structure is expressed by a relationship between the average stress (load divided by contact area) and the equivalent strain (ratio of half width of contact area to radius of the cylinder), the contact area was measured by identifying the color area of the pressure film in a new experiment which graphite component is loaded and unloaded continuously. A correspondence between the yielding state and the nonlinearity of the global behavior was constructed, as loading was increased, the cylinder was found to first yield at a specific point after which a yielding core formed and propagated. Before the yielding core propagated to the surface of the cylinder, the global behavior of the structure remained linear. After the yielding core propagated to the surface of the cylinder, the global behavior became nonlinear. The correspondence constructed in the paper will be helpful to understand the failure process and to evaluate the carrying capacity of a graphite cylinder subjected to line loading in reactors. (author)

Higher-order Brain Areas Associated with Real-time Functional MRI Neurofeedback Training of the Somato-motor Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Auer, Tibor; Dewiputri, Wan Ilma; Frahm, Jens; Schweizer, Renate

2018-05-15

Neurofeedback (NFB) allows subjects to learn self-regulation of neuronal brain activation based on information about the ongoing activation. The implementation of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) for NFB training now facilitates the investigation into underlying processes. Our study involved 16 control and 16 training right-handed subjects, the latter performing an extensive rt-fMRI NFB training using motor imagery. A previous analysis focused on the targeted primary somato-motor cortex (SMC). The present study extends the analysis to the supplementary motor area (SMA), the next higher brain area within the hierarchy of the motor system. We also examined transfer-related functional connectivity using a whole-volume psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis to reveal brain areas associated with learning. The ROI analysis of the pre- and post-training fMRI data for motor imagery without NFB (transfer) resulted in a significant training-specific increase in the SMA. It could also be shown that the contralateral SMA exhibited a larger increase than the ipsilateral SMA in the training and the transfer runs, and that the right-hand training elicited a larger increase in the transfer runs than the left-hand training. The PPI analysis revealed a training-specific increase in transfer-related functional connectivity between the left SMA and frontal areas as well as the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) for right- and left-hand trainings. Moreover, the transfer success was related with training-specific increase in functional connectivity between the left SMA and the target area SMC. Our study demonstrates that NFB training increases functional connectivity with non-targeted brain areas. These are associated with the training strategy (i.e., SMA) as well as with learning the NFB skill (i.e., aMCC and frontal areas). This detailed description of both the system to be trained and the areas involved in learning can provide valuable information

Cholinergic blockade under working memory demands encountered by increased rehearsal strategies: evidence from fMRI in healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, Bianca; Thienel, Renate; Reske, Martina; Kellermann, Thilo; Sheldrick, Abigail J; Halfter, Sarah; Radenbach, Katrin; Shah, Nadim J; Habel, Ute; Kircher, Tilo T J

2012-06-01

The connection between cholinergic transmission and cognitive performance has been established in behavioural studies. The specific contribution of the muscarinic receptor system on cognitive performance and brain activation, however, has not been evaluated satisfyingly. To investigate the specific contribution of the muscarinic transmission on neural correlates of working memory, we examined the effects of scopolamine, an antagonist of the muscarinic receptors, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy male, non-smoking subjects performed a fMRI scanning session following the application of scopolamine (0.4 mg, i.v.) or saline in a placebo-controlled, repeated measure, pseudo-randomized, single-blind design. Working memory was probed using an n-back task. Compared to placebo, challenging the cholinergic transmission with scopolamine resulted in hypoactivations in parietal, occipital and cerebellar areas and hyperactivations in frontal and prefrontal areas. These alterations are interpreted as compensatory strategies used to account for downregulation due to muscarinic acetylcholine blockade in parietal and cerebral storage systems by increased activation in frontal and prefrontal areas related to working memory rehearsal. Our results further underline the importance of cholinergic transmission to working memory performance and determine the specific contribution of muscarinic transmission on cerebral activation associated with executive functioning.

Within-subject mediation analysis for experimental data in cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Vuorre, Matti; Bolger, Niall

2017-12-15

Statistical mediation allows researchers to investigate potential causal effects of experimental manipulations through intervening variables. It is a powerful tool for assessing the presence and strength of postulated causal mechanisms. Although mediation is used in certain areas of psychology, it is rarely applied in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. One reason for the scarcity of applications is that these areas of psychology commonly employ within-subjects designs, and mediation models for within-subjects data are considerably more complicated than for between-subjects data. Here, we draw attention to the importance and ubiquity of mediational hypotheses in within-subjects designs, and we present a general and flexible software package for conducting Bayesian within-subjects mediation analyses in the R programming environment. We use experimental data from cognitive psychology to illustrate the benefits of within-subject mediation for theory testing and comparison.

Linguistic Effects of Globalization: A Case Study of French for Specific Purposes (FSP) in Kenyan Vocational Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Mulenda, Mubalama

2013-01-01

The study of French for Specific Purposes (FSP) is a topical subject in this era of globalization. Kenya requires people who can communicate in French in the various specialized areas. It has become crucial in Kenya to respond to the French language needs of students learning tourism and hospitality among other domains which have already shown an…

Subject-specific optimization of channel currents for multichannel transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cline, Christopher C; Johnson, Nessa N; He, Bin

2015-01-01

The goal of this work is to develop a focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system using a multichannel coil array for high-resolution neuromodulation. We proposed a novel spatially-distributed stimulation strategy to significantly improve the focality of TMS. Computer simulations were conducted to evaluate the proposed approach and test the merits of multichannel TMS. Three different multichannel coil arrays were modeled in addition to a conventional figure-8 coil for comparison. Simulations were performed on finite element head models of six subjects constructed from anatomical MR images via an automated pipeline. Multichannel TMS arrays exhibited significantly more focal induced electric field magnitudes compared to the figure-8 coil. Additionally, electrical steering of stimulation sites without physical movement of the coil array was demonstrated.

Perceptual Computing Aiding People in Making Subjective Judgments

CERN Document Server

Mendel, Jerry

2010-01-01

Explains for the first time how "computing with words" can aid in making subjective judgments. Lotfi Zadeh, the father of fuzzy logic, coined the phrase "computing with words" (CWW) to describe a methodology in which the objects of computation are words and propositions drawn from a natural language. Perceptual Computing explains how to implement CWW to aid in the important area of making subjective judgments, using a methodology that leads to an interactive device—a "Perceptual Computer"—that propagates random and linguistic uncertainties into the subjective judg

Nonlinear analysis of LWR components: areas of investigation/benefits/recommendations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, S. J. [ed.

1980-04-01

The purpose of this study is to identify specific topics of investigation into design procedures, design concepts, methods of analysis, testing practices, and standards which are characterized by nonlinear behavior (both geometric and material) and which are considered to offer some economic and/or technical benefits to the LWR industry (excluding piping). In this study these topics were collected, compiled, and subjectively evaluated as to their potential benefit. The topics considered to have the greatest benefit/impact potential are discussed. The topics of investigation were found to fall basically into three areas: component, code interpretation, and load/failure mechanism. The topics are arbitrarily reorganized into six areas of investigation: Fracture, Fatigue, Vibration/Dynamic/Seismic, Plasticity, Component/Computational Considerations, and Code Interpretation.

MICROSCALE METABOLIC, REDOX AND ABIOTIC REACTIONS IN HANFORD 300 AREA SUBSURFACE SEDIMENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beyenal, Haluk [WSU; McLEan, Jeff [JCVI; Majors, Paul [PNNL; Fredrickson, Jim [PNNL

2013-11-14

The Hanford 300 Area is a unique site due to periodic hydrologic influence of river water resulting in changes in groundwater elevation and flow direction. This area is also highly subject to uranium remobilization, the source of which is currently believed to be the region at the base of the vadose zone that is subject to period saturation due to the changes in the water levels in the Columbia River. We found that microbial processes and redox and abiotic reactions which operate at the microscale were critical to understanding factors controlling the macroscopic fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface. The combined laboratory and field research showed how microscale conditions control uranium mobility and how biotic, abiotic and redox reactions relate to each other. Our findings extended the current knowledge to examine U(VI) reduction and immobilization using natural 300 Area communities as well as selected model organisms on redox-sensitive and redox-insensitive minerals. Using innovative techniques developed specifically to probe biogeochemical processes at the microscale, our research expanded our current understanding of the roles played by mineral surfaces, bacterial competition, and local biotic, abiotic and redox reaction rates on the reduction and immobilization of uranium.

Differential involvement of cortical and cerebellar areas using dominant and nondominant hands: An FMRI study

Science.gov (United States)

Pardini, Matteo; Samson, Rebecca S.; D'Angelo, Egidio; Friston, Karl J.; Toosy, Ahmed T.; Gandini Wheeler‐Kingshott, Claudia A.M.

2015-01-01

Abstract Motor fMRI studies, comparing dominant (DH) and nondominant (NDH) hand activations have reported mixed findings, especially for the extent of ipsilateral (IL) activations and their relationship with task complexity. To date, no study has directly compared DH and NDH activations using an event‐related visually guided dynamic power‐grip paradigm with parametric (three) forces (GF) in healthy right‐handed subjects. We implemented a hierarchical statistical approach aimed to: (i) identify the main effect networks engaged when using either hand; (ii) characterise DH/NDH responses at different GFs; (iii) assess contralateral (CL)/IL‐specific and hemisphere‐specific activations. Beyond confirming previously reported results, this study demonstrated that increasing GF has an effect on motor response that is contextualised also by the use of DH or NDH. Linear analysis revealed increased activations in sensorimotor areas, with additional increased recruitments of subcortical and cerebellar areas when using the NDH. When looking at CL/IL‐specific activations, CL sensorimotor areas and IL cerebellum were activated with both hands. When performing the task with the NDH, several areas were also recruited including the CL cerebellum. Finally, there were hand‐side‐independent activations of nonmotor‐specific areas in the right and left hemispheres, with the right hemisphere being involved more extensively in sensori‐motor integration through associative areas while the left hemisphere showing greater activation at higher GF. This study shows that the functional networks subtending DH/NDH power‐grip visuomotor functions are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct and this should be taken into consideration when performing fMRI studies, particularly when planning interventions in patients with specific impairments. Hum Brain Mapp 36:5079–5100, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26415818

Changes in Contact Area in Meniscus Horizontal Cleavage Tears Subjected to Repair and Resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Beamer, Brandon S; Walley, Kempland C; Okajima, Stephen; Manoukian, Ohan S; Perez-Viloria, Miguel; DeAngelis, Joseph P; Ramappa, Arun J; Nazarian, Ara

2017-03-01

To assess the changes in tibiofemoral contact pressure and contact area in human knees with a horizontal cleavage tear before and after treatment. Ten human cadaveric knees were tested. Pressure sensors were placed under the medial meniscus and the knees were loaded at twice the body weight for 20 cycles at 0°, 10°, and 20° of flexion. Contact area and pressure were recorded for the intact meniscus, the meniscus with a horizontal cleavage tear, after meniscal repair, after partial meniscectomy (single leaflet), and after subtotal meniscectomy (double leaflet). The presence of a horizontal cleavage tear significantly increased average peak contact pressure and reduced effective average tibiofemoral contact area at all flexion angles tested compared with the intact state (P contact pressure after creation of the horizontal cleavage tear. Repairing the horizontal cleavage tear restored peak contact pressures and areas to within 15% of baseline, statistically similar to the intact state at all angles tested (P contact pressure and reduced average contact area at all degrees of flexion compared with the intact state (P contact area and a significant elevation in contact pressure. These changes may accelerate joint degeneration. A suture-based repair of these horizontal cleavage tears returns the contact area and contact pressure to nearly normal, whereas both partial and subtotal meniscectomy lead to significant reductions in contact area and significant elevations in contact pressure within the knee. Repairing horizontal cleavage tears may lead to improved clinical outcomes by preserving meniscal tissue and the meniscal function. Understanding contact area and peak contact pressure resulting from differing strategies for treating horizontal cleavage tears will allow the surgeon to evaluate the best strategy for treating his or her patients who present with this meniscal pathology. Copyright © 2016 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier

Teachers' Job Dislike Areas: Implications for Operational Modifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. 'Tayo Subair

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Teaching is the act, practice and occupation of a teacher. A teacher is a person who provides education for learners at a school or other place of formal education. The use of teacher in this study is conceptualized to involve all cadres of instructors and teaching team from primary and junior secondary (basic education to senior secondary school. The study examined the areas of job dislikes among teachers with their attendant implications for practice. Using a self-designed and pilot-tested questionnaire, data were collected from a random sample of 3,000 teachers drawn from Lagos, Ogun, and Osun states in the Southwestern geopolitical zone of the country. Specifically, 400 primary and 600 secondary school teachers were drawn from each state. The data were analyzed using simple percentage. It was found that teachers job dislike areas though differ but were within seven areas thus: writing lesson notes (98.5%, marking subject attendance register (98%, disciplining of students in school (90%, and serving as members of committees (78.9%. Other dislike areas include taking students out of school for extramural activities (73.3%, partaking in co-curricular activities in the school (60.3% and examination invigilation (59.1% as areas of common dislike and capable of inhibiting the satisfaction levels of teachers.Furthermore, it was found that differences exist in job dislikes between male and female teachers. The common job dislikes among male were non-interest in marking of scripts and invigilation of examinations whereas the female showed dislikes for serving as committee members and as year tutors.Thus, it was recommended that: some modifications in the operational approaches of classroom teachers (such as deemphasizing lesson note writing and marking of subject attendance register would be required. Teachers should also be financially encouraged via allowances for all other activities outside teaching.

Subsurface contamination focus area technical requirements. Volume II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nickelson, D.; Nonte, J.; Richardson, J.

1996-10-01

This is our vision, a vision that replaces the ad hoc or open-quotes delphiclose quotes method which is to get a group of open-quotes expertsclose quotes together and make decisions based upon opinion. To fulfill our vision for the Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area (SCFA), it is necessary to generate technical requirements or performance measures which are quantitative or measurable. Decisions can be supported if they are based upon requirements or performance measures which can be traced to the origin (documented) and are verifiable, i.e., prove that requirements are satisfied by inspection (show me), demonstration, analysis, monitoring, or test. The data from which these requirements are derived must also reflect the characteristics of individual landfills or plumes so that technologies that meet these requirements will necessarily work at specific sites. Other subjective factors, such as stakeholder concerns, do influence decisions. Using the requirements as a basic approach, the SCFA can depend upon objective criteria to help influence the areas of subjectivity, like the stakeholders. In the past, traceable requirements were not generated, probably because it seemed too difficult to do so. There are risks that the requirements approach will not be accepted because it is new and represents a departure from the historical paradigm

Subsurface contamination focus area technical requirements. Volume II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nickelson, D.; Nonte, J.; Richardson, J.

1996-10-01

This is our vision, a vision that replaces the ad hoc or {open_quotes}delphi{close_quotes} method which is to get a group of {open_quotes}experts{close_quotes} together and make decisions based upon opinion. To fulfill our vision for the Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area (SCFA), it is necessary to generate technical requirements or performance measures which are quantitative or measurable. Decisions can be supported if they are based upon requirements or performance measures which can be traced to the origin (documented) and are verifiable, i.e., prove that requirements are satisfied by inspection (show me), demonstration, analysis, monitoring, or test. The data from which these requirements are derived must also reflect the characteristics of individual landfills or plumes so that technologies that meet these requirements will necessarily work at specific sites. Other subjective factors, such as stakeholder concerns, do influence decisions. Using the requirements as a basic approach, the SCFA can depend upon objective criteria to help influence the areas of subjectivity, like the stakeholders. In the past, traceable requirements were not generated, probably because it seemed too difficult to do so. There are risks that the requirements approach will not be accepted because it is new and represents a departure from the historical paradigm.

The Societal Nature of Subjectivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Henning Salling

2013-01-01

The HSR Focus presents a psycho-societal approach to qualitative empirical research in several areas of everyday social life. It is an approach which integrates a theory of subjectivity and an interpretation methodology which integrates hermeneutic experiences from text analysis and psychoanalysis....... In terms of methodology it revives the themes originally launched in FOS exactly ten years ago: "Subjectivity and Reflectivity in Qualitative Research" (Breuer, Mruck and Roth 2002; Mruck and Breuer 2003). This editorial introduction presents the intellectual background of the psycho-societal methodology......, reflects on its relevance and critical perspectives in a contemporary landscape of social science, and comments the way in which an international and interdisciplinary research group has developed this approach to profane empirical research....

Inter-Subject Variability of Axonal Injury in Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Ware, Jeffrey B; Hart, Tessa; Whyte, John; Rabinowitz, Amanda; Detre, John A; Kim, Junghoon

2017-07-15

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of cognitive morbidity worldwide for which reliable biomarkers are needed. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a promising biomarker of traumatic axonal injury (TAI); however, existing studies have been limited by a primary reliance on group-level analytic methods not well suited to account for inter-subject variability. In this study, 42 adults with TBI of at least moderate severity were examined 3 months following injury and compared with 35 healthy controls. DTI data were used for both traditional group-level comparison and subject-specific analysis using the distribution-corrected Z-score (DisCo-Z) approach. Inter-subject variation in TAI was assessed in a threshold-invariant manner using a threshold-weighted overlap map derived from subject-specific analysis. Receiver operator curve analysis was used to examine the ability of subject-specific DTI analysis to identify TBI subjects with significantly impaired processing speed in comparison with region of interest-based fractional anisotropy (FA) measurements and clinical characteristics. Traditional group-wise analysis demonstrated widespread reductions of white matter FA within the TBI group (voxel-wise p traumatic deficits in processing speed. Significant group-level effects do not necessarily represent consistent effects at the individual level. Better accounting for inter-subject variability in neurobiological manifestations of TBI may substantially improve the ability to detect and classify patterns of injury.

Is Case-Specificity Content-Specificity? An Analysis of Data from Extended-Matching Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Dory, Valerie; Gagnon, Robert; Charlin, Bernard

2010-01-01

Case-specificity, i.e., variability of a subject's performance across cases, has been a consistent finding in medical education. It has important implications for assessment validity and reliability. Its root causes remain a matter of discussion. One hypothesis, content-specificity, links variability of performance to variable levels of relevant…

Physiological dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. IV. Further evidence for regional and behavioral specificity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman, K.F.; Illowsky, B.P.; Weinberger, D.R.

1988-01-01

In previous studies we found that patients with chronic schizophrenia had lower regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) than did normal subjects during performance of the Wisconsin Card Sort Test, an abstract reasoning task linked to DLPFC function. This was not the case during less complex tasks. To examine further whether this finding represented regionally circumscribed pathophysiology or a more general correlate of abstract cognition, 24 medication-free patients and 25 age- and sex-matched normal control subjects underwent rCBF measurements with the xenon 133 technique while they performed two tasks: Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) and an active baseline control task. While performing RPM, normal subjects activated posterior cortical areas over baseline, but did not activate DLPFC, as had been seen during the Wisconsin Card Sort Test. Like normal subjects, patients showed maximal rCBF elevations posteriorly and, moreover, they had no significant DLPFC or other cortical deficit while performing RPM. These results suggest that DLPFC dysfunction in schizophrenia is linked to pathophysiology of a regionally specific neural system rather than to global cortical dysfunction, and that this pathophysiology is most apparent under prefrontally specific cognitive demand

Sex-specific features of emphysema among current and former smokers with COPD.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardin, Megan; Foreman, Marilyn; Dransfield, Mark T; Hansel, Nadia; Han, MeiLan K; Cho, Michael H; Bhatt, Surya P; Ramsdell, Joe; Lynch, David; Curtis, Jeffrey L; Silverman, Edwin K; Washko, George; DeMeo, Dawn

2016-01-01

Recent studies suggest that males with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have more emphysema than females. It is not known if these differences persist across degrees of COPD severity. Our aim was to identify sex-specific differences in quantitative emphysema within COPD subgroups based on COPD severity.We included non-Hispanic white and African-American subjects from the COPDGene study with at least 10 pack-years of smoking and COPD Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) spirometry grade II or greater. We examined sex-specific differences in log-transformed emphysema (log per cent low-attenuation area (%LAA)) by GOLD spirometry grade among subjects with early-onset COPD (25% emphysema).Compared with females, males had higher log %LAA: overall (1.97±1.4 versus 1.69±1.6, β=0.32 (0.04), p=1.34×10(-14)), and among non-Hispanic white (p=8.37×10(-14)) and African-American subjects (p=0.002). Females with early-onset COPD, severe emphysema and GOLD grade IV COPD had similar emphysema as males, but markedly fewer pack-years smoking (early-onset, p=0.01; severe emphysema and GOLD grade IV, psmokers with COPD who are particularly susceptible to parenchymal destruction. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

Development and validation of a biomarker for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome in human subjects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Pimentel

Full Text Available Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is diagnosed through clinical criteria after excluding "organic" conditions, and can be precipitated by acute gastroenteritis. Cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB is produced by bacteria that cause acute gastroenteritis, and a post-infectious animal model demonstrates that host antibodies to CdtB cross-react with vinculin in the host gut, producing an IBS-like phenotype. Therefore, we assessed circulating anti-CdtB and anti-vinculin antibodies as biomarkers for D-IBS in human subjects. Subjects with D-IBS based on Rome criteria (n=2375 were recruited from a large-scale multicenter clinical trial for D-IBS (TARGET 3. Subjects with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD (n=142, subjects with celiac disease (n=121, and healthy controls (n=43 were obtained for comparison. Subjects with IBD and celiac disease were recruited based on the presence of intestinal complaints and histologic confirmation of chronic inflammatory changes in the colon or small intestine. Subjects with celiac disease were also required to have an elevated tTG and biopsy. All subjects were aged between 18 and 65 years. Plasma levels of anti-CdtB and anti-vinculin antibodies were determined by ELISA, and compared between groups. Anti-CdtB titers were significantly higher in D-IBS subjects compared to IBD, healthy controls and celiac disease (P<0.001. Anti-vinculin titers were also significantly higher in IBS (P<0.001 compared to the other groups. The area-under-the-receiver operating curves (AUCs were 0.81 and 0.62 for diagnosis of D-IBS against IBD for anti-CdtB and anti-vinculin, respectively. Both tests were less specific in differentiating IBS from celiac disease. Optimization demonstrated that for anti-CdtB (optical density≥2.80 the specificity, sensitivity and likelihood ratio were 91.6%, 43.7 and 5.2, respectively, and for anti-vinculin (OD≥1.68 were 83.8%, 32.6 and 2.0, respectively. These results confirm that anti-CdtB and

A novel high specific surface area conducting paper material composed of polypyrrole and Cladophora cellulose.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihranyan, Albert; Nyholm, Leif; Bennett, Alfonso E Garcia; Strømme, Maria

2008-10-02

We present a novel conducting polypyrrole-based composite material, obtained by polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of iron(III) chloride on a cellulose substrate derived from the environmentally polluting Cladophora sp. algae. The material, which was doped with chloride ions, was molded into paper sheets and characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, N 2 gas adsorption analysis, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and conductivity measurements at varying relative humidities. The specific surface area of the composite was found to be 57 m (2)/g and the fibrous structure of the Cladophora cellulose remained intact even after a 50 nm thick layer of polypyrrole had been coated on the cellulose fibers. The composite could be repeatedly used for electrochemically controlled extraction and desorption of chloride and an ion exchanging capacity of 370 C per g of composite was obtained as a result of the high surface area of the cellulose substrate. The influence of the oxidation and reduction potentials on the chloride ion exchange capacity and the nucleation of delocalized positive charges, forming conductive paths in the polypyrrole film, was also investigated. The creation of conductive paths during oxidation followed an effective medium rather than a percolative behavior, indicating that some conduction paths survive the polymer reduction steps. The present high surface area material should be well-suited for use in, e.g., electrochemically controlled ion exchange or separation devices, as well as sensors based on the fact that the material is compact, light, mechanically stable, and moldable into paper sheets.

Responsiveness and minimum important change of the Oswestry Disability Index in Italian subjects with symptomatic lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanti, Carla; Ferrari, Silvano; Villafañe, Jorge Hugo; Berjano, Pedro; Monticone, Marco

2017-06-01

This study aims to investigate the responsiveness and the minimum important change of the Italian version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI-I) in subjects with symptomatic specific low back pain associated with lumbar spondylolisthesis (SPL). One hundred and fifty-one patients with symptomatic SPL completed the ODI-I, a 0-100 numerical rating scale (NRS), and performed the prone and supine bridge tests. The global perception of effectiveness was measured with a 7-point Likert scale. Responsiveness was assessed by distribution methods (minimum detectable change [MDC], effect size [ES], standardized response mean [SRM]) and anchor-based methods (ROC curves). The MDC was 4.23, the ES was 0.95 and the SRM was 1.25. ROC analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.76 indicating moderate discriminating capacity. The best cut-off point for the dichotomous outcome was 7.5 (sensitivity 90.3%, specificity 56.7%). . The ODI-I proved to be responsive in detecting changes after conservative treatment in subjects with lumbar SPL. II.

[Music therapy in adults with cochlear implants : Effects on music perception and subjective sound quality].

Science.gov (United States)

Hutter, E; Grapp, M; Argstatter, H

2016-12-01

People with severe hearing impairments and deafness can achieve good speech comprehension using a cochlear implant (CI), although music perception often remains impaired. A novel concept of music therapy for adults with CI was developed and evaluated in this study. This study included 30 adults with a unilateral CI following postlingual deafness. The subjective sound quality of the CI was rated using the hearing implant sound quality index (HISQUI) and musical tests for pitch discrimination, melody recognition and timbre identification were applied. As a control 55 normally hearing persons also completed the musical tests. In comparison to normally hearing subjects CI users showed deficits in the perception of pitch, melody and timbre. Specific effects of therapy were observed in the subjective sound quality of the CI, in pitch discrimination into a high and low pitch range and in timbre identification, while general learning effects were found in melody recognition. Music perception shows deficits in CI users compared to normally hearing persons. After individual music therapy in the rehabilitation process, improvements in this delicate area could be achieved.

High intake of specific carotenoids and flavonoids does not reduce the risk of bladder cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, R; Gonzalez, C A; Agudo, A; Riboli, E

1999-01-01

An analysis of a previously completed Spanish multicentric case-control study of bladder cancer was carried out using new available data on the contents in foods of specific carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene) and flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, and luteolin) to investigate the relationship of these phytochemicals with bladder cancer. The study included 497 cases first diagnosed with bladder cancer, 547 neighborhood controls, and 566 hospitals controls, matched by gender, age, area of residence, and hospital. Usual food intake was estimated using a dietary history questionnaire administered by trained interviewers. None of the specific carotenoids and none of the specific flavonoids have been found to be significantly associated with bladder cancer risk in this analysis. The adjusted odds ratios for subjects in the highest quartile of intake with respect to subjects in the lowest quartile were 1.36 (95% confidence interval = 0.94-1.95) for total carotenoid intake and 1.23 (95% confidence interval = 0.85-1.79) for total flavonoid intake. The results of this study does not support the hypothesis that intake of specific carotenoids and flavonoids is protective against bladder cancer risk.

Growth of porous anodized alumina on the sputtered aluminum films with 2D-3D morphology for high specific surface area

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, M. W.; Chung, C. K.

2014-08-01

The porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) with high-aspect-ratio pore channels is widely used as a template for fabricating nanowires or other one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. The high specific surface area of AAO can also be applied to the super capacitor and the supporting substrate for catalysis. The rough surface could be helpful to enhance specific surface area but it generally results in electrical field concentration even to ruin AAO. In this article, the aluminum (Al) films with the varied 2D-3D morphology on Si substrates were prepared using magnetron sputtering at a power of 50 W-185 W for 1 h at a working pressure of 2.5 × 10-1 Pa. Then, AAO was fabricated from the different Al films by means of one-step hybrid pulse anodizing (HPA) between the positive 40 V and the negative -2 V (1 s:1 s) for 3 min in 0.3 M oxalic acid at a room temperature. The microstructure and morphology of Al films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope, respectively. Some hillocks formed at the high target power could be attributed to the grain texture growth in the normal orientation of Al(1 1 1). The 3D porous AAO structure which is different from the conventional 2D planar one has been successfully demonstrated using HPA on the film with greatly rough hillock-surface formed at the highest power of 185 W. It offers a potential application of the new 3D AAO to high specific surface area devices.

Environmental indicators for the nuclear area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alves, Cezar Braga; Mattiolo, Sandra Regina, E-mail: cezar.braga@ctmsp.mar.mil.br [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paujo (CTMSP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2013-07-01

Environmental indicators are tools utilized for measuring the industrial environmental performance and are globally used to provide the company and other stakeholders with information concerning its effectiveness and sustainability. Furthermore, the environmental indicators are an important methodological tool used for monitoring the effectiveness of Environmental Management System goals, as well as its compliance with the established environmental policies. Currently, major companies have reported their environmental indicators based on specialized guides, such as the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), enumerating the most important indicators for the company activities. However, the GRI as other bibliographies of this subject does not include specific indicators for the nuclear area, leaving a significant gap to be considered for the measurement of environmental performance of this industry. Therefore, it becomes relevant to raise the following questions. May the nuclear sector use the same indicators of the non-nuclear industry? Are these indicators effective in demonstrating environmental commitment? In this work, a discussion of the indicators for the nuclear area and the CTMSP will take place. (author)

Environmental indicators for the nuclear area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, Cezar Braga; Mattiolo, Sandra Regina

2013-01-01

Environmental indicators are tools utilized for measuring the industrial environmental performance and are globally used to provide the company and other stakeholders with information concerning its effectiveness and sustainability. Furthermore, the environmental indicators are an important methodological tool used for monitoring the effectiveness of Environmental Management System goals, as well as its compliance with the established environmental policies. Currently, major companies have reported their environmental indicators based on specialized guides, such as the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), enumerating the most important indicators for the company activities. However, the GRI as other bibliographies of this subject does not include specific indicators for the nuclear area, leaving a significant gap to be considered for the measurement of environmental performance of this industry. Therefore, it becomes relevant to raise the following questions. May the nuclear sector use the same indicators of the non-nuclear industry? Are these indicators effective in demonstrating environmental commitment? In this work, a discussion of the indicators for the nuclear area and the CTMSP will take place. (author)

Design of a test device for subjecting materials to high strain rates: with application in nuclear area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Todesco, Sergio R.; Mucsi, Cristiano S.; Rossi, Jesualdo L., E-mail: sergio.todesco@usp.br, E-mail: csmucsi@ipen.br, E-mail: jelrossi@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

This paper presents a design of a device to gather characteristic data of materials subjected to high strain rates, this device named after the eminent English engineer Sir Bertram Hopkinson 'Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar', from here will be designated SHPB. More specifically, this work is inseparably linked to the development of packing for transportation of highly radioactive substances as a part to the general scope of a CAPES project in partnership with the CCTM Materials Department of IPEN, Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, linked to the University of Sao Paulo. The development of the device is part of a scope, and collection of data necessary for the design and construction of this packing. The SHPB device can be divided into two parts, the first part concerning the mechanical design. The second, data collection that is indeed the challenging part of the device, and proper tests. The present paper, specifically, will only deals with the mechanical design of the device, importantly, divided into two parts, the size of the bars, which are the impact bar, the input bar, and the output bar, and the size of the impact device. The sizing of the bars involve knowledge of the concept of elastic waves in solid media for the length of the bars to serve as a wave-guide, which will cause a deformation of the specimen, and enables recording of these waves for data analysis. The impact device must be robust enough to produce the stress wave to deform the specimen, but not to plastically deform the bars, which have to continue throughout the test within the elastic range. (author)

Design of a test device for subjecting materials to high strain rates: with application in nuclear area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todesco, Sergio R.; Mucsi, Cristiano S.; Rossi, Jesualdo L.

2015-01-01

This paper presents a design of a device to gather characteristic data of materials subjected to high strain rates, this device named after the eminent English engineer Sir Bertram Hopkinson 'Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar', from here will be designated SHPB. More specifically, this work is inseparably linked to the development of packing for transportation of highly radioactive substances as a part to the general scope of a CAPES project in partnership with the CCTM Materials Department of IPEN, Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, linked to the University of Sao Paulo. The development of the device is part of a scope, and collection of data necessary for the design and construction of this packing. The SHPB device can be divided into two parts, the first part concerning the mechanical design. The second, data collection that is indeed the challenging part of the device, and proper tests. The present paper, specifically, will only deals with the mechanical design of the device, importantly, divided into two parts, the size of the bars, which are the impact bar, the input bar, and the output bar, and the size of the impact device. The sizing of the bars involve knowledge of the concept of elastic waves in solid media for the length of the bars to serve as a wave-guide, which will cause a deformation of the specimen, and enables recording of these waves for data analysis. The impact device must be robust enough to produce the stress wave to deform the specimen, but not to plastically deform the bars, which have to continue throughout the test within the elastic range. (author)

Dimensions of the cleft nasal airway in adults: a comparison with subjects without cleft.

Science.gov (United States)

Hairfield, W M; Warren, D W

1989-01-01

The prevalence of mouthbreathing among individuals with cleft lip and palate is significantly higher than in the normal population. This has been attributed to nasal deformities that tend to reduce nasal airway size. The purpose of the present study was to determine how a heterogeneous adult group with cleft lip and palate differs in terms of nasal airway cross-sectional area from an adult group without cleft during the inspiratory and expiratory phases of breathing. The pressure-flow technique was used to estimate nasal airway size in 15 adults without cleft (15 years or older) and 37 adults with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. Mean areas and standard deviations for subjects without cleft were 0.63 cm2 +/- 0.17 during inspiration and 0.56 cm2 +/- 0.14 during expiration. This difference is statistically significant (p less than 0.01). Mean areas and standard deviations for all subjects with cleft were 0.37 cm2 +/- 0.18 during inspiration and 0.40 cm2 +/- 0.20 during expiration. This difference is not statistically significant (p greater than 0.15). Twenty-two of the subjects with cleft had nasal areas considered to be impaired (below 0.40 cm2) as compared with only three of the subjects without cleft. A two factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that area changes during respiration are different for subjects with and without cleft (p less than 0.005), and that cleft nasal areas are smaller than noncleft areas for both phases of breathing (p less than 0.001). Inspiratory-expiratory differences between subjects with and without cleft are probably the result of developmental defects, reparative surgery or both.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analyzing Subject Disciplines of Knowledge Originality and Knowledge Generality for Library & Information Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mu-Hsuan Huang

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This study used bibliometric methods to analyze subject disciplines of knowledge originality and knowledge generality for Library and Information Science (LIS by using citing and cited documents from 1997 to 2006. We found that the major subject disciplines of knowledge originality and generality are still LIS, and computer science and LIS interact and influence each other closely. It is evident that number of subject disciplines of knowledge originality is higher than that of knowledge generality. The interdisciplinary characteristics of LIS are illustrated by variety areas of knowledge originality and knowledge generality. Because the number of received subject disciplines is higher than that of given subject disciplines, it suggests that LIS is an application-oriented research area. [Article content in Chinese

Structure, specific surface area and thermal conductivity of the snowpack around Barrow, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Domine, Florent; Gallet, Jean-Charles; Bock, Josué; Morin, Samuel

2012-07-01

The structure of the snowpack near Barrow was studied in March-April 2009. Vertical profiles of density, specific surface area (SSA) and thermal conductivity were measured on tundra, lakes and landfast ice. The average thickness was 41 cm on tundra and 21 cm on fast ice. Layers observed were diamond dust or recent wind drifts on top, overlaying wind slabs, occasional faceted crystals and melt-freeze crusts, and basal depth hoar layers. The top layer had a SSA between 45 and 224 m2 kg-1. All layers at Barrow had SSAs higher than at many other places because of the geographical and climatic characteristics of Barrow. In particular, a given snow layer was remobilized several times by frequent winds, which resulted in SSA increases each time. The average snow area index (SAI, the dimensionless vertically integrated SSA) on tundra was 3260, higher than in the Canadian High Arctic or in the Alaskan taiga. This high SAI, combined with low snow temperatures, imply that the Barrow snowpack efficiently traps persistent organic pollutants, as illustrated with simple calculations for PCB 28 and PCB 180. The average thermal conductivity was 0.21 Wm-1 K-1, and the average thermal resistance on tundra was 3.25 m2 K W-1. This low value partly explains why the snow-ground interface was cold, around -19°C. The high SAI and low thermal resistance values illustrate the interplay between climate, snow physical properties, and their potential impact on atmospheric chemistry, and the need to describe these relationships in models of polar climate and atmospheric chemistry, especially in a climate change context.

Tract-specific analysis of white matter pathways in healthy subjects: a pilot study using diffusion tensor MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yasmin, Hasina; Abe, Osamu; Nakata, Yasuhiro; Hayashi, Naoto; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Goto, Masami; Ohtomo, Kuni [University of Tokyo, Department of Radiology, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Aoki, Shigeki [Juntendo University, Department of Radiology, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (Japan)

2009-12-15

To date, very scant data is available regarding normal diffusion properties of white matter (WM) fibers. The present study aimed to initiate the establishment of a database of normal diffusion tensor metrics of cerebral WM fibers, including the uncinate fasciculus (UF), posterior cingulum (PC), fornix, and corticospinal tract (CST) for healthy adults using tract-specific analysis by diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). We also attempted to clarify whether age and laterality exerted any effects on this study group. DTT of WM fibers were generated for 100 healthy subjects, then mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the tracts were measured. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate age relationships. Paired t testing was used to compare hemispheric asymmetry. Interobserver correlation tests were also performed. Our results showed FA values for UF (right, 0.42 {+-} 0.03; left, 0.40{+-}0.03), PC (0.51 {+-} 0.06, 0.52 {+-} 0.06), fornix (0.37 {+-} 0.06, 0.38 {+-} 0.06), CST (0.70 {+-} 0.06, 0.69 {+-} 0.07), and MD values for UF (0.81 {+-} 0.03, 0.82 {+-} 0.04), PC (0.72 {+-} 0.03, 0.72 {+-} 0.04), fornix (1.86 {+-} 0.32, 1.94 {+-} 0.37), and CST (0.72 {+-} 0.03, 0.74 {+-} 0.04). We identified a significant positive correlation between age and MD in the right UF and bilateral fornices, and a negative correlation between age and FA in bilateral fornices. Hemispheric asymmetry was observed in FA of UF (right > left) and MD of CST (left > right). The results constitute a normative dataset for diffusion parameters of four WM tracts that can be used to identify, characterize, and establish the significance of changes in diseases affecting specific tracts. (orig.)

Influence of excess sodium ions on the specific surface area formation in a NiO-Al2O3 catalyst prepared by different methods

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Lazić M.M.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The influence of sodium ions on the specific surface area of a NiO-Al2O3 catalyst in dependence of nickel loading (5, 10, and 20 wt% Ni, temperature of heat treatment (400, 700 and 1100oC and the method of sample preparation was investigated. Low temperature nitrogen adsorption (LTNA, X-ray diffraction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM were applied for sample characterization. Dramatic differences in the specific surface area were registered between non-rinsed and rinsed Al2O3 and NiO-Al2O3 samples. The lagged sodium ions promote sintering of non-rinsed catalyst samples.

Food-Related Odors Activate Dopaminergic Brain Areas

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Agnieszka Sorokowska

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Food-associated cues of different sensory categories have often been shown to be a potent elicitor of cerebral activity in brain reward circuits. Smells influence and modify the hedonic qualities of eating experience, and in contrast to smells not associated with food, perception of food-associated odors may activate dopaminergic brain areas. In this study, we aimed to verify previous findings related to the rewarding value of food-associated odors by means of an fMRI design involving carefully preselected odors of edible and non-edible substances. We compared activations generated by three food and three non-food odorants matching in terms of intensity, pleasantness and trigeminal qualities. We observed that for our mixed sample of 30 hungry and satiated participants, food odors generated significantly higher activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (right and left, insula (right, and putamen (right than non-food odors. Among hungry subjects, regardless of the odor type, we found significant activation in the ventral tegmental area in response to olfactory stimulation. As our stimuli were matched in terms of various perceptual qualities, this result suggests that edibility of an odor source indeed generates specific activation in dopaminergic brain areas.

Lol p I-specific IgE and IgG synthesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from atopic subjects in SCID mice.

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Gagnon, R; Boutin, Y; Hébert, J

1995-06-01

The development of an animal model representative of the in vivo situation of human atopic diseases is always of interest for a better understanding of IgE production and regulation. Along these lines, mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID mice) engrafted with lymphocytes from atopic subjects might be a suitable model for such studies. This study aims to analyze the production of Lol p I-specific IgE and IgG antibodies in SCID mice after transplantation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from atopic patients sensitive to grass pollens and from nonatopic donors. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were transplanted into SCID mice, which were then challenged with Lol p I, and antibody responses (IgG and IgE) were analyzed over a 6-week period. Total IgG antibody was measured in each mouse serum after transplantation. Also, most mice (regardless of whether donors were atopic) that were challenged with Lol p I produced specific IgG antibody. Total IgE antibody production was observed only in mice grafted with cells from atopic patients. Lol p I-specific IgE antibodies were also produced after immunization with Lol p I. Although IgG antibody/response tended to plateau, the IgE antibody response increased until it peaked and declined thereafter. Interferon-gamma was detected in sera from mice producing IgE antibody, which supports a possible role of interferon-gamma in the decrease of IgE response. This study suggests that the SCID mouse model could represent an interesting approach to studying specific, total IgG and IgE antibody production, and ultimately their regulation.

The changing role of the subject specialist

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Michael Cotta-Schønberg

2007-11-01

Full Text Available As we all know, libraries are these years rapidly undergoing change on unparalleled scale. Evidently, this applies to librarians, too, and not the least to that important category of library staff, the subject specialist. As recruiting and education of library workers differ from country to country it is difficult to give a detailed, generally valid description of the subject librarian in libraries, but I believe that you can describe an ideal model of subject librarianship as follows: Within each of the major subject disciplines covered by the library, the library should have a subject specialist preferably with a master degree or at least a bachelor degree in the particular subject discipline. The role of the subject specialist is to perform four basic functions where extensive subject knowledge is considered to be necessary: selecting and classifying books, assisting users with advanced subject inquiries, giving subject-specific courses in information retrieval, and maintaining liaison with relevant academic departments and centres. Personally, I know this system very well since I got employment in the Royal Library in Copenhagen as a subject specialist in psychology in the very month I finished my degree in psychology from the University of Copenhagen, back in 1973. The subject librarian system at the Royal Library in Copenhagen was patterned on the ideal model, as I just described it, and it was closely paralleled in the other academic libraries in Denmark, also the new university libraries which were founded in the seventies.

Coping with subjectivity in vulnerability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renis, T.A.; Cardwell, R.G.

1988-01-01

Vulnerability assessment models are widely used to systematically evaluate the performance of complex safeguards systems against a variety of threats. These models require varying levels of detail and input data about the physical design of a facility and its safeguards operations and procedures. However, to evaluate safeguards effectiveness and give a performance rating, these models require additional performance data reflecting probabilities of detection, assessment, interruption, and neutralization, as well as the associated times for various adversary scenarios. These data may be attained from equipment design specifications, laboratory testing, expert judgment, or component testing. Regardless of how these data are obtained, they are inherently subjective. This paper addresses the uses of various vulnerability assessment models and the nature of subjectivity in those models. The paper also describes methods for coping with subjective data

A new paradigm for individual subject language mapping: Movie-watching fMRI

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Tie, Yanmei; Rigolo, Laura; Ovalioglu, Aysegul Ozdemir; Olubiyi, Olutayo; Doolin, Kelly L.; Mukundan, Srinivasan; Golby, Alexandra J.

2015-01-01

Background Functional MRI (fMRI) based on language tasks has been used in pre-surgical language mapping in patients with lesions in or near putative language areas. However, if the patients have difficulty performing the tasks due to neurological deficits, it leads to unreliable or non-interpretable results. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a movie-watching fMRI for language mapping. Methods A 7-min movie clip with contrasting speech and non-speech segments was shown to 22 right-handed healthy subjects. Based on all subjects' language functional regions-of-interest, six language response areas were defined, within which a language response model (LRM) was derived by extracting the main temporal activation profile. Using a leave-one-out procedure, individuals' language areas were identified as the areas that expressed highly correlated temporal responses with the LRM derived from an independent group of subjects. Results Compared with an antonym generation task-based fMRI, the movie-watching fMRI generated language maps with more localized activations in the left frontal language area, larger activations in the left temporoparietal language area, and significant activations in their right-hemisphere homologues. Results of two brain tumor patients' movie-watching fMRI using the LRM derived from the healthy subjects indicated its ability to map putative language areas; while their task-based fMRI maps were less robust and noisier. Conclusions These results suggest that it is feasible to use this novel “task-free” paradigm as a complementary tool for fMRI language mapping when patients cannot perform the tasks. Its deployment in more neurosurgical patients and validation against gold-standard techniques need further investigation. PMID:25962953

Parental overprotection engenders dysfunctional attitudes about achievement and dependency in a gender-specific manner.

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Otani, Koichi; Suzuki, Akihito; Matsumoto, Yoshihiko; Shibuya, Naoshi; Sadahiro, Ryoichi; Enokido, Masanori

2013-12-24

It has been suggested that dysfunctional attitudes, cognitive vulnerability to depression, have developmental origins. The present study examined the effects of parental rearing on dysfunctional attitudes in three areas of life with special attention to gender specificity. The subjects were 665 Japanese healthy volunteers. Dysfunctional attitudes were assessed by the 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, which has the Achievement, Dependency and Self-control subscales. Perceived parental rearing was assessed by the Parental Bonding Instrument, which has the Care and Protection subscales. Higher scores of the Achievement (β = 0.293, p overprotection engenders dysfunctional attitudes about achievement and dependency in a gender-specific manner.

Determination of fat tissue area in the abdomen and evaluation of degree of obesity. Pt. 2. Clinical application of a unique densitometry CT technique for determination of fat tissue areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Fumie

1995-01-01

Abdominal CT scanning was performed to establish normal spectra of abdominal tissue areas on 291 subjects. Using the data file of measurements of abdominal fat tissue areas of 133 normal subjects, means and their standard deviations (S.D.) were calculated for each fat tissue area at the four levels for each gender. On 158 persons with abnormal body mass index (BMI) values, S.D.-distance of each fat tissue area from the mean of the control in each age group of each gender was compared with each other. Ratios of visceral fat tissue area to subcutaneous fat tissue area (V/S ratio) were also calculated. The visceral fat tissue area of normal male subjects was significantly larger at all the four levels than those of female ones, while the subcutaneous fat tissue area were smaller at all levels. Although the area of entire and subcutaneous fat tissues of female subjects showed a peak at the age of 50 years old, those in male subjects did not show any peak at any age group. Although there was a statistically significant correlation between values of BMI and S.D.-distance of each fat tissue area at each level, the coefficient between BMI and S.D.-distance of subcutaneous fat tissue area was very low at the level of 60 mm in female. Seven of 74 female subjects with abnormal BMI had more than 10 S.D.-distance of subcutaneous fat tissue area at all levels and 8 of them had more S.D.-distance than of all fat tissue area at any level. The V/S ratio of the male subjects was significantly larger than that in female. Besides, there was no correlation between V/S ratio and S.D.-distance of visceral fat tissue area in both male and female subjects. These findings indicate that the V/S ratio does not reflect the size of fat tissue area. The determination of fat tissue areas by the abdominal CT at several levels is quite a useful way for accurate evaluation of obesity. (S.Y.)

Determination of fat tissue area in the abdomen and evaluation of degree of obesity. Pt. 2. Clinical application of a unique densitometry CT technique for determination of fat tissue areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakayama, Fumie [Saint Marianna Univ., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Medicine

1995-06-01

Abdominal CT scanning was performed to establish normal spectra of abdominal tissue areas on 291 subjects. Using the data file of measurements of abdominal fat tissue areas of 133 normal subjects, means and their standard deviations (S.D.) were calculated for each fat tissue area at the four levels for each gender. On 158 persons with abnormal body mass index (BMI) values, S.D.-distance of each fat tissue area from the mean of the control in each age group of each gender was compared with each other. Ratios of visceral fat tissue area to subcutaneous fat tissue area (V/S ratio) were also calculated. The visceral fat tissue area of normal male subjects was significantly larger at all the four levels than those of female ones, while the subcutaneous fat tissue area were smaller at all levels. Although the area of entire and subcutaneous fat tissues of female subjects showed a peak at the age of 50 years old, those in male subjects did not show any peak at any age group. Although there was a statistically significant correlation between values of BMI and S.D.-distance of each fat tissue area at each level, the coefficient between BMI and S.D.-distance of subcutaneous fat tissue area was very low at the level of 60 mm in female. Seven of 74 female subjects with abnormal BMI had more than 10 S.D.-distance of subcutaneous fat tissue area at all levels and 8 of them had more S.D.-distance than of all fat tissue area at any level. The V/S ratio of the male subjects was significantly larger than that in female. Besides, there was no correlation between V/S ratio and S.D.-distance of visceral fat tissue area in both male and female subjects. These findings indicate that the V/S ratio does not reflect the size of fat tissue area. The determination of fat tissue areas by the abdominal CT at several levels is quite a useful way for accurate evaluation of obesity. (S.Y.).

Subject in Tractatus according to David Pears

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M Hoseinzadeh Yazdi

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Subjectivism is viewed as one of the most fundamental underpinnings of modern philosophy. In modern philosophy, subject takes up a new position in human knowledge. The formation of the concept of subject is a decisive turn with which the modern philosophy starts. Considering the centrality of subjectivism in modern philosophy, this article attempts to explain subject in Tractatus according to David Pears. A review of Wittgenstein’s earlier teachings reveals that he considers a fundamental limitation for language. The subject serves as a point of view from which the language can be understood. The subject is the presupposition of understanding. Another way of putting this would be to say that any experience is understood from a point of view which is not represented in that experience. Regarding this, it seems that earlier Wittgenstein is somehow subjectivist. This specific form of subjectivism is different from Kantian subjectivism.

Area-specific modulation of neural activation comparing escitalopram and citalopram revealed by pharmaco-fMRI: a randomized cross-over study.

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Windischberger, Christian; Lanzenberger, Rupert; Holik, Alexander; Spindelegger, Christoph; Stein, Patrycja; Moser, Ulrike; Gerstl, Florian; Fink, Martin; Moser, Ewald; Kasper, Siegfried

2010-01-15

Area-specific and stimulation-dependent changes of human brain activation by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are an important issue for improved understanding of treatment mechanisms, given the frequent prescription of these drugs in depression and anxiety disorders. The aim of this neuroimaging study was to investigate differences in BOLD-signal caused by administration of the SSRIs escitalopram and citalopram using pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (pharmaco-fMRI). Eighteen healthy subjects participated in a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study in cross-over repeated measures design. Each volunteer performed facial emotional discrimination and a sensorimotor control paradigm during three scanning sessions. Citalopram (20 mg/d), escitalopram (10 mg/d) and placebo were administered for 10 days each with a drug-free period of at least 21 days. Significant pharmacological effects on BOLD-signal were found in the amygdala, medial frontal gyrus, parahippocampal, fusiform and middle temporal gyri. Post-hoc t-tests revealed decreased BOLD-signal in the right amygdala and left parahippocampal gyrus in both pharmacological conditions, compared to placebo. Escitalopram, compared to citalopram, induced a decrease of BOLD-signal in the medial frontal gyrus and an increase in the right fusiform and left parahippocampal gyri. Drug effects were concentrated in brain regions with dense serotonergic projections. Both escitalopram and citalopram attenuated BOLD-signal in the amygdala and parahippocampal cortex to emotionally significant stimuli compared to control stimuli. We believe that reduced reactivity in the medial frontal gyrus found for escitalopram compared to citalopram administration might explain the response differences between study drugs as demonstrated in previous clinical trials.

Fully automatized renal parenchyma volumetry using a support vector machine based recognition system for subject-specific probability map generation in native MR volume data

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Gloger, Oliver; Tönnies, Klaus; Mensel, Birger; Völzke, Henry

2015-11-01

In epidemiological studies as well as in clinical practice the amount of produced medical image data strongly increased in the last decade. In this context organ segmentation in MR volume data gained increasing attention for medical applications. Especially in large-scale population-based studies organ volumetry is highly relevant requiring exact organ segmentation. Since manual segmentation is time-consuming and prone to reader variability, large-scale studies need automatized methods to perform organ segmentation. Fully automatic organ segmentation in native MR image data has proven to be a very challenging task. Imaging artifacts as well as inter- and intrasubject MR-intensity differences complicate the application of supervised learning strategies. Thus, we propose a modularized framework of a two-stepped probabilistic approach that generates subject-specific probability maps for renal parenchyma tissue, which are refined subsequently by using several, extended segmentation strategies. We present a three class-based support vector machine recognition system that incorporates Fourier descriptors as shape features to recognize and segment characteristic parenchyma parts. Probabilistic methods use the segmented characteristic parenchyma parts to generate high quality subject-specific parenchyma probability maps. Several refinement strategies including a final shape-based 3D level set segmentation technique are used in subsequent processing modules to segment renal parenchyma. Furthermore, our framework recognizes and excludes renal cysts from parenchymal volume, which is important to analyze renal functions. Volume errors and Dice coefficients show that our presented framework outperforms existing approaches.

Fully automatized renal parenchyma volumetry using a support vector machine based recognition system for subject-specific probability map generation in native MR volume data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gloger, Oliver; Völzke, Henry; Tönnies, Klaus; Mensel, Birger

2015-01-01

In epidemiological studies as well as in clinical practice the amount of produced medical image data strongly increased in the last decade. In this context organ segmentation in MR volume data gained increasing attention for medical applications. Especially in large-scale population-based studies organ volumetry is highly relevant requiring exact organ segmentation. Since manual segmentation is time-consuming and prone to reader variability, large-scale studies need automatized methods to perform organ segmentation. Fully automatic organ segmentation in native MR image data has proven to be a very challenging task. Imaging artifacts as well as inter- and intrasubject MR-intensity differences complicate the application of supervised learning strategies. Thus, we propose a modularized framework of a two-stepped probabilistic approach that generates subject-specific probability maps for renal parenchyma tissue, which are refined subsequently by using several, extended segmentation strategies. We present a three class-based support vector machine recognition system that incorporates Fourier descriptors as shape features to recognize and segment characteristic parenchyma parts. Probabilistic methods use the segmented characteristic parenchyma parts to generate high quality subject-specific parenchyma probability maps. Several refinement strategies including a final shape-based 3D level set segmentation technique are used in subsequent processing modules to segment renal parenchyma. Furthermore, our framework recognizes and excludes renal cysts from parenchymal volume, which is important to analyze renal functions. Volume errors and Dice coefficients show that our presented framework outperforms existing approaches. (paper)

Heat stress in urban areas. Indoor and outdoor temperatures in different urban structure types and subjectively reported well-being during a heat wave in the city of Leipzig

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franck, Ulrich; Roeder, Stefan; Schlink, Uwe [Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany). Core Facility Studies; Krueger, Michael [Leipzig Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Geography; Schwarz, Nina [Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany). Dept. of Computational Landscape Ecology; Grossmann, Katrin [Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany). Dept. of Urban and Environmental Sociology

2013-04-15

Climate projections for Leipzig suggest elevated minimum and maximum temperatures as well as more frequent days with high temperatures. Hence, climate change is threatening human well-being and health. People spend the majority of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor temperatures (especially during the night) are of special importance with respect to well-being and health. Indoor air temperature depends on outdoor air temperatures, but is for example modified by type of urban structure, housing area, and may be also influenced by differences in the behavior of the inhabitants. Especially in cities, outdoor air temperatures depend on urban structure e.g. housing density, building arrangement, unpaved areas, types of urban structures, urban green, and other factors. Hence, the questions arise how types of urban structures are related to inner-urban temperature differences and how outdoor air temperatures influence indoor temperatures in dependence on urban housing conditions. This work is a part of a pilot study conducted during the summer 2010 which gathered data from remote sensing, mobile measurements, stationary measurements of air temperatures and relative humidity in areas with different housing structures, and of indoor as well as outdoor temperatures in occupied apartments. Household-survey data reported the subjective perception of heat stress. The study resulted in rather complex relationships between type of housing areas, indoor and outdoor temperatures, morning and evening temperatures, indoor and outdoor temperatures as well as subjective heat perception. Green spaces and types of residential areas are related to air temperatures. More green resulted in lower temperatures. Temperatures have a tendency to increase with increasing story number and are significantly higher in the top floor. An indoor heat island effect corresponding to the outdoor effect could be shown for the homes: Distance to city center is a predicting variable for both outdoor and

Heat stress in urban areas: Indoor and outdoor temperatures in different urban structure types and subjectively reported well-being during a heat wave in the city of Leipzig

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulrich Franck

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Climate projections for Leipzig suggest elevated minimum and maximum temperatures as well as more frequent days with high temperatures. Hence, climate change is threatening human well-being and health. People spend the majority of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor temperatures (especially during the night are of special importance with respect to well-being and health. Indoor air temperature depends on outdoor air temperatures, but is for example modified by type of urban structure, housing area, and may be also influenced by differences in the behavior of the inhabitants. Especially in cities, outdoor air temperatures depend on urban structure e.g. housing density, building arrangement, unpaved areas, types of urban structures, urban green, and other factors. Hence, the questions arise how types of urban structures are related to inner-urban temperature differences and how outdoor air temperatures influence indoor temperatures in dependence on urban housing conditions. This work is a part of a pilot study conducted during the summer 2010 which gathered data from remote sensing, mobile measurements, stationary measurements of air temperatures and relative humidity in areas with different housing structures, and of indoor as well as outdoor temperatures in occupied apartments. Household-survey data reported the subjective perception of heat stress. The study resulted in rather complex relationships between type of housing areas, indoor and outdoor temperatures, morning and evening temperatures, indoor and outdoor temperatures as well as subjective heat perception. Green spaces and types of residential areas are related to air temperatures. More green resulted in lower temperatures. Temperatures have a tendency to increase with increasing story number and are significantly higher in the top floor. An indoor heat island effect corresponding to the outdoor effect could be shown for the homes: Distance to city center is a predicting variable for

Evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Brodmann areas in Frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease using automated 3-D voxel based analysis

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Valotassiou, V; Tsougos, I; Tzavara, C; Georgoulias, P [Nuclear Medicine Dpt, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa (Greece); Papatriantafyllou, J; Karageorgiou, C [Neurology Dpt, General Hospital ' G. Gennimatas' , Athens (Greece); Sifakis, N; Zerva, C [Nuclear Medicine Dpt, ' Alexandra' University Hospital, Athens (Greece)], E-mail: vanvalot@yahoo.gr

2009-05-15

Introduction. Brain perfusion studies with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have been applied in demented patients to provide better discrimination between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aim. To assess the perfusion of specific Brodmann (Br) areas of the brain cortex in FTD and AD patients, using NeuroGam processing program to provide 3D voxel-by-voxel cerebral SPECT analysis. Material and methods. We studied 34 consecutive patients. We used the established criteria for the diagnosis of dementia and the specific established criteria for the diagnosis of FTD and AD. All the patients had a neuropsychological evaluation with a battery of tests including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE).Twenty-six patients (16 males, 10 females, mean age 68.76{+-}6.51 years, education 11.81{+-}4.25 years, MMSE 16.69{+-}9.89) received the diagnosis of FTD and 8 patients (all females, mean age 71.25{+-}10.48 years, education 10{+-}4.6 years, MMSE 12.5{+-}3.89) the diagnosis of AD. All the patients underwent a brain SPECT. We applied the NeuroGam Software for the evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Br areas in the left (L) and right (R) hemispheres. Results. Statistically significant hypoperfusion in FTD compared to AD patients, was found in the following Br areas: 11L (p<0.0001), 11R, 20L, 20R, 32L, 38L, 38R, 44L (p<0.001), 32R, 36L, 36R, 45L, 45R, 47R (p<0.01), 9L, 21L, 39R, 44R, 46R, 47L (p<0.05). On the contrary, AD patients presented significant (p<0.05) hypoperfusion in 7R and 39R Br areas. Conclusion. NeuroGam processing program of brain perfusion SPECT could result in enhanced accuracy for the differential diagnosis between AD and FTD patients.

Evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Brodmann areas in Frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease using automated 3-D voxel based analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valotassiou, V; Tsougos, I; Tzavara, C; Georgoulias, P; Papatriantafyllou, J; Karageorgiou, C; Sifakis, N; Zerva, C

2009-01-01

Introduction. Brain perfusion studies with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have been applied in demented patients to provide better discrimination between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aim. To assess the perfusion of specific Brodmann (Br) areas of the brain cortex in FTD and AD patients, using NeuroGam processing program to provide 3D voxel-by-voxel cerebral SPECT analysis. Material and methods. We studied 34 consecutive patients. We used the established criteria for the diagnosis of dementia and the specific established criteria for the diagnosis of FTD and AD. All the patients had a neuropsychological evaluation with a battery of tests including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE).Twenty-six patients (16 males, 10 females, mean age 68.76±6.51 years, education 11.81±4.25 years, MMSE 16.69±9.89) received the diagnosis of FTD and 8 patients (all females, mean age 71.25±10.48 years, education 10±4.6 years, MMSE 12.5±3.89) the diagnosis of AD. All the patients underwent a brain SPECT. We applied the NeuroGam Software for the evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Br areas in the left (L) and right (R) hemispheres. Results. Statistically significant hypoperfusion in FTD compared to AD patients, was found in the following Br areas: 11L (p<0.0001), 11R, 20L, 20R, 32L, 38L, 38R, 44L (p<0.001), 32R, 36L, 36R, 45L, 45R, 47R (p<0.01), 9L, 21L, 39R, 44R, 46R, 47L (p<0.05). On the contrary, AD patients presented significant (p<0.05) hypoperfusion in 7R and 39R Br areas. Conclusion. NeuroGam processing program of brain perfusion SPECT could result in enhanced accuracy for the differential diagnosis between AD and FTD patients.

Evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Brodmann areas in Frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease using automated 3-D voxel based analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Valotassiou, V.; Papatriantafyllou, J.; Sifakis, N.; Karageorgiou, C.; Tsougos, I.; Tzavara, C.; Zerva, C.; Georgoulias, P.

2009-05-01

Introduction. Brain perfusion studies with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have been applied in demented patients to provide better discrimination between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aim. To assess the perfusion of specific Brodmann (Br) areas of the brain cortex in FTD and AD patients, using NeuroGam processing program to provide 3D voxel-by-voxel cerebral SPECT analysis. Material and methods. We studied 34 consecutive patients. We used the established criteria for the diagnosis of dementia and the specific established criteria for the diagnosis of FTD and AD. All the patients had a neuropsychological evaluation with a battery of tests including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE).Twenty-six patients (16 males, 10 females, mean age 68.76±6.51 years, education 11.81±4.25 years, MMSE 16.69±9.89) received the diagnosis of FTD and 8 patients (all females, mean age 71.25±10.48 years, education 10±4.6 years, MMSE 12.5±3.89) the diagnosis of AD. All the patients underwent a brain SPECT. We applied the NeuroGam Software for the evaluation of brain perfusion in specific Br areas in the left (L) and right (R) hemispheres. Results. Statistically significant hypoperfusion in FTD compared to AD patients, was found in the following Br areas: 11L (p<0.0001), 11R, 20L, 20R, 32L, 38L, 38R, 44L (p<0.001), 32R, 36L, 36R, 45L, 45R, 47R (p<0.01), 9L, 21L, 39R, 44R, 46R, 47L (p<0.05). On the contrary, AD patients presented significant (p<0.05) hypoperfusion in 7R and 39R Br areas. Conclusion. NeuroGam processing program of brain perfusion SPECT could result in enhanced accuracy for the differential diagnosis between AD and FTD patients.

Towards Subject-Specific Strength Training Design through Predictive Use of Musculoskeletal Models

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Michael Plüss

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Lower extremity dysfunction is often associated with hip muscle strength deficiencies. Detailed knowledge of the muscle forces generated in the hip under specific external loading conditions enables specific structures to be trained. The aim of this study was to find the most effective movement type and loading direction to enable the training of specific parts of the hip muscles using a standing posture and a pulley system. In a novel approach to release the predictive power of musculoskeletal modelling techniques based on inverse dynamics, flexion/extension and ab-/adduction movements were virtually created. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, three hip orientations and an external loading force that was systematically rotated around the body were simulated using a state-of-the art OpenSim model in order to establish ideal designs for training of the anterior and posterior parts of the M. gluteus medius (GM. The external force direction as well as the hip orientation greatly influenced the muscle forces in the different parts of the GM. No setting was found for simultaneous training of the anterior and posterior parts with a muscle force higher than 50% of the maximum. Importantly, this study has demonstrated the use of musculoskeletal models as an approach to predict muscle force variations for different strength and rehabilitation exercise variations.

Braille character discrimination in blindfolded human subjects.

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Kauffman, Thomas; Théoret, Hugo; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro

2002-04-16

Visual deprivation may lead to enhanced performance in other sensory modalities. Whether this is the case in the tactile modality is controversial and may depend upon specific training and experience. We compared the performance of sighted subjects on a Braille character discrimination task to that of normal individuals blindfolded for a period of five days. Some participants in each group (blindfolded and sighted) received intensive Braille training to offset the effects of experience. Blindfolded subjects performed better than sighted subjects in the Braille discrimination task, irrespective of tactile training. For the left index finger, which had not been used in the formal Braille classes, blindfolding had no effect on performance while subjects who underwent tactile training outperformed non-stimulated participants. These results suggest that visual deprivation speeds up Braille learning and may be associated with behaviorally relevant neuroplastic changes.

Growth of porous anodized alumina on the sputtered aluminum films with 2D–3D morphology for high specific surface area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, M.W.; Chung, C.K., E-mail: ckchung@mail.ncku.edu.tw

2014-08-01

The porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) with high-aspect-ratio pore channels is widely used as a template for fabricating nanowires or other one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. The high specific surface area of AAO can also be applied to the super capacitor and the supporting substrate for catalysis. The rough surface could be helpful to enhance specific surface area but it generally results in electrical field concentration even to ruin AAO. In this article, the aluminum (Al) films with the varied 2D–3D morphology on Si substrates were prepared using magnetron sputtering at a power of 50 W–185 W for 1 h at a working pressure of 2.5 × 10⁻¹ Pa. Then, AAO was fabricated from the different Al films by means of one-step hybrid pulse anodizing (HPA) between the positive 40 V and the negative -2 V (1 s:1 s) for 3 min in 0.3 M oxalic acid at a room temperature. The microstructure and morphology of Al films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope, respectively. Some hillocks formed at the high target power could be attributed to the grain texture growth in the normal orientation of Al(1 1 1). The 3D porous AAO structure which is different from the conventional 2D planar one has been successfully demonstrated using HPA on the film with greatly rough hillock-surface formed at the highest power of 185 W. It offers a potential application of the new 3D AAO to high specific surface area devices.

Methodological Aspects of Subjective Life Expectancy: Effects of Culture-Specific Reporting Heterogeneity Among Older Adults in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sunghee; Smith, Jacqui

2016-05-01

Subjective life expectancy (SLE) has been suggested as a predictor of mortality and mortality-related behaviors. Although critical for culturally diverse societies, these findings do not consider cross-cultural methodological comparability. Culture-specific reporting heterogeneity is a well-known phenomenon introducing biases, and research on this issue with SLE is not established. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined reporting heterogeneity in SLE focusing on item nonresponse, focal points, and reports over time for five ethnic-cultural groups: non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, non-Hispanic other races, English-interviewed Hispanics, and Spanish-interviewed Hispanics. On item nonresponse, Spanish-interviewed Hispanics said, "I don't know," to SLE significantly more than any other groups. Nearly half of the respondents chose 0, 50, or 100, making them focal points. However, the focal points differed: 50 for Whites, 100 for Blacks, and 0 for Spanish-interviewed Hispanics. The relationship of SLE measured at two time points was higher for Whites than minorities. Moreover, those who said "I don't know" to SLE showed higher subsequent mortality than those who gave an answer. SLE was not a significant mortality predictor for Hispanics. Overall, SLE is not free from culture-specific reporting heterogeneity. This warrants further research about its culture-relevant measurement mechanisms. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Remodeling sensory cortical maps implants specific behavioral memory.

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Bieszczad, K M; Miasnikov, A A; Weinberger, N M

2013-08-29

Neural mechanisms underlying the capacity of memory to be rich in sensory detail are largely unknown. A candidate mechanism is learning-induced plasticity that remodels the adult sensory cortex. Here, expansion in the primary auditory cortical (A1) tonotopic map of rats was induced by pairing a 3.66-kHz tone with activation of the nucleus basalis, mimicking the effects of natural associative learning. Remodeling of A1 produced de novo specific behavioral memory, but neither memory nor plasticity was consistently at the frequency of the paired tone, which typically decreased in A1 representation. Rather, there was a specific match between individual subjects' area of expansion and the tone that was strongest in each animal's memory, as determined by post-training frequency generalization gradients. These findings provide the first demonstration of a match between the artificial induction of specific neural representational plasticity and artificial induction of behavioral memory. As such, together with prior and present findings for detection, correlation and mimicry of plasticity with the acquisition of memory, they satisfy a key criterion for neural substrates of memory. This demonstrates that directly remodeling sensory cortical maps is sufficient for the specificity of memory formation. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased motor cortex excitability during motor imagery in brain-computer interface trained subjects

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Mokienko, Olesya A.; Chervyakov, Alexander V.; Kulikova, Sofia N.; Bobrov, Pavel D.; Chernikova, Liudmila A.; Frolov, Alexander A.; Piradov, Mikhail A.

2013-01-01

Background: Motor imagery (MI) is the mental performance of movement without muscle activity. It is generally accepted that MI and motor performance have similar physiological mechanisms. Purpose: To investigate the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas during MI in subjects who were previously trained with an MI-based brain-computer interface (BCI). Subjects and Methods: Eleven healthy volunteers without neurological impairments (mean age, 36 years; range: 24–68 years) were either trained with an MI-based BCI (BCI-trained, n = 5) or received no BCI training (n = 6, controls). Subjects imagined grasping in a blocked paradigm task with alternating rest and task periods. For evaluating the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas we used functional MRI and navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS). Results: fMRI revealed activation in Brodmann areas 3 and 6, the cerebellum, and the thalamus during MI in all subjects. The primary motor cortex was activated only in BCI-trained subjects. The associative zones of activation were larger in non-trained subjects. During MI, motor evoked potentials recorded from two of the three targeted muscles were significantly higher only in BCI-trained subjects. The motor threshold decreased (median = 17%) during MI, which was also observed only in BCI-trained subjects. Conclusion: Previous BCI training increased motor cortex excitability during MI. These data may help to improve BCI applications, including rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy. PMID:24319425

Increased motor cortex excitability during motor imagery in brain-computer interface trained subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olesya eMokienko

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Motor imagery (MI is the mental performance of movement without muscle activity. It is generally accepted that MI and motor performance have similar physiological mechanisms.Purpose: To investigate the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas during MI in subjects who were previously trained with an MI-based brain-computer interface (BCI.Subjects and methods: Eleven healthy volunteers without neurological impairments (mean age, 36 years; range: 24–68 years were either trained with an MI-based BCI (BCI-trained, n = 5 or received no BCI training (n = 6, controls. Subjects imagined grasping in a blocked paradigm task with alternating rest and task periods. For evaluating the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas we used functional MRI and navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS.Results: fMRI revealed activation in Brodmann areas 3 and 6, the cerebellum, and the thalamus during MI in all subjects. The primary motor cortex was activated only in BCI-trained subjects. The associative zones of activation were larger in non-trained subjects. During MI, motor evoked potentials recorded from two of the three targeted muscles were significantly higher only in BCI-trained subjects. The motor threshold decreased (median = 17% during MI, which was also observed only in BCI-trained subjects.Conclusion: Previous BCI training increased motor cortex excitability during MI. These data may help to improve BCI applications, including rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy.

Specificities of Awake Craniotomy and Brain Mapping in Children for Resection of Supratentorial Tumors in the Language Area.

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Delion, Matthieu; Terminassian, Aram; Lehousse, Thierry; Aubin, Ghislaine; Malka, Jean; N'Guyen, Sylvie; Mercier, Philippe; Menei, Philippe

2015-12-01

In the pediatric population, awake craniotomy began to be used for the resection of brain tumor located close to eloquent areas. Some specificities must be taken into account to adapt this method to children. The aim of this clinical study is to not only confirm the feasibility of awake craniotomy and language brain mapping in the pediatric population but also identify the specificities and necessary adaptations of the procedure. Six children aged 11 to 16 were operated on while awake under local anesthesia with language brain mapping for supratentorial brain lesions (tumor and cavernoma). The preoperative planning comprised functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychologic and psychologic assessment. The specific preoperative preparation is clearly explained including hypnosis conditioning and psychiatric evaluation. The success of the procedure was based on the ability to perform the language brain mapping and the tumor removal without putting the patient to sleep. We investigated the pediatric specificities, psychological experience, and neuropsychologic follow-up. The children experienced little anxiety, probably in large part due to the use of hypnosis. We succeeded in doing the cortical-subcortical mapping and removing the tumor without putting the patient to sleep in all cases. The psychological experience was good, and the neuropsychologic follow-up showed a favorable evolution. Preoperative preparation and hypnosis in children seemed important for performing awake craniotomy and contributing language brain mapping with the best possible psychological experience. The pediatrics specificities are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operational Area Environmental Evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailey-White, Brenda Eileen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Nagy, Michael David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wagner, Katrina Marie [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Goodman, Thomas Richard [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Herring, Allen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Catechis, Christopher S. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kinghorn, Aubrianna Nicole [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Johnson, Ellie [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Barthel, Michael David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Casaus, Benito [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-08-01

The Operational Area Environmental Evaluation update provides a description of activities that have the potential to adversely affect natural and cultural resources, including soil, air, water, biological, ecological, and historical resources. The environmental sensitivity of an area is evaluated and summarized, which may facilitate informed management decisions as to where development may be prohibited, restricted, or subject to additional requirements.

Developing marketing strategies for tourism destinations in peripheral areas of Europe: the case of Bornholm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartl, Ann

by viewing them as cooperative customers. Thus the DMO needs to apply the principles of marketing to the development process of the strategy itself, and therefore to view the strategic plan as a product of the DMO, which needs to be marketed. The theoretical analysis shows that DMOs cannot control all......This thesis concentrates on the subject of destination marketing with a specific focus on the process of developing strategies through a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) for a peripheral area, illustrated by a case study from the Danish island of Bornholm. It investigates the theoretical...... foundations for destination marketing, concluding that there should be a shift in focus from general marketing theory to a broader application of organisational theories and associated fields, enabling the DMO to improve performance. The specific conditions for and structures of peripheral areas indicate...

[Syntactic Processing in Broca's Area: Brodmann Areas 44 and 45].

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Atora; Sakai, Kuniyoshi L

2017-04-01

Brodmann areas 44 and 45 are known as Broca's area; however, their true functional roles are still unknown. Recent developments in neuroimaging techniques revealed the structures and functions of Broca's area in detail. More specifically regarding language functions, sufficient evidence has been accumulated that this region subserves the center of syntactic processing, not necessarily motor functions. Here, we review a role of Broca's area as the grammar center, including other roles in nonlinguistic functions.

Specific force of the vastus lateralis in adults with achondroplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sims, David T; Onambélé-Pearson, Gladys L; Burden, Adrian; Payton, Carl; Morse, Christopher I

2018-03-01

Achondroplasia is a clinical condition defined by shorter stature and disproportionate limb length. Force production in able-bodied individuals (controls) is proportional to muscle size, but given the disproportionate nature of achondroplasia, normalizing to anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA) is inappropriate. The aim of this study was to assess specific force of the vastus lateralis (VL) in 10 adults with achondroplasia (22 ± 3 yr) and 18 sex-matched controls (22 ± 2 yr). Isometric torque (iMVCτ) of the dominant knee extensors (KE) and in vivo measures of VL muscle architecture, volume, activation, and patella tendon moment arm were used to calculate VL physiological CSA (PCSA), fascicle force, and specific force in both groups. Achondroplasic muscle volume was 53% smaller than controls (284 ± 36 vs. 604 ± 102 cm 3 , P 0.05), but coactivation of bicep femoris of achondroplasic subjects was 70% more than controls (43 ± 20 vs. 13 ± 5%, P force (702 ± 235 vs. 1704 ± 303 N, P force than control subjects (17 ± 6 vs. 24 ± 6 N⋅cm -2 , P = 0.012). The smaller VL specific force in achondroplasia may be attributed to infiltration of fat and connective tissue, rather than to any difference in myofilament function. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The novel observation of this study was the measurement of normalized force production in a group of individuals with disproportionate limb length-to-torso ratios.

APOε2 and education in cognitively normal older subjects with high levels of AD pathology at autopsy: findings from the Nun Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Iacono, Diego; Zandi, Peter; Gross, Myron; Markesbery, William R; Pletnikova, Olga; Rudow, Gay; Troncoso, Juan C

2015-06-10

Asymptomatic Alzheimer's disease (ASYMAD) subjects are individuals characterized by preserved cognition before death despite substantial AD pathology at autopsy. ASYMAD subjects show comparable levels of AD pathology, i.e. β-amyloid neuritic plaques (Aβ-NP) and tau-neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), to those observed in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and some definite AD cases. Previous clinicopathologic studies on ASYMAD subjects have shown specific phenomena of hypertrophy in the cell bodies, nuclei, and nucleoli of hippocampal pyramidal neurons and other cerebral areas. Since it is well established that the allele APOε4 is a major genetic risk factor for AD, we examined whether specific alleles of APOE could be associated with the different clinical outcomes between ASYMAD and MCI subjects despite equivalent AD pathology. A total of 523 brains from the Nun Study were screened for this investigation. The results showed higher APOε2 frequency (p < 0.001) in ASYMAD (19.2%) vs. MCI (0%) and vs. AD (4.7%). Furthermore, higher education in ASYMAD vs. MCI and AD (p < 0.05) was found. These novel autopsy-verified findings support the hypothesis of the beneficial effect of APOε2 and education, both which seem to act as contributing factors in delaying or forestalling the clinical manifestations of AD despite consistent levels of AD pathology.

Should Broca's area include Brodmann area 47?

Science.gov (United States)

Ardila, Alfredo; Bernal, Byron; Rosselli, Monica

2017-02-01

Understanding brain organization of speech production has been a principal goal of neuroscience. Historically, brain speech production has been associated with so-called Broca’s area (Brodmann area –BA- 44 and 45), however, modern neuroimaging developments suggest speech production is associated with networks rather than with areas. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the connectivity of BA47 ( pars orbitalis) in relation to language . A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the language network in which BA47 is involved. The Brainmap database was used. Twenty papers corresponding to 29 experimental conditions with a total of 373 subjects were included. Our results suggest that BA47 participates in a “frontal language production system” (or extended Broca’s system). The BA47  connectivity found is also concordant with a minor role in language semantics. BA47 plays a central role in the language production system.

A Study of the Stability of School Effectiveness Measures across Grades and Subject Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandeville, Garrett K.; Anderson, Lorin W.

School effectiveness indices (SEIs), based on regressing test performance onto earlier test performance and a socioeconomic status measure, were obtained for eight subject-grade combinations from 485 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school means based on longitudinally matched student data. Reading and mathematics…

Sensibility and Subjectivity: Levinas’ Traumatic Subject

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Rashmika Pandya

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The importance of Levinas’ notions of sensibility and subjectivity are evident in the revision of phenomenological method by current phenomenologists such as Jean-Luc Marion and Michel Henry. The criticisms of key tenants of classical phenomenology, intentionality and reduction, are of a particular note. However, there are problems with Levinas’ characterization of subjectivity as essentially sensible. In “Totality and Infinity” and “Otherwise than Being”, Levinas criticizes and recasts a traditional notion of subjectivity, particularly the notion of the subject as the first and foremost rational subject. The subject in Levinas’ works is characterized more by its sensibility and affectedness than by its capacity to reason or affect its world. Levinas ties rationality to economy and suggests an alternative notion of reason that leads to his analysis of the ethical relation as the face-to-face encounter. The ‘origin’ of the social relation is located not in our capacity to know but rather in a sensibility that is diametrically opposed to the reason understood as economy. I argue that the opposition in Levinas’ thought between reason and sensibility is problematic and essentially leads to a self-conflicted subject. In fact, it would seem that violence characterizes the subject’s self-relation and, thus, is also inscribed at the base of the social relation. Rather than overcoming a problematic tendency to dualistic thought in philosophy Levinas merely reverses traditional hierarchies of reason/emotion, subject/object and self/other. 

Natural radioactivity measurements in agricultural soil, fertilizer and crops in some specific areas of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Latif, Shaikh Abdul; Kinsara, Abdulraheem Abdulrahman; Molla, Nurul Islam; Nassef, Mohamed Hamed [King Abdulaziz Univ., Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Faculty of Engineering

2014-09-01

High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector gamma-ray spectrometry with 500 cc Marinelli beaker geometry was used for radioactivity measurement in some specific areas of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The detection limits of {sup 210}Pb, {sup 238}U, {sup 226}Ra, {sup 232}Th and {sup 40}K in soil, fertilizers, and vegetables lie mostly below 1 Bq/kg. The activity concentrations of {sup 238}U and {sup 226}Ra in local phosphate fertilizers were measured in the range of 236.8-879.0 Bq/kg and 101.5-297.0 Bq/kg, respectively. The respective activity concentrations of {sup 238}U and {sup 226}Ra measured in one charge of German phosphate fertilizer are in the range of 552.7-790.0 Bq/kg and 280.6-317.0 Bq/kg. The activity concentrations of {sup 232}Th are assessed to have maximum values up to 2.24 Bq/kg in locally manufactured phosphate fertilizers. Local urea exhibited concentration level (Bq/kg) of {sup 210}Pb, {sup 238}U, {sup 226}Ra, {sup 232}Th and {sup 40}K below the detection limit. Mean values of activity concentrations of {sup 238}U in agricultural soil of Wadi Fatima, Taif, Hada Al-Sham, Madina City and Abyar Al-MashiMadina are 21.7 ± 3.24, 38.2 ± 4.1, 17.6 ± 2.1, 34.3 ± 3.5 and 32.7 ± 2.4 Bq/kg, respectively. The respective mean of {sup 226}Ra activity concentrations in those areas are 12.16 ± 1.16, 20.2 ± 1.33, 11.21 ± 0.4, 21.4 ± 1.7 and 21.0 ± 1.22 Bq/kg. The specific activity of {sup 232}Th in the respective areas has been measured as 12.6 ± 1.3, 25.3 ± 0.8, 11.5 ± 0.9, 20.4 ± 2.4 and 20.0 ± 1.2 Bq/kg. Activity concentrations of {sup 210}Pb, {sup 238}U, {sup 226}Ra and {sup 232}Th in the vegetable samples are mostly found in the range of 0.37 Bq/kg to 37.8 Bq/kg. The {sup 40}K specific activity lies in the range of 44.4-196 Bq/kg. The calculated absorbed dose rates in the representative locations are 24.07-53.28 nGy/h. (orig.)

Assessing the accuracy of subject-specific, muscle-model parameters determined by optimizing to match isometric strength.

Science.gov (United States)

DeSmitt, Holly J; Domire, Zachary J

2016-12-01

Biomechanical models are sensitive to the choice of model parameters. Therefore, determination of accurate subject specific model parameters is important. One approach to generate these parameters is to optimize the values such that the model output will match experimentally measured strength curves. This approach is attractive as it is inexpensive and should provide an excellent match to experimentally measured strength. However, given the problem of muscle redundancy, it is not clear that this approach generates accurate individual muscle forces. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate this approach using simulated data to enable a direct comparison. It is hypothesized that the optimization approach will be able to recreate accurate muscle model parameters when information from measurable parameters is given. A model of isometric knee extension was developed to simulate a strength curve across a range of knee angles. In order to realistically recreate experimentally measured strength, random noise was added to the modeled strength. Parameters were solved for using a genetic search algorithm. When noise was added to the measurements the strength curve was reasonably recreated. However, the individual muscle model parameters and force curves were far less accurate. Based upon this examination, it is clear that very different sets of model parameters can recreate similar strength curves. Therefore, experimental variation in strength measurements has a significant influence on the results. Given the difficulty in accurately recreating individual muscle parameters, it may be more appropriate to perform simulations with lumped actuators representing similar muscles.

SUBJECTIVE METHODS FOR ASSESSMENT OF DRIVER DROWSINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina Mashko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the issue of fatigue and sleepiness behind the wheel, which for a long time has been of vital importance for the research in the area of driver-car interaction safety. Numerous experiments on car simulators with diverse measurements to observe human behavior have been performed at the laboratories of the faculty of the authors. The paper provides analysis and an overview and assessment of the subjective (self-rating and observer rating methods for observation of driver behavior and the detection of critical behavior in sleep deprived drivers using the developed subjective rating scales.

Grass immunotherapy induces inhibition of allergen-specific human peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation.

Science.gov (United States)

Baskar, S; Hamilton, R G; Norman, P S; Ansari, A A

1997-02-01

The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from humans allergic to grass pollens (GR+ subjects) show strong in vitro proliferative responses to purified allergens from Lolium perenne pollen Lol p 1, and to a lesser extent to Lol p 2 and Lol p 3. By contrast, PBMC from grass allergic patients undergoing immunotherapy (GR + IT subjects) exhibit a very poor Lol p-specific proliferative response, similar to that observed in nongrass allergic subjects (GR-subjects). Unlike GR-subjects, both GR+ and GR + IT subjects have high levels of antigen-specific serum IgG and IgE antibodies to Lol p 1, Lol p 2 and Lol p 3. While GR+ subjects exhibit a significant correlation between antigen-specific serum antibody and PBMC responses, GR + IT subjects do not show a correlation between the two responses. The possible mechanisms by which immunotherapy may modulate allergen-specific T cell proliferative response are discussed.

Transferring and generalizing deep-learning-based neural encoding models across subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Haiguang; Shi, Junxing; Chen, Wei; Liu, Zhongming

2018-08-01

Recent studies have shown the value of using deep learning models for mapping and characterizing how the brain represents and organizes information for natural vision. However, modeling the relationship between deep learning models and the brain (or encoding models), requires measuring cortical responses to large and diverse sets of natural visual stimuli from single subjects. This requirement limits prior studies to few subjects, making it difficult to generalize findings across subjects or for a population. In this study, we developed new methods to transfer and generalize encoding models across subjects. To train encoding models specific to a target subject, the models trained for other subjects were used as the prior models and were refined efficiently using Bayesian inference with a limited amount of data from the target subject. To train encoding models for a population, the models were progressively trained and updated with incremental data from different subjects. For the proof of principle, we applied these methods to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from three subjects watching tens of hours of naturalistic videos, while a deep residual neural network driven by image recognition was used to model visual cortical processing. Results demonstrate that the methods developed herein provide an efficient and effective strategy to establish both subject-specific and population-wide predictive models of cortical representations of high-dimensional and hierarchical visual features. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Subject-specific increases in serum S-100B distinguish sports-related concussion from sports-related exertion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiechle, Karin; Bazarian, Jeffrey J; Merchant-Borna, Kian; Stoecklein, Veit; Rozen, Eric; Blyth, Brian; Huang, Jason H; Dayawansa, Samantha; Kanz, Karl; Biberthaler, Peter

2014-01-01

The on-field diagnosis of sports-related concussion (SRC) is complicated by the lack of an accurate and objective marker of brain injury. To compare subject-specific changes in the astroglial protein, S100B, before and after SRC among collegiate and semi-professional contact sport athletes, and compare these changes to differences in S100B before and after non-contact exertion. Longitudinal cohort study. From 2009-2011, we performed a prospective study of athletes from Munich, Germany, and Rochester, New York, USA. Serum S100B was measured in all SRC athletes at pre-season baseline, within 3 hours of injury, and at days 2, 3 and 7 post-SRC. Among a subset of athletes, S100B was measured after non-contact exertion but before injury. All samples were collected identically and analyzed using an automated electrochemiluminescent assay to quantify serum S100B levels. Forty-six athletes (30 Munich, 16 Rochester) underwent baseline testing. Thirty underwent additional post-exertion S100B testing. Twenty-two athletes (16 Rochester, 6 Munich) sustained a SRC, and 17 had S100B testing within 3 hours post-injury. The mean 3-hour post-SRC S100B was significantly higher than pre-season baseline (0.099±0.008 µg/L vs. 0.058±0.006 µg/L, p = 0.0002). Mean post-exertion S100B was not significantly different than the preseason baseline. S100B levels at post-injury days 2, 3 and 7 were significantly lower than the 3-hour level, and not different than baseline. Both the absolute change and proportional increase in S100B 3-hour post-injury were accurate discriminators of SRC from non-contact exertion without SRC (AUC 0.772 and 0.904, respectively). A 3-hour post-concussion S100B >0.122 µg/L and a proportional S100B increase of >45.9% over baseline were both 96.7% specific for SRC. Relative and absolute increases in serum S100B can accurately distinguish SRC from sports-related exertion, and may be a useful adjunct to the diagnosis of SRC.

Subject-specific increases in serum S-100B distinguish sports-related concussion from sports-related exertion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karin Kiechle

Full Text Available The on-field diagnosis of sports-related concussion (SRC is complicated by the lack of an accurate and objective marker of brain injury.To compare subject-specific changes in the astroglial protein, S100B, before and after SRC among collegiate and semi-professional contact sport athletes, and compare these changes to differences in S100B before and after non-contact exertion.Longitudinal cohort study.From 2009-2011, we performed a prospective study of athletes from Munich, Germany, and Rochester, New York, USA. Serum S100B was measured in all SRC athletes at pre-season baseline, within 3 hours of injury, and at days 2, 3 and 7 post-SRC. Among a subset of athletes, S100B was measured after non-contact exertion but before injury. All samples were collected identically and analyzed using an automated electrochemiluminescent assay to quantify serum S100B levels.Forty-six athletes (30 Munich, 16 Rochester underwent baseline testing. Thirty underwent additional post-exertion S100B testing. Twenty-two athletes (16 Rochester, 6 Munich sustained a SRC, and 17 had S100B testing within 3 hours post-injury. The mean 3-hour post-SRC S100B was significantly higher than pre-season baseline (0.099±0.008 µg/L vs. 0.058±0.006 µg/L, p = 0.0002. Mean post-exertion S100B was not significantly different than the preseason baseline. S100B levels at post-injury days 2, 3 and 7 were significantly lower than the 3-hour level, and not different than baseline. Both the absolute change and proportional increase in S100B 3-hour post-injury were accurate discriminators of SRC from non-contact exertion without SRC (AUC 0.772 and 0.904, respectively. A 3-hour post-concussion S100B >0.122 µg/L and a proportional S100B increase of >45.9% over baseline were both 96.7% specific for SRC.Relative and absolute increases in serum S100B can accurately distinguish SRC from sports-related exertion, and may be a useful adjunct to the diagnosis of SRC.

Analysis of Subjects' Vulnerability in a Touch Screen Game Using Behavioral Metrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsinejad, Payam; Sipahi, Rifat

2017-12-01

In this article, we report results on an experimental study conducted with volunteer subjects playing a touch-screen game with two unique difficulty levels. Subjects have knowledge about the rules of both game levels, but only sufficient playing experience with the easy level of the game, making them vulnerable with the difficult level. Several behavioral metrics associated with subjects' playing the game are studied in order to assess subjects' mental-workload changes induced by their vulnerability. Specifically, these metrics are calculated based on subjects' finger kinematics and decision making times, which are then compared with baseline metrics, namely, performance metrics pertaining to how well the game is played and a physiological metric called pnn50 extracted from heart rate measurements. In balanced experiments and supported by comparisons with baseline metrics, it is found that some of the studied behavioral metrics have the potential to be used to infer subjects' mental workload changes through different levels of the game. These metrics, which are decoupled from task specifics, relate to subjects' ability to develop strategies to play the game, and hence have the advantage of offering insight into subjects' task-load and vulnerability assessment across various experimental settings.

Transcranial direct current stimulation improves word retrieval in healthy and nonfluent aphasic subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiori, Valentina; Coccia, Michela; Marinelli, Chiara V; Vecchi, Veronica; Bonifazi, Silvia; Ceravolo, M Gabriella; Provinciali, Leandro; Tomaiuolo, Francesco; Marangolo, Paola

2011-09-01

A number of studies have shown that modulating cortical activity by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects performances of both healthy and brain-damaged subjects. In this study, we investigated the potential of tDCS to enhance associative verbal learning in 10 healthy individuals and to improve word retrieval deficits in three patients with stroke-induced aphasia. In healthy individuals, tDCS (20 min, 1 mA) was applied over Wernicke's area (position CP5 of the International 10-20 EEG System) while they learned 20 new "words" (legal nonwords arbitrarily assigned to 20 different pictures). The healthy subjects participated in a randomized counterbalanced double-blind procedure in which they were subjected to one session of anodic tDCS over left Wernicke's area, one sham session over this location and one session of anodic tDCS stimulating the right occipito-parietal area. Each experimental session was performed during a different week (over three consecutive weeks) with 6 days of intersession interval. Over 2 weeks, three aphasic subjects participated in a randomized double-blind experiment involving intensive language training for their anomic difficulties in two tDCS conditions. Each subject participated in five consecutive daily sessions of anodic tDCS (20 min, 1 mA) and sham stimulation over Wernicke's area while they performed a picture-naming task. By the end of each week, anodic tDCS had significantly improved their accuracy on the picture-naming task. Both normal subjects and aphasic patients also had shorter naming latencies during anodic tDCS than during sham condition. At two follow-ups (1 and 3 weeks after the end of treatment), performed only in two aphasic subjects, response accuracy and reaction times were still significantly better in the anodic than in the sham condition, suggesting a long-term effect on recovery of their anomic disturbances.

fMRI assessment of somatotopy in human Brodmann area 3b by electrical finger stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurth, R; Villringer, K; Mackert, B M; Schwiemann, J; Braun, J; Curio, G; Villringer, A; Wolf, K J

1998-01-26

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is capable of detecting focal brain activation induced by electrical stimulation of single fingers in human subjects. In eight subjects somatotopic arrangement of the second and fifth finger was found in Brodmann area 3b of the primary somatosensory cortex. In four subjects the representation area of the second finger was located lateral and inferior to the fifth finger; in one subject the somatotopy was reversed. In three subjects representation areas of the two fingers in Brodmann area 3b were found overlapping. Additional activated areas were found on the crown of ipsilateral and contralateral postcentral gyrus (Brodmann areas 1 and 2) and posterior parietal cortex.

Specific interface area and self-stirring in a two-liquid system experiencing intense interfacial boiling below the bulk boiling temperatures of both components

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Goldobin, Denis S.; Pimenova, Anastasiya V.

2017-04-01

We present an approach to theoretical assessment of the mean specific interface area (δ S/δ V) for a well-stirred system of two immiscible liquids experiencing interfacial boiling. The assessment is based on the balance of transformations of mechanical energy and the laws of the momentum and heat transfer in the turbulent boundary layer. The theory yields relations between the specific interface area and the characteristics of the system state. In particular, this allows us to derive the equations of self-cooling dynamics of the system in the absence of external heat supply. The results provide possibility for constructing a self-contained mathematical description of the process of interfacial boiling. In this study, we assume the volume fractions of two components to be similar as well as the values of their kinematic viscosity and molecular heat diffusivity.

Aging of Holocaust Survivors: Discrepancies Between Subjective and General Health in the greater Tel Aviv Area.

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Ohana, Irit; Golander, Hava; Barak, Yoram

2018-04-01

Aging has been associated with perceived lowering of health, especially in post-traumatic individuals. The effects may be more complex or even different for Holocaust survivors as they age due to their inherited resilience and life perspective. A cross-sectional study was conducted of Holocaust survivors and a matched comparison group recruited from the general Israeli population. All participants underwent a personal interview and completed the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale and a survey of subjective Likert-scale questions about perceived health. The study comprised 214 older adults: 107 Holocaust survivors and 107 comparison participants; 101 women and 113 men. The mean age for the participants was 80.7 ± 4.7 years (range 68-93). Holocaust survivors did not differ from comparison subjects in general health measures (mean 51.50 ± 3.06 vs. 52.27 ± 3.24, respectively). However, the Holocaust survivors' subjective health was significantly lower, F (2,211) = 4.18, P Holocaust survivors to achieve successful aging.

Subject Access Project. Third Quarterly Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Pauline

This third quarterly report for the period January to March 1977 describes the production schedule, records, and estimated costs and times in creating the Subject Access Project data base. Plans for on-line use of the data base and search strategy design are outlined. A table of specifications for preparing the data base for on-line searching is…

Subjectivity

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Jesús Vega Encabo

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I claim that subjectivity is a way of being that is constituted through a set of practices in which the self is subject to the dangers of fictionalizing and plotting her life and self-image. I examine some ways of becoming subject through narratives and through theatrical performance before others. Through these practices, a real and active subjectivity is revealed, capable of self-knowledge and self-transformation. 

Continuous theta burst stimulation of angular gyrus reduces subjective recollection.

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Yasemin Yazar

Full Text Available The contribution of lateral parietal regions such as the angular gyrus to human episodic memory has been the subject of much debate following widespread observations of left parietal activity in healthy volunteers during functional neuroimaging studies of memory retrieval. Patients with lateral parietal lesions are not amnesic, but recent evidence indicates that their memory abilities may not be entirely preserved. Whereas recollection appears intact when objective measures such as source accuracy are used, patients often exhibit reduced subjective confidence in their accurate recollections. When asked to recall autobiographical memories, they may produce spontaneous narratives that lack richness and specificity, but can remember specific details when prompted. Two distinct theoretical accounts have been proposed to explain these results: that the patients have a deficit in the bottom-up capturing of attention by retrieval output, or that they have an impairment in the subjective experience of recollection. The present study aimed to differentiate between these accounts using continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS in healthy participants to disrupt function of specific left parietal subregions, including angular gyrus. Inconsistent with predictions of the attentional theory, angular gyrus cTBS did not result in greater impairment of free recall than cued recall. Supporting predictions of the subjective recollection account, temporary disruption of angular gyrus was associated with highly accurate source recollection accuracy but a selective reduction in participants' rated source confidence. The findings are consistent with a role for angular gyrus in the integration of memory features into a conscious representation that enables the subjective experience of remembering.

Comparative short-term effects of two thoracic spinal manipulation techniques in subjects with chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.

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Casanova-Méndez, Amaloha; Oliva-Pascual-Vaca, Angel; Rodriguez-Blanco, Cleofás; Heredia-Rizo, Alberto Marcos; Gogorza-Arroitaonandia, Kristobal; Almazán-Campos, Ginés

2014-08-01

Spinal Manipulation (SM) has been purported to decrease pain and improve function in subjects with non-specific neck pain. Previous research has investigated which individuals with non-specific neck pain will be more likely to benefit from SM. It has not yet been proven whether or not the effectiveness of thoracic SM depends on the specific technique being used. This double-blind randomized trial has compared the short-term effects of two thoracic SM maneuvers in subjects with chronic non-specific neck pain. Sixty participants were distributed randomly into two groups. One group received the Dog technique (n = 30), with the subject in supine position, and the other group underwent the Toggle-Recoil technique (n = 30), with the participant lying prone, T4 being the targeted area in both cases. Evaluations were made of self-reported neck pain (Visual Analogue Scale); neck mobility (Cervical Range of Motion); and pressure pain threshold at the cervical and thoracic levels (C4 and T4 spinous process) and over the site described for location of tense bands of the upper trapezius muscle. Measurements were taken before intervention, immediately afterward, and 20 min later. Both maneuvers improved neck mobility and mechanosensitivity and reduced pain in the short term. No major or clinical differences were found between the groups. In the between-groups comparison slightly better results were observed in the Toggle-Recoil group only for cervical extension (p = 0.009), right lateral flexion (p = 0.004) and left rotation (p < 0.05). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vehicle handling: relationships between subjective and objective measures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verschuren, R.M.A.F.; Hogema, J.H.

2003-01-01

TNO Human Factors and TNO Automotive are investigating relationships between subjective and objective measures in the area of vehicle handling. This paper presents a driving simulator study and a field experiment in which these relationships were investigated. First, in the driving simulator

Skin acceptability of a cosmetic moisturizer formulation in female subjects with sensitive skin

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Nisbet SJ

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Stephanie J Nisbet Skin Health Medical Affairs, GSK Consumer Healthcare, Weybridge, Surrey, UK Purpose: This 3-week, open-label, noncomparative clinical study evaluated the skin acceptability of a cosmetic moisturizer in subjects with sensitive skin, by monitoring adverse events (AEs and cutaneous discomfort related to normal usage.Materials and methods: Female subjects aged between 18–60 years, with Fitzpatrick phototype classification I–IV and sensitive skin, verified by a positive reaction on the stinging test at screening, were included. Subjects applied the moisturizer to their face and body twice daily for 21±2 days at home and recorded study product usage and feelings of cutaneous discomfort (eg, dryness, prickling, stinging, and itching in a diary; any AEs were reported to the clinic. At study end, skin acceptability of the moisturizer was investigator-assessed based on the nature of AEs and subjects’ self-reported feelings of discomfort, and by clinical evaluation of skin reactions in the area of moisturizer application (appearance of erythema, formation of edema, and skin desquamation; scored according to an adapted Draize and Kligman scale. Only subjects with a treatment compliance of ≥80% were included in the final analysis.Results: In total, 35 subjects initiated and completed the study; all were compliant to the minimum study product usage. Per investigator clinical dermatological assessment at study end, none of the 35 subjects had skin reactions in the area of moisturizer application and there were no reported AEs. One subject reported sensations of mild prickling and itching immediately after applying the moisturizer (not classified as AEs, which spontaneously remitted after complete absorption of the product and were noted only in exposed areas. These events were considered by the investigator as being possibly/probably related to the use of study product; however, no clinical signs of skin reaction were observed in

Gastrointestinal immune responses in HIV infected subjects

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LRR Castello-Branco

1996-06-01

Full Text Available The gut associated lymphoid tissue is responsible for specific responses to intestinal antigens. During HIV infection, mucosal immune deficiency may account for the gastrointestinal infections. In this review we describe the humoral and cellular mucosal immune responses in normal and HIV-infected subjects.

Using hierarchical linear models to test differences in Swedish results from OECD’s PISA 2003: Integrated and subject-specific science education

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Maria Åström

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The possible effects of different organisations of the science curriculum in schools participating in PISA 2003 are tested with a hierarchical linear model (HLM of two levels. The analysis is based on science results. Swedish schools are free to choose how they organise the science curriculum. They may choose to work subject-specifically (with Biology, Chemistry and Physics, integrated (with Science or to mix these two. In this study, all three ways of organising science classes in compulsory school are present to some degree. None of the different ways of organising science education displayed statistically significant better student results in scientific literacy as measured in PISA 2003. The HLM model used variables of gender, country of birth, home language, preschool attendance, an economic, social and cultural index as well as the teaching organisation.

Spatial Topography of Individual-Specific Cortical Networks Predicts Human Cognition, Personality, and Emotion.

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Kong, Ru; Li, Jingwei; Orban, Csaba; Sabuncu, Mert R; Liu, Hesheng; Schaefer, Alexander; Sun, Nanbo; Zuo, Xi-Nian; Holmes, Avram J; Eickhoff, Simon B; Yeo, B T Thomas

2018-06-06

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) offers the opportunity to delineate individual-specific brain networks. A major question is whether individual-specific network topography (i.e., location and spatial arrangement) is behaviorally relevant. Here, we propose a multi-session hierarchical Bayesian model (MS-HBM) for estimating individual-specific cortical networks and investigate whether individual-specific network topography can predict human behavior. The multiple layers of the MS-HBM explicitly differentiate intra-subject (within-subject) from inter-subject (between-subject) network variability. By ignoring intra-subject variability, previous network mappings might confuse intra-subject variability for inter-subject differences. Compared with other approaches, MS-HBM parcellations generalized better to new rs-fMRI and task-fMRI data from the same subjects. More specifically, MS-HBM parcellations estimated from a single rs-fMRI session (10 min) showed comparable generalizability as parcellations estimated by 2 state-of-the-art methods using 5 sessions (50 min). We also showed that behavioral phenotypes across cognition, personality, and emotion could be predicted by individual-specific network topography with modest accuracy, comparable to previous reports predicting phenotypes based on connectivity strength. Network topography estimated by MS-HBM was more effective for behavioral prediction than network size, as well as network topography estimated by other parcellation approaches. Thus, similar to connectivity strength, individual-specific network topography might also serve as a fingerprint of human behavior.

Calculations of B1 Distribution, Specific Energy Absorption Rate, and Intrinsic Signal-to-Noise Ratio for a Body-Size Birdcage Coil Loaded with Different Human Subjects at 64 and 128 MHz.

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Liu, W; Collins, C M; Smith, M B

2005-03-01

A numerical model of a female body is developed to study the effects of different body types with different coil drive methods on radio-frequency magnetic ( B 1 ) field distribution, specific energy absorption rate (SAR), and intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (ISNR) for a body-size birdcage coil at 64 and 128 MHz. The coil is loaded with either a larger, more muscular male body model (subject 1) or a newly developed female body model (subject 2), and driven with two-port (quadrature), four-port, or many (ideal) sources. Loading the coil with subject 1 results in significantly less homogeneous B 1 field, higher SAR, and lower ISNR than those for subject 2 at both frequencies. This dependence of MR performance and safety measures on body type indicates a need for a variety of numerical models representative of a diverse population for future calculations. The different drive methods result in similar B 1 field patterns, SAR, and ISNR in all cases.

Nutritional Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly in France in Urban and Rural Areas

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Torres, Marion J.; Dorigny, Béatrice; Kuhn, Mirjam; Berr, Claudine; Barberger-Gateau, Pascale; Letenneur, Luc

2014-01-01

Malnutrition is a frequent condition in elderly people, especially in nursing homes and geriatric wards. Its frequency is less well known among elderly living at home. The objective of this study was to describe the nutritional status evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) of elderly community-dwellers living in rural and urban areas in France and to investigate its associated factors. Methods Subjects aged 65 years and over from the Approche Multidisciplinaire Intégrée (AMI) cohort (692 subjects living in a rural area) and the Three-City (3C) cohort (8,691 subjects living in three large urban zones) were included. A proxy version of the MNA was reconstructed using available data from the AMI cohort. Sensitivity and specificity were used to evaluate the agreement between the proxy version and the standard version in AMI. The proxy MNA was computed in both cohorts to evaluate the frequency of poor nutritional status. Factors associated with this state were investigated in each cohort separately. Results In the rural sample, 38.0% were females and the mean age was 75.5 years. In the urban sample, 60.3% were females and the mean age was 74.1 years. Among subjects in living in the rural sample, 7.4% were in poor nutritional status while the proportion was 18.5% in the urban sample. Female gender, older age, being widowed, a low educational level, low income, low body mass index, being demented, having a depressive symptomatology, a loss of autonomy and an intake of more than 3 drugs appeared to be independently associated with poor nutritional status. Conclusion Poor nutritional status was commonly observed among elderly people living at home in both rural and urban areas. The associated factors should be further considered for targeting particularly vulnerable individuals. PMID:25133755

Nutritional status in community-dwelling elderly in France in urban and rural areas.

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Marion J Torres

Full Text Available Malnutrition is a frequent condition in elderly people, especially in nursing homes and geriatric wards. Its frequency is less well known among elderly living at home. The objective of this study was to describe the nutritional status evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA of elderly community-dwellers living in rural and urban areas in France and to investigate its associated factors.Subjects aged 65 years and over from the Approche Multidisciplinaire Intégrée (AMI cohort (692 subjects living in a rural area and the Three-City (3C cohort (8,691 subjects living in three large urban zones were included. A proxy version of the MNA was reconstructed using available data from the AMI cohort. Sensitivity and specificity were used to evaluate the agreement between the proxy version and the standard version in AMI. The proxy MNA was computed in both cohorts to evaluate the frequency of poor nutritional status. Factors associated with this state were investigated in each cohort separately.In the rural sample, 38.0% were females and the mean age was 75.5 years. In the urban sample, 60.3% were females and the mean age was 74.1 years. Among subjects in living in the rural sample, 7.4% were in poor nutritional status while the proportion was 18.5% in the urban sample. Female gender, older age, being widowed, a low educational level, low income, low body mass index, being demented, having a depressive symptomatology, a loss of autonomy and an intake of more than 3 drugs appeared to be independently associated with poor nutritional status.Poor nutritional status was commonly observed among elderly people living at home in both rural and urban areas. The associated factors should be further considered for targeting particularly vulnerable individuals.

Teaching dilemmas and solutions in content-area literacy, grades 6-12

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Smagorinsky, Peter

2014-01-01

Because literacy is not just the English teacher's job Think literacy is just for English teachers? Not anymore. Nor should it be when you consider  that each discipline has its own unique values and means of expression. These days, it's up to all teachers to communicate what it means to be literate in their disciplines. Here, finally, is a book ambitious enough to tackle the topic across all major subject areas.  Smagorinsky and his colleagues provide an insider's lens on both the states of their fields and their specific literacy requirements, including:  Reviews of the latest issues and res

Ende Diabetes Study: diabetes and its characteristics in rural area of East Nusa Tenggara

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Sarwono Waspadji

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Background: There are only few studies about diabetes in rural area in Indonesia. Epidemiological study are needed to formulate health policy of disease management in specific area. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of diabetes and knowledge of diabetes among the community in Nangapanda Village, Ende District, East Nusa Tenggara.Methods: A cross-sectional study “Ende Diabetes Study” was conducted in Nangapanda Village. This study use cluster random sampling method to a total number of 19756 residents in Nangapanda village. From the sampling frame of 1800 adult subjects who underwent screening with glucometer in 2008 and 2009, 125 subjects have been diagnosed as diabetes or impaired fasting glucose (IFG. All of the subjects who were diagnosed as diabetes or IFG from the previous screening and 218 subjects from control (normal subjects in the 2008 and 2009 screening were included in the present study. Each subject underwent general anamnesis, nutritional interview, complete physical examinations, and laboratory test (blood and urine. The data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0.Ressult: There were 343 subjects in this study. The prevalence of diabetes in Nangapanda using blood glucose criteria (using fasting and post-glucose load values was 2%; using post glucose load criteria, the prevalence of DM was 1.56%; while with HbA1c criteria, the prevalence was 2.83%. The prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT was 2.2%, and IFG was 6.2%. A number of 71.1% Nangapanda residents have sufficient knowledge about diabetes.Conclusion: Prevalence of diabetes in Nangapanda (using fasting and post-glucose load criteria was 2% and 1.56% (using post-glucose load values. As much as 71.1% of Nangapanda residents have sufficient knowledge about diabetes. (Med J Indones. 2013;22:30-8Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Ende Diabetes Study, prevalence, rural Indonesia

Global Assessment of Dengue Virus-Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses in Dengue-Endemic Areas

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Alba Grifoni

2017-10-01

Full Text Available BackgroundDengue is a major public health problem worldwide. Assessment of adaptive immunity is important to understanding immunopathology and to define correlates of protection against dengue virus (DENV. To enable global assessment of CD4+ T cell responses, we mapped HLA-DRB1-restricted DENV-specific CD4+ T cell epitopes in individuals previously exposed to DENV in the general population of the dengue-endemic region of Managua, Nicaragua.MethodsHLA class II epitopes in the population of Managua were identified by an in vitro IFNγ ELISPOT assay. CD4+ T cells purified by magnetic bead negative selection were stimulated with HLA-matched epitope pools in the presence of autologous antigen-presenting cells, followed by pool deconvolution to identify specific epitopes. The epitopes identified in this study were combined with those previously identified in the DENV endemic region of Sri Lanka, to generate a “megapool” (MP consisting of 180 peptides specifically designed to achieve balanced HLA and DENV serotype coverage. The DENV CD4MP180 was validated by intracellular cytokine staining assays.ResultsWe detected responses directed against a total of 431 epitopes, representing all 4 DENV serotypes, restricted by 15 different HLA-DRB1 alleles. The responses were associated with a similar pattern of protein immunodominance, overall higher magnitude of responses, as compared to what was observed previously in the Sri Lanka region. Based on these epitope mapping studies, we designed a DENV CD4 MP180 with higher and more consistent coverage, which allowed the detection of CD4+ T cell DENV responses ex vivo in various cohorts of DENV exposed donors worldwide, including donors from Nicaragua, Brazil, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and U.S. domestic flavivirus-naïve subjects immunized with Tetravalent Dengue Live-Attenuated Vaccine (TV005. This broad reactivity reflects that the 21 HLA-DRB1 alleles analyzed in this and previous studies account for more than 80

Interfacial area measurements in two-phase flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veteau, J.-M.

1979-08-01

A thorough understanding of two-phase flow requires the accurate measurement of the time-averaged interfacial area per unit volume (also called the time-averaged integral specific area). The so-called 'specific area' can be estimated by several techniques described in the literature. These different methods are reviewed and the flow conditions which lead to a rigourous determination of the time-averaged integral specific area are clearly established. The probe technique, involving local measurements seems very attractive because of its large range of application [fr

Landscape of Research Areas for Zeolites and Metal-Organic Frameworks Using Computational Classification Based on Citation Networks

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Takaya Ogawa

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The field of porous materials is widely spreading nowadays, and researchers need to read tremendous numbers of papers to obtain a “bird’s eye” view of a given research area. However, it is difficult for researchers to obtain an objective database based on statistical data without any relation to subjective knowledge related to individual research interests. Here, citation network analysis was applied for a comparative analysis of the research areas for zeolites and metal-organic frameworks as examples for porous materials. The statistical and objective data contributed to the analysis of: (1 the computational screening of research areas; (2 classification of research stages to a certain domain; (3 “well-cited” research areas; and (4 research area preferences of specific countries. Moreover, we proposed a methodology to assist researchers to gain potential research ideas by reviewing related research areas, which is based on the detection of unfocused ideas in one area but focused in the other area by a bibliometric approach.

Age- and Sex-Associated Changes in Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Normal Healthy Subjects: Statistical Parametric Mapping Analysis of F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Brain Positron Emission Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, In-Ju; Kim, Seong-Jang; Kim, Yong-Ki

2009-01-01

Background: The age- and sex-associated changes of brain development are unclear and controversial. Several previous studies showed conflicting results of a specific pattern of cerebral glucose metabolism or no differences of cerebral glucose metabolism in association with normal aging process and sex. Purpose: To investigate the effects of age and sex on changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in healthy subjects using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) brain positron emission tomography (PET) and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis. Material and Methods: Seventy-eight healthy subjects (32 males, mean age 46.6±18.2 years; 46 females, mean age 40.6±19.8 years) underwent F-18 FDG brain PET. Using SPM, age- and sex-associated changes in cerebral glucose metabolism were investigated. Results: In males, a negative correlation existed in several gray matter areas, including the right temporopolar (Brodmann area [BA] 38), right orbitofrontal (BA 47), left orbitofrontal gyrus (BA 10), left dorsolateral frontal gyrus (BA 8), and left insula (BA 13) areas. A positive relationship existed in the left claustrum and left thalamus. In females, negative changes existed in the left caudate body, left temporopolar area (BA 38), right orbitofrontal gyri (BA 47 and BA 10), and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46). A positive association was demonstrated in the left subthalamic nucleus and the left superior frontal gyrus. In white matter, an age-associated decrease in FDG uptake in males was shown in the left insula, and increased FDG uptake was found in the left corpus callosum. The female group had an age-associated negative correlation of FDG uptake only in the right corpus callosum. Conclusion: Using SPM, we found not only similar areas of brain, but also sex-specific cerebral areas of age-associated changes of FDG uptake

Age- and Sex-Associated Changes in Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Normal Healthy Subjects: Statistical Parametric Mapping Analysis of F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Brain Positron Emission Tomography

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Kim, In-Ju; Kim, Seong-Jang; Kim, Yong-Ki (Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Pusan National Univ. Hospital, Busan (Korea); Medical Research Institute, Pusan National Univ., Busan (Korea)). e-mail: growthkim@daum.net/growthkim@pusan.ac.kr)

2009-12-15

Background: The age- and sex-associated changes of brain development are unclear and controversial. Several previous studies showed conflicting results of a specific pattern of cerebral glucose metabolism or no differences of cerebral glucose metabolism in association with normal aging process and sex. Purpose: To investigate the effects of age and sex on changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in healthy subjects using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) brain positron emission tomography (PET) and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis. Material and Methods: Seventy-eight healthy subjects (32 males, mean age 46.6+-18.2 years; 46 females, mean age 40.6+-19.8 years) underwent F-18 FDG brain PET. Using SPM, age- and sex-associated changes in cerebral glucose metabolism were investigated. Results: In males, a negative correlation existed in several gray matter areas, including the right temporopolar (Brodmann area [BA] 38), right orbitofrontal (BA 47), left orbitofrontal gyrus (BA 10), left dorsolateral frontal gyrus (BA 8), and left insula (BA 13) areas. A positive relationship existed in the left claustrum and left thalamus. In females, negative changes existed in the left caudate body, left temporopolar area (BA 38), right orbitofrontal gyri (BA 47 and BA 10), and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46). A positive association was demonstrated in the left subthalamic nucleus and the left superior frontal gyrus. In white matter, an age-associated decrease in FDG uptake in males was shown in the left insula, and increased FDG uptake was found in the left corpus callosum. The female group had an age-associated negative correlation of FDG uptake only in the right corpus callosum. Conclusion: Using SPM, we found not only similar areas of brain, but also sex-specific cerebral areas of age-associated changes of FDG uptake

Size of corpus callosum in normal subjects and patients with Alzheimer's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshii, Fumihito; Duara, R.

1989-01-01

The area of the corpus callosum (CC) on midsagittal spin-echo sequence magnetic resonance (MR) scans was measured in 64 normal subjects and 12 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The normal subjects consisted of 32 males and 32 females, aged 25 to 83 years old. There was no significant age difference between males and females. Fifty-five out of the 64 subjects were right-handed (RH) and 9 were left-handed or ambidextrous (NRH). Among patients with AD, 5 were males and 7 were females, aged 53 to 79 years old. Diagnosis of AD was performed mainly based on clinical history, magnetic resonance image (MRI) and positron emission tomographic findings. The outline of the CC on midsagittal MR film was traced and the total callosal sectional area (CCT) as well as the anterior half (CCA), posterior half (CCP) and posterior 5th or splenium (CCS) area measurements were performed using a planimeter. In either normal males or females, the CCA showed a significant negative correlation with age, but the CCP and the CCS did not correlate with age. Total CC (CCT) area was 691.2±91.0 sq. mm for the whole group and no difference was found between males and females. When the CC area was normalized with respect to the midsagittal area of the supratentorial portion of the brain (MSB), females were found to have a large CC than males. No portion of the CC area was significantly different between RH and NRH subjects in absolute or normalized measures. Compared with 36 age-matched normals, patients with AD had smaller MSB and each portion of the CC, with significant reduction in the CCA and the CCT. In conclusion, relationships between age, sex and the size of the CC have been found, providing some insights into the connectivity of the human brain. Characteristics of white matter loss in AD were also clarified in this study. (author)

GPs' negotiation strategies regarding sick leave for subjective health complaints.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsen, Stein; Malterud, Kirsti; Werner, Erik L; Maeland, Silje; Magnussen, Liv Heide

2015-03-01

To explore general practitioners' (GPs') specific negotiation strategies regarding sick-leave issues with patients suffering from subjective health complaints. Focus-group study. Nine focus-group interviews in three cities in different regions of Norway. 48 GPs (31 men, 17 women; age 32-65), participating in a course dealing with diagnostic practice and assessment of sickness certificates related to patients with subjective health complaints. The GPs identified some specific strategies that they claimed to apply when dealing with the question of sick leave for patients with subjective health complaints. The first step would be to build an alliance with the patient by complying with the wish for sick leave, and at the same time searching for information to acquire the patient's perspective. This position would become the basis for the main goal: motivating the patient for a rapid return to work by pointing out the positive effects of staying at work, making legal and moral arguments, and warning against long-term sick leave. Additional solutions might also be applied, such as involving other stakeholders in this process to provide alternatives to sick leave. GPs seem to have a conscious approach to negotiations of sickness certification, as they report applying specific strategies to limit the duration of sick leave due to subjective health complaints. This give-and-take way of handling sick-leave negotiations has been suggested by others to enhance return to work, and should be further encouraged. However, specific effectiveness of this strategy is yet to be proven, and further investigation into the actual dealings between doctor and patients in these complex encounters is needed.

EEG classification of emotions using emotion-specific brain functional network.

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Gonuguntla, V; Shafiq, G; Wang, Y; Veluvolu, K C

2015-08-01

The brain functional network perspective forms the basis to relate mechanisms of brain functions. This work analyzes the network mechanisms related to human emotion based on synchronization measure - phase-locking value in EEG to formulate the emotion specific brain functional network. Based on network dissimilarities between emotion and rest tasks, most reactive channel pairs and the reactive band corresponding to emotions are identified. With the identified most reactive pairs, the subject-specific functional network is formed. The identified subject-specific and emotion-specific dynamic network pattern show significant synchrony variation in line with the experiment protocol. The same network pattern are then employed for classification of emotions. With the study conducted on the 4 subjects, an average classification accuracy of 62 % was obtained with the proposed technique.

Dissecting contributions of prefrontal cortex and fusiform face area to face working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Druzgal, T Jason; D'Esposito, Mark

2003-08-15

Interactions between prefrontal cortex (PFC) and stimulus-specific visual cortical association areas are hypothesized to mediate visual working memory in behaving monkeys. To clarify the roles for homologous regions in humans, event-related fMRI was used to assess neural activity in PFC and fusiform face area (FFA) of subjects performing a delay-recognition task for faces. In both PFC and FFA, activity increased parametrically with memory load during encoding and maintenance of face stimuli, despite quantitative differences in the magnitude of activation. Moreover, timing differences in PFC and FFA activation during memory encoding and retrieval implied a context dependence in the flow of neural information. These results support existing neurophysiological models of visual working memory developed in the nonhuman primate.

Automated longitudinal intra-subject analysis (ALISA) for diffusion MRI tractography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarnink, Saskia H; Vos, Sjoerd B; Leemans, Alexander

2014-01-01

the inter-subject and intra-subject automation in this situation are intended for subjects without gross pathology. In this work, we propose such an automated longitudinal intra-subject analysis (dubbed ALISA) approach, and assessed whether ALISA could preserve the same level of reliability as obtained....... The major disadvantage of manual FT segmentations, unfortunately, is that placing regions-of-interest for tract selection can be very labor-intensive and time-consuming. Although there are several methods that can identify specific WM fiber bundles in an automated way, manual FT segmentations across...... multiple subjects performed by a trained rater with neuroanatomical expertise are generally assumed to be more accurate. However, for longitudinal DTI analyses it may still be beneficial to automate the FT segmentation across multiple time points, but then for each individual subject separately. Both...

Nonlinear analysis of LWR components: areas of investigation/benefits/recommendations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, S. J. [ed.

1980-04-01

The purpose of this study is to identify specific topics of investigation into design procedures, design concepts, methods of analysis, testing practices, and standards which are characterized by nonlinear behavior (both geometric and material) and which are considered to offer some economic and/or technical benefits to the LWR industry (excluding piping). In this study these topics were collected, compiled, and subjectively evaluated as to their potential benefit. The topics considered to have the greatest benefit/impact potential are discussed. The topics listed are based upon the experience of ODAI and also based upon a sampling of over 100 engineers/scientists in the LWR industry. The topics of investigation were found to fall basically into three areas: component, code interpretation, and load/failure mechanism. The topics are arbitrarily reorganized into six areas of investigation: Fracture, Fatigue, Vibration/Dynamic/Seismic, Plasticity, Component/Computational Considerations, and Code Interpretation.

Nonlinear analysis of LWR components: areas of investigation/benefits/recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, S.J.

1980-04-01

The purpose of this study is to identify specific topics of investigation into design procedures, design concepts, methods of analysis, testing practices, and standards which are characterized by nonlinear behavior (both geometric and material) and which are considered to offer some economic and/or technical benefits to the LWR industry (excluding piping). In this study these topics were collected, compiled, and subjectively evaluated as to their potential benefit. The topics considered to have the greatest benefit/impact potential are discussed. The topics listed are based upon the experience of ODAI and also based upon a sampling of over 100 engineers/scientists in the LWR industry. The topics of investigation were found to fall basically into three areas: component, code interpretation, and load/failure mechanism. The topics are arbitrarily reorganized into six areas of investigation: Fracture, Fatigue, Vibration/Dynamic/Seismic, Plasticity, Component/Computational Considerations, and Code Interpretation

Cortical thickness and surface area correlates with cognitive dysfunction among first-episode psychosis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Haring, L; Müürsepp, A; Mõttus, R; Ilves, P; Koch, K; Uppin, K; Tarnovskaja, J; Maron, E; Zharkovsky, A; Vasar, E; Vasar, V

2016-07-01

In studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), some have reported specific brain structure-function relationships among first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, but findings are inconsistent. We aimed to localize the brain regions where cortical thickness (CTh) and surface area (cortical area; CA) relate to neurocognition, by performing an MRI on participants and measuring their neurocognitive performance using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), in order to investigate any significant differences between FEP patients and control subjects (CS). Exploration of potential correlations between specific cognitive functions and brain structure was performed using CANTAB computer-based neurocognitive testing and a vertex-by-vertex whole-brain MRI analysis of 63 FEP patients and 30 CS. Significant correlations were found between cortical parameters in the frontal, temporal, cingular and occipital brain regions and performance in set-shifting, working memory manipulation, strategy usage and sustained attention tests. These correlations were significantly dissimilar between FEP patients and CS. Significant correlations between CTh and CA with neurocognitive performance were localized in brain areas known to be involved in cognition. The results also suggested a disrupted structure-function relationship in FEP patients compared with CS.

Adverse life events, area socioeconomic disadvantage, and psychopathology and resilience in young children: the importance of risk factors' accumulation and protective factors' specificity.

Science.gov (United States)

Flouri, Eirini; Tzavidis, Nikos; Kallis, Constantinos

2010-06-01

Few studies on resilience in young children model risk appropriately and test theory-led hypotheses about its moderation. This study addressed both issues. Our hypothesis was that for preschool children's emotional/behavioral adjustment in the face of contextual risk protective factors should be located in the cognitive domain. Data were from the first two sweeps of the UK's Millennium Cohort Study. The final study sample was 4,748 three-year-old children clustered in 1,549 Lower layer Super Output Areas in nine strata. Contextual risk was measured at both area (with the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and family (with proximal and distal adverse life events experienced) level. Moderator variables were parenting, verbal and non-verbal ability, developmental milestones, and temperament. Multivariate multilevel models-that allowed for correlated residuals at both individual and area level-and univariate multilevel models estimated risk effects on specific and broad psychopathology. At baseline, proximal family risk, distal family risk and area risk were all associated with broad psychopathology, although the most parsimonious was the proximal family risk model. The area risk/broad psychopathology association remained significant even after family risk was controlled but not after family level socioeconomic disadvantage was controlled. The cumulative family risk was more parsimonious than the specific family risks model. Non-verbal ability moderated the effect of proximal family risk on conduct and emotional problems, and developmental milestones moderated the effect of proximal family risk on conduct problems. The findings highlight the importance of modeling contextual risk appropriately and of locating in the cognitive domain factors that buffer its effect on young children's adjustment.

Vibration Response Imaging: evaluation of rater agreement in healthy subjects and subjects with pneumonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartziokas, Konstantinos; Daenas, Christos; Preau, Sebastien; Zygoulis, Paris; Triantaris, Apostolos; Kerenidi, Theodora; Makris, Demosthenes; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I; Daniil, Zoe

2010-01-01

We evaluated pulmonologists variability in the interpretation of Vibration response imaging (VRI) obtained from healthy subjects and patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia. The present is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary university hospital. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty three pneumonia cases were included in this study. Six pulmonologists blindly analyzed images of normal subjects and pneumonia cases and evaluated different aspects of VRI images related to the quality of data aquisition, synchronization of the progression of breath sound distribution and agreement between the maximal energy frame (MEF) of VRI (which is the maximal geographical area of lung vibrations produced at maximal inspiration) and chest radiography. For qualitative assessment of VRI images, the raters' evaluations were analyzed by degree of consistency and agreement. The average value for overall identical evaluations of twelve features of the VRI image evaluation, ranged from 87% to 95% per rater (94% to 97% in control cases and from 79% to 93% per rater in pneumonia cases). Inter-rater median (IQR) agreement was 91% (82-96). The level of agreement according to VRI feature evaluated was in most cases over 80%; intra-class correlation (ICC) obtained by using a model of subject/rater for the averaged features was overall 0.86 (0.92 in normal and 0.73 in pneumonia cases). Our findings suggest good agreement in the interpretation of VRI data between different raters. In this respect, VRI might be helpful as a radiation free diagnostic tool for the management of pneumonia

Vibration Response Imaging: evaluation of rater agreement in healthy subjects and subjects with pneumonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makris Demosthenes

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We evaluated pulmonologists variability in the interpretation of Vibration response imaging (VRI obtained from healthy subjects and patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia. Methods The present is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary university hospital. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty three pneumonia cases were included in this study. Six pulmonologists blindly analyzed images of normal subjects and pneumonia cases and evaluated different aspects of VRI images related to the quality of data aquisition, synchronization of the progression of breath sound distribution and agreement between the maximal energy frame (MEF of VRI (which is the maximal geographical area of lung vibrations produced at maximal inspiration and chest radiography. For qualitative assessment of VRI images, the raters' evaluations were analyzed by degree of consistency and agreement. Results The average value for overall identical evaluations of twelve features of the VRI image evaluation, ranged from 87% to 95% per rater (94% to 97% in control cases and from 79% to 93% per rater in pneumonia cases. Inter-rater median (IQR agreement was 91% (82-96. The level of agreement according to VRI feature evaluated was in most cases over 80%; intra-class correlation (ICC obtained by using a model of subject/rater for the averaged features was overall 0.86 (0.92 in normal and 0.73 in pneumonia cases. Conclusions Our findings suggest good agreement in the interpretation of VRI data between different raters. In this respect, VRI might be helpful as a radiation free diagnostic tool for the management of pneumonia.

Diagnostic performance of a CT-based scoring system for diagnosis of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy: comparison with subjective CT assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goense, Lucas; Rossum, Peter S.N. van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Surgery, Utrecht (Netherlands); University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiation Oncology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Stassen, Pauline M.C.; Ruurda, Jelle P.; Hillegersberg, Richard van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Surgery, Utrecht (Netherlands); Wessels, Frank J.; Leeuwen, Maarten S. van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2017-10-15

To develop a CT-based prediction score for anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy and compare it to subjective CT interpretation. Consecutive patients who underwent a CT scan for a clinical suspicion of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis between 2003 and 2014 were analyzed. The CT scans were systematically re-evaluated by two radiologists for the presence of specific CT findings and presence of an anastomotic leak. Also, the original CT interpretations were acquired. These results were compared to patients with and without a clinical confirmed leak. Out of 122 patients that underwent CT for a clinical suspicion of anastomotic leakage; 54 had a confirmed leak. In multivariable analysis, anastomotic leakage was associated with mediastinal fluid (OR = 3.4), esophagogastric wall discontinuity (OR = 4.9), mediastinal air (OR = 6.6), and a fistula (OR = 7.2). Based on these criteria, a prediction score was developed resulting in an area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 0.86, sensitivity of 80%, and specificity of 84%. The original interpretation and the systematic subjective CT assessment by two radiologists resulted in AUCs of 0.68 and 0.75 with sensitivities of 52% and 69%, and specificities of 84% and 82%, respectively. This CT-based score may provide improved diagnostic performance for diagnosis of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy. (orig.)

Circulating irisin levels are positively associated with metabolic risk factors in sedentary subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, María; Moreno-Navarrete, José María; Serrano, Marta; Ortega, Francisco; Delgado, Elías; Sanchez-Ragnarsson, Cecilia; Valdés, Sergio; Botas, Patricia; Ricart, Wifredo; Fernández-Real, José Manuel

2015-01-01

A physically active life-style plays an independent role in the protection against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Irisin, a novel exercise-induced myokine, activates thermogenesis in rodents through increasing beige fat cells abundance within white fat. We aimed to investigate circulating irisin levels in association with the degree of physical activity and various metabolic parameters in humans. Circulating irisin levels (ELISA) and metabolic parameters were analyzed in 428 subjects (195 men/233 women). Participants were classified according to their self-reported physical activity and to their area of residence. Circulating irisin levels were higher in active than in sedentary subjects (p = 0.006). Rural inhabitants showed higher circulating irisin levels than urban subjects (p sedentary participants, irisin levels were positively associated with metabolic risk factors (BMI, fasting insulin, HOMA and fasting triglycerides). The area of residence (β = - 0.592, p = sedentary participants, circulating irisin levels were positively associated with parameters related to an increased cardiometabolic risk. The present study confirmed that an active lifestyle increases circulating irisin levels, but only among subjects living in a rural environment. Area of residence might be a determinant of irisin levels.

Mesoporous TiO{sub 2} aggregate photoanode with high specific surface area and strong light scattering for dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Chunhui; Luo, Yanhong; Guo, Xiaozhi; Li, Dongmei [Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Mi, Jianli; So, Lasse; Hald, Peter [Center for Materials Crystallography, Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus (Denmark); Meng, Qingbo, E-mail: qbmeng@iphy.ac.cn [Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Iversen, Bo B., E-mail: bo@chem.au.dk [Center for Materials Crystallography, Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus (Denmark)

2012-12-15

Phase-pure anatase TiO{sub 2} nanocrystallite aggregates synthesized by a continuous supercritical fluid process have been first used for fabricating mesoporous photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Due to the small size (11 nm) of the TiO{sub 2} nanocrystallites in the aggregates, the mesoporous photoanode provides a high specific surface area, 80 m{sup 2}/g, which ensures high dye loading. At the same time, the submicrometer-sized aggregates endow the mesoporous photoanode with strong light scattering effect. Therefore, the light harvesting efficiency of the photoanode is increased. With an improved short-circuit current density, a high overall power conversion efficiency of 8.65% (100 mW/cm{sup 2}, AM 1.5) is achieved without additional scattering layers, 12% enhanced compared with the DSCs fabricated from commercial Degussa P25 with exactly the same procedures. In addition, this supercritical fluid process is scalable and rapid (less than one minute) for TiO{sub 2} aggregates synthesis, which will push the commercialization of DSCs in the future. - Graphical abstract: Due to the special morphology and structure, the photoanode of DSCs provides high specific surface area and strong light scattering at the same time, which results in high conversion efficiencies of the DSCs. Table of contents: Thanks to the synchronous realization of high specific surface area and strong light scattering, a high efficiency of 8.65% was achieved based on a novel mesoporous TiO{sub 2} aggregates photoanode for DSCs. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The TiO{sub 2} aggregate photoanode provides a possible route for highly efficient DSCs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Photoanode with high dye loading and light scattering is successfully fabricated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer TiO{sub 2} synthesized by a supercritical fluid process is first applied to DSCs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The synthesis method and high efficiency will push the commercialization of DSCs.

The neural networks of subjectively evaluated emotional conflicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohr, Christiane S; Villringer, Arno; Solms-Baruth, Carolina; van der Meer, Elke; Margulies, Daniel S; Okon-Singer, Hadas

2016-06-01

Previous work on the neural underpinnings of emotional conflict processing has largely focused on designs that instruct participants to ignore a distracter which conflicts with a target. In contrast, this study investigated the noninstructed experience and evaluation of an emotional conflict, where positive or negative cues can be subjectively prioritized. To this end, healthy participants freely watched short film scenes that evoked emotional conflicts while their BOLD responses were measured. Participants' individual ratings of conflict and valence perception during the film scenes were collected immediately afterwards, and the individual ratings were regressed against the BOLD data. Our analyses revealed that (a) amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex were significantly involved in prioritizing positive or negative cues, but not in subjective evaluations of conflict per se, and (b) superior temporal sulcus (STS) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), which have been implicated in social cognition and emotion control, were involved in both prioritizing positive or negative cues and subjectively evaluating conflict, and may thus constitute "hubs" or "switches" in emotional conflict processing. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses further revealed stronger functional connectivity between IPL and ventral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing negative cues, and stronger connectivity between STS and dorsal-rostral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing positive cues. In sum, our results suggest that IPL and STS are important in the subjective evaluation of complex conflicts and influence valence prioritization via prefrontal and parietal control centers. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2234-2246, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Magnetic Resonance Volumetry: Prediction of Subjective Memory Complaints and Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Associations with Genetic and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigbjørn Rogne

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Subjective memory complaints (SMC are strong predictors of mild cognitive impairment (MCI and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease. Our aims were to see if fully automated cerebral MR volume measurements could distinguish subjects with SMC and MCI from controls, and if probable parental late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD, apolipoprotein E ε4 genotype, total plasma homocysteine, and cardiovascular risk factors were associated with MR volumetric findings. Methods: 198 stroke-free subjects comprised the control (n = 58, the SMC (n = 25 and the MCI (n = 115 groups. Analysis of covariance and receiver operating characteristic curve was used to see if MR volumetry distinguished subjects with SMC and MCI from controls. Results: Subjects with SMC and MCI had significantly larger lateral ventricles and smaller hippocampal volumes than controls. The area under the curve in subjects with SMC and MCI compared to that of controls was less than 0.68 for all volumes of intracranial structures. There was an interaction between sex and probable parental LOAD for hippocampal volume, with a significant association between probable parental LOAD and hippocampal volume in women. Conclusions: Fully automated MR volumetry can distinguish subjects with SMC and MCI from controls in a general population, but insufficiently to assume a clear clinical role. Research on sporadic LOAD might benefit from a sex-specific search for genetic risk factors.

Altered spontaneous activity in anisometropic amblyopia subjects: revealed by resting-state FMRI.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoming Lin

Full Text Available Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, usually occurs during early childhood and results in poor or blurred vision. Recent neuroimaging studies have found cortical structural/functional abnormalities in amblyopia. However, until now, it was still not known whether the spontaneous activity of the brain changes in amblyopia subjects. In the present study, regional homogeneity (ReHo, a measure of the homogeneity of functional magnetic resonance imaging signals, was used for the first time to investigate changes in resting-state local spontaneous brain activity in individuals with anisometropic amblyopia. Compared with age- and gender-matched subjects with normal vision, the anisometropic amblyopia subjects showed decreased ReHo of spontaneous brain activity in the right precuneus, the left medial prefrontal cortex, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the left cerebellum, and increased ReHo of spontaneous brain activity was found in the bilateral conjunction area of the postcentral and precentral gyri, the left paracentral lobule, the left superior temporal gyrus, the left fusiform gyrus, the conjunction area of the right insula, putamen and the right middle occipital gyrus. The observed decreases in ReHo may reflect decreased visuo-motor processing ability, and the increases in ReHo in the somatosensory cortices, the motor areas and the auditory area may indicate compensatory plasticity in amblyopia.

Effects of substrate concentration, specific surface area and hydraulic loading on the treatment efficiency in a submerged biological filter. Sesshoku bakkiho no shori koritsu ni taisuru kishitsu nodo, hihyo menseki oyobi suiryo fuka no eikyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iyo, T; Ono, S; Yoshino, T [Kitasato University, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Hygienic Science