Chronic pain in elderly people

Using the fear-potentiated startle paradigm in rats, 4 experiments examined whether the inhibitory effect of a feature is evident after its offset following serial feature-negative discrimination training (A+ and X-->A-). When startle probes were presented shortly after the offset of X on X-->A test trials, the inhibitory properties of X were observed immediately after its offset. Furthermore, trace reinforcement of X (X-->+), but not delay reinforcement (X+), disrupted the ability of X to inhibit fear-potentiated startle on X-->A trials. Trace conditioning to X was also retarded after A+ and X-->A- training. These results suggest that the inhibitory properties of the serially trained feature are present after its offset and raise the possibility that either temporal information regarding nonreinforcement or poststimulus attributes of X acquire inhibitory properties.     

Magnet Safety Assessment for ITER

The ITER magnet system consists of structurally linked sets of toroidal (TF) and poloidal (PF) field coils, central solenoid (CS), and various support structures. The coils are superconducting, force flow Helium cooled with a Kapton-Glass-Epoxy multilayer insulation system. The stored magnetic energy is about 100GJ in the TF system and 20GJ in the PF-CS. Coils and structure are maintained at 4 K by enclosing them in a vacuum cryostat. The cryostat, comprising an outer envelope to the magnets, forms most of the second radioactivity confinement barrier. The inner primary barrier is formed by the vacuum vessel, its ports and their extensions. To keep the machine size within acceptable bounds, it is essential that the magnets are in close proximity to both of the nuclear confinement barriers. The objective of the magnet design is that, although local damage to one of the barriers may occur in very exceptional circumstances, large scale magnet structural or thermal failure leading to simultaneous breaching of both barriers is not credible. Magnet accidents fall into three categories: thermal (which includes arcing arising from insulation failure and local overheating due to discharge failure in the event of a superconductor quench), structural (which includes component mechanical failure arising from material inadequacies, design errors and exceptional force patterns arising from coil shorts or control failures), and fluid (Helium release due to cooling line failure). After a preliminary survey to select initial faults conceivable within the present design, these faults are systematically analyzed to provide an assessment of the damage potential. The results of this damage assessment together with an assessment of the reliability of the monitoring and protective systems, shows that the magnets can operate with the required safety condition.     

Finite element beam propagation method for three-dimensionaloptical waveguide structures

A beam propagation method (BPM) based on the finite element method (FEM) is described for longitudinally varying three-dimensional (3-D) optical waveguides. In order to avoid nonphysical reflections from the computational window edges, the transparent boundary condition is introduced. The present algorithm using the Pade approximation is, to our knowledge, the first wide-angle finite element beam propagation method for 3-D waveguide structures. To show the validity and usefulness of this approach, numerical results are shown for Gaussian-beam excitation of a straight rib waveguide and guided-mode propagation in a Y-branching rib waveguide     

A fully soft-switched extended-period quasi-resonantpower-factor-correction circuit

This paper presents the design criteria, procedure, and implementation of a soft-switched power-factor-correction (PFC) circuit based on the extended-period quasi-resonant (EPQR) principles. All power electronic devices including switches and diodes in the circuit are fully soft switched. The design method is demonstrated in a prototype circuit. The operating principles are confirmed with computer simulation and experimental results. A comparison of the EP-QR operation and zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) pulse-width modulation (PWM) method     

Densification involved in the UV-based photosensitivity of silicaglasses and optical fibers

A comprehensive survey of photosensitivity in silica glasses and optical fiber is reviewed. Recent work on understanding the mechanisms contributing to germanium or aluminum doped fiber photosensitivity is discussed within the framework of photoelastic densification models     

Automatic fault detection, isolation, and recovery in transparentall-optical networks

Network fault identification is an important network management function, which is closely related to fault management and has an impact on other network management functions such as configuration management, and performance management. This paper investigates fault surveillance and fault identification mechanisms for a transparent optical network in which data travels optically from the source node to the destination node without going through any optical-to-electrical (O/E) or electrical-to-optical (E/O) conversion. Mechanisms and algorithms are proposed to detect and isolate faults such as fiber cuts, laser, receiver, or router failures. These mechanisms allow nonintrusive device monitoring without requiring any prior knowledge of the actual protocols being used in the data transmission     

A new lateral MOS-gated thyristor with controlling base-current

A new lateral MOS-gated thyristor, called the Base-Current-Controlled Thyristor, is described. This device is designed so that most holes at the on-stage reach the P base through the floating P⁺ region adjacent to the P base and the on-state MOSFET. At the turn-off stage, the interruption of the hole current to the P base due to switching off the above MOSFET occurs simultaneously with the conventional turn-off operation. The concept of this device is verified experimentally by using the fabricated lateral device with the external MOSFET. This device exhibits a better trade-off relation between the on-state voltage and the turn-off time compared uith the conventional MOS-gated thyristor     

Series equivalence/operation of current-controlled boost-typesingle-phase voltage source converters for bidirectional power flow

Single-phase voltage source power converters (VSCs) under consideration are AC-DC current-controlled boost-type power converters with bidirectional power-handling capability. Equivalence between two series-connected two-level power converters and a single three-level power converter is considered here. Further considered is the series operation of three-level power converters. Simulation results and experimental verification for both are provided. Economical configurations of three-level power converters leading to multilevel waveforms are presented thereafter     

Perineurioma: an unusual cause of an external auditory canal polyp

BACKGROUND: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is used to treat intestinal failure. A minority of HPN patients are dependent on opiates and benzodiazepines to control pain and anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine what effects such drug dependence had on patient outcomes. METHODS: Ten dependent patients were prospectively compared with 10 well-matched, nondependent HPN patients for the same 12-month period. Episodes of line sepsis and other complications were documented and the cost of treatment estimated. Health status was measured using the SF36 and EuroQol instruments. RESULTS: The dependent group had significantly more episodes of central line sepsis (p = .0007) as well as other complications (p = .0002). This led to significantly longer periods of inpatient care (p = .0004) and therefore higher costs of treatment. Health status was lower in the dependent group; they reported more pain (p = .04) and less energy (p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: The complication rate and increased cost of treatment for opiate- and sedative-dependent patients receiving HPN significantly detract from the overall outcome of this therapy.