Mechanism of Alzheimer neurofibrillary degeneration and the formation of tangles

The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of anesthesia obtained with 2% lidocaine with three different concentrations of epinephrine for inferior alveolar nerve block. Using a repeated measures design, 30 subjects randomly received an inferior alveolar injection using masked cartridges of each solution at three successive appointments. The first molar, first premolar, lateral incisor, and contralateral canine (control) were blindly tested with an Analytic Technology pulp tester at 3-min cycles for 50 min. No statistically significant differences in success and failure were found among the 1:50,000, 1:80,000, and 1:100,000 concentrations of epinephrine.     

Enhanced frustrative nonreward effect following 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the lateral septum in the rat.

Tested the effect of local injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA [3 μg/1 μl]) into the lateral septum in a paradigm that leads to an energizing behavior, through a possible frustrative effect, induced by partial or total omission of reward in hungry adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Biochemical assays in the septum showed that 6-OHDA reduced endogenous dopamine and, to a lesser extent, noradrenaline concentrations and left intact noncatecholaminergic neurons such as serotoninergic terminals. In a double straight alley, Ss were exposed to an acquisition phase, a partially reinforced phase, and an extinction phase. Ss with lesions ran faster for food than controls in the partial reinforcement or extinction situation. The 2 groups also behaved similarly after the 1st 6 trials of the extinction phase. When Ss were tested in a leverpress conditioning task, lesioned and control Ss learned this task equally well, both with respect to the number of leverpresses and the time to obtain a fixed number of food pellets. In the 1st 5 min following the omission of reward, the number of leverpresses increased more for the lesioned Ss than for controls, a difference that disappeared in the later stages of the test. Results indicate that the loss of septal dopaminergic innervation produces behavioral effects similar to those obtained after total destruction of the same areas by electrocoagulation. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptomatic cardiomyopathy as a presentation in Whipple's disease

A patient presenting with congestive cardiac failure and anaemia underwent investigation which led to the diagnosis of Whipple's disease, associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. Conventional antibiotic therapy for Whipple's disease resulted in resolution of the traditional features of Whipple's disease and a marked improvement in the patient's heart failure.     

Solid-state reaction kinetics of the system CaO-FeO

The solid-state reaction mechanisms of the CaO-FeO system have been studied by a diffusion couple method in the temperature range of 1073 to 1273 K, under controlled oxygen-partial pressures. The interdiffusivities and intrinsic diffusivities of Ca²⁺ and Fe²⁺ have been determined in the limited FeO solid-solution range. Based on the obtained results, a solid-state reaction model of the system has been developed, taking account of the formation of the Ca₂Fe₂O₅ phase. According to the model, the diffusivities of Fe³⁻ in the Ca₂Fe₂O₅ phase have been estimated at 1273 K.     

Multichannel operation of AOTF switches: reducingchannel-to-channel interaction

An acoustooptic tunable filter (AOTF) can be used as a multichannel wavelength-routing switch; however, switching efficiency decreases and the switched wavelength channels shift toward each other when neighboring channels are selected simultaneously. We explain the cause of this behavior and show how to reduce the degradation in switch characteristics using a combination of passband flattening and counterpropagating acoustic waves     

Ten-to-twenty gigabit-per-second modulation performance of1.5-μm distributed feedback lasers for frequency-shift-keying systems

The frequency modulation (FM) and amplitude modulation (AM) responses of a 1.5-μm distributed feedback (DFB) laser were measured to 15 GHz. At 9-mW output power, the magnitude of the FM response was flat out to 12 GHz, and there was a 15-25-ps delay between the FM and AM responses. Computer simulation techniques indicate that the measured FM response is adequate to produce good eye patterns for frequency-shift-keying modulation at data rates up to 20 Gb/s. The high-speed frequency-shift-keying modulation capability of this 1.5-μm DFB laser was experimentally confirmed at 11 Gb/s     

Bioinspired and Hierarchically Textile-Structured Soft Actuators for Healthcare Wearables

Soft pneumatic actuators possess the increasing potential for various healthcare applications, such as smart wearable devices, safe human-robot interaction, and flexible manipulators. However, it is difficult to translate the existing technologies to commercial applications due to their inefficient volumetric power, sophisticated control with high operation pressure, slow production, and high cost. To overcome these issues, herein, a caterpillar-inspired actuator using hierarchical textile architectures based on simple fabrication and low-cost strategy is designed. Unlike the existing textile-based pneumatic actuators, the designed actuators are constructed by combining boucle fancy yarns with a novel trilayer-knit architecture. The as-prepared actuators concurrently possess fast response (1100° s⁻¹), large bending actuation strain (1080° m⁻¹), high-power density (272 W m⁻³), mechanical robustness, easy-programmable motions, and human-tactile comfort, which outperforms currently reported textile-based pneumatic actuators. Furthermore, due to the geometrical transition of the engineered hierarchical structure, the developed actuators exhibit superior dual-stiffness effect with stress evolution, providing a facile approach to addressing the conflict of flexibility and force output in soft fluidic actuators. This concept as a paradigm provides new insights to develop soft actuators with outstanding design flexibility, adaptability, and multifunctionality using engineered textile-structure, which has great potential for real-world applications in medical rehabilitation, physiotherapy, and soft robotics.     

Migration of existing software systems to mobile computing platforms: a systematic mapping study

Mobile computing has fast emerged as a pervasive technology to replace the old computing paradigms with portable computation and context-aware communication. Existing software systems can be migrated (while preserving their data and logic) to mobile computing platforms that support portability, context-sensitivity, and enhanced usability. In recent years, some research and development efforts have focused on a systematic migration of existing software systems to mobile computing platforms.To investigate the research state-of-the-art on the migration of existing software systems to mobile computing platforms. We aim to analyze the progression and impacts of existing research, highlight challenges and solutions that reflect dimensions of emerging and futuristic research.We followed evidence-based software engineering (EBSE) method to conduct a systematic mapping study (SMS) of the existing research that has progressed over more than a decade (25 studies published from 1996–2017).We have derived a taxonomical classification and a holistic mapping of the existing research to investigate its progress, impacts, and potential areas of futuristic research and development.The SMS has identified three types of migration namely Static, Dynamic, and State-based Migration of existing software systems to mobile computing platforms.Migration to mobile computing platforms enables existing software systems to achieve portability, context-sensitivity, and high connectivity. However, mobile systems may face some challenges such as resource poverty, data security, and privacy. The emerging and futuristic research aims to support patterns and tool support to automate the migration process. The results of this SMS can benefit researchers and practitioners–by highlighting challenges, solutions, and tools, etc., –to conceptualize the state-ofthe- art and futuristic trends that support migration of existing software to mobile computing.