Assessment of the anti-G straining maneuver (AGSM) skill performance and reinforcement program

Retractions of the pars flaccida (PF) and the pars tensa (PT) were assessed in 250 atelectatic ears in an attempt to find out the way in which the differences in mechanical properties of the two parts of the tympanic membrane are reflected clinically. Retraction of PF was found in 217 ears (86.8 per cent) and retraction of PF in 150 (60 per cent). The concomitant presence of both types of retraction was observed in 117 ears (46.8 per cent) while 133 (53.2 per cent) had only one type, 100 of them (75.1 per cent) PF retraction and 33 (24.9 per cent) PT retraction. When only one type of retraction was present, the empirical probability of having a PF retraction was 75.1 per cent, while the probability of having a PT retraction was only 24.9 per cent. Clinically, the more frequent occurrence of PF retraction in the absence of PT retraction than vice versa reflects the greater collapsibility of the PF. When both types of retractions were present, we found a positive correlation between their severity.     

Circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I and risk of breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, a mitogenic and antiapoptotic peptide, can affect the proliferation of breast epithelial cells, and is thought to have a role in breast cancer. We hypothesised that high circulating IGF-I concentrations would be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. METHODS: We carried out a nested case-control study within the prospective Nurses' Health Study cohort. Plasma concentrations of IGF-I and IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) were measured in blood samples collected in 1989-90. We identified 397 women who had a diagnosis of breast cancer after this date and 620 age-matched controls. IGF-I concentrations were compared by logistic regression with adjustment for other breast-cancer risk factors. FINDINGS: There was no association between IGF-I concentrations and breast-cancer risk among the whole study group. In postmenopausal women there was no association between IGF-I concentrations and breast-cancer risk (top vs bottom quintile of IGF-I, relative risk 0.85 [95% CI 0.53-1.39]). The relative risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women by IGF-I concentration (top vs bottom tertile) was 2.33 (1.06-5.16; p for trend 0.08). Among premenopausal women less than 50 years old at the time of blood collection, the relative risk was 4.58 (1.75-12.0; p for trend 0.02). After further adjustment for plasma IGFBP-3 concentrations these relative risks were 2.88 and 7.28, respectively. INTERPRETATION: A positive relation between circulating IGF-I concentration and risk of breast cancer was found among premenopausal but not postmenopausal women. Plasma IGF-I concentrations may be useful in the identification of women at high risk of breast cancer and in the development of risk reduction strategies. Additional larger studies of this association among premenopausal women are needed to provide more precise estimates of effect.     

Hybrid Touch/Tangible Spatial 3D Data Selection

We discuss spatial selection techniques for three‐dimensional datasets. Such 3D spatial selection is fundamental to exploratory data analysis. While 2D selection is efficient for datasets with explicit shapes and structures, it is less efficient for data without such properties. We first propose a new taxonomy of 3D selection techniques, focusing on the amount of control the user has to define the selection volume. We then describe the 3D spatial selection technique Tangible Brush, which gives manual control over the final selection volume. It combines 2D touch with 6‐DOF 3D tangible input to allow users to perform 3D selections in volumetric data. We use touch input to draw a 2D lasso, extruding it to a 3D selection volume based on the motion of a tangible, spatially‐aware tablet. We describe our approach and present its quantitative and qualitative comparison to state‐of‐the‐art structure‐dependent selection. Our results show that, in addition to being dataset‐independent, Tangible Brush is more accurate than existing dataset‐dependent techniques, thus providing a trade‐off between precision and effort.     

Design and integration of a spatio-temporal memory with emotional influences to categorize and recall the experiences of an autonomous mobile robot

Autonomous robots cohabiting with humans will have to achieve recurring tasks while adapting to the changing conditions of the world. A spatio-temporal memory categorizes the experiences of a robot to improve its ability to adapt to its environment. In this paper, we present a spatio-temporal (ST) memory model consisting of a cascade of two adaptive resonance theory (ART) networks: one to categorize spatial events and the other to extract temporal episodes from the robot’s experiences. Artificial emotions are used to dynamically modulate learning and recall of the ART networks based on how the robot is able to carry its task, using a simple model of artificial emotions. Once an episode is recalled, future events can be predicted and used to influence the intentions of the robot. Evaluation of our ST model is done using an autonomous robotic platform that has to deliver objects to people within an office area. Results demonstrate that our model can memorize and recall the experiences of a robot, and that emotional episodes are recalled more often, allowing the robot to use its memory of past experiences early on when repeating a task.     

Bioinspired Electro‐Thermo‐Hygro Reversible Shape‐Changing Materials by 4D Printing

Hygromorph composites are moisture‐induced shape‐changing materials that are increasingly studied to develop autonomously actuated deployable structures. The morphing mechanism is based on the high affinity for moisture and the hygroexpansive nature of at least one component, combined with a bilayer microstructure. Among available hygromorphs, those consisting of cellulosic or hydrogel material‐based actuators trigger fast responses to moisture. Their stiffness however decreases significantly with the moisture content and that restricts their potential application as soft actuators. This work proposes a novel 4D printed multistimuli‐responsive structural material based on conductive carbon reinforcements and combined with a moisture sensitive polymer. These 4D printed materials possess a microstructure that provides the capability of natural actuators like pine cones. The actuation of these functional materials could be either triggered passively by the variation of the ambient moisture, or by electroheating, with the latter leading to the control of the moisture content in initially wet samples via Joule effects. This new class of functional materials shows an increase of the actuation speed by a factor 10 compared to other existing hygromorphs with the same responsiveness. When the electrical heating is turned off, passive cooling and moisture driven actuation is triggered in a full reversible mode.     

The ManyEars open framework

ManyEars is an open framework for microphone array-based audio processing. It consists of a sound source localization, tracking and separation system that can provide an enhanced speaker signal for improved speech and sound recognition in real-world settings. ManyEars software framework is composed of a portable and modular C library, along with a graphical user interface for tuning the parameters and for real-time monitoring. This paper presents the integration of the ManyEars Library with Willow Garage’s Robot Operating System. To facilitate the use of ManyEars on various robotic platforms, the paper also introduces the customized microphone board and sound card distributed as an open hardware solution for implementation of robotic audition systems.     

Experimental Study of Wear Behaviour of Hot Forging Tool Steels Under Dry Conditions: 40CrMoV13 Against C35E

The dimensions and quality of forged-steel components are significantly affected by the action of friction and wear. The thermal and mechanical operating conditions of hot forging tools provoke serious degradation, such as oxidative wear, thermal fatigue, plastic damage and mechanical cracking. This slowly causes the tools to lose their original geometry and thus they must be either reformed or discarded [1]. The knowledge and control of this damage is essential and must be taken into consideration, both in die design and in the choice of tool material and the type of surface conditioning. The degradation has direct effects on the lifespan of the tools, and consequently on the cost of the components. This paper deals with the sliding wear behaviour of 40CrMoV13 Steel against C35E in the 700 to 850 °C temperature range under ambient conditions. This steel is used frequently as hot forging die material. This study focuses on the effect of the test temperature and the role of the oxide scales. The purpose of these experiments was to obtain tribological data (friction coefficient, wear rate, etc.), in order to include it in numerical simulations of damage to hot forging tools for the purpose of optimizing the tools' lifespan.     

Chronic Inflammatory Status Observed in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Induces Modulation of Cytochrome P450 Expression and Activity

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that causes a hyperglycemic status which leads, over time, to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. The most frequent form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) which is often part of a metabolic syndrome (hyperglycaemia, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, abdominal obesity) that usually requires the use of several medications from different drug classes to bring each of these conditions under control. T2DM is associated with an increase in inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Higher levels of IL-6 and TNF-α are associated with a downregulation of several drug metabolizing enzymes, especially the cytochrome P450 (P450) isoforms CYP3As and CYP2C19. A decrease in these P450 isoenzymes may lead to unexpected rise in plasma levels of substrates of these enzymes. It could also give rise to a mismatch between the genotypes determined for these enzymes, the predicted phenotypes based on these genotypes and the phenotypes observed clinically. This phenomenon is described as phenoconversion. Phenoconversion typically results from either a disease (such as T2DM) or concomitant administration of medications inducing or inhibiting (including competitive or non-competitive inhibition) a P450 isoenzyme used by other substrates for their elimination. Phenoconversion could have a significant impact on drug effects and genotypic-focused clinical outcomes. As the aging population is exposed to polypharmacy along with inflammatory comorbidities, consideration of phenoconversion related to drug metabolizing enzymes is of importance when applying pharmacogenomic results and establishing personalized and more precise drug regimens.     

Highly organised and dense vertical silicon nanowire arrays grown in porous alumina template on <100> silicon wafers

In this work, nanoimprint lithography combined with standard anodization etching is used to make perfectly organised triangular arrays of vertical cylindrical alumina nanopores onto standard <100>−oriented silicon wafers. Both the pore diameter and the period of alumina porous array are well controlled and can be tuned: the periods vary from 80 to 460 nm, and the diameters vary from 15 nm to any required diameter. These porous thin layers are then successfully used as templates for the guided epitaxial growth of organised mono-crystalline silicon nanowire arrays in a chemical vapour deposition chamber. We report the densities of silicon nanowires up to 9 × 10⁹ cm⁻² organised in highly regular arrays with excellent diameter distribution. All process steps are demonstrated on surfaces up to 2 × 2 cm². Specific emphasis was made to select techniques compatible with microelectronic fabrication standards, adaptable to large surface samples and with a reasonable cost. Achievements made in the quality of the porous alumina array, therefore on the silicon nanowire array, widen the number of potential applications for this technology, such as optical detectors or biological sensors.