Local anesthetic treatment significantly attenuates acute pain responding but does not prevent the neonatal injury-induced reduction in adult spinal behavioral plasticity.

Recent findings indicate that neonatal injury results in decreased spinal plasticity in adult subjects (E. E. Young, K. M. Baumbauer, A. E. Elliot, & R. L. Joynes, 2007). Previous research has shown that acute manipulations of pain processing (i.e., administration of formalin, carrageenan, capsaicin) result in a loss of spinal behavioral plasticity (A. R. Ferguson, E. D. Crown, & J. W. Grau, 2006). Moreover, neonatal injury results in a lasting reduction in adult spinally mediated plasticity resembling the deficit seen following acute manipulations in adults (E. E. Young et al., 2007). The present study was designed to determine whether the effects of neonatal injury could be prevented by lidocaine administration during the initial healing period. Subjects (injured or uninjured) received lidocaine or saline on 1 of 4 administration schedules (preinjury only, postinjury only, for 24 hr postsurgery, or for 72 hr postsurgery). Results demonstrated that lidocaine administration did not prevent the hypersensitivity and reduced spinal plasticity associated with neonatal injury. This suggests that (a) the mechanisms underlying neonatal injury are independent of peripheral input in the initial healing period and (b) lidocaine is ineffective at preventing long-term spinal plasticity changes following neonatal injury. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Desire for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in palliative cancer care.

Objective: To investigate the attitudes of terminally ill individuals toward the legalization of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and to identify those who would personally desire such a death. Design: In the Canadian National Palliative Care Survey, semistructured interviews were administered to 379 patients who were receiving palliative care for cancer. Patients who expressed a desire for physician-hastened death were followed prospectively. Main Outcome Measures: Attitudes toward the legalization of euthanasia or PAS were determined, as was the personal interest in receiving a hastened death. Demographic and clinical characteristics were also recorded, including a 22-item structured interview of symptoms and concerns. Results: There were 238 participants (62.8%) who believed that euthanasia and/or PAS should be legalized, and 151 (39.8%) who would consider making a future request for a physician-hastened death. However, only 22 (5.8%) reported that, if legally permissible, they would initiate such a request right away, in their current situations. This desire for hastened death was associated with lower religiosity (p = .010), reduced functional status (p = .024), a diagnosis of major depression (p     

Throughput guarantees for multi-priority traffic in ad hoc networks

In this paper, we present MPARC (Multi-Priority Admission and Rate Control), a novel joint admission control and rate policing protocol for multi-priority ad hoc networks. MPARC is based on our novel bandwidth allocation model, which captures the bandwidth allocation for saturated, unsaturated and semi-saturated networks. MPARC guarantees that the throughput of admitted realtime flows will not decrease due to later arriving realtime flows with equal or lower priorities or due to best effort flows. MPARC achieves this goal by performing accurate admission control on every newly arriving realtime flow and appropriate rate policing on all best effort traffic. Through simulation, we demonstrate that MPARC has better performance than existing approaches.     

An approach to regulating machine sharing in reconfigurable back-end semiconductor manufacturing

By complying with the operational philosophy of virtual production lines, a back-end semiconductor manufacturing system can be controlled and managed with better reconfigurability. However, due to the absence of a fully-integrated information system and the gaining popularity of distributed computing, machine reconfiguration decisions are made by machine controllers on the shop floor where heterarchical control architecture is typically used. This research investigates how non-cooperative game theory could be applied for facilitating the decision process reconfiguration decision-making at the machine controller level as machines are competed by multiple jobs streams. This paper presents how material flow traffic can be better regulated in a reconfigurable manufacturing environment. A study using an industrial pilot system is discussed to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach, in which heuristics are used to determine the game specification.     

Effects of low‐frequency drain termination and injection on nonlinear amplifier performances

Low‐frequency parameters have important effects on the nonlinear performances of power amplifiers. Injection at the output of a low‐frequency‐voltage device, following the signal envelope, is proposed. Two‐tone simulations, measurements using the principle of a low‐frequency active load‐pull system, and implementation of the technique are presented. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2005.     

An inductive characterization of matching in binding bigraphs

We analyze the matching problem for bigraphs. In particular, we present a sound and complete inductive characterization of matching in bigraphs with binding. Our results yield a specification for a provably correct matching algorithm, as needed by our prototype tool implementing bigraphical reactive systems.     

Modeling coagulation kinetics incorporating fractal theories: comparison with observed data

There are currently four possible approaches in modeling coagulation kinetics: the traditional Euclidean rectilinear; the Euclidean curvilinear; the fractal rectilinear; and the fractal curvilinear. The fractal model includes the Euclidean case as a subset. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate which of the rectilinear models among these best predicts the evolution of experimental observed particle size distribution (PSD). Using a fractal rectilinear model previously developed by the authors, model predictions were compared with a series of observed PSD data obtained from estuarine sediment particles in a 2m settling column, where the average velocity gradient (G) was 20 or 40s(-1). Nonlinear parameter estimation was performed to estimate two free parameters for the fractal model (the fractal dimension, DF, and the collision efficiency factor, a), and one free parameter (the collision efficiency factor, alpha) for the Euclidean model. Compared with the observed PSD, the simulation showed that the fractal rectilinear model was best, and that this model fit better for the larger size particles. The estimated DF was between 2.6 and 3.0. The research demonstrated that the alpha's have multiple values for the same observed data, depending on the coagulation model used. This finding is significant because a is currently used as a single value based on the conventional Euclidean rectilinear model.     

Studies on miscibility of blends of ethylene methyl acrylate and polydimethyl siloxane rubber

Blends of ethylene methyl acrylate (EMA) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) rubber (PDMS) are demonstrated to be miscible. The miscibility results in a single and composition-dependent glass transition temperature. IR spectra of the blends provide direct evidence of chemical reaction between EMA and PDMS rubber.     

Quantitative 1H NMR spectroscopy of blood plasma metabolites

The absolute quantification of blood plasma metabolites by proton NMR spectroscopy is complicated by the presence of a baseline and broad resonances originating from serum macromolecules and lipoproteins. A method for spectral simplification of proton NMR spectra of blood plasma is presented. Serum macromolecules and metabolites are completely separated by utilizing the large difference in translational diffusion coefficients in combination with diffusion-sensitized proton NMR spectroscopy. The concentration of blood plasma metabolites can be quantified by using formate as an internal concentration reference. The results are compared with those obtained with ultrafiltration, a traditional method for separating macromolecules and metabolites, and demonstrate an excellent correlation between the two methods. The general nature of diffusion-sensitized NMR spectroscopy allows application on a wide range of biological fluids.