An update of the JPL program to develop Li-SOCl2 cells

The goal of producing spiral wound D cell was met. The cell design and electrodes, particularly the carbon cathodes were produced in-house. Also all parts were assembled, the welding performed, the electrolyte aided and the cells sealed in-house. The lithium capacity (theoretical) was 19.3 Ah and that of the SOCl2 in the 1.8 m LiAlCl4 electrolyte, 16.4 Ah (a greater excess of SOCl2 is necessary for safe high rate operation). The electrode surface area was 452 sq cm. The carbon electrode comprised Shawinigen Black/Teflon -30 (90/10 by weight) mixture 0.020 inches thick on an expanded metal screen prepared in the JPL laboratory. There were two tab connections to the cathode. The 0.0078 inch thick lithium foil was rolled into an expanded nickel screen. The separator was Mead 934-5 fiberglass material

Pengaruh Ekstrak Daun Katu (Sauropus androgynus) Fermentasi terhadap Kualitas Karkas Broiler

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi pengaruh ekstrak daun Katu (Sauropus androgynus) yang difermentasi terhadap kualitas karkas pada broiler. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL). Delapan puluh ekor broiler umur 15 hari didistribusikan ke dalam 5 kelompok perlakuan dimana masing-masing kelompok pelakuan terdiri dari 4 ulangan, dan masing-masing ulangan terdiri dari 4 ekor broiler. Adapun ke lima perlakuan itu yaitu: P0 = pakan kontrol tanpa ekstrak daun katu fermentasi, P1 = pakan yang menggunakan ekstrak daun katu fermentasi 4,5 g/kg pakan, P2 = pakan yang menggunakan ekstrak daun katufermentasi 9 g/kg pakan, P3 = pakan yang menggunakan ekstrak daun katu fermentasi 13,5 g/kg pakan dan P4 =pakan yang menggunakan ekstrak daun katu fermentasi 18 g/kg pakan. Pada umur 35 hari, 4 ekor sampel broiler pada setiap perlakuan diseleksi berdasarkan rata-rata berat badan, untuk mengukur berat karkas, warna karkas, meat bone ratio, cooking loss dan drip loss. Hasil analisis ragam menunjukkan bahwa pemberian ekstrak daun katu fermentasi berpengaruh nyata (P<0,05) terhadap warna karkas, tidak menurunkan berat karkas dan persentae karkas dan berpengaruh tidak nyata terhadap meat bone ratio, cooking loss, dan drip loss. Rataan warna karkas kumulatif P0, P1, P2, P3, dan P4 yaitu 102,63, 103,38, 104,06, 103,63 dan 103,81. P2, P3 dan P4 berbeda nyata (P<0,05) dengan P0, tetapi berbeda tidak nyata dengan P1. P1 berbeda tidak nyata dengan P0, P2, P3 dan P4. P2, P3 dan P4 mempunyai warna karkas yang lebih kuning jika dibanding dengan P0. Hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa ekstrak daun katu fermentasi dapat meningkatkan warna karkas. Pemberian ekstrak daun katu fermentasi tidak meningkatkan berat karkas, persentase karkas, meat bone ratio, serta tidak menurunkan cooking loss dan drip loss. Jadi, ekstrak daun katu fermentasi yang diberikan sebanyak 9 g/kg dapat meningkatkan warna karkas sebagai pakan broiler.Kata kunci : ekstrak daun katu fermentasi, persentase karkas, meat bone ratio, warna karkas, cooking loss, drip loss, broile

The design and implementation of a study to investigate the effectiveness of community vs hospital eye service follow-up for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration with quiescent disease

IntroductionStandard treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF drugs. Following multiple injections, nAMD lesions often become quiescent but there is a high risk of reactivation, and regular review by hospital ophthalmologists is the norm. The present trial examines the feasibility of community optometrists making lesion reactivation decisions.MethodsThe Effectiveness of Community vs Hospital Eye Service (ECHoES) trial is a virtual trial; lesion reactivation decisions were made about vignettes that comprised clinical data, colour fundus photographs, and optical coherence tomograms displayed on a web-based platform. Participants were either hospital ophthalmologists or community optometrists. All participants were provided with webinar training on the disease, its management, and assessment of the retinal imaging outputs. In a balanced design, 96 participants each assessed 42 vignettes; a total of 288 vignettes were assessed seven times by each professional group.The primary outcome is a participant's judgement of lesion reactivation compared with a reference standard. Secondary outcomes are the frequency of sight threatening errors; judgements about specific lesion components; participant-rated confidence in their decisions about the primary outcome; cost effectiveness of follow-up by optometrists rather than ophthalmologists.DiscussionThis trial addresses an important question for the NHS, namely whether, with appropriate training, community optometrists can make retreatment decisions for patients with nAMD to the same standard as hospital ophthalmologists. The trial employed a novel approach as participation was entirely through a web-based application; the trial required very few resources compared with those that would have been needed for a conventional randomised controlled clinical trial

Cost-effectiveness of monitoring glaucoma patients in shared care: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial

Background. Population aging increases the number of glaucoma patients which leads to higher workloads of glaucoma specialists. If stable glaucoma patients were monitored by optometrists and ophthalmic technicians in a glaucoma follow-up unit (GFU) rather than by glaucoma specialists, the specialists' workload and waiting lists might be reduced. We compared costs and quality of care at the GFU with those of usual care by glaucoma specialists in the Rotterdam Eye Hospital (REH) in a 30-month randomized clinical trial. Because quality of care turned out to be similar, we focus here on the costs. Methods. Stable glaucoma patients were randomized between the GFU and the glaucoma specialist group. Costs per patient year were calculated from four perspectives: those of patients, the Rotterdam Eye Hospital (REH), Dutch healthcare system, and society. The outcome measures were: compliance to the protocol; patient satisfaction; stability according to the practitioner; mean difference in IOP; results of the examinations; and number of treatment changes. Results. Baseline characteristics (such as age, intraocular pressure and target pressure) were comparable between the GFU group (n = 410) and the glaucoma specialist group (n = 405). Despite a higher number of visits per year, mean hospital costs per patient year were lower in the GFU group (€139 vs. €161). Patients' time and travel costs were similar. Healthcare costs were significantly lower for the GFU group (€230 vs. €251), as were societal costs (€310 vs. €339) (p < 0.01). Bootstrap-, sensitivity- and scenario-analyses showed that the costs were robust when varying hospital policy and the duration of visits and tests. Conclusion. We conclude that this GFU is cost-effective and deserves to be considered for implementation in other hospitals

5-HT2A receptor signalling through phospholipase D1 associated with its C-terminal tail

The 5-HT2AR (5-hydroxytryptamine-2A receptor) is a GPCR (G-protein-coupled receptor) that is implicated in the actions of hallucinogens and represents a major target of atypical antipsychotic agents. In addition to its classical signalling though PLC (phospholipase C), the receptor can activate several other pathways, including ARF (ADP-ribosylation factor)-dependent activation of PLD (phospholipase D), which appears to be achieved through a mechanism independent of heterotrimeric G-proteins. In the present study we show that wild-type and inactive constructs of PLD1 (but not PLD2) respectively facilitate and inhibit ARF-dependent PLD signalling by the 5-HT2AR. Furthermore we demonstrate that PLD1 specifically co-immunoprecipitates with the receptor and binds to a distal site in GST (glutathione transferase) fusion protein constructs of its C-terminal tail which is distinct from the ARF-interaction site, thereby suggesting the existence of a functional ARF-PLD signalling complex directly associated with this receptor. This reveals the spatial co-ordination of an important GPCR, transducer and effector into a physical complex that is likely to reinforce the impact of receptor activation on a heterotrimeric G-protein-independent signalling pathway. Signalling of this receptor through such non-canonical pathways may be important to its role in particular disorders

Tendon Is Covered by a Basement Membrane Epithelium That Is Required for Cell Retention and the Prevention of Adhesion Formation

The ability of tendons to glide smoothly during muscle contraction is impaired after injury by fibrous adhesions that form between the damaged tendon surface and surrounding tissues. To understand how adhesions form we incubated excised tendons in fibrin gels (to mimic the homeostatic environment at the injury site) and assessed cell migration. We noticed cells exiting the tendon from only the cut ends. Furthermore, treatment of the tendon with trypsin resulted in cell extravagation from the shaft of the tendons. Electron microscopy and immunolocalisation studies showed that the tendons are covered by a novel cell layer in which a collagen type IV/laminin basement membrane (BM) overlies a keratinised epithelium. PCR and western blot analyses confirmed the expression of laminin β1 in surface cells, only. To evaluate the cell retentive properties of the BM in vivo we examined the tendons of the Col4a1+/Svc mouse that is heterozygous for a G-to-A transition in the Col4a1 gene that produces a G1064D substitution in the α1(IV) chain of collagen IV. The flexor tendons had a discontinuous BM, developed fibrous adhesions with overlying tissues, and were acellular at sites of adhesion formation. In further experiments, tenotomy of wild-type mice resulted in expression of laminin throughout the adhesion. In conclusion, we show the existence of a novel tendon BM-epithelium that is required to prevent adhesion formation. The Col4a1+/Svc mouse is an effective animal model for studying adhesion formation because of the presence of a structurally-defective collagen type IV-containing BM

Learning technology and disability-overcoming barriers to inclusion: evidence from a multicountry study

The paper uses data from a 15-country study to discuss the factors which affect the use of Information and communication technologies (ICT) learning technologies by disabled people and consequently their access to education. Significant differences were found both between and within countries: income and language were the main factors affecting availability. Thus the greatest availability was in the higher income English speaking countries and the richer European countries. The main barriers to technology use included cost, lack of funding and lack of information. A particular disparity in technology access was found between the English speaking European population and Aboriginal speakers of indigenous languages in Australia, with considerably greater access by the former than the latter group. A number of recommendations are presented to increase access to learning and assistive technologies by disabled people. They include encouragement for developers to produce free of charge (minority language) technologies, research on more effective provision of technologies and personal assistance, assistive technology centres in all learning institutions, simple funding mechanisms and a fund to support technology provision in the poorer countries

Effect of Strain Magnitude on the Tissue Properties of Engineered Cardiovascular Constructs

Mechanical loading is a powerful regulator of tissue properties in engineered cardiovascular tissues. To ultimately regulate the biochemical processes, it is essential to quantify the effect of mechanical loading on the properties of engineered cardiovascular constructs. In this study the Flexercell FX-4000T (Flexcell Int. Corp., USA) straining system was modified to simultaneously apply various strain magnitudes to individual samples during one experiment. In addition, porous polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds, coated with poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB), were partially embedded in a silicone layer to allow long-term uniaxial cyclic mechanical straining of cardiovascular engineered constructs. The constructs were subjected to two different strain magnitudes and showed differences in biochemical properties, mechanical properties and organization of the microstructure compared to the unstrained constructs. The results suggest that when the tissues are exposed to prolonged mechanical stimulation, the production of collagen with a higher fraction of crosslinks is induced. However, straining with a large strain magnitude resulted in a negative effect on the mechanical properties of the tissue. In addition, dynamic straining induced a different alignment of cells and collagen in the superficial layers compared to the deeper layers of the construct. The presented model system can be used to systematically optimize culture protocols for engineered cardiovascular tissues