Effect of vertical active vibration isolation on tracking performance and on ride qualities

An investigation to determine the effect on pilot performance and comfort of an active vibration isolation system for a commercial transport pilot seat is reported. The test setup consisted of: a hydraulic shaker which produced random vertical vibration inputs; the active vibration isolation system; the pilot seat; the pilot control wheel and column; the side-arm controller; and a two-axis compensatory tracking task. The effects of various degrees of pilot isolation on short-term (two-minute) tracking performance and comfort were determined

Microenvironment in neuroblastoma: Isolation and characterization of tumor-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

Background: It has been proposed that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) promote tumor progression by interacting with tumor cells and other stroma cells in the complex network of the tumor microenvironment. We characterized MSCs isolated and expanded from tumor tissues of pediatric patients diagnosed with neuroblastomas (NB-MSCs) to define interactions with the tumor microenvironment. Methods: Specimens were obtained from 7 pediatric patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma (NB). Morphology, immunophenotype, differentiation capacity, proliferative growth, expression of stemness and neural differentiation markers were evaluated. Moreover, the ability of cells to modulate the immune response, i.e. inhibition of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and natural killer (NK) cytotoxic function, was examined. Gene expression profiles, known to be related to tumor cell stemness, Wnt pathway activation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor metastasis were also evaluated. Healthy donor bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSC) were employed as controls. Results: NB-MSCs presented the typical MSC morphology and phenotype. They showed a proliferative capacity superimposable to BM-MSCs. Stemness marker expression (Sox2, Nanog, Oct3/4) was comparable to BM-MSCs. NB-MSC in vitro osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was similar to BM-MSCs, but NB-MSCs lacked adipogenic differentiation capacity. NB-MSCs reached senescence phases at a median passage of P7 (range, P5-P13). NB-MSCs exhibited greater immunosuppressive capacity on activated T lymphocytes at a 1:2 (MSC: PBMC) ratio compared with BM-MSCs (p = 0.018). NK cytotoxic activity was not influenced by co-culture, either with BM-MSCs or NB-MSCs. Flow-cytometry cell cycle analysis showed that NB-MSCs had an increased number of cells in the G0-G1 phase compared to BM-MSCs. Transcriptomic profiling results indicated that NB-MSCs were enriched with EMT genes compared to BM-MSCs. Conclusions: We characterized the biological features, the immunomodulatory capacity and the gene expression profile of NB-MSCs. The NB-MSC gene expression profile and their functional properties suggest a potential role in promoting tumor escape, invasiveness and metastatic traits of NB cancer cells. A better understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the interactions between NB cells and NB-derived MSCs should shed new light on potential novel therapeutic approaches

Accuracy of a Wrist-Worn Heart Rate Sensing Device during Elective Pediatric Surgical Procedures

The reliability of wearable photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors to measure heart rate (HR) in hospitalized patients has only been demonstrated in adults. We evaluated the accuracy of HR monitoring with a personal fitness tracker (PFT) in children undergoing surgery. HR monitoring was performed using a wrist-worn PFT (Fitbit Charge HR) in 30 children (8.21 \ub1 3.09 years) undergoing laparoscopy (n = 8) or open surgery (n = 22). HR values were analyzed preoperatively and during surgery. The accuracy of HR recordings was compared with measurements recorded during continuous electrocardiographic (cECG) monitoring; HRs derived from continuous monitoring with pulse oximetry (SpO2R) were used as a positive control. PFT-derived HR values were in agreement with those recorded during cECG (r = 0.99) and SpO2R (r = 0.99) monitoring. PFT performance remained high in children < 8 years (r = 0.99), with a weight < 30 kg (r = 0.99) and when the HR was < 70 beats per minute (bpm) (r = 0.91) or > 140 bpm (r = 0.99). PFT accuracy was similar during laparoscopy and open surgery, as well as preoperatively and during the intervention (r > 0.9). PFT-derived HR showed excellent accuracy compared with HRs measured by cECG and SpO2R during pediatric surgical procedures. Further clinical evaluation is needed to define whether PFTs can be used in different health care settings

The role of fetal, infant, and childhood nutrition in the timing of sexual maturation

Puberty is a crucial developmental stage in the life span, necessary to achieve reproductive and somatic maturity. Timing of puberty is modulated by and responds to central neurotransmitters, hormones, and environmental factors leading to hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis maturation. The connection between hormones and nutrition during critical periods of growth, like fetal life or infancy, is fundamental for metabolic adaptation response and pubertal development control and prediction. Since birth weight is an important indicator of growth estimation during fetal life, restricted prenatal growth, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small for gestational age (SGA), may impact endocrine system, affecting pubertal development. Successively, lactation along with early life optimal nutrition during infancy and childhood may be important in order to set up timing of sexual maturation and provide successful reproduction at a later time. Sexual maturation and healthy growth are also influenced by nutrition requirements and diet composition. Early nutritional surveillance and monitoring of pubertal development is recommended in all children, particularly in those at risk, such as the ones born SGA and/or IUGR, as well as in the case of sudden weight gain during infancy. Adequate macro and micronutrient intake is essential for healthy growth and sexual maturity

Capillary barriers during rainfall events in pyroclastic deposits of the vesuvian area

In the present paper, the capillary barrier formation at the interface between soil layers, which is characterized by textural discontinuities, has been analyzed. This mechanism has been investigated by means of a finite element model of a two-layer soil stratification. The two considered formations, belonging to the pyroclastic succession of the “Pomici di Base” Plinian eruption (22 ka, Santacroce et al., 2008) of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano, are affected by shallow instability phenomena likely caused by progressive saturation during the rainfall events. This mechanism could be compatible with the formation of capillary barriers at the interface between layers of different grain size distributions during infiltration. One-dimensional infiltration into the stratified soil was parametrically simulated considering rainfall events of increasing intensity and duration. The variations in the suction and degree of saturation over time allowed for the evaluation of stability variations in the layers, which were assumed as part of stratified unsaturated infinite slopes

High-resolution tracking in a GEM-Emulsion detector

SHiP (Search for Hidden Particles) is a beam dump experiment proposed at the CERN SPS aiming at the observation of long lived particles very weakly coupled with ordinary matter mostly produced in the decay of charmed hadrons. The beam dump facility of SHiP is also a copious factory of neutrinos of all three kinds and therefore a dedicated neutrino detector is foreseen in the SHiP apparatus. The neutrino detector exploits the Emulsion Cloud Chamber technique with a modular structure, alternating walls of target units and planes of electronic detectors providing the time stamp to the event. GEM detectors are one of the possible choices for this task. This paper reports the results of the first exposure to a muon beam at CERN of a new hybrid chamber, obtained by coupling a GEM chamber and an emulsion detector. Thanks to the micrometric accuracy of the emulsion detector, the position resolution of the GEM chamber as a function of the particle inclination was evaluated in two configurations, with and without the magnetic fiel

MKRN3 and KISS1R mutations in precocious and early puberty

Background Pubertal timing is known to be influenced by interactions among various genetic, nutritional, environmental and socio-economic factors, although the ultimate mechanisms underlying the increase in pulsatile GnRH secretion at puberty have yet to be fully elucidated. The aim of our research was to verify the role of KISSR1 (previously named GPR54) and MKRN3 genes on pubertal timing. Methods We analyzed the DNA sequence of these genes in 13 girls affected by central precocious puberty (CPP) who showed onset of puberty before 8 years of age, and in 6 girls affected by early puberty (EP) between 8 and 10 years of age. Results Direct sequencing of the KISS1R (GPR54) gene revealed two SNPs. One SNP is a missense variant (rs 350,132) that has been previously reported in connection to CPP in Korean girls. The other variant that we found in the GPR54 gene (rs764046557) was a missense SNP located in exon 5 at position 209 of the aminoacid. We identified this variant in only one CPP patient. Automatic sequencing of MKRN3 in all patients revealed three variants in eight subjects. In 6 out of 19 (31.5%) patients (3/13 CPP patients and 3/6 EP patients) we found the synonymous variant c.663C > T (rs2239669). Another synonymous variant (rs140467331) was found in one of our CPP patients, as well as one missense variant (rs760981395) in another CPP patient. Conclusion In conclusion, we identified sequence variations of the KISS1R and MKRN3 genes, two of the most frequent genetic causes of ICPP. Our results suggest that these variants might be inducible factors in the pathogenesis of CPP

Empoderando personas a través del uso de Internet - VIDUC

Existe un porcentaje significativo de personas con acceso a Internet o con capacidad económica de acceder a la red que no lo utiliza de una manera consciente para mejorar su calidad de vida; esto ocurre por distintas razones, entre ellas el conocimiento de uso, impacto y la aceptación cultural así como la adopción local.[5] Internet es una herramienta poderosa para aprender y desarrollar habilidades de cualquier índole como cocina, deportes, manualidades; solo por citar algunas. Mediante este trabajo se busca descubrir una forma en la que se pueda potenciar y empoderar a las personas a través del uso de Internet de manera educativa, consciente y útil. Para poder experimentar la idea, se desarrolló una primera versión de la plataforma web, VIDUC (Vídeos Educativos, http://viduc.net), cuyo objetivo es mostrar el potencial de Internet para aprender. La plataforma filtra y ordena contenidos específicos de vídeos de Youtube, mostrando contenidos que pueden ser de interés a los usuarios. El experimento está dirigido a personas de cualquier edad que puedan acceder a Internet y que tengan pocos conocimientos sobre como utilizar la red de manera más efectiva. A través de encuestas realizadas se encontró que a un gran porcentaje de personas le pareció de utilidad la aplicación. Potenciar el uso eficiente de Internet, buscando la educación, el empoderamiento, la autonomía, el desarrollo y la alfabetización digital de las personas es útil, ya que ayuda a disminuir la brecha digital existente, entre otros factores positivos. La plataforma VIDUC es un caso básico que se enfoca en el contenido de vídeos para aprender nuevas habilidades así como conocer experiencias de otras personas que han podido utilizar sus habilidades para emprender negocios o resolver algunos de sus problemas.XVIII Workshop Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informátic

Empoderando personas a través del uso de Internet - VIDUC

Existe un porcentaje significativo de personas con acceso a Internet o con capacidad económica de acceder a la red que no lo utiliza de una manera consciente para mejorar su calidad de vida; esto ocurre por distintas razones, entre ellas el conocimiento de uso, impacto y la aceptación cultural así como la adopción local.[5] Internet es una herramienta poderosa para aprender y desarrollar habilidades de cualquier índole como cocina, deportes, manualidades; solo por citar algunas. Mediante este trabajo se busca descubrir una forma en la que se pueda potenciar y empoderar a las personas a través del uso de Internet de manera educativa, consciente y útil. Para poder experimentar la idea, se desarrolló una primera versión de la plataforma web, VIDUC (Vídeos Educativos, http://viduc.net), cuyo objetivo es mostrar el potencial de Internet para aprender. La plataforma filtra y ordena contenidos específicos de vídeos de Youtube, mostrando contenidos que pueden ser de interés a los usuarios. El experimento está dirigido a personas de cualquier edad que puedan acceder a Internet y que tengan pocos conocimientos sobre como utilizar la red de manera más efectiva. A través de encuestas realizadas se encontró que a un gran porcentaje de personas le pareció de utilidad la aplicación. Potenciar el uso eficiente de Internet, buscando la educación, el empoderamiento, la autonomía, el desarrollo y la alfabetización digital de las personas es útil, ya que ayuda a disminuir la brecha digital existente, entre otros factores positivos. La plataforma VIDUC es un caso básico que se enfoca en el contenido de vídeos para aprender nuevas habilidades así como conocer experiencias de otras personas que han podido utilizar sus habilidades para emprender negocios o resolver algunos de sus problemas.XVIII Workshop Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informátic