A List of Household Objects for Robotic Retrieval Prioritized by People with ALS (Version 092008)

This technical report is designed to serve as a citable reference for the original prioritized object list that the Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech released on its website in September of 2008. It is also expected to serve as the primary citable reference for the research associated with this list until the publication of a detailed, peer-reviewed paper. The original prioritized list of object classes resulted from a needs assessment involving 8 motor-impaired patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and targeted, in-person interviews of 15 motor-impaired ALS patients. All of these participants were drawn from the Emory ALS Center. The prioritized object list consists of 43 object classes ranked by how important the participants considered each class to be for retrieval by an assistive robot. We intend for this list to be used by researchers to inform the design and benchmarking of robotic systems, especially research related to autonomous mobile manipulation

The Book of Enoch

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Electrical capacitance clearanceometer

A hot gas turbine engine capacitive probe clearanceometer is employed to measure the clearance gap or distance between blade tips on a rotor wheel and its confining casing under operating conditions. A braze sealed tip of the probe carries a capacitor electrode which is electrically connected to an electrical inductor within the probe which is inserted into a turbine casing to position its electrode at the inner surface of the casing. Electrical power is supplied through a voltage controlled variable frequency oscillator having a tuned circuit in which the probe is a component. The oscillator signal is modulated by a change in electrical capacitance between the probe electrode and a passing blade tip surface while an automatic feedback correction circuit corrects oscillator signal drift. A change in distance between a blade tip and the probe electrode is a change in capacitance therebetween which frequency modulates the oscillator signal. The modulated oscillator signal which is then processed through a phase detector and related circuitry to provide an electrical signal is proportional to the clearance gap

Ultimobranchial thyroid neoplasms in bulls. A syndrome resembling medullary thyroid carcinoma in man

A syndrome of ultimobranchial thyroid neoplasms which shares many similarities with medullary thyroid carcinoma in man occurs frequently in populations of adult bulls. The results of this investigation demonstrated that ultimobranchial neoplasms were composed of poorly differentiated parafollicular (C—) cells with extensive aggregations of microfilaments, clusters of ribosomes, and prominent Golgi apparatuses. Secretion granules often were interspersed between microfilaments. Other more columnar neoplastic cells assumed a ductal pattern. The prominent stroma contained amyloid fibrils and collagen fibers. By comparison, cells comprising medullary thyroid carcinoma were more differentiated parafollicular cells with well developed cytoplasmic organelles and numerous membrane‐limited secretion granules. Calcitonin activity was demonstrated by biologic assay in both ultimobranchial adenomas (466 ± 84 MRC mU/g) and carcinomas (409 ± 93 MRC mU/g) but serum calcium and phosphorus levels were within normal limits. Plasma calcitonin‐like activity was increased significantly 1 hour after calcium infusion but rapidly returned to baseline values. Parathyroid glands from bulls with ultimobranchial neoplasms had ultrastructural evidence of atrophy and secretory inactivity. Numerous lipofuscin, granules and cytosegresomes but few secretory granules were present in chief cells. Aggregations of amyloid fibrils surrounded chief cells and capillaries. Multiple endocrine tumors (pheochromocytomas and pituitary acidophil adenomas) and vertebral osteosclerosis with ankylosing spondylosis frequently were detected in bulls coincidentally with ultimobranchial thyroid neoplasms. Copyright © 1973 American Cancer Societ

Genome Editing and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technologies for Personalized Study of Cardiovascular Diseases

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The goal of this review is to highlight the potential of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based modeling as a tool for studying human cardiovascular diseases. We present some of the current cardiovascular disease models utilizing genome editing and patient-derived iPSCs. RECENT FINDINGS: The incorporation of genome-editing and iPSC technologies provides an innovative research platform, providing novel insight into human cardiovascular disease at molecular, cellular, and functional level. In addition, genome editing in diseased iPSC lines holds potential for personalized regenerative therapies. The study of human cardiovascular disease has been revolutionized by cellular reprogramming and genome editing discoveries. These exceptional technologies provide an opportunity to generate human cell cardiovascular disease models and enable therapeutic strategy development in a dish. We anticipate these technologies to improve our understanding of cardiovascular disease pathophysiology leading to optimal treatment for heart diseases in the future

Modification of the spontaneous emission rate of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond by coupling to plasmons

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond are widely studied both as a testbed for solid state quantum optics and for their applications in quantum information processing and magnetometry. Here we demonstrate coupling of the nitrogen-vacancy centers to gap plasmons in metal nano-slits. We use diamond samples where nitrogen-vacancy centers are implanted tens of nanometers under the surface. Silver nano-slits are patterned on the sample such that diamond ridges tens of nanometers wide fill the slit gap. We measure enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate of the zero photon line by a factor of 3 at a temperature of 8K

Global Markets for Agricultural Products 2003 - 2012

Further information may be found at http://www.tnet.teagasc.ie/fapri/pubandrep2003.htmThe 2003 global baseline reflects a variety of the short-term issues that have and will continue to affect the sector. These range from crop short-falls in the northern and southern hemisphere to the continued economic weakness, from the continuing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) difficulties in a number of countries around the world, to the unfolding agricultural policy and trade reform process. There are three major macroeconomic drivers of this baseline projection. They are (i) continued weakness in Latin American economies, (ii) recovery in most of the rest of the world -- particularly central Europe and several members of the Former Soviet Union, and (iii) a significant devaluation of the United States dollar relative to many of the other major currencies including the euro

Reforming the CAP: A Partial Equilibrium Analysis of the MTR Proposals

Contributed paper selected for presentation at the 25th International Conference of Agricultural Economists, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa.In the Mid-Term Review (MTR), the European Commission proposed a series of changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). An important part of these changes was significant decoupling of support payments from production. In this paper, a partial equilibrium model of the EU agricultural sector is used to estimate the potential impacts of the MTR proposals on EU and world agricultural markets over the period 2004-2009. Effects of the MTR proposals are evaluated by comparing estimated outcomes under the proposals to those that would result under a current-policy baseline. The changes that are made in the MTR have the effect of reducing the production of the major commodities by varying amounts based on the importance of payments in production and the degree to which these payments are currently production inducing. For example, total area harvested for nine major crops falls by about 2 percent under the MTR proposals. In the livestock sector, however, where current payments are strongly coupled and form a large part of producers' income, the reductions in production are projected to be more significant

Sp1 elements in SULT2B1b promoter and 5′-untranslated region of mRNA: Sp1/Sp2 induction and augmentation by histone deacetylase inhibition

AbstractThe steroid/sterol sulfotransferase gene (SULT2B1) encodes for two isozymes of which one (SULT2B1b) sulfonates cholesterol and is selectively expressed in skin. The human SULT2B1 gene contains neither a TATAAA nor a CCAAT motif upstream of the coding region for SULT2B1b; however, this area is GC-rich. Of five Sp1 elements identified two had regulatory activity utilizing immortalized human keratinocytes: one element is located above the ostensible transcription initiation site, whereas the other is located within the 5′-untranslated region of the SULT2B1b mRNA. Sp1 and Sp2 transcription factors identified by supershift analyses induced reporter gene activity, an effect markedly augmented by histone deacetylase inhibition

Investigating pediatric disorders with induced pluripotent stem cells

The study of disease pathophysiology has long relied on model systems, including animal models and cultured cells. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka achieved a breakthrough by reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This revolutionary discovery provided new opportunities for disease modeling and therapeutic intervention. With established protocols, investigators can generate iPSC lines from patient blood, urine, and tissue samples. These iPSCs retain ability to differentiate into every human cell type. Advances in differentiation and organogenesis move cellular in vitro modeling to a multicellular model capable of recapitulating physiology and disease. Here, we discuss limitations of traditional animal and tissue culture models, as well as the application of iPSC models. We highlight various techniques, including reprogramming strategies, directed differentiation, tissue engineering, organoid developments, and genome editing. We extensively summarize current established iPSC disease models that utilize these techniques. Confluence of these technologies will advance our understanding of pediatric diseases and help usher in new personalized therapies for patients