Intelligent tutoring and aiding in satellite ground control

In supervisory control systems such as satellite ground control, there is a need for human-centered automation where the focus is to understand and enhance the human-system interaction experience in the complex task environment. Operator support in the form of off-line intelligent tutoring and on-line intelligent aiding is one approach towards this effort. The tutor/aid paradigm is proposed here as a design approach that integrates the two aspects of operator support in one system for technically oriented adults in complex domains. This paper also presents GT-VITA, a proof-of-concept graphical, interactive, intelligent tutoring system that is a first attempt to illustrate the tutoring aspect of the tutor/aid paradigm in the domain of satellite ground control. Evaluation on GT-VITA is conducted with NASA personnel with very positive results. GT-VITA is presented being fielded as it is at Goddard Space Flight Center

A qualitative examination of severe disciplinary incidents in men’s soccer

The purpose of this study was to examine the number of severe disciplinary incidents involving referees in senior men’s soccer, as well as contributing factors. Such incidents include, but are not limited to, abusive remarks, threats, and deliberate violent conduct. Competition in senior men’s soccer takes place between teams within a tiered structure where players are at least 18 years old. Data collection entailed documentary analysis of disciplinary reports (n = 98) provided by a provincial soccer association. After recording annual frequency, offender’s team, level of competition, and length of suspension, descriptive statistics were calculated. Disciplinary reports showed an increase in frequency of incidents from 4 in 2010 to 27 in 2015. These disciplinary incidents occurred across 80 different teams, with 61.1% of them emerging from lower tiers (ie., tier 3 or lower). Suspensions ranged from 0 to 134 games (M = 18.5, SD = 22.6). These results highlight the distribution pattern and increase in severe disciplinary incidents in men’s soccer. The next phase of the study involves conducting interviews to obtain player perceptions of disciplinary incidents involving referees. Approximately 10 players will be recruited across a range of tiers in a provincial soccer league, and share their experiences based on their direct involvement or as a witness to severe disciplinary incidents. Interviews will explore the antecedents of these disciplinary incidents, which may identify strategies to improve players’ and officials’ well-being through the influence of contextual factors. *Indicates faculty mentor

Recreational ketamine-related deaths notified to the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, England, 1997-2019

© 2021 The Authors. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).Background: Ketamine is a phencyclidine derivative with dissociative anaesthetic properties. Increasing numbers of individuals in England take ketamine recreationally. Information on deaths arising from such use in England is presented. Methods: Cases were extracted on 31 January 2020 from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths database, based on text searches of the cause of death, coroner’s verdict and positive toxicology results for the terms ‘ketamine’ or ‘norketamine’. Findings: During 1997–2005, there were <5 deaths p.a. in which ketamine was implicated. Numbers increased until 2009 (21), plateauing until 2016; thereafter, deaths have risen to about 30 p.a. Decedents’ characteristics (N = 283): male 84.1%, mean age 31.2 (SD 10.0) years, employed 56.5%, drug use history 79.6% and living with others 60.3%. Ketamine was detected with other substances in most cases. Main (74.6%) underlying cause of death was accidental poisoning. Ketamine may have impaired judgement in other cases. Conclusions: Although controlled, recreational ketamine use and related fatalities continue to increase. Consumers need to be more aware of the potentially fatal risks they face.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

High basal STAT4 balanced by STAT1 induction to control type 1 interferon effects in natural killer cells

The best-characterized type 1 interferon (IFN) signaling pathway depends on signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and STAT2. The cytokines can, however, conditionally activate all STATs. Regulation of their access to particular signaling pathways is poorly understood. STAT4 is important for IFN-γ induction, and NK cells are major producers of this cytokine. We report that NK cells have high basal STAT4 levels and sensitivity to type 1 IFN–mediated STAT4 activation for IFN-γ production. Increases in STAT1, driven during viral infection by either type 1 IFN or IFN-γ, are associated with decreased STAT4 access. Both STAT1 and STAT2 are important for antiviral defense, but STAT1 has a unique role in protecting against sustained NK cell IFN-γ production and resulting disease. The regulation occurs with an NK cell type 1 IFN receptor switch from a STAT4 to a STAT1 association. Thus, a fundamental characteristic of NK cells is high STAT4 bound to the type 1 IFN receptor. The conditions of infection result in STAT1 induction with displacement of STAT4. These studies elucidate the critical role of STAT4 levels in predisposing selection of specific signaling pathways, define the biological importance of regulation within particular cell lineages, and provide mechanistic insights for how this is accomplished in vivo

Charakterisierung einer Membran-Gassensor-Kombination zum Nachweis von gelösten Gasen

Kommt es in isolierölgefüllten Transformatoren zu Schäden, so entstehen Gase aus der Spaltung des Isolieröls durch die Energie des Schadens. Schäden sind z.B. eine elektrische Entladung oder eine Überhitzung. Typische Schadgase sind Wasserstoff und Kohlenwasserstoffe wie Ethin und Ethen. Ob ein Schaden eingetreten ist, wird mit einem Buchholzrelais überwacht. Dieses meldet die Anwesenheit von Gas. Welcher Schaden eingetreten ist, wird mit Hilfe einer Gas-in-Öl-Analyse bestimmt. Diese beinhaltet Probennahme, Transport der Probe und Analyse im Labor mit einem GC mit Wärmeleitfähigkeits- und Flammenionisationsdetektor. Die Gas-in-Öl-Analyse wird einmal jährlich durchgeführt. Kommt es zu einem Schaden, so wird das Wiederholungsintervall erhöht, bis hin zu mehreren Analysen an einem Tag. Eine Bestimmung der Schadgase direkt am Transformator erleichtert die Überwachung des Transformators und ist deswegen von Interesse. Die Schadgase sind mit Gassensoren nachweisbar. Ein mit Gassensoren ausgerüstetes System, am Buchholzrelais angebracht, könnte diese Aufgabe erfüllen. Befindet sich in einem abgeschlossen Gefäß eine Gasphase über einer Flüssigkeit, so stellt sich ein Gleichgewicht zwischen der Konzentration der Gase in der Gasphase und der Konzentration der in der Flüssigkeit gelösten Gase ein. Dieses Gleichgewicht hängt ab vom Löslichkeitskoeffizienten, von der Temperatur und von dem Partialdruck des entsprechenden Gases. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden verschiedene Gassensoren auf ihre Eignung zum Nachweis von Transformatorschadgasen hin untersucht. Ein System zum Nachweis des Schadgases Wasserstoff, welches in Isolieröl gelöst ist, wird entwickelt. Zur Unterscheidung der Schad-gase Ethan, Ethin und Ethen im Konzentrationsbereich von 100 ppm bis 500 ppm wird untersucht, ob diese mit einem einzelnen Sensor nachgewiesen und unterschieden werden können. Ein Nachweiszyklus wird vorgestellt. Die Betriebs-temperatur eines Halbleitergassenors beeinflußt dessen Selektivität. Bei den Kohlenwasser-stoffen Ethan (Einfachbindung), Ethen (Doppelbindung) und Ethin (Dreifachbindung) resultiert aus den unterschiedlichen Bindungen eine unterschiedliche Energie, die zur Oxidation notwendig ist. Damit sollten sie durch einen einzelnen Gassensor bei verschiedenen Temperaturen nachweisbar sein. Bei Ethin ist aufgrund der Dreifachbindung die Energie zur Oxidation geringer als bei Ethan mit seiner Dreifachbindung. Eine niedrige Sensortemperatur sollte zum Ethin-Nachweis ausreichen. Die Trennung von Ethan und Ethin mit nur einem Halbleitergassensor (UST GGS3000) ist möglich. Die Ethinkonzentration wird bei einem Heizspannungswechsel von 1 V auf 2 V gemessen und anschließend die Ethankonzentration bei einem Heizspannungswechsel von 3 V auf 4 V. Für den gleichzeitigen Nachweis von Ethan/Ethen oder Ethin/Ethen muß ein zweiter Sensor (UST GGS1000) für die Messung des Ethen, bei einem Heizspannungswechsel von 3,5 V auf 4,5 V, verwendet werden. Die Konzentration des einen Gases wird über eine lineare Regression bestimmt und danach die Konzentration des anderen Gases über ein Polynomnetz. Voraussetzung für den Einsatz von Gassensoren für die Detektion von in Isolieröl gelösten Gasen ist die Trennung der Sensoren vom Öl. Hierzu wird eine Sensorkammer entwickelt, bei der die Trennung der Sensoren vom Öl über eine Teflonmembran erfolgt. Zum Nachweis muß das im Öl gelöste Gas aus dem Öl durch die Membran zu den Sensoren diffundieren. Dies führt zu einer langen Zeitkonstanten bei der Einstellung der Gaskonzentration bei den Sensoren. Deswegen muß der Aufbau so ausgelegt sein, daß nur vernachlässigbare Gasverluste durch chemischen Umsatz an den Sensoren auftreten, da diese kürzere Zeitkonstanten haben. Eine Verarmung des im Öl gelösten Gases vor der Membran wird durch den Einsatz einer Pumpe vermieden. Eine Gasdiffusion im Öl aufgrund des durch die Verarmung entstehenden Konzentrationsunterschiedes läuft nicht schnell genug ab. Eingesetzt wird eine Wärmeleitfähigkeitssensor-Halbleitersensor-Kombination. Ein mikrostrukturierter Wärmeleitfähigkeitssensor (TCS208F; Fa. Gerhard R. Wagner Sensors, Systems and Services) und ein Halbleitersensor (UST GGS1000) werden verwendet. Der Halbleitersensor wird bei Raumtemperatur betrieben. In regelmäßigen Abständen (hier z.B. 24 h) wird der Sensor für 10 min auf 250 °C erwärmt. Dabei verbrennt er allen im Gasraum vorhanden Wasserstoff. Dies dient der Nullpunkteinstellung des Wärmeleitfähigkeitssensors. Nach der Nullpunkteinstellung durch eine Betriebsphase des Halbleitersensors dauert es ca. 10 h, bis sich wieder ein Gleichgewicht zwischen den Gaskonzentrationen im Öl und in der Luft hinter der Membran eingestellt hat. Eine Messung ist erst jetzt möglich. Eine Endwertbestimmung durch die Anpassung einer Exponentialfunktion an die Meßwerte verkürzt diese Zeit auf 3-4 h. Die Wasserstoffkonzentration kann von 500 ppm bis 5 % linear nachgewiesen werden. Die H2-Konzentration [%] in Luft ergibt sich als (Meßsignal [mV]/cL) mit (cL = -1,73 mV/% H2). Eine gleichzeitig zur Messung erfolgende Gas-in-Öl-Analyse (DIN EN60567) ergibt Konzentrationen, die um einen Faktor 1,34 unter den vom Sensorsystem bestimmten liegen. Für die Bestimmung der Gaskonzentrationen sind die Löslichkeitskoeffizienten wesentlich, deren Werte in der Literatur unterschiedlich angegeben werden

Tian Xian Liquid (TXL) induces apoptosis in HT-29 colon cancer cell in vitro and inhibits tumor growth in vivo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tian Xian Liquid (TXL) is a Chinese medicine decoction and has been used as an anticancer dietary supplement. The present study aims to investigate the effects of TXL on the apoptosis of HT-29 cells and tumor growth <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>HT-29 colon cancer cells were treated with gradient dilution of TXL. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by JC-1 assay. The release of cytochrome c from mitochondrial and apoptosis-related proteins <it>Bax</it>, <it>Bcl-2</it>, cleaved caspase-3, 9 were examined by Western blot analysis. HT-29 cells were implanted in nude mice to examine the effects of TXL on tumor growth.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>TXL inhibited HT-29 xenografted model and showed a strong and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HT-29 cells. Mitochondrial membrane potential was reduced by TXL at the concentration of 0.5% above. For Western blot analysis, an increase in <it>Bax </it>expression and a decrease in <it>Bcl-2 </it>expression were observed in TXL-treated cells. TXL treatment increased the protein level of cleaved casepase-3 and caspase-9, and the release of cytochrome c in cytoplasm was up-regulated as well.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>TXL significantly inhibits cell proliferation in the HT-29 cells and HT-29 xenografted model via the mitochondrial cell death pathway.</p

Gender Differences in Head Impacts Sustained by Collegiate Ice Hockey Players

Purpose—This study aims to quantify the frequency, magnitude, and location of head impacts sustained by male and female collegiate ice hockey players over two seasons of play. Methods—Over two seasons, 88 collegiate athletes (51 female, 37 male) on two female and male NCAA varsity ice hockey teams wore instrumented helmets. Each helmet was equipped with 6 single-axis accelerometers and a miniature data acquisition system to capture and record head impacts sustained during play. Data collected from the helmets were post-processed to compute linear and rotational acceleration of the head as well as impact location. The head impact exposure data (frequency, location, and magnitude) were then compared across gender. Results—Female hockey players experienced a significantly lower (p \u3c 0.001) number of impacts per athlete exposure than males (female: 1.7 ± 0.7; male: 2.9 ± 1.2). The frequency of impacts by location was the same between gender (p \u3e 0.278) for all locations except the right side of the head, where males received fewer impacts than females (p = 0.031). Female hockey players were 1.1 times more likely than males to sustain an impact less than 50 g while males were 1.3 times more likely to sustain an impact greater than 100 g. Similarly, males were 1.9 times more likely to sustain an impact with peak rotational acceleration greater than 5,000 rad/s2 and 3.5 times more likely to sustain an impact greater than 10,000 rad/s2. Conclusions—Although the incidence of concussion has typically been higher for female hockey players than male hockey players, female players sustain fewer impacts and impacts resulting in lower head acceleration than males. Further study is required to better understand th

Prevalence of frailty among kidney transplant candidates and recipients in the United States: Estimates from a National Registry and Multicenter Cohort Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154612/1/ajt15709.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154612/2/ajt15709_am.pd

A Culturally Sensitive Social Support Intervention for Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors (Joy Luck Academy): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

© Qian Lu, Krystal Warmoth, Lingjun Chen, Christine S Wu, Qiao Chu, Yisheng Li, Matthew W Gallagher, Annette L Stanton, Marjorie Kagawa Singer, Lucy Young, Alice Loh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer among Asian American women. Chinese American immigrant breast cancer survivors face unique challenges because of cultural and socioecological factors. They report emotional distress and the need for social, emotional, and spiritual support. However, culturally and linguistically appropriate information for managing survivorship health care is often unavailable. OBJECTIVE: To improve the health outcomes for this underserved and understudied population, we developed, designed, and launched a randomized controlled trial to test the health benefits of a culturally sensitive social support intervention (Joy Luck Academy). In this paper, we describe the research protocol. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial will enroll Chinese-speaking, stage 0 to 3 breast cancer survivors who have completed treatment within the previous 36 months using a community-based participatory research approach. We will randomly assign 168 participants to the intervention or control group. The intervention arm will attend 7 weekly 3.5-hour peer mentor and educational sessions. The control group will receive the educational information. We will assess health outcomes at baseline, immediately after the Joy Luck Academy, and at 1- and 4-month follow-ups. The primary outcome is quality of life, as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale. Secondary outcomes include depressive symptoms, positive affect, fatigue, and perceived stress. We will also explore how the intervention influences cortisol levels. To identify how and to whom the program is effective, we will measure social and personal resources and theorized mechanisms and perform qualitative interviews with a subsample of participants to enhance the interpretation of quantitative data. RESULTS: Recruitment began in February 2015, and data collection was completed in February 2019. We expect to complete data management by August 2021 and publish results in 2022. CONCLUSIONS: If the Joy Luck Academy is demonstrated to be effective, it may be easily disseminated as an intervention for other groups of Asian American immigrant breast cancer survivors. Furthermore, similar programs could be integrated into other diverse communities.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio