Wide Angle Decentered Lens Beam Steering for Infrared Countermeasures Applications

A beam-steering system consisting of three cemented achromatic doublets is presented. Intended for use in IR countermeasure applications, our system is designed to operate over the 2- to 5-μm spectrum with minimum angular dispersion. We show that dispersion can be minimized by using doublet lenses fashioned from AMTIR-1 and germanium. Our system is designed to be compact and lightweight, with no internal foci, while allowing steering to ±22.5 deg. We also maintain a minimum 2-in. clear aperture for all steering angles, and a nominal divergence of 1 mrad. Plane wave and Gaussian beam analyses of our system are presented

Risk factors associated with physician trainee concern over missed educational opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a transformation of clinical care practices to protect both patients and providers. These changes led to a decrease in patient volume, impacting physician trainee education due to lost clinical and didactic opportunities. We measured the prevalence of trainee concern over missed educational opportunities and investigated the risk factors leading to such concerns. METHODS: All residents and fellows at a large academic medical center were invited to participate in a web-based survey in May of 2020. Participants responded to questions regarding demographic characteristics, specialty, primary assigned responsibility during the previous 2 weeks (clinical, education, or research), perceived concern over missed educational opportunities, and burnout. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between missed educational opportunities and the measured variables. RESULTS: 22% (301 of 1375) of the trainees completed the survey. 47% of the participants were concerned about missed educational opportunities. Trainees assigned to education at home had 2.85 [95%CI 1.33-6.45] greater odds of being concerned over missed educational opportunities as compared with trainees performing clinical work. Trainees performing research were not similarly affected [aOR = 0.96, 95%CI (0.47-1.93)]. Trainees in pathology or radiology had 2.51 [95%CI 1.16-5.68] greater odds of concern for missed educational opportunities as compared with medicine. Trainees with greater concern over missed opportunities were more likely to be experiencing burnout (p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Trainees in radiology or pathology and those assigned to education at home were more likely to be concerned about their missed educational opportunities. Residency programs should consider providing trainees with research or at home clinical opportunities as an alternative to self-study should future need for reduced clinical hours arise

mTORC2 signaling drives the development and progression of pancreatic cancer

mTOR signaling controls several critical cellular functions and is deregulated in many cancers, including pancreatic cancer. To date, most efforts have focused on inhibiting the mTORC1 complex. However, clinical trials of mTORC1 inhibitors in pancreatic cancer have failed, raising questions about this therapeutic approach. We employed a genetic approach to delete the obligate mTORC2 subunit Rictor and identified the critical times during which tumorigenesis requires mTORC2 signaling. Rictor deletion resulted in profoundly delayed tumorigenesis. Whereas previous studies showed most pancreatic tumors were insensitive to rapamycin, treatment with a dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor strongly suppressed tumorigenesis. In late-stage tumor-bearing mice, combined mTORC1/2 and PI3K inhibition significantly increased survival. Thus, targeting mTOR may be a potential therapeutic strategy in pancreatic cancer

Preliminary Characterisation of NP339, a Novel Polyarginine Peptide with Broad Antifungal Activity

FUNDING SOURCE The study was funded by NovaBiotics with support from The UK Governments’ Department of Health and Social Care, delivered by Innovate UK. Shane Smith and Carol Munro’s contribution to the project was funded by a Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance Bioskape grant award.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Work-Based Antipoverty Programs for Parents Can Enhance the School Performance and Social Behavior of Children

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65246/1/1467-8624.00281.pd

Post-Acquisition Hyperpolarized 29Silicon MR Image Processing for Visualization of Colorectal Lesions Using a User-Friendly Graphical Interface

Medical imaging devices often use automated processing that creates and displays a self-normalized image. When improperly executed, normalization can misrepresent information or result in an inaccurate analysis. In the case of diagnostic imaging, a false positive in the absence of disease, or a negative finding when disease is present, can produce a detrimental experience for the patient and diminish their health prospects and prognosis. In many clinical settings, a medical technical specialist is trained to operate an imaging device without sufficient background information or understanding of the fundamental theory and processes involved in image creation and signal processing. Here, we describe a user-friendly image processing algorithm that mitigates user bias and allows for true signal to be distinguished from background. For proof-of-principle, we used antibody-targeted molecular imaging of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a mouse model, expressing human MUC1 at tumor sites. Lesion detection was performed using targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of hyperpolarized silicon particles. Resulting images containing high background and artifacts were then subjected to individualized image post-processing and comparative analysis. Post-acquisition image processing allowed for co-registration of the targeted silicon signal with the anatomical proton magnetic resonance (MR) image. This new methodology allows users to calibrate a set of images, acquired with MRI, and reliably locate CRC tumors in the lower gastrointestinal tract of living mice. The method is expected to be generally useful for distinguishing true signal from background for other cancer types, improving the reliability of diagnostic MRI

A survey of sheep and/or cattle farmers in the UK shows confusion over the diagnosis and control of rumen fluke and liver fluke (vol 312, 109812, 2022)

The authors regret that in Section 3.6.1 and Fig. 6 of the original publication, the total number of rumen fluke treatments in cattle reported in 2019 should have been 32, not 44. The corrected text from Section 3.6.1 and Fig. 6 are presented below. In 2019, most respondents only treated once (53.13 %, n = 17/32) or twice (40.63 %, n = 13/32,) with 6.25 % (n = 2/32) stating they treated three times (Fig. 6). The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

Repeatability and Feasibility of Pressure Algometry for Quantifying Mechanical Nociceptive Threshold in the Thoracic Region of Calves

Pressure algometry can be used to quantify mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) in humans and animals. If reliable this may be a useful tool to examine calves for increased mechanical sensitivity, which may be induced by disease or pain. This study measures the repeatability and feasibility of pressure algometry using a handheld digital pressure algometer (PRODPlus, Top Cat metrology) using three serial measurements applied to six sites on the thoraces of 35 healthy calves by two different operators. The range of MNTs recorded in healthy calves was 1.2–25 Newtons (median = 10.1 IQR = 7.1–14.0). A multivariable mixed effects model identified that the MNT's recorded were influenced by Operator, Site, and Calf. Intra and inter-operator reliability were measured by intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Based on average ICCs, intra-operator reliability at two sites was good; one site overlying the ventral aspect of the 6th intercostal space [ICC = 0.79 95% CI (0.63–0.89)] and the other overlying the dorsal aspect of the 9th intercostal space [ICC = 0.75 95% CI (0.56–0.87)]. Average ICCs for three other measurement sites were moderate or poor, and one site proved unfeasible. For inter-operator agreement average ICCs showed that agreement was also good at the same 6 and 9th intercostal space, [ICCs = 0.77 95% CI (0.35–0.90) and 0.77 95% CI (0.54–0.88), respectively], agreement was moderate for the remainder of the sites. This study identifies two sites that are potentially useful for monitoring of thoracic sensitivity as an indicator of pain in calves by means of pressure algometry using the average of three measurements. It also identifies sources of variability to be considered when applying the tool for clinical or research purposes

Neuronal Migration Generates New Populations of Neurons That Develop Unique Connections, Physiological Properties and Pathologies

Central nervous system neurons become postmitotic when radial glia cells divide to form neuroblasts. Neuroblasts may migrate away from the ventricle radially along glia fibers, in various directions or even across the midline. We present four cases of unusual migration that are variably connected to either pathology or formation of new populations of neurons with new connectivities. One of the best-known cases of radial migration involves granule cells that migrate from the external granule cell layer along radial Bergman glia fibers to become mature internal granule cells. In various medulloblastoma cases this migration does not occur and transforms the external granule cell layer into a rapidly growing tumor. Among the ocular motor neurons is one unique population that undergoes a contralateral migration and uniquely innervates the superior rectus and levator palpebrae muscles. In humans, a mutation of a single gene ubiquitously expressed in all cells, induces innervation defects only in this unique motor neuron population, leading to inability to elevate eyes or upper eyelids. One of the best-known cases for longitudinal migration is the facial branchial motor (FBM) neurons and the overlapping inner ear efferent population. We describe here molecular cues that are needed for the caudal migration of FBM to segregate these motor neurons from the differently migrating inner ear efferent population. Finally, we describe unusual migration of inner ear spiral ganglion neurons that result in aberrant connections with disruption of frequency presentation. Combined, these data identify unique migratory properties of various neuronal populations that allow them to adopt new connections but also sets them up for unique pathologies