Inverter ratio failure detector

A failure detector which detects the failure of a dc to ac inverter is disclosed. The inverter under failureless conditions is characterized by a known linear relationship of its input and output voltages and by a known linear relationship of its input and output currents. The detector includes circuitry which is responsive to the detector's input and output voltages and which provides a failure-indicating signal only when the monitored output voltage is less by a selected factor, than the expected output voltage for the monitored input voltage, based on the known voltages' relationship. Similarly, the detector includes circuitry which is responsive to the input and output currents and provides a failure-indicating signal only when the input current exceeds by a selected factor the expected input current for the monitored output current based on the known currents' relationship

Emergency Medicine Provider Impressions of Novel SMS-Based Toxicology Module

The diagnosis and treatment of common toxicologic disorders is an area of core content that emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians and physician assistants (PA) are required to demonstrate competence in order to become proficient practicing clinicians. Even when EM programs have a required toxicology elective, learners do not encounter all core toxicologic presentations. To supplement these knowledge gaps, many toxicology curriculums rely on internet learning modules which have variable uptake in practice. With remote learning and education becoming more common, we aim to perform a need-based assessment of EM resident and PA toxicology education and use the results to develop and deploy a text message-based, interactive toxicology supplemental program for EM residents and PAs and measure its acceptability and preliminary effectiveness to teach core toxicology principles

The development of the Meaning in Life Index (MILI) and its relationship with personality and religious behaviours and beliefs among UK undergraduate students

The scales available for assessing meaning in life appear to be confounded with several related constructs, including purpose in life, satisfaction with life, and goal-directed behaviour. The Meaning in Life Index (MILI), a new instrument devised as a specific measure of meaning in life, was developed from responses to a pool of 22 items rated by a sample of 501 undergraduate students in Wales. The nine-item scale demonstrated sufficient face validity, internal consistency, and scale reliability to commend the instrument for future use. With respect to personality, the MILI scores were most strongly predicted by neuroticism (negatively), and less strongly by extraversion (positively) and psychoticism (negatively). With respect to several religious behavioural variables, those who attended church at least weekly returned significantly higher MILI scores than those who attended church less frequently. Intrinsic religiosity was the only orientation to be significantly associated with the MILI scale scores, although the magnitude of the association was smaller than anticipated. These results suggest that meaning in life is associated more strongly with individual differences in personality than with specific religious behaviours and attitudes. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of individual's personal values and attitudes that might underlie their experience of a meaning in life

The effects of periodontal therapy on serum antibody (IgG) levels to plaque microorganisms *

The influence of periodontal therapy on serum antibody titers to selected periodontal disease-associated microorganisms was assessed in 23 patients having chronic inflammatory periodontal disease (CIPD), The immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers were dÉtÉrmined by the micro ELISA technique in serum samples obtained prior to treatment; following a hygienic phase which included scaling, root planing, and oral hygiene instruction; following surgical treatment; and one year and two years following hygienic phase (maintenance phase). Considerable individual variability existed in the magnitude of immune response to specific bacterial preparations. Significant reductions in the mean antibody titers were seen to A. viscosus. S. sanguis. F. nucleatum, S, spuligena, B. gingivalis. B. interme-dius. B. melaninogeniem, T. vincentii , and T denticola by the end of the second year of maintenance. There was no consistent response to Capnucytophaga. When individual patient responses were examined. 6 of the 23 were found to have elevated titers to at least one of the microorganisms in the interval between pretreatment and the end of the hygienic phase; however, in all but one case, the titers at the end of the second year of maintenance were below pretreatment levels. Antibody levels to bacteria such as S. sanguis were modified during therapy. This would indicate that immune responses to microbes not generally considered to be “periodontal pathogens” may be modified by adjuvant activity associated with subgingival plaque or changes in the environment of the sulcus and that subsequent changes in titer do not necessarily reflect a role of that microorganism in the disease process.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75110/1/j.1600-051X.1988.tb02127.x.pd

The Psychological Science Accelerator: Advancing Psychology through a Distributed Collaborative Network

Concerns have been growing about the veracity of psychological research. Many findings in psychological science are based on studies with insufficient statistical power and nonrepresentative samples, or may otherwise be limited to specific, ungeneralizable settings or populations. Crowdsourced research, a type of large-scale collaboration in which one or more research projects are conducted across multiple lab sites, offers a pragmatic solution to these and other current methodological challenges. The Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA) is a distributed network of laboratories designed to enable and support crowdsourced research projects. These projects can focus on novel research questions, or attempt to replicate prior research, in large, diverse samples. The PSA’s mission is to accelerate the accumulation of reliable and generalizable evidence in psychological science. Here, we describe the background, structure, principles, procedures, benefits, and challenges of the PSA. In contrast to other crowdsourced research networks, the PSA is ongoing (as opposed to time-limited), efficient (in terms of re-using structures and principles for different projects), decentralized, diverse (in terms of participants and researchers), and inclusive (of proposals, contributions, and other relevant input from anyone inside or outside of the network). The PSA and other approaches to crowdsourced psychological science will advance our understanding of mental processes and behaviors by enabling rigorous research and systematically examining its generalizability

Energy expenditure and adiposity in Nigerian and African-American women

Objective:Obesity is a prevalent condition in industrialized societies and is increasing around the world. We sought to assess the relative importance of resting energy expenditure (REE) and activity EE (AEE) in two populations with different rates of obesity.Methods and Procedures:Women of African descent between 18 and 59 years of age were recruited from rural Nigeria and from metropolitan Chicago. Total EE (TEE) was measured using the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique and REE by indirect calorimetry; AEE was calculated as the difference between TEE and the sum of REE plus a factor for the thermic effect of food. In the analyses all EE parameters were adjusted for body size using a regression method. Comparisons were made between the groups and associations between EE and adiposity examined.Results:A total of 149 Nigerian and 172 African-American women completed the protocol. All body size measurements were lower in the Nigerian women. Adjusted TEE and REE were higher in the Nigerian cohort but adjusted AEE did not differ significantly. Adjustment for parity, seasonality, and recent illness did not modify mean AEE or adiposity. In neither cohort was there a meaningful association between measures of AEE and adiposity.Discussion:In these cohorts of women from very different environments, AEE did not differ significantly nor was it associated cross-sectionally with adiposity. If generalizable, these findings suggest that reduction in AEE may have less of a role in the development of obesity than anticipated. The possibility remains that variation in type and duration of activity plays a role not captured by total AEE. © 2008 The Obesity Society

Metabolite Cross-Feeding Enhances Virulence in a Model Polymicrobial Infection

Microbes within polymicrobial infections often display synergistic interactions resulting in enhanced pathogenesis; however, the molecular mechanisms governing these interactions are not well understood. Development of model systems that allow detailed mechanistic studies of polymicrobial synergy is a critical step towards a comprehensive understanding of these infections in vivo. In this study, we used a model polymicrobial infection including the opportunistic pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and the commensal Streptococcus gordonii to examine the importance of metabolite cross-feeding for establishing co-culture infections. Our results reveal that co-culture with S. gordonii enhances the pathogenesis of A. actinomycetemcomitans in a murine abscess model of infection. Interestingly, the ability of A. actinomycetemcomitans to utilize L-lactate as an energy source is essential for these co-culture benefits. Surprisingly, inactivation of L-lactate catabolism had no impact on mono-culture growth in vitro and in vivo suggesting that A. actinomycetemcomitans L-lactate catabolism is only critical for establishing co-culture infections. These results demonstrate that metabolite cross-feeding is critical for A. actinomycetemcomitans to persist in a polymicrobial infection with S. gordonii supporting the idea that the metabolic properties of commensal bacteria alter the course of pathogenesis in polymicrobial communities

The QKI-6 RNA Binding Protein Regulates Actin-interacting Protein-1 mRNA Stability during Oligodendrocyte Differentiation

We identify new mRNA targets for the QKI-6 RNA binding proteins using an unbiased approach. We show that AIP-1 mRNA is bound by QKI-6 within its 3′-UTR. This regulation is observed in oligodendrocytes and it is essential for oligodendrocyte process outgrowth