The evolution of cauterization: from the hot iron to the Bovie.

The Bovie electrocautery has become a fundamental tool of modern-day surgery, particularly for its integral role in hemostasis, yet despite this landmark invention and its widespread use, there is very little said about the man behind the machine: William T. Bovie. It would be thousands of years from the inception of cautery in medicine until the birth of Dr. Bovie and his device. However, his work in biophysics and collaboration with Dr. Harvey Cushing would revolutionize surgical practice in the early 20th century and forever ingrain his name into the field of surgery

Relations between entanglement, Bell-inequality violation and teleportation fidelity for the two-qubit X states

Based on the assumption that the receiver Bob can apply any unitary transformation, Horodecki {\it et al.} [Phys. Lett. A {\bf 222}, 21 (1996)] proved that any mixed two spin-1/2 state which violates the Bell-CHSH inequality is useful for teleportation. Here, we further show that any X state which violates the Bell-CHSH inequality can also be used for nonclassical teleportation even if Bob can only perform the identity or the Pauli rotation operations. Moreover, we showed that the maximal difference between the two average fidelities achievable via Bob's arbitrary transformations and via the sole identity or the Pauli rotation is 1/9.Comment: 5 pages, to be published in "Quantum Information Processing

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 29

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Identification des especes de plantes arborescentes dans les agroecosystemes et leur role dans l’espace de la Reserve Naturelle Scientifique de Lamto : Cas du terroir du village de Zougoussi

L’étude a porté sur la gestion des plantes arborescentes dans trente (30) agroécosystèmes du terroir du village de Zougoussi, situé au Nord-ouest de la Reserve Scientifique de Lamto. Par la méthode de relevé de surface et une enquête ethnobotanique, des résultats importants ont été obtenus. Cette étude a permis d’identifier huit (8) types de cultures parmi lesquels la cacaoculture, regroupant plus de 50 p.c. des agrosystèmes visités, constitue la principale culture. Dans ces exploitations agricoles, 43 espèces de plantes arborescentes, réparties dans 38 genres et 27 familles, ont été inventoriées. Les espèces les plus représentatives avec plus de 50 p.c. de fréquence relative sont respectivement : Elaeis guinensis, Persea americana et Mangifera indica. Le choix des espèces rencontrées est lié aux besoins de l’exploitant. Ces espèces sont essentiellement reproduites par graines. Leur densité varie d’un type de culture à un autre. Leur présence est plus marquée dans les jeunes plantations de cacaoyers qui associent beaucoup de bananiers et enregistrent la plus forte densité (400 plantes arborescentes). Elles contribuent aux besoins des populations rurales par les usages suivants : alimentaire (52,11 p.c.), médicinal (18,50 p.c.), bois de chauffe (13,32 p.c.), bois de construction (8,85 p.c.), fourrage (4,20 p.c.), fertilisant (2,32 p.c.), lieux de repos (0,60 p.c.) et source de revenus financiers (0,04 p.c.). Mots clés : Plantes arborescentes, agroécosystèmes, densité, usages, Zougoussi, Lamto   English Title: <i>Identification of tree species in agroecosystems and their role in the area of the Lamto Natural Science Reserve: The case of the terror of the village of Zougoussi</i> The study focused on the management of tree plants in thirty (30) agroecosystems in the village of Zougoussi, located northwest of the Lamto Scientific Reserve. Through the surface survey method and an ethnobotanical survey, important results were obtained. This study has identified eight (8) types of crops, of which cocoa farming, comprising more than 50% of the agrosystems visited, is the main crop. On these farms, 43 speciesof tree plants, divided into 38 genera and 27 families, were inventoried. The most representative species with more than 50% relative frequency are Elaeis guinensis, Persea americana and Mangifera indica, respectively. The choice of species encountered is related to the needs of the operator. These species are mainly reproduced by seeds. Their density varies from one type of culture to another. Their presence is more marked in young cocoa plantations, which associate a lot of banana trees and record the highest density (400 tree plants). They contribute to the needs of rural populations through the following uses: food (52.11 pc), medicinal (18.50 pc), firewood (13.32 pc), timber (8.85 pc), fodder (4.20 pc), fertilizer (2.32 pc), places of rest (0.60 pc) and source of financial income (0.04 pc). Key words: Tree plants, agroecosystems, density, uses, Zougoussi, Lamt

Sensory Prediction or Motor Control? Application of Marr–Albus Type Models of Cerebellar Function to Classical Conditioning

Marr–Albus adaptive filter models of the cerebellum have been applied successfully to a range of sensory and motor control problems. Here we analyze their properties when applied to classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response in rabbits. We consider a system-level model of eyeblink conditioning based on the anatomy of the eyeblink circuitry, comprising an adaptive filter model of the cerebellum, a comparator model of the inferior olive and a linear dynamic model of the nictitating membrane plant. To our knowledge, this is the first model that explicitly includes all these principal components, in particular the motor plant that is vital for shaping and timing the behavioral response. Model assumptions and parameters were systematically investigated to disambiguate basic computational capacities of the model from features requiring tuning of properties and parameter values. Without such tuning, the model robustly reproduced a range of behaviors related to sensory prediction, by displaying appropriate trial-level associative learning effects for both single and multiple stimuli, including blocking and conditioned inhibition. In contrast, successful reproduction of the real-time motor behavior depended on appropriate specification of the plant, cerebellum and comparator models. Although some of these properties appear consistent with the system biology, fundamental questions remain about how the biological parameters are chosen if the cerebellar microcircuit applies a common computation to many distinct behavioral tasks. It is possible that the response profiles in classical conditioning of the eyeblink depend upon operant contingencies that have previously prevailed, for example in naturally occurring avoidance movements

Update on the current status of onchocerciasis in Cote d’Ivoire following 40 years of intervention: Progress and challenges

Background Onchocerciasis control in Côte d’Ivoire started with aerial insecticide spraying in 1974 and continued with community directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTi) from 1992 to the present. Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) are co-endemic in 46 of the 81 health districts in the country. Fourteen and 12 districts are endemic for only LF or onchocerciasis, respectively. This paper aims to review the impact of past interventions on onchocerciasis in Côte d’Ivoire between 1975 and 2013, and review plans for disease elimination. Methods We reviewed microfilaria (MF, skin snip) prevalence and community microfilarial load (CMFL) data from published reports from 53 health districts during two major epidemiological assessment periods. Data from 1975 through 1991 provided information on the impact of vector control, and data from 1992 through 2016 provided information on the impact of CDTi. Results Weekly aerial insecticide spraying in 8 endemic districts between 1975 and 1991 reduced the overall MF prevalence by 68.1% from 43.5% to 13.9%. The CMFL also decreased in 7 out of 8 surveyed communities by 95.2% from 9.24 MF/snip to 0.44 MF/snip. Ivermectin distribution started in 1992. The coverage targets for control (65% of the total population) was reached in most endemic districts, and some areas achieved 80% coverage. Two sets of surveys were conducted to assess the impact of CDTi. Results from the first repeat surveys showed a significant decrease in overall MF prevalence (by 75.7%, from 41.6% to 10.1%). The second follow-up evaluation showed further improvement in most endemic districts and also documented major reductions in CMFL compared to baseline. Conclusions Extensive data collected over many years document the very significant impact of interventions conducted by the National Onchocerciasis and other Eyes Diseases Control Programme during challenging times with periods of civil unrest. The Health Ministry has now integrated efforts to control neglected tropical diseases and adopted the goal of onchocerciasis elimination

Population pharmacogenetic-based pharmacokinetic modeling of efavirenz, 7-hydroxy- and 8-hydroxyefavirenz

The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic and pharmacogenetic covariates that influence the disposition of efavirenz (EFV) and its major metabolites. A population pharmacokinetic (PK) model was developed from a randomized, cross-over, drug-interaction study in healthy male Korean subjects (n = 17). Plasma concentrations of EFV and its hydroxy-metabolites (0-120 hours) were measured by LC/MS/MS. Genomic DNA was genotyped for variants in the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2A6, 2B6, 3A5, and MDR1 genes. A PK model was built in a stepwise procedure using nonlinear mixed effect modeling in NONMEM 7. The covariate model was built using the generalized additive modeling and forward selection-backward elimination. Model-based simulations were performed to predict EFV steady-state concentrations following 200, 400, and 600 mg daily oral dose among different CYP2B6 genotypes. The final model included only CYP2B6 genotype as a covariate that predicts EFV clearance through the formation of 8-OH EFV that represented 65% to 80% of EFV clearance. The total clearance of EFV in CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype was ∼30% lower than CYP2B6*1/*1 or CYP2B6*1/*6 alleles (P < .001). Clopidogrel reduced both formation and elimination clearances of 8-OH EFV by 22% and 19%, respectively (P = .033 and .041). Other demographics and genotype of accessory CYP pathways did not predict EFV or metabolites PK. CYP2B6 genotype was the only significant predictor of EFV disposition. The developed model may serve as the foundation for further exploration of pharmacogenetic-based dosing of EFV

Teleportation via thermally entangled state of a two-qubit Heisenberg XX chain

We find that quantum teleportation, using the thermally entangled state of two-qubit Heisenberg XX chain as a resource, with fidelity better than any classical communication protocol is possible. However, a thermal state with a greater amount of thermal entanglement does not necessarily yield better fidelity. It depends on the amount of mixing between the separable state and maximally entangled state in the spectra of the two-qubit Heisenberg XX model.Comment: 5 pages, 1 tabl