Diffuser contact lenses retard axial elongation in infant rhesus monkeys

AbstractIn each of five monkeys, one eye was fitted with a diffuser lens at birth. This lens allowed pattern vision, but also reduced contrast by about 1 log unit. In four out of five monkeys, the treated eyes were shorter and more hyperopic than the untreated fellow eyes. At 25 weeks of age, interocular differences (OD-OS) of the experimental group were significantly greater than interocular differences of age-matched normal monkeys for both axial length (P < 0.05) and refractive error (P < 0.02). In addition, while the treated eyes were significantly different from normal eyes for both axial length measurements (P < 0.01) and refractive error (P < 0.01), there were no significant differences between the untreated fellow eyes and normal eyes. In primates less severe pattern deprivation appears to produce an effect on eye growth that is opposite to that of severe pattern deprivation (little or no pattern vision), which typically results in axial myopia

Measuring quality and outcomes of research collaborations: An integrative review

Introduction: Although the science of team science is no longer a new field, the measurement of team science and its standardization remain in relatively early stages of development. To describe the current state of team science assessment, we conducted an integrative review of measures of research collaboration quality and outcomes. Methods: Collaboration measures were identified using both a literature review based on specific keywords and an environmental scan. Raters abstracted details about the measures using a standard tool. Measures related to collaborations with clinical care, education, and program delivery were excluded from this review. Results: We identified 44 measures of research collaboration quality, which included 35 measures with reliability and some form of statistical validity reported. Most scales focused on group dynamics. We identified 89 measures of research collaboration outcomes; 16 had reliability and 15 had a validity statistic. Outcome measures often only included simple counts of products; publications rarely defined how counts were delimited, obtained, or assessed for reliability. Most measures were tested in only one venue. Conclusions: Although models of collaboration have been developed, in general, strong, reliable, and valid measurements of such collaborations have not been conducted or accepted into practice. This limitation makes it difficult to compare the characteristics and impacts of research teams across studies or to identify the most important areas for intervention. To advance the science of team science, we provide recommendations regarding the development and psychometric testing of measures of collaboration quality and outcomes that can be replicated and broadly applied across studies

Orion Capsule Handling Qualities for Atmospheric Entry

Two piloted simulations were conducted at NASA's Johnson Space Center using the Cooper-Harper scale to study the handling qualities of the Orion Command Module capsule during atmospheric entry flight. The simulations were conducted using high fidelity 6-DOF simulators for Lunar Return Skip Entry and International Space Station Return Direct Entry flight using bank angle steering commands generated by either the Primary (PredGuid) or Backup (PLM) guidance algorithms. For both evaluations, manual control of bank angle began after descending through Entry Interface into the atmosphere until drogue chutes deployment. Pilots were able to use defined bank management and reversal criteria to accurately track the bank angle commands, and stay within flight performance metrics of landing accuracy, g-loads, and propellant consumption, suggesting that the pilotability of Orion under manual control is both achievable and provides adequate trajectory performance with acceptable levels of pilot effort. Another significant result of these analyses is the applicability of flying a complex entry task under high speed entry flight conditions relevant to the next generation Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle return from Mars and Near Earth Objects

Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Demonstration of Junction Surface Ion Traps

We present the design, fabrication, and experimental implementation of surface ion traps with Y-shaped junctions. The traps are designed to minimize the pseudopotential variations in the junction region at the symmetric intersection of three linear segments. We experimentally demonstrate robust linear and junction shuttling with greater than one million round-trip shuttles without ion loss. By minimizing the direct line of sight between trapped ions and dielectric surfaces, negligible day-to-day and trap-to-trap variations are observed. In addition to high-fidelity single-ion shuttling, multiple-ion chains survive splitting, ion-position swapping, and recombining routines. The development of two-dimensional trapping structures is an important milestone for ion-trap quantum computing and quantum simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Complex and unexpected dynamics in simple genetic regulatory networks

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Labyrinthine window rupture as a cause of acute sensorineural hearing loss

Labyrinthine window rupture (LWR) is one cause of acute sensorineural hearing loss and need for early exploration is clear for good improved hearing. Acute sensorineural hearing loss of 60 dB or more treated from May 2006 to May 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 21 ears of severe deafness, 18 ears of profound deafness, and 10 ears of total deafness. All patients were examined with temporal bone CT. Space-occupying lesions around the labyrinthine windows were suggestive images of LWR. Thirty-five ears were operated for LWR while 14 ears of SHL received conservative treatments. Fifty-seven percent of LWR improved 30 dB or more after sealing of both labyrinthine windows. Of the 15 markedly recovered ears, 14 ears were operated within 2 weeks from the onset. Of the five cured ears, four ears were operated within a week from the onset. As for the hearing prognosis of SHL, 88% of severe and profound deafness improved 30 dB or more but total deafness did not improve more than 30 dB. Exclusion of LWR from SHL and early surgical intervention in LWR will bring about good hearing prognosis to both LWR and SHL