Robotic Planetary Drill Tests

Several proposed or planned planetary science missions to Mars and other Solar System bodies over the next decade require subsurface access by drilling. This paper discusses the problems of remote robotic drilling, an automation and control architecture based loosely on observed human behaviors in drilling on Earth, and an overview of robotic drilling field test results using this architecture since 2005. Both rotary-drag and rotary-percussive drills are targeted. A hybrid diagnostic approach incorporates heuristics, model-based reasoning and vibration monitoring with neural nets. Ongoing work leads to flight-ready drilling software

IceBreaker 2

Presentation on hypothetical "Icebreaker" proposed robotic mission, a follow-on to the 2007Phoenix Mars polar lander which replaces the sco op with a lightweight drill

Performance of the PROMIS in Patients After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is designed to advance patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments by utilizing question banks for major health domains. Purpose: To compare the responsiveness and construct validity of the PROMIS physical function computer adaptive test (PF CAT) with current PRO instruments for patients before and up to 2 years after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Initially, 157 patients completed the PROMIS PF CAT, Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36 physical function [PF] and general health [GH]), Marx Activity Rating Scale (MARS), Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS activities of daily living [ADL], sport, and quality of life [QOL]), and EuroQol-5 dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 2 years after ACL reconstruction. Correlations between instruments, ceiling and floor effects, effect sizes (Cohen d), and standardized response means to describe responsiveness were evaluated. Subgroup analyses compared participants with and without additional arthroscopic procedures using linear mixed models. Results: At baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months, the PROMIS PF CAT showed excellent or excellent-good correlations with the SF-36 PF (r = 0.75-0.80, P \u3c .01), KOOS-ADL (r = 0.63-0.70, P \u3c .01), and KOOS-sport (r = 0.32-0.69, P \u3c .01); excellent-good correlation with the EQ-5D (r = 0.60-0.71, P \u3c .01); and good correlation with the KOOS-QOL (r = 0.52-0.58, P \u3c .01). As expected, there were poor correlations with the MARS (r = 0.00-0.24, P \u3c .01) and SF-36 GH (r = 0.16-0.34, P \u3c .01 ). At 2 years, the PROMIS PF CAT showed good to excellent correlations with all PRO instruments (r = 0.42-0.72, P \u3c .01), including the MARS (r = 0.42, P \u3c .01), indicating frequent return to preinjury function. The PROMIS PF CAT had the fewest ceiling or floor effects of all instruments tested, and patients answered, on average, 4 questions. There was no significant difference in baseline physical function scores between subgroups; at follow-up, all groups showed improvements in scores that were not statistically different. Conclusion: The PROMIS PF CAT is a valid tool to assess outcomes after ACL reconstruction up to 2 years after surgery, demonstrating the highest responsiveness to change with the fewest ceiling and floor effects and a low time burden among all instruments tested. The PROMIS PF CAT is a beneficial alternative for assessing physical function in adults before and after ACL reconstruction

Performance of the PROMIS After Operative Interventions for Shoulder Instability

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) was developed to capture patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in an efficient manner. Few studies have assessed this instrument postoperatively. Purpose: To compare the PROMIS Physical Function computer adaptive test (PROMIS PF CAT) and Upper Extremity (PROMIS UE) item bank to other previously validated PRO instruments and to evaluate ceiling and floor effects and construct validity responsiveness in patients who underwent operative interventions for shoulder instability. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A total of 72 patients who underwent operative interventions for shoulder instability completed the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) assessment form, Marx shoulder activity scale (Marx), 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical function (SF-36 PF) and general health (SF-36 GH), Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI), PROMIS PF CAT, and PROMIS UE before surgery and then at 6 weeks and 6 months postoperatively. Correlation coefficients were calculated among these tools. The effect size of change was also calculated for each tool at each time point. A total of 91 patients who had also undergone surgery for shoulder instability completed these PRO instruments 2 years postoperatively. The percentage of patients hitting the ceiling and floor effects of each of the PRO instruments was calculated at all time points. Results: The PROMIS PF CAT demonstrated excellent-good correlation with the SF-36 PF at all postoperative time points (0.61 at 6 weeks, 0.68 at 6 months, and 0.64 at 2 years; P \u3c .01 for all). The PROMIS UE showed excellent correlation with the ASES at 6 weeks postoperatively (0.73, P \u3c .01). Both the PROMIS PF CAT and PROMIS UE demonstrated the ability to detect change after surgical interventions with a medium to large effect size. The PROMIS UE demonstrated a ceiling effect at 6 months (68.1%) and 2 years (67.0%) postoperatively. The PROMIS PF CAT demonstrated no ceiling effect at any time point. Conclusion: The PROMIS PF CAT demonstrated good to excellent correlation with other previously validated PRO instruments that assess physical function in patients with shoulder instability postoperatively. The PROMIS UE demonstrated good correlation with other PRO tools but had a significant ceiling effect and is not recommended for this patient population. Both tools demonstrated an ability to detect change after surgical interventions with a good effect size

Biotransformation of an uncured composite material

The feasibility of biologically degrading prepreg wastes was studied. The work was conducted with the intention of obtaining baseline data that would facilitate the achievement of two long-range goals. These goals are: (1) the biological remediation of the hazardous components in the prepreg wastes, and (2) providing the potential for recycling the prepreg waste fibers. The experiments examined a prepreg that employs an bismaleimide resin system. Initial results demonstrated an obvious deterioration of the prepreg material when incubated with several bacterial strains. The most active cultures were identified as a mixture of 'Bacillus cereus' and 'Pseudomonas sp'. Gas chromatography analyses revealed seven primary compounds in the resin mixture. Biotransformation studies, using the complete prepreg material, demonstrated on obvious loss of all seven organic compounds. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses resulted in structure assignments for the two primary components of the resin. Both were analogs of Bisphenol A; one being bismaleimide, and the other being Bisphenol A containing a diglycidyl moiety. The 'diglycidyl analog' was purified using thin-layer chromatography and the biotransformation of this compound (at 27 ug/ml bacterial culture) was monitored. After a seven-day incubation, approximately 40% of the organic compound was biotransformed. These results demonstrate the biotransformation of the prepreg resin and indicate that biological remediation of the prepreg wastes is feasible

Susceptibility to disease (tropical theileriosis) is associated with differential expression of host genes that possess motifs recognised by a pathogen DNA binding protein

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of factors that influence the outcome of infection are crucial for determining the risk of severe disease and requires the characterisation of pathogen-host interactions that have evolved to confer variable susceptibility to infection. Cattle infected by Theileria annulata show a wide range in disease severity. Native (Bos indicus) Sahiwal cattle are tolerant to infection, whereas exotic (Bos taurus) Holstein cattle are susceptible to acute disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used RNA-seq to assess whether Theileria infected cell lines from Sahiwal cattle display a different transcriptome profile compared to Holstein and screened for altered expression of parasite factors that could generate differences in host cell gene expression. Significant differences (<0.1 FDR) in the expression level of a large number (2211) of bovine genes were identified, with enrichment of genes associated with Type I IFN, cholesterol biosynthesis, oncogenesis and parasite infection. A screen for parasite factors found limited evidence for differential expression. However, the number and location of DNA motifs bound by the TashAT2 factor (TA20095) were found to differ between the genomes of B. indicus vs. B. taurus, and divergent motif patterns were identified in infection-associated genes differentially expressed between Sahiwal and Holstein infected cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that divergent pathogen-host molecular interactions that influence chromatin architecture of the infected cell are a major determinant in the generation of gene expression differences linked to disease susceptibility

Ice Dragon: A Mission to Address Science and Human Exploration Objectives on Mars

We present a mission concept where a SpaceX Dragon capsule lands a payload on Mars that samples ground ice to search for evidence of life, assess hazards to future human missions, and demonstrate use of Martian resources

Revisiting our review of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT): meta‐analytical results still point to no efficacy in increasing the use of substance use disorder services

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152618/1/add13146.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152618/2/add13146_am.pd

Specialty substance use disorder services following brief alcohol intervention: a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background and aimsBrief alcohol interventions in medical settings are efficacious in improving self‐reported alcohol consumption among those with low‐severity alcohol problems. Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment initiatives presume that brief interventions are efficacious in linking patients to higher levels of care, but pertinent evidence has not been evaluated. We estimated main and subgroup effects of brief alcohol interventions, regardless of their inclusion of a referral‐specific component, in increasing the utilization of alcohol‐related care.MethodsA systematic review of English language papers published in electronic databases to 2013. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of brief alcohol interventions in general health‐care settings with adult and adolescent samples. We excluded studies that lacked alcohol services utilization data. Extractions of study characteristics and outcomes were standardized and conducted independently. The primary outcome was post‐treatment alcohol services utilization assessed by self‐report or administrative data, which we compared across intervention and control groups.ResultsThirteen RCTs met inclusion criteria and nine were meta‐analyzed (n = 993 and n = 937 intervention and control group participants, respectively). In our main analyses the pooled risk ratio (RR) was = 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.92–1.28. Five studies compared referral‐specific interventions with a control condition without such interventions (pooled RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.81–1.43). Other subgroup analyses of studies with common characteristics (e.g. age, setting, severity, risk of bias) yielded non‐statistically significant results.ConclusionsThere is a lack of evidence that brief alcohol interventions have any efficacy for increasing the receipt of alcohol‐related services.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112279/1/add12950.pd