What is the best anesthetic management for percutaneous radiologic gastronomy in ALS patients?

To evaluate the impact of a formal anesthetic protocol on the peri and post procedural outcomes of ALS patients undergoing PRG

Hyperpolarized Long-T1 Silicon Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Silicon nanoparticles are experimentally investigated as a potential hyperpolarized, targetable MRI imaging agent. Nuclear T_1 times at room temperature for a variety of Si nanoparticles are found to be remarkably long (10^2 to 10^4 s) - roughly consistent with predictions of a core-shell diffusion model - allowing them to be transported, administered and imaged on practical time scales without significant loss of polarization. We also report surface functionalization of Si nanoparticles, comparable to approaches used in other biologically targeted nanoparticle systems.Comment: supporting material here: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/Aptekar_hyper1_sup.pd

Simulation of Occupant Response in Space Capsule Landing Configurations With Suit Hardware

The purpose of this study was to compare the response of the total human model for safety (THUMS) human body finite element model (FEM) to experimental postmortem human subject (PMHS) test results and evaluate possible injuries caused by suit ring elements. Experimental testing evaluated the PMHS response in frontal, rear, side, falling, and spinal impacts. The THUMS was seated in a rigid seat that mirrored the sled buck used in the experimental testing. The model was then fitted with experimental combinations of neck, shoulder, humerus and thigh rings with a five-point restraint system. Experimental seat acceleration data was used as the input for the simulations. The simulation results were analyzed and compared to PMHS measurements to evaluate the response of the THUMS in these loading conditions. The metrics selected to compare the THUMS simulation to PMHS tests were the chest acceleration, seat acceleration and belt forces with additional metrics implemented in THUMS. The chest acceleration of the simulations and the experimental data was closely matched except in the Z-axis (superior/inferior) loading scenarios based on signal analysis. The belt force data of the model better correlated to the experimental results in loading scenarios where the THUMS interacted primarily with the restraint system compared to load cases where the primary interaction was between the seat and the occupant (rear, spinal and lateral impacts). The simulation output demonstrated low injury metric values for the occupant in these loading conditions. In the experimental testing, rib fractures were recorded for the frontal and left lateral impact scenarios. Fractures were not seen in the simulations, most likely due to variations between the simulation and the PMHS initial configuration. The placement of the rings on the THUMS was optimal with symmetric placement about the centerline of the model. The experimental placement of the rings had more experimental variation. Even with this discrepancy, the THUMS can still be considered a valuable predictive tool for occupant injury because it can compare results across many simulations. The THUMS also has the ability to assess a wider variety of other injury information, compared to anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), that can be used to compare simulation results

An Experimental Investigation of Colonel Blotto Games

"This article examines behavior in the two-player, constant-sum Colonel Blotto game with asymmetric resources in which players maximize the expected number of battlefields won. The experimental results support all major theoretical predictions. In the auction treatment, where winning a battlefield is deterministic, disadvantaged players use a 'guerilla warfare' strategy which stochastically allocates zero resources to a subset of battlefields. Advantaged players employ a 'stochastic complete coverage' strategy, allocating random, but positive, resource levels across the battlefields. In the lottery treatment, where winning a battlefield is probabilistic, both players divide their resources equally across all battlefields." (author's abstract)"Dieser Artikel untersucht das Verhalten von Individuen in einem 'constant-sum Colonel Blotto'-Spiel zwischen zwei Spielern, bei dem die Spieler mit unterschiedlichen Ressourcen ausgestattet sind und die erwartete Anzahl gewonnener Schlachtfelder maximieren. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse bestätigen alle wichtigen theoretischen Vorhersagen. Im Durchgang, in dem wie in einer Auktion der Sieg in einem Schlachtfeld deterministisch ist, wenden die Spieler, die sich im Nachteil befinden, eine 'Guerillataktik' an, und verteilen ihre Ressourcen stochastisch auf eine Teilmenge der Schlachtfelder. Spieler mit einem Vorteil verwenden eine Strategie der 'stochastischen vollständigen Abdeckung', indem sie zufällig eine positive Ressourcenmenge auf allen Schlachtfeldern positionieren. Im Durchgang, in dem sich der Gewinn eines Schlachtfeldes probabilistisch wie in einer Lotterie bestimmt, teilen beide Spieler ihre Ressourcen gleichmäßig auf alle Schlachtfelder auf." (Autorenreferat

Search for heavy neutrinos mixing with tau neutrinos

We report on a search for heavy neutrinos (\nus) produced in the decay D_s\to \tau \nus at the SPS proton target followed by the decay \nudecay in the NOMAD detector. Both decays are expected to occur if \nus is a component of $\nu_{\tau}$.\ From the analysis of the data collected during the 1996-1998 runs with $4.1\times10^{19}$ protons on target, a single candidate event consistent with background expectations was found. This allows to derive an upper limit on the mixing strength between the heavy neutrino and the tau neutrino in the \nus mass range from 10 to 190 $\rm MeV$. Windows between the SN1987a and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis lower limits and our result are still open for future experimental searches. The results obtained are used to constrain an interpretation of the time anomaly observed in the KARMEN1 detector.\Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, a few comments adde

The zoo of models of deliberate ignorance

This chapter looks at deliberate ignorance from a modeling perspective. Standard economic models cannot produce deliberate ignorance in a meaningful way; if there were no cost for acquisition and processing, data could be looked at privately and processed perfectly. Here the focus is on cases where the standard assumptions are violated in some way. Cases are considered from an individual’s perspective, without game-theoretic (strategic) aspects. Different classes of “not wanting to know” something are identified: aside from the boring case of the cost of information acquisition being too high, an individual may prefer to not know some information (e.g., when knowledge would reduce the enjoyment of other experiences) or may want to not use some information (e.g., relating to a lack of self-control). In addition, strategic cases of deliberate ignorance are reviewed, where obtaining information would also signal to others that information acquisition has occurred, and thus it may be better to remain ignorant. Finally, the possibility of deliberate ignorance emerging in population-level models is discussed, where there seems to be a relative dearth of models of the phenomenon at present. Throughout, the authors make use of examples to summarize different classes of models, ideas for how deliberate ignorance can make sense, and gaps in the literature for future modeling

Somewhat united: primary stakeholder perspectives of the governance of schoolboy football in Ireland

Despite an independent report on the governance and organisational practices of football in Ireland, the National Governing Body continues to face criticism in relation to stakeholder management and communication. As positive outcomes in non-profit organisations are associated with quality relationships between organisations, the purpose of this article is to explore primary stakeholder perspectives of the governance of schoolboy football in the Republic of Ireland. The research questions to be addressed are: do tensions exist between stakeholders and does the FAI display effective governance behaviours in relation to its primary stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven stakeholders from the football governance system. A lack of congruence across the system was identified, which resulted from ineffective stakeholder management (poor communication practices, perceptions of inaccurate disclosures, perceived lack of inclusion in decision-making, perceptions of organisational injustice, confusion over role clarity and responsibilities). Managing the quality of the relationships with diverse stakeholders within a sport governance system is key for strategic policy formation and implementation, yet this remains a challenging and multi-faceted concept. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Systematic NMR Analysis of Stable Isotope Labeled Metabolite Mixtures in Plant and Animal Systems: Coarse Grained Views of Metabolic Pathways

BACKGROUND: Metabolic phenotyping has become an important 'bird's-eye-view' technology which can be applied to higher organisms, such as model plant and animal systems in the post-genomics and proteomics era. Although genotyping technology has expanded greatly over the past decade, metabolic phenotyping has languished due to the difficulty of 'top-down' chemical analyses. Here, we describe a systematic NMR methodology for stable isotope-labeling and analysis of metabolite mixtures in plant and animal systems. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The analysis method includes a stable isotope labeling technique for use in living organisms; a systematic method for simultaneously identifying a large number of metabolites by using a newly developed HSQC-based metabolite chemical shift database combined with heteronuclear multidimensional NMR spectroscopy; Principal Components Analysis; and a visualization method using a coarse-grained overview of the metabolic system. The database contains more than 1000 (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts corresponding to 142 metabolites measured under identical physicochemical conditions. Using the stable isotope labeling technique in Arabidopsis T87 cultured cells and Bombyx mori, we systematically detected >450 HSQC peaks in each (13)C-HSQC spectrum derived from model plant, Arabidopsis T87 cultured cells and the invertebrate animal model Bombyx mori. Furthermore, for the first time, efficient (13)C labeling has allowed reliable signal assignment using analytical separation techniques such as 3D HCCH-COSY spectra in higher organism extracts. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall physiological changes could be detected and categorized in relation to a critical developmental phase change in B. mori by coarse-grained representations in which the organization of metabolic pathways related to a specific developmental phase was visualized on the basis of constituent changes of 56 identified metabolites. Based on the observed intensities of (13)C atoms of given metabolites on development-dependent changes in the 56 identified (13)C-HSQC signals, we have determined the changes in metabolic networks that are associated with energy and nitrogen metabolism

Direct Enhancement of Nuclear Singlet Order by Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

Hyperpolarized singlet order is available immediately after dissolution DNP, avoiding need for additional preparation steps. We demonstrate this procedure on a sample of [1,2–13C2]pyruvic aci