2,818 research outputs found
Electroshock protection circuit
Circuit was developed to prevent accidental shock through electrodes used to test subjects as part of Skylab program. This circuit is placed between electrical apparatus and electrode that is attached to patient's body. Thus, patient is effectively protected from dangerous electrical shock that might be caused by failure in electrical apparatus
A general framework for stochastic traveling waves and patterns, with application to neural field equations
In this paper we present a general framework in which to rigorously study the
effect of spatio-temporal noise on traveling waves and stationary patterns. In
particular the framework can incorporate versions of the stochastic neural
field equation that may exhibit traveling fronts, pulses or stationary
patterns. To do this, we first formulate a local SDE that describes the
position of the stochastic wave up until a discontinuity time, at which point
the position of the wave may jump. We then study the local stability of this
stochastic front, obtaining a result that recovers a well-known deterministic
result in the small-noise limit. We finish with a study of the long-time
behavior of the stochastic wave.Comment: 43 pages, 3 figure
Satellite Image Based Classification Mapping For Spatially Analyzing West Virginia Corridor H Urban Development
The study area for this project is Corridor H, a designated Appalachian Development Highway located in Lewis, Upshur, Barbour Counties which are part of the Appalachian Plateau Province, and Randolph, Tucker, Grant and Hardy Counties which are Part of the Ridge and Valley Province in West Virginia. The region has a long history of occupation and a traditional economic structure consisting of mainly agriculture, timbering and coal mining. The final objective of the study was to perform change detection, using two Landsat datasets obtained from the USGS of the study area from 1987 and 2005 to determine if economic development, via change to cropland/ pasture and Urban Built Up Areas, could be measured and detected along Corridor H by using remote sensing techniques. Geometric Registration, Principal Component Analysis, Radiometric Normalization, Accuracy Analysis, Unsupervised Classification, and Spatial Analysis logical operators were utilized in IDRISI, ERMapper, and ESRI to complete the study. The total land change for the study area for Urban was 1.4% of the total 2,573,351 acres and 4.9% for change in Cropland/Pasture. More significantly there is a 2.7 %increase in Urban development within a 1-mile buffer around the length of Corridor H in the study area. When a buffer was placed 1-mile around Corridor H from Weston to Elkins the percentage of change increased to 4.5% for Urban areas and 7.5% for Cropland/Pasture. These results indicate economic change is occurring already along Corridor H before its completion. The development of this data will provide a baseline on which to base future studies of the area for tracking the expected economic growth of the region, and for Appalachian corridor highway systems in general. This data should be used with more traditional methods of economic impact and growth reporting and measurement, to focus these studies, and supply spatial relevance to changes in rural Appalachia
Existential concerns as predictors of spiritual emergency and psychosis
The cause of psychosis remains uncertain, and the current biological model for treating psychosis is only about 41% effective. Calls have been made for new hypotheses to be examined to aid in the understanding and treatment of psychosis. Evidence suggests that spiritual emergency (SE) can be psychologically healing and can be differentiated from psychosis by its divergent relationship with alogia and depression. Existential psychologists have posited a relationship between psychosis and existential distress (ED). The present study aimed to confirm alogia and depression as differentiating variables between psychosis and SE, in addition to exploring the relationships SE and psychosis have with existential concerns (ECs). Results confirmed that alogia and depression predict psychosis only, and there was no overlap in the ECs that predicted SE and psychosis. Psychosis was predicted by increased death anxiety, existential loneliness, and identity distress, while increased meaning (search for and presence of), psychological reactance, and decreased death anxiety predicted SE. The results indicate that SE may lead to psychological healing given the reduction in ED, while psychosis seems more a means of coping with ED. The findings have implications for the diagnosis of and potential treatments for psychosis.Maximilian Inglis, Lance Stor
Automated identification of neurons and their locations
Individual locations of many neuronal cell bodies (>10^4) are needed to
enable statistically significant measurements of spatial organization within
the brain such as nearest-neighbor and microcolumnarity measurements. In this
paper, we introduce an Automated Neuron Recognition Algorithm (ANRA) which
obtains the (x,y) location of individual neurons within digitized images of
Nissl-stained, 30 micron thick, frozen sections of the cerebral cortex of the
Rhesus monkey. Identification of neurons within such Nissl-stained sections is
inherently difficult due to the variability in neuron staining, the overlap of
neurons, the presence of partial or damaged neurons at tissue surfaces, and the
presence of non-neuron objects, such as glial cells, blood vessels, and random
artifacts. To overcome these challenges and identify neurons, ANRA applies a
combination of image segmentation and machine learning. The steps involve
active contour segmentation to find outlines of potential neuron cell bodies
followed by artificial neural network training using the segmentation
properties (size, optical density, gyration, etc.) to distinguish between
neuron and non-neuron segmentations. ANRA positively identifies 86[5]% neurons
with 15[8]% error (mean[st.dev.]) on a wide range of Nissl-stained images,
whereas semi-automatic methods obtain 80[7]%/17[12]%. A further advantage of
ANRA is that it affords an unlimited increase in speed from semi-automatic
methods, and is computationally efficient, with the ability to recognize ~100
neurons per minute using a standard personal computer. ANRA is amenable to
analysis of huge photo-montages of Nissl-stained tissue, thereby opening the
door to fast, efficient and quantitative analysis of vast stores of archival
material that exist in laboratories and research collections around the world.Comment: 38 pages. Formatted for two-sided printing. Supplemental material and
software available at http://physics.bu.edu/~ainglis/ANRA
Monomorphic subtelomeric DNA in the filamentous fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, contains a RecQ helicase-like gene.
In most filamentous fungi, telomere-associated sequences (TASs) are polymorphic, and the presence of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) may permit the number of chromosome ends to be estimated from the number of telomeric bands obtained by restriction digestion. Here, we describe strains of Metarhizium, Gliocladium and Paecilomyces species in which only one or a few telomeric bands of unequal intensity are detectable by Southern hybridization, indicating that interchromosomal TAS exchange occurs. We also studied an anomalous strain of Metarhizium anisopliae, which produces polymorphic telomeric bands larger than 8 kb upon digestion of genomic DNA with XhoI. In this case, the first XhoI site in from the chromosome end must lie beyond the presumed monomorphic region. Cloned telomeres from this strain comprise 18?26 TTAGGG repeats, followed at the internal end of the telomere tract by five repeats of the telomere-like sequence TAAACGCTGG. An 8.1-kb TAS clone also contains a gene for a RecQ-like helicase, designated TAH1, suggesting that this TAS is analogous to the Y elements in yeast and the subtelomeric helicase ORFs of Ustilago maydis (UTASRecQ) and Magnaporthe grisea (TLH1). The TAS in the anomalous strain of M. anisopliae, however, appears distinct from these in that it is found at most telomeres and its predicted protein product possesses a significantly longer N-terminal region in comparison to the M. grisea and U. maydis helicases. Hybridization analyses showed that TAH1 homologues are present in all other anomalous M. anisopliae strains studied, as well as in some other polymorphic strains, where the recQ-like gene also appears to be telomere-associated.Published online: 2 June 2005
Biolistic co-transformation of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum strain CG423 with green fluorescent protein and resistance to glufosinate ammonium.
Predictors of health-related quality of life in korean patients with myocardial infarction: a longitudinal observational study
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Background: Experience of myocardial infarction (MI) negatively affects different aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Objectives: This study aimed to examine trends in HRQoL of MI patients and to identify demographic, clinical and psychosocial predictors of HRQoL at three months. Methods: A total of 150 patients in South Korea were completed the study questionnaires at baseline. After three months from discharge, 136 participants completed follow-up questionnaires, including the Korean version of the MacNew Quality of Life after Myocardial Infarction Questionnaire (MacNew). Results: HRQoL significantly improved over three months. Younger age, ST-elevation MI, and higher LVEF, lower level of depression, better understanding of the illness and higher perceived social support at baseline were associated with better HRQoL at three months. Conclusion: Providing adequate information about the illness and social support as well as reducing negative psychological experiences in early days after MI may improve HRQoL of MI patients
Correlates of health-related quality of life in patients with myocardial infarction: A literature review
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Background By the increasing emphasis on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with myocardial infarction (MI), it is necessary to explore factors that affect HRQoL in this population. Objectives This study aimed to identify correlates of HRQoL in patients with MI. Design A literature review of the factors that affect HRQoL in patients with MI (1995–2016). Data sources Three main databases—CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsychINFO—were searched to retrieve relevant peer-reviewed articles published in English. Review methods In consultation with a medical librarian, we identified relevant MeSH terms and used them for searching the literature: health-related quality of life/quality of life/HRQoL/QoL, myocardial infarction/heart attack/MI and predict*/factor. Data elements were extracted and narratively described variables synthesised into four categories. Results A total of 48 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Correlates of HRQoL in patients with MI were identified in the following categories: demographic, behavioural, disease-related, and psychosocial factors. Specific correlates included age and gender-identity for demographic factors; physical activity and smoking for behavioural factors; severity of MI, symptoms, and comorbidities for disease-related factors; anxiety and depression for psychosocial factors. Conclusions Identifying correlates of HRQoL can help identify patients who are at risk for poor HRQoL in the recovery or rehabilitation stage of post-MI. Future intervention should focus on adjustable correlates such as behavioural and psychosocial factors to promote HRQoL among patients after experiencing MI
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