Methods and protocols for incremental exercise testing in tetraplegia, using arm-crank ergometry assisted by Functional Electrical Stimulation

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to tetraplegia, with paralysis and loss of sensation in the upper and lower limbs. The associated sedentary lifestyle results in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To address this, we require the design of exercise modalities aimed specifically at tetraplegia and methods to assess their efficacy. This paper describes methods for arm-crank ergometry (ACE) assisted by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) applied to the biceps and triceps. The instrumented ergometer enables work-rate control during exercise, implemented here for incremental exercise testing during FES-ACE. Detailed protocols for the tests are given. Experimental data collected during exercise tests with tetraplegic volunteers are provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach to testing and data analysis. Incremental tests enabled calculation of peak power output and peak oxygen uptake. We propose that the high-precision exercise testing protocols described here are appropriate to assess the efficacy of the novel exercise modality, FES-ACE, in tetraplegia

Storing and releasing light in a gas of moving atoms

We propose a scheme of storing and releasing pulses or cw beams of light in a moving atomic medium illuminated by two stationary and spatially separated control lasers. The method is based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) but in contrast to previous schemes, storage and retrieval of the probe pulse can be achieved at different locations and without switching off the control laser.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revised versio

Pulse-mode quantum projection synthesis: Effects of mode mismatch on optical state truncation and preparation

Quantum projection synthesis can be used for phase-probability-distribution measurement, optical-state truncation and preparation. The method relies on interfering optical lights, which is a major challenge in experiments performed by pulsed light sources. In the pulsed regime, the time frequency overlap of the interfering lights plays a crucial role on the efficiency of the method when they have different mode structures. In this paper, the pulsed mode projection synthesis is developed, the mode structure of interfering lights are characterized and the effect of this overlap (or mode match) on the fidelity of optical-state truncation and preparation is investigated. By introducing the positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) for the detection events in the scheme, the effect of mode mismatch between the photon-counting detectors and the incident lights are also presented.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Two-species percolation and Scaling theory of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions

Recently, a simple non-interacting-electron model, combining local quantum tunneling via quantum point contacts and global classical percolation, has been introduced in order to describe the observed ``metal-insulator transition'' in two dimensions [1]. Here, based upon that model, a two-species-percolation scaling theory is introduced and compared to the experimental data. The two species in this model are, on one hand, the ``metallic'' point contacts, whose critical energy lies below the Fermi energy, and on the other hand, the insulating quantum point contacts. It is shown that many features of the experiments, such as the exponential dependence of the resistance on temperature on the metallic side, the linear dependence of the exponent on density, the $e^2/h$ scale of the critical resistance, the quenching of the metallic phase by a parallel magnetic field and the non-monotonic dependence of the critical density on a perpendicular magnetic field, can be naturally explained by the model. Moreover, details such as the nonmonotonic dependence of the resistance on temperature or the inflection point of the resistance vs. parallel magnetic are also a natural consequence of the theory. The calculated parallel field dependence of the critical density agrees excellently with experiments, and is used to deduce an experimental value of the confining energy in the vertical direction. It is also shown that the resistance on the ``metallic'' side can decrease with decreasing temperature by an arbitrary factor in the degenerate regime ($T\lesssim E_F$).Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Hippocampus, Amygdala and Basal Ganglia Based Navigation Control

In this paper we present a novel robot navigation system aimed at testing hypotheses about the roles of key brain areas in foraging behavior of rats. The key components of the control network are: 1. a Hippocampus inspired module for spatial localization based on associations between sensory inputs and places; 2. an Amygdala inspired module for the association of values with places and sensory stimuli; 3. a Basal Ganglia inspired module for the selection of actions based on the evaluated sensory inputs. By implementing this Hippocampus-Amygdala-Basal Ganglia based control network with a simulated rat embodiment we intend to test not only our understanding of the individual brain areas but especially the interaction between them. Understanding the neural circuits that allows rats to efficiently forage for food will also help to improve the ability of robots to autonomously evaluate and select navigation targets

Potency enhancement of the κ-opioid receptor antagonist probe ML140 through sulfonamide constraint utilizing a tetrahydroisoquinoline motif

Optimization of the sulfonamide-based kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist probe molecule ML140 through constraint of the sulfonamide nitrogen within a tetrahydroisoquinoline moiety afforded a marked increase in potency. This strategy, when combined with additional structure-activity relationship exploration, has led to a compound only six-fold less potent than norBNI, a widely utilized KOR antagonist tool compound, but significantly more synthetically accessible. The new optimized probe is suitably potent for use as an in vivo tool to investigate the therapeutic potential of KOR antagonists

The HO Southern Galactic Plane Survey (HOPS) - I. Techniques and HO maser data

The definitive version can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Copyright Royal Astronomical SocietyWe present first results of the HO Southern Galactic Plane Survey (HOPS), using the Mopra Radio Telescope with a broad-band backend and a beam size of about 2 arcmin. We have observed 100 deg of the southern Galactic plane at 12mm (19.5-27.5GHz), including spectral line emission from HO masers, multiple metastable transitions of ammonia, cyanoacetylene, methanol and radio recombination lines. In this paper, we report on the characteristics of the survey and HO maser emission. We find 540 HO masers, of which 334 are new detections. The strongest maser is 3933Jy and the weakest is 0.7Jy, with 62 masers over 100Jy. In 14 maser sites, the spread in the velocity of the HO maser emission exceeds 100kms. In one region, the HO maser velocities are separated by 351.3kms. The rms noise levels are typically between 1 and 2Jy, with 95 per cent of the survey under 2Jy. We estimate completeness limits of 98 per cent at around 8.4Jy and 50 per cent at around 5.5Jy. We estimate that there are between 800 and 1500 HO masers in the Galaxy that are detectable in a survey with similar completeness limits to HOPS. We report possible masers in NH (11,9) and (8,6) emission towards G19.61-0.23 and in the NH (3,3) line towards G23.33-0.30.Peer reviewe

The <i>Castalia</i> mission to Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro

We describe Castalia, a proposed mission to rendezvous with a Main Belt Comet (MBC), 133P/Elst-Pizarro. MBCs are a recently discovered population of apparently icy bodies within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which may represent the remnants of the population which supplied the early Earth with water. Castalia will perform the first exploration of this population by characterising 133P in detail, solving the puzzle of the MBC’s activity, and making the first in situ measurements of water in the asteroid belt. In many ways a successor to ESA’s highly successful Rosetta mission, Castalia will allow direct comparison between very different classes of comet, including measuring critical isotope ratios, plasma and dust properties. It will also feature the first radar system to visit a minor body, mapping the ice in the interior. Castalia was proposed, in slightly different versions, to the ESA M4 and M5 calls within the Cosmic Vision programme. We describe the science motivation for the mission, the measurements required to achieve the scientific goals, and the proposed instrument payload and spacecraft to achieve these

Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector

The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment, including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities, and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure

Development of functionally selective, small molecule agonists at kappa opioid receptors

The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) is widely expressed in the CNS and can serve as a means to modulate pain perception, stress responses, and affective reward states. Therefore, the KOR has become a prominent drug discovery target toward treating pain, depression, and drug addiction. Agonists at KOR can promote G protein coupling and βarrestin2 recruitment as well as multiple downstream signaling pathways, including ERK1/2 MAPK activation. It has been suggested that the physiological effects ofKORactivation result from different signaling cascades, with analgesia being G protein-mediated and dysphoria being mediated through βarrestin2 recruitment. Dysphoria associated with KOR activation limits the therapeutic potential in the use of KOR agonists as analgesics; therefore, it may be beneficial to develop KOR agonists that are biased toward G protein coupling and away from βarrestin2 recruitment. Here, we describe two classes of biased KOR agonists that potently activateGprotein coupling but weakly recruitβarrestin2. These potent and functionally selective small molecule compounds may prove to be useful tools for refining the therapeutic potential of KOR-directed signaling in vivo