The focal plane reception pattern calculation for a paraboloidal antenna with a nearby fence

A computer simulation program is described which is used to estimate the effects of a proximate diffraction fence on the performance of paraboloid antennas. The computer program is written in FORTRAN. The physical problem, mathematical formulation and coordinate references are described. The main control structure of the program and the function of the individual subroutines are discussed. The Job Control Language set-up and program instruction are provided in the user's instruction to help users execute the present program. A sample problem with an appropriate output listing is made available as an illustration of the usage of the program

Pediatric Midface Fractures: Outcomes and Complications of 218 Patients

Objective To analyze management, outcomes, and complications of pediatric midface fractures. Methods Retrospective cohort study at an urban, single‐institution, multispecialty surgical teams, at two level 1 pediatric trauma centers. Query included subjects aged 0–17 diagnosed with midface fractures between 2012 and 2016. Results A total of 218 pediatric patients presented with 410 total midface fractures. The most common etiologies included motor vehicle collisions (MVC) (n = 56, 25.7%), sport‐related (n = 35, 16.1%), and assault/battery (n = 32, 14.7%). Fracture site distribution included: 125 maxillary (34 with exclusively the nasal/frontal process), 109 nasal, 47 ethmoid, 40 sphenoid, 33 zygoma, 29 frontal sinus, 21 lacrimal, and 6 palatal. Among these, there were 105 orbital, 17 naso‐orbito‐ethmoid, and 12 Le Fort fractures. One‐quarter of patients received at least one midface‐related operation during the initial encounter. Operative intervention rates for specific midface fracture subsites were not significantly different (X2 = 6.827, P = .234). One hundred thirty‐five patients (63.4%) attended follow‐up, thus known complication rate was 14.6% (n = 31). Complication rates between midface fracture subsites were not significantly different (X2 = 5.629, P = .229). Complications included facial deformity (n = 18), nasal airway obstruction (n = 8), diplopia (n = 4), hardware‐related pain (n = 3), and paresthesias (n = 3). Conclusions The most common sites of pediatric midface fractures involved the maxilla, and nasal bones. Three quarters of pediatric midface fractures were treated conservatively, with low rates of complications. Facial deformity was the most common complication; as such, proper management and follow‐up are important to ensure normal growth and development of the pediatric facial skeleton. Level of Evidence

OMIA (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals): an enhanced platform and integration into the Entrez search interface at NCBI

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) is a comprehensive, annotated catalogue of inherited disorders and other familial traits in animals other than humans and mice. Structured as a comparative biology resource, OMIA is a comprehensive resource of phenotypic information on heritable animal traits and genes in a strongly comparative context, relating traits to genes where possible. OMIA is modelled on and is complementary to Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM). OMIA has been moved to a MySQL database at the Australian National Genomic Information Service (ANGIS) and can be accessed at . It has also been integrated into the Entrez search interface at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI; ). Curation of OMIA data by researchers working on particular species and disorders has also been enabled

Genetic variation of Glucose Transporter-1 (GLUT1) and albuminuria in 10,278 European Americans and African Americans: a case-control study in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence suggests glucose transporter-1(<it>GLUT1</it>) genetic variation affects diabetic nephropathy and albuminuria. Our aim was to evaluate associations with albuminuria of six <it>GLUT1 </it>single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs), particularly <it>XbaI </it>and the previously associated <it>Enhancer-2(Enh2</it>) SNP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A two-stage case-control study was nested in a prospective cohort study of 2156 African Americans and 8122 European Americans with urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio(ACR). Cases comprised albuminuria(N = 825; ≥ 30 μg/mg) and macroalbuminuria(N = 173; ≥ 300 μg/mg). ACR < 30 μg/mg classified controls(n = 9453). Logistic regression and odds ratios(OR) assessed associations. The evaluation phase(stage 1, n = 2938) tested associations of albuminuria(n = 305) with six <it>GLUT1 </it>SNPs: rs841839, rs3768043, rs2297977, <it>Enh2</it>(rs841847) <it>Xba</it>I(rs841853), and rs841858. <it>Enh2 </it>was examined separately in the replication phase(stage 2, n = 7340) and the total combined sample (n = 10,278), with all analyses stratified by race and type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In European Americans, after adjusting for diabetes and other <it>GLUT1 </it>SNPs in stage 1, <it>Enh2 </it>risk genotype(TT) was more common in albuminuric cases(OR = 3.37, P = 0.090) whereas <it>XbaI </it>(OR = 0.94, p = 0.931) and remaining SNPs were not. In stage 1, the <it>Enh2 </it>association with albuminuria was significant among diabetic European Americans(OR = 2.36, P = 0.025). In African Americans, <it>Enh2 </it>homozygosity was rare(0.3%); <it>XbaI </it>was common(18.0% AA) and not associated with albuminuria. In stage 2(n = 7,340), <it>Enh2 </it>risk genotype had increased but non-significant OR among diabetic European Americans(OR = 1.66, P = 0.192) and not non-diabetics(OR = 0.99, p = 0.953), not replicating stage 1. Combining stages 1 and 2, <it>Enh2 </it>was associated with albuminuria(OR 2.14 [1.20-3.80], P = 0.009) and macroalbuminuria(OR 2.69, [1.02-7.09], P = 0.045) in diabetic European Americans. The <it>Enh2 </it>association with macroalbuminuria among non-diabetic European Americans with fasting insulin(OR = 1.84, P = 0.210) was stronger at the highest insulin quartile(OR = 4.08, P = 0.040).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As demonstrated with type 1 diabetic nephropathy, the <it>GLUT1 Enh2 </it>risk genotype, instead of <it>Xba</it>I, may be associated with type 2 diabetic albuminuria among European Americans, though an association is not conclusive. The association among diabetic European Americans found in stage 1 was not replicated in stage 2; however, this risk association was evident after combining all diabetic European Americans from both stages. Additionally, our results suggest this association may extend to non-diabetics with high insulin concentrations. Rarity of the <it>Enh2 </it>risk genotype among African Americans precludes any definitive conclusions, although data suggest a risk-enhancing role.</p

Dendritic Hold and Read: A Gated Mechanism for Short Term Information Storage and Retrieval

Two contrasting theories have been proposed to explain the mechanistic basis of short term memory. One theory posits that short term memory is represented by persistent neural activity supported by reverberating feedback networks. An alternate, more recent theory posits that short term memory can be supported by feedforward networks. While feedback driven memory can be implemented by well described mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, little is known of possible molecular and cellular mechanisms that can implement feedforward driven memory. Here we report such a mechanism in which the memory trace exists in the form of glutamate-bound but Mg2+-blocked NMDA receptors on the thin terminal dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons. Because glutamate dissociates from subsets of NMDA receptors very slowly, excitatory synaptic transmission can leave a silent residual trace that outlasts the electrical activity by hundreds of milliseconds. Read-out of the memory trace is possible if a critical level of these bound-but-blocked receptors accumulates on a dendritic branch that will allow these quasi-stable receptors to sustain a regenerative depolarization when triggered by an independent gating signal. This process is referred to here as dendritic hold and read (DHR). Because the read-out of the input is not dependent on repetition of the input and information flows in a single-pass manner, DHR can potentially support a feedforward memory architecture

Fluctuations and differential contraction during regeneration of Hydra vulgaris tissue toroids

We studied regenerating bilayered tissue toroids dissected from Hydra vulgaris polyps and relate our macroscopic observations to the dynamics of force-generating mesoscopic cytoskeletal structures. Tissue fragments undergo a specific toroid-spheroid folding process leading to complete regeneration towards a new organism. The time scale of folding is too fast for biochemical signalling or morphogenetic gradients which forced us to assume purely mechanical self-organization. The initial pattern selection dynamics was studied by embedding toroids into hydro-gels allowing us to observe the deformation modes over longer periods of time. We found increasing mechanical fluctuations which break the toroidal symmetry and discuss the evolution of their power spectra for various gel stiffnesses. Our observations are related to single cell studies which explain the mechanical feasibility of the folding process. In addition, we observed switching of cells from a tissue bound to a migrating state after folding failure as well as in tissue injury. We found a supra-cellular actin ring assembled along the toroid's inner edge. Its contraction can lead to the observed folding dynamics as we could confirm by finite element simulations. This actin ring in the inner cell layer is assembled by myosin- driven length fluctuations of supra-cellular {\alpha}-actin structures (myonemes) in the outer cell-layer.Comment: 19 pages and 8 figures, submitted to New Journal of Physic

Effect of rhPDGF-BB on bone turnover during periodontal repair

Purpose : Growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) exert potent effects on wound healing including the regeneration of periodontia. Pyridinoline cross-linked carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) is a well-known biomarker of bone turnover, and as such is a potential indicator of osseous metabolic activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the release of the ICTP into the periodontal wound fluid (WF) following periodontal reconstructive surgery using local delivery of highly purified recombinant human PDGF (rhPDGF)-BB. Methods : Forty-seven human subjects at five treatment centres possessing chronic severe periodontal disease were monitored longitudinally for 24 weeks following PDGF regenerative surgical treatment. Severe periodontal osseous defects were divided into one of three groups and treated at the time of surgery with either: Β -tricalcium phosphate (TCP) osteoconductive scaffold alone (active control), Β -TCP+0.3 mg/ml of rhPDGF-BB, or Β -TCP+1.0 mg/ml of rhPDGF-BB. WF was harvested and analysed for local ICTP levels by radioimmunoassay. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance and an area under the curve analysis (AUC). Results : The 0.3 and 1.0 mg/ml PDGF-BB treatment groups demonstrated increases in the amount of ICTP released locally for up to 6 weeks. There were statistically significant differences at the week 6 time point between Β -TCP carrier alone group versus 0.3 mg/ml PDGF-BB group ( p <0.05) and between Β -TCP alone versus the 1.0 mg/ml PDGF-BB-treated lesions ( p <0.03). The AUC analysis revealed no statistical differences amongst groups. Conclusion : This study corroborates the release of ICTP as a measure of active bone turnover following local delivery of PDGF-BB to periodontal osseous defects. The amount of ICTP released from the WF revealed an early increase for all treatment groups. Data from this study suggests that when PDGF-BB is delivered to promote periodontal tissue engineering of tooth-supporting osseous defects, there is a direct effect on ICTP released from the wound.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72239/1/j.1600-051X.2005.00870.x.pd

Ketamine for Acute Pain After Trauma: the Kapt Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Evidence for effective pain management and opioid minimization of intravenous ketamine in elective surgery has been extrapolated to acutely injured patients, despite limited supporting evidence in this population. This trial seeks to determine the effectiveness of the addition of sub-dissociative ketamine to a pill-based, opioid-minimizing multi-modal pain regimen (MMPR) for post traumatic pain. METHODS: This is a single-center, parallel-group, randomized, controlled comparative effectiveness trial comparing a MMPR to a MMPR plus a sub-dissociative ketamine infusion. All trauma patients 16 years and older admitted following a trauma which require intermediate (IMU) or intensive care unit (ICU) level of care are eligible. Prisoners, patients who are pregnant, patients not expected to survive, and those with contraindications to ketamine are excluded from this study. The primary outcome is opioid use, measured by morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per patient per day (MME/patient/day). The secondary outcomes include total MME, pain scores, morbidity, lengths of stay, opioid prescriptions at discharge, and patient centered outcomes at discharge and 6 months. DISCUSSION: This trial will determine the effectiveness of sub-dissociative ketamine infusion as part of a MMPR in reducing in-hospital opioid exposure in adult trauma patients. Furthermore, it will inform decisions regarding acute pain strategies on patient centered outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Ketamine for Acute Pain Management After Trauma (KAPT) with registration # NCT04129086 was registered on October 16, 2019