A functional electrical stimulation system for human walking inspired by reflexive control principles

This study presents an innovative multichannel functional electrical stimulation gait-assist system which employs a well-established purely reflexive control algorithm, previously tested in a series of bipedal walking robots. In these robots, ground contact information was used to activate motors in the legs, generating a gait cycle similar to that of humans. Rather than developing a sophisticated closed-loop functional electrical stimulation control strategy for stepping, we have instead utilised our simple reflexive model where muscle activation is induced through transfer functions which translate sensory signals, predominantly ground contact information, into motor actions. The functionality of the functional electrical stimulation system was tested by analysis of the gait function of seven healthy volunteers during functional electrical stimulation–assisted treadmill walking compared to unassisted walking. The results demonstrated that the system was successful in synchronising muscle activation throughout the gait cycle and was able to promote functional hip and ankle movements. Overall, the study demonstrates the potential of human-inspired robotic systems in the design of assistive devices for bipedal walking

Extended Hubbard model on a C20_{20} molecule

The electronic correlations on a C$_{20}$ molecule, as described by an extended Hubbard Hamiltonian with a nearest neighbor Coulomb interaction of strength $V$, are studied using quantum Monte Carlo and exact diagonalization methods. For electron doped C$_{20}$, it is known that pair-binding arising from a purely electronic mechanism is absent within the standard Hubbard model (V=0). Here we show that this is also the case for hole doping for $0<U/t\leq 3$ and that, for both electron and hole doping, the effect of a non-zero $V$ is to work against pair-binding. We also study the magnetic properties of the neutral molecule, and find transitions between spin singlet and triplet ground states for either fixed $U$ or $V$ values. In addition, spin, charge and pairing correlation functions on C$_{20}$ are computed. The spin-spin and charge-charge correlations are very short-range, although a weak enhancement in the pairing correlation is observed for a distance equal to the molecular diameter.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Pollution Across Chinese Provinces

We revisit the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis using 1987-1995 data for Chinese provinces. A comparison of off-sample (1996-2004) predictions to actual emissions indicates that more stringent rules are still needed to fight industrial (waste water and dust) pollution. Auxiliary regressions show that conditional on income, northern provinces have lower industrial waste water pollution; non-coastal and provinces with smaller secondary industry shares have lower industrial (waste water, COD, and dust) pollution; provinces with smaller state-owned enterprises share have lower industrial COD pollution; and, commitment to control industrial dust pollution is correlated with local governments budget balance.environmental Kuznets curves, Chinese provinces, pollution

Single-particle Excitation Spectra of C60_{60} Molecules and Monolayers

In this paper we present calculations of single-particle excitation spectra of neutral and three-electron-doped Hubbard C$_{60}$ molecules and monolayers from large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations and cluster perturbation theory. By a comparison to experimental photoemission, inverse photoemission, and angle-resolved photoemission data, we estimate the intermolecular hopping integrals and the C$_{60}$ molecular orientation angle, finding agreement with recent X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) experiments. Our results demonstrate that a simple effective Hubbard model, with intermediate coupling, $U=4t$, provides a reasonable basis for modeling the properties of C$_{60}$ compounds.Comment: 6 page

Rifabutin corneal deposits localized to the deep stroma using anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

Purpose:To demonstrate that rifabutin-related corneal deposits are localized to the deep stroma using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal microscopy. Observations:A 55-year-old male with a history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and disseminated mycobacterium avium complex on rifabutin treatment for 3 years presented with bilateral corneal deposits. Confocal microscopy and anterior segment OCT confirm that rifabutin-related corneal deposits are located in the deep stroma, rather than in the endothelium. Conclusions:And Importance: Rifabutin deposits localize to the deep corneal stroma, and can be seen with both confocal microscopy and anterior segment OCT. Anterior segment OCT is a widely available and easily used diagnostic tool, and can provide utility in the diagnosis of corneal deposits

Mitochondrial Outer Membrane Permeability Change and Hypersensitivity to Digitonin Early in Staurosporine-induced Apoptosis

We have shown here that the apoptosis inducer staurosporine causes an early decrease in the endogenous respiration rate in intact 143B.TK- cells. On the other hand, the activity of cytochrome c oxidase is unchanged for the first 8 h after staurosporine treatment, as determined by oxygen consumption measurements in intact cells. The decrease in the endogenous respiration rate precedes the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Moreover, we have ruled out caspases, permeability transition, and protein kinase C inhibition as being responsible for the decrease in respiration rate. Furthermore, overexpression of the gene for Bcl-2 does not prevent the decrease in respiration rate. The last finding suggests that Bcl-2 acts downstream of the perturbation in respiration. The evidence of normal enzymatic activities of complex I and complex III in staurosporine-treated 143B.TK- osteosarcoma cells indicates that the cause of the respiration decrease is probably an alteration in the permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane. Presumably, the voltage-dependent anion channel closes, thereby preventing ADP and oxidizable substrates from being taken up into mitochondria. This interpretation was confirmed by another surprising finding, namely that, in staurosporine-treated 143B.TK- cells permeabilized with digitonin at a concentration not affecting the mitochondrial membranes in naive cells, the outer mitochondrial membrane loses its integrity; this leads to a reversal of its impermeability to exogenous substrates. The loss of outer membrane integrity leads also to a massive premature release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Most significantly, Bcl-2 overexpression prevents the staurosporine-induced hypersensitivity of the outer membrane to digitonin. Our experiments have thus revealed early changes in the outer mitochondrial membrane, which take place long before cytochrome c is released from mitochondria in intact cells

Counsellors' perceptions of their role in working with people who are HIV positive or have aids

A critical review of the literature shows little evidence of the benefits of counselling for people infected with the HTV virus and rigorous follow-up studies are generally lacking. Authors reviewed in the literature urge the need for training in counselling. However, whether counseling training is a necessity in the context of HFV/AIDS is debatable as no evidence has yet suggested that trained counsellors are more effective than untrained ones. Therefore, it is necessary to know-how counsellors perceive their role in relation to people with HTV/AIDS. It is also essential to know what skills and training they regard as necessary for working with this group of clients. This thesis reports the results of two separate studies. Twelve questionnaires were returned and 3 interviews were conducted in the preliminary study among a small sample of people responsible for counselling women with HTV/AIDS. The results demonstrated that most counselling for this group of clients was not carried out by trained counsellors. It was concluded that counselling was not a central response to those clients. Acknowledgement of the limitations of this preliminary’ study led to the main study which was conducted among experienced and student counsellors on the perceptions of their role in working with people with HTV/AIDS.A number of significant differences were found between the perceptions of 30 experienced counsellors and 46 students in the questionnaire survey of the main study. However, experienced counsellors did not appear to feel better prepared than students in working with people with HIV/AIDS. Inconsistent results were found which suggested no agreement about whether counselling for people with HIV/AIDS required different skills and training to counselling other groups of clients. Furthermore, inconsistency between responses to different questions suggested that although respondents acknowledged a role in reducing the spread of HIV infection, they had not adequately thought through the implications of this for their counselling practice. The implications for counsellor training and supervision were discussed

Guangzhou Buyers Preference for Premium Hawaiian Grown Product Gift Baskets

Guangzhou buyers' preference for premium Hawaiian grown product gift baskets with conjoint analysis was examined. Relative importance of three gift basket attributes: container type, products origin, and price were examined. Expenditure equivalent index to evaluate how much more each of the gift basket attributes is worth to the buyer was estimated. Main conclusions are: products have to be 'made in Hawaii' to receive the premium price; business buyers are generally less willing to pay a high price; and individual buyers are more willing to pay the higher priced Koa gift basket.Chinese survey data, conjoint analysis, buyer preference, Hawaii gift baskets, Demand and Price Analysis,

THE IMPACT OF THE TOURISM SECTOR ON THE VERMONT ECONOMY: THE INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS

There are only few states in the United States where state income relies heavily on tourism industry, and Vermont is one of them. Vermont has the advantage in possessing spectacular landscape, clean environment, and attractive agriculturally based rural community, which provide an excellent opportunity for tourism industry development. Vermont economy also benefits from the tourists' activities because: (1) tourists contribute significant amount of income to Vermont economy, especially from ski business; (2) tourists' expenditures in Vermont become a significant source of state tax income; and (3) to sustain tourism industry in Vermont helps to preserve rural community environment as well as nature beauty in Vermont. Although tourism industry is very important to Vermont, there is limited information associated with the economic impacts from the tourism industry to Vermont economy. The objectives of this article include: (1) to quantify the economic activities of tourism-related sectors in Vermont in order to create a tourism industry; and (2) to estimate the economic impacts of the tourism industry on Vermont economy in terms of total output, Gross State Product (GSP), employment, and dependency and inter-industry linkages between tourism industry and other industries in Vermont. Three surveys have been designed to gather data for tourists' activities and expenditures: (1) a nation-wide visitor survey in order to understand the profiles and expenditures of Vermont tourists; (1) a lodging business survey to estimate total revenue and cost structures for three sizes of the lodging businesses - small, medium, and large; and (3) a ski resort survey to estimate ski total revenue and cost structure and its contribution to recreation industry in Vermont. Further analysis in tourism impacts on Vermont economy is carried out by running a input-output model using Impact analysis for PLANing (IMPLAN) software. Several interesting results are concluded from this study. For the profile of the visitors, the majority tourists coming to Vermont are domestic pleasure travelers, every visiting domestic household spends approximately $323.66 for every trip to Vermont, and 75$29,000, and finally winter average revenue for a ski area is $19 millions of dollars ($4.3 millions of dollars in summer/fall). The impacts of tourism industry on Vermont economy include: (1) tourism industry counts for 15% of the total state output value, 22% of the state employment, and 26% of the indirect business tax; (2) for every million dollars spent by tourists in Vermont - 35 jobs are created, additional 690 thousands of dollars worth output will be generated, employment compensation will increase by $540,546 dollars, and indirect business tax will increase by$127,807 dollars. It has been shown that Tourism industry contributes significantly to Vermont economy relative to Agriculture and Manufacturing industries.tourism, Vermont, Input-Output model, Visitor survey, Lodging survey, Ski Survey, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,