The effects of lightning on digital flight control systems

Present practices in lightning protection of aircraft deal primarily with the direct effects of lightning, such as structural damage and ignition of fuel vapors. There is increasing evidence of troublesome electromagnetic effects, however, in aircraft employing solid-state microelectronics in critical navigation, instrumentation and control functions. The potential impact of these indirect effects on critical systems such as digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) flight controls has been studied by several recent research programs, including an experimental study of lightning-induced voltages in the NASA F8 DFBW airplane. The results indicate a need for positive steps to be taken during the design of future fly-by-wire systems to minimize the possibility of hazardous effects from lightning

The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Music on Athletic Performance

Please view abstract in the attached PDF file

WII-FIT FOR BALANCE AND GAIT IN SKILLED NURSING FACILITY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Falls in elderly are a major public health problem. Poor balance and gait abnormalities are risk factors for falls. Exercise improves gait and balance in elderly. However, it is difficult to engage patients in exercise programs. Wii-Fit might bridge this gap by providing high level of engagement at an affordable price. Wii-Fit is a Nintendo game used for balance, yoga, aerobics, and strength training. It is a TV based self-directed activity. Virtual trainers talk the user through the activity and track progress while visual and auditory feedback improve engagement. Anecdotal reports suggest improvement in balance and social benefits with Wii-Fit, but no systematic studies are available. Objective: To compare the effect of Wii-Fit augmentation to physical therapy alone in subjects undergoing rehabilitation in skilled nursing facility (SNF) using a retrospective chart review. Methods: 100 charts were reviewed of which seventeen patients were noted to have used Wii-Fit during their rehabilitation. These subjects were matched with seventeen controls who did physical therapy alone. Results: There were no baseline differences between the groups. The mean age was 77.7 years, with 11 females in each group. All the subjects were Caucasians. The average length of stay was 30 days in each group. Mean duration of the Wii-Fit use was 4-weeks. Wii-Fit augmentation group improved significantly in Activities of Daily Living (p=0.008), balance (p=0.0001), and assistance with gait (p=0.05) when compared to the control group. Conclusion: Wii-Fit can be used safely in a SNF, and it may improve balance, gait, and functional status

Relationships between auditory event-related potentials and mood state, medication, and comorbid psychiatric illness in patients with bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit aberrations in auditory event-related potentials (ERPs), although the relationships between these measures and mood state at testing, comorbid psychiatric illness, presence of psychotic features, and medication usage are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between these factors and auditory ERP measures in BD patients. METHODS: An auditory 'oddball' discrimination task was used to elicit ERPs from 69 patients with type I BD and 52 healthy controls. Patients were placed into subgroups based upon their mood state at testing (euthymic or symptomatic), and ANOVA was used to compare amplitude and peak latency measures from the N100, P200, N200, and P300 ERP components across subgroups. Multiple regression was used to investigate relationships between ERP measures and comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, history of psychotic features, and medication status. RESULTS: Relative to healthy control participants, euthymic and symptomatic BD patients exhibited reduced P300 and P200 amplitude, but ERP measures did not differ among BD patients on the basis of mood status. A history of a comorbid anxiety disorder was associated with reduced N200 peak latency, but prolonged P300 peak latency among BD patients. No other relationships between clinical variables and ERP measures were significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that disrupted auditory attention may be observed in BD patients regardless of their mood state at testing, medication status, or history of psychosis. These results extend previous findings, and provide further evidence for aberrations in the P300 ERP as an endophenotype for BD

Statewide Systematic Evaluation of Sudden, Unexpected Infant Death Classification: Results from a National Pilot Project

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded seven states, including Kentucky, to clarify statewide death certification practices in sudden, unexpected infant death and compare state performances with national expectations. Accurate assignment of the cause and manner of death in cases of sudden, unexpected infant death is critical for accurate vital statistics data to direct limited resources to appropriate targets, and to implement optimal and safe risk reduction strategies. The primary objectives are to (1) Compare SUID death certifications recommended by the KY medical examiners with the stated cause of death text field on the hard copy death electronic death certificates and (2) Compare KY and national SUID rates. Causes of death for SUID cases recommended by the medical examiners and those appearing on the hard copy and electronic death certificates in KY were collected retrospectively for 2004 and 2005. Medical examiner recommendations were based upon a classification scheme devised by them in 2003. Coroners hard copy death certificates and the cause of death rates in KY were compared to those occurring nationally. Eleven percent of infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly did not undergo autopsy during the study interval. The KY 2003 classification scheme for SIDS is at variance with the NICHD and San Diego SIDS definitions. Significant differences in causes of death recommended by medical examiners and those appearing on the hard copy and electronic death certificates were identified. SIDS rates increased in KY in contrast to decreasing rates nationally. Nationwide adoption of a widely used SIDS definition, such as that proposed in San Diego in 2004 as well as legislation by states to ensure autopsy in all cases of sudden unexpected infant death are recommended. Medical examiners’ recommendations for cause of death should appear on death certificates. Multidisciplinary pediatric death review teams prospectively evaluating cases before death certification is recommended. Research into other jurisdictions death certification process is encouraged

Pathologic gene network rewiring implicates PPP1R3A as a central regulator in pressure overload heart failure

Heart failure is a leading cause of mortality, yet our understanding of the genetic interactions underlying this disease remains incomplete. Here, we harvest 1352 healthy and failing human hearts directly from transplant center operating rooms, and obtain genome-wide genotyping and gene expression measurements for a subset of 313. We build failing and non-failing cardiac regulatory gene networks, revealing important regulators and cardiac expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). PPP1R3A emerges as a regulator whose network connectivity changes significantly between health and disease. RNA sequencing after PPP1R3A knockdown validates network-based predictions, and highlights metabolic pathway regulation associated with increased cardiomyocyte size and perturbed respiratory metabolism. Mice lacking PPP1R3A are protected against pressure-overload heart failure. We present a global gene interaction map of the human heart failure transition, identify previously unreported cardiac eQTLs, and demonstrate the discovery potential of disease-specific networks through the description of PPP1R3A as a central regulator in heart failure

Measuring the Physiologic Properties of Oral Lesions Receiving Fractionated Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can treat superficial, early‐stage disease with minimal damage to underlying tissues and without cumulative dose‐limiting toxicity. Treatment efficacy is affected by disease physiologic properties, but these properties are not routinely measured. We assessed diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) for the noninvasive, contact measurement of tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation (StO2) and total hemoglobin concentration ([tHb]) in the premalignant or superficial microinvasive oral lesions of patients treated with 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA)‐PDT. Patients were enrolled on a Phase 1 study of ALA‐PDT that evaluated fluences of 50, 100, 150 or 200 J cm−2 delivered at 100 mW cm−2. To test the feasibility of incorporating DRS measurements within the illumination period, studies were performed in patients who received fractionated (two‐part) illumination that included a dark interval of 90–180 s. Using DRS, tissue oxygenation at different depths within the lesion could also be assessed. DRS could be performed concurrently with contact measurements of photosensitizer levels by fluorescence spectroscopy, but a separate noncontact fluorescence spectroscopy system provided continuous assessment of photobleaching during illumination to greater tissue depths. Results establish that the integration of DRS into PDT of early‐stage oral disease is feasible, and motivates further studies to evaluate its predictive and dosimetric value.Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with a contact probe was employed as part of a fluorescence and reflectance spectroscopy system to measure the tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation and hemoglobin content of lesions of premalignant or early microinvasive cancer of the oral cavity. Studies demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating these measurements into treatment with fractionated (two‐part) photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5‐aminolevulinic acid. Patient‐specific differences in physiologic parameters were detectable at baseline and at times during and after PDT. Photobleaching of photosensitizer was measured by its fluorescence. Results establish the utility of rationally designed spectroscopy probes toward personalized dosimetry in PDT of oral disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113767/1/php12475.pd

AMG 479, a Novel IGF-1-R Antibody, Inhibits Endometrial Cancer Cell Proliferation Through Disruption of the PI3K/Akt and MAPK Pathways

Our goal was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of a novel antibody to the insulin growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1-R; AMG 479) in endometrial cancer cells. The endometrial cancer cell lines, ECC-1/PRAB72 and RL-95-2, were used. Treatment with AMG 479 (0.02-200 nmol/L) resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation at 72 to 120 hours. Insulin growth factor-1 (0.15-7.5 nmol/L) stimulated growth in both cell lines (range of 15%-42%, P = .0025-.0445), which could be blocked by pretreatment with AMG 479 (mean of 29% for ECC-1/PRAB72, P = .006-.007; mean of 36% for RL-95-2, P = .0002-.0045). AMG 479 suppressed IGF-1-R kinase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Cells treated with AMG 479 underwent either G1 (ECC-1/PRAB72) or G2 (RL-95-2) arrest. AMG 479 decreased human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA expression in both endometrial cancer cell lines. Treatment with AMG 479 rapidly blocked IGF-1-induced phosphorylation of IFG-1-R, Akt, and p44/42. Thus, manipulation of the IGF-1-R pathway may serve as a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of endometrial cancer

A t(1;11) translocation linked to schizophrenia and affective disorders gives rise to aberrant chimeric <em>DISC1</em> transcripts that encode structurally altered, deleterious mitochondrial proteins

Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) was identified as a risk factor for psychiatric illness through its disruption by a balanced chromosomal translocation, t(1;11)(q42.1;q14.3), that co-segregates with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. We previously reported that the translocation reduces DISC1 expression, consistent with a haploinsufficiency disease model. Here we report that, in lymphoblastoid cell lines, the translocation additionally results in the production of abnormal transcripts due to the fusion of DISC1 with a disrupted gene on chromosome 11 (DISC1FP1/Boymaw). These chimeric transcripts encode abnormal proteins, designated CP1, CP60 and CP69, consisting of DISC1 amino acids 1–597 plus 1, 60 or 69 amino acids, respectively. The novel 69 amino acids in CP69 induce increased α-helical content and formation of large stable protein assemblies. The same is predicted for CP60. Both CP60 and CP69 exhibit profoundly altered functional properties within cell lines and neurons. Both are predominantly targeted to mitochondria, where they induce clustering and loss of membrane potential, indicative of severe mitochondrial dysfunction. There is currently no access to neural material from translocation carriers to confirm these findings, but there is no reason to suppose that these chimeric transcripts will not also be expressed in the brain. There is thus potential for the production of abnormal chimeric proteins in the brains of translocation carriers, although at substantially lower levels than for native DISC1. The mechanism by which inheritance of the translocation increases risk of psychiatric illness may therefore involve both DISC1 haploinsufficiency and mitochondrial deficiency due to the effects of abnormal chimeric protein expression. GenBank accession numbers: DISC1FP1 (EU302123), Boymaw (GU134617), der 11 chimeric transcript DISC1FP1 exon 2 to DISC1 exon 9 (JQ650115), der 1 chimeric transcript DISC1 exon 4 to DISC1FP1 exon 4 (JQ650116), der 1 chimeric transcript DISC1 exon 6 to DISC1FP1 exon 3a (JQ650117)

Engineering bacteria to solve the Burnt Pancake Problem

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the possibility of executing DNA-based computation in living cells by engineering <it>Escherichia coli </it>to address a classic mathematical puzzle called the Burnt Pancake Problem (BPP). The BPP is solved by sorting a stack of distinct objects (pancakes) into proper order and orientation using the minimum number of manipulations. Each manipulation reverses the order and orientation of one or more adjacent objects in the stack. We have designed a system that uses site-specific DNA recombination to mediate inversions of genetic elements that represent pancakes within plasmid DNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Inversions (or "flips") of the DNA fragment pancakes are driven by the <it>Salmonella typhimurium </it>Hin/<it>hix </it>DNA recombinase system that we reconstituted as a collection of modular genetic elements for use in <it>E. coli</it>. Our system sorts DNA segments by inversions to produce different permutations of a promoter and a tetracycline resistance coding region; <it>E. coli </it>cells become antibiotic resistant when the segments are properly sorted. Hin recombinase can mediate all possible inversion operations on adjacent flippable DNA fragments. Mathematical modeling predicts that the system reaches equilibrium after very few flips, where equal numbers of permutations are randomly sorted and unsorted. Semiquantitative PCR analysis of <it>in vivo </it>flipping suggests that inversion products accumulate on a time scale of hours or days rather than minutes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Hin/<it>hix </it>system is a proof-of-concept demonstration of <it>in vivo </it>computation with the potential to be scaled up to accommodate larger and more challenging problems. Hin/<it>hix </it>may provide a flexible new tool for manipulating transgenic DNA <it>in vivo</it>.</p