1,414 research outputs found

    SMART APPLIANCE SYSTEM

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    The invention describes a smart appliance system. The system receives instructions from a user over a network to control an appliance. The system then transmits these instructions to the appliance to control the appliance. The system causes the appliance to operate according to the transmitted instructions

    Characteristics, management and outcome of a large necrotising otitis externa case series: need for standardised case definition

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    Background: Necrotising otitis externa (NOE) is a severe ear infection for which there are no established diagnostic or treatment guidelines. Objective: Describe clinical characteristics, management and outcomes for patients managed as NOE at a UK tertiary referral centre. Methods: Retrospective case series. Results: 58 (63%) patients were classified as definite NOE cases, 31 (34%) as probable and 3 (3%) as possible cases. Median duration of intravenous and oral antimicrobial therapy was 6.0 weeks (0.49-44.9). 6% of patients relapsed a median of 16.4 weeks (IQR 23-121) after stopping antimicrobials. 28% of cases had complex disease. These patients were older (p=0.042), had a longer duration of symptoms prior to imaging (p= 0.0001) and higher CRP at diagnosis (p=0.005). Despite longer courses of intravenous antimicrobials (23 days v 14 days; p=0.032), complex cases were more likely to relapse (p=0.016). Conclusion: A standardised case-definition of NOE is needed to optimise diagnosis, management and research

    Effect of stress-triaxiality on void growth in dynamic fracture of metals: a molecular dynamics study

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    The effect of stress-triaxiality on growth of a void in a three dimensional single-crystal face-centered-cubic (FCC) lattice has been studied. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using an embedded-atom (EAM) potential for copper have been performed at room temperature and using strain controlling with high strain rates ranging from 10^7/sec to 10^10/sec. Strain-rates of these magnitudes can be studied experimentally, e.g. using shock waves induced by laser ablation. Void growth has been simulated in three different conditions, namely uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial expansion. The response of the system in the three cases have been compared in terms of the void growth rate, the detailed void shape evolution, and the stress-strain behavior including the development of plastic strain. Also macroscopic observables as plastic work and porosity have been computed from the atomistic level. The stress thresholds for void growth are found to be comparable with spall strength values determined by dynamic fracture experiments. The conventional macroscopic assumption that the mean plastic strain results from the growth of the void is validated. The evolution of the system in the uniaxial case is found to exhibit four different regimes: elastic expansion; plastic yielding, when the mean stress is nearly constant, but the stress-triaxiality increases rapidly together with exponential growth of the void; saturation of the stress-triaxiality; and finally the failure.Comment: 35 figures, which are small (and blurry) due to the space limitations; submitted (with original figures) to Physical Review B. Final versio

    Association between changes in oestradiol and follicleâ stimulating hormone levels during the menopausal transition and risk of diabetes

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    AimTo investigate the association between changes in oestradiol and follicleâ stimulating hormone levels during the menopausal transition and incident diabetes.MethodsWe followed 1407 preâ menopausal women, aged 42â 52 years at baseline, who experienced natural menopause, from baseline to the 12th annual followâ up visit in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Diabetes was defined based on fasting glucose level, medication use and selfâ report of physician diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the associations of incident diabetes with three components of the rate of change in hormones: the intercept (preâ menopausal levels) and two pieceâ wise slopes representing change during the early and late transition, respectively.ResultsDuring 15 years of followâ up, 132 women developed diabetes. After adjusting for potential confounders, a higher oestradiol intercept, but not its rate of change, was borderline significantly associated with lower risk of diabetes [hazard ratio for an interquartile range increase (75.2 pmol/L) 0.53, 95% CI 0.27â 1.06]. For follicleâ stimulating hormone, a greater rate of increase in the early transition, but not the intercept or late transition, was significantly associated with lower risk of diabetes [hazard ratio for an interquartile range increase (5.9 IU/L/year) 0.31, 95% CI 0.10â 0.94].ConclusionsLower preâ menopausal oestradiol levels and a slower rate of follicleâ stimulating hormone change during the early transition were associated with higher risk of developing diabetes. Given that obesity plays an important role in diabetes risk and in the levels and changes in oestradiol and follicleâ stimulating hormone over the menopausal transition, weight control in earlier midâ life is important to prevent future diabetes development.What’s new?This is the first study to examine prospectively the associations between levels of and change in oestradiol and follicleâ stimulating hormone (FSH) during the menopausal transition and incident diabetes in a cohort of women.The study shows that, independent of age and other important risk factors of diabetes, women with lower preâ menopausal oestradiol levels and a slower rate of FSH change during the early menopause transition had a higher risk of developing diabetes.Given that obesity plays an important role in diabetes risk as well as in the levels and changes in oestradiol and FSH over the menopausal transition, weight control in earlier midâ life is important to prevent future diabetes development.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136511/1/dme13301_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136511/2/dme13301.pd

    Single amino acid changes in the ryanodine receptor in the human population have effects in vivo on Caenorhabditis elegans neuro-muscular function

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    The ryanodine receptor mediates intracellular calcium ion release with excitation of nerve and muscle cells. Ryanodine receptor missense variants cause a number of myopathologies, such as malignant hyperthermia, and have been linked with various neuropathologies, including Alzheimer’s disease. We characterized the consequences of ryanodine receptor variants in vivo. Eight Caenorhabditis elegans strains, with ryanodine receptor modifications equivalent to human myopathic RYR1 variants, were generated by genome editing. In humans, these variants are rare and confer sensitivity to the inhalational anaesthetic halothane when heterozygous. Increased sensitivity to halothane was found in both homozygous and heterozygous C. elegans. Close analysis revealed distinct subtle locomotion defects, due to the different single amino acid residue changes, even in the absence of the external triggering agent. Distinct pre- and postsynaptic consequences of the variants were characterized through the responses to cholinergic pharmacological agents. The range of phenotypes reflects the complexity of the regulatory inputs to the ryanodine receptor and the criticality of the calcium ion channel opening properties, in different cell types and with age. Ryanodine receptors with these single amino acid residue changes still function as calcium ion channels, but with altered properties which are likely to have subtle consequences for human carriers of such variants. The long-term consequences of subtly altered calcium ion signalling could be cumulative and may be focussed in the smaller nerve cells rather than the more robust muscle cells. It was important to assess phenotypes in vivo to properly appreciate consequences for a whole organism

    Is It Time to Rethink Cord Management When Resuscitation Is Needed?

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    A newborn who receives a placental transfusion at birth, either from cord milking or delayed cord clamping, obtains about 30% more blood volume than the newborn whose cord is cut immediately. Receiving an adequate blood volume from placental transfusion at birth may be protective for the distressed neonate as it prevents hypovolemia and can support optimal perfusion to all organs. New research shows that ventilating before clamping the umbilical cord can reduce large swings in cardiovascular function and help to stabilize the newborn. Hypovolemia, often associated with nuchal cord or shoulder dystocia, may lead to an inflammatory cascade and subsequent ischemic injury. A sudden unexpected neonatal asystole at birth may occur from severe hypovolemia. The restoration of blood volume is an important action to protect the hearts and brains of these neonates. Current protocols for resuscitation imply immediate cord clamping and the care of the newborn away from the mother\u27s bedside. We suggest that an intrapartum care provider can achieve placental transfusion for the distressed neonate by milking the cord several times or resuscitating the neonate at the perineum with an intact cord. Milking the cord can be done quickly within the current Neonatal Resuscitation Program guidelines. Cord blood gases can be collected with delayed cord clamping. Bringing the resuscitation to the mother\u27s bedside is a novel concept and supports an intact cord. Adopting a policy for resuscitation with an intact cord in a hospital setting will take concentrated effort and team work by obstetrics, pediatrics, midwifery, and nursing

    Titration-free massively parallel pyrosequencing using trace amounts of starting material

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    Continuous efforts have been made to improve next-generation sequencing methods for increased robustness and for applications on low amounts of starting material. We applied double-stranded library protocols for the Roche 454 platform to avoid the yield-reducing steps associated with single-stranded library preparation, and applied a highly sensitive Taqman MGB-probe-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. The MGB-probe qPCR, which can detect as low as 100 copies, was used to quantify the amount of effective library, i.e. molecules that form functional clones in emulsion PCR. We also demonstrate that the distribution of library molecules on capture beads follows a Poisson distribution. Combining the qPCR and Poisson statistics, the labour-intensive and costly titration can be eliminated and trace amounts of starting material such as precious clinical samples, transcriptomes of small tissue samples and metagenomics on low biomass environments is applicable
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