Ultrasound-Guided Femoral and Sciatic Nerve Blocks for Repair of Tibia and Fibula Fractures in a Bennett's Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus)

Locoregional anesthetic techniques may be a very useful tool for the anesthetic management of wallabies with injuries of the pelvic limbs and may help to prevent capture myopathies resulting from stress and systemic opioids’ administration. This report describes the use of ultrasound-guided femoral and sciatic nerve blocks in Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) referred for orthopaedic surgery. Ultrasound-guided femoral and sciatic nerve blocks were attempted at the femoral triangle and proximal thigh level, respectively. Whilst the sciatic nerve could be easily visualised, the femoral nerve could not be readily identified. Only the sciatic nerve was therefore blocked with ropivacaine, and methadone was administered as rescue analgesic. The ultrasound images were stored and sent for external review. Anesthesia and recovery were uneventful and the wallaby was discharged two days postoperatively. At the time of writing, it is challenging to provide safe and effective analgesia to Macropods. Detailed knowledge of the anatomy of these species is at the basis of successful locoregional anesthesia. The development of novel analgesic techniques suitable for wallabies would represent an important step forward in this field and help the clinicians dealing with these species to improve their perianesthetic management

Thermodynamic modeling of phase separation in manganites

We present a phenomenological model based on the thermodynamics of the phase separated state of manganites, accounting for its static and dynamic properties. Through calorimetric measurements on La$_{0.225}$Pr$_{0.40}$Ca$_{0.375}$MnO$_{3}$ the low temperature free energies of the coexisting ferromagnetic and charge ordered phases are evaluated. The phase separated state is modeled by free energy densities uniformly spread over the sample volume. The calculations contemplate the out of equilibrium features of the coexisting phase regime, to allow a comparison between magnetic measurements and the predictions of the model. A phase diagram including the static and dynamic properties of the system is constructed, showing the existence of blocked and unblocked regimes which are characteristics of the phase separated state in manganites.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Coeducational ideas In physical education teachers: Pshycometric properties of a scale

Ante la falta de cuestionarios o escalas que evaluaran los diferentes aspectos coeducativos que caracterizan al profesorado de Educación Física y la necesidad de conocer cuál es la concepción que tienen sobre este modelo, se desprende el objetivo de este trabajo, como el de evaluar las propiedades psicométricas mediante un instrumento que hemos denominado Escala sobre el pensamiento coeducativo del profesorado de EF para valorar las opiniones respecto a la coeducación y la metodología que se utiliza en sus clases. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 213 profesores, 133 hombres y 43 mujeres. La escala fue aplicada mediante papel, envío de correo electrónico y plataforma moddle. El análisis de los datos muestra unos resultados adecuados en cuanto a estructura factorial, consistencia interna y tipos de validez. Se concluye que esta Escala representa un instrumento válido y fiable para analizar las características coeducativas del profesoradoBecause of the absence of questionnaires or scales which will assess different coeducative aspects that are characteristics of PE teacher and need to know which is the conception that they have about this model, it is deduced the aim of this work as that which evaluate the psychometric properties through a tool called the Scale of coeducational ideas in physical education teachers to value the opinions about coeducation and the methodology used in their classes. The sample was composed by 213 teachers, 133 men and 43 women. The questionnaire was applied by means of paper, electronic mail shipment and platform moddle. The data analysis shows appropriate results in terms of factor structure, internal consistency and validity types. We conclude that the escale represents a valid and reliable instrument to analyze the coeducative characteristics of the teacher

W196 and the ß -Hairpin Motif Modulate the Redox Switch of Conformation and the Biomolecular Interaction Network of the Apoptosis-Inducing Factor

The human apoptosis-inducing factor (hAIF) is a moonlight flavoprotein involved in mitochondrial respiratory complex assembly and caspase-independent programmed cell death. These functions might be modulated by its redox-linked structural transition that enables hAIF to act as a NAD(H/+) redox sensor. Upon reduction with NADH, hAIF undergoes a conformational reorganization in two specific insertions - the flexible regulatory C-loop and the 190-202 ß-harpin - promoting protein dimerization and the stabilization of a long-life charge transfer complex (CTC) that modulates its monomer-dimer equilibrium and its protein interaction network in healthy mitochondria. In this regard, here, we investigated the precise function of the ß-hairpin in the AIF conformation landscape related to its redox mechanism, by analyzing the role played by W196, a key residue in the interaction of this motif with the regulatory C-loop. Mutations at W196 decrease the compactness and stability of the oxidized hAIF, indicating that the ß-hairpin and C-loop coupling contribute to protein stability. Kinetic studies complemented with computational simulations reveal that W196 and the ß-hairpin conformation modulate the low efficiency of hAIF as NADH oxidoreductase, contributing to configure its active site in a noncompetent geometry for hydride transfer and to stabilize the CTC state by enhancing the affinity for NAD+. Finally, the ß-hairpin motif contributes to define the conformation of AIF's interaction surfaces with its physiological partners. These findings improve our understanding on the molecular basis of hAIF''s cellular activities, a crucial aspect for clarifying its associated pathological mechanisms and developing new molecular therapies

On-board and Ground Visual Pose Estimation Techniques for UAV Control

In this paper, two techniques to control UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), based on visual information are presented. The first one is based on the detection and tracking of planar structures from an on-board camera, while the second one is based on the detection and 3D reconstruction of the position of the UAV based on an external camera system. Both strategies are tested with a VTOL (Vertical take-off and landing) UAV, and results show good behavior of the visual systems (precision in the estimation and frame rate) when estimating the helicopter¿s position and using the extracted information to control the UAV

Function of cofactor Akirin2 in the regulation of gene expression in model human Caucasian neutrophil-like HL60 cells

The Akirin family of transcription cofactors are involved throughout the metazoan in the regulation of different biological processes (BPs) such as immunity, interdigital regression, muscle and neural development. Akirin do not have catalytic or DNA-binding capability and exert its regulatory function primarily through interacting proteins such as transcription factors, chromatin remodelers, and RNA-associated proteins. In the present study, we focused on the human Akirin2 regulome and interactome in neutrophil-like model human Caucasian promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells. Our hypothesis is that metazoan evolved to have Akirin2 functional complements and different Akirin2-mediated mechanisms for the regulation of gene expression. To address this hypothesis, experiments were conducted using transcriptomics, proteomics and systems biology approaches in akirin2 knockdown and wildtype (WT) HL60 cells to characterize Akirin2 gene/protein targets, functional complements and to provide evidence of different mechanisms that may be involved in Akirin2-mediated regulation of gene expression. The results revealed Akirin2 gene/protein targets in multiple BPs with higher representation of immunity and identified immune response genes as candidate Akirin2 functional complements. In addition to linking chromatin remodelers with transcriptional activation, Akirin2 also interacts with histone H3.1 for regulation of gene expression. © 2021 The Author(s)

VPS-SLAM: Visual Planar Semantic SLAM for Aerial Robotic Systems

Indoor environments have abundant presence of high-level semantic information which can provide a better understanding of the environment for robots to improve the uncertainty in their pose estimate. Although semantic information has proved to be useful, there are several challenges faced by the research community to accurately perceive, extract and utilize such semantic information from the environment. In order to address these challenges, in this paper we present a lightweight and real-time visual semantic SLAM framework running on board aerial robotic platforms. This novel method combines low-level visual/visual-inertial odometry (VO/VIO) along with geometrical information corresponding to planar surfaces extracted from detected semantic objects. Extracting the planar surfaces from selected semantic objects provides enhanced robustness and makes it possible to precisely improve the metric estimates rapidly, simultaneously generalizing to several object instances irrespective of their shape and size. Our graph-based approach can integrate several state of the art VO/VIO algorithms along with the state of the art object detectors in order to estimate the complete 6DoF pose of the robot while simultaneously creating a sparse semantic map of the environment. No prior knowledge of the objects is required, which is a significant advantage over other works. We test our approach on a standard RGB-D dataset comparing its performance with the state of the art SLAM algorithms. We also perform several challenging indoor experiments validating our approach in presence of distinct environmental conditions and furthermore test it on board an aerial robot. Video:https://vimeo.com/368217703Released Code:https://bitbucket.org/hridaybavle/semantic_slam.git

Towards an autonomous vision-based unmanned aerial system againstwildlife poachers

Poaching is an illegal activity that remains out of control in many countries. Based on the 2014 report of the United Nations and Interpol, the illegal trade of global wildlife and natural resources amounts to nearly $213 billion every year, which is even helping to fund armed conflicts. Poaching activities around the world are further pushing many animal species on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, the traditional methods to fight against poachers are not enough, hence the new demands for more efficient approaches. In this context, the use of new technologies on sensors and algorithms, as well as aerial platforms is crucial to face the high increase of poaching activities in the last few years. Our work is focused on the use of vision sensors on UAVs for the detection and tracking of animals and poachers, as well as the use of such sensors to control quadrotors during autonomous vehicle following and autonomous landing.Peer Reviewe

Reversible hydration of CH(3)NH(3)Pbl(3) in films, single crystals, and solar cells

Solar cells composed of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPI) are notorious for their sensitivity to moisture. We show that (i) hydrated crystal phases are formed when MAPI is exposed to water vapor at room temperature and (ii) these phase changes are fully reversed when the material is subsequently dried. The reversible formation of CH3NH3PbI3·H2O followed by (CH3NH3)4PbI6·2H2O (upon long exposure times) was observed using time-resolved XRD and ellipsometry of thin films prepared using “solvent engineering”, single crystals, and state-of-the-art solar cells. In contrast to water vapor, the presence of liquid water results in the irreversible decomposition of MAPI to form PbI2. MAPI changes from dark brown to transparent on hydration; the precise optical constants of CH3NH3PbI3·H2O formed on single crystals were determined, with a bandgap at 3.1 eV. Using the single-crystal optical constants and thin-film ellipsometry measurements, the time-dependent changes to MAPI films exposed to moisture were modeled. The results suggest that the monohydrate phase forms independent of the depth in the film, suggesting rapid transport of water molecules along grain boundaries. Vapor-phase hydration of an unencapsulated solar cell (initially Jsc ≈ 19 mA cm–2 and Voc ≈ 1.05 V at 1 sun) resulted in more than a 90% drop in short-circuit photocurrent and ∼200 mV loss in open-circuit potential; however, these losses were fully reversed after the device was exposed to dry nitrogen for 6 h. Hysteresis in the current–voltage characteristics was significantly increased after this dehydration, which may be related to changes in the defect density and morphology of MAPI following recrystallization from the hydrate. Based on our observations, we suggest that irreversible decomposition of MAPI in the presence of water vapor only occurs significantly once a grain has been fully converted to the monohydrate phase

Targeting the Stress-Induced Protein NUPR1 to Treat Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Cancer cells activate stress-response mechanisms to adapt themselves to a variety of stressful conditions. Among these protective mechanisms, those controlled by the stress-induced nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1 ) belong to the most conserved ones. NUPR1 is an 82-residue-long, monomeric, basic and intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), which was found to be invariably overexpressed in some, if not all, cancer tissues. Remarkably, we and others have previously showed that genetic inactivation of the Nupr1 gene antagonizes the growth of pancreatic cancer as well as several other tumors. With the use of a multidisciplinary strategy by combining biophysical, biochemical, bioinformatic, and biological approaches, a trifluoperazine-derived compound, named ZZW-115, has been identified as an inhibitor of the NUPR1 functions. The anticancer activity of the ZZW-115 was first validated on a large panel of cancer cells. Furthermore, ZZW-115 produced a dose-dependent tumor regression of the tumor size in xenografted mice. Mechanistically, we have demonstrated that NUPR1 binds to several importins. Because ZZW-115 binds NUPR1 through the region around the amino acid Thr68, which is located into the nuclear location signal (NLS) region of the protein, we demonstrated that treatment with ZZW-115 inhibits completely the translocation of NUPR1 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus by competing with importins