A follow-up study of the post hospital adjustment of 18 geriatric patients discharged from the V.A. hospital to their own homes in 1957

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

"Relation of railway companies to state boards of health" .

16 p

Modeling Star counts in the Monoceros stream and the Galactic anti-centre

There is a continued debate as to the form of the outer disc of the Milky Way galaxy, which has important implications for its formation. Stars are known to exist at a galacto-centric distance of at least 20 kpc. However, there is much debate as to whether these stars can be explained as being part of the disc or whether another extra galactic structure, the so called Monoceros ring/stream, is required. To examine the outer disc of the Galaxy toward the anti-centre to determine whether the star counts can be explained by the thin and thick discs alone. Using Sloan star counts and extracting the late F and early G dwarfs it is possible to directly determine the density of stars out to a galacto-centric distance of about 25 kpc. These are then compared with a simple flared disc model. A flared disc model is shown to reproduce the counts along the line of sights examined, if the thick disc does not have a sharp cut off. The flare starts at a Galacto-centric radius of 16 kpc and has a scale length of 4.5+/-1.5 kpc. Whilst the interpretation of the counts in terms of a ring/stream cannot be definitely discounted, it does not appear to be necessary, at least along the lines of sight examined towards the anti centre.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted to be published in A&

Pharmacoperone Identification for Therapeutic Rescue of Misfolded Mutant Proteins

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which includes the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor (GnRHR), comprises the largest family of validated drug targets – more than half of all approved drugs derive their benefits by selective targeting of GPCRs. Most drugs in this class are either agonists or antagonists of GPCRs and high throughput screens have typically been designed and performed with a view toward identification of such compounds as lead drug candidates. This manuscript presents the case that valuable drugs which effect the trafficking of GPCRs may have been overlooked because pharmacoperones have been selected from existing screens that identify agonists and antagonists. A “gain of activity assay” is proposed; this assay relies on the expression of a mutant of the GnRHR that is known to be rescuable by pharmacoperone drugs, and which is restored to activity in their presence. Accordingly, “hits” are identified by the appearance of activity. The gene for the mutant is under control of tetracycline and may be prevented from being expressed. This is a valuable feature since it allows false positives to be identified. Such drugs will show apparent activity whether or not the mutant is expressed. This assay will enable identification of these drugs from chemical libraries and does not rely on their activity as agonists or antagonists

Measurement of Dust Optical Properties in Coalsack

We have used FUSE and Voyager observations of dust scattered starlight in the neighborhood of the Coalsack Nebula to derive the optical constants of the dust grains. The albedo is consistent with a value of $0.28 \pm 0.04$ and the phase function asymmetry factor with a value of $0.61 \pm 0.07$ throughout the spectral range from 900 -- 1200 \AA, in agreement with previous determinations as well as theoretical predictions. We have now observed two regions (Ophiuchus and Coalsack) with intense diffuse background radiation and in both cases have found that the emission is due to light from nearby hot stars scattered by a relatively thin foreground cloud, with negligible contribution from the background molecular cloud.Comment: Total 19 pages, Figures 9, Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

ESPRESS.0: Eustachian Tube-Inspired Tactile Sensor Exploiting Pneumatics for Range Extension and SenSitivity Tuning

Optimising the sensitivity of a tactile sensor to a specific range of stimuli magnitude usually compromises the sensor’s widespread usage. This paper presents a novel soft tactile sensor capable of dynamically tuning its stiffness for enhanced sensitivity across a range of applied forces, taking inspiration from the Eustachian tube in the mammalian ear. The sensor exploits an adjustable pneumatic back pressure to control the effective stiffness of its 20 mm diameter elastomer interface. An internally translocated fluid is coupled to the membrane and optically tracked to measure physical interactions at the interface. The sensor can be actuated by pneumatic pressure to dynamically adjust its stiffness. It is demonstrated to detect forces as small as 0.012 N, and to be sensitive to a difference of 0.006 N in the force range of 35 to 40 N. The sensor is demonstrated to be capable of detecting tactile cues on the surface of objects in the sub-millimetre scale. It is able to adapt its compliance to increase its ability for distinguishing between stimuli with similar stiffnesses (0.181 N/mm difference) over a large range (0.1 to 1.1 N/mm) from only a 0.6 mm deep palpation. The sensor is intended to interact comfortably with skin, and the feasibility of its use in palpating tissue in search of hard inclusions is demonstrated by locating and estimating the size of a synthetic hard node embedded 20 mm deep in a soft silicone sample. The results suggest that the sensor is a good candidate for tactile tasks involving unpredictable or unknown stimuli

AAOmega spectroscopy of 29 351 stars in fields centered on ten Galactic globular clusters

Galactic globular clusters have been pivotal in our understanding of many astrophysical phenomena. Here we publish the extracted stellar parameters from a recent large spectroscopic survey of ten globular clusters. A brief review of the project is also presented. Stellar parameters have been extracted from individual stellar spectra using both a modified version of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) pipeline and a pipeline based on the parameter estimation method of RAVE. We publish here all parameters extracted from both pipelines. We calibrate the metallicity and convert this to [Fe/H] for each star and, furthermore, we compare the velocities and velocity dispersions of the Galactic stars in each field to the Besan\c{c}on Galaxy model. We find that the model does not correspond well with the data, indicating that the model is probably of little use for comparisons with pencil beam survey data such as this.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A. Data described in tables will be available on CDS (at http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/530/A31) once publishe

A stitch in time saves nine: closing the hole after removal of the aortic root cannula

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>On completion of the surgical procedure the hole in the ascending aorta has to be closed after withdrawal of the aortic root cannula. The aorta is usually pinched by a double transversal stitch or it is crumpled by a purse string suture. Nevertheless, hemostasis is difficult to obtain because closure is done under recovered pressure. Additional stitches buttressed with teflon-felt pledgets are often required. Unfortunately, sensitivity to bacterial implantation and the proximity to the sternotomy line could make the foreign material of the pledgets responsible for chronic infections and fistulas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two simple square stitches orthogonal to each other could be a very useful suture combining simplicity with effectiveness. To do this, two 4-0 polypropylene half-threads are put obliquely through the full thickness of the aortic wall, to and fro with inverse obliquities. Each of them draws a cross inside the aortic wall and two sides of a square outside. As a result a little square is drawn by the threads around the hole.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For years we have never needed to reinforce the closure by supplemental stitches with hundreds of patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This type of closure has some advantages. In contrast to common stitches the aortic wall is not bent, crumpled or deformed, bites pass all aortic layers and the crossing of the threads covers the hole from inside rather than outside. Moreover, each thread can be tied with half of the tension required by other sutures because the two stitches act together but in the opposite direction. Finally, the technique is speedy and it requires only two half-threads. Most importantly, there is no need for teflon-felt pledgets. As a result, we have no longer seen any type of chronic infection or fistula.</p

A mathematical model for LH release in response to continuous and pulsatile exposure of gonadotrophs to GnRH

In a previous study, a model was developed to investigate the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) from pituitary cells in response to a short pulse of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The model included: binding of GnRH to its receptor (R), dimerization and internalization of the hormone receptor complex, interaction with a G protein, production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)), release of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), entrance of calcium into the cytosol via voltage gated membrane channels, pumping of calcium out of the cytosol via membrane and ER pumps, and release of LH. The extended model, presented in this paper, also includes the following physiologically important phenomena: desensitization of calcium channels; internalization of the dimerized receptors and recycling of some of the internalized receptors; an increase in G(q )concentration near the plasma membrane in response to receptor dimerization; and basal rates of synthesis and degradation of the receptors. With suitable choices of the parameters, good agreement with a variety of experimental data of the LH release pattern in response to pulses of various durations, repetition rates, and concentrations of GnRH were obtained. The mathematical model allows us to assess the effects of internalization and desensitization on the shapes and time courses of LH response curves