THE METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF THE ADULT RABBIT CHOROID PLEXUS: AN ENZYMATIC HISTOCHEMICAL APPROACH

Objective: To investigate the metabolic activity of the adult rabbit choroid plexus, using succinate dehydrogenase, phosphorylase and α-naphthylacetate esterase as histochemical markers of, the aerobic, glycolytic, and lipolytic pathways,  respectively. Methods: Coverslip-mounted choroid plexus sections of adult rabbits were stained histochemically for the above enzymes. To characterize the esterase isoform(s), sections were incubated with various esterase modifiers before identification of the esterase activity. Sections of liver and kidney (controls) were simultaneously treated as for choroid plexus sections.  Results: Strong reactivity of the choroidal epithelium for both succinate dehydrogenase and esterase was readily detectable, while phosphorylase activity was virtually absent. In contrast to the B-isoform of esterase characteristically dominated the controls, the choroidal esterase activity was attributed mainly to C-isoform.                                                                                                                                                                    Conclusion: The results suggest that the energy required for CSF formation by the adult choroid plexus is derived almost exclusively from aerobic oxidation, including fat metabolism. The high esterase activity in the choroid plexus , and in particular the unique pattern of the choroidal esterase versus the esterase of the controls, were interpreted to offer a potential target for future inhibitors of the energy of fat metabolism and thereby for CSF reduction

Uncertainty assessment for measurement processes in the aerospace manufacturing industry

Measurement processes are critical to the aerospace industry, which products must follow strict regulations and customer requirements. Additionally, measurement of uncertainty is fast becoming a requirement from both certification bodies and customers. An uncertainty assessment must be carried out for all processes that need to add an uncertainty statement to the measurement result. In order to maintain defined quality standards, aerospace manufacturing companies need to identify all measurement disciplines that benefit from stating the level of uncertainty and define a methodology to calculate it for complex measurement processes. An extensive research has been conducted in order to define the most appropriate methodology to assess uncertainty on complex aerospace components and a case study has been applied to assess the strain gauge calibration test uncertainty of different aerospace components. This study develops a generic framework, which helps the assessment of all individual sources of uncertainty and completes the one established by the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. Conclusions have been extracted from the outcome of the case study. The conducted research contributes to a better understanding of measurement processes and good practices that lead to lower uncertainty. The outcome will help manufacturing companies to be aware of the contributors of uncertainty to the tests, how to reduce this uncertainty and the reliability of the measurements taken during the process

Does Rotary Pursuit Data Predict Mouse Task Performance? a Pilot Study

Knight & Salvendy (1992) suggested that performance of mouse task depends on precision control and arm-hand steadiness. However, the claims lacked empirical support. This pilot study collected rotary pursuit data, measured by time-on-target (TOT), to assess participants' precision control ability. Performance of mouse task was operationalized using a Fitts' pointing task. Stepwise multiple regression revealed target diameter (D), distance amplitude (A), and TOT contributed to the variability of movement time (MT). Despite highly significant relations, the regression coefficients were so small that they offered little practical value. However, the results indicated that precision control ability is indeed predictive of the performance of mouse task. Several recommendations were made for subsequent studies, they include (i) psychomotor ability should be assessed using multiple trials, (ii) a wider range of ID values should be tested with, (iii) a multi-directional Fitts' paradigm should be employed, and (iv) the mouse task should be more representative of the direct manipulation paradigm.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Left atrial pump strain predicts long-term survival after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

BACKGROUND This study aims at investigating left atrial (LA) deformation by left atrial reservoir (LARS) and pump strain (LAPS) and its implications for long-term survival in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). METHODS Speckle tracking echocardiography was performed in 198 patients with severe AS undergoing TAVI. Association of strain parameters with cardiovascular mortality was determined. RESULTS Over a follow-up time of 5 years, 49 patients (24.7%) died. LAPS was more impaired in non-survivors than survivors (P = 0.010), whereas no difference was found for LARS (P = 0.114), LA ejection fraction (P = 0.241), and LA volume index (P = 0.292). Kaplan-Meier analyses yielded a reduced survival probability according to the optimal threshold for LAPS (P = 0.002). A more impaired LAPS was associated with increased mortality risk (HR 1.12 [95% CI 1.02-1.22]; P = 0.014) independent of LVEF, LAVI, age, and sex. Addition of LAPS improved multivariable echocardiographic (LVEF, LAVI) and clinical (age, sex) models with potential incremental value for mortality prediction (P = 0.013 and P = 0.031, respectively). In contrast, LARS and LAVI were not associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS In patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for severe AS, LAPS was impaired in patients dying during long-term follow-up after TAVI, differentiated survivors from non-survivors, was independently associated with long-term mortality, and yielded potential incremental value for survival prediction after TAVI. LAPS seems useful for risk stratification in severe AS and timely valve replacement

Escaping the Big Brother: an empirical study on factors influencing identification and information leakage on the Web

This paper presents a study on factors that may increase the risks of personal information leakage, due to the possibility of connecting user profiles that are not explicitly linked together. First, we introduce a technique for user identification based on cross-site checking and linking of user attributes. Then, we describe the experimental evaluation of the identification technique both on a real setting and on an online sample, showing its accuracy to discover unknown personal data. Finally, we combine the results on the accuracy of identification with the results of a questionnaire completed by the same subjects who performed the test on the real setting. The aim of the study was to discover possible factors that make users vulnerable to this kind of techniques. We found out that the number of social networks used, their features and especially the amount of profiles abandoned and forgotten by the user are factors that increase the likelihood of identification and the privacy risks

State-of-the-art in product service-systems

A Product Service-System (PSS) is an integrated combination of products and services. This western concept embraces a service-led competitive strategy, environmental sustainability, and the basis to differentiate from competitors who simply offer lower priced products. This paper aims to report the state-of-the-art of PSS research by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on this topic. The literature is classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed. On this basis, this paper defines the PSS concept, reports on its origin and features, gives examples of applications along with potential benefits and barriers to adoption, summarises available tools and methodologies, and identifies future research challenges

Isolated hepatic actinomycosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Actinomyces are slow growing, non-spore forming, gram-positive, branching bacilli that thrive in anaerobic and microareophilic conditions. Actinomyces are more commonly associated with oral and cervicofacial infections. Hepatic involvement in infections of the abdomen (known as isolated hepatic actinomycosis) is rare, accounting for only 5% of all cases of actinomycosis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of a 75-year-old Caucasian woman with a 3-month history of night sweats, fever, chills, abdominal bloating, anorexia, weight-loss, and early satiety. The patient was found to have isolated hepatic actinomycosis infection after undergoing a laparotomy with a biopsy of the liver. The patient has now recovered.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Isolated hepatic actinomycosis is a rare and often overlooked etiology for a liver mass. Given its subacute presentation and nondescript symptomatology, physicians should be aware of this differential and the potential pitfalls in diagnosis and management.</p

The effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up strategies, that require no additional equipment, for preventing lower limb injuries during sports participation: a systematic review

PMCID: PMC3408383The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/75. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Quadcopter-Rover System for Environmental Survey Applications

This paper explores the development of a Quadcopter-Rover System specifically designed for environmental survey applications. The system combines the capabilities of a quadcopter and a rover to provide a comprehensive and versatile solution for data collection and analysis. The paper presents a detailed overview of the system's modelling, design, and manufacturing of the two main components: the quadcopter and the differential wheel robot (the rover). The quadcopter’s main task is to carry the rover to/from the ground destination and collect aerial data while the rover`s main task is ground exploration and data collection. The paper discusses the development of a robust and efficient control algorithm that enables autonomous and coordinated operation between the quadcopter and the rover. Experimental results demonstrate the system's effectiveness in conducting environmental surveys, showcasing its ability to accurately navigate challenging terrains, and collect valuable data for environmental analysis. The Quadcopter-Rover System offers significant potential in applications such as ecological monitoring, disaster management, and precision agriculture, where comprehensive and efficient data collection is crucial for informed decision-making

A putative relay circuit providing low-threshold mechanoreceptive input to lamina I projection neurons via vertical cells in lamina II of the rat dorsal horn

Background: Lamina I projection neurons respond to painful stimuli, and some are also activated by touch or hair movement. Neuropathic pain resulting from peripheral nerve damage is often associated with tactile allodynia (touch-evoked pain), and this may result from increased responsiveness of lamina I projection neurons to non-noxious mechanical stimuli. It is thought that polysynaptic pathways involving excitatory interneurons can transmit tactile inputs to lamina I projection neurons, but that these are normally suppressed by inhibitory interneurons. Vertical cells in lamina II provide a potential route through which tactile stimuli can activate lamina I projection neurons, since their dendrites extend into the region where tactile afferents terminate, while their axons can innervate the projection cells. The aim of this study was to determine whether vertical cell dendrites were contacted by the central terminals of low-threshold mechanoreceptive primary afferents. Results: We initially demonstrated contacts between dendritic spines of vertical cells that had been recorded in spinal cord slices and axonal boutons containing the vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1), which is expressed by myelinated low-threshold mechanoreceptive afferents. To confirm that the VGLUT1 boutons included primary afferents, we then examined vertical cells recorded in rats that had received injections of cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) into the sciatic nerve. We found that over half of the VGLUT1 boutons contacting the vertical cells were CTb-immunoreactive, indicating that they were of primary afferent origin. Conclusions: These results show that vertical cell dendritic spines are frequently contacted by the central terminals of myelinated low-threshold mechanoreceptive afferents. Since dendritic spines are associated with excitatory synapses, it is likely that most of these contacts were synaptic. Vertical cells in lamina II are therefore a potential route through which tactile afferents can activate lamina I projection neurons, and this pathway could play a role in tactile allodynia