18,463 research outputs found
Enhancing Nervous System Recovery through Neurobiologics, Neural Interface Training, and Neurorehabilitation.
After an initial period of recovery, human neurological injury has long been thought to be static. In order to improve quality of life for those suffering from stroke, spinal cord injury, or traumatic brain injury, researchers have been working to restore the nervous system and reduce neurological deficits through a number of mechanisms. For example, neurobiologists have been identifying and manipulating components of the intra- and extracellular milieu to alter the regenerative potential of neurons, neuro-engineers have been producing brain-machine and neural interfaces that circumvent lesions to restore functionality, and neurorehabilitation experts have been developing new ways to revitalize the nervous system even in chronic disease. While each of these areas holds promise, their individual paths to clinical relevance remain difficult. Nonetheless, these methods are now able to synergistically enhance recovery of native motor function to levels which were previously believed to be impossible. Furthermore, such recovery can even persist after training, and for the first time there is evidence of functional axonal regrowth and rewiring in the central nervous system of animal models. To attain this type of regeneration, rehabilitation paradigms that pair cortically-based intent with activation of affected circuits and positive neurofeedback appear to be required-a phenomenon which raises new and far reaching questions about the underlying relationship between conscious action and neural repair. For this reason, we argue that multi-modal therapy will be necessary to facilitate a truly robust recovery, and that the success of investigational microscopic techniques may depend on their integration into macroscopic frameworks that include task-based neurorehabilitation. We further identify critical components of future neural repair strategies and explore the most updated knowledge, progress, and challenges in the fields of cellular neuronal repair, neural interfacing, and neurorehabilitation, all with the goal of better understanding neurological injury and how to improve recovery
Suspended liminality: Vacillating affects in cyberbullying/research
This paper develops a concept of liminal hotspots in the context of i) a secondary analysis of a cyberbullying case involving a group of school children from a Danish school, and ii) an altered auto-ethnography in which the authors ‘entangle’ their own experiences with the case analysis. These two sources are used to build an account of a liminal hotspot conceived as an occasion of troubled and suspended transformative transition in which a liminal phase is extended and remains unresolved. The altered auto-ethnography is used to explore the affectivity at play in liminal hotspots, and this liminal affectivity is characterised in terms of volatility, vacillation, suggestibility and paradox
NGC 2992 in an X-ray high state observed by XMM: Response of the Relativistic Fe K Line to the Continuum
We present the analysis of an XMM observation of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992.
The source was found in its highest level of X-ray activity yet detected, a
factor higher in 2--10 keV flux than the historical minimum. NGC
2992 is known to exhibit X-ray flaring activity on timescales of days to weeks,
and the XMM data provide at least factor of better spectral resolution
in the Fe K band than any previously measured flaring X-ray state. We find that
there is a broad feature in the \sim 5-7 keV band which could be interpreted as
a relativistic Fe K emission line. Its flux appears to have increased
in tandem with the 2--10 keV continuum when compared to a previous Suzaku
observation when the continuum was a factor of lower than that during
the XMM observation. The XMM data are consistent with the general picture that
increased X-ray activity and corresponding changes in the Fe K line
emission occur in the innermost regions of the putative accretion disk. This
behavior contrasts with the behavior of other AGN in which the Fe K
line does not respond to variability in the X-ray.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, Accepted to Ap
Polaris B, an optical companion of Polaris (alpha UMi) system: atmospheric parameters, chemical composition, distance and mass
We present an analysis of high-resolution spectroscopic observations of
Polaris B, the optical companion of the Polaris Ab system. The star has a
radial velocity V_r of -16.6km/s to -18.9km/s, and a projected rotational
velocity vsini=110 km/s. The derived atmospheric parameters are: Teff=6900K;
logg=4.3; V_t=2.5km/s. Polaris B has elemental abundances generally similar to
those of the Cepheid Polaris A (Usenko et al. 2005a), although carbon, sodium
and magnesium are close to the solar values. At a spectral type of F3V Polaris
B has a luminosity of 3.868L_sun, an absolute magnitude of +3.30mag, and a
distance of 109.5pc. The mass of the star is estimated to be 1.39M_sun, close
to a mass of 1.38+/-0.61M_sun for the recently-resolved orbital periods
companion Polaris Ab observed by Evans et al. (2007).Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
The 1 keV to 200 keV X-ray Spectrum of NGC 2992 and NGC 3081
The Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 2992 and NGC 3081 have been observed by INTEGRAL
and Swift. We report about the results and the comparison of the spectrum above
10 keV based on INTEGRAL IBIS/ISGRI, Swift/BAT, and BeppoSAX/PDS. A spectrum
can be extracted in the X-ray energy band ranging from 1 keV up to 200 keV.
Although NGC 2992 shows a complex spectrum below 10 keV, the hard tail observed
by various missions exhibits a slope with photon index = 2, independent on the
flux level during the observation. No cut-off is detectable up to the detection
limit around 200 keV. In addition, NGC 3081 is detected in the INTEGRAL and
Swift observation and also shows an unbroken Gamma = 1.8 spectrum up to 150
keV. These two Seyfert galaxies give further evidence that a high-energy
cut-off in the hard X-ray spectra is often located at energies E_C >> 100 keV.
In NGC 2992 a constant spectral shape is observed over a hard X-ray luminosity
variation by a factor of 11. This might indicate that the physical conditions
of the emitting hot plasma are constant, while the amount of plasma varies, due
to long-term flaring activity.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Audit Costs for the 1986 Texas Energy Cost Containment Program
Direct program costs for detailed audits of
13.5 million square feet of institutional building
space in the 1986 Texas Energy Cost Containment
Program were 0.050/SF. Large medical buildings (greater
than about 170,000 square feet) were audited for
0.0028/SF. The effect on audit costs of
complexity of recommended modifications, amount of
savings determined, amount of implementation
costs, building size, and building complexity are
discussed. Primary effects on audit costs are
size and complexity of buildings. Program
guidelines limited consideration of projects with
greater than a four year payback
Liminal entrepreneuring : the creative practices of nascent necessity entrepreneurs
This paper contributes to creative entrepreneurship studies through exploring ‘liminal entrepreneuring’, i.e., the organization-creation entrepreneurial practices and narratives of individuals living in precarious conditions. Drawing on a processual approach to entrepreneurship and Turner’s liminality concept, we study the transition from un(der)employment to entrepreneurship of 50 nascent necessity entrepreneurs (NNEs) in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The paper asks how these agents develop creative entrepreneuring practices in their efforts to overcome their condition of ‘necessity’. The analysis shows how, in their everyday liminal entrepreneuring, NNEs disassemble their identities and social positions, experiment with new relationships and alternative visions of themselves, and (re)connect with entrepreneuring ideas and practices in a new way, using imagination and organization-creation practices to reconstruct both self and context in the process. The results question and expand the notion of entrepreneuring in times of socioeconomic stress
Autocatalytic plume pinch-off
A localized source of buoyancy flux in a non-reactive fluid medium creates a
plume. The flux can be provided by either heat, a compositional difference
between the fluid comprising the plume and its surroundings, or a combination
of both. For autocatalytic plumes produced by the iodate-arsenous acid
reaction, however, buoyancy is produced along the entire reacting interface
between the plume and its surroundings. Buoyancy production at the moving
interface drives fluid motion, which in turn generates flow that advects the
reaction front. As a consequence of this interplay between fluid flow and
chemical reaction, autocatalytic plumes exhibit a rich dynamics during their
ascent through the reactant medium. One of the more interesting dynamical
features is the production of an accelerating vortical plume head that in
certain cases pinches-off and detaches from the upwelling conduit. After
pinch-off, a new plume head forms in the conduit below, and this can lead to
multiple generations of plume heads for a single plume initiation. We
investigated the pinch-off process using both experimentation and simulation.
Experiments were performed using various concentrations of glycerol, in which
it was found that repeated pinch-off occurs exclusively in a specific
concentration range. Autocatalytic plume simulations revealed that pinch-off is
triggered by the appearance of accelerating flow in the plume conduit.Comment: 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys Rev E. See also
http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/nonlinear/papers_chemwave.htm
Transient Local Bone Remodeling Effects of rhBMP-2 in an Ovine Interbody Spine Fusion Model
Background: Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) is a powerful osteoinductive morphogen capable of stimulating the migration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the site of implantation and inducing the proliferation and differentiation of these MSCs into osteoblasts. Vertebral end-plate and vertebral body resorption has been reported after interbody fusion with high doses of rhBMP-2. In this study, we investigated the effects of 2 rhBMP-2 doses on peri-implant bone resorption and bone remodeling at 7 time points in an end-plate-sparing ovine interbody fusion model. Methods: Twenty-one female sheep underwent an end-plate-sparing discectomy followed by interbody fusion at L2-L3 and L4-L5 using a custom polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody fusion device. The PEEK interbody device was filled with 1 of 2 different doses of rhBMP-2 on an absorbable collagen sponge (ACS): 0.13 mg (1·) or 0.90 mg (7·). Bone remodeling and interbody fusion were assessed via high-resolution radiography and histological analyses at 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, and 20 weeks postoperatively. Results: Peri-implant bone resorption peaked between 3 and 8 weeks in both the 1· and the 7· rhBMP-2/ACS-dose group. Osteoclastic activity and corresponding peri-implant bone resorption was dose-dependent, with moderate-tomarked resorption at the 7·-dose level and less resorption at the 1·-dose level. Both dose (p \u3c 0.0007) and time (p \u3c 0.0025) affected bone resorption significantly. Transient bone-resorption areas were fully healed by 12 weeks. Osseous bridging was seen at all but 1 spinal level at 12 and at 20 weeks. Conclusions: In the ovine end-plate-sparing interbody fusion model, rhBMP-2 dose-dependent osteoclastic resorption is a transient phenomenon that peaks at 4 weeks postoperatively. Clinical Relevance: Using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved rhBMP-2 concentration and matching the volume of rhBMP-2/ACS with the volume of desired bone formation within the interbody construct may limit the occurrence of transient bone resorption
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