Differential effects of interleukin-17 receptor signaling on innate and adaptive immunity during central nervous system bacterial infection.

Although IL-17A (commonly referred to as IL-17) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disease, its role during CNS bacterial infections remains unclear. To evaluate the broader impact of IL-17 family members in the context of CNS infection, we utilized IL-17 receptor (IL-17R) knockout (KO) mice that lack the ability to respond to IL-17, IL-17F and IL-17E (IL-25). In this article, we demonstrate that IL-17R signaling regulates bacterial clearance as well as natural killer T (NKT) cell and gamma-delta (γδ) T cell infiltrates during Staphylococcus aureus-induced brain abscess formation. Specifically, when compared with wild-type (WT) animals, IL-17R KO mice exhibited elevated bacterial burdens at days 7 and 14 following S. aureus infection. Additionally, IL-17R KO animals displayed elevated neutrophil chemokine production, revealing the ability to compensate for the lack of IL-17R activity. Despite these differences, innate immune cell recruitment into brain abscesses was similar in IL-17R KO and WT mice, whereas IL-17R signaling exerted a greater influence on adaptive immune cell recruitment. In particular, γδ T cell influx was increased in IL-17R KO mice at day 7 post-infection. In addition, NK1.1high infiltrates were absent in brain abscesses of IL-17R KO animals and, surprisingly, were rarely detected in the livers of uninfected IL-17R KO mice. Although IL-17 is a key regulator of neutrophils in other infection models, our data implicate an important role for IL-17R signaling in regulating adaptive immunity during CNS bacterial infection

The effects of moderate-level altitude change on intraocular pressure

This study investigated the relationship between short duration moderate-level altitude changes and changes in the internal pressure of the eye. The Mentor Tono-Pen™ was used to measure intraocular pressures of seventeen non-glaucomatous patients at ground level, in a plane at 5,000 and 10,000 feet, and again at ground level. A repeated measures analysis of variance (P\u3c0.05) was used to analyze the data. Altitude change was found to have no significant effect on intraocular pressures of subjects in this study

Bridging the Gap: Use of Spaceflight Technologies for Earth-Based Problems

Spaceflight is colloquially deemed, the final frontier, or the last area which humans have not yet explored in great depth. While this is true, there are still many regions on Earth that remain isolated from the urban, socially and electronically connected world. Because travelling to space requires a great deal of foresight, engineers are required to think creatively in order to invent technologies that are durable enough to withstand the rigors of the unique and often treacherous environment of outer space. The innovations that are a result of spaceflight designs can often be applied to life on Earth, particularly in the rural, isolated communities found throughout the world. The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) is a collaborative, virtual forum that connects businesses, non-profit organizations, academia, and government agencies to allow for better distribution of ideas and technology between these entities (http://www.nasa.gov/offices/NHHPC). There are many technologies that have been developed for spaceflight that can be readily applied to rural communities on Earth. For example, water filtration systems designed for spaceflight must be robust and easily repaired; therefore, a system with these qualifications may be used in rural areas on Earth. This particular initiative seeks to connect established, non-profit organizations working in isolated communities throughout the world with NASA technologies devised for spaceflight. These technologies could include water purification systems, solar power generators, or telemedicine techniques. Applying innovative, spaceflight technologies to isolated communities on Earth provides greater benefits from the same research dollars, thus fulfilling the Space Life Science motto at Johnson Space Center: Exploring Space and Enhancing Life. This paper will discuss this NHHPC global outreach initiative and give examples based on the recent work of the organization

Design and programming of the device for drilling and stacking the EIKA housings

V diplomskem delu je predstavljen razvoj in delovanje naprave za vrtanje in zlaganje termostatskih ohišij EIKA. Naprava je namenjena podjetju ETI Proplast d. o. o., ki se ukvarja z rešitvami na področjih avtomatizacije naprav in strojev ter konstruiranja orodij. V prvem delu diplomskega dela je predstavljen opis naprave, od pomikalnih in vrtalnih enot do zlagalne enote. Napravo krmilimo s Siemensovim programirljivim logičnim krmilnikom (PLK) Simatic S7-1200. Poleg krmilnika naprava vsebuje še Siemensov HMI, s katerim spreminjamo želene parametre in spremljamo dejansko stanje na napravi. Poleg PLK-ja in HMI-ja so v nalogi predstavljeni še frekvenčni pretvorniki, varnostni modul, servo-motorski pogoni Festo, linearna enota Fastech, ventilski otok SMC in vhodno/izhodni moduli Beckhoff. Drugi del naloge je posvečen programiranju naprave. Poleg komponent za delovanje naprave je predstavljeno programsko okolje TIA-Portal V15, ki je uporabljeno za programiranje PLK-ja. Predstavljen pa je tudi programski del, od samega PLK-ja do HMI-ja. Rezultat diplomskega dela je projektiranje naprave in uporabljenih komponent ter izdelava delujočega programa.The thesis presents the development and operation of the device for drilling and stacking EIKA thermostat housings. The device is developed for the company ETI Proplast d. o. o., which deals with solutions for the automation of plants, machines and tool construction. The first part of the thesis presents a description of the device, from scrolling and drilling units to stacking units. The device is controlled by Siemens Simatic S7-1200 programmable logic controller (PLC). In addition to the controller, the device includes a Siemens HMI, which allows modifications of the device parameters and monitoring of its actual status. In addition to the PLC and HMI, frequency converters, a safety module, Festo servo-motor drives, a Fastech linear unit, a SMC valve island and Beckhoff input/output modules are also presented. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to programming of the device. In addition to the components for the operation of the device, the TIA-Portal V15 programming environment, used for programming the PLC, is presented. The software part from the controller itself to the HMI is also presented. The results of the thesis are the design of the device and the components used, as well as the creation of a working program

Identifying important factors in supervisor development: An examination of supervisor experience, training, and attributes

Supervision has been referred to as the component of doctoral training that has the greatest impact on the competencies of psychology trainees (Johnson & Stewart, 2000). Nevertheless, there are considerable gaps in the empirical literature examining psychotherapy supervision. One topic that has been particularly ignored in the empirical literature is supervisor development. Considering this, the purpose of the current study was twofold. The first purpose was to examine factors that promote the development of supervisors. The second purpose was to explore how supervisor development impacts supervisor attributes. Supervisors (N = 99) of pre-doctoral interns from APA approved internship sites in counseling and clinical psychology completed a questionnaire that examined types of training in supervision, as well as length of experience as both a supervisor and therapist, the Psychotherapy Supervisory Development Scale (PSDS), the Supervisory Styles Inventory (SSI), and the Working Alliance Inventory—Supervisor (WAI-S). Results indicated that types of training were related to supervisor development. Specifically, it was found that supervisors who had participated in a practicum class on supervision, a combined practicum/didactic class on supervision, or had received supervision of his/her provision of supervision had significantly higher scores on supervisor development than those supervisors who had not. However, experience as a supervisor and experience as a therapist were not significantly related to supervisor development. In addition, supervisors with more varied types of training experiences were significantly more developed that those with fewer training experiences. Results of the second part of the study demonstrated a connection between supervisor development and two components of supervisory style as well as the supervisory working alliance. Specifically, results provided support that both interpersonally sensitive and attractive supervisory styles serve as mediators in the relation between supervisor development and the supervisory working alliance

A Novel Constant Power Factor Loop for Stable V/f Control of PMSM in Comparison against Sensorless FOC with Luenberger-Type Back-EMF Observer Verified by Experiments

This paper proposes a novel constant power factor loop in the V/f control strategy with stabilization for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). The advantage of such an algorithm is the independence of the machine parameters, which vary under different operational conditions, e.g., with temperature, magnetic core saturation, and skin-effect. Furthermore, it is a low-cost and simple-to-implement sensorless solution. The proposed strategy is compared against traditional sensorless FOC with a Luenberger-type back-electromotive force (EMF) observer, which can be designed based on the machine model. The output of this kind of observer is typically an error signal, which can be specified for position deviation, requiring phase-locked loop (PLL) algorithm implementation. Employing PLL, a rotor speed and position can be estimated from such an error. Therefore, it is a complex sensorless technique with high-performance microcontroller unit (MCU) requirements. Both strategies are deeply analyzed, mathematically described, and compared within the paper. At the end of the paper, these sensorless strategies are supported by experimental verification with a traction PMSM designed for golf cart applications, and the pros and cons of both techniques are discussed

Sensorless Speed Control of Brushed DC Motor Based at New Current Ripple Component Signal Processing

Signal processing of the brushed DC motor current was developed in this paper to obtain information about a rotor speed from a measured motor current. The brushed DC motor current contains a signal with a frequency proportional to the rotor speed. This signal is the outcome of a commutation process occurring in the brushed DC motor, and it is called a ripple component. Since the number of ripples in the measured motor current per one rotation is constant, the rotor speed can be estimated. A discrete bandpass filter with a floating bandwidth was developed as the main part of signal processing. This new interpretation of the bandpass filter was used to extract a frequency of the ripple component from the measured motor current. This frequency was used to acquire information about the estimated rotor speed. The estimated speed was set as a feedback value to a cascade control structure to provide sensorless speed control. The advantages and limitations of this approach are presented in this paper. Based on simulations and experimental results, it was confirmed that the proposed sensorless speed control is robust, accurate, and works precisely in a wide range of speeds