Remote Access and Computerized User Control of Robotic Micromanipulators

Nano- and micromanipulators are critical research tools in numerous fields including micro-manufacturing and disease study. Despite their importance, nano- and micromanipulation systems remain inaccessible to many groups due to price and lack of portability. An intuitive and remotely accessible manipulation system helps mitigate this access problem. Previously, optimal control hardware for single-probe manipulation and the effect of latency on user performance were not well understood. Remote access demands full computerization; graphical user interfaces with networking capabilities were developed to fulfill this requirement and allow the use of numerous hardware controllers. Virtual environments were created to simulate the use of a manipulator with full parametric control and measurement capabilities. Users completed simulated tasks with each device and were surveyed about their perceptions. User performance with a commercial manipulator controller was exceeded by performance with both a computer mouse and pen tablet. Latency was imposed within the virtual environment to study it’s effects and establish guidelines as to which latency ranges are acceptable for long-range remote manipulation. User performance began to degrade noticeably at 100 ms and severely at 400 ms and performance with the mouse degraded the least as latency increased. A computer vision system for analyzing carbon nanotube arrays was developed so the computation time could be compared to acceptable system latency. The system characterizes the arrays to a high degree of accuracy and most of the measurement types of obtainable fast enough for real-time analysis

Assessing the Most Effective Heat Adaptation Method for Endurance Performance in the Heat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The consequences of increasing global warming and the globalization of elite sport have produced increased exposure to episodes of extreme heat for athletes at major sporting events. Heat acclimatization and acclimation (HA) are widely used heat mitigation strategies that aim to help athletes combat the effects of heat-stress on athletic performance and susceptibility to exertional-heat illness. PURPOSE: To assess and quantify the effect of different HA methods on the magnitude of performance and physiological adaptations in endurance trained athletes METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, and Cochrane-Library, with data from 23 studies gathered for analysis. Subgroup analysis determined differences in adaptations between controlled intensity, controlled hyperthermia, passive heating, self-paced (acclimatization), and self-regulated (acclimation). RESULTS: Collectively, HA had a significant, moderately beneficial effect on improving time-trial performance in the heat (Hedges’ g = 0.72 [0.42-1.03], p \u3c 0.05). Self-paced (acclimatization) elicited greatest improvement in time-trial performance (Hedges’ g = 1.40 [0.82-1.97], p \u3c 0.05) Furthermore, heat acclimatization generated the greatest reductions in mean heart rate during endurance exercise in the heat (Hedges’ g = 0.71 [0.22-1.19], p \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSION: Heat acclimatization appears to be favorable for decreasing mean heart rate and improving time-trial performance in the heat. These findings are relevant for athletes and their supports teams when implanting HA protocol proximal to competition to reduce the magnitude of heat-mediated performance decrements

Prescription Data Mining, Medical Privacy and the First Amendment: The U.S. Supreme Court in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc.

In 2011, the United States Supreme Court in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. struck down a Vermont law that would restrict the ability of pharmaceutical companies to purchase certain physician-identifiable prescription data without the consent of the prescriber. The law\u27s stated purpose was threefold: to protect the privacy of medical information, to protect the public health and to contain healthcare costs by promoting Vermont\u27s preference in having physicians prescribe more generic drugs. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the Vermont law represented a legitimate, common sense regulatory program or a bold attempt to suppress commercial speech when the message is disfavored by the state. Striking down the law, the Supreme Court applied a heightened level of First Amendment scrutiny to this commercial transaction and held that the Vermont law was not narrowly tailored to protect legitimate privacy interests

Revealing Gender Bias: An Experiential Exercise

Stereotyping and biases continue to be a problem in many facets of society. Understanding how biases may affect recruitment and retention of employees has become a priority issue for companies, not only from an image perspective but also from a firm performance perspective, since both research and industry experience have shown that diverse teams generate better results. The need to address these issues, particularly with students who will become leaders in organizations, remains a priority in business education. In this article, we present an experiential activity that management instructors can use to help students understand and appreciate the reality and power of unconscious bias. The focus of this activity is on uncovering gender bias, yet the basic framework of the activity can easily be adapted to focus on other types of unconscious bias and stereotyping

Improving Eye Care Delivery Through Data Sharing Technology

Preventable blindness has massive social, economic, and societal impacts around the world. The Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) is addressing this through a network of regional and subspecialty ophthalmological clinics, but current data collection, storage and sharing methods are inadequate. With the organization’s input we conducted focused research to determine current state and best practices, and synthesized this information to develop recommendations and implementation plans for Electronic Medical Record and teleconsultation systems which would improve data sharing for better patient care

CMB with Quintessence: Analytic Approach and CMBFAST

A particular kind of quintessence is considered, with equation of motion $p_Q/\rho_Q = -1$, corresponding to a cosmological term with time-dependence $\Lambda(t) = \Lambda(t_0) (R(t_0)/R(t))^{P}$ which we examine initially for $0 \leq P < 3$. Energy conservation is imposed, as is consistency with big-bang nucleosynthesis, and the range of allowed $P$ is thereby much restricted to $0 \leq P < 0.2$. The position of the first Doppler peak is computed analytically and the result combined with analysis of high-Z supernovae to find how values of $\Omega_m$ and $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ depend on $P$. Some comparison is made to the CMBFAST public code.Comment: 13 pp LaTeX and 7 postscript figure

Nurses Alumni Association Bulletin, Fall 1986

Alumni Calendar Officers and Committee Chairmen The President\u27s Message Treasurer\u27s Report Nurses\u27 Relief Fund Scholarship Fund Surgery for the Unborn- A Nurse\u27s Own Story Further Remembrances Martha From the Tju Historian Old Main Congratulations to Our Graduates Advanced Placement Program and Masters in Rehabilitation Jefferson Surgical Center Opens Profile in Courage- Update Fiftieth Anniversary Happy Birthday Resume of Minutes of Alumni Association Meetings Alumni Office News Committee Reports Bulletin Social Scholarship Finance In Memoriam, Names of Deceased Graduates Luncheon Pictures Class Notes Caps, Pins, Transcripts, Class Address Lists Change of Address Form 1986CAHS Alumni Directory Bequests Relief Fund Application Scholarship Fund Application Membership Application Notice, Alumni Luncheo

Neurocognitive function in HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy

OBJECTIVE To describe factors associated with neurocognitive (NC) function in HIV-positive patients on stable combination antiretroviral therapy. DESIGN We undertook a cross-sectional analysis assessing NC data obtained at baseline in patients entering the Protease-Inhibitor-Monotherapy-Versus-Ongoing-Triple therapy (PIVOT) trial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE NC testing comprised of 5 domains. Raw results were z-transformed using standard and demographically adjusted normative datasets (ND). Global z-scores (NPZ-5) were derived from averaging the 5 domains and percentage of subjects with test scores >1 standard deviation (SD) below population means in at least two domains (abnormal Frascati score) calculated. Patient characteristics associated with NC results were assessed using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS Of the 587 patients in PIVOT, 557 had full NC results and were included. 77% were male, 68% Caucasian and 28% of Black ethnicity. Mean (SD) baseline and nadir CD4+ lymphocyte counts were 553(217) and 177(117) cells/µL, respectively, and HIV RNA was <50 copies/mL in all. Median (IQR) NPZ-5 score was -0.5 (-1.2/-0) overall, and -0.3 (-0.7/0.1) and -1.4 (-2/-0.8) in subjects of Caucasian and Black ethnicity, respectively. Abnormal Frascati scores using the standard-ND were observed in 51%, 38%, and 81%, respectively, of subjects overall, Caucasian and Black ethnicity (p<0.001), but in 62% and 69% of Caucasian and Black subjects using demographically adjusted-ND (p = 0.20). In the multivariate analysis, only Black ethnicity was associated with poorer NPZ-5 scores (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS In this large group of HIV-infected subjects with viral load suppression, ethnicity but not HIV-disease factors is closely associated with NC results. The prevalence of abnormal results is highly dependent on control datasets utilised. TRIAL REGISTRY ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01230580

Tumor suppressor Tsc1 is a new Hsp90 co-chaperone that facilitates folding of kinase and non-kinase clients

The tumor suppressors Tsc1 and Tsc2 form the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a regulator of mTOR activity. Tsc1 stabilizes Tsc2; however, the precise mechanism involved remains elusive. The molecular chaperone heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an essen- tial component of the cellular homeostatic machinery in eukary- otes. Here, we show that Tsc1 is a new co-chaperone for Hsp90 that inhibits its ATPase activity. The C-terminal domain of Tsc1 (998–1,164 aa) forms a homodimer and binds to both protomers of the Hsp90 middle domain. This ensures inhibition of both subunits of the Hsp90 dimer and prevents the activating co- chaperone Aha1 from binding the middle domain of Hsp90. Conversely, phosphorylation of Aha1-Y223 increases its affinity for Hsp90 and displaces Tsc1, thereby providing a mechanism for equilibrium between binding of these two co-chaperones to Hsp90. Our findings establish an active role for Tsc1 as a facilita- tor of Hsp90-mediated folding of kinase and non-kinase clients— including Tsc2—thereby preventing their ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation