Human embryos cultured in vitro to 14 days

We know a great deal about the development of the mammalian embryo until the time that the blastocyst implants into the uterus. With model organisms such as the mouse, we have also developed a considerable understanding of development immediately around gastrulation as embryos can be recovered at this stage for short-term in vitro culture. However, the intervening period of development remained a ‘black box’ because it takes place as the blastocyst is implanting into the uterus. Over the past 6 years, techniques pioneered and developed in Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz's laboratory for the in vitro culture of embryos through these implantation stages have opened up this box, affording the first glimpse of embryonic development through these previously hidden stages. Remarkably, the techniques developed with mouse embryos are equally applicable to human embryos, ushering the very first opportunities for studying our own development throughout this time. Here, I outline how the culture methods were developed, paving the way to culture of the human embryo to the point of gastrulation, an accomplishment recognized as the People's Choice for the Scientific Breakthrough of 2016 in Science magazine. I also discuss the new ethical challenges raised by the possibility of extending the time limits for human embryo culture

Planning and Resource Management in an Intelligent Automated Power Management System

Power system management is a process of guiding a power system towards the objective of continuous supply of electrical power to a set of loads. Spacecraft power system management requires planning and scheduling, since electrical power is a scarce resource in space. The automation of power system management for future spacecraft has been recognized as an important R&D goal. Several automation technologies have emerged including the use of expert systems for automating human problem solving capabilities such as rule based expert system for fault diagnosis and load scheduling. It is questionable whether current generation expert system technology is applicable for power system management in space. The objective of the ADEPTS (ADvanced Electrical Power management Techniques for Space systems) is to study new techniques for power management automation. These techniques involve integrating current expert system technology with that of parallel and distributed computing, as well as a distributed, object-oriented approach to software design. The focus of the current study is the integration of new procedures for automatically planning and scheduling loads with procedures for performing fault diagnosis and control. The objective is the concurrent execution of both sets of tasks on separate transputer processors, thus adding parallelism to the overall management process

Brake for rollable platform

Frame-mounted brake is independent of wheels and consists of simple lever-actuated foot. Brake makes good contact with surface even though foot pad is at higher or lower level than wheels, this is particularly important when a rollable platform is used on irregular surface

2003 Annual Update to "...and Justice for All": DVRPC's Strategy for Fair Treatment and Meaningful Involvement of All People

This update is based on previous work performed at DVRPC on the topic of Environmental Justice, namely, "...and Justice for All": DVRPC's Strategy for Fair Treatment and Meaningful Involvement of All People (September 2001) and Annual Update to "...and Justice for All" (September 2002). This report further updates and refines the quantitative methodology, using Year 2000 U.S. Census data

Faithfully yours: Otto A. Olson (1920-1976)

Baglo, Ferdy E. Faithfully yours: Otto A. Olson (1920-1976). Manitoba: Central Canada Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, 1978

Optimizing Atraumatic Emergency Care in Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse has been identified as a common problem. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in 2010 it was estimated that child victims of sexual abuse accounted for 9.2% (69,368) of the 573,794 children under the age of 12 years who were the victims of maltreatment. The emergency department (ED) is often the point of entry into the healthcare system for child sexual abuse victims, which adds to the resource burden of this department nationwide. The purpose of this evidence-based project was to develop a best-practice screening tool for medical providers to guide the care of the sexually abused female child and also to assess their educational preparation to care for this population. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior and Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Model guided this project at a large multi-center hospital system in Indiana. A critical appraisal of the literature was conducted to establish best-practice. To determine if implementation of a screening tool into the electronic health record changed medical provider practice, a matched case-control study design was applied. Education on best-practice recommendations was presented for nurses and medical providers. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from medical records of female pediatric patients examined in the ED for sexual abuse and reviewed to determine the necessity of an anogenital exam. The odds of receiving an anogenital exam were greater prior to the implementation of the screening tool (OR 16; AR 75%). These findings support that a screening tool intervention decreased unnecessary anogenital exams in these female children. A survey of the medical providers was completed demonstrating 64.9% reporting no training to care for this vulnerable population of children. A Pearson Chi-Square was calculated to compare MD and PA providers educational preparation in the area of child sexual abuse (X2 =12.067, df =1, p \u3c .001) demonstrating more preparation in the MD group. Enhanced educational preparation in best-practice care would benefit all medical providers caring for these children in various settings

Phenomenology of Multi-W Processes in Cosmic Rays

We report on a study of the potential of various cosmic ray physics experiments to search for Standard Model processes involving the nonperturbative production of O(30) weak gauge bosons. Whereas present and near-future experiments are insensitive to proton-induced processes, neutrino-induced processes give rise to promising signatures and rates in AMANDA, DUMAND, MACRO and NESTOR provided that a cosmic neutrino flux exists at levels suggested by recent models of active galactic nuclei. The Fly's Eye currently constrains the largest region of parameter space characterizing multi-W phenomena.Comment: (Invited talk presented by A. Ringwald at 17th Johns Hopkins Workshop on Current Problems in Particle Theory, Particles and the Universe, July 30-August 1, 1993, Budapest, Hungary), 16 pages (LaTeX) + 10 uuencoded PostScript figures, CERN-TH.7005/93, UCLA/93/TEP/3