Technology in neurology

Promising developments in clinical neurophysiology over the last 10 years have been largely eclipsed by the dramatic evolution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One exception has been encephalography (video EEG) monitoring and, of course, research in clinical neurophysiology knows no bounds. Neurosurgery has had major developments and some of these areas have involved neurophysiological co-operation such as neurophysiological sampling and stimulation in extrapyramidal movement disorders, especially Parkinson's disease. Overall, as in the rest of medical technology, digitisation and computerisation have gradually replaced all analogue systems and as the industry matured, many proprietary systems have migrated to commercial standards, particularly versions of the Windows operating systems. This development in technology has had tangible benefits in overlap with office software, ease of handling large amounts of data and increasing confidence in improved reliability and manipulation of signals. However, this technological benefit is a double-edged sword and apart from the more familiar problems common to many small computer systems, digital systems are capable of distorting or hiding signals without the unwary operator being aware of this. An example would be suspicious looking 'sharp waves' (potentially epileptogenic) on the EEG, which are the result of a noisy (bad) signal unwittingly being filtered by innocuous sounding switches ('muscle filters'). Despite the advanced technology, basic principles of a clean source of signal are still essential. Neurophysiological studies have not been exclusive to neurology and with important developments in cardiology and anaesthetics, there is greater overlap in some of the technology underlying these fields. At the same time, there has been a move to train clinical technologists who are capable of moving between even more disparate fields such as renal (dialysis) to respiratory (lung functions) to neurology. Unfortunately, the numbers of clinical technologists' posts, and hence members, have dropped significantly and such developments may be more necessary than originally planned.The training centres for clinical technology have also been drastically reduced, further hampering new recruits

Aberdeen University Ontology Reuse Stack

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The Financial Setting for FDI Inflows into The Czech Republic and Slovakia

This study examines the relationship between foreign direct investment in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and such potentially explanatory factors as trade flows, measures of economic and financial stability, and country risk. The authors find that as the Czech and Slovak Republics progress toward market economies, some policy points to consider include: transparency of markets, economic systems, social and political organizations; an increase in commerce and investment, which makes reversals of reforms less likely and the condition of financial factors that contribute to increased investment

Strain Effects On The ESR Spectrum From Antimony Donors In Germanium

The electron-spin-resonance spectra from surface-strained (but not externally stressed) antimony-doped germanium are investigated in detail. Experimental data are given for the linewidth, line asymmetry, and line-shape reversal feature as well as for the changes in donor concentration, temperature, and surface conditions. The donors of interest occur in a surface layer several microns thick. A theoretical analysis is based on the Kohn-Luttinger formulation for a shallow donor electron, which is forced by surface strain to predominately occupy a [111] conduction-band valley minimum. A substantial distribution in strain among the donor sites is necessary to account for the line-structure features. These features are predicted by a distribution function, which is calculated by using a narrowed Lorentzian line for a homogeneous line shape and a Gaussian strain distribution that determines the inhomogeneous broadening caused by strain-induced g-value variations. The one order of magnitude increase in linewidth with angle is attributed primarily to a g-3 dependence of the linewidth on strain. The asymmetry shape ratio of about 3 is attributed primarily to variations in the valley-population probabilities at different donor sites. The line-shape reversal feature is caused by an angular-dependent variation in the change of the g value with valley-population coefficients. For detailed calculations, distributed strain along the predominately occupied valley axis is assumed. It is found that the average compressive strain along the [111] axis is 10-4 with an accuracy of about 40% and that the Gaussian strain width is 0.6x10-4. This average strain corresponds to a predominant valley occupation of 99%. Our analysis can be used as a semiquantitative tool for determining strain conditions in Ge(Sb). © 1975 The American Physical Society

Dry matter and nitrogen accumulation by standard height and semi-dwarf barley isotypes

Para avaliar o movimento do nitrogênio do solo para a planta e dentro desta, estudos de acúmulo de matéria seca e de N são necessários. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de estudar o efeito de 30, 60, 90 e 120 kg/ha de N no acúmulo de matéria seca e N em oito genótipos de cevada cervejeira (quatro com altura normal e quatro com altura reduzida, mutantes de cada um dos normais), e duas testemunhas. Verificou-se variabilidade entre os genótipos no acúmulo de matéria seca até a antese e na transferência desta para o grão. Foram observadas diferenças entre os genótipos no acúmulo de N até a antese (de 36,6 a 52,9 mg N/planta), após a antese (de -2,3 a 10,8 mg N/planta) e no total de N acumulado na planta (de 69 a 149,2 mg N/planta em 1987 e 41,3 a 56,5 mg N/planta em 1989). Diferenças consistentes foram observadas, entre os isótipos pares, no N acumulado após antese e no N total, ambos maiores nos isótipos de altura normal. Verificou-se, também, variabilidade entre os genótipos na remobilização do N para o grão. Discutem-se as relações entre distribuição de matéria seca e N na planta.To assess nitrogen movement from the soil into the plant and within the plant, studies of dry matter and N accumulation are necessary. The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg of N/ha on dry matter and N accumulation by four standard height-semi-dwarf normal mutant malting barley isotype pairs (Morex, Hazen, Norbert, Andre) and two check cultivars: Steptoe and Klages. Considerable differences among genotypes on dry matter accumulation until anthesis and dry matter lost during grain filling period were observed. Genotypic differences for pre-anthesis (range: 36.6 to 52.9 mg N/plant) and post-anthesis (range: -2.3 to 10.8 mg N/plant) N accumulation and in total N accumulation (range: 69 to 149.2 mg N/plant in 1987 and 41.3 to 56.5 mg N/ha in 1989) were observed. Within the isotype pairs, consistent differences were detected for post-anthesis and total N accumulation both favoring the standard isotypes. These differences were not affected by fertilizer N levels. Genotypic differences in N remobilization into the grain were also observed. Relationship between N and dry matter partitioning are discussed

Education Leadership Data Analytics (ELDA): A White Paper Report on the 2018 ELDA Summit

Education Leadership Data Analytics (ELDA) is an emerging domain that is centered at the intersection of education leadership, the use of evidence-based improvement cycles in schools to promote instructional improvement, and education data science. ELDA practitioners work collaboratively with school and district leaders and teachers to analyze, pattern, and visualize previously unknown patterns and information from the vast sets of data collected by schooling organizations, and then integrate findings in easy to understand language and digital tools into collaborative and community-building evidence-based improvement cycles with stakeholders. In June of 2018, over 100 participants gathered for the Education Leadership Data Analytics Summit at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City, including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders. This report provides a summary of the central issues, themes, and recommendations for the future of the field that emerged from the discussions at the ELDA Summit event. These issues include building capacity in the field through incentivizing researcher practitioner partnerships, and providing conference and networking opportunities, professional development, certification, and ultimately degree programs to train ELDA researchers and practitioners. Additionally, a central focus of the ELDA field is equity, data security and privacy, in concert with open and FAIR data standards to develop and share de-identified data and tools across contexts. We conclude the report with a blueprint of possible skills and competencies needed for ELDA practitioner training and professional development and provide recommendations for next steps to help grow the field

Effect of Phosphatidylserine on Unitary Conductance and Ba2+ Block of the BK Ca2+–activated K+ Channel: Re-examination of the Surface Charge Hypothesis

Incorporation of BK Ca2+–activated K+ channels into planar bilayers composed of negatively charged phospholipids such as phosphatidylserine (PS) or phosphatidylinositol (PI) results in a large enhancement of unitary conductance (gch) in comparison to BK channels in bilayers formed from the neutral zwitterionic lipid, phospatidylethanolamine (PE). Enhancement of gch by PS or PI is inversely dependent on KCl concentration, decreasing from 70% at 10 mM KCl to 8% at 1,000 mM KCl. This effect was explained previously by a surface charge hypothesis (Moczydlowski, E., O. Alvarez, C. Vergara, and R. Latorre. 1985. J. Membr. Biol. 83:273–282), which attributed the conductance enhancement to an increase in local K+ concentration near the entryways of the channel. To test this hypothesis, we measured the kinetics of block by external and internal Ba2+, a divalent cation that is expected to respond strongly to changes in surface electrostatics. We observed little or no effect of PS on discrete blocking kinetics by external and internal Ba2+ at 100 mM KCl and only a small enhancement of discrete and fast block by external Ba2+ in PS-containing membranes at 20 mM KCl. Model calculations of effective surface potential sensed by the K+ conduction and Ba2+-blocking reactions using the Gouy-Chapman-Stern theory of lipid surface charge do not lend support to a simple electrostatic mechanism that predicts valence-dependent increase of local cation concentration. The results imply that the conduction pore of the BK channel is electrostatically insulated from the lipid surface, presumably by a lateral distance of separation (>20 Å) from the lipid head groups. The lack of effect of PS on apparent association and dissociation rates of Ba2+ suggest that lipid modulation of K+ conductance is preferentially coupled through conformational changes of the selectivity filter region that determine the high K+ flux rate of this channel relative to other cations. We discuss possible mechanisms for the effect of anionic lipids in the context of specific molecular interactions of phospholipids documented for the KcsA bacterial potassium channel and general membrane physical properties proposed to regulate membrane protein conformation via energetics of bilayer stress

Selection of Reference Genes for RT-qPCR Analysis in a Predatory Biological Control Agent, \u3cem\u3eColeomegilla maculata\u3c/em\u3e (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a reliable technique for quantifying gene expression across various biological processes, of which requires a set of suited reference genes to normalize the expression data. Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is one of the most extensively used biological control agents in the field to manage arthropod pest species. In this study, expression profiles of 16 housekeeping genes selected from C. maculata were cloned and investigated. The performance of these candidates as endogenous controls under specific experimental conditions was evaluated by dedicated algorithms, including geNorm, Normfinder, BestKeeper, and ΔCt method. In addition, RefFinder, a comprehensive platform integrating all the above-mentioned algorithms, ranked the overall stability of these candidate genes. As a result, various sets of suitable reference genes were recommended specifically for experiments involving different tissues, developmental stages, sex, and C. maculate larvae treated with dietary double stranded RNA. This study represents the critical first step to establish a standardized RT-qPCR protocol for the functional genomics research in a ladybeetle C. maculate. Furthermore, it lays the foundation for conducting ecological risk assessment of RNAi-based gene silencing biotechnologies on non-target organisms; in this case, a key predatory biological control agent

Large-scale viral genome analysis identifies novel clinical associations between hepatitis B virus and chronically infected patients

Chronic hepatitis B; HBeAg status; Viral genome variationHepatitis B crónica; Estado de HBeAg; Variación del genoma viralHepatitis B crònica; Estat de HBeAg; Variació del genoma viralDespite the high global prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection, datasets covering the whole hepatitis B viral genome from large patient cohorts are lacking, greatly limiting our understanding of the viral genetic factors involved in this deadly disease. We performed deep sequencing of viral samples from patients chronically infected with HBV to investigate the association between viral genome variation and patients’ clinical characteristics. We discovered novel viral variants strongly associated with viral load and HBeAg status. Patients with viral variants C1817T and A1838G had viral loads nearly three orders of magnitude lower than patients without those variants. These patients consequently experienced earlier viral suppression while on treatment. Furthermore, we identified novel variants that either independently or in combination with precore mutation G1896A were associated with the transition from HBeAg positive to the negative phase of infection. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that mutation of the HBeAg open reading frame is an important factor driving CHB patient’s HBeAg status. This analysis provides a detailed picture of HBV genetic variation in the largest patient cohort to date and highlights the diversity of plausible molecular mechanisms through which viral variation affects clinical phenotype