Uncontrolled pilot studies have suggested the efficacy of focused ultrasound thalamotomy with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance for the treatment of essential tremor.
We enrolled patients ...with moderate-to-severe essential tremor that had not responded to at least two trials of medical therapy and randomly assigned them in a 3:1 ratio to undergo unilateral focused ultrasound thalamotomy or a sham procedure. The Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor and the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire were administered at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Tremor assessments were videotaped and rated by an independent group of neurologists who were unaware of the treatment assignments. The primary outcome was the between-group difference in the change from baseline to 3 months in hand tremor, rated on a 32-point scale (with higher scores indicating more severe tremor). After 3 months, patients in the sham-procedure group could cross over to active treatment (the open-label extension cohort).
Seventy-six patients were included in the analysis. Hand-tremor scores improved more after focused ultrasound thalamotomy (from 18.1 points at baseline to 9.6 at 3 months) than after the sham procedure (from 16.0 to 15.8 points); the between-group difference in the mean change was 8.3 points (95% confidence interval CI, 5.9 to 10.7; P<0.001). The improvement in the thalamotomy group was maintained at 12 months (change from baseline, 7.2 points; 95% CI, 6.1 to 8.3). Secondary outcome measures assessing disability and quality of life also improved with active treatment (the blinded thalamotomy cohort)as compared with the sham procedure (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Adverse events in the thalamotomy group included gait disturbance in 36% of patients and paresthesias or numbness in 38%; these adverse events persisted at 12 months in 9% and 14% of patients, respectively.
MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy reduced hand tremor in patients with essential tremor. Side effects included sensory and gait disturbances. (Funded by InSightec and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01827904.).
The topographic features of the extracelluar matrix (ECM) lay the foundation for cellular behavior. A novel biofabrication method using a digital‐mirror device (DMD), called dynamic optical ...projection stereolithography (DOPsL) is demonstrated. This robust and versatile platform can generate complex biomimetic scaffolds within seconds. Such 3D scaffolds have promising potentials for studying cell interactions with microenvironments in vitro and in vivo.
The amyloid-β protein (Aβ) protein plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is believed that Aβ deposited in the brain originates from the brain tissue itself. ...However, Aβ is generated in both brain and peripheral tissues. Whether circulating Aβ contributes to brain AD-type pathologies remains largely unknown. In this study, using a model of parabiosis between APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic AD mice and their wild-type littermates, we observed that the human Aβ originated from transgenic AD model mice entered the circulation and accumulated in the brains of wild-type mice, and formed cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Aβ plaques after a 12-month period of parabiosis. AD-type pathologies related to the Aβ accumulation including tau hyperphosphorylation, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and microhemorrhage were found in the brains of the parabiotic wild-type mice. More importantly, hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation was markedly impaired in parabiotic wild-type mice. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to reveal that blood-derived Aβ can enter the brain, form the Aβ-related pathologies and induce functional deficits of neurons. Our study provides novel insight into AD pathogenesis and provides evidence that supports the development of therapies for AD by targeting Aβ metabolism in both the brain and the periphery.
•The oblique fin maintains boundary layer to be re-developed periodically.•The injection of secondary flow accelerates the heat propagation into fluid core.•The temperatures on the oblique fin are ...lower than those on the straight channel.•The T uniformity on oblique fin is much uniform than that on straight channel.•The oblique LCP achieves higher heat transfer coefficient.
The development of electric vehicles (EVs) demands for complementary technologies in battery thermal management. To achieve fast charging/discharging capacity, liquid cooling is an effective means of maintaining temperature of a battery in operation within a narrow optimal range. In conventional straight channels, convective heat transfer deteriorates along the axial direction with the development of the hydrodynamic boundary layer, resulting in elevated maximum temperature and significant temperature gradient in the fully developed region. This is a serious problem as temperature uniformity is of utmost importance to the performance and lifespan of a Li–ion battery. In this research, a simple configuration of oblique cuts across the straight fins of a conventional straight channel design was developed, to enhance the performance of the conventional channel with minimal pressure penalty. These oblique cuts across the straight fins form an oblique fin array. The designed liquid cold plate (LCP) contains these simple oblique fins with optimized angle and width. This segmentation of the continuous fin into oblique sections leads to the re-initialization of boundary layers, providing a solution to the elevated temperatures caused by a thick boundary layer in the fully developed region. Experimental results show that heat transfer coefficients of oblique minichannel are higher than those of conventional straight minichannel. The oblique LCP is able to maintain the battery surface average temperature below 50°C for a heat load of 1240W at a flow rate lower than 0.9l/min. This implies that a proper designed minichannel cold plate could be a promising solution for EV battery thermal management.
This paper is concerned with the development and use of duality theory for a hidden Markov model (HMM) with white noise observations. The main contribution of this work is to introduce a backward ...stochastic differential equation (BSDE) as a dual control system. A key outcome is that stochastic observability (resp. detectability) of the HMM is expressed in dual terms: as controllability (resp. stabilizability) of the dual control system. All aspects of controllability, namely, definition of controllable space and controllability gramian, along with their properties and explicit formulae, are discussed. The proposed duality is shown to be an exact extension of the classical duality in linear systems theory. One can then relate and compare the linear and the nonlinear systems. A side-by-side summary of this relationship is given in a tabular form (Table II).
In the United States, few intramammary antimicrobials exist that are approved for treatment of bovine mastitis; thus, ensuring judicious use of these products is a priority. The objectives of this ...study were to determine phenotypic susceptibility and presence of selected antimicrobial resistance genes from staphylococci, streptococci, and streptococcal-like organisms recovered from cases of clinical mastitis occurring in cows on large Wisconsin farms. Staphylococcus aureus (n=35 from 19 herds), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=51 from 30 herds), Streptococcus spp. (n=78 from 36 herds), and streptococcal-like organisms (n=31 from 19 herds) were used in this study. All Staphylococcus spp. were susceptible to ceftiofur, cephalothin, and the combination of penicillin and novobiocin. Of all staphylococci, only a single Staphylococcus epidermidis exhibited phenotypic resistance to oxacillin. Phenotypic susceptibility to erythromycin was observed in only 8.6 and 15.7% of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci, respectively. Approximately 20% of staphylococci and 13 to 22% of streptococci and streptococcal-like organisms exhibited phenotypic resistance to pirlimycin. All Streptococcus spp. exhibited phenotypic susceptibility to ceftiofur, cephalothin, and oxacillin. The proportion of isolates exhibiting phenotypic susceptibility to pirlimycin and sulfadimethoxine differed among Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus uberis. All streptococcal-like organisms exhibited phenotypic susceptibility to ceftiofur, cephalothin, oxacillin, penicillin, and the combination of penicillin and novobiocin. Of all organisms tested, 36.9% did not carry any of the resistance genes (ermC, blaZ, tetK, or tetM), 35.4% carried 1 gene, and 27.7% carried multiple genes (usually blaZ in combination with a tet gene). Eighteen (51.4%) Staph. aureus and 12 (48.0%) Staphylococcus chromogenes carried multiple resistance genes. Six (12.2%) Strep. dysgalactiae and no Strep. uberis carried multiple resistance genes. Results indicate that most gram-positive mastitis organisms were susceptible to most antimicrobials used for intramammary administration, but some resistance to drugs used for systemic treatment of mastitis was noted. The presence of selected resistance genes was not proportional to the occurrence of phenotypic resistance.
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•Highly efficient Mo2C catalysts for CO2 conversion via RWGS•Cu as a promoter boost the CO2 conversion due to higher active sites concentration.•Cs is an excellent dopant to enhance ...CO selectivity, especially at low temperatures.•Electronic interactions and re-carburisation accounting for Cs positive effect•Robust catalysts for long term operations.
Mo2C is an effective catalyst for chemical CO2 upgrading via reverse water-gas shift (RWGS). In this work, we demonstrate that the activity and selectivity of this system can be boosted by the addition of promoters such as Cu and Cs. The addition of Cu incorporates extra active sites such as Cu+ and Cu° which are essential for the reaction. Cs is an underexplored dopant whose marked electropositive character generates electronic perturbations on the catalyst’s surface leading to enhanced catalytic performance. Also, the Cs-doped catalyst seems to be in-situ activated due to a re-carburization phenomenon which results in fairly stable catalysts for continuous operations. Overall, this work showcases a strategy to design highly efficient catalysts based on promoted β-Mo2C for CO2 recycling via RWGS.
This study investigated methyl orange (MO) dye adsorption using three biochars produced from agro-waste and invasive plants; the latter consisted of wattle bark (BA), mimosa (BM), and coffee husks ...(BC). BC had the lowest specific surface area (2.62 m2/g) compared to BA (393.15 m2/g) and BM (285.53 m2/g). The adsorption efficiency of MO was stable at pH 2–7 (95%–96%), whilst it had reduced stability at pH 7–12. Between 0 and 30 min, MO adsorption efficiency was >82%, and at 120 min, representative adsorption equilibrium had occurred. The maximum adsorption capacity of the biochars was 12.3 mg/g. The underlying adsorption mechanisms of the three biochars were governed by electrostatic adsorption and pore diffusion. There was an abundance of active sites for adsorption in BA and BM, while chemical adsorption appeared to be more vital for BC, as it contained more functional groups on its surface. The highest MO adsorption efficiency occurred with BM. BC was not recommended for MO removal, as it was observed to stain the water when a dose exceeding 5.0 g/L was utilized.
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•Biochars were successfully derived from agro-waste and invasive plants.•After only 30 min the methyl orange adsorption efficiency on biochar was more than 82%.•The adsorption equilibrium was established at 120 min.•The highest adsorption occurred with biochar from mimosa.
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