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Rapid Modification (rapid + modification)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

The impact of diazepam's discovery on the treatment and understanding of status epilepticus

EPILEPSIA, Issue 9 2009
Howard P. Goodkin
Summary The fortuitous discovery of the benzodiazepines and the subsequent application of these agents to the treatment of status epilepticus (SE) heralds in the modern age of treating this neurologic emergency. More than 50 years after their discovery, the benzodiazepines remain the drugs of first choice in the treatment of SE. However, the benzodiazepines can be ineffective, especially in those patients whose seizures are the most prolonged. The benzodiazepines act by increasing the affinity of ,-aminobutyric acid (GABA) for GABAA receptors. A receptor's subunit composition affects its functional and pharmacologic properties, trafficking, and cellular localization. The GABAA receptors that mediate synaptic inhibition typically contain a ,2 subunit and are diazepam-sensitive. Among the GABAA receptors that mediate tonic inhibition are the benzodiazepine-insensitive , subunit,containing receptors. The initial studies investigating the pathogenesis of SE demonstrated that a reduction in GABA-mediated inhibition within the hippocampus was important in maintenance of SE, and this reduction correlated with a rapid modification in the postsynaptic GABAA receptor population expressed on the surface of the hippocampal principal neurons. Subsequent studies found that this rapid modification is, in part, mediated by an activity-dependent, subunit-specific trafficking of the receptors that resulted in the reduction in the surface expression of the benzodiazepine-sensitive ,2 subunit,containing receptors and the preserved surface expression of the benzodiazepine-insensitive , subunit-containing receptors. This improved understanding of the changes in the trafficking of GABAA receptors during SE partially accounts for the development of benzodiazepine-pharmacoresistance and has implications for the current and future treatment of benzodiazepine-refractory SE. [source]

Autonomous selection and modification of camera configurations using visibility and manipulability measures

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 5 2002
Gil W. Chu
In this article, we present a camera control method in which the selection of an optimal camera position and the modification of camera configurations are accomplished according to changes in the surroundings. For the autonomous selection and modification of camera configurations during tasks, we consider the camera's visibility and the manipulator's manipulability. The visibility constraint guarantees that the whole of a target object can be "viewed" with no occlusions by the surroundings, and the manipulability constraint guarantees avoidance of the singular position of the manipulator and rapid modification of the camera position. By considering visibility and manipulability constraints simultaneously, we determine the optimal camera position and modify the camera configuration such that visual information for the target object can be obtained continuously during tasks. The results of simulations and experiments show that the active camera system with an eye-in-hand configuration can modify its configuration autonomously according to the motion of the surroundings by applying the proposed camera control method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Watershed protection: Capturing the benefits of nature's water supply services

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 2 2005
Sandra L. Postel
Abstract Healthy watersheds provide valuable services to society, including the supply and purification of fresh water. Because these natural ecosystem services lie outside the traditional domain of commercial markets, they are undervalued and underprotected. With population and development pressures leading to the rapid modification of watershed lands, valuable hydrological services are being lost, which poses risks to the quality and cost of drinking water and the reliability of water supplies. Increasing the scale and scope of programmes to protect hydrological services requires policies that harmonize land uses in watersheds with the provision of these important natural services. This article summarizes key attributes of hydrological services and their economic benefits; presents a spectrum of institutional mechanisms for safeguarding those services; discusses programmes in Quito (Ecuador), Costa Rica and New York City; and offers some lessons learned and recommendations for achieving higher levels of watershed protection. [source]

1351: Eyelid splitting and extirpation of hair follicles for treatment of trichiasis

ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010
M ROSNER
Purpose To review the background for developing the surgical technique of eyelid splitting and extirpation of hair follicles for treatment of acquired trichiasis, to demonstrate the technique, and to highlight its indications, advantages and complications. Methods Personal experience is used to demonstrate the technique, its indications, advantages and complications. This includes the follow-up data of 12 eyelids of 8 consecutive patients who were treated by splitting the eyelid margin using radiosurgical technique and others where the splitting of the lid margin was performed using CO2 laser or Colorado needle. This was followed by extirpation of the hair follicles of the trichiatic eyelashes using surgical microscope. Results Complete recovery of the trichiatic eyelashes at the site of the treatment occurred in most eyelids. There were no complications during or after healing of the surgical wound during the follow-up period. Conclusion Eyelid splitting and extirpation of hair follicles provides a simple and relatively rapid modification of the surgical treatment for acquired trichiasis, with good functional results. [source]