Miniature rotating transmissive optical drum scanner

A miniature rotating transmissive optical scanner system employs a drum of small size having an interior defined by a circumferential wall rotatable on a drum axis, an optical element positioned within the interior of the drum, and a light-transmissive lens aperture provided at an angular position in the circumferential wall of the drum for scanning a light beam to or from the optical element in the drum along a beam azimuth angle as the drum is rotated. The miniature optical drum scanner configuration obtains a wide scanning field-of-view (FOV) and large effective aperture is achieved within a physically small size

The Measurement of Eye Movements in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Structured Review of an Emerging Area

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, occurs following a direct or indirect force to the head that causes a change in brain function. Many neurological signs and symptoms of mTBI can be subtle and transient, and some can persist beyond the usual recovery timeframe, such as balance, cognitive or sensory disturbance that may pre-dispose to further injury in the future. There is currently no accepted definition or diagnostic criteria for mTBI and therefore no single assessment has been developed or accepted as being able to identify those with an mTBI. Eye-movement assessment may be useful, as specific eye-movements and their metrics can be attributed to specific brain regions or functions, and eye-movement involves a multitude of brain regions. Recently, research has focused on quantitative eye-movement assessments using eye-tracking technology for diagnosis and monitoring symptoms of an mTBI. However, the approaches taken to objectively measure eye-movements varies with respect to instrumentation, protocols and recognition of factors that may influence results, such as cognitive function or basic visual function. This review aimed to examine previous work that has measured eye-movements within those with mTBI to inform the development of robust or standardized testing protocols. Medline/PubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Scopus databases were searched. Twenty-two articles met inclusion/exclusion criteria and were reviewed, which examined saccades, smooth pursuits, fixations and nystagmus in mTBI compared to controls. Current methodologies for data collection, analysis and interpretation from eye-tracking technology in individuals following an mTBI are discussed. In brief, a wide range of eye-movement instruments and outcome measures were reported, but validity and reliability of devices and metrics were insufficiently reported across studies. Interpretation of outcomes was complicated by poor study reporting of demographics, mTBI-related features (e.g., time since injury), and few studies considered the influence that cognitive or visual functions may have on eye-movements. The reviewed evidence suggests that eye-movements are impaired in mTBI, but future research is required to accurately and robustly establish findings. Standardization and reporting of eye-movement instruments, data collection procedures, processing algorithms and analysis methods are required. Recommendations also include comprehensive reporting of demographics, mTBI-related features, and confounding variables

Impact of the assimilation of ozone from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer on surface ozone across North America

We examine the impact of assimilating ozone observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on North American surface ozone abundances in the GEOS-Chem model in August 2006. The assimilation reduces the negative bias in the modeled free tropospheric ozone, which enhances the ozone flux into the boundary layer. Surface ozone abundances increased by as much as 9 ppb in western North America and by less than 2 ppb in the southeast, resulting in a total background source of ozone of 20-40 ppb. The enhanced ozone in the model reduced the model bias with respect to surface ozone observations in the western USA, but exacerbated it in the east. This increase in the bias in the boundary layer in the east, despite the agreement between the assimilation and ozonesonde measurements in the free troposphere, suggests errors in the ozone sources or sinks or in boundary layer mixing in the model. © 2009

Morphological evolution of the mammalian jaw adductor complex

The evolution of the mammalian jaw during the transition from non-mammalian synapsids to crown mammals is a key event in vertebrate history and characterised by the gradual reduction of its individual bones into a single element and the concomitant transformation of the jaw joint and its incorporation into the middle ear complex. This osteological transformation is accompanied by a rearrangement and modification of the jaw adductor musculature, which is thought to have allowed the evolution of a more-efficient masticatory system in comparison to the plesiomorphic synapsid condition. While osteological characters relating to this transition are well documented in the fossil record, the exact arrangement and modifications of the individual adductor muscles during the cynodont–mammaliaform transition have been debated for nearly a century. We review the existing knowledge about the musculoskeletal evolution of the mammalian jaw adductor complex and evaluate previous hypotheses in the light of recently documented fossils that represent new specimens of existing species, which are of central importance to the mammalian origins debate. By employing computed tomography (CT) and digital reconstruction techniques to create three-dimensional models of the jaw adductor musculature in a number of representative non-mammalian cynodonts and mammaliaforms, we provide an updated perspective on mammalian jaw muscle evolution. As an emerging consensus, current evidence suggests that the mammal-like division of the jaw adductor musculature (into deep and superficial components of the m. masseter, the m. temporalis and the m. pterygoideus) was completed in Eucynodontia. The arrangement of the jaw adductor musculature in a mammalian fashion, with the m. pterygoideus group inserting on the dentary was completed in basal Mammaliaformes as suggested by the muscle reconstruction of Morganucodon oehleri. Consequently, transformation of the jaw adductor musculature from the ancestral (‘reptilian’) to the mammalian condition must have preceded the emergence of Mammalia and the full formation of the mammalian jaw joint. This suggests that the modification of the jaw adductor system played a pivotal role in the functional morphology and biomechanical stability of the jaw joint

An emerging role for NAADP-mediated Ca2+ signaling in the pancreatic beta-cell

Several recent reports, including one in this journal, have reignited the debate about whether the calcium-mobilizing messenger, nicotinic adenine nucleotide diphosphate (NAADP) plays a central role in the regulation of calcium signaling in pancreatic beta-cells. 1-5 These studies have highlighted a role for NAADP-induced Ca2+ mobilization not only in mediating the effects of the incretin, GLP-1 and the autocrine proliferative effects of insulin, but also possibly a fundamental role in glucose-mediated insulin secretion in the pancreatic beta-cell.</p

High Temperature Deformation Mechanisms in a DLD Nickel Superalloy

The realisation of employing Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technologies to produce components in the aerospace industry is significantly increasing. This can be attributed to their ability to offer the near-net shape fabrication of fully dense components with a high potential for geometrical optimisation, all of which contribute to subsequent reductions in material wastage and component weight. However, the influence of this manufacturing route on the properties of aerospace alloys must first be fully understood before being actively applied in-service. Specimens from the nickel superalloy C263 have been manufactured using Powder Bed Direct Laser Deposition (PB-DLD), each with unique post-processing conditions. These variables include two build orientations, vertical and horizontal, and two different heat treatments. The effects of build orientation and post-process heat treatments on the materials’ mechanical properties have been assessed with the Small Punch Tensile (SPT) test technique, a practical test method given the limited availability of PB-DLD consolidated material. SPT testing was also conducted on a cast C263 variant to compare with PB-DLD derivatives. At both room and elevated temperature conditions, differences in mechanical performances arose between each material variant. This was found to be instigated by microstructural variations exposed through microscopic and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. SPT results were also compared with available uniaxial tensile data in terms of SPT peak and yield load against uniaxial ultimate tensile and yield strength