Spina bifida is the most common birth defect of the central nervous system and the second most common of all structural birth defects. To learn more about it, From the Labs sat with Dr. Richard H. Finnell, whose lab at Baylor College of Medicine focuses on discovering the role of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects and in identifying the genes that determine susceptibility to human neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
FTL: What is spina bifida?
RHF: Spina bifida is a condition that occurs during very early development affecting the neural tube, which will give rise to the spinal cord and brain. It can be diagnosed during pregnancy or after the baby is born. Typically, the neural tube closes by the 28th day after conception. In babies with spina bifida, a portion of the neural tube doesn’t close properly, resulting in a malformed spinal cord and problems in the bones of the spine. The neural tube exposed to amniotic fluid results in bladder and bowel dysfunction and in orthopedic problems that limit the child’s ability to walk.
#spacetravel #quantumvacuum IRIS-AsteronX & The Eos Project. Website: www.asteronx.com Links to research papers: Shinichi Seike, 1969, “Quantum Electric Space Vehicle”, 8th Symposium on Space Technology and Science, Tokyo. Froning, H. D., “Propulsion Requirements for a Quantum Interstellar Ramjet”, Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 33, p. 265, 1980.Froning, H. D., “Investigation of a quantum ramjet for interstellar flight” (AIAA Preprint 81–1534, 1981).Robert L. Forward, Extracting Electrical Energy From the Vacuum by Cohesion of Charged Foliated Conductors, Physical Review B, Vol. 30, pp. 1700–1702 (1984).“Casimir-cavity-induced conductance changes,” G. Moddel, A. Weerakkody, D. Doroski, D. Bartusiak, Physical Review Research, 3, L022007 (2021); DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.L022007.Garret Moddel: Zero-Point Energy Technology. https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/moddel/research/zero-point-…gyJennifer Chu, “Quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects on the human scale”, MIT News Office, 2020.Dr Gregory L. Matloff, The Zero-Point Energy (ZPE) Laser and Interstellar Travel, Academia.edu, posted by Adam Crowl. https://www.academia.edu/Ivlev, B.I… (2016). Conversion of zero point energy into high-energy photons. Revista mexicana de física, 62, 83–88. Recuperado en 18 de junio de 2022, de http://www.scielo.org.mx/.X. Jiang, X. Zhou and W. Peng, “Extraction of clean and cheap energy from vacuum,” 2013 International Conference on Materials for Renewable Energy and Environment, 2013, pp. 467–471, https://doi.org/10.1109/.H. David Froning, Morgan Boardman, Less Labored Acceleration and Faster-than-Light Travel in Higher Dimensional Realms, published in Faster Than Light Warp Drive and Quantum Vacuum Power by H. David Froning. Physicists are planning to build lasers so powerful they could rip apart empty space. https://www.science.org/Terrance W. Barrett. The toroid antenna as a conditioner of electromagnetic fields into (low energy) gauge fields. Speculations in Science and Technology 21291–320 (1999). Originally presented at the Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium 1998, (PIERC’ 98), 13th-17th July, Nantes France. Daniel C. Cole and Harold E. Puthoff, Extracting energy and heat from the vacuum, Physical Review, Vol E48, #2, pp. 1562–1565 (August 1993).Harold White. Paul March. Advanced Propulsion Physics: Harnessing the Quantum Vacuum. (2011). https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nets2012/pdf/3082.pdfFong, K.Y., Li, HK., Zhao, R. et al. Phonon heat transfer across a vacuum through quantum fluctuations. Nature 576243–247 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1800-4Music: Songs from the YouTube audio library. https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC2kkCGRqZWaSIK3BmLC8vaw/music(Natural Light) by Chris Haugen. (Mind Stream) by Chris HaugenYouTube Audio Library License. You can use this audio track in any of your videos, including videos that you monetize. No attribution is required. YouTube may credit the artist and link the Audio Library from your video. You may not make available, distribute or perform the music files from this. library separately from videos and other content into which you have incorporated. these music files (e.g., standalone distribution of these files is not permitted).Free music by Scott Buckley. https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/(What we don’t say) by Scott Buckley. (Soar) by Scott Buckley. released under CC-BY 4.0 www.scottbuckley.com.auhttps://www.scottbuckley.com.au/ https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GClXNsp99r4rvthPRwBLAPurchased
From Bandcamp.com. Big Giant Circles — Legacy — 9 Nova Siberia OC ReMix-bonus-.mp3 Big Giant Circles — Legacy — 3 Faster Than Light-unused-.mp3 Big Giant Circles — Legacy — 6 Hold the Line-unused-.mp3 Big Giant Circles — Legacy — 9 Nova Siberia OC ReMix-bonus-.mp3 Purchased from Shockwave-sound.com. Music Space Command (24-bit).wavPurchased from Pond5.com. 010892636-revelation.mp3 Purchased from NCM Epic Music Ender Guney. Epic Cinematic Music.wavMusic from Kevin MacLeod. Journeyman.mp3 Mystery Sax.mp3 Hungarian_Rhapsody_No_2_by_Liszt.mp3 https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/ https://creativecommons.org/Purchased from purple planet. shadowlands.mp3 Copyright free music by WC Music. life with you — Music by (Barradeen) _ WC Music (No Copyright Music)_1080p.mp4
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is believed to be involved in many cognitive processes, including linking goals to actions and tracking decision-relevant contextual information. ACC neurons robustly encode expected outcomes, but how this relates to putative functions of ACC remains unknown. Here, we approach this question from the perspective of population codes by analyzing neural spiking data in the ventral and dorsal banks of the ACC in two male monkeys trained to perform a stimulus-motor mapping task to earn rewards or avoid losses. We found that neural populations favor a low dimensional representational geometry that emphasizes the valence of potential outcomes while also facilitating the independent, abstract representation of multiple task-relevant variables. Valence encoding persisted throughout the trial, and realized outcomes were primarily encoded in a relative sense, such that cue valence acted as a context for outcome encoding. This suggests that the population coding we observe could be a mechanism that allows feedback to be interpreted in a context-dependent manner. Together, our results point to a prominent role for ACC in context setting and relative interpretation of outcomes, facilitated by abstract, or untangled, representations of task variables.
SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to interpret events in light of the current context is a critical facet of higher-order cognition. The ACC is suggested to be important for tracking contextual information, whereas alternate views hold that its function is more related to the motor system and linking goals to appropriate actions. We evaluated these possibilities by analyzing geometric properties of neural population activity in monkey ACC when contexts were determined by the valence of potential outcomes and found that this information was represented as a dominant, abstract concept. Ensuing outcomes were then coded relative to these contexts, suggesting an important role for these representations in context-dependent evaluation. Such mechanisms may be critical for the abstract reasoning and generalization characteristic of biological intelligence.
However, underlying this scientific skepticism was also an ideological shift. Reductionism can be thought of as the antithesis or critique of the concepts of a premodern worldview. The rejection of the self was motivated by a hidden agenda to rid science of any ideas that remotely felt supernatural or religious. Since the self seemed intertwined with the idea of a soul, scientific pushback on ideological grounds was inevitable, and from that point on, findings from neuroscience and psychology were interpreted through a reductionist lens. The fact that scientists could not identify a localized region that precisely corresponded to the self seemed to verify the belief that it is an “illusion,” though to most people that statement has little meaning, if any.
This reductionist ideology recently found an ally in what is called “nondual” Eastern philosophy. According to this quasi-mystical doctrine, embracing the idea that we aren’t our thoughts or ego can lead to a more compassionate world — one free of self-blame and blame toward others. If none of us are in control of our actions or thoughts, then punishment is pointless and immoral. By not placing undue importance on the self, individuals might find themselves more attuned to the interconnected nature of existence, shifting toward a holistic worldview where “we’re all in this together.”
However, there’s a dark side to this denial of the self, and it’s extremely troubling to those who think about this stuff deeply. If we have no self and no control over our thoughts and actions, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate or the fate of humanity. For those who take the hardline reductionist stance seriously, this can lead to cognitive dissonance, and in rarer cases, crippling depression or psychosis.
In a breakthrough in cancer therapeutics, a team of researchers at the Magzoub Biophysics Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has made a significant advance in light-based therapies—biocompatible and biodegradable tumor-targeting nanospheres that combine tumor detection and monitoring with potent, light-triggered cancer therapy to dramatically increase the efficacy of existing light-based approaches.
Non-invasive, light-based therapies, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have the potential to be safe and effective alternatives to conventional cancer treatments, which are beset by a number of issues, including a range of side-effects and post-treatment complications.
However, to date, the development of effective light-based technologies for cancer has been hindered by poor solubility, low stability, and lack of tumor specificity, among other challenges. Nanocarriers designed to deliver PDT and PTT more effectively have also proven to have significant limitations.
Sarilumab„ allowed for more-rapid tapering of prednisone in a randomized trial.
When patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) have recurrent symptoms repeatedly during tapering of steroids, rheumatologists sometimes add agents such as methotrexate to decrease cumulative steroid exposure. Sarilumab (Kevzara; an interleukin-6 receptor antagonist) recently was FDA-approved in the U.S. for this purpose, based on results of this clinical trial.
Researchers identified 118 patients with PMR who had received at least 8 weeks of prednisone (≥10 mg daily) during their treatment course and had at least one symptom flare while taking ≥7.5 mg daily. Patients were randomized to receive either sarilumab, injected twice monthly for 1 year, while tapering prednisone over 14 weeks, or placebo, while tapering prednisone over 1 year. The protocol allowed for steroid “rescue” therapy if symptoms flared.
Sustained remission between weeks 12 and 52 occurred significantly more often in the sarilumab group than in the placebo group (28% vs. 10%). At 52 weeks, patients in the sarilumab group were significantly more likely to be asymptomatic and to have received no rescue therapy (45% vs. 14%). Median cumulative prednisone exposure was much lower in the sarilumab group (777 mg vs. 2044 mg). Neutropenia, diarrhea, and arthralgia occurred more commonly with sarilumab than with placebo. No deaths occurred during the trial.
