284 research outputs found
Neuroprotective effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy monitored by MR-imaging after embolic stroke in rats
No full textCo-author Kenneth Sicard is a doctoral student in the MD/PhD Program in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMass Medical School.The potential neuroprotective effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) were tested in an embolic model of focal cerebral ischemia with partially spontaneous reperfusion. Rats (n = 10) were subjected to embolic middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) was performed at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 h after MCAO to determine the ADC viability threshold yielding the lesion volumes that best approximated the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) infarct volumes at 24 h (experiment 1). For assessment of neuroprotective effects, rats were treated with 100% oxygen at 2.5 atmospheres absolute (ATA, n = 15) or normobaric room air (n = 15) for 60 min beginning 180 min after MCAO (experiment 2). DWI-, perfusion (PWI)- and T2-weighted MRI (T2WI) started within 0.5 h after MCAO and was continued 5 h, 24 h (PWI and T2WI only), and 168 h (T2WI only). Infarct volume was calculated based on TTC-staining at 24 h (experiment 1) or 168 h (experiment 2) post-MCAO. ADC-lesion evolution was maximal between 3 and 6 h. In experiment 2, the relative regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) of both groups showed similar incomplete spontaneous reperfusion in the ischemic core. HBO reduced infarct volume to 145.3 +/- 39.6 mm3 vs. 202.5 +/- 58.3 mm3 (control, P = 0.029). As shown by MRI and TTC, HBO treatment demonstrated significant neuroprotection at 5 h after embolic focal cerebral ischemia that lasted for 168 h.MD/Ph
Introduction to property theory - the fundamental theorems
Full text linkThe market system consists of a price mechanism, built on the foundation of a system of property, and contract. In many developing, and transition economies, the market system functions poorly. In many cases, if not most, the malfunctioning is not simply in the price system (for example, anti-competitive activities), but in the underlying property system (such as contracts being breached, and externalities in the sense of transfers not covered by contracts). Economic theory tends to take the functioning of the system of property, and contract for granted, and focuses on the operation of the price mechanism. Property theory focuses on the underlying system of property, and contract. In this paper, the author inaugurates the mathematical treatment of property theory.In contrast with earlier work in"law and economics", and the"new institutional economics", this approach uses principles drawn from jurisprudence, and does not attempt to reduce"law"to"economics"in the sense of efficiency considerations, such as the minimization of transaction costs. The main results are the two fundamental theorems of property theory that are analogous to the two fundamental theorems of price theory that, in essence, state that: 1) A competitive equilibrium is Pareto optimal. 2) Given a Pareto optimal state, there exists a set of prices such, that a competitive equilibrium at those prices would realize that Pareto optimal state.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Municipal Housing and Land,Land and Real Estate Development
History of Dialysis in the UK: c. 1950–1980
No full textDialysis, the first technological substitution for organ function, is significant not only for the numbers of patients who have benefited. It contributed to the emergence of the field of medical ethics and the development of the nurse specialist, and transformed the relationship between physicians and patients by allowing patients to control their treatment.
This seminar drew on participants’ recollections of dialysis from the early, practically experimental days after the Second World War, when resources for research were scant, until the 1980s when it had become an established treatment. Pioneers from the first UK dialysis units recalled the creation of the specialty of nephrology amid discouragement from renal physicians and the MRC, which felt that the artificial kidney was a gadget that would not last.
International and interdisciplinary collaborations, and interactions between with industry and clinics in developing and utilising the specialist technology were emphasized. Patients, carers, nurses, technicians and doctors reminisced about their experiences of home dialysis, its complications and impact on family life, as well as the physical effects of surviving on long-term dialysis before transplantation became routine.
The meeting was suggested and chaired by Dr John Turney and witnesses include Dr Rosemarie Baillod, Professor Christopher Blagg, Professor Stewart Cameron, Mr Eric Collins, Professor Robin Eady, Mrs Diana Garratt, Professor David Kerr, Professor Sir Netar Mallick, Dr Frank Marsh, Dr Jean Northover, Dr Chisholm Ogg, Dr Margaret Platts, Dr Stanley Rosen and Professor Stanley Shaldon. Two appendices contain reminiscences from Professor Kenneth Lowe and Sir Graham Bull
Historical precedents for the DSM-III bereavement exclusion criteria for major depression
No full textAbstractBackgroundI review the historical antecedents of the two key features of the bereavement exclusion (BE) for major depression (MD) criteria initially proposed in DSM-III: (i) acontext-dependentapproach to the evaluation of MD which required that the diagnosis be given only when course, symptoms and signs are ‘out of proportion’ to experienced adversities, and (ii) bereavement is the sole adversity for which this context-dependent approach should be utilized.MethodsA review of 49 textbook and review articles on depression or melancholia published 1880–1960.ResultsSeventeen (35%) of the 49 texts advocated for a context-dependent approach to the diagnosis of MD. Most advocates relied on an intuitive clinical understanding of when the depressive features werev.were not commensurate with the experienced adversities. Several authors suggested that specific symptoms or course of illness could differentiate MD from ‘normative’ sadness. Others noted that patient reports of psychological causes of their depression should be treated skeptically. While death of loved ones was the most frequently noted specific adversity associated with MD, no author considered it qualitatively different from other stressors or suggested that it alone should be considered when diagnosing MD in a context-dependent manner.ConclusionsA key underlying assumption of the BE criteria – a context-dependent approach to the diagnosis of MD– was advocated by a significant minority of earlier psychiatric diagnosticians, although problems in its clinical implementation were sometimes noted. No historical precedent was found for the application of the context-dependent approach only to bereavement, as proposed in DSM-III.</jats:sec
Treatment of shale oil and gas produced water using membrane distillation combined with effective pretreatment
Full text link2019 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Fossil energy is indispensable for society development. Shale oil and gas as unconventional energy resource plays an important role in improving the energy security of U.S. But the exploitation of shale oil and gas is accompanied by substantial freshwater consumption and wastewater generation. The wastewater generated from shale oil and gas production contains large amounts of salts, particles, and petroleum-associated pollutants, inevitably imposing harmful consequences to the ecological environment if not properly treated. Effective treatment of shale oil and gas wastewater, ideally for beneficial reuse, is essential in promoting sustainability of shale oil and gas production at the water-energy nexus. In this thesis, I am focusing on developing an integrated treatment train that enables effective treatment of shale oil and gas produced water. Membrane distillation (MD), an emerging membrane desalination technology, was performed in tandem with simple and inexpensive pretreatment steps, namely precipitative softening (PS) and walnut shell filtration (WSF). A laboratory-scale MD system was designed and built at Colorado State University, and produced water generated from the Wattenberg field in northeast Colorado was collected and treated by the PS-WSF-MD system. My results demonstrated that PS removed various particulate, organic, and inorganic foulants, and thus mitigate fouling and scaling potential of the produced water. WSF displayed exceptional efficiencies (≥95%) in eliminating volatile toxic compounds including benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTEX) along with additional gasoline and diesel range organic contaminants. With pretreatment, the water vapor flux of MD decreased by only 10% at a total water recovery of 82.5%, with boron and total BTEX concentrations in the MD distillate meeting the regulatory requirements for irrigation and typical discharge limits, respectively. The use of pretreatment also led to robust membrane reusability within three consecutive treatment cycles, with MD water flux fully restored after physical membrane cleaning. The results of this thesis highlight the necessity of pretreatment prior to MD treatment of produced water and demonstrate the potential of the developed treatment train to achieve a cost-effective and on-site wastewater treatment system that improves the sustainability of the shale oil and gas industry. At last, an economic and technical assessment of MD-based wastewater treatment system was performed. The cost of the treatment system developed in this thesis was evaluated, and the results indicated that the cost of MD-based treatment system is around 0.87/barrel. Further investigation is needed to validate the economic feasibility of MD-based treatment system when applied at full-scale in the oil and gas fields
Comparing Treatment Options for Large Talar Osteochondral Lesions
No full textCategory: Ankle, Arthroscopy, Sports Introduction/Purpose: The surgical treatment of large or revision osteochondral (OCD) lesions of the talus remain challenging. Currently, there are several treatment options for these patients, including: osteochondral autograft (OATS), allograft cartilage extracellular matrix (Arthrex BioCartilage), and particulated juvenile articular cartilage allograft (Zimmer DeNovo). Due to the relative rarity of these procedures, the literature comparing these three modalities is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess midterm clinical outcomes after these surgical treatments for large or revision talar OCD lesions. Methods: Hospital IRB approval was obtained. We reviewed surgical case logs and identified 78 total patients between 2003- 2015 for inclusion in this retrospective study. Thirty-three patients were excluded due to incomplete preoperative or postoperative outcome scoring data, and 23 patients are pending followup, leaving a cohort of N = 22 patients (5 OATS, 5 DeNovo, 12 BioCartilage). Functional outcomes preoperatively and postoperatively were evaluated using Short Form 12-item Physical and Mental Health Survey (SF12 M and SF12P) and Foot Function Index (FFI) scores, ability to return to sport or work, and the need to return to the OR for revision surgery. Data were compared using paired student’s t-test and a one way ANOVA. Results: Mean age was 38y with mean followup of 4.3y (range 1.1-12.5). Of 22 patients, three were revisions. Mean lesion size was (12.6x9.1x6.5 mm). All groups showed significant improvements in FFI (p < 0.05) compared to preoperative baseline. Only the BioCartilage group showed significant improvement in SF12P (37.6 vs 47.8, p<0.05). The OATS and DeNovo groups did not show a significant increase in SF12P, and none of the groups demonstrated significant improvement in SF12 M. All patients returned to work, and 8/11 (73%) athletes returned to sport. There were no significant differences between groups when comparing SF12, FFI, and return to sport/work. Revision surgery was necessary in 6/22 (28%) patients. Post-hoc power analysis revealed limited power (0.23), and effect size (f=0.32) may be due to small sample size. Conclusion: All three treatment methods resulted in good medium-term functional results for the treatment of large or revision talar OCD lesions. However, we were unable to distinguish significant differences between OATS, Biocartilage, and Denovo, likely due to small cohort numbers and low power. Further study is warranted with increased patient numbers to improve power and differentiate among the three treatment options, as well as provide longer clinical and radiographic follow-up
His Majesty's advocate : Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees (1635-1713) and Covenanter resistance theory under the Restoration monarchy
No full textThis thesis is the first to explore the life and political thought of Sir James
Stewart of Goodtrees (1635-1713). The first part reviews the life of his father, Sir
James Stewart of Kirk field (1608-1681) to 1661, and Goodtrees' own life from birth
to his admission to the Scots bar in 1661. This provides the backdrop of history
necessary to appreciate his contributions as both writer and radical activist.
Particular attention focuses on the conflict between Charles I and Charles II, on the
one hand, and the Church of Scotland, on the other; the National Covenant (1638)
and the Solemn League and Covenant of(1643); the British wars of religion; and
the upheavals following the Restoration in the 1660s, culminating in the Pentland
Rising of 1666.
The next part develops Goodtrees' political philosophy from his two most
important writings. Chapter 3 reviews and interprets Naphtali (1667), a defence of
those who rose at Pentland. Chapter 4 reviews Andrew Honyman's Survey of
Naphtali (1668, 1669), a rebuttal of Naphtali and standard Anglican case for royal
absolutism. Chapter 5 reviews and interprets Goodtrees' Jus Populi Vindicatum, or
The People's Right, to defend themselves and their Covenanted Religion, vindicated
(1669), his rejoinder to Honyman. His Calvinist, covenantal constitutionalism is
shown to be an important link between earlier resistance theorists like John Knox
and Samuel Rutherford and the later Whigs, represented preeminently by John
Locke.
The third part (chapters 6-7) reviews Goodtrees' life and minor writings as radical critic of the Restoration monarchy; a participant in plots among British
exiles in Holland to overthrow it; a member briefly of James's Scottish government
before the Revolution; and lord advocate and churchman pursuing political, legal,
and ecclesiastical reforms afterwards
Food security and health security : explaining the levels of nutrition in Pakistan
Full text linkMost influential studies of malnutrition and public policy have focused on energy availability and consumption, tending to equate hunger with malnutrition. But recent studies have explored how other factors - notably infection and levels of maternal education - affect nutrition. Alderman and Garcia's study of nutrition levels in Pakistan shows that raising household food consumption, for example, has less impact on nutritional levels than raising a mother's education does. They found that educating mothers to at least the primary level tends to reduce the level of child stunting 16.5 percent, or roughly 10 times the impact achieved by increasing per capita income 10 percent. (The impact of education is not immediately realized; the diffusion of knowledge about good hygiene and child care associated with learning has a cumulative effect.) Alderman and Garcia found that in Pakistan, food security alone is not enough to improve children's nutritional status. There may be welfare justifications for various food policies, but in rural Pakistan, especially, it is equally important to improve health and reduce infection.Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems
Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.
Full text linkThe QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD
Using bacterial biomarkers to identify early indicators of cystic fibrosis pulmonary exacerbation onset
No full textAcute periods of pulmonary exacerbation are the single most important cause of morbidity in cystic fibrosis patients, and may be associated with a loss of lung function. Intervening prior to the onset of a substantially increased inflammatory response may limit the associated damage to the airways. While a number of biomarker assays based on inflammatory markers have been developed, providing useful and important measures of disease during these periods, such factors are typically only elevated once the process of exacerbation has been initiated. Identifying biomarkers that can predict the onset of pulmonary exacerbation at an early stage would provide an opportunity to intervene before the establishment of a substantial immune response, with major implications for the advancement of cystic fibrosis care. The precise triggers of pulmonary exacerbation remain to be determined; however, the majority of models relate to the activity of microbes present in the patient's lower airways of cystic fibrosis. Advances in diagnostic microbiology now allow for the examination of these complex systems at a level likely to identify factors on which biomarker assays can be based. In this article, we discuss key considerations in the design and testing of assays that could predict pulmonary exacerbations
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