Potential Economic Consequences of Local Nonconformity to Regional Land Use and Transportation Plans Using a Spatial Economic Model

To achieve the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets that are required by California’s global warming legislation (AB32), the state of California has determined that recent growth trends in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) must be curtailed. In recognition of this, Senate Bill 375 (SB375) requires regional governments to develop land use and transportation plans or Sustainable Community Strategies (SCSs) that will achieve regional GHG targets largely though reduced VMT. Although the bill requires such a plan, it does not require local governments to adopt general plans that conform to this plan. In California, it is local, not regional, governments that have authority over land development decisions. Instead, SB375 relies on democratic participatory processes and relatively modest financial and regulatory incentives for SCS implementation. As a result, it is quite possible that some local governments within a region may decide not to conform to their SCS. In this study, a spatial economic model (PECAS) is applied in the Sacramento region (California, U.S.) to understand what the economic and equity consequences might be to jurisdictions that do and do not implement SCS land use plans in a region. An understanding of these consequences provides insight into jurisdictions’ motivations for compliance and thus, strategies for more effective implementation of SB375

Do the digestive tract symptoms in eating disorder patients represent functional gastrointestinal disorders?

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in patients with eating disorders. The aim of this study was to determine, using factor analysis, whether these GI symptom factors (clusters) in eating disorder patients hold true to the Rome II classification of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). METHODS: Inpatients in a specialised eating disorder unit completed the Rome II questionnaire. Data from 185 patients were analysed using factor analysis of 17 questions cited as present in 30% to 70% of the patients. RESULTS: Five factors emerged accounting for 68% of the variance and these were termed: ‘oesophageal discomfort’, ‘bowel dysfunction’, ‘abdominal discomfort’, ‘pelvic floor dysfunction’, and ‘self-induced vomiting’. These factors are significantly related to the Rome II FGID categories of functional oesophageal, bowel and anorectal disorders, and to the specific FGIDs of IBS, functional abdominal bloating, functional constipation and pelvic floor dyssynergia. Both heartburn and chest pain were included in the oesophageal discomfort factor. The ‘pelvic floor dysfunction’ factor was distinct from functional constipation. CONCLUSIONS: The GI symptoms common in eating disorder patients very likely represent the same FGIDs that occur in non-ED patients. Symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction in the absence of functional constipation, however, are prominent in eating disorder patients. Further investigation of the items comprising the ‘pelvic floor dysfunction’ factor in other patient populations may yield useful results

Defining the Pen Islands Caribou Herd of southern Hudson Bay

In this paper, we describe the Pen Islands Herd of caribou, the largest aggregation of caribou in Ontario (it also occupies a portion of northeastern Manitoba). Photographic counts showed the herd had a minimum population of 2300 in 1979, 4660 in 1986, 7424 in 1987 and 10 798 in 1994. Throughout the 1980s, the Pen Islands caribou exhibited population behaviour similar to migratory barren-ground caribou herds, although morphology suggests they are woodland caribou or possibly a mixture of subspecies. The herd had well-defined traditional tundra calving grounds, formed nursery groups and large mobile post-calving aggregations, and migrated over 400 km between tundra summer habitats and boreal forest winter habitats. Its migration took it into three Canadian jurisdictions (Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories) and it was important to residents of both Manitoba and Ontario. It is clear that the herd should be managed as a migratory herd and the critical importance of both the coastal and variable large winter ranges should be noted in ensuring the herd's habitat needs are secure

Extra-articular synovial chondromatosis of the ankle: Unusual case with radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Extra-articular synovial chondromatosis is a rare entity in the foot and ankle. We present a case of a 49-year-old female who presented for evaluation of a palpable concern following trauma; which was found to represent synovial chondromatosis. This case demonstrates the multimodality imaging findings, including ultrasound and MRI, with histopathologic correlation

NMR Chemical Shifts of Trace Impurities: Common Laboratory Solvents, Organics, and Gases in Deuterated Solvents Relevant to the Organometallic Chemist

Tables of ^1H and ^(13)C NMR chemical shifts have been compiled for common organic compounds often used as reagents or found as products or contaminants in deuterated organic solvents. Building upon the work of Gottlieb, Kotlyar, and Nudelman in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, signals for common impurities are now reported in additional NMR solvents (tetrahydrofuran-d_8, toluene-d_8, dichloromethane-d_2, chlorobenzene-d_5, and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol-d_3) which are frequently used in organometallic laboratories. Chemical shifts for other organics which are often used as reagents or internal standards or are found as products in organometallic chemistry are also reported for all the listed solvents

The Galaxy Populations of X-Ray Detected, Poor Groups

(Abridged) We determine the quantitative morphology and star formation properties of galaxies in six nearby X-ray detected, poor groups using multi-object spectroscopy and wide-field R imaging. We measure structural parameters for each galaxy by fitting a PSF-convolved, two component model to their surface brightness profiles. To compare directly the samples, we fade, smooth, and rebin each galaxy image so that we effectively observe each galaxy at the same redshift (9000 km/s) and physical resolution (0.87h^(-1) kpc). We compare results for the groups to a sample of field galaxies. We find that: 1) Galaxies spanning a wide range in morphological type and luminosity are well-fit by a de Vaucouleurs bulge with exponential disk profile. 2) Morphologically classifying these nearby group galaxies by their bulge fraction (B/T) is fairly robust on average, even when their redshift has increased by up to a factor of four and the effective resolution of the images is degraded by up to a factor of five. 3) The fraction of bulge-dominated systems in these groups is higher than in the field (~50% vs. ~20%). 4) The fraction of bulge-dominated systems in groups decreases with increasing radius, similar to the morphology-radius (~density) relation observed in galaxy clusters. 5) Current star formation in group galaxies is correlated with significant morphological asymmetry for disk-dominated systems (B/T<0.4). 6) The group galaxies that are most disk-dominated (B/T<0.2) are less star forming and asymmetric on average than their counterparts in the field.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (26 pages + 12 figures); Figs 1 & 2 also available at http://www.ucolick.org/~vy/astronomy/groups_figs.tar.g

Loss of intranetwork and internetwork resting state functional connections with Alzheimer\u27s disease progression

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Much is known concerning AD pathophysiology but our understanding of the disease at the systems level remains incomplete. Previous AD research has used resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) to assess the integrity of functional networks within the brain. Most studies have focused on the default-mode network (DMN), a primary locus of AD pathology. However, other brain regions are inevitably affected with disease progression. We studied rs-fcMRI in five functionally defined brain networks within a large cohort of human participants of either gender (n = 510) that ranged in AD severity from unaffected [clinical dementia rating (CDR) 0] to very mild (CDR 0.5) to mild (CDR 1). We observed loss of correlations within not only the DMN but other networks at CDR 0.5. Within the salience network (SAL), increases were seen between CDR 0 and CDR 0.5. However, at CDR 1, all networks, including SAL, exhibited reduced correlations. Specific networks were preferentially affected at certain CDR stages. In addition, cross-network relations were consistently lost with increasing AD severity. Our results demonstrate that AD is associated with widespread loss of both intranetwork and internetwork correlations. These results provide insight into AD pathophysiology and reinforce an integrative view of the brain\u27s functional organization

Split tolerance permits safe Ad5-GUCY2C-PADRE vaccine-induced T-cell responses in colon cancer patients.

Background: The colorectal cancer antigen GUCY2C exhibits unique split tolerance, evoking antigen-specific CD8+, but not CD4+, T-cell responses that deliver anti-tumor immunity without autoimmunity in mice. Here, the cancer vaccine Ad5-GUCY2C-PADRE was evaluated in a first-in-man phase I clinical study of patients with early-stage colorectal cancer to assess its safety and immunological efficacy. Methods: Ten patients with surgically-resected stage I or stage II (pN0) colon cancer received a single intramuscular injection of 1011 viral particles (vp) of Ad5-GUCY2C-PADRE. Safety assessment and immunomonitoring were carried out for 6 months following immunization. This trial employed continual monitoring of both efficacy and toxicity of subjects as joint primary outcomes. Results: All patients receiving Ad5-GUCY2C-PADRE completed the study and none developed adverse events greater than grade 1. Antibody responses to GUCY2C were detected in 10% of patients, while 40% exhibited GUCY2C-specific T-cell responses. GUCY2C-specific responses were exclusively CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, mimicking pre-clinical studies in mice in which GUCY2C-specific CD4+ T cells are eliminated by self-tolerance, while CD8+ T cells escape tolerance and mediate antitumor immunity. Moreover, pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to the Ad5 vector were associated with poor vaccine-induced responses, suggesting that Ad5 NAbs oppose GUCY2C immune responses to the vaccine in patients and supported by mouse studies. Conclusions: Split tolerance to GUCY2C in cancer patients can be exploited to safely generate antigen-specific cytotoxic CD8+, but not autoimmune CD4+, T cells by Ad5-GUCY2C-PADRE in the absence of pre-existing NAbs to the viral vector. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial (NCT01972737) was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on October 30th, 2013. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01972737

Surgical management of subaortic obstruction in single left ventricle and tricuspid atresia

Subaortic obstruction caused by either a restrictive bulboventricular foramen in single left ventricle with an outflow chamber or by a restrictive ventricular septal defect in tricuspid atresia with transposition of the great arteries can lead to a hypertrophied, noncompliant ventricle and excessive pulmonary blood flow. This combination is disadvantageous to potential Fontan procedure candidates because they are dependent on good ventricular function and low pulmonary vascular resistance for survival.The results of surgical procedures to directly or indirectly relieve significant subaortic obstruction (gradient 30 mm Hg) in 24 patients, 16 with single left ventricle and 8 with tricuspid atresia, were reviewed. Four patients had a left ventricular apex to descending aorta valved conduit; none survived. Seven patients had resection of subaortic tissue; four survived and four developed heart block at surgery. Adequate gradient relief was evident in only one of the four survivors. Thirteen patients had a main pulmonary artery to ascending aorta anastomosis or conduit; six survived. AH survivors had adequate gradient relief. The overall survival was 42% (10 of 24). None of seven patients with a subaortic gradient >75 mm Hg survived.These data show that: 1) Surgical relief of established subaortic obstruction in patients with single left ventricle and tricuspid atresia carries a high mortality rate, especially if the subaortic gradient is >75 mm Hg. 2) The best procedure appears to be the pulmonary artery to ascending aorta anastomosis. 3) A clearer understanding of the factors leading to the development of significant subaortic obstruction is necessary to prevent it or to devise improved therapeutic strategies