Intraluminal measurement of papillary duct urine pH, in vivo: a pilot study in the swine kidney

We describe the in vivo use of an optic-chemo microsensor to measure intraluminal papillary duct urine pH in a large mammal. Fiber-optic pH microsensors have a tip diameter of 140-µm that allows insertion into papillary Bellini ducts to measure tubule urine proton concentration. Anesthetized adult pigs underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy to access the lower pole of the urinary collecting system. A flexible nephroscope was advanced towards an upper pole papilla with the fiber-optic microsensor contained within the working channel. The microsensor was then carefully inserted into Bellini ducts to measure tubule urine pH in real time. We successfully recorded tubule urine pH values in five papillary ducts from three pigs (1 farm pig and 2 metabolic syndrome Ossabaw pigs). Our results demonstrate that optical microsensor technology can be used to measure intraluminal urine pH in real time in a living large mammal. This opens the possibility for application of this optical pH sensing technology in nephrolithiasis

The Upper Airway Response to Pollen is Enhanced by Exposure to Combustion Particulates: A Pilot Human Experimental Challenge Study.

Although human experimental studies have shown that gaseous pollutants enhance the inflammatory response to allergens, human data on whether combustion particulates enhance the inflammatory response to allergen are limited. Therefore, we conducted a human experimental study to investigate whether combustion particulates enhance the inflammatory response to aeroallergens. "Enhancement" refers to a greater-than-additive response when combustion particulates are delivered with allergen, compared with the responses when particulates and allergen are delivered alone. Eight subjects, five atopic and three nonatopic, participated in three randomized exposure-challenge sessions at least 2 weeks apart (i.e., clean air followed by allergen, particles followed by no allergen, or particles followed by allergen). Each session consisted of nasal exposure to combustion particles (target concentration of 1.0 mg/m$^3$) or clean air for 1 hr, followed 3 hr later by challenge with whole pollen grains or placebo. Nasal lavage was performed immediately before particle or clean air exposure, immediately after exposure, and 4, 18 and 42 hr after pollen challenge. Cell counts, differentials, and measurement of cytokines were performed on each nasal lavage. In atopic but not in nonatopic subjects, when allergen was preceded by particulates, there was a significant enhancement immediately after pollen challenge in nasal lavage leukocytes and neutrophils (29.7 X 10$^3$ cells/mL and 25.4 X 10$^3$ cells/mL, respectively). This represents a 143% and 130% enhancement, respectively. The enhanced response for interleukin-4 was 3.23 pg/mL (p = 0.06), a 395% enhancement. In atopic subjects there was evidence of an enhanced response when particulates, as compared to clean air, preceded the allergen challenge

Stability of the inverse resonance problem on the line

In the absence of a half-bound state, a compactly supported potential of a Schr\"odinger operator on the line is determined up to a translation by the zeros and poles of the meropmorphically continued left (or right) reflection coefficient. The poles are the eigenvalues and resonances, while the zeros also are physically relevant. We prove that all compactly supported potentials (without half-bound states) that have reflection coefficients whose zeros and poles are \eps-close in some disk centered at the origin are also close (in a suitable sense). In addition, we prove stability of small perturbations of the zero potential (which has a half-bound state) from only the eigenvalues and resonances of the perturbation.Comment: 21 page

Epidemiology, co-infections, and outcomes of viral pneumonia in adults an observational cohort study

Advanced technologies using polymerase-chain reaction have allowed for increased recognition of viral respiratory infections including pneumonia. Co-infections have been described for several respiratory viruses, especially with influenza. Outcomes of viral pneumonia, including cases with co-infections, have not been well described. This was observational cohort study conducted to describe hospitalized patients with viral pneumonia including co-infections, clinical outcomes, and predictors of mortality. Patients admitted from March 2013 to November 2014 with a positive respiratory virus panel (RVP) and radiographic findings of pneumonia within 48 h of the index RVP were included. Co-respiratory infection (CRI) was defined as any organism identification from a respiratory specimen within 3 days of the index RVP. Predictors of in-hospital mortality on univariate analysis were evaluated in a multivariate model. Of 284 patients with viral pneumonia, a majority (51.8%) were immunocompromised. A total of 84 patients (29.6%) were found to have a CRI with 48 (57.6%) having a bacterial CRI. Viral CRI with HSV, CMV, or both occurred in 28 patients (33.3%). Fungal (16.7%) and other CRIs (7.1%) were less common. Many patients required mechanical ventilation (54%) and vasopressor support (36%). Overall in-hospital mortality was high (23.2%) and readmissions were common with several patients re-hospitalized within 30 (21.1%) and 90 days (36.7%) of discharge. Predictors of in-hospital mortality on multivariate regression included severity of illness factors, stem-cell transplant, and identification of multiple respiratory viruses. In conclusion, hospital mortality is high among adult patients with viral pneumonia and patients with multiple respiratory viruses identified may be at a higher risk

Coming to Christ: Narratives of Prayer and Evangelism from Born-Again Christians in Atlanta

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with a Southern Baptist congregation in Atlanta, this thesis analyzes members’ experiences of becoming born-again Christians and their engagement with prayer to explore the affects that permeate the practice of developing a personal relationship with Jesus

Papillary Ductal Plugging Is a Mechanism for Early Stone Retention in Brushite Stone Disease

Purpose Mechanisms of early stone retention in the kidney are under studied and poorly understood. To date attachment via Randall plaque is the only widely accepted theory in this regard, which is best described in idiopathic calcium oxalate stone formers. Brushite stone formers are known to have distinct papillary morphology relative to calcium oxalate stone formers. As such we sought to determine whether stone attachment mechanisms in such patients may be similarly unique. Materials and Methods Patients undergoing percutaneous and or ureteroscopic procedures for stone removal consented to endoscopic renal papillary examination and individual stone collection. Each removed stone was processed using micro computerized tomography to assess the 3-dimensional microstructure and the minerals contained, and search for common structural features indicative of novel mechanisms of early growth and attachment to renal tissue. Results A total of 25 intact brushite stones were removed from 8 patients and analyzed. Video confirmed attachment of 13 of the 25 stones with the remainder believed to have been accidently dislodged during the procedure. Microscopic examination by light and computerized tomography failed to show evidence of Randall plaque associated with any stone containing brushite. Conversely each brushite stone demonstrated microstructural evidence of having grown attached to a ductal plug formed of apatite. Conclusions Three-dimensional analysis of small brushite stones suggests overgrowth on ductal apatite plugs as a mechanism of early stone growth and retention. Such findings represent what is to our knowledge the initial supporting evidence for a novel mechanism of stone formation which has previously been hypothesized but never verified

New Mechanics of Traumatic Brain Injury

The prediction and prevention of traumatic brain injury is a very important aspect of preventive medical science. This paper proposes a new coupled loading-rate hypothesis for the traumatic brain injury (TBI), which states that the main cause of the TBI is an external Euclidean jolt, or SE(3)-jolt, an impulsive loading that strikes the head in several coupled degrees-of-freedom simultaneously. To show this, based on the previously defined covariant force law, we formulate the coupled Newton-Euler dynamics of brain's micro-motions within the cerebrospinal fluid and derive from it the coupled SE(3)-jolt dynamics. The SE(3)-jolt is a cause of the TBI in two forms of brain's rapid discontinuous deformations: translational dislocations and rotational disclinations. Brain's dislocations and disclinations, caused by the SE(3)-jolt, are described using the Cosserat multipolar viscoelastic continuum brain model. Keywords: Traumatic brain injuries, coupled loading-rate hypothesis, Euclidean jolt, coupled Newton-Euler dynamics, brain's dislocations and disclinationsComment: 18 pages, 1 figure, Late

Family Owned Business Fraud: The Silent Thief

The ACFE 2002 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse shows “The per-employee losses from fraud in the smallest businesses are 100 times the amount of their largest counterparts.” Further, major factors contributing to small business fraud include: inadequate employee prescreening; limited controls and too much trust. The focus of the paper is on issues raised by questions such as should family businesses be concerned about fraud and to what extent can control measures be adopted to help reduce losses caused by this condition?  It is an examination of a survey sent to 167 female business owners and their responses to questions about fraud

Governance: Role Of Boards In Women Owned Businesses

According to Astrachan, et al.  (2003), family businesses “generate no less than 64 percent of USA gross domestic product, and … employ a whopping 62 percent of the nation’s work force.” While the economic impact is evident, the state of governance may not be so apparent. In light of this information, two questions bearing examination are: (1) Is governance a critical issue for family owned businesses; (2) If so, how may these firms address these questions? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh developed and administered a survey to collect data about family business boards. A companion study, with its focus on women business owners, was conducted by Meredith College researchers. This paper compares and reports the results

Blastomycosis in the Dog

Blastomycosis is a fungal disease caused by the dimorphic fungal organism, Blastomyces dermatidis. In the tissue or yeast form, the organisms appear as highly refractive, double walled yeast cells which vary from approximately 8-15 microns in diameter. The budding yeast cells show a very characteristic broad attachment. The mold phase is rapid growing and the hyphae branch at right angles