Ariel - Volume 1 Number 2

Copyright 1969 Arie

Paradoxical emboli from calf and pelvic veins in cryptogenic stroke.

PURPOSE: The increased prevalence of patent foramen ovale in patients with cryptogenic strokes suggests the occurrence of paradoxical embolism. The identification of deep venous thromboses (DVTs) in this population would strengthen this hypothesis. The purpose of this study was to image the subdiaphragmatic venous system in a cohort of patients with cryptogenic strokes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 37 patients with cryptogenic brain ischemia and interatrial communication, duplex studies of calf, popliteal, and femoral veins, and magnetic resonance imaging venograms of the pelvis veins were performed. RESULTS: In 10 patients, DVTs were diagnosed that were considered to be the cause of cryptogenic brain ischemia on probable (n = 6) or possible (n = 4) bases. In these patients, the median time from stroke to DVT was 3.25 days. In 5 of these 10 patients, DVTs did not involve popliteal and femoral veins, areas thought most important to pulmonary embolism, but instead were isolated to calf or pelvic veins. Although none of these 10 patients had abnormal blood hypercoagulation tests, 8 of the 10 did have clinical conditions suggesting predisposition to developing DVTs, such as concomitant neoplasms or pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSIONS: Increased evidence for paradoxical embolism may emerge when diagnostic strategies use multiple imaging methods and evaluate a broad extent of the subdiaphragmatic veins

Immune response to rabies vaccination in pediatric transplant patients

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75049/1/j.1399-3046.2008.00936.x.pd

Do robotic and non-robotic arm movement training drive motor recovery after stroke by a common neural mechanism? Experimental evidence and a computational model.

Different dose-matched, upper extremity rehabilitation training techniques, including robotic and non-robotic techniques, can result in similar improvement in movement ability after stroke, suggesting they may elicit a common drive for recovery. Here we report experimental results that support the hypothesis of a common drive, and develop a computational model of a putative neural mechanism for the common drive. We compared weekly motor control recovery during robotic and unassisted movement training techniques after chronic stroke (n = 27), as assessed with quantitative measures of strength, speed, and coordination. The results showed that recovery in both groups followed an exponential time course with a time constant of about 4-5 weeks. Despite the greater range and speed of movement practiced by the robot group, motor recovery was very similar between the groups. The premise of the computational model is that improvements in motor control are caused by improvements in the ability to activate spared portions of the damaged corticospinal system, as learned by a biologically plausible search algorithm. Robot-assisted and unassisted training would in theory equally drive this search process

Determination of the chemical environment of sulphur in petroleum asphaltenes by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Sulphur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra are analysed for a diverse series of petroleum asphaltenes. The spectra of the asphaltenes are interpreted by fitting with a linear superposition of model compound spectra. This analysis procedure is shown to work quite well in a stringent test case. The reduced forms of sulphur, thiophenes and sulphides dominate in all of the asphaltenes. Generally, the sulphoxide group is the most dominant form of the oxidized sulphur. Comparison of the X-ray data with the elemental composition of the asphaltenes shows that the sulphur and oxygen are preferentially bonded to each other. The inverse dependence of the oxygen-sulphur correlation with the fraction of sulphur which is sulphide suggests that oxidation of sulphur occurs preferentially at the sulphide group.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30280/1/0000681.pd

Traditional and Health-Related Philanthropy: The Role of Resources and Personality

I study the relationships of resources and personality characteristics to charitable giving, postmortem organ donation, and blood donation in a nationwide sample of persons in households in the Netherlands. I find that specific personality characteristics are related to specific types of giving: agreeableness to blood donation, empathic concern to charitable giving, and prosocial value orientation to postmortem organ donation. I find that giving has a consistently stronger relation to human and social capital than to personality. Human capital increases giving; social capital increases giving only when it is approved by others. Effects of prosocial personality characteristics decline at higher levels of these characteristics. Effects of empathic concern, helpfulness, and social value orientations on generosity are mediated by verbal proficiency and church attendance.

Androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer genomic subtypes

While many prostate cancer (PCa) cases remain indolent and treatable, others are aggressive and progress to the metastatic stage where there are limited curative therapies. Androgen receptor (AR) signaling remains an important pathway for proliferative and survival programs in PCa, making disruption of AR signaling a viable therapy option. However, most patients develop resistance to AR-targeted therapies or inherently never respond. The field has turned to PCa genomics to aid in stratifying high risk patients, and to better understand the mechanisms driving aggressive PCa and therapy resistance. While alterations to the AR gene itself occur at later stages, genomic changes at the primary stage can affect the AR axis and impact response to AR-directed therapies. Here, we review common genomic alterations in primary PCa and their influence on AR function and activity. Through a meta-analysis of multiple independent primary PCa databases, we also identified subtypes of significantly co-occurring alterations and examined their combinatorial effects on the AR axis. Further, we discussed the subsequent implications for response to AR-targeted therapies and other treatments. We identified multiple primary PCa genomic subtypes, and given their differing effects on AR activity, patient tumor genetics may be an important stratifying factor for AR therapy resistance.</p

Cathodic Protection of the Yaquina Bay Bridge

The Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Oregon, was designed by Conde B. McCullough and built in 1936. The 3,223-foot (982 m) structure is a combination of concrete arch approach spans and a steel through arch over the shipping channel. Cathodic protection is used to prevent corrosion damage to the concrete arches. The Oregon Department of Transportation (Oregon DOT) installed a carbon anode coating (DAC-85) on two of the north approach spans in 1985. This anode was operated at a current density of 6.6 mA/m2(0.6 mA/ft2). No failure of the conductive anode was observed in 1990, five years after application, or in 2000, 15 years after application. Thermal-sprayed zinc anodes 20 mils (0.5 mm) thick were applied to half the south approach spans beginning in 1990. Thermal-sprayed zinc anodes 15 mils (0.4 mm) thick were applied to the remaining spans in 1996. These anodes were operated at a current density of 2.2 mA/m2(0.2 mA/ft2). In 1999, four zones on the approach spans were included in a two-year field trial of humectants to improve zinc anode performance. The humectants LiNO3 and LiBr were applied to two zones; the two adjacent zones were left untreated as controls. The humectants substantially reduced circuit resistance compared to the controls