Albuterol metered dose inhaler performance under hyperbaric pressures

Comparative Medicine - OneHealth and Comparative Medicine Poster SessionINTRODUCTION: The stimulus for this presentation was an asthma attack suffered on the first dive by a victim of a severe industrial electrical burn. The patient's response to albuterol metered dose inhaler (MDI) treatment given at depth was felt to have been poor. We thus wondered what the output of these devises (chlorofluorocarbon or CFC) was at therapeutic depth versus normobaria. As the current MDIs were being phased out of use we also wondered what the comparable output characteristics of the replacement MDIs (hydrofluoroalkane or HFA) would be. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The dose and aerosol particle size and number delivered by MDIs were measured in a hyperbaric chamber at pressures ranging from one atmosphere absolute (1 ATA, 0 feet of seawater, fsw, 101 kPa) to three ATA (66 fsw, 304 kPa). Mass delivered was measured by a Sartorius B120 analytical balance, and particle size analysis by a TSI 3080L electrostatic classifier with a TSI 3776 ultrafine condensation particle counter. RESULTS: Dose delivery per actuation by CFC and long canister HFA powered MDIs was 13±1% and 12±1% less, respectively, at 3 ATA compared to 1 ATA. However, dose delivery by short canister HFA MDIs was not significantly changed with pressure. The geometric mean diameters of nano particles from the CFC and short canister HFA MDIs decreased from 50 nm at 0 fsw to 32 nm at 66 fsw whereas the long canister HFA aerosol diameters were not affected. The numbers of nanometer size particles delivered at 66 fsw were only 4-7% of those delivered at 0 fsw for the CFC and long canister HFA MDIs; whereas for the short canister HFAs it was 26%. CONCLUSIONS: The doses of albuterol and the sizes and numbers of aerosol particles emitted from albuterol MDIs actuated in a hyperbaric environment vary by canister type; CFC MDI loss is probably unimportant

Precision Farming by Cotton Producers in Six Southern States: Results from the 2001 Southern Precision Farming Survey

Precision Farming by Cotton Producers in Six Southern States: Results from the 2001 Southern Precision Farming Surveycotton, precision farming, survey, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Precision Farming by Cotton Producers in Eleven Southern States: Results from the 2005 Southern Precision Farming Survey

Precision Farming by Cotton Producers in Eleven Southern States: Results from the 2005 Southern Precision Farming Surveycotton, precision farming, survey, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Psychiatric Outcomes, Functioning, and Participation in Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns at Age 15 Years

Objective To evaluate the prevalence, co-occurrence, sex differences, and functional correlates of DSM-5 psychiatric disorders in 15-year-old adolescents born extremely preterm. Method The Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns (ELGAN) Study is a longitudinal study of children born <28 weeks gestation. At age 15, 670 adolescents completed the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID), the Youth Self-Report, a disability scale of participation in social roles, and cognitive testing. Parents completed a family psychiatric history questionnaire. Results The most prevalent psychiatric disorders were anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and major depression. More girls met criteria for anxiety than boys. Though 66% of participants did not meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder, 15% met criteria for 1, 9% for 2, and 8% for ≥3 psychiatric disorders. Participants with ≥2 psychiatric disorders were more likely to have repeated a grade, to have an individualized educational program, and to have a lower nonverbal IQ than those with no psychiatric disorders. Participants with any psychiatric disorder were more likely to use psychotropic medications; to have greater cognitive and functional impairment; and to have mothers who were single, were on public health insurance, and had less than a high school education. Finally, a positive family psychiatric history was identified more frequently among adolescents with ≥3 psychiatric disorders. Conclusion Among adolescents born extremely preterm, anxiety, major depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were the most prevalent psychiatric disorders at age 15. Adolescents with >1 psychiatric disorder were at increased risk for multiple functional and participatory challenges

Treatment of Periodontitis by Local Administration of Minocycline Microspheres: A Controlled Trial

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141491/1/jper1535.pd

The kepler-19 system: a transiting 2.2 R ⊕ planet and a second planet detected via transit timing variations

We present the discovery of the Kepler-19 planetary system, which we first identified from a 9.3day periodic transit signal in the Kepler photometry. From high-resolution spectroscopy of the star, we find a stellar effective temperature T= 5541 60K, a metallicity [Fe/H] = -0.13 0.06, and a surface gravity log(g) = 4.59 0.10. We combine the estimate of T and [Fe/H] with an estimate of the stellar density derived from the photometric light curve to deduce a stellar mass of M = 0.936 0.040 M and a stellar radius of R = 0.850 0.018 R (these errors do not include uncertainties in the stellar models). We rule out the possibility that the transits result from an astrophysical false positive by first identifying the subset of stellar blends that reproduce the precise shape of the light curve. Using the additional constraints from the measured color of the system, the absence of a secondary source in the high-resolution spectrum, and the absence of a secondary source in the adaptive optics imaging, we conclude that the planetary scenario is more than three orders of magnitude more likely than a blend. The blend scenario is independently disfavored by the achromaticity of the transit: we measure a transit depth with Spitzer at 4.5 μm of 547+113 -110 ppm, consistent with the depth measured in the Kepler optical bandpass of 567 6 ppm (corrected for stellar limb darkening). We determine a physical radius of the planet Kepler-19b of Rp = 2.209 0.048 R ⊕; the uncertainty is dominated by uncertainty in the stellar parameters. From radial velocity observations of the star, we find an upper limit on the planet mass of 20.3 M ⊕, corresponding to a maximum density of 10.4 g cm -3. We report a significant sinusoidal deviation of the transit times from a predicted linear ephemeris, which we conclude is due to an additional perturbing body in the system. We cannot uniquely determine the orbital parameters of the perturber, as various dynamical mechanisms match the amplitude, period, and shape of the transit timing signal and satisfy the host star's radial velocity limits. However, the perturber in these mechanisms has a period ≲ 160days and mass ≲ 6 M Jup, confirming its planetary nature as Kepler-19c. We place limits on the presence of transits of Kepler-19c in the available Kepler data

B-Cyclin/CDKs Regulate Mitotic Spindle Assembly by Phosphorylating Kinesins-5 in Budding Yeast

Although it has been known for many years that B-cyclin/CDK complexes regulate the assembly of the mitotic spindle and entry into mitosis, the full complement of relevant CDK targets has not been identified. It has previously been shown in a variety of model systems that B-type cyclin/CDK complexes, kinesin-5 motors, and the SCFCdc4 ubiquitin ligase are required for the separation of spindle poles and assembly of a bipolar spindle. It has been suggested that, in budding yeast, B-type cyclin/CDK (Clb/Cdc28) complexes promote spindle pole separation by inhibiting the degradation of the kinesins-5 Kip1 and Cin8 by the anaphase-promoting complex (APCCdh1). We have determined, however, that the Kip1 and Cin8 proteins are present at wild-type levels in the absence of Clb/Cdc28 kinase activity. Here, we show that Kip1 and Cin8 are in vitro targets of Clb2/Cdc28 and that the mutation of conserved CDK phosphorylation sites on Kip1 inhibits spindle pole separation without affecting the protein's in vivo localization or abundance. Mass spectrometry analysis confirms that two CDK sites in the tail domain of Kip1 are phosphorylated in vivo. In addition, we have determined that Sic1, a Clb/Cdc28-specific inhibitor, is the SCFCdc4 target that inhibits spindle pole separation in cells lacking functional Cdc4. Based on these findings, we propose that Clb/Cdc28 drives spindle pole separation by direct phosphorylation of kinesin-5 motors

A sub-Mercury-sized exoplanet

Since the discovery of the first exoplanet we have known that other planetary systems can look quite unlike our own. However, until recently we have only been able to probe the upper range of the planet size distribution. The high precision of the Kepler space telescope has allowed us to detect planets that are the size of Earth and somewhat smaller, but no previous planets have been found that are smaller than those we see in our own Solar System. Here we report the discovery of a planet significantly smaller than Mercury. This tiny planet is the innermost of three planets that orbit the Sun-like host star, which we have designated Kepler-37. Owing to its extremely small size, similar to that of Earth's Moon, and highly irradiated surface, Kepler-37b is probably a rocky planet with no atmosphere or water, similar to Mercury.Comment: Accepted and published in Nature (2013 Feb 28). This is the submitted version of paper, merged with the Supplementary Informatio

Fine-mapping of lipid regions in global populations discovers ethnic-specific signals and refines previously identified lipid loci

Genome-wide association studies have identified over 150 loci associated with lipid traits, however, no large-scale studies exist for Hispanics and other minority populations. Additionally, the genetic architecture of lipid-influencing loci remains largely unknown. We performed one of the most racially/ethnically diverse fine-mapping genetic studies of HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides to-date using SNPs on the MetaboChip array on 54,119 individuals: 21,304 African Americans, 19,829 Hispanic Americans, 12,456 Asians, and 530 American Indians. The majority of signals found in these groups generalize to European Americans. While we uncovered signals unique to racial/ethnic populations, we also observed systematically consistent lipid associations across these groups. In African Americans, we identified three novel signals associated with HDL-C (LPL, APOA5, LCAT) and two associated with LDL-C (ABCG8, DHODH). In addition, using this population, we refined the location for 16 out of the 58 known MetaboChip lipid loci. These results can guide tailored screening efforts, reveal population-specific responses to lipid-lowering medications, and aid in the development of new targeted drug therapies

Genetic Determinants of Lipid Traits in Diverse Populations from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study

For the past five years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common variants associated with human diseases and traits, including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) levels. Approximately 95 loci associated with lipid levels have been identified primarily among populations of European ancestry. The Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study was established in 2008 to characterize GWAS–identified variants in diverse population-based studies. We genotyped 49 GWAS–identified SNPs associated with one or more lipid traits in at least two PAGE studies and across six racial/ethnic groups. We performed a meta-analysis testing for SNP associations with fasting HDL-C, LDL-C, and ln(TG) levels in self-identified European American (∼20,000), African American (∼9,000), American Indian (∼6,000), Mexican American/Hispanic (∼2,500), Japanese/East Asian (∼690), and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian (∼175) adults, regardless of lipid-lowering medication use. We replicated 55 of 60 (92%) SNP associations tested in European Americans at p<0.05. Despite sufficient power, we were unable to replicate ABCA1 rs4149268 and rs1883025, CETP rs1864163, and TTC39B rs471364 previously associated with HDL-C and MAFB rs6102059 previously associated with LDL-C. Based on significance (p<0.05) and consistent direction of effect, a majority of replicated genotype-phentoype associations for HDL-C, LDL-C, and ln(TG) in European Americans generalized to African Americans (48%, 61%, and 57%), American Indians (45%, 64%, and 77%), and Mexican Americans/Hispanics (57%, 56%, and 86%). Overall, 16 associations generalized across all three populations. For the associations that did not generalize, differences in effect sizes, allele frequencies, and linkage disequilibrium offer clues to the next generation of association studies for these traits