Treatment of Advanced Emphysema with Emphysematous Lung Sealant (AeriSeal (R))

Background: This report summarizes initial tests of an emphysematous lung synthetic polymer sealant (ELS) designed to reduce lung volume in patients with advanced emphysema. Objectives: The primary study objective was to define a therapeutic strategy to optimize treatment safety and effectiveness. Methods: ELS therapy was administered bronchoscopically to 25 patients with heterogeneous emphysema in an open-label, noncontrolled study at 6 centers in Germany. Treatment was performed initially at 2-4 subsegments. After 12 weeks, patients were eligible for repeat therapy to a total of 6 sites. Safety and efficacy were assessed after 6 months. Responses were evaluated in terms of changes from baseline in lung physiology, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life. Follow-up is available for 21 of 25 patients. Results: Treatment was well tolerated. There were no treatment-related deaths (i.e. within 90 days of treatment), and an acceptable short-and long-term safety profile. Physiological and clinical benefits were observed at 24 weeks. Efficacy responses were better among Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage III patients {[}n = 14; change in residual volume/total lung capacity (Delta RV/TLC) = -7.4 +/- 10.3%; Delta forced expiratory volume in 1 s (Delta FEV(1)) = +15.9 +/- 22.6%; change in forced vital capacity (Delta FVC) = +24.1 +/- 22.7%; change in carbon monoxide lung diffusion capacity (Delta DLCO) = +19.3 +/- 34.8%; change in 6-min walk test (Delta 6MWD) = +28.7 +/- 59.6 m; change in Medical Research Council Dyspnea (Delta MRCD) score = -1.0 +/- 1.04 units; change in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (Delta SGRQ) score = -9.9 +/- 15.3 units] than for GOLD stage IV patients (n = 7; Delta RV/TLC = -0.5 +/- 6.4%; Delta FEV 1 = +2.3 +/- 12.3%; Delta FVC = +2.6 +/- 21.1%; Delta DLCO = -2.8 +/- 17.2%; Delta 6MWD = +28.3 +/- 58.4 m; Delta MRCD = 0.3 +/- 0.81 units; Delta SGRQ = -6.7 +/- 7.0 units). Conclusions: ELS therapy shows promise for treating patients with advanced heterogeneous emphysema. Additional studies to assess responses in a larger cohort with a longer follow-up are warranted. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Extending the behavioral immune system to political psychology: Are political conservativism and disgust sensitivity really related

Previous research suggests that several individual and cultural level attitudes, cognitions, and societal structures may have evolved to mitigate the pathogen threats posed by intergroup interactions. It has been suggested that these anti-pathogen defenses are at the root of conservative political ideology. Here, we test a hypothesis that political conservatism functions as a pathogen-avoidance strategy. Across three studies, we consistently find no relationship between sensitivity to pathogen disgust and multiple measures of political conservatism. These results are contrasted with theoretical perspectives suggesting a relationship between conservatism and pathogen avoidance, and with previous findings of a relationship between conservatism and disgust sensitivity

The ZEUS Forward Plug Calorimeter with Lead-Scintillator Plates and WLS Fiber Readout

A Forward Plug Calorimeter (FPC) for the ZEUS detector at HERA has been built as a shashlik lead-scintillator calorimeter with wave length shifter fiber readout. Before installation it was tested and calibrated using the X5 test beam facility of the SPS accelerator at CERN. Electron, muon and pion beams in the momentum range of 10 to 100 GeV/c were used. Results of these measurements are presented as well as a calibration monitoring system based on a $^{60}$Co source.Comment: 38 pages (Latex); 26 figures (ps

Riparian Restoration, Success Criteria, and Application to the BART Sabrecat Creek Riparian Restoration Project in Fremont, California

Riparian restoration is a complex, inter-disciplinary field that is open to interpretation by its practitioners. This research reviews some of the critical elements of riparian restoration, including the watershed, surrounding land use, adjacent habitat, and riparian buffers; special-status species, endangered species, and habitat type and structure; invasive species control; water quality and hydrology; and soil and soil microbial communities. Three methods of evaluating restoration projects are discussed, including the Society for Ecological Restoration International Primer, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual and CDFW permitting, and the California Rapid Assessment Method. Finally, the BART Sabrecat Creek Riparian Restoration Project is evaluated using the SER Primer

Acceleration of heavy and light particles in turbulence: comparison between experiments and direct numerical simulations

We compare experimental data and numerical simulations for the dynamics of inertial particles with finite density in turbulence. In the experiment, bubbles and solid particles are optically tracked in a turbulent flow of water using an Extended Laser Doppler Velocimetry technique. The probability density functions (PDF) of particle accelerations and their auto-correlation in time are computed. Numerical results are obtained from a direct numerical simulation in which a suspension of passive pointwise particles is tracked, with the same finite density and the same response time as in the experiment. We observe a good agreement for both the variance of acceleration and the autocorrelation timescale of the dynamics; small discrepancies on the shape of the acceleration PDF are observed. We discuss the effects induced by the finite size of the particles, not taken into account in the present numerical simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Large scale cosmic-ray anisotropy with KASCADE

The results of an analysis of the large scale anisotropy of cosmic rays in the PeV range are presented. The Rayleigh formalism is applied to the right ascension distribution of extensive air showers measured by the KASCADE experiment.The data set contains about 10^8 extensive air showers in the energy range from 0.7 to 6 PeV. No hints for anisotropy are visible in the right ascension distributions in this energy range. This accounts for all showers as well as for subsets containing showers induced by predominantly light respectively heavy primary particles. Upper flux limits for Rayleigh amplitudes are determined to be between 10^-3 at 0.7 PeV and 10^-2 at 6 PeV primary energy.Comment: accepted by The Astrophysical Journa

Circulation and Oxygen Distribution in the Tropical Atlantic Cruise No. 80, Leg 1; October 26 to November 23, 2009 Mindelo (Cape Verde) to Mindelo (Cape Verde)

METEOR cruise 80/1 was a contribution to the SFB 754 “Climate-Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean”. Shipboard, glider and moored observations are used to study the temporal and spatial variability of physical and biogeochemical parameters within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the tropical North Atlantic. As part of the BMBF “Nordatlantik” project, it further focuses on the equatorial current system including the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and intermediate currents below. During the cruise, hydrographic station observations were performed using a CTD/O2 rosette, including water sampling for salinity, oxygen, nutrients and other biogeochemical tracers. Underway current measurements were successfully carried out with the 75 kHz ADCP borrowed from R/V POSEIDON during the first part of the cruise, and R/V METEOR’s 38 kHz ADCP during the second part. During M80/1, an intensive mooring program was carried out with 8 mooring recoveries and 8 mooring deployments. Right at the beginning of the cruise, a multidisciplinary mooring near the Cape Verde Islands was recovered and redeployed. Within the framework of SFB 754, two moorings with CTD/O2 profilers were recovered and redeployed with other instrumentation in the center and at the southern rim of the OMZ of the tropical North Atlantic. The equatorial mooring array as part of BMBF “North Atlantic” project consists of 5 current meter moorings along 23°W between 2°S and 2°N. It is aimed at quantifying the variability of the thermocline water supply toward the equatorial cold tongue which develops east of 10°W during boreal summer. Several glider missions were performed during the cruise. One glider was recovered that was deployed two months earlier. Another glider was deployed for two short term missions, near the equator for about 8 days and near 8°N for one day. This glider was equipped with a new microstructure probe in addition to standard sensors, i.e. CTD/O2, chlorophyll and turbidity

Disgust sensitivity is not associated with health in a rural Bangladeshi sample.

Disgust can be considered a psychological arm of the immune system that acts to prevent exposure to infectious agents. High disgust sensitivity is associated with greater behavioral avoidance of disease vectors and thus may reduce infection risk. A cross-sectional survey in rural Bangladesh provided no strong support for this hypothesis. In many species, the expression of pathogen- and predator-avoidance mechanisms is contingent on early life exposure to predators and pathogens. Using childhood health data collected in the 1990s, we examined if adults with more infectious diseases in childhood showed greater adult disgust sensitivity: no support for this association was found. Explanations for these null finding and possible directions for future research are discussed