Mechanisms of continence and surgical cure in female and male SUI: Surgical research initiatives

Aims To report the conclusions of the Think Tank on mechanisms of incontinence and surgical cure in female and male SUI: surgical research initiatives during the ICI‐RS meeting in 2010. Methods The sub‐group considered five areas for future research in stress urinary incontinence (SUI); (i) epidemiology and public health efforts in SUI, (ii) the basic sciences examining the physiology and pathophysiology of the continence mechanism, (iii) diagnostic techniques and clinical assessment of SUI, (iv) the future of treatment and surgical cure, and (v) the separate issue of male SUI. Results Roadblocks to progress were identified for each of the five directions. Conclusions Future research directions are suggested for each of these areas. Neurourol. Urodynam. 30:704–707, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87181/1/21139_ftp.pd

Rapid Oscillations in Cataclysmic Variables. XV. HT Camelopardalis (= RX J0757.0+6306)

We present photometry and spectroscopy of HT Camelopardalis, a recently discovered X-ray-bright cataclysmic variable. The spectrum shows bright lines of H, He I, and He II, all moving with a period of 0.059712(1) d, which we interpret as the orbital period. The star's brightness varies with a strict period of 515.0592(2) s, and a mean full amplitude of 0.11 mag. These properties qualify it as a /bona fide/ DQ Herculis star (intermediate polar) -- in which the magnetism of the rapidly rotating white dwarf channels accretion flow to the surface. Normally at V=17.8, the star shows rare and very brief outbursts to V=12-13. We observed one in December 2001, and found that the 515 s pulse amplitude had increased by a factor of ~100 (in flux units). A transient orbital signal may also have appeared.Comment: PDF, 19 pages, 3 tables, 6 figures; accepted, in press, to appear June 2002, PASP; more info at http://cba.phys.columbia.edu

Estimating carbon stocks in stands of Podocarpus cunninghamii in the eastern South Island high country of New Zealand

The Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector of the Kyoto Protocol requires New Zealand to monitor changes in the country's carbon stocks, including those within indigenous forests. Podocarpus cunninghamii Colenso was, in pre-human times, a dominant tree species within the forests of the South Island high country. Anthropogenic disturbance, primarily fire, has converted most of these forests to grassland. Despite this mass deforestation, remnant stands of Podocarpus cunninghamii still exist, and may represent important point sinks of carbon. This study provides first estimates of existing above- and below-ground carbon stocks in high country stands of Podocarpus cunninghamii and presents a preliminary model of Podocarpus cunninghamii carbon sequestration rate. Carbon stocks within high country stands of Podocarpus cunninghamii range from 7.3 t ha in the drylands to 130.1 t ha in the wetter areas. Estimates based on tree ring widths indicate a high country-wide Podocarpus cunninghamii carbon sequestration rate of 0.1 - 0.5 t ha yr for 250 - 1000 stems ha , respectively

The Progression of β-amyloid Deposition in the Frontal Cortex of the Aged Canine

Brains from 41 aged canines (≥10 years of age) were examined immunohistochemically to characterize the laminar distribution and age-related progression of β-amyloid (Aβ) in frontal cortex. We classified the Aβ patterns into four distinct types. Type I was characterized by small, faint deposits of Aβ in deep cortical layers. Type II consisted of diffuse deposits of Aβ mainly in layers V and VI. Type III had both dense plaques in superficial layers, and diffuse deposits in deep layers. Finally, Type IV had solely dense plaques throughout all layers of cortex. We compared the Aβ distribution pattern between the Old canines (10–15 years, n=22) and the Very Old canines (\u3e15 years, n=19). The Old group primarily had negative staining, or Type I and Type II patterns of amyloid deposition (73%). Conversely, the Very Old group had predominantly Types II, III and IV deposits (89.5%), a difference that was significant (Pβ deposition in canine frontal cortex is a progressive age-related process beginning with diffuse deposits in the deep cortical layers followed by the development of deposits in outer layers. In support of this hypothesis, the deeper layer diffuse plaques in the Very Old group of dogs also contain the largest proportion of β-amyloid with an isomerized aspartic acid residue at position 7, indicating that these deposits had been present for some time. We also observed fiber-like Aβ immunoreactivity within regions of diffuse Aβ deposits. These fibers appeared to be degenerating neurites, which were negative for hyperphosphorylated tau. Therefore, these fibers may represent a very early form of neuritic change that precede tau hyperphosphorylation or develop by an alternative pathway

Constellation array in scorpion genera \u3cem\u3eParuroctonus\u3c/em\u3e, \u3cem\u3eSmeringurus\u3c/em\u3e, \u3cem\u3eVejovoidus\u3c/em\u3e, and \u3cem\u3eParavaejovis\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae)

The constellation array (a recently discovered sensory structure on the fixed finger of pedipalp; Fet et al., 2006) is analyzed for a large set of species belonging to four genera in the family Vaejovidae: Paruroctonus, Smeringurus, Vejovoidus, and Paravaejovis. It is shown that this structure is an important taxonomic character. Two distinct configurations are identified, a two-sensilla array for Paruroctonus + Smeringurus + Vejovoidus and a three-sensilla array for genus Paravejovis, both differing from other vaejovid configurations so far investigated. The topology of these two array configurations are analyzed using landmark setae identified in this study

Explorations, Vol. 1, No. 1

Welcome to the first issue of Explorations, A Journal of Research at the University of Maine at Orono. Join us as we explore a representative selection of the pure and applied research of our faculty. At UMO, we believe that research can capture the imagination and invigorate the mind, as well as contribute directly to the quality of life of the citizens we serve. In this first issue, we have selected four areas of research that span the disciplines of biological and environmental sciences and the arts. This is but a small part of the research conducted by the faculty at UMO where research, teaching and public service activities support baccalaureate degree study in more than 85 fields and graduate study at the master’s and doctoral levels in more than 50 fields. Articles include: The DNA Molecule: Mapping its Mysteries, by R.D. Blake. The double helix is a thing of habit: simple computer programs are providing molecular biologists with portraits of the evolution of organisms and species. The Larch: Avoiding a critical shortage, by Katherine Carter. The curtain is rising on a stage set by a spruce budworm epidemic 70 years ago; clones from exotic larches may halt an economic tragedy. The Medieval Oliphant: Its Function and Meaning in Romanesque Secular Art, by David MacKinnon Ebitz. Rarely mentioned in art histories, elephant tusk sculpture added stateliness and grace to noble courts of the Middle Ages. RADON: noble gas? by Carole J. Bombard assisted by Stephen A. Norton. With epidemiological research in Maine, the United States becomes one of only three countries conducting studies to find the causal relationship between radon and cancer

LucID: A Multimedia Educational Tool for Identification and Diagnostics

LucID is a multimedia expert system designed specifically to help users make a correct identification of a biological specimen or to correctly diagnose a particular problem. The program comes in two parts, a builder used in the creation of keys, and a player that enables the user to identify specimens or to diagnose a problem using the key. A major feature of LucID is its ease of use. This and other features of LucID are described and a number of examples are provided of how LucID is being used for identification and diagnosis, and to access information relevant to the item that is keyed-out. The role LucID is playing in recent decision support and training systems is outlined. Future possibilities for LucID are explored, including the role it can play in distance education, in training users to make accurate observations, and in teaching the logical processes involved in creating keys

Early impact of Medicare accountable care organizations on cancer surgery outcomes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134271/1/cncr30111.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134271/2/cncr30111_am.pd