Standing to Sue Under the Model Land Development Code

The Model Land Development Code was promulgated by the American Law Institute as the paradigm for state legislatures to follow when enacting land use laws for the future. The Code is not intended to create uniformity among state laws. Instead, states may use the articles of the Code as models in drafting legislation that is more specifically suited to their needs. Article Nine, which states rules of standing to participate in land use disputes, poses a potential obstacle to would-be public interest litigants. This note will explore the effect of Article Nine on citizen plaintiffs and demonstrate how its ambiguous language, when combined with the particularized laws of standing in individual states, can produce widely divergent effects on the ability of public interest parties to gain access to the courts

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Infected CCR6+ Rectal CD4+ T Cells and HIV Persistence On Antiretroviral Therapy.

BackgroundIdentifying where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persists in people living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy is critical to develop cure strategies. We assessed the relationship of HIV persistence to expression of chemokine receptors and their chemokines in blood (n = 48) and in rectal (n = 20) and lymph node (LN; n = 8) tissue collected from people living with HIV who were receiving suppressive antiretroviral therapy.MethodsCell-associated integrated HIV DNA, unspliced HIV RNA, and chemokine messenger RNA were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Chemokine receptor expression on CD4+ T cells was determined using flow cytometry.ResultsIntegrated HIV DNA levels in CD4+ T cells, CCR6+CXCR3+ memory CD4+ T-cell frequency, and CCL20 expression (ligand for CCR6) were highest in rectal tissue, where HIV-infected CCR6+ T cells accounted for nearly all infected cells (median, 89.7%). Conversely in LN tissue, CCR6+ T cells were infrequent, and there was a statistically significant association of cell-associated HIV DNA and RNA with CCL19, CCL21, and CXCL13 chemokines.ConclusionsHIV-infected CCR6+ CD4+ T cells accounted for the majority of infected cells in rectal tissue. The different relationships between HIV persistence and T-cell subsets and chemokines in rectal and LN tissue suggest that different tissue-specific strategies may be required to eliminate HIV persistence and that assessment of biomarkers for HIV persistence may not be generalizable between blood and other tissues

Is Semantic Vigilance Impaired by Narrative Memory Demands? Theory and Applications

OBJECTIVE: Two verbal tasks were utilized in a dual-task paradigm to explore performance theories and prior dual-tasking results. BACKGROUND: Both the decline in vigilance performance over time, or vigilance decrement, and limited dual-tasking ability may be explained by limited mental resources. Resource theorists would recommend removing task demands to avoid cognitive overload, while mindlessness theorists may recommend adding engaging task demands to prevent boredom. Prior research demonstrated interference between a verbal free recall and semantic vigilance task, but exploring tasks with greater ecological validity is necessary. METHOD: A narrative memory task and semantic vigilance task were performed individually and simultaneously. Relative performance impairments were compared to a previous dual-task pairing. RESULTS: The semantic vigilance task caused performance degradation to the narrative memory task and vice versa. A vigilance decrement was not observed, and the interference was to a lesser extent than when the semantic vigilance task was paired with a free recall task. CONCLUSION: Resource theory was supported, though passive learning effects during a semantic vigilance task with novel stimuli may prevent a vigilance decrement. The interference was less than that of a previous similar dual-task pairing, but even tasks as routine as listening to a conversation or story can impair other task performance. APPLICATION: A better understanding of resource theory and dual-task performance outcomes can help inform feasible task loads and improve efficiency and safety of operators in high-risk and other professions

Screening for Gynecologic Conditions With Pelvic Examination US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

IMPORTANCE Many conditions that can affect women\u27s health are often evaluated through pelvic examination. Although the pelvic examination is a common part of the physical examination, it is unclear whether performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic women has a significant effect on disease morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To issue a new US Preventive Services Task Force(USPSTF) recommendation on screening for gynecologic conditions with pelvic examination for conditions other than cervical cancer, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, for which the USPSTF has already made specific recommendations. EVIDENCE REVIEW The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the accuracy, benefits, and potential harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women 18 years and older who are not at increased risk for any specific gynecologic condition. FINDINGS Overall, the USPSTF found inadequate evidence on screening pelvic examinations for the early detection and treatment of a range of gynecologic conditions in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women. (I statement) This statement does not apply to specific disorders for which the USPSTF already recommends screening (ie, screening for cervical cancer with a Papanicolaou smear, screening for gonorrhea and chlamydia)

Persistence of Natural Killer (NK) cell lymphocytosis with hyposplenism without development of leukaemia

BACKGROUND: Natural killer (NK) cell lymphocytosis usually has an indolent course and can progress into massive lymphocytosis with development of cytopenias and neoplastic diseases. NK-cells usually express one or more "NK-associated" antigens (CD16, CD56, CD57). Reactive expansions are seen in autoimmune diseases, viral infections, solid tumours and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a lady with a benign clinical course over 10 years and persistent CD8+/CD3-/CD57+/CD16+ LGL proliferation with presence of Howell-Jolly bodies (functional hyposplenism), an association not previously described. CONCLUSION: We discuss the possible causes of clonal expansion and conclude that this may be part of the spectrum of immune dysregulation associated with NK-cell lymphocytosis

Boolean network simulations for life scientists

Modern life sciences research increasingly relies on computational solutions, from large scale data analyses to theoretical modeling. Within the theoretical models Boolean networks occupy an increasing role as they are eminently suited at mapping biological observations and hypotheses into a mathematical formalism. The conceptual underpinnings of Boolean modeling are very accessible even without a background in quantitative sciences, yet it allows life scientists to describe and explore a wide range of surprisingly complex phenomena. In this paper we provide a clear overview of the concepts used in Boolean simulations, present a software library that can perform these simulations based on simple text inputs and give three case studies. The large scale simulations in these case studies demonstrate the Boolean paradigms and their applicability as well as the advanced features and complex use cases that our software package allows. Our software is distributed via a liberal Open Source license and is freely accessible fro

TP53 and MDM2 single nucleotide polymorphisms influence survival in non-del(5q) myelodysplastic syndromes

Abstract:P53 is a key regulator of many cellular processes and is negatively regulated by the human homolog of murine double minute-2 (MDM2) E3 ubiquitin ligase. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of either gene alone, and in combination, are linked to cancer susceptibility, disease progression, and therapy response. We analyzed the interaction of TP53 R72P and MDM2 SNP309 SNPs in relationship to outcome in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Sanger sequencing was performed on DNA isolated from 208 MDS cases. Utilizing a novel functional SNP scoring system ranging from +2 to -2 based on predicted p53 activity, we found statistically significant differences in overall survival (OS) (p = 0.02) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.02) in non-del(5q) MDS patients with low functional scores. In univariate analysis, only IPSS and the functional SNP score predicted OS and PFS in non-del(5q) patients. In multivariate analysis, the functional SNP score was independent of IPSS for OS and PFS. These data underscore the importance of TP53 R72P and MDM2 SNP309 SNPs in MDS, and provide a novel scoring system independent of IPSS that is predictive for disease outcome