Physiologic studies in normal and uremic sheep: I. The experimental model

Physiologic studies in normal and uremic sheep: I. The experimental model. A model of chronic renal failure was created in nine adult sheep by two-stage, subtotal nephrectomy. Carotid-jugular cannulas provided clot-free access for 72 to 274 days without exit-site infections. All sheep became uremic and anemic. Median survival, while uremic, was 145 days (72 to 327 days), although three were sacrificed. Five required dialysis within the first week of uremia, and median survival on dialysis was 70 days (41 to 177 days). Sheep that maintained adequate nutrition survived the longest on dialysis. Mean creatinine and BUN levels in the stable uremic and dialyzed sheep were 4.8/95 and 7.8/59 mg/dl, respectively. The other serum chemistries remained unchanged (mean values) from normal, although one sheep died of hypercalcemia (17.8 mg/dl). Renal blood flow correlated to GFR in both normal and uremic states. GFR fell more than serum creatinine rose, suggesting extrarenal excretion of creatinine.Etudes physiologiques chez le mouton normal et urémique: I. Le modèle expérimental. Un modèle d'insuffisance rénale chronique a été créé chez neuf moutons adultes par néphrectomie subtotale en deux étapes. Des canules carotido-jugulaires ont permis un accès sans coagulation pendant 72 à 274 jours sans qu'il y ait d'infection aux lieux de pénétration. Tous les moutons sont devenus urémiques et anémiques. La survie médiane, au cours de l'urémie, a été de 145 jours (72 à 327 jours) bien que trois d'entre eux aient été sacrifiés. Cinq ont dû être dialysés dès la première semaine de l'urémie et la survie médiane en dialyse a été de 70 jours (41 à 177 jours). Les animaux qui ont eu une alimentation adéquate ont eu la survie la plus longue en dialyse. Les concentrations moyennes de créatinine et d'azote uréique dans l'urémie stable et chez les moutons dialysés étaient de 4,8/95 et 7,8/59 mg/dl, respectivement. Les autres valeurs plasmatiques moyennes n'étaient pas différentes de la normale bien qu'un mouton soit mort d'hypercalcémie (17,8 mg/dl). Le débit sanguin rénal était corrélé au débit de filtration glomérulaire dans ces situations normales et urémiques. Le débit de filtration glomérulaire a diminué plus que la créatininémie n'a augmenté, ce qui suggère une excrétion extra-rénale de créatinine

The Role of Neighborhood Characteristics in Late Stage Melanoma Diagnosis Among Hispanic Men in California, Texas, and Florida, 1996-2012

Background. Hispanics diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma are more likely to present at advanced stages but the reasons for this are unknown. We identify census tracts at high risk for late stage melanoma diagnosis (LSMD) and examine the contextual predictors of LSMD in California, Texas, and Florida. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study using geocoded state cancer registry data. Using hierarchical multilevel logistic regression models we estimated ORs and 95% confidence intervals for the impact of socioeconomic, Hispanic ethnic concentration, index of dissimilarity, and health resource availability measures on LSMD. Results. We identified 12,493 cases. In California, late stage cases were significantly more likely to reside within census tracts composed mostly of Hispanics and immigrants. In Texas, LSMD was associated with residence in areas of socioeconomic deprivation and a higher proportion of immigrants. In Florida, living in areas of low education attainment, high levels of poverty, and a high percentage of Hispanic residents was significantly associated with LSMD. Residential segregation did not independently affect LSMD. Conclusion. The influence of contextual predictors on LSMD varied in magnitude and strength by state, highlighting both the cosegregation of social adversity and poverty and the complexity of their interactions

The Risk of Bias in Validity and Reliability Studies Testing Physiological Variables using Consumer-Grade Wearable Technology: A Systematic Review and WEAR-BOT Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Wearable technology is a quickly evolving field, and new devices with new features to measure/estimate physiological variables are being released constantly. Despite their use, the validity of the devices are largely unknown to the users or researchers, and the quality of the studies that do test validity and reliability vary widely. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to review the current validity and reliability literature concerning consumer-grade wearable technology measurements/estimates of physiological variables during exercise. Additionally, we sought to perform risk of bias assessments utilizing the novel WEArable technology Risk of Bias and Objectivity Tool (WEAR-BOT). METHODS: This review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, searching 3 databases: Google Scholar, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus. After screening, 46 papers were identified that met the pre-determined criteria. Then data was extracted and risk of bias assessment performed by independent researchers. Descriptive statistics, weighted averages of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and Pearson correlations were calculated. Sample size statistics were performed utilizing the lower 95% confidence interval of the weighted correlation average. RESULTS: Of the 46 papers reviewed, 44 performed validity testing, while 9 performed reliability. The weighted average for MAPE was 12.48% for heart rate (HR) and 30.70% for energy expenditure (EE). The weighted average for Pearson correlations was 0.737 for HR and 0.672 for EE. Risk of bias assessment of validity studies resulted in 30/44 studies being classified as having a “High Risk of Bias”, and 14/44 having “Some Risk of Bias”. None had a “Low Risk of Bias”, according to the novel WEAR-BOT. For reliability studies, 7/9 were classified as “High Risk of Bias”, 2 as “Some Risk of Bias”, and 0 as “Low Risk of Bias”. CONCLUSION: The risk of bias assessment and descriptive statistics paint a troubling picture of the overall state of validity and reliability studies. Statistical analyses, methods, and reporting vary excessively. This review and associated WEAR-BOT analysis can be used by researchers to help standardize methodology, analytics, and reporting of validation and reliability studies of consumer-grade wearable technology

Melanoma Disparities among US Hispanics: Use of the Social Ecological Model to Contextualize Reasons for Inequitable Outcomes and Frame a Research Agenda

Cutaneous melanoma is a significant public health concern, accounting for thousands of deaths annually in the US. Early detection and diagnosis are critical given the poor prognosis and limited treatment options of advanced-stage disease. While non-Hispanic whites have higher incidence rates of melanoma, Hispanics are typically diagnosed at later disease stages and suffer higher morbidity and mortality. Currently, there is a paucity of literature investigating the root causes underlying these trends among Hispanics. Given that Hispanics are the most rapidly expanding demographic segment in the US, it is essential for cancer control efforts to elucidate the major determinants of their poor melanoma outcomes. Herein, we use the social ecological model as a framework to explore the multitude of influences on melanoma disparities among Hispanics and provide recommendations for planning future studies and interventions

Ice-condenser aerosol tests

This report presents the results of an experimental investigation of aerosol particle transport and capture using a full-scale height and reduced-scale cross section test facility based on the design of the ice compartment of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) ice-condenser containment system. Results of 38 tests included thermal-hydraulic as well as aerosol particle data. Particle retention in the test section was greatly influenced by thermal-hydraulic and aerosol test parameters. Test-average decontamination factor (DF) ranged between 1.0 and 36 (retentions between {approximately}0 and 97.2%). The measured test-average particle retentions for tests without and with ice and steam ranged between DF = 1.0 and 2.2 and DF = 2.4 and 36, respectively. In order to apparent importance, parameters that caused particle retention in the test section in the presence of ice were steam mole fraction (SMF), noncondensible gas flow rate (residence time), particle solubility, and inlet particle size. Ice-basket section noncondensible flows greater than 0.1 m{sup 3}/s resulted in stable thermal stratification whereas flows less than 0.1 m{sup 3}/s resulted in thermal behavior termed meandering with frequent temperature crossovers between flow channels. 10 refs., 66 figs., 16 tabs

Rationale and design of the oral HEMe iron polypeptide Against Treatment with Oral Controlled Release Iron Tablets trial for the correction of anaemia in peritoneal dialysis patients (HEMATOCRIT trial)

Background: The main hypothesis of this study is that oral heme iron polypeptide (HIP; Proferrin (R) ES) administration will more effectively augment iron stores in erythropoietic stimulatory agent (ESA)-treated peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients than conventional oral iron supplementation (Ferrogradumet (R))

Underground railroads: citizen entitlements and unauthorized mobility in the antebellum period and today

In recent years, some scholars and prominent political figures have advocated the deepening of North American integration on roughly the European Union model, including the creation of new political institutions and the free movement of workers across borders. The construction of such a North American Union, if it included even a very thin trans-state citizenship regime, could represent the most significant expansion of individual entitlements in the region since citizenship was extended to former slaves in the United States. With such a possibility as its starting point, this article explores some striking parallels between the mass, legally prohibited movement across boundaries by fugitive slaves in the pre-Civil War period, and that by current unauthorized migrants to the United States. Both were, or are, met on their journeys by historically parallel groups of would-be helpers and hinderers. Their unauthorized movements in both periods serve as important signals of incomplete entitlements or institutional protections. Most crucially, moral arguments for extending fuller entitlements to both groups are shown here to be less distinct than may be prima facie evident, reinforcing the case for expanding and deepening the regional membership regime

Functional architecture of reward learning in mushroom body extrinsic neurons of larval Drosophila.

The brain adaptively integrates present sensory input, past experience, and options for future action. The insect mushroom body exemplifies how a central brain structure brings about such integration. Here we use a combination of systematic single-cell labeling, connectomics, transgenic silencing, and activation experiments to study the mushroom body at single-cell resolution, focusing on the behavioral architecture of its input and output neurons (MBINs and MBONs), and of the mushroom body intrinsic APL neuron. Our results reveal the identity and morphology of almost all of these 44 neurons in stage 3 Drosophila larvae. Upon an initial screen, functional analyses focusing on the mushroom body medial lobe uncover sparse and specific functions of its dopaminergic MBINs, its MBONs, and of the GABAergic APL neuron across three behavioral tasks, namely odor preference, taste preference, and associative learning between odor and taste. Our results thus provide a cellular-resolution study case of how brains organize behavior