Evidence of adult lung growth in humans.

A 33-year-old woman underwent a right-sided pneumonectomy in 1995 for treatment of a lung adenocarcinoma. As expected, there was an abrupt decrease in her vital capacity, but unexpectedly, it increased during the subsequent 15 years. Serial computed tomographic (CT) scans showed progressive enlargement of the remaining left lung and an increase in tissue density. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the use of hyperpolarized helium-3 gas showed overall acinar-airway dimensions that were consistent with an increase in the alveolar number rather than the enlargement of existing alveoli, but the alveoli in the growing lung were shallower than in normal lungs. This study provides evidence that new lung growth can occur in an adult human

Cultural Production of Protest Frames and Tactics: Cybermediaries and the SOPA Movement

On the surface, the recent mobilization of opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) over the internet appears to be yet another cyberactivism success. Yet, the anti-SOPA movement should have been doomed to failure for two reasons. First, the issue was too abstract to mobilize local kinship and friendship groups. Second, because mass media interests were served by the bill, mass media was unmotivated to diffuse the anti-SOPA message. Our analysis of this movement suggests it succeeded because of cybermediaries, internet companies that used their sites to diffuse the anti-SOPA message. They accomplished this through cultural productions of protest frames and tactics – technology-based verbal, graphical, and experiential representations of the SOPA protest frame and technology-based toolkits for use at the cybermediaries’ sites as well as for use at visitors’ sites. Our key contribution lies in identifying the nature and relative impact of these frames and tactics in cyberactivism

Session A, 2015 First Place: Whatever the Case May Be: Investigating Trichoptera Diversity in Three Adirondack Streams

Caddisfly larvae are used as an indicator species for stream health. Anthropogenic development and pollution threaten the quality of streams and the diversity of macroinvertebrates such as caddisflies. The larvae develop in the stream in cases built from sand and organic matter and adults remain near the stream. We hypothesize that the diversity of larvae will be the same as the diversity of adults in three streams at Cranberry Lake Biological Station. Larvae were collected at ten sites in three streams near the campus using d-nets and forceps. Adults were caught at one site at each stream at night using a UV light trap. The ANOVA/Tukey’s Test, Shannon-Weiner Index, paired t-test, and Sorenson’s Coefficient were all performed to determine the difference in diversity between all three streams and between larvae and adults at each stream. The results of the ANOVA/Tukey’s Test showed no significant difference in diversity between all three sites. We reject our null hypothesis, as the paired t-test done for each stream site between aquatic and terrestrial samples showed no significant difference. We therefore conclude that terrestrial caddisfly diversity can be indicative of stream health

Planificación de la revista radial “Ante el Maltrato” sobre la violencia contra la mujer

Según el último censo nacional, en el 2012, sobre la violencia contra la mujer en el Ecuador se evidenció que 6 de cada 10 mujeres sufren cualquier tipo de violencia. En el análisis penológico de la Fiscalía General del Estado, publicado en el 2016, sobre feminicidios en el Ecuador se registra que entre el 2014 y 2015 se registraron 188 muertes violentas de mujeres. Las estadísticas señalan que vivimos en medio de una sociedad violenta, en la que se subordina al individuo por su condición de género. La supuesta desobediencia, el desacuerdo y la negación de las mujeres frente a las normativas del sistema patriarcal generan en algunos varones la recurrencia agresiva. La violencia de género se ocasiona por la creencia de superioridad de un individuo hacia otro y esta se manifiesta de distintas formas y desde distintos poderes en la sociedad. Para consumar el proyecto de la planificación de una revista radial sobre violencia contra la mujer fue necesario dividir el trabajo en 3 fases. La primera etapa para la creación de esta revista radial involucra una reseña histórica sobre la creación y evolución de políticas para que se reconozca a la violencia contra la mujer dentro de la agenda política en Latinoamérica y el Ecuador. Procesos determinantes para que en el Ecuador se hayan formado instituciones no gubernamentales y gubernamentales que implementen políticas de prevención y sanción en contra de la violencia hacia las mujeres. Es esta primera etapa dará a conocer la definición oficial de violencia contra la mujer, tipos de violencia y aquellas violencias que existen pero aún no rigen en las leyes. Se detallan cifras y estadísticas que colocan a esta problemática como un problema de salud pública mundial. Después de aterrizar en la realidad de la problemática es importante adentrarse al área que me compete como profesional de la comunicación: los medios de comunicación. En esta primera etapa de investigación también se analiza y estudia a los medios de comunicación y a la violencia contra la mujer desde distintas aristas y perspectivas; entre ellas está el estudio de la participación de las mujeres en medios de comunicación, los cargos que ocupan en medios de comunicación y la perpetuación de roles y estereotipos que discriminan a la mujer a través de las oferta comunicacional y la falta de perspectiva de género en medios de comunicació

La violencia económica contra la mujer y el delito de feminicidio intimo en el distrito de ate, 2019

La investigación titulada “La violencia económica contra la mujer y su relación con el delito de feminicidio intimo en el distrito de Ate, 2019”, tiene como objetivo principal determinar qué si la violencia económica contra la mujer se relaciona con el delito de feminicidio intimo en el distrito de Ate, 2019. Se aplicó el tipo de investigación básica, además, se utilizó por el nivel de investigación el diseño de correlación descriptivo, el cual se plasmó a través de la guía de encuesta, de un total de dieciséis preguntas con respuesta de valor ordinal en Escala Likert, dirigidas a 83 mujeres del sector de Ate – Vitarte, siendo este según la estadística del Centro de Emergencia Mujer, uno de los sectores más golpeados por la violencia contra la mujer y el feminicidio. Por último, como conclusión se tiene que existe una relación entre la violencia económica contra la mujer y sus formas con el feminicidio íntimo, ya que se logró comprobar la hipótesis alterna, pues el resultado de la prueba chi cuadrado de pearson es de 0,001, además se identifica que esto tiene una asociación directa lineal con un valor de 0,515 y un sentido o intensidad con un valor alto de 0,843, lo cual nos permite señalar que la variable violencia económica contra la mujer tiene una relación o asociación en el nivel 0,001 con la variable dependiente feminicidio íntim

Gaucher disease: expression and characterization of mild and severe acid beta-glucosidase mutations in Portuguese type 1 patients

Type 1 Gaucher disease (GD), the most prevalent lysosomal storage disease, results from the deficient activity of acid alpha-glucosidase. Molecular analysis of 12 unrelated Portuguese patients with type 1 GD identified three novel acid â-glucosidase mutations (F109V, W184R and R395P), as well as three previously reported, but uncharacterized, lesions (R359Q, G377S and N396T). The type 1 probands were either heteroallelic for the well-characterized common lesion, N370S, and the F109V, W184R, R359Q or N396T lesions or homoallelic for the G377S or N396T mutations. Expression of the W184R, R359Q, and R395P mutations revealed very low specific activities based on cross-reacting immunologic material (CRIM SAs of 0.0004, 0.016 and 0.045, respectively), consistent with their being found only in type 1 patients who had a neuroprotective N370S allele. In contrast, the F109V, G377S and N396T alleles had significant acid â-glucosidase activity (CRIM specific activities of 0.15, 0.17, 0.14, respectively), in agreement with their being mild type 1 alleles. Thus, these studies identified additional acid â-glucosidase mutations in the Portuguese population and demonstrated that the G377S and N396T mutations were neuroprotective, consistent with the mild clinical phenotypes of the type 1 patients who were homoallelic for the G377S and N396T lesions

Ventilation Heterogeneity in Ex-smokers without Airflow Limitation.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Hyperpolarized (3)He magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ventilation abnormalities are visible in ex-smokers without airflow limitation, but the clinical relevance of this is not well-understood. Our objective was to phenotype healthy ex-smokers with normal and abnormally elevated ventilation defect percent (VDP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty ex-smokers without airflow limitation provided written informed consent to (3)He MRI, computed tomography (CT), and pulmonary function tests in a single visit. (3)He MRI VDP and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were measured for whole-lung and each lung lobe as were CT measurements of emphysema (relative area [RA] with attenuation ≤-950 HU, RA950) and airway morphology (wall area percent [WA%], lumen area [LA] and LA normalized to body surface area [LA/BSA]). RESULTS: In 42 ex-smokers, there was abnormally elevated VDP and no significant differences for pulmonary function, RA950, or airway measurements compared to 18 ex-smokers with normal VDP. Ex-smokers with abnormally elevated VDP reported significantly greater (3)He ADC in the apical lung (right upper lobe [RUL], P = .02; right middle lobe [RML], P = .04; and left upper lobe [LUL], P = .009). Whole lung (r = 0.40, P = .001) and lobar VDP (RUL, r = 0.32, P = .01; RML, r = 0.46, P = .002; right lower lobe [RLL], r = 0.38, P = .003; LUL, r = 0.35, P = .006; and left lower lobe, r = 0.37, P = .004) correlated with regional (3)He ADC. Although whole-lung VDP and CT airway morphology measurements were not correlated, regional VDP was correlated with RUL LA (r = -0.37, P = .004), LA/BSA (r = -0.42, P = .0008), RLL WA% (r = 0.28, P = .03), LA (r = -0.28, P = .03), and LA/BSA (r = -0.37, P = .004). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormally elevated VDP in ex-smokers without airflow limitation was coincident with very mild emphysema detected using MRI and regional airway remodeling detected using CT representing a subclinical obstructive lung disease phenotype

Evaluating bronchodilator effects in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using diffusion-weighted hyperpolarized helium-3 magnetic resonance imaging

The objective of this study was to evaluate the regional effects of bronchodilator administration in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using hyperpolarized helium-3 ((3)He) MRI apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). Ten COPD ex-smokers provided written, informed consent and underwent diffusion-weighted, hyperpolarized (3)He MRI, spirometry, and plethysmography before and 25 ± 2 min after bronchodilator administration. Pre- and postsalbutamol whole-lung (WL) ADC maps were generated and registered together to identify the lung regions containing the (3)He signal at both time points, and mean ADC within those regions of interest (ROI) was determined for a measurement of previously ventilated ROI ADC (ADC(P)). Lung ROI with (3)He signal at both time points was used as a binary mask on postsalbutamol WL ADC maps to obtain an ADC measurement for newly ventilated ROI (ADC(N)). Postsalbutamol, no significant differences were detected in WL ADC (P = 0.516). There were no significant differences between ADC(N) and ADC(P) postsalbutamol (P = 1.00), suggesting that the ADC(N) lung regions were not more emphysematous than the lung ROI participating in ventilation before bronchodilator administration. Postsalbutamol, a statistically significant decrease in ADC(P) (P = 0.01) was detected, and there were significant differences between ADC(P) in the most anterior and most posterior image slices (P = 0.02), suggesting a reduction in regional gas trapping following bronchodilator administration. Regional evaluation of tissue microstructure using hyperpolarized (3)He MRI ADC provides insights into lung alterations that accompany improvements in regional (3)He gas distribution after bronchodilator administration

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Quantification of bronchodilator effects by using hyperpolarized ³He MR imaging

PURPOSE: To evaluate short-acting bronchodilator effects in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by using hyperpolarized helium 3 (³He) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, spirometry, and plethysmography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen ex-smokers with COPD provided written informed consent to a local ethics board-approved and Health Insurance and Portability Accountability Act-compliant protocol and underwent hyperpolarized ³He and hydrogen 1 MR imaging, spirometry, and plethysmography before and a mean of 25 minutes ± 2 (standard deviation) after administration of 400 μg salbutamol. Distribution of ³He gas was evaluated by using semiautomated segmentation of ³He voxel intensities, where cluster 1 represented regions of signal void or ventilation defect volume (VDV), and clusters 2-5 (C2-C5) represented gradations of signal intensity from hypointensity (C2) to hyperintensity (C5). ³He ventilation defect percentage (VDP) was calculated as VDV normalized to the thoracic cavity volume. Comparisons of pre- and post-salbutamol means were performed by using a two-way mixed-design repeated measures analysis of variance, and comparisons of the magnitude of the treatment effect between pulmonary function and ³He MR imaging measurements were performed by using effect size (ES) calculations. The relationships between pulmonary function and ³He MR imaging findings were determined by using Spearman correlation coefficients. RESULTS: After salbutamol administration, there were significant changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) (P = .001), total lung capacity (P = .04), and functional residual capacity (P = .03), as well as VDP (P \u3c .0001) and ³He gas distribution (C2, P = .01; C3, P = .03; C4, P \u3c .0001; and C5, P = .02). Treatment ES was greater for ³He VDP than for FEV(1) (0.50 vs 0.22). There was a significant correlation between baseline VDP and post-salbutamol FEV₁ change (r = -0.77, P = .001). Although five patients were classified as bronchodilator responders and nine patients were classified as bronchodilator nonresponders according to American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society criteria, there was no significant difference in the magnitude of the ³He MR imaging changes after salbutamol administration between responder groups. CONCLUSION: ³He MR imaging depicted significant improvements in the distribution of ³He gas after bronchodilator therapy in ex-smokers with COPD with and those without clinically important changes in FEV₁