Altered structural and effective connectivity in anorexia and bulimia nervosa in circuits that regulate energy and reward homeostasis.

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are severe eating disorders that share many behaviors. Structural and functional brain circuits could provide biological links that those disorders have in common. We recruited 77 young adult women, 26 healthy controls, 26 women with anorexia and 25 women with bulimia nervosa. Probabilistic tractography was used to map white matter connectivity strength across taste and food intake regulating brain circuits. An independent multisample greedy equivalence search algorithm tested effective connectivity between those regions during sucrose tasting. Anorexia and bulimia nervosa had greater structural connectivity in pathways between insula, orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum, but lower connectivity from orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala to the hypothalamus (P<0.05, corrected for comorbidity, medication and multiple comparisons). Functionally, in controls the hypothalamus drove ventral striatal activity, but in anorexia and bulimia nervosa effective connectivity was directed from anterior cingulate via ventral striatum to the hypothalamus. Across all groups, sweetness perception was predicted by connectivity strength in pathways connecting to the middle orbitofrontal cortex. This study provides evidence that white matter structural as well as effective connectivity within the energy-homeostasis and food reward-regulating circuitry is fundamentally different in anorexia and bulimia nervosa compared with that in controls. In eating disorders, anterior cingulate cognitive-emotional top down control could affect food reward and eating drive, override hypothalamic inputs to the ventral striatum and enable prolonged food restriction

Boldly into the Fog: Limiting Rights of Recovery for Infliction of Emotional Distress

Boldly into the Fog: Limiting rights of recovery for infliction of emotional distres

Processing Matters: 3D Mesh Morphology

Substantive advancements have been made toward automating the application of landmarks and semilandmarks. These approaches can aid in expediting the landmarking process, while simultaneously reducing landmarking errors and investigator bias. This study enlists a template-based approach to quantify deviations in mesh processing outputs using a Pontchartrain dart point from the collections of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, which was scanned and processed at multiple resolutions using microCT and laser scanners. Following data collection and output, meshes were processed using an automated and replicable workflow. A batch processing protocol was developed in Geomagic Design X and Control X to facilitate exploratory comparisons of the processed meshes, which indicated that the greatest changes to the meshes occurred along the lateral margins of the dart point. Results of the geometric morphometric study evince implications for processed meshes curated in digital repositories. Investigators that endeavour to incorporate curated meshes should begin with the unprocessed data, enlist uniform processing protocols across the sample, and comprehend the many vagaries of 3D data collection and processing across different modalities

A Quality Management Approach to Implementing Point-of-Care Technologies for HIV Diagnosis and Monitoring in Sub-Saharan Africa

Technology advances in rapid diagnosis and clinical monitoring of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been made in recent years, greatly benefiting those at risk of HIV infection, those needing care and treatment, and those on antiretroviral (ART) therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, resource-limited, geographically remote, and harsh climate regions lack uniform access to these technologies. HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and monitoring tools, such as those for CD4 counts, as well as tests for coinfections, are being developed and have great promise in these settings to aid in patient care. Here we explore the advances in point-of-care (POC) technology in the era where portable devices are bringing the laboratory to the patient. Quality management approaches will be imperative for the successful implementation of POC testing in endemic settings to improve patient care

2006 Annual Summary Report for the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

The Maintenance Plan for the Performance Assessments and Composite Analyses for the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites at the Nevada Test Site (National Security Technologies, LLC, 2006) requires an annual review to assess the adequacy of the performance assessments (PAs) and composite analyses (CAs) for each of the facilities, with the results submitted as an annual summary report to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters. The Disposal Authorization Statements for the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMSs) also require that such reviews be made and that secondary or minor unresolved issues be tracked and addressed as part of the maintenance plan (DOE, 2000; 2002). The DOE, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office performed annual reviews in fiscal year (FY) 2006 by evaluating operational factors and research results that impact the continuing validity of the PAs and CAs results. This annual summary report presents data and conclusions from the FY 2006 review, and determines the adequacy of the PAs and CAs. Operational factors, such as the waste form and containers, facility design, waste receipts, and closure plans, as well as monitoring results and research and development (R&D) activities, were reviewed in FY 2006 for determination of the adequacy of the PAs. Likewise, the environmental restoration activities at the Nevada Test Site relevant to the sources of residual radioactive material that are considered in the CAs, the land-use planning, and the results of the environmental monitoring and R&D activities were reviewed for determination of the adequacy of the CAs

Software Quality Assurance Plan for GoldSim Models Supporting the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites Performance Assessment Program

This Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP) applies to the development and maintenance of GoldSim models supporting the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMSs) performance assessments (PAs) and composite analyses (CAs). Two PA models have been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) as of November 2006 for the PA maintenance work undertaken by National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec). NNSA/NSO asked NSTec to assume the custodianship of the models for future development and maintenance. The models were initially developed by Neptune and Company (N&C)

A Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 191 Evaluation of Buried Transuranic Waste at the Nevada Test Site

In 1986, 21 m{sup 3} of transuranic (TRU) waste was inadvertently buried in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office is considered five options for management of the buried TRU waste. One option is to leave the waste in-place if the disposal can meet the requirements of Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 191, 'Environmental Radiation Protection Standard for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes'. This paper describes analyses that assess the likelihood that TRU waste in shallow land burial can meet the 40 CFR 191 standards for a geologic repository. The simulated probability of the cumulative release exceeding 1 and 10 times the 40 CFR 191.13 containment requirements is estimated to be 0.009 and less than 0.0001, respectively. The cumulative release is most sensitive to the number of groundwater withdrawal wells drilled through the disposal trench. The mean total effective dose equivalent for a member of the public is estimated to reach a maximum of 0.014 milliSievert (mSv) at 10,000 years, or approximately 10 percent of the 0.15 mSv 40 CFR 191.15 individual protection requirement. The dose is predominantly from inhalation of short-lived Rn-222 progeny in air produced by low-level waste disposed in the same trench. The transuranic radionuclide released in greatest amounts, Pu-239, contributes only 0.4 percent of the dose. The member of public dose is most sensitive to the U-234 inventory and the radon emanation coefficient. Reasonable assurance of compliance with the Subpart C groundwater protection standard is provided by site characterization data and hydrologic processes modeling which support a conclusion of no groundwater pathway within 10,000 years. Limited quantities of transuranic waste in a shallow land burial trench at the NTS can meet the requirements of 40 CFR 191

A Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 191 Evaluation of Buried Transuranic Waste at the Nevada Test Site -8210

ABSTRACT In 1986, 21 m 3 of transuranic (TRU) waste was inadvertently buried in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Th

Probabilistic Performance Assessment of a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site on the Nevada Test Site

The Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada Test Site has been disposing of low-level, mixed low-level, and transuranic radioactive waste since 1961. In 1988, the U.S. Department of Energy implemented performance objectives for low-level radioactive waste disposal site performance and required all site operators to prepare a performance assessment. Since then, an iterative performance assessment process has been implemented that consists of repeated cycles of site characterization, conceptual model formation/revision, and performance assessment modeling. At the end of each cycle uncertainty and sensitivity analysis are used to determine the need for revision and to identify topics requiring additional research and development. The performance assessment model is implemented in the GoldSim{reg_sign} probabilistic simulation platform. The current site conceptual model, based on site characterization data and process model results, assumes that there is no groundwater pathway under current climatic conditions and that radionuclide releases are predominately upward to the land surface. Radionuclides are released to the land surface by upward liquid advection/diffusion, gas diffusion, biointrusion, and inadvertent human intrusion. The model calculates dose for four members of public exposure scenarios and two intruder scenarios. The highest mean-dose, 0.04 mSv yr{sup -1}, is expected for a low-probability exposure scenario: establishment of a rural community at the site boundary at the end of institutional control. At the end of institutional control, doses are contributed primarily by {sup 3}H in agricultural products produced onsite. After approximately 300 years, the doses are contributed equally by {sup 99}Tc and {sup 210}Pb ingested in vegetables grown at the residence. Technetium is released to the surface by the coupled processes of liquid advection/diffusion occurring deep in the cover and plant uptake/animal burrowing occurring at shallower depths. Lead-210 is deposited in shallow cover soil by the radioactive decay of {sup 222}Rn diffusing in the gas phase. The highest mean dose for the more likely exposure scenario of transient recreational use of the site is 0.002 mSv yr{sup -1}. The transient visitor's dose is contributed predominantly by external irradiation from {sup 214}Pb and {sup 214}Bi, deposited in the cover by diffusion of {sup 222}Rn