Liver Transplantation for Advanced Liver Disease with Alpha-1antitrypsin Deficiency

ALPHA-1-antitrypsin deficiency associated with chronic obstructive airway disease was recognized in 1963 by Laurell and Ericksson.1 In 1969, Sharp2 described the first cases of alpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency disease in children with cirrhosis. Since then, this inborn error has been recognized as one of the more common factors in cirrhosis of infancy and childhood,3 including “neonatal hepatitis.”4 Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a glycoprotein that accounts for a major portion of the alpha-1 globulin fraction of the serum.5 It is responsible for approximately 90 per cent of the antitrypsin activity6 of the serum, and it also inhibits several other plasma enzymes, including plasmin,7 elastase,8 collagenase,9 and. © 1980, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved

An integrated approach to use genetic resources for resurrection plants to enhance drought tolerance in breeding-extension programs [abstract]

Only abstract of poster available.Track V: BiomassThe ultimate goals of this project are to gain a basic understanding of the unique gene and gene regulatory networks that are necessary and sufficient for vegetative tissues to withstand dehydration and then rapidly recover upon rehydration and to use the knowledge gained to develop crops, maize and forage grasses that maintain biomass production under drought condition. Our approach is to combine comparative genomics and phylogenetics to identify genes and gene networks that are adaptive and central to the tolerance of cellular dehydration. This involves the use of resurrection species as models for dehydration tolerance coupled with a suite of comparative bioinformatic tools that allows for the phylogenetic assessment of gene expression patterns in response to dehydration and rehydration. Once the key genetic elements have been identified and assessed we will use a transgenic functional assessment of their involvement in the phenotype, both at a molecular and physiological level, of drought tolerance. One of our key resurrection species is the South African grass Sporobolus stapfianus, which is capable of surviving -240 MPa of water deficit (a hundred times lower than most crop plants). This plant not only serves as a model for monocot crops such as maize and switchgrass, our major targets for crop improvement, but also serves as a direct possibility for an alternate forage grass and biomass source. The improvement of biomass production under drought conditions is not only important for sustainable biofuel production but also for food and energy security. Funded by a CSREES-NRI Grant of $450,000 over three years to PI Mel Oliver USDA-ARS-PGRU Columbia, CoPIs Robert Sharp, University of Missouri; John Cushman, University of Nevada, Reno; Paxton Payton, USDA-ARS-PSRU Lubbock

Atomic and Molecular Opacities for Brown Dwarf and Giant Planet Atmospheres

We present a comprehensive description of the theory and practice of opacity calculations from the infrared to the ultraviolet needed to generate models of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets. Methods for using existing line lists and spectroscopic databases in disparate formats are presented and plots of the resulting absorptive opacities versus wavelength for the most important molecules and atoms at representative temperature/pressure points are provided. Electronic, ro-vibrational, bound-free, bound-bound, free-free, and collision-induced transitions and monochromatic opacities are derived, discussed, and analyzed. The species addressed include the alkali metals, iron, heavy metal oxides, metal hydrides, $H_2$, $H_2O$, $CH_4$, $CO$, $NH_3$, $H_2S$, $PH_3$, and representative grains. [Abridged]Comment: 28 pages of text, plus 22 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, replaced with more compact emulateapj versio

Low Temperature Opacities

Previous computations of low temperature Rosseland and Planck mean opacities from Alexander & Ferguson (1994) are updated and expanded. The new computations include a more complete equation of state with more grain species and updated optical constants. Grains are now explicitly included in thermal equilibrium in the equation of state calculation, which allows for a much wider range of grain compositions to be accurately included than was previously the case. The inclusion of high temperature condensates such as Al$_2$O$_3$ and CaTiO$_3$ significantly affects the total opacity over a narrow range of temperatures before the appearance of the first silicate grains. The new opacity tables are tabulated for temperatures ranging from 30000 K to 500 K with gas densities from 10$^{-4}$ g cm$^{-3}$ to 10$^{-19}$ g cm$^{-3}$. Comparisons with previous Rosseland mean opacity calculations are discussed. At high temperatures, the agreement with OPAL and Opacity Project is quite good. Comparisons at lower temperatures are more divergent as a result of differences in molecular and grain physics included in different calculations. The computation of Planck mean opacities performed with the opacity sampling method are shown to require a very large number of opacity sampling wavelength points; previously published results obtained with fewer wavelength points are shown to be significantly in error. Methods for requesting or obtaining the new tables are provided.Comment: 39 pages with 12 figures. To be published in ApJ, April 200

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the motor cortex in the treatment of chronic non-specific low back pain. A randomised, double-blind exploratory study

This exploratory study aimed to test the proof of principle that active anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the motor cortex reduces pain significantly more than sham stimulation in a group of participants with chronic non-specific low back pain

Physical activity as a treatment for depression: the TREAD randomised trial protocol

Published version. Copyright © 2010 BioMed CentralBackground: Depression is one of the most common reasons for consulting a General Practitioner (GP) within the UK. Whilst antidepressants have been shown to be clinically effective, many patients and healthcare professionals would like to access other forms of treatment as an alternative or adjunct to drug therapy for depression. A recent systematic review presented some evidence that physical activity could offer one such option, although further investigation is needed to test its effectiveness within the context of the National Health Service. The aim of this paper is to describe the protocol for a randomised, controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate an intervention developed to increase physical activity as a treatment for depression within primary care. Methods/design: The TREAD study is a pragmatic, multi-centre, two-arm RCT which targets patients presenting with a new episode of depression. Patients were approached if they were aged 18-69, had recently consulted their GP for depression and, where appropriate, had been taking antidepressants for less than one month. Only those patients with a confirmed diagnosis of a depressive episode as assessed by the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R), a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score of at least 14 and informed written consent were included in the study. Eligible patients were individually randomised to one of two treatment groups; usual GP care or usual GP care plus facilitated physical activity. The primary outcome of the trial is clinical symptoms of depression assessed using the BDI four months after randomisation. A number of secondary outcomes are also measured at the 4-, 8- and 12-month follow-up points including quality of life, attitude to and involvement in physical activity and antidepressant use/adherence. Outcomes will be analysed on an intention-to-treat (ITT) basis and will use linear and logistic regression models to compare treatments. Discussion: The results of the trial will provide information about the effectiveness of physical activity as a treatment for depression. Given the current prevalence of depression and its associated economic burden, it is hoped that TREAD will provide a timely contribution to the evidence on treatment options for patients, clinicians and policy-makers

PCA-based lung motion model

Organ motion induced by respiration may cause clinically significant targeting errors and greatly degrade the effectiveness of conformal radiotherapy. It is therefore crucial to be able to model respiratory motion accurately. A recently proposed lung motion model based on principal component analysis (PCA) has been shown to be promising on a few patients. However, there is still a need to understand the underlying reason why it works. In this paper, we present a much deeper and detailed analysis of the PCA-based lung motion model. We provide the theoretical justification of the effectiveness of PCA in modeling lung motion. We also prove that under certain conditions, the PCA motion model is equivalent to 5D motion model, which is based on physiology and anatomy of the lung. The modeling power of PCA model was tested on clinical data and the average 3D error was found to be below 1 mm.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. submitted to International Conference on the use of Computers in Radiation Therapy 201

Ecology: a prerequisite for malaria elimination and eradication

* Existing front-line vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated nets and residual sprays, cannot break the transmission cycle of Plasmodium falciparum in the most intensely endemic parts of Africa and the Pacific * The goal of malaria eradication will require urgent strategic investment into understanding the ecology and evolution of the mosquito vectors that transmit malaria * Priority areas will include understanding aspects of the mosquito life cycle beyond the blood feeding processes which directly mediate malaria transmission * Global commitment to malaria eradication necessitates a corresponding long-term commitment to vector ecolog