2,528 research outputs found
Three Dimensional Structure and Energy Balance of a Coronal Mass Ejection
The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) observed Doppler shifted
material of a partial Halo Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on December 13 2001. The
observed ratio of [O V]/O V] is a reliable density diagnostic important for
assessing the state of the plasma. Earlier UVCS observations of CMEs found
evidence that the ejected plasma is heated long after the eruption. We have
investigated the heating rates, which represent a significant fraction of the
CME energy budget. The parameterized heating and radiative and adiabatic
cooling have been used to evaluate the temperature evolution of the CME
material with a time dependent ionization state model. The functional form of a
flux rope model for interplanetary magnetic clouds was also used to
parameterize the heating. We find that continuous heating is required to match
the UVCS observations. To match the O VI-bright knots, a higher heating rate is
required such that the heating energy is greater than the kinetic energy. The
temperatures for the knots bright in Ly and C III emission indicate
that smaller heating rates are required for those regions. In the context of
the flux rope model, about 75% of the magnetic energy must go into heat in
order to match the O VI observations. We derive tighter constraints on the
heating than earlier analyses, and we show that thermal conduction with the
Spitzer conductivity is not sufficient to account for the heating at large
heights.Comment: 40 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ For associated
mpeg file, please see https://www.cora.nwra.com/~jylee/mpg/f5.mp
Comparison of Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate and University of Wisconsin Preservation in Renal Transplantation
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72258/1/j.1600-6143.2007.02065.x.pd
RuralâUrban Differences in InâHospital Mortality Among Admissions for EndâStage Liver Disease in the United States
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151328/1/lt25587_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151328/2/lt25587.pd
A Phase I Trial of Aminolevulinic Acid-Photodynamic Therapy for Treatment of Oral Leukoplakia
Background Photodynamic therapy with aminolevulinic acid (ALA PDT) for oral leukoplakia has shown promising effects in regression of oral leukoplakia. Although ALA has been extensively studied and is an ideal photosensitizer, the optimal light dose for treatment of oral leukoplakia has not been determined. We conducted a phase I study to determine MTD and DLT of PDT in patients treated with ALA for leukoplakia. Methods Patients with histologically confirmed oral leukoplakia received a single treatment of ALA PDT in cohorts with escalating doses of light (585 nm). Clinical, histologic, and biologic markers were assessed. Results Analysis of 11 participants is reported. No significant toxicity from ALA PDT was observed in patients who received ALA with a light dose of up to 4 J/cm2. One participant experienced transient grade 3 transaminase elevation due to ALA. One participant had a partial clinical response 3 months after treatment. Biologic mucosal risk markers showed no significant associations. Determination of MTD could not be accomplished within a feasible timeframe for completion of the study. Conclusions ALA PDT could be safely administered with a light dose up to 4 J/cm2 and demonstrated activity. Larger studies are needed to fully elucidate the MTD and efficacy of ALA-PDT
Improving Organ Procurement Travel Practices in the United States: Proceedings from the Michigan Donor Travel Forum
There are significant risks and inefficiencies associated with organ procurement travel. In an effort to identify, quantify, and define opportunities to mitigate these risks and inefficiencies, 25 experts from the transplantation, transportation and insurance fields were convened. The forum concluded that: on procurement travel practices are inadequate, there is wide variation in the quality of aero-medical transportation, current travel practices for organ procurement are inefficient and there is a lack of standards for organ procurement travel liability coverage. The forum concluded that the transplant community should require that air-craft vendors adhere to industry quality standards compatible with the degree of risk in their mission profiles. Within this context, a purchasing collaborative within the transplant community may offer opportunities for improved service and safety with lower costs. In addition, changes in travel practices should be considered with broader sharing of procurement duties across centers. Finally, best practice standards should be instituted for life insurance for transplant personnel and liability insurance for providers. Overall, the aims of these proposals are to raise procurement travel standards and in doing so, to improve the transplantation as a whole.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79257/1/j.1600-6143.2009.02964.x.pd
Social pairing of Seychelles warblers under reduced constraints: MHC, neutral heterozygosity, and age
The prevalence and significance of precopulatory mate choice remains keenly debated. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in vertebrate adaptive immunity, and variation at the MHC influences individual survival. Although MHC-dependent mate choice has been documented in certain species, many other studies find no such pattern. This may be, at least in part, because in natural systems constraints may reduce the choices available to individuals and prevent full expression of underlying preferences. We used translocations to previously unoccupied islands to experimentally reduce constraints on female social mate choice in the Seychelles warbler ( Acrocephalus sechellensis ), a species in which patterns of MHC-dependent extrapair paternity (EPP), but not social mate choice, have been observed. We find no evidence of MHC-dependent social mate choice in the new populations. Instead, we find that older males and males with more microsatellite heterozygosity are more likely to have successfully paired. Our data cannot resolve whether these patterns in pairing were due to maleâmale competition or female choice. However, our research does suggest that female Seychelles warblers do not choose social mates using MHC class I to increase fitness. It may also indicate that the MHC-dependent EPP observed in the source population is probably due to mechanisms other than female precopulatory mate choice based on MHC cues
Portrayal of organ donation and transplantation on American primetime television
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86819/1/j.1399-0012.2011.01427.x.pd
De Novo Mutations in PDE10A Cause Childhood-Onset Chorea with Bilateral Striatal Lesions.
Chorea is a hyperkinetic movement disorder resulting from dysfunction of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which form the main output projections from the basal ganglia. Here, we used whole-exome sequencing to unravel the underlying genetic cause in three unrelated individuals with a very similar and unique clinical presentation of childhood-onset chorea and characteristic brain MRI showing symmetrical bilateral striatal lesions. All individuals were identified to carry a de novo heterozygous mutation in PDE10A (c.898T>C [p.Phe300Leu] in two individuals and c.1000T>C [p.Phe334Leu] in one individual), encoding a phosphodiesterase highly and selectively present in MSNs. PDE10A contributes to the regulation of the intracellular levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Both substitutions affect highly conserved amino acids located in the regulatory GAF-B domain, which, by binding to cAMP, stimulates the activity of the PDE10A catalytic domain. In silico modeling showed that the altered residues are located deep in the binding pocket, where they are likely to alter cAMP binding properties. In vitro functional studies showed that neither substitution affects the basal PDE10A activity, but they severely disrupt the stimulatory effect mediated by cAMP binding to the GAF-B domain. The identification of PDE10A mutations as a cause of chorea further motivates the study of cAMP signaling in MSNs and highlights the crucial role of striatal cAMP signaling in the regulation of basal ganglia circuitry. Pharmacological modulation of this pathway could offer promising etiologically targeted treatments for chorea and other hyperkinetic movement disorders
Genetic parameters for growth, wood density and pulp yield in Eucalyptus globulus
Genetic variation and co-variation among the key
pulpwood selection traits for Eucalyptus globulus were
estimated for a range of sites in Portugal, with the aim of
improving genetic parameters used to predict breeding
values and correlated response to selection. The trials
comprised clonally replicated full-sib families (eight trials)
and unrelated clones (17 trials), and exhibited varying
levels of pedigree connectivity. The traits studied were stem
diameter at breast height, Pilodyn penetration (an indirect
measure of wood basic density) and near infrared reflectance
predicted pulp yield. Univariate and multivariate
linear mixed models were fitted within and across sites, and estimates of additive genetic, total genetic, environmental
and phenotypic variances and covariances were obtained.
All traits studied exhibited significant levels of additive
genetic variation. The average estimated within-site narrowsense
heritability was 0.19±0.03 for diameter and 0.29±
0.03 for Pilodyn penetration, and the pooled estimate for
predicted pulp yield was 0.42±0.14. When they could be
tested, dominance and epistatic effects were generally not
statistically significant, although broad-sense heritability
estimates were slightly higher than narrow-sense heritability
estimates. Averaged across trials, positive additive
(0.64±0.08), total genetic (0.58±0.04), environmental
(0.38±0.03) and phenotypic (0.43±0.02) correlation estimates
were consistently obtained between diameter and
Pilodyn penetration. This data argues for at least some form
of pleiotropic relationship between these two traits and that
selection for fast growth will adversely affect wood density
in this population. Estimates of the across-site genetic
correlations for diameter and Pilodyn penetration were
high, indicating that the genotype by environment interaction
is low across the range of sites tested. This result
supports the use of single aggregated selection criteria for
growth and wood density across planting environments in
Portugal, as opposed to having to select for performance in
different environment
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