Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

A single dose polyanhydride-based vaccine platform promotes and maintains anti-GnRH antibody titers

Traditionally, vaccination strategies require an initial priming vaccination followed by an antigen boost to generate adequate immunity. Here we describe vaccination against a self-peptide for reproductive sterilization utilizing a three-stage vaccine platform consisting of gonadotropin releasing hormone multiple antigenic peptide (GnRH-MAP) as a soluble injection coupled with subcutaneous administration of polyanhydride-immobilized GnRH-MAP and a cyto-exclusive implant containing GnRH-MAP dendrimer-loaded polyanhydride. This strategy generated and maintained cell-mediated and humoral immunity for up to 41 weeks after a single vaccination in mice with enhanced antibody avidity over time. All intact implants had a grossly visible tissue interface with neovascularization and lymphocytic aggregates. Despite detectable immunity, sterility was not achieved and the immune response did not lead to azoospermia in male mice nor prevent estrus and ovulation in female mice. However, the vaccine delivery device is tunable and the immunogen, adjuvants and release rates can all be modified to enhance immunity. This technology has broad implications for the development of long-term vaccination schemes

Rice Galaxy: An open resource for plant science

Background: Rice molecular genetics, breeding, genetic diversity, and allied research (such as rice-pathogen interaction) have adopted sequencing technologies and high-density genotyping platforms for genome variation analysis and gene discovery. Germplasm collections representing rice diversity, improved varieties, and elite breeding materials are accessible through rice gene banks for use in research and breeding, with many having genome sequences and high-density genotype data available. Combining phenotypic and genotypic information on these accessions enables genome-wide association analysis, which is driving quantitative trait loci discovery and molecular marker development. Comparative sequence analyses across quantitative trait loci regions facilitate the discovery of novel alleles. Analyses involving DNA sequences and large genotyping matrices for thousands of samples, however, pose a challenge to non−computer savvy rice researchers. Findings: The Rice Galaxy resource has shared datasets that include high-density genotypes from the 3,000 Rice Genomes project and sequences with corresponding annotations from 9 published rice genomes. The Rice Galaxy web server and deployment installer includes tools for designing single-nucleotide polymorphism assays, analyzing genome-wide association studies, population diversity, rice−bacterial pathogen diagnostics, and a suite of published genomic prediction methods. A prototype Rice Galaxy compliant to Open Access, Open Data, and Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reproducible principles is also presented. Conclusions: Rice Galaxy is a freely available resource that empowers the plant research community to perform state-of-the-art analyses and utilize publicly available big datasets for both fundamental and applied science

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

Emergency Water Information Network (EWIN)

Flooding is a global problem and as a representative example, Mexico is currently struggling to manage flood situations which are increasing in regularity and severity. Many developing countries have substandard flood monitoring infrastructure. However, in common with the UK, they have state-of-the-art cellular mobile phone systems. In this research, expertise in water engineering and radio communications from the UK and Mexico have been combined to design a cost effective flood forecasting system based on hydrology sensing and mobile networks. Recent events such as hurricane Patricia in Mexico (October 2015) has emphasised the need for systems that can predict the dynamic behaviour of large-scale water flows. Currently, management of flood situations in many developing countries is carried out through prediction of water behaviour (Hydro Meteorological Warning System). This system is based on estimates of rainfall, runoff and water levels. In Mexico two central registers and rain measuring stations are used to gather data. The data collected is compared with pre-established risk thresholds which determine whether a warning should be issued. In general, the rainy season in Mexico occurs during the summer and fall, starting in May and ending in October. Along the main waterways, the change in state is dynamic between dry and rainy both in terms of the water volume in the channels and the vegetation on the banks. Vegetation in Mexico is normally sparse but grows quickly and in abundance during the rainy season. During flood events, new rivers form along river beds that are normally empty. These conditions are typical of flooding in many countries. In order to develop a real time flood forecasting system, several areas of research need to be investigated. These include: data sensing at the appropriate location and time, wireless transmission of flood data, sensor data fusion, model generation and prediction at the remote weather station. This multidisciplinary research project is addressing each of these areas by employing UK expertise in Water Engineering and Radio Communications to complement the research base in Mexico

The Distances to Open Clusters from Main-Sequence Fitting. I. New Models and a Comparison to the Properties of the Hyades Eclipsing Binary vB 22

In the first of a new series of papers on open cluster distances, we use updated stellar evolution models to construct an isochrone appropriate for the Hyades, and compare it with the Hyades eclipsing binary system vB 22. We find that the absolute and relative luminosities of the two stars are in good agreement with the model, but the radii do not match the values inferred from eclipse data. We present evidence that there is a consistency problem with the flux ratios and the inferred radii, and discuss possible theoretical effects that could be responsible for the mismatch in the radii. We derive a helium abundance for the Hyades of Y = 0.271 \pm 0.006, which is equal within the errors to the Sun's initial helium abundance even though the Hyades is considerably more metal-rich.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

An internet of things system for urban flood monitoring and short-term flood forecasting in Colima, Mexico

Urban flooding is one of the major issues in many parts of the world and its management often challenging. Here we present Internet of Things (IoT) approach for monitoring urban flooding in the City of Colima, Mexico. A network of water level and weather sensors have been developed along with a web-based data platform integrated with IoT techniques to retrieve data using 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks. The developed architecture uses the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport protocol to send real-time data packages from fixed nodes to a server that stores retrieved data in a non-relational database. Data can be accessed and displayed through different queries and graphical representations, allowing future use in flood analysis and prediction. Additionally, machine learning algorithms are integrated into the system for short-range water level predictions at different nodes of the network

Results From the Periodontitis and Vascular Events (PAVE) Study: A Pilot Multicentered, Randomized, Controlled Trial to Study Effects of Periodontal Therapy in a Secondary Prevention Model of Cardiovascular Disease

Background- In the Periodontitis and Vascular Events (PAVE) pilot study, periodontal therapy was provided as an intervention in a secondary cardiac event prevention model through five coordinated cardiac-dental centers. Methods- Subjects were randomized to either community care or protocol provided scaling and root planing to evaluate effects on periodontal status and systemic levels of high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hs-CRP). Results- After 6 months, there was a significant reduction in mean probing depth and extent of 4- or 5-mm pockets. However, there were no significant differences in attachment levels, bleeding upon probing, or extent of subgingival calculus comparing subjects assigned to protocol therapy (n = 151) to those assigned to community care (n = 152). Using intent-to-treat analyses, there was no significant effect on serum hs-CRP levels at 6 months. However, 48% of the subjects randomized to community care received preventive or periodontal treatments. Secondary analyses demonstrated that consideration of any preventive or periodontal care (i.e., any treatment) compared to no treatment showed a significant reduction in the percentage of people with elevated hs-CRP (values >3 mg/l)at 6 months. However, obesity nullified the periodontal treatment effects on hs-CRP reduction. The adjusted odds ratio for hs-CRP levels >3 mg/l at 6 months for any treatment versus no treatment among non-obese individuals was 0.26 (95%confidence interval: 0.09 to 0.72), adjusting for smoking, marital status, and gender. Conclusion- This pilot study demonstrated the critical role of considering obesity as well as rigorous preventive and periodontal care in trials designed to reduce cardiovascular risk. Originally published Journal of Periodontology, Vol. 80, No. 2, Feb 200

Diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease using computed tomography angiography in patients with stable chest pain depending on clinical probability and in clinically important subgroups: meta-analysis of individual patient data

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) should be performed in patients with any clinical probability of coronary artery disease (CAD), and whether the diagnostic performance differs between subgroups of patients. DESIGN: Prospectively designed meta-analysis of individual patient data from prospective diagnostic accuracy studies. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, and Web of Science for published studies. Unpublished studies were identified via direct contact with participating investigators. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Prospective diagnostic accuracy studies that compared coronary CTA with coronary angiography as the reference standard, using at least a 50% diameter reduction as a cutoff value for obstructive CAD. All patients needed to have a clinical indication for coronary angiography due to suspected CAD, and both tests had to be performed in all patients. Results had to be provided using 2×2 or 3×2 cross tabulations for the comparison of CTA with coronary angiography. Primary outcomes were the positive and negative predictive values of CTA as a function of clinical pretest probability of obstructive CAD, analysed by a generalised linear mixed model; calculations were performed including and excluding non-diagnostic CTA results. The no-treat/treat threshold model was used to determine the range of appropriate pretest probabilities for CTA. The threshold model was based on obtained post-test probabilities of less than 15% in case of negative CTA and above 50% in case of positive CTA. Sex, angina pectoris type, age, and number of computed tomography detector rows were used as clinical variables to analyse the diagnostic performance in relevant subgroups. RESULTS: Individual patient data from 5332 patients from 65 prospective diagnostic accuracy studies were retrieved. For a pretest probability range of 7-67%, the treat threshold of more than 50% and the no-treat threshold of less than 15% post-test probability were obtained using CTA. At a pretest probability of 7%, the positive predictive value of CTA was 50.9% (95% confidence interval 43.3% to 57.7%) and the negative predictive value of CTA was 97.8% (96.4% to 98.7%); corresponding values at a pretest probability of 67% were 82.7% (78.3% to 86.2%) and 85.0% (80.2% to 88.9%), respectively. The overall sensitivity of CTA was 95.2% (92.6% to 96.9%) and the specificity was 79.2% (74.9% to 82.9%). CTA using more than 64 detector rows was associated with a higher empirical sensitivity than CTA using up to 64 rows (93.4% v 86.5%, P=0.002) and specificity (84.4% v 72.6%, P<0.001). The area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve for CTA was 0.897 (0.889 to 0.906), and the diagnostic performance of CTA was slightly lower in women than in with men (area under the curve 0.874 (0.858 to 0.890) v 0.907 (0.897 to 0.916), P<0.001). The diagnostic performance of CTA was slightly lower in patients older than 75 (0.864 (0.834 to 0.894), P=0.018 v all other age groups) and was not significantly influenced by angina pectoris type (typical angina 0.895 (0.873 to 0.917), atypical angina 0.898 (0.884 to 0.913), non-anginal chest pain 0.884 (0.870 to 0.899), other chest discomfort 0.915 (0.897 to 0.934)). CONCLUSIONS: In a no-treat/treat threshold model, the diagnosis of obstructive CAD using coronary CTA in patients with stable chest pain was most accurate when the clinical pretest probability was between 7% and 67%. Performance of CTA was not influenced by the angina pectoris type and was slightly higher in men and lower in older patients. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42012002780