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The use of platelet-rich plasma in treatment of olfactory dysfunction: A pilot study.
BackgroundOlfactory dysfunction is a prevalent problem with a significant impact on quality of life and increased mortality. Limited effective therapies exist. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous biologic product with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. This novel pilot study evaluated the role of PRP on olfactory neuroregeneration in patients with hyposmia.MethodsSeven patients who had olfactory loss greater than 6 months in duration, no evidence of sinonasal inflammatory disease, and no improvement with olfactory training and budesonide topical rinses were enrolled in this preliminary study. Patients received a single intranasal injection of PRP into the mucosa of the olfactory cleft. The Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test consisting of threshold, discrimination, and identification measurements (TDI) was administered at the beginning of the study and at 1 and 3 months.ResultsAll patients reported a subjective improvement of their smell shortly after injection but then stabilized. At 3-month post-treatment, two patients with functional anosmia (TDI < 16) did not improve significantly. Five patients with hyposmia (TDI > 16 but <30) showed an improvement with 60% achieving normosmia (TDI > 30) at 3-month follow-up. On average, patients with baseline TDI > 16 improved by 5.85 points with the most significant improvement in the threshold subcomponent. There were no adverse outcomes from intranasal PRP injections.ConclusionPRP appears safe for use in the treatment of olfactory loss, and preliminary data suggest possible efficacy, especially for those with moderate yet persistent loss. Further studies will help determine optimal frequency and duration of use.Level of evidence 2
Senior Management Perceptions of Staff Development Provision in Further Education Colleges in Wales
Free, but Still Behind Bars: Reading the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act to Allow Any Person Convicted of a Crime to Raise a Claim of Actual Innocence
As the number of wrongfully convicted prisoners who are subsequently exonerated continues to rise, the importance of access to post-conviction relief also increases. Under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, this access is restricted to petitioners who are currently imprisoned or otherwise facing a restraint on their liberty. Persons convicted of a crime who have completed their sentence are barred from pursuing post-conviction relief under the Act, regardless of the existence of exculpatory evidence that supports their innocence. Removing this procedural roadblock and interpreting the Act broadly to allow any person convicted of a crime to raise a claim of actual innocence is necessary to ensure that the wrongfully convicted can, eventually, have justice
It\u27s Not Just for Death Cases Anymore: How Capital Mitigation Investigation Can Enhance Experiential Learning and Improve Advocacy in Law School Non-Capital Criminal Defense Clinics
The Transformation of High-Risk Youth: An Assessment of a Faith-based Program in South Africa
This paper considers the case of Outward Bound South Africa (OBSA), an outdoor adventure education program specifically designed for disadvantaged youth in the aftermath of apartheid in South Africa. Founded by American philanthropist Charles Stetson, the goal of OBSA is to provide recourse for South Africans who are victims of history and culture. OBSA seeks to instill values and to create economic empowerment for at-risk youth in the midst of severe social and economic deprivation. Recently, OBSA initiated a faith-based component to their program that follows many of the tenets of the original founder of Outward Bound, German educator Kurt Hahn. This paper is an assessment of that effort. The research consists of pretest and posttest surveys of 453 South African students who went through the OBSA program between 2005 and 2012. Results suggest that of the fifteen different variables studied, participants showed statistically significant improvement on twelve in the traditional educational program. In the faith-based program, the average increase was greater than for the traditional data in thirteen of the fifteen variables, and it was statistically significant from the pretest to the posttest on 11 of the variables
Smoothed Dissipative Particle Dynamics model for mesoscopic multiphase flows in the presence of thermal fluctuations
Thermal fluctuations cause perturbations of fluid-fluid interfaces and highly
nonlinear hydrodynamics in multiphase flows. In this work, we develop a novel
multiphase smoothed dissipative particle dynamics model. This model accounts
for both bulk hydrodynamics and interfacial fluctuations. Interfacial surface
tension is modeled by imposing a pairwise force between SDPD particles. We show
that the relationship between the model parameters and surface tension,
previously derived under the assumption of zero thermal fluctuation, is
accurate for fluid systems at low temperature but overestimates the surface
tension for intermediate and large thermal fluctuations. To analyze the effect
of thermal fluctuations on surface tension, we construct a coarse-grained Euler
lattice model based on the mean field theory and derive a semi-analytical
formula to directly relate the surface tension to model parameters for a wide
range of temperatures and model resolutions. We demonstrate that the present
method correctly models the dynamic processes, such as bubble coalescence and
capillary spectra across the interface
Eph Receptors and Ephrin Signaling Pathways: A Role in Bone Homeostasis
The maintenance of bone homeostasis is tightly controlled, and largely dependent upon cellular communication between osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and the coupling of bone resorption to bone formation. This tight coupling is essential for the correct function and maintenance of the skeletal system, repairing microscopic skeletal damage and replacing aged bone. A range of pathologic diseases, including osteoporosis and cancer-induced bone disease, disrupt this coupling and cause subsequent alterations in bone homeostasis. Eph receptors and their associated ligands, ephrins, play critical roles in a number of cellular processes including immune regulation, neuronal development and cancer metastasis. Eph receptors are also expressed by cells found within the bone marrow microenvironment, including osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and there is increasing evidence to implicate this family of receptors in the control of normal and pathological bone remodeling
The compact far infrared emission from the young stellar object IRAS 16293-2422
High resolution far IR observations at 50 and 100 microns were made of the young stellar object (YSO), IRAS 16293-2422. The observations are part of a systematic high resolution study of nearby YSO's. The purpose is to obtain resolution in the far IR comparable to that at other wavelengths. Until recently, the high resolution that has been available in the far IR has been from either IRAS (angular resolution of approx 4 min) or the KAO using standard FIR photometry (approx 35 sec). With scanning techniques, it is possible to obtain 10 sec resolution on bright sources. Such a resolution is necessary to better determine the physical conditions of the YSO, and to compare with model of star formation. In order to better constrain the models for the source, the YSO was observed at both 50 and 100 microns on several flights in 1988 April from the KAO. Estimates are presented of the size both along the major and minor axis of the disk, as well as estimates of the dust temperature and 100 micron opacity for the YSO
The impact of shocks on the chemistry of molecular clouds: high resolution images of chemical differentiation along the NGC1333-IRAS2A outflow
This paper presents a detailed study of the chemistry in the outflow
associated with the low-mass protostar NGC1333-IRAS2A down to 3" (650 AU)
scales. Millimeter-wavelength aperture-synthesis observations from the OVRO and
BIMA interferometers and (sub)millimeter single-dish observations from the
Onsala 20m telescope and CSO are presented. The interaction of the highly
collimated protostellar outflow with a molecular condensation ~15000 AU from
the central protostar is clearly traced by molecular species such as HCN, SiO,
SO, CS, and CH3OH. Especially SiO traces a narrow high velocity component at
the interface between the outflow and the molecular condensation.
Multi-transition single-dish observations are used to distinguish the chemistry
of the shock from that of the molecular condensation and to address the
physical conditions therein. Statistical equilibrium calculations reveal
temperatures of 20 and 70 K for the quiescent and shocked components,
respectively, and densities near 10^6 cm^{-3}. Significant abundance
enhancements of two to four orders of magnitude are found in the shocked region
for molecules such as CH3OH, SiO and the sulfur-bearing molecules. HCO+ is seen
only in the aftermath of the shock consistent with models where it is destroyed
through release of H2O from grain mantles in the shock. N2H+ shows narrow
lines, not affected by the outflow but rather probing the ambient cloud.
Differences in abundances of HCN, H2CO and CS are seen between different
outflow regions and are suggested to be related to differences in the atomic
carbon abundance. Compared to the warm inner parts of protostellar envelopes,
higher abundances of in particular CH3OH and SiO are found in the outflows,
which may be related to density differences between the regions.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Preclinical and clinical performance of the Efoora test, a rapid test for detection of human immunodeficiency virus-specific antibodies
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