Right atrial thromboemboli: Clinical, echocardiography and pathophysiologic manifestations

In six patients with clinically unsuspected right atrial thromboemboli the diagnosis was made with two-dimensional echocardiography. Five patients had pulmonary emboli, and one had systemic embolization. Three patients had congestive cardiomyopathy, two with tricuspid regurgitation; of the remaining three, one had cor pulmonale complicated by tricuspid regurgitation, one had thrombophlebitis and one had no discernible cardiac illness. Four patients had dizziness or syncope, four had dyspnea, three had chest pain, three had hypotension and two had cyanosis. Five patients were treated with thrombolytic or anticoagulant therapy, or a combination of the two. In three patients, surgical removal of the thrombus was undertaken because of recurrent pulmonary emboli or tricuspid regurgitation, or both, and progressive right heart failure. The thromboemboli were removed in all three, but one patient died.On two-dimensional echocardiography, four of the six patients' thromboemboli were snake-like, unattached to the right atrium and prolapsed freely across the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle in diastole and back into the right atrium in systole. The other two patients' thromboemboli were attached to the right atrium and did not prolapse across the tricuspid valve.Our cases, together with a review of other reports, suggest that right atrial thromboemboli: 1) can be accurately diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography; and 2) result from two different pathophysiologic mechanisms developing a) in situ, either on a foreign body or secondary to reduced cardiac output, or b) as a result of an embolus from systemic vein thromboses

Isometric Representations of Totally Ordered Semigroups

Let S be a subsemigroup of an abelian torsion-free group G. If S is a positive cone of G, then all C*-algebras generated by faithful isometrical non-unitary representations of S are canonically isomorphic. Proved by Murphy, this statement generalized the well-known theorems of Coburn and Douglas. In this note we prove the reverse. If all C*-algebras generated by faithful isometrical non-unitary representations of S are canonically isomorphic, then S is a positive cone of G. Also we consider G = Z\times Z and prove that if S induces total order on G, then there exist at least two unitarily not equivalent irreducible isometrical representation of S. And if the order is lexicographical-product order, then all such representations are unitarily equivalent.Comment: February 21, 2012. Kazan, Russi

Using Second-Order Factor Analysis in Examining Multiple Problems of Clients

This post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of the article submitted to IUPUI ScholarWorks as part of the OASIS Project. Article reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission granted through posted policies on copyright owner’s website or through direct contact with copyright owner.Data from veterans of the Persian Gulf engagement were studied to assess the potential of second-order factor analysis in examining, interpreting, and directing person-environment interventions with an array of different but related individual and environmental problems. Participants of the study were 1,532 veterans of the Persian Gulf engagement who were eligible for social services provided by the Veterans Administration. The results provided support for the use of second-order factors in examining client data and provided information about the relationships among clinically significant problems. Further research on the second-order factors of multidimensional instruments that are used in social work to measure client progress can yield information about how client populations differ and provide direction in selecting interventions that are congruent with social work's person-environment focus

A search for molecules in damped Lyman-alpha absorbers occulting millimetre-loud quasars

We have used the SEST 15-metre and Onsala 20-metre telescopes to perform deep (r.m.s. >~ 30 mJy) integrations of various molecular rotational transitions towards damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems (DLAs) known to occult millimetre-loud quasars. We have observed 6 new systems and improved the existing limits for 11 transitions. These limits may be approaching the sensitivities required to detect new systems and we present a small number of candidate systems which we believe warrant further observation.Comment: 7 pages, 1 PS figure, 4 tables. Accepted by A&

Toxoplasma gondii infection drives conversion of NK cells into ILC1-like cells

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) were originally classified based on their cytokine profiles, placing natural killer (NK) cells and ILC1s together, but recent studies support their separation into different lineages at steady-state. However, tumors may induce NK cell conversion into ILC1-like cells that are limited to the tumor microenvironment and whether this conversion occurs beyond this environment remains unknown. Here, we describ

The Grizzly, November 10, 1989

Wismer Staff Pleads Innocence: Verdict? • Museum Safe and Sound • Dinner for Visitors • Letters: Get to the Point!; GDI Tired of Greek Rights at U.C.; Pro-Life Prof Speaks for Babies • U.C.\u27s Very Vibrant Voices • Opinion: Global Warming • Promoting Condom Sensehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1246/thumbnail.jp

A Multicenter Examination and Strategic Revisions of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale

Objective To examine the internal consistency and distribution of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores to inform modification of the measure. Methods This cross-sectional study included 617 participants with a tic disorder (516 children and 101 adults), who completed an age-appropriate diagnostic interview and the YGTSS to evaluate tic symptom severity. The distributions of scores on YGTSS dimensions were evaluated for normality and skewness. For dimensions that were skewed across motor and phonic tics, a modified Delphi consensus process was used to revise selected anchor points. Results Children and adults had similar clinical characteristics, including tic symptom severity. All participants were examined together. Strong internal consistency was identified for the YGTSS Motor Tic score (α = 0.80), YGTSS Phonic Tic score (α = 0.87), and YGTSS Total Tic score (α = 0.82). The YGTSS Total Tic and Impairment scores exhibited relatively normal distributions. Several subscales and individual item scales departed from a normal distribution. Higher scores were more often used on the Motor Tic Number, Frequency, and Intensity dimensions and the Phonic Tic Frequency dimension. By contrast, lower scores were more often used on Motor Tic Complexity and Interference, and Phonic Tic Number, Intensity, Complexity, and Interference. Conclusions The YGTSS exhibits good internal consistency across children and adults. The parallel findings across Motor and Phonic Frequency, Complexity, and Interference dimensions prompted minor revisions to the anchor point description to promote use of the full range of scores in each dimension. Specific minor revisions to the YGTSS Phonic Tic Symptom Checklist were also proposed

Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant therapy with MitoQ ameliorates aortic stiffening in old mice.

Aortic stiffening is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, cognitive dysfunction, and other chronic disorders of aging. Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species are a key source of arterial oxidative stress, which may contribute to arterial stiffening by promoting adverse structural changes-including collagen overabundance and elastin degradation-and enhancing inflammation, but the potential for mitochondria-targeted therapeutic strategies to ameliorate aortic stiffening with primary aging is unknown. We assessed aortic stiffness [pulse-wave velocity (aPWV)], ex vivo aortic intrinsic mechanical properties [elastic modulus (EM) of collagen and elastin regions], and aortic protein expression in young (~6 mo) and old (~27 mo) male C57BL/6 mice consuming normal drinking water (YC and OC) or water containing mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ (250 µM; YMQ and OMQ) for 4 wk. Both baseline and postintervention aPWV values were higher in OC vs. YC (post: 482 ± 21 vs. 420 ± 5 cm/s, P < 0.05). MitoQ had no effect in young mice but decreased aPWV in old mice (OMQ, 426 ± 20, P < 0.05 vs. OC). MitoQ did not affect age-associated increases in aortic collagen-region EM, collagen expression, or proinflammatory cytokine expression, but partially attenuated age-associated decreases in elastin region EM and elastin expression. Our results demonstrate that MitoQ reverses in vivo aortic stiffness in old mice and suggest that mitochondria-targeted antioxidants may represent a novel, promising therapeutic strategy for decreasing aortic stiffness with primary aging and, possibly, age-related clinical disorders in humans. The destiffening effects of MitoQ treatment may be at least partially mediated by attenuation/reversal of age-related aortic elastin degradation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that 4 wk of treatment with the mitochondria-specific antioxidant MitoQ in mice completely reverses the age-associated elevation in aortic stiffness, assessed as aortic pulse-wave velocity. The destiffening effects of MitoQ treatment may be at least partially mediated by attenuation of age-related aortic elastin degradation. Our results suggest that mitochondria-targeted therapeutic strategies may hold promise for decreasing arterial stiffening with aging in humans, possibly decreasing the risk of many chronic age-related clinical disorders

Spitzer IRAC observations of newly-discovered planetary nebulae from the Macquarie-AAO-Strasbourg H-alpha Planetary Nebula Project

We compare H-alpha, radio continuum, and Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) images of 58 planetary nebulae (PNe) recently discovered by the Macquarie-AAO-Strasbo- urg H-alpha PN Project (MASH) of the SuperCOSMOS H-alpha Survey. Using InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) data we define the IR colors of PNe and demonstrate good isolation between these colors and those of many other types of astronomical object. The only substantive contamination of PNe in the color-color plane we illustrate is due to YSOs. However, this ambiguity is readily resolved by the unique optical characteristics of PNe and their environs. We also examine the relationships between optical and MIR morphologies from 3.6 to 8.0um and explore the ratio of mid-infrared (MIR) to radio nebular fluxes, which is a valuable discriminant between thermal and nonthermal emission. MASH emphasizes late evolutionary stages of PNe compared with previous catalogs, enabling study of the changes in MIR and radio flux that attend the aging process. Spatially integrated MIR energy distributions were constructed for all MASH PNe observed by the GLIMPSE Legacy Project, using the H-alpha morphologies to establish the dimensions for the calculations of the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX), IRAC, and radio continuum (from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope and the Very Large Array) flux densities. The ratio of IRAC 8.0-um to MSX 8.3-um flux densities provides a measure of the absolute diffuse calibration of IRAC at 8.0 um. We independently confirm the aperture correction factor to be applied to IRAC at 8.0um to align it with the diffuse calibration of MSX. The result agrees with the recommendations of the Spitzer Science Center and with results from a parallel study of HII regions. These PNe probe the diffuse calibration of IRAC on a spatial scale of 9-77 arcsec.Comment: 48 pages, LaTeX (aastex), incl. 18 PostScript (eps) figures and 3 tables. Accepted by Astrophysical Journa