186 research outputs found
Multimedia Resources Statistics: Understanding Usage of Non-text Resources
As budget cuts are a constant threat and resource costs continue to rise, libraries rely on usage data to be sure that they are delivering the content faculty and students need. Simultaneously, patrons are increasingly accessing multimedia content in the library, and usage reporting standards, like COUNTER’s Release 4, have adapted to reflect this use. This poster explores whether usage of text and non-text resources be compared according to the same measurements, as well as what best practices have emerged, and what gaps remain in current reporting methods
Halophilanema prolata n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Allantonematidae), a parasite of the intertidal bug, Saldula laticollis (Reuter)(Hemiptera: Saldidae) on the Oregon coast
This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed Central and can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/.Background: It is rare to find terrestrial nematode lineages parasitizing arthropods inhabiting the intertidal or\ud
littoral zone of the oceans. During an ecological study along the Oregon dunes, an allantonematid nematode\ud
(Tylenchomorpha: Allantonematidae) was discovered parasitizing the intertidal shore bug, Saldula laticollis (Reuter)\ud
(Hemiptera: Saldidae). This shore bug is adapted to an intertidal environment and can survive short periods of\ud
submergence during high tides. The present study describes the nematode parasite and discusses aspects of its\ud
development, ecology and evolution.\ud
Methods: Adults and last instar nymphs of S. laticollis (Hemiptera: Saldidae) were collected from the high intertidal\ud
zone among clumps of Juncus L. (Juncaceae) plants at Waldport, Oregon on October 3, 2011. The bugs were\ud
dissected in 1% saline solution and the nematodes killed in 1% Ringers solution and immediately fixed in 5%\ud
formalin (at 20°C). Third stage juveniles removed from infected hosts were maintained in 1% saline solution until\ud
they matured to the adult stage, molted and mated.\ud
Results: Halophilanema prolata n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Allantonematidae) is described from last instar nymphs\ud
and adults of the intertidal bug, Saldula laticollis on the Oregon coast. The new genus can be distinguished from\ud
other genera in the Allantonematidae by a stylet lacking basal knobs in both sexes, an excretory pore located\ud
behind the nerve ring, ribbed spicules, a gubernaculum, the absence of a bursa and the elongate-tubular shape of\ud
the ovoviviparous parasitic females. Studies of the organogenesis of Halophilanema showed development to third\ud
stage juveniles in the uterus of parasitic females. Maturation to the free-living adults and mating occurred in the\ud
environment. The incidence of infection of S. laticollis ranged from 0% to 85% depending on the microhabitat in\ud
the intertidal zone.\ud
Conclusions: Based on the habitat and morphological characters, it is proposed that Halophilanema adapted a\ud
parasitic existence fairly recently, evolutionarily speaking. It was probably a free-living intertidal or shore nematode\ud
that fed on microorganisms, especially fungi, in the intertidal habitat and became parasitic after saldids entered the\ud
environment. Halophilanema represents the first described nematode parasite of an intertidal insect
Global Disease Burden Estimates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus–Associated Acute Respiratory Infection in Older Adults in 2015::A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Respiratory syncytial virus associated acute respiratory infection (RSV-ARI)constitutes a substantial disease burden in older adults≥65 years. We aimed to identify all studies worldwide investigating the disease burden ofRSV-ARIin this population. We estimated thecommunityincidence, hospitalisationrate and in-hospital case fatality ratio (hCFR) of RSV-ARI in older adults stratified by industrialized anddeveloping regions, with data from a systematic review ofstudies published between January 1996 and April 2018, and from 8 unpublished population-based studies. We applied these rate estimates to population estimates for 2015, to calculate the global and regional burdenin older adults with RSV-ARIin community and in hospital duringthat year. We estimated thenumber ofin-hospital RSV-ARIdeaths by combining hCFR with hospital admission estimates from hospital-based studies. In 2015, there were about 1.5million(95% CI 0.3-6.9) episodes of RSV-ARIin older adults in41industrialised countries (data missing in developing countries), and of these 214,000 (~14.5%; 95% CI 100,000-459,000) were admitted to hospitals. The global number of hospital admissionsforRSV-ARI in older adults was estimated at 336,000 (UR 186,000-614,000).We further estimated about 14,000 (UR 5,000-50,000) in-hospital deaths related to RSV-ARIglobally.The hospital admission rate and hCFR were higher for those ≥65 years than those aged 50-64 years. The disease burden of RSV-ARIamong older adults is substantialwith limited data from developing countries; appropriate prevention and management strategiesare needed to reduce this burden
Computational prediction of neural progenitor cell fates
Understanding how stem and progenitor cells choose between alternative cell fates is a major challenge in developmental biology. Efforts to tackle this problem have been hampered by the scarcity of markers that can be used to predict cell division outcomes. Here we present a computational method, based on algorithmic information theory, to analyze dynamic features of living cells over time. Using this method, we asked whether rat retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) display characteristic phenotypes before undergoing mitosis that could foretell their fate. We predicted whether RPCs will undergo a self-renewing or terminal division with 99% accuracy, or whether they will produce two photoreceptors or another combination of offspring with 87% accuracy. Our implementation can segment, track and generate predictions for 40 cells simultaneously on a standard computer at 5 min per frame. This method could be used to isolate cell populations with specific developmental potential, enabling previously impossible investigations.The computational aspects of this work were supported by the Center for Subsurface Sensing and
Imaging Systems (NSF Grant EEC-9986821), by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and by the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the
Foundation Fighting Blindness – Canada (to M.C). M.C. is a CIHR New Investigator and a W.K.
Stell Scholar of the Foundation Fighting Blindness – Canada
Soluble CD40 ligand and prolactin levels in migraine patients during interictal period
The relationship of migraine with cardiovascular diseases has been clarified by many studies, and currently, migraine is suggested to be a systematic vasculopathy. Inflammation, thrombosis and impaired vascular reactivity are the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of the vasculopathy. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between prolactin levels and subclinical atherosclerosis risk factors such as soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) in migraine patients during interictal period. Fifty female migraine patients and age-matched 25 female control cases were enrolled in the study. Migraine diagnosis was settled according to the ICHD-II diagnostic criteria. A questionnaire was completed about the existence of vascular risk factors. Serum samples were used to measure sCD40L, hsCRP and prolactin levels. No difference was found between the prolactin levels of the migraine patients and the controls. The sCD40L levels were significantly higher in migraine patients (p < 0.001). High-sensitivity CRP levels showed no difference between the groups. There was no correlation between prolactin, sCD40L, and hs-CRP levels in migraine patients. We consider that the migraine patients are prone to subclinical atherosclerosis, but this tendency is independent of prolactin levels
Plasticity in Major Ampullate Silk Production in Relation to Spider Phylogeny and Ecology
Spider major ampullate silk is a high-performance biomaterial that has received much attention. However, most studies ignore plasticity in silk properties. A better understanding of silk plasticity could clarify the relative importance of chemical composition versus processing of silk dope for silk properties. It could also provide insight into how control of silk properties relates to spider ecology and silk uses
A review of diagnostic and functional imaging in headache
The neuroimaging of
headache patients has revolutionised
our understanding of the pathophysiology
of primary headaches and provided
unique insights into these syndromes.
Modern imaging studies
point, together with the clinical picture,
towards a central triggering
cause. The early functional imaging
work using positron emission
tomography shed light on the genesis
of some syndromes, and has
recently been refined, implying that
the observed activation in migraine
(brainstem) and in several trigeminal-autonomic headaches (hypothalamic
grey) is involved in the pain
process in either a permissive or
triggering manner rather than simply
as a response to first-division nociception
per se. Using the advanced
method of voxel-based morphometry,
it has been suggested that there
is a correlation between the brain
area activated specifically in acute
cluster headache — the posterior
hypothalamic grey matter — and an
increase in grey matter in the same
region. No structural changes have
been found for migraine and medication
overuse headache, whereas
patients with chronic tension-type
headache demonstrated a significant
grey matter decrease in regions
known to be involved in pain processing.
Modern neuroimaging thus
clearly suggests that most primary
headache syndromes are predominantly
driven from the brain, activating
the trigeminovascular reflex and
needing therapeutics that act on both
sides: centrally and peripherally
Co-regulation of a large and rapidly evolving repertoire of odorant receptor genes
The olfactory system meets niche- and species-specific demands by an accelerated evolution of its odorant receptor repertoires. In this review, we describe evolutionary processes that have shaped olfactory and vomeronasal receptor gene families in vertebrate genomes. We emphasize three important periods in the evolution of the olfactory system evident by comparative genomics: the adaptation to land in amphibian ancestors, the decline of olfaction in primates, and the delineation of putative pheromone receptors concurrent with rodent speciation. The rapid evolution of odorant receptor genes, the sheer size of the repertoire, as well as their wide distribution in the genome, presents a developmental challenge: how are these ever-changing odorant receptor repertoires coordinated within the olfactory system? A central organizing principle in olfaction is the specialization of sensory neurons resulting from each sensory neuron expressing only ~one odorant receptor allele. In this review, we also discuss this mutually exclusive expression of odorant receptor genes. We have considered several models to account for co-regulation of odorant receptor repertoires, as well as discussed a new hypothesis that invokes important epigenetic properties of the system
A systematic review of clinical trials of pharmacological interventions for acute ischaemic stroke (1955-2008) that were completed, but not published in full
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We assessed the prevalence, and potential impact of, trials of pharmacological agents for acute stroke that were completed but not published in full. Failure to publish trial data is to be deprecated as it sets aside the altruism of participants' consent to be exposed to the risks of experimental interventions, potentially biases the assessment of the effects of therapies, and may lead to premature discontinuation of research into promising treatments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Specialised Register of Trials in June 2008 for completed trials of pharmacological interventions for acute ischaemic stroke, and searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (January 2007 - March 2009) for references to recent full publications. We assessed trial completion status from trial reports, online trials registers and correspondence with experts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 940 trials. Of these, 125 (19.6%, 95% confidence interval 16.5-22.6) were completed but not published in full by the point prevalence date. They included 16,058 participants (16 trials had over 300 participants each) and tested 89 different interventions. Twenty-two trials with a total of 4,251 participants reported the number of deaths. In these trials, 636/4251 (15.0%) died.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that, at the point prevalence date, a substantial body of evidence that was of relevance both to clinical practice in acute stroke and future research in the field was not published in full. Over 16,000 patients had given informed consent and were exposed to the risks of therapy. Responsibility for non-publication lies with investigators, but pharmaceutical companies, research ethics committees, journals and governments can all encourage the timely publication of trial data.</p
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