Predicting death over 8 years in a prospective cohort of HIV-infected women: the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

ObjectivesPredicting mortality in middle-aged HIV-infected (HIV+) women on antiretroviral therapies (ART) is important for understanding the impact of HIV infection. Several health indices have been used to predict mortality in women with HIV infection. We evaluated: (1) an HIV biological index, Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS); (2) a physical index, Fried Frailty Index (FFI); and (3) a mental health index, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D). Proportional hazards regression analyses were used to predict death and included relevant covariates.DesignProspective, observational cohort.SettingMulticentre, across six sites in the USA.Participants1385 multirace/ethnic ART-experienced HIV+ women in 2005.Primary and secondary outcomesAll deaths, AIDS deaths and non-AIDS deaths up to ~8 years from baseline.ResultsIncluded together in one model, VACS Index was the dominant, significant independent predictor of all deaths within 3 years (HR=2.20, 95% CI 1.83, 2.65, χ2=69.04, p<0.0001), and later than 3 years (HR=1.55, 95% CI 1.30, 1.84, χ2=23.88, p<0.0001); followed by FFI within 3 years (HR=2.06, 95% CI 1.19, 3.57, χ2=6.73, p=0.01) and later than 3 years (HR=2.43, 95% CI 1.58, 3.75, χ2=16.18, p=0.0001). CES-D score was not independently associated with mortality.Conclusions and relevanceThis is the first simultaneous evaluation of three common health indices in HIV+ adults. Indices reflecting physical and biological ageing were associated with death

Rapid oligo-galacturonide induced changes in protein phosphorylation in arabidopsis

The wall-associated kinases (WAKs)1 are receptor protein kinases that bind to long polymers of cross-linked pectin in the cell wall. These plasma-membrane-associated protein kinases also bind soluble pectin fragments called oligo-galacturonides (OGs) released from the wall after pathogen attack and damage. WAKs are required for cell expansion during development but bind water soluble OGs generated from walls with a higher affinity than the wall-associated polysaccharides. OGs activate a WAKdependent, distinct stress-like response pathway to help plants resist pathogen attack. In this report, a quantitative mass-spectrometric-based phosphoproteomic analysis was used to identify Arabidopsis cellular events rapidly induced by OGs in planta. Using N14/ N15 isotopic in vivo metabolic labeling, we screened 1,000 phosphoproteins for rapid OG-induced changes and found 50 proteins with increased phosphorylation, while there were none that decreased significantly. Seven of the phosphosites within these proteins overlap with those altered by another signaling molecule plants use to indicate the presence of pathogens (the bacterial elicitor peptide Flg22), indicating distinct but overlapping pathways activated by these two types of chemicals. Genetic analysis of genes encoding 10 OG-specific and two Flg22/OG-induced phosphoproteins reveals that null mutations in eight proteins compromise the OG response. These phosphorylated proteins with genetic evidence supporting their role in the OG response include two cytoplasmic kinases, two membrane-associated scaffold proteins, a phospholipase C, a CDPK, an unknown cadmium response protein, and a motor protein. Null mutants in two proteins, the putative scaffold protein REM1.3, and a cytoplasmic receptor like kinase ROG2, enhance and suppress, respectively, a dominant WAK allele. Altogether, the results of these chemical and genetic experiments reveal the identity of several phosphorylated proteins involved in the kinase/ phosphatase-mediated signaling pathway initiated by cell wall changes

Erosive processes due to physical-biological interactions based in a cellular automata model

The Bahía Blanca Estuary (38° 50' S, 62° 30' W) presents salt marshes where interactions between the local main plant and the dominant crab generate some very characteristics salt pans. These pans alter the normal water circulation and condition its trajectory generating an erosive process. The removed sediment is then exported to the main estuary through the creeks that evolve from those biological-physical interactions. To study it, a conceptual model is proposed, based on the laws deduced from observation of these phenomena in the field, and then verified with measurable data within macroscale time units. The objective of this article is to model how the interaction between the crab C. granulata and the plant S. perennis modifies the landscape of the salt marsh and influences the loss of sediment with a Cellular Automata Model. Originally developed to study the effect of the interaction plant - crab in the formation of tidal creeks, the model copies the basic laws that dominate the problem based on purely biological factors. Finally, the volume of sediment that is removed and how it varies in time are evaluated. The model results a very good tool to integrate a large quantity of data collected recently and to be able to extract conclusions on processes that have a very slow dynamics. Additionally, it could reproduce faithfully the salt marsh landscape product of the plants - crab interaction

Hybrid time-domain and continuous-wave diffuse optical tomography instrument with concurrent, clinical magnetic resonance imaging for breast cancer imaging

Diffuse optical tomography has demonstrated significant potential for clinical utility in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer, and its use in combination with other structural imaging modalities improves lesion localization and the quantification of functional tissue properties. Here, we introduce a hybrid diffuse optical imaging system that operates concurrently with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the imaging suite, utilizing commercially available MR surface coils. The instrument acquires both continuous-wave and time-domain diffuse optical data in the parallel-plate geometry, permitting both absolute assignment of tissue optical properties and three-dimensional tomography; moreover, the instrument is designed to incorporate diffuse correlation spectroscopic measurements for probing tissue blood flow. The instrument is described in detail here. Image reconstructions of a tissue phantom are presented as an initial indicator of the system’s ability to accurately reconstruct optical properties and the concrete benefits of the spatial constraints provided by concurrent MRI. Last, we briefly discuss how various data combinations that the instrument could facilitate, including tissue perfusion, can enable more comprehensive assessment of lesion physiology

Beyond belief: Strategic taboos and organizational identity in strategic agenda setting

A comprehensive strategic agenda matters for fundamental strategic change. Our study seeks to explore and theorize how organizational identity beliefs influence the judgment of strategic actors when setting an organization’s strategic agenda. We offer the notion of “strategic taboo” as those strategic options initially disqualified and deemed inconsistent with the organizational identity beliefs of strategic actors. Our study is concerned with how strategic actors confront strategic taboos in the process of setting an organization’s strategic agenda. Based on a revelatory inductive case study, we find that strategic actors engage in assessing the concordance of the strategic taboos with organizational identity beliefs and, more specifically, that they focus on key identity elements (philosophy; priorities; practices) when doing so. We develop a typology of three reinterpretation practices that are each concerned with a key identity element. While contextualizing assesses the potential concordance of a strategic taboo with an organization’s overall philosophy and purpose, instrumentalizing assesses such concordance with respect to what actors deem an organization’s priorities to be. Finally, normalizing explores concordance with respect to compatibility and fit with the organization’s practices. We suggest that assessing concordance of a strategic taboo with identity elements consists in reinterpreting collective identity beliefs in ways that make them consistent with what organizational actors deem the right course of action. This article discusses the implications for theory and research on strategic agenda setting, strategic change, a practice-based perspective on strategy, and on organizational identity. © The Author(s) 2014

Advances in thermal hydraulic and neutronic simulation for reactor analysis and safety

This paper describes several large-scale computational models developed at Argonne National Laboratory for the simulation and analysis of thermal-hydraulic and neutronic events in nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants. The impact of advanced parallel computing technologies on these computational models is emphasized

Juxta-articular myxoma of the knee in a 5-year-old boy: a case report and review of the literature (2009: 12b)

Juxta-articular myxoma (JAM) is a relatively rare variant of myxoma that occurs in the vicinity of large joints. It is composed of fibroblast-like cells that produce an excessive amount of glycosaminoglycans rich in hyaluronic acid. The peak incidence is between the 3rd and 5th decades of life. In this report we describe an extremely rare case of JAM in the knee of a 5-year-old child. The clinical presentation, radiological features and histopathologic findings are described, and the relevant literature is reviewed

Predictors of illness course and health maintenance following inpatient treatment among patients with anorexia nervosa

Background Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a life-threatening psychiatric disorder associated with significant medical and psychosocial impairment. Hospital-based behavioral treatment is an effective intervention in the short-term. However, relapse rates following discharge are high and thus, there is a need to identify predictors of longitudinal outcome. The current study provides information regarding illness course and health maintenance among patients with AN over 5 years following discharge from an eating disorder inpatient unit. Methods Participants were individuals with AN who were discharged from a specialized, inpatient behaviorally-based unit. Prior to discharge, height and weight were measured and participants completed self-report measures of eating disorder severity and general psychopathology (depression, anxiety, harm avoidance). Participants were contacted annually for self-report measures of weight, eating disorder severity and clinical impairment. Outcome was defined by illness course (body mass index (BMI) and clinical impairment during the 5 years) and health maintenance (categories of weight and eating disorder symptom severity) across follow-up, using all available data. Linear mixed models were used to examine whether demographic and clinical parameters at discharge predicted BMI and clinical impairment over time. Additional analyses examined whether these variables significantly influenced an individual’s likelihood of maintaining inpatient treatment gains. Results One-hundred and sixty-eight individuals contributed data. Higher trait anxiety at discharge was associated with a lower BMI during follow-up (p = 0.012). There was a significant interaction between duration of illness and time, whereby duration of illness was associated with a faster rate of weight loss (p = 0.003) during follow-up. As duration of illness increased, there was a greater increase in self-reported clinical impairment (p = 0.011). Increased eating disorder severity at discharge was also associated with greater clinical impairment at follow-up (p = 0.004). Higher BMI at discharge was significantly associated with maintaining healthy weight across a priori BMI-based definitions of health maintenance. Conclusions Weight status (higher BMI) and duration of illness are key factors in the prognosis of AN. Higher weight targets in intensive treatments may be of value in improving outcomes