Transmural Inflammation, Ileitis, and Granulomas at the Time of Proctocolectomy in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis Do Not Predict Future Development of Pouchitis

Background: The most common complication following ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is pouchitis. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between histopathologic findings of ileitis, granuloma, or transmural inflammation on the colectomy specimen of patients with clinically and endoscopically diagnosed UC and the development of pouchitis within the first 2 years after IPAA. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study evaluating patients undergoing colectomy with IPAA for UC between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2016. Bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between clinical factors and the development of pouchitis. We performed multivariate logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between histologic, clinical, and demographic factors at the time of colectomy and subsequent development of pouchitis. Results: Among 626 patients, pouchitis occurred in 246 (39%). Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis were more likely to develop pouchitis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-7.72), as were patients with a family history of inflammatory bowel disease (aOR 1.75, 95% CI 1.11-2.77). Histologic findings of ileitis, granuloma, or transmural inflammation were not associated with an increased odds of developing pouchitis (aOR 0.70, 95% CI 0.45-1.08). Discussion/Conclusion: Patients with ileitis, granulomas, or transmural inflammation at the time of colectomy were not at greater risk for development of pouchitis in the 2 years after IPAA. These pathological findings should not preclude IPAA for UC

Time-orthogonal unitary dilations and noncommutative Feynman-Kac formulae

An analysis of Feynman-Kac formulae reveals that, typically, the unperturbed semigroup is expressed as the expectation of a random unitary evolution and the perturbed semigroup is the expectation of a perturbation of this evolution in which the latter perturbation is effected by a cocycle with certain covariance properties with respect to the group of translations and reflections of the line. We consider generalisations of the classical commutative formalism in which the probabilistic properties are described in terms of non-commutative probability theory based on von Neumann algebras. Examples of this type are generated, by means of second quantisation, from a unitary dilation of a given self-adjoint contraction semigroup, called the time orthogonal unitary dilation, whose key feature is that the dilation operators corresponding to disjoint time intervals act nontrivially only in mutually orthogonal supplementary Hilbert spaces.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46525/1/220_2005_Article_BF01976044.pd

Navigating 'the pit of doom': Affective responses to teaching 'grammar'

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleThis article presents the outcomes of a study investigating current secondary English teachers' beliefs about grammar teaching, and illustrates the salience of teachers' emotional response to the issue. Interviews with 31 teachers reveal two discourses which frame the ways in which teachers express their feelings: a dominant discourse of grammar as threatening, reactionary and dull, and an oppositional discourse which positions grammar as inspiring, fascinating, and empowering. The influence of these discourses on practice is explored, along with examples of how attitudes can change as a result of participation in a research project. © 2012 National Association for the Teaching of English

The Influence of Racial Identity Profiles on the Relationship Between Racial Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms

This study examined the association between racial identity profiles, discrimination, and mental health outcomes. African American college students (N = 194) completed measures of racial discrimination, racial identity, college hassles, and depressive symptoms. Four meaningful profiles emerged through a cluster analysis of seven dimensions of racial identity assessed using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI). Results suggested racial identity moderates the relation between discrimination and depressive symptoms. Students whose racial identity profile involves the goal of blending with the mainstream and focusing on shared human qualities rather than race as a core ideological concept had a significantly stronger association between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. The results hold implications for investigating the experience of racial discrimination and conceptualization of racial identity

Molecular and Historical Aspects of Corn Belt Dent Diversity

Tens-of-thousands of open-pollinated cultivars of corn (Zea mays L.) are being maintained in germplasm banks. Knowledge of the amount and distribution of genetic variation within and among accessions can aid end users in choosing among them. We estimated molecular genetic variation and looked for influences of pedigree, adaptation, and migration in the genetic makeup of conserved Corn-Belt Dent-related germplasm. Plants sampled from 57 accessions representing Corn-Belt Dents, Northern Flints, Southern Dents, plus 12 public inbreds, were genotyped at 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci. For 47 of the accessions, between 5 and 23 plants per accession were genotyped (mean = 9.3). Mean number of alleles per locus was 6.5 overall, 3.17 within accessions, and 3.20 within pooled inbreds. Mean gene diversity was 0.53 within accessions and 0.61 within pooled inbreds. Open-pollinated accessions showed a tendency toward inbreeding (FIS = 0.09), and 85% of genetic variation was shared among them. A Fitch-Margoliash tree strongly supported the distinctiveness of flint from dent germplasm but did not otherwise reveal evidence of genetic structure. Mantel tests revealed significant correlations between genetic distance and geographical (r = 0.54, P= 0.04) or maturity zone (r = 0.33, P = 0.03) distance only if flint germplasm was included in the analyses. A significant correlation (r = 0.76, P \u3c 0.01) was found between days to pollen shed and maturity zone of accession origin. Pedigree, rather than migration or selection, has most influenced the genetic structure of the extant representatives of the open-pollinated cultivars at these SSR loci

Microflares and the Statistics of X-ray Flares

This review surveys the statistics of solar X-ray flares, emphasising the new views that RHESSI has given us of the weaker events (the microflares). The new data reveal that these microflares strongly resemble more energetic events in most respects; they occur solely within active regions and exhibit high-temperature/nonthermal emissions in approximately the same proportion as major events. We discuss the distributions of flare parameters (e.g., peak flux) and how these parameters correlate, for instance via the Neupert effect. We also highlight the systematic biases involved in intercomparing data representing many decades of event magnitude. The intermittency of the flare/microflare occurrence, both in space and in time, argues that these discrete events do not explain general coronal heating, either in active regions or in the quiet Sun.Comment: To be published in Space Science Reviews (2011