520 research outputs found
Infusion of donor leukocytes to induce tolerance in organ allograft recipients
To further enhance chimerism, 229 primary allograft recipients have received perioperative intravenous infusion of a single dose of 3 to 6 x 108 unmodified donor bone marrow (BM) cells/kg body weight. In addition, 42 patients have been accrued in a concurrent protocol involving multiple (up to three) sequential perioperative infusions of 2 x 108 BM cells/kg/day from day 0-2 posttransplantation (PTx). Organ recipients (n = 133) for whom BM was not available were monitored as controls. The infusion of BM was safe and except for 50 (18%), all study patients have optimal graft function. Of the control patients, allografts in 30 (23%) have been lost during the course of follow-up. The cumulative risk of acute cellular rejection (ACR) was statistically lower in the study patients compared with that of controls. It is interesting that, 62% of BM-augmented heart recipients were free of ACR (Grade ≥ 3A) in the first 6 months PTx compared to controls. The incidence of obliterative bronchiolitis was also statistically lower in study lung recipients (3.8%) compared with the contemporaneously acquired controls (31%). The levels of donor cell chimerism were at least a log higher in the peripheral blood of majority of the study patients compared with that of controls. The incidence of donor-specific hyporeactivity, as determined by one-way mixed leukocyte reaction, was also higher in those BM-augmented liver, kidney, and lung recipients that could be evaluated compared to controls
Collaborative Musical Expression and Creativity Among Academics: When Intellectualism Meets Twelve Bar Blues
The Professors are a blues, rock, and sometime heavy metal band made up of communication professors from a number of New Jersey schools. Formed in 1995, the band has played in clubs in New York City as well as a number of academic venues, including the annual conference of the International Communication Association in Chicago in 1996 and the annual conference of the National Communication Association in New York City in 1998. The Professors have been featured in both local and national press, including the Chronicle of Higher Education. When we learned of the call for papers for this special issue of the American Communication Journal addressing the creative endeavors of Communication scholars beyond their regular research agendas, we were delighted to have the opportunity to reflect upon the place of musical creativity within our lives as working academics. What follows in this paper are the thoughts of a number of band members, past and present, who trace the relationship of the musical, the creative, and the intellectual in terms of their own personal histories and academic interests
Bacteremia in Lung Transplant Recipients in the Current Era
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71409/1/j.1600-6143.2006.01565.x.pd
Assessment of contemporary satellite sea ice thickness products for Arctic sea ice
Advances in remote sensing of sea ice over the past two
decades have resulted in a wide variety of satellite-derived sea ice
thickness data products becoming publicly available. Selecting the most
appropriate product is challenging given end user objectives range from
incorporating satellite-derived thickness information in operational
activities, including sea ice forecasting, routing of maritime traffic and
search and rescue, to climate change analysis, longer-term modelling,
prediction and future planning. Depending on the use case, selecting the
most suitable satellite data product can depend on the region of interest,
data latency, and whether the data are provided routinely, for example via a
climate or maritime service provider. Here we examine a suite of current sea
ice thickness data products, collating key details of primary interest to
end users. We assess 8 years of sea ice thickness observations derived
from sensors on board the CryoSat-2 (CS2), Advanced Very-High-Resolution
Radiometer (AVHRR) and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellites.
We evaluate the satellite-only observations with independent ice draft and
thickness measurements obtained from the Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
(BGEP) upward looking sonar (ULS) instruments and Operation IceBridge (OIB),
respectively. We find a number of key differences among data products but
find that products utilizing CS2-only measurements are reliable for sea ice
thickness, particularly between ∼0.5 and 4 m. Among data
compared, a blended CS2-SMOS product was the most reliable for thin ice. Ice
thickness distributions at the end of winter appeared realistic when
compared with independent ice draft measurements, with the exception of
those derived from AVHRR. There is disagreement among the products in terms
of the magnitude of the mean thickness trends, especially in spring 2017.
Regional comparisons reveal noticeable differences in ice thickness between
products, particularly in the marginal seas in areas of considerable ship
traffic.</p
Kidney after nonrenal transplantation-the impact of alemtuzumab induction
BACKGROUND.: Calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity in nonrenal allograft recipients can lead to end-stage renal disease and the need for kidney transplantation. We sought to evaluate the role of alemtuzumab induction in this population. PATIENTS AND METHODS.: We evaluated 144 patients undergoing kidney transplantation after nonrenal transplantation between May 18, 1998, and October 8, 2007. Seventy-two patients transplanted between January 15, 2003, and October 8, 2007, received alemtuzumab induction and continued their pretransplant immunosuppression. Seventy-two patients transplanted between May 18, 1998, and July 21, 2007, did not receive alemtuzumab induction, but received additional steroids and maintenance immunosuppression. Donor and recipient demographics were comparable. RESULTS.: Overall, 1-and 3-year patient survival and renal function were comparable between the two groups. One-and 3-year graft survival was 93.0% and 75.3% in the alemtuzumab group and 83.3% and 68.7% in the no alemtuzumab group, respectively (P=0.051). The incidence of acute rejection was lower in the alemtuzumab group, 15.3%, than in the no alemtuzumab group, 41.7% (P=0.0001). The incidence of delayed graft function was lower in the alemtuzumab group, 9.7%, than in the no alemtuzumab group, 25.0% (P=0.003). The incidence of viral complications was comparable. CONCLUSION.: Alemtuzumab induction with simple resumption of baseline immunosuppression in patients undergoing kidney transplantation after nonrenal transplantation represents a reasonable immunosuppressive strategy. Copyright © 2009 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Net neutrality discourses: comparing advocacy and regulatory arguments in the United States and the United Kingdom
Telecommunications policy issues rarely make news, much less mobilize thousands of people. Yet this has been occurring in the United States around efforts to introduce "Net neutrality" regulation. A similar grassroots mobilization has not developed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe. We develop a comparative analysis of U.S. and UK Net neutrality debates with an eye toward identifying the arguments for and against regulation, how those arguments differ between the countries, and what the implications of those differences are for the Internet. Drawing on mass media, advocacy, and regulatory discourses, we find that local regulatory precedents as well as cultural factors contribute to both agenda setting and framing of Net neutrality. The differences between national discourses provide a way to understand both the structural differences between regulatory cultures and the substantive differences between policy interpretations, both of which must be reconciled for the Internet to continue to thrive as a global medium
Net neutrality discourses: comparing advocacy and regulatory arguments in the United States and the United Kingdom
Telecommunications policy issues rarely make news, much less mobilize thousands of people. Yet this has been occurring in the United States around efforts to introduce "Net neutrality" regulation. A similar grassroots mobilization has not developed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe. We develop a comparative analysis of U.S. and UK Net neutrality debates with an eye toward identifying the arguments for and against regulation, how those arguments differ between the countries, and what the implications of those differences are for the Internet. Drawing on mass media, advocacy, and regulatory discourses, we find that local regulatory precedents as well as cultural factors contribute to both agenda setting and framing of Net neutrality. The differences between national discourses provide a way to understand both the structural differences between regulatory cultures and the substantive differences between policy interpretations, both of which must be reconciled for the Internet to continue to thrive as a global medium
Antilymphoid antibody preconditioning and tacrolimus monotherapy for pediatric kidney transplantation
Objective: Heavy post-transplant immunosuppression may contribute to long-term immunosuppression dependence by subverting tolerogenic mechanisms; thus, we sought to determine if this undesirable consequence could be mitigated by pretransplant lymphoid depletion and minimalistic post-transplant monotherapy. Study design: Lymphoid depletion in 17 unselected pediatric recipients of live (n = 14) or deceased donor kidneys (n = 3) was accomplished with antithymocyte globulin (ATG) (n = 8) or alemtuzumab (n = 9). Tacrolimus was begun post-transplantation with subsequent lengthening of intervals between doses (spaced weaning). Maintenance immunosuppression, morbidity, graft function, and patient/graft survival were collated. Results: Steroids were added temporarily to treat rejection in two patients (both ATG subgroup) or to treat hemolytic anemia in two others. After 16 to 31 months (mean 22), patient and graft survival was 100% and 94%, respectively. The only graft loss was in a nonweaned noncompliant recipient. In the other 16, serum creatinine was 0.85 ± 0.35 mg/dL and creatinine clearance was 90.8 ± 22.1 mL/1.73 m2. All 16 patients are on monotherapy (15 tacrolimus, one sirolimus), and 14 receive every other day or 3 times per week doses. There were no wound or other infections. Two patients developed insulin-dependent diabetes. Conclusion: The strategy of lymphoid depletion and minimum post-transplant immunosuppression appears safe and effective for pediatric kidney recipients. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Ethical Surveillance: Applying Deep Learning and Contextual Awareness for the Benefit of Persons Living with Dementia
A significant proportion of the population has become used to sharing private information on the internet with their friends. This information can leak throughout their social network and the extent that personal information propagates can depend on the privacy policy of large corporations. In an era of artificial intelligence, data mining, and cloud computing, is it necessary to share personal information with unidentified people? Our research shows that deep learning is possible using relatively low capacity computing. When applied, this demonstrates promising results in spatio-temporal positioning of subjects, in prediction of movement, and assessment of contextual risk. A private surveillance system is particularly suitable in the care of those who may be considered vulnerable
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