Simulation of orbital radar images

Many of the questions that arise concerning the operating parameters for spaceborne synthetic aperture imaging radar systems can be addressed in a cost-effective manner by using simulation techniques. This can include use of airborne images, Seasat images, and computer simulation. The first computer simulation of spaceborne radar imagery has been analyzed for system definition studies. Analysis of the simulation indicates that incidence angles as small as 30° are useful for general terrain geomorphologic analysis

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9: A Study of the Participants From the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146986/1/pmr2533.pd

Spaceborne radar observations: A guide for Magellan radar-image analysis

Geologic analyses of spaceborne radar images of Earth are reviewed and summarized with respect to detecting, mapping, and interpreting impact craters, volcanic landforms, eolian and subsurface features, and tectonic landforms. Interpretations are illustrated mostly with Seasat synthetic aperture radar and shuttle-imaging-radar images. Analogies are drawn for the potential interpretation of radar images of Venus, with emphasis on the effects of variation in Magellan look angle with Venusian latitude. In each landform category, differences in feature perception and interpretive capability are related to variations in imaging geometry, spatial resolution, and wavelength of the imaging radar systems. Impact craters and other radially symmetrical features may show apparent bilateral symmetry parallel to the illumination vector at low look angles. The styles of eruption and the emplacement of major and minor volcanic constructs can be interpreted from morphological features observed in images. Radar responses that are governed by small-scale surface roughness may serve to distinguish flow types, but do not provide unambiguous information. Imaging of sand dunes is rigorously constrained by specific angular relations between the illumination vector and the orientation and angle of repose of the dune faces, but is independent of radar wavelength. With a single look angle, conditions that enable shallow subsurface imaging to occur do not provide the information necessary to determine whether the radar has recorded surface or subsurface features. The topographic linearity of many tectonic landforms is enhanced on images at regional and local scales, but the detection of structural detail is a strong function of illumination direction. Nontopographic tectonic lineaments may appear in response to contrasts in small-surface roughness or dielectric constant. The breakpoint for rough surfaces will vary by about 25 percent through the Magellan viewing geometries from low to high Venusian latitudes. Examples of anomalies and system artifacts that can affect image interpretation are described

Structure of the PII signal transduction protein of Neisseria meningitidis at 1.85 Å resolution

The structure of the PII signal transduction protein of N. meningitidis at 1.85 Å resolution is described

Advancing Pharmacist Collaborative Care within Academic Health Systems.

INTRODUCTION:The scope of pharmacy practice has evolved over the last few decades to focus on the optimization of medication therapy. Despite this positive impact, the lack of reimbursement remains a significant barrier to the implementation of innovative pharmacist practice models. SUMMARY:We describe the successful development, implementation and outcomes of three types of pharmacist collaborative care models: (1) a pharmacist with physician oversight, (2) pharmacist-interprofessional teams and (3) physician-pharmacist teams. The outcome measurement of these pharmacist care models varied from the design phase to patient volume measurement and to comprehensive quality dashboards. All of these practice models have been successfully funded by affiliated health systems or grants. CONCLUSIONS:The expansion of pharmacist services delivered by clinical faculty has several benefits to affiliated health systems: (1) significant improvements in patient care quality, (2) access to experts in specialty areas, and (3) the dissemination of outcomes with national and international recognition, increasing the visibility of the health system

Use of Buffers in Specific Contexts : Highly Trained Female Athletes, Extreme Environments and Combined Buffering Agents - A Narrative Review

This narrative review evaluated the evidence for buffering agents (sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate and beta-alanine), with specific consideration of three discrete scenarios: female athletes, extreme environments and combined buffering agents. Studies were screened according to exclusion and inclusion criteria and were analysed on three levels: (1) moderating variables (supplement dose and timing, and exercise test duration and intensity), (2) design factors (e.g., use of crossover or matched group study design, familiarisation trials) and (3) athlete-specific factors (recruitment of highly trained participants, buffering capacity and reported performance improvements). Only 19% of the included studies for the three buffering agents reported a performance benefit, and only 10% recruited highly trained athletes. This low transferability of research findings to athletes’ real-world practices may be due to factors including the small number of sodium citrate studies in females (n = 2), no studies controlling for the menstrual cycle (MC) or menstrual status using methods described in recently established frameworks, and the limited number of beta-alanine studies using performance tests replicating real-world performance efforts (n = 3). We recommend further research into buffering agents in highly trained female athletes that control or account for the MC, studies that replicate the demands of athletes’ heat and altitude camps, and investigations of highly trained athletes’ use of combined buffering agents. In a practical context, we recommend developing evidence-based buffering protocols for individual athletes which feature co-supplementation with other evidence-based products, reduce the likelihood of side-effects, and optimise key moderating factors: supplement dose and timing, and exercise duration and intensity

MicroRNA expression in multiple myeloma is associated with genetic subtype, isotype and survival

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited - Copyright @ 2011 Chi et al.Background: MicroRNAs are small RNA species that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and are aberrantly expressed in many cancers including hematological malignancies. However, the role of microRNAs in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM) is only poorly understood. We therefore used microarray analysis to elucidate the complete miRNome (miRBase version 13.0) of purified tumor (CD138+) cells from 33 patients with MM, 5 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and 9 controls. Results: Unsupervised cluster analysis revealed that MM and MGUS samples have a distinct microRNA expression profile from control CD138+ cells. The majority of microRNAs aberrantly expressed in MM (109/129) were up-regulated. A comparison of these microRNAs with those aberrantly expressed in other B-cell and T-cell malignancies revealed a surprising degree of similarity (~40%) suggesting the existence of a common lymphoma microRNA signature. We identified 39 microRNAs associated with the pre-malignant condition MGUS. Twenty-three (59%) of these were also aberrantly expressed in MM suggesting common microRNA expression events in MM progression. MM is characterized by multiple chromosomal abnormalities of varying prognostic significance. We identified specific microRNA signatures associated with the most common IgH translocations (t(4;14) and t(11;14)) and del(13q). Expression levels of these microRNAs were distinct between the genetic subtypes (by cluster analysis) and correctly predicted these abnormalities in > 85% of cases using the support vector machine algorithm. Additionally, we identified microRNAs associated with light chain only myeloma, as well as IgG and IgA-type MM. Finally, we identified 32 microRNAs associated with event-free survival (EFS) in MM, ten of which were significant by univariate (logrank) survival analysis. Conclusions: In summary, this work has identified aberrantly expressed microRNAs associated with the diagnosis, pathogenesis and prognosis of MM, data which will prove an invaluable resource for understanding the role of microRNAs in this devastating disease.This work was funded by grants from Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research (JC, EB, X-HC, DT, JB and JSW) and the Julian Starmer-Smith Memorial Fund (CHL). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust

Enhanced fluorescence from X-Ray line coincidence pumping

Many resonant photo-pumped X-ray laser schemes that use a strong pump line such as Ly-α or He-α to populate the upper laser state of a separate lasing material have been proposed over the last four decades but none have been demonstrated. As a first step to creating a photo-pumped X-ray laser we have decided to reinvestigate some of these schemes at the Orion laser facility with the goal to show enhanced fluorescence. In particular we look at using the Ly-α or He-α K lines to pump the 1s–3p and 4p transitions in H-like Cl and see fluorescence on the 4f–3d line at 65 Å and the 3d–2p line at 23 Å. Preliminary experiments are presented that show a modest enhancement. As an alternative we also look at enhancing the 2p–2s line in Ne-like Ge at 65 Å using the Ly-α Mg line to photo-pump the 2s–3p line of Ne-like Ge. Calculations are presented that suggest modest enhancements of 2.5