210 research outputs found
Study of the Feasibility of Using a Doctor's Assistant in Rural Areas
In this study, a program for the use of a doctor's assistant in rural areas was outlined. It was proposed that this assistant position would be filled by a man who had received training and had worked as an independent duty medical technician in the Armed Forces. Information about this individual's specific medical capabilities was obtained through the use of a questionnaire completed by training personnel at Sheppard Air Force Base. Another questionnaire was used to compare the opinions of doctors and independent duty technicians on the corpsman's ability to perform 48 medical tasks at varying degrees 9f independence. 'l'he capabilities of the medical techrtician, plus the expected population usage were used to determine the size and type of facilities and equipment necessary to provide medical service to a community. The cost of this equipment and the related services were compared to the expected patient workload at a specific fee to determine the feasibility of the program. The results of the survey from Sheppard Air Force Base supported the assumption that the independent duty technician was able to diagnose and treat a number of the more common medical disorders with a minimum of supervision. The doctors and corpsmen surveyed in the sample were found to have similar perceptions about the degree of independence with which the independent duty technician could perform the tasks listed. Analysis of the anticipated costs and expected revenues of the program showed that, initially, it would not be financially feasible. The problem arose from the high risk involved for the supervising doctor and the payment necessary to offset this risk.Business Administratio
An Optimized Approach to Perform Bone Histomorphometry
Bone histomorphometry allows quantitative evaluation of bone micro-architecture, bone formation, and bone remodeling by providing an insight to cellular changes. Histomorphometry plays an important role in monitoring changes in bone properties because of systemic skeletal diseases like osteoporosis and osteomalacia. Besides, quantitative evaluation plays an important role in fracture healing studies to explore the effect of biomaterial or drug treatment. However, until today, to our knowledge, bone histomorphometry remain time-consuming and expensive. This incited us to set up an open-source freely available semi-automated solution to measure parameters like trabecular area, osteoid area, trabecular thickness, and osteoclast activity. Here in this study, the authors present the adaptation of Trainable Weka Segmentation plugin of ImageJ to allow fast evaluation of bone parameters (trabecular area, osteoid area) to diagnose bone related diseases. Also, ImageJ toolbox and plugins (BoneJ) were adapted to measure osteoclast activity, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation. The optimized two different scripts are based on ImageJ, by providing simple user-interface and easy accessibility for biologists and clinicians. The scripts developed for bone histomorphometry can be optimized globally for other histological samples. The showed scripts will benefit the scientific community in histological evaluation
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Search for Spontaneous Conversion of Muonium to Antimuonium
We have searched for spontaneous conversion of muonium (M) to antimuonium M bar by a method involving detection of high-Z muonic X rays. A beam of M atoms with keV energies, produced by electron pickup by ..mu../sup +/ from a foil, travels in vacuum and in a magnetic field-free environment to a high-Z target. The event signatures used were a double coincidence of two muonic X rays of the target material and a triple coincidence that also required detection of secondary electrons ejected when M strikes the target. Partial analysis of our 8 x 10/sup 6/ triggers indicates upper limits on the effective M ..-->..M bar four-dermion coupling constant of G/sub MM bar/ less than or equal to 30 G/sub F/ (90% C.L.) and G/sub MM bar/ less than or equal to 8 G/sub F/ (90% C.L.), respectively, from the two signatures. This begins to probe predictions of the left-right symmetric theory with a doubly-charged Higgs triplet
Substantial hysteresis in emergent temperature sensitivity of global wetland CH4 emissions
Wetland methane (CH4) emissions (FCH4) are important in global carbon budgets and climate change assessments. Currently, FCH4 projections rely on prescribed static temperature sensitivity that varies among biogeochemical models. Meta-analyses have proposed a consistent FCH4 temperature dependence across spatial scales for use in models; however, site-level studies demonstrate that FCH4 are often controlled by factors beyond temperature. Here, we evaluate the relationship between FCH4 and temperature using observations from the FLUXNET-CH4 database. Measurements collected across the globe show substantial seasonal hysteresis between FCH4 and temperature, suggesting larger FCH4 sensitivity to temperature later in the frost-free season (about 77% of site-years). Results derived from a machine-learning model and several regression models highlight the importance of representing the large spatial and temporal variability within site-years and ecosystem types. Mechanistic advancements in biogeochemical model parameterization and detailed measurements in factors modulating CH4 production are thus needed to improve global CH4 budget assessments. Wetland methane emissions contribute to global warming, and are oversimplified in climate models. Here the authors use eddy covariance measurements from 48 global sites to demonstrate seasonal hysteresis in methane-temperature relationships and suggest the importance of microbial processes.Peer reviewe
Nomenclature for kidney function and disease: report of a Kidney Disease:Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Consensus Conference
The worldwide burden of kidney disease is rising, but public awareness remains limited, underscoring the need for more effective communication by stakeholders in the kidney health community. Despite this need for clarity, the nomenclature for describing kidney function and disease lacks uniformity. In June 2019, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) convened a Consensus Conference with the goal of standardizing and refining the nomenclature used in the English language to describe kidney function and disease, and of developing a glossary that could be used in scientific publications. Guiding principles of the conference were that the revised nomenclature should be patient-centered, precise, and consistent with nomenclature used in the KDIGO guidelines. Conference attendees reached general consensus on the following recommendations: (i) to use "kidney" rather than "renal" or "nephro-" when referring to kidney disease and kidney function; (ii) to use "kidney failure" with appropriate descriptions of presence or absence of symptoms, signs, and treatment, rather than "end-stage kidney disease"; (iii) to use the KDIGO definition and classification of acute kidney diseases and disorders (AKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI), rather than alternative descriptions, to define and classify severity of AKD and AKI; (iv) to use the KDIGO definition and classification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) rather than alternative descriptions to define and classify severity of CKD; and (v) to use specific kidney measures, such as albuminuria or decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR), rather than "abnormal" or "reduced" kidney function to describe alterations in kidney structure and function. A proposed 5-part glossary contains specific items for which there was general agreement. Conference attendees acknowledged limitations of the recommendations and glossary, but they considered standardization of scientific nomenclature to be essential for improving communication
Neuronal MicroRNA Deregulation in Response to Alzheimer's Disease Amyloid-ÎČ
Normal brain development and function depends on microRNA (miRNA) networks to fine tune the balance between the transcriptome and proteome of the cell. These small non-coding RNA regulators are highly enriched in brain where they play key roles in neuronal development, plasticity and disease. In neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), brain miRNA profiles are altered; thus miRNA dysfunction could be both a cause and a consequence of disease. Our study dissects the complexity of human AD pathology, and addresses the hypothesis that amyloid-ÎČ (AÎČ) itself, a known causative factor of AD, causes neuronal miRNA deregulation, which could contribute to the pathomechanisms of AD. We used sensitive TaqMan low density miRNA arrays (TLDA) on murine primary hippocampal cultures to show that about half of all miRNAs tested were down-regulated in response to AÎČ peptides. Time-course assays of neuronal AÎČ treatments show that AÎČ is in fact a powerful regulator of miRNA levels as the response of certain mature miRNAs is extremely rapid. Bioinformatic analysis predicts that the deregulated miRNAs are likely to affect target genes present in prominent neuronal pathways known to be disrupted in AD. Remarkably, we also found that the miRNA deregulation in hippocampal cultures was paralleled in vivo by a deregulation in the hippocampus of AÎČ42-depositing APP23 mice, at the onset of AÎČ plaque formation. In addition, the miRNA deregulation in hippocampal cultures and APP23 hippocampus overlaps with those obtained in human AD studies. Taken together, our findings suggest that neuronal miRNA deregulation in response to an insult by AÎČ may be an important factor contributing to the cascade of events leading to AD
Genome-wide interaction study of a proxy for stress-sensitivity and its prediction of major depressive disorder
Individual response to stress is correlated with neuroticism and is an important predictor of both neuroticism and the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD). Identification of the genetics underpinning individual differences in response to negative events (stress-sensitivity) may improve our understanding of the molecular pathways involved, and its association with stress-related illnesses. We sought to generate a proxy for stress-sensitivity through modelling the interaction between SNP allele and MDD status on neuroticism score in order to identify genetic variants that contribute to the higher neuroticism seen in individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of depression compared to unaffected individuals. Meta-analysis of genome-wide interaction studies (GWIS) in UK Biobank (N = 23,092) and Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (N = 7,155) identified no genome-wide significance SNP interactions. However, gene-based tests identified a genome-wide significant gene, ZNF366, a negative regulator of glucocorticoid receptor function implicated in alcohol dependence (p = 1.48x10-7; Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold p < 2.79x10-6). Using summary statistics from the stress-sensitivity term of the GWIS, SNP heritability for stress-sensitivity was estimated at 5.0%. In models fitting polygenic risk scores of both MDD and neuroticism derived from independent GWAS, we show that polygenic risk scores derived from the UK Biobank stress-sensitivity GWIS significantly improved the prediction of MDD in Generation Scotland. This study may improve interpretation of larger genome-wide association studies of MDD and other stress-related illnesses, and the understanding of the etiological mechanisms underpinning stress-sensitivity
The Fifteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release of MaNGA-derived Quantities, Data Visualization Tools, and Stellar Library
Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its first three years of operation (2014 Julyâ2017 July). This is the third data release for SDSS-IV, and the 15th from SDSS (Data Release Fifteen; DR15). New data come from MaNGAâwe release 4824 data cubes, as well as the first stellar spectra in the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), the first set of survey-supported analysis products (e.g., stellar and gas kinematics, emission-line and other maps) from the MaNGA Data Analysis Pipeline, and a new data visualization and access tool we call "Marvin." The next data release, DR16, will include new data from both APOGEE-2 and eBOSS; those surveys release no new data here, but we document updates and corrections to their data processing pipelines. The release is cumulative; it also includes the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since first light. In this paper, we describe the location and format of the data and tools and cite technical references describing how it was obtained and processed. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has also been updated, providing links to data downloads, tutorials, and examples of data use. Although SDSS-IV will continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V (2020â2025), we end this paper by describing plans to ensure the sustainability of the SDSS data archive for many years beyond the collection of data
Ï production in pâPb collisions at âsNN=8.16 TeV
Ï production in pâPb interactions is studied at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleonânucleon collision âsNN = 8.16 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed reconstructing bottomonium resonances via their dimuon decay channel, in the centre-of-mass rapidity intervals 2.03 < ycms < 3.53 and â4.46 < ycms < â2.96, down to zero transverse momentum. In this work, results on the Ï(1S) production cross section as a function of rapidity and transverse momentum are presented. The corresponding nuclear modification factor shows a suppression of the Ï(1S) yields with respect to pp collisions, both at forward and backward rapidity. This suppression is stronger in the low transverse momentum region and shows no significant dependence on the centrality of the interactions. Furthermore, the Ï(2S) nuclear modification factor is evaluated, suggesting a suppression similar to that of the Ï(1S). A first measurement of the Ï(3S) has also been performed. Finally, results are compared with previous ALICE measurements in pâPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV and with theoretical calculations.publishedVersio
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