AN EPIZOOTIC OF FIBROMATOSIS IN GRAY SQUIRRELS (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS) IN FLORIDA

ABSTRACT: Beginning in the fall of 1998 and extending into the spring and early summer of 1999 there was a large epizootic of squirrel fibromatosis in squirrels in seven counties in peninsular Florida. Hundreds of gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) with multiple cutaneous tumors were submitted or reported to biologists, veterinary hospitals, and private wildlife rehabilitators. Most squirrels died or were euthanized soon after submission. Twenty squirrels were submitted for necropsy. The majority of the squirrels examined were adults (12/20) and male (15/20). The number and location of tumors varied widely among the affected squirrels; however, a consistent finding was involvement of the eyelids (20/20). Histopathology revealed a proliferative population of mesenchymal cells within the dermis and marked ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes in the overlying epidermis. Intracytoplasmic viral inclusions were present in the neoplastic mesenchymal cell population and the degenerating keratinocytes. Ulceration and necrosis of the surface of the tumors or associated tissues was present in 14 of the 20 squirrels. Virions consistent with poxvirus were observed via electron microscopy in samples collected from a representative tumor. Death of the squirrels was attributed to emaciation, tissue damage, and severe negative energy balance associated with poxvirus infection and massive tumor growth. The underlying cause of this unusual epizootic of fibromatosis in gray squirrels remains unknown

L∞ Error and Bandwidth Selection for Kernel Density Estimates of Large Data

Kernel density estimates are a robust way to reconstruct a continuous distribution from a discrete point set. Typically their effectiveness is measured either in L1 or L2 error. In this paper we investigate the challenges in using L ∞ (or worst case) error, a stronger measure than L1 or L2. We present efficient solutions to two linked challenges: how to evaluate the L ∞ error between two kernel density estimates and how to choose the bandwidth parameter for a kernel density estimate built on a subsample of a large data set. 1 1

End-stage kidney disease due to haemolytic uraemic syndrome - outcomes in 241 consecutive ANZDATA Registry cases

Extent: 11p.Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving renal replacement therapy for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) secondary to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). Methods: The study included all patients with ESKD who commenced renal replacement therapy in Australia and New Zealand between 15/5/1963 and 31/12/2010, using data from the ANZDATA Registry. HUS ESKD patients were compared with matched controls with an alternative primary renal disease using propensity scores based on age, gender and treatment era. Results: Of the 58422 patients included in the study, 241 (0.4%) had ESKD secondary to HUS. HUS ESKD was independently associated with younger age, female gender and European race. Compared with matched controls, HUS ESKD was not associated with mortality on renal replacement therapy (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.14, 95% CI 0.87-1.50, p = 0.34) or dialysis (HR 1.34, 95% CI 0.93-1.93, p = 0.12), but did independently predict recovery of renal function (HR 54.01, 95% CI 1.45-11.1, p = 0.008). 130 (54%) HUS patients received 166 renal allografts. Overall renal allograft survival rates were significantly lower for patients with HUS ESKD at 1 year (73% vs 91%), 5 years (62% vs 85%) and 10 years (49% vs 73%). HUS ESKD was an independent predictor of renal allograft failure (HR 2.59, 95% CI 1.70-3.95, p < 0.001). Sixteen (12%) HUS patients experienced failure of 22 renal allografts due to recurrent HUS. HUS ESKD was not independently associated with the risk of death following renal transplantation (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.35-2.44, p = 0.87). Conclusions: HUS is an uncommon cause of ESKD, which is associated with comparable patient survival on dialysis, an increased probability of renal function recovery, comparable patient survival post-renal transplant and a heightened risk of renal transplant graft failure compared with matched ESKD controls.Wen Tang, Janaki Mohandas, Stephen P McDonald, Carmel M Hawley, Sunil V Badve, Neil Boudville, Fiona G Brown, Philip A Clayton, Kathryn J Wiggins, Kym M Bannister, Scott B Campbell and David W Johnso

The first measurement of the top quark mass at CDF II in the lepton+jets and dilepton channels simultaneously

submitted to Phys. Rev. DWe present a measurement of the mass of the top quark using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9fb^-1 of ppbar collisions collected at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV with the CDF II detector at Fermilab's Tevatron. This is the first measurement of the top quark mass using top-antitop pair candidate events in the lepton + jets and dilepton decay channels simultaneously. We reconstruct two observables in each channel and use a non-parametric kernel density estimation technique to derive two-dimensional probability density functions from simulated signal and background samples. The observables are the top quark mass and the invariant mass of two jets from the W decay in the lepton + jets channel, and the top quark mass and the scalar sum of transverse energy of the event in the dilepton channel. We perform a simultaneous fit for the top quark mass and the jet energy scale, which is constrained in situ by the hadronic W boson mass. Using 332 lepton + jets candidate events and 144 dilepton candidate events, we measure the top quark mass to be mtop=171.9 +/- 1.7 (stat. + JES) +/- 1.1 (syst.) GeV/c^2 = 171.9 +/- 2.0 GeV/c^2.We present a measurement of the mass of the top quark using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9  fb-1 of pp̅ collisions collected at √s=1.96  TeV with the CDF II detector at Fermilab’s Tevatron. This is the first measurement of the top quark mass using top-antitop pair candidate events in the lepton+jets and dilepton decay channels simultaneously. We reconstruct two observables in each channel and use a nonparametric kernel density estimation technique to derive two-dimensional probability density functions from simulated signal and background samples. The observables are the top quark mass and the invariant mass of two jets from the W decay in the lepton+jets channel, and the top quark mass and the scalar sum of transverse energy of the event in the dilepton channel. We perform a simultaneous fit for the top quark mass and the jet energy scale, which is constrained in situ by the hadronic W boson mass. Using 332 lepton+jets candidate events and 144 dilepton candidate events, we measure the top quark mass to be Mtop=171.9±1.7(stat+JES)±1.1(other syst)  GeV/c2=171.9±2.0  GeV/c2.Peer reviewe

Impact of an Online Question Bank on Resident In-Training Exam Performance

OBJECTIVE In-training exams (ITEs) are administered annually to Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) residents and have been demonstrated to correlate with success on licensing examinations. Our study objective was to determine the impact of a question bank and mock exam on the performance of Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) ITEs. Secondarily, we investigated the correlation between the extent of question bank usage and performance on the exam. METHODS Pre–post intervention study of resident performance on CREOG ITE before and after implementation of the question bank and mock ITE at Indiana University in 2018. Performance was measured as year-to-year improvement in percent correct on ITE exams. Scores were excluded if a resident did not have a prequestion bank score report or if they did not sit for all eligible ITE exams. RESULTS There were 51 OBGYN residents at Indiana University during the study period, with 38 available for analysis (75%). Before implementation, average year-to-year improvement for PGY1-2, PGY2-3 and PGY3-4 classes were 0.60%, 1.0% and −1.6%, respectively. After implementation, all resident classes had significant improvements in ITE scores of 6.6% ( P  < .01), 9.0% ( P  < .01), and 7.2% ( P  < .01), respectively. There was a moderate program-wide correlation between the number of questions completed and the percent improvement on the ITE of R = 0.36 ( P  = .046). CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrated that access to a question bank and mock ITE significantly improved CREOG ITE performance of OBGYN residents at Indiana University