Fatty acid-derived branched polymer architectures

Plant oils awakened special interest as renewable feedstock due to the inherent, annual availability for monomer and polymer synthesis. The present thesis deals with the synthesis of monomeric and polymeric branched structures based on fatty acid derivatives. First, polyols were synthesized via a modified Schenck-Ene reaction and a dimer fatty acid was synthesized via thiol-ene addition. Star-shaped polymers with four and six arms were prepared via the core-first approach based on castor oil

A Case Report of Reiter's Syndrome with Progressive Myelopathy

Reiter's syndrome belongs to the family of spondyloarthropathies that usually present with a triad of arthritis, urethritis, and uveitis. The diagnostic criteria include clinical, radiological, and genetic findings, and the response to treatment. Nervous system involvement in Reiter's syndrome is extremely rare. We report here on a 36-year-old man who initially presented with progressive cervical myelopathy and was diagnosed as Reiter's syndrome 2 years later. The myelopathy was stable after treatment with methotrexate and sulfasalazine. This case suggests that Reiter's syndrome can present as progressive myelopathy and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of treatable myelopathies

Evidence for downflows in the narrow plasma sheet of 2017 September 10 and their significance for flare reconnection

This work was supported partly by a grant from NASA's Heliophysics Supporting Research (HSR) program and partly by a grant from NSF/AGS's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.Current sheets are believed to form in the wakes of erupting flux ropes and to enable the magnetic reconnection responsible for an associated flare. Multiwavelength observations of an eruption on 2017 September 10 show a long, linear feature widely taken as evidence of a current sheet viewed edge-on. The relation between the high-temperature, high-density plasma thus observed and any current sheet is not yet entirely clear. We estimate the magnetic field strength surrounding the sheet and conclude that approximately one-third of all flux in the active region was opened by the eruption. Subsequently decreasing field strength suggests that the open flux closed down over the next several hours through reconnection at a rate Mx s−1. We find in AIA observations evidence of downward-moving, dark structures analogous to either supra-arcade downflows, more typically observed above flare arcades viewed face-on, or supra-arcade downflowing loops, previously reported in flares viewed in this perspective. These features suggest that the plasma sheet is composed of the magnetic flux retracting after being reconnected high above the arcade. We model flux tube retraction following reconnection to show that this process can generate high densities and temperatures as observed in the plasma sheet. The retracting flux tubes reach their highest temperatures at the end of their retraction, well below the site of reconnection, consistent with previous analysis of AIA and EIS data showing a peak in the plasma temperature near the base of this particular sheet.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Development of Speech Research Tools on MIT\u27s Lisp Machine-based Workstations

In recent years, a number of useful speech- and language-related research tools have been under development at MIT. These tools are aids for efficiently analyzing the acoustic characteristics of speech and the phonological properties of a language. They are playing a valuable role in our own research, as well as in research conducted elsewhere. This paper describes several of the systems being developed for use on our Lisp Machine workstations

Suppression of mitoxantrone cardiotoxicity in multiple sclerosis patients by dexrazoxane

Objective To explore the potential of dexrazoxane to suppress subclinical cardiotoxicity in MS patients receiving mitoxantrone. Methods An open-label study was performed to evaluate possible subclinical cardiotoxicity in multiple sclerosis patients treated quarterly with mitoxantrone (48mg/m 2 cumulative), with and without concomitant dexrazoxane, using blinded serial radionucleide ventriculography. Results No patient experienced symptoms of heart failure. Patients receiving dexrazoxane, which is cardioprotective for anthracyclines, exhibited a significantly lesser decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (mean change, −3.80% vs −8.55%, p < 0.001). Interpretation These results support a cardioprotective effect of dexrazoxane in mitoxantrone treated multiple sclerosis patients. Ann Neurol 2006;59:206–209Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49281/1/20747_ftp.pd

Ischemic patterns assessed by positron emission tomography predict adverse outcome in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

Although patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have no coronary artery disease, regional impairment of myocardial perfusion combined with preserved metabolism has been found using positron emission tomography (PET). Our aim was to assess the prognostic relevance of PET-mismatch between stress myocardial perfusion and glucose uptake on clinical outcome in DCM. In 24 patients with DCM who underwent both myocardial perfusion and metabolism PET scanning, "mismatch" was assessed and the association with clinical outcome (hospitalization, mortality, and heart transplantation) was investigated. Mismatch was found in 16 patients (66.7%). Univariate analysis showed that the presence of mismatch was associated with adverse outcome (P = 0.03). After adjustment for sex and age, the association remained significant with an adjusted relative risk of 10.4 (95% CI 1.1-103; P = 0.04) for death, heart transplant, or hospitalization. Univariate analysis also showed that a higher extent of mismatch was significantly associated with adverse outcome (P = 0.02). After adjusting for sex and age, the association remained significant with an adjusted relative risk of 6.5 [95% CI 1.2-36; P = 0.03] for death, heart transplantation, or hospitalization. PET stress perfusion-metabolism mismatch, indicative for ischemia, is frequently found in DCM patients and related to a poorer outcome

Myocardial energy depletion and dynamic systolic dysfunction in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Evidence indicates that anatomical and physiological phenotypes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) stem from genetically mediated, inefficient cardiomyocyte energy utilization, and subsequent cellular energy depletion. However, HCM often presents clinically with normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function or hyperkinesia. If energy inefficiency is a feature of HCM, why is it not manifest as resting LV systolic dysfunction? In this Perspectives article, we focus on an idiosyncratic form of reversible systolic dysfunction provoked by LV obstruction that we have previously termed the 'lobster claw abnormality' — a mid-systolic drop in LV Doppler ejection velocities. In obstructive HCM, this drop explains the mid-systolic closure of the aortic valve, the bifid aortic pressure trace, and why patients cannot increase stroke volume with exercise. This phenomenon is characteristic of a broader phenomenon in HCM that we have termed dynamic systolic dysfunction. It underlies the development of apical aneurysms, and rare occurrence of cardiogenic shock after obstruction. We posit that dynamic systolic dysfunction is a manifestation of inefficient cardiomyocyte energy utilization. Systolic dysfunction is clinically inapparent at rest; however, it becomes overt through the mechanism of afterload mismatch when LV outflow obstruction is imposed. Energetic insufficiency is also present in nonobstructive HCM. This paradigm might suggest novel therapies. Other pathways that might be central to HCM, such as myofilament Ca2+ hypersensitivity, and enhanced late Na+ current, are discussed