Alien Registration- Yates, Charles (Baldwin, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32925/thumbnail.jp

Asymmetric thymocyte death underlies the CD4:CD8 T-cell ratio in the adaptive immune system

It has long been recognized that the T-cell compartment has more CD4 helper than CD8 cytotoxic T cells, and this is most evident looking at T-cell development in the thymus. However, it remains unknown how thymocyte development so favors CD4 lineage development. To identify the basis of this asymmetry, we analyzed development of synchronized cohorts of thymocytes in vivo and estimated rates of thymocyte death and differentiation throughout development, inferring lineage-specific efficiencies of selection. Our analysis suggested that roughly equal numbers of cells of each lineage enter selection and found that, overall, a remarkable ∼75% of cells that start selection fail to complete the process. Importantly it revealed that class I-restricted thymocytes are specifically susceptible to apoptosis at the earliest stage of selection. The importance of differential apoptosis was confirmed by placing thymocytes under apoptotic stress, resulting in preferential death of class I-restricted thymocytes. Thus, asymmetric death during selection is the key determinant of the CD4:CD8 ratio in which T cells are generated by thymopoiesis

Acquisition of an Automated Powder X-Ray Diffraction System

This grant provides $70,295 as one-half support of the costs of acquiring a state-of-the-art powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD) that will be housed in a newly constructed Global Sciences building on the Orono campus of the University of Maine. This acquisition will allow these PI\u27s to continue their internationally recognized research programs in petrologic mineralogy including studies of the phase equilibria of solid solutions in metamorphic rocks and borosilicates. The characterization of both structural properties and mineralogic identification of unknowns is fundamental to these researchers and the establishment of a modern XRD facility at the University of Maine will benefit a number of other faculty both within the Department of Geological Sciences and within the departments of Physics and Engineering

Physiological and Pharmacokinetic Effects of Oral 1,3-Dimethylamylamine Administration in Men

BACKGROUND: 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) has been a component of dietary supplements and is also used within "party pills," often in conjunction with alcohol and other drugs. Ingestion of higher than recommended doses results in untoward effects including cerebral hemorrhage. To our knowledge, no studies have been conducted to determine both the pharmacokinetic profile and physiologic responses of DMAA. METHODS: Eight men reported to the lab in the morning following an overnight fast and received a single 25 mg oral dose of DMAA. Blood samples were collected before and through 24 hours post-DMAA ingestion and analyzed for plasma DMAA concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Resting heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature was also measured. RESULTS: One subject was excluded from the data analysis due to abnormal DMAA levels. Analysis of the remaining seven participants showed DMAA had an oral clearance of 20.02 ± 5 L∙hr(-1), an oral volume of distribution of 236 ± 38 L, and terminal half-life of 8.45 ± 1.9 hr. Lag time, the delay in appearance of DMAA in the circulation following extravascular administration, varied among participants but averaged approximately 8 minutes (0.14 ± 0.13 hr). The peak DMAA concentration for all subjects was observed within 3–5 hours following ingestion and was very similar across subjects, with a mean of ~70 ng∙mL(-1). Heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature were largely unaffected by DMAA treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These are the first data to characterize the oral pharmacokinetic profile of DMAA. These findings indicate a consistent pattern of increase across subjects with regards to peak DMAA concentration, with peak values approximately 15–30 times lower than those reported in case studies linking DMAA intake with adverse events. Finally, a single 25 mg dose of DMAA does not meaningfully impact resting heart rate, blood pressure, or body temperature. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT0176593

Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Leaks: A Prospective Cohort Study

Objective: To determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a prospective cohort of patients with spontaneous CSF (sCSF) leaks of the temporal bone. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Consecutive sCSF leak patients (21) over a 3-year period. Four patients presented with a history of OSA and 17 patients were prospectively offered polysomnogram (PSG) testing during the initial clinic encounter. Intervention: Level I PSG. Main Outcome Measures: Patient characteristics (age, sex, body mass index), apnea hypopnea index (AHI), presence of snoring, and presence of hypoxia (oxygen saturation 5 min). OSA was defined as mild (AHI ≥5 and <15/h), moderate (AHI ≥15 and <30/h), and severe (AHI ≥30/h). Results: The prevalence of OSA in sCSF leak patients is 83.3%. PSG studies were performed on 18 of the 21 patients. There were 15 women and 6 men with an average age (standard deviation) of 56.3 (11.2) years and an average body mass index of 35.3 (7.7) kg/m2. Objectively, the AHI ranged from mild to severe (range = 5.7–92, median = 19.8). Snoring was present in 61% of patients and hypoxia was present in 39% of patients. sCSF leak patients with OSA were significantly older than sCSF leak patients without OSA (56.7 [8.3] versus 42.7 [14.5] yr, p = 0.03). Conclusions: OSA is highly prevalent among patients with sCSF leaks. All patients with sCSF leaks should undergo formal PSG testing. Future studies are needed to determine the role of OSA in the development of sCSF leaks

Outpatient management of cholesteatoma with canal wall reconstruction tympanomastoidectomy

Objectives The postoperative wound infection rate for canal wall reconstruction (CWR) tympanomastoidectomy with mastoid obliteration in the treatment of chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma has been reported to be 3.6%. Postoperative administration of 24–48 hours of intravenous antibiotics has been recommended. We aim to determine the infection rate of CWR with postoperative outpatient oral antibiotics. Study Design Institutional review board—approved retrospective case review. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients: Retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent CWR tympanomastoidectomy with mastoid obliteration at a single institution from 2014 to 2016. Main Outcome Measure: Patient characteristics (age, sex) were calculated. Rate of postoperative complications and infections within 1 month of surgery were calculated. Comparison to previous published infection rates with postoperative intravenous antibiotics. Results 51 patients underwent CWR followed by outpatient oral antibiotics with a mean age of 25.9 years (16 patients were less than 10 years old). There were no postoperative wound infections. Outpatient antibiotics showed non-inferiority to IV antibiotic historic controls (0% vs. 3.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0–6.09%; p = 0.03). One patient had small postoperative wound dehiscence with CSF leak that was managed conservatively. One patient developed Clostridium difficile colitis on postoperative day 2. Conclusions The infection rate after CWR tympanomastoidectomy with use of outpatient antibiotics is low and is non-inferior to a historic cohort treated with inpatient intravenous antibiotics. A larger randomized controlled trial is warranted. Level of Evidence 4

Werdingite from the Urungwe District, Zimbabwe

Electron and ion microprobe data on two samples of welshite from the type locality of Langban, Sweden, gave analytical totals of 99.38-99.57 wt.% and BeO contents of 4.82-5.11 wt.%, corresponding to 1.692-1.773 Be/20 O. Mossbauer and optical spectra of o

Audiologic Improvement Following MCF Approach for Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Objective: To determine the audiologic improvement after middle cranial fossa (MCF) approach to repair spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (sCSF) leaks. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Twenty-four consecutive patients (27 ears) with temporal bone sCSF leak over a 4-year period. Patient age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), location of CSF leak, recurrence of CSF leak, and presence of encephalocele(s) were recorded. Intervention: Audiometric testing in patients undergoing MCF repair of temporal bone sCSF leak. Main Outcome Measures: Comparison of preoperative and postoperative pure-tone average (PTA), air-bone gap (ABG), and word recognition score (WRS) in the sCSF leak ear. Results: Out of 27 ears, 55% had multiple tegmen defects and 82% had more than or equal to 1 encephaloceles. There were no recurrent CSF leaks at a median follow up of 4 months. The mean (SD) preoperative PTA and ABG were 40.58 [15.67] and 16.44 [6.93] dB, respectively. There was significant improvement in mean PTA (10.28 [8.01] dB; p < 0.001; Cohen d = 0.95) and ABG (9.31 [7.16] dB; p < 0.001; Cohen d = 0.88) after sCSF repair. Mean WRS improved (by 3.07 [6.11] %; p = 0.024; Cohen d = 0.46) from a mean preoperative WRS of 93.16 [9.34]% to a mean postoperative WRS of 96.26 [6.49]%. Conclusions: MCF approach for repair of sCSF leaks yields significant improvement in conductive hearing loss and is highly effective in management of the entire lateral skull base where multiple bony defects are often identified