Electrostatic discharge control for STDN stations

This manual defines the requirements and control methods necessary to control the effect of electrostatic discharges that damage or destroy electronic equipment components. Test procedures for measuring the effectiveness of the control are included

Catch-per-unit-effort and biological parameters from the Massachusetts coastal lobster (Homarus americanus) resource: Description and trends

Acomprehensive description of the Massachusetts coastal lobster (Homarus americanus) resou,rce was obtained by sampling commercial catches coastwide at sea and at dealerships between 1981 and 1986. Acommercial lobster sea-sampling program, wherein six coastal regions were sampled monthly, with an areal and temporal data weighting design, was the primary source of data. An improved index of catch per trap haul/set-over-day was generated by modeling the relationship between catch and immersion time and standardizing effort. This 6-year time-series of mean annual catch rates tracked closely the landings trend for territorial waters. During the study period there was a gradual increase in indices of exploitation and total annual mortality which corresponded to a gradual decline in mean carapace length of marketable lobster. The frequency of culls escalated from 10.0% in 1981 to 20.9% in 1986, while the percentage of lobster found dead in traps was consistently less than 1%. The sex ratio (%F:%M) was significantly different from 50:50 and approximated a 60:40 relationship during the study period. Male and female weight-length relationships were significantly different. Females weighed more than males at smaller sizes and less than males at larger sizes. A north-south clinal trend was evident wherein lobster north of Cape Cod weighed less at length than those from regions south of Cape Cod. Functional size-maturity relationships were developed for female lobster by staging cement gland development. Proportions mature at size represent more realistic values than those obtained by analyses of percent of females ovigerous. Regional variation occurred in most of the parameters studied. Three lobster groups, differing in major population descriptors, are defined by our data.(PDF file contains 28 pages.

High-throughput profiling for discovery of non-coding RNA biomarkers of lung disease.

In respiratory medicine there is a need for clinical biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and assessment of response to therapy. Noncoding RNA (ncRNA) is expressed in all human cells; two major classes - long ncRNA and microRNA - are detectable extracellularly in the circulation and other biofluids. Altered ncRNA expression is associated with lung disease; collectively this indicates that ncRNA represents a potential biomarker class. This article presents and compares existing platforms for detection and quantification of ncRNA, specifically hybridization, qRT-PCR and RNA sequencing, and outlines methods for data interpretation and normalization. Each approach has merits and shortcomings, which can affect the choice of method when embarking on a biomarker study. Biomarker properties and pre-analytical considerations for ncRNA profiling are also presented. Since a variety of profiling approaches are available, careful study and experimental design are important. Finally, challenges and goals for reliable, standardized high-throughput ncRNA profiling in biofluids as lung disease biomarkers are reviewed

Non-coding RNA as lung disease biomarkers.

Biomarkers are quantifiable indicators of disease. These surrogates should be specific, sensitive, predictive, robust and easily accessible. A major class of RNA described as non-coding RNA fulfils many of these criteria, and recent studies have demonstrated that the two major subclasses of non-coding RNA, long non-coding RNA and, in particular, microRNA are promising potential biomarkers. The ability to detect non-coding RNAs in biofluids has highlighted their usefulness as non-invasive markers of lung disease. Because expression of specific non-coding RNAs is altered in many lung diseases and their levels in the circulation often reflect the changes in expression of their lung-specific counterparts, exploiting these biomolecules as diagnostic tools seems an obvious goal. New technology is driving developments in this area and there has been significant recent progress with respect to lung cancer diagnostics. The non-coding RNA biomarker field represents a clear example of modern-day bench-to-bedside research

Acute Liver Dysfunction Criteria in Critically Ill Children: The PODIUM Consensus Conference

CONTEXT Develop evidence-based criteria for individual organ dysfunction. OBJECTIVES Evaluate current evidence and develop contemporary consensus criteria for acute liver dysfunction with associated outcomes in critically ill children. DATA SOURCES Electronic searches of PubMed and Embase conducted from January 1992 to January 2020, used medical subject heading terms and text words to characterize acute liver dysfunction and outcomes. STUDY SELECTION Studies evaluating critically ill children with acute liver dysfunction, assessed screening tools, and outcomes were included. Studies evaluating adults, infants ≤36 weeks gestational age, or animals or were reviews/commentaries, case series with sample size ≤10, or non-English language studies were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION Data were abstracted from each eligible study into a data extraction form along with risk of bias assessment by a task force member. RESULTS The systematic review supports criteria for acute liver dysfunction, in the absence of known chronic liver disease, as having onset of symptoms <8 weeks, combined with biochemical evidence of acute liver injury, and liver-based coagulopathy, with hepatic encephalopathy required for an international normalized ratio between 1.5 and 2.0. LIMITATIONS Unable to assess acute-on-chronic liver dysfunction, subjective nature of hepatic encephalopathy, relevant articles missed by reviewers. CONCLUSIONS Proposed criteria identify an infant, child, or adolescent who has reached a clinical threshold where any of the 3 outcomes (alive with native liver, death, or liver transplant) are possible and should prompt an urgent liaison with a recognized pediatric liver transplant center if liver failure is the principal driver of multiple organ dysfunction

Exploring the use of strategic frameworks in dental practice

This paper explores the use of strategic frameworks in NHS and private dental practice. It reviews the policy context of dentistry and suggests the challenges in this context will require dental practices to prioritise understanding and engagement with a strategic approach. A strategic approach will be required in order to enhance and improve performance. Two specific strategic frameworks will be explored in terms of their relevance to NHS and private dental practic

A prospective adaptive utility trial to validate performance of a novel urine exosome gene expression assay to predict high-grade prostate cancer in patients with prostate-specific antigen 2-10ng/ml at initial biopsy

BACKGROUND: Discriminating indolent from clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa) in the initial biopsy setting remains an important issue. Prospectively evaluated diagnostic assays are necessary to ensure efficacy and clinical adoption. OBJECTIVE: Performance and utility assessment of ExoDx Prostate (IntelliScore) (EPI) urine exosome gene expression assay versus standard clinical parameters for discriminating Grade Group (GG) ≥2 PCa from GG1 PCa and benign disease on initial biopsy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A two-phase adaptive clinical utility study (NCT03031418) comparing EPI results with biopsy outcomes in men, with age ≥50 yr and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 2-10ng/ml, scheduled for initial prostate biopsy. After EPI performance assessment during phase I, a clinical implementation document (ie, CarePath) was developed for utilizing the EPI test in phase II, where the biopsy decision is uncertain. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Performance evaluation of the EPI test in patients enrolled in phase I and publication of a consensus CarePath for phase II. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: In a total of 503 patients, with median age of 64 yr, median PSA 5.4ng/ml, 14% African American, 70% Caucasian, 53% positive biopsy rate (22% GG1, 17% GG2, and 15% ≥ GG3), EPI was superior to an optimized model of standard clinical parameters with an area under the curve (AUC) 0.70 versus 0.62, respectively, comparable with previously published results (n=519 patients, EPI AUC 0.71). Validated cut-point 15.6 would avoid 26% of unnecessary prostate biopsies and 20% of total biopsies, with negative predictive value (NPV) 89% and missing 7% of ≥GG2 PCa. Alternative cut-point 20 would avoid 40% of unnecessary biopsies and 31% of total biopsies, with NPV 89% and missing 11% of ≥GG2 PCa. The clinical investigators reached consensus recommending use of the 15.6 cut-point for phase II. Outcome of the decision impact cohort in phase II will be reported separately. CONCLUSIONS: EPI is a noninvasive, easy-to-use, gene expression urine assay, which has now been successfully validated in over 1000 patients across two prospective validation trials to stratify risk of ≥GG2 from GG1 cancer and benign disease. The test improves identification of patients with higher grade disease and would reduce the total number of unnecessary biopsies. PATIENT SUMMARY: It is challenging to predict which men are likely to have high-grade prostate cancer (PCa) at initial biopsy with prostate-specific antigen 2-10ng/ml. This study further demonstrates that the ExoDx Prostate (IntelliScore) test can predict ≥GG2 PCa at initial biopsy and defer unnecessary biopsies better than existing risk calculator\u27s and standard clinical data

Long noncoding RNA are aberrantly expressed in vivo in the cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelium.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged recently as key regulatory molecules with diverse roles at almost every level of the regulation of gene expression. The roles of these RNAs in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF); a lethal multisystem, autosomal recessive disorder have yet to be explored. Our aim was to examine the expression profile of lncRNA, in the airway epithelium of people with CF. We examined the expression of 30,586 lncRNAs by microarray (Human LncRNA Array v3.0, Arraystar, Inc.), in vivo in bronchial cells isolated from endobronchial brushings obtained from CF and non-CF individuals. In total, we identified 1,063 lncRNAs with differential expression between CF and non-CF individuals (fold change ≥3, p≤0.001). The microarray also contained probes for ∼26,109 protein coding transcripts, of which 720 were differentially expressed between CF and non-CF brush samples (fold change ≥3, p≤0.001). Confirmation of a selection of differentially expressed coding mRNA and lncRNA transcripts such as XIST and TLR8 was achieved using qRT-PCR. Gene ontology bioinformatics analysis highlighted that many processes over-represented in the CF bronchial epithelium are related to inflammation. These data show a significantly altered lncRNA and mRNA expression profile in CF bronchial cells in vivo. Dysregulation of some of these lncRNAs may play important roles in the chronic infection and inflammation that exists in the lungs of people with CF

Crosslinking and Mechanical Properties Significantly Influence Cell Attachment, Proliferation, and Migration Within Collagen Glycosaminoglycan Scaffolds.

Crosslinking and the resultant changes in mechanical properties have been shown to influence cellular activity within collagen biomaterials. With this in mind, we sought to determine the effects of crosslinking on both the compressive modulus of collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds and the activity of osteoblasts seeded within them. Dehydrothermal, 1-ethyl-3-3-dimethyl aminopropyl carbodiimide and glutaraldehyde crosslinking treatments were first investigated for their effect on the compressive modulus of the scaffolds. After this, the most promising treatments were used to study the effects of crosslinking on cellular attachment, proliferation, and infiltration. Our experiments have demonstrated that a wide range of scaffold compressive moduli can be attained by varying the parameters of the crosslinking treatments. 1-Ethyl-3-3-dimethyl aminopropyl carbodiimide and glutaraldehyde treatments produced the stiffest scaffolds (fourfold increase when compared to dehydrothermal crosslinking). When cells were seeded onto the scaffolds, the stiffest scaffolds also showed increased cell number and enhanced cellular distribution when compared to the other groups. Taken together, these results indicate that crosslinking can be used to produce collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds with a range of compressive moduli, and that increased stiffness enhances cellular activity within the scaffolds