True Beauty

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-me/1749/thumbnail.jp

The Shepherdess : A Secular Song

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-me/1840/thumbnail.jp

Progression of Polysomnographic Abnormalities in Mucolipidosis II (I-Cell Disease)

Mucolipidosis II (Inclusion cell or I-cell disease) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder clinically comparable to the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), characterized by progressive respiratory and neurologic deterioration. Sleep problems, especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and disrupted sleep architecture, are observed in other lysosomal storage diseases but have not been described in mucolipidosis II. We report the progression of polysomnographic abnormalities in a child with mucolipidosis II, demonstrated by worsening sleep-related hypoventilation, OSA, and sleep state fragmentation despite advancing PAP therapy. Background slowing and reduction in spindle activity on limited EEG may reflect progressive CNS disease affecting thalamic neurons

An Evaluation of The Effectiveness of Adaptive Histogram Equalization for Contrast Enhancement

Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE), a method of contrast enhancement which is sensitive to local spatial information in an image, has been proposed as a solution to the problem of the inability of ordinary display devices to depict the full dynamic intensity range in some medical images. This method is automatic, reproducible, and simultaneously displays most of the information contained in the grey-scale contrast of the image. However, it has not been known whether the use of AHE causes the loss of diagnostic information relative to the commonly-used method intensity windowing. In the current work, AHE and intensity windowing are compared using psychophysical observer studies. In studies performed at North Carolina Memorial Hospital, experienced radiologists were shown clinical CT images of the chest. Into some of the images, appropriate artificial lesion were introduced; the physicians were then shown the images processed with both AHE and intensity windowing. They were asked to assess the probability that as given image contained the artificial lesion, and their accurate was measured. The results of these experiments shown that for this particular diagnostic task, there was no significant difference in the ability of the two methods to depict luminance contrast; thus, further evaluation of AHE using controlled clinical trials is indicated

Relationship of Sleep to Pulmonary Function in Mucopolysaccharidosis II

To study the sleep characteristics, pulmonary function, and their relationships in an enzyme naive population of patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) II (Hunter syndrome)

An Additive to Improve the Wear Characteristics of Perfluoropolyether Based Greases

The friction and wear characteristics of two formulated perfluoropolyether based greases were compared to their non-additive base greases. One grease was developed for the electronics industry (designated as GXL-296A) while the other is for space applications (designated as GXL-320A). The formulated greases (GXL-296B and GXL-320B) contained a proprietary antiwear additive at an optimized concentration. Tests were conducted using a vacuum four-ball tribometer. AISI 52100 steel specimens were used for all GXL-296 tests. Both AISI 52100 steel and 440C stainless steel were tested with the GXL-320 greases. Test conditions included: a pressure less than 6.7 x 10(exp )-4 Pa, a 200N load, a sliding velocity of 28.8 mm/sec (100 rpm) and room temperature (approximately equal to 23 C). Wear rates for each grease were determined from the slope of the wear volume as a function of sliding distance. Both non-additive base greases yielded relatively high wear rates on the order of 10(exp -8) cu mm using AISI 52100 steel specimens. Formulated grease GXL-296B yielded a reduction in wear rate by a factor of approximately 21, while grease GXL-320B had a reduction of approximately 12 times. Lower wear rates (-50%) were observed with both GXL-320 greases using 440C stainless steel. Mean friction coefficients were slightly higher for both formulated greases compared to their base greases. The GXL-296 series (higher base oil viscosity) yielded much higher friction coefficients compared to their GXL-320 series (lower base oil viscosity) counterparts

231Pa and 230Th in the Arctic Ocean 1991-2015: Changes in the Eurasian and Makarov Basins

230Th and 231Pa are produced in sea water by radioactive decay of Uranium isotopes (234U, 235U). Both are particle reactive and are scavenged onto settling particles. As 230Th is more particle reactive than 231Pa, their distribution in the water column and activity ratio give information about particle fluxes and circulation patterns and –intensities. Both particle fluxes and deep water circulation may respond to climatic changes in the Arctic Ocean. This study discusses temporal changes in radionuclide concentration in the context of climate change. We compare results from 1991 [1] 2007 and 2015. We present results of dissolved 231Pa and 230Th activities of samples collected in the Nansen-, Amundsenand Makarov Basins during GEOTRACES sections GIPY11 (2007, 4 stations), GN04 (2015, 10 stations) aboard RV Polarstern. Our discussion of factors controlling the 230Th and 231Pa distribution is supported by, dissolved CFC, dissolved iron and particulate 230Th and 231Pa (3 stations) collected during GEOTRACES section GN04. We find that distributions and concentrations of dissolved 231Pa and 230Th in the central Arctic Ocean have changed significantly since 1991. Dissolved 231Pa concentrations in the Makarov basin decreased by half within less than 20 years. These changes are discussed in the context of environmental changes, such as declining sea ice cover and related increase of particle fluxes or changing deep water circulation. [1] Scholten, J. C., et al. (1995). Deep-Sea Research II 42: 1519- 153

A comparison of HAART outcomes between the US military HIV Natural History Study (NHS) and HIV Atlanta Veterans Affairs Cohort Study (HAVACS).

INTRODUCTION: The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide comprehensive HIV treatment and care to their beneficiaries with open access and few costs to the patient. Individuals who receive HIV care in the VA have higher rates of substance abuse, homelessness and unemployment than individuals who receive HIV care in the DoD. A comparison between individuals receiving HIV treatment and care from the DoD and the VA provides an opportunity to explore the impact of individual-level characteristics on clinical outcomes within two healthcare systems that are optimized for clinic retention and medication adherence. METHODS: Data were collected on 1065 patients from the HIV Atlanta VA Cohort Study (HAVACS) and 1199 patients from the US Military HIV Natural History Study (NHS). Patients were eligible if they had an HIV diagnosis and began HAART between January 1, 1996 and June 30, 2010. The analysis examined the survival from HAART initiation to all-cause mortality or an AIDS event. RESULTS: Although there was substantial between-cohort heterogeneity and the 12-year survival of participants in NHS was significantly higher than in HAVACS in crude analyses, this survival disparity was reduced from 21.5% to 1.6% (mortality only) and 26.8% to 4.1% (combined mortality or AIDS) when controlling for clinical and demographic variables. CONCLUSION: We assessed the clinical outcomes for individuals with HIV from two very similar government-sponsored healthcare systems that reduced or eliminated many barriers associated with accessing treatment and care. After controlling for clinical and demographic variables, both 12-year survival and AIDS-free survival rates were similar for the two study cohorts who have open access to care and medication despite dramatic differences in socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics

Exploring the Optical Transient Sky with the Palomar Transient Factory

The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) is a wide-field experiment designed to investigate the optical transient and variable sky on time scales from minutes to years. PTF uses the CFH12k mosaic camera, with a field of view of 7.9 deg^2 and a plate scale of 1 asec/pixel, mounted on the the Palomar Observatory 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope. The PTF operation strategy is devised to probe the existing gaps in the transient phase space and to search for theoretically predicted, but not yet detected, phenomena, such as fallback supernovae, macronovae, .Ia supernovae and the orphan afterglows of gamma-ray bursts. PTF will also discover many new members of known source classes, from cataclysmic variables in their various avatars to supernovae and active galactic nuclei, and will provide important insights into understanding galactic dynamics (through RR Lyrae stars) and the Solar system (asteroids and near-Earth objects). The lessons that can be learned from PTF will be essential for the preparation of future large synoptic sky surveys like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. In this paper we present the scientific motivation for PTF and describe in detail the goals and expectations for this experiment.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PAS