Topical SDZ GLC-756, a novel dopamine D-1 antagonist and D-2 agonist, lowers intraocular pressure in conscious rabbits

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal changes in serum HIV RNA, and to clarify whether the viral load early in infection has a predictive value for the clinical outcome; also, to correlate viral phenotype at seroconversion and changes in CD4 cell counts with viral burden. DESIGN: Twenty seroconverters with HIV isolates available at seroconversion had HIV RNA quantified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at seroconversion and thereafter every 6 months. Mean follow-up time was 65 months. Patients were classified according to viral phenotype at seroconversion, time to AIDS progression, serum viral load within the first year (less or more than 1.5 x 10(4) copies/ml). RESULTS: High viral load at seroconversion was followed by a significant decline within the first months (P < 0.0005). Decline to < 1.5 x 10(4) copies/ml was correlated with slower progression to AIDS (P < 0.05). A correlation between the rate of CD4 decline and the median viral load during the ensuing viral load plateau phase was also shown (P < 0.05). Subsequent to this phase the viral burden increased. Rapid progressors had higher viral load than slow- or non-progressors; this was particularly pronounced late in infection. Harbouring syncytium-inducing (SI) virus at seroconversion was associated with faster progression to AIDS than non-SI (NSI; P < 0.005). The increased in vitro replication rate of SI over NSI was not translated into significantly higher serum HIV RNA. CONCLUSION: Serum HIV RNA is high around the time of seroconversion. A significant decline within the first months hereafter is followed by a plateau phase, which in turn is followed by an increase in HIV RNA. HIV RNA early in infection has a predictive value for the clinical outcome. The increased virulence of SI over NSI virus did not translate into significantly higher HIV RNA values.     

Was ist Qualit?t im Gesundheitswesen?

Definition of the problem With the introduction of diagnosis-related groups, German hospitals were obliged to develop quality assurance schemes. This article analyses (1) commonly used definitions for quality in health care and (2) their implementation in terms of interventions for improving quality in hospitals.Arguments Consequences of current quality assurance practices include advances in objective quality, but also a shift within the culture of medicine towards dividing the treatment of patients into measurable and standardized steps. In contrast to this objective meaning of quality, there is a demand for more patient orientation and for more attention to the subjective quality of treatment which refers to a therapeutic interaction-based notion of quality standards. Besides technical quality standards, there are important quality standards that are being defined in and through interpersonal therapeutic interaction.Conclusion Good hospital management should, therefore, protect the cultivation of therapeutic interaction in its essentially interpersonal qualities.     

Gleno-humeral arthroscopic arthrolysis for shoulder stiffness. Apropos of 26 cases. Société Fran?aise d'Arthroscopie

Shoulder stiffness is a problem which covers many different conditions. In fact there is still a semantic and pathogenetic confusion. The words: capsulite retractile, frozen shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, stiff shoulder contracture have been successively used and this ambiguity renders the literature difficult to interpret. Moreover the cause of the stiffness which depends on the aetiology, is not always clearly known: capsular contraction, capsular adhesion, capsular scarring following trauma or surgery, extra capsular phenomenons in the subacromial bursa, muscles or tendons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 26 shoulders (25 patients) were reviewed with a follow up of 21 months using the Constant's scoring system. Patients had an average duration of symptoms for 13 months (1 to 27). Pre op passive motion was: abduction: 74 degrees, external rotation: 6 degrees, forward flexion: 84 degrees. The average motion core was 12.9/40. We distinguished three groups: primary frozen shoulder (13 cases) ; bipolar stiffness (3 cases) due to rotator cuff disease ; acquired "surgical" stiffness, (10 cases). The capsular release was performed, at the anterior rim of the glenoid fossa, purely anterior or anterior and inferior, followed by gentle manipulation. If external rotation was not improved the coraco-humeral ligament was detached from its coracoid attachment. Additional procedures were performed:acromioplasty (5 cases), bursectomy (3 cases), SLAP lesion debridement (1 case). Only 2 out 13 primary shoulders required an additional procedure. RESULTS: 1-There were no intra-operative complications (vascular or neural). 2-Range of Motion: the average gain under anesthesia was: abduction: 72 degrees, external rotation: 34 degrees, forward flexion: 86 degrees. Final result was obtained with a mean duration of seven months. There was no difference according to the aetiology. Gain was more important in the primary group (9.69 to 34.9 vs 15.8 to 30.6). 3-Subjective results were better in the primary group. 4-Objective results demonstrated an absolute Constant's score of 70.3, that is to say 83.4 per cent of the contralateral supposed healthy shoulder. There were 3 excellent, 5 very good, 7 good, but 11 fair or poor results. The relative Constant's score was 91 per cent in the primary group and only 76 per cent in the acquired group. The difference was due to the pain and strength which were greatly improved in the primary group. DISCUSSION: Arthroscopic release of shoulder contracture is feasible, safe and effective. For primary frozen shoulder, there is usually spontaneous recovery. Indications for surgery are very few. There is no evidence that arthroscopic release shortens spontaneous evolution. Therefore, we propose it in very selected cases of dramatically limited motion. One year of evolution is an acceptable time. For bipolar stiffnesses, arthroscopy allows one to recognize the exact cause of the stiffness and to treat it, especially the subacromial pathology. In this occurrence, buroscopy must be performed and cuff pathology treated. For acquired surgical stiffnesses, gain of motion is significant. Subjective and objective results are less satisfactory than those of primary frozen shoulder, due to persistance of pain and lack of strength. The alternative is open release, but arthroscopic release has less morbidity. It can be proposed early as soon as capsular tissue has healed (for instance 6 months).     

Effect of dam removal on habitat use by spawning Atlantic salmon

By impeding migration and degrading habitat downstream, dam construction has caused population declines in many migratory fish populations. As part of the landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) restoration program in Lake Champlain, the Willsboro Dam was removed from the Boquet River, NY in 2015 providing an opportunity to study the effects of dam removal on spawning habitat quality and availability. Spawning habitat surveys were conducted downstream of the dam site in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and in historical spawning grounds upstream in 2016 and 2017. The habitat used was characterized by measuring depth, water velocity, and substrate size at each redd. Mean habitat use did not differ between upstream and downstream sites for any variables in 2016 and only differed for depth in 2017. However, the variance in depth and substrate used for spawning were lower at the upstream site in 2016, likely due to an abundance of habitat. In the downstream site, the mean and variance in depth at redds decreased after dam removal as did the variance in substrate size, increasing the habitat suitability of redds. When compared to literature data, habitat used upstream of the former dam was of medium quality in both 2016 and 2017, and improved downstream from low to medium quality in both column velocity and substrate size after dam removal. This study illustrates that positive shifts in the quality of habitat used can occur rapidly following dam removal by allowing access to suitable spawning habitat upstream and improving habitat downstream.     

From Creative Ideas to Innovation Performance: The Role of Assessment Criteria

This article aims to make idea screening studies even more relevant to innovation management by coupling a set of assessment criteria so that they can be used for identifying early product ideas with innovation potential. We develop a framework, which integrates the complementary theoretical perspectives from the creativity and innovation literatures. The approach draws novelty and usefulness insights from the creativity literature and combines these with novelty and market potential insights from the innovation literature. The resulting framework encompasses novelty of a product idea and its usefulness to the intended recipients, but with a distinct focus on the value to the firm that can be created through market potential. This set of criteria makes it possible to couple creative ideas for new products directly to potential innovation performance. For the study, industry and market experts made assessments of 106 student‐generated projects; these assessments underline the distinctiveness of the three criteria and support the value of each criterion's independent role in assessing the innovation potential. Two student project cases particularly shed light on the relevance of each criterion and on its unique relationship within the framework.     

Extended Catalytic Scope of a Well‐Known Enzyme: Asymmetric Reduction of Iminium Substrates by Glucose Dehydrogenase

NADP(H)‐dependent imine reductases (IREDs) are of interest in biocatalytic research due to their ability to generate chiral amines from imine/iminium substrates. In reaction protocols involving IREDs, glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) is generally used to regenerate the expensive cofactor NADPH by oxidation of d ‐glucose to gluconolactone. We have characterized different IREDs with regard to reduction of a set of bicyclic iminium compounds and have utilized ¹H NMR and GC analyses to determine degree of substrate conversion and product enantiomeric excess (ee). All IREDs reduced the tested iminium compounds to the corresponding chiral amines. Blank experiments without IREDs also showed substrate conversion, however, thus suggesting an iminium reductase activity of GDH. This unexpected observation was confirmed by additional experiments with GDHs of different origin. The reduction of C=N bonds with good levels of conversion (>50 %) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee) by GDH represents a promiscuous catalytic activity of this enzyme.     

Brain–computer interfacing: more than the sum of its parts

The performance of non-invasive electroencephalogram-based (EEG) brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) has improved significantly in recent years. However, remaining challenges include the non-stationarity and the low signal-to-noise ratio of the EEG, which limit the bandwidth and hence the available applications. Optimization of both individual components of BCIs and the interrelationship between them is crucial to enhance bandwidth. In other words, neuroscientific knowledge and machine learning need to be optimized by considering concepts from human–computer interaction research and usability. In this paper, we present results of ongoing relevant research in our lab that addresses several important issues for BCIs based on the detection of transient changes in oscillatory EEG activity. First, we report on the long-term stability and robustness of detection of oscillatory EEG components modulated by distinct mental tasks, and show that the use of mental task pairs “mental subtraction versus motor imagery” achieves robust and reliable performance (Cohen’s κ > 0.6) in seven out of nine subjects over a period of 4 days. Second, we report on restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) as promising tools for the recognition of oscillatory EEG patterns. In an off-line BCI simulation we computed average peak accuracies, averaged over ten subjects, of 80.8 ± 7.2 %. Third, we present the basic framework of the context-aware hybrid Graz-BCI that allows interacting with the massive multiplayer online role playing game World of Warcraft. We show how a more integrated design approach that considers all components of BCIs, their interrelationships, other input signals and contextual information can increase interaction efficacy.     

Stereoscopic video watermarking: a comparative study

Despite the sound theoretical, methodological, and experimental background inherited from 2D video, the stereoscopic video watermarking imposed itself as an open research topic. Paving the way towards practical deployment of such copyright protection mechanisms, the present paper is structured as a comparative study on the main classes of 2D watermarking methods (spread spectrum, side information, hybrid) and on their related optimal stereoscopic insertion domains (view or disparity based). The performances are evaluated in terms of transparency, robustness, and computational cost. First, the watermarked content transparency is assessed by both subjective protocols (according to ITU-R BT 500-12 and BT 1438 recommendations) and objective quality measures (five metrics based on differences between pixels and on correlation). Secondly, the robustness is objectively expressed by means of the watermark detection bit error rate against several classes of attacks, such as linear and nonlinear filtering, compression, and geometric transformations. Thirdly, the computational cost is estimated for each processing step involved in the watermarking chain. All the quantitative results are obtained out of processing two corpora of stereoscopic visual content: (1) the 3DLive corpus, summing up about 2 h of 3D TV content captured by French professionals, and (2) the MPEG 3D video reference corpus, composed of 17 min provided by both academic communities and industrials. It was thus established that for a fixed size of the mark, a hybrid watermark insertion performed into a new disparity map representation is the only solution jointly featuring imperceptibility (according to the subjective tests), robustness against the three classes of attacks, and nonprohibitive computational cost.