High Throughput Methods in the Synthesis,Characterization, and Optimization of Porous Materials

Porous materials are widely employed in a large range of applications, in particular, for storage, separation, and catalysis of fine chemicals. Synthesis, characterization, and pre- and post-synthetic computer simulations are mostly carried out in a piecemeal and ad hoc manner. Whilst high throughput approaches have been used for more than 30 years in the porous material fields, routine integration of experimental and computational processes is only now becoming more established. Herein, important developments are highlighted and emerging challenges for the community identified, including the need to work toward more integrated workflows.     

Probabilistic Models of Appearance for 3-D Object Recognition

We describe how to model the appearance of a 3-D object using multiple views, learn such a model from training images, and use the model for object recognition. The model uses probability distributions to describe the range of possible variation in the object's appearance. These distributions are organized on two levels. Large variations are handled by partitioning training images into clusters corresponding to distinctly different views of the object. Within each cluster, smaller variations are represented by distributions characterizing uncertainty in the presence, position, and measurements of various discrete features of appearance. Many types of features are used, ranging in abstraction from edge segments to perceptual groupings and regions. A matching procedure uses the feature uncertainty information to guide the search for a match between model and image. Hypothesized feature pairings are used to estimate a viewpoint transformation taking account of feature uncertainty. These methods have been implemented in an object recognition system, OLIVER. Experiments show that OLIVER is capable of learning to recognize complex objects in cluttered images, while acquiring models that represent those objects using relatively few views.     

The clinical relevance of biomechanics

Most neurologists are familiar with biomechanics but may be unsure of the relevance of this field to their practice. Actually those involved in musculoskeletal problems are undoubtedly using biomechanical principles. This article is limited to the spine, but the basic principles of biomechanics are applicable to other parts of the body. In this article, we describe the spine and trunk as a biomechanical organ, the biomechanical principles behind back injuries and their importance, the role of biomechanical issues in pain, the utility of clinical tests based on biomechanical principles, the effects of aging, and the future directions in spine biomechanical research.     

Experimental toxoplasmosis in broiler chicks

To evaluate chicken toxoplasmosis both as an economic and a public health subject, 84 broiler chicks of a commercial strain, 30 days old, were distributed into seven groups of 12 birds (three replications of four chicks) experimentally infected with three developing T. gondii stages of the P strain as follows: tachyzoites, intravenous (two groups: 5.0 x 10(5) and 5.0 x 10(6)), cysts, per os (two groups: 1.0 x 10(2) and 1.0 x 10(3)) and oocysts, per os (three groups: 5.0 x 10(2), 5.0 x 10(3) and 5.0 x 10(4)). Twelve chicks received only a placebo (control group). During the next 30 days the following parameters were estimated: productivity (weight gain and feed conversion), clinical signs, including rectal temperature and parasitemia (bioassay). No clinical signs suggesting toxoplasmosis were seen and no statistical differences on productivity standards were found in comparison between inoculated and control chicks. However, fowls inoculated with tachyzoites and oocysts occasionally showed hyperthermia. Some haematological changes were detected in fowls inoculated with T. gondii. Anatomo-histopathological changes were not observed. From 14 parasitemias detected, 35.7% appeared on the 5th day after inoculation and 57.1% of them resulted from oocysts inoculation. After 30-35 days all birds were slaughtered: fragments from 12 organs or tissues from each of them were subjected to artificial peptic digestion and after that injected into T. gondii antibody-free mice (IIFR). T. gondii was detected in brain (12), pancreas (five), spleen (five), retina (five), kidney (two), heart (four), proventriculus (three), liver (two), intestine (two), lung (one), and skeletal muscle (one). Similar to observations with parasitemia, from 42 T. gondii isolations, 59.5% came from chicks which had received oocysts. It can thus be inferred that the developing form, expelled by cats, is the most important for T. gondii chicken infection and that brain is the most infected organ in birds. Attention must be paid to the potential importance of chicken meat in public health, since T. gondii was isolated from skeletal and heart muscles.     

Anomalies in hepatobiliary excretion of technetium-99m-MAG3 preparations

Technetium-99m-MAG3 is accepted as a renal tubular function agent. However, sporadic liver and gall bladder visualisation during its clinical use is clearly a disadvantage. HPLC-purified 99mTc-MAG3 samples exhibited appreciable hepatobiliary uptake (7%), and an elevated level of such uptake was observed in unpurified kit preparations, which was stated to be associated with the excretory property of the radiolabeled kit impurities. To verify this we attempted to quantitate the hepatobiliary uptake of the kit preparations with that of its radiolabeled components. The contribution of each component toward hepatobiliary uptake of the sample was calculated from their abundance in the chelate mixture and the individual biodistribution of the isolated components. However, the anticipated hepatobiliary uptake of different preparations of 99mTc-MAG3 calculated in this way was always lower than that of the experimental value determined directly. Further work is needed to explain the anomaly.     

Use of the acute cardiac ischemia time-insensitive predictive instrument (ACI-TIPI) to assist with triage of patients with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute cardiac ischemia. A multicenter, controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Approximately 6 million U.S. patients present to emergency departments annually with symptoms suggesting acute cardiac ischemia. Triage decisions for these patients are important but remain difficult. OBJECTIVE: To test whether computerized prediction of the probability of acute ischemia, used with electrocardiography, improves the accuracy of triage decisions. DESIGN: Controlled clinical trial. SETTING: 10 hospital emergency departments in the midwestern, southeastern, and northeastern United States. PATIENTS: 10689 patients with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute cardiac ischemia. INTERVENTION: The probability of acute ischemia predicted by the acute cardiac ischemia time-insensitive predictive instrument (ACI-TIPI), either automatically printed or not printed on patients' electrocardiograms. MEASUREMENTS: Emergency department triage to a coronary care unit (CCU), telemetry unit, ward, or home. Other measurements were the bed capacity of the CCU relative to that of the telemetry unit; training or supervision status of the triaging physician; and patient diagnoses and outcomes based on clinical, electrocardiographic, and creatine kinase data. RESULTS: For patients without cardiac ischemia, in hospitals with high-capacity CCUs and relatively low-capacity cardiac telemetry units, use of ACI-TIPI was associated with a reduction in CCU admissions from 15% to 12%, a change of -16% (95% CI, -30% to 0%), and an increase in emergency department discharges to home from 49% to 52%, a change of 6% (CI, 0% to 14%; overall P=0.09). Across all hospitals, for patients evaluated by unsupervised residents, use of ACI-TIPI was associated with a reduction in CCU admissions from 14% to 10%, a change of -32% (CI, -55% to 3%); a reduction in telemetry unit admissions from 39% to 31%, a change of -20% (CI, -34% to -2%); and an increase in discharges to home from 45% to 56%, a change of 25% (CI, 8% to 45%; overall P=0.008). Among patients with stable angina, in hospitals with high-capacity CCUs, use of ACI-TIPI was associated with a reduction in CCU admissions from 26% to 13%, a change of -50% (CI, -70% to -17%), and an increase in discharges to home from 20% to 22%, a change of 10% (CI, -29% to 71%; overall P=0.02). At hospitals with high-capacity telemetry units, use of ACI-TIPI was associated with a reduction in telemetry unit admissions from 68% to 59%, a change of -14% (CI, -27% to 1%), and an increase in emergency department discharges to home from 10% to 21%, a change of 100% (CI, 22% to 230%; overall P=0.02). Among patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina, use of ACI-TIPI did not change appropriate admission (96%) to the CCU or telemetry unit at hospitals with high-capacity CCUs or telemetry units. CONCLUSIONS: Use of ACI-TIPI was associated with reduced hospitalization among emergency department patients without acute cardiac ischemia. This result varied as expected according to the CCU and cardiac telemetry unit capacities and physician supervision at individual hospitals. Appropriate admission for unstable angina or acute infarction was not affected. If ACI-TIPI is used widely in the United States, its potential incremental impact may be more than 200000 fewer unnecessary hospitalizations and more than 100000 fewer unnecessary CCU admissions.     

Long-term effect of alkaline, organic acid, or hot water washes on the microbial profile of refrigerated beef contaminated with bacterial pathogens after washing

One hundred consecutive patients (81 male and 19 female) with unstable angina pectoris undergoing coronary angiography were divided according to Braunwald's clinical classification. Seventeen (17%) patients had new onset angina (class I), 68 (68%) sub-acute angina (class II) and 15 (15%) had acute rest angina (class III). Twenty-seven (27%) patients had secondary unstable angina pectoris (class A), 49 (49%) primary unstable angina (class B) and 24 (24%) had post-infarction unstable angina (class C). ST-T wave changes on ECG were present in 54 (54%) while absent in 46 (46%) patients. On coronary angiography, 26 (26%) patients had single vessel disease, 30 (30%) double vessel disease and 39 (39%) patients had triple vessel disease. Five (5%) patients were found to have normal coronaries. Classification of patients according to Braunwald's clinical classification showed single vessel disease to be higher in class I as compared to class II (47% vs 22%; p = 0.04) and classes III (47% vs 20%; p<0.01). Single vessel disease was found to be higher in class C as compared to class B (41.7% vs 16.4; p = 0.01). Double vessel disease was higher in class B as compared to class A (40.8% vs 18.5%, p = 0.04). Triple vessel disease incidence was not found to be significantly different among different clinical classes. Morphology of coronary artery lesions was classified according to Ambrose's classification. Out of the total of 248 lesions in the whole study group, there were 68 (27.42%) concentric lesions, 55 (22.18%) eccentric type I lesions, 23 (9.27%) eccentric type II lesions, 42 (16.94%) multiple irregularity lesions and 60 (24.19%) totally occluded lesions. Concentric lesions were found to be higher in class C as compared to class B (40% vs 19.8%; p = 0.014). Statistically significant difference was not present in the distribution of other morphological type of lesions among different clinical classes. In the whole study group, intra-luminal thrombus was found to be present in 17 (17%) of patients. Distribution of intra-luminal thrombus according to Braunwald's classification showed that none of the patients in class I had intra-luminal thrombus, while 13 (19.1%) patients in class II and 4(26.7%) in class III had intra-luminal thrombus. The difference in the occurrence of intra-luminal thrombus between class I and class II (p = 0.004) and class I and class III (p = 0 .03 was found to be significant. Thus, majority of patients undergoing coronary angiography had primary sub-acute rest angina. Single vessel disease was higher in new onset angina. Patients with unstable angina pectoris and ST-T changes on ECG had higher number of lesions per patient and higher eccentric type I lesions. Intra-luminal thrombus was more frequently encountered with acute rest angina. However, the distribution of different morphological type of lesions on coronary angiography did not differ significantly in different clinical classes of unstable angina pectoris divided according to Braunwald's classification.