Assessment of atrial septal defect morphology by transthoracic three dimensional echocardiography using standard grey scale and Doppler myocardial imaging techniques: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging and intraoperative findings

The properties of chemically cured and light-cured composite resins were recorded at baseline and at intervals over seven years, while the materials were exposed to controlled storage conditions as well as to various conditions typical of clinical situations. For chemically cured resins in clinical conditions, mechanical properties decreased, and working and setting times increased over four years; if refrigerated (controlled), properties remained constant past seven years. For light-cured resins, test results were constant over the entire seven-year test period regardless of storage conditions. An accelerated aging protocol was developed to allow for the evaluation of the relative storage stability of new and similar materials.     

Expression of the brain creatine kinase gene in rat RT4 peripheral neurotumor cell lines and its modulation by cell confluence

Creatine kinases (CK) catalyze the reversible transfer of a high energy phosphate group between creatine phosphate and ADP to regenerate ATP in cell types where the requirements for ATP are extensive and/or sudden. Previously, we have shown in primary rat brain cell cultures that brain CK (CKB) mRNA levels are highest in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes and much lower in neuronal cells. However, little is known of the factors which regulate CKB expression in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. To begin to investigate these factors, we asked in this report (1) if this pattern of CKB expression was also characteristic of some established glial and neuronal cell lines derived from the PNS; (2) whether CKB expression could be rapidly modulated by culture conditions, and (3) if CKB is expressed in cells with characteristics of glial cell progenitors. In subconfluent cells, CKB mRNA and enzyme activity were found to be high in both the rat RT4 peripheral neurotumor stem cell RT4-AC36A and its glial cell derivative RT4-D6. Conversely, CKB mRNA and activity were 5- and 8-fold lower, respectively, in the neuronal derivative RT4-E5 and, more dramatically, CKB was undetectable in neuronal RT4-B8 cells. Maintaining RT4-D6 glial cells at confluence rapidly increased CKB enzyme activity by 7-fold, such that D6 cells contained about 25% of the CKB level in lysates prepared from either whole adult rat brain or primary cultures of rat brain astrocytes. The levels of CKB mRNA and immunoreactive protein were also correspondingly increased in confluent D6 cells. These confluence-mediated increases in CKB appeared to be due to cell-cell contact and not the depletion of serum growth factors or an increase in intracellular cAMP. This study indicates that CKB expression is highest in cells displaying glial properties and can be rapidly modulated by appropriate culture conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the factors which may regulate CKB expression in vivo.     

Optimal trajectory planning with application to industrial robots

A procedure is presented for planning optimal trajectories for application to industrial robots. First, trajectories are optimised by considering the nominal dynamics of a robot with rigid links and joints and with constraints on joint torque and speed. The minimum-time optimisation criterion is complemented by a miminal dynamic energy criterion that leads to smoother actuator inputs that do not excite joint vibrations. Weighting factors for these cost functions are then determined by trial simulations. By these means the effect of controller characteristics and elasticity, friction and backlash in the joints may be taken into account. A minimum-time movement for the real-world robot is obtained which displays the dynamical behaviour predicted in the planning procedure. Results from measurements and simulations for a PUMA 562 robot illustrate the approach. Further improvements may be achieved by a custom controller with the feedforward torques as shown in a comparison of trajectories executed with a VAL2 controller and a custom controller.     

Urban air pollution and cardiopulmonary ill health: a 14.5 year time series study

OBJECTIVES: To examine possible associations between daily concentrations of urban air pollutants and hospital emergency admissions and mortality due to cardiac and pulmonary disease. METHODS: A time series study was conducted in the City of Edinburgh, which has a population of about 450,000. Poisson log linear regression models were used to investigate the relation of the daily event rate with daily air pollution concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and black smoke from 1981 to 1995, and of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM10) from 1992 to 1995. Adjustments were made for seasonal and weekday variation, daily temperature, and wind speed. RESULTS: The most significant findings were positive associations over the period 1981-95 between black smoke as a mean of the previous three days and daily all cause mortality in people aged > or = 65, and respiratory mortality also in this age group (3.9% increase in mortality for a 10 micrograms/m3 increment in black smoke). For hospital emergency admissions between 1992 and 1995 the two most significant findings (p < 0.05) were for cardiovascular admissions of people aged > or = 65 which showed a positive association with PM10 as a mean of the 3 previous days, and a negative association with O3 as a mean of the previous three days. Analyses of outcomes based on linkage with previous cardiorespiratory emergency admissions did not show substantially different results. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that in the City of Edinburgh, after correction for confounders, there was a small but significant association between concentrations of black smoke and respiratory mortality in the older age group, probably attributable to higher pollution levels in the early part of the study period. There were also generally weak and variable associations between day to day changes in concentrations of urban air pollutants at a single central point and emergency hospital admission rates from cardiac and respiratory disease.     

Measurement invariance of the Gifted Rating Scales—School Form across five cultural groups.

This study examined measurement invariance of the Gifted Rating Scales—School Form (GRS–S) across the United States, Puerto Rico, China, South Korea, and Turkey, using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. A total of 1,817 students were rated by 287 teachers using either translated versions of GRS–S or the original English GRS–S. Results indicate a similar factor structure for the GRS–S across the five locations; six factors with each of the 72 items equivalently loaded to the same latent variable across groups. The metric invariance test and the factor variance and covariance invariance tests reveal that the patterns of factor loadings and the factor variances and covariances are invariant across the five groups. Moreover, the scalar invariance test indicates that item means are equivalent across the groups. These results suggest that the GRS–S has intercultural utility and can be similarly interpreted. Implications and limitations of the present research for gifted identification are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Models of community care for severe mental illness: a review of research on case management

We describe different models of community care for persons with severe mental illness and review the research literature on case management, including the results of 75 studies. Most research has been conducted on the assertive community treatment (ACT) or intensive case management (ICM) models. Controlled research on ACT and ICM indicates that these models reduce time in the hospital and improve housing stability, especially among patients who are high service users. ACT and ICM appear to have moderate effects on improving symptomatology and quality of life. Most studies suggest little effect of ACT and ICM on social functioning, arrests and time spent in jail, or vocational functioning. Studies on reducing or withdrawing ACT or ICM services suggest some deterioration in gains. Research on other models of community care is inconclusive. We discuss the implications of the findings in terms of the need for specialization of ACT or ICM teams to address social and vocational functioning and substance abuse. We suggest directions for future research on models of community care, including evaluating implementation fidelity, exploring patient predictors of improvement, and evaluating the role of the helping alliance in mediating outcome.     

EIR1, a root-specific protein involved in auxin transport, is required for gravitropism in Arabidopsis thaliana

The EIR1 gene of Arabidopsis is a member of a family of plant genes with similarities to bacterial membrane transporters. This gene is expressed only in the root, which is consistent with the phenotypes of the eir1 mutants-the roots are agravitropic and have a reduced sensitivity to ethylene. The roots of eir1 mutants are also insensitive to the excess auxin produced by alf1-1 and fail to induce an auxin-inducible gene in the expansion zone. Although they fail to respond to internally generated auxin, they respond normally to externally applied auxin. Expression of the EIR1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confers resistance to fluorinated indolic compounds. Taken together, these data suggest that the EIR1 protein has a root-specific role in the transport of auxin.     

NMDA receptors mediate peripheral chemoreceptor afferent input in the conscious rat

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors mediate critical components of cardiorespiratory control in anesthetized animals. The role of NMDA receptors in the ventilatory responses to peripheral and central chemoreceptor stimulation was investigated in conscious, freely behaving rats. Minute ventilation (VE) responses to 10% O2, 5% CO2, and increasing intravenous doses of sodium cyanide were measured in intact rats before and after intravenous administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (3 mg/kg). After MK-801, eupcapnic tidal volume (VT) decreased while frequency increased, resulting in a modest reduction in VE. Inspiratory time (TI) decreased, whereas expiratory time remained unchanged. The VE responses to hypercapnia were qualitatively similar in control and MK-801 conditions, with slight reductions in respiratory drive (VT/TI) after MK-801. In contrast, responses to hypoxia were markedly attenuated after MK-801 and were primarily due to reduced frequency changes, whereas VT was unaffected. Sodium cyanide doses associated with significant VE increases were 5 and 50 microg/kg before and after MK-801, respectively. Thus 1-log shift to the right of individual dose-response curves occurred with MK-801. Selective carotid body denervation reduced VE during hypoxia by 70%, and residual hypoxic ventilatory responses were abolished after MK-801. These findings suggest that, in conscious rats, carotid and other peripheral chemoreceptor-mediated hypoxic ventilatory responses are critically dependent on NMDA receptor activation and that NMDA receptor mechanisms are only modestly involved during hypercapnia.     

Uveitis and central nervous system vasculitis

The purpose of this double-blind study was to investigate the influence of adding a quercetin-containing supplement to the diet on plasma quercetin status, serum/platelet fatty acid levels and risk factors for heart disease. Healthy men and women with cholesterol levels of 4.0-7.2 mmol/L, consumed four capsules daily of either a quercetin-containing supplement (1.0 g quercetin/d) or rice flour placebo for 28 d. Quercetin intakes were approximately 50-fold greater than the dietary intakes associated with lower coronary heart disease mortality on the basis of epidemiologic studies. Subjects consuming quercetin-containing capsules had plasma quercetin concentrations approximately 23-fold higher than those of subjects consuming the control capsules. Quercetin supplementation did not modify serum total, LDL or HDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels. There were also no alterations of other cardiovascular disease or thrombogenic risk factors, including platelet aggregation, platelet thromboxane B2 production, blood pressure or resting heart rate. Furthermore, there was no effect on the levels of (n-6) or (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum or platelet phospholipids. In conclusion, supplementation with quercetin-containing capsules markedly enhanced the plasma quercetin concentration but had no effect on other cardiovascular or thrombogenic risk factors.