Retrospective Geospatial Modeling of PM10 Exposures from Open Burning at Joint Base Balad, Iraq

Predicting, determining, and linking theater-related source-specific exposures to health effects has proven difficult. The purpose of this research is to delineate retrospective exposure zones using spatially interpolated particulate air sampling point data from Joint Base Balad, create burn pit exposure isopleths from dispersion model outputs, and merge into a combined exposure model in GIS. Interpolated monitoring results and dispersion modeled results were combined to compare modeled exposures across base. Burn pit contribution to total PM10 was also modeled. The combined dispersion and interpolation map showed elevated concentrations within a 1 kilometer buffer of the burn pit. Buildings within this area were identified by geoprocessing. The east side of the base receives greater burn pit-specific PM10, compared to the west side. The west side showed high ambient PM10 from monitoring results, but it is unclear whether this was due to spatial or temporal effects. High temporal variability highlights the need for temporally representative sampling across the geographical area throughout the year. It was shown that source-specific individual exposure can be estimated with dispersion model isopleth maps and individual time-activity patterns. All modeling performed can all be refined with improved estimates of emission rates

Melanoma of the Hand: Current Practice and New Frontiers

Melanoma of the hand represents a complicated clinical entity. Anatomic features of the hand create challenges in successful management of melanoma not encountered elsewhere in the body. The objectives of this article are to outline current standards for managing melanoma of the hand including diagnosis, surgical, and chemotherapeutic management. Particular emphasis will be placed on currently debated topics of the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy, the role of Mohs micrographic surgery, tissue sparing management of subungual melanoma, and the consideration of melanoma of the hand as a distinct entity based on clinical and molecular studies

IL-1 receptor signaling in the basolateral amygdala modulates binge-like ethanol consumption in male C57BL/6J mice

Proinflammatory cytokines have been implicated in alcohol-induced neurodegeneration, but the role of the neuroimmune system in alcohol related behaviors has only recently come to the forefront. Herein, the effects of binge-like drinking on IL-1β mRNA and immunoreactivity within the amygdala were measured following the “drinking in the dark” (DID) paradigm, a model of binge-like ethanol drinking in C57BL/6J mice. Moreover, the role of IL-1 receptor signaling in the amygdala on ethanol consumption was assessed. Results indicated that a history of binge-like ethanol drinking promoted a significant increase of IL-1β mRNA expression within the amygdala, and immunohistochemistry analyses revealed that the basolateral amygdala (BLA), but not central amygdala (CeA), exhibited significantly increased IL-1β immunoreactivity. Fluoro-Jade® C labeling indicated that multiple cycles of the DID paradigm were not sufficient to elicit neuronal death. Bilateral infusions of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) reduced ethanol consumption when infused into the BLA but not the CeA. These observations were specific to ethanol drinking as the IL-1Ra did not alter either sucrose drinking or open-field locomotor activity. The current findings highlight a specific role for IL-1 receptor signaling in modulating binge-like ethanol consumption and indicate that proinflammatory cytokines can be induced prior to dependence or any evidence of neuronal cell death. These findings provide a framework in which to understand how neuroimmune adaptations may alter ethanol consumption and therein contributing to alcohol abuse

A Mechanism for Chronic Filarial Hydrocele with Implications for Its Surgical Repair

Chronic hydrocele is the accumulation of fluid around the testis leading to an increase in the volume of the scrotal contents. Depending on the volume of fluid, hydrocele can be disfiguring and even incapacitating. Chronic hydrocele has multiple etiologies, but irrespective of the cause, surgery is the standard form of treatment and this can be done using different surgical techniques. The prevalence of chronic hydrocele in bancroftian filariasis endemic areas—a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquito—is very high and represents the most common clinical manifestation of bancroftosis, following by swollen legs of lower limbs or lymphedema among women. In Greater Recife, northeastern, Brazil, a bancroftian filariasis endemic area, a pioneering, prospective surgical study proposes a new mechanism for filarial-induced hydrocele and presents evidence that the filarial hydrocele fluid may damage the testis. Thus, based on the findings presented, the authors propose that in bancroftian filariasis endemic areas hydrocele patients should be operated on using a specific surgical technique in order to avoid recurrence of the disease, and consequently, additional damage to the testicle

Diversity and distribution of subseafloor Thermococcales populations in diffuse hydrothermal vents at an active deep-sea volcano in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 111 (2006): G04016, doi:10.1029/2005JG000097.The presence, diversity, and distribution of a key group of subseafloor archaea, the Thermococcales, was examined in multiple diffuse flow hydrothermal vents at Axial Seamount, an active deep-sea volcano located in the northeast Pacific Ocean. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach was used to determine if this group of subseafloor indicator organisms showed any phylogenetic distribution that may indicate distinct subseafloor communities at vents with different physical and chemical characteristics. Targeted primers for the Thermococcales 16S rRNA (small subunit ribosomal RNA) gene and intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region were designed and applied to organisms filtered in-situ directly from a variety of diffuse flow vents. Thermococcales were amplified from 9 of 11 samples examined, and it was determined that the ITS region is a better phylogenetic marker than the 16S rRNA in defining consistent groups of closely related sequences. Results show a relationship between environmental clone distribution and source vent chemistry. The most highly diluted vents with elevated iron and alkalinity contained a distinct group of Thermococcales as defined by the ITS region, suggesting separate subseafloor Thermococcales populations at diffuse vents within the Axial caldera.This work was supported by Washington Sea Grant (NA76RG0119), National Science Foundation (OCE 9816491), NSF IGERT (DGE- 9870713), NASA Astrobiology Institute through the Carnegie Geophysical Institute, the NOAA/PMEL Vents Program, NOAA West Coast and Polar Undersea Research Center, and by the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean under NOAA Cooperative Agreement No. NA117RJ1232

Assembly and structural analysis of a covalently closed nano-scale DNA cage

The inherent properties of DNA as a stable polymer with unique affinity for partner molecules determined by the specific Watson–Crick base pairing makes it an ideal component in self-assembling structures. This has been exploited for decades in the design of a variety of artificial substrates for investigations of DNA-interacting enzymes. More recently, strategies for synthesis of more complex two-dimensional (2D) and 3D DNA structures have emerged. However, the building of such structures is still in progress and more experiences from different research groups and different fields of expertise are necessary before complex DNA structures can be routinely designed for the use in basal science and/or biotechnology. Here we present the design, construction and structural analysis of a covalently closed and stable 3D DNA structure with the connectivity of an octahedron, as defined by the double-stranded DNA helices that assembles from eight oligonucleotides with a yield of ∼30%. As demonstrated by Small Angle X-ray Scattering and cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy analyses the eight-stranded DNA structure has a central cavity larger than the apertures in the surrounding DNA lattice and can be described as a nano-scale DNA cage, Hence, in theory it could hold proteins or other bio-molecules to enable their investigation in certain harmful environments or even allow their organization into higher order structures

Processing speed and memory test performance are associated with different brain region volumes in Veterans and others with progressive multiple sclerosis

BackgroundCognitive dysfunction and brain atrophy are both common in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) but are seldom examined comprehensively in clinical trials. Antioxidant treatment may affect the neurodegeneration characteristic of progressive MS and slow its symptomatic and radiographic correlates.ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate cross-sectional associations between cognitive battery components of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis with whole and segmented brain volumes and to determine if associations differ between secondary progressive (SPMS) and primary progressive (PPMS) MS subtypes.DesignThe study was based on a baseline analysis from a multi-site randomized controlled trial of the antioxidant lipoic acid in veterans and other people with progressive MS (NCT03161028).MethodsCognitive batteries were conducted by trained research personnel. MRIs were processed at a central processing site for maximum harmonization. Semi-partial Pearson's adjustments evaluated associations between cognitive tests and MRI volumes. Regression analyses evaluated differences in association patterns between SPMS and PPMS cohorts.ResultsOf the 114 participants, 70% had SPMS. Veterans with MS made up 26% (n = 30) of the total sample and 73% had SPMS. Participants had a mean age of 59.2 and sd 8.5 years, and 54% of them were women, had a disease duration of 22.4 (sd 11.3) years, and had a median Expanded Disability Status Scale of 6.0 (with an interquartile range of 4.0–6.0, moderate disability). The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (processing speed) correlated with whole brain volume (R = 0.29, p = 0.01) and total white matter volume (R = 0.33, p < 0.01). Both the California Verbal Learning Test (verbal memory) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (visual memory) correlated with mean cortical thickness (R = 0.27, p = 0.02 and R = 0.35, p < 0.01, respectively). Correlation patterns were similar in subgroup analyses.ConclusionBrain volumes showed differing patterns of correlation across cognitive tasks in progressive MS. Similar results between SPMS and PPMS cohorts suggest combining progressive MS subtypes in studies involving cognition and brain atrophy in these populations. Longitudinal assessment will determine the therapeutic effects of lipoic acid on cognitive tasks, brain atrophy, and their associations

Software Development Standard Processes (SDSP)

A JPL-created set of standard processes is to be used throughout the lifecycle of software development. These SDSPs cover a range of activities, from management and engineering activities, to assurance and support activities. These processes must be applied to software tasks per a prescribed set of procedures. JPL s Software Quality Improvement Project is currently working at the behest of the JPL Software Process Owner to ensure that all applicable software tasks follow these procedures. The SDSPs are captured as a set of 22 standards in JPL s software process domain. They were developed in-house at JPL by a number of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) residing primarily within the Engineering and Science Directorate, but also from the Business Operations Directorate and Safety and Mission Success Directorate. These practices include not only currently performed best practices, but also JPL-desired future practices in key thrust areas like software architecting and software reuse analysis. Additionally, these SDSPs conform to many standards and requirements to which JPL projects are beholden

Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: Data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3–90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age‐related trajectories inferred from cross‐sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3–90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter‐individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age‐related morphometric patterns

Cortical thickness across the lifespan: Data from 17,075 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Delineating the association of age and cortical thickness in healthy individuals is critical given the association of cortical thickness with cognition and behavior. Previous research has shown that robust estimates of the association between age and brain morphometry require large‐scale studies. In response, we used cross‐sectional data from 17,075 individuals aged 3–90 years from the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to infer age‐related changes in cortical thickness. We used fractional polynomial (FP) regression to quantify the association between age and cortical thickness, and we computed normalized growth centiles using the parametric Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Interindividual variability was estimated using meta‐analysis and one‐way analysis of variance. For most regions, their highest cortical thickness value was observed in childhood. Age and cortical thickness showed a negative association; the slope was steeper up to the third decade of life and more gradual thereafter; notable exceptions to this general pattern were entorhinal, temporopolar, and anterior cingulate cortices. Interindividual variability was largest in temporal and frontal regions across the lifespan. Age and its FP combinations explained up to 59% variance in cortical thickness. These results may form the basis of further investigation on normative deviation in cortical thickness and its significance for behavioral and cognitive outcomes