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Primary Results (primary + result)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Anatomic Geometry of Sound Transmission and Reception in Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris)

THE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Ted W. Cranford
Abstract This study uses remote imaging technology to quantify, compare, and contrast the cephalic anatomy between a neonate female and a young adult male Cuvier's beaked whale. Primary results reveal details of anatomic geometry with implications for acoustic function and diving. Specifically, we describe the juxtaposition of the large pterygoid sinuses, a fibrous venous plexus, and a lipid-rich pathway that connects the acoustic environment to the bony ear complex. We surmise that the large pterygoid air sinuses are essential adaptations for maintaining acoustic isolation and auditory acuity of the ears at depth. In the adult male, an acoustic waveguide lined with pachyosteosclerotic bones is apparently part of a novel transmission pathway for outgoing biosonar signals. Substitution of dense tissue boundaries where we normally find air sacs in delphinoids appears to be a recurring theme in deep-diving beaked whales and sperm whales. The anatomic configuration of the adult male Ziphius forehead resembles an upside-down sperm whale nose and may be its functional equivalent, but the homologous relationships between forehead structures are equivocal. Anat Rec, 291:353,378, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Thermodynamic Considerations in Solid Adsorption of Bound Solutes for Patient Support in Liver Failure

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 7 2008
John F. Patzer II
Abstract:, New detoxification modes of treatment for liver failure that use solid adsorbents to remove toxins bound to albumin in the patient bloodstream are entering clinical evaluations, frequently in head-to-head competition. While generally effective in reducing toxin concentration beyond that obtainable by conventional dialysis procedures, the solid adsorbent processes are largely the result of heuristic development. Understanding the principles and limitations inherent in competitive toxin binding, albumin versus solid adsorbent, will enhance the design process and, possibly, improve detoxification performance. An equilibrium thermodynamic analysis is presented for both the molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) and fractionated plasma separation, adsorption, and dialysis system (Prometheus), two advanced systems with distinctly different operating modes but with similar equilibrium limitations. The Prometheus analysis also applies to two newer approaches: sorbent suspension reactor and microsphere-based detoxification system. Primary results from the thermodynamic analysis are that: (i) the solute,albumin binding constant is of minor importance to equilibrium once it exceeds about 105 L/mol; (ii) the Prometheus approach requires larger solid adsorbent columns than calculated by adsorbent solute capacity alone; and (iii) the albumin-containing recycle stream in the MARS approach is a major reservoir of removed toxin. A survey of published results indicates that MARS is operating under mass transfer control dictated by solute,albumin equilibrium in the recycle stream, and Prometheus is approaching equilibrium limits under current clinical protocols. [source]

Endovascular treatment of Angio-SealÔ-related limb ischemia,Primary results and long-term follow-up,

CATHETERIZATION AND CARDIOVASCULAR INTERVENTIONS, Issue 6 2010
Christoph Thalhammer MD
Abstract Objectives: To investigate primary success rates and long term follow-up of endovascular treatment of AngioSealÔ-related limb ischemia. Background: Current knowledge on optimal therapy of ischemic complications following application of AngioSealÔ is limited. Methods: A single-center prospectively maintained database was retrospectively interrogated and AngioSealÔ,related complications requiring endovascular treatment over an 8-year-time period was identified. Results: Fifteen patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were identified, resulting in an approximated incidence of 0.26% of all devices implanted at our institution. In all cases, the complication was managed successfully in the absence of complications. Eleven patients were treated with balloon angioplasty (PTA) and four with stent implantation because of suboptimal PTA results. Twelve patients were available for noninvasive vascular follow-up examination for a median time of 40 months postinterventionally. Only two patients needed a second intervention consisting of balloon angioplasty due to symptomatic restenosis. At final follow-up all patients were asymptomatic with no relevant restenosis. Conclusion: Endovascular treatment for AngioSealÔ-related limb ischemia with or without stent implantation results in an excellent immediate and long-term clinical and hemodynamic outcome. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The Dynamics of Homeownership: Eliminating the Gap Between African American and White Households

REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2009
Thomas P. Boehm
This article uses a sample of young renters from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a continuous-time econometric model to explore not only the initial tenure transition to first-time homeownership, but also subsequent possible tenure transitions to a second owned home, back to rental tenure and, indirectly, to a second owned home from rental tenure. Once estimated, the predicted probabilities of these transitions are used to calculate the probability of homeownership at various times for households in the sample. These estimates are done separately for African Americans and whites for two different 11-year time intervals, 1987,1997 and 1993,2003. A primary result is that if African American education, income, net wealth and savings behavior could be brought in line with that of white households the majority of the racial gap in homeownership could be eliminated in either time period. [source]

The functions of freezing in the social interactions of juvenile high- and low-aggressive mice

AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 6 2001
Daniel J. Bauer
Abstract Selectively bred low-aggressive mice are frequently observed to freeze on social contact, despite the fact that this behavior was never a direct target of selection. To elucidate this finding, the present research aimed to identify the possible functions freezing may serve in social interactions. It was hypothesized that freezing may modify social interactions through self-regulatory mechanisms and/or via its modulating effects on the actions of social partners. These hypotheses were evaluated with respect to the sequential changes observed over the course of a 10-min dyadic test in freezing, social reactivity, and approaches among juvenile (24,30-day-old) mice from the NC900 and NC100 high- and low-aggressive lines. Analyses of the patterns of social interactions between subjects and partners revealed two primary results. First, freezing was more than an expression of fear; it also functioned as a regulator of emotional arousal, as suggested by the substantial reduction of reactive behaviors seen in animals that showed high levels of freezing. Second, freezing functioned to facilitate high levels of affiliative social interaction with social partners. The implications of these results for understanding how the differentiation of the NC900 and NC100 occurred within microevolution and development are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 27:463,475, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinically relevant adverse events from HMG CoA reductase inhibitor trials worldwide from 1982 to present,

PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 2 2007
David L. McClure PhD
Abstract Purpose Our objective was to determine the association of clinically relevant adverse events from a systematic review and meta-analysis of statin randomized controlled trials (RCT). Methods We performed the meta-analysis in the manner of a Cochrane Collaboration systematic review. Outcomes were discontinuances of therapy or muscle-related symptoms due to adverse events. We searched for articles from 1982 through June 2006 in MEDLINE and other databases. The main inclusion criteria were double blind, placebo controlled RCTs with a monotherapy intervention of any marketed statin and active surveillance of adverse events. We excluded studies of drug interactions, organ transplants, or exercise, or those not meeting all of the study quality criteria. The primary analysis was a statin formulation stratified fixed-effect model using Peto odds-ratios (POR). Secondary analyses explored the stability of the primary results. Results Over 86,000 study participants from 119 studies were included. Available statins were associated with a lower POR of discontinuance (overall: 0.88 [0.84, 0.93], largest effect with pravastatin: 0.79 [0.74, 0.84]), an elevated POR of rhabdomyolysis (1.59 [0.54, 4.70]) and myositis (2.56 [1.12, 5.85]), and null odds of myalgia (1.09 [0.97, 1.23]). Cerivastatin by comparison demonstrated larger PORs for discontinuances and muscle-related adverse events. Secondary analyses demonstrated the stability of the results. Conclusions Overall, discontinuation of statin therapy due to adverse events was no worse than placebo. The risks of muscle-related adverse events were in general agreement with the known risks of statins. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]