Assessment of a new MRI classification of spinal stenosis based on cross-sectional morphology of the dural sac : FM2

Introduction: Quantitative measures of degree of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) such as antero-posterior diameter of the canal or dural sac cross sectional area vary widely and do not correlate with clinical symptoms or results of surgical decompression. In an effort to improve quantification of stenosis we have developed a grading system based on the morphology of the dural sac and its contents as seen on T2 axial images. The grading comprises seven categories ranging form normal to the most severe stenosis and takes into account the ratio of rootlet/CSF content. Material and methods: Fifty T2 axial MRI images taken at disc level from twenty seven symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis patients who underwent decompressive surgery were classified into seven categories by five observers and reclassified 2 weeks later by the same investigators. Intra- and inter-observer reliability of the classification were assessed using Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa statistics, respectively. Results: Generally, the morphology grading system itself was well adopted by the observers. Its success in application is strongly influenced by the identification of the dural sac. The average intraobserver Cohen's kappa was 0.53 ± 0.2. The inter-observer Fleiss' kappa was 0.38 ± 0.02 in the first rating and 0.3 ± 0.03 in the second rating repeated after two weeks. Discussion: In this attempt, the teaching of the observers was limited to an introduction to the general idea of the morphology grading system and one example MRI image per category. The identification of the dimension of the dural sac may be a difficult issue in absence of complete T1 T2 MRI image series as it was the case here. The similarity of the CSF to possibly present fat on T2 images was the main reason of mismatch in the assignment of the cases to a category. The Fleiss correlation factors of the five observers are fair and the proposed morphology grading system is promising.

An assessment of empirical Bayes and composite estimators for small areas

We compare a set of empirical Bayes and composite estimators of the population means of the districts (small areas) of a country, and show that the natural modelling strategy of searching for a well fitting empirical Bayes model and using it for estimation of the area-level means can be inefficient.

Assessment of human skin penetration of two irritant herbicides

Two common herbicides; isoproturon and bentazon, are strong skin irritants and cross the skin barrier easily. Assessment of percutaneous absorption of these substances is a very important step in the evaluation of any dermal or transdermal dose, especially among agricultural workers who frequently have dermal exposures during crop treatment. The aims of the study were to determine the permeation rate of human skin for both herbicides in vitro, and histologically evaluate skin damage due to irritation at different concentrations. Skin penetration was assessed using a dynamic flow-through in vitro penetration system and analysis were performed with ion trap LC-MS (acidified water: acetronitile, C18 column). Two concentrations of bentazon (75 and 150 μg/mL) and isoproturon (125 and 250 μg/mL) in saline solution were applied on excised human skin from several donors. Saline water was used as receptor fluid. Collection times were: 4, 8, and 24 hours. After the experiments, the skin was removed and examined by histopathology for apoptosis, acanthosis, acantholysis and epidermolysis. The skin permeation rate, J, was calculated from the slope of the cumulative amount permeated as a function of time. The lag time, tL, was assigned from the time-axis intercept of the extrapolation of this linearity. Our results showed that tL for bentazon and isoproturon for both concentrations tested were similar; 2, 1.5 hours, respectively. Bentazon had a lowerer J compared to isoproturon; 350, 600 ng/cm2/h, respectively. Some acanthosis was observed after 8 hours of exposure to either of the two substances. In conclusion, our in vitro experiments demonstrate that bentazon and isoproturon cross the skin barrier within 2 hours even at very low concentrations, and showed some signs of skin damage. Future tests involve concentrations found in commercial products.

Is altruism important for understanding the long-run effects of social security?

This paper quantifies the effects of social security on capital accumulation and wealth distribution in a life cycle framework with altruistic individuals. The main findings of this paper are that the current U.S. social security system has a significant impact on capital accumulation and wealth distribution. I find that social security crowds out 8\% of the capital stock of an economy without social security. This effect is driven by the distortions of labor supply due to the taxation of labor income rather than by the intergenerational redistribution of income imposed by the social security system. In contrast to previous analysis of social security, I found that social security does not affect the savings rate of the economy. Another interesting finding is that even though the current U.S. social security system is progressive in its benefits, it may lead to a more disperse distribution of wealth.

Visualization and quality assessment of de novo genome assemblies.

Recent technological progress has greatly facilitated de novo genome sequencing. However, de novo assemblies consist in many pieces of contiguous sequence (contigs) arranged in thousands of scaffolds instead of small numbers of chromosomes. Confirming and improving the quality of such assemblies is critical for subsequent analysis. We present a method to evaluate genome scaffolding by aligning independently obtained transcriptome sequences to the genome and visually summarizing the alignments using the Cytoscape software. Applying this method to the genome of the red fire ant Solenopsis invicta allowed us to identify inconsistencies in 7%, confirm contig order in 20% and extend 16% of scaffolds.Scripts that generate tables for visualization in Cytoscape from FASTA sequence and scaffolding information files are publicly available at https://github.com/ksanao/TGNet.

Diversity of social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) in three fragments of semideciduous seasonal forest in the northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil

Human exploitation of the forest in the northwest of São Paulo State has generated enormous fragmentation of that forest. Such disturbance has reduced the populations of insects in general. This work was a survey of social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae; Polistinae) in three areas in different stages of regeneration: Paulo de Faria - SP (435 ha), Pindorama - SP (128 ha) and Neves Paulista - SP (1 ha). These three areas were chosen for comparative purposes. To capture the wasps, it was used: active collecting with attractant liquid (solution of water, salt and sugar) with the aid of a dorsal spray bag. During the period from July to December 2006, 414 social wasps were collected in Paulo de Faria, constituting seven species belonging to four genera; 111 social wasps were collected in Pindorama, constituting six species belonging to four genera, and 129 social wasps were collected in Neves Paulista constituting 12 species belonging to seven genera. In order to compare these three areas ecological indexes were calculated. Neves Paulista had the greatest diversity, and Paulo de Faria presented greater abundance. These factors were probably caused by neighboring areas and ecological corridors, which were limited in Paulo de Faria and Pindorama.

Price regulation of plastic money: A critical assessment of Spanish rules

Recent decisions by the Spanish national competition authority (TDC) mandate paymentsystems to include only two costs when setting their domestic multilateral interchange fees(MIF): a fixed processing cost and a variable cost for the risk of fraud. This artificiallowering of MIFs will not lower consumer prices, because of uncompetitive retailing; but itwill however lead to higher cardholders fees and, likely, new prices for point of saleterminals, delaying the development of the immature Spanish card market. Also, to the extent that increased cardholders fees do not offset the fall in MIFs revenue, the task of issuing new cards will be underpaid relatively to the task of acquiring new merchants, causing an imbalance between the two sides of the networks. Moreover, the pricing scheme arising from the decisions will cause unbundling and underprovision of those services whose costs are excluded. Indeed, the payment guarantee and the free funding period will tend to be removed from the package of services currently provided, to be either provided by third parties, by issuers for a separate fee, or not provided at all, especially to smaller and medium-sized merchants. Transaction services will also suffer the consequences that the TDC precludes pricing them in variable terms.

The intra-generational redistributive effects of social security

This paper provides a quantitative evaluation of the intra--cohortredistributive elements of the United States social security system in thecontext of a computable general equilibrium model. I determine how thewell--being of individuals that differ across {\sl gender, race} and {\sl education}is affected by government social security policy. I find that females, whitesand non--college graduates stand less to gain (lose) from reductions(increases) in the size of social security than males, non--whites andcollege graduates, respectively. Differences in mortality risk and laborproductivity translate into differences in the magnitudes of capitalaccumulation and labor supply distortions, that are responsible for theobserved welfare difference between types. Results imply that the currentprogram is lifetime progressive across gender and education, yet lifetimeregressive across race.

Systematic Assessment of Factors Influencing Preferences of Crohn's Disease Patients in Selecting an Anti-TNF agent (CHOOSE TNF TRIAL)

Background a nd A ims: I nfliximab (IFX), adalimumab (ADA)and certolizumab pegol (CZP) have similar efficacy for inductionand maintenance of clinical response and remission in Crohn'sdisease (CD). Given the comparable nature of t hese drugs,patients' p references m ay i nfluence the choice o f the product.Goal: to identify factors contributing to CD patients' decision inselecting one anti-TNF agent over the others.Methods: A p rospectdive s urvey was performed a mong a nti-TNF-naïve CD patients. Prior to completion of a questionnaire,patients were provided with a description of the three anti-TNFagents f ocusing on indications, route of administration, s ideeffects, and scientific evidence of efficacy and safety.Results: One hundred patients (47f/53m, mean age 45±16yrs)completed the questionnaire. Disease location was ileal, colonicand ileocolonic in 33%, 40% and 27% of patients, respectively.Thirty-six percent preferred ADA as medication of choice, while28% and 2 5% p referred CZP and IFX; 11% were u ndecided.Patients' decision in selecting an anti-TNF drug was influencedby t he following f actors: side effects ( 76%), p hysician'srecommendation (66%), route of administration (54%), efficacydata (52%), time required for therapy administration (27%),recommendations by other CD patients (21%) and interactionswith other medications (12%).Conclusions: T he majority of p atients p referred anti-TNFmedications t hat were a dministered by s ubcutaneous i njectionrather t han b y intravenous i nfusion. Side effect profile andphysicians' r ecommendation are t wo m ajor factors influencingthe patients' s election of a specific anti-TNF d rug. Patients'concerns about safety and lifestyle habits should be taken intoaccount when prescribing anti-TNF drugs.

Assessment of speed of human locomotion using a differential satellite global positioning system.

PURPOSE: The objective was to explore whether a satellite-based navigation system, global positioning system used in differential mode (DGPS), could accurately assess the speed of running in humans. METHODS: A subject was equipped with a portable GPS receptor coupled to a receiver for differential corrections, while running outdoors on a straight asphalt road at 27 different speeds. Actual speed (reference method) was assessed by chronometry. RESULTS: The accuracy of speed prediction had a standard deviation (SD) of 0.08 km x h(-1) for walking, 0.11 km x h(-1) for running, yielding a coefficient of variation (SD/mean) of 1.38% and 0.82%, respectively. There was a highly significant linear relationship between actual and DGPS speed assessment (r2 = 0.999) with little bias in the prediction equation, because the slope of the regression line was close to unity (0.997). CONCLUSION: the DGPS technique appears to be a valid and inconspicuous tool for "on line" monitoring of the speed of displacement of individuals located on any field on earth, for prolonged periods of time and unlimited distance, but only in specific environmental conditions ("open sky"). Furthermore, the accuracy of speed assessment using the differential GPS mode was improved by a factor of 10 as compared to non-differential GPS.

Quantitative Assessment of Handwriting Evidence: The Value of the Shape of the Letter "A"

To provide a quantitative support to the handwriting evidence evaluation, a new method was developed through the computation of a likelihood ratio based on a Bayesian approach. In the present paper, the methodology is briefly described and applied to data collected within a simulated case of a threatening letter. Fourier descriptors are used to characterise the shape of loops of handwritten characters "a" of the true writer of the threatening letter, and: 1) with reference characters "a" of the true writer of the threatening letter, and then 2) with characters "a" of a writer who did not write the threatening letter. The findings support that the probabilistic methodology correctly supports either the hypothesis of authorship or the alternative hypothesis. Further developments will enable the handwriting examiner to use this methodology as a helpful assistance to assess the strength of evidence in handwriting casework.

Assessment of vaccine-induced CD4 T cell responses to the 119-143 immunodominant region of the tumor-specific antigen NY-ESO-1 using DRB1*0101 tetramers.

Abstract: Purpose: NY-ESO-1 (ESO), a tumor-specific antigen of the cancer/testis group, is presently viewed as an important model antigen for the development of generic anticancer vaccines. The ESO119-143 region is immunodominant following immunization with a recombinant ESO vaccine. In this study, we generated DRB1*0101/ESO119-143 tetramers and used them to assess CD4 T-cell responses in vaccinated patients expressing DRB1*0101 (DR1). Experimental Design: We generated tetramers of DRB1*0101 incorporating peptide ESO119-143 using a previously described strategy. We assessed ESO119-143-specific CD4 T cells in peptide-stimulated post-vaccine cultures using the tetramers. We isolated DR1/ESO119-143 tetramer(+) cells by cell sorting and characterized them functionally. We assessed vaccine-induced CD4(+) DR1/ESO119-143 tetramer(+) T cells ex vivo and characterized them phenotypically. Results: Staining of cultures from vaccinated patients with DR1/ESO119-143 tetramers identified vaccine-induced CD4 T cells. Tetramer(+) cells isolated by cell sorting were of T(H)1 type and efficiently recognized full-length ESO. We identified ESO123-137 as the minimal optimal epitope recognized by DR1-restricted ESO-specific CD4 T cells. By assessing DR1/ESO119-143 tetramer(+) cells using T cell receptor (TCR) beta chain variable region (V beta)-specific antibodies, we identified several frequently used V beta. Finally, direct ex vivo staining of patients' CD4 T cells with tetramers allowed the direct quantification and phenotyping of vaccine-induced ESO-specific CD4 T cells. Conclusions: The development of DR1/ESO119-143 tetramers, allowing the direct visualization, isolation, and characterization of ESO-specific CD4 T cells, will be instrumental for the evaluation of spontaneous and vaccine-induced immune responses to this important tumor antigen in DR1-expressing patients

Local-scale spatial variation in diversity of social wasps in an Amazonian rain forest in Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

Polistine wasps are important in Neotropical ecosystems due to their ubiquity and diversity. Inventories have not adequately considered spatial attributes of collected specimens. Spatial data on biodiversity are important for study and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts over natural ecosystems and for protecting species. We described and analyzed local-scale spatial patterns of collecting records of wasp species, as well as spatial variation of diversity descriptors in a 2500-hectare area of an Amazon forest in Brazil. Rare species comprised the largest fraction of the fauna. Close range spatial effects were detected for most of the more common species, with clustering of presence-data at short distances. Larger spatial lag effects could also be identified in some species, constituting probably cases of exogenous autocorrelation and candidates for explanations based on environmental factors. In a few cases, significant or near significant correlations were found between five species (of Agelaia, Angiopolybia, and Mischocyttarus) and three studied environmental variables: distance to nearest stream, terrain altitude, and the type of forest canopy. However, association between these factors and biodiversity variables were generally low. When used as predictors of polistine richness in a linear multiple regression, only the coefficient for the forest canopy variable resulted significant. Some level of prediction of wasp diversity variables can be attained based on environmental variables, especially vegetation structure. Large-scale landscape and regional studies should be scheduled to address this issue.