PreVR: Variable-Distance Previews for Higher-Order Disocclusion in VR.

The paper introduces PreVR, a method for allowing the user of a VR application to preview a virtual environment (VE) around any number of corners. This way the user can gain line of sight to any part of the VE, no matter how distant or how heavily occluded it is. PreVR relies on a multiperspective visualization that implements a higher-order disocclusion effect with piecewise linear rays that bend multiple times as needed to reach the visualization target.

Subcellular positioning during cell division and cell plate formation in maize.

Introduction: During proliferative plant cell division, the new cell wall, called the cell plate, is first built in the middle of the cell and then expands outward to complete cytokinesis. This dynamic process requires coordinated movement and arrangement of the cytoskeleton and organelles.

Methods: Here we use live-cell markers to track the dynamic reorganization of microtubules, nuclei, endoplasmic reticulum, and endomembrane compartments during division and the formation of the cell plate in maize leaf epidermal cells.

A practical evaluation of machine learning for classification of ultrasound images of ovarian development in channel catfish .

Machine learning is a powerful tool to improve efficiency of industrial processes, but it has not yet been well utilized in aquacultural and hatchery applications. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a broad array of machine learning approaches (testing of > 200 vectorization and model combinations, reporting on 20) to classify ultrasound images spanning annual ovarian development (i.e.

Identifying Deception as a Critical Component of Visualization Literacy.

The ability to recognize misleading data visualizations is a key aspect of visualization literacy. In this article, we argue that learning to successfully identify a deceptive graphic requires strategies that deliberately force learners to take an active role in the visualization process. We describe a series of experiments where three groups of learners were shown various deceptive graphics and asked to answer a series of questions.

Activity Worksheets for Teaching and Learning Data Visualization.

In this work, the data visualization activity (DVA) worksheet method for teaching and learning data visualization is presented. The DVA worksheet method consists of a series of activity worksheets developed to guide novice instructors and students through the data visualization process. The activity worksheets help new faculty and visualization instructors, lacking formal training in pedagogy and data visualization, learn the data visualization process, design course work, and develop curriculum.

Steroid-induced Diabetes Complicating Treatment of Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita: A Preventable Treatment Complication Stresses the Importance of Primary Care Follow-up.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita is a rare autoimmune bullous disease involving the skin and mucosa, most commonly treated with systemic corticosteroids. This case illustrates the importance of counseling patients on medication side effects and ensuring close physician follow-up during an extended course of steroids. A 46-year-old man presented to the emergency department with weakness, fatigue, dizziness and polyuria in the setting of eight weeks of prednisone therapy for a flare-up of his bullous disease.

The microbiome in hamartoma tumor syndrome.

Germline mutations defining PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) confer heritable predisposition to breast, endometrial, thyroid and other cancers with known age-related risks, but it remains impossible to predict if any individual will develop cancer. In the general population, gut microbial dysbiosis has been linked to cancer, yet is unclear whether these are associated in PHTS patients. In this pilot study, we aimed to characterize microbial composition of stool, urine, and oral wash from 32 mutation-positive individuals using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

A Case of Infective Endocarditis and Spinal Epidural Abscess Caused by Bacteremia.

A 57-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, hematemesis, and melena. He reported taking high-dose ibuprofen for back pain and drinking several 24-ounce beers daily. Examination was remarkable for icteric sclera, poor dentition, tachycardia, and crescendo-decrescendo murmur at right upper sternal border, radiating to the carotids.

Nematode-bacteria mutualism: Selection within the mutualism supersedes selection outside of the mutualism.

The coevolution of interacting species can lead to codependent mutualists. Little is known about the effect of selection on partners within verses apart from the association. Here, we determined the effect of selection on bacteria (Xenorhabdus nematophila) both within and apart from its mutualistic partner (a nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae).

Assessing the usability of MAX 2008 encounter data for comprehensive managed care.

Background: As growing numbers of Medicaid enrollees receive health benefits through comprehensive managed care, researchers and policymakers seeking to understand the service use of these enrollees must rely on encounter data.

Objective: To assess the availability, completeness, and quality of physician, clinic, and outpatient service (OT), inpatient (IP), and prescription drug (RX) encounter claims to judge the usability of the 2008 Medicaid Analytical eXtract (MAX) encounter data.

Data: 2008 MAX encounter data, which are derived from the state-submitted Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) files.

Reactivation of systemic lupus erythematosus after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

As the demographics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continue to include more African-American and Hispanic females, the prevalence of concomitant HIV infection and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may increase. We describe a 36-year-old woman with a 19-year history of active SLE who, after acquiring HIV infection, developed quiescent SLE with advanced immunosuppression (CD4 cell count 10/2%). After presenting with an opportunistic infection, she began receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 interacts with the T-cell receptor signalling pathway.

Fibroblast growth factor receptors are expressed by some T cells, and provide costimulation for these cells. Such receptors allow T cells to respond to fibroblast growth factors expressed in response to injury and inflammation and may provide a mechanism for 'context-dependent' responses to antigens within the local microenvironment. The mechanisms by which fibroblast growth factor receptors might interact with the TCR signalling pathway are not defined.

Educational program for physicians to reduce use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs among community-dwelling elderly persons: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently prescribed drugs for patients 65 years of age or older, primarily for musculoskeletal symptoms of osteoarthritis. Because NSAIDs frequently cause serious gastrointestinal (GI) and other complications among elderly patients, expert guidelines for osteoarthritis recommend acetaminophen-based regimens, which are safer and often as effective as NSAIDs.

Objective: Evaluate a physician education program that communicated guidelines for management of osteoarthritis in elderly patients that emphasized avoidance of NSAIDs when possible.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor in synovial cells.

Objective: To characterize the production and regulation of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) in type B (fibroblast-like) synoviocytes cultured from both inflammatory and noninflammatory synovial lesions.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were used to examine the expression of aFGF by synovial cells in vitro. Incorporation of 3H-thymidine by NIH3T3 cells in the presence or absence of neutralizing antibody to aFGF was used to measure bioactive aFGF levels in culture media.

Automating the supply chain in the OR.

At the University of Louisville (Ky) Hospital, staff members from the materials management and surgery departments have worked together to automate the supply chain. The goals were to remove supply activities from clinical staff members whenever possible, obtain and apply information for better product ordering and use, reduce personnel in the materials management department, and improve perioperative nurses' ability to obtain supplies--all at a decreased cost to the facility. This article describes how, after implementing point-of-service technology for all surgical supplies, the facility realized a cost-per-procedure savings of 16% and increased satisfaction among staff members in both departments.

Fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) enhances IL-2 production and nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB in FGF receptor-bearing Jurkat T cells.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are heparin-binding proteins crucial to embryogenesis, angiogenesis, and wound healing. FGF-1 is abundantly expressed in the synovium in rheumatoid arthritis and in rejecting allografts, sites of chronic immune-mediated inflammation. The frequency of FGF-1-responsive T cells is increased in the peripheral blood of these disorders, and a high percentage of infiltrating T cells in rheumatoid arthritis synovium express receptors for FGF-1.

Semiautomated image registration for digital subtraction radiography.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the semiautomatic alignment and correction of affine geometric discrepancies for digital subtraction radiography.

Study Design: Algorithms were tested in vitro to determine their ability to semiautomatically select reference points on a second image based on points selected on a first (reference) image. A preserved human mandible was imaged with and without bone-equivalent material chips at varying degrees of angulation.

Suppression of systemic lupus erythematosus by the human immunodeficiency virus.

We describe a patient with refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who demonstrated complete resolution of all SLE symptoms. He was subsequently found to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and had marked depletion of peripheral CD4 positive T lymphocytes. In addition, while his SLE remained completely inactive, the course of HIV was rapidly progressive, suggesting that retroviral replication may have been enhanced by the underlying state of T cell transactivation characteristic of SLE.

Expression and functional expansion of fibroblast growth factor receptor T cells in rheumatoid synovium and peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disorder of the diarthroidial joints, characterized by fibroblast proliferation, angiogenesis, and perivascular CD4+ T cell infiltration. The present study examined the interactions between fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) and T cells.

Methods: Synovial tissues from patients with RA or noninflammatory arthritis were examined for the expression of FGF-1 and its receptor, FGFR-1, by immunohistology and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

Costimulation of human CD4+ T cells by fibroblast growth factor-1 (acidic fibroblast growth factor).

T cell infiltration is prevalent in wound healing, atherosclerosis, vascular lesions in chronic allograft rejection, and autoimmune diseases. Whether T cells play a role in the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in these lesions is not known. We previously reported that some human T cells express FGF-1, a potent growth factor for vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells.