An assessment of gases in oxygen-deficient hay silos and the effects of forced ventilation.

Many modern tower silos used in the agricultural industry for hay and grain storage are oxygen-limiting by design. Forced-air ventilation using a forage blower is a method commonly used to decrease concentrations of toxic and asphyxiant gases and to increase the O2 content within a silo headspace prior to worker entry. This article describes the methods used to measure gas concentrations and the results obtained from a pilot study by the Washington Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program of two oxygen-limiting forage tower silos in eastern Washington State.

Rats depend on habit memory for discrimination learning and retention.

We explored the circumstances in which rats engage either declarative memory (and the hippocampus) or habit memory (and the dorsal striatum). Rats with damage to the hippocampus or dorsal striatum were given three different two-choice discrimination tasks (odor, object, and pattern). These tasks differed in the number of trials required for learning (approximately 10, 60, and 220 trials).

Evidence that a BCR-ABL fusion peptide does not induce lymphocyte proliferation or cytokine production in vitro.

The BCR-ABL fusion protein is characteristic of chronic myeloid leukaemia and may be an effective tumour-specific antigen. CD8+ T cell responses to BCR-ABL fusion peptides have been reported in normal subjects and CML patients but CD4+ T cell responses have been less well characterised. Here, the 23-mer e14a2 fusion peptide VHSATGFKQSSKALQRPVASDFE has been used to stimulate T cell responses.

Autologous stem cell transplantation for progressive multiple sclerosis: update of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation autoimmune diseases working party database.

Over the last decade, hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) has been increasingly used in the treatment of severe progressive autoimmune diseases. We report a retrospective survey of 183 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, recorded in the database of the European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (EBMT). Transplant data were available from 178 patients who received an autologous graft.

The rodent hippocampus and spatial memory: from synapses to systems.

Although its operations are not limited to the spatial domain, there is a near consensus that the hippocampus plays a critical role in memory for place. This review aims to explore this role, with a particular emphasis on the functions performed by distinct hippocampal subregions. The use of innovative lesioning techniques, localized pharmacological treatments, and molecular genetic interventions is offering increasingly precise brain-regional specificity and temporal control.

Diagnostic criteria for hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated microangiopathy: results of a consensus process by an International Working Group.

Background And Objectives: There are no widely accepted criteria for the definition of hematopoietic stem cell transplant -associated microangiopathy (TAM). An International Working Group was formed to develop a consensus formulation of criteria for diagnosing clinically significant TAM.

Design And Methods: The participants proposed a list of candidate criteria, selected those considered necessary, and ranked those considered optional to identify a core set of criteria.

A survey of tractors and rollover protective structures in Washington State.

A survey of farms in Washington State was conducted to determine tractor characteristics and the presence of rollover protective structures (ROPS) in a state with more inclusive rules on tractor retrofitting than federal regulations. A total of 544 valid surveys were completed from a proportional random sample across different types of farms. Responders indicated that 58% of tractors overall were equipped with ROPS, and 42% of the tractors without ROPS were exempt from the state rules.

Work-related deaths in Washington State, 1998-2002.

Introduction: In Washington State, 87 workers are killed each year, on average, while in work status. To understand these incidents and to assist in focusing on and development of potential prevention measures, they must be well characterized.

Methods: Work-related fatalities between the years 1998 and 2002 are described by the demographics of the victims, types of incidents, the victims' occupations, and industries and location in which they worked.

Estimated payments to employment service providers for persons with mental illness in the Ticket to Work program.

Objective: The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 removes work disincentives and promotes access to vocational services for people with disabilities. This study calculated the amount of payments that would have been made to employment service providers if study participants had been enrolled in the Ticket program.

Methods: Data were from 450 Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries with psychiatric disabilities enrolled in a multisite study of supported employment.

Reversible hippocampal lesions disrupt water maze performance during both recent and remote memory tests.

Conventional lesion methods have shown that damage to the rodent hippocampus can impair previously acquired spatial memory in tasks such as the water maze. In contrast, work with reversible lesion methods using a different spatial task has found remote memory to be spared. To determine whether the finding of spared remote spatial memory depends on the lesion method, we reversibly inactivated the hippocampus with lidocaine either immediately (0-DAY) or 1 mo (30-DAY) after training in a water maze.

The outcome of sibling and unrelated donor allogeneic stem cell transplantation in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first remission who were initially refractory to first induction chemotherapy.

The optimal management of patients with initially refractory acute myeloid leukemia is unknown. We analyzed the outcomes of 68 adult patients (median age, 37 years) with acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission with initially refractory disease who were treated with matched sibling (n=44) or unrelated donor (n=22) stem cell transplantation or who received transplants from other donors (n=2). Thirty-one patients took 2 courses of chemotherapy to achieve first complete remission, a further 31 took 3 courses, and 6 patients took 4 or 5 courses.

The role of serial BCR-ABL transcript monitoring in predicting the emergence of BCR-ABL kinase mutations in imatinib-treated patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.

BCR-ABL kinase mutations may confer resistance to imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and may predict a poor outcome. We investigated whether rises in BCR-ABL transcript levels predicted mutation development in 82 CML patients receiving imatinib. Eleven mutations were detected in 10 patients.

The classical origins of Pavlov's conditioning.

This article presents a brief description of the scientific discovery of classical conditioning both in the United States and in Russia. The incorporation of classical conditioning as a scientific method in the United States is described. Particular attention is given to how and why the terminologies used to identify the components of classical conditioning were modified over the years.

Management of chronic myeloid leukaemia in relapse following donor lymphocyte infusion induced remission: a retrospective study of the Clinical Trials Committee of the British Society of Blood & Marrow Transplantation (BSBMT).

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) can restore remission in a high percentage of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) who relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). Subsequent relapses after a DLI-induced remission do occur and the optimal management of these patients is not defined. A retrospective study of the practice of UK transplant centres was conducted.

Circulating bcr-abl-specific CD8+ T cells in chronic myeloid leukemia patients and healthy subjects.

Background And Objectives: The fusion oncoprotein bcr-abl that characterizes chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a leukemia-specific antigen, which may be immunogenic in vivo. KQSSKALQR and GFKQSSKAL, peptide sequences spanning the b3a2 bcr-abl junction, have affinity for HLA-A3 and HLA-B8, respectively, and we have shown the presence of KQSSKALQR on the surface of CML cells. We analyzed the existence of bcr-abl-specific T cells in vivo and correlated their presence to contemporary disease burden.

Interrogating rodents regarding their object and spatial memory.

Today, neuroscientists have access to a host of advanced techniques -- ranging from targeted genetic interventions to brain imaging -- that are rapidly providing new insights. Ultimately, however, memory must be inferred from its behavioral read-out. Thus, to fully utilize the advanced technologies available today, we must select the most appropriate behavioral procedures from those currently available, or else devise novel behavioral techniques to meet a specific demand.

Psychosocial treatment in the 21st century.

Over the past 50 years, psychosocial treatment has played an increasingly prominent role in helping persons with mental illness live in communities rather than in institutions. This paper briefly reviews evidence for and discusses three forms of treatment-assertive community treatment, supported employment, and cognitive behavior treatment-which have been studied extensively and are widely accepted as effective interventions. Forces are discussed that have shaped these and other psychosocial treatment over the past five decades.

Impaired remote spatial memory after hippocampal lesions despite extensive training beginning early in life.

Damage to the hippocampus typically produces temporally graded retrograde amnesia, whereby memories acquired recently are impaired more than memories acquired remotely. This phenomenon has been demonstrated repeatedly in a variety of species and tasks, and it has figured prominently in theoretical treatments of memory and hippocampal function. A striking exception to the finding of temporally graded retrograde amnesia comes from studies with rodents using spatial tasks like the water maze.

Acquisition of differential delay eyeblink classical conditioning is independent of awareness.

There has been debate about whether differential delay eyeblink conditioning can be acquired without awareness of the stimulus contingencies. In 4 experiments, the authors reexamined this question. Older participants were tested with a tone and white noise (Experiment 1) or with 2 tones (Experiment 2).

The importance of awareness for eyeblink conditioning is conditional: theoretical comment on Bellebaum and Daum (2004).

Eyeblink conditioning entails a variety of paradigms that differ in terms of the brain systems that support conditioning and the importance of awareness. In this issue, C. Bellebaum and I.

Affecting upper extremity strength by changing maxillo-mandibular vertical dimension in deep bite subjects.

The effect of vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) on maximizing isometric deltoid strength (IDS) was measured in subjects with deep overbite. Sixteen female dental students with deep dental overbite and no history of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) were used as their own control and tested for isometric strength of the deltoid muscles, using a hand held strain gauge. Measurements were taken under four mandibular conditions: 1.

Hippocampus and remote spatial memory in rats.

Damage to the hippocampus typically produces temporally graded retrograde amnesia, whereby memories acquired recently are impaired more than memories acquired remotely. This phenomenon has been demonstrated repeatedly in a variety of species and tasks. It has also figured prominently in theoretical treatments of memory and hippocampal function.

Cost-effectiveness of strategies that are intended to prevent kernicterus in newborn infants.

Objective: There is concern about an increasing incidence of kernicterus in healthy term neonates in the United States. Although the incidence of kernicterus is unknown, several potential strategies that are intended to prevent kernicterus have been proposed by experts. It is necessary to assess the costs, benefits, and risks of such strategies before widespread policy changes are made.