Rapid identification and detection of pine pathogenic fungi associated with mountain pine beetles by padlock probes.

Fifteen million hectares of pine forests in western Canada have been attacked by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB), leading to devastating economic losses. Grosmannia clavigera and Leptographium longiclavatum, are two fungi intimately associated with the beetles, and are crucial components of the epidemic. To detect and discriminate these two closely related pathogens, we utilized a method based on ligase-mediated nucleotide discrimination with padlock probe technology, and signal amplification by hyperbranched rolling circle amplification (HRCA).

The differential axonal degradation of Ret accounts for cell-type-specific function of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor as a retrograde survival factor.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neuronal growth factor critical for the development and maintenance of central and peripheral neurons. GDNF is expressed in targets of innervation and provides support to several populations of large, projection neurons. To determine whether GDNF promotes retrograde survival over long axonal distances to cell bodies, we used a compartmentalized culture system.

Characterization of microsatellite loci in the fungus, Grosmannia clavigera, a pine pathogen associated with the mountain pine beetle.

The largest forest pest epidemic in Canadian history caused by the mountain pine beetle (MPB) and its fungal associates has killed over 15 million hectares of forest. Sixty simple sequence repeat regions were identified from Grosmannia clavigera, an MPB associated fungus. Eight loci genotyped in 53 isolates from two populations in British Columbia, Canada revealed three to 10 alleles per locus and gene diversities of 0 to 0.

A 2-D Microdisplay Using An Integrated Microresonating Waveguide Scanning System.

Our research team has developed a MEMS based on a 2D micro image display device that can potentially overcome the size reduction limits while maintaining the high image resolution and field of view obtained by mirror based display systems. The basic design of the optical scanner includes a micro-fabricated polymer based cantilever waveguide that is electromechanically deflected by a 2D piezoelectric actuator. From the distal tip of the cantilever waveguide, a light beam is emitted and the direction of propagation is displaced along two orthogonal directions.

Focused abdominal sonography for trauma in the emergency department for blunt abdominal trauma.

Background: Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) is a diagnostic challenge to the emergency physician (EP). The introduction of bedside ultrasound provides another diagnostic tool for the EP to detect intra-abdominal injuries.

Aims: To evaluate the performance of EP in a local emergency department in Hong Kong to perform the 'focused abdominal sonography for trauma' (FAST) in BAT patients.

Multigene phylogeny of filamentous ambrosia fungi associated with ambrosia and bark beetles.

Most 'ambrosia' fungi are members of a heterogeneous group of ophiostomatoids that includes the anamorph genera Ambrosiella, Raffaelea and Dryadomyces. The taxonomy of these fungi based on morphological features has been complicated by these features being poorly descriptive and having evolved convergently. In this work we report maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a multigene dataset (nSSU rDNA, nLSU rDNA and beta-tubulin gene) from sixty-seven taxa that include members of genera Ambrosiella, Raffaelea and Dryadomyces and a diverse set of ophiostomatoid relatives.

A 3D skeletal muscle model coupled with active contraction of muscle fibres and hyperelastic behaviour.

This paper presents a three-dimensional finite element model of skeletal muscle which was developed to simulate active and passive non-linear mechanical behaviours of the muscle during lengthening or shortening under either quasi-static or dynamic condition. Constitutive relation of the muscle was determined by using a strain energy approach, while active contraction behaviour of the muscle fibre was simulated by establishing a numerical algorithm based on the concept of the Hill's three-element muscle model. The proposed numerical algorithm could be used to predict concentric, eccentric, isometric and isotonic contraction behaviours of the muscle.

A self-paced brain-computer interface for controlling a robot simulator: an online event labelling paradigm and an extended Kalman filter based algorithm for online training.

Due to the non-stationarity of EEG signals, online training and adaptation are essential to EEG based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. Self-paced BCIs offer more natural human-machine interaction than synchronous BCIs, but it is a great challenge to train and adapt a self-paced BCI online because the user's control intention and timing are usually unknown. This paper proposes a novel motor imagery based self-paced BCI paradigm for controlling a simulated robot in a specifically designed environment which is able to provide user's control intention and timing during online experiments, so that online training and adaptation of the motor imagery based self-paced BCI can be effectively investigated.

Labyrinthulomycetes phylogeny and its implications for the evolutionary loss of chloroplasts and gain of ectoplasmic gliding.

The labyrinthulomycetes, also known as the 'Labyrinthulomycota' are saprotrophic or less frequently parasitic stramenopilan protists, usually in marine ecosystems. Their distinguishing feature is an 'ectoplasmic net,' an external cytoplasmic network secreted by a specialized organelle that attaches the cell to its substrate and secretes digestive enzymes for absorptive nutrition. In this study, one of our aims was to infer the phylogenetic position of the labyrinthulomycetes relative to the non-photosynthetic bicoeceans and oomycetes and the photosynthetic ochrophytes and thereby evaluate patterns of change from photosynthesis to saprotrophism among the stramenopiles.

The "metabolic syndrome" is less useful than random plasma glucose to screen for glucose intolerance.

Aims: To compare the utility of metabolic syndrome (MetS) to random plasma glucose (RPG) in identifying people with diabetes or prediabetes.

Methods: RPG was measured and an OGTT was performed in 1155 adults. Test performance was measured by area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AROC).

CD2AP and Cbl-3/Cbl-c constitute a critical checkpoint in the regulation of ret signal transduction.

The glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family ligands (GFLs) are critical for nervous system development and maintenance. GFLs promote survival and growth via activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Ret. In sympathetic neurons, the duration of Ret signaling is governed by how rapidly Ret is degraded after its activation.

A feasibility study on laser rapid forming of a complete titanium denture base plate.

This work attempted to integrate the technologies of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) and laser rapid forming (LRF) for the fabrication of the titanium plate of a complete denture. By the combination of laser scan and reverse engineering software, the standard triangulation language (STL)-formatted denture base plate was finally designed and sliced into a sequence of numerical controlled codes. The titanium (Ti) complete denture plate was finally built, layer-by-layer, on the LRF system.

A novel design of 4-class BCI using two binary classifiers and parallel mental tasks.

A novel 4-class single-trial brain computer interface (BCI) based on two (rather than four or more) binary linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifiers is proposed, which is called a "parallel BCI." Unlike other BCIs where mental tasks are executed and classified in a serial way one after another, the parallel BCI uses properly designed parallel mental tasks that are executed on both sides of the subject body simultaneously, which is the main novelty of the BCI paradigm used in our experiments. Each of the two binary classifiers only classifies the mental tasks executed on one side of the subject body, and the results of the two binary classifiers are combined to give the result of the 4-class BCI.

Random plasma glucose in serendipitous screening for glucose intolerance: screening for impaired glucose tolerance study 2.

Background: With positive results from diabetes prevention studies, there is interest in convenient ways to incorporate screening for glucose intolerance into routine care and to limit the need for fasting diagnostic tests.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether random plasma glucose (RPG) could be used to screen for glucose intolerance.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Tubeufia asiana, the teleomorph of Aquaphila albicans in the tubeufiaceae, pleosporales, based on cultural and molecular data.

The teleomorph of Aquaphila albicans was discovered on submerged wood collected in Thailand. Its black, soft-textured, setose ascomata, bitunicate asci and hyaline to pale brown, multiseptate ascospores indicated an affinity to Tubeufiaceae (Dothideomycetes). After morphological or molecular comparisons with related species in Tubeufia, Acanthostigma and Taphrophila, it is described and illustrated as a new species, T.

Re-examining the phylogeny of clinically relevant Candida species and allied genera based on multigene analyses.

Yeasts of the artificial genus Candida include plant endophytes, insect symbionts, and opportunistic human pathogens. Phylogenies based on rRNA gene and actin sequences confirmed that the genus is not monophyletic, and the relationships among Candida species and allied teleomorph genera are not clearly resolved. Protein-coding genes have been useful to resolve taxonomic positions among a broad range of fungi.

Relationship of diabetes with cardiovascular disease-related hospitalization rates, length of stay, and charges: analysis by race/ethnicity, age, and sex.

Objective: Determine relationship of diabetes with risk of cardiovascular disease hospitalizations and the effect on hospital length of stay and charges.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis of Georgia hospital discharge data for 1998 through 2001.

Patients: Patients hospitalized principally with one of six cardiovascular disease (CVD) conditions (myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysrhythmia, heart failure, cerebrovascular events, peripheral vascular disease) were identified in the hospital discharge data.

A Comparison of Mental Task Combinations for Asynchronous EEG-Based BCIs.

Aiming at developing asynchronous BCIs, we tested 21 2-class combinations of 7 mental tasks to determine whether any pair of tasks may be more suitable. The tasks under consideration were: auditory recall, mental navigation, sensorimotor attention (left hand), sensorimotor attention (right hand), mental calculation, imaginary movement (left hand), imaginary movement (right hand). Sensorimotor attention is novel in this application domain.

A 3-class asynchronous BCI controlling a simulated mobile robot.

We present our design and online experiments of a 3-class asynchronous BCI controlling a simulated robot in an indoor environment. Two characteristics of our design have efficiently decreased the false positive rate during the NC (No Control) mode. First, three one-vs-rest LDA classifiers are combined to control the switching between NC and IC (In Control) mode.

Common reasons for hospitalization in urban diabetes patients.

Objectives: Determine principal reasons for hospitalization in a predominantly urban, African American diabetes patient population.

Design: Data for outpatients with a diagnosis of diabetes were abstracted from electronic records. The number of hospitalizations from 1998 through 2001 was determined after linking our dataset with a statewide discharge dataset.

Fabrication and characterization of needle-like nano-HA and HA/MWNT composites.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic has been used in tissue engineering and orthopedics for its good biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. However, its clinical applications are usually limited by the low strength and brittleness. The objective of this research was to develop a new kind of HA composites in which multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were introduced to the HA ceramic matrix to improve the mechanical properties of the resulting composites.

NGF augments the autophosphorylation of Ret via inhibition of ubiquitin-dependent degradation.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is required for the trophic maintenance of postnatal sympathetic neurons. A significant portion of the growth-promoting activity of NGF is from NGF-dependent phosphorylation of the heterologous receptor tyrosine kinase, Ret. We found that NGF applied selectively to distal axons of sympathetic neurons maintained in compartmentalized cultures activated Ret located in these distal axons.

An informatics-supported intervention improves diabetes control in a primary care setting.

Although research has shown that proper management of diabetes can improve outcomes, glucose control is worsening. This partly reflects the failure of providers to intensify diabetes therapy when indicated, termed clinical inertia. Our intervention used (a) decision support reminders which provided patient specific recommendations for management at each visit, and (b) computer generated provider specific feedback on performance.

An informatics model for clinical research--screening for impaired glucose tolerance study.

A major challenge for large scale, multi-site research studies is the time-sensitive tracking of numerous subjects, samples and results through multiple encounters and processes, by many team members in several different locations. This may be compounded by collaborations with other studies to share samples, data collection and subjects. The Screening for Impaired Glucose Tolerance (SIGT) study has met this challenge by developing a secure, informatics system with web and client server interfaces.