Understanding the Factors that Influence Perceptions of Post-Wildfire Landscape Recovery Across 25 Wildfires in the Northwestern United States.

Disturbances such as wildfire are important features of forested landscapes. The trajectory of changes following wildfires (often referred to as landscape recovery) continues to be an important research topic among ecologists and wildfire scientists. However, the landscape recovery process also has important social dimensions that may or may not correspond to ecological or biophysical perspectives. Perceptions of landscape recovery may affect people's attitudes and behaviors related to forest and wildfire management. We explored the variables that influence people's perceptions of landscape recovery across 25 fires that occurred in 2011 or 2012 in the United States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and that represented a range of fire behavior characteristics and landscape impacts. Residents near each of the 25 fires were randomly selected to receive questionnaires about their experiences with the nearby fire, including perceived impacts and how the landscape had recovered since the fire. People generally perceived landscapes as recovering, even though only one to two years had passed. Regression analysis suggested that perceptions of landscape recovery were positively related to stronger beliefs about the ecological role of fire and negatively related to loss of landscape attachment, concern about erosion, increasing distance from the fire perimeter, and longer lasting fires. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis indicated that the above relationships were largely consistent across fires. These findings highlight that perceptions of post-fire landscape recovery are influenced by more than vegetation changes and include emotional and cognitive factors. We discuss the management implications of these findings.

Cellular rescue in a zebrafish model of congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A.

Laminins comprise structural components of basement membranes, critical in the regulation of differentiation, survival and migration of a diverse range of cell types, including skeletal muscle. Mutations in one muscle enriched Laminin isoform, Laminin alpha2 (Lama2), results in the most common form of congenital muscular dystrophy, congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A). However, the exact cellular mechanism by which Laminin loss results in the pathological spectrum associated with MDC1A remains elusive. Here we show, via live tracking of individual muscle fibres, that dystrophic myofibres in the zebrafish model of MDC1A maintain sarcolemmal integrity and undergo dynamic remodelling behaviours post detachment, including focal sarcolemmal reattachment, cell extension and hyper-fusion with surrounding myoblasts. These observations imply the existence of a window of therapeutic opportunity, where detached cells may be "re-functionalised" prior to their delayed entry into the cell death program, a process we show can be achieved by muscle specific or systemic Laminin delivery. We further reveal that Laminin also acts as a pro-regenerative factor that stimulates muscle stem cell-mediated repair in lama2-deficient animals in vivo. The potential multi-mode of action of Laminin replacement therapy suggests it may provide a potent therapeutic axis for the treatment for MDC1A.

Ultrasound analysis of tongue, hyoid, and larynx activity during swallowing.

Using real-time ultrasound, the motions of the tongue, hyoid bone, and larynx were monitored and timed during swallowing in ten normal subjects. A well-defined propulsive wave of the tongue was observed during swallowing a 5-cc water bolus. The body of the hyoid bone was identified on the ultrasound scan as a high echogenic area with posterior acoustic shadowing at the tongue base. As the water bolus reached the pharynx, hyoid elevation was visible. Laryngeal motion was monitored by an externally applied pressure transducer and its pressure tracing incorporated into the ultrasound video image.

The readability of currently used surgical/procedure consent forms in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Informed consent forms are universally used by hospitals throughout the United States before surgery or invasive procedures. This survey was undertaken to determine the content of these forms and their ability to be understood by individuals with differing reading comprehension levels. METHODS: Ten percent of all U.S. hospitals were requested to forward a copy of their current surgical/procedural informed consent form. The forms received were digitized and computer assessed for readability. In addition, each form was evaluated for a variety of items with respect to content. RESULTS: Of the 2194 requests mailed, 681 responses were received including 616 with surgical/procedural consent forms. The mean grade level required to understand these consent forms was 12.6 (+/- 3.1). There was no variability in readability scores on the basis of hospital bed size. Of the 616 consent forms reviewed, 29, 146, 347, and 461 forms could be understood by individuals reading at a grade level of less than 8 and at least 8, 10, and 12 years of education, respectively. Although most required the name of the patient, physician, and procedure, the majority did not describe or provide a full-in blank for the specific benefits, risks, and alternatives to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of surgical/procedural informed consent forms currently used by U.S. hospitals are complex and are not easily understood by the average patient. In addition, the majority of reviewed consent forms do not list specific benefits or potential complications of the planned surgery/procedure.

Image modeling using inverse filtering criteria with application to textures.

Statistical approaches to image modeling have largely relied upon random models that characterize the 2-D process in terms of its first- and second-order statistics, and therefore cannot completely capture phase properties of random fields that are non-Gaussian. This constrains the parameters of noncausal image models to be symmetric and, therefore, the underlying random field to be spatially reversible. Research indicates that this assumption may not be always valid for texture images. In this paper, higher- than second-order statistics are used to derive and implement two classes of inverse filtering criteria for parameter estimation of asymmetric noncausal autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) image models with known orders. Contrary to existing approaches, FIR inverse filters are employed and image models with zeros on the unit bicircle can be handled. One of the criteria defines the smallest set of cumulant lags necessary for identifiability of these models to date, Consistency of these estimators is established, and their performance is evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations as well as texture classification and synthesis experiments.

Bispectral analysis and model validation of texture images.

Statistical approaches to texture analysis and synthesis have largely relied upon random models that characterize the 2-D process in terms of its first- and second-order statistics, and therefore cannot completely capture phase properties of random fields that are non-Gaussian and/or asymmetric. In this paper, higher than second-order statistics are used to derive and implement 2-D Gaussianity, linearity, and spatial reversibility tests that validate the respective modeling assumptions. The nonredundant region of the 2-D bispectrum is correctly defined and proven. A consistent parameter estimator for nonminimum phase, asymmetric noncausal, 2-D ARMA models is derived by minimizing a quadratic error polyspectrum matching criterion. Simulations on synthetic data are performed and the results of the bispectral analysis on real textures are reported.

The isolated finding of histiocytes in Papanicolaou smears from postmenopausal women.

The effectiveness of uncovering uterine disease by drawing special attention to increased histiocytes on Papanicolaou smears from postmenopausal patients was evaluated during a 22-month period. Of the 95,593 screened, 478 had increased histiocytes. Half the patients did not have specific follow-up during the study period. One-third had repeated Papanicolaou smears, which were usually unremarkable and free of increased histiocytes. Seventy-eight patients had subsequent endometrial sampling, hysterectomy or both; 41 of these samples failed to disclose pathology. Thirty-seven cases did yield abnormal tissue. However, when the clinical records of those patients were analyzed, it appeared that most had postmenopausal bleeding or an abnormal physical finding. Of five cases in which the finding of increased histiocytes apparently led to uncovering significant uterine disease, two had endometrial cells reported on the Papanicolaou smear in question. There remained only three cases in which the isolated presence of increased histiocytes led to the discovery of disease; they included one instance of adenomatous endometrial hyperplasia and two of endometrial polyp. We conclude that the isolated finding of increased histiocytes in the absence of postmenopausal bleeding or endometrial cells in a postmenopausal patient is a poor indicator of uterine disease. Such a finding, on its own, is insufficient justification for recommending a diagnostic tissue biopsy.

Cytologic findings in signet-ring adenocarcinoma of the large bowel. A case report.

Signet-ring adenocarcinoma of the large bowel is an uncommon tumor with distinctive gross anatomic, radiologic and histologic features. A case in a 34-year-old man is presented. Because of the unusual appearance of the bowel at colonoscopy, diagnostic cytologic smears were taken. The patient subsequently underwent resection of this tumor but died within 20 months of metastatic disease. The histologic and cytologic features are described; the cytologic findings do not appear to have been previously reported.

Calcium metabolism, intestinal calcium-binding protein, and bone growth of rats fed high protein diets.

The rat was used as a model for investigating the mechanism by which the consumption of high diets causes calciuria. Using a combined balance and kinetics study, calcium (Ca) metabolism was studied in 56-day old male rats which had been consuming a control (18% casein) or a high protein (36% casein) diet for 2, 14, or 28 days. Urine Ca was significantly increased to 1.7 mg/day and 1.1 mg/day in rats which consumed the high protein diet for 2 or 14 days respectively. After 29 days of consuming the high protein diet, urinary Ca excretion was 0.7 mg/day, the same as that of controls. No other criteria of calcium metabolism were significantly affected by the high protein intakes. Intestinal calcium-binding protein activity was not affected by consumption of the 36% casein diet for 7 days, nor was bone mineralization after consumption of this diet for 32 days. Since the rat excretes a low percentage of dietary Ca via the urinary route, it is not a useful model for studying Ca kinetics in protein-induced calciuria.

Evaluation of a quarter wavelength matching layer transducer in abdominal scanning.

A focused ultrasonic transducer employing quarter wavelength matching technology is compared to one of conventional design. The effect of the 6 db improvement in signal-to-noise ratio is demonstrated.

Trypanosoma cruzi: flow cytometric analysis. I. Analysis of total DNA/organism by means of mithramycin-induced fluorescence.

Total DNA/organism was determined by flow cytometry on stocks of 33 single-cell-isolate clones and one strain of mithramycin-stained Trypanosoma cruzi. Interstrain differences in mean total DNA/group of 34% and interclone differences in total DNA/organism of 41% were found. Microspectrofluorometric analyses of the trypomastigote stage of selected clones confirmed the flow cytometry data and indicated that the total DNA/organism differences were due to differences in DNA of both the nucleus and kinetoplast with the nucleus being the major contributing factor. These data imply that the potential for genetic diversity in T. cruzi may be very large.

Ultrasonic visualization of tongue motion during speech.

A real-time ultrasonic imaging system has been developed to visualize dynamic motions of the tongue during continuous speech. Lingual motion configurations are displayed and recorded synchronously with the speech signal, time in milliseconds, and frontal and lateral views of the face during articulation. All data are videotaped and stored permanently for analysis. Data on the vertical movement of the tongue surface was obtained on 30 normal adult speakers. This technique seems to provide a useful, noninvasive technique for quantifying tongue position during speech utterances and possibly has potential as a clinical tool.