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Cesium lead halides are a family of bright, visible-light emitting materials with near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) in nanocrystals (NCs). The usual way to achieve visible light-emission tunability is by mixing halides, which often leads to phase separation and poor stability. While the NCs should also show size-dependent PL emission, reports on strong quantum confinement in these materials are scarce. Here, we report the synthesis of quantum-confined cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) NCs via a facile, environment-friendly, and scalable high-energy mechanochemical synthesis route. The PLQY measured is ∼85%, even after 90 days of synthesis, and the emission wavelength is shifted from green, 520 nm, to blue, 460 nm by quantum confinement in NCs of size 3–5 nm. Micro-PL optical spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy confirm the size tunability of PL on a single-dot scale. Our work demonstrates the potential of mechanochemical synthesis in the medium-scale production of bright luminescent quantum-confined NCs that could be extended to other materials as well.

Industrial and municipal wastewater and oilfield brines have been disposed of into the Cambrian-Ordovician Arbuckle Group for decades in Kansas and nearby states in the midcontinent United States. The industrial and municipal wastewater disposal wells (designated Class I disposal wells) are regulated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The oilfield brines are disposed of in Class II disposal wells, which are regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission. Annual testing of formation pressure and static fluid levels in Class I wells compose a body of data that is useful in monitoring movement of water and fill-up of Arbuckle disposal zones. In western Kansas, the depth to water in wells penetrating the Arbuckle can be several hundred to more than a thousand feet (305 m) below ground surface, but in parts of southern and southeastern Kansas, the depth to water locally can be less than 100 ft (31 m). Furthermore, most Class I wells indicate Arbuckle fluid levels in central and south-central Kansas are rising ~10 ft (~3 m) annually, suggesting that at current disposal rates, the Arbuckle may lose its capacity to accept wastewater under gravity flow in parts of the state in the next few decades, principally south-central and southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma state line. At present in parts of six Kansas counties along the Oklahoma state line, low-density (~1.0 g/cc or slightly greater density) wastewater in a wellbore does not have a sufficient hydrostatic head by gravity alone to force its way into the more dense resident Arbuckle formation water. In general, Arbuckle formation water flows west to east in Kansas. Arbuckle disposal wells in Kansas collectively dispose of ~800,000,000 barrels (~127,000,000 m3) of wastewater per year, although some of this is recycled from Arbuckle oil production. Declines in oil price since mid-2014 have resulted in less oilfield disposal in the Arbuckle since 2015. The number of Class I wells recording annual fluid rises have also declined since 2015, as has the median of their annual change in static fluid level, but overall, more Class I wells are still recording fluid rises. There is a poor correlation between changes in fluid levels in Class I wells and the volume of fluid disposed in them annually, thereby indicating that more regional characteristics may control water movement in the Arbuckle. More monitoring wells are needed to better understand the movement of water in the deep subsurface and to anticipate any potential problems that may occur with reduced disposal capacity and possible migration of fluids through unplugged or improperly plugged older wells.

The experiment investigated the progressions of the qualitative and quantitative changes in the movement dynamics of learning the ski-simulator as a function of prior-related task experience. The focus was the differential timescales of change in the candidate collective variable, neuromuscular synergies, joint motions, and task outcome as a function of learning over 7 days of practice. Half of the novice participants revealed in day 1 a transition of in-phase to anti-phase coupling of center of mass (CoM)-platform motion whereas the remaining novices and experienced group all produced on the first trial an anti-phase CoM-platform coupling. The experienced group also had initially greater amplitude and velocity of platform motion-a performance advantage over the novice group that was reduced but not eliminated with 7 days of practice. The novice participants who had an in-phase CoM-platform coupling on the initial trials of day 1 also showed the most restricted platform motion in those trials. Prior-related practice experience differentially influenced the learning of the task as evidenced by both the qualitative organization and the quantitative motion properties of the individual degrees of freedom (dof) to meet the task demands. The findings provide further evidence to the proposition that CoM-platform coupling is a candidate collective variable in the ski-simulator task that provides organization and boundary conditions to the motions of the individual joint dof and their couplings.

A geochemical study of gas coming from three wells in northeastern Kansas supplements previous studies from the 1980s and points to a persistent regional phenomenon of H2 production. In 2008, a new well showed, just after drilling, a free gas phase with more than 80 mole % of H2, followed by water production associated with gas. This gas is mainly composed of N2, He, H2, and occasionally CH4, with changing proportions through time. A drastic decrease in H2 at the well was observed since the aquifer is produced, along with occasional recharges in H2 evidenced notably in the early phases of gas sampling. We demonstrate that this evolution of gas composition is closely associated to the well completion story. Accordingly, two distinct origins of H2 are proposed: (1) deep crustal H2: water reduction associated to iron oxidation in the Precambrian basement; (2) reactions occurring in the tubing, primarily attributed to high contents of reduced iron and/or dissolved organic carbon (DOC = 4.1 mg L−1) in the water. The low δD values averaging −760‰ are attributed to a low temperature process, possibly a re-equilibration with water. Furthermore, the suggested origins are supported by the observed gas associations: (a) deep crustal H2 with radiogenic gases (4He and 40Ar) and metamorphic N2 (δ15N averaging +2.5‰); (b) surficial H2 with methane produced in the sedimentary aquifer and the tubing by methanogenic organisms.

Previous studies suggest that quantifying donor-reactive memory T cells prior to kidney transplantation by interferon gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay (IFNγELISPOT) can assist in assessing risk of posttransplant allograft injury. Herein, we report an analysis of IFNγELISPOT results from the multicenter, Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation-01 observational study of primary kidney transplant recipients treated with heterogeneous immunosuppression. Within the subset of 176 subjects with available IFNγELISPOT results, pretransplant IFNγELISPOT positivity surprisingly did not correlate with either the incidence of acute rejection (AR) or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 6- or 12-month. These unanticipated results prompted us to examine potential effect modifiers, including the use of T cell-depleting, rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG). Within the no-ATG subset, IFNγELISPOT(neg) subjects had higher 6- and 12-month eGFRs than IFNγELISPOT(pos) subjects, independent of biopsy-proven AR, peak PRA, human leukocyte antigen mismatches, African-American race, donor source, and recipient age or gender. In contrast, IFNγELISPOT status did not correlate with posttransplant eGFR in subjects given ATG. Our data confirm an association between pretransplant IFNγELISPOT positivity and lower posttransplant eGFR, but only in patients who do not receive ATG induction. Controlled studies are needed to test the hypothesis that ATG induction is preferentially beneficial to transplant candidates with high frequencies of donor-reactive memory T cells.

Do highly productive coalbed methane (CBM) wells decline differently than poorly productive CBM wells? Analysis of natural-gas production data for southeastern Kansas CBM wells indicates there is no significant difference in annual decline rates of prolific wells compared to less productive wells for most of their lifetime, except for two years after the wells achieve peak production. Although annual production-decline rates are substantial for the first year of production after the peak month of production (∼35%) these decline rates lessen with increasing age of the wells. Production declines stabilize to 12 to 13% per annum after about 5 years of production. Year-to-year production data are more variable for less-productive wells because slight changes in production in poorly productive wells can markedly affect their decline calculations. Approximately one year is necessary for a CBM well to reach peak production. After peak production is achieved, the more prolific CBM wells decline at rates faster th...

In the setting of an overall decline in living organ donation and new questions about long-term safety, a better understanding of outcomes after living donation has become imperative. Adequate information on outcomes important to donors may take many years to ascertain and may be evident only by comparing large numbers of donors with suitable controls. Previous studies have been unable to fully answer critical questions, primarily due to lack of appropriate controls, inadequate sample size, and/or follow-up duration that is too short to allow detection of important risks attributable to donation. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network does not follow donors long term and has no prospective control group with which to compare postdonation outcomes. There is a need to establish a national living donor registry and to prospectively follow donors over their lifetimes. In addition, there is a need to better understand the reasons many potential donors who volunteer to donate do not donate and whether the reasons are justified. Therefore, the US Health Resources and Services Administration asked the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to establish a national registry to address these important questions. Here, we discuss the efforts, challenges, and opportunities inherent in establishing the Living Donor Collective.

Kansas produces both conventional energy (oil, gas, and coal) and nonconventional (coalbed gas, wind, hydropower, nuclear, geothermal, solar, and biofuels) and ranks the 22nd in state energy production in the U.S. Nonrenewable conventional petroleum is the most important energy source with nonrenewable, nonconventional coalbed methane gas becoming increasingly important. Many stratigraphic units produce oil and/or gas somewhere in the state with the exception of the Salina Basin in north-central Kansas. Coalbed methane is produced from shallow wells drilled into the thin coal units in southeastern Kansas. At present, only two surface coal mines are active in southeastern Kansas. Although Kansas has been a major exporter of energy in the past (it ranked first in oil production in 1916), now, it is an energy importer.

Shortly after the discovery of oil at Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859 several shallow wells in search of petroleum were drilled in Miami County, Kansas near Paola. In 1860 George W. Brown (Fig. 1), editor of the Herald of Freedom newspaper in Lawrence, formed a company to investigate the possibilities of oil in Kansas (Miner, 1976, 1987). Tar springs in eastern Kansas (e.g. Wea Creek, Beaver Creek, Won-Zop-Peach, Dales, Honeywell; Swallow and Hawn, 1865; Cutler, 1883) provided direct evidence of the presence of oil. Swallow (1866) noted some twenty places in the county where oil seeped from the ground along the Wea, Middle, Marais des Cygnes, and Sugar creeks.

Drill cuttings can be used for desorption analyses but with more uncertainty than desorption analyses done with cores. Drill cuttings are not recommended to take the place of core, but in some circumstances, desorption work with cuttings can provide a timely and economic supplement to that of cores. The mixed lithologic nature of drill cuttings is primarily the source of uncertainty in their analysis for gas content, for it is unclear how to apportion the gas generated from both the coal and the dark-colored shale that is mixed in usually with the coal. In the Western Interior Basin Coal Basin in eastern Kansas (Pennsylvanian-age coals), dark-colored shales with normal (∼100 API units) gamma-ray levels seem to give off minimal amounts of gas on the order of less than five standard cubic feet per ton (scf/ton). In some cuttings analyses this rule of thumb for gas content of the shale is adequate for inferring the gas content of coals, but shales with high-gamma-ray values (>150 API units) may yield several times this amount of gas. The uncertainty in desorption analysis of drill cuttings can be depicted graphically on a diagram identified as a “lithologic component sensitivity analysis diagram.” Comparison of cuttings desorption results from nearby wells on this diagram, can sometimes yield an unique solution for the gas content of both a dark shale and coal mixed in a cuttings sample. A mathematical solution, based on equating the dry, ash-free gas-contents of the admixed coal and dark-colored shale, also yields results that are correlative to data from nearby cores.

Keywords: editorial/personal viewpoint; kidney transplantation/nephrology; donors and donation: living; ethics; economics

Bacterial endotoxin (LPS) is responsible for much of the widespread inflammatory response seen in sepsis, a condition often accompanied by acute renal failure (ARF). In this work we report that mice deficient in TNFR1 (TNFR1−/−) were resistant to LPS-induced renal failure. Compared with TNFR1+/+ controls, TNFR1−/− mice had less apoptosis in renal cells and fewer neutrophils infiltrating the kidney following LPS administration, supporting these as mediators of ARF. TNFR1+/+ kidneys transplanted into TNFR1−/− mice sustained severe ARF after LPS injection, which was not the case with TNFR1−/− kidneys transplanted into TNFR1+/+ mice. Therefore, TNF is a key mediator of LPS-induced ARF, acting through its receptor TNFR1 in the kidney.

A detailed paleocurrent study of Cretaceous Dakota Formation sandstones in Washington County, Kansas was undertaken to determine directions of sand movement and depositional environments along the eastern margin of the Western Interior Seaway. Azimuth measurements of cross-stratified units were plotted in “rose diagrams” and examined with respect to their geographic and approximate stratigraphic position. A general southwestward direction of sediment transport is indicated (244° mean azimuth). Although mean paleocurrent directions can differ markedly from outcrop to outcrop, most sandstones in the lower part of the Dakota Formation generally have unimodal paleocurrent directions. Some of these sandstones have channel-like geometry and are situated in paleovalleys, with their mean paleocurrent direction oriented subparallel to the channel axis. Fluvial deposition is indicated. Higher in the Dakota Formation unimodal and bipolar paleocurrent azimuths are oriented nearly perpendicular to the axis of...

Aims Basaloid carcinomas typically arise in the anal canal and there are only three well-documented cases of this neoplasm reported outside the anal canal, none more proximally than the sigmoid colon. The first occurrence of a basaloid colonic carcinoma arising outside the sigmoid colon, at the splenic flexure, is presented. Methods and results A splenic flexure mass was resected from a 54-year-old man with a 3-week history of abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea and weight loss. This tumour, like typical anal canal basaloid carcinomas, was composed of islands of basaloid cells with peripheral nuclear palisading; within many islands there was central necrosis and focal squamous differentiation. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies confirmed the basaloid nature and focal squamous differentiation within this neoplasm. Basaloid carcinoma of the anal canal has been associated with human papilloma virus. Using in-situ hybridization, HPV DNA was not detected in this case. Conclusions Outside the anal canal, it has been postulated that basaloid colonic carcinomas may arise from cloacogenic embryologic rests, squamous metaplastic epithelium, or totipotential basal cells. The location and pathological findings of this tumour suggest that this rare colonic neoplasm arises from a totipotential basal cell.

The Salina Basin historically has been an “exploration desert”—a home of dryholes. Although this basin, which underlies much of north-central Kansas, may never be a prolific source of hydrocarbons, recent research into the maturation and geochemistry of organic matter and oils in Kansas can provide guidelines for a new exploration strategy. The Salina Basin is similar to the oil-productive Forest City Basin in northeastern Kansas in many ways. Both basins originated as a single large basin (i.e., the North Kansas Basin) prior to the rise of the Nemaha Uplift in Late Mississippian-Early Pennsylvanian time. Their Paleozoic stratigraphy thus is similar and the axes of both basins are presently at approximately the same depth. Thermal maturation modeling and available organic-matter maturation data indicate that the lower Paleozoic rocks in the axes of both basins are in the early stages of oil generation. In the Forest City Basin the Ordovician Simpson Group is the deepest known hydrocarbon source-rock—oil-reservoir interval, and by analogy, exploration tests in the Salina Basin, at a minimum, should penetrate through this stratigraphic interval. Ordovician Simpson Group shales in the Forest City Basin are the source rocks for a geochemically distinct oil, which also occurs in Ordovician reservoirs in the extreme southern end of the Salina Basin. To increase the odds of success in an exploration program in the Salina Basin, wildcat wells should be drilled where thermal maturation is greatest. The broad NW–SE-trending basin axis is the most logical area. Exploration tests along this axis in the northern end of the basin may have an extra advantage as organic matter in the Simpson Group may be more thermally mature because of greater burial depth during the Cretaceous. Along the eastern margin of the nearby Central Kansas Uplift and Pratt Anticline, several Paleozoic geologic structures, some of which contain major oil fields, are attributable to tectonic reactivation along the western margin of the Precambrian Central North American Rift System (CNARS). Prospective structural trends in the Paleozoic section of the Salina Basin are anticipated to be associated with this underlying tectonic boundary. The western margin of the CNARS trends NNE–SSW where it passes under the axis of the Salina Basin in northeastern Lincoln and southeastern Mitchell counties. This area is sparsely drilled, with less than two tests per township. If an exploration program can define lower Paleozoic structural closures in this region, these structures may represent the best chance for future petroleum discoveries.

This research illustrates a new approach for paleobarometry employing heterogeneously entrapped fluid inclusions to determine timing and depth of diagenesis. Heterogeneously entrapped fluid inclusions (gas+water) in vug-filling quartz from the Upper Ordovician Viola Formation in the Midcontinent of the United States were analyzed for their internal pressure with a fluid-inclusion crushing stage. The free gas in fluid inclusions was entrapped at near-surface temperature, as indicated by the presence of all-liquid fluid inclusions and fluid inclusions with low homogenization temperatures (

A murine paratopic model of intestinal transplantation was developed and used to study the immune response to allografts in normal C57BL/6 recipients (H2(b)) and C57BL/6 recipients treated with tacrolimus (1 mg/kg, Days 0-7). B6C3F1 mice (C57BL/6 x C3H/HeJ, H2(bxk)) were used as donors. The paratopic model differed from the standard heterotopic model in that continuity of the intestine graft with the recipient intestine was established by anastomosing the graft ileum to the side of the recipient jejunum. The success rate of this modified procedure was 82% (94/114). Major complications included hypovolemic shock and/or anesthetic-related deaths (8%), infection (8%), and vascular thrombosis (2%). Rejection was assessed using both clinical features (i.e., edema and closure of the stoma, mucous discharge, and a palpable mass) and histologic features (apoptosis of crypt cells, crypt destruction, lymphocytic infiltrate, and mucosal ulceration). Syngeneic grafts appeared clinically and histologically normal throughout the study period. Untreated recipients of allografts developed clinical and histologic evidence of rejection by Day 4 which progressed to severe rejection and graft destruction by Day 18. After initially developing evidence of mild to moderate graft rejection on Day 8, the severity of allograft rejection decreased significantly by Days 10 to 14 in tacrolimus-treated mice. By Day 28 evidence of moderate rejection had recurred in mice treated with an 8-day course of tacrolimus. Consistent with these observations, graft function, as assessed by maltose absorption, was impaired in rejecting allografts when compared with syngeneic grafts. Allografts in mice treated with tacrolimus demonstrated improved maltose absorption relative to allografts from untreated mice. These studies describe a modified technique for intestinal transplantation in mice and provide a detailed analysis of complications as well as an assessment of rejection and its functional consequences. Based on these results, we conclude that the paratopic model of intestinal transplantation in mice is a useful tool for studying the host immune response to intestinal allografts.

We describe the normal radiologic appearance of pancreatic allografts transplanted using portal venous drainage with enteric drainage of exocrine secretions. We also describe the radiologic appearance of postsurgical complications.Of 56 patients who received pancreatic transplants using the portal-enteric technique, 24 patients subsequently required radiologic examination for suspected complications involving the pancreatic allograft. Twenty-three patients underwent CT scanning; a total of 58 CT scans were obtained. Nine abdominal sonograms were obtained in five patients, and one patient underwent angiography. The radiologic appearance of each transplant and the complications were analyzed retrospectively and correlated with the clinical course.The most common indications for CT scanning were fever, elevated levels of serum amylase, and evaluation or follow-up of fluid collections. CT showed the normal and abnormal anatomy of the allograft. Abnormal findings seen in the 58 CT scans included fat stranding (30 scans), ascites (21 scans), peripancreatic fluid or pseudocyst (13 scans), and heterogeneity of the allograft (five scans). One patient had pancreatic infarction with pneumatosis and pneumoperitoneum. The allograft was obscured by bowel gas on three sonograms. Four sonograms showed no abnormalities (one Doppler sonogram showed the arterial supply and venous drainage), and one sonogram showed a pseudocyst. In the one patient who underwent angiography, imaging showed no arterial blood flow to the transplant.Pancreatic transplantation with portal venous drainage and enteric drainage of exocrine secretions and the complications of such transplantation were revealed with CT, sonography, and angiography. Knowledge of normal anatomic configuration will allow proper interpretation of normal and abnormal findings.

Over the years, various psychological theories have embraced notions ofeconomy, efficiency, orleast effort to explain how complex movement sequences are organized and modified. The purpose of the present paper was to synthesize various perspectives on this issue, to identify a common hypothesis, and to propose a conceptual framework that explains how movement economy is regulated. The framework presented here postulates that adaptive movement patterns emerge as a function of the organism’s propensity to minimize metabolic energy expenditure with respect to task, environment, and organism constraints to action. An important role is also proposed for interoceptive sensory information in guiding motor skill learning and control. The paper concludes by suggesting future directions in four areas of movement economy research that contribute to understanding the learning and control of movement in both human and nonhuman organisms.

The clinical workup of patients with posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLPDs) frequently involves bone marrow biopsies. However, little is known about the morphologic bone marrow changes in patients with PTLPD. To define the spectrum of morphologic bone marrow changes in such patients, we evaluated the bone marrow biopsy samples of 26 transplant patients with proven extramedullary PTLPD and of 20 transplant patients without PTLPD. Morphologic changes were present in 14 of 26 patients with PTLPD (54%) and consisted of aggregates of lymphoid and plasma cells with variable histologic and cytologic features. Cells expressing Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small transcripts (EBER) were seen in 9 of 13 bone marrow biopsy samples with morphologic changes and in none of the biopsy samples without morphologic changes. Bone marrow changes were significantly more frequent in patients with PTLPD who were younger than 18 years of age (76%) compared with those who were older than 18 years of age (11%). The difference in mortality rates between the patient groups with and without bone marrow changes was statistically not significant, possibly because of the small sample size. The finding that children with PTLPD have an increased incidence of bone marrow changes supports the notion that Epstein-Barr virus-associated PTLPD involves different pathogenetic mechanisms in pediatric patients than in adults.

Background Previous reports investigating the clinical course and management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) after orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) have revealed conflicting results. Methods To determine the natural history and course of therapy for liver transplant patients with IBD, we reviewed the records of 35 patients, who underwent OLT between 1985 and 1996 and who had a history of either IBD (29 patients) or primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) without evidence of IBD before OLT (6 patients). Of 29 patients with IBD before OLT, 25 had a history of ulcerative colitis (UC) and 4 had Crohn's disease. Six patients had undergone total colectomy, one subtotal colectomy, and three partial colectomy before OLT. Mean follow-up after OLT was 37+/-6.4 months. Immunosuppression included cyclosporine, prednisone, and azathioprine in 34 patients and tacrolimus and prednisone in 1 patient. Results After OLT, 17 patients (49%) had quiescent disease and were receiving no additional medications other than standard immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection. Five patients (14%) had mild flares controlled with initiation of 5'-aminosalicylates (5'-ASA), and two patients (6%) required an increase in oral prednisone. Only one patient with PSC, without evidence of IBD before OLT, developed IBD after OLT. No patients required intravenous steroids or surgical intervention for active IBD. Conclusions (1) Standard postOLT immunosuppressive agents in patients undergoing OLT with IBD were able to adequately control disease activity after OLT in the majority of patients. (2) IBD flares after OLT were generally well controlled with aminosalicylates or oral steroids. (3) Aminosalicylates were helpful in the clinical management of IBD, even when patients were taking standard doses of steroids, azathioprine, and cyclosporine.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is an unusual indication for orthotopic liver transplantation in children. Data from limited case reports suggest that orthotopic liver transplantation for LCH is associated with excellent survival rates and a low incidence of disease recurrence. However, in our experience, children who have transplantation for LCH appeared to experience a high incidence of refractory rejection and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD).Data from 398 liver transplants performed in 298 children younger than 16 years of age were reviewed to determine the presence of risk factors for PTLD in patients with LCH and other causes of liver failure.The incidence of PTLD was significantly higher in children who received transplants for LCH compared with all indications (p0.001) and specific indications that were associated with the development of PTLD (p0.002). Among patients in whom PTLD developed, there was no significant difference in the incidence of primary Epstein-Barr virus infections in patients who receive transplantation for LCH (4/4, 100%) versus all other indications (12/14, 86%). Children who had transplantation for LCH were older than those who had transplantation for other indications (LCH median age 3.1 years, other indications 1 year). The incidence of rejection, especially refractory rejection, was greater in patients who had transplantation for LCH (100% and 50%, respectively) compared with those who had transplantation for other indications (70% and 10%, p0.02 for refractory rejection).Patients who had transplantation for liver disease related to LCH experienced a 67% long-term survival (median follow up 5.8 years, range 2.1 to 7.5 years). Recurrent LCH occurred in only 33% of patients and was easily managed. However, PTLD developed in two thirds of these patients, perhaps in part because of the high incidence of refractory rejection. This series therefore demonstrates an association between a primary disease process and the development of PTLD. Although the data indicate that children with LCH-induced liver failure benefit from transplantation, special care must be exercised in screening for and preemptive treatment of PTLD.

Time-temperature index (TTI) modeling is used to establish a simple theoretical thermal maturity for Paleozoic strata in central Kansas. These thermal maturation calculations are based on estimates of likely geothermal gradients and best knowledge of the tectonic history of the region, as derived from stratigraphic thicknesses and estimates of erosion at unconformities. Major uncertainties in the data for the TTI modeling are burial during Cretaceous time and geothermal gradient, thus several models were calculated in which ranges of these two variables were considered. Results of the thermal modeling are then compared to available data on the thermal maturation. These data are principally derived from subsurface samples, on which vitrinite-reflectance, pyrolysis, and fluid-inclusion analyses have been performed. Vitrinite-reflectance and Rock-Eval maturation measurements indicate that Middle and Upper Ordovician strata (i.e., Simpson, Viola, and Maquoketa formations) in the study area are in initial phases of oil generation. Maturation modeling can match the results of the organic analyses, but geothermal gradients and burial during the Cretaceous have to be maximized. Although the TTI modeling utilizing very high geothermal gradients and near-excessive thicknesses of Cretaceous strata can match the observed maturation, the modeled results are probably not correct because fluid-inclusion data from saddle dolomites from the Upper Ordovician Viola Limestone indicate this unit reached temperatures 50° C higher than the maximum modeled temperature. A thermal event is inferred to account for the excess maturation and elevated fluid-inclusion homogenization temperatures. This thermal event may be manifested in the erratic increase of vitrinite-reflectance with depth for post-Devonian strata, as well as for pyrolysis measurements in wells for which maturation profiles are available. Flow of heated water onto the cratonic shelf out of the Anadarko basin during the late Paleozoic Ouachita orogeny may be responsible for the maturation anomalies.

Two experiments were conducted to test predictions, arising from Schmidt's (1975) schema theory of motor learning, related to the effect of variability of initial practice upon subsequent transfer to another task. Rapid linear timing movements were employed to operationally separate the recall and recognition schemata. Experiment 1 showed that training at two different movement times, when given in an appropriate order, facilitated the recall and recognition of a subsequent transfer movement-time task, but only when the criterion movement time was sufficiently outside the range of initial practice. Experiment 2 increased the number of training movement times beyond two, but no reliable transfer effect occurred, although the variable practice groups showed significantly reduction of movement error on the initial transfer trials in the absence of knowledge of results. Overall, the two experiments provided some initial support for Schmidt's schema theory of motor learning. Diane C. Shapiro is now at the Department of Physical Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007.

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that estimation of response outcome involves the independent processes of evaluating response-produced feedback stimuli and associating a label from an interval scale to these stimuli. Ss practiced a linear positioning movement to a stop before estimating the movement distance either in in. or mm. and reproducing the movement in a single criterion test trial. The results supported the hypothesis. There was no difference between groups in movement error, while estimation errors for both groups were significantly greater than their respective movement errors. The smaller estimation error in the in. group suggested that attaching a label to the response-produced feedback is itself a learned phenomenon.

Noninvasive biomarkers are needed to assess immune risk and ultimately guide therapeutic decision-making following kidney transplantation. A requisite step toward these goals is validation of markers that diagnose and/or predict relevant transplant endpoints. The Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation-01 protocol is a multicenter observational study of biomarkers in 280 adult and pediatric first kidney transplant recipients. We compared and validated urinary mRNAs and proteins as biomarkers to diagnose biopsy-proven acute rejection (AR) and stratify patients into groups based on risk for developing AR or progressive renal dysfunction. Among markers tested for diagnosing AR, urinary CXCL9 mRNA (odds ratio [OR] 2.77, positive predictive value [PPV] 61.5%, negative predictive value [NPV] 83%) and CXCL9 protein (OR 3.40, PPV 67.6%, NPV 92%) were the most robust. Low urinary CXCL9 protein in 6-month posttransplant urines obtained from stable allograft recipients classified individuals least likely to develop future AR or a decrement in estimated glomerular filtration rate between 6 and 24 months (92.5–99.3% NPV). Our results support using urinary CXCL9 for clinical decision-making following kidney transplantation. In the context of acute dysfunction, low values can rule out infectious/immunological causes of injury. Absent urinary CXCL9 at 6 months posttransplant defines a subgroup at low risk for incipient immune injury.

The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of venous conduits used in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We analyzed the portal vein complications in 66 LDLT recipients and 48 cadaveric reduced-size liver transplant (RLT) recipients performed from November 1989 through January 1995. Three different venous conduits were utilized in the LDLT recipients: Group 1, reconstructed vein from the living donor, n=18; Group 2, cadaveric cryopreserved iliac vein, n=37; and Group 3, cadaveric cryopreserved femoral vein, n=11. Overall, 47 percent of the patients were less than one year of age; the age distribution was not significantly different among the groups. The incidence of early thrombosis was significantly greater in LDLT Group 1, (33%) than any of the other groups (LDLT Group 2, 8%; LDLT Group 3, 9%; and RLT, 4%:P

The incidence, risk factors, and outcome of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) were examined for 298 children undergoing liver transplantation. The overall incidence of PTLD was 8.4% (25 of 298). Intensity of immunosuppression was found to be a major risk factor for the development of PTLD. Cyclosporine and tacrolimus when used as primary immunosuppression were associated with the development of PTLD in 4.3% and 6.6% of cases (P=NS). OKT3 and tacrolimus, when used as rescue therapy for steroid-resistant rejection, were associated with a comparable increase in the risk of developing PTLD (10.9% and 11.1%, P=NS). Patients requiring both OKT3 and tacrolimus to treat refractory rejection were at significantly increased risk for PTLD (28.1% vs. 4.3% or 6.6%, P

Aging is characterized by a general decline in physiological and behavioral function that has been widely interpreted within the context of the loss of complexity hypothesis. In this paper, we examine the relation between aging, neuromuscular function and physiological-behavioral complexity in the arm-hand effector system, specifically with reference to physiological tremor and isometric force production. Experimental findings reveal that the adaptive behavioral consequences of the aging-related functional decline in neurophysiological processes are less pronounced in simple motor tasks which provides support for the proposition that the motor output is influenced by both extrinsic (e.g., task related) and intrinsic (e.g., coordination, weakness) factors. Moreover, the aging-related change in complexity can be bidirectional (increase or decrease) according to the influence of task constraints on the adaptation required of the intrinsic properties of the effector system.

We have recently demonstrated the importance of V beta 8+/CD8+ cells for the curative effectiveness of a suboptimal low dose (0.75 mg/kg) of melphalan (L-phenylalanine mustard; L-PAM) for mice bearing a large s.c. MOPC-315 tumor and extensive metastases. Here we show that staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), which is known to selectively stimulate T cells expressing members of the TCR-V beta 8 gene family, substantially improved the curative effectiveness of the suboptimal dose of L-PAM for mice bearing a large MOPC-315 tumor. Moreover, treatment of mice with mAb F23.1 (anti-V beta 8) abrogated the in vivo therapeutic effect of SEB for low dose L-PAM-treated MOPC-315 tumor bearers (L-PAM TuB mice). Analysis of the effect of SEB on the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) demonstrated that the SEB-mediated therapeutic effect was associated with a significant increase in: 1) the percentage of V beta 8+ cells among the CD8+ T cells that accumulated in the s.c. tumor nodules, 2) the total number of V beta 8+/CD8+ cells present per tumor on day 4 after low dose L-PAM therapy, and 3) the ability of the TILs to lyse MOPC-315 tumor cells in vitro in a short term assay. Furthermore, treatment of mice with mAb F23.1 abolished the ability of SEB to render the TIL population of L-PAM TuB mice more cytotoxic in vitro for MOPC-315 tumor cells. Thus, the SEB-mediated improvement in the therapeutic outcome of low dose L-PAM therapy for mice bearing a large MOPC-315 tumor may be due in part to SEB-mediated increase in the contribution of the V beta 8+ T cells to tumor eradication through enhancement in the magnitude of the anti-MOPC-315 lytic activity exhibited by the TIL population.

We have previously shown that the curative efficacy of low dose melphalan (L-phenylalanine mustard; L-PAM) for mice bearing a large s.c. MOPC-315 tumor requires the participation of CD8+ (but not CD4+) T cell-dependent antitumor immunity. Here we show that CD8+ T cells obtained from regressing tumors on day 4 or 5 after low dose L-PAM therapy of MOPC-315 tumor bearers (L-PAM TuB mice) display a preferential enhancement in the utilization of the TCR-V beta 8.3 gene segment as compared to CD8+ T cells from normal lymph nodes. Treatment of L-PAM TuB mice with mAb F23.1, which leads to the depletion of V beta 8.3+ cells, as well as V beta 8.1 and 8.2+ cells, led to a significant reduction in the ability of their tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as well as their spleen cells to lyse MOPC-315 tumor cells in vitro in a short term assay. In addition, the mAb F23.1 treatment almost completely abrogated the lytic activity of the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes against another syngeneic, antigenically related plasmacytoma (the MOPC-104E). Moreover, the mAb F23.1 treatment significantly reduced the curative effectiveness of low dose L-PAM for mice bearing a large MOPC-315 tumor. In contrast, mAb KJ16 treatment, which leads to the depletion of V beta 8.1 and 8.2+ cells (but not V beta 8.3+ cells), did not reduce significantly the curative effectiveness of low dose L-PAM for such MOPC-315 tumor bearers. Thus, V beta 8.3+ T cells are important for the curative effectiveness of low dose L-PAM therapy for MOPC-315 tumor bearers, and it is conceivable that the V beta 8.3+ cells mediate their effect (at least in part) by contributing to the acquisition of CTL activity against plasmacytoma-shared Ag.

This paper reports a study that examines the relations between Dyskinesia Identification System: Condensed User Scale (DISCUS) scores and a battery of postural and movement kinematic measures in a group of adults diagnosed as being developmentally disabled and screened as having tardive dyskinesia. The results showed that finger tremor measures correlated with the tongue tremor and pill rolling items of DISCUS, whereas the postural stability scores correlated with the toe movement item of DISCUS and the total DISCUS score. There was also a high stability in subject kinematic performance from trial to trial over the postural and movement tests. The pattern of correlations between the DISCUS items and movement kinematic measures is consistent with the proposition that tremor is a centrally rather than peripherally driven phenomenon, although many factors contribute to emergent tremors. These findings provide construct and content validity for the DISCUS as a screening device for tardive dyskinesia and suggest that certain posture and movement kinematic measures could be sensitive measuring methods for tardive dyskinesia in developmentally disabled populations.

The Johnson County Landfill in Shawnee, KS is operated by Deffenbaugh Industries and serves much of metropolitan Kansas City. Refuse, which is dumped in large plastic-underlined trash cells covering several acres, is covered over with shale shortly after burial. The landfill waste, once it fills the cell, is then drilled by Kansas City LFG, so that the gas generated by anaerobic decomposition of the refuse can be harvested. Production of raw landfill gas from the Johnson County landfill comes from 150 wells. Daily production is approximately 2.2 to 2.5 mmcf, of which approximately 50% is methane and 50% is carbon dioxide and NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds). Heating value is approximately 550 BTU/scf. A upgrading plant, utilizing an amine process, rejects the carbon dioxide and NMVOCs, and upgrades the gas to pipeline quality (i.e., nominally a heating value >950 BTU/scf). The gas is sold to a pipeline adjacent to the landfill. With coal-bearing strata underlying the landfill, and carbon dioxide a major effluent gas derived from the upgrading process, the Johnson County Landfill is potentially an ideal setting to study the feasibility of injecting the effluent gas in the coals for both enhanced coalbed methane recovery and carbon sequestration. Tomore » these ends, coals below the landfill were cored and then were analyzed for their thickness and sorbed gas content, which ranged up to 79 scf/ton. Assuming 1 1/2 square miles of land (960 acres) at the Johnson County Landfill can be utilized for coalbed and shale gas recovery, the total amount of in-place gas calculates to 946,200 mcf, or 946.2 mmcf, or 0.95 bcf (i.e., 985.6 mcf/acre X 960 acres). Assuming that carbon dioxide can be imbibed by the coals and shales on a 2:1 ratio compared to the gas that was originally present, then 1682 to 1720 days (4.6 to 4.7 years) of landfill carbon dioxide production can be sequestered by the coals and shales immediately under the landfill. Three coal--the Bevier, Fleming, and Mulberry coals--are the major coals of sufficient thickness (nominally >1-foot) that can imbibe carbon dioxide gas with an enhanced coalbed injection. Comparison of the adsorption gas content of coals to the gas desorbed from the coals shows that the degree of saturation decreases with depth for the coals.« less

We hypothesized that lymphoid organs within intestinal allografts contribute to their immunogenicity. Consistent with this hypothesis recipient T cells rapidly migrated to the lymph nodes and Peyer's patches of syngeneic and allogeneic intestinal grafts such that at 24 h approximately 50% of the lymphocytes isolated from donor lymphoid organs were of recipient origin. However, only in the lymphoid organs of allografts did recipient T cells display an activated phenotype, proliferate and produce IFNgamma. Rejection of allogeneic intestines lacking lymphoid organs was dramatically impaired in splenectomized, lymph node-deficient recipients compared to lymph node bearing, wild-type allogeneic intestines. This demonstrates the important role of donor lymphoid organs in the rejection process. Furthermore, recipient T cells proliferated more extensively and produced more IFNgamma in donor lymphoid organs than in recipient lymphoid organs, indicating that donor lymphoid organs play a dominant role in initiating the recipient anti-donor immune response following intestinal transplantation.

Renal transplant patients sensitized to HLA antigens comprise nearly one-third of the UNOS wait-list and receive 14% of deceased donor (DD) transplants, a rate half that of unsensitized patients. Between 1999 and 2003, we performed 492 adult renal transplants from DD; 120 patients (approximately 25%) had a panel reactive antibody (PRA) of30%, with nearly half (n = 58) having a PRA of80%. Our approach is based upon high-resolution solid-phase HLA antibody analysis to identify class I/II antibodies and a 'virtual crossmatch' to predict compatible donor/recipient combinations. Recipients are excluded from the United Network for Organ Sharing match run if donors possess unacceptable antigens. Thus, when sensitized patients appear on the match run, they have a high probability of a negative final crossmatch. Here, we describe our 5-year experience with this approach. Five-year graft survival ranged from 66% to 70% among unsensitized (n = 272), moderately sensitized (PRA30%, n = 100) and highly sensitized (30% PRA; n = 120) patients, equal to the average national graft survival (65.7%). The application of this approach (the Emory Algorithm) provides a logical and systematic approach to improve the access of sensitized patients to DD organs and promote more equitable allocation to a highly disadvantaged group of patients awaiting renal transplantation.