Thesis (Ph.D. in Clinical Science) -- University of Colorado Denver, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67). Free to UCD Anschutz Medical Campus. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2004.

Submitted by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2016-10-05T14:03:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 298725 bytes, checksum: 7bee1975846b19c9ac200de64bd75213 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-05T14:03:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 298725 bytes, checksum: 7bee1975846b19c9ac200de64bd75213 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-04-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O circovírus suíno (PCV) é um agente amplamente distribuído na Europa, América do Norte e sul da Ásia. O PCV é um pequeno vírus de cadeia simples de DNA (17 nm) que foi reconhecido, a partir da década de 90, como um patógeno de suíno. Dois tipos de PCV tem sido caracterizados e designados PCV tipo 1 (PCV1) e PCV tipo 2 (PCV2). O PCV1 foi primeiramente isolado em 1974 como um contaminante persistente da linhagem de células PK-15 de rim de suíno (ATCC CCL 31) e a cepa de PCV isolada de células PK-15 tem sido bem caracterizada. O PCV1 é considerado como um vírus não patogênico, enquanto que a infecção de um suíno pelo PCV2 é normalmente associada ao desenvolvimento de Síndrome Multissistêmica Pós-Desmame (PMWS), em animais de 5 a 12 semanas de idade, e ao tremor congênito (CT), que acomete animais no período neonatal. A PMWS é uma nova doença emergente de suínos, caracterizada clinicamente por dispnéia progressiva, aumento dos nódulos linfáticos e patologicamente caracterizada por uma ampla extensão de lesões inflamatórias. Recentemente, pesquisadores da EMBRAPA iniciaram um estudo da PMWS em leitões, mas no Brasil a presença do PCV ainda não é reconhecida oficialmente. O objetivo desse trabalho foi (1) padronizar técnicas de diagnóstico para o genoma e antígeno do PCV, assim como anticorpos contra o agente; (2) avaliar a susceptibilidade de diferentes linhagens celulares ao PCV; (3) diagnosticar a infecção do PCV em suínos da Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais; (4) isolar o PCV de amostras positivas. O PCV, proveniente de tecidos de animais normais e com diagnóstico de CT, foi isolado em células SK6 e analisadas por PCR. O padrão de bandas foi o mesmo encontrado em células PK15 contaminadas com PCV2, gentilmente cedidas pela EMBRAPA. Os oligos usados diferenciavam o PCV1 do PCV2. Todos os leitões de maternidade testados por PCR foram positivos para o PCV2. Porém, em 59 animais de abate testados por PCR não foi observada a presença do PCV. No teste de susceptibilidade as células PK15, SK6, VERO e MDCK foram susceptíveis ao PCV, mas somente as PK-15 estavam persistentemente infectadas. No ensaio de imunofluorescência indireta, foi utilizado um conjugado anti-IgG suína previamente padronizado e anticorpos contra PCV foram identificados em soros de 24 em 44 animais de abate testados e nenhum anticorpo foi encontrado nos animais com diagnóstico de CT positivos para PCV2 por PCR. Com esses resultados podemos concluir que os 24 suínos de abate soropositivos entraram em contato com o agente e desenvolveram a infecção em alguma fase durante o estagio de produção. A ausência de soropositivos entre os leitões recém nascidos, aliada a presença de infecção, pode ser explicada pela incapacidade de produção de anticorpos por esses animais neste estágio de desenvolvimento. Estudos adicionais da epidemiologia e da imunologia de infecções pelo PCV são necessários para o melhor entendimento e efetivo controle das doenças associadas a esse vírus. / Porcine circovirus (PCV) is thoroughly an agent distributed in Europe, North America and south of Asia. PCV is a small virus of simple chain of DNA (17 nm) that was recognized, starting from the decade of 90, as a swine pathogen. Two types of PCV have been characterized and designated PCV type 1 (PCV1) and PCV type 2 (PCV2). PCV1 was isolated firstly in 1974 as a persistent contaminant of the lineage of cells PK-15 of swine kidney (ATCC CCL 31) and the stump of isolated PCV of cells PK-15 has been well characterized. PCV1 is considered as a non- pathogenic virus, while the infection of a swine for PCV2 is usually associated to Post weaning Multisistemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS), in animals from 5 to 12 weeks of age, and to the congenital tremor (CT), that attack animals in the neonatal period. PMWS is a new emergent disease of swine, clinically characterized by progressive dispnea, increase of the lymphatic nodules and pathologically characterized by a wide extension of inflammatory lesions. Recently, researchers of EMBRAPA began a study of PMWS in pigs, but in Brazil the presence of PCV is not still recognized officially. The objective of that work was (1) to standardize diagnosis techniques for the genome and antigen of PCV, as well as antibodies against the agent; (2) to evaluate the susceptibility of different cellular lineages to PCV; (3) to diagnose the infection of PCV in swine of the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais; (4) to isolate PCV of positive samples. PCV, originating from tissues of normal animals and with diagnosis of CT, it was isolated in SK6 cells and analyzed by PCR. The pattern of bands was the same found in contaminated cells PK15 with PCV2, kindly by EMBRAPA. The used oligos differentiated PCV1 of PCV2. All the pigs of maternity tested by PCR were positive for PCV2. However, in 59 slaughtering animals tested by PCR, PCV was not found. In susceptibility test, PK15, SK6, VERO and MDCK cells were susceptible for both PCV but only PK15 cells were persistently infected. Anti-PCV antibodies were found to be positive in 54,5% of slaughtering animals serum and any anti-PCV antibody was found in animals with clinical CT. Rapid and accurate diagnosis and removal of disease animals from farms, combined with good husbandry practices, would appear to be the only current method of controlling losses attributable to PCV2 infections. However, additional studies into the epidemiology and immunology of PCV infections are now required if better understanding and eventual control of the disease syndromes associated with these viruses are to be achieved. / Dissertação importada do Alexandria.

xiii, 75 p. : ill. (some col.) / Uplift rates associated with 12 episodic tremor and slip events on the Cascadia Subduction Zone occurring between 1997 and 2010 have been determined from hourly water level records from 4 NOAA tide gauges (Neah Bay, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Seattle). Displacements inferred from water levels generally agree with displacements inferred from modeling GPS data. Examination of uplift between events shows an inter-event deformation rate approximately equal in magnitude, with ETS events, on average, releasing strain accumulated between events, suggesting that ETS is consistent with the elastic rebound theory. Additionally, while the GPS record only extends to the late 1990s and the tremor record includes only recent decades for Cascadia, tidal records in the Pacific Northwest and around the world span many decades. Thus, by showing that ETS can be resolved in tidal records we open up the possibility that tidal records could be used to study ETS where other tools are not available. This thesis contains unpublished coauthored material. / Committee in charge: Dr. David A. Schmidt, Chair; Dr. Ray J. Weldon, Advisor; Dr. Dean Livelybrooks, Member

Subduction zone fault processes range from tsunami-generating megathrust events to aseismic creep along the deeper portions of the fault. Episodic tremor and slow slip (ETS) represents the transition between these two regimes, where slip occurs at semi-regular recurrence intervals of months-to-years. These events are also accompanied by low frequency earthquakes, referred to as tremor. The study of ETS in Cascadia has been made possible by the enhancement of large-scale seismic and geodetic networks. In this dissertation, I use a range of geodetic and seismic observations at sub-daily to decadal time scales to investigate the kinematic behavior of individual ETS events, as well as the long-term behavior of the ETS zone and its relationship with the updip seismogenic zone. In Cascadia, current seismic hazard maps use the ETS zone as the downdip limit of rupture during future megathrust events. In Chapter II, I utilize uplift rates derived from 80 years of leveling measurements to explore the possibility that long-term strain accumulation exists near the ETS zone. The uplift rates are consistent with a region of 10-20% locking on the updip side of the ETS zone. The lack of associated topography indicates that the accumulated strain must be released during the megathrust cycle. The correlation of tremor and slip in Cascadia suggests there is an inherent relationship between the two. In Chapter III, I develop a method for using tremor as a proxy for slip to assess the spatial relationship of tremor and slip. I compare predictions of tremor-derived slip models to results from static inversions of GPS offsets by modeling slip based on the density of tremor. These comparisons suggest that the correlation of tremor and slip is variable along strike and along dip. In Chapter IV, I explore how borehole strainmeters can improve our resolution of slip on the plate interface. I incorporate strainmeters into joint, time-dependent kinematic inversions with GPS data. The temporal resolution of strainmeters provides improved constraints when deriving time-dependent slip estimates during slow slip events, allowing us to better image the kinematics of slow slip. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished material.

Tal- och rösteffekter av djup hjärnstimulering hos patienter med ärftlig tremor

In this thesis I combine data from 29 volcanic earthquake swarms that follow the pattern predicted by the Generic Volcanic Earthquake Swarm Model (GVESM; Benoit and McNutt, 1996) to investigate whether the relative timing of various parameters of pre-eruptive volcanic earthquake swarms could be used to forecast the time of an impending eruption. Based on the analysis of seismic unrest preceding many eruptions, the GVESM suggests that it is common to see an increase first in high-frequency earthquakes, then low-frequency earthquakes, then the onset of volcanic tremor. While this pattern is useful to volcano-seismologists, the relative timing and durations of these three different types of volcanic seismicity, is explored here for the first time. The parameters investigated are the onset times of (i) low-frequency (LF) events and of (ii) tremor, and the time at which (iii) the peak rate (PR) of volcano-tectonic (VT) events and (iv) the maximum magnitude (MM) earthquake occur in relation to normalized time defined by swarm onset and end (i.e., eruption). The normalized time starts at the swarm onset (0%) and ends with the eruption (100%) allowing a comparison and joint consideration of parameter occurrences across swarms of different actual duration. We identify the normalized onset time of for each parameter (LF, tremor, PR, MM) with respect to the duration of each swarm. Each swarm has onset time uncertainties of the swarm itself and of its parameters. A swarm with large onset uncertainty could bias the normalized onset time of each parameter and we use weighted means to decrease the influence of swarms with large uncertainties on overall results. The weighted means of LF onset, tremor onset, MM and PR occurrence are 79% ± 23%, 96% ± 10%, 78% ± 29% and 75% ± 34%, respectively. Errors are the standard deviation of each parameter. The uncertainties for LF, MM and PR are large because their normalized onset times have the characteristics of a uniform distribution and therefore seem to have no predictive value. In contrast, tremor onset has a narrow distribution towards the end of swarms. A possible tremor mechanism consistent with this observation could be boiling of groundwater as magma nears the surface. LF onset always seems to precede tremor onset. LF and tremor start early (at less than 80% of normalized time) at five volcanoes with high SiO2 content possibly related to lower density and higher gas content of the resulting magma.

Generic simulations of tremor propagation through the upper limb have been achieved using a previously developed postural tremor model, but this model had not yet been compared with experimental data or utilized for subject-specific studies. This work addressed these two issues, which are important for optimizing peripheral tremor suppression techniques. For tractability, we focused on a subsystem of the upper limb: the isolated wrist, including the four prime wrist muscles (extensor carpi ulnaris, flexor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis, and flexor carpi radialis) and the two degrees of freedom of the wrist (flexion-extension and radial-ulnar deviation). Muscle excitation and joint displacement signals were collected while subjects with Essential Tremor resisted gravity. System identification was implemented for three subjects who experienced significant tremor using two approaches: 1. Generic linear time-invariant (LTI) models, including autoregressive-exogenous (ARX) and state-space forms, were identified from the experimental data, and characteristics including model order and modal parameters were compared with the previously developed postural tremor model; 2. Subject-specific parameters for the previously developed postural tremor model were directly estimated from experimental data using nonlinear least-squares optimization combined with regularization. The identified LTI models fit the experimental data well, with coefficients of determination of 0.74 ± 0.18 and 0.83 ± 0.13 for ARX and state-space forms, respectively. The optimal model orders identified from the experimental data (4.8 ± 1.9 and 6.4 ± 1.9) were slightly lower than the orders of the ARX and state-space forms of the previously developed model (6 and 8). For each subject, at least one pair of identified complex poles aligned with the complex poles of the previously developed model, whereas the identified real poles were assumed to represent drift in the data rather than characteristics of the system. Subject-specific parameter estimates reduced the sum of squared-error (SSE) between the measured and predicted joint displacement signals to be between 10% and 50% of the SSE using generic literature parameters. The predicted joint displacements maintained high coherence at the tremor frequency for flexion-extension (0.90 ± 0.10), which experienced the most tremor. We successfully applied multiple system identification techniques to identify tremor propagation models using only tremorogenic muscle activity as the input. These techniques identified model order, poles, and subject-specific model parameters, and indicate that tremor propagation at the wrist is well approximated by an LTI model.

In late 2007, a perched lava channel, built up to 45 m above the preexisting surface, developed during the ongoing eruption near Pu'u 'Ō'ō cone on Kīlauea Volcano's east rift zone. The lava channel was segmented into four pools extending over a total of 1.4 km. From late October to mid-December, a cyclic behavior, consisting of steady lava level rise terminated by vigorous spattering and an abrupt drop in lava level, was commonly observed in pool 1. We use geologic observations, video, time-lapse camera images, and seismicity to characterize and understand this cyclic behavior. Spattering episodes occurred at intervals of 40-100 min during peak activity and involved small (5-10-m-high) fountains limited to the margins of the pool. Most spattering episodes had fountains which migrated downchannel. Each spattering episode was associated with a rapid lava level drop of about 1 m, which was concurrent with a conspicuous cigar-shaped tremor burst with peak frequencies of 4-5 Hz. We interpret this cyclic behavior to be gas pistoning, and this is the first documented instance of gas pistoning in lava well away from the deeper conduit. Our observations and data indicate that the gas pistoning was driven by gas accumulation beneath the visco-elastic component of the surface crust, contrary to other studies which attribute similar behavior to the periodic rise of gas slugs. The gas piston events typically had a gas mass of about 2,500 kg (similar to the explosions at Stromboli), with gas accumulation and release rates of about 1.1 and 5.7 kg s-1, respectively. The time-averaged gas output rate of the gas pistoning events accounted for about 1-2% of the total gas output rate of the east rift zone eruption.

This study seeks to understand upper limb tremor in subjects with essential tremor (ET). A thorough understanding of tremor distribution will allow for the more effective development of tremor suppression devices, which offer an alternative to current treatments. Previous studies primarily focused on tremor in the hand only. This study seeks to characterize the distribution of tremor throughout the upper limb. We measured tremor in 25 subjects diagnosed with ET using motion capture, which provided 0displacement information of the limb during multiple postural and kinetic tasks. Inverse kinematics allowed us to analyze the motion capture data in the 7 major degrees of freedom (DOF) of the upper limb. The power spectral density estimate was used to determine: relative tremor magnitude throughout the DOFs, tremor variation between tasks, variation between subjects, and frequency variations between DOFs. Data analysis revealed that tremor increase is roughly proximal to distal. We also show that tremor magnitude in kinetic tasks is significantly higher than in postural tasks. Although we found some variation in tremor distribution between subjects, the roughly proximal to distal increase in tremor severity holds for several subsets of the study population. Finally, we found that tremor frequency doesnt vary significantly (<<> 1 Hz) between DOFs, in subjects with severe tremor. Our study shows that tremor distribution is quite stereotyped between subjects with ET. Furthermore, we have shown that tremor is greatest in the distal DOFs. This provides a compelling starting point for the development of future tremor suppression devices.