cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Steatosis and metabolic syndrome: An emerging enigma in the natural history of chronic hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to pose a global health threat with epidemic proportions. Despite significant advances over the past 15 years, many infected patients will develop serious complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma, and will not respond to antiviral therapy. Recently, metabolic abnormalities in HCV patients emerged as cofactors in the development of complications and in failure of interferon-based therapeutic regimens to induce viral eradication; therefore, they have gained increasing scientific attention. Understanding the link between HCV and metabolic abnormalities may provide novel therapeutic targets and perhaps a new class of medications useful in managing this disease. Although metabolic abnormalities are an exciting area of medical research, data on these abnormalities in HCV remain limited and often inconsistent, leading to confusion among practitioners as to the interpretation and clinical utility of available information.
Restoring image quality in the polarizing microscope: analysis of the Allen video-enhanced contrast method

A long-standing problem in polarized light microscopy has been to achieve simultaneously high spatial resolution and high contrast. Rotation of the plane of polarization of light at oblique interfaces between the polarizer and the analyzer results in a pupil function that resembles a dark cross rather than a uniformly dark field. Dramatic improvements were obtained recently by operating the microscope at a large (bias) compensator setting with simultaneous video contrast enhancement [Allen video-enhanced contrast (AVEC)]. A physical-optics model is presented for AVEC, and the fundamental limits of the method are investigated. Expressions for the pupil and point-spread functions are derived; phase errors in the pupil are analyzed with Zernike polynomial expansions. It is found that, for compensator settings beyond one tenth of a wavelength, the pupil and point-spread functions closely approach the ideal diffraction-limited characteristics. Experiments conducted with the microscope confirm the theoretical predictions and provide practical guidance for optimal use of the method.
Exact ligand cone angles

Many properties of transition-metal complexes depend on the steric bulk of bound ligands, usually quantified by the Tolman (θ) and solid (θ) cone angles, which have proven utility but suffer from various limitations and coarse approximations. Here, we present an improved, mathematically rigorous method to determine an exact cone angle (θ°) by solving for the most acute right circular cone that contains the entire ligand. The procedure is applicable to any ligand, planar or nonplanar, monodentate or polydentate, bound to any metal center in any environment, and it is ideal for analyzing structures from quantum chemical computations as well as X-ray crystallography experiments. Exact cone angles were evaluated for a wide array of phosphine and amine ligands bound to palladium, nickel, or platinum by optimizing structures using B3LYP/6-31G* density functional theory with effective core potentials for the transition metals. The mean absolute deviations of the standard θ and θ parameters from the exact cone angles were 15–25°, mostly caused by distortions from the assumed idealized structures. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vapor liquid equilibrium measurements with semi-continuous mixtures

Abstract A new vapor liquid double recirculation apparatus was developed for use with complex (continuous) mixtures. The apparatus features on-line simulated distillation chromatography for analyzing both vapor and liquid phases. The simulated distillation analysis provides a cumulative boiling point curve which is a continuous representation of the composition distribution of the heavy fraction in a semi-continuous mixture. Experimental data are presented for two systems: CO 2 + a light distillate, and CO 2 + a whole stock-tank oil. The experimental composition distributions are compared with those predicted from the continuous Peng-Robinson EOS formulation of Haynes and Matthews.
Consistent effects of nitrogen amendments on soil microbial communities and processes across biomes

Ecosystems worldwide are receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) via anthropogenic activities with the added N having potentially important impacts on microbially mediated belowground carbon dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of how elevated N availability affects soil microbial processes and community dynamics remains incomplete. The mechanisms responsible for the observed responses are poorly resolved and we do not know if soil microbial communities respond in a similar manner across ecosystems. We collected 28 soils from a broad range of ecosystems in North America, amended soils with inorganic N, and incubated the soils under controlled conditions for 1 year. Consistent across nearly all soils, N addition decreased microbial respiration rates, with an average decrease of 11% over the year-long incubation, and decreased microbial biomass by 35%. High-throughput pyrosequencing showed that N addition consistently altered bacterial community composition, increasing the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, and decreasing the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Further, N-amended soils consistently had lower activities in a broad suite of extracellular enzymes and had decreased temperature sensitivity, suggesting a shift to the preferential decomposition of more labile C pools. The observed trends held across strong gradients in climate and soil characteristics, indicating that the soil microbial responses to N addition are likely controlled by similar wide-spread mechanisms. Our results support the hypothesis that N addition depresses soil microbial activity by shifting the metabolic capabilities of soil bacterial communities, yielding communities that are less capable of decomposing more recalcitrant soil carbon pools and leading to a potential increase in soil carbon sequestration rates.
A Comparison of Skin Rolling and Tender Points as a Diagnostic Test for Fibromyalgia

Objective: To examine the utility of skin rolling as a clinical test for fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS]. The potential objective advantage over the standard tender point [TeP] examination is that skin rolling requires no response from the patient.Methods: Twenty-seven subjects with FMS were compared with 33 healthy normal controls [HNC]. Five examiners, all blinded to the diagnosis group, tested each of the subjects for both skin rolling and TePs data.Results: The average skin rolling scores obtained by each of the five examiners from all subjects were comparable, suggesting an adequate inter-rater reliability. Skin rolling scores were marginally higher for FMS patients than for HNC [P = 0.06] while the comparable TeP data was highly significant [P < 0.001]. The average skin rolling scores correlated [P < 0.001] with the TeP count for both FMS and HNC.Conclusions: The skin rolling test may offer promise as an objective clinical test in FMS, but its specificity against pain controls must still be determined.
Theoretical investigations of superlattice band structure in the envelope-function approximation

We extend our previous investigations on the band structure of superlattices by applying the envelope-function approximation to four distinct problems. We calculate the band structure of HgTe-CdTe superlattices and show that these materials can be either semiconducting or zero-gap semiconductors, i.e., behave exactly like the ternary ${\mathrm{Hg}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Cd}}_{x}$ Te random alloys. We analyze the superlattice dispersion relations in the layer planes (Landau superlattice subbands) and we compare the longitudinal and transverse effective masses of semiconducting InAs-GaSb superlattices. We calculate the general equation for the bound states due to aperiodic layers, taking account of the band structure of the host materials. We finally derive the dispersion relations of polytype ($\mathrm{ABC}$ or $\mathrm{ABCD}$) superlattices.
Examples of exotic free 2–complexes and stably free nonfree modules for quaternion groups

This is a continuation of our study [3] of a family of projective modules over Q4n , the generalized quaternion (binary dihedral) group of order 4n. Our approach is constructive. Whenever n 7 is odd, this work provides examples of stably free nonfree modules of rank 1, which are then used to construct exotic algebraic 2‐ complexes relevant to Wall’s D(2)‐problem. While there are examples of stably free nonfree modules for many infinite groups G , there are few actual examples for finite groups. This paper offers an infinite collection of finite groups with stably free nonfree modules P , given as ideals in the group ring. We present a method for constructing explicit stabilizing isomorphisms W ZG ZGaP ZG described by 2 2 matrices. This makes the subject accessible to both theoretical and computational investigations, in particular, of Wall’s D(2)‐problem. 16D40, 19A13, 57M20; 55P15
WE-E-BRA-01: Introduction to Treatment Assessment of Radiation Therapy Using MR Functional Imaging and Its Application to Intracranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

Recent developments in MRI have substantially improved its performance, making it a potentially powerful tool for not only diagnosis but also therapy. Treatment assessment using MR functional imaging is the process of using MR functional imaging before and/or during and/or after a course of radiation therapy (RT) to assess treatment responses and as such to optimize therapeutic outcome. Various MR functional techniques including, but not limited to, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MR spectroscopy (MRS) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) imaging, have been investigated to assess therapeutic outcome in radiotherapy. DCE‐MRI uses fast imaging and contrast material to assess changes in the microvascular environment. MRS can be used to assess non‐invasively biochemical changes caused by RT. Diffusionimaging techniques are used to assess the changes of cellular density and neural fibers caused by RT. In this lecture, the application of functional imaging to the assessment of stereotactic radiosurgery is illustrated. Stereotactic radiosurgery(SRS) is effective in treatingbraintumors, but radiation may cause injury to normal brain tissues (e.g., white matter), compromising sensory and neurocognitive brain functions. DTI can be used to track neural fibers and assess radiation‐induced damages in white matter. Furthermore, DCE‐MRI can be used to interrogate tumor biology and treatment‐related changes in tumor vasculature after SRS. These Issues related to treatment‐related changes will be discussed. This lecture will provide an overview of the MR functional imaging along with its application to the assessment of stereotactic radiosurgery. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the principles of MR functional imaging techniques 2. Understand the issues related to MR functional imaging 3. Understand the clinical application of MR functional imaging in assessing treatment response of SRS
How regulators of G protein signaling achieve selective regulation.

Abstract The regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) are a family of cellular proteins that play an essential regulatory role in G protein-mediated signal transduction. There are multiple RGS subfamilies consisting of over 20 different RGS proteins. They are basically the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-accelerating proteins that specifically interact with G protein α subunits. RGS proteins display remarkable selectivity and specificity in their regulation of receptors, ion channels, and other G protein-mediated physiological events. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying such selectivity are complex and cooperate at many different levels. Recent research data have provided strong evidence that the spatiotemporal-specific expression of RGS proteins and their target components, as well as the specific protein–protein recognition and interaction through their characteristic structural domains and functional motifs, are determinants for RGS selectivity and specificity. Other molecular mechanisms, such as alternative splicing and scaffold proteins, also significantly contribute to RGS selectivity. To pursue a thorough understanding of the mechanisms of RGS selective regulation will be of great significance for the advancement of our knowledge of molecular and cellular signal transduction.
Fluids and electrolytes management

Abstract The management of fluid and electrolytes in the extremely low birth weight infant is an ongoing challenge during the first week of life. Each infant is different in their fluid and electrolyte requirements, which may be altered by perinatal events (asphyxia, sepsis) as well as perinatal medications (corticosteroids). A generalized approach to management will be discussed with an emphasis on individual modifications as common problems present during the initial days of life.
Instantaneous dust exposure monitors

Abstract This is a review of investigations conducted to evaluate portable, direct reading instruments employing the principles of light scattering and the attenuation of beta-rays to measure the respirable mass concentration of airborne particulates. Data are presented on comparative measurements obtained with several different models of beta-ray attenuation instruments manufactured by the GCA Corporation and light scattering instruments manufactured by GCA Corporation, USA, Ernst Leitz, GmbH, Germany, Rotheroe and Mitchell, England, and Sibata Chemical Apparatus Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Japan, using aerosols of coal, limestone, Arizona road dust, and silica. The effect of aerosol parameters (concentration, size distribution, index of refraction) on instrument calibration and precision are discussed.
Analyzing Asian Infrastructure Development Privatization Market

Concession agreement is one of the infrastructure privatization models. In Asia, the rise of concession projects began in the 1980s, and the number of such projects continues to grow. This research provides an overview and detailed analysis of the Asian concession market. Eighty-seven concession projects awarded between 1985 and 1998 covering 12 Asian countries were examined. Findings show that Asia has been implementing concession models actively in response to the high demand of infrastructure development in the power, transportation, and water sectors. Approximately 30% of the total concession projects had disappointing performances resulting in financial loss, cancellation, delay, and suspension of the project.
A “CO2 supply” mechanism in zooxanthellate cnidarians: role of carbonic anhydrase

Carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) activity was detected in 22 species of tropical cnidarians which contain endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (=zooxanthellae). CA activity was 2 to 3 times higher in animal tissue than in algae and ca. 29 times higher in zooxanthellate than azooxanthellate species. It was also higher in the zooxanthellate tentacle tissue than in the azooxanthellate column tissue of the anemone Condylactis gigantea. CA was therefore significantly related to the presence of endosymbiotic algae. Further results indicated that CA functions in the photosynthetic carbon metabolism of zooxanthellate cnidarians as evidenced by (1) low CA activity in shade-adapted and deep water colonies compared to the more productive shallow water, light-adapted colonies of the coral Stylophora pistillata, and (2) the 56 to 85% reduction in photosynthetic carbon assimilation by zooxanthellae in situ in the presence of Diamox, an inhibitor of CA. Although CA has been proposed to function in calcification, its association with zooxanthellae and photosynthetic activity in both calcifying and non-calcifying associations suggests a role in photosynthetic metabolism of algal/cnidarian symbioses. It is proposed that CA acts as a “CO2 supply” mechanism by releasing CO2 from bicarbonate, and enabling zooxanthellae to maintain high rates of photosynthesis in their intracellular environment.
The Fluidity of Human Capital: Theorizing the Relationship between Religion and Immigration

Researchers have commented on recent shifts in immigration in the United States, focusing primarily on either how well new immigrants integrate into the American economy or how poorly they integrate into American culture. In general, scholars have tended to ignore the dynamic relationship between immigrants’ cultural belief systems and their integration into the United States’ economy. In this paper, I begin to develop a theoretical map that links these two areas by focusing on the interrelationship of cultural beliefs and socioeconomic conditions of immigrants. I concentrate on religion as a cultural phenomenon that both constrains and enables systems of social relations, specifically examining recent Jewish and Muslim immigrants in the United States. I consider theories proposed by Bourdieu and Wallerstein for understanding religion and immigration, and then discuss ways in which this area might be further investigated.
Activation of mitogen activated protein kinase in human platelets by genistein.

Abstract Genistein, a putative tyrosine kinase inhibitor, stimulated human platelet mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When MAPK was maximally stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), genistein still elicited the increase in MAPK activity. Staurosporine (50 n m ), significantly decreased the PMA-induced MAPK activity, but had little inhibitory effect on the genistein-induced MAPK activity. Both these observations indicated a protein kinase C (PKC) independent pathway for the genistein-stimulated MAPK activity. When other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (methyl-2,5-dihydroxycinnamate, and tyrphostin) were employed, similar increases in the MAPK activity were observed. Addition of genistein to cytosolic fraction of platelets had no effect on the MAPK activity and indicated that this effect is not due to direct physical interaction between genistein and MAPK and that intact platelets are required for it. MAPK activity of platelets from rabbit and pig was also stimulated by genistein. This effect of genistein was not observed in other cell types tested (BNLCL2, HEL and U937 cells). Forskolin, which increases cyclic AMP had little effect on the basal platelet MAPK activity or the genistein activated MAPK, while it decreased by half the PMA-induced MAPK activity. The inactive analog of genistein, daidzein, which does not inhibit tyrosine kinase had little effect on MAPK. Genistein caused a decrease in basal tyrosine phosphorylation of pp60c-srcprotein as detected with anti-phosphotyrosine (anti-PTyr) Ab. Thus, inhibition of basal tyrosine kinase results in an increase in MAPK activity. This study demonstrates for the first time a novel mechanism for regulation of MAPK in platelets in which inhibition of tyrosine kinase results in activation of MAPK, independent of PKC and cAMP pathways.
Novel immunomodulatory compounds in multiple myeloma

Introduction: The treatment options for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) remain limited. Immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs), such as thalidomide and lenalidomide, have changed the landscape in the treatment of patients with MM while newer IMiDs such as pomalidomide are showing promise in early clinical trials. Areas covered: This review focuses on the biologic rationales of IMiDs and the clinical results supporting their use in MM. It includes data on the new IMiD, pomalidomide and also explores the possible utility of combining IMiDs with other agents. A PubMed search and abstracts from oncology scientific meetings (ASCO and ASH) of articles related to IMiDs and MM was conducted. Expert opinion: IMiDs have shown clinical activity as single agents and in combination. Thalidomide was the first in class drug. Lenalidomide has a better toxicity profile than thalidomide. Pomalidomide may overcome resistance to lenalidomide indicating differences in their mechanisms of action and resistance. Molecular biomarke...
A Near-Infrared Study of NGC 7538 IRS 1, 2, and 3

?????We present images of the cluster of embedded young stars designated NGC 7538 IRS 1, 2, and 3 in the J (1.25 ?m), H (1.64 ?m), and K (2.16 ?m) broad bands; the 1.64 ?m line of [Fe II]; the 2.12 ?m and 2.25 ?m lines of H2; the 2.17 ?m Brackett ? H-recombination line; and the 3.29 ?m unidentified dust feature. The NGC 7538 IRS 2 compact H II region, as seen in Brackett ? line emission, possesses a cometary morphology. We find evidence for a shell-like distribution of [Fe II] line emission along the periphery of the compact H II region. This morphology and the observed intensity ratio I([Fe II] 1.64 ?m)/I(Br?) imply that the [Fe II] line emission emanates from shocked stellar wind material. We observe arcs of H2 line emission immediately exterior to the [Fe II] line emission shell and suggest that these arcs delineate molecular cloud material shocked via collision with the stellar wind. We observe larger arcs with centers of curvature displaced from each other and IRS 2, in broad-band-continuum, H2-line, and 3.29 ?m feature emission, and suggest that these arcs represent molecular gas (either shocked or UV-excited) and dust swept up during distinct episodes of stellar mass ejection. We submit that the morphological and energetic evidence favors a stellar wind bow shock interpretation, in which the motion of the central O star with respect to the surrounding molecular cloud, in conjunction with the star's high-velocity stellar wind and episodic mass ejection, gives rise to the observed general cometary morphology and circum-H II region emission.
Nonlinear Distributed Modeling, Control, and Simulation of Rotating Stall and Surge in Transonic Compressors

Aerodynamic instabilities that will limit the operating range, performance, and reliability of gas turbine engines include rotating stall and surge. These aerodynamic instabilities occur in the compressor at low flow rates. Enabling technologies that have been used to demonstrate the stabilization of compression systems and operating range extension by means of active feedback control include the manipulation of compressor flow field with inlet guide vanes, bleed valves, and air injection. A potential application of the performance improvement associated with active feedback control is to reduce the weight of an aircraft engine. The number of compressor stages required to achieve the same overall pressure rise can be reduced by using active feedback control to extend the operating range of a compressor with steep speed-lines. And since the compressor makes up a large percent of the weight of an aircraft engine, reducing the number of compressor stages will reduce the engine weight thus increasing its thrust to weight ratio. This paper presents a full state nonlinear distributed model of rotating stall and surge with an air injection actuation system, a nonlinear controller design, and a closed loop simulation architecture that can be used for evaluating different control algorithms. The full state nonlinear distributed model was validated with stall inception data from a transonic compressor, and a sliding mode nonlinear controller was designed using the validated nonlinear distributed model. The closed loop simulation setup was then used to compare the performance of existing baseline linear controllers with the nonlinear controller model presented in this paper. The simulation results showed that more operation range extension can be obtained with robustness to compressor disturbances by using single-sided sliding mode control law.© 2008 ASME
Design and physical characterization of a synchronous multivalve aortic valve culture system.

For many tissues, cyclic mechanical stimulation is considered necessary to maintain the normal morphology in vitro. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate a simple bioreactor system capable of medium-term (more than 2 weeks) culture of native and engineered aortic valves. The system consists of three pistons in separate cylindrical chambers that are simultaneously driven through the culture medium by a crank and cam assembly. The faces of these pistons have unidirectional valves mounted in opposing orientations that permit flow from one side of the face to the other. A custom designed stent was employed to secure either native or engineered trileaflet valves to the pistons. Computational fluid dynamics and finite element modeling was used to assist selection of materials and components in the system. Finally, sterility testing using base culture medium was performed to verify the ability of the system to retain sterile conditions. The current design permits the cyclic opening and closing of three aortic valves, however this device can be modified to accommodate up to 12 valves simultaneously. This new bioreactor system has applications not only for development of tissue-engineered valves, but for also studying disease models in the aortic valve.
Time dependence of Coulomb distortions in heavy-ion reactions☆

Abstract We calculate the excitation of collective modes in heavy-ion scattering in a dynamic classical model and obtain the deformation and polarization of the projectile and the target nucleus at the Coulomb barrier as a result of their mutual electrostatic forces. Examples are given for 148Nd and 122Sn. We also show that in special cases the Coulomb barrier can be lowered for deformed nuclei.
Explaining the Gender Disparity in Latino Youth’s Education: Acculturation and Economic Value of Education:

The purpose of the current study was to examine the roles of acculturation, economic value of education, and gender in the academic achievement of Latino adolescents. Participants (N = 143) were 12th-grade students at an urban public high school. Analyses revealed that a higher economic value of education was related to higher academic achievement. In addition, female participants reported higher levels of economic value of education and had higher grade point averages (GPAs) than male participants. Significant associations were found among aspects of acculturation and academic achievement. Gender differences were also found on acculturation variables. Language preference, an acculturation variable, and economic value of education were found to explain why girls had higher GPAs than boys. This study’s findings shed light on factors that contribute to Latinos’ educational performance. Future directions and implications are discussed.
Visualization of concept formation and learning

Purpose – To discuss some of the work of Heinz von Foerster with regard to multidimensional visualization.Design/methodology/approach – An introduction to multidimensional visualization, followed with the connections derived from the Biological Computer Laboratory.Findings – Visualization provides insight through images. Considers the steps involved in interacting and learning so that this will lead the individual into their own “concept formation”.Originality/value – Studies aspects of Heinz von Foerster's work that are of importance for understanding multidimensional visualization.
An apparatus for in situ high temperature pretreatment of materials and measurement of their magnetic properties at cryogenic temperatures

An easy to use apparatus with high sensitivity for magnetic measurements is described that incorporates a unique dual purpose cryostat/heater, capable of in situ pretreatments at pressures up to 1 atm and temperatures up to 700 K. Magnetization measurements can be made at temperatures down to 100 K, either under vacuum or in a selected ambient gas, in the same cryostat with fields up to 1.7 T (17 kG). Techniques for measuring field profiles of the 23 cm diameter gradient pole caps are discussed along with the absolute and relative methods for measuring the magnetic susceptibility or magnetization. This system, based on the Faraday method, is particularly suitable for catalytic materials which need to be pretreated prior to magnetic measurements.
THE NEUROPATHOLOGY OF PROGRESSIVE RUBELLA PANENCEPHALITIS OF LATE ONSET

The clinicopathological changes in a case of progressive rubella panencephalitis of late onset have been presented. The prominent pathological findings in the brain included diffuse destruction of white matter with perivascular inflammatory cells and gliosis, moderate neuronal loss, numerous amorphous vascular deposits in the white matter and severe generalized cerebellar atrophy. These changes are compared and contrasted with those found in congenital rubella and other latent viral illnesses.
Comparative avian phylogeography of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea mountains: implications for conservation

We illustrate the use of Faith's 'Phylogenetic Diversity' measure to compare the phylogeographic structure of two bird species with patterns of avian endemism across six mountains in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The Mountain Greenbul and Cameroon Blue-headed Sunbird showed phylogeographic patterns that together defined three biogeographic regions: Bioko, Mt. Cameroon, and the northern mountains of Cameroon. In contrast, the distributions of endemic species were largely a function of geographical distance, with close mountains sharing more endemic species than distant mountains. Moreover, for both species, populations on Mt. Cameroon were distinctive with respect to the ecologically relevant character bill size. Our results, while preliminary, illustrate the utility of a comparative approach for identifying geographical regions that harbour evolutionarily distinct populations and caution against using only the distributional patterns of endemics to prioritize regions for conservation. Results show that patterns of endemism may not be concordant with patterns of phylogenetic diversity nor morphological variation in a character important in fitness. While incorporation of additional species from unrelated taxa will be necessary to draw definitive conclusions about evolutionarily distinct regions, our preliminary results suggest a conservation approach for the Afromontane region of the Gulf of Guinea that would: (i) emphasize protection of both Bioko and Mt. Cameroon, thereby maximizing preservation of within-species phylogenetic and morphologic diversity; (ii) emphasize protection within the northern mountains to further conserve intraspecific phylogenetic diversity and maximize protection of endemic species.
Older adult pedestrian injuries in the United States: causes and contributing circumstances

As the US population ages, more older adults will face transportation and mobility challenges. This study examines the characteristics and contributing circumstances of nonfatal older adult pedestrian injuries. Data were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Programme (NEISS-AIP) for the years 2001 through 2006. Cases included persons aged 65 years and older who were nonfatally injured on a public roadway. The results indicated that on average, an estimated 52,482 older adults were treated in emergency departments each year for nonfatal pedestrian injuries. Falling and being hit by a motor vehicle were the leading mechanisms of injury, resulting in 77.5% and 15.0% of older adult pedestrian injuries, respectively. More than 9000 older pedestrian fall-related injuries each year involved a kerb. It is concluded that the growth in the older adult population could add to the overall burden of these nonfatal pedestrian injuries. Making transportation and mobility improvements, including environmental modifications, is important for preventing these injuries.
An outbreak of human parainfluenza virus 3 infection in an outpatient hematopoietic stem cell transplantation clinic

Background Parainfluenza viruses cause respiratory tract infections in adults and children, with peak activity during the spring and summer months. Human parainfluenza virus type 3 (hPIV-3) can contribute to significant morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods Automated surveillance software was used to identify an hPIV-3 outbreak in an HSCT clinic. Active surveillance for respiratory illness and infection control measures were instituted. A retrospective molecular investigation of outbreak viral strains was performed by direct sequencing. Results Twelve of 196 HSCT recipients attending the clinic during the outbreak period had hPIV-3; one of these patients died. Sequencing demonstrated highly related strains in 9 of 10 patients studied. Despite the ongoing presence of hPIV-3 outside the inpatient/outpatient care continuum clinic, only 2 cases were observed after institution of respiratory season infection control measures. Conclusions This investigation demonstrates the utility of surveillance software in the identification of respiratory virus outbreaks and the importance of rapid implementation of infection control/prevention measures for containment of outbreaks.
Preparation of [11C]carbon dioxide from [11C]cyanide.

Abstract [11C]carbon dioxide was prepared from [11C]cyanide. First, [11C]CH4 was produced by the (p, α) reaction on a N2/H2 mixture and was converted to [11C]CN− by reaction with ammonia over platinum at 1273 K. The [11C]CN− was adsorbed on a cobalt(II, III) oxide/ceramic furnace material at room temperature and was subsequently converted to [11C]CO2 by heating the cobalt(II, III) oxide to 948 K over a 10 min period and collecting the [11C]CO2 in a trap at 77 K. Specific activities as high as 600 mCi/μmol at end of bombardment (EOB) were obtained in a 15 μA irradiation for 10 min.
Polarization and polarizability assessed by protein amide acidity.

Hydroxide-catalyzed exchange rate constants were determined for those amides of FK506-binding protein (FKBP12), ubiquitin, and chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) that are solvent-accessible in the high-resolution X-ray structures. When combined with previous hydrogen exchange results for the rubredoxin from Pyrococcus furiosus, the acidity of these amides was calculated by continuum dielectric methods as a function of the nonpolarizable electrostatic parameter set, internal dielectric, and the charge distribution of the peptide anion. The CHARMM22 parameter set with an internal dielectric value of 3 and an ab initio-derived anion charge distribution yielded an rmsd value of 7 for the 56 amide exchange rate constants ranging from 100.67 to 109.0 M−1 s−1. The OPLS-AA parameter set yielded comparably robust predictions, while that of PARSE, AMBER parm99, and AMBER ff03 performed more poorly. The small value for the optimal internal dielectric, combined with the brief lifetime of the peptide anion intermediate an...
Magnetic susceptibilities of the alkali metals through the melting points

The magnetic susceptibilities of the alkali metals Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs have been followed through the melting points. The changes in susceptibility, expressed relative to the total room temperature susceptibility are respectively: 1.0%, 2.5%, 1.0%, −2.8% and −8.6%.
Role of immune mechanisms in induction of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies

Although antibodies can be elicited by HIV-1 infection or immunization, those that are broadly neutralizing (bnAbs) are undetectable in most individuals, and when they do arise in HIV-1 infection, only do so years after transmission. Until recently, the reasons for difficulty in inducing such bnAbs have been obscure. Recent technological advances in isolating bnAbs from rare patients have increased our knowledge of their specificities and features, and along with gene-targeting studies, have also begun uncovering evidence of immunoregulatory roadblocks preventing their induction. One crucial avenue towards developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine is to harness this emerging information into the rational design of immunogens and formulation of adjuvants, such that structural and immunological hurdles to routinely eliciting bnAbs can be overcome.
Fos-related antigen-1 (Fra-1) is a regulator of glioma cell malignant phenotype

Commentary to: Fos-related antigen 1 (Fra-1) pairing with and transactivation of JunB in GBM cells Waldemar Debinski and Denise M. Gibo
Patterns of Performance on Wais Similarities in Schizophrenic, Brain-Damaged and Normal Subjects

Stinn2ary.-Types of incorrect responses made on the WAIS Similarities subtest were analyzed for groups of schizophrenic, brain-damaged, and general medical (normal control) patients, all male. The errors of the brain-damagecl contained pcoportionately fewer attempts to respond conceprually than the other groups. The major difference between the normals and schizophrenics was the greater willingness of the latter to attempt a response, i.e., to avoid "don't know." Although it was an infrequent rype of response, schizophrenics were at the same time more likely to make explicit denials of similarity ("not alike"). This elevation in denial and depression in "don't know" was founcl to be more marked in married than in single schizophrenics. There is some experimental evidence (e.g., Leventhal, McGaughran, & Moran, 1959) to support the view chat the performance deficit exhibited by brain-damaged individuals on conceptual tasks represents a loss in the capaciry for abstract thought but that the performance of schizophrenics, as a group, is better characterized as reflecting the intrusion of autistic material, indulgence in over-abstraction, etc. However, in a recent study by the present writer (Tutko & Spence, 1962) utilizing the Goldstein-Scheerer Object Sorting Test, this latter description was found to be adequate for Reactive schizophrenics [i.e., those whose premorbid social-sexual adjustment, as determined by ratings on the Phillips Scale (1953) had been relatively good], but to be less characteristic of the performance of Process (poor premorbid) schizophrenics. The majority of errors made by the Reactives, it was found, consisted of conceptual responses that were too broad or idiosyncratic to be considered correct; in contrast, the errors of both Process schizophrenics and brain-damaged Ss more frequently consisted of response failures (e.g., "don't know") and positive attempts of a non-conceptual nature. Normal control Ss exhibited less of an imbalance in type of error than any of the pathological groups. In the present investigation, a similar kind of analysis was made of incorrect responses on the Similarities subcest of the WAIS (Weschler, 1958) in order to determine the patterns of performance exhibited by groups of brain-damaged, schizophrenic, and normal control Ss. In comparison to the latter, the incorrect 'The writer wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of Dr. Max Fogel, then on the staff of the Department of Psychology, University Hospital, Iowa Ciry, louja, and of Miss Margaret Thorson, then a psychology intern at the Colorado State Hosp,ral for obtaining and making available the data for the brain-damaged and normal control samples and for the second schizophrenic sample, respectively. Thanks are also due to Dr. Thomas A. Tutko who acted as a rater in establishing the reliability of the WAIS scoring.
3D microstructures fabricated by prism-assisted inclined UV lithography

Three-dimensional (3D) microstructures are fabricated by prism-assisted inclined ultraviolet (UV) lithography. The exposure angles of slanted structures ranging from 0° to 65° in SU-8 photoresist can be easily achieved without immersion in index matching liquid. The sample surface reflection of UV light can be utilized for the fabrication of symmetric structures. Tripod structures have been fabricated by one-step UV exposure with corner prism. Examples of various achievable 3D microstructures are presented.
Persistent Lung Inflammation and Fibrosis in Serum Amyloid P Component (Apcs-/-) Knockout Mice

Fibrosing diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, cardiac fibrosis, myelofibrosis, liver fibrosis, and renal fibrosis are chronic and debilitating conditions and are an increasing burden for the healthcare system. Fibrosis involves the accumulation and differentiation of many immune cells, including macrophages and fibroblast-like cells called fibrocytes. The plasma protein serum amyloid P component (SAP; also known as pentraxin-2, PTX2) inhibits fibrocyte differentiation in vitro, and injections of SAP inhibit fibrosis in vivo. SAP also promotes the formation of immuno-regulatory Mreg macrophages. To elucidate the endogenous function of SAP, we used bleomycin aspiration to induce pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in mice lacking SAP. Compared to wildtype C57BL/6 mice, we find that in Apcs-/- “SAP knock-out” mice, bleomycin induces a more persistent inflammatory response and increased fibrosis. In both C57BL/6 and Apcs-/- mice, injections of exogenous SAP reduce the accumulation of inflammatory macrophages and prevent fibrosis. The types of inflammatory cells present in the lungs following bleomycin-aspiration appear similar between C57BL/6 and Apcs-/- mice, suggesting that the initial immune response is normal in the Apcs-/- mice, and that a key endogenous function of SAP is to promote the resolution of inflammation and fibrosis.
Ovarian Serous Borderline Tumors With Invasive Peritoneal Implants

Background The objective of the current study was to update the authors' experience with patients with ovarian serous borderline tumors with invasive peritoneal implants to gain additional insight into the biologic behavior of these tumors and a better understanding of the effect of postoperative treatment. Methods Thirty-nine patients with ovarian serous borderline tumors with invasive peritoneal implants were identified through a retrospective review. Major endpoints selected for analysis were surgicopathologic response, time to recurrence, type of recurrence, progression free survival, and overall survival. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses also were performed. Results Median follow-up time was 111 months. Four of 7 evaluable patients who had second-look surgery (57%) had a response to chemotherapy. Twelve of 39 patients (31%) either developed progressive disease or had a recurrence. The median time from date of diagnosis to recurrence was 24 months. In 10 of these 12 patients with a recurrence, tissue was available; 9 had invasive low grade serous carcinoma and 1 had a recurrent borderline tumor. Macroscopic residual disease was the only factor studied that had a significant effect on survival; patients with no macroscopic residual tumor had a significantly better survival than those with any macroscopic residual tumor (P Conclusions Greater than 30% of patients with ovarian serous borderline tumors with invasive peritoneal implants will develop progressive or recurrent tumor, most commonly serous carcinoma. The presence of macroscopic residual disease appears to be the major predictor of recurrence and survival. However, in this study, the authors were unable to elucidate the role of postoperative therapy or the criteria for selection of patients for such therapy.
Growth and Treatment of Dwarfs and Giants1

THE YOUNG DWARF and the young giant present problems which are humanly urgent, in that the physical peculiarity so greatly hampers social adaptation. These problems the physician is meeting with growing success and with a variety of methods. The present range of treatment possibilities was critically reviewed by Shelton in 1942 (1). Some difficulties occur in evaluating treatment, because we know less about individual growth patterns of dwarfs and giants than we do about those of normal children. This article covers observations of from one to thirteen years on sixteen children with retarded growth and four children whose growth was accelerated.3 Wherever possible, the data are presented from the viewpoint of a longitudinal study, as well as for their reflections on treatment. Although incomplete and. tedious, longitudinal data on abnormal children are sufficiently scarce and suggestive to warrant being put on record. METHOD OF STUDY Records were analyzed throughout periods of treatment and control with r...
Learning Stochastic Inverses

We describe a class of algorithms for amortized inference in Bayesian networks. In this setting, we invest computation upfront to support rapid online inference for a wide range of queries. Our approach is based on learning an inverse factorization of a model's joint distribution: a factorization that turns observations into root nodes. Our algorithms accumulate information to estimate the local conditional distributions that constitute such a factorization. These stochastic inverses can be used to invert each of the computation steps leading to an observation, sampling backwards in order to quickly find a likely explanation. We show that estimated inverses converge asymptotically in number of (prior or posterior) training samples. To make use of inverses before convergence, we describe the Inverse MCMC algorithm, which uses stochastic inverses to make block proposals for a Metropolis-Hastings sampler. We explore the efficiency of this sampler for a variety of parameter regimes and Bayes nets.
Mek1 Kinase Activity Functions Downstream of RED1 in the Regulation of Meiotic Double Strand Break Repair in Budding Yeast

Three meiosis-specific chromosomal components in budding yeast, Mek1, Red1, and Hop1, are required for recombination, proper segregation of homologs, and the meiotic recombination checkpoint. Mek1 is a protein kinase. Mutations that increase the size of the ATP binding pocket of Mek1 (mek1-as1) sensitize the kinase to specific small molecule inhibitors. Experiments using mek1-as1 demonstrate that the requirement for Mek1 kinase activity coincides with the formation of double strand breaks (DSBs) and that this activity is necessary after DSB formation to prevent repair by DMC1-independent pathways. Contrary to previous reports, Red1 is not a substrate for Mek1. Instead, RED1 is required for wild-type levels of Mek1 kinase activity. In addition, activation of Mek1 requires HOP1, the formation of Red1/Hop1 complexes and a functional Mek1 FHA domain. The requirement for RED1 to produce active kinase can be bypassed by a mek1 mutation that creates a constitutively active Mek1 kinase. We propose that Red1 is phosphorylated by a kinase other than MEK1 and that phosphothreonines on Red1 then interact with the Mek1 FHA domain to recruit the kinase to sites of DSBs where Mek1 is activated to prevent DMC1-independent DSB repair.
Progress toward demonstration of a surface based DNA computation: a one word approach to solve a model satisfiability problem

Abstract A multi-base encoding strategy is used in a one word approach to surface-based DNA computation. In this designed DNA model system, a set of 16 oligonucleotides, each a 16mer, is used with the format 5′-FFFFvvvvvvvvFFFF-3′ in which 4–8 bits of data are stored in eight central variable (‘v’) base locations, and the remaining fixed (‘F’) base locations are used as a word label. The detailed implementations are reported here. In order to achieve perfect discrimination between each oligonucleotide, the efficiency and specificity of hybridization discrimination of the set of 16 oligonucleotides were examined by carrying out the hybridization of each individual fluorescently tagged complement to an array of 16 addressed immobilized oligonucleotides. A series of preliminary hybridization experiments are presented and further studies about hybridization, enzymatic destruction, read out and demonstrations of a SAT problem are forthcoming.