cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of food allergy in otolaryngology disorders.

Purpose of review Food allergy is often an unrecognized clinical entity that has been implicated as a cause in many types of chronic inflammatory conditions. This review serves to provide an update on how food allergy plays a role in otolaryngology disorders. Recent findings The incidence of food allergy has been on the rise over the last decade. Currently, about 6% of children and 3-4% of adults are thought to be affected by food allergy. The middle and inner ear are immunologically responsive and this includes responsiveness to food hypersenstivities. Both chronic otitis media with effusion and Meniere's disease can improve with treatment of food allergies. Some evidence supports a link between rhinitis and nasal polyps and food allergies. Finally, there is increasing literature about eosinophilic esophagitis, which is a relatively newly recognized disease with many otolaryngologic associations. Many of these patients may have food allergy, and treatment of their food allergy may be effective in treating the disease. Summary In chronic inflammatory disorders of the head and neck, especially those involving the upper aerodigestive tract, food allergy must be considered in the differential. Patients with food allergy often do not respond to conventional treatments, and it can often be a challenge to arrive at the proper diagnosis. Further research is warranted to improve our understanding of the role of food allergy in otolaryngology disorders, as well as our diagnostic and treatment methods.
Vapor Phase Transport Synthesis of Zeolites from Sol-Gel Precursors

A study of zeolite crystallization from sol-gel precursors using the vapor phase transport synthesis method has been performed. Zeolites (ZSM-5, ZSM-48, Zeolite P, and Sodalite) were crystallized by contacting vapor phase organic or organic-water mixtures with dried sodium silicate and dried sodium alumino-silicate gels. For each precursor gel, a ternary phase system of vapor phase organic reactant molecules was explored. The vapor phase reactant mixtures ranged from pure ethylene diamene, triethylamine, or water, to an equimolar mixture of each. In addition, a series of gels with varied physical and chemical properties were crystallized using the same vapor phase solvent mixture for each gel. The precursor gels and the crystalline products were analyzed via Scanning Electron Microscopy, Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy, X-ray mapping, X-ray powder diffraction, nitrogen surface area, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and thermal analyses. The product phase and purity as a function of the solvent mixture, precursor gel structure, and precursor gel chemistry is discussed.
Transient solutions for some exhaustive M/G/1 queues with generalized independent vacations

Abstract Some exhaustive single server queueing systems in which the servers can be unavailable for occasional intervals of time, independently with the arrival and service processes, can be treated as exceptional queueing systems in which the customers who initiate the busy periods have to wait for a random time. This paper illustrates the idea and show that transient and stationary results already available for the latter can be easily adapted for the formers.
Salicylate Inhibits Growth of Plant-Pathogenic Fungi and Synergistically Enhances the Activity of Other Antifungal MaterialsIn Vitro

ABSTRACT We conducted dose-response studies of the toxicity of salicylate (SA; a putative signal molecule for enhancement of plant disease resistance [EPDR]) toward plant-pathogenic fungi. SA concentrations ≥10.0 mM were required for complete inhibition of fungal growth from mycelial plugs. SA doses of 2.0–5.0 mM typically reduced fungal growth by 50%, whereas doses of 0.5 mM or lower had little or no effect on fungal growth. However, growth of several test fungi was completely inhibited by 2.0 mM SA combined with concentrations of cupric chloride, antifungal bacterial culture fluids, or neem extract that were otherwise only slightly to moderately inhibitory. We conclude that (1) endogenous SA concentrations (up to 10.0–100.0 μM) are unlikely to directly inhibit fungi in plants, (2) concentrations of exogenous SA applied for EPDR (2.0–10.0 mM) are likely to be only moderately inhibitory to fungi, and (3) additions of other antifungal materials with which SA synergizes may enhance the antifungal activity o...
Hydrazides as characteristic derivatives for the identification of esters, acids, salts, acid halides, acid anhydrides, acid amides, ureas and nitriles

Methods for the identification of esters, acids, salts, acid halides, acid anhydrides, acid amides, ureas, and nitriles by means of the formation of crystalline hydrazides are described in this paper. The Jamieson method was found to be most valuable for the rapid estimation of hydrazine nitrogen in hydrazides and their derivatives.
The effects of GABAergic inhibition on monaural response properties of neurons in the mustache bat's inferior colliculus

The effects of GABAergic inhibition on response properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus were investigated. The experimental animals were mustache bats and responses were monitored from neurons in the hypertrophied 60 kHz isofrequency contour of the inferior colliculus. The features we report on here are: 1) the maximum discharge rates evoked by tone bursts at each unit's best frequency; 2) the forms of the rate-level functions; 3) the discharge patterns evoked by best frequency tone bursts; and 4) the changes in these response features that were observed when GABAergic inhibition was blocked with bicuculline, an antagonist specific for GABAA receptors. There were three main findings. The first is that bicuculline caused the discharge rate to increase in the majority of neurons. The maximum firing rates in more than half of the units increased by at least 100%, and in 15% of the cells the maximum spike-count increased 400% or more. Of particular interest were the 13 cells that were nearly unresponsive to any tone burst, but responded vigorously to the same stimuli after application of bicuculline. The second main finding is that the increased discharge rates were due either to a change from a phasic to a tonic discharge pattern, or to a change in overall excitability with no change in discharge pattern. The third main finding was that bicuculline changed the shape of the rate-level functions in almost half of the cells studied. The general trend was that units whose pre-drug rate-level functions were upper-threshold were most likely to be changed, followed by regular nonmonotonic and non-saturated monotonic. Units with saturated monotonic functions were the least likely to be affected by bicuculline. These results lead us to suggest that GABAergic inhibition acts on collicular cells in two principal ways. The first way is to modify the effects of the excitatory innervation and thereby shape the response features of collicular neurons. The formation of rate-level functions is but one illustration of the shaping action of GABAergic inhibition. Other features that are shaped by GABAergic inhibition include discharge patterns, thresholds, latencies and tuning curves. The second way is to provide a regulated suppression of evoked activity. We propose that the suppression is situation dependent and may act to enhance the operating range of collicular neurons in situations of particular importance to the animal, such as during periods of selective attention and perhaps in other situations as well.
The role of cardiovascular disease in the identification and management of depression by primary care physicians.

Objective The objective of this study was to describe the influence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) on identification and management of depression by primary care physicians. Method Three hundred fifty-five adults with and without significant depressive symptoms who were screened in primary care offices and invited to participate completed a baseline in-home assessment. CVD was assessed by self-report and psychologic status was assessed with commonly used, validated standard questionnaires. At the index visit, doctors' ratings of depression and reports of active management were obtained on 340 of the 355 patients who completed in-home interviews. Results Older adults who reported heart failure were more likely to be identified as depressed than were older adults who did not report heart failure (unadjusted odds ratio [OR]: 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–4.85; Wald χ 2 = 5.20, df=1, p=0.023). In multivariate models that controlled for potentially influential characteristics such as age, marital status, education, ethnicity, functional status, level of depression, cognitive impairment, attitudes about depression, use of medical care, and number of medications, the findings remained statistically significant. Among older adults identified as depressed, older adults with heart failure were significantly less likely to be actively managed for depression than were older adults without heart failure (unadjusted OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.14–0.76; Wald χ 2 = 6.73, df=1, p=0.009). After controlling for potentially influential covariates, these findings remained substantially unchanged. Conclusions CVD, in particular heart failure, may influence the identification and management of depression among older patients by primary care physicians. The findings underlie the importance of developing interventions that integrate the management of depression and CVD in primary care settings.
Effects of 59Fe on Blood and Bone Marrow of Rabbits

Effects of 59Fe on blood and bone marrow of rabbits, Oryctolagus, were studied. Erythrocyte counts and leukocyte differential counts at three- and eight-day intervals and bone marrow differential counts after the 19th, 28th, and 40th day were performed for each rabbit. Increased 59Fe produced increased destruction of all blood cells except lymphocytes. The ratio of lymphocytes in bone marrow increased.
Comparison of Discrete Fracture and Effective Media Representation of Fractures on Azimuthal AVO

In fractured reservoir development, azimuthal AVO (AVOaz) properties of reflected PP waves from reservoir tops are often used to infer fracture properties. The fracture parameter inversion is based on either an effective media model (EMM) or a discrete fracture model (DFM). We address the differences in fracture properties that may be inferred by AVOaz based on the two models. For the DFM we focus on fractures whose length and spacing are comparable to the seismic wavelength. First, we compute the elastic parameters describing the fractured reservoir for each type of model. Then we synthesize seismic data using a finite-difference program for both sets of elastic parameters. By performing AVOaz analysis, we find that EMM and DFM predict different offsets for maximum AVOaz magnitudes. The DFM results show larger AVOaz magnitude with farther offsets, and phase changes at offsets larger than 35 degrees may indicate compliant fractures in a reservoir. For compliant fractures, the fracture strike determined using AVOaz effect based on the EMM is opposite to that from the DFM. This difference could cause incorrect estimation of fracture orientation if the EMM is used to interpret data from a reservoir with discrete fracture zones. DFM may be better suited for modeling wavelength-scale fractures.
Effects of ethanol on calcium homeostasis in the nervous system: implications for astrocytes.

Ethanol is a major health concern, with neurotoxicity occurring after bothin utero exposure and adult alcohol abuse. Despite a large amount of research, the mechanism(s) underlying the neurotoxicity of ethanol remain unknown. One of the cellular aspects that has been investigated in relationship to the neuroteratogenicity and neurotoxicity of ethanol is the maintenance of calcium homeostasis. Studies in neuronal cells and other cells have shown that ethanol can alter intracellular calcium levels and affect voltage and receptor-operated calcium channels, as well as G protein-mediated calcium responses. Despite increasing evidence of the important roles of glial cells in the nervous systems, few studies exist on the potential effects of ethanol on calcium homeostasis in these cells. This brief review discusses a number of reported effects of alcohol on calcium responses that may be relevant to astrocytes' functions.
Large peripheral osteoma arising from the genial tubercle area

In a review of the literature, it can be determined that large osteomas of the mandible are relatively rare. Of those that have been described, the location is normally posterior to the premolars on the lingual surface of the mandible or in the condylar area. This article presents a case of an atypical presentation of an osteoma arising from the genial tubercle area.
Targeting NAD+ Metabolism in the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an essential metabolite utilized as a redox cofactor and enzyme substrate in numerous cellular processes. Elevated NAD+ levels have been observed in red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, but little is known regarding how the parasite generates NAD+. Here, we employed a mass spectrometry-based metabolomic approach to confirm that P. falciparum lacks the ability to synthesize NAD+ de novo and is reliant on the uptake of exogenous niacin. We characterized several enzymes in the NAD+ pathway and demonstrate cytoplasmic localization for all except the parasite nicotinamidase, which concentrates in the nucleus. One of these enzymes, the P. falciparum nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (PfNMNAT), is essential for NAD+ metabolism and is highly diverged from the human homolog, but genetically similar to bacterial NMNATs. Our results demonstrate the enzymatic activity of PfNMNAT in vitro and demonstrate its ability to genetically complement the closely related Escherichia coli NMNAT. Due to the similarity of PfNMNAT to the bacterial enzyme, we tested a panel of previously identified bacterial NMNAT inhibitors and synthesized and screened twenty new derivatives, which demonstrate a range of potency against live parasite culture. These results highlight the importance of the parasite NAD+ metabolic pathway and provide both novel therapeutic targets and promising lead antimalarial compounds.
SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER AND MARIJUANA USE PROBLEMS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MARIJUANA EFFECT EXPECTANCIES

Background: Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) appear particularly vulnerable to marijuana-related problems. Yet, mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. Methods: This study examined the role of marijuana effect expectancies in the relation between SAD and marijuana problems among 107 marijuana users (43.0% female), 26.2% of whom met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition criteria for SAD. Anxiety and mood disorders were determined during clinical interviews using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule—IV-L (ADIS-IV). Results: Analyses (including sex, marijuana use frequency, major depressive disorder, and other anxiety disorders) suggest that SAD was the only disorder significantly associated with past 3-month marijuana problems. Compared to those without SAD, individuals with SAD were more likely to endorse the following marijuana expectancies: cognitive/behavioral impairment and global negative expectancies. Importantly, these expectancies mediated the relations between SAD status and marijuana problems. Conclusions: These data support the contention that SAD is uniquely related to marijuana problems and provide insight into mechanisms underlying this vulnerability. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cation Crowding in Zeolites. Reinvestigation of the Crystal Structure of Dehydrated Potassium-Exchanged Zeolite X

The structure of a single crystal of fully dehydrated K+-exchanged zeolite X was determined by X-ray diffraction methods in the cubic space group Fd3m at 21 °C; ao = 25.083(5) A. Ion-exchange of a crystal of Na92Si100Al92O384 was done at 80 °C using flowing aqueous 0.1 M KNO3 with pH = 12; 90(3) K+ ions were found per unit cell. R1 = 0.066 for 352 reflections for which Fo > 4 σ(Fo); wR2 based on F2 and all data is 0.193. The structure of dehydrated K−X is much more complex than that of dehydrated Na-X; K+ ions are found at nine crystallographic sites, a large number due to cation crowding. Two distinct site I and three site I‘ positions are occupied by six, eight, four, four, and four K+ ions per unit cell, respectively. Ten of the 16 double six-rings each accommodate two K+ ions with short K+···K+ distances of 3.79(4) and 3.92(8) A, indicative of the degree of cation crowding. Site II is nearly fully occupied with 28.4(4) K+ ions. The remaining 36 K+ ions are found at one III and two III‘ sites; these a...
REQUIREMENT FOR pp125 FOCAL ADHESION KINASE AND c-SRC IN THE INTEGRIN-DEPENDENT ACTIVATION OF p70/p85 RIBOSOMAL S6 KINASE. ▴ 936

REQUIREMENT FOR pp125 FOCAL ADHESION KINASE AND c-SRC IN THE INTEGRIN-DEPENDENT ACTIVATION OF p70/p85 RIBOSOMAL S6 KINASE. ▴ 936
SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR REGULAR TEACHERS: EVALUATION OF A COMPETENCY-BASED PROGRAM

Summ.a~y.49 principals and 73 teachers responded to a survey of' 39 institutions of higher education. Significant-differences were noted in 6 of 9 competencies needed by secondary teachers in adapting regular curricula for exceptional students. Using this information workshops were developed and attended by 59 secondary teachers and 30 administrators. Significant differences in attitudes were noted but cognitive gains were similar whether workshops were personnel-assisted or not. A comprehensive training program for regular, secondary classroom teachers designed to meet the needs of exceptional children in a regular sec- ondary classroom has long been needed (2, 4) because mainstreaming involves daily interaction between regular classroom teachers and students who are physically or mentally impaired. A concern is the ability of regular classioom teachers to diagnose, prescribe, and implement instructional strategies needed by exceptional students in science, mathematics, social science, and language arts. Teachers' educational programs have primarily focused on providing special education courses for students majoring in elementary education; little attention has been given to training secondary school teachers in these proce- dures (1, 5). These findings are reinforced by Sabatino (6) who reported that only a few colleges and universities currently give classes in special educa- tion to undergraduates with majors in secondary education. According to Schubert and Landers (7), these findings are not too surprising considering the traditional role of the secondary teacher is that of a subject-matter special- ist. Consequently, secondary teachers often lack the necessary skills and com- petencies to work effectively with special students. At best, these teachers tend to provide remedial work which often focuses only on mathematics and lan- guage arts (3). The purpose of this study was twofold, to ascertain the number of colleges and universities within the state of Texas which offered a'course on salient competencies and skills necessary to teach exceptional children in the classroom and to develop a comprehensive program to assist secondary teachers in adapting regular classroom curricula in mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science for special education students. The findings are presented in two parts, reflecting the two purposes.
Emerging understanding of multiscale tumor heterogeneity.

Cancer is a multifaceted disease characterized by heterogeneous genetic alterations and cellular metabolism, at the organ, tissue, and cellular level. Key features of cancer heterogeneity are summarized by ten acquired capabilities, which govern malignant transformation and progression of invasive tumors. The relative contribution of these hallmark features to the disease process varies between cancers. At the DNA and cellular level, germ-line and somatic gene mutations are found across all cancer types, causing abnormal protein production, cell behavior, and growth. The tumor microenvironment and its individual components (immune cells, fibroblasts, collagen, and blood vessels) can also facilitate or restrict tumor growth and metastasis. Oncology research is currently in the midst of a tremendous surge of comprehension of these disease mechanisms. This will lead not only to novel drug targets, but also to new challenges in drug discovery. Integrated, multi-omic, multiplexed technologies are essential tools in the quest to understand all of the various cellular changes involved in tumorigenesis. This review examines features of cancer heterogeneity and discusses how multiplexed technologies can facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of these features.
Exploration of plasma-based control for low-Reynolds number airfoil/gust interaction

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is employed to investigate the use of plasma-based actuation for the control of a vortical gust interacting with a wing section at a low Reynolds number. Flow about the SD7003 airfoil section at 4° angle of attack and a chord-based Reynolds number of 60,000 is considered in the simulation, which typifies micro air vehicle (MAV) applications. Solutions are obtained to the Navier–Stokes equations that were augmented by source terms used to represent body forces imparted by the plasma actuator on the fluid. A simple phenomenological model provided these body forces resulting from the electric field generated by the plasma. The numerical method is based upon a high-fidelity time-implicit scheme and an implicit LES approach which are used to obtain solutions on a locally refined overset mesh system. A Taylor-like vortex model is employed to represent a gust impinging upon the wing surface, which causes a substantial disruption to the undisturbed flow. It is shown that the fundamenta...
Prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent aggression and antisocial behaviour: a selective review.

Objective: In this paper I examine the possible role of public sector child and youth mental health services in prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent aggression. The problem of juvenile antisocial behaviour in Australian society is discussed.Method: The review details the extent, concern and costs of juvenile antisocial behaviour. The most efficacious prevention and treatment programs for aggressive and antisocial behaviour are reviewed within the context of reforms to public sector mental health services. The place of evidence-based mental health programs within child and youth mental health services is discussed.Results: Recommendations are made on the adoption of selective programs demonstrated to be efficacious in the prevention and treatment of aggression and antisocial behaviour.Conclusion: Child and youth mental health services can make a specific contribution to crime prevention.
GENDER DIFFERENCES OF ASPIRIN RESISTANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Objectives To investigate the gender differences of aspirin resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods A total of 312 patients with coronary artery diseases were diagnosed by coronary angiography in Beijing Anzhen Hospital. There were 204 male and 108 female patients. They toke aspirin 75–100 mg per day more than 1 month before they were admitted to the hospital. We used light transmission aggregation to evaluate aspirin resistance with detection of optical platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid and adenosine diphosthate. It was divided into aspirin resistance (AR), semi-resistant to aspirin (ASR) and aspirin sensitivity (AS) according to the response of aspirin. We tried to investigate the gender differences and influential factors of aspirin resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. Results Coronary heart disease patients with AR, ASR, AR+ASR and AS followed by the percentage of women were 60.5%, 60.4%, 60.5%, 16.5%. Compared with men, women were more susceptible to AR and ASR. Logistic regression analysis showed that gender and age were significantly associated with AR and ASR. Conclusions AR and ASR occurred easily in female patients with coronary artery disease than male and age was also a risk factor of AR and ASR.
Discrimination of Campylobacter jejuni isolates by fla gene sequencing

Comparison of the entire coding sequence of flaA (1,764 nucleotides) from 15 isolates of Campylobacter jejuni showed two regions of high variability, one region approximately from base positions 700 to 1,450 and a short variable region (SVR) from base positions 450 to 600. Parsimony analysis of the SVR sequences yielded a dendrogram similar to that which was derived by analysis of the entire gene. PCR was used to generate templates, and the SVR was sequenced with primers constructed to hybridize to conserved flanking sequences. The SVRs of 22 isolates of C. jejuni from four outbreaks that have been well characterized and a larger panel of isolates from three additional outbreaks were sequenced. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences produced results that grouped the isolates very similarly to other subtyping techniques. Sequence data were also generated for isolates from three additional outbreaks. Categorizing the isolates by fla SVR DNA sequence placed them in epidemiologically relevant groups. Sequence analysis of the C. jejuni flaA SVR may be a useful tool for epidemiologic investigations and could complement or replace serotyping and other subtyping methods.
Nonlinear filter design using artificial neural networks

The advantages and difficulties in training a neural network to emulate various types of filters are described. For the normalized low-pass filter, a multilayer perceptron is trained with various sets of sinusoids. The trained network shows superior performance for the training signals with almost negligible phase distortion. However, the network's performance for linear combinations of training signals is poor. Moreover, the network's performance deteriorates as the number of sinusoids superimposed on the input increases. This seems to be caused by the inherent nonlinearity of the network. The performance in general improves as the number of training sinusoids increases. >
Report Regarding the Pacific McGeorge Workshop on Globalizing the Law School Curriculum

On August 3rd and 4th of 2005, the Pacific McGeorge Center for Global Business and Development sponsored a workshop at which professors from 31 law schools in the United States and Canada met to discuss how to introduce international, transnational and comparative law issues into the core curriculum. The participants at the workshop were invited based upon two criteria: They are leading professors in one of the seven subjects traditionally considered to make up most of the core law school curriculum - Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Corporations, Criminal Law and Procedure, Property and Torts - and (or) they have expertise in international, transnational or comparative law. This Report provides a summary of the discussions at the workshop. The Report follows the four-part organization of the workshop. The first part addresses the goals for introducing international, transnational and comparative law issues into the core curriculum. The second part considers implementation strategies for introducing such issues into the core curriculum - including both the broad curricular question of whether to introduce such issues through a separate course, or through coverage in what traditionally have been domestically focused core courses, as well as exploring what international, transnational and comparative law issues could be introduced into core courses. This part of the Report provides specific examples of international, transnational and comparative law issues, which teachers of Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Corporations, Criminal Law and Procedure, Property and Torts can introduce into their classes. The third part of the Report identifies, and considers ways to overcome, challenges to implementing the strategies suggested in the second part. The fourth part lists concrete steps that participants are to take to follow up on the workshop.
Knowledge, Belief and Counterfactual Reasoning in Games

Deliberation about what to do in any context requires reasoning about what will or would happen in various alternative situations, including situations that the agent knows will never in fact be realized. In contexts that involve two or more agents who have to take account of each others’ deliberation, the counterfactual reasoning may become quite complex. When I deliberate, I have to consider not only what the causal effects would be of alternative choices that I might make, but also what other agents might believe about the potential effects of my choices, and how their alternative possible actions might affect my beliefs. Counter factual possibilities are implicit in the models that game theorists and decision theorists have developed – in the alternative branches in the trees that model extensive form games and the different cells of the matrices of strategic form representations – but much of the reasoning about those possibilities remains in the informal commentary on and motivation for the models developed. Puzzlement is sometimes expressed by game theorists about the relevance of what happens in a game ‘off the equilibrium path’: of what would happen if what is (according to the theory) both true and known by the players to be true were instead false. My aim in this paper is to make some suggestions for clarifying some of the concepts involved in counterfactual reasoning in strategic contexts, both the reasoning of the rational agents being modeled, and the reasoning of the theorist who is doing the modeling, and to bring together some ideas and technical tools developed by philosophers and logicians that I think might be relevant to the analysis of strategic reasoning, and more generally to the conceptual foundations of game theory.
Semantic database prototypes

. This paper describes a technique for improving the semantic consensus of conceptual database designs. Semantic consensus is a condition where there is pragmatic agreement among database designers and all of the users about which aspect of reality is being represented by a particular database element, and how that representation is being coded. The technique, called semantic database prototyping (SDP), involves a prototype that has been designed and constructed purely as a consequence of the semantic data model. The purpose of the semantic database prototype is to promote direct user validation during the conceptual database design phase of information systems analysis and design. Its distinguishing characteristic is its capture of data element occurrences within the context of the database design. The research method was action research, and the project is also briefly described.
Two-dimensional echocardiography and Doppler findings in cerebral arteriovenous malformation

Abstract Cerebral arteriovenous (A-V) malformations are a well-known cause of heart failure in the newborn infant;1 however, proper diagnosis is often delayed because of confusion with other cardiac lesions.2,3 This report describes 2 infants with a cerebral A-V malformation whose clinical and echocardiographic findings were similar to those of infants with coarctation of the aorta. Our report emphasizes the utility of echocardiographic and Doppler techniques in the discrimination of A-V malformation from coarctation of the aorta and other causes of heart failure in the newborn.
Emerging perspectives on hereditary glomerulopathies in canines

Familial glomerulopathies have been described in more than two dozen dog breeds. These canine spontaneous cases of glomerular disease are good models for their human counterparts. The dogs present clinically with protein-losing nephropathy and variable signs of hypertension, thromboembolic events, edema/effusions/nephrotic syndrome, or eventually with signs of renal disease such as anorexia, vomiting, weight loss, and/or polyuria/polydipsia. Laboratory changes include proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, hypercholesterolemia, and eventu- ally azotemia, hyperphosphatemia, anemia, and isosthenuria. Renal biopsies examined with transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and thin section light microscopy may show ultrastructural glomerular basement membrane abnormalities, glomerulosclerosis, amyloidosis, non-amyloid fibrillary deposition, or breed-associated predispositions for immune- complex glomerulonephritis. Genome-wide association studies and fine sequencing of candi - date genes have led to the discovery of variant alleles associated with disease in some breeds; eg, 1) glomerular basement membrane ultrastructural abnormalities due to defective collagen type IV, caused by different premature stop codons in each of four breeds; ie, in COL4A5 in Samoyeds and Navasota mix breed dogs (X-linked), and in COL4A4 in English Cocker Spaniels and English Springer Spaniels (autosomal recessive); and 2) glomerulosclerosis-related podo- cytopathy with slit diaphragm protein anomalies of both nephrin and Neph3/filtrin due to non- synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in conserved regions of their encoding genes, NPHS1 and KIRREL2, in Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers and Airedale Terriers, with a complex mode of inheritance. Age at onset and progression to end-stage renal disease vary depending on the model. Genetic counseling using DNA testing is available for several breeds but many more inherited canine models of glomerulopathy still need to be characterized. Dog breeds, with their long haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium, represent excellent models to study the underlying molecular basis for protein-losing nephropathy, glomerular function, genetic manipulations, possible environmental triggers, and treatments. Results of studies of genetic canine diseases will help dogs and other species, including man.
Mining online full-text literature for novel protein interaction discovery

Mining published articles in biology and medicine is a favored means of identifying potential biomarkers in comparison to conventional reviewing process. This is made possible by the development of public literature databases and data mining algorithms. In this article, we present a method to extract novel protein interactions from online full-text articles for biomarker discovery. By evaluating support and confidence metrics, explicit and implicit protein interactions are extracted from corpus of articles. By properly chosen minimum support and confidence, our method maximizes the identification of known interactions while minimizing the number of novel interactions. Hence, our method provides a manageable size of novel interactions for biological validation.
Dequalinium: A Novel, High-affinity Blocker of CNGA1 Channels

Cyclic nucleotide–gated (CNG) channels have been shown to be blocked by diltiazem, tetracaine, polyamines, toxins, divalent cations, and other compounds. Dequalinium is an organic divalent cation which suppresses the rat small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel 2 (rSK2) and the activity of protein kinase C. In this study, we have tested the ability of dequalinium to block CNGA1 channels and heteromeric CNGA1+CNGB1 channels. When applied to the intracellular side of inside-out excised patches from Xenopus oocytes, dequalinium blocks CNGA1 channels with a K1/2 ≈ 190 nM and CNGA1+CNGB1 channels with a K1/2 ≈ 385 nM, at 0 mV. This block occurs in a state-independent fashion, and is voltage dependent with a zδ ≈ 1. Our data also demonstrate that dequalinium interacts with the permeant ion probably because it occupies a binding site in the ion conducting pathway. Dequalinium applied to the extracellular surface also produced block, but with a voltage dependence that suggests it crosses the membrane to block from the inside. We also show that at the single-channel level, dequalinium is a slow blocker that does not change the unitary conductance of CNGA1 channels. Thus, dequalinium should be a useful tool for studying permeation and gating properties of CNG channels.
Vasodynamics of pial and penetrating arterioles in relation to arteriolo-arteriolar anastomosis after focal stroke

Changes in blood perfusion in highly interconnected pial arterioles provide important insights about the vascular response to ischemia within brain. The functional role of arteriolo-arteriolar anastomosis (AAA) in regulating blood perfusion through penetrating arterioles is yet to be discovered. We apply a label-free optical microangiography (OMAG) technique to evaluate the changes in vessel lumen diameter and red blood cell velocity among a large number of pial and penetrating arterioles within AAA abundant region overlaying the penumbra in the parietal cortex after a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). In comparison with two-photon microscopy, the OMAG technique makes it possible to image a large number of vessels in a short period of time without administering exogenous contrast agents during a time-constrained MCAO experiment. We compare vasodynamics in penetrating arterioles at various locations. The results show that the MCA connected penetrating arterioles close to a strong AAA dilate, while those belonging to a region away from AAAs constrict in various degrees. These results suggest AAAs play a major role in supporting the active dilation of the penetrating arterioles, thus compensating a significant amount of blood to the ischemic region, whereas the poor blood perfusion occurs at the regions away from AAA connections, leading to ischemia.
Living unrelated renal transplantation: a good match for the pediatric candidate?

Abstract Background/purpose Living donor kidney transplantation is encouraged for children with end-stage renal disease given the superior survival of living donor grafts, but pediatric candidates are also given preference for kidneys from younger deceased donors. Methods Death-censored graft survival of pediatric kidney-only transplants performed in the U.S. between 1987–2012 was compared across living related (LRRT) (n=7741), living unrelated (LURT) (n=618), and deceased donor renal transplants (DDRT) (n=8945) using Kaplan-Meier analysis, multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, and matched controls analysis. Results As expected, HLA mismatch was greater among LURT compared to LRRT (p Conclusion Survival of LURT grafts is superior to grafts from younger deceased donors and equivalent to LRRT grafts when adjusting for other factors, most notably differences in HLA mismatch.
Variability in resistance of coagulase-positive Staphylococci to hydrogen peroxide.

Abstract Cultures of coagulase-positive staphylococci freshly isolated from milk from mastitis udders of cows and clinical sources together with Staphylococcus aureus 196E were treated with 0.05% H 2 O 2 in reconstituted nonfat dry milk (11% solids) at 37.8, 48.9, 54.4, and 57.2C. The same cultures were treated in milk at 54.4C without H 2 O 2 . Cultures isolated from clinical sources were more resistant to hydrogen peroxide treatments at 37.8C than those obtained from milk. At higher temperatures, no relationships were observed between origin of cultures and resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Destruction rates of all cultures increased markedly with increases in treatment temperature. Cultures were more resistant to heat treatments at 54.4C than to hydrogen peroxide treatments at this temperature. Comparisons of the resistance of the individual cultures to the different treatments showed that: Those cultures more resistant to heat treatments at 54.4C in absence of hydrogen peroxide were also more resistant in the presence of hydrogen peroxide at this temperature; also, that there was no correlation between resistance of the cultures to hydrogen peroxide treatments at 37.8C and resistance to treatments at 54.4C with and without hydrogen peroxide.
Personalized medicine: the road ahead.

With breast cancer now being recognized as a heterogeneous disease, the concept of personalized medicine demands that the tumor of every individual be treated uniquely. This has lead to ever-expanding use of existing prognostic and predictive markers, and the search for better ones is ongoing. The classic prognostic tools such as tumor size, lymph node status, grade, hormone receptors, and HER2 status are now supplemented by gene expression–based tools such as PAM50 and MammaPrint. However, the overdependence of these tools on proliferation-related genes is a significant handicap. Although pathway-based signatures hold great promise in future breast cancer prognostication, the fact that every tumor has multiple functional pathways significantly limits the utility of this approach. Developed by the integration of estrogen receptor (ER), HER2, proliferation-related, and other genes, the Oncotype DX assay has been able to provide valuable prognostic information for ER-positive tumors. Newer molecular markers based on cancer stem cells, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and miRNAs are becoming available, but their importance needs to be validated. It is clear that breast cancer is a multifaceted process and that none of the tools can reliably predict a binary outcome (recurrence or no recurrence). The breast cancer community is still awaiting an ideal prognostic tool that can integrate knowledge from classic variables such as tumor size and grade with new throughput technology and principles of pharmacogenomics. Such a tool will not only define prognostic subgroups but also be able to predict therapeutic efficacy and/or resistance based on molecular profiling.
3D Mapping for high-fidelity unmanned ground vehicle lidar simulation

High-fidelity simulation is a key enabling technology for the widespread deployment of large unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). However, current approaches for lidar simulation leave much to be desired, particularly for scenes with vegetation. We introduce a novel 3D mapping technique that learns high-fidelity models for geo-specific lidar simulation directly from pose tagged lidar data. We introduce a novel stochastic, volumetric model that captures and can reproduce the statistical interactions of lidar with terrain. We show how to automatically learn the model directly from 3D mapping data collected by a UGV in the target environment. We extend our approach using terrain-classification techniques to develop a hybrid surface–volumetric model that combines the efficiency of surface modeling for areas that are well approximated by large surfaces (e.g. roads, bare earth) with our volumetric approach for more complex areas (e.g. bushes, trees) without sacrificing overall fidelity. We quantitatively compare the performance of our approach against more conventional methods on large outdoor datasets from urban and off-road environments. Our results show significant performance gains using our volumetric and hybrid approaches over the state-of-the-art, laying the ground work for truly high-fidelity simulation engines for UGVs.
Tbx5 and Bmp Signaling Are Essential for Proepicardium Specification in Zebrafish

Rationale: The proepicardial organ (PE) contributes to the cellular diversity of the developing heart by giving rise to the epicardium as well as vascular smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Despite the importance of these cells in cardiac development, function and regeneration, the signals required for the specification of the PE remain largely unexplored. Objective: We aim to identify the signaling molecules and transcription factors that regulate PE specification. Methods and Results: Here, we present the first genetic evidence that bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) signaling in conjunction with the T-box transcription factor Tbx5a is essential for PE specification in zebrafish. Specifically, Bmp4 from the cardiac region, but not the liver bud, acting through the type I BMP receptor Acvr1l, is required for PE specification. By overexpressing a dominant-negative form of a Bmp receptor at various embryonic stages, we determined when Bmp signaling was required for PE specification. We also found that overexpression of bmp2b right before PE specification led to the ectopic expression of PE specific markers including tbx18 . Furthermore, using loss-of-function approaches, we discovered a previously unappreciated PE specification role for Tbx5a at early somite stages; this role occurs earlier than, and appears to be independent from, the requirement for Bmp signaling in this process. Conclusion: Altogether, these data lead us to propose that Tbx5a confers anterior lateral plate mesodermal cells the competence to respond to Bmp signals and initiate PE development.
Wideband Signal Synthesis Using Interleaved Partial-Order Hold Current-Mode Digital-to-Analog Converters

We describe how a zero-order hold digital-to-analog converter (DAC) followed by a windowed-integration-based filter results in a novel partial-order hold (POH) DAC architecture with the ability of broadband image reduction between 1.5 and two times the sampling frequency while also providing a flat-group delay. Interleaving two such POH-DACs results in a DAC with an excellent output signal reconstruction whereby the broadband sampling images below two times the sampling frequency in the output signal spectrum are strongly reduced. Some implementation techniques are proposed and the effect of implementation nonidealities is evaluated.
Commonsense physics: a review

ion is a two-edged sword. While these abstract state descriptions succinctly capture possible behaviors, they tend not to prescribe exactly which behavior will occur next. By themselves they typically cannot, for we have thrown away just the information required to settle such questions. Thus qualitative simulations tend to be ambiguous. Often such ambiguous answers are good enough: If a household robot cannot imagine any way for the house to burn down as a consequence of its plan to cook supper, it can be satisfied that the plan is at least minimally safe. However, if a house fire is a possibility, more knowledge needs to be invoked. The ability of qualitative physics to represent this ambiguity explicitly is beneficial, since it provides a signal to indicate when more detailed knowledge is required. Exploring the trade-off between abstraction and precision is one of the principle themes of qualitative physics research today. A central goal of qualitative physics is to achieve a degree of systematic coverage and uniformity far in excess of today's knowledge-based systems. In today's expert systems, knowledge is encoded about a particular domain for a particular purpose. Instead of continuing to build such systems, qualitative physics strives to create wide-coverage, multi-purpose domain models. By wide-coverage, we mean that there is some large but precisely characterizable set of systems that can be described by the domain model. It is assumed that every model for a specific system is built by instantiating appropriate elements of the domain vocabulary in appropriate ways. This will reduce the amount of hand-crafting required for new programs, and will hopefully lead to "off-the-shelf" knowledge bases. By multi-purpose, we mean that a domain model (or a model for a specific situation) can be used for more than one inferential task. Charac­ terizing these styles of reasoning is another goal of qualitative physics. These styles of reasoning include qualitative simulation, interpreting measurements, planning, comparative analysis, and others. Developing domain-independent characterizations of these styles will hopefully lead to generic algorithms that can be used as modules in a variety of larger systems. The literature in qualitative physics has begun to grow rapidly in the last two years, and in order to focus on the new I must slight the old. While this article is self-contained, the reader who wishes to delve more deeply into the basics of the area should see Bobrow ( 1984) and Hobbs & Moore ( 1985), which contain representative samples.