cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-classic 21-hydroxylase deficiency in an 18-year-old female athlete: A case report

Background: In non-classic 21-hydroxylase deficiency, age at presentation and genital findings are variable. Late diagnosis with dramatic signs of virilization precludes early treatment and thus prevention of anatomic and psychosocial consequences. The following case illustrates the complexity of late diagnosis.Case: An 18-year-old West Indian female was seen for evaluation of clitoromegaly and hirsutism discovered in the emergency department when she presented after sexual assault. She had allegedly been drugged and raped in her dorm room. She was a college student with an athletic scholarship and had a striking masculinized, broad-shouldered appearance. She denied any use of anabolic steroids or other drugs. Menarche was at age 16 with infrequent menses. She was sexually active with 4 life-time partners, all male. On physical exam, her height was 152 cm, weight 50 kg, blood pressure 110/70 mm Hg. Breasts were hypoplastic with hyperpigmented nipples. She was hirsute with a Ferriman-Gallwey score of 14. Genitalia were abnormal with clitoris measuring 5.5 x 1.5 cm and posterior labial fusion. Initial non-fasting serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone level was 2890 ng/dL, testosterone was 274 ng/dL, and cortisol was 9 mg/dL. Chromosome analysis was 46, XX and ACTH stimulation test confirmed the diagnosis of 21-hydroxylase deficiency. The patient was initially reluctant to begin glucocorticoid treatment because of concern that it would decrease her muscle mass and negatively impact on her athletic performance and scholarship support. One year after diagnosis and 10 months after beginning treatment, she elected surgical correction of her clitoromegaly because of extreme embarrassment over having erections during sex. She underwent excision of most of the corpus cavernosum with repositioning of the glans. The neurovascular elements were preserved. The patient is pleased with the cosmetic result and reports no change in achieving orgasm. She has not notices any change in muscle mass or athletic performance since beginning glucocorticoid therapy.Conclusion: This case illustrates the somatic and genital abnormalities as well as the psychosocial impact of a delayed diagnosis of 21-hydroxylase deficiency in this young female athlete.
Visualizing the pulse of a classroom

Effective classroom teaching often requires an instructor to be acutely aware of every student. The instructor must rapidly look from student to student to catch fleeting gestures or facial expressions. To facilitate the tracking of communicative actions in a remote classroom, we built a multiparty videoconferencing system that automatically determine whether students are speaking, making gestures, or moving in their seats. These activity indicators are displayed over the video such that the instructor can see into the recent past. The activity indicators are also grouped into a visualization of the classroom interaction dynamics, thereby providing a measure of the pulse of the classroom.We conducted a user study where teachers used our system in a simulated class. The teachers found that the activity indicators to be a useful teaching aid during class; however, the indicators are most useful as a record of the class. In a student survey, we found that if audio, video, or activity indicators must be recorded, students overwhelmingly prefer activity indicators since the indicators mask the content of the communication and thus are less intrusive to the students' privacy.
Development of a GIS-Based Tool for Aquaculture Siting

Nearshore aquaculture siting requires the integration of a range of physical, environmental, and social factors. As a result, the information demand often presents coastal managers with a range of complex issues regarding where specific types of aquaculture should be ideally located that reduce environmental and social impacts. Here we provide a framework and tool for managers faced with these issues that incorporate physical and biological parameters along with geospatial infrastructure. In addition, the development of the tool and underlying data included was undertaken with careful input and consideration of local population concerns and cultural practices. Using Hawaiʻi as a model system, we discuss the various considerations that were integrated into an end-user tool for aquaculture siting.
Without Parents or Pedigree: Neo-Victorian Adaptation as Disavowal or Critique

It has become a truism that contemporary multi-season TV dramas are inheritors of the methods and aims of Victorian serial fiction, or, as the New York Times editorial page put it in 2006, that if “Charles Dickens were alive today, he would watch The Wire, unless, that is, he was already writing for it.” While not absolutely denying the validity of such assertions, this essay reconsiders them. Sergei Eisenstein’s 1949 essay “Dickens, Griffith, and the Film Today," now a locus classicus for thinking about the links between nineteenth-century fiction and twentieth- and twenty-first-century cinematic media, first formulated a model that has remained influential for considering Victorian fiction, and especially Dickens’s novels, as offering a “pedigree” and parentage for filmic media. But through a reading of several test cases of contemporary neo-Victorian adaptation, broadly construed—including Dickensian references in The Wire, South Park’s animated Great Expectations adaptation episode, and references to George Eliot in Kazuo Ishiguru’s novel Never Let Me Go—this essay questions and complicates Eisenstein’s paradigm of the Victorian novel as parent to contemporary media.
Functionalism and Personal Identity-A Reply

Two recent papers in this journal, Nicholas Agar's "Functionalism and Personal Identity" (Agar 2003) and Eric Olson's "What Does Functionalism Tell Us About Personal Identity" (Olson 2002), address an account of mine (in my 1984 and 1997) which appeals to a functionalist view of mental states in support of a psychological continuity view of personal identity. Despite my title, this paper is not primarily a reply to Agar's paper. Agar and I are not in disagreement, although he thinks we are (he and one of my past selves are in disagreement). I agree with his "functional necessary condition for two mental states to be copersonal," namely that "it is possible to trace a chain of actual and potential causes between them that includes no non-psychological intermediate" (p. 62), and that this rules out the possibility of teletransportation and the like. This is in accord with, and is a helpful supplement to, the view in my 1997 that persons are "autonomous self-perpetuators," and that the successive stages of their careers are linked by immanent causation. While this rules out teletransportation and "brain state transfer" procedures as person preserving, it does not rule out the possibility of changes of body by way of cerebrum transfers. The latter is part of what is at issue between me and Eric Olson. According to Olson, my functionalist argument for a Neo-Lockean view of personal identity offers "what looks to be the only serious defense of the psychological continuity view against a crucial objection" (p. 682). But this turns out to be not much of a compliment; he goes on to claim that my view has "extremely surprising consequences," which include its ruling out our being material beings, and he concludes his discussion by saying that "functionalism offers no support for a psychological-continuity view of personal identity" (p. 697). Briefly put, the functionalist view in question says that the psychological continuity that Neo-Lockean views take to constitute personal identity is
A Naturally Occurring Steroidogenic Factor-1 Mutation Exhibits Differential Binding and Activation of Target Genes

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) is an orphan nuclear receptor that binds DNA as a monomer and regulates the transcription of multiple target genes. A mutation in the proximal (P)-box of the first zinc finger of SF-1 (G35E) has been reported to cause complete XY sex reversal and adrenal insufficiency. Because this P-box region dictates DNA binding specificity, we investigated the effect of this mutation on DNA binding and regulation of target genes. Binding of the P-box mutant was markedly impaired for most native SF-1 response elements. However, mutant SF-1 bound to a subset of response elements containing a CCA AGGTCA motif. Mutagenesis studies of response elements revealed that the first nucleotide position in the 5′-flanking sequence triplet and the central part of the half-site dictate DNA binding specificity by the mutant SF-1. Further, introduction of a mutation into the SF-1 A-box, which has been proposed to bind to the 5′-flanking sequence triplet, eliminated binding by mutant SF-1 to all response elements tested. These data support the idea that the A-box stabilizes monomeric binding by nuclear receptors. This action may be particularly important when P-box binding affinity is compromised either by mutations in SF-1 or by sequence alterations in its binding site.
Necessary conditions for a class of optimal multiprocess problems with equality constraints

Necessary conditions resembling a maximum principle are obtained for a class of optimal multiprocess problems with constraints.
Diphtheria immunization of allergic and nonallergic individuals by intracutaneous injection of alum-precipitated toxoid

Abstract 1.A single intracutaneous injection of alum-precipitated toxoid is as successful as a subcutaneous injection in producing active immunity against diphtheria, and with a dose only one-tenth of that usually employed in the subcutaneous method. 2.Intracutaneous diphtheria immunization is distinctly less likely to produce unfavorable reactions, local or general, than is the subcutaneous method. 3.Intracutaneous diphtheria immunization with alum-precipitated toxoid should therefore be the method of choice, especially in allergic subjects.
Homothetic non-parametric production models

Abstract A test for homotheticity in the context of non-parametric production models is proposed. We also show how a homothetic piece-wise linear technology can be constructed from an observed input—output data set.
The Diagnostic Applications of Saliva— A Review:

This review examines the diagnostic application of saliva for systemic diseases. As a diagnostic fluid, saliva offers distinctive advantages over serum because it can be collected non-invasively by individuals with modest training. Furthermore, saliva may provide a cost-effective approach for the screening of large populations. Gland-specific saliva can be used for diagnosis of pathology specific to one of the major salivary glands. Whole saliva, however, is most frequently used for diagnosis of systemic diseases, since it is readily collected and contains serum constituents. These constituents are derived from the local vasculature of the salivary glands and also reach the oral cavity via the flow of gingival fluid. Analysis of saliva may be useful for the diagnosis of hereditary disorders, autoimmune diseases, malignant and infectious diseases, and endocrine disorders, as well as in the assessment of therapeutic levels of drugs and the monitoring of illicit drug use.
Dog-park soils: Concentration and distribution of urine-borne constituents

Off-leash dog parks are very popular locations that allow pets to freely exercise and eliminate wastes in a controlled environment. Although dog park rules require that solid waste be removed by the pet’s owner, urine-borne constituents in dog-park soils have received little attention. This study focused on the soils within two small-dog, off-leash dog parks in Fargo, North Dakota (USA) with the objective to better understand the concentration and distribution of extractable NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4, soluble salts, and pH values in surface soils (0–10 cm) within these two dog parks. Concentrations of soil variables varied widely within each park and were distributed as both gradient and ‘hot-spots.’ The geospatial model types for each soil parameter were more dependent on park than on the constituents themselves. Flow accumulation was correlated with both nitrate-N and P but due to the lack of topography at these parks the flow accumulation was not helpful in describing most of the soil constituents. The results from this project indicate that location of parks, daily/annual use of parks, flow accumulation, and location of park entries may all influence the concentration and distribution of urine-borne constituents.
Coupled Dictionary Training for Image Super-Resolution

In this paper, we propose a novel coupled dictionary training method for single-image super-resolution (SR) based on patchwise sparse recovery, where the learned couple dictionaries relate the low- and high-resolution (HR) image patch spaces via sparse representation. The learning process enforces that the sparse representation of a low-resolution (LR) image patch in terms of the LR dictionary can well reconstruct its underlying HR image patch with the dictionary in the high-resolution image patch space. We model the learning problem as a bilevel optimization problem, where the optimization includes an l1-norm minimization problem in its constraints. Implicit differentiation is employed to calculate the desired gradient for stochastic gradient descent. We demonstrate that our coupled dictionary learning method can outperform the existing joint dictionary training method both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, for real applications, we speed up the algorithm approximately 10 times by learning a neural network model for fast sparse inference and selectively processing only those visually salient regions. Extensive experimental comparisons with state-of-the-art SR algorithms validate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.
Microbial enzyme activity, nutrient uptake and nutrient limitation in forested streams

SUMMARY 1. We measured NH4 + and PO4 )3 uptake length (Sw), uptake velocity (Vf), uptake rate (U), biofilm respiration and enzyme activity and channel geomorphology in streams draining forested catchments in the northwestern (Northern California Coast Range and Cascade Mountains) and southeastern (Appalachian and Ouachita mountains) regions of the United States. Our goal was to use measures of biofilm enzyme activity and nutrient uptake to assess nutrient limitation in forested streams across broad regional scales. 2. Geomorphological attributes, biofilm enzyme activity and NH4 + uptake were significantly different among streams in the four study units. There was no study unit effect on PO4 )3 uptake. The proportion of the stream channel in pools, % woody debris, % canopy closure, median substrate size (d50), stream width (w), stream velocity (v), discharge (Q), dispersion coefficient (D) and transient storage (As ⁄ A) were correlated with biofilm enzyme activity and nutrient uptake in some study units. 3. Canonical correlation analyses across study units revealed significant correlations of NH4-Vf and PO4-Vf with geomorphological attributes (w, d50, D, % woody debris, channel slope and % pools) and biofilm phosphatase activity. 4. The results did not support our expectation that carbon processing rates by biofilm microbial assemblages would be governed by stream nutrient availability or that resulting biofilm enzyme activity would be an indicator of nutrient uptake. However, the relative abundances of peptidases, phosphatase and glycosidases did yield insight into potential N-, P- and C-limitation of stream biofilm assemblages, and our use of biofilm enzyme activity represents a novel application for understanding nutrient limitations in forested streams. 5. Regressions of Vf and U against ambient NH4 + and PO4 )3 indicated that none of our study streams was either NH4 + or PO4 )3 saturated. The Appalachian, Ouachita and Coastal streams showed evidence of NH4 + limitation; the Ouachita and Coastal streams were PO4 )3 limited. As a correlate of nutrient limitation and saturation in streams, ratios of total aminopeptidase and phosphatase activities and the ratio of NH4-U to PO4-U indicate these forested streams are predominantly N-limited, with only the streams draining Ouachita and Coastal catchments demonstrating appreciable levels of P-limitation.
Accelerated vaccination for Ebola virus haemorrhagic fever in non-human primates

Containment of highly lethal Ebola virus outbreaks poses a serious public health challenge. Although an experimental vaccine has successfully protected non-human primates against disease, more than six months was required to complete the immunizations, making it impractical to limit an acute epidemic. Here, we report the development of accelerated vaccination against Ebola virus in non-human primates. The antibody response to immunization with an adenoviral (ADV) vector encoding the Ebola glycoprotein (GP) was induced more rapidly than with DNA priming and ADV boosting, but it was of lower magnitude. To determine whether this earlier immune response could nonetheless protect against disease, cynomolgus macaques were challenged with Ebola virus after vaccination with ADV-GP and nucleoprotein (NP) vectors. Protection was highly effective and correlated with the generation of Ebola-specific CD8(+) T-cell and antibody responses. Even when animals were immunized once with ADV-GP/NP and challenged 28 days later, they remained resistant to challenge with either low or high doses of virus. This accelerated vaccine provides an intervention that may help to limit the epidemic spread of Ebola, and is applicable to other viruses.
Fouling phenomena during membrane filtration of microalgae

Abstract Harvesting of secreted fuel precursors is an alternative approach to sustainable biofuel production from algae, and relies on selective separation of growth media from algal suspensions. Membrane fouling and species fractionation for selected ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes were investigated for this purpose. Suspensions were filtered using total recycle, flux-stepping protocols to measure fouling rates and subsequent fouling reversibility. Severe fouling was observed at high flux values for 50 kg/mol UF and 0.22 μm MF membranes, with much of the fouling irreversible. In contrast, a 5 μm MF membrane showed essentially no increase in resistance, even though the whole algal cells were rejected to form a cake on the membrane surface. Analysis of the permeate from the 5 μm MF filtration indicated the presence of “protein-like”, “humic-like”, and high-molecular-mass polymeric materials, as well as submicron particles. However, model solutions of dissolved organic material showed very low fouling compared to the as-grown algal suspensions. Instead, submicron particles present in the algal suspensions and in the 5 μm MF permeate are thought to be the primary foulants by forming high-resistance cakes on the UF and 0.22 μm MF membranes and also by plugging the pores of 0.22 μm MF membranes. Thus, the flux decline and lack of “easy“ reversibility for our algal suspensions, filtered on specific membranes, appears to be primarily associated with deposition of smaller colloidal species within the membrane and/or near its surface, rather than with macromolecules or a cake of whole algal cells. Furthermore, membrane characteristics similar to those of the 5 μm MF membrane employed may offer a unique strategy for separation of these undesirable particulate materials from healthy cultures of algae with large-enough size.
Fatty Acid Composition of Lean and Fat Tissue of Swine Fed Various Dietary Levels of Sunflower Seed

Two replicates of 24 pigs each were divided into four treatment groups on the basis of weight and sex. Treatment 1 was a typical barley-soybean meal (SBM) diet. Sunflower seed was substituted for barley-SBM at the levels of 13, 26, and 39% of the diet. Linoleic acid ranged from a low of 7.5% in treatment 1 for intramuscular fat to a high of 54.2% in treatment 4 for inner backfat. Dietary treatments resulted in decreases in both saturated (myristic, palmitic, and stearic) and unsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic, oleic, and linolenic) at all locations but were not always significant. Because of deleterious carcass effects, diets for growing-finishing swine should contain less than 13% sunflower seed (oil varieties).
The Poverty of the Claudii Pulchri: Varro, De Re Rustica 3.6.1–2

‘In historical composition’, said Samuel Johnson, ‘all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiescent’. Perhaps so, but even if the historian must appear dull and plodding next to his more profound and shimmering brethren, the philologists and – of course – the literary critics, still he must be granted at least one virtue in plenty and that virtue is scepticism. Especially nowadays. While not quite yet ready to surrender his province to the meta-historians (who, not much believing in facts, have no real use for scepticism anyway), the historian continues diligently to scrutinize his sources with such wary Pyrrhonism as he can muster. He is especially suspicious of those ancients whose intelligence and whose literary gifts he most admires, hence the unrelenting distrust of authors such as Cicero and Caesar – and recently even such paragons of accuracy as Polybius. Still, a few authors have earned our unconscious credence, it would seem, merely by dint of their artlessness; we simply do not respect them enough to doubt them. A case in point: Varro's De Re Rustica, a remarkable ensemble of three dialogues, a highly literary work, yet one whose obvious inadequacies have distracted readers from its attempts at literariness and consequently have led them to take its veracity for granted – even when it relates to items having little or nothing to do with agriculture. A brief passage in the third book of R.R. informs us, or rather seems to inform us, that what was perhaps republican Rome's most illustrious family, the Claudii Pulchri, was reduced to poverty in the seventies B.C. in the aftermath of the death of the consul of 79 – evidence that has been accepted widely by modern scholars. In this paper I hope to show that there is no good reason for believing Varro's Appius when he claims to have been pauperized by his father's death and, furthermore, that to do so is to fail to appreciate the artistry and wry humour with which Varro has composed Book Three.
Challenges to decoding the intention behind natural instruction

Currently, most systems for human-robot teaching allow only one mode of teacher-student interaction (e.g., teaching by demonstration or feedback), and teaching episodes have to be carefully set-up by an expert. To understand how we might integrate multiple, interleaved forms of human instruction into a robot learner, we performed a behavioral study in which 44 untrained humans were allowed to freely mix interaction modes to teach a simulated robot (secretly controlled by a human) a complex task. Analysis of transcripts showed that human teachers often give instructions that are nontrivial to interpret and not easily translated into a form useable by machine learning algorithms. In particular, humans often use implicit instructions, fail to clearly indicate the boundaries of procedures, and tightly interleave testing, feedback, and new instruction. In this paper, we detail these teaching patterns and discuss the challenges they pose to automatic teaching interpretation as well as the machine-learning algorithms that must ultimately process these instructions. We highlight the challenges by demonstrating the difficulties of an initial automatic teacher interpretation system.
A technique for the measurement of track misregistration in disk files

The authors describe a noninvasive technique for measuring track misregistration (TMR) in disk files using variations in read signal amplitude as an indicator of relative motion between the read head and the written track. The readback signal amplitude from a magnetic recording head can be used as a sensitive linear position transducer for measuring dynamic head-to-track misregistration in disk files. Subtracking the repeatable part of the signal amplitude eliminates virtually all non-TMR related modulation, leaving only small contributions from electronics noise and nonrepeatable fly height fluctuations. These error terms can be measured in isolation by locating the head directly on-track, where sensitivity to TMR vanishes. This technique can provide detailed information about the electromechanical performance of completely assembled and installed disk files. >
Larval development of the mud shrimp Axianassa australis (Decapoda: Thalassinidea) under laboratory conditions

Ovigerous females of Axianassa australis were obtained from intertidal mudflats in south Texas, and eggs were hatched in the laboratory. Zoeal stages (Z) and the first postlarval stage (decapodid) were obtained, though survival rates were low. A few larvae passed through eight zoeal stages before moulting to the decapodid. Duration ranged between 3 and 4 days for each stage between ZI and ZVII, and 4 and 5 days for ZVIII, which totalled about 1 month for the entire zoeal phase of development. Three specimens that reached the decapodid stage were preserved for morphological descriptions so duration of this stage is unknown. Morphology of the first three zoeal stages and decapodid stage is described and compared with that of related thalassinideans reported in literature. As possible, comparisons are also made with larvae reared from conspecific populations in east Florida and Brazil. Biogeographic implications of the larval life history are discussed.
Sternoclavicular joint hypertrophy following radical neck dissection

The classic radical neck dissection continues to dominate therapy for cervical metastasis. While the morbidity, complications, and sequelae of this procedure are well documented, sternoclavicular joint hypertrophy appears to have escaped attention. In order to establish the true incidence of this frequently noted but poorly documented condition, 50 randomly selected patients who had undergone radical neck dissection were evaluated retrospectively. Significant sternoclavicular hypertrophy was noted in 54% of the patients, but in only 4 (8%) was the condition severe enough to cause patient or physician concern. Surgical exploration was performed in 2 cases. The etiology of this condition is discussed, as are the radiologic findings, which may be suggestive of metastasis. The major clinical significance is an awareness of the condition and avoidance of over investigation and surgical exploration except in the most suspicious circumstances.
Acute Sciatic Neuritis following Lumbar Laminectomy

It is commonly accepted that the common cause of acute/chronic pain in the distribution of the lumbosacral nerve roots is the herniation of a lumbar intervertebral disc, unless proven otherwise. The surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation is successful in radicular pain and prevents or limits neurological damage in the majority of patients. Recurrence of sciatica after a successful disc surgery can be due to many possible etiologies. In the clinical setting we believe that the term sciatica might be associated with inflammation. We report a case of acute sciatic neuritis presented with significant persistent pain shortly after a successful disc surgery. The patient is a 59-year-old female with complaint of newly onset sciatica after complete pain resolution following a successful lumbar laminectomy for acute disc extrusion. In order to manage the patient's newly onset pain, the patient had multiple pain management visits which provided minimum relief. Persistent sciatica and consistent physical examination findings urged us to perform a pelvic MRI to visualize suspected pathology, which revealed right side sciatic neuritis. She responded to the electrical neuromodulation. Review of the literature on sciatic neuritis shows this is the first case report of sciatic neuritis subsequent to lumbar laminectomy.
Illicit drug-related psychopharmacological violence: The current understanding within a causal context

This study reviews past research on psychopharmacological violence associated with illicit drug use within the criteria for causality. There appears to be prior evidence suggesting that illicit drug use and violent offending are related in certain circumstances; and other studies conclude that illicit drug use may be correlated with violent victimization. However, those studies that also adequately assessed temporal order do not strongly support an offender-based psychopharmacological link; and those that explored violent victimization are limited and inconclusive. More importantly, there are very few criminological efforts that assess the impact of illicit drug use on violence while also controlling for alternative individual-level causal explanations such as hormonal influences, genetic factors, variations in substance metabolism rates and intoxication decay, psychological functioning, concurrent alcohol and/or other drug use, gender differences, and illicit drug dosage. We offer suggestions for improving future assessments of illicit drug-related violent offending and victimization including capturing dosage and purity data, gauging temporal proximity of offender and victim intoxication relative to violent outcomes, and separating psychopharmacological factors (e.g., offender motivation and victim vulnerability) from economic and systemic circumstances.
Toward the Control of Self-Assembling Systems

In recent work [4], capillary forces between tiles floating on a liquid-liquid interface are used to direct a self-assembly process. By carefully arranging the wetabilities of the edges of the tiles, regular arrays of various shapes spontaneously form when the tiles are gently shaken. It is difficult, however, to avoid flaws in the assembled aggregates and to assemble terminating and asymmetric structures. In this paper, we suppose that the wetability properties of the tiles, and therefore the capillary forces, can be controlled. In particular, we introduce a simple model of a “waterbug” shaped tile and derive the equations of motion for a system of such tiles from a model of the lateral forces between two floating colloidal particles. We then explore the possibilities for control in this setting and present some initial forays into addressing the above difficulties.
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Cognitive and Functional Decline in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: An Observational Study:

We previously reported that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) decrease the rate of cognitive decline in elderly patients with hypertension, but their impact on patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not known. A total of 62 elderly patients with AD were enrolled, and 52 completed the study for 6 months. Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Clock Draw Test (CDT), working memory (Digit Ordering), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale, and the Screen for Caregiver Burden (SCB) were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. AD patients receiving ACEI (N = 15) demonstrated a slower rate of decline in digit forward (P = .003) and IADL scale (P = .003) and an improved measure of caregiver burden (P = .04) but not MMSE (P =.15) or CDT (P =.9) compared with those not receiving ACEI after adjusting for other risk factors. This study suggests that use of ACEI in AD patients is associated with slower rate of AD progression. A randomized clinical trial is needed to confirm our finding.
An adaptive broadband BiCMOS active spur canceller

An active interference cancellation system is presented in BiCMOS 8HP capable of eliminating undesired signals resulting from an on-chip clock whose fundamental and/or harmonics couple into a receiver path. The cancellation system is capable of eliminating undesired clock fundamentals from 6 – 10 GHz and its harmonics up to 30 GHz. By modeling the coupling channel, the system recovers receiver sensitivity and is independent of the aggressing clock rate and amplitude fluctuations. A variable phase rotator, comb generator, and an amplitude modulator are used to achieve the cancellation. The use of a comb generator in a cancellation system is novel and enables harmonic cancellation. Over 25 dB of cancellation for an aggressing clock and its harmonics have been achieved. A series-to-parallel bus that communicates with all system sub-blocks provides a healing aspect to the system. The total power consumption of the canceller system is 71 mW.
Photochemical template removal and spatial patterning of zeolite MFI thin films using UV/ozone treatment

This paper describes an application of a non-thermal, photochemical calcination process for an efficient and spatially controlled removal of the organic structure-directing agent in the preparation of thin films of microporous or zeolite materials. We prepared thin-films of a high silica zeolite (structure code: MFI) following a previously published procedure. The films were illuminated using an ozone generating short-wavelength ultraviolet light in ambient environments and characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, imaging ellipsometry, thin-film X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Results presented here indicate that the UV/ozone treatment under nominally room temperature conditions leads to complete removal of template (structure-directing-agent) from zeolite films comparable to that achieved by thermal calcination. Furthermore, spatially addressing the UV/ozone illumination pattern using a physical mask resulted in the lateral confinement of the template removal from the zeolite film leaving behind a composite film composed of templated and template-free regions. Subsequent chemical treatment of the patterned film selectively removed the as-synthesized, unexposed, regions of the film thereby providing a means for the creation of isolated zeolite film islands at predetermined locations on the substrate surface.
Data Selection Query with Visual Basic.NET

This chapter contains sections titled: A Completed Sample Database Application Example Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and Wizards Query Data from SQL Server Database Using Design Tools and Wizards Add and Utilize Visual Studio Wizards and Design Tools Query and Display Data using the DataGridView Control Use DataSet Designer to Edit the Structure of the DataSet Bind Data to the Associated Controls in LogIn Form Develop Codes to Query Data Using the Fill() Method Use Return a Single Value to Query Data for LogIn Form Develop the Codes for the Selection Form Query Data from the Faculty Table for the Faculty Form Develop Codes to Query Data from the Faculty Table Display a Picture for the Selected Faculty Query Data from the Course Table for the Course Form Develop Codes to Query Data for the Course Form Query Data from Oracle Database Using Design Tools and Wizards Introduction to Runtime Objects Query Data from Microsoft Access Database Using Runtime Object Query Data from SQL Server Database Using Runtime Object Query Data from Oracle Database Using Runtime Object Chapter Summary Homework
Arterial Paclitaxel Distribution and Deposition

Successful implementation of local arterial drug delivery requires transmural distribution of drug. The physicochemical properties of the applied compound, which govern its transport and tissue binding, become as important as the mode of delivery. Hydrophilic compounds distribute freely but are cleared rapidly. Hydrophobic drugs, insoluble in aqueous solutions, bind to fixed tissue elements, potentially prolonging tissue residence and biological effect. Paclitaxel is such a hydrophobic compound, with tremendous therapeutic potential against proliferative vascular disease. We hypothesized that the recent favorable preclinical data with this compound may derive in part from preferential tissue binding as a result of unique physicochemical properties. The arterial transport of paclitaxel was quantified through application ex vivo and measurement of the subsequent transmural distribution. Arterial paclitaxel deposition at equilibrium varied across the arterial wall and was everywhere greater in concentration than in the applied drug source. Permeation into the wall increased with time, from 15 minutes to 4 hours, and varied with the origin of delivery. In contrast to hydrophilic compounds, the concentration in tissue exceeds the applied concentration and the rate of transport was markedly slower. Furthermore, endovascular and perivascular paclitaxel application led to markedly differential deposition across the blood vessel wall. These data suggest that paclitaxel interacts with arterial tissue elements as it moves under the forces of diffusion and convection and can establish substantial partitioning and spatial gradients across the tissue. The complexity of paclitaxel pharmacokinetics requires in-depth investigation if this drug is to reach its full clinical potential in proliferative vascular diseases.
Modeling and evaluating the security threats of transient errors in firewall software

This paper experimentally evaluates and models the error-caused security vulnerabilities and the resulting security violations on two Linux kernel firewalls: IPChains and Netfilter. There are two major aspects to this work: to conduct extensive error injection experiments on the Linux kernel and to quantify the possibility of error-caused security violations using a Stochastic Activity Network (SAN) model. The error injection experiments show that about 2% of errors injected into the firewall code segment cause security vulnerabilities. Two types of error-caused security vulnerabilities are distinguished: temporary, which disappear when the error disappears, and permanent, which persist even after the error is removed, as long as the system is not rebooted. Results from simulating the SAN model indicate that under an error rate of 0.1 error per day during a 1-year period in a networked system protected by 20 firewalls, two machines (on the average) will experience security violations. This indicates that error-caused security vulnerabilities can be a non-negligible source of a security threat to a highly secure system.
Polarized Expression of GABA Transporters in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells and Cultured Hippocampal Neurons*

At least three high affinity Na+- and Cl--dependent γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporters are known to exist in the rat and mouse brain. These transporters share 50-65% amino acid sequence identity with the kidney betaine transporter which also transports GABA but with lower affinity. The betaine transporter (BGT) is expressed on the basolateral surface of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Recent evidence suggests that the signals and mechanisms involved in membrane protein sorting share many functional characteristics in polarized neurons and epithelial cells. It was previously shown that the rat GABA transporter GAT-1 is located in the presynaptic membrane of axons where it plays a role in terminating GABAergic neurotransmission. When expressed in MDCK cells by transfection, GAT-1 was sorted to the apical membrane. In this report, we have localized the other two GABA transporters, GAT-2 and GAT-3, in transfected MDCK cells by GABA uptake, immunofluorescence, and cell surface biotinylation. GAT-3, like GAT-1, localized to the apical membrane of MDCK cells while GAT-2, like BGT, localized to the basolateral membrane. We have also expressed BGT in low density cultures of hippocampal neurons by microinjection and immunolocalized it to the dendrites. The distribution of GAT-3 in these neurons after transfection was axonal as well as somatodendritic. These results indicate that highly homologous subtypes of GABA transporters are sorted differently when expressed in epithelial cells or neurons and suggest that these two cell types share the capacity to distinguish among these isoforms and target them to distinct destinations.
Moveable Elements in The Human Genome: Status of Research

The first moveable DNA elements to be studied at the molecular level were the transposable elements found in prokaryotes. Although several different types are now known, they all share two properties: first, the DNA within the element encodes a gene or genes that are required for transposition, and, second, specific DNA sequences are repeated in inverted orientation at the two ends of the element and are required for transposition.
Chemokine Receptors in Allergic Lung Disease

This chapter is an attempt to integrate recent studies concerning the role of chemokine receptors in the initiation, development, and maintenance of allergic lung diseases collectively referred to as asthma. The pathogenesis of asthma involves the coordinated trafficking of inflammatory cells to the lungs and draining lymph nodes, as well as the activation of these inflammatory cells. Chemokine receptors and their ligands play a prominent role in directing the inflammation associated with allergic lung disease. T lymphocyte-mediated immune responses can be broadly categorized as being type 1 or type 2, based on the cell types present and the associated cytokines produced. Allergic lung disease is a predominately type 2-mediated disease. The chemokine receptors CCR4, CCR6, and CCR8 serve to promote the recruitment of type 2 T (T helper 2; Th2) cells, whereas CXCR3 antagonizes type 2 and promotes type 1 T (T helper 1; Th1) cells. The pathophysiologic manifestations of asthma, including excessive mucus production, eosinophilia, and airway hyperreactivity, are dependent upon the trafficking and activation of eosinophils, mast cells, and goblet cells. Roles for chemokine receptors, including CCR4, CCR2, and CXCR4, in the trafficking and activation of these cell types during allergic lung disease are discussed. Finally, the incidence of allergic lung disease is increasing, and the costs associated with it are substantial. Chemokine receptor expression and use by inflammatory cells during allergic lung disease makes chemokine receptors an attractive therapeutic target. Implications for drug development are discussed in the context of experimental results.
Investigation of the Corrosive Behavior of Waters

An interpretation is given to specific corrosion results obtained in field and laboratory investigations. The complex mutual interaction of corrosion stimulating and inhibiting factors (pH, buffer capacity, CaCO\D3\N deposition, and alkalinity) is treated.
Nitrate salts doped with CuO nanoparticles for thermal energy storage with improved heat transfer

Abstract Molten salts possess significant potential for use as heat transfer fluids (HTFs) and/or thermal storage media in advanced high-temperature concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. However, the thermal performance of these materials is hindered by typically low thermal conductivity—on the order of 1 W/m-K in the solid phase and less in the liquid phase. Much work has been done to improve the thermal conductivity of HTFs through the addition of nanoparticles of higher conductivity, such as metallic nanoparticles or nanoparticulate graphite. These nanofluids display improved thermal conductivity and otherwise behave similarly to the pure HTFs. This investigation proposes such a system, focusing on the nitrate salts: potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and the potassium–sodium nitrate eutectic (54 weight percent potassium nitrate), with melting points of 334 °C, 306 °C, and 222 °C, respectively. Attention is also paid to use of these materials as latent heat thermal energy storage (TES) materials—i.e., phase change materials (PCMs). The nitrate salt melt is a highly oxidative environment, so the use of carbonaceous materials or elemental metals may be hampered by degradative effects. Hence, this investigation specifically examines cupric oxide (CuO) nanoparticle-enhanced nitrate salts systems. The thermophysical properties (e.g., thermal diffusivity, latent heat) of the salt-nanoparticle systems are measured. Further, temperature-variant FTIR spectroscopy is used to determine any potential degradation of the salt after thermal cycling. The suitability of the enhanced nitrate salts systems, in regard to the chemical stability of the additive and the improvement of the thermal performance of the system relative to the pure salts, is demonstrated.
Impact of Cell Therapy on Myocardial Perfusion and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Angina Refractory to Medical Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Rationale: The effect of stem/progenitor cells on myocardial perfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with refractory angina remains unclear because studies published to date have been small phase I–II trials. Objective: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of cell-based therapy in patients with refractory angina who were ineligible for coronary revascularization. Methods and Results: Several data sources were searched from inception to September 2015, which yielded 6 studies. The outcomes pooled were indices of angina (anginal episodes, Canadian Cardiovascular Society angina class, exercise tolerance, and antianginal medications), myocardial perfusion, and clinical end points. We combined the reported clinical outcomes (myocardial infarction, cardiac-related hospitalization, and mortality) into a composite end point (major adverse cardiac events). Mean difference (MD), standardized mean differences, or odds ratio were calculated to assess relevant outcomes. Our analysis shows an improvement in anginal episodes (MD, −7.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], −15.22 to −0.41), use of antianginal medications (standardized MD, −0.59; 95% CI, −1.03 to −0.14), Canadian Cardiovascular Society class (MD, −0.58; 95% CI, −1.00 to −0.16), exercise tolerance (standardized MD, 0.331; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.55), and myocardial perfusion (standardized MD, −0.49; 95% CI, −0.76 to −0.21) and a decreased risk of major adverse cardiac events (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.98) and arrhythmias (odds ratio, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.98) in cell-treated patients when compared with patients on maximal medical therapy. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis indicates that cell-based therapies are not only safe but also lead to an improvement in indices of angina, relevant clinical outcomes, and myocardial perfusion in patients with refractory angina. These encouraging results suggest that larger, phase III randomized controlled trials are in order to conclusively determine the effect of stem/progenitor cells in refractory angina. # Novelty and Significance {#article-title-37}
ATP-dependent transport of beta-estradiol 17-(beta-D-glucuronide) in rat canalicular membrane vesicles.

The ATP-dependent transport of beta-estradiol 17-(beta-D-glucuronide) (E217G), a cholestatic metabolite of estradiol, was investigated in rat liver canalicular membrane vesicles. ATP-dependent transport was dependent on time and temperature and occurred into an osmotically sensitive space; kinetic analysis indicated a saturable transport system (Michaelis-Menten constant value, 75 microM; maximum transport rate, 598 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1). The steroid conjugates estradiol glucuronide, estriol 3-glucuronide, estriol 16 alpha-glucuronide, testosterone glucuronide, and the three-sulfate conjugate of 17G were effective inhibitors of transport. Bromosulfophthalein, S-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)glutathione, and glutathione disulfide, all substrates of the canalicular ATP-dependent non-bile acid organic anion transport system, were also effective inhibitors, whereas taurocholate had no effect on transport. Conversely, E217G inhibited the ATP-dependent transport of S-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)glutathione. Daunorubicin, vinblastine, etoposide, cyclosporin, and PSC-833, substrates/modulators of P-glycoprotein, were also potent inhibitors of E217G transport, and E217G competitively inhibited the ATP-dependent transport of daunorubicin. C219, a monoclonal antibody against P-glycoprotein, inhibited ATP-dependent transport of E217G and daunorubicin but not of taurocholate or S-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)glutathione. These data indicate that E217G is substrate of both the non-bile acid organic anion transport system and P-glycoprotein but not of the ATP-dependent bile acid transport system in canalicular membranes.