cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel C-terminal mutation resulting in constitutive activation of the Listeria monocytogenes central virulence regulatory factor PrfA

The environmental bacterium Listeria monocytogenes survives and replicates in a variety of diverse ecological niches that range from the soil to the cytosol of infected mammalian cells. The ability of L. monocytogenes to replicate within an infected host requires the expression of a number of secreted bacterial gene products whose expression is regulated by the transcriptional activator PrfA. PrfA becomes activated following bacterial entry into host cells; however, the mechanism by which this activation occurs remains unknown. Here we describe a novel C-terminal mutation that results in the high-level constitutive activation of PrfA and yet, in contrast with other described prfA* activation mutations, only modestly increases PrfA DNA binding affinity. L. monocytogenes strains containing the prfA P219S mutation exhibited high levels of PrfA-dependent virulence gene expression, were hyperinvasive in tissue culture models of infection, were fully motile and were hypervirulent in mice. In contrast with PrfA G145S and other mutationally activated PrfA proteins, the PrfA P219S protein readily formed homodimers and did not exhibit a dramatic increase in its DNA-binding affinity for target promoters. Interestingly, the prfA P219S mutation is located adjacent to the prfA K220 residue that has been previously reported to contribute to PrfA DNA binding activity. prfA P219S therefore appears to constitutively activate PrfA via a novel mechanism which minimally affects PrfA DNA binding in vitro.
Computer simulation of three‐arm star polymers

We show that Shaffer's version of the bond fluctuation model can be used to simulate three-arm star polymers. We report a simulation study of both single stars and melts of star polymers with arm lengths up to 90 monomer units (approximately twice the entanglement crossover length for linear chains). Center-of-mass self-diffusion of single stars is Rouse-like (D ∼ N -1 ). Due to a limited range of molecular weights we cannot distinguish between a power-law and an exponential dependence of the star-melt self-diffusion coefficient on arm length.
Rapid 20th century environmental change on northeastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada inferred from a multi-proxy lacustrine record

The Arctic has a disproportionately large response to changes in radiative forcing of climate, and arctic lacustrine ecosystems respond sensitively to these changes. The goal of this research is to generate high-resolution climate records for the past two millennia using multiple proxies in order to place 20th and 21st century climate and environmental change into a long-term context. We use a 14 C- and 210 Pb-dated surface core from Lake CF8 on north- eastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada to generate a high-resolution multiproxy reconstruction of climate and environmental change. Throughout the late Holocene, primary productivity in Lake CF8 was low, but increased almost 20-fold in the past 200 years. Insect (Chironomidae) assemblages also show dramatic changes since 1950 AD, with cold stenothermous chironomid taxa disappearing from the record altogether. These changes in productivity and chironomid assemblages are unprecedented in the past 5,000 years. The dramatic ecological shifts that occurred at Lake CF8 have also been observed elsewhere in the Arctic, and will likely continue at ever-increasing rates as anthropogenic inputs of green house gases continue to cause climate warming and enhanced lacustrine primary production.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ZOLEDRONIC ACID FOR THE PREVENTION OF SKELETAL COMPLICATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER

ABSTRACTPurpose: We estimated the cost-effectiveness of zoledronic acid vs placebo for decreasing skeletal complications in men with prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a multinational clinical trial of zoledronic acid. Cost estimation was based on prospectively collected resource use data for 85.3% of enrolled patients. Cost-effectiveness ratios were based on within-trial data on clinical outcomes, quality of life and study medication cost.Results: Patients receiving zoledronic acid experienced fewer hospital days during a mean followup of 9 months (average 5.6 vs 8.0 days; p = 0.1910). Mean direct costs excluding study medication were $5,365 for patients receiving zoledronic acid and $5,689 for patients receiving placebo, a difference of $324 (95% CI $1,781 to $1,146). The global average cost of zoledronic acid plus its administration during the trial was $5,677 ($450 per dose). The nominal cost per skeletal complication avoided was $12,300 (95% CI...
Spinal Cord Ependymal Responses to Naturally Occurring Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Dogs

The spinal cord ependymal layer (SEL) is a recent focus in spinal cord injury (SCI) research because of its potential to serve as a source of endogenous neural stem cells. Dogs are an important spontaneous model of SCI; however, there is a paucity of information available in the literature regarding the canine SEL. Here we describe the histologic appearance and immunohistochemical staining patterns of the SEL in normal dogs (n = 4) and dogs with acute SCI caused by intervertebral disk extrusion (n = 7). Immunohistochemical staining for PCNA, Ki-67, caspase 3, E-cadherin, GFAP, and vimentin was employed in both groups. Staining for Ki-67 was absent in the SEL of normal and SCI-affected dogs, indicating possible restricted proliferative capacity of the canine SEL acutely after SCI. GFAP-positive cells were increased after SCI at both at the lesion epicenter and at proximal spinal cord sites (P = .001 and P = .006, respectively), supporting the possibility of astrocytic differentiation within the SEL after SCI. Total E-cadherin staining did not differ between normal and SCI-affected dogs (P = .42 for lesion epicenter, P = .09 at proximal sites) and was restricted to the apical cell surface in normal dogs. After SCI, E-cadherin staining was membrane-circumferential and cytosolic in nature, indicating possible loss of cellular polarity after injury that could drive cell migration from the SEL to injury sites. Enhanced GFAP expression and changes in E-cadherin expression patterns support additional studies to evaluate the canine SEL as a source of endogenous neural precursors that may be modulated for future clinical interventions after SCI.
Formation and Structure of Work Material in the Friction Stir Forming Process

There has been significant work on the application of ultrahigh strength steels and aluminum alloys for automotive body mass reduction. Integration of these materials into the automotive structure is non-trivial and advanced methods are required to effectively join the dissimilar materials with the properties required for automotive applications. Friction stir forming is a new environmentally benign manufacturing process for joining dissimilar materials. Fundamentally this process is based on frictional heating and mechanically stirring a plasticized material into a mechanical interlocking joint with a second material. In this research, the significant process parameters were identified and their optimized settings for the current experimental conditions defined using a design of experiments methodology. The overall joint structure and grain microstructure were mapped along different stages of the friction stir forming process. Then, friction stir forming of aluminum work material into different cavity geometries was mapped to study geometrical effects. Two layers were found to form within the aluminum, the thermo-mechanical affected zone that had been deformed due to the contact pressure and angular momentum of the tool, and the heat affected deformation zone that deformed into the interlocking cavity. The geometrical study produced interesting results about the direction and magnitude of material forming under different areas of the tool.
A sampling method for conducting relocation studies with freshwater mussels

ABSTRACT Low recovery of transplanted mussels often prevents accurate estimates of survival. We developed a method that provided a high recovery of transplanted mussels and allowed for a reliable assessment of mortality. A 3 × 3 m polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe grid was secured to the sediment with iron reinforcing bars. The grid was divided into nine 1-m2 segments and each treatment segment, was stocked with 100 marked mussels. The recovery of mussels after six months exceeded 80% in all but one treatment group.
THE USE OF SATELLITE CLOUD MOTIONS FOR ESTIMATING THE CIRCULATION OVER THE TROPICS

Abstract Resultant winds over the Pacific are derived from an Advanced Technology Satellite (ATS 1) for the month of November 1969. Since the method uses clouds as tracers, these resultant winds are biased toward cloud-producing circulation features. These biases appear to be smallest in the Tropics and, consequently, the winds here can be very useful for studies of the average circulation at low latitudes. Some of the important features of this circulation over the equatorial Pacific are clearly revealed.
Imaging of moving targets using a Doppler compensated multiresolution method

Traditional radar imaging has difficulties in imaging moving targets due to Doppler shifts induced in the imagery and limited spatial resolution of the target. We propose a method that uses a multiresolution processing technique that sharpens the ambiguity function of moving objects to remove Doppler induced imaging errors and improves instantaneous resolution. This method allows for instantaneous imaging of both static an moving objects in a computationally efficient manner thereby allowing more real time radar imagery generation.
RNA-Seq for Plant Pathogenic Bacteria

The throughput and single-base resolution of RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) have contributed to a dramatic change in transcriptomic-based inquiries and resulted in many new insights into the complexities of bacterial transcriptomes. RNA-Seq could contribute to similar advances in our understanding of plant pathogenic bacteria but it is still a technology under development with limitations and unknowns that need to be considered. Here, we review some new developments for RNA-Seq and highlight recent findings for host-associated bacteria. We also discuss the technical and statistical challenges in the practical application of RNA-Seq for studying bacterial transcriptomes and describe some of the currently available solutions.
A Stack of YBCO Annuli, Thin Plate and Bulk, for Micro-NMR Spectroscopy

A new annulus magnet, the latest in a series of compact magnets being developed for NMR spectroscopy applications at the MIT Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, was built and tested in a bath of liquid nitrogen at 77 K. The magnet, YP2800, a stack of 2800 thin YBCO plate annuli, each either 40- or 46-mm square and 0.08-mm thick with a 26-mm bore, is an upgraded version of the two earlier plate annulus magnets, YP750 (750 plates) and YP1070 (1070). This paper presents construction details and test results of YP2800. Its spatial field homogeneity and temporal stability were measured, analyzed, and compared with those of YP750 and YP1070. Also, four YBCO bulk annuli, each 26-mm i.d., 46-mm o.d., and 5.2-mm thick, were added to YP2800 and their impacts on field strength and homogeneity were investigated experimentally.
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition Attenuates Antibody Responses against Human Papillomavirus-Like Particles

Vaccination to generate protective humoral immunity against infectious disease is becoming increasingly important due to emerging strains of virus, poorly immunogenic vaccines, and the threat of bioterrorism. We demonstrate that cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) is crucial for optimal Ab responses to a model vaccine, human papillomavirus type 16 virus-like particles (HPV 16 VLPs). Cox-2-deficient mice produce 70% less IgG, 50% fewer Ab-secreting cells, and 10-fold less neutralizing Ab to HPV 16 VLP vaccination compared with wild-type mice. The reduction in Ab production by Cox-2(-/-) mice was partially due to a decrease in class switching. SC-58125, a structural analog of the Cox-2-selective inhibitor Celebrex reduced by approximately 70% human memory B cell differentiation to HPV 16 VLP IgG-secreting cells. The widespread use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and Cox-2-selective inhibitory drugs may therefore reduce vaccine efficacy, especially when vaccines are poorly immunogenic or the target population is poorly responsive to immunization.
Reemergence of Chikungunya Virus

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes acute fever and acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain in humans. Since 2004, CHIKV has caused millions of cases of disease in the Indian Ocean region and has emerged in new areas, including Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific region. The mosquito vectors for this virus are globally distributed in tropical and temperate zones, providing the opportunity for CHIKV to continue to expand into new geographic regions. In October 2013, locally acquired cases of CHIKV infection were identified on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, signaling the arrival of the virus in the Western Hemisphere. In just 9 months, CHIKV has spread to 22 countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America, resulting in hundreds of thousands of cases. CHIKV disease can be highly debilitating, and large epidemics have severe economic consequences. Thus, there is an urgent need for continued research into the epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of these infections.
INCREASING THE IMMUNIZATION OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN; AN EVALUATION OF APPLIED COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS

We evaluated the relative impact of four procedures designed to encourage parents to obtain immunizations for their children. In a public health setting, the families of 1,133 immunization-deficient preschool children were randomly assigned to six conditions: (a) a general prompt; (b) a more client-specific prompt; (c) a specific prompt and increased public health clinic access; (d) a specific prompt and monetary incentives; (e) contact control; and (f) no contact control. All interventions, except the general prompt, produced some evidence of improvement when compared with the control groups. The monetary incentive group revealed the largest effect, followed by the increased access group, specific prompt group, and general prompt group, respectively. The data suggest that relatively powerful and immediate effects on preschoolers' clinic attendance for immunization may be produced by monetary incentives in conjunction with client-specific prompts. However, client-specific prompts alone appear to be the most cost-effective of the interventions.
Choline acetyltransferase activity in large ventral spinal neurons.

— Up to approx 3 pmol of acetylcholine (ACh)/h/cell body was synthesized by perikarya of large spinal neurons isolated in bulk fractions from bovine ventral spinal cord. Many of the cell bodies are probably derived from motoneurons. A medium of low ionic strength and pH was used to minimize losses of soluble acetyl CoA:choline-o-acetyltransferase (ChAc; EC 2.3.1.6) from the neurons, whose permeability properties were altered. Such a medium also increased the retention of other soluble proteins by the cell bodies. The maximal rate of hydrolysis of ACh by the isolated neurons exceeded that of its synthesis by a factor of at least 100. It was estimated that ChAc and acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) each represent less than 0.01% by weight of the total protein in these cell bodies and that as little as 10% of each enzyme in the ventral spinal cord is located within the large neuronal somata and their proximal processes.
A hybrid P2P and master-slave architecture for intelligent multi-agent reinforcement learning in a distributed computing environment: A case study

In this paper, we propose a distributed architecture for reinforcement learning in a multi-agent environment, where agents share information learned via a distributed network. Here we propose a hybrid master/slave and peer-to-peer system architecture, where a master node effectively assigns a work load (a portion of the terrain) to each node. However, this master node also manages communications between all the other system nodes, and in that sense it is a peer-to-peer architecture. It is a loosely-coupled system in that node slaves only know about the existence of the master node, and are only concerned with their work load (portion of the terrain). As part of this architecture, we show how agents are allowed to communicate with other agents in the same or different nodes and share information that pertains to all agents, including the agent obstacle barriers. In particular, one main contribution of the paper is multi-agent reenforcement learning in a distributed system, where the agents do not have complete knowledge and information of their environment, other than what is available on the computing node, the particular agent (s) is (are) running on. We show how agents, running on same or different nodes, coordinate the sharing of their respective environment states/information to collaboratively perform their respective tasks.
Peptides and Related Drugs: A Review of Their Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion*

(1986). Peptides and Related Drugs: A Review of Their Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 17, No. 3-4, pp. 283-310.
Oxidation of Thiocyanate, Another Index of Thyroid Function

The oxidation of thiocyanate has been studied both in vivo and in vitro. The accumulation and oxidation of thiocyanate have been measured in normal, hypophysectomized, hypophysectomized TSH-treated, normal L-thyroxine- treated, and iodine-deficient rats. By and large, the oxidation of thiocyanate by the thyroid parallels that of iodide except in the thyroxinetreated animal. The inhibitors of thiocyanate oxidation are the same as those for iodide oxidation. Iodide administration to rats inhibits thiocyanate oxidation, whereas iodide restriction greatly stimulates this oxidation. These data suggest that the concentration of available iodide in the thyroid is a major regulator of the oxidation of thiocyanate by thyroid tissue. It seems clear that the oxidation of thiocyanate parallels that of iodide; hence, it should be a useful index of thyroid function and may be helpful in dissecting the initial step in iodination. (Endocrinology 78: 1198, 1966)
An American hijra: a report of a case of genital self-mutilation to become India's "third sex".

Abstract We report a case of male genital self-mutilation related to the subject's desire to become a “hijra,” the “third sex” described in East Indian mythology. The patient is the first American hijra of which we are aware. He emasculated himself, performed a penectomy, and created a perineal urethrostomy. This report adds another potential cause for genital mutilation of which the urologist should be aware, along with accidents, gender dysphoria, psychotic self-injurious behavior, and assault.
The heteroisomeric diode

We have fabricated a new class of diode from two different polytypes of boron carbide. Diodes were fabricated by chemical vapour deposition from two different isomers of closo-dicarbadodecaborane: closo-1,2-dicarbadodecaborane (orthocarborane, C2B10H12) and closo-1,7-dicarbadodecaborane (metacarborane, C2B10H12), differing only by the carbon placement within the icosahedral cage. We find that the electronic structure (molecular orbitals) of these two isomer molecules and the resulting decomposition reflect the tendency of metacarborane to form an n-type semiconductor while orthocarborane is an effective source compound for a slightly p-type semiconducting boron carbide. The diodes of this novel class are effective solid state neutron detectors, and have a number of unique applications.
Comprehensive Overview of Contemporary Management Strategies for Cerebral Aneurysms

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains an important health issue in the United States. Despite recent improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cerebral aneurysms, the mortality rate following aneurysm rupture. In those patients who survive, up to 50% are left severely disabled. The goal of preventing the hemorrhage or re-hemorrhage can only be achieved by successfully excluding the aneurysm from the circulation. This article is a comprehensive review by contemporary vascular neurosurgeons and interventional neuroradiolgists on the modern management of cerebral aneurysms.
Issues in Composite Index Construction

How can summary or composite indices of the quality of life (QOL) or well-being (W-B) of children and youths be best constructed so as to effectively measure trends over time and/or comparisons among subpopulations, states, regions, or nations? Most generally, in order to make judgments about trends in the W-B of children and youths, an individual must, at least informally, engage in the following activities: (1) select a set of indicators that are important to her or him, (2) obtain data from social reports or other news sources on the progress of those indicators, and (3) integrate those indicators across disparate domains to achieve a judgment of overall progress on children’s overall W-B.
Onshore-Offshore Sediment Transport Numerical Model

A numerical model is presented for calculating beach profile development due to offshore sediment transport and tested with laboratory and field data. The model allows variable wave conditions, water level fluctuations due to tide and storm surge, arbitrary bathymetry, and arbitrary sediment size. The agreement between calculated and measured beach profile erosion is good.
Early Ancient Egypt as an Outlier of the Middle Nile Culture Area: Language and Testimony

The impact of the interactions with Semitic speaking peoples on the ancient Egyptian lexicon is strongly evident from the Late Egyptian period onward. What has not been sufficiently recognized is the lack of such an impact at earlier stages in the history of ancient Egypt and, in contrast, the significant presence of word borrowings in the early ancient Egyptian language from languages spoken south of Upper Egypt, in particular from one or more languages of the Nilo-Saharan family. These word borrowings reveal major southern components of economy and material culture, with implications as well for ritual and belief. A third set of southern participants in the originating eras of ancient Egyptian culture, although holding a more peripheral position, were people speaking the language ancestral to the modern-day Beja of the Red Sea Hills region east of the Nile. The linguistic findings in combination with recent archaeological finds indicate that the founding areas of ancient Egyptian culture in Upper Egypt belonged to a wider nexus of emerging social and political complexity in the late fifth and fourth millennia and that this cultural sphere extended well south of Upper Egypt.
Asset Allocation: A Half-Course Module Note

SUBJECT AREAS: Asset allocation, Portfolio choice, Financial management, Institutional investments, Investments, Equity investing, Fixed income investing, Pension funds, Mutual funds, Performance Evaluation This note provides an overview of the main ideas and structure of a 15-session module on long-term asset allocation designed for MBA graduate students and investment professionals. This module is taught as part of a full-length, 30-session elective class on investment management at the Harvard Business School. This module can also be taught as a stand-alone 15-session course on asset allocation. The module is structured around a discussion of three interactive sessions and nine Harvard Business School cases, all of which have companion teaching notes. The module starts with traditional mean-variance analysis and it develops the main ideas underlying the modern theory of long-term investing. The module also emphasizes the practical implementation of investment decisions and the management of long-term institutional investors and investment vehicles.
Introductory review. Molecular mechanisms in viral neoplasia of animals and their implications in the origin of cancer in man.

Diverse methods such as biologic, morphologic, biophysical, immunologic, and biochemical have led to the demonstration, isolation, and identification of animal tumor viruses of both the ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) carrying types. Similar methods have been applied to search for viruses in human neoplasms of many types. Morphologic studies have demonstrated virus-like particles, similar to those found to be the causative agents of animal neoplasia of diverse types, in many types of human tumors. Immunologic studies have demonstrated antibodies to tumor cells, and in some cases, to virus particles, in sera of patients with tumors such as Burkitt’s lymphoma. Biochemical studies have demonstrated characteristic enzymes and a heavy or fast sedimenting RNA in all known tumor viruses of animals. Application of similar studies to human neoplasms has demonstrated the presence of genetic information in human mammary cancer, leukemia, and solid tumors similar to the genetic information present in corresponding animal tumors of known viral origin. Thus, there exists in certain types of human neoplasms viral information which shows remarkable similarity to virus-induced information from corresponding tumors of animals. Biochemical studies using constantly improving methodology combined with biologic and immunologic studies may eventually yield new and improved methods in the chemotherapy of human neoplasms.
Statistical approaches for analyzing customer complaint data to assess aesthetic episodes in drinking water

Customer complaints and concerns about their drinking water quality provide valuable information for assessing potential risks when utilities routinely analyze these data. This research presents strategies to evaluate complaint patterns for diversity and frequency of descriptors and to apply exceedance frequencies to evaluate when the complaints were indicative of a water quality problem. Mean complaint frequency ranged between 0.2 and 2.6 complaints per 1,000 customers per year for different utilities. The most common temporal pattern was a shift to lower complaint frequencies on weekends. Weekday and seasonal patterns were slight and varied by utility. Autocorrelation analysis indicated little predictive ability in the number of complaints from one day to the next. Exceedance probabilities, however, could be used to set alarm values indicating atypical complaint frequencies. A combination of high frequency of complaints together with consistency of descriptors, that is, low diversity, was indicative of episodic water quality problems.
DEMONSTRATION OF SKIN ANTIBODIES IN SERA OF PEMPHIGUS VULGARIS PATIENTS BY INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING.

Summary1. Eight of 13 sera from patients with pemphigus vulgaris were found to contain antibodies to a substance at the surface of the cells of stratified squamous epithelium, particularly in the stratum spinosum, as demonstrated by indirect immunofluores-cent (I.I.F.) staining. The reactions of 4 of these 8 sera were deemed to be weakly positive or doubtful while the remaining 4 sera yielded titers of 1:30 to 1:120 by I.I.F. staining. The reactive antigen was found only in stratified squamous epithelium. Other types of epithelial tissue studied to date do not appear to contain the antigen. None of the 88 sera of normal individuals, patients with other skin diseases, or patients with other immunologic disturbances that have been tested to date appear to contain such antibody activity. However, 2 of the sera of patients with other chronic bullous skin diseases appeared to contain an antibody to the basement membrane of the skin and other stratified squamous epithelia. 2. A skin biopsy of one of the antibod...
Evaluating the Effects of Trade on Militarized Behavior in the Context of Territorial Threat

Does trade reduce conflict even when states compete over high-salience issues (e.g., territory)? Despite recent challenges to liberal peace theory, few studies have examined whether the trade-reduces-conflict argument is robust to particularly conflict prone issues like territory. We evaluate whether trade reduces not only violent conflict over territory, but also the incentives to use specific power politics behaviors (e.g., arms races) associated both with territorial competition and a higher probability of war. As key causal mechanisms, we rely on opportunity costs and the ability to credibly signal information that increased trade generates, reducing states’ incentives to engage in violent conflict and arms races. Empirical analyses, using multiple sample populations and different measures of key indicators and outcomes, are consistent with our expectations. The results suggest that trade may reduce conflict both directly, by decreasing the likelihood of militarized disputes, and indirectly, by reducing the likelihood of power politics strategies like arms races, thought to increase the likelihood of war.
Division of Labor and Coordination in Medical Office Practices

This paper examines the staffing, division of labor, and resulting profitability of primary care physician practices. We develop a theoretical model of how practice profit is determined by the number and mix of support staff and how tasks are delegated to support staff. A key element of the model is the way in which it incorporates coordination costs as an increase in labor time needed to process a patient visit when the number of staff and types of staff increase. We estimate model parameters using a survey of local physicians and, through numerical experiments with our theoretical model, find that in this setting, coordination costs can easily dominate productivity benefits from additional staff. The implication is that physicians who attempt to increase practice output by delegating a large fraction of the work to support staff gain little financially while spending less time with each patient. An empirical analysis of our survey data supports this conclusion.
Radiotherapy Versus Surgery for Localized Prostatic Cancer

Current data from randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials would indicate that radical prostatectomy offers the optimum method of disease control. The benefit of radical surgery is related to the extent of local disease. Gleason sum of the prostatic primary predicts for the probability of tumor extent.
Acetylcholine Induced Antinociception: Comparisons to Opiate Analgesia

The ability of a number of cholinomimetic drugs to inhibit nociceptive responses in several animal species is well documented. Cholinomimetic agents which have shown antinociceptive activity in a variety of tests include the following: oxotremorine (16,19,26,32, 37,38,42), tremorine (7), arecoline (23,25,29,37,44), pilocarpine (10,25,29) and physostigmine (10,20,22,28,34,42,44,49). The specific central muscarinic mediation of these antinociceptive effects is agreed upon by most authors (10,25,28,37). Cholinomimetic drugs also potentiate narcotic analgesia in laboratory animals (1,26,28, 29,42,46,56) and in man (8,15,40,50,54). However, the relationship of cholinomimetic to narcotic analgesia remains unclear. Both classes of drugs demonstrate antinociceptive activity in similar tests and tolerance to each has been noted (see 48,55; also 10,26, 34). Significant cross-tolerance between narcotics and cholinomimetics has not been observed. Investigations into the possible inhibition of cholinergic antinociception by narcotic antagonists (7,18,20,26-28,42) and, conversely, the inhibition of narcotic analgesia by muscarinic receptor blockers (3,7,8,10,27-29,56) have yielded mixed results.
Not Simply Black and White: The Relationship between Race/Ethnicity and Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections

In spite of the increasing campaign finance legislation aimed at equalizing barriers in political campaigns, a fundraising gap persists across racial/ethnic lines. In the era of modern campaigning, with the expenses of advertising and polling, among others, ample funds are necessary but not universally accessible to all candidates. This study addresses the relationship between candidate race/ethnicity and campaign fundraising, and the possible moderating impact of three dimensions of the state political context – state legislative professionalism, state Republican party strength, and state culture (South vs. Nonsouth). I evaluate fundraising totals across 15 states for over 3,000 candidates in the 2006 state legislative elections. Ultimately, the findings suggest that after controlling for other candidate characteristics, as well as district and state context, there is a negative, statistically significant relationship between candidate race/ethnicity and fundraising. In addition, the effect of race/ethnicity is moderated by two features of the state context - legislative professionalization and the state culture. This study finds that non-white candidates continue to fundraise less than their white counterparts and state context is important in understanding the race/ethnicity gap in campaign finance.
Thrombolytic treatment of acute vertebrobasilar artery occlusion

Acute occlusion of the vertebrobasilar artery often presents as progressive stroke, which can lead to coma and brain death. We present our experience with thrombolybie treatment in 29 patients.
Identification and Correlation of Volatile Components in Oil Shale Report Wastewaters

Abstract An investigation into the nature of the volatile organic components in oil shale report wastewaters is described. Headspace samples were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography using a fused-silica Carbowax column. Flame ionization and flame thermionic detectors were used, the latter to provide enhanced sensitivity to nitrogenous compounds, which were of prime interest because they are malodorous and potentially hazardous. Component peak correlations were performed among 8 wastewaters (Oxy-6 gas condensate, Oxy-6 retort water, Oxy-7 and 8 gas condensate, Paraho, TOSCO HSP, Geokinetics-9, Omega-9, and Rio Blanco sour) and between 1 wastewater (Oxy-6 gas condensate) and a reference mixture of 17 nitrogen heterocycles. The correlations were based on statistical comparisons of peak retention indices, using a computer program that compared each peak from one sample's chromatogram with peaks in the same retention-index range from chromatograms of one or more different samples.
Ensuring grid code harmonic compliance of wind farms

The prevalence of cabled infrastructure associated with wind farms, combined with the surge in power-electronic interfaces in wind turbines and reactive power plant, has highlighted the pervasive nature of harmonics on electricity networks. Insufficient consideration is given to the effects of harmonics through the low prioritisation of power quality in the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) and a lack of awareness of the obligations of the respective parties involved. The resulting designs are incompatible with the requirements of the relevant Grid Codes. This can lead to delays, commercial exposure, restricted network access and subsequent loss of revenue. The obligations of the Transmission Owner (TO), System Operator (SO), and wind farm developer are discussed with respect to Grid Code requirements and the responsibilities of each party in ensuring compliance. The technical aspects of assessing harmonic compliance are described in the context of the design considerations which are made at the various stages of the project development. These include the shift in resonances within the host network, the modification of existing harmonic distortion, and the propagation of injected harmonics into the network and through to the EHV, HV and MV substations. The ensuing challenges associated with ensuring compliance through filter design are discussed in the context of relevant international standards, including UK ER G5/4-1, IEEE 519, EN 50160 and IEC 61000-3-6. The results indicate that shifts in resonances are more problematic to resolve, compared to the propagation of injected harmonics: Injected harmonics are readily absorbed through local filtering and thus the emissions are typically low; in contrast, the affects of shifts in resonances must be transferred back to the point of common coupling, resulting in complex local filtering. Early selection by the developer of appropriate transmission infrastructure and technology can lower the filtering requirement necessary to meet the harmonic specification issued by the host TO. (6 pages)
The Private Search Doctrine After Jones

In United States v. Jacobsen, the Supreme Court created a curious aspect of Fourth Amendment law now known as the private search doctrine. Under the private search doctrine, once a private party has conducted an initial search independent of the government, the government may repeat that search, even if doing so would otherwise violate the Fourth Amendment. The private party’s search renders the subsequent government “search” not a search in the constitutional sense.Jacobsen is based on the privacy theory of the Fourth Amendment introduced by the Court in Katz v. United States. According to the Court in Jacobsen, a private search — even if unauthorized — destroys an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy. Thus, by merely repeating the search, the government does not further infringe on a person’s privacy. The private search doctrine is invoked by courts to justify police actions with somewhat surprising frequency.In 2012 — twenty-eight years after Jacobsen — the Supreme Court restructured Fourth Amendment doctrine in United States v. Jones. In Jones, the Court held that the reasonable expectation of privacy test is not the only definition of a Fourth Amendment search. A search also occurs if the police trespass on a constitutionally protected area in order to obtain information, even if the trespass does not violate the property owner’s reasonable expectation of privacy. The full implications of Jones are still being explored. In this Essay, I argue that Jacobsen is irrelevant to the trespass definition of a search under Jones. A prior private search may destroy a person’s expectation of privacy, but it does not change whether the police trespassed on a constitutionally protected area in order to obtain information. Therefore, a government trespass that qualifies as a search under Jones is still a search even if its scope is limited to the scope of a prior private search. Jacobsen comes into play only if it is necessary to appeal to Katz to characterize the government action as a search.
Restoration of Porcine Factor VIII Procoagulant Activity to Hemophilia A Mice with Pre-Existing Immunity to Human Factor VIII.

The development of inhibitory antibodies directed against human factor VIII (hfVIII) remains the most significant clinical complication associated with the treatment of hemophilia A. Recently, we demonstrated that transplantation of genetically-modified hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) containing a high-expression porcine (HEP) fVIII transgene promoted sustained, high-level fVIII expression in naive, genetically-immunocompetent hemophilia A mice (Gangadharan et al . 2006. Blood 107, 3859–64). In the current study, HEP-fVIII HSC transplantation (HSCT)-based gene therapy was tested in the setting of hemophilia A complicated by the presence of circulating anti-hfVIII inhibitory antibodies. Following a series of intravenous injections with recombinant hfVIII, hemophilia A mice developed anti-hfVIII antibodies with clinically-significant inhibitory titers. The median ELISA and Bethesda (inhibitory) titers were 2938 and 55 ( n = 18), respectively, and a significant correlation between the anti-hfVIII ELISA and Bethesda (inhibitory) titers was observed ( P ex vivo with recombinant retrovirus carrying a HEP-fVIII transgene and transplanted into lethally-irradiated (11 Gy total body irradiation) hemophilia A mice ( n = 11). Twelve wks post-HSCT, all mice displayed high-level donor cell engraftment in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) at 81 ± 22% (mean ± SD) and expressed therapeutic levels of fVIII with a mean activity of 3 ± 1.3 units/ml (Figure 1). A second cohort of mice ( n = 7) underwent a similar HSCT gene therapy procedure with the exception that they received a sub-lethal dose of total body irradiation (5.5 Gy ). These mice exhibited lower-level donor cell engraftment at 6.5 ± 6% (range 0.7 – 13%) in PBMCs at 12 weeks post-HSCT. At day 9 post-HSCT, the mice in this cohort contained circulating fVIII activity levels at 1 ± 0.6 units/ml (Figure 1). However in 6 of 7 mice, fVIII activity levels returned to baseline (≤0.01 units/ml) by day 28 post-HSCT, and in 4 of 7 mice, fVIII activity remained below the level of detection. The remaining 3 mice displayed 0.22 ± 0.3 (range 0.04 – 0.57) units/ml fVIII activity at 12 weeks post-HSCT and showed a trend towards greater donor PBMC engraftment, 12.8 ± 0.2% versus 1.8 ± 1.3% ( P = 0.057). Analysis of the anti-hfVIII ELISA titers post-HSCT in both cohorts of mice revealed that while the titers steadily decreased in the lethally-irradiated mice (initial t 1/2 ~ 12 days), the titers remained unchanged in the sub-lethally-irradiated mice possibly explaining the differences observed for donor cell engraftment and fVIII expression between the 2 groups. These data provide proof-of-concept that HSCT-based gene therapy incorporating a HEP-fVIII transgene could be utilized for the treatment of high-risk patients with refractory anti-hfVIII inhibitors.
Captive Hispaniolan Parrots (Amazona ventralis) can discriminate between experimental foods with sodium concentrations found in Amazonian mineral licks

ABSTRACT Wild Amazonian parrots likely consume soil to supplement sodium-deficient diets. However, it remains uncertain whether parrots can detect sodium at the concentrations found in mineral licks. During 3–8 day trials, we presented 20 captive Hispaniolan Amazon Parrots (Amazona ventralis) two foods with experimentally manipulated sodium concentrations. Parrots consumed more of the lower sodium food, confirming that they could distinguish between 891 ppm and 1,644 ppm available sodium—values well within the range of concentrations found in mineral licks in the wild. This study strongly suggests that wild parrots can use taste to detect salty soil horizons in the Amazon.
Pseudohypocalcemia in Cancer Patients: A Recommendation for the Postanalytical Correction of Serum Calcium in Patients with Hypoalbuminemia.

To the Editor: Critical value reporting is a regulatory responsibility of all clinical laboratories. Efforts to reduce the number of calls that are not truly critical could have a significant impact on the clinical laboratory, medical team work flow, and patient care. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), 1 the clinical laboratory makes approximately 30 000 critical value calls a year with only 9 analytes accounting for nearly 75% of these calls. Calcium is one frequently called analyte, responsible for approximately 1000 critical calls a year. We evaluated the findings of critical hypocalcemia [critical value: <6.5 mg/dL (<1.62 mmol/L); reference interval (RI): 8.5–10.5 mg/dL (2.12–2.62 mmol/L)] in cancer patients with albumin concentrations <4.0 g/dL (RI: 4.0–5.2 g/dL). At MSKCC between 2013 and 2015, 38% of albumin results from a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) were below 4.0 g/dL. There are several published formulae to correct serum calcium in patients with hypoalbuminemia. The Payne formula {corrected total calcium (mg/dL) = total calcium (mg/dL) + 0.8 × [4.0 − albumin (g/dL)]} is the most widely used and based on the observation that each 1-g/dL reduction in albumin <4.0 g/dL …
The Integration of Health and Counseling Services on College Campuses: Is There a Risk in Maintaining Student Patients’ Privacy?

ABSTRACTThe formation of integrated centers on college campuses that combine health services and counseling provide clear advantages for students. There is currently no “best practices” model that informs integrated centers’ operational procedures. The “continuity of care” requirement of medical providers can conflict with the strict confidentiality guidelines of counselors, especially as it pertains to the sharing of patient information. Current informed consent procedures also contain deficiencies that should be addressed in integrated centers. Centers might refer to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards which accord psychotherapy notes special status, excluding them from medical records. As we consider the stigma that is still attached to pursuing counseling services, we need to establish a system within integrated centers that does not pose additional barriers to students’ help-seeking behaviors. Despite the challenges, positive collaboration can occur between medical p...
Effective Potential Theory for Transport Coefficients across Coupling Regimes

A plasma transport theory that spans weak to strong coupling is developed from a binary collision picture, but where the interaction potential is taken to be an effective potential that includes correlation effects and screening self-consistently. This physically motivated approach provides a practical model for evaluating transport coefficients across coupling regimes. The theory is shown to compare well with classical molecular dynamics simulations of temperature relaxation in electron-ion plasmas as well as simulations and experiments of self-diffusion in one-component plasmas. The approach is versatile and can be applied to other transport coefficients as well.
Housing as Quality of Life: Dublin, 1798–1821

As the eighteenth century drew to a close the political atmosphere across Ireland was tense; in the later decades people had seen the American colonies achieve independence in 1776, and they had seen the mixed results from France in 1789. For many people such themes were encouraging, but for many people, those living amidst the overcrowding, sickness, and ‘the lack of hygiene, uplifting political themes did not compensate for their appalling quality of life.
Cancer Syndromes in Humans

An understanding of the genetic aspects of carcinogenesis in humans is important for the future of cancer prevention, detection and treatment. Evidence for the genetic basis of cancer includes inherited mutations and phenotypic malformations that are associated with specific tumors, hereditary neoplasms of childhood and adulthood, HLA-associated malignancies, and cancer family syndromes. Possible mechanisms to explain the evidence include: 1) abnormal development, 2) increased cell proliferation, 3) impaired immune response, 4) increased susceptibility to mutation, and 5) increased susceptibility to oncogenic viruses.