cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The necessity of combining genomic and enzymatic data to infer metabolic function and pathways in the smallest bacteria: amino acid, purine and pyrimidine metabolism in Mollicutes.

Bacteria of the class Mollicutes have no cell wall. One species, Mycoplasma genitalium is the personification of the simplest form of independent cell-free life. Its small genome (580 kbp) is the smallest of any cell. Mollicutes have unique metabolic properties, perhaps because of their limited coding space and high mutability. Based on 16S rRNA analyses the Mollicutes Mycoplasma gallisepticum is thought to be the most mutable bacteria. Enzyme activities found in most Bacteria are absent from Mollicutes. The functions of apparently absent genes and enzymes can apparently be fulfilled by other genes and their expression products that have multiple capabilities. Because of these and other properties predictions of their metabolism based only on, e.g., either annotation, enzymatic assay, proteomic studies or structural analyses is problematic. To obtain a more confident appraisal of the functional capabilities of these simplest cells genomic and enzymatic data were combined to obtain a "metabolic consensus". The consensus is represented by a biochemical circuit for central metabolism involving purine and pyrimidine interconversions and their linkages to amino acid metabolism, glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway in three human Mollicutes pathogens: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum.
A comparison of free will, human agency, and the transtheoretical model

ABSTRACTWestern culture has historically drawn on many theories to understand and intervene in human behavior. This article will examine the contributions of three theoretical models: Augustine’s c...
A plasmid locus associated with Klebsiella clinical infections encodes a microbiome-dependent gut fitness factor

Introductory paragraph Gut colonization by the pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is consistently associated with subsequent Kp disease1-5, and patients are predominantly infected with their colonizing strain1,2. However, colonizing strains likely vary in their potential to cause infection. We previously identified the plasmid-encoded tellurium resistance (ter) operon as highly associated with infection when compared to asymptomatic colonization in hospitalized patients1. The ter operon bestows resistance to the toxic compound tellurite oxide (TeO3−2), but this is unlikely to be its physiological function, as tellurium and TeO3−2 are exceedingly rare. Here we show that terC is necessary and terZABCDEF is sufficient for phenotypic TeO3−2 resistance. Next, we demonstrate that ter is encoded on a diverse group of plasmids without known plasmid-encoded virulence genes, suggesting an independent role in infection. Finally, our studies indicate that ter is a gut fitness factor, and its fitness advantage is conferred only when specific gut microbiota constituents are present. Collectively, these data reveal the Kp ter operon that is highly associated with human infection likely acts early in pathogenesis as a horizontally-transferrable fitness factor promoting robust gut colonization in the presence of the indigenous microbiota.
Association of Professional Football Cumulative Head Impact Index Scores With All-Cause Mortality Among National Football League Players.

Importance Long-term adverse health outcomes, particularly those associated with repetitive head impacts, are of growing concern among US-style football players in the US and Canada. Objective To assess whether exposure to repetitive head impacts during a professional football career is associated with an increase in the risk of all-cause mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study included 13 912 players in the 1969 to 2017 National Football League (NFL) seasons. All cause-mortality up until July 1, 2018, was included. Data collection was performed from July 13, 2017, to July 1, 2018, as reported in the Pro Football Reference. Exposures The main exposure was a professional football cumulative head impact index (pfCHII). The pfCHII was measured by combining cumulative padded practice time and games played summed during seasons of play reported in the Pro Football Reference and a player position risk adjustment from helmet accelerometer studies. Main Outcomes and Measures Demographic characteristics except for the pfCHII were calculated for 14 366 players with complete follow-up. The pfCHII was calculated for 13 912 players (eliminating the 454 specials teams players). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare hazard ratios (HRs) of death by repetitive head impacts. Analyses were unadjusted and adjusted for birth year, body mass index, and height. Results Among 14 366 NFL players who had follow-up for analysis, the mean (SD) age was 47.3 (14.8) years, the mean (SD) body mass index was 29.6 (3.9), and 763 of 14 366 players (5.3%) had died. Among 13 912 players in the pfCHII analysis, the median pfCHII was 32.63 (interquartile range, 13.71-66.12). A 1-log increase in pfCHII was significantly associated with an increased hazard of death for the 1969 to 2017 seasons (HR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.21-3.37;P = .01) after adjustment. The quadratic pfCHII was also statistically significant (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.98;P = .01), indicating that the hazard of death increased at a decreasing rate, whereas the pfCHII increased. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that an increase in repetitive head impacts is associated with an increased hazard of death among NFL players. Reduction in repetitive head impacts from playing football or other activities through additional rule and equipment changes may be associated with reduced mortality.
Gaze stability in young adults with previous concussion history

BACKGROUND Disruption of visual-vestibular interaction after concussion can cause gaze instability with head movements. The long-term impact of concussion on gaze stability is unknown. OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional comparative pilot study examined gaze stability in the chronic stage after concussion (greater than one year). A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between gaze stability and sleep. METHODS Outcome measures included: 1. Gaze stability in logMAR (mean loss of dynamic visual acuity (DVA) in the yaw and pitch planes); 2. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); 3. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), time since injury, and number of concussions were collected for the people with concussion. RESULTS The study sample included thirty-four adults (mean age 23.35±1.3 years). Seventeen had a history of 1-9 concussions, with a mean duration of 4.4±1.9 years since last concussion; and 17 were age and sex-matched controls. Mean pitch plane DVA loss was greater in the concussion group compared to the control group (p = 0.04). Participants with previous concussion had lower sleep quality based on the PSQI (p = 0.01) and increased daytime sleepiness based on the ESS (p = 0.01) compared to healthy controls. Mean DVA loss in the pitch plane was significantly correlated with the PSQI (r = 0.43, p = 0.01) and the ESS (r = 0.41, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION Significant differences in dynamic visual acuity may be found in young adults long after a concussion, compared with those who have no concussion history. Furthermore, loss of dynamic visual acuity was associated with poorer sleep quality and higher daytime sleepiness.
Associations Between Disability and Breast or Cervical Cancers, Accounting for Screening Disparities.

Introduction Studies suggest that women with disability experience disparities in routine, high-value screening services, including mammograms and Papanicolaou (Pap) tests. However, few studies have explored whether women with disability have higher risks than other women of developing breast or cervical cancers. Methods The authors analyzed 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018 National Health Interview Surveys, which involved civilian, noninstitutionalized US residents, and included supplemental surveys on cancer screening. The authors used self-reported functional status limitations to identify women without disability and women with movement difficulties (MDs) or complex activity limitations (CAL) predating breast or cervical cancer diagnoses. Multivariable models evaluated associations of disability status to cancer diagnosis, adjusting for other variables. Analyses used sampling weights, producing national estimates. Results The sample included 66,641 women; 24.4% reported MD and 14.5% reported CAL. Compared with women without disability, women with pre-existing MD or CAL had significantly higher rates of breast cancer (2.2% vs. 3.5% and 3.6%, respectively) and cervical cancer (0.6% vs. 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively). Women with disability had significantly lower recent mammography and Pap test rates than women without disability. After adjusting for all covariates, the values for odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of pre-existing CAL for cancer diagnoses were 1.21 (1.01-1.46; P=0.04) for breast cancer and 1.43 (1.04-1.99; P=0.03) for cervical cancer. Conclusions Pre-existing disability is associated with a higher likelihood of breast and cervical cancer diagnoses, raising the urgency of eliminating disability disparities in mammography and Pap testing. Further research will need to explore the causes of these higher cancer rates.
Globalization and divergent constructs of childhood and valuable knowledge: Influences on expectations for young children in post-colonial rural southern Tanzania:

Childhood is a complex and socially constructed process with implications on the education of young children with issues of globalization as a powerful influence. This article presents a critical a...
Metronomic cyclophosphamide and bevacizumab for the treatment of recurrent gynecologic carcinosarcoma: A multi-institution, retrospective study.

5532Background: The recent findings from the GOG 261 trial established carboplatin and paclitaxel as the standard first-line therapy for advanced gynecologic carcinosarcoma (GCS). Response rates to...
Measured Imperfections and Their Effects on Strength of Component Plates of a Prototype Double Hull Structure

The U.S. Navy is currently studying the use of double hull designs in high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels for surface combatant ships. A full-scale prototype double hull module was fabricated, from which multicellular box column specimens were cut for compressive tests to failure. Initial imperfections, i.e., initial plate deflections and welding residual stresses, affect the stiffness and strength of welded members. This paper describes the measurement of these imperfections and the analysis of their effects on the component plates of the cellular box specimens. Initial deflections were measured in the laboratory, where the maximum values did not exceed the Navy's guidelines or proposed values of several researchers. Residual stresses in a box specimen were also measured in the laboratory under more controlled conditions. Using the measured imperfections, the plate arrangements were analyzed using the finite element method. The imperfections were found to reduce the stiffness and strength of the plates. The results show that for accurate prediction of the strength of welded plates, initial imperfections must be taken into account
Routes of Calcium Flux in Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum

Net release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) plays an important role in coupling excitation to contraction in cardiac muscle cells, and the uptake of Ca2+ by SR plays a major role in effecting relaxation of the contractile apparatus [9,20,26]. There are several possible routes of Ca2 + influx and efflux in SR that could account for the net uptake and release of Ca2+. These putative pathways include passive diffusion, pump-mediated Ca2+ influx and efflux, carrier-mediated facilitated diffusion, and Ca2+ efflux through a gated channel. One goal of research in this field is to identify the routes of Ca2+ flux in SR and to determine their magnitude, time course, and roles in physiological regulation of Ca2+ flux. In this presentation, the routes of Ca2+ flux in SR vesicles isolated from dog hearts are examined. The results suggest that Ca2+ fluxes in cardiac SR occur through only three routes: (1) forward pump-mediated Ca2+ influx; (2) reverse pump-mediated Ca2+ efflux; and (3) passive efflux.
Veatchine: Coexistence of Epimers in a Crystal Structure

An x-ray crystal structure determination of veatchine, a C 20 -diterpenoid alkaloid, reveals the coexistence of molecules which differ in configuration at one of seven asymmetric carbon atoms. This disorder between epimers demonstrates the stability of both forms, and accounts for the doubling of certain peaks in the magnetic resonance spectra of this and related alkaloids.
Identifying data sharing in biomedical literature.

Many policies and projects now encourage investigators to share their raw research data with other scientists. Unfortunately, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of these initiatives because data can be shared in such a variety of mechanisms and locations. We propose a novel approach to find shared datasets: using NLP techniques to identify declarations of dataset sharing within the full text of primary research articles. Using regular expression patterns and machine learning algorithms on open access biomedical literature, our system was able to identify 61% of articles with shared datasets with 80% precision. A simpler version of our classifier achieved higher recall (86%), though lower precision (49%). We believe our results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach and hope to inspire further study of dataset retrieval techniques and policy evaluation.
Effect of Cadaver Dissection on Written and Practical Gross Anatomy Test Scores

Over the past five years, 325+ Italian medical students participated in D'Youville College's (DYC's) Giovanni Mazzotti Anatomy Conference (GMAC), named in honor of the late president of the Medical...
"Intermediate Scope" in (Mandarin) Chinese

This paper analyzes the "intermediate scope" readings for two classes of indefinites in Mandarin; these are construal s where an indefinite phrase, if analyzed on a par with quantifiers that exhibit scope properties, seems to "scope out" of the syntactic island within which it is contained, while seemingly taking scope under another scopal element. Mandarin Chinese offers two main classes of indefinites, indefinites headed by a common noun ("N-indefs") and wh-indefinites ("wh-indefs") . The two classes of indefinites differ from each other in their range of interpretations, in addition to their di stinct morphological shapes. The two classes of indefinites also differ in the conditions under which they allow an intermediate-scope reading. N-indefs, like the English indefinites, show an intermediate-scope reading only in the presence of a bound variable in their restriction, and thus provide strong support for an analysi s along the lines of Kratzer 1 998, which singles out variable binding as one important source of intermediate reading, rather than the scope-taking properties of the indefinites in question. Wh-indefs, on the other hand, can receive an intermediate scope construal independently of the presence of a bound variable; I argue that they should be analyzed as denoting sets of Hamblin-style alternatives, following Shimoyama 200 1 . Both of these analyses attribute the intermediate-scope reading of indefinites to something other than scope : in the case ofN-Indefs, it i s the binding of a variable in their restriction that simulated scope interaction. With wh-indefs, it is the alternatives they denote that allow for variation, thus causing the illusion of a scope interaction. The remainder of the introduction briefly reviews the common assumptions about quantifier scope, defines and presents diagnostics for the particular construal that is the focus of this paper, and introduces the two classes of Mandarin indefinites . §2 presents the conditions under which an intermediate­ scope reading is observed with the two classes of indefinites, each of which is analyzed in §3 and §4 respectively. §5 explores the possibility of unifying the separate analyses .
Information Processing and Oppertunities for HPCC Use in Industry

The National Information Infrastructure of the future will be built upon core HPCC technologies such as parallel architectures, software, and high-speed networks. In addition to the key enabling technologies associated with high-performance scientific computing, such as image processing algorithms and linear algebra libraries, information processing applications will require development and integration of new, enabling HPCC technologies such as collaboration services, and multimedia databases. These new technologies will find application in information industries such as home entertainment and agile manufacturing.
Fostering the Success of New Teachers: Developing Lead Teachers in a Statewide Teacher Mentoring Program

Though there may be many reasons for teacher attrition and mobility, results from a recent survey conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) suggest that an exceedingly high percentage of teachers who abandoned their careers as teachers may have entered the teaching profession under-prepared, overwhelmed, and under-supported — resulting in frustrated teachers who became burned out after only a few years of teaching (Marvel, Lyter, Peltola, Stitzek, & Morton, 2006). Global research documents that mentoring must be emphasized if teachers are going to experience success during the induction phase of their career and become more likely to remain in the profession. Developing teacher leaders that have the dispositions to mentor, such as those in the Alabama Teacher Mentor Program, can help meet these challenges as teachers lead teachers through mentoring. The manuscript presents an overview and impact of a statewide mentoring initiative that embraces one role of teacher leaders.
Las panaderías en la cuidad de México de Porfirio Díaz: los empresarios vasco- navarros y la movilización obrera

Este articulo examina la insercion de los inmigrantes vasconavarros del valle de Baztan en el imbricado negocio del trigo, la harina y el pan de la ciudad de Mexico a finales del siglo XIX. Describe las condiciones laborales en las panaderias, asi como el papel de los obreros en el Mexico de Porfirio Diaz. A contrapelo de la tendencia historiografica que presenta a los empresarios inmigrantes, y al propio Estado porfirista, como fuerzas de la modernizacion capitalista, el articulo demuestra que, con contadas excepciones, las panaderias permanecian arcaicas y precapitalistas, de modo que los inmigrantes pudieran incorporar a la cadena de sobrinos que vinculaba la ciudad de Mexico con el valle de Baztan. Ademas, se arguye que los obreros panaderos, quienes sufrian pesimas condiciones dentro de los amasijos, fueron los que pugnaron para que se estableciera un regimen mas capitalista en el que, de acuerdo con los conceptos populares del liberalismo, se les reconocieran derechos basicos como ciudadanos.
A Review of “Intercultural Couples: Exploring Diversity in Intimate Relationships”

Globalization has caused people to travel farther and more frequently than ever before. Whether it is to visit, study, or to find employment, the world has become more diverse in giving rise to a p...
Delay-constrained unicast and the triangle-cast problem

We consider the single-unicast communication problem in a network with a delay constraint. For this setting, it has recently been shown that network coding offers an advantage over routing. We show that the existing upper bound in the literature on the capacity offered by network coding can be a factor of Θ(D) larger than the true capacity where D is the delay bound. In this work, we tighten this gap significantly to 8 log(D + 1) by proving a new upper bound. The key insight is a connection to a new traffic model that we call triangle-cast (or degraded multiple-unicast), for which we obtain a logarithmic flow-cut gap by suitably adapting the techniques from the approximation algorithms literature.
Chicken intestine microbiota following the administration of lupulone, a hop-based antimicrobial

The use of antibiotic growth promotants in poultry rearing is a public health concern due to antibiotic resistance in bacteria and the harborage of resistance genes. Lupulone, a hop β-acid from Humulus lupulus, has been considered as a potential feed additive growth promotant. Here, the effect of lupulone was evaluated for its effect on the microbiota of the chicken intestine. The intestinal microbiota of broilers was quantified after the addition of 125 mg L(-1) lupulone to water and challenge with Clostridium perfringens. Microbial DNA was extracted from the broiler midgut and cecal sections and bacterial groups were quantified using real-time PCR. The predominant cecal bacterial groups were Clostridium leptum subgroup 16S rRNA gene Cluster IV, Clostridium coccoides subgroup 16S rRNA gene Clusters XIVa and XIVb and Bacteroides, whereas Lactobacillus, the Enterobacteriaceae family and Enterococcus dominated the midgut. Lupulone at 125 mg L(-1) significantly decreased the C. perfringens subgroup 16S rRNA gene Cluster I, which contains several pathogenic species, in both the midgut and the cecum and Lactobacillus in the midgut. No significant changes were noted in the overall microbiota for the cecum or the midgut. Lupulone warrants further evaluation as a botanical agent to mitigate C. perfringens overgrowth in antibiotic-free reared poultry.
Use of hypothermia for traumatic brain injury: point of view.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the major causes of disability in modern society. The World Health Organization has predicted that, by 2020, traffic accidents will represent the greatest burden of global disease and injury. Brain injury after trauma occurs in two stages. Primary injury is directly associated with the biomechanical effects of the trauma, whereas secondary injury occurs later and can be attributed to processes that develop within the brain. Currently, there is no consensus for the use of hypothermia in the treatment of secondary injury after TBI. Until the results of ongoing studies are published, maintaining normothermia and avoiding hyperthermia should be used in managing patient with TBI.
pH and Erosive Potential of Commonly Used Oral Moisturizers

Purpose To measure the pH values of commonly used oral moisturizers and to evaluate their erosive potential using a gravimetric analysis. Materials and Methods A pH analysis was performed for seven commercially available oral moisturizers using a calibrated pH meter. The pH recording was repeated three times, from three different bottles each of the same product. The gravimetric analysis was performed by submerging human dentin blocks in 5 ml of each of the moisturizers for a total of 2 weeks, with gravimetric measurements made at baseline, 24 hours, 48 hours, 96 hours, 1 week, and 15 days. Tap water was used as positive control and citric acid as the negative control. The erosive potential was descriptively analyzed, and a Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between the erosive potential and the pH values. Results The average pH values are as follows: Oasis, 6.3, Biotene Moisturizing Mouth Spray, 6.1, CTx2 Spray, 9.1, Mouth Kote, 3.0, Thayer's, 6.3, Biotene Oral Balance, 6.6, Rain, 7.1, tap water 6.99, and citric acid 1.33. The results (% of tooth structure lost) of the gravimetric analysis were as follows: Mouth Kote, 9.6%, Biotene Moisturizing Mouth Spray, 4.6%, Oasis, 3.2%, Thayer's, 2.0%, Biotene Oral Balance, 0.0%, Rain, 0.0%, CTx2 Spray, 0.0%, tap water 0.0%, and citric acid 18.8%. There was a significant negative correlation between the pH values and the erosive potential (rs = −0.73; P ≤ 0.0001). Conclusions There is large variation in the composition and pH values of commonly used oral moisturizers, and there is a strong correlation between pH values and erosive potential of commonly used oral moisturizers. Clinical Significance: Patients with dry mouth are at increased risk for erosion and root caries. Oral moisturizing agents are often prescribed for patients with hyposalivation to be used as needed for symptomatic relief. This study shows that there is large variation in the pH values and erosive potential of commonly used oral moisturizing agents.
Book review: Scattering and localization of classical waves in random media

This book contains a collection of papers relating to the propagation of classical waves in multiply scattering random media. It is recommended to anyone who wishes to become familiar with the myriad interesting investigations on this subject that were carried out, in rapid succession, during the period between 1983 and 1990. Although the articles primarily deal with the basic physics of wave propagation, the phenomena discussed in this volume underlie many practical applications. Examples of the latter include the scattering of acoustic waves in disordered solids, the diffusion of thermal waves in random composites, and the transmittance of light through optically opaque suspensions. The articles appearing in this collection deal with many aspects of the subject, and illustrate the richness of both the theoretical and experimental investigations that have been carried out. The book contains 11 chapters, each essentially by a different group of authors. Hence, a number of different points of view and approaches to these problems are covered: several contributions are written as juxtapositions of theory and experiment, others contain rather formal mathematical treatments, others demonstrate the power of phenomenological reasoning and inference. Various chapters contain extensive lists of references, making the book particularly useful to persons seeking to penetrate the literature for the first time. Each of the contributions is of high quality. The editor deserves compliments on his choice of authors and his diligence in guiding the organization and writing of the chapters. The book is an appropriate addition to the personal library of anyone working in a field involving
Anatomical and functional characterization of a duodeno-pancreatic neural reflex that can induce acute pancreatitis.

Neural cross talk between visceral organs may play a role in mediating inflammation and pain remote from the site of the insult. We hypothesized such a cross talk exists between the duodenum and pancreas, and further it induces pancreatitis in response to intraduodenal toxins. A dichotomous spinal innervation serving both the duodenum and pancreas was examined, and splanchnic nerve responses to mechanical stimulation of these organs were detected. This pathway was then excited on the duodenal side by exposure to ethanol followed by luminal mustard oil to activate transient receptor potential subfamily A, member 1 (TRPA1). Ninety minutes later, pancreatic inflammation was examined. Ablation of duodenal afferents by resiniferatoxin (RTX) or blocking TRPA1 by Chembridge (CHEM)-5861528 was used to further investigate the duodeno-pancreatic neural reflex via TRPA1. ∼40% of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from the spinal cord originated from both duodenum and pancreas via dichotomous peripheral branches; ∼50% splanchnic nerve single units responded to mechanical stimulation of both organs. Ethanol sensitized TRPA1 currents in cultured DRG neurons. Pancreatic edema and myeloperoxidase activity significantly increased after intraduodenal ethanol followed by mustard oil (but not capsaicin) but significantly decreased after ablation of duodenal afferents by using RTX or blocking TRPA1 by CHEM-5861528. We found the existence of a neural cross talk between the duodenum and pancreas that can promote acute pancreatitis in response to intraduodenal chemicals. It also proves a previously unexamined mechanism by which alcohol can induce pancreatitis, which is novel both in terms of the site (duodenum), process (neurogenic), and receptor (TRPA1).
Public Administration and the Increased Need for Cultural Competencies in the Twenty-First Century

This paper argues that public administration needs to reconsider how it conceptualizes and educates about social equity and social justice issues. The field needs to move away from an assimilationist to a different cultural model. Two significant demographic trends drive this need. First, the Census Bureau projects that by 2042 (or sooner) the United States will no longer have a majority racial/ethnic group. Second, the country's aging dominant cultural group is also rapidly retiring from the workforce and is being replaced by a labor force that is younger and more culturally diverse. Findings from research on the cultural attitudes of college-age people from different racial/ethnic groups are presented to show that younger people embrace this multicultural reality but continue to hold stereotypical views of different groups, pointing to the need for the field to develop cultural competencies among all racial/ethnic groups. The city of Seattle is identified as a public organization whose programs are espe...
Dislocation density-based constitutive model for the mechanical behaviour of irradiated Cu

Performance degradation of structural steels in nuclear environments results from the formation of a high number density of nanometre-scale defects. The defects observed in copper-based alloys are composed of vacancy clusters in the form of stacking fault tetrahedra and/or prismatic dislocation loops that impede the motion of dislocations. The mechanical behaviour of irradiated copper alloys exhibits increased yield strength, decreased total strain to failure and decreased work hardening as compared to their unirradiated behaviour. Above certain critical defect concentrations (neutron doses), the mechanical behaviour exhibits distinct upper yield points. In this paper, we describe the formulation of an internal state variable model for the mechanical behaviour of such materials subject to these (irradiation) environments. This model has been developed within a multiscale materials-modelling framework, in which molecular dynamics simulations of dislocation–radiation defect interactions inform the final coa...
The epidemiology of cardiac pacemakers in the older us population

OBJECTIVES: This study estimates the age distribution of older patients (>64 years) receiving implantable cardiac pacemakers in non-federal US hospitals and determines major characteristics of this group using a massive, nationally representative sample of inpatient discharge records. DESIGN: Discharge records were obtained from the 1992 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Correlation with census data from 1992 was used to determine age and gender specific rates. SETTING: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample is a 20% stratified probability sample of non-federal US hospitals. PATIENTS: Records of all recipients (26,425) of an initial or replacement pacemaker were selected. RESULTS: Individuals 65 years of age and older received an estimated 131,361 initial and replacement pacemaker pulse generators (87% of the total) in non-federal US hospitals in 1992. Pacemaker implantation was performed in urban teaching hospitals (28.9%), non-teaching urban hospitals (57.8%), and rural hospitals (13.3%). The age specific implantation rates per 100,000 population were 226.5 (age 65–74 years), 585.9 (age 75–84 years), 874.9 (age 85–94 years), and 540.4 (more than 94 years). The age-adjusted rate for men was 70% greater than the corresponding rate for women. Major diagnoses of implant recipients included atrioventricular block (37.8%) and atrial fibrillation (28.5%). Two percent of pacemaker recipients died before discharge. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of pacemaker implantation increases sharply up to age 95. As the number of older people in the US population grows, particularly those in the age ranges greater than 75 and 85 years, a sharply increased number of pacemakers will be implanted unless other factors decrease the need for these devices. The data also demonstrate diffusion of this technology from academic centers. J Am Geriatr Soc 46:1016–1019, 1998.
Effects of mammalian ACTH on potential fuels and gluconeogenic substrates in the plasma of the spiny dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias)

Abstract The effects of mammalian ACTH on plasma β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, alanine, and lactate levels were determined in the unfed spiny dogfish shark ( Squalus acanthias ). Serial blood samples were collected from a cannula implanted in the dorsal aorta. The metabolite levels were estimated by standard enzymatic procedures for 4 days before treatment and for 4 days after treatment. Plasma glucose, alanine, and lactate, but not β-hydroxybutyrate, declined after the surgery, but the metabolites were relatively stable for at least 48 hr before treatment. ACTH (40 units/kg) or the control solution were infused via the cannula after the morning blood sample on postoperative Day 4 and again after the 12-hr blood sample. Control plasma β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, and lactate did not change significantly, but alanine levels increased approximately 29% by 96 hr when sampling ended. Plasma β-hydroxybutyrate levels were not significantly changed by ACTH treatment. Plasma glucose levels increased approximately 36% by 3 hr after ACTH infusion, remained elevated following the second ACTH treatment, and then declined to approximately the initial levels by 96 hr. Plasma alanine levels increased approximately 53% by 0.75 hr after ACTH treatment, were still approximately 15% greater than the initial levels by 12 hr, rose again after the second ACTH infusion at 12 hr, and then declined to near the control levels by 96 hr. Plasma lactate levels increased approximately 107% by 1.5 hr after ACTH infusion and then decreased to approximately 22% greater than the initial levels by 12 hr. Lactate levels increased after the second ACTH infusion and remained approximately 58% greater than the initial levels when sampling ended at 96 hr. The results indicate that the pituitary-adrenocortical axis hormones do not directly influence plasma β-hydroxybutyrate levels. However, the data support the suggestion that the hyperglycemic action of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis hormones is mediated, at least in part, by the provision of alanine and lactate substrates for gluconeogenesis.
Experimental studies in metal cancerigenesis. V. Interaction of CrIII and CrVI compounds with proteins.

Abstract The binding of CrIII and CrVI, as represented by chromic acetate and potassium chromate, to egg proteins and human plasma proteins has been investigated by dialysis and electrophoretic techniques. CrVI was shown by dialysis and by electrophoretic and precipitation experiments to be bound by egg albumin in decreasing amounts as the pH changed from 4 to 7.35. Pooled and individual human plasma samples bound two to three times as much CrVI at pH 7.35 as did egg albumin. The binding of CrVI to egg albumin at pH 4 could be demonstrated by paper electrophoresis but could not be demonstrated by this technique at pH 7.35 with either egg albumin or human plasma. The results suggest an essentially electrostatic type of binding [cf. (Refs. 17, 18)] increasing as the positive charge on the proteins increases. Solutions of protein containing from 100 to 1000 μg. CrVI/ml. were self-sterilizing from pH 4 to 8. Reduction of CrVI occurred on long contact with sterile protein solutions up to at least pH 6.4. CrIII, which in the form of chromic acetate at pH 7.35 exists in positive, negative, and neutral complexes of low charge (8), was bound by both human plasma and egg albumin. The complexes formed from chromic acetate at all pH's studied produced no visible reaction with any of the protein components [cf. (18)] and were not self-sterilizing at the higher pH's. Difficulties due to hydrolysis, olation and aggregation to form polynuclear CrIII complexes in aqueous solutions of CrIII salts are discussed and data presented showing the effects of these changes on apparent binding as evaluated by dialysis techniques. Conditions permitting differentiation between bound CrIII and nondiffusible CrIII are presented. Dialysis data indicated a decreased binding of chromium in lipemic plasmas in the limited number of cases studied. At pH 7.35, neither CrIII nor CrVI in the concentration range 10−4–10−2M significantly altered the electrophoretic patterns of egg elbumin components. CrVI under similar conditions produced no significant effect on human plasma proteins. CrIII likewise had no effect at the lower concentrations; but at the higher concentration levels produced a small amount of a new component of unknown nature migrating ahead of human serum albumin. Paper electrophoresis at pH 7.35 and μ = 0.05 indicated binding of CrIII to human plasma proteins and egg albumin. The binding appeared to increase with time of contact.
Testing hypotheses for the growth curve model when the data are incomplete

Kleinbaum (1973) developed a generalized growth curve model for analyzing incomplete longitudinal data. In this paper the small sample properties of several related test statistics are investigated via Monte Carlo techniques. The covariance matrix is estimated by each of three non-iterative methods. The null and non-null distributions of these test statistics are examined.
STABILITY CONSTANTS OF SOME RARE-EARTH-METAL CHELATES

The first three successive formation or stability constants of the rare- earth complexes with glycolic and lactic acids were measured at an ionic strength of 0.1 and at 20 plus or minus 0.02 deg C. The method used involved a potentiometric measurement of pH with a glass electrode. With both ligands, the first stability constants increased in value with increasing atomic number of the central ion across the series from lanthanum to europium, and again from gadolinium to lutetium. There was, however, a decrease between europium and gadolinium which caused an overlap between the two halves of the series. This overlap was more pronounced with glycolate than with lactate. The lactate stability constants were stronger than the corresponding glycolate constants, and both were much stronger than the rare-earth acetate constants. The glycolate constants were found to be over twice as strong as had been previously reported at 2.0 ionic strength. It was postulated that the complexing agents were bidentate ligands with the aydroxyl group participating in the chelate formation. The stability consthnts of the rare-earth chelates with 1,2diaminocyclohexane- N,N,N ,N -tetraacetic acid were determinined by polarographic comparison with cadmium, zinc, and europium complexes at 0.1 ionic strength and 20 plusmore » or minus 0.02 deg C. These constants were found to increase linearily with atomic number across the complete series with the exception of gadolinium and possibly lanthanum. Both the gadolinium and lanthanum constants were low, but the margin of error in the lanthanum constant determination was relatively large.« less
The muscle protein dysferlin accumulates in the Alzheimer brain

Dysferlin is a transmembrane protein that is highly expressed in muscle. Dysferlin mutations cause limb-girdle dystrophy type 2B, Miyoshi myopathy and distal anterior compartment myopathy. Dysferlin has also been described in neural tissue. We studied dysferlin distribution in the brains of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and controls. Twelve brains, staged using the Clinical Dementia Rating were examined: 9 AD cases (mean age: 85.9 years and mean disease duration: 8.9 years), and 3 age-matched controls (mean age: 87.5 years). Dysferlin is a cytoplasmic protein in the pyramidal neurons of normal and AD brains. In addition, there were dysferlin-positive dystrophic neurites within Aβ plaques in the AD brain, distinct from tau-positive neurites. Western blots of total brain protein (RIPA) and sequential extraction buffers (high salt, high salt/Triton X-100, SDS and formic acid) of increasing protein extraction strength were performed to examine solubility state. In RIPA fractions, dysferlin was seen as 230–272 kDa bands in normal and AD brains. In serial extractions, there was a shift of dysferlin from soluble phase in high salt/Triton X-100 to the more insoluble SDS fraction in AD. Dysferlin is a new protein described in the AD brain that accumulates in association with neuritic plaques. In muscle, dysferlin plays a role in the repair of muscle membrane damage. The accumulation of dysferlin in the AD brain may be related to the inability of neurons to repair damage due to Aβ deposits accumulating in the AD brain.
Reproducibility of the angiographic left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with coronary artery disease.

Abstract Quantitative analysis of the single and repeated cine left ventriculogram was performed in 20 patients with coronary artery disease to determine both the intrinsic variance of individual beats separated by different time intervals and variance between analyses of different observers. In addition, ventriculograms obtained from left ventricular injections of contrast medium prior to coronary arteriography were compared to ventriculograms obtained from either left ventricular or pulmonary artery injections after arteriography. The time period between studies varied from 30 minutes to 90 minutes to four days. Analysis of the same ventriculogram by different observers resulted in an average difference in ejection fraction of 0.05 (pNS). The average difference in ejection fraction was 0.02 between two early beats of the same ventriculogram (pNS). The average difference between sequential ventriculograms was 0.07 (pNS), but individual variations greater than 0.10 were not uncommon, particularly between studies done before and after arteriography, or several days apart. Patients exhibiting wide variance in ejection fractions between two studies either had wide variance in other hemodynamic measurements or degree of asynergy, or both. This study provides a frame of reference for analysis of sequential ventriculograms in patients with coronary artery disease, especially in evaluating changes in the state of the disease or the effects of therapy. It is especially important that: (1) standard hemodynamic measurements be made before ventriculography, (2) the same radiographic techniques repeated whenever possible, and (3) the same person analyze the two ventriculograms.
Bracing for demand shocks: An experimental investigation

We investigate inventory ordering decisions when decision makers anticipated a demand shock. Decision makers anticipating an event have been shown to brace for an uncertain negative outcome by overestimating the likelihood of that event. Decision makers faced with a spike in demand may incur increased holding costs because they may brace, exhibiting a judgment bias, and consequently a decision bias by over-ordering inventory. Three studies span conditions of uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of a demand shock: Employing three between-subjects experiments, Study 1 investigates behavior when decision makers were faced with uncertainty in timing and in magnitude of demand at the most elemental level, manipulating holding and stock out costs. The three experimental tasks feature uncertainty about the magnitude of demand (Experiment 1.1), uncertainty about the timing of demand (Experiment 1.2), and uncertainty about both the magnitude and timing of demand (Experiment 1.3). Study 2 uses a dynamic, multi-period replenishment task and a between-subjects manipulation regarding the uncertainty of timing and magnitude of a demand shock. Study 3 also employs a multi-period decision environment, but compares behavior under a demand shock condition with that in a condition featuring only random variability. The collective results from the three studies identify a bias toward over-ordering in response to a demand shock, relative to the optimal orders. The between-subjects manipulations in Study 2 points toward a possible remedy as we found that providing information concerning the timing and magnitude of a shock ameliorated the bias. The primary revelation was that decision makers had more difficulty dealing with uncertain timing than with uncertain magnitude of demand. One implication is that it is particularly critical for retailers to carefully plan and manage how they share information with upstream supply chain partners regarding when they plan to introduce store-level promotions.
Dissociation of Learned Helplessness and Fear Conditioning in Mice: A Mouse Model of Depression

The state of being helpless is regarded as a central aspect of depression, and therefore the learned helplessness paradigm in rodents is commonly used as an animal model of depression. The term ‘learned helplessness’ refers to a deficit in escaping from an aversive situation after an animal is exposed to uncontrollable stress specifically, with a control/comparison group having been exposed to an equivalent amount of controllable stress. A key feature of learned helplessness is the transferability of helplessness to different situations, a phenomenon called ‘trans-situationality’. However, most studies in mice use learned helplessness protocols in which training and testing occur in the same environment and with the same type of stressor. Consequently, failures to escape may reflect conditioned fear of a particular environment, not a general change of the helpless state of an animal. For mice, there is no established learned helplessness protocol that includes the trans-situationality feature. Here we describe a simple and reliable learned helplessness protocol for mice, in which training and testing are carried out in different environments and with different types of stressors. We show that with our protocol approximately 50% of mice develop learned helplessness that is not attributable to fear conditioning.
The Origins of Agricultural Support

What are the origins of agricultural protection? Dr Richard Howarth of the University College of North Wales reviews the history of agricultural protection in the Western world.
Hyperspectral wavelet transforms for data compression and feature extraction

Hyperspectral image cubes are usually obtained from direct measurement (e.g. satellites) and by using numerical reconstructions from imaging spectrometers. Such objects are three dimensional and consist of 2D spatial data layered by wavelength in the third dimension. The dominant image processing tasks for such information are compression and feature recognition. These tasks go hand-in-hand as most often these objects contain a huge amount of information that need to be processed further (and often very quickly) corresponding to the application. Wavelet transforms which have been utilized successfully for signals and images are applied here. The higher number of dimensions furnishes a number of different ways to do these transforms and some of these ways are more natural for hyperspectral data processing.
Groups In Which Commutativity Is A Transitive Relation

Abstract We investigate the structure of groups in which commutativity is a transitive relation on non-identity elements ( CT -groups). A detailed study of locally finite, polycyclic, and torsion-free solvable CT -groups is carried out. Other topics include fixed-point-free groups of automorphisms of abelian torsion groups and their cohomology groups.