cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor-Expressing Neurons in the Central Amygdala Influence Fear-Related Behavior.

Abstract Background The renin-angiotensin system has been implicated in posttraumatic stress disorder; however, the mechanisms responsible for this connection and the therapeutic potential of targeting the renin-angiotensin system in posttraumatic stress disorder remain unknown. Using an angiotensin receptor bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter mouse, combined with neuroanatomical, pharmacological, and behavioral approaches, we examined the role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) in fear-related behavior. Methods Dual immunohistochemistry with retrograde labeling was used to characterize AT2R-eGFP+ cells in the amygdala of the AT2R-eGFP-BAC reporter mouse. Pavlovian fear conditioning and behavioral pharmacological analyses were used to demonstrate the effects of AT2R activation on fear memory in male C57BL/6 mice. Results AT2R-eGFP+ neurons in the amygdala were predominantly expressed in the medial amygdala and the medial division of the central amygdala (CeM), with little AT2R-eGFP expression in the basolateral amygdala or lateral division of the central amygdala. Characterization of AT2R-eGFP+ neurons in the CeM demonstrated distinct localization to gamma-aminobutyric acidergic projection neurons. Mice receiving acute intra–central amygdala injections of the selective AT2R agonist compound 21 prior to tests for cued or contextual fear expression displayed less freezing. Retrograde labeling of AT2R-eGFP+ neurons projecting to the periaqueductal gray revealed AT2R-eGFP+ neuronal projections from the CeM to the periaqueductal gray, a key brain structure mediating fear-related freezing. Conclusions These findings suggest that CeM AT2R-expressing neurons can modulate central amygdala outputs that play a role in fear expression, providing new evidence for a novel angiotensinergic circuit in the regulation of fear.
The impact of donor sex on heart transplantation outcomes-a study of over 60,000 patients in the United States.

Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of donor gender on heart transplantation outcomes in the United States. Methods From 1987 to March 2019, 63,775 adult patients underwent heart transplantation in the United States, and their data were prospectively collected by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Patients without missing data were stratified by donor gender (female, N = 11,474; male, N = 27,509) and donor menopause status (pre-menopause, ages 35-40 years old, N = 1,783; post-menopause, ages 50-55 years old, N = 1,105). The groups were propensity matched 1:1 based on year of surgery, pre-transplant status, wait list time, human leukocyte antigen matching, donor demographics, and allograft ischemic time. Paired t-test, McNemor's tests and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed. The primary endpoint was all cause mortality, and secondary endpoints were postoperative complications. Results Propensity matching generated 15,506 patients based on donor gender and 1,094 patients based on donor menopause status. Recipients who received female donor hearts were more likely to have acute rejection episodes (630/11.9% vs. 545/10.1%, p = .007) and require post-transplant dialysis (837/10.9% vs. 719/9.3%, p = .001) than those who received male donor hearts. No difference was observed between using female or male donor hearts in the rates of graft failure (551/8.2% vs. 641/9.5%) or stroke (179/2.4% vs. 199/2.6%) (p ≥ .34). Median survival using female vs. male donor hearts was 11.6 vs. 12.1 years (p = .34) with ten-year survival of 56.5% vs. 57.1%, respectively. Recipients who received pre- vs. post-menopausal female donor hearts had similar rates of acute rejection episodes (39/11% vs. 45/12.5%), graft failure (37/7.9% vs. 46/9.9%), stroke (10/1.8% vs. 15/2.8%), or requiring dialysis (67/12.3% vs. 81/14.9%) (p ≥ .09). Median survival using pre- vs. post-menopausal female donor hearts was 11.5 vs. 10.4 years (p = .23) with ten-year survival of 56.7% vs. 51.2%, respectively. Conclusion Analysis of the UNOS database showed similar median survival using female vs. male donor hearts in adult heart transplantation, irrespective of donor menopause status. Currently, female donor hearts are used far less frequently, thus these results represent an opportunity to maximize usage by better utilization of suitable female donor organs.
Evaluation of a high flow rate electrostatic precipitator (ESP) as a particulate matter (PM) collector for toxicity studies.

Abstract In this study, we investigated the performance of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) operating at high flow rates (i.e., 50–100 lpm) as a fine particulate matter (PM2.5) collector for toxicological studies. The ESP optimum configuration (i.e., flow rate of 75 lpm and applied voltage of +12 kV) was determined based on maximum particle collection efficiencies and minimum ozone emissions associated with the instrument using different laboratory-generated aerosols. This configuration resulted in particle collection efficiencies above 80% for almost all particles in the size range of 0.015–2.5 μm while the ozone concentration was 17 ppb. The ESP was then deployed to our sampling site in central Los Angeles to evaluate its performance using ambient particles under the optimum configuration. Chemical composition and oxidative potential of PM2.5 samples collected on the foils placed inside the ESP tube were compared with those collected concurrently on filters and aerosol slurries using the versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES) operating in parallel. Our results demonstrated that the ESP was more efficient in preserving labile inorganic ions and total organic carbon (TOC) compared to filters. PM samples collected on ESP substrates also showed higher intrinsic oxidative potential compared to the filters, which might be the result of better preservation of redox active semi-volatile organic compounds on the ESP substrates. However, the TOC concentrations and intrinsic oxidative potential of PM samples collected on ESP substrates were somewhat lower than the aerosol slurries collected by the VACES, probably due to deficiency of water-insoluble compounds in extracted PM samples from ESP substrates. In conclusion, while particle collection for toxicological purposes by the ESP is somewhat inferior to a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection, the ESP performs equally well, if not better, than conventional filter samplers and can be utilized as a simple and adequately efficient PM collector for toxicological studies.
Boundary-integral computation of hydrodynamic interactions between a three-dimensional body and an infinitely long cylinder

Hydrodynamic interactions between a three-dimensional body of revolution and an infinitely long circular cylinder in an inviscid fluid are studies numerically by the boundary-integral method. The added-mass coefficients and their derivatives are computed in terms of the solutions of four integral equations of the second kind. A numerical technique based on variable transformations is developed to evaluate integrations over steep peaks. Integrations over the cylindrical surface are properly computed by mapping the infinite region onto a finite region and regularizing the ill-behaved kernels with sharp peaks. The discrete added masses and their derivatives are fitted by the least-squares approximation on the basis of Legendre polynomials. As a practical example, the moving trajectories of a sphere conveyed by a uniform flow around a fixed circular cylinder are computed and presented.
Mystical Theology and Translation: Re-veiling the Latin Corpus Dionysiacum

Modern evaluations of the translation of the corpus of Pseudo-Dionysius have followed trends in translation theory, emphasizing how it was altered in its transition from Greek into Latin. This arti...
The Information Literacy Framework: Case Studies of Successful Implementation . Heidi Julien, Melissa Gross, and Don Latham, eds. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. 296p. Paper, $50.00 (ISBN 978-1-5381-2144-3). LC 20-9038974.

The Information Literacy Framework: Case Studies of Successful Implementation provides librarians with examples of how others have implemented and used ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy in a variety of settings. The book is split into three sections: Preparing to Use the Framework , Case Studies of Instruction Using the Framework , and Educating for the Framework . Given the amount of uncertainty that librarians have expressed since ACRL introduced the Framework , this text should be useful to many. While the learning environments will differ, librarians should be inspired by the case studies to adapt the ideas to their own environments. Case studies come from a range of institutions including a private boarding (high) school, large state universities, community colleges, and large and small private universities. While the editors are current faculty at schools of Information or Information Science, practitioners author most of the chapters, with several Information Science faculty contributing to the section on educating for the Framework .
Methodological individualism, spontaneous order and the research program of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis

Abstract This paper is an exercise in the archeology of knowledge that seeks to understand the intellectual precursors to the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. This perspective reveals that the research agenda of the Ostroms draws significantly from the ideas and themes developed in the first half of the 20th century by Knight, Mises, and Hayek. In so doing, we argue, they usefully deploy and expand the economic way of thinking beyond its traditional boundaries while avoiding most of the criticisms of economic imperialism.
Abstract IA010: How opposing roles of interferon and pattern recognition receptor signaling in the TME influence immunotherapy

Interferon (IFN) signaling pathways are broadly active across multiple cancer types. These pathways are typically associated with pathogen infection, but their roles in cancer are less understood. Emerging evidence indicates that IFN signaling has complex and even dichotomous roles in both cancer and host-pathogen interactions. On the one hand, IFN is often essential for immune activation and for promoting response to cancer immunotherapies. On the other hand, prolonged IFN signaling that accompanies persistent disease can lead to immunotherapy resistance and immunosuppression. This latter role represents a feedback inhibition mechanism that can also be observed in chronic pathogen infections to limit immune-mediated pathology. Thus, how these opposing effects of IFN signaling are controlled and what factors dictate one function over the other are important questions. In this presentation, insight into how opposing functions of IFN and pattern recognition receptor signaling impact cancer immunotherapy will be discussed. This will include evidence for what factors might favor one function of IFN over the other. Finally, work will be presented that illustrates how key interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) expressed by cancer cells can control whether an immune stimulatory or suppressive tumor immune microenvironment develops. Citation Format: Andy J. Minn. How opposing roles of interferon and pattern recognition receptor signaling in the TME influence immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on the Evolving Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Progression: Mechanisms and Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities; in association with the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Working Group; 2021 Jan 11-12. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(5 Suppl):Abstract nr IA010.
Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is not an infectious disease, but rather a genetic disorder. It is characterized by an abnormality in the hemoglobin which causes the red blood cells to be deformed (sickle shaped instead of flat). Victims’ blood is not able to transport oxygen properly and the vital organs are starved out; death occurs ordinarily before reproductive maturity.
Geriatric Syndrome Screening: Implementing an Evidence-Based Process in Hospitalized Older Adults With Cancer.

Background Oncology nurses are in a key position to screen patients for geriatric syndromes that can disproportionately affect older adults with cancer. Early recognition can promote informed decision-making, initiation of interventions, and tolerance of treatment. Objectives This study aimed to implement a nursing-sensitive screening process to identify types and frequency of geriatric syndromes in hospitalized older adult patients with cancer. Methods Nurses were trained to screen for geriatric syndromes using the SPICES tool (sleep disorders, problems with eating or feeding, incontinence, confusion, evidence of falls, and skin breakdown). The electronic health record was leveraged to facilitate documentation and provide a geriatric syndrome profile for each patient. Findings Results demonstrated ability of staff nurses to lead an evidence-based practice initiative and the challenges faced. Adherence to SPICES screening was 47%. About 80% of patients had two or more geriatric syndrome issues.
Does city lockdown prevent the spread of COVID-19? New evidence from the synthetic control method.

At 10 a.m. on January 23, 2020 Wuhan, China imposed a 76-day travel lockdown on its 11 million residents in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. This lockdown represented the largest quarantine in the history of public health and provides us with an opportunity to critically examine the relationship between a city lockdown on human mobility and controlling the spread of a viral epidemic, in this case COVID-19. This study aims to assess the causal impact of the Wuhan lockdown on population movement and the increase of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. Based on the daily panel data from 279 Chinese cities, our research is the first to apply the synthetic control approach to empirically analyze the causal relationship between the Wuhan lockdown of its population mobility and the progression of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. By using a weighted average of available control cities to reproduce the counterfactual outcome trajectory that the treated city would have experienced in the absence of the lockdown, the synthetic control approach overcomes the sample selection bias and policy endogeneity problems that can arise from previous empirical methods in selecting control units. In our example, the lockdown of Wuhan reduced mobility inflow by approximately 60 % and outflow by about 50 %. A significant reduction of new cases was observed within four days of the lockdown. The increase in new cases declined by around 50% during this period. However, the suppression effect became less discernible after this initial period of time. A 2.25-fold surge was found for the increase in new cases on the fifth day following the lockdown, after which it died down rapidly. Our study provided urgently needed and reliable causal evidence that city lockdown can be an effective short-term tool in containing and delaying the spread of a viral epidemic. Further, the city lockdown strategy can buy time during which countries can mobilize an effective response in order to better prepare. Therefore, in spite of initial widespread skepticism, lockdowns are likely to be added to the response toolkit used for any future pandemic outbreak.
Congenital Left Coronary Atresia: Diagnostic Pearls and Management Challenges in Two Children Presenting with Syncope.

Congenital atresia of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is a rare anomaly in which the LMCA does not receive antegrade flow from any vessel and instead receives exclusively retrograde flow from right coronary artery (RCA) collaterals. Its estimated incidence is 0.04%.1 Clinical presentation is varied and can manifest as heart failure and sudden cardiac death in infancy and childhood or as angina in adulthood.2 We present two pediatric cases with different clinical presentation, subtle initial diagnostic findings, and surgical management challenges. This case series received proper ethical oversight, including consent from patient guardians.
Extrapulmonic Ventilatory Failure

Ventilatory failure is a failure of the respiratory system to properly oxygenate and remove carbon dioxide from the blood. The respiratory system includes the pulmonary parenchyma (airways, alveoli, and capillary bed) and the pulmonary vessels; but it also includes the chest wall; the muscles of respiration; the nerves innervating the chest and diaphragm; the central and peripheral chemoreceptors; and the respiratory centers in the brain.
London’s Frantic Quest for the Muslim Holy Grail: The Post‐9/11 Evolution of the Relationship Between Whitehall and the British Muslim Community

Over the last 20 years most European governments have sought to find individuals and organizations that could be identified as representatives of their Muslim communities. These efforts have been frustrated by the extreme fragmentation that characterizes these communities, which, in turn, has caused them to lack a unified leadership. In the mid-1990s British authorities sought to overcome this situation by supporting and treating as sole government interlocutor the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), an umbrella body uniting hundreds of British Muslim organizations. Tensions after the 9/11 and, later, 7/7 terrorist attacks raised thorny and previously unexpected issues in the relationship between MCB and Whitehall, leading to its progressive deterioration and, in 2009, to a temporary suspension of contacts. The article examines the evolution of this relationship and the various factors that influenced it.
From Aesthete to Gangster: The Dandy Figure in the Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Dandy is a Clothes-wearing Man, a Man whose trade, office, and existence consists of the wearing of Clothes. Every faculty of his soul, spirit, person and purse is heroically consecrated to this one object—-the wearing of clothes, wisely and well: so that, as others dress to live, he lives to dress. —Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus (207) I remembered a few old pictures I’d seen of my father in his twenties. He wore a double- breasted Chesterfield topcoat, a regimental striped tie, and brown and white spectator shoes. He looked like a dandy out of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Not the Jordan Baker crowd, with their easy inherited wealth and comfortable preppy way of dressing. More like Gatsby, the parvenu. Trying so desperately, and pathetically, to look as if he’d gone to Princeton and then on to a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, but overdoing it. —Pat Jordan, A Nice Tuesday (200) As undeniably the most fashion-conscious male writer of the early twentieth century, F. Scott Fitzgerald fits Carlyle’s definition of the dandy as a “Clotheswearing Man.” In photographs he is consistently attired in fashionable designer apparel, suggesting that concerns about dress, class, and masculinity were central in creating his public identity as a writer. His interest in fashion’s influence, especially upon class and gender identity, is also evident in all of his published novels. Fitzgerald relied on his sartorial interest and knowledge in creating his male protagonists—all of whom are described in terms that classify them as dandy figures. Sportswriter Pat Jordan’s description of Jay Gatsby’s dandiacal dress points to the fact that dandyism in Fitzgerald’s writing is perhaps a given; yet it is surprising that critics have not undertaken a larger study of dandyism, or at least the purpose or importance of sartorial references, in Fitzgerald’s fiction. Biographies attentive to Fitzgerald’s preoccupation with his own apparel make few references to dandyesque dress or dandiacal influence. Yet, many of the biographical references to dandyism in Fitzgerald’s youth
Educational Adequacy as a Distributive Principle

A long line of court cases in the United States, beginning with the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Rodriguez and continuing with state court decisions in the 70s and 80s, have rejected the principle of equality proposed by John Coons, William Clune, and Stephen Sugarman, that the political subunits of a state have no right to be “relatively wealthy for educational purposes.” There is no federal constitutional requirement, and in a number of states no state constitutional requirement either, that the various school districts within a state receive equal funding. Litigation seeking equity in school finance appeared to have reached a dead end, consigning the educational fate of children in poor districts to state legislatures disproportionately influenced by wealthy voters campaigning for tax breaks.
The Struggle for Group Membership: Religion and American Identity

If the United States is considered by many to be a Christian nation, how does that affect individuals who are American citizens but not Christian? We test two hypotheses: 1) Americans consider Christians to be more fully American than non-Christians. Politicians occasionally refer to the United States as a “Christian nation” and many Americans assume the Constitution says it is so. We examine whether Americans explicitly connect being Christian with being a true American and go further by testing whether they make the implicit connection as well; 2) We know from previous research that prototypical group members are more patriotic and tend to set more exclusive group boundaries than atypical group members. As such, we hypothesize that Christian Americans will be more likely to express patriotism and set exclusive boundaries on the national group than will non-Christian Americans. Among non-Christians, however, those who want to be fully accepted as American will also be more patriotic and set more exclusive boundaries on the national group to emulate prototypical group members (i.e. Christians) than non-Christians who place less emphasis on national group membership. We test these hypotheses using data from both a national random-sample survey data and a laboratory-based Implicit Association Test (IAT). We find that Americans in general associate being Christian with being a true American. For Christians, this is true both explicitly and implicitly. For non-Christians, only the implicit measure uncovers an association. We also found that non-Christians exhibit significantly more pro-national group behaviors when they desire being prototypical than when they do not.
The Perspective of Waste Isolation Research Issues and Assessment of Consequences for Radionuclide Release

Nuclear waste management has recently experienced a proliferation of technical and social issues which have seemingly confounded the stabilization and implementation of effective policy. Advocates and critics alike have shown an inexhaustable capacity to arouse public and scientific interest in these matters. This paper is restricted to the examination of some current technical issues in the perspective of their role in determining consequences of radionuclide release to the biosphere. The consequence assessments done for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site are used as a reference and compared with some current data on various technical issues. The comparisons and conclusions drawn apply specifically to WIPP configurations at the WIPP site. In addition, these initial assessments provide the basis for a method to identify key issues and eliminate inconsequential ones, thereby allowing commensurate allocation of research and development resources.
A Theoretical Study of Carbon Clusters: Equilibrium Geometries and Electronic Structures of C n

In recent years, there has been widespread interest in the theoretical investigation of clusters of atoms (Schaefer 1975, Echt et al. 1981, Muhlback et al. 1982, Messmer 1982, Knight et al. 1984, Ray et al. 1985, Ray 1986). The understanding of the chemistry and physics of clusters is of signal importance in many diverse areas, such as catalysis and combustion. Such clusters are also often used to model bulk solid-state phenomena and their surfaces. Newly developed experimental techniques also make it possible to study the transition from cluster to bulk behavior. Much of the earlier work has been on metal clusters, specifically alkali metal clusters (Knight et al. 1984, Clemenger 1985), where “magic numbers” have been identified in the relative populations of aggregates of atoms. In a cluster experiment, the existence of these magic numbers are identified as local maxima in the cluster abundance spectrum at certain “magic” cluster sizes. For these metals, the spherical jellium model (Knight et al. 1984, Chou et al. 1984) provide a good understanding of the existence of magic numbers, predicted to occur at 2, 8, 20, 40, etc. Similar work has been reported on the formation of “magic clusters” for molecules (Beuhler 1982) and rare gases (Echt et al. 1981).
A Multilevel Exploration

Evolution and the Levels of Selection . By Samir Okasha . Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2006. 275 pp. $55, £30. ISBN 9780199267972. Considering conceptual and foundational aspects of the debates over levels of selection--natural selection acting on genes, individuals, groups, or species--Okasha pays particular attention to effects that filter from one level up or down to others.
Did we see the 2011 summer heat wave coming

[1] A series of climate extreme events affected many parts of the US during 2011, including the severe drought in Texas, the spring tornado outbreak in the southern states, and the weeklong summer heat wave in the Central Plains. Successful prediction of these events can better inform and prepare the general public to cope with these extremes. In this study, we investigate the operational capability of the new NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) in predicting the 2011 summer heat wave. We found that starting from April 2011, the operational CFSv2 forecast consistently suggested an elevated probability of extremely hot days during the forthcoming summer over the Central Plains, and as the summer was approaching the forecast became more certain about the summer heat wave in its geographic location, intensity and timing. This study demonstrates the capability of the new seasonal forecast system and its potential usefulness in decision making process.
Valve Resection for Endocarditis

Excerpt To the editor: The report by Chandraratna and colleagues (1) states that "surgical resection of a vegetation, without valve replacement, has not been previously reported." As a medical inte...
The problem of antiretroviral adherence: a self-regulatory model for intervention

Controlled trials that determine which interventions can significantly improve adherence to combination antiretroviral regimens are urgently needed. Rates of adherence to the regimens are often sub-optimal, and while a variety of factors that are predictive or associated with antiretroviral adherence have been identified, few research findings are reported of interventions that effectively promote adherence and improve health outcomes. Further, the mechanisms by which interventions promote antiretroviral adherence are not well understood. Maximizing adherence and achieving the full potential of the antiretroviral therapies demand multidimensional initiatives that address complex behavioural and biomedical issues. A model drawn from self-regulation theory and empirical data to explain antiretroviral medication adherence is proposed.
Diethyldithiocarbamic Acid-Methyl Ester Distribution, Elimination, and LD50 in the Rat after Intraperitoneal Administration

Following the intraperitoneal administration of S35 diethyldithiocarbamic acid-methyl ester (S35 DDTC-Me) to male rats, maximal total radioactivity (S35) in most tissues was found 1 hr after dosing. Twelve hr after intraperitoneal S35 DDTC-Me, most of the total radioactivity was found in urine. The feces accounted for approximately 15% of the total radioactivity. No radioactivity was detected in the breath. The kidney exhibited the greatest uptake of radioactivity, while the least uptake was found in the brain and heart. Most of the radioactivity in the tissues was due to the inorganic sulfate. S35 DDTC-glucuronide was found in the gastrointestinal tract and feces. The LD50 for DDTC-Me given intraperitoneally to male rats and mice was 167 and 263 mg/kg, respectively. Symptoms of toxicity preceding death of the animals resembled those symptoms observed with disulfiram toxicity.
Tricuspid stenosis: clinical and physiologic evaluation.

Abstract The patients presented at this time demonstrate that the association of mitral stenosis with tricuspid valve disease represents an operable state. Thoughtful consideration of the history and careful physical examination will usually indicate the presence of tricuspid disease. Hemodynamic studies in such patients, with attention to the atrioventricular pressure gradient in early diastole, will aid in arriving at a decision regarding the operability of the tricuspid lesion. The operative mortality and morbidity are high in this type of patient but the probability of improvement warrants operative therapy.
Effect of aging on peak systolic left ventricular wall stress in normal subjects

Studies of cardiac mechanics in compensated heart muscle suggest that muscle hypertrophy is stimulated by long-term increases in peak myocardial wall stress.1–6 Conditions leading to either chronic left ventricular (LV) pressure or volume overload generally result in an increase in LV wall stress (expressed as force per unit area). Increased systolic stress results in decreased LV performance unless compensatory hypertrophy develops to normalize systolic wall stress. Measurements of LV wall stress in patients with chronic LV volume or pressure overload should provide an excellent index of cardiac compensation that could be followed serially to permit detection of early myocardial decompensation such as an abnormal increase in wall stress due to inadequate hypertrophy.4–6 The objectives of this study were to examine the relation of LV peak systolic wall stress to age and body surface area in normal subjects and to establish the normal range of values for LV peak systolic stress, taking age and body surface area into account. We have shown that in normal subjects, LV wall thickness increases with increasing age and body surface area, while LV internal dimensions decrease slightly with aging, but increase with increasing body surface area.7–9 To determine the effect of age and body surface area on LV peak systolic (meridional) wall stress, we analyzed M-mode echocardiographic data previously recorded in an adult population without evidence of cardiovascular disease.7–9
An Ethical Dilemma in Elder Abuse

Abstract While most elder abuse is perpetrated by family members, some may be performed by strangers. When the elderly victim reaches out to the social agency but then refuses services, an ethical dilemma is created for the social worker. Conflicts arise among social work values and the ethical principles of autonomy and paternalism, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. A model of ethical justification is applied that explains the possible decisions in this case. The actual resolution of the dilemma is accomplished through a social work practice principle.
Corticosteroids suppress cyclooxygenase messenger RNA levels and prostanoid synthesis in cultured vascular cells

Prostacyclin synthesis by cultured vascular smooth muscle cells was inactivated by aspirin. Recovery required serum factors replaceable by EGF plus TGF- and was blocked by cycloheximide but not by actinomycin D. Recovery of cyclooxygenase activity was prevented by preincubation with dexamethasone (0.1 to 2 μM), which also suppressed basal enzyme activity by up to 70%. A full length 2.8 Kb cDNA hybridization probe for human cyclooxygenase identified a cyclooxygenase messenger RNA of approximately 2.8 Kb in these cells. Cyclooxygenase mRNA levels were enhanced by EGF/TGF-β, but suppressed completely by corticosteroids. It is concluded that inhibition of prostanoid synthesis by corticosteroids is mediated by suppressing cyclooxygenase messenger RNA. These observations provide a new molecular mechanism for the anti-inflammatory activity of the corticosteroids.
Electrophoretic methods for differentiating glycolytic enzymes of mouse and human origin.

Methods for electrophoresis and specific staining of all of the enzymes of the glycolytic pathway are illustrated. Interspecies differences between the enzymes of moue and of human origin are readily demonstrated and are applicable to studies, in mouse-human hybrid cell clones, of linkage, chromosomal assignment, and regulation of the gene loci controlling glycolytic enzymes
Finding the intersection of n half-spaces in time O(n log n)☆

Abstract Given a set of n half-spaces in three dimensional space, we develop an algorithm for finding their common intersection in time O( n log n ). The intersection, if nonempty, is presented as a convex polyhedron. The algorithm is summarized as follows: (i) the half-spaces are placed in two sets depending upon whether they contain or do not contain the origin; (ii) the half-spaces in each of these sets are dualized to points, and the convex hulls of the dualized sets are obtained in time O( n log n ); (iii) since the half-space intersection is nonempty if and only if these two convex hulls are disjoint, a separating plane is found, also in time O( n log n ); (iv) after applying a linear spatial transformation which maps the separating plane to infinity, the convex hull of the union of the two transformed convex hulls is the transformed intersection of the half-spaces. Since the letter can be found in time O( n ), the overall running time of the procedure is O( n log n ). A significant consequence of this result is that a three-variable linear, or convex, programming problem can be asymptotically solved faster than by the Simplex algorithm, in the worst case.
Deep soft tissue infections in the neutropenic pediatric oncology patient.

Purpose: Necrotizing fasciitis and myonecrosis can be rapidly fatal without prompt and aggressive medical and surgical therapy. We reviewed our experience with necrotizing fasciitis and myonecrosis in neutropenic pediatric oncology patients to describe associated clinical characteristics and outline therapeutic interventions. Patients and Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all cases of deep soft tissue infection found in neutropenic pediatric oncology patients during an 11-year period. Results: Seven cases of necrotizing fasciitis and/or myonecrosis associated with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia were diagnosed during the study period. Deep soft tissue infection was diagnosed a median of 14 days after the initiation of chemotherapy. All of the patients presented with fever and pain, generally out of proportion to associated physical findings. Most patients (86%) also had tachycardia and subtle induration at the site of soft tissue infection. The pathogenic organism in four of seven patients originated in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients were treated with antibiotics, surgical debridements, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and hyperbaric oxygen. Granulocyte transfusions were administered if there were no signs of neutrophil recovery. Five patients survived their deep soft tissue infection. Conclusions: The diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis and/or myonecrosis should be considered in any neutropenic patient with fever, tachycardia, and localized pain out of proportion to the physical findings. Appropriate therapy includes broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and urgent surgical intervention. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor should be administered to all patients to enhance neutrophil recovery. Granulocyte transfusions should be considered if a prolonged period of neutropenia is anticipated.
Anaerobic Psychrophiles from Lake Zub and Lake Untersee, Antarctica

The study of samples from Antarctica 2008 and 2009 expeditions organized and successfully conducted by Richard Hoover led to the isolation of diverse anaerobic strains with psychrotolerant and psychrophilic physiology. Due to the fact that Lake Untersee has never been subject to microbiological study, this work with the samples has significant and pioneering impact to the knowledge about the biology of this unique ecosystem. Also, the astrobiological significance for the study of these ecosystems is based on new findings of ice covered water systems on other bodies of our solar system. Anaerobic psychrotolerant strain LZ-22 was isolated from a frozen sample of green moss with soils around the rhizosphere collected near Lake Zub in Antarctica. Morphology of strain LZ-22 was observed to be motile, rod shaped and spore-forming cells with sizes 1 x 5-10 micron. This new isolate is a mesophile with the maximum temperature of growth at 40C. Strain LZ-22 is able to live on media without NaCl and in media with up to 7% (w/v) NaCl. It is catalase negative and grows only on sugars with the best growth rate being on lactose. The strain is a neutrophile and grows between pH 5 and 9.0 with the optimum at 7.8. Another two strains UL7-96mG and LU-96m7P were isolated from deep water samples of Lake Untersee. Proteolytic strain LU-96m7P had a truly psychrophilic nature and refused to grow at room temperature. Sugarlytic strain UL7-96mG was found to be psychrotolerant, but its rate of growth at 3C was very high compared with other mesophiles. Two homoacetogenic psychrophilic strains A7AC-96m and AC-DS7 were isolated and purified from samples of Lake Untersee; both of them are able to grow chemolithotrophically on H2+CO2. In the presence of lactate, these strains are able to grow only at 0-18C, and growth at 22C was observed only with yeast extract stimulation. In this paper, physiological and morphological characteristics of novel psychrophilic and psychrotolerant isolates from Antarctica 2008 and 2009 expeditions will be discussed.
Experimental Study of Entrance Effects on Laminar Gas Flow Through Silicon Orifices

This study summarizes a fundamental investigation of flow through an array of silicon micromachined rectangular slots. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of entrance pressure, flow area, orifice thickness, slot length, and slot width of the orifice on flow rate. These orifices were fabricated using a simple frontside through wafer DRIE process on a 385 μm thick wafer and wafer bonding to create thicker orifices. The dies were then packaged as part of a TO8 can and flow tested. To complement the results of this experimental work, two simple flow models were developed to predict the effect of geometrical and entrance conditions on the flow rate. These models were based on macroscale assumptions that were not necessarily true in the case of thin orifices. One relationship was based on Pouiselle flow which assumes fully developed flow conditions. Calculation of the entry length required for fully developed flow indicate that in the low Reynolds Number regime (32-550) evaluated, the entry flow development requires 2-8 times the thickness of the thickest orifices used for this study. Therefore, calculations of orifice flow based on a Pouiselle model are an overestimate of the actual measured flow rates. Another model examined typical orifice relationships using head loss at the entrance and exit of the slots did not accurately capture the particular flow rates since it overestimated the expansion or constriction losses. A series of experiments where the pressure was varied between 75 and 1000 Pa were performed. A comparison of the Pouiselle flow solution with experimental results was made which showed that the Pouiselle flow model overpredicts the flow rates and more specifically, the effect of width on the flow rates. The results of these tests were used to develop a transfer function which describes the dependence of flow rate on orifice width, thickness, length, and inlet pressure.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Antitrypsin and emphysema. Perspective and prospects.

AN ARRAY of serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins) modulate important proteolytic cascades in blood and tissue. A high concentration of the major serpin, α 1 -antitrypsin, in plasma reflects the prevalence and potential threat of its primary target enzyme, neutrophil elastase. The observation that the inherited deficiency of antitrypsin was often associated with premature airflow limitation due to panacinar emphysema led to the concept that normal lung structure depends on a balance between the destructive effects of neutrophil elastase and the protective effects of the serpins, especially α 1 -antitrypsin. Wide variability exists in the tendency for emphysema to develop among subjects with the deficiency, but those who smoke cigarettes become disabled 15 to 20 years earlier than those who do not. Definitive therapy was not available until recently; the protein has been purified on a commercial scale. Early results indicate that weekly injections of antitrypsin safely sustain normal levels in
Three-dimensional structure of copolymers of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid: A model for diffraction from a nematic structure

Abstract X-ray methods have been used to investigate the three-dimensional structure of copolymers of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (HNA). X-ray patterns of melt spun fibres indicate a high degree of axial orientation of the molecules, but with poor lateral order, except in some highly ordered regions. Our previous calculations have shown that the aperiodic meridional maxima are consistent with chains of completely random monomer sequence. Extension of these calculations to the three-dimensional structure has been done by calculating the cylindrically averaged intensity transform for single chains. The results point to a distorted hexagonal array of chains which have extended but otherwise random conformations, i.e. there is a broad distribution of aromatic-carboxyl torsion angles. It is suggested that in some regions the chain packing is more regular, perhaps due to axial register of HBA-rich sequences, giving rise to the off-equatorial reflections characteristic of three-dimensional order.
PIC simulations of EMH and MHD effects in the plasma opening switch

Summary form only given, as follows. Plasma opening switches (POS) are the key components of inductive energy store (IES) pulsed power systems. In the closed phase an IES system stores magnetic energy in the inductance of a vacuum transmission line. As the POS opens the stored magnetic energy flows past the POS and into a load (for example an electron or ion diode). To achieve power multiplication the opening time should be much shorter than the conduction time. There are three proposed mechanisms that control the conduction phase of the POS: 1) sheath effects at the electrodes, 2) rapid penetration of magnetic field into the body of the plasma due to EMH effects, and 3) displacement and distortion of the plasma. due to J/spl times/B (MHD) forces. In this paper, the PIC code, MAGIC, is used to study EMH and MHD effects in a POS. These simulations were performed in negative polarity with a strong radial density gradient. In regimes where EMH is expected to be dominant, the simulations show rapid axial penetration of magnetic field into the plasma in a narrow radial channel along the positive density gradient. No field penetration is observed along the negative portion of the density gradient. In positive polarity, field penetration occurs along the negative gradient and no field penetration is observed along the positive density gradient. This agrees with EMH theory of shock penetration of magnetic field. However, the speed of penetration is somewhat slower than predicted by fluid treatments. The PIC simulations also show the formation of vortices in the electron flow behind the EMH shock front.
Fluorescence-based analysis of aminoacyl- and peptidyl-tRNA by low-pH sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Proper characterization of aminoacyl- and peptidyl-tRNA, key components of protein biosynthesis, is of crucial importance in the study of the multifaceted aspects of translation. Analysis of ribosome-associated aminoacyl- and peptidyl-tRNAs has often been approached via sucrose gradients followed by scintillation counting [1]. This method is suitable to gain information about the entire ribosomal complex but it fails to provide direct knowledge on the molecular size of aminoacyl- and peptidyl-tRNA. Previous attempts to perform direct analysis on peptidyl-tRNA were based on native gel electrophoresis [2]. On the preparative scale, aminoacyl- and peptidyl-tRNAs have been isolated by ion exchange [3,4], reverse phase, size exclusion or affinity chromatography. However, the latter approaches are not as convenient as gel electrophoresis and may require larger amount of samples.
Mary Shelley's Global Atmosphere

The Last Man's description of the atmosphere's role in spreading apocalyptic plague poses a problem for scholarly arguments associating the plague with the sins of empire. This article argues that the relationship between the plague's miasmatic transmission and imperial trade can be understood in relation to Romantic aeronautical imagery and the emergent concept of international airspace. Whereas late eighteenth-century depictions of atmosphere tended to portray national air as isolated from that of the rest of the world, the invention of balloon flight had helped usher in an era in which Britain's “pure air” could be seen as entangled with that of its current and former colonies. Like some contemporary abolitionists, Shelley draws on the idea of a shared planetary atmosphere to suggest that fates of “the inhabitants of native Europe” and “the swarthy African” (332) are linked, and that Britain's toleration of slavery elsewhere in the world will contaminate the moral atmosphere of the nation. Through her ...
Quantitative investigation of the adhesion failure of Ti-based metal thin films on Si wafers

In this study, failure analysis was conducted to investigate the root cause of Ti/Ni/Ag film peeling from Si wafer surface. The adhesion strength of Ti/Ni/Ag film on Si was quantitatively measured by 4 Point Bending method (4PB), where a novel delamination initiation method was introduced to significantly reduce the energy barrier for the delamination initiation. The possible contamination elements at the Ti/Si interface were analyzed by TOF-SIMS analysis but no considerable difference was found. On the other hand, TEM and AFM analysis revealed that the adhesion failure of Ti/Ni/Ag film from Si substrate was possibly because of the low surface roughness resulted from the excessive polishing during wafer thinning process. The findings of this work would be interesting for the researchers doing failure analysis on metal film peeling/delamination on IC or MEMS devices. The methods of creating defects for initiation of delamination could be widely applied on 4 Point Bending testing of various types of metal films on Si wafers.
Evidence for autapses in the substantia nigra

Abstract Intracellular recording and intracellular HRP staining were employed to trace the recurrent terminal plexus of cat substantia nigra pars reticulata neurons. Autaptic neurons were labeled. The axon of an autaptic neuron was found to emit a recurrent collateral which distributed ‘en passage’ and terminal boutons contacting dendrites of the parent cell. Antidromic ventromedial thalamic stimulation elicited a recurrent IPSP in the autaptic neuron.
Inactivation and stabilization of IgA protease from the human oral bacterium Streptococcus sanguis

The oral bacterium, Streptococcus sanguis, secretes an extracellular protease which specifically cleaves immunoglobulin A (IgA). During in vitro growth of Strep. sanguis at 37 degrees C the IgA protease was completely inactivated within 2 h. Lowering the growth temperature to 31 degrees C reduced the inactivation rate 50 per cent and a doubling of enzyme yield was obtained. The IgA protease could be stabilized by the presence of whole human saliva, by a low concentration of IgA, or by inhibition of non-specific protease activity. Therefore, the inactivation of IgA protease appeared to be the cumulative result of thermal denaturation and inactivation by non-specific proteases.