cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-term palliation with the classic Blalock-Taussig shunt

Eighty-five patients received a classic Blalock-Taussig shunt between 1973 and 1986. Their age range was 1 day to 9.3 years and their median age was 4 months. Forty-one percent (35/85) were less than 1 month of age. The basic operative technique was unchanged throughout the time period. The subclavian artery opposite the side of the arch was used in 89% (79/88) of the patients. All anastomoses were done with monofilament suture and there was a tendency toward smaller suture material (7-0) in the latter years. All anastomoses except one were done with an interrupted suture technique. The operative mortality rate was 4.7% (4/85) and was not statistically related to age, diagnosis, or year of operation. Palliation was considered to be satisfactory until either a second shunt or a premature corrective operation were necessary. Seven patients required a second shunt and three, a premature corrective operation. The mean time between the initial shunt and the second procedure, either a second shunt or a corrective operation, was 2.9 years and 2.4 years, respectively. Twenty-five patients have had an elective corrective operation and the mean interval to that procedure was 3.9 years. Two years after the operation, 97% of patients older than 1 month of age at operation remain in well-palliated condition, as do 87% of those less than 1 month of age. At 4 years, 87% of those older than 1 month and 54% of those less than 1 month of age continue to be in well-palliated condition. The classic Blalock-Taussig shunt provides excellent palliation at a low operative mortality for virtually all patients for a minimum of 2 years. It will provide adequate pulmonary blood flow for most patients for an extended period of time beyond 2 years.
O2 and the number and arrangement of coronary capillaries; effect on calculated tissue PO2.

O2 transport in tissue depends largely on the abundance and arrangement of capillaries. To study these parameters in a tissue of high VO2 we devised a technique by which surface capillaries could be visualized in stop-motion cine photomicrographs of rat heart beating in situ (1,2,6). In each rat under each experimental condition 100–900 individual measurements of intercapillary distance (ICD) were obtained. To date 65 rats have been so studied at various values of paO2 obtained by adjusting pIO2. Statistical analyses of ICD are based on the National Bureau of Standards Omnitab II computer program; technical details are provided in references 2 and 6.
40th Anniversary of COMPSAC: Highlights

The 40th IEEE Computer Society International Conference on Computers, Software a Applications was held in 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia, from June 10-14. The author reviews this year's conference theme, keynote addresses, and significant panels and how they relate to IT professionals.
Constitutional Differences in Physiologic Adaptation to Stress and Distress

Because of the widespread confusion about the definition of the term “stress,” we shall use the definition as stated by Selye in his latest writings: “Stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it” (Selye, 1971). In this sense, stress represents a reaction of a living organism to any stimuli which would tend to disturb the homeokinetic state or which would tend to satisfy the particular drives (needs) of the organism at a particular time.
Practical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

The physiological responses to surgery, critical illness, and subsequent resuscitation can alter both pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) [1]. As a result of these changes, pharmacotherapy may need to be altered to produce the desired outcomes. A basic understanding of the principles of pharmacokinetics, or the movement of drugs in the body, and pharmacodynamics, the cells responses to drugs, is needed to maximize pharmacotherapy [2]. This chapter will review basic pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles and some changes in the critically ill surgical patient.
High-Q resonance near zero wave vector in photonic crystal slab for label-free sensing

We report here experimental result of refractive index (RI) sensing using the singly degenerate high quality (Q) factor mode in photonic crystal slab (PCS) with the incident beam close to normal incidence. Q = 3.2×10 4 was measured with high extinction ratio (ER > 10 dB) for the PCS in air. Q = 1.8×10 4 and spectral sensitivity ( S ) of 94.5 nm/RIU were measured in liquid for the PCS. A detection limit ( DL ) of 10 -5 RIU has been achieved with our device. The high- Q for the singly degenerate mode close to normal incidence with relatively high S is very promising to achieve a lower DL for RI sensing.
Symmetry Elements in the Plane

Recall from Chapters V and VI that the following combinations of rotocenters may coexist in the plane: 1. a single rotocenter 2. three non-congruent rotocomplexes: 1∞∞′ 22′∞ 236 244′ 33′3″ 3. four non-congruent rotocomplexes: 22′2″2'‴
Navigating instructional dialectics: empirical exploration of paradox in teaching

ABSTRACTNavigating contradiction represents an integral part of the teaching process. While educational literature has discussed the paradoxes that teachers experience in the classroom, minimal empirical research has analyzed the strategies teachers employ to address these paradoxes. Using relational dialectics as a theoretical framework for understanding paradoxes in teaching, we analyzed extensive interview data from 19 postsecondary instructors regarding the learning-oriented dialectics teachers experience and navigate. Findings here extend dialectics into a new instructional context by identifying three supradialectics these teachers experienced, as well as the strategies they report using to assist student learning in light of those dialectics. Subsequent analysis illustrates the dialectic nature of teacher strategies used in the classroom, offering insight into how teachers navigate dialectic tensions daily in the classroom. Further, this study provides researchers theoretical knowledge and evidence...
Rethinking the importance of ecological networks through the glass of environmental variations

A major quest in network and community ecology has been centered on understanding the importance of structural patterns in species interaction networks --- the synthesis of who interacts with whom in a given location and time. In the past decades, much effort has been devoted on linking the importance of a particular structure to its capacity to tolerate random external perturbations. Here we advocate that such a perspective is inconsistent. We show that the importance of a network structure depends on the environmental conditions faced by a community at any given point in time. We discuss a research agenda to systematically investigate the importance of ecological networks under an environment-dependent framework. We hypothesize that only by linking network structure, community persistence, and environmental variations, we can be able to increase our understanding about both the existence of structural patterns in ecological networks and how communities may respond under future scenarios of climate change.
Managed out of existence: over-regulation of Indigenous subsistence fishing of the Yukon River

Humans are adversely affected by the loss of vital fishery resources, specifically Indigenous peoples and the traditional knowledge systems that are foundationally tied to their culture. Discounting the ability and knowledge of Indigenous peoples stems from concepts rooted in “Tragedy of the Commons” in which a shared resource, in this case fisheries, if left unchecked will be destroyed by the mismanagement of users. The Alaskan fisheries policy regime is recognized as one of the best managed and influential fisheries in the world, but the state is predominantly driven by a conservation approach that discounts other knowledge systems. Alaskan Native fishers, for example the Gwich’in, who maintain a sustainable 30,000 year (conservatively) relationship with their environment, possess culturally specific Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) that is a result of the mechanisms or physical act of fishing, thus giving meaning to the term we will use in this paper, Indigenous Fishers’ Knowledge (IFK). Alaskan Natives along the Yukon River derive specific knowledge about their environment and King Salmon through the act of fishing. TEK is not static nor is IFK as it is transmitted to younger generations through the practice of fishing. TEK and IFK play a large role in the transmission and acquisition of knowledge, they both connect knowledge to culture and play a role in creating culture and traditions, they are in fact very intricate systems. Indigenous fishers seek inclusion and involvement that does not separate them from their knowledge but recognizes and implements their practices/control on a local level.
Improved identification of concordant and discordant gene expression signatures using an updated rank-rank hypergeometric overlap approach.

Recent advances in large-scale gene expression profiling necessitate concurrent development of biostatistical approaches to reveal meaningful biological relationships. Most analyses rely on significance thresholds for identifying differentially expressed genes. We use an approach to compare gene expression datasets using ‘threshold-free’ comparisons. Significance cut-offs to identify genes shared between datasets may be too stringent and may miss concordant patterns of gene expression with potential biological relevance. A threshold-free approach gaining popularity in several research areas, including neuroscience, is Rank–Rank Hypergeometric Overlap (RRHO). Genes are ranked by their p-value and effect size direction, and ranked lists are compared to identify significantly overlapping genes across a continuous significance gradient rather than at a single arbitrary cut-off. We have updated the previous RRHO analysis by accurately detecting overlap of genes changed in the same and opposite directions between two datasets. Here, we use simulated and real data to show the drawbacks of the previous algorithm as well as the utility of our new algorithm. For example, we show the power of detecting discordant transcriptional patterns in the postmortem brain of subjects with psychiatric disorders. The new R package, RRHO2, offers a new, more intuitive visualization of concordant and discordant gene overlap.
Intraoperative Assessment of Donor Livers in the Transplant Setting

There are two major indications for intraoperative consultation on donor liver samples during, or prior to, transplantation surgery. Surgeons may encounter unsuspected hepatic tumors during the harvest of donor organs. These lesions must be classified as benign of malignant at the time of organ harvest, since a diagnosis of primary or secondary malignancy in the liver is a contraindication to transplantation of the liver, as well as most other organs from the donor. Donor livers are also evaluated by needle biopsy prior to transplantation in order to assess for the presence and extent of macrovesicular steatosis or severity of underlying liver disease. Excessive hepatic fat is a powerful predictor of suboptimal graft function during the perioperative period.
Emotional and Behavioral Pathology in Mentally Retarded Individuals

Historically, no differentiation was made between mental retardation and psychopathological conditions (see, e.g., Kraepelin, 1919). In more recent years, both research and clinical services have often been guided by the belief that mental retardation exists with an etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment distinct from other forms of mental or behavioral disorders. The two initial questions must be: (1) Are there diagnostic entities that can be identified as types of mental retardation? (2) Is mental retardation different from other forms of behavioral and emotional disorders? The answer to one question influences the other. Together, they raise a third issue: (3) Are mental retardation and other forms of behavioral and emotional disorder independent or overlapping?
Remediation of Perceptual Organisation in Schizophrenia

Introduction Impaired perceptual organisation in schizophrenia has been repeatedly described in clinical and research literatures. It has also been associated with problems in more complex aspects of visual function, including visuospatial and visual cognitive test performance. Two therapeutic interventions were developed here that target perceptual organisation: (1) Computer-based training, which emphasized stimulus-driven processing (bottom-up approach), and (2) Instrumental Enrichment therapy, which is a therapist-guided interactive learning method (top-down approach). Methods Twenty-eight patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in a 12-week programme. For both forms of interventions, task difficulty increased progressively, based upon successful performance. The third group of patients, which served as controls, received a similar therapeutic intervention that did not include a perceptual organisation component. Before and after intervention, participants received tests of perceptual organisation, as well as a battery of neuropsychological tests. Results Results indicate that both forms of intervention improved perceptual organisation ability relative to the control condition. In addition, the improvement was found for select neuropsychological tests, although the pattern of improvement did not favour capacities more closely associated with visual organisational or visuospatial function. Conclusions Together, results demonstrate the effectiveness of new remediation protocols that target mid-level visual processing, which generalized to select visual cognitive functions.
A novel soil amendment for enhancing soil moisture retention and soil carbon in drought-prone soils

Abstract Crop yield reductions are common in drought-stressed agroecosystems and are likely to become more frequent with climate change. To combat this, soil amendments are often used to enhance soil moisture retention but typically only lead to marginal improvements. Moreover, even as concern over agricultural water use mounts, a large fraction of food is wasted. Diverting more food waste and byproducts back to agricultural fields could reduce waste issues while ameliorating critical water limitations. We evaluated lactobionate, a lactose derivative and major dairy industry byproduct, as a potential soil amendment for enhancing both soil moisture and soil organic carbon (SOC). Lactobionate (LB) is a hydrophilic compound consisting primarily of cations and simple sugar acids. These combined properties could synergistically modify numerous controls on soil-water balances. In a laboratory setting, we compared LB stabilized with various cations (K+, NH4+, and Ca+) across a range of soil types to determine LB effects on soil moisture and SOC retention. All LB amendments increased soil water content relative to unamended soil across a range of soil matric potentials and raised available water content by 37%. Additionally, LB amended soils had on average 70 times more microbial biomass and decreased soil inorganic nitrogen content compared to unamended soils. We found that K+-LB, the most effective amendment, increased soil water content by 100–600% compared to unamended soils and as much as 87% of the increased SOC following LB additions was retained after 2 months. Our results suggest that tapping into novel sources of organic inputs such as LB may be an effective approach for simultaneously enhancing soil moisture and carbon stocks while increasing the economic and energetic value of food production byproducts.
Effects of β-subunit on gating of a potassium ion channel: Molecular simulations of cardiac IKs activation.

Abstract Dynamic conformational changes of ion channel proteins during activation gating determine their function as carriers of current. The relationship between these molecular movements and channel function over the physiological timescale of the action potential (AP) has not been fully established due to limitations of existing techniques. We constructed a library of possible cardiac IKs protein conformations and applied a combination of protein segmentation and energy linearization to study this relationship computationally. Simulations reproduced the effects of the beta-subunit (KCNE1) on the alpha-subunit (KCNQ1) dynamics and function, observed in experiments. Mechanistically, KCNE1 increased the probability of “visiting” conducting pore conformations on activation trajectories, thereby increasing IKs current. KCNE1 slowed IKs activation by impeding the voltage sensor (VS) movement and reducing its coupling to pore opening. Conformational changes along activation trajectories determined that the S4-S5 linker (S4S5L) plays an important role in these modulatory effects by KCNE1. Integration of these molecular structure-based IKs dynamics into a model of human cardiac ventricular myocyte, revealed that KCNQ1-KCNE1 interaction is essential for normal AP repolarization.
Mouse IgA myeloma proteins with alpha chain deletions: a comparison with human alpha chains with deletions.

For several years our laboratory has been investigating a small group of mouse IgA myeloma proteins which have heavy chains smaller than those of most IgA myeloma proteins. Dr. Howard Grey and his colleagues have just presented interesting data characterizing a shortened human alpha chain (1), so it now seems appropriate to review the current state of knowledge about the shortened mouse alpha chains. There are striking similarities but also important differences among the properties characterizing the deleted heavy chains from man and mouse. We will discuss possible mechanisms which may produce such heavy chains in the mouse and whether the same mechanisms are responsible for the appearance of defective alpha chains in man.
TLR7 activation in epilepsy of tuberous sclerosis complex

Neuroinflammation and toll-like receptors (TLR) of the innate immune system have been implicated in epilepsy. We previously reported high levels of microRNAs miR-142-3p and miR-223-3p in epileptogenic brain tissue resected for the treatment of intractable epilepsy in children with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). As miR-142-3p has recently been reported to be a ligand and activator of TLR7, a detector of exogenous and endogenous single-stranded RNA, we evaluated TLR7 expression and downstream IL23A activation in surgically resected TSC brain tissue. Gene expression analysis was performed on cortical tissue obtained from surgery of TSC children with pharmacoresistent epilepsy. Expression of TLRs 2, 4 and 7 was measured using NanoString nCounter assays. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to confirm TLR7 expression and compare TLR7 activation, indicated by IL-23A levels, to levels of miR-142-3p. Protein markers characteristic for TLR7 activation were assessed using data from our existing quantitative proteomics dataset of TSC tissue. Capillary electrophoresis Western blots were used to confirm TLR7 protein expression in a subset of samples. TLR7 transcript expression was present in all TSC specimens. The signaling competent form of TLR7 protein was detected in the membrane fraction of each sample tested. Downstream activation of TLR7 was found in epileptogenic lesions having elevated neuroinflammation indicated by clinical neuroimaging. TLR7 activity was significantly associated with tissue levels of miR-142-3p. TLR7 activation by microRNAs may contribute to the neuroinflammatory cascade in epilepsy in TSC. Further characterization of this mechanism may enable the combined of use of neuroimaging and TLR7 inhibitors in a personalized approach towards the treatment of intractable epilepsy.
Death by AI: Where Assured Autonomy in Smart Cities Meets the End-to-End Argument.

A smart city involves critical infrastructure systems that have been digitally enabled. Increasingly, many smart city cyber-physical systems are becoming automated. The extent of automation ranges from basic logic gates to sophisticated, artificial intelligence (AI) that enables fully autonomous systems. Because of modern society's reliance on autonomous systems in smart cities, it is crucial for them to operate in a safe manner; otherwise, it is feasible for these systems to cause considerable physical harm or even death. Because smart cities could involve thousands of autonomous systems operating in concert in densely populated areas, safety assurances are required. Challenges abound to consistently manage the safety of such autonomous systems due to their disparate developers, manufacturers, operators and users. A novel network and a sample of associated network functions for autonomous systems is proposed that aims to provide a baseline of safety for autonomous systems. This is accomplished by establishing a custom-designed network for autonomous systems that is separate from the Internet, and can handle certain functions that enable safety through active networking. Such a network design sits at the margins of the end-to-end principle, which is warranted considering the safety of autonomous systems is at stake as is argued in this paper. Without a scalable safety strategy for autonomous systems as proposed, assured autonomy in smart cities will remain elusive.
Integrating Social Determinants of Health Into Clinical Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction Social determinants of health (SDOH) are often incorporated to some degree within preclinical medical education, but no validated curriculum exists for the incorporation of SDOH and the competencies necessary to address nonclinical contributors to health, within clinical educational programming. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to implement this programming in a virtual setting. Methods Using pedagogy developed by Freire and Dewey, we created a service-learning curriculum supported by reflection sessions, workshops on implicit bias, and journal clubs. We used flipped classroom and adult-learning theory to develop and implement this curriculum. Results Learners showed significant enthusiasm for this novel curriculum, identifying the incorporation of SDOH and related competencies in clinical education as unique and imperative, requesting that the content be further integrated within the clinical experience of State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University. Conclusion We developed a service-based curriculum that succeeded in developing further understanding of how patients experience their health in Central Brooklyn, and provided a space for students to generate emotional and interpersonal expertise that is important for the growth of clinicians in caring for patients in underserved and underresourced communities.
Biphasic Hyalinizing Psammomatous Renal Cell Carcinoma: Another Provisional Entity Emerging From the Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma Pandora's Box:

Papillary renal cell carcinoma (especially type 2) is a Pandora's box with many newly described renal cell carcinomas emerging from it as a result of enhanced molecular techniques. Biphasic hyalini...
The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend: Immune-Mediated Facilitation Contributes to Fitness of Co-Infecting Helminths

Our conceptual understanding of immune-mediated interactions between parasites is rooted in the theory of community ecology. One of the limitations of this approach is that most of the theory and empirical evidence has focused on resource or immune-mediated parasite competition and yet, there is ample evidence of positive interactions between species that could be generated by immune-mediated facilitation. Here, we develop an immuno-epidemiological framework and apply it to longitudinal infection data of two gastrointestinal helminths that infect a population of free-living rabbits to investigate, through model testing, the mechanisms of immune-mediated facilitation in dual infections. Simulations show that weakened, species-specific IgA antibody responses and unequal, albeit low, IgA cross-reactions explain higher parasite intensities in dual compared to single infections, for both helminths. Simulations also show that rabbits with dual infections shed more free-living stages that survive fort longer in the environment, implying greater onward transmission than hosts with single infections. These findings support the hypothesis that the two helminths interact through immune-mediated facilitation which contributes to greater fitness and the long-term co-circulation of both species in the host population.
1947 California Corporations Code and Other Corporations Legislation

revision." The Commission, however, has adhered to the policy of not proposing substantive changes as a part of codification, but rather of compiling, consolidating, rearranging, and restating the law without change in legal effect. The laws and code sections allocated by the Commission to a particular proposed code are compiled, carefully examined to determine whether they are in full legal effect or have been superseded or impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation; and those which are clearly obsolete are scheduled for explicit repeal. The remainder, the "live law" in the field, is arranged in logical sequence. The first portion of each code presented to the legislature by the Code Commission consists of general provisions comprising the short title of the code; a declaration that the provisions of the code, insofar as they are substantially the same as existing statutory provisions relating to the same subject matter, are to be construed as restatements and continuations, and not as new enactments; saving clauses in respect to continuation in office of persons holding office under acts repealed by the code, and as to rights accrued and actions and proceedings commenced prior to the effective date of the code; rules of construction and definitions common to all of the codes; and a separability clause. If the code is to be administered by a particular state agency, provisions for the establishment or continuation and for the organization of that agency often, but not invariably, are placed next in order,
Embedded baseband IQ AGC and OOK demodulator in CMOS 45nm 60GHz single-chip transceiver

A baseband IQ Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuits with embedded On-Off Keying (OOK) demodulator is integrated in a mmW 60GHz transceiver using CMOS 45nm technology. The gain of AGC ranges from 6.3∼30.6dB or 9.2∼32.6dB, depending on the on/off status of the optional DC offset compensation. There are two modes of operation in AGC — OOK and analog mode. The OOK demodulator takes the input from IQ mixer and outputs demodulated OOK data. Highest gain is obtained with open loop AGC in the OOK mode. Output signal is automatically adjusted to a fixed power level for further processing of the other modulation schemes. A feedback loop is included for DC-offset compensation. The power consumption of AGC circuits for integration is 36.4mW, including both IQ paths. The bandwidth of AGC is above 5GHz in both operations and hence support up to 10Gbps data rate.
Problems and difficulties in the clinical teaching of obstetrics and gynecology as of today.

I N BYGONE years the teaching of obstetrics and gynecology was on a very casual basis. In the early French hospitals the obstetrical patients were usually found in the cellar of the hospital in order t.o assure privacy, and the whole process of care during labor was conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy. This was the time, too, when it was considered to be highly immoral for the lying-in woman to be seen or attended by a male physician. Obviously, clinical instruction under such conditions was all but impossible. In Germany, conditions were somewhat better; and when Johann Fried organized the first Prauel\-(bars later my own experience was comparable but slightly better. 7 obser\-cd four deliveries, palpated the abdomen of one pregnant woman at the time of my final examination, never did a rectal or vaginal examination, and never had a pelvimeter in my hands. From what has been said, it is obvious that the clinical teaching of obstetrics in this country was in a sad state up to a fairly recent period. As for the clinical teaching of gynecology, it was a.lmost noncxistcnt. Fortunately, however, from the early part of this century, great improvement can be recorded. This improvement; coincides with the establishment of
Separation of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty in probabilistic model validation

This paper investigates model validation under a variety of different data scenarios and clarifies how different validation metrics may be appropriate for different scenarios. In the presence of multiple uncertainty sources, model validation metrics that compare the distributions of model prediction and observation are considered. Both ensemble validation and point-by-point approaches are discussed, and it is shown how applying the model reliability metric point-by-point enables the separation of contributions from aleatory and epistemic uncertainty sources. After individual validation assessments are made at different input conditions, it may be desirable to obtain an overall measure of model validity across the entire domain. This paper proposes an integration approach that assigns weights to the validation results according to the relevance of each validation test condition to the overall intended use of the model in prediction. Since uncertainty propagation for probabilistic validation is often unaffordable for complex computational models, surrogate models are often used; this paper proposes an approach to account for the additional uncertainty introduced in validation by the uncertain fit of the surrogate model. The proposed methods are demonstrated with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) example.
Gender comparisons of drug abuse treatment outcomes and predictors

Gender differences in drug treatment outcomes and predictors were examined among a sample of 511 patients recruited from drug treatment programs across Los Angeles County. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Results showed that women and men started their drug use and treatment careers at similar ages, but men reported greater drug use and criminal involvement at baseline. There were no significant differences by gender in drug use and alcohol use at follow-up but men reported more crimes than women. Separate logistic regression analyses showed that for both women and men, longer treatment retention was associated with drug abstinence and crime desistence at follow-up. Additional baseline predictors of abstinence at follow-up included use of multiple drugs and readiness for treatment for women, and spousal drug use for men. For crime desistence, significant predictors include legal involvement and treatment readiness for women, and legal involvement, use of multiple drugs, and living with children for men. For both women and men, participation in 12-step groups and no spousal drug use during follow-up were related to abstinence. There were both similarities and differences in predictors of treatment outcome for women and men.
Varicella-Zoster Immune Globulin

1. Michelle Hudspeth, MD 1. Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Md Varicella. American Academy of Pediatrics. In: Pickering LK, ed. Red Book: 2003 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. 26th ed. Elk Grove Village, Ill: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2003:672– 686 Prevention of Varicella. Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep MMWR. 1996;45(No. RR-11) :1– 36[OpenUrl][1] Prevention of Varicella. Updated Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep MMWR Recomm Rep. 1999;48(RR-6) :1– 5[OpenUrl][2] Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a highly contagious member of the herpesvirus family. It is spread when the virus comes into contact with conjunctiva or the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract. Routes of person-to-person transmission include direct contact with infected persons and aerosolized droplets from respiratory tract secretions. In addition, maternal varicella infection can lead to in utero infection through transplacental passage of the virus. The typical incubation period for varicella … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DMorbid%2BMortal%2BWkly%2BRep%2BMMWR.%26rft.volume%253D4511%26rft.spage%253D1%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DMorbid%2BMortal%2BWkly%2BRep%2BMMWR%2BRecomm%2BRep%26rft.volume%253D486%26rft.spage%253D1%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx
Expected time to extinction and the concept of fundamental fitness

The concept of “fitness” is of undisputed importance to evolutionary biology, but there is as yet little unanimity among evolutionists as to how it should be defined formally. In consequence a variety of mathematical fitness measures are in current use, and it is unclear which, if any of them, should be regarded as fundamental. In this paper a number of popular fitness measures are surveyed and their claims as indices of fitness examined critically. It is found that most of them probably fail to quantify the property of fitness in any fundamental or universal sense. One measure, however, possesses logical properties which recommend it as possibly fundamental. It is expected time to extinction, sometimes also called “average extinction time” or “mean survival time”. The expected time to extinction of a population or genotype is intimately related to the probability of its occurrence in such a way as to ensure the validity of certain common inference patterns found in optimization, adaptationist, and similar types of evolutionary reasoning. Thus its application is more readily justified on logical grounds than would be the use of other more traditional measures of fitness. The traditional measures may, however, be sufficiently closely associated with expected time to extinction to justify their use under certain special conditions.
A Study of Effectiveness of Thin Surface Treatments Using Hamburg Wheel Tracking Device

In recent years, more and more highway agencies are adopting preventive maintenance strategies or thin surface treatments to bring pavements back to appropriate serviceability for road users. This paper discusses the effectiveness of several thin surface or preventive maintenance treatments on sixteen highway test sections in Kansas. The treatments studied include thin Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay, ultra-thin bonded asphalt surface (Nova Chip), and chip seal. These treatments were applied with three different types of surface preparation- bare surface, 1” surface recycle (hot in-place recycling), and 2” surface recycle. Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (HWTD) test was conducted on the cores from the test sections with thin surface treatments under this study. The laboratory test results show that most projects exceeded the maximum rut depth limit (20 mm) specified in the study and the number of wheel passes to failure varied significantly among the projects. Cores from only three projects, two treated with Nova Chip and one with 1” HMA overlay, carried 20,000 wheel passes without exceeding maximum rut depth limit. Pair-wise comparisons or contrasts among the treatments were performed with the statistical analysis software, SAS. Air void of the HWTD test cores was found to be a significant factor affecting the performance of thin surface treatments. Since the Hamburg test samples (62 mm tall) consisted mostly of underlying layer materials, it was concluded that quality of this layer is the major determinant of performance of pavements with thin surface treatments.
Simulation of Photonic-Crystal Devices Fabricated via Pattern-Integrated Interference Lithography

Pattern-Integrated Interference Lithography (PIIL) couples interference and imaging lithography to produce pattern-integrated periodic microstructures in a single exposure. Mask optimization mitigates lattice distortion. PIIL-produced devices exhibit promising performance.
Minding the children : child care in America from colonial times to the present

Beyond childcare theories and early childhood gurus, here is how children have actually been raised in America over the last four centuries. From wet nurses and Southern mammys, settlement houses and orphan trains, to rigid British nannies, foster care, and the modern two-worker family, Geraldine Youcha's delightful book paints a wide-ranging picture of American childhood. In this updated paperback edition a lively new chapter brings the story through current childcare wars and present economic realities. All in all, it is a reassuring picture, for despite a bewildering array of different styles and fads, children have survived and often thrived. While there are some harsh lessons to be learned here, there is also plenty to lend optimism and help anxious parents relax.
Heat transfer of a U-bend in a cross flow of air at different angles of incidence

Abstract An experimental investigation into the incidence angle dependence on mean external heat transfer coefficient for a circular U-bend (180°) in a cross flow of air was performed. All tests were performed on a U-bend with a curvature ratio (δ) of 0.296 covering a Reynolds number range of 1.2 × 104 to 2.7 × 104, while imposing a uniform wall temperature boundary condition. It was found that the U-bend had maximum external heat transfer rate when the external air flow velocity vector was nearly parallel to the bend plane (angle-of-incidence equals 0°). As the angle-of-incidence increased, the external heat transfer coefficient for the U-bend decreased. As the angle-of-incidence approached 90°, the external heat transfer coefficient for the U-bend asymtoped to the value for corresponding flow over a circular cylinder of the same outer diameter.
Inhibition of mucopolysaccharide synthesis by 5-bromodeoxyuridine in cultures of chick amnion cells

Abstract Mucopolysaccharide synthesis has been investigated in cultures of fibroblastic cells prepared from the amnion of 10-day chick embryos. Using glucosamine- 14 C as a precursor, the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate has been demonstrated by (i) migration of labeled mucopolysaccharides after electrophoresis in pyridinium formate buffer, (ii) hexosamine content of fractions thus obtained, (iii) susceptibility to testicular hyaluronidase. Material labeled with sulfate- 35 S has been identified specifically as chondroitin sulfate A by (i) electrophoresis in zinc acetate, (ii) digestion with chondroitinase AC and separation of products obtained. Cultures at low density incorporate glucosamine almost exclusively into hyaluronic acid, while at high density incorporation into chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid occurs in roughly equal amounts. Growth of amnion cells in the thymidine analog 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) results in a progressive loss in their ability to synthesize both mucopolysaccharides with little loss in their ability to grow and divide. There is good correlation between the incorporation of BUdR into the cell's DNA and the inhibition of mucopolysaccharide synthesis. Amnion cells suppressed with BUdR are cytologically distinct from functional amnion cells. If BUdR-suppressed cells are allowed to replicate in the absence of the analog they yield a progeny which are cytologically similar to normal cells, and resume active synthesis and secretion of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate.
Aversive conditioning of naturally produced reward and nonreward odors in rats

Past experiments have reported that rats encountering reward (R) or nonreward (N) goal events emit odors that can be utilized as discriminative stimuli for instrumental behavior by conspecifics. In the present study, thirsty male rats were aversively conditioned by ingestional toxicosis to R and N odors, and their suppression of water consumption in the presence of these odors was measured. Thirsty trained donors were placed into chambers containing R or N goal events to generate, respectively, the R or N odors. Test animals were given eight differential conditioning trials (four with one odor as CS+; four with the other as CS−), involving placement into an odorcontaining chamber with water available, followed by a LiCl injection on CS+ trials. Animals tested in their CS+ odor consumed significantly less water than did CS− and control subjects. Both R and N odors were conditioned by aversive means and readily discriminable from each other. This represents the first laboratory demonstration of aversive conditioning of such naturally produced odors, and it suggests that aversive conditioning may be useful in the study of odorous emissions generally. Implications for innate meanings of R and N odors are discussed.
Aggressive surgical therapy and radiotherapy for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma treated with rapid sequence tandem transplant

Abstract Background/Purpose The treatment approach for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma has been one of dose intensification chemotherapy and aggressive treatment of the primary tumor. Local tumor control is examined in high-risk patients treated with tandem stem cell transplant, aggressive surgery, and selected radiation therapy (XRT). Methods Seventy-six patients with high-risk stage III/IV neuroblastoma were treated on a standard protocol incorporating aggressive surgical resection with or without local XRT followed by tandem high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue. Patients were evaluated for degree of surgical resection, site of progression, and outcome. Results Overall event-free survival for the series is 56%. Forty-eight had gross total resection, 12 had greater than 90% resection, 10 had 50% to 90% resection, and 6 had biopsy only or no surgery. Surgical complications occurred in 29% with no deaths. There were no isolated local failures. Two patients had local recurrence after gross total resection. Surgeon assessment of completeness of resection agreed with postoperative radiological findings 66% of the time. Conclusion Aggressive surgical treatment with local XRT and myeloablative chemotherapy with stem cell rescue provides excellent local control in high-risk neuroblastoma, although distant failures, particularly osseous, remain a problem. Poor correlation exists between the surgeon's perception of completeness of resection and findings on postoperative imaging studies.
Field testing along a disease gradient: Some geographical dimensions of tuberculosis in Puerto Rico

The spatial pattern of reported tuberculosis incidence in Puerto Rico is characterized by numerous high-low gradients among continguous municipios. Tuberculin testing of some 1500 subjects along one such gradient reveals that there is no difference in sensitivity and suggests that the gradients are artifacts of reporting. Correlative associations with tuberculin conversion were generally weak, except for age-dependency. Collected personal histories demonstrated that the web of familial and intergenerational relationships is a major force in perpetuating the disease. Concealment of infection, denial and poor compliance in chemotherapy regimens compound the difficulties of case-discovery and case-control. Interviews in a sample of twelve health centers confirmed that, without the presence of trained and assigned tuberculosis nurses, the health care providers' 'index of suspicion' for tuberculosis is generally low. Absence of a tuberculosis clinic virtually dictates serious under-reporting of incidence in that municipio. Despite the success of Puerto Rico's control program over past decades, a reservoir of tuberculosis persists. The level of endemicity is relatively low but unsatisfactory in the context of public health aspirations.
A test of distributive pairing in Zea mays

Zea mays plants containing two extra chromosomes were analyzed to determine if “distributive pairing” takes place in maize. No interaction between two univalent chromosomes generated in such plants could be detected at diakinesis or metaphase I. The chromosome disjunction in such plants was random at anaphase I. Furthermore, it was found that two chromosomes which are found as univalents in essentially 100 percent of the meiotic cells assorted randomly to the progeny. These experiments duplicated as closely as possible certain of Grell's (1962) experiments on “distributive pairing”. The author could detect no evidence for distributive pairing in maize. It was concluded that distributive pairing either does not occur in maize or that it occurs with a far lower efficiency than it does in Drosophila melanogaster females. Speculations on the reasons for these differences are included.
Magnetic resonance imaging of obstetrical brachial plexus injuries

We reviewed MR imaging in infants with Erb’s palsy. The goal was to determine the effectiveness of MR imaging in predicting operative findings for these infants. Fifteen patients (mean age: 14.5 months) underwent surgical exploration of the brachial plexus. Preoperative MR imaging was acquired in all patients with a GE (Milwaukee, WI, USA) 1.5-Tesla MRI and correlated with the surgical findings as outlined in the children’s operative notes. Through imaging, the presence of at least one pseudomeningocele was found in 8 of the 15 patients (53.3%) while 3 of the 15 patients (20%) had multiple pseudomeningoceles. Posterior shoulder subluxation was seen in 11 patients (73.3%). Fourteen children (93.3%) had imaging abnormalities consistent with either a reparative neuroma or scar tissue investing plexus elements. We were unable to differentiate between the two with MR imaging. At surgery, scar tissue was found entrapping the C5–C6 roots, upper trunk, and/or lateral and posterior cords in 11 patients (73.3%) while 4 patients had reparative neuromas. Two patients had both entrapment by scar tissue and a reparative neuroma. Either entrapment by scar tissue or neuroma was found in all 15 patients (100%). MR imaging is an effective tool for demonstrating lesions of the brachial plexus worthy of surgical exploration.