cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intraparietal retrorectus tension-free prosthetic mesh: a simple and effective method of repair of complex ventral hernias via a modified Stoppa technique. Surgical technique

Ventral hernia is a common problem seen by the surgeon. Repair of large or multiple recurrent hernias is frequently difficult, with high recurrence rates. Intraparietal retrorectus placement of prosthetic mesh is an effective method of repair, with low recurrence rates, low morbidity and high patient satisfaction. This technique is briefly described.
Abnormal epithelial transport in cystic fibrosis jejunum.

Abnormal epithelial electrolyte transport has been identified in a range of cystic fibrosis (CF) organs and appears to account for the various clinical manifestations of the disease. The aim of thi...
Battery Capacity Estimation of Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Application

Simultaneous estimation of the battery capacity and state- of-charge is a difficult problem because they are dependent on each other and neither is directly measurable. This paper proposes a particle filtering approach for the estimation of the battery state-of-charge and a statistical method to estimate the battery capacity. Two different methods and time scales have been used for this estimation in order to reduce the dependency on each other. The algorithms are validated using experimental data from A123 graphite/LiFePO4 lithium ion commercial-off-the-shelf cells, aged under partial depth-of- discharge cycling as encountered in low-earth-orbit satellite applications. The model-based method is extensible to bat- tery applications with arbitrary duty-cycles.
Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Chemotherapy

There is no prespecified treatment algorithm for patients with metastatic breast cancer and treatment is tailored to each patient’s tumor biology as well as tolerance of side effects. Comorbidities, receptor status, and sites of metastasis are all taken into account when devising a treatment plan for each patient. Anthracyclines and taxanes continue to remain at the core of all treatment plans and both are equally efficacious in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The management of metastatic breast cancer aims at prolonging survival while maintaining quality of life.
All Aboard the Desistance Line: First Stop, Producing Prosocial Prison Attachments within an HIV Prison-Based Peer Program

This article explores the importance of social bonds in facilitating an investment in prosocial behavior amongst female prisoners working as HIV peer educators. Female prisoners can lack strong prosocial attachments to both individuals and institutions prior to incarceration. Absent this bond, little prevents the female prisoner from recidivating. Prison provides an opportunity to fashion new attachments that will assist in the reintegrative process. One way to create strong bonds of attachment, particularly for women, is through working as an HIV peer educator while incarcerated. In order to measure attachment levels, interviews were conducted with 49 female prisoners who worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs during their incarceration. Female peers developed strong attachments to one another. Such attachments were formed while incarcerated and were maintained upon release, thus serving to bolster support for newfound prosocial identities.
Acute Pulmonary Complications of Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation

Recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) are at risk for a variety of acute pulmonary complications including infectious pneumonias and noninfectious acute lung injury syndromes. With advances in HCT technology, prophylaxis and supportive care, overall survival after HCT has improved and the epidemiology of respiratory complications has shifted from early onset to late onset after HCT. However, acute respiratory failure remains the most common indication for admission to an intensive care unit in this population and prognosis is generally poor. Given the broad differential diagnosis of radiographic pulmonary abnormalities in HCT recipients, prompt evaluation with noninvasive testing and invasive diagnostics such as bronchoscopy is warranted. This chapter reviews the current understanding of etiology, diagnostic considerations and treatment of significant acute pulmonary complications in HCT, including idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, and cytomegalovirus pneumonia.
Generating stability in elderly acetabular fractures-A biomechanical assessment

Abstract Background & objectives As the overall health and life expectancy increases in the United States, the incidence of fragility fractures in elderly patients also continues to increase. Given their medical comorbidities and decreased bone mineral density, acetabular fractures in the elderly population present a significant challenge to the orthopaedic trauma surgeon. The anterior column posterior hemitransverse (ACPHT) fracture pattern is a common fracture pattern in this population, and is often associated with central subluxation/dislocation of the femoral head with articular impaction. This study sought to delineate the most stable fixation construct in ACPHT fracture patterns in the elderly population. Materials and methods The sample consisted of 3 groups of synthetic hemipelves (N = 15), which were tested in order to compare stiffness by measuring motion at fracture lines under applied loads. The three groups of unique quadrilateral plate fixation were as follows: a specialty quadrilateral surface plate; 4 long peri-articular screws parallel to the quadrilateral surface into the ischium,; and an 8 hole infrapectineal buttress plate. Digital imaging system measured construct motion under load. Construct stiffness was estimated by linear regression of load between 50 and 850 N versus average relative motion (average of relative motion at 200 points along the line of the osteotomy). Permanent deformation was estimated as the magnitude of relative motion upon unloading. Results Using ANOVA with Tukey’s test to determine construct stiffness in loading, the group long peri-articular screws was found to have significantly higher stiffness than either of the other groups. Maximal fracture displacement was located at the intersection of the low transverse fracture line in the posterior column and the free quadrilateral surface fragment. Conclusions Results indicate that the best fixation construct for this ACPHT acetabular fracture pattern includes independent lag screws across the anterior column and a pelvic brim plate with long periarticular screws maximizing posterior column fixation and preventing medialization of the free quadrilateral fragment. Although there are potential patient considerations that may complicate the placement of all 4 long screws, in most patients one or more of these screws can be safely placed in order to help prevent secondary displacement.
Clinical relevance of metronidazole and peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review of the literature.

The objective of this paper was to review and evaluate the literature on metronidazole-associated peripheral neuropathy and determine the relevance in clinical practice. MEDLINE/PubMed, EBSCO, and Google Scholar were searched through February 2017 using the search terms metronidazole and peripheral neuropathy, or polyneuropathy, or paresthesia, or neurotoxicity. Relevant case reports, retrospective studies, surveys, and review articles were included. Bibliographies of all relevant articles were reviewed for additional sources. Overall, metronidazole is generally well tolerated, but serious neurotoxicity, including peripheral neuropathy, has been reported. The overall incidence of peripheral neuropathy associated with metronidazole is unknown. Our review found 36 case reports (40 unique patients) of metronidazole-associated peripheral neuropathy, with most cases (31/40) receiving a >42 g total (>4 weeks) of therapy. In addition, we reviewed 13 clinical studies and found varying rates of peripheral neuropathy from 0 to 50%. Within these clinical studies, we found a higher incidence of peripheral neuropathy in patients receiving >42 g total (>4 weeks) of metronidazole compared with those patients receiving ≤42 g total (17.9% vs. 1.7%). Nearly all patients had complete resolution of symptoms. In conclusion, peripheral neuropathy is rare in patients who receive ≤42 g total of metronidazole. Patients who receive higher total doses may be at higher risk of peripheral neuropathy, but symptoms resolve after discontinuation of therapy in most patients. Antimicrobial stewardship programs may consider use of antibiotic combinations that include metronidazole over broad-spectrum alternatives when treating with ≤42 g total of the drug (≤4 weeks).
Improving cancer patient emergency room utilization: A New Jersey state assessment.

Abstract Introduction Due to its increasing incidence and its major contribution to healthcare costs, cancer is a major public health problem in the United States. The impact across different services is not well documented and utilization of emergency departments (ED) by cancer patients is not well characterized. The aim of our study was to identify factors that can be addressed to improve the appropriate delivery of quality cancer care thereby reducing ED utilization, decreasing hospitalizations and reducing the related healthcare costs. Methods The New Jersey State Inpatient and Emergency Department Databases were used to identify the primary outcome variables; patient disposition and readmission rates. The independent variables were demographics, payer and clinical characteristics. Multivariable unconditional logistic regression models using clinical and demographic data were used to predict hospital admission or emergency department return. Results A total of 37,080 emergency department visits were cancer related with the most common diagnosis attributed to lung cancer (30.0%) and the most common presentation was pain. The disposition of patients who visit the ED due to cancer related issues is significantly affected by the factors of race (African American OR = 0.6, p value = 0.02 and Hispanic OR = 0.5, p value = 0.02, respectively), age aged 65 to 75 years (SNF/ICF OR 2.35, p value = 0.00 and Home Healthcare Service OR 5.15, p value = 0.01, respectively), number of diagnoses (OR 1.26, p value = 0.00), insurance payer (SNF/ICF OR 2.2, p value = 0.02 and Home Healthcare Services OR 2.85, p value = 0.07, respectively) and type of cancer (breast OR 0.54, p value = 0.01, prostate OR 0.56, p value = 0.01, uterine OR 0.37, p value = 0.02, and other OR 0.62, p value = 0.05, respectively). In addition, comorbidities increased the likelihood of death, being transferred to SNF/ICF, or utilization of home healthcare services (OR 1.6, p value = 0.00, OR 1.18, p value = 0.00, and OR 1.16, p value = 0.04, respectively). Readmission is significantly affected by race (American Americans OR 0.41, standard error 0.08, p value = 0.001 and Hispanics OR 0.29, standard error 0.11, p value = 0.01, respectively), income (Quartile 2 OR 0.98, standard error 0.14, p value 0.01, Quartile 3 OR 1.07, standard error 0.13, p value 0.01, and Quartile 4 OR 0.88, standard error 0.12, p value 0.01, respectively), and type of cancer (prostate OR 0.25, standard error 0.09, p value = 0.001). Conclusion Web based symptom questionnaires, patient navigators, end of life nursing and clinical cancer pathways can identify, guide and prompt early initiation of treat before progression of symptoms in cancer patients most likely to visit the ED. Thus, improving cancer patient satisfaction, outcomes and reduce health care costs.
Working-Class Literature and/or Proletarian Literature : Polemics of the Russian and Soviet Literary Left

This article follows “proletarian literature” from its beginnings in the 1890s through the demise of the Soviet Union a century later, and reviews successive trends in the representation of proletarians and proletarian writers as they are related to representations of intellectuals. The tension between the educated intellectual and the proletarian (whether a worker or a Party member) was already an important issue in the pre-revolutionary period but became an obsession of Soviet literature. Many questions associated with the issue were debated, directly or indirectly, in the literature and criticism of these years. The questions included: Should proletarians learn from the better educated professional intellectuals or were they too tainted by their bourgeois class identities? Could intellectuals, indeed, ever be integrated into, or play a positive role in, proletarian culture? Or rather, should the proletariat generate its own intelligentsia from within—as Gramsci in his Prison Notebooks advocated for with the development of an “organic intelligentsia” which might assume hegemony—and a penetration throughout society of their own system of values and beliefs that would counteract bourgeois intellectual hegemony? Did all men have the capacity to function as intellectuals and writers, and how could workers, especially the predominantly illiterate or semi-literate workers of imperial Russia, be enabled to create their own literature, to express themselves? In the Soviet period especially, the ultimate question was What was, or should be, the relationship to each other of workers, intellectuals and the Party?
Between Middlemen and Interlopers: History, Diaspora, and Writing on the Lebanese of West Africa

This article explores representations of the Lebanese in West Africa from the colonial to the postcolonial and contemporary eras. It contextualizes a diverse body of scholarly and vernacular works ...
Specific Techniques for ATP Applications

When a first-order automated theorem prover is applied in a specific domain a number of pre- and postprocessing steps have to be performed such that the system fulfills the requirements set up in Chapter 5. These processing steps have been researched in depth by the author with the help of various case studies (some of which have been presented in the previous chapter). From this experience and based on numerous discussions with other researchers, a relatively generic scheme and skeleton architecture has been developed. Although not a universal recipe, this scheme can be methodically used as a basis for most applications in the area of software engineering.
An Electromechanical Approach to Understanding Binding Configurations in Single-Molecule Devices.

The configuration of the molecule–electrode contact region plays an important role in determining the conductance of a single-molecule junction, and the variety of possible contact configurations have yielded multiple conductance values for a number of molecular families. In this report, we perform simultaneous conductance and electromechanical coupling parameter measurements on a series of oligophenylene–dithiol single-molecule junctions. These molecules show two distinct conductance values, and by examining the conductance changes, the electromechanical coupling, and the changes in the I–V characteristics coupled with a combination of analytical mechanical models and density functional theory (DFT) structure calculations, we are able to determine the most-probable binding configuration in each of the conductance states. We find that the lower-conductance state is likely due to the thiols binding to each electrode at a gold top site, and in the higher-conductance state, the phenylene π orbitals interact ...
Assessing genetic counselors' experiences with physician aid-in-dying and practice implications.

Physician aid-in-dying (PAD) is now legalized in more than half a dozen states across the United States yet remains controversial among health care providers and the general public. Previous studies have described physicians' and nurses' experiences with and attitudes about PAD; however, there is no data about PAD in the context of genetic counseling. This study explores genetic counselors' experiences, understanding, training, and perspectives about PAD. Fifteen participants were recruited to complete semistructured telephone interviews. Five participants had received patient inquiries about PAD. Most participants (n = 10) did not feel prepared to discuss PAD with patients and felt that they did not have adequate knowledge to answer patient questions about the practice. Participants described how the unique training, skills, and experiences of genetic counselors could be beneficial for discussing PAD with patients, in comparison to other providers. All participants supported training for genetic counselors about PAD, with many suggesting integration with education about palliative care and end-of-life planning. This is the first study to investigate PAD in the context of genetic counseling. Genetic counselors have had patients ask questions about PAD, want education and access to resources about PAD, and believe they can provide important support and guidance to patients considering PAD in some genetic counseling contexts.
Effect of pericardial effusion on outcomes in children admitted with systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter retrospective cohort study from the United States.

ObjectiveWe sought to describe characteristics of children admitted with pericardial effusion (PCE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and determine the association between PCE and outcomes of ...
More than chalkboards: classroom spaces and collaborative learning attitudes

The well-known benefits of collaborative learning have prompted the development of active learning classrooms that are designed to facilitate peer interaction. Given the expense of designing active learning classrooms, examining student perceptions of these learning spaces is critical. Furthermore, it is not well understood how the type of classroom (active learning or traditional lecture) relates to students’ perceptions of collaborative learning. In this study, aviation students (N = 46) were enrolled in the same course taught in the same active-learning manner by the same professor, with one section taught in an active-learning classroom and one taught in a traditional lecture classroom. Relative to the traditional lecture classroom, students perceived the active-learning classroom as being much better suited to collaborative learning and having higher levels of collaborative learning, both in terms of enjoyment and usefulness. Implications for designing learning environments and promoting the value of active learning among students are discussed.
HPS Accelerated Spectral Solvers for Time Dependent Problems: Part II, Numerical Experiments

This is the second of a two part series describing a spectrally accurate “Hierarchial Poincare–Steklov (HPS)” solver for time-dependent problems with a leading order elliptic spatial operator. In this second part we provide numerical experiments and in the first part we provide a detailed description of the method.
Developing Committed Resident Leaders: A Survey of the Administrative Chief Resident Experience in Surgical Fields.

Objective Administrative chief residents (ACRs) are integral to residency programs, however little research has been done on the experiences, training, and support of ACRs in surgical fields. The objective of this study was to define the challenges and experiences of surgical ACRs and identify support needed to make them successful. Design A Qualtrics survey was electronically distributed to participants. Response styles included multiple choice questions, yes/no, Likert scales, and short answers. Question topics included demographics, ACR duties, support, and experiences. Setting Obstetrics & Gynecology and General Surgery residency programs in the United States. Participants Current and past administrative chief residents (2019-2020; 2018-2019) and program directors from Obstetrics & Gynecology and General Surgery residency programs. Results Seventy-nine surveys were completed by 48 (61%) ACRs and 31 (39%) program directors. The majority (52%) were from academic programs with a median of 6 residents and 2 ACRs per year. On a 10-point Likert scale, mean perceived support from faculty, program director, administration, and other residents was 7.0, 8.8, 6.7, and 7.7 respectively; however, mean stress level was also perceived to be high. Regarding preparation for the role, 56% of administrative chief residents do not receive a job description, 41% do not have a formal handoff process, 42% do not have formal leadership training, and only 61% agreed or strongly agreed that the administrative chief role was clear prior to starting. Common challenges reported by ACR's are limited preparation and training, conflict resolution, and workload management. Many ACRs felt they would benefit from formal leadership training and protected time. Conclusions These results summarize the experiences of ACRs in surgical residencies. Best practices and formal training in identified challenge areas should be added to residency curriculum and used to develop toolkits to support ACRs nationwide.
Interactive learning tutorial on quantum key distribution

The quantum key distribution tutorial provides a guided approach to bridge the gap between the quantitative and conceptual aspects of undergraduate quantum mechanics.
Borrelia burgdorferi Surface Exposed GroEL Is a Multifunctional Protein

The spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, has a large number of membrane proteins involved in a complex life cycle, that includes a tick vector and a vertebrate host. Some of these proteins also serve different roles in infection and dissemination of the spirochete in the mammalian host. In this spirochete, a number of proteins have been associated with binding to plasminogen or components of the extracellular matrix, which is important for tissue colonization and dissemination. GroEL is a cytoplasmic chaperone protein that has previously been associated with the outer membrane of Borrelia. A His-tag purified B. burgdorferi GroEL was used to generate a polyclonal rabbit antibody showing that GroEL also localizes in the outer membrane and is surface exposed. GroEL binds plasminogen in a lysine dependent manner. GroEL may be part of the protein repertoire that Borrelia successfully uses to establish infection and disseminate in the host. Importantly, this chaperone is readily recognized by sera from experimentally infected mice and rabbits. In summary, GroEL is an immunogenic protein that in addition to its chaperon role it may contribute to pathogenesis of the spirochete by binding to plasminogen and components of the extra cellular matrix.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of anoxic brain injury after cardiac arrest

Abstract Objective We describe magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) changes in comatose patients undergoing targeted temperature management (TTM) after cardiac arrest, and their relationships to relevant clinical, MRI, and EEG variables. Methods A prospective cohort of 50 patients was studied. The primary outcome was coma recovery to follow commands. Comparison of MRS measures in the posterior cingulate gyrus, parietal white matter, basal ganglia, and brainstem were also made to 25 normative control subjects. Results Fourteen of 50 achieved coma recovery. Compared to patients who recovered, there was a significant decrease in total N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA/Cr) and glutamate; and an increase in lactate (Lac/Cr) and glutamine in patients who did not recover, with changes most prominent in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Patients who recovered had a decrease in NAA/Cr as compared to control subjects. Coma recovery was seen in patients with a moderate decrease in NAA/Cr, but the appearance of lactate resulted in a poor outcome. NAA/Cr had a linear relationship with MRI cortical apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC); lactate level exponentially increased with decreasing ADC. EEG suppression/burst suppression was universally associated with lactate elevation. Conclusions NAA and lactate changes are associated with clinical/MRI/EEG changes consistent with anoxic brain injury and are most prominent in the posterior cingulate gyrus. NAA/Cr decrease observed in patients with good outcomes suggests mild anoxic injury in patients asymptomatic at hospital discharge. The appearance of cortical lactate represents a deterioration of aerobic energy metabolism and is associated with EEG background suppression, synaptic transmission failure, and severe, potentially irreversible anoxic injury.
Parsing social motivation: development and validation of a self-report measure of social effort

BACKGROUND Reduced efforts to form and maintain social bonds can exist in the context of a sufficient desire for social connection. Thus, social impairment common across many psychiatric conditions may often reflect failures in social effort exertion, despite normative levels of social liking and wanting. Although there are many questionnaires available that assess sociability, desire, or lack thereof for connection and perceived social support, there is no current self-report assessment of the behavioral outputs of social motivation. AIMS We aimed to develop and validate a measure of the social effort in college students and the general population. METHODS College students (n = 981) and a broader sample of adults via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk; n = 506) participated in the study. RESULTS We identified two factors that represented content related to general social effort and social effort in adherence with social norms; we named the measure the Social Effort and Conscientiousness Scale (SEACS). Results suggest the SEACS is a reliable and valid measure of social effort. CONCLUSIONS Lower scores on the SEACS were associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, highlighting the scale's potential utility in clinical populations. We include a discussion of possible applications of the SEACS, including its further use and application in psychopathology research.
The Role of Therapy: Pre- and Post-surgery Protocols

Therapy plays a vital role in caring for patients after a brachial plexus injury both pre- and post-surgery. Preoperatively therapy focuses on restoring and maintaining range of motion, strengthening of existing muscles, neuromuscular reeducation, fabrication and fitting of orthotics and slings, and assisting in pain management strategies. Therapy should address the whole person as well, with instruction in one-handed daily occupations. After surgical reconstruction, a close working relationship is imperative to understand temporary restrictions, lifelong restrictions, and surgical goals.
Glycemic control is not associated with neurocognitive decline after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND Whether perioperative glycemic control is associated with neurocognitive decline (NCD) after cardiac surgery was examined. METHODS Thirty patients undergoing cardiac surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were screened for NCD preoperatively and on postoperative day 4 (POD4). Indices of glucose control were examined. Serum cytokine levels were measured and human transcriptome analysis was performed on blood samples. Neurocognitive data are presented as a change from baseline to POD4 in a score standardized with respect to age and gender. RESULTS A decline in neurocognitive function was identified in 73% (22/30) of patients on POD4. There was no difference in neurocognitive function between patients with elevated HbA1c levels preoperatively (p = .973) or elevated fasting blood glucose levels the morning of surgery (>126 mg/dl, p = .910), or a higher maximum blood glucose levels during CPB (>180 mg/dl, p = .252), or higher average glucose levels during CPB (>160 mg/dl, p = .639). Patients with postoperative leukocytosis (WBC ≥ 10.5) had more NCD when compared to their baseline function (p = .03). Patients with elevated IL-8 levels at 6 h postoperatively had a significant decline in NCD at POD4 (p = .04). Human transcriptome analysis demonstrated unique and differential patterns of gene expression in patients depending on the presence of DM and NCD. CONCLUSIONS Perioperative glycemic control does not have an effect on NCD soon after cardiac surgery. The profile of gene expression was altered in patients with NCD with or without diabetes.
THE APPLICATION OF HYBRID COMPUTERS TO THE ITERATIVE SOLUTION OF OPTIMAL CONTROL PROBLEMS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses certain programming aspects of hybrid computation as they pertain to the iterative solution of time optimal control problems. The hybrid computer employs both analog and digital computing elements, which may conveniently be organized into three categories—analog, analog-digital, and digital—according to the class of signals with which they deal. For ease of programming, each element with a logic output also has a complemented output. In some hybrid computers, the elements with logic outputs are synchronous in the sense that their outputs may change level only at times specified by a master clock. Furthermore, for involved control and complicated numerical calculations, a stored-program digital computer with flexible input–output features is also required. To make effective use of the analog elements, the iterative procedures must be modified to obtain the required integrals through direct solution of differential equations. Furthermore, the steps in the iterative procedure are sufficiently complex that it is wise to break the programming down into a series of sub-problems. One feature of a hybrid data is the quantizing of data by the converters. As the fineness of quantizing is directly related to the speed and cost of the converters, it is important to know how the quantizing errors effect the convergence of the iterative procedure.
Flying Cassini With Virtual Operations Teams

The Cassini Program’s challenge is to fly a large, complex mission with a reduced operations budget. A consequence of the reduced budget is elimination of the large, centrally located group traditionally used for uplink operations. Instead, responsibility for completing parts of the uplink function is distributed throughout the Program. A critical strategy employed to handle this challenge is the use of Virtual Uplink Operations Teams. A Virtual Team is comprised of a group of people with the necessary mix of engineering and science expertise who come together for the purpose of building a specific uplink product. These people are drawn from throughout the Cassini Program and participate across a large geographical area (from Germany to the West coast of the USA), covering ten time zones. The participants will often split their time between participating in the Virtual Team and accomplishing their core responsibilities, requiring significant planning and time management. When the particular uplink product task is complete, the Virtual Team disbands and the members turn back to their home organization element for future work assignments. This time-sharing of employees is used on Cassini to build mission planning products, via the Mission Planning Virtual Team, and sequencing products and monitoring of the sequence execution, via the Sequence Virtual Team. This challenging, multitasking approach allows efficient use of personnel in a resource constrained environment.
Generalized Temporal Verification Diagrams

Verification diagrams are a succinct and intuitive way of representing proofs that reactive systems satisfy a given temporal property. We present a generalized verification diagram that allows representation of a proof of any property expressible by a temporal formula. We show that representation of a proof by generalized verification diagram is sound and complete.
Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Pulsoximetrie am Feten

In einer offenen Interventionsstudie wurde der mogliche prospektive Wert der fetalen Pulsoximetrie fur die Erkennung von hypoxischen Gefahrdungssituationen des Feten in 180 Einsatzen getestet. Die Sattigungswerte waren sub partu nicht verfugbar. Die Geburtsuberwachung erfolgte allein aufgrund von CTG und Fetalblutanalysen. Die Korrelation zwischen pulsoximetrisch und nach FBA hamoximetrisch gemessenen Sattigungswerten zeigt eine zufriedenstellende Prazision der Methode (r = 0,74). Die gute Korrelation zwischen pulsoximetrischer Sattigungswerte und dem PO2 belegt die Bedeutung der Pulsoximetrie zur Diagnostik der fetalen Oxygenierung und Hypoxie. Allerdings ist durch Kenntnis der Sattigungswerte keine direkte Einschatzung des pH moglich. Erst der Verlauf der Sattigungswerte bei guter Signalqualitat und moglichst luckenloser Signalausbeute erlaubt eine Einschatzung des fetalen Azidoserisikos. Es konnte eine Sensitivitat von 60%, eine Spezifitat von 79%, ein positiv pradiktiver Wert von 27% und ein negativer pradiktiver Wert von 95% fur das Auftreten eines kindlichen Depressionszustandes berechnet werden. Dabei wurde ein Median der Sattigungswerte unter 33% als Schwellenwert angenommen.
Identification of Bacillus subtilis genes for septum placement and shape determination.

The Bacillus subtilis divIVB1 mutation causes aberrant positioning of the septum during cell division, resulting in the formation of small, anucleate cells known as minicells. We report the cloning of the wild-type allele of divIVB1 and show that the mutation lies within a stretch of DNA containing two open reading frames whose predicted products are in part homologous to the products of the Escherichia coli minicell genes minC and minD. Just upstream of minC and minD, and in the same orientation, are three genes whose products are homologous to the products of the E. coli shape-determining genes mreB, mreC, and mreD. The B. subtilis mreB, mreC, and mreD genes are the site of a conditional mutation (rodB1) that causes the production of aberrantly shaped cells under restrictive conditions. Northern (RNA) hybridization experiments and disruption experiments based on the use of integrational plasmids indicate that the mre and min genes constitute a five-cistron operon. The possible involvement of min gene products in the switch from medial to polar placement of the septum during sporulation is discussed. Images
Antisera to a synthetic peptide of the sis viral oncogene product recognize human platelet-derived growth factor

It has recently been reported that the sequences of the sis oncogene of simian sarcoma virus (SSV) and of human platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) are very similar1,2, establishing the most solid link yet between the mitogenic actions of growth factors and the transforming proteins of retroviruses. To investigate molecular mechanisms of transformation I have produced antisera against synthetic peptides corresponding to segments of the protein sequences predicted by the nucleotide sequences of viral oncogenes. Applying this approach to the case of sis and PDGF, I report here the results of probing outdated human platelets with an antiserum directed against a synthetic peptide representing residues 139–155 of the predicted sequence of the SSV transforming protein, p28sis (ref. 3). I detected peptides of apparent molecular weights (MWs) 30,000 to 31,000 (30–31K) and 16–18K, which correspond to the apparent molecular weights of nonreduced and reduced PDGF4–8. In addition, a peptide of MW 21,000 was detected in platelets and a protein of MW 56,000 was detected in SSV-infected marmoset cells.
Lithium rechargeable cell with a poly 3-methylthiophene cathode and LiAsF6-dimethyl carbonate electrolyte

Abstract A poly 3-methylthiophene cathode showed excellent coulombic efficiency during cycling in a lithium rechargeable cell. A dimethyl carbonate electrolyte was used since it is stable at the high anodic potentials reached during cell charging. The polymer cathode tolerated modest overcharge and was able to continue cycling after a severe short circuit with minimal loss in capacity.
Objectivity, Interpretation, and Rights: A Critique of Dworkin

This paper addresses two significant features of Ronald Dworkin's conception of law and justice. The first is Dworkin's theory of constructive interpretation as first developed in his essay "Hard Cases"' and more recently in his book Law's Empire.2 The second is Dworkin's long standing defense of a deontological conception of rights. This defense was first famously presented in "Taking Rights Seriously"3 and Dworkin continues to defend this conception of rights in his more recent effort to elaborate a theory of justice based on equality.4 Dworkin's theory of constructive interpretation purports to both explain and justify legal practice. Dworkin's theory of rights purports to show that individual rights impose deontological constraints on citizens, legislators, and judges. Much has been written on Dworkin's position on rights and on his interpretive theory of law. There is little commentary, however, on the connection between these two central features of his conception of law and justice.5 This connection is important for two reasons. First, Dworkin rejects contractarian and Kantian approaches to law and justice. Basic political duties, including the duty to accept the coercive authority of law, do not stem from terms that rational agents can freely endorse under specified conditions such as the original position or a moral point of view. Political duties emerge, rather, from "associative obligations".6 Associative obligations are rooted in a community's treatment of its members rather than in an implicit agreement about principles of justice. In order to discern
Carbocationic polymerization of isobutylene using methylaluminum bromide coinitiators : Synthesis of bromoallyl functional polyisobutylene

The carbocationic polymerization of isobutylene (IB) was studied in conjunction with AlBr3, MeAlBr2, Me1.5AlBr1.5, and Me2AlBr coinitiators in hexanes(Hex)/methyl chloride (MeCl) 60/40 (v/v) solvent mixtures at −80 °C in the presence of a proton trap, 2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine. The observed Mns were directly proportional to monomer-to-initiator ratio with 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane (TMPCl) as initiator and MeAlBr2, Me1.5AlBr1.5, and Me2AlBr coinitiators; however, with AlBr3 the Mns are much lower than the theoretical values. Chain extension “incremental monomer addition” (IMA) experiments resulting in bimodal distributions demonstrate that termination is operational with Me2AlBr. With MeAlBr2 the chain-extended PIBs exhibited close to theoretical Mns, but the molecular weigh distribution was broad. Using Me1.5AlBr1.5, Mn of the polymers increased in direct proportion and the molecular weight distributions remained narrow. 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy of the polyisobutylene (PIB) obtained with Me1.5AlB...
Embedding and asymptotic expansions for martingales

The paper develops a way of embedding general martingales in continuous ones in such a way that the quadratic variation of the continuous martingale has conditional cumulants (given the original martingale) that are explicitly given in terms of optional and predictable variations of the original process. Bartlett identities for the conditional cumulants are also found. A main corollary to these results is the establishment of second (and in some cases higher) order asymptotic expansions for martingales.
A Novel Piezoelectrically Actuated Microvalve for Flow Control in a PEM Fuel Cell

A novel axial-flow piezoelectric microvalve for fuel cell applications has been designed and analyzed. Microvalves offer to improve flow maldistribution problems that have been identified in fuel cells. This paper will outline the design of an embeddable microvalve that has many novel features, including an axial flow characteristic, piezoelectric trimorph actuation mechanism, unlimited scalability, thermally-insensitive activation, and relative simplicity. Detailed electro-mechanical, thermal, and fluidic analyses of the design are conducted using ANSYS and MATLAB simulation packages. The valve geometry is heuristically optimized based upon the results of the analyses. Fabrication and testing of the valve is currently underway.© 2002 ASME
Is the Cone Calorimeter Useful in Assessing Furniture Composite Behavior by the California Technical Bulletin 133 Test

The California Technical Bulletin 133 (TB 133) test method is being used to regulate the fire performance of seating furniture in public buildings in some states. Such regulations in the marketplace have brought together a coalition of textile, fabric and furniture manufacturers to concentrate their efforts on trying to better understand combi nations of foam, fabric, barrier and styling features from the standpoint of fire perfor mance.Chemical suppliers to the polyurethane flexible foam industry are working towards de veloping correlations between bench scale test methods and the full scale California TB 133. A collection of eight upholstery fabrics, five interliner barrier fabrics and a fire retar dant foam were selected by the coalition as materials representative of contract furniture markets today.Foam/fabric composites which had been tested using the TB 133 procedure were tested in our laboratory using the Cone Calorimeter by the ASTM E 1354 test method. Results indicated that composite performance...
Cellular, molecular and sexual dimorphic response to trauma-hemorrhage

Abstract Trauma-hemorrhage initiates inflammation in males that leads to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and immunosuppression, which in turn may develop into multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). In contrast, females, in the proestrus state (which is associated with elevated estrogen levels), do not show immune depression following trauma-hemorrhage. Studies in experimental models have demonstrated that the underlying basis for this gender-dimorphic immune response following trauma-hemorrhage is due to the marked effects of sex hormones. Sex hormones influence the onset and severity of immune-mediated pathophysiological conditions primarily by modulating immune cell function. Nonetheless, despite extensive studies, the mechanisms of sex hormone action are yet to be precisely defined. Earlier studies had suggested that the sex hormone-mediated modulation of immune activity was primarily via the thymus. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that sex hormones can also influence the immune system by acting on several nonthymic targets such as monocytes, macrophages, lymphoid cells, endothelial cells and the central nervous system. However, more research is needed to define the mechanism responsible for gender-specific immune response to trauma-hemorrhage. These studies will likely contribute to the therapeutic modalities that include manipulation of sex hormones, and/or their receptor agonist/antagonists in the treatment of traumatized patients.
Applications of Function Space Integrals to Problems in Wave Propagation in Random Media

Two problems in wave propagation governed by the reduced wave equation with a random refractive index are studied. Problem (a) is concerned with radiation from a source in an infinite medium, and problem (b) pertains to the scattering by a random half‐space at high frequencies. By transforming the reduced wave equation into a generalized heat equation, it becomes possible to express the moments of solutions in terms of Wiener integrals. Concrete results are obtained for certain special cases. By systematically approximating the functional integral representation for the moments, various perturbation equations come forth. Among them is Kraichnan's direct interaction approximation. By examining the errors involved, the accuracy in each approximation is ascertained and the nature of the approximation becomes transparent.
Feasibility of recording high frequency oscillations with tripolar concentric ring electrodes during pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in rats

As epilepsy remains a refractory condition in about 30% of patients with complex partial seizures, electrical stimulation of the brain has recently shown potential for additive seizure control therapy. Previously, we applied noninvasive transcranial focal stimulation via novel tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCREs) on the scalp of rats after inducing seizures with pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). We developed a close-loop system to detect seizures and automatically trigger the stimulation and evaluated its effect on the electrographic activity recorded by TCREs in rats. In our previous work the detectors of seizure onset were based on seizure-induced changes in signal power in the frequency range up to 100 Hz, while in this preliminary study we assess the feasibility of recording high frequency oscillations (HFOs) in the range up to 300 Hz noninvasively with scalp TCREs during PTZ-induced seizures. Grand average power spectral density estimate and generalized likelihood ratio tests were used to compare power of electrographic activity at different stages of seizure development in a group of rats (n= 8). The results suggest that TCREs have the ability to record HFOs from the scalp as well as that scalp-recorded HFOs can potentially be used as features for seizure onset detection.
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor activates JAK2/PI3K/PDE3B pathway to inhibit corticosterone synthesis in a neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury rat model.

Abstract Objective Our previous study demonstrated that granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced neuroprotection is accompanied by an inhibition of corticosterone production in a neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) rat model. The present study investigates how G-CSF inhibits corticosterone production, using adrenal cortical cells and HI rat pups. Methods Cholera toxin was used to induce corticosterone synthesis in a rodent Y1 adrenal cortical cell line by increasing cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Both corticosterone and cAMP were quantitatively measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The downstream signaling components of the G-CSF receptor, including Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2)/Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Protein kinase B (Akt) and Phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B), were detected by western blot. Sprague–Dawley rat pups at the age of 10 days (P10) were subjected to unilateral carotid artery ligation followed by hypoxia for 2.5 hours. Brain infarction volumes were determined using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride monohydrate (TTC) staining. Results G-CSF at 30 ng/ml inhibited corticosterone synthesis but lost its inhibitory effect at higher doses. The inhibitory effect of G-CSF was conferred by interfering with cAMP signaling via the activation of the JAK2/PI3K/PDE3B signaling pathway. The degradation of cAMP by G-CSF signaling reduced corticosterone production. This mechanism was further verified in the neonatal HI brain injury rat model, in which inhibition of PDE3B reversed the protective effects of G-CSF. Conclusion Our data suggest that the neuroprotective G-CSF reduces corticosterone synthesis at the adrenal level by degrading intracellular cAMP via activation of the JAK2/PI3K/PDE3B pathway.
Receipt of recommended surveillance among colorectal cancer survivors: a systematic review

Purpose Regular surveillance decreases the risk of recurrent cancer in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. However, studies suggest that receipt of follow-up tests is not consistent with guidelines. This systematic review aimed to: (1) examine receipt of recommended post-treatment surveillance tests and procedures among CRC survivors, including adherence to established guidelines, and (2) identify correlates of CRC surveillance.
Column temperature programming in enantioseparation of dihydropyrimidinone compounds using derivatized cellulose and amylose chiral stationary phases.

We report the application of column temperature programs as a tool to examine unusual temperature-induced behaviors of polysaccharide chiral stationary phases (CSPs). Using dihydropyrimidinone (DHP) compounds as probes we observed the heating (10–50°C) and cooling (50–10°C) van't Hoff plots of retention factors and/or selectivities of DHP compounds were not superimposable on AD, IA, and AS-H columns solvated with ethanol (EtOH)/n-hexane (n-Hex) mobile phases. The plots were not superimposable on AD, IB, and AS-H columns solvated with 2-propanol (2-PrOH)/n-Hex mobile phases. The thermally induced path-dependant behaviors were caused by slow equilibration as evidenced by the disappearance of the hysteresis in the second heating to cooling cycle and in a cooling to heating cycle. From the step-temperature program (10–50–10°C), only EtOH solvated AD and AS-H phases showed the change of retention factors and/or selectivities with time while only 2-PrOH solvated AS-H phase showed similar behaviors.