cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation of a clinical assay for specific genotyping of a KIR2DL1 allelic polymorphism

Aim A number of transplant centers currently use killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotyping as criteria for donor selection for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and natural killer (NK) cell protocols. Several factors contribute to donor selection, including presence or absence of multiple inhibitory and stimulatory KIR, centromeric vs. telomeric KIR haplotypes, “A” vs. “B” content KIR haplotypes, and NK cell education or licensing. Recent studies at our institution demonstrated that amino acid residue 245 of the KIR2DL1 protein is important in determining the signaling capacity, and had a significant effect on the overall outcome of HSCT. Patients who received a donor graft containing KIR2DL1 alleles encoding an arginine at position 245 (KIR2DL1-R 245 ) had better survival and lower incidence of disease progression than the patients who received a donor graft containing KIR2DL1 alleles encoding a cysteine at the same position (KIR2DL1-C 245 ). The goal of this work was to validate a lab-developed clinical test to distinguish the KIR2DL1 R 245 /C 245 allelic polymorphism and to facilitate donor selection based on this criterion. Methods Our research laboratory developed a real-time PCR single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay that specifically detects alleles of the KIR2DL1 gene encoding arginine or cysteine at position 245, and avoids the interference of 2DL2 alleles that share the same sequence flanking this region. The HLA laboratory used the backbone of this assay to validate it for clinical use as a lab-developed companion test to current KIR genotyping. Results The SNP assay performed according to the required qualifications, including accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity. Samples tested showed 100% concordance with the expected genotyping of the “Gold Standard,” cell lines with sequenced KIR2DL1 alleles from the CIBMTR Repository. Conclusions This SNP assay was validated for clinical use in the HLA laboratory, and should be in use in the near future as a companion test to the KIR genotyping currently used for donor selection in HSCT. P. Arnold: Grant/Research Support; Company/Organization; American Lebanese Associated Charities (ALSAC). P. Chou: Grant/Research Support; Company/Organization; American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC). R. Bari: Grant/Research Support; Company/Organization; American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), Assisi Foundation of Memphis. 7. Other (Identify); Company/Organization; Dr. Bari is named as an inventor on patent applications claiming a SNP assay used for KIR allele typing, which is owned by SJCRH and is licensed to a commercial entity. W. Leung: Grant/Research Support; Company/Organization; American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), Assisi Foundation of Memphis. 7. Other (Identify); Company/Organization; Dr. Leung is named as an inventor on patent applications claiming a SNP assay used for KIR allele typing, which is owned by SJCRH and is licensed to a commercial entity.
Obese Patients Undergoing Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis: Short-and Long-term Surgical Outcomes.

BACKGROUND Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the preferred surgical treatment for patients with chronic ulcerative colitis. Little is known about the impact of obesity on operative characteristics, short-term postoperative complications and long-term functional outcomes after IPAA. METHODS A retrospective review of all patients undergoing IPAA for chronic ulcerative colitis at a single tertiary referral center between January 2002 and August 2013 was performed. Thirty-day postoperative complications and long-term functional outcomes were analyzed according to body mass index. RESULTS Nine hundred nine IPAAs (154 obese [body mass index ≥ 30] and 755 not obese [body mass index < 30]) were performed during the study period. For 2-stage IPAA, obese patients were less likely to undergo laparoscopic IPAA (P < 0.0001), had greater estimated blood loss (P = 0.005), and longer operative times (P = 0.02). For 3-stage IPAA, obese patients were less likely to undergo a laparoscopic procedure (P = 0.03), had greater estimated blood loss (P < 0.0001), and longer operative times (P = 0.0002). Postoperatively, obese patients had a longer length of stay after a 2-stage procedure (P = 0.009), an increased rate of superficial surgical site infections (P = 0.003), and an increased rate of urinary tract infections (P = 0.03). Of the 61% (n = 546) of patients with IPAA with long-term (median 5.0 years) follow-up, there were no significant differences in functional outcomes including incontinence, frequency of bowel movements, pad usage, and pouchitis between the groups. CONCLUSIONS Obesity impacts intraoperative complexity and 30-day postoperative outcomes. Long-term functional outcomes are not affected. These findings underscore the need to counsel patients on preoperative weight loss before undergoing elective IPAA.
Lithium Ratio and Lithium Response in the Psychoses

Abnormalities of cell membrane function may be present in subgroups of psychiatric patients. Such abnormalities have been suggested to underlie neuronal dysfunction and consequent psychotic symptoms.
Catalytic N–Si coupling as a vehicle for silane dehydrocoupling via α-silylene elimination

Exploration of (N3N)ZrNMe2 (1, N3N = N(CH2CH2NSiMe3)33–) as a catalyst for the cross-dehydrocoupling or heterodehydrocoupling of silanes and amines suggested silylene reactivity. Further studies of the catalysis and stoichiometric modeling reactions hint at α-silylene elimination as the pivotal mechanistic step, which expands the 3p elements known to engage in this catalysis and provides a new strategy for the catalytic generation of low-valent fragments.
Selenate sensitivity of a laeA mutant is restored by overexpression of the bZIP protein MetR in Aspergillus fumigatus.

Abstract LaeA is a conserved global regulator of secondary metabolism and development in filamentous fungi. Examination of Aspergillus fumigatus transcriptome data of laeA deletion mutants have been fruitful in identifying genes and molecules contributing to the laeA mutant phenotype. One of the genes significantly down regulated in A. fumigatus ΔlaeA is metR, encoding a bZIP DNA binding protein required for sulfur and methionine metabolism in fungi. LaeA and MetR deletion mutants exhibit several similarities including down regulation of sulfur assimilation and methionine metabolism genes and ability to grow on the toxic sulfur analog, sodium selenate. However, unlike ΔmetR, ΔlaeA strains are able to grow on sulfur, sulfite, and cysteine. To examine if any parameter of the ΔlaeA phenotype is due to decreased metR expression, an over-expression allele (OE::metR) was placed in a ΔlaeA background. The OE::metR allele could not significantly restore expression of MetR regulated genes in ΔlaeA but did restore sensitivity to sodium selenate. In A. nidulans a second bZIP protein, MetZ, also regulates sulfur and methionine metabolism genes. However, addition of an OE::metZ construct to the A. fumigatus ΔlaeA OE::metR strain still was unable to rescue the ΔlaeA phenotype to wildtype with regards gliotoxin synthesis and virulence in a zebrafish aspergillosis model.
Experimental study and probabilistic bond strengths of adhesively-bonded steel butt joints under mixed-mode loadings

Abstract To study the bond behavior of adhesive-steel bonded interfaces under mixed-mode loading, a tension-torsion testing arrangement was adopted to subject adhesively bonded steel butt joints to various combinations of shear and tensile stresses. It was observed that failure mode transitions from shear cohesive with subsequent adhesive-steel interface debonding to pure tensile cohesive failure as the ratio of tensile to shear stresses increases. The interfacial tensile strength exhibits greater variability than the shear strength. For combined loading scenarios the variability of the strength increases as the normal stress to shear stress ratio increases. Statistical tests demonstrate that the shear and tensile bond strengths can each be represented using a two-parameter Weibull distribution. A superelliptical interaction relationship is presented to predict the capacity of joints that are subjected to combined shear and tensile stresses. Finally, the difference between normal and Weibull distributions in determining the characteristic and guaranteed strengths are highlighted. These comparisons indicate that normal distributions can yield non-conservative bond strengths. The research findings can provide guidance in the design of bonded joints in metallic components.
Properties of Sums of Geological Random Variables

In the absence of empirical data that allows resolution of the vexing problem of how to address probabilistic dependencies among and between elements of large sets of geologic random variables data we need methods that refocus and streamline expert geological judgment inputs along with analytical methods for modeling dependencies that go beyond pairwise correlation and its cousins. Some possibilities are reviewed.
The ACL Response to Injury

The ACL fails to heal after injury. One of the reasons proposed in the past has been that the ACL cells are somehow incapable – that they cannot perform the basic biological processes required for wound healing. As we have seen in Chap. 6, some of these required processes include functions like cell migration into the wound site, cell proliferation within the wound site, collagen production, and nerve and blood vessel ingrowth into the healing tissue, all of which requires the formation of a provisional scaffold (i.e., clot) to provide the foundation to initiate wound healing. To work on determining which of these processes may fall short in ACL healing a series of studies were conducted and are summarized here. In contrast to previous work, these studies found that the ACL has a relatively productive response to injury. The cells within and around the tissue are capable of migrating into the wound site, are able to proliferate within the wounded tissue, and are capable of producing collagen and other extracellular matrix molecules. However, for the torn ACL, there is no provisional scaffold seen to bridge between the two tissue ends. This may be a key mechanism behind the failure of the ACL to heal and will be discussed in more detail in Chap. 8.
How Nurse Educators Perceive the Transition From the Traditional Classroom to the Online Environment: A Qualitative Inquiry.

Aim This study was conducted to explore the experiences of nurse educators who transitioned from traditional classroom to an online learning environment, either 100 percent online or in hybrid courses. Background Online education is an effective way to reach students; however, online education requires a different pedagogy than the traditional classroom. Method Nurse educators who transitioned from traditional classroom to online environments (100 percent online or hybrid) were interviewed using 13 guided interview questions designed to explore the challenges experienced during the transition. Results Challenges nurse educators experienced included a need for professional development for learning a new pedagogy and learning management system, technological support, mentorship in transitioning to the new mode of teaching, and a mind shift in teaching to a different pedagogy. Conclusion The results provide practical information for nurse educators who may be interested teaching online courses.
Delivered from the Temptation of Smoking: An Examination of Religion and Health Behaviors of New US Immigrants

This study aims to contribute to the literature on smoking, religion, and health, by analyzing the associations between smoking and health of a sample of US immigrants, who represent many religions, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. Immigrants to the USA have better health outcomes than their native-born peers. This paper asserts that the pattern of smoking, influenced by immigrants’ religion and religiosity, is key to understanding this phenomenon. This study investigates the relationship between religion and health of new legal immigrants to the USA by analyzing the New Immigrant Survey. The findings suggest that there is a protective relationship between immigrant religion and smoking patterns, both in likelihood of having ever smoked and in quitting smoking.
Training psychotherapists in attributes of "mind" from Zen and psychoanalytic perspectives, Part I: Core principles, emptiness, impermanence, and paradox

This paper outlines the principles of a conceptual foundation for an innovative approach to the training of the modern psychotherapist, using certain technical and philosophical percepts found in the practice of Zen, divorced from its usual role as a form of Buddhism and/or a religious belief. A set of core principles derived from Zen and embedded in psychoanalytic theory are listed. Specific values are embodied in the day to day practice of the psychotherapist. The first of these values is the understanding of the true nature of emptiness in relation to the self and the non-Cartesian universe. Then the concept of impermanence and the centrality of paradox to the practice of Zen and psychotherapy is described. The basis of this approach to the education of the psychotherapist is grounded in the assumption that the usual training format with its focus on training in technical skills, with personal treatment being an additional requirement for many psychodynamic therapists, is insufficient for a complete educational experience. The training of the mind itself is an often forgotten and yet essential component of the training process.
A Pragmatic Trial of Suicide Risk Assessment and Ambulance Transport Decision Making Among Emergency Medical Services Providers: Implications for Patient Consent.

Current approaches to caring for patients with suicidal ideation are neither well tailored to their needs nor efficient in the use of health care resources, including emergency medical services (EM...
Does religion make people more self-controlled? A review of research from the lab and life

Abstract Religion is associated with a wide range of socially desirable behaviors and outcomes (particularly among adolescents), including lower rates of crime and delinquency, better school performance, and abstinence from risky sexual practices and substance use. What should we make of these associations? Are they causal? And if so, what are the intermediate psychological processes through which religion obtains its effects on such outcomes? With regard to this third question, we describe a decade's worth of research into a hypothesis that religion obtains its behavioral effects through its intermediate effects on self-control. In this review, we focus on evidence from experiments and longitudinal studies, which provide more rigorous tests of cause-and-effect relationships than simple cross-sectional correlational studies can. We find little convincing evidence for the idea that implicit and explicit activations of religious cognition in the laboratory exert a robust influence on self-control on the scale of minutes and hours. We do find evidence, however, that rituals (most notably, prayer), along with exposure to religious environments and institutions in the real world (e.g. religious schooling) influence self-control on the scale of weeks, months, and years — a conclusion that is also supported by rigorous longitudinal research.
Vibrotactile sensitivity testing for occupational and disease-induce peripheral neuropathies.

The International Standard Organization (ISO) standard 13091–1 describes methods and procedures for performing the vibrotactile perception threshold (VPT) testing to diagnose changes in tactile sen...
Second-Year Evidence on the as 3101 Critical Audit Matters Disclosure

In 2019, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) expanded audit reports by requiring auditors to provide a critical audit matters (CAM) disclosure in the independent audit report, based on Auditing Standards (AS) 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion. We provide some insights on how CAM disclosures has evolved from year 1 to year 2. Overall, on average, June 30th year-end filers’ auditors reported the same top 3 CAM categories in 2019 and 20202. Firms reported less CAMs in the second year of the CAM disclosure requirement, with the audit firm average number of CAMs reported moving closer to the mean for all firms reporting. In 2019, the range between firms was more significant than in 2020. The findings reported in this study are useful in informing internal auditors, regulators and standard setters, as well as providing a CAM expectation benchmark for internal auditors and audit committees. The insights are also relevant for external auditors who are required to consider various aspects of the objectivity and the quality of the internal auditor.
Cooling Models for the Most Massive White Dwarfs

We present a set of ultramassive white dwarf models, focused on masses above $1.3\,M_\odot$. Given the uncertainties about the formation and compositions of such objects, we construct parameterized model sequences, guided by evolutionary calculations including both single star and double white dwarf merger formation channels. We demonstrate that the cooling of objects with central densities in excess of $10^9\,\rm g\,cm^{-3}$ is dominated by neutrino cooling via the Urca process in the first $\approx 100$ Myr after formation. Our models indicate that the recently discovered ultramassive white dwarf ZTF J190132.9+145808.7 is likely to have experienced this Urca-dominated cooling regime. We also show that the high densities imply that diffusion is unlikely to significantly alter the core compositions of these objects before they crystallize.
Horror as a Pedagogical Tool for Teaching Sexualities

Teaching about sexualities and the LGBTQ+ movement today is full of pitfalls and possibilities. While growing acceptance of at least some segments of the LGBTQ+ community means students are more op...
Small But Not Forgotten: Advocating for Legal Guidelines in the Intensive Care of Premature Infants When Legal Guidance is Scarce

Currently, there is a lack of legal guidance regarding the resuscitation and implementation of life-sustaining treatment for premature infants born in the gray zone of viability, causing inconsistency in hospital policy throughout the nation. This inconsistency negatively impacts the data collected, which is then heavily relied on by doctors to determine if a premature infant should or should not receive resuscitation and life-saving medical treatment. Amending the current statute governing preterm labor and delivery to create a consistent procedure throughout the United States will help with the collection of data, understand the factors that impact prematurity, protect the rights of parents to determine a child’s medical treatment, and push for doctors to consider what other factors are involved when using a best interest assessment. This Article analyzes some of the large gaps in the existing law and proposes amendments to an existing federal statute that will alleviate many of the problems these gaps create. The proposed language establishes a procedure for all hospital policies to incorporate, which will create a consistency in hospital practices throughout the country. This consistency will not only ensure that each child will be given an opportunity at life but will also help push doctors away from relying on skewed medical statistics, which are faulty due to the inconsistency in policies. Immediate resuscitation after birth will make certain that doctors are not basing decisions about whether or not to resuscitate an infant of off pre-birth estimations and incorrect diagnoses. The proposed language also encourages doctors to take into account the best interest of the child and analyzes the current definition of best interest. Due to the lack of explicit factors from caselaw and statutes, this Article proposes possible factors that may be used and advocates for a wholistic approach to this determination. The best interest of the child plays the biggest role during the determination of whether treatment should be continued or withdrawn, but this Article also pushes to protect the deeply rooted presumption that parents should have the right to determine the medical treatment of their children. Currently few academic articles discuss the problems surrounding premature birth and the lack of legal guidance, and none of them provide an overview of the definition of the best interest of the child, nor do they discuss the problems with statistical reporting and reliance. This Article bridges the gap by not only highlighting the few landmark cases in existence on this topic, but proposes language for a federal statute and analyzes solutions for the above-noted problems.
Towards Reliable and Practicable Algorithmic Recourse

As predictive models are increasingly being deployed in high-stakes decision making (e.g., loan approvals), there has been growing interest in developing post hoc techniques which provide recourse to individuals who have been adversely impacted by predicted outcomes. For example, when an individual is denied loan by a predictive model deployed by a bank, they should be informed about reasons for this decision and what can be done to reverse it. While several approaches have been proposed to tackle the problem of generating recourses, these techniques rely heavily on various restrictive assumptions. For instance, these techniques generate recourses under the assumption that the underlying predictive models do not change. In practice, however, models are often updated for a variety of reasons including data distribution shifts. There is little to no research that systematically investigates and addresses these limitations. In this talk, I will discuss some of our recent work that sheds light on and addresses the aforementioned challenges, thereby paving the way for making algorithmic recourse practicable and reliable. First, I will present theoretical and empirical results which demonstrate that the recourses generated by state-of-the-art approaches are often invalidated due to model updates. Next, I will introduce a novel algorithmic framework based on adversarial training to generate recourses that remain valid even if the underlying models are updated. I will conclude the talk by presenting theoretical and empirical evidence for the efficacy of our solutions, and also discussing other open problems in the burgeoning field of algorithmic recourse.
Molecular insights into charged nanofiltration membranes: Structure, water transport, and water diffusion

Abstract While polyamide-based reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes are widely used for desalination and water purification, the influence of membrane porosity and charge on water transport remains to be fully understood at a molecular level. Here we use molecular dynamics (MD) to build 56 distinct piperazine-based NF membranes models, which cover a membrane density range of 0.78 g cm − 3 to 1.08 g cm − 3 . These membrane models have various charge concentrations, corresponding to a pH range of 4–11. Results indicate that membrane charge is not monotonically correlated with the membrane density or the water transport. Instead, the water transport is mostly determined by the membrane’s physical properties, specifically, the membrane density, with charged membrane end groups and counterions causing swelling of the membrane, which tends to increase flux. Additionally, the diffusion coefficient of water molecules within the membrane is strongly correlated with the membrane density. The diffusivity of water is independent of the transmembrane pressure, even under the large pressures employed in molecular simulations. Thus, the transmembrane pressure biases the direction of the random walk of water molecules through the membrane resulting in a water flux but does not alter their overall mobility within the membrane. These findings shed light on the relationship between membrane properties and water transport for charged membranes, as well as providing new insights into the structure of NF membranes at a molecular scale.
Winding Toward the Heart of the Takings Muddle: Kelo, Lingle, and Public Discourse About Private Property

People care about property. In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided two cases with deep connections to that concern, Kelo v. City of New London and Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. This symposium Article argues that the significance of Kelo and of Lingle lies less in what these two cases actually decided than in the extent to which the cases engage, or fail to engage, cultural debates over the function of property in contemporary society. As is developed in Part I, the widely-publicized facts of Kelo raised emotionally and politically charged issues implicating the state's role as a guardian of private property rights. Notwithstanding its controversial political implications, however, Kelo turned out to be a fairly easy legal case from a technical standpoint for, in the majority's view, two hundred years of precedent established law unfavorable to the plaintiffs' claims. By focusing on this law and failing to address directly citizens' expectations about the extent to which the Constitution should protect property rights, the Court evaded involvement in ongoing public dialogue about property and government. For this, it will not be soon forgiven. Part II argues that the Court was far more effective in Lingle than it was in Kelo in engaging directly with public unease about the relationship between government and private property. Lingle returned takings law to its central question, that of the distribution of the burdens of regulatory interventions. By suggesting that sometimes landowners might be disproportionately burdened by otherwise lawful regulation, the Court acknowledged that takings cases send a message about who matters - and whose property matters - when the government seeks to promote what it regards as the public good. In returning takings jurisprudence to its heart in fairness and justice, without attempting to set forth a definitive test for determining what is fair and just, the Court left open the possibility of a conversation between it and the public about what the Takings Clause will mean in the future. Since the public cares about property, this is an important conversation to enable. Part III describes the implications of Kelo and Lingle. In likely further litigation testing the scope of local governmental power over property uses, courts will need to confront squarely one influential public understanding of property rights, an understanding that envisions property as a domain of freedom - freedom to act as owners choose, freedom from regulations limiting owners' liberty to so act. While academics have challenged this vision for some time, there is no doubting its rhetorical power or political popularity. What happens next in the takings arena will depend a great deal on the success with which both courts and local legislative bodies engage this understanding of the role of property in American constitutional culture.
Metabolism of orally and intravenously administered purines in rats

One experiment was conducted in which radioactively labeled purine bases (adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine and xanthine) were individually given intravenously to young adult rats and the recovery of radioactivity in urine and gut, gut content and liver was measured at the end of the next 24 hours. The total recovery of radioactivity from orally and intravenously administered adenine was measured in experiment 2. A third experiment measured the recoveries of radioactivity from oral and intravenous adenine in a wider variety of tissues and organs than in experiment 1. The chemical identities of the urinary end products of the metabolism or orally and intravenously administered adenine were compared in a fourth experiment. When purines were given intravenously, significantly more of the administered radioactivity was recovered in urine from rats given guanine, hypoxanthine or xanthine compared with those given adenine. The greater recoveries of radioactivity in urine were associated with smaller recoveries in tissues. A larger proportion of intravenously compared to orally administered radioactivity from adenine was incorporated into all body tissues, and this was most pronounced in glandular and lymphoid tissues. The primary urinary end product of both orally and intravenously administered adenine was allantoin. The absorption of individual purines from isolated rat gut sacs was evaluated in a fifth experiment. A significant proportion of unaltered adenine crossed the mucosal to serosal barrier of intestinal sacs whereas unaltered guanine, hypoxanthine or xanthine did not cross into the serosal fluid. These results show that the intestinal metabolism of dietary adenine is uniquely different from that of guanine, hypoxanthine or xanthine.
Quality of life of family caregivers of cancer survivors: across the trajectory of the illness.

BACKGROUND. Cancer affects not only the quality of life (QOL) of individuals with the disease but also that of their family members and close friends. The impact on various aspects of the family caregivers' QOL is significant throughout the trajectory of the illness. The authors reviewed literature on the QOL of family caregivers at the acute and middle- to long-term survivorship phases as well as the bereavement phase. METHODS. By using several databases, the authors searched the literature published in English from 1996 through July 2007. Keywords searched included cancer, carcinoma, family, family member, caregivers, and quality of life. Several criteria were used to guide the literature review: Articles had to be published in refereed journals and had to use rigorous methods, sample, and validated measures. RESULTS. The findings suggested that the QOL of family caregivers of individuals with cancer varies along the illness trajectory. This highlights were importance of assessing the ongoing adjustment of the caregivers over time. However, there were few theory-driven studies, and significant gaps remain in the current understanding of the effects of family caregiving beyond the time of diagnosis and treatment. CONCLUSIONS. Accumulating evidence has supported the concept that cancer affects not only the patients/survivors but also their family members. However, theoretically and methodologically rigorous research on various aspects of the family's QOL, including not only the psychological but also the physical, spiritual, and behavioral adjustment to cancer in the family, remains sparse. Family-based interventions across the trajectory of the illness also are needed. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.
The Political Theory of the Firm

The political theory of the firm provides the conceptual framework for understanding what firms are doing and what it means for the polities in which they operate. This essay proceeds by explicating each of the three theories – unitary rational actor, nexus of contracts, and behavioral. Within each of these sections I offer a brief assessment of the empirical findings and opportunities associated with the theory at hand and of its limits. I conclude with a synthesis.
Lumbar Discectomy Review

Lumbar disc herniations are relatively common and often a source of leg pain, paresthesias, or weakness. Fortunately, the natural history outcome of lumbar radiculopathy due to a disc herniation is favorable, and most patients (70%-80%) improve with nonoperative care. Surgical intervention is indicated in patients who continue to have severe pain despite conservative treatment, and outcomes have been shown to be quite favorable in terms of alleviating leg pain and returning to function. There appears to be no difference in outcomes when comparing minimally invasive surgery or tubular discectomy vs open discectomy, and surgeons should offer the procedure that they are most comfortable and technically competent at performing in an effort to minimize complications. Finally, there is an abundant amount of literature that supports that elite athletes can successfully return to sport after undergoing a lumbar microdiscectomy.
Active tension-extension splints: a novel technique for management of congenital flexural deformities affecting the distal limb in the foal.

Summary A variety of methods are described for managing distal limb flexural deformities in the foal, including intravenous oxytetracycline and splint or cast use. This case series describes a novel technique that creates an ‘active tension-extension splint’ by wiring the toe into a custom-made fibreglass splint and therefore into active extension. A dorsal fibreglass splint is made by halving a cast that is set around the affected leg with padding underneath it, so that it is sculpted to a more appropriate anatomical shape. Cerclage wire is placed through the toe and the dorsal aspect of the splint, then tightened to pull the limb into active extension. Foals with distal limb flexural deformities that were treated in this way were followed up by examination of hospital records and telephone questionnaire. Records were examined for 13 foals treated between 2004 and 2010. One foal developed septic osteitis of the distal phalanx due to suspected laminar penetration; other post operative complications seen were bandage sores and minor cosmetic scarring. Out of 10 foals where follow-up by questionnaire was available, 8 had complete resolution of their deformity following active tension-extension splinting, one required inferior check ligament desmotomy for complete correction and one had carpal flexural deformities that did not resolve. All that survived to adulthood are sound and have achieved their intended purpose. This previously unpublished technique using a wire through the toe to create an active tension-extension splint has a high success rate for correction of congenital flexural deformities affecting the distal interphalangeal and metacarpo-/metatarsophalangeal joints in the foal. The majority of post operative complications are minor and easily managed. This is a simple technique that can improve the management of neonatal distal limb deformities both in a hospital situation and for equine practitioners in the field.
Posterior sternoclavicular dislocation: A case report

Abstract Posterior sternoclavicular dislocation is a relatively rare form of trauma, but one that must be recognized by the emergency physician. Such a case is presented here. Due to the proximity of the clavicle to critical thoracic outlet structures, serious complications can arise from a posterior dislocation: Impingement on and possible trauma to the trachea, pneumothorax, laceration of underlying great vessels, brachial plexus injury, esophageal trauma, and laryngeal trauma that may cause permanent vocal cord changes. Many of these potential complications are life-threatening, and it is important that this injury not be triaged in the emergency department as a minor injury, thereby leading to Its improper or delayed treatment.
Extent of mesiobasal resection determines outcome after temporal lobectomy for intractable complex partial seizures.

The extent of resection was assessed in 94 patients who underwent temporal lobectomy for medically intractable complex partial seizures originating from a unilateral seizure focus in the anteromesial temporal lobe. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging in the coronal plane was used to quantify th
Is There Alpha

This article is an attempt to extend the intuition of Schneeweis and Spurgin by showing the “market based” factors that could be driving the value of α. To motivate this discussion, the author used a simple problem that is frequently discussed in introductory investment classes. Because Schneeweis and Spurgin have fully discussed the statistical characteristics, the approach taken herein is to examine the nonstatistical factors that could lead to being an inconsistent evaluator of performance. Although the conclusion is consistent with Schneeweis and Spurgin, it is argued that the mere existence of α suggests that it should not be used. That is, economic agents should behave rationally and eliminate mispricing so that it should not exist. In a way, it9s like the “Salem witch-hunt”: the discovery of its innocence inevitably kills it.
1029. Single-Stranded Oligonucleotide Gene Targeting in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Top of pageAbstract Single stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) gene targeting may facilitate animal model creation and gene repair therapy. Lipofection of ssODN can introduce point mutations into target genes. However, typical efficiencies in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC) are <10-4, leaving corrections too rare to effectively identify. We developed ESC lines with an integrated mutant neomycin resistance gene(Tyr22Ter). After targeting with ssODN, repaired cells survive selection in G418. Correction efficiencies varied with different transfection methods, clonal lines, and ssODN designs, ranging from 1 to 100 corrections per million cells plated. Uptake studies using cell sorting of Cy5-labelled ssODN showed 47% of the corrections concentrated in the best transfected 22% of cells. Four different basepair mismatches were tested and results show that the base-specificity of the mismatch is critical. Dual mismatch ssODN also showed mismatch preferences. Chimeric mice were generated from repaired cells, confirming the correction process does not alter stem cell pluripotency. To our knowledge, this is the first proof of principle for the production of mouse models through ssODN gene targeting. These ESC lines may facilitate development of improved ssODN targeting technologies for either animal production or ex vivo gene therapy.
Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow during Shell-side Condensation

This paper surveys the evolution of power condenser tube bundle arrangements and examines present-day designs. Condensation heat transfer during shell-side flow is reviewed, including the effects of vapor shear, condensate inundation, noncondensable gases, and enhancement techniques. The difficulties experienced in calculating vapor pressure drop through tube bundles are described, as well as recent attempts to obtain more reliable correlations. The modeling of these phenomena to predict shell-side condenser performance is reviewed, as well as the use of one- and two-dimensional computer codes. Appropriate topics for future research are identified.
Strategies for Data-Informed Labor Market Responsiveness.

Central Arizona College (CAC) has leveraged EMSI to design the most effective regional strategies for academic/economic prediction analysis. Accessing current and reliable data on occupations, skills requirements, and demographics, CAC can extract, analyze, and present this data to academic programs, advisory boards, economic development councils, and private industries throughout the service area, allowing CAC to develop long term collaborations.
Necessary and sufficient conditions for boundedness of extreme points of unbounded convex sets

Let C be an unbounded line-free closed convex set. The extreme points of C (ext C), the convex hull of ext C, and the closed convex hull of ext C (denoted C′) are all important sets, both in decomposition and optimization theory. Conditions for C′ to be bounded are proved which involve a certain subset of ext C, the end points of extreme rays of C which we call terminal extreme points (denoted text C). Specifically, we first show that C′ bounded implies text C ≠ O. Next, for C′ with interior, C′ bounded is equivalent to co (text C) bounded and C′⊆,co(text C) + L, for any line L generated by an extreme direction of C. Finally, we show that for C′ bounded with interior and co (text C) without interior, C′ may be represented as C intersected with a closed half-space.
Network environ theory, simulation, and EcoNet® 2.0

We introduce and codify the mathematics of Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) in general and Network Environ Analysis (NEA) in particular used by the web-based simulation software EcoNet? 2.0. Where ecosystem complexity continues to drive an increasingly vast environmental modeling effort, ENA and NEA represent maturation, in part, of the compartment modeling approach. Compartment modeling mathematically represents compartment storages with both internal-connecting and external-environmental flows as ordinary differential equations. ENA and NEA expand these mathematics into complex systems analysis and corresponding network theory. EcoNet was developed to facilitate the mathematical modeling, to enhance the overall presentation, and to improve the subsequent long-term progress of ENA and NEA systems analysis. Thus, as a continuing enhancement to the overall understanding, but more importantly, to the future growth of environmental modeling associated with ENA and NEA, we derive and summarize the canonical mathematics of ENA, NEA, and EcoNet, which facilitates their future use.
Predicting Skin Friction for Turbulent Flow Over Randomly-Rough Surfaces Using the Discrete-Element Method: Part I — Surface Characterization

The discrete-element method for predicting skin friction for turbulent flow over rough surfaces considers the drag on the surface to result from the combination of the skin friction on the flat part of the surface and the drag on the individual roughness elements that protrude into the boundary layer. To adequately analyze flow over a randomly-rough surface using the discrete-element method, the blockage fraction and the roughness element cross-section area distributions as a function of height must be measured. Taylor, in 1983, proposed a method for evaluating the blockage fraction and cross-sectional areas distributions, assuming circular cross sections, using two-dimensional profilometer traces. With the advent of three-dimensional profilometery, the geometry of a randomly-rough surface can be completely characterized. Two randomly-rough surfaces found on high-hour gas-turbine blades were characterized using a Taylor-Hobson Form Talysurf Series 2 profilometer. A method for using the three-dimensional profilometer output to determine the geometry input required in the discrete-element method for randomly-rough surfaces is presented in this paper, Part 1. Part 2 extends the validation of the discrete-element roughness method to closely-packed, randomly-rough surfaces. The procedure for handling randomly-rough surfaces is described, and the characterizations for the surfaces used to validate the discrete element model in Part 2 are presented.© 2003 ASME
Role of COX-2 in the bioactivation of methylenedianiline and in its proliferative effects in vascular smooth muscle cells.

4,4′-Methylenedianiline (DAPM) is an aromatic diamine used directly in the production of polyurethane foams and epoxy resins, or as a precursor to MDI in the manufacture of some polyurethanes. In our prior experiments, we showed that chronic, intermittent treatment of female rats with DAPM resulted in vascular medial hyperplasia of pulmonary arteries. In addition, treatment of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in culture with DAPM increased the rates of proliferation in a manner that was inhibited by co-treatment with N-acetylcysteine but was not associated with oxidative stress. We thus hypothesized that NAC treatment inhibited DAPM toxicity by competing for binding reactive intermediates formed through DAPM metabolism. Because the peroxidase enzyme cyclooxygenase is constitutively expressed in VSMC, and because cyclooxygenase is known to metabolize similar aromatic amines to electrophilic intermediates, we further hypothesized that DAPM-induced VSMC proliferation was dependent upon COX-1/2-mediated bioactivation. To test this hypothesis, we treated VSMC with DAPM and measured cell proliferation, COX-2 expression, COX-1/2 activity, and levels of covalent binding. DAPM treatment resulted in a dose-dependent increase in proliferation that was abolished by co-treatment with the COX-2-selective inhibitor celecoxib. In addition, DAPM exposure increased the rates of proliferation in VSMC isolated from wild-type but not COX-2 (−/−) mice. Paradoxically, treatment with DAPM reduced the cellular production of PGE2 and PGF2α, but dose-dependently increased the COX-2 protein levels. Covalent binding of [14C]-DAPM to VSMC biomolecules was greater in wild-type than in COX-2 (−/−) cells. However, covalent binding of [14C]-DAPM was not altered by co-treatment with a nonselective inhibitor of cytochromes P450. These studies thus suggest that DAPM-induced VSMC proliferation may be due to bioactivation of DAPM, perhaps through the action of cyclooxygenase. The data furthermore suggest that DAPM’s mechanism of action may possibly involve inhibition or suicide inactivation of COX-2. In addition, because we observed an increase in DAPM-induced VSMC proliferation in cells isolated from female compared to male rats, further studies into the potential interplay between DAPM, the estrogen receptor, and COX-2 seem warranted.
The association of distinct acid phosphatases with the flagella pocket and surface membrane fractions obtained from bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma rhodesiense

Cell fractionation of bloodstream Trypanosoma rhodesiense, using isopycnic sucrose gradient centrifugation, reveals acid phosphatase activities against a range of substrates to be associated, to varying degrees, with subcellular particle populations identified as derived from flagella pocket membrane and surface membrane. Using these same substrates (α and β glycerophosphate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate) at least two distinct acid phosphatase activities can be distinguished. One is thermolabile (∼ 80% inactivated after 30 min. at 60°C), sensitive to tartrate (50% inhibited at 1.8 mM Na tartrate) with a pH optimum ∼4.5 and appears to exhibit little substrate preference. The other acid phosphatase is relatively heat stable (∼30% inactivated), insensitive to tartrate (> 5.0% inhibited using 1.8 mM Na tartrate) exhibits a somewhat higher pH optimum (∼ 6.0) and is more substrate specific (6 × more active toward glucose-6-PO4 than β-glycerophosphate). Further cell fractionation experiments reveal 85% of the tartrate sensitive acid phosphatase to be associated with flagella pocket membrane and to account for 80% of the organisms hydrolytic activity toward β-glycerophosphate. The tartrate resistant acid phosphatase however, has a much less exclusive localization being almost equally distributed between surface membrane (40%) and flagella pocket membrane (60%).
The electroencephalographic findings in 39 surgically proven subdural hematoma.

Abstract 1. 1. The EEG findings in 39 cases of subdural and epidural hematomata are reviewed. 2. 2. The single most significant finding was focal slow activity; these nonspecific findings were present in 56 per cent of the cases. However, there was some type of focal findings that helped in localization of a lesion in 67 per cent of the cases and there was some abnormality in 92 per cent of the cases. 3. 3. Focal, low voltage EEGs were found only in those subdurals which were located in the temporal or temporal-parietal areas. 4. 4. Hypopotentia in a routine EEG is not a significant finding in patients with subdural hematomata.
Gas phase reactivity of thermal metal clusters

Reaction kinetics of metal cluster ions under well defined thermal conditions were studied using a flow tube reactor in combination with laser vaporization. Aluminum anions and cations were reacted with oxygen, and several species which are predicted jellium shell closings, were found to have special stability. Metal alloy cluster anions comprised of Al, V and Nb were also seen to react with oxygen. Alloy clusters with an even number of electrons reacted more slowly than odd electron species, and certain clusters appeared to be exceptionally unreactive. Copper cation clusters were observed to associate with carbon monoxide with reactivities that approach bulk behavior at surprisingly small cluster size. These reactions demonstrate how the rate of reaction changes with cluster size.