cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antibodies to Insulin and Insulin Receptors: Mechanisms of Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is said to exist whenever normal concentrations of insulin produce a less-than-normal biological response (Kahn, 1978). In humans, insulin resistance is usually defined by the presence of hyperinsulinemia in the face of normal or elevated blood sugar or by resistance to exogenous insulin. Insulin resistance may occur in a large number of different disease states. The most frequent causes of mild to moderate insulin resistance are obesity and maturity-onset, insulin-independent diabetes (Olefsky, 1981). This chapter will consider two of the rare forms of insulin resistance: the syndrome of insulin resistance due to antireceptor antibodies and insulin resistance due to insulin antibodies. In both of these the patients are severely insulin-resistant and frequently fail to respond to 10 or even 1000 times or more the normal therapeutic dose of insulin.
Regulation of the 75-kDa Subunit of Mitochondrial Complex I by Iron*

Iron homeostasis is tightly regulated, as cells work to conserve this essential but potentially toxic metal. The translation of many iron proteins is controlled by the binding of two cytoplasmic proteins, iron regulatory protein 1 and 2 (IRP1 and IRP2) to stem loop structures, known as iron-responsive elements (IREs), found in the untranslated regions of their mRNAs. In short, when iron is depleted, IRP1 or IRP2 bind IREs; this decreases the synthesis of proteins involved in iron storage and mitochondrial metabolism (e.g. ferritin and mitochondrial aconitase) and increases the synthesis of those involved in iron uptake (e.g. transferrin receptor). It is likely that more iron-containing proteins have IREs and that other IRPs may exist. One obvious place to search is in Complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which contains at least 6 iron-sulfur (Fe-S) subunits. Interestingly, in idiopathic Parkinson's disease, iron homeostasis is altered, and Complex I activity is diminished. These findings led us to investigate whether iron status affects the Fe-S subunits of Complex I. We found that the protein levels of the 75-kDa subunit of Complex I were modulated by levels of iron in the cell, whereas mRNA levels were minimally changed. Isolation of a clone of the 75-kDa Fe-S subunit with a more complete 5′-untranslated region sequence revealed a novel IRE-like stem loop sequence. RNA-protein gel shift assays demonstrated that a specific cytoplasmic protein bound the novel IRE and that the binding of the protein was affected by iron status. Western blot analysis and supershift assays showed that this cytosolic protein is neither IRP1 nor IRP2. In addition, ferritin IRE was able to compete for binding with this putative IRP. These results suggest that the 75-kDa Fe-S subunit of mitochondrial Complex I may be regulated by a novel IRE-IRP system.
Can exercise reduce the incidence of falls in the elderly, and, if so, what form of exercise is most effective?

As contract physical therapists employed by an independent living center, we were recently approached by an administrator who was concerned about the increase in the number of falls within the facility. During the past 4 months, several residents had sustained serious injuries as a result of falling; 2 of them had to be transferred to skilled nursing facilities. The administrator had read an article in a popular newsstand magazine that claimed that exercise had the potential to reduce falls in elderly people. He asked us if there was any merit to this claim and whether it would be in the best interest of the facility to offer such a program to its residents. To best answer his questions, we decided to search the literature to see if there was any scientific evidence to support the idea that exercise could reduce the incidence of falls in elderly people. We also were interested in finding out what type of program was most effective, because this information would be useful in planning for space, equipment, and personnel. The MEDLINE database, created by the US National Library of Medicine, is the leading source for bibliographic references and abstracts from the biomedical literature. We decided to use this database to initiate our search because it gave us access to citations from more than 4,000 biomedical journals published worldwide as well as links to a number of full-text articles online. Although many vendors offer access to MEDLINE, we found PubMed, the free Internet version offered by the National Library of Medicine, to be the most effective way of accessing this database. We conducted our search using PubMed . This search was done on February 22, 2002. We started our search by performing 2 queries, one for the keyword falls and one for the keyword exercise . …
MISSISSIPPIAN (LATE OSAGEAN) AMMONOIDS FROM THE NEW PROVIDENCE SHALE MEMBER OF THE BORDEN FORMATION, NORTH-CENTRAL KENTUCKY

Abstract The Mississippian ammonoids Polaricyclus conkini new species, P. ballardensis (Gordon, 1965), Winchelloceras knappi new species, and Cantabricanites? greenei (S. A. Miller, 1892) occur with Gnathodus texanus Zone conodonts near the base of the New Providence Shale Member of the Borden Formation in north-central Kentucky. Both ammonoids and conodonts indicate an early late Osagean (lower Keokuk equivalent) age corresponding to the middle or, more probably, the late Chadian (latest Tournaisian or early Visean) portion of the Fascipericyclus–Ammonellipsites Zone.
Clinical application of magnetocardiography

Magnetocardiography is a noninvasive contactless method to measure the magnetic field generated by the same ionic currents that create the electrocardiogram. The time course of magnetocardiographic and electrocardiographic signals are similar. However, compared with surface potential recordings, multichannel magnetocardiographic mapping (MMCG) is a faster and contactless method for 3D imaging and localization of cardiac electrophysiologic phenomena with higher spatial and temporal resolution. For more than a decade, MMCG has been mostly confined to magnetically shielded rooms and considered to be at most an interesting matter for research activity. Nevertheless, an increasing number of papers have documented that magnetocardiography can also be useful to improve diagnostic accuracy. Most recently, the development of standardized instrumentations for unshielded MMCG, and its ease of use and reliability even in emergency rooms has triggered a new interest from clinicians for magnetocardiography, leading to several new installations of unshielded systems worldwide. In this review, clinical applications of magnetocardiography are summarized, focusing on major milestones, recent results of multicenter clinical trials and indicators of future developments.
Conoscopic observations of shear-induced rotations in nematic liquid crystals

Orientational changes in monodomains of flow-aligning liquid crystals, 4-n-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl and N-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-butylaniline, were studied during shear and recovery in a linear shearing device fitted to an optical microscope. Planar alignment (director in the shear plane) allows the study of twist effects and was generated by strong planar anchoring at the walls with orientations in a range of 0–90° with the shear direction. While being held back by the anchoring walls, shear caused the bulk director to rotate towards a steady-state alignment angle in the shear direction (Leslie angle θL). The transient director rotation was observed with conoscopy. It was found that increasing the initial alignment towards the vorticity direction increased the measured θL. Upon stopping the flow, the bulk director returned to its initial state. With initial alignment orientation changing from parallel to perpendicular to the flow direction, the rate of the twist-driven recovery process increases. This rate increase is not seen in the splay-driven recovery which is constant and consistently faster than twist-driven recovery at all orientations studied.
To Race or to Place? An Empirical Investigation of the Efficiency of the NASCAR Points Competition

The authors use race-level data from 2003 and 2004 to test von Allmen's hypothesis regarding the inefficiency of the NASCAR reward system, where compensation is in the form of points that are accumulated throughout a season. They define drivers as two types, skilled and unskilled. Skilled drivers are hypothesized to be less aggressive than unskilled drivers because they are more productive given the same effort. Accordingly, an unskilled driver must be more aggressive than a skilled one to gain more compensation. The authors test this assertion empirically by modeling accidents as a proxy for aggression. They find that drivers who demonstrate skill in earlier races are less likely to get into accidents in subsequent races, suggesting there is a skill-level difference among drivers.
Detection and Characterization of a High Molecular Weight Human Lung Carcinoma-associated Glycoprotein

We have defined a human lung carcinoma antigen using murine monoclonal antibodies (DF-L1 and DF-L2) prepared against a primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. This antigen is expressed on the surface of human lung carcinoma cell lines and has an apparent M r of 350,000–420,000. Immunoperoxidase staining has demonstrated expression of the antigen in the cytoplasm and membranes of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas but not small cell tumors of the lung. Immunoprecipitation of the antigen following radiolabeling has demonstrated the presence of both protein and carbohydrate. Antigen purified by immunoaffinity was used to study the epitopes defined by monoclonal antibodies DF-L1 and DF-L2. The results indicate that the DF-L1 epitope primarily involves a peptide structure, while the DF-L2 epitope is comprised in part by peptide and O -linked carbohydrate. In contrast, there was no detectable evidence for the presence of N -linked glycosylation. The results also demonstrate that this antigen circulates at elevated levels in patients with carcinoma of the lung. These findings are similar to previous reports of high molecular weight glycoproteins in breast and ovarian carcinomas. Indeed, the present results in lung cancer identify another member of this heterogeneous family of human carcinoma-associated glycoproteins.
Plasmid transfer in Streptococcus faecalis: production of multiple sex pheromones by recipients.

In a previous report (1978, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 3479-3483), we showed that recipient strains of Streptococcusfaecalis excrete a heat-stable substance (sex pheromone) which induces donor cells carrying certain conjugative plasmids to become adherent, generating the cell-to-cell contact necessary for plasmid transfer. Since donors themselves could be induced to aggregate or “clump” by recipient filtrates, the substance was referred to as “clumping-inducing agent” (CIA). In this report, we present a simplified assay for CIA and determine the level of activity in filtrates prepared at various stages of growth. We also present evidence that recipient cells produce multiple pheromones, each specific for donors harboring a particular class of plasmids. Whereas a recipient that acquires a conjugative plasmid no longer produces the corresponding CIA, it still produces CIAs specific for donors with different conjugative plasmids. In addition, an analysis of 100 clinical isolates of S. faecalis showed that drug-resistant strains are significantly more likely to respond to and produce CIA activities than drug-sensitive strains. A model is discussed describing the relationships of sex pheromones to the mating process.
Accumulation of divalent organic anions by mitochondria

Abstract Liver mitochondria accumulate and concentrate large quantities of potassium and divalent anions. Potassium is required for organic anion accumulation. Salts of sodium, magnesium or calcium are not accumulated. Both organic (succinate, malate, glutamate) divalent anions, as well as inorganic divalent anions (phosphate, arsenate) are accumulated. Monovalent anions (chloride or fluoride) are not accumulated. All divalent anions tested are competitive inhibitors of each other. Small amounts of uncoupling agents (valinomycin, gramicidin, calcium ions) or diffusible weakly acidic anions, such as acetate or formate, stimulate potassium divalent anion accumulation. Large quantities of the above uncoupling agent block the accumulation process as well as cause the rapid release of accumulated potassium salts from mitochondria. Intramitochondrial accumulation of these alkaline potassium salts results in extramitochondrial acidification. Stoichiometric amounts of acid are produced when the extramitochondrial anion is strongly acidic. Proportionately less extramitochondrial acid is produced when the exterior anion is more weakly acidic. A proposed mechanism for divalent anion accumulation, which is associated with accumulation of potassium, is presented.
Testing parametric assumptions of trends of a nonstationary time series

The paper considers testing whether the mean trend of a nonstationary time series is of certain parametric forms. A central limit theorem for the integrated squared error is derived, and a hypothesis-testing procedure is proposed. The method is illustrated in a simulation study, and is applied to assess the mean pattern of lifetime-maximum wind speeds of global tropical cyclones from 1981 to 2006. We also revisit the trend pattern in the central England temperature series. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
Equivalence in the genetic control of hindbrain segmentation in fish and mouse

The vertebrate hindbrain is subdivided into a series of rhombomeres whose segmental organization serves to pattern the architecture and innervation of the developing head. The zebrafish gene valentino is required cell-autonomously in the development of rhombomeres 5 and 6, and valentino mutants lack visible hindbrain segmentation caudal to the r3/4 boundary (Moens, C. B., Yan, Y.-L., Appel, B., Force, A. G., and Kimmel, C. B. (1996) Development 122, 3981–3990). Here we show that valentino is the zebrafish homologue of the mouse segmentation gene kreisler, which encodes a bZip transcription factor. The valentino gene is expressed in a manner consistent with its proposed role in subdividing rhombomeres 5 and 6 from their common precursor ‘proto-segment’ in the presumptive hindbrain, a process that we also demonstrate is reflected in the normal order of appearance of rhombomere boundaries. As well as having similar phenotypes with respect to visible hindbrain segmentation and patterns of marker gene expression, valentino and kreisler mutants have similar pharyngeal arch and inner ear defects, consistent with a conserved role for this gene in hindbrain segmentation and in patterning of the head periphery.
Titration of small amounts of mustard and other gases with bromine and methyl red.

SummaryMustard (I), ethyldichlorarsine (II), Lewisite (III), and phenyldichlorarsine (IV) may be titrated with 10-4 M bromine using methyl red as indicator. The method is accurate to about ± 0.02 ml 10-4 M bromine per ml of solution titrated. The reaction of these compounds is that of one mole of bromine per mole of gas.
Estimates of tropical analysis differences in daily values produced by two operational centers

To assess the uncertainty of daily synoptic analyses for the atmospheric state, the intercomparison of three First GARP Global Experiment level IIIb datasets is performed. Daily values of divergence, vorticity, temperature, static stability, vertical motion, mixing ratio, and diagnosed diabatic heating rate are compared for the period of 26 January-11 February 1979. The spatial variance and mean, temporal mean and variance, 2D wavenumber power spectrum, anomaly correlation, and normalized square difference are employed for comparison.
Centrifugal enhancement of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection and human cytomegalovirus gene expression in human primary monocyte/macrophages in vitro.

In an effort to facilitate the efficiency of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and/or human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in primary monocyte/macrophages in vitro, the effect of low-speed centrifugation was studied. The infectivity of three strains (Ba!, Ada-M, and IIIB) of LIlY-i tested was significantly enhanced by centrifugal inoculation at a force of 1500g for 60 mm. Reverse transcriptase activity and H1V-1 p24 antigen in primary monocyte/macrophages infected by a centrifugal inoculation technique were detectable 3-7 days earlier and were more than 10-fold greater in mag- nitude (at an early stage of the infection) than those of control cells infected by the conventional inoculation technique. Examination of the cells by indirect im- munofluorescence revealed higher expression of HJ.V-1 p24 protein in the monocyte/macrophages infected by the centrifugal inoculation technique. These differences were directly related to centrifugal inoculation and were evident up to 3 weeks after infection. Enhancement was not observed when centrifugation was carried out before or after HIV-1 infection. Centrifugal inoculation of HCMV also enhanced its immediate-early and early gene expression up to 30- to 50-fold, although neither late nuclear antigens and glycoproteins of HCMV nor infec- tious virus was detected in HCMV-infected monocyte/ macrophage cultures. These results show that centrifugal inoculation is a useful technique for improving the ef- ficiency of HCMV and lilY-i infection in vitro. J. Leukoc. Biol. 53: 208-212; 1993.
Gene expression signatures correlate with survival of patients with head and neck cancer treated with platinum-based regimens

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA 4430 Both the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway and glutathione S-transferase (GSTP1), a phase II metabolic enzyme, have independently been implicated as important predictors of responsiveness to platinum-based chemotherapy regimens and patient outcome in a variety of cancers. Here, we evaluated the association of mRNA expression profiles in both of these pathways as well as other DNA repair and cell cycle control pathways on survival in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) primary tumor and adjacent tissue samples from 96 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). All patients were treated with carboplatin or cisplatin, either alone or in combination with radiation or other agents. A panel of 128 genes was evaluated using a customized DASL assay on the Illumina Beadstation GX. The mean age of HNSCC diagnosis among these patients was 56.1 years, the median follow-up time was 834 days and a total of 25 deaths due to disease progression were observed. An important aspect of expression profile analysis is the characterization of relationships among multiple profiles on the basis of similarities. Using a graph-theoretic approach to identify patterns of gene expression, several interesting associations were observed. A common over-expressed gene profile consisting of 16 genes was detected in a subset of cases (n=21). These simultaneously most highly expressed genes in cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx were associated with a reduced survival of <500 days. The 16 genes associated with this reduced survival profile were from the NER, base excision repair and mismatch repair families. GSTP1 as well as three cell cycle control genes were also predictive of reduced survival. Interestingly, males were overrepresented in this subgroup of cases compared to the overall study population (7:1 vs. 4:1). Additionally, the presence or absence of this over-expressed gene panel was able to differentiate short and long term survival in oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer cases with 64% sensitivity and 80% specificity. The identification of gene expression profiles that can predict survival outcomes associated with platinum-based therapies provides an opportunity to evaluate the role of genes involved in DNA repair and response to treatment as well as to predict and potentially improve the efficacy of therapeutic approaches. Supported in part by NIH 1P50 CA097190.
The Internet as a Force of Inequality: Employment Impacts

The Internet is generally held to be a force for job growth. However, this view is empirically incorrect in the short term. The paper will show negative impacts, with the Internet a force of inequality. This leads to an analysis of how to deal with the losers in the information economy, and how to structure support mechanisms without reducing innovation.
Florida Legislator Attitudes Toward Inter-Jurisdictional Policy Responsibilities

The classic problem of a federal government is how to balance the division of responsibilities between the general and constituent governments to insure a stable political system for both the attainment of justice and economic prosperity.' To resolve the problem in the United States, the architects of the nation established a compound republic. This arrangement according to James Madison would allow for "a double security" because the "different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself."2 The United States Constitution insured that a compound republic would be established. Over the years, however, the maintenance of a compound republic has not been an easy task for policy makers. The question of what should be the division of policy responsibilities between the national government and the many state and local governments existed at the outset of the Republic, has been a constant problem, and still flourishes today. V. O. Key, Jr. succinctly framed the issue: "A perennial problem in the American federal system has been to make the most appropriate assignment of jurisdiction to the states and to the national government. The question whether a given function should be undertaken by the
Patient With a Massive Aortic Arch Aneurysm With Contained Rupture.

The patient is a 66-year-old African American male who presented to an outside emergency room in serious condition with neck pain as well as neck and facial swelling and difficulty swallowing of about 5 weeks duration. He finally came for attention when the pain became very severe. He was a chronically ill-appearing male bordering on cachexia. His evaluation at the referring hospital showed an ascending and arch aneurysm with rupture of the aortic arch and a large mediastinal hematoma (Fig. 1A). The patient had a significant history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heavy smoking. He was transferred to our institution for further care. Figure 1. (A) Illustrates the appearance of the aortic arch rupture discovered intraoperatively. (B) Shows the complete reconstruction of the ascending aorta and aortic arch. The preoperative computed tomography (CT) showed a massive ruptured aneurysm of the aortic arch measuring up to 11.7 cm (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Preoperative chest X-ray (A) and CT scan images (B) and (C) showing a massive aneurysm of the aortic arch. On the axial CT image please note how far apart the innominate and left carotid arteries are. On entry into the pericardium we discovered a contained rupture of what turned out to be a false aneurysm containing a clot that had breeched the aortic wall, resulting in a large cavity between the innominate and left carotid arteries. The patient was placed on bypass through the femoral vessels and an aortic valve replacement (severe aortic regurgitation on echocardiogram), ascending aortic replacement (root sparing), and formal arch replacement with stage 1 elephant trunk was performed. Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (31 minutes at 18°C) and bilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (14 minutes at 400 cc/minute) was required for cerebral protection. The formal arch replacement included anastomosing the innominate artery and the left carotid artery end-to-end between each other with a 12-mm graft, which was then anastomosed with the main arch graft with a separate 10-mm graft end-to-side of both grafts (see Fig. 1B). The total bypass time and cross-clamp times were 214 and 163 minutes, respectively. The patient had a difficult postoperative recovery, requiring reintubation. The patient also developed atrial fibrillation, which resolved before discharge. Five months postoperatively the patient is doing well. This case is especially interesting for the extraordinary preoperative images of the aortic arch (Fig. 2). We encourage similar submissions to the AORTA journal's category “Images in Aortic Disease.” Comment on this Article or Ask a Question
Efficacy of Amitriptyline as a Prophylactic Agent for Headaches in Pediatric Population (P04.171)

Objective: To study the efficacy of Amitriptyline as a prophylactic agent for severe headaches in pediatric population under 21 years of age. Background Severe and frequent headaches is a major health issue among pediatric population causing significant disability and loss of quality of life, approximately 75% of adolescents and 25% of younger children experience headaches. This study aims to analyze the benefit of Amitriptyline as prophylaxis for prevention of headaches. Design/Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on 576 pediatric headache patients who used Amitriptyline as headache prophylaxis and were seen in the pediatric neurology clinic of University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics from 2002-2011.Pertinent data such as patient demographics, headache diagnosis, medical history, Amitriptyline dosage, side effects and follow up duration were collected. Frequency and intensity of headaches at initiation of Amitriptyline and subsequent response to medication were recorded. Results: After exclusion of cases with poor documentation (including those with less than 3 months of follow up), there were 373 cases, comprising of 152 males (40.8%, mean age: 16.8) and 221 females (59.2%, mean age: 17.0). There were 306 patients with migraine headaches, 2 with tension headache, 49 with nonspecific headaches, and 16 patients with combination of 2 different headache diagnoses. Overall positive response was noted on 302 patients (81%) while 71 patients did not respond to medication (19%). Among patient who used Amitriptyline as mono-prophylaxis (150 patients), 124 (81%) patients had positive response, while 26 patients did not respond to medication. 41(11%) patients developed side effects from Amitriptyline. The common side effects were drowsiness and behavior changes. Conclusions: Amitriptyline is an efficacious, safe and well tolerated prophylactic agent for primary and secondary headaches in a pediatric population. Disclosure: Dr. Lim has nothing to disclose. Dr. Neelam has nothing to disclose. Dr. Patel has received research support from Eisai Inc. Dr. Thakkar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bollu has nothing to disclose.
Peptidoglycan-linked protein A promotes T cell-dependent antibody expansion during Staphylococcus aureus infection

A hallmark of Staphylococcus aureus disease in humans is persistent infections without development of protective immune responses. Infected patients generate VH3 plasmablast expansions and increased VH3 idiotype Ig; however, the mechanisms for staphylococcal modification of immune responses are not known. We report here that S. aureus-infected mice generate VH3 antibody expansions via a mechanism requiring MHC-restricted antigen presentation to CD4+ T cells and staphylococcal protein A (SpA), a cell wall-anchored surface molecule that binds Fcγ and VH3 variant heavy chains of Ig. VH3 expansion occurred with peptidoglycan-linked SpA from the bacterial envelope but not with recombinant SpA, and optimally required five tandem repeats of its Ig-binding domains. Signaling via receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 2 (RIPK2) was essential for implementing peptidoglycan-linked SpA superantigen activity. VH3 clan IgG from S. aureus-infected or SpA-treated animals was not pathogen-specific, suggesting that SpA cross-linking of VH3 idiotype B-cell receptors and activation via attached peptidoglycan are the determinants of staphylococcal escape from adaptive immune responses.
Training Sport Talents to Meet Society Needs

The goals of talent training are instrumental as they dictate the general rules of how a nation trains its talents.Such goals are closely aligned with the development and progress of a nation and a society.Defining the goals of talent training not only determines the vision under which a school is being led,but also has decisive impact over many other aspects,including: the design of talent training plans,choice of content of teaching,implementation and organization of teaching,creation of subjects and concentrations,assembly of faculty,and cultivation of campus culture.The fundamental principle of defining goals of talent training,which underpins improving the innovation capacity of higher education institutes,lies in a demand-oriented course of action.It raises the knowledge,capacity and quality bars for talents and urges schools to adjust their goals of talent training.The general goals of training sport talents should aim at high-quality,innovative talents who are developed all-round in ethic,intelligence,physicality and beauty,and who bear ethnic identity,social responsibility,international perspective,the consciousness to cooperate and compete,the spirit of science and humanities,the habit to innovate,and the capacity to act.Schools should set such goals of training sport talents that are tailored to the local needs of sport,culture and social development,and that are unique to their own character as schools.
Nitric oxide limits coronary vasoconstriction by a shear stress-dependent mechanism

Increases in shear stress promote coronary vasodilation by stimulating the production of nitric oxide (NO). Whether shear stress-induced NO production also limits vasoconstriction in the coronary m...
Automatic Part Coding Based on Interfeature Relationships

Abstract Automated Group Technology coding relies on a complete geometric description of the part, along with a description of the high level manufacturing features such as slots, holes and pockets, and the spatial relationships between these features. The research reported herein is focused on a method to perform automatic GT coding that utilizes the geometric model of the part, the feature model of the part, and a formal representation of the relationships among the features of the part. The representation includes a set of structural and geometric primitives, along with a methodology for modeling features in the context of interacting and interfeature relationships. This formalism is referred to as the intermediate geometry representation. The information represented includes interactions between features and geometric relationships among features. The interacting and interfeature relationships are shown to significantly facilitate the decision-making processes involved in automated GT coding.
A surgeon's reflections on the care of the dying.

The characteristics, such as authority, power, certainty, and coolness under fire, that most surgeons consider essential to their ability to fight disease can be counterproductive in the care of the dying. Surgeons have begun to recognize that the ages-old image we have been taught to cherish must undergo some changes if we are to fulfill our responsibilities to those for whom our usual aggressive methods of treatment are to no avail. For this to happen, introspection and evaluation of the “inner surgeon” are required, in order to discover and deal with the hidden motivations that often influence decision-making at the bedside. The result of such self-analysis can be liberating. The new way of perceiving ourselves may bring us increased equanimity and break down some of the barriers that have stood in the way of effective palliative care.
Medications for Allergic Rhinitis: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement?:

Objectives Adherence to the allergic rhinitis clinical practice guideline is being considered as a potential focus for national performance metrics. To help inform this discussion, we assessed patient- and clinician-reported medication administration among nationally representative populations of patients with allergic rhinitis. Study Design Cross-sectional analyses. Setting and Subjects Home health assessments, ambulatory visits. Methods Participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey / National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey were assessed. The primary outcomes were the percentage of patients reporting receipt of antihistamines and/or nasal steroids among those with allergy-related symptoms and the percentage for whom a clinician administered these medications when diagnosing allergic rhinitis. Secondary outcomes included assessments of those with worse quality of life, confirmatory allergy testing, and leukotriene receptor antagonist use. Results Within the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, an estimated 29.2 million patients were diagnosed with "hay fever," while 92.2 million were diagnosed with "allergies." Patients with symptoms of allergic rhinitis reported that antihistamines or nasal steroids were prescribed in 21.1% to 24.0% of cases. Leukotriene receptor antagonists were given to 1.7% of those without asthma or use of other allergy medications. Within the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey / National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, observations representing 149.5 million visits for allergic rhinitis demonstrated that nasal steroids were administered in 29.6% of cases, while nonsedating and sedating antihistamines were given in 22.4% and 17.2%, respectively. Conclusions Despite a high prevalence of allergic rhinitis, per patient report and clinician entry, a substantial number of affected patients do not receive antihistamines and nasal steroids.
The Arrested Development of Golden Rice: The Scientific and Social Challenges of a Transgenic Biofortified Crop

Since its initiation to reduce the global public health crisis of vitamin A deficiency (VAD), the Golden Rice (GR) Project has met with both successes and challenges. After 16 years of its scientific breakthrough in 2000 with the GR prototype to produce β-carotene in rice grain, it has yet to be released. As the first biofortified crop developed with transgenic technologies designed to reduce the micronutrient deficiency, GR has met controversy and even academic scandal. This review updates the science and situates GR in its political, regulatory and economic contexts. In doing so, peer-reviewed journal articles on GR and VAD were studied, specific data were cited from well-recognized organizations, and both the science and regulatory issues were checked through personal communications. This review aims not only to update and provide evidence-based analysis of GR, but also to facilitate broader social conversations on transgenic crops.
Treat to Target in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Updated Review of Literature

Therapeutic management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) has, for years, been tailored towards monitoring patient clinical presentation as a way to gauge therapeutic management. With the advent of newer biological agents, treatment and management have begun to focus on more objective rather than subjective parameters. These objective parameters include endoscopic targets and focus on the impact of mucosal healing, radiologic and histologic targets, patient reported outcomes, and use of non-invasive biomarkers. However, a recent consensus statement has identified clinical/patient-reported outcome (PRO) remission and endoscopic remission (defined as a Mayo endoscopic subscore of 0–1) as the target for UC with histological remission being an adjunctive goal. For CD, clinical/PRO remission defined as resolution of abdominal pain and diarrhea/altered bowel habit and endoscopic remission, defined as resolution of ulceration at ileocolonoscopy, and resolution of findings of inflammation on cross-sectional imaging in patients who cannot be adequately assessed with ileocolonoscopy were the primary targets. Biomarker remission (normal C-reactive protein (CRP) and calprotectin) was considered as an adjunctive target. This approach requires continuous monitoring and therapeutic adjustments with an aim to achieve the target. This article attempts to review the most updated literature regarding the treat to target approach and thus provides current recommendations and supported evidence.
Three-dimensional optical coherence tomography reconstruction of bifurcation stenting using the Szabo anchor-wire technique

Ostial lesions present unique challenges for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). These lesions are often more calcified, fibrotic, rigid, and more prone to elastic recoil. Intervention on these lesions is associated with higher procedural complications and higher rates of restenosis. Ostial lesions require precise stent placement in the ostium with the absence of side branch compromise. Accurate stent placement in the ostium without side branch compromise is difficult to accomplish with angiography alone. The Szabo technique uses two coronary guidewires for the correct placement in the aorto-ostial or bifurcation lesion. One guidewire is passed through the final cell of the stent strut and acts as the anchor wire. It helps to prevent migration of the stent beyond the ostium and facilitates the precise stenting at the ostium. This technique has several advantages including less reliance on angiography, lower rates of stent malposition and lower rates of incomplete stent coverage. Potential disadvantages include stent distortion and dislodgement from stent manipulation. We describe two cases of successful PCI to bifurcation lesions using the Szabo technique and confirmation of correct placement in the ostium with optical coherence tomography.
Mapping SPL Feature Models to a Relational Database

Building a software product line (SPL) is a systematic strategy for reusing software within a family of related systems from some application domain. To define an SPL, domain analysts must identify the common and variable aspects of systems in the family and capture this information so that it can be used effectively to construct specific products. Often analysts record this information using a feature model expressed visually as a feature diagram. The overall goal of this project is to enable wider use of SPLs by identifying relevant concepts, defining systematic methods, and developing practical tools that leverage familiar web programming technologies. This paper presents a novel approach to specification of feature models: capture the details using automatically generated user interfaces, encode the models in a relational database, and then validate the models and construct specific products using SQL.
Conceptual and methodological issues in comparing metalinguistic awareness across languages

It has generally been agreed in the literature that metalinguistic awareness plays a critical role in reading development (e.g. Gombert, 1992; Mattingly, 1984; Nagy & Anderson, 1998). Yet despite the agreement, the term “metalinguistic awareness” has not received a consistent interpretation and thus tends to refer to different constructs in different studies. Resolving these inconsistencies is important because the conceptualization of “metalinguistic awareness” provides the theoretical framework that guides research designs, data analyses, and interpretations of ﬁndings. Understanding differences in the conceptualization of “metalinguistic awareness” is particularly important when it comes to cross-language research, because only with a consistent framework can comparisons across languages be meaningful. Otherwise, there is no way to be certain whether the differences found in cross-language studies result from different courses of metalinguistic awareness development across languages or from different conceptualizations of metalinguistic awareness.
Sound Radiation of Arrays and Membranes

The preceding two chapters dealt with the basic theory of the radiation and diffraction of vibrators, screens, or apertures. In the following two chapters, this theory will be applied to practical instances.
Pyrolytic Fractionation: A Promising Thermochemical Technique for Processing Oleaginous (Algal) Biomass

We report the development of a two-step pyrolytic fractionation approach that is especially applicable to processing oleaginous algae feed stocks. The first step is a low-temperature pyrolysis (T ∼ 300–320 °C) to produce bio-oils from degradation of protein and carbohydrate fractions. Solid residues left behind can subsequently be subjected to a second higher temperature pyrolysis (T ∼ 420–430 °C) to volatilize and/or degrade triglycerides to produce fatty acids, their derivatives, and long chain hydrocarbons. Thus, pyrolytic fractionation can be used to “fractionate” oleaginous biomass and separately recover triglyceride degradation products. Proof-of-concept micropyrolyzer and subsequent lab-scale fixed-bed experiments were performed using oleaginous Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp. to demonstrate the pyrolytic fractionation technique and determine bio-oil yields. As expected, triglyceride-specific bio-oils were rich in hydrocarbons and free fatty acids, were nearly free of water, short-chain organic a...
James Michael Lee's Crusade for Empiricism:

James Michael Lee advocated a social scientific “macrotheory” for religious and Christian education from the late 1960s until his death in 2004. Lee said that theology should no longer direct metho...
Physical Activity in Parents of Young African American Children: The Application of Social Cognitive Theory

Background: Social cognitive theory (SCT) proposes that personal and environmental factors influence behavior bidirectionally. Research examining the personal and environmental factors of physical activity (PA) among African Americans (AAs) framed by SCT is scarce. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to enhance knowledge of SCT as a foundation for health promotion and PA research, in general, and among AAs. Findings from a previous study provide exemplars for key factors and relationships in SCT. Implications for Research and Practice: The SCT serves as a good framework for researchers studying health promotion and PA in generalamong AA parents.
Video games as a tool to train visual skills.

Purpose Adult brain plasticity, although possible, is often difficult to elicit. Training regimens in adults can produce specific improvements on the trained task without leading to general enhancements that would improve quality of life. This paper considers the case of playing action video games as a way to induce widespread enhancement in vision.
High Density Sources for Plasma Etching

There is great current activity in the development of high density sources for plasma processing of microelectronic devices. Much of the interest has been stimulated by the need to control and reduce plasma-induced device damage. Plasma sheath potentials in capacitively coupled parallel plate reactors can range from hundreds to thousands of volts. Plasma ions falling through these potentials can cause unacceptably high device damage, such as atomic displacement and gate oxide damage, leading to threshold voltage shifts and gate leakage. In parallel plate discharges, the roles of plasma generation and wafer biasing are coupled: higher input power (to increase the plasma density) will simultaneously increase the sheath self-bias potential.1 There is thus a critical need for high density sources in which the roles of plasma generation and substrate biasing are decoupled, so that high plasma densities can be combined with low ion energies. For example, a set of plasma objectives for anisotropic low damage etching would be: Low operating pressure: 1 – 10 mTorr; High plasma ion concentrations: > 1011 cm-3; High ion flux to the wafer: > 10 mA/cm2; Controllable low ion energy: < 30 eV, with a sharp, nearly monoenergetic energy distribution and decoupled ion flux density and ion energy.
Dancing in and out of the archive

This article explores how the body of early twentieth-century dancer Carmen Tortola Valencia captured the imagination of diverse audiences in the decades up to the declaration of the Second Spanish...
Secondary bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) alters weight, the gut microbiota, and the bile acid pool in conventional mice

Abstract Ursodeoxycholic acid (commercially available as Ursodiol) is a naturally occurring bile acid that is used to treat a variety of hepatic and gastrointestinal diseases. Ursodiol can modulate bile acid pools, which have the potential to alter the gut microbiota community structure. In turn, the gut microbial community can modulate bile acid pools, thus highlighting the interconnectedness of the gut microbiota-bile acid-host axis. Despite these interactions, it remains unclear if and how exogenously administered ursodiol shapes the gut microbial community structure and bile acid pool. This study aims to characterize how ursodiol alters the gastrointestinal ecosystem in conventional mice. C57BL/6J wildtype mice were given one of three doses of ursodiol (50, 150, or 450 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for 21 days. Alterations in the gut microbiota and bile acids were examined including stool, ileal, and cecal content. Bile acids were also measured in serum. Significant weight loss was seen in mice treated with the low and high dose of ursodiol. Alterations in the microbial community structure and bile acid pool were seen in ileal and cecal content compared to pretreatment, and longitudinally in feces following the 21-day ursodiol treatment. In both ileal and cecal content, members of the Lachnospiraceae family significantly contributed to the changes observed. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of how exogenously administered ursodiol shapes the gastrointestinal ecosystem. Further studies to investigate how these changes in turn modify the host physiologic response are important. Importance Ursodeoxycholic acid (commercially available as ursodiol) is used to treat a variety of hepatic and gastrointestinal diseases. Despite its widespread use, how ursodiol impacts the gut microbial community structure and bile acid pool remains unknown. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of how exogenously administered ursodiol shapes the gastrointestinal ecosystem. Ursodiol administration in conventional mice resulted in significant alterations in the gut microbial community structure and bile acid pool, indicating that ursodiol has direct impacts on the gut microbiota-bile acid-host axis which should be considered when this medication is administered. Bile Acid Abbreviations αMCA – α–Muricholic acid; βMCA –β–Muricholic acid; ωMCA –ω–Muricholic acid; CA – Cholic acid; CDCA – Chenodeoxycholic acid; DCA – Deoxycholic acid; GCDCA – Glycochenodeoxycholic acid; GDCA – Glycodeoxycholic acid; GLCA – Glycolithocholic acid; GUDCA – Glycoursodeoxycholic acid; HCA – Hyodeoxycholic acid; iDCA – Isodeoxycholic acid; iLCA – Isolithocholic acid; LCA – Lithocholic acid; TCA – Taurocholic acid; TCDCA – Taurochenodeoxycholic acid; TDCA – Taurodeoxycholic acid; THCA – Taurohyodeoxycholic acid; TUDCA – Tauroursodeoxycholic acid; TβMCA – Tauro-β-muricholic acid; TωMCA –Tauro ω-muricholic acid; UDCA – Ursodeoxycholic acid.