cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Yersinia Virulence Depends on Mimicry of Host Rho-Family Nucleotide Dissociation Inhibitors

Yersinia spp. cause gastroenteritis and the plague, representing historically devastating pathogens that are currently an important biodefense and antibiotic resistance concern. A critical virulence determinant is the Yersinia protein kinase A, or YpkA, a multidomain protein that disrupts the eukaryotic actin cytoskeleton. Here we solve the crystal structure of a YpkA-Rac1 complex and find that YpkA possesses a Rac1 binding domain that mimics host guanidine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors (GDIs) of the Rho GTPases. YpkA inhibits nucleotide exchange in Rac1 and RhoA, and mutations that disrupt the YpkA-GTPase interface abolish this activity in vitro and impair in vivo YpkA-induced cytoskeletal disruption. In cell culture experiments, the kinase and the GDI domains of YpkA act synergistically to promote cytoskeletal disruption, and a Y. pseudotuberculosis mutant lacking YpkA GDI activity shows attenuated virulence in a mouse infection assay. We conclude that virulence in Yersinia depends strongly upon mimicry of host GDI proteins by YpkA.
Older age does not increase risk of hemorrhagic complications after intravenous and/or intra-arterial thrombolysis for acute stroke.

Background The elderly have significantly higher incidence of ischemic stroke and have higher mortality and morbidity compared with younger patients. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after thrombolysis is one of the causes of unfavorable outcome. However, it is unclear whether age over 80 years is a predictor for hemorrhagic transformation after intravenous, intra-arterial, or a combination of both thrombolytic therapies. Methods A database of 488 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke who received thrombolytic therapy was analyzed using logistic regression model to determine whether factors such as age over 80 years, demographic characteristics, onset to treatment time, severity of neurologic deficits, route of administration, blood glucose, or mean arterial pressure were associated with symptomatic ICH. Results The rates of symptomatic hemorrhage were 12.82% and 10.4% in older and younger groups, respectively. The odds of symptomatic hemorrhage after thrombolytic therapy for patients over 80 years of age after adjusting for route of administration, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, mean arterial pressure, and glucose was not significantly different from that of the younger age group (odds ratio [OR] = 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.729-3.66). Hyperglycemia (>150 mg/dL) was associated with increased odds of symptomatic ICH (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.09-4.93). Patients older than 80 years had similar rates of recanalization (OR = 0.8; 95% CI: 0.4-1.8) and rates of asymptomatic ICH (OR = 2.40; 95% CI: 0.89-6.5). Conclusions Risks of ICH after thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke are similar in patients over and under 80 years of age. Our data suggest that the decision to provide thrombolytic therapy should not be solely based on patient's age.
Intraspecific signalling of hunting success or failure in Urosalpinx cinerea say

Abstract In a choice chamber, starved oyster drills ( Urosalpinx cinerea Say) were repelled by the effluent of starved oyster drills and attracted to the effluent of satiated oyster drills. This combination of responses may be expected to increase foraging efficiency by directing the snails away from unproductive areas and toward their prey.
Prym varieties and Teichmüller curves

This article gives a uniform construction of infinitely many primitive Teichmuller curves V⊂Mg for g=2, 3, and 4
Penetration of Trimethoprim and Sulfamethoxazole Into Cysts in a Patient With Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease

This study examines the causes for the therapeutic failure of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in a patient with infected cysts caused by a sensitive strain of Escherichia coli . We determined the concentration of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole in eight cysts (four proximal, four distal) following therapeutic nephrectomy in a patient treated eight days with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in appropriate doses. In four proximal cysts, mean trimethroprim level was 16.1 ± 0.8 μg/mL with mean sulfamethoxazole level of 94.7 ± 13.0 μg/mL. In distal cysts, mean trimethoprim level was 227.8 ± 16.8 μg/mL with mean sulfamethoxazole level of 9.7 ± 3.6 μg/mL. Serum peak and trough trimethoprim concentrations were 9.8 μg/mL and 5.4 μg/mL with peak and trough sulfamethoxazole concentrations of 136.0 μg/mL and 65.0 μg/mL. Significant WBC counts were present in seven cysts, three proximal and four distal. All three proximal cysts were sterile; in contrast, the four distal cysts grew the same strain of E coli isolated from the blood and urine of this patient. The infection resolved following nephrectomy. We conclude that the failure of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to eradicate the infection was caused by the inability of sulfamethoxazole to enter distal cysts in sufficient concentration for the synergistic effect commonly seen with trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole in combination. Treatment of cyst infections with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole should probably be avoided in instances when the organism is resistant to trimethoprim alone.
Risperidone unmasking an accessory pathway.

a Department of Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, United States b Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, United States c Department of Psychiatry, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
A mouse bleeding model to study oral anticoagulants

New oral anticoagulants to reduce the incidence of thrombosis have recently become available. When compared to the existing therapy, warfarin, these novel agents have similar efficacy with a reduced risk of spontaneous bleeding. However, these novel agents have been associated with significant, even fatal, bleeding following trauma. Reversal agents are being developed that bind and neutralize these oral anticoagulants. However, these are not yet available. Another strategy is to increase thrombin generation by administration of “bypassing” agents such as prothrombin complex concentrates or factor VIIa. Several animal models have been used to model the hemostatic defect induced by the thrombin inhibitor dabigatran. A rat tail injury model, a rabbit cuticle bleeding model, and a rabbit kidney laceration model have all been reported to show increased bleeding, but with supratherapeutic doses of dabigatran. A mouse tail transection model has been reported to reflect increased bleeding at peak therapeutic dabigatran levels. We found that the Whinna saphenous vein hemostasis model reliably reflects a hemostatic defect at therapeutic levels of dabigatran. This model can potentially reflect the effects of reversal or bypassing agents.
Targeting the neurovascular unit for treatment of neurological disorders

Drug discovery for CNS disorders has been restricted by the inability for therapeutic agents to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Moreover, current drugs aim to correct neuron cell signaling, thereby neglecting pathophysiological changes affecting other cell types of the neurovascular unit (NVU). Components of the NVU (pericytes, microglia, astrocytes, and neurons, and basal lamina) act as an intricate network to maintain the neuronal homeostatic microenvironment. Consequently, disruptions to this intricate cell network lead to neuron malfunction and symptoms characteristic of CNS diseases. A lack of understanding in NVU signaling cascades may explain why current treatments for CNS diseases are not curative. Current therapies treat symptoms by maintaining neuron function. Refocusing drug discovery to sustain NVU function may provide a better method of treatment by promoting neuron survival. In this review, we will examine current therapeutics for common CNS diseases, describe the importance of the NVU in cerebral homeostasis and discuss new possible drug targets and technologies that aim to improve treatment and drug delivery to the diseased brain.
An example of ridge regression difficulties

A simple consumption function is used to illustrate two fundamental difficulties with ridge regression and similarly motivated procedures. The first is the ambiguity of multicollinearity measures for judging the data's “ill-conditioning”. The second is the sensitivity of the estimates to the arbitrary normalization of the model. Neither of these poses a problem for least squares or Bayesian estimates. The logical restructuring of ridge procedures to avoid these difficulties leads to a more explicitly Bayesian approach.
Sonographic endometrial three-layer pattern in symptomatic first-trimester pregnancy : Not diagnostic of ectopic pregnancy

Purpose We evaluated a recent report that suggested that a “3-layer” appearance of the endometrium on sonography is diagnostic of ectopic pregnancy in symptomatic pregnant patients. Methods We reviewed the log of pelvic sonograms performed to rule out ectopic pregnancy in women presenting with first-trimester bleeding and/or pain during a 29-month period. Medical records and sonograms of patients without sonographic evidence of intrauterine pregnancy were reviewed to determine final diagnoses and whether the 3-layer pattern was present. Results One hundred twenty patients with available follow-up had no sonographic evidence of intrauterine pregnancy. Fifty-nine (49%) had ectopic pregnancy. An endometrial 3-layer pattern was noted sonographically in 15 patients (13%), of whom 6 (40%) had ectopic pregnancy. As a diagnostic sign of ectopic pregnancy, the endometrial 3-layer pattern had a sensitivity of 10.2%, specificity of 85.2%, positive predictive value of 40%, negative predictive value of 50.5%, and accuracy of 49.2%. Conclusions The endometrial 3-layer pattern is neither sensitive nor specific for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 26:199–201, 1998.
Piwi genes are dispensable for normal hematopoiesis in mice.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) must engage in a life-long balance between self-renewal and differentiation to sustain hematopoiesis. The highly conserved PIWI protein family regulates proliferative states of stem cells and their progeny in diverse organisms. A Human piwi gene (for clarity, the non-italicized “piwi” refers to the gene subfamily), HIWI (PIWIL1), is expressed in CD34+ stem/progenitor cells and transient expression of HIWI in a human leukemia cell line drastically reduces cell proliferation, implying the potential function of these proteins in hematopoiesis. Here, we report that one of the three piwi genes in mice, Miwi2 (Piwil4), is expressed in primitive hematopoetic cell types within the bone marrow. Mice with a global deletion of all three piwi genes, Miwi, Mili, and Miwi2, are able to maintain long-term hematopoiesis with no observable effect on the homeostatic HSC compartment in adult mice. The PIWI-deficient hematopoetic cells are capable of normal lineage reconstitution after competitive transplantation. We further show that the three piwi genes are dispensable during hematopoietic recovery after myeloablative stress by 5-FU. Collectively, our data suggest that the function of the piwi gene subfamily is not required for normal adult hematopoiesis.
Common-Fate Grouping as Feature Selection

The visual system groups elements within the visual field that are physically separated yet similar to each other. Although grouping processes have been intensely studied for a century, the mechanisms of grouping remain elusive. We propose that a primary mechanism for grouping by common fate is attentional selection of a direction of motion. A unique prediction follows from this account: that the visual system must be limited to forming only a single common-fate group at a time, and that attempts to find a particular common-fate group among other groups, or among nongroups, should therefore be highly inefficient. We show that this is true in searches for vertically oriented groups of moving dots among horizontally oriented groups (Experiment 1) and in searches for motion-linked groups among nonlinked objects (Experiment 2). Feature selection may limit the visual system to the construction of only one common-fate group at a time, and thus the experience of simultaneous grouping may be an illusion.
ALOX5 gene variants affect eicosanoid production and response to fish oil supplementation

The objective of this study was to determine whether 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) gene variants associated with cardiovascular disease affect eicosanoid production by monocytes. The study was a randomized, double-masked, parallel intervention trial with fish oil (5.0 g of fish oil daily, containing 2.0 g of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and 1.0 g of docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) or placebo oil (5.0 g of corn/soy mixture). A total of 116 subjects (68% female, 20–59 years old) of African American ancestry enrolled, and 98 subjects completed the study. Neither ALOX5 protein nor arachidonic acid-derived LTB4, LTD4, and LTE4 varied by genotype, but 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate (5-HETE), 6-trans-LTB4, 5-oxo-ETE, 15-HETE, and 5,15-diHETE levels were higher in subjects homozygous for the ALOX5 promoter allele containing five Sp1 element tandem repeats (“55” genotype) than in subjects with one deletion (d) (three or four repeats) and one common (“d5” genotype) allele or with two deletion (“dd”) alleles. The EPA-derived metabolites 5-HEPE and 15-HEPE and the DHA-derived metabolite 17-HDoHE had similar associations with genotype and increased with supplementation; 5-HEPE and 15-HEPE increased, and 5-oxo-ETE decreased to a greater degree in the 55 than in the other genotypes. This differential eicosanoid response is consistent with the previously observed interaction of these variants with dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids in predicting cardiovascular disease risk.
Dose rates for brachytherapy applicators using 137Cs sources

Abstract We have computed the dose rates from brachytherapy 3M 137 Cs sources for different size ovoids and vaginal cylinders. They are expressed in tabular form. The dose rate tables thus generated compared with the widely used tables for 266 Ra differ by as much as 9% for ovoids and up to 20% for the cylinders. ' These differences are mainly a consequence of differences in physical structure of the two types of sources. These tables will serve as a quick guide and reference and should be of great practical use to physicists and radiotherapists for planning implants. However, these tables are not meant to replace detailed computer isodose calculations.
Corrosion of Concentric Neutrals of Buried URD Cables

The chemistry of copper concentric neutrals in soil is discussed and related to the corrosion problem. Electrochemical factors such as differential aeration, the presence of an intermetallic in a coating, stray A.C. and D.C. are important in producing corrosion Electrical measurements and their interpretation have an important role in studying the problem.
On-the-Job Search and Strategic Bargaining

Abstract This paper studies wage bargaining in a simple economy in which both employed and unemployed workers search for better jobs. The axiomatic Nash bargaining solution and standard strategic bargaining solutions are inapplicable because the set of feasible payoffs is nonconvex. I instead develop a strategic model of wage bargaining between a single worker and firm that is applicable to such an environment. I show that if workers and firms are homogeneous, there are market equilibria with a continuous wage distribution in which identical firms bargain to different wages, each of which is a subgame perfect equilibrium of the bargaining game. If firms are heterogeneous, I characterize market equilibria in which more productive firms pay higher wages. I compare the quantitative predictions of this model with Burdett and Mortensen's [1998. Wage differentials, employer size and unemployment. International Economic Review 39, 257–273.] wage posting model and argue that the bargaining model is theoretically more appealing along important dimensions.
Why Children with ADHD Do Not Have Low IQs

The major cognitive deficit of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is impaired executive function (EF), a cognitive component that some theorists believe to be the primary substrate for the general intelligence (g) factor. We review the constructs of g and EF and the relevant research findings on ADHD. We then analyze the results of a battery of diverse tests, including measures of EF, administered to 123 boys with ADHD. The correlations among the EF measures, two well-accepted measures of IQ, and the g factor extracted from the entire battery are trivial at best. These results are discussed in the context of collateral evidence supporting the independence of g and EF and its clinical and theoretical implications.
Introduction: Overview and Definitions

In this chapter, we briefly outline the major features of the disorder and identify some of the more controversial and as yet unresolved issues, including those of optimal therapy and basic underlying pathophysiology. In subsequent chapters, these topics will be explored in more detail.
Decay-accelerating factor modulates induction of T cell immunity.

Decay-accelerating factor (Daf) dissociates C3/C5 convertases that assemble on host cells and thereby prevents complement activation on their surfaces. We demonstrate that during primary T cell activation, the absence of Daf on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and on T cells enhances T cell proliferation and augments the induced frequency of effector cells. The effect is factor D- and, at least in part, C5-dependent, indicating that local alternative pathway activation is essential. We show that cognate T cell–APC interactions are accompanied by rapid production of alternative pathway components and down-regulation of Daf expression. The findings argue that local alternative pathway activation and surface Daf protein function respectively as a costimulator and a negative modulator of T cell immunity and explain previously reported observations linking complement to T cell function. The results could have broad therapeutic implications for disorders in which T cell immunity is important.
Bayesian Population Decoding of Motor Cortical Activity Using a Kalman Filter

Effective neural motor prostheses require a method for decoding neural activity representing desired movement. In particular, the accurate reconstruction of a continuous motion signal is necessary for the control of devices such as computer cursors, robots, or a patient's own paralyzed limbs. For such applications, we developed a real-time system that uses Bayesian inference techniques to estimate hand motion from the firing rates of multiple neurons. In this study, we used recordings that were previously made in the arm area of primary motor cortex in awake behaving monkeys using a chronically implanted multielectrode microarray. Bayesian inference involves computing the posterior probability of the hand motion conditioned on a sequence of observed firing rates; this is formulated in terms of the product of a likelihood and a prior. The likelihood term models the probability of firing rates given a particular hand motion. We found that a linear gaussian model could be used to approximate this likelihood and could be readily learned from a small amount of training data. The prior term defines a probabilistic model of hand kinematics and was also taken to be a linear gaussian model. Decoding was performed using a Kalman filter, which gives an efficient recursive method for Bayesian inference when the likelihood and prior are linear and gaussian. In off-line experiments, the Kalman filter reconstructions of hand trajectory were more accurate than previously reported results. The resulting decoding algorithm provides a principled probabilistic model of motor-cortical coding, decodes hand motion in real time, provides an estimate of uncertainty, and is straightforward to implement. Additionally the formulation unifies and extends previous models of neural coding while providing insights into the motor-cortical code.
The Acquisition of English Articles by First- and Second-Language Learners.

Child first-language (L1) learners frequently use the definite article in referential indefinite contexts, that is, with nouns appearing in the discourse for the first time, where adults use the indefinite article. Adult second-language (L2) learners also overgeneralize the definite article. Research reported here shows 30 L2 learners use the in referential indefinite contexts at significantly higher rates than in nonreferential contexts. Thus, both L1 and L2 learners may share an initial hypothesis associating the with referential nouns. This evidence of a strategy common to L1 and L2 learners invites reinterpretation of both L1 and L2 acquisition data.
Newton's law and nonholonomic systems

We consider nonholonomic control systems on Riemannian manifolds. Such systems evolve on sub-bundles of tangent bundles, defined by the nonholonomic constraints. This paper promotes the view of such systems as the restriction to the nonholonomic sub-bundle of "Newton-law" type problems on the entire tangent bundle, defined by, in general, non-Riemannian connections. These connections should be related to specific geometric properties of the nonholonomic system. We define a particular class of connections based on special symmetry properties, and demonstrate the validity of the construction through three examples.
Two Kicks Forward, One Kick Back: A Content Analysis of Media Discourses on the 1999 Women’s World Cup Soccer Championship

The 1999 Women’s World Cup Soccer Championship serves as a particularly good site for examining both the social construction of gender and the structure of contradiction surrounding women’s role in sport and society. We conducted a content analysis of 576 American newspaper articles reporting on the 1999 Women’s World Cup Soccer Championship. Contradictory messages surrounding women and sports were present, as past research has suggested. An analysis of more qualitative aspects of our data reveals the structure of these contradictions and provides substantial depth to this analysis. We discuss how the media actively promoted or constructed certain gender ideologies and how these gender ideologies contributed to the popularity of the event.
2-D Time Series Model Based Support Vector Machine for Remote Sensing Image Segmentation

A method of modeling an image based on 2-D Time Series that merges with the popular MultiClass Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a generalized linear classifier is proposed. In this paper, we present the classification results on both remote sensing and texture type images. Both Binary SVM Classifier and Multiclass SVM are implemented and discussed. The 2-D Time Series models have been useful in describing the texture and contextual information of an image. The different pattern of classes (segments) may differ significantly in texture and thus time series models can be useful for image segmentation of the images. The image model in our earlier work of using ARMA model based region growing method for extracting lake region in a remote sensing image[l] and the extension to a general image segmentation procedure using time series based region growing for remote sensing images[2] has been extended to using SVM classifier instead of region growing method. The procedure is applied to a city near lake area as shown in figure 2 with encouraging preliminary results in segmenting bodies of water and city building. Also, the USC (U. Southern California) texture images (brick, grass pigtail ...etc) are used in this new SVM classifier method.
Detection of extremes with AIRS and CrIS

Climate change is expected to be detected first as changes in extreme values rather than in mean values. The availability of data of from two instruments in the same orbit, AIRS data for the past eleven years and AIRS and CrIS data from the past year, provides an opportunity to evaluate this using examples of climate relevance: Desertification, seen as changes in hot extremes, severe storm, seen as a change in extremely cold clouds and the warming of the polar zone. We use AIRS to establish trends for the 1%tile, the mean and 99%tile brightness temperatures measured with the 900 cm(exp -1) channel from AIRS for the past 11 years. This channel is in the clearest part of the 11 micron atmospheric window. Substantial trends are seen for land and ocean, which in the case of the 1%tile (cold) extremes are related to the current shift of deep convection from ocean to land. Changes are also seen in the 99%tile for day tropical land, but their interpretation is at present unclear. We also see dramatic changes for the mean and 99%tile of the North Polar area. The trends are an order of magnitude larger than the instrument trend of about 3 mK/year. We use the statistical distribution from the past year derived from AIRS to evaluate the accuracy of continuing the trends established with AIRS with CrIS data. We minimize the concern about differences in the spectral response functions by limiting the analysis to the channel at 900 cm(exp -1).While the two instruments agree within 100 mK for the global day/night land/ocean mean values, there are significant differences when evaluating the1% and 99%tiles. We see a consistent warm bias in the CrIS data relative to AIRS for the 1%tile (extremely cold, cloudy) data in the tropical zone, particularly for tropical land, but the bias is not day/night land/ocean consistent. At this point the difference appears to be due to differences in the radiometric response of AIRS and CrIS to differences in the day/night land/ocean cloud types. Unless the effect can be mitigated by a future reprocessing the CrIS data, it will significantly complicate the concatenation of the AIRS and CrIS data records for the continuation of trends in extreme values.
Noise parameter transformations for three-terminal amplifiers

The common-emitter noise parameters and z parameters for a transistor (or any three-terminal amplifier) are used to obtain the corresponding sets of noise parameters for the common-base and common-collector configurations. It is shown that the three configurations must have the same minimum noise measure. A practical example is presented to confirm this invariance. High-gain amplifiers with the minimum noise figure can be built with any of the three configurations of combinations thereof. The choice of configuration is determined by factors such as ease of stabilization or bandwidth. >
Exploring Video Abstracts in Science Journals: An Overview and Case Study

INTRODUCTION The video abstract has emerged in recent years as a new way of communicating the results of scholarly enquiry. For library-based journal publishers who want to support multimodal scholarship, it is useful to understand the potential benefit and impact of incorporating video abstracts into their publications. This paper provides an overview of the growth of video abstracts in science scholarship, and presents a single journal case study that compares the use and potential impact of video abstracts hosted on both YouTube and on a journal’s own website. METHODS For the case study, video abstract usage data for the New Journal of Physics (NJP) was gathered from both YouTube and the NJP native platform and then correlated using a Spearman rank correlation coefficient test to analyze viewing usage. Viewership data from both platforms was also correlated with article usage counts using Spearman to study the relationship between article usage and corresponding video abstract usage. RESULTS Users predominantly accessed the journal’s hosted video abstracts instead of the abstracts posted on YouTube. However, there was a moderate positive correlation comparing view counts of the same video abstracts across both platforms, suggesting proportionate use of both platforms. In addition, the top 25 and 100 read articles had a significantly higher presence of video abstracts than articles overall in the data set, although a specific reason for that relationship cannot be identified. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION Video abstracts are a natural evolution of science communication into multimodal environments. Publishing trends will likely continue to grow gradually, with appreciation for non-traditional scholarship (multimodal scholarship) and new measures for assessing impact (altmetrics) potentially encouraging greater adoption. Librarybased journal publishers should consider investing in software that offers dynamic media integration, offering the video abstract option to their authors, and leveraging YouTube to further raise the visibility of their authors’ research articles and publication. Library-based publishers should have some expectation that the video abstracts will be viewed relatively proportionally across platforms (i.e. a video abstract that receives a higher or lower view count on the journal’s website is moderately more likely to also receive a higher or lower view count on YouTube), with the majority of total views (for all videos) coming from the journal’s website. Subject and media librarians should become more aware of these emerging practices to support the video abstract publication and creation needs of their research communities.
Prenatal Diagnosis of Cleft Lip and Palate: Detection Rates, Accuracy of Ultrasonography, Associated Anomalies, and Strategies for Counseling

As ultrasound becomes more widely utilized in pregnancy and imaging technology improves, cleft lip and palate will become more commonly identified in prenatal life. In efforts to meet the needs for information regarding cause and management, pregnant women and their partners are increasingly referred to cleft and craniofacial treatment programs. This group of patients provides unique challenges to professionals unfamiliar with the issues inherent to this population. Information regarding the extent of the defect and the absence of associated abnormalities is usually incomplete. Treatment teams may be uncomfortable with the possibility that couples may choose not to continue a pregnancy on the basis of what they hear. Currently between 14% and 25% of cleft lip, with or without cleft palate, is detected antenatally. About 12% of presumably isolated clefts will be one feature in a broader pattern of malformation. This article reviews the current status of ultrasound in the detection of clefts during pregnancy and outlines a strategy for counseling based on the author's experience in both a prenatal diagnosis program and a cleft-craniofacial treatment team.
Crystal structure refinements of vanadinite and pyromorphite

The crystal structures of vanadinite tpb5(VO)3Cll and pyromorphite [Pbs@Od3Cl] have been refined to R : 0.022,0.021, respectively, using three-dimensional X-ray data. The atomic arrangement of pyromorphite is con_ firmed as an apatite isostructure. In the structures the pb polyhedra show little response to the tetrahedral substirution, yith average Pb-O bond lengths that agree to within 0.02 A. The XOa tetrahedra yield bond lengths typical of VOa and POa tetrahedra, and X-O bond angles with the crystallographic axes are similar to within 2". The atomic arrangement responds to the tetrahedral substitution of p for V by contraction along a due to variations in X-O(|,2) bondlengths, yielding a predictive relationship between the a axial parameter and tetrahedral occupancy in the two minerals. The distortion of the VO4 tetrahedron in vanadinite reported in an earlier film study was not confirmed, suggesting that immiscibility between vanadinite and other Pb-bearing apatites results from differential size of tetrahedral cation and not differential distortion in the tetrahedra.
Homogenization in probabilistic terms: The variational principle and some approximate solutions

Abstract Studying of materials with evolving random microstructures requires the knowledge of probabilistic characteristics of local fields because the path of the microstructure evolution is controlled by the local fields. The probabilistic characteristics of local fields are determined by the probabilistic characteristics of material properties. In this paper it is considered the problem of finding the probabilistic characteristic of local fields, if the probabilistic characteristics of material properties are given. The probabilistic characteristics of local fields are sought from the variational principle for probabilistic measure. Minimizers of this variational problem provide all statistical information of local fields as well as the effective coefficients. Approximate solutions are obtained for electric current in composites for two cases: multi-phase isotropic composites with lognormal distribution of conductivities and two-phase isotropic composites. The solutions contain a lot of statistical information that has not been available previously by analytical treatments.
A many-server fluid limit for the Gt/GI/st+GI queueing model experiencing periods of overloading

Abstract A many-server heavy-traffic functional weak law of large numbers is established for the G t / G I / s t + G I queueing model, which has customer abandonment (the + G I ), time-varying arrival rate and staffing (the subscript t ) and non-exponential service and patience distributions (the two G I ’s). This limit provides support for a previously proposed deterministic fluid approximation, and extends a previously established limit for the special case of exponential service times.
Knowledge, Behavior, and Fears Concerning Breast and Cervical Cancer Among Older Low-Income Mexican-American Women

Introduction Although recent studies have documented the low participation level of Hispanic women in cancer screening, few have examined their predisposing knowledge and attitudes concerning cancer. We documented the knowledge and fears concerning cancer of an older population of Mexican-American women and how these factors relate to screening behavior and sociodemographic characteristics. Methods The data are from baseline surveys conducted before the start of a community cancer awareness and prevention program. Nine hundred twenty-three Mexican-American women were interviewed in-person about their knowledge, attitudes, and Pap smear and mammogram screening practices. Results Knowledge and attitude about cancer varied with age, education, type of health insurance, ability to speak English, and place of birth. Women 65 years of age and older were least knowledgeable of cancer-detection methods and screening guidelines. Those with only Medicare or Medicaid knew far less even compared to uninsured women. Women who did not speak English well were more likely not to know the cancer signs and symptoms, risk factors, and screening guidelines. Women who had knowledge of guidelines and detection methods were more likely to have had a recent screening. Older Mexican-American women with more fatalistic and fearful attitudes toward cancer were less likely to have had a recent Pap smear. Conclusions The low screening participation among Mexican-American women may be due to their limited awareness and knowledge about breast and cervical cancer screening examinations. Our study highlights the need for wide-scale cancer screening interventions consistent with Mexican-American beliefs.
L -sets and property $$(SR^*)$$ ( S R ∗ ) in spaces of compact operators

We give a characterization of L-sets using weakly precompact operators. A Banach space X has property $$(SR^*)$$ (resp. $$(wSR^*)$$ ) if every $$Right^*$$ subset of X is relatively weakly compact (resp. weakly precompact). Let $$K_{w^*}(E^*,F)$$ denote the set of all $$w^*-w$$ continuous compact operators from $$E^*$$ to F. We investigate whether the space $$K_{w^*}(E^*,F)$$ has property $$(SR^*)$$ (resp. $$(wSR^*)$$ ) when E and F have the respective property.
On the ubonded contact between elastic and elastic-rigid media

According to the published analyses of unbonded contact problems in which a rigid or elastic sphere, or circular cylinder, presses against an elastic half-space, the compressive contact stress tends to zero at the separation contour. Some authors assume this as an a priori condition for solving contact problems of this type. One purpose of the present paper is to show, by means of three examples, that this assumption is not valid in general, and that its validity depends not only on the geometry of the indentor but also upon the used elastic response equations. The other purpose is to demonstrate the utility of variational calculus with variable matching points for the solution of a class of contact problems.
DIFFERENTIATION OF 19S AND 7S COMPLEMENT FIXING ANTIBODIES IN PRIMARY VERSUS RECRUDESCENT TYPHUS BY EITHER ETHANETHIOL OR HEAT.

SummaryThe CF test can be modified so as to permit the differentiation of 19S and 7S antibodies in primary and secondary typhus infections. The 19S CF antibodies are markedly inhibited by the sulfhydryl compound ethanethiol and to a lesser degree by 60° C inactivation of the sera, The 7S CF antibodies are not inhibited by either of these procedures. The technic described may have application to the clinical and epidemiological investigation of other infectious diseases and may prove useful as a tool in studies of the immune globulins.
OIII-A-4

BACKGROUND CP-X is an opioid antagonist evaluated in a thorough QT (TQT) study to investigate the potential effect of CP-X concentration on the QTc interval following repeated oral administration. METHODS This was a multiple-dose, randomized, 4-period crossover, double-blind study investigating 10 mg and 40 mg QD of CP-X and placebo on Days 1 through 7, and open-label moxifloxacin 400 mg single dose on Day 7 in 64 healthy volunteers. Plasma samples were analyzed for CP-X using solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. Time-matched ECG measurements and pharmacokinetic data were analyzed using NONMEM V, Level 1.1. RESULTS The QTcF-concentration relationship was characterized with a linear model that accounted for effects of placebo, sex, and study day on intercept and the effect of study day on slope. The mean (95% CI) slope describing the QTcF-concentration relationship was 0.0866 (0.0476, 0.126) msec/(ng/mL) on Day 1, which translates to mean prolongations of 1.33 msec and 6.51 msec at mean Cmax following the initial 10 mg and 40 mg doses, respectively. The mean (95% CI) slope on Day 7 was 0.0480 (0.0300, 0.0670) msec/(ng/mL), producing expected prolongations of 1.80 msec and 7.49 msec at mean steady state Cmax following multiple 10 mg and 40 mg doses. CONCLUSIONS Exposure-response modeling allowed for quantification of concentration and time-dependent changes in the QTcF interval-concentration relationship in a TQT study. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 79, P29–P29; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2005.12.109
Intestinal cadmium permeability in mature and immature rats.

AbstractTo compare the intrinsic permeability properties of the small intestine in adult (average body wt 300 g) and 25- to 27-day-old (average body wt 50 g) male rats, the uptake rates of cycloleucine and of cadmium were measured in intestinal segments isolated in situ with their blood supply intact. Uptake rates were expressed on the basis of that of ethanol, a solute whose absorption depends primarily on the size, rather than the composition, of the available surface area and on the presence of unstirred layers. These layers may be concluded to affect movement of cycloleucine, cadmium, and ethanol to the same extent. The ratio of uptake rates, therefore, provides in arbitrary units a measure of the intrinsic permeability of the luminal surface area to cadmium and to cycloleucine. On this basis, no developmental change in cycloleucine permeability could be detected. In contrast, the rate of cadmium uptake relative to that for ethanol decreased with age by about 50%. Possible mechanisms are discussed for...
An interview with artist, Pope. L

The idea for this issue of Women & Performance was inspired by a quote from an interview with the artist Pope. L, who once described his crawl works as having “this marvelous creamy nougat center o...
Abstract 43: HBEGF cooperates with Cdkn2a and Pten loss to form malignant gliomas

Malignant gliomas are aggressive brain tumors that carry a grim prognosis to over 10,000 patients a year in the United States. The highest grade tumor, glioblastoma, has an average survival of one year with the current standard of care, which includes surgical resection, radiotherapy, and temozolomide chemotherapy. Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HBEGF), first discovered in macrophages as a mitogen for vascular smooth muscle cells, is a ligand for epidermal growth factor receptor, the most commonly amplified receptor-tyrosine kinase in glioblastoma. About 30% of glioblastomas express HBEGF, and it is also commonly upregulated in tumors that express the common EGFR mutant, EGFRvIII. To date, HBEGF has not been evaluated for its ability to promote the development of malignant gliomas in vivo. Using a method for somatic cell gene transfer, we show that HBEGF cooperates with loss of tumor suppressors Cdkn2a and Pten to form malignant gliomas in vivo. These tumors share many characteristics found in human glioblastoma such as necrosis and nuclear atypia. We also demonstrate using high-throughput sequencing that these tumors share a common gene signature to the human glioblastoma samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas study. No tumors were seen with loss of Cdkn2a and Pten alone, which are the two most common tumor suppressors altered in glioblastoma. Our findings demonstrate that HBEGF can drive the development of high grade gliomas in the context of Cdkn2a and Pten loss and that these tumors closely resemble the human disease. Citation Format: Clifford Shin, Sheri Holmen. HBEGF cooperates with Cdkn2a and Pten loss to form malignant gliomas. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Integrating Clinical Genomics and Cancer Therapy; Jun 13-16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(1_Suppl):Abstract nr 43.
Estimation of lean body mass by bioelectrical impedance analysis compared to skinfold anthropometry.

Estimation of lean body mass (LBM) is an important procedure in nutritional assessment and the availability of a rapid, portable and reproducible method would be desirable for this purpose. At present, only bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and skinfold anthropometry are applicable for clinical use. We compared the prediction of LBM by these two methods in 80 subjects stratified into four subgroups by body mass index (BMI): lean, normal, obese and super-obese. Highly significant correlation coefficients (r greater than 0.92, P less than 0.001) were seen for all subgroups with a mean difference between techniques LBManthro-LBMBIA/LBManthro X 100) of less than 1 kg or 1 per cent error. A greater s.d. and error was noted in the super-obese (BMI greater than or equal to 40.0). Fifteen subjects had measurements repeated after a mean weight loss of 10 per cent. Although mean difference between methods was not statistically significant, there was a large individual variation. It is concluded that there is an excellent agreement between the estimation of LBM by bioelectrical impedance and skinfold anthropometry in the weight-stable subject.
The Role of Intraoperative Angiography in Salvaging Bovine Grafts for Hemodialysis

AbstractBovine grafts used in hemodialysis frequently need declotting. Success of the declotting procedure usually is dependent upon relieving outflow obstruction. Intraoperative angiography was done during 22 declotting procedures and outflow obstructions were detected in 14 grafts. Of these 5 grafts had clinically unsuspected clots, residual to the initial declotting attempt. Four grafts had stenotic areas at the site of the venous anastomosis, which were corrected subsequently by patch grafts. Two grafts had stenotic areas in the graft itself owing to an infolding of the intima covered with an organized blood clot. In 2 grafts the veins draining the grafts were stenotic for a considerable length and needed revision. In 1 graft there was stenotic change at the site of the arterial anastomosis, which required revision. Of the 14 grafts 11 have remained functioning for an additional 6 to 18 months after relief of obstruction.
Soft-Tissue Shavers In Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (Standard Technique)

The use of powered soft-tissue shavers in standard functional endoscopic sinus surgery offers significant advantages over the use of standard instrumentation. Increased safety, improved results, decreased blood loss, and potential cost savings are significant advances offered by the use of this instrumentation.
Pulmonary carbonic anhydrase IV: developmental regulation and cell-specific expression in the capillary endothelium.

To investigate the pulmonary expression of membrane-associated carbonic anhydrase (CA IV), the full-length rat lung CA IV cDNA was isolated and characterized. The 1,205-bp cDNA was found to encode ...
An old drug auditions for a new leading role

In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration approved dimethyl fumarate (DMF) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis under the trade name Tecfidera. The neuroprotective action of DMF is thought to involve activation of the Nrf2 pathway leading to enhanced antioxidant function and antiinflammatory
The evolution of conflict management policies in US corporations: From reactive to strategic

Over the last four decades, the policies and practices used in the US to resolve workplace conflict have undergone a historic transformation. Beginning in the 1970s, a growing number of non-union employers, responding to a series of workplace statutes that had been passed by the US Congress, began to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to resolve disputes with their employees. At first, employers principally used arbitration and mediation on an ad hoc basis to handle their employees’ statutory complaints. Over time, however, the case-by-case use of ADR evolved into the institutionalization of ADR policies by employers, especially in large US corporations. Employer-promulgated ADR policies began to be used to handle not only statutory complaints but also an expanding range of non-statutory workplace issues as well. Although arbitration and mediation have continued to be the principal techniques used by US employers to manage workplace conflict, the portfolio of ADR techniques available to employers expanded to include, for example, fact finding, peer review, conflict coaching, facilitation, early neutral evaluation, and other innovative methods. As the so-called ‘ADR revolution’ took root in American employment relations, an increasing number of employers used ADR not merely as a response to the threat of litigation and unionization but also as a proactive strategy designed to help achieve the organization’s larger goals. The use of ADR evolved from a reaction to the legal environment to a strategy for managing workplace conflict.
Genome-Wide Analysis Identifies IL-18 and FUCA2 as Novel Genes Associated with Diastolic Function in African Americans with Sickle Cell Disease.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences [K23 GM112014]; American Heart Association [14CRP18910051]; PHA Research Fellowship /ATS Foundation; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [F30 HL128034, R01 HL111656, R01 HL127342]