cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcome after blunt traumatic thoracic aortic laceration : Identification of a high-risk cohort

Background: Specific cohorts of patients with blunt traumatic thoracic aortic laceration (BTTAL) might benefit from conservative or delayed management. We hypothesized that age and comorbidities would predict outcome. Methods: BTTAL data from 14 trauma centers over 11 years. Hospital and autopsy records of confirmed BTTAL were retrospectively reviewed. Regression analysis evaluated outcome by trauma indices, age, premorbidities, interventions, adjuvant therapy, and delay of repair. Results: Three hundred ninety-five cases of BTTAL were identified, 233 who were stable. Stable cohort survival was 71.9%. No trauma indices predicted outcome. Comorbidities, especially coronary artery disease (CAD), were associated with mortality. The use of β-blocking agents and maintenance of normal blood pressure were associated with survival. Delay of >4 hours to operative repair was not associated with increased mortality. Increasing age was associated with higher mortality. Multivariate regression found CAD and AGE predictive of mortality (log odds formula: exp [-2.0858 + 0.0253(AGE) + 2.0428(CAD)]). Conclusions: AGE and CAD are associated with worse outcome in stable BTTAL patients undergoing operative repair. Treating comorbidities and managing associated injuries should be undertaken in stable BTTAL patients. Physiologic stability should be established before repair of BTTAL.
Contrasting Conditions of Surface Water Balance in Wet Years and Dry Years as a Possible Land Surface-Atmosphere Feedback Mechanism in the West African Sahel

The climate of West Africa, in particular the Sahel, is characterized by multiyear persistence of anomalously wet or dry conditions. Its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, the Kalahari, lacks the persistence that is evident in the Sahel even though both regions are subject to similar large-scale forcing. It has been suggested that land surface-atmosphere feedback contributes to this persistence and to the severity of drought. In this study, surface energy and water balance are quantified for nine stations along a latitudinal transect that extends from the Sahara to the Guinea coast. In the wetter regions of West Africa, the difference between wet and dry years is primarily reflected in the magnitude of runoff. For the Sahel and drier locations, evapotranspiration and soil moisture are more sensitive to rainfall anomalies. The increase in evapotranspiration, and hence latent heating, over the Sahel in wet years alters the thermal structure and gradients of the overlying atmosphere and thus the strength of the African easterly jet (AEJ) at 700 mb. The difference between dry and wet Augusts corresponds to a decrease in magnitude of the AEJ at 15 deg N on the order of 2.6 m/s, which is consistent with previous studies of observed winds. Spatial patterns were also developed for surface water balance parameters for both West Africa and southern Africa. Over southern Africa, the patterns are not as spatially homogeneous as those over West Africa and are lower in magnitude, thus supporting the suggestion that the persistence of rainfall anomalies in the Sahel might be due, at least in part, to land-atmosphere feedback, and that the absence of such persistence in the Kalahari is a consequence of less significant changes in surface water and energy balance.
Synthesis and Crystal Structure of the Octahedral—Tetrahedral Framework Indium Phosphate Cs[In2(PO4)(HPO4)2(H2O)2]

Abstract The reaction of InCl3, H3PO4, CsVO3, TMAOH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide), and H2O in the molar ratios 2:6:1:1:125 under hydrothermal conditions at 200°C for 2 days yielded pale yellow crystals of Cs[In2(PO4)(HPO4)2(H2O)2] (1). Phosphate (1) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P 21/c (No. 14) with a = 6.580(2) A, b = 18.092(1) A, c = 10.180(1) A β = 97.92(2)°, V = 1200.2(4) A3, Z = 4, and Dcal = 3.76 g cm-3; R/Rw = 0.036/0.044 for 2855 reflections with 2θ
REARING AND HOST AGE SUITABILITY OF FANNIA CANICULARIS (L.) (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) FOR PARASITIZATION BY MUSCIDIFURAX ZARAPTOR KOGAN AND LEGNER (HYMENOPTERA: PTEROMALIDAE)

The fecundity and sex ratio of progeny of Muscidifurax zaraptor Kogan and Legner were assessed on 9-day-old Fannia canicularis (L.) pupae. Two age classes of parasites (1 day old and 2–3 days old) were used. Host age did not significantly affect production of progeny. Mean number of progeny per female increased in both parasite age groups on 3 successive days of host-exposure as the parasites aged: 4.5, 7.4, and 10.4 progeny per female were produced for the 1-day-old parasites and 7.6, 10.4, and 11.8 progeny per female were produced for the 2- to 3-day-old parasites. Sex ratio of progeny was not significantly affected by host age, averaging 77% females (range 63–92%). Mass rearing of F. canicularis on used M. domestica medium is described.
An Economic Analysis of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Financial considerations, in concert with clinical effec tiveness, are of increasing importance in the assessment of technological innovations. One such innovation, ex tracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), is now in use at over twenty centers nationwide to treat new borns with severe, acute lung disease. Use of ECMO therapy for one year at Children's Hospital National Medical Center, Washington, DC, in a population of pa tients with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is reported, comparing outcome and financial considerations with a similar group of infants treated conventionally prior to ECMO. A historical con trol group of infants with severe PPHN showed that before ECMO was available the survival rate in this criti cally ill population was only 21%. With ECMO, infants with the same clinical characteristics have an 80% chance of survival. Analysis of hospital and physician charges for these two groups (pre-ECMO and ECMO) reveals that ECMO therapy is about 2% less expensive than ...
Horace Smithy: Pioneer Heart Surgeon

Horace Smithy, a native Virginian, received his surgical education in Charleston, then joined the Medical College of South Carolina faculty. He developed a valvulotome, which was used to perform a successful mitral valvulotomy on a 21-year-old woman on January 30, 1948. Smithy himself suffered from rheumatic aortic stenosis and tried unsuccessfully to convince Alfred Blalock to use his valvulotome and operate on him. Tragically, he died of progressive congestive heart failure at the age of 34 (on October 28, 1948), 270 days after his first operation. Horace Smithy was unquestionably an innovative pioneering cardiac surgeon who performed the first successful mitral valve operation of the "modern" era.
Systematics of the subterranean amphipod genus Bahadzia (Hadziidae), with description of a new species, redescription of B. yagerae, and analysis of phylogeny and biogeography

Bahadzia caymanensis, a new stygobitic species is described from a shallow, weakly brackish-water pool in a small cave on Grand Cayman Island in the Cayman Islands. Further exploration and collecting from the type-locality of Bahadzia yagerae in Cuba has provided more data, allowing for a thorough redescription of this species. With the description of Bahadzia caymanensis, there are now 11 species within the genus. Revised phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses of Bahadzia offer further support for a close phylogenetic relationship between Bahadzia and the predominately freshwater genera Mayaweckelia and Tuluweckelia on the Yucatan Peninsula.
An analytical approach to interfacial entropy

Abstract An upper limit on the entropy of a coincidence related grain boundary is determined by a statistical thermodynamic approach. Results are extended to the calculation of surface entropy and the values for both surface and boundary agree well with their experimental counterparts.
Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in a Strongly Magnetized Medium

We analyze three-dimensional numerical simulations of driven incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in a periodic box threaded by a moderately strong external magnetic field. We sum over nonlinear interactions within Fourier wave bands and find that the timescale for the energy cascade is consistent with the Goldreich-Sridhar model of strong MHD turbulence. Using higher order longitudinal structure functions, we show that the turbulent motions in the plane perpendicular to the local mean magnetic field are similar to ordinary hydrodynamic turbulence, while motions parallel to the field are consistent with a scaling correction that arises from the eddy anisotropy. We present the structure tensor describing velocity statistics of Alfvenic and pseudo-Alfvenic turbulence. Finally, we confirm that an imbalance of energy moving up and down magnetic field lines leads to a slow decay of turbulent motions, and speculate that this imbalance is common in the interstellar medium, where injection of energy is intermittent both in time and space.
Annealing of heavily arsenic-doped silicon: Electrical deactivation and a new defect complex.

Ab initio total-energy calculations indicate that the formation of a new defect complex, a vacancy surrounded by four arsenic atoms, is responsible for electrical deactivation and for structural changes seen in measurements of extended x-ray-absorption fine structure when heavily arsenic-doped silicon is annealed. The $v\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{As}}_{4}$ complex is energetically favored over both substitutional, isolated As in Si and substitutional $\mathrm{S}\mathrm{i}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{As}}_{4}$ configurations, and it is neutral and electrically inactive. The formation of such defects may be a widespread occurrence in silicon and in other semiconductors.
On eliminating the asymptotic bias in the quasi-least squares estimate of the correlation parameter

Abstract In a recent paper, Chaganty (1997, J. Statist. Plann. Inference 63, 39–54) introduced the method of quasi-least squares (QLS) for estimating the regression, correlation and scale parameters in longitudinal data analysis problems. The QLS estimates of the regression and scale parameters are consistent even if the working correlation structure is misspecified. The estimate of the correlation parameter, however, is asymptotically biased. In this paper, we present modified (C-QLS) estimates of the correlation parameter for the following working correlation structures that are appropriate for the analysis of balanced and equally spaced longitudinal data: the unstructured matrix, for which the C-QLS estimate is a positive definite, consistent correlation matrix; and the exchangeable, tridiagonal, and autoregressive structures, for which the C-QLS estimates are feasible, consistent and robust against misspecification. We also present feasible and consistent C-QLS estimates for two structures appropriate for the analysis of unbalanced and unequally spaced longitudinal data: the Markov and generalized Markov working correlation structures that were discussed by Nunez-Anton and Woodworth (1994, Biometrics 50, 445– 456) and Shults and Chaganty (1998, Biometrics 54, 1622–1630). We then present an improved consistent estimate of the scale parameter. Finally, examples are given to contrast the C-QLS estimates with estimates obtained using the widely used generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach.
Tuberculin reactions in children

Summary 1. In a study of 1,264 measured tuberculin reactions, no positive correlations could be found between the size and intensity of the reactions and the location of tuberculous disease, the size or activity of the lesion, or the prognosis. 2. The reaction to the intracutaneous tuberculin test tends to vary in size and intensity directly with the size of the dose and with the age of the child. 3. There is no sex variation in the size and intensity of the reaction when age and dosage are constant. 4. The initial test should not be more than 0.01 mg. and a negativetest should mean negative to 1 mg. 5. Definite criteria as to size of reaction and time of reading must beadhered to if false reactions are to be eliminated. 6. Tuberculin dilutions up to 1:10,000 are relatively stable, and dilutionsneed not be made more often than once a month. 7. Syringes and needles should be used for tuberculin testing only and separate ones kept for the various dilutions. 8. A positive tuberculin reaction is unlikely to become negative withinthe span of childhood, and this is even less likely to occur in cases in which there has been a diagnosis of clinical tuberculosis than in cases in which the positive test has been the only manifestation of tuberculosis. 9. It is usually unnecessary and undesirable to repeat a tuberculintest during childhood if a tuberculin test has once been positive, as the test only rarely becomes negative during these years. 10. There has been a marked decrease in the number of infants infected with tuberculosis in the series studied on the Children's Medical Service of Bellevue Hospital in the past seven years as compared with a similar preceding period.
Changes in the photoconductivity of sputtered films of cadmium sulphide resulting from oxygen chemisorption

The effect which O2 has on the photocurrent flowing parallel to the surface in sputtered thin films of cadmium sulphide is investigated. The photocurrent was observed to be inversely related to the partial pressure of O2 in a flowing N2 environment. By using Wolkenstein's theory of “weak” and “strong” chemisorption, an expression describing the rate at which gas introduced surface states become filled is derived, dN′sdt = aN∗sexp( − bN′s) − c × × exp(bN′s), where N′s is the density of surface states introduced by the gas being detected. Relating N′s(t) to the photocurrent Ip(t) allows comparison of experimental and theoretical curves. The chemisorption time constant τc is found to be inversely related to gas partial pressure, light intensity, and temperature.
Complexity and the beginning principal in the United States: perspectives on socialization

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the literature and practice on beginning principal socialization by identifying the features of post‐industrial work that create a more complex work environment for the practice and learning of the principalship in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – Based on recent literature on the changing nature of work, the paper applies those features of complexity to components of beginning principal socialization.Findings – The nature of work in post‐industrial society and the changes in education, including a knowledge society, technology, demographic changes, and public accountability increase the complexity for US school principals. These features provide an important conceptual and normative basis for understanding and changing the content, sources, methods, and outcomes of beginning principal socialization.Originality/value – The paper contributes a set of conceptual and normative features that strengthens the understanding of how beginning principals learn the role.
The redistribution of wealth in inflation

Abstract The paper presents formulation of the debtor-creditor hypothesis of redistribution of wealth in inflation. A portfolio model is used to derive an expression for the change in real rate of return measuring inflation gain or loss. The situation is relevant when the market rates of return fail fully to respond to expectations or when the inflation rate is not fully predictable. Of the wealth transfers from the private sector to the government in inflation, the model only covers the case of inflation tax. The model is employed to consider the controversial issue of inventory gains in inflation. The conclusion is that neither LIFO or FIFO can be regarded as having general validity as inventory accounting method in inflation.
Dilated cardiomyopathy in a zidovudine-treated AIDS patient

The pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is poorly understood. We report a case of an HIV-positive, 45-year-old homosexual male treated with high-dose azidothymidine (AZT, 1,200 mg/day) for two years prior to development of AIDS. He subsequently manifested symptoms of congestive heart failure with left ventricle dilation and a 20% ejection fraction. An endomyocardial biopsy showed no active myocarditis, but intramyocytic vacuoles were found. Transmission electron microscopy revealed mitochondrial cristae with distortion and myofibrillar loss. The clinical consideration was dilated cardiomyopathy in AIDS. His AIDS worsened and he died in October 1991. Autopsy revealed a 100-ml pericardial effusion, cardiomegaly, and biventricular dilation. Vacuolar changes in cardiac myocytes were present. Pathologic findings support a diagnosis of AZT-induced cardiotoxicity. Potential mechanisms are discussed.
Temperature Effect on Particle Dynamics and Erosion in Radial Inflow Turbine

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the particle dynamics and the resulting blade erosion in radial inflow turbine rotors. In order to determine the influence of the temperature, the computations were performed for cold and hot inlet flow conditions. The results indicate that the trajectories of these small five micron ash particles are quite sensitive to the flow temperatures. In addition, gas turbines operating under hot flow are subjected to higher local blade erosion rates compared to cold flow conditions.
Non-cytomegalovirus Ocular Opportunistic Infections in Patients With Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Purpose To report the incidence and clinical outcomes of non-cytomegalovirus (non-CMV) ocular opportunistic infections in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Design Multicenter, prospective, observational study of patients with AIDS. Methods Medical history, ophthalmologic examination, and laboratory tests were performed at enrollment and every 6 months subsequently. Once an ocular opportunistic infection was diagnosed, patients were seen every 3 months for outcomes. Results At enrollment, 37 non-CMV ocular opportunistic infections were diagnosed: 16 patients, herpetic retinitis; 11 patients, toxoplasmic retinitis; and 10 patients, choroiditis. During the follow-up period, the estimated incidences (and 95% confidence intervals [CI]) of these were: herpetic retinitis, 0.007/100 person-years (PY) (95% CI 0.0004, 0.039); toxoplasmic retinitis, 0.007/100 PY (95% CI 0.004, 0.039); and choroiditis, 0.014/ 100 PY (95% CI 0.0025, 0.050). The mortality rates appeared higher among those patients with newly diagnosed or incident herpetic retinitis and choroiditis (rates = 21.7 deaths/100 PY [P = .02] and 12.8 deaths/100 PY [P = .04]), respectively, than those for patients with AIDS without an ocular opportunistic infection (4.1 deaths/100 PY); toxoplasmic retinitis did not appear to be associated with greater mortality (6.4/100 PY, P = .47). Eyes with newly diagnosed herpetic retinitis appeared to have a poor visual prognosis, with high rates of visual impairment (37.9/100 PY) and blindness (17.5/100 PY), whereas those outcomes in eyes with choroiditis appeared to be lower (2.3/100 PY and 0/100 PY, respectively). Conclusions Although uncommon, non-CMV ocular opportunistic infections may be associated with high rates of visual loss and/or mortality.
Circadian Timing of Food Intake Contributes to Weight Gain

Studies of body weight regulation have focused almost entirely on caloric intake and energy expenditure. However, a number of recent studies in animals linking energy regulation and the circadian clock at the molecular, physiological, and behavioral levels raise the possibility that the timing of food intake itself may play a significant role in weight gain. The present study focused on the role of the circadian phase of food consumption in weight gain. We provide evidence that nocturnal mice fed a high-fat diet only during the 12-h light phase gain significantly more weight than mice fed only during the 12-h dark phase. A better understanding of the role of the circadian system for weight gain could have important implications for developing new therapeutic strategies for combating the obesity epidemic facing the human population today.
Time localization techniques for wavelet transforms

We consider the following pair of problems related to orthonormal compactly supported wavelet expansions: (1) Given a wavelet coefficient with its nominal scale and position indices, find the precise location of the transient signal feature which produced it; (2) Given two collections of wavelet coefficients, determine whether they arise from a periodic signal and its translate, and if so find the translation which maps one into the other. Both problems may be solved by traditional means after inverting the wavelet transform, but we propose two alternative algorithms which rely solely on the wavelet coefficients themselves.
Classical solvability of a parabolic system of two nonlinear equations

We study the complete regularity of solutions of a nondiagonal parabolic system of quasilinear second-order differential equations in divergence form assuming that the coefficients are sufficiently slowly varying functions of their arguments and the off-diagonal terms in the coefficient matrix are sufficiently small. To this end, we use a method based on the successive approximation to the solution by smooth functions with the use of Schauder estimates at each step.
Kerdock codes and related planes

Abstract Among the many aspects of coding theory Jack van Lint has studied intensively are some generalizations of Preparata and Kerdock codes (see Baker et al. (1983), Cameron and Van Lint (1991) and Van Lint (1983)). There are still many open problems concerning these. This note is a brief discussion of problems and new results involving orthogonal spreads, translation planes and associated generalized Kerdock codes.
Some inhibitors of mushroom catecholase.

Abstract 1. 1. Quantitative determinations were made on the amounts of various selected compounds (aromatic acids, phenylalkyl acids and alcohols, polyphenols, nitrophenols, esters, aldehydes, and ketones) required to depress by one-half the activity of catecholase aliquots. 2. 2. Benzoic acid was found to be the strongest inhibitor. Esterification or ionization of the acid decreased its inhibitory potency. 3. 3. Carboxylic acid compounds were stronger inhibitors than corresponding alcohols and aldehydes. 4. 4. Inhibitors containing the aromatic ring were superior to corresponding heterocyclic and aliphatic compounds. 5. 5. The inhibition produced by all compounds except the aliphatic alcohols was diminished by increased substrate concentration.
A View of Leisure and Patterns of Family Life in the Late 1990s

Abstract This study investigated the place of leisure and role responsibilities of working parents in the establishment period of the family life cycle in the late 1990s. One focus of this study was to see how much had changed in the patterns of family life and leisure as documented in the studies of the mid 1980s and early 1990s compared with today. Personal interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of sixteen working mothers and fathers. A constant comparison, grounded theory approach was used throughout the interviews and data analysis. Three themes related to leisure in the lives of working parents emerged from the data: (i) freedom of choice as a central condition of leisure; (ii) conflicts between work, leisure, and family; and (iii) resisting and negotiating the superwoman and typical male ideal. The themes were interpreted within a feminist post-structuralist perspective drawing upon a Foucauldian power analysis.
The Pathogenesis of HLA-B27 Arthritis: Role of HLA-B27 in Bacterial Defense

The way in which a host accommodates invasive facultative intracellular bacteria must be the key to the development of reactive arthritis. Investigators have analyzed the bacterial events at several levels: invasion into host cells, intracellular survival, translocation from the sites of infection to the joints, residence in the joints, and evasion of host defense. Because HLA-B27 is present in higher incidence in patients with reactive arthritis and is an essential gene in the related ankylosing spondylitis, the role of HLA-B27 in host defense is also assumed to be important in the development of reactive arthritis. This review summarizes the various studies in this field.
Phase-measurement interferometry: beware these errors

Phase-measurement interferometry (PMI) techniques enable quantitative measurements to be performed in optical testing, holographic interferometry, and speckle metrology. This paper will present results of error analyses of the most common errors in phase-measurement techniques. These errors include miscalibrated and nonlinear phase shifters, detector nonlinearities, detection quantization, vibration and air turbulence, and frequency mixing. Simulations providing the magnitude and form of these errors are shown for a number of different phase-measurement algorithms.
More lessons, of a different kind: Canadian mental health policy in comparative perspective.

Many health policy reformers and researchers in the United States have focused on the Canadian health care system and its lessons for design of a national health care program in the U.S. Yet minimal attention has been given to Canadian mental health policy in this discussion. The author reviews the historical development of mental health services in Canada and discusses five current sources of tension in Canada's mental health care system, many of which are familiar to the American setting: restriction on fee-for-service payments, a two-tiered pattern of care involving provincial mental hospitals and general hospital psychiatric units, shortages of mental health care resources, limited funding of community-based programs, and lack of coordination of care. The author concludes that universal insurance coverage patterned after the Canadian model would ameliorate only some problems faced by mentally ill persons in the United States. Mental health benefits must be structured to ensure the availability and organization of a full spectrum of long-term health care and supportive services.
Electronic dispersion compensation

This article provides an overview of some of the driving factors that limit the performance of optical links and highlight some of the potential opportunities for the signal processing community to make substantial contributions.
Facts and Truth-making

This essay is a reflection on the idea of truth-making and its applications. I respond to a critique of my 1986 paper on truth-making and discuss some key principles at play in the Truth-maker Program as it has emerged over the past 25 years, paying special attention to negative and general truths. I maintain my opposition to negative and general facts, but give an improved account of how to do without them. In the end, I accept Truth-maker Maximalism and a weakened form of Truth-maker Necessitarianism, reject the assumption that truth-makers must be entities, and urge that the idea of a truth-maker be broadened and loosened so that it applies to anti-realistic as well as realistic truths.
Truncation of the C-terminus of human MLH1 blocks intracellular stabilization of PMS2 and disrupts DNA mismatch repair

The human DNA mismatch repair (MMR) protein MLH1 has essential roles in the correction of replication errors and the activation of cell cycle checkpoints and cytotoxic responses to DNA damage that contribute to suppression of cancer risk. MLH1 functions as a heterodimer with the PMS2 protein, and steady state levels of PMS2 are very low in MLH1-deficient cells. Unique to MLH1 among MutL-homolog proteins, and conserved in identified eukaryotic MLH1 proteins, is the so-called C-terminal homology domain (CTH). The function of these C-terminal 20-30 amino acids is not known. We investigated the effect of a C-terminal truncation of human MLH1 (MLH1-L749X) on mammalian MMR by testing its activity in MLH1-deficient cells. We found the CTH to be essential for suppression of spontaneous mutation, activation of a cytotoxic response to 6-thioguanine, and maintenance of normal steady state levels of PMS2. Co-expression in doubly mutant Mlh1-/-; Pms2-/- fibroblasts showed that MLH1-L749X was unable to stabilize PMS2. Over-expression of MLH1-L749X did not reduce stabilization of PMS2 mediated by wild-type MLH1, indicating that truncation of the CTH reduces the ability to compete with wild-type MLH1 for interaction with PMS2. Lack of PMS2 stabilization also was observed with a previously reported pathogenic truncation (MLH1-Y750X), but not with two different point mutations in the CTH. Biochemical assays demonstrated that truncation of the CTH reduced the stability of heterodimers, although MLH1-L749X retained significant capacity for interaction with PMS2. Thus, the CTH of human MLH1 is necessary for error correction, checkpoint signaling, and for promoting interaction with, and the stability of, PMS2. Analysis of the CTH role in stabilizing PMS2 was facilitated by a novel intracellular assay for MLH1-PMS2 interaction. This assay should prove useful for identifying additional amino acids in MLH1 and PMS2 necessary for interaction in cells, and for determining the functional consequences of MLH1 mutations identified in human cancers.
Development of paclitaxel-TyroSpheres for topical skin treatment

A potential topical psoriasis therapy has been developed consisting of tyrosine-derived nanospheres (TyroSpheres) with encapsulated anti-proliferative paclitaxel. TyroSpheres provide enhancement of paclitaxel solubility (almost 4000 times greater than PBS) by effective encapsulation and enable sustained, dose-controlled release over 72 h under conditions mimicking skin permeation. TyroSpheres offer potential in the treatment of psoriasis, a disease resulting from over-proliferation of keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis, by (a) enabling delivery of paclitaxel into the epidermis at concentrations >100 ng/cm(2) of skin surface area and (b) enhancing the cytotoxicity of loaded paclitaxel to human keratinocytes (IC(50) of paclitaxel-TyroSpheres was approximately 45% lower than that of free paclitaxel). TyroSpheres were incorporated into a gel-like viscous formulation to improve their flow characteristics with no impact on homogeneity, release or skin distribution of the payload. The findings reported here confirm that the TyroSpheres provide a platform for paclitaxel topical administration allowing skin drug localization and minimal systemic escape.
Longmire Lecture: My 50 Years at the University of California, Los Angeles

The main concept driving my work has been the humoral theory of immunity to allografts. It led to the development of the microlymphocytotoxicity test, which is used to look for the relevant transplant antigens using alloantisera. Using alloantibodies produced by pregnancies, the HLA system was defined through a series of international histocompatibility workshops. It was then shown that the HLA system was important for matching donors and recipients for bone marrow transplants and organ transplants. More than 6000 HLA-matched kidney transplants from cadaver donors have now been shared in the United States. HLA antigens were found to be of importance in anthropologic and disease susceptibility studies. Currently HLA antibodies are being studied intensively to determine their role in chronic rejection. If it is proven that these antibodies trigger intimal proliferation, occluding arterioles, HLA antibodies will become essential to the monitoring of chronic rejection.
Quad tree structures for image compression applications

Abstract Traditionally, lossy compression schemes have focused on compressing data at fixed bit rates to either communicate information over limited bandwidth communication channels, or to store information in a fixed-size storage media. In this paper we describe a class of lossy algorithms that is capable of compressing image data over a wide range of rates so that quick browsing of large amounts of information as well as detailed examination of high resolution areas can be achieved by the same compression system. To accomplish this we use a quad tree structure to decompose an image into variable size blocks which are subsequently quantized using a Tree-Structured Vector Quantizer (TSVQ). The developed algorithms utilize variable-size image blocks encoded within quad tree data structures to efficiently encode image areas with different information content. These algorithms are also capable of compressing images so that the loss of information complies with user defined distortion requirements. In this paper we describe the use of quad tree structures in image compression type applications and we analyze their advantages over the classic vector quantization schemes. Finally, we describe their progressive compression capabilities and we demonstrate that they achieve higher compression/ distortion performance compared to the classic TSVQ algorithm.
Is MRI Adequate to Detect Lesions in Patients with Ankle Instability

Background Chondral lesions, peroneal tendon tears, and other disorders in patients with chronic ankle instability may not be detected by preoperative MRI. Also, MRI often is obtained and interpreted at the referring institution, leading to variability in reading.
A technique for selecting CMOS transistor orders

Transistor reordering has been known to be effective in reducing delays of a circuit with nearly zero penalties. However, techniques to determine good transistor orders have not been proposed in literature. Previous work on this has to resort to running SPICE for all meaningful transistor orders and selecting a best one, which is extremely time-consuming. This paper proposes an efficient and accurate technique for determining best transistor orders without running SPICE simulations. Experimental results from SPICE3 show that the predictions are very accurate.
Ischemic Insults Derepress the Gene Silencer REST in Neurons Destined to Die

A subset of genes implicated in genetic and acquired neurological disorders encode proteins essential to neural patterning and neurogenesis. The gene silencing transcription factor neuronal repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor (REST)/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) plays a critical role in elaboration of the neuronal phenotype. In neural progenitor and non-neural cells, REST acts by repression of a subset of neural genes important to synaptic plasticity and synaptic remodeling, including the AMPA receptor (AMPAR) subunit GluR2. Here we show that global ischemia triggers REST mRNA and protein expression. REST suppresses GluR2 promoter activity and gene expression in neurons destined to die. Because the GluR2 subunit governs AMPAR Ca2+ permeability, these changes are expected to have profound effects on neuronal survival. In keeping with this concept, acute knockdown of the REST gene by antisense administration prevents GluR2 suppression and rescues post-ischemic neurons from ischemia-induced cell death in an in vitro model. To our knowledge, our study represents the first example of ischemia-induced induction of a master transcriptional regulator gene and its protein expression critical to neural differentiation and patterning in adult neurons. Derepression of REST is likely to be an important mechanism of insult-induced neuronal death.
Macrophages, Inflammation, and Insulin Resistance

Obesity induces an insulin-resistant state in adipose tissue, liver, and muscle and is a strong risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Insulin resistance in the setting of obesity results from a combination of altered functions of insulin target cells and the accumulation of macrophages that secrete proinflammatory mediators. At the molecular level, insulin resistance is promoted by a transition in macrophage polarization from an alternative M2 activation state maintained by STAT6 and PPARs to a classical M1 activation state driven by NF-kappaB, AP1, and other signal-dependent transcription factors that play crucial roles in innate immunity. Strategies focused on inhibiting the inflammation/insulin resistance axis that otherwise preserve essential innate immune functions may hold promise for therapeutic intervention.
Disease Gravity and Urgency of Need as Guidelines for Liver Allocation

One thousand one hundred and twenty-eight candidates for liver transplantation were stratified into five urgency-of-need categories by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) criteria. Most patients of low-risk UNOS 1 status remained alive after 1 yr without transplantation; the mortality while waiting was 3% after a median of 229.5 days. In contrast, only 3% of those entered at the highest risk UNOS 5 category survived without transplantation; 28% died while waiting, the deaths occurring at a median of 5.5 days. The UNOS categories in between showed the expected gradations, in which at each higher level fewer patients remained as candidates throughout the 1-yr duration of study while progressively more died at earlier and earlier times while waiting for an organ. In a separate study of posttransplantation survival during the same time period, the best postoperative results were in the lowest-risk UNOS 1 and 2 patients (88% combined), and the worst results were those in UNOS 5 (71%). However, a relative risk cross-analysis showed that a negative benefit of transplantation may have been the result in terms of 1-yr survival for the low-risk elective patients, but that a gain in life extension was achieved in the potentially lethal UNOS categories 3, 4 and 5 (greatest for UNOS 3). These findings and conclusions are discussed in terms of total care of patients with liver disease, and in the context of organ allocation policies of the United States and Europe. Many of the earlier presentations at this Consensus Development Conference have focused on specific diseases and the wisdom of performing liver replacement for disorders that are apt to recur (such as cancer, hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis). Others have discussed limiting the operation to prime-of-life candidates, with exclusion of the very young or aged. Expansion of the donor pool has been proposed in the “splitting” of livers that are shared between two candidates or in the use of liver fragments from living donors. These subjects have been judiciously addressed in the context of organ shortage and allocation, leaving the all-important questions of patient disease severity and complexity almost untouched. To focus on this problem, Bronsther et al. (1) have analyzed elsewhere and we present here in more detail the dynamics in a collection of more than a thousand adult patients who were given candidacy in our program. The results may be useful in policy determination about organ allocation and in definition of the role of liver transplantation in the total armamentarium available to treat hepatic diseases.
Mammalian enabled (Mena) is a critical regulator of cardiac function

Mammalian enabled (Mena) of the Drosophila enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein gene family is a cytoskeletal protein implicated in actin regulation and cell motility. Cardiac Mena expression is enriched in intercalated discs (ICD), the critical intercellular communication nexus between adjacent muscle cells. We previously identified Mena gene expression to be a key predictor of human and murine heart failure (HF). To determine the in vivo function of Mena in the heart, we assessed Mena protein expression in multiple HF models and characterized the effects of genetic Mena deletion on cardiac structure and function. Immunoblot analysis revealed significant upregulation of Mena protein expression in left ventricle tissue from patients with end-stage HF, calsequestrin-overexpressing mice, and isoproterenol-infused mice. Characterization of the baseline cardiac function of adult Mena knockout mice (Mena−/−) via echocardiography demonstrated persistent cardiac dysfunction, including a significant reduction in percent fractional shortening compared with wild-type littermates. Electrocardiogram PR and QRS intervals were significantly prolonged in Mena−/− mice, manifested by slowed conduction on optical mapping studies. Ultrastructural analysis of Mena−/− hearts revealed disrupted organization and widening of ICD structures, mislocalization of the gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) to the lateral borders of cardiomyoycytes, and increased Cx43 expression. Furthermore, the expression of vinculin (an adherens junction protein) was significantly reduced in Mena−/− mice. We report for the first time that genetic ablation of Mena results in cardiac dysfunction, highlighted by diminished contractile performance, disrupted ICD structure, and slowed electrical conduction.
Cell‐based vaccines for the stimulation of immunity to metastatic cancers

We are developing vaccines for inducing immunity to metastatic cancers. Although primary tumors are frequently cured by surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, metastatic lesions often do not respond to these treatments or proliferate after conventional therapy is terminated. Vaccine therapy for established metastases as well as prophylactic vaccine treatment to prevent outgrowth of latent metastatic tumor cells would therefore be beneficial. Our goal is to activate CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes; however, we have focused on activating tumor-specific CD4+ T-helper lymphocytes because of their pivotal role as regulatory cells and in the generation of long-term immunological memory. The vaccines are based on the premise that tumor cells express potentially immunogenic antigens that could be targeted for T-cell activation, and that if appropriately genetically modified, tumor cells could be antigen presenting cells for these antigens. To facilitate direct antigen presentation to CD4+ T cells, tumor cells have been transfected with syngeneic major histocompatibility complex class II, co-stimulatory molecule, and/or superantigen genes. In vivo studies in three mouse tumor models demonstrate that vaccination protects against future challenge with wild-type tumor, cures some solid primary tumors, reduces established metastatic disease, and extends mean survival time. Antigen presentation studies demonstrate that in vivo vaccine efficacy is directly related to in vitro antigen presentation activity. The relevance of antigen presentation activity of the vaccines is further confirmed by in vivo studies demonstrating that during the immunization process, the vaccines directly present tumor-encoded antigens to CD4+ T lymphocytes. Adaptation of these vaccines for the treatment of human metastatic cancers is discussed.
Impact of social discrimination, job concerns, and social support on Filipino immigrant worker mental health and substance use.

Background The personal and social impact of mental health problems and substance use on workforce participation is costly. Social determinants of health contribute significantly to health disparities beyond effects associated with work. Guided by a theory-driven model, we identified pathways by which social determinants shape immigrant worker health. Method Associations between known social determinants of mental health problems and substance use (social discrimination, job and employment concerns, and social support) were examined using structural equation modeling in a sample of 1,397 immigrants from the Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study. Results Social discrimination and low social support were associated with mental health problems and substance use (P Conclusions The integration of social factors into occupational health research is needed, along with prevention efforts designed for foreign-born ethnic minority workers.
Alcohol Use Disorder and Illicit Drug Use in Admissions to General Hospitals in the United States

This study estimated the prevalence and explored the management of illicit drug use, illicit drug use associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), and AUD without reported illicit drug use in a national sample of 2040 admissions to general hospitals in the United States. Surveyed in 1994, admissions were diagnosed with past 12-month DSM-IV AUD according to the Alcohol Use Disorders and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule. Information about drug use was also included in the interview. Entries in hospital records were used to operationalize management. Prevalence of chronic drug use in hospital admissions was 5%, 14% in 18–44-year-old admissions, and 31% in admissions with an AUD. In admissions with an AUD, 45% reported no drug use. Detection rates were 82% for admissions with comorbid AUD and chronic drug use (where detection of either problem was assessed); detection rates hovered around 50% in admissions with one or the other condition. Low rates of treatment and referral (33% and 42%, respectively...
Carbon footprinting upstream supply chain for electronics manufacturing and computer services

Corporations and institutions, including the electronics manufacturing and computer services sectors have become concerned with their impacts on climate change and are participating in carbon footprint assessment and climate management discussions. Existing carbon footprint protocols classify carbon footprint into tiered “Scopes”: direct emissions as “Scope 1”, emissions from direct purchased energy as “Scope 2”, and all other indirect emissions as optional “Scope 3.” Because Scopes 1 and 2 footprints are generally less than 25% of the total direct and upstream footprint for a vast majority of businesses, Scope 3 emissions should not be ignored as knowledge of them can help inform more holistic approaches to address life cycle footprint across the supply chain. This research uses input-output life cycle assessment methods to conduct a “scoping analysis” that characterizes the carbon footprint profiles of 8 electronics manufacturing and computer services sectors. The results show that there are significant variations in the portions of total analyzed footprint captured by each footprint Scope among this sector group. Most of the footprints for the electronics manufacturing sectors do not come from their Scope 1 emissions, but from the embodied emissions in the supplies of parts, components, chemicals, and materials. Purchases of food, air transportation, and hotel accommodation from employees traveling to customer locations are found to be the largest sources of upstream Scope 3 footprint for computer system design services sector. The results presented in this work are intended to inform footprinting entities and companies of the potential Scope 3 subcategories to focus their footprint efforts.
Eating behavior in an adolescent population

An anonymous questionnaire on eating behavior and attitudes was administered to the student body of a coeducational private preparatory school. There were 424 males and 337 females, ranging in age from 13 to 19 years and representing 86.5% of the available student body, who completed the questionnaire. Results indicated a high frequency of concern with weight, body image, and dieting, particularly among women. In particular the female subjects reported high frequencies of binge eating, fasting, crash dieting, and feeling obese. A sizable number of women reported self-induced vomiting and amenorrhea secondary to weight loss. These concerns and behaviors were more highly correlated with subjects' opinions about the desirability of their weight rather than with their reported body weight (prorated for height and age). There were 4.0% of women and 0.8% of men who answered questions that would meet strict DSM III criteria for bulimia. These results provide additional evidence that troubled eating behavior and attitudes towards weight and body image are widespread among adolescent women.