cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuroinflammation in epilepsy: an analysis of patients’ sera and its effect on microglia-like cells (S55.007)

Objective: Characterize neuroinflammatory markers in the sera of patients with epilepsy and assess its influence on the phenotype of healthy control derived microglia-like cells (MDMi) in vitro. Background: One-third of patients with epilepsy do not respond to anticonvulsant medications and continue to have seizures. Traditional investigations have focused on the excitation-inhibition model with ion channels as key players, while the role of peripheral and central neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology remains unclear. Design/Methods: Patients with focal epilepsy were prospectively recruited from an academic epilepsy clinic and completed the beck depression inventory II (BDI-II). Patients were divided into those with or without seizures over the past 6 months (well vs. poorly controlled), and sera were analyzed for inflammatory mediators using a Luminex platform measuring 60 cytokines and chemokines. Nine healthy control derived MDMi were exposed to the serum of 2 poorly controlled and 2 well controlled patients to assess a change in the pattern of expression of cytokines/chemokines. Results: A total of 68 epilepsy patients (45.6% poorly controlled) were recruited; 63% were male with mean age 38.2 ± 12.0 years. Characteristics of the poorly controlled v.s. well controlled group: mean BDI-II (10.4 ± 9.5 v.s. 8.0 ± 8.7), MRI abnormality present (49% v.s 49%), and temporal lobe epilepsy (74% V.S. 62%). A trend for lower interferon-2a and interleukin(IL)-12p70 levels were noted in the poorly controlled group. BDI-II scores across the entire epilepsy cohort positively correlated with IL-1a and IL-10 levels. In the pilot experiment, MDMi exposed to poorly controlled sera revealed significantly higher levels of the chemokine CXCL1 (a neutrophil chemoattractant). Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest that there may be differences in circulating mediators of inflammation in patients with poorly controlled seizures as well as an association between increased proinflammatory mediators with increased depressive scores in epilepsy. Study Supported by: UCB provided research funding for portions of the study Disclosure: Dr. Sarkis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Olah has nothing to disclose. Dr. Llewellyn has nothing to disclose. Dr. Buttrick has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ryan has nothing to disclose. Dr. De Jager has received research support from Biogen Idec and Genzyme. Dr. Pennell has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bradshaw has received personal compensation for activities with Eisai as a speaker. Dr. Elyaman has received research support from UCB Inc.
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF IDENTIFIED CELLS IN THE VERTEBRATE RETINA

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a method for the study of neurotransmitters used by cells in the vertebrate retina. The identification of neurotransmitters has not been done extensively for neurons of the vertebrate central nervous system. This is partly because, unlike many invertebrate neurons, cells in the vertebrate central nervous system are generally very small so that even with the most sensitive assays available, many neurons may have to be collected for a single measurement. Moreover, it is often difficult to dissect identified neurons free of other cells from a vertebrate central nervous tissue. The chapter also describes a method for the dissociation of the vertebrate retina into single cells for biochemical and physiological studies. Isolated retinal cells obtained by this method still possess many of their morphological characteristics that can be used to distinguish the different classes of cells under microscopic observation. Identified retinal cells can be selectively collected into a micropipet by suction and the syntheses and contents of neurotransmitter candidates in these cells can be studied. Different types of cells within a given class of retinal neurons may use different transmitters depending on the cells with which these neurons synapse.
Impact of neoadjuvant therapy on postoperative outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy

BACKGROUND Surgical resection provides the only potentially curative treatment of pancreatic cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation (NAT) is used to downstage patients with borderline resectable tumors. The objective of this study was to examine the postoperative morbidity and mortality of NAT after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). METHODS Using the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Project Targeted Pancreatectomy data, we identified patients who underwent a PD for PDA from 2014 to 2015. Patients were grouped by receipt of NAT 90 days before PD. Bivariable and multivariable analyses was used to compare postoperative outcomes. RESULTS A total of 3748 patients with PDA underwent PD; 926 (24.7%) received NAT. Those in the NAT group had more major vein resections, and longer operating times (all P < 0.001). On pathologic staging, those in the NAT group had smaller tumors (T1, 10.9% vs 5.1%; P < 0.001) and fewer nodes positive (N0, 49% vs 28%; P < 0.001). There were no differences in 30-day postoperative mortality or overall complications. On multivariable analysis, patients who received NAT had a lower likelihood of pancreatic fistula (OR, 0.67; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION NAT does not increase the overall postoperative morbidity or mortality of PD for PDA. There is a decreased likelihood of pancreatic fistulas in patients that receive neoadjuvant therapy.
Wealth and health revisited: Economic growth and wellbeing in developing countries, 1970 to 2015.

Abstract Is wealthier always healthier, or are the health effects of economic growth trivial, irregular, or perhaps even detrimental? Using data for up to 134 developing countries between 1970 and 2015, this article revisits the effect of economic growth on health, focusing on infant mortality, life expectancy, and caloric consumption. The analysis enlarges the geographical and temporal scope of previous samples and attempts to isolate the causal effects of growth using two-stage models with instrumental variables. Results show that five-year economic growth rates improve all three health outcomes, even after controlling for other important determinants and accounting for the possibility of reverse causality. Growth effects are largest for infant mortality rates. Nevertheless, there are diminishing returns to economic growth as a function of economic development: as countries become more affluent, the benefits of growth for health diminish.
Tubarão and Seu Lázaro’s dog: Spectacular and banal violence in a Brazilian favela:

This article re-examines ethnographic research I conducted on violence and insecurity in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It examines how the ethnographic strategies I chose – both methodologica...
Double-Stranded RNA Sensors and Modulators in Innate Immunity.

Detection of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) is a central mechanism of innate immune defense in many organisms. We here discuss several families of dsRNA-binding proteins involved in mammalian antivi...
Eye-tracking for assessing medical image interpretation: A pilot feasibility study comparing novice vs expert cardiologists

As specialized medical professionals such as radiologists, pathologists, and cardiologists gain education and experience, their diagnostic efficiency and accuracy change, and they show altered eye movement patterns during medical image interpretation. Existing research in this area is limited to interpretation of static medical images, such as digitized whole slide biopsies, making it difficult to understand how expertise development might manifest during dynamic image interpretation, such as with angiograms or volumetric scans. A two-group (novice, expert) comparative pilot study examined the feasibility and utility of tracking and interpreting eye movement patterns while cardiologists viewed video-based coronary angiograms. A non-invasive eye tracking system recorded cardiologists’ (n = 8) visual behaviour while they viewed and diagnosed a series of eight angiogram videos. Analyses assessed frame-by-frame video navigation behaviour, eye fixation behaviour, and resulting diagnostic decision making. Relative to novices, expert cardiologists demonstrated shorter and less variable video review times, fewer eye fixations and saccadic eye movements, and less time spent paused on individual video frames. Novices showed repeated eye fixations on critical image frames and regions, though these were not predictive of accurate diagnostic decisions. These preliminary results demonstrate interpretive decision errors among novices, suggesting they identify and process critical diagnostic features, but sometimes fail to accurately interpret those features. Results also showcase the feasibility of tracking and understanding eye movements during video-based coronary angiogram interpretation and suggest that eye tracking may be valuable for informing assessments of competency progression during medical education and training.
Functional N-Substituted N-Thiocarboxyanhydrides as Modular Tools for Constructing H2S Donor Conjugates.

We report a synthetic route toward a family of functional COS/H2S-releasing N-substituted N-thiocarboxyanhydrides (NTAs) with functionalities to accommodate popular conjugation reactions, including olefin cross metathesis, thiol-ene, and copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition. The N-substituted NTAs were attached to small molecules, polymers, and a protein to synthesize novel H2S donors convergently. All conjugates showed sustained H2S release kinetics.
Genital Chlamydia infection in hyperlipidemic mouse models exacerbates atherosclerosis.

Abstract Background and aims Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and recent studies have shown that infection at remote sites can contribute to the progression of atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic mouse models. In this report, we tested the hypothesis that genital Chlamydia infection could accelerate the onset and progression of atherosclerosis. Methods Apolipoprotein E (Apoe−/−) and LDL receptor knockout (Ldlr−/−) mice on a high-fat diet were infected intra-vaginally with Chlamydia muridarum. Atherosclerotic lesions on the aortic sinuses and in the descending aorta were assessed at 8-weeks post-infection. Systemic, macrophage, and vascular site inflammatory responses were assessed and quantified. Results Compared to the uninfected groups, infected Apoe−/− and Ldlr−/− mice developed significantly more atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic sinus and in the descending aorta. Increased lesions were associated with higher circulating levels of serum amyloid A-1, IL-1β, TNF-α, and increased VCAM-1 expression in the aortic sinus, suggesting an association with inflammatory responses observed during C. muridarum infection. Genital infection courses were similar in Apoe−/−, Ldlr−/−, and wild type mice. Further, Apoe−/− mice developed severe uterine pathology with increased dilatations. Apoe-deficiency also augmented cytokine/chemokine response in C. muridarum infected macrophages, suggesting that the difference in macrophage response could have contributed to the genital pathology in Apoe−/− mice. Conclusions Overall, these studies demonstrate that genital Chlamydia infection exacerbates atherosclerotic lesions in hyperlipidemic mouse and suggest a novel role for Apoe in full recovery of uterine anatomy after chlamydial infection.
Cutaneous adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma presenting as sweet syndrome.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a highly aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphoid neoplasm associated with the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infection. Cutaneous manifestati...
Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) classifies tumors as high, medium, and low risk based on tumor characteristics and risk factors (see Introduction section of Chap. 4). Based on the NCCN recommendations, superficial therapies such as topical therapies, cryotherapy (CT), and photodynamic therapy (PDT) should be considered in low-risk, superficial BCCs in patients where surgical therapy (ST) and radiotherapy (RT) are contraindicated or impractical. The NCCN 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for BCC does not mention laser therapy (LT) in their treatment recommendations. In this chapter, LT will be discussed as a nonsurgical treatment option for BCC.
Tape in the cloud—Technology developments and roadmaps supporting 80 TB cartridge capacities

Tape, which is the storage of magnetic bits on flexible 0.5” wide media, provides critical data storage needs for the Cloud as evidenced by continued growth in exabyte shipments of tape products. This paper outlines the present storage landscape environment for tape, HDD, and NAND flash, describes the tape roadmap for capacity improvements, and presents recording data on narrow track, 32 channel, TMR tape heads spanning read sensor widths from 1.0 μm to 0.20 μm illustrating the potential for 80 TB cartridge operation. Critically, future improvements in tape areal density and tape cartridge capacity are expected to be achieved from evolutionary developments in head/media technology, not requiring revolutionary developments, such as energy assisted magnetic recording technologies required by HDD strategies.Tape, which is the storage of magnetic bits on flexible 0.5” wide media, provides critical data storage needs for the Cloud as evidenced by continued growth in exabyte shipments of tape products. This paper outlines the present storage landscape environment for tape, HDD, and NAND flash, describes the tape roadmap for capacity improvements, and presents recording data on narrow track, 32 channel, TMR tape heads spanning read sensor widths from 1.0 μm to 0.20 μm illustrating the potential for 80 TB cartridge operation. Critically, future improvements in tape areal density and tape cartridge capacity are expected to be achieved from evolutionary developments in head/media technology, not requiring revolutionary developments, such as energy assisted magnetic recording technologies required by HDD strategies.
The murine enterocyte cell line Mode-K is a novel and reliable in vitro model for studies on gluten toxicity

Abstract The resemblance of physiological traits of cell lines with their target/original tissue is an important prerequisite for the choice of the in vitro model. Although cytoprotective defenses, activated by the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2 (Nrf2), have a preeminent importance in intestinal protection, nevertheless their levels in in vitro models have been never compared with those of their original tissue. Basal level of Nrf2-mediated defenses in murine enterocyte cells (Mode-K) and in human colon adenocarcinoma cells -at differentiated (DCaco2) or confluent stage (CCaco2)- were compared with those found in mouse or human duodenum. The pro-oxidant and cytotoxic effects of peptic-tryptic digest of gluten prepared from wheat bread (PT-b), einkorn (PT-e) or durum wheat (PT-d) were evaluated in Mode-k and DCaco2 by combining enzymatic, immune-enzymatic and real-time PCR assay. The results presented reveal that Mode-k cells resemble cytoprotective defenses of human/murine duodenum and are more susceptible to pro-oxidant, cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effect of gliadin digest (in comparison with Caco2). Prolamins digests from the considered wheat exhibit different inhibitory effect on Nrf2-mediated defenses (PT-b > PT-e > PT-d). These data indicate, for the first time, that Mode-k are a reliable model for investigating wheat prolamins toxicity and for evaluating the signaling pathway of gluten-associated disease.
An Analysis of 1-Year Charges for Head and Neck Cancer: Targets for Value-Based Interventions:

ObjectiveTo identify the dominant clinical factors associated with increased 1-year charges in treating head and neck cancer.Study DesignRetrospective review.SettingSingle academic institution.Subj...
The Aim of Warfare in al-Wāqidī’s Kitāb al-Maghāzī

The Kitāb al-Maghāzī or “Book of the Raids” by the early Islamic historian Muḥammad b. ‘Umar al-Wāqidī (ca. 747–823) appeared for the first time in English translation in 2011. The editor and lead ...
Mechanistic interpretation of non-coding variants helps discover transcriptional regulators of drug response

ABSTRACT Identification of functional non-coding variants (polymorphisms) and their mechanistic interpretation is a major challenge of modern genomics, especially for precision medicine. Transcription factor (TF) binding profiles and epigenomic landscapes in reference samples can help us functionally annotate the genome, but do not provide ready answers regarding the effects of non-coding variants. A promising computational approach is to build models that predict TF-DNA binding from sequence, and use such models to score a variant’s impact on TF binding strength. Here, we asked if this mechanistic approach to variant interpretation can be combined with information on genotype-phenotype associations to discover important transcription factors regulating phenotypic variation among individuals. We developed a statistical approach that integrates phenotype, genotype, gene expression, TF ChIP-seq and Hi-C chromatin interaction data to answer this question. Using drug sensitivity measured in lymphoblastoid cell lines as the phenotype of interest, we tested if the non-coding variants statistically linked to the phenotype are enriched for strong predicted impact on DNA-binding strength of a TF, and used this test to identify TFs regulating individual differences in the phenotype. Our method relies on a new method for predicting variant impact on TF-DNA binding, that uses a combination of biophysical modelling and machine learning. We report statistical and literature-based support for many of the TFs discovered here as regulators of drug response variation. We show that the use of mechanistically driven variant impact predictors can identify TF-drug associations that would otherwise be missed. We examined in depth the evidence underlying one reported association – that of the transcription factor ELF1 with the drug doxorubicin – and identified several genes that may mediate this regulatory relationship.
A commentary on establishing norms for error-related brain activity during the arrow flanker task among young adults.

Abstract We suggest that a large data set for the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) components of the scalp-recorded event-related brain potential (ERP) recently published as normative is not ready for such use in research and, especially, clinical application. Such efforts are challenged by an incomplete understanding of the functional significance of between-person differences in amplitudes and of nuisance factors that contribute to amplitude differences, a lack of standardization of methods, and the use of a convenience sample for the potentially normative database. To move ERPs toward standardization and useful norms, we encourage more research on the meaning of differences in ERN scores, including factors that influence between- and within-person variation, and the dissemination of protocols for data collection and processing.
Timing of steroid use and outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitor: A population based study.

6590Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have rapidly become the treatment of choice for multiple cancer types. However, the relationship between the timing of immunosuppressive agents, ...
Algorithms on Strings, Trees, and Sequences: Constant-Time Lowest Common Ancestor Retrieval

Introduction We now begin the discussion of an amazing result that greatly extends the usefulness of suffix trees (in addition to many other applications). Definition In a rooted tree T , a node u is an ancestor of a node v if u is on the unique path from the root to v . With this definition a node is an ancestor of itself. A proper ancestor of v refers to an ancestor that is not v . Definition In a rooted tree T , the lowest common ancestor (lca) of two nodes x and y is the deepest node in T that is an ancestor of both x and y . For example, in Figure 8.1 the lca of nodes 6 and 10 is node 5 while the lca of 6 and 3 is 1. The amazing result is that after a linear amount of preprocessing of a rooted tree, any two nodes can then be specified and their lowest common ancestor found in constant time. That is, a rooted tree with n nodes is first preprocessed in O(n) time, and thereafter any lowest common ancestor query takes only constant time to solve, independent of n . Without preprocessing, the best worst-case time bound for a single query is Θ( n ), so this is a most surprising and useful result. The lca result was first obtained by Harel and Tarjan [214] and later simplified by Schieber and Vishkin [393]. The exposition here is based on the later approach.
Tax Practice in a Circular Revolution: A Review of PLI's Circular 230 Deskbook

This short review essay evaluates the Practicing Law Institute's Circular 230 Deskbook by Jonathan G. Blattmachr, Mitchell M. Gans and Damien Rios. For attorneys, accountants and others who practice before the IRS, the Circular 230 Deskbook is a masterful analysis and an important guide to the Internal Revenue Service's labyrinthine rules and regulations governing tax penalties, reportable transactions and the conduct of tax practitioners. Most tax attorneys and accountants have reacted to the recent changes to Circular 230 by appending banner notices to all written communications. Without fully understanding the underlying rules, however, a practitioner cannot be sure that a banner alone will guarantee compliance with Circular 230's requirements. If Sir Walter Raleigh claimed that there is nothing new in the human experience because the world hath ever been in a circular revolution, tax practice in the twenty-first century surely must be an exception. The complex rules of Circular 230 have transformed the very nature tax practice and likely will continue to govern it for the foreseeable future. For that reason, every tax professional must become fully conversant with the details of Circular 230, or else risk public censure, suspension, fines or even the end of one's professional career. The PLI Circular 230 Deskbook provides a comprehensive, complete and analytical examination of the topic. Of particular interest to practioners will be the five interpretative charts in the book's Appendix that are reprinted as colored, glossy, single-reference sheets that can be removed from the book.
Plug-ins, layered services and behavioral objects application programming styles in the Harness metacomputing system

Abstract Harness is an experimental metacomputing system based upon the principle of dynamic reconfigurability, both in terms of the computers and networks that comprise the virtual machine, and in the services offered by the virtual machine itself. In this paper we describe how the capability to reconfigure the virtual machine services on demand can be exploited to provide different programming environments to support both legacy applications and Harness-aware ones.
A New Transiting Extrasolar Giant Planet

We have measured radial velocities of a star, OGLE-TR-56, which shows a 1.2-day transit-like light curve found photometrically by Udalski et al.(2002ab). Here we show that the velocity changes we detect are probably induced by an object of 0.9 Jupiter masses - a very close-in gas-giant planet only 0.023 AU from its star, with a planetary radius of 1.3 Jupiter radii and a mean density of 0.5 g/cm3. At its small orbital distance, OGLE-TR-56b is hotter than any known planet, approaching 1900K, but it is stable against long-term evaporation or tidal disruption.
Honwana Alcinda and De Boeck Filip, eds. Makers and Breakers: Children and Youth in Postcolonial Africa. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 2005. xii + 244 pp. Photographs. References. Index. $29.95. Paper.

Alcinda Honwana and Filip De Boeck, eds. Makers and Breakers: Children and Youth in Postcolonial Africa. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 2005. xii + 244 pp. Photographs. References. Index. $29.95. Paper. Makers and Breakers fills several important gaps in African postcolonial studies by exposing the plight of the majority and most vulnerable population in Africa: children and youth. The volume does not just endeavor to document their harrowing conditions and experiences. It provides a theoretical framework that enables readers to understand the social processes and economic forces that shape and are being shaped by African youths who find themselves embroiled in Africa's predicament because of their social status, ubiquity, and mobility. However, those of us who remain stubbornly and obsessively positive about the transformative ingenuity of African youth and who believe that African menacing clouds are laced with myriads of silver linings will take issue with the way these youths are portrayed in this volume. The book is divided into four sections, with John and Jean Comaroff s chapter as the lone essay of the first part, an essay that serves as the theoretical lightning rod for the successive chapters by surveying the many facets of youth which, as a theoretical and disciplinary contraption, "stands for many things at once" and could be tied to the emergence of modernity. Part 2, "The Pain of Agency, the Agency of Pain," delves into the critical issue of agency, first through two important contributions on child soldiers. Drawing on de Certeau's distinction between tactical agency (i.e., "the power of the weak") and strategic agency, Honwana posits young recruits who fought in civil wars in Angola and Mozambique as interstitial and tactical agents while deconstructing entrenched binary notions of child soldiers as either victims or innocents. Similarly, Mats Utas's essay discusses what could be termed "transient agency" in which young females involved in Liberia's civil war oscillate between the war zone and the civilian community and walk the tightrope between victimhood and agency. On the other hand, Pamela Reynolds's and Brad Weiss's respective essays deal with the cultural production of pain and how young people cope with the feeling of despair and alienation in the African urban crucible. This discussion about the agentive versatility of youth is picked up in the next part with the two essays by Nicolas Argenti and Deborah Durham on the performative power young people can yield by subverting established notions of power. While Argenti looks at how innovative forms of masquerade in the Cameroonian grassfields provide the youth and women with an alternative discourse that subverts the hegemony of a modernist, national discourse created by the Oku palace, Durham explores choir performances among the Herero youth in Botswana. …
Wolbachia: Evolutionary novelty in a rickettsial bacteria

Although closely related, the alpha-proteobacteria Wolbachia and the Rickettsiacae (Rickettsia and Ehrlichia), employ different evolutionary life history strategies. Wolbachia are obligate endocellular symbionts that infect an extraordinary host range and, in contrast to the infectious and pathogenic Rickettsia and Ehrlichia, profoundly influence host reproductive biology. Phylogenies of the Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Wolbachia were independently inferred from 16S rDNA sequences and GroEL amino acid sequences. Topologies inferred from both sets of sequence data were consistent with one another, and both indicate the genus Wolbachia shared a common ancestor most recently with Ehrlichia. These two genera are a sister group to the genus Rickettsia. Mapping biological properties onto this phylogeny reveals that manipulation of host reproduction, characteristic of Wolbachia strains, is a derived characteristic. This evolutionary novelty is accompanied by the loss of the ability to infect vertebrate hosts. Because of the contrasting transmission strategies employed by each, Wolbachia is expected to maximize efficiency of vertical transmission, while Ehrlichia and Rickettsia will optimize horizontal transfer of infection. Wolbachia manipulation of host reproduction could thus be viewed as strategy employed by this bacterium to foster its own propagation via vertical transmission.
Toward Exascale Resilience: 2014 Update

Resilience is a major roadblock for HPC executions on future exascale systems. These systems will typically gather millions of CPU cores running up to a billion threads. Projections from current large systems and technology evolution predict errors will happen in exascale systems many times per day. These errors will propagate and generate various kinds of malfunctions, from simple process crashes to result corruptions.The past five years have seen extraordinary technical progress in many domains related to exascale resilience. Several technical options, initially considered inapplicable or unrealistic in the HPC context, have demonstrated surprising successes. Despite this progress, the exascale resilience problem is not solved, and the community is still facing the difficult challenge of ensuring that exascale applications complete and generate correct results while running on unstable systems. Since 2009, many workshops, studies, and reports have improved the definition of the resilience problem and provided refined recommendations. Some projections made during the previous decades and some priorities established from these projections need to be revised. This paper surveys what the community has learned in the past five years and summarizes the research problems still considered critical by the HPC community.
JAK inhibitors overcome corticosteroid insensitivity in COPD

Corticosteroid-insensitive CXCR3 chemokines (CXCL9, -10 and -11) are thought to drive the CD8 + inflammatory infiltrate in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These chemokines are elevated in COPD airways. This study investigated whether JAK inhibitors, PF95 and PF13, suppress CXCR3 chemokine release from macrophage lineage cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) were isolated from non-smokers (NS), smokers (S) and COPD patients. Cells were pre-treated with either JAK inhibitor or dexamethasone (DEX) prior to stimulation with IFNγ. Cell media was harvested at 24h and chemokine release measured by ELISA. Compared to DEX, compound PF 95 significantly suppressed CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 (p JAK inhibitors PF95 and PF13 significantly suppress steroid-insensitive CXCR3 chemokines in COPD cells and may have benefit as a novel anti-inflammatory treatment.
Large area, low capacitance Si(Li) detectors for low noise, high rate X-ray applications

Summary form only. Large-area, single-element Si(Li) detectors have been fabricated using a novel geometry which yields detectors with reduced capacitance and hence reduced noise at short amplifier shaping times. A typical 6-mm-thick device with an active area of 175 mm/sup 2/ has a capacitance of 0.5 pF for a conventional planar device with equivalent thickness and area. These low-capacitance detectors, in conjunction with low-capacitance FETs, will result in spectrometers capable of running at very high count rates while still maintaining excellent energy resolution. The spectral response of the low capacitance detectors to a wide range of X-ray energies at 77 K is comparable to that of typical state-of-the-art conventional Si(Li) devices. The spectral response to 2-60 keV X-rays was investigated. >
Glenohumeral translation after arthroscopic thermal capsuloplasty with a radiofrequency probe.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are changes in anterior and posterior glenohumeral translation after arthroscopic thermal capsuloplasty with a radiofrequency probe. Anteriorly directed loads of 15 N and 20 N were sequentially applied to the humerus of each of 5 cadaveric glenohumeral joints, and anterior translation on the glenoid was measured through use of a customized translation apparatus and an electromagnetic tracking device. The tests were then repeated with posteriorly directed forces, and posterior translation was measured. During testing, the glenoid was rigidly fixed and the glenohumeral joint was positioned to simulate 90 degrees of shoulder abduction and 90 degrees of external rotation. By means of the radiofrequency probe, thermal energy was then applied to the anteroinferior capsuloligamentous structures; anterior and posterior translation measurements were repeated. The results showed a significant reduction in anterior and posterior translations after thermal capsuloplasty ( P
The Perceived Importance of an Ethical Issue as an Influence on the Ethical Decision-Making of Ad Managers

Abstract We explored the impact of a proposed new construct “perceived importance of an ethical issue” (PIE) on the ethical decision-making process. This construct parallels similar constructs in involvement literature popular in consumer behavior. The PIE construct was found to exhibit reasonable characteristics for preliminary judgments about validity, and it produced a significant and substantial impact on both ethical judgment and behavioral intention. This investigation also offered two research propositions, each of which focuses on how this perceived importance construct influences the ethical decisionmaking process. In addition the article suggests several potentially useful implications for marketing managers.
STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has several ongoing programs to identify damage in structures and mechanical systems from changes in their dynamic characteristics. This paper provides a summary of LANL's involvement with this technology, past experiences in this field including damage detection studies on large civil engineering infrastructure and the directions that research in this area will be taking in the future. The research began by taking a strictly model-based approach to the vibration-based damage detection problem. Recent work has recognized that it is more appropriate to view the damage detection problem as an exercise in statistical pattern recognition. Therefore, a general statistical pattern recognition paradigm will be proposed. (4 pages)
Adaptation of preventive interventions for a low-income, culturally diverse community.

ABSTRACT Objective To describe essential elements in the adaptation of a prevention approach with a high-risk urban sample, chosen to contrast sharply with the primarily middle-class sample in which it had been originally tested. Method Key elements of a preventive intervention for families with parental depression were adapted for use in the new context. Results A sequence of alliance-building events was implemented, involving engagement at three levels: community, caregivers, and family. The prevention approach was modified to include an expanded approach to defining depression and resilience; greater flexibility on the part of the clinician; more intensive engagement between clinician and family, with a focus on immediate daily concerns; as well as awareness of cultural issues and responsiveness to the subject's experience of violence. Conclusion Core principles of helping family members to discuss the effects of depression and adversity on family life were affirmed.
THE L3 EXPERIMENT

The L3 experiment has completed the first two years of data-taking at the LEP e + e - collider at CERN. The detectors are contained in a very large solenoidal magnetic field volume, with the emphasis on precision measurement of electrons, photons and muons. The physics goals, design and performance of the detector are reviewed, with highlights from the results that have been obtained during LEP running at the Z 0 resonance.
Free operant avoidance behavior in hooded rats: IRTs and response chains

Twenty-five hooded rats were given 50 avoidance training sessions with leverpress IRTs ob­ tained during as well as between sessions. Five qualitatively different shapes to the IRT pro­ files were found: single- or double-peaked shapes, positively or negatively accelerated shapes, and U-shaped distributions. Both the specific shape of the profile and the stability of that shape during a session were related to the avoidance proficiency of an individual rat. Six rats received two additional training sessions, with the final 30 min of each videotaped to obtain frequency counts of nine behavior categories. The observational data showed that avoidance-proficient rats typically incorporated the leverpress requirement into repetitive response chains. Under the free operant avoidance procedure (Sidman, 1953), each criterion response postpones an electric shock for a fixed period (the R-S interval). If the re­ sponse is not emitted, shock is given periodically (the s-s interval). This schedule permits the subject to develop a rate of response that leads to relatively low frequencies of unavoided shock. Considerable attention has been given to the analysis of the behavior that develops under this avoidance schedule, and recently the examination of changes in avoidance behavior that might occur within a training session has been of particular interest. For example, after the warm-up period (a repeated, temporary period of relatively poor avoidance at the outset of each session), changes in leverpress avoidance behavior correspond to the avoidance proficiency of the individual rat. Roberts (1978) used shock rate values to designate individual rats as good avoiders (low shock rates), nonavoiders (high shock rates), or poor avoiders (a broad range of rate values in between). The response and shock rates of individual nonavoiders and good avoiders were relatively stable over the post-warm-up period, but poor avoiders showed progressive improve. ments in these measures during the session, but not be­ tween sessions. The picture of post-warm-up avoidance behavior may be somewhat different when using a different index of avoidance, the distribution of leverpress responses within the R-S interval (interresponse times: IRTs).
Regression analysis for the comparison of school and home effects

This paper addresses two related problems: what are the appropriate measures for comparing effects of blocks or compounds of variables (each block conceived as having a single effect) when the causal ordering is assumed to be known, and how can single measures be created for each such block or compound, so that the comparisons can be made? Several different kinds of measures are shown to be possibly appropriate, through the use of hypothetical experiments.
SOME STUDIES OF THE DEFECT STRUCTURE OF ALKALINE EARTH OXIDES

A consolidated review of work performed in our laboratory on SrO and BaO is presented. Various experiments have been conducted in order to elucidate the defect structure of these alkaline earth oxides. The various experiments do not all combine neatly to yield a clean model of the defect structure. The situation for SrO is clearer than that for BaO, however. In SrO, it appears most likely that Schottky defects exist which are doubly ionized at elevated temperatures. At one atmosphere oxygen partial pressure, excess oxygen to the extent of a few tenths of a percent can be accommodated in the material. Our data are compatible with a Schottky defect formation energy of 3.7 eV. The activation energy for strontium diffusion at high temperature is 4.61 eV. In BaO, a significant concentration of excess oxygen can be incorporated in the material at a pressure of one atmosphere of oxygen. This concentration can approach one atomic per cent. The enthalpy associated with this incorporated in the following reaction. 1/2 O2(g) = O0 + defect is equal to - 0.4 eV. For SrO by comparison the enthalpy of the same reaction is + 1.0 eV. In BaO the volume of the unit cell increases with added oxygen. From pressure dependence studies, the defects appear to be unionized. The activation energy for barium ion diffusion at high temperature is 4.0 eV. Possible models of the defect structure are suggested.
Item Analysis: A Short-Cut Statistic for Mastery Tests

This study examined three statistical methods for selecting items for mastery tests. One is the pretest-posttest method due to Cox and Vargas (1966); it is computationally simple, but has a number of serious limitations. The second is a latent trait method recommended by van der Linden (1981); it is computationally complex, but has a number of theoretical advantages. The third method, proposed herein, parallels the latent trait method in many respects; but it is computationally simple, like the pretest-posttest procedure. A number of distinct data sets were simulated; and the three item selection methods were applied to each data set for the purpose of studying relationships among the methods. The correlation between the latent trait method and the one proposed herein was substantial, suggesting that the latter might be recommended as a practical alternative to the former. The results for the pretest-posttest method tended to confirm its reputed limitations.
Isothermal combustion for improved performance in air-breathing engines

This theoretical effort proposes and explains in detail the concept of isothermal combustion. The concept involves combustion at constant total temperatures in order to realize isothermal heat addition to the working fluid in typical powerplants. It is rendered practical by extracting a precise amount of work from the flowing/expanding gases; the heat addition due to combustion will be balanced out to keep the total temperature constant. In an oversimplified description, it might be said that this involves burning in the turbine stages, or burning during the expansion stroke. Isothermal heat addition enables the thermodynamic cycle to approach the Carnot cycle more closely than the state-of-the-art Bray ton, Otto, or diesel cycles. A closed-form analytical expression is derived to explicitly show the cycle efficiency in terms of the pressure ratio and the overall temperature ratio. Thirty to forty percent efficiency increases are seen over the Brayton efficiency for the same overall temperature ratio. Practical aspects are qualitatively mentioned. Future prospects are outlined.
Infectivity of Trypanosoma cruzi after cultivation for thirteen years in vitro without animal passage.

SummaryA strain of Trypanosoma cruzi cultured from experimentally-infected guinea pig on N.N. medium was subcultured at various intervals on N.N. medium for 13 years without animal passage. At the end of this period the strain was found to be still capable of producing infection in experimental animals.The presence of Tr. cruzi was microscopically demonstrated in the circulating blood of 50% of the inoculated animals. However, cultures made from the heart blood of all the animals on N.N. medium were positive for Tr. cruzi.
Flumazenil blockade of anxiety following ethanol withdrawal in rats.

In previous research, the drug flumazenil has been categorized both as a pure benzodiazepine antagonist and as a benzodiazepine partial agonist. The following studies used an elevated plus maze to test whether flumazenil would exert any antianxiety action in rats. While chlordiazepoxide (3.0 mg/kg), ethanol (0.75 g/kg), and the atypical benzodiazepine zolpidem (1.0 mg/kg) all significantly increased time spent on the open arms and percent open arm entries, flumazenil (1–10 mg/kg) alone did not produce any anxiolytic effects on the maze. Withdrawal from chronic ethanol treatment led to a decrease in open arm time and percent open arm entries. Flumazenil (3.0 mg/kg) blocked these changes, suggesting that the effects of flumazenil are at least partially dependent upon the levels of stress or anxiety in the subjects. An anxiolytic action of flumazenil was not seen following the central administration of the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which reduced open arm time on the elevated plus maze. These results support the hypothesis that the mechanism of action for flumazenil effects on the anxiety observed during ethanol withdrawal involves antagonism of an endogenous benzodiazepine inverse agonist, rather than activity as a partial agonist or blockade of CRF-mediated effects.
Prophylactic photopheresis and chronic rejection: effects on graft intimal hyperplasia in cardiac transplantation.

Background: Despite the decreased incidence of acute rejection episodes and improvements in short and intermediate term graft survival with current immunosuppressive agents, there has been little progress in decreasing the morbidity and mortality from chronic rejection. This phenomenon may, in part, be related to the development of a humoral immune response with increases in anti-HLA antibodies, which presents as accelerated graft arteriopathy with intimal hyperplasia. Methods: Based on prior experimental work, a pilot, prospective, randomized study was performed in 23 primary cardiac transplant recipients to determine whether the addition of prophylactic photopheresis to a cyclosporine, azathioprine and prednisone regimen was safe and resulted in decreased levels of panel reactive antibodies (PRA) and transplant arteriopathy. Results: There was no difference between the two groups in regard to infection or acute rejection incidence. The photopheresis group had a significant reduction in PRA levels at two time points within the first 6 postoperative months. Coronary artery intimal thickness was significantly reduced in the photopheresis group at 1-yr (0.23 vs. 0.49 mm, p < 0.04) and 2-yr (0.28 vs. 0.46 mm, p < 0.02) follow-up compared with the control group. Conclusion: In this small pilot study, photopheresis is a safe, well-tolerated immunomodulatory technique that is capable of decreasing the severity of chronic rejection manifesting as post-transplant graft intimal hyperplasia.
HIV among people who use drugs: a global perspective of populations at risk.

This paper examines the epidemiology of HIV among selected subgroups of drug users around the world who are ‘most at risk’ - men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSWs), prisoners, and mobile populations. The underlying determinants of HIV infection among these populations include stigma, physical and sexual violence, mental illness, social marginalization, and economic vulnerability. HIV interventions must reach beyond specific risk groups and individuals to address the micro- and macro- level determinants that shape their risk environments. Public health interventions that focus on the physical, social, and health policy environments that influence HIV risk-taking in various settings are significantly more likely to impact the incidence of HIV as well as other blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections across larger population groups.