cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hematology: relapsed and refractory PTCL--into the therapeutic abyss.

Outcomes in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas are poor and there are no established standards of care for patients in the relapsed and refractory setting, owing in part to the lack of multicenter, controlled clinical trials. Recently, encouraging results were reported in this setting with pralatrexate—a novel folate analog.
Telling Tales: A Guidebook and DVD

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Emily S. Chasse Year: 2009 Pages: 269 Publisher: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc ISBN: 978-1555706456 (soft cover).
Propranolol palliation of tetralogy of Fallot: experience with long-term drug treatment in pediatric patients.

Propranolol therapy was given to 22 patients with tetralogy of Fallot (1 mg/kg/6 hr orally). In 13 infants (3 to 20 months of age), the medication was used in effort to postpone surgery to a more optimum size. In nine children (2 to 11 years of age), the drug was used while awaiting surgery, or when parents refused the proposed surgery or when surgery was not recommended because of associated defects. Parameters observed during follow-up evaluations included electrocardiograms, chest x-rays, and pH and blood gas determinations. Serum propranolol values were obtained in 15 patients. The acute hemodynamic response to 0.2 mg/kg given intravenously was observed in eight patients at cardiac catheterization. The frequency and severity of hypoxic spells was evaluated utilizing historical information. Eighteen patients were noted to have spells prior to therapy. Propranolol was observed to abolish or to lessen the hypoxic spells in all but one patient. A satisfactory response, without complications, was observed in 17 patients. Refractoriness to propranolol occurred in five patients. Surgery, either by total correction (seven patients) or by shunt operation (five patients) was performed 3 to 27 months after therapy was begun. Postoperative complications attributable to propranolol were not observed. While the mechanism of propranolol action is open to speculation, the success of propranolol therapy in this series leads us to encourage its use for palliation of patient with tetralogy of Fallot, especially in infants.
X-Efficiency: The Intellectual Setting and an Introduction to the Theory

In the previous chapter we reviewed microeconomic theory with respect to production, cost, and the welfare costs of monopoly power. We know that traditional microeconomics assumes that the firm is a profit maximizer and a cost minimizer, and that efficiency means allocative-market-efficiency. That is, the firm maximizes its output for given inputs and minimizes its cost for a given output. Furthermore, adopting this framework has led several current theories of regulation to assume away X-(in)efficiency (as resulting from such regulation). It is now time to question these assumptions. In particular we will question the assumption that the firm attempts to maximize its profits and minimize its costs. We will also show that when Harvard Professor Harvey Leibenstein questioned these assumptions, he constructed a theory which postulated a nonallocative type of efficiency. In 1966 he called it X-efficiency. And it was data from both industrialized and less developed countries that caused him to question these assumptions. These data were of two types: first, data showing that firms were not internally efficient and, second, data showing that firms were not maximizing their profits.
Sweeping It All Away: A Case Study in the Elimination of an On-Site Journal Collection

Libraries are increasingly becoming service points rather than custodians of physical books and journals. At Duke University Medical Center Library & Archives, we came to realize that the space used to house our bound print journals could be used more effectively as student study space. We undertook a comprehensive review of our entire journal collection, both on site and off site. Various criteria, including patterns of usage, overlap, perpetual access, and rarity, were used to determine if we could eliminate or relocate our entire in-house journal collection. By doing this we created a spacious, convenient, and heavily utilized study space for our patrons.
End-Linked Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Elastomers: 2H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigations of Compression-Induced Segment Anisotropy

2H-NMR spectroscopy is applied to measure strain-induced orientational anisotropy of polymer segments in three environments in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomers: elastic chains, pendant chains, and PDMS(d) chains dissolved in the network. The elastomers were prepared with systematically-varied structures and selective deuterium labeling. Network features were inferred from macroscopic measurements using statistical and thermodynamic models. The segment order parameter, S, was found to be proportional to λ2 − λ-1, where λ is the compression ratio, for the three environments in uniaxially-compressed PDMS networks: elastic chains, pendant chains, and dissolved probe chains. Furthermore, all three environments show the same dependence of the ratio S/(λ2 − λ-1) on the elastic modulus, in the range 0.089−0.29 MPa. These results agree with the recent theoretical predictions of Brereton and Ries (Macromolecules 1996, 29, 2644) and thus support the premise that the excluded volume (entropic) interactions ...
Computational modeling of flow-induced shear stresses within 3D salt-leached porous scaffolds imaged via micro-CT.

Abstract Flow-induced shear stresses have been found to be a stimulatory factor in pre-osteoblastic cells seeded in 3D porous scaffolds and cultured under continuous flow perfusion. However, due to the complex internal structure of porous scaffolds, analytical estimation of the local shear forces is impractical. The primary goal of this work is to investigate the shear stress distributions within Poly( l -lactic acid) scaffolds via computation. Scaffolds used in this study are prepared via salt leeching with various geometric characteristics (80–95% porosity and 215–402.5 μm average pore size). High resolution micro-computed tomography is used to obtain their 3D structure. Flow of osteogenic media through the scaffolds is modeled via lattice Boltzmann method. It is found that the surface stress distributions within the scaffolds are characterized by long tails to the right (a positive skewness). Their shape is not strongly dependent on the scaffold manufacturing parameters, but the magnitudes of the stresses are. Correlations are prepared for the estimation of the average surface shear stress experienced by the cells within the scaffolds and of the probability density function of the surface stresses. Though the manufacturing technique does not appear to affect the shape of the shear stress distributions, presence of manufacturing defects is found to be significant: defects create areas of high flow and high stress along their periphery. The results of this study are applicable to other polymer systems provided that they are manufactured by a similar salt leeching technique, while the imaging/modeling approach is applicable to all scaffolds relevant to tissue engineering.
Bridged Ferrocenes. 9. Lithiation and Subsequent Reactions of 1,1′-Trimethyleneferrocene

Dilithiation of a trimethylene-bridged ferrocene with n-butyllithium and TMEDA selectively metalated the ring at the 2,2'- or the 3,3'-positions. The dilithio derivatives were converted to the dicarboxylic acid, the dibromo, and the diiodo derivatives. 17 references, 1 figure.
Incentivising, facilitating, and implementing an office tobacco cessation system

Although the development and publication of a national evidence based clinical guideline for smoking cessation from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR)1 has clarified the approach that should be used in medical practice settings, clinicians are still a long way from following it consistently.2-7 Cromwell et al have studied the cost effectiveness of applying the recommendations in the AHCPR guideline and concluded that at $1915 per quality adjusted life year, it is one of the most cost effective of all preventive services.8 However, if we are to realise the potential that clinicians have to facilitate cessation and achieve these health and life gains, we shall have to find some way to make large changes in the current behaviour of clinicians. One of the obvious resources for stimulating this type of change is the managed care health plans that have contracts with most of the primary care clinics in the country.9 If the excess medical costs of smokers to the age of 65 years are really $9000 to $11 000,10 Cromwell calculates that the medical care savings per quitter should average about $6000 per quitter.8 If so, and if health plans could count on enough member continuity to achieve some portion of those savings, they would have a real incentive to try to change clinician behaviour in this area. Fortunately, it is now also becoming clear what types of changes will lead to more effective implementation of this guideline. As with the implementation of any guideline, simple educational efforts will have little effect.11 12 Instead, office systems that start with making identification of smoking status a vital sign are clearly the key to consistent adherence to the guideline.13-20 Thus, the question becomes what can a health plan do to try to …
3-Deoxy-3-substituted-D-myo-inositol imidazolyl ether lipid phosphates and carbonate as inhibitors of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway and cancer cell growth.

Abstract 3-Modified d - myo -inositol imidazolyl ether lipid phosphates and a carbonate were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of PI3-K and Akt. These data are presented along with IC 50 values for the inhibition of the growth of three cancer cell lines.
Mechanically Implementable Accommodation Matrices for Passive Force Control

Robot force control implemented by means of passive mechanical devices has inherent advantages over active implementations with regard to stability, response rapidity, and physical robustness. The class of devices considered in this paper consists of a Stewart platform-type mechanism interconnected with a network of adjustable mechanical elements such as springs and dampers. The control law repertoire of such a device, imagined as a robot wrist, is given by the range of admittance matrices that it may be programmed to possess. This paper focuses on wrists incorporating damper networks for which the admittance matrices reduce to accommodation or inverse-damping matrices.We show that a hydraulic network of fully adjustable damper elements may attain any diagonally dominant accommodation matrix. We describe the technique of selecting the individual damping coefficients to design a desired matrix. We identify the set of dominant matrices as a polyhedral convex cone in the space of matrix entries, and show tha...
Expanded analysis of injury mortality among unionized construction workers

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the utility of expanding the number and precision of injury categories used in previous occupational mortality studies, this study reanalyzed data from four previous studies of unionized construction workers (construction laborers, ironworkers, sheet metal workers, and operating engineers), by expanding the number of injury categories from 6 to 33. METHODS: Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) were computed using the distribution of deaths from the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance System, a mortality surveillance system from 28 states, as a comparison. A blue collar comparison group was also used in additional analyses to adjust for socioeconomic and other factors. RESULTS: This reanalysis identified significantly elevated PMRs in at least one of the four worker groups for falls, motor vehicle crashes, machinery incidents, electrocutions, being struck by falling objects, being struck by flying objects, explosions, suffocation, and water transport incidents. Limiting the comparison population to deaths among blue collar workers did not change the results substantially. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that increasing the precision of categories of death from injury routinely used in mortality studies will provide improved information to guide prevention. Language: en
The complete gas—liquid chromatographic separation of the twenty protien amino acids

The complete gas—liquid chromatographic separation of the twenty protein amino acids is presented. In our previous publications, we reported on in effective chromatographic separation of seventeen N-trifluoroacetyl n-butyl esters of the amino acids on a packing composed of stabilized grade EGA and acid-washed Chromosorb W (heated at 140° for 12 h). A new column packing has been found to replace the OV-17; it is composed of a mixed phase of OV-17 and OV-210. This is a superior packing and shows quantitative elution, and highly efficient and complete separation of histidine, internal standard tranexamic acid, lysine, arginine, tryptophan, n-butyl stearate (I.S.), and cystine. No longer is it necessary to make a separate “subtraction-calculation” for histidine. With these two packings, EGA and mixed siloxane phases, one can now simultaneously analyze and separate the 20 protein amino acids in 30 min or less with automatic electronic integration of all peaks. A second internal standard (tranexamic acid) is introduced which contains both -NH2 and -COOH functional groups. It can be used to follow the performance of ion-exchange cleanup, thereby increasing the reliability of analysis of complex biological materials. The use of two columns for separation of the twenty amino acids has important advantages over a single column system with respect to resolution, cross confirmation, and identification of the eluted compounds.
SELF-ASSEMBLED NANOPARTICLE PROBES FOR RECOGNITION AND DETECTION OF BIOMOLECULES

Colloidal gold nanocrystals have been used to develop a new class of nanobiosensors that is able to recognize and detect specific DNA sequences and single-base mutations in a homogeneous format. At the core of this biosensor is a 2.5-nm gold nanoparticle that functions as both a nano-scaffold and a nano-quencher (efficient energy acceptor). Attached to this core are oligonucleotide molecules labeled with a thiol group at one end and a fluorophore at the other. This hybrid bio/inorganic construct is found to spontaneously assemble into a constrained arch-like conformation on the particle surface. Binding of target molecules results in a conformational change, which restores the fluorescence of the quenched fluorophore. Unlike conventional molecular beacons with a stem-and-loop structure, the nanoparticle probes do not require a stem, and their background fluorescence increases little with temperature. In comparison with the organic quencher Dabcyl (4,4'-dimethylaminophenyl azo benzoic acid), metal nanoparticles have unique structural and optical properties for new applications in biosensing and molecular engineering.
Circus reexcitation as a cause of repetitive activity in crayfish lateral giant axons.

Unpolarized electrotonic connections between the two lateral giant axons of crayfish nerve cord have been demonstrated. Presumably they are also the sites of the tightly coupled unpolarized ephaptic junctions by which activity from one axon may be transmitted to the other. Commissures between the segmental branches of the two axons are probably the sites of the junctions. If septal transmission is blocked in one axon, the inactive segment can be excited by the activity of the other axon. The segmentally arrayed ladder of ephaptic junctions forms a series of delay lines and circus activity can occur in the loops between the two axons. Two segments form a loop with a delay line of 4 msec. The frequency of repetition is about 250/second. Each additional segment introduces another delay of about 4 msec. For a three-segment loop the repetition rate is about 125/second. The delays at ephaptic junctions between neurons in vertebrate nervous systems are probably too brief to cause repetitive activity.
Deletions of Tn916-like transposons are implicated in tetM-mediated resistance in pathogenic Neisseria.

Summary Using the tetM-containing conjugative transposon Tn916 as a mutagenesis tool, we identified two distinct classes of transposon insertions in the meningococcal chromosome. Class I Insertions have an intact copy of Tn916 that appears to have transposed by a novel recombinational mechanism, similar to the transposition of conjugative transposons in Gram-positive bacteria. Class II insertions were characterized by deletions of Tn916 but preservation of the tetM determinant. In addition, we identified Class II Tn916-like insertions in the naturally occurring 25.2 MDa tetM-containing plasmids of both Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The truncated Tn916 like insertions appeared to be present in the same site in these two plasmids; however, the deletions of the transposon were different. Plasmid sequence adjacent to the truncated transposon in the 25.2 MDa plasmids was found in a tetracycline-sensitive N. gonorrhoeae 24.5 MDa conjugative plasmid. These data suggest that the 25.2 MDa plasmids are the result of one or a series of Class II Tn916-like insertions into 24.5 MDa conjugative plasmids. Class II insertions of Tn916-like transposons are implicated in the dissemination of tetM resistance in pathogenic Neisseria.
LUCIFERASES FROM DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FIREFLIES ARE ANTIGENICALLY SIMILAR

Abstract— Antibodies raised against luciferase purified from adult Photinus pyralis are shown to bind to luciferases from several species of the families Lampyridae and Elateridae. Based on their migration in denaturing gels, the enzymes from Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus are smaller and Photuris species larval enzyme is larger than the P. pvralis enzvme. All of the enzvmes examined are antieenicallv similar.
Upward-facing lithium flash evaporator for NSTX-U

NSTX plasma performance has been significantly enhanced by lithium conditioning [1]. To date, the lower divertor and passive plates have been conditioned by downward facing lithium evaporators (LITER) as appropriate for lower null plasmas. The higher power operation expected from NSTX-U requires double null plasma operation in order to distribute the heat flux between the upper and lower divertors making it desirable to coat the upper divertor region with Li as well. An upward aiming LITER (U-LITER) is presently under development and will be inserted into NSTX-U using a horizontal probe drive located in a 6 upper midplane port. In the retracted position the evaporator will be loaded with up to 300 mg of Li granules utilizing one of the calibrated NSTX Li powder droppers[2]. The evaporator will then be inserted into the vessel in a location within the shadow of the RF limiters and will remain in the vessel during the discharge. About 10 seconds before a discharge, it will be rapidly heated and the lithium completely evaporated onto the upper divertor, thus avoiding the complication of a shutter that prevents evaporation during the shot when the diagnostic shutters are open. The minimal time interval between the evaporation and the start of the discharge will avoid the passivation of the lithium by residual gases and enable the study of the conditioning effects of un-passivated Li surfaces [3]. Two methods are being investigated to accomplish the rapid (few second) heating of the lithium. A resistive method relies on passing a large current through a Li filled crucible. A second method requires using a 3 kW e-beam gun to heat the Li. In this paper the evaporator systems will be described and the pros and cons of each heating method will be discussed.
Dialysis of Schizophrenics Weird and Novel Applications of Dialysis, Hemofiltration, Hemoperfusion and Peritoneal Dialysis: Witchcraft?

Dialysis resulted in a remarkable cure of 17 out of 24 patients treated in Gainesville, Florida and Louisville, Kentucky. The diagnosis of these patients was schizophrenia. However, the diagnosis of schizophrenia is often controversial. It is also very difficult to eliminate the placebo effect. Leucine5-endorphin was found in the dialyzing fluid of ten of these patients. Its concentration was Reported to be parallel to the clinical improvement. The finding of leucine5-endorphin has, as yet, not been confirmed in other laboratories. Cats injected with concentrate of the dialysate into the ventricles of their brains exhibited symptoms reminiscent of schizophrenia. Cats injected with a synthetic preparation of leucine5-endorphin exhibited the same symptoms. As yet, these experiments have not been repeated in other laboratories. If, indeed, leucine5-endorphin or a similar substance is removed with dialysis, then it can be calculated that ultrafiltration would be more effective than dialysis and peritoneal lavage might be quite effective for its removal. The double blind studies which have been started will be fraught with difficulties and will be very time consuming. On the other hand, verification of the finding of endorphin or another substance would be relatively quick since a large number of patients could be given one diagnostic ultrafiltration each. The ultrafiltrate might be tested chemically and biologically. If, indeed, a substance were found but not in normal people, then the presence of such a substance might, in turn, help to establish the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Bremsstrahlung in heavy ion collisions

Abstract We calculate photon emission spectra from nuclear matter in the incoherent limit and combine them with a simplified fireball model to predict photon production cross sections in heavy ion collisions. The spectra differ from previous estimates based on a classical soft-photon approximation and lead to good agreement with experiment.
Application of Numerical Methods to the Theory of the Periodic Deviations in the Schottky Effect

Results are reported here for a new theoretical calculation of the periodic deviations from the Schottky line. Numerical methods exclusively were used to solve the Schr\"odinger equation for the emitted electron, to obtain transmission coefficients, and to calculate emitted current by averaging transmission coefficient over an appropriate electron energy distribution. The numerical calculations were carried out both for a simple-image-force potential barrier and for a similar potential differing only in having a small dip at the metal surface. Results for the simple-image-force potential were in complete agreement with previous analytic results, yielding Schottky deviations of approximately the right period and amplitude but shifted in phase by about a quarter-period from experimentally determined deviations. In disagreement with an earlier analytic-numerical study, results for the slightly altered potential were nearly identical to the simple-image-force results and showed the same phase shift.
Workplace of the Future

IT IS IMPORTANT to talk about the future, especially in an area of human activity, where changes are occurring at such a rapid rate as is the case of the workplace. Someone once said, "if you do not know where you are going-any road or path will get you there." Unfortunately, the inverse is sometimes also true: "if you know where you are going-no road will lead you there." I do not think that is the case with the problem at hand.
The fate of ultrafast degrading polymeric implants in the brain

We have recently reported on an ultrafast degrading tyrosine-derived terpolymer that degrades and resorbs within hours, and is suitable for use in cortical neural prosthetic applications. Here we further characterize this polymer, and describe a new tyrosine-derived fast degrading terpolymer in which the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is replaced by poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC). This PTMC containing terpolymer showed similar degradation characteristics but its resorption was negligible in the same period. Thus, changes in the polymer chemistry allowed for the development of two ultrafast degrading polymers with distinct difference in resorption properties. The in vivo tissue response to both polymers used as intraparenchymal cortical devices was compared to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Slow resorbing, indwelling implant resulted in continuous glial activation and loss of neural tissue. In contrast, the fast degrading tyrosine-derived terpolymer that is also fast resorbing, significantly reduced both the glial response in the implantation site and the neuronal exclusion zone. Such polymers allow for brain tissue recovery, thus render them suitable for neural interfacing applications.
Femininities, Masculinities, Sexualities: Freud and Beyond

Nancy Chodorow takes her fellow psychoanalysts to task for their accounts of deviant gender and sexuality. In this her treatment of sexuality and love, she asks the question: is psychoanalysis capable of addressing questions of multiplicity and variability in gender development and gender diversity?
Regulation of IgE synthesis in humans: A tale of two signals

It is an unambiguous sign of vitality for a field when reviews become rapidly obsolete. After a decade of relatively slow progress, this is happening in the field of IgE regulation. After years of cell and cytokine cocktails, molecular biology is now providing an insight into the IgE system at a deeper, more meaningful level. The study of IgE regulation becomes important now not only because of the role of IgE in allergic disease but also, more generally, as a model to study the signals involved in isotype-specific regulation of immunoglobulin synthesis. In the past 2 to 3 years, evidence from different laboratories has indicated that induction of IgE synthesis requires two signals: One is delivered by a cytokine, IL-4, and is IgE isotype specific. The other signal is a B cell-activating signal.’ The challenge in IgE studies now is to determine what role the two signals play in the induction of IgE synthesis at the level of gene regulation.
Amorphous molybdenum nitride thin films prepared by reactive sputter deposition

Abstract Amorphous molybdenum nitride thin films were prepared by pulsed direct current (dc) reactive sputter deposition. The effect of the sputtering gas nitrogen content on the structure of as-deposited thin film was investigated. The nitrogen content in the sputtering gas affected the crystallinity of deposited thin films. When the sputtering gas contained from 10 to 30% nitrogen, crystalline γ-Mo 2 N was observed. A decrease in the γ-Mo 2 N peak intensity along with peak shifting and broadening was observed in X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra as the deposition nitrogen content increased. An amorphous molybdenum nitride thin film was obtained as the nitrogen content in the sputtering gas increased to 50%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis (XPS) of the as-deposited thin films showed that the binding energy of Mo 3d 3/2 , Mo 3d 5/2 and Mo 3p 3/2 peaks as well as the amount of nitrogen in thin film increased as the nitrogen content in sputtering gas increased. Thermal treatment of the amorphous thin film showed that the amorphous film had survived 700 °C thermal annealing with no evidence of crystallization and reaction. However, crystallization of amorphous film and reaction of the amorphous thin film with Si substrate were observed after thermal annealing at 800 °C.
Alignment of benzene thin films on self-assembled monolayers by surface templating

Abstract A key question in the epitaxial growth of materials is whether vapor-deposited molecules acquire an ordered structure that depends on the structure and chemical composition of the underlying substrate. In this paper we examine this question for metallic and chemically-tailored self-assembled monolayer (SAM) substrates, and show that proper selection of the templating substrate can lead to the deposition of nearly 100 layer thick molecular films that retain the alignment of the initial interface. In particular, we have examined benzene growth on gold, alkanethiol and phenoxy-terminated SAMs using a combination of in situ infrared spectroscopy and molecular beam techniques. When benzene molecules stick to a clean metal surface, the molecules in the first layer lie flat. However, after the deposition of a few layers, growth occurs as three-dimensional crystallites, resulting in randomly aligned polycrystalline domains. We found that there need not be an orientational transformation from the thin to thick structure for vapor-deposited molecules. Here, we vapor deposited benzene on phenoxy-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), and grew thick films of aligned benzene molecules. The alignment of the first layer of benzene molecules on the SAM was retained for more than 80 layers. In contrast, when methyl-terminated SAMs were used as a substrate, the thick film structure was indistinguishable from those with Au substrates.
After Depletion: The Replenishment of the Self's Regulatory Resources

Two experiments investigated how people replenish the self's limited regulatory resource after it is depleted by self-control exertion. Specifically, in Experiment 1, when depleted participants received a 10-minute period between regulatory tasks, their subsequent performance equaled non-depleted participants. In Experiment 2, inducing participants to relax between self-regulation tasks reduced the typical depletion effects. Thus, these findings suggest that replenishment of the self's depleted resources occurs given the occurrence of favorable conditions.
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced HL-60 macrophages: regulation of cholesterol and LDL metabolism

Abstract Differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemic HL-60 cells with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (D 3 ) results in macrophages which exhibit specific and saturable receptor-mediated processing of both native and modified low density lipoprotein (LDL). Analysis of binding kinetics demonstrated that macrophages bind LDL and acetyl-LDL with similar affinities, yet possess significantly different numbers of receptors (55 ± 6 × 10 3 LDL receptors/cell vs. 79 ± 7 × 10 3 acetyl-LDL receptors/cell). D 3 -induced HL-60 macrophages challenged with LDL or acetyl-LDL exhibited suppression of HMG-CoA reductase activity as well as a significant induction in the incorporation of [ 14 C]oleate into cholesteryl ester compared with macrophages incubated with lipoprotein depleted serum. Maximum increases in ACAT activity were obtained in macrophages incubated with 25-hydroxycholesterol plus LDL or acetyl-LDL. The increase in ACAT activity in macrophages challenged with acetyl-LDL paralleled the increase in cellular cholesterol content and the increase of oil red O lipid stainable material, imparting the macrophages with a foamy appearance. The data indicate that D 3 -induced HL-60 macrophages are a useful model for the study of lipoprotein -macrophage interactions as related to foam cell development and atherogenesis.
Validation of a polygenic risk score for dementia in black and white individuals

Objective To determine whether a polygenic risk score for Alzheimer's disease (AD) predicts dementia probability and memory functioning in non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) participants from a sample not used in previous genome-wide association studies. Methods Non-Hispanic white and NHB Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants provided genetic information and either a composite memory score (n = 10,401) or a dementia probability score (n = 7690). Dementia probability score was estimated for participants' age 65+ from 2006 to 2010, while memory score was available for participants age 50+. We calculated AD genetic risk scores (AD-GRS) based on 10 polymorphisms confirmed to predict AD, weighting alleles by beta coefficients reported in AlzGene meta-analyses. We used pooled logistic regression to estimate the association of the AD-GRS with dementia probability and generalized linear models to estimate its effect on memory score. Results Each 0.10 unit change in the AD-GRS was associated with larger relative effects on dementia among NHW aged 65+ (OR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.79, 2.74; P < 0.001) than NHB (OR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.77; P = 0.047), although additive effect estimates were similar. Each 0.10 unit change in the AD-GRS was associated with a −0.07 (95% CI: −0.09, −0.05; P < 0.001) SD difference in memory score among NHW aged 50+, but no significant differences among NHB (β = −0.01; 95% CI: −0.04, 0.01; P = 0.546). [Correction added on 29 July 2014, after first online publication: confidence intervals have been amended.] The estimated effect of the GRS was significantly smaller among NHB than NHW (P < 0.05) for both outcomes. Conclusion This analysis provides evidence for differential relative effects of the GRS on dementia probability and memory score among NHW and NHB in a new, national data set.
Preferential parental investment in daughters over sons

Female-biased parental investment is unusual but not unknown in human societies. Relevant explanatory models include Fisher's principle, the Trivers-Willard model, local mate and resource competition and enhancement, and economic rational actor models. Possible evidence of female-biased parental investment includes sex ratios, mortality rates, parents' stated preferences for offspring of one sex, and direct and indirect measurements of actual parental behavior. Possible examples of female-biased parental investment include the Mukogodo of Kenya, the Ifalukese of Micronesia, the Cheyenne of North America, the Herero of southern Africa, the Kanjar of south Asia, the Mundugumor of New Guinea, contemporary North America, and historical Germany, Portugal, and the United States.
P03.17. A fellowship program for CAM providers in evidence informed geriatrics

Purpose Elderly residents in long term care (LTC) settings experience a myriad of health complaints that may be amenable to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. However, specialized training addressing the unique features of geriatric health care, particularly in LTC settings, will be required if CAM professionals are to play a meaningful role. The purpose of this presentation is to describe an evidence informed geriatric fellowship program at a CAM institution which educates acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy practitioners.
Conversion of spironolactone to 7α-thiomethylspironolactone by hepatic and renal microsomes

Recent observations indicate that 7 alpha-thiomethylspironolactone is an important circulating metabolite of the mineralocorticoid antagonist spironolactone (SL). Studies were carried out to determine possible sites and pathways of 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL formation and, in particular, to evaluate SL metabolism by guinea pig hepatic and renal microsomal preparations. In the absence of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), liver and kidney microsomes rapidly converted SL to 7 alpha-thio-SL as the only metabolite. The rate of 7 alpha-thio-SL production was greater in liver than kidney. In the presence of SAM, 7 alpha-thio-SL was further converted to 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL by liver and kidney microsomes. The rates of methylation with 7 alpha-thio-SL as substrate were three to four times greater for liver than for kidney, but the Km values were similar (approximately 30 microM) in the two issues. Maximal enzyme activity was obtained with SAM concentrations of 25-200 microM. NADPH had no effect on SL or 7 alpha-thio-SL metabolism by liver or kidney microsomes. To determine if a pathway involving the C-S lyase enzyme might contribute to circulating 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL levels in vivo, guinea pigs were treated with SL or its dethioacetylated derivative, canrenone, and plasma metabolites were analyzed by HPLC. Both 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL and canrenone were found to be circulating metabolites in SL-treated animals, but only canrenone was identified in the plasma of canrenone-treated guinea pigs. The results indicate that the liver and kidney are potential sites of 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL production and that its formation probably does not involve the C-S lyase pathway.
Smooth Muscle Myosin Light Chain Kinase Efficiently Phosphorylates Serine 15 of Cardiac Myosin Regulatory Light Chain

Specific phosphorylation of the human ventricular cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (MYL2) modifies the protein at S15. This modification affects MYL2 secondary structure and modulates the Ca(2+) sensitivity of contraction in cardiac tissue. Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase (smMLCK) is a ubiquitous kinase prevalent in uterus and present in other contracting tissues including cardiac muscle. The recombinant 130 kDa (short) smMLCK phosphorylated S15 in MYL2 in vitro. Specific modification of S15 was verified using the direct detection of the phospho group on S15 with mass spectrometry. SmMLCK also specifically phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain S15 in porcine ventricular myosin and chicken gizzard smooth muscle myosin (S20 in smooth muscle) but failed to phosphorylate the myosin regulatory light chain in rabbit skeletal myosin. Phosphorylation kinetics, measured using a novel fluorescence method eliminating the use of radioactive isotopes, indicates similar Michaelis-Menten V(max) and K(M) for regulatory light chain S15 phosphorylation rates in MYL2, porcine ventricular myosin, and chicken gizzard myosin. These data demonstrate that smMLCK is a specific and efficient kinase for the in vitro phosphorylation of MYL2, cardiac, and smooth muscle myosin. Whether smMLCK plays a role in cardiac muscle regulation or response to a disease causing stimulus is unclear but it should be considered a potentially significant kinase in cardiac tissue on the basis of its specificity, kinetics, and tissue expression.
Reexamining The Delivery System As Part Of Medicare Reform

ABSTRACT: Medicare is more than a payment system. As the nation's largest public payer of health care, Medicare dictates the way health care is delivered to elderly and disabled persons. Health care and health outcomes cannot make substantial improvements until the delivery system is changed. Medicare reform must support a coordinated health care delivery system (in place of hospital-centered, fragmented care) and proactive chronic disease management (in place of episodic, reactive care). Consumers, government, community-based agencies, employers, health plans, and others need to develop a shared understanding of what outcomes we want to obtain, what delivery system reforms are required, and how financing can support those reforms.
Performance pay for teachers: Determinants and consequences

Theory and evidence on performance-related pay for teaching remain inconclusive. Teachers will respond to rewards, but an appropriate reward structure may not be devised because education is a collaborative endeavor. Here we test three hypotheses: performance-related pay among teachers is more likely to be observed when there are evident indicators of team production; teachers receiving performance pay will earn more in total than otherwise equal teachers without performance pay; and teachers receiving performance pay should have higher job satisfaction. We use the Schools and Staffing Survey (2000) to test each hypothesis. Team production does strongly predict performance-related pay, and that such pay does boost earnings, but that job satisfaction is lower for those who receive such pay awards.
Recovery of motile, membrane-intact spermatozoa from canine epididymides stored for 8 days at 4 °C

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how long canine spermatozoa remain motile and with intact membranes when maintained within epididymides stored at 4 °C, and to determine whether such stored spermatozoa are able to bind to canine zonae pellucidae. Testes with attached epididymides, obtained from 32 dogs (26 purebred; six mixed breeds) at orchiectomy, were refrigerated at 4 °C, and spermatozoa were collected from caudae epididymides at nine time intervals ranging from 5 to 192 h. The effects on spermatozoa that had been refrigerated within epididymides for various times were determined by assaying sperm motility, integrity of plasma membranes and of acrosomes, and measuring binding of membrane-intact spermatozoa to canine zonae pellucidae. Membrane integrity was assessed using a double fluorescent dye, and acrosome integrity by staining with Pisum sativum agglutinin. For the zona-binding assay at various refrigeration time points, duplicate sets of six oocytes each, isolated from ovaries retrieved at elective ovariohysterectomy, were placed into 100 μl droplets of sperm capacitation medium containing 5×106 spermatozoa/ml. One minute later, oocytes were rinsed vigorously by pipetting, and then incubated for 1 h at 38.5 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air; the number of membrane-intact spermatozoa bound to zonae were counted. There was no significant decrease in membrane integrity and acrosome integrity of spermatozoa recovered from epididymides stored at 4 °C within the first 48 h of refrigeration. In contrast, sperm motility decreased significantly within the first 5 h of refrigeration (P
Switchless Control Strategies for Minimum Time Frequency Transitions in Phase-Locked Loops

The problem of minimum time frequency transitions in phase-locked loops with both phase and frequency controls applied is investigated using Pontryagin's maximum principle. Typically, a type II secondorder loop with a damping ratio of 0.707 subjected to a step change in the frequency of its input signal is considered and switchless control strategies that force the transients in the loop to settle down in minimum time are obtained.
Lipid and electroosmosis enhanced transdermal delivery of insulin by electroporation

ABSTRACT Transdermal transport of insulin and extraction of interstitial glucose under anodal iontophoresis (electroosmosis) following electroporation in the presence of 1,2-dimyristoylphophatidylserine (DMPS) was studied. An earlier study showed that DMPS increased the transport of insulin across porcine epidermis under electroporation by ~fourfold. It was suggested that DMPS increased the lifetime of electropores in the epidermis resulting in an enhanced transport of permeants. When electroosmosis was applied across the epidermis following electroporation with DMPS, the enhancement of insulin transport was ~18-fold over electroporation alone. When the same strategy was applied to extract interstitial glucose, the enhancement was ~23-fold over electroporation alone. Real-time transdermal insulin transport kinetics was measured using FITC-labeled insulin and a custom-made vertical diffusion apparatus that had a fluorescence cuvette as the receiver compartment. Insulin transport by electroporation alone showed a nonlinear kinetics that is most likely due to the resealing of the electropores with time. The transport kinetics when electroporation was carried out in the presence of DMPS was more linear, confirming earlier studies that suggested the DMPS stabilizes transport paths formed by electroporation. The data suggests that in vivo , noninvasive insulin delivery to therapeutic levels and glucose extraction may be achieved by combining electroporation with anionic lipids and electroosmosis.
Emily Dickinson's Petticoats, or A Tale of Unlimited Access

wherein can be found, in the form of an allegory, an explanation of the underlying cause of the crisis that now threatens the noble estate that is the Library There is no frigate like a book To tak...
Microwave measurements of d - f - g - h intervals and d and f fine structure of sodium Rydberg states

Eighty-one microwave resonances in Na Rydberg states n=21\char21{}35 between d, f, g, and h states have been accurately measured. Among them 43 transitions are first-time measurements, and 38 transitions have been improved, primarily by the elimination of stray electric and magnetic fields, compared with previous measurements. For the d-f transitions, the measured intervals and d-state fine-structure splittings are a factor of 10 more precise; for d-g and d-h series, the measured intervals are a factor of 3 more precise than before. The nf-state fine-structure splittings in Na for n=21\char21{}29 have also been accurately measured, and the conclusion that the Na f-state fine-structure splitting ${\mathit{nf}}_{5/2}$-${\mathit{nf}}_{7/5}$ is about 5% smaller than the hydrogen f-state fine-structure interval is confirmed through n=29.
Opioid use in the treatment of chronic pain: Assessment of addiction

Addiction medicine specialists, besieged with the adverse consequences of opioids, not unreasonably develop reservations about their use. Opioid prohibition may be appropriate when working with addicts, but drug abstinence is not always the most appropriate nor optimal treatment of pain patients. Consultation concerning the management of chronic pain patients may require an attitude adjustment of challenging proportions for the addiction medicine specialist; it is a role substantially different from that usually assumed in treating alcohol- and drug-dependent patients. Rather than relentlessly pursuing psychotropic drug abstinence as the treatment goal, restoration of function should be the primary treatment goal for the chronic pain patient. Unlike the chemically dependent patient whose level of function is impaired by substance use, the chronic pain patient's level of function may improve with adequate, judicious use of medications, which may include opioids. Evaluating for addiction in a patient who is prescribed long-term opioids for pain control is often problematic. While the concept of addiction may include the symptoms of physical dependence and tolerance, physical dependence and/or tolerance alone does not equate with addiction. In the chronic pain patient taking long-term opioids, physical dependence and tolerance should be expected, but the maladaptive behavior changes associated with addiction are not expected. Thus, it is the presence of these behaviors in the chronic pain patient that is far more important in diagnosing addiction.
The American Society of Regional Anesthesia: A Concise History of the Original Group—Its Birth, Growth, and Eventual Dissolution

The history of the original American Society of the Regional Anesthesia is presented-its birth, growth, and eventual dissolution. Reasons for its dissolution are discussed.
A cryo-crystallographic time course for peroxide reduction by rubrerythrin from Pyrococcus furiosus.

High-resolution crystal structures of Pyrococcus furiosus rubrerythrin (PfRbr) in the resting (all-ferrous) state and at time points following exposure of the crystals to hydrogen peroxide are reported. This approach was possible because of the relativity slow turnover of PfRbr at room temperature. To this end, we were able to perform time-dependent peroxide treatment of the fully reduced enzyme, under strictly anaerobic conditions, in the crystalline state. In this work we demonstrate, for the first time, that turnover of a thermophilic rubrerythrin results in approximately 2-A movement of one iron atom in the diiron site from a histidine to a carboxylate ligand. These results confirm that, despite the domain-swapped architecture, the hyperthermophilic rubrerythrins also utilize the classic combination of iron sites together with redox-dependent iron toggling to selectively reduce hydrogen peroxide over dioxygen. In addition, we have identified previously unobserved intermediates in the reaction cycle and observed structural changes that may explain the enzyme precipitation observed for the all-iron form of PfRbr upon oxidation to the all-ferric state.