cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Drug interactions and multiple drug administration

Effects of multiple drug administration on adverse drug reactions were studied in 10,518 patients hospitalized on a general medical service during a five-year period. Nine index drug groups, including analgesic, antacid, antiarrhythmic, antimicrobic, anticoagulant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and sedative-tranquilizer drugs, were selected for study. The average number of adverse drug reactions for the anticoagulant and antihypertensive drug groups was higher (p less than 0.05) than for all other drug groups when classified by the number of drugs being taken concurrently (i.e., 0 to 5, 6 to 10, etc.). The rate of reaction for anticoagulant and antihypertensive drug groups was higher (p less than 0.001) than the rate for other drug groups studied. These data suggest a higher risk of adverse drug reactions for patients receiving multiple drugs. The increased risk may result from drug interactions.
Multicultural Feminism: Cultural Concerns

‘Multicultural feminism’ refers to a literature and practice of feminism, developed primarily by Third World women, that parallels but also questions liberal feminism, which is largely a product of the West. Like liberal feminism, multicultural feminism seeks the betterment of the lives of women; unlike the former, it does not see that the path to it is the same for all women, or that it rests on a strict equality of role or function with men, or that it hinges primarily on the advancement of individual human rights. Instead, multicultural feminism emphasizes empowerment for women within the context of their particular societies and cultures, which are seen as complex and multivalent, and therefore capable of evolution. Contextual dimensions that multicultural feminism emphasizes include histories of external as well as internal domination and subordination, cultural legacies of empowerment alongside those of disempowerment, specific effects of the present global economy on differently situated women. At the same time, multicultural feminism rejects nationalistic narratives that elevate or falsify tradition to suppress the real needs of women.
Three-dimensional Ultrasound Doppler Simulation for Vascular Bifurcation Model

The three-dimensional ultrasound Doppler analysis of the blood flow in a bifurcated blood vessel was simulated using MATLAB™. Blood cells are treated as point scatterers randomly distributed in the blood vessel. The blood vessel model is divided into three regions, including the main branch and two subbranches of bifurcation. The velocity and next position of a scatterer (or blood cell) are determined by the laminar flow. The blood flow is simulated by displacing the scatterers between pulse emissions. The axial velocity is estimated using the autocorrelation method on the radio frequency (RF) data simulated by Field II software. A 3D Doppler analysis with angles of rotation of the transducer can accurately rebuild the blood flow direction and the lateral velocity component in each region. This simulation package provides a platform to evaluate the performance of 3-D Doppler imaging methods before the clinical application.
Concurrent Social Communication Predictors of Expressive Language in Minimally Verbal Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Numerous studies have investigated the predictors of language in pre-verbal toddlers and verbally fluent children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study investigated the concurrent relations among expressive language and a set of empirically-selected social communication variables—joint attention, imitation, and play—in a unique sample of 37 minimally verbal (MV) children and adolescents with ASD. Results revealed that imitation and play were significantly correlated with expressive language, even when controlling for non-verbal IQ, but joint attention was not. Imitation was the only predictor variable to reach significance within the regression model. Findings demonstrate that predictors of expressive language vary for subpopulations of the autism spectrum, and have broader implications for intervention design for older, MV individuals with ASD.
Surgical explantation of transcatheter aortic bioprostheses: Results and clinical implications

Abstract Objective Despite the rapid adoption of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and worldwide interest in its implantation, TAVR valve explantation has not been well described. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 1442 consecutive patients who underwent a TAVR procedure between 2011 and 2019, in which TAVR explantation was performed in 15 patients (1.0%). In addition, 2 patients from outside institutions also underwent TAVR explantation at our institution. We reviewed the clinical details of these 17 patients. Results The frequency of TAVR explant increased over time from 0 to 1 during the period from 2011 to 2015 to 6 in 2019. The mean age was 73.0 ± 9.3 years. The majority of patients (88.2%) were in New York Heart Association functional class IV heart failure. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality score was significantly higher at the time of explantation than at the time of the original TAVR (3.5% vs 9.9%; P Conclusions Surgical TAVR valve explant is increasing and may become common in the near future. The clinical effects of explanting chronically implanted valves with the potential need for aortic repair is not negligible. These data should be used to more appropriately select TAVR candidates as TAVR practices expand into younger and lower risk patients.
ImmunoPET-informed sequence for focused ultrasound-targeted mCD47 blockade controls glioma

Abstract Phagocytic immunotherapies such as CD47 blockade have emerged as promising strategies for glioblastoma (GB) therapy, but the blood brain/tumor barriers (BBB/BTB) pose a persistent challenge for mCD47 delivery that can be overcome by focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated BBB/BTB disruption. We here leverage immuno-PET imaging to determine how timing of [89Zr]-mCD47 injection relative to FUS impacts antibody penetrance into orthotopic murine gliomas. We then design and implement a rational paradigm for combining FUS and mCD47 for glioma therapy. We demonstrate that timing of antibody injection relative to FUS BBB/BTB disruption is a critical determinant of mCD47 access, with post-FUS injection conferring superlative antibody delivery to gliomas. We also show that mCD47 delivery across the BBB/BTB with repeat sessions of FUS can significantly constrain tumor outgrowth and extend survival in glioma-bearing mice. This study generates provocative insights for ongoing pre-clinical and clinical evaluations of FUS-mediated antibody delivery to brain tumors. Moreover, our results confirm that mCD47 delivery with FUS is a promising therapeutic strategy for GB therapy.
Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond: Kirill Dmitriev, Julia Hauser and Bilal Orfali, (eds.), 2019, [Islamic History and Civilisation, volume163], Leiden-Boston: Brill, IX + 362 pp., €25.00/US$30.00 (paperback), ISBN 9789004413023

A happy event in cultural studies in recent years has been the attention paid to food and foodways, from a variety of angles. Once dismissed wrongly as a trivial or “feminine” (in the pejorative se...
QTNet: Predicting Drug-Induced QT prolongation with Deep Neural Networks

BackgroundDrug-induced QTc prolongation (diQTP) is frequent and associated with a risk of sudden cardiac death. Identifying patients at risk of diQTP can enhance monitoring and treatment plans. ObjectiveTo develop a machine learning architecture for prediction of extreme diQTP (QTc >500ms OR {Delta}QTc >60ms) at the onset of treatment with a QTc prolonging drug. MethodsWe included 4,628 adult patients who received a baseline ECG within 6 months prior to treatment onset with a QTc prolonging drug and a follow-up ECG after the fifth dose. We collected known clinical QTc prolongation risk factors (CF). We developed a novel neural network architecture (QTNet) to predict diQTP from both the CF and baseline ECG data (ECGD), composed of both the ECG waveform and measurements (i.e. QTc),by fusing a state-of-the-art convolution neural network to process raw ECG waveforms with the CF using amulti-layer perceptron. We fit a logistic regression model using the CF, replicating RISQ-PATH as Baseline. We further compared the performance of QTNet (CF+ECGD) to neural network models trained using three variable subsets: a) baseline QTc (QTC-NN), b) CF-NN, and c) ECGD-NN. ResultsdiQTP was present in 1030 patients (22.3%), of which baseline QTc was normal (QTc View larger version (28K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f07e1forg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e8330aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6ee76dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11bc313_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure.C_FLOATNO Performance of QTNet predicting diQTP. Compared models include the Baseline CF logistic regression model (Baseline), Reference QTc (QTC), NN trained on clinical features (CF-NN) and NN trained on ECG data (ECGD-NN). diQTP, drug induced QT prolongation; CF, clinical risk factors; NN, neural network. C_FIG ConclusionWe developed QTNet, the first deep learning model for predicting extreme diQTP, outperforming models trained on known clinical risk factors.
Gigantic retroperitoneal metastatic seminoma encasing the aorta in a young man.

A 30-year-old man with no significant medical history presented with worsening of lower abdominal discomfort and a weight loss of 70 pounds during the past 6 months. Physical examination was significant for a large, firm, non-tender, irregular mass in the lower abdomen, more prominent on the left
Fatherhood and Reproductive Health in the Antenatal Period: From Men’s Voices to Clinical Practice

There is very limited literature on the experiences of fathers during Obstetric prenatal care (PNC), especially hearing from fathers’ voices directly. The MGH Fatherhood Project conducted two annual surveys—data combined for analysis—of all fathers who accompanied their partners to prenatal care visits over 2-week periods at a large, tertiary-care urban hospital in Boston, MA. The anonymous, voluntary close-ended survey was offered in multiple languages and self-administered on iPads.
A Geometric Approach to Elasticity, Contact, and Design

Computer graphics and animation applications require mathematical models and simulation codes that capture the qualitative, characteristic behavior of a physical system, even at very coarse discretizations. We describe numerical tools based on ideas from discrete differential geometry (DDG) and discrete geometric mechanics. The development of such numerical tools begins with the formulation of a discrete picture from the ground up, mimicking the axioms, structures, and symmetries of the smooth setting. The result is a discrete (hence immediately computable) model of the system, and in particular one that preserves conservation laws. Over time, we have been learning that this computations can be useful not just in filmmaking, but also in gaining understanding of geometric nonlinearities and basic problems in the sciences.
Bending of Hyperbolic Cooling Towers

A bending analysis of hyperbolic cooling towers is presented. The equilibrium and compatibility conditions are defined in terms of the stress resultants and combined into a set of complex differential equations with variable coefficients. The system is then transformed in such a way that the variable coefficient may be approximated by a constant using order of magnitude arguments. The solution for harmonic n required for the treatment of wind load is considered, and the solutions for dead load and earthquake load can be obtained as special cases by taking \In\N = 0 and \In\N = 1, respectively. Values of the stress resultants due to dead load, earthquake load, and wind load are shown for a typical shell considering boundary conditions which closely approximate those found in actual construction. The effect of the variation of the shell parameters on the stress resultants is shown, and the stresses computed by means of both the membrane and bending theories are discussed from a design standpoint.
Back propagation neural networks: Theory and applications for food science and technology

Abstract Neural networks (NNs), a class of powerful information processing techniques, may be used to characterize complex nonlinear relationships such as those found in food processing operations. A brief overview of the various NNs is presented. In depth discussion of back propagation networks (BPNs), a simple technique with wide range of applicability, follows. The mechanics of constructing and using BPNs including their characteristics, definition, training and testing are covered. The limitations of BPNs and practical guidelines for their implementation are also discussed. Current and potential applications of BPNs in food science and technology are presented with examples in process modeling, optimization and control, food and sensory analysis, and product formulation.
Virtualized Reality: Being Mobile in a Visual Scene

The visual medium evolved from early paintings to the realistic paintings of the classical era to photographs. The medium of moving imagery started with motion pictures. Television and video recording advanced it to show action “live” or capture and playback later. In all of the above media, the view of the scene is determined at the transcription time, independent of the viewer.
Near infrared face recognition using orientation-based face patterns

An orientation-based face recognition method is proposed and applied to near infrared images in this paper. Two algorithms, FPW (face pattern word) and FPB (face pattern byte), are derived from the orientation-based method. The FPW (or FPB) algorithm actually extracts the orientational information using a set of Gabor wavelet transforms, and uses Hamming distance (HD) for face identification. The bit code of orientations are optimized with respect to HD and put into a 32-bit word (FPW) or 8-bit byte (FPB). The performance is evaluated by face recognition rate and compared with three classical algorithms, PCA, LDA and EBGM (elastic bunch graph matching). Our experiments are conducted with a ASUNIR face database that currently consists of near infrared (NIR) images from 79 subjects. The experimental results show that the FPW algorithm achieves 98.43% of recognition rate; while the results of PCA, LDA and EBGM are 74.68%, 94.94% and 96.20%, respectively.
Case Studies in Trajectory Optimization: Trains, Planes, and Other Pastimes

This is the first in a series of papers presenting case studies in modern large-scale constrained optimization, the purpose of which is to illustrate how recent advances in algorithms and modeling languages have made it easy to solve difficult optimization problems using off-the-shelf software. In this first paper, we consider four trajectory optimization problems: (a) how to operate a train efficiently, (b) how to putt a golf ball on an uneven green so that it arrives at the cup with minimal speed, (c) how to fly a hang glider so as to maximize or minimize the range of the glide, and (d) how to design a slide to make a toboggan go from beginning to end as quickly as possible. In addition to the tutorial aspects of this paper, we also present evidence suggesting that the widely used trapezoidal discretization method is inferior in several ways to a certain simpler midpoint discretization method.
Modeling machine availability in enterprise and wide-area distributed computing environments

In this paper, we consider the problem of modeling machine availability in enterprise-area and wide-area distributed computing settings. Using availability data gathered from three different environments, we detail the suitability of four potential statistical distributions for each data set: exponential, Pareto, Weibull, and hyperexponential. In each case, we use software we have developed to determine the necessary parameters automatically from each data collection. To gauge suitability, we present both graphical and statistical evaluations of the accuracy with each distribution fits each data set. For all three data sets, we find that a hyperexponential model fits slightly more accurately than a Weibull, but that both are substantially better choices than either an exponential or Pareto. These results indicate that either a hyperexponential or Weibull model effectively represents machine availability in enterprise and Internet computing environments.
Discovering and Matching Elastic Rules from Sequence Databases

This paper presents techniques for discovering and matching rules with elastic patterns. Elastic patterns are ordered lists of elements that can be stretched along the time axis. Elastic patterns are useful for discovering rules from data sequences with different sampling rates. For fast discovery of rules whose heads (left-hand sides) and bodies (right-hand sides) are elastic patterns, we construct a trimmed suffix tree from succinct forms of data sequences and keep the tree as a compact representation of rules. The trimmed suffix tree is also used as an index structure for finding rules matched to a target head sequence. When matched rules cannot be found, the concept of rule relaxation is introduced. Using a cluster hierarchy and relaxation error as a new distance function, we find the least relaxed rules that provide the most specific information on a target head sequence. Experiments on synthetic data sequences reveal the effectiveness of our proposed approach.
Legal Formalism, Procedural Principles, and Judicial Constraint in American Adjudication

American proponents of legal formalism, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, worry (quite reasonably) that unfettered judicial discretion poses a threat to democratic legitimacy, and they offer formalism—the mechanical implementation of determinate legal rules—as a solution to this threat. I argue here, however, that formalist interpretive techniques are neither sufficient nor necessary to impose meaningful constraint on judges. Both the text and the “original meaning” of legal rules are endemically under-determinate, leaving much room for judicial discretion in the decision of cases. But meaningful judicial constraint can and does flow from other sources in American adjudication. Judges are constrained by the dispute-resolving posture of their task, which requires that they be impartial as between the litigants and responsive to the litigants’ participatory efforts. And they are constrained by the need to be faithful to the substantive principles that justify legal rules, even when those rules themselves are indeterminate. Judicial constraint in the American system thus stems not primarily from formalist interpretative methods, but rather from largely unwritten procedural principles of judicial impartiality, responsiveness, and faithfulness.
TESLA: a transparent, extensible session-layer architecture for end-to-end network services

Session-layer services for enhancing functionality and improving network performance are gaining in importance in the Internet. Examples of such services include connection multiplexing, congestion state sharing, application-level routing, mobility/migration support, and encryption. This paper describes TESLA, a transparent and extensible framework allowing session-layer services to be developed using a high-level flow-based abstraction. TESLA services can be deployed transparently using dynamic library interposition and can be composed by chaining event handlers in a graph structure. We show how TESLA can be used to implement several session-layer services including encryption, SOCKS, application-controlled routing, flow migration, and traffic rate shaping, all with acceptably low performance degradation.
Artifacts of Collaboration at the National Museum of the American Indian

Contemporary museum anthropology is collaborative anthropology. Illustrated through the case study of the National Museum of the American Indian’s process of community curating for its inaugural exhibitions, this account provides a window into the everyday practice of collaborative anthropology in museum practice through ethnographic attention to an exhibition in the making. Artifacts that are not from the collection come to the fore – artifacts of collaboration, like text panels, which signify Native voice. An attention to authorship reveals the process of collaboration between museum curators and Native community members developing the Our Lives gallery, including how exhibition contributors imagined their audiences differently and experienced the challenges and rewards of mediating (self)representations of contemporary Native identity for public consumption.
Prosystemin-antimicrobial-peptide fusion reduces tomato late blight lesion expansion

Antimicrobial peptides offer a new method for controlling pathogens, however, many promising peptides are too small for direct production in plants. A protein delivery system was developed based on a proteolytic mechanism used by Solanaceous plants to produce the very small (18 amino acid) signaling peptide systemin from the polypeptide prosystemin. Fusion of the gene encoding the 23 kDa protein prosystemin with the antimicrobial peptide (pep11) sequence, replacing the systemin sequence, allowed for expression in transgenic tomato plants. Six days after inoculation with the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans, detached leaflets of transgenic tomato (Rutgers) exhibited a reduction in lesion size of at least 50 percent.
Protein nitrogen and DNA accumulation in early chick embryos cultured on several purified yolk proteins1–3

Chick embryos containing 11–13 pairs of somites were cultured on media containing either yolk fractions or purified egg yolk proteins in order to determine their ability to support growth (protein nitrogen and DNA accumulation). The heterogeneous high density fraction which contains lipovitellin, livetin, and phosvitin supported levels of explant growth that were comparable to the high levels obtained on a medium containing fresh yolk plus white. No single purified yolk protein was capable of supporting high levels of explant growth. However, when the yolk lipoprotein, lipovitellin was combined in a single medium with specific components of the livetin fraction, high levels of growth were achieved. Neither phosvitin nor the low density fraction of egg yolk appeared to contribute to embryo growth at the early stage of development studied.
An FHIT tumor suppressor gene

The FRA3B at 3p14.2 is the most common of the constitutive aphidicolin-inducible fragile sites. Using independent approaches, four groups of investigators have cloned and characterized this fragile site. The results of these studies have revealed that the FRA3B differs from other heretofore cloned rare fragile sites. First, instability as manifested by chromosome breakage occurs over a large region of DNA, encompassing at least 500 kb. Second, sequence analysis has not revealed trinucleotide repeat motifs, characteristic of the rare fragile sites. In addition to containing the FRA3B, band 3p14 is also likely to contain a tumor suppressor gene, as evidenced by the presence of deletions, rearrangements, and allele loss in a variety of human tumors, including lung, renal, nasopharyngeal, cervical, and breast carcinomas. The recently cloned FHIT gene in 3p14.2 is a promising candidate tumor suppressor gene, since aberrant FHIT transcripts have been found in a significant proportion of cancer-derived cell lines and primary tumors of the digestive and respiratory tracts. Nonetheless, several lines of evidence garnered over the past year have called into question the role of FHIT as a classical tumor suppressor gene, and raised the question of whether its apparent involvement simply reflects its location within an unstable region of the genome. In the following study, we have summarized the evidence in support of FHIT as a tumor suppressor gene as well as evidence against such a role, and the experimental evidence needed to demonstrate that FHIT functions as a tumor suppressor gene in the pathogenesis of human tumors. The paradigm of FHIT emphasizes that confirming the role of a candidate tumor suppressor gene may prove difficult, particularly for those genes that are located in genetically unstable regions.
A synopsis of the Juncus hesperius group (Juncaceae, Juncotypus) and their hybrids in western North America

A synopsis of North American species in the Juncus hesperius group is presented. Juncus exiguus, J. hesperius, and J. laccatus form a trio of closely related species in the section Juncotypus, restricted to western North America. They are illustrated and mapped based on extensive field and herbarium studies. A key to North American members of Juncus section Juncotypus, north of Mexico, is presented. Putative hybrids in the group are morphologically intermediate and rare in mixed populations. The following putative hybrid combinations are documented: J. exiguus × J. effusus subspecies pacificus from California; J. exiguus × J. laccatus from California; J. hesperius × J. effusus subspecies pacificus from British Columbia, California, and Washington; J. hesperius × J. laccatus from Washington, and J. hesperius × J. patens from California. Three putative hybrids are illustrated.
Modification of macrophage differentiation: Dimethylnitrosamine induced alteration in the responses towards the regulatory signals controlling myelopoiesis

Results from our laboratory have demonstrated that the alteration in cellular immunity (CMI) resulting from exposure to dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in vivo is due to changes in myelopoiesis. Bone marrow stem cells showed no alterations in their capacity to generate CFU-S (pleuripotent stem cells) nor were there any changes in the number of CFU-Mix colonies (IL-3 responsive stem cells) arising from the bone marrow of DMN exposed mice. However, the generation of G/M-CSF and CSF-1 responsive colonies (CFU-G/M and CFU-M) were altered, resulting in an increase in the number of colonies. G/M-CSF colonies generated from the bone marrow stem cells obtained from DMN exposed mice also had increased numbers of cells produced by each colony (total cells/CFU). Indirect immunofluorescence studies demonstrated no changes in the granulocyte/macrophage subsets following G/M-CSF stimulation of bone marrow stem cells obtained from DMN exposed mice. However, there was no change in the total number of cells generated by CSF-1 from the marrows of DMN exposed mice as compared to vehicle treated mice. Marrow cells from DMN exposed mice cultured in vitro with G/M-CSF showed both a shift in their peak proliferative response from 48-72 h to 30-60 h and an increased proliferative response. These same marrow cells showed no shift in their kinetics but a decrease in their proliferative response to CSF-1. Examination of the sera from DMN exposed mice for alterations in the regulatory factors controlling myelopoiesis demonstrated a net decrease of CSF-1 activity but no changes in the concentrations of two inhibitory factors, transferrin and lactoferrin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Interexaminer agreement of histopathologic features in pediatric brain tumors: a biostatistical perspective.

Abstract Pages 108–117 of the current issue of Pediatric and Developmental Pathology contain a landmark interobserver investigation of some of the vagaries and vicissitudes involved in the nosological assessment of 6 histological features of childhood brain tumors. Doctor Gilles and his clinical research colleagues are to be commended for their conceptualization, reliability research design, execution, and interpretation of their findings. The piece is also uncommonly sophisticated concerning matters biostatistical. As such, it stands as a model for future nosological studies in childhood brain pathology, and can be applied more generally as well. The purpose of this Context article is to present some additional conceptual and methodologic issues that are relevant to the future design of histopathological studies in particular and of biobehavioral and biomedical diagnostic studies in general. In order to accomplish this goal, I shall discuss interexaminer reliability issues from the following viewpoints: ...
Variability Among Forecast Models for the Apple Sooty Blotch/Flyspeck Disease Complex

Several disease forecast models have been developed to guide treatment of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) disease complex of apple. Generally, these empirical models are based on the accumulation of hours of leaf wetness (leaf wetness duration [LWD]) from a biofix at or near the phenological growth stage petal fall, when apple flower petals senesce and drop. The models recommend timing of the initial fungicide application targeting SBFS. However, there are significant differences among SBFS forecast models in terms of biofix and the length of LWD thresholds. A comparison of models using a single input data set generated recommendations for the first SBFS fungicide application that differed by up to 5 weeks. In an attempt to improve consistency among models, potential sources for differences were examined. Leaf wetness (LW) is a particularly variable parameter among models, depending on whether on-site or remote weather data were used, the types of sensors and their placement for on-site monitors, and the models used to estimate LW remotely. When SBFS models are applied in the field, recommended treatment thresholds do not always match the method of data acquisition, leading to potential failures. Horticultural factors, such as tree size, canopy density, and cultivar, and orchard site factors such as the distance to potential inoculum sources can impact risk of SBFS and should also be considered in forecast models. The number of fungal species identified as contributors to the SBFS disease complex has expanded tremendously in recent years. A lack of understanding of key epidemiological factors for different fungi in the complex, and which fungi represent the most challenging management problems, are obvious issues in the development of improved SBFS models. If SBFS forecast models are to be adopted, researchers will need to address these issues.
A study of methods for evaluating the success of the transition period in early-lactation dairy cows

Abstract Three transition monitors were developed in this study that serve on 2 levels: the individual cow level and the herd level. On the first level they screen all cows for potential onset of postparturient health disorders and could be used to trigger implementation of more specific diagnostic initiatives. On the second level they can be used within herd to monitor the implementation of transition protocols and evaluate the transition management on the farm, signaling potential problems before clinical disease onset. The performance of 3 transition monitors based on daily milk yield (MY) within the first 7 d in milk was evaluated in 3 herds with differing transition management intensity. The 3 monitors considered were increase in MY (LINE), average MY (MY7), and the difference between MY7 and expected MY (transition success measure, TSM). Transition monitors were evaluated not only as within-herd predictors of individual cow transition problems but also as indicators of herd transition management failures by relating their value with probability of early-lactation health disorders, culling, and treatment cost. Analysis of logistic models, correlations, and sensitivity and specificity estimates identified TSM as the most reliable measure of transition failure on both the individual cow level as well as the farm level across all study herds, with best performance achieved in herds with the most intensive postpartum cow management. As evaluated by logistic regression models, TSM was able to successfully predict the probability of a cow remaining healthy for the first 21 d of lactation (c-statistic between 0.68 and 0.78), and probability of culling by 100 d in milk (c-statistic between 0.73 and 0.86). Total cost of treatment by 21 d in milk also showed the strongest correlation with TSM, with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.2 and 0.4. Statistical-process control cumulative sum charts for TSM designed to monitor postpartum management process in the herd identified transition failure events with at least 90% sensitivity at specificity above 92% within a 14-d window of 7 d before and 7 d after the event.
The effect of supplemental t-butyl radicals on the pyrolysis of tertiarybutylarsine, tertiarybutylphosphine, and ditertiarybutylarsine

Azo-t-butane (ATB), a source of t-butyl radicals, has been used for the first time to study the mechanism for the decomposition of the organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) precursors TBAs (t-C4H9AsH2), DTBAs ((t-C4H9)2AsH) and TBP (t-C4H9PH2) in an inert He ambient. At a precursor to ATB ration of 2, 100% decomposition of TBAs and 45% decomposition of TBP can be induced at approximately 300°C, and at a ratio of 1, 50% decomposition of DTBAs can be induced at the same temperature. These temperatures are far below those at which the precursors normally decompose in the absence of ATB. The results strongly suggest that a t-butyl radical attack reaction occurs in the decomposition. Besides the hydrocarbon reaction products C4H10, C4H8, and C8H18, DTBAs was produced in the TBAs + ATB system, (C4H9)2PH and (C4H9PH)2 were found for the TBP + ATB system, and (C4H9)3As was observed for the DTBAs + ATB system. The study of these reaction products leads to an understanding of the bond strengths in the precursors and the reaction mechanisms during OMVPE growth.
Design of a new small-animal metabolism cage.

Abstract The design and construction of an all-purpose small-animal metabolism cage has been described. This cage has many unique features which have increased the precision and efficiency of metabolic studies in this laboratory.
Design Requirements and Objectives for Commercial Aircraft Propulsion Systems

With the past ten years commercial airlines have begun to move away from their direct dependence on equipment developed by the military. This departure from almost traditional methods of doing business has led to a need for the airlines to define in greater detail the requirements that each new type of equipment must meet for satisfactory airline use. Military equipment in the past served as a technical base line. Today there is no base line equipment and the airlines must shoulder the responsibility for defining the base line requirements. This paper is directed at a few of the important base line requirements for commercial aircraft propulsion systems. In summary, engines must be designed to be installed in aircraft not on a test stand. The design must be directed toward long life, ease of repair, and good long term installed performance. All power plant subsystems must be integrated into the installation, tested early and thoroughly as part of the power plant, and be more reliable and maintainable than current equipment in service.Copyright © 1969 by ASME
Ask the Experts: What is the role of cholesterol in Huntington’s disease?

Aleksey Kazantsev is Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusett General Hospital in Boston, MA, USA, and a Visiting Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and an associate member of the European Huntington’s Disease Network. Over the past 12 years, Professor Kazantsev has devoted his time to discovering effective therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. His most important work in this area has been the discovery and development of small-molecule inhibitors of polyglutamate aggregation, which has now progressed to intensive preclinical development. More recently, his work has led to the identification of a novel molecular drug target, the microtubule deacetylase sirtuin 2 (SIRT2). Under his leadership, collaborative groups have discovered potent selective SIRT2 inhibitors that have been demonstrated to have beneficial effects in both Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Professor Kaza...
Two-dimensional angular momentum in the presence of long-range magnetic flux

It is shown that eigenvalues of two-dimensional angular momentum remain integer valued in the magnetic field of a solenoid, contrary to published assertions that they are modified by the flux. For a vortex, flux does contribute, and the angular momentum can fractionize, as asserted in the literature, provided phases of wave functions are chosen consistently with the solenoid problem. Long-range effects of flux, the distinction between orbital and canonical angular momentum, and interactions with Cooper pairs are essential to this argument.
Rapid Preparation of Fresh Frozen Sections of Barley Roots

IN the course of investigations of the movement of nutrient ions through barley roots, it became necessary to stop the movement instantaneously and study the distribution of the nutrient ions at that time. A technique was devised that involved stopping the reaction at liquid-nitrogen temperature and sectioning the frozen tissue for subsequent radioautography. The purpose of this communication is to report on a method of preparation of fresh frozen sections involving no prior fixation of the tissue.
Evolutionary history and variation in host range of three Stagonosporopsis species causing gummy stem blight of cucurbits

Recently diverged species may form complexes of morphologically similar, yet genetically distinct lineages that occur in overlapping geographic ranges and niches. Using a multilocus sequencing approach we discovered that gummy stem blight of cucurbits is caused by three genetically distinct species: Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum (syn. Didymella bryoniae), Stagonosporopsis citrulli, and Stagonosporopsis caricae, which had previously been considered only a pathogen of papaya. Experiments showed that all three species are pathogenic to cucurbits in the genera Cucurbita, Cucumis, and Citrullus, but only S. caricae is aggressive to papaya. Species tree estimates show that S. citrulli and S. cucurbitacearum are phylogenetically distinct sister species, and that S. caricae is the ancestral lineage. The time estimate for divergence of S. caricae from the ancestor of S. cucurbitacearum and S. citrulli at 72 900 YBP pre-dates domestication of papaya and Cucurbita species in the American tropics. The divergence estimate observed for S. cucurbitacearum and S. citrulli at 10 900 YBP suggests that diversification of Cucurbita species and domestication of gourds and squashes could have driven their divergence. This work highlights the use of molecular systematics and population genetics to elucidate genetic identity among previously unassociated fungi and to understand the patterns of pathogen diversification.
Status honor and the valuing of cultural and material capital

Abstract Status claims are made with statements, behaviors, or symbols that indicate to others one's membership in a particular status group. Having one's status claims accepted by others confers status honor, which is critically important not only for dignity but also for one's life chances. Our main argument is that people's felt need to make status claims increases when their status honor is threatened. We focus on specific non-dominant or relatively-deprived circumstances which entail threats to status honor — minority status, lower income or education, age group, and inconsistency between education and income or education and occupational prestige. We also explore the effects of gender and city size. Data are from the 1993 General Social Survey of American adults. Using theories of Veblen and Bourdieu, we posit that status claims are made using displays of cultural or material capital. We use multinomial logit regression models to predict the likelihood of valuing cultural capital (‘being cultured’), material capital (‘having nice things’), both or neither. Our results support the ‘status threat’ hypothesis. The strongest effect is for minority status. We also find significant effects for age group, education, income, and for education/income and education/prestige status inconsistency.
Body Mass Index and Coronary Artery Disease in African-Americans

There are limited data available concerning the influence of obesity, a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, in relationship to coronary artery disease (CAD). This is of considerable importance to African-Americans since African-Americans have one of the world's highest CAD mortality rates coupled with the fact that obesity is extremely prevalent in this population. The present study assessed the relationship between body mass index and CAD in African-Americans undergoing coronary angiography. Eight hundred sixty-six available cardiac catheterization reports between the years 1983 through 1990 were retrospectively reviewed at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. CAD was prevalent in 59.6% and 41.2%, males and females, respectively. Among the males overweight and obesity were found in 22.4% and 20.9%, respectively, compared to 39.6% and 30.6% for females. An upside-down U-shaped relationship between BMI and CAD was found. The interpretation of this finding is that being overweight is associated with increased risk of CAD compared to the lean and obese.
Combined IR and 31P NMR method for determining fractional composition in binary phospholipid monolayer films. Applications to phosphocholine: Phosphoglycerol mixtures

A method has been developed to determine the exact fractional composition in binary mixtures of phospholipids at the air-water (A/W) interface by ATR-IR spectroscopy in combination with 31 P NMR spectroscopy and Langmuir-Blodgett surface chemistry. The procedure utilizes the wavenumber shift observed upon the synthetic replacement of hydrogen with deuterium in the lipid acyl chains to separate the vibrational bands due to each component in mixtures of deuterated and normally protiated lipids. The C-H and C-D integrated areas obtained from the IR spectra of the binary mixture are correlated with the exact mole fractions as determined using high resolution 31 P NMR spectroscopy. We have used this technique to measure the fractional composition of binary mixtures of phospholipids at the A/W interface containing acyl chain perdeutereated phosphocholine lipids in combination with several protiated phosphoglycerol lipids.
Management of the breast explantation patient: technique and breast reshaping

The number of explantations performed for breast implants since 1992 has increased because of multiple factors, including the Food and Drug Administration's stance on silicone breast implants. Reasons for implant removal can be as subjective as a patient's choice to objective findings of contracture, rupture, and implant life greater than 15 years old. Plastic surgeons not only remove the offending implant, but also recreate the breast in as aesthetically pleasing a way as possible. The purpose of this article is threefold: to enumerate the indications for explantation and capsulectomy; to provide an algorithm for the aesthetic management of breast reshaping if needed after explantation; and to illustrate the technique of explantation and capsulectomy.
Women's biography as a family affair: Lady Louisa Stuart's “biographical anecdotes” of lady Mary Wortley Montagu

(1986). Women's biography as a family affair: Lady Louisa Stuart's “biographical anecdotes” of lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Prose Studies: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 3-21.
Area projections of fisheye photographic lenses

Abstract Fisheye photographic lenses project a hemispherical object region onto a circle on the image plane and thus often are used for measurement of plant leaf cover and shading of plant stands. In general, for these lenses, object regions of equal solid angle do not result in images of equal area. Instead, the area of a projected region varies significantly as a function of the angle between the optical axis of the lens and the center of the object region. This study demonstrates that very small amounts of radial lens distortion produce relatively large changes in projected areas on the image plane and describes the projection of image regions for several commonly available fisheye lenses.
Intrinsically defective skin barrier function in children with atopic dermatitis correlates with disease severity.

Background Recent genetic evidence supports that an underlying defect in skin barrier function contributes to the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). The integrity of the skin barrier can be assessed objectively by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Previous investigations of TEWL as a biomarker of skin barrier function have been limited by small sample size, and studies including African American subjects are lacking. Objective We sought to determine whether children with AD have inherently altered skin barrier function by comparing TEWL as a measure of skin barrier function in African American and white children with AD with that in control subjects without AD. Methods TEWL was measured on nonlesional normal-appearing skin at 4 sites (the volar forearm, dorsal arm, lower leg, and cheek) in (1) children with AD (cases), (2) children with asthma or allergic rhinitis but without AD (allergic control subjects), and (3) nonatopic control subjects. AD severity was assessed by using the objective SCORAD index. Results TEWL was increased in children with AD compared with that seen in both control groups at most of the anatomic sites tested ( P Conclusion Skin barrier function as assessed by TEWL is intrinsically compromised in children with AD but not in children with other allergic conditions. The magnitude of skin barrier dysfunction correlates with AD disease severity.
Sensory direction inhomogeneous binocular visual space

Shifts in subjective sensory direction (local signature) occur in all sense modalities, and the dynamics of these shifts are quite similar. This is also true for visual direction in homogeneous binocular space. Binocular vision may, therefore, be interpreted in accordance with principles of intersensory processing.
Reduction of ferricyanide by thiamine or thiamine pyrophosphate.

Abstract The colorimetric assay for the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1) developed by Itokawa is based on a coupled reduction of ferricyanide and the formation of Prussian blue ( Brian Research 94, 475–484). In this assay system, we found that the coenzyme, thiamine pyrophosphate, itself reduced ferricyanide independent of both the enzyme and the substrate. Similar effect was also observed with thiamine, but not with thiochrome. The reduction of ferricyanide by thiamine or thiamine pyrophosphate was blocked by trichloroacetic acid. Measurement of the activity of purified pyruvate dehydrogenase based on monitoring the reduction of ferricyanide as described by Schwartz et al ( Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 31, 495–500) has been widely used. Our findings clearly disprove the assumption that reduction of ferricyanide is dependent on pyruvate dehydrogenase and invalidate assays for thiamine-dependent dehydrogenases based on the reduction of ferricyanide.
Use of the emergency department for dermatologic care in the United States by ethnic group

AbstractObjectives: The emergency department (ED) is not the ideal setting for dermatologic care, but may be widely used, especially among disadvantaged ethnic minorities. This study was performed to characterize the role of the ED in providing dermatologic care for each racial and ethnic group in the United States. Methods: We analyzed visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1993 to 2010. Settings (office-based, outpatient department or ED), diagnoses and race/ethnicity were assessed to compare usage of the ED across groups. Results: Usage of the ED for dermatologic conditions increased over time (p < 0.0001). EDs were more often used for dermatologic care of black (18.3%) and Hispanic (10.5%) patients than for white patients (5.9%) and were used most in rural or small metropolitan areas. Conclusions: Providing better insurance, more dermatologists in rural areas and better dermatologic training for family physicians may help impro...