cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Midlife Vision Impairment and Cognitive Function in Later Life: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, Michigan Cohort.

BACKGROUND In older adults, vision impairment (VI) is associated with worse cognitive function. However, the relationship between midlife vision and future cognitive function remains unknown. METHODS The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, Michigan site, is a longitudinal cohort of midlife women aged 42-52 years at baseline. Presenting Titmus visual acuity (VA) in the better-seeing eye was assessed at baseline and categorized as no or mild VI (VA ≥20/60), or moderate or worse VI (VA <20/60). Cognitive function was measured 8 times over 15 years using the East Boston Memory Test immediate (EBMTi) and delayed (EBMTd) recall and the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test. Linear mixed models with a random intercept and slope for age were constructed to detect associations between VI at baseline and future repeated measures of cognitive function, adjusting for age, race, education, financial strain, alcohol use, and tobacco use. RESULTS About 394 women aged 42-52 at baseline with a maximum follow-up of 20 years were included in this analysis. After covariate adjustment, moderate or worse VI was associated with lower EMBTi (β = -0.56, p = .012), EBMTd (β = -0.60, p = .009), and DSB (β = -0.84, p = .04). While we detected significant associations between VI and levels of cognitive function scores, rates of cognitive decline as individuals aged did not vary by VI status. CONCLUSION Moderate or worse VI, assessed during midlife, was associated with lower scores on measures of cognitive function over a 15-year period during which women transitioned from midlife to older adulthood.
Evaluating the power and limitations of genome-wide association mapping in C. elegans

A central goal of evolutionary genetics in Caenorhabditis elegans is to understand the genetic basis of traits that contribute to adaptation and fitness. Genome-wide association (GWA) mappings scan the genome for individual genetic variants that are significantly correlated with phenotypic variation in a population, or quantitative trait loci (QTL). GWA mappings are a popular choice for quantitative genetic analyses because the QTL that are discovered segregate in natural populations. Despite numerous successful mapping experiments, the empirical performance of GWA mappings has not, to date, been formally evaluated for this species. We developed an open-source GWA mapping pipeline called NemaScan and used a simulation-based approach to provide benchmarks of mapping performance among wild C. elegans strains. Simulated trait heritability and complexity determined the spectrum of QTL detected by GWA mappings. Power to detect smaller-effect QTL increased with the number of strains sampled from the C. elegans Natural Diversity Resource (CeNDR). Population structure was a major driver of variation in GWA mapping performance, with populations shaped by recent selection exhibiting significantly lower false discovery rates than populations composed of more divergent strains. We also recapitulated previous GWA mappings of experimentally validated quantitative trait variants. Our simulation-based evaluation of GWA performance provides the community with critical context for pursuing quantitative genetic studies using CeNDR to elucidate the genetic basis of complex traits in C. elegans natural populations.
Distribution and Composition of Substrate in the Littoral Zone in Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The composition of sediments varies both horizontally and vertically in a lake. The distribution of sediment types is related not only to basin geomorphology, but also to the effect of turbulent water as it moves substrate particles in the littoral zone. Definite patterns of erosion and deposition in lakes have been described by many limnologists (e.g., Hutchinson, 1957; Spence, 1982; Keddy, 1982, 1983, 1984). Sedimentation and the quality of sediments as a nutrient source affect the ability of macrophytes to colonize and persist in the littoral habitat. The ability to root in a particular area is directly related to the extent which a substrate can anchor the potentially large plants (Spence, 1982). On erosional shores, suspended sediments abrade rooted plants and may cause damage and breakage. On the other hand, the macrophyte community stabilizes bottom sediments and their presence leads to increased water clarity as particulates settle out due to reduced water currents within plant beds. Since the relationship between plants and sediments is well known, our objective was to measure the distribution and composition of the sediments in the littoral zone of the lake. Then we could relate the distribution of substrate to the distribution we had measured for macrophytes in the littoral zone.
“I Want to Go Home”: Homesickness Experiences and Social-Support-Seeking Practices

Almost everyone experiences homesickness at some point in their life, regardless of their age. Given the deleterious outcomes associated with homesickness, this study explores what homesick individuals miss about their homes, what their homes mean to them, and how individuals seek support when they are homesick. Thirty-four in-depth interviews were collected, and results from a content analysis indicate that there are 12 distinct content areas that individuals miss about their homes. Results suggest that activities (100%), family (97%), feelings (100%), and places (97%) are the most salient for homesick individuals. Furthermore, a thematic analysis reveals that “home” is generally synonymous with a comfortable and safe environment. Although the majority of participants reported that they did not seek social support when they were homesick, those who sought support did so both directly and indirectly. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
High Temperature Steam Corrosion of Cladding for Nuclear Applications: Experimental

Stability of cladding materials under off-normal conditions is an important issue for the safe operation of light water nuclear reactors. Metals, ceramics, and metal/ceramic composites are being investigated as substitutes for traditional zirconium-based cladding. To support down-selection of these advanced materials and designs, a test apparatus was constructed to study the onset and evolution of cladding oxidation, and deformation behavior of cladding materials, under loss-of-coolant accident scenarios. Preliminary oxidation tests were conducted in dry oxygen and in saturated steam/air environments at 1000OC. Tube samples of Zr-702, Zr-702 reinforced with 1 ply of a s-SiC CMC overbraid, and sintered a-SiC were tested. Samples were induction heated by coupling to a molybdenum susceptor inside the tubes. The deformation behavior of He-pressurized tubes of Zr-702 and SiC CMC-reinforced Zr-702, heated to rupture, was also examined.
Medical psychiatric grand rounds on an obstetrics-gynecology service : refusing to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy

A 17-year-old single, Hispanic woman with congenital class III heart disease was found to be 15 weeks pregnant at a clinic visit where she presented in mild failure. She discussed her wish to continue with the pregnancy, knowing it might very well kill her, and plans for her infertile sister to raise the child should she die. The patient's initial refusal and subsequent agreement with the doctor's and family's wish that she terminate the pregnancy is reviewed in the context of adolescent pregnancy and the personal meaning to the patient of the pregnancy and the consultant's intervention. The case was discussed at a consultation-liaison case conference.
Antecedents educativo-familiars del comportament pro-social en nens de 13/14 anys

The pro-social behavior or altruism is of increasing interest to researchers in social and developmental psychology as one of the aspects of human behavior that facilitates social harmony in coping with the escalation of violence. An interesting aspect from the point of view of the professional in mental health of education is to know what the prerequisites of pro-social behavior would be and specially the possibility of learning and training such behavior. This paper want to contribute in answering these questions by presenting a fieldwork that tries to verify the possible differences between the behavior and family-educative antecedents of 87 children of high pro-social level and 87 children of low pro-social level. The subjects were extracted from a sample of 519 children aged 13/14 years. The hypotheses arise from the author's former reviews on factors in pro- social behavior. The results allow us to confirm, in general, a set of suggestions for a Pro-social Educative Profile
High sea-floor stress induced by extreme hurricane waves

[1] Strong surface waves and currents generated by major hurricanes can produce extreme forces at the seabed that scour the seafloor and cause massive underwater mudslides. Our understanding of these forces is poor due to lack of concurrent measurements of waves and currents under these storms. Using unique observations collected during the passage of a category-4 hurricane, Ivan, bottom stress due to currents and waves over the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico was examined. During the passage of Ivan, the bottom stress was highly correlated with the wind with a maximum of about 40% of the wind stress. The bottom stress was dominated by the wave-induced stresses, and exceeded critical levels at depths as large as 90 m. Surprisingly, the bottom damaging stress persisted after the passage of Ivan for about a week, and was modulated by near-inertial waves.
A summary of parametrization results of the rational interpolation problem

where D denotes differentiation with respect to o. There is a rich literature on the interpolation problem dating back to JACOBI who studied this problem more than a century ago. The connections of interpolation with system theory have long been recognized. A • small sample of classic investigations stressing these connections is YOULA and SAITO [1967], BELEVITCH [1970], DELSARTE, GENIN, and KAMP [1981] who applied interpolation to network and system synthesis; BAIL and HELTON [1983], who lay the theoretical foundations for the celebrated H'--optimal control system design problem.
Quantum effects in semiclassical treatment of molecular reactions

Abstract By the use of the known Coulomb wavefunctions, “quantal” Coulomb streamlines are defined for the eikonal of the system. Comparisons of such streamlines with the classical Coulomb trajectories are made. Use of such “quantum” Coulomb streamlines is proposed for reaction systems containing the Coulomb interaction U. The derived equations of motion are of particular use for cases where the residual potential V1 (V1 = V − U) has either no classical forbidden region or has relatively small effects on trajectories.
Mixtures of quantile regressions

A semi-parametric mixture of quantile regressions model is proposed to allow regressions of the conditional quantiles, such as the median, on the covariates without any parametric assumption on the error densities. The median as a measure of center is known to be more robust to skewness and outliers than the mean. Modeling the quantiles instead of the mean not only improves the robustness of the model but also reveals a fuller picture of the data by fitting varying quantile functions. The proposed semi-parametric mixture of quantile regressions model is proven to be identifiable under certain weak conditions. A kernel density based EM-type algorithm is developed to estimate the model parameters, while a stochastic version of the EM-type algorithm is constructed for the variance estimation. A couple of simulation studies and several real data applications are conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed model.
Cycle life and utilization studies on cobalt microencapsulated AB5 type metal hydride

Abstract LaNi 4.27 Sn 0.24 alloy was microencapsulated with cobalt by electroless deposition. The coated material has a higher capacity compared to the bare alloy due to the faradaic reaction of cobalt during discharge. This additional capacity has been studied using various material and electrochemical characterization techniques. The capacity due to cobalt varies depending on the amount of active material available for reaction. An increase in utilization is seen with decrease in thickness of the coating. Active surface area and the transport process within the film control the amount of cobalt utilized. Finally, cobalt coated alloys are seen to cycle ten times more than bare LaNi 4.24 Sn 0.27 with constant capacity.
Futility and the Common Cold: How Requests for Antibiotics Can Illuminate Care at the End of Life

The dominant approach to futility in medicine assumes that the probability and utility of medical interventions may be separated to provide a quantitative (probabilistic) definition of futility. This assumption is not only misleading but also responsible for much of the confusion that futility has engendered in medical discussions. The divorce of utility from probability is the opposite of how clinicians reason: an improbable intervention looks different if it is cheap, easy, and without morbidity than if it is technology intensive, expensive, and likely to involve great pain and suffering. Futility is how physicians describe the sense of being compelled to proceed with resource intensive care for marginal benefits. Outside the intensive care unit, physicians weigh and sometimes reject patient requests without the need to invoke futility. By examining the ways that physicians can legitimately evaluate patient requests, we can show that appeals to futility are both unnecessary and counterproductive. In cases where such appeals are unavoidable, the outpatient model suggests a process to adjudicate the competing claims of patient autonomy and physician responsibility.
The general affinity of lac repressor for E. coli DNA: Implications for gene regulation in procaryotes and eucaryotes

Abstract By equilibrium competition experiments, the dissociation constant (K RD ) of lac repressor for E. coli DNA carrying a deletion of the lac operon was measured at a variety of salt concentrations. These data are used in the consideration of several aspects of protein-DNA interaction: •—Quantitative estimates of specificity are made. Specificity changes only slightly with salt concentration. •—We calculate that in vivo, 98% or more of repressor is bound to DNA predominately at sites other than the lac operator. •—Inducers shift repressor from operator to nonoperator DNA, but do not free it from DNA. •—The general affinity of repressor for E. coli DNA is sufficient to support a model where repressor slides along DNA for significant distances. •—The effective dissociation constant of repressor for operator (K eff ) is very sensitive to the total DNA concentration. •—We propose that "junk" DNA in eucaryotes functions to maintain total DNA at an optimum concentration. •—We consider the lac operon in the nucleus of a lymphocyte, point out that severe difficulties would be encountered, and suggest possible solutions.
The presenter first design approach

Presenter First is a design technique that combines the Model-View-Presenter design pattern with the concept of "user stories." We have found that Presenter First helps students decompose their programming projects into manageable tasks.
Engineering and characterization of the long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue LY2189265, an Fc fusion protein.

Background Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are novel agents for type 2 diabetes treatment, offering glucose-dependent insulinotropic effects, reduced glucagonemia and a neutral bodyweight or weight-reducing profile. However, a short half-life (minutes), secondary to rapid inactivation by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) and excretion, limits the therapeutic potential of the native GLP-1 hormone. Recently, the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide injected subcutaneously twice daily established a novel therapy class. Developing long-acting and efficacious GLP-1 analogues represents a pivotal research goal. We developed a GLP-1 immunoglobulin G (IgG4) Fc fusion protein (LY2189265) with extended pharmacokinetics and activity. Methods In vitro and in vivo activity of LY2189265 was characterized in rodent and primate cell systems and animal models. Results LY2189265 retained full receptor activity in vitro and elicited insulinotropic activity in islets similar to native peptide. Half-life in rats and cynomolgus monkeys was 1.5–2 days, and serum immunoreactivity representing active compound persisted > 6 days. In rats, LY2189265 enhanced insulin responses during graded glucose infusion 24 h after one dose. LY2189265 increased glucose tolerance in diabetic mice after one dose and lowered weight and delayed hyperglycaemia when administered twice weekly for 4 weeks. In monkeys, LY2189265 significantly increased glucose-dependent insulin secretion for up to a week after one dose, retained efficacy when administered subchronically (once weekly for 4 weeks) and was well tolerated. Conclusions LY2189265 retains the effects of GLP-1 with increased half-life and efficacy, supporting further evaluation as a once-weekly treatment of type 2 diabetes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Technical Assistance in Community Mental Health: A Model for Social Work Consultants

This article describes a program of technical assistance consultation sponsored jointly by the University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, and the Kansas State Department of Mental Health and Retardation. Using the grounded theory method as developed by Glaser and Strauss, the results of 2 years' experience with this project were studied. This retrospective analysis resulted in the development of a heuristic model of consultation that can be employed by social workers in a variety of settings. Seven factors for success were identified.
The Dynamics of Incrementalism: Subsystems, Politics, and Public Lands

A host of research has been produced in the decade since Baumgartner and Jones’ theory of punctuated equilibrium first drew attention to the dynamics of policy change over time. Much of this research follows a topic across time, highlighting the shift from negative to positive feedback as challengers push an issue from subsystem to institutional level. Far less attention has been paid to the periods between major punctuations, neglecting key questions about whether incremental periods reflect an absence of challengers or the successful defense of established subsystem interests. This research is a comparison of policy change across two segments of environmental policy. The breakup of the timber subsystem was a clear victory for environmentalists, yet these same actors have been largely unsuccessful at dislodging established grazing interests. These findings highlight the strategic value of venue shifting for bypassing entrenched interests and illustrate the potential for successful challenges to occur in judicial venues.
The reaction pathway and rate-limiting step of dehydrogenation of the LiHN2 + LiH mixture

Abstract The reaction pathway and rate-limiting step of dehydrogenation of the LiNH2 + LiH mixture have been investigated. The study reveals that dehydrogenation of the LiNH2 + LiH mixture is diffusion-controlled and the rate-limiting step is NH3 diffusion through the Li2NH product layer outside the LiNH2 shrinking core. This phenomenon is explained based on a model describing the major steps of the dehydriding reaction of the mixture, and related to the evidence obtained from X-ray diffraction and specific surface area measurements of the mixture before and after isothermal hydrogen uptake/release cycles at high homologous temperatures.
Temporal Sequence Learning in Healthy Aging and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background/Study Context: Temporal sequence learning is a critical aspect of episodic memory that may be dependent on the temporal and frontal lobes. Because amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and normal aging may result in changes within the temporal and frontal lobes, the present study investigated temporal sequence learning in patients with aMCI, cognitively normal older adults, and young adults. Methods: On each trial of a temporal sequence task, circles appeared one at a time at the end of each arm of a computerized radial eight-arm maze. Participants were asked to reproduce the temporal sequence by placing numbered circles (1 to 8) on the arms of the eight-arm maze. Participants were presented with the same fixed sequence on each trial until the sequence was replicated without any errors, or until 15 trials were presented. Results: Individuals with aMCI required significantly more trials to learn the temporal sequence compared with older adults (p < .05). Older adults required significantly m...
Natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the leachate plume of a municipal landfill: using alkylbenzenes as process probes.

More than 70 individual VOCs were identified in the leachate plume of a closed municipal landfill. Concentrations were low when compared with data published for other landfills, and total VOCs accounted for less than 0.1 % of the total dissolved organic carbon. The VOC concentrations in the core of the anoxic leachate plume are variable, but in all cases they were found to be near or below detection limits within 200 m of the landfill. In contrast to the VOCs, the distributions of chloride ion, a conservative tracer, and nonvolatile dissolved organic carbon, indicate little dilution over the same distance. Thus, natural attentuation processes are effectively limiting migration of the VOC plume. The distribution of C2–3-benzenes, paired on the basis of their octanol-water partition coefficients and Henry's law constants, were systematically evaluated to assess the relative importance of volatilization, sorption, and biodegradation as attenuation mechanisms. Based on our data, biodegradation appears to be the process primarily responsible for the observed attenuation of VOCs at this site. We believe that the alkylbenzenes are powerful process probes that can and should be exploited in studies of natural attenuation in contaminated ground water systems.
Regulator of G-Protein Signaling-5 Is a Marker of Hepatic Stellate Cells and Expression Mediates Response to Liver Injury

Liver fibrosis is mediated by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which respond to a variety of cytokine and growth factors to moderate the response to injury and create extracellular matrix at the site of injury. G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signaling, via endothelin-1 (ET-1) and angiotensin II (AngII), increases HSC contraction, migration and fibrogenesis. Regulator of G-protein signaling-5 (RGS5), an inhibitor of vasoactive GPCR agonists, functions to control GPCR-mediated contraction and hypertrophy in pericytes and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Therefore we hypothesized that RGS5 controls GPCR signaling in activated HSCs in the context of liver injury. In this study, we localize RGS5 to the HSCs and demonstrate that Rgs5 expression is regulated during carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute and chronic liver injury in Rgs5LacZ/LacZ reporter mice. Furthermore, CCl4 treated RGS5-null mice develop increased hepatocyte damage and fibrosis in response to CCl4 and have increased expression of markers of HSC activation. Knockdown of Rgs5 enhances ET-1-mediated signaling in HSCs in vitro. Taken together, we demonstrate that RGS5 is a critical regulator of GPCR signaling in HSCs and regulates HSC activation and fibrogenesis in liver injury.
An Examination of the Relative Economic Efficiency of Mutual vs. Stock Savings Institutions

This article employs a nonlinear system of Cobb-Douglas profit and input demand equations to analyze price and technical efficiency in a sample of presumably not-for-profit mutual and presumably profit-maximizing stock savings institutions. Theories of property rights and agency are reviewed to provide predictions of price efficiency (i.e., profit maximization and cost minimization behavior), and technical efficiency. The study makes several contributions to the literature. First, it examines the effect of ownership form on both price and technical efficiency. Second, it separately examines the effect of regulatory form on both price and technical efficiency. The model enables us to analyze the separate effects of ownership and regulatory form across a heterogeneous sample of firms. We also analyze the effects of risk in the form of two separate regulatory variables and the effect of market share on economic efficiency.
Response of Strontium Titanate to Ion and Electron Irradiation

Abstract The response of strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) to ion and electron irradiation is studied at room temperature. For an accurate energy to depth conversion and a better determination of ion-induced disorder profile from Rutherford backscattering spectrometry measurement, a detailed iterative procedure is described and applied to ion channeling spectra to determine the dechanneling yield and the disorder profiles for the Sr and Ti sublattices. The result shows a large underestimation in disorder depth, ∼40% at the damage peak, which indicates a large overestimation of the electronic stopping power for 1.0 MeV Au ions in SrTiO 3 predicted by the SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) code. Overestimation of heavy ion stopping power may lead to an overestimation of the critical dose for amorphization. The current study also demonstrates possible ionization effects in SrTiO 3 under ion and electron irradiation. Pre-amorphized SrTiO 3 exhibits strong ionization-induced epitaxial recovery at the amorphous/crystalline interface under electron irradiation.
Wives' Relative Income Production and Household Male Dominance: Examining Violence Among Asian American Enduring Couples*

This study integrates relative resource theory and cultural perspectives on husband-to-wife authority to examine male-to-female physical violence reported by Asian American wives in the National Latino and Asian American Survey. Findings indicated that the association between marital violence and male household dominance is complicated by women's income relative to husbands'. We speculate that when husbands face threats on multiple levels to culturally determined masculine spheres of dominance, they are more likely to aggress against the perceived source of their status decline-thereby reaffirming one mode of dominance (physical). Practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Performance Analysis of Geographic Routing Protocols in Ad Hoc Networks

Geographic routing protocols greatly reduce the requirements of topology storage and provide flexibility in the accommodation of the dynamic behavior of ad hoc networks. This paper presents performance evaluations and comparisons of two geographic routing protocols and the popular AODV protocol. The trade-offs among the average path reliabilities, average conditional delays, average conditional number of hops, and area spectral efficiencies and the effects of various parameters are illustrated for finite ad hoc networks with randomly placed mobiles. This paper uses a dual method of closed-form analysis and simple simulation that is applicable to most routing protocols and provides a much more realistic performance evaluation than has previously been possible. Some features included in the new analysis are shadowing, exclusion and guard zones, and distance-dependent fading.
Circular matrices, duality theorems and the reality of Clebsch-Gordan coefficients

Schur's lemma and the properties of circular matrices are used to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the finite-dimensional irreducible matrix representations of an arbitrary groupG to admit real coupling (or Clebsch-Gordan) coefficients. The Pontryagin-Van Kampen and Tannaka-Krein duality theorems are found to be of considerable value in implementing the condition, which requires that complex conjugation effects an automorphism on the group of all matrices having the same reduction of their tensor products as the matrix representations ofG. This result is noted to be relevant to a generalization of the Frobenius-Schur invariant.
Administration of Nitrous Oxide in Normal Subjects: Evaluation of Systems of Gas Delivery for Their Clinical Use and Hemodynamic Effects

Nitrous oxide (concentrations of 30 to 50 percent) was administered to 22 healthy volunteer subjects via nasal prongs, rebreathing mask, and an airlines mask to assess the efficiency of systems of delivery and the hemodynamic effects. The end-expired concentration of nitrous oxide, expressed as a percentage of the inspired concentration of nitrous oxide, was 19 percent for nasal prongs, 34 percent for the rebreathing mask, and 95 percent for the airlines mask (most accurate delivery). The pulse rate fell from a mean of 79 ± 3 beats per minute to 67 ± 2 with nasal prongs, to 64 ± 2 with the rebreathing mask, and to 64 ± 2 with the airlines mask. Both systolic and diastolic pressures fell from means of 122 ± 4 and 74 ± 2 mm Hg, respectively, to 98 ± 3 mm Hg and 64 ± 2 mm Hg, respectively, with the airlines apparatus. The fall in systolic blood pressure (slope, -0.79) exceeded that in the diastolic (slope, -035). In an additional eight normal subjects, administration of 30 percent nitrous oxide via airlines mask produced identical changes in blood pressure and pulse rate, but there was no effect from 30 minutes of administration of 30 percent nitrous oxide on the end-systolic volume index, cardiac index, ejection fraction, normalized wall velocity determined echocardiographically, ejection time, or the ratio of preejection period to ejection time.
Finite Element Analysis Demonstrates Splinting in the Porcine Mandibular Condyle Causes Changes in Bone Volume Fraction and Stiffness Anisotropy

Currently about 10 million Americans report signs and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction. One form of treatment for TMJ dysfunction is dental splints which reorient the jaw during mastication. This presumably changes the direction, magnitude and location of mechanical loads on the mandibular condyle of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The precise nature of load changes and their effect on the underlying condylar trabecular bone have not been reported.© 2012 ASME
Cutaneous Manifestations of Infection in Returning Travelers

Dermatologic problems are common in returning travelers who seek medical care. Some common illnesses such as cellulitis or abscesses occur in travelers but are not unique to this patient group. Additionally, dermatologic illnesses not due to infection such as drug eruptions or phototoxicity are seen. Skin manifestations occur in many tropical illnesses such as dengue, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis. This article reviews the common causes of cutaneous illnesses associated with travel including non-infectious causes, infections that are not limited to travelers, and infections that are almost exclusively seen in travelers.
Impact-Damaged Graphite-Thermoplastic Trapezoidal-Corrugation Sandwich and Semi-Sandwich Panels

The results of a study of the effects of impact damage on compression-loaded trapezoidal-corrugation sandwich and semi-sandwich graphite-thermoplastic panels are presented. Sandwich panels with two identical face sheets and a trapezoidal corrugated core between them, and semi-sandwich panels with a corrugation attached to a single skin are considered in this study. Panels were designed, fabricated and tested. The panels were made using the manufacturing process of thermoforming, a less-commonly used technique for fabricating composite parts. Experimental results for unimpacted control panels and panels subjected to impact damage prior to loading are presented. Little work can be found in the literature about these configurations of thermoformed panels.
Activation of Mitochondrial Calcium-independent Phospholipase A2γ (iPLA2γ) by Divalent Cations Mediating Arachidonate Release and Production of Downstream Eicosanoids

Calcium-independent phospholipase A(2)γ (iPLA(2)γ) (PNPLA8) is the predominant phospholipase activity in mammalian mitochondria. However, the chemical mechanisms that regulate its activity are unknown. Here, we utilize iPLA(2)γ gain of function and loss of function genetic models to demonstrate the robust activation of iPLA(2)γ in murine myocardial mitochondria by Ca(2+) or Mg(2+) ions. Calcium ion stimulated the production of 2-arachidonoyl-lysophosphatidylcholine (2-AA-LPC) from 1-palmitoyl-2-[(14)C]arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine during incubations with wild-type heart mitochondrial homogenates. Furthermore, incubation of mitochondrial homogenates from transgenic myocardium expressing iPLA(2)γ resulted in 13- and 25-fold increases in the initial rate of radiolabeled 2-AA-LPC and arachidonic acid (AA) production, respectively, in the presence of calcium ion. Mass spectrometric analysis of the products of calcium-activated hydrolysis of endogenous mitochondrial phospholipids in transgenic iPLA(2)γ mitochondria revealed the robust production of AA, 2-AA-LPC, and 2-docosahexaenoyl-LPC that was over 10-fold greater than wild-type mitochondria. The mechanism-based inhibitor (R)-(E)-6-(bromomethylene)-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2H-tetrahydropyran-2-one (BEL) (iPLA(2)γ selective), but not its enantiomer, (S)-BEL (iPLA(2)β selective) or pyrrolidine (cytosolic PLA(2)α selective), markedly attenuated Ca(2+)-dependent fatty acid release and polyunsaturated LPC production. Moreover, Ca(2+)-induced iPLA(2)γ activation was accompanied by the production of downstream eicosanoid metabolites that were nearly completely ablated by (R)-BEL or by genetic ablation of iPLA(2)γ. Intriguingly, Ca(2+)-induced iPLA(2)γ activation was completely inhibited by long-chain acyl-CoA (IC(50) ∼20 μm) as well as by a nonhydrolyzable acyl-CoA thioether analog. Collectively, these results demonstrate that mitochondrial iPLA(2)γ is activated by divalent cations and inhibited by acyl-CoA modulating the generation of biologically active metabolites that regulate mitochondrial bioenergetic and signaling functions.
Glucocorticoids, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and epidermal growth factor regulation of pulmonary morphogenesis: a multivariate in vitro analysis of their related actions

The mouse lung commences development on embryonic day 11 as an epithelial evagination from the posterior pharyngeal wall into undifferentiated mesenchyme, this epithelium bifurcating to form the lung primordium. Branching morphogenesis, as well as terminal differentiation, requires epithelial-mesenchymal interactions utilizing precise regulatory controls. Not surprisingly, specific hormones and growth factors appear to play a key role in this regulation. We report here a series of experiments designed to investigate morphodifferentiation (epithelial branching number, generation number, and fractal dimension) and histodifferentiation (cell morphology and SP-A immunolocalization), as they relate to glucocorticoid (CORT)-regulation of growth factor function and expression (Northern analysis). These experiments were conducted in embryonic lung primordia (E11.5-E12) cultured under defined conditions in the presence of single or combined CORT, TNF-alpha, and EGF supplementation. EGF supplementation enhances branching morphogenesis, but not immunodetectable SP-A expression, in embryonic lung primordia cultured for 4 or 7 days. TNF-alpha supplementation also enhances branching morphogenesis on days 4 or 7 in vitro; on day 7, SP-A expression is also enhanced. By contrast, the introduction of exogenous CORT to embryonic explants cultured 4 or 7 days markedly alters morphodifferentiation and histodifferentiation. Early on it would appear to enhance morphodifferentiation by changing the process of branching, while contemporaneously initiating precocious SP-A expression; later on, it alters morphogenesis by continued terminal differentiation of normal lung epithelium and a singular transdifferentiation of lung mesenchyme into an epithelioid morphotype expressing SP-A. This is correlated with a CORT-induced, highly significant, down-regulation of TGF-beta 2 and TGF-beta 3 transcripts. Explants supplemented with CORT + TNF-alpha or CORT + EGF.demonstrate a microanatomy and SP-A expression pattern identical to that seen with CORT supplementation alone. EGF inhibits the accelerated lung maturation normally seen in the presence of exogenous TNF-alpha alone, suggesting a relationship between these two seemingly disparate regulatory pathways.
The two-component sensor response regulator RoxS/RoxR plays a role in Pseudomonas aeruginosa interactions with airway epithelial cells

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that infects the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis causing aberrant and destructive neutrophil (PMN)-dominated inflammation of airways. Interaction of P. aeruginosa with the lung epithelial barrier resulting in trans-epithelial PMN migration likely represents a key event during PMN recruitment. To investigate bacterial factors involved in interactions with lung epithelial cells, a mutant library of two-component system response regulators was evaluated to identify mutants exhibiting defects in the ability to induce PMN trans-epithelial migration. Of forty-eight mutants, five reproducibly demonstrated a reduced PMN trans-epithelial migration response. All five mutants also exhibited a decreased ability to interact with lung epithelial cells. One mutant identified lacks the response regulator gene roxR, which has not previously been reported to be involved regulating factors that facilitate interactions with lung epithelial cells. This finding suggests that RoxR likely regulates genes with relevance to P. aeruginosa mediated lung disease.
Cardiac Surgery Nurse Practitioner Home Visits Prevent Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Readmissions

Background We designed and tested an innovative transitional care program, involving cardiac surgery nurse practitioners, to improve care continuity after patient discharge home from coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operations and decrease the composite end point of 30-day readmission and death. Methods A total of 401 consecutive CABG patients were eligible between May 1, 2010, and August 31, 2011, for analysis. Patient data were entered prospectively into The Society of Thoracic Surgeons database and the New York State Cardiac Surgery Reporting System and retrospectively analyzed with Institutional Review Board approval. The “Follow Your Heart” program enrolled 169 patients, and 232 controls received usual care. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify readmission predictors, and propensity score matching was performed with 13 covariates. Results Binary logistic regression analysis identified “Follow Your Heart” as the only independently significant variable in preventing the composite outcome ( p = 0.015). Odds ratios for readmission were 3.11 for dialysis patients, 2.17 for Medicaid recipients, 1.87 for women, 1.86 for non-Caucasians, 1.78 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 1.26 for diabetes, and 1.09 for congestive heart failure. Propensity score matching yielded matches for 156 intervention patients (92%). The intervention showed a significantly lower 30-day readmission/death rate of 3.85% (6 of 156) compared with 11.54% (18 of 156) for the usual care matched group ( p = 0.023). Conclusions A home transition program providing continuity of care, communication hub, and medication management by treating hospital nurse practitioners significantly reduced the 30-day composite end point of readmission/death after CABG. More targeted resource allocation based on odds ratios of readmission may further improve results and be applicable to other patient groups.
The C60 Formation Puzzle “Solved”: QM/MD Simulations Reveal the Shrinking Hot Giant Road of the Dynamic Fullerene Self-Assembly Mechanism

The dynamic self-assembly mechanism of fullerene molecules is an irreversible process emerging naturally under the nonequilibrium conditions of hot carbon vapor and is a consequence of the interplay between the dynamics and chemistry of polyyne chains, π-conjugation and corresponding stabilization, and the dynamics of hot giant fullerene cages. In this feature article we briefly present an overview of experimental findings and past attempts to explain fullerene formation and show in detail how our recent quantum chemical molecular dynamics simulations of the dynamics of carbon vapor far from thermodynamic equilibrium have assisted in the discovery of the combined size-up/size-down “shrinking hot giant” road that leads to the formation of buckminsterfullerene C60, C70, and larger fullerenes. This formation mechanism is the first reported case of order created out of chaos where a distinct covalent bond network of an entire molecule is spontaneously self-assembled to a highly symmetric structure and fully e...
Prediction of Singlet−Triplet Splittings for Aryne Biradicals from 1H Hyperfine Interactions in Aryl Radicals

Density functional calculations with a polarized double-ζ basis set on simple aryl radicals have predictive utility in the estimation of singlet−triplet energy splittings of corresponding aryne biradicals through a proportionality between isotropic hyperfine couplings for the former species and the splittings for the latter species. This allows rapid estimation of singlet−triplet splittings in large hydrocarbon systems, where direct calculation would be prohibitively costly, and should simplify the design of aryne systems having controlled reactivities as a function of their singlet−triplet state energy splittings.
Effect of oestradiol in adrenal corticoidogenesis: an additional step in steroid biosynthesis.

OOPHORECTOMY in the albino rat results in diminished pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) secretion and in diminished adrenal secretion of corticosterone1. The latter is demonstrable in peripheral plasma after injection of ACTH or following stress, in adrenal venous effluent, and in adrenal slices incubated in vitro. Administration of oestradiol-17β reverses these effects. Although the adrenal response to oestradiol may, in part, be mediated by changes in ACTH secretion, a direct effect is also suggested by the finding that oestradiol stimulates corticosteroid production when added to adrenal slices in vitro2, and when administered to hypophysectomized, oophorectomized rats in vivo3. Additional investigations suggest an apparent inhibition of steroidogenesis in adrenal tissue after oophorectomy4. This communication reports observations giving a more specific definition of the relation of the ovary to adrenal function.
Effect of massage therapy on pain, anxiety, and tension in cardiac surgical patients: A pilot study

Abstract Objectives To assess the role of massage therapy in the cardiac surgery postoperative period. Specific aims included determining the difference in pain, anxiety, tension, and satisfaction scores of patients before and after massage compared with patients who received standard care. Design A randomized controlled trial comparing outcomes before and after intervention in and across groups. Setting Saint Marys Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Subjects Patients undergoing cardiovascular surgical procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting and/or valvular repair or replacement) ( N = 58). Interventions Patients in the intervention group received a 20-minute session of massage therapy intervention between postoperative days 2 and 5. Patients in the control group received standard care and a 20-minute quiet time between postoperative days 2 and 5. Outcome measures Linear Analogue Self-assessment scores for pain, anxiety, tension, and satisfaction. Results Statistically and clinically significant decreases in pain, anxiety, and tension scores were observed for patients who received a 20-minute massage compared with those who received standard care. Patient feedback was markedly positive. Conclusions This pilot study showed that massage can be successfully incorporated into a busy cardiac surgical practice. These results suggest that massage may be an important therapy to consider for inclusion in the management of postoperative recovery of cardiovascular surgical patients.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and hyperthermia improve tumor reoxygenation in patients with locally advanced breast carcinoma

organizing alveolitis and sacrificed just prior to death due to development of organizing alveolitis. When 80% of control, irradiated mice had been sacrificed with organizing alveolitis, the remaining mice in all groups were sacrificed. The lungs were expanded with Optimum Cutting Temperature (OCT), removed, frozen in OCT, sectioned, and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained. These sections were examined microscopically and percent of alveolitis was determined using an Optimus Image Analysis System.
Adaptive sequential algorithms for detecting targets in a heavy IR clutter

Cruise missiles over land and sea cluttered background are serious threats to search and track systems. In general, these threats are stealth in both the infrared and radio frequency bands. That is, their thermal infrared signature and their radar cross section can be quite small. This paper discusses adaptive sequential detection methods which exploit 'track-before-detect' technology for detecting low-SNR targets in Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems. Despite the fact that we focus on an IRST against cruise missiles over land and sea cluttered backgrounds, the results are applicable to other sensors and other kinds of targets. The developed algorithms allow us to detect a priori unknown number of targets that appear and disappear at unknown points in time. In contrast to the traditional Wald's method the problem of detection of a target with unknown moment of appearance is formulated and solved as a quickest detection problem (change-point detection problem). This problem involves optimization of a trade-off between the detection delay and the false alarm rate. The developed sequential algorithm detects a target with as small average delay as possible (after it appears) under the constraint on the frequency of false alarms. In addition, the algorithm detects target disappearance - also with the smallest delay, which makes it possible to almost immediately interrupt tracking when target disappears. The decision statistics use the results of `track-before-detect - the estimates of target's spatial location based on the optimal spatial-temporal nonlinear filtering. Simulation results using real (starring) IRST data are presented. These results show that performance is high even for very low SNR targets.
Comparing Multiple Exciton Generation in Quantum Dots To Impact Ionization in Bulk Semiconductors: Implications for Enhancement of Solar Energy Conversion

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) in quantum dots (QDs) and impact ionization (II) in bulk semiconductors are processes that describe producing more than one electron-hole pair per absorbed photon. We derive expressions for the proper way to compare MEG in QDs with II in bulk semiconductors and argue that there are important differences in the photophysics between bulk semiconductors and QDs. Our analysis demonstrates that the fundamental unit of energy required to produce each electron-hole pair in a given QD is the band gap energy. We find that the efficiency of the multiplication process increases by at least 2 in PbSe QDs compared to bulk PbSe, while the competition between cooling and multiplication favors multiplication by a factor of 3 in QDs. We also demonstrate that power conversion efficiencies in QD solar cells exhibiting MEG can greatly exceed conversion efficiencies of their bulk counterparts, especially if the MEG threshold energy can be reduced toward twice the QD band gap energy, which requires a further increase in the MEG efficiency. Finally, we discuss the research challenges associated with achieving the maximum benefit of MEG in solar energy conversion since we show the threshold and efficiency are mathematically related.