cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lecithin and the erythrocyte factor in the blood sedimentation phenomenon.

1. The erythrocyte factor in the blood sedimentation phenomenon is not influenced by changes in size or shape of the erythrocytes unless the surface is altered by a hemolytic agent. 2. The erythrocyte factor varies considerably in health and disease. It is depleted when blood is stored under refrigeration. 3. Egg lecithin emulsions and particles of cinnabar covered with lecithin are flocculated by gelatin solutions. The phenomenon is similar to the formation of rouleaux in gelatin solutions. 4. An attempt to explain rouleau formation as a flocculation reaction between plasma proteins and the lecitho-protein surface of the erythrocyte is made.
Solar Radiation Pressure: Exact Analysis

Moving beyond gravity-only dynamics about small bodies, we first consider the combined effect of solar radiation and solar tide perturbations on a spacecraft orbiting about an asteroid or comet. In this section we assume the central body can be modeled as a sphere, and neglect gravitational perturbations. This situation models orbital dynamics when far from asteroids or comets where the dominant perturbation will be from solar effects. We shall also see that for large enough bodies, such as Eros, solar radiation pressure only plays a minimal role. For missions to bodies whose sizes are on the order of a few kilometers or less, however, solar radiation pressure is the principal concern for orbital stability. It is interesting to note that the solar tide is generally negligible when compared to solar radiation pressure, yet it is included in this discussion for completeness. From a direct analysis of the equations of motion and their equilibrium points specific limits can be derived on orbit semi-major axis for when solar radiation can strip a spacecraft out of orbit. The analysis given here is based on some earlier work by Dankowicz [27] and the analysis given in [171].
Benzodiazepine Receptor-Mediated “Anxiety” in Primates

During the past seven years, numerous investigations have demonstrated that the benzodiazepine receptor [in concert with an associated recognition site for GABA and a chloride ionophore] is involved in the antianxiety (anxiolytic) actions of a number of chemically unrelated substances such as the benzodiazepines, barbiturates, triazolopyridazines (e.g. CL 218,872), pyrazolopyridines (e.g. SQ 65,396), and ethanol (Skolnick and Paul, 1981). During the past three years, several compounds have been described which bind to benzodiazepine receptors with high affinities, and antagonize one or more of the pharmacologic actions of the benzodiazepines (Skolnick et al., 1982). The first of these benzodiazepine antagonists described was the ethyl ester of beta carboline-3-carboxylic acid (Tenen and Hirsch, 1980; Oakley and Jones, 1980). Although this compound was first postulated to be an endogenous ligand of the benzodiazepine receptor (Braestrup, et al., 1980), it is likely that this compound as well as the related beta carbolines extracted from human urine were formed during the isolation procedure employed (Squires, 1981). Nonetheless, these compounds have proven invaluable in both better defining the physiologic role(s) of the benzodiazepine receptor complex and providing a robust, chemically induced model of anxiety in primates.
Resection of Temporal Neocortex During Multiple Hippocampal Transections for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Does not Affect Seizure or Memory Outcome.

BACKGROUND Multiple hippocampal transection (MHT) is a surgical treatment for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with improved postoperative neuropsychological outcomes compared with lobectomy. OBJECTIVE To determine whether resection of the amygdala and anterior temporal neocortex during MHT affects postoperative seizure/memory outcome. METHODS Seventeen patients with normal magnetic resonance imaging and stereo-electroencephalogram-proven drug-resistant dominant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy were treated with MHT. Nine patients underwent MHT alone (MHT-) and 8 patients underwent MHT plus removal of the amygdala and anterior 4.5 cm of temporal neocortex lateral to the fusiform gyrus (MHT+). Verbal and visual-spatial memory were assessed in all patients preoperatively and in 14 patients postoperatively using the Wechsler Memory Scale. Postoperative seizure control was assessed at 12 months for all patients. RESULTS Overall, 11 of 17 patients (64.7%) were Engel class 1 at 1 year (6/9 MHT-, 5/8 MHT+, P = .38), and 10 of 14 patients (71.4%) had no significant postoperative decline in either verbal or visual memory (6/8 MHT-, 4/6 MHT+, P = .42). Verbal memory declined in 2 of 8 MHT- and 1 of 6 MHT+ patients, and visual memory declined in 1 of 8 MHT- and 2 of 6 MHT+ patients. Two patients had improved visual memory postoperatively, both in the MHT+ group. CONCLUSION MHT on the dominant side is associated with high rates of seizure freedom and favorable memory preservation outcomes regardless of the extent of neocortical resection. Preservation of the temporal neocortex and amygdala during MHT does not appear to decrease the risk of postoperative memory decline, nor does it alter seizure outcome.
Reducing Single-Use Plastic Shopping Bags in the USA

Abstract In the USA, local governments have the primary responsibility to manage MSW. However, local governments lack the authority to explicitly shift costs or responsibility back onto the producer for specific problem wastes. A particularly problematic waste for local governments is the single-use plastic bag. In 2014, in the USA, 103.465 billion single-use plastic shopping bags were consumed. Because of their extremely low recyclability rate, plastic bags remain a significant source of land-based litter and marine debris and impair stormwater management systems. They also reduce the effectiveness of automated recycling systems. In response, local governments increasingly have adopted a variety of measures specifically intended to reduce the store-level consumption of single-use shopping bags in 5 major categories: bans, imposition of fees and taxes, establishing minimum product design of bags, requiring consumer education, and mandating retailer take-back programs. As of September 2017, there were 271 local governments in the USA with plastic bag ordinances covering 9.7% of the nation’s population. The majority (95%) of the ordinances is a ban on single-use plastic bags; 56.9% of these bans also include a mandatory fee on paper and/or reusable bags. For the fee-based ordinances, the mode is $0.10 per bag; every tax/fee ordinance allows retailers to retain some or all the collected fee. As local governments continue to increase their actions on plastic bags, 11 states have enacted laws to prohibit local governments from regulating single-use plastic bags. Because of the success with single-use bags, local governments are also enacting similar ordinances on single-use expanded polystyrene consumer products and other single-use plastic products.
Systemic effects of a high saturated fat diet in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Food sources for North America’s grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis Ord, 1815) population have changed as habitats have fragmented, altering available resources and putting bears in contact with unnatural foods. Bears have evolved mechanisms to tolerate obesity, and do not develop adverse health consequences despite storing massive amounts of body fat. Captive adult grizzly bears were used to determine the effects of dietary fat on health. Group 1 was fed a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) wherein 9.5% of available calories came from saturated fatty acids (SFA). Group 2 was fed a diet wherein 28.8% of calories came from SFA. Plasma fatty acids, serum lipid profiles, insulin, inflammatory markers, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and cardiac function parameters were measured. Serum lipids, SFA, and insulin did not differ between the two groups, although omega-3 fatty acids differed. Bears eating the SFA diet had significantly higher circulating adiponectin, interleukin-7 and interle...
Effect of hospital safety net designation on treatment use and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Racial/ethnic minorities with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have worse survival than non-Hispanic whites. Comparing patient outcomes across health care delivery systems can identify biological and care delivery mechanisms contributing to this disparity. We compared presentation, treatment, and survival of HCC patients treated at safety net hospitals (SNHs) and non-SNHs. METHODS Patients diagnosed with HCC from 2001 to 2012 were identified in the Texas Cancer Registry. We compared hospital and patient characteristics across three hospital categories: non-SNHs, low-proportion SNHs (l-SNHs), and high-proportion SNHs (h-SNHs). Covariate-adjusted treatment use and overall survival were compared among the 3 hospital categories. RESULTS Despite comprising only 23% of hospitals, h-SNHs cared for 42% of 17,489 HCC patients and disproportionately delivered care to racial/ethnic minorities and patients of low socioeconomic status compared with non-SNHs. Compared with non-SNHs, treatment use was similar at l-SNHs (45% vs 45%; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-1.06) but significantly lower at h-SNHs (32% vs 45%; OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.57-0.73). Similarly, patients with localized HCC were less likely to undergo curative treatment at h-SNHs than non-SNHs (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40-0.66). Compared with non-SNHs, overall survival was similar at l-SNHs (hazard ratio [HR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98) but significantly worse at h-SNHs (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.22-1.39). CONCLUSION Patients at SNHs are less likely to undergo HCC treatment, even when diagnosed at an early stage, which likely contributes to worse survival. System-level differences in care delivery may partly explain racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in HCC prognosis. Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
On iota energy of signed digraphs

The eigenvalues of a signed digraph are the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. If S is an n-vertex signed digraph with eigenvalues z1,…,zn then the energy of S is defined by E(S)=∑k=1n|Re(zk)| , ...
Spinocerebellar ataxias: prospects and challenges for therapy development

The spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) comprise more than 40 autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorders that present principally with progressive ataxia. Within the past few years, studies of pathogenic mechanisms in the SCAs have led to the development of promising therapeutic strategies, especially for SCAs caused by polyglutamine-coding CAG repeats. Nucleotide-based gene-silencing approaches that target the first steps in the pathogenic cascade are one promising approach not only for polyglutamine SCAs but also for the many other SCAs caused by toxic mutant proteins or RNA. For these and other emerging therapeutic strategies, well-coordinated preparation is needed for fruitful clinical trials. To accomplish this goal, investigators from the United States and Europe are now collaborating to share data from their respective SCA cohorts. Increased knowledge of the natural history of SCAs, including of the premanifest and early symptomatic stages of disease, will improve the prospects for success in clinical trials of disease-modifying drugs. In addition, investigators are seeking validated clinical outcome measures that demonstrate responsiveness to changes in SCA populations. Findings suggest that MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy biomarkers will provide objective biological readouts of disease activity and progression, but more work is needed to establish disease-specific biomarkers that track target engagement in therapeutic trials. Together, these efforts suggest that the development of successful therapies for one or more SCAs is not far away.
Paramilitary Violence in Colombia: A Multilevel Negative Binomial Analysis

Although Colombia is well known for its persistent leftist guerrilla conflict, the country also suffers from paramilitary violence. This study examines the potential factors related to persistent p...
Tibial bone stress injury: diagnostic performance and inter-reader agreement of an abbreviated 5-min magnetic resonance protocol.

To compare the diagnostic performance and inter-reader agreement of an abbreviated (5 min) MR protocol compared to a complete (25 min) protocol, for evaluation of suspected tibial bone stress injury. This IRB-approved retrospective study consisted of 95 consecutive MR examinations in 88 patients with suspected tibial bone stress injury. Three musculoskeletal radiologists independently classified all examinations utilizing both an abbreviated protocol consisting only of axial T2-weighted images with fat suppression, and after a washout period again classified the complete examinations. Accuracy was calculated as proportion of cases classified exactly, within 1 grade, within 2 grades, and also utilizing a simplified “clinically relevant” classification combining grades 2, 3, and 4A into a single group. Significance testing was performed with the chi-test, and a post-hoc power analysis was performed. Inter-reader agreement was calculated with Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, with significance testing performed utilizing the z-test after bootstrapping to obtain the standard error. There was no significant difference in accuracy of grading tibial bone stress injuries between complete and abbreviated examinations. For complete exams, pooled exact accuracy was 47.8%; accuracy within 1 grade was 82.8%; and accuracy within 2 grades was 96.1%. For the abbreviated protocol, corresponding accuracies were 50.2, 82.0, and 93.9%. With the “clinically relevant” simplified classification, accuracy was 58.6% for complete exams and 64.2% for abbreviated exams. There was no significant difference in inter-reader agreement, with substantial agreement demonstrated for both complete (Kendall coefficient of concordance 0.805) and abbreviated examinations (coefficient of 0.767).
Integrin-alpha-6+ Stem Cells (ISCs) are responsible for whole body regeneration in a basal chordate

Abstract Colonial ascidians such as Botrylloides are the only chordates able to undergo whole body regeneration (WBR), during which entire new bodies can be regenerated from small fragments of blood vessels. Although it has long been suspected that undifferentiated blood borne cells called hemoblasts play an important role, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of this regeneration process are poorly understood. Here, we show that during the early stages of WBR, proliferation occurs only in small, blood borne cells that express integrin-alpha-6, pou3 and vasa. Proliferating cells can be ablated using Mitomycin C (MMC), leading to loss of WBR. However, regeneration can be rescued by injection of blood cells from a healthy individual into MMC treated vessel fragments. Using FACS-based prospective isolation, we found that injection of a single Integrin-alpha-6 (IA6)-positive cell is capable of rescuing WBR. Lineage tracing using EdU-labeling further revealed that IA6+ cells give rise to regenerating tissues. Our data suggest that ia6+pou3+ cells are proliferating blood borne stem cells that are responsible for whole body regeneration. IA6+ Stem Cells (ISCs) also express notch and frizzled receptors, and inhibitors of either Notch or canonical Wnt signaling block WBR and reduce proliferation, indicating that these two pathways regulate ISC activation. These results provide important insights into the mechanisms and evolution of chordate regeneration.
Compressed Sensing: From Research to Clinical Practice With Deep Neural Networks: Shortening Scan Times for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction methods leverage sparse structure in underlying signals to recover high-resolution images from highly undersampled measurements. When applied to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CS has the potential to dramatically shorten MRI scan times, increase diagnostic value, and improve the overall patient experience. However, CS has several shortcomings that limit its clinical translation. These include 1) artifacts arising from inaccurate sparse modeling assumptions, 2) extensive parameter tuning required for each clinical application, and 3) clinically infeasible reconstruction times. Recently, CS has been extended to incorporate deep neural networks as a way of learning complex image priors from historical exam data. Commonly referred to as unrolled neural networks, these techniques have proven to be a compelling and practical approach to address the challenges of sparse CS. In this tutorial, we review the classical CS formulation and outline steps needed to transform this formulation into a deep-learning-based reconstruction framework. Supplementary open-source code in Python is used to demonstrate this approach with open databases. Further, we discuss considerations in applying unrolled neural networks in the clinical setting.
Chapter 2 – Vector Spaces

Once we write vectors in 3-space as (x1, x2, x3), it is not hard to generalize and write “vectors” in “27-space” as (x1, x2,… x27). The first question is: Why would you want to do this? The historical answer is quite straight forward. It helps us find answers to problems we need to solve. Most real-life problems have many more variables than just two or three. If there happen to be 27 variables, then it is useful to work in “27-space.” Fortunately much of the geometry of 2-and 3-space generalizes to “n-space,” and this helps us with problem solving considerably
Routine activity effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on burglary in Detroit, March, 2020

The spread of the coronavirus has led to containment policies in many places, with concomitant shifts in routine activities. Major declines in crime have been reported as a result. However, those declines depend on crime type and may differ by parts of a city and land uses. This paper examines burglary in Detroit, Michigan during the month of March, 2020, a period of considerable change in routine activities. We examine 879 block groups, separating those dominated by residential land use from those with more mixed land use. We divide the month into three periods: pre-containment, transition period, and post-containment. Burglaries increase in block groups with mixed land use, but not blocks dominated by residential land use. The impact of containment policies on burglary clarifies after taking land use into account.
Radiofrequency and microwave ablation in a porcine liver model: non-contrast CT and ultrasound radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to compare intra-procedural radiofrequency (RF) and microwave ablation appearance on non-contrast CT (NCCT) and ultrasound to the zone of pathologic necrosis.Mat...
Evaluating Melanoma Viability and Proliferation in 3D Microenvironments

Researchers often aim to incorporate microenvironmental variables such as the dimensionality and composition of the extracellular matrix into their cell-based assays. A technical challenge created by introduction of these variables is quantification of single-cell measurements and control of environmental reproducibility. Here, we detail a methodology to quantify viability and proliferation of melanoma cells in 3D collagen-based culture platforms by automated microscopy and 3D image analysis to yield robust, high-throughput results of single-cell responses to drug treatment.
Geographic Variation in Cardiovascular Health Among American Adults.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the contemporary geographic trends in cardiovascular health in the United States and its relationship with geographic distribution of cardiovascular mortality. Methods By use of a retrospective cross-sectional design, the 2011-2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was queried to determine the age-adjusted prevalence of cardiovascular health index (CVHI) metrics (sum of ideal blood pressure, blood glucose concentration, lipid levels, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and diet). Cardiovascular health was estimated as both continuous (0 to 7 points) and categorical (ideal, intermediate, poor) variables from the BRFSS. Age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality for 2017 was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database. Results Among 1,362,529 American adult participants of the BRFSS 2011-2017 and all American residents in 2017, the CVHI score increased from 3.89±0.004 in 2011 to 3.96±0.005 in 2017 (Ptrend Conclusion Despite a modest improvement in CVHI, only 1 in 6 Americans has ideal cardiovascular health with significant geographic differences. These differences correlate with the geographic distribution of cardiovascular mortality. An urgent unmet need exists to mitigate the geographic disparities in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
New and Interesting Records of Lichens, Lichenicolous Fungi and Other Ascomycota from Northwestern USA III

The lichenicolous fungi Lichenochora aipoliae, Stigmidium leprariae and Taeniolella toruloides are reported as new to North America, and Monodictys epilepraria as new to western North America. A record of Lawalreea cf. lecanorae from the region is discussed. The lichen Biatora oligocarpa is reported as new to the contiguous 48 states of the USA. Also reported new to northwestern North America are two Ascomycota microfungi, Gloniopsis subrugosa and Nemania maritima. In total, new state records are provided for Idaho (6), Michigan (1), Montana (1), Oregon (4) and Washington (12).
Perioperative Resumption of Direct Oral Anticoagulants: Review of the Mayo Clinic Experience.

Objective We aimed to review recommendations for the postoperative resumption of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and report complications 30 days postoperatively. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients receiving DOAC therapy who underwent preoperative evaluations from January 1, 2015 through May 30, 2018. We noted days that DOAC therapy was withheld, postoperative time until resumption of the DOAC, and complications within 30 postoperative days. Results A total of 317 patients were included. Ten had complications. Complication rates among patients stratified by time to resumption were not significantly different, except for the deep vein thrombosis rate when DOACs were resumed after 72 hours (n = 2 [4.17%]; P = 0.02). The total time without DOACs did not affect the complication rates. Conclusions We suggest withholding DOACs for 48 to 72 hours before surgery and resuming them 48 to 72 hours after surgery, if safe. The interruption of therapy was not associated with an increase in thrombotic events for patients who resumed DOACs within 72 hours postoperatively. Patients who resumed DOACs after 72 hours postoperatively had a low rate of thrombotic complications.
An In Situ Fluorescence Assay for Cholesterol Transporter Activity of the Patched

We recently developed a simultaneous in situ quantitative imaging technique for cholesterol in both leaflets of the plasma membrane of mammalian cells. This ratiometric fluorescence technique allows real-time monitoring of the cholesterol transporter activity of plasma membrane-resident proteins in living cells. When applied to the hedgehog signaling system, it enables direct quantitative measurement of the cholesterol transporter activity of Patched1 and the effect of the hedgehog ligand on this activity.
Linking Trajectories: On-line Learning and Intercultural Exchanges

There has been tremendous growth both in study abroad and intercultural exchange options in the United States and also in on-line learning options in higher education. Reviewing 91 cross-cultural experiences with at least one type of formal on-line component, this paper provides an overview and categorization of these offerings as well as a discussion of trends. It also offers recommendations to help strengthen and shape further offerings and related research.
Fatigue properties of a dental implant produced by electron beam melting® (EBM)

Abstract Fatigue properties of a dental abutment with a lattice structure were investigated. Electron Beam Melting® (EBM) was used to produce the dental abutments, made of Ti-6Al-4 V. Four levels of cyclic loads including 100 N, 200 N, 300 N, and 500 N were applied at 15 Hz by using a sinusoidal wave form, and the loading ratio of 10%. According to the experimental results of fatigue test, the dental abutment tolerated the five million cycles of loading at 100 N. Results of fractography suggested that the fatigue crack can be initiated from the partially sintered powder particles that were attached to the truss surface. The numerical results revealed the deleterious influence of sharp corners on lowering the fatigue life of the structure. The high level of surface roughness and the lower relative density of a lattice structure could affect its strain rate sensitivity and consequently lower the endurance limit of the lattice structure. The comparison of the experimental data and numerical modeling suggested that the more conservative Soderbrg relationship for the mean stress correction could be used for numerical modeling of fatigue in lattice structures produced by EBM®. Finally, a regression equation was developed from the experimental results that can be used to predict the fatigue life of the designed dental abutment.
Something for Everyone: Memories of Lauerman Brothers Department Store

Review of: "Something for Everyone: Memories of Lauerman Brothers Department Store," by Michael Leannah.
Behavioural actions of anticholinergic drugs.

Publisher Summary In this chapter, the effects of eight anticholinergic drugs are studied on three aspects of rat behavior. These include spontaneous motor activity, open-field behavior, and avoidance conditioning in a shuttlebox. The peripheral and central anticholinergic activities of the eight drugs are also measured in terms of their potencies in antagonizing oxotremorine-induced salivation and tremors respectively in mice. All the drugs produce marked increases in spontaneous motor activity but their potencies in this respect were not correlated with their anticholinergic activity. The drugs are the cause of significant increase in intertrial crossings in the shuttlebox and may have in part, but not completely, contributed to the facilitation of avoidance conditioning produced by 3 of the drugs. Three drugs produce a decrement in performance in trials carried out 24 h after drug administration. In the open-field test, the drugs cause significant increases in ambulation and all except one compound cause significant decreases in the amount or frequency of defecation. The minimal effective doses of the drugs in producing these two effects on open-field behavior are correlated with each other but not with measures of central anticholinergic potency. The results suggest that these anticholinergic drugs block inhibitory cholinergic systems thereby producing a state of activation. It is not possible, however, to demonstrate this quantitatively and the possible reasons are discussed.
Meinhard v. Salmon and the Economics of Honor

The classic corporate law case Meinhard v. Salmon is a gem of rhetoric and morality. This article argues that under its polished surface lies one more Cardozo opinion with superb economic ramifications. The broad fiduciary obligations that Cardozo champions have numerous benefits: (i) They allow the financing of projects that create primarily remote value, (ii) they mitigate managerial risk-aversion, (iii) they further the social desirability of financing decisions, and (iv) they induce desirable managerial incentives. Meinhard is a crucial step in the transition to the modern form of impersonal managerial capitalism. Contains a formal appendix and pictures of the site before and after the project involved in the litigation.
Regulation of the levels of human trabecular matrix metalloproteinases and inhibitor by interleukin-1 and dexamethasone

Purpose The regulation of the trabecular meshwork's extracellular matrix is poorly understood and may involve a family of secreted proteinases, the matrix metalloproteinases. Because the trabecular extracellular matrix has been hypothesized to affect intraocular pressure, an evaluation was made of the ability of two cellular modulators to change the levels of matrix metalloproteinases in the medium of human trabecular meshwork organ explant cultures. Methods Trabecular explant cultures were exposed to recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha, dexamethasone, or combinations thereof for 72 hours and the culture medium was collected for analysis. Levels of stromelysin, the 72 kD gelatinase A and the 92 kD gelatinase B enzyme activity in this culture medium were assayed by substrate gel electrophoresis (zymography). Stromelysin and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP1) media protein levels were analyzed using immunoblots of Western transfers. Results Culture medium of unstimulated explants contains significant levels of the 72 kD gelatinase A and only low levels of the 92 kD gelatinase B, stromelysin, and TIMP1. Interleukin-1 alpha produces a dose-dependent several-fold elevation of gelatinase B, stromelysin, and TIMP1 without changing gelatinase A levels. Dexamethasone produces no significant change in gelatinase A and only small increases in stromelysin, gelatinase B, and TIMP1. When added together, dexamethasone antagonizes the interleukin-1 alpha-induced increase of stromelysin, gelatinase B, and TIMP1 in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion These modulators may be useful in analyzing the roles of this enzyme family in normal trabecular homeostasis and perhaps in the etiology of glaucoma.
The Lysosomal System in Neurons

Disturbed lysosomal function may be implicated at several stages of Alzheimer's pathogenesis. Lysosomes and acid hydrolases accumulate in the majority of neocortical pyramidal neurons before typical degenerative changes can be detected, indicating that altered lysosome function is among the earliest markers of metabolic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. These early alterations could reflect accelerated membrane and protein turnover, defective lysosome or hydrolase function, abnormal lysosomal trafficking or any combination of these possibilities. Because APP is partly metabolized in lysosomes, early disturbances in lysosomal function could promote the production of abnormal and/or neurotoxic APP fragments within intact cells. Lysosomal abnormalities progressively worsen as neurons begin to degenerate. Based on existing literature on cell death, increased perturbation and instability of the lysosomal system may be expected to contribute to the atrophy and eventual lysis of the neuron. Finally, the release of hydrolase-filled lysosomes and lipofuscin aggregates from dying neurons accounts for the abundant deposition of enzymatically active acid hydrolases of all classes in the extracellular space--a phenomenon that may be unique to Alzheimer's disease. Acting on APP present in surrounding dystrophic neurites, cellular debris and astrocyte processes, dysregulated hydrolases may cleave APP in atypical sequential patterns, thereby generating self-aggregating protease-resistant APP fragments that can be only processed to beta-amyloid. Genetic mutations or posttranslational factors of APP should further enhance the generation of amyloidogenic fragments by a dysregulated lysosomal system. Given that very little, if any, beta-amyloid is detected intracellularly, yet extracellular beta-amyloid is very abundant, our data suggest that the final steps of APP processing and the generation of most beta-amyloid in the brain parenchyma occur extracellularly and may involve one or more lysosomal proteases.
A Comment on China's Participation in the World Trade Organization

This comment discusses two papers presented at the US-China WTO Roundtable sponsored by the Institute of International Law of The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law. The paper by Zhang Naigen examines treaty interpretation in dispute settlement under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Professor Zhang observes that WTO panels will have to interpret the underlying provisions in non-WTO treaties, namely the intellectual property rights treaties overseen by the World Intellectual Property Organization.The paper by Yang Guohua points out the paradox that although the WTO permits governments to utilize import safeguards, in all six cases where such measures were challenged, the WTO found that the import barriers violated the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. Three of those cases were against the United States, and the other three involved complaints against Chile, Argentina, and Korea. Dr. Yang therefore reaches the startling hypothesis that although safeguards are permitted in theory, in practice they are not.
Wilson Sporting Goods and Hypothetical Patent Claims: A New Slice at the Doctrine of Equivalents

In Wilson Sporting Goods v. David Geoffry Assoc, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit introduced a new test limiting the patent law doctrine of equivalents. This "hypothetical claim" test requires that the court compare the product accused of patent infringement with the prior art of the claimed invention in a manner similar to that it uses when determining the validity of patent claims. This paper analyzes the methodology of this new test and analyzes the appropriateness of a patentability-type test to the patent infringement context, and its potential effect on future infringement suits.
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade : is it working for business?

International diff erences in technical requirements, product standards and confor- mity assessment procedures create major barriers to international trade. Th e Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade is intended to reduce the impact of these diff erences on trade. Th e major emphasis has been on promoting the convergence of national requirements through mutual notifi cations. Th is has not been an especially eff ective approach since governments and businesses oft en have major commitments to existing requirements and procedures. A more eff ective approach would be to promote international acceptance of a rebuttable presumption that the various sets of national product requirements, although diff erent, pro- vide equivalent levels of protection.
Identification of a Novel Cortactin SH3 Domain-Binding Protein and Its Localization to Growth Cones of Cultured Neurons

Cortactin is an actin-binding protein that contains several potential signaling motifs including a Src homology 3 (SH3) domain at the distal C terminus. Translocation of cortactin to specific cortical actin structures and hyperphosphorylation of cortactin on tyrosine have been associated with the cortical cytoskeleton reorganization induced by a variety of cellular stimuli. The function of cortactin in these processes is largely unknown in part due to the lack of information about cellular binding partners for cortactin. Here we report the identification of a novel cortactin-binding protein of approximately 180 kDa by yeast two-hybrid interaction screening. The interaction of cortactin with this 180-kDa protein was confirmed by both in vitro and in vivo methods, and the SH3 domain of cortactin was found to direct this interaction. Since this protein represents the first reported natural ligand for the cortactin SH3 domain, we designated it CortBP1 for cortactin-binding protein 1. CortBP1 contains two recognizable sequence motifs within its C-terminal region, including a consensus sequence for cortactin SH3 domain-binding peptides and a sterile alpha motif. Northern and Western blot analysis indicated that CortBP1 is expressed predominately in brain tissue. Immunofluorescence studies revealed colocalization of CortBP1 with cortactin and cortical actin filaments in lamellipodia and membrane ruffles in fibroblasts expressing CortBP1. Colocalization of endogenous CortBP1 and cortactin was also observed in growth cones of developing hippocampal neurons, implicating CortBP1 and cortactin in cytoskeleton reorganization during neurite outgrowth.
Alive in the World

This article attempts to illustrate the transformation of the concrete, operational mode of relating in John, a patient suffering from ulcerative colitis. The analytic process seems to facilitate the passage from the concrete to the symbolic converting the body-logic into the psycho-logic. The concrete and overt presence of the body in varied forms is understood as a form of communication, and the physical signs as a means of announcing to the patient that he was alive. The patient discussed in this article conveys how a psychosomatic illness serves to counteract the threat of psychic death, affirming that the patient is alive as a body in space.
Novel conformationally-constrained β-peptides characterized by 1H NMR chemical shifts

For a novel family of oxanorbornene β-peptides, density functional theory computations of the three-dimensional structure and 1H NMR chemical shifts predict that the dimer and trimer form consecutive 8-membered hydrogen-bonded ring helices, which is supported by excellent agreement with experimental solution NMR data.
Lead and the deafness of Ludwig van Beethoven

Objectives/Hypothesis To reexamine the cause of Beethoven's hearing loss because of significant recent articles. Data Sources Medical and musical literature online, in print, and personal communication. Methods Relevant literature review. Results Evidence of otosclerosis is lacking because close gross examination of Beethoven's middle ears at autopsy did not find any otosclerotic foci. His slowly progressive hearing loss over a period of years differs from reported cases of autoimmune hearing loss, which are rapidly progressive over a period of months. He also lacked bloody diarrhea that is invariably present with autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease. The absence of mercury in Beethoven's hair and bone samples leads us to conclude that his deafness was not due to syphilis because in that era syphilis was treated with mercury. High levels of lead deep in the bone suggest repeated exposure over a long period of time rather than limited exposure prior to the time of death. The finding of shrunken cochlear nerves at his autopsy is consistent with axonal degeneration due to heavy metals such as lead. Chronic low-level lead exposure causes a slowly progressive hearing loss with sensory and autonomic findings, rather than the classic wrist drop due to motor neuropathy from sub-acute poisoning. Beethoven's physicians thought that he had alcohol dependence. He particularly liked wine that happened to be tainted with lead. Conclusions Beethoven's chronic consumption of wine tainted with lead is a better explanation of his hearing loss than other causes. Level of Evidence N/A. Laryngoscope, 123:2854–2858, 2013
Chondrules: Precursors and interactions with the nebular gas

– Chondrule compositions suggest either ferroan precursors and evaporation, or magnesian precursors and condensation. Type I chondrule precursors include granoblastic olivine aggregates (planetary or nebular) and fine-grained (dustball) precursors. In carbonaceous chondrites, type I chondrule precursors were S-free, while type II chondrules have higher Fe/Mn than in ordinary chondrites. Many type II chondrules contain diverse forsteritic relicts, consistent with polymict dustball precursors. The relationship between finer and coarser grained type I chondrules in ordinary chondrites suggests more evaporation from more highly melted chondrules. Fe metal in type I, and Na and S in type II chondrules indicate high partial pressures in ambient gas, as they are rapidly evaporated at canonical conditions. The occurrence of metal, sulfide, or low-Ca pyroxene on chondrule rims suggests (re)condensation. In Semarkona type II chondrules, Na-rich olivine cores, Na-poor melt inclusions, and Na-rich mesostases suggest evaporation followed by recondensation. Type II chondrules have correlated FeO and MnO, consistent with condensation onto forsteritic precursors, but with different ratios in carbonaceous chondrites and ordinary chondrites, indicating different redox history. The high partial pressures of lithophile elements require large dense clouds, either clumps in the protoplanetary disk, impact plumes, or bow shocks around protoplanets. In ordinary chondrites, clusters of type I and type II chondrules indicate high number densities and their similar oxygen isotopic compositions suggest recycling together. In carbonaceous chondrites, the much less abundant type II chondrules were probably added late to batches of type I chondrules from different O isotopic reservoirs.
SPERMIDINE CYTOTOXICITY IN VITRO: EFFECT OF SERUM AND OXYGEN TENSION

Plasma amine oxidase activities (benzylamine oxidase and spermine oxidase) were determined in the sera of a number of species of various ages. Benzylamine oxidase (BZO) activity, measured spectrophotometrically, was present in bovine, equine, and ovine species examined. Generally its activity in serum increased with the age of the animal. Spermine oxidase activity (SPO) was estimated by a bioassay of in vitro toxicity and did not necessarily correlate with BZO. Cytotoxicity in the presence of spermidine was found only in the sera of the ruminant species examined. Serum activity tended to rise with animal age; however, great variability was found in perinatal bovine sera. The 50% lethal dose (LD50) of spermidine in the presence of 5% serum and 4 X 10(4) NS1 cells/ml was in the micromolar range. Aminoguanidine, a known inhibitor of SPO, could prevent the cytotoxic effects of exogenously added spermidine in vitro. In contrast, raising the ambient oxygen tension in the incubation environment to 95% lowered the LD50 dose of spermidine required for cytotoxicity. The results suggest that a cell line of hematogenous origin is susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of the products of oxidative deamination of spermidine by SPO, an enzyme present in perinatal bovine sera, and that these cytotoxic effects are potentiated in the presence of an oxygen-enriched environment in vitro.
OCT image guidance for ablation therapy of cardiac arrhythmias

Radio-frequency ablation (RFA) is a standard treatment for cardiac arrhythmias. OCT imaging has the potential to provide real-time monitoring of cardiac RFA therapy, visualizing lesion formation and assessing tissue contact in the presence of blood. Article not available.
Does regional currency integration ameliorate global macroeconomic shocks in sub-Saharan Africa? The case of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider whether regional currency integration in sub-Saharan Africa ameliorates global macroeconomic shocks by considering the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis on economic growth. This suggests that Central Africa Franc Zone (CFAZ) eurocurrency union membership amplifies the effects of global business cycles in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The authors estimate the parameters of a quantity theory model of economic growth within a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) Framework. Findings – Parameter estimates from GEE specifications reveal that the contraction in credit during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 had larger adverse growth effects on sub-Saharan African countries who were members of the CFAZ eurocurrency union. The authors also find that sub-Saharan African countries who were members of the CFAZ eurocurrency union were more likely to experience a contraction in credit. Originality/value – As far as the authors can di...
Gas chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of volatile fluoroether anesthetics by derivatized cyclodextrins II. Preparative-scale separations for isoflurane

Abstract Preparative-scale gas chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of isoflurane, a volatile anesthetic, has been achieved with 2 m × 10 mm I.D. columns, packed with 80–100 mesh Chromosorb W AW, coated with up to 23% (w/w) trifluoroacetyl γ-cyclodextrin as stationary phase. The type and particle size of the support, the concentration of the stationary phase and the separation conditions were varied to improve product purity and the production rate under overloaded elution mode conditions. Using a sampling interface located between the exit of the preparative column and the fraction collector, effluent samples were directed onto a short, high-efficiency analytical capillary column every 30 s to achieve on-line enantiomeric analysis of the eluting bands, which allowed the calculation of purity, recovery and production rate for the separations.
Shape-based image compression

As medical image data are acquired at higher spatial, gray-scale, and temporal resolution, with increasing image dimensionality and vectorial components per image element, the need to be able to compress them becomes increasingly important, especially for the practical utilization of PACS. Further, a compression method that allows an efficient in-memory representation would be very useful for those processing situations in which the non-compressed data are beyond RAM resources. Consider an n-dimensional (nD) scene intensity function (m- valued) as a digital surface in an (n plus m)D space as described below. The approach leads to a spectrum of lossless and lossy compression methods. For a 2D, scalar valued (m equals 1) scene S, for example, the 3D digital surface representing S is simply the graph of the scene intensity function. The first two coordinates of points on the surface represent the coordinates of a pixel in S and the third coordinate represents the pixel's intensity. In this example, if m equals 2, then the third and the fourth coordinates of the points in the 4D surface represent the two pixel values. The digital surfaces obtained from scenes via this process (referred to as lifting as described below) have certain distinct topological properties not shared by general digital surfaces (for example, they do not enclose holes). These properties allow us to encode them elegantly. For example, the entire surface (for any finite n greater than 0, m greater than 0) can be represented by a Hamiltonian path of surface elements in the graph representing the surface. This path is chain-encoded facilitated by the small number of possible configurations and orientations of adjacent surface elements. Our (very) preliminary results indicate lossless compression ratios of 4.6:1 for CT slices and 1.7:1 for CR scalar-valued scenes (n equals 2, m equals 1) representing 2D scenes. Our preliminary implementation uses simple chain codes that do not exploit the repetitive patterns in the Hamiltonian path. When this is done, and the implementation is extended to scenes with n plus m greater than 3, we expect a higher degree of compression due to the full exploitation of the spatio-temporal and vectorial component coherence. This paper opens a new direction for data compression not taken in previous research. It seems to capture regional information about the uniformity of the intensity distribution better than other methods. It also extends the current shape-based methods used in image interpolation to include compression.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Can nanotechnology be fashionable

Cotton gets a makeover, turning it from an old-fashioned material into a fabric for the future.