cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Eosinophil cationic protein in children with respiratory allergies – When is it useful?

Backgrounds: Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is a secretory protein that is released from eosinophils in patients with allergic diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the usefulness of determination of serum ECP levels in children with respiratory allergies. Specific objectives were: (1) to asses if there are any differences in serum ECP concentrations between treated and untreated children with asthma, children with rhinitis, and children with both astma and rhinitis and (2) if the natural seasonal exposure to sensitizing allergens is responsible for increasing serum ECP. Methods: The study included treated (N=156) and untreated (N=55) children with asthma, children with rhinitis, and children with both, astma and rhinitis. Serum ECP was measured in serum collected between 8:00 and 12:00 a.m. under standardized preanalytical conditions (regarding the type of blood collection tube, time and incubation temperature during blood clotting). Results: Untreated children, had significantly higher (p Conclusions: If all limiting factors for reliable determination of serum ECP should be taken into account, determination of ECP could be helpful in objective evaluation of eosinophil degranulation in allergic inflammation and for monitoring the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory treatment.
Contributions of maternal emotional functioning to socialization of coping

This study examined whether maternal emotional functioning-emotional awareness and depression-guides the coping suggestions mothers make to their children in the context of a common childhood stressor (peer victimization). Across two waves of a longitudinal study, 330 mothers and their second graders (mean age (M) = 7.95 years, SD = .33; 158 boys and 172 girls) completed questionnaires. Emotional awareness predicted more primary control engagement suggestions (directly addressing stress or emotions). Depression predicted fewer cognitive restructuring suggestions (thinking positively) and more cognitive avoidance suggestions (orienting thoughts away from stress). Interactive effects between maternal emotional functioning and child sex also emerged. This study elucidates the impact of mothers' emotional functioning on how they teach their children to cope with stress.
Studies in cyclocopolymerization. VI. Copolymerization of trimethylvinylsilane and dimethyldivinylsilane with maleic anhydride

This paper reports the results of copolymerization of trimethylvinylsilane and dimethyldivinylsilane, respectively, with maleic anhydride. The former forms a 1:1 alternating copolymer while the latter, being a 1,4-pentadiene, forms a 1:2 cyclocopolymer. Consistent with the theory that charge-transfer complexes are involved in certain copolymerizations, it has been shown in this work that both of the vinyl silanes studied form charge-transfer complexes with maleic anhydride. The stoichiometric composition of these complexes have been shown by ultraviolet analysis to be 1:1 molar complexes. The equilibrium constants for complexation of trimethylvinylsilane and dimethyldivinylsilane with maleic anhydride have been determined by NMR and are 0.061 and 0.1071./mole, respectively.
Calorigenic Effects of Glucagon and Epinephrine in Anesthetized Dogs

SummaryThe effect of infusing for 10 min either epinephrine or glucagon on oxygen consumption, plasma FFA, blood sugar, and blood lactate was studied in fasting anesthetized dogs. Calorigenic effect is expressed as excess oxygen consumption (ml/ kg) above the mean preinfusion level for the hour following the beginning of the infusion. Infusion of epinephrine (30 μg/kg in 10 min) caused mean calorigenic effect of 45 ml O2/kg (SE ± 5, P < 0.05). Glucagon at doses of 10, 30, and 110 μg/kg in 10 min produced calorigenic effects (means ± SE) of 49 ± 6, 66 ± 7, and 78 ± 15 ml/kg, respectively, which were significant (P < 0.05).The calorigenic effect of infusing 10 μg/ kg of glucagon compares with that obtained by infusing 30 μg/kg of epinephrine. Taking into account the molecular weight of the two hormones, the calorigenic effect per nmole of glucagon infused is 63 times greater than that produced by 1 nmole of epinephrine.It is suggested that the calorigenic effect, and the decrease of plasma FFA produced by g...
Diversification within the Mexican vole ( Microtus mexicanus ) and the role of post-Pleistocene climate change

To examine the partitioning of genetic variation within the Mexican vole (Microtus mexicanus), we analyzed variation within the cytochrome b (cytb, ca. 953 bp) from 44 samples of the Mexican vole from the mountains of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Phylogeographic analyses demonstrated strong support for a western clade and an eastern clade, corresponding to the Sierra Madre Occidental and mountains of the southwestern United States (western clade) and the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre del Sur (eastern clade). Levels of genetic dis- tinctiveness among vole populations in Mexico and the southwestern United States support recognition of the Mogollon vole (Microtus mogollonensis). Estimates of lineage divergence suggested an older divergence for populations in Mexico and a more recent divergence for the presumptive M. mogollonensis. Ecological analyses demonstrated a distinct cli- mate niche between vole lineages in the Southwest and Mexico, which indicated the possible role of environmental variation in diversification of the Mexican vole. A similar pattern of climatic separation was also demonstrated between clades of the codistributed taxa Sigmodon hispidus, Neotoma mexicana, and Peromyscus truei, suggesting a broader role for climatic variation in the origin and maintenance of the region's biodiversity. RESUMEN.—Para examinar la distribucion de la variacion genetica en el metorito mexicano, analizamos la variacion en el citocromo b (cytb, c. 953 pb) en 44 muestras del metorito mexicano de las montanas de Mexico y del suroeste de Estados Unidos. Los analisis filogeograficos demostraron fuerte apoyo para un clado occidental y un clado oriental, cor- respondientes a la Sierra Madre Occidental y las montanas del suroeste de Estados Unidos (oeste) y la Sierra Madre Oriental y la Sierra Madre del Sur (este). Los niveles de diferencia genetica entre las poblaciones de metoritos en Mexico y las del sur de Estados Unidos apoyan el reconocimiento del metorito Mogollon (Microtus mogollonensis) como especie. Las estimaciones de divergencia entre linajes indican una divergencia mas remota para las poblaciones en Mexico y una mas reciente para el presunto M. mogollonensis. Los analisis ecologicos demuestran nichos climaticos distintos entre los linajes de metorito en el suroeste de Estados Unidos y en Mexico, lo cual indica el posible papel de la variacion ambiental en la diversificacion del metorito mexicano. Un patron similar de separacion climatica fue tambien demostrado entre clados de los taxones codistribuidos: Sigmodon hispidus, Neotoma mexicana y Peromysus truei, sugiriendo que la variacion climatica tiene un mayor papel en el origen y el mantenimiento de la biodiversidad de la region.
EMPIRICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PAST IN ASSESSING MULTIDIMENSIONAL WELL-BEING

The purpose of this brief report was to provide a preliminary evaluation of the empirical contributions of an individual’s perceptions of the past in the practical assessment of multidimensional well-being. Dimensions of well-being assessed with the I COPPE Scale were interpersonal, community, occupational, physical, psychological, economic, and overall. Four hundred twenty-six participants provided responses to the I COPPE Scale and several comparison instruments. Two practical methods for creating I COPPE composite scores were compared and differed by only the inclusion (i.e., Method 1) or exclusion (i.e., Method 2) of an indicator of past well-being. Multiple-group structural equation modeling framework was used and method (i.e., Method 1 and Method 2) was the grouping variable. An individual’s perceptions of the past offered negligible empirical contributions over and above an individual’s perceptions of the present and future in the practical assessment of multidimensional well-being. Method 2 performed as well as Method 1. C
Gene sequences of the pil operon reveal relationships between symbiotic strains of Vibrio fischeri

Symbiosis between the bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) and Vibrio fischeri bacteria has been a well-studied model for understanding the molecular mechanisms of colonization and adherence to host cells. For example, pilin expression has been observed to cause subtle variation in colonization for a number of Gram-negative bacteria with eukaryotic hosts. To investigate variation amongst pil genes of closely related strains of vibrios, we amplified pil genes A, B, C and D to determine orientation and sequence similarity to other symbiotic vibrios. The pilA gene was found to be upstream from all other pil genes, and not contiguous with the rest of the operon. The pilB, pilC and pilD loci were flanked at the 3' end by yacE, followed by a conserved hypothetical gene. DNA sequences of each pil gene were aligned and analysed phylogenetically using parsimony for both individual and combined gene trees. Results demonstrate that certain pil loci (pilB and pilD) are conserved among strains of V. fischeri, but pilC differs in sequence between symbiotic and free-living strains. Phylogenetic analysis of all pil genes gives better resolution of Indo-west Pacific V. fischeri symbionts compared with analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. Hawaiian and Australian symbiotic strains form one monophyletic tree, supporting the hypothesis that V. fischeri strain specificity is selected by the geographical location of their hosts and is not related to specific squid species.
An experimental 20/30 GHz communications satellite conceptual design employing multiple-beam paraboloid reflector antennas

An experimental 20/30 GHz communications satellite conceptual design is described which employs multiple-beam paraboloid reflector antennas coupled to a TDMA transponder. It is shown that the satellite employs solid state GaAs FET power amplifiers and low noise amplifiers while signal processing and switching takes place on-board the spacecraft. The proposed areas to be served by this satellite would be the continental U.S. plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as southern Canada and Mexico City. Finally, attention is given to the earth stations which are designed to be low cost.
A Research Strategy for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy

A classification scheme is proposed that integrates previous outcome studies in psychotherapy. Studies are classified into one of three frameworks according to the question addressed, the assumptions made, and the experimental designs used. Strengths and weaknesses of the three frameworks are examined within the context of specific studies of outcome. Evidence from the three frameworks suggests an alternative formulation of the question about outcome and a new experimental design. Specifically, the design involves evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapy with respect to a population of patients deemed appropriate for psychotherapy. This design avoids random assignment of patient to psychotherapist and permits the investigator to address the question of whether psychotherapists are effective with patients whom they regard as appropriate for their particular type of therapeutic intervention.
Nickel Toxicity in the Young Bovine

Twenty-three male dairy calves were fed (a) 0, (b) 62.5, (c) 250, or (d) 1000 ppm elemental nickel as NiCO/sub 3/ in the total diet from 13 to 21 weeks of age. Three animals on each treatment were subjected to digestion and balance trials and killed for tissue histological comparisons, and a like number (two for 62.5 ppm) were fed the basal ration in a 6-week posttreatment recovery period. Feed intake and growth rate were slightly retarded by 250 ppm Ni. Even though the calves fed 1000 ppm Ni had greatly reduced feed intake and lost weight during the 8-week treatment period, they were not emaciated and appeared to be younger than the others. During the posttreatment recovery period, growth rate of those which had been given 1000 ppm Ni was at least equal to that of the others. Digestibility coefficients were not affected by the Ni treatments but nitrogen retention was significantly lowered by 1000 ppm Ni and was associated with reduced feed intake. On a molar percentage basis, propionate was increased and butyrate decreased in rumen fluid from animals on the higher levels of nickel supplementation. Relative to body weight, the fresh weight of lung, heart, spleen, liver,more » gall bladder, kidney, brain, and testis was unaffected by treatments. Nickel did not affect ruminal, abomasal, duodenal, liver and testicular tissues histologically. Kidneys were nephritic, and the degree of severity increased with the nickel level. 26 references, 1 figure, 5 tables.« less
Balancing nitrogen retention ecosystem services and greenhouse gas disservices at the landscape scale

Abstract The “water quality maintenance function” of landscape features such as riparian zones has long been recognized as an important ecosystem service. More recently, concerns have emerged about side effects of ecosystem “disservices,” especially greenhouse gas production, associated with landscape approaches to agricultural nutrient management. Here we suggest that several decades of landscape scale research provide a strong platform for comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services and disservices associated with this management. Using N 2 O production disservices associated with nitrogen removal services as an example, we first describe some key concepts and challenges to our ability to connect sources and sinks of nitrogen in the landscape and to comprehensively assess the greenhouse gas implications of landscape nitrogen management. We then present a case study of how information on nitrogen sources and sinks (ponds, riparian zones, low order stream channels) in a landscape can be used as a platform for assessing N 2 O production and other ecosystem disservices at the landscape scale. While these disservices are highly variable and difficult to quantify, results suggest that factors such as soil and sediment texture, oxygen, and nitrate levels influence fluxes in a systematic way that should allow for the development of assessment and accounting protocols to account for ecosystem services and disservices associated with nitrogen flows in complex landscapes.
Variability in chlorophyll and sea surface temperature fronts in the Long Island Sound outflow region from satellite observations

[1] The spatial and temporal patterns of ocean color (i.e., chlorophyll) and sea surface temperature (SST) fronts in the coastal zone of the northwest Atlantic were studied over a 2-year period. Chlorophyll images were derived from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor, while SST data were obtained from the advanced very high resolution radiometer, both flying onboard Earth-observing satellites. An edge detection algorithm was applied to each of the image sets to identify chlorophyll and thermal fronts. Persistent chlorophyll and thermal fronts co-occurred in the same vicinity of the inner/middle shelf and were spatially congruent during second (April–May–June) and third (July–August–September) quarters and least coincident during the first (January–February–March). Calculations of the frontogenesis function showed strongest frontogenic tendencies coincident with the chlorophyll and thermal fronts. A major finding of this study was the congruence of both chlorophyll and thermal fronts at a time when the coastal current jet was the most robust, strongly suggesting that it is the presence of this jet that may be a driving force in establishing these fronts. Except for a few months per year, no clear chlorophyll enhancement was observed at thermal fronts.
Safety warning based on highway sensor networks

We propose a novel vision for highway safety warning based on sensor networks; the system aims to provide user-friendly zero-delay safety warnings to motorists. Our idea leverages advanced sensing, networking and storage technologies. Highway sensors detect events and store event records at multiple designated locations such that passing drivers can be alerted to potential dangers or traffic delays through wireless communication among sensors deployed at the highway and in vehicles. We have designed a location-centric storage protocol which manages the propagation and storage of event records based on the time needed to clear the event in the highway. This protocol ensures that event records can be fairly distributed among highway sensors when event arrival rate is Poisson distributed with the same mean, as verified by our simulation study and theoretical performance analysis.
Information Utilization in Small Group Decision Making: A Study of the Evaluative Interaction Model

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors, both communicative and noncommunicative, that lead to the utilization of information in a decision-making group. The study posited that the e...
Development of an ultrasound imaging system for needle guidance

Ultrasound transducers are commonly used to guide needle insertion procedures such as central line placement and biopsies, but these image guided procedures have steep learning curves and high user variability. An ultrasound imaging system has been developed that may significantly simplify ultrasound guidance procedures while producing high quality volumetric imagery. The system features an affixable thin flexible ultrasound transducer that conforms to curved body surfaces and a backward propagation-based image reconstruction technique. The ultrasound imaging system was used in a preliminary demonstration to image the cross-section of a needle in a cylindrical soft tissue phantom. The images compared favorably to images obtained from a commercial ultrasound system. The encouraging imaging results demonstrate the potential of the conformal ultrasound approach for ultrasound guidance procedures. The proposed conformal ultrasound approach may significantly simplify current medical procedures, while also providing high resolution volumetric imagery.
Age-Related Association of Tail Tendon Break Time With Tissue Pentosidine in DBA/2 vs C57BL/6 Mice: The Effect of Dietary Restriction

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the development of a panel of biomarkers useful in the evaluation of interventions on aging processes. An ideal marker should change with age, be related to species longevity, and respond to the effects of dietary restriction, which is the only intervention currently known to increase species longevity. In the present study; we compared parameters of collagen aging (i.e., tail tendon break time [TBT] and the glycoxidation product pentosidine) in tendon, ear, and skin of two species of rodents with different life spans: the shorter-lived DBA/2 versus the longer-lived C57BL/6 mouse strain. Both TBT and tissue pentosidine significantly increased with age in both strains of mice. The rate of increase for TBT And pentosidine occurred faster for the DBA/2 compared with the C57BL/6 strain. Dietary restriction significantly inhibited the age-related increase of TBT and pentosidine formation rte in DBA/2 mice. In C57BL/6 mice, the age-related increase of TBT was significantly inhibited by dietary restriction. However, except for tendon at 24 months, pentosidine level was not affected by dietary restriction. These studies show that the rate of collagen aging, as reflected by TBT and glycoxidation, increases proportionally with age, and that these rate increases are related to longevity in two strains of mice. Pentosidine can be monitored with age just as well in a piece of easily accessible ear tissue as in skin or tendon. Thus, pentosidine is expected to be a useful and easily measurable noninvasive marker in future intervention studies on aging.
Total thyroidectomy: Complications and technique

During the 27-year period from 1957 to 1984, four hundred thirty patients underwent total thyroidectomies for malignant or benign disease of the thyroid gland at our institutions. Thyroid cancer was found in 83.4% of cases, and 47.2% of these had concomitant lymph node dissections. Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve injury occurred in 6.2% of the entire series. Permanent unilateral vocal cord paralysis occurred in 2.5% of the patients operated on, although only 1 patient (0.45%) sustained this complication in the past 14 years. No patient had permanent bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Transient hypoparathyroidism was seen in 16.8% of patients with permanent hypoparathyroidism occurring in 4.0%. The incidence of permanent hypoparathyroidism fell to 2.7% during the past 14 years and was directly related to the extent of thyroid cancer found at operation. Postoperative complications decrease with the experience of the surgeon and increase with reoperations and extensive disease. Total thyroidectomy continues to be our treatment of choice for thyroid cancer.
Crizotinib, a c-Met Inhibitor, Prevents Metastasis in a Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Model

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor in adults and half of the primary tumors will develop fatal metastatic disease to the liver and the lung. Crizotinib, an inhibitor of c-Met, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and ROS1, inhibited the phosphorylation of the c-Met receptor but not of ALK or ROS1 in uveal melanoma cells and tumor tissue. Consequently, migration of uveal melanoma cells was suppressed in vitro at a concentration associated with the specific inhibition of c-Met phosphorylation. This effect on cell migration could be recapitulated with siRNA specific to c-Met but not to ALK or ROS1. Therefore, we developed a uveal melanoma metastatic mouse model with EGFP-luciferase-labeled uveal melanoma cells transplanted by retro-orbital injections to test the effect of crizotinib on metastasis. In this model, there was development of melanoma within the eye and also metastases to the liver and lung at 7 weeks after the initial transplantation. When mice were treated with crizotinib starting 1 week after the transplantation, we observed a significant reduction in the development of metastases as compared with untreated control sets. These results indicate that the inhibition of c-Met activity alone may be sufficient to strongly inhibit metastasis of uveal melanoma from forming, suggesting crizotinib as a potential adjuvant therapy for patients with primary uveal melanoma who are at high risk for the development of metastatic disease.
American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Presidential Address: Food for Thought: It's More Than Nutrition

Three issues were highlighted in the 30th Presidential Address to the society: (1) A.S.P.E.N.'s unique interdisciplinary structure; (2) support of the A.S.P.E.N. Rhoads Research Foundation; and (3) the meaning of food from the perspective of the patient who is receiving life-sustaining home enteral or parenteral nutrition. A.S.P.E.N., founded as a multidisciplinary society in the 1970s has evolved into an interdisciplinary society with an expanded and diverse membership of health care professionals and scientists with overlapping interests in clinical nutrition and metabolism. A.S.P.E.N. envisions an environment in which every patient receives safe, efficacious, and high quality patient care. The society is committed to advancing the science and practice of nutrition support therapy. In support of this direction, the A.S.P.E.N. Rhoads Research Foundation exists to fund research grants, promote evidence-based practice, and foster training and mentorship in nutrition and metabolic research. The scientific a...
Testing of reliability-Analysis tools

An outline is presented of issues raised in verifying the accuracy of reliability analysis tools. State-of-the-art reliability analysis tools implement various decomposition, aggregation, and estimation techniques to compute the reliability of a diversity of complex fault-tolerant computer systems. However, no formal methodology has been formulated for validating the reliability estimates produced by these tools. The author presents three states of testing that can be performed on most reliability analysis tools to effectively increase confidence in a tool. These testing stages were applied to the SURE (semi-Markov unreliability range evaluator) reliability analysis tool, and the results of the testing are discussed. >
The Dramaturgical Process as a Mechanism for Identity Development of LGBTQ Youth and Its Relationship to Detypification.

This article describes the dramaturgical process—the telling, adapting, and performing of personal stories—as a method for accessing how youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, a...
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Transductive Recombination Can Occur Frequently and in Proportion to Polyadenylation Signal Readthrough

One model for retroviral transduction suggests that template switching between viral RNAs and polyadenylation readthrough sequences is responsible for the generation of acute transforming retroviruses. For this study, we examined reverse transcription products of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-based vectors designed to mimic postulated transduction intermediates. For maximization of the discontinuous mode of DNA synthesis proposed to generate transductants, sequences located between the vectors' two long terminal repeats (vector “body” sequences) and polyadenylation readthrough “tail” sequences were made highly homologous. Ten genetic markers were introduced to indicate which products had acquired tail sequences by a process we term transductive recombination. Marker segregation patterns for over 100 individual products were determined, and they revealed that more than half of the progeny proviruses were transductive recombinants. Although most crossovers occurred in regions of homology, about 5% were nonhomologous and some included insertions. Ratios of encapsidated readthrough and polyadenylated transcripts for vectors with wild-type and inactivated polyadenylation signals were compared, and transductive recombination frequencies were found to correlate with the readthrough transcript prevalence. In assays in which either vector body or tail could serve as a recombination donor, recombination between tail and body sequences was at least as frequent as body-body exchange. We propose that transductive recombination may contribute to natural HIV variation by providing a mechanism for the acquisition of nongenomic sequences.
Beyond the Binary: Critical Feminisms in Social Work

Affilia has had 30 or more years of creating and holding space open for feminist social work scholars, activists, and poets to reflect on the nexus of their work and social justice. So why is Affilia publishing this special issue on critical feminisms and why is the journal’s corporate board organizing an upcoming conference on unsettling feminisms? Is there a need? Yes, we would answer emphatically. There is a need to open and broaden spaces for critical feminist work because much feminist social work research, practice, and education focus on ‘‘women’s issues’’ without critically exploring or analyzing structural issues and forces as they inform people’s lives. In this era of preemptive wars and increasingly globalized racial and class disparities, critical voices are systematically silenced or dismissed. Without critical feminist voices that highlight the ways in which inequalities in power and social structures distort gender, many people experience limited access to opportunities and a reduced potential for development. We join with Trevino, Harris, and Wallace (2008, p. 8) and paraphrase the much-needed contribution from critical scholarship:
Simplified Novel Application (SNApp) framework: a guide to developing and implementing second-generation mobile applications for behavioral health research

Advances in mobile technology and mobile applications (apps) have opened up an exciting new frontier for behavioral health researchers, with a “second generation” of apps allowing for the simultaneous collection of multiple streams of data in real time. With this comes a host of technical decisions and ethical considerations unique to this evolving approach to research. Drawing on our experience developing a second-generation app for the simultaneous collection of text message, voice, and self-report data, we provide a framework for researchers interested in developing and using second-generation mobile apps to study health behaviors. Our Simplified Novel Application (SNApp) framework breaks the app development process into four phases: (1) information and resource gathering, (2) software and hardware decisions, (3) software development and testing, and (4) study start-up and implementation. At each phase, we address common challenges and ethical issues and make suggestions for effective and efficient app development. Our goal is to help researchers effectively balance priorities related to the function of the app with the realities of app development, human subjects issues, and project resource constraints.
A Multi-Dimensional View Of Socio-Technical Information Systems Research And Technochange

Technical change is almost always the catalyst for organization change. Technochange is the use of information technology to drive improvements in organizational performance. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to continue the movement from socio-technical thinking to technochange thinking by analyzing the socio-technical research on information technology projects from different viewpoints. This is accomplished by using a multi-dimensional framework that delivers a fresh research perspective into the information technology, human and organization aspects of technochange. The results are a socio-technochange conceptual frame for the types of statistical analysis employed, the level of analysis conducted, the logical relationships between the causes and the outcomes, and the impact on the organization. This provides a coherent synopsis of the tools and interpretations needed to give us sufficient background to better understand technochange and its relationship to improved organizational performance.
Agape, Gift, and Intellectual Property

The scope of protection of intellectual property (IP) has become a social justice as well as a legal and business issue, especially in the international arena, where disputes continue over whether expanded IP rights help or harm people in developing nations. Scholars writing in the Christian tradition have begun to respond to these questions, analyzing IP-related issues in the light of Christian theological themes such as creation, stewardship, and solidarity with the poor.This paper, written for a Pepperdine Law School symposium on love and justice, explores potential implications for IP of another central Christian theme, agape: the form of love, independent of particularistic loyalties, that is most distinctive of Christian ethics. Agape in turns connects with the idea of “gift”: that creativity, among other human attributes, is a gift that humans receive (from a divine giver, Christians and other religious believers say). In Christian thought the sense of gift, and gratitude for the gift, connects to love of God and neighbor: the response of gratitude to God is to use the gift to benefit others. I connect these themes to those critics of IP rights, such as Lewis Hyde, who appeal to the virtues of a “gift economy” in which knowledge is shared rather than commoditized. Economies based on gift, and gratitude to the giver, have been thought to have a dark side: they can reinforce personal indebtedness and social hierarchies. But, following on the work of other Christian thinkers, I argue that the gift-giving economy can be universalized, and made more egalitarian, if we maintain, or recover, the sense that the human talents that produce goods are themselves gifts from a universal source (in Christian and other religious thought, from the God who gives all gifts in the first place).Creativity is thus a fundamental gift we receive, and IP law should encourage the response of gratitude: dissemination of that gift to others to benefit them, and empowerment of others to realize their own creative gifts. The paper concludes with suggested general implications for IP law and policy.
A meta-analytical study of pediatric bipolar disorder : symptomology and comorbidity.

A META-ANALYTICAL STUDY OF PEDIATRIC BIPOLAR DISORDER: SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND COMORBIDITY APRIL WALTER Antioch University Seattle Seattle, WA. A meta-analysis approach was employed to research the symptomatology and comorbidity of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). This approach was chosen due to the wide range of previously published research results and the limited size of the populations investigated. Database searches of peer-reviewed empirical research identified 861 journal articles published on the topic of pediatric bipolar disorder over the last 49 years. Fifty-four articles, with a total subject pool of 10,318, met specific inclusion criteria, which included being a quantitative study using standardized mean difference, correlation coefficient, or odds-ratio statistics. Fifteen separate meta-analyses were used to determine specificity regarding: differences reported in the literature between pediatric and adult BPD, age of onset of PBD, comorbidity of cardinal symptoms of mania (euphoria, grandiosity, irritability), prevalence of diagnostic type (PBD-I, PBD-II, PBD-NOS), cycling type (chronic, rapid, episodic), and comorbidity with other often overlapping disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, major depression, and autism spectrum disorders. All but three of the meta-analyses (chronic cycling, ODD, and MD comorbidity) resulted in significant findings. All of the PBD diagnoses and most of the
Efficacy and safety of catheter-based rheolytic and aspiration thrombectomy in children.

Background Vascular thromboses are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Data in children regarding catheter-based rheolytic and aspiration thrombectomy systems are limited. We sought to review the safety and efficacy of catheter-based rheolytic and aspiration thrombectomy systems in children. Methods: Data of all children having undergone thrombectomy using specialized rheolytic or aspiration systems were reviewed. Results: Thrombectomy was performed in 50 vessels in 21 patients, median age 1.9 months (8 days–18 yrs), median weight 4.3 (1.1–67.9) kg. Thrombectomy was performed using AngioJet in 16, Helix Clot Buster in 5, Fetch catheter in 8, Pronto catheter in 1, and a combination of other systems in 20 vessels (with AngioJet in 16). Thrombectomy was successful in 47/50 (94%) vessels in 18/21 (86%) patients with additional balloon/stent therapy or tPA administration performed in 16/18 (89%) of these patients. There were 2 (9.5%) major complications (both with AngioJet) consisting of asystole when thrombectomy was performed using activation times of >5 sec. At a median follow-up of 10 months (2 weeks–7 years), all 47 successfully treated vessels are patent, with 8/18 (44%) patients requiring reintervention with angioplasty/stent placement or repeat thrombectomy. Conclusions: Catheter-based thrombectomy systems are an important adjunctive tool in the treatment of children with thrombotic vessel occlusions. Significant hemodynamic compromise seen when using AngioJet may be minimized by using activation times of ≤5 sec. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ID: 222 : The role of mTOR in TLR7/9 mediated signaling and cytokine production by human plasmacytoid dendritic cells

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) integrates signals from growth factors, energy, and nutrients to regulate protein synthesis, cell growth, cell differentiation, and autophagy. Rapamycin is known to substantially inhibit IFN- α production in mouse pDC by blocking the interaction of TLR9 with MyD88. In contrast, in agreement with others, we observed that rapamycin only partially inhibited HSV-induced (TLR9) IFN- α production by human pDC. To understand how the mTOR pathway affects TLR-induced IFN- α expression in human pDC, we examined the activation of ribosome protein S6, the major substrate of mTORC1/p70S6K, in pDC in response to different stimuli. We found that phosphorylation of S6 was rapidly induced by HSV-1, influenza, CpG A, CpG B, LPS and imiquimod, as well as by the cytokines IFN- α , IFN- β , and TNF- α , but not in response to IFN- λ 1, IL-10 or IL-6. Using phospho-flow in combination with intracellular cytokine staining, we observed only p-S6-positive pDC produced IFN- α . Unexpectedly, cytokine-induced p-S6 was completely abolished in the presence of rapamycin, however, virus-induced p-S6-positive cells were partially affected. Interestingly, both HIV-1MN and AT2-inactivated HIV-1MN induced a delayed p-S6 compared to the other viruses, which is consistent with the delayed IFN- α induction by HIV-1. Given that mTORC1 function is regulated by the formation of hybrid compartments containing both early and late endosomes, the delay of p-S6 may indicate a perturbation of endocytic trafficking by HIV-1. Currently, the mechanism of how TLR7/9 engage with the mTOR pathway to shape the type, dynamics, and magnitude of pDC innate immune responses is under investigation.
Abstract A83: Distinct BRAF (V600E) and KRAS mutations in high microsatellite instability sporadic colorectal cancer in African Americans

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops through genetic, epigenetic and environmental events that result in uncontrolled cell proliferation. CRC incidence and mortality is higher in African Americans (AAs) than in the general population. Here, we carried out a molecular analysis of sporadic CRC tumors from AAs, in order to investigate possible explanations for the observed disparities. Experimental Design: A total of 222 AA CRC tumors were analyzed for microsatellite instability (MSI) for protein expression of two DNA mismatch repair genes (MMR), MLH1 and MSH2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC), for the methylation silencing of MLH1, p16, APC and APC2 promoters by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and for point mutations in two oncogenes, KRAS and BRAF by sequencing. Results: In our sample, 19.8% of the AAs CRC tumors were MSI high (MSI-H) and did not associate with any of the clinicopathological features, except tumor differentiation. A higher level of inactive DNA MMR proteins MLH1 (41%) and MSH2 (33%) were found by IHC. MSP analysis revealed a high level of methylation for MLH1 (66%), APC (53%) and APC2 (90%), but not for p16 (26%). BRAF mutations were only within the MSI-H tumors, while most (64%) of KRAS mutations were found within the non-MSI-H group. Conclusions: MLH1, MSH2 and BRAF alterations are significantly associated with MSI-H phenotype unlike APC, and APC2 methylation, and KRAS mutation. The prominent role of DNA MMR gene suppression in MSI-H and a distinctive role of BRAF and KRAS mutations with respect to MSI status are supported by this study.
The Policy Consequences of Allowing Retired Justices to Serve on the U.S. Supreme Court

When the U.S. Supreme Court sits with an even number of justices it risks a equally divided outcome, which results in the non-precedential affirmance of the lower court decision thereby preserving inconstancies in the law. Justices have used this risk to justify choosing not recuse themselves in cases with potential conflicts of interest. An existing policy proposal suggests using retired justices as stand-ins for recused justices, thereby addressing both concerns. Bringing an empirical perspective to this debate, we analyze how using replacement justices would have affected the policy outcome in over 800 of the Court's decisions since 1946. Our results suggest that the existence of a replacement justice policy would likely have resulted in appreciable changes to legal policy across a variety of important cases.
Utilization of High-Oil Corn in Diets for Broiler Chickens

Abstract Two trials of similar experimental design were conducted to evaluate the performance of broiler chicken on diets containing high oil corn (HOC) or yellow dent corn (YDC). Diets contained fixed levels of 0, 2, 4, and 6% supplemental poultry oil and were formulated to optimum nutrient density; therefore, diets containing HOC were higher in energy than diets with YDC. Mail broilers fed diets with HOC weighed more and were more efficient in converting their feed to gain than those fed diets with YDC; however, the energy utilization of each diet was similar. There were no significant differences in dressing percentage between birds fed diets with HOC or YDC; however, birds fed diets with HOC had less (P≤.05) abdominal fat than those fed diets with YDC. Drip loss during cooking of thigh meat was less (P≤.05) in broilers fed diets with HOC. Fatty acid composition of adipose tissue was affected by both source of corn and level of supplemental poultry oil; both sources of corn influenced fatty acid composition in a similar manner. Results indicate that HOC can support good performance of broiler chickens with the capability of providing higher energy diets without increasing the level of supplemental fats.
Understanding Significance and P-Values.

Correction 7th May 2016: p.523, Column 1, second paragraph, line 10 - 'the quantiles at the extremes - say 5%, 1%, which were useful' was changed TO 'the quantiles at the extremes - say 10%, 5%, 2%, and 1%, which were useful'. p.523, Column 2, second paragraph, line 3 - 'this is misconstrued with 'statistical significance' changed TO 'mistaken with 'statistical significance'. Since the p-value is a single index, following the ASA’s statement, we strongly support that it cannot and should not be considered as the sole basis for scientific reasoning. Given the misuses and misconceptions concerning p-values, the recommendation is to present the estimate of the effect, provide a measure of uncertainty of the estimation (e.g. confidence interval), and interpret the results in terms of scientific importance.
Analysis on the status of HBV infection of practitioners in Guangzhou city during 2005-2009

Objective:To understand the status of HBV infection of practitioners in Guangzhou City during 2005-2009,and provide scientific basis for controlling HBV prevalence.Methods: ELISA was used for determination of HBsAg and HBeAg.Results: From 2005 to 2009,the average positive rate of HBsAg was 5.01%(52748/1052570);the average positive rate of HBeAg was 1.50%(15758/1052570) on the total people tested,the HBeAg positive rates account for 29.87%(15758/52748) of the HBsAg positive people;In view of the age distribution,the HBsAg positive rate of 30-year old group was the highest(5.40%),and the highest HBeAg positive rate was in 30 years old group(1.86%),the difference in the age distribution has statistical significance(P0.001).The positive rate of HBeAg decreases with age and the positive rate of HBeAg and HBsAg is higher in males than that in females,with the difference having statistical significances(P0.001).Conclusion: The status of HBV infection in practitioners was decreasing year by year in Guangzhou.Through popularization of prevention health education and health promotion,and inoculation of hepatitis B vaccine,the infection of HBV can be gradually reduced.
Preliminary clinical experience with isotonic hypothermic potassium-induced arrest.

The modalities of 25 mEq. per liter potassium-induced arrest in a simulated extracellular fluid, and 15° C. perfusion hypothermia were combined and used exclusively for myocardial protection during cardiac surgery in 108 consecutive patients. Over half of the patients had impaired preoperative myocardial function, as assessed by a subnormal ejection fraction and by New York Heart Association Class IV status. Ten patients were semiemergencies and eight were emergencies, including three in cardiogenic shock. The 30-day operative mortality rate was 4.6 percent, and during a mean follow-up of 9 months there were two late deaths-both cerebrovascular. The excellence of the myocardial protection is attested to by spontaneous defibrillation in over 50 percent of the patients, the very infrequent use of pressors, the immediate postoperative improvement in cardiac output, the early improvement in postoperative functional status of almost all of patients, and the very low level of specific myocardial isoenzyme released following the open heart procedures. The significant advantages of 15° C. potassium-induced arrest are (1) simplified high-volume temperature and pressure-monitored aortic root perfusion, effective even with aortic insufficiency, (2) the preclusion of the “calcium paradox,” (3) minimization of defibrillator induced myocardial injury, (4) operating conditions superior to normothermic ischemic arrest or topical hypothermia, (5) avoidance of coronary artery trauma, high and low perfusion pressure injuries, low-flow/high-energy demand situations and low-temperature injury, and (6) extensive clinical and experimental evidence of superior myocardial protection.
Dilation of cerebral arterioles by cytochrome P-450 metabolites of arachidonic acid.

We have recently shown that brain tissue can synthesize cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA), including 5,6-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (5,6-EET), and 14,15-EET. The pur...
Relating aspects of motivation to facets of mathematical competence varying in cognitive demand

ABSTRACTThe author investigated the relationship between aspects of student motivation and performance on mathematical tasks varying in cognitive demand relevant to meeting the expectations of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M). A sample of 479 primarily Latino middle school students completed established survey measures of motivation and a constructed response assessment of two facets of mathematical competence. The assessment measured students' progress toward performing a procedure and demonstrating understanding by providing a written critique of a peer's work, a more cognitively demanding facet. As predicted, higher interest and efficacy in mathematics, lower performance-avoidance goals, and fewer experiences of negative emotions related to performance levels for both facets, while utility and mastery-approach goals (i.e., focusing on understanding mathematics) related only to the more cognitively demanding facet. Implications of these findings for preparing students to be succe...