cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Restoration of function of the thumb flexor apparatus requires repair of the oblique and one adjacent flexor tendon pulley

Damage to the pulleys of the thumb flexor apparatus may cause bow-stringing of the tendon and affect muscle function. An experiment using the hands and distal forearms of cadavers was designed to determine which damaged pulleys increase excursion length of the flexor tendon with constant tendon and resisting loads. Each specimen was mounted to a loading frame with a dead weight pinned to the tip of the thumb. The thumb flexor tendon was clamped to an actuator that applied a fixed load and measured excursion of the tendon. Ranges of motion of the thumb joint were also measured. The thumb flexor apparatus of each specimen was tested intact first, with the hand in flexed, neutral, and extended positions; then it was tested with progressive sectioning of pulleys from proximal to distal in one group and from distal to proximal in a second group. The length of excursion increased significantly with all pulleys cut but there was no effect on on overall range of motion of the thumb. With proximal to distal sectioning, no change in tendon excursion occurred when the flexor retinaculum and the first annular pulleys were cut, until the oblique pulley was sectioned, leadving only the second annular pulley intact (range, 1.17–1.31 times that of intact excursion, dependent on position of the hand). With distal to proximal sectioning, tendon excursion was not affected when the second annular and oblique pulleys were cut but did increase when the first annular pulley was sectioned, leaving only the flexor retinaculum intact (range, 1.28–1.36 times that of intact excursion). Dependent on the location of damage, therefore, an intact oblique or first annular pulley can maintain normal excursion of the tendon.
Presence of Euglossa ( Euglossa ) amazonica outside of the Amazon Basin – biogeographic insights

Distributional patterns of euglossine bees are often shadowed by the most noticeablefeatures of the group, their morphology and behavior. With the constant discovery of records ofeuglossine species in novel localities, and the ongoing systematic work in the group, especiallyin Euglossa Latreille, a better picture of the evolution and biogeography of these bees is beingdeveloped. Provided here is an account of new records of Euglossa (Euglossa) amazonica Dressleroutside of the Amazon Basin region are presented along with a brief discussion of distributionalpatterns of the genus in northwestern South America.
Indirect impacts of soil trampling on tree growth and plant succession in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to establish what effects soil trampling impacts may have had on tree growth and plant community succession at subalpine elevations in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington. While soil penetrability of an impacted site was not different from that of control sites, other soil characteristics were significantly different. Species diversity was greater at the impacted site, which was characterized by associations between soil characteristics and vegetation that were unlike those found at control sites. Mixed ordination analyses of the floristic and soil data indicated that past trampling impacts on soils may have had long-term effects on the successional development of the plant community. The impact of turn of the century mining operations on tree growth was significant at the time of impact but had no long-term effect after mining activities ceased. Recommendations for the management and reclamation of disturbed sties at subalpine elevations are given.
Assertiveness expectancies: How hard people push depends on the consequences they predict.

The present article seeks to explain varying levels of assertiveness in interpersonal conflict and negotiations with assertiveness expectancies, idiosyncratic predictions people make about the social and instrumental consequences of assertive behavior. This account complements motivation-based models of assertiveness and competitiveness, suggesting that individuals may possess the same social values (e.g., concern for relationships) but show dramatically different assertiveness due to different assumptions about behavioral consequences. Results clarify the form of assertiveness expectancies, namely that most people assume increasing assertiveness can yield positive social and instrumental benefits up to a point, beyond which benefits decline. However, people vary in how assertive this perceived optimal point is. These individual differences in expectancies are linked in 4 studies to assertiveness, including self-reported assertiveness, rated behavioral preferences in assorted interpersonal conflict scenarios, partner ratings of participants' behavior in a face-to-face dyadic negotiation, and work colleague ratings of participants' assertiveness in the workplace. In each case, the link between expectancies and behavior remained after controlling for values. The results suggest a place for expectancies alongside values in psychological models of interpersonal assertiveness.
Identifying the Semantic Orientation of Foreign Words

We present a method for identifying the positive or negative semantic orientation of foreign words. Identifying the semantic orientation of words has numerous applications in the areas of text classification, analysis of product review, analysis of responses to surveys, and mining online discussions. Identifying the semantic orientation of English words has been extensively studied in literature. Most of this work assumes the existence of resources (e.g. Wordnet, seeds, etc) that do not exist in foreign languages. In this work, we describe a method based on constructing a multilingual network connecting English and foreign words. We use this network to identify the semantic orientation of foreign words based on connection between words in the same language as well as multilingual connections. The method is experimentally tested using a manually labeled set of positive and negative words and has shown very promising results.
Modeling of Dopant Defect Interactions

This paper presents a model for {311} defects based on in-situ experiments. The model fits the 311 dependence on silicon implant energy and doses. The surface dependence of the model is described in detail, and compared to previous literature data. New data is presented on the surface effect on {311} dissolution and the model is compared to that data. In addition, the model is also used to explain the effects of doping on {311} defect behavior. Doping does not influence the dissolution of {311} defects, but only influences their nucleation behavior.
Reforming Representation: The Diffusion of Candidate Gender Quotas Worldwide

In recent years, more than a hundred countries have adopted quotas for the selection of female candidates to political office. Examining individual cases of quota reform, scholars offer four basic causal stories to explain quota adoption: Women mobilize for quotas to increase women's representation, political elites recognize strategic advantages for supporting quotas, quotas are consistent with existing or emerging notions of equality and representation, and quotas are supported by international norms and spread through transnational sharing. Although most research focuses on the first three accounts, I argue that the fourth offers the greatest potential for understanding the rapid diffusion of gender quota policies, as it explicitly addresses the potential connections among quota campaigns. In a theory-building exercise, I combine empirical work on gender quotas with insights from the international norms literature to identify four distinct international and transnational influences on national quota debates: international imposition, transnational emulation, international tipping, and international blockage. These patterns reveal that domestic debates often have international and transnational dimensions, at the same time that they intersect in distinct ways with international and transnational trends. As work on gender quotas continues to grow, therefore, I call on scholars to move away from simple accounts of diffusion to a recognition of the multiple processes shaping the spread of candidate gender quotas worldwide.I would like to thank Judith Squires, Sarah Childs, Ewan Harrison, and participants in the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy Graduate Fellows Workshop at Columbia University, as well as the editors and three anonymous reviewers at Politics & Gender, for their helpful comments. Earlier versions of this article were presented as a paper at the International Studies Association Annual International Convention, Montreal, Canada, March 17–20, 2004, and at the British International Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, December 20–22, 2004.
Mathematical morphology for 3-D image analysis

A 3-D segmentation algorithm is presented to extract object surfaces from computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The algorithm is formulated in the framework of mathematical morphology. The generalized morphological operators are proposed for multidimensional segmentation. A priori knowledge of the approximate location of the object surface is communicated to the algorithm via the definition of the search space. The algorithm uses this definition of the search space to obtain the surface candidate elements. The search-space specification reduces the computational cost and increases the reliability of the detected features. The detected surface is represented as a hierarchical combination of patches. Initial results obtained by using the algorithm to segment 4-D images of the beating heart are presented. >
Sputtering in vacuum: A technology for ultraclean metallization and space propulsion

Sputtering is a well known coatings technology belonging to the group of physical vapor technologies. In contrast to cathodic arcs, sputtering can easily be scaled and does not produce the unwanted, ldquoinfamousrdquo macroparticles. Sputtering is conventionally done in the presence of a sputtering gas such as argon. For reactive deposition, argon is mixed with reactive gases such as nitrogen (for nitrides) or oxygen (for oxides). In this contribution we will report about a new development that allows sputtering in high or even ultrahigh vacuum to occur, without the addition of any gas at any time. This ldquogasless sputteringrdquo enables the deposition of ultra-clean metal coatings, in which even trace amounts of argon can be avoided. The key ldquoingredientsrdquo for gasless sputtering to work is (i) providing a short pulsed plasma flow aiming onto the magnetron target, and (ii) provide enough voltage (and power) to the magnetron that the discharge can run away into the so-called sustained self-sputtering (SSS) mode. We will describe the physical principles of operation, and outline further uses of the hardware, such as thrusters for space propulsion.
Computing marginal likelihoods from a single MCMC output

In this article, we propose new Monte Carlo methods for computing a single marginal likelihood or several marginal likelihoods for the purpose of Bayesian model comparisons. The methods are motivated by Bayesian variable selection, in which the marginal likelihoods for all subset variable models are required to compute. The proposed estimates use only a single Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) output from the joint posterior distribution and it does not require the specific structure or the form of the MCMC sampling algorithm that is used to generate the MCMC sample to be known. The theoretical properties of the proposed method are examined in detail. The applicability and usefulness of the proposed method are demonstrated via ordinal data probit regression models. A real dataset involving ordinal outcomes is used to further illustrate the proposed methodology.
Shear bands due to heat flux prescribed at boundaries

We analyze the initiation and development of a shear band in a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic body deformed in simple shear by tangential velocity and heat flux prescribed at the outer bounding surfaces. Unlike previous studies no defect is introduced to initiate a shear band. The prescribed heat flux acts as a defect, and the shear band initiation time depends upon it.
Clinical phenome scanning.

Large population-based cohorts are ideal for the study of common, complex disorders because they allow characterization of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions. We propose a clinical phenome scanning approach to genotype–phenotype association studies, as this approach acknowledges the heterogeneous nature of common diseases and takes advantage of the unprecedented density of phenotypic data available in population-based DNA biobanks. By analogy to genome-wide scanning, the construction of a clinical phenome scan includes a complete scan of all clinically available information (housed in electronic medical records). This is done on a subject-by-subject basis and the resulting phenomes can subsequently be interrogated for association with a single allele for any given gene. By prioritizing phenotype (rather than genotype), this approach allows investigators to ask the question “Which disease is associated with a given gene?” rather than “Which gene is associated with a given disease?”.
Quantum interference in fully depleted tri-gate quantum-wire transistors-the role of inelastic scattering

Within the next decade, it is predicted that we will reach the limits of silicon scaling as it is currently defined. Of the new devices under investigation, one of the most promising is the tri-gate quantum-wire transistor. In this paper, we study the role quantum interference plays in the operation of this device both in the ballistic and quasi-ballistic regimes. We find that, in the ballistic case, the electrons propagating in the system tend to form vortices in their motion when subjected to moderate drain biases. These vortices form in both the source and drain of the device when the proper conditions are satisfied. Further, we observe fluctuations in the conductance of the device, which leads to fluctuations in resultant drain current due to interactions with the channel and dopant ions. When inelastic scattering is considered, the formation of the vortices is suppressed and the spread in threshold voltage fluctuations is reduced. However, the conductance fluctuations remain in the drain current once the drain voltage reaches larger values.
Lipoprotein Lipase Binds to Low Density Lipoprotein Receptors and Induces Receptor-mediated Catabolism of Very Low Density Lipoproteins in Vitro

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), the major enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of plasma triglycerides, promotes binding and catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by various cultured cells. Recent studies demonstrate that LPL binds to three members of the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor family, including the LDL receptor-related protein (LRP), GP330/LRP-2, and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptors and induces receptor-mediated lipoprotein catabolism. We show here that LDL receptors also bind LPL and mediate LPL-dependent catabolism of large VLDL with Sf 100-400. Up-regulation of LDL receptors by lovastatin treatment of normal human foreskin fibroblasts (FSF cells) resulted in an increase in LPL-induced VLDL binding and catabolism to a level that was 10-15-fold greater than in LDL receptor-negative fibroblasts, despite similar LRP activity in both cell lines. This indicates that the contribution of LRP to LPL-dependent degradation of VLDL is small when LDL receptors are maximally up-regulated. Furthermore studies in LRP-deficient murine embryonic fibroblasts showed that the level of LPL-dependent degradation of VLDL was similar to that in normal murine embryonic fibroblasts. LPL also promoted the internalization of protein-free triglyceride emulsions; lovastatin-treatment resulted in 2-fold higher uptake in FSF cells, indicating that LPL itself could bind to LDL receptors. However, the lower induction of emulsion catabolism as compared with native VLDL suggests that LPL-induced catabolism via LDL receptors is only partially dependent on receptor binding by LPL and instead is primarily due to activation of apolipoproteins such as apoE. A fusion protein between glutathione S-transferase and the catalytically inactive carboxyl-terminal domain of LPL (GST-LPLC) also induced binding and catabolism of VLDL. However GST-LPLC was not as active as native LPL, indicating that lipolysis is required for a maximal LPL effect. Mutations of critical tryptophan residues in GST-LPLC that abolished binding to VLDL converted the protein to an inhibitor of lipoprotein binding to LDL receptors. In solid-phase assays using immobilized receptors, LDL receptors bound to LPL in a dose-dependent manner. Both LPL and GST-LPLC promoted binding of VLDL to LDL receptor-coated wells. These results indicate that LPL binds to LDL receptors and suggest that the carboxyl-terminal domain of LPL contributes to this interaction.
Cartobibliography and the collector: Review article

The Mapping of the World. Early Printed World Maps 1472–1700. By Rodney W. Shirley. London: The Holland Press, 1984. Pp. xlvi+669. £75.
Towards Measuring the Deployment Information of Different TCP Congestion Control Algorithms: The Multiplicative Decrease Parameter

The Internet has recently been evolving from homogeneous congestion control to heterogeneous congestion control. Five years ago, Internet traffic was mainly controlled by the standard TCP AIMD algorithm, whereas Internet traffic is now controlled by many different TCP congestion control algorithms, such as AIMD, CUBIC, CTCP, and FAST. However, there is very little work on the performance and stability study of the Internet with heterogeneous congestion control. One fundamental reason is the lack of the deployment information of different TCP congestion control algorithms. In this paper, we present our initial work towards measuring such important information in the Internet. Specifically, considering that web traffic comprises a significant portion of the total Internet traffic, we propose a method that can actively infer the TCP multiplicative decrease parameter of a remote web server. The multiplicative decrease parameter, together with other TCP characteristics (such as the window growth function to be measured in our future work), can be used to uniquely identify the TCP congestion control algorithm of a web server. Our extensive lab test-bed experiments show that our method can infer the TCP multiplicative decrease parameter with reasonably good accuracy.
Biomimetic structures for mechanical applications by interfering laser beams: More than solely holographic gratings

A variety of biological materials composed of hierarchical phase composites can be found. These biological materials successfully combine impressive toughness with high stiffness and strength. Deposition techniques combined with high-power laser beams can imitate biological structures in technical systems. Interference phenomena, such as surface scattering, Lloyd's mirror arrangements, or interference of coherent beams, can be used to create these biomimetic long-range ordered structures on the scale of nanometers to micrometers. These structures are not limited to topographic texturing, as in the case of holographic gratings; rather, they can also create composite structures and phase transformations. This article presents a brief overview of interference techniques, their possibilities, and their limits.
Advanced System Technologies and Field Demonstration for In-Building Optical-Wireless Network With Integrated Broadband Services

This work describes a concept of a hierarchical radio-over-fiber (RoF) network architecture that provides both intra- and inter-network connectivity for end user wireline and wireless terminals with high-bandwidth, in-building access applications. An intelligent gateway router (IGR) is proposed as a unified platform to accommodate multi-gigabit, millimeter-wave services at 60-GHz band as well as being backward compatible with all current wireless access technologies such as WiFi and WiMAX. In addition, we further present an advanced multi-band optical carrier generation technique that can simultaneously deliver independent 60-GHz mm-wave, 2.4-GHz WiFi, and 5.8-GHz WiMAX signals efficiently carried over the same wavelength, and is suitable for the proposed IGR. Finally, we report, for the first time to our knowledge, a campus-wide field trial demonstration of RoF system transmitting uncompressed 270-Mbps standard definition (SD) and 1.485-Gbps high definition (HD) real-time video contents carried by 2.4-GHz radio and 60-GHz millimeter wave signals, respectively, between two on-campus research buildings distanced over 2.5-km standard single mode fiber (SMF-28) through the Georgia Institute of Technology's (GT) fiber network.
A unique case of urinary bladder simple melanosis: a case report and review of the literature

Melanosis refers to abnormal or excessive deposition of melanin pigment in the cells and/or tissue, which can be seen in any organ but commonly in skin and oral mucosa. Melanosis of the urinary bladder is an extremely rare benign condition and only a handful of cases been reported in the English literature before. In this article, we report a new case of urinary melanosis, describe the differential diagnostic features from pseudomelanosis and offer clues for correct diagnosis. We also provide comprehensive review of the literature on the subject.
Anaerobic Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate: Operation of a Pilot Scale Hybrid UASB/AF Reactor

Landfill disposal is a widely used technique for solid waste management. The leachate produced, owing to moisture release and rain and snow infiltration, can cause environmental hazards if it is not properly collected, treated, and disposed. An on-site pilot plant study was carried out to assess the treatability of the leachate from a developing landfill. Details of the designed reactor and data collected during a long term run are presented, showing that a young landfill leachate is amenable to anaerobic treatment of its organic fraction, but special care should be taken with the management of the inorganic compounds, especially heavy metals.
Concise algorithm for linear programs in matlab: monotonic convergence, basic variables, boundedness

A physically concise polynomial-time iterative algorithm due to Barnes - a variation of Karmarkar projective transformation algorithm - is presented in Matlab for linear programs Min ct x subject to Ax = b, x ≥ 0. The concerned monotonic convergence of the solution vector and the consequent detection of basic variables are stated. The boundedness of the solution, multiple solutions, and no solution (inconsistency) cases are discussed. The possibility of applying Aitken's δ2 -process to accelerate convergence of the solution vector has been studied taking advantage of monotonic convergence. The effect of degeneracy of the primal linear program and/or its dual on the uniqueness of the optimal solution is mentioned. The foregoing algorithm is implemented in another way based on detection of basic variables and then solving the resulting linear system involving only the basic variables mathematically non-iteratively. The second way of implementation also includes optimality test and is coded in Matlab. It results in less number of iterations and usually more accurate optimal solution. Numerical experiments are carried out on these algorithms considering several typical linear programs and the Matlab implementation of these algorithms is found to be useful for solving many real-world problems.
Culture and Context in the Mandated Implementation of Digital Textbooks in Florida and South Korea

Digital textbooks are becoming increasingly popular in schools throughout the world. Simultaneous mandates to adopt digital textbooks in the country of South Korea and the U.S. state of Florida provide an opportunity to study how culture and context might impact this implementation from the perspective of the school librarian who serves multiple roles when new technology is introduced. In this study the Concerns-Based-Adoption-Model (CBAM) was used to identify the concerns of school librarians in Florida about their potential role in the implementation of digital textbooks and how personal levels of adoption relate to these concerns. Results indicate that innovators and early adopters have higher levels of concern, which are more substantive and practical, while late majorities and laggards have more vague uneasiness and lurking anxiety. Regardless of the speed they adopt innovations, school librarians have similar levels of personal concern.
Long-term adult male sociality in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua)

[Extract] Coatis (Genus: Nasua) are widely distributed in Central and South America. Although some authors have studied dietary patterns and ranging behavior of ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua, Linnaeus 1766) not much was known about their social system in the wild (Beisiegel 2001, Alves-Costa et al. 2004, Beisiegel and Mantovani 2006, see also: Costa et al. 2009, Hirsch 2007a, 2009, 2010, 2011a,b). Previous authors assumed that ring-tailed coatis have similar or identical social systems to white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica Linnaeus 1766), which have a unique social system among carnivores in that adult males are mostly solitary outside of the mating season and females live in groups with their offspring (Gittleman 1989, Gompper 1995, Beisiegel 2001). This paper describes patterns of long-term male sociality seen during a two and a half year study of ring-tailed coatis in Iguazu, Argentina.
Use of Sticky Traps and Limb Jarring to Aid in Pest Management Decisions for Summer Populations of the Pear Psylla (Homoptera: Psyllidae) in Connecticut

Effectiveness of Lightning Yellow sticky traps for monitoring summer populations of adult pear psylla, Psylla pyricola Foerster, was evaluated at three heights, three orientations, and in four quadrants of pear trees. Traps placed at a height of 1.2 to 1.8 m aboveground in the south quadrant of pear trees were more significantly correlated with pear psylla egg and nymph infestations than other trap positions tested. Vertically positioned traps captured significantly more pear psylla than horizontal traps. Trap captures from all orientations were significantly correlated with egg and nymph infestations. Relationships between trap and limb jarring counts of adults and infestations of eggs and nymphs were determined by regression analyses. Both adult monitoring methods were equally effective in predicting shoot infestations of eggs and nymphs. The action thresholds for either eggs or nymphs were very similar. Based on the nymph data, action thresholds of 4.4 to 6.9 pear psylla per trap per day or 1.0 to 1.2 per limb jar are suggested for adult monitoring.
Detailed characterization of rattlers in exactly isostatic, strictly jammed sphere packings.

We generate jammed disordered packings of $100\ensuremath{\le}N\ensuremath{\le}2000$ monodisperse hard spheres in three dimensions whose strictly jammed backbones are demonstrated to be exactly isostatic with unprecedented numerical accuracy. This is accomplished by using the Torquato-Jiao (TJ) packing algorithm as a means of studying the maximally random jammed (MRJ) state. The rattler fraction of these packings converges towards $0.015$ in the infinite-system limit, which is markedly lower than previous estimates for the MRJ state using the Lubachevsky-Stillinger protocol. This is because the packings that the TJ algorithm creates are closer to the true MRJ state, as shown using bond-orientational and translational order metrics. The rattler pair correlation statistics exhibit strongly correlated behavior contrary to the conventional understanding that they be randomly (Poisson) distributed. Dynamically interacting ``polyrattlers'' may be found imprisoned in shared cages as well as interacting through ``bottlenecks'' in the backbone and these clusters are mainly responsible for the sharp increase in the rattler pair correlation function near contact. We discover the surprising existence of polyrattlers with cluster sizes of up to five rattlers (which is expected to increase with system size) and present a distribution of polyrattler occurrence as a function of cluster size and system size. We also enumerate all of the rattler interaction topologies we observe and present images of several examples, showing that MRJ packings of monodisperse spheres can contain large rattler cages while still obeying the strict jamming criterion. The backbone spheres that encage the rattlers are significantly hypostatic, implying that correspondingly hyperstatic regions must exist elsewhere in these isostatic packings. We also observe that rattlers in hard-sphere packings share an apparent connection with the low-temperature two-level system anomalies that appear in real amorphous insulators and semiconductors.
Trends in the educational gradient of mortality among US adults aged 45 to 84 years: bringing regional context into the explanation.

Objectives. We investigated trends in the educational gradient of US adult mortality, which has increased at the national level since the mid-1980s, within US regions.Methods. We used data from the...
SEAL CHARACTERISTICS OF K_1d_1 MUDSTONE CAPROCK AND RESEARCHSIGNIFICANCE IN WUERXUN DEPRESSION

Based on the study of seal mechanisms of caprock to each phase of oil or gas and their influence factors, this paper sisterly studied seal characteristics of K_1n~1 mudstone caprock to each phase of oil or gas in Wuerxun depression. This paper considered mudstone caprock of K_1n~1 to have best direct ability of capillary seal to oil or gas in free phase, to have best indirect ability of abnormal pore fluid pressure to oil or gas in free phase in the middle of depression and have better and diddle in direct ability of abnormal pore fluid pressure to oil or gas in free in the side of depression. Mudstone caprock of K_1d~1 have best seal ability to gas in water-dissolving phase and diffusion phase in the mast of depression and better seal ability to gas in water-dissolving phase and diffusion phase in the side of depression. The formation period of seal ability of K_1n~1 mudstone caprock is ealier the period of a lot of oil and gas in each phase expelled form K_1n~1 sourcerock. A lot of oil and gas in each phase can be sealed. It is favorable for oil and gas to accumulate and form oil and gas reservoirs. It is the basical cause that there are many oil and gas reservoirs in K_1n~2.
Adhesion prevention by solutions of sodium carboxymethylcellulose in the rat. I

In a rat model, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) was compared with normal saline and 32% dextran 70 in the prevention of surgically induced intraperitoneal adhesions. The 32% dextran 70 was similar to normal saline in the initial prevention of adhesions, and both appeared less effective than SCMC. After lysis of the initial adhesions, SCMC was significantly more effective than 32% dextran 70 in the prevention of the reformation of adhesions. Possible mechanisms of action, complications of SCMC, and the need for further research in finding an ideal solution for use in adhesion prevention are discussed.
The Effect of Health Insurance Coverage on the Appropriate Use of Recommended Clinical Preventive Services

Introduction Lack of health insurance coverage has been shown to reduce use of some preventive services. However, even when care is free or fully covered by insurance, clinical preventive services are not used at recommended levels. This study investigates the impact of different levels of health insurance coverage (ranging from none, some, most, and all preventive services covered) on the use of recommended clinical preventive services for adult men and women. Methods Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of different levels of health insurance coverage for preventive care on the probability of receiving six different clinical preventive services including periodic health exam, blood pressure screening, cholesterol screening, Pap smear, clinical breast exam, and screening mammography, as well as all recommended services for a given age and gender group. The study sample of adults ages 18 to 64 is from the Centers for Disease Control’s 1991 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (n = 53,981). Results The results demonstrate a positive and statistically significant dose-response relationship between level of health insurance coverage for preventive care and receipt of recommended preventive services in adult men and women. The odds ratios (ORs) of men who had full coverage for preventive care receiving recommended preventive services compared to men with no coverage for preventive care ranged from 1.8 to 2.8. For women the ORs were 1.2 to 2.0. The ORs for men with “most” preventive services covered compared to none covered ranged from 1.3 to 2.1, and for women from 1.2 to 2.0. Conclusions The level of health insurance coverage for preventive care is one of the most important determinants of receipt of recommended preventive services for adult men and women 18-64 years of age. These results suggest that comprehensive health insurance coverage for clinical preventive care may significantly increase receipt of recommended preventive services for this population.
Inhibition of CDK1 activity by sumoylation.

Sumoylation (a covalent modification by Small Ubiquitin-like Modifiers or SUMO proteins) has been implicated in the regulation of various cellular events including cell cycle progression. We have recently identified CDK1, a master regulator of mitosis and meiosis, as a SUMO target both in vivo and in vitro, supporting growing evidence concerning a close cross talk between sumoylation and phosphorylation during cell cycle progression. However, any data regarding the effect of sumoylation upon CDK1 activity have been missing. In this study, we performed a series of in vitro experiments to inhibit sumoylation by three different means (ginkgolic acid, physiological levels of oxidative stress, and using an siRNA approach) and assessed the changes in CDK1 activity using specific antibodies and a kinase assay. We have also tested for an interaction between SUMO and active and/or inactive CDK1 isoforms in addition to having assessed the status of CDK1-interacting sumoylated proteins upon inhibition of sumoylation. Our data suggest that inhibition of sumoylation increases the activity of CDK1 probably through changes in sumoylated status and/or the ability of specific proteins to bind CDK1 and inhibit its activity.
Differences in Abundances of Total Vibrio spp., V. vulnificus, and V. parahaemolyticus in Clams and Oysters in North Carolina.

Filter feeding shellfish can concentrate pathogenic bacteria, including Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, as much as 100-fold from the overlying water. These shellfish, especially clams and oysters, are often consumed raw, providing a route of entry for concentrated doses of pathogenic bacteria into the human body. The numbers of foodborne infections with these microbes are increasing, and a better understanding of the conditions that might trigger elevated concentrations of these bacteria in seafood is needed. In addition, if bacterial concentrations in water are correlated with those in shellfish, then sampling regimens could be simplified, as water samples can be more rapidly and easily obtained. After sampling of oysters and clams, either simultaneously or separately, for over 2 years, it was concluded that while Vibrio concentrations in oysters and water were related, this was not the case for levels in clams and water. When clams and oysters were collected simultaneously from the same site, the clams were found to have lower Vibrio levels than the oysters. Furthermore, the environmental parameters that were correlated with levels of Vibrio spp. in oysters and water were found to be quite different from those that were correlated with levels of Vibrio spp. in clams. Importance This study shows that clams are a potential source of infection in North Carolina, especially for V. parahaemolyticus These findings also highlight the need for clam-specific environmental research to develop accurate Vibrio abundance models and to broaden the ecological understanding of clam-Vibrio interactions. This is especially relevant as foodborne Vibrio infections from clams are being reported.
Expanded Therapeutic Index Of Antithrombin Silencing and Correction Of Aptt In a Hemophilia A Mouse Model

ALN-AT3, a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting antithrombin (AT), is currently being developed for the treatment of hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders. It has previously been demonstrated that once weekly dosing of ALN-AT3 results in potent, dose-dependent and reversible silencing of plasma AT in multiple preclinical species. In the mouse, steady state ED50 knockdown was achieved following weekly doses of 0.5 mg/kg. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the tolerability (exaggerated pharmacology) of ALN-AT3 when administered weekly to wild-type (WT) versus hemophilia A (HA) mice. Methods ALN-AT3, diluted in PBS, was administered once weekly (x 7 weeks) via subcutaneous injection at 0, 10, 30, and 100 (HA only) mg/kg. The dose levels used in this study represented 20-, 60- and 200-fold dose multiples of the mouse ED50. Five animals per group were to be terminated on Days 23 and 44 for post-mortem evaluation. Potential test article-related effects were evaluated by clinical signs, body weight, clinical pathology (hematology, coagulation), macroscopic observations at necropsy, organ weights, and histopathology of select tissues (eye, heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen, gross lesions). The pharmacodynamic effects of ALN-AT3 were evaluated by plasma AT protein assay. Results Repeat administration of ≥ 10 mg/kg ALN-AT3 to WT mice was not tolerated, as evidenced by early mortality (8/10 animals at 10 mg/kg, 9/10 animals at 30 mg/kg), adverse clinical signs (ocular abnormalities, craniofacial swelling, lethargy), weight loss, clinical pathology alterations (decreased PLT, increased NEU), increased relative spleen weights, and microscopic findings in heart (thrombi) and eye (hemorrhage). Residual plasma AT protein in WT and HA animals was 90% on-target AT suppression). All findings were suggestive of thrombosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation, consistent with the intended pro-coagulant effect of AT suppression. The findings in WT animals are also consistent with heterozygous AT deficiency in humans, which is almost always lethal in utero. In contrast, repeat administration of ALN-AT3 was well tolerated in HA mice, with no adverse findings up to 100 mg/kg. In addition, HA mice exhibited significant reductions in ex vivo clotting times (aPTT) to values comparable to control WT animals, consistent with the therapeutic hypothesis of rebalancing the hemostatic system in the disease condition. Collectively, the data also suggest an expanded therapeutic index of AT suppression in the hemophilia disease condition. Disclosures: Barros:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Carioto:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Hettinger:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Jiang:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Qin:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Prabhala:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Sehgal:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Akinc:Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Employment.
Characterization of Regulatory Elements in the 5′-Upstream Region of the Human Gαq Gene in a Human Megakaryocytic Cell Line.

GTP-binding protein Gαq plays a major role in platelet signal transduction. We studied the transcriptional regulation of the human Gαq gene in a megakaryocytic cell line, human erythroleukemia (HEL). 10 nM phorbal myristate acetate (PMA) was used to induce megakaryocytic lineage in HEL cells. Western blot analysis on untreated vs PMA-treated HEL lysates showed enhanced Gαq expression with PMA. Firefly luciferase reporter gene constructs carrying various lengths of the Gαq gene upstream promoter region −1/−2727 bp from ATG codon, were transiently transfected into PMA-treated HEL cells. Gαq promoter driven luciferase expression was measured by Dual Luciferase Reporter Assay system (Promega). These studies indicated that the Gαq gene is regulated by positive and negative elements. Two positive regulatory sites were identified in the proximal region (−138/−238 bp) and distal region (−731/−1116 bp); a negative regulatory site was observed further upstream (−1117/−2727 bp). The proximal region −138/−238 was resolved into a repressor (−207/−238) and a positive (−138/−207) site. Consensus sequences for two well recognized megakaryocytic transcription factors (TFs) PU.1 (−225/−230) and GATA-1 (−208/−211) in the repressor site were deleted; this had no effect on promoter activity. The positive region (−138/−207) was further resolved into repressor (−162/−186) and positive (−187/−207) regions by functional studies. In the repressor region a CCACC (−175/−179) consensus motif for Sp/XKLF family of TF was found and deleted; the repressor activity was lost indicating a functional effect of the CCACC-motif. The positive region contained a Sp1/AP2 consensus sites between −152 and −203. Gel shift and super shift experiments on double stranded DNA oligo 1 (−175/−203) and oligo 2 (−152/−174) using HEL extracts demonstrated nuclear protein binding to these regions. However, antibodies against Sp1 and AP2 or the consensus oligos did not alter the binding. Gel shift mutant analysis was performed on both oligos to define the functional sequences mediating the nuclear protein binding. Mutations made at −190/−194, which has a consensus sequence for EGR1/EGR2 and, at −180/−184 and at −156/−160, abolished the protein binding suggesting that they are preferred sequences for DNA-protein interaction. The distal upstream positive region −731/−1116 also revealed positive and negative elements. Mutation in the EGR-2 consensus sequence (−909/−919) decreased the promoter activity to 50% and mutation in the AP2/EGR-1/Sp1 consensus sequence (−885/−893) abolished the promoter activity. Our results suggest that the sequences −156/−160, −180/−184, and −190/−194 in the proximal region, and −885/−893 and −909/−919 in the distal region have a critical role in the transcriptional regulation of Gαq in megakaryocytic cells.
Involuntary Symptoms: Anxiety-Related Problems

In this chapter, anxiety, panic, obsessions, compulsions, and somatic symptoms are brought together because they and their treatment have so many features in common. Each one consists of two layers of EDP. On the surface, the patient voluntarily tries to eliminate the symptom, which makes it worse. This affect avoidance is the object of most current treatment approaches. Treatment aims to help the patient escape from preoccupation with the symptom and to bring emotional healing to the uncomfortable surface affects. A deeper layer of avoidance can be traced to some uncomfortable feeling issue that the mind is working to avoid. Psychotherapy aimed at resolving these deeper and yet more threatening emotions takes longer and requires more open exploration. Some anxiety sufferers improve very slowly over years as they gradually metabolize uncomfortable emotions.
Enzymology, Molecular Genetics, and Regulation of Biosynthesis of the Host-Selective Toxin HC-Toxin

HC-toxin is the critical determinant of virulence and specificity in the interaction between race 1 of Cochliobolus carbonum and maize of genotype hm/hm [21]. HC-toxin is a cyclic peptide of structure cyclo(D-Pro-L-Ala-D-Ala-L-Aeo), where Aeo stands for 2-amino-9,10-epoxi-8-oxodecanoic acid. Earlier genetics studies had indicated that a single locus, TOX2, controls HC-toxin production. The overall aim of our research has been to analyze the TOX2 locus at the molecular level. We began our approach to this problem by identifying enzyme activities characteristic of the putative cyclic peptide synthetase (CPS) necessary for HC-toxin synthesis (named HC-toxin synthetase) in extracts of C. carbonum. We discovered and characterized activities that could catalyze D-Ala, L-Ala, and L-Pro-dependent ATP/PPj exchange [20, 23]. The enzyme activities are present only in race 1 (toxin-producing or Tox2+) isolates of C. carbonum. We purified the polypeptide that catalyzes L-Pro-dependent exchange and used antibodies and synthetic oligonucleotides based on peptide sequences to isolate a partial cDNA encoding the corresponding gene, HTS1. By sequencing the surrounding genomic DNA, we found that HTS1 contains an intronless 16-kb open reading frame encoding a CPS with four characteristic 600-amino acid CPS domains, one for activation of each of the four amino acids. The predicted molecular weight of the product of HTSl, HTS, is 570 kDa [17]. HTS1 is present only in isolates of C. carbonum that make HC-toxin, and in all natural Tox2+ isolates it is present in two, linked copies [13]. Gene disruption experiments proved that HTS1 is necessary for HC-toxin production, HTS activity, and pathogenicity [13].
Rethinking AI Magazine

Since its inception in 1980, AI Magazine has played an important role, both for AAAI and the AI community as a whole. It has also, during the 36 years of its illustrious history, undergone several transformations. Now the magazine is going through another such transition. After seventeen years of distinguished service, David Leake has decided to step down as editor-in-chief — although fortunately he will continue to advise us as our new editor emeritus. I am honored and delighted to follow David.
INNOVATIVE USES OF TECHNOLOGY IN ASSESSING PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE OF OLDER PERSONS

AbstractThe purpose of this symposium is to present use of technology to translate the assessment of physical functioning in older adults to clinical practice. Previous studies confirm the relationship of physical performance measures to disability onset, hospitalization, nursing home admission, falls, mortality and other outcomes. While performance measures are being used more frequently in aging research, their uptake in clinical practice has been slow, in part because of the added burden in clinical care of geriatric patients. Using technology to improve the simplicity and efficiency of these measures could have a major impact on their use in clinical practice.In this symposium Dr. Charlene Quinn, will provide an overview of the translation of technology to clinical care.Dr. Jack Guralnik will describe the development of a smart phone app for the administration of the Short Physical Performance Battery, a widely used assessment of gait, strength and balance.Dr. W. Jack Rejeski will present the mobility assessment tool-short form (MAT-sf) which uses video animations to improve accuracy and precision measurement of mobility.Dr. Miriam Morey will discuss walking speed in the 6th Vital Sign research project to establish community population walking speed norms and promote walking speed as a vital sign.Dr. Lisa Barry will discuss use of an RFID (small electronic chip) device to measure gait speed in the clinic setting.Dr. Antoine Piau will present the RESPECT study of a shoe insole to monitor frailty, assessing gait characteristics and transmit data for the use of patients and physicians.