cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors and the regulation of ACTH secretion.

Cette revue regroupe les donnees recentes mettant en evidence la localisation des recepteurs des glucocorticoides au niveau de l'hypoccampe et leur implication dans les processus de regulation de la secretion de l'ACTH
Current Status and Research Activity of Selected Oral Biomaterials

A brief review of the present consensus of the efficacy of two increasingly used oral biomaterials: castable ceramics and resin bonding agents is presented. The most challenging research problems will be discussed and current progress of the research in the areas reviewed. Some goals for future research will be suggested in light of the current research activity.
Early Embryology and Histology of Schizaphis graminum (Hemiptera (Homoptera) : Aphididae)

Early embroyogenesis of Schisaphis graminum (Rondani), a parthenogenetic aphid, encompasses the formation and differentiation of daughter nuclei, blastoderm formation, and mycetome invasion. Organology is limited to the appearance of cephalic lobes, future abdomen, and primordial germ cells.
Abstract 4241: Flavokawain B, a kava chalcone, induces apoptosis in synovial sarcoma cell lines

Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a soft tissue sarcoma with poor prognosis and lack of response to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. The regulatory mechanisms for the rapid proliferation of synovial sarcoma poorly understood. Surgical resection with/without adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the mainstay of treatment. Although the sarcoma cell lines have moderate chemosensitivity to isofamide and doxorubicin therapy, the overall prognosis is still poor. Therefore, further development of the treatment for SS is required. Kava is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. The root extract of kava has been served as a traditional beverage for Pacific Islanders. Consumption of this traditional beverage has been thought to be correlated with low and uncustomary sex ratios of cancer incidence in 3 kava-drinking countrites: Fiji, Vanuatu and Western Samoa. We have already reported that a kind of fravokawains from kava extracts (FKA: flavokawein A) induced apoptosis against bladder cancer cells, and flavokawein B (FKB) was also significant effective in inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer cells. In this study, we examined the inhibitory proliferation effects of the FKB in synovial sarcoma growth and whether FKB modulates tumor apoptosis cascades in human synovial sarcoma cell lines. We treated 2 cell lines of synovial sarcoma (SYO-I, HS-SY-II) by different concentrations of FKB (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 μg/μl) for 24 hours. From the results of real time PCR, depending on the concentrations of FKB in both cell lines, the expression of Survivin was found to be decreased, while those of DR5, Puma, and Bim were increased. These results indicated that FKB effectively induces apoptosis of the two cell lines depending on the concentration. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that FKB is effective for growth inhibition of synovial sarcoma cell lines in vitro and suggest that FKB may be a new therapeutic option for patients with synovial sarcoma. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4241. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4241
Role of Domain Size and Phase Purity on Charge Carrier Density, Mobility, and Recombination in Poly(3-hexylthiophene):Phenyl-C61-butyric Acid Methyl Ester Devices

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cell is influenced by the morphology (domain size and connectivity, phase purity, and interfacial structure) of the donor:acceptor blend active layer. The design of experiments to understand interrelationships between structure, transport properties, and device performance remains an important challenge. To this end, we created different types of morphologies in the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) active layer by exploiting different processing strategies: conventional solvent casting, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) processing, and thermal annealing. We investigated the device characteristics and transport behavior (carrier densities, mobilities and recombination) of samples possessing comparable domain sizes, which exhibited comparable initial carrier densities upon illumination. Notably, however, one morphology exhibited PCE, short circuit current (JSC), and carrier mobili...
Comparison of surgical freedom and area of exposure in three endoscopic transmaxillary approaches to the anterolateral cranial base.

Objective Endoscopic ipsilateral endonasal transmaxillary, contralateral endonasal transseptal transmaxillary, and Caldwell-Luc approaches can access lesions within the retromaxillary space and pterygopalatine fossa. We compared the exposure and surgical freedom of these transmaxillary approaches to assist with surgical decision making. Design Four cadaveric heads were dissected bilaterally using the three approaches just described. Prior to dissection, stereotactic computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained on each head to obtain anatomical measurements. Surgical freedom and area of exposure were determined by stereotaxis. Main Outcome Measures Area of exposure was calculated as the extent of the orbital floor, maxillary sinus floor, nasal floor, and mandibular ramus exposed through each approach. Surgical freedom was the area through which the proximal end of the endoscope could be freely moved while moving the tip of the endoscope to the edges of the exposed area. Results The mean exposed area was similar: 9.9 ± 2.5 cm2 (Caldwell-Luc), 10.4 ± 2.6 cm2 (ipsilateral endonasal), and 10.1 ± 2.1 cm2 (contralateral transseptal) (p > 0.05). The surgical freedom of the Caldwell-Luc approach (113 ± 7 cm2) was greater than for either endonasal approach, 76 cm2 ± 15 (p = 0.001) (ipsilateral endonasal) and 83 cm2 ± 15 (p = 0.003) contralateral transseptal. Conclusions Our work demonstrates that the Caldwell-Luc endonasal approach offers greater surgical freedom than either approach for anterolateral skull base targets, although these approaches offer similar exposure.
Post-adoption depression: Parental classes of depressive symptoms across time.

Abstract Background Approximately 10–15% of birth mothers and fathers experience postpartum depression, but reports of depressive symptoms in adoptive parents are more variable. Findings from investigators range from 10% to 32%, which may mask the experiences of distinct groups of adoptive parents from pre-to post-placement of a child. Methods We performed latent class growth analysis using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scores of 129 primarily heterosexual, adoptive parents (50% females) for three time points: 4–6 weeks pre-placement of the child, 4–6 weeks post-placement, and 5–6 months post-placement. Mixed effects models by parent depressive trajectories were also conducted for three types of variables: interpersonal, psychological symptoms, and life orientation. Results Five classes of depressive symptom trajectories were found. The majority of parents (71%) belonged to a class with low levels of depressive symptoms across time. However, two classes of parents were above the threshold for depressive symptoms at placement, and three classes of parents were above the threshold at 6 months post-placement. The majority of interpersonal, psychological symptom, and life orientation variables were significant across classes and by time. Limitations The homogeneity of the sample calls for replication of study findings. Conclusions An explanation for inconsistencies in the range of adoptive parent depressive symptoms may be explained by different subgroups of parents who vary by their trajectory of depressive symptoms before and after placement of the child. Adoption and mental health professionals should be aware that select adoptive parents may struggle pre-and post-placement of a child.
Controlling the mosquito vector of Japanese Encephalitis by residual spraying

Objective To study the methods of controlling the mosquito vector of Japanese Encephalitis. Methods Laboratory and field tests. Results The effect of beta-cypermethrin to which the mosquitoes in fields of Nanjing were susceptible to Culex pipiens pallens in laboratory lasted more than 45 days.After the mosquito vector of Japanese Encephalitis was controlled in the hog pens by residual spraying,the Relative Population Index(RPI)was 0.094 one day after spraying and the reduction ratio of mosquito vector density was 90.6% and the RPI was 0.472 after spraying for 28 days.The reduction ratio of mosquito vector density was 52.8%.The effect in the field lasted almost one month. Conclusion It could be effective to control the mosquito vector of Japanese Encephalitis by residual spraying in the country.
Role of core decompression as treatment method for ischemic femur head necrosis

Nontraumatic ischemic necrosis of the femoral head remains a source of much controversy. The etiology is also controversial. Possibilities are: hypertrophy of intraosseous structures (lipocytes, hematopoietic elements), creating intraosseous hypertension; alcohol and steroids as toxic agents; circulating fat globules embolizing the microcirculation of the metaphysis. The disease appears most frequently in young adults, but no satisfactory nonoperative treatment modalities have been reported as yet. In 1971, Ficat and Arlet published their results on core decompression performed in 100 patients, with a follow-up of from 1 to 5 years. The results for those with stage I disease (n = 40) were good or excellent in 88% of the patients. The results for those with stage II disease (n = 16) were good or excellent in 69%. Based on current experience, the treatment is to be recommended for patients with pre-collapse stages 0, I and IIA of ischemic necrosis of the femoral head. For stage III disease, the procedure may reduce pain at night and at rest and can be considered in patients wishing to avoid total hip arthroplasty for a period of time.
Rapidly Progressive Weakness

The first step in evaluating a patient with rapidly progressive weakness is to ensure respiratory stability, intubating the patient if necessary. Measurements of negative inspiratory force and forced vital capacity help to determine which patients are in urgent need of intubation or closer respiratory monitoring. Once respiratory stability is ensured, identifying the initial pattern of weakness is the next step in establishing the diagnosis. Nerve conduction studies, electromyography, and other laboratory tests can then be used to differentiate amongst the various causes of weakness. The most important among these are Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS) and myasthenic crisis. Less common causes of rapidly progressive weakness include botulism, poliomyelitis, and spinal cord infarction. Critical illness neuromyopathy is a common source of failure to wean from the ventilator seen in patients who have undergone prolonged treatment in the ICU.
The direct octaves rule: Testing a scene-analysis interpretation:

A venerable rule of traditional Western part writing is the so-called Direct Octaves Rule (also known as Hidden or Exposed octaves), whereby similar pitch motion (i.e., two or more voices moving in...
Paneth cell activation after acute kidney injury causes liver and intestine injury and systemic inflammation in mice (35.9)

Patients who develop acute kidney injury (AKI) frequently suffer from extra-renal organ dysfunction and systemic inflammation syndrome. We aimed to determine the mechanisms of ischemic and non-ischemic AKI induced systemic complications. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to sham surgery, 20 min renal ischemia or unilateral nephrectomy. In addition to plasma Cr, plasma ALT markedly increased 5 hrs after both ischemic and non-ischemic AKI. These rises were correlated with peri-portal hepatocyte necrosis, vacuolization, neutrophil infiltration and pro-inflammatory mRNA upregulation. Plasma levels of TNF-α and IL-17 were also elevated after AKI. Small intestine histology after AKI showed massive epithelial necrosis and apoptosis as well as profound endothelial apoptosis. Neutralization or genetic deletion of TNF-α or IL-17 prevented AKI induced hepatic and intestine injury. Remarkable hyperplasia and degranulation of Paneth cells were observed. Laser capture microscopy of Paneth cells showed significant TNF-α and IL-17 mRNA induction after ischemic or non-ischemic AKI. Finally, Paneth cell depletion with dithizone prevented both hepatic and intestinal injury after AKI. Taken together, we propose that Paneth cell activation/degranulation after AKI produces systemic inflammation and hepatic damage via cytokine induction and intestinal barrier dysfunction. Modulating Paneth cell dysregulation may have important therapeutic implications in reducing systemic complications arising from AKI.
K-hop learning: a network-based feature extraction for improved river flow prediction

Forecasting short-term river flowrate is an important problem for flood planning/preparation and hydropower management. In this paper, we propose K-Hop Learning, a novel feature extraction method, which utilizes network information to learn upcoming river flow peaks 24-hours in advance. We then use these learned features to forecast flowrate 24-hours ahead at various locations in the Ohio River Basin, USA. Our results clearly demonstrate that the predictions using K-Hop Learning are far superior to several traditional timeseries-based, machine learning models such as SVM Regression. Further, in contrast to these existing timeseries-based models, the upcoming river flow peaks are predicted very accurately by our approach. Overall, using K-Hop Learning, we significantly reduce the prediction RMSE by 57--82% depending on the river size.
Automatic Pavement-Crack Detection and Segmentation Based on Steerable Matched Filtering and an Active Contour Model

AbstractCracks are an important symptom of pavement deterioration and deficiency. Accurate and complete information regarding pavement cracks is critical to determining pavement maintenance schedul...
In vivo delivery and activation of masked fluorogenic hydrolase substrates by endogenous hydrolases in C. elegans

Protein expression and localization are often studied in vivo by tagging molecules with green fluorescent protein (GFP), yet subtle changes in protein levels are not easily detected. To develop a sensitive in vivo method to amplify fluorescence signals and allow cell-specific quantification of protein abundance changes, we sought to apply an enzyme-activated cellular fluorescence system in vivo by delivering ester-masked fluorophores to Caenorhabditis elegans neurons expressing porcine liver esterase (PLE). To aid uptake into sensory neuron membranes, we synthesized two novel fluorogenic hydrolase substrates with long hydrocarbon tails. Recombinant PLE activated these fluorophores in vitro. In vivo activation occurred in sensory neurons, along with potent activation in intestinal lysosomes quantifiable by imaging and microplate and partially attributable to gut esterase 1 (GES-1) activity. These data demonstrate the promise of biorthogonal hydrolases and their fluorogenic substrates as in vivo neuronal imaging tools and for characterizing endogenous C. elegans hydrolase substrate specificities.
Factors associated with readmission to the hospital within 30 days in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background Management of inpatients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires increasing resources. We aimed to identify factors associated with hospital readmissions among individuals with IBD. Materials & methods We collected data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Readmissions Database 2013. We identified individuals with index hospitalizations for IBD. Patient-specific factors, comorbidities and hospitalization characteristics were extracted for the index hospitalization. We performed logistic regression modeling to create adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for 30-day hospital readmission. Subgroup analysis was performed based on disease type and performance of surgery. Results We analyzed a total of 55,942 index hospital discharges; 3037 patients (7.0%) were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. Increasing patient age (> 65: OR: 0.45; 95% CI 0.39–0.53) was associated with a decreased risk of readmission, while a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (OR: 1.09; 95% CI 1.00–1.18) and male sex (OR: 1.16; 95% CI 1.07–1.25) were associated with an increased risk of readmission. The comorbidities of smoking (OR: 1.09; 95% CI 1.00–1.19), anxiety (OR: 1.17; 95% CI 1.01–1.36) and opioid dependence (OR: 1.40; 95% CI 1.06–1.86) were associated with an increased risk of 30-day readmission. Individual hospitalization characteristics and disease complications were significantly associated with readmission. Performance of a surgery during the index admission was associated with a decreased risk of readmission (OR: 0.57; 95% CI 0.33–0.96). Conclusion Analyzing data from a US publicly available all-payer inpatient healthcare database, we identified patient and hospitalization risk factors associated with 30-day readmission. Identifying patients at high risk for readmission may allow for interventions during or after the index hospitalization to decrease this risk.
Regulation of Conventional and Novel Protein Kinase C Isozymes by Phosphorylation and Lipids

The amplitude of protein kinase C signaling is precisely controlled by mechanisms that regulate the amount of protein kinase C in the cell that is available to become activated with appropriate stimuli. Two mechanisms critically control the amount and activity of protein kinase C in cells. First, a series of phosphorylation events prime conventional and novel protein kinase C isozymes into stable, signaling-competent species. Second, signals that cause phospholipid hydrolysis cause protein kinase C to bind to membrane lipids, an interaction that allosterically activates the kinase. Deregulation of either step alters the amplitude of protein kinase C signaling in the cell, resulting in pathophysiological states. This chapter focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which phosphorylation and lipid binding control protein kinase C.
Machine vision for orchard navigation

Abstract Developing a machine vision based autonomous utility vehicle for agricultural application is a challenging task due to changing physical landmarks. While most research thus far has developed algorithms that take advantage of ground structures such as trunks and canopies in the orchard, this research uses the combination of the canopy with the background sky. By focusing on the tree canopy and sky of an orchard row, an unmanned ground vehicle can extract features that can be used for autonomously navigating through the center of the tree rows. This was attempted by using a small-unmanned ground vehicle platform driven by four motors and guided by a machine vision system. The machine vision system is composed of a multispectral camera to capture real-time images and a personal computer to process the images and obtain the features used for autonomous navigation. Laboratory field tests showed that the small vehicle platform system was able to navigate autonomously with an RMS error of 2.35 cm. Field tests using a peach orchard showed that the small vehicle platform system could navigate the rows autonomously with an RMS error of 2.13 cm. The machine vision algorithm developed in this study has the potential to guide small utility vehicles in the orchard in the future.
Robust band tilting in dynamic materials (Conference Presentation)

Dynamic materials are materials whose constitutive properties vary at a rate comparable to the frequency of waves traveling within. Also referred to as spatio-temporal composites or modulated phononic crystals, they constitue a playground for remarkable non-standard wave phenomena. Of most interest in the currently trending context of non-reciprocal and non-time-reversible wave motion, is their ability to block wave forms traveling in a given direction while transmitting the same wave forms if incident in the opposite direction. This asymmetry between left and right is visible in the dispersion diagram where aligned left and right gaps, blocking left- and right-going waves, get tilted and become misaligned, thus blocking either left- or right-going waves. Band tilting in dynamic materials is expected to be a function of the time profiles of the constitutive properties and of their rate of change. Interestingly, it is proven that the ratio tilt to rate only depends on a number of well-identified qualitative parameters and is insensitive to the detail of said time profiles. Specifically, the tilt-to-rate ratio turns out to be a robust (topological) perturbation-immune quantity quantized in units of length of the unit-cell. The proof makes use of two quantum mechanical tools, namely the adiabatic theorem and Berry’s phase, generalized and adapted to the case of elastic waves. The example of a modulated 3-periodic spring-mass lattice whose spring constants are being slowly and periodically modulated in time is thoroughly treated so as to illustrate theoretical findings.
TNF-α induces reactivation of human cytomegalovirus independently of myeloid cell differentiation following post-transcriptional establishment of latency

We used the Kasumi-3 model to study HCMV latency and reactivation in myeloid progenitor cells. Kasumi-3 cells were infected with HCMV strain TB40/Ewt-GFP, flow sorted for GFP+ cells, and cultured for various times to monitor establishment of latency, as judged by repression of viral gene expression (RNA/DNA ratio) and loss of virus production. We found that latency was established post-transcriptionally: transcription was initially turned on, and then turned off. We did not find evidence to support a latency model in which viral gene expression is repressed at the outset of infection. The pattern of expression of lytic genes that have been associated with latency, including UL138, US28, and RNA2.7, was the same as that of other lytic genes, indicating that there was no preferential expression of these genes in latency. By analyzing expression of the progenitor cell marker CD34 as well as myeloid cell differentiation markers in IE+ cells after treatment with TNF-α, we showed that TNF-α induced reactivation independently of differentiation. In contrast, LPS did not induce reactivation in Kasumi-3 cells, despite activation of ERK and NF-κB, and did not induce transcription of inflammatory cytokines. We speculate that reactivation occurs in two steps: 1. activation of signal-specific transcription factors that bind to the MIEP; 2. reconfiguration of viral chromatin to allow access to the MIEP. We propose that differentiation is required to render cellular chromatin competent to express inflammatory cytokines that drive reactivation in response to LPS, but it is not required for reactivation in response to TNF-α itself.
Infection Control and Prevention After Dismounted Complex Blast Injury

During recent operations in Afghanistan, dismounted complex blast injuries (DCBI) have become increasingly common, and due to improvements in combat casualty care, these injuries are more survivable than they have been at any time in history. These patients are at high risk for infectious complications with infection rates as high as 50% in intensive care unit patients. The pathogens involved are often unique, including multidrug-resistant organisms and invasive fungi. This chapter summarizes the current literature on the epidemiology, microbiology, and outcomes of infectious complications in the predominantly DCBI combat casualty population and defines recommended measures for preventing these complications. These include wound management, use of antimicrobials, and both strategic and tactical infection prevention and control priorities. These recommendations are applicable throughout the continuum of casualty care with an emphasis on preventing infection beginning from the time of injury.
ANALYTIC ERROR ESTIMATES FOR INTEGRAL-EQUATION EIGENVALUE PROBLEMS IN NEUTRON PHYSICS

The technique usually employed to estimate errors in approximation schemes for neutron physics problems is simply to compare the results with higher order approximations or purely numerical results...
Soviet and Russian Statistics on Alcohol Consumption and Abuse

The purpose of this paper is to summarize and offer analytical comments concerning the availability and reliability of official government statistics on alcohol and related issues in the former Soviet Union and contemporary Russia. The paper is organized in six section. The introduction (Section 1) summarizes state alcohol policy issues. Sections 2 and 3 are focused on, respectively, alcohol consumption and on alcohol abuse statistics. Sections 4 and 5 address two issues related to alcohol abuse: the impact of Gorbachev's anti-drinking campaign and deaths from alcohol poisoning: these issues which remain controversional illustrate problems of working with available Russian statistics. Section 6 lists bibliographical sources used in the paper.
Lie Algebra Cohomology and Holomorphic Continuation of Generalized Jacquet Integrals

Publisher Summary This chapter presents two types of theorems. The first is the generalizations of vanishing theorems of Kostant and Lynch. The second is the holomorphic continuation of certain integrals. The proofs of the two, seemingly unrelated types of results, have in common the use of certain operators, Qj that are noncommutative analogues of the standard Euler operator on the space of polynomials in several variables. The chapter presents the results of the examples illustrated that rest on the algebraic properties of certain generalizations of Euler operators. It explains the global structure of the nondegenerate functionals in preparation for the results on the holomorphic continuation of the corresponding generalized Jacquet integrals.
Thick and freestanding MXene/PANI pseudocapacitive electrodes with ultrahigh specific capacitance

Two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide MXene (Ti3C2Tx) has shown great promise as a high-performance electrode material for electrochemical capacitors (ECs). However, similar to other 2D materials, processing MXenes into freestanding films results in their restacking, thus decreasing the ion transport inside the electrodes. This problem significantly hinders the specific capacitance and rate capability of freestanding electrodes, particularly for those with thicknesses higher than a few microns. Here, we demonstrate a strategy based on surface modification of MXene sheets to fabricate electrodes with highly accessible structure and improved electrochemical performance even at very high electrode thicknesses. 2D Ti3C2Tx and polyaniline (PANI) hybrid materials were synthesized through oxidant-free in situ polymerization of PANI on the surface of MXene sheets and were assembled into freestanding films with various thicknesses. Thin MXene/PANI hybrid electrodes delivered outstanding gravimetric and volumetric capacitances as high as 503 F g−1 and 1682 F cm−3, respectively. As the electrode thicknesses and mass loadings were increased, the hybrid electrodes still showed high electrochemical performance. For example, an electrode with a thickness of 90 μm and a mass loading of 23.82 mg cm−2 could deliver a specific capacitance of about 336 F g−1 (∼888 F cm−3 volumetric capacitance). The hybrid electrodes also showed a high cycle lifetime with a capacitance retention of 98.3% after 10 000 cycles. This paper explains a simple and fast approach for the fabrication of MXenes/conducting polymer hybrid electrodes with superior electrochemical performance.
Origin of Panchromaticity in Multichromophore─Tetrapyrrole Arrays

Panchromatic absorbers that have robust photophysical properties enable new designs for molecular-based light-harvesting systems. Herein, we report experimental and theoretical studies of the spectral, redox, and excited-state properties of a series of perylene-monoimide-ethyne-porphyrin arrays wherein the number of perylene-monoimide units is stepped from one to four. In the arrays, a profound shift of absorption intensity from the strong violet-blue (B y and B x) bands of typical porphyrins into the green, red, and near-infrared (Q x and Q y) regions stems from mixing of chromophore and tetrapyrrole molecular orbitals (MOs), which gives multiplets of MOs having electron density spread over the entire array. This reduces the extensive mixing between porphyrin excited-state configurations and the transition-dipole addition and subtraction that normally leads to intense B and weak Q bands. Reduced configurational mixing derives from moderate effects of the ethyne and perylene on the MO energies and a more substantial effect of electron-density delocalization to reduce the configuration-interaction energy. Quantitative oscillator-strength analysis shows that porphyrin intensity is also shifted into the perylene-like green-region absorption and that the ethyne linkers lend absorption intensity. The reduced porphyrin configurational mixing also endows the S1 state with bacteriochlorin-like properties, including a 1-5 ns lifetime.
MANAGEMENT OF TYPE 2 HEPARIN-INDUCED THROMBOCYTOPENIA PRIOR TO HEARTMATE 3 LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE IMPLANTATION: A CASE SERIES

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a rare side effect of heparin therapy that can result in life threatening thrombosis. It presents a therapeutic challenge in patients undergoing HeartMate 3 (HM3) left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Patient 1: A 69 year old male with
Office-based corticosteroid injections as adjuvant therapy for subglottic stenosis.

Objective Subglottic stenosis (SGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening disorder that is difficult to treat due to significant recurrence rates. While conventional treatment of SGS relies heavily on serial endoscopic dilation procedures, this study aims to characterize the efficacy of incorporating subglottic corticosteroid injections in increasing surgery-free intervals (SFIs) for a cohort of patients at a university-based medical system. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods All SGS patients who underwent endoscopic dilation and at least one adjuvant office-based serial intralesional steroid injection (SILSI) were reviewed. Patients were excluded if they had synchronous airway lesions or stenosis outside of the subglottis. Charts were reviewed for demographic and treatment-specific data. The SFI was calculated for patients both prior to the initiation of SILSI and after. Groups were compared via Mann-Whitney U test, with P < .05 as the threshold for significance. Results Thirteen patients met criteria, with mean age 50.1 ± 14.1 years and 7:6 female to male ratio. Eight of the thirteen (61.5%) had intubation-related stenosis, while 4/13 were idiopathic and 1/13 was due to Wegener's granulomatosis. Mean follow-up was 20.4 months. Patients underwent an average of 4.2 ± 2.2 postoperative injections, beginning 45.9 ± 19.0 days after surgery. The mean SFI prior to initiating SILSI was 288.6 ± 362.0 days; while after receiving SILSI, the mean interval was significantly longer (545.5 ± 152.7 days, P = .0041). Conclusions We demonstrate that office-based corticosteroid injection for SGS was associated with a statistically significant improvement in the SFI and is a promising adjuvant approach. Future prospective studies should evaluate if the efficacy is reproducible on a large scale and if SILSI can and/or should be incorporated into the standard management paradigm for SGS treatment. Level of Evidence 4.
Novel methodology to evaluate and compare evapotranspiration algorithms in an agroecosystem model

Abstract Efforts to improve agroecosystem models require methods for unbiased comparisons among simulation algorithms. With focus on evapotranspiration (ET) in Cotton2K, the objectives were to develop a novel methodology for evaluating model parameterization options and to compare model performance using three ET algorithms. The Cotton2K model was updated to include a standardized ET method, and two Penman approaches were also tested. Sobol global sensitivity analysis and multiobjective optimization were used to identify influential parameters and select feasible parameterization options. The three ET methods led to differences in simulation accuracy for ET, soil water contents, and several plant growth metrics ( p 0.05 ). However, no ET method could consistently outperform the other two methods, and ET simulation errors were up to 60%. The simulation methodology permitted unbiased comparison of three ET methods in Cotton2K and highlighted areas for model improvement, including the surface evaporation simulation and the linkage between simulated ET and crop growth.
Good practice verdichten. Gastkapitel mit Daniel Perrin

Wenn also die AnalystInnen dazulernen sollen – mussen es alle? Und wer weis genau, was? – Fur die empirisch basierte Weiterentwicklung komplexer Handlungsfelder haben sich Good-Practice-Ansatze bewahrt, die davon ausgehen, dass Losungen im Praxisfeld selbst entstehen. Das bedeutet fur die hier untersuchte Kommunikation in der Finanzwelt: Es gibt Beispiele guter Praktiken, es gibt erfahrene Schreibende, es gibt adressaten-affine Kommunikation. Dieses Zielfuhrende, Gelingende im Praxisfeld auszumachen und daraus Beratungswerkzeuge abzuleiten, ist eine Kernaufgabe anwendungsorientierter Forschung.
An innovative technique to promote understanding of anatomy for nurse practitioner students.

ABSTRACT Nurse practitioner (NP) students are required to have a clear understanding of the complexities of the human body. Students enter graduate studies with varying experiences and backgrounds in anatomy and physiology. Evidence suggests that human anatomy laboratories increase learning outcomes when compared with comparative anatomy modalities. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine if teaching with a computed tomography (CT)-based three-dimensional (3D) anatomy table and cadaveric specimens improves Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and NP students' understanding of anatomy in health assessment. Students participated in a hands-on anatomy review using a 3D anatomy table and human cadavers to master the five included body systems. Presurveys and postsurveys were administered to determine how much time had lapsed since our students' most recent anatomy class and the type of dissection laboratory provided within that class; to assess knowledge confidence in pediatric Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat (HEENT) anatomy; and to assess students' confidence in pediatric anatomical knowledge for all five body systems. Data were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney U test with independent samples. All areas with the exception of HEENT showed clinically significant improvement, including overall scores. Many positive themes were identified using qualitative thematic analysis. Teaching with a CT-based, 3D anatomy table with cadaveric specimens improved DNP and NP students' confidence levels in pediatric anatomy knowledge for all five systems. This innovative combination of human cadavers and virtual technology has the potential to produce advanced anatomical understanding for prospective health care professionals and to validate their capacity to conduct complex health assessments and procedures.
A case report of ocular Stevens–Johnson syndrome: An important condition for the internist to see

A patient was admitted with Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and found to have ocular manifestations including eyelid edema, conjunctival hyperemia, and worsening pseudomembranes which threatened his vision. He was referred to a corneal specialist and successfully treated with topical therapy and amniotic membrane grafts. This case is important because while ocular manifestations of SJS are common, there is a lack of awareness of its prevalence and available treatment modalities. Rapid diagnosis and initiation of treatment is crucial to avoid devastating and permanent ocular complications. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Patient care, Medical knowledge, and System-based practice.
Vigilancia y anamorfismo escénico en La dama duende de 1942

La puesta en escena de La dama duende en 1942 introduce de forma notable el uso escenografico de plataformas giratorias. Con ellas, recrea una estetica barroca que sutilmente visibiliza la opresion...
People Power - City Planning and Human Behavior

Winston Churchill famously stated: “We shape our buildings and they shape us.” I will apply this to the urban environment, taking this to mean that we should create public spaces that attract people and promote a feeling of well-being. Important early research on human behavior in the urban environment was made back in the 1960s and 70s by such famous names as Jane Jacobs, Edward Hall, Kevin Lynch, William Whyte, Amos Rapoport, and Richard Alexander in the U.S., and Jan Gehl in Europe. Their core findings are still valid today. These early pioneers identified such things as people’s different sensory and emotional experiences, the characteristics of a “good place,” and the cues for behavior that the environment sends us. These assessments take place against a changing background of other people whose presence is often taken for granted. But here we may actually have the key “attractor” in the urban environment! People like to be around other people, and they like watching people. This can now be reverseengineered: Create a place for people watching, add some props—like an improvised cafe—and see the use of space grow through the “people power” mechanism! Indeed, early experiments in New York City and Copenhagen employed just this people power mechanism to transform “unfriendly” city spaces and streets into interesting and welcoming environments, at the same time as they changed people’s behavior. More recent experiments with street closings in New York, Paris, and elsewhere have shown the great transformative potentials of attractive city environments. And in some places people themselves have taken power and created attractive public places out of undefined (or badly defined) urban spaces.
A General Automaton: Detailed Analysis

This chapter contains sections titled: Distinguishable Receptors and Effectors Nonhomogeneous Environments Transformation Response Components Nonshared Environments Interpreted as Distinguishable Exercises
Streams and Managers

The sole effect of expression evaluation in a functional programming language is the production of a resultant value. This absence of side-effects greatly facilitates both the formal characterization and the concurrent execution of functional programs. Unfortunately, the absence of side-effects also conflicts with conventional means of achieving input/output, inter-process communication, and resource allocation. By incorporating the history of communication into a stream, functional programs can be written for I/O and communication. Using the stream concept, managers may be written to control access to resources shared by several processes.
The Boltzmann- and the Klimontovich formalisms with reference to turbulence resolution

The Navier-Stokes equation expressed in terms of Klimontovich microscopic density is compared with the conventional one based on the Boltzmann formalism. Their difference is described by the two-point BBGKY equation. An implication is given that the averaging procedure from the Klimontovich to the Boltzmann formalism wipes out not only thermal agitation, but also a certain hydrodynamic turbulence. This is substantiated by agreement with measurements due to Schubauer and Klebanoff.
Nonnegative solvability of linear equations in certain ordered rings

In the integers and in certain densely ordered rings that are not fields, projections of the solution set of finitely many homogeneous weak linear inequalities may be defined by finitely many congruence inequalities, where a congruence inequality combines a weak inequality with a system of congruences. These results extend well-known facts about systems of weak linear inequalities over ordered fields and imply corresponding analogues of Farkas' Lemma on nonnegative solvability of systems of linear equations.
Isotope-edited FTIR reveals distinct aggregation and structural behaviors of unmodified and pyroglutamylated amyloid β peptides

Amyloid β peptide (Aβ) is causatively associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and N-terminally truncated and pyroglutamylated Aβ peptides (AβpE) exert hypertoxic effect by an unknown mechanism. Recent evidence has identified the prefibrillar oligomers of Aβ, not the fibrils, as the prevalent cytotoxic species. Structural characterization of Aβ and AβpE oligomers is therefore important for better understanding of their toxic effect. Here we have used isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify the conformational changes in Aβ1–42 and AβpE3–42 upon aggregation, individually and in 1 : 1 molar combination. During the first two hours of exposure to aqueous buffer, the peptides undergo transition from mostly α-helical to mostly β-sheet structure. Data on peptides 13C,15N-labeled at K16L17V18 or V36G37G38V39 allowed construction of structural models for the monomer and early oligomers. The peptide monomer comprises a β-hairpin that involves residues upstream of the K16L17V18 sequence and an N-terminal α-helix. The oligomers form by non-H-bonding interactions between the β-strands of neighboring β-hairpins, in lateral or staggered manner, with the strands running parallel or antiparallel. Relative α-helical and β-sheet propensities of Aβ1–42 and AβpE3–42 depend on the ionic strength of the buffer, emphasizing the importance of ionic interactions in Aβ peptide structure and aggregation. It is inferred that N-terminal modification of AβpE3–42 affects the helix stability and thereby modulates β-sheet oligomer formation. The data thus provide new insight into the molecular mechanism of Aβ oligomerization by emphasizing the role of the N-terminal transient α-helical structure and by identifying structural constraints for molecular organization of the oligomers.
Auction-based highway reservation system an agent-based simulation study

Based on previous studies of a highway reservation system, this paper proposed an auction-based implementation, in which the users can bid for the right to use a route during a certain period of time. This paper models the auction system with MATSim using an agent-based simulation technique. The agents adopt their own bidding logic in the auction, and the price converges after around 130 iterations, when the number of users using the reserved highway and the total collected revenue become stable. When the overall demand changes, the collected revenue ranges from 5 to 11 dollars per user, and from 0.7 to 1.5 dollars per mile. The auction system can transfer more consumer surplus to the toll road operators, since it is a personalized tolling mechanism. The users are using the reservation system as insurance of a guaranteed congestion-free travel. The auction-based highway reservation shows great potential as a new traffic management system.
The MODIS reprojection tool

The MODIS Reprojection Tool (MRT) is designed to help individuals work with MODIS Level-2G, Level-3, and Level-4 land data products. These products are referenced to a global tiling scheme in which each tile is approximately 10° latitude by 10° longitude and non-overlapping (Fig. 9.1). If desired, the user may reproject only selected portions of the product (spatial or parameter subsetting). The software may also be used to convert MODIS products to file formats (generic binary and GeoTIFF) that are more readily compatible with existing software packages. The MODIS land products distributed by the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) are in the Hierarchical Data Format - Earth Observing System (HDF-EOS), developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for the NASA EOS Program. Each HDF-EOS file is comprised of one or more science data sets (SDSs) corresponding to geophysical or biophysical parameters. Metadata are embedded in the HDF file as well as contained in a .met file that is associated with each HDF-EOS file. The MRT supports 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit integer data (both signed and unsigned), as well as 32-bit float data. The data type of the output is the same as the data type of each corresponding input SDS.
Chronic ethanol consumption upregulates the cytosolic and plasma membrane sialidase genes, but downregulates lysosomal membrane sialidase gene in rat liver

We have previously shown that chronic ethanol feeding stimulates liver cytosolic sialidase (CS) and plasma membrane sialidase (PMS), whereas it decreases lysosomal membrane sialidase (LMS) activities with concomitant alterations in their relative synthetic rate in rat. To understand the molecular mechanism(s) for these changes, we have evaluated the effect of ethanol administration in male Wistar rats as a function of increasing dietary ethanol concentration after 8 weeks of pair-feeding on (i) the expression of CS, PMS, and LMS genes by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction method; (ii) their relative transcription rates by nuclear run-on assay; and (iii) the actual amount of these sialidase proteins in the liver fractions of the respective groups by Western blot method. We have demonstrated that the animals fed with 10.6%, 20.8%, and 36% of total calories as ethanol showed a 20% (P<.05), 34% (P<.01), and 69% (P<.01) increase in CS mRNA level, and 22% (P<.05), 26% (P<.01), and 47% (P<.01) increase in PMS mRNA level, but a decrease in LMS mRNA level by 35% (P<.05), 50% (P<.01), and 80% (P<.01), respectively, as compared to controls. Western blot analyses of CS, PMS, and LMS in the liver subfractions showed that changes in protein levels of CS, LMS, and PMS were consistent with the corresponding changes in the respective mRNA levels. Thus, the upregulation of CS and PMS, but not LMS which is down regulated by chronic ethanol, may account for the appearance of asialoconjugates in alcoholics.
Transmembrane effects of β-galactosides on thiomethyl-β-galactoside transport in Escherichia coli

Abstract 1. 1. The transport rate in Escherichia coli (ML strain) of thiomethyl-β-[ 14 C]galactoside was measured in the presence and absence of thiomethyl-β-galactoside (TMG), o- nitrophenyl-β-galactoside (ONPG), or thio-β-digalactoside (TDG) on the side of the cell membrane toward which [ 14 C]TMG transport was occurring. 2. 2. Efflux rate of [ 14 C]TMG was markedly stimulated by the presence of non-radioactive TMG in the external medium, whereas preloading these cells with non-radioactive TMG caused little effect on the influx rate of low concentrations of [ 14 C]TMG and only a small stimulation of influx rate at high concentrations. 3. 3. ONPG in the external medium caused a smaller stimulation of [ 14 C]TMG efflux rate than did TMG. Preloading the cells with ONPG inhibited influx rate of low concentrations of [ 14 C]TMG, but had little effect on this rate for high concentrations. 4. 4. TDG in the external medium caused only a slight stimulation of [ 14 C]TMG efflux rate, whereas preloading with TDG causes a marked inhibition of the influx rate of all concentrations of [ 14 C]TMG. 5. 5. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that TMG undergoes exchange diffusion with [ 14 C]TMG, ONPG has little exchange diffusion, and TDG has an inhibitory “exchange” effect; but that superimposed on these exchange effects are the effects of an external partial diffusion barrier.
The t-J model: Anyons, flux states, spinons, holons, and all that

Even for the J = 0 limit of the t - J model, the spinons and holons are anyonic and the mean-field approach to this anyon problem results in a finite flux ground state.