cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Ischemic Stroke: Focused Update of 2010 Clinical Practice Advisory From the American Academy of Emergency Medicine

Abstract Background Stroke treatment is a continuum that begins with the rapid identification of symptoms and treatment with transition to successful rehabilitation. Therapies for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) may vary based on anatomic location, interval from symptom onset, and coexisting health conditions. Successful therapy requires a seamless systematic approach with coordination from prehospital environment through acute management at medical facilities to disposition and long-term care of the patient. The emergency physician must balance the benefits and risks of alteplase recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for AIS management. Objective We review the recent medical literature on the topic of AIS and assess intravenous rtPA for the following questions: 1) is there any applicable, new, high-quality evidence that the benefits of intravenous rtPA are justified in light of the harms associated with it, and 2) if so, does the evidence clarify which patients, if any, are most likely to benefit from the treatment. Methods A MEDLINE literature search from January 2010 to October 2016 and limited to human studies written in English for articles with keywords of cerebrovascular accident and (thromboly* OR alteplase). Guideline statements and nonsystematic reviews were excluded. Studies targeting differences between specific populations (males vs. females) were excluded. Studies identified then underwent a structured review from which results could be evaluated. Results Three hundred twenty-two papers on thrombolytic use were screened and nine appropriate articles were rigorously reviewed and recommendations given. Conclusions No new studies published between 2010 and 2016 meaningfully reduced uncertainty regarding our understanding of the benefits and harms of intravenous rtPA for AIS. Discussions regarding benefit and harm should occur for patients, and risk prediction scores may facilitate the conversation.
The Benefit of a Formal Plastic Surgery In-Service Conference.

Introduction Annually, residents are expected to take an in-service examination to gauge their understanding of plastic surgery knowledge and prepare them for the American Board of Plastic Surgery written examination. In addition, in-service score are now being used as an assessment tool for fellowship applicants. Because of the breadth of Plastic Surgery material, it is difficult to prepare a resident for such a comprehensive examination. At the University of Utah, a weekly conference was instituted to help prepare residents for the in-service and board examination with the goal of improving scores. Materials and methods A weekly 90 min review conference was initiated at the University of Utah in an effort to improve in-service scores. Residents along with a member of the faculty reviewed old in-service examination questions and discussed the selected topics in depth. The residents’ examination score averages per PGY level were compared from years before and after initiation of the conference. In addition, examination scores for each individual were compared before and after initiation of the conference. Paired t-test comparisons were performed to analyze the results. Results Statistically significant improvement in residents examination scores averages were observed from years before and after initiation of the conference after the second year of training (42% vs 62%, p = 0.03). Furthermore, examination scores for each individual obtained the years before and the year after initiation of the conference significantly improved (31% vs 71%, p = 0.01). When comparing individuals in years prior to implementation of the conference there was no statistically significant improvement from year to year. Conclusion Implementation of a formal weekly in-service conference significantly improved performance on the in-service examination. Improvement was found when comparing between PGY training level after the second year of training and individually for residents. These results advocate for a focused educational conference for preparation for the in-service examination.
Design and implementation of the Indianapolis Network for Patient Care and Research.

Abstract We are creating a health care information network that will link a large community medical record system to three hospital emergency departments, fifty community pharmacies, ten clinics, four health-maintenance organization (HMO) offices, and twelve homeless care sites in Indianapolis, Indiana. This project will test the feasibility of linking care providers across organizational boundaries and measure the benefits of such a network. The network will supply three kinds of information services: a "mini-medical library," patient medical record information, and a citywide prescription database incorporating a computer-based prescription-writing system. The use of medical resources, the cost of care, provider time spent giving care, and providers' opinions of the services will be used as outcomes in randomized clinical trials. Through this project, we hope to expand the information base available to the target care sites; reduce unnecessary testing and increase the efficiency of care in emergency departments; improve emergency department, office, and clinic prescribing patterns; enlarge the consortium of health care providers connected by the network; and develop strategies for successfully implementing a comprehensive city medical record resource.
Mortuary Symbolism and Social Differentiation at Mokrin

To this point, the discussion has focused on the Maros funerary program across the seven Maros cemeteries and has considered the association of each aspect of mortuary treatment relative to the referent dimensions of age, sex, pervasiveness, and effort. The spatial character of the occurrence of each trait has also been considered, in terms of the location within graves (in the case of artifacts), location within individual cemeteries, and, more broadly, the occurrence of traits or attributes across the Maros cemeteries. What has not been described systematically, however, is the covariation of these various attributes or the potential social categories that the patterns of occurrence may suggest. Since these categories, and the patterns of social differentiation that underlie them, are the principal focus of the research, these aspects of the Maros funerary program are the subject of this chapter.
Heavy Metal Toxicity Testing in Environmental Samples

The toxicity of heavy metals in the environment depends on a number of physicochemical and biological factors. The complexity of these relationships has encouraged the use of bioassays for direct measurement of the [table: see text] impact of toxic metals on selected test species. Fish and daphnid bioassays are well accepted by the scientific and regulatory communities, but their length (48 h or more) and the considerable time and effort needed to culture the test organisms make their application to sample screening problematical. Microbial and biochemical assays based on the inhibition of bioluminescence, enzyme activity, enzyme biosynthesis, growth, respiration, and heat production are typically faster and less expensive than the traditional and fish bioassays. Some of these tests approach or equal the sensitivity of daphnids to heavy metals. Since the soil acts as a sink for airborne and waste-applied metals, the uptake of metals by plants and the associated toxic impacts are important. Growth inhibition, enzyme induction, and production of stress proteins have been considered as toxicity end points. Enzymatic tests have been developed that are specific for heavy metal toxicity. Such tests can facilitate toxicity reduction evaluations. Detection of individual metals in the environment may eventually be possible using biosensors consisting of genetically engineered microorganisms. Direct solid-phase tests for soil, sediment, or sludge toxicity, using bacterial bioluminescence or enzyme activity as end points, have been developed. Such tests may complement traditional solid-phase toxicity tests using nematodes or earthworms as indicator organisms. Based on the work reviewed, we draw the following conclusions: 1. The Microtox assay is sensitive to mercury but would fail to detect the toxicity of certain metals, such as cadmium. Among all the microbial assays reviewed, the bioassay based on growth inhibition of the alga Selenastrum capricornutum appears to give the lowest EC50s, similar to those seen for daphnid bioassays. 2. Biosensors, using genetically engineered microorganisms, offer an elegant means of detecting the presence of specific heavy metals in environmental samples. However, at the present time, they are not designed for assessing heavy metal toxicity. 3. The use of bioassays specific for heavy metal toxicity can be useful for directly assessing the bioavailability of these toxicants in environmental samples, thus avoiding the need for fractionation.+4
A multi-interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel with gelatin and silk fibroin

A mechanically strong composite hydrogel was produced based on an interpenetrating network (IPN) between gelatin and silk fibroin. When two layers of the IPN were created, the resulting hydrogel exhibited much improved mechanical properties. This hydrogel is biodegradable and non-cytotoxic and allows for cell adhesion and proliferation on the surface.
The carboxy‐terminus of the formin FMNL1ɣ bundles actin to potentiate adenocarcinoma migration

The formin family of proteins contributes to spatiotemporal control of actin cytoskeletal rearrangements during motile cell activities. The FMNL subfamily exhibits multiple mechanisms of linear actin filament formation and organization. Here we report novel actin-modifying functions of FMNL1 in breast adenocarcinoma migration models. FMNL1 is required for efficient cell migration and its three isoforms exhibit distinct localization. Suppression of FMNL1 protein expression results in a significant impairment of cell adhesion, migration, and invasion. Overexpression of FMNL1ɣ, but not FMNL1β or FMNL1α, enhances cell adhesion independent of the FH2 domain and FMNL1ɣ rescues migration in cells depleted of all three endogenous isoforms. While FMNL1ɣ inhibits actin assembly in vitro, it facilitates bundling of filamentous actin independent of the FH2 domain. The unique interactions of FMNL1ɣ with filamentous actin provide a new understanding of formin domain functions and its effect on motility of diverse cell types suggest a broader role than previously realized.
Study on Integrity and Privacy Requirements of Distributed Ledger Technologies

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) allows multiple organizations to share transaction data while protecting data integrity without the need for a central authority. However, there is a strong need to protect the privacy of transactions from parties that are not stakeholders of each transaction. Since DLT is a technology for sharing replicas of the same ledger data across multiple parties, protecting confidentiality and data privacy is essentially difficult. In this paper, we first define the properties of integrity and privacy requirements and discuss the requirements in typical use cases. Finally, we review how the requirements are addressed in existing implementations.
A History and Analysis of the Evolution of Action and Participatory Action Research.

Action research is a type of research which is conducted with research participants rather than on participants. This premise democratizes research, resulting in transformative potential, while addressing issues such as power and hierarchy which are present in traditional positivist research approaches, allowing those affected by the research to benefit from a more democratic research experience: According to Habermas, “in a process of enlightenment, there can only be participants”. However, as with social science research, or perhaps any method of research, there are different forms of action research which have evolved over time. This paper describes the worldviews that have informed the evolution of action research and examines three different forms of action research with respect to assumptions value, beliefs, and claims to truth inherent with each form. These three main forms may be thought of as “umbrella” terms for the forms of action research, with various threads of action research originating and continuing to originate from each form. Lastly, this paper explores one thread of action research-participatory action research. The reason for focusing on participatory action research specifically is that this type of action research has grown in popularity recently within social sciences research due to the opportunity for new insight for all research participants. Further, participatory action research allows for joint knowledge-production, may draw attention to previously neglected areas of qualitative research, and is therefore relevant to a specific community. For a researcher considering employing participatory action research, it is helpful to understand the historical and philosophical underpinnings of action research in general in order to better unerstand the specific intricacies and characteristics of participatory action research.
Apical coarticulation at juncture boundaries

Abstract: The presence or absence of the dental allophone of /n/ in /nθ/ sequences was examined under conditions of varying juncture boundaries falling between /n/ and /θ/. Six subjects read a list of sentences in which the /nθ/ sequence was embedded such that juncture boundaries of seven different ranks occurred between /n/ and /θ/. Results indicate that dental coarticulation, as indicated by dental contact during /n/, is not impeded by the interposition of most junctures. On occasion, when the juncture was marked by a long pause, the dental contact was first made, broken, and re-established after the pause. It would appear that absence of dental coarticulation does not usefully mark most higher-level junctures studied.
Does trade reduce infant mortality? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Trade can affect the development process of a country via various direct and indirect mechanisms. Empirically, it is difficult to identify causal effects, as trade is likely to be endogenous to other socio-economic factors that also affect development. To overcome this problem, this study uses a trade policy experiment called the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which conferred many sub-Saharan African countries largely duty-free and quota-free access to US markets. Using retrospective birth histories from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), I develop a large micro panel dataset that spans 30 sub-Saharan African countries and carry out a within-mother variation in survival of infant to find a causal impact of the policy. Identification in this analysis is based on each country’s exposure to the trade policy at different points in time. I find that the policy reduces infant mortality by about 9% of the sample mean, even after controlling for country-time linear trends as well as mother’s time invariant characteristics. Event study reveals no effects prior to AGOA implementation, corroborating that the decrease in infant mortality is due to AGOA. I also find strong heterogeneous effects at the country and household level. The effects range from there being no significant effect to a strong increase or a strong decrease in infant deaths at the country level. The effect of AGOA on infant survival is stronger for countries that export large amounts of agricultural goods and mineral ores as compared to oil exporting countries. At the micro level, I see stronger effects for the uneducated, rural, and poor women via those women employed in agriculture or using manual labor, indicating increasing incomes as a possible mechanism. This study provides the first estimates of the effects of AGOA on infant mortality and adds to the literature on the quantitative impact of trade on health.
Contributions of the UK biobank high impact papers in the era of precision medicine

To review the highest impact studies published from the UK Biobank and assess their contributions to “precision medicine.” We reviewed 140 of 689 studies published between 2008 and May 2019 from the UK Biobank deemed to be high impact by citations, alternative metric data, or publication in a high impact journal. We classified studies according to whether they (1) were largely methods papers, (2) largely replicated prior findings or associations, (3) generated novel findings or associations, (4) developed risk prediction models that did not yield clinically significant improvements in risk estimation over prior models or (5) developed models that produced significant improvements in individualized risk assessment, targeted screening, or targeted treatment. This final category represents “precision medicine.” We classified 15 articles as category 1, 33 as category 2, 85 as category 3, six as category 4, and one as category 5. In this assessment of the first 7 years of the UK Biobank and first 4 years of genetic data availability, the majority of high impact UK Biobank studies either replicated known associations or generated novel associations without clinically relevant improvements in risk prediction, screening, or treatment. This information may be useful for designers of other cohort studies in terms of input to design and follow-up to facilitate precision medicine research.
Design and performance of UPAS inlets for respirable and thoracic mass sampling.

The Ultrasonic Personal Aerosol Sampler (UPAS) is a small, lightweight, and quiet sampler that collects airborne particulate matter on a filter for gravimetric or compositional analysis. The object...
The Effects of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy on Cardiovascular and Non-cardiovascular Hospitalization: A Long-term Follow-up MADIT-CRT Sub-study

Introduction Little is known about the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) on hospitalizations during long-term follow up. We assessed the impact of CRT-D on CV and non-CV hospitalizations in patients randomized to implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or CRT-D in the MADIT-CRT trial. Methods and Results MADIT-CRT randomized 1820 patients with mild heart failure (HF), low ejection fraction and a wide QRS to ICD or CRT-D. Hospitalization rates and lengths of hospital stay were compared. At an average of 5.6 years follow-up, there was a lower rate of all-cause hospitalizations in the CRT-D arm compared with the ICD group (72.6 events per 100 pt-years versus 82.6 events per 100 pt-years, p=0.020). This was driven by a reduction in CV-hospitalizations with CRT-D vs. ICD (28.8 events per 100 pt-years vs. 42.6 events per 100 pt-years, p Conclusions Among patients with NYHA class I/II heart failure, CRT-D therapy significantly reduces all-cause hospitalizations, HF, and CV hospitalizations with reductions in hospital length of stay. Any hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of death.
Effect of propranolol on enzymatic and histochemical estimates of infarct size in experimental myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction was produced in anesthetized dogs by ligation of the left anterior descendens coronary artery. Propranolol (2 mg/kg i.v.) administered 4 hours post ligation was examined for its ability to reduce infarct size estimated by histochemical and enzymatic methods. There was a significant correlation between these two methods in their estimation of infarct size. Treatment with propranolol significantly decreased infarct size estimated with both methods. It is concluded that some portion of the myocardium can be protected against infarction by pharmacologic intervention as late as 4 hours after the onset of coronary artery occlusion.
Sense of Belonging and Community Building within a STEM Intervention Program: A Focus on Latino Male Undergraduates’ Experiences:

Relying on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 13 Latino male undergraduates in engineering, this study explored students experiences and sense of belonging within a Minority Retention Pro...
Does Brian Josephson’s Gauge-Invariant Phase Difference Live on a Line or a Circle?

This article, written to honor Brian Josephson on the occasion of his 80th birthday, discusses the topological nature of an emergent collective variable, namely the gauge-invariant phase difference across the two leads of a superconducting tunnel junction, which plays a central role in Josephson’s discovery of the effect bearing his name.
Developing microencapsulated powders containing polyphenols and pectin extracted from Georgia-grown pomegranate peels

Abstract This study aimed to determine the feasibility of producing polyphenol (PPP) and pectin powders (PPE) from Georgia-grown pomegranate peels and to develop microencapsulated PPP (MPPP) powders. PPP and PPE were solvents extracted and characterized. Suspensions containing deionized water, 3 g/100 mL of PPP, and 15 g/100 mL of a blend of maltodextrin (MD):PPE of weight ratios (0:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, and 1:0 g:g) were prepared and spray-dried at 140 °C inlet air temperature to produce MPPP powders. PPE had a degree of methyl esterification of 53.67%. The total polyphenol (mg GAE/mL), α-punicalagin (mg/g, dry basis, d.b.), β-punicalagin (mg/g d.b.), ellagic acid (mg/g, d.b.) content of PPP was 522.82, 108.3, 101.0, and 73.8, respectively. MPPP powders produced with higher amounts of PPE had significantly (p 89.90%), water solubilities (>88.09%), and antioxidant activities than the powders microencapsulated with only MD or PPE. MPPP powders produced with MD:PPE (ratio 4:1) showed the highest antioxidant activity, EE, and the particle sizes. MPPP powders with larger particles were positively correlated with higher antioxidant activities. MPPP powders may be used as novel food ingredients.
Riccati-type Pseudopotentials and Their Applications

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Riccati-type pseudopotentials and their applications. This type of pseudopotential generates the Lax equations, auto-Backlund transformation, and singularity manifold equation of the corresponding nonlinear evolution (NLE) equation in 1+ 1 dimensions by using the properties of the Riccati ordinary differential equation. This technique can be generalized to NLE equations in 2+1 dimensions by imposing the defining equations of the pseudopotential to be of a Riccati-type in one-space variable. Lax equations and auto-Backlund transformations for an equation with higher-order scattering can also be derived if a pseudopotential exists such that its defining equations are of a type given by a member of the Riccati-chain. A topic related to Riccati-type pseudopotentials is the derivation of novel S-integrable equations and their auto-Backlund transformation from the singularity manifold equations and their invariance under the Mobius group, respectively. A well-known example is the link between the Harry Dym and the singularity manifold equation of the Korteweg–de Vries equation. The chapter also considers equations that are not S-integrable. These equations possess Riccati-type pseudopotentials that derive from local conservation laws.
Fiber Waveguide Sensors of Stress Waves in Solids

Optical fiber sensor systems have been applied to the detection of stress waves in solids. The optical fiber sensing elements in such systems may be embedded within the solids or attached to the surfaces of the solids. Fiber sensor output is proportional to the strain integrated along the sensing length of the fiber. This paper reviews the operation of such sensors and sensor systems, the reported experimental measurements of stress waves using such techniques, and the potential implications of such sensors in acoustoultrasonics.
A case of lymphomatoid granulomatosis presenting with cutaneous lesions.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder that involves the skin in approximately 50% of cases. We describe a patient with LYG who first presented with cutaneous lesions. His skin biopsy failed to show large B-cell lymphocytes positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded RNA in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH), highlighting the diagnostic challenges that dermatologists may face when encountering cutaneous LYG.
SF/sub 6/ and water cold trap for TFTR deuterium-tritium operations

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) vacuum system is being upgraded to trap SF/sub 6/ gas which may leak from the neutral beam injectors during the planned deuterium-tritium experiments. This is necessary since SF/sub 6/ can, in 25% of a gram-mole, completely inactivate the platinum catalyst in the tritium cleanup system (TCS). Any SF/sub 6/ leaking into the injectors will initially be held on the liquid helium or liquid nitrogen cryopanels. During regens of the liquid helium panel, the deuterium and tritium will pass to the TCS, with the SF/sub 6/ being retained on the cryopanels. In the final phase of the accident recovery scenario, the cryopanels will be warmed to room temperature and the SF/sub 6/ collected by a liquid-nitrogen cooled cold trap. Design of the cold trap and measurements of the vapor pressure of SF/sub 6/ at 77 K as a function of surface coverage are presented. The SF/sub 6/ vapor pressure at 77 K, with only a few monolayers absorbed, was found to be >
Inverted Definitions and Their Uses

Consider the attempt to define ‘music’ briefly as ‘an artistic arrangement of sounds in varying melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre designed to give aesthetic pleasure’. I believe that, though it might be improved upon, it is a fair definition, genuinely conveying the gist of the definiendum’s meaning and capable of facilitating an understanding of the concept of music. On the other hand, the reverse proposition, consisting in an attempt to define’ sounds’ as ‘the elements of an artistic arrangement that varies in melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre, so designed as to give aesthetic pleasure’ would almost be futile.
A new relative proton polarimeter for RHIC

An innovative polarimeter based on proton carbon elastic scattering in the Coulomb nuclear interference (CNI) region has been installed and commissioned in the Blue ring of RHIC during the first RHIC polarized proton commissioning in September, 2000. The polarimeter consists of ultra-thin C targets and four Si detectors. All elements are in a 1.6 meter vacuum chamber. This paper summarizes the polarimeter design issues and recent commissioning results.
Optical characterization of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films

Abstract Photoluminescence, Raman scattering, and infrared absorption spectroscopies were employed to study the properties of a-C:H thin films deposited under constant pressure conditions. The films examined in the present work were prepared with and without the presence of nitrogen in the deposition process gases. Low temperature photoluminescence spectra revealed new emission bands at 564 nm and 637 nm for the nitrogen doped films. Three Raman scattering lines are observed in the nitrogen doped and annealed films. The Raman scattering spectra of the annealed films suggest the presence of microcrystalline graphite inclusions in the bulk of the film. Additional infrared absorption data support the Raman results. These observations agree with the proposed cluster model of a-C:H films consisting of sp2 and sp3 bonding structures.
Modification of Malinowski's F-test for abstract factor analysis applied to the Quail Roost II data sets

Malinowski's F-test is a popular method for selecting the number of factors in abstract factor analysis. Very recently we introduced a modification of this F-test that is based on an alternative number of degrees of freedom. In this paper the modification is applied to the Quail Roost II data sets. These artificial data sets have recently been included in a data base of reference data sets for chemometrical method testing. Balanced scaling is applied as a preprocessing step, since the noise in the raw data violates the requirement of a constant variance. In comparison with the original test, highly improved pseudorank estimates are obtained by using the modification. These results demonstrate the potential usefulness of the modified F-test for the analysis of real data, since the noise structure of the Quail Roost II data sets is, for example, very similar to the hypothesized noise structure of data collected from hyphenated instruments. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On Automorphisms of Subfactors

We classify, up to outer conjugacy, free actions ofZon an inclusion of hyperfinite type II1factors of finite index, of finite depth, and for which the principal graph is one of the following:An,n⩾2,E6,E8, or a finite group. As a consequence, we obtain the classification of hyperfinite type IIIλsubfactors of the same index of the Powers factorRλ, for 0<λ<1, such that the principal graph of the corresponding type II1inclusion is of one of the types mentioned above.
Bladder Cancer Facts: Accuracy of Information on the Internet

ABSTRACTPurpose: Patients continually seek information regarding the etiology, diagnosis, management and treatment of bladder cancer. The Internet has a growing number of health web sites and it is a tremendous resource for medical information. We examined the accuracy and completeness of bladder cancer sites on the World Wide Web.Materials and Methods: Internet searching was performed by retrieving the first 30 universal resource locators from 8 popular search engines using the search term bladder cancer. A total of 38 independent web sites were evaluated. Other sites were inaccessible, duplicates or only contained linked pages. Two reviewers evaluated the accuracy and completeness of information using a predetermined 41-point checklist rating instrument that evaluated essential information related to bladder cancer. The κ statistic was used to evaluate interrater variability.Results: The mean κ statistic for evaluable variables was 0.70. Most nonevaluable variables had excellent agreement, indicating go...
Ultrasharp nonlinear photothermal and photoacoustic resonances and holes beyond the spectral limit

High-resolution nonlinear laser spectroscopy based on absorption saturation, Lamb-dip and spectral hole-burning phenomena have contributed much to basic and applied photonics. Here, a laser spectroscopy based on nonlinear photothermal and photoacoustic phenomena is presented. It shows ultrasharp resonances and dips up to a few nanometres wide in broad plasmonic spectra of nanoparticles. It also demonstrates narrowing of absorption spectra of dyes and chromophores, as well as an increase in the sensitivity and resolution of the spectral hole-burning technique. This approach can permit the study of laser-nanoparticle interactions at a level of resolution beyond the spectral limits, identification of weakly absorbing spectral holes, spectral optimization of photothermal nanotherapy, measurements of tiny red and blue plasmon resonance shifts, multispectral imaging and multicolour cytometry.
Pentamidine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and is neuroprotective in vitro

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is frequently associated with dementia. The wide spectrum of neurological abnormalities associated with this dementia may involve a neurotoxin that activates the NMDA subtype of glutamate receptor in neurons. We have found that the antimicrobial agent pentamidine, which is prescribed for AIDS patients for the prophylaxis and treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, is an effective NMDA receptor antagonist. Pentamidine inhibited 3H-dizocilpine binding to the NMDA receptor in rat brain membranes at a site separate from glutamate, glycine, and spermidine, with an affinity near 2 microM. Similar concentrations of pentamidine block NMDA-induced increases in intracellular Ca2+ and NMDA-induced currents in cultured forebrain and cortical neurons, apparently without use dependence or voltage dependence, suggesting that pentamidine may represent a novel chemical class of NMDA receptor antagonist. Finally, pentamidine protects neurons from the lethal effects of acute NMDA exposure in vitro. AS pentamidine may accumulate in the brain at relevant concentrations following repeated high-dose parenteral administration, these findings suggest that the drug may be neuroprotective in vivo.
The Italian American Experience In New Haven: Images and Oral Histories

Anthony V. Riccio's lavish new coffee table book, The Italian American Experience in New Haven: Images and Oral Histories, provides a fascinating look at the experiences of Italian immigrants and t...
Dementia with leukoaraiosis: Clinical differentiation by temporoparietal hypometabolism on 18FDG-PET imaging

Patients with dementia and leukoaraiosis may have either Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with cerebrovascular changes or a form of vascular dementia (VaD). The presence or absence of the characteristic AD pa
Sputum monitoring during tuberculosis treatment for predicting outcome Authors' reply

David Horne and colleagues’ systematic review and meta-analysis, of sputum monitoring during tuberculosis treatment for predicting outcomes, deals with an important topic. However, we disagree with some methodological aspects, which might have introduced important biases. We believe, on the basis of relevant references on systematic reviews and meta-analysis, that the search strategy used was not the most appropriate; it led to the high number of studies selected in the initial search (n=12 369) and makes reproducibility of the search questionable. Moreover, a one-by-one selection of relevant trials among 12 369 titles or abstracts is much more prone to mistakes. In our opinion, the strategy could have been more specifi c (including more terms or restrictions), without loss of search sensitivity. Another concern is about the fi gure used to show the study selection process. From the description of the included studies, how 15 papers resulted in 28 studies was unclear; the study selection information was not clearly explained during the development of the paper either, which allows for diff erent potential interpretations by readers. It was also unclear as to how the authors dealt with non-English papers. Initially exclusion criteria included a language restriction (only English), but in the second search round no language restrictions were used. The results of this second look, without language restrictions, were not mentioned. Considering that the studied disease largely aff ects underdeveloped non-Englishspeaking countries, relevant papers were probably not included in the meta-analysis. Finally, there was no information about whether the investigators attempted to contact the authors of studies to complete missing data, to avoid the exclusion of these studies. How unpublished studies were searched for (grey literature search) and handled were not mentioned either. Since the results of unpublished studies can systematically diff er from published and widely available studies, we believe this search is very important to prevent selection (publication) bias and ensure the systematic review’s quality.
Surgical Resection of a Rare Undifferentiated Pancreatic Carcinoma with Osteoclast-Like Giant Cells: A Case Review

Undifferentiated (anaplastic) pancreatic carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells is an extremely rare malignancy with frequency of 0.2% of reported pancreatic carcinomas. As a whole, undifferentiated pancreatic carcinomas have worse prognoses than poorly differentiated pancreatic adenocarcinomas, yet it is thought that the subtype with osteoclast-like giant cells may in fact have a more promising outlook. We present an unusual case of an undifferentiated pancreatic carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells in a 70- year-old male patient presenting with abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss, which was treated with surgical resection. This diagnosis is a difficult one as often times presenting symptoms are nonspecific. Endoscopy with biopsy specimens may not be sufficient for a histological diagnosis. The definitive diagnosis and treatment is excision of the mass. Patients often present with advanced disease and complete resection can rarely be preformed. Overall, the prognosis of this subtype of tumor is most similar to common ductal pancreatic carcinomas as opposed to undifferentiated pancreatic carcinomas. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc1005e
Characterization of vesicular stomatitis virus replicating complexes isolated in renografin gradients.

Abstract Newly synthesized products of replication and transcription from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSU)-infected HeLa cells have been separated on Renografin gradients and characterized. The replicative products have been identified by the following criteria: (1) sucrose-velocity gradients and methyl-mercury agarose gel analyses show RNA of sizes between 18 S and genome size 42 S. (2) This RNA is predominantly minus stranded by hybridization analyses. (3) A majority of the nascent RNA molecules of less than half genome size from replicative complexes are complementary to the 3′ end of the VSV plus strand, i.e., the L protein cistron. These short nascent RNA species are nuclease resistant and thus are presumed to be contained in ribonucleoprotein complexes.
Computerized detection of noncalcified plaques in coronary CT angiography: Evaluation of topological soft gradient prescreening method and luminal analysis

Purpose: The buildup of noncalcified plaques (NCPs) that are vulnerable to rupture in coronary arteries is a risk for myocardial infarction. Interpretation of coronary CT angiography (cCTA) to search for NCP is a challenging task for radiologists due to the low CT number of NCP, the large number of coronary arteries, and multiple phase CT acquisition. The authors conducted a preliminary study to develop machine learning method for automated detection of NCPs in cCTA. Methods: With IRB approval, a data set of 83 ECG-gated contrast enhanced cCTA scans with 120 NCPs was collected retrospectively from patient files. A multiscale coronary artery response and rolling balloon region growing (MSCAR-RBG) method was applied to each cCTA volume to extract the coronary arterial trees. Each extracted vessel was reformatted to a straightened volume composed of cCTA slices perpendicular to the vessel centerline. A topological soft-gradient (TSG) detection method was developed to prescreen for NCP candidates by analyzing the 2D topological features of the radial gradient field surface along the vessel wall. The NCP candidates were then characterized by a luminal analysis that used 3D geometric features to quantify the shape information and gray-level features to evaluate the density of the NCP candidates. Withmore » machine learning techniques, useful features were identified and combined into an NCP score to differentiate true NCPs from false positives (FPs). To evaluate the effectiveness of the image analysis methods, the authors performed tenfold cross-validation with the available data set. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the classification performance of individual features and the NCP score. The overall detection performance was estimated by free response ROC (FROC) analysis. Results: With our TSG prescreening method, a prescreening sensitivity of 92.5% (111/120) was achieved with a total of 1181 FPs (14.2 FPs/scan). On average, six features were selected during the tenfold cross-validation training. The average area under the ROC curve (AUC) value for training was 0.87 ± 0.01 and the AUC value for validation was 0.85 ± 0.01. Using the NCP score, FROC analysis of the validation set showed that the FP rates were reduced to 3.16, 1.90, and 1.39 FPs/scan at sensitivities of 90%, 80%, and 70%, respectively. Conclusions: The topological soft-gradient prescreening method in combination with the luminal analysis for FP reduction was effective for detection of NCPs in cCTA, including NCPs causing positive or negative vessel remodeling. The accuracy of vessel segmentation, tracking, and centerline identification has a strong impact on NCP detection. Studies are underway to further improve these techniques and reduce the FPs of the CADe system.« less
THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE CONSTRAINT TARIFFS AND IMPORT SUBSTITUTION

SUMMARY Recent studies have stressed that a foreign exchange constraint can be limiting the rate of output growth in many developing countries. On the basis of a simple constraints model the role of tariffs and related import substitution in relieving a foreign exchange constraint are analyzed. It is first argued that the assumptions necessary for a foreign exchange constraint to be limiting output growth require that the optimal government intervention is through non-uniform exchange rate adjustment implied by trade controls and multiple exchange rates. But, whereas the optimum government intervention is through the establishment of a structure of optimum tariffs and subsidies, such a policy is not feasible in light of data availability and administrative capacity in developing countries. The costs and benefits of a non-optimal intervention through controls are then explored and standards of minimum acceptability of developing countries’ trade policies are established against which actual policy can be compared. It is concluded that trade controls can be used to improve growth performance but only if a number of rigid conditions are met.
Thermodynamics of the Binding of a Cationic Lipid to DNA

The binding of cationic lipids to DNA induces the condensation of complexes of the lipid and polyelectrolyte. This paper presents data on the binding of the simple cationic lipid cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to DNA prior to the condensation process. The complete thermodynamics of the binding of CTAB to both helical and single strand DNA are evaluated with use of isothermal titration calorimetery data and analysis of UV melting transitions. The binding to the helical form involves a two-step process: first, binding to an isolated phosphate site on the DNA strand with a binding constant of 1.5 × 103 M-1, and second, a highly cooperative binding event that seems to involve hydrophobic intereactions between hydrocarbon chains of the bound CTAB. The cooperativity parameter is 56, leading to a cooperative binding constant of 8.7 × 104 M-1. The enthalpies of the two binding events on the helix sites are resolved: −20 kJ/mol for the isolated site and +3.3 kJ/mol for contiguous sites. Binding to the sin...
Model for a decorated twin boundary in ferroelastic martensites.

The structure of static (11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0) solitary twin boundaries of cubic-tetragonal martensitic transformations in ferroelastic materials is calculated at all temperatures below the first-order transition temperature. These solutions also describe uniformly moving coherent (11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0) twin boundaries. These calculations are based on a nonlinear and nonlocal three-dimensional continuum model, with a two-component strain order parameter. The results relate to a special physical situation with a continuous distribution of dislocations decorating the twin boundary. Approaching the first-order transition temperature from below, the tetragonal-tetragonal solitary domain wall splits gradually into two cubic-tetragonal solitary domain walls of finite width. Their separation, however, diverges at the transition temperature. Above this temperature no stationary solutions are found, which may imply the possible existence of dynamic solutions with nontrivial (i.e., nontraveling-type) time dependence. Numerical experiments indicate that these dynamic solutions have a pulse shape and not a kink shape.
In vivo and in vitro effects of thiuram disulfides and dithiocarbamates on hepatic microsomal drug metabolism in the rat.

Abstract The effects of tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTDS) and dimethyldithiocarbamate (DMDTC) on hepatic microsomal drug metabolism were studied after in vivo administration to male rats (1 g/kg, po) and after in vitro addition of the compounds to control microsomal suspensions. Results were compared to the effects of the known inhibitor of drug metabolism, disulfiram (DS, tetraethylthiuram disulfide), its reduced metabolite diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), and a common metabolite of all four compounds, carbon disulfide. Twenty-four hours after administration of the disulfides (TMTDS and DS) impairment of microsomal aniline hydroxylase and carboxylesterase activities was observed, while cytochrome P-450 and ethylmorphine N-demethylase activity were unchanged. The reduced thiols (DMDTC and DDTC) caused significant decreases in microsomal cytochrome P-450 and impaired all three microsomal enzymes. In vitro addition of all four compounds to control microsomes at a final concentration of 1 m m impaired aniline hydroxylase and carboxylesterase activity. However, only in vitro addition of TMTDS and DS significantly decreased ethylmorphine N-demethylase activity. This effect may be due to the fact that TMTDS and DS bind to cytochrome P-450 producing a type I spectral change and may, therefore, compete with the type I compound, ethylmorphine, for binding sites on cytochrome P-450. Impairment of aniline hydroxylase activity is the most sensitive indicator of an inhibitory effect of all four compounds on microsomal drug metabolism; this action is not dependent on decreases in cytochrome P-450. In vivo impairment of ethylmorphine N-demethylation by DMDTC and DDTC is related to decreases in microsomal cytochrome P-450 produced by these compounds, which may be due, in part, to their decomposition to CS2 in the gut. The data indicate that industrial or agricultural exposure to compounds such as TMTDS and DMDTC may impair hepatic metabolism, and thereby enhance pharmacological activity of drugs taken by exposed individuals.
Complete reversal of run-down in rabbit cardiac Ca2+ channels by patch-cramming in Xenopus oocytes; partial reversal by protein kinase A.

The rabbit cardiac Ca2+ channel (α1C) expressed in Xenopus oocytes exhibited a complete run-down of ionic currents when cell-attached patches were excised. The α1C channel was expressed alone or was coexpressed with the accessory β2a or β1b subunit. The catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKAc) and MgATP were capable of delaying the run-down of single-channel currents. In 33% of the α1C patches, and 26% of the α1C+β2a patches, inclusion of PKAc in the bath solution delayed the run-down for a maximum of 20 min. In experiments where PKAc in the bath was not sufficient to delay the run-down of channel activity, insertion of the patch back into the oocyte (patch-cramming) could restore channel activity. Gating currents were also measured in the α1C+β1b channel and were not subject to any run-down, even after the complete run-down of ionic currents. The results presented here reveal that PKAc is capable of delaying the run-down of currents in a subset of patches. The patch-cramming results suggest that a cytoplasmic factor, in addition to phosphorylation of the channel (by PKAc), may be involved in the maintenance of channel activity.