cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Psychophysics of Pain

The experience of pain serves two primary purposes, both critical for survival. Pain is foremost a warning signal, protecting the organism from harm or at least minimizing injury. Pain receptors, or nociceptors, are widespread. An extensive network of nociceptors can signal damage from anyplace on the skin, or in deeper tissues including muscles and viscera. Nociceptors are divided into systems with sensitivities to a number of modalities such as cold, heat, pressure, and chemical stimulation. The second major function of pain occurs after injury. Intrinsic mechanisms exacerbate pain intensity, location, and duration. Pain spreads from the injured area into noninjured regions, and persists during healing. While the presence of a pain exacerbation system seems paradoxical, it is now quite clear that this system serves a recuperative role. Augmented pain causes the injured organism to be immobile and to adapt postures that may protect the injured part, behaviors (or actually the absence of behaviors) that promote natural healing mechanisms. The multiple modalities and purposes of pain lead to a wide variety of pain experience, varying in intensity, duration, locus, quality, and feeling state. Most studies of pain do not attempt to evaluate this complexity of pain, instead simplifying the richness of the experience into a single dimension of pain intensity. A group of studies double the dimensions, assessing both the sensory intensity and the unpleasantness of pain sensations, principal dimensions found in other sensory systems such as heat, cold, taste, and smell. Finally, a group of studies focus on all of the relevant dimensions of pain experience, discovering the number and type of salient dimensions, and how these vary over different syndromes, individuals, and in response to treatments. This chapter will briefly consider all three approaches, presenting the issues associated with studies that measure just pain, pain intensity, and pain unpleasantness, or every possible dimension of pain experience.
Insulin-like Growth Factors and Bone: Implications for the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Osteoporosis

Publisher Summary Insulin-like growth factors are essential for maintaining homeostatic balance in the skeleton over the lifetime in both men and women. IGFs are one of several coupling factors which link bone resorption to bone formation, thereby maintaining adult bone mass. IGF-I also mediates linear growth and acts in an endocrine manner to modulate growth hormone activity in adolescence. Data are emerging which suggest that IGF-I expression is heritable, that it cosegregates with bone density, and that disorders in the serum or skeletal IGF-I regulatory system can affect peak bone mass and ultimately fracture risk. Despite these positive findings and several cross-sectional studies which suggest that there is a relatively strong correlation between IGF-I and bone mineral density in both men and women, there is still a paucity of longitudinal data to confirm a causal relationship.
Electrochemical Skin Conductance Correlates with Skin Nerve Fiber Density.

Purpose: Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) using reverse iontophoresis and chronoamperometry has been used to evaluate abnormal function of small fibers. How ESC correlates with loss of small fibers in skin is unclear. Methods: This was a prospective, blinded study. The primary outcome measure was the correlation between ESC at the feet and results of skin biopsies including epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFD) and sweat gland nerve fiber density (SGNFD) at the distal leg. ESC, ENFD and SGNFD data were normalized by adjusting for weight. The secondary outcome measures were the correlation between ESC and the following variables: quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART) and symptom scales (neuropathy, pain and autonomic). Results: 81 patients ((mean±sd): age=53.3±17.3, men/women=25/56 were enrolled in the study. ESC was reduced in subjects with abnormally low ENFD (ENFD normal/abnormal, ESC = 1.17±0.27/0.87±0.34 µSiemens/kg, p<0.0008) and abnormally low SGNFD (SGNFD normal/abnormal ESC=1.09±0.34/,0.78±0.3 µSiemens/kg,p<0.0003). ESC correlated with ENFD (ρ=0.73, p=0.0001) and SGNFD (ρ=0.64, p=0.0001). ESC did not correlate with symptom scales. Conclusion: ESC is diminished in subjects who have a reduced number of small fibers in the skin and the ESC reduction is proportional to ENFD and SGNFD. ESC can be useful in detecting loss of small nerve fibers.
A minimally invasive, coax-fed microwave ablation antenna with a tapered-slot balun

We present a coax-fed interstitial dipole antenna with a tapered-slot balun for minimally invasive microwave ablation (MWA). The balun is created using two tapered slots in the outer conductor of the feeding coaxial cable. This implementation allows for reducing the overall antenna diameter compared to coax-fed MWA antennas employing conventional coaxial baluns. The tapered balun connects the feed line to a dipole that consists of three segments. One segment is an extension of the inner conductor and constitutes one arm of the dipole. The other two segments are connected to the outer conductor of the coax cable and are located in the tapered slots; these segments constitute the second dipole arm. The tapered balun efficiently chokes the currents excited on the outer surface of the feeding cable and provides a good impedance match between the dipole and the feed line, as demonstrated by simulation and measurement results. The proposed antenna offers a less invasive alternative to conventional MWA antennas.
An Overview of Nano-Micro-Meso Scale Manufacturing at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

The future of nano-, micro- and meso-scale manufacturing operations will be strongly influenced by a new breed of assembly and manufacturing tools that will be intelligent, flexible, more precise, include in-process production technologies and make use of advanced part design, assembly and process data. To prioritized NIST efforts in nano, micro and meso manufacturing, several visits to industrial and government research laboratories and two workshops were organized. The identified needs at the meso and micro Scale include: dimensional and mechanical metrology, assembly and packaging technology and standards, and providing a science base for materials and processes emphasizing materials testing methods and properties data. Nanocharacterization, nanomanipulation, nanodevices and magnetics industry support have been identified at the nanoscale. Nanometrology and nanomanipulation have a substantial base from which to expand within the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL). Therefore, MEL is initiating a new long-term Strategic Program in nano-manufacturing to conduct research and development, to provide the measurements and standards needed by industry to measure, manipulate and manufacture nanoscale discrete part products. The program will address the measurement and standards issues associated with the manufacture of both nanoscale products themselves, as well as with the development of the production systems required for their manufacture.
Compound motor action potential duration and latency are markers of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

Objective Compound motor action potential (CMAP) can quantitatively evaluate innervation following injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in canines. CMAP duration (the total time of CMAP) and latency (the time between the nerve impulse and the onset of action potentials) have not been assessed following RLN injury. Study design Animal study. Methods Twelve canine hemilaryngeal preparations were investigated. Baseline CMAP duration and latency were derived. Group A (n = 5) underwent RLN stretch injury, and group B (n = 7) underwent RLN transection/repair. The change in CMAP duration and latency was assessed between the baseline and 6-month measurements using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for each group individually and combined. Results Six months following injury, transection/repair injuries had the most significant increase in CMAP duration (2.8 ± 0.6 ms vs. 4.2 ± 0.8 ms, difference 1.4 ms 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43 to 2.40) and latency (2.6 ± 0.5 ms vs. 5.6 ± 1.5 ms, difference 3.0 ms 95% CI: 1.65 to 4.38). Stretch injuries also caused an increase in CMAP duration (2.3 ± 0.8 ms vs. 3.0 ± 0.6 ms, difference 0.7 ms 95% CI: -0.49 to 1.77) and latency (2.5 ± 0.8 ms vs. 4.7 ± 1.5 ms, difference 2.3 95% CI: 0.76 to 3.80). Using ROC curves, CMAP duration and latency differentiated between the baseline control and RLN injury at 6 months (area under the curve = 0.78 and 0.98, respectively). Conclusion CMAP duration and latency are both quantitative measures that may have clinical utility as markers of RLN injury. CMAP latency had superior discrimination between injured and uninjured RLNs. Increased CMAP duration and latency may be explained by incomplete myelination and focal conduction block. Level of evidence NA. Laryngoscope, 127:1855-1860, 2017.
The Caribbean: Bibliography

The Caribbean has been subjected to a great deal of reporting on underwater sites for a variety of reasons. One of the driving elements has been the search for vessels used in the earliest exploration of the area by Europeans. Another has been the national interest of small states seeking to learn more about their history. The presence of artifacts, often of saleable quality has led salvors into the area as well. The Caribbean area is presented in bibliographic form because it is well known and reporting is fairly good.
How many mice? Design considerations for murine studies.

> > > Murine experiments, like human experiments, require thoughtful design and sample size calculations. The statistical approaches to design are quite similar to those used for clinical trials, but the differences to be detected are larger, and the sample sizes consequently smaller, in the
The Educated Entrepreneurs: A New Era of Entrepreneurial Education is Beginning:

Can entrepreneurship be taught? Can it be learned? The debate continues unabated in the press, at academic conferences, and even meetings of successful practitioners.
Statistical QoS provisioning over D2D-offloading based 5G multimedia big-data mobile wireless networks

Multimedia service offloading architecture through device-to-device (D2D) communication is an efficient technique in the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks to improve the base station (BS) bandwidth efficiency by mobile users downloading the multimedia big data from a nearby mobile device using D2D transmission mode. However, the multimedia big data offloading architecture imposes the two-hop wireless link statistical delay-bounded quality of service (QoS) provisioning problem when two mobile users request the same multimedia data content simultaneously with one mobile user downloading the data from BS and forwarding the data to another mobile user using D2D transmission. One of the most important challenges of this multi-media big data D2D offloading architecture lies in how to support this two-hop wireless link transmission with guaranteeing the statistical delay bounded QoS requirements for its both individual hops. To overcome these difficulties, in this paper we propose the optimal transmit power allocation scheme for each single hop which maximizes the overall two-hop effective capacity under three conditions: (1) transmit power allocations are constants; (2) transmit power allocations only depend on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for each link; and (3) transmit power allocations depend on SNRs and the individual QoS requirements for both links. Finally, we evaluate and validate our proposed two-hop wireless link statistical delay bounded QoS provisioning schemes over multimedia D2D offloading architecture through numerical analyses.
Abnormal Phosphorylation: Cause of Reduced Responsiveness to Isoproterenol in Diabetic Heart

One of the major complications of both insulin-dependent and noninsulindependent diabetes is the development of a cardiomyopathy (1–4). In animal models which resemble insulin-dependent diabetes, this condition is associated with defects in both the rate of contractile development and relaxation (1–4). Also abnormal in these animals is the inotropic and chronotropic responses to different pharmacologic agents. For example, ouabain and s-adrenergic receptor-mediated positive inotropic responses are significantly depressed (5,6), while hyperresponses to milrinone and alpha-adrenergic agents have been reported (7,8).
Evidence for partial degradation of toxaphene in the aquatic environment

Bioassay of toxaphene residue from lake sediments with bluegills showed that its toxicity was reduced compared to the toxicity of the original formulation added to the lake for rough fish control approximately 10 months before. It is concluded from these observations that commercial toxaphene formulation is somewhat detoxified in the aquatic environment.
Survival of bacteria upon repeated freezing and thawing.

The following bacteria were employed as test organisms: Lactobacillus fermenti strain 69L-3, Escherichia coli strain 69L-15, and Serratia marcescens strain ATCC 274. They were cultivated as outlined previously (Major et al., 1955). Broth cultures of the organisms were centrifuged, the spent broth pipetted off, the cells resuspended in a minimal amount of fresh broth, and then the suspension diluted with additional broth to the desired cell concentration. The broth used as the suspending medium had the following percentage composition: yeast extract (B.B.L., dehydrated), 1.0; K2HP04, 0.2; MgSO4. 7H20, 0.01; and "tween 80" (Atlas Powder Co.), 0.1. In some experiments with L. fermenti the suspending medium contained 1 per cent trypticase (B.B.L., dehydrated) and 2 per cent glucose as additional ingredients. In experiments where water was used as the suspending medium the cells from the centrifuged culture were resuspended in an equal volume of distilled water and again centrifuged, the supernatant pipetted off, the cells resuspended in a minimal amount of distilled water, and then the suspension diluted with additional water to the desired cell concentration. The suspension was dispensed in 5-ml aliquots into test tubes (15 mm by 150 mm) fitted loosely with aluminum caps. Freezing was accomplished by immersion of the tubes in an alcohol bath at -22 C. After the contents of the tubes had
Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia potentiates paclitaxel activity in sensitive and resistant breast cancer cells.

Introduction Overcoming resistance to antimitotic drugs, such as paclitaxel (PTX), would represent a major advance in breast cancer treatment. PTX induces mitotic block and sensitive cells exit mitosis dying by mitotic catastrophe. Resistant cells remain in block and continue proliferation after drug decay, denoting one of the PTX resistance mechanisms. Mild hyperthermia (HT) triggers mitotic exit of PTX-pretreated cells, overcoming PTX resistance and suggesting HT-forced mitotic exit as a promising strategy to potentiate PTX. Methods and results Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were used to deliver mild HT at 42°C in PTX-pretreated breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells sensitive and resistant to PTX. To evaluate mechanism of cell death, cells were classified based on nuclear morphology into interphase, mitotic, micronucleated, and apoptotic. The combined PTX→SPION treatment resulted in an increase in the percentage of micronucleated cells, an indication of forced mitotic exit. Importantly, in PTX-resistant cells, the combination therapy using SPION HT helps to overcome resistance by reducing the number of cells relative to the control. Conclusion SPION HT potentiates PTX by significantly reducing cell survival, suggesting potential of combined treatment for future clinical translation.
Distraction Sugosteogenesis: Its Biologic Bases and Therapeutic Principles.

Purpose Recently, the terms sugosteogenesis and distraction sugosteogenesis have been introduced to the scientific literature. While the former describes a biologic phenomenon, the latter refers to the clinical technique which relies on the accelerated normal bone healing process that takes place at the osseous walls surrounding a cystic cavity when active negative pressure is applied. The purpose of this study is to provide the biologic bases and the therapeutic principles of this emerging technique. Employing well-stablished biologic principles, clinical evidence from analogous techniques, emerging experimental data, and circumstantial evidence, this study presents the possible mechanism of action of the evacuator for odontogenic cysts (Evocyst), a closed, vacuum-like drain system intended to treat cystic conditions using negative pressure. Methods A review of the literature was done. Keywords for the Medline search were: marsupialization, decompression, odontogenic cysts, effects of negative pressure on bone, and negative pressure wound therapy. In addition, relevant publications from the reference list of the retrieved studies were considered. The matches were evaluated for relevance and analyzed accordingly. Clinical reports used to illustrate the concept of distraction sugosteogenesis were performed following the Declaration of Helsinki on medical protocol and ethics. Results Currently, the standard of care to manage odontogenic cystic lesions includes marsupialization, enucleation and curettage, decompression, and surgical resection. However, there is a need for an alternative option in which the entity could be treated while promoting bone formation. With large odontogenic cystic conditions treated in a short period of time, distraction sugosteogenesis appears to be a choice. Conclusion The application of negative pressure to osseous cells produces a stretching that creates mechanical cues that trigger signaling pathways, promotes fluid flow, and enhances angiogenesis. All of them, combined, may explain sugosteogenesis. The clinical application of such parameters may explain the good clinical results obtained with the Evocyst.
Bringing School Foodservice Staff Back in: Accounting for Changes in Workloads and Mindsets in K-12 Values-Based Procurement

Abstract Current research examining institutional purchasing motivated by values such as sustainability, healthfulness, or other social and environmental considerations tends to neglect the food workers tasked with preparing these foods for consumers. This chapter explores the impacts of such purchasing initiatives on the daily experiences and responsibilities of front-line workers in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The School Food Focus “Making It Healthier, Making It Regional” project has examined meal program operations in six school districts that prioritize serving healthful and local food. We use data from observations of 23 schools, interviews with 21 cafeteria managers, and surveys of 147 cafeteria employees to describe the everyday experiences of school foodservice workers and document how they respond to integration of healthy and local purchases in their activities. We identify an unintended consequence of these procurement changes as producing additional workload that is not accounted for in the planning and implementation process. We conclude with a set of recommendations for stakeholders seeking to institute values-based procurement changes in the context of institutional food service that include provisions to safeguard staff from these unintended consequences and maintain and improve the quality of their jobs.
Expert opinion on interleukin-12/23 and interleukin-23 antagonists as potential therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Introduction: Blockade of interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 is a novel therapeutic target for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The monoclonal antibody targeting the shared p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL2...
Relationship of people's sources of health information and political ideology with acceptance of conspiratorial beliefs about vaccines.

Abstract Background Conspiracies about vaccination are prevalent. We assessed how the health information sources people rely upon and their political ideologies are associated with acceptance of vaccine conspiracies. Methods Online survey (N = 599) on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsource platform. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modeling. Results Acceptance of vaccine conspiracy beliefs was associated positively with greater reliance on social media for health information (coef. = 0.42, p Conclusions An understanding of vaccine conspiracy acceptance requires a consideration of people’s health information sources. The greater susceptibility of political conservatives to conspiracy beliefs extends to the topic of vaccination.
Intraoperative Balloon Pulmonary Annulus Dilation: A New Alchemy or Polishing a Meatball?

Brief summary Late right heart performance obligates attention to pulmonary valve preservation at TOF repair. Intraoperative balloon dilation of the annulus has enjoyed some enthusiasm, yet mid-term results show a discouraging reintervention rate and valve incompetence. Refined patient selection and modifications of the technique may improve results, but further study is needed.
Chapter 5 – Superconductor Types

Publisher Summary Until the early 1980s, superconductivity studies were carried out with classical materials, consisting of elements, compounds, and alloys. Some categories of compounds produced many superconductors—such as those with the sodium chloride structure, Chevrel types, Laves phases, and A-15 compounds. Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 when the element mercury exhibited zero resistance at Tc = 4.1 K, and it has been subsequently found in many elements, alloys, and compounds. This chapter comments on and provides tables with systematic listings of critical temperature values for the main classes of superconducting materials. Most of the data on the superconducting phase can be understood using existing strong coupling (McMillan) theory. The transition temperature is perhaps the most important characteristic of a superconductor. This is because transition temperature is an index of the goodness of a material and of its suitability for practical applications.
The consumer’s perspective: Care and maintenance in ‘use phase’ of clothing apparel life cycle

The growing world population and rising living standards that drive consumer demands have driven the global apparel and textile (AT) industry to become one of the largest industrial complexes on the planet. The global web of AT production, lack of industry standards, and rampant consumerism have all contributed to the large amount of waste within the AT industry. Lifecycle analysis has demonstrated that the largest single factor contributing to AT waste production occurs within the ‘use phase’ of a product’s life cycle. This waste includes energy and waste developed from care (laundering) and maintenance (mending and disposal). Limited research exists on consumer perceptions and practices on quality and care of clothing with the specific goal of understanding how consumer behavior during the ‘use phase’ drives disposal or reuse practices that impact sustainability. Results from this study can be used to increase consumers’ awareness of the impact their behavior, including creative reuse or resale could have on reducing the carbon footprint of their clothing consumption.
Mitigating Backdoor Attacks in Federated Learning.

Malicious clients can attack federated learning systems using malicious data, including backdoor samples, during the training phase. The compromised global model will perform well on the validation dataset designed for the task, but a small subset of data with backdoor patterns may trigger the model to make a wrong prediction. There has been an arms race between attackers who tried to conceal attacks and defenders who tried to detect attacks during the aggregation stage of training on the server-side. In this work, we propose a new and effective method to mitigate backdoor attacks after the training phase. Specifically, we design a federated pruning method to remove redundant neurons in the network and then adjust the model's extreme weight values. Our experiments conducted on distributed Fashion-MNIST show that our method can reduce the average attack success rate from 99.7% to 1.9% with a 5.5% loss of test accuracy on the validation dataset. To minimize the pruning influence on test accuracy, we can fine-tune after pruning, and the attack success rate drops to 6.4%, with only a 1.7% loss of test accuracy. Further experiments under Distributed Backdoor Attacks on CIFAR-10 also show promising results that the average attack success rate drops more than 70% with less than 2% loss of test accuracy on the validation dataset.
Programmable protein circuit design

A fundamental challenge in synthetic biology is to create molecular circuits that can program complex cellular functions. Because proteins can bind, cleave, and chemically modify one another and interface directly and rapidly with endogenous pathways, they could extend the capabilities of synthetic circuits beyond what is possible with gene regulation alone. However, the very diversity that makes proteins so powerful also complicates efforts to harness them as well-controlled synthetic circuit components. Recent work has begun to address this challenge, focusing on principles such as orthogonality and composability that permit construction of diverse circuit-level functions from a limited set of engineered protein components. These approaches are now enabling the engineering of circuits that can sense, transmit, and process information; dynamically control cellular behaviors; and enable new therapeutic strategies, establishing a powerful paradigm for programming biology.
How Important are Countries to Changes in Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets? An Examination of the Impact of Changes in Country Risk on Changes in Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets

This paper investigates how important countries are to corporate governance by examining if changes in country risk are related to changes in corporate governance. This is an interesting question because we can assess if governmental policy changes can influence changes in firm-level governance. To conduct this study we use two specific sets of data. First, we utilize a unique data set from AllianceBernstein that consists of monthly firm-level corporate governance ratings for 24 emerging market countries for almost seven years. Since the AllianceBernstein ratings are time-series data, they allow us to determine the magnitude of changes in a firm’s corporate governance, and when these changes take place. Second, we use the International Country Risk Guide ratings (ICRG) provided by Political Risk Services (PRS). Like the AllianceBernstein dataset, the ICRG data are monthly time-series data, hence they allow us to determine the timing and magnitude of changes in a country’s economic, financial and political conditions. Using these data we find that changes in country risk are not related to changes in firm level governance. We also find that changes in country risk have little or no ability to predict future changes in firm-level governance. Indeed, the decision to change corporate governance seems to be somewhat idiosyncratic and not that predictable.
A study of impact of select Employee Engagement drivers via Job Satisfaction

Employee Engagement (EE) drivers play a vital role in engaging employees. A lot of study has been done on EE. However, there is a need to study impact of select drivers on EE via Job Satisfaction (JS). Also there is need to understand if Age, Gender and Work Experience moderates relationship between these drivers and EE. In this research paper relationship between select EE drivers (Communication, Role Clarity, Feedback, Fair Treatment) via JS is studied. A sample of 71 respondents from IT & ITeS companies in across Maharashtra was collected with the help of questionnaires from 9 November 2020 to 18 January 2021. Statistical analysis is done using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) - AMOS - IBM’s SPSS 21. The result confirms the impact of select drivers on EE via JS. The result also shows that age, gender, total work experience moderates relationship between the select drivers & EE. This study is an exclusive outcome of pilot study. Further for the final Ph. D. study, researcher is going to investigate the impact of select drivers on EE via JS with the help of larger sample.
“Identical” double parathyroid adenomas in monozygotic twins

Abstract A number of genes have been associated with sporadic causes of primary hyperparathyroidism. A case of primary hyperparathyroidism secondary to simultaneously presenting double parathyroid adenomas with identical distribution in a set of 48-year-old monozygotic twins is reported here. This case represents further clinical evidence of the genetic factors implicated in its pathogenesis and supports the impact of a shared genome on development of disease in monozygotic twins.
Drivers of Solar Deployment in India: A State-Level Econometric Analysis

India has ambitious solar energy targets of 100GW by 2022, including 60GW at large-scale and 40GW at small-scale. While India has made considerable progress in meeting these targets, with 22GW of solar deployment in 2018, it has a long way to go. Given that solar deployment in India is now largely driven by states, this study strives to understand state-level drivers for solar deployment in India, so as to inform future policy making for reaching India’s solar targets. Using econometric techniques – a time series cross sectional regression with fixed effects – over a panel dataset over 11 years (2009-2019) of Indian states, it explores policy, economic, and structural drivers of solar deployment. The key results indicate the importance of two policies – the Renewable Purchase Obligations and Solar Parks – in reaching India’s solar target. We also postulate that these learnings would also be useful for other developing countries with significant solar ambitions. While we do not find further evidence of policy effectiveness, we expect more results to emerge as access to more and better data becomes available.
Spontaneous CSF Leaks : Low CSF Volume Syndromes

Practically all cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension results from spontaneous cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) leaks, often at the level of the spine and only rarely from the skull base. The triad of orthostatic headaches, diffuse pachymeningeal enhancement on head imaging and low CSF opening pressure is considered the hallmark of these leaks but substantial variability is noted in most aspects of this disorder including in features of the headaches, imaging and CSF findings, response to treatment and outcome.
Characterization of host cell-derived membrane proteins of the vacuole surrounding different intracellular forms of Trypanosoma cruzi in J774 cells. Evidence for phagocyte receptor sorting during the early stages of parasite entry.

Trypanosoma cruzi, an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, exhibits developmental regulation of virulence. Although both noninfective epimastigote and infective trypomastigote stages of T. cruzi enter phagocytic cells via the formation of a parasitophorous vacuole (PV), only the latter developmental stages survive ingestion and perpetuate the infection. To determine whether the membrane composition of PV surrounding these different stages might contribute to differences in the outcome of infection, we identified selected membrane constituents by immunofluorescence and intracellular radioiodination, and studied their incorporation into PV. Complement receptors (CR3) are incorporated preferentially into the PV membrane surrounding serum-opsonized epimastigotes but not culture-derived metacyclic trypomastigotes. FcR are not preferentially incorporated into PV membranes unless epimastigotes or culture-derived metacyclic trypomastigotes are opsonized with anti-T. cruzi antibody. PV surrounding either parasite stage contain beta 1 integrins and lysosomal membrane glycoproteins (lgp). These results indicate that the plasma membrane glycoproteins incorporated into the surrounding PV membrane differ depending upon the stage of parasite being internalized, and that these differences reflect, at least in part, selective ligation of cell surface receptors mediating uptake. Furthermore, they imply that although virulent trypomastigote stages may avoid host cell uptake by conventional phagocytic receptors, i.e., CR3 or FcR, they do not escape fusion with an lgp-containing vacuole where they could still be exposed to lysosomal antimicrobial mechanisms.
Combined Modality Therapy for Limited Small Cell Lung Cancer

Although there has been progress in the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), much remains to be accomplished. Initial failure after treatment and ultimate inability to salvage patients provided the basis for incorporation of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) into therapeutic trials. The integration of radiotherapy and chemotherapy poses an array of challenges including dose, intensity, and schedule for each modality. Studies evaluating a dose-response relationship for radiotherapy in this setting have not provided definitive evidence or have used inadequate study endpoints. Although expanding the volume of tissue treated also has been evaluated, the toxicity risk after radiation exposure of normal tissues may be greater than the possible benefit from this practice. Hyperfractionation, accelerated radiotherapy dosing schemes, and timing of treatment modalities (ie, sequential v concurrent v alternating) also have been studied. In clinical practice, the current world treatment standard for limited SCLC is chemotherapy including cisplatin and etoposide administered concurrently with TRT; recent Intergroup study results show that this combination produces a 40% 2-year survival with only four chemotherapy cycles. Finally, clinicians are investigating the value of prophylactic cranial irradiation, which remains controversial. The most recent studies suggest this practice is effective in preventing central nervous system metastasis. Although combined modality treatment is the current standard for limited SCLC, continued research to address systemic failure is warranted.
Nanoscience in SEM and TEM: Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis with High Spatial Resolution

The development of modern technology affects the science of small objects in two ways. On one hand better means for handling, imaging and analysis of miniature objects are provided, which means we can try and understand our world on a much smaller scale. On the other hand further miniaturization in manufacturing necessitates the control of technological processes at a minimum of one order of magnitude below the aspired device size. The need for rapid and efficient nanoanalysis is growing very quickly. The next generation 22 nm node in microelectronics architecture is approaching. New solutions for electronic interconnects, capacitors, denser data storage and solar cells are currently under development. This requires atomic scale analysis of a wide range of materials such as functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs), various perovskites and three-dimensional nanostructures. Another important field of miniaturization is modern medicine. It strives to identify toxic nanoparticles and transfer medication and operation tools precisely to the place where they are needed in the body. For all of this nanoanalysis is irreplaceable. To understand and control the function of miniature sized natural and artificial objects we need to know their element distribution.
Individual differences in working memory capacity predict sleep-dependent memory consolidation

Decades of research have established that "online" cognitive processes, which operate during conscious encoding and retrieval of information, contribute substantially to individual differences in memory. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that "offline" processes during sleep also contribute to memory performance. However, the question of whether individual differences in these two types of processes are related to one another remains unanswered. We investigated whether working memory capacity (WMC), a factor believed to contribute substantially to individual differences in online processing, was related to sleep-dependent declarative memory consolidation. Consistent with previous studies, memory for word pairs reliably improved after a period of sleep, whereas performance did not improve after an equal interval of wakefulness. More important, there was a significant, positive correlation between WMC and increase in memory performance after sleep but not after a period of wakefulness. The correlation between WMC and performance during initial test was not significant, suggesting that the relationship is specific to change in memory due to sleep. This suggests a fundamental underlying ability that may distinguish individuals with high memory capacity.
Sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass exhibit differential effects on food preferences, nutrient absorption and energy expenditure in obese rats.

Sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass exhibit differential effects on food preferences, nutrient absorption and energy expenditure in obese rats
Home peak expiratory flow rate monitoring in patients with asthma.

Objective To describe how the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is measured, review published studies of the accuracy in which patients and physicians can estimate the severity of asthma by clinical observations only, and review published studies of the benefits of home PEFR monitoring. Design A review of home PEFR monitoring and its associated benefits for both the physician and the patient is presented. Results An accurate assessment of the severity of asthma is crucial for the optimal treatment of the patient with asthma; however, patients and their physicians are often unable to estimate correctly the degree of airway obstruction. Peak flow measurement is a simple, inexpensive method of objectively determining airflow obstruction. Management of asthma based on home PEFR measurements can result in early recognition and prompt treatment of asthma exacerbations. Home PEFR monitoring in the setting of a comprehensive self-management program can lead to fewer symptoms of asthma, fewer days absent from work or school, fewer emergency examinations, fewer hospitalizations, lower requirements of inhaled β-antagonists and oral corticosteroid therapy, and better pulmonary function. Conclusion For best results, home PEFR monitoring should be coupled with a thorough educational program on asthma and periodic office spirometry.
Hind Limb Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Diet Induced Obese Mice

Abstract Background Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of diabetes. Limb ischemia–reperfusion injury (IR) is a common clinical problem in diabetics who have compromised lower extremity perfusion. This study compared the histologic, metabolic, and functional outcomes after hind limb IR in diet-induced obese (DIO) and non-diabetic (ND) mice during the acute and the regenerative phases of IR. Methods DIO and ND mice were subjected to 1.5 h unilateral hind limb ischemia followed by 1- or 28-d IR. Muscle morphology, metabolic, and genomic stress were evaluated at days 1 and 28 IR; Acute inflammation and thrombosis were only measured at day-1 IR. At day 28, IR, skeletal muscle contractility, and maturation were also assessed. Results At day-1 IR, similar levels of acute muscle fiber necrosis were seen in both groups. DIO mice demonstrated substantially greater inflammatory, prothrombotic, and genomic stress responses, which were also associated with a greater reduction in energy substrates and Akt phosphorylation. At 28d, there was no difference in the peak forces generated in the hind limbs for the two groups. DIO mice had reduced fatigue resistance compared with ND and larger areas of fat accumulation although there was no significant difference in muscle fiber maturation. Conclusions DIO mice had an exacerbated acute response to IR with enhanced metabolic deficit, fat accumulation, and defective functional recovery during the regenerative phase of IR. These changes in fatigue resistance reflect compromised functional recovery after IR injury and have relevance for the functional recovery of patients with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.
Effect of Thyrotropin on Iodoprotein of Thyroid Cell Fractions

Fractions of dog thyroid homogenate were prepared by differential centrifugation after prelabeling the animals in vivo with radioactive iodine. The fraction obtained at 15,000Xg contained protein with the electrophoretic properties and the iodoamino acid content of thyroglobulin. This fraction showed colloid droplets by electronmicroscopy. When thyrotropin (TSH) was administered to prelabeled dogs treated with methimazole, a marked increase in labeled protein sedimenting at 15,000Xg was noted. A smaller increase was detected in the 800Xg fraction, while there was little effect on the 100,000Xg fraction or the supernatant of this fraction. The increase in labeled protein in the 15,000Xg fraction was noted as early as 10 min after TSH administration. These studies support the theory that TSH enhances the migration of protein from the follicular lumen into intracellular particulate droplets as the first step in the stimulated release of thyroid hormones, and they should provide the basis for a more detailed ...
Heterogeneity of bovine IgG2--I. The A1 allotypic determinant is the major antigenic determinant recognized on bovine IgG2a by polyclonal rabbit anti-IgG2a.

Abstract Rabbit antisera specific for the IgG2a subclass of bovine immunoglobulins also contain antibodies which recognize the A1 allotype of this immunoglobulin subclass. In many sera anti-A1 constitutes the major specificity of these rabbit antisera and all of the 10 rabbits immunized with A1(+) IgG2a produced some antibodies which recognized the allotype. The determinant is the same as recognized by a bovine alloantiserum to A1. The A1 allotype is shared by the intact and the Fc portion of IgG2a, but rabbits immunized with the Fc fragment also recognize an A1-related determinant which is not exposed on intact A1(+) IgG2a. None of the four rabbits immunized with A1(−) IgG2a produced precipitating antibodies which recognized the gene product of the A1(−), i.e. A2 allele, suggesting that only A1 is an immunodominant antigenic determinant for rabbits. Data reported here help to explain the antigenic heterogeneity seen among the IgG2 populations from different cattle when they are tested by immunoprecipitation using rabbit anti-IgG2 reagents.
Intramolecular Structural Change of PAMAM Dendrimers in Aqueous Solutions Revealed by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments were carried out to investigate the structure of aqueous (D2O) G4 PAMAM dendrimer solutions as a function of molecular protonation and dendrimer concentration. Our results indicate unambiguously that, although the radius of gyration RG remains nearly invariant, the dendrimer radial density profile ρ(r) decreases in the dendrimer core with a continuous increase in protonation. This discovery also suggests that RG, which is commonly adopted by numerous simulation and experimental works in describing the global dendrimer size, is not suitable as the index parameter to characterize the dendrimer conformation change. We also found that RG and ρ(r), for dendrimers dissolved in both neutral and acidified solutions, remain nearly constant over the studied concentration range. We further demonstrate that the outcome of the widely used Guinier method is questionable for extracting RG in the concentration range studied. Our results reveal the polymer colloid structur...
Convexity in Non-convex Optimizations of Streaming Applications

Streaming data applications are frequently pipelined and deployed on application-specific systems to meet performance requirements and resource constraints. Typically, there are several design parameters in the algorithms and architectures used that impact the application performance as well as resource utilization. Efficient exploration of this design space is the goal of this research. When using architecturally diverse systems to accelerate streaming applications, the design search space is often complex. The search complexity can be reduced by recognizing and exploiting convex variables to perform convex decomposition, preserving optimality even in the context of a non-convex optimization problem. This paper presents a formal treatment of convex variables and convex decomposition, including a proof that the technique preserves optimality. It also quantifies the reduction in the search space that is realized, at minimum equal to the number of distinct values of the convex variable and potentially much higher.
PREOPERATIVE COLOR FLOW DOPPLER IMAGING FOR FIBULA FREE TISSUE TRANSFERS

Fibula osteocutaneous free tissue transfer to reconstruct the oromandibular complex is a widely recommended technique following oncologic resection. Preoperative determination of adequate perfusion to the donor extremity is necessary to assure lower extremity viability after flap harvest. Vascular variations and/or peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) may exist whereby sacrifice of peroneal vessels can cause ischemia to the lower leg and foot. Additionally, variability of cutaneous perforators can make the fibula skin paddle viability unpredictable. Color flow Doppler (CFD) is a reliable modality to preoperatively assess the lower extremity in fibula osteocutaneous free tissue transfer patients. Prospective CFD examination of 38 consecutive patients (76 legs) considered for fibula free flap reconstruction was performed. A standard protocol was designed to evaluate the lower extremity vasculature and identify cutaneous perforators with CFD. Findings were studied with respect to flap choice, operative findings, and reconstruction outcomes. Number of cutaneous perforators and their impact on skin paddle design were also recorded. Color flow Doppler's ability to image peroneal vessels as well as determine collateral and distal perfusion were effective. CFD accurately identified bilateral vascular anomalies in one patient (2.6%), and significant arterial disease in three patients (7.9%). Cutaneous perforators were also accurately mapped and confirmed intraoperatively in 31 patients. In several instances, the information provided by the CFD examination altered flap selection, 4/38 patients (10.5%), or skin paddle design, 5/32 patients (15.6%). Color flow Doppler allowed successful fibula transfer in all the free flap candidates with normal exams. It has the advantages of low cost and no morbidity. CFD allows for accurate mapping of fibula cutaneous perforators which facilitates skin paddle design. We recommended the use of preoperative CFD in all patients being considered for fibular free flap surgery.
Task Centered Casework: Intervention Strategy For Developing Societies

Abstract This article discusses the relevancy of applying task-centered casework in developing societies such as India. Task-centered Casework is a system of time limited treatment method designed to help individuals with the problems of living. It is a problem-solving model which emphasizes clients' and social workers' input as a joint venture. The client and the nature of the problem are considered within the context of a social system which have bearing on the etiology of the problem and its resolution. Application of task centered casework as a treatment modality is explicated through case illustrations.