cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Curative Effect of Sildenafil in Treatment of Congenital Heart Disease Combined with Pulmonary Hypertension

Objective To explore the curative effect of sildenafil in the treatment of patients with congenital heart disease combined with pulmonary hypertension. Methods 60 patients with congenital heart disease combined with pulmonary hypertension admitted in the our hospital between August 2012 and October 2012 were selected as the research object and randomly assigned to the experimental group and control group, 30 cases in each group. Patients in the control group underwent conventional therapy,while those in the experimental group were treated with sildenafil based on the conventional therapy. The clinical effects of the two groups were compared. Results Of the patients in the experimental group, the indicators including oxygenation index, arterial pressure, blood oxygen partial pressure, cardiac index, and pulmonary artery pressure after treatment were(261.3±40.5),(79.6±5.9)mm Hg,(83.7±3.3)mm Hg,(3.9±1.6)L/(min·m2),(33.2±15.3)mm Hg, respectively, while those of the patients in the control group were(228.5±39.7),(85.1±8.8)mm Hg,(65.6±2.8)mm Hg,(2.9±0.8)L/(min·m2),(53.5±17.8)mm Hg, respectively. In terms of the indicators above, the experimental group was superior to the control group, and there were statistically significant differences(P0.05). Conclusion The curative effect of sildenafil in the treatment of patients with congenital heart disease combined with pulmonary hypertension is remarkable, which can significantly improve the heart function and greatly reduce the pulmonary artery pressure thus improve the patient's physical health.
Optimization of gene transfer using cationic lipids in cell lines and primary human CD4+ and CD34+ hematopoietic cells

Cationic lipids offer several advantages for gene delivery, both in vitro and in vivo. However, high-efficiency gene transfer has been demonstrated only for limited cell types. Here, we examine the level of expression of a luciferase reporter gene, delivered using cationic lipids, in both cell lines and primary human cells including peripheral blood mononuclear cells and CD34(+)-enriched hematopoietic cells. Variables shown to affect the efficiency of gene expression included the type of lipid, the amounts of DNA and lipid, the day of assay following transfection, the media used for lipid:DNA complex formation, the cell number, the promoter driving expression of the reporter gene and the physiological state of the cells (e.g., whether or not cells were differentiated). The maximal luciferase expression observed with the primary cells was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that seen in cell lines. Further studies, possibly involving altering the growth conditions for the cells, or using episomal vectors that will allow extrachromosomal maintenance of the DNA, are required to improve the level of transgene expression in the primary human cell types used here.
Differences in Pediatric Pain Management by Unit Types.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine differences in pediatric pain management by unit type in hospitals across the United States. The aims were to (a) compare unit-type rates of assessment, intervention, and reassessment (AIR), and (b) describe differences in assessment tools and intervention use by unit type. Design The study used a cross-sectional design. A secondary analysis of 2013 data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI®) pain AIR cycle indicator was conducted. The sample included 984 pediatric units in 390 hospitals. Methods Data were gathered via retrospective chart review on the pain assessment tool used, presence of pain, interventions, and reassessment. Descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance test were conducted. Post-hoc analyses included the Wilcoxon-rank sum test with Bonferroni correction. Findings Across all units the mean unit-level percentage of patients assessed for pain was 99.6%. Of those patients assessed, surgical units had the highest average unit-level percentage of patients with pain, while Level 4 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) had the lowest. The most commonly used assessment tool among all units was the Faces, Legs, Activity, Crying, and Consolability (FLACC) Scale. The Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) and Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) specifically developed for infants were more commonly used across NICU unit types. The mean unit-level percentage of patients with pain receiving an intervention was 89.4%, and reassessment was 83.6%. Overall, pharmacologic methods were the most common pain intervention, while music was the least common. Conclusions Assessments were performed routinely, yet interventions and reassessments were not. Pain AIR cycle completion varied by unit type. Pain was also widely present across many unit types, and pharmacologic methods were most frequently used. Clinical Relevance Frontline nurses are instrumental to pain management and have the ability to improve patient care and outcomes by effectively managing pain. A comprehensive understanding of it provides valuable insight into improving our practice to produce the best outcomes for pediatric patients.
Longterm survival outcomes of patients undergoing treatment with radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic colorectal cancer liver tumors

Background We aim to investigate long-term survival outcomes in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA), based on our longitudinal 5 and 10 year follow-up data.
When Politicians Attack: Man Bites President

It's true: The news media are biased. We're biased in favor of change, as opposed to the status quo. We're biased in favor of bad news, rather than good news. We're biased in favor of conflict rather than harmony. – David Shaw, Los Angeles Times INTRODUCTION In the midst of then-Vice President Al Gore's post-election challenge to George W. Bush's victory in Florida, Gore telephoned his running mate, Joe Lieberman, as well as congressional leaders Representative Richard Gephardt (D-MO) and Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). This conference call would not have been unusual except for one detail: Most such calls are not broadcast live on television by CNN. In an obviously scripted conversation, Gore and Lieberman began by stiffly relating recent developments in their vote-challenge campaign and offering thanks to the congressional Democrats for their continued support. The congressional leaders, in turn, played their part by repeatedly emphasizing the “overwhelming support” for Gore's challenge among Democratic members of Congress. This incident is noteworthy not so much because of the content of the conversation, which was exactly the sort of support for Gore one would expect to hear from his fellow Democrats; rather, it is interesting because of the almost embarrassing lengths that Gore and company went to in an attempt to get the support covered in the news media. Why would the Democratic leaders feel obliged to engage in amateur theatrics to get their message broadcast?
Structurally Defined 3D Nanographene Assemblies via Bottom-Up Chemical Synthesis for Highly Efficient Lithium Storage

Functionalized 3D nanographenes with controlled electronic properties have been synthesized through a multistep organic synthesis method and are further used as promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, exhibiting a much increased capacity (up to 950 mAh g-1 ), three times higher than that of the graphite anode (372 mAh g-1 ).
Thomas H. Frazzetta (1934–2015)

The academic world is full of people with rich personalities, brilliant minds, and eclectic interests. Thomas (T. H.) Frazzetta certainly was a special one of these. He passed away on New Year's Eve 2015, following several months of ill health. Ironically, New Year's Eve was one of his favorite holidays, only exceeded by Halloween. Sadly, he was unable to celebrate either in his final year.
Packed red blood cell transfusions as a risk factor for parenteral nutrition associated liver disease in premature infants

Packed red blood cell transfusions as a risk factor for parenteral nutrition associated liver disease in premature infants
Levinas on Memory and the Trace

Let me start with the following paradox, one that arises from the very idea of trace: what seems at first exceedingly limited in scope and secondary in status is capable of drawing together the most divergent realms of human experience and theories about that experience. On the one hand, the ordinary notion of trace is that of a mere mark left by an entity or an event of which it is but the finite and fragile reflection. Its nature seems to consist in a self-surpassing operation whereby its meaning or value lies elsewhere — namely, in that of which it is the trace, that which the trace signifies by a self-suspension of its own being or happening. On the other hand, despite this apparent disposability, the concept of trace has proved indispensable in several quite disparate domains: the neurophysiology of memory, the graphematics of writing, and the overcoming of metaphysics. (Indeed, just because the activity of tracing is so critical to all three arenas, we can no longer afford to regard them as so disparate, and we begin to suspect the possibility of a deep alliance between them.) This is not to mention the rather uncanny way in which a concern with the unsuspected importance of traces brings together Heidegger, Derrida, and Levinas with such unlikely bedfellows as Plotinus, Descartes, and Peirce—all six of whom regard traces as strictly unexpungeable and even as having a certain primacy.
Computer Preparation of Experimental Data Sheets

The use of electronic digital computers for the preparation of data or tally sheets requiring the listing of random sequences of reinforcing or other experimental events is described. Error-free lists of random experimental events may be obtained quickly with a computer, printed in a form appropriate for E to record S’s responses, at a considerable saving of E’s time.
Sexual selection promotes ecological speciation in digital organisms

Ecological Speciation is the development of reproductive isolation as a result of divergent adaptation to different environments. As populations diverge, post-zygotic isolation effects such as low hybrid fitness and zygotic inviability are expected to become increasingly dominant. However, for genetically similar incipient species, post-zygotic effects may not be sufficient to enforce a reduction in gene-flow. Models of allopatric speciation predict that pre-mating isolation may play an important role in reinforcing barriers between species, regardless of genetic incompatibilities. However, evidence for these models is mixed, and remains controversial. In this paper, we examine the extent to which pre-mating isolation resulting from divergent sexually-selected traits is sufficient to generate incipient species. We evolved populations of sexually-reproducing digital organisms that use sexual selection to choose their mates. These populations are then divided, and each half allowed to adapt to divergent env...
Listening Effort: How the Cognitive Consequences of Acoustic Challenge Are Reflected in Brain and Behavior.

Everyday conversation frequently includes challenges to the clarity of the acoustic speech signal, including hearing impairment, background noise, and foreign accents. Although an obvious problem is the increased risk of making word identification errors, extracting meaning from a degraded acoustic signal is also cognitively demanding, which contributes to increased listening effort. The concepts of cognitive demand and listening effort are critical in understanding the challenges listeners face in comprehension, which are not fully predicted by audiometric measures. In this article, the authors review converging behavioral, pupillometric, and neuroimaging evidence that understanding acoustically degraded speech requires additional cognitive support and that this cognitive load can interfere with other operations such as language processing and memory for what has been heard. Behaviorally, acoustic challenge is associated with increased errors in speech understanding, poorer performance on concurrent secondary tasks, more difficulty processing linguistically complex sentences, and reduced memory for verbal material. Measures of pupil dilation support the challenge associated with processing a degraded acoustic signal, indirectly reflecting an increase in neural activity. Finally, functional brain imaging reveals that the neural resources required to understand degraded speech extend beyond traditional perisylvian language networks, most commonly including regions of prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, and the cingulo-opercular network. Far from being exclusively an auditory problem, acoustic degradation presents listeners with a systems-level challenge that requires the allocation of executive cognitive resources. An important point is that a number of dissociable processes can be engaged to understand degraded speech, including verbal working memory and attention-based performance monitoring. The specific resources required likely differ as a function of the acoustic, linguistic, and cognitive demands of the task, as well as individual differences in listeners’ abilities. A greater appreciation of cognitive contributions to processing degraded speech is critical in understanding individual differences in comprehension ability, variability in the efficacy of assistive devices, and guiding rehabilitation approaches to reducing listening effort and facilitating communication. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
High-dose discrimination training with midazolam: context determines generalization profile.

In previous work, greater differentiation among ligands for the benzodiazepine site was found in rats trained to discriminate among vehicle, 0.32, and 3.2 mg/kg midazolam than in animals trained to discriminate a single midazolam dose from vehicle (i.e., virtually all test drugs occasioned low-dose midazolam-appropriate responding, but most did not occasion high-dose midazolam-appropriate responding even at high test doses). A possibility was that merely training with 3.2 mg/kg-midazolam (not previously studied) would result in greater selectivity than training with lower midazolam doses. In the present study, rats were trained to discriminate 3.2 mg/kg i.p. midazolam from no drug under a two-lever, food-maintained, procedure; and drugs from the previous three-lever studies were tested. Triazolam, bretazenil, clonazepam, lorazepam, midazolam, zolpidem, chlordiazepoxide, pentobarbital, and flurazepam all dose-dependently occasioned >80% responding on the midazolam-appropriate lever in roughly that order of potency. Only triazolam had occasioned midazolam 3.2 mg/kg-appropriate responding in the previous work. The greater differentiation among these drugs in the dose-vs.-dose procedure likely was due to a training dose context rather than to the high training dose per se.
Mucinous Tumors of the Ovary: A Review

Mucinous ovarian tumors are among the most difficult ovarian neoplasms for surgical pathologists to interpret. Approximately 20% of primary ovarian mucinous tumors are borderline tumors, noninvasive (intraglandular; intraepithelial) carcinomas, or invasive carcinomas; the remainder are cystadenomas. The borderline tumors may be of intestinal type or mullerian (endocervical-like) type. The intestinal-type tumors are by far the most common. Their frequently heterogeneous composition with coexisting elements of cystadenoma, stromal microinvasion, noninvasive carcinoma, and invasive carcinoma requires careful gross examination and extensive sampling of the tumors. The inherent glandular complexity of proliferating mucinous tumors complicates recognition of stromal invasion. Some mucinous carcinomas with expansile (confluent) invasion may be very difficult to discriminate from extensive noninvasive carcinoma. Interobserver reproducibility probably requires use of an arbitrary minimum size criterion for the diagnosis of expansile invasion. Primary invasive carcinomas with an infiltrative growth pattern are less common. Rarely, distinct mural nodules of reactive or neoplastic type are found in the cystic wall of a mucinous tumor. Pseudomyxoma peritonei almost never results from a ruptured primary ovarian mucinous neoplasm, but often produces secondary borderline-like ovarian tumors with prominent pseudomyxoma ovarii. Prognosis of mucinous tumors is highly dependent on stage and histologic composition. Borderline tumors, noninvasive carcinomas, microinvasive tumors, and invasive carcinomas with an expansile growth pattern are generally stage I and have an excellent prognosis with only occasional examples of metastatic spread. Invasive carcinomas with an infiltrative growth pattern are more aggressive, accounting for almost all high-stage mucinous tumors, and are responsible for most deaths caused by tumor. A high index of suspicion that a mucinous tumor is actually a metastasis from another organ is required by pathologists and gynecologists to prevent misdiagnosis of a metastatic neoplasm as a primary ovarian tumor. Secondary mucinous tumors are significantly more often bilateral, <10 cm in maximal dimension, and of high stage. Numerous immunohistochemical stains proposed to aid in the differential diagnosis of primary vs. secondary mucinous tumors also are reviewed.
Beyond Computers: The Sociology of Mathematical Proof

The idea of “group” came about in the early nineteenth century. A product of the work of Evariste Galois (1812–1832) and Augustin-Louis Cauchy, this was one of the first cornerstones of what we now think of as abstract algebra.
Conatumumab, a fully human mAb against death receptor 5 for the treatment of cancer

Conatumumab (AMG-655), under development by Amgen Inc and Japanese licensee Takeda Bio Development Center Ltd, is a fully human IgG1 mAb that binds to the extracellular domain of death receptor 5 (DR5) for the potential intravenous treatment of cancer. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that conatumumab induces apoptosis in cell lines derived from colon and pancreatic cancers, as well as in mice bearing xenograft tumors. Preclinical studies also indicated that conatumumab enhances the antitumor activity of agents, such as irinotecan and gemcitabine. The results of phase I clinical trials have demonstrated the safety of conatumumab as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with other antibody therapies or standard chemotherapeutic regimes. In addition, anti-conatumumab antibody responses have not been observed in the trials conducted to date. At the time of publication, initial results from phase I/II trials suggest a possible therapeutic role for conatumumab in patients with tumors expressing DR5.
Online Copyright Creation & Cooperation: The Open Access Program as a New Option in Digital Age

Copyright owners produce and distribute creative works in exchange for financial benefits as rewards. Meanwhile, users pay for the access to these works for personal enjoyment, which become the incentive to future copyright creation. Theoretically, this is an ideal circulation of copyright production and distribution. However, copyright owners always want to recoup revenues out of their works as many as possible. The users, on the other hand, prefer to access diversified creative works inexpensively. In digital age, the tension between two sides is more severe. Copyright owners struggle to control online piracy, while online users are frustrated by the inflexible accessing mechanism to works provided by copyright owners. Based on the undesirable situation, the Open Access Program (OAP) is introduced and aims at providing a platform to lower down the tension. The primary feature of the open access program is to license creative works with less restrictions from copyright owners to online users. Put another way, copyright owners license their works outside the regulation of copyright law under a new licensing framework. On the other hand, online users are able to access to works without payment so long as they complies with the requirement of the licensing agreement. Under the circumstances, the accessing costs to online users are significantly trivial compared to traditional licensing under copyright regulation. The open access program enable the cooperation between copyright owners and online users. Unlike the traditional enforcement which creates tension between the two parties, the open access program explore a different path to eliminate the tension and forge cooperation. The open access program provides substantial benefits to online users by free access to works under less restricted licensing agreements.
A Misuse of IQ Scores: Using the Dual Discrepancy/Consistency Model for Identifying Specific Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this article is to describe the origins of patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) methods for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD) and to provide a comprehensive review of the assumptions and evidence supporting the most commonly-used PSW method in the United States: Dual Discrepancy/Consistency (DD/C). Given their use in determining whether students have access to special education and related services, it is important that any method used to identify SLD have supporting evidence. A review of the DD/C evidence indicates it cannot currently be classified as an evidence-based method for identifying individuals with a SLD. We show that the DD/C method is unsound for three major reasons: (a) it requires test scores have properties that they fundamentally lack, (b) lack of experimental utility evidence supporting its use, and (c) evidence supporting the inability of the method to identify SLD accurately.
Can the pH at the air/water interface be different from the pH of bulk water?

A recent article in PNAS (1) reports stable pH gradients in aqueous phosphate buffer microdroplets based on the pH dependence of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signals from 4-mercaptobenzoic acid–functionalized gold nanoparticle pH probes. The probing SERS signals were a 1,470-cm−1 shift assigned to a COO− stretching and a 1,710-cm−1 shift from a CO stretching (1). Plots of signal intensities (relative to that of a pH-independent 1,080-cm−1 signal from the aromatic ring) in bulk solutions as a function of … [↵][1]1Email: ajcoluss{at}caltech.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Spontaneous closure of a chronic full thickness macular hole after failed surgery.

Abstract Purpose To describe an unusual case of spontaneous closure of a chronic, large, idiopathic, stage 4 macular hole after failed surgery. Observations A 75-year-old female presented with a history of a chronic, full thickness macular hole after failed surgery in the right eye. Two years after onset, she developed a fibrotic scar, which closed the macular hole and unexpectedly improved her vision. At her 4 year follow up exam, optical coherence tomography demonstrated a stable, closed macular hole with continued improvement in her visual acuity despite lack of surgical and medical intervention. Conclusions and importance The spontaneous closure of an idiopathic full thickness macular hole is an unusual event. When it occurs, it is typically in an acute setting and is attributed to bridging retinal tissue, vitreofoveal separation, and a small diameter size. In this report, we show that a chronic, large break, that failed prior surgical intervention, can spontaneously close. The formation of an underlying fibrotic scar from type 1 neovascularization bridged the macular hole and improved her visual acuity.
Coronary Artery Abnormalities in Patients with Kawasaki Disease and Williams Syndrome

The most common and serious complications of Kawasaki disease are coronary artery abnormalities. In patients with Kawasaki disease, coronary artery involvement is seen in approximately 15–20% of patients [1]. Over the years, the definition of coronary artery involvement has varied but it is now defined by internal lumen diameter, adjusted to body surface area Z-scores [2–4]. Table 8.1 depicts the current classification system for coronary artery abnormalities seen in patients with Kawasaki disease [2–4].
Comments on the jaw and syllable structure

Abstract: In light of a recent proposal by Lindblom (1983) on the relation between phonological sonority and segment coarticulation, various data on jaw movement are discussed. These data suggest, contrary to Lindblom, that segments do not order themselves according to their propensity to coarticulate. Rather, the jaw can produce segments in a variety of orders by accommodating those few segments that require a high jaw position while coarticulating other segments.
Project Based Learning and Community Based Learning – Promises for Political Science and Higher Education

Experiential learning is an exciting way for political scientists to show students the immediate relevance of the work they are doing, as well as to use our colleges and universities as a venue for engaging with and enhancing our communities. This paper explores the possibility of using project-based learning in political science classrooms as a way to enhance experiential learning. Project-based learning focuses on using projects as a way to structure classroom experiences. Projects invite students to collaborate in teams on authentic, open ended problems, conducting research and sharing the outcome with significant stakeholders. The goal of the paper is to: a) explore the possibilities of project-based learning for social science in general, and political science in particular; b) offer an assessment of the ability of project-based learning to complement more traditional forms of experiential learning such as service learning.
Distribution of mitochondria relative to capillaries in guinea pig myocardium.

The distribution of mitochondria relative to capillaries is important in respiratory physiology because it reflects the distribution of distances over which oxygen diffuses from its source in capillaries to its site of utilization in mitochondria. Mitochondrial distribution also reflects the distribution of distances over which high-energy phosphates must be transferred from their site of formation in the mitochondria to their site of utilization in the myofibrils. In this study, we devised a simple method for measuring mitochondrial distributions. This method was then used to measure the distribution of mitochondria relative to capillaries in the right ventricles of four guinea pigs of differing capillary densities.
Distributed Code for Semantic Relations Predicts Neural Similarity during Analogical Reasoning.

The ability to generate and process semantic relations is central to many aspects of human cognition. Theorists have long debated whether such relations are coarsely coded as links in a semantic ne...
Financial Toxicity in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the United States: Current State and Future Directions.

Abstract Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) has posed an increasing burden on Americans and the United States healthcare system for decades. In addition, ASCVD has had a substantial eco...
Changes in erythrocyte membrane epoxyeicosatrienoic, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic, and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids during pregnancy

Abstract Aims Pregnancy is associated with numerous changes in physiological and metabolic processes to ensure successful progression to full term. One such change is the alteration of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism and formation of eicosanoids. This study explores the changes in AA metabolites formed through the cytochrome P450 mediated pathway to epoxyeicosatrienoic (EET), dihydroxyeicosatrienoic (DHET), and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (HETE) acids which have been implicated in blood pressure regulation and inflammatory responses that are important for a healthy pregnancy. Main methods The study determines circulating levels of EETs, DHETs and HETEs extracted from erythrocyte membranes and measured by mass spectroscopy during the progression of a normal pregnancy. Blood samples, from 25 women, were collected at three time points including 25–28 weeks gestation, 28–32 weeks gestation, and the non-pregnant control at 3–4 months postpartum. Key findings Results demonstrate that healthy pregnancy is associated with significant increases in 8,9-DHET, 11,12-DHET and 14,15-DHET and a decrease in trans 8,9-EET during 28–32 weeks gestation compared to 3–4 months postpartum. These differences are likely due to several mechanisms including an increase in soluble epoxide hydrolase activity, a decrease in glutathione conjugation, and altered cytochrome P450 enzyme expression and/or activity that occurs during pregnancy. Significance Metabolism of AA through the cytochrome P450 pathway generates physiologically important eicosanoids that could play an important role in the progression of a healthy pregnancy. Establishing the changes that occur during normal pregnancy may, in the future, help in early detection of pregnancy complications including preeclampsia.
Are single-visit regenerative endodontic procedures successful in treating non-vital, immature young permanent teeth?

Design Systematic review.Data sources PubMed and Scopus databases were searched independently by two authors from inception to July 2018 using keywords and index words combined using Boolean terms. Articles were restricted to English and were not excluded based on study design. Conference proceedings, grey literature, letters and commentaries were excluded.Data extraction and synthesis Demographic data (age, sex), study design, pulpal and periapical pre-treatment diagnosis, pre-operative radiographic findings, intra-operative disinfection protocol, intracanal coronal barrier, duration of follow-up, and clinical and/or radiographic and/or histological outcomes after completion of single-visit regenerative endodontic procedures (REPs) on non-vital, immature permanent teeth. Quality of included case reports were assessed according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. Risk of bias assessment of randomised controlled trials was done using Cochrane Collaboration's tool. The quality of the animal study was assessed by the SYRCLE risk of bias assessment tool.Results A total of five case reports, one randomised controlled trial and one animal study were included in the final analysis. All case reports were rated as high quality while the randomised controlled trial was rated moderate-to-low risk of bias. Case reports and the animal study favoured single-visit REPs, while the results from the randomised trial reported only 50% success. Within this limited pool of studies, there were differences in aetiology, location, disinfection protocol (different concentrations of NaOCl and EDTA, saline, chlorhexidine), follow-up time intervals and subjective reporting of radiographic healing, making syntheses challenging.Conclusions Single-visit REPs may offer benefits of reduced treatment time and visits compared to conventional two-visit REPs.
The Streptococcus pyogenes Signaling Peptide SpoV Regulates Streptolysin O and Enhances Survival in Murine Blood

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus [GAS]) is a human pathogen that causes a wide range of diseases. For successful colonization within a variety of host niches, GAS must sense and respond to environmental changes. Intercellular communication mediated by peptides is one way GAS coordinates gene expression in response to diverse environmental stressors, which enhances bacterial survival and contributes to virulence. Using peptidomics, we identified SpoV (streptococcal peptide controlling virulence) in culture supernatant fluids. SpoV is a secreted peptide encoded near the gene (slo) encoding the extracellular cholesterol-dependent cytolysin streptolysin O (SLO). The addition of synthetic SpoV peptide derivatives, but not control peptides, increased slo transcript abundance in an M49 isolate but not in an M3 isolate. Deletion of spoV decreased slo transcript abundance, extracellular SLO protein levels, and SLO-specific hemolytic activity. Complementation of the spoV mutant increased slo transcript abundance. Lastly, a spoV mutant was deficient in the ability to survive in murine blood compared to the parental strain. Moreover, preincubation of the spoV mutant with synthetic SpoV peptide derivatives increased GAS survival. Our findings show that slo expression is regulated, in part, by the GAS-specific signaling peptide SpoV. IMPORTANCE GAS secretes signaling peptides that can alter gene expression and impact virulence. We used peptidomics to identify a signaling peptide designated SpoV. Further, we showed that SpoV altered the expression of the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin SLO. Peptide signaling plays an important regulatory role during disease progression among several bacterial pathogens, including GAS. The therapeutic potential of manipulating peptide-controlled regulatory networks makes it an attractive option for the development of novel therapeutic strategies that disrupt virulence gene expression.
Reliability benefits of wide-area renewable energy planning across the Western United States

Abstract In response to near- and long-term market and policy shifts, power systems are integrating increasingly-distant renewable energy resources. No analyses quantify the spatial heterogeneity of resource adequacy contributions of renewables at the interconnection-scale in the United States, which would indicate the value to resource adequacy of integrating increasingly-distant renewables. To fill this gap, we develop a Monte Carlo-based probabilistic reliability model to estimate the effective load carrying capability (ELCC) of wind or solar generators. We apply our model to estimate the ELCCs of new solar or wind generators at 1406 locations across the Western Interconnection when contributing to each of five power pools within the Interconnection. Across the five power pools, we find solar ELCCs range from 0% to 44% and wind ELCCs range from 0% to 55% across the Western Interconnection. Solar ELCCs increase from east to west for all but one power pool, incentivizing integration of western renewables into eastern power pools. Deploying storage with wind or solar generators increases their ELCCs, with larger increases occurring at locations with lower renewable-only ELCC values. Thus, resource adequacy gains from deploying storage with renewables can partly substitute for those from integrating increasingly-distant renewables.
Case Report: Amphiphysin Antibody-Associated Stiff-Limb Syndrome and Myelopathy: An Unusual Presentation of Breast Cancer in an Elderly Woman.

Background: Paraneoplastic stiff limb syndrome (SLS) is rare manifestation of underlying malignancy and could have distinctive features different from the classic stiff person syndrome (SPS). Case description: We present a case of anti-amphiphysin associated paraneoplastic stiff limb syndrome, in an 83-year-old woman with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. She presented with rigidity, painful spasm of the distal legs, and asymmetrical fixed posturing of the foot. There is coexisting long tract disturbance and lower extremity weakness. Treatment with diazepam provided symptomatic relief while plasma exchange (PLEX) did not lead to significant clinical improvement. The patient was bedridden within 3 months and passed away within 6 months from symptom onset. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of recognition of uncommon presentation of stiff person syndrome and their oncological significance. This entity requires a high degree of suspicion for initiation of the proper work up. The rapid identification and treatment of the underlying tumor might offer the best chance for recovery.
Ganglioside-Mediated Modulation of Growth Factor Receptor Function and Cell Adhesion

Two major functional roles played by glycosphingolipids or gangliosides in cells can be distinguished. One type of function is to mediate cell-to-cell, cell-to-microbial, or cell-to-molecule interaction (cell social function), in which gangliosides are recognized by carbohydrate binding proteins or lectins. The other type of ganglioside function is direct modulation of a large variety of functional membrane proteins, such as receptors for growth factors, ion transporters, cation-dependent ATPase, and adenyl cyclase. In addition, there is growing evidence that gangliosides may play a crucial role in cell adhesion, through modulation of receptors or various types of cell adhesion molecules. These functional roles of gangliosides are schematically shown in Fig. 1. This paper summarizes recent studies of a possible modulation of the function of the receptors for fibroblast growth factor (FGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and epidermal growth factor (EGF). In addition, one study has suggested the possible association of a tumor-associated glycolipid (gangliotriaosylceramide, Gg3) and the transferrin receptor in mouse lymphoma L5178y. Finally, a summary of our studies and others regarding the role of gangliosides in cell adhesion is presented.
Is privacy a human right? An empirical examination in a global context

Privacy has become an emergent concern in today's digital society. Although scholars have defined privacy from different perspectives, it is still a complex and ambiguous concept. The absence of a concrete concept of privacy impedes the development of privacy legislation and policies in a global context. Therefore, a cross-cultural/national understanding of privacy is urgently needed for establishing a global privacy protocol. This empirical study seeks to better understand privacy by exploring public beliefs of privacy in a global context and further investigating socio-cultural influences on these beliefs. First, we explored general global public beliefs of privacy and then analyzed associations among privacy beliefs and socio-cultural factors. We also investigated the important issue of whether the general global public sees privacy as a “human right.” Results show that most participants agreed with concepts of privacy as a right. However, people had more diverse views on privacy as a right not to be annoyed and social norm privacy concepts. Importantly, nearly eighty percent of people believed in privacy as a human right and nearly seventy percent disagreed with privacy as a concern only for those having something to hide. In the era of globalization, our study provides a bottom-up understanding of privacy beliefs that we believe is essential for the development of global privacy regulation and policies.
Lithium in Pleiades K Dwarfs

Observations of Li in Pleiades K dwarfs with the Hires spectrograph of the Keck telescope show that the correlation between excess Li and rapid rotation breaks down in the coolest stars.
Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa

Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa. Alex de Waal. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.238 pp.
Polar arrest of the simian virus 40 tumor antigen-mediated replication fork movement in vitro by the tus protein-terB complex of Escherichia coli.

Abstract The effect of the tus protein-terB sequence complex of Escherichia coli on the movement of the SV40 large tumor antigen (T antigen)-mediated replication fork during SV40 DNA replication in vitro has been examined. In the monopolymerase and dipolymerase systems, the tus protein-terB complex efficiently blocked the replication fork movement in a polar fashion, as observed in prokaryotic replication systems. With crude cytosolic extracts of HeLa cells, the same polarity of fork arrest was observed, but the block of replication fork movement was inefficient. These results indicate that the structure of the prokaryotic tus protein-terB complex allows it to block replication fork movement in an orientation-dependent manner. We also show that the tus protein-terB complex blocks the 3'----5' helicase action of T antigen in a polar fashion, using substrates comprised of single-stranded M13 DNA with either a 52-base pair (bp) or 29-bp duplex containing the terB sequence. The tus protein-terB complex formed on the 52-bp duplex was less effective than the complex formed on the 29-bp duplex in blocking the helicase action of T antigen. With the 52-bp duplex substrate, T antigen movement was only partially (30%) blocked by the tus protein-terB sequence complex in the active orientation, whereas the E. coli dnaB helicase moving 5'----3' was blocked more than 90% by the complex in the active orientation. However, with the shorter 29-bp duplex substrate, the complex blocked the T antigen helicase activity about 75%, whereas the dnaB helicase activity was completely blocked. Altogether, these results suggest that the T antigen helicase activity, when coupled to DNA replication, is more susceptible to arrest by the tus protein-terB complex than the T antigen functioning as a helicase alone.
Transforming Misconceptions: Using Transformative Experience to Promote Positive Affect and Conceptual Change in Students Learning about Biological Evolution.

Teaching and learning about complex scientific content, such as biological evolution, is challenging in part because students have a difficult time seeing the relevance of evolution in their everyday lives. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science (TTES) model (Pugh, 2002) for facilitating conceptual change and positive affect in college students learning about evolution. Fifty-five undergraduates experienced instruction on six key evolution concepts (adaptation, variation, inheritance, speciation, domestication, and extinction). Instruction enhanced with the TTES model was compared to a conceptual change intervention, using refutation text and discussion. Outcomes were assessed using the Evolutionary Reasoning Scale (Shtulman, 2006), the Transformative Experience Survey (Pugh, Linnenbrink-Garcia, Koskey, Stewart, & Manzey, 2010a), and the Evolution Emotions Survey. The results showed that the group that experienced the TTES model showed higher levels of transformative experience and greater conceptual change than the comparison group. In addition, the treatment group showed an increase in enjoyment of the evolution content over the course of instruction. Implications for transformative experience as a conceptual change pedagogical technique are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 97:723–744, 2013
Heterochromatic effects on the behavior of reversed acrocentric compound-X chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster.

Previous studies of reversed acrocentric compound-X chromosomes suggested peculiar influences of heterochromatin on both the synthesis and meiotic behavior of such compunds. It seemed, with respect to synthesis, that the long arm of the Y chromosome on an X.Y(L) chromosome was necessary in order for the heterochromatic exchange giving rise to reversed acrocentrics to occur, even though Y(L) itself did not participate in the compound-generating event. With respect to behavior, the resulting compounds appeared, presumably as a consequence of their singular generation, to contain an interstitial heterochromatic region that caused the distribution of exchanges between the elements of the compound to be abnormal (many zero and two-exchange tetrads with few, if any, single-exchange tetrads). Removing the intersititial heterochromatin (or, curiously, appending Y(L) as a second arm of the compound) eliminated the recombinational anomalies and resulted in typical tetrad distributions.--We provide evidence that these peculiarities, while presumably real, were likely the consequence of a special X.Y(L) chromosome that was used to synthesize the reversed acrocentrics examined in the early studies and are not general properties of either reversed acrocentric compounds or of interstitial heterochromatin. However, we show that specific heterochromatic regions do, in fact, profoundly influence the behavior of (apparently all) reversed acrocentric compound-X chromosomes. In particular, we demonstrate that specific portions of the Y chromosome and of the basal X-chromosome heterochromatin, when present as homologs for reversed acrocentric compounds, markedly and coordinately increase both the frequency of exchange between the elements of the compound and the fertility (egg production) of compound-bearing females. It is, we suppose, some aspect of this heterochromatic effect, produced by the special X.Y(L) chromosome, that caused the earlier-analyzed compounds to exhibit the observed anomalies.
THE FRAMINGHAM EYE STUDY I. OUTLINE AND MAJOR PREVALENCE FINDINGS

During the period 1973--1975, 2675 out of 3977 still-living members of the Framingham, Massachusetts, study population, who have been under investigation for coronary disease risk factors since 1948 and who were in 1973--1975 aged 52 to 85, were given an eye examination stressing cataract, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma. Of 2940 subjects who still lived in the local Framingham area, 2477 were examined. Local population prevalence for one or both eyes positive was: 15.5% for senile cataract, 3.1% for diabetic retinopathy, 8.8% for senile macular degeneration and 3.3% for open-angle glaucoma. The proportion of adults with poor "best" visual acuity may be much less than has been estimated by the National Health Survey and the proportion with open-angle glaucoma much more than currently suspected on the basis of foreign studies.
Peritoneal dialysis catheter complications

A functional peritoneal dialysis catheter is essential for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis to be an effective form of dialysis. The most common mechanical problems that hinder adequate function include obstruction, leaks, hernias, hemoperitoneum, and pain. The reported incidence of mechanical problems varies from 12% to 73%. Symptoms, diagnostic tests, risk factors, and treatment strategies are reviewed. Surgical intervention and catheter replacement are often required to resolve mechanical problems. Avoidance of mechanical problems reduces the risk of interruptions in peritoneal dialysis therapy.