cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid Bedside Evaluation of Seizures in the ICU by Listening to the Sound of Brainwaves: A Prospective Observational Clinical Trial of Ceribell’s Brain Stethoscope Function

Patients suffering from non-convulsive seizures experience delays in diagnosis and treatment due to limitations in acquiring and interpreting electroencephalography (EEG) data. The Ceribell EEG System offers rapid EEG acquisition and conversion of EEG signals to sound (sonification) using a proprietary algorithm. This study was designed to test the performance of this EEG system in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting and measure its impact on clinician treatment decision. Encephalopathic ICU patients at Stanford University Hospital were enrolled if clinical suspicion for seizures warranted EEG monitoring. Treating physicians rated suspicion for seizure and decided if the patient needed antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment at the time of bedside evaluation. After listening to 30 s of EEG from each hemisphere in each patient, they reevaluated their suspicion for seizure and decision for additional treatment. The EEG waveforms recorded with Ceribell EEG were subsequently analyzed by three blinded epileptologists to assess the presence or absence of seizures within and outside the sonification window. Study outcomes were EEG set up time, ease of use of the device, change in clinician seizure suspicion, and change in decision to treat with AED before and after sonification. Thirty-five cases of EEG sonification were performed. Mean EEG setup time was 6 ± 3 min, and time to obtain sonified EEG was significantly faster than conventional EEG (p < 0.001). One patient had non-convulsive seizure during sonification and another had rhythmic activity that was followed by seizure shortly after sonification. Change in treatment decision after sonification occurred in approximately 40% of patients and resulted in a significant net reduction in unnecessary additional treatments (p = 0.01). Ceribell EEG System was consistently rated easy to use. The Ceribell EEG System enabled rapid acquisition of EEG in patients at risk for non-convulsive seizures and aided clinicians in their evaluation of encephalopathic ICU patients. The ease of use and speed of EEG acquisition and interpretation by EEG-untrained individuals has the potential to improve emergent clinical decision making by quickly detecting non-convulsive seizures in the ICU.
Overview and Introduction

Two quotations seem apt for introducing Stewardship of the Built Environment, an approach emphasizing reuse and preservation of our existing building stock. The first, “problems cannot be solved with the same level of awareness that created them,” by Albert Einstein, encourages examination of an underused path to seeking solutions to sustainability. As we find ourselves on an increasingly resource-depleted planet with a changing climate, we must rethink how we build and develop. Many people have become so accustomed to creating new things that the idea of reusing or adapting something that already exists is new to them. In the particular instance of the built environment, however, the sustainable solution may not lie solely in creating new green buildings but rather in recognizing a new way of looking at the problem and seeking a potentially overlooked solution through retrofit, reuse, and preservation.
Imaging in Arrhythmic Syndromes: What Is the Role of Cardiac Radiology?

MRI and MDCT can play important roles in understanding the underlying causes of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. In addition, they are becoming more and more often incorporated into the development of new interventional therapies for these clinical conditions.
Efficient formal verification of bounds of linear programs

One of the challenging problems in the formalization of mathematics is a formal verification of numerical computations. Many theorems rely on numerical results, the verification of which is necessary for producing complete formal proofs. The formal verification systems are not well suited for doing high-performance computing since even a small arithmetic step must be completely justified using elementary rules. We have developed a set of procedures in the HOL Light proof assistant for efficient verification of bounds of relatively large linear programs. The main motivation for the development of our tool was the work on the formal proof of the Kepler Conjecture. An important part of the proof consists of about 50000 linear programs each of which contains more than 1000 variables and constraints. Our tool is capable to verify one such a linear program in about 5 seconds. This is sufficiently fast for doing the needed formal computations.
Bank Operations, Regulation, and Structure

We take up three interrelated topics in this chapter. The first is bank operations, or how banks survive and perhaps prosper in their peculiar line of business. The second is bank regulation, or how the laws and regulatory authorities shape and limit banks in their pursuit of profits. The third topic, market structure, has to do with the degree of competition in the banking business.
Iron and learning potential in childhood.

Cognitive function. There is reasonably good evidence that mental and motor developmental test scores are lower among infants with iron deficiency anemia. Although the research on cognitive function in iron deficient older children and adults is sparse and diverse, it suggests that there may be alterations in attentional processes associated with iron deficiency. Iron therapy has not yet been shown effective in completely correcting many of the observed disturbances. Although some aspects of cognitive function seem to change with iron therapy, lower developmental. I.Q., and achievement test scores have still been noted after treatment. The behavioral effects of iron-deficiency anemia may be due to changes in neurotransmission. However, the biochemical bases are not yet completely understood. Noncognitive disturbances. A variety of noncognitive alterations during infant developmental testing has also been observed, including failure to respond to test stimuli, short attention span, unhappiness, increased fearfulness, withdrawal from the examiner, and increased body tension. Exploratory analyses suggest that such behavioral abnormalities may account for poor developmental test performance in infants with iron deficiency anemia. These studies indicate the fruitfulness of examining noncognitive aspects of behavior such as affect, attention, and activity, in addition to specific cognitive processes. Activity and work capacity: There has been a steady accumulation of evidence that iron-deficiency anemia limits maximal physical performance, submaximal endurance, and spontaneous activity in the adult, resulting in diminished work productivity with attendant economic losses. The relative importance of central and peripheral mechanisms underlying these effects, the extent to which anemia or iron deficiency separate from anemia is responsible, and the counterpart in infants and children remain to be established. This essay has examined recent evidence from research on central nervous system biochemistry and from human studies that iron deficiency adversely affects behavior by impairing cognitive function, producing noncognitive disturbances, and limiting activity and work capacity. The body of research taken as a whole provides increasingly persuasive arguments for intensifying efforts to prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia.
Internal atrial defibrillation revisited: how low can we go?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common and expensive supraventricular arrhythmia. It is the most frequently encountered diagnosis among hospitalized patients and is estimated to cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $5 billion dollars annually [(1)][1]. Although catheter ablation holds
Investigation of point defect clusters in silicon using parallel molecular dynamics

A parallel molecular dynamics algorithm is presented for computingconfigurations of relatively large defects in crystalline silicon, as modelledby the Stillinger–Weber (SW) three-body interatomic potential. Thealgorithm is based on a partitioning of physical space among the N processorswith atoms migrating freely between the partitions. Implementation on aneight-processor IBM SP2 computer shows the increased efficiency withsimulation size expected because of the increased computational load perprocessor relative to communication overhead. The parallel efficiency reached70% for 21 952 atoms. Calculations are presented for the thermodynamics offormation of interstitial and vacancy clusters containing up to seven pointdefects. The clusters were relaxed within a host lattice of about 3000 siliconatoms subjected to periodic boundary conditions. Free energies of formationfor temperatures 500 K ≤ T ≤ 1600 K were computed using thermodynamicintegration. Computed equilibrium distributions for these clusters show ashift to the larger species at lower temperatures, as expected. The SWpotential predicts greater driving forces for interstitial aggregation thanvacancy aggregation across the entire temperature range. Model calculationsfor a large vacancy cluster are also presented to demonstrate the utility ofthe algorithm for exploring very large defects in silicon.
Assessment of cardiac conduction: Basic principles of optical mapping

Extracellular recordings acquired from electrodes placed on the surface of cardiac tissue have traditionally been used to study the electrophysiological properties of the tissue. While this technique has been used in several studies that have increased our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias and action potential propagation, there are several limitations that have prevented us from seeing a bigger picture of arrhythmia mechanisms. These limitations include the limited number of electrodes and unstable recordings. Optical mapping was developed to increase the temporal and spatial resolution over traditional electrode recordings and ultimately the accuracy of the data analysis. This technology involves using a voltage-sensitive dye that binds to the cell membrane. The fluorescence changes of the dye have a linear relationship to the action potential changes of the cell membrane. These fluorescent changes can then be detected by a photodiode array, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera. This will allow the recording of the action potential in hundreds to thousands of different sites simultaneously. Presented in this chapter are the materials and hardware needed along with step-by-step instructions on setup and techniques used in optical mapping for larger tissue preparations.
Governing Boards and Faculty in Texas

The direct attack on higher education governance was first articulated openly at the national level by Margaret Spellings’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education under President G. W. Bush. This was defeated in Congress. Since then, it has been primarily mounted at the state level by Republican governors through appointees on governing boards. Beginning in 2008, Governor Rick Perry made Texas Ground Zero in this effort. This chapter describes how it was organized, how certain regents attempted to carry it out at the University of Texas and Texas A&M, how they were defeated at the University of Texas, and the role of faculty governance in the process. It also includes a brief comparison with the current attacks in Wisconsin.
Conclusion: Resilience for a Complex World

The world is experiencing a gradual increase in systemic threats that threaten critical infrastructure, social order, and environmental sustainability. Our capability to address those threats is diminishing, and significant residual risk remains. Risk assessment and management have been used to harden components of the systems affected by specific threats, yet such approaches are often prohibitively expensive to implement, and do not address cascading effects of system failure. Accepting the possibility of system failure and focusing on recovery has been proposed under the umbrella of resilience assessment. Even though resilience has promise in many fields, including psychology, ecology, and engineering, its operationalization has been misapplied in a manner that is easily rectified.
1.55 μm InGaAs-InP Quantum Wire Optical Modulators: Optimization of Wire Width to Maximize Absorption and Index of Refraction Changes Due to Excitonic Transitions

Quantum wire/dot modulators offer superior performance over their quantum counterpart due to enhanced excitonic binding energy. This paper presents simulations on InGaAs-InP quantum wire Stark effect optical modulators showing a novel trend. While the excitonic binding energies and absorption coefficients increase as the width of the wire is decreased, the refractive index change Δn is maximized at a wire width depending on the magnitude of the applied electric field. For example, Δn is maximized at a width of about 100A for an external electric field of 120kV/cm in an InGaAs quantum wire. This behavior is explained by considering the opposing effects of the wire width on binding energy and changes in the electron-hole overlap function in the presence of an external electric field. Practical InGaAs-InP modulators using V-groove structures are also presented.
Systemic activation of the complement system in patients with advanced age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose:To examine the role of systemic activation of the complement system (assessed by levels of circulating C3a, Ba, and sC5b-9) in patients (n = 122) with advanced age-related macular degenerat...
Applicability of Criteria for Empirically Validated Treatments to Family Interventions for Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

One in every 400–500 African American babies carries a diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD, a congenital, hereditary hematologic disorder places youth at risk for developing potentially serious and life threatening disease related medical problems. Many SCD youth manifest neurocognitive impairments and learning problems, externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, and problematic disease coping. Compared to control families, families with an SCD child have more conflict and lower levels of family organization. In contrast to the burgeoning research on medical advances, few researchers have examined the psychological sequelae of SCD or effective psychosocial interventions. With America's changing health care climate, the need for psychologists to work with medically ill individuals in primary care settings is increasing. In response to this need and to the 1995 American Psychological Association's guidelines for treatment efficacy studies, a manualized family-oriented treatment program for pediatric SCD patients was developed. This paper discusses the strengths and challenges associated with implementing a culturally and developmentally sensitive manual-based family intervention for a low SES African American chronically ill population. Possible solutions to the challenges of conducting family-oriented intervention efficacy studies with pediatric populations are presented.
FastestER: a web application to enable effective emergency department service

The purpose of this project was the development of a web application, that allow users to find the Emergency Department that provides the best timely and effective care in a defined area. The inputs that the user must provide are a location ZIP code and a maximum radius in miles. The output is a list of ED in the defined area and each one is associated to a "timely and effective care index" that can be used as an indicator of quality care and estimate travel time to the corresponding ED.
Chryseobacterium indologenes, an Emerging Bacteria: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Chryseobacterium indologenes are aerobic, Gram negative, nonfermentative rods that are intrinsically multi-drug resistant. Reported infections include bacteremia, pneumonia, meningitis, myositis, keratitis, and indwelling devices. We present the clinical course of a 52-year-old African male with a medical history of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in hemodialysis with multiple episodes of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) presenting with symptoms of chills, malaise, and localized erythema on insertion site of permacath. Blood cultures obtained from catheter showed C. indologenes. Successful response was obtained with piperacillin/tazobactam based on sensitivity and removal of indwelling catheter. Given the increase in the number of cases reported in the literature, guidelines for the management of this pathogen should be considered.
Specific Isoforms of the Guanine-Nucleotide Exchange Factor dPix Couple Neuromuscular Synapse Growth to Muscle Growth.

Summary Developmental growth requires coordination between the growth rates of individual tissues and organs. Here, we examine how Drosophila neuromuscular synapses grow to match the size of their target muscles. We show that changes in muscle growth driven by autonomous modulation of insulin receptor signaling produce corresponding changes in synapse size, with each muscle affecting only its presynaptic motor neuron branches. This scaling growth is mechanistically distinct from synaptic plasticity driven by neuronal activity and requires increased postsynaptic differentiation induced by insulin receptor signaling in muscle. We identify the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor dPix as an effector of insulin receptor signaling. Alternatively spliced dPix isoforms that contain a specific exon are necessary and sufficient for postsynaptic differentiation and scaling growth, and their mRNA levels are regulated by insulin receptor signaling. These findings define a mechanism by which the same signaling pathway promotes both autonomous muscle growth and non-autonomous synapse growth.
Idiographic Dynamics of Positive Affect in GAD: Modeling Emotion Regulation at the Person Level

Abstract. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with worry and emotion regulation difficulties. The contrast-avoidance model suggests that individuals with GAD use worry to regulate emot...
Interviews Exploring Emerging Adults’ Everyday Life Gender Norm Experiences, Media Gender Norm Perceptions, and Future Gender Norm Expectations

In a culture where media increasingly permeate everyday life experiences, this study explores where emerging adult interviewees acquire gender norm information and how this information is applied to future gender norm expectations. Qualitative research has considered emerging adults’ future life expectations; however, it has not concurrently explored everyday life gender norm experiences, media gender norm perceptions, and future gender norm expectations in family and career. This study’s 20 in-depth interviews (M age = 19.05 years) with male and female undergraduate students were analyzed using grounded theory method (GTM). Findings revealed interviewees used everyday life gender norm experiences to support or challenge media gender norm perceptions. The majority of interviewees also perceived media undergoing a “shift” to mirror everyday life gender norm experiences. Additionally, interviewees often discussed childhood everyday life experiences rather than media perceptions when articulating future gender norm expectations. However, while most female interviewees expected to manage future household, childcare, and career responsibilities, male interviewees expected a 50/50 split, to take part in less childcare, and expected future partners to work, contributing to household finances. The discussion considers the ways the interviewees integrated everyday life and media gender norms in conversation, how they may use these realms to shape future expectations, and the consequences that might arise if these expectations are not met.
Unfolded Protein Response: A Regulator of the Endothelial Barrier

Recent evidence suggest that the endothelial barrier function is enhanced by the mild activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), which aims to suppress abnormal increases of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Heat shock protein 90 inhibitors and growth hormone releasing hormone antagonists exert the capacity to activate this multifaceted cellular mechanism (UPR). Thus, investigations on the signalling network involved in those events, may deliver exciting opportunities in diseases related to endothelial barrier dysfunction. The diverse spectrum of those pathologies include sepsis and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
A low-cost, wearable, do-it-yourself functional near-infrared spectroscopy (DIY-fNIRS) headband.

Abstract Neuromonitoring in naturalistic environments is of increasing interest for a variety of research fields including psychology, economics, and productivity. Among functional neuromonitoring modalities, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is well regarded for its potential for miniaturization, good spatial and temporal resolutions, and resilience to motion artifacts. Historically, the large size and high cost of fNIRS systems have precluded widespread adoption of the technology. In this article, we describe the first open source, fully integrated wireless fNIRS headband system with a single LED-pair source and four detectors. With ease of operation and comfort in mind, the system is encased in a soft, lightweight cloth and silicone enclosure. Accompanying computer and smartphone data collection software have also been provided, and the hardware has been validated using classic fNIRS tasks. This wear-and-go design can easily be scaled to accommodate a larger number of fNIRS channels and opens the door to easily collecting fNIRS data during routine activities in naturalistic conditions.
P81 Extension Nutrition Educators and Community Stakeholders Perceive the Healthfulness of Their Under-Resourced Florida Communities Differently

Background Community stakeholders and Extension nutrition educators (NEs) are invested in the health of their under-resourced communities and should be included in the development of interventions designed to improve the health of their residents. These groups understand barriers and facilitators to healthy living that can help inform appropriate health interventions. As perceptions can differ, input from both groups can provide a more well-rounded approach. Objective To compare Extension NE and community stakeholder perceptions on the healthfulness of the environment of under-resourced communities in the 5 Florida Extension districts Study Design, Settings, Participants Focus groups (n = 8) with Extension NEs (N = 49) and in-depth interviews (n = 10) with community stakeholders were conducted using semi-structured scripts following the Social Cognitive Theory to explore perceptions on the healthfulness of the communities. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Focus groups and in-depth interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Cross-tab analysis was used to compare data from the districts’ participants. Results Overall, participants described healthy eating and physical activity as the main components of a healthy lifestyle. They also viewed access to and availability of food as an essential part of a healthy community. While both NEs and stakeholders perceived food access (Northwest, Southwest), safety (Central), and lack of education (Southeast) as major barriers to a healthy lifestyle, NEs also identified lack of knowledge and education as major barriers, whereas stakeholders perceived financial constraints (ie, unemployment) as the primary challenge. When asked about resources available to address challenges, NEs (all districts) did not perceive many, which they attributed to a lack of promotion of resources. In contrast, stakeholders (all districts) perceived multiple opportunities available but noted a lack of participation from community members. Conclusion Extension NEs and community stakeholders provide unique perspectives about barriers and opportunities in the under-resourced communities they serve. Differences among the districts and between participants highlight diverse characteristics of these communities, which should be considered when developing interventions.
The protective effect of operant social reward on cocaine self-administration, choice, and relapse is dependent on delay and effort for the social reward

Social reinforcement-based treatments are effective for many, but not all, people with addictions to drugs. We recently developed an operant rat model that mimics features of one such treatment, the community-reinforcement approach. In this model, rats uniformly choose social interaction over methamphetamine or heroin. Abstinence induced by social preference protects against the incubation of drug-seeking that would emerge during forced abstinence. Here, we determined whether these findings generalize to cocaine and whether delaying or increasing effort for social interaction could reveal possibly human-relevant individual differences in responsiveness. We trained male and female rats for social self-administration (6 days) and then for cocaine self-administration, initially for 2-h/day for 4 days, and then for 12-h/day continuously or intermittently for 8 days. We assessed relapse to cocaine seeking after 1 and 15 days. Between tests, the rats underwent either forced abstinence or social-choice-induced abstinence. After establishing stable social preference, we manipulated the delay for both rewards or for social reward alone, or the response requirements (effort) for social reward. Independent of cocaine-access conditions and sex, operant social interaction inhibited cocaine self-administration and prevented incubation of cocaine seeking. Preference for social access was decreased by the delay of both rewards or social reward alone, or by increased response requirements for social reward, with notable individual variability. This choice procedure can identify mechanisms of individual differences in an animal model of cocaine use and could thereby help screen medications for people who are relatively unresponsive to treatments based on rewarding social interaction.
A refined efficiency rate for ordinary least squares and generalized least squares estimators for a linear trend with autoregressive errors

When a straight line is fitted to time series data, generalized least squares (GLS) estimators of the trend slope and intercept are attractive as they are unbiased and of minimum variance. However, computing GLS estimators is laborious as their form depends on the autocovariances of the regression errors. On the other hand, ordinary least squares (OLS) estimators are easy to compute and do not involve the error autocovariance structure. It has been known for 50 years that OLS and GLS estimators have the same asymptotic variance when the errors are second-order stationary. Hence, little precision is gained by using GLS estimators in stationary error settings. This article revisits this classical issue, deriving explicit expressions for the GLS estimators and their variances when the regression errors are drawn from an autoregressive process. These expressions are used to show that OLS methods are even more efficient than previously thought. Specifically, we show that the convergence rate of variance differences is one polynomial degree higher than that of least squares estimator variances. We also refine Grenander's (1954) variance ratio. An example is presented where our new rates cannot be improved upon. Simulations show that the results change little when the autoregressive parameters are estimated.
A Moebius matrix representation for real symmetric Toeplitz matrices

Several representations of real symmetric Toeplitz matrices are known. The Caratheodory representation is built on Vandermonde and diagonal matrices. The LU decomposition is used in linear prediction. Here a new representation of the real symmetric Toeplitz matrix is introduced as the sum of a class of Moebius matrices. The class of Moebius matrices M used here maps Toeplitz matrices T onto Toeplitz matrices via the transformation T/sub 1/=M*TM. Using the properties this class of Moebius matrices one can reformulate the problem as a Prony spectral estimation problem.
Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination: Its use with unilateral stroke patients in a rehabilitation setting

Abstract The Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE) was administered to 12 patients with right unilateral stroke and 12 with left unilateral stroke and to 12 orthopedic, non-brain-dysfunctional patients who were matched in age and education, for the purpose of studying its usefulness in characterizing cognitive deficits in a stroke rehabilitation population. MANOVA demonstrated significant differences (Phillai's trace, p = .007) between the stroke groups and the controls, but not between the unilateral stroke groups. Significant univariate F s ( F [2,3], p
Histidine regulation in Salmonella typhimurium. XI. The percentage of transfer RNA His charged in vivo and its relation to the repression of the histidine operon.

The cellular concentration of charged transfer RNA His is shown to be directly correlated with the repression of the histidine operon in Salmonella typhimurium . This conclusion is based on determinations of the amounts of charged and total tRNA His , tRNA Val and tRNA Arg present in vivo in exponentially growing cells of the wild type and of the six classes of regulatory mutants of the histidine biosynthetic operon. The derepression observed in the regulatory mutants hisS (histidyl-tRNA synthetase gene), hisR (tRNA His structural gene), and hisU and hisW (genes presumably involved in tRNA maturation) may be explained by the lesser amount of charged tRNA His which these mutants contain. However, mutants in the hisT gene (coding for a dispensable tRNA modification enzyme: uridine to pseudouridine) contain wild-type levels of charged and total tRNA His , yet are derepressed. HisT tRNA His then, is a tRNA functional in the charging reaction and protein synthesis, but defective in repression. Mutants in hisO (the operator gene), as expected, contain wild-type levels of charged tRNA His . Exponentially growing cells of wild type bacteria have about 77% of their tRNA His charged and 23% uncharged. Adding external histidine increases the percentage of charged tRNA His to 88%, which is consistent with the known increase in the pool of histidine in the cell and the K m of the histidyl-tRNA synthetase for histidine. Bacteria derepressed physiologically, due to a partial defect in histidine biosynthesis, contain 12% charged and 88% uncharged tRNA His . Addition of histidine or triazolealanine (a histidine analogue effective in causing repression) to this strain restores charging to the wild-type level. It is shown that a modification of the Folk & Berg (1970) method for the determination of the tRNA charging in vivo gives precise and accurate results.
Inactivation of Semicircular Canals Causes Adaptive Increases in Otolith-driven Tilt Responses

Growing experimental and theoretical evidence suggests a functional synergy in the processing of otolith and semicircular canal signals for the generation of the vestibulo-ocular reflexes (VORs). I...
Elevated Tumor-Associated Antigen Expression Suppresses Variant Peptide Vaccine Responses

Variant peptide vaccines are used clinically to expand T cells that cross-react with tumor-associated Ags (TAA). To investigate the effects of elevated endogenous TAA expression on variant peptide-induced responses, we used the GP70 TAA model. Although young BALB/c mice display T cell tolerance to the TAA GP70(423-431) (AH1), expression of GP70 and suppression of AH1-specific responses increases with age. We hypothesized that as TAA expression increases, the AH1 cross-reactivity of variant peptide-elicited T cell responses diminishes. Controlling for immunosenescence, we showed that elevated GP70 expression suppressed AH1 cross-reactive responses elicited by two AH1 peptide variants. A variant that elicited almost exclusively AH1 cross-reactive T cells in young mice elicited few or no T cells in aging mice with Ab-detectable GP70 expression. In contrast, a variant that elicited a less AH1 cross-reactive T cell response in young mice successfully expanded AH1 cross-reactive T cells in all aging mice tested. However, these T cells bound the AH1/MHC complex with a relatively short half-life and responded poorly to ex vivo stimulation with the AH1 peptide. Variant peptide vaccine responses were also suppressed when AH1 peptide is administered tolerogenically to young mice before vaccination. Analyses of variant-specific precursor T cells from naive mice with Ab-detectable GP70 expression determined that these T cells expressed PD-1 and had downregulated IL-7Rα expression, suggesting they were anergic or undergoing deletion. Although variant peptide vaccines were less effective as TAA expression increases, data presented in this article also suggest that complementary immunotherapies may induce the expansion of T cells with functional TAA recognition.
Promiscuity in protein-RNA interactions: Conformational ensembles facilitate molecular recognition in the spliceosome

Here I discuss findings that suggest a universal mechanism for proteins (and RNA) to recognize and interact with various binding partners by selectively binding to different conformations that pre-exist in the free protein's conformational ensemble. The tandem RNA recognition motif domains of splicing factor U2AF⁶⁵ fluctuate in solution between a predominately closed conformation in which the RNA binding site of one of the domains is blocked, and a lowly populated open conformation in which both RNA binding pockets are accessible. RNA binding to U2AF⁶⁵ may thus occur through the weakly populated open conformation, and the binding interaction stabilizes the open conformation. The conformational diversity observed in U2AF⁶⁵ might also facilitate binding to diverse RNA sequences as found in the polypyrimidine tracts that help define 3' splice sites. Similar binding pathways in other systems have important consequences in biological regulation, molecular evolution, and information storage.
Multifunctional Particles: Magnetic Nanocrystals and Gold Nanorods Coated with Fluorescent Dye-Doped Silica Shells.

Multifunctional colloidal core-shell nanoparticles of magnetic nanocrystals (of iron oxide or FePt) or gold nanorods encapsulated in silica shells doped with the fluorescent dye, Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II) hexahydrate (Rubpy) were synthesized. The as-prepared magnetic nanocrystals are initially hydrophobic and were coated with silica using a microemulsion approach, while the as-prepared gold nanorods are hydrophilic and were coated with silica using a Stober-type of process. Each approach yielded monodisperse nanoparticles with uniform fluorescent dye-doped silica shells. These colloidal heterostructures have the potential to be used as dual-purpose tags-exhibiting a fluorescent signal that could be combined with either dark-field optical contrast (in the case of the gold nanorods), or enhanced contrast in magnetic resonance images (in the case of magnetic nanocrystal cores). The optical and magnetic properties of the fluorescent silica-coated gold nanorods and magnetic nanocrystals are reported.
Phantom metastases in trophoblastic disease.

. Kohorn EI. Phantom metastases in trophoblastic disease. Trophoblastic disease occasionally presents with apparent metastases that turn out to be lesions not associated with the trophoblastic tumor. In this article, we present one case of a cerebellar hemangioma, two of lung and mediastinal teratoma, and one of pulmonary granuloma masquerading as metastases from trophoblastic disease. If an apparent metastasis associated with trophoblastic tumor does not accord with the clinical diagnosis, look for an independent cause.
Combined photoelectron, collision-induced dissociation, and computational studies of parent and fragment anions of N-paranitrophenylsulfonylalanine and N-paranitrophenylalanine.

After synthesizing the compounds N-paranitrophenylsulfonylalanine (NPNPSA) and N-paranitrophenylalanine (NPNPA), the photoelectron spectrum of the valence anion of N-paranitrophenylsulfonylalanine (NPNPSA)−, was measured and the collision-induced dissociation (CID) pathways of deprotonated N-paranitrophenylsulfonylalanine (NPNPSA-H)− and deprotonated N-paranitrophenylalanine (NPNPA-H)− were determined. Pertinent calculations were conducted to analyze both sets of experimental data. From the valence anion photoelectron spectrum of (NPNPSA)−, the adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) of NPNPSA was determined to be 1.7 ± 0.1 eV, while the vertical detachment energy (VDE) of (NPNPSA)− was found to be 2.3 ± 0.1 eV. Calculations for four low lying conformers of (NPNPSA)− gave AEA values in the range of 1.6–2.1 eV and VDE values in the range of 2.0–2.4 eV. These calculations are in very good agreement with the experimental values. While the NPNPA anion (NPNPSA)− was not observed experimentally it was studied computationally. The six low lying (NPNPSA)− conformers were identified and calculated to have AEA values in the range of 0.7–1.2 eV and VDE values in the range of 0.9–1.6 eV. CID was used to study the fragmentation patterns of deprotonated NPNPA and deprotonated NPNPSA. Based on the CID data and calculations, the excess charge was located on the delocalized π-orbitals of the nitrobenzene moiety. This is made evident by the fact that the dominant fragments all contained the nitrobenzene moiety even though the parent anions used for the CID study were formed via deprotonation of the carboxylic acid. The dipole-bound anions of both molecules are studied theoretically using the results of previous studies on nitrobenzene as a reference.
Scientists on screen

Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema by Christopher Frayling Reaktion Books, London, UK 256 pp, $35/£20 ISBN 1861892551 ![][1] Young school‐children, when asked to draw a picture of a scientist, typically produce an image of a man in a white lab coat with wild eyes, dishevelled hair, and a test tube in his hand. This image comes, Christopher Frayling argues, from movies and television programmes, where it has been steadily refined—but little changed—over the course of decades. Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema , which begins and ends with children's images of scientists, is Frayling's exploration of the changing image of scientists in feature films: the first attempt to do for movies what Roslynn Haynes' From Faust to Strangelove did for literature. It is commendable in intent but deeply flawed in execution. The subtitle and preface to Mad, Bad and Dangerous? promise a comprehensive, wide‐ranging view of the subject, which the book utterly fails to deliver. Virtually its entire treatment of … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
NUMERICAL TESTS OF THE CHIRAL LUTTINGER LIQUID THEORY FOR FRACTIONAL HALL EDGES

We report on microscopic numerical studies that support the chiral Luttinger liquid theory of the fractional Hall edge proposed by Wen. Our calculations are based in part on newly proposed and accurate many-body trial wave functions for the low-energy edge excitations of fractional incompressible states.
Orientation of Electro-optic Chromophores under Poling Conditions: A Spheroidal Model

Organic-based chromophores are used as a basic material for electo-optic (EO) devices. The chromophores, to act in an EO material, must be acentrically aligned, which is generally achieved by applying an electric poling field. Calculating, from first principles, the extent of the alignment has proven to be challenging. Therefore, to gain an understanding of the interplay of the fundamental forces that determine alignment, we have chosen to study a coarse-grained model of chromophores: Each chromophore is replaced by a single spheroid, containing a dipole at its center, which interacts with neighboring spheroids only through electrostatic dipolar interactions and a Lennard-Jones potential at the surface of the spheroid. We have found, using NPT and NVT MC simulations that, when the spheroids are allowed to move off-lattice with any orientation, the acentric order from spheroids with varied aspect ratios gives an averaged order which is always lower than that obtained by spheres. The predictions of the ord...
Mycobacterium smegmatis Ku binds DNA without free ends

Ku is central to the non-homologous end-joining pathway of double-strand-break repair in all three major domains of life, with eukaryotic homologues being associated with more diversified roles compared with prokaryotic and archaeal homologues. Ku has a conserved central ‘ring-shaped’ core domain. While prokaryotic homologues lack the N- and C-terminal domains that impart functional diversity to eukaryotic Ku, analyses of Ku from certain prokaryotes such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium smegmatis have revealed the presence of distinct C-terminal extensions that modulate DNA-binding properties. We report in the present paper that the lysine-rich C-terminal extension of M. smegmatis Ku contacts the core protein domain as evidenced by an increase in DNA-binding affinity and a decrease in thermal stability and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence upon its deletion. Ku deleted for this C-terminus requires free DNA ends for binding, but translocates to internal DNA sites. In contrast, full-length Ku can directly bind DNA without free ends, suggesting that this property is conferred by its C-terminus. Such binding to internal DNA sites may facilitate recruitment to sites of DNA damage. The results of the present study also suggest that extensions beyond the shared core domain may have independently evolved to expand Ku function.
The Philippines is Marlboro Country for Youth Smoking: Results from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS):

The purpose of this study was to determine cigarette brand preference trends and differences in Marlboro smokers in smoking-related attitudes and behaviors from smokers of other brands. This study analyzed data from 25,027 adolescents represented in the 2000, 2003, and 2007 Philippine Global Youth Tobacco Surveys. Results indicated that from 2000 to 2007 Marlboro clearly became the most preferred brand in both boys and girls. Further, Marlboro smokers were found to exhibit a stronger commitment to smoking, to smoke more frequently, and to hold more positive images of smoking compared to other brand smokers. Tobacco control efforts in the Philippines may benefit from educational and policy initiatives that lead to aggressive counter marketing efforts to address the industry's efforts to portray positive images of smoking.
Role of extravesicular adenosine triphosphate and apparent vesicular energy conservation reactions in retention of norepinephrine by adrenergic nerve endings.

Abstract Amine storage vesicles in adrenergic nerve endings were metabolically isolated by autodialysis of heart slices. This technique replaces endogenous metabolic substrates with exogenous substrates alone or together with metabolic inhibitors. Retention of stored norepinephrine was metabolically dependent upon: (1) glycolysis in the presence of glucose and antimycin A or 2,4-dinitrophenool, or anaerobic glycolysis, and (2) respiratory metabolism in the presence of pyruvate. Both pathways are known to supply adenosine triphosphate which was apparently utilized for the active reuptake of a mobile pool of norepinephrine. In the presence of pyruvate, the retention of a more stable pool of norepinephrine was markedly inhibited by the metabolic inhibitors antimycin A and 2,4-dinitrophenol, but slightly inhibited by oligomycin and atractyloside. The spectrum of inhibition suggests a non-mitochondrial (possibly vesicular) site of energy conservation. It is concluded that physically isolated nerve vesicles, which do not retain norepinephrine at 37°C in the presence of magnesium and adenosine triphosphate, cannot function normally in the absence of extra-vesicular metabolites.
Functional dissection of ultrabithorax proteins in D. melanogaster

Expression of Ultrabithorax (UBX) proteins via a heat-inducible promoter generated homeotic transformations of segmental identities in the embryonic cuticle and peripheral nervous system (PNS) of Drosophila and transformed antennae into legs in the adult. The embryonic transformations were used to determine the identity functions of members of the UBX family and UBX mutant forms. Whereas UBX forms I and IV each induced the cuticle transformations, only form I induced the PNS transformations. Analysis of the transformations generated by UBX deletions and by a chimeric Ultrabithorax-Antennapedia protein demonstrated that the majority of the UBX identity information is contained within the C-terminal, homeodomain-containing portion of the protein. Implications of these results for how homeotic proteins select particular metameric identities are discussed.
Oral immunization of rabbits against Pasteurella multocida with an alginate microsphere delivery system.

Oral delivery of microencapsulated antigens is a potential means to vaccinate rabbits against Pasteurella multocida, a common bacterial pathogen. Groups of five rabbits were dosed orally on days 0, 7, and 14 with alginate microspheres prepared to contain no added protein, 5 mg of a potassium thiocyanate extract of P. multocida (PTE), or 5 mg of PTE with 200 μg of cholera toxin (CT). In addition, groups were dosed orally with 5 mg of soluble PTE with or without 200 μg CT, intranasally (IN) with 1 mg of soluble PTE, or with saline. Serum and nasal lavage samples collected prior to initial immunization and 10, 16, and 21 days later were assayed by ELISA for anti-PTE IgG and IgA. Strong nasal lavage IgA and serum IgG activities were found in samples from rabbits immunized with PTE IN or orally when incorporated into microspheres. Addition of CT did not significantly enhance either response. To examine the development of protective immunity, groups were similarly immunized and challenge-exposed IN on day 16 wi...
The rapid determination of aflatoxin M1 in dairy products

A method for aflatoxin M1 in dairy products is presented. It decreases the analysis time compared to currently accepted methods. Samples are extracted in a blender or separatory funnel for 1 min with chloroform and saturated sodium chloride solution. The chloroform extracts are partially purified on a small silica gel column (2 g), and M1 is determined by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and densitometry. Recoveries of M1 added to milk are about 80%. Recovery of M1 from cheeses is variable depending on the type of cheese. The method gave results for a naturally contaminated powdered milk comparable to analyses by accepted methods. The determination limit of the method is about 0.1 μg/kg.
Stress-Induced Mechanotransduction: Some Preliminaries

Mechanical stimuli affect nearly every aspect of cellular function, yet the underlying mechanisms of transduction of force into biochemical signals are not clearly understood. One hypothesis is that forces transmitted via individual proteins, either at the site of cell adhesion to its surroundings or within the stress-bearing members of the cytoskeleton, cause conformational changes that change their binding affinity to other intracellular molecules. This altered equilibrium state can subsequently initiate biochemical signaling cascades of produce immediate structural changes. This paper addresses the distribution of forces within the cell resulting from specific mechanical stimuli, computed using a 3-D multi compartment, continuum, viscoelastic finite element model, and uses these to estimate the forces transmitted by individual proteins and protein complexes. These levels of force are compared to those known to produce conformational changes in cytoskeletal proteins, as speculated from magnetocytometry observations and computed by molecular dynamics.Copyright © 2003 by ASME