cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Addressing the Invisible Affliction: An Assessment of Behavioral Health Services for Newly Resettled Refugees in the United States

The behavioral health needs of refugees in the USA remain insufficiently studied due to a lack of data on their assessment, referral, and treatment during the resettlement process. This study examines the current behavioral health service provisions for this population through individual interviews of refugee resettlement agency staff in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and a nationwide survey of state refugee health coordinators. The results reveal shortfalls in behavioral health screening, clinical resources, and other federally mandated services along with linguistic and cultural obstacles facing refugees with potential behavioral health needs. This study offers actionable policy and procedural recommendations on the federal, state, and local levels to address these shortfalls. This includes increasing funding for healthcare entitlement programs and refugee resettlement agencies, improving screening procedures and treatment protocols, expanding federal and state oversight of mandated behavioral health services, and establishing community-partnered programs to reduce cultural and stigma-related barriers to behavior health care.
FUNCTIONALLY ABNORMAL α 2 -MACROGLOBULIN (α 2 M) IN CYSTIC FIBROSIS (CF)

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated the absence of an α2M-protease complex in activatad plasma of patients with CF (Padlat. Res. 10:812, 1976). Recently we have documented decreasad complex formation of CF α2M with various andoproteases as compared to normal α2M; CF heterozygotes gave intermediate values (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 71:864, 1976). This study was undertaken in ordar to furthar characterize the differences in the α2M from CF patients as compared to normal controls. The kinetic properties of purified α2M from 3 healthy donors were compared to those of α2M from 3 patients with CF. The binding affinity of α2M to bovine trypsin was determined from its inhibition of benzoyl-arginine ethyl ester hydrolysis by trypsin. A typical competitive inhibition was obtained with a Ki value of 6 × 10−7 M for normal α2M and of 3 × 10−6 M for CF α2M. The Km value for α2M-trypsin complex for this substrate was 5 × 10−4 M for normal α2M-trypsin complex and 4 × 10−5 M for the CF α2M complex. Upon incubation at 38° C, the normal α2M-trypsin complex gradually regained partial activity towards high molecular weight substrate and susceptibility to soybean trypsin inhibitor inhibition. In contrast, this phenomenon could not be demonstrated with the CF α2M-trypsin complexes. These studies provide additional evidence that the α2M in CF is functionally abnormal and provide an explanation for tha presence of the various CF factors of a polypeptide nature.
Using Semantic Clustering And Autoencoders For Detecting Novelty In Corpora Of Short Texts

Semantic analysis of text corpora is of broad utility, including for data from conversations, on-line chats, brainstorming sessions, comments on blogs, etc. – all of which are potentially interesting sources of information and ideas. In the present paper, we look at data from a large group brainstorming experiment that generated thousands of mostly brief statements. The ultimate goal is to detect which statements are semantically atypical within the overall corpus. In contexts such as spam detection or detection of on-line intrusions, autoencoders have been used successfully to separate typical from atypical data, and we consider this approach in the present paper. Texts are embedded in a semantic space obtained through topic analysis, and an autoencoder network is used to reconstruct each embedded text. The results show that, while difficulty of reconstruction is related to quantitative measures of atypicality in the embedding vector space, it is not well correlated with novelty assignments made by a human rater. However, this is not the case when the data is first clustered in the embedding space: The reconstruction error for each data cluster indicates that some clusters represent more novel data than others, and that the inverse size of the cluster and the mean reconstruction error of the texts in the cluster capture this well. In particular, autoencoders that enforce dimensionality reduction improve discrimination. The results also show that, in the reconstruction process, the autoencoder implicitly discovers the same clusters in the data that are discovered explicitly by an optimized k-means approach.
Recent Literature on Bryophytes—106(4)

KONSTANTINOVA, N. A., V. A. BAKALIN, A. D. POTEMKIN & M. S. IGNATOV. 2002. Hepatic flora of the Upper Bureya River (Russian Far East). Arctoa 11: 393–398. KONSTANTINOVA, N. A. & O. V. LAVRINENKO. 2002. On flora of Hepaticae of the Nenets Autonomous Area (Arkhangelsk Region, north-eastern European Russia). Botaniceskij urnal (St. Petersburg) 87(9): 43–50. [In Russian with English summary; Calycularia laxa new to Europe and Lophozia pellucida new to European
Optimizing efficiency and skill utilization: Analysis of genetic counselors' attitudes regarding delegation in a clinical setting

This study assessed genetic counselors' (GCs) perceptions of delegation as a tool to increase workforce efficiency and help meet the current gap between the number of genetic service providers and the number of patients. GCs were recruited to participate via an online survey that assessed activities (categorized as typical genetic counseling, administrative, or professional development) performed by a clinical genetic counselor. Respondents indicated which activities represent their largest time consumers, their willingness to delegate these activities, and barriers to and perceived outcomes of delegation. Overall, respondents indicated that they spend 25% of their time performing administrative activities that they would largely be willing to delegate; however, respondents were generally unwilling to delegate many typical genetic counseling and professional development activities, citing concerns regarding accuracy and liability, and highlighting the belief that these activities constitute the core role of a genetic counselor. Respondents indicated that delegation of time-consuming administrative activities would increase access to genetic services and improve job satisfaction. Additionally, differences were identified among clinical specialties regarding which activities were selected as top time consumers, indicating that potential targets of re-allocation of time or delegation may be variable. This research indicates a need to reduce the number of administrative tasks in which GCs are directly involved to re-allocate time toward core responsibilities, direct patient care, and professional development, the result of which is more efficient use of the GC skill-set.
Estimating the impact of multiple immunization products on medically-attended respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants.

Abstract Background Palivizumab, a monoclonal antibody and the only licensed immunization product for preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, is recommended for children with certain high-risk conditions. Other antibody products and maternal vaccines targeting young infants are in clinical development. Few studies have compared products closest to potential licensure and have primarily focused on the effects on hospitalizations only. Estimates of the impact of these products on medically-attended (MA) infections in a variety of healthcare settings are needed to assist with developing RSV immunization recommendations. Methods We developed a tool for practicing public health officials to estimate the impact of immunization strategies on RSV-associated MA lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in various healthcare settings among infants Results We estimated without immunization, 407,360 (range: 339,650–475,980) LRTIs are attended annually in outpatient clinics, 147,240 (126,070–168,510) in emergency departments (EDs), and 33,180 (24,760–42,900) in hospitals. A passive antibody candidate targeting all infants prevented the most LRTIs: 196,470 (48% of visits without immunization) outpatient clinic visits (range: 163,810–229,650), 75,250 (51%) EDs visits (64,430–86,090), and 18,140 (55%) hospitalizations (13,770–23,160). A strategy combining maternal vaccine candidate and palivizumab prevented 58,210 (14% of visits without immunization) LRTIs in outpatient clinics (range: 48,520–67,970), 19,580 (13%) in EDs (16,760–22,400), and 8,190 (25%) hospitalizations (6,390–10,150). Conclusions Results underscore the potential for anticipated products to reduce serious RSV illness. Our tool (provided to readers) can be used by different jurisdictions and accept updated data. Results can aid economic evaluations and public health decision-making regarding RSV immunization products.
CRL: Class Representative Learning for Image Classification.

Building robust and real-time classifiers with diverse datasets are one of the most significant challenges to deep learning researchers. It is because there is a considerable gap between a model built with training (seen) data and real (unseen) data in applications. Recent works including Zero-Shot Learning (ZSL), have attempted to deal with this problem of overcoming the apparent gap through transfer learning. In this paper, we propose a novel model, called Class Representative Learning Model (CRL), that can be especially effective in image classification influenced by ZSL. In the CRL model, first, the learning step is to build class representatives to represent classes in datasets by aggregating prominent features extracted from a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Second, the inferencing step in CRL is to match between the class representatives and new data. The proposed CRL model demonstrated superior performance compared to the current state-of-the-art research in ZSL and mobile deep learning. The proposed CRL model has been implemented and evaluated in a parallel environment, using Apache Spark, for both distributed learning and recognition. An extensive experimental study on the benchmark datasets, ImageNet-1K, CalTech-101, CalTech-256, CIFAR-100, shows that CRL can build a class distribution model with drastic improvement in learning and recognition performance without sacrificing accuracy compared to the state-of-the-art performances in image classification.
Gastrointestinal Distention Masquerading as ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Abstract ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the most serious manifestation of acute coronary syndrome. A variety of noncardiac conditions can mimic STEMI on electrocardiography (ECG). We describe a case of gastrointestinal distention and ileus masquerading as STEMI on ECG and posits a mechanism for this effect. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.)
The trouble with standards of proof

The “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of proof, currently used in criminal trials, is notoriously vague and undermotivated. This paper discusses two popular strategies for justifying our choice of a particular precise interpretation of the standard: the “ratio-to-standard strategy” identifies a desired ratio of trial outcomes and then argues that a certain standard is the one that we can expect to produce our desired ratio, while the “utilities-to-standard strategy” identifies utilities for trial outcomes and then argues that a certain standard maximizes expected utility. I argue that both strategies fail on their own terms, by requiring us to perform calculations that we simply cannot perform. No version of either strategy can be performed by jurors or legislators in our actual epistemic position, in which, since we do not know which of the defendants in our trial system are genuinely innocent and which are genuinely guilty, we cannot determine the extent to which our trial system tends to produce evidence that misleadingly incriminates the innocent or misleadingly exonerates the guilty. But we would need to determine this in order to perform the calculations required by any possible version of the ratio-to-standard or utilities-to-standard strategies. I then suggest some empirical reasons to be pessimistic about the evidence produced by our actual trial system. The upshot is that the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard lacks a clear interpretation and rationale, nor do we have a promising way to identify an alternative. This is the trouble with standards of proof.
Taguchi Design of Experiment Enabling the Reduction of Spikes on the Sides of Patterned Thin Films for Tunnel Junction Fabrication

Photolithographically patterned thin films often possess unwanted spikes along the side edges. These spikes are a significant issue for the development of spinvalve memory, tunnel junction based molecular devices, and micro-electromechanical systems. Here, we report a very simple, economical, and fast way of creating an optimum photoresist profile for the production of spike-free patterned films. This approach is based on performing a soaking step in the positive-photoresist’s developer solution before the UV exposure. However, the success of this method depends on multiple photolithography factors: photoresist thickness (governed by spin speed), soft baking temperature, soaking time in developer, and exposure time. In this paper, we report our systematic experiments to study the effect of these factors by following the L9 experimental scheme of the Taguchi Design of experiment (TDOE) approach. The L9 experiment scheme effectively accommodated the study of four photolithography factors, each with three levels. After performing photolithography as per L9 TDOE scheme, we sputter deposited 20 nm Tantalum to check the side edge profile of the patterned film by atomic force microscope (AFM). We measured the heights of the spikes along the thin film edges. We utilized spike height as the desired property and chose “smaller the better” criteria for the TDOE analysis. TDOE enabled us to understand the relative importance of the parameters, relationship among the parameters, and impact of the various levels of the parameters on the thin film edge profile. TDOE analysis yielded an optimum combination of levels for the four photolithography factors. The optimum combination of photolithography factors included spin speed 4000 rpm, 100 °C soft baking temperature, 60 sec pre-soaking in the developer solution, and 15 sec UV exposure. We validated the TDOE by AFM and observed spike free patterned films. We also made complete tunnel junction devices by utilizing the optimized photolithography factors for the bottom electrode and obtained excellent tunneling behavior. In summary, this study provides a very simple, economical, and fast photolithography approach for creating optimum photoresist profile for the micro-nano scale devices and electromechanical structures.
Engineering Faculty’s Mindset and The Impact on Instructional Practices

This innovative practice work-in-progress presents instructional practice through the lens of faculty mindset. The importance of investigating novel and effective approaches to recruit, retain, and graduate students in undergraduate engineering programs from a more diverse range of cultural backgrounds is becoming a focus for researchers in the field of engineering education. A key area of investigation of retention strategies is promoting change in instructional practices used in the engineering classroom [1]. Moreover, many factors influence engineering faculty’s instructional practices and in turn affect retention and matriculation of students in engineering. Effective change strategies of engineering faculty instructional practice are tied to the belief of the individual faculty [2], [3]. While substantial research studies address the strong connection between faculty’s instructional practices and the effects on student achievement, less research focuses on how faculty’s mindset drives instructional practices and this study aims to fill this gap.Dweck’s mindset theory guided this exploratory study to evaluate the relationship between engineering faculty’s mindset and their instructional practice. The study was conducted at a Carnegie classified Doctoral/Professional University within a College of Engineering. The measurement scales of the survey included the following: 1) mindset of engineering faculty [4] and 2) instructional practice [5]. Each scale included Likert type questions with items rated on a 6-point scale that ranged from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (6). The survey instrument concluded with open-ended responses to indicate the participant’s willingness to be interviewed and demographic information.Specifically, in this paper we examined the relationship between engineering faculty’s mindset and instructional practice. Based on the small study, data trends emerged across the mindset spectrum of faculty from a fixed to a growth mindset and how this influenced their instructional design choices. This study establishes ground work for best practices that other institutions can adopt to improve engineering student retention and success through the lens of the mindset of engineering faculty.
Did the ‘Real’ Economy Turn Financial? Mapping the Contours of Financialisation in the Non-Financial Corporate Sector

The ‘financialisation’ of the economy is considered a key phenomenon of our time, but we lack large-scale empirical evidence of it. Has financialisation in the non-financial corporate sector really...
Biological Cells as Therapeutic Delivery Vehicles

One of the significant challenges remaining in the field of drug delivery is insufficient targeting of diseased tissues or cells. While efforts to perform targeted drug delivery by engineered nanoparticles have shown some success, there are underlying targeting, toxicity, and immunogenicity challenges. By contrast, live cells usually have innate targeting mechanisms, and can be used as drug-delivery vehicles to increase the efficiency with which a drug accumulates to act on the intended tissue. In some cases, when no native cell types exhibit the desired therapeutic phenotype, preferred outcomes can be achieved by genetically modifying and reprogramming cells with gene circuits. This review highlights recent advances in the use of cells to deliver therapeutics. Specifically, we discuss how red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, neutrophils, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and bacteria have been utilized to advance drug delivery.
Relationships Between Arch Height Flexibility and Medial–Lateral Ground Reaction Forces in Rearfoot and Forefoot Strike Runners

Higher medial-lateral forces have been reported in individuals with stiffer foot arches. However, this was in a small sample of military personnel who ran with a rearfoot strike pattern. Therefore, our purpose was to investigate whether runners, both rearfoot and forefoot strikers, show different associations between medial-lateral forces and arch stiffness. A group of 118 runners (80 rearfoot strikers and 38 forefoot strikers) were recruited. Ground reaction force data were collected during running on an instrumented treadmill. Arch flexibility was assessed as the difference in arch height from sitting to standing positions, and participants were classified into stiff/flexible groups. Group comparisons were performed for the ratio of medial:vertical and lateral:vertical impulses. In rearfoot strikers, runners with stiff arches demonstrated significantly higher medial:vertical impulse ratios (P = .036). Forefoot strikers also demonstrated higher proportions of medial forces; however, the mean difference did not reach statistical significance (P = .084). No differences were detected in the proportion of lateral forces between arch flexibility groups. Consistent with previous findings in military personnel, our results indicate that recreational runners with stiffer arches have a higher proportion of medial forces. Therefore, increasing foot flexibility may increase the ability to attenuate medial forces.
Assessment of QTc and Risk of Torsades de Pointes in Ventricular Conduction Delay and Pacing: A Review of the Literature and Call to Action.

Background Assessment of the heart rate–corrected QT-interval on the 12-lead electrocardiogram when prescribing medications known to increase the risk of Torsades de Pointes has become a common part of consultation-liaison psychiatry practice. Objectives Highlighted by a patient who experienced psychiatric decompensation due to inaccurate interpretation of QTc prolongation in the setting of a wide QRS complex, we aimed to describe the approach to QTc interpretation in patients with ventricular conduction delay. Methods We reviewed the current literature on the approach to assessment of prolonged repolarization in patients with ventricular conduction delay due to bundle branch block (BBB) and ventricular pacing. Results Physicians of any specialty may perform initial electrocardiogram interpretation and should be proficient in the definition, recognition, and understanding of the basic pathophysiology of electrocardiographic abnormalities. We discuss current approaches to assessment of the QT-interval in patients with a wide QRS complex due to bundle branch block and ventricular pacing, including bivariate QTc modification, univariate QT-interval modifications, and use of the JT-interval. Conclusions The QT-interval is prolonged ipso facto in patients with a wide QRS complex from ventricular conduction delay/ventricular pacing and must be adjusted for QRS duration. Multiple formulae have been proposed to account for wide QRS complex in this setting with no single universally accepted methodology. We suggest the use of either the Bogossian formula or JT-interval followed by Hodges or Framingham heart-rate correction to adjust for a wide QRS complex. It is critical that the C-L psychiatrist be able to identify a wide QRS complex on the electrocardiogram, understand implications for accurate assessment of prolonged depolarization, and apply an appropriate correction methodology.
Clinical and patient characteristics associated with severe outcome in diphenhydramine toxicity.

Diphenhydramine is frequently misused and ingested recreationally for its antihistaminergic and antimuscarinic effects and is often involved in both serious and fatal poisonings, either in isolatio...
Lifestyle modifications associated with symptom improvement in hidradenitis suppurativa patients.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition that substantially reduces patient quality of life. Many HS patients ask their dermatologist about potential lifestyle modifications, such as following particular diets or avoiding specific products, in an attempt to alleviate their symptoms. However, insufficient research has been conducted to support well-informed lifestyle modification counseling, and patients frequently defer to anecdotal endorsements of various interventions found on social media support groups. Therefore, we sought to clarify what lifestyle modifications were capable of improving HS symptoms. We conducted a survey-based study to examine modifiable risk factors and their association with the severity of HS. Five hundred and ninety-one patients with HS participated in an online survey detailing the severity of their HS symptoms before and after various lifestyle interventions. Average improvements in both subjective and objective ratings of symptom severity were calculated and statistical differences between the levels of improvement seen among various categories of lifestyle interventions were determined. Numerous lifestyle interventions including substantial weight loss, smoking cessation, use of gentle skin and depilatory products, and menstrual regulation were associated with both subjective and objective improvements in symptom severity. Our results suggest that patients affected by HS may experience clinically significant improvement from a variety of lifestyle modifications.
Caribbean New Orleans: Empire, Race, and the Making of a Slave Society: edited by Cécile Vidal, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. 2019. ix, 552 pp. $49.95. ISBN: 9781469645186

In this pathbreaking study, Cecile Vida situates the history of New Orleans within the broader Caribbean and Atlantic worlds, and in her framing, the city becomes ‘a test case to analyze the expans...
Willingness to Use Automated Vehicles: Results From a Large and Diverse Sample of U.S. Older Adults.

The diffusion of fully automated vehicles (AVs), or self-driving vehicles, is expected to provide many affordances for older adults. If older adults are not willing to use AVs, they will not be abl...
Estuarine Habitat and Demographic Factors Affect Juvenile Chinook ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) Growth Variability in a Large Freshwater Tidal Estuary

Estuarine rearing has been shown to enhance within watershed biocomplexity and support growth and survival for juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.). However, less is known about how growth varies across different types of wetland habitats and what explains this variability in growth. We focused on the estuarine habitat use of Columbia River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. We employed a generalized linear model (GLM) to test three hypotheses: (1) juvenile Chinook growth was best explained by temporal factors, (2) habitat, or (3) demographic characteristics, such as stock of origin. This study examined estuarine growth rate, incorporating otolith microstructure, individual assignment to stock of origin, GIS habitat mapping, and diet composition along ~130 km of the upper Columbia River estuary. Juvenile Chinook grew on average 0.23 mm/day in the freshwater tidal estuary. When compared to other studies in the basin our growth estimates from the freshwater tidal estuary were similar to estimates in the brackish estuary, but ~4 times slower than those in the plume and upstream reservoirs. However, previous survival studies elucidated a possible tradeoff between growth and survival in the Columbia River basin. Our GLM analysis found that variation in growth was best explained by habitat and an interaction between fork length and month of capture. Juvenile Chinook salmon captured in backwater channel habitats and later in the summer (mid-summer and late summer/fall subyearlings) grew faster than salmon from other habitats and time periods. These findings present a unique example of the complexity of understanding the influences of the many processes that generate variation in growth rate for juvenile anadromous fish inhabiting estuaries.
Adenosine receptor coupling to adenylate cyclase of rat ventricular myocyte membranes

The effects of adenosine analogues on beta-adrenergic receptor and receptor-independent elicited increases in adenylate cyclase activity were investigated using membranes obtained from primary cultures of adult rat ventricular myocytes. Phenylisopropyladenosine, an A1-receptor agonist, at concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, and 10 microM, maximally inhibited isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by 35, 55, and 41%, respectively. The inhibition by phenylisopropyladenosine was antagonized by 10 microM theophylline. One micromolar phenylisopropyladenosine was much less effective at attenuating forskolin-stimulated activity, such that the maximum inhibition was 26%. Phenylisopropyladenosine had no effect on adenylate cyclase stimulation by 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate. Phenylaminoadenosine, an A2 agonist, at 10 microM or greater stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. This effect was not significantly inhibited by theophylline or 0.1 microM 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX), which antagonized phenylisopropyladenosine inhibition of isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Additionally, N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine, a nonselective adenosine-receptor agonist, had no effect on adenylate cyclase activity in the absence of DPCPX but stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in the presence of DPCPX. These results indicate that both A1 and A2 receptors exist on the ventricular myocyte sarcolemma. More importantly, the findings suggest that adenosine inhibition of catecholamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity is primarily due to an alteration in beta-adrenergic receptor-mediated transduction and perhaps in part by a direct inhibition of the catalytic component.
G-PROTEIN-GATED POTASSIUM CHANNELS : IMPLICATION FOR THE WEAVER MOUSE

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the properties of G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channel subunit (GIRKs), its potential roles in brain, and the pathophysiology of the GIRK2 mutation in weaver mice. The weaver mouse is one of the first animal models of neurodegenerative disease and is proving invaluable to neuroscientists. Weaver mice are a direct result of a mutation in ion channel, rather than an adhesion or migratory molecule as originally speculated. This mutation affects both striatal dopaminergic and cerebellar granule cells, ultimately leading to cell death. This, in turn, indirectly affects many other cell types and systems. The cellular defects in weaver mice correlate well with their motor and gross anatomical abnormalities. Weaver mice are also providing some insights into human neuropathophysiology. The anomalous and repetitive behavior of weaver mice is similar to human compulsive spectrum disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
Effects of fractionated doses of ionizing radiation on small intestinal motor activity

Abstract The small intestinal motor effects of fractionated doses of ionizing radiation were studied in 6 conscious dogs. Eight strain-gauge transducers were implanted on the small intestine and a single gauge on the ascending colon, of each dog. After control recordings, an abdominal dose of 250 cGy was administered three times a week on alternate days for 3 successive weeks (total dose, 2250 cGy). Recordings were then made for 4 wk of follow-up. Giant migrating contractions occurred 11 times in 520 h of control recordings in the fasted and fed state, with a mean distance of origin of 55 ± 16 cm from the ileocolonic junction. Abdominal field irradiation significantly increased the incidence and distance of origin of these giant contractions to 438 in 745 recording hours and 158 ± 7 cm from the ileocolonic junction, respectively. The incidence of giant migrating contractions peaked after the second dose of radiation. The amplitude ratio of radiation-induced giant migrating contractions to phase III contractions, and their duration and velocity of migration, were similar to the control state. The dogs developed diarrhea and vomiting as early as the first fraction of radiation. Irradiation also increased the incidence of retrograde giant contractions from 8 in 520 h of control recording to 42 in 745 h of recording during the radiation schedule. The radiation-induced retrograde giant contractions peaked in incidence on the day of the first fraction of radiation and were more likely to be associated with a vomiting episode than those occurring in the control period. Migrating motor complex cycling persisted during radiation and its cycle length was not different from the control or postradiation values. Our findings suggest that some of the side effects of radiation such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and vomiting may be related to the dramatically increased incidence of giant migrating contractions and retrograde giant contractions.
Fibrinolytic Dysregulation in Total Joint Arthroplasty Patients: Potential Clinical Implications.

Background The alterations of the fibrinolytic components in osteoarthritic joint disease and their postsurgical modulation are not clearly understood. Preexisting hemostatic dysfunction may lead to both thrombotic and bleeding events in these patients. Aim To profile fibrinolytic parameters in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty prior to and on postoperative day 1. Methods A total of 98 total joint arthroplasty patients were included in this study. Blood samples were drawn preoperatively and on postoperative day 1 status posttotal knee or total hip arthroplasty surgery. d-Dimer, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) were measured using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Antiplasmin activity was measured by using a functional method. Results Preoperative PAI-1, d-dimer, and tPA levels were significantly higher in arthroplasty patients compared to healthy controls. Preoperative antiplasmin level was lower than controls. Postoperative levels of PAI-1 and d-dimer were increased compared to preoperative values. Postoperative antiplasmin values were lower than preoperative levels. Changes in tPA was not significant. There was no correlation between preoperative PAI-1 and d-dimer levels. Pre- and postoperative percentage changes in each individual were calculated for PAI-1, d-dimer, tPA, and antiplasmin. There was a positive correlation between d-dimer and PAI-1. Negative correlations between antiplasmin and d-dimer and between antiplasmin and PAI-1 were noted. Conclusion These results confirm the perturbation in the fibrinolytic system of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty surgery. Surgical intervention may also enhance the observed changes. The alterations in the fibrinolytic system may lead to the observed hemostatic complications such as bleeding, hematoma formation, or potential need for blood transfusion.
Thematic orders and the comprehension of subject-extracted relative clauses in Mandarin Chinese.

This study investigates the comprehension of three kinds of subject-extracted relative clauses (SRs) in Mandarin Chinese: standard SRs, relative clauses involving the disposal ba construction (‘disposal SRs’), and relative clauses involving the long passive bei constructions (‘passive SRs’). In a self-paced reading experiment, the regions before the relativizer (where the sentential fragments are temporarily ambiguous) showed reading patterns consistent with expectation-based incremental processing: standard SRs (with the highest constructional frequency and the least complex syntactic structure) were processed faster than the other two variants. However, in the regions after the relativizer and the head noun (where the existence of a relative clause is unambiguously indicated), a top-down global effect of thematic ordering was observed: passive SRs (whose thematic role order conforms to the canonical thematic order of Chinese) were read faster than both the standard SRs and the disposal SRs. Taken together, these results suggest that two expectation-based processing factors are involved in the comprehension of Chinese relative clauses, including both the structural probabilities of pre-relativizer constituents and the overall surface thematic orders in the relative clauses.
Three-dimensional imaging of dislocations

arising from C.-C. Chen et al. , 74–77 (2013)10.1038/nature12009 At first sight, the achievement of determining atom positions in three dimensions appears spectacular1. Chen and colleagues1 apply a form of tomographic reconstruction to a tilt series of annular dark field (ADF) images of crystalline particles with defects, where the original data has a filter applied to reduce noise. However, the filtering imposes periodicities and significantly downgrades resolution, and the condition of signal linearity—a requirement for tomography—has not been met. We consider that their procedure gives an illusion of locating atom positions accurately. There is a Reply to this Brief Communication Arising by Miao, J. et al. Nature503,http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12661(2013) .
Neuroglia: Gliosis and Focal Epilepsy

Normal neuroglial cells buffer the extracellular space around neurons and presynaptic terminals against increases in potassium ions. Epileptic foci resulting from brain injury are characterized by areas of intense fibrillary gliosis bordering neuronal tissue. The known pathological changes that occur in gliosis may impair glial control of extracellular potassium ions and lead to excessively excitable neuronal border regions.
Radar measurements of electric fields in the topside of the equatorial electrojet: First results

We show that the vertical polarization electric field (Ep) in the topside of the equatorial electrojet can be determined from the Doppler spectra of type-2 echoes obtained with a radar that is appropriately displaced in latitude from the magnetic dip equator. Using a 49.92 MHz radar on Christmas Island (2.9° magnetic dip latitude), we found unexpectedly large Ep at altitudes at least as high as 120 km over the dip equator. Another new and related finding is the transient appearance of type-1 echoes at 99 km over Christmas Island, which likely was produced by an Ep of at least 11 mV/m that must have appeared at 114 km altitude over the dip equator. Elevated electron temperatures inferred from the type-1 Doppler spectra are consistent with the presence of anomalous energetics.
Boronic acids as ligands for affinity chromatography.

Thiophilic adsorption chromatography binds antibodies and other proteins in the presence of high concentration of salt. When eluted by decreasing the salt concentration, the high purity and recovery of proteins can be achieved. It is a new chromatographic technology for the purification of proteins. The review introduces the method for the purification of antibodies and covers the development and application of the original technology.
Free-energy minima for helium in a ring

Bloch has suggested that minima in the free energy as a function of angular momentum are responsible for the superfluidity of $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ in a ring. It is shown in this paper that at finite temperatures, the critical velocity is much too small, and hence minima in the free energy are not the cause of superfluidity in a ring.
A solution to a problem of Denes: a bijection between trees and factorizations of Cyclic permutations

In his paper [1], J. Denes proved that the set T n of labeled trees of n vertices and the set of representations of a given cyclic permutation (belonging to the symmetric group of order n , S n ) as a product of n - 1 transpositions have the same cardinality. In [11 is also asked the question of finding a direct bijection between these sets, which is the purpose of the following work.
Obesity, Lipids, Cardiovascular Risk, and Androgen Excess

Several lines of evidence suggest that a subset of women may be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease because of unfavorable alterations in insulin action and/or production, accompanying altered apolipoprotein metabolism and altered androgenicity and/or estrogenicity. A number of cardiovascular disease risk factors, including central obesity, insulin resistance (with associated hyperinsulinemia), dyslipidemia, and/or diabetes mellitus, tend to cluster in these women. Another common ovarian morphology in women with hyperandrogenism is polycystic ovaries, which cluster with hirsutism, anovulation, infertility, gonadotropin secretion abnormalities, android fat distribution, and many important cardiovascular disease risk factors. Studies indicate that androgen excess may be a signal of increased risk for coronary artery disease, even in younger women. If androgenicity and insulin resistance are early warning signs of increasing risk of morbidity and mortality, these patients are prime candidates for preventive medicine. It is important that primary care providers begin to recognize these androgen disorders as a clue to the existence of a complex, lifelong pattern potentially placing women at risk for premature morbidity and mortality and initiate preventive treatment before irreversible thresholds are crossed.
NF-κB dependent cytokine levels in saliva of patients with oral preneoplastic lesions and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Previous investigations in our laboratory and others (Chen et al., 1998) have shown that the levels of certain inflammatory, proangiogenic cytokines in saliva and tissue specimens of patients with oral premalignant lesions (OPML) are elevated. We have also shown that these cytokines are elevated in tissue culture of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the level of several inflammatory, NF-κB-dependent cytokines in whole unstimulated saliva (WUS), in subjects with OPML as compared to those with diagnosed OSCC. Subjects ( n =13) with OMPL, OSCC ( n =13), and age–sex matched controls without oral lesions (C) ( n =13) were enrolled. The mean age was 58.7 years. WUS was collected by standard techniques for 5min (Navazesh, 1993). WUS samples were centrifuged and the cytokine analysis was performed on the supernatants by ELISA as previously described by Ondrey et al. (1991). The cytokines analyzed were: TNF-alpha, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 (TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8). The results as analyzed by Pairwise t -tests revealed significant differences in the salivary levels of: (1) TNF-α: (mean±S.E.M.: TNF-α–OSSC=28.9±14.6 * pcg/ml versus OPML=10.5±7.4 * pcg/ml versus controls=3.0±1.0pcg/ml; * p * pcg/ml versus OPML=255.1±124.8 * pcg/ml versus controls=173.2±66.9pcg/ml; * p * pcg/ml versus OPML=70.8±24.3 * pcg/ml versus controls=1.4±1.0pcg/ml; * p * pcg/ml versus OPML=1918.2±899.1 * pcg/ml versus controls=1580.7±789.0pcg/ml; * p
Low-Severity Fires Increase Susceptibility of Lodgepole Pine to Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks in Colorado

Abstract Both fire and insect outbreaks are critical components of many forest ecosystems and understanding the two-way interactions between these disturbance types is an important goal for researchers, resource managers, and policy makers. Much recent research has focused on understanding the effects of outbreaks on subsequent fires, but the effects of fires on subsequent outbreaks are also important in shaping ecosystem dynamics. In the current study we examined how low-severity fires influence susceptibility of lodgepole pine to mountain pine beetle (MPB). We examined 607 lodgepole pine trees in stands that were affected by low-severity fire in 2002 and subsequent MPB outbreak in Routt National Forest, Colorado. For each tree we recorded effect by fire (no visible effect; visible effect – i.e. charring), recent effect by MPB (no visible effect; infestation – i.e. presence of MPB entry or exit holes; or mortality), dbh, and age (based on increment core samples). Tree diameter (dbh) was the most important factor in determining susceptibility to MPB such that larger trees were more susceptible to MPB. But once dbh was taken into account, trees that were charred were more likely to have been attacked and killed by MPB. Previous work has found that stand-replacing fires reduce susceptibility of lodgepole pine stands to MPB in these ecosystems. The current results highlight the fact that fires that are below a high threshold of severity and instead injure or otherwise weaken trees, may increase susceptibility to MPB. Fire-affected lodgepole may act as vectors for the spread of outbreaks during moderate outbreak conditions or as refuges during endemic population phases. It is important to consider how low-severity fires, including prescribed burns, may increase forest susceptibility to outbreaks at local to landscape scales.
Effect of intrahypothalamic hydroxybutyrate on sympathetic firing rate.

Abstract Following the microinjection of 3-hydroxybutyrate into either the paraventricular or ventomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, there was a significant increase in firing rate of the sympathetic nerves to brown adipose tissue, with a peak increase in activity occurring three minutes following the injection. The response in both hypothalamic regions was dose-dependent. When injected into both regions at the same time, the increase in firing rate was addtive. These studies suggest that ketone bodies in the central nervous system may activate the sympathetic nervous system.
Monetary deregulation and inverting the inverted fisher effect

Abstract We find evidence that deregulation allowing interest payments on checkable deposits decreased (increased) the sensitivity of the real (nominal) rate of interest to expected inflation. Our results provide further confirmation of the Inverted Fisher Effect.
On the throughput of opportunistic beamforming with imperfect CSI

The throughput of a multiple-antenna broadcast channel highly depends on the channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter side. However, due to the time variant nature of wireless channels, having perfect knowledge of the underlying links appears to be a questionable assumption, especially when the number of users and/or antennas increases. Although it can become computationally prohibitive in practice, theoretically any point on the capacity region of a Gaussian broadcast channel is achievable using dirty paper coding (DPC) if full CSI is available.The aforementioned drawbacks of DPC have motivated the development of simpler transmission strategies that require little CSI and yetcan deliver a large portion of the capacity. One such scheme is opportunistic beam-forming that is shown to be able to achieve the same throughput scaling as that of DPC for the regime of large number of users. In this paper we investigate the performance of opportunistic beam-forming when the perfect channel state information is not available; i.e., the channel estimation is erroneous. We will show that in order to maximize the throughput (sum rate capacity), the transmitter needs to back off the rate than what is suggested by the estimated channel state. We obtain the optimal back off and show that by using this modified opportunistic scheme, the same multiuser gain can be achieved.
The formation of peptides from glycine thioesters.

The condensation products obtained from 0.01M S-glycyl-N-acetyl-cysteamine at different pH's were investigated. The highest yields of diketo-piperazine (approx. 50%) were observed in phosphate buffers between pH 7.5 and 8.5. The highest yields of diglycine (46%), triglycine (10%) and tetraglycine (2%) were observed in carbonate buffers at pH 9.5. At pH 8.0, over 90% of the glycyl residues of 0.15M S-glycyl-N-acetylcysteamine were incorporated into condensation products, mainly DKP (60–70%). The yields of products from the condensation of S-glycyl-ethanethiol under similar conditions closely re-sembled those obtained with S-glycyl-N-acetylcysteamine.
Comparison of 2004 and 1973 world health organization grading systems and their relationship to pathologic staging for predicting long-term prognosis in patients with urothelial carcinoma

OBJECTIVES To compare the 1973 and 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) systems for the interval to tumor recurrence (TR), tumor progression (TP), and overall survival (OS) using either the superficial/muscle invasive or strict TMN pathologic staging in patients with urothelial carcinoma with ≥10 years of follow-up. METHODS A total of 269 tumors from an institutional review board-approved bladder tumor registry were graded using the 1973 and 2004 WHO systems. Kaplan-Meier plots, the log-rank test, the chi-square test, and the Cox proportional hazard model were used to relate the clinical and histologic variables. RESULTS The Cox model analyses, which were multivariate and included tumor stage (coded as pT1 or less versus pT2 or greater) as a significant covariate to grade, were performed and in all tumor stages were significant. The 2004 WHO grading system was more closely associated with TR (P = .025) and TP (P = .012) than was the 1973 WHO grading system (P = .47, and P = .046, respectively). OS was similar and significant for both. The OS plots for the 1973 WHO system showed a significant overlap between Stage pT1 or less, grade 2 and 3 tumors. For those with high-grade Stage pTa and high-grade Stage pT1 disease, TR and TP were similar; however, OS was significantly longer (P = .05, log-rank test) for those with Stage pTa. The OS was similar for those with high-grade Stage pT1 disease and those with Stage pT2 or greater (P = .069, log-rank test). For those with pTa, the 2004 system predicted TR and TP, but the 1973 system only predicted TP. Neither predicted OS. CONCLUSIONS The results of our analysis have shown that the 2004 WHO system is superior to the 1973 system for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with urothelial carcinoma, independent of pathologic stage. Its primary usefulness is in those with Stage pTa.