cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bilateral blindness from orbital cellulitis caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PURPOSE: To describe bilateral blindness resulting from infection with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). DESIGN: Observational case report. METHODS: A 44-year-old man developed proptosis, ptosis, ophthalmoplegia, and no light perception vision after attempting to lance a nasal pustule. A nasal culture grew MRSA. Imaging showed bilateral orbital cellulitis, pansinusitis, and cavernous sinus thrombosis. The right fundus showed severe ischemia, but the left fundus was essentially normal. RESULTS: Despite initiation of appropriate antibiotics early in the course of infection, the patient lost sight in both eyes. Surgical drainage of the paranasal sinuses and use of intravenous corticosteroids and heparin led to the resolution of orbital cellulitis. CONCLUSIONS: MRSA orbital cellulitis can progress to irreversible blindness despite antibiotic treatment. A new, community-acquired clone of this organism has exhibited increased potential for tissue invasion.
Anti-Remodeling Effects of Rapamycin in Experimental Heart Failure: Dose Response and Interaction with Angiotensin Receptor Blockade

While neurohumoral antagonists improve outcomes in heart failure (HF), cardiac remodeling and dysfunction progress and outcomes remain poor. Therapies superior or additive to standard HF therapy are needed. Pharmacologic mTOR inhibition by rapamycin attenuated adverse cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in experimental heart failure (HF). However, these studies used rapamycin doses that produced blood drug levels targeted for primary immunosuppression in human transplantation and therefore the immunosuppressive effects may limit clinical translation. Further, the relative or incremental effect of rapamycin combined with standard HF therapies targeting upstream regulators of cardiac remodeling (neurohumoral antagonists) has not been defined. Our objectives were to determine if anti-remodeling effects of rapamycin were preserved at lower doses and whether rapamycin effects were similar or additive to a standard HF therapy (angiotensin receptor blocker (losartan)). Experimental murine HF was produced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). At three weeks post-TAC, male mice with established HF were treated with placebo, rapamycin at a dose producing immunosuppressive drug levels (target dose), low dose (50% target dose) rapamycin, losartan or rapamycin + losartan for six weeks. Cardiac structure and function (echocardiography, catheterization, pathology, hypertrophic and fibrotic gene expression profiles) were assessed. Downstream mTOR signaling pathways regulating protein synthesis (S6K1 and S6) and autophagy (LC3B-II) were characterized. TAC-HF mice displayed eccentric hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction and pulmonary congestion. These perturbations were attenuated to a similar degree by oral rapamycin doses achieving target (13.3±2.1 ng/dL) or low (6.7±2.5 ng/dL) blood levels. Rapamycin treatment decreased mTOR mediated regulators of protein synthesis and increased mTOR mediated regulators of autophagy. Losartan monotherapy did not attenuate remodeling, whereas Losartan added to rapamycin provided no incremental benefit over rapamycin alone. These data lend support to investigation of low dose rapamycin as a novel therapy in human HF.
Antibody Profiling by Luciferase Immunoprecipitation Systems (LIPS)

Technologies for comprehensively understanding and quantifying antibody profiles to autoantigens and infectious agents may yield new insights into disease mechanisms and may elucidate new markers to substratify disease with different clinical features and better understand pathogenesis. We have developed a highly quantitative method called Luciferase Immunoprecipitation Systems (LIPS) for profiling patient sera antibody responses to autoantigens and pathogen antigens associated with infection. Unlike ELISAs, the highly sensitive LIPS is easily implemented to survey humoral serological response profiles to different antigens in a universal format and produces dynamic antibody titer ranges up to 6 log10 for some antigens. In these studies, quantitative profiling by LIPS of patient humoral responses against panels of antigens or even the entire proteome of some pathogens (i.e. HIV), is typically more informative than testing a single antigen by ELISA. In addition, LIPS also eliminates time and effort needed to produce highly purified antigens as well as the labor-intensive assay optimization steps needed for standard ELISAs. Here we provide a detailed protocol describing the technical aspects of performing LIPS assays for readily profiling antibody responses to single or multiple antigens.
Electronic structure studies of adsorbate-induced surface reconstructions: oxygen on Rh(1 0 0)

Abstract Solid-state Fenske–Hall band structure calculations have been used to study the electronic structure and bonding that occur on an “asymmetric” clock reconstructed Rh(1 0 0) surface with a half-monolayer of O atom adsorbates. The displacement of the top-layer Rh atoms on reconstructed O/Rh(1 0 0) is similar to that observed when a half-monolayer of C or N atoms adsorb onto clean Ni(1 0 0). Unlike the five-coordinate C or N adsorbates that adsorb into effectively coplanar sites on the Ni(1 0 0) surface, however, O atoms sit well above the Rh surface plane and occupy three-coordinate adsorption sites. The results of these calculations show that the asymmetric clock reconstruction of O/Rh(1 0 0) increases the negative charge localized on the highly electronegative O atoms and strengthens the O–Rh bonding relative to an unreconstructed surface. This suggests that, in contrast to the C(N)/Ni(1 0 0) clock, which appears to be driven primarily by the restoration of metal–metal bonding, the asymmetric O/Rh(1 0 0) clock reconstruction is driven by the optimization of the O atom bonding environment. Comparisons of the O/Rh(1 0 0) and C(N, O)/Ni(1 0 0) surfaces further indicate that the electronegativity and electron count of the adsorbed species, as well as the electron count and physical size of the metal, all play a role in determining the preferred atomic geometries of these adsorbate-covered transition metal surfaces.
Integrating microRNA and mRNA expression profiles of neuronal progenitors to identify regulatory networks underlying the onset of cortical neurogenesis.

Background Cortical development is a complex process that includes sequential generation of neuronal progenitors, which proliferate and migrate to form the stratified layers of the developing cortex. To identify the individual microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs that may regulate the genetic network guiding the earliest phase of cortical development, the expression profiles of rat neuronal progenitors obtained at embryonic day 11 (E11), E12 and E13 were analyzed.
Hürthle cell metaplasia on fine-needle aspiration biopsy is not by itself an indication for thyroid surgery.

Abstract Introduction The aim of this study was to assess the malignancy rate in patients with Hurthle cell metaplasia (HCM) on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Methods The pathology results of patients with benign colloid (BC) and HCM on FNAB were compared using a prospective database. Results One hundred fifty-three (65%) patients had BC on FNAB, and 82 (35%) had HCM. The mean nodule size was similar in both groups (25 ± 2 mm vs 26 mm ± 2 mm, P = .83). Malignancy was identified on the final pathology report in 21 (14%) versus 13 (16%) patients in the BC and HCM groups, respectively ( P = .66). Of the patients with malignancy, the tumor was determined as microcarcinoma in 76% in the BC groups versus 85% in the HCM group ( P = .48) and as incidental in 71% versus 85% ( P = .39). Conclusions A result of HCM on FNAB carries a similar rate of malignancy as BC and should not be treated differently. Most of the malignancies found were incidental microcarcinomas.
Regulation of eukaryotic ribosomal RNA transcription by RNA polymerase modification.

Abstract Forms of RNA polymerase I prepared from growing or encysted Acanthamoeba are equal in the ability to transcribe poly(dI:dC). Polymerase from cysts, whose rRNA genes are transcriptionally inactive, is unable to utilize the rDNA promoter in vitro, whereas the transcription initiation factor from cysts is fully able to bind the promoter and direct transcription. Footprinting shows that polymerase from cysts is functionally inactive because of its inability to bind to the promoter. The polymerase footprint moves downstream the appropriate number of base pairs upon various nucleotide additions, without affecting the factor footprint. These results support our hypothesis that rRNA synthesis in eukaryotes is regulated by polymerase I modification and not by alterations to additional DNA-binding proteins.
SOAR: System of associative relations

An associative memory architecture for modeling pairwise pixel interactions in imagery is proposed. More critically, a novel clustering algorithm and a similarity measure for segmentation of gray level images are developed. The inter-pixel interactions are modeled by the direction of the first-order derivative computed over several tokens exploiting the underlying inter-pixel associations. The proposed similarity measure compares two patterns based on the relative ordering of pixel values rather than the gray values themselves, and thus, is invariant to gray level biases. SOAR similarity criterion has been observed to be tightly coupled with the ubiquitous mean-square error distance measure. SOAR clustering algorithm, which encodes inter-pixel associations in an ensemble of image blocks resulted in visually consistent segmentation of ball grid array (BGA) images. SOAR, as an auto-associative memory, has been observed to be superior to the existing techniques using binary neural networks for associative storage of gray scale imagery in both the computational complexity and the processing unit requirements. Our simulations show that SOAR is capable of restoring missing parts of a learned (stored) gray level image using its regenerative capability. SOAR is parallel in nature and can be implemented using a synchronous or asynchronous parallel system with no added complexity.
Correlation of nitrosourea murine bone marrow toxicity with deoxyribonucleic acid alkylation and chromatin binding sites

Abstract All of the clinically available nitrosourea antitumor agents produce serious treatment-limiting bone marrow toxicity. A reduction in this toxicity can be achieved by attaching the chloroethylnitrosourea cytotoxic group to C2 (chlorozotocin) or C1 (1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(β- d -glucopyranosyl)-1-nitrosourea, GANU) of glucose. Both glucose analogs are less myelotoxic in mice than 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohepyl-1-nitrosourea (CCNU) or 1-(4-amino-2-methylpyrimidin-5-yl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea (ACNU), while retaining comparable antitumor activity against the murine L121o leukemia. To define the nuclear mechanisms for this reduced myelotoxicity, alkylation of L1210 and murine bone marrow DNA was quantitated. With the use of the endonucleases micrococcal nuclease and DNase I, the sites of alkylation within the chromatin substructure were determined. Experiments were performed on L1210 leukemia or bone marrow cells that had been incubated in vitro for 2 hr with 0.1 mM [ 14 C]chloroethyl drug. The quantitative alkylation of DNA by GANU was 1.3-fold greater in L1210, as compared to bone marrow, cells. This ratio of DNA alkylation is comparable to the 1.3 ratio we previously reported for chlorozotocin [L. C. Panasci, D. Green and P. S. Schein, J. clin. Invest. 64 , 1103 (1979)]. In contrast, the ratio of alkylation (L1210: bone marrow DNA) for the myelotoxic ACNU was 0.66, similar to 0.59 for CCNU. Nuclease digestion experiments demonstrated that chlorozotocin and GANU preferentially alkylated internucleosomal linker regions of bone marrow chromatin, while nucleosome core particles were the preferred targets of CCNU and ACNU. The reduced myelotoxicity of chlorozotocin and GANU may be correlated with the advantageous ratio of L1210: bone marrow DNA alkylation and preferential alkylation of internucleosomal regions of bone marrow chromatin.
Library Planning and Budgeting: A Few Underappreciated Principles

Column Editor's Note. This column focuses on the closely related topics of strategic planning and assessment in all types of libraries. The column will examine all aspects of planning and assessmen...
Bulk tank allocation to improve distribution planning for the industrial gas industry

An important strategic-level decision in the industrial gas industry involves the allocation of bulk gas tanks to customer sites. For a set of customers having specified demands, the bulk tank allocation problem determines the preferred size of bulk tanks to assign to customer sites in order to minimize tank investment costs and gas distribution costs for the industrial gas distributor. For a single gas product and multiple depots, the problem is modeled as a mixed-integer program and then solved using a decomposition approach. A heuristic for clustering customers and developing routes is proposed based on a sweep algorithm. These potential routes serve as input for the bulk tank allocation problem, which selects routes and assigns tanks to customer sites. The approach provides a valuable method for analyzing strategic-level decisions while incorporating operational-level characteristics. The approach is evaluated using data from an international industrial gas distributer to demonstrate the potential for...
Initial Treatment of Patients with Extensive Trauma

PATIENTS with life-threatening injuries make up approximately 10 to 15 percent of all patients hospitalized because of injuries.1 Some authors have defined patients with extensive trauma as those with injury severity scores (ISSs) higher than 15 (for an explanation of the ISS see the Appendix).2 3 4 That is an acceptable definition for purposes of triage, but in this discussion I shall define extensive trauma as indicated by an ISS above 25. Most patients in this category have multisystem trauma. Deforming and destructive injuries can be obvious, but the surgeon or physician who initially treats the patient must promptly conduct a systematic . . .
Donning Sackcloth and Ashes: Webster v. reproductive health services and moral agony in abortion rights rhetoric

This essay argues that the topos of moral agony adopted by some abortion rights rhetors in the wake of Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services to allay public discomfort with abortion is rhetorically and politically self‐defeating. Resembling Kenneth Burke's purifying concept of mortification, the strategy lends tacit support to the opposition premise that women recognize abortion terminates the life of a human being. Moreover, to mitigate the guilty cast of the topos' reluctant testimony, these rhetors couched moral anguish in atypical tales of tragic circumstances and unattainable motherhood. Such framing likewise legitimizes important opposition premises regarding women's roles and promotes serious compromises to legal abortion.
Effect of gestational age and birth weight on tobramycin kinetics in newborn infants

The effects of gestational age and birth weight on tobramycin kinetics were studied in 26 newborn infants with presumed or proven bacterial sepsis during the first week of postnatal age. The infants received tobramycin, 2.5 mg/kg intravenously every 12 h. Group A consisted of nine patients 28 to 30 weeks of gestational age; group B had 11 patients greater than 30 to less than or equal to 34 weeks of gestational age; and group C had six patients greater than 34 to less than or equal to 40 weeks of gestational age. Steady-state peak serum concentrations of tobramycin averaged 6.5, 7.2 and 7.1 mg/l in groups A, B and C; the corresponding trough concentration averaged 2.0, 2.3 and 1.3 mg/l. The frequency of tobramycin trough serum concentration above 2 mg/l was 44% in group A, 45% in group B and 0% in group C. Total body clearance of tobramycin averaged 1.04, 1.13 and 1.28 ml/min/kg; apparent volume of distribution averaged 0.84, 0.81 and 0.61 l/kg; and elimination half-life averaged 9.3, 8.9 and 5.6 h in groups A, B and C. Group M consisted of seven infants with 1.0-1.25 kg birth weight; group N had six infants 1.26-1.50 kg birth weight; group O had seven infants 1.51-2.0 kg birth weight; and group P had six infants 2.1-3.5 kg birth weight. Steady-state peak serum concentration of tobramycin averaged 5.7, 7.3, 7.8 and 7.1 mg/l; and the trough serum concentration averaged 2.2, 2.4, 1.9 and 1.3 mg/l in groups M, N, O and P.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Initial evaluation of a Gaussian scatter correction technique

We have performed an initial evaluation of a new scatter correction algorithm, Gaussian Subtraction technique, for correction of SPECT images. This technique was evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations. The Gaussian Subtraction technique uses a non-scatter (standard 20% energy window) and high energy windows. The window on the high energy side of the non-scattered peak is used to fit a Gaussian to the spectral peak. This technique directly determines the number of unscattered photon events detected by a gamma camera. We find that this scatter correction technique can correct reasonably well (to within 10–15%) for scatter, for the simple phantom cases used here, using scatter windows < ∼ 20 keV wide, for 99mTc. The Gaussian scatter technique does not require a priori knowledge of source distributions. Implementation of scatter correction would improve image contrast and quantitation in SPECT studies.
Heterodox Economics and its Critics

Heterodox economics has its critics. Most of the criticisms are friendly comments and analysis directed towards improving heterodox economic theory. However, the critics and their criticisms that are the concern of this article are the ones that challenge the existence of heterodox economic theory and the community of heterodox economists as manifested through their graduate programs, conferences, journals and identity. These critics observe that the academic status quo in economics, as manifested in its department and journal rankings, rules of academic engagement, and its institutions and organizations, favor mainstream economics and that it is unlikely to change in the future. Consequently, they argue that heterodox economists can survive only if they become more like mainstream economists. With focus on assimilation, the critics direct their criticisms towards the social characteristics of the heterodox community and to the personal characteristics of heterodox economists. This article is a response t...
Accurate Learning of Word Usage: Differentiating Semantically Similar Words

: Learning the accurate usage of L2 words is often very difficult, especially when the L2 is genealogically distant from the learner's L1. Learners of Japanese, for example, may find it difficult to comprehend that the Japanese verb meaning “to close” (tojiru) in the phrase “close your eyes” cannot he used in “close the door,” in which “shimeru” is the correct verb. Although learners eventually may grasp this requirement, it would be more helpful if they could learn this and similar distinctions when they are first encountered. This study sought to determine optimal conditions for learning accurate word usage from limited exposure to exemplars. The results indicated that having varied type exemplars that show clear distinctions among semantically similar words promotes accuracy of usage, as measured by learners' ability to extend a word's core meaning to more abstract or metaphorical meanings.
Divergence in inflorescence height: An evolutionary response to pollinator fidelity.

The above-ground heights of inflorescences of 8 species of wild-flowers in a subalpine meadow in the Colorado Rocky Mountains were measured in two successive years. An index of overlap (of height-distributions) was computed for pairwise comparisons of all species. The species were assorted into 4 groups based on their usual pollinators: long-tongued bumblebees (3 species were pollinated by long-tongued bumblebees), short-tongued bumblebees (3 species), hummingbirds (1 species), and solitary bees (1 species). The values of the sample of overlap indices for plants pollinated by the same animals was significantly smaller than the values for plants pollinated by different animals; plants which share pollinators are less alike in height than those that don't share pollinators. It is suggested that this is a result of selection for enhancement of pollinator fidelity. The selective mechanisms, based on the ‘horizontal’ flight pattern of pollinators and the consequences to the plant of interspecific flights, are discussed.
Development of the rat corticospinal tract through an altered glial environment

Abstract The major corticospinal tract (CST) in the rat is located at the base of the dorsal funiculus. It is a late-developing tract, and the growth of its axons into the lumbosacral region of the spinal cord does not occur until postnatal days 5 and 6. This delay is taken advantage of in this study in order to evaluate the effects of a markedly reduced glial population on ingrowth of the CST axons into the lumbosacral spinal cord. A reduction of the glial population is achieved by exposure of this region of spinal cord to X-radiation at 3 days of age. Growth of CST axons into and through the lumbosacral spinal cord in rats in which this region has undergone a radiation-induced depletion of glial cells is compared with that in their non-irradiated littermate controls by axonal tracing techniques using horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The HRP was applied directly to the motor cortices of normal and irradiated rats, and at all ages studied, there was anterograde filling of CST axons and their growth cones. At 3 days postnatally, the age when the lumbosacral spinal cord was irradiated in the experimental animals, CST axons were present in the more rostral thoracic levels. CST axons were observed in the lumbar region of non-irradiated rats on day 5, and by day 7 they were present at sacral levels. This same pattern was also noted in the animals with irradiated lumbosacral spinal cords: thus, despite the marked, radiation-induced reduction of glia in the region to be occupied and/or traversed by the ingrowing CST axons, the development of the tract appeared to be normal with respect to location and to time of arrival of the axons in the lumbosacral region.
Spontaneous and detergent activation of a glucuronyltransferase in vitro.

Abstract The microsomal glucuronyltransferase catalyzing formation of p-nitrophenyl glucuronide in rat, guinea pig, and mouse livers, and transplantable rat hepatomas, was activated spontaneously during storage at 0 ° and by low concentrations (less than 0.05%) of deoxycholate and Triton X-100 added in vitro. Activity in liver microsomes was increased 5- to 10-fold, in hepatoma microsomes 20-fold, and in homogenates 2-to 5-fold. Higher concentrations of detergent were inhibitory to activity in fresh preparations, and preparations which had been fully activated spontaneously were inhibited by all concentrations of detergents. The activation was irreversible and not accompanied by solubilization of the enzyme. The Michaelis constants (for uridine diphosphate glucuronic acid) for detergent- and spontaneously activated liver and hepatoma microsomes appeared to be the same. Attempts to determine the mechanism of activation by kinetic analysis were unsuccessful, but the data were compatible with an increase in the relative site number per milligram microsomal protein during activation.
Tight bounds on the spectral radius of asymmetric nonnegative matrices

Abstract For an arbitrary asymmetric nonnegative n × n matrix A we identify a pair of symmetric matrices whose largest eigenvalues bound the spectral radius of A. Furthermore, we show that these bounding matrices are best possible by characterizing matrices A which attain equality with either the upper or the lower bounding matrix. The lower bound may be extended to some matrices with negative entries provided they have no negative cycles.
Mobile sediment in an urbanizing karst aquifer: implications for contaminant transport

Here we investigate geochemical characteristics of sediment in different compartments of a karst aquifer and demonstrate that mobile sediments in a karst aquifer can exhibit a wide range of properties affecting their contaminant transport potential. Sediment samples were collected from surface streams, sinkholes, caves, wells, and springs of a karst aquifer (the Barton Springs portion of the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer, Central Texas) and their mineralogy, grain-size distribution, organic carbon content, and specific surface area analyzed. Statistical analysis of the sediments separated the sampling sites into three distinct groups: (1) streambeds, sinkholes, and small springs; (2) wells; and (3) caves. Sediments from the primary discharge spring were a mix of these three groups. High organic carbon content and high specific surface area gives some sediments an increased potential to transport contaminants; the volume of these sediments is likely to increase with continued urbanization of the watershed.
Affinity-Based Routing in Zoned Mirrored Disks

Magnetic disk capacity is increasing rapidly, while disk positioning time is decreasing very slowly. Disks are a system bottleneck for applications generating accesses to random disk blocks, which do not benefit from caching and prefetching. Disk mirroring is a solution to this problem, since it provides twice the access bandwidth of a single disk in processing read requests and in addition tolerates single disk failures. Performance can be further improved by affinity-based routing (ABR), i.e. sending a request to a disk which will yield a reduced positioning time. We analytically evaluate a specific instance of ABR in zoned disks, which improves performance (reduces the seek time) by routing read requests intended for outer disk cylinders to one disk and those for inner disk cylinders to another. We evaluate several criteria for specifying the pivot point, which delineates inner and outer disk cylinders. This is accomplished by analyzing the performance of a single zoned disk with FCFS scheduling. Analytic and numerical results show that balancing disk utilizations achieves the same performance as methods that improve the response time. A transposed disk organization, which stores data in reversed directions on two disks, is also proposed and shown to achieve the best performance for fully loaded disks. We also discuss an adaptive approach to implement ABR, so that the pivot point is determined by the router based on the history of routed requests. The simple criterion of balancing disk loads can then be adopted easily in this context.
Effect of the diazonium salt of sulfanilic acid on human erythrocyte ATPase activity

Abstract External treatment of human erythrocytes with the diazonium salt of sulfanilic acid does not inhibit the Mg 2+ -dependent ATPase but does markedly inhibit the Ca 2+ -stimulated ATPase activity. Inhibition of the (Na + + K + )-dependent activity is dependent upon the concentration of diazonium salt used. Treatment of membrane fragments does not irreversibly inhibit the (Na + + K + )-dependent ATPase even though the diazonium salt binds covalently to membrane components. However, the Mg 2+ -dependent and Ca 2+ -stimulated ATPase activities are irreversibly inhibited. ATP and Mg-ATP will completely protect the (Na + + K + )-dependent ATPase when present during treatment of membrane fragments with the diazonium salt, but only Mg-ATP will protect the Mg 2+ -dependent ATPase from inhibition. The Ca 2+ -stimulated ATPase activity is not protected.
The Levy radius of a set of probability measures satisfying basic moment conditions involving {t, t 2}

TheLevy radius for a set of probability measures satisfying certain standard moment conditions is introduced, through the Levy distance of these measures from the unit measure at a fixed point of the real line. Using a moment optimal result of Selberg, an algebraic algorithm is given for the exact calculation of this radius.
Multiprocess models for memory with applications to a continuous presentation task

Abstract A multiprocess model for memory and learning is applied to the results of two complementary experiments. In Experiment I the subject was required to keep track of the randomly changing responses associated with a fixed set of stimuli. The task involved a lengthy and continuous sequence of trials, each trial consisting of a test on one of the stimuli followed by study on that same stimulus paired with a new response. The size of the stimulus set, s , took on the values 4, 6, and 8. Experiment II differed from Experiment I in that a large number of stimuli were used even though in any experimental condition the subject was required to remember only 4, 6, or 8 stimuli at one time. In both experiments the basic dependent variable was the probability of a correct response as a function of the number of intervening trials between study and test on a given stimulus-response pair (called the “lag”). The lag curves were all near 1.0 at lag 0 and monotonically decreased as the lag increased; the lag curves for the three conditions ( s = 4, 6, and 8) decreased at different rates in Experiment I, whereas in Experiment II these curves were identical. Using four estimated parameters the model generated accurate predictions for the various response measures collected.
The postpericardiotomy syndrome

THE postpericardiotomy syndrome as described by Ito et al.1,2 is a febrile illness with pericardial and sometimes pleuropulmonary reaction that follows extensive pericardiotomy. This clinical entit...
Synthesis of Photonic Band Gap Materials

ABSTRACT Non-absorbing, periodic, strongly scattering dielectric structures remove the path for propagation of light of certain frequencies, thus, creating a photonic band gap are known as Photonic Band Gap Materials, PBGM. Numerous methods are available to fabricate a 3-D PBGM, the photonic analog of electronic semi conductor. The method described involves the use of a silica template, infiltration of high refractive index or other materials of interest and removal of template. Template formation involves synthesis of monodispersed silica spheres followed by the self-assembly or electrophoretic deposition into close packed Face Centered Cubic (FCC) structure.
The Infection Hypothesis of Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to accomplish a systematic review of the infection hypothesis of schizophrenia. Methods: All English language publications from January 1989 to March 2010 as related to infection and schizophrenia were obtained. Each study selected for analysis must either deal with the direct infection of an individual and schizophrenia or maternal infection during pregnancy and the subsequent development of schizophrenia in the offspring. The primary outcome measure was the calculated odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Over 300 titles and abstracts were reviewed. Eight retrospective studies regarding in utero exposure were analyzed. Five nested case-controlled studies yielded an overall odds ratio of 3.58 (95% CI: 2.71 - 4.71) with a percent attributable risk of 6.3%. Three Scandinavian populational studies yielded an overall odds ratio of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.49 - 0.79). Twenty-six papers were identified as retrospective studies focused on linking evidence of past infection in individuals with history of schizophrenia. A total of 77 microorganisms were assessed with 18 (23.4%) showing a positive association with schizophrenia. But positive associations in a given trial were negative in other trials. Conclusions: Direct infection of an individual as a cause of schizophrenia is unlikely. Results were mixed regarding maternal infection, in utero exposure, and the later development of schizophrenia in the offspring and likely accounts for a modest proportion of those with schizophrenia, possibly 6%.
First principles mechanistic study of borohydride oxidation over the Pt( 1 1 1 ) surface

Abstract The mechanism of borohydride oxidation and the competing hydrolysis reaction are examined over Pt(1 1 1) using density functional theory (DFT) methods. Adsorption of BH 4 − over Au(1 1 1) and Pt(1 1 1) is examined. Adsorption over Pt(1 1 1) is dissociative and extremely exothermic at potentials of interest, leading to a high surface coverage of H * for which gaseous hydrogen evolution is competitive with oxidation. Elementary surface reactions oxidizing B-containing intermediates are favorable over Pt(1 1 1) at −0.85 V (SHE), consistent with experimental voltammetry results in the literature. The energetics of the initial adsorption step dictate the activity limitation of gold anodes and the selectivity limitation of platinum electrodes. This adsorption energy can be rapidly calculated with DFT methods, enabling screening of pure metals, alloys, poisons, and promoters to optimize borohydride oxidation catalyst design.
Effect of chronic morphine exposure on the synaptic plasma‐membrane subproteome of rats: a quantitative protein profiling study based on isotope‐coded affinity tags and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

The effect of chronic morphine exposure on the synaptic plasma-membrane subproteome in rats was studied by the isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) method coupled with capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. ICAT-labeled tryptic peptides of synaptic membrane proteins were successfully identified using tandem mass spectrometry in conjunction with protein database searching. Several important synaptic plasma-membrane proteins displayed significant regulation changes as a result of chronic morphine exposure in vivo. In particular, an integral membrane protein Na(+)/K+ ATPase (alpha-subunit) involved in regulation of the cell membrane potential by controlling sodium and potassium ion permeability was downregulated by 39 +/- 2%. This result was in excellent agreement with the reduction in electrogenic Na+, K+ pumping due to about 40% downregulation of Na(+)/K+ ATPase alpha3-isoform in myenteric S-neurons of morphine-exposed guinea-pigs measured by others via immunohistochemistry. The decrease in the abundance of non-erythroid alpha II-spectrin in the synaptic plasma-membrane fraction was also observed, which was hypothetically associated with the breakdown of the protein due to the upregulation of the proteolytic enzyme caspase-3 upon chronic morphine exposure.
Assertive community treatment for parents with serious mental illnesses: a comparison of "parent-sensitive" assertive community treatment teams versus other teams.

OBJECTIVE Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is an evidence-based practice for individuals living with serious mental illnesses. Although studies estimate that at least half of people with serious mental illnesses are parents, little is known about ACT policies and services for parent consumers. METHOD Seventy-three ACT providers from 67 teams completed a survey about treatment services for parent consumers. Teams were divided into "parent-sensitive" and "nonsensitive" teams based on 3 indicators of parent-related services: identifying parental status, discussing parenting issues, and assisting with parenting needs. For each treatment indicator, teams were compared to determine factors that may contribute to parent-supportive services. RESULTS Providers from parent-sensitive teams that consistently identified consumers' parental status were more likely to talk with consumers about committed relationships and to assist consumers with parent-child communication. Parent-sensitive teams that frequently discussed parenting issues with consumers were less likely to be unsure of consumers' family plans, more likely to find out about parenting during goal setting, and more likely to assist with parent-related needs. Parent-sensitive teams that frequently provided assistance with parenting needs were more likely to serve minority consumers and consumers who want children, spend more time discussing parenting issues, and offer special programs for parent consumers. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Findings suggest that simply identifying consumers as parents is not sufficient for ensuring consistent provision of parent-supportive services, whereas discussing parenting issues is associated with increased service provision. More intensive, evidence-based parent-supportive services are needed, as well as continued research on parents with serious mental illnesses and available treatment services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Discrepancies in medication entries between anesthetic and pharmacy records using electronic databases.

BACKGROUND: Accurate recording of disposition of controlled substances is required by regulatory agencies. Linking anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) with medication dispensing systems may facilitate automated reconciliation of medication discrepancies. METHODS: In this retrospective investigation at a large academic hospital, we reviewed 11,603 cases (spanning an 8-mo period) comparing records of medications (i.e., narcotics, benzodiazepines, ketamine, and thiopental) recorded as removed from our automated medication dispensing system with medications recorded as administered in our AIMS. RESULTS: In 15% of cases, we found discrepancies between dispensed versus administered medications. Discrepancies occurred in both the AIMS (8% cases) and the medication dispensing system (10% cases). Although there were many different types of user errors, nearly 75% of them resulted from either an error in the amount of drug waste documented in the medication dispensing system (35%); or an error in documenting the medication in the AIMS (40%). CONCLUSIONS: A significant percentage of cases contained data entry errors in both the automated dispensing and AIMS. This error rate limits the current practicality of automating the necessary reconciliation. An electronic interface between an AIMS and a medication dispensing system could alert users of medication entry errors prior to finalizing a case, thus reducing the time (and cost) of reconciling discrepancies.
An examination of the generalization hypothesis of autoshaped keypecking

Two studies examined the hypothesis that initial autoshaped keypecks are generalized pecks from the lighted grain hopper to the lighted key. Pigeons in both studies autoshaped and maintained lighted keypecking even though magazine training and autoshaping was conducted without a magazine light. The results question the validity of the generalization account of autoshaped keypecking applied to all strains of pigeons.
Automated Generation of Linkage Loop Equations for Planar One Degree-of-Freedom Linkages, Demonstrated up to 8-Bar

Author(s): Parrish, BE; Michael McCarthy, J; Eppstein, D | Abstract: In this paper, we present an algorithm that automatically creates the linkage loop equations for planar one degree of freedom, 1DOF, linkages of any topology with revolute joints, demonstrated up to 8 bar. The algorithm derives the linkage loop equations from the linkage adjacency graph by establishing a rooted cycle basis through a single common edge. Divergent and convergent loops are identified and used to establish the fixed angles of the ternary and higher links. Results demonstrate the automated generation of the linkage loop equations for the nine unique 6-bar linkages with ground-connected inputs that can be constructed from the five distinct 6-bar mechanisms, Watt I-II and Stephenson I-III. Results also automatically produced the loop equations for all 153 unique linkages with a ground-connected input that can be constructed from the 71 distinct 8-bar mechanisms. The resulting loop equations enable the automatic derivation of the Dixon determinant for linkage kinematic analysis of the position of every possible assembly configuration. The loop equations also enable the automatic derivation of the Jacobian for singularity evaluation and tracking of a particular assembly configuration over the desired range of input angles. The methodology provides the foundation for the automated configuration analysis of every topology and every assembly configuration of 1DOF linkages with revolute joints up to 8 bar. The methodology also provides a foundation for automated configuration analysis of 10-bar and higher linkages.
Positron emission tomography, Borel measures and weak convergence

In this paper, we develop a refined version of the usual Poisson model for positron emission tomography (PET), in which the data space is finite dimensional, but the unknown emission intensity is represented by a Borel measure on the region of interest. We demonstrate that maximum likelihood (ML) estimators exist in the space of Borel measures and analyse an extension of the finite dimensional EM algorithm for reconstructing the emission intensity. We present evidence that convergence of this functional iteration should be considered in the weak topology and obtain partial convergence results, which contain all the known convergence results to date as special cases. General conditions are obtained under which an ML estimator can be represented by a bounded function. In particular, we show that the regularity of ML estimators depends heavily on properties of the probabilities governing the PET mathematical model. We also show that, in some cases, no ML estimator can be represented by a bounded function. Although this paper is motivated by PET, the results apply to general inverse problems in which the unknown measure, and the kernel representing the blurring operator are all positive.
Prenatal care and infant lead exposure

Abstract Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the relation between prenatal care of mothers and blood lead concentrations in their offspring in the first year of life. Methods: A retrospective survey was conducted of 200 predominantly black infants between the ages of 6 and 22 months (mean age, 13.4 months). The infants had been screened for the first time since birth at the Charleston County (South Carolina) Health Department. They resided in a neighborhood with the highest prevalence of lead poisoning in Charleston. Prenatal care use data were obtained after matching birth records with lead-screening records. Results: Seventy-three infants (37%) had blood lead levels 0.48 μmol/L (≥10 μg/dl) or higher. Adequacy of prenatal care, defined by the Modified Kessner Index, showed 11% with intensive care (26% of these with high lead levels), 39% with adequate care (35% high blood lead levels), 35% with intermediate care (40% with high blood lead levels), 13% with inadequate care (42% with high blood lead levels), and 2% with no prenatal care (25% with high blood lead levels). With the exception of the small group with no prenatal care ( n = 4), the proportion of infants with a high blood lead level was inversely proportional to the level of care. The logistic regression model that best fit the data included age at screen for lead and birth weight. Low birth weight babies ( p = 0.04), and the older the baby at screening, the greater the likelihood of a high blood lead level (odds ratio, 1.23; p = 0.01). There was a trend for black infants to have a high blood lead level more often than white infants (odds ratio, 3.05; p = 0.06). Conclusions: Less than adequate use of prenatal care may reflect an increase in risk factors contributing to lead exposure in infancy. Low birth weight also was related to high blood lead levels. Further studies are required to differentiate among several hypotheses for this effect. Intrauterine lead exposure, which is known to reduce birth weight, may contribute to measured blood lead levels at first screen. Alternatively, low birth weight may increase lead absorption and retention in infancy or may increase risk of lead exposure. (J Pediatr 1997;130:123-7)
SUCCESSFUL KIDNEY TRANSPLANT IN PATIENT WITH POSITIVE CROSSMATCH DUE TO AUTOANTIBODIES

Prior to kidney transplantation a young woman was found to have lymphocytotoxic antibodies to an HLA/mixed lymphocyte culture identical sib donor. The serum killed 75% of the lymphocytes at 22 C but was unreactive at 37 C. At room temperature it was cytotoxic for many lymphocytes of a random panel and also reacted with the recipient's own cells. Complement was required for cytotoxicity. Absorption with lymphocytes but not with platelets abolished the reaction. The antibodies disappeared spontaneously and the transplant was performed. There was no evidence of rejection and at 6 months the kidney is in excellent condition. Cold-reactive lymphocyte specific autoantibodies causing a positive crossmatch could be distinguished from anti-HLA antibodies and did not preclude a successful kidney transplant.
Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract Fatigue is an important, under-recognized, and complex problem in multiple sclerosis (MS). There are several interacting causes of this fatigue and most will respond to treatment. Factors identified as contributing to the overall problem include disease process related fatigue, fatigue related to intercurrent infection, iatrogenic fatigue (caused by medications), fatigue of handicap, lack of energy related to depression, and fatigue due to disordered or disrupted sleep. Management of fatigue is a multidisciplinary process. Effective treatment requires analysis of the contributing factors in each patient and treatment or management of those factors.
Optical Resolution of a DL -Amino-acid by a Stereoselective Ligand Exchange Reaction

FEW investigations of the utilization of metal chelate compounds for the optical resolution of racemic compounds have so far been reported1–4. DL-Aspartic acid copper complex was optically resolved completely from its supersaturated solution by seeding it with D- or L-aspartic acid copper complexes1. Bailar et al. first reported the stereo-specific (stereoselective) ligand exchange reaction2, and later they reported the partial optical resolution of DL-alanine by use of the reaction of DL-alanine with copper glutamate (optical purity 3.3 per cent3). Recently, Shibata et al.4 reported the partial optical resolution of DL-alanine in 25.6 per cent optical purity by use of the aspartic acid cobalt(III) complex.
Assessment of the knowledge management systems in public administrations of Southern Italy

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present a developing scheme to assess the efficiency of the knowledge‐management systems (KMS) and provide a quantitative‐based estimate of its performances.Design/methodology/approach – Defined in previous researches the theoretical scheme presented here to assess the efficiency of the KMS is based on a combination of a structured set of indicators of the intellectual capital (IC) and the balanced scorecard (BSC). To test such a scheme a small sample of relatively homogeneous subjects was used in order to obtain a reliable estimate generated by applying the scheme. The test was mainly conducted by questionnaires used to collect the data elaborated to obtain the discussed estimates; on the other hand, a number of interviews were conducted with the officers in charge of the information systems units of each organization involved in the test in order to verify the appropriateness of the indicators selected in each case to address the IC and outline a qualitative referen...
Asymmetry between trends in spring and autumn temperature and circulation regimes over western North America

[1] Observational evidence shows that spring temperatures over western North America have undergone significant warming over the past half century, while autumn temperatures have shown relatively little change. Low-frequency modes of atmospheric variability for spring and autumn are demonstrated to account for a great deal of the seasonal asymmetry, with trends in spring circulation patterns exacerbating regional warming, and trends in autumn circulation patterns counteracting warming. After excluding warming associated with the primary modes of atmospheric variability, temperature trends in spring and autumn over western North America are similar to one another and in broad agreement with seasonal trends from a multimodel ensemble.