cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Case 1: Progressive Weakness in a Previously Healthy 4-year-old Boy

1. Kristen Pontiff, MD* 2. Day Breen, MD† 3. Pamela McMahon, PhD, MPH* 4. Cristina Zeretzke-Bien, MD‡ 5. Philip Zachariah, MD§ 6. Christopher Woodward, DO*,§ 1. *Pediatric Residency Program, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA 2. †Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Pediatric Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 3. ‡Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 4. §Emergency Medicine Residency Program–Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Baton Rouge, LA Ahh, summertime! Some of us look forward to vacations, perhaps reading on a beach or in a quiet forest. We like summer as we share stories with friends, make new memories, and broaden horizons. Of course, you can take Pediatrics in Review along on your summer vacations! You can enjoy the “stories” of Index of Suspicion cases, and you can make new memories as you learn of new diagnoses and treatments. You can broaden the scope of your care of future patients. You might even see a patient later this summer who has one of the diagnoses featured in this month’s issue. Enjoy! Philip R. Fischer, MD Associate Editor, Index of Suspicion A previously healthy 4-year-old boy is carried into the emergency department with progressive weakness affecting all 4 extremities for a 24-hour duration. For the past 2 days, the boy has been more fatigued and complaining of right knee and lower back pain. The parents report no history of trauma. He has a normal appetite, without nausea, vomiting, or recent gastrointestinal illness. He has no dysuria, polyuria or incontinence, …
How Daily Journalists Use Numbers and Statistics: The Case of Global Average Temperature

Statistics are widely acknowledged as an essential part of journalism. Yet despite repeated investigations showing that routine news coverage involving statistics leaves much to be desired, scholar...
The OSI Seven Layer Model

The seven layer OSI Model is an excellent theoretical framework for discussing messaging between processes running on different physical systems. This exchange ofmessages is key for both peer–to–peer and client/server networks.Without a clear model, such as the OSI model, interoperability would be much more difficult. The current status of the lower three layers allows the networking professional to pick and choose cabling and device hardware from multiple vendors with the firm expectation any combination of media and device hardware will work as desired. In the early days of networking, this was not always guaranteed.
Size-Based Dominance Hierarchy In One Of Two Sympatric Cryptic Pacific Skinks (Emoia impar And Emoia cyanura)

Emoia impar and Emoia cyanura are two morphologically cryptic Pacific skinks that have different preferred thermal micro-habitats but similar geographic range and overlap. Previously individuals have been noted to display a size-based dominance hierarchy at favored basking sites, though this behavior was not specified between species. I found that only one of the two species, E. impar, naturally presents this size-based dominance hierarchy in areas of high population density. Neither species exhibit the hierarchy in low population density areas. No evidence was found to suggest that the presence of this hierarchy allows one species to exclude the other.
The Use of Force

Many studies have researched the use of force to determine their causes and influences (Bayley and Garofalo 1989; Binder and Scharf 1980; Bittner 1970; Black 1980; Friedrich 1977; Fyfe 1988; Garner et al. 1996; Jacobs and Britt 1979; Klinger 1995; Muir 1977; Reiss 1968; Ryberg and Terrill 2010; Terrill and Mastrofski 2002; Worden 1995). The spectrum of influences upon the use and level of force a police officer uses is broad and many studies have attempted to show the impact of these individual influences. For example, individual characteristics of police officers often influence the level of force used. In terms of years of experience, Chapman (2012) reports that those officers who are younger with less experience tend to resort to use force because they do not have skills necessary to identify and use other means to handle dangerous situations. Furthermore, officers with less experience use force more often than those officers of the same given age (Bayley and Garofalo 1989). Although one might conclude that experience is a factor in controlling force, it is not being ruled out in this study, as this study concentrates primarily on education. On the other hand, other studies report that there is no direct relationship between experience and the levels of force used (McCluskey and Terrill 2005; Sun and Payne 2004). The disparities in these findings can be attributed in part to an almost two decade difference in the studies cited, and if significant, promotes the need for this study, as evolving police work can be an influencing variable on the relationship between college education and the use of force.
Rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in a Patient with a Horseshoe Kidney

Open repair of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in a patient with horseshoe kidney was complicated by colon infarction and paraparesis. Patient underwent colectomy with ileostomy. Association of abdominal aortic aneurysm with Horseshoe kidney and management options is described.
Evaluating the causal effects of cellphone distraction on crash risk using propensity score methods.

Abstract Introduction/objective This paper evaluates the causal effects of cellphone distraction on traffic crashes using propensity score weighting approaches and naturalistic driving study (NDS) data. Methods We adopt three propensity score weighting approaches to estimate the causal odds ratio (OR) of cellphone use on three different event-populations, including average treatment effect (ATE) on the whole population, average treatment effect on the treated population (ATT), and average treatment effect on the overlapping population (ATO). Three types of cellphone distractions are evaluated: overall cellphone use, talking, and visual-manual tasks. The propensity scores are estimated based on driver, roadway, and environmental characteristics. The Second Strategic Highway Research Program NDS data used in this study include 3400 participant drivers with 1047 severe crashes and 19,798 random case-cohort control driving segments. Results The study reveals several highly imbalanced potential confounding factors among cellphone use groups, e.g., income, age, and time of day, which could lead to biased risk estimation. All three propensity score approaches improve the balance of the baseline characteristics. The propensity score adjusted ORs differ from unweighted ORs substantially, ranging from −44.25% to 54.88%. Specifically, the adjusted ORs for young drivers are higher than unweighted ORs and these for middle-age drivers are lower. Among different cellphone related distractions, the ORs associated with visual-manual tasks (OR range: 3.47–6.63) are uniformly higher than overall cellphone distraction and cellphone talking (OR range: 0.63–4.15). Cellphone talking increases the risk for young drivers but has no significant impact on middle-age drivers. Conclusion Propensity score approaches effectively mitigate potential confounding effect caused by imbalanced driver environmental characteristics in the observational NDS data. The ATT and ATO estimands are recommended for NDS case-cohort studies. ATT reflects the effect among exposed events, i.e. crashes or controls with cellphone exposure and ATO reflects the effect among events with similar characteristics. The study confirms the significant causal effect of overall cellphone distraction on crash risk and the heterogeneity in safety impact by age group.
SiC Based Interleaved VSI Fed Transverse Flux Machine Drive for High Efficiency, Low EMI Noise and High Power Density Applications

This paper analyzes the impact of interleaved PWM techniques on transverse flux machine (TFM) drive to achieve high volumetric and gravimetric power density along with high efficiency and low common-mode noise. Interleaving helps the dominant dc-link current ripple content shifts to twice the switching frequency, and a reduced amount of dc-link capacitance becomes more effective to suppress the dc-link current ripple. In addition, this paper shows how interleaving helps to reduce the RMS current requirement of the capacitors. In both ways, the required number of the dc-link capacitor can be reduced, and higher volumetric density can be achieved without sacrificing the machine performance. Moreover, the interleaving effect on efficiency and electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise are analyzed and compared for different switching frequencies. Furthermore, interleaving can be utilized to achieve higher efficiency. The double-stator and single-rotor TFM structure is selected as a candidate machine topology for the intended application. Three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D-FEA) is used to analyze and calculate the machine parameters to implement the dynamic simulation in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The circuit simulations are conducted to implement the proposed drive topology and the control algorithm to predict the performance of the proposed drive operation.
Intraoperative vasopressors in head and neck free flap reconstruction.

Introduction Historically, there were concerns vasopressors impair free flap outcomes, but recent studies suggest vasopressors are safe. Here we investigate this controversy by (1) evaluating vasopressors' effect on head and neck free-flap survival and surgical complications, and (2) performing soft tissue and bony subset analysis. Patients and methods Post hoc analysis was performed of a single-blinded, prospective, randomized clinical trial at a tertiary care academic medical center involving patients ≥18 years old undergoing head and neck free flap reconstruction over a 16-month period. Patients were excluded if factors prevented accurate FloTrac™ use. Patients were randomized to traditional volume-based support, or goal-directed support including vasopressor use. Primary data was obtained by study personnel through intraoperative data recording and postoperative medical record review. Results Forty-one and 38 patients were randomized to traditional and pressor-based algorithms, respectively. Flap survival was 95% (75/79). There was no significant difference between the pressor-based and traditional protocols' flap failure (1/38 [3%] vs. 3/41 [7%], RR 0.36, 95% CI of RR 0.04-3.31, p = .63) or flap-related complications (12/38 [32%] vs. 18/41 [44%], RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.40-1.29, p = .36) Soft tissue flaps had surgical complication rates of 12/30 (40%) and 9/27 (33%) for traditional and pressor-based protocols, respectively. Bony flaps had surgical complication rates of 6/11 (55%), and 3/11 (27%) for traditional and pressor-based protocols, respectively. Conclusions Intraoperative goal-directed vasopressor administration during head and neck free flap reconstruction does not appear to increase the rate of flap complications or failures.
Urine Cell-Free Mitochondrial DNA as a Marker of Weight Loss and Body Composition in Older Adults With HIV.

BACKGROUND Older adults with HIV (OAH) experience more comorbidities and geriatric syndromes than their HIV-negative peers, perhaps because of chronic inflammation. Cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cfmtDNA) released from cells undergoing necrosis-mediated cell death potentially acts as both a mediator and marker of inflammatory dysregulation. We hypothesized that urinary cfmtDNA would be associated with frailty, body composition, and fall history in OAH. METHODS OAH completed frailty testing, a psychosocial survey, body composition assessment, and measurement of urine cfmtDNA and urine albumin:creatinine in this cross-sectional study. Urine cfmtDNA was measured by quantative polymerase chain reaction and normalized to urinary creatinine. RESULTS Across 150 participants, the mean age was 61 years (SD 6 years), half identified as Black, one-third were women, and 93% had HIV-1 viral load <200 copies/mL. Two-thirds met criteria for a prefrail or frail state. Those with unintentional weight loss had higher urine cfmtDNA concentrations (P = 0.03). Higher urine cfmtDNA was inversely associated with the skeletal muscle index (β = -0.19, P < 0.01) and fat mass index (β = -0.08, P = 0.02) in separate multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and presence of moderate-severe albuminuria. CONCLUSIONS In this cross-sectional study of OAH, higher levels of urine cfmtDNA were more common in subjects with less robust physical condition, including unintentional weight loss and less height-scaled body mass of fat and muscle. These findings suggest urine cfmtDNA may reflect pathophysiologic aging processes in OAH, predisposing them to geriatric syndromes. Longitudinal investigation of urine cfmtDNA as a biomarker of geriatric syndromes is warranted.
Default and Executive Networks' Roles in Diverse Adolescents' Emotionally Engaged Construals of Complex Social Issues.

Across adolescence, individuals enrich their concrete, empathic, context-specific interpretations of social-world happenings with abstract, situation-transcending, systems-level considerations-invoking values, bigger implications, and broader emotional perspectives. To investigate neural mechanisms involved in abstract construals versus concrete construals, and effects of emotional engagement on these mechanisms, 65 middle-adolescents aged 14-18 reacted to compelling video mini-documentaries during private, open-ended interviews and again during fMRI. Following calls to diversify samples, participants were ethnically diverse low-SES urban adolescents performing well in school. Participants spontaneously produced both concrete and abstract construals in the interview, and tendencies to produce each varied independently. As hypothesized, participants who made more abstract construals showed greater subsequent Default Mode Network (DMN) activity; those who made more concrete construals showed greater Executive Control Network (ECN) activity. Findings were independent of IQ, SES, age and gender. Within individuals, DMN activation, especially when individuals were reporting strong emotional engagement, and ECN deactivation, together predicted an abstract construal to a trial. Additionally, brief ECN activation early in the trial strengthened the DMN-abstraction relationship. Findings suggest a neural mechanism for abstract social thought in adolescence. They also link adolescents' natural construals of social situations to distinct networks' activity, and suggest separable sociocognitive traits that may vary across youth.
Recent Urban Development Reduces Bee Abundance and Diversity

Wild bee communities persist in cities despite major disruption of nesting and food resources by urban development. Bee diversity and abundance is key for urban agriculture and maintenance of plant diversity, and assessing what aspects of cities enhance bee populations will promote our capacity to retain and provision bee habitat. Here, we assessed how variation in land cover and neighborhood development history affected bee communities in the midwestern US urban landscape of Madison, Wisconsin. We sampled bee communities across 38 sites with relatively high (> 55%) or low (< 30%) levels of impervious surface, and assessed effects of land use and neighborhood development history on bee abundance and species richness. We show abundance and richness of bees was lower in recently developed neighborhoods, with particularly strong negative effects on soil nesting bees. Soil nesting bees and bee community richness decreased as cover of impervious surface increased, but above ground nesting bees were minimally impacted. Bee community similarity varied spatially and based on dissimilar local land cover, only for soil nesting bees, and the overall bee community. Impervious surface limited bee abundance and diversity, but new neighborhoods were associated with greater negative effects. We suggest that enhancing the structural diversity of new neighborhoods in urban ecosystems may imitate the structural benefits of older neighborhoods for bee populations.
Applied Measurement with jMetrik

Preface. Acknowledgements. Chapter 1: Data Management. Chapter 2: Item Scoring. Chapter 3: Test Scaling. Chapter 4: Item Analysis. Chapter 5: Reliability. Chapter 6: Differential Item Functioning. Chapter 7: Rasch Measurement. Chapter 8: Polytomous Rasch Models. Chapter 9: Plotting Item and Test Characteristics. Chapter 10: IRT Scale Linking and Score Equating. References. Appendix
Berdyaev’s Philosophy of History

We begin this study by considering Berdyaev’s philosophy of history as a complete doctrine. But his philosophy 1 partakes of the great complexity of early zgth-century German philosophy. Numerous questions must occur to the reader of this chapter. Indeed, the most nagging questions must concern the deepest principles of Berdyaev. The chapters following, therefore, explain doctrines mentioned in Chapter I.
Traumatic life events and psychopathology in a high risk, ethnically diverse sample of young children: a person-centered approach

Studies of the association between traumatic experiences and psychopathology in early childhood have primarily focused on specific types of events (e.g., sexual abuse) or aggregated different types of events without differentiating among them. We extend this body of work by investigating patterns of traumatic event exposure in a high-risk, ethnically diverse sample of children ages 3-6 (N = 211; 51 % female) and relating these different patterns to parents' reports of child externalizing, internalizing, and post-traumatic stress symptomatology. Using latent class analysis, which divides a heterogeneous population into homogenous subpopulations, we identified three patterns of traumatic events based on parents' responses to an interview-based assessment of trauma exposure in young children: (1) severe exposure, characterized by a combination of family violence and victimization; (2) witnessing family violence without victimization; and (3) moderate exposure, characterized by an absence of family violence but a moderate probability of other events. The severe exposure class exhibited elevated internalizing and post-traumatic stress symptoms relative to the witness to violence and moderate exposure classes, controlling for average number of traumatic events. Results highlight the need for differentiation between profiles of traumatic life event exposure and the potential for person-centered methods to complement the cumulative risk perspective.
Effect of periapical processes of deciduous teeth on the buds of permanent teeth; pathological-clinical study

Abstract In conclusion, it may be stated that this pathological-clinical study proves that the so-called “Turner teeth” result from periapical inflammatory processes of deciduous teeth. These processes extend toward and affect the buds of the pertinent permanent teeth during their prefunctional stage of eruption. Yet, the possibility exists that mechanical injuries of the latter may produce similar lesions. The examination of autopsy material containing deciduous teeth and their successors showed that periapical processes of deciduous teeth failed to stimulate the development of a fibrous wall which could localize the lesions. They spread diffusely through the bone marrow toward and around the buds of the successors, thereby affecting the important protective layer of the young enamel, the united enamel epithelium. Various changes of the latter were observed. In mild cases this epithelial structure in the area next to the apical process of the deciduous tooth appeared to be reduced to a flat, hyalinized, somewhat keratinized, membrane, which the author believes to be similar to, if not identical with, the secondary or dental cuticle. In some instances the inflammation stimulated the enamel epithelium to proliferate. In other cases the united enamel epithelium was destroyed, thereby exposing the enamel to inflammatory edema and granulation tissue. The former was found to be harmless to the enamel, while the latter croded the enamel and deposited on the surface of the deep excavation a well-calcified metaplastic cementum-like substance. A clinical case substantiates the above conclusions. The removal of deciduous teeth with periapical involvement should be the method of choice.
Agonist-induced destabilization of beta-adrenergic receptor mRNA. Attenuation of glucocorticoid-induced up-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors.

β-Adrenergic receptor expression and receptor mRNA levels are down-regulated by β-adrenergic agonists and up-regulated by glucocorticoids. The interaction between these two opposing regulatory pathways was investigated at the levels of receptor and receptor mRNA in DDT1 MF-2 hamster vas deferens cells. Dexamethasone blunted a marked decrease in receptor expression induced by isoproterenol alone, as made visible by indirect immunofluorescence using antireceptor antibodies. Receptor mRNA levels were quantified by DNA-excess solution hybridization. Dexamethasone stimulated a sharp increase in receptor mRNA at 4 h following the addition of steroid in either the absence or the presence of isoproterenol. By 12 h, dexamethasone treatment resulted in a new steady-state level of receptor mRNA double that observed in untreated cells. Isoproterenol blunted the dexamethasone effect observed at 12 h. Cells treated with isoproterenol and dexamethasone in combination displayed a new steady-state level only 30% greater than untreated cells. Measured by nuclear run-on assays, transcription rates of the receptor gene were unaffected in cells challenged with isoproterenol alone. Dexamethasone, in contrast, stimulated a 4-fold increase in β2-adrenergic receptor gene transcription. Isoproterenol and dexamethasone in combination promoted a transcription rate comparable to dexamethasone alone. The half-life of receptor mRNA in untreated and dexamethasone-treated cells was 12 h. In contrast, β-adrenergic receptor mRNA half-life declined to 5 h in cells that were treated with isoproterenol in the presence or absence of dexamethasone. Agonist-promoted destabilization and steroid-induced transcription provide mechanisms for the interplay of two opposing pathways controlling receptor mRNA levels.
Liposomal Bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotides enhance proliferation, sensitize acute myeloid leukemia to cytosine-arabinoside, and induce apoptosis independent of other antiapoptotic proteins.

The antiapoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, are expressed in most cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and may contribute to drug resistance in AML. We tested the hypothesis that down-regulation of Bcl-2 alone by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (Bcl-2-AS) induces apoptosis, even in the presence of other antiapoptotic genes. We tested Bcl-2-AS in myeloid leukemic HL-60 cells, in Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL overexpressing HL-60-DOX cells, and in primary AML samples. Down-regulation of Bcl-2 by Bcl-2-AS reduced the viability of HL-60 cells and, less effectively, HL-60-DOX cells and increased ara-C cytotoxicity in both cell lines. Incubation of primary AML blasts with Bcl-2-AS decreased Bcl-2 expression in CD34+ blast cells after induction of apoptosis and enhancement of ara-C cytotoxicity in 11 of 19 primary AML samples. In 8 samples in which Bcl-2-AS did not induce apoptosis, baseline Bcl-2 levels were found to be strikingly high. The expression of other antiapoptotic proteins (Bcl-XL, Bag-1, A1, and Mcl-1) did not prevent Bcl-2-AS–induced apoptosis. Bcl-2-AS also inhibited colony formation of AML progenitor cells. Low concentrations of Bcl-2-AS induced significant increases in S-phase cells ( P = .04). Results establish Bcl-2 as a critical target for AS strategies in AML in which the baseline levels predict response to Bcl-2-AS. Bcl-2 exerts both antiapoptotic and antiproliferative functions in AML. Because early normal hematopoietic stem cells do not express Bcl-2, Bcl-2-AS therapy should be highly selective for AML cells.
X-Ray Observations of Recurrence of Eruptive Flares and Active Regions

In a study of soft X-ray coronal images obtained with the Yohkoh spacecraft, two eruptive flares with remarkably similar X-ray structures were noted -- most remarkably because the flares occurred at the same solar location (approximately 10 degrees north latitude on the east limb) yet separated in time by three solar rotations. Between the times of the eruptions, the active region responsible for the first flare disappeared from Yohkoh images. An extremely similar X-ray active region replaced it by the third solar rotation. The recurring X-ray active region appearance and recurring flare activity after 86 days suggest that persistent subsurface flux emergence patterns might be responsible, and support previous arguments that 'active longitudes' exist.
Pathogenesis of flavivirus encephalitis.

Publisher Summary Within the flavivirus family, viruses that cause natural infections of the central nervous system (CNS) principally include members of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) serogroup and the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) serocomplex. The pathogenesis of diseases involves complex interactions of viruses, which differ in neurovirulence potential, and a number of host factors, which govern susceptibility to infection and the capacity to mount effective antiviral immune responses both in the periphery and within the CNS. This chapter summarizes progress in the field of flavivirus neuropathogenesis. Mosquito-borne and tickborne viruses are considered together. Flavivirus neuropathogenesis involves both neuroinvasiveness (capacity to enter the CNS) and neurovirulence (replication within the CNS), both of which can be manipulated experimentally. Neuronal injury as a result of bystander effects may be a factor during flavivirus neuropathogenesis given that microglial activation and elaboration of inflammatory mediators, including IL-1β and TNF-α, occur in the CNS during these infections and may accompany the production of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite, which can cause neurotoxicity.
The human egg in the pronuclear stage.

A human egg in the pronuclear stage was recovered by flushing the excised oviduct that had been removed along with the uterus. The hysterectomy and right salpingectomy were performed on day 16 of the patient's menstrual cycle. The egg was examined first in the fresh state and revealed two pronuclei, a granular zona pellucida, and corona cell processes traversing the zona pellucida. The egg was subsequently fixed and stained revealing further details of the pronuclei, and the tail of the fertilizing spermatozoon lying over one of the pronuclei. The age of the egg was estimated as being 3 to 50 hours post ovulation time.
Reactive simulation of the chemistry behind the condensed-phase ignition of RDX from hot spots

Chemical events that lead to thermal initiation and spontaneous ignition of the high-pressure phase of RDX are presented using reactive molecular dynamics simulations. In order to initiate the chemistry behind thermal ignition, approximately 5% of RDX crystal is subjected to a constant temperature thermal pulse for various time durations to create a hot spot. After application of the thermal pulse, the ensuing chemical evolution of the system is monitored using reactive molecular dynamics under adiabatic conditions. Thermal pulses lasting longer than certain time durations lead to the spontaneous ignition of RDX after an incubation period. For cases where the ignition is observed, the incubation period is dominated by intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen transfer reactions. Contrary to the widely accepted unimolecular models of initiation chemistry, N–N bond dissociations that produce NO2 species are suppressed in the condensed phase. The gradual temperature and pressure increase in the incubation period is accompanied by the accumulation of short-lived, heavier polyradicals. The polyradicals contain intact triazine rings from the RDX molecules. At certain temperatures and pressures, the polyradicals undergo ring-opening reactions, which fuel a series of rapid exothermic chemical reactions leading to a thermal runaway regime with stable gas-products such as N2, H2O and CO2. The evolution of the RDX crystal throughout the thermal initiation, incubation and thermal runaway phases observed in the reactive simulations contains a rich diversity of condensed-phase chemistry of nitramines under high-temperature/pressure conditions.
The political economy of industrialization in primary product exporting economies : some cautionary tales

This paper considers the long run development policies and outcomes of 5 land abundant export economies of Argentina, Peru, Ghana, Tanzania and Thailand. The discussion focuses on three 'political economy' trade-theoretic models of the 'predatory state', the 'factional state' and the 'oligarchic state.' These models seek to show how political pressures may arise for such export economies to undertake hot house import substituting industrialisation, chiefly through the agency of public enterprises.
Aspiration Pneumonia-Induced Sepsis Increases Cardiac Dysfunction after Burn Trauma

Pneumonia occurs in approximately 50% of incubated patients in burn intensive care units and carries a mortality as high as 40%. A model was developed to study altered cardiopulmonary function in burn complicated by pneumococcal pneumonia. Sprague-Dawley rats were given a 43% total body surface area scald burn or sham burn; 24 h later they were transtracheally inoculated with either 10(7) Streptococcus pneumoniae in 0.5 ml phosphate buffer solution (PBS) or 0.5 ml PBS alone. The four groups were: Sham (N = 7), Burn alone (N = 10), Pneumonia alone (N = 11), and Burn and Pneumonia ( N = 12). A fifth group of burned rats (N = 10), given an identical fluid resuscitation regimen, was sacrificed 24 h postburn to examine the early cardiac responses to burn injury alone. Shams and burned animals had normal lung histology, negative bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cultures, and negative blood cultures. Pneumonia and burn plus pneumonia animals had abnormal lung histology, positive BAL cultures, and positive blood cultures. Cardiac function was assessed 24 h after S.pneumoniae challenge (48 h after burn) (Langendorff preparation). Compared to the Sham group, Pneumonia group, and Burn group, the Burn plus Pneumonia group had the lowest left ventricular pressure (LVP: 94 +/- 4, 71 +/- 3, and 87 +/- 3 mm Hg vs 63 +/- 4 mm Hg, P < 0.05), the lowest maximal rate of LVP rise (+dP/dt[max]:1932 +/- 115, 1419 +/- 71, and 1772 +/- 96 mm Hg vs 1309 +/- 59 mm Hg/s, P < 0.05), and the lowest maximal rate of LVP fall (-dP/dt[max]:1704 +/- 120, 1263 +/- 73, and 1591 +/- 83 mm Hg vs 1025 +/- 98 mm Hg/s, P < 0.05). Cardiac contraction and relaxation deficits were confirmed in animals 24 h postburn (group 5), as indicated by a significantly lower LVP and +/-dP/dt(max) (62 +/- 3 mm Hg 1210 +/- 60, and 909 +/- 50 mm Hg/s, respectively, P < 0.05 compared to Sham group). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentrations in serum, but not bronchoalveolar lavage, were greater in burned animals with aspiration pneumonia-induced sepsis than in animals with either burn alone or aspiration pneumonia-induced sepsis alone. While our data suggest that elevated circulating TNF-alpha levels may contribute, in part, to depressed cardiac function, further studies are needed to fully define the mechanisms underlying cardiac contractile deficits in this model. We speculate that depressed cardiopulmonary function due to burn complicated by pneumonia and sepsis contributes to the high mortality of this patient population.
Breast cancer cell contamination of blood stem cell products in patients with metastatic breast cancer: predictors and clinical relevance.

Abstract The incidence and clinical relevance of tumor cells contaminating the stem cell products of patients with advanced breast cancer treated with high-dose chemotherapy is uncertain because prior studies used small sample sizes and lacked standardization of the immunocytochemistry (ICC) detection method used. We evaluated blood stem cell and bone marrow samples obtained from 535 women with metastatic breast cancer who received high-dose chemotherapy and unmanipulated mobilized blood stem cell support. Of the patients tested, 20.6% and 26.3% had blood stem cell and bone marrow contamination, respectively. Blood stem cell contamination was significantly more frequent in patients with marrow involvement than in patients without marrow involvement (35% versus 18.4%, respectively; P=.009). In fact, according to multivariate analysis results, marrow involvement was the only significant predictor for blood stem cell product contamination. Patients without marrow involvement who had fewer apheresis procedures were also observed to have a significantly lower incidence rate of blood stem cell contamination than patients who had more procedures (P Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2002;8(10):536-43.
Utilization of the 1,2,3,5-thiatriazolidin-3-one 1,1-dioxide scaffold in the design of potential inhibitors of human neutrophil proteinase 3

The S' subsites of human neutrophil proteinase 3 (Pr 3) were probed by constructing diverse libraries of compounds based on the 1,2,3,5-thiatriazolidin-3-one 1,1-dioxide using combinational and click chemistry methods. The multiple points of diversity embodied in the heterocyclic scaffold render it well-suited to the exploration of the S' subsites of Pr 3. Molecular modeling studies suggest that further exploration of the S' subsites of Pr 3 using the aforementioned heterocyclic scaffold may lead to the identification of highly selective, reversible competitive inhibitors of Pr 3.
Battery Sizing as a Function of Powertrain Component Efficiencies for Various Drive Cycles

The market segment of hybrid-electric and full function electric vehicles is growing within the automotive transportation sector. While many papers exist concerning fuel economy or fuel consumption and the limitations of conventional powertrains, little published work is available for vehicles which use grid electricity as an energy source for propulsion. Generally, the emphasis is put solely on the average drive cycle efficiency for the vehicle with very little thought given to propelling and braking powertrain losses for individual components. The modeling section of this paper will take basic energy loss equations for vehicle speed and acceleration, along with component efficiency information to predict the grid energy consumption in AC Wh/km for a given drive cycle. An electric-only range target is established as part of the vehicle technical specifications. This set range along with component characteristics will impact the sizing of the energy storage subsystem. To demonstrate the usefulness in understanding powertrain losses, the energy use is described in propelling, braking, idle, and charging cases. A simulation focusing on battery sizing to meet power and range requirements shows the impacts of friction brakes, regenerative braking fraction, and average motor efficiency. Vehicle characteristics such as, but not limited to, a range extender application, electric-only vehicle range, and acceleration performance are explained as well. The model is correlated to real world vehicle data for a custom-built plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. By using the Virginia Tech Range Extended Crossover (VTREX ) and collecting data from testing, the parameters that the model is based on will be correlated with real world test data. The paper presents a propelling, braking, and net energy weighted drive cycle averaged efficiency that can be used to calculate the losses for a given cycle. In understanding the losses at each component, not just the individual efficiency, areas for future vehicle improvement can be identified to reduce petroleum energy use and greenhouse gases.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Use of off-axis SH-waves to map out three-dimensional stresses in orthotropic plates

Abstract An acoustical birefringence method is proposed to measure thickness-varying stresses in slightly orthotropic plates. In this method, off-axis SH-waves at various angles of incidence are propagated in the body's planes of material symmetry, and pass through a common point. The weighted sum of times-of-flight of waves propagating in one plane is subtracted from the corresponding sum in the orthogonal plane. To a first approximation, this difference is the local birefringence at the common point and as such can be related to components of the stress tensor there. The ability of the method to map out simple stress concentrations was tested analytically. Reasonably good spatial resolution was obtained, but the method underestimated the magnitudes.
Neurodevelopmental outcome at 8 months and 4 years among infants born full-term small-for-gestational-age

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between intrauterine growth restriction and neurodevelopmental outcome among full-term small-for-gestational-age (SGAT) infants at 8 months and 4 years of age. STUDY DESIGN: Growth parameters at birth and test scores on measures of neurodevelopmental function for 3922 children born SGAT were compared with those of 29,369 children born appropriately grown-for-gestational-age term from similar economic backgrounds. Additional within-SGAT/economic group comparisons were made for 1684 SGAT infants with symmetric undergrowth at birth and 2034 SGAT infants with asymmetric undergrowth at birth. RESULTS: Regardless of socioeconomic background, infants born SGAT were found to be at significantly increased risk for neurodevelopmental difficulties at 8 months and at 4 years of age. Few within SGAT/socioeconomic group differences in neurodevelopmental outcome appeared to be associated with specific pattern of growth restriction at birth. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings provide further evidence of the individual and public health impact of SGAT birth.
The dynamics of quantifiable homeostasis. VI: Processes of fractional order.

In a previous paper [Murphy and Renie, 1984] we noted that in a system that exhibits homeostasis of zero order, an instantaneous perturbation, however small, invariably leads to a permanent, stable oscillation, the amplitude of which depends on the restoration constant (b) and the lag time (L) but not on the magnitude or sign of the original perturbation. We suggested that such a remarkable property, so easily attained, would be a valuable and plausible evolutionary device for generating those cyclical processes so important in normal physiology — such as respiration, heart contraction, the sleep cycle, seasonal effects, and menstruation. By a suitable choice of parameters, they could be readily tuned to the requisite length of the cycle and amplitude of variation. The most immediate argument against this suggestion is the implausible form of the wave generated in the zero-order process, which is angular and quite unlike anything in common experience of normal physiology. Then in a subsequent study [Renie and Murphy, 1984] we found that for homeostatic processes of higher order, in general there is a critical value of the restoration constant at which regular oscillation is maintained. A preliminary study suggested that for processes of fractional order, no critical value that produces oscillation exists. However, the topic of processes of fractional order seems to be of sufficient complexity to warrant detailed treatment in a separate paper.
Medieval Church Law and the Origins of the Western Legal Tradition: A Tribute to Kenneth Pennington – Edited by Wolfgang P. Müller & Mary E. Sommar

Kenneth Pennington, the Kelly‐Quinn Professor of Ecclesiastical and Legal History at the Catholic University of America, is an expert in medieval canon law and in legal history generally, especiall...
Distribution and pharmacokinetics of physostigmine in rat after intramuscular administration

Abstract The distribution and pharmacokinetics of [3H]physostigmine (Phy) and the relationship between the time course of Phy concentration and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibition in plasma was studied in rat after im administration (650 μg/kg). The concentrations of Phy and its metabolites were determined in plasma and brain by high-performance liquid chromatography and by counting the radioactivity in the chromatographic fractions. The half-life of Phy in plasma and brain was 17 and 16 min, respectively. The brain-to-plasma ratio of Phy peaked (1.61) at 22 min. The time course of Phy and its metabolites (eseroline, M1 and M2) indicated that Phy was rapidly metabolized and M1 appeared to be the major metabolite. The distribution studies showed that the concentration of radioactivity per gram of tissue was higher in kidney and liver than the other tissues. The time course of BuChE activity and plasma Phy concentration showed that the maximum enzymatic inhibition (47%) occurred at about the same time (7 min) as the peak plasma concentration (583 ng/ml at 5 min). The enzymatic activity recovered to 81% at 2 hr and 100% within 24 hr.
Radiometric age of the Monograptus cyphus graptolite zone in Southeastern Alaska — an estimate of the age of the Ordovician—Silurian boundary

K—Ar age measurements on Esquibel Island, southeastern Alaska yield a minimum age of about 433±3 Ma for the Zone of Monograptus cyphus of the Lower Silurian. An age of approximately 435—437 Ma is estimated for the Ordovician—Silurian boundary.
Heuristic ranking of java program edits for fault localization

In modern software development, regression tests are used to confirm the fundamental functionalities of an edited program and to assure the code quality. Difficulties occur when testing reveals unexpected behaviors, which indicate potential defects introduced by the edit. However, the changes that caused the failure(s) are not always easy to find. We propose a heuristic that ranks method changes that might have affected a failed test, indicating the likelihood that they may have contributed to a test failure. Our heuristic is based on the calling structure of the failed test (e.g., the number of ancestors and descendents of a method in the test's call graph, whether the caller or callee was changed, etc.). We evaluated the effectiveness of the heuristic in 14 pairs of edited versions in the Eclipse jdt core plug-in, using the test suite from its compiler tests plug-in. Our results indicate that when a failure is caused by a single method change, our heuristic ranked the failure-inducing change as number 1 or number 2 of all the method changes in 67% of the delegate tests (i.e., representatives of all failing tests). Even when the failure is caused by some combination of the changes, rather than a single change, our heuristic still helps.
A Single Value Function for Evaluating Organizations with Multiple Constituencies

A unique social value function of organizational effectiveness is logically possible if the evaluation of outcomes is based not on the preferences of constituents but, instead, on the relationship among organizational outcomes. The implication is that the values of outcomes are determined by the interstructuring of human actions over time. This result is theoretically important. It implies that constituent preferences are not necessary for evaluating the outcomes of organizations. It thus is possible to assess organizational effectiveness independently, for comparison with assessments based on preferences.
Studies on synchronously dividing cultures of Euglena gracilis Klebs (strain Z). I. Attainment and characterization of rhythmic cell division

Euglena gracilis Klebs (strain Z) was grown synchronously on an aerated, inorganic salt medium at 25°C under a LD: 16, 8 or LD: 14, 10 light-dark cycle (light intensity of 3,500 lux). In either cycle balanced growth occurred with a doubling of cell number every 24 hr. until limiting conditions of light intensity were reached, due to mutual shading, at about 1.0 – 1.5 × 105 cells/ml. An increase of light intensity to 7,000 lux permitted balanced growth to occur to higher cell concentrations, but with no significant change in generation time. With both photofractions, the fission burst during any given cycle began 13–14 hr after the onset of the light period and continued for about 9–11 hour. Synchrony was slightly greater in the LD: 14, 10 cycle with division confined almost entirely to the dark period; this regime was later adopted for metabolic studies. Synchronous cell division was lost in continuous bright light (3,500 or 7,000 lux), continuous darkness, and in some continuous dim light regimes. The addition of certain organic substrates to the medium resulted in a breakdown of synchrony also, and logarithmic growth ensued. The generation time of cells in either continuous bright light, or with ethanol (0.006 M) and a LD cycle was 11–12 hr.
Ocular aminopeptidase activity and distribution in the albino rabbit

Ocular aminopeptidase activity in the albino rabbit was determined using L-leucine-, L-alanine-, and L-arginine-4-methoxy-2-naphthylamide as substrates. The corneal epithelium and the irisciliary b...
VARIABILITY IN RESPONSE TO LEAD EXPOSURE: DEMONSTRATION OF A GENETIC INFLUENCE

Examination of dose-response factors in childhood lead exposure has generally been concerned with environmental and physiological studies. We have studied eight monozygotic and seven dizygotic twin pairs as a means of demonstrating a genetic influence in lead handling and toxicity. Lead exposure and toxicity were assessed by determinations of whole blood lead, (B.L.) hematocrit, erythrocyte porphyrins, (E.P.) and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity,(ALA-d). The intraclass correlation coefficients suggest that, in general, monozygotic twins respond more similarly than do dizygotic twins, in all parameters. The difference in correlation coefficients are significant at the p<05 and p<.01 level for E.P. and B.L. respectively, when tested by Fisher's Z transformation.
On estimation of the gradient of the performance measure for the production-type network

The development of techniques for optimizing a production-type network via probablistic simulation often requires (1) modeling of the system, (2) estimation of the system performance and of its gradient, and (3) generation of methods for optimization. See the references for some of the recent work in this regard. In this short paper we report some very preliminary results obtained in our development. Specifically we describe a model of the network and its associated typical performance index together with its gradient.
96 STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS CORR ELATED WITH NONORGANIC FAILURE TO THRIVE (NO-FTT) AND ORGANIC FAILURE TO THRIVE (O-FTT) IN CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF THREE

96 STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS CORR ELATED WITH NONORGANIC FAILURE TO THRIVE (NO-FTT) AND ORGANIC FAILURE TO THRIVE (O-FTT) IN CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF THREE
The effect of flexural strain on the transmissivity of optical fiber

Abstract Four different multimode optical fibers were tested to obtain the following correlations: (1) signal power with bend radius, (2) strain with bend radius and (3) signal power with strain. The data are presented numerically, graphically and mathematically. Graded index multimode and step index multimode fibers are discussed. The mechanism for the attenuation of light in optical fiber as a result of macrobending is examined. Three of the tested fibers demonstrated a consistent relationship between flexural strain and light transmissivity and could potentially be inlaid within a curved composite material system for use as the principal component in a stress or strain transducer.
Transanal protrusion of gastric band tubing: a rare complication of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Transanal protrusion of gastric band tubing: a rare complication of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding Joshua D. Pfeiffer, M.D.*, Jennifer Grant, M.D., Rami E. Lutfi, M.D., F.A.C.S. University of Illinois at Chicago, Metropolitan Group Hospitals, Chicago, Illinois University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Received July 18, 2012; accepted July 30, 2012 Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 9 (2013) e23–e24