cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solving insomnia electronically: Sleep treatment for asthma (SIESTA): A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Chronic insomnia is associated with poor asthma control. Cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia (CBT-I) is an efficacious and durable treatment for comorbid insomnia in medical and psychiatric disorders. However, the efficacy and potential accompanying mechanisms of CBT-I have not been examined in asthma. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a CBT-I intervention on sleep and asthma control in adults with insomnia and asthma. We will also explore airway inflammation (i.e., exhaled nitric oxide, blood eosinophils) as a potential biological mechanism linking improvements in sleep with improvements in asthma control. Methods The study is a single center, parallel group, randomized controlled trial. Two hundred and ten adults with insomnia and asthma that is not well-controlled will be randomized to either a 9-week Internet-based CBT-I program (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi)) or an enhanced usual care condition which utilizes an online educational video about insomnia. The primary sleep outcome is insomnia severity measured by the Insomnia Severity Index. Secondary sleep outcomes are sleep quality and wrist actigraph-recorded sleep parameters. Asthma control will be assessed by the Asthma Control Test, Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, pulmonary function testing, and self-report of asthma exacerbations and asthma-related healthcare utilization. Treatment outcomes will be measured at baseline, 9 weeks, and 6 months. Discussion This trial has the potential to identify a novel strategy for improving asthma control. Findings may advocate for the inclusion of treatment of comorbid insomnia into current asthma management practice guidelines.
Multivariable AP with adaptive control

Abstract We propose an adaptive model predictive control (MPC) algorithm for a multivariable artificial pancreas (M-AP) system with no meal and physical activity announcements. We develop a recursively updated model for glucose predictions by subspace identification and link it with a personalized compartment model of plasma insulin concentration (PIC) dynamics. The identification approach uses physiological variables and meal effect estimates in addition to measured glucose signal to characterize the dynamics of glucose concentrations. An MPC is designed using the adaptive models to effectively compute the optimal exogenous insulin infusion. A dynamic safety constraint derived from the estimation of PIC is incorporated in the proposed adaptive MPC to prevent insulin overdosing and enhance the safety of the AP. A feature extraction method based on glucose measurements is used to detect rapid deviations from the desired set-point caused by significant disturbances and subsequently modify the constraints of the optimization problem for negotiating between the aggressiveness and robustness of the controller to suggest the required amount of insulin. A hypoglycemia prediction and carbohydrate suggestion module is used to prevent any potential hypoglycemia. Simulation case studies demonstrate the performance of the proposed M-AP system.
Small intestinal obstruction by sunflower seed bezoar

Abstract Bezoars are rare mass formations in the gastrointestinal tract caused by consumption of indigestible materials such as plant fibers (Phytobezoars) or hair (Trichobezoars). We report a case of a 12-year-old boy who presented with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting without any other clinical findings. Radiographic findings showed an area of obstruction in the small bowel, which we confirmed by performing an exploratory laparotomy. The treatment consisted of surgical removal of the obstructing bezoar from the distant ileum as well as excision of an incidentally identified Meckel's diverticulum. Postoperative discussions revealed, that the patient had ingested a large amount of unshelled sunflower seeds, which had caused a mass formation and obstruction of his small bowel. The patient did not suffer any complications during or after surgery and experienced a rapid recovery. Bezoars should be considered among adolescents presenting with intestinal obstruction, especially among baseball players.
Denitrification efficiency in groundwater adjacent to ditches within constructed riparian wetlands: Kankakee watershed, Illinois-Indiana, U.S.A.

Dual isotope evaluations of NO3- in groundwater adjacentto ditches within constructed riparian wetlands across the Kankakee watershed may assist the determination of denitrificationefficiency. Groundwater sampling indicates that NO3--N exceeded 10 mg L-1 in constructed riparian wetlands but not innative wetlands within the riparian zones of the Kankakee basin. Anapparent local empirical threshold for nitrification occurs in groundwater near ditches with less then 1:11 depth to width dimensions within similar hydrogeology. The 15N and 18Ocomposition of groundwater nitrate varies widely in these constructed riparian wetlands. Groundwater nitrate associated with broader ditches (e.g. 1:35) most closely matches the denitrification isotope signature of native riparian wetlands in the basin. The geometry of various cut and fill landforms may need evaluation in engineering designs for constructed riparian wetlands to ensure the establishment of local natural groundwaterflow conditions for efficient nitrate attenuation.
Adding dose modifications into Phase II and Phase II/III seamless trials.

We present a technique for adding dose modifications into seamless Phase II and Phase II/III trials featuring dose selection at an interim analysis. The method is convenient to apply and can be use...
Patient navigator reported patient barriers and delivered activities in two large federally-funded cancer screening programs

Few data are available on patient navigators (PNs) across diverse roles and organizational settings that could inform optimization of patient navigation models for cancer prevention. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) and the Colorectal Cancer and Control Program (CRCCP) are two federally-funded screening programs that support clinical- and community-based PNs who serve low-income and un- or underinsured populations across the United States. An online survey assessing PN characteristics, delivered activities, and patient barriers to screening was completed by 437 of 1002 identified PNs (44%). Responding PNs were racially and ethnically diverse, had varied professional backgrounds and practice-settings, worked with diverse populations, and were located within rural and urban/suburban locations across the U.S. More PNs reported working to promote screening for breast/cervical cancers (BCC, 94%) compared to colorectal cancer (CRC, 39%). BCC and CRC PNs reported similar frequencies of individual- (e.g., knowledge, motivation, fear) and community-level patient barriers (e.g., beliefs about healthcare and screening). Despite reporting significant patient structural barriers (e.g., transportation, work and clinic hours), most BCC and CRC PNs delivered individual-level navigation activities (e.g., education, appointment reminders). PN training to identify and champion timely and patient-centered adjustments to organizational policies, practices, and norms of the NBCCEDP, CRCCP, and partner organizations may be beneficial. More research is needed to determine whether multilevel interventions that support this approach could reduce structural barriers and increase screening and diagnostic follow-up among the marginalized communities served by these two important cancer-screening programs.
Students’ Perceptions of Justice: Application of Sanctions, Guilt, and Responsibility in Campus Sexual Assault Cases

Despite growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, little is known how students perceive “justice” for such cases. The present study examined whether victim, perpetrator, and assault characteristics influenced students’ perceptions of: whether a sanctionable violation occurred; the type of sanction to be applied; perceived severity of the sanction; proportion of guilt attributable to the victim and perpetrator; and level of responsibility of the victim and perpetrator. Fourteen factors pertaining to potential negative evaluation of rape victims were derived; thus, a non-factorial vignette survey design focusing only on each main effect was employed. 846 college students responded to one of four versions of a randomly distributed survey each containing eight vignettes that varied to represent all levels of the 14 factors. Students were not consistent in their application of sanctions or assignment of guilt or responsibility for the sexual assault vignettes, but rather were influenced in their ratings for 10 of the 14 factors. Students responded differentially to levels of the following factors: psychological impact on the victim, victim’s medical consequences, reason for the victim’s incapacitation leading to assault, consistency of victim’s and perpetrator’s accounts of the assault, sexual orientation of the victim, type of forced sex, number of perpetrators involved, fraternity membership of the perpetrator, gender of the perpetrator, and victim’s initial display of sexual interest in the perpetrator. Cases consistent with rape myths appear to influence students’ perceptions of justice. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and prevention programming.
Bidirectional links between adolescent brain function and substance use moderated by cognitive control.

BACKGROUND No clear consensus exists as to whether neurodevelopmental abnormalities among substance users reflect predisposing neural risk factors, neurotoxic effects of substances, or both. Using a longitudinal design, we examined developmental patterns of the bidirectional links between neural mechanisms and substance use throughout adolescence. METHOD 167 adolescents (aged 13-14 years at Time 1, 53% male) were assessed annually four times. Risk-related neural processing was assessed by blood-oxygen-level-dependent responses in the insula during a lottery choice task, cognitive control by behavioral performance during the Multi-Source Interference Task, and substance use by adolescents' self-reported cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use. RESULTS Latent change score modeling indicated that greater substance use predicted increased insula activation during risk processing, but the effects of insula activation on changes in substance use were not significant. The coupling effect from substance use to insula activation was particularly strong for adolescents with low cognitive control, which supports the theorized moderating role of cognitive control. CONCLUSIONS Our results elucidate how substance use may alter brain development to be biased toward maladaptive decision-making, particularly among adolescents with poor cognitive control. Furthermore, the current findings underscore that cognitive control may be an important target in the prevention and treatment of adolescent substance use given its moderating role in the neuroadaptive effects of substance use on brain development.
Making Peace with Metrics: Relational Work in Online News Production

How do workers make peace with performance metrics that threaten their professional values? Drawing on Viviana Zelizer’s concepts of relational work and “good matches,” we focus on the case of online news production and analyze efforts to align audience metrics with journalistic values. Whereas existing research on web metrics tends to frame editorial production and audience data as “hostile worlds” of professional and market forces that cannot be reconciled, we show that journalists rely on relational work to make metrics acceptable within organizations. Drawing on ethnographic material, we identify five key relational strategies: moral boundary-drawing between "good" and "bad" metrics, strategic invocation of "best-case scenarios," domestication through bespoke metrics, reframing metrics as democratic feedback, and justifying metrics as organizational subsidies. We then turn to cases of failure and document a process that we call overspelling, which can coincide with organizational breakdown. We conclude by discussing the concept of “failed matches” and the indirect relationship between metrics and markets in online news production.
Abstract 14948: Comparative Effectiveness of CRT in Older Patients With Heart Failure: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: The pivotal cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) trials enrolled patients significantly younger than the typical contemporary heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) pat...
Cultural Factors in Traumatic Stress

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a diagnosis was first recognized in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–III) (APA, 1980). In this chapter, we highlight the relevance of and need for a better elucidation of the prevalence of PTSD in diverse settings and discuss its utility as a way of conceptualizing traumatic stress. Next we discuss critiques of this construct. One of the most central critiques lies in the debate as to the degree to which PTSD is a meaningful and useful construct in the context of cross-cultural psychological research and clinical treatment. We reference components of this debate and conclude with some specific recommendations for research and treatment. The PTSD diagnosis includes a prerequisite traumatic event, three subsets of symptom types, a requisite duration of symptoms beyond one month after the associated event, and a significant distress or decrease in functioning. The intrusion subcategory includes dreams or flashbacks reminiscent of the event, intrusive thoughts about the event, and emotional distress and physiological reactivity to cues associated with the event. The avoidance/numbing subcategory includes the avoidance of people and places that are reminders of the event, the inability to remember all the details of the event, feelings of detachment from others, a restricted range of affect, and a sense of a foreshortened future. The hyperarousal subcategory includes an exaggerated startle response, difficulty concentrating or falling asleep, outbursts of anger, and hypervigilance. Since its inception PTSD has been embroiled in debate over multiple issues. Major controversies about the diagnosis include the political climate in which it was conceived, the recent broadening of the definition of the traumatic event that is required to meet a diagnosis for PTSD, that event’s questionable association with symptom manifestation, and the theoretical view of the nature of traumatic memory (Herbert & Forman, 2005; McNally, 2004). For instance Mol et al. (2005) found that PTSD symptoms were as commonly associated with life events such as an illness or problems at work as they were with events that meet Criterion A. The construct has been a source of even greater
Dynamic asset allocation approaches for counter-piracy operations

Piracy on the high seas is a problem of world-wide concern. In response to this threat, the US Navy has developed a visualization tool known as the Pirate Attack Risk Surface (PARS) that integrates intelligence data, commercial shipping routes, and meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) information to predict regions where pirates may be present and where they may strike next. This paper proposes an algorithmic augmentation or add-on to PARS that allocates interdiction and surveillance assets so as to minimize the likelihood of a successful pirate attack over a fixed planning horizon. This augmentation, viewed as a tool for human planners, can be mapped closely to the decision support layer of the Battlespace on Demand (BonD) framework [32]. Our solution approach decomposes this NP-hard optimization problem into two sequential phases. In Phase I, we solve the problem of allocating only the interdiction assets, such that regions with high cumulative probability of attack over the planning horizon are maximally covered. In Phase II, we solve the surveillance problem, where the area not covered by interdiction assets is partitioned into non-overlapping search regions (e.g., rectangular boxes) and assigned to a set of surveillance assets to maximize the cumulative detection probability over the planning horizon. In order to overcome the curse of dimensionality associated with Dynamic Programming (DP), we propose a Gauss-Seidel algorithm coupled with a rollout strategy for the interdiction problem. For the surveillance problem, we propose a partitioning algorithm coupled with an asymmetric assignment algorithm for allocating assets to the partitioned regions. Once the surveillance assets are assigned to search regions, the search path for each asset is determined based on a specific search strategy. The proposed algorithms are illustrated using a hypothetical scenario for conducting counter-piracy operations in a given Area of Responsibility (AOR).
Mainstreaming on the College Level

(1978). Mainstreaming on the College Level. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 18-19.
Low-Frequency Interlayer Breathing Modes in Few-Layer Black Phosphorus

As a new two-dimensional layered material, black phosphorus (BP) is a very promising material for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. We use Raman spectroscopy and first-principles theory to characterize and understand the low-frequency (LF) interlayer breathing modes (<100 cm–1) in few-layer BP for the first time. Using a laser polarization dependence study and group theory analysis, the breathing modes are assigned to Ag symmetry. Compared to the high-frequency (HF) Raman modes, the LF breathing modes are considerably more sensitive to interlayer coupling and, thus, their frequencies show a stronger dependence on the number of layers. Hence, they constitute an effective means to probe both the crystalline orientation and thickness of few-layer BP. Furthermore, the temperature dependence shows that in the temperature range −150 to 30 °C, the breathing modes have a weak anharmonic behavior, in contrast to the HF Raman modes that exhibit strong anharmonicity.
OMITTING CLASSES OF ELEMENTS

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on omitting classes of elements. By a class of elements we mean a class defined by a set of formulas. It is fairly easy to show that there must be some cardinal, x, such that for any theory T and any class Σ the existence of a model of T of power K which omits Σ implies the existence of such models in each infinite power. The principal result of this paper is the determination of this cardinal. The proof depends upon a partition theorem of Erdos and Rado. The letter T will always denote a theory in a countable first-order language L, and Σ will denote a set of formulas in L having a common single free variable. In particular, Ehrenfeucht used it to show that for any theory T (having an infinite model) there will be some countable set of types of elements such that T has arbitrarily large models containing only elements of those types.
TESTING THE MICHIGAN DOUBLE-BOTTOM TANKER

A full-scale vehicle testing program was undertaken to analyze the rollover stability of double-bottom tankers (associated with a high incidence of rollover accidents in Michigan). The testing was part of a total research program which included yaw plane and roll plane analytical studies. Test vehicle loading, anti-rollover outriggers, instrumentation, and modification hardware are discussed. The baseline Michigan tanker was found to have an exceptionally low dynamic rollover stability, particularly in accident-evasion maneuvers. This instability probably accounted for most of the accidents in which the pup trailer alone rolled over. An improvement to the baseline double can be attained by installing, between the dolly and the semitrailer, a hitch which is rigid in both the steer and roll directions and by installing devices in the suspensions to eliminate excessive clearance in the left spring constraints. This modified tanker exhibits a rollover stability level comparable to that of the short Michigan single tanker. The pup trailer of the baseline vehicle has a lightly damped mode of yaw oscillation; it can become unstable if only the rear compartment is loaded and the speed exceeds 50 mph. Virtually all current double and single trailer combinations, and perhaps many straight trucks, incorporate a suspension feature which can reduce the dynamic rollover threshold by as much as 15%. This feature, involving free play in the vertical location of suspension leaf springs, can be almost eliminated with a minor modification. The findings on vehicle stability were combined with exposure to produce estimates of the comparative rollover rating of tanker fleets. It was concluded that fuel delivery using short Michigan single tankers yields the highest exposure to fire hazard of all known fleet options (excluding the unmodified double-bottom tanker), and fuel delivery using conventional 9000 gal. single tankers may yield an exposure to fire hazzrd equal to or greater than that of modified double-bottom tankers and large single tankers.
Szegő kernels and Poincaré series

Let \(M = {{\widetilde M} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\widetilde M} \Gamma }} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} \Gamma }\) be a Kahler manifold, where Γ ~ π1(M) and \(\widetilde M\) is the universal Kahler cover. Let (L, h) → M be a positive hermitian holomorphic line bundle. We first prove that the L2 Szegő projector \({\widetilde \Pi _N}\) for L2-holomorphic sections on the lifted bundle \({\widetilde L^N}\) is related to the Szegő projector for H0(M, LN) by \({\widehat \Pi _N}\left( {x,y} \right) = \sum\nolimits_{\gamma \in \Gamma } {{{\widetilde {\widehat \Pi }}_N}} \left( {\gamma \cdot x,y} \right)\). We then apply this result to give a simple proof of Napier’s theorem on the holomorphic convexity of \(\widetilde M\) with respect to \({\widetilde L^N}\) and to surjectivity of Poincare series.
Plasmonic laser sensors (Presentation Recording)

Perhaps the most successful application of plasmonics to date has been in sensing, where the interaction of a nanoscale localized field with analytes leads to high-sensitivity detection in real time and in a label-free fashion. However, all previous designs have been based on passively excited surface plasmons, in which sensitivity is intrinsically limited by the low quality factors induced by metal losses. It has recently been proposed theoretically that surface plasmon sensors with active excitation (gain-enhanced) can achieve much higher sensitivities due to the amplification of the surface plasmons. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an active plasmon sensor that is free of metal losses and operating deep below the diffraction limit for visible light. Loss compensation leads to an intense and sharp lasing emission that is ultrasensitive to adsorbed molecules. We validated the efficacy of our sensor to detect explosives in air under normal conditions and have achieved a sub-part-per-billion detection limit, the lowest reported to date for plasmonic sensors with 2,4-dinitrotoluene and ammonium nitrate. The selectivity between 2,4-dinitrotoluene, ammoniumnitrate and nitrobenzene is on a par with other state-of-the-art explosives detectors. Our results show that monitoring the change of the lasing intensity is a superior method than monitoring the wavelength shift, as is widely used in passive surface plasmon sensors. We therefore envisage that nanoscopic sensors that make use of plasmonic lasing could become an important tool in security screening and biomolecular diagnostics.
Effects of dopamine D2-like receptor agonists in mice trained to discriminate cocaine from saline: Influence of feeding condition

In rats, the discriminative stimulus effects of direct- and indirect-acting dopamine receptor agonists are mediated by multiple dopamine receptor subtypes and the relative contribution of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors to these effects varies as a function of feeding condition. In these studies, free-fed and food-restricted mice were trained to discriminate 10.0 mg/kg cocaine using a two-lever discrimination procedure in which responding was maintained by food. Both groups of mice acquired the discrimination; however, free-fed mice responded at lower rates than food-restricted mice. Dopamine D3 receptor agonists, pramipexole and quinpirole, increased cocaine-appropriate responding (>85%) in food-restricted, but not in free-fed mice. The dopamine D2 receptor agonist, sumanirole, and the nonselective dopamine receptor agonist, apomorphine, failed to increase cocaine-appropriate responding in either group. Free-fed mice were more sensitive than food-restricted mice to the rate-decreasing effects of dopamine receptor agonists and these effects could not be overcome by increasing the magnitude of reinforcement. Because feeding condition did not alter quinpirole-induced hypothermia, it is unlikely that differences in the discriminative stimulus or rate-decreasing effects of dopamine D2-like receptor agonists were due to differences in the pharmacokinetic properties of the drugs. Although these results suggest that the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine are mediated by both dopamine D2 and D3 receptors in food-restricted mice, the increased sensitivity of free-fed mice to the rate-decreasing effects of dopamine D2-like receptor agonists limited conclusions about the impact of feeding conditions on the relative contribution of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors to the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine.
Specific Binding of Insulin to Membranes from Dendrodendritic Synaptosomes of Rat Olfactory Bulb

The external plexiform layer of the olfactory bulb is among the brain regions where insulin receptors are most abundant. In vitro binding of porcine 125I-insulin to membranes of dendrodendritic synaptosomes isolated from adult rat olfactory bulbs was studied to test the hypothesis that dendrodendritic synapses are major insulin-receptive sites in the external plexiform layer of olfactory bulbs. Of the specific insulin binding sites present in a total particulate fraction from the olfactory bulbs, approximately half were recovered in the dendrodendritic synaptosome fraction. The only other subcellular fraction to which substantial insulin binding was observed was the conventional (axodendritic/axosomatic) synaptosome fraction. Analysis of equilibrium binding of insulin to dendrodendritic synaptosomal membranes, at total insulin concentrations of 0.5-1,000 nM, revealed binding site heterogeneity consistent with a two-site model for insulin binding to a high-affinity (KD = 6 nM), low-capacity (Bmax = 110 fmol/mg of protein) site and a low-affinity (KD = 190 nM), high-capacity (Bmax = 570 fmol/mg of protein) site. The results indicate that the intense labeling of the external plexiform layer of the olfactory bulb in autoradiographic studies of insulin binding can be attributed to insulin receptors on dendrodendritic synaptic membranes in this region.
Issues in the design and administration of distributed model management systems

Distributed model management systems (DMMS) represent the next frontier in the organizational usage of DSS technology. Due to the growing popularity of distributed computing systems and increased level of modelling activity in most organizations, significant benefits can be realized through the implementation of a DMMS. In several ways, the functions of a DMMS can be viewed as isomorphic to those of a “distributed database system.
Quark propagator, instantons, and gluon propagator

The Schwinger-Dyson formalism is used to check the consistency of instanton model solutions for the quark propagator with recent models of confining gluon propagators. We find that the models are not consistent. A major discrepancy is the absence of a vector condensate in the instanton model that is present in the solutions with nonperturbative confining gluons.
Stabilizing U.S. net carbon emissions by planting trees

Abstract This study investigates how much the costs of stabilizing net carbon emissions in the United States at 1990 levels between 1990 and 2030 can be reduced by using trees to sequester carbon. Using the Fossil2 energy/economic model maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy, we estimate that trees can reduce the overall costs of stabilizing net carbon emissions by as much as 80 percent. More work is needed to verify the magnitude of the cost reduction.
Synthesis of the Nanoscale Phosphor (Y0.95Tb0.05)2O2CO3 by Alkalide Reduction and Its Phase Transformation to (Y0.95Tb0.05)2O3

(Y0.95Tb0.05)2O2CO3 nanoparticles have been synthesized by subambient homogeneous reduction using alkalide solutions and subsequent oxidation. As synthesized, the material consists of free flowing agglomerates of ill-defined, amorphous, or subnanocrystalline nanoparticles. Thermal analysis shows that 2.83 CO2 molecules are adsorbed per Y2O3 formula unit in the washed product. The samples annealed at 200 °C or greater are crystalline, consisting of agglomerated nanocrystals. The nanocrystals grow from an average of 15.3−17.6 nm, the agglomerates decrease in size, and the surface area decreases from 88 to 78 m2/g as the annealing temperature is raised from 400 to 700 °C. Annealing at 800 °C results in a phase change from the carbonate to (Y0.95Tb0.05)2O2. The crystallite size of the oxide phase increases from 21.4 to 22.6 nm, and the surface area increases from 82 to 86 m2/g as the annealing temperature is increased from 800 to 1000 °C. Transmission electron microscopy observations show that the increase in...
Decision making in the management of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in patients with severe emphysema.

In patients who have advanced emphysema, development of a spontaneous pneumothorax can be a life-threatening event, warranting more aggressive management. Patients who have the most advanced stages of emphysema are at the highest risk to develop spontaneous pneumothoraces, have recurrences, and are the most difficult patients to treat. Early surgical intervention should be recommended for patients who have persistent or large air leaks or those who lack parietal-to-visceral pleural apposition after a trial of nonoperative management. Video-assisted thoracoscopy with resection of the offending bulla and pleurodesis or pleurectomy also should be considered to prevent recurrences in all patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are safe operative candidates.
In situ citric acid crosslinking of alginate/polyvinyl alcohol electrospun nanofibers

Abstract This study reports in situ crosslinking of electrospun alginate/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers using citric acid. Porous, interconnected network of nanofibers (mean diameter=250±30 nm) were electrospun from a homogeneous blend of sodium alginate-polyvinyl alcohol (1:1 weight ratio) containing 5 wt% citric acid. Electrospun nanofibers were then cured at 140 °C for 2 h and conditioned at room temperature before analysis. Crosslinked electrospun fibers were found thermally more stable and relatively insoluble in both water and simulated body fluid (SBF). Nanofibers remained intact after being immersed in deionized water or SBF for 2 days. On the other hand, the non-crosslinked electrospun nanofibers dissolved immediately. No significant change in the mechanical properties of the crosslinked alginate/PVA was observed after repetitive water immersion and drying cycles.
Interaction of atropine-like drugs with dopamine-containing neurones in rat brain.

Abstract 1. A variety of atropine-like drugs effective in the treatment of drug-induced extrapyramidal syndromes have been investigated with regard to their interaction with dopamine-containing neurones in rat brain. 2. Under some conditions benztropine, trihexyphenidyl, atropine and ethopropazine significantly antagonized the chlorpromazine-induced increase in subcortical concentrations of homovanillic acid. 3. Most of the atropine-like drugs investigated also decreased the turnover of dopamine in the subcortex as measured by following the disappearance of dopamine after administration of α-methyl-p-tyrosine. 4. These findings are suggestive that an imbalance between a dopaminergic and cholinergic system might be closely linked to the pathogenesis of extra-pyramidal movement disorders.
Presenilin 1 Is Required for Maturation and Cell Surface Accumulation of Nicastrin

Proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein generates β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides that are deposited in senile plaques in brains of aged individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease. Presenilins (PS1 and PS2) facilitate the final step in Aβ production, the intramembranous γ-secretase cleavage of amyloid precursor protein. Biochemical and pharmacological evidence support a catalytic or accessory role for PS1 in γ-secretase cleavage, as well as a regulatory role in select membrane protein trafficking. In this report, we demonstrate that PS1 is required for maturation and cell surface accumulation of nicastrin, an integral component of the multimeric γ-secretase complex. Using kinetic labeling studies we show that in PS1 −/−/PS2 −/− cells nicastrin fails to reach the medial Golgi compartment, and as a consequence, is incompletely glycosylated. Stable expression of human PS1 restores these deficiencies in PS1 −/−fibroblasts. Moreover, membrane fractionation studies show co-localization of PS1 fragments with mature nicastrin. These results indicate a novel chaperone-type role for PS1 and PS2 in facilitating nicastrin maturation and transport in the early biosynthetic compartments. Our findings are consistent with PS1 influencing γ-secretase processing at multiple steps, including maturation and intracellular trafficking of substrates and component(s) of the γ-secretase complex.
Performance of Egocentric Range Estimation in a Laptop Based Virtual Environment

There are limited opportunities and options for deployable units to practice the wide range of skills and tasks needed to stay mission ready. If not practiced, the degradation of skill can have unexpected and disastrous consequences for military personnel and their operations. One such degradable skill is range estimation, which is the ability to accurately determine the distance between one's egocentric position and an observed position (or the distance between two observed positions). Proficiency in this essential skill is fundamental to success in a wide range of operations including land navigation, marksmanship, and the call for indirect fires; therefore, efforts towards reducing skill degradation between formal training cycles are essential. Additionally, when considering the limited amount of space available to deployed units for equipment, an optimal training system should serve multiple purposes. The Multi-platform Operational Team Training Immersive Virtual Environment (MOT2IVE) is a deployable,...
Structure of the non-covalent complex of prothrombin kringle 2 with PPACK-thrombin

Prothrombin fragment 2 (the second kringle) has been co-crystallized with PPACK (D-Phe-Pro-Arg)-thrombin and the structure of the non-covalent complex has been determined and refined (R = 0.16) at 3.2 A resolution using X-ray crystallographic methods. The kringles interact with thrombin at a site that has previously been proposed to be the heparin binding region. The latter is a highly electropositive surface near the C-terminal helix of thrombin abundant in arginine and lysine residues. These form salt bridges with acidic side chains of kringle 2. Somewhat unexpectedly, the negative groups of the kringle correspond to an enlarged anionic center of the lysine binding site of lysine binding kringles such as plasminogen K1 and K4 and TPA K2. The anionic motif is DGDEE in prothrombin kringle 2. The corresponding cationic center of the lysine binding site region has an unfavorable Arg71Phe substitution but Lys35 is conserved. However, the folding of fragment 2 is different from that of prothrombin kringle 1 and other kringles: the second outer loop possesses a distorted two-turn helix and the hairpin beta-turn of the second inner loop pivots at V64 and D70 by 60 degrees. The Lys35 is located on a turn of the helix, which causes it to project into solvent space in the fragment 2-thrombin complex, thereby devastating the cationic center of the lysine binding site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Surface Modification of Silicone Elastomer Using Perfluorinated Ether

The surface properties of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer have been modified by reacting an allyl amide functional perfluorinated ether (PFE) to the siloxane network by a hydrosilation reaction. Examination of the surface by contact angle and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the perfluorinated ether migrates to the surface of the polymer, thus reducing its surface energy from 22 to about 8 mJ/m2 without affecting its bulk material properties. The resultant surface however exhibits higher contact angle hysteresis than that seen with the PFE-free elastomer. These results indicate that the higher energy amide functionalities of the perfluorinted ether are available for interfacial interaction, even though they are buried below the PFE layer. This study demonstrates that a high-energy group can be pulled to the free surface of a polymer by the driving forces of the lower energy groups segregating to the surface. The high-energy groups are available for further chemical interactions when the s...
Elevation of serum riboflavin carrier protein in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Early detection of hepatocellular cancer (HCC), makes it surgically resectable with a potential for cure. The test most commonly used to detect HCC is the measurement of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. However, the AFP test is negative in HCC detection in more than 30% of the cases. Riboflavin carrier protein (RCP) is a growth and developmental protein, synthesized and secreted by the liver and hence was of interest to measure its levels in HCC. A prospective double blind evaluation of RCP levels in serum from 93 subjects was undertaken. These included 22 proven cases of HCC, 25 normal controls, 20 cases of alcoholic hepatitis, 20 cirrhotics, and 6 cases of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). RCP was measured by a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay (RIA). RCP was immunohistochemically localized in paraffin sections of liver specimens using standard methods. Mean serum RCP levels in HCC were 21.75 ± 14.66 ng/ml and were significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than those in normal controls (0.73 ± 0.25 ng/ml), alcoholic hepatitis (1.92 ± 0.82 ng/ml), PBC (2.16 ± 0.74 ng/ml), or cirrhosis (5.02 ± 1.52 ng/ml). Serum RCP levels were elevated in all 22 HCC cases. In contrast serum AFP levels were elevated in 11 of 22 HCC cases. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed positive staining for RCP in liver tumors. We have previously demonstrated elevation of serum RCP levels in breast adenocarcinoma. Our results suggest that serum RCP levels are significantly elevated in HCC also and could potentially serve as a marker for HCC detection under conditions where breast cancer is ruled out. In combination with AFP, serum RCP levels have the potential of serving as a panel of markers for better detection of HCC.
Partial growth suppression of human prostate cancer cells by the Krev‐1 suppressor gene

A series of functional studies were performed to assess the potential role of the ras-related transformation suppressor gene, Krev-1, in suppressing prostate cancer cell growth. Three human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3, TSU-Pr1, and DU-145 were transfected with a plasmid containing the Krev-1 cDNA and a neomycin resistance gene. Selected G418-resistant clones were isolated and expanded into cell lines. All cloned transfectants exhibited a significant reduction in their in vitro growth rates, i.e., longer doubling times, when compared to the parental cell lines. Molecular analysis of the Krev-1 cloned transfectants revealed that they all contained variable copy numbers of the Krev-1 gene and expressed high levels of Krev-1 mRNA transcript, as shown by Southern and Northern analysis, respectively. To determine whether the biological properties associated with tumorigenicity were changed in these Krev-1 transfectants, their growth characteristics were examined on the basis of their ability to a) form colonies in soft agar, and b) produce tumors in SCID mice. The majority of the Krev-1 transfectants from the PC-3 and TSU-Pr1 cell lines showed a substantially reduced ability to form colonies in soft agar and produced significantly smaller tumors when inoculated into SCID mice. In contrast, there was no significant reduction in the soft agar colony-forming ability or in vivo tumorigenicity of the DU-145 Krev-1 transfectants. These results suggest that the Krev-1 suppressor gene induces partial suppression of the malignant phenotype of human prostate cancer cells containing activated ras oncogenes.
Postcolonial approaches to communication: Charting the terrain, engaging the intersections

This essay provides an introduction to postcolonial theory and criticism. It offers an overview of the questions and problematics with which postcolonial scholarship is concerned. It charts the historical and intellectual development of postcolonial studies. Finally, it explores the intersections of postcolonial studies and communication studies, and makes a case for the relevance of this area of work to communication scholarship.
Operations Research Call for Papers: Special Issue on Operations Research for the Public Interest

The scope and complexity of social problems that could benefit from the application of operations research (OR) models and analysis have grown immensely over the last decades. The most vexing of these problems threaten to compromise public welfare and cause social unrest. In addition, because the source of many of these problems could be traced to limited resources and competing claims on these resources, they represent a fruitful research opportunity for the field. A new special issue of Operations Research aims to showcase research that develops sustainable solutions that can improve public welfare by addressing one of the following four high impact areas: • Energy and Environment: The quest for sustainable solutions that diminish our dependence on nonrenewable energy sources and protect the environment. • Health Care: Policy proposals and recommendations to improve access to affordable quality care in both developing and developed countries. • Security and Stability: Studying policies and behaviors that affect the security of people, property, and goods, and protect the stability of governments from malevolent threats. • Critical Infrastructure: Planning, operation, and reliability of critical infrastructure such as water supplies, transportation systems, and communication networks. These areas were chosen based on input from members of the editorial board and by the recognition that these are emerging areas of research in OR and are also areas of considerable public debate worldwide. We seek papers that define important policy problems in these areas, develop novel models, ideally informed by public data sources, and make concrete policy recommendations. Submission of papers to the special issue will be preceded by a conference organized at Stanford University on June 17 and 18, 2010 and sponsored by the journal. The conference will give authors the opportunity to share their research findings with the editorial boards and other attendees, providing an early "informal" review opportunity that could help the authors in finalizing their manuscripts for submission to the journal. Authors interested in submitting a paper to the special issue should submit a three-page paper proposal describing the research problem and its main contributions. The proposals will undergo peer review, and those selected will be invited to present at the conference. The remaining proposals will receive feedback with specific recommendations regarding the potential fit with the special issue. All proposals accepted for the conference will be invited to submit a paper for the special issue. A subset of all other proposals may also be invited for submission to the journal.
The stage specific toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in embryos of the japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Embryos of the Japanese medaka were individually exposed to varying concentrations of [3H]2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in a static, nonrenewal system. The EC50 with 95% confidence interval (C.I.) to prevent hatching was 14 (11–17) nanograms (ng) of TCDD equivalents per liter (L) of water (parts per trillion). The LC50 with 95% C.I. for survival to 3 d posthatch was 9 (6–12) ng TCDD equivalents/L. The EC50 with 95% C.I. for embryos with minor lesions and severe, life-threatening lesions were 3.5 (1.3–5.7) ng TCDD equivalents/L and 14 (12.4–15.6) ng TCDD equivalents/L, respectively. In a separate experiment that was terminated prior to the embryos hatching or dying, the EC50 for lesions was calculated to be 2.2 (1.4–3.0) ng TCDD equivalents/L. Based on the amount of TCDD equivalents recovered from dechorionated embryos, the ED50 with 95% C.I. for lesions was calculated to be 0.24 picograms of TCDD equivalents per milligram of dechorionated embryo weight (parts per billion). When the embryos were exposed to [3H]TCDD within 1 to 2 h after fertilization, no concentration dependent increase in visible lesions was observed until after the formation of the liver rudiment (day 4 of development). By exposing Japanese medaka embryos to lethal concentrations of TCDD beginning on different days of embryonic development, it was demonstrated that the sensitive period for toxicity was during liver formation on day 4 or 5 of development. The sensitive period for development was not caused by differences in TCDD absorption across the chorion. When embryos were exposed to [3H]TCDD prior to, during or after liver formation, there was no statistical difference in the dose of TCDD equivalents that crossed the chorion and entered the yolk and embryo.
A connection between the double gamma model and Laplace sample mean

In this paper, we use the moment generating function of the double gamma random variable to derive the sample mean distribution of the Laplace (double exponential) model. The proposed approach simplifies the Bessel function approach in the investigation of the Laplace sample mean. The connection between double gamma and Laplace models facilitates computation for the percentile of the Laplace sample mean via percentiles of Chi-square random variables.