cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Second Department Holds Renunciation Triggers Medicaid Disqualification

In Matter of Molloy v. Bane, the Appellate Division, Second Department, sustained the determination of the Department of Social Services to discontinue the petitioner's Medicaid eligibility as a result of the petitioner's renunciation. Matter of Molloy followed the holding in Matter of Keuning v. Perales, which reached the same result on facts similar to those in the present case. By following the Fourth Department, the Second Department expressly overruled Surrogate Bloom's decision in Matter of Arens, which had reached a contrary result on the consequences of renunciations for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. This Article considers, beyond the estate and gift tax consequences, a decision to effect a renunciation that may potential adversely impact a client's potential Medicaid eligibility.
Isolation of Human CD49f+ Astrocytes and In Vitro iPSC-Based Neurotoxicity Assays.

Summary Given the critical roles of astrocytes in neuroinflammation and neurological diseases, models for studying human astrocyte biology are in increasing demand. Here, we present a protocol to isolate human astrocytes from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based cultures, neural organoids, and primary tissue, using the surface marker CD49f. Moreover, we provide protocols for in vitro co-cultures of human iPSC-derived neurons and astrocytes, as well as for neurotoxicity assays that expose neurons to conditioned media from reactive astrocytes. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Barbar et al. (2020) .
Ralstonia solanacearum Depends on Catabolism of Myo-Inositol, Sucrose, and Trehalose for Virulence in an Infection Stage-Dependent Manner.

The soilborne pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum causes a lethal bacterial wilt disease of tomato and many other crops by infecting host roots, then colonizing the water-transporting xylem vessels. To...
Acute limb ischemia in a cancer patient has high morbidity, high mortality, and atypical presentation: a tertiary cancer center's retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Acute Limb Ischemia (ALI) carries a high morbidity and mortality rate that is compounded in the cancer patient. Though it is a relatively uncommon event, it is of extremely high adverse impact and carries poor awareness among clinicians. METHODS Retrospective review of electronic medical records was performed of cancer patients presenting with acute limb ischemia (ALI) to the tertiary cancer center's urgent care center or as inpatient between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2020. RESULTS Out of the 29 cancer patients with ALI, 12 (41%) died within 3 month and 9 (31%) patients died within 1 months of ALI diagnosis. 65% had long term adverse outcome after ALI - 31% with death in 1 month, 2 (7%) with an amputation, 5 (17%) with lifestyle-limiting claudication, and 3 (10%) with subsequent wound ulceration or gangrene. Patients not eligible for standard of care (12 patients, 41%) (RR 2.33 95% CI [1.27-4.27], p < 0.01) and heparin administration ≥6 h from presentation (19 patients, 65%) (RR 2.81 [1.07-7.38], p = 0.04) were at increased risk of adverse outcome. Atypical/confounded presentation of ALI (13 patients, 45%) (RR 1.84 95% CI [1.03-3.29], p = 0.04), pulse exam not documented (12 patients, 41.4%) (RR 1.95 [95% CI [1.14-3.32], p = 0.01), and patients with services other than a vascular specialist initially consulted (8 patients, 27.6%) (RR 1.91 95% CI [1.27-2.87], p < 0.01) were significant risk factors for heparin administered ≥6 h from presentation. CONCLUSIONS ALI is devastating in cancer patients, with a high number presenting with atypical/confounded signs and symptoms which delays treatment. Heparin administered ≥6 h from presentation is associated with adverse outcome.
Evaluation of Bundled Interventions for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Experiencing Homelessness Receiving Extended Antibiotics for Severe Infection.

Hospitalizations for serious infections in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) experiencing homelessness are common. Patients receiving 4 interventions (infectious disease consultation, addiction consultation, case management, and medications for OUD [MOUD]) had higher odds of clinical cure (unadjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.15; P = .03; adjusted OR, 3.03; P = .049) and successful retention in addiction care at 30 days (unadjusted OR, 5.46; P = .01; adjusted OR, 6.36; P = .003).
Quality of a Clinical Trial

To close the gap between evidence-based behavioral treatments for chronic diseases and their uptake in clinical practice, this book aims to encourage the development of evidence for the value of behavioral treatments that meets the standards for quality that exist in medicine. Evidence for quality is strongest in Phase III efficacy trials which follow the agreed-upon “rules” for clinical trial methods. In the behavioral clinical trial literature, there are many more Phase II than Phase III trials. What is needed is not a larger quantity of such evidence, but a higher quality of evidence using the standards that exist in medicine. This book applies a progressive, translational science model to achieve that goal.
A comprehensive evaluation of CRISPR lineage recorders using TraceQC

The CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing-based lineage tracing system is emerging as a powerful tool to track cell lineages at unprecedented scale and resolution. However, the complexity of CRISPR-Cas9 induced mutations has raised challenges in lineage reconstruction, which requires a unique computational analysis framework. Meanwhile, multiple distinctive CRISPR-based high-throughput lineage recorders have been developed over the years in which the data analysis is incompatible across platforms. To address these challenges, first, we present the TraceQC, a cross-platform open-source package for data processing and quality evaluation of CRISPR lineage tracing data. Second, by using the TraceQC package, we performed a comprehensive analysis across multiple CRISPR lineage recorders to uncover the speed and distribution of CRISPR-induced mutations. Together, this work provides a computational framework for the CRISPR lineage tracing system that should broadly benefit the design and application of this promising technology.
Statistical Study on Cortical Sulci of Human Brains

A method for building a statistical shape model of sulci of the human brain cortex is described. The model includes sulcal fundi that are defined on a spherical map of the cortex. The sulcal fundi are first extracted in a semi-automatic way using an extension of the fast marching method. They are then transformed to curves on the unit sphere via a conformal mapping method that maps each cortical point to a point on the unit sphere. The curves that represent sulcal fundi are parameterized with piecewise constant-speed parameterizations. Intermediate points on these curves correspond to sulcal landmarks, which are used to build a point distribution model on the unit sphere. Statistical information of local properties of the sulci, such as curvature and depth, are embedded in the model. Experimental results are presented to show how the models are built.
Extracting Rb, and Rc without flavor tagging

We note that a flavor tagging independent measurement of the branching fractions {ital R}{sub {ital b}} and {ital R}{sub {ital c}} may be obtained from the width of hadronic {ital Z} decays with a prompt photon, {Gamma}{sub {ital q{bar q}}{gamma}}, and an additional theoretical assumption. We find that the current value of {Gamma}{sub {ital q{bar q}}{gamma}} supports the direct measurements and favors generation-blind corrections to quark widths. An updated measurement of {Gamma}{sub {ital q{bar q}}{gamma}} with the currently available LEP data will provide an even stronger constraint. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Radicalizing Learning: Adult Education for a Just World

Review of: Radicalizing Learning: Adult Education for a Just World Stephen D. Brookfield and John D. Holst. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2011, 262 pages.
GRACE: generative robust analog circuit exploration

We motivate and describe an analog evolvable hardware design platform named GRACE (i.e. Generative Robust Analog Circuit Exploration). GRACE combines coarse-grained, topological circuit search with intrinsic testing on a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) field programmable device, the Anadigm AN221E04. It is suited for adaptive, fault tolerant system design as well as CAD flow applications.
Observed Rotational Velocities of Single Stars (Review Paper)

Mean observed rotational velocities for single, normal, main-sequence stars are reviewed and compared with the mean observed v sin i’s for giant and supergiant stars, Be stars, peculiar A-type and metallic-line stars, and Population II objects.
Primary angiosarcoma of the bladder

Abstract Context.—Primary bladder angiosarcomas are extremely rare, and their clinical and pathologic features are not well described. Objective.—To further refine the clinical features of primary bladder angiosarcomas and define their pathologic spectra. Data Sources.—Relevant sources were identified using MEDLINE and a subsequent bibliographic search of all pertinent reports and reviews. We also searched the M. D. Anderson pathology archives. Study Selection.—After excluding 4 cases that likely secondarily involved the bladder, we identified 9 true primary bladder angiosarcomas. Data Extraction.—Data were extracted on the following: demographics, clinical presentation, predisposing factors, gross pathology, microscopic pathology, immunophenotype, therapy, and outcomes. Data Synthesis.—Primary bladder angiosarcomas were found at a mean age of 64.2 years, with a male-female ratio of 8:1. Two cases arose in a postirradiation setting. Primary bladder angiosarcomas typically presented with hematuria and were...
Active Community Detection in Massive Graphs.

A canonical problem in graph mining is the detection of dense communities. This problem is exacerbated for a graph with a large order and size -- the number of vertices and edges -- as many community detection algorithms scale poorly. In this work we propose a novel framework for detecting active communities that consist of the most active vertices in massive graphs. The framework is applicable to graphs having billions of vertices and hundreds of billions of edges. Our framework utilizes a parallelizable trimming algorithm based on a locality statistic to filter out inactive vertices, and then clusters the remaining active vertices via spectral decomposition on their similarity matrix. We demonstrate the validity of our method with synthetic Stochastic Block Model graphs, using Adjusted Rand Index as the performance metric. We further demonstrate its practicality and efficiency on a most recent real-world Hyperlink Web graph consisting of over 3.5 billion vertices and 128 billion edges.
Tracking non-stationary optimal solution by particle swarm optimizer

In the real world, we have to frequently deal with searching for and tracking an optimal solution in a dynamic environment. This demands that the algorithm not only find the optimal solution but also track the trajectory of the solution in a dynamic environment. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a population-based stochastic optimization technique, which can find an optimal, or near optimal, solution to a numerical and qualitative problem. However, the traditional PSO algorithm lacks the ability to track the optimal solution in a dynamic environment. In this paper, we present a modified PSO algorithm that can be used for tracking a non-stationary optimal solution in a dynamically changing environment.
Review of pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a resistant form of lung cancer, and its incidence continues to rise in Europe and Australia. Until recently, chemotherapy had not been shown to be effective in the treatment of this slowly progressive disease. In 2004, the combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin was shown to induce high response rates in MPM. This article reviews the published literature describing the development and testing of this therapeutic combination in mesothelioma, and examines in detail the key phase III clinical trial that led to the approval of pemetrexed by the US FDA. Ongoing research will further define the role of pemetrexed plus cisplatin in the treatment of MPM.
Enkephalin and substance p modulate synaptic properties of chick ciliary ganglion neurons in cell culture

Since enkephalin- and substance P-like immunoreactive materials have been identified in preganglionic terminals of the avian ciliary ganglion, we tested the effects of enkephalin and substance P directly on chick ciliary ganglion neurons in dissociated cell culture. Under these conditions the neurons form cholinergic synapses with each other that are spontaneously active. Both peptides modulate properties of membrane components associated with synaptic transmission between the neurons. Enkephalin causes a 60% reduction in the mean amplitude of the excitatory synaptic potentials, and the effect appears to be presynaptic in origin: enkephalin does not alter acetylcholine sensitivity on the neurons, but does inhibit Ca2+ influx as reflected by a 38% shortening of the Ca2+ component of the action potential. Both the reduction in synaptic potential amplitude and the shortening of the Ca2+ action potential produced by enkephalin are blocked by naloxone. Substance P, on the other hand, has no effect on Ca2+ action potentials but does reduce the time course of acetylcholine responses in the neurons by a mechanism consistent with enhanced receptor desensitization. Decay of the acetylcholine voltage response in the absence of substance P is described by a single exponential process with a time constant of 4-5 s. Coapplication of acetylcholine and substance P results in a second exponential decay process with a time constant of about 1 s that appears after a 200-400 ms lag period. Preincubation with substance P alone does not decrease the peak voltage response or shorten the lag, suggesting that either agonist or activated receptor is necessary for the substance P effect. These findings suggest modulatory roles for the peptides in ganglionic transmission.
Cleavage of Focal Adhesion Kinase by Caspases during Apoptosis

Apoptotic cells undergo characteristic morphological changes that include detachment of cell attachment from the substratum and loss of cell-cell interactions. Attachment of cells to the extracellular matrix and to other cells is mediated by integrins. The interactions of integrins with the extracellular matrix activates focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and suppresses apoptosis in diverse cell types. Members of the tumor necrosis family such as Fas and Apo-2L, also known as tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), induce apoptosis in both suspension and adherent cells through the activation of caspases. These caspases, when activated, cleave substrates that are important for the maintenance of nuclear and membrane integrity. In this study, we show that FAK is sequentially cleaved into two different fragments early in Apo-2L-induced apoptosis. We also demonstrate that FAK cleavage is mediated by caspases and that FAK shows unique sensitivity to different caspases. Our results suggest that disruption of FAK may contribute to the morphological changes observed in apoptotic suspension and adherent cells.
Substrates for gallium nitride epitaxy

Abstract In this review, the structural, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of substrates used for gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxy are compiled, and the properties of GaN films deposited on these substrates are reviewed. Among semiconductors, GaN is unique; most of its applications uses thin GaN films deposited on foreign substrates (materials other than GaN); that is, heteroepitaxial thin films. As a consequence of heteroepitaxy, the quality of the GaN films is very dependent on the properties of the substrate—both the inherent properties such as lattice constants and thermal expansion coefficients, and process induced properties such as surface roughness, step height and terrace width, and wetting behavior. The consequences of heteroepitaxy are discussed, including the crystallographic orientation and polarity, surface morphology, and inherent and thermally induced stress in the GaN films. Defects such as threading dislocations, inversion domains, and the unintentional incorporation of impurities into the epitaxial GaN layer resulting from heteroepitaxy are presented along with their effect on device processing and performance. A summary of the structure and lattice constants for many semiconductors, metals, metal nitrides, and oxides used or considered for GaN epitaxy is presented. The properties, synthesis, advantages and disadvantages of the six most commonly employed substrates (sapphire, 6H-SiC, Si, GaAs, LiGaO 2 , and AlN) are presented. Useful substrate properties such as lattice constants, defect densities, elastic moduli, thermal expansion coefficients, thermal conductivities, etching characteristics, and reactivities under deposition conditions are presented. Efforts to reduce the defect densities and to optimize the electrical and optical properties of the GaN epitaxial film by substrate etching, nitridation, and slight misorientation from the (0 0 0 1) crystal plane are reviewed. The requirements, the obstacles, and the results to date to produce zincblende GaN on 3C-SiC/Si(0 0 1) and GaAs are discussed. Tables summarizing measures of the GaN quality such as XRD rocking curve FWHM, photoluminescence peak position and FWHM, and electron mobilities for GaN epitaxial layers produced by MOCVD, MBE, and HVPE for each substrate are given. The initial results using GaN substrates, prepared as bulk crystals and as free-standing epitaxial films, are reviewed. Finally, the promise and the directions of research on new potential substrates, such as compliant and porous substrates are described.
Survival in radiation myelopathy

Survival in radiation myelopathy has been the subject of analysis. Factors affecting survival are the level of the lesion, the age of the patient, and the latent period of the injury. The influence of age and level of the lesion is compared with the effects of these same parameters in traumatic myelopathy. Patients with cervical cord lesions have more rapid morbidity in both radiation and traumatic myelopathy. For thoracic but not cervical lesions, younger patients have a greater survival expectation than older patients. Patients with shorter latent periods have a more rapid mortality in cervical radiation myelopathy, but no demonstrable effect is seen in thoracic radiation myelopathy.
A model for disruptive technology forecasting in strategic regional economic development

Abstract As regions look to increase their economic development activities, technology-based developments and the penchant for long-term developments in disruptive technologies like nanotechnology become an important part of the options available to these regions. There are typically many technologies and therefore product areas that the region, however, can further develop by investing resources in these areas. At the same time, other regions in the world are considering the same areas of great growth and potential financial and social returns. This paper proposes a model that analyzes several important factors that can lead to success in analyzing these factors promoting the idea that policy makers should analyze the situation from different perspectives to reach justifiable decisions. These factors include the research capabilities of the region, its commercialization and manufacturing capabilities and the markets on which they should focus. Several mathematical models are then presented to help in that endeavor.
Similarity Solutions for Turbulent Jets and Plumes in a Rotating Fluid

Abstract Similarity solutions are derived for a turbulent jet (constant momentum flux) and a turbulent plume (constant buoyancy flux) directed along the axis of rotation of a body of fluid in solid-body rotation, on the assumption that the Rossby number is small. The jet radius is found to increase with axial coordinate z as z1/5, and the plume radius as z3/7. A detailed discussion of the order of magnitude of the Reynolds stress terms is made necessary by the fact that there is, a priori, more than one velocity scale in the flow. There is sonic evidence that the given solutions do not represent real flows, but this question cannot he answered fully until certain problems in hydrodynamic stability are solved. An experiment is therefore suggested.
The metaphysics of McFague

A l'exemple d'Aristote au debut de la «Metaphysique», l'A. se propose d'evaluer la position metaphysique et les vingt-cinq premiers principes definis par S. McFague dans son ouvrage intitule «Models of God» (1987), afin de mesurer la pertinence des differentes images de Dieu qu'elle avance sous la figure de la mere, de l'amoureux et de l'ami. Examinant la conception metaphorique de la theologie, la denonciation des vieux chemins, la question de l'influence de l'epoque, l'universalite de l'existence humaine, l'identite des sceptiques, ainsi que les notions d'holisme et evolution, la distinction sujet-objet, la nature du langage, la creation d'un monde sans hierarchie, la credibilite des mythes, l'A. montre que la construction d'une image de Dieu doit rester ouverte aux multiples religions et societes
Monocyte enrichment of mononuclear apheresis preparations with a multistep back-flush procedure on a cord blood filter.

INTRODUCTION: Monocytes or mononuclear cells have been investigated for the treatment of chronic wounds and spinal cord injuries, as well as serve as a source for dendritic or endothelial cell culture. Because these cells may have clinical benefit yet no rapid and inexpensive closed system for monocyte purification is commercially available, a method was investigated to enrich monocytes from mononuclear apheresis units using a cord blood filter. METHODS: A 4-step method for monocyte enrichment was developed which involved 1) filtering a mononuclear apheresis unit through a cord blood filter, 2) chasing with medium to remove non-adherent residual cells and plasma, 3) back-flushing under low shear conditions to remove loosely adherent lymphocytes, and 4) back-flushing under high shear conditions to collect a fraction enriched in monocytes. Apheresis units and enriched monocyte preparations were characterized by cell count and differential, filter-isolated preparations were cryopreserved, and thawed preparations were assayed for viability, and phagocytosis. Enriched monocyte preparations were also assayed for inflammatory cytokines secretion and secretion of prostaglandin E2 during short-term culture. RESULTS: Monocytes were viable, capable of phagocytosis, and enriched using the multistep filter elution technique to represent 42 ± 13-percent of white cells in the final preparation. Fifty-three-percent of monocytes were recovered in the final preparation, while total cell counts of red cells, platelets, neutrophils and lymphocytes were reduced to 3.0, 3.0, 4.5 and 16-percent, respectively, from levels present in mononuclear apheresis units. Filter enriched monocyte preparations secreted IL-8, IL-6, MCP-1, and MIP-1α, during short term culture. CONCLUSION: The use of a multi-step back flush procedure with a cord blood filter resulted in rapid enrichment of viable and functional monocytes from mononuclear apheresis units with significant reduction of contaminating platelets and red cells.
Molecularly derived mesoscale modeling of an epoxy/Cu interface (part III*): Interface roughness

This paper addresses use of coarse-grained mesoscale model to look at angle dependencies in an epoxy-copper (I) oxide interface in order to understand roughness effects on adhesion. The parameterization of the coarse-grained beads were previously parameterized from the molecular level [1–3] for the same polymer and copper oxide interface. Roughness was investigated in two ways: applying a zigzag interface to the interface separation simulation, and separating the interface using differing angles. When compared, both methods reduce to the similar energy trends. In addition, the effect moisture on the interface was compared for the rough and smooth interfaces.
Density functional theory study of hydrogen sulfide dissociation on bi-metallic Ni-Mo catalysts

Abstract This work presents results on the dissociation of H 2 S over Ni–Mo catalysts suggesting that the presence of surface Mo-atom(s) has a significant impact on both the energetics of the process and the reaction mechanism. The presence of one Mo atom provides an additional energetic advantage of 10.2 kcal/mol overall. While increasing the energetic advantage of the process, the presence of Mo atom also increases the activation barriers by at most 3 kcal/mol. The large exothermic nature of this process combined with the comparatively small activation barriers suggests that the H 2 S dissociation process is a facile process on all of the surfaces studied here. Additionally, analysis was provided to explain the difference in catalytic behavior between a bi-metallic alloy and a bi-metallic sulfide. It was determined that the bi-metallic alloy binds sulfur strongly (>100 kcal/mol) which can be compared with the results of Sun and co-workers [M. Sun, A.E. Nelson, J. Adjaye, Catal. Today 105 (2005) 36] who predict that S adsorption on the metal sulfide phase is not energetically favorable. It is suggested that the sulfide surface does not bind S in an energetically favorable manner because the sulfide surface structure does not possess a binding site that can emulate the hollow site on a metal surface.
An alternative hypothesis for the primary function of a proposed mate assessment behaviour in red-backed salamanders

Using a laboratory experiment, we tested the hypothesis that faecal inspection and squashing behaviours by female red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, function in a context other than mate assessment, in this case foraging. Because only female P. cinereus squash faecal pellets, other studies have hypothesized that the faecal squashing is a mate assessment behaviour. During the courtship season, we exposed gravid female P. cinereus maintained on a ‘high-quality’ or ‘low-quality’ diet, to the faecal pellets of male and female conspecifics fed ‘high-quality’ diets. Female diet had no effect on activity level, and, overall, P. cinereus showed greater interest in male-marked substrates than female-marked substrates. However, female diet had a large effect on faecal inspection and squashing behaviours, and females showed similar inspection and squashing rates towards both male and female faecal pellets. These results suggest that faecal squashing does not function primarily in mate assessment, but rather as a means for female P. cinereus to gain information about prey availability. We propose that male P. cinereus have evolved to exploit female faecal inspection and squashing behaviours (sensory exploitation) to attract foraging females into areas to increase male encounter rates with females.
EUV lithography for 22nm half pitch and beyond: exploring resolution, LWR, and sensitivity tradeoffs

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) denotes Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as a leading technology option for realizing the 22nm half pitch node and beyond. Readiness of EUV materials is currently one high risk area according to recent assessments made at the 2009 EUVL Symposium. The main development issue regarding EUV resist has been how to simultaneously achieve high sensitivity, high resolution, and low line width roughness (LWR). This paper describes the strategy and current status of EUV resist development at Intel Corporation. Data collected utilizing Intel's Micro-Exposure Tool (MET) is presented in order to examine the feasibility of establishing a resist process that simultaneously exhibits ≤22nm half-pitch (HP) L/S resolution at ≤ 12.5mJ/cm2 with ≤ 4nm LWR.
Managing memory access latency in packet processing

In this study, we refute the popular belief [1,2] that packet processing does not benefit from data-caching. We show that a small data-cache of 8KB can bring down the packet processing time by much as 50-90%, while reducing the off-chip memory bandwidth usage by about 60-95%. We also show that, unlike general-purpose computing, packet processing, due to its memory-intensive nature, cannot rely exclusively on data-caching to eliminate the memory bottleneck completely.
Atrial Fibrillation and Risk of ST-Segment–Elevation Versus Non–ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background—It has recently been reported that atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI). However, the mechanism underlying this association is currently unknown. Further study of the relationship of AF with the type of MI (ST-segment–elevation MI [STEMI] versus non–ST-segment–elevation MI [NSTEMI]) might shed light on the potential mechanisms. Methods and Results—We examined the association between AF and incident MI in 14 462 participants (mean age, 54 years; 56% women; 26% blacks) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were free of coronary heart disease at baseline (1987–1989) with follow-up through December 31, 2010. AF cases were identified from study visit ECGs and by review of hospital discharge records. Incident MI and its types were ascertained by an independent adjudication committee. Over a median follow-up of 21.6 years, 1374 MI events occurred (829 NSTEMIs, 249 STEMIs, 296 unclassifiable MIs). In a multivariable-adjusted...
Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to the Bactericidal Activity of Human Serum

Background Human serum represents an important barrier to the entry of most mucosal organisms into tissues and to the systemic circulation. If at all present, Helicobacter pylori within gastric tissue is rare, and bacteremia for this organism has been described only once. Methods To assess the susceptibility of H. pylori to the bactericidal activity present in normal human serum (NHS), we examined 13 H. pylori isolates. To assess the contributions of the classical and alternative complement pathways to killing, we added either C2-deficient or factor B-deficient serum, respectively, to heat-inactivated NHS. Also we assessed the ability of the strains to bind 125I-C3. Results After incubation for 60 minutes at 37 degrees C, all 13 H. pylori strains were killed by NHS; heating to 56 degrees C for 30 minutes ablated killing, indicating complement dependence for this phenomenon. In the absence of an antibody source, there was no killing when either an alternative or classical complement pathway source was used. Adding B-deficient serum to heat-inactivated normal human serum did not restore killing, but adding C2-deficient serum permitted partial killing. All of the 13 strains bound 125I-C3. Although the kinetics varied from strain to strain, C3 bound was significantly correlated (r = 0.61, p = 0.03) with serum susceptibility. Conclusions H. pylori are susceptible to complement, alternative pathway activation appears critical, and C3 binding is a major locus of variability.
Fear of weight gain among bulimic and nondisturbed females

The present study examined fear of weight gain among females reporting the maladaptive eating pattern of bulimia and those reporting a normative pattern. Fifteen bulimics and 15 normal-controls matched for age, sex, physical makeup, and imagery capacity were exposed to two imaginal scenes: one depicting a neutral situation, the other depicting a weight gain of 5 Ib. Subjective, motoric, and physiological measures of responding were collected. As predicted, bulimics and normal-controls were similar in their reactions to the neutral image and divergent in their reactions to the weight-gain one, with bulimics displaying more prounced activity across the three response systems. The findings as a whole support both the validity of the fear of weight-gain notion and the paradigm developed to assess the construct. Implications for the assessment and treatment of bulimia are discussed.
Selected risk factors for diabetes in Native Americans

Abstract Since the early 1940s, type II diabetes mellitus has become a widespread health problem among the Native American peoples of North America. This paper focuses on some etiologic risk factors directly related to diet. Some interrelationships of these factors with genetic predisposition are discussed. The geographic focus is on Native American populations residing in Arizona because of the extensive studies on the epidemiology and biochemistry of diabetes among the Pima and other Arizona tribes. Obesity and alcohol abuse both directly produce adverse biochemical/physiological effects on glucose metabolism. In addition, alcohol abuse is indirectly diabetogenic by producing organ damage. The Western dietary and lifestyle acculturation in affected Native American populations is thought to be connected to their increasing obesity and diabetes incidence and prevalence. Acceptability and efficacy of treatment may be increased by greater participation of Native American health professionals in planning and implementation of research and treatment programs, and administration and staffing of health care facilities both on the reservation and in urban settings. The use of traditional foods among tribal groups, and the adoption of mutidisciplinary, local approaches to health programs should be encouraged.
Clinical Techniques: Successful Management of Liver Lobe Torsion in a Domestic Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) by Surgical Lobectomy

Abstract This article describes the management of a case of liver lobe torsion in a domestic rabbit, which was presented with lethargy, abdominal pain and a palpable abdominal mass. Laboratory investigations showed anemia, hypoalbuminemia and raised liver enzymes. An exploratory laparotomy revealed torsion and necrosis of the caudate liver lobe. The affected lobe was removed by lobectomy. The rabbit made a rapid recovery and was in good health at a follow-up examination three months later.
Symptomatic restrictive thumb-index flexor tenosynovitis: incidence of musculotendinous anomalies and results of treatment.

During a 5-year period, 33 patients with pain in the palmar aspect of the wrist and forearm with and without features of carpal tunnel syndrome were diagnosed as having restrictive thumbindex flexor tenosynovitis. The pathognoinonic sign in this condition was the simultaneous flexion of the index finger with active flexion of the thumb across the palm. Treatment included either steroid injection into the tendon sheath of the flexor pollicis longus or surgical exploration of the palmar aspect of the distal forearm and wrist region. Twenty-six wrists in 24 patients were surgically explored, and all had hypertrophie tenosynovium between the flexor pollicis longus and index profundus tendons. More than half of the explored wrists had a tendinous connection between the flexor pollicis longus and the flexor profundus of the index digit. Of 17 wrists with follow-up of more than 6 months, 13 were improved by surgical management. Steroid injection did not have a long-term effect.
From Elizabeth Bennet to Barbie: sun tanning through the ages

Never mind the little black dress; Coco Chanel’s most lasting contribution to theworldof style—and,unfortunately, todermatology—maywell be the suntan. For centuries, in a fashion statement freighted with racialundertones,womenaroundtheworldcoveteda fair complexion.AncientEgyptians lightenedtheir skinwithmyrrhandfrankincense.Eighthcentury Japanese women risked death, using lead and mercury as whiteners. Intenton showing theyhadneverneeded to laborunder the sun, 18th-century Europeans followed suit, adding whale blubber for goodmeasure. TheCastilian nobles cultivated skin so translucent their veins showed through, making them the original “blue bloods.” The beauty and privilege connoted by porcelain skinwas immortalized again and again in the Western canon: Shakespeare’s Othello strangles Desdemona, lest a bloodiermurdermethod “scar that whiter skin of hers than snow.” Pride and Prejudice’s aristocratic Miss Bingley snubs Elizabeth Bennet for looking “brown and coarse” from traveling in the summer—an epithet with most unladylike connotations. Then came Coco, sashaying back from the French Riviera with the bronzage that launched a thousandmelanomas. Her tanwas of a piece withher leisure-class image:with the industrial revolution,workers had moved from the fields into factories, reversing centuries of epidermal symbolism. Pallor was for the indoor-dwelling poor; only those with means could toast themselves golden-brown. Physicians, meanwhile, touted sunbathing as a cure for everything fromtuberculosis to acne, ushering in theeraof the “healthyglow.” Sunscreen gained popularity among World War II soldiers, who protected themselves in the Pacific theater with foul-smelling red veterinary petroleum, originally intended for animals. Airman andpharmacist BenjaminGreencombined“redvetpet”withcocoabutter andcoconutoil and peddled it to civilians aswhatwould becomeCoppertone. In 1953, the Coppertone girl—with her cocker spaniel famously tugging at her bathing suit bottom to reveal her deep tan lines—debuted with the slogan “Don’t beapaleface!”Herolder cousin,MalibuBarbie, followed in 1971— followedbySunLovin’MalibuBarbie,SunsationalMalibuBarbie, andSun Gold Malibu Barbie. (The first Hispanic and African American Barbies appeared in 1980.) Itwasnotuntil 1978 that theUSFoodandDrugAdministration, amid rising concernabout skin cancer, standardized sunprotection factor ratingsonsunscreen.Tanningboothsarrived in theUnitedStates the same year. Sadly, it was a head-to-head battle with a clear victor: since then, of course,melanoma incidence has skyrocketed. Fortunately, there are glimmersofpop-culturebacklash, fromghostlyTwilightvampires to the ladies of Downton Abbey. In 2006, Cosmopolitan launched a “Practice SafeSun”campaign,with instructionsoneverythingfromself–skinchecks to “6sexy sunscreenmassages for yourman.” Surely, evenChanelwould approve.
Incremental classification learning for anomaly detection in medical images

Computer-aided diagnosis usually screens thousands of instances to find only a few positive cases that indicate probable presence of disease.The amount of patient data increases consistently all the time. In diagnosis of new instances, disagreement occurs between a CAD system and physicians, which suggests inaccurate classifiers. Intuitively, misclassified instances and the previously acquired data should be used to retrain the classifier. This, however, is very time consuming and, in some cases where dataset is too large, becomes infeasible. In addition, among the patient data, only a small percentile shows positive sign, which is known as imbalanced data.We present an incremental Support Vector Machines(SVM) as a solution for the class imbalance problem in classification of anomaly in medical images. The support vectors provide a concise representation of the distribution of the training data. Here we use bootstrapping to identify potential candidate support vectors for future iterations. Experiments were conducted using images from endoscopy videos, and the sensitivity and specificity were close to that of SVM trained using all samples available at a given incremental step with significantly improved efficiency in training the classifier.
Trade Liberalization and Investment: Firm-level Evidence from Mexico

Plant-level panel data from Mexico's Annual Industrial Survey is employed to evaluate the impact of reductions in tariffs and import license coverage on final goods, as well as intermediates, on firms'investment decisions. Using data from 1984 to 1990, a period during which a large scale trade liberalization occurred, a dynamic investment equation is estimated using the system-GMM estimator developed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998). Consistent with theory, the empirical analyses show that a reduction in import protection on final goods leads to lower plant-level investment, whereas reductions in tariffs and import license coverage on intermediate inputs result in higher investment. Also, firms with larger import costs experience a larger increase in investment following a reduction in import protection. On the other hand, higher markup firms lower investment more aggressively following reductions in tariffs and import license coverage on final goods.
The Histamine N-Methyltransferase T105I Polymorphism Affects Active Site Structure and Dynamics

Histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) is the primary enzyme responsible for inactivating histamine in the mammalian brain. The human HNMT gene contains a common threonine-isoleucine polymorphism at residue 105, distal from the active site. The 105I variant has decreased activity and lower protein levels than the 105T protein. Crystal structures of both variants have been determined but reveal little regarding how the T105I polymorphism affects activity. We performed molecular dynamics simulations for both 105T and 105I at 37 °C to explore the structural and dynamic consequences of the polymorphism. The simulations indicate that replacing Thr with the larger Ile residue leads to greater burial of residue 105 and heightened intramolecular interactions between residue 105 and residues within helix α3 and strand β3. This altered, tighter packing is translated to the active site, resulting in the reorientation of several cosubstrate-binding residues. The simulations also show that the hydrophobic histamine-bind...
Structural dynamics of synapses in living animals.

Abstract Recently, there has been increasing interest in the use of in vivo imaging approaches in the study of the way that synaptic circuits become established and the degree to which they stabilize in mature brains. We review progress since the first efforts, two decades ago, at in vivo synaptic imaging and highlight the more recent advances in molecular biology, optics and neurobiological imaging that have fueled a mini-renaissance in this line of inquiry. Many of the technical problems that limited early efforts still remain, but the rapid pace of molecular and optical innovation might soon transform this specialized field into one that is more ‘mainstream’.
Plutonium-244 dating VII. Initial abundances of uranium-235 and plutonium-244 in lunar samples

Re-examination of a vast amount of lead and xenon isotope data that have been accumulated since the Apollo 11 landing on the moon in July 1969 reveals that some of the lunar fines and breccia started to retain their radiogenic lead and fissiogenic xenon isotopes about 5 billion years ago when the ratios of235U and244Pu to238U in the early solar system were approximately 4 and 2 atoms per 10 atoms of238U, respectively.
Stable synchronized high-frequency signals from the main sensory and spinal nuclei of the pig activated by Aβ fibers of the maxillary nerve innervating the snout

Abstract The primary somatosensory cortex of various species including man, monkey, pig and rat is capable of producing high-frequency signals in the 600 Hz range and above with very little latency jitter. We have recently observed such cortical signals for the trigeminal system of the swine. This study determined the projection of the maxillary nerve innervating the snout to the sensory trigeminal nuclear complex in the brain stem and stability of outputs of each nucleus receiving the projection. The snout stimulation activated large-caliber Aβ fibers in the trigeminal nerve with a mean velocity of 64.4±2.7 m/s (mean±1 S.E.M., six animals) comparable in velocity to the tooth pulp Aβ fibers (57.9±3.4 m/s) obtained from the same animals. These afferents activated the main sensory nucleus, and subnuclei oralis, interpolaris and caudalis of the spinal nucleus, as judged by evoked field potential maps superimposed on the histological maps of the trigeminal nuclei from the same animals. Inputs from these fast afferents arrived at all the four trigeminal nuclei almost simultaneously within a span of 0.7±0.2 ms (mean±1 S.D., seven animals). Evoked high-frequency signals were reproducible with a latency jitter of less than 0.2 ms during the first 4 ms of postsynaptic activity for each of main sensory and spinal nuclei. These results indicate that the snout stimulation activates fast-conducting peripheral afferents which project to all the sensory trigeminal nuclei and produces highly reproducible initial responses nearly simultaneously across the multiple trigeminal nuclei. These outputs from the trigeminal nuclei may play an important role in triggering the stable high-frequency signals in the cortex.
Crack tip plasticity in dynamic fracture

Abstract The mechanics of crack tip plasticity in dynamic crack growth is considered as it influences two modes of dynamic fracture—cleavage and micro-void nucleation, growth and coalescence. The subject is approached using both the continuum theory of visco-plasticity and dislocation dynamics. The viewpoint underlying each approach is that the crack is traveling through material with a relatively high density of pre-existing mobile dislocations. Analysis is directed at discovering the role played by the associated rate-dependent plasticity in establishing conditions for dynamic crack propagation. The theory is far from complete, but the contents of the paper should serve to aid understanding of basic material fracture phenomena, such as cleavability and the ductile-brittle transition, as well as provide a background for the engineering theory of dynamic fracture.
Effect of Ascorbate on Covalent Binding of Benzene and Phenol Metabolites to Isolated Tissue Preparations

inhibited binding by 95%. When DTdiaphorase was included in the incubation mixture containing benzene as the substrate, binding was inhibited by only 18%. This degree of inhibition is in contrast to 70% inhibition with phenol. These results indicate that different metabolites are responsible for a portion of the covalent binding depending upon the substrate employed. GSH inhibited covalent binding greater than 95% with either substrate. The metabolism of phenol to hydroquinone was unaffected by the addition of ascorbate or GSH. The metabolism of benzene to phenol was unaffected by the addition of GSH; however. the addition of ascorbate decreased the formation of phenol by 35%. Tissue ascorbate could be modulated by placing guinea pigs on different dietary intakes of ascorbate. Bone marrow ascorbate concentrations could be modulated IO-fold without any significant change in the GSH concentrations. Bone marrow isolated from guinea pigs on different dietary intakes of ascorbate were incubated with Hz01 and phenol. Bone marrow with low ascorbate concentrations displayed 4-fold more covalent binding of phenol equivalents than those with high ascorbate concentrations. This is an example of how the dietary intake of ascorbate can result in a differential response to a
WHITE-LIGHT VERSUS NARROW-BAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE POLARIZATION OF THE ZODIACAL LIGHT

Airglow radiation effects on polarization and brightness of zodiacal light observed with a scanning photoelectric polarimeter in white-light