cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
APOLIPOPROTEIN E AND CEREBRAL PALSY

Objective To investigate the relationship between the Apolipoprotein E (APO E) ϵ4 allele and severity of functional motor impairment in cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Cross-sectional study of 153 individuals with CP. Mean age was 9.1 years; 54% were males. 61% were preterm at birth; 35% less than 30 weeks gestation. Genomic DNA was extracted from buccal swabs for APO E genotyping. Functional motor severity was assessed by the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), on a scale of 1–5, grouped as levels 1–2 (low severity) and 3–5 (high severity). Chi-square and logistic regression techniques were used to assess the association between the APO E ϵ4 allele and CP severity and to adjust for other risk factors, such as timing of brain injury, gestational age, and type of CP. Results 31% of subjects had at least one ϵ4 allele. There was a trend towards significance for subjects with at least one ϵ4 allele assigned to the low severity group (p = 0.11). ϵ4 was significantly associated with low severity when adjusted for the effect of timing of injury. Infants with brain injury in the perinatal period were 4.3 times more likely to be in the low severity group (p = 0.01). Conclusions The APO E ϵ4 allele appears to confer protection and/or facilitate recovery after brain injury in the fetus or newborn, particularly when that injury occurs around term. This finding has important implications for future therapeutic trials that mimic the beneficial effects of APO E.
Elevated Temperature Nanoindentation Creep Study of Plastically Deformed and Spark Plasma Sintered UO2

Abstract Current challenges with uranium dioxide fuel degradation include fuel swelling, cracking and fission gas release, all of which reduce the operational life span of the fuel in commercial reactors. One important factor in prolonging the life span of uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel is developing a good understanding of the mechanical properties of the high burnup structure that forms at the periphery of the fuel pellet during the fuel cycle. Nanoindentation based testing techniques can probe the mechanical properties of small volumes of material and measure properties including hardness, elastic modulus, and creep. In this work, elevated temperature nanoindentation and nanoindentation creep testing is performed on UO2 samples with different microstructures, including nanocrystalline (NC) grains, as well as microcrystalline samples with different grain sizes and creep prestrains introduced at high temperatures. Tests allowed measuring hardness, elastic modulus and creep stress exponents up to 500°C. The test results indicate that for temperatures and stresses used here, NC UO2 had limited to no creep, with stress exponents greater than 10. For UO2 samples with creep prestrain and spark plasma sintered (SPS) UO2 with a 1.8 μm grain size the dominant creep mechanism at the high stresses and relatively low temperatures used is dislocation glide: the creep stress exponents of 3-4 at 500°C also matched well with recent literature values for macro scale compression creep tests. In addition, it was observed that the UO2 samples containing higher dislocation defect densities had lower creep stress exponents than conventional sintered UO2. The stress exponent measured on the conventional sintered UO2 at 500°C was ~ 7, which suggests that the deformation of UO2 at lower temperatures might be hindered by the energetic barriers to dislocation nucleation.
Building the future geriatrics workforce through transformative interprofessional education and community-engaged experiential learning

Abstract The number of older Americans, ages 65 years and above, is projected to more than double from 46 million in 2014 to 98 million by 2060.1 Despite these projections, the number of health professionals trained to address the needs of this population is declining and a shortage has been projected across the country by 2025.2-4 To address this health workforce gap, the Institute of Medicine report, Retooling for an Aging America5 calls for enhanced geriatric training across health professions, and a growing body of evidence supports the value of interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice. To respond to the urgent need for a better geriatric trained workforce, we developed an interprofessional course, “Scholars and Leaders in Interprofessional Geriatrics (SLIG)”, designed to enable health science students from different professions to acquire knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of integrated ethical geriatric care, in a variety of healthcare settings (i.e., community care, house calls, post-acute rehabilitation care, and hospice), as part of an interprofessional (IP) team. The learning activities include experiential and didactic learning for six weeks. Course learning objectives are aimed at enabling students to: apply patient- and family-centered approaches for addressing health disparities among older adults; define transitional care and explain the factors affecting effective care transitions and strategies for addressing the needs of older adults at various levels of care; and describe the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies5 and apply these to IP team work in a geriatric care setting. Together, these learning objectives address the continuum of care of older adults, including the trajectory of illness, at different levels including transitions of care. Our mixed-methods program evaluation approach utilized the IPECC-Set 38 6,7 self-efficacy tool in a post-program evaluation survey. The IPECC-SET 38 tool assessed students’ self-efficacy in interprofessional collaborative practice. The tool was developed and validated6,7 by the co-authors and colleagues. A program evaluation survey was administered to all students. The data demonstrated that the participating students consider the course to be beneficial, with 100% of students (n = 30) reporting program learning goals were met and that the program addressed all four IPEC domains. We are encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response by our students to this IPE course and we plan to continue to contribute to developing the future geriatric IP workforce.
Utilizing a health information exchange to facilitate COVID-19 VA primary care follow-up for Veterans diagnosed in the community

The use of alerts from the Bronx RHIO, a health information exchange (HIE) to identify James J. Peters VAMC patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the community was described to facilitate COVID-19 VA primary care follow-up. COVID-19 hospitalization and testing alerts were delivered on a Bronx RHIO facility report. VA COVID-19 follow-up care by telephone and video was guided by local COVID-19 clinical pathways, electronic health record (EHR) templates, and tracking through a database. VA received 180 RHIO alerts for 111 unique patients, and 88 had positive non-VA testing from March to June 2020. 41% of the 88 had non-VA admissions and 23% died. 63% received VA primary care follow-up of COVID-19 symptoms documented by custom EHR templates. The HIE identified 11% of the facility COVID-19 patients. HIE alerts can be used to identify facility COVID-19 patients diagnosed in the community and facilitate follow-up by their VA primary care teams.
Single Incision Robotic Cystectomy and Hybrid Orthotopic Neobladder Reconstruction: A Step by Step Description.

Objective To describe a new technique for single incision robotic cystectomy and Studer-type ileal neobladder using the single-port (SP) da Vinci SP robotic platform. Methods In April 2021, a 71 year-old patient underwent a single incision robotic cystectomy and orthotopic Studer-type ileal neobladder using the single-port da Vinci SP robotic platform for cT2, cN0 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. He was not a candidate for neoadjuvant cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy and declined participation in a clinical trial. Results Total operative time was 554 minutes and estimated blood loss was 250 cc. He was discharged on postoperative day six without developing any Clavien complications. He underwent adjuvant chemotherapy for node-positive disease and follow-up through June 2021 was notable for the absence of any significant complications or readmissions. We provide a comprehensive discussion of the required instrumentation, a description of the technique with illustrations, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this technology as it pertains to cystectomy and urinary diversion. Conclusion We make no claim regarding the superiority of this technique over others, only that it is technically feasible and that the approach holds promise.
The Role of Lookahead and Approximate Policy Evaluation in Policy Iteration with Linear Value Function Approximation.

When the sizes of the state and action spaces are large, solving MDPs can be computationally prohibitive even if the probability transition matrix is known. So in practice, a number of techniques are used to approximately solve the dynamic programming problem, including lookahead, approximate policy evaluation using an m-step return, and function approximation. In a recent paper, (Efroni et al. 2019) studied the impact of lookahead on the convergence rate of approximate dynamic programming. In this paper, we show that these convergence results change dramatically when function approximation is used in conjunction with lookout and approximate policy evaluation using an m-step return. Specifically, we show that when linear function approximation is used to represent the value function, a certain minimum amount of lookahead and multi-step return is needed for the algorithm to even converge. And when this condition is met, we characterize the finite-time performance of policies obtained using such approximate policy iteration. Our results are presented for two different procedures to compute the function approximation: linear least-squares regression and gradient descent.
IRAK1 and IRAK4 as emerging therapeutic targets in hematologic malignancies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Cell intrinsic and extrinsic perturbations to inflammatory signaling pathways are a hallmark of development and progression of hematologic malignancies. The interleukin 1 receptor-associated kinases (IRAKs) are a family of related signaling intermediates (IRAK1, IRAK2, IRAK3, IRAK4) that operate at the nexus of multiple inflammatory pathways implicated in the hematologic malignancies. In this review, we explicate the oncogenic role of these kinases and review recent therapeutic advances in the dawning era of IRAK-targeted therapy. RECENT FINDINGS Emerging evidence places IRAK signaling at the confluence of adaptive resistance and oncogenesis in the hematologic malignancies and solid tissue tumors. Preclinical investigations nominate the IRAK kinases as targetable molecular dependencies in diverse cancers. SUMMARY IRAK-targeted therapies that have matriculated to early phase trials are yielding promising preliminary results. However, studies of IRAK kinase signaling continue to defy conventional signaling models and raise questions as to the design of optimal treatment strategies. Efforts to refine IRAK signaling mechanisms in the malignant context will inspire deliberate IRAK-targeted drug development and informed combination therapy.
Significant Incidental Findings Unrelated to the Primary Cancer on CT Simulation Treatment Planning Scans.

Purpose/Objective(s) Incidental tumor findings on radiographic imaging are rare and often do not manifest symptoms such as a lump or associated pain. These tumors may represent major clinically relevant findings that need additional imaging and testing. Although some studies published metastatic disease of the primary cancer, we are not aware of publications in the U.S. focusing solely on major, significant findings, and unrelated to the primary disease during radiotherapy planning. In this paper, we introduce several cases where CT planning images revealed significant clinical findings unrelated to the primary cancer that required further investigation. All patients with these major findings were followed-up for diagnostic imaging, examination, and proper referral. Materials/Methods To simulate real-life situation when CT treatment planning is performed in a radiation oncology department, the radiation oncologist reviewed a total of 115 patients with CT treatment planning that was performed during the 2-year period of 2017-2018. These CTs were performed during routine radiotherapy planning for curative purposes: brain tumors (n = 10 or 9%), head and neck cancer (n = 15 or 13%), lung cancer (n = 30 or 26%), breast cancer (n = 35 or 30%), prostate cancer (n = 25 or 22%). Results We report incidental but significant findings on radiotherapy planning CT scans unrelated to the primary cancer. A total of 4 abnormal findings (3 neoplasms and 1 benign) were discovered from a total of 115 CT scans done for radiotherapy planning. The 3 neoplasms were: hepatocellular carcinoma, thyroid cancer, and large adrenal adenoma. The one benign finding was extensive eventration of the left hemi-diaphragm. Conclusion CT planning scans are routinely performed separately in the radiation oncology department for proper treatment mapping of cancer patients. These CT images are usually stored in the RO department server and not in radiology PACS system. At the present time, it is not known how many percent of radiation oncologists routinely check CT scans for incidental findings. The 4 case reports stated in this article demonstrate that although rare, there are malignancies/abnormalities unrelated to the primary cancer that could be missed in the CT planning process. We therefore recommend that radiation oncologists take charge of this issue and implement a method of proper interpretation of CT simulation images by either the radiation oncologists responsible for the case, or designated diagnostic radiologists (if such arrangement exists), to ensure that incidental findings are not missed. In any radiation oncology (RO) department, a routine QA (quality assurance) checklist often includes: consultation note, verification of pathology, consent form, verification of dosimetry, verification of physics report etc., we believe that proper interpretation of CT simulation images for incidental findings should be part of the QA checklist in a modern RO department
The primacy of meeting the essential needs of public university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a new higher education priority

Objectives: We investigated the holistic experiences of university students during the pandemic. Participants: 38 students in a public university system in New York City (NYC) purposively selected from neighborhoods highly affected by the pandemic based on level of self-reported impact Methods: We conducted virtual in-depth interviews from May to August 2021 and analyzed data using thematic coding and constant comparison techniques informed by grounded theory. Results: Financial and social support systems, such as governmental and school resources, were critical to addressing essential needs and allowing students to persist. For those whose essential needs were met, faculty flexibility and student experiences with online learning were central to their academic success. Conclusions: Institutions of higher education should strengthen financial and social support systems to meet the essential needs of students. Academic policies to bolster online pedagogy and faculty flexibility can facilitate student retention and completion.
Protein Synthesis in Rabbit Reticulocytes FACTORS CONTROLLING INTERNAL AND TERMINAL METHIONINE CODON RECOGNITION BY THE METHIONYL TRANSFER RIBONUCLEIC ACID SPECIES

Abstract In rabbit reticulocyte protein synthesis, Met-tRNAfmet (liver) can recognize the terminal AUG and GUG codons. The preferential recognition of the terminal methionine codons (AUG and GUG) by Met-tRNAfmet (liver) requires the presence of a peptide chain initiation factor or factors and low Mg++. Both Met-tRNAfmet and Met-tRNAmmet can recognize internal AUG codons, although the affinity of Met-tRNAmmet for the same codons is greater than that of Met-tRNAfmet. When both Met-tRNAmet species are present in excess, Met-tRNAmmet preferentially transfers methionine into polypeptides in response to internal AUG codons. Met-tRNAmmet and not Met-tRNAfmet can recognize internal GUG codons. However, this recognition of internal GUG codons by Met-tRNAmmet (liver) requires a higher Mg++ concentration (9 mm). Yeast Met-tRNAfmet, like the liver Met-tRNAfmet, can also recognize the terminal AUG and GUG codons and can transfer methionine into the terminal positions of the peptide chains in the presence of the peptide chain initiation factors at low Mg++. However, yeast Met-tRNAfmet does not efficiently recognize the internal AUG codons. On the other hand, Escherichia coli Met-tRNAfmet transfers methionine very efficiently in response to internal AUG codons, although the transfer efficiency of methionine into polypeptides by this species in response to terminal AUG and GUG codons is comparatively low.
Placental circulation of human twins: Constant arterial anastomoses in monochorionic placentas

Abstract Seventy-five twin placentas were examined by careful vascular injection studies after accurate diagnosis of the monochorionic or bichorionic state. Two triplet placentas were similarly examined. The injections were designed to study the precapillary circulation. Anastomoses between the arterial systems of the two embryos were definitely identified in every well-formed monochorionic placenta in this series. In all but one placenta these anastomoses were grossly visible, but in one they were first detected with the radiopaque injection mass. The size of the anastomoses was partially related to the distance separating the two umbilical cords. No anatomic cause for any preferential direction of flow, no venous valves, and no thrombus was found in any placenta. In one instance, one of the twins had died in utero and the anastomosis showed partial occlusion at the probable line of junction of the two placentas, due to vascular swelling. No arteriovenous precapillary anastomoses were demonstrated. Only one placenta showed a venous-venous anastomosis. Cross circulation at a capillary level could be shown in associated studies. There was no demonstrable anastomoses in any bichorionic placenta. A hypothesis is presented that the anemiapolycythemia syndrome develops in monochorionic placentation if the anastomoses are relatively large and the intrauterine twin in its high pressure environment is permitted to infuse the delivered twin in its low pressure environment.
Novel Anaerobic Cellulolytic Bacterium

A morphologically novel bacterium which ferments cellulose and produces butyric acid was isolated from a bovine rumen. It grows in long twisted chains that often form a double-helical pattern.
Pl-mediated Transduction of a Gene That Controls Radiation Sensitivity and Capsular Polysaccharide Synthesis from Shigella dysenteriae to Escherichia coli

When Shigella dysenteriae strain 60 is used as a donor and Escherichia coli K-12 strains that are ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive, mucoid, and proline-requiring (Pro(-)) are employed as recipients, selection for Pro(+) yields 2 to 6% nonmucoid clones. All of the nonmucoid clones examined are UV-resistant. Most of the nonmucoid UV-resistant transductants are partial diploids for the genes being studied. When these Shigella-Escherichia hybrids are used as donors with the same E. coli recipients, the cotransduction of Pro(+) and nonmucoidness is greatly increased (59 to 94% cotransduction). All of these nonmucoid transductants examined were also UV-resistant. The results indicate that Shigella contains an allele (designated ShproC(+)) homologous to proC of E. coli and a second linked allele (designated ShcapR(+)) homologous to the capR allele of E. coli. The ShcapR(+) allele changes the phenotype of certain E. coli strains from mucoid UV-sensitive (capR6) or very sensitive (capR9) to nonmucoid and UV-resistant. Unanticipated capR allele interactions in the partial diploid hybrids are described.
Optimistic Concurrency Semantics for Transactions in Coordination Languages

There has been significant recent interest in exploring the role of coordination languages as middleware for distributed systems. These languages provide operations that allow processes to dynamically and atomically access and manipulate collections of shared data. The need to impose discipline on the manner in which these operations occur becomes paramount if we wish to reason about correctness in the presence of increased program complexity. Transactions provide strong serialization guarantees that allow us to reason about programs in terms of higher-level units of abstraction rather than lower-level data structures. In this paper, we explore the role of an optimistic transactional facility for a Linda-like coordination language. We provide a semantics for a transactional coordination calculus and state a soundness result for this semantics. Our use of an optimistic concurrency protocol distinguishes this work from previous efforts such as Javaspaces, and enables scalable, deadlock-free implementations.
Amplified luminescence quenching of phosphorescent metal-organic frameworks.

Amplified luminescence quenching has been demonstrated in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) composed of Ru(II)-bpy building blocks with long-lived, largely triplet metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited states. Strong non-covalent interactions between the MOF surface and cationic quencher molecules coupled with rapid energy transfer through the MOF microcrystal facilitates amplified quenching with a 7000-fold enhancement of the Stern–Volmer quenching constant for methylene blue compared to a model complex.
You Can’t Get There from Here: A Social Process Theory of Racism and Race:

Theorizing the social influence of racism and race has long been a concern of sociologists. Theories have addressed how racism, race and race inequality are organized and changed. Yet they have not addressed why racism and race are persistent despite social change. A social process theory of racism and race is proposed that analyzes their flexibility and persistence. It posits that racism is a social process where the meanings of race identities are traded across macro, meso, and micro levels of society. These trades legitimate social policies, are used to define a society as moral, and inform experiences. Black and white identities in light of the civil rights movement and its retrenchment, and the post-9/11 identity of Muslim Americans provide examples for applying the theory. I discuss the implications of the social process theory of racism and race for the future of race inequality in American society and sociological research.
Pre-event smallpox vaccination: unresolved issues.

We are on the verge of the first phase of nationwide smallpox vaccination, but many questions remain unanswered.
microRNA-antagonism regulates breast cancer stemness and metastasis via TET family dependent chromatin remodeling

Tumor cells metastasize to distant organs through genetic and epigenetic alterations, including changes in microRNA (miR) expression. Here we find miR-22 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), enhances invasiveness and promotes metastasis in mouse xenografts. In a conditional mammary gland-specific transgenic (TG) mouse model, we show that miR-22 enhances mammary gland side-branching, expands the stem cell compartment, and promotes tumor development. Critically, miR-22 promotes aggressive metastatic disease in MMTV-miR-22 TG mice, as well as compound MMTV-neu or -PyVT-miR-22 TG mice. We demonstrate that miR-22 exerts its metastatic potential by silencing antimetastatic miR-200 through direct targeting of the TET (Ten eleven translocation) family of methylcytosine dioxygenases, thereby inhibiting demethylation of the mir-200 promoter. Finally, we show that miR-22 overexpression correlates with poor clinical outcomes and silencing of the TET-miR-200 axis in patients. Taken together, our findings implicate miR-22 as a crucial epigenetic modifier and promoter of EMT and breast cancer stemness toward metastasis.
A simplified micromechanical model of compressive strength of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites

Abstract A micromechanical model is constructed for the compressive strength of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCs). This model is based on the classical models of compressive failure of brittle soilds in which sliding microcracks induce wing-crack growth under compression loads. The concept of increased microcrack sliding resistance and wing-crack growth retardation associated with fiber bridging is exploited to produce a strengthening effect of fibers in composite strength. The concept of defect introduction associated with fiber volume fraction is included to produce a composite strength degradation. The combined effect results in composite compressive strength which increases initially and subsequently drops with increasing fiber content, as has been observed in FRCs reinforced with a variety of fibers.
Basomedial Hypothalamic Injections of Neuropeptide Y Conjugated to Saporin Selectively Disrupt Hypothalamic Controls of Food Intake

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) conjugated to saporin (NPY-SAP), a ribosomal inactivating toxin, is a newly developed compound designed to selectively target and lesion NPY receptor-expressing cells. We injected NPY-SAP into the basomedial hypothalamus (BMH), just dorsal to the arcuate nucleus (ARC), to investigate its neurotoxicity and to determine whether ARC NPY neurons are required for glucoprivic feeding. We found that NPY-SAP profoundly reduced NPY Y1 receptor and alpha MSH immunoreactivity, as well as NPY, Agouti gene-related protein (AGRP), and cocaine and amphetamine-related transcript mRNA expression in the BMH. NPY-SAP lesions were localized to the injection site with no evidence of retrograde transport by hindbrain NPY neurons with BMH terminals. These lesions impaired responses to intracerebroventricular (icv) leptin (5 microg/5 microl x d) and ghrelin (2 microg/5 microl), which are thought to alter feeding primarily by actions on ARC NPY/AGRP and proopiomelanocortin/cocaine and amphetamine-related transcript neurons. However, the hypothesis that NPY/AGRP neurons are required downstream mediators of glucoprivic feeding was not supported. Although NPY/AGRP neurons were destroyed by NPY-SAP, the lesion did not impair either the feeding or the hyperglycemic response to 2-deoxy-D-glucose-induced blockade of glycolysis use. Similarly, responses to glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1, 5 microg/3 microl icv), NPY (5 microg/3 microl icv), cholecystokinin octapeptide (4 microg/kg ip), and beta-mercaptoacetate (68 mg/kg ip) were not altered by the NPY-SAP lesion. Thus, NPY-SAP destroyed NPY receptor-expressing neurons in the ARC and selectively disrupted controls of feeding dependent on those neurons but did not disrupt peptidergic or metabolic controls dependent upon circuitry outside the BMH.
Relation Between Actual and Virtual Ionospheric Height

Translation of virtual height of the ionosphere into actual height is achieved by fitting a parabolic maximum of electron density to observations of variation of virtual height with wave frequency. Methods for measuring the thickness of a region and the height of maximum electron density are described and applied. The simplest measure of the actual height of maximum electron density is the virtual height at five-sixths of the penetration frequency. This measure is found to be remarkably reliable for $F$ region at night. During the daytime it is often necessary to correct ${F}_{1}$ observations for presence of $E$ region, and ${F}_{2}$ observations for presence of ${F}_{1}$ region. A simple technique of correction is described and applied. The disadvantages of minimum virtual height for quantitative study of diurnal variation of ionospheric height are emphasized.
Developmental differences in cognitive mapping: Configurational knowledge of familiar large-scale environments

Abstract In order to investigate the development of cognitive mapping of familiar large-scale environments. First-, fifth-, and eighth-grade children were asked to make bearing and distance estimates to six targets from three sighting locations in their school. Correlations between estimated and actual bearings and distances were extremely high at all grade levels, indicating that (a) children at all grade levels could reliably make such estimates, and (b) route knowledge of even the youngest children was quite high. Bearing accuracy increased between first- and fifth-grade and showed little improvement thereafter. Increases in a measure of configurational accuracy were found between first- and fifth-grade and between fifth- and eighth-grade. Differential accuracy as a function of the demands of particular sighting locations was found only for the younger children.
Innate Immunity and the Lung: Defense at the Interface Between Host and Environment

The lung serves as a major interface between the host and the external environment. As such, numerous lines of defense protect the host from inhaled potential pathogens. A breach in pulmonary innate immunity can lead to deleterious outcomes, such as pneumonia and disseminated infection. Pulmonary innate immunity, the first line of defense, is mediated by airway and alveolar epithelial cells as well as resident and recruited leukocytes. This article will discuss the key cellular and secreted components of the pulmonary innate immune system.
Limy bile cast of gallbladder.

N INFREQUENT AND INTFIIESTING CONDITION of the gallbladder is due to the presence of bile containing a high concentration of calcium carbonate, with the result that the gallbladder is radiographically visible even without the administration of dye. The earliest report of calcium bile was made in 1911, by Churchman, z who found a material in the gallbladder which had the consistency of toothpaste. Chemical analysis revealed that this material consisted largely of soaps of calcium salts. The term "milk of calcium" bile was originated by Volkmann," who, in 1926, reported 2 eases in which the gallbladders removed at operation contained a white fluid which proved to be calcium carbonate. In 1931, Phemister and his co-workers 3 reported 7 eases with calcium earbonate gallstones. Knutsson/in 1933, reported 12 eases of calcium carbonate deposits in the gallbladder, and introduced the term "limy bile" in preference to "milk of calcium" bile because he showed that the amorphous material in the gallbladder not ahvays was a thin, milky fluid, but was often a semisolid paste or solid concretion. In 1935, Kornblum and Hall 5 gathered 5 eases, including 1 of their own, in a discussion of the radiographic findings. In 1942, McCall and Tuggle G reported a study of 15 patients with calcium bile. The most reeent report 7 was of a ease of a densely opaque gallbladder fortuitously visualized during a gastrointestinal x-ray series.
The pathophysiology of tethered cord syndrome: Ischemia or apoptosis?

Apoptosis plays a major role in many biological processes which require or result in reduction of cell numbers. In the nervous system, apoptosis has been identified as a key mechanism regulating growth and development as well as the response to injury and tissue repair. The tethered cord syndrome (TCS) arises from fixation of the caudal end of the spinal cord resulting from several different etiologies. Distal fixation of the cord produces stretching and development of shear forces within cord tissue and has been associated with various metabolic and electrophysiological derangements. Previous studies have focused on ischemia as the pathophysiological basis of the neurological deficits that occur in this syndrome. However, more recent evidence suggests that apoptosis may be a key determinant of the extent of spinal cord injury and degree of neurological deficit following mechanical injury. The molecular biology of apoptosis is becoming increasingly well characterized, and several studies have addressed its role in spinal cord injury. Neuronal and oligodendrocyte populations within spinal cord tissue are known to be sensitive to ischemia and oxidative stress, but also readily undergo apoptotic cell death in response to various stimuli. It is likely that ischemia and apoptosis are interrelated processes that both contribute significantly to the histopathological features and functional loss seen in tethered cord syndrome.
Mechanism of silver(I)-assisted growth of gold nanorods and bipyramids.

The seed-mediated growth of gold nanostructures is shown to be strongly dependent on the gold seed nanocrystal structure. The gold seed solutions can be prepared such that the seeds are either single crystalline or multiply twinned. With added silver(I) in the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aqueous growth solutions, the two types of seeds yield either nanorods or elongated bipyramidal nanoparticles, in good yields. The gold nanorods are single crystalline, with a structure similar to those synthesized electrochemically (Yu, Y. Y. et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 1997, 101, 6661). In contrast, the gold bipyramids are pentatwinned. These bipyramids are strikingly monodisperse in shape. This leads to the sharpest ensemble longitudinal plasmon resonance reported so far for metal colloid solutions, with an inhomogeneous width as narrow as 0.13 eV for a resonance at ∼1.5 eV. Ag(I) plays an essential role in the growth mechanism. Ag(I) slows down the growth of the gold nanostructures. Ag(I) also leads to high-ener...
Error correction in discrimination training for children with autism

Three procedures for correcting errors made during discrimination training were examined: error statement (saying ‘no’), modeling the correct response, and No Feedback. Six children with autism (age 3–7 years) were taught to match words to pictures with each of the three procedures, and the number of trials to mastery was compared across conditions. Results varied across participants. Two participants performed as well with no feedback as they did with an error correction procedure; two acquired skills slightly more quickly with an error correction procedure than with no feedback, but showed no difference between error correction procedures; one did best with error statement; and one did best with modeling. Results indicate that the choice of error correction procedure can have a large effect on rate of skill acquisition but that the optimal procedure may vary across individuals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Germination stimulation in wild oats (Avena fatua L.) by synthetic strigol analogs and gibberellic acid.

At concentrations of 0.01–1 mM, five synthetic multiring analogs of strigol were effective germination stimulants of intact and dehulled wild oat (Avena fatua L.) seeds. The effect was concentration-dependent and equaled or exceeded that produced by equimolar gibberellic acid (GA3). The most effective strigol analog treatments induced 55–80% germination within 7 days in intact wild oat seeds and resulted in 63–86% germination and normal seedling growth over 14 days. Intact wild oat controls germinated 14% after 14 days. The stimulation of wild oat germination by these synthetic strigol analogs demonstrates that these compounds, initially developed as germination stimulants for the seeds of the parasitic weed, witchweed (Striga asiatica L. Kuntz.), have bioregulatory activity in dormant seeds of monocots, as well as dicots. None of the compounds tested significantly affected the germination of nondormant cultivated oat seeds (Avena sativa L.). The commonly used dispersal agent, Tween 20 (0.1%), was found to inhibit germination of cultivated oats, alone and in the presence of 2% acetone.
The Optics Toolkit at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Analysis beyond the traditional design metrics such as spot size or wavefront variance is generally needed to address mission requirements for NASA. The Optics Toolkit is used with optical design software to complete these tasks.
Revisiting Paleoindian exploitation of extinct North American mammals

In 2002, we assessed all sites known to us that had been suggested to provide evidence for the association of Clovis-era archaeological material with the remains of extinct Pleistocene mammals in North America. We concluded that, of the 76 sites we assessed, 14 provided compelling evidence for human involvement in the death and/or dismemberment of such mammals. Of these sites, 12 involved mammoth (Mammuthus), the remaining two mastodon (Mammut). Here, we update that assessment. We examine Clovis-era, and earlier, sites reported since 2002, as well as sites examined previously but for which additional information has become available. Our assessment leads us to exclude Hebior (Wisconsin) from the list of accepted sites, and to add El Fin del Mundo (Sonora) and Wally's Beach (Alberta). There are now 15 sites on our list, providing what we find to be compelling evidence for human involvement in the death and/or dismemberment of five genera of now-extinct late Pleistocene mammals: Equus, Camelops, Cuvieronius, Mammut, and Mammuthus. As in 2002, however, we note this is a small fraction of the 37 genera that disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene, and for this and other reasons we remain highly skeptical that human overkill was responsible for their extinction.
Responses of aquatic insects to Cu and Zn in stream microcosms: understanding differences between single species tests and field responses.

Field surveys of metal-contaminated streams suggest that some aquatic insects, particularly mayflies (Ephemeroptera) and stoneflies (Plecoptera), are highly sensitive to metals. However, results of single species toxicity tests indicate these organisms are quite tolerant, with LC50 values often several orders of magnitude greater than those obtained using standard test organisms (e.g., cladocerans and fathead minnows). Reconciling these differences is a critical research need, particularly since water quality criteria for metals are based primarily on results of single species toxicity tests. In this research we provide evidence based on community-level microcosm experiments to support the hypothesis that some aquatic insects are highly sensitive to metals. We present results of three experiments that quantified effects of Cu and Zn, alone and in combination, on stream insect communities. EC50 values, defined as the metal concentration that reduced abundance of aquatic insects by 50%, were several orders ...
What Should We Do When Participants Report Dangerous Drinking? The Impact of Personalized Letters Versus General Pamphlets as a Function of Sex and Controlled Orientation.

Research in which participants report potentially dangerous health-related behaviors raises ethical and professional questions about what to do with that information. Policies and laws regarding reportable behaviors vary across states and Institutional Review Boards (IRB). In alcohol research, IRBs often require researchers to respond to participants who report dangerous drinking practices. Researchers have little guidance regarding how best to respond in such cases. Personalized feedback or general nonpersonalized information may prove differentially effective as a function of gender and/or level of self-determination. This study evaluated response strategies for reducing peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) among participants reporting dangerous BACs (≥ .35%) in the context of a two-year longitudinal intervention trial with 818 heavy drinking college students. After each assessment, participants who reported drinking to estimated BACs at or greater than .35% were sent either a personalized letter expr...
The International Criminal Court and the politics of prosecutions

I assess the credibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an impartial and independent institution by demonstrating how state behaviour towards the Court has politicised prosecutions. There are two mechanisms by which prosecutions have become politicised: the referrals of conflict situations to the ICC by political actors, i.e. States Parties to the Rome Statute and United Nations Security Council, and the prospect and degree of state cooperation with the Court. Consequently prosecutions have targeted only one side of the conflict and reflect the strategic political interests of the referring actors but promise a greater degree of state cooperation. The case studies selected here present variation in the nature of referrals and degree of cooperation, making for an instructive comparison and revealing an identifiable pattern of politicisation.
Optical Determination of Short-Wave Modulation by Long Ocean Gravity Waves

Time series short-wave spectra were produced from photographs acquired during the Joint North Sea Waves Project (JONSWAP). The feasibility of using this surface imagery to quantify the nature of short-wave modulation by long waves is demonstrated. Photographically obtained time series spectra are correlated to the long wave slope. The modulation transfer function of short-wave spectral energy versus long wave slope is measured to have a 9(slope)-1 magnitude with a 90° phase at a wind speed of 5 m/s in the short-wave spectral regime between 3 and 30 cm in wavelength. Comparison of these results with measurements by coherent radars and laser slope gauges indicates good agreement in the measured modulation magnitude but significant disagreement in measured phase. Modulation magnitude and phase predicted from the action balance model are shown to be significantly smaller than empiricaly measured results.
Characterizing VeSFET-Based ICs With CMOS-Oriented EDA Infrastructure

In this paper, we demonstrate that standard cell design methodology can be applied to design vertical slit field effect transistor (VeSFET)-based ASICs with modern CMOS EDA tools. We study a family of VeSFET canvases-chain canvases that improve performance and power consumption of circuits mapped to them compared to circuits implemented with VeSFET canvases composed of isolated transistors. We compare the designs implemented with a commercial low power CMOS library and corresponding VeSFET libraries. VeSFET-based designs demonstrate significant power reduction as compared to the CMOS-based designs at the same performance.
Doubling, intertextuality, and the postmodern uncanny: Paul Auster's New York Trilogy

(1998). Doubling, intertextuality, and the postmodern uncanny: Paul Auster's New York Trilogy. Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory: Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 245-262.
Nucleophilic oxygen transfer from a perepoxide to phosphites

Abstract Phosphites trap the perepoxide from adamantylideneadamantane efficiently, forming the epoxide. The phosphite reacts as an electrophile in this process.
Photographic Studies Of Pedestrian And Vehicular Traffic.

PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIES OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC.Ira S. Kuperstein, Newark College of EngineeringDr.M.C.Li, New York UniversitySome of the most severe traffic andtransportation problems occur in, and aroundthe central business districts of our urbanareas. The results of these problems in-clude delays, congestion, accidents, con-fusion, and discomfort, combined with avariety of other equally undesireableeffects. In the process of obtaining anddesigning solution devices and developingtechniques to plan for, and respond to, theseproblems and situations, it is necessary toobtain and analyze several types of data.Information is obtained about the usersof the street network, as a major part ofthe overall data collection process. Theresults of the studies are used to evaluateexisting conditions, describe fundamentalaspects of road user behavior in the move-ment system, and to develop and judgealternatives in the solution design process.A variety of study methods and tech-niques have been developed to obtain theinformation required by the engineer,analyst, and planner. Included in the rangeof possible studies, there currently existsa catagory that has been developing rapidly,and has significant promise for additionalfuture applications. These studies utilize
The Effect of Holding Potential on Charge Translocation by the Na + /K + -ATPase in the Absence of Potassium

The Na+/K+-ATPase exports 3Na+ and imports 2K+ at the expense of the hydrolysis of 1 ATP. In the absence of K+, it carries on electroneutral, Na+-dependent transient charge movement (also known as “electroneutral Na+/Na+ exchange mode”) and produces a transient current containing faster and slower components in response to a sudden voltage step. Components with different speeds represent sequential release of Na+ ions from three binding sites. The effect of holding potential on slow charge movement was studied in the presence of different concentrations of ADPi, Na i + and Na o + with the intention of improving our understanding of Na i + binding. However, the manipulation of [ADP]i and [Na+]i did not cause as pronounced changes as predicted in the magnitude of charge movement (Q tot), which indicated that our experimental conditions were not able to backwardly drive reaction across the energy barrier to Na i + release/rebinding steps. On the contrary, lowering [Na+]o caused evident dependence of Q tot on holding potential, with characteristics suggesting that pumps were escaping from E2P through the uncoupled Na+ efflux activity.
Quality of Life in the Elderly with Rectal Cancer

H l r w p t d c t o he impact of disease and treatment on a patient’s sense f well-being and functioning has become a topic of ncreasing prominence in oncology research. Healthelated quality of life (HRQOL), as a result, has become n important outcomes measure. HRQOL is an especially important outcomes meaure when comparing different treatment modalities or rectal cancer. Surgical resection is the mainstay of ectal cancer treatment and is associated with severe orbidity. The surgical options for patients with low ectal cancer are anterior resection with restorative anasomosis and abdominoperineal resection with a permaent stoma. The most common adverse consequences fter operation for rectal cancer are urologic and sexual ysfunction. For patients having undergone sphincterreserving operations, defecation-related symptoms, for nstance, urgency and fecal soiling, are common. These unctional impairments are worse with multimodality herapy (radiotherapy and chemotherapy combined ith resection), which has become standard treatment or most cases of rectal cancer. The oncologic outomes, such as rate of local recurrence and survival, that re associated with each operation for rectal cancer have een shown to be comparable. But recent studies investigating HRQOL in rectal ancer patients, which historically has been assumed to e less favorable for patients undergoing abdominoperneal resections presumably because of the permanent toma, have yielded conflicting results. Increased bowel requency and incontinence are relatively common after
How global is U.S. Major League Baseball? A historical and geographic perspective

This article explores the globalization of U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), measured by the participation of foreign-born players in the sport from 1876 to 2005. Data show that the number of non-native athletes has been increasing since the end of World War II, suggesting that MLB is becoming a more globalized organization. An investigation at regional and country levels reveals that most foreign participants in the 1990s and early 21st century are from Latin America, especially the Dominican Republic. In contrast, most African, European, and Asian countries have shown little sign of participation. This implies that the global reach of MLB is limited. An empirical study of 2005 data suggests that prosperous countries, neighboring countries, or countries having a close political relationship with the U.S. tend to provide more athletes to MLB. In other words, the globalization of MLB is reliant on America’s economic, cultural, and geographic proximity to the rest of the world.