cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anion Gap as a Screening Tool for Elevated Lactate in Patients with an Increased Risk of Developing Sepsis in the Emergency Department

Abstract Objectives: Serum lactate levels are a useful tool in monitoring critically ill patients, especially those who are septic. However, lactate levels are often not routinely drawn or rapidly available in some institutions. The objective of this study was to determine if a readily available anion gap (AG) could be used as a surrogate marker for abnormal lactate level in Emergency Department (ED) patients at risk for sepsis. Methods: Prospective, observational cohort study of consecutive ED patients seen at an urban university tertiary care referral center with 46,000 annual ED visits. ED patients aged 18 years or older presenting with clinically suspected infection were eligible for enrollment if a serum chemistry and lactate levels were drawn during the ED visit. During the 9-month study period, 1419 patients were enrolled. The initial basic chemistry panels, calculated AG, and lactate levels drawn in the ED were collected. We defined, a priori, an AG > 12 and a lactate > 4 mmol/L to be abnormal. Analysis was performed with Student's t -test, operating characteristics with 95% confidence intervals, and logistic regression. Results: The mean AG was 11.8 (SD 3.6) and the mean lactate was 2.1 (SD 1.3). For an AG > 12, the mean lactate was 2.9 (SD 1.7), compared with 1.8 (SD 0.8) for an AG 12) in predicting elevated lactate levels (> 4 mmol/L) was 80% (72–87%) and the specificity was 69% (66–71%). Patients with a gap > 12 had a 7.3-fold (4.6–11.4) increased risk of having a lactate > 4 mmol/L. The area under the curve was 0.84. Conclusion: This study suggests that an elevated AG obtained in the ED is a moderately sensitive and specific means to detect elevated lactate levels in ED patients at risk for sepsis. This information may be somewhat helpful to Emergency Physicians to risk-stratify their patients to provide more aggressive early resuscitation.
When Should “Consumers-as-Producers” Have to Comply With Consumer Protection Laws?

Since the 1960s, consumer protection law has been built on the contrast between large “producers” and small “consumers.” Today, instead, an ordinary consumer owns what can accurately be called a “personal mainframe”—a home computer whose processing power matches an IBM mainframe from about 10 Years ago. Equipped with a personal mainframe—an Information-Age factory—ordinary “consumers” at home are increasingly also becoming “producers.” As unregulated consumers become regulated producers, a major legal question is whether and when the individual should have to comply with consumer protection laws. The discussion here selects four examples of US legal rules that might apply to consumers-as-producers, with recommendations spanning the range of possibilities: (1) consumer privacy legislation: creating a threshold, with no compliance required for databases of fewer than 5,000 names, is recommended; (2) advertising substantiation: concerning the requirement that advertisers have a “reasonable basis” for their claims, applying current law to small advertisers is recommended; (3) spam: current law does not create a threshold for those who send a few commercial emails, but such a threshold is worth considering; (4) political blogging: the author agrees with the US Federal Election Commission decision to create a major exemption from campaign finance laws for online political advocacy, even for large blogs or websites. The common theme among these recommendations is to describe the sort of harm that existing law seeks to reduce. The approach here next looks at how the use of personal mainframes affects creation of those harms. Where the sorts of harm are likely to be created by consumers-as-producers, the analysis tilts towards requiring compliance. Where the sorts of harms are unlikely to be caused by consumers-as-producers, then the case for an exception is stronger.
Phytate Content of Excreta and Phytate Retention in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Young Chickens

Abstract A HPLC procedure was used to determine inositol phosphate in chicken droppings and intestinal content. When compared with the classical ferric chloride method of determining total inositol phosphate in excreta, the HPLC method gave higher values, but the linear relationship between values determined by the two methods was significant (r = .82, P
Sampling and sample-preparation strategies based on solid-phase microextraction for analysis of indoor air

Abstract Applications of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) to the sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds in indoor air are reviewed, including a summary of quantification methods, coatings, compounds, concentrations, sampling locations and times, and detection limits. Strategies for on-site and off-site sampling and analysis, advantages and challenges associated with SPME for air sampling are discussed.
Emitter series resistance effect of multiple heterojunction contacts for Pnp heterojunction bipolar transistors

Abstract For InP-based Pnp heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), a set of epitaxial layers, frequently incorporating quaternaries, is used to make a low resistance electrical contact to the emitter layer. We describe an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear effects of the multiple heterojunction interfaces on the emitter series resistance and emitter junction current–voltage characteristics of the device. The simulation results show that heterojunction interfaces can contribute a substantial portion (up to 20%) to the total emitter series resistance, especially at high levels of emitter current.
Real-time analysis of the “plasmonic diluent” effect: Probing Ag nanoparticle growth rate via Dy3+ photoluminescence quenching

Abstract In situ optical microspectroscopy has been applied for the real-time monitoring of the recently established “plasmonic diluent” effect. Concurrent absorption and photoluminescence measurements were performed as a function of time for an Ag–Dy co-doped glass at elevated temperatures. The isothermal kinetic analysis reveals: (i) a Dy 3+ photoluminescence quenching; and (ii) development of surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles. A method for monitoring the Ag nanoparticle growth rate based on the time-dependent Dy 3+ photoluminescence decrease is suggested. Dysprosium ions are proposed to act as luminescent probes of metal nanoparticle growth as a consequence of the rare-earth de-excitation via the “plasmonic diluent” effect.
Response properties of neurons in the pericruciate cortex of the cat following electrical stimulation of the appendages

Abstract In chloralose-anesthetized cats activity was recorded extracellularly from single neurons isolated in two circumscribed regions of the anterior cerebral hemisphere, one just rostral and the other just caudal to the lateral tip of the cruciate sulcus. Each neuron was classed as either PT or non-PT, depending upon whether or not its axon coursed through the medullary pyramids. The discharge patterns of each neuron were measured following electrical stimulation of the central footpad of each appendage. If the neuron responded to contralateral forepaw stimulation but failed to respond to stimulation of any other appendage, it was classed as an s neuron; if it responded to stimulation of the contralateral forepaw and at least one other appendage, it was classed as an m neuron. PT, s neurons constituted a negligible fraction of the total sample. Both the depth within the cortex and the temporal pattern of discharge of non-PT, s neurons differed markedly from that of m neurons. PT, m and non-PT, m neurons were identical in behavior and are believed to have similar functional significance. The population response of m neurons to stimulation of the ipsilateral forepaw was the same as that following stimulation of the contralateral forepaw—merely delayed a few milliseconds. It is thus concluded that the non-PT, s neurons, which discharge before m neurons, do not drive the m neurons. The s neurons, which do not follow as high input frequencies as do m neurons, are thought to be a functionally distinct population of neurons which inhabits the external granular layers of the cortex. Their activity is closely associated with the surface positive phase of the concomitant primary evoked response. It is suggested on the basis of these experiments that the cortical input is directly linked to the cortical output.
Inhibition of vacuolar membrane fusion by intracellular symbiotic algae in Hydra viridis (Florida strain)

Hydra viridis (Florida strain) forms a stable symbiotic association with unicellular Chlorella-like algae. Algae are phagocytized by hydra phagocytes and maintained individually within vacuoles of the host-cell. The purpose of the studies presented in this paper was to determine how symbiotic algae avoid host-cell digestive processes. Viable symbiotic algae were found to inhibit the fusion of the algal vacuolar membrane and vacuoles labeled with thorium dioxide. By contrast, thorium-labeled vacuoles did fuse with vacuoles containing nonviable algae. Further, the absence of acid phosphatase activity within vacuoles containing established symbiotic algae implies that inhibition of membrane fusion by algae in hydras prevents the conversion of the algal vacuoles into phagolysosomes.
Glycoalkaloid composition of potatoes : diversity and biological implications

Glycoalkaloids are important potato quality factors. Tuber-bearingSolanum species exhibit wide quantitative and qualitative diversity in glycoalkaloid contents. Some species, of interest to breeders, contain extremely high total glycoalkaloid (TGA) levels and/or unusual types of glycoalkaloids of ill-defined or unknown toxic and teratogenic properties. Characterisation of glycoalkaloid content is a dynamic and, in some cases, controversial subject. Problems associated with analytical methodology and, to a lesser extent, with environmental effects and intraspecific heterogeneity have probably been the major causes of disagreements in the literature. Recent methodological developments have facilitated more accurate and sensitive measurements of TGA levels and of individual glycoalkaloid compositions. Such measurements should be used to analyze parental material and selected hybrid progeny in breeding programs. This is particularly important when certain wildSolanum species are being exploited as undesirable levels and types of glycoalkaloid can be genetically transmitted from the wild species to hybrid progeny. Absence of glycoalkaloid assessment from a breeding program can result in wasted effort, time and money.
Regulation of histamine-mediated prostacyclin synthesis in cultured human vascular endothelial cells

Abstract Histamine stimulates the production of prostacyclin (PGI 2 ) in cultured human endothelial cells. We have examined the cell specificity of histamine-mediated PGI 2 synthesis in primary and subcultured human cells. Venous and arterial smooth muscle cells and skin fibroblasts synthesized PGI 2 from exogenous arachidonic acid, but they did not synthesize a significant amount of PGI 2 when treated with histamine. Endothelial cells, however, produced similar amounts of PGI 2 in response to histamine and arachidonic acid. Thrombin also stimulates PGI 2 production in endothelial cells. Histamine and thrombin yielded an additive production of PGI 2 when added simultaneously to endothelial cells. When histamine and thrombin were added sequentially, the amount of PGI 2 produced was not additive but equaled the amount characteristic of the first agonist alone. Following an initial treatment with histamine, endothelial cells were unable to respond to histamine for 3 hr, after which the PGI 2 biosynthetic response rapidly returned to normal by 412 hr. When the initial histamine treatment was carried out under mildly alkaline conditions, the complete return of activity was delayed to 8 hr after treatment. The synthesis of PGI 2 from exogenous arachidonic acid was unaffected by prior treatment with histamine. Recovery of histamine-mediated PGI 2 production was not dependent on protein synthesis but required a component of fetal calf serum that is nondialyzable and moderately heat stable. Thus endothelial cell PGI 2 synthesis in response to a physiologic agonist is subject to several levels of regulation, reflecting not only intracellular events but also the extracellular environment.
Avoiding affection, avoiding altruism: Why is avoidant attachment related to less helping?

Avoidantly, compared to securely, attached people help less often and perceive the costs of helping as more severe. Helping relates to empathy and closeness, which may cause avoidantly attached people discomfort. We tested the hypothesis that reducing the potential for emotional closeness for avoidantly attached people would offset their unhelpfulness with one correlational and one experimental study. In Study 1, amongst a sample of 234 people on Mechanical Turk, avoidant attachment related to donating less money to human- and animal-related charities, but not a charity that did not foster emotional closeness. This relationship was mediated by empathy. In Study 2, amongst a sample of 193 college students, avoidantly attached people who believed that their emotions were temporarily unchangeable helped as much as people low in avoidant attachment. Reducing the potential emotional cost of helping increases helping amongst people who are avoidantly attached.
Base des phénomènes d’ischémie reperfusion et de la protection myocardique

The myocardial infarction represents a major cause of mortality. The deleterious phenomena arising during the ischaemia and the reperfusion of the myocardium are studied for more than 40 years. We thought for a long time that the ischaemia was the harmful stage, at the origin of the decrease of the energy stores, the dysregulation of the ionic homeostasis and the metabolic deregulation. We know now that the reperfusion itself is also a source of noxious effects (calcium overload, free radicals production, mitochondrion alteration). To combat these deleterious processes, two maneuvers demonstrated their efficiency by protecting the ischemic myocardium : it is the preconditioning and the postconditionning.
Continuous queries over append-only databases

In a database to which data is continually added, users may wish to issue a permanent query and be notified whenever data matches the query. If such continuous queries examine only single records, this can be implemented by examining each record as it arrives. This is very efficient because only the incoming record needs to be scanned. This simple approach does not work for queries involving joins or time. The Tapestry system allows users to issue such queries over a database of mail and bulletin board messages. The user issues a static query, such as “show me all messages that have been replied to by Jones,” as though the database were fixed and unchanging. Tapestry converts the query into an incremental query that efficiently finds new matches to the original query as new messages are added to the database. This paper describes the techniques used in Tapestry, which do not depend on triggers and thus be implemented on any commercial database that supports SQL. Although Tapestry is designed for filtering mail and news messages, its techniques are applicable to any append-only database.
Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Point Scatterers for Computational Time-reversal Imaging

We present a statistical framework for the fixed-frequency computational time- reversal imaging problem assuming point scatterers in a known background medium. Our statistical measurement models are based on the physical models of the multistatic response matrix, the dis- torted wave Born approximation and Foldy-Lax multiple scattering models. We develop maximum likelihood (ML) estimators of the locations and reflection parameters of the scatterers. Using a sim- plified single-scatterer model, we also propose a likelihood time-reversal imaging technique which is suboptimal but computationally ecient and can be used to initialize the ML estimation. We gener- alize the fixed-frequency likelihood imaging to multiple frequencies, and demonstrate its eectiveness in resolving the grating lobes of a sparse array. This enables to achieve high resolution by deploying a large-aperture array consisting of a small number of antennas while avoiding spatial ambiguity. Numerical and experimental examples are used to illustrate the applicability of our results.
40Ar/39 Ar geochronological constraints on timing of deformation and metamorphism of the Central Norrbotten Caledonides, Sweden

40Ar/39Ar geothermochronology is especially useful within the Scandinavian Caledonides, which experienced deformation and metamorphism as a result of two major tectonothermal pulses during the Early and Middle Palaeozoic. This detailed 40Ar/39Ar geochronological study of the Central Norrbotten Caledonides allows examination of the timing of tectonothermal activity within the Lower Koli Nappe, the Seve–Koli shear zone, the Seve Nappe and the shear zone rocks of the Middle Allochthon. The results obtained from a suite of 19 samples from the study area can be incorporated with structural and metamorphic constraints to establish the geological history of the region. Results from this study include: (1) the high grade metamorphism and associated deformation of the Seve units was a Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician event (Finnmarkian) in which the rocks cooled below the respective closure temperatures for hornblende at ≈ 490 Ma and muscovite at ≈ 454 Ma; (2) assuming a simple linear cooling model a cooling rate of 3–6°C/Ma was obtained for the older tectonothermal event; (3) there is evidence for late stage Finnmarkian (450 Ma), relatively high grade shear zones separating different tectonostratigraphic elements within the Seve; (4) the Scandian phase of deformation and metamorphism partially reset some of the Seve hornblendes and most of the muscovites, which indicates that the rocks affected by the Finnmarkian event felt a second tectonothermal pulse of more than 350°C beginning at ≈ 430 Ma; and (5) during the Scandian event all of the far travelled allochthonous tectonic units were juxtaposed and the Middle Allochthon mylonites were formed as these nappes were emplaced above the Baltic Shield. The tectonic units of the Singis-Nikkaluokta transect were assembled before regional cooling through the closure temperature of muscovite.
Principles of urban fiscal strategy

The fiscal incapacity of central cities is a characteristic feature in almost all discussions of urban ills. The demands for expanded public outlays have increased and will continue to increase relative to past and anticipated increases in taxable capacities. Both sides of the urban fiscal account have been adversely affected by the flight of persons and firms to the independently organized suburbs. With this as diagnosis, there seem to be only two directions for reform. The first is the provision of financial relief from external sources, presumably in the form of federal grants. The second involves a widening of the local fiscal base, presumably through the consolidation of central city and suburban governmental units.
Long-term(4 year)efficacy and tolerability of doxazosin for the treatment of concurrent benign prostatic hyperplasia and hypertension

Background: The α1-adrenoceptor antagonist doxazosin has proved successful in treating patients with concurrent benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and hypertension in short-term studies. However, both conditions are chronic and may worsen over time. The aim of this study was, therefore, to examine the tolerability and efficacy of doxazosin in the long-term treatment of concurrent BPH and hypertension. Methods: This study was a longitudinal extension of earlier double-blind trials. Patients were enrolled into the study on a rolling basis. From a total of 178 BPH patients with hypertension enrolled into the study, 28 had reached 48 months of open-label treatment with doxazosin at the time of the final data cutoff. Results: Treatment with doxazosin resulted in sustained benefits for BPH patients over the whole study period, with significant improvements in the severity (12.2%, P < 0.001) and bothersomeness (13.2%, P < 0.001) of BPH symptoms, and in the maximum urinary flow rate (26.6%, P < 0.05) from baseline to the end of the 4-year period. There was also a significant and sustained reduction in diastolic blood pressure. The efficacy of doxazosin treatment for both BPH and hypertension was maintained over the 4-year period, despite the tendency of these conditions to worsen with time. Comparison of adverse events in patients with long- and short-term hypertension and BPH demonstrates that the safety of doxazosin is not altered during long-term therapy. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that doxazosin appears to be well tolerated and efficacious in the long-term management of concurrent BPH and hypertension.
Chemical structure identification in metabolomics: computational modeling of experimental features.

The identification of compounds in complex mixtures remains challenging despite recent advances in analytical techniques. At present, no single method can detect and quantify the vast array of compounds that might be of potential interest in metabolomics studies. High performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) is often considered the analytical method of choice for analysis of biofluids. The positive identification of an unknown involves matching at least two orthogonal HPLC/MS measurements (exact mass, retention index, drift time etc.) against an authentic standard. However, due to the limited availability of authentic standards, an alternative approach involves matching known and measured features of the unknown compound with computationally predicted features for a set of candidate compounds downloaded from a chemical database. Computationally predicted features include retention index, ECOM50 (energy required to decompose 50% of a selected precursor ion in a collision induced dissociation cell), drift time, whether the unknown compound is biological or synthetic and a collision induced dissociation (CID) spectrum. Computational predictions are used to filter the initial “bin” of candidate compounds. The final output is a ranked list of candidates that best match the known and measured features. In this mini review, we discuss cheminformatics methods underlying this database search-filter identification approach.
Magnetic resonance imaging study of intracranial vertebrobasilar artery dissections.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the magnetic resonance features of intracranial vertebrobasilar artery dissections and to determine the potential and limitations of magnetic resonance imaging in their diagnosis.We studied five consecutive patients with angiographically verified intracranial vertebrobasilar artery dissection with magnetic resonance imaging (0.5 T) in regard to the shapes of the intramural hematoma and the chronological change of its signal intensity. We also estimated the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing dissection.We observed intramural hematoma in four patients on the first magnetic resonance scan and in all five patients during the course of the study. The shapes of the intramural hematomas were curvilinear, crescentic, "bamboo-cut," "band-like," and spotty. The intensity of the intramural hematoma varied according to its age. On the T1-weighted and the proton images, the intramural hematomas appeared isointense to slightly hyperintense in the first f...
Stroud on Wittgenstein, Meaning, and Community

Selon Barry Stroud, Wittgenstein pensait qu'une langue n'est sociale que de maniere minimale : l'idee qu'une personne possede une langue n'a de sens que si nous pouvons la decrire comme se servant de signes conformement aux pratiques linguistiques de quelque communaute. Un solitaire pouvant satisfaire a cette condition, Stroud en conclut que pour Wittgenstein, les langues solitaires sont possibles. Je ferai valoir qu'en fait, Wittgenstein pensait qu'une langue est sociale en un sens beaucoup plus robuste. Les langues solitaires ne sont pas possibles, parce que l'idee que quelqu'un possede une langue n'a de sens pour nous que si nous le concevons comme participant aux pratiques linguistiques fixant les standards qui gouvernent l'application des mots qu'il emploie.
Plaque reversal with MgEDTA in experimental atherosclerosis: elastin and collagen metabolism.

Summary It has been demonstrated that the metabolism of aortic connective tissue is greatly altered in experimental atherosclerosis. Plaque reversal is demonstrated in the artery of the rabbit with induced atherosclerosis. The hypothesis on which we predicate these findings is that the parenteral administration of MgEDTA lowers extracellular calcium ion which in turn stimulates parathyroid activity. The parathyroid hormone produced affects both collagen and elastin. In the atherosclerotic animals there is an increase on a per artery basis of both these substances over normal controls. While there is some increase in both collagen and elastin in the atherosclerotic-MgEDTA injected animals on a per artery basis, the amount lies close to the normal controls reflecting parathyroid hormone activity on connective tissue via the MgEDTA mechanism. The calcium and magnesium content of elastin did not change independently of this protein.
Vocabulary Instruction Through Storybook Reading

This article summarizes a research study investigating the effects of asking preschool teachers to use a professional development tool to support their planning, implementation, and reflection of vocabulary-rich storybook reading. Findings suggested that not only could teachers use the tool in their planning and reflection but also that use of the tool increased the number of best practices used by teachers to target children's vocabulary development during storybook reading. Moreover, teachers reported positive experiences using the tool and attributed its use to growth in their professional practice.
Propulsion-related flowfields using the preconditioned Navier-Stokes equations

A previous time-derivative preconditioning procedure for solving the Navier-Stokes is extended to the chemical species equations. The scheme is implemented using both the implicit ADI and the explicit Runge-Kutta algorithms. A new definition for time-step is proposed to enable grid-independent convergence. Several examples of both reacting and non-reacting propulsion-related flowfields are considered. In all cases, convergence that is superior to conventional methods is demonstrated. Accuracy is verified using the example of a backward facing step. These results demonstrate that preconditioning can enhance the capability of density-based methods over a wide range of Mach and Reynolds numbers.
The Path of a Rigid Electron which Moves in a Magnetic Field of Constant Strength Rotating with Constant Angular Velocity

Equations of Motion of a Rigid Electron in a Uniformly Rotating Magnetic Field of constant strength rotating with a frequency $\frac{\ensuremath{\omega}}{2\ensuremath{\pi}}$ in the $\mathrm{XZ}$ plane, are obtained. The reactions on the motion due to finite size, radiation, and the variation of mass with velocity are neglected. If initially the velocity of the electron has components only along the $X$-axis or the $Z$-axis the path of the electron is a wavy curve inside an annular space whose axis is parallel to the $Y$-axis. If the initial velocity of the electron has components only along the $Y$-axis the path is a rather complicated type of spiral winding in the general direction of the $Y$-axis. It is found that a high frequency of rotation of the magnetic field, of the order of ${10}^{6}$, such as may be produced by means of electron-tube circuits, would not impart a great velocity to the electron.
Aortic paraprosthetic-colonic fistulae : A review of the literature

Background Aortic graft-colonic fistulae are a rare complication of aortic reconstructive surgery. Methods and findings A comprehensive review of this entity was performed based on the available literature from 1950 until 2006. Available reports were analyzed with respect to demographics, prior surgical intervention and its indication, prosthetic material used during the initial intervention, clinical presentation, the time interval in between the initial operation and symptoms, the method of treatment of the aortic graft-colonic fistula and its outcome.
Criticas factors in the successful development of an area labor-management committee

Despite growth of knowledge concerning labor-management cooperation and employee involvement, much remains to be learned about the process of establishing these organizational arrangements. The development of area labor-management committees is an aspect of the process that needs to be more thoroughly understood. This article reports a study of factors that influenced the development of two West Virginia area committees, one of which was relatively successful and the other unsuccessful. The findings, based on systematic evaluations of both committees, identify factors that account for the differences in the committees' success. Among these factors are the influence of a respected community leader; involvement of unions and management that are cooperating at their own plant sites; the service of a capable executive director; and training of executive board members.
The Available Pool of Sex Partners and Risk for a Current Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection

Purpose Sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission models propose that incident STIs are related to exposure to infected sex partners. The objective of this study was to determine whether the prevalence of STIs among the available pool of sex partners in a neighborhood, measured indirectly, is an independent determinant of a current incident STI. Methods The target population comprised 58,299 English-speaking, sexually active 15- to 24-year-olds in 486 census block groups (CBGs) in Baltimore, MD. A sample of 65 CBGs was selected using a stratified, systematic, probability-proportional-to-size strategy and 13,873 households were randomly selected. From 2004 through 2007, research assistants administered an audio computer-assisted interview survey and collected biologic samples for gonorrhea and chlamydia testing. Results The final sample size included 575 participants from 63 CBGs. Additional data provided gonorrhea prevalence from 2004 through 2005 per 15- to 49-year-old persons per 100,000 per CBG. After adjustment for individual-level STI risk factors in a multilevel probability model, adolescents and young adults living in high (vs. low) prevalence STI areas were 4.73 times (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.65–6.15) more likely to have a current incident STI. Conclusions To inform prevention programs, future research should focus on identifying mechanisms through which context causes changes in local sexual networks and their STI prevalence.
Universal access to a percutaneous coronary intervention hospital: is it feasible or desirable?

During the past decade, advances in device technology (eg, drug-eluting stents), development of safer anticoagulants (eg, bivalirudin), and refinement in procedural techniques have led to a dramatic improvement in the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), despite increasing clinical and anatomic complexity of treated patients.1 As safety and effectiveness have been documented, the indications for PCI have expanded. In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the superiority of primary PCI (when readily available) over thrombolytics is well established.2 More recently, PCI has also become a viable alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting in select patients with coronary artery disease.3 Article see p 14 As appreciation of the effectiveness of PCI has grown, there has been rapid diffusion of PCI capability into US hospitals. Dissemination of PCI has been further augmented by generous hospital and physician reimbursement, reductions in federal regulatory policies, and accumulating evidence that PCI can be performed safely at hospitals without on-site cardiac surgical backup.4,5 As a result, hospitals with PCI availability in the United States increased from 929 in 1993 to 1316 in 2004.6 Despite the growth in capacity, PCI is not available at all hospitals at all times. In fact, most patients with STEMI initially present to hospitals without PCI capability, where treatment options may include on-site thrombolytics or transfer to the nearest PCI-capable hospital for primary PCI. Based on demonstration of the superiority of primary PCI over thrombolytics,2 transfer to a PCI-capable hospital has been widely promoted as a treatment strategy for these patients.7 However, reperfusion in patients transferred for primary PCI is frequently delayed because <10% of these patients achieve the recommended door-to-balloon (D2B) time of <90 minutes.8 This is in sharp contrast to patients presenting directly to PCI-capable hospitals, where …
Teenage suicide expressions: echoes from the past

A typology of suicide expressions gathered from official case records demonstrates the varied reasons individuals document to justify their acts of self-destruction. Intended to highlight the psychosocial conditions affecting the writer, the statements suggest these youthful committers reacted to external constraints and a perceived lack of succorance from significant others.
Research Spotlight: Improved model reproduces the 2003 European heat wave

In August 2003, record-breaking temperatures raged across much of Europe. In France, maximum temperatures of 37°C (99°F) persisted for 9 days straight, the longest such stretch since 1873. About 40,000 deaths (14,000 in France alone) were attributed to the extreme heat and low humidity. Various climate conditions must come into alignment to produce extreme weather like the 2003 heat wave, and despite a concerted effort, forecasting models have so far been unable to accurately reproduce the event—including the modern European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble modeling system for seasonal forecasts, which went into operation in 2007. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2010GL046455, 2011)
A Review of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC): Assessment Consistent with the Requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Abstract A review of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), a multimethod, multidimensional objective personality assessment technique for children and adolescents is provided. A description of the test and analysis of its administration, scoring, and psychometric properties are presented. The test's strengths and weaknesses are reviewed. The BASC appears to be a considerable improvement over other objective personality measures used by school psychologists. Training students and clinicians to use the test is readily accomplished, although above-average knowledge of measurement and scaling concepts is required to make appropriate interpretations of the data. Salient features of the test include scale similarity across respondents as well as age levels, and the ability to meet multiple assessment requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Tibial plateau topography

A logical definition of the anatomy of the tibial surface, based on the shape of the tibial surface as measured in the laboratory, is presented. The relevance of these data to a better understanding of normal and pathological knee joint function is discussed. The thesis that the spine of the tibia is the major weight-bearing portion of the tibial surface can be supported by this contour study. The significance of the lateral plateau contour relative to the static stability of the joint contributed by joint apposition has been indicated. In addition, the path followed by the lateral femoral condyle during the "screw home mechanism" and caused by joint contour has been clearly demonstrated. We hope that this experimental evidence will establish itself as the basis for understanding the anatomy of the proximal tibial surface and that the nomenclature can be accepted to provide a common base for discussion of the tibial surface.
BTeV Level 1 vertex trigger

BTeV is a B-physics experiment that expects to begin collecting data at the C0 interaction region of the Fermilab Tevatron in the year 2006. Its primary goal is to achieve unprecedented levels of sensitivity in the study of CP violation, mixing, and rare decays in b and c quark systems. In order to realize this, it will employ a state-of-the-art first-level vertex trigger (Level 1) that will look at every beam crossing to identify detached secondary vertices that provide evidence for heavy quark decays. This talk will briefly describe the BTeV detector and trigger, focus on the software and hardware aspects of the Level 1 vertex trigger, and describe work currently being done in these areas.
Climate Change, Clean Energy Define NSLS CFN Users' Meeting

Highlighting the “remarkable synergy” between Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), government, laboratory, and science leaders made an urgent call for the development of efficient and effective clean energy technologies at the annual meeting of the facilities' user communities. About 500 visiting scientists, staff members, and funding representatives gathered at Brookhaven on May 24–26, 2010, for the joint meeting, which emphasized climate change and the tools scientists are using to combat it.
Canine distemper and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in the dog: Comparative patterns of demyelination

Abstract The pattern of virus-induced and allergic demyelinating encephalomyelitis in the dog were compared. The predominant pattern of myelin loss in canine distemper (CD) infection was focal, periventricular and was initially non-inflammatory. In contrast, sensitization to myelin produced a uniform pattern of central nervous system (CNS) myelinolysis which was disseminated, inflammatory and perivascular. Ultrastructurally, virus-infected neuroglia participated in the demyelination in CD, whereas infiltrating haematogenous mononuclear cells predominated in the lesions of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Areas of predilection within the CNS differed, being influenced by viral spread in CD and by vascular factors in EAE. In CD, the paramyxovirus appears to play a central role in the process of demyelination. In contrast to EAE, however, these studies do not support the view that autoreactivity to myelin contributes to the pathogenesis of CD demyelinating encephalomyelitis.
Exact analysis of bending and overall buckling of sandwich beam systems

Abstract This paper formulates the stiffness matrix and a procedure for exact solutions of the bending and overall buckling problem of a general class of sandwich beam and frame structures subjected to arbitrary loading and boundary conditions. The solutions for deflections, stresses and buckling load are exact in the sense that they satisfy the governing differential equation, interelement compatibility and all boundary conditions. A preliminary study of the behaviour of sandwich beams using the developed theory shows that the Saint Venant principle may not apply to sandwich beams regarding the effects of applied end moments. Restraint against shear deformations will generally reduce the deflections and shear stresses in the core, and increase stresses in the facings and the buckling load. Quantitative assessment of these and other factors can be easily carried out with the present theory.
Light scattering from magnons in MnF2.

We report measurements for the temperature dependence and polarization dependence of the one-magnon and two-magnon Raman scattering in the rutile-structure antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{MnF}}_{2}$. The frequencies and integrated intensities of the excitations over the temperature range 4--50 K are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. For one-magnon scattering we deduce that the linear magneto-optic coupling is dominant. This contrasts with the situation in isostructural ${\mathrm{FeF}}_{2}$ where quadratic coupling is known to be important. From the two-magnon results numerical values are obtained for the relative magnitudes of the magneto-optic coupling coefficients, and in this case the results are found to be broadly similar to ${\mathrm{FeF}}_{2}$.
New complement regulator exposed.

The plasma protein CFH is a critical complement regulator with relevance to human diseases. The function of several smaller, CFH-related proteins (CFHRs) has been a mystery. In this issue of Blood, Heinen and colleagues identify CFHR-1 as a novel inhibitor of C5 convertase and the terminal complement pathway. 1 .
A Statistical Framework for Inter-Group Image Registration

Groupwise image registration plays an important role in medical image analysis. The principle of groupwise image registration is to align a given set of images to a hidden template space in an iteratively manner without explicitly selecting any individual image as the template. Although many approaches have been proposed to address the groupwise image registration problem for registering a single group of images, few attentions and efforts have been paid to the registration problem between two or more different groups of images. In this paper, we propose a statistical framework to address the registration problems between two different image groups. The main contributions of this paper lie in the following aspects: (1) In this paper, we demonstrate that directly registering the group mean images estimated from two different image groups is not sufficient to establish the reliable transformation from one image group to the other image group. (2) A novel statistical framework is proposed to extract anatomical features from the white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid tissue maps of all aligned images as morphological signatures for each voxel. The extracted features provide much richer anatomical information than the voxel intensity of the group mean image, and can be integrated with the multi-channel Demons registration algorithm to perform the registration process. (3) The proposed method has been extensively evaluated on two publicly available brain MRI databases: the LONI LPBA40 and the IXI databases, and it is also compared with a conventional inter-group image registration approach which directly performs deformable registration between the group mean images of two image groups. Experimental results show that the proposed method consistently achieves higher registration accuracy than the method under comparison.
Concordant Signaling Pathways Produced by Pesticide Exposure in Mice Correspond to Pathways Identified in Human Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease in which the etiology of 90 percent of the patients is unknown. Pesticide exposure is a major risk factor for PD, and paraquat (PQ), pyridaben (PY) and maneb (MN) are amongst the most widely used pesticides. We studied mRNA expression using transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) in the ventral midbrain (VMB) and striatum (STR) of PQ, PY and paraquat+maneb (MNPQ) treated mice, followed by pathway analysis. We found concordance of signaling pathways between the three pesticide models in both the VMB and STR as well as concordance in these two brain areas. The concordant signaling pathways with relevance to PD pathogenesis were e.g. axonal guidance signaling, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as well as pathways not previously linked to PD, e.g. basal cell carcinoma, human embryonic stem cell pluripotency and role of macrophages, fibroblasts and endothelial cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Human PD pathways previously identified by expression analysis, concordant with VMB pathways identified in our study were axonal guidance signaling, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, IL-6 signaling, ephrin receptor signaling, TGF-β signaling, PPAR signaling and G-protein coupled receptor signaling. Human PD pathways concordant with the STR pathways in our study were Wnt/β-catenin signaling, axonal guidance signaling and G-protein coupled receptor signaling. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor delta (Ppard) and G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) were common genes in VMB and STR identified by network analysis. In conclusion, the pesticides PQ, PY and MNPQ elicit common signaling pathways in the VMB and STR in mice, which are concordant with known signaling pathways identified in human PD, suggesting that these pathways contribute to the pathogenesis of idiopathic PD. The analysis of these networks and pathways may therefore lead to improved understanding of disease pathogenesis, and potential novel therapeutic targets.
It's not you, it's me. Really.

A subset of neurons in rat barrel cortex integrate information about the object a whisker contacts with the motion of the whisker at the time of contact, setting the stage for a highly specialized object localization system.
Evaluating the efficacy of cancer screening: Clinical distinctions and case-control studies

To evaluate the efficacy of cancer screening, investigators have turned increasingly to the case-control approach as an efficient alternative design to the randomized controlled trial. Overlooked in the design and implementation of screening case-control studies, however, have been important clinical distinctions that are crucial for decisions in patient management and health policy. These distinctions involve the classification of baseline risk factors and prognostic co-morbidity, the enumeration and definition of the intervention, and the choice and timing of the outcome. When investigators neglect the distinctive characteristics of patients and their diseases, screening case-control studies may have reduced validity and impaired utility. To strengthen the validity of these studies, investigators can analyze co-morbidity suitably, report a "clinical" confidence interval as the estimate of screening efficacy, carefully evaluate the attribution of death, and allow sufficient follow-up time for the death of patients diagnosed with cancer. Moreover, to strengthen the generalizability of screening case-control studies, investigators can stratify their findings for pertinent baseline risk factors and can expand the screening definition. If implemented, these guidelines may enhance the capacity of case-control studies to provide clinicians and policy-makers with critically needed information on the efficacy of cancer screening.
A comparative technique and performance results on novel learned snakes in two dissimilar medical domains

We review our work on how to teach deformable models to maximize image segmentation correctness based on user-specified criteria. We then present new variants and applications of learned snakes, modeled by four different probability density functions (PDFs), at three scales, and in the two medical domains of abdominal CT slices and echocardiograms. We review and extend our method for evaluating which criteria work best. Success depends on the relation of objective function (the PDF) output to shape correctness. This relationship for all the above learned snake variants and domains, is evaluated on perturbed ground truth shapes in three ways: by the incidence of "false positives" of randomized shapes; by the monotonicity of the objective function versus shape closeness to ground truth, as given by a correlation coefficient; and by the distance of this relationship to the nearest monotonically increasing function, a new performance measure which we introduce. We demonstrate such evaluations on traditional snakes, and on snakes for which image intensity and perpendicular gradient are learned separately, and with their covariances, and with separate learning over equal-length "sectors". Optimal blur appears to depend on domain. Both sectoring and the use of covariance markedly improve results in abdominal CT images, where nearby image landmarks (i.e. organs) stabilize learning. Results on echocardiograms, however, are less striking, although the use of covariance does show improvements; this appears to be due to the non-Gaussian distribution of image features in this domain.