cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced Synaptic Transmission in the Extended Amygdala and Altered Excitability in an Extended Amygdala to Brainstem Circuit in a Dravet Syndrome Mouse Model

Dravet syndrome (DS) is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with an increased incidence of sudden death. Evidence of interictal breathing deficits in DS suggests that alterations in subcortical projections to brainstem nuclei may exist, which might be driving comorbidities in DS. The aim of this study was to determine whether a subcortical structure, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in the extended amygdala, is activated by seizures, exhibits changes in excitability, and expresses any alterations in neurons projecting to a brainstem nucleus associated with respiration, stress response, and homeostasis. Experiments were conducted using F1 mice generated by breeding 129.Scn1a+/- mice with wild-type C57BL/6J mice. Immunohistochemistry was performed to quantify neuronal c-fos activation in DS mice after observed spontaneous seizures. Whole-cell patch-clamp and current-clamp electrophysiology recordings were conducted to evaluate changes in intrinsic and synaptic excitability in the BNST. Spontaneous seizures in DS mice significantly enhanced neuronal c-fos expression in the BNST. Further, the BNST had altered AMPA/NMDA postsynaptic receptor composition and showed changes in spontaneous neurotransmission, with greater excitation and decreased inhibition. BNST to parabrachial nucleus (PBN) projection neurons exhibited intrinsic excitability in wild-type mice, while these projection neurons were hypoexcitable in DS mice. The findings suggest that there is altered excitability in neurons of the BNST, including BNST-to-PBN projection neurons, in DS mice. These alterations could potentially be driving comorbid aspects of DS outside of seizures, including respiratory dysfunction and sudden death.
The Holocaust: The Third Reich and the Jews

Part 1 The background: studying the Holocaust the Jews. Part 2 Hitler, Nazis, Germans, and Jews 1933-41 - a twisted road? responding to persecution the transition to killing responding to murder. Part 3 Assessment: humanity, modernity, and the Holocaust. Part 4 Documents.
Cultural conflicts in mathematics classrooms and resolution - The case of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Israeli "Old timers"

This paper describes a singular process that has been transforming mathematics education in Israel over the past 20 years, as a result of a massive influx of mathematics teachers from the former Soviet Union (FSU). It traces the key points of conflict that marked the initial contact between Israel's mathematical and educational culture and the codes and values brought with the immigrant teachers from the FSU. It then shows how this conflict is gradually becoming resolved, as the two disparate cultures merge into a single, new culture, based on 'the best of both worlds.' This case, we claim, can serve as an example of the importance - and the benefit - of relations of mutual influence and stimulation between different groups in today's climate of migrating peoples and mixing cultures.
SU‐E‐T‐105: An FMEA Survey of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) Step and Shoot Dose Delivery Failure Modes

Purpose: To assess the perception of TG-142 tolerance level dose delivery failures in IMRT and the application of FMEA process to this specific aspect of IMRT. Methods: An online survey was distributed to medical physicists worldwide that briefly described 11 different failure modes (FMs) covered by basic quality assurance in step- and-shoot IMRT at or near TG-142 tolerance criteria levels. For each FM, respondents estimated the worst case H&N patient percent dose error and FMEA scores for Occurrence, Detectability, and Severity. Demographic data was also collected. Results: 181 individual and three group responses were submitted. 84% were from North America. Most (76%) individual respondents performed at least 80% clinical work and 92% were nationally certified. Respondent medical physics experience ranged from 2.5–45 years (average 18 years). 52% of individual respondents were at least somewhat familiar with FMEA, while 17% were not familiar. Several IMRT techniques, treatment planning systems and linear accelerator manufacturers were represented. All FMs received widely varying scores ranging from 1–10 for occurrence, at least 1–9 for detectability, and at least 1–7 for severity. Ranking FMs by RPN scores also resulted in large variability, with each FM being ranked both most risky (1st ) and least risky (11th) by different respondents. On average MLC modeling had the highest RPN scores. Individual estimated percent dose errors and severity scores positively correlated (p<0.10) for each FM as expected. No universal correlations were found between the demographic information collected and scoring, percent dose errors, or ranking. Conclusion: FMs investigated overall were evaluated as low to medium risk, with average RPNs less than 110. The ranking of 11 FMs was not agreed upon by the community. Large variability in FMEA scoring may be caused by individual interpretation and/or experience, thus reflecting the subjective nature of the FMEA tool.
Corporations Without Labor: The Politics of Progressive Corporate Law

This article examines how, in the course of the twentieth century, legal scholars and political theorists helped remove the interests of workers (as differentiated from shareholders, officers, and directors) from the core concerns of corporate law and theory. Specifically, the article demonstrates how scholars' conversations about corporate entities and corporate power were influenced by a shared cultural and intellectual objection to Marxist class analysis with its focus on the proletariat. It further explores how the purging of the working class from the scholarly imagination paved a way, first, for the rise of the new classes of managers and owners and the shareholder-centered vision of corporate law and, then, for the emergence of a narrow, shareholder-wealth-maximization norm. The article uses class as a category of analysis to interpret major events in the history of corporate law: the debate about the personality of associations in the 1910s and 1920s, the publication of The Modern Corporation and Private Property, the debate between Adolf A. Berle, Jr. and E. Merrick Dodd, Jr. about the nature and scope of managerial duties, the rise of managerialism, and the ascent of the economic theory of the firm in the 1980s.
Twelfth annual Pezcoller symposium: signaling cross-talks in cancer cells.

Signaling as an overall cellular process is a prerequisite for the life of normal and cancer cells and is regulated by a multiplicity of mechanisms including “cross-talks” among pathways. Cross-talk is often critical in determining the decision of a cell to go toward a specific biological direction, such as proliferation, apoptosis, or differentiation. Both signaling pathways and cross-talk among them involve such biochemical processes as protein-to-protein interactions and well-regulated phosphorylation and dephosphorylation processes. This symposium was focused on mechanisms of the regulation of signaling with special emphasis on regulatory cross-talk among pathways and on changes that occur in cancer cells. The phenomena discussed were also considered with reference to opportunities that may be offered toward the development of potential therapeutic intervention.
Comparison of therapeutic response using RECIST criteria: Y-90 SIR-Spheres and TheraSphere treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

224 Objectives There are 2 commercially available devices Y-90 SIR-Spheres (Resin microsphere, SIRTex) and TheraSphere (glass microsphere, MDS Nordion) for treatment of unresectable hepatic tumors. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of these two devices in treatment of patients (pts) with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods 79 consecutive pts with unresectable HCC were treated. 26 pts (median age 68) underwent SIR-Spheres treatment, and 53 pts (median age 71) underwent TheraSphere treatment. Tc-99m MAA imaging was used to evaluate lung shunting and SPECT/CT was used for determination of the prescribed dose. The median activity of SIR-Spheres and TheraSphere delivered were 1.14 and 2.3 GBq, respectively. The response was assessed by CT and/or MRI using RECIST criteria. Results For SIR-Spheres, 1 treatment (3.8%) had complete response (CR), 9 (34.6%) had partial response (PR), 6 (23.1%) had stable disease (SD), and 10 (38.5%) had progressive disease (PD). For TheraSphere the response rate of CR, PR, SD, and PD are 0, 16 (30.2%), 21 (39.6%), and 16 (30.2%), respectively. There was no significant response difference between pts treated with SIR-Spheres vs. pts treated with TheraSphere. 5 (19.2%) SIR-Spheres infusions only delivered 63-96% of prescribed dose due to stasis associated with macroembolization effect of the resin beads. But SD and PR were still observed in 1 and 2 infusions, respectively. All TheraSphere treatments featured completed infusions. There was no incidence of radiation hepatitis or treatment-induced liver failure for both device treatments. Conclusions These results suggest both Y-90 SIR-Spheres and TheraSphere are useful devices in the treatment of patients with unresectable HCC. There was no significant response difference between these two devices. SIR-Spheres treatment is sometimes associated with stasis due to its macroembolization effect.
Reciprocal feedback regulation of kidney angiotensinogen and renin mRNA expressions by angiotensin II.

The present study asks whether angiotensin II (ANG II), a potent inhibitor of renal renin synthesis and release, regulates renal angiotensinogen synthesis. ANG II (or vehicle) was intravenously inf...
Intrabasin comparison of surface radiocarbon levels in the Indian Ocean between coral records and three‐dimensional global ocean models

[1] Oceanic uptake and transport of bomb-produced radiocarbon is used as a diagnostic in global ocean models to test parameterizations of mixing and air-sea gas exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. A model's ability to simulate bomb-produced 14C is also a good indicator of its ability to predict uptake of anthropogenic CO2. We have conducted a model-data comparison of surface radiocarbon time series from coral records from the coasts of Kenya and Sumatra and a suite of dynamical three-dimensional ocean models that were included in the second phase of the Ocean Carbon-Cycle Model Intercomparison Project. The coral records comprise the first intrabasin record of surface water Δ14C variability in the equatorial Indian Ocean and provide an independent evaluation of model performance. Differing treatments of lateral subgrid scale mixing in different models appear to be less important than other, unknown factors in explaining differences in results between the models. Those models that include a dynamic vertical mixing scheme appear to be more capable of matching observed coral radiocarbon time series. However, among models with the same parameterization of lateral subgrid scale mixing, there is a large degree of variation, suggesting that at both sites, factors such as resolution, topography, physical forcing and horizontal advection are more important than mixing parameterization in explaining intermodel differences. None of the models reproduce the time lag in the rate of bomb 14C response between the Kenya and Sumatra coral sites. Future efforts are needed to improve model simulation of radiocarbon in surface waters in the equatorial Indian Ocean.
Resolving Membrane-Protein Complexes with Joint Neutron Reflectivity and Molecular Simulation Refinement

The structural characterization of membrane-associated proteins on fluid lipid bilayers remains a challenge in structural biology. Neutron reflection (NR) from engineered planar interfaces has emerged as a method that provides sub-nanometer resolution of protein-membrane complexes in a functional lipid environment. Interpretation of NR data gives a scattering length density (SLD) envelope, which describes the distribution of protein density normal to the membrane. A full interpretation of the SLD profile requires knowledge of the internal structure of the protein. However, for intrinsically disordered protein regions, multiple conformational states contribute to an SLD density profile that cannot be mapped back to a single structure. A complete molecular interpretation then requires sophisticated modeling approaches. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are a well-established tool for studying the structure and dynamics of biomolecular systems, including protein-membrane complexes. We previously used MD simulations to refine NR results beyond the limits of scattering resolution. However, such studies are often plagued by long equilibration times. To better interpret the limited structural information from NR, we designed an algorithm that implements a potential to bias MD simulations toward configurations that reproduce the experimental results. The potentials are determined by comparing experimental SLD distributions with time-averaged profiles from the molecular simulations. These are converted into steering forces that become weaker as the resulting simulation profiles match the experimental results more closely. This results in guiding the structure toward the desired configuration, rather than rigidly confining it to the experimental density. Here we show applications of this method to model peptides and small protein systems.
A Scanning Electron Microscopic Evaluation of Section and Film Mounting for Transmission Electron Microscopy

Mounting of support films and sections for transmission electron microscopy has been examined with the scanning electron microscope. Experiments have been designed to test the adherence of support films to polished and matte surfaces of specimen grids. It is the conclusion of the authors that sections and films should be mounted on the dull or matte surface of Athene-type specimen grids.
Analysis of Free Intracellular Calcium by Flow Cytometry: Multiparameter and Pharmacologic Applications☆

Flow cytometry offers numerous advantages over traditional techniques for measuring intracellular Ca(2+) in lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells. In particular, the heterogeneity of cell responses can be defined by flow cytometry, and multiparameter analyses permit the determination of intracellular Ca(2+) in surface-marker-defined target cells as well as correlation of changes in Ca(2+) with other biochemical markers, including ligand binding. This article presents several established methods for measuring intracellular Ca(2+) by flow cytometry in lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells. Examples are provided for determination of Ca(2+) in human peripheral blood leukocytes and two human epithelial cell lines grown in monolayer. In addition, applications are reviewed or presented for correlating changes in intracellular Ca(2+) with other cell parameters, including cell cycle analysis, changes in cell membrane integrity, and the induction of apoptosis markers. Finally, a number of novel sample handling capabilities useful for performing kinetic analyses of Ca(2+) changes by flow cytometry are now available and one application is presented which is finding utility in pharmacologic studies.
Effect of Recombinant Human Deoxyribonuclease on Oropharyngeal Secretions in Patients With Head-and-Neck Cancers Treated With Radiochemotherapy

Purpose The current study examined the effect of recombinant human deoxyribonuclease (rhDNase) on quality of life (QOL) measures, clinical improvement, and DNA content of thick oropharyngeal secretions (OPS) in patients with head-and-neck (HN P =.046). The rhDNase group showed no change in OPS-DNA concentration, although the placebo group showed a significant increase in DNA concentration during the drug trial ( P =.045). There was no differences in acute toxicities between the 2 groups. Conclusions Our preliminary data suggest that rhDNase did not significantly improve study primary endpoints of QOL measures compared with the placebo group. However, there was a significant improvement in secondary endpoints of clinically assessed OPS and DNA concentration compared with placebo in H&N cancer patients treated with CRT. Further investigation in larger numbers of patients is warranted.
Insurance Cancellations In Context: Stability Of Coverage In The Nongroup Market Prior To Health Reform

Recent cancellations of nongroup health insurance plans generated much policy debate and raised concerns that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may increase the number of uninsured Americans in the sho...
The next generation of LASIK patients.

Purpose of review With baby boomers aging, and despite a growing global population, there is a decreasing number of potential laser vision correction patients. Some believe that the worldwide economic downturn of these times will limit the number of potential patients as well. This article highlights looking to an alternative segment of the population to identify potential laser vision correction patients and the limitations of reaching this group. Recent findings The group known as generation Y contains a large number of individuals who may be candidates for laser vision correction. Traditional marketing efforts present challenges in reaching this particular population segment. Many individuals in this group are already patients of eye doctors for contact lenses and glasses and can be reached by these eye doctors to address candidacy and education of laser vision correction. Summary Generation Y represents a large population segment that contains technology-embracing individuals who, although hard to reach with traditional marketing efforts, may be reached by fellow eye doctors already managing these patients. There are many in this age group who would be good laser vision correction candidates.
Nice white men or social justice allies?: using critical race theory to examine how white male faculty and administrators engage in ally work

Numerous scholars have offered definitions and perspectives for White people to be or become social justice allies. The purpose of this study was to examine the complicated realities that social justice allies in higher education face when working on campus. Using a critical interpretivist approach grounded in critical race theory, the authors intepret participants constructions of allies and ally work and draw larger implications for these constructions and their capacity to disrupt and uphold systems of oppression and injustice. In examining the experiences of White male faculty and administrators who shared how they constructed and made meaning of the complexities embedded in ally work, we found that participants situated ally work at individual, rather than institutional levels. Findings also revealed the paradox of engaging in ally work, which involved few risks and sacrifices, but greater rewards for being perceived as “good” people. Finally, ally work was viewed as aspirational for the participants...
Compact particle detector for space measurements: prototype performance

We present result from laboratory testing of a compact Energetic Particle Detector capable of making particle measurements in a variety of heliospheric and planetary environments. This ion composition telescope utilizes a novel electron-optics design and newly developed microcircuits to achieve combined directional particle flux measurements and high resolution mass spectroscopy in an extremely lightweight and low power package. The detector design provides for a high geometric factor and reasonable directional capability while maintaining excellent resistance to background radiation due to its small size and specialized coincidence logic. The prototype device, with an integrated time-of-flight custom integrated circuit, has been extensively characterized with electronic pulsers, radioactive sources in a vacuum chamber, and accelerator particle beams, revealing performance which substantially meets all requirements for mass resolution, bandwidth, power consumption, and weight allocation. A flight version would provide comprehensive measurements of the energetic particle environment on a mission where payload mass is tightly constrained, such as solar probe or a discovery-class mission.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Distributivity conditions and the order-skeleton of a lattice

We introduce “π-versions” of five familiar conditions for distributivity by applying the various conditions to 3-element antichains only. We prove that they are inequivalent concepts, and characterize them via exclusion systems. A lattice L satisfies D 0π if $${{{a}\wedge({b}\vee{c})\;\leqslant\;({a}\wedge{b})\vee{c}}}$$ for all 3-element antichains {a, b, c}. We consider a congruence relation ~ whose blocks are the maximal autonomous chains and define the order-skeleton of a lattice L to be $${{\tilde{L} : = L/{\sim}}}$$ . We prove that the following are equivalent for a lattice L: (i) L satisfies D 0π , (ii) $${{\tilde{L}}}$$ satisfies any of the five π-versions of distributivity, (iii) the order-skeleton $${{\tilde{L}}}$$ is distributive.
The Asymptotic Scaling Behavior of Mixing Induced by a Random Velocity Field

The asymptotic scaling behavior of the mixing region induced by a random velocity field is determined by applying Corrsin's hypothesis in both the Eulerian and Lagrangian pictures. Both pictures lead to the same results for the asymptotic scaling exponent of the mixing region. Both longitudinal and transverse diffusion are asymptotically non-Fickian (Fickian) when the correlation function of the random field decays more slowly (rapidly) than r^-^1 at large length scales.
Vinyl chloride mutagenicity via the metabolites chlorooxirane and chloroacetaldehyde monomer hydrate

Abstract Mutagenicity tester strains of Bacillus and Salmonella were used to assay vinyl chloride in nutrient broth at a practical concentration level. Also screened without exogenous activation were seven potential metabolites of vinyl chloride in their pure forms as well as the related epichlorohydrin. Chlorooxirane, chloroacetaldehyde, chloroacetaldehyde monomer hydrate, chloroacetaldehyde dimer hydrate, chloroacetaldehyde trimer, and epichlorohydrin produced significant mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium strains sensitive to basepair mutation. A recombination repair deficient strain of Bacillus subtilis was inhibited in growth by these compounds, whereas excision repair deficient and wild type strains of Bacillus subtilis were relatively unaffected. On the basis of these assays a working hypothesis for the vinyl chloride carcinogenesis mechanism is proposed which involves chlorooxirane and chloroacetaldehyde monomer hydrate as the ultimate carcinogenic metabolites of vinyl chloride.
Yin-Yang of costimulation: crucial controls of immune tolerance and function.

In addition to signals from the T cell receptor complex, it has been recognized for many years that a “second” signal, most notably from CD28, is also important in T cell activation. In the recent years, many new members of CD28 family as well as the molecules that are share structural homology to CD28 ligands CD80 and CD86 have been discovered. Interestingly, some of these proteins function to dampen T cell activation and regulate the induction of T cell tolerance. Therefore, positive and negative costimulation are the two sides of the coin to fine tune T cell receptor signaling to determine the outcome of T cell receptor engagement- tolerance vs. function.
Mechanical milling of ordered intermetallic compounds: the role of defects in amorphization

The role of defects in the amorphization of ordered intermetallic compounds by high energy ball milling was addressed. The structural evolution with milling time was studied experimentally in the intermetallic compounds Ni3Si and CoZr. The results of these studies were compared with previous work on Ni3Al and Nb3Sn. In these four compounds, the significant contributions to stored energy come from two major sources: (1) anti-site disorder ΔG disorder, and (2) grain boundary energy of nanoscale grains ΔGgrain boundary. The occurrence, or not, of amorphization by ball milling was consistent with estimated values of free energy such that ΔGdisorder + ΔGgrain boundary ≥ ΔGa–c where ΔGa–c is the difference in free energy between the ordered crystalline and amorphous phases. While the accuracy of the estimated ΔG values is quite variable, the values are consistent with the results. For Ni3Si no amorphization was observed and Δdisorder + ΔGgrain boundary ΔGa–c and ΔGgrain boundary >ΔGa–c. Since no disordering of CoZr was observed experimentally, it is concluded that the nanoscale grain boundaries drive the amorphization reaction in ordered CoZr.
Assessment of young children using the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)

After providing a brief review of three other approaches to assessment of preschool children (DSM-IV diagnoses, “Zero to Three” diagnoses, and temperament scales), this paper focuses on the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). The empirically based assessment paradigm provides user-friendly, cost-effective, reliable, and valid procedures for assessing children's behavioral/emotional problems from the perspectives of multiple informants. The ASEBA preschool forms, the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 1.5–5 (CBCL/1.5–5) and the Caregiver–Teacher Report Form (C–TRF), are usable by many different kinds of professionals in diverse settings. The CBCL/1.5–5 also includes the Language Development Survey (LDS), which provides a quick screen for delays in vocabulary and word combinations. The problem items of the CBCL/1.5–5 and the C–TRF are scored on both empirically based syndromes and DSM-oriented scales, which are normed on the same general population sample. Variations in children's functioning across contexts and interaction partners make it essential to obtain and integrate data from multiple sources. Therefore, ASEBA software provides side-by-side comparisons of item and scale scores from up to eight assessment forms per child. Clinical and research applications of ASEBA preschool forms are summarized in the paper, and strengths and limitations are discussed. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2005;11:226–237.
Poetry: They were beautiful once.

She collected her first scar as a child. A careless uncle stepped on her pinky, Pressing it into a permanent but gentle hook. Scalding water and burning pans have thickened skin, dulled nerves. We screamed in the bathtub, feet on fire Her hands
A Retrospective Chart Review Comparing Tiagabine and Benzodiazepines for the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal

Abstract Although benzodiazepines are the standard of care in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, several studies have suggested that anticonvulsants may be equally effective at alleviating alcohol withdrawal symptoms and may pose less of a risk of causing rebound of symptoms which could contribute to relapse. This report compares treatment outcomes for patients (N = 13) treated for alcohol withdrawal with either the anticonvulsant tiagabine or the benzodiazepines oxazepam and lorazepam. The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-revised (CIWA-Ar) was utilized to gauge alcohol withdrawal symptoms over the course of the study. When possible, follow-up data was obtained on alcohol use post-treatment. Both benzodiazepines and tiagabine appeared to reduce CIWA-Ar scores at about the same magnitude. There was a trend for tiagabine patients to have less postdetoxification drinking (Fisher exact test, p = 0.12). The reduction in alcohol withdrawal symptoms and decreased tendency to relapse observe...
On a theorem of Brualdi and Newman

Abstract Using the Fourier transform, we give an easy and conceptual proof of a theorem of Brualdi and Newman which states that there are no symmetric circulant Hadamard matrices of order greater than 4.
Primate cone sensitivity to flicker during light and dark adaptation as indicated by the foveal local electroretinogram.

Abstract During light and dark adaptation the primate foveal local electroretinogram (LERG) was monitored in response to yellow sinusoidally flickering stimuli. Since the foveal LERG is dominated by the late receptor potential (LRP) under these stimulus conditions, we were most likely monitoring cone photoreceptor activity. (1) Relative threshold vs intensity ( tvi ) functions were obtained for stimuli flickering at 40, 20 and 5 Hz. Each of these functions achieves a unit slope at moderate to high intensities. Changes in phase relations between the stimulus and response occur only at those adaptation levels where photopigment bleaching is relatively ineffective as an adaptational mechanism. (2) The time course of dark adaptation was monitored for stimuli flickering at various frequencies between 5 and 50 Hz. At frequencies between 5 and 20 Hz, the time course of recovery of log relative sensitivity follows a nonexponential course; a break at 1.5 min sometimes occurs in the 5 Hz function. At higher frequencies the functions are exponential with time constants smaller than found for photopigment regeneration. These results are inconsistent with a simple linear relation relating log sensitivity and photopigment regeneration. (3) A Crawford type of transform indicates a non-equivalence between the effects of prior bleaching and steady-state light adaptation. (4) Absolute amplitude sensitivity functions obtained at various times after a bleach have low and high frequency branches. After compensating for the reduction in photon catch due to photopigment depletion the high frequency sensitivity changes little during dark adaptation, but the low frequency sensitivity changes markedly.1
Not yet ‘Back to Sleep’: sleep position for infants in two inner‐city clinics

Objective To estimate the occurrence of prone sleep among a group of infants in two inner-city clinics and examine the factors associated with parents' choice of sleep position Methods A convenience sample of 80 parents (76 mothers and 4 fathers) was interviewed between June and October 1997, during their healthy, term infant's 2-week health supervision visit. The interview included questions about sleep position practices, knowledge, and beliefs; knowledge about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); education about SIDS; and socio-demographic data. All participants received post-interview SIDS education. Results Thirty-one percent of parents reported that they placed their infants to sleep in the prone position at least some of the time. Factors associated with prone sleeping included prior child-rearing experience (P = 0.005) and the opinion of other people that were regarded as important (P = 0.0001). Only 20% of parents usually had their child sleep on its back. The majority worried that the child would vomit and choke while lying on its back. Parents who chose to position their infant to sleep on its back were less likely to describe themselves as Hispanic (P = 0.025) and more likely to remember being told to have the infant sleep on its back by a health care provider (P = 0.001). Just over one-half of parents recall receiving sleep position instructions from a health care provider. More than 60% of these parents remember being told to place the infant on the side, 24% the back and none prone. Teen parents were more likely to remember being given sleep instructions (P = 0.033). Parents with older children were less likely to remember receiving sleep position instructions (P = 0.001). Conclusions/implications for practice Many parents in our urban practice still put their children to sleep in the prone position at least some of the time. Family and friends, as well as prior child-rearing experience influence the choice. Parents are more likely to choose the supine position if they are instructed to do so by a health care provider. However, many parents do not recall such instruction being routinely given by their health care provider and have concerns for the safety of supine sleeping. Efforts to promote sleeping on the back should address parental concerns and health care provider practice.
Attention, Need for Sensation, and Health Communication Campaigns

Although attention to novelty is no longer as vital to survival as in our ancient past, the attention value of novelty has major implications for contemporary human communication. It also is affect...
Genotyping steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency: hormonal reference data.

Hormonal reference data, in the form of nomograms relating baseline and stimulated levels of adrenal hormones, provide a means of genotyping steroid 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) deficiency in congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Data from both 360- and 60-min ACTH stimulation tests are given. The serum hormone concentrations that have proven most useful in classifying 21-OH deficiency are 17-hydroxyprogesterone and Δ4-androstenedione. These nomograms clearly distinguish the patient with classical 21-OH deficiency from those with the milder symptomatic and asymptomatic nonclassical forms of 21-OH deficiency (previously referred to as late onset and cryptic forms) as well as heterozygotes for all of the forms and those subjects predicted by HLA genotyping to be unaffected. The nomograms also can identify individuals heterozygous for 21-OH deficiency in the general population who have a characteristic heterozygote response. These nomograms provide a powerful tool by which to assign the 21-OH deficiency genotype. Patien...
Causal Attributions of Teachers and Parents Regarding Children's Performance.

Nine upper elementary teachers assigned equal numbers of children from their own classrooms to three performance categories: Low Performance, Moderate Performance and High Performance. A child's teacher and his or her parent (usually the mother) then completed structured and open-ended questions regarding the reasons why the child performed as he did. While teachers rated child's ability, own teaching, and mother, father and peer influence higher and other reasons (e.g., health, situational characteristics) lower for high performing than for low performing children on structured questions, parents of children in the different conditions did not differ significantly in their ratings on each factor. On both open-ended and structured questions, for all performance levels, teaching was rated as more important by parents than by teachers.
Structure-based design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of novel and reversible inhibitors for the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus papain-like protease.

We describe here the design, synthesis, molecular modeling, and biological evaluation of a series of small molecule, nonpeptide inhibitors of SARS-CoV PLpro. Our initial lead compound was identified via high-throughput screening of a diverse chemical library. We subsequently carried out structure−activity relationship studies and optimized the lead structure to potent inhibitors that have shown antiviral activity against SARS-CoV infected Vero E6 cells. Upon the basis of the X-ray crystal structure of inhibitor 24-bound to SARS-CoV PLpro, a drug design template was created. Our structure-based modification led to the design of a more potent inhibitor, 2 (enzyme IC50 = 0.46 μM; antiviral EC50 = 6 μM). Interestingly, its methylamine derivative, 49, displayed good enzyme inhibitory potency (IC50 = 1.3 μM) and the most potent SARS antiviral activity (EC50 = 5.2 μM) in the series. We have carried out computational docking studies and generated a predictive 3D-QSAR model for SARS-CoV PLpro inhibitors.
Bosom Friends and the Sapphic Breasts of Belinda

This article examines Maria Edgeworth’s 1801 novel Belinda in order to argue that the breast at the center of Lady Delacour’s narrative signifies not maternal failure but Sapphic feelings and connections. While previous studies of the novel have discussed the wounded breast of Lady Delacour as a punishment for her transgressions or as an emblem of her patriarchal oppression, this article claims that the wounded breast is both a sign of and a means to female same-sex desire and relationships. This article contrasts the wounded, festering breast with the tableau that ends the novel. The tableau, a constructed vision of social expectations at the time, is undermined by Lady Delacour’s final couplet that encourages the reader to “find the moral” of the story. The wounded breast and the many ways in which it connects the characters of Lady Delacour, Belinda and Mrs. Freke undermine the heteronormative tableau that ends the novel and complicate the suggestion that the moral of the story is easy to understand. By exploring the ways in which the breast functions to connect these women through its wounding and its cure, I argue that Sapphic possibilities arise throughout the novel. These possibilities suggest the centrality of the female same-sex relationships to the novel over the heterosexual ones that figure in the tableau.
Human adaptation and energetic efficiency

A lack of consensus on the general adaptive significance of energetic efficiency can be shown to exist in ecology and anthropology. After briefly reviewing key studies in optimal foraging theory and ecological anthropology, a model is presented which includes the following elements: (1) an equation of adaptive success with reproductive fitness, within an optimality framework; (2) a definition of energy limitation consistent with this framework; (3) a distinction between efficiency of energy capture and efficiency of energy use in achieving other goals; (4) a multiple definition of energetic efficiency that distinguishes purely energetic measures (output/input) from rate measures (energy captured per unit time); (5) the inclusion of time budgeting as a primary adaptive constraint; (6) a quantitative demonstration that increased output/input ratios do not consistently predict an increase in net energy captured, and are poor measures where time is a constraint. The general conclusion is that where energy is limiting, increased efficiency in the rate of energy capture will be adaptive because more net energy will be made available; where energy is not limiting, an increased net capture rate may still confer increased adaptive success, since time and labor energy are freed from energy-capture activities and can be devoted to achieving other adaptive goals. But while energetic efficiency, properly defined, is shown to have general adaptive significance in all cases where time or energy are constraints, considerations of adaptive optimality preclude the general equation of energetic efficiency and adaptive success.
THE INFLUENCE OF FALLEN TREE TIMING ON SPRUCE BEETLE BROOD PRODUCTION

Abstract This study compared brood production of the spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby [Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae]) in downed host material felled during summer and spring seasons on the Wasatch Plateau in south central Utah. Thirty-three matched pairs of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) trees were selected for study in spring 1996. One tree of each pair was cut during August 1996 (summer-felled), and the other tree was cut in early April 1997 (spring-felled), so that trees would be colonized by spruce beetles of the same flight period. Brood adults were collected and counted from bark samples, which were removed from the top, bottom, and sides of all sample trees in October 1998. The number of emergent adults produced in June 1999 was determined from exit holes counted in bark samples removed from these same locations. Mixed-model procedures were used to compare differences in the mean number of adults produced in summer-felled versus spring-felled trees in eac...
Genetics and New Treatment Modalities for Familial Mediterranean Fever

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common of a rare group of disorders collectively termed familial hereditary periodic fever syndromes, also known as autoinflammatory syndromes. FMF is clinically characterized by intermittent bouts of fever with peritonitis and abdominal pain, pleuritis, arthritis, or erysipelas-like rashes. Amyloidosis due to chronic inflammation progressing to renal failure is one of the most serious potential complications of this disease. Individuals with FMF have identifiable genetic defects in the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene, which codes for the protein pyrin. Pyrin normally blunts neutrophil-mediated inflammation, likely via interleukin-1 (IL-1) downregulation, but is defective in FMF. Potential treatments include colchicine, with case reports of benefits with catecholamine blockade (prazosin), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonism (etanercept, thalidomide), and IL-1 receptor blockade (anakinra).
Noninvasive Doppler ultrasonography for assessing cardiac function: can it replace the Swan-Ganz catheter?

Abstract Background Cardiac function, including cardiac index (CI), traditionally has been measured by a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC). A noninvasive alternative for measuring cardiac function would offer obvious advantages. Methods A prospective study of trauma and nontrauma patients was performed in a surgical intensive care unit over a 3-month period. CI was determined using both a standard PAC and a continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound (UTS). The study had 2 phases: phase I was nonblinded and phase II was blinded; the correlation between UTS- and PAC-derived CI was assessed. Results A total of 120 paired measurements of CI were observed in 31 patients. The UTS-derived CI measurements showed agreement with PAC measurements in both phase I and phase II of the study with a bias of .06 L/min/m2 ± .4 L/min/m2. Paired measurements correlated well in both phase I (r = .97, R2 = .95, P Conclusions Doppler UTS correlates well with PAC measurements of CI. This noninvasive modality is an accurate and safe alternative to PAC.
ETA: efficient and tiny and authentication for heterogeneous wireless systems

Authentication and integrity are vital security services for wireless ubiquitous systems, which require various resource-constrained devices to operate securely and efficiently. Digital signatures are basic cryptographic tools to provide these security services. However, existing digital signatures are not practical for resource-constrained systems (e.g., wireless sensors, RFID-tags). That is, traditional signatures (e.g., RSA, DSA) require expensive operations (e.g., modular exponentiation) that bring high computational cost and power-consumption. Some alternative schemes (e.g., multiple-time signatures, online/offline signatures, pre-computed tokens) are computationally efficient. However, they have large key and signature sizes and therefore are impractical for resource-constrained systems.In this paper, we develop a new cryptographic scheme called Efficient and Tiny Authentication (ETA), which is especially suitable for resource-constrained devices. That is, ETA does not require any expensive operation at the signer side and therefore is more computationally efficient than traditional signatures. Moreover, ETA has much smaller private key, signature and public key sizes than that of its counterparts (e.g., multiple-time and online/off-line signatures, pre-computed tokens). ETA is also fully tolerant to packet loss and does not require time synchronization. All these properties make ETA an ideal choice to provide authentication and integrity for heterogeneous systems, in which resource-constrained devices produce publicly verifiable signatures that are verified by resourceful devices (e.g., gateways, laptops, high-end sensors).
Can gerontology be a science

During the last half-century, research on aging has become more scientific in its self-representations. Paradoxically, however, it is not at all self-evident that gerontology can flourish as a comprehensive science. Highlighting major trends in the internal and external history of the field's evolution reveals why this is so. And yet, retrospective analysis also provides a vehicle for creating a science of gerontology driven by cumulative, synthetic theory-building.
Diversity of Yeast and Mold Species from a Variety of Cheese Types

To generate a comprehensive profile of viable fungi (yeasts and molds) on cheese as it is purchased by consumers, 44 types of cheese were obtained from a local grocery store from 1 to 4 times each (depending on availability) and sampled. Pure cultures were obtained and identified by DNA sequence of the ITS region, as well as growth characteristics and colony morphology. The yeast Debaryomyces hansenii was the most abundant fungus, present in 79 % of all cheeses and 63 % of all samples. Penicillium roqueforti was the most common mold, isolated from a variety of cheeses in addition to the blue cheeses. Eighteen other fungal species were isolated, ten from only one sample each. Most fungi isolated have been documented from dairy products; a few raise potential food safety concerns (i.e. Aspergillus flavus, isolated from a single sample and capable of producing aflatoxins; and Candida parapsilosis, an emerging human pathogen isolated from three cheeses). With the exception of D. hansenii (present in most cheese) and P. roqueforti (a necessary component of blue cheese), no strong correlation was observed between cheese type, manufacturer, or sampling time with the yeast or mold species composition.
Death and destruction in Spinoza's ethics

An exposition of Spinoza's views of the cause and cure of death. He holds death to be disruption of mind/body which need not involve becoming a corpse; amnesia counts. It follows that his criterion of personal identity includes memory, so Spinozistic immortality is impersonal. The cause of death is always something external, for nothing can destroy itself. (This principle, however, is not universally true; Spinoza was led to it by mistaken physics.) Suicide is irrational. Fear of death is to be overcome by realization that since adequate ideas are eternal, to the extent that they consitute our minds we are eternal also. (But if so, isn't suicide rational after all? And since language depends on memory, the eternal understanding of adequate ideas is non‐linguistic and non‐symbolic; what then can it be?)
On the role of ultra-thin oxide cathode synthesis on the functionality of micro-solid oxide fuel cells: Structure, stress engineering and in situ observation of fuel cell membranes during operation

Abstract Microstructure and stresses in dense La0.6Sr0.4Co0.8Fe0.2O3 (LSCF) ultra-thin films have been investigated to increase the physical thickness of crack-free cathodes and active area of thermo-mechanically robust micro-solid oxide fuel cell (μSOFC) membranes. Processing protocols employ low deposition rates to create a highly granular nanocrystalline microstructure in LSCF thin films and high substrate temperatures to produce linear temperature-dependent stress evolution that is dominated by compressive stresses in μSOFC membranes. Insight and trade-off on the synthesis are revealed by probing microstructure evolution and electrical conductivity in LSCF thin films, in addition to in situ monitoring of membrane deformation while measuring μSOFC performance at varying temperatures. From these studies, we were able to successfully fabricate failure-resistant square μSOFC (LSCF/YSZ/Pt) membranes with width of 250 μm and crack-free cathodes with thickness of ∼70 nm. Peak power density of ∼120 mW cm−2 and open circuit voltage of ∼0.6 V at 560 °C were achieved on a μSOFC array chip containing ten such membranes. Mechanisms affecting fuel cell performance are discussed. Our results provide fundamental insight to pathways of microstructure and stress engineering of ultra-thin, dense oxide cathodes and μSOFC membranes.