cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acute Renal Failure after Ingestion of Guaifenesin and Dextromethorphan

Abstract Background Guaifenesin is a common nonprescription medication that has been implicated in drug-induced nephrolithiasis. Dextromethorphan, a nonprescription antitussive found in some guaifenesin-containing preparations, is increasingly recognized as a substance of abuse by many youth and young adults. Renally excreted medications known to have poor solubility in urine have the potential to precipitate when ingested in large quantity, leading to acute obstruction of the ureters and renal failure. Objective We describe the case of a 22-year-old male who developed severe bilateral flank pain, hematuria, and oliguria after an isolated recreational ingestion of guaifenesin and dextromethorphan. Case Report The patient was found to have bilateral ureteral obstruction and acute renal failure, suspected to be secondary to precipitation of medication metabolites in the urine. Conclusions This case highlights the potential for acute renal failure secondary to guaifenesin and dextromethorphan abuse.
Doppler processing using Walsh and hard-limited Fourier transforms

The use of Walsh and hard-limited Fourier transforms to synthesize banks of contiguous Doppler filters is examined for the case of a 32-point transform. It is found that the former is generally inferior to the latter from the point of view of number and size of spurious sidelobes.
Electrostatically Actuated Compliant Microvalve

We present an electrostatically operated normally opened microvalve for gas flow control. The valve is made of thermoplastic materials and uses a new fabrication method. The voltage required to close the 0.9 mm wide microvalve was ∼350 V for fluid (air) pressure ∼1kPa.A new technique [1] has been developed to fabricate valves, micromixer [2, 3] and other microfluidic structures, by patterned welding of compliant thermoplastic films using Universal Laser System CO2 laser. The normally opened valve is electrostatically actuated by applying the voltage on its metalized thermoplastic surfaces. There is no movable membrane or cantilever which closes the fluid path as reported in many other electrostatic microvalves. The walls of the channel collapse toward each other when sufficient voltage is applied, thus effectively closing the fluid path. The material used is 1.4 μm thick Mylar™ sheets (DuPont) coated on one side with ∼10nm of gold.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Risk factors for protracted postoperative length of stay after lower extremity bypass for critical limb ischemia.

Background Compared with other common chronic conditions, admissions for management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are associated with prolonged hospitalizations. Length of stay (LOS) is one of many metrics receiving increased attention in the current focus on efficient healthcare delivery. Our objective was to characterize LOS among patients with severe PAD, those undergoing surgical bypass for critical limb ischemia (CLI), and identify risk factors for protracted postoperative LOS. Methods Patient data from the 2007 to 2009 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were used to develop a database consisting of patients undergoing bypass surgery for CLI ( n = 4,894). Protracted postoperative LOS was defined as the top quartile of days hospitalized from surgery to discharge. Preoperative risk factors with significant association (Pearson chi-squared test; P Results Average postoperative LOS was 7.5 days (median 6 days). The top quartile of postoperative LOS, >8 days, was used to define protracted LOS. Independent preoperative risk factors for protracted postoperative LOS included demographic characteristics (advanced age and non-Caucasian race), comorbidities, and medical history (e.g., obesity, dialysis dependence, severe cardiac and pulmonary disease, and bleeding disorders). Indicators of PAD severity (e.g., distal target sites, open wounds or gangrene, and prior arterial surgery) were also independent predictors of protracted LOS after surgery. The greatest predictors of extended postoperative LOS were prolonged preoperative hospitalization (OR 2.2 [95% CI: 1.8–2.6], P P P Conclusions Here, we identify preoperative risk factors for protracted postoperative LOS after infrainguinal bypass for CLI. These findings provide an important evidence basis for ongoing efforts to reduce healthcare spending and facilitate provision of efficient health care. Future efforts will include prospective identification of patients at high risk for protracted postoperative LOS and targeted multidisciplinary efforts to reduce associated costs without sacrificing healthcare quality.
Bounds on the mixing of the down-type quarks with vectorlike singlet quarks.

We derive bounds on the mixing of the standard charge $\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{3}$ quarks with vectorlike isosinglet quarks, as they exist in some extensions of the standard model. We make no assumptions about the unitarity or any other features of the mixing matrix. We find that the mixing is quite constrained: we are able to set bounds on all the extra parameters which arise in the mixing matrix (Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix), except on two phases. The assumption that there exists only one exotic quark leads to some extra relationships among the parameters of the mixing matrix.
Angle-resolved photoemission and valence band dispersions for GaAs: Direct vs indirect models☆

Abstract Angle-resolved photoemission measurements for GaAs(110) have been extended to h v = 100 eV. These results show that dominant emission peaks are due to direct transitions. Weaker one-dimensional density of states features sometimes observed are due to surface umklapp/secondary cone and lifetime effects. Accurate band dispersions for all four valence bands GaAs along the [110] direction are given using simple normal emission and off-normal emission methods. Electron and hole lifetimes are directly determined.
Effects of Lipids on ATPase Activity of Purified Chinese Hamster P-Glycoprotein

Chinese hamster P-glycoprotein ("multidrug-resistance protein") was purified and reconstituted in proteoliposomes by the procedure of I. L. Urbatsch, M. K. al-Shawi, and A. E. Senior (1994, Biochemistry 33, 7069-7076). The presence of lipid during the octylglucoside solubilization and Reactive Red 120 chromatography steps was found to be mandatory for retention of ATPase activity. Sheep brain or bovine liver lipid extracts could be substituted for the Escherichia coli lipids used previously. Stimulation of ATPase activity of purified, reconstituted P-glycoprotein by vinblastine, colchicine, and daunomycin was seen with sheep brain and bovine liver lipids, but not with E. coli lipids. Basal (i.e., not drug-stimulated) ATPase activity was different in the three lipids. Azidopine labeling of the drug binding sites in purified, reconstituted P-glycoprotein was carried out; vinblastine, colchicine, and daunomycin competed for labeling in all three lipids. It is therefore evident that the lipid environment can significantly influence the characteristics of purified, reconstituted P-glycoprotein ATPase activity and the apparent coupling between drug-binding and catalytic sites.
Negative events experienced by self and predicted to have been experienced by others as related to political orientation

Subjects reported on the frequency with which they had experienced each of 18 negative events, the frequency they believed that other persons, similar to themselves, had experienced these events, and also provided data on their political orientation. Males and females do not differ significantly from one another in frequency of self-reported negative events or in estimates of how often other persons experience these events. Both males and females believe that persons, similar to themselves, have experienced these events more often than they have experienced them. The frequencies with which Ss report having experienced negative events and their estimates of how often they happened to others are significantly positively correlated for both sexes. Neither the frequencies of self-reported nor the estimated frequencies of others experiencing negative events are significantly related to political orientation for males or females. However, the difference between individual Ss' self-reported negative events and their estimates of how often other persons had experienced them correlated with self-described political orientation, −0.75 for males and −0.77 for females. The negative sign indicates that persons who are more liberal, along a liberal-conservative continuum, are substantially more prone to believe that other persons have experienced negative events more often than themselves.
Surface Changes in Chimpanzee Sperm During Epididymal Transit

Intact chimpanzee caput and cauda epididymal sperm, sperm cell lysates, and caput and cauda epididymal fluid were radiolabeled by enzymatic iodination with lactoperoxidase and Na125 I and were compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Caput epididymal sperm showed nine labeled macromolecular components of 90, 64, 56, 48, 38, 31, 20, 18 and 16 Kd and cauda epididymal sperm showed eleven macromolecular components of 90, 64, 55, 47, 42, 33, 27, 18, 17, 15 and 11 Kd. Six of the components labeled on caput sperm (90, 64, 56, 48, 18 and 16 Kd) were detected in equal amounts of cauda sperm and two (38 and 20 Kd) were detected at greatly reduced labeling intensities. In the cauda epididymidis, four new components (33, 27, 17 and 11 Kd) became prominent features of the sperm surface. Analysis of labeled caput and cauda sperm cell lysates resolved components distinct from those detected on sperm surfaces. Electrophoresis of caput epididymal fluid showed five labeled components of 66, 56, 47, 41 and 37 Kd, while electrophoresis of cauda epididymal fluid showed eight labeled components of 92, 66, 56, 48, 31, 27, 24 and 11 Kd. Three components (66, 56 and 47 Kd) were present in both caput and cauda fluid, two (41 and 37 Kd) in caput fluid only, and five (92, 31, 27, 24 and 11 Kd) in cauda fluid only. Components of 37 Kd were labeled in caput fluid and on caput sperm but not on cauda sperm, whereas components of 27 Kd and 11 Kd were labeled in cauda fluid and on cauda sperm but not on caput sperm. These data show that chimpanzee sperm undergo extensive surface modifications during epididymal maturation and that some of these modifications may be related to exogenous proteins/glycoproteins in epididymal fluids.
Effects of heating temperature on the total phenolic compound, antioxidative ability and the stability of dioscorin of various yam cultivars

Abstract The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of different heating temperatures on the antioxidative activity of yams and on the stability of dioscorin of various yam cultivars (Mingchien, Tainung No. 2 and Keelung). Results from crude yam extracts of all varieties showed decreases in total phenolic and dioscorin contents, DPPH radical-scavenging effect, and ferrous ion chelating capacity with increasing heating temperatures. Following separation and purification, only one protein band with the same molecular weight of 31 kDa (dioscorin) was consistently electrophoresized from three peaks of 25–45 fraction numbers from all yam varieties. Fraction numbers of peaks were reduced and peak area narrowed with increasing heating temperatures and no protein could be extracted at temperatures above 80 °C. The dioscorin protein surface hydrophobicity declined with increasing heating temperatures. Significant correlation of dioscorin content with DPPH -scavenging effect was noted for all yam species.
Noninvasive Ventilation: Does it Work, for Whom, and How?

Noninvasive ventilation refers to techniques of augmenting alveolar ventilation without an endotracheal airway. Such techniques are, of course, not new. Attempts at assisting alveolar ventilation long antedated the development of endotracheal tubes. Descriptions of negative pressure ventilators (NPV) may be found in the medical literature dating back to the 1830s (1). A century later, these ventilators, in particular the iron lung, served as the mainstay of ventilatory support during the polio epidemics (2). The large number of patients in need of acute and chronic ventilatory support during these epidemics stimulated the development of other so-called body ventilators including the rocking bed, pneumobelt, poncho wrap, and chest shell (3).
Confined Swirling Flows with Heat Release and Mixing

A simplie ed model is used to illustrate global features and e ow regimes encountered in swirling e ows with combustion, as an approach to providing an overall interpretation of the behavior of primary zone e ows in leanpremixed-prevaporizedgasturbinecombustors.Asoneexampleofthis, thephysicalmechanismsthatcharacterize theinteractions between swirl and heataddition aredescribed, including the differing effects on recirculation zone formation for low and high values of swirl. The model, which is based on a quasi-one-dimensional control volume formulation, contains many approximations for the relevant e ow processes. Nevertheless, comparisons of this simplie ed model with results from an axisymmetric Navier ‐Stokes code support the utility of the approach for gaining physical insight into the overall behavior of these parametrically complex e ows.
Balancing the Books: Analyzing the Impact of a Federal Budget Deliberative Simulation on Student Learning and Opinion

The federal budget and the rising national debt are crucial concerns in American politics. Yet, they are issues about which average citizens, and particularly young citizens, are presumed to have limited knowledge and very little to say. They are also topics that are not generally seen as engaging to students in introductory political science courses. This article describes the implementation and assessment of a deliberative simulation of the budget process that aimed to inform students about the federal budget through active learning. We use an experimental design to test the impact of the deliberative exercise on two factors: (1) students’ retention of knowledge about the federal budget and (2) the effect of public debate on students’ substantive policy decisions about the budget. As the deliberative exercise we employ mirrors one conducted nationally among the general public by the organization AmericaSpeaks, we also compare students’ responses with those of citizens more generally.
Distribution of collagenolytic enzyme activity among snake venoms.

Abstract 1. 1. Venoms from twenty-six poisonous snakes (twelve Crotalidae, five Viperidae and nine Elapidae) were studied for collagenolytic enzyme activity. 2. 2. A correlation between collagenolytic activities of venom and taxonomy of poisonous snakes at the family level was observed. Viperidae venoms contained less collagenolytic activity than Crotalidae venoms while only three of nine Elapidae venoms contained minimal collagenolytic activity. 3. 3. No correlation between collagenolytic activity and genera of poisonous snakes was observed. 4. 4. Venom-catalyzed viscosity reduction of collagen solutions results from the degradation of collagen β components to altered α chains. Thus, the predominant collagenolytic enzyme mechanism of snake venoms is similar to the collagenolytic activities of chymotrypsin and pepsin.
Calories/gm. in Species of Animals

ANIMALS of seventeen species, representing six phyla, were burned in a miniature bomb calorimeter1. The data are presented as calories/ash-free gm. in Table 1 and as a histogram, Fig. 1.
Determinants of racial/ethnic differences in blood pressure management among hypertensive patients

Background Prior literature has shown that racial/ethnic minorities with hypertension may receive less aggressive treatment for their high blood pressure. However, to date there are few data available regarding the confounders of racial/ethnic disparities in the intensity of hypertension treatment.
The Lesbian Stigma in the Sport Context: Implications for Women of Every Sexual Orientation

The lesbian label exists within sport's heterosexist and heteronormative context as a means to subvert women's status, power, influence, and experiences. As such, there exists a lesbian stigma that contributes to sport's documented gender disparities. While acknowledged that some women may manage their gender and sexual identities to evade prejudice and discrimination related to this stigma, research has yet to fully address the full breadth of the stigma and its potential consequences. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative model that identifies specific components of the lesbian stigma and its potential consequences as they pertain to women in sport. Further, as a great deal of previous literature has focused on the lesbian woman, an additional purpose of this paper is to extend the literature to women of all sexual orientations. The authors present implications for the proposed model and offer avenues for future inquiry.
Brain tumors and polyomaviruses.

Polyomaviruses, including JC virus (JCV), BK virus (BKV), and simian virus 40 (SV40) have attracted much attention in the past decade due to their repeated isolation from various human tumors, including those originating from the central nervous system (CNS). JCV and BKV are considered to be ubiquitous human pathogens that become reactivated under impaired physiological conditions such as immunosuppression. Productive replication of JCV and BKV induces diseases such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in the brain and hemorrhagic or nonhemorrhagic cystitis and nephritis in the kidney. JCV DNA sequences have been isolated from a number of human CNS tumors, including medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and a broad range of glial-origin neoplasms. SV40, once believed to be a monkey virus, has now been isolated from a variety of human cancer cells, including mesothelioma, ependymoma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In this mini-review, the authors focused their attention on the possible involvement of polyomaviruses, such as JCV, BKV, and SV40, with human brain tumors.
Cellular Assessment of Crop Lymphoid Tissue from Specific-Pathogen-Free White Leghorn Chickens After Salmonella Enteritidis Challenge

Abstract The crop may be an important site along the upper alimentary tract in which a humoral immune response against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is elicited locally. The mucosal immune response within the crop (ingluvies) of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) white leghorn (WL) chickens against SE was investigated. Three trials were conducted using SPF WL pullets at age 5–6 wk. Trial 1 consisted of 77 birds evaluated for 10 wk post-SE infection (pi), trial 2 was composed of 72 birds monitored through 8 wk pi, and trial 3 was made up of 30 birds assessed for 5 wk pi. Birds were challenged per os with 108 colony-forming units/ml SE phage type 13. Crop lavage samples, crop tissues, ceca, and/or liver-spleen were collected preinfection and then at weekly intervals post-SE infection. Bacteriologic examination of cecal contents and/or liver-spleen occurred weekly to monitor progression of SE infection. Crop lavages were analyzed for SE-lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) by enzyme-linked immuno...
Background to Robert Koch’s Lecture at the International Congress in Berlin, 1890

It is appropriate at this conference on antiinfective therapy, commemorating the centennial of the pharmaceutical division at Bayer, that we should turn back the hands of the clock about 100 years to hear a lecture on bacteriological research delivered by Robert Koch at the International Medical Congress in Berlin in 1890. Koch was certainly the right choice to deliver such a lecture to that distinguished audience, for he was one of the principal founders of bacteriology as a modern science. At the time, he was perhaps at the peak of his career, and was one of the most respected figures in medicine worldwide.
The Effect of Asymmetric Mechanical and Thermal Loading on Membrane Wrinkling

Large, tensioned membranes are being considered for future gossamer spacecraft systems. Examples include sunshields, solar sails, and membrane optics. In many. cases a relatively flat membrane with minimal wrinkling is desired. Developing methods to predict and measure membrane wrinkling is important to the future development of gossamer spacecraft. Numerical and experimental data are presented for a 0.5 m square, tensioned membrane. The membrane is subjected to symmetric and asymmetric mechanical loading. Data are also presented for a symmetrically loaded membrane subjected to spot heating in the center. The numerical model shows good agreement with the experiment for wrinkle angle data. There is. also reasonable agreement for the wrinkled area for both isothermal and elevated temperature tests.
Understanding Women's Risk for HIV Infection Using Social Dominance Theory and the Four Bases of Gendered Power

Theoretical models to date have fallen short of accounting for the alarming worldwide rates of HIV infection in women through heterosexual contact. In this article, social dominance theory and the four bases of gendered power—force, resource control, social obligations, and consensual ideologies—are used to organize and explain international research findings on women's risk of contracting HIV from male sexual partners. Research suggests that the four bases of gendered power contribute to women having less power than men in heterosexual relationships, resulting in challenges to preventing HIV transmission from male partners. Social dominance theory also recognizes the intersections among various group-based hierarchies, such as race and class, thereby helping explain why women of color and low-income women are disproportionately affected by HIV. The intergroup focus of social dominance theory points to gender inequality as increasing men's risk of HIV infection as well, and the construct of social dominan...
Paraneoplastic amyopathic dermatomyositis associated with breast cancer recurrence.

Abstract Amyopathic dermatomyositis, also known as dermatomyositis sine myositis, describes patients with the typical cutaneous features of dermatomyositis but without evidence of inflammatory myopathy. There have been 3 reported cases of amyopathic dermatomyositis associated with breast cancer in patients with no prior malignancy. We describe the first case of paraneoplastic amyopathic dermatomyositis associated with breast cancer recurrence. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1999;41:874-5.)
Extragalactic Light Fluctuations in the Decaying Dark Matter Hypothesis

Sciama has attributed the ionization of diffuse interstellar gas and intergalactic clouds to a UV background arising from the decay of ∼ 30-eV primordial neutrinos on a time-scale of ∼10 23 s. Cosmological structure forms as in any hot dark matter model, and the existence of non-linear structure at redshifts of ∼5 then requires the presence of non-adiabatic or non-Gaussian perturbations on galactic scales. This hypothesis is testable through the emission of photons of a well-defined energy from the dark matter, which may be detectable wherever structure has developed. Non-detections from clusters of galaxies argue strongly against the decaying dark matter model, but debate about the distribution of dark matter within clusters makes the interpretation of the data inconclusive
Metabolic and Toxicologic Study of an Artificial Sweetener, Oxime V

ABSTRACTMetabolic disposition and subchronic oral toxicologic studies were conducted on a new synthetic sweetener, Oxime V. Based on radioactivity assay, the compound was readily absorbed and metabolized. Excretion was nearly quantitative 48 hours after dosing the rat, dog, and rhesus monkey. The major metabolites were formed by oxidation and reduction of the cyclohexadiene ring, oxidation of the aldoxime and dimethyl ether moieties followed by conjugation with glycine, thiomethylation of the ring, and O-glucuronidation of the aldoxime.A two-month feeding study was conducted with male adult rats. The average consumption of Oxime V was 396.5 mg/kg per day by rats fed a diet containing 0.6% of the test compound. No treatment related histopathologic lesion was observed in the liver, kidney, spleen, and testes. The liver weight relative to the body weight and serum bilirubin level were increased.
Stochastic Radiative Transfer on Modeled Cloud Fields

Several efforts are currently underway to improve cloud-radiation parameterizations in Global Climate Models (GCMs) by incorporating statistical properties of the cloud field. Although some radiation parameterizations, which are already computationally costly, now incorporate subgrid scale variability in cloud properties, they are not yet capable of using this information in their calculations of the 3-D radiation fields. Before drastic changes are made to such algorithms to incorporate cloud-cloud radiation interactions, the impact of including realistic high-resolution cloud distributions on the shortwave fluxes should be assessed. This letter provides a framework for carrying out such assessments, including a new methodology that blends a stochastic radiative transfer model, high-resolution cloud fields from a mesoscale meteorological model, and a threshold and object identification technique applied to cloud water content fields. This process provides a link between the radiative fluxes calculated in GCMs, where clouds occur at a subgrid scale, and the highly resolved cloud fields in a regional climate model, which can provide cloud field statistics. Two case studies are described herein.
Commentary: Transracial Adoption—Changing Trends and Attitudes

Legislating adoption practices is a stop-gap measure to protect the interests of potential adoptees and their would-be parents. As our society becomes better able to govern itself in these matters and reaches a consensus on humanitarian values, it is hoped that the need for legislation will diminish. In the meantime, we still have the best-interests test to guide us through new and sometimes troubled waters. We need to instill respect for all minority cultures while also incorporating them into the larger culture that one day will appreciate the values of tolerance and diversity.
Postmodern Conceptualizations, Modernist Applications: Rethinking the Role of Society in Food Security

Abstract Food security studies, while giving ever more attention to issues of perception and local knowledge in food outcomes, have yet to engage in a systematic discussion of the role played by society in food outcomes. While contemporary studies of food outcomes address issues of the social, especially as social structures relate to access to and production of food, this literature lacks an accompanying theory of the social that might lend it broad, cross-contextual coherence. This article identifies a means of systematically approaching how actors apprehend and negotiate the complex factors and connections from which they fashion food outcomes by applying postmodern theories of power and knowledge to the study of society’s role in food outcomes. In developing this approach, I employ postmodern theory not merely to critique current approaches to the study of food outcomes, but to further a modernist goal, a world with less hunger.
Estrogen receptor inhibits mineralocorticoid receptor transcriptional regulatory function.

The steroid hormone aldosterone (aldo) contributes to cardiovascular disease in animal models and in humans. Aldo activates the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), a hormone-activated transcription factor, and indeed, pharmacological MR inhibition improves cardiovascular outcomes. Because the incidence of cardiovascular disease is lower in premenopausal women, we hypothesized that estrogen (E2) signaling through the estrogen receptor (ER) may protect the vasculature by inhibiting the detrimental effects of aldo signaling through the MR. We demonstrate that E2-activated ER inhibits MR-mediated gene transcription from the mouse mammary tumor virus reporter in human embryonic kidney-293 cells. In contrast, aldo-activated MR does not affect ER-mediated gene transcription. The ERα N terminus (amino acids 1–253) containing part of the DNA-binding domain is sufficient to inhibit MR genomic function, although point mutations reveal that DNA binding, ligand-independent activation, and rapid nongenomic ERα signaling are not required for this effect. Furthermore, ERα and MR are part of a complex in cell lysates, with amino acids 1–233 of the ERα N terminus being sufficient to complex with the MR. Overall, the ability of ERα to inhibit MR-mediated gene transcription correlates with the ability of ERα segments to both localize to the nucleus and complex with the MR. In cultured vascular endothelial cells expressing ERα, E2 inhibits aldo induction of the vascular MR target gene intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). ICAM-1 induction by endothelial MR is known to promote vascular inflammation that could contribute to the mechanism of aldo-induced atherosclerosis. E2 also inhibits aldo induction of ICAM-1 protein and prevents aldo-enhanced leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. These studies support a new model in which E2-activated ER in endothelial cells forms a complex with MR in the nucleus to modulate MR regulation of the proinflammatory gene ICAM-1. Estrogen inhibition of MR regulation of genes that contribute to cardiovascular disease may be a new mechanism by which premenopausal women are protected from cardiovascular disease.
Downside Four-Moment Tail Risk and its Effect on Financial and Commodity Diversification

Diversification studies typically concentrate on the correlation between the return series of assets, while the measurement of risk focuses on the standard deviation. However, portfolio managers worry about large downside losses and realize that asset returns are not normally distributed. Here we examine downside risk by using skewness and kurtosis, as well as the standard deviation, to determine the potential large losses for a wide range of financial and commodity assets. Using a four-moment downside risk measure allows us to study the effects of diversification in a new light. We find that a naively diversified portfolio of individual assets is consistently superior to other portfolios, including diversified commodity indexes such as the GSCI.
Potential of Oxytocin in the Treatment of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous, debilitating disorder characterized by three distinct sets of clinical features: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits. Extant antipsychotic drugs have been most successful at treating the positive symptoms of patients with schizophrenia but have minimal therapeutic effects on negative symptoms and cognitive deficits, which are the symptoms that best predict the poor prognosis of these patients. Therefore, there has been a major effort towards identifying compounds that alleviate these symptoms. Oxytocin (OT) is a nonapeptide that regulates peripheral reproductive-relevant functions, and also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Converging evidence from both preclinical and clinical research suggests that OT may have therapeutic efficacy for the positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. In the majority of the small, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials conducted to date, OT has shown particular promise in its potential to treat the intractable negative symptoms and social cognitive deficits exhibited by most of the patients with this debilitating disorder. In this leading article, we summarize the clinical evidence relevant to (1) endogenous OT and schizophrenia, and (2) the putative therapeutic effects of OT on each of the three clinical domains.
KCl and angiotensin responses in isolated rat renal arterioles: effects of diltiazem and low-calcium medium.

Studies in intact renovascular models have shown that calcium entry blockers inhibit angiotensin (ANG II)-induced vasoconstriction in afferent (AA) but not efferent arterioles (EA), suggesting that increases in smooth muscle cell cytosolic calcium, the initiating intracellular message, result from entry through potential-operated channels in AA, but from organelle storage mobilization or entry through nonpotential-operated channels in EA. The present study examined the effects of diltiazem (10(-5) M) on the constrictor responses to KCl (50 mM) and half-maximal constricting concentrations (EC50) of ANG II and the effects of low-calcium bathing medium on EC50 ANG II responses in isolated rat AA and EA. KCl caused slightly greater decreases in lumen diameter in AA than in EA (P < 0.05) that were completely inhibited by diltiazem in both. Vasoconstriction to ANG II was significantly inhibited by diltiazem (29 +/- 12 vs. 67 +/- 31%; P < 0.02) in AA. However, constrictor response to ANG II in EA was unchanged b...
Lipid Signaling in Tumorigenesis.

800x600 Lipids are important cellular building blocks and components of signaling cascades. Deregulation of lipid metabolism or signaling is frequently linked to a variety of human diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. It is widely believed that lipid molecules or their metabolic products are involved in tumorigenic inflammation and thus, lipids are implicated as significant contributors or even primary triggers of tumorigenesis. Lipids are believed to directly or indirectly activate growth promoting signals such as those involving LPA, insulin, IGF-1 and EGF to promote cancer cell growth. Cellular levels of certain lipids, including sphingosine-1-phosphate and ceramide, maintain a delicate balance between cell death and survival and alterations in their levels lead to unfavorable consequences including tumorigenesis. This article provides an overview of current knowledge that implicates lipids in tumorigenesis and explores the potential mechanisms that support a positive link between obesity and cancer. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
Frida Vigdorova’s Transcript of Joseph Brodsky’s Trial: Myths and Reality

The article analyzes the dramatic events surrounding Joseph Brodsky’s trial in Leningrad 1964, focusing on Frida Vigdorova’s transcript of the trial record. Some of these events are not fully known in Russia, and many are either totally unknown or misunderstood in the West. The transcript Vigdorova recorded played a central role in the post-trial collective protests by Soviet intelligentsia, protests unprecedented in the post-Stalin era. It became one of the very first human-rights documents in the ussr and a key contribution to samizdat. The article also treats the Soviet authorities’ persecution of young representatives of the literary intelligentsia, and it highlights Vigdorova’s successful efforts to intercede for several of those individuals before the emergence of the Brodsky case.
Outcome from Respiratory Failure

Knowledge of the outcome of acute respiratory failure is an essential part of the management of critically ill patients. This article examines survival data of patients experiencing respiratory failure in association with chronic obstructive lung disease, as well as data of patients with acute lung injury and the adult respiratory distress syndrome. In addition, data are presented on functional outcome of survivors of acute respiratory failure and on the outcome of respiratory failure from selected causes.
Zebrafish Embryo Disinfection with Povidone-Iodine: Evaluating an Alternative to Chlorine Bleach.

Abstract Mycobacteriosis is a common bacterial infection in laboratory zebrafish caused by several different species and strains of Mycobacterium, including both rapid and slow growers. One control measure used to prevent mycobacterial spread within and between facilities is surface disinfection of eggs. Recent studies have highlighted the effectiveness of povidone–iodine (PVPI) on preventing propagation of Mycobacterium spp. found in zebrafish colonies. We evaluated the effect of disinfection using 12.5–50 ppm PVPI (unbuffered and buffered) on zebrafish exposed at 6 or 24 h postfertilization (hpf) to determine if this treatment is suitable for use in research zebrafish. Our results show that 6 hpf embryos are less sensitive to treatment as fewer effects on mortality, developmental delay, and deformity were observed. We also found that buffered PVPI treatment results in a greater knockdown of Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium marinum, as well as results in decreased harmful effects on embryos. Trea...
Genre as Hermeneutical Instrument: Mary Gordon's Novels as Test Case for the “Catholic” Novel

Whether a book is a “good book” is a matter not only of taste but also of genre. The genre of every book sets up certain expectations which the reader must engage and assess in order to understand the text. The reader uses genre to differentiate among multiple ways in which texts “work.” Genre minimally enables the reader to avoid the uncritical expectation that the success or failure of a text depends on the presence or absence of a particular theme. Maximally, a generic analysis can suggest new ways of disclosing the religious significance of literary texts. Genre as hypothesis provides a heuristic method for interpreting a text by itself and in relation to others. Generic analysis overcomes the deficiencies of thematic analysis to show how Mary Gordon's Final Payments succeeds as an action novel and The Company of Women as an apologue.
Arsenic-Ion-Implanted GaAs as an Ultrafast Photoconductor

It is now well known that low-temperature-MBE-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) has a photoexcited carrier lifetime that is subpicosecond - or at most a few picoseconds - and, when annealed, outstanding properties in terms of photodetection and gating (i.e., high resistivity, high breakdown voltage, and reasonable mobility) [1]. The unique behavior of LT-GaAs has even led to the creation of commercial detector and sampling gate applications based on these materials. However, due to the MBE growth process, LT-GaAs, is a relatively expensive material compared with conventional, LEC, undoped GaAs.
Post-Head Trauma Prophylactic Anticonvulsants

The effectiveness and safety of antiepileptic agents in the treatment of acute traumatic head injury were determined at the Institute of Child Health, University College, London, UK, by review of 10 randomized controlled trials involving 2036 patients identified from various databases.
Cessation Strategies Young Adult Smokers Use After Participating in a Facebook Intervention

ABSTRACTBackground: Young adults underutilize current evidence-based smoking cessation strategies; yet social media are widely used and accepted among this population. A better understanding of whether and how young adults try to quit smoking in the context of a social media smoking cessation intervention could inform future intervention improvements. Objectives: We examined frequency, strategies used, and predictors of self-initiated 24-hour quit attempts among young adults participating in a Facebook intervention. Methods: A total of 79 young adult smokers (mean age = 20.8; 20.3% female) were recruited on Facebook for a feasibility trial. Participants joined motivationally tailored private Facebook groups and received daily posts over 12 weeks. Assessments were completed at baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Results: In 12 months, 52 participants (65.5%) completed 215 quit attempts (mean = 4.1; median = 4; range 1-14); 75.4% of attempts were undertaken with the Facebook intervention alone, 17.7% ...
Changing pattern for HER2 positivity due to updated ASCO/CAP guidelines for HER2 testing and its impact.

523 Background: ASCO/CAP guidelines for HER2 testing in breast cancer were published in 2007 and updated in 2013. HER2-directed therapies (HDT) should be recommended in patients who are deemed HER2...
How NATO adapts: strategy and organization in the Atlantic alliance since 1950

The premise of Seth A. Johnson’s book is that there are certain episodes in NATO’s past that have spurred them to grand-scale change wherein the very mission and structures of the organisation were...
Mean field treatment of heterogeneous steady state kinetics

Abstract We propose a method to quickly compute steady state populations of species undergoing a set of chemical reactions whose rate constants are heterogeneous. Using an average environment in place of an explicit nearest neighbor configuration, we obtain a set of equations describing a single fluctuating active site in the presence of an averaged bath. We apply this Mean Field Steady State (MFSS) method to a model of H 2 production on a disordered surface for which the activation energy for the reaction varies from site to site. The MFSS populations quantitatively reproduce the KMC results across the range of rate parameters considered.
Observation of a many-body dynamical phase transition with a 53-qubit quantum simulator

A quantum simulator is a type of quantum computer that controls the interactions between quantum bits (or qubits) in a way that can be mapped to certain quantum many-body problems. As it becomes possible to exert more control over larger numbers of qubits, such simulators will be able to tackle a wider range of problems, such as materials design and molecular modelling, with the ultimate limit being a universal quantum computer that can solve general classes of hard problems. Here we use a quantum simulator composed of up to 53 qubits to study non-equilibrium dynamics in the transverse-field Ising model with long-range interactions. We observe a dynamical phase transition after a sudden change of the Hamiltonian, in a regime in which conventional statistical mechanics does not apply. The qubits are represented by the spins of trapped ions, which can be prepared in various initial pure states. We apply a global long-range Ising interaction with controllable strength and range, and measure each individual qubit with an efficiency of nearly 99 per cent. Such high efficiency means that arbitrary many-body correlations between qubits can be measured in a single shot, enabling the dynamical phase transition to be probed directly and revealing computationally intractable features that rely on the long-range interactions and high connectivity between qubits.
Mobile Phone Detection of Semantic Location and Its Relationship to Depression and Anxiety.

Background: Is someone at home, at their friend’s place, at a restaurant, or enjoying the outdoors? Knowing the semantic location of an individual matters for delivering medical interventions, recommendations, and other context-aware services. This knowledge is particularly useful in mental health care for monitoring relevant behavioral indicators to improve treatment delivery. Local search-and-discovery services such as Foursquare can be used to detect semantic locations based on the global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, but GPS alone is often inaccurate. Mobile phones can also sense other signals (such as movement, light, and sound), and the use of these signals promises to lead to a better estimation of an individual’s semantic location. Objective: We aimed to examine the ability of mobile phone sensors to estimate semantic locations, and to evaluate the relationship between semantic location visit patterns and depression and anxiety. Methods: A total of 208 participants across the United States were asked to log the type of locations they visited daily, using their mobile phones for a period of 6 weeks, while their phone sensor data was recorded. Using the sensor data and Foursquare queries based on GPS coordinates, we trained models to predict these logged locations, and evaluated their prediction accuracy on participants that models had not seen during training. We also evaluated the relationship between the amount of time spent in each semantic location and depression and anxiety assessed at baseline, in the middle, and at the end of the study. Results: While Foursquare queries detected true semantic locations with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.62, using phone sensor data alone increased the AUC to 0.84. When we used Foursquare and sensor data together, the AUC further increased to 0.88. We found some significant relationships between the time spent in certain locations and depression and anxiety, although these relationships were not consistent. Conclusions: The accuracy of location services such as Foursquare can significantly benefit from using phone sensor data. However, our results suggest that the nature of the places people visit explains only a small part of the variation in their anxiety and depression symptoms. [JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2017;5(8):e112]
The materiality of scientific instruments and why it might matter to science education

The issue I explore in this chapter began with my decision to investigate the history of how science came to know about the relationship between boiling point of water and air pressure (Milne C. Creating stories from history of science to problematize scientific practice: a case study of boiling points, air pressure, and thermometers. Paper presented at the twelfth biennial international history, philosophy and science teaching (IHPST) conference, University of Pittsburgh, PA, June 19–22, 2013). My studies into the history of this relationship led me to realize how much I had taken an instrument, the humble thermometer, for granted. This experience led me to realize that a focus on conceptual elements of science with an emphasis on theory development can seduce educators into ignoring the cultural affordances of the material practice of scientific instruments. I explore the question of why there is so little attention given to understanding the role of instruments in the construction of knowledge, especially in science education.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OPTIMISM AND OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ANGINA

Optimism regarding recovery is variably associated with quality of life and outcomes in patients with chronic illness, but this association has not been evaluated in chronic angina patients. RIVER-PCI was a randomized trial in patients with chronic angina testing ranolazine's effect on a primary
Pirate capitalism, or the primitive accumulation of capital itself

Pirates are often described as existing on the margins of the world economy, emerging from the outskirts to disrupt otherwise free capitalist markets. With this narrative in mind, it is not surpris...
Highly Composite Numbers

In 1915, the London Mathematical Society published in its Proceedings a paper by Ramanujan entitled Highly Composite Numbers. A number N is said to be highly composite if for every integer M<N, it happens that d(M)<d(N), where d(n) is the number of divisors of n. In the notes of Ramanujan’s Collected Papers, the editors relate, “The paper, long as it is, is not complete.” Fortunately, the large remaining portion of the paper was not discarded. It was first set into print by Jean-Louis Nicolas and Guy Robin in the first volume of the Ramanujan Journal, for which they provided useful comments. This chapter contains that formerly unpublished completion of Ramanujan’s paper as well as updated annotations.