cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interleukin 8, neutrophil-activating peptide-2 and GRO-α bind to and elicit cell activation via specific and different amino acid residues of CXCR2

Abstract The objective of this investigation was to determine the amino acid residues of the human neutrophil CXC chemokine receptor-2 (CXCR2) that are critical for binding the ligands interleukin 8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating peptide-2 (NAP-2), and growth-related protein alpha (GROα) and critical for receptor-mediated signal transduction. Charged residues of the amino terminus and the first extracellular loop of CXCR2 were targeted for point mutagenesis studies. Seven separate CXCR2 mutants (Glu7, Asp9, Glu12, Asp13, Lys108, Asn110, and Lys120, all to Ala) were generated. Based on the Scatchard analysis of radioligand binding studies, the following amino acids were deemed critical for ligand binding: (i) Asp9, Glu12, Lys108, and Lys120 for IL-8 and (ii) Glu7, Asp9, and Glu12 for GROα. Point mutations in the amino terminus domain (Asp9 and Glu12) and the first extracellular loop (Lys108, Asn110, and Lys120) of CXCR2 reduced cell activation to all three ligands as measured by changes in intracellular calcium concentration. In conclusion, high-affinity binding of IL-8, NAP-2, and GROα to CXCR2 involves interaction with specific and different amino acid residues of CXCR2. Furthermore, we propose that the CXCR2 amino acid residues required for cell activation are not necessarily the same residues required for ligand binding.
Another Look at Technology Use in Classrooms: The Development and Validation of an Instrument To Measure Teachers' Perceptions

This article describes the development and initial validation of scores from a survey designed to measure teachers’ reported use of technology in their classrooms. Based on data obtained from a sample of approximately 2,000 practicing teachers, factor analytic and correlational methods were used to obtain evidence of the validity of scores derived from responses to the instrument. In addition, analyses of Web and paper versions of the survey suggest relatively minor differences in responses, although the response rates for the paper version were substantially higher. The results were interpreted in terms of the utility of the instrument for measuring the confluence of factors that are critical for inquiry related to technology use in classrooms.
Rotation of the sun.

Dicke has interpreted his recent measurement of the sun's oblateness as implying a fast (1.8-day period) rotation of the solar radiative interior. We find that differentially rotating solar models, such as the one proposed by Dicke, are unstable. The rate of turbulent diffusion in the unstable regions of these models is so rapid that it appears to preclude a fast spinning solar interior. As a corollary of the stability analysis, we conclude that the loss of a significant fraction of a star's angular momentum must be accompanied by the mixing of material below its convective zone. Such mixing inevitably leads to the depletion of lithium in the star's photosphere.
Diagnosis of Cloud Mass and Heat Fluxes from Radar and Synoptic Data

Abstract A set of equations for diagnosing the properties of precipitating clouds over a tropical ocean is developed by postulating a population of model clouds in which the vertical motions consist of convective up-drafts and downdrafts in cumulus-scale cells and mesocscale updrafts and downdrafts associated with anvil clouds. The properties of a population of precipitating clouds can be diagnosed with these equations by constraining the model clouds to explain either an observed large-scale heat budget (the synoptic approach) or an observed spectrum of precipitation (the radar approach). The results of either approach are dependent on certain parameters of the model clouds, which must be assumed. These parameters are identified, and, in this paper, they are held constant in a controlled experiment comparing the results of the radar and synoptic approaches obtained for the same cloud population (the average population in Phase 111 of GATE). This experiment shows that similar results can be obtained by ei...
Computational Studies of Aliphatic Alcohol Acidity

Computational studies have been used to examine the structural and energetic effects of adding small numbers of water molecules to methanol, tert-butyl alcohol, methoxide, and tert-butoxide. The effective fragment potential as well as Hartree−Fock methods reveals distinct structural effects with as few as two to four water molecules. Structural and energetic effects are used to probe the acidity reversal of simple aliphatic alcohols on going from the gas phase to protic solvents. Although the effective fragment potential and Hartree−Fock methods without sufficient electron correlation underestimate the number of water molecules that give rise to acidity reversal, the trend toward reversal is evident with small numbers of waters in all methods.
Furan fatty acids determined as oxidation products of conjugated octadecadienoic acid.

The objective of this study was to identify oxidation products of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a series of octadecadienoic acids with conjugated double bonds, which have been reported to have antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. Reference materials of CLA were oxidized in different concentrations of water/methanol; for example, 0.5 g octadecadienoic acid was dissolved in 50 mL methanol, and 100 mL water was added; this suspension was heated at 50°C and continuously aerated. Aliquots of 5 mL were taken over time, extracted with ether, treated with diazomethane and examined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and/or gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection. Products identified included the following furan fatty acids (FFAs): 8,11-epoxy-8,10-octadecadienoic; 9,12-epoxy-9,11-octadecadienoic; 10,13-epoxy-10,12-octadecadienoic; and 11,14-epoxy-11,13-octadecadienoic. Conjugated dienes should be considered as a possible source of FFAs, and CLA may have products common to furans in their overall oxidative scheme.
Defining the federal role in housing: Back to basics

Abstract The several objectives of government intervention in the housing sector and the economic rationale for them are briefly reviewed. The case for and efficiency of this intervention is then examined pursuant to two objectives—ensuring the availability of adequate and affordable housing to low-income households and encouraging homeownership. Present approaches are found wanting in both cases. The paper concludes with suggested modifications that appear to be reasonable on budgeting, efficiency, and political grounds.
Experiences with a PFN Uranium Logging System

The Prompt Fission Neutron (PFN) uranium logging system has been used by Sandia National Laboratories for field operations for about six years; during that time, the system has been used at several exploration sites from southern Texas to Wyoming. Some of the improvements, recent changes to the system, and new applications are discussed here. A high-voltage doubler has been designed for the neutron generator which permits operation at pulse rates of up to one kHz. Other improvements in hardware have also been made. The PFN tool has been tested at moderately elevated temperatures (~93°C). The tool has been used in support of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program (UMTRAP) at various mine tailing sites in Colorado and Wyoming. The log interpretation model has now been completed, and a patent on the system has been issued. The tool design will be released to the National Technical Information Service, and is available for anyone to build and use; the software is also available.
Brain temperature in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy during therapeutic hypothermia.

Objective To noninvasively determine brain temperature of neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) during and after therapeutic hypothermia. Study design Using a phantom, we derived a calibration curve to calculate brain temperature based on chemical shift differences in magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We enrolled infants admitted for therapeutic hypothermia and assigned them to a moderate HIE (M-HIE) or severe HIE (S-HIE) group based on Sarnat staging. Rectal (core) temperature and magnetic resonance spectroscopy data used to derive regional brain temperatures (basal ganglia, thalamus, and cortical gray matter) were acquired concomitantly during and after therapeutic hypothermia. We compared brain and rectal temperature in the M-HIE and S-HIE groups during and after therapeutic hypothermia using 2-tailed t -tests. Results Eighteen patients (14 with M-HIE and 4 with S-HIE) were enrolled. As expected, both brain and rectal temperatures were lower during therapeutic hypothermia than after therapeutic hypothermia. Brain temperature in patients with S-HIE was higher than in those with M-HIE both during (35.1 ± 1.3°C vs 33.7 ± 1.2°C; P P Conclusion For this analysis of a small number of patients, brain temperature and brain–rectal temperature gradient were higher in neonates with S-HIE than in those with M-HIE during and after therapeutic hypothermia. Further studies are needed to determine whether further decreasing brain temperature in neonates with S-HIE is safe and effective in improving outcome.
Endovascular neurosurgery in the United States: a survey of 59 vascular neurosurgeons with endovascular training.

Objective We sought to assess general aspects of endovascular neurosurgery training, practice, and management for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, acute ischemic stroke, and extracranial or intracranial occlusive disease within neurosurgery training and practice in the United States. Methods A questionnaire was sent electronically to 80 U.S. neurosurgeons with endovascular training. Results Fifty-nine surveys (74%) were returned. Survey responses illustrated different practice patterns and varying management of cerebrovascular disorders by neurosurgeons with endovascular training. Conclusion Our findings provide a snapshot of current neurosurgical endovascular practices in the United States. Peer-Review Article
Mechanistic Diversity of Radical S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent Methylation

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes use the oxidizing power of a 5′-deoxyadenosyl 5′-radical to initiate an amazing array of transformations, usually through the abstraction of a target substrate hydrogen atom. A common reaction of radical SAM (RS) enzymes is the methylation of unactivated carbon or phosphorous atoms found in numerous primary and secondary metabolites, as well as in proteins, sugars, lipids, and RNA. However, neither the chemical mechanisms by which these unactivated atoms obtain methyl groups nor the actual methyl donors are conserved. In fact, RS methylases have been grouped into three classes based on protein architecture, cofactor requirement, and predicted mechanism of catalysis. Class A methylases use two cysteine residues to methylate sp2-hybridized carbon centers. Class B methylases require a cobalamin cofactor to methylate both sp2-hybridized and sp3-hybridized carbon centers as well as phosphinate phosphorous atoms. Class C methylases share significant sequence homology with the RS enzyme, HemN, and may bind two SAM molecules simultaneously to methylate sp2-hybridized carbon centers. Lastly, we describe a new class of recently discovered RS methylases. These Class D methylases, unlike Class A, B, and C enzymes, which use SAM as the source of the donated methyl carbon, are proposed to methylate sp2-hybridized carbon centers using methylenetetrahydrofolate as the source of the appended methyl carbon.
Role of Cellular Energy Status in Tocopheryl Hemisuccinate Cytoprotection Against Ethyl Methanesulfonate-Induced Toxicity

Abstract Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that the administration of α-tocopheryl hemisuccinate (TS),but not unesterified α-tocopherol (T), protects hepatocytes from a variety of toxic insults including chemicals, drugs, metals, and oxidative stress. One possible mechanism for this unique cytoprotection is that succinate released from cellular TS is used as a supplemental energy source during a toxic challenge. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of TS (25 μM) administration on cell viability, lipid peroxidation, and several cellular energy-related processes such as mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ΨΔ), lactate formation, and ATP and K + concentrations in isolated hepatocyte suspensions during a toxic challenge with the alkylating agent, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). Data from these studies demonstrate that EMS treatment results in rapid cell death and lipid peroxidation following 2 h of incubation. Preceding EMS-induced cell death was a rapid loss of MMP, intracellular ATP and K + levels, and mitochondrial ultrastructure as well as a transient increase in cellular lactate production. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with TS prior to EMS exposure prevented the loss of MMP and mitochondrial ultrastructural changes as well as lipid peroxidation and cell death. Cellular ATP levels and lactate production did not reflect the protection afforded to TS-treated hepatocytes. Protection against EMS-induced toxicity was not observed when hepatocytes were: (i) pretreated with TS and esterase inhibitors (preventing T and succinate release from TS); (ii) pretreated with other lipophilic succinate derivatives (cholesteryl hemisuccinate, monomethyl and dimethyl succinate); or (iii) pretreated with T and sodium succinate. Unlike monomethyl succinate, cytoprotective TS pretreatment did not stimulate gluconeogenesis or glycolysis. Hepatocytes isolated from rats pretreated for 24 h with T were not protected from the toxic effects of EMS, unlike TS-pretreated rats. In conclusion, TS cytoprotection against the mitochondrial toxicant EMS appears to be related to the hepatocellular accumulation of TS and the maintenance of mitochondrial function (MMP). Based on our earlier findings and the present observations, we propose that a unique subcellular disposition for TS and the subsequent release of T and succinate at a critical mitochondrial site is responsible for the observed cytoprotection.
The chronic wrist-slasher.

(1967). Outpatient Care: The Chronic Wrist-Slasher. Hospital Topics: Vol. 45, No. 11, pp. 61-65.
Marine inundated archaeological sites and paleofluvial systems: examples from a karst‐controlled continental shelf setting in Apalachee Bay, Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Underwater geoarchaeological research in Apalachee Bay, in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico off northwest Florida, has enabled the reconstruction of portions of the karst-controlled paleodrainage system, the discovery of several inundated prehistoric archaeological sites, and the exposure of sediments accumulated during the drowning of the continental shelf. Diagnostic artifacts discovered at the sites included chipped stone tools and debitage indicating Paleoindian, Early Archaic, and Middle Archaic occupation. A geoarchaeological model using terrestrial analogs was used to locate and investigate inundated sites. Methods employed include seismic profiling, vibracoring, diver tow surveys, diver collection transects, and induction dredge excavations. We document evidence for sea-level rise, related environmental succession and site formation processes for indundated prehistoric sites in the Apalachee Bay region from approximately 8000 to 6000 yr B.P. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bandwidth-Efficient Target Tracking In Distributed Sensor Networks Using Particle Filters

This paper considers the problem tracking a moving target in a multisensor environment using distributed particle filters (DPFs). Particle filters have a great potential for solving highly nonlinear and non-Gaussian estimation problems, in which the traditional Kalman filter (KF) and extended Kalman filter (EKF) generally fail. How ever, in a sensor network, the implementation of distributed particle filters requires huge communications between local sensor nodes and the fusion center. To make the DPF approach feasible for real time processing and to reduce communication requirements, we approximate a posteriori distribution obtained from the local particle filters by a Gaussian mixture model (GMM). We propose a modified EM algorithm to estimate the parameters of GMMs obtained locally. These parameters are transmitted to the fusion center where the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE) is used for fusion. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm
Automated, in-vivo, whole-cell electrophysiology using an integrated patch-clamp amplifier

Whole-cell patch clamp recordings of neuronal activity in vivo exhibit signal quality sufficient to report synaptic and ion channel-mediated subthreshold events of importance for understanding neural processing during normal as well as drug-mediated behavior. Recently, we developed a prototype "autopatching" robot [1] that enables automated whole-cell patch clamp recording of neurons in a living mouse brain. While automation of the in-vivo patch clamping process opens up the possibility of multi-channel in vivo electrophysiology, scaling up the current system would dramatically increase system cost and complexity. Specifically, the current autopatching algorithm relies on several discrete pieces of hardware such as an amplifier, headstage and digitizer--as well as commercial software to communicate with the equipment and perform electrophysiology. We will present an automated, in-vivo, whole cell electrophysiology suite that consists of a four-channel microchip-based patch clamp amplifier [2] and software that dramatically simplifies the setup necessary for traditional automated patch clamping. This system (Figure ​(Figure1A)1A) eliminates the need for the conventional amplifier, digitizer, headstage, and data acquisition board to effectively combine the high-throughput nature of the autopatcher [1] with the voltage and current clamp toolsets available in commercial software packages. Un-automated in vivo whole-cell recordings have already been demonstrated using a single-channel microchip-based patch clamp amplifier with conventional pCLAMP software (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA; Figure ​Figure1B).1B). Preliminary results indicate that our simpler, multi-channel electrophysiology suite can perform computations required for automatic neuron detection, leading to successful whole-cell patches. We will report progress toward total automated integration and incorporation of electrophysiology tools into the software suite. The total cost required for the patch chip and the electrophysiology software suite should be several orders of magnitude less than that of conventional systems, and far simpler to handle, integrate with existing rigs, and use. Figure 1 (A) Single-channel patch chip amplifier in the patch clamping setup. (B) Representative in vivo whole-cell recordings in current clamp mode using conventional pCLAMP software and the patch chip.
The Use of the Number Needed to Treat (NNT) in Randomized Clinical Trials in Psychological Treatment

[Clin Psychol Sci Prac 17: 41–47, 2010] There are many psychological treatments available for clinicians to implement with their clients, with numerous reports of which works best for whom. Clients have access to information regarding interventions and can benefit from easy-to-understand, yet powerful explanations of the results of treatment evaluations. The number needed to treat (NNT) is a potentially useful statistic, although it is highly underreported. A review of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology between 2000 and 2008 found that, of the 100 articles reviewed, four reported the NNT. Despite the need for powerful and intelligible statistics, behavioral scientists have yet to adopt and report the NNT in their results.
Anesthetic and perioperative care of high-risk adults with congenital heart disease: Managing ventricular dysfunction and minimal reserve

Abstract The number of adults with congenital heart disease has increased dramatically in recent years owing to advances in the surgical and medical care of pediatric congenital heart disease, and these patients present with increasing frequency for both cardiac and non-cardiac surgical interventions. By adulthood, many demonstrate varying degrees of ventricular dysfunction and are at high risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality. Due to their limited cardiopulmonary reserve, physiologic insults are poorly tolerated and must be minimized throughout the perioperative period. An understanding of the altered cardiopulmonary physiology, unique complications, and overarching management goals for ACHD patients will allow anesthesiologists to coordinate optimal perioperative care for this challenging patient population.
Interaction of septal lesions and experience on the suppression of punished responses

Abstract Four groups of rats were used to assess the effects of septal damage and prior experience on passive-avoidance behavior. After nine days of 23 1/2 hour water deprivation, all animals were required to avoid shock by suppressing drinking for three successive days. A final test was given after allowing ad libitum drinking followed by further deprivation. Water consumption and unpunished responses were recorded during deprivation periods. The passive-avoidance deficit commonly reported for septal damaged animals was observed only when the animals had been allowed prior unpunished drinking from the water source which resulted in shock on test days. The deficit was absent on the two days succeeding the first test, even though deprivation levels had increased up to 72 hr, but was reestablished by giving the animals further unpunished experience drinking from the water source. Although septal animals drank more water and made more unpunished drinking responses than normals, these measures did not correlate with passive-avoidance performance.
Reactor transport effects in copper APCVD

Abstract We have studied the chemical vapour deposition growth rates of copper films by H 2 reduction of Cu(hfac) 2 in a horizontal axial flow reactor, under reaction conditions that span the transition from transport-limited to reaction-limited growth. At high temperature and H 2 pressure (350 °C and 760 Torr), the growth rate becomes transport limited, resulting in highly non-uniform axial film thickness profiles. As the H 2 pressure is lowered to 40 Torr, the rate of convective and diffusive transport increases while the intrinsic rate decreases, leading to reaction-limited growth and more uniform films. At lower temperatures (250 °C), film growth is essentially reaction-limited at all H 2 pressures. We analyze the measured growth rate profiles using a reactor transport model to calculate the reactant concentration profiles and unmask the intrinsic growth rates. The results are used to optimize the kinetic parameter estimates for two recently proposed rate expressions for Cu(hfac) 2 reduction.
Failure of systemically administered adenine arabinoside to affect humoral and cell-mediated immunity.

Summary The effect of a high dosage (250 mg/kg of body weight) of adenine arabinoside or ara-A (9-β-D-arabinofuranosyladenine) on humoral immunity was studied in New Zealand white rabbits infected with the McKrae strain of herpes simplex virus. The rabbits were treated daily for 14 days with subcutaneous injections of ara-A. The primary and secondary humoral responses, as measured by neutralizing antibody titers, developed similarly in control and treated groups. Similar drug treatment was used on guinea pigs before or after sensitization with BCG vaccine. Subsequent challenge of the sensitized animals with Old tuberculin solution indicated that ara-A treatment had no effect on the induction or previously established cell-mediated immunity. The lack of immunosuppressive activity of ara-A at dosage levels higher than those used in primates makes this drug a potentially effective agent in the systemic treatment of herpetic infections.
U-Pb systematics of garnet: dating the growth of garnet in the late Archean Pikwitonei granulite domain at Cauchon and Natawahunan Lakes, Manitoba, Canada

This study considers the potential of using the U-Pb dating of garnet for determining quantitative P-T-t paths for the late Archean metamorphism in the Pikwitonei granulite domain. Garnets for U-Pb dating were selected mainly from samples that also provide information on pressure and temperature. The garnets used for dating were clear and free of any visible inclusions. Pb concentrations range from 63 ppb to 966 ppb and U from 136 ppb to 1143 ppb. The measured 206Pb/204Pb ratios range from 52.8 to 529.4. The ages are generally discordant with U/Pb ages that may lie above or below concordia. The discordance is caused by a recent disturbance of the U/Pb ratio in the garnets as indicated by replicate analyses on the same garnet separates that reproduce 207Pb/206Pb ages well within analytical uncertainty and in most cases within ±1.5 Ma at 2600–2750 Ma. High grade metamorphism continued over a period of at least one hundred million years, but the garnet-K-feldspar Pb-Pb ages suggest that, during this time, garnet growth has been favored during three distinct periods in the Cauchon Lake area: 2700–2687 Ma 2660–2637 Ma 2605–2591 Ma The ca. 2695 Ma garnet ages from Cauchon Lake date the time of melting and staurolite breakdown during prograde metamorphism, the ca. 2640 Ma ages date the time of extensive migmatization and the last period of metamorphic garnet growth, the ca. 2600 Ma ages date the time of crystallization of igneous garnet in late granitic intrusions. Peak metamorphism occurred around 2640 Ma followed by the intrusions of pegmatites starting at 2629 Ma. The Pb-Pb ages for garnet are similar to the U-Pb ages for zircon that date a leucocratic mobilizate (2695 Ma), a plagioclaseamphibole mobilizate (2637 Ma) and pegmatite (2598 Ma) (Heaman et al. 1986 a; Krogh et al. 1986; this study). Xenocrysts of garnet from 2600 Ma old graphic granites give minimum ages of 2984 Ma and 2741 Ma which are minima for the times of garnet growth in the source of the granites. The agreement of the zircon and garnet ages suggests that the metamorphism may have been punctuated by events that led to the development of melts or encouraged mineral growth at specific times. If so, the prograde and retrograde paths of metamorphism in the area may have contained minor excursions in pressure, temperature or fluid fugacities. In the Natawahunan Lake area some 50 km northwest of Cauchon Lake, garnet growth associated with the prograde breakdown of staurolite occurred at ca. 2744–2734 Ma. This suggests that a similar style of metamorphism may have occurred earlier in the Natawahunan Lake area than at Cauchon Lake area, or higher grades of metamorphism were reached earlier and were of longer duration associated with the somewhat greater depths in the Natawahunan Lake area. These results indicate the these garnets, which are 0.1–1 cm in diameter, have maintained closed system behavior for U and Pb at peak metamorphic conditions, i.e. temperatures up to 800° C and pressures of 7.5 kb.
Characterization of State Transitions in Spatially Distributed, Chaotic, Nonlinear, Dynamical Systems in Cerebral Cortex

The neurons of cerebral cortex are largely autonomous and generate activity that is manifested in trains of microscopic axonal action potentials. The neurons interact by sparse but numerous synaptic connections to generate macroscopic dendritic activity patterns that are observed in electroencephalographic (EEG) waves. The macroscopic patterns are constructed by the populations and they shape the output of cortical neurons in parallel arrays. Sensory cortexes receive sensory information in the form of microscopic action potentials, which induce state transitions in population dynamics. Each state transition transforms sensory information to perceptual meaning. The EEG reflects both kinds of activity. The sensory input is accessed by time ensemble averaging, whereas the perceptual output is found by spatial ensemble averaging. Spatial phase gradients in the EEG are useful for identifying EEG segments in a sequence of state transitions in response to sensory input. The rapidity and flexibility with which they take place give strong reason to postulate that the mechanism for the construction of these sequences of patterns is a dynamical system operating in a chaotic domain.
Memory Predictions Are Influenced by Perceptual Information : Evidence for Metacognitive Illusions

Although perceptual information is utilized to judge size or depth, little work has investigated whether such information is used to make memory predictions. The present study examined how the font size of to-be-remembered words influences predicted memory performance. Participants studied words for a free-recall test that varied in font size and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each item. JOLs were influenced by font size, as larger font sizes were given higher JOLs, whereas little relationship was evident between font size and recall. The effect was modified when other, more valid, sources of information (e.g., associative strength) were available when JOLs were made and persisted despite experience with multiple study-test sessions, use of a forgetting scale to assess predictions, and explicit warning of participants that font size has little effect on memory performance. When ease of reading was manipulated, such that large font size words were made less fluent, the effect was eliminated. Thus, highly accessible perceptual cues can strongly influence JOLs, likely via encoding fluency, and this effect can lead to metacognitive illusions
Global notes: the 10/90 gap disparities in global health research.

Globally the total amount of money public and private invested in health research and development is estimated to be 73 billion US dollars a year. Although the poor represent 25% of world population they carry a disproportionate burden of disease and ill health. Currently however less than 10% of global funding for research is spent on diseases that afflict more than 90% of the worlds population. This disparity in spending the health research dollars on diseases that affect the rich rather than the poor countries is known as The 10/90 gap. In 1990 the Commission on Health Research and Development recognized the seriousness of the matter. This led to the formation of the Health Forum under the auspices of WHO. The Health Forum is an international organization managed by a 20-member council the members of which are drawn from a wide variety of partners: government policy-makers donors womens organizations and international NGOs. The Health Forums report Health Research: Essential Link to Equity in Development made several observations and recommendations. It identified four major challenges the world will face in the coming decades: (1) high burden of infectious diseases among the poor that can be addressed using the existing cost-effective drugs; (2) continually increasing threat of HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria; (3) the increasing epidemics of noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease diabetes and injuries in the low- and middle-income countries; and (4) disparities in efficiency and equitable health services in different populations. (excerpt)
A Computationally Efficient Nonlinear Least Squares Method Using Random Basis Functions

A method to obtain parameter estimates in a nonlinear least squares problem is proposed. Its main advantage is computational efficiency and can be used when a direct grid search cannot. The approach is based on the theory of random basis functions. An example of its application to frequency estimation is given and other applications discussed.
Bias in the Counseling Process: How to Recognize and Avoid It

Counselors' vulnerability to inferential bias during the counseling process may result in misdiagnosis and improper interventions. This article provides readers with information regarding inferential bias. The inferential biases discussed include (a) availability and representativeness heuristics; (b) fundamental attribution error; (c) anchoring, prior knowledge, and labeling; (d) confirmatory hypothesis testing; and (e) reconstructive memory. Each bias is described and illustrated through fictitious case vignettes, and suggestions concerning what precautions counselors may do to avoid each type of bias are presented.
Secretin potentiates cholecystokinin-stimulated amylase release by AR4-2J cells via a stimulation of phospholipase C.

Alterations in the activity of phospholipase C (PLC) are thought to be the primary intracellular events leading to pancreatic acinar cell exocytosis of zymogen granules. When multiple hormones, each of which may stimulate different signal transduction pathways, bind to cell surface receptors, the cell must integrate these signals into a common response through communication (cross-talk) among intracellular second messengers. We show that cholecystokinin (CCK) induces amylase secretion from AR4-2J pancreatic acinar cells via stimulation of PLC activity. Secretin indirectly stimulated the PLC pathway through cross-talk of the activated cAMP pathway to potentiate the CCK-stimulated amylase secretion. Therefore, secretin potentiated the acinar cell secretory response to CCK by cAMP-mediated cross-talk with the PLC signal transduction pathway. © 1995 Wiley-Liss Inc.
DSM-5, psychiatric epidemiology and the false positives problem

The revision effort leading to the publication of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was flawed in process, goals and outcome. The revision process suffered from lack of an adequate public record of the rationale for changes, thus shortchanging future scholarship. The goals, such as dimensionalising diagnosis, incorporating biomarkers and separating impairment from diagnosis, were ill-considered and mostly abandoned. However, DSM-5's greatest problem, and the target of the most vigorous and sustained criticism, was its failure to take seriously the false positives problem. By expanding diagnosis beyond plausible boundaries in ways inconsistent with DSM-5's own definition of disorder, DSM-5 threatened the validity of psychiatric research, including especially psychiatric epidemiology. I present four examples: increasing the symptom options while decreasing the diagnostic threshold for substance use disorder, elimination of the bereavement exclusion from major depression, allowing verbal arguments as evidence of intermittent explosive disorder and expanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder to adults before addressing its manifest false positives problems.
Genetic alterations and biological pathways in human bladder cancer pathogenesis

Abstract Human bladder cancers are heterogeneous. For example, at first presentation papillary transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs) are typically superficial and often multifocal. Papillary TCCs frequently recur, but most never progress to invasive TCC. In contrast, bladder carcinoma in situ (CIS) usually presents as a solitary flat lesion and, if left untreated, invariably progresses to invasive TCC. Some TCC are already invasive at the time of presentation. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tends to present at a later stage than most TCCs and has a relatively aggressive clinical course. Multiple genetic alterations have been identified in invasive human bladder cancers and are present in different combinations and in different frequencies in the different manifestations of bladder cancer described above. A high percentage (∼67%) of superficial papillary TCCs show early losses involving chromosome 9q, while very few show either a TP53 or a CDKN2/16 mutation. Thus, loss of 9q may be the earliest event in initiation of papillary TCC. In contrast, bladder CIS and SCC show relatively low percentages of 9q loss. However, ∼65% of bladder CIS contain a TP53 alteration and ∼67% of bladder SCC contain a CDKN2/p16 alteration. Mutations in these two tumor suppressor genes have powerful implications for loss of genome stability and cell growth regulation, respectively, consistent with the aggressive phenotypes of these cancers. Thus, these data suggest a model of bladder cancer pathogenesis in which the predominant genetic alteration may be the “initiating event” in cancer pathogenesis and may play a role in determining the biological potential of the tumor.
Absorption of 45Ca and 89Sr from the abomasum of the calf.

SummaryIn vivo experiments, using 12 anesthetized calves, were conducted to determine the extent of abomasal absorption of 45Ca and 89Sr. In two experiments, one with milk-fed calves and another with hay and grain-fed calves, a large amount of variation in absorption was noted. This was attributed to a lack of mixing of the isotope with abomasal ingesta. Variability was reduced in a third experiment by increasing the dose volume to 225 ml. An average of 20.8 ± 3.1% of an administered dose of 45Ca and 3.2 ± 3.0% of 89Sr were absorbed from the abomasum within 25 min. These estimates were based on the amounts of isotope recovered from ingesta and abomasal tissue of four animals and is substantiated by the rapid appearance of 45Ca in venous blood drained from the abomasum.
Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed’s performance of universal French citizenship and good Muslim brotherhood

This article builds on scholarship in performance studies, anthropology, discourse analysis and French studies by examining the performative speech acts of self-identified Maghrebi-French queer men from my recent fieldwork in France. As a point of departure, I draw on Jose Estaban Munoz’s notion of ‘disidentification’ (1999) and Mireille Rosello’s notion of ‘declining the stereotype’ (1998) to examine the strategies of resistance for Maghrebi-French queer speakers who ‘work on and against dominant ideology’ and who try ‘to transform cultural logic from within’ a dominant system of identification and assimilation (Munoz, 1999: 11–12). In my analysis, I examine an interview with one of my Maghrebi-French interlocutors, Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, founder of several French associations including Homosexuels musulmans de France (HM2F), and the author of Le Coran et la chair (2012), to show how his speech acts function simultaneously from within contemporary France – and its notion of laicite – and from within Isla...
Use of assisted reproductive technology treatment as reported by mothers in comparison with registry data: the Upstate KIDS Study

Objective To assess the validity of maternally reported assisted reproductive technologies (ART) use and to identify predictors of reporting errors. Design Linkage study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) A total of 5,034 (27%) mothers enrolled, from whom 4,886 (97%) self-reported information about use of infertility treatment, including ART, for the index birth. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Four measures of validity (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) and use of net reclassification improvement (NRI) methods to identify predictors associated with concordant/discordant maternal reporting. Result(s) The Upstate New York Infant Development Screening Program (Update KIDS Study) was linked with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System (SART CORS) using a defined algorithm for 2008–2010. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were high (0.93, 0.99, 0.80, and 1.00, respectively). The validity of maternal report was high, reflecting few differences by participant characteristics except for maternal age dichotomized at 29 years as identified with NRI methods. Conclusion(s) Maternally reported ART is valid, with little variation across various characteristics. No strong predictors of discordant reporting were found, supporting the utility of population-based research with SART CORS linkage.
Block of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor by phenycyclidine-like drugs is influenced by alternative splicing

N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors were expressed in Xenopus oocytes from injected mRNA. The presence of an alternatively-spliced insertion encoding 21 amino acids at the N-terminus of the NMDAR1 (NR1(111)) subunit, made homomeric assemblies of the receptor more sensitive to ketamine and MK-801 than receptors assembled from NMDAR1 subunits lacking this insert (NR1(011) and NR1(001)). The influence of this insert was maintained when NR1 subunits were co-expressed in heteromeric combinations with NR2B. The increased sensitivity of the receptors containing the insert (NR1(111)) was accompanied by a faster on-rate for drug action than was observed for receptors lacking the insert (NR1(011) and NR1(001)). Our results suggest that the action of phencyclidine-like drugs is influenced by the presence of Insertion I in the NMDA isoforms, generated by alternative splicing.
Isolation and characterization of dominant tunicamycin resistance mutations in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlorophyceae)

Seven independent mutations that confer resistance to the nucleoside antibiotic tunicamycin in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were isolated in wild-type diploid cells. Upon resolution to haploidy, all the mutations segregated as single mutations and were semi-dominant when retested in heterozygous diploids. In addition, the TUN1-3 allele affects the ability of cells to agglutinate during conjugation in the absence of tunicamycin. The seven mutations map to a single locus on linkage group VIII. These mutations may be useful as a selectable marker in transformation studies of Chlamydomonas and in studies of processes that require asparagine-linked glycosylation.
Longitudinal changes in risk variables underlying metabolic Syndrome X from childhood to young adulthood in female subjects with a history of early menarche: The Bogalusa Heart Study

Longitudinal changes in risk variables underlying metabolic Syndrome X from childhood to young adulthood in female subjects with a history of early menarche: The Bogalusa Heart Study
Temperature tolerances of the formosan and eastern subterranean termites (isoptera: rhinotermitidae)

Abstract 1. 1.|The critical thermal maxima (CTMax) and minima (CTMin), and upper (ULL) and lower lethal limits (LLL) of worker and soldier Coptotermes formosanus Shiraka and Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar were determined. 2. 2.|The CTMax of worker and soldier C. formosanus (both 46.3°C) were significantly greater than the CTMax of worker and soldier R. flavipes (45.4 and 45.2°C, respectively). The CTMin of worker R. flavipes (13.3°C) was significantly greater than that of soldier R. flavipes (12.1°C). 3. 3.|The ULL of worker and soldier C. formosanus (48.0 and 46.7°C, respectively) were significantly greater than those of worker and soldier R. flavipes (46.4 and 46.7°C, respectively). The CTMax and ULL of stages within each termite species were not significantly different. 4. 4.|No differences in LLL were observed.
Diving deep into white matter to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia

Innovations in our capacity to image the fine structure of the human brain are urgently needed because after more than a century of research into the biology of schizophrenia, we still find ourselves far from understanding the neurobiological mechanisms responsible for the disorder. Without such an understanding, we are unlikely to discover more effective ways of preventing or reversing the underlying pathology. In this issue of Biological Psychiatry, Du et al. (1) describe the use of two in magnetic resonance (MR)-based technologies that, when used in combination, allowed them to make specific references about the nature of white matter abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia. The idea that schizophrenia is not caused by a disturbance in a single brain structure but rather by the way that distant brain regions communicate with one another is not new. In 1906, Carl Wernicke hypothesized that the disorder might emerge from a process that damages association fiber tracts running beneath the cortex (2). Nancy Andreasen further enriched this concept by drawing attention to the timing of information transfer among involved brain structures, coining the term “cognitive dysmetria” (3). Although there have been a host of reports of disease-related abnormalities in individual brain structures, the evidence for disrupted interstructural connectivity is now also growing rapidly (4). But hypothesizing disruptions in the mechanisms of connectivity leaves open the question of whether the problem is localized to the axon or to the structural elements that support it (5). Subcortical axons form the infrastructure of intercortical connectivity. Some of these fibers link cortical regions with one another, and others serve as projection fibers linking the cortex to the gray matter structures below. Although it has been long known that disorders of myelination can disrupt motor and sensory functions, evidence has emerged in the past 2 decades suggesting that such disruptions can similarly affect higher-order cognition functions, including executive function, attention and processing speed (6). For example, white matter changes have been recently associated with cognitive dysfunction following the onset of traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer disease, and even the effects of oncologic chemotherapy (7). If axonal integrity is intrinsically compromised, then one would expect to see changes in neuroimaging measures that represent the integrity of the neurons themselves, such as the movement of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) molecules. In addition, because white matter axons are surrounded by myelin sheaths produced by glial cells that allow impulses to propagate quickly across neurons and
Aspergillosis of the lung--an eighteen-year experience.

We reviewed the records of 21 patients with aspergillosis seen at our institution during the past 18 years. Nine were treated by surgical resection, one by endocavitary infusion and 11 received no specific treatment. Those receiving no treatment either were not diagnosed before death or had associated severe systemic diseases. The association of aspergillosis with pulmonary infarction and ankylosing spondylitis is emphasized. The results of medical and surgical treatment are reviewed.
High average power parametric frequency conversion-new concepts and new pump sources

A number of applications, including long-range remote sensing and antisensor technology, require high-average-power tunable radiation in several distinct spectral regions. Of the many issues which determine the deployability of optical parametric oscillators and related systems, efficiency and simplicity are among the most important. It is only recently that the advent of compact diode laser pumped solid state lasers has produced pump sources for parametric oscillators which can make compact, efficient, high-average-power tunable sources possible. In this paper we outline several different issues in parametric oscillator and pump laser development which are currently under study at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Life stage toxicity and residual activity of insecticides to codling moth and oriental fruit moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

ABSTRACT The codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck), are two key pests of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) in North Carolina. Growers extensively relied on organophosphate insecticides, primarily azinphosmethyl, for >40 yr to manage these pests. Because of organophosphate resistance development and regulatory actions, growers are transitioning to management programs that use new, reduced-risk, and OP-replacement insecticides. This study evaluated the toxicity of a diversity of replacement insecticides to eggs, larvae, and adults, as well as an assessment of their residual activity, to codling moth and oriental fruit moth. Laboratory-susceptible strains of both species were used for all bioassays. Fresh field-harvested apples were used as a media for assessing the ovicidal activity of insecticides. For larval studies, insecticides were topically applied to the surface of lima bean-based diet, onto which neonates were placed. Toxicity was based on two measures ...