cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment issues in poststroke depression

Depression is perhaps the most frequent emotional disorder to occur after a stroke. These depressions may be either major or minor in type and usually remit within the first year after the stroke. In addition to emotional suffering, poststroke depression has been associated with inhibited physical recovery, impaired cognitive functioning, and increased mortality. Determining whether these consequences of stroke may be improved by treatment of depression constitutes both a major challenge and an enormous opportunity for new approaches to poststroke pharmacotherapy. Previous controlled and uncontrolled treatment trials have provided partial support for the hypothesis that mood, cognitive, physical, and survival consequences of poststroke depression may be improved by antidepressant therapy.
Mean residual life function for certain types of non-monotonic ageing

In this paper we examine the behavior of the mean residual life function in the case of certain types of non-monotonic failure rates and give conditions for the validity of the reciprocity of the shape. Some examples are given to illustrate the results
Purification of a human monocyte-derived neutrophil chemotactic factor that has peptide sequence similarity to other host defense cytokines

Stimulated human monocytes release several proteins thought to play a role in inflammation, including interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor, and plasminogen activator. We have purified another proinflammatory protein that is chemotactic for human neutrophils from conditioned medium of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated monocytes. After a series of steps that included anion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration, and HPLC on cation-exchange and reverse-phase columns, an apparently pure protein was obtained that migrated as a single 7-kDa band on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels under reducing or nonreducing conditions. The amino acid composition of this monocyte-derived neutrophil chemotactic factor was different from that of interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor. N-terminal amino acid sequence of the first 42 residues was determined. This portion of the molecule has up to 56% sequence similarity with several proteins that may be involved in host responses to infection or tissue injury. It is identical to a portion of a sequence deduced from an mRNA induced by staphylococcal enterotoxin treatment of human leukocytes. At the optimal concentration of 10 nM, 50% of neutrophils added to chemotaxis assay wells migrated toward the pure attractant. Potency and efficacy are comparable to that of fMet-Leu-Phe, which is often used as a reference. In contrast to many attractants, the protein was not chemotactic for human monocytes.
Partial loss of function mutations in DnaK, the Escherichia coli homologue of the 70-kDa heat shock proteins, affect highly conserved amino acids implicated in ATP binding and hydrolysis

A set of 37 mutations in DnaK, the Escherichia coli homologue of the 70-kDa heat shock proteins, was isolated using a selection for high constitutive expression of heat shock proteins. Of these, 11 mutants were able to carry out some but not all functions of DnaK. These partial function mutants were divided into two classes. Class I mutants are recessive and permit replication of bacteriophage lambda and growth of cells up to 40 degrees C. Class II mutants are dominant, do not permit growth of lambda, and are temperature-sensitive for growth above 34 degrees C. Mutations in both classes alter amino acids that are highly conserved in the 70-kDa heat shock protein family. The dominant negative mutations provide strong genetic evidence that at least one form of DnaK is multimeric. Moreover, every dominant negative mutation occurs at an amino acid that has been hypothesized to be intimately involved in the process of ATP binding and hydrolysis. Our findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that such mutations are excellent tools for identifying amino acids that play critical roles in protein function.
Experimental infection of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) with thigmotrichid ciliates

Abstract Ciliates of the order Thigmotrichidia were observed to heavily infect Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) that possessed weakened adductor muscles. A description of the ciliates, the method of infection, and the pathology associated with these ciliates is presented.
Otitis Media in Young Children

Acute otitis media (AOM) in young children consumes a substantial amount of medical care services provided by primary-care physicians. A recent increase in the number of young children with AOM prompted a review of the associated risk factors. Eustachian tube dysfunction, bacterial colonization, and host inflammatory response form the basis for the development of AOM. Signs and symptoms of AOM in young children are often nonspecific and subtle, particularly in infants. Physical examination and pneumatic otoscopy verify the diagnosis. New modalities includlng tympanometry and acoustic reflectometry may be helpful. Amoxicillin remains the drug of choice for AOM, despite recent trends in microbial resistance. Second-and third-line antimicrobial agents might be considered in selected clinical settings. Young oung children with recurrent episodes of otitis media must be monitored closely. Preventive measures and medical or surgical intervention should be considered in order to minimize the long-term medical and developmental effects of AOM.
Out of the frying pan into the fire: an ecological perspective on evolutionary reversal in life history in plethodontid salamanders (Amphibia: Plethodontidae)

I review and analyze interaction webs involving competition and predation in ensembles of plethodontid salamanders in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. The objective is to evaluate hypotheses on interaction webs and population regulation in these ensembles in the context of traditional and recent models of phylogeny and life-history evolution of plethodontids. Two ecological hypotheses evaluated are (1) Hairston’s conjecture on differences in the kinds of interactions prevalent among biphasic species with an aquatic larval stage, versus terrestrial species with direct development; and (2) Grover’s hypothesis on differences in the factors that limit the distribution of species along the moisture gradient from stream to forest. An evolutionary question concerns the supposition derived from recent phylogenetic reconstructions that the history of one major clade, the supergenus Desmognathus, involved an early transition or reversal from a simple life cycle (direct development) to a biphasic life cycle (larval development, metamorphosis), and that this transition promoted the subsequent adaptive radiation of the taxon. Chippindale et al. proposed that selection for life-history reversal in the genus Desmognathus was promoted by competition between direct-developing ancestral desmognathans and other terrestrial plethodontids. Experimental studies of interaction webs in extant ensembles of plethodontids in the southern Appalachians, in concert with data from descriptive studies of feeding and habitat use, demonstrate variation in the relative importance of competition and predation in population regulation of species in the several codistributed lineages of these salamanders. Whereas the existing ecological data do not refute the Chippindale et al. hypothesis, many unresolved questions require additional investigation.
Reflectance spectrophotometry for the assessment of mucosal perfusion in the gastrointestinal tract.

Reflectance spectrophotometry (RS) is an optical technology that has been used for nearly three decades in the measurement of tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation in the gastrointestinal tract. The technology has evolved substantially throughout this period, and commercial devices are now available for use in clinical trials. Numerous studies have used RS to investigate the importance of mucosal perfusion in disorders such as ulcer disease, portal hypertension, and septic shock. More recently, the technique has been applied to measure changes in perfusion in response to infusion of vasoactive medications and maneuvers such as cardiopulmonary bypass. The results of current trials investigating the application of RS in critical care monitoring and vascular interventions will likely determine whether the technique will evolve from predominantly a research tool to a clinically useful device.
Characteristics of Drought and Persistent Wet Spells over the United States in the Atmosphere–Land–Ocean Coupled Model Experiments

AbstractAtmosphere–land–ocean coupled model simulations are examined to diagnose the ability of models to simulate drought and persistent wet spells over the United States. A total of seven models are selected for this study. They are three versions of the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) coupled general circulation model (CGCM) with a T382, T126, and T62 horizontal resolution; GFDL Climate Model version 2.0 (CM2.0); GFDL CM2.1; Max Planck Institute (MPI) ECHAM5; and third climate configuration of the Met Office Unified Model (HadCM3) simulations from the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) experiments.Over the United States, drought and persistent wet spells are more likely to occur over the western interior region, while extreme events are less likely to persist over the eastern United States and the West Coast. For meteorological drought, which is defined by precipitation (P) deficit, the east–west contrast is well simulated by the CFS T382 an...
Peritransplant ischemic injury is associated with up-regulation of stromal cell-derived factor-1

OBJECTIVES We evaluated chimerism and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) expression in response to peritransplant ischemic injury following human heart transplantation. BACKGROUND Myocardial ischemia has been shown to trigger mobilization of stem cells to the heart in animal experiments. METHODS Between January 1998 and April 2002, a total of 114 male recipients received hearts from female donors. Of these 114 recipients, 26 had evidence of ischemic injury on their initial heart biopsies (ischemia group). These were compared to the remaining 88 patients (control group). Heart biopsy specimens obtained initially at one week and at one year after transplant were evaluated from 20 matched patients of each group for the presence of Y chromosome-containing nuclei. The SDF-1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression were also evaluated on initial heart biopsy specimens. RESULTS At one week, Y chromosome-containing nuclei were significantly increased in the ischemia group (0.68% vs. 0.04%; p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. These were positive for the stem cell factor receptor c-kit. A significant 3.3-fold increased mRNA expression (p = 0.001) and 2.8-fold increased protein expression (p = 0.01) of SDF-1 was noted in the ischemia group. At one year, Y chromosome was detected in 0.29% of cardiomyocyte nuclei in the ischemia group but none in the control group. The ischemia group had poorer survival and increased vasculopathy. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report to describe chimerism and up-regulation of SDF-1 in human heart transplantation in response to ischemic injury.
Looking Beyond Tradition

Collaborative consultation service delivery bridges the gap between traditional speech-language therapy and the ongoing communication demands of the classroom. What lies beyond traditional speech-l...
An Interactive Educational Exchange: Sharing Innovative Teaching Materials and Methods (429): Online Interprofessional Training on Spiritual and Cultural Aspects of Palliative Care

drug-drug interactions and may provide immediate relief. Most osteopathic techniques require significant specialized education and supervised practice over time to achievemastery. However, a few techniques are easy to reproduceby anon-osteopathic practitioner, occasionally even by the patient themself. Myofascial release, soft tissue stretching and strain-counterstrain techniques specifically are easy to learn and reproduce inmany different areas of HPM practice (home to inpatient settings). Since learning these techniques does require practice, this presentation will encourage the attendee to participate in supervised use of the techniques in small groups with a partner. This symposium will serve as an introduction to simple OMT techniques that can be reproduced by both novices and skilled learners.
Ankyrin-rich membrane spanning protein plays a critical role in nuclear factor-κb signaling

Activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a key feature of the neurotrophin signaling, has been shown to be critical for neuronal survival under pathologic settings. However, the precise mechanism by which neurotrophins activate NF-κB is not well understood. Here we report that the Ankyrin-rich Membrane Spanning (ARMS/Kidins220) protein, a novel transmembrane substrate of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), plays an important role in NF-κB signaling elicited by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Accordingly, depletion of ARMS by specific RNA interference, or disruption of ARMS-TrkB interaction with expression of dominant-negative ARMS mutant, abolished BDNF-induced signaling to NF-κB. Our data further suggests that ARMS may promote NF-κB signaling via activation of mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK) and IκB kinase (IKK), thereby facilitating phosphorylation of RelA (major NF-κB subunit) at an IKK-sensitive site. The results shown here identify ARMS as a major factor that links neurotrophin signaling to NF-κB.
Reducing The Risk Of Mistakes In The Operating Theatre: Responsability Of The Surgical Team

PURPOSE Aim of the paper is to analyse the specific responsability of nurses of the operating theatre, as well as that of surgeons and anestesiologists in the surgical team, according to the Recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health released on July 2nd 2006. MATERIAL AND METHODS The recommendation concern specific protocols and procedures to avoid leaving instruments, gauzes or other material in the surgical field. In the Recommendations, it is underlined that free and efficient comunication inside all the components of the surgical team is necessary, as first step to reduce the risk of such events. In many hospitals internal procedures have been developed to ease applying the Recommendations. Protocols have been written to monitor “adverse events” or “avoided adverse events”, in order to promote the report of mistakes. RESULTS The procedures realized with the aim of reducing the risk in the operating theatre are analyzed by means of quantitative FMECA (Failure Mode, Effect rand Criticality Analisys) analysis. Though such recommendations should not be necessary, the mistakes of Ministry Public Health reminds that, in absence of official data, such event occurs in 1 every 1000-3000 surgical procedures. Also, such events are not always reported. CONCLUSIONS It is verified what could happen it the event, that recommended procedures have not been followed. The system analyzes the potential problems and specific preventive or corrective measures to reduce the risk of mistakes.
Incorporating context in text analysis by interactive activation with competition artificial neural networks

Many segments of modern society, including marketing, politics, government, activism and public safety, desire the ability to find relationships, thus meaning, in public discourse. This can be accomplished by analyzing communication documents according to their content. The increasing use of the Internet for public dialog has made Internet communication a potentially rich source of data in this regard. This study explores the use of an interactive activation with competition (IAC) artificial neural network (ANN) to find relationships in email texts. A modified fully recurrent IAC network was used to process 69 email messages from two threads in the Open Library/Information Science Education Forum using two variations of the self-organizing phase of network formation. These variations were: (1) with and (2) without a linear decay function applied between sentences to the external activation of nodes. The use of the linear decay function, which could be considered a method for including context, produced three positive effects: the entire network was more differentiated from keywords; the keywords were more highly associated with each other, and; roughly half the number of noise strings were highly associated with keywords.
An anomalous transformation in string field theory

Abstract Conformal field theory techniques are used to analyze a recently proposed transformation of Witten's interaction vertex from center-of-mass to mid-point variables. As presented in the literature the transformed vertex has the surprising property of being non-local in the mid-point coordinates unless an additional non-unitary transformation is performed. This renders the kinetic term non-local and poses additional problems. Here we show that, besides being non-local, the transformed vertex does not satisfy the overlap equations and fails to be BRST invariant. These bad properties are the result of an associativity anomaly of the type considered by Horowitz and Strominger. However, this anomaly is “almost trivial” in the sense that most of its bad effects can be avoided by choosing a proper regularization.
Alternative Information-Processing Models and Their Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice

A general taxonomic system of alternative information-processing models (rational, limited capacity, expert, and cybernetic) found in the management and psychological literatures is developed. These models are evaluated on four criteria: theoretical utility, descriptive accuracy, prescriptive value, and potential to suggest interventions consistent with typical information processing. No model is superior according to all criteria, yet each model provides a different explanation of information processing in typical work situations. Each model provides a different explanation of processing in several theoretical domains (attribution theory, decision making, performance appraisal), and each model has different methodological implications. Thus, researchers or practitioners should carefully evaluate the applicability of each model for their particular purpose.
Elastic Green's function for a bimaterial composite solid containing a free surface normal to the interface

Elastic plane strain Green’s function is calculated for an anisotropic bimaterial composite solid containing a free surface normal to the interface. An exact integral representation is obtained for the Green’s function, which is evaluated numerically. The integral is also evaluated analytically, which gives a series representation for the Green’s function. The singularities in the stress field associated with the presence of the free surface are identified and discussed. These singularities can be of the type r-δ, ln(r) as well as higher powers of ln(r), where δ is between 0 and 1 and r is the radial distance from the intersection of the free surface and the interface. The stress field may also contain an oscillatory factor of the type exp[ιg ln (r)] where g depends upon the material parameters of the two solids. For illustration, the formalism is applied to a cubic solid containing a Σ-5 grain boundary.
“Structural glycoprotein” from Metridium dianthus connective tissue☆

Abstract Mammalian connective tissues usually contain 3 major types of macromolecules: collagen, elastin, and proteoglycan[2]. There is some evidence that a fourth major class exists [3–9], usually termed “structural glycoprotein” [5] or “acidic structural protein” [9]. This paper describes the isolation of a major glycoprotein fraction from the body-wall connective tissue of the sea anemone Metridium dianthus . The fraction accounts for at least 16.5% of the dry weight of the tissue. The amino acid composition of this fraction bears a striking similarity to the amino acid composition of several mammalian “structural glycoprotein” preparations, and thus strengthens the argument for the existence of a fourth major macromolecular class occuring in connective tissue.
Inhibitory M2 muscarinic receptors are upregulated in both axotomized and intact small diameter dorsal root ganglion cells after peripheral nerve injury.

Abstract Acetylcholine reduces nociceptive input in part by activating inhibitory M2 muscarinic receptors on primary sensory neurons, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and muscarinic agonists produce analgesia in humans and animals. M2 muscarinic receptors are upregulated in animals with diabetic neuropathy, but their level of expression and function after peripheral nerve injury has not been previously examined. This study tested, using intracellular Ca 2+ response to membrane depolarization, the effect of the M2 muscarinic receptor agonist bethanechol on individual dorsal root ganglion cells from normal and L5-6 spinal nerve-ligated rats, followed by M2 muscarinic receptor immunostaining. We also examined functional transient receptor potential for vanilloids-1 activity by determining intracellular Ca 2+ response evoked by capsaicin in M2 muscarinic receptor immunoreactive cells. In normal dorsal root ganglion cells, bethanechol inhibited the Ca 2+ response in a concentration-related fashion, and this inhibition was blocked by the M2 muscarinic receptor antagonist gallamine. Cells expressing M2 muscarinic receptors by immunostaining were significantly inhibited by bethanechol, whereas those lacking positive staining were not. The proportion of studied dorsal root ganglion neurons with positive M2 muscarinic receptor staining increased significantly in the injured ipsilateral L5-6 and the uninjured ipsilateral L4 ganglia, but not in the contralateral dorsal root ganglion neurons compared with normals. In contrast, the proportion of neurons responding to capsaicin significantly decreased in the injured ipsilateral L5-6 dorsal root ganglion cells. These results suggest that inhibitory M2 muscarinic receptors are upregulated in small- and medium-sized axotomized dorsal root ganglion neurons and their uninjured neighbors following nerve injury, and may represent an appropriate target for analgesia in this setting.
Kinematics and Workspace Analysis of Protein Based Nano-Actuators

Kinematic and workspace analyses are performed to predict the performance of a new nanoscale biomolecular motor: The Viral Protein Linear (VPL) Motor. The motor is based on a conformational change observed in a family of viral envelope proteins when subjected to a changing pH environment. The conformational change produces a motion of about 10 nm, making the VPL a basic linear actuator, which can be further interfaced with other organic/inorganic nanoscale components such as DNA actuators and carbon nanotubes. This paper presents the principle of operation of the VPL motor and the development of direct and inverse kinematic models for workspace analysis. Preliminary results obtained from the developed computational tools are presented.
Effects of salt arousal of drinking and water deprivation on performance of CRF and VI-1 schedules of reinforcement.

Abstract Drinking can be produced by the subcutaneous administration of hypertonic saline and will occur following water deprivation. The effects of several doses of hypertonic saline on continuous reinforcement (CRF) and variable interval one min (VI-1) schedules were determined. An attempt was made to equate performance on the CRF schedule during salt arousal of different magnitudes with performance following various degrees of water deprivation. In one experiment on CRF the delay in time which elapsed from when the animal was injected to when it was permitted to press the lever in order to drink was increased to 2 hr. Pressing to drink appears to be an increasing linear function for moderate increases in salt arousal and 2 mEq of NaCl injected seems to be equivalent to 12 hr of water deprivation.
Isoenzyme analysis of pseudomonas cepacia as an epidemiologic tool

Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis has successfully been used to establish basic marker systems for the epidemiologic analysis of a variety of bacterial pathogens. This study was done to determine the efficacy of this technique for characterizing Pseudomonas cepacia, using 31 known-related strains isolated during an outbreak of infections involving intrinsically contaminated povidone-iodine solution, and five outbreak-unrelated strains used in serotyping of P. cepacia. Crude cell extracts were analyzed by starch gel electrophoresis for electrophoretic variants using 13 enzyme substrates; esterase bands were detected using an additional four substrates. The 31 outbreak strains had identical isoenzyme patterns for all enzymes examined. Five electrophoretic types were obtained for the serotyping strains; electrophoretic mobilities of one of the five strains corresponded to the patterns obtained for the outbreak strains. These results suggest that enzyme electrophoretic typing may be a useful adjunct to other typing methods used in epidemiologic analyses of P. cepacia infections.
Immunogold localization of coenzyme F420-reducing formate dehydrogenase and coenzyme F420-reducing hydrogenase in Methanobacterium formicicum

The ultrastructural locations of the coenzyme F420-reducing formate dehydrogenase and coenzyme F420-reducing hydrogenase of Methanobacterium formicicum were determined using immunogold labeling of thin-sectioned, Lowicryl-embedded cells. Both enzymes were located predominantly at the cell membrane. Whole cells displayed minimal F420-dependent formate dehydrogenase activity or F420-dependent hydrogenase activity, and little activity was released upon osmotic shock treatment, suggesting that these enzymes are not soluble periplasmic proteins. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the formate dehydrogenase subunits revealed no hydrophobic regions that could qualify as putative membrane-spanning domains.
Re-establishment of VA mycorrhizas following severe disturbance: comparative patch dynamics of a shrub desert and a subalpine volcano

Although current models of the roles of VA mycorrhizas in succession describe the fungal effects on the plant, they ignore the immigration patterns of the fungi. It is suggested here that the vectors of spore immigration (animals and wind) determine the pattern of re-invasion with respect to the patches of vegetation establishing on a disturbed site. The environment dictates the dominant vector. If invasion is facilitated by animals (locomotion), such as at Mount St Helens, they inoculate patches of plants, not individuals, and the patches change faster than immigration rates. Thus, the island biogeography equilibrium model is not applicable to describe VA mycorrhizal fungal establishment. If invasion is by wind (mass flow), such as in a cold desert system, inoculum is rapidly distributed across a site and VA mycorrhizal fungal richness and density rapidly equilibrates with its resource, a single shrub. By applying these models, a priori prediction of establishment following catastrophic disturbance might be possible, as opposed to mere description.
Destructive heat and cooling prayer: Malay humoralism in pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

Abstract Malaya, an ancient crossroads of trade, was the recipient of Chinese and Ayurvedic humoral ideas and, later, those of medieval Islam. These ideas were readily accepted by Malays, since they are highly congruent with pre-existing notions among aboriginal peoples of Malaya involving a hot-cold opposition in the material and spiritual universe and its effects upon human health. Islamic Malays have adapted these aboriginal beliefs to correspond to the Greek-Arabic humoral model in matters concerning foods, diseases, and medicines. Although Malay theories of disease causation include such concepts as soul loss and spirit attack, along with ‘naturalistic’ ideas such as dietary imbalance and systematic reactions to foods, all of these theories can either be reinterpreted in humoral terms, or, at least, are congruent with the basic tenets of Islamic humoral pathology. Behaviors and beliefs regarding human reproduction, however, while essentially following a humoral pattern, diverge from Islamic, as well as traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic, humoral theories. Unlike any other major humoral doctrine, Malay reproductive theory (like that of non-Islamic aboriginal peoples of Malaya) equates coldness with health and fertility and heat with disease and sterility. These ideas, in turn, are related to beliefs regarding the nature of the spirit world: the destructiveness of spiritual heat and the efficacy of cooling prayer.
International developments in controlled thermonuclear fusion

Basic processes and fundamental technological requirements of controlled thermonuclear fusion have been widely discussed. Briefly, they include: heating an ultrapure, low-density deuterium and tritium plasma to superhigh temperatures; stably containing the extreme temperature plasma by magnetic fields for a duration adequate to fuse the nuclei; diminishing particle losses occurring through diffusion and instabilities to acceptable levels; gaining useful fusion products conveying energy sufficiently in excess of thermal and radiant energy losses; and, finally, converting the energy released to useful electric power. Recent progress has been encouraging. Numerous and diverse plasmas have been produced and improved understanding and experimental confirmation of stable magnetic containment have been obtained. Also, increased plasma density, temperature, and containment times in a few experimental systems have been achieved. However, complex difficulties, such as new types of instabilities, raise formidable barriers to a workable reactor concept.
Comparison of an automated thrombolytic predictive instrument to both diagnostic software and an expert cardiologist for diagnosis of an ST elevation acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Because the electrocardiograms (ECGs) of patients with symptoms suggesting an acute thrombotic coronary occlusion are typically read by physicians relatively inexperienced in this skill, it is important to develop automated decision support. A Thrombolytic Predictive Instrument (TPI) is now available along with the standard diagnostic software in a commercially available electrocardiograph. This study evaluates the performance of the predictive software in comparison to both an expert cardiologist and standard diagnostic software. True sensitivity and specificity cannot be determined because acute coronary angiography was not performed. The specificities determined by this study were excellent (98% and 99%), and the sensitivities were very good (72% and 78%). These results that the TPI will be only rarely applied to patients who do not indeed have an acute coronary thrombosis. However, the reasons for even this small number of presumably falsely TPI positive patients should be determined and analyzed. It is unlikely that alterations of the thresholds for TPI activation will significantly improve on this very good level of sensitivity, without prohibitively decreasing specificity
Student Engagement at a Large Suburban Community College: Gender and Race Differences.

Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible individual differences in student engagement and explored how it maps on to student achievement. As predicted, the results indicate that there are gender and race differences in student engagement—females show greater engagement than males, and African-American students show greater engagement than students of other races. The results are discussed in the context of student achievement as indicated by students’ self-reported GPAs.
Analytical prediction of the transition to chaos in Lorenz equations

Abstract The apparent failure of the linear stability analysis to predict accurately the transition point from steady to chaotic solutions in Lorenz equations motivates this study. A weak non-linear solution to the problem is shown to produce an accurate analytical expression for the transition point as long as the condition of validity and consequent accuracy of the latter solution is fulfilled. The analytical results are compared to accurate computational solutions, showing an excellent fit within the validity domain of the analytical solution.
Mineral liberation and the batch communition equation

Abstract The batch comminution equation for multi-component mineral systems is a multidimensional integrodifferential equation ∂P(g,D;t) ∂t = ∫ R′ ∫S(g′,D′)B(g,D|g′,D′)p(g′,D′;t)dg′dD′ that cannot be solved analytically. The phase space (g, D) was discretized and the equation formulated as dp ij dt =−S ij p ij + ∑ i=1 j−1 ∑ k=K l ∗ K l ∗∗ S kl b ijkl p kl Solutions to this discretized form of the equation are easy to generate provided that models for the selection function Sy and the multi-component breakage function bykl are known. A general solution to the batch comminution equation that does not rely on the random fracture assumption is derived in this paper and is given by p ij = ∑ l=1 j ∑ k=1 12 α ijkl e −S kl t with the coefficients given by α ijkl =0 if i≠m α ijij -p ij (0)− ∑ l=1 j ∑ k=1 12 α ijkl α ijmn = ∑ l=1 j ∑ k=1 12 S kl b ijkl α klmn S ij −S mn This solution includes the following non-random fracture processes: selective phase breakage, differential breakage, preferential breakage, liberation by detachment and boundary-region fracture. This solution was compared with experimental data obtained from batch tests on two ores. The model was found to be reliable and the derived Andrews-Mika diagram is shown. The derived models for the selection function and the Andrews-Mika diagram can be used to simulate the effects of the processes that produce non random fracture, and thus to assess their relative importance, and also to simulate the behavior of the ore in continuous milling and concentrating circuits. An assumption of random fracture provides an important simplification because, under this assumption, the selection function is independent of the particle composition. The random fracture assumption has been used by researchers who developed models for the prediction of mineral liberation by comminution. The solution of the batch comminution equation under this assumption was found to be p ij (t)= ∑ l=1 j A ijl e −S l t with the coefficients given by A ijjj =p ij (0)− ∑ i=1 j−1 A ijl and A ijn ∑ l=n j−1 S l ∑ k=1 12 b ijkl A kln S j −S n
Othello revisited: Metropolitan romance in Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks and Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses

This article investigates the prevalence of the Othello myth in Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. In particular, it focuses on the charged, pathological obsession with white women in both texts, and seeks to explain this representative tendency in male postcolonial writing as an historical repercussion of racial prejudice in the colony and the metropole. Fanon’s controversial diagnosis of interracial desire in his essay “The Man of Colour and the White Woman” is illuminating with regard to Saladin Chamcha’s acute racial identity crisis in The Satanic Verses. Chamcha’s recovery from the self‐hatred induced by British institutional racism results in a revisionist corrective to the murderous and suicidal myth of Othello, and additionally presents a paradigmatic case of Fanon’s prescription for the “liberation of the man of colour from himself”.
A digital input/output model for trace-class systems

Abstract This paper derives an input/output representation for infinite dimensional linear systems whose state transition operators are trace-class. The representation is an infinite dimensional autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) model whose coefficients are shown to decay faster than exponentially. The relationship between this ARMA model and the initial-value problem for an infinite dimensional state-space representation of the same system is established. It is shown that if a one-step-ahead output predictor is based on the infinite dimensional ARMA model, the predicted output will approach the output from the state-space initial-value problem faster than exponentially.
Follow-up of peritoneal clearances in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Follow-up of peritoneal clearances in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) might result in peritoneal membrane changes. First, CAPD exposes essentially continuously the peritoneum to peritoneal dialysis solutions. Such solutions differ from the usual extracellular fluid bathing peritoneal tissues. Second, this technique may be complicated by an increased frequency of peritonitis when compared to intermittent peritoneal dialysis. We undertook a prospective study of patients undergoing CAPD to determine if there were decreases in peritoneal clearances and if the peritoneal microcirculation maintained its responsiveness to nitroprusside. Peritoneal transport, as assessed by the clearances of urea, creatinine, inulin, and dialysate protein concentration, with and without nitroprusside addition to the dialysis solution, is unchanged in patients undergoing CAPD for up to 1 year, despite frequent episodes of peritonitis. Surveillance de l'evolution des clearances peritoneales chez les malades en dialyse peritoneale continue ambulatoire. La dialyse peritoneale continue ambulatoire (CAPD) peut avoir pour consequence des modifications du peritoine. En premier lieu, CAPD expose le peritoine, de facon continue, aux solutions de dialyse. Ces solutions different du liquide extracellulaire normal qui baigne cette sereuse. En second lieu cette technique a pour complication des peritonites dont la frequence est plus grande qu'au cours de la dialyse peritoneale intermittente. Nous avons entrepris une etude prospective chez des malades soumis a CAPD afin de savoir s'il apparait une diminution des clearances peritoneales et si la microcirculation peritoneale conserve sa capacite de repondre au nitroprusside. Le transport peritoneal, evalue par les clearances de l'uree, de la creatinine, de l'inuline et par la concentration de proteines dans le dialysat, avec et sans nitroprusside dans la solution de dialyse, n'est pas modifie chez les malades soumis a CAPD pendant des durees allant jusqu'a un an, malgre des episodes de peritonite frequents.
TEMPORAL TRENDS IN INCIDENCE OF VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIAS AND ASSOCIATION OF VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIAS WITH OUTCOMES IN ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Ventricular arrhythmias are relatively common in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, there are limited data on contemporary trends in the incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) in STEMI and association of VT and VF with outcomes in patients with
Efficient model selection for kernel logistic regression

Kernel logistic regression models, like their linear counterparts, can be trained using the efficient iteratively reweighted least-squares (IRWLS) algorithm. This approach suggests an approximate leave-one-out cross-validation estimator based on an existing method for exact leave-one-out cross-validation of least-squares models. Results compiled over seven benchmark datasets are presented for kernel logistic regression with model selection procedures based on both conventional k-fold and approximate leave-one-out cross-validation criteria, demonstrating the proposed approach to be viable.
Pediatric cochlear implantation.

Purpose of review To summarize the current state of cochlear implantation in children. Recent findings Hearing loss profoundly impacts a child's ability to communicate and thereby affects educational and psychosocial development. The auditory cortex has sensitive periods during which it is maximally receptive to sound stimulus and consequent development. For this reason, there is impetus to implant children at a very young age, as a cochlear implant can provide auditory input during this critical window. Long-term follow-up of implanted children has shown that cochlear implants are able to provide substantial language, academic, and social benefit. The criteria for cochlear implantation have broadened, and promising outcomes are being seen in populations that were not previously considered for implantation. The best language acquisition outcomes are seen in recipients who were implanted at a younger age and are in an environment rich in oral communication. Bilateral implantation offers some acoustic advantages. Summary Cochlear implants provide sound perception to deaf children and can mitigate, to varying extents, the effects of sound deprivation on auditory development. On the basis of our understanding of brain development and language outcomes, a wider population of children are now candidates for implantation than previously considered.
Chromosomal radiosensitivity at intrachromosomal telomeric sites.

Telomeric DNA is composed of highly conserved sequences which are present at the termini of chromosomes as well as at intrachromosomal locations. Here, we studied a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line, BL-10, with highly stable amplified telomeric DNA at the termini as well as at intrachromosomal locations. We show that intrachromosomal or interstitial telomeric sites in this cell line and in another CHO cell line, HA-1, are radiosensitive in that they are more prone to breakage than would be expected based on the percentage of the genome composed of telomeric sequences. The frequency of breakage at interstitial telomeric sites is 4.3 to 8.3 times higher than that in the CHO genome overall. These conclusions are reached by both conventional cytogenetic analysis of two CHO cell lines which have the same survival rates after exposure to ionizing radiation, and by use of double fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a pan-telomere-specific probe and a CHO chromosome-specific library in the same metaphase cells after irradiation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The central role of metal coordination in selenium antioxidant activity.

Oxidative DNA damage occurs in vivo by hydroxyl radical generated in metal-mediated Fenton-type reactions. Cell death and mutation caused by this DNA damage are implicated in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and aging. Treating these conditions with antioxidants, including highly potent selenium antioxidants, is of growing interest. Gel electrophoresis was used to directly quantify DNA damage inhibition by selenium compounds with copper and H2O2. Selenocystine inhibited all DNA damage at low micromolar concentrations, whereas selenomethionine showed similar inhibition at 40 times these concentrations, and 2-aminophenyl diselenide showed no effect. DNA damage inhibition by these selenium compounds does not correspond to their glutathione peroxidase activities, and UV−vis and gel electrophoresis results indicate that selenium−copper coordination is essential for DNA damage inhibition. Understanding this novel metal-coordination mechanism for selenium antioxidant activity will aid in th...
Simulating evolution by gene duplication of protein features that require multiple amino acid residues

Gene duplication is thought to be a major source of evolutionary innovation because it allows one copy of a gene to mutate and explore genetic space while the other copy continues to fulfill the original function. Models of the process often implicitly assume that a single mutation to the duplicated gene can confer a new selectable property. Yet some protein features, such as disulfide bonds or ligand binding sites, require the participation of two or more amino acid residues, which could require several mutations. Here we model the evolution of such protein features by what we consider to be the conceptually simplest route—point mutation in duplicated genes. We show that for very large population sizes N, where at steady state in the absence of selection the population would be expected to contain one or more duplicated alleles coding for the feature, the time to fixation in the population hovers near the inverse of the point mutation rate, and varies sluggishly with the λth root of 1/N, where λ is the number of nucleotide positions that must be mutated to produce the feature. At smaller population sizes, the time to fixation varies linearly with 1/N and exceeds the inverse of the point mutation rate. We conclude that, in general, to be fixed in 108 generations, the production of novel protein features that require the participation of two or more amino acid residues simply by multiple point mutations in duplicated genes would entail population sizes of no less than 109.
Predictive Value of Quantitative Plasma HIV RNA and CD4 + Lymphocyte Count in HIV-Infected Infants and Children

Context.—Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has unique viral pathogenetic features that preclude routine extrapolation from adult studies and require specific analysis.Objectives.—To evaluate the prognostic value of 2 key laboratory markers—plasma RNA and CD4+ lymphocyte count—for HIV disease progression in infants and children and to establish targeted values for optimal outcome.Design.—Data from a cohort of 566 infants and children who participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (ACTG 152) were analyzed. The trial was conducted between 1991 and 1995 and enrolled a heterogenous cohort of antiretroviral therapy–naive children (age, 3 months to 18 years); patients had a median follow-up of 32 months.Main Outcome Measures.—The trial clinical end points consisted of time to first HIV disease progression (growth failure, decline in neurologic or neurodevelopmental function, opportunistic infections) or death.Results.—Baseline plasma RNA levels were high (age group medians, 5×104 to >106 copies/mL), and both baseline RNA and CD4+ lymphocyte count were independently predictive of subsequent clinical course. Risk reduction for disease progression between 49% and 64% was observed for each log10 reduction in baseline RNA and was linear without suggestion of a threshold or age effect. Disease progression predictive power was enhanced by the combined use of plasma RNA and CD4+ cell count. Marker values of less than 10000 copies/mL for plasma RNA and greater than 500×106/L ( 6.5 years) for CD4+ cell count were associated with a 2-year disease progression rate of less than 5%.Conclusions.—Two key laboratory markers—plasma RNA and CD4+ lymphocyte count—are independent predictors of clinical course among HIV-infected infants and children. The linear, age-independent relationship between log10 plasma RNA and relative risk of disease progression strongly supports therapeutic efforts to achieve plasma virus levels as low as possible.
Age Differences in Dynamical Emotion-Cognition Linkages

The ability to maintain the separation between positive emotion and negative emotion in times of stress has been construed as a resilience mechanism. Emotional resiliency is particularly relevant in old age given concomitant declines in cognitive performance. In the present study, the authors examined the dynamical linkages among positive emotion, negative emotion, and cognition as individuals performed a complex cognitive task. Comparisons were made between younger (n = 63) and older (n = 52) age groups. Older adults manifested significant unidirectional coupling from negative emotion to cognitive performance; younger adults manifested significant unidirectional coupling from negative emotion to positive emotion and from cognitive performance to both positive and negative emotions. Implications for age differences in emotion regulatory strategies are discussed.