cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Propofol for procedural sedation in children in the emergency department

Abstract Study objective We determine the safety and efficacy of propofol sedation for painful procedures in the emergency department (ED). Methods A consecutive case series of propofol sedations for painful procedures in the ED of a tertiary care pediatric hospital from July 2000 to July 2002 was performed. A sedation protocol was followed. Propofol was administered in a bolus of 1 mg/kg, followed by additional doses of 0.5 mg/kg. Narcotics were administered 1 minute before propofol administration. Adverse events were documented, as were the sedation duration, recovery time from sedation, and total time in the ED. Results Three hundred ninety-three discrete sedation events with propofol were analyzed. Procedures consisted of the following: fracture reductions (94%), reduction of joint dislocations (4%), spica cast placement (2%), and ocular examination after an ocular burn (0.3%). The median propofol dose was 2.7 mg/kg. Ninety-two percent of patients had a transient (≤2 minutes) decrease in systolic blood pressure without clinical signs of poor perfusion. Nineteen (5%) patients had hypoxia, 11 (3%) patients required airway repositioning or jaw-thrust maneuvers, and 3 (0.8%) patients required bag-valve-mask ventilation. No patient required endotracheal intubation. Conclusion Propofol sedation is efficacious and can be used safely in the ED setting under the guidance of a protocol. Transient cardiopulmonary depression occurs, which requires vigilant monitoring by highly skilled practitioners. Propofol is well suited for short, painful procedures in the ED setting.
Promoter-Specific Shifts in Transcription Initiation Conferred by Yeast TFIIB Mutations Are Determined by the Sequence in the Immediate Vicinity of the Start Sites

The general transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) is required for transcription of class II genes by RNA polymerase II. Previous studies demonstrated that mutations in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SUA7 gene, which encodes TFIIB, can alter transcription initiation patterns in vivo. To further delineate the functional domain and residues of TFIIB involved in transcription start site utilization, a genetic selection was used to isolate S. cerevisiae TFIIB mutants exhibiting downstream shifts in transcription initiation in vivo. Both dominant and recessive mutations conferring downstream shifts were identified at multiple positions within a highly conserved homology block in the N-terminal region of the protein. The TFIIB mutations conferred downstream shifts in transcription initiation at the ADH1 and CYC1 promoters, whereas no significant shifts were observed at the HIS3 promoter. Analysis of a series of ADH1-HIS3 hybrid promoters and variant ADH1 and HIS3 promoters containing insertions, deletions, or site-directed base substitutions revealed that the feature that renders a promoter sensitive to TFIIB mutations is the sequence in the immediate vicinity of the normal start sites. We discuss these results in light of possible models for the mechanism of start site utilization by S. cerevisiae RNA polymerase II and the role played by TFIIB.
The family life cycle: Impressions

This paper is concerned with the kind of everyday family experiences that most of us have gone through. It is written in a style that is more poetry than science, but, like poetry, probably gets closer to the truth about the nature of family life than does more technical conceptual material. Too often professionals write in such abstract, theoretical terms about families that they end up sounding unlike any family you ever knew. In this paper, I tried to write about the natural, typical incidents that occur to people as they get married, have kids, grow old, and die. It is hoped that the reader will connect and identify with these evocations, get shocks of recognition, as well as, who knows, some private chuckles. Families are where you live, emotionally and physically. Our family experiences — the passions, hates, loves, mysteries, paradoxes, measureless sacrifices, joys, injustices, jealousies, storms, comforts, bonds, and patterns— are burned into the cauldrons of the mind. The family memories lived through intimate others persist through space and time, sometimes sharply, usually as vague wisps of unremembered pasts, shaping the meanings of our lives and those close to us. The family, not anatomy, is destiny.
Lipid oxidation in turkey meat as influenced by salt, metal cations and antioxidants

Turkey breast or thigh muscle was mixed with 2% pure salt, rock salt, or pure salt plus 50 ppm of one or a combination of copper, iron or magnesium. Efficacy of 2 antioxidants was tested. Lipid oxidation was monitored during refrigerated and frozen storage of raw and cooked turkey by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test. TBA results indicated that the most significant prooxidant effect was caused by salt plus Cu2+ and Fe2+ followed by salt plus Fe3+ or Cu2+ alone. Tenox 6 was an effective antioxidant in the presence of copper and iron ions. Thigh meat was more susceptible to oxidation than breast meat. Cooking had a significant prooxidant effect as measured by TBA.
SOCIAL PREFERENCE CHOICES IN LATE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL : WITHIN AND ACROSS GROUP NOMINATIONS

This study examined the social preference nominations (i.e., “liked most” and “liked least”) in relation to peer group and classroom social dynamics in a sample of 622 fifth graders from 11 schools in a southeastern state. Liked most and liked least nominations were given to a small concentration of students within classrooms. The top five nominees for liked most and liked least tended to be in peer groups and associated with at least one classmate who shared their position as a top nominee. The majority of liked most nominations in a classroom were made toward members inside the nominator's group, whereas the majority of liked least nominations were made toward peers outside one's group. Students in the same peer group were more likely to nominate the same peers as liked most than were students who did not affiliate together. In contrast, the concordance for liked least nominations was moderate at both the peer-group and classroom level. Implications for school-based social interventions are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Managing ecological thresholds in coupled environmental–human systems

Many ecosystems appear subject to regime shifts—abrupt changes from one state to another after crossing a threshold or tipping point. Thresholds and their associated stability landscapes are determined within a coupled socioeconomic–ecological system (SES) where human choices, including those of managers, are feedback responses. Prior work has made one of two assumptions about managers: that they face no institutional constraints, in which case the SES may be managed to be fairly robust to shocks and tipping points are of little importance, or that managers are rigidly constrained with no flexibility to adapt, in which case the inferred thresholds may poorly reflect actual managerial flexibility. We model a multidimensional SES to investigate how alternative institutions affect SES stability landscapes and alter tipping points. With institutionally dependent human feedbacks, the stability landscape depends on institutional arrangements. Strong institutions that account for feedback responses create the possibility for desirable states of the world and can cause undesirable states to cease to exist. Intermediate institutions interact with ecological relationships to determine the existence and nature of tipping points. Finally, weak institutions can eliminate tipping points so that only undesirable states of the world remain.
An ab initio investigation of relationships between the bond lengths rCO, rCO and rOH, and the force constants fCO2, fCO, CO, fCO, OH and fCO, OH for planar conformers of various carboxylic acids

Abstract The 4–31 G basis set is used with full geometry optimization to calculate rCO, rCO, rOH and rCX for planar conformers of various carboxylic acids, XC(OH)O, also the stretch—stretch force constant fCO2, the adjacent coupling constants fCO, CO and fCO, OH, and the cross coupling constant fCO, OH. Both rCO and rCO and rCO and rOH, show an inverse relationship, the one increasing as the other decreases, and vice versa. The compensation between the bonding is such that (rCO + rCO) and (rCO × rCO) are constant to within about 0.004 A for the conformers of each acid, and likewise for the sum and product of rCO and rOH. The mean values show a small but consistent increase along the series carbonic, glyoxylic, formic, iminoglyoxylic and carbonic acid. The sum and product of rCO and rCC for the conformers of the conjugated acids, XC(H)C(OH)O, are also nearly constant, and in each case almost identical to values for the corresponding conjugated aldehydes, XC(H)C(H)O, which suggests that in some way the carbon—oxygen and carbon—carbon bonding is governed by the same limit. fCO2 is found to obey the general form of Clark's equation, f = C/rn, whereas the coupling constants are far less affected by the structure of the rest of the molecule, indicating that in this respect the carboxylic acid group tends to behave as an entity in itself.
On the cost-chromatic number of graphs

Abstract We consider vertex colorings in which each color has an associated cost, incurred each time the color is assigned to a vertex. For a given set of costs, a minimum-cost coloring is a vertex coloring which makes the total cost of coloring the graph as small as possible. The cost-chromatic number of a graph with respect to a cost set is the minimum number of colors necessary to produce a minimum-cost coloring of the graph. We establish upper bounds on the cost-chromatic number, show that trees and planar blocks can have arbitrarily large cost-chromatic number, and show that cost-chromatic number is not monotonic with subgraph inclusion.
Unmet need for counseling services by children in New York City after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center: implications for pediatricians.

Objective. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of counseling services, contrasted with the need after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the types of counseling received, and the predictors of receipt of counseling services. Methods. A cross-sectional, random-digit-dial survey was conducted in New York City (NYC) of parents (N 434) of children who were 4 to 17 years of age 4 months after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Results. Overall, 10% of NYC children received some type of counseling after the September 11th attacks, ac- cording to parental report. Among these, 44% received counseling in schools, 36% received counseling from medical or professional providers, and 20% received counseling from other sources. However, only 27% of the children who had severe/very severe posttraumatic stress reactions (PTSR) after the attacks received counseling services. In a multivariate model, receipt of counseling before the September 11th attacks (odds ratio: 4.44) and having severe/very severe PTSR (odds ratio: 3.59) were the most important predictors of use of counseling ser- vices after the September 11th attacks. Minority status and having a parent who experienced the loss of a friend or a relative were also associated with receipt of services. Conclusions. There was substantial disparity be- tween apparent need (as indicated by severe/very severe PTSR) for and receipt of mental health services for chil- dren after the September 11th attacks. There is need for intensified efforts to identify, refer, and treat children in need, especially for children who are not already in a therapeutic relationship. An enhanced role for pediatri- cians is indicated. Pediatrics 2004;113:1367-1374; post- traumatic stress reactions, children, disaster, trauma.
Fabrication of Ag-sheathed Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O thick films by a novel a.c.-electric field assisted electrophoretic deposition method

Abstract Ag-sheathed Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O δ (BSCCO) tapes with improved microstructural and superconducting properties have been fabricated using a novel electrophoretic deposition technique which involves an application of an alternating current (a.c.) field parallel to the substrate surface in addition to a direct current (d.c.) field during the film deposition. Due to the presence of the additional a.c. field stronger than d.c. field, the angular vibration of BSCCO platy particles along the field direction decreases within the framework of the model of suspended particles. This results in the higher probability of orientation, and hence, deposition of particles with major faces parallel to the a.c. field causing an improvement in the c -axis texturing in green BSCCO films which is key to the fabrication of final BSCCO tapes with predominantly c -axis textured grains. The critical current density ( J c ) measured using maximum magnetization data indicates that J c 's of a.c. field assisted electrophoretically deposited BSCCO tapes (10 6 –10 5 A/cm 2 at 5 K) are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than that of electrophoretically deposited BSCCO tapes (8×10 4 –7×10 2 A/cm 2 at 5 K) without a.c. field.
Percutaneous intraaortic balloon pumping: four years from Tiblisi.

: Intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) has now evolved as the mechanical supportive treatment of choice for the management of refractory left ventricular power failure. A new single-chambered percutaneous intraaortic balloon (Datascope Corp., Paramus, NJ, U.S.A.) has been constructed around a central guidewire. The balloon can be wrapped around the guidewire, enabling its insertion into the femoral artery through a 12-F sheath, inserted by a modified Seldinger technique. A dual-lumen automatic wrapping version has recently been employed. Percutaneous IABP insertion has been performed in 149 patients (mean age 58 years). In our medical group of 75 patients, 59 underwent urgent open heart surgery and 53 (90%) survived. In patients who could not be separated from cardiopulmonary bypass, 23 of 61 (38%) survived. Vascular complications occurred in 10% of the patients. Percutaneous balloon insertion permits the rapid institution of IABP support and broadens the medical and surgical applications of IABP.
Brownian dynamics simulations of coagulation of dilute uniform and anisotropic particles under shear flow spanning low to high Peclet numbers.

Brownian dynamics simulations are performed to study the binding kinetics in the dilute-sphere limit by considering interactions of two spheres under shear flow across the entire range of Peclet numbers, spanning both perikinetic (diffusion-controlled) and orthokinetic (flow-controlled) coagulation regimes. The dilute regime is attained by carrying out two-sphere simulations in periodic boxes of different sizes and aspect ratios and extrapolating toward the infinite box limit. Effects of particle type (Janus and isotropic particles), shear rate, hydrodynamic interactions, and inter-particle potential are explored. We find that rectangular boxes with appropriate aspect ratios overcome a particle “shadow effect” that cannot be overcome with cubic boxes unless huge boxes are used. With rectangular boxes, we obtain converged binding kinetics for the whole Peclet number range, while cubic boxes of increasing size allow converged results only in the absence of flow. We consider the effect of binding both in a secondary minimum controlled by a combination of electrostatic repulsion and depletion attraction, as well as in a primary minimum governed by induced-dipole attraction. Results are computed using both realistic interaction potentials and by replacing the potential with a simple cutoff gap distance at which binding is deemed to occur. Results agree with several existing reports including Smoluchowski predictions in the zero- and infinite-shear-rate limits, and high-Pe perturbation results of Feke and Schowalter [J. Fluid Mech. 133, 17-35 (1983)] at Peclet numbers (Pe) above 100. Finally, we compute binding times for anisotropic Janus particles which have both repulsive and attractive faces, for a wide range of Pe number.
Structural comparison of MTA phosphorylase and MTA/AdoHcy nucleosidase explains substrate preferences and identifies regions exploitable for inhibitor design.

The development of new and effective antiprotozoal drugs has been a difficult challenge because of the close similarity of the metabolic pathways between microbial and mammalian systems. 5‘-Methylthioadenosine/S-adenosylhomocysteine (MTA/AdoHcy) nucleosidase is thought to be an ideal target for therapeutic drug design as the enzyme is present in many microbes but not in mammals. MTA/AdoHcy nucleosidase (MTAN) irreversibly depurinates MTA or AdoHcy to form adenine and the corresponding thioribose. The inhibition of MTAN leads to a buildup of toxic byproducts that affect various microbial pathways such as quorum sensing, biological methylation, polyamine biosynthesis, and methionine recycling. The design of nucleosidase-specific inhibitors is complicated by its structural similarity to the human MTA phosphorylase (MTAP). The crystal structures of human MTAP complexed with formycin A and 5‘-methylthiotubercidin have been solved to 2.0 and 2.1 A resolution, respectively. Comparisons of the MTAP and MTAN inhib...
A framework for in vivo quantification of regional brain folding in premature neonates.

Abstract This paper describes and compares novel approaches to in vivo 3D measurement of brain surface folding in clinically acquired neonatal MR image data, which allows regional folding evaluation. Most of the current measures of folding are not independent of the area of the surface they are derived from. Therefore, applying them to whole-brain surfaces or subregions of different sizes results in differences which may or may not reflect true differences in folding. We address this problem by proposing new measures to quantify gyrification and two approaches to normalize previously defined measures. The method was applied to twelve premature infants (age 28–37 weeks) from which cerebrospinal fluid/gray matter and gray matter/white matter interface surfaces were extracted. Experimental results show that previous folding measures are sensitive to the area of the surface of analysis and that the area-independent measures proposed here provide significant improvements. Such a system provides a tool that facilitates the study of structural development in the neonatal brain within specific functional subregions, which may be critical in identifying later neurological impairment.
Efficacy of an iodine backflush for preventing new intramammary infections.

Abstract Efficacy of an iodine backflush system for reducing new intramammary infection was tested in two 11-wk trials. Forty cows in each trial were paired by breed, age, stage of lactation, and intramammary infection status. Each pair was assigned randomly either to a group milked with clusters that were reverse flushed with water, 25ppm iodine, water and air or to a group milked with clusters receiving no backflush treatment between cows. Back-flushing clusters reduced infections caused by Corynebacterium bovis and coagulase-positive staphylococci in both trials. However, backflushing clusters produced no clear advantage for reducing new infections with coagulase-negative staphylococci, Gram-negative bacilli, or streptococci (species other than Streptococcus agalactiae ). No differences in somatic cell counts between experimental groups were observed. Teat cup liners and teat ends were swabbed after 120 and 1200 milkings/liner. Total microbial counts were significantly greater for liners that were not backflushed than from backflushed liners at each swabbing. However, no differences were significant between groups for mean teat end microbial counts in either trial.
Potassium rate and source effects on potato yield, quality, and disease interaction

Field experiments were conducted over eleven site-years where five K rates (0, 93, 187, 280, and 373 kg K ha−1) as KC1 or K2SO4 were band-applied at planting to potato (Solanum tuberosum L. ). Significant yield increases up to 332 kg K ha−1 were observed in five of eleven site-years when soil test K ranged from 75 to 110 mg kg1. The increase in tuber yield was associated with an increase of tuber size (170 to 370 g) and above in the US#1A category. Lack of yield response at the other site-years may be due to the high soil test K (125 to 180 mg kg−1). Statistically significant differences in total tuber yield were not evident between the two sources of K fertilizer studied; however, there was a tendency for a significant rate x source interaction (p > 0.15) in five site-years where K2SO4 increased tuber yield more than KC1 at rates up to 280 kg K ha−1. Above this rate, tuber yield decreased for K2SO4 but remained stable for KC1. Based on the tuber yield data and initial soil test K from the controls of each site-year, data from this study suggest that 104 mg K kg−1 is a critical pre-plant soil test level. A reduction in specific gravity with increasing applied K was evident in most of the site-years of this study, although decreases were generally not as marked when K2SO4 was used. A significant decrease in hollow heart with increasing rate of K fertilization was observed in four of eleven site-years; however, statistically significant yield responses to added K were found at only one of these sites. The incidence ofRhizoctonia solani was generally not affected by K rate; however, there was a tendency in some site-years for a higher disease incidence when KC1 was used instead of K2SO4 Potassium rate slightly decreased stem numbers per seed piece, averaging 3.7, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.3 across all experiments, for the 0, 93, 187, 280, and 373 kg K ha−1 rates, respectively.
Control of battery electric vehicle charging for commercial time of day demand rate payers

The impact of battery electric vehicle (BEVs) charging on a commercial time of day rate customer is examined. Using the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, a case study of the University of Louisville is used to illustrate the economic and peak demand impacts of uncontrolled BEV charging. A BEV charge control algorithm based on 15-minute-ahead peak kVA forecasting is presented, along with three forecast methods. The algorithms are validated via simulation with the MATLAB software package. Results show uncontrolled charging can cause an increase in the monthly electric bill of up to 22% due to demand charges alone, even at low BEV penetration rates of 10%.
Key issues in making and using satellite-based maps in ecology : A primer

The widespread availability of satellite imagery and image processing software has made it relatively easy for ecologists to use satellite imagery to address questions at the landscape and regional scales. However, as often happens with complex tools that are rendered easy to use by computer software, technology may be misused or used without an understanding of some of the limitations or caveats associated with a particular application. The results can be disappointment when maps are less accurate than expected or incorrect decisions when they are treated as truth. In this paper, we discuss several key issues which are critical to ensuring the effectiveness and value of remote sensing products, but which are also sometimes sources of confusion: (1) direct versus indirect models of land surface properties and processes, (2) differences between class-based and continuous mapping models, (3) scale, and (4) accuracy assessment. We illustrate our points with examples from the application of satellite imagery to forest management issues in the Pacific Northwest, USA. While our examples focus largely on Landsat image data, the issues we discuss have broad relevance across sensor data types, land cover properties, and geographic locations.
Gastrointestinal Manifestations of Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is clearly a multisystem disease, which the potential for prominent gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary involvement. While the routine patient with pancreatic insufficiency may be easily managed with pancreatic enzyme and nutritional therapy, a large number of individuals with cystic fibrosis will present the clinician with gastrointestinal problems requiring additional thoughtful evaluation and treatment. Familiarity with the common gastrointestinal manifestations of cystic fibrosis and emerging therapies is necessary to provide the comprehensive care these patients deserve.
A multi-proxy record of hydroclimate, vegetation, fire, and post-settlement impacts for a subalpine plateau, central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A

Apparent changes in vegetation distribution, fire, and other disturbance regimes throughout western North America have prompted investigations of the relative importance of human activities and climate change as potential causal mechanisms. Assessing the effects of Euro-American settlement is difficult because climate changes occur on multi-decadal to centennial time scales and require longer time perspectives than historic observations can provide. Here, we report vegetation and environmental changes over the past ~13,000 years as recorded in a sediment record from Bison Lake, a subalpine lake on a high plateau in northwestern Colorado. Results are based on multiple independent proxies, which include pollen, charcoal, and elemental geochemistry, and are compared with previously reported interpretations of hydroclimatic changes from oxygen isotope ratios. The pollen data indicate a slowly changing vegetation sequence from sagebrush steppe during the late glacial to coniferous forest through the late Holocene. The most dramatic vegetation changes of the Holocene occurred during the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’ (MCA) and ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) with rapid replacement of conifer forest by grassland followed by an equally rapid return to conifer forest. Late Holocene vegetation responses are mirrored by changes in fire, lake biological productivity, and watershed erosion. These combined records indicate that subsequent disturbance related to Euro-American settlement, although perhaps significant, had acted upon a landscape that was already responding to MCA-LIA hydroclimatic change. Results document both rapid and long-term subalpine grassland ecosystem dynamics driven by agents of change that can be anticipated in the future and simulated by ecosystem models.
CUTANS (CLAY FILMS) AND POTASSIUM AVAILABILITY TO PLANTS1

Summary The influences of iron-kaolinite cutans enveloping soil aggregates on the availability of K within these aggregates were studied. Synthetic iron-kaolinite clay coatings on illite aggregates were prepared. Macroscopic and microscopic observations of the synthetically prepared aggregates indicated the formation of almost continuous, partially orientated crystalline iron-kaolinite cutans around the perimeter. There were indications that the presence of the coating tended to stabilize the aggregates. Photomicrographs of wheat root-aggregate associations revealed intimate surface contact between the two with some penetration and disruption by the wheat roots, both in the coated and uncoated aggregates. Plant growth and potassium uptake were restricted in the presence of iron-kaolinite coatings on K-rich illite aggregates compared with plants grown on aggregates without coatings. Moreover, the presence of the coatings resulted in appreciable increases in Ca and Mg accumulation by the plants. Results of this investigation suggest that cutans may modify significantly ion availability and accumulation by plants growing in highly weathered, iron-rich soils.
Correction of frequency uncertainty in wide field of view interferometric angular velocity measurements

This paper presents a method for correcting the frequency uncertainty encountered in interferometric angular velocity measurements. This new technique of angular velocity measurement allows a wide field of view, where the frequency of the response is proportional to the angular velocity of the object. At wide angles, the measured frequency shift scales with the cosine of the angle, resulting in an uncertainty if the angular location of the object is not known. The correction method presented herein consists of estimating the angle of a signal using a wide-baseline interferometer with three closely spaced frequencies. With frequencies spaced over a fractional bandwidth of 3.5%, the residual uncertainty of the measured frequency shift is shown through simulation to be less than 0.1 Hz over a ±72° field of view with a 6 dB SNR.
Molecular Basis of Prodrug Activation by Human Valacyclovirase, an α-Amino Acid Ester Hydrolase

Chemical modification to improve biopharmaceutical properties, especially oral absorption and bioavailability, is a common strategy employed by pharmaceutical chemists. The approach often employs a simple structural modification and utilizes ubiquitous endogenous esterases as activation enzymes, although such enzymes are often unidentified. This report describes the crystal structure and specificity of a novel activating enzyme for valacyclovir and valganciclovir. Our structural insights show that human valacyclovirase has a unique binding mode and specificity for amino acid esters. Biochemical data demonstrate that the enzyme hydrolyzes esters of α-amino acids exclusively and displays a broad specificity spectrum for the aminoacyl moiety similar to tricorn-interacting aminopeptidase F1. Crystal structures of the enzyme, two mechanistic mutants, and a complex with a product analogue, when combined with biochemical analysis, reveal the key determinants for substrate recognition; that is, a flexible and mostly hydrophobic acyl pocket, a localized negative electrostatic potential, a large open leaving group-accommodating groove, and a pivotal acidic residue, Asp-123, after the nucleophile Ser-122. This is the first time that a residue immediately after the nucleophile has been found to have its side chain directed into the substrate binding pocket and play an essential role in substrate discrimination in serine hydrolases. These results as well as a phylogenetic analysis establish that the enzyme functions as a specific α-amino acid ester hydrolase. Valacyclovirase is a valuable target for amino acid ester prodrug-based oral drug delivery enhancement strategies.
Exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months, with iron supplementation, maintains adequate micronutrient status among term, low-birthweight, breast-fed infants in Honduras

There is little information on the risk of micronutrient deficiencies during the period of exclusive breast-feeding. We evaluated this among term, low-birthweight (LBW; 1500-2500 g) infants in Honduras. Mother-infant pairs were recruited in the hospital and assisted with exclusive breast-feeding during the first 4 mo. At 4 mo, infants were randomly assigned to either continue exclusive breast-feeding to 6 mo (EBF; n = 59) or be given iron-fortified complementary foods (rice, chicken, fruits, and vegetables) from 4 to 6 mo while continuing to breast-feed (SF, n = 60). Blood samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 mo and analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit, plasma ferritin, % transferrin saturation, vitamin A, vitamin B-12, folate, zinc, and erythrocyte folate. Infants with Hb < 100 g/L at 2 or 4 mo were given medicinal iron supplements for 2 mo; the proportion administered iron drops did not differ significantly between groups. There was no significant effect of complementary foods on indices of vitamin A, B-12, folate, or zinc status. Among infants not given medicinal iron at 4-6 mo, iron status was higher in the SF group than the EBF group. In those given medicinal iron at 4-6 mo, iron status was higher in the EBF group, suggesting that complementary foods interfered with iron utilization. About half of the infants were anemic by 2 mo, before the age when complementary foods would be recommended. This supports the recommendation that LBW infants should receive iron supplementation in early infancy. Given that infants given iron supplements did not benefit from complementary foods at 4-6 mo, we conclude that exclusive breast-feeding for 6 mo (with iron supplementation) can be recommended for term, LBW infants.
a Model for Planning and Location of On-Site Waste Disposal Systems

: A model that incorportaes performace data about data about several wastewater management systems is discussed. From these data the excepted behavior of an individual wastewater system or group of systems can be product of the performace probabilities of its individual components. The modeel can be used on a regional scale facilitating land use planning by allowing accurate estimates of performance for a prospective wastewater management system. At this scale it can allow the impact evaluation of new wastewater technology on land use in a region.
Enabling Unbalanced Fermentations by Using Engineered Electrode-Interfaced Bacteria

Cellular metabolism is a series of tightly linked oxidations and reductions that must be balanced. Recycling of intracellular electron carriers during fermentation often requires substrate conversion to undesired products, while respiration demands constant addition of electron acceptors. The use of electrode-based electron acceptors to balance biotransformations may overcome these constraints. To test this hypothesis, the metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis was engineered to stoichiometrically convert glycerol into ethanol, a biotransformation that will not occur unless two electrons are removed via an external reaction, such as electrode reduction. Multiple modules were combined into a single plasmid to alter S. oneidensis metabolism: a glycerol module, consisting of glpF, glpK, glpD, and tpiA from Escherichia coli, and an ethanol module containing pdc and adh from Zymomonas mobilis. A further increase in product yields was accomplished through knockout of pta, encoding phosphate acetyltransferase, shifting flux toward ethanol and away from acetate production. In this first-generation demonstration, conversion of glycerol to ethanol required the presence of an electrode to balance the reaction, and electrode-linked rates were on par with volumetric conversion rates observed in engineered E. coli. Linking microbial biocatalysis to current production can eliminate redox constraints by shifting other unbalanced reactions to yield pure products and serve as a new platform for next-generation bioproduction strategies.
DOING DESIRE Adolescent Girls' Struggles for/with Sexuality

Adolescence is a moment when sexuality, identity, and relationships are heightened; at adolescence women begin to be vulnerable to losing touch with their own thoughts and feelings. Reporting from a larger study of adolescent girls' experiences of sexual desire, the author focuses on how adolescent girls who have different sexual orientations describe their experiences of sexuality and their responses to their own sexual desire. Cultural contexts that render girls' sexuality problematic and dangerous divert them from the possibilities of empowerment through their sexual desire.
Landau level spectrum of Bloch electrons in a honeycomb lattice

The energy spectrum of a tight-binding honeycomb lattice in the presence of a uniform magnetic field is analysed. The graph of the spectrum over a wide range of rational reduced flux Φ/Φ 0 through elementary hexagonal cells is plotted. The energy spectrum is found to have recursive properties similar to those discussed previously on the square and triangular lattices. New features of the spectrum are also obtained. Specific properties (gaps, subbands, etc.) are shown to be a direct consequence of frustration and are compared with the spectrum of Bravais lattices. Our results are shown to be relevant for the recent measurements of the upper critical field of a superconducting honeycomb network. A comparison of the structure of the edge of the spectrum on square, triangular and honeycomb lattices is also outlined Analyse du spectre d'energie du modele des liaisons fortes, sur un reseau en nid d'abeilles, en presence d'un champ magnetique uniforme. Etude du graphe du spectre pour differents flux reduits rationnels a travers les cellules elementaires: ce spectre possede des proprietes recursives analogues a celles des reseaux carre et triangulaire. Attribution des proprietes specifiques (bandes interdites, sous-bandes, etc.) a une propriete de frustration; comparaison a celles de reseaux de Bravais
Significant post-transplant hypogammaglobulinemia in six heart transplant recipients: an emerging clinical phenomenon?

: Background: The recent development of powerful agents such as mycophenolate mofetil and tacrolimus has altered current regimens for the prevention and treatment of allograft rejection. Questions have been raised about these newer regimens in terms of susceptibility to opportunistic infections and effects on host defenses. Severe hypogammaglobulinemia has been infrequently described in solid organ transplant recipients, but has been recently noted in six heart transplant recipients at one center, of whom five were receiving a combination of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisone. Methods: Case summaries of six recent heart transplant recipients with total immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels of less than 310 mg/dl, five of whom had cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and three of whom had multiple infections including Nocardia, invasive Trichophyton, and Acinetobacter bacteremia. Previous literature was reviewed with the aid of a Medline search using the search terms hypogammaglobulinemia; kidney, liver, heart, lung, and organ transplantation; mycophenolate mofetil; tacrolimus; cyclosporine; azathioprine; and nocardiosis. Results: We here report six cardiac transplant recipients seen over a period of one year who were found to have immunoglobulin G levels of 310 mg/dl or below (normal: 717–1400 mg/dl). The first five patients were diagnosed because of evaluation for infections; the sixth, who was asymptomatic with an IgG level of 175, was found during screening for hypogammaglobulinemia instituted as a result of these first five patients. All six patients had received steroid pulses for rejection; all received mycophenolate mofetil; and 5/6 had been switched from cyclosporine to tacrolimus because of steroid-resistant rejection. Transient neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count less than 1000) was observed in 2/6; 3/6 had received OKT3 therapy for refractory rejection. These six patients were treated with a combination of antimicrobials, immunoglobulin replacement, and decrease in immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusions: The finding of unexpected hypogammaglobulinemia and concomitant infectious complications in six heart transplant recipients highlights a possible complication in a subset of patients receiving newer immunosuppressive agents. A larger prospective study is underway to determine risk factors for development of post-transplant hypogammaglobulinemia and to assess pre-transplant immune status of these recipients. Monitoring of immunoglobulin levels in high-risk patients receiving intensified immunosuppressive therapy for rejection may help to prevent infectious complications.
Thermoelectric properties of Yb-filled and Sn-compensated skutterudites

The effect of alloying tin on the antimony site of ytterbium-filled skutterudites is examined. We performed measurements of Hall effect, electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity on the series Yb/sub 0.5/Co/sub 4/Sb/sub 12-x/Sn/sub x/, with x=0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 0.83. We find that the substitution of tin does not alter the position of the Fermi level with respect to the conduction band of these heavily doped semiconducting samples, but rather it gives rise to a p-type band. Experimental data for x=0.83 can be understood in the context of a two-carrier electrical conduction. Thermal conductivity of these ytterbium-filled skutterudites is significantly suppressed with respect to the unfilled cobalt tri-antimonide.
Multidisciplinary education and research using computational intelligence

The paper presents computational intelligence (CI) as a tool for multidisciplinary education and research. The importance of CI is emphasized in understanding complex systems and designing proactive adaptive systems in uncertain, unknown, and dynamic environments. Main paradigms of CI are presented. Several novel applications of hybrid CI techniques proposed earlier by the author in engineering, manufacturing, biomedical and health care systems are discussed. The experiences of offering CI as a graduate course and a summer research project involving high school students are also presented. The importance of introducing CI techniques and their multidisciplinary applications as a senior level interdisciplinary engineering elective course and integrating these in research experiences for undergraduates and STEM education is discussed.
Dreaming and Episodic Memory: A Functional Dissociation?

The activity that takes place in memory systems during sleep is likely to be related to the role of sleep in memory consolidation and learning, as well as to the generation of dream hallucinations. This study addressed the often-stated hypothesis that replay of whole episodic memories contributes to the multimodal hallucinations of sleep. Over a period of 14 days, 29 subjects kept a log of daytime activities, events, and concerns, wrote down any recalled dreams, and scored the dreams for incorporation of any waking experiences. While 65p of a total of 299 sleep mentation reports were judged to reflect aspects of recent waking life experiences, the episodic replay of waking events was found in no more than 1 – 2p of the dream reports. This finding has implications for understanding the unique memory processing that takes place during the night and is consistent with evidence that sleep has no role in episodic memory consolidation.
Thermal death kinetics of fifth-instar Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

Heat treatments have been suggested as alternatives to chemical fumigants for control of postharvest insects in dried fruits and nuts. Conventional forced hot air treatments heat product too slowly to be practical, but radio frequency treatments are capable of more rapid product heating. While developing radio frequency heat treatments for dried fruits and nuts, the heat tolerance of nondiapausing and diapausing fifth-instar larvae of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hubner), was determined using a heating block system developed by Washington State University. Both a 0.5th order kinetic model and a classical empirical model were used to estimate lethal exposure times for temperatures of 44–52°C for nondiapausing fifth-instar larvae. We obtained 95% mortality at exposures suitable for practical radio frequency treatments (≤5 min) with temperatures of 50 and 52°C. Diapausing larvae were significantly more tolerant than nondiapausing larvae at the lowest treatment temperature and shortest exposure, but differences were not significant at more extreme temperature-time combinations. Previous studies showed that fifth-instar larvae of the navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Walker), were more heat tolerant than either diapausing or nondiapausing Indianmeal moth larvae. Consequently, efficacious treatments for navel orangeworm would also control Indianmeal moth.
Searching for the elusive neural substrates of body part terms: A neuropsychological study

Previous neuropsychological studies suggest that, compared to other categories of concrete entities, lexical and conceptual aspects of body part knowledge are frequently spared in brain-damaged patients. To further investigate this issue, we administered a battery of 12 tests assessing lexical and conceptual aspects of body part knowledge to 104 brain-damaged patients with lesions distributed throughout the telencephalon. There were two main outcomes. First, impaired oral naming of body parts, attributable to a disturbance of the mapping between lexical-semantic and lexical-phonological structures, was most reliably and specifically associated with lesions in the left frontal opercular and anterior/inferior parietal opercular cortices and in the white matter underlying these regions (8 patients). Also, 1 patient with body part anomia had a left occipital lesion that included the "extrastriate body area" (EBA). Second, knowledge of the meanings of body part terms was remarkably resistant to impairment, regardless of lesion site; in fact, we did not uncover a single patient who exhibited significantly impaired understanding of the meanings of these terms. In the 9 patients with body part anomia, oral naming of concrete entities was evaluated, and this revealed that 4 patients had disproportionately worse naming of body parts relative to other types of concrete entities. Taken together, these findings extend previous neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging studies of body part knowledge and add to our growing understanding of the nuances of how different linguistic and conceptual categories are operated by left frontal and parietal structures.
BILL-CLAPPERING DISPLAY IN THE COMMON HERON ARDEA CINEREA

SUMMARY Bill-clappering is shown to be a normal feature of the early phases of the breeding cycle in the Common Heron Ardea cinerea and the circumstances of its occurrence are described. Possible origins of this behaviour and its probable function are suggested. An attempt is made to show the development of Ciconiiform display from the integration of more simple patterns. The significance of bill-clappering in the Common Heron appears to lie in the fact that it suggests an ancestral type of behaviour from which the complex display of the White Stork has evolved.
Phenytoin and Cognitive Decline

To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by Naidech et al1 on the association of phenytoin exposure and cognitive disability after subarachnoid hemorrhage. The authors speculate on a number of reasons for this association, to which we would like to add the possibility of a pharmacokinetic interaction compromising the protective effects of nimodipine. Phenytoin induces the hepatic microsomal enzyme system (cytochrome p-450 isozymes). Induction of the CYP isozyme system may …
Introduction—Political Scientists in McConnell v. FEC

The Supreme Court's sweeping decision in December, 2003, in McConnell v. FEC was as unexpected as it was dramatic. For months the conventional wisdom had been that the Court was certain to overturn one and possibly both of the main parts of the McCain-Feingold law, or otherwise substantially narrow the statue. Instead, the justices, by a slim 5-4 majority, did just the opposite; not only upholding the law but doing so in terms that virtually echoed the defendants' arguments. Proponents were stunned and thrilled. Opponents were appalled; Justice Scalia called it the “opening act of a national tragedy.” Both sides agreed, however, that the decision in McConnell stands as one of the most important campaign finance and First Amendment precedents in several decades.
Cyclic GMP-Activated Conductance of Retinal Photoreceptor Cells

This review examines the ionic conductance that generates the electrical response to light in rods and cones of the vertebrate retina. In visual physiology this conductance is commonly referred to as the light-regulated or light-sensitive conductance. The designation cGMP-activated con­ ductance is perhaps preferable because it is now known to be controlled by guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (abbreviated here as cGMP); light modulates the conductance solely by changing the intracellular con­ centration of cGMP. We shall use the different terms for the conductance interchangeably. A review on this channel seems timely in view of the speed of recent progress in understanding its nature and function. The conductance is interesting for several reasons. First, it has physio­ logical properties that are beautifully suited for its role in visual trans­ duction. Second, it is the first ionic channel found whose gating is directly controlled by a cyclic nucleotide. Third, there are indications that the conductance may belong to a new family of ion channels involved in signal