cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of Action of a Distal NF-κB-Dependent Enhancer

The monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 gene (MCP-1) is regulated by TNF through an NF-kappaB-dependent distal enhancer and an Sp1-dependent promoter-proximal regulatory region. In the silent state, only the distal regulatory region is accessible to transcription factors. Upon activation by tumor necrosis factor, NF-kappaB binds to the distal regulatory region and recruits CBP and p300. CBP and p300 recruitment led to specific histone modifications that ultimately enabled the binding of Sp1 to the proximal regulatory region. During this process, a direct interaction between the distal and proximal regulatory regions occurred. Sp1, NF-kappaB, CBP, and p300 were required for this interaction. CBP/p300-mediated histone modifications enhanced the binding of the coactivator CARM1 to the distal regulatory region. CARM1, which is necessary for MCP-1 expression, was not required for distal-proximal region interactions, suggesting that it plays a later downstream activation event. The results describe a model in which the separation of the distal enhancer from the promoter-proximal region allows for two independent chromatin states to exist, preventing inappropriate gene activation at the promoter while at the same time allowing rapid induction through the distal regulatory region.
Downsizing: The cure that can kill

In a tough economy, many U.S. businesses turn to downsizing as a quick cost-cutting strategy. The author argues that the price isn't worth it, and that operational effectiveness, not efficiency, is the key to survival. The author discusses the systemic effects of downsizing and the impact on longer-term productivity. He cites alternatives to downsizing taken by Nugget Market, Dorner Mfg. Corp., and Lincoln Electric and then explores the case of an organization that rejected layoffs and instead utilized all its employees' expertise to design and implement improvements that produced increased productivity, revenue growth, and higher profitability. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vibrational Circular Dichroism of Protein Films

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra in the 1800-1400 cm(-)(1) region have been measured for the first time for protein films prepared from aqueous buffer solutions. These measurements demonstrate several advantages of significant importance. First, the interference from infrared absorption of water in the amide I region, which is a serious limitation for measurements in water solutions, is eliminated. Second, the amounts of protein samples required for VCD measurements on films are approximately 2 orders of magnitude smaller than those required for the same in water solutions. In addition, the amide I absorption and VCD bands of protein films are found to be independent of film orientation. Furthermore, characteristic VCD patterns have been observed for protein films whose secondary structure is dominated by alpha-helix, beta-sheet, and alpha + beta combinations. These results demonstrate that VCD can be used to study the structure of proteins in the film state.
Beta-L-(-)-dioxolane Cytidine (β-L-(-)-OddC) as a Potent Compound for the Treatment of Cancer

Abstract L-(-)-OddC is the first nucleoside analog with the unnatural L-configuration and the first chain-terminator shown to have anti-cancer activity. This compound was found to be highly active against solid tumor growth in several human xenograft models. L-(-)-OddC exerts its activity be terminating DNA chain elongation after its incorporation.
Effect of Nesiritide Infusion Duration on Renal Function in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure Patients

Background:Nesiritide, a synthetic B-type natriuretic peptide, is used for the treatment of patients with acutely decompensated heart failure. Although nesiritide has been reported to worsen renal function, as reflected by significant elevations in serum creatinine (SCr), the impact of infusion duration on renal function has not been evaluated.Objective:To investigate the effect of nesiritide infusion duration (<24 h vs ≥24 h) on worsening renal function in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure.Methods:Medical records of hospitalized patients receiving nesiritide were retrospectively reviewed, and 84 consecutive charts of patients with acute decompensated heart failure and available renal function tests were identified for the study. SCr and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were documented at baseline and during infusion. Worsening renal function was defined as an increase in SCr of 0.5 mg/dL or more or BUN 10 mg/dL or more from baseline.Results:Univariate analysis showed a significant association be...
What's going on? Age, distraction, and multitasking during online survey taking

Participants in an online survey revealed what other activities they engaged in while taking it.Younger people were more likely than older people to multitask.The relationship between age, multitasking, and sense of distraction was curvilinear.Most multitasking increased feelings of distraction.Some activities decreased feelings of distraction when combined with survey-taking. Nearly 6000 adults from 7 countries participated in an online survey about what other activities they engaged in while taking the survey and how distracted they felt. Younger people were more likely than older ones to engage in electronic and non-electronic multitasking. Engaging in a wider range of tasks was associated with feeling more distracted. However, once the variety of tasks was taken into account, interruptions associated with checking or talking on one's phone made participants feel less distracted. The relationship between age, multitasking, and feeling distraction was curvilinear, with middle-aged respondents being more affected by multitasking than either younger or older survey takers. The findings suggest that people of all ages are often deliberate multitaskers who choose their distractions intentionally, at least some of the time. This bodes well for researchers seeking to administer online surveys, because it suggests that survey takers will set themselves up with the type and amount of distractions they are comfortable with. The finding that a high degree of electronic multitasking may decrease the perception of distraction should be followed by experiments verifying if this perception corresponds to actual task performance.
Selenium-based MAD phasing: setting the sites on larger structures.

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of grant GM-46733 from the National Institutes of Health. Research at CHESS is supported by grant DMR-9311772 from the National Science Foundation and the Mac-CHESS research resource is funded by grant RR-01646 from the National Institutes of Health.
“Looking Back, What Period of Your Life Brought You the Most Satisfaction”

Common myths hold that old persons are fixated on childhood memories, that they believe that youth is the best part of life, and that old age contains few satisfactions. Berkeley Older Generation Study members, when asked on two occasions during old age (M ages = 69.8 and 82.7) to name the periods of their lives that brought them the most and the least satisfaction, dispelled these myths. The thirties and forties were popular choices for periods of great satisfaction, but childhood and adolescence were quite unpopular for these old persons. "Right now" was named more often than any other life period as most satisfactory. Men and women did not differ in life periods nominated, but they did differ in the reasons given for their choices. Each period provided its own pattern of satisfactions and disappointments, and strong individual differences were apparent.
The effect of physician advice on alcohol consumption: count regression with an endogenous treatment effect

Although there are encouraging trends, alcohol abuse continues to be a significant public health problem. Econometric studies of alcohol demand have yielded a great deal of information for alcohol abuse prevention policy. These studies suggest that higher alcohol taxes and stricter drunk-driving policies can reduce heavy drinking and drunk driving. In this paper we explore the role physician advice plays in the campaign to prevent alcohol-related problems. Compared to alcohol taxation, physician advice is a more precisely targeted intervention that does not impose extra costs on responsible drinkers. Compared to the resource costs of arresting, processing, and punishing drunk drivers, physician advice may be a lower-cost intervention. To provide a basis for alcohol policy analysis, we use an alcohol demand framework to test whether physician-provided information about the adverse consequences of alcohol abuse shifts demand to more moderate levels. There are three aspects of our alcohol demand model that complicate the estimation: (1) the dependent variable is non-negative (it is a count variable—number of drinks consumed); (2) a non-trivial number of sample observations have zero values for the dependent variable; and (3) because the data we use is non-experimental, the treatment variable indicating receipt of advice from a physician may be endogenous. We implement an estimation method that is specifically designed to deal with these three complicating factors. Our results show that advice has a substantial and significant impact on alcohol consumption by males with hypertension, and that failing to account for the endogeneity of advice masks this result. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Male and female agoraphobia: are they different?

Abstract No significant differences in symptomatology and personality dimensions (introversion, extra version, assertiveness, internal-external locus of control) were observed between 52 female and 10 male agoraphobic patients. However, the male patients responded comparatively less well to exposure treatment than did a matched subsample of the females.
MYOCARDIAL CONTRACTILE RESPONSES TO FORSKOLIN AND MILRINONE DURING POSTNATAL MATURATION

We determined the contractile responses to newer cardiotonic drugs in isometrically contracting right ventricular papillary muscles isolated from newborn (NB; 24-18 hrs), immature (IM; 14-18 days), and adult (AD; 6-10 months) rabbits. Cumulative dose-response relationships were obtained in each age group to forskolin, an agent that directly stimulates adenylate cyclase activity independent of adrenergic receptors, and to milrinone, a relatively selective inhibitor of high-affinity CAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity. Both drugs increased developed tension and shortened time to peak tension and relaxation time. Tabulated below are results for the maximal rate of tension development (DT/dt) at low and high concentrations of forskolin and milrinone. The dramatic inotropic response to forskolin in NB myocardium suggests that at birth: 1) myocardial adenylate cyclase activity is well developed, and 2) the PDE system is inadequate to hydrolyze excessive cAMP. The latter conclusion is further supported by the lack of response to milrinone in NB muscles. These findings may have important implications in the design of cardiotonic drugs for use in the immature heart.
Bifunctional intercalators. Relationship of antitumor activity of diacridines to the cell membrane.

The in vivo antitumor effectiveness [as measured by the percentage increase in life-span (ILS%)] of 28 diacridine bis-intercalators of nucleic acids shows a highly significant correlation with their effect on phenomena associated with plasma membrane as well as a high degree of structural specificity. In contrast, the ILS% does not correlate with the uptake of these diacridines by cells, nor with the inhibition of RNA synthesis or of DNA synthesis or with the inhibition of growth of cells in culture. The possibility that the antitumor effectiveness of actinomycin D, another DNA intercalator, is associated with sites of action other than the hibition of RNA synthesis is discussed.
Efficient recABC-dependent, homologous recombination between coliphage lambda and plasmids requires a phage ninR region gene

A phage lambda gene that gives a 100-fold increase in recombinant frequencies for RecABC pathway-mediated, phage-plasmid homologous recombination (Shen and Huang 1986) maps to ninG (orf-204) of lambda. We call this gene rap, for recombination adept with plasmid. A similar determinant exists in Charon 4A and maps in ϕ80-derived sequences, between nin5 and the Rz homology with lambda. The absence of the Rap+ phenotype from certain lambda vectors explains the inefficiency of screening the resulting phage libraries using phage-plasmid homologous recombination. The mapping of rap permits the construction of lambda vectors more suitable for this screening technique.
Orientation of optic axis in wedged photorefractive crystals

Abstract A holographic method for finding the orientation of the optic axis of uniaxial photorefractive crystals is proposed. A theoretical procedure for determining the wedge angle of such crystals has also been developed. Two BaTiO 3 crystals grown by the same vender are examined and the resulting measurements lead to the values of wedge angle with an accuracy of about ±0.1°.
A Bayesian framework for intent-to-treat analysis with missing data

SUMMARY In longitudinal clinical trials, one analysis of interest is an intention-to-treat analysis, which groups subjects according to the randomized treatment regardless of whether they stayed on that treatment or not. When in addition to going off the randomized treatment subjects may also drop out of the study and be lost to follow-up, it is unclear what an intention-to-treat analysis should be. If measurements are made after treatment drop-out on a random sample of subjects who drop the treatment, then Hogan and Laird (1996, Biometrics 52, 1002-1017) present a random effects model, well suited to this type of analysis, which fits a two-piece linear spline to the data with the knot at the time the assigned treatment is dropped. This article presents a Bayesian approach to fitting a similar two-piece linear spline model and shows how the model can be applied to data that have no off-treatment observations.
Trending Tech Services: Exploring Shared Print Collections: A Study of Data Sources

In this article the author explores two databases that report collective holdings of shared print and shared digital collections to better understand the nature of the data available, the tools required to access and analyze this data, and the collection management questions that can be asked through data analysis. The author concludes with suggested next steps for tool development and data analysis.
Tropical Influences on California Precipitation

Abstract Atmospheric circulation anomalies and hydrologic processes associated with California wet and dry events were examined during Northern Hemisphere winter. The precipitation anomaly over the west coast of North America shows a north–south three-cell pattern. Heavy precipitation in California is accompanied by dry conditions over Washington, British Columbia, and along the southeastern coast of Alaska and reduced precipitation over the subtropical eastern Pacific. The inverse relationship between California and the Pacific Northwest is supported by the transport of moisture flux. During wet events, the southern branch of moisture flux transport strengthens and brings moisture from the North Pacific to California, hence enhanced rainfall. Strengthened moisture flux transport northward to the area north of Washington is consistent with suppressed rainfall in California. The local precipitation anomaly pattern in the eastern tropical Pacific just north of the equator has a large influence on precipitat...
Adverse neuropsychiatric reactions to cimetidine

Abstract The authors review the adverse neuropsychiatric reactions that have been reported in patients taking cimetidine, a widely prescribed inhibitor of gastric acid secretion. Delirium was the most widely reported effect, occurring in 25 of the 35 cases described in the literature. Other mental changes included depression, anxiety-depressive syndromes, and obtundationcoma. The published case reports are summarized in tabular form.
The spatial structure of a solar flare in soft X-rays and centimetric wavelengths

High-resolution images of the decay phase of a soft X-ray flare observed by the S-054 experiment on Skylab are compared with interferometric scans of the radio burst obtained simultaneously at 2.8 cm. The spatial resolution of the radio instrument in one direction, although lower than the X-ray telescope resolution, is high enough for a detailed comparison. The comparison clarifies the relationship between the sources of soft X-ray and thermal radio emission in solar flares. The X-ray emission is localized in a looplike structure which appears spatially coincident with the rapidly varying component of the radio burst. The more stable components of the radio source, which do not appear to contribute substantially to X-ray emission, are found to be spatially associated with the extremes of the X-ray loop. A model of plasma-filled loops is suggested which accounts for the emissions in both spectral ranges and for their spatial location and temporal development.
Quasilocal formulation of non-Abelian finite-element gauge theory.

Recently it was shown how to formulate the finite-element equations of motion of a non-Abelian gauge theory, by gauging the free lattice difference equations, and simultaneously determining the form of the gauge transformations. In particular, the gauge-covariant field strength was explicitly constructed, locally, in terms of a path ordered product of exponentials (link operators). On the other hand, the Dirac and Yang-Mills equations were nonlocal, involving sums over the entire prior lattice. Earlier, Matsuyama had proposed a local Dirac equation constructed from just the above-mentioned link operators. Here, we show how his scheme, which is closely related to our earlier one, can be implemented for a non-Abelian gauge theory. Although both Dirac and Yang-Mills equations are now local, the field strength is not. The technique is illustrated with a direct calculation of the current anomalies in two and four space-time dimensions. Unfortunately, unlike the original finite-element proposal, this scheme is in general nonunitary.
4567 Evaluation of “equivocal” ct scan/mri of pancreas: another “emerging” indication for endoscopic ultrasound.

INTRODUCTION: CT scan or MRI of the pancreas are reported equivocal when no definite mass is seen on imaging. Fullness of the pancreas or enlargement of the pancreas are terms utilized to explain the abnormality. This may occur because of partial volume averaging effect, inability to delineate the C-loop from the head of the pancreas, an isodense tumor, or because of technical reasons. When this occurs, a repeat scan is suggested in a short period of time (e.g. three months). In as much so, quickly resolving the presence or absence of a mass in the pancreas is vital not only to the patient's peace of mind, but also an early intervention could lead to a favorable outcome. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate by EUS, all CT scans or MRI of the pancreas which were judged as equivocal or inconclusive by the radiologist. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients were included in this study. These patients had either a CT scan or an MRI of the pancreas, which were equivocal. The indications for the study included abdominal pain, weight loss or jaundice. All CT scans and MRI which were unequivocally negative were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Twentyone of twenty-nine patients had pathology by EUS examination. Twelve patients had chronic pancreatitis, six patients had carcinoma of the pancreas, one patient had a fatty tumor infiltration (confirmed by FNA), one patient had a dilated common bile duct, and another patient had a prominent ventral/dorsal pancreas. There were eight normal studies. CONCLUSION: 1. EUS should be utilized immediately in evaluation of pancreas when CT/MRI findings are equivocal. 2. A positive exam may modify the course of the disease with an early intervention as opposed to expectant observation and repeating the original study. 3. Occult malignancy and chronic pancreatitis are the most common pathologies found by endoscopic ultrasound in this group of patients.
Thymosin Beta 4 Is Dispensable for Murine Cardiac Development and Function

Rationale:Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a 43–amino acid factor encoded by an X-linked gene. Recent studies have suggested that Tβ4 is a key factor in cardiac development, growth, disease, epicardial integrity, and blood vessel formation. Cardiac-specific short hairpin (sh)RNA knockdown of tβ4 has been reported to result in embryonic lethality at E14.5–16.5, with severe cardiac and angiogenic defects. However, this shRNA tβ4-knockdown model did not completely abrogate Tβ4 expression. To completely ablate Tβ4 and to rule out the possibility of off-target effects associated with shRNA gene silencing, further studies of global or cardiac-specific knockouts are critical. Objective:We examined the role of Tβ4 in developing and adult heart through global and cardiac specific tβ4-knockout mouse models. Methods and Results:Global tβ4-knockout mice were born at mendelian ratios and exhibited normal heart and blood vessel formation. Furthermore, in adult global tβ4-knockout mice, cardiac function, capillary density, expr...
A proposed new model for training pediatric residents in the psychosocial aspects of pediatrics

Abstract A new training program aimed at preparing pediatric residents to understand and deal more effectively with the emotional problems they are likely to encounter in their practice is presented. Unlike typical programs which offer only a brief, and often fragmentary, view of psychological approaches, the training model described here involves a relatively long‐term, in depth and coordinated training experience. Built around focal clinical problems, residents are trained in small groups in which didactic materials are introduced as dictated by the clinical context. A description of the program, and the preliminary results of a program evaluation study are presented.
Conformal Invariance and Surface Critical Behavior

Abstract Conformal invariance constrains the form of correlation functions near a free surface. In two dimensions, for a wide class of models, it completely determines the correlation functions at the critical point, and yields the exact values of the surface critical exponents. They are related to the bulk exponents in a non-trivial way. For the Q -state Potts model (0 ⩽ Q ⩽ 4) we find η = 2 (3v − 1) , and for the O( N ) model (−2 ⩽ N ⩽ 2), η = (2v − 1) (4v − 1) .
Hospital volume as a surrogate for laparoscopically assisted colectomy.

Although laparoscopic colectomy is reported to have favorable outcomes compared with open colectomy, it has yet to gain widespread acceptance in the United States. This study sought to investigate whether hospital volume is a factor determining the use of laparoscopy for colectomy. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS, 1998–2006), patients undergoing elective colon resection with and without laparoscopy were identified. Unique hospital identifiers were used to divide hospital volume into equal thirds, with the highest third defined as high volume and the lower two-thirds defined as low volume. The primary end point was the use of laparoscopy after adjustment for patient and hospital covariates. A total of 209,769 colon resections were performed in the study period. Overall, only 8,407 (4%) of these resections were performed with laparoscopy. High-volume centers, which tended to be large, urban teaching hospitals, treated more patients in the highest income bracket and patients with private insurance than low-volume hospitals (p < 0.0001). High-volume hospitals used laparoscopy more often than low-volume hospitals (5.2% vs. 3.4%). After adjustment for covariates using multivariate analysis and propensity scores, analysis showed that patients with private insurance and those in the highest income bracket were more likely to receive laparoscopy (p < 0.0009). High-volume hospitals were more likely to perform laparoscopically assisted colectomy than low-volume hospitals (odds ratio [OR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–1.56). Socioeconomic differences appear to exist between high- and low-volume hospitals in the use of laparoscopy. High hospital volume is associated with an increased likelihood that colectomy will be performed with laparoscopy.
Diminished Cooperativity: Comparing Linker Lengths in Synaptotagmin I C2A Domain

Exocytosis of neurotransmitters is triggered by the initial influx of Ca2+. Synaptotagmin I is known to bind Ca2+ and the phospholipid membrane to modulate this process. The exact mechanism for this information transduction, however, is not well known. Synaptotagmin I contains two binding domains, C2A and C2B, that are tethered to a neurotransmitter containing, lipid vesicle with a flexible linker region. The wild type C2A domain acts as a Ca2+ dependent trigger by binding the calcium ions in a cooperative manner. We seek to understand the role that the linker region has on the binding properties of the protein. To do this, a shortened construct (amino acids 141-267 verses amino acids 97-265 of the previously studied long construct) has been utilized as a probe to examine the effects of the truncated linker region. Ca2+ and phospholipid binding assays have been carried out and monitored via steady state fluorescence to make a thermodynamic comparison between the two constructs. Binding partition functions have been derived for this purpose and clearly show the diminished linkage relationship between the binding sites of the shortened construct.This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under CAREER-MCB 0747339
An examination of a substructure-invariant model for the creep of metal matrix composites

Abstract The creep behavior of metal matrix composites may be analyzed using two different approaches: (i) by assuming flow is controlled by creep of the matrix material so that the true stress exponent, n, is ∼3 or ∼5, or (ii) by invoking a substructure-invariant model requiring that n=8. A detailed analysis of published creep data for aluminum-based composites suggests that the substructure-invariant model is untenable because it leads consistently to activation energies for creep which are higher than the value anticipated for lattice self-diffusion in aluminum.
Correcting for incomplete saturation and off-resonance effects in multiple-site saturation-transfer kinetic measurements.

Abstract The effects of incomplete saturation and off-resonance irradiation on nuclear magnetic resonance saturation-transfer measurements of three-site chemical-exchange rates are discussed. A new method that uses double-saturation measurements is compared with two published methods, one that uses single-saturation measurements and one that uses a single-saturation measurement and a double-saturation measurement. Several formulas are compared for measuring the exchange rate constant kDE for exchange from a detected spin D to an exchanging spin E in the presence of exchange from spin D to a competing spin C. For each method, formulas are derived with corrections for incomplete saturation or off-resonance effects, with both corrections, and with neither correction. Exact formulas are available for three exchanging sites with incomplete saturation if there are no off-resonance effects. Off-resonance corrections are imperfect even with complete saturation.
The effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the healing of artificially produced tongue wounds in rats

Abstract The observations from this preliminary work on the influence of early streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the process of wound healing would appear to lend weight to the already existing body of evidence that a delay in the wound-healing process is one of the characteristics of the diabetic state.
The Relation Between Heart Rate and Electromyographic Activity in a Discriminated Escape-Avoidance Paradigm

Experiment I attempted to train both increases and decreases in heart rate using a discriminated escape-avoidance paradigm. Noncontingent control Ss were yoked to both experimental groups. Subjects were given 64 training trials and 16 extinction trials. Experiment II employed essentially the same design except that the contingent response was a specific amount of muscular tension (either 40 to 60 microvolts, or 90 to 110 microvolts) from the chin area. Seven Ss were run in each group. Heart rate, chin electromyogram (EMG), and respiration were continuously monitored during each study. The results of Experiment I indicated that the response contingencies produced significant heart rate increases and decreases in the appropriate experimental groups. Neither yoked control group showed a significant heart rate change. No group exhibited any significant EMG activity. Respiration amplitude increased significantly only in the heart rate increase group. Both experimental groups in Experiment II learned to emit the correct EMG response. However, only the group in the 40 to 60 microvolt range showed a relationship between heart rate and EMG changes.
The biosynthesis of the thiazole phosphate moiety of thiamin: the sulfur transfer mediated by the sulfur carrier protein ThiS.

Abstract Thiamin-pyrophosphate is an essential cofactor in all living systems. The biosynthesis of both the thiazole and the pyrimidine moieties of this cofactor involves new biosynthetic chemistry. Thiazole-phosphate synthase (ThiG) catalyses the formation of the thiazole moiety of thiamin-pyrophosphate from 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP), dehydroglycine and the sulfur carrier protein (ThiS), modified on its carboxy terminus as a thiocarboxylate (ThiS-thiocarboxylate). Thiazole biosynthesis is initiated by the formation of a ThiG/DXP imine, which then tautomerizes to an amino-ketone. In this paper we study the sulfur transfer from ThiS-thiocarboxylate to this amino-ketone and trap a new thioenolate intermediate. Surprisingly, thiazole formation results in the replacement of the ThiS-thiocarboxylate sulfur with an oxygen from DXP and not from the buffer, as shown by electrospray ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS) using 18 O labeling of the 13 C-, 15 N-depleted protein. These observations further clarify the mechanism of the complex thiazole biosynthesis in bacteria.
Desflurane why this choice

In considering the future role of the volatile anesthetic desflurane (Suprane®) in modern anesthesia practice, it is important to first consider the factors that contribute to a successful anesthetic in this increasingly day surgery orientation. An optimal anesthetic for the new millennium would include the following characteristics. 1.It should have a rapid and smooth onset of action. Efficiency is a particularly important factor in the ambulatory setting [1] 2.There should be a rapid recovery of cognitive functioning without clinically-significant discomfort. Postoperative pain is a major limiting factor in determining when a patient can be discharged home after surgery. 3.The absence of adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting is extremely important as emetic symptoms affect not only recovery times but also the incidence of unanticipated hospital admissions after day-case surgery, and patient satisfaction with their overall anesthetic experience. The low solubility of desflurane contributes to rapid emergence after anesthesia. Compared with sevoflurane, recovery times to eye opening, response to verbal commands, and orientation to person, place, and time have been found to be significantly shorter with desflurane [2-4]. When compared with the rapid, short-acting intravenous anesthetic propofol for induction and maintenance of anesthesia, desflurane displayed more favorable early recovery characteristics and facilitated the fast-tracking process [4,5]. Although patients receiving desflurane are less sedated in the early postoperative period than those receiving propofol, times to ambulation and discharge were similar. Given its favorable early recovery profile, desflurane would appear to be a useful alternative to isoflurane, sevoflurane and propofol for maintenance of anesthesia in a busy practice environment where early discharge is one of the major goals (e.g., cardiovascular, neurosurgery, day-case surgery). In conclusion, desflurane is the maintenance anesthetic agent of choice in a fast-tracking practice environment .
A randomized pilot study of anger treatment for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

OBJECTIVE: Anger and aggression are serious problems for a significant proportion of veterans who have served in combat. While prior research has suggested that cognitive behavioral treatments may be effective for anger problems, there are few controlled studies of anger treatment in veterans and no studies of anger treatment focusing exclusively on veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This randomized pilot study compared an adapted cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) to a supportive intervention (SI) control condition for the treatment of anger problems in veterans returning from deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan. METHODS: 25 veterans with warzone trauma, problems with anger, and one or more additional hyperarousal symptoms were randomized and 23 started treatment (CBI, n = 12; SI, n = 11). Outcome measures were administered at pre- and post- treatment and at 3 months post-treatment. RESULTS: CBI was associated with significantly more improvement than SI on measures of anger and interpersonal functioning. Gains were maintained at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that CBI may be more effective than an active control providing psychoeducation, relaxation, and supportive therapy for treating anger problems in returning veterans. The findings need to be replicated in an adequately powered and more diverse sample. Language: en
Disparities in Kidney Transplant Outcomes: A Review

Sociocultural and socioeconomic disparities in graft survival, graft function, and patient survival in adult kidney transplant recipients are reviewed. Studies consistently document worse outcomes for black patients, patients with low income, and patients with less education, whereas better outcomes are reported in Hispanic and Asian kidney transplant recipients. However, the distinct roles of racial/ethnic versus socioeconomic factors remain unclear. Attention to potential pathways contributing to disparities has been limited to immunologic and nonimmunologic factors, for which the mechanisms have yet to be fully illuminated. Interventions to reduce disparities have focused on modifying immunosuppressant regimens. Modifying access to care and health care funding policies for immunosuppressive medication coverage also are discussed. The implementation of culturally sensitive approaches to the care of transplant candidates and recipients is promising. Future research is needed to examine the mechanisms contributing to disparities in graft survival and ultimately to intervene effectively.
Effects of cognitive set upon laboratory induced verbal (Freudian) slips.

Subjects participated in either of three treatments of a task which elicits verbal slips. With equal chance probabilities of eliciting verbal slips related either to electricity or to sex, subjects...
The status of the time warp operating system

The Time Warp Operating System (TWOS) is a special-purpose operating system designed to support parallel discrete event simulation. It has been under experimental development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for four years, and runs primarily on the JPL/Caltech Mark III Hypercube, although it has been ported to several other systems. Its main distinction is that it incorporates a full implementation of the Time Warp mechanism, which is based on the unusual synchronization primitives of process rollback and message-antimessage annihilation.In this paper we discuss the status of the TWOS project at JPL, and present preliminary data from some of the performance experiments we have conducted on a Pool Balls benchmark, along with our analysis of them.
An Investigation of the Learning styles and Study Habits of Chemistry Undergraduates in Barbados and their Effect as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Chemical Group Theory

This study was performed to investigate the learning styles, study habits and academic achievement of Chemistry students enrolled at the University of the West Indies (the UWI), Cave Hill Campus. The questionnaire used to assess these variables consisted of the Paragon Learning Style Inventory which measures the four learning style dimensions extrovert/introvert, sensate/intuitive, feeling/thinking and judging/perceiving along with the Study Habits Inventory which measures the study habits displayed by the students. There were 59 students who participated in the study. The reliability of inventories was determined using the Cronbach coefficient alpha. The data collected was analyzed by the t-test, ANOVA and linear regression at a confidence level of 0.05. It was concluded that among the students the introvert, sensate, thinking and judging learning styles were most prevalent. There was no statistical difference in the study habits of the students based on level or the learning styles based on level, and study habits or academic achievement based on study habits and learning styles. The contribution of the learning styles and study habits as predictors of a chemistry student’s academic achievement in group theory was not significant however, extrovert/introvert learning style dimension is the highest contributor. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n2p107
Hemolymph cells of the bivalve mollusc Mercenaria mercenaria: an electron microscopical study.

Abstract The hemolymph cells of Mercenaria mercenaria were studied with the transmission electron microscope. Three morphological types of cells, granulocytes, hyalinocytes, and fibrocytes, are distinguishable and their fine structural characteristics are described. However, as a result of analyzing the fine structural features of the so-called fibrocytes of M. mercenaria , i.e., the inclusion of large aggregates of glycogen granules in their cytoplasm and the occurrence of primary phagosomes enclosing partially degraded exogenous material and digestive lamellae, it is suggested that fibrocytes are actually granulocytes which are at the terminal phase of their physiologic cycle relative to the degradation of phagocytized nonself materials. The cytoplasmic granules of M. mercenaria granulocytes are structurally different from those of Crassostrea virginica in that they are delimited by a unit membrane, rather than by a complex wall, and include a homogenously electron-dense material. Lipidlike droplets are reported from both granulocytes and hyalinocytes of M. mercenaria for the first time.
Significant on-call misses by radiology residents interpreting computed tomographic studies: Perception versus cognition

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the etiology of significant false-negative computed tomographic (CT) interpretations by radiology residents on-call. Over a 1-year period, significant on-call false-negative CT interpretations were analyzed to determine whether errors were perceptual (i.e., the resident did not see the finding or findings) or cognitive (i.e., the resident did not recognize the implications or misinterpreted a finding or findings). Significant “misses” were defined as errors that delayed surgical treatment or misdirected management in a potentially life-threatening manner.
The impact of RNA-seq alignment pipeline on detection of differentially expressed genes

RNA-seq data analysis pipelines are generally composed of sequence alignment, expression quantification, expression normalization, and differentially expressed gene (DEG) detection. Each step has numerous specific tools or algorithms, so we cannot explore all combinatorial pipelines and provide a comprehensive comparison of pipeline performance. To understand the mechanism of RNA-seq data analysis pipelines and provide some useful information for pipeline selection, we believe it is necessary to analyze the interactions among pipeline components. In this paper, by combining different alignment algorithms with the same quantification, normalization, and DEG detection tools, we construct nine RNA-seq pipelines to analyze the impact of RNA-seq alignment on downstream applications of gene expression estimates. Specifically, we find moderate linear correlation between the number of DEGs detected and the percentage of reads aligned with zero mismatch.
Establishment of a new robotic prostatectomy program at a tertiary Veteran’s Affairs medical center

The objective of this study is to report the initial results of a newly established robotic prostatectomy (DVP) program at a Veteran's Affairs (VA) medical center. All patients who underwent a radical prostatectomy during the first 18 months of our robotic surgical program were included in this study. These patients were compared to a control group that included all patients who underwent an open prostatectomy 18 months prior to starting our robotic program. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data was compared between open and robotic prostatectomies. 38 men underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) between September 2007 and February 2009. With the introduction of robotic prostatectomy, the total number of prostatectomies increased by 84 % to 70 (9 RRP, 61 DVP). Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score and clinical stage were similar for both groups. Average estimated blood loss (EBL) was 1205 mL for RRP and 126 mL for DVP. Mean operative times in minutes were 259 and 254 for RRP and DVP, respectively. Complications included two rectal perforations, a cerebrovascular accident, one death after RRP and one open conversion for failure to progress. Average length of stay was 5.1 for RRP and 1.8 days for DVP. Total positive margins were 24 % for RRP and 15 % for DVP. For T2-specific disease, 16.7 % had positive margins after RRP compared to 4.3 % after DVP. The establishment of a robotic prostatectomy program at a tertiary VA medical center was achieved in a safe and efficient manner with improvement in EBL and length of stay when compared to our open prostatectomies. Oncologic outcomes were equivalent when compared to other initial DVP programs.
Pharmacy Technology Clubs: A Great Way to Enhance Your Students' Educational Experience

Background:Past experience of starting and continuing a pharmacy technology club has shown that the students who participated have been able to surpass the normal boundaries of technician training and accomplish many extra activities, including community service and awareness, which were done in addition to the competencies required in an ASHP-accredited program.Objective:To discuss the role that a pharmacy technology club can play in enhancing and improving students' experience in a technician training program.Methods:The information presented was collected from past experiences of a successful organization and include ways to start such a club, the benefits a club can provide, and the actual results from an existing club.Results:The Pharmacy Technology Club at Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia, GA, was established 2 years ago and has provided 3 classes of technicians with an enhanced training experience by providing additional viable skills for the field, job opportunities before graduation, and...
Nanotube synthesis: cloning carbon.

Most methods for making carbon nanotubes require further processing to separate tubes with different chirality. Now, seeding growth from an existing nanotube segment ties synthesis and selectivity into a single step.
Perceiving control over aversive and fearful events can alter how we experience those events: an investigation of time perception in spider-fearful individuals.

We used a time perception task to study the effects of the subjective experience of control on emotion and cognitive processing. This task is uniquely sensitive to the emotionality of the stimuli: high-arousing negative stimuli are perceived as lasting longer than high-arousing positive events, while the opposite pattern is observed for low-arousing stimuli. We evaluated the temporal distortions of emotionally-charged events in non-anxious (Experiments 1 and 5) and spider-fearful individuals (Experiments 2-4). Participants were shown images of varying durations between 400 and 1600 ms and were asked to report if the perceived duration of the image seemed closer to a short (400 ms) or to a long (1600 ms) standard duration. Our results replicate previous findings showing that the emotional content of the image modulated the perceived duration of that image. More importantly, we studied whether giving participants the illusion that they have some control over the emotional content of the images could eliminate this temporal distortion. Results confirmed this hypothesis, even though our participant population was composed of highly-reactive emotional individuals (spider fearful) facing fear-related images (spiders). Further, we also showed that under conditions of little-to-no control, spider-fearful individuals perceive temporal distortions in a distinct manner from non-anxious participants: the duration of events was entirely determined by the valence of the events, rather than by the typical valence x arousal interaction. That is, spider-fearful participants perceived negative events as lasting longer than positive events, regardless of their level of arousal. Finally, we also showed that under conditions of cognitive dissonance, control can eliminate temporal distortions of low arousal events, but not of high-arousing events, providing an important boundary condition to the otherwise positive effects of control on time estimation.
BIOLOGY OF FRUMENTA NUNDINELLA (LEPIDOPTERA: GELECHIIDAE) ON HORSENETTLE IN VIRGINIA

Frurtienta nundinella (Zeller), a moth attacking horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.) in southwest Virginia, has two generations per year. Overwintering adults oviposited on tips of emerging horsenettle shoots in late May. First generation larvae fed on terminal growth points in mid-June; each was enclosed in a characteristic tight hollow chamber formed from leaves. Pupation occurred in mid-June through July and adults emerged from late June to early August. Larvae of the second generation attacked fruits. A single larva was capable of destroying all the seeds within a berry. Second generation larvae pupated inside the berries, emerging as adults between late August and late September. Early stages of infestation of berries were not easily detected until the larvae had reached 4th instar when the infested berries had a characteristic appearance. Just before the full grown larvae pupated, they formed exit holes covered only by thin membrane in the berries. Although damage to the plants resulted from both modes of. feeding, the infestation rate was low as infested plants were frequently in small isolated patches. Life cycle of the moth from egg to adult was about 50 days per generation.