cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Seizures and Epilepsy Education (SEE) Program for families of children with epilepsy: A preliminary study

We investigated the usefulness of the Seizures and Epilepsy Education (SEE) program in improving quality of life, management of the seizure condition, and health care utilization in families having a child with epilepsy. Members of 15 families attended the program, with at least one parent from each family represented. Children attended if they were at least 12 years of age. Participants completed research instruments prior to attending the SEE program, and also 1 and 6 months after attendance. Both parents and children reported improvement in quality of life relating to child mental health after attending the SEE program. Parents reported reduced emotional impact of the child's condition, fewer worries, and greater knowledge related to epilepsy. Results suggest that attending the SEE program may be beneficial to families having a child with epilepsy; however, further study is needed with a more robust research design.
Pharmacological characterization of a UTP-sensitive P2Y nucleotide receptor in organ cultured coronary arteries

Our lab has previously demonstrated that organ cultured coronary smooth muscle cells express a nucleotide receptor that is dramatically more responsive to UTP than non-organ cultured cells. Thus, the purpose of this study was to pharmacologically characterize this UTP-sensitive nucleotide receptor. Porcine coronary arteries were organ cultured (serum-free media, 37 degrees C) for 4 days, and fura-2 imaging of single cells was used to measure myoplasmic Ca2+ (Cam) in response to several nucleotide agonists. A concentration-response relationship (0.01-100 microM) was generated to the nucleotide receptor agonists, UTP, UDP, ATP, ADP, and 2-MeSATP. The potency order was UTP >> UDP = ATP = ADP = 2-MeSATP, thus, this nucleotide receptor is predominantly UTP-sensitive. The Cam response to 10 microM UTP was attenuated approximately 50% by the nucleotide receptor antagonists (10 and 100 microM), suramin, reactive blue 2, and pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulphonoic acid (PPADS). Depletion of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ store with thapsigargin completely abolished the UTP-induced Cam response. In addition, the peak UTP-induced Cam increase was almost two-fold higher in a 2-mM Ca2+ solution than a 0-mM Ca2+ solution. This suggests that the UTP-induced Cam response is comprised of both Ca2+ influx and the mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Pertussis toxin reduced the UTP-induced Cam response 50%, thus, the UTP-induced increase in Cam is mediated, in part, via Gi/o. These data suggest this UTP-sensitive receptor belongs to the P2Y nucleotide receptor family; however, it does not possess pharmacological characteristics associated with any known P2Y receptor subtype.
Osteohistological Evidence for Determinate Growth in the American Alligator

Abstract An external fundamental system (EFS) is a form of bone microstructure present in the outermost cortex of long bones in animals that have attained skeletal maturity. It indicates an effective cessation of any significant periosteal growth (i.e., growth in circumference or girth). Although an EFS has been noted in several reptile taxa, the idea that reptiles grow continually throughout their lives remains popular. Examination of femoral bone microstructure from captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) reveals parallel-fibered tissue terminating periosteally in an EFS, thus confirming determinate growth in another reptile taxon. The results of this study have several important implications for both modern and fossil tetrapods: first, because many birds, nonavian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and basal pseudosuchians all produce an EFS, it can be concluded that determinate growth is a shared characteristic of Archosauria; second, because the captive alligators were not senescent, an EFS shou...
Localization and regulation of epidermal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase activity by barrier requirements

Recent studies have shown that epidermal cholesterol synthesis is regulated by HMG CoA reductase activity and that this activity is modulated by changes in the cutaneous permeability barrier. Here, we quantitated HMG CoA reductase activity after acute and chronic barrier disruption in the upper and lower layers of murine epidermis. In unperturbed epidermis, 13 and 87% of enzyme activity localized to the upper and lower epidermis, respectively, with the majority of activity in the stratum basale. Acute barrier disruption with either acetone or sodium dodecylsulfate provoked an increase in HMG CoA reductase activity (54% and 30%) in the lower layers, but only a small change in the upper layers. However, the activation state of the enzyme was increased 50% in the upper epidermis. Correction of barrier function by occlusion with an impermeable Latex wrap prevented the increase both in enzyme activity and activation state. After chronic barrier disruption; i.e., essential fatty acid deficient (EFAD) diet, HMG CoA reductase activity was increased in the upper epidermis (161%); a change prevented by occlusion. These results show: (1) that HMG CoA reductase activity is present in both the upper and lower cell layers; (2) that acute insults to barrier integrity stimulate enzyme activity in both the upper and lower epidermis; and (3) that chronic insults provoke an increase in enzyme activity in the upper layers. These studies provide further insights into the linkage of the permeability barrier with epidermal cholesterol metabolism.
Comments on “the measurement of factorial indeterminacy”

Guttman's index of indeterminacy (2ρ2 − 1) measures the potential amount of uncertainty in picking the right alternative interpretation for a factor. When alternative solutions for a factor are equally likely to be correct, then the squared multiple correlation ρ2 for predicting the factor from the observed variables is the average correlation ρ AB between independently selected alternative solutionsA andB, while var (ρ AB )=(1 − ρ2)2/s, wheres is the dimensionality of the space in which unpredicted components of alternative solutions are to be found. When alternative solutions for the factor are not equally likely to be chosen, ρ2 is the lower bound for E(ρ AB ); however, E(ρ AB ) need not be a modal value in the distribution of ρ AB . Guttman's index and E(ρ AB ) measure different aspects of the same indeterminacy problem.
Variation in nuclear DNA content of isonicotinic acid hydrazide-resistant cell lines and mutant plants of Nicotiana tabacum.

Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH)-resistant lines of Nicotiana tabacum have been maintained in callus culture for six years and mutant plants have been regenerated from a number of these lines. This study examines variations in DNA content in nuclei of several of these callus cultures, regenerated plants, and secondary callus from the regenerated plants. The lines selected for study include three easily regenerated lines (I 21, I 24, and I 9) and two lines of poor regenerating capacity (I 1 and I 18). Two of the regenerating lines eventually led to fertile plants and the third produced only sterile plants. In general, the range of total nuclear variability was not as high as anticipated from other studies of long-term tobacco callus cultures. The majority of nuclei in all the distributions were between 3 and 20 pg, and the most frequently encountered distributions concentrated in the 7–18 pg region corresponding to 2–5C by our estimate of the C value for tobacco. Distributions were not identical for plants regenerated from the same culture simultaneously, and the nuclear DNA content of secondary callus cultures from one of the plants examined did not reflect the quantitative DNA pattern of the plant from which it was derived. The greatest degree of variability and highest DNA content for individual nuclei were observed in the primary callus of the poorly- and non-regenerating lines. The variability in DNA content was not associated with the INH-resistant trait.
Biaxial failure behavior of bovine tibial trabecular bone

Multiaxial failure properties of trabecular bone are important for modeling of whole bone fracture and can provide insight into structure-function relationships. There is currently no consensus on the most appropriate form of multiaxial yield criterion for trabecular bone. Using experimentally validated, high-resolution, non-linear finite element models, biaxial plain strain boundary conditions were applied to seven bovine tibial specimens. The dependence of multiaxial yield properties on volume fraction was investigated to quantify the interspecimen heterogeneity in yield stresses and strains. Two specimens were further analyzed to determine the yield properties for a wide range of biaxial strain loading conditions. The locations and quantities of tissue level yielding were compared for on-axis, transverse, and biaxial apparent level yielding to elucidate the micromechanical failure mechanisms. As reported for uniaxial loading of trabecular bone, the yield strains in multiaxial loading did not depend on volume fraction, whereas the yield stresses did. Micromechanical analysis indicated that the failure mechanisms in the on-axis and transverse loading directions were mostly independent. Consistent with this, the biaxial yield properties were best described by independent curves for on-axis and transverse loading. These findings establish that the multiaxial failure of trabecular bone is predominantly governed by the strain along the loading direction, requiring separate analytical expressions for each orthotropic axis to capture the apparent level yield behavior.
A review of the challenges of achieving the goals in the African Plan of Action for people with disabilities in Nigeria

The Plan of Action (POA) document was produced at the Pan-African Conference on African Decade of Persons with Disabilities attended by representatives of all African countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (4–7 February 2002). The POA is aimed at implementing priority activities to enhance the services provided to Africans with disabilities during the decade by formulating and implementing meaningful policies and programmes, creating national disability service coordination committees, supporting community-based service delivery, developing poverty alleviation programmes, enhancing preventive programmes, and promoting positive attitudes and awareness of the needs of people with disabilities. While the goals of the POA are noble, evidence raises concerns about the actions so far taken by the Nigerian Government to ensure the implementation of the programme for the benefit of citizens with disabilities. Obstacles to implementing the provisions of the POA document and the implications for strategies that could f...
Ovarian conservation in adnexal torsion-a report of six cases

Adnexal torsion is an uncommon but important cause of emergency admission to the gynaecologist. Treatment of adnexal torsion has traditionally involved surgical excision of the affected structure, usually via laparotomy. A more conservative surgical approach of untwisting the torsion has been widely reported in paediatric cases. Despite reports of the successful treatment of torsion with this approach in the adult population, many UK surgeons remain reluctant to attempt ovarian conserving surgery, particularly via the laparoscopic route.We report six cases of conservative surgery for adnexal torsion. After initial success via laparotomy, the subsequent five cases were managed laparoscopically. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this management approach.
Biomechanics and Physiology of Gait Selection in Flying Birds

Abstract Two wing‐beat gaits, distinguished by the presence or absence of lift production during the upstroke, are currently used to describe avian flight. Vortex‐visualization studies indicate that lift is produced only during the downstroke in the vortex‐ring gait and that lift is produced continuously in the continuous‐vortex gait. Tip‐reversal and feathered upstrokes represent different forms of vortex‐ring gait distinguished by wing kinematics. Useful aerodynamic forces may be produced during tip‐reversal upstroke in slow flight and during a feathered upstroke in fast flight, but it is probable that downstroke forces are much greater in magnitude. Uncertainty about the function of these types of upstroke may be resolved when more data are available on wake structure in different flight speeds and modes. Inferring from wing kinematics and available data on wake structure, birds with long wings or wings of high aspect ratio use a vortex‐ring gait with tip‐reversal upstroke at slow speeds, a vortex‐ring...
Explicit expression of polarization vector for surface waves, slip waves, Stoneley waves and interfacial slip waves in anisotropic elastic materials

Abstract We present explicit expression of the polarization vector for surface waves and slip waves in an anisotropic elastic half-space, and Stoneley waves and interfacial slip waves in two dissimilar anisotropic elastic half-spaces. An unexpected result is that, in the case of interfacial slip waves, the polarization vector for the material in the half-space x 2 ≥ 0 does not depend explicitly on the material property in the half-space x 2 ≤ 0 . It depends on the material property in the half-space x 2 ≤ 0 implicitly through the interfacial slip wave speed υ . The same is true for the polarization vector for the material in the half-space x 2 ≤ 0 .
Plastic and adaptive responses of plant respiration to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration

The concentration of atmospheric CO 2 has increased from below 200 μl l -1 during last glacial maximum in the late Pleistocene to near 280 μl l -1 at the beginning of the Holocene and has continuously increased since the onset of the industrial revolution. Most responses of plants to increasing atmospheric CO 2 levels result in increases in photosynthesis, water use efficiency and biomass. Less known is the role that respiration may play during adaptive responses of plants to changes in atmospheric CO 2 . Although plant respiration does not increase proportionally with CO 2 -enhanced photosynthesis or growth rates, a reduction in respiratory costs in plants grown at subambient CO 2 can aid in maintaining a positive plant C-balance (i.e. enhancing the photosynthesis-to-respiration ratio). The understanding of plant respiration is further complicated by the presence of the alternative pathway that consumes photosynthate without producing chemical energy [adenosine triphosphate (ATP)] as effectively as respiration through the normal cytochrome pathway. Here, we present the respiratory responses of Arabidopsis thaliana plants selected at Pleistocene (200 μl l -1 ), current Holocene (370μl l -1 ), and elevated (700 μl l -1 ) concentrations of CO 2 and grown at current CO 2 levels. We found that respiration rates were lower in Pleistocene-adapted plants when compared with Holocene ones, and that a substantial reduction in respiration was because of reduced activity of the alternative pathway. In a survey of the literature, we found that changes in respiration across plant growth forms and CO 2 levels can be explained in part by differences in the respiratory energy demand for maintenance of biomass. This trend was substantiated in the Arabidopsis experiment in which Pleistocene-adapted plants exhibited decreases in respiration without concurrent reductions in tissue N content. Interestingly, N-based respiration rates of plants adapted to elevated CO 2 also decreased. As a result, ATP yields per unit of N increased in Pleistocene-adapted plants compared with current CO 2 adapted ones. Our results suggest that mitochondrial energy coupling and alternative pathway-mediated responses of respiration to changes in atmospheric CO 2 may enhance survival of plants at low CO 2 levels to help overcome a low carbon balance. Therefore, increases in the basal activity of the alternative pathway are not necessarily associated to metabolic plant stress in all cases.
Test Generation Using Model Checking and Specification Mutation

Although building quality into software is paramount, professionals find that testing is necessary to assure that the system will operate as desired. Developing tests can take significant resources. In 1998, NIST showed how tests can be automatically generated from models using model checkers and specification mutation. This was an early result in what is now a broad area known as "model-based testing." NIST also modified the same technology to measure the coverage of test suites independent of implementation details. This article is part of a special issue on NIST contributions to IT.
An architecture to support information availability in the tactical domain

Access to information is critical to both the commander in an AOC and the warfighter in the field. Typically information is readily available at centralized command posts, however, at the tactical edge, resources are far more limited, making information dissemination a challenge. Targeting pods, already found mounted to the hardpoints of many tactical aircraft, provide a cost effective platform for making information available to tactical users. To this end, the Network-Centric Exploitation and Tracking (N-CET) program is designing, developing, and implementing a proof of concept architecture for pods that is net-centric, reconfigurable, and allows processing at the sensor. The approach taken to achieve these attributes is to embed processing and communications on the pod, and employ net-centric exploitation and fusion algorithms to distil information from high fidelity sensor data. Information Management services provide the interface between the sensors, processing, and network, disseminating information between algorithms, and prioritizing it as it goes out over the network. This paper provides an overview of the N-CET architecture and the sensors and net-centric algorithms integrated to evaluate the performance of the architecture through ground based experimentation.
Alterations in rat spinal cord cGMP by peripheral nerve injury and adrenal medullary transplantation

Adrenal medullary chromaffin cells implanted into the spinal subarachnoid space can reduce abnormal pain-related responses in chronic pain models. Persistent pain is thought to involve the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and subsequent production of nitric oxide (NO) and cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP). Changes in dorsal horn levels of cGMP in the rat were determined in conjunction with alterations in pain behaviors following peripheral nerve injury and adrenal medullary transplantation. Results indicated increased spinal cGMP levels in parallel with thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia and tactile allodynia consequent to chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve in rats. Adrenal medullary, but not control transplants, attenuated the hyperalgesia and allodynia and decreased spinal cGMP content. These results suggest that adrenal medullary transplants may reduce abnormal pain by intervention in the spinal NMDA-NO cascade.
Kinematic Design and Analysis of a 6-DOF Upper Limb Exoskeleton Model for a Brain-Machine Interface Study

Abstract The integration of the brain-machine interface (BMI) and the exoskeleton technique has the potential to promote the understanding of fundamental principles in neural control of movement, as well as to motivate a new generation of rehabilitation or power augmentation exoskeleton systems. In this paper, the kinematic design and development of a 6-DOF upper limb exoskeleton for a BMI study is presented. In order to achieve a singularity-free design of the shoulder complex, a 4-DOF shoulder complex model is proposed using one redundant DOF in contrast to the commonly used orthogonal triad model. The feasibility of both singularity and joint limit avoidance control is investigated based on the reachability analysis.
Rare presentation of sebaceous hyperplasia

A 23-year-old woman presented with an 8-month history of asymptomatic thickening of the central areola bilaterally and oily nipple discharge. On examination, there were yellowish-pink papules coalescing into plaques bilaterally. Biopsy showed ectopic sebaceous glands (Montgomery tubercles), known as bilateral areolar sebaceous hyperplasia.
Liquid chromatography of phenols on an 8-quinolinol silica gel—iron(III) stationary phase

Abstract Iron(lll)-loaded 8-quinolinol silica gel (QSG) is shown to be an effective stationary phase for the high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of phenols, including EPA Priority Pollutant species. The QSG itself exhibits significant reversed-phase and hydrogen-bonding interactions with sample compounds, but the presence of the iron(III) on the QSG substantially increases both retention and resolution. Very good column stability is observed, with no bleeding of chelated metal ion. Therefore, the presence of iron(III) in the mobile phase is not necessary. Preferred column conditions are a water—acetonitrile mobile phase buffered at pH 4 with acetic acid—sodium acetate. A study of retention volumes as a function of pH suggests that acetate species competitively interact with stationary phase sites.
Conservative Volume-of-Fluid method for free-surface simulations on Cartesian-grids

This paper contributes to the state of the art in Cartesian-grid methods through development of new advection and reconstruction Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) algorithms which are applicable to two and three-dimensional flows. A computationally efficient and second-order VOF reconstruction method is presented which uses no inversions to determine the interface normal direction. Next, the lack of conservation of fluid volume in previous VOF advection methods are shown to be due to improper treatment of one-dimensional stretching in the velocity field. This paper uses simple explicit time stepping and a cell-center estimate of the volume fraction in the dilatation term to achieve a completely conservative advection method. The new methods are simple, robust and shown to out perform existing approaches for canonical test problems relevant to breaking wave flows.
Urinary 8-EPI PGF2α: an index of oxidant stress in vivo*

Summary Isoeicosanoids are free radical catalyzed products of arachidonic acid. To explore their biology and potential utility as indices of oxidant stress, we have focused upon one isomer, 8-epi PGF 2α . Excretion of this compound is increased in syndromes putatively associated with oxidant stress, including poisoning with paraquat and paracetemol, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, diabetic ketosis, ARDS, and syndromes of vascular reperfusion. 8-Epi may also be formed by COX-1 in platelets and by COX-2 in monocytes, although these pathways are minor contributors to overall biosynthesis. Monocytes also retain the capacity to form 8-epi as an isoprostane when stimulated with zymosan in the presence of LDL. Identification of 8-epi in human plaque and elevated excretion in hypercholesterolemia suggest its utility in exploring the role of oxidant stress in atherosclerosis. 8-Epi may also amplify the affects of platelet agonists in the local microenvironment in syndromes where platelet activation and oxidant injury coincide.
Patterns, Oscillations, and Microtornadoes: Extreme Events in Vapor-to-particle Reaction Zones

Abstract We report on a new set of topochemically organized, nanoparticulate experimental systems in which vapor diffuses and convects to form spatially defined reaction zones. In these zones, a complex sequence of catalyzed proton-transfer, nucleation, growth, aggregation, hydration, charging processes, and turbulence produce rings, tubes, spirals, pulsing crystals, oscillating fronts and patterns such as Liesegang rings. We call these beautiful 3-dimensional structures “microtornadoes”, “microstalagtites”, and “microhurricanes”, We synthesize a proposed mechanism for the chemical reactions and propose ways in which mathematical modeling of the patterns can inform studies of the nature of these extreme events.
Recent Developments on the Global Behavior to Critical Nonlinear Dispersive Equations

We will discuss some recent developments in the area of non-linear dispersive and wave equations, concentrating on the long time behavior of solutions to critical problems. The issues that arise are global well-posedness, scattering and finite time blow-up. In this direction we will discuss a method to study such problems (which we call the “concentration compactness/rigidity theorem” method) developed by the author and Frank Merle. The ideas used here are natural extensions of the ones used earlier, by many authors, to study critical non-linear elliptic problems, for instance in the context of the Yamabe problem and in the study of harmonic maps. They also build on earlier works on energy critical defocusing problems. Elements of this program have also proved fundamental in the determination of “universal profiles” at the blow-up time. This has been carried out in recent works of Duyckaerts, the author and Merle. The method will be illustrated with concrete examples, from works of several authors.
AC conductance of transmembrane protein channels. The number of ionized residue mobile counterions at infinite dilution.

Simultaneous measurements of the AC and DC conductances of α-hemolysin (αHL) ion channels and outer membrane protein F (OmpF) porins in dilute ionic solutions is described. AC conductance measureme...
Manufacturing of oxide VCSEL at Hewlett Packard

We have developed a commercially manufacturable oxide VCSEL process. Good uniformity control in epitaxial thickness and oxide aperture is found to be important in achieving high yield. The manufactured VCSELs have superior performance with operating voltage less than 2 V. Preliminary results show that oxide VCSEL reliability is similar to that of proton-implanted VCSELs.
Polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of the human insulin gene and its possible relation to type 2 diabetes

The arrangement of the human insulin gene in DNA from 87 individuals was analyzed by the Southern blot hybridization technique with a cloned genomic human insulin probe. Insertions of 1.5 to 3.4 kilobase pairs in the 5'-flanking region of the gene were found in DNA from 38 individuals. These insertions occurred within 1.3 kilobase pairs of the transcription initiation site. In contrast, no insertions were observed in the region 3' to the coding sequence. The prevalence of these insertions in type 2 diabetes was significantly greater than in the other groups (P less than .001). The limitation of this striking length polymorphism to a potential promoter region suggests that these insertions may play a role in insulin gene expression.
Cutting Edge: GPR35/CXCR8 is the Receptor of the Mucosal Chemokine CXCL17

Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that direct the traffic of leukocytes and other cells in the body. Chemokines bind to G protein-coupled receptors expressed on target cells to initiate signaling cascades and induce chemotaxis. Although the cognate receptors of most chemokines have been identified, the receptor for the mucosal chemokine CXCL17 is undefined. In this article, we show that GPR35 is the receptor of CXCL17. GPR35 is expressed in mucosal tissues, in CXCL17-responsive monocytes, and in the THP-1 monocytoid cell line. Transfection of GPR35 into Ba/F3 cells rendered them responsive to CXCL17, as measured by calcium-mobilization assays. Furthermore, GPR35 expression is downregulated in the lungs of Cxcl17(-/-) mice, which exhibit defects in macrophage recruitment to the lungs. We conclude that GPR35 is a novel chemokine receptor and suggest that it should be named CXCR8.
Six-reflection meV-monochromator for synchrotron radiation

An in-line monochromatization scheme suitable for 10–40 keV synchrotron radiation is presented based on the use of six crystal reflections that achieves meV and sub-meV bandwidths with high efficiency. The theoretical spectral efficiency surpasses all previous multicrystal designs and approaches that of single room-temperature back-reflecting crystals. This article presents the designs of two such devices along with their theoretical and measured performances.
Trigeminal trophic syndrome

Trigeminal trophic syndrome (TTS) is a rare cause of facial ulceration, which is believed to develop after insult to the trigeminal ganglia or other parts of the peripheral/central nervous system in the trigeminal pathway. The pathogenesis of TTS is poorly understood. Developing a better understanding of TTS will allow early recognition and improved treatment. Although the ulcers develop predominantly on the ala nasi, the literature on ulcer locations is limited. In this article, we review the epidemiologic aspects of TTS, expand on our knowledge of the anatomic location of the ulcers, and discuss current theories for its aetiology and briefly review the approaches to its management.
A Model of Religious Investment to Explain the Success of "Megachurches"

Despite their non-traditional approach, megachurches have grown significantly in the United States since 1980. This paper constructs a model of religious investment to examine how “seeker”-oriented megachurches succeed in attracting and retaining new members. The model illustrates that megachurches have been able to encourage additional religious investment through group-based activities. Hence, these activities may be viewed as a subsidy for religious investment. As a result, individuals associated with megachurches increase their religious investment relative to individuals associated with non-megachurches. Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence that megachurches employ groups to help subsidize individuals’ religious investment, and that the resulting religious capital rises among members of megachurches relative to members of non-megachurches.
A Scheme for Categorizing Traumatic Military Events

A common assumption among clinicians and researchers is that war trauma primarily involves fear-based reactions to life-threatening situations. However, the authors believe that there are multiple types of trauma in the military context, each with unique perievent and postevent response patterns. To test this hypothesis, they reviewed structured clinical interviews of 122 active duty service members and assigned the reported index (principal, most currently distressing) events to one or more of the following categories: Life Threat to Self, Life Threat to Others, Aftermath of Violence, Traumatic Loss, Moral Injury by Self, and Moral Injury by Others. They found high interrater reliability for the coding scheme and support for the construct validity of the categorizations. In addition, they discovered that certain categories were related to psychiatric symptoms (e.g., reexperiencing of the traumatic event, guilt, anger) and negative thoughts about the world. Their study provides tentative support for use o...
Rapid method for improving slide quality in the bone marrow micronucleus assay; an adapted cellulose column procedure.

Micronuclei are routinely scored in anucleate erythrocytes in bone marrow smears stained with acridine orange. Intense fluorescence from the many nucleated cells in the preparations can interfere with micronucleus detection and cause fatigue in the reader. A method for removing nucleated cells by filtering bone marrow through cellulose packed in syringes was developed by Romagna some ten years ago, but has not been used routinely because of the excessive time needed to prepare columns. We have modified the method very simply by filling chromatography columns by pipet with a cellulose suspension. We show here that column filtration of bone marrow does not affect the numbers of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MN-PCEs) scored from mice treated with the chromosome breaking agents mitomycin C and cyclophosphamide, or the aneuploidy-inducing spindle poisons, colchicine and vinblastine. The extra preparation time is only about half an hour for a full scale micronucleus assay, and results in better slides and faster scoring.
Blimp-1, an Intrinsic Factor that Represses HIV-1 Proviral Transcription in Memory CD4+ T Cells

CD4(+) T cell subsets differentially support HIV-1 replication. For example, quiescent CD4(+) memory T cells are susceptible to HIV-1 infection but do not support robust HIV-1 transcription and have been implicated as the primary reservoir of latent HIV-1. T cell transcription factors that regulate maturation potentially limit HIV-1 transcription and mediate the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 latency. We report that B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1), a critical regulator of B and T cell differentiation, is highly expressed in memory CD4(+) T cells compared with naive CD4(+) T cells and represses basal and Tat-mediated HIV-1 transcription. Blimp-1 binds an IFN-stimulated response element within HIV-1 provirus, and it is displaced following T cell activation. Reduction of Blimp-1 in infected primary T cells including CD4(+) memory T cells increases RNA polymerase II processivity, histone acetylation, and baseline HIV-1 transcription. Therefore, the transcriptional repressor, Blimp-1, is an intrinsic factor that predisposes CD4(+) memory T cells to latent HIV-1 infection.
Enteral Nutrition Formula Selection Current Evidence and Implications for Practice

Many new enteral nutrition (EN) formulas have been created over the past several decades with a variety of intended uses. Although each is intended to promote improved outcomes, research is often unclear and, in many cases, conflicting. It is important to note that EN products are considered medical foods by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and therefore do not have to complete premarket review or approval and are not regulated to the same extent as pharmaceuticals. While standard EN formulas are designed to meet the basic macro- and micronutrient requirements of individuals who cannot meet nutrition needs orally, specialty EN products have been developed to exhibit pharmacologic properties, such as immune-enhancing formulas containing arginine, glutamine, nucleotides, and ω-3 fatty acids. With the vast number of products available, rising costs of healthcare, and the drive toward evidence-based practice, it is imperative that clinicians carefully consider research regarding use of specialty formulas, paying close attention to the quality, patient population, clinical end points, and cost to patient and/or facility.
Representation of the molecular electrostatic potential by a net atomic charge model

Electrostatic potentials and Mulliken net atomic charges were calculated from STO-3G, 6-31G, and 6-31G** SCF-MO wavefunctions for hydrogen fluoride, water, ammonia, methane, acetylene, ethylene, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, methanol, formamide, formic acid, acetonitrile, diborane, and carbonate ion. In each case optimized net atomic charges (potential-derived charges) were also obtained by fitting the electrostatic potentials calculated directly from the wavefunctions in a shell enveloping the molecules outside of their van der Waals surfaces. The electrostatic potentials calculated from the potential-derived charge distributions were then compared with the defined quantum mechanical electrostatic potentials and with the electrostatic potentials of the Mulliken charge distributions.
Open infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: The Cleveland Clinic experience from 1989 to 1998

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and durability of traditional surgical treatment for asymptomatic infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) in a large series of patients who underwent open operations during the decade preceding the commercial availability of stent graft devices for endovascular AAA repair. Methods: From 1989 to 1998, 1135 consecutive patients (985 men [87%], 150 women; mean age, 70 ± 7 years) underwent elective graft replacement of infrarenal AAA. Computerized perioperative data have been supplemented with a retrospective review of hospital charts/outpatient records and a telephone canvass to calculate survival rates and the incidence rate of subsequent graft-related complications. Seventy-four patients (6.5%) were lost during a median follow-up period of 57 months for the entire series. Results: The 30-day mortality rate was 1.2%. The hospital course was completely uneventful for 939 patients (83%), and the median length of stay for all patients was 8 days. A total of 196 patients had single (n = 150; 13%) or multiple (n = 46; 4%) postoperative complications, which were more likely to occur in men (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 5.2) and in patients with a history of congestive heart failure (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.7 to 7.8), chronic pulmonary disease (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.9), or renal insufficiency (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.7). Kaplan-Meier method survival rate estimates were 75% at 5 years and 49% at 10 years. As was the case with early complications, the long-term mortality rate primarily was influenced by age of more than 75 years (risk ratio [RR], 2.2; 95% CI, 1.7 to 2.8) or previous history of congestive heart failure (RR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.4), chronic pulmonary disease (RR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.0), or renal insufficiency (RR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.2 to 4.6). Of the 1047 patients who survived their operations and remained available for follow-up study, only four (0.4%) have had late complications that were related to their aortic replacement grafts. Conclusion: These results reconfirm the exemplary success of open infrarenal AAA repair. The future of endovascular AAA repair is exceedingly bright, but until the long-term outcome of the current generation of stent grafts is adequately documented, their use should be justified by the presence of serious surgical risk factors. (J Vasc Surg 2002;35:1145-54.)
Antisynthetase syndrome: not just an inflammatory myopathy.

■ ■ ABSTRACT In recent years, antisynthetase syndrome has been recog- nized as an important cause of autoimmune inflammatory myopathy in a subset of patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis. It is associated with serum antibodies to aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetases and is characterized by a constellation of manifestations, including fever, myosi- tis, interstitial lung disease, "mechanic's hands," Raynaud phenomenon, and polyarthritis. Physicians should be familiar with its variety of clinical presentations and should include it in the differential diagnosis in patients present- ing with unexplained interstitial lung disease. ■
Strategies for disclosure: how parents approach telling their children that they were conceived with donor gametes

Objective To describe how parents envision, plan, and enact disclosing to their children that they were conceived with donor gametes. Design In-depth ethnographic interviews. Setting Participants were recruited from 11 medical infertility practices and 1 sperm bank in Northern California. Patient(s) A total of 141 married couples who had conceived a child using donor gametes (62 with donor sperm and 79 with donor oocytes). Intervention(s) Husbands and wives were interviewed together and separately. Main Outcome Measure(s) Thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Result(s) Disclosing parents predominantly subscribed to one of two disclosure strategies: the conviction that early disclosure is of paramount importance so that the child "always knows," or the belief that later disclosure is preferable after family routines have been established and the child has the maturity to understand biologic concepts and has developed a sense of discretion. No parent regretted disclosing, and many expressed relief. Conclusion(s) Parents choosing early disclosure were more at ease with the disclosure process, whereas parents choosing later disclosure reported greater uncertainty about how and when to disclose. Parents wished for more peer and/or professional support and guidance to assist them with disclosure, not only initially but continuing long after their children were born.
The NanA Neuraminidase of Streptococcus pneumoniae Is Involved in Biofilm Formation

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a major cause of bacteremia, pneumonia, and otitis media despite vaccines and effective antibiotics. The neuraminidase of S. pneumoniae, which catalyzes the release of terminal sialic acid residues from glycoconjugates, is involved in host colonization in animal models of infection and may provide a novel target for preventing pneumococcal infection. We demonstrate that the S. pneumoniae neuraminidase (NanA) cleaves sialic acid and show that it is involved in biofilm formation, suggesting an additional role in pathogenesis, and that it shares this property with the neuraminidase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa even though we show that the two enzymes are phylogenetically divergent. Using an in vitro model of biofilm formation incorporating human airway epithelial cells, we demonstrate that small-molecule inhibitors of NanA block biofilm formation and may provide a novel target for preventative therapy. This work highlights the role played by the neuraminidase in pathogenesis and represents an important step in drug development for prevention of colonization of the respiratory tract by this important pathogen.
Prenatal diagnosis of a fetus with two balanced de novo chromosome rearrangements

Two apparently balanced chromosome rearrangements were identified in a 17-week fetus by analysis of cultured amniocytes. The fetal karyotype was 46,XX,t(2;16) (q33; q24), inv(7)(p15q11.23). Parental karyotypes were normal, indicating a de novo origin of both chromosome rearrangements in the fetus. The risk of phenotypic abnormality from a de novo reciprocal translocation or inversion has been estimated at approximately 7% [Warburton, 1991]. The risk of abnormality in this fetus was estimated to be a minimum of 14%, based on the additive risk of each rearrangement, equivalent to 3.5% per chromosome breakpoint. The pregnancy was terminated because of the risk of abnormality and the detection of intrauterine growth retardation by ultrasound. In the absence of additional experience, the minimum presumed risk of phenotypic abnormality for de novo, multiple or complex chromosome rearrangements identified prenatally may be estimated as the additive risk of the number of chromosome breakpoints involved. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Well‐Purging Criteria for Sampling Purgeable Organic Compounds

Ground-water-sampling protocols generally recommend that a well be purged prior to sampling. This recommendation is based on the assumption that the water quality of the water standing in the casing is not the same as that in the aquifer. Three criteria that have been used to determine when a well has been purged sufficiently to yield “representative” water-quality samples are (1) flushing an arbitrary number of casing volumes, usually a minimum of three, (2) flushing the well until field water-quality characteristics-temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen-in the purge water are stable, and (3) flushing until hydraulic equilibrium between casing water and aquifer water is achieved. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of these criteria in sampling for purgeable organic compounds. Wells, screened in unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers at six sites, were sampled during a total of 10 purgings. The discharge from each well and the field characteristics were monitored as a function of time and number of casing volumes flushed. Grab samples for purge-able organic compounds, chloride, and ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nanometers wavelength-a gross indicator of the presence of aromatic organic compounds-were taken each time a set of field measurements was taken. The variation of field characteristics, purgeable organic compounds, chloride, and ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nanometers was compared with time and number of casing volumes flushed. The results indicate that (1) purgeable organic compound concentrations sbailized when three casing volumes were purged in only 55 percent of the cases evaluated in this study, (2) purgeable organic compounds concentrations did not consistently follow the temporal variation of, nor stabilize at the same time as, the measured field characteristics, and (3) purging to achieve hydraulic equilibrium between casing and aquifer water consistently underestimated the time and casing volumes needed to achieve stable values of water-quality measurements in highly transmissive aquifers. The conclusion from these data is that none of the previously recommended criteria for purging a well can be applied reliably to collecting a “representative” sample of purgeable organic compounds. These results indicate that the criteria for purging a well prior to sampling for purgeable organic compounds must take into account other factors, such as the unique hydrogeologic characteristics of a site, the nature and extent of purgeable organic compounds present, the areal extent of the contamination, the well construction, and the sampling objectives of the investigation.
From Concerned to Cautiously Optimistic: Assessing Faculty Perceptions and Knowledge of Open Access in a Campus-Wide Study

INTRODUCTION Though open access publishing has many advantages for scholars, very few are interested in learning about and pursuing open access publishing. This article discusses the results of a survey administered to faculty across disciplines at a single university to assess their perceptions, knowledge, and perceived knowledge of open access publishing and related topics. METHODS Anonymous electronic survey of 240 faculty members with a response rate of 23%. RESULTS Although many respondents considered themselves familiar with open access, very few had practical knowledge of open access publishing. Faculty were uncertain about the value and reliability of open access publishing and were particularly concerned about its applicability in the promotion and tenure process. CONCLUSION Misinformation, lack of motivation, and fear appear to be the main causes of negative perceptions of open access among faculty surveyed. Though science faculty had the highest overall perceived knowledge of open access, they were also most likely to view open access negatively and to believe that the current publishing model works well. Education faculty were more likely to think highly of open access publishing, in part due to a lack of funding for that discipline. Librarians and information professionals should take a tailored approach to discussing open access with faculty by working within the knowledge of the discipline if possible.
Layout and Technology Influences on ESD Protection Circuit Design

In summary, both layout design and technology evolution will strongly influence ESD protection circuit design and performance. In terms of layout, two basic considerations should be kept in mind when doing ESD protection circuit design, i.e., to ensure uniform current distribution and to make area efficient layout. Practical ESD-enhancement layout techniques include to use smoothed geometries, to set up adequate critical spacing, to properly place contacts and vias, as well as to optimise metal interconnect routing, and so on. Use of bounding pad oriented ESD protection is a very attractive solution to high-pin-count area-sensitive chips. In regarding technological impacts, every single new process techniques designed to boost transistor operation should be evaluated against its influences on ESD protection performance. Most advanced process techniques, such as, LDD and silicidation, can degrade ESD robustness dramatically. Technology scaling generally makes ESD protection circuit design more difficult. Many after-qualification fixing measures are available to recover the lose in ESD protection performance, such as LDD-blocking, silicide-blocking and ESD implant, etc, at extra costs. It is wise to consider technology-ESD co-development in early phase of new process development, where it is possible to strike a balance between regular transistor operation and ESD robustness. In near future, ESD protection for VDSM and nano-scale technologies is a challenge to be addressed.