cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An education that pierces what the knife cannot: a student perspective.

If personalized medicine is the way of the future, and the physician's approach to each patient becomes more individualized and team-based, so must the professors' approach to the medical student experience. Mayo Medical School has an innovative curriculum designed to respect and enhance the individual interests of its students. A former educator herself, and now a medical student, the author advocates for further creative curriculum design to enhance healthy student attitude learning in medical school. In her personal testimony to the healing power of art and story, she cautions institutions that ignore integrating humanities into their curriculum that their student physicians will build self-protective barriers without self-reflection. She argues students must have more avenues to express their emotions during difficult transitions and ethical dilemmas. This commentary describes extracurricular student projects during anatomy, and includes an example of student reflective writing in anatomy. The author suggests that narrative medicine as an emerging discipline would be an effective educational strategy when applied to any aspect of the medical curriculum, and should be considered by more medical schools for further progress in medical education. Anat Sci Educ, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.
Growth of tungsten selenide films through pyrolytic conversion and anodic electrooxidation of ammonium selenotungstate ((NH4)2WSe4)

Abstract WxSey thin films have been prepared by the spray pyrolysis and anodic electrodeposition of solutions of ammonium selenotungstate, (NH4)2WSe4, with y/x usually between two and three for the sprayed films and y x >>1 for the electrodeposited films. The sprayed films indicated regions of crystalline WSe2 and have optical absorbance spectra consistent with a mixture of WSe2, WSe3, and selenium. The electrodeposited films are totally amorphous, highly photoconductive, and have optical absorbance spectra typical of amorphous or vitreous selenium. The sprayed films transform into WO3 at temperatures greater than 350°C in the presence of oxygen wile the electrode-posited films tend to evaporate and/or decompose upon annealing.
MA1: real-time and parallel processing in ada

This tutorial assumes basic knowledge or experience with the Ada programming language.This tutorial covers two of the major problems with parallel and real-time programming -- time management and storage management. Parallel processing, whether on single-processor machines or multiple processors, has many pitfalls. We will examine these potential pitfalls, and discuss ways to avoid common problems, such as deadlocks and race conditions. We will also discuss how to write code that efficiently passes data with other parallel processes. The basics of parallel processing are covered, leading to a discussion and examples using Ada tasking. In addition, the Ada Real-Time Systems Annex is also covered.
Erythropoietin promotes neurological recovery after intracerebral haemorrhage in rats

BackgroundAttention has turned to neurorestorative therapies, including erythropoietin, for experimental ischaemic stroke and head injury. Treatments for intracerebral haemorrhage need to be develo...
On Formal Theory and Statistical Methods: A Response to Carrubba, Yuen, and Zorn

The recent article by Carrubba, Yuen, and Zorn (2007) (CYZ) attempts to relate the strategic random utility models in Signorino (1999, 2002, 2003) and in Signorino and Yilmaz (2003) to existing game theory practice and to existing statistical techniques. It contributes to this literature by reminding us that comparative statics analysis can be applied to the equilibria of these models. There are a number of claims in CYZ, however, that require clarification. In particular, the article's primary claim is that comparative statics analysis, in combination with one of three proposed statistical estimators, provides a simpler alternative to methods previously advocated. This claim (or combination of claims) is incorrect. When one examines the procedure CYZ recommends, it is no simpler for substantive researchers than anything previously recommended. Moreover, none of the proposed estimators are new: they are exactly the same methods introduced in Signorino (1999, 2003), in Signorino and Yilmaz (2003), in Signorino, Walker, and Bas (2002), and in Bas, Signorino, and Walker (2007).
Relationship of Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale to Feeding Performance of Premature Infants.

Abstract Objective Some premature infants require prolonged tube-feeding, beyond term equivalent gestational age. Tools that could prospectively identify such infants from among otherwise healthy patients are needed. We examined how well the Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS) predicts premature infants' transition from tube to oral feeding. Design Data from a prospective study of sucking behavior as a predictor of feeding skills were used to examine the relationship of NOMAS and other nominal predictors to pre-defined feeding milestones. Setting Neonatal intensive Care Unit. Patients 51 tube-fed, premature infants. Methods NOMAS was administered soon ( Results Gestational age at birth, birth weight, and initial feeding efficiency predicted shorter transition and earlier acquisition to full oral feeding; NOMAS scores did not predict feeding outcomes. Conclusions NOMAS was a poor predictor, while feeding efficiency and other baseline traits were better predictors of feeding skills in premature infants.
Regulation of Na+,K+-ATpase by chronic ethanol exposure of PC 12 cells

Abstract The effects of chronic ethanol exposure on Na + ,K + -ATPase were investigated in PC 12 cells. Inclusion of ethanol in the Na + ,K + -ATPase assay (i.e. in vitro addition of ethanol) inhibited enzyme activity. Conversely, intrinsic Na + ,K + -ATPase activity was increased after chronic ethanol exposure of the cells. This increase in Na + ,K + pumps occurred without any alteration in the inhibitory effects of in vitro ethanol. A similar response was observed when the chronic treatments were carried out using serum-free defined medium. The effects of other agents, which like ethanol decrease membrane order, were investigated. The addition of ketamine and tert -butanol in vitro caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of Na + ,K + -ATPase activity. However, chronic exposure of the PC 12 cells to tert -butanol or ketamine did not alter either intrinsic Na + ,K + -ATPase activity or the inhibitory effects of ethanol in vitro . Maintenance of PC 12 cells in medium containing ethanol resulted in an increase in the intracellular content of Na + without any change in the K + levels. In contrast, maintenance of the cells in medium containing tert -butanol did not alter intracellular levels of Na + or K + . The present study shows that the ethanol-induced increase in Na + ,K + pumps involved an increase in the intracellular content of Na + . This increase in Na + content did not appear to be secondary to an inhibition of Na + ,K + -ATPase activity.
Fossil catfish and the depositional environment of the Green River Formation, Wyoming

The recent discovery of numerous and widespread fossil catfish ( Astephus antiquus ) in oil shale units of the Laney Member of the Eocene Green River Formation is evidence of aerobic conditions in the hypolimnic waters of ancient Lake Gosiute. An understanding of bottom conditions in Lake Gosiute is of particular importance in interpreting the depositional environment of the Green River Formation and particularly of oil shale. The fossil catfish indicate that oil shale deposition does not require a permanently stratified lake with a stagnant hypolimnion.
Blue toes, yellow plaques and incessant vomiting – A case of cholesterol embolism

Abstract Cholesterol embolism is a rare complication of percutaneous vascular procedures. It usually is diagnosed from the typical cutaneous manifestations and delayed development of renal failure. Here we report a patient who developed incessant vomiting following a vascular procedure who later developed the typical manifestations of cholesterol embolism. Even though gastrointestinal manifestations may be seen up to 20% of patients, this is the first case report in which gastrointestinal symptoms are seen as the initial presentation of cholesterol embolism.
Mutations, molecules, and myotonia

The linkages between a protein's primary sequence, three-dimensional structure, and the detailed manifestations of its function are well appreciated. Exploring and understanding these linkages have proven remarkably complex, however. While some functions may be localized exclusively to one protein region, others may be distributed or even diffusely coded in the structure. The kinetics of the tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na + channel and its voltage-gated siblings provide many examples of such complex and distributed coupling. The channel consists of four domains, each a repeat of the fundamental unit that is the primary motif of the voltage-dependent K + channel. In each domain, six membrane-spanning regions (S1-$6) give the channel its essential form, with charged groups embedded within these regions, presumably imparting the channel's
Sexist attitudes: Most of us are biased

Let's move beyond denial, own up to our prejudices against women and retrain our brains to overcome them, says Jennifer Raymond.
Glutamyl-transfer RNA: a precursor of heme and chlorophyll biosynthesis

In green plants, archaebacteria and many eubacteria, the porphyrin ring that is common to both chlorophyll and heme is synthesized from 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) via an interesting pathway. This two-step process involves the unusual enzymes glutamyl-tRNA reductase and glutamate-1-semialdehyde 2,1-aminomutase. Interest in this pathway has increased since it was discovered that a tRNA cofactor was required for the formation of ALA. This tRNA(Glu) is common to the biosyntheses of both porphyrins and proteins.
Safety and efficacy of intravenous combination sedatives in the ED.

Abstract Objective The objective of the study is to determine the safety of intravenously administered combination sedatives in the emergency department (ED). Methods This was a retrospective study of alcohol-intoxicated patients in the ED. We examined the incidence of adverse events in agitated patients who received combination sedatives intravenously and compared the efficacy of combination sedatives and single-agent sedatives. Results Of 1300 patient visits, there was a single adverse event, a dystonic reaction, in the combination sedative group, for an adverse event rate of less than 1%. Patients who received combination sedatives were less likely to require a second dose of sedative medication than patients who received a single-agent sedative (21% vs 44%). Conclusions Combination sedatives appear to be safe when administered intravenously in the ED. Combination sedatives may be more effective than single-agent sedatives in agitated alcohol-intoxicated patients.
Toward a Definitive, Totally Thoracoscopic Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation

Purpose Evolution of anti-arrhythmia surgery beyond the Cox maze III has been hampered by the difficulty in implementing a complete lesion set in a truly minimally invasive approach. In this study, we introduce a true port-access procedure that addresses both autonomic and anatomic sources of atrial fibrillation, with real-time verification of all technical endpoints. Description A total of 32 patients with persistent or longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation underwent the totally thoracoscopic anti-arrhythmia procedure incorporating pulmonary vein isolation, mapping of epicardial autonomics, extended linear ablations across critical segments of atrial substrate, and ligation of the left atrial appendage. All aspects of the procedure were confirmed with intraoperative electrophysiologic testing. Evaluation With 1 week of continuous rhythm surveillance at 3, 6, and 13 months postoperatively in all patients, 21 of 24 patients with 6-month follow-up are in sinus rhythm with no anti-arrhythmia medications. Conclusions An anti-arrhythmia operation that is highly effective in patients with advanced forms of atrial fibrillation can be safely performed through a totally port-access approach.
SORTing out cellular proteomes in vivo

Incorporation of a new unnatural amino acid during protein synthesis enables proteomic profiling of specific cell types in whole animals.
Novice rules for assessing importance in scientific texts

Abstract Previous research shows that content area novices judge certain categories of information (e.g., definitions, facts, equations) as more important than others. The current research tested the hypothesis that novice importance judgements are based on category membership, rather than content differences between categories. Subjects of varying expertise judged the importance of sentences in physics texts when they were presented in one of two forms: definitions or facts (Experiment 1), and equations or their verbal equivalents (Experiment 2). The two sentence versions were always identical in substantive content. Experts and naive subjects (subjects without physics training) judged these variants to be similar in importance. However, beginning physics students judged definition and equation versions as more important. Thus beginning-level students develop rules specifying what categories of information are important, so that sentence category is a salient text feature. Sentence category is irrelevant for experts, who judge importance according to content, and naive subjects, who have not formed expectations regarding the importance of information categories. These results suggest how a content schema might evolve in novice learners.
The usefulness of a yearly head and neck surgery trip to rural Kenya.

ObjectiveSurgical specialty trips to third world countries have been praised and criticized. Our objective was to learn the usefulness of a yearly head and neck surgery trip through initial analysis of 2 years of patient data.MethodsWe reviewed data from a prospectively maintained repository of surgical patients treated during head and neck surgical trips to Malindi, Kenya, in 2010 and 2011. Basic demographics, distance traveled for care, access to physicians, preoperative diagnosis, surgical procedure(s), and pathology were recorded when available.ResultsIn 2 years, 226 surgeries were performed. Patient age ranged between 3 months and 85 years, and gender was evenly split. Half of patients came from outside the town of Malindi, and a third traveled over 100 kilometers for care. The majority reported access to a local physician, yet very few patients were offered prior surgical treatment. The most common operations performed were adenotonsillectomy and hemithyroidectomy. A wide variety of cases were perfo...
Fully automated algorithm for the segmentation of the middle and proximal phalanges of digitized hand radiographs

Rheumatoid arthritis of the hand can be characterized and assessed by the narrowing of the phalangeal joint spaces. These are ordinarily scored semi-quantitatively by a radiologist using radiographs of the hand. Software which delineates and measures the joint spaces would be a useful tool for diagnosis. The first part of such an algorithm has been developed which segments and identifies eight individual bones on digitized hand radiographs: the middle and proximal phalanges of the 2nd to 5th digits. The software also determines the locations of the distal interphalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and metacarpophalangeal joint spaces for each digit.
Stress Corrosion Cracking of Inconel Alloy 600 in High Temperature Water—An Update

Inconel 600 has been tested in high-temperature aqueous media (without oxygen) in several tests. Data are presented to relate failure times to periods of crack initiation and propagation. Quantitative relationships have been developed from tests in which variations were made in temperature, applied load, strain rate, water chemistry, and the condition of the test alloy.
Hybrid MHD model for a driven, ion-current FRC

Typical MHD models do not include the effects of a finite-electric field, finite gyro-radius, and gyro-period. The magnetohydrodynamic code, MACH2, is modified in one dimension to account for two-fluid behavior, in order to include these effects during the formation of a “driven”, field-reversed configuration (FRC). The simulation is run for a period of 150 μs, during which time an azimuthal ion current accelerates, the FRC forms, compresses radially and axially, and then begins to decay. Once the FRC is formed, an electron current develops, which sharpens the magnetic-field profile outside the null-field region. The equilibrium that is formed is characteristic of a Rigid Rotor.[1] The simulations also agree with prior experiments,[2] specifically the r-z shape of the FRC and the magnitude of the total current, including the ion and electron flows.
Low-copy microsatellite recovery from a conifer genome

Microsatellite development has been stymied by highly repetitive DNA in the large, highly duplicated conifer genome and by so few genomic conifer sequences in public databases. Recovery of microsatellites from the low-copy component was tested as an efficient approach to marker development. Microsatellites were isolated from Pinus taeda L. via low-copy enrichment and filter-hybridization of tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeat motifs. Efficiency at three phases of marker development was compared for low-copy and total-genome control libraries. In the first phase, enrichment for microsatellites was slightly lower in the low-copy libraries. In the second phase, redundancy was higher in the low-copy libraries. In the third phase, low-copy libraries provided more polymorphic markers than total-genome libraries. Of 418 sequenced low-copy clones, 102 were unique sequences with repeat motifs. Of these unique sequences, twice as many were useful for marker development compared to the total-genome control. Difficulty in microsatellite marker development due to highly repetitive DNA can be abated by low-copy enrichment or circumvented by selecting for specific CG-rich trinucleotide repeat motifs. Sixteen new low-copy and genomic P. taeda microsatellites were given as an example.
A solid polymer electrolyte-bases electrochemical carbon monoxide sensor

Abstract A solid polymer electrolyte (SPE)-based electrochemical sensor for carbon monoxide detection has been designed, fabricated and evaluated. Nafion membrane is used as the solid electrolyte, and a hydrophobic Teflon-based platinum black thin-layer electrode is used as the working electrode. The sensor is tested over the CO concentration range 0-1.04% and shows good reproducibility. The response time to a step change of carbon monoxide is about 3 s. Operation of the sensor over 90 days in an ambient environment shows good sensor stability.
Isotopen‐Markierung organischer Verbindungen durch Neutronen‐Bestrahlung

Durch Neutronen-Bestrahlung stickstoff-haltiger oder mit einer Stickstoffquelle vermischter organischer Verbindungen last sich eine grose Zahl 14C-markierter Stoffe darstellen, indem „in situ” die Reaktion 14N (n,p) 14C stattfindet. Dieses auch fur einige andere Isotope anwendbare Verfahren hat den Vorteil, die gewohnlichen Synthesewege fur isotopen-markierte organische Verbindungen zu umgehen und beim Vorhandensein entsprechender Reinigungsmethoden grose Mengen markierten Materials zu liefern. Es ist allerdings nicht geeignet, wenn die spezifische Markierung einer einzigen Stelle oder die gleichmasige Markierung aller Stellen eines Molekuls gefordert wird.
Exclusion in Arcadia: How Suburban Developers Circulated Ideas about Discrimination, 1890–1950

Suburban developers changed the policy landscape of the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Prior to the advent of oft-studied federal agencies during the Great Depression, de...
Differences in Mutagenesis During Minus Strand, Plus Strand and Strand Transfer (Recombination) Synthesis of the Hiv-1 Nef Gene in Vitro

We have developed an HIV nef-Escherichia coli lacZ fusion system in vitro that allows the detection of low frequency mutations, including frameshifts, deletions and insertions. A portion of the nef gene that encompasses a hypervariable region was fused in-frame with a downstream lacZalpha peptide coding region. The resulting lacZalpha peptide fusion protein remained functional. Any frameshift mutations in the nef insert would put the downstream lacZ alpha peptide gene out of frame, eliminating alpha complementation. With this system we compared the error rates of frameshift mutations that arise during DNA-directed and RNA-directed DNA synthesis. Results showed that DNA-directed and RNA-directed DNA synthesis did not contribute equally to the generation of mutations. DNA-directed DNA synthesis generated frameshift mutations at a frequency approximately 10-fold higher than those arising from RNA-directed DNA synthesis. RNA-directed DNA synthesis in the presence of acceptor templates showed an increase in mutation rate and differences in the mutation spectrum. The enhancement of mutation rate was caused by the appearance of mutations at three new locations that correlated with likely recombination sites. Results indicate that recombination is another source of mutations during viral replication.
TWO-DIMENSIONAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE VELOCITY FIELD IN AND AROUND SUNSPOTS.

Doppler spectroheliograms of sunspots and their surroundings have been obtained with a spatial resolution approaching one second of arc and a time resolution of 20 s per frame. Observations of 5 sunspots, located 18°, 45°, 56°, 60° and 72° from the disk center respectively, showed considerable long-lived fine structure and, in particular, indicated the following: (1) The Evershed outflow terminated in spoke-like structures that constitute the ragged outer boundary of the penumbra. Some of these spokes extended more than 8000 km beyond the average outer boundary. (2) Although there was considerable long-lived fine structure of both Doppler polarities in the extra-penumbral photosphere, the spatially-averaged horizontal flow was outward for roughly 10000 km beyond the outer boundary of the penumbra. This extra-penumbral velocity field was distinct from the Evershed flow, and, in particular, did not represent its extension beyond the end of the penumbral spokes.
Twitch and Tetanic Properties of Human Thenar Motor Units Paralyzed by Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Little is known about how human motor units respond to chronic paralysis. Our aim was to record surface electromyographic (EMG) signals, twitch forces, and tetanic forces from paralyzed motor units...
Global electrification and nuclear power : Toward sustainable growth in the new millennium

Abstract The new millennium will present daunting challenges for the world community: how to sustain prosperity while preserving the global environment in the presence of increasing world population. Science and technology hold the keys to resolving this well-publicized “tri-lemma” of balancing economy and environment under the increasing burden of population growth. Technologies have been developing rapidly in recent years and their impact is being felt in every corner of the global community. It is expected that the process will only accelerate and expand in the new millennium. This, together with people's aspirations for better life, will put enormous demands on energy production. Thus, energy and environment will remain two poles of a central global issue in the new century. Electricity's role in mitigating environmental degradation is well known and global electrification promises the best hope for achieving globally sustainable growth. The question is then how to produce energy that can generate electricity harmoniously with environment. Nuclear power offers the best answer, as it is one of the few non-carbon sources that can produce electricity in significant quantity. In examining the big picture of global priorities for the new millennium, the role of electrification and nuclear power is brought to the fore in the context of globally sustainable growth, and a strategic roadmap for revival of nuclear option is proposed.
Nonsyndromic Whorled Eyebrows in a Healthy 6‐Year‐Old Girl

Whorled eyebrows are an unusual and rarely described finding of unknown clinical significance. We present such a case in a 6-year-old healthy girl.
Conformation of microtubule-bound paclitaxel determined by fluorescence spectroscopy and REDOR NMR.

The conformation of microtubule-bound paclitaxel has been examined by fluorescence and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. A fluorescent derivative of paclitaxel, 3‘-N-debenzoyl-3‘-N-(m-aminobenzoyl)paclitaxel (N-AB-PT), was prepared by semisynthesis. No differences in the microtubule-promoting activity between N-AB-PT and paclitaxel were observed, demonstrating that addition of the amino group did not adversely affect the ligand−receptor association. The distance between the fluorophore N-AB-PT and the colchicine binding site on tubulin polymers was determined through time-resolved measurements of fluorescence resonance energy transfer to be 29 ± 2 A. The absorption and emission spectra of N-AB-PT bound to microtubules and in various solvents were measured. A plot of the Stokes shift as a function of solvent polarity was highly unusual. The Stokes shift increased linearly with solvent polarity in protic solvents, which is expected due to the nature of the fluorophore. In aprotic solvents, however, the Stokes s...
Causes of death among persons with AIDS in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy: New York City.

In this population-based cohort study of HIV-infected persons in New York City, one fourth died of causes unrelated to HIV infection. This proportion has grown steadily since the introduction of hi...
Microarchitectural findings in sleep EEG in depression: diagnostic implications

A 10-year review of sleep electroencephalogram (EEG)-frequency analysis in depression reveals several consistent microarchitectural abnormalities. Decreased delta amplitude or incidence, particularly in the first 100 min of sleep, has been reported. Elevated fast-frequency EEG has been shown in both remitted and symptomatic depressed patients, especially in the right hemisphere. Further, interhemispheric coherence is reduced in both depressed groups. These microarchitectural features may not be present in narcolepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or schizophrenia, despite similarities in sleep-stage characteristics. Collectively, these findings suggest that computer analysis of the sleep EEG may differentiate depressed patients from normal controls and from other clinical populations.
Using a feminist lens in contextual therapy.

Both contextual and feminist therapy have not been given the attention they deserve in the field of MFT. We believe that not only do these approaches have undiscovered merit but also, when integrated, they provide a useful framework for conducting therapy that addresses marginalized voices and raises social consciousness. In this article, we “layer” feminist theory onto contextual therapy and argue that the constructs of contextual therapy may relate well to many women's experiences in families. We then illustrate our combined feminist-contextual therapy with two case examples. This integration broadens the scope and sensitivity of contextual therapy to address issues of gender.
Focusing properties of superconducting cyclotron magnets

Abstract Superconducting main coils combined with conventional sectored iron pole tips constitute a promising design configuration for a new generation of compact, low-cost, heavy-ion cyclotrons. This paper gives results of focusing strength calculations for such cyclotrons for a variety of possible pole tips. The focusing is found to be highly sensitive to the average strength of the magnetic field, moderately sensitive to the magnet gap in the hills, and relatively independent of the number of sectors, the relative width of hill and valley and the magnet gap in the valleys. Spiraling of the magnet pole tips increases the focusing but substantially less than expected. Several of these properties are strikingly different from the corresponding properties of conventional low field magnets. The focusing limit of high field magnets leads to a linear dependence of the energy per nucleon on the charge-to-mass ratio of the ion over much of the operating range which contrasts with the usual quadratic dependence.
Adrenergic dysregulation and pain with and without acute beta-blockade in women with fibromyalgia and temporomandibular disorder.

Abstract In patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and temporomandibular disorder (TMD), stress and pain may chronically enhance sympathetic activity, altering cardiovascular responses and worsening pain. This study examined cardiovascular, epinephrine (EPI), norepinephrine (NE), cortisol and clinical pain responses in 54 female patients with these disorders and 34 controls. In a subsample of 10 FMS, 10 TMD patients and 16 controls, using a counterbalanced, double-blind, crossover design, the same responses were assessed after intravenous administration of low dose propranolol vs placebo. Testing included baseline, postural, speech and ischemic pain stressors. FMS patients showed lesser heart rate (HR) increases to posture challenge but greater blood pressure (BP) increases to postural and speech tasks than controls, as well as higher overall BP and greater total vascular resistance (TVR) than TMDs or controls. TMDs showed higher overall cardiac output and lower TVR than controls. Both FMS and TMD groups showed lower baseline NE than controls, and TMDs showed lower overall EPI and NE levels. Group differences in HR, EPI and NE were abolished after propranolol although BP, CO and TVR differences persisted. In both FMS and TMD, the number of painful body sites and ratings of total clinical pain obtained 4 times during each session were significantly lower after beta-blockade vs placebo. Perspective These findings support the hypothesis that both FMS and TMD may frequently involve dysregulation of beta-adrenergic activity that contributes to altered cardiovascular and catecholamine responses and to severity of clinical pain. Acute treatment with low-dose propranolol led to short-term improvement in all these domains.
Clinical features of West Nile virus epidemic in Dallas, Texas, 2012 ☆

In 2012, Texas has reported the highest number of West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the United States to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this report, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 57 patients with WNV disease and analyzed the clinical features of these patients. Our results revealed that 25 (44%) patients were diagnosed with West Nile fever and 32 (56%) with West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND). The median age for patients with WNND was 54.5 years, and those with encephalitis were more likely to be >60 years old. Pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes were more frequent in patients with WNND. Testing both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for antibodies diagnosed more cases of WNND than just testing serum or CSF alone. The increasing number of WNV cases during this epidemic highlights the need to increase efforts to control mosquito populations and educate the general public.
Detection of a congenital cystic eyeball by prenatal ultrasound in a newborn with turner's syndrome

Congenital cystic eyeball was first described in 1939 as a rare ocular malformation caused by partial or complete failure of the optic vesicle to invaginate during fetal development.1 Only 35 cases have been reported. We present the clinical and histopathological findings in a newborn with Turner’s syndrome and a congenital cystic eye. A healthy 19-year-old woman underwent amniocentesis revealing a 45XO fetal karyotype, consistent with Turner’s syndrome. She had good prenatal care, no significant illness or exposures during pregnancy, and family history was noncontributory. At 33 weeks gestation, prenatal ultrasound revealed a severely hypoplastic heart, a duplicated left kidney, and a large cystic orbital mass (fig 1A). Figure 1 (A) Prenatal fetal ultrasound at 33 weeks’ gestation revealed a cystic mass in the right orbit. (B) External photograph of the patient shows …
Truck Driving Simulator Effectiveness

The Pennsylvania Truck Driving Simulator (PTDS) has been implemented in several different studies. The effectiveness of utilizing the simulator for training heavy truck operators was investigated through a study with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT). Thirty-four highway equipment operator trainees from PENNDOT completed a series of driving tasks in the simulator. The driving tasks were developed as five independent driving scenarios within the simulator each requiring different skills. Measures of driver performance included ratings from professional driving instructors and numerical records from the simulator’s recording capability. These were analyzed to determine if a) students improved their driving through completing the driving scenarios, and b) the two sets of data agreed in the assessment of driver performance. This paper presents the results of this study, which showed that students’ driving skill did improve as they completed the driving tasks. The vehicle dynamics response measurement data also largely agreed with the instructors’ evaluation.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Electron--optical-phonon interactions in ultrathin GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells

Nonequilibrium populations of both confined and interface phonons generated by picosecond laser pulses in a series of GaAs/AlAs quantum wells have been studied by time-resolved picosecond Raman scattering as a function of well width. The dependence of the nonequilibrium phonon populations on well width is found to be sensitive to the theoretical model which is used to describe the electron-phonon interaction. Our data disagree with the macroscopic model of electron-phonon interaction, but they are in excellent agreement with the microscopic model proposed recently by Huang and Zhu.
Effects of acidity and aluminum toxicity on growth of bradyrhizobium japonicum in soil extracts

Abstract The effects of acidity and high levels of Al upon the growth of four strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum were compared in three strongly acidic soil extracts and in liquid defined medium. In all media the times for the strains to increase in cell density by a factor of 50,000 (i.e., become slightly turbid) increased as pH was decreased in treatments that included pH values of 6.7, 5.1, 4.8, and 4.6. Addition of 15 or 25 μM Al at pH 4.8 produced no detrimental effects in all media, whereas addition of 50 μM Al adversely affected the growth of B. japonicum at pH 4.6. At a given concentration of total Al B. japonicum in general grew as well in defined medium as in soil extract media which would be expected to contain organic Al‐detoxifying agents. Growth curves indicated that the growth reduction by acidity and Al toxicity in the turbidity studies was the result of sustained decreased growth rates and not simply the result of an initial lag period.
Ex vivo assessment of mouse cervical remodeling through pregnancy via 23Na MRS

Preterm birth occurs in 12.5% of births in the United States and can lead to risk of infant death or to lifelong serious health complications. A greater understanding by which the two main processes, uterine contraction and cervical remodeling are regulated is required to reduce rates of preterm birth. The cervix must undergo extensive remodeling through pregnancy in preparation for parturition, the process of labor and delivery of young. One key aspect of this dynamic process is a change in the composition and abundance of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans within the extracellular matrix, which influences the loss of tensile strength or stiffness of the cervix during labor. 23Na NMR spectroscopy has previously been validated as a method to quantify GAGs in tissues. In the current study, the Na+ concentration was measured at several time points through pregnancy in mouse cervices using 23Na NMR spectroscopy. The Na+ concentration increased progressively during pregnancy and peaked one day before birth followed by a rapid decline after birth. The same trend was seen in GAGs as measured by a biochemical assay using independent cervix samples over the course of pregnancy. We suggest that monitoring the Na+ concentration via 23Na NMR spectroscopy can serve as an informative physiological marker in evaluating the stages of cervical remodeling ex vivo and warrants further investigation to determine its utility as a diagnostic tool for the identification of women at risk for impending preterm birth. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leadership on Race in a Changing Suburban High School

Educational leaders face significant obstacles when attempting to work on race relations in schools. This article describes the response of one suburban high school to its changing racial composition. The perspectives of several key leaders are presented, and three key leadership events are examined. An analysis of these events using embedded intergroup relations theory reveals that the high school and the community were unable to authorize key members to do the work of improving race relations. Furthermore, significant boundary problems, such as central office intrusion and the absence of key members of the high school community, weakened the efforts of concerned staff. The study suggests that the application of embedded intergroup relations theory to race relations in schools improves the likelihood of successful research and consultations.
Signal transduction and activation of the NADPH oxidase in eosinophils

Activation of the eosinophil NADPH oxidase and the subsequent release of toxic oxygen radicals has been implicated in the mechanism of parasite killing and inflammation. At present, little is known of the signal transduction pathway that govern agonist-induced activation of the respiratory burst and is the subject of this review. In particular, we focus on the ability of leukotrine B4 to activate the NADPH oxidase in guinea-pig peritoneal eosinophils which can be obtained in sufficient number and purity for detailed biochemical experiments to be performed.
Are contraction and relaxation coupled in patients with and without congestive heart failure

BACKGROUND Although changes in contractility are often accompanied by changes in relaxation, a mathematical model of ventricular coupling has not been described. A model we examined suggests a hyperbolic relation between measurements of contraction and relaxation. We thus tested the hypothesis that relatively load-independent measurements of contractility (end-systolic elastance [Ees]) and relaxation (the slope of the tau-to-end-systolic pressure relation [R]) were coupled. METHODS AND RESULTS To establish the validity of the model, an assessment of Ees and R was made in 30 subjects who underwent sequential digital ventriculography and micromanometer pressure measurements during atrial pacing (93 +/- 10 min-1) before and after graded doses of nitroprusside. To establish if a cyclic AMP (cAMP)-mediated intervention alters coupling, seven of the 30 subjects were studied before and after 3 months of beta-blockade. To determine if a non-cAMP-mediated intervention alters coupling, 12 other patients were studied before and after deslanoside. Nonlinear regression analysis for the initial 30 patients suggested a hyperbolic relation: (Ees) (R) = 1.05 (r = 0.79, p less than 0.001) with an inflection point near Ees = 1.02 mm Hg/ml. Thus, with normal or near-normal contractility, relaxation is normal and not load dependent (R is close to 0). With systolic dysfunction, relaxation becomes very afterload dependent and so must be normalized for load. After long-term beta-blockade in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction, small improvements in contractility (elastance) occurred with larger changes in relaxation, but the curve describing the relation was not displaced. Acute administration of deslanoside resulted in a large increase in elastance and a smaller change in relaxation but did not alter coupling. However, the magnitude of the change in R was dependent on the predrug R value. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest contraction and relaxation may be physiologically coupled with relaxation relatively preserved in early heart failure and more rapid deterioration in relaxation as elastance falls under 1.02 mm Hg/ml. Both beta-blockers (which may act through cAMP) and digitalis (which is cAMP independent) improve contraction and relaxation, but both mechanisms appear to maintain coupling. The hyperbolic relation between contraction and relaxation may have important implications regarding therapeutic response and selection of patients for clinical trials in heart failure.
Hail to the Shrub: Mediating the Presidency

With regard to the American presidency, the prestige media perform the primary function of nonpartisan interested mediation between the president and his supporters and the loyal opposition to the president. This article draws on the formal sociology of Georg Simmel as a theoretical background, the American prestige newspapers as a resource, and the presidency of G. W. Bush before and immediately after 9/11/01 as a case study. When, as in the instance of the crisis following the 9/11 skyjackings, there is no partisan opposition to the president, the prestige media take up that role as interested mediators to try to ensure what they as representatives of hegemonic capitalism consider to be the proper functioning of the office.
Anteroposterior gradients in cerebral glucose use in schizophrenia and affective disorders.

• Local cerebral uptake of deoxyglucose labeled with fluorine 18 was measured by positron emission tomography in 16 patients with schizophrenia and 11 patients with affective disorder. Patients received no medication a minimum of 14 days and an average of 39.8 days. The subjects were administered the deoxyglucose 18F just before receiving a 34-minute 1/s series of unpleasant electrical stimuli to the right forearm while resting with eyes closed in a darkened, acoustically attenuated psychophysiologic testing chamber. Following monitored stimulation in the controlled environment, subjects were scanned and images converted to values of glucose use in micromoles per 100 g per minute according to Sokoloff's model. Data were analyzed with a four-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with independent groups (normals, schizophrenics, and affectives) and repeated measures for slice level (supraventricular, midventricular, and infraventricular), hemisphere (right, left), and anteroposterior position (four sectors). Both normal subjects and patients showed a significant anteroposterior gradient in glucose use with highest values in the frontmost sector. Patients both with schizophrenia and with affective illness showed less of an anteroposterior gradient especially at superior levels, which was statistically confirmed by ANOVA. Absolute glucose levels in patients, which were actually higher in posterior regions rather than lower in frontal regions, were the largest contributors to the effect. Neither group differences in whole brain glucose use nor left-right asymmetries reached statistical significance. These results are consistent with our earlier reports of a relative hypofrontal function in schizophrenia compared with controls. This report extends this finding to affective illness, sharing a lack of diagnostic specificity with many biologic measures.
Uncivil engineers: Chlamydia, Salmonella and Shigella alter cytoskeleton architecture to invade epithelial cells

The obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis is a major cause of blindness and sexually transmitted diseases. Like the enteric pathogens Salmonella and Shigella, Chlamydia injects effector proteins into epithelial cells to initiate extensive remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton at the bacterial attachment site, which culminates in the engulfment of the bacterium by plasma membrane extensions. Numerous Salmonella and Shigella effectors promote this remodeling by activating Rho GTPases and tyrosine kinase signaling cascades and by directly manipulating actin dynamics. Recent studies indicate that similar host-cell alterations occur during Chlamydia invasion, but few effectors are known. The identification of additional Chlamydia effectors and the elucidation of their modes of function are critical steps towards an understanding of how this clinically important pathogen breaches epithelial surfaces and causes infection.
Near Field Representations of the Acoustic Green's Function in a Shallow Ocean with Fluid-Like Seabed

In this paper, the near-field approximation of the acoustic Green's function in a two-layer waveguide is constructed by using a variation of the method of Ahluwalia and Keller (1). The relation between the con- structed multiple-scattering representation (suitable for near-field) and the Hankel transform representation (suitable for mid-range) is also discussed in this paper. The construction scheme presented in this paper can be general- ized for an N-layer waveguide. In this paper, we show how to construct acoustic Green's functions for a water column with fluid-like basement atop a rigid rockbed. The main interest is to obtain a representation of the acoustic Green's function which is valid in the near field. It is hoped with a near field Green's function, we will be able to solve the unknown object, inverse problem for an object submerged in an ocean with a layer of fluid-like sediment atop rigid rock, much in the same way as in (5), (3) for the completely reflecting seabed. In these papers, the method of integral equations is used, hence the need for an accurate near-field approximation. An alternate method which could also make use of an accurate near-field Green's function is the method of complete families of solutions. The idea of this method is discussed in (2) by Bergman and Schier, but goes back much farther. This method has been used eectively
Palliation of allograft vasculopathy with transluminal angioplasty: a decade of experience.

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to examine the outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and the predictors for restenosis after cardiac transplantation. BACKGROUND The role of PCI as definitive therapy for allograft coronary disease (ACD) remains contentious. METHODS Between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2000, 62 patients (1.5 to 15.5 years after transplant) underwent 151 procedures resulting in PCIs of 219 lesions. Follow-up after PCI angiography was usually obtained at three and six months, then yearly. Repeat PCI was routinely done to lesions with >60% restenosis. RESULTS The primary procedural success was 97%. Repeat PCI occurred in 74 of 219 lesions (34%); PCI-related mortality was 2.6% (4 of 151). The freedom from re-PCI (of same vessel site) was 75% at six months, 65% at one year, and 57% at four years. The freedom from restenosis was 95% at one month, 81% at three months, and 57% at six months. Multivariate predictors of freedom from restenosis were the use of stents, higher anti-proliferative immunosuppressant dose, and an era effect. In the setting of one-vessel disease at first PCI, the two-year freedom for ACD death or graft loss was 74%, compared with 75% for two-vessel and 27% for three-vessel disease (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS Despite the increasing effectiveness of PCI for localized ACD, the survival after development of advanced ACD remains poor. Stents appear to increase effectiveness of PCI for ACD, but other factors in the current era contribute to improved outcomes.