cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of anticholinergic drugs on the cardiac vagus. II. The cardiovascular response of animals to electroconvulsive therapy.

The acute effects of electroconvulsive therapy have been reinvestigated on animals. Our experiments have shown that the effects of ECT on circulatory dynamics were due mainly to stimuli which reached the heart through the vagus nerves. If these nerves were not blocked, electroshock with a current of duration employed clinically caused a brief period of asystole in almost every experiment, and occasionally caused death, either because of prolonged asystole, or by asystole followed by ventricular fibrillation. The previous administration of an anticholinergic drug in sufficient dosage to block the vagus nerves effectively eliminated the major cardiac reaction to electroshock. The intravenous injection of a moderate dose of thiopental did not appear to alter grossly the cardiovascular response, but did seem to reduce the physical reaction to the electric shock. A small dose of succmylcholme intravenously reduced the reaction of skeletal muscle to the electric shock but did not appear to afect the cardiovascular response to ECT.
Chronic ethanol ingestion modifies liver microsomal phosphatidylserine inducing resistance to hydrolysis by exogenous phospholipase A2

Chronic ethanol ingestion leads to the acquisition of a tolerance to membrane lipid disordering, a lowered partition coefficient to hydrophobic compounds and a resistance to the hydrolysis of the phospholipids by exogenous phospholipase A2. Anionic phospholipids have been implicated as being responsible for the resistance to lipid disordering and a number of modifications to these phospholipids are known to occur as a result of chronic ethanol-ingestion. In this study the basis of the resistance to phospholipase A2 in hepatic microsomes was investigated. It was found that chronic ethanol-induced modifications to each of the major phospholipid classes was responsible to some extent for the resistance to phospholipase A2, however, PS was particularly potent considering it is a compositionally minor constituent. The effect was interpreted as a reduced ability to activate the phospholipase A2 since PS acts as an essential activator of phospholipase A2 (along with PI). Fatty acid analysis revealed that the chronic ethanol-treatment resulted in a elevated level of docosahexaenoate with a parallel reduction in arachidonate in phosphatidylserine. Lipid packing and organization is important in the regulating the level of exogenous phospholipase A2 activity but the activity was not found to correlate with lipid order of different phosphatidylserine species. It is concluded that subtle differences in the molecular species arrangement or disposition around the enzyme may be responsible for the altered phospholipase A2 interaction with the membrane induced by chronic ethanol-treatment. One implication of this study is that other anionic phospholipid dependent membrane proteins, of which there are many known examples, may also be modified as a result of chronic ethanol-ingestion.
Oral administration of IL-12 suppresses anaphylactic reactions in a murine model of peanut hypersensitivity.

Abstract There is no satisfactory therapeutic intervention for peanut allergy, which accounts for most life-threatening food allergic reactions. Since IL-12 has been found to inhibit allergic airway responses in a mouse model of asthma and to cure Th2 cytokine-mediated murine schistosomiasis, we hypothesized that IL-12 treatment might also inhibit peanut allergic reactions. Consequently, we investigated the effects of oral IL-12 treatment in a murine model of peanut allergy and found that oral administration of liposome encapsulated rIL-12 could both prevent and reverse peanut hypersensitivity and could reduce histamine release, peanut-specific serum IgE and IgG1, and fecal IgA levels. Oral IL-12 treatment also increased IFN-γ but did not decrease IL-4 or IL-5 levels. We conclude that oral rIL-12 treatment has therapeutic as well as preventive effects on peanut allergy, which are associated with increased IFN-γ production.
Some Physical and Chemical Properties of Experimental Glazes for Vitrified Institutional Whiteware

The influence of the calculated oxide composition, batch composition, and application and firing techniques on the hardness, scratch resistance, resistance to attack by solutions of alkaline detergent materials, and other properties of glazes for vitrified institutional whiteware is discussed. The Knoop hardness of a reference glaze was increased by (a) the removal of lead, (b) the replacement of lead, potassium, or sodium oxides by lithia or by lithia and beryllia, (c) the addition of zinc oxide or lithia to the composition, (d) the substitution of beryllia for calcium oxide, and (e) the direct addition of calcium oxide to the glaze formulation. The resistance to attack by solutions of alkaline detergent materials was improved by (a) the substitution of lithia and beryllia for the oxides of lead, potassium, and sodium, (b) the substitution of zirconia for alumina, (c) the substitution of lithia for potassium oxide and sodium oxide, and (d) the addition of beryllia to the composition. In general, glazes that had outstanding resistance to abrasion, as determined by means of a sandblast test, failed to show a corresponding increase in resistance to attack by solutions of alkaline detergent materials. Of particular interest was the observation that the hardness of a glaze did not appear to be the factor governing the resistance of the glaze to scuffing in a simulated service test.
Ovulation, Fertilization, and Early Embryonic Development in the Menstruating Fruit Bat, Carollia perspicillata

To characterize periovulatory events, reproductive tracts were collected at 12 hr intervals from captive-bred, short-tailed fruit bats, Carollia perspicillata, on days 1-3 post coitum and examined histologically. Most bats bred readily. Graafian follicles developed large antra and exhibited preovulatory expansion of the cumulus oophorus. Ovulation had occurred in some on the morning, and in most by the evening, of day 1. The single ovum was released as a secondary oocyte and fertilized in the oviductal ampulla. Ovulated secondary oocytes were loosely associated with their cumulus cells, which were lost around the initiation of fertilization. Supernumerary spermatozoa were occasionally noted attached to the zonae pellucidae of oviductal ova, but never within the perivitelline space. By day 2, most ova had reached the pronuclear stage and by day 3, early cleavage stages. Several lines of evidence indicate that C. perspicillata is a spontaneous ovulator with a functional luteal phase. Most newly mated females had recently formed, but regressing corpora lutea, and thickened (albeit menstrual) uteri despite having been housed with males only for brief periods (<23 days). Menstruation is usually periovulatory in this species. Furthermore, the interval between successive estrus periods in most mated females that failed to establish ongoing pregnancies at the first was 21-27 days. Menstruation involved substantial endometrial desquamation, plus associated bleeding, and generally extended to the evening of day 3, the last time point studied. In nearly all females with a recent corpus luteum (n = 24 of 25; 96%), the preovulatory or newly ruptured follicle was in the opposite ovary.
Enzyme electrode for the determination of aspartate

Abstract An electrode for the determination of l -aspartate was constructed by chemical immobilization of l -aspartase [E.C.4.3.1.1] on an ammonia gas sensing probe. The electrode response was linear in the concentration range 7.0 × 10−4 m −2 × 10−2 m with a slope of −58 mV decade−1. The electrode was stable for more than 20 days. The effect of pH, substrate and magnesium ion concentrations, as well as the specificity of the electrode response to various common amino acids, are also reported.
Interactions of liposome carriers with infectious fungal hyphae reveals the role of β-glucans.

Relatively little is known about how liposomal formulations modulate drug delivery to fungal pathogens. We compared patterns of hyphal cell wall binding for empty rhodmine-labeled liposomes and the clinically available amphotericin B-containing liposomal formulation (AmBisome) in Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans. Following 0.5 h of coincubation with A. fumigatus , empty liposomes concentrated primarily in fungal septae along at the surface of the cell wall, suggesting that liposome uptake is concentrated in areas of the cell wall where linear glucan is exposed on the cell surface, which was confirmed by aniline blue staining. Consistent with this hypothesis, pretreatment of liposomes with soluble linear glucan (laminarin) decreased liposome binding in both Aspergillus and Candida fungal hyphae, while growth of Aspergillus hyphae in the presence of an agent that increases fungal cell wall surface exposure of linear β-glucans without cell death (caspofungin) increased liposome uptake throughout the Aspergillus fungal cell wall. Increasing the polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration in liposomes from 0 to 30% significantly increased fungal uptake of liposomes that was only modestly attenuated when fungal cells were incubated in serum concentrations ranging from 10 to 100%. The presence of β-glucans on the fungal hyphae cell walls of Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the factors responsible for mediating the binding of liposome carriers to the hyphae and could explain possible synergy reported between liposomal amphotericin B and echinocanins.
Effects of exercise on mobility in obese and nonobese older adults.

Coupled with an aging society, the rising obesity prevalence is likely to increase the future burden of physical disability. We set out to determine whether obesity modified the effects of a physical activity (PA) intervention designed to prevent mobility disability in older adults. Older adults at risk for disability (N = 424, age range: 70–88 years) were randomized to a 12 month PA intervention involving moderate intensity aerobic, strength, balance, and flexibility exercise (150 min per week) or a successful aging (SA) intervention involving weekly educational workshops. Individuals were stratified by obesity using a BMI ≥30 (n = 179). Mobility function was assessed as usual walking speed over 400 m and scores on a short physical performance battery (SPPB), which includes short distance walking, balance tests, and chair rises. Over 12 months of supervised training, the attendance and total amount of walking time was similar between obese and nonobese subjects and no weight change was observed. Nonobese participants in the PA group had significant increases in 400-m walking speed (+1.5%), whereas their counterparts in the SA group declined (−4.3%). In contrast, obese individuals declined regardless of their assigned intervention group (PA: −3.1%; SA: −4.9%). SPPB scores, however, increased following PA in both obese (PA: +13.5%; SA: +2.5%) and nonobese older adults (PA: +18.6%; SA: +6.1%). A moderate intensity PA intervention improves physical function in older adults, but the positive benefits are attenuated with obesity.
RETALIATING AGAINST TERRORISTS

This article asks whether retaliation reduces or increases terrorism. It attempts to answer the question by examining seven cases in which various terrorist attacks were conducted to achieve political goals, and governmental authorities responded in various ways to reduce or eliminate the terrorist threat. Data sets were constructed from public sources to summarize terrorist actions in Palestine, 1945-48; Morocco, 1953-56; Algeria, 1954-56; Northern Ireland, 1971-73; Spain, 1973-1983; Sri Lanka, 1983-87; and Peru, 1991-93. Molar analyses found no reliable evidence that retaliation either increased or decreased the average intensity of terrorist attacks. Analysis of successive incidents showed that the intensity of terrorist attacks immediately after retaliation increased with the intensity of retaliation in six of the seven cases. A review of international Al Qaeda attacks before and after retaliatory action by the USA against Afghanistan and Iraq suggests that the war on terrorism has not reduced the incidence of its conventional attacks. In the absence of evidence that retaliation decreases terrorism, authorities should refrain from violent retaliation after an attack and seek alternative approaches to reduce terrorist activity.
When accurate and inaccurate eyewitnesses look the same: a limitation of the ‘pop-out’ effect and the 10- to 12-second rule

Research has found support for a ‘pop-out effect’ that occurs when witnesses who accurately identify a criminal from a lineup are faster and uses more automatic processing than inaccurate witnesses who misidentify a foil. We present evidence that this finding may not occur with biased lineups. Witnesses to a mock theft were asked to make a lineup identification and three types of witnesses were compared: (1) accurate witnesses who identified a thief, (2) inaccurate witnesses who misidentified a foil who was more similar looking to the thief than the other lineup foils and (3) inaccurate witnesses who misidentified a foil who was not more similar in appearance to the thief than the other lineup foils. Accurate witnesses who identified the thief and inaccurate witnesses who misidentified a foil more similar to the thief than the other lineup foils were indistinguishable; both were faster, used more automatic recognition processes and were more confident than inaccurate witnesses who identified other foils. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Retropharyngeal Phlegmon in a Hemodialysis Patient with Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia is a frequent occurrence in patients with indwelling catheters. Endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and septic arthritis are common metastatic complications. A hemodialysis patient developed fever, headache, neck pain, sore throat, and dysphagia in the setting of S. aureus bacteremia. Contrast computed tomography scan of the neck revealed a retropharyngeal phlegmon. Recurrent bacteremia led to the identification of the access graft as the infectious source. We present this case to increase awareness among emergency physicians that retropharyngeal infection by S. aureus can arise by hematogenous spread and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a bacteremic patient with sore throat or neck pain.
Remote procedure call protocols for real-time systems

Like all real-time services, the correctness of a real-time remote procedure call depends on the processing time of the calling algorithm, the traffic on the network and eventual failures of the communication network. If the deadline of an RPC cannot be met due to these problems, the result produced by the server will be of little or no use. The authors investigate three different protocols for real-time remote procedure calls and compare their performances. The protocols are designed for, respectively, hard-deadline requests with early guarantees, without guarantees, and soft deadline requests. They compare the performances of the three protocols by simulations. >
Simulations of the evolution of the X-Ray properties of a young stellar population

We present an X-ray binary population synthesis model, and use it to simulate the evolution of X-ray binaries formed in a burst of star formation of duration 20 Myr and star-formation rate 10 M $_{\odot}$ yr −1 . We find that the X-ray luminous phase persists long after the star-formation episode has ended. The 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity can reach values of 10 40 −10 41 erg s −1 , comparable to those of some Seyfert galaxies. These models are directly applicable to starburst galaxies as well as LINERs powered by vigorous star formation. To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html
Ozone Depletion and Climate Change: Constructing a Global Response

Ozone Depletion and Climate Change: Constructing a Global Response. By Matthew J. Hoffman. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005. 260p. 24.95 paper.In this book, Matthew J. Hoffman attempts something quite ambitious: a two-stage analysis in which he first designs a formal model to test Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink's constructivist model of a norms life cycle, and a subsequent application of the insights generated to an empirical case. Although he does not quite pull it off, it is an effort worthy of attention and further development. On a stylistic note, the text contains an irritating amount of repetition that a good copy editor should have questioned.
Additional features of the Aarskog syndrome

pediatr ic ian in making inferences based on mo to r skills about the degree of overall re tardat ion. In the Down syndrome sample motor deve lopment lagged b e h i n d menta l deve lopmen t ages by as much as ten months , giving ample oppor tuni ty for serious underes t imat ion of menta l competence and readiness for acquir ing cognitive skills. Final ly the significant motor delay in Down syndrome suggests the impor tance of s t imula t ing the deve lopment of motor skills as a par t of in fan t and preschool in te rvent ion programs in which these chi ldren are enrolled. REFERENCES
Laboratory Efficacy of Oxytetracycline for the Control of Streptococcus iniae Infection in Blue Tilapia

Abstract Experimental trials were performed to evaluate the efficacy of oxytetracycline in controlling Streptococcus iniae infection in blue tilapia Tilapia aurea. Minimum-inhibitory-concentration studies of oxytetracycline against multiple S. iniae isolates indicated a general sensitivity at concentrations of 0.25–0.50 μg/mL. The dose levels tested were 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg active ingredient per kilogram of fish body weight per day. Administration of medicated feed started within 4–5 h after infection by waterborne exposure to S. iniae (after skin scraping) and continued for 14 consecutive days, followed by a posttreatment period of 21 d. The 50-mg treatment significantly increased the survival of infected fish from 7% in the nonmedicated group to 45%. The 75- and 100-mg treatments had survival rates (85% and 98%, respectively) that were significantly higher than that of the 50-mg treatment. There was no significant difference between the 75- and 100-mg treatments and the uninfected, nonmedicated treat...
Analysis of electromagnetic wave interaction with biological tissue using CG-FFT method

Recent developments in electromagnetic (EM) application often require the knowledge of EM interaction with biological tissue. For example, in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), detailed knowledge of the EM field distribution in the MRI resonator in the presence of a patient is required to further improve the MRI image quality. In the antenna design for wireless communication, knowledge of the EM interaction with the human head plays an important role. First for the safety concern, we need to know the EM field distribution, radiated by the handset, in the human head. Second, for effective transmission and reception, we need to know how the antenna radiation pattern is affected by the presence of the human head. In the past, the finite-difference time-domain (FD-TD) method has been used to investigate the effect of the EM wave on the biological tissue. This method has the ability of modeling the complex objects but requires extensive computational time. We propose to use the conjugate-gradient fast Fourier transform (CG-FFT) method to calculate the EM distribution within biological materials. Compared with the FD-TD method, the CG-FFT method has the advantage of comparable computer memory requirement but less CPU time. Once the EM field distribution within the biological tissue is calculated, other important parameters such as the specific absorbing ratio (SAR) for safety design can also be obtained.
Two-Deformable-Mirror Concept for Correcting Scintillation Effects in Laser Beam Projection Through the Turbulent Atmosphere

A two-deformable-mirror concept for correcting scintillation effects in laser beam projection through the turbulent atmosphere is presented. This system uses a deformable mirror and a Fourier-transforming mirror to adjust the amplitude of the wave front in the telescope pupil, similar to kinoforms used in laser beam shaping. A second deformable mirror is used to correct the phase of the wave front before it leaves the aperture. The phase applied to the deformable mirror used for controlling the beam amplitude is obtained with a technique based on the Fienup phase-retrieval algorithm. Simulations of propagation through a single turbulent layer sufficiently distant from the beacon observation and laser beam transmission aperture to cause scintillation shows that, for an ideal deformable-mirror system, this field-conjugation approach improves the on-axis field amplitude by a factor of approximately 1.4 to 1.5 compared with a conventional phase-only correction system.
Methods of intravenous therapy in preterm infants.

The purpose of this study was to compare two methods for maintaining intravenous therapy in preterm infants. A quasiexperimental research design was used. The model for the study was Roy's adaptation model (1). The population for this study was all infants, in neonatal intensive care units, undergoing intravenous therapy. A convenience sample of all infants admitted to one neonatal intensive care unit was used. Two hundred infants were the subjects. One group (n = 100) of infants received intravenous therapy via scalp vein needle, and the other group (n = 100) of infants received intravenous therapy via teflon catheter. A data collection form was attached to each subject's chart. The number of attempts necessary to insert the intravenous cannula, the duration of time in hours that the cannula was in situ, and the reasons for cannula removal were compared. Statistical analysis by t-tests and chi-squares showed that the infants in the teflon catheter group were younger gestationally, weighed less, and spent...
The Soviet Union and Collective Security

In its early years the leaders of the Soviet Union regarded the League of Nations as a tool in the hands of its enemies. The League was dominated by Britain and France, the two powers which had spent $1,500,000,000 in backing intervention in Russia during the Civil War period after 1917, for the purpose of stamping out Communism. British and French troops had been sent and the campaigns of the Tsarist generals backed to the limit that the war weary allied peoples would permit. All of these great interventions failed, including the American side-shows at Murmansk and Vladivostock, but not before the vast Russian land had been drenched with the blood of 7,000,000 people, killed in the most savage kind of fratricidal warfare. The Red leaders estimated the property damage done at $60,000,000,000, a claim against the Allies which they felt far outweighed the old Tsarist debts. In order to survive, also, the Reds had forged the iron rule of the single party.
Tropical forest burning in Brazilian Amazonia: measurement of biomass loading, burning efficiency and charcoal formation at Altamira, Pará

Abstract Mass transformations were estimated in burns in the clearings of three colonist lots near Altamira, Para, Brazil. In each lot, two groupings of six 60-m 2 plots were established in sites where the forest had been recently felled; plots were arranged as rays in a star-shaped pattern, with pre- and post-burn measurements made in alternate rays. Pre- and post-burn above-ground biomass was estimated by cutting and weighing the felled vegetation in 15 pre-burn and 18 post-burn plots (three pre-burn plots could not be weighed before one of the colonists burned the clearing) and by line intersect sampling (LIS) done along the axis of each of the 36 plots. Because of the high variability of the initial biomass present in the plots, volume data from LIS were more reliable for assessing change in the biomass of material over 10 cm in diameter (because this technique permits measuring the same trees before, and after, burning); other quantities relied on data from direct weighing. The best estimate of the mean pre-burn above-ground biomass at the site is 263 metric tons per hectare (t ha −1 ); considering available measurements of the proportion of below-ground biomass elsewhere in Amazonia, the total dry weight biomass at the Altamira site corresponds to ≈322 t ha −1 . Assuming 50% carbon (C) content for biomass, the above-ground biomass at Altamira represents a carbon stock of 130 t ha −1 . Assuming a carbon content of 75% for charcoal, 1.3% of the pre-burn above-ground carbon stock was converted to charcoal, substantially less than is generally assumed in global carbon models. Measurements at Altamira imply a 42% reduction of above-ground carbon pools if calculated along with the scattered trees that farmers leave standing in their clearings, or 43% if these trees are excluded from the analysis. These values are substantially higher than the 27.6% measured in an earlier study near Manaus. However, most of the difference between results at the two sites is explained by differences in the distribution of initial biomass among the fractions, especially greater quantities of vines and of litter (including dead wood 2 and trace gases.
Cutaneous lymphomatosis in a boxer dog. Pathologic and biochemical observations.

A 9-ycar-old boxer dog had rapidly progressive cutaneous lymphomatosis. There were pulmonary metastases, marked peripheral eosinophilia, eosinophilic infiltration of the cutaneous lesions, and a moderate heterogeneous elevation of the serum immunoglobulins, especially those with gamma mobility. The disease had similarities to viral-induced cutaneous leukosis of chickens and cattle.
Proteomic profiling of endorepellin angiostatic activity on human endothelial cells

Endorepellin, the C-terminal domain V of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan perlecan, exhibits powerful and targeted anti-angiogenic activity on endothelial cells. To identify proteins involved with endorepellin anti-angiogenic action, we performed an extensive comparative proteomic analysis between vehicle- and endorepellin-treated human endothelial cells. Proteomic analysis of endorepellin influence on human umbilical vein endothelial cells identified five differentially expressed proteins, three of which (β-actin, calreticulin, and chaperonin/Hsp60) were down-regulated and two of which (vimentin and the β subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase also known as protein disulfide isomerase) were up-regulated in response to endorepellin treatment—and associated with a fold change (endorepellin/control) ≤ 0.75 and ≥ 2.00, and a statistically significant p-value as determined by Student's t test. The proteins identified represent potential target areas involved with endorepellin anti-angiogenic mechanism of action. Further elucidation as such will ultimately provide useful in utilizing endorepellin as an anti-angiogenic therapy in humans.
Some Future Perspectives for Unit Dose Inhalation Aerosols

AbstractUnit dose inhalation aerosols fail to achieve optimal lung deposition even though this can be achieved by dispersing 1-5 µm aerodynamic diameter particles in air. Dry powder generators require rapid inhalation for actuation and fail to deaggregate and release much of their powder charge because of high particulate adhesion forces. Conversely, pressurized metered dose inhalers (MDIs) fail because emergent propellant droplets are too large and travel too fast. The present unreliable dosimetry associated with the MDI stems from a desire to administer the whole of the metered dose. Rational design should concede on this point and concentrate on reducing primary droplet size and preventing emission of non-respirable large droplets. The loss of a constant proportion of each metered dose in the device and not the patient would be a major achievement. Improved inhalation dosimetry will facilitate future formulation developments designed to sustain local activity in the lung. This may be achieved by reduci...
Modeling genome coverage in single-cell sequencing

Motivation: Single-cell DNA sequencing is necessary for examining genetic variation at the cellular level, which remains hidden in bulk sequencing experiments. But because they begin with such small amounts of starting material, the amount of information that is obtained from single-cell sequencing experiment is highly sensitive to the choice of protocol employed and variability in library preparation. In particular, the fraction of the genome represented in singlecell sequencing libraries exhibits extreme variability due to quantitative biases in amplification and loss of genetic material. Results: We propose a method to predict the genome coverage of a deep sequencing experiment using information from an initial shallow sequencing experiment mapped to a reference genome. The observed coverage statistics are used in a non-parametric empirical Bayes Poisson model to estimate the gain in coverage from deeper sequencing. This approach allows researchers to know statistical features of deep sequencing experiments without actually sequencing deeply, providing a basis for optimizing and comparing single-cell sequencing protocols or screening libraries. Availability and implementation: The method is available as part of the preseq software package. Source code is available at http://smith labresearch.org/preseq.
Factors That Predict Incident Reporting Behavior in Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

FACTORS THAT PREDICT INCIDENT REPORTING BEHAVIOR IN CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETISTS By Nicole Kemp Damico, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Suzanne M. Wright, PhD Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Nurse Anesthesia The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” highlighted the alarming rate and impact of medical errors (Kohn, 1999). Over a decade later, improving patient safety through reduction of medical errors continues to be a national priority. One of the strategies widely utilized to address this issue is the use of incident reporting systems. Prior research in medical and non-medical domains indicates that the success of this strategy is dependent upon widespread acceptance and use of reporting systems by frontline workers. Although certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) comprise over one-half of the anesthesia workforce and administer millions of anesthetics to patients in the United States each year, no studies have examined incident reporting behavior in this provider group.
PTH/PTHrP Receptor Mediates Cachexia in Models of Kidney Failure and Cancer

Cachexia is a wasting syndrome associated with elevated basal energy expenditure and loss of adipose and muscle tissues. It accompanies many chronic diseases including renal failure and cancer and is an important risk factor for mortality. Our recent work demonstrated that tumor-derived PTHrP drives adipose tissue browning and cachexia. Here, we show that PTH is involved in stimulating a thermogenic gene program in 5/6 nephrectomized mice that suffer from cachexia. Fat-specific knockout of PTHR blocked adipose browning and wasting. Surprisingly, loss of PTHR in fat tissue also preserved muscle mass and improved muscle strength. Similarly, PTHR knockout mice were resistant to cachexia driven by tumors. Our results demonstrate that PTHrP and PTH mediate wasting through a common mechanism involving PTHR, and there exists an unexpected crosstalk mechanism between wasting of fat tissue and skeletal muscle. Targeting the PTH/PTHrP pathway may have therapeutic uses in humans with cachexia.
Evidence for liver injury in the setting of obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract Introduction. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are both strongly associated with obesity. Whether OSA is an independent risk factor for liver injury is uncertain. Objective. To assess the hypothesis that OSA is associated with liver injury independent of obesity. Materials and methods. We reviewed the histories of 73 consecutive patients referred to a hospital-based sleep lab because of suspected OSA. OSA was determined to be present if the apnea-hypopnea index was > 10. Obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 . Patients were included for analysis if they had aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels obtained within 60 days of sleep study. Patients with evidence of viral hepatitis, autoimmune-, metabolic-or established alcoholic-liver disease were excluded. Patients who reported alcohol intake equivalent to a dose ≥ 20 g/day were also excluded. 53 of 73 patients met study criteria. Patients were subdivided for analysis into groups meeting or not meeting OSA and obesity criteria, and having or not having elevated aminotransferase levels. Results. 35/53 patients (66%) had OSA. 31/53 (58%) patients were obese. 15 (28%) and 12 (23%) patients had elevated AST and ALT, respectively. Mean age, gender distribution, mean BMI and percentage with either diabetes or hyperlipi-demia were not significantly different in those with or without OSA. Elevated ALT was found in 11/35 (31%) patients with OSA, compared to 1/18 patients without OSA (p = 0.041). Frequency of elevated AST [obese 11/31 (35%); non-obese 4/22 (18%)] or ALT [obese 10/31 (32%); non-obese 2/22 (9%)] was not significantly different in the obese and non-obese cohorts. Conclusions. OSA may be a risk factor for liver injury independent of obesity. The prevalence and nature of liver disease in the setting of OSA should be determined with larger, prospective studies. The impact of OSA treatment, if any, on liver injury should be similarly evaluated.
Ultra-High Speed Optical Fiber Communication ICs Based on Compound Semiconductor Devices

Ultra-high-speed optical fiber communication ICs beyond 40 Gbit/s are described. 0.1-µm gate-length InP-based HEMTs are mainly used. Future trends including the optoelectronic approach toward and beyond 100 Gbit/s are addressed.
Regulation of branched chain amino acid catabolism in mammalian tissues: Characterization of the mitochondrial aminotransferase

The branched chain aminotransferase (BCAT) catalyzes the first step in catabolism of the three essential branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine). The second step is irreversible oxidative decarboxylation of the transamination products, the branched chain α-keto acids, catalyzed by the branched chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase multienzyme complex. It is the tissue distribution of these two enzymes that is largely responsible for the unique metabolism of this group of amino acids among different organs and tissues [1]. Because branched chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase, which is the first rate-controlling step in branched chain amino acid catabolism, is a mitochondrial matrix enzyme, the subcellular distribution of BCAT in a tissue can influence branched chain amino acid oxidation. In the present study the role of the mitochondrial and cytosolic aminotransferase(S) in regulating branched chain amino acid oxidation is discussed. Molecular characteristics and purification of the mitochondrial aminotransferase from rat heart are presented, and the relationship of this enzyme to the brain cytosolic enzyme is described.
Strain Rate Effects in Particulate-Filled Epoxy

In recent years it has been determined that a vast majority of solid materials display mechanical properties that are dependent on the rate of load application. There is the necessity of knowing the effect of load rate on the behavior of composite materials, not only to satisfy scientific endeavors, but also to enable practical engineering applications where designed members are subjected to impacts. A research investigation was conducted to determine the strain rate sensitivity of aluminum oxide particulate- filled epoxy and the effects produced with variations in filler size and content. A split Hopkinson pressure bar was incorporated to observe dynamic material behavior at high strain rate, while quasistatic tests were conducted on an Instron machine. The results revealed that the stress at a particular strain increased with strain rate, with this increase being more pronounced with smaller particle size and larger filler concentration. Some analysis is also included concerning a possible failure mode.
Resistance of red raspberry and other Rubus species to twospotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Clones of red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., and other Rubus species were tested in the greenhouse for resistance to the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. The red raspberry advanced selection, WSU 968, R. parvifolius ‘Cherry’, and Dormanred (1/4 R. idaeus , 3/4 R. parvifolius ) were the most resistant clones. Red raspberry ‘Willamette’, ‘Meeker’, and ‘Haida’ were defoliated by mid August, whereas the resistant Rubus clones were still green and appeared healthy. WSU 968 and Cherry transmitted the resistance to their progeny when crossed with red raspberry clones.
Thermophysical property and pore structure evolution in stressed and non-stressed neutron irradiated IG-110 nuclear graphite

The nuclear graphite, IG-110, was irradiated with and without a compressive load of 5 MPa at ~400 C up to 9.3x1025 n/m2 (E>0.1 MeV.) Following irradiation physical properties were studied to compare the effect of graphite irradiation on microstructure developed under compression and in stress-free condition. Properties included: dimensional change, thermal conductivity, dynamic modulus, and CTE. The effect of stress on open internal porosity was determined through nitrogen adsorption. The IG-110 graphite experienced irradiation-induced creep that is differentiated from irradiation-induced swelling. Irradiation under stress resulted in somewhat greater thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion. While a significant increase in dynamic modulus occurs, no differentiation between materials irradiated with and without compressive stress was observed. Nitrogen adsorption analysis suggests a difference in pore evolution in the 0.3-40 nm range for graphite irradiated with and without stress, but this evolution is seen to be a small contributor to the overall dimensional change.
Recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor after autologous bone marrow transplantation for relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: blood and bone marrow progenitor growth studies. A phase II Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Trial.

Sixteen patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation and infusion of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF). Treatment consisted of involved-field radiotherapy, cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg/d intravenously (IV) for 2 days, and fractionated total body irradiation (1,200 cGy). Autologous bone marrow was thawed and infused IV, followed 3 hours later by the first infusion of IV rhGM-CSF 11 micrograms/kg/d over 4 hours. Infusions of rhGM-CSF were continued daily until either both neutrophil count exceeded 1,500/microL and platelet count exceeded 50,000/microL, or until 30 days after marrow re-infusion. Toxicities encountered were mild and included fever, chills, hypertension, alopecia, rash, diarrhea, stomatitis, myalgias, and synovial (knee) effusions. Neutrophil recovery greater than 500/microL occurred a median of 14 days (range, 9 to 30 days) after marrow infusion, significantly earlier than in a comparable group of historic controls who recovered counts at a median time of 20 days (range, 12 to 51 days) (P = .00002). Median time to self-sustaining platelet counts greater than 20,000/microL was 23.5 days (range, 12 to 100 days), comparable with the historic group (P = .38). One bacteremia (central venous catheter exit site infection with Staphylococcus epidermidis) and one local infection (Giardia lamblia in stool) occurred. Patients received a median of 11.4 (range, 4.4 to 20.2) x 10(4) colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) progenitors per kg. Stem cell progenitors CFU-GM, CFU-granulocyte, erythroid, monocyte, megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM), and burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E) were detected in the bone marrow as early as 7 days after marrow re-infusion, and increased in proportion to peripheral blood counts, but by 30 to 60 days still remained much lower than before transplant. Neutrophils transiently decreased in 13 of 16 patients (median decrease, 42%) within 24 to 72 hours of discontinuing rhGM-CSF infusions. These data suggest that rhGM-CSF therapy enhances neutrophil recovery by forcing stem cells to produce mature elements at an enhanced rate but may not affect marrow stem cell and early progenitor population sizes.
Surveillance and analysis on influenza in Longgang District of Shenzhen City from 2010-2011

[Objective]To analyze the surveillance results of influenza in Longgang District of Shenzhen City in Guangdong,provide the reference for developing influenza prevention and control strategies.[Methods]The epidemiological,etiological and serological surveillance data of influenza-like illness cases in Longgang District from 2010-2011 were analyzed to explore the epidemic pattern.[Results]A total of 55 429 influenza-like illness cases were reported in Longgang District from 2010-2011,accounting for 7.24%(55 429/765 910) of the total outpatient cases.Most of cases were children under 15 years old,accounting for 80.55%.The influenza-like illness cases occurred all the year round.During the two years,a total of 312 strains of influenza viruses were isolated with the positive rate of 38.61%(312 /808),including 96 strains of seasonal influenza A viruses and 113 strains of B viruses,103 strains of influenza A H1N1.43 influenza outbreaks occurred in two years,with 458 cases accumulatively.Most outbreaks occurred during March-May and December,which accounted for 83.72%,and all influenza outbreaks occurred in schools and nurseries.The influenza A viruses was predominant in outbreaks of both 2010(94.44%) and 2011(76.00%).[Conclusion]The epidemic situation of seasonal influenza in Longgang District from 2010-2011 is relatively stable without large-scale outbreaks,and no significant virus variation is observed.
Design and analysis of qualitative collaborative studies: minimum collaborative program.

Collaborative studies involving qualitative data are usually conducted under design constraints to fulfill the requirements for quantitative studies. The data from these qualitative studies are often analyzed in a manner that ignores the fact that collaborative studies involve matching (i.e., each laboratory analyzes a portion of each test sample). This report presents some design considerations and analysis procedures for qualitative collaborative studies that take into account that the design involves matching. Suggestions are offered as to the number of laboratories and test samples to use in the minimum collaborative program, and analysis procedures for outier screening are detailed. Method performance is assessed through such indicators as sensitivity, specificity, false positive, and false negative rates. Methods for estimating the error of the performance indicator rates are explained, and procedures are given for estimating false positive and false negative rates for lot defect rates that may occur in practice.
Is Instant Pain Relief Just a Click Away

Dear Editor, I read with interest the article by Hayek et al outlining the use of a patient activated bolus to treat breakthrough pain in patients with a targeted drug delivery system [1]. To my knowledge, the authors provide the largest retrospective publication supporting the use of a wireless device capable of triggering an intrathecal pump to administer a supplemental analgesic bolus for the management of unpredictable breakthrough pain in a population with non-cancer diagnoses. I would argue that the most important finding of the article was not the characterization of the population and their success with modest dose intrathecal hydromorphone, but the author’s demonstration that efficacious and “almost instantaneous” analgesia is possible in patients with advanced chronic pain conditions. Historically, there had been few “almost instantaneous” options for meaningful relief of incident pain outside of a closely monitored setting, and even fewer safe strategies for ambulatory opioid tolerant patients with advanced chronic pain conditions and a targeted drug delivery system. Yet the authors successfully show …
The Ironic Figure in ‘The Figure in the Carpet’

Published in 1896, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’ has created more controversy than any other of James’s short fictions about writers and critics. No less a Jamesian than F. O. Matthiessen found the story ‘overly ingenious’ and ‘fresher in intention than in effect’ (Stories of Writers and Artists 1953, p. 16). Despite James’s often-quoted claim in the Preface to Volume XV that his aim in the story was to ‘reinstate analytical appreciation’, his idea did not develop from the anger and disillusionment which had informed such close predecessors of the story as ‘The Death of the Lion’ (1894) and ‘The Next Time’ (1895). In tone, the story is closest to the radical comic irony of ‘The Coxon Fund’. In substance, it goes far to advance, in comic terms, James’s developing argument about the art of criticism, of reading, in relation to the art of fiction and to dramatise the difficulties of that essential relation for both critics and novelists. Moreover, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’ prefigures James’s issues in The Sacred Fount, where, as we shall see, he dramatises a collaborative relation between the writer-artist and his audience and the responsibility of each party in the creation of art. Seen in the context of James’s developing portrayal of an ideal relation between the writer-artist and the critic-as-idealreader, the celebrated ambiguities of the story fall into perspective (see Rimmon, 1977, pp. 95–115; 228–32). Issues such as whether there is an undiscovered ‘figure’ in the fiction of Hugh Vereker and whether anyone discovers it merely frame the comic focus upon the young critics’ misguided quest to discover the illusive point novelist Hugh Vereker claims lies hidden like buried treasure in the rich mine of his fiction.
A General Non-Binary LDPC Code Optimization Framework Suitable for Dense Flash Memory and Magnetic Storage

Transmission channels underlying modern dense storage systems, e.g., Flash memory and magnetic recording (MR) systems, significantly differ from canonical channels, like additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. While existing low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes optimized for symmetric, AWGN-like channels are being actively considered for Flash applications, we demonstrate that, due to channel asymmetry, such approaches are inadequate. We introduce a refined definition of absorbing sets, which we call general absorbing sets of type two (GASTs) , and study the combinatorial properties of GASTs. We then present the weight consistency matrix (WCM) , which succinctly captures key properties in a GAST. Furthermore, we show how to customize the WCM definition such that it suits other special subclasses of GASTs. Based on these new concepts, we then develop a new, general combinatorial code optimization framework, which we call the WCM framework , and demonstrate its effectiveness on the realistic highly-asymmetric normal-Laplace mixture (NLM) Flash channel. Moreover, we show that our framework can be customized to optimize non-binary LDPC (NB-LDPC) codes for other asymmetric channels, channels with memory (incorporated in MR systems), and canonical symmetric channels. For all the channels we have simulated NB-LDPC codes over, the codes optimized using the WCM framework enjoy at least 1 order, and up to nearly 2 orders of magnitude performance gain in the uncorrectable bit error rate (UBER) or the frame error rate (FER) relative to the unoptimized codes. Our simulations also show that codes optimized for symmetric channels are not the best choice for asymmetric channels.