cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tacrolimus for primary liver transplantation: 12 to 15 years actual follow-up with safety profile.

Abstract Background Tacrolimus has been increasingly used for liver transplantation during the last decade. The drug has immunological advantages in short- to medium-term follow-up. However, data on longitudinal follow-up are lacking. Aim The aim of the present report was to examine the impact of tacrolimus in primary adult and pediatric liver transplantation (LTx) patients. Material and Method One thousand consecutive primary LTx patients were performed under tacrolimus between August 1989 and December 1992 were followed up until August 2004. Mean follow-up was 13.4 ± 0.92 (range, 11.7–15) years. There were 600 males and 400 females with a mean age of 42.6 ± 20.2 years. There were 166 children (age 18 years or younger) and 834 adults, of whom 204 were older than 60 years (seniors). Results Four hundred ninety-seven (49.7%) patients died in the follow-up period. The overall 15-year actuarial patient survival rate was 51.4%. The survival rate for children was significantly better (81.3%) compared with adults (47.5%) and seniors (36.4%) ( P = .0001). One hundred fifty-one patients received a second LTx, 22 patients received a third LTx, and 4 patients received a fourth LTx. Over all 15 years the actuarial graft survival rate was 46.1%. At last follow-up, 69.1% of patients were off steroids. The majority of late deaths were due to age-related complications, recurrence of disease, and De novo cancers. Conclusion The data on longitudinal follow-up have shown actuarial survival for children to be significantly better than in adults and seniors. Graft loss from immunological causes are rare even with long-term follow-up.
The effects of oral administration of chlorhexidine on the rate of regeneration of epithelia of the oral mucosa and skin of mice.

Using injection of tritiated thymidine and autoradiography, the labelling index, rate of migration of labelled cells and width of epithelia of the oral mucosa and skin of mice was examined after either (a) 2 % chlorhexidine solution or (b) distilled water, was instilled twice daily for 7 days into the oral cavity. A small but consistent reduction in the rate of regeneration of epithelia in chlorhexidine-treated animals was attributed to the added stress to which the experimental group was exposed. It was anticipated that a direct irritant effect of chlorhexidine on the oral mucosa would produce a locally increased rate of epithelial regeneration: no such change was observed. No change in the labelling index of the liver or in the rate of gain of weight in experimental animals was detected during the experimental period.
Possible mesodermal origin for axial dysraphic disorders

We report four patients who provide clinical evidence supporting the hypothesis that axial dysraphic states may result from a primary disturbance in the chordoaxial mesoderm. One infant had complete craniorachischisis, an omphalocele, and ambiguous genitalia. A second infant had anencephaly and an omphalocele. The third had iniencephaly. The fourth had cervical vertebral fusion defects, an occipital menigocele, and a laterality malformation sequence. Alteration in the development of structures derived from the chordoaxial mesoderm could explain all of the structural defects observed in the four patients. This hypothesis accounts for the nature of the defects seen in association with dysraphic disorders and for the genetic relationship observed between neural tube defects and vertebral anomalies.
Effective Index Series Analysis of Ridge Waveguides with Arbitrarily Sloped Sidewalls

Semiconductor ridge waveguide structures are widely used in many integrated optical circuits and devices, including low threshold current, single-mode diode lasers. Although computer-intensive numerical techniques are required to completely analyze these structures, reasonable accuracy can be obtained with simple effective index methods, in cases where the ridge is not etched into the guiding layer.
Thrips Species Associated with Onion in Colorado

Abstract. Surveys of onion, Allium cepa L., fields in Colorado during 2004–2005 found that a complex of thrips species, comprised of onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, and three Frankliniella species, were present in almost every location. Onion thrips predominated, averaging between 82.6 and 84.9% of the thrips recovered during the two seasons. Second in abundance was western flower thrips, F. occidentalis Pergande, that averaged 12.6 and 12.2% of the total thrips found during the two years, respectively. Two additional plant-feeding species, F. tenuicornis (Uzel) and F. schultzei (Trybom), also were recovered from the onion fields, and the latter comprised as much as 42% of the thrips in one southeastern Colorado field survey. The relative proportion of the thrips species in fields varied between sites and during the season, differences that might need to be considered when managing thrips on the onion crop. Three species, F. tenuicornis, F. schultzei, and a predatory species, the vespiform thrips, F...
Amino-terminal control of transgenic protein expression levels in Toxoplasma gondii.

Comparing the steady-state expression levels of recombinant proteins in Toxoplasma gondii parasites indicates considerable variability, and this has sometimes caused difficulties in the engineering of transgenic parasites. Anecdotal observations suggested that alteration of the N-terminus, e.g. by engineering as a fusion protein, permits stable expression of various transgenes that were previously difficult to express in their native form. We have exploited the sensitivity and quantitative nature of fire-fly luciferase (LUC) to examine expression levels in further detail. Fusing the 26 N-terminal residues derived from chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (DeltaCAT) to LUC permits efficient transient or stable luciferase expression in transgenic parasite tachyzoites, providing a useful reporter for studies in T. gondii. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to alter the second codon of DeltaCAT-LUC to encode all 20 possible amino acids, and these constructs showed that changes in the second amino acid can have dramatic effects on luciferase activity, with Ala, Glu, and Asp codons yielding the highest expression levels. Similar results were observed for the expression of both GFP and the T. gondii HXGPRT gene, demonstrating the generality of this effect.
Efficacy of intraoperative blood collection and reinfusion in revision total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Patients undergoing revision total hip arthroplasty frequently require perioperative blood transfusion, increasing the risk for blood-borne disease and anaphylactic and hemolytic reactions. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effect of intraoperative blood collection and reinfusion on net blood loss in patients undergoing revision hip arthroplasty. Methods: The medical records of 126 patients who had had a revision total hip arthroplasty with intraoperative blood salvage, with use of a collection and reinfusion device, during a twenty-eight-month period were reviewed. For comparison, the medical records of ninety-six patients who had undergone revision hip arthroplasty without intraoperative blood salvage were reviewed. Each of the 222 patients was categorized into a group on the basis of the type of revision. Results: Patients who had a revision of the femoral and acetabular components (Group C) had significantly higher mean intraoperative and total blood loss than did those who had a revision of the femoral component only (Group A [p = 0.009 and p = 0.02, respectively]) or a revision of the acetabular component only (Group B [p = 0.0001 for both]). Total blood loss was not significantly different between Groups A and B. The mean amount of blood reinfused intraoperatively was 356 mL for the patients in Group A, 374 mL for the patients in Group B, and 519 mL for the patients in Group C. Regression analysis showed a significant decrease in net blood loss with intraoperative collection and reinfusion in Groups B (p = 0.002) and C (p = 0.0001) but not in Group A. Conclusions: Intraoperative collection and reinfusion substantially decreased net perioperative blood loss in patients who had a revision of both components (Group C) and in those who had a revision of the acetabular component (Group B). The use of intraoperative blood collection and reinfusion appears to be a valuable method of preserving blood volume in the perioperative period. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level III-2 (retrospective cohort study). See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
The moral career of the reformed compulsive eater: A study of conversion to charismatic conformity

This paper reports the findings of an intensive study of participants in a “self‐help” weight control group. The objective of the study was to investigate the development of deviant identity among the obese and the process by which the group of reformed deviants effected changes in the eating behavior of its members. Participant observation and interviews revealed successful members experience a radical conversion and that these converts to conformity (self‐controlled eating) shared common biographical characteristics, i.e., moral careers. Theoretical implications of such conversions from deviance to conformity are then discussed.
On score distributions and relevance

We discuss the idea of modelling the statistical distributions of scores of documents, classified as relevant or non-relevant. Various specific combinations of standard statistical distributions have been used for this purpose. Some theoretical considerations indicate problems with some of the choices of pairs of distributions. Specifically, we revisit a generalisation of the well-known inverse relationship between recall and precision: some choices of pairs of distributions violate this generalised relationship. We identify the choices and the violations, and explore some of the consequences of this theoretical view.
Imprisonment Rates and the New Politics of Criminal Punishment

While the rate of imprisonment in the United States has been increasing sharply for more than a quarter of a century, the seven years after 1993 present a special set of conditions because crime ra...
Simulation of digital circuits in the presence of uncertainty

Current extended value set dynamic timing analyzers are not sophisticated enough to detect the subtle timing relationships upon which timing-critical systems depend, and exhaustive simulation achieves very accurate results but at tremendous computational cost. MTV is a simulator that strikes a balance between accuracy and efficiency.MTV is more accurate than other extended value set simulators because it respects the ordering of events. It is more efficient than exhaustive simulators because it efficiently simulates overlapping events and requires only a single waveform to represent a signal. Features of MTV include: elimination of common ambiguity, symbolic delays, correlated delays, and sophisticated algorithms to detect ordered events. This paper concludes with simulation results from the ISCAS85 benchmark suite.
Sublethal predation on Polydora cornuta (Polychaeta: Spionidae): patterns of tissue loss in a field population, predator functional response and potential demographic impacts

Patterns of tissue loss due to sublethal predation and potential effects on population dynamics were investigated in the polychaete Polydora cornuta Bosc, 1802. Field observations in southeastern Connecticut showed that the percentage of adult worms regenerating segments and/or feeding palps varied temporally from May to November 1982, but the general pattern suggests a constant level of sublethal encounters. Over all sampling dates, a mean of 14.9 and 7.0% of the population was found regenerating posterior segments and palps, respectively. Worms lost a mean of 19.1% of their segments. There was a weak, but statistically non-significant, size-specific difference in the number of regenerating segments per individual. Worms with 20 to 39 segments and 60 to 80 + segments lost an average of 13.8 and 17.2% of their segments, respectively, but worms with 40 to 59 segments lost an average of 23.4% of their segments. The incidence of regeneration (palps and segments) increased linearly with increasing adult density in the population. There was also a strong positive linear relationship between the number of segments available and the number of segments lost at the population level. This suggests that the constant level of sublethal predation can be explained by predators taking prey in proportion to their density and/or the number of segments available. This pattern is supported by results from a laboratory functional response experiment which indicated that at high prey density, partial consumption of P. cornuta by the predatory polychaete Eteone heteropoda was greater than lethal consumption. Lethal predation of P. cornuta by E. heteropoda did not vary across experimental density treatments. Demographic modelling suggested that sublethal predation can reduce the population growth rate of P. cornuta, but the reduction is less than if the added predation pressure was solely lethal. It was estimated that up to 25% of the population could be preyed upon in a sublethal manner before the potential for population growth fell below population maintenance levels.
Early regulation of membrane excitability by ras oncogene proteins

Two electrode voltage clamp conditions were used to study the early effects on ionic membrane channels of the intracellularly injected proto-oncogenic form of c-Ha-ras (c-ras) and its oncogenic counterpart v-Ha-ras (v-ras). These experiments were conducted on isolated somata of identified fully differentiated neurons of the sea snail Hermissenda. 20min after c-ras, and 10min after v-ras intracellular injections into type B medial photoreceptors of Hermissenda, the peak amplitude of two outward potassium currents (IA and IC), across the isolated Type B soma membrane begin to decrease. These two currents have been previously isolated by differences in activation and inactivation kinetics and their response to pharmacological blockers. c- or v-ras injections did not have any effect on a voltage-dependent inward calcium current. Reduction of IA preceded that of IC. Current reductions due to c-ras, but not to v-ras injection reversed spontaneously after 40min. The voltage dependence of the steady state inactivation of IA shifted toward more negative potentials with ras injections. Ras-mediated cell transformations therefore, could involve, perhaps as initial events, prolonged modification of membrane currents.
Using real estate records to assess forest land parcelization and development: A Minnesota case study

We measure the extent and location of forest parcelization activity in a heavily forested Minnesota county between 1999 and 2006 and examine both the immediate and extended relationship between parcelization and development activity. We document forest land parcelization and development activity over time utilizing readily available real estate parcel data. Despite widespread perceptions of rapidly increasing rates of parcelization, we observed no significant positive or negative trend in parcelization activity in Itasca County during the study period: an average of only 0.4% of private forest land was parcelized each year. Parcelization was more common near cities, water, and public lands. While the overall rate of parcelization observed in this study may seem meager, closer examination of specific parcels suggest that parcelization is intimately tied to development activity and that this development occurs not long after parcelization.
Seroprevalence and Comparison of Isolates of Endometriotropic Bovine Herpesvirus-4

Sixty-eight cases of suppurative, ulcerative endometritis associated with Bovine Herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) in postparturient dairy cows (62 Holsteins and 6 Jerseys, mean age 4.2 years) were confirmed by a combination of histopathology, fluorescent antibody assays, electron microscopic evaluation of uterus, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All cases occurred in the 3- to 28-day postpartum period, and histologic lesions among various cows were consistent when compared with postpartum interval. The endometrial lining epithelium was necrotic and ulcerated from 3 to 7 days postpartum, with only mild inflammation in the lamina propria and submucosa. From 1 to 4 weeks postpartum, the ulcers were confluent to diffuse. Epithelium was replaced by fibrinonecrotic, suppurative mats, resulting in severe bacterial pyometra by day 24. Seroprevalence to BHV-4 in one dairy with a history of 18 mortality cases was 36% (107 of 296). In a random sample of 8 cows from this herd, none had serologic titers in blood sampled 2 weeks prepartum, but 3 of 8 seroconverted with significant titers of 1:8 to 1:16 at 2 weeks postpartum. By 10 weeks postpartum, all 8 cows returned to negative serologic status. Two of 6 cats from the premises also had positive titers. Random serum samples taken from 480 dairy cattle at sale barns indicated 76 (16%) were positive by serum neutralization. Clinical signs, postparturient timing, and histologic lesions were very similar to those previously reported in Belgium with BHV-4. But sequence analysis of PCR products of the glycoprotein B region of 4 separate field isolates of endometriotropic BHV-4 suggests these field isolates were more closely related to the North American nonvirulent strain DN-599 than to the endometriotropic European strain V.
Variation in the Traditional Vowels of the Eastern States

In contrast to Hans Kurath and Raven McDavid's traditional analysis of vowel variation presented in their 1961 Pronunciation of English in the Atlantic States, which was a largely intuitive, qualitative treatment of the evidence that focused on patterns of regional contrast, this study focuses on the picture of quantitative variation in American English vowels along the North Midland and South Midland border as represented in data from the Linguistic Atlas of Middle and South Atlantic States. For each of the 12 vowels studied, its various pronunciations within a single word (e.g., /i/ in three, /I/ in six, etc.) were tallied for the overall sample of 1,162 speakers and for nine subsamples, representative of three domains from the altas data: sex, education/social adjustment (three types), and occupation (four types). The results show that for each vowel, at each level of analysis, the pronunciation type/frequency rankings form a nonlinear distribution, represented graphically by an asymptotic hyperbolic curve (or A-curve), with only a few of the most frequent vowel realizations accounting for the vast majority of tokens. While there is a large amount of pronunciation overlap between regional or social groups, comparison of the type/frequency rankings shows that different groups of speakers each have different orders of the frequent variant realizations of the vowels, which helps explain how one can distinguish one group's speech from another's but does not support the traditional notion of contrast as absolute, binary, and categorical.
Effect of magnesium sulfate on eicosanoid levels in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension

Objective: The mechanism(s) by which magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) functions clinically to prevent eclamptic seizures in severe pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is unknown; however, it has been reported to both enhance and inhibit prostacyclin (PGI2) production by umbilical vein endothelial cells. Because PGI2 is decreased in patients with PIH, we tested the hypothesis that MgSO4 increases vasodilatory prostaglandins [PGI2 and prostaglandin (PG)E2] relative to vasoconstrictor eicosanoids [thromboxane (Tx)A2 and PGF2aL] in patients with PIH.Methods: In 11 women with PIH (28-40 weeks' gestation), MgSO4 was administered i.v. as a 4-g loading dose, followed by 2 g/h continuous infusion. Plasma samples were obtained before and at 2 and 4 h of MgSO4 treatment.Main Outcome Measures: We measured the effects of i.v. MgSO4 on plasma 6-keto-PGF1aL, TxB2 (metabolites of PGI2 and TxA2, respectively), PGE2, and PGF2aL.Results: The control plasma 6-keto-PGF1aL levels and 6-keto-PGF1aL/TxB2 ratios averaged 22038 pg/mL an...
An in vitro biomechanical comparison of the insertion variables and pullout mechanical properties of ao 6.5-mm standard cancellous and 7.3-mm self-tapping, cannulated bone screws in foal femoral bone.

Objective— To compare screw insertion variables and pullout mechanical properties between AO 6.5-mm cancellous and 7.3-mm cannulated bone screws in foal femoral bone. Study Design— A paired, in vitro mechanical study. Sample Population— Seven pairs of femora from immature (1–7 months) foals. Methods— The 6.5 cancellous and 7.3-mm cannulated screws were inserted at standardized proximal and distal metaphyseal, and mid-diaphyseal locations. Insertion torque, force, and time to drill, tap (6.5-mm cancellous), guide wire insertion (7.3-mm cannulated), and screw insertion were measured. Screw pullout properties (yield and failure load, displacement, and energy, and stiffness) were determined from mechanical tests. The effects of screw type and location on insertion variables and pullout properties were assessed with repeated measures ANOVA. Pairwise comparisons were examined with post hoc contrasts. Significance was set at P<.05 for all comparisons. Results— Insertion torques for the 7.3-mm cannulated screws were significantly greater than for the 6.5-mm tap, but significantly lower than for the 6.5-mm cancellous screws. Total screw insertion times were similar. Pullout properties of both screws were similar at each femoral location. The holding power of both screws was significantly greater in the mid-diaphysis than in either metaphyseal location. Pullout failure occurred by bone shearing at the bone–screw interface in all specimens. Conclusions— The 6.5-mm cancellous and 7.3-mm cannulated screws vary in insertion properties, but have similar pullout properties in the mid-diaphysis, proximal, and distal metaphysis of foal femora. Both screw types have greater holding power at the mid-diaphyseal location compared with metaphyseal locations. Based on overall similar holding powers of 6.5-mm cancellous and 7.3-mm cannulated screws, it is unlikely that increasing the screw diameter beyond 6.5 mm will provide increased holding power in foal femoral bone. Clinical Relevance— Use of the 7.3-mm cannulated screw should be considered for foal femoral fracture repair when greater accuracy is needed, or when bone threads for the 6.5-mm cancellous screw have been stripped.
Preoperative Nomogram Predicting the 10-Year Probability of Prostate Cancer Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy

An existing preoperative nomogram predicts the probability of prostate cancer recurrence, defined by prostate-specific antigen (PSA), at 5 years after radical prostatectomy based on clinical stage, serum PSA, and biopsy Gleason grade. In an updated and enhanced nomogram, we have extended the predictions to 10 years, added the prognostic information of systematic biopsy results, and enabled the predictions to be adjusted for the year of surgery. Cox regression analysis was used to model the clinical information for 1978 patients treated by two high-volume surgeons from our institution. The nomogram was externally validated on an independent cohort of 1545 patients with a concordance index of 0.79 and was well calibrated with respect to observed outcome. The inclusion of the number of positive and negative biopsy cores enhanced the predictive accuracy of the model. Thus, a new preoperative nomogram provides robust predictions of prostate cancer recurrence up to 10 years after radical prostatectomy.
Storms, polar deposits and the methane cycle in Titan's atmosphere.

In Titan9s atmosphere, the second most abundant constituent, methane, exists as a gas, liquid and solid, and cycles between the atmosphere and the surface. Similar to the Earth9s hydrological cycle, Titan sports clouds, rain and lakes. Yet, Titan9s cycle differs dramatically from its terrestrial counterpart, and reveals the workings of weather in an atmosphere that is 10 times thicker than the Earth9s atmosphere, that is two orders of magnitude less illuminated, and that involves a different condensable. While ongoing measurements by the Cassini–Huygens mission are revealing the intricacies of the moon9s weather, circulation, lake coverage and geology, knowledge is still limited by the paucity of observations. This review of Titan9s methane cycle therefore focuses on measured characteristics of the lower atmosphere and surface that appear particularly perplexing or alien.
Scalable Communication Trace Compression

Characterizing the communication behavior of parallel programs through tracing can help understand an application’s characteristics, model its performance, and predict behavior on future systems. However, lossless communication traces can get prohibitively large, causing programmers to resort to variety of other techniques. In this paper, we present a novel approach to lossless communication trace compression. We augment the sequitur compression algorithm to employ it in communication trace compression of parallel programs. We present optimizations to reduce the memory overhead, reduce size of the trace files generated, and enable compression across multiple processes in a parallel program. The evaluation shows improved compression and reduced overhead over other approaches, with up to 3 orders of magnitude improvement for the NAS MG benchmark. We also observe that, unlike existing schemes, the trace files sizes and the memory overhead incurred are less sensitive to, if not independent of, the problem size for the NAS benchmarks.
An FFT T-matrix method for scattering solutions from inhomogeneous bodies and random discrete scatterers

We propose a fast and efficient method of solving the inhomogeneous body and the random discrete scatterer problem. An inhomogeneous body can be modelled by a dense packing of discrete spherical particles whose T matrices exist in closed form. A set of linear algebraic equations is easily derived to solve for the scattering amplitudes from the spheres. When the discrete scatterers are randomly distributed, we aggregate the discrete scattering centers to scattering centers which reside on an array using the addition theorem. When the discrete scatterers reside on a regular array, no such aggregation is required. As a result, we have a block-Toeplitz matrix structure. An iterative solver such as the biconjugate gradient method can be used to solve for the matrix equation. Exploiting the block-Toeplitz structure, we can perform the matrix-vector multiplication in O(NlogN) operations by the FFT, where N is the total number of spheres involved. The method requires O(N) memory storage.
Toward efficient distributed network monitoring

Efficient and scalable management of large networks requires distributed management systems. In this paper, we present two distributed algorithms for network monitoring. Monitoring forms the basis of control and management systems. Effective monitoring ensures the network operates within desirable parameters. Conducting such monitoring introduces communication overhead that may reduce the overall effective throughput. The monitoring consists of measuring properties of the network, and of inferring an aggregate function from these measurements. We develop two distributed monitoring algorithms that significantly reduce the management overhead. The performance of the distributed monitoring algorithms is tested in both simulation testbed and real network, and compared with a centralized algorithm. The experimental results show that the distributed algorithm performs much better than the centralized algorithm.
Microarray, MicroRNA, and Angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is defined as the formation and the growth of new blood vessels that sprout from existing vascular network. Angiogenesis plays a very important role in the physiological and pathological situations such as ischemia, atherosclerosis, wound healing, and cancer growth and metastasis. Microarray is a new molecular biological technique that can analyze expression of hundreds to thousands of genes or proteins simultaneously in a single experiment. Microarray includes DNA microarray, protein microarray, tissue microarray, and cell microarray. Many different types of microarray chips are now commercially available, some designed specifically for angiogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, short, noncoding RNAs found in eukaryotic cells. MiRNAs are posttranscriptional regulators that negatively regulate gene expression by binding to their target messenger RNAs for degradation and/or translational repression. The main function of miRNAs is gene regulation. MiRNAs have been found to modulate many pathophysiological process including cell differentiation, contraction, migration, proliferation, apoptosis, and tissue inflammation. There are more than 1,000 miRNAs in human genome, some of them are involved in angiogenesis. In this review, we will summarize the application of microarray assay and function of miRNAs in angiogenesis.
Some remarks on the time of flight and range of a projectile in a linear resisting medium

In view of the recent work by Karkantzakos [Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review 2 (2009) 76–81], a number of remarks highlighting the connection between the Lambert W function and the time of flight and range of a projec tile moving in a resisting medium where the retarding force acting on the projectile is proportional to its velocity are made. In particular, we show how each of these quantities can be expressed in closed form in terms of the Lambert W function and indicate how the analysis of the motion becomes greatly simplified by its introduction.
Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease

Hypertension is a major public health problem and is the second leading cause of ESRD in the United States. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis is a diagnosis of exclusion and has been called into question with the recent discovery of specific genes associated with kidney disease. Treatment of hypertension in CKD patients is important to delay progression of renal function loss. Based on critical review of evidence, guidelines were developed to assist in treating hypertension in patients with CKD. Renovascular hypertension and ischemic nephropathy as well as resistant hypertension are common complex diagnoses in patients with hypertension and kidney disease that require further investigation and treatment.
A branched-chain amino acid metabolite drives vascular fatty acid transport and causes insulin resistance

Epidemiological and experimental data implicate branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the development of insulin resistance, but the mechanisms that underlie this link remain unclear. Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle stems from the excess accumulation of lipid species, a process that requires blood-borne lipids to initially traverse the blood vessel wall. How this trans-endothelial transport occurs and how it is regulated are not well understood. Here we leveraged PPARGC1a (also known as PGC-1α; encoded by Ppargc1a), a transcriptional coactivator that regulates broad programs of fatty acid consumption, to identify 3-hydroxyisobutyrate (3-HIB), a catabolic intermediate of the BCAA valine, as a new paracrine regulator of trans-endothelial fatty acid transport. We found that 3-HIB is secreted from muscle cells, activates endothelial fatty acid transport, stimulates muscle fatty acid uptake in vivo and promotes lipid accumulation in muscle, leading to insulin resistance in mice. Conversely, inhibiting the synthesis of 3-HIB in muscle cells blocks the ability of PGC-1α to promote endothelial fatty acid uptake. 3-HIB levels are elevated in muscle from db/db mice with diabetes and from human subjects with diabetes, as compared to those without diabetes. These data unveil a mechanism in which the metabolite 3-HIB, by regulating the trans-endothelial flux of fatty acids, links the regulation of fatty acid flux to BCAA catabolism, providing a mechanistic explanation for how increased BCAA catabolic flux can cause diabetes.
Stability of dexmedetomidine 4 μg/mL in polypropylene syringes.

Purpose The results of a study to determine the long-term (up to 14 days) stability of diluted dexmedetomidine kept in polypropylene syringes under typical pharmacy storage conditions are presented. Methods Four samples of dexmedetomidine injection diluted to 4 μg/mL in 0.9% sodium chloride were prepared and divided into 25-mL portions for storage in syringes at ambient room temperature (20–25 °C) with light exposure or under refrigeration (5 °C) in darkness. At 24 and 48 hours, the percentage of the initial dexmedetomidine concentration remaining in all samples was assessed via high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection; further stability testing of the refrigerated samples was performed on days 7 and 14. At each time point, the test samples were visually inspected for color, clarity, and signs of formation of particulate matter. Results As determined by chromatographic analyses, the samples of diluted dexmedetomidine stored in syringes at room temperature exhibited a loss of drug concentration of <10% over 48 hours; the refrigerated samples exhibited a loss of drug concentration of <5% over 14 days. All of the syringe-stored samples remained clear and colorless on visual inspection for the duration of the study. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine diluted to 4 μg/mL in 0.9% sodium chloride injection was stable for at least 48 hours at 20–25 °C and 14 days at 5 °C when stored in polypropylene syringes.
Limitations, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among a population-based sample of young adults with congenital heart defects.

Background Little population-based data exist on limitations and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). Methods We used 2004 to 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data to identify a population-based sample of young adults ages 18 to 40 years reporting health symptoms or healthcare encounters in the previous year. Comparing adults reporting CHD to others, we examined the prevalence of cognitive, physical, and activity limitations, depressive symptoms, and physical and mental HRQoL. We used chi square tests to examine differences in demographic characteristics, logistic regression to generate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR), and linear regression to examine HRQoL. Multivariable associations were adjusted for sex, age, race/ethnicity, and smoking status. All analyses were conducted in SUDAAN using weights to account for clustering within sampling units and nonresponse. Results Fifty-nine adults reported CHD (weighted prevalence = 0.1%; representing 700,000 U.S. adults from 2004 to 2012 or, on average, 80,000 per year) and 54,011 did not. No demographic characteristics differed significantly by CHD status except health insurance; 31.5% of adults with CHD, compared with 11.0% without, reported public insurance (p = 0.01). Compared with their counterparts, adults reporting CHD had a higher prevalence of cognitive (aPR = 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0, 7.2), physical (aPR = 4.0, 95% CI: 1.9, 8.2), and activity limitations (aPR = 4.8, 95% CI: 2.6, 9.1), and poorer physical HRQoL (p = 0.004). No differences were observed in depressive symptoms and mental HRQoL by CHD status. Conclusion Physical health and cognitive abilities of adults with CHD were compromised compared with adults without CHD. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:580–586, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect Evaluation of Iodized Edible Salt Control of Endemic Goiter in Lantian County

[Objective] To evaluate of of iodized edible salt control of endemic goiter in Lantian County.[Methods] According to "Shaanxi Province Endemic Goiter Census Plan",the census method was employed and the result was compared with that in 1970.[Results] A total of 572 048 people(91%)were investigated in 2006,the prevalence of endemic goiter was 1.34%,comparing with 1970,the prevalence decreased significantly(χ2=20262.96,P0.01).The population significantly reduced in heavy disease areas(χ2=54.35,P0.01),mild cases of diffuse type hold the first place(57.07%)(χ2=1493.04,P0.01).Cases of I-degree occupied 85.38% of total cases(χ2=2973.32,P0.01).[Conclusion] The universal consumption of iodized salt has significant effect on endemic goiter control,and the best mode of removing endemic goiter is the sustainable use of it.
Improved Classification of Speaking Styles for Mental Health Monitoring Using Phoneme Dynamics.

This paper investigates the usefulness of segmental phonemedynamics for classification of speaking styles. We modeled transition details based on the phoneme sequences emitted by a speech recognizer, using data obtained from a recording of 39 depressed patients with 7 different speaking styles normal, pressured, slurred, stuttered, flat, slow and fast speech. We designed and compared two set of phoneme models: a language model treating each phoneme as a word unit (one for each style) and a context-dependent phoneme duration model based on Gaussians for each speaking style considered. The experiments showed that language modeling at the phoneme level performed better than the duration model. We also found that better performance can be obtained by user normalization. To see the complementary effect of the phoneme-based models, the classifiers were combined at a decision level with a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) classifier built from spectral features. The improvement was 5.7% absolute (10.4% relative), reaching 60.3% accuracy in 7-class and 71.0% in 4-class classification.
The global 21-cm signal in the context of the high- z galaxy luminosity function

We build a new model for the global 21-cm signal that is calibrated to measurements of the high-z galaxy luminosity function (LF) and further tuned to match the Thomson scattering optical depth of the cosmic microwave background, τe. Assuming that the z ≲ 8 galaxy population can be smoothly extrapolated to higher redshifts, the recent decline in best-fitting values of τe and the inefficient heating induced by X-ray binaries (the presumptive sources of the high-z X-ray background) imply that the entirety of cosmic reionization and reheating occurs at z ≲ 12. In contrast to past global 21-cm models, whose z ∼ 20 (ν ∼ 70 MHz) absorption features and strong ∼25 mK emission features were driven largely by the assumption of efficient early star formation and X-ray heating, our new models peak in absorption at ν ∼ 110 MHz at depths ∼−160 mK and have negligible emission components. Current uncertainties in the faint-end of the LF, binary populations in star-forming galaxies, and UV and X-ray escape fractions introduce ∼20 MHz (∼50 mK) deviations in the trough's frequency (amplitude), while emission signals remain weak (≲10 mK) and are confined to ν ≳ 140 MHz. These predictions, which are intentionally conservative, suggest that the detection of a 21-cm absorption minimum at frequencies below ∼90 MHz and/or emission signals stronger than ∼10mK at ν ≲ 140 MHz would provide strong evidence for ‘new’ sources at high redshifts, such as Population III stars and their remnants.
The use of cannabinoids in palliative medicine

(1998). The use of cannabinoids in palliative medicine. Progress in Palliative Care: Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 160-163.
New fiber options for high data rate short reach applications

This paper discusses new fiber options for high data rate short reach applications including chromatic dispersion compensation multimode fiber, long wavelength multimode fiber and multicore fiber.
Commentary: The course of depression after childhood parental death – a reflection on Berg et al. (2016)

Berg et al.'s study highlights the long-lasting impact of childhood parental death on depression in adulthood in the absence of early preventive and intervention efforts. Given the long-term effects of childhood parental death, it seems that the most propitious time to intervene is early on after the death. Several prevention and intervention approaches have been shown to reduce the incidence of depression and to ameliorate its course and thus could be potential approaches to intervene with parentally bereaved children. Future longitudinal studies focused on children and adolescents are also needed to examine the biological pathways that set the stage for increased vulnerability across the life span following childhood parental death and adversity in order to inform novel targets for interventions.
Streetcars in the Twin Cities

The story of every urban transportation system has been a product of the geography and demographics of its surrounding region, while the development of those transportation systems have in turn transformed the cities and communities they serve. In the 1960s, geographers recognized the marked role of land use-transportation interactions in the formation and differentiation of places and transportation networks (Haggett and Chorley, 1969; Lowe and Moryadas, 1975). Since the 1980s, integrated land use-transportation modeling has gained momentum and seen widespread application in urban planning and design.
Cannabis use and dating violence among college students: A call for research.

Dating violence is a serious and prevalent problem on college campuses. Although there is a robust literature documenting that alcohol use is consistently associated with increased risk for perpetrating dating violence, little research has examined the role of cannabis in dating violence perpetration. With increasing legalisation of cannabis throughout the world, it is imperative to understand what role, if any, cannabis may play in the important public health problem of dating violence. In this commentary, we discuss the current state of the research on cannabis and dating violence and suggest avenues for additional research in this area. It is critical that we conduct methodologically sound research on the association between cannabis and dating violence so that we can understand what role, if any, cannabis exerts on this important problem. [Shorey RC, Haynes E, Strauss C, Temple JR, Stuart GL. Cannabis use and dating violence among college students: A call for research. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:17–19]
Cash Transfers and Child Nutrition: Pathways and Impacts

Childhood malnutrition remains a significant global problem, with an estimated 162 million children under the age of five suffering from stunted growth. This article examines the extent to which cash transfer programmes can improve child nutrition. It adopts a framework that captures and explains the pathways and determinants of child nutrition. The framework is then used to organize and discuss relevant evidence from the impact evaluation literature, focusing on impact pathways and new and emerging findings from sub-Saharan Africa to identify critical elements that determine child nutrition outcomes as well as knowledge gaps requiring further research, such as children's dietary diversity, caregiver behaviours and stress.
Response Alternation in the Millipede

Two experiments investigated response alternation in the millipede. Although no evidence of response alternation was found, the results suggested that Ss learned to avoid a blocked maze alley.
Civilian Cooperation and Non-Cooperation with Non-State Armed Groups: The Centrality of Obedience and Resistance

Terms like ‘support’ and ‘collaboration’ are often used interchangeably to denote a loose set of acts or attitudes that benefit non-state armed groups (NSAGs). However, these terms are seldom defin...
Validating the Modified Drug Adherence Work-Up (M-DRAW) Tool to Identify and Address Barriers to Medication Adherence

Barriers to medication adherence stem from multiple factors. An effective and convenient tool is needed to identify these barriers so that clinicians can provide a tailored, patient-centered consultation with patients. The Modified Drug Adherence Work-up Tool (M-DRAW) was developed as a 13-item checklist questionnaire to identify barriers to medication adherence. The response scale was a 4-point Likert scale of frequency of occurrence (1 = never to 4 = often). The checklist was accompanied by a GUIDE that provided corresponding motivational interview-based intervention strategies for each identified barrier. The current pilot study examined the psychometric properties of the M-DRAW checklist (reliability, responsiveness and discriminant validity) in patients taking one or more prescription medication(s) for chronic conditions. A cross-sectional sample of 26 patients was recruited between December 2015 and March 2016 at an academic medical center pharmacy in Southern California. A priming question that assessed self-reported adherence was used to separate participants into the control group of 17 "adherers" (65.4%), and into the intervention group of nine "unintentional and intentional non-adherers" (34.6%). Comparable baseline characteristics were observed between the two groups. The M-DRAW checklist showed acceptable reliability (13 item; alpha = 0.74) for identifying factors and barriers leading to medication non-adherence. Discriminant validity of the tool and the priming question was established by the four-fold number of barriers to adherence identified within the self-selected intervention group compared to the control group (4.4 versus 1.2 barriers, p < 0.05). The current study did not investigate construct validity due to small sample size and challenges on follow-up with patients. Future testing of the tool will include construct validation.
Trends in major upper abdominal surgery for cancer in octogenarians: Has there been a change in patient selection?

BACKGROUND Although there is a general perception that, as the older population grows in number, more are undergoing surgery, there are few data on trends in major resections for cancer and short-term outcomes in this group. METHODS The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was (NIS) used to estimate the national trends of major upper abdominal resections (esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas) for cancer in octogenarians (aged ≥80 years) from 2001 to 2011. Resection rates performed per year were incidence-adjusted within this age group for each cancer type as determined by the NIS database. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate average annual percentage changes (AAPC) when evaluating trends over time. RESULTS During the study period, octogenarians underwent an estimated 30,356 upper abdominal organ resections for cancer in the United States, representing 3.8% of all cancer admissions among octogenarians. Resection rates in octogenarians increased significantly over time (AAPC, 2.54; P < .001) secondary to increasing trends in pancreatic (AAPC, 11.52; P < .001) and hepatic (AAPC, 6.67; P < .001) resections. Elixhauser comorbidity index scores increased from a mean of 3.61 to 4.20 (AAPC, 1.31; P < .001), whereas inpatient mortality during this time decreased from 13.6% to 8.2% (AAPC, 5.58; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Overall rates of major upper abdominal cancer resections in octogenarians are increasing over time, driven by increases in liver and pancreatic resections. These increases were observed despite a less favorable patient morbidity profile over time. These patterns may suggest shifting selection criteria for octogenarians undergoing major abdominal surgery over time in the context of diminishing postoperative mortality. Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.