cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical and Pathological Prognostic Markers for Survival in Adult Patients with Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders (PTLD), BCL2 Is a Poor Prognostic Marker in PTLD.

Background. PTLD represent one of the most serious hematological complications of solid-organ transplantation. Our objective was to determine clinical and immunohistopathological prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in adult patients with PTLD. Methods. Eighty-four patients diagnosed with PTLD between1980 and 2004 at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were identified for this study. Immunohistochemistry staining was performed on tumor tissue at the time of diagnosis for the following proteins: BCL2, BCL6, cMYC, p53, phosphorylated ribosomal S6kinase, HSP90 and NFk-B. Univariate associations between individual clinical and immunohistopathological features and OS were compared using Cox proportional hazard models. Survival curves were generated via the method of Kaplan-Meier. Results. The median age at the time of diagnosis of PTLD was 53 years (range 18–77). The median time from transplant to PTLD was 32 months (range 0.87–288). Twenty-nine (34%) patients presented with early PTLD (within 1 year of transplant). The tumors were EBV positive by in situ hybridization in 64% of the patients, and CD20 positive in 60%. The majority of the patients presented with extranodal disease (73%). Twenty-two (27%) patients had involvement of the grafted organ. Reduction of immunosuppression was performed in 77% of the cases, and rituximab was given in 27% of the patients. Lung transplant was significantly related to grafted organ involvement (p=0.035). Lung and multiorgan transplants were associated with a higher risk for early PTLD (p=0.0033 and p=0.054 respectively), while renal transplant was associated with risk for late PTLD (p=0.0011). The median survival for all patients was 20.8 months, 95% CI: (7.4–77.6). On univariate analysis for OS, the following poor prognostic factors were identified: age of transplant >60 yr (p=0.02), multiorgan transplant (p=0.02), ECOG>2 (p 2, elevated WBC one month prior diagnosis and BCL2 overexpression at the time of diagnosis. Patients with these three risk factors had median survival of 10 days (95% CI: 0–41), in comparison with patients with none of these risk factors had median survival of 1,414 days. Conclusion: We developed a prognostic model based on clinical and pathological markers. Patients who had all 3 factors ECOG >2, elevated WBC one month prior diagnosis, and BCL2 overexpression in tumor tissue had worse median survival than the patients with none of these three factors.
Predictive screening of M1 and M2 macrophages reveals the immunomodulatory effectiveness of post spinal cord injury azithromycin treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a heterogeneous macrophage response that when experimentally polarized toward alternative forms of activation (M2 macrophages) promotes tissue and functional recovery. There are limited pharmacological therapies that can drive this reparative inflammatory state. In the current study, we used in vitro systems to comprehensively defined markers of macrophages with known pathological (M1) and reparative (M2) properties in SCI. We then used these markers to objectively define the macrophage activation states after SCI in response to delayed azithromycin treatment. Mice were subjected to moderate-severe thoracic contusion SCI. Azithromycin or vehicle was administered beginning 30 minutes post-SCI and then daily for 3 or 7 days post injury (dpi). We detected a dose-dependent polarization toward purportedly protective M2 macrophages with daily AZM treatment. Specifically, AZM doses of 10, 40, or 160 mg/kg decreased M1 macrophage gene expression at 3 dpi while the lowest (10 mg/kg) and highest (160 mg/kg) doses increased M2 macrophage gene expression at 7 dpi. Azithromycin has documented immunomodulatory properties and is commonly prescribed to treat infections in SCI individuals. This work demonstrates the utility of objective, comprehensive macrophage gene profiling for evaluating immunomodulatory SCI therapies and highlights azithromycin as a promising agent for SCI treatment.
Defining the association between operative time and outcomes in children's surgery

Abstract Introduction Prolonged operative time (OT) is considered a reflection of procedural complexity and may be associated with poor outcomes. Our purpose was to explore the association between prolonged OT and complications in children's surgery. Methods 182,857 cases from the 2012–2014 NSQIP-Pediatric were organized into 33 groups. OT for each group was analyzed by quartile, and regression models were used to determine the relationship between prolonged OT and complications. Results Variations in OT existed for both short and long procedures. Cases in the longest quartile had twice the odds of postoperative complications after adjusting for age, sex and BMI (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.78–1.91). Procedure-specific prolonged OT was associated with postoperative complications for the majority (85%) of procedural groupings. Prolonged OT was associated with minor complications in gynecologic (OR 4.17; 95% CI 2.19–7.96), urologic (OR 2.88; 95% CI 2.40–3.44), and appendix procedures (OR 2.88; 95% CI 2.49–3.34). There were increased odds of major complications in foregut (OR 6.56; 95% CI 4.99–8.64), gynecologic (OR 3.07; 95% CI 1.84–5.13), and spine procedures (OR 2.99; 95% CI 2.57–3.28). Conclusions Prolonged OT is associated with increased odds of postoperative complications across a spectrum of children's surgical procedures. Factors contributing to prolonged OT merit further investigation and may serve as a target for future quality improvement. Level of evidence Level III.
Recommender Systems and the New New Economics of Information

George Stigler pioneered the economics of information in the 1960s with his observation that information is a scarce and valuable commodity. Stigler assumed people value information to the extent, and only to the extent, that it helps them to make better decisions, and that people update their beliefs rationally, in response to new information. Stigler won the Nobel prize for his contribution, as did three economists, George Akerlof, Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz ten years later. This second wave of research, that came to be called the "new economics of information" adhered to Stigler's assumptions, but examined consequences of asymmetric information -- i.e., the fact that interacting individuals often possess different information sets. In this talk I will discuss my research on four phenomena that are key to the information age that don't fit neatly into either wave of economic research on information: curiosity (the desire for information for its own sake), privacy (the desire to withhold information), information avoidance (a phenomenon that Stigler's theory explicitly ruled out), and the desire to share information. The last of these topics is most relevant to recommender systems, so I will devote special attention to it, discussing some of the fundamental motives that drive people to share information.
Distinct clinical and biological implications of various DNMT3A mutations in myeloid neoplasms.

Distinct clinical and biological implications of various DNMT3A mutations in myeloid neoplasms
Finite sample performance of a long run variance estimator based on exactly (almost) unbiased autocovariance estimators

Abstract This paper proposes a bias reduced long run variance (LRV) estimator of a univariate time series with unknown mean that addresses well known finite sample bias problems. The LRV estimator is based on the (almost) exactly unbiased autocovariance estimator proposed by Vogelsang and Yang (2016). Whereas using fixed- b critical values is known to correct downward bias in LRV estimates generated by demeaning the data, the approach we take also corrects the classic Parzen bias that is not captured by the fixed- b approach. When applied to the tests of the null hypothesis of the mean in a simple location model, a simulation study shows that the proposed LRV estimator leads to tests with less over-rejections while maintaining power at least as high and often higher as the standard robust t test based on fixed- b critical values. These simulations suggest further theoretical analysis of the bias reduction approach is warranted.
Extra-Coronary Calcium

aortic arch as detected by chest radiograph to be 10.6% for elderly men and 15.6% for elderly women [2]. This study included 139,849 individuals and therefore would appear to be a good approximation of a random sample from the United States population. In a relatively large, populationbased study from the Netherlands, the prevalence of abdominal aortic calcification by radiograph was 34.8% for men and 58.3% of women [6]. The Framingham Study reported similar findings, with a prevalence of 57% for men and 47% for women in the ages of 60 to 69 years [7]. The ability to detect calcification by radiography (fluoroscopy) is lower than that for CT. Therefore, the prevalence of CT-measured calcification would be expected to be higher than that by radiography (Table 8.1). Allison et al. performed whole-body EBT scanning of 650 asymptomatic individuals [8]. The mean age of the study group was 57 years with 53% male. For men and women aged 50 to 60 years, the prevalence of calcification of the descending aorta was 29% and 29%, respectively. This prevalence increased to 98% for men and 96% for women above the age of 70 years. For men and women aged 50 to 60 years, the prevalence of calcification of the abdominal aorta was 55% and 50%, respectively. As with the descending aorta, calcification of the abdominal aorta also increased in prevalence with age, occurring in 98% for men and 93% for women above the age of 70 years. Kuller et al. evaluated 169 women with a mean age of 58 years participating in the Healthy Women Study [9]. The aorta was imaged from the aortic root to the iliac bifurcation; however, the investigators did not characterize the exact location of calcification but referred to any calcium within the ascending, descending, or abdominal aorta as “aortic” calcification. By this general definition, aortic calcification was present in 71% of the study group. Reaven and Sacks evaluated 309 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and suboptimal glycemic control, defined as a HgA1C > 7.5% [11]. Calcification within the descending aorta was present in 14%. Raggi et al. evaluated 245 patients self-referred for EBT coronary scanning and found a prevalence of 37% for “aortic” (ascending, descending, and abdominal aorta)
Adult Stem Cells and Pancreatic Differentiation

Adult stem cells are found in most tissues, where they are thought to participate in natural turnover and regeneration. Under defined conditions, some of these cells can also be significantly expanded and differentiated along specific lineages. This chapter is focused on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be isolated from virtually every organ of the human body. While MSCs have a well-proven potential to give rise to connective tissues (e.g., bone, cartilage, fat, etc.), their ability to differentiate into endodermal cell types (and particularly insulin-producing beta cells) is not as clear. However, there is significant evidence that specific treatments may induce insulin expression, even if doubts remain about the true nature of the end product. At any rate, MSCs have other extraordinary features that go beyond their differentiation potential, as they may provide other cells with appropriate engraftment/differentiation niches.
Action and phase

It is relatively simple to derive formulas of classical mechanics from those of quantum mechanics. One translates statements about probabilities into statements about measurable quantities, and one finds ways to eliminate ħ, either by considering situations in which phase changes much more rapidly than other parameters (Sect. 1.3) or by taking averages in a suitable way (Sect. 2.1).
Learning to Communicate and Solve Visual Blocks-World Tasks.

We study emergent communication between speaker and listener recurrent neural-network agents that are tasked to cooperatively construct a blocks-world target image sampled from a generative grammar of blocks configurations. The speaker receives the target image and learns to emit a sequence of discrete symbols from a fixed vocabulary. The listener learns to construct a blocks-world image by choosing block placement actions as a function of the speaker’s full utterance and the image of the ongoing construction. Our contributions are (a) the introduction of a task domain for studying emergent communication that is both challenging and affords useful analyses of the emergent protocols; (b) an empirical comparison of the interpolation and extrapolation performance of training via supervised, (contextual) Bandit, and reinforcement learning; and (c) evidence for the emergence of interesting linguistic properties in the RL agent protocol that are distinct from the other two.
IDEA cryptographic processor in FPGA

In modern systems, data security is needed more than ever before as it helps in keeping private data private. In today's world where data communications, distributed data processing, financial transactions, and multilevel sharing of data resources has become an important aspect of computer system and an integral part of day-to-day function, cryptography is the only way of ensuring data security. Many algorithms exist which can be categorized as Symmetric or Asymmetric algorithms. This paper presents International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) - its advantages, disadvantages, hardware implementation considerations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), resource utilization and achievable performance. The algorithm analysis and the optimization techniques used are described. Implementation results are compared to the commercial implementation solutions.
Machado’s Organic Sense: Lição de botânica

Machado de Assis frequently relies on controlling metaphors, which provide a unifying plan for an entire work. His play Licao de botânica is an example of this practice, where human progress is compared to the life of plants or other simpler organisms. The play contains echoes of the seventeenth-century notion of vegetable love, as seen in Robert Burton and Andrew Marvell. It follows the norms of classical comedy, which has its roots in the celebration of fertility. It illustrates the central ideas of Henri Bergson’s philosophy of laughter, which opposes the organic to the mechanical. From a national perspective, it exemplifies the cultural characteristics of cordiality and preference for the jeitinho . The common denominator for all these perspectives is the rejection of rigidity in favor of organic elasticity.
Differential protection of normal and malignant human myeloid progenitors (CFU-GM) from Ara-C toxicity using cycloheximide

Cycloheximide, a reversible protein synthesis inhibitor, is thought to block DNA replication in normal cells by preventing synthesis of a labile protein. In animal systems, cycloheximide protects normal cells from cytotoxic S-phase specific agents, such as cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C). Malignant cells appear not to be susceptible to cycloheximide-induced cycle arrest and, subsequently, may not be protected from Ara-C cytotoxicity. The effect of cycloheximide on granulocyte/macrophage progenitors (CFU-GM) after in vitro Ara-C exposure was examined using normal human bone marrow, malignant progenitors from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and clonogenic cells from the human acute nonlymphocytic leukemia cell lines HL-60 and KG-1. Mononuclear or clonogenic cells were incubated for one hour with cycloheximide, followed by the addition, for three or 17 hours, of Ara-C before being plated in a methylcellulose culture system. CFU-GM survival was significantly increase if normal cells were treated with cycloheximide before Ara-C exposure. Similar cycloheximide pretreatment of CML progenitors and clonogenic HL-60 and KG-1 cells failed to protect CFU-GM from Ara-C-induced cytotoxicity.
Vuitton Has a ‘Dog’ in the Fight

High fashion has gone to the dogs – literally, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was asked to referee the recent dog fight. We all know Louis Vuitton, the French purveyor of fine and very expensive luggage, shoes, watches and whatever. Do we also know that “whatever” includes pricey dog collars, leashes and carriers? Ah, the French; they love their dogs.Enter Haute Diggity Dog, a manufacturer and distributor of designer dog collars and other pet goodies. Recently, HDD caught the eye and ire of Louis Vuitton when it launched a series of designer collars it called Chewy Vuiton.Those familiar with the real Louis Vuitton knows that its products bear the multiple interlocking LV initials, usually on every square inch of the exposed plastic-coated surface. To pull off its parody on the famous Louis Vuitton trademark, HDD marked its collars with a CV logo and sold them under the mark Chewy Vuiton. It was not as though Louis Vuitton was above selling doggie fashions – it was not. But this imitation was more than Louis Vuitton could bear and it filed suit against HDD and its retailer alleging copyright and trademark infringement.The author elaborates further on the merits, arguments, nuances, and the outcome of this case.
Qualified Immunity and Federalism

Qualified immunity is increasingly controversial. But the debate about it is also surprisingly incomplete. Both qualified immunity’s critics and defenders have for too long overlooked the doctrine’s federalism dimensions. Yet federalism is at the core of qualified immunity in at least three respects. First, many of the reasons the U.S. Supreme Court has proffered for qualified immunity best sound in protecting the States’ sovereign interests in recruiting competent officers and providing incentives for those officers to faithfully enforce State law. Second, the States have embraced indemnification policies premised on the existence of federal qualified immunity. Third, working against the backdrop of federal qualified immunity, state and local governments are engaged in robust policy experimentation about the optimal balance between deterrence and over-deterrence in their state-law liability schemes, thus exhibiting the “laboratories of democracy” benefits of federalism. Drawing on findings from the most comprehensive review of state immunity and indemnification laws to date, this Article argues that these overlooked federalism dimensions have important implications for the future of qualified immunity. The observation, for instance, that the Supreme Court’s qualified immunity cases are grounded in protecting state sovereignty and have generated substantial reliance should matter for statutory interpretation and stare decisis. Similarly, the fact that state and local governments are experimenting about how to best use state law to achieve optimal deterrence—effectively eliminating or narrowing federal qualified immunity through state liability and narrower state immunities—further supports the notion that reform should be done legislatively, not judicially. Qualified immunity’s federalism dimensions further counsel that calls for the Supreme Court to revisit qualified immunity should be redirected to Congress and state legislatures.
Effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on functional status and disability in young stroke patients.

Background and purpose The preponderance of evidence from recent studies in human subjects supports a negative effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on motor outcomes and motor recovery. However prior studies have generally reported the effect of the Met allele in older stroke patients, while potential effects in younger stroke patients have remained essentially unexamined. The lack of research in younger patients is significant since aging effects on CNS repair and functional recovery after stroke are known to interact with the effects of genetic polymorphisms. Here we present a study of first-ever ischemic stroke patients aged 15–49 years that examines the effect of Met carrier status on functional disability. Methods 829 patients with a first ischemic stroke (Average age = 41.4 years, SD = 6.9) were recruited from the Baltimore-Washington region. Genotyping was performed at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR). Data cleaning and harmonization were done at the GEI-funded GENEVA Coordinating Center at the University of Washington. Our sample contained 165 Met carriers and 664 non-Met carriers. Modified Rankin scores as recorded at discharge were obtained from the hospital records by study personnel blinded to genotype, and binarized into “Good” versus “Poor” outcomes (mRS 0–2 vs. 3+), with mRS scores 3+ reflecting a degree of disability that causes loss of independence. Results Our analysis showed that the Met allele conveyed a proportionally greater risk for poor outcomes and disability-related loss of independence with mRS scores 3+ (adjusted OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.13–2.64, p = 0.01). Conclusions The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism was negatively associated with functional outcomes at discharge in our sample of 829 young stroke patients. This finding stands in contrast to what would be predicted under the tenets of the resource modulation hypothesis (i.e. that younger patients would be spared from the negative effect of the Met allele on recovery since it is posited to arise as a manifestation of age-related decline in physiologic resources).
Cost-effectiveness of pediatric norovirus vaccination in daycare settings

Abstract Objective Noroviruses are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States and outbreaks frequently occur in daycare settings. Results of norovirus vaccine trials have been promising, however there are open questions as to whether vaccination of daycare children would be cost-effective. We investigated the incremental cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical norovirus vaccination for children in daycare settings compared to no vaccination. Methods We conducted a model-based cost-effectiveness analysis using a disease transmission model of children attending daycare. Vaccination with a 90% coverage rate in addition to the observed standard of care (exclusion of symptomatic children from daycare) was compared to the observed standard of care. The main outcomes measures were infections and deaths averted, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Cost-effectiveness was analyzed from a societal perspective, including medical costs to children as well as productivity losses of parents, over a two-year time horizon. Data sources included outbreak surveillance data and published literature. Results A 50% efficacious norovirus vaccine averts 571.83 norovirus cases and 0.003 norovirus-related deaths per 10,000 children compared to the observed standard of care. A $200 norovirus vaccine that is 50% efficacious has a net cost increase of $178.10 per child and 0.025 more QALYs, resulting in an ICER of $7,028/QALY. Based on the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, we estimated that a $200 vaccination with 50% efficacy was 94.0% likely to be cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay of $100,000/QALY threshold and 95.3% likely at a $150,000/QALY threshold. Conclusion Due to the large disease burden associated with norovirus, it is likely that vaccinating children in daycares could be cost-effective, even with modest vaccine efficacy and a high per-child cost of vaccination. Norovirus vaccination of children in daycare has a cost-effectiveness ratio similar to other commonly recommended childhood vaccines.
Impact of socioeconomic disparities on diagnosis and overall survival in small cell lung cancer: A National Cancer Database analysis.

8515Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 13% of all lung cancer diagnoses in the United States. The demographics of this disease have evolved over time; in the 1970s...
Arrayed wide-field astronomical camera system for spectroscopic surveys on Extremely Large Telescopes: system architecture, proof-of-concept, and enabling technologies

The next generation Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) are promising a profound transformation of humanity’s understanding of the universe by opening our eyes to a myriad of previously unseen astronomical objects across cosmic space time. Some of the key observational contributions to this transformation will, once again, be made through large-scale ultradeep spectroscopic surveys. Such surveys will call for a wide-field system to expand field of view and correct atmospheric dispersion beyond what an uncorrected ELT is canonically capable of. Although the traditional monolithic form of field correctors served our needs very well on 2- to 8-m class telescopes, we recognize challenges around scaling this traditional design to the ELT level, and hence, as detailed here, present a fundamentally different architecture, called the arrayed wide-field astronomical corrector system or AWACS, for the ELTs of two-mirror construction. The AWACS accomplishes field expansion via an array of small units populated over a telescope’s focal surface, compensating for field aberrations and atmospheric dispersion locally but simultaneously. The AWACS units share one common electro-opto-mechanical design, permitting cost-effective high-volume part manufacturing. We detail the architectural features and proof-of-concept on-sky demonstration of the AWACS. In addition, we highlight our recent development results of randomly nano-textured antireflective (AR) surface structures in terms of an immediately viable, super-broadband, high-performance AR solution for not only the AWACS optics, but also broader ranges of electro-optical devices, particularly those subjected to harsh environments such as high-power laser, cryogenic, and space systems. With continuous advances in other relevant fields, the AWACS is uniquely positioned to enable, either by itself or by complementing traditional correctors, wide-field multi-object spectroscopic surveys in the ELT era and beyond.
Detecting Bypassing Micro Black Holes

Contemporarily, convincing evidence is lacking for the existence of micro black holes due to their small masses. In this paper, a specific situation is discussed in which a Schwarzschild micro black hole, with a mass of up to 1013 kg and hence the lifetime longer than the universe's age flies towards the Earth with the typical speed of an asteroid, (10 km/s). The analysis of the two-body problem shows that Earth's surface will be tidally affected only if the initial configuration space, namely space of the impact parameter and initial velocity, satisfies a very strict relationship. Even if the micro black hole directly goes through the Earth core, its small mass restricts its accretion rate so much that its accreted mass is negligible. We also consider the possibility of detecting the black hole optically by its optical distortion. Analysis of the size of its Einstein ring indicates that one would need accurate instruments to detect such an effect. Finally, we analyze the emission spectrum of the micro black hole by assuming the validity of the Hawking radiation and conclude that its unique energy spectrum might be detected and used as evidence of a bypassing micro black hole.
Real-time recognition of arc weld pool using image segmentation network

Abstract This work aims at automatically tracking the weld pool boundary to monitor the process and collect operation and process data for analysis and modeling of the operator. The strong arc radiation and less predictable operation add challenges. It is relatively difficult to design a static feature pattern to consistently detect the weld pool boundary/position under different welding conditions. A deep learning network, such as a conventional neural network (CNN), could provide a solution. However, its training requires large amount of data. In a classification problem where each image corresponds to one label, an automated method may be available to calculate the needed labels. Unfortunately, for the problem of image segmentation being addressed in this study, i.e., detecting the weld pool, the labels cannot be generated automatically or the problem would have been solvable by conventional image processing. An effective deep learning approach that does not require large datasets is needed. As such, we propose to use an architecture of the U-Net, which extracts contextual information by combining low-level feature maps with high-levels. It not only can be trained end-to-end from few images to perform well but is also known for its capability to be real-time. To train the network, various welding experiments have been conducted by randomly changing the welding current and welding speed. Various weld pool boundaries/shapes are generated under various welding conditions. As such, the data is representative to better ensure the reliability and robustness of the trained network. Experimental results verified that the trained network can detect the weld pool boundary under various conditions accurately in different welding current, welding speed, and weld pool shape.
A Sensitive and Specific Neural Signature for Picture-Induced Negative Affect

Neuroimaging has identified many correlates of emotion but has not yet yielded brain representations predictive of the intensity of emotional experiences in individuals. We used machine learning to identify a sensitive and specific signature of emotional responses to aversive images. This signature predicted the intensity of negative emotion in individual participants in cross validation (n =121) and test (n = 61) samples (high–low emotion = 93.5% accuracy). It was unresponsive to physical pain (emotion–pain = 92% discriminative accuracy), demonstrating that it is not a representation of generalized arousal or salience. The signature was comprised of mesoscale patterns spanning multiple cortical and subcortical systems, with no single system necessary or sufficient for predicting experience. Furthermore, it was not reducible to activity in traditional “emotion-related” regions (e.g., amygdala, insula) or resting-state networks (e.g., “salience,” “default mode”). Overall, this work identifies differentiable neural components of negative emotion and pain, providing a basis for new, brain-based taxonomies of affective processes.
Study of Several Factors Influencing Contact Irritation and Sensitization1

Factors influencing the development of contact dermatitis due to irritation or sensitization are many and varied, as indicated by the experimental observations of numerous investigators (1, 2).
Parent-child communication about sexuality: A review of the literature from 1980-2002

The family plays an important and powerful role in the sexual socialization of children and adolescents. The information and messages that are (or are not) communicated between parents and children have the potential to shape sexual decision-making during adolescence, particularly related to HIV/AIDS risk behaviors. This paper presents a review and synthesis of three areas of the literature on parent-child communication about sexuality-content and process; predictors of parent-child communication; and behavioral outcomes associated with communication. Based on the review, gaps in the research and directions for future studies are discussed.
Temperature profiles for turbulent flow of air in a pipe—I: The fully developed heat-transfer region

Abstract Temperature profiles were measured for fully developed turbulent flow of air in a pipe using small wall-heat fluxes. Measurements are presented of fully developed temperature profiles at Reynolds numbers of 18,000, 25,000, 35,000, 50,000 and 71,000. A modified power-law relationship describes the temperature field from the pipe centre to about 0·04 of a pipe radius from the wall. A temperature deficiency law similar to the velocity defect law describes the temperature field from the pipe centre to about 0·02 of a pipe radius from the wall and measurements over the central 85 per cent of the pipe cross-section can be represented by the following equation which was derived assuming a constant eddy diffusivity for heat: The measurements from y + = 30 to y + = 200–300 for Reynolds number of 25,000 and greater can be represented by the equation The theory of Deissler predicts high values of T + for values of y + & > ; 30 at Reynolds numbers of 25,000 and greater. The eddy-diffusion coefficients obtained from the equation derived to describe temperature measurements in the central 85 per cent of the pipe cross-section are larger than those obtained from point-source diffusion measurements made in the centre of a pipe by Flint , et al. Some discussion of this disagreement is presented.
A Tale of Two Cities: Regulating Equity Derivatives in New York and London

This Comment seeks to understand the relative legal risk facing over-the-counter derivative contracts in London and New York by analyzing the approach each city’s legal system took in deciding to regulate total return swaps. It argues that regulators on both sides of the Atlantic should devote equal attention to the implementation of financial regulation as the specific regulations themselves when it comes to limiting legal risk in the financial marketplace and maintaining a jurisdiction’s competitive-
Can the quantity of cell-free fetal DNA predict preeclampsia: a systematic review.

Objective Previous studies have demonstrated an increase in the quantity of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) before the onset of preeclampsia. It would be beneficial if the quantity of cffDNA predicted preeclampsia in order to implement preventative trials and strategies to decrease maternal and fetal morbidity. Our objective was to review the literature on using cffDNA levels as a predictor of preeclampsia. Methods We performed a systematic review following the Meta-analyses and Systematic Review of Observational Studies guidelines. Included studies evaluated cffDNA levels in pregnant women before the clinical onset of preeclampsia. Results Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria. There was considerable heterogeneity between included studies, and all received a quality grade of C on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation scale. Of the 13 studies, 11 found an increase in cffDNA among pregnant women who subsequently developed preeclampsia. In addition, all four studies analyzing early-onset or severe preeclampsia found significantly elevated cffDNA levels prior to disease onset. Conclusion Cell-free fetal DNA quantification is a promising marker for preeclampsia prediction, especially for the development of early-onset or severe preeclampsia. However, because of the heterogeneity in published studies, a precise conclusion about the statistical and clinical relevance cannot be made. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cervical Inflammation And Preterm Delivery In Pregnant Women With A History Of Preterm Delivery

BACKGROUND A previous preterm delivery is a risk factor for preterm delivery in a subsequent pregnancy. We tested the hypothesis that evidence of inflammation on a Papanicolaou smear obtained during pregnancy is a risk factor for preterm delivery for women with a history of preterm delivery. METHODS We studied women who had two singleton deliveries at a university hospital during an 8-year period. Women eligible for our study were those whose first delivery was preterm (< 37 weeks of gestation) and for whom a Papanicolaou smear was obtained during the second pregnancy. These smears were examined for evidence of inflammation by a cytopathologist. Information about the second pregnancy was obtained by chart review. RESULTS The cytopathologist reviewed Papanicolaou smears from 92 study pregnancies and found evidence of cervical inflammation on 34 smears (37 percent). Preterm delivery ended 24 (26.1 percent) of the second pregnancies. The incidence of preterm delivery in women with inflammation on Papanicolaou smear was 41.2 percent compared with an incidence of 17.2 percent in women without inflammation (relative risk of 2.40 with a 95 percent confidence interval of 1.19 to 4.83). This association remained significant after controlling for potential confounding variables. A stratified analysis found that the association of cervical inflammation with preterm delivery was limited to women who had systemic exposure to an antibiotic during pregnancy. CONCLUSION Among pregnant women with a history of preterm delivery, evidence of inflammation on Papanicolaou smear was associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery. If replicated in other studies, this finding might have implications for the management of pregnancies in women with a history of preterm delivery.
Simultaneous Calibrations of Voyager Celestial and Inertial Attitude Control Systems in Flight

A mathematical description of the data reduction technique used to simultaneously calibrate the Voyager celestial and inertial attitude control subsystems is given. It is shown that knowledge of the spacecraft limit cycle motion, as measured by the celestial and the inertial sensors, is adequate to result in the estimates of a selected number of errors which adversely affect the spacecraft attitude knowledge.
The retardation of reinforcing steel corrosion by alkyl-alkoxyl silane

Abstract The effectiveness of an alkyl-alkoxy silane treatment of concrete on reducing the rate of corrosion of reinforcing steel in the presence of chloride ions was investigated. First, the penetrating characteristics of the alkyl-alkoxy silane into dried concrete were determined. Then, the corrosion currents of 90 corrosion specimens, some of which were dried and silane-impregnated, were measured using an impressed current, accelerated corrosion technique. The penetration of alkyl-alkoxy silane into dried concrete followed an approximate linear square root time relationship. Comparisons of corrosion currents showed that alkyl-alkoxy silane showed that allowing time after treatment for the They also showed that allowing time after treatment for the ethanol carrier to evaporate and exposing the treated surface to water for a short period of time were beneficial.
Hyperuricemia and urate nephropathy in urate oxidase-deficient mice

Urate oxidase, or uricase (EC 1.7.3.3), is a purine metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of uric acid to allantoin in most mammals except humans and certain other primates. The loss of urate oxidase in the human during primate evolution predisposes man to hyperuricemia, a metabolic disturbance that can lead to gouty arthritis and renal stones. To create a mouse model for hyperuricemia and gout, and to address the question of whether urate oxidase is essential in lower mammalian species, we have disrupted the urate oxidase gene in the mouse by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. Unlike the human situation, urate oxidase deficiency in mice causes pronounced hyperuricemia and urate nephropathy. More than half of the mutant mice died before 4 weeks of age, indicating that urate oxidase is essential in mice. These mutant mice may also serve as animal models for hyperuricemia and its related nephropathy in humans.
The Influence of a Meditation Relaxation Technique on Group Problem-Solving Effectiveness

This research examines the question: What impact does meditation and deep relaxation have on group problem-solving effectiveness? Five-person teams comprised of 230 graduate management students participated in this study that found: (1) meditation teams improved more from pretest to posttest than control teams in solving the group problem faster and with fewer transactions; and (2) members of meditation teams felt less tense and showed more effective teamwork than members of control teams. The results are interpreted as encouragement for organizations to offer meditation-relaxation programs to employees on a voluntary basis.
A multi-year active fire dataset for the tropics derived from the TRMM VIRS

A pan-tropical active fire dataset derived from observations made with the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS), onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, is described. The dataset consists of monthly 0.5° resolution fire summary products from January 1998 to the present, with geographical coverage spanning latitudes 38° S to 38° N. Several key issues previously not considered in summarizing satellite-derived fire ‘counts' were addressed during development of the product. The dataset is intended to provide a current, continuous, multi-year record of fire activity in the tropics and subtropics for input to global studies on the Earth's land and atmosphere processes, their interaction, and relation to climate change. Following the availability of improved global fire coverage from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the VIRS fire dataset will continue to be useful because it can provide new multi-year information on the diurnal cycle of fire that is difficult to...
Pathological sprouting of adult nociceptors in chronic prostate cancer-induced bone pain.

Pain frequently accompanies cancer. What remains unclear is why this pain frequently becomes more severe and difficult to control with disease progression. Here we test the hypothesis that with disease progression, sensory nerve fibers that innervate the tumor-bearing tissue undergo a pathological sprouting and reorganization, which in other nonmalignant pathologies has been shown to generate and maintain chronic pain. Injection of canine prostate cancer cells into mouse bone induces a remarkable sprouting of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP+) and neurofilament 200 kDa (NF200+) sensory nerve fibers. Nearly all sensory nerve fibers that undergo sprouting also coexpress tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA+). This ectopic sprouting occurs in sensory nerve fibers that are in close proximity to colonies of prostate cancer cells, tumor-associated stromal cells and newly formed woven bone, which together form sclerotic lesions that closely mirror the osteoblastic bone lesions induced by metastatic prostate tumors in humans. Preventive treatment with an antibody that sequesters nerve growth factor (NGF), administered when the pain and bone remodeling were first observed, blocks this ectopic sprouting and attenuates cancer pain. Interestingly, reverse transcription PCR analysis indicated that the prostate cancer cells themselves do not express detectable levels of mRNA coding for NGF. This suggests that the tumor-associated stromal cells express and release NGF, which drives the pathological reorganization of nearby TrkA+ sensory nerve fibers. Therapies that prevent this reorganization of sensory nerve fibers may provide insight into the evolving mechanisms that drive cancer pain and lead to more effective control of this chronic pain state.
Temperature-dependent streaming potentials: 1. Theory

[1] The variation of streaming potentials (voltage/pressure cross-coupling coefficient) with temperature is examined with particular emphasis on the effect of temperature on zeta potentials. The variation of streaming potential with temperature cannot be explained solely by the known temperature dependence of water viscosity, permittivity, and conductivity; the change of zeta potential with temperature must also be included. Many previous experimental studies show that the magnitude of the zeta potential increases with temperature. It was found in this study that the increase is controlled primarily by the surface charge density. These changes are influenced by the absorption properties of the surface and thus the surface charge, which in turn affects the Stern layer charge and properties of the electrical double layer. It is found that the slope of the temperature versus zeta potential curve is controlled by the change in enthalpy of the surface reactions. It was also found that viscosity is the most dominant term in the coupling coefficient, but changes in the conductivity model used to determine zeta potentials can also affect streaming potential coupling coefficient results. For the cases studied, the temperature-dependent zeta potential is determined by the temperature-dependent behavior of the Debye-Huckel parameter, 4%; the diffuse layer of electrical double layer (EDL), 6%; and the surface charge, 90%. The Revil and Glover model was able to account for much of the change in the surface charge density caused by changes in temperature.
A time to listen.

When teaching my students about what goes into a good doctor–patient interaction, I tell them about the studies that show how quickly doctors interrupt their patients. How long do I wait, I wondere...
Inhibitory oxidation products of indole-3-acetic Acid: 3-hydroxymethyloxindole and 3-methyleneoxindole as plant metabolites.

Extracts of pea seedlings (Pisum sativum, variety Alaska) oxidize indole-3-acetic acid to a bacteriostatic compound which has been identified as 3-hydroxymethyloxindole. At physiological pH this compound is readily dehydrated to 3-methyleneoxindole, another bacteriostatic agent. The extracts of pea seedlings also contain a reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked enzyme which reduces 3-methyleneoxindole to 3-methyloxindole, a non-toxic compound.These enzymatic reactions also take place in intact seedlings; thus, a pathway of indole-3-acetic acid degradation via oxindoles appears to be pertinent to plant metabolism.The significance of such metabolism lies in the fact that a key intermediate of this pathway, 3-methyleneoxindole, is a sulfhydryl reagent capable of profound effects on metabolism and growth.
Traumatic transient klüver-bucy syndrome

A case of transient Kluver-Bucy syndrome after a gunshot wound through the head is presented. We have found no other case of posttraumatic Kluver-Bucy syndrome described in the literature. The original criteria for the syndrome are reviewed and compared with findings in previously reported human cases.
Coupled binding-bending-folding: The complex conformational dynamics of protein-DNA binding studied by atomistic molecular dynamics simulations.

Abstract Background Protein-DNA binding often involves dramatic conformational changes such as protein folding and DNA bending. While thermodynamic aspects of this behavior are understood, and its biological function is often known, the mechanism by which the conformational changes occur is generally unclear. By providing detailed structural and energetic data, molecular dynamics simulations have been helpful in elucidating and rationalizing protein-DNA binding. Scope of review This review will summarize recent atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of the conformational dynamics of DNA and protein-DNA binding. A brief overview of recent developments in DNA force fields is given as well. Major conclusions Simulations have been crucial in rationalizing the intrinsic flexibility of DNA, and have been instrumental in identifying the sequence of binding events, the triggers for the conformational motion, and the mechanism of binding for a number of important DNA-binding proteins. General significance Molecular dynamics simulations are an important tool for understanding the complex binding behavior of DNA-binding proteins. With recent advances in force fields and rapid increases in simulation time scales, simulations will become even more important for future studies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Recent developments of molecular dynamics.
Preparation and Crystal Structures of Two 3-Anthracenyl Isoxazolyl Sulfonamides

Lateral metalation and oxidation of 3-(9′-anthryl)-isoxazoles (1), using Davis' oxaziridine (6), produced the desired hydroxylation (2), along with sulfonamide adduct (3), and in the case of the use of butyl lithium as base, butyl addition products (4) and (5). Structures of isoxazole sulfonamides (3a) and (5a), were obtained as the SR/RS-diastereomer, however, studies indicate that this is a consequence of the crystallization process. Metalation studies with isoxazole (8) demonstrate that hydroxylation (9), can be carried out cleanly, minimizing formation of (10), using camphorsulfonyloxaziridine (7) as an electrophile.
Lung defense mechanisms (second of two parts).

Macrophages The alveolar macrophage system has been extensively studied. Alveolar macrophages are responsible for the physical removal of inhaled particles although the major clearance mechanism co...