cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Trials in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Recognizing Trends and Future Opportunities.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Examine US and international clinical trials in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to characterize researchers involved, interventions being studied, and opportunities for future investigation. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective database review. METHODS The information from ClinicalTrials.gov was used to assess OSA clinical trials between 1999 and 2017. Information was gathered on principle investigator (PI) demographics, interventions studied, study funding source, and regional distribution of research institutions. RESULTS There were 813 clinical trials studied. The majority of trials examined continuous positive airway pressure interventions (43.7%), with pharmacotherapies being the second most commonly investigated treatment (19.2%). Surgical interventions made up 10.7% (n = 87) of clinical trials for OSA. Most studies were based internationally (59.9%). PIs were predominantly male (72.0%); 72.7% had an MD and 28.6% had a PhD. There were no significant differences in funding source (National Institutes of Health vs. industry, P = .14) or institutional geography (international vs. US, P = .73) between surgical and nonsurgical studies. Surgical trials were significantly more likely to have a male PI and involve pediatric patients compared to nonsurgical trials (P < .001). Otolaryngologists represented 9.2% of all PIs and had similar rates of NIH funding compared to other medical specialists (P = .22). CONCLUSIONS This study provides a broad overview of past, current, and future treatment paradigms for OSA. Sleep surgery, specifically otolaryngology, is a small voice in the overall landscape of clinical trials for OSA. This information can help guide future research efforts and direct our specialty when setting priorities regarding research funding while encouraging a broad and interdisciplinary pursuit. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 129:1940-1944, 2019.
The Impact of RVU-Based Compensation on Patient Safety Outcomes in Outpatient Otolaryngology Procedures.

ObjectiveTo determine the effects an incentive-based physician compensation model has on safety outcomes related to outpatient otolaryngology surgical procedures.Study DesignA retrospective analysi...
The Birth of American Catholic Theology

The eighty years of Theological Studies bear witness to the birth of American Catholic theology. This article traces that development through five stages. During its first two decades scholasticism...
In Vitro Disease Resistance for Expression of Somaclonal Variation in Larix

Somaclonal variation expressed by scleroderris canker resistance or susceptibility was examined using Larix decidua micropropagules generated from caulogenic calli. Callus had been initiated from adventitious shoots showing persistent resistance to the pathogen. Inoculation responses by these propagules were compared to those by adventitious propagules initiated from juvenile tissues, and presumed to be canker-susceptible. Inoculation of those hosts developed on callus from one ostensibly resistant plantlet showed no resistance. Colonization by the pathogen was complete on all shoots.
A fine-scale genetic map for vervet monkeys.

Despite its important biological role, the evolution of recombination rates remains relatively poorly characterized. This owes, in part, to the lack of high-quality genomic resources to address this question across diverse species. Humans and our closest evolutionary relatives, anthropoid apes, have remained a major focus of large-scale sequencing efforts, and thus recombination rate variation has been comparatively well studied in this group-with earlier work revealing a conservation at the broad- but not the fine-scale. However, in order to better understand the nature of this variation, and the time scales on which substantial modifications occur, it is necessary to take a broader phylogenetic perspective. I here present the first fine-scale genetic map for vervet monkeys based on whole-genome population genetic data from ten individuals and perform a series of comparative analyses with the great apes. The results reveal a number of striking features. First, owing to strong positive correlations with diversity and weak negative correlations with divergence, analyses suggest a dominant role for purifying and background selection in shaping patterns of variation in this species. Second, results support a generally reduced broad-scale recombination rate compared with the great apes, as well as a narrower fraction of the genome in which the majority of recombination events are observed to occur. Taken together, this data set highlights the great necessity of future research to identify genomic features and quantify evolutionary processes that are driving these rate changes across primates.
Integrating Team-Based Learning Modules to Improve Civil Engineering Students’ Technical Writing Skills

AbstractThis study investigates the effectiveness of role assignment in team-based learning (TBL) modules to improve technical writing skills in an undergraduate civil engineering (CE) materials la...
Opsoclonus-ataxia syndrome and mature ovarian teratoma in an adolescent

•Ovarian teratomas have been implicated in multiple paraneoplastic syndromes.•Opsoclonus-ataxia syndrome is a rare entity that may be secondary to a paraneoplastic, infectious, or idiopathic process.•Opsoclonus-ataxia syndrome may be associated with ovarian teratoma in both children and adults.•Prompt gynecologic involvement for teratoma resection is warranted.
Discordant DNA mismatch repair protein status between synchronous or metachronous gastrointestinal carcinomas: frequency, patterns, and molecular etiologies

The widespread use of tumor DNA mismatch repair (MMR) protein immunohistochemistry in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) carcinomas has unveiled cases where the MMR protein status differs between synchronous/metachronous tumors from the same patients. This study aims at examining the frequency, patterns and molecular etiologies of such inter-tumoral MMR discordances. We analyzed a cohort of 2159 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients collected over a 5-year period and found that 1.3% of the patients (27/2159) had ≥ 2 primary CRCs, and 25.9% of the patients with ≥ 2 primary CRCs (7/27) exhibited inter-tumoral MMR discordance. We then combined the seven MMR-discordant CRC patients with three additional MMR-discordant GIT carcinoma patients and evaluated their discordant patterns and associated molecular abnormalities. The 10 patients consisted of 3 patients with Lynch syndrome (LS), 1 with polymerase proofreading-associated polyposis (PAPP), 1 with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), and 5 deemed to have no cancer disposing hereditary syndromes. Their MMR discordances were associated with the following etiologies: (1) PMS2-LS manifesting PMS2-deficient cancer at an old age when a co-incidental sporadic MMR-proficient cancer also occurred; (2) microsatellite instability-driven secondary somatic MSH6-inactivation occurring in only one—and not all—PMS2-LS associated MMR-deficient carcinomas; (3) “compound LS” with germline mutations in two MMR genes manifesting different tumors with deficiencies in different MMR proteins; (4) PAPP or FAP syndrome-associated MMR-proficient cancer co-occurring metachronously with a somatic MMR-deficient cancer; and (5) non-syndromic patients with sporadic MMR-proficient cancers co-occurring synchronously/metachronously with sporadic MMR-deficient cancers. Our study thus suggests that inter-tumoral MMR discordance is not uncommon among patients with multiple primary GIT carcinomas (25.9% in patients with ≥ 2 CRCs), and may be associated with widely varied molecular etiologies. Awareness of these patterns is essential in ensuring the most effective strategies in both LS detection and treatment decision-making. When selecting patients for immunotherapy, MMR testing should be performed on the tumor or tumors that are being treated.
Pollution Incidence and Political Jurisdiction: Evidence from the TRI

Few issues are more contentious for local communities than industrial pollution. When local industries pollute, lawmakers and regulators must balance two primary concerns: economic prosperity and the environment. The role of political pressure is well-documented in environmental policy. What is less clear is the role jurisdictional or boundary considerations play in determining the implementation of environmental laws. Anecdotal evidence suggests that local regulators are more lenient in their treatment of polluters when the incidence of pollution falls partially on those outside the state. One explanation for such behavior is that regulators take actions to maximize political support. This paper tests this jurisdictional model using Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data from 1987 to 1996. We find that facilities' emissions into the air and water are systematically higher in counties that border other states. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that jurisdictional considerations are an important determinant of pollution incidence.
Securing Manifest Destiny

This article argues Mexico’s war on drugs was a tactic by elites in both the United States and Mexico to legitimate the Mexican neoliberal state’s political, economic, and ideological governance over Mexican society. Through tough on crime legislation and maintenance of free market policies, the war on drugs is a “morbid symptom” that obfuscates the crisis of global capitalism in the region. It is a way of managing a crisis of legitimacy of Mexico’s neoliberal state. Through arguments of Mexico as a potential “failed state” and a “narco-state,” the United States has played a leading role by investing in militarized policing in the drug war and securitization of Mexico’s borders to expand and maintain capitalist globalization. In the twenty-first century, the ideology of manifest destiny persists, but instead of westward expansion of the U.S. state, it serves as the maintenance and expansion of global capitalism.
Volatility spillover between exchange rate and stock returns under volatility shifts

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that financial markets experience shifts in volatility (i.e. structural breaks) and these volatility shifts should be accounted for in the models of volatility estimation. This study re-examines volatility dynamics of the US Dollar exchange rate and the US stock market utilizing bivariate GARCH models using daily data from January 2003 to May 2018. The modified iterative cumulative sum of square (ICSS) algorithm is employed to identify shifts in the variance of the two return series. The results show that if volatility shifts are ignored, there is significant volatility transmission from the US stock market to the US Dollar exchange rate but not vice versa, which is consistent with previously documented research. However, after accounting for endogenously determined variance shifts in the bivariate GARCH model, I find no significant volatility transmission across markets. I also show that dynamic risk-minimizing hedge ratios and portfolio weights change substantially when volatility shifts are incorporated into the bivariate GARCH model. My findings point to the presence of cross-market hedging by financial market participants in these markets and indicate an inherent estimation bias in the bivariate GARCH models as they tend to overestimate the volatility spillovers across markets when volatility shifts are present but ignored. I show that my results are robust to using data from other major countries over a longer time series data.
The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire

Different methods of estimating the Gross Domestic Product of the Roman Empire in the second century C.E. produce convergent results that point to total output and consumption equivalent to 50 million tons of wheat or close to 20 billion sesterces per year. It is estimated that elites (around 1.5 per cent of the imperial population) controlled approximately one-fifth of total income, while middling households (perhaps 10 per cent of the population) consumed another fifth. These findings shed new light on the scale of economic inequality and the distribution of demand in the Roman world.
IFNγ-stimulated dendritic cell extracellular vesicles can be nasally administered to the brain and enter oligodendrocytes.

Extracellular vesicles secreted from IFNγ-stimulated rat dendritic cells (referred to here as IFNγ-DC-EVs) contain miRNAs which promote myelination (including but not limited to miR-219), and preferentially enter oligodendrocytes in brain slice cultures. IFNγ-DC-EVs also increase myelination when nasally administered to naive rats. While we can infer that these extracellular vesicles enter the CNS from functional studies, here we demonstrate biodistribution throughout the brain after nasal delivery by way of imaging studies. After nasal administration, Xenolight DiR-labelled IFNγ-DC-EVs were detected 30 minutes later throughout the brain and the cervical spinal cord. We next examined cellular uptake of IFNγ-DC-EVs by transfecting IFNγ-DC-EVs with mCherry mRNA prior to nasal administration. mCherry-positive cells were found along the rostrocaudal axis of the brain to the brainstem. These cells morphologically resembled oligodendrocytes, and indeed cell-specific co-staining for neurons, astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes showed that mcherry positive cells were predominantly oligodendrocytes. This is in keeping with our prior in vitro results showing that IFNγ-DC-EVs are preferentially taken up by oligodendrocytes, and to a lesser extent, microglia. To confirm that IFNγ-DC-EVs delivered cargo to oligodendrocytes, we quantified protein levels of miR-219 mRNA targets expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells, and found significantly reduced expression. Finally, we compared intranasal versus intravenous delivery of Xenolight DiR-labelled IFNγ-DC-EVs. Though labelled IFNγ-DC-EVs entered the CNS via both routes, we found that nasal delivery more specifically targeted the CNS with less accumulation in the liver. Taken together, these data show that intranasal administration is an effective route for delivery of IFNγ-DC-EVs to the CNS, and provides additional support for their development as an EV-based neurotherapeutic that, for the first time, targets oligodendrocytes.
Mutations of the functional ARH1 allele in tumors from ARH1 heterozygous mice and cells affect ARH1 catalytic activity, cell proliferation and tumorigenesis

ADP-ribosylation results from transfer of the ADP-ribose moiety of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to an acceptor with ADP-ribose-acceptor content determined by the activities of ADP-ribosyltransferases, which modify the acceptor, and ADP-ribose-acceptor hydrolase (ARH), which cleave the ADP-ribose-acceptor bond. ARH1 was discovered as an ADP-ribose(arginine)protein hydrolase. Previously, we showed that ARH1-knockout and ARH1 heterozygous mice spontaneously developed tumors. Further, ARH1-knockout and ARH1 heterozygous mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) produced tumors when injected into nude mice. In tumors arising in ARH1 heterozygous mice and MEFs, we found both loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the ARH1 gene and ARH1 gene mutations. In the present report, we found that these mutant ARH1 genes encode proteins with reduced ARH1 enzymatic activity. Moreover, MEFs transformed with ARH1 mutant genes exhibiting different levels of ARH1 activity showed altered rates of proliferation, anchorage-independent colony growth in soft agar, and tumorigenesis in nude mice. MEFs transformed with the wild-type (WT) gene, but expressing low levels of hydrolase activity were also tumorigenic. However, transformation with the WT gene was less likely to yield tumors than transformation with a mutant gene exhibiting similar hydrolase activity. Thus, control of protein-ADP-ribosylation by ARH1 is critical for tumorigenesis. In the human cancer database, LOH and mutations of the ARH1 gene were observed. Further, ARH1 gene mutations were located in exons 3 and 4, comparable to exons 2 and 3 of the murine ARH1 gene, which comprise the catalytic site. Thus, human ARH1 gene mutations similar to their murine counterparts may be involved in human cancers.
Dryden Flight Research Center: Center Overview

This viewgraph presentation describes a general overview of Dryden Flight Research Center. Strategic partnerships, Dryden's mission activity, exploration systems and aeronautics research programs are also described.
Black Crescent: Ladinos, Gelofes , and Mandingas

On the lush island of Hispaniola in 1522, Admiral Diego Columbus, governor and son of the explorer, received a most unusual gift early Christmas morning. At the sound of the second cockcrow, some twenty enslaved persons, heretofore proscribed within what was a sizeable ingenio , or sugar mill and its environs, lay aside their fears and set upon a path of alteration. Intent on spreading sedition throughout the island, the insurrectionists moved to mobilize an equal number of coconspirators on neighboring establishments. Machetes in hand, they literally dismembered plantation personnel and livestock as they proceeded, initiating a “wild and bloody expedition under dawn's early light.” In their wake lay torched houses and fields, while “here and there in the open ground lie the decapitated bodies of unfortunate whites who [the insurgents] were able to catch off-guard.” On December 28 they reached the cattle ranch of Melchoir de Castro, some thirty miles from the island's capital of Santo Domingo, upon which they may have been planning an assault. By then, however, they no longer enjoyed the element of surprise; a mixed force of Europeans and indigenous persons under Melchoir de Castro's leadership, both militia and volunteers, attacked the desperate band of Africans, effectively ending the revolt. Those not immediately killed took to the hills, only to be captured within a week.
Galaxy Surface Brightness and Clustering: A Test for Biased Galaxy Formation Scenarios?

Davis & Djorgovski (1985) described a correlation, between the clustering properties and characteristic surface brightness of UGC galaxies. The existence of such an effect is of considerable importance for theories of galaxy formation. In this contribution., we are trying to clarify some questions and problems about this intriguing phenomenon.
Experience with the Development of Advanced Materials for Geothermal Systems

This chapter contains the following sections: Introduction, Advanced Cements, Materials Research and Development in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), Advanced Coatings, and Conclusions.
The use of marihuana, ethanol, and other drugs among drivers killed in single-vehicle crashes.

Marihuana, ethanol, and other drugs are considered by many to be detrimental to the safe operation of motor vehicles. However, direct epidemiological evidence for this belief exists only for ethanol. The goal of this investigation was to determine the incidence of the psychoactive ingredient of marihuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), along with ethanol and other drugs in blood specimens from a carefully defined population of dead drivers. Although THC and other drugs were present in a small number of the blood specimens, the large number of specimens that had high blood ethanol concentrations indicated that alcohol is still the major drug affecting highway safety.
Core histone variants

Publisher Summary The structure of the nucleosome can be adapted to specialized functions by altering its histone composition. In higher eukaryotes, all of the core histones except H4 exist in multiple variant forms that have different primary structures. Some variants are only expressed in specific tissues, for example, in sea urchin sperm and mammalian testis. In sea urchin embryos, there are major changes in variant composition during development. In mammals, the variant composition of many somatic tissues changes as the tissue becomes mitotically quiescent and replication variants are replaced by replacement variants. The chapter focuses on four core histone variants: the H3 variant centromere protein-A (CENP-A) and its homologues, which are found only in centromeric nucleosomes; H2A.Z, which appears to be involved in transcriptional regulation; H2A.X, which is involved in the repair of DNA double-stranded breaks; and macroH2A, which is enriched in the inactive X chromosome of female mammals but is also present in males and nonmammalian vertebrates.
Cyclic Nucleotide-dependent Protein Kinases III. PURIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF ADENOSINE 3',5'-MONOPHOSPHATE-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE FROM BOVINE BRAIN

Abstract An adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase, which catalyzes the phosphorylation of histone by ATP, has been purified from bovine brain and some of its properties have been studied. Under appropriate conditions, the activity of the enzyme was stimulated more than 20-fold by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, with an apparent Km for the cyclic nucleotide of about 2.5 x 10-7 m. The activation of the enzyme by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate was associated with a decrease in Km of the enzyme for ATP that occurred in the presence of the cyclic nucleotide. In contrast, adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate had no significant effect on the Km of the enzyme for the histone. The optimum pH for the activity of the enzyme was 6.5. The purified enzyme had an absolute requirement for a divalent metal. The stimulation by cyclic AMP was greatest in the presence of Mg++, Mn++, or Co++. Cyclic AMP strongly inhibited enzyme activity in the presence of Ca++. The activation observed in the presence of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate was also observed with the 3',5'-monophosphate derivatives of inosine, guanosine, uridine, and cytidine as well as with dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, but much higher concentrations of these other cyclic nucleotides were required. Deoxythymidine 3',5'-monophosphate, the only cyclic deoxyribonucleotide studied, was completely inactive. Adenosine and ADP were inhibitors of the enzyme.
Multipath Hierarchies in Interconnection Networks

In this paper we presented a new approach to interconnection networks for high-performance multiprocessor systems. First, we examined the functions performed by interconnection networks, in general, and identified the delays that are limiting factors to the performance of conventional multistage networks. Then we proposed a network structure which optimizes the delays of each network function, by separating the control flow from the data flow and transmitting the control information through a hierarchy of physical paths with varying transfer speeds. We showed that the control hierarchy could be implemented by using fast networks provided by crossbars and slower networks provided by Δ-nets. Finally, we presented the results of a feasibility study, which showed that the hierarchical control networks are realizable with current VLSI technology.
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) limit food for larval fish (Pimephales promelas) in turbulent systems: a bioenergetics analysis*

We conducted a factorial experiment, in outdoor mesocosms, on the effects of zebra mussels and water column mixing (i.e., turbulence) on the diet, growth, and survival of larval fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Significant (P< 0.05) larval mortality occurred by the end of the experiment with the highest mortality (90%) occurring in the presence of both turbulence and zebra mussels, whereas mortality was 37% in treatment with turbulence and 17% and 18% in the zebra mussels treatment, and the control, respectively. The size of individual fish was significantly different among treatments at the end of the experiment and was inversely related to survival. Levels of trophic resources (i.e., phyto and zooplankton) varied among treatments and were treatment specific. Turbulent mixing facilitated removal of phytoplankton by zebra mussels by making the entire water column of the tanks available to these benthic filter feeders. Early in the experiment (Day = 0 to 14) the physical process of turbulent mixing likely caused a reduction in standing stocks of zooplankton. The interactive effect of turbulence and mussels reduced copepod and rotifer stocks, through physical processes and through filtration by zebra mussels, relative to the turbulence treatment. The reductions in the number of total zooplankton in the turbulent mixing mesocosms and the further reduction of rotifer and copepod in the turbulence and mussels treatment coincided with a period of increased reliance of larval fathead minnows on these prey. Estimates of consumption from bioenergetics modeling and measured prey standing stocks indicated caloric resources of suitable prey in turbulence treatments during the early weeks of the experiment were insufficient to prevent starvation. Early mortality in the turbulence and mussels treatment likely released surviving fish from intense intraspecific competition and resulted in higher individual growth rates. A combination of high abundance of zebra mussels in an environment with a well-mixed water column can have significant effects on larval fish survival and growth.
Function induction, gene expression, and evolutionary representation construction

Different portions of the DNA, the primary information career of a living organism, are evaluated in different cells through the process of gene expression (DNA→mRNA→Protein). Such distributed evaluation of the fitness is possible only when its distributed representation using a set of basis functions is available in a living body. This paper argues that unless the evolution was provided with such a representation, we have every reason to believe that there must be an efficient mechanism to construct such a distributed representation. This paper considers functionally complete Walsh basis functions and shows that efficient polynomial-time computation of the Walsh representation (WR) is possible for problems with bounded non-linearity. It also offers a highly efficient algorithm O(2kr) to compute the WR for problems with non-negative Walsh coefficients, where r is the total number of non-zero terms in its WR.
Changing Concepts in Activity: Descriptive and Design Studies of Consequential Learning in Conceptual Practices

Concepts and conceptual change have been studied extensively as phenomena of individual thinking and action, but changing circumstances of social or cultural groups using concepts are treated as external conditions. We describe research on consequential learning in conceptual practices, where concepts include representational infrastructure that coordinates meaning and activity across time, setting, and social participation. Consequential learning changes one's relation to conceptual practice, creating access to and valued possibilities for participation in practices at a broader scale. We illustrate our approach to conceptual change with case studies and design research in workplaces, schools, and urban communities. We compare our approach to previous efforts to bridge theoretical perspectives published in this journal, focusing in particular on Greeno and van de Sande (2007). Our efforts provide new constructs and studies that may yet create a span between cognitive and sociocultural theories of learnin...
The New French Marriage in an International and Comparative Law Perspectives

“Drinking, eating, sleeping together is marriage it seems to me already” wrote Antoine Loysel, Jurisconsult, into Institutes Coutumieres at the beginning of the 16th century.After several failed attempts and the creation of a civil partnership designed as a semi-loophole to a heated debate and timely subject, it took France more than twelve years after the Netherlands to finally join the family of countries authorizing marriage of homosexual couples.Equality is the key word of the French reform: Equality in the duties and rights that allow identical access to the legal protection that marriage provides opposite-sex couples, inspired from The Declaration of Human and Civic Rights of 26 August 1789.To perfect the equality to an international level, the Act of 17 May 2013 included language that states that marriages performed in a foreign jurisdiction satisfy the legal requirements for marriages in France. The new bill also confirms to France’s traditional choice of law rule according to which the law of the nationality of each spouse applies to the substantive validity of marriage. In order to be effective, the statute adopts a new conflict of law rule providing that same-sex marriage would still be allowed when the national law, or the law of the residence, or the law of the domicile of one of the spouses allows it. Intended to translate an extensive and cosmopolitan access to same-sex marriage, the new rules of conflict of laws suffer in reality from imperfection and do not provide an equal access to marriage for all, in particular due to historical international conventions that superseded the law.The difficulties for both gay and lesbian spouses occupy an even more prominent place in today's globalized world where more and more couples live outside their country of origin. As soon as cross-border elements come, the new definition of French marriage faces a multitude of challenges related to immigration, benefits, adoption, international wealth management, matrimonial property regime, divorce, and succession. What are the surrounding practical consequences when same-sex married couples decide to move abroad, and how to solve or to anticipate all the dormant problems?In this paper, I am examining some of the potential issues related to same-sex marriage and conflict of laws in a comparative law perspective, and I suggest a new approach to deal with these coming questions in accordance with the international and European tools that may serve individuals from countries that already have opened marriage to same-sex couples, and those who want to join the international family.
MRI Findings After Surgery for Chiari Malformation Type I

OBJECTIVE. Surgery plays an important role in the management of Chiari I malformation. The purpose of this article is to review expected and unexpected MRI findings after the various types of surgery performed during the treatment of Chiari I malformation and associated abnormalities. CONCLUSION. Familiarity with optimal MRI techniques and findings is important when evaluating postoperative changes after treatment of Chiari I malformation.
Three-dimensional structure of an evolutionarily conserved N-terminal domain of syntaxin 1A.

Abstract Syntaxin 1A plays a central role in neurotransmitter release through multiple protein–protein interactions. We have used NMR spectroscopy to identify an autonomously folded N-terminal domain in syntaxin 1A and to elucidate its three-dimensional structure. This 120-residue N-terminal domain is conserved in plasma membrane syntaxins but not in other syntaxins, indicating a specific role in exocytosis. The domain contains three long α helices that form an up-and-down bundle with a left-handed twist. A striking residue conservation is observed throughout a long groove that is likely to provide a specific surface for protein–protein interactions. A highly acidic region binds to the C 2 A domain of synaptotagmin I in a Ca 2+ -dependent interaction that may serve as an electrostatic switch in neurotransmitter release.
Median Cleft of the Lip: Its Significance and Surgical Repair:

Median cleft lip is a midline vertical cleft through the upper lip in the absence of a prolabial remnant. This may occur as a sporadic event or be part of an inherited sequence of anomalies. A failure of formation or fusion of the medial nasal prominences derived from the frontonasal prominence is ultimately responsible for this aberration. Two categories of dysplasia are associated: (1) frontonasal deformity associated with hypotelorism and (2) median facial cleft syndrome associated with hypertelorism. A patient presents with median cleft lip, mild bifid nose, and hypertelorism. Following surgical reconstruction, a good result is achieved. The embryology, implications for associated abnormalities, and surgical technique for treating these cases are discussed.
Relation between the duration of remission and hyperglycemia during induction chemotherapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia with a hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone/methotrexate–cytarabine regimen

BACKGROUND Hyperglycemia, which is not uncommon during the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), has been shown to be an independent predictor of adverse outcomes among hospitalized patients with undiagnosed diabetes; it also may have the potential to affect leukemic cell proliferation through altered metabolism. The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence of hyperglycemia during induction chemotherapy for ALL using a regimen comprised of hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (Hyper-CVAD) and to determine its effect on survival, duration of disease remission, and treatment-related complications. METHODS Two hundred seventy-eight adult patients with previously untreated ALL who achieved a complete remission with the hyper-CVAD regimen were evaluated. Hyperglycemia was defined as ≥ 2 glucose determinations of ≥ 200 mg/dL during the first 30 days of induction chemotherapy. Induction chemotherapy was comprised of fractionated cyclophosphamide at a dose of 300 mg/m2 twice daily on Days 1–3, doxorubicin at a dose of 50 mg/m2 on Day 4, vincristine at a dose of 2 mg on Days 4 and 11, and dexamethasone at a dose of 40 mg on Days 1–4 and Days 11–14 (hyper-CVAD). Hyper-CVAD, given in odd-number courses (Courses 1, 3, 5, and 7), was alternated with methotrexate and cytarabine (MTX/Ara-C), given in even-number courses (Courses 2, 4, 6, and 8). MTX/Ara-C was comprised of MTX at a dose of 200 mg/m2 over 2 hours followed by 800 mg/m2 over 22 hours on Day 1, Ara-C at a dose of 3 g/m2 every 12 hours for 4 doses over 2 days (Days 2 and 3), and intravenous methylprednisolone given at a dose of 50 mg twice daily on Days 1–3. The complete remission duration (CRD), survival, and treatment-related complications were determined for patients with and without hyperglycemia; differences between the two groups were assessed using standard statistical methods. RESULTS Hyperglycemia was found to occur in 103 patients (37%). Patients with hyperglycemia had a shorter median CRD (24 months vs. 52 months; P = 0.001) and a shorter median survival (29 months vs. 88 months; P < 0.001); they also were more likely to develop sepsis (16.5% vs. 8.0%; P = 0.03) or any complicated infection (sepsis, pneumonia, or fungal) (38.8% vs. 25.1%; P = 0.016) compared with patients without hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS Patients with hyperglycemia during induction chemotherapy for ALL with the hyper-CVAD regimen were found to have a shorter CRD, experience a significant increase in overall mortality, and be at an increased risk for developing complicated infections. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.
Quantum information does exist

Abstract This paper advocates a concept of quantum information whose origins can be traced to Schumacher [1995. Quantum coding. Physical Review A 51, 2738–2747]. The concept of quantum information advocated is elaborated using an analogy to Shannon's theory provided by Schumacher coding. In particular, this paper extends Timpson's [2004. Quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics . Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oxford. Preprint, quant-ph/0412063] framework for interpreting Shannon information theory to the quantum context. Entanglement fidelity is advocated as the appropriate success criterion for the reproduction of quantum information. The relationship between the Shannon theory and quantum information theory is discussed.
ENHANCED SOLUBILITY OF PARACETAMOL BY VARIOUS HYDROTROPIC AGENTS

AbstractThe increase in the aqueous solubility of paracetamol by the use of various hydro tropes was studied.These agents were sodium glycinate, sodium gentisate, sodium salicylate and nicotinamide. All of these agents increased the aqueous solubility to varying degrees, with nicotinamide and sodium salicylate being the most efficient solubilizers.A conductance parameter was investigated as a mean of aiding interpretation of the solubility data. Dielectric constants could only be determined in the nicotinamide systems.Ultra-violet spectral analysis, TLC, infra-red, and NMR techniques were utilized in order to elucidate the solubility mechanism. These tests indicate that no special bonding or complex formation exists for the sodium salt hydrotropes in these preliminary work. There is some evidence from UV & TLC analysis that nicotinamide and paracetamol enter into complex formation.The other hydrotropic agents, in this study indicate the mechanism of solubilization is one of “salting - in” by causing misci...
Space and time variation of δ18O and δD in Antarctic precipitation revisited

[1] To better understand the variations over time of precipitation water isotopes measured in polar ice cores, we have developed an intermediate complexity model (ICM) of atmospheric water vapor transport and associated isotopic distillation. The model builds directly from earlier work by D. Fisher and M. Hendricks and is calibrated against the measured modern spatial distribution of δD and deuterium excess (d). Model improvements include a correction to the equation governing advective transport, which solves a major puzzle arising from the earlier work. The new model shows isotopic data to be consistent with dominance of eddy diffusive transport at high latitudes. Model experiments are used to show that a wide variety of climate changes in subtropical source regions can affect Antarctic d and that such d changes are consistently anticorrelated with changes of δD. Magnitudes of ΔδD/Δd are ∼−1 to −5 and are much higher at the ice sheet margin than in the interior of the continent. Changes in the relative dominance of diffusive and advective transport are also shown to cause anticorrelated changes of similar magnitude. Isotopic sensitivities to temperature change (ΔδD/ΔT) are shown to also vary spatially, with low values in marginal zones and higher values inland. Effects of ocean surface relative humidity on Antarctic d are shown to be nearly uniform across the continent (in contrast to earlier results given by Petit et al. [1991]) but quantitatively small. The method used by Vimeux et al. [2001] for folding humidity effects into source temperature effects is supported. We draw attention to a pervasive misapplication of marine composition corrections to Antarctic δD records. Arguments are made in support of simple interpretations of calibrated ice core isotopic time series in terms of temperature changes despite the potential complexities in the system.
Obesity and sleep apnea are independently associated with adverse left ventricular remodeling and clinical outcome in patients with atrial fibrillation and preserved ventricular function

Aims Obesity is associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF), and both obesity and AF are independently associated with the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. We tested the hypothesis that sleep apnea (SA) would have a body mass index (BMI) independent association with adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling and clinical outcomes in patients with AF and preserved LV function. Methods and results From 720 consecutive patients with AF, 403 patients without myocardial disease (preserved LV function) were identified and followed up for 3.3 ± 1.5 years. The primary outcome was a combination of all-cause mortality/heart failure hospitalization. Left ventricular mass and LV mass-to-volume ratio were higher in patients with SA and obesity (P b .0001 for all). Body mass index (β per log = .47; P b .0001) and SA (β = .05; P = .045) were independently associated with LV mass index. Patients with treated SA had a lower LV mass index (but not LV mass-to-volume ratio) compared with untreated (P = .002). In a best overall multivariable model, SA therapy (β = �.129; P = .001) and BMI (β per log = .373; P = .0007) had opposing associations with LV mass index. Sleep apnea (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.94; P = .0004) and BMI (HR per 1 kg/m 2 = 1.08; P = .004) were associated with clinical outcome in unadjusted analysis. Only SA was associated with clinical outcome in a best overall multivariable model (HR = 2.14; P = .02). Conclusion Sleep apnea and obesity are independently associated with adverse LV remodeling and clinical outcomes in patients with preserved LV function, whereas continuous positive airway pressure therapy is associated with a beneficial effect on LV remodeling. Research investigating SA therapies in patients at high risk for LV remodeling and heart failure is warranted. (Am Heart J 2014;167:620-6.)
Aluminacyclopropene: Syntheses, characterization, and reactivity toward terminal alkynes

Reactions of LAl with ethyne, mono- and disubstituted alkynes, and diyne to aluminacyclopropene LAl[η2-C2(R1)(R2)] ((L = HC[(CMe)(NAr)]2, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3); R1 = R2 = H, (1); R1 = H, R2 = Ph, (2); R1 = R2 = Me, (3); R1 = SiMe3, R2 = C⋮CSiMe3, (4)) are reported. Compounds 1 and 2 were obtained in equimolar quantities of the starting materials at low temperature. The amount of C2H2 was controlled by removing an excess of C2H2 in the range from −78 to −50 °C. Compound 4 can be alternatively prepared by the substitution reaction of LAl[η2-C2(SiMe3)2] with Me3SiC⋮CC⋮CSiMe3 or by the reductive coupling reaction of LAlI2 with potassium in the presence of Me3SiC⋮CC⋮CSiMe3. The reaction of LAl with excess C2H2 and PhC⋮CH (<1:2) afforded the respective alkenylalkynylaluminum compounds LAl(CHCH2)(C⋮CH) (5) and LAl(CHCHPh)(C⋮CPh) (6). The reaction of LAl(η2-C2Ph2) with C2H2 and PhC⋮CH yielded LAl(CPhCHPh)(C⋮CH) (7) and LAl(CPhCHPh)(C⋮CPh) (8), respectively. Rationally, the formation of 5 (or 6) may proceed through t...
Regulation of the synthesis of mucin glycoproteins in swine trachea explants

Swine tracheal epithelium has been cultured as explants in a chemically defined medium for periods of up to 2 wk. The viability of the explants was shown by the preservation of the ultrastructural features of cells in the epithelial layer and by the active incorporation of radioactive glucosamine and sulfate into secreted mucin glycoproteins. The rate of secretion of mucin glycoprotein was about 0.035 mg per cm2 per d. After initial 24 h lag period was shown to be due to the equilibration of intracellular mucin glycoprotein pools with radioactive precursors. The rate of secretion of glycoprotein showed a linear dependence on the area of the explant, and maximal incorporation was observed at 200 μM glucosamine. A higher concentration of35SO4, 1000 μM, was required for maximal incorporation of the precursor. Insulin at 0.1 to 1 μg/ml increased the rate of secretion twofold, whereas 0.1 to 100 μg/ml of hydrocortisone and 0.1 to 100 μg/ml of epinephrine significantly decreased the rate of secretion. Vitamin A had little or no effect of normal trachea explants at low concentrations, and, at higher concentrations, 10−5 M, it decreased the secretion of mucin glycoproteins. Vitamin A, at a concentration of 10−9 M, increased the rate of synthesis of glycoprotein at least fourfold in trachea explants from vitamin A-deficient rats. Mucus secretions collected from the surface of swine trachea and from the culture medium of trachea explants were purified. The mucus was solubilized by reduction and carboxymethylation, and the high molecular weight mucin glycoproteins were purified by chromatography on Sepharose CL-6B columns under dissociating conditions in 2M guanidine HCl. The mucin glycoproteins purified from swine trachea and from the culture medium of trachea explants were virtually indistingushable. They showed the same properties when examined by gel electrophoresis and immunoprecipitation. The purified glycoproteins contained about 25% protein, and serine, threonine, and proline were the principal amino acids present. More than 80% of the carbohydride chains in both samples were released by treatment with alkaline borohydride. Nearly the same molar ratio ofN-acetylgalactosamine,N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, fucose, sulfate, and sialic acid was found in both preparations.
Coronary occlusion before, during, and after strenuous exercise

Groups of dogs were exercised immediately before, and immediately after occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Coronary occlusion by a staged procedure resulted in a low mortality and rare ventricular ectopic beats. The combination of simultaneous exercise with coronary occlusion reproducibly provoked ventricular fibrillation (VF). Exercise before and after occlusion frequently produced ventricular tachycardia but no VF. The risk of major arrhythmias was related to the peak heart rate resulting from the exercise.
Effects of Varying Force Production in Practice Schedules of Children Learning a Discrete Motor Task

The variability of practice prediction from Schmidt's Schema Theory involving transfer and retention was tested when manipulating only the performance parameter of over-all force. Children (n = 120) of two age groups performed a 15-in. (38.1 cm.) arm movement on a linear slide modified to allow manipulating the force required to move the car on the slide. No significant differences between the variable group and the constant practice group were found for either the 10 transfer or 5 retention trials. Mean absolute errors were ordered in favor of the constant practice group for both transfer and retention. For the first transfer trial a significant difference was found; constant practice groups performed better. This finding is contrary to predictions of schema theory as well as evidence from children as subjects.
Feasibility and safety of longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging in a rodent model with intracortical microwire implants

The purpose of this communication is to investigate (1) the feasibility of carrying out longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in animals with implanted microwire electrodes adapted for MRI compatibility, (2) the effect of MRI studies on the quality of neurophysiological recordings, (3) the use of MRI to study the extent and recovery of tissue damage due to electrode insertion and (4) histological tissue damage due to MRI. There was no evidence of chronic neural damage caused by repeated MRI by any of the measures used nor any statistical difference in the quality of the electrophysiological recordings between animals that had undergone MRI scans and those that had not.
Secular trend in unipolar depression: a hypothesis

To address the observation of a secular trend in the incidence of major depression, we have evaluated prevalence of unipolar depression in first-degree relatives of unipolar depressed probands, all of whom were studied in the sleep laboratory. A threshold value of reduced (less than or equal to 65.0 min) or non-reduced (greater than 65.0 min) REM latency was used to define groups for both parents and siblings. Unipolar depression occurred at the same rate in both reduced REM latency siblings (57.1%) and parents (66.7%). Siblings with non-reduced REM latency had a higher rate of depression (36.8%) than non-reduced REM latency parents (0.0%). Implications for biological and environmental factors associated with liability for unipolar depression are discussed.