cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Binding of Nitric Oxide in CDGSH-type [2Fe-2S] Clusters of the Human Mitochondrial Protein Miner2

Iron-sulfur proteins are among the primary targets of nitric oxide in cells. Previous studies have shown that iron-sulfur clusters hosted by cysteine residues in proteins are readily disrupted by nitric oxide forming a protein-bound dinitrosyl iron complex, thiolate-bridged di-iron tetranitrosyl complex, or octanitrosyl cluster. Here we report that human mitochondrial protein Miner2 [2Fe-2S] clusters can bind nitric oxide without disruption of the clusters. Miner2 is a member of a new CDGSH iron-sulfur protein family that also includes two mitochondrial proteins: the type II diabetes-related mitoNEET and the Wolfram syndrome 2-linked Miner1. Miner2 contains two CDGSH motifs, and each CDGSH motif hosts a [2Fe-2S] cluster via three cysteine and one histidine residues. Binding of nitric oxide in the reduced Miner2 [2Fe-2S] clusters produces a major absorption peak at 422 nm without releasing iron or sulfide from the clusters. The EPR measurements and mass spectrometry analyses further reveal that nitric oxide binds to the reduced [2Fe-2S] clusters in Miner2, with each cluster binding one nitric oxide. Although the [2Fe-2S] cluster in purified human mitoNEET and Miner1 fails to bind nitric oxide, a single mutation of Asp-96 to Val in mitoNEET or Asp-123 to Val in Miner1 facilitates nitric oxide binding in the [2Fe-2S] cluster, indicating that a subtle change of protein structure may switch mitoNEET and Miner1 to bind nitric oxide. The results suggest that binding of nitric oxide in the CDGSH-type [2Fe-2S] clusters in mitochondrial protein Miner2 may represent a new nitric oxide signaling mode in cells.
Bioethical perspective of ontologically-based personalism

Abstract This article presents a bioethical perspective of ontologically-based personalism. The aim of this model applied to bioethics is to provide a suitable framework for moral issues that arise from biomedical applications to human beings. Firstly, an explanation is offered on how the ethical model it proposes has an ontological foundation, with a view to associating human dignity and rights – most notably at the beginning and at the end of life – with the substantial reality of the person, as opposed to associating it with a set of capacities that an individual may or may not exhibit. The reader is then introduced to a case analysis method that links empirical data, anthropological dimensions, and ethical assessment, as well as a set of four practical principles aimed at guiding decisions in a biomedical context. Finally, it outlines the key components of a personalist, ontologically based, model, by comparing its theoretical setting and its main implications with those of some current bioethical trends.
Shifting Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners Orientation From Prosecutorial to Patient-Centered: The Role of Training.

Sexual assault forensic examiners (SAFEs) have a complex role that entails providing health care and medical forensic evidence collection. The literature indicates that there are two orientations t...
A Statistical Mechanical View of the Universe

So finally, after all that priming, we have almost all the pieces we need to put together our picture of what the Big Bang really looks like and how our universe is situated with regards to us right now. The last few pieces we’ll need to cover are dark matter and dark energy,
Potential Biocides: Iodine-Producing Pyrotechnics

Currently there is a need for specialized pyrotechnic materials to combat the threat of biological weapons. Materials have been characterized based on their potential to produce heat and molecular iodine gas (I2) to kill spore-forming bacteria (e. g. anthrax). One formulation, already proven to kill anthrax simulants, is diiodine pentoxide with aluminum; however, it suffers from poor stability and storage problems. The heat and iodine gas output from this mixture and candidate replacement mixtures were measured with bomb calorimetry and extraction and analysis of I2 by UV-Vis. Of the mixtures analyzed, calcium iodate and aluminum was found to be the highest producer of I2. The heat output of this mixture and others can be tuned by adding more fuel, with the cost of some iodine. Products of combustion were analyzed by thermal analysis (SDT), XPS, XRD, and LC/MS. Evidence for various metal iodides and metal oxides was collected with these methods.
Making Washington Work: Legislative Entrepreneurship and the Personal Vote from the Gilded Age to the Great Depression

Studies of bill sponsorship in the modern Congress highlight the effects of constituency characteristics, seniority, and committee membership. These studies, however, are limited in their ability to assess the effects of institutions. We provide the first systematic study of bill sponsorship in the premodern House of Representatives. In doing so, we take advantage of this period's expansive legislative agenda and variation in electoral system rules. Using matching and event count models, we estimate the effects of institutions, electoral competition, and members’ institutional positions and political experiences on their sponsorship of different types of bills. We find that two reforms—the Australian ballot and nominating primary—increased sponsorship of bills designed to cultivate personal votes, thereby contributing to the growth in private legislation and bills aimed at local constituencies. Our results establish these reforms as a major event shaping lawmaking activity and, with it, the character of contemporary representation.
Retinoschisin Facilitates the Function of L-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels

Modulation of ion channels by extracellular proteins plays critical roles in shaping synaptic plasticity. Retinoschisin (RS1) is an extracellular adhesive protein secreted from photoreceptors and bipolar cells, and it plays an important role during retinal development, as well as in maintaining the stability of retinal layers. Retinoschisin is known to form homologous octamers and interact with molecules on the plasma membrane including phosphatidylserine, sodium-potassium exchanger complex, and L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LTCCs). However, how this physical interaction between RS1 and ion channels might affect the channel gating properties is unclear. In retinal photoreceptors, two major LTCCs are Cav1.3 (α1D) and Cav1.4 (α1F) with distinct biophysical properties, functions, and distributions. Cav1.3 is distributed from the inner segment to the synaptic terminal and is responsible for calcium influx to the photoreceptors and overall calcium homeostasis. Cav1.4 is only expressed at the synaptic terminal and is responsible for neurotransmitter release. Mutations of the gene encoding Cav1.4 cause X-linked incomplete congenital stationary night blindness type 2 (CSNB2), while null mutations of Cav1.3 cause a mild decrease of retinal light responses in mice. Even though RS1 is known to maintain retinal architecture, in this study, we present that RS1 interacts with both Cav1.3 and Cav1.4 and regulates their activations. Retinoschisin was able to co-immunoprecipitate with Cav1.3 and Cav1.4 from porcine retinas, and it increased the LTCC currents and facilitated voltage-dependent activation in HEK cells co-transfected with RS1 and Cav1.3 or Cav1.4, thus providing evidence of a functional interaction between RS1 and LTCCs. The interaction between RS1 and Cav1.3 did not change the calcium-dependent inactivation of Cav1.3. In mice lacking RS1, the expression of Cav1.3 and Cav1.4 in the retina decreased, while in mice with Cav1.4 deletion, the retinal level of RS1 decreased. These results provide important evidence that RS1 is not only an adhesive protein promoting cell-cell adhesion, it is essential for anchoring other membrane proteins including ion channels and enhancing their function in the retina.
Molecular and Functional Characterization of a Brain Neuronal Membrane Glutamate-Binding Protein

The dicarboxylic amino acids L-glutamic acid and L-aspartic acid play an important role as excitatory neurotransmitters or neuromodulators in both the vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems (Curtis and Johnson, 1974; Krnjevic, 1974; Nistri and Constanti, 1979). Both L-glutamate and L-aspartate are ubiquitous within the mammalian CNS and are known to have very extensive excitatory activity when applied to most CNS neurons. The excitatory responses produced in mammalian CNS neurons and in invertebrate muscles by the action of L-glutamic acid are the result of glutamate-induced increases in membrane conductance of Na+ and K+ (Nistri and Constanti, 1979; Takeuchi and Onodera, 1973; Anwyl, 1977) and, to a small extent, Ca2+ (Zanotto and Heinemann, 1983). These receptor-associated channels differ from the voltage-dependent channels of axonal or muscle membranes in their lack of sensitivity to tetrodotoxin (TTX) (Ozeki et al, 1966; Curtis et al, 1972).
Characterizing the Variations of the motion of the North Atlantic tropical cyclones

In this study, we examine the seasonal and interannual variability of the North Atlantic (NATL) tropical cyclone (TC) motion from the historical Hurricane Database (HURDAT2) over the period 1988–2014. We characterize these motions based on their position, lifecycle, and seasonal cycle. The main findings of this study include: (1) of the 11,469 NATL TC fixes examined between 1988 and 2014, 81% of them had a translation speed of 40 mph) are exclusively found north of 30 N, the slow-moving TCs have a wide range of latitude. This is largely a consequence of the background steering flow being weaker (stronger) in the tropical (higher) latitudes with a minimum around the subtropical latitudes of NATL; (3) there is an overall decrease in the frequency of all categories of translation speed of TCs in warm relative to cold El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) years. However, in terms of the percentage change, TCs with a translation speed in the range of 10–20 mph display the most change (42%) in warm relative to cold ENSO years; and (4) there is an overall decrease in frequency across all categories of TC translation speed in small relative to large Atlantic Warm Pool years, but in terms of percentage change in the frequency of TCs, there is a significant and comparable change in the frequency over a wider range of translation speeds than the ENSO composites. This last finding suggests that Atlantic Warm Pool variations have a more profound impact on the translation speed of Atlantic TCs than ENSO.
Survey on deep convolutional neural networks in mammography

The limitations of traditional Computer Aided Detection (CAD) systems for mammography, the extreme importance of early detection of breast cancer and the high impact of the false diagnosis of patients lead to investigating Deep Learning methods (DL) for mammograms. Deep Learning, in particular, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been recently used for object localization and detection, risk assessment, and classification tasks in mammogram images. CNNs help radiologists provide more accurate diagnosis by delivering precise quantitative analysis of suspicious lesions in short time. This survey reviews the strengths and limitations of major CNNs applications in analyzing mammogram images. It summarizes 51 contributions on applying CNNs on various tasks in mammography. Moreover, it discusses the best practices done using CNN methods and suggesting directions for further improvement in medical images and in particular mammogram images.
Methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase contributes to allergic airway disease.

Rationale Environmental exposures strongly influence the development and progression of asthma. We have previously demonstrated that mice exposed to a diet enriched with methyl donors during vulnerable periods of fetal development can enhance the heritable risk of allergic airway disease through epigenetic changes. There is conflicting evidence on the role of folate (one of the primary methyl donors) in modifying allergic airway disease. Objectives We hypothesized that blocking folate metabolism through the loss of methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr) activity would reduce the allergic airway disease phenotype through epigenetic mechanisms. Methods Allergic airway disease was induced in C57BL/6 and C57BL/6Mthfr-/- mice through house dust mite (HDM) exposure. Airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) were measured between the two groups. Gene expression and methylation profiles were generated for whole lung tissue. Disease and molecular outcomes were evaluated in C57BL/6 and C57BL/6Mthfr-/- mice supplemented with betaine. Measurements and main results Loss of Mthfr alters single carbon metabolite levels in the lung and serum including elevated homocysteine and cystathionine and reduced methionine. HDM-treated C57BL/6Mthfr-/- mice demonstrated significantly less airway hyperreactivity (AHR) compared to HDM-treated C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, HDM-treated C57BL/6Mthfr-/- mice compared to HDM-treated C57BL/6 mice have reduced whole lung lavage (WLL) cellularity, eosinophilia, and Il-4/Il-5 cytokine concentrations. Betaine supplementation reversed parts of the HDM-induced allergic airway disease that are modified by Mthfr loss. 737 genes are differentially expressed and 146 regions are differentially methylated in lung tissue from HDM-treated C57BL/6Mthfr-/- mice and HDM-treated C57BL/6 mice. Additionally, analysis of methylation/expression relationships identified 503 significant correlations. Conclusion Collectively, these findings indicate that the loss of folate as a methyl donor is a modifier of allergic airway disease, and that epigenetic and expression changes correlate with this modification. Further investigation into the mechanisms that drive this observation is warranted.
Introduction and Preliminaries

The first section in this chapter is a brief overview of what this book is about. In the remaining sections we gather together some general definitions and some preliminary material which will be useful throughout the book. In this way this is a self-contained monograph and the main prerequisite that the reader needs to understand the material in this book and to be able to attack the open problems and conjectures is a good foundation in analysis. The reader is advised to just glance at the definitions and results which are stated in Sections 1.2–1.7 and return for the details as they are needed in the sequel.
Sequencing the Human Genome: A Historical Perspective on Challenges for Systems Integration

The sequence of the human genomewas declared finished on April 14, 2003. Analyses have been published in the journal Nature for chromosomes 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, 22 andY, with the other chromosomes to followin 2004. Although the Human Genome Project officially began in 1990, most of the publicly accessible sequence data were produced by 20 genome centers in six countries between 1999 and 2002. This group of centers, called the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, coordinated their mapping and sequencing efforts and freely shared materials, data and procedures [23]. The International Consortium in turn was supported by a network of funding agency program directors, database managers, resource providers, instrumentation/protocol developers, and conference organizers. In all, several thousand people made sure that the human genome got sequenced, and the world is rightly celebrating their accomplishment.
Superficial Peroneal Nerve

A branch of the common peroneal nerve, the superficial peroneal nerve is formed from the L4-S2 nerve roots and provides motor supply to the lateral lower leg, as well as sensory innervation to the dorsum of the foot and ankle.
Relationship between salinity and sonic fish advertisement behavior in a managed sub-tropical estuary: Making the case for an acoustic indicator species

Abstract The Florida Everglades have been subjected to decades of human disturbance directly and indirectly related to freshwater management. As a result, intensive efforts directed at restoring water quality in the region have been congressionally mandated. Long-term hydrological monitoring of the Florida Bay Estuary has significantly improved scientific understanding of physical environmental processes within the southern portion of Everglades National Park. Linking environmental processes to ecosystem dynamics, however, requires a relevant metric of biological activity that 1) is representative of ecosystem interactions, 2) can be measured at the same temporal and spatial scales of hydrological data collection, and 3) is at sufficient resolution to provide an understanding of organismal, population, and community-level changes. Through changes in physiology, behavior, or ecology, fishes may respond to acute and chronic changes in their habitats. Passive acoustic detection of sonic fishes may provide an opportunity to link physical and ecosystem processes in estuarine systems. Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta, family Batrachoididae) are a mid-trophic-level species with a widespread distribution throughout Florida Bay and the broader Gulf of Mexico. Advertising males call in both reproductive and agonistic contexts and exhibit high degrees of nest fidelity. As a result, their calls can be reliably used as an indication of animal presence, as well as behavioral state and reproductive condition. By investigating toadfish call occurrence across three hydrological monitoring stations in Florida Bay, we determined that Gulf toadfish have highest probability of acoustic occurrence at sites with lower salinity (Dunn’s test, p
Calcium Imaging of Parvalbumin Neurons in the Dorsal Root Ganglia

We investigated the calcium dynamics of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons using transgenic mice to target expression of the genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI), GCaMP6s, to a subset of neurons containing parvalbumin (PV), a calcium-binding protein present in proprioceptors and low-threshold mechanoreceptors. This study provides the first analysis of GECI calcium transient parameters from large-diameter DRG neurons. Our approach generated calcium transients of consistent shape and time-course, with quantifiable characteristics. Four parameters of calcium transients were determined to vary independently from each other and thus are likely influenced by different calcium-regulating mechanisms: peak amplitude, rise time (RT), decay time, and recovery time. Pooled analysis of 188 neurons demonstrated unimodal distributions, providing evidence that PV+ DRG neurons regulate calcium similarly as a population despite their differences in size, electrical properties, and functional sensitivities. Calcium transients increased in size with elevated extracellular calcium, longer trains of action potentials, and higher stimulation frequencies. RT and decay time increased with the addition of the selective sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases (SERCA) blocker, thapsigargin (TG), while peak amplitude and recovery time remained the same. When elevating bath pH to 8.8 to block plasma-membrane calcium ATPases (PMCA), all measured parameters significantly increased. These results illustrate that GECI calcium transients provide sufficient resolution to detect changes in electrical activity and intracellular calcium concentration, as well as discern information about the activity of specific subclasses of calcium regulatory mechanisms.
ENERGY THERMODYNAMICS REVISITED: ENERGY INTAKE STRATEGIES FOR OPTIMIZING ATHLETE BODY COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE

A key feature of physical activity is that it results in an increased rate of energy expenditure and, as a result of metabolic inefficiencies that lead to high heat production, an increase in the requirement to dissipate the added heat through sweat. Nevertheless, surveys commonly find that athletes fail to optimally satisfy both energy and fluid needs, causing them to perform at levels below their conditioned capacities. To some extent this problem results from an excess reliance on the sensations of ‘hunger’ and ‘thirst’ to guide energy and fluid intakes, but there are also common misunderstandings of the best eating strategies for achieving optimal body composition and performance. The need to improve the strength-to-weight ratio to enable an enhanced ability to overcome sport-related resistance can be misinterpreted as a need to be ‘small’, which may result in an under-consumption of energy through restrained eating and special ‘diets’. The outcome, however, is nearly always the precise opposite of the desired effect, with lower strength-to-weight ratios that result in an ever-increasing downward spiral in energy and fluid consumption. This paper focuses on within-day energy balance eating and drinking strategies that are now successfully followed by many elite-level athletes. These strategies can help athletes avoid the common errors of under-consumption while simultaneously improving both body composition and performance.
Critical Collective Consciousness: Ethnic Studies Teachers and Professional Development

ABSTRACTWe know little about the challenges districts and teachers face when establishing Ethnic Studies courses. In one school district, variation in teachers’ Ethnic Studies knowledge impeded the...
Reimagining Newsroom Collaboration: How Two European News Nonprofits Are Inviting Citizens In

News nonprofits in the U.S. have been proliferating over 15 years as a way of addressing troubles in the business model for news. For these newsrooms, collaboration, with each other and with mainst...
Machine Learning Outperforms Regression Analysis to Predict Next-Season Major League Baseball Player Injuries: Epidemiology and Validation of 13,982 Player-Years From Performance and Injury Profile Trends, 2000-2017.

Background:Machine learning (ML) allows for the development of a predictive algorithm capable of imbibing historical data on a Major League Baseball (MLB) player to accurately project the player's ...
Green Gentrification and Health: A Scoping Review

Urban greening initiatives are often linked to enhanced human health and wellbeing, but they can also be a driver of gentrification. To date, few studies have focused on how green gentrification shapes health. In this scoping review, we analyzed existing peer-reviewed research on how greening initiatives in gentrifying neighborhoods impact health, well-being, and health pathways (e.g., physical activity, affordable housing). Using a multi-step approach to scoping the literature (including searches in PubMed, JSTOR, and Google Scholar), we identified 15 empirical studies that met our inclusion criteria. We found studies focusing on green space use, physical activity, sense of community, safety, and self-reported health. Overall, longtime, marginalized residents are negatively impacted by green gentrification as they experience a lower sense of community, feel that they do not belong in green space, and, in many studies, use green space less often than newcomers. Overall, the research in this area is limited, and more studies on mental health and cardiovascular health markers could advance this literature. Based on the limited available evidence, we suggest that public health, urban planning, and parks professionals could collaborate to enhance the use of green space for marginalized residents and their feelings of inclusion in gentrifying areas.
Development of a large animal rabbit model for chronic periprosthetic joint infection.

Aims Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) and osteomyelitis are clinical challenges that are difficult to eradicate. Well-characterized large animal models necessary for testing and validating ne...
SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF THERMAL FIELD DURING CONTINUOUS CONSTRAINED RHEOROLLING OF AZ31 ALLOY

Semisolid metal processing(SSP) is recognized as a new near-shape forming technology, which combines the merits of both the liquid and the solid metal processing.Compared with the traditional rolling process,this technology has the features of low energy consumption,low cost equipment and high yield.Perhaps inevitably,a problem is the solid and liquid phases tend to separate with each other during rheo-rolling process,especially when the semisolid slurry has a low solid fraction.This problem causes macrosegregation and reduces the quality of the strip.Using rectangular groove roller may solve this problem.In this paper,numerical simulation method and experiment were combined for simulation and optimization of thermal field during continuous constrained rheo-rolling of AZ31 alloy.The results show that on the sloping plate surface,alloy temperature decreases gradually from the casting mouth to the exit with a linear pattern,the alloy temperature near the sloping plate surface is lower than that on the above surface,when the casting temperature is higher than 690℃,the melt temperature at the exit of the plate is higher than the liquidus of AZ31 alloy,which will cause product fracture.In the backward slip zone,semisolid metal deformation mainly happens,alloy temperature decreases gradually from the entrance to the exit of the roll gap,semisolid zone length increases with the casting temperature,isothermal lines have twice buckling, the buckling direction on the surface of the alloy is toward the exit of the roll gap,while the buckling direction in the center is toward the entrance of the roll gap,and their bending degree increases gradually from neutral flow plane to the entrance of the roll gap.In the forward slip zone,solid metal deformation mainly takes place,isothermal lines have once buckling,and the buckling direction is toward the exit of the gap.Under the current experimental conditions,the proper casting temperature between 670 and 690℃is suggested.
Regional CO2 sequestration capacity assessment for the coastal and offshore Texas Miocene interval

Estimating regional geologic storage capacity potential for carbon dioxide will play an important role in determining the feasibility of widespread carbon capture and storage (CCS) programs in the United States and worldwide. The sandstone reservoirs of the Miocene Age located off the Texas coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico are a promising target for CCS due to favorable geologic properties (high porosity/permeability, effective traps and seals, etc.) and proximity to high carbon dioxide emission sources. The common method for regional storage capacity estimation involves the calculation of a pore volume which is modified by some discount or efficiency factor. Though efficiency factors have a large effect on calculated capacity, little work has been done to validate the use and effectiveness of these terms. In this paper we aim to provide an estimate for the storage potential of the coastal and offshore Texas Miocene interval using a common calculation methodology and to begin expanding on this calculation by developing and incorporating an additional sand picking refinement step. This step allows for an initial investigation into the accuracy and utility of typical efficiency factors and regional storage calculations. We find that in our study area, capacity that is calculated using the actual net sand thickness, or ‘net capacity’, is ∼25% less than capacity that is calculated using the total interval thickness, or ‘gross capacity’, though, ideally, the two should be equal. Discrepancies between the two calculations emphasize the large uncertainty inherent in efficiency factors and highlight the need for further investigation.
Epigenetic Control of Stem Cell Potential during Homeostasis, Aging, and Disease

Stem cell decline is an important cellular driver of aging-associated pathophysiology in multiple tissues. Epigenetic regulation is central to establishing and maintaining stem cell function, and emerging evidence indicates that epigenetic dysregulation contributes to the altered potential of stem cells during aging. Unlike terminally differentiated cells, the impact of epigenetic dysregulation in stem cells is propagated beyond self; alterations can be heritably transmitted to differentiated progeny, in addition to being perpetuated and amplified within the stem cell pool through self-renewal divisions. This Review focuses on recent studies examining epigenetic regulation of tissue-specific stem cells in homeostasis, aging, and aging-related disease.
Weight Changes in Wild Wolves, Canis lupus , from Ages 2 to 24 Months

Weights of 118 female and 141 male Minnesota Wolves ( Canis lupus ) aged 2-24 months increased almost linearly from about 8 kg for females and 10 kg for males at 3 months to 30 kg for females and 32 kg for males at 10-12 months and then tended to increase much more slowly in an overall curvilinear trend. Considerable variation was apparent for both sexes during their first year.
Broad class network generation using a combination of rules and statistics for speaker independent continuous speech

Describes the segmentation and broad classification used in the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) speaker independent continuous speech recognition system. The objective is to segment the speech such that the segment boundaries define the phonetic events in the speech waveform and classify the segments into one of three broad classes: silence, sonorant, fricative. Because this objective is difficult and, in many cases, uncertain, the authors produce a network that provides reasonable alternative segmentations. Their approach has three components. First, the speech is segmented in a hierarchical fashion. Next, each of the segments is assigned broad class probabilities. And finally, a network is generated using the hierarchical segmentation, the broad class probabilities and additional speech knowledge. Experiments demonstrate that networks generated using additional speech knowledge are superior to those generated purely from the hierarchical segmentation. >
Characteristics of ventricular shunt malfunctions among patients with neurocysticercosis.

OBJECTIVE: Ventricular shunts used to relieve hydrocephalus among patients with neurocysticercosis have been plagued by high shunt malfunction rates. We examined the characteristics of shunt malfunctions among patients with neurocysticercosis. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of data for 122 patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of cysticercosis during a 5.5-year period. Cases of hydrocephalus requiring shunt placement were reviewed with respect to the segment of shunt obstruction, disease activity at the time of shunt placement, and the effects of antihelminthic treatment on shunt failures and longevity. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients required 49 operations for relief of hydrocephalus, including 22 new shunt placements, 23 revisions, and 4 cyst extirpations. Of these shunt failures, 78% occurred within the first 12 months and 96% within 3 years. Of the failures that occurred in the distal segment, 75% occurred within 6 months. By comparison, 33% of proximal segment obstructions and 50% of the total number of valve obstructions occurred within the first 6 months. Of the shunts placed during the vesicular stage of infection, 63% required revisions, compared with 29% of those placed during the colloidal through calcified stages. Nineteen shunts were placed during the vesicular stage, and nine patients received a full course of antihelminthic treatment after shunt placement. In less than 6 months, 33% of the cases involving shunt placement followed by antihelminthic treatment exhibited shunt failure, compared with 90% of the cases without antihelminthic treatment (P < 0.05, X 2 test). CONCLUSION: Among patients with vesicular stage cysticercosis, placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt followed by a course of antihelminthic medication seems to promote shunt longevity.
Flow visualization for qualitative assessment of brain shift

A method for detection, quantification, and visualization of brain shift in serial MR and CT images is presented. The method consists of three steps. It first establishes correspondence between a number of point landmarks in the images. It then uses the correspondences to determine a transformation function that warps one image to the geometry of the other. It finally uses the obtained transformation to create a vector flow that represents the local motion or deformation of one image with respect to the other. The method does not require the solution of a system of equations and, therefore, is especially effective when a large number of correspondences is needed to represent complex brain deformations.
Toward Management and Imputation of Unavailable Data in Online Advanced Traveler Information Systems

Advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) deliver information derived from intelligent transportation systems data. ATIS continue to emerge and grow in popularity, as some of these systems are public and freely available. ATIS performance and perceived usefulness depends, among several design factors, on the reliability and quality of its data sources, especially when the systems are reporting current conditions. We present a sample scenario in which an inductive loop detector station along a freeway stops transmitting data, and an ATIS service presents an estimated state of the system instead of showing that no data is available. The estimation is based on sources of available and correlated data. Our first approach to implement an estimation framework consists of deriving a parametric description of the correlation from archived historical data. An example application is provided as well as suggestions for future research.
Chronic kidney disease is an independent predictor of pocket hematoma after pacemaker and defibrillator implantation

The aim of this investigation was to determine additional predisposing factors of pocket hematoma formation in patients undergoing anti-arrhythmic device surgery. Initially, we performed a retrospective chart review of 459 patients on warfarin therapy who underwent anti-arrhythmic device surgery (pacemaker or defibrillator implantation, generator replacement, or lead revision) between April 2004 and September 2008 to determine whether continuation of anticoagulation or cessation of anticoagulation, with or without bridging therapy, was the preferred approach. In those patients who developed pocket hematoma, we then analyzed factors that might predispose to hematoma formation. The incidence of pocket hematoma in the entire group was 2.2% (n = 10). Forty-eight percent of the patient group was on continued warfarin (n = 220), 27% on bridging therapy with intravenous heparin or subcutaneous enoxaparin (n = 123) and 66% were on antiplatelet therapy (aspirin or clopidegrol or both; n = 303) at the time of device implantation. Twelve percent of the patients had chronic kidney disease (n = 55). In multivariate regression analysis, after adjusting for anticoagulation and antiplatelet agents, chronic kidney disease was found to be a significant risk factor for pocket hematoma formation after ICD and pacemaker placement. An increase of 1.0 mg/dl in creatinine levels was associated with a nearly twofold increase in hematoma formation (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.22–3.21; p = 0.03). Chronic kidney disease is a significant risk factor for pocket hematoma formation after pacemaker and ICD placement, independent of anticoagulation and antiplatelet agents.
A safe clinical system for nitric oxide inhalation therapy for pediatric patients

A safe clinical system for nitric oxide (NO) inhalation therapy was developed. The system consists of three parts: a NO controller, a NO monitor, and a patient circuit. NO gas flow and carrier gas flow are controlled by a special rust-proof thermal mass flowmeter. Standard gas quality NO gas (10,000 ppm, balance nitrogen) is used. The outlet of the NO gas tank is connected to the distal end of a heated humidifer that is very close (12 mL) to the patient, to decrease acidic water precipitation and decrease contact time between NO and oxygen (O2). Fail-safe mechanisms to prevent the delivery of a hypoxic mixture or excessive NO concentration are incorporated. Inspiratory NO concentration is continuously monitored by a modified electrochemical NO meter. The patient circuit consists of a breathing circuit and a ventilator with a scavenging unit. A modified Mapleson D type circuit is used. Fresh gas, humidified and mixed with NO, is introduced to the patient connection port. A mechanical ventilator, either of conventional or of high-frequency oscillation type, is connected to the expiratory limb of the Mapleson D circuit. A coaxial scavenging unit including activated charcoal is placed in between the expiratory limb and the ventilator. The adjustment of inspiratory NO concentration (y) was accurate over a wide range (1-80 ppm) of concentrations (x) (y = 0.36 + 0.96x, R2 = 0.999, n = 45) and showed good agreement with the chemiluminescence method. Inspiratory nitrous oxide (NO2) concentration was less than 0.3 ppm, and acidic water accumulation as measured by NO2- and NO3- was less than 5 ppm, even at an extremely high NO concentration of 80 ppm with an FiO2 of 1.0 and 10 L/min of fresh gas flow. Environmental NO and NO2 concentrations in the ICU remained below 0.005 and 0.05 ppm, respectively. This system was used clinically on 214 pediatric patients and proved to be accurate, safe, and useful.
"Ancient" Sclerosing) Thymomas: A clinicopathologic study of 10 cases

We present 10 cases of "ancient" (sclerosing) thymomas in 4 women and 6 men (age range, 34-73 years; mean, 53.5 years). Clinically, 4 patients had a history of shortness of breath and chest pain of several weeks' duration, 1 had a history of myasthenia gravis, and 5 were asymptomatic (anterior mediastinal masses discovered on routine chest radiographs). All underwent complete surgical resection of the anterior mediastinal mass. The tumors were light tan and solid, without areas of hemorrhage or necrosis, and 5 to 10 cm in greatest diameter. Extensive areas of hyalinized fibroconnective tissue constituting about 85% to 90% of the tumor mass was the main tumor feature. Focal areas of conventional thymoma also were present in all tumors. Follow-up information was obtained for 8 patients. Of these 8 patients, 6 died, all of unrelated causes (congestive heart failure, renal insufficiency, and pulmonary edema), and 2 were alive 1 and 6 years after surgical resection. The present cases highlight an important histopathologic feature of thymomas, which can pose problems in diagnosis, namely when dealing with small mediastinoscopic biopsy specimens.
The isolation and characterization of a plasma membrane and a myelin fraction derived from oligodendroglia of calf brain.

—A method is described for the fractionation of bulk isolated oligodendroglial cells from calf brain to produce both a plasma membrane and an attached myelin fraction. The cells are homogenized in a sucrose solution containing Mg2+ and K+ at a pH of 6·5. Crude membrane fractions are obtained from this homogenate by discontinuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. After being subjected to osmotic shock, these fractions are purified by continuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The plasma membrane fraction, which bands at 1·0 m-sucrose, was identified by its morphology and enzyme content. Electron microscopy showed it to be a homogeneous preparation of vesicles composed, for the most part, of smooth trilaminar membranes. Enzymatic analysis revealed the presence of high specific activities of Na+, K+-ATPase, 5′-nucleotidase and 2′,3′-cyclic AMPase. Lipid analysis showed a higher galactolipid and lower phospholipid content than has been reported for neuronal and synaptic membranes. The attached myelin fraction, which bands at 0·7 m-sucrose has the typical multilamellar appearance of myelin, but differs considerably from normal myelin in having high concentrations of plasma membrane marker enzymes, and a lipid composition intermediate between normal myelin and the plasma membrane fraction. The ganglioside content and protein patterns of these fractions have also been examined.
SERS nano-imaging probes for characterizing extracellular surfaces

Across extracellular surfaces, lipid rafts are believed to be an important organizing membrane microdomain component, facilitating specific protein-protein interactions by selectively excluding or including proteins into them. The lipid-based sorting mechanism of these microdomains has been implicated in many cellular processes including; membrane trafficking, signal transduction and cell growth regulation. However, since individual rafts are estimated to range in size from the nanoscale to the microscale, in many cases, they cannot be easily monitored by conventional imaging techniques. We have developed surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based nanoimaging probes for nanoscale imaging of biochemical species on and within extracellular environments. These probes synergistically combine the qualitative and quantitative information of SERS with the nanoscale imaging capabilities of tapered fiber optic bundles, potentially allowing for chemical imaging of extracellular components and chemical exchange events across cellular surfaces. These probes are fabricated from coherent fiber optic bundles containing 30,000 individual fiber elements that have been tapered to have diameters as small as 140 nm, thus allowing for image magnification and submicron spatial resolution. Due to the uniformly roughened surface features across the probe's imaging surface onto which silver island arrays are fabricated, these probes exhibit less than 3% RSD in SERS signal across the imaging area. In this work, tunability, multiplex detection capabilities and an application of these SERS nanoimaging probes to biological systems are demonstrated.
A standard computer graphics subroutine package

Abstract The advantages and disadvantages of computer graphics standards are discussed. Several possible types of standards are described. The capabilities of a proposed basic standard, the ACM/SIGGRAPH Core System, are presented. An implementation of the Core System and several relevant design issues are discussed.
Interpolating discrete cosine transform (DCT) representation of digital video over time

Changing video frame rate may require adding new frames. This can be done by interpolating the given frames over time. We describe a very fast algorithm for time interpolation of DCT encoded video. Given a sequence of DCT encoded frames, the algorithm produces the interpolated sequence of DCT encoded frames without computing DCT or inverse DCT. The idea is to exploit a simple shift property of DCT coefficients that holds for frame triplets. It is somewhat analogous to the shift property of Fourier coefficients that holds for frame pairs.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Multiple Adult Rhabdomyomas of the Oropharynx, Base of the Tongue, and Floor of the Mouth: Magnetic Resonance Findings

Adult rhabdomyomas of the head and neck are uncommon, benign neoplasms that usually present as asymptomatic solitary lesions in the oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx. Rarely do rhabdomyomas occur in multiple sites. We describe the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging appearance of multiple adult rhabdomyomas synchronously involving the floor of the mouth, base of the tongue, and oropharynx in a 70-year-old man.
Historical development of heat stroke prevention device in the military

Understanding of core body temperature, heat stress and heat stroke developed progressively over the centuries. Soldiers involved in military operations have a higher risk to develop heat stroke, and to not survive following the onset. This paper follows the evolving understanding of heat stroke and development of counter measures. At certain times in history, incomplete understanding of the causes of heat stroke led to the development of devices that did not lower the risk. As understanding improved, development of improved methods and devices became possible. In the present day, several designs for garments that can lower core body temperature or brain temperature have been developed, and would reduce the risk of heat stroke. These cooling devices include a vest and collar system. Further refinements of these designs to make them more practical would allow wider deployment.
On the metal cluster formation in ionized cluster beam deposition

Abstract An attempt has been made to measure Mg clusters formed by the supersonic jet expansion from a heated crucible using the retarding potential technique. The experiment was performed in a typical ionized cluster beam (ICB) deposition system. With Mg deposition up to 50 A/s on a substrate 30 cm away from the source, we failed to observe abundance of large clusters (≥100 atoms/cluster). Our numerical calculations of the cluster size distribution during supersonic jet expansion based on a step-wise cluster growth model show that for an expansion angle of 20°, large cluster formation becomes appreciable only if the stagnation pressure is larger than 10 Torr. This condition implies a deposition rate of 1000 A/s. This deposition rate is difficult to achieve in a single chamber system without differential pumping. Our results are compared with previous reports on the metal cluster size measurement using retarding potential and other techniques.
Realtime Garbage Collection: It’s now possible to develop realtime systems using Java.

Traditional computer science deals with the computation of correct results. Realtime systems interact with the physical world, so they have a second correctness criterion: they have to compute the correct result within a bounded amount of time. Simply building functionally correct software is hard enough. When timing is added to the requirements, the cost and complexity of building the software increase enormously.
Contamination of the marine environment from land-based sources

Abstract Seven major categories of contaminants from land have perceived and/or real adverse effects on the coastal marine environment. Heavy metals, although perceived by the public to be a major contaminant of the marine environment, pose little threat on a global scale. Although sewage discharges, litter and oil spills constitute significant threats to the marine environment, their sources, fates and environmental effects are understood well enough to develop management strategies. Problems exist regarding those contaminants where management strategies have not been implemented. In the case of anthropogenically mobilized sediments, synthetic organic compounds, and nutrients, there is insufficient scientific information on the interrelationship between sources, transport, fates and effects to allow for development of management strategies for these contaminants, short of total source control. Based on trends in world population growth, and global production and use of pesticides and fertilizers, it is concluded that nutrients, synthetic organic compounds and sewage pose the greatest present and future threat to the marine environment.
Hypoxia-induced ventilatory responses in conscious mice: gender differences in ventilatory roll-off and facilitation.

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the ventilatory responses of C57BL6 female and male mice during a 15 min exposure to a hypoxic–hypercapnic (H–H) or a hypoxic (10% O2, 90% N2) challenge and subsequent return to room air. The ventilatory responses to H–H were similar in males and females whereas there were pronounced gender differences in the ventilatory responses during and following hypoxic challenge. In males, the hypoxic response included initial increases in minute volume via increases in tidal volume and frequency of breathing. These responses declined substantially (roll-off) during hypoxic exposure. Upon return to room-air, relatively sustained increases in these ventilatory parameters (short-term potentiation) were observed. In females, the initial responses to hypoxia were similar to those in males whereas roll-off was greater and post-hypoxia facilitation was smaller than in males. The marked differences in ventilatory roll-off and post-hypoxia facilitation between female and male C57BL6 mice provide evidence that gender is of vital importance to ventilatory control.