cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GIH Clinical Research Update: 2004–2005

This review highlights areas of clinical research in gastroenterology and hepatology that were published during the last year and were summarized during the most recent American Gastroenterological Association Plenary Session. The topics include a comparison of the risk of recurrent bleeding in patients taking clopidogrel versus aspirin plus a proton pump inhibitor, the introduction of rifaximin for the treatment of traveler's diarrhea, and the results of an oral vaccine for cholera tested in a high endemic area where there is also a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection. In inflammatory bowel disease, the impact of a biomarker of inflammation, C-reactive protein, to the response to a new biologic therapy is identified as potentially important because it might facilitate the selection of patients for these treatments. Results of device, endoscopic, and surgical treatment of obesity are reviewed, including the evidence of significant impact of surgery-induced weight loss on comorbid diseases. In the field of cancer, colonoscopic screening results in more polyps detected, down-staging of cancers identified, and improved cancer survival. A new familial syndrome associated with a serrated adenoma/carcinoma phenotype and variability in microsatellite instability is described. A controlled study demonstrates that a urine-derived substance, ulinastatin, reduces the risk of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis. Hepatic stellate cells are involved in the fibrogenesis associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. These areas of clinical research demonstrate the breadth of significant advances that will impact on the clinical practice of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Sperm storage within the oviduct of turtles

Tubules containing sperm were identified by light microscopy in the oviducts from 11 species of turtles representing six different families. Sperm storage tubules were found in a small region of the posterior portion of the egg albumin-secreting section of the oviduct located between the infundibulum and the uterus. This location of storage tubules, midway between the ovary and vagina, is unique among vertebrates. Ducts, restricted to the posterior albumin region, connect the tubules to the oviduct lumen, allow entrance of sperm to the tubules. Sperm were identified in tubules of female turtles isolated from males for as long as 423 days.
I. Demonstration and purification of an endogenous benzodiazepine from the mammalian brain with a monoclonal antibody to benzodiazepines

Abstract Four hybridoma lines secreting monoclonal antibodies to benzodiapines were produced after BALB/c mice were immunized with a benzodiazepine-bovine serum albumin conjugate. The monoclonal antibodies were purified from ascites fluids, and their binding affinities for benzodiazepines and other benzodiazepine receptor ligands were determined. These antibodies have very high binding affinities for diazepam, flunitrazepam, Ro5-4864, Ro5-3453, Roll-6896, and Ro5-3438 (the K d values are in the 10 −9 M range). However, these antibodies have very low affinities for the benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonists (β-carbolines) and antagonists (Ro15-1788 and CGS-8216). One of the monoclonal antibodies (21-7F9) has been used to demonstrate the existence of benzodiazepine-like molecules in the brain and for the purification of these molecules. Immunocytochemical experiments show that these molecules are neuronal and not glial and that they are ubiquitously distributed throughout the brain. Immunoblots indicate the presence of benzodiazepine-like epitopes in several brain peptides. An endogenous substance that binds to the central-type benzodiazepine receptor with agonist properties has been purified to homogeneity from the bovine brain. The purification consisted on immunoaffinity chromatography on immobilized monoclonal anti-benzodiazepine antibody followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and two reverse phase HPLCs. The purified substance has a small molecular weight and its activity is protease resistent. The endogenous substance blocks the binding of agonists, inverse agonists and antagonists to the central-type benzodiazepine receptor but it does not inhibit the binding of Ro5-4864 to the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor. The neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid increases the affinity of the benzodiazepine receptor for the purified substance. Preliminary evidence indicates that the purified substance is a benzodiazepine with a molecular structure that is identical or very close to N-desmethyldiazepam.
Radiocarbon date for the largest extinct bird

IN December 1973 two fragments of an eggshell of the extinct giant elephant bird, Aepyornis sp., were obtained from a site 50 km west south-west of Fort Dauphin (21°1′S, 47°E), southern Madagascar. The bird, similar in appearance to, but not directly related to, the ostrich (Strathio camelus) was the largest ever to exist; the largest species had a height of 3 m, and laid eggs up to 35 cm long1. The site from which the small fragments were obtained is located in coastal sand dunes some 100 m from the shoreline. The immediate region is underlain with granitic rocks capped by igneous detritus. The climate is semi-arid with a mean annual rainfall of 500–600 mm. The vegetation consists of bush interspersed with many endemic succulents including the very tall, stalk-like plants of the Didiraeceae family2.
Precipitation Variability over the Caribbean and Tropical Americas Associated with the Southern Oscillation

Abstract Seasonal and annual (July through June) precipitation data for up to 197 stations are used to analyze variability in the High/Dry (H/D) and Low/Wet (L/W or warm event) modes of the Southern Oscillation (SO) over the tropical Americas and the Caribbean Islands to 30°S latitude. Precipitation is significantly higher during H/D events than during L/W in northern summer, autumn and winter at most stations in the southern Caribbean and northern South America including the northern Andes and Amazon River basin. Precipitation is, in general, significantly higher in L/W than in H/D modes at higher subtropical latitudes of both hemispheres, especially in northern autumn and winter over the southern United States, Cuba and Mexico, and in spring and autumn over southern Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. A similar pattern of spatial precipitation variability occurs in the July–June data and significant H/D minus L/W precipitation differences are found at one-third of the stations. Although drought occurs in No...
Computer calculations concerning copolymerization, terpolymerization, and the chemical reactions of copolymers and terpolymers

Computer programs we have developed during the course of studies on copolymerization, on terpolymerization, and on the chemical reactions of polymers are described. The programs are useful for (a) evaluating monomer reactivity ratios from either copolymerization or terpolymerization data, (b) for predicting the compositions of copolymers and terpolymers from monomer reactivity ratios and monomer feed composition data, (c) for calculating the extents of cyclization to be expected when inter-sequence cyclizations occur in copolymers and terpolymers, and (d) for calculating the yields of products obtained when copolymers are degraded selectively.
Author reply: Rituximab maintenance for follicular lymphoma

I appreciate the clarifications to my manuscript provided by Vidal and co-workers1 regarding their earlier publication.2 However, their analysis remains problematic. Most important is the preliminary nature of the data in several publications they included. Follicular lymphoma is an indolent disorder and prolonged follow-up is needed before broad conclusions about therapies can be drawn. This issue was no more evident than in the study of van Oers et al., where the earlier survival benefit disappeared with longer observation.3 Whereas they presented the data from the study by Hochster as two separate cohorts, with markedly different results, the data in their meta-analysis did not include the final publication.4 If they selectively choose to refer to individual cohorts in their analysis, why not separate out the R-CHOP from the CHOP arms of the data from van Oers.3 Doing so might help determine which populations of patients, if any, might benefit from maintenance rituximab. Even in the study by Ghielmini,5 at 8.9 years there was no significant survival benefit provided by maintenance for previously treated or untreated patients, only a trend towards an improved outcome.
The nature of working memory capacity in sentence comprehension : Evidence against domain-specific working memory resources

Abstract This paper reports the results of a dual-task experiment which investigates the nature of working memory resources used in sentence comprehension. Participants read sentences of varying syntactic complexity (containing subject- and object-extracted relative clauses) while remembering one or three nouns (similar to or dissimilar from the sentence-nouns). A significant on-line interaction was found between syntactic complexity and similarity between the memory-nouns and the sentence-nouns in the three memory-nouns conditions, such that the similarity between the memory-nouns and the sentence-nouns affected the more complex object-extracted relative clauses to a greater extent than the less complex subject-extracted relative clauses. These results extend Gordon, Hendrick, and Levine’s (2002) report of a trend of such an interaction. The results argue against the domain-specific view of working memory resources in sentence comprehension ( Caplan & Waters, 1999 ).
Ocular disposition of pilocarpine in the pigmented rabbit: site(s) of metabolism

Abstract The ocular disposition and metabolism of pilocarpine in the pigmented rabbit was examined following topical application. The data suggest that, of the anterior segment tissues sampled, the major sites of metabolism are the iris-ciliary body complex and the cornea. Significant metabolism of pilocarpine appears to occur in the corneal stroma-endothelium but not in the aqueous humor. This observation suggests that, unlike the albino rabbit eye, the stroma-endothelium and aqueous humor cannot be considered as a single homogeneous compartment when describing the ocular disposition of pilocarpine in the pigmented rabbit.
Advanced spectroscopic analysis of 0.8-1.0-MA Mo x pinches and the influence of plasma electron beams on L-shell spectra of Mo ions.

This paper presents a detailed investigation of the temporal, spatial, and spectroscopic properties of L-shell radiation from 0.8 to 1.0 MA Mo x pinches. Time-resolved measurements of x-ray radiation and both time-gated and time-integrated spectra and pinhole images are presented and analyzed. High-current x pinches are found to have complex spatial and temporal structures. A collisional-radiative kinetic model has been developed and used to interpret L-shell Mo spectra. The model includes the ground state of every ionization stage of Mo and detailed structure for the O-, F-, Ne-, Na-, and Mg-like ionization stages. Hot electron beams generated by current-carrying electrons in the x pinch are modeled by a non-Maxwellian electron distribution function and have significant influence on L-shell spectra. The results of 20 Mo x-pinch shots with wire diameters from 24 to $62\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ have been modeled. Overall, the modeled spectra fit the experimental spectra well and indicate for time-integrated spectra electron densities between $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{21}$ and $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{22}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3},$ electron temperatures between 700 and 850 eV, and hot electron fractions between 3% and 7%. Time-gated spectra exhibit wide variations in temperature and density of plasma hot spots during the same discharge.
Etude comparative des valyl tRNA cytoplasmique et mitochondrial de levure

Summary A method for preparing total mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA-ligases of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is described. The optimal conditions for yeast cytoplasmic tRNA and yeast mitochondrial tRNA aminoacylation with the mitochondrial and with the cytoplasmic ligase preparations have been worked out. Reversed phase cochromatography of labeled valyl-tRNA from cytoplasmic and mitochondrial origins at pH 4.5 and pH 7.0 led to the caracterization of a valyl-tRNA species, only present in mitochondria.
Cognitive and academic functioning of juvenile detainees: implications for correctional populations and public health.

Cognitive functioning affects health. This study assessed cognitive functioning among participants in the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a stratified random sample of 1,829 newly detained juveniles...
Functional Abnormalities in Nonoccluded Regions of Myocardium After Experimental Coronary Occlusion

Abstract The performance characterstics of both ischemic and “adjacent” and “remote” nonischemic myocardium were studied in open chest dogs by three mercury-in-Silastic length gauges sutured to the anterior surface of the left ventricle before and after occlusion of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery. The adjacent gauge was separated from the ischemic segment by one large nonoccluded diagonal branch of the left anterior descending artery. Remote myocardium was separated from the ischemic area by two such branches. At the time of occlusion epicardial S-T segment elevation appeared in the ischemic region but not in the adjacent or remote regions. Immediately after occlusion, typical changes of ischemic dysfunction appeared. Late systolic lengthening, depression of systolic shortening and increased diastolic compliance occurred consistently and simultaneously in ischemic and adjacent regions and inconsistently in the remote region. Five minutes after occlusion, fiber shortening was depressed to 21, 58 and 67 percent of control values in ischemic, adjacent and remote regions, respectively. Heart rate did not change, and mean arterial pressure decreased slightly. These changes persisted over time. In 11 of these dogs, end-diastolic pressure was maintained constant 20 minutes after occlusion. Systolic shortening was depressed to 40 and 74 percent of control values in the ischemic and adjacent regions, respectively. In six dogs, end-diastolic pressure was varied from 5 to 20 mm Hg by rapid volume loading during the control state and 30 minutes after occlusion. Systolic shortening in ischemic, adjacent and remote regions was depressed to 20, 40 and 65 percent of control values, respectively. The severity of all functional alterations after coronary occlusion was directly related to proximity to the ischemic region. These results indicate that depression of left ventricular function after coronary occlusion may be partially related to previously unrecognized depression of function in apparently “nonischemic” myocardium.
The Art of Teaching: Ernest Shackleton as Navigator/Teacher

This article makes the argument that Ernest Shackleton’s life and adventures might serve as a very useful and productive model for teachers. Through examining some of Shackleton’s methods and strategies regarding the treatment of his men, a great love and respect for his crew are revealed. This value for respect underscores the worth that effective leaders place on providing more than knowledge for their charges. The article examines how Shackleton, much like educators and their students, provided for the various human needs of his men. The author depicts the characteristics of a caring teacher as a navigator, gardener, leader, or servant.
Untruths and consequences: the false hypothesis linking CHAT type 1 polio vaccination to the origin of human immunodeficiency virus

A book published in 1999 hypothesized that the scientists who worked with the CHAT type 1 attenuated polio strain tested in the former Belgian Congo in the late 1950s had covertly prepared the vaccine in chimpanzee kidney cells contaminated with a simian immunodeficiency virus, which evolved into HIV-1 group M. This paper summarizes the results of the investigation conducted by the author to determine the legitimacy of the accusation. Testimony by eyewitnesses, documents of the time, epidemiological analysis, and ancillary phylogenetic, virologic and PCR data all concur to reject the hypothesis as false and without factual foundation.
Influence of seeding variables on 'Tifton 9' bahiagrass establishment

'Tifton 9' possesses attributes similar to 'Pensacola' bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge var. saurae Parodi) including persistence, wide adaptation, and positive rotation effects for subsequent crops. Seed dormancy has been implicated as a cause of slow establishment of bahiagrass. Our objective was to evaluate dormancy-reducing seed treatments on multiple seed lots with a range of seeding rates during spring, summer, or fall planting. Tifton 9 seed lots with high or low dormant seed fractions were planted without treatment, after solid matrix priming (SMP), or after accelerated aging (AA) at elevated temperature and humidity. Seed was planted during 2 yr at Tifton, GA (31°26'N, 83°35'W), or Immokalee, FL (26°27'N, 81°26'W), using seeding rates of 5.6, 16.8, or 50.4 kg ha -1 . Tiller counts at 1 and 2 mo following planting, stand occupation the year following planting and dry matter harvested were obtained to monitor establishment. Seed lot had no influence on any variable evaluated. Initial stands were improved by SMP, indicating enhanced early emergence; however, SMP did not increase second-year stands and forage yield compared with other seed treatments. Accelerated aging provided no advantage. Increasing the seeding rate resulted in greater emergence and second-year stand coverage, but yield advantages were small. Response to planting season varied with year and location. A November freeze damaged October-planted stands at Tifton in 1993. Stand establishment was hastened with a high seeding rate, but any advantage of high seeding rates was short lived. Seed treatments examined in this research provided little benefit, and it may be possible to reduce standard seeding rate recommendations without impairing long term establishment.
Predicting community integration after traumatic brain injury with neuropsychological measures.

A neuropsychological test battery was administered to 23 subjects with traumatic brain injury during initial in-patient rehabilitation who were participating in the national Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems study. Trails B and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test total scores obtained during inpatient rehabilitation were significantly correlated with the Community Integration Questionnaire total score that was administered at one year postinjury. These findings suggest that performances on tests of cognitive speed and flexibility, complex attention, and memory during the acute phase of recovery may be useful for the later prediction of “real world” behavior and psychosocial outcome after one year postinjury.
Fresh frozen plasma contains free asparagine and may replace the plasma asparagine pool during L-asparaginase therapy.

Fresh frozen plasma contains free asparagine and may replace the plasma asparagine pool during L -asparaginase therapy
Paraesophageal hernia and intrathoracic diverticulitis.

Paraesophageal hernia is a potentially lethal condition that has not been previously discussed in the family medicine literature. It accounts for 3.5% to 5 % 1 of all hiatal hernias. Diagnosis of paraesophageal hernia can be difficult. Patients are usually elderly and have symptoms of esophageal reflux or postprandial pain, bloating, and vomiting. The patient might have a history of hiatal hernia. We report here a case of paraesophageal hernia, complicated by herniation of colon into the thorax, with intrathoracic diverticulosis, probable diverticulitis, and myocardial infarction. Family physicians should be aware of the symptoms of paraesophageal hernia so they can promptly diagnose and manage this potentially lethal condition.
Self-Assembly and Characterization of Fullerene Monolayers on Si(100) Surfaces

Self-assembly of C60 molecules on planar n- or p-type Si(100) has been accomplished by direct tethering onto the Si surface without using any intermediate functional hydrocarbon chain. Photoresponse has been observed on these monolayer modified electrodes in both aqueous and nonaqueous media. The p-type Si(100) surface with a bound C60 monolayer is also capable of mediating redox reactions. These C60 monolayer modified Si electrodes are very stable in both acidic aqueous and polar nonaqueous solvents. Characterization by fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy (FAB−MS) suggests that simultaneous hydrosilylation and hydrogenation reactions account for the nature of the monolayer formation.
Microbiological Analysis of Nontyphoidal Salmonella Strains Causing Distinct Syndromes of Bacteremia or Enteritis in HIV/AIDS Patients in San Diego, California

Recurrent invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) infection is an AIDS-defining illness that has become less common in the developed world in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), while it has emerged as a major public health problem in developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. We retrospectively analyzed Salmonella (NTS) infection in HIV/AIDS patients from June 2003 until December 2009 at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Medical Center. Bacterial isolates from all patients were tested for selected microbiological properties, including major Salmonella (NTS) virulence loci rpoS, sodCI, spvB, and sseI. Fourteen percent of all Salmonella (NTS) cases recorded at the UCSD Medical Center during this period occurred in known HIV/AIDS patients. The clinical presentations in HIV patients fell into two distinct groups, bacteremia and enteritis. There was little clinical overlap between these two syndromes. All strains were positive for the presence of the rpoS and sodCI virulence loci, and 75% of strains were positive for the presence of the spvB and sseI loci. Antibiotic susceptibility assay showed that all strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin. The clinical presentation did not have a clear relationship to the CD4(+) cell count. Of the bacteremic isolates, all but one isolate, drawn from a patient with substantial enteric comorbidities, had all of the virulence genes tested, but 66% of nonbacteremic, enteritis strains also contained all the tested virulence loci. In conclusion, neither patients' CD4(+) cell count nor bacterial strain properties necessarily predicted the clinical presentation of HIV/AIDS patients with Salmonella (NTS) infection, and AIDS patients can have episodes of Salmonella enteritis without dissemination.
Influence of soil pH and application of zinc on the yield and uptake of selected nutrient elements by rice

Abstract Rice grown on a recently water‐leveled Crowley silt loam that contained less than 1.8 μg g‐1 of 0.1 N HCl‐extractable Zn with pH levels ranging from 6.8 to 7.7, responded to Zn application. Each kg ha of applied Zn as Zn chelate, 14.2 % Zn, resulted in increases of +673, +477, and +2026 kg rice ha‐1 at pH 6.8, 7.3, and 7.7, respectively. There was a critically low concentration of Zn in rice plants at the midtillering, first joint, and panicle differentiation stages of plant development when no Zn was applied. A yield response to applied Zn was obtained when the concentration of Zn in rice tissue was less than 15 μg g‐1. Application of Zn resulted in a significant increase in the uptake of N by rice plants at each of the three stages of plant development. Application of Zn also resulted in relatively large and significant increases in the uptake of Zn from the soil irrespective of soil pH. The uptake of Zn by rice plants at each of the growth stages showed a two‐ to three‐fold increase following ...
Density and energy distribution of epithermal secondary electrons in a plasma with fast charged particles

Abstract The production of intermediate energy secondary electrons in plasmas through collisions with fast charged particles is investigated. The density and the distribution of the secondary electrons are obtained by calculating the generation, slow down and diffusion rates, using basic Rutherford collision cross sections. It is shown that the total density of secondaries is much smaller than the fast particle density and that the energy distribution has roughly a 1 √E dependence. The higher generation secondary populations are also obtained.
Simple method for MR gradient system characterization and k-space trajectory estimation.

Fast imaging trajectories are used in MRI to speed up the acquisition process, but imperfections in the gradient system create artifacts in the reconstructed images. Artifacts result from the deviation between k-space trajectories achieved on the scanner and their original prescription. Measuring or approximating actual k-space trajectories with predetermined gradient timing delays reduces the artifacts, but are generally based on a specific trajectory and scan orientation. A single linear time-invariant characterization of the gradient system provides a method to predict k-space trajectories scanned in arbitrary orientations through convolution. This is done efficiently, by comparing the Fourier transforms of the input and measured waveforms of a single high-bandwidth test gradient waveform. This new method is tested for spiral, interleaved echo-planar, and three-dimensional cones imaging, demonstrating its ability to reduce reconstructed image artifacts for various k-space trajectories. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Women Connected to at Risk Indian Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Unexplored Network.

Little is known about the women connected to Indian MSM and their impact on HIV risk. We surveyed 240 Indian MSM, who identified their social networks (n = 7,092). Women (n = 1,321) comprised 16.7 % of the network, with 94.7 % representing non-sexual connections. MSM were classified as having low, moderate, or high female network proportion. MSM with moderate female network proportion (8-24 % total network) had significantly lowered odds of HIV seropositivity (AOR = 0.24, 95 % CI = 0.1-0.6). This suggests moderate proportions of female connections could mediate HIV risk. HIV prevention interventions in India could consider the greater involvement of women among their target audiences. Se sabe poco sobre las mujeres conectadas a HSH en India y su impacto en el riesgo de VIH. Se encuesto a 240 HSH indios, quienes identificaron sus redes sociales (n = 7,092). Las mujeres (n = 1,321) formaron al 16.7 % de la red, del cual el 94.7 % representa conexiones no sexuales. Los HSH se clasificaron como baja, moderada o alta proporcion de red femenina. HSH con proporcion moderada de red femenina (8-24 % del red total) tuvieron un riesgo significativamente reducido de seropositividad de VIH (AOR = 0,24; IC 95 % = 0,1-0,6). Esto sugiere que tener una proporcion moderada de contactos femeninos podria atenuar el riesgo de VIH. Las intervenciones de prevencion del VIH en India podrian considerar una mayor participacion de las mujeres en su publico objetivo.
Dynamic Pricing for Time-Limited Goods in a Supplier-Driven Electronic Marketplace

Existing e-commerce systems employ a pull model of marketing where buyers, possibly through agents, search the e-market for suppliers offering the product of their choice. In contrast, the push model where suppliers' agents approach buyers with their products, has been relatively less investigated. Push strategies are particularly appropriate for commodities that have a short shelf-life and, therefore, an elastic demand curve, allowing suppliers to exploit unexpected supply. The speed and low cost of e-commerce makes it particularly suited to the push paradigm. In this paper, we consider time-limited goods in a supplier driven marketplace that employs the push model of marketing. When constrained by a strict deadline to sell the good, the supplier uses a mobile sales agent that visits every buyer and estimates the short run demand curve of the good. At every buyer, the sales agent also employs a heuristic technique called the Maximum Returns Algorithm to recalculate the price of the good, so that the supplier can obtain the best possible gross returns from trading with the buyers. On the other hand, when the deadline to sell is not stringent, the sales agent negotiates the exchange at a point that improves both the buyer's utility and the supplier's profit, as compared to the exchange point without negotiation.
Can shallow- and deep-water chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic communities be discriminated in the fossil record?

Abstract The recognition of marine chemoautotrophic paleocommunities has added a new dimension to the interpretation of the fossil record. We compared the death assemblages formed by chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic molluscan faunas of the continental slope with their counterparts in shallow water and with a fossil chemoautotrophic analogue from the Tepee Buttes of the Pierre Shale (Cretaceous) to determine whether differences between them could be ascribed to differences in community structure or taphonomy. Evaluation of guild and tier structure and size-frequency distribution using abundance and energy flow (paleoproduction and paleoingestion) suggests that differences between inshore and offshore Recent heterotrophic assemblages reflect autecologic differences in the living communities forming them rather than differences in preservation. In contrast, the degree of similarity between chemoautotrophic assemblages is a function of their taphonomic and autecologic history. The differences observed amongst Recent chemoautotrophic assemblages issue from changes in the abundance and preservability of the small heterotrophic fauna, relatively poorly preserved offshore, and the presence of a large heterotrophic fauna, essentially restricted to shallow water. Taphonomic removal of the small heterotrophs (and juveniles of larger species) and the autecologic absence of large heterotrophs could produce an assemblage equivalent to that of the Cretaceous Tepee Buttes from any one of the Recent inshore or continental slope chemoautotrophic assemblages. Our analysis indicates that shelf communities represent the shallowest communities likely to be identified as fossil cold-seep faunas. Farther inshore, community attributes normally used to distinguish chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic faunas are no longer discriminative. Nearshore communities may have included a dominant chemoautotrophic guild, but recognition would rely solely on the identification of known chemoautotrophic taxa. Community trophic structure has classically been evaluated on the basis of numerical abundance and species composition. Comparing these chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic assemblages demonstrates the importance of evaluating community structure on criteria that more clearly document the way energy flowed through the community, namely paleoproduction and paleoingestion. Many of the unique structural attributes of these assemblages only became obvious using these measures.
Emerging infectious diseases: a brief biographical heritage.

The concept that infectious (and other) diseases emerge and reemerge is not new, and neither is the search for causes of disease emergence. However, societies frequently overlook or forget that microbes evolve, adapt, and emerge in response to nonmicrobial and even nonbiologic changes in the physical and social environment. Sometimes we need to be rudely reminded of this lesson. Two scientists who have delivered such reminders, both in the form of landmark reports, are Rudolf Virchow, a 19th century German pathologist, statesman, and anthropologist, and Joshua Lederberg, the American microbiologist who coined the phrase “emerging infectious diseases” within the last decade (Photo). We owe much to the pioneering vision of these scientists. Infectious diseases have been emerging for at least as long as humans have inhabited the earth. Every student of microbiology, medicine, and public health learns about the triangle of host, environment, and agent; what is not clear is how the three change over time, often in response to changes in another side of the triangle. Factors that influence such changes do evolve, but many are surprisingly constant. How easily and often some of these factors are overlooked is often both consequential and tragic; a historical example illustrates this point. Rudolf Virchow, the founder of cellular pathology, wrote the first textbook in that field and established the principle that disease results from disturbed cellular function. As a young physician and anatomic pathologist in Berlin, he was assigned by the central government to investigate an epidemic in Upper Silesia, a sector of the Prussian Empire populated by a Polishspeaking minority. He completed the field portion of his investigation on March 10, 1848 (exactly 150 years before the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases). The report he wrote was remarkable. Even though Virchow was working before the germ theory of disease was accepted, at a time when disease causation was highly debated and microbes were not well described, he seems to have correctly diagnosed typhus (or possibly relapsing fever) as the cause of the Silesian epidemic (1). Even though Virchow’s diagnosis cannot be confirmed, it is consistent with clinical descriptions and epidemiologic inference. He clearly demonstrated that the conditions and vectors for typhus and relapsing fever (famine and malnutrition, humid climate, poor housing, poverty) were present in Upper Silesia in 1847 to 1848. The agents that cause epidemic louse-borne typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii) and relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis) were not described until many years later. Virchow’s report was a scathing criticism of the Prussian government, which he squarely blamed for the epidemic. Virchow considered the Silesian outbreak investigation a defining Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Brief Biographical Heritage
The dorsal system and the ecological self

Perception, as Gibson described it – picking up information that specifies the real local situation – includes not only perceiving affordances and controlling small movements, but also seeing the large-scale environmental layout and the position/movement of the “ecological self.” If the dorsal cortical system is also responsible for that very significant achievement, its activity must be at least partly conscious.
Application of the oral trail making test to a mixed clinical sample

The oral and written versions of the TMT were evaluated with respect to demographics and task performance levels in a mixed clinical population. Age, motor speed, as well as written TMT-B performance scores were analyzed. Although differences were found among the raw scores for the various tasks, the ratio of written to oral TMT-B did not differ regardless of age, motor speed, or TMT-B performance. The findings support earlier studies comparing the two versions of the TMT and indicate that this alternate version of the TMT appears to be a viable assessment tool for patients who have limited visual or motor skills.
Breastfeeding Peer Counselors in the United States: Helping to Build a Culture and Tradition of Breastfeeding

Traditionally, women have relied upon the wisdom and experience of other women to learn about mothering and breastfeeding. In the United States, however, this once-standard mother-to-mother interaction was almost nonexistent by the mid–20th century. Recent advances in the understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding for maternal and child health have led most professional organizations to advocate breastfeeding as the norm of infant feeding. Promotional breastfeeding efforts over the past 3 decades include strategies to strengthen support for breastfeeding in the health care system and in the community. Breastfeeding peer counseling represents a model of mother-to-mother support which emerged in the 1980s as a community-based resource to provide mothers with the support and assistance needed to establish and maintain breastfeeding in the early weeks and months postpartum. This article describes the role, training, and effectiveness of breastfeeding peer counselors and discusses ways that mothers and peer counselors might benefit from the connection and relationship that develops between the breastfeeding mother and her peer counselor. An exemplar of a breastfeeding peer counseling program is presented.
Successful Replacement Therapy in Lactating Thyro-parathyroidectomized. Rats.

SummaryThyroparathyroidectomy was performed in 44 lactating rats on day 7 postpartum. Successful replacement therapy was started immediately after surgery with optimal level of T4 (3 μ 100 g day), 2 × 40 USP units PTH day (corresponding to 29-30 USP units 100 g day) and 1 USP unit OXT for complete milk removal on days 14-18. Litter weight and milk yield on day 14 reached levels of normal animals given optimal amounts of T4 (3 μg 100 g day) and 1 USP unit OXT for milk yield test. Discontinuation of PTH on day 13 resulted, within 6-18 hours, in 10 fatal attacks of tetany in a group of 12. Withdrawal of PTH on day 14 coincided with 10 hour isolation period for milk yield test. A group of 15 such animals survived considerably longer than previous group, due, it is believed, to gradual inhibition of lactation and reduction in blood Ca removed during separation period. In 11 rats which succumbed to tetany later, milk yield was significantly higher on day 15 as compared to day 14, 29 hours after last PTH injecti...
A Penis-shortening Device Described by the 13th Century Poet Rumi

With great interest, I read Kompanje’s (2006) clinical case report about a remarkable penis-shortening device invented in 1593 by the surgeon Hildanus. With this letter, I want to point your readers to an even older description of a similar device—not by a medical scholar, but by the great Persian humanist, philosopher, and poet Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273). In his poem, ‘‘The Importance of Gourdcrafting,’’ Rumi vividly describes the sexual interactions between a women and a donkey. I cite here from Barks’ (1995) translation:
APPLICATION OF MAGNETICALLY INDUCED VELOCITY CHANGES OF ULTRASONIC WAVES FOR NDE OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES

The technique of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) using magnetically induced velocity changes of ultrasonic waves is described, including its physical basis and the instrumentation used for its measurement. Examples of NDE applications of the method, including stress measurement and creep damage detection, are given. Other potential application areas, such as process control, detection of neutron irradiation damage, characterization of hydrogen attack, and monitoring of stress-relief heat treatment, arc also discussed
18O Labeled Nucleosides. 2. A General Method for the Synthesis of Specifically Labeled Pyrimidine Ribonucleosides1

Abstract A facile method for the synthesis of highly enriched 18O labeled pyrimidine ribonucleosides is described using uridine as a model compound. The isotopic label may be selectively incorporated into the base moiety at O2 or into the ribose portion of the molecule at the 5′ position. In addition, both positions may be labeled and this is the first report of a method for labeling of both the base and sugar moieties of pyrimidine ribonucleosides. The site and level of isotope incorporation may be determined mass spectrometrically.
Microfluidic passive samplers for in situ collection of live aquatic protists

This paper describes the development of microfluidic passive samplers for the collection of live protists from natural aquatic habitats. Microfluidic passive samplers provide several potential benefits over existing sampling methods. For example, they offer greater versatility, higher throughput, and do not require the disruption of specimens through the use of fixatives, stains, or by extraction. In lab testing, a marine ciliate Cyclidium sp. was concentrated from 600 cells per mL in a laboratory microcosm to above 2 × 108 cells per mL within individual microfluidic observation galleries. In field experiments, live protists and other microorganisms were collected from surface water and sediment in a northeastern Connecticut stream. Protists were accumulated to 1 × 107 cells per mL in individual observation galleries. Concentrating and isolating protists enables high-resolution, long-term observation of live, unstained protists. The compact arrangement of observation galleries facilitates high-throughput analysis. Sampler versions were created that differed in the degree of channel branching, the spatial density of galleries, and the size and shape of gallery entrance constrictions. Lab and field testing illustrated tradeoffs in performance among sampler variations in terms of the fraction of occupied chambers, overall on-chip biomass density, and in the types of protists and in the range of sizes of protists collected. Recommendations are provided to facilitate the adoption of microfluidic passive samplers for environmental characterization, research, and educational purposes.
Prenatal diagnosis of mesoblastic nephroma: A case report

When an abdominal mass is demonstrated on prenatal ultrasonography, the differential diagnosis includes adrenal tumors, ovarian cysts, bowel obstruction, and renal tumors. A 34-year-old pregnant women was referred to our hospital evaluation of a fetal abdominal mass in the left renal fossa. A solid, round, mass on left renal area was noted; the adrenal gland was visualized on the same side. Thus, we suspected an abdominal tumor of renal origin. After birth, a 6.6×4.4 cm round mass replacing the left kidney was demonstrated on ultrasonography and computed tomography. The neonate underwent a left nephrectomy at 9 days of life and confirmed a mesoblastic nephroma. The neonate was well discharged 11 days post-operatively. We report the case with a brief review of the literature.
TMX upgrade magnet system: Design characteristics and physics considerations

Summarized in this article are the design characteristics of the magnet-system configuration constructed for use in the modified Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX Upgrade), and a description of the resulting vacuum magnetic field. Many engineering and physics considerations and limitations governed the design. Several of the physics issues are discussed here, including single-particle drift surfaces and adiabaticity, central-cell resonant radial transport, magnetohydrodynamic stability analysis, and finite-beta equilibrium. The described design procedures can be applied to other tandem-mirror experiments or reactor studies.
Critical role for Rsk2 in T-lymphocyte activation

During T-cell activation, a number of cytokine-activated signaling cascades, including the Jak-STAT, phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, play important roles in modulating the expression of target genes and mediating a cellular response. We now report that interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IL-15, but not IL-7, rapidly activate the p90 ribosomal S6 kinases, Rsk1 and Rsk2, in human T lymphocytes. Surprisingly, mouse spleen T cells transduced with either the wild-type or a dominant-negative (DN) Rsk2-expressing retrovirus could not be recovered, in contrast to the normal survival of T cells transduced with retroviruses expressing wild-type or DN mutants of Rsk1 or Rsk3. Examination of Rsk2 knockout (KO) mice revealed normal T-cell development, but these T cells had delayed cell-cycle progression and lower production of IL-2 in response to anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 stimulation in vitro. Moreover, Rsk2 KO mice had defective homeostatic T-cell expansion following sublethal irradiation in vivo, which is known to involve T-cell receptor (TCR), IL-2, and/or IL-15 signals, each of which we demonstrate can rapidly and potently activate Rsk2 in mouse T cells. These results indicate an essential nonredundant role of Rsk2 in T-cell activation.
Mechanism of the hypocalcemic effect of mithramycin.

Abstract Mithramycin is effective in the treatment of hypercalcemia. The mechanism of its hypocalcemic effect was studied in six patients with hypercalcemia by serum 85Sr or 45Ca kinetic techniques. Mithramycin was given at two dosage levels (25 or 50μg/kg iv). Mithramycin at the low dosage had little effect on the rate of bone accretion. However, at both dosage levels, mithramycin caused an upward shift of the slope of the specific activity curve, indicating an inhibitory effect on bone resorption. This effect started 6-12 h after a 25-μg/kg dose of mithramycin and lasted from 4-6 days. It appears that mithramycin has a preferential effect on bone resorption. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 48: 341, 1979)
Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Multiple prognostic factors for outcome in papillary thyroid carcinoma are identified. For a cohort of 1500 consecutive patients followed an average of 16 years, survival rates for tumor recurrence and cause-specific mortality are described. Risk groups derived from novel prognostic scoring or staging systems and the role of DNA ploidy testing are discussed specifically. Lastly, controversies are reviewed regarding the extent of primary surgical resection and the efficacy of postoperative radioiodine remnant ablation in papillary thyroid cancer.
Friction pressure drop of R-12 in small hydraulic diameter extruded aluminum tubes with and without micro-fins

Adiabatic, single-phase liquid and two-phase flow pressure drop were measured for R-12 flowing in both rectangular plain and micro-fin tubes with hydraulic diameters 2.64 and 1.56 mm, respectively. The single-phase liquid friction factors for the plain and micro-fin tubes are uniformly 14% and 36% higher, respectively, than that predicted by the Blasius equation. For two-phase flow, the pressure gradient increases with increasing mass velocity and vapor quality. The pressure gradient of the micro-fin tube is higher than that of the plain tube at same mass velocity and vapor quality. Predictive methods for the single-phase liquid and two-phase friction factor were also developed. These data are not well correlated by the Chisholm correlation which uses the Lockhart-Martinelli two-phase multiplier. However, the equivalent mass velocity concept proposed by Akers et al. provided a very good correlation of the present data. Both the plain and micro-fin tube data are correlated within ±20% by a single curve. This work shows that the pressure drop is dominated by vapor shear in both the plain and micro-fin tubes. Vapor shear effects in micro-fin tube do not cause significant disturbances in the two-phase flow. This observation provides additional evidence to support the conclusion in other work by Yang and Webb that the distinctly steep condensation heat transfer curves at low mass velocity and high vapor quality are caused by surface tension drainage force.