cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disproportionate Chemical Exposure

The use of beauty products in the daily lives of women is more prevalent now than ever in this era of mass consumerism. Yet, a lack of FDA regulation for the production of beauty products puts women’s health at great risk. Misleading labeling as well as lack of proper labeling allows companies to get away with having harmful chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, and phenols in their products, thus leading to increased health burdens that may affect a woman’s own health in addition to her future child(ren)’s health. Moreover, low-income women as well as women of color experience even greater chemical exposure due to lack of access to low-chemical products and disproportionate chemical contents in products marketed specifically towards them. A literary analysis will be performed of current scholarship that informs about the politics of the beauty industry as well as primary scientific research that details the health risks for women resulting from certain chemicals in beauty products. Additionally, an ecofeminist lens will be applied throughout this analysis to examine the relationship between the production and marketing of beauty products and disproportionate health burdens on women. Through highlighting data about the disproportionate chemical exposure women experience and the means through which this occurs, this article will bring attention to the injustices imposed on women’s bodies and emphasize the need for enforceable policy with stricter regulations to decrease the use of such chemicals.
SPMSoft and speech privacy measurement in open-plan offices

SPMSoft has been introduced as a new measurement software intended to measure privacy in open-plan offices during occupied conditions without disturbing the occupants. Sound attenuations between locations in an office are are determined from impulse response measurements. Daytime ambient noise levels can be measured and speech privacy measures can be measure in situ at each measurement location. SPMSoft calculates value of the Articulation Index (AI), the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII), the Speech Transmission Index (STI), and an A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio (SNR(A)). The program displays the envelope of the measured impulse response and the spectrum of the measured ambient noise. These displays give the user the key information required to diagnose the cause of acoustical problems.
APPsolutely trustworthy? Perceptions of trust and bias in mobile apps

Almost all news media, political organizations and candidates now have a dedicated app that provides superior visibility and readability on a mobile device than a website. Mobile apps figure predom...
The Evolving Role of Esmolol in Management of Pre-Hospital Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation; a Scoping Review

Introduction: Few studies have described their experience using esmolol, an ultra-short acting β-adrenergic antagonist, in the emergency department (ED) as a feasible adjuvant therapy for the treatment of refractory ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pVT) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the widespread implementation of this therapy. The aim of this scoping review was to summarize the current available evidence on the use of esmolol as an adjuvant therapy for refractory VF/pVT out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, as well as to identify gaps within the literature that may require further research. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on July 5, 2019. The search was restricted to articles that were published from January 2000 to July 2019. Google Scholar was searched and reference lists of relevant papers were examined to identify additional studies. We included any controlled clinical study design (randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials) and observational studies (cohort studies and case-control studies) in adults providing information on the use of esmolol as an adjuvant therapy for refractory VF/pVT out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Results: The search yielded 2817 unique records, out of which 2 peer-reviewed articles were found relating to the research purpose totaling 66 patients 33.3% (n = 22) of which received esmolol. These studies found that sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was significantly more common in the patients that received esmolol compared to the control group. However, no statistically significant outcomes were found regarding survival to discharge and favorable neurological outcome. No randomized controlled trials were identified. Conclusion: To date, it is difficult to conclude the real benefit of esmolol as an adjuvant therapy for refractory VF/pVT out-of-hospital cardiac arrest based on the available evidence. The findings of this scoping review suggest that there is a paucity of research and limited evidence to support this therapy.
Mycoplasma pneumonia infection in 96 pediatric patients and its drug resistance

objective To provide some guidance for rational drug usage in clinical medicine analyzing mycoplasma pneumonia(MP) infection in pediatric patients with respiratory tract infection and its drug resistance.Methods Collected the throat swabs in 429 pediatric patients with respiratory tract infection who were hospitalized into our hospital from November,2010 to October,2011 for MP culture and MP's drug sensitivity test by rapid MP identification medium.Results Among the 429 cases,96 were infected by MP; the total positive-rate was 22.4％,and it was 21.3％ in male,23.6％ in female.Among the 4 seasons in one year,spring had the highest incidence of MP infection in children,29.2％,while summer had the lowest,15.7％; there was a statistical difference between spring's and summer's( P＜ 0.05 ); however,summer's didn't differed statistically from autumn's and winter's ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Drug resistance to erythromycin was 45.8％,to roxithromycin 44.8％,and to levofloxacin and sparfloxacin 19.8％.Conclusions Mycoplasma pneumonia is an important pathogen of respiratory infection in children.One can get MP infection all over the year.MP has high resistance to macrolides.MP infection should be treated basing on its drug sensitivity test,so patients can receive timely and effective treatment. Key words: Mycoplasma pneumonia; Children; Rapid identification medium; Drug resistance
Optical and Magnetic Properties of Ag-Ni Bimetallic Nanoparticles Assembled via Pulsed Laser-Induced Dewetting.

Pulsed laser-induced dewetting (PLiD) of Ag0.5Ni0.5 thin films results in phase-separated bimetallic nanoparticles with size distributions that depend on the initial thin film thickness. Co-sputter...
Endovascular Therapy in Trauma

The use of endovascular techniques in the context of trauma continues to proliferate. As hybrid operating rooms become more widespread, the synergistic performance of coordinated endovascular and open trauma surgery has also become more common. Increasingly, the injured patient warrants consideration of possible endovascular or hybridized approaches for damage control or definitive repair. This chapter reviews the general principles underlying endovascular surgery to enable such consideration. The categories of endovascular surgical intervention – catheterization, balloon occlusion, embolization, and stenting – and their utility are reviewed. These interventions, their suitability, and their liabilities are discussed in various anatomical contexts. This chapter presents a primer to enable educated contemplation of endovascular surgical possibilities for the treatment of the injured patient.
A Smartphone Thermal Temperature Analysis for Virtual and Augmented Reality

Emerging virtual and augmented reality applications are envisioned to significantly enhance user experiences. An important issue related to user experience is thermal management in smartphones widely adopted for virtual and augmented reality applications. Although smartphone overheating has been reported many times, a systematic measurement and analysis of their thermal behaviors is relatively scarce, especially for virtual and augmented reality applications. To address the issue, we build a temperature measurement and analysis framework for virtual and augmented reality applications using a robot, infrared cameras, and smartphones. Using the framework, we analyze a comprehensive set of data including the battery power consumption, smartphone surface temperature, and temperature of key hardware components, such as the battery, CPU, GPU,and WiFi module. When a 360° virtual reality video is streamed to a smartphone, the phone surface temperature reaches near $39^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$. Also, the temperature of the phone surface and its main hardware components generally increases till the end of our 20 -minute experiments despite thermal control undertaken by smartphones, such as CPU/GPU frequency scaling. Our thermal analysis results of a popular AR game are even more serious: the battery power consumption frequently exceeds the thermal design power by 20-80 %, while the peak battery, CPU, GPU, and WiFi module temperature exceeds $45,70,70$, and $65^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ respectively.
Empirical Welfare Maximization with Constraints

When designing eligibility criteria for welfare programs, policymakers naturally want to target the individuals who will benefit the most. This paper proposes two new econometric approaches to selecting an optimal eligibility criterion when individuals' costs to the program are unknown and need to be estimated. One is designed to achieve the highest benefit possible while satisfying a budget constraint with high probability. The other is designed to optimally trade off the benefit and the cost from violating the budget constraint. The setting I consider extends the previous literature on Empirical Welfare Maximization by allowing for uncertainty in estimating the budget needed to implement the criterion, in addition to its benefit. Consequently, my approaches improve the existing approach as they can be applied to settings with imperfect take-up or varying program needs. I illustrate my approaches empirically by deriving an optimal budget-constrained Medicaid expansion in the US.
Breast cancer screening in women with and without implants: retrospective study comparing digital mammography to digital mammography combined with digital breast tomosynthesis

Compare four groups being screened: women without breast implants undergoing digital mammography (DM), women without breast implants undergoing DM with digital breast tomosynthesis (DM/DBT), women with implants undergoing DM, and women with implants undergoing DM/DBT. Mammograms from February 2011 to March 2017 were retrospectively reviewed after 13,201 were excluded for a unilateral implant or prior breast cancer. Patients had been allowed to choose between DM and DM/DBT screening. Mammography performance metrics were compared using chi-square tests. Six thousand forty-one women with implants and 91,550 women without implants were included. In mammograms without implants, DM (n = 113,973) and DM/DBT (n = 61,896) yielded recall rates (RRs) of 8.53% and 6.79% (9726/113,973 and 4204/61,896, respectively, p 0.999), and PPV1s of 4.29% and 6.0% (17/396 and 15/250, respectively, p > 0.999), respectively. DM/DBT significantly improved recall rates, cancer detection rates, and positive predictive values for recall compared to DM alone in women without implants. DM/DBT performance in women with implants trended towards similar improvements, though no metric was statistically significant. • Digital mammography with tomosynthesis improved recall rates, cancer detection rates, and positive predictive values for recall compared to digital mammography alone for women without implants. • Digital mammography with tomosynthesis trended towards improving recall rates, cancer detection rates, and positive predictive values for recall compared to digital mammography alone for women with implants, but these trends were not statistically significant — likely related to sample size.
Outpatient practice pattern and remote patient monitoring for axicabtagene ciloleucel CAR-T therapy in patients with aggressive lymphoma.

7554Background: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) are commonly administered inpatient due to concern for early onset cytokine release syndrome (CRS), especially with axicabtagene cil...
Birth Location in Infants with Prenatally Diagnosed Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

There are conflicting data on how delivery location impacts outcomes in neonates with ductal-dependent heart disease. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of delivery location on hospital length of stay and survival in infants with prenatally diagnosed hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) after stage 1 palliation (S1P). A multicenter cohort study was performed utilizing the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative dataset for infants with prenatally diagnosed HLHS who underwent S1P from August 2016 to December 2018. Univariate comparisons of demographics, clinical, and outcome data were made and multivariable logistic regression was performed between groups stratified by distance from surgical center. A total of 790 patients from 33 centers were analyzed: 85% were born < 5 miles from the surgical center with 72% of those (486/673) born at the surgical center. Infants born < 5 miles from the surgical center were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely to be male, white, full term, have no non-cardiac anomaly, and have commercial health insurance; they were significantly more likely to breastfeed pre-operatively, and less likely to have pre-operative cardiac catheterizations, pre-operative mechanical ventilation, or delayed surgery. There was no significant difference between groups in hospital length of stay, 30-day survival, or survival to hospital discharge. In this multicenter dataset, hospital length of stay and survival after S1P did not differ based on distance from birth location to surgical center. However, neonates born < 5 miles from the surgical center had lower rates of potentially modifiable pre-operative risk factors including mechanical ventilation and delays to surgery.
Chronic Scapholunate Ligament Injuries Treatment with Supplemental Fixation

Treatment of chronic scapholunate ligament injuries can be challenging. Traditional reconstructive techniques, including varied capsulodeses and tenodeses often yield inconsistent results with loss of reduction and radiographic deterioration. As a result, supplemental hardware fixation has become more popular and may allow more robust stabilization of the scapholunate reconstruction. However, these procedures have complications and few data regarding outcomes are currently available. This article evaluates the role of supplemental fixation in the management of chronic scapholunate instability.
Connectionist speaker normalization and its applications to speech recognition

Speaker normalization may have a significant impact on both speaker-adaptive and speaker-independent speech recognition. In this paper, a codeword-dependent neural network (CDNN) is presented for speaker normalization. The network is used as a nonlinear mapping function to transform speech data between two speakers. The mapping function is characterized by two important properties. First, the assembly of mapping functions enhances overall mapping quality. Second, multiple input vectors are used simultaneously in the transformation. This not only makes full use of dynamic information but also alleviates possible errors in the supervision data. Large-vocabulary continuous speech recognition is chosen to study the effect of speaker normalization. Using speaker-dependent semi-continuous hidden Markov models, performance evaluation over 360 testing sentences from new speakers showed that speaker normalization significantly reduced the error rate from 41.9% to 5.0% when only 40 speaker-dependent sentences were used to estimate CDNN parameters. >
Sustaining family forests in rural landscapes: Rationale, challenges, and an illustration from Oregon, USA

Family forests are critical components of rural landscapes, societies and economies. In Oregon, where nonindustrial private forests comprise only 16% of the forestland base, the ecological, social and economic impact of this ownership category is disproportionately large. This is due to the landscape position these lands occupy, the diversification they contribute to forest cover and local economies, and the political and cultural connections they provide to urban populations. The significance of this ownership category is even greater in the United States as a whole, where nonindustrial private forests comprise nearly two-thirds of the commercial forestland base, dominating rural landscapes in many regions of the country. Despite the important role family forests play, their ability to contribute to the wellbeing of rural areas is challenged by several dynamic factors, including industrial consolidation in global wood markets, loss of family forestland to corporate ownership, and parcelization and fragmentation of family forestland at the urban fringe. Moreover, family forestry does not enjoy a strong social contract with the American public, which is largely ignorant of the existence of this ownership class. A foundation of broad social approval and appreciation for family forestry is a prerequisite to development of policies which can sustain family forestland ownerships and the contributions they make. This paper draws from recent research in Oregon to argue that, whereas most research on nonindustrial private forests has focused on economics and management at the individual producer level, these challenges demand greater attention to the role of family forests in the wider context of landscape, culture and rural economy.
Efficient blind separation of convolved sound mixtures

We present an extension to recent approaches to blind source separation. Bell and Sejnowski (see Neural Computation 7, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA., 1996) proposed a robust algorithm for separating instantaneous mixtures. Extensions were proposed by Torkkola (see IEEE Workshop on Neural Networks for Signal Processing, Kyoto, Japan, 1996) and Lee et al. (See Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 9, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA., 1997) for separating convolved mixtures but the computational overhead and the convergence behavior of these algorithms were not ideal. A frequency domain extension is presented which improves the stability and the performance of these algorithms.
A Connection between Paired Data Analysis and Regression Analysis for Estimating Sales Adjustments

The two methods most often recommended for obtaining market-derived adjustments utilized in the sales comparison approach to appraisal are Paired Data Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis. These approaches are viewed as competing alternatives, with advocates and detractors for each. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that these two alternatives to estimating sales adjustments are equivalent under certain circumstances. This point of equivalence may prove to be a useful starting place for improving our understanding of the differences between and similarities of the two methods. After explaining the data requirements of each method, we provide a set of sufficient conditions under which the two methods produce identical adjustment estimates. We finish with a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two methods in estimating sale comparison adjustments.
The Mechanism of Entry of Viruses into Plant Protoplasts

Plant protoplasts may be efficiently infected with viruses. Attachment to the plasmalemma is a critical step in infection; positively charged viruses readily adhere and infect but negatively charged viruses require the presence of a polycation (e.g. poly-L-ornithine) before infection can occur. The role of the polycation appears to be twofold: to modify the charge of the virus and to damage the surface of the protoplast. Virus probably enters the protoplast during repair of damaged regions of the plasmalemma. Pinocytosis does not appear to play a significant part in inoculation.
High Speed Networks in the Digital TV Studio

The high speed networks that will soon be available should have the bandwidth necessary to handle all of the networking needs of today's studio. With the advent of high definition television (HDTV) the necessary bandwidth will increase more than five-fold. We are interested in what is an appropriate networked-based architecture for the studio. Can we make do with just a single network for all the activities that are included in a studio? Assuming an affirmative answer to the preceding question, will an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network be up to the task? Will it meet the real-time needs of the studio? Will an ATM network have adequate bandwidth for the multiplicity of video signals, particularly for HDTV signals? Or, will other networking technology be necessary such as optical networks based on wavelength division multiplexing?
Classifying Spaces and Group Cohomology

This is one of the basic chapters in the book. We start in §1, §2, with preliminaries from topology. The results reviewed in §1 on the basic structure and properties of classifying spaces are essential throughout the remainder of the text. The material in §2 on the Steenrod algebra is not needed in the rest of this chapter and is placed here only for continuity. It is used, however, in Chapter III, §3, and, from then on, more and more frequently throughout the book. Here we only review the basic facts and give Steenrod’s axiomatic treatment of the p th power operations. However, in Chapter IV, §7 we will use the cohomology of groups to provide the construction of the Steenrod operations. In §3 we give the definition of group cohomology and devote the remainder of this chapter, with the exception of §8 to basic facts and techniques for calculating these cohomology groups, particularly for finite groups. §8 gives a nice application of these ideas to construct non-trivial outer automorphisms for p-groups.
Spin Structure Functions of the Nucleon

I begin with a general discussion about importance of constructing a picture of the nucleon in terms of QCD degrees of freedom, emphasizing the role of spin structure functions. I then give a short overview on the theoretical and experimental status of the spin structure of the nucleon. Following that, I mention several upcoming experiments to measure the flavor and sea structure in polarized quark distributions and the polarized gluon distribution $\Delta g(x)$. Finally, I discuss other spin-related physics, such as the polarizabilities of gluon fields $\chi_B $ and $\chi_E$, the quark transversity distribution $h_1(x)$, and the spin structure functions $G_1$ and $G_2$ at low $Q^2$.
Dynamic regrasping by coordinated control of sliding for a multifingered hand

The authors consider the problem of grasp choice for an object held within a multifingered hand from the viewpoint of avoiding collisions between the manipulator links and the object during trajectory execution. A grasp planner is provided in the form of an algorithm that checks the feasibility of a given object trajectory and provides an envelope of feasible contact positions. During execution of the trajectory, contact positions of the fingertips on the object can be changed by sliding the fingertip along the object surface in a controlled manner. A dynamic control law that achieves this is presented and integrated with the grasp planner to determine a dynamic regrasping algorithm, which is illustrated by simulation. >
Probability of miscorrection for Reed-Solomon codes

The decoder fails to correct an erroneous message to its original untainted version when the number of errors exceeds half the number of appended Reed-Solomon characters. In most cases, the Reed-Solomon algorithm can detect the presence of an excess of errors through built-in filters. However, in a few cases, the message may be corrected to a different code word in which case it is said to be miscorrected. This paper derives a general expression for the probability of miscorrection of an n-character message with a t-error correcting Reed-Solomon code that utilizes a maximum 2/sup m/-character set (GF(2/sup m/)), where 2/sup m/>n, given e errors.
A security architecture for mobile agents in Ajanta

A mobile agent represents a computation that can autonomously migrate in a network to perform tasks on behalf of its creator. This paper describes the security architecture of Ajanta, a Java-based system for mobile agent programming. This architecture provides mechanisms to protect server resources from malicious agents, agent data from tampering by malicious servers, and to protect the system infrastructure itself. An agent can carry three kinds of protected data: read-only objects, objects visible only to specific servers, and a secure append-only list of objects. Agents' access to server resources is controlled using a proxy-based mechanism. A generic authentication protocol is used for all sensitive client-server interactions. Ajanta also supports communication between remote agents using RMI, which can be controlled by the servers' security policies.
Design and application of genetically encoded biosensors

In the past 5–10 years, the power of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its numerous derivatives has been harnessed toward the development of genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors. These sensors are incorporated into cells or organisms as plasmid DNA, which leads the transcriptional and translational machinery of the cell to express a functional sensor. To date, over 100 different genetically encoded biosensors have been developed for targets as diverse as ions, molecules and enzymes. Such sensors are instrumental in providing a window into the real-time biochemistry of living cells and whole organisms, and are providing unprecedented insight into the inner workings of a cell.
Substance P opens cation channels and closes potassium channels in rat locus coeruleus neurons.

Abstract Whole-cell recordings were made from neurons of the rat locus coeruleus in a tissue slice removed from rat brain. Substance P caused an inward current in cells voltage-clamped at −60 mV. The effect of substance P was concentration-dependent (30nM−3 μM) and was mimicked by similar concentrations of substance K and neuromedin K. The inward current resulted predominately from an increase in membrane cation conductance; in potassium-free solutions it reversed polarity at about 12 mV. Substance P also reduced the conductance of an inwardly rectifying potassium current; this action was studied with low external sodium concentration. p It is concluded that substance P excites rat locus coeruleus neurons by activating an intracellular transduction pathway leading to both cation conductance increase and potassium conductance decrease.
Reversibility of chronic alcohol cardiac depression: 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in hamsters.

In order to investigate the reversibility of chronic alcohol cardiac depression, hamsters were fed with 50% ethanol for 3 1/2 months, reaching serum alcohol levels of 0.13 ± 0.11 g/dl (mean ± SD). Alcohol was then withdrawn for 2 days. Isolated hearts were perfused according to a modified Langendorff method. Energy metabolites were studied using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of isolated perfused hearts standardized by HPLC analysis of freeze-clamped tissue. Total intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i, was measured with atomic absorption spectrophotometry, marking the extracellular space in vivo with K(CoEDTA). In alcohol-treated hamster hearts developed pressure was significantly depressed compared to controls. End-diastolic pressure was significantly increased. Coronary flow was not changed, whereas oxygen consumption and high-energy phosphate levels were significantly depressed. Intracellular pH was significantly decreased. [Ca2+]i, was significantly increased. Heart weights were significantly lower. After alcohol withdrawal ventricular function, high-energy phosphate levels, and [Ca2+]i were not significantly different from control. The results indicate that chronic alcohol consumption depresses ventricular function and energy levels and also leads to myocardial acidosis. The increase in intracellular calcium likely causes mitochondrial dysfunction. Withdrawal of alcohol is associated with reversibility of functional and energetic cardiac depression. © 1989 Academic Press, Inc.
Analytical solution for polish-rate decay in chemical–mechanical polishing

An analytical solution to the population balance for the heights of pad asperities worn down during chemical-mechanical polishing of silicon wafers is used to calculate the chemical-mechanical removal-rate decay. This analytical solution is compared with experimental data from Journal of Electronic Materials, 25, No. 10 (1996) 1623-1627 by Stein et al. The model results agree with the experimental removal-rate decay results.
Crosswell Seismic Observations Near a High-contrast Interface

Some salient features of crosshole seismic data near a limestone/shale interface are explored through a computer simulation of an actual experiment. The algorithm used is a combination of the boundary element method (for the source borehole) and the borehole coupling theory (for the receiver borehole) in transversely isotropic media. Its adequacy is validated by the good agreement between the synthetic and the real data. This study illustrates that fluid-filled source and receiver boreholes are indispensable to explaining the observations when they are embedded in highly contrasted layers and when dynamite and hydrophone are the source and the receiver.
Hamiltonian cycle art

In this work, we present the concept of "Hamiltonian cycle art" that is based on the fact that any mesh surface can be converted to a single closed 3D curve. These curves are constructed by connecting the centers of every two neighboring triangles in the Hamiltonian triangle strips. We call these curves surface covering since they follow the shape of the mesh surface by meandering over it like a river. We show that these curves can be used to create wire sculptures and duotone (two-color painted) surfaces.To obtain surface covering wire sculptures we have developed two methods to construct corresponding 3D wires from surface covering curves. The first method constructs equal diameter wires. The second method creates wires with varying diameter and can produce wires that densely cover the mesh surface.For duotone surfaces, we have developed a method to obtain surface covering curves that can divide any given mesh surface into two regions that can be painted in two different colors. These curves serve as a boundary that define two visually interlocked regions in the surface. We have implemented this method by mapping appropriate textures to each face of the initial mesh. The resulting textured surfaces look aesthetically pleasing since they closely resemble planar TSP (traveling salesmen problem) art and Truchet-like curves. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted Highlights? A method to convert any mesh surface into a single closed 3D curve is called surface covering. ? Two methods to construct 3D wires from surface covering curves. ? A method to obtain surface covering curves that can divide any given mesh surface into two regions.
Properties of Secretin Receptor Internalization Differ from Those of the β2-Adrenergic Receptor

The endocytic pathway of the secretin receptor, a class II GPCR, is unknown. Some class I G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR), internalize in clathrin-coated vesicles and this process is mediated by G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs), β-arrestin, and dynamin. However, other class I GPCRs, for example, the angiotensin II type 1A receptor (AT1AR), exhibit different internalization properties than the β2-AR. The secretin receptor, a class II GPCR, is a GRK substrate, suggesting that like the β2-AR, it may internalize via a β-arrestin and dynamin directed process. In this paper we characterize the internalization of a wild-type and carboxyl-terminal (COOH-terminal) truncated secretin receptor using flow cytometry and fluorescence imaging, and compare the properties of secretin receptor internalization to that of the β2-AR. In HEK 293 cells, sequestration of both the wild-type and COOH-terminal truncated secretin receptors was unaffected by GRK phosphorylation, whereas inhibition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase mediated phosphorylation markedly decreased sequestration. Addition of secretin to cells resulted in a rapid translocation of β-arrestin to plasma membrane localized receptors; however, secretin receptor internalization was not reduced by expression of dominant negative β-arrestin. Thus, like the AT1AR, secretin receptor internalization is not inhibited by reagents that interfere with clathrin-coated vesicle-mediated internalization and in accordance with these results, we show that secretin and AT1A receptors colocalize in endocytic vesicles. This study demonstrates that the ability of secretin receptor to undergo GRK phosphorylation and β-arrestin binding is not sufficient to facilitate or mediate its internalization. These results suggest that other receptors may undergo endocytosis by mechanisms used by the secretin and AT1Areceptors and that kinases other than GRKs may play a greater role in GPCR endocytosis than previously appreciated.
Peritoneal dialysis for intractable heart failure in acute myocardial infarction

Abstract This report deals with 4 patients with intractable heart failure following an acute myocardial infarction who evidenced significant immediate benefit from peritoneal dialysis. In 3 patients, loss of edema fluid, abolition of life-threatening arrhythmias, restoration of normal mentation and electrolyte normality, reduction of blood urea nitrogen and return of urinary output were achieved. Before dialysis, increasing doses of digitalis and potent diuretic agents failed to relieve pulmonary edema or reduce venous pressure and oliguria increased. Peritoneal dialysis can be safely and effectively employed during the course of an acute myocardial infarction for intractable congestive heart failure.
Regulation of matrix metalloproteinase expression by estrogen in fibroblasts that are derived from the pelvic floor

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether estrogen suppresses matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 proenzyme expression by fibroblasts that are derived from the supportive connective tissue of the pelvic floor. Study Design: A primary fibroblast culture that was developed from a biopsy specimen of the arcus tendineus was treated with interleukin-1β (10-15 ng/mL), transforming growth factor-β1 (5-15 ng/mL), 17β-estradiol (10 −9 −10 −7 mol/L), and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) 182 780 (10 −8 −10 −6 mol/L). Cellular and extracellular protein were analyzed by Western blotting and substrate zymography, respectively, for the effect of each treatment on the amount of pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 and the membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase protein. Results: Both cellular and extracellular pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 protein were increased by transforming growth factor-β1 ( P =.01) and decreased by estradiol ( P P =.02 and.002, respectively). Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase was not affected by estradiol, ICI 182 780, interleukin-1β, or transforming growth factor-β1. Extracellular pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 was increased by the cytokines interleukin-1β ( P P P P Conclusion: The proenzymes of the tissue-degrading matrix metalloproteinases -2 and -9 are decreased by 17-β estradiol and ICI 182 780. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:72-9.)
Going head to head: Content analysis of high profile conflicts as played out in the press

Abstract Content analyses of news coverage for high profile conflicts (the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American Airlines, Massachusetts Military Reservation, United Parcel Service) provide a natural history of the use of the contingency theory in public relations. The content analysis tracked the changing stances of organizations moving on the continuum from pure advocacy to pure accommodation, in response to a number of contingent factors that can just as readily move an organization toward accommodation as toward advocacy. Integrating conflict and conflict resolution models from the conflict literature with the contingency theory in public relations, results confirm that strategies as well as stances of an organization and its public change over time. This change over time has been influenced predominantly by two contingent factors: internal threats and external threats. Both parties in each conflict demonstrated overall advocacy and employed a contending strategy predominantly during the conflict management process.
The extracellular metalloprotease of Serratia marcescens. 2. Comparison with trypsin and substrate specificity.

The proteolytic activity of the extracellular protease ofSerratia marcescens was compared with that of trypsin on N, N-dimethyl casein. The peptides produced from exhaustive hydrolysis of alpha casein by the protease and by trypsin were of similar size as measured by gel filtration on P-10 Agarose. We conclude that the protease ofS. marcescens is an endopeptidase with trypsin-like activity on proteins, producing oligopeptides. End group analysis of the peptides formed by theS. marcescens protease suggests that the protease has a unique substrate specificity, hydrolyzing only a peptide bond whose carboxyl group is donated by proline. The protease was inactive on the synthetic peptides with proline donating the carboxyl group, but hydrolyzed various types of natural proteins. Its narrow and novel substrate specificity makes this enzyme a potential tool for the determination of the primary structure of proteins.
Impurity fueling to terminate Tokamak discharges

Abstract A model has been developed to investigate the requirements for terminating ITER discharges by introducing large quantities of either hydrogen or impurities to radiate the energy and quench the discharge before the discharge can undergo substantial motion and come into contact with the wall. The results of the model indicate that the injection of impurities will lead to runaway currents as large as 60% of the initial plasma current. Injection of hydrogen or low Z impurities is more hopeful, but even they can cause runaways. Radiation transport effects will likely be very important.
Memory, Mood, Dopamine, and Serotonin in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-Lesioned Mouse Model of Basal Ganglia Injury

The 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-lesioned mouse serves as a model of basal ganglia injury and Parkinson’s disease. The present study investigated the effects of MPTP-induced lesioning on associative memory, conditioned fear, and affective behavior. Male C57BL/6 mice were administered saline or MPTP and separate groups were evaluated at either 7 or 30 days post-lesioning. In the social transmission of food preference test, mice showed a significant decrease in preference for familiar food 30 days post-MPTP compared to controls. Mice at both 7 and 30 days post-MPTP-lesioning had increased fear extinction compared to controls. HPLC analysis of tissues homogenates showed dopamine and serotonin were depleted in the striatum, frontal cortex, and amygdala. No changes in anxiety or depression were detected by the tail suspension, sucrose preference, light-dark preference, or hole-board tests. In conclusion, acute MPTP-lesioning regimen in mice causes impairments in associative memory and conditioned fear, no mood changes, and depletion of dopamine and serotonin throughout the brain.
2,2′-Pyridil-mono and -bis-(2-pyridylhydrazones) as solvent extractants for copper(II), nickel(II), and cobalt(II)

Abstract 2,2′-Pyridil, also known as 2,2′-dipyridylglyoxal, has been condensed with either 1 or 2 mol of 2-pyridylhydrazone to form 2,2′-Pyridil-mono-(2-pyridylhydrazone) (PymPH) and 2,2′-Pyridil-bis-(2-pyridylhydrazone) (PybPH). These molecules have been studied as solvent extracting agents for Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II) from perchlorate media into MIBK. In the pH range 4–6 all ions are extracted with efficiencies of 80–99%, and are ion-paired. Other equilibria data including stoichiometries, effect of pH, ligand concentration, ionic strength, and metal ion concentration on the distribution coefficients are reported. In addition, comparisons between these two ligands and other 1,2-diketone mono- and bis-2-azaarylhydrazones are discussed.
Loss of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Amplifies Murine Toxin-Induced Liver Fibrosis by Upregulating Collagen I Expression

Background and Aims Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a type IV collagenase secreted by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), is upregulated in chronic liver disease and is considered a profibrotic mediator due to its proliferative effect on cultured HSCs and ability to degrade normal liver matrix. Although associative studies and cell culture findings suggest that MMP-2 promotes hepatic fibrogenesis, no in vivo model has definitively established a pathologic role for MMP-2 in the development and progression of liver fibrosis. We therefore examined the impact of MMP-2 deficiency on liver fibrosis development during chronic CCl4 liver injury and explored the effect of MMP-2 deficiency and overexpression on collagen I expression.
Model for proton transport coupled to protein conformational change: Application to proton pumping in the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle

A modeling method is presented for protein systems in which proton transport is coupled to conformational change, as in proton pumps and in motors driven by the proton-motive force. Previously developed methods for calculating pKa values in proteins using a macroscopic dielectric model are extended beyond the equilibrium case to a master-equation model for the time evolution of the system through states defined by ionization microstate and a discrete set of conformers. The macroscopic dielectric model supplies free energy changes for changes of protonation microstate, while the method for obtaining the energetics of conformational change and the relaxation rates, the other ingredients needed for the master equation, are system dependent. The method is applied to the photoactivated proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, using conformational free energy differences from experiment and treating relaxation rates through three adjustable parameters. The model is found to pump protons with an efficiency relatively ins...
A sphingosine-1-phosphate type 1 receptor agonist inhibits the early T-cell transient following renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

T cells are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI); however, earlier studies have not found significant T-cell numbers in the kidney following injury. In this study we test the hypothesis that T cells transiently infiltrate the kidney following reperfusion and leave behind T-cell-derived cytokines such as interferons and interleukins, thus triggering an inflammatory reaction. An early rise of infiltrating T cells was coupled with a decrease in both circulating lymphocytes and CD4+ cells of periarterial lymphocyte aggregates. The renal expression of several chemokines was rapidly and markedly increased by ischemia–reperfusion (IR). Sphingosine-1-phosphate type 1 receptor agonists have been shown to protect kidneys from injury. One of these agonists given before IR significantly reduced histologically assessed renal injury, circulating lymphocyte numbers, and renal T-cell infiltration. This pretreatment did not, however, affect the increase in T-cell chemokines but caused an increase in CD4+ cells in the renal lymphatic system. We conclude that T-cell infiltration is an early event after IRI and is mediated by several chemokines. Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonists reduce renal injury and T-cell infiltration in spite of chemokine generation by inhibiting T-cell mobilization from both renal and extra-renal lymphoid tissue.
INCREASED SERUM HEXOSAMINIDASE A DURING PREGNANCY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TAY-SACHS CARRIER DETECTION BY SULFATED FLUOROGENIC SUBSTRATES

Carrier detection of Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) in sera is unreliable during pregnancy when based on the heat inactivation method. This is due to an increase in the relatively thermostable serum hexosaminidase (Hex) P, and is overcome by testing leukocytes. Since sulfated fluorogenic substrates (MUβGIcNAc-6-S & MUβGa1NAc-6-S) are highly specific for Hex A and provide direct determination independent of heat-labile/heat-stable ratio, we have examined their value in TSD carrier detection in pregnant women's sera. Determination of Hex activity toward sulfated substrates was carried out in isolated isozyme fractions from sera, leukocytes and fibroblasts of controls, pregnant TSD carriers and non-carriers, and TSD and Sandhoff disease patients. The results indicated that the cleavage en bloc of the N-acetylhexosamine-6-sulfate is catalyzed by an active site on the α-subunit, since only negligible activity was associated with Hex isozymes B, I1, I2 and P, and Hex S (α2) was twice as active as Hex A (αβaβb). The results also indicated that in addition to serum Hex P there is an increase in serum Hex A which starts during the second trimester of pregnancy. We conclude that accurate TSD carrier detection in serum during pregnancy may be possible if gestational age-matched controls are used.
Sensory-evoked turning locomotion in red-eared turtles: kinematic analysis and electromyography

We examined the limb kinematics and motor patterns that underlie sensory-evoked turning locomotion in red-eared turtles. Intact animals were held by a band-clamp in a water-filled tank. Turn-swimming was evoked by slowly rotating turtles to the right or left via a motor connected to the shaft of the band-clamp. Animals executed sustained forward turn-swimming against the direction of the imposed rotation. We recorded video of turn-swimming and computer-analyzed the limb and head movements. In a subset of turtles, we also recorded electromyograms from identified limb muscles. Turning exhibited a stereotyped pattern of (1) coordinated forward swimming in the hindlimb and forelimb on the outer side of the turn, (2) back-paddling in the hindlimb on the inner side, (3) a nearly stationary, “braking” forelimb on the inner side, and (4) neck bending toward the direction of the turn. Reversing the rotation caused animals to switch the direction of their turns and the asymmetric pattern of right and left limb activities. Preliminary evidence suggested that vestibular inputs were sufficient to drive the behavior. Sensory-evoked turning may provide a useful experimental platform to examine the brainstem commands and spinal neural networks that underlie the activation and switching of different locomotor forms.