cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Urocortin expression in mouse cochlear nucleus and Scarpa's ganglion.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Clinical and basic studies have correlated tinnitus with stress. Although the etiology of tinnitus is unknown, the cochlear nucleus (CN) appears to play a role. To better understand the potential impact of stress on tinnitus and modulation of the central auditory system in general, the goal of the current study was to examine the presence and distribution of axon terminals containing urocortin in the CN of the mouse. Study Design: Prospective description of histological findings. Methods: Three different forms of urocortin were labeled in brainstem sections collected from 10 wild-type mice by immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactive terminal fibers in the CN were digitally photographed, as well as reconstructed in the CN under a drawing tube attached to a light microscope. Results: Specific staining was found in en passant type fibers scattered throughout the CN but situated mostly within the granule cell domains. Clusters of labeled fibers were observed in the nerve root. Labeled axons were observed in the three tracts known to carry olivocochlear fibers to the CN, as well as in the olivocochlear bundle itself. As the axons within the olivocochlear bundle departed the brainstem in the vestibular nerve, numerous labeled en passant fibers were observed among somata of the vestibular ganglion (Scarpa's). Centrally, labeled axons were followed from the CN to the lateral superior olive, an established source of urocortin-positive efferents to the cochlea. These findings indicate that lateral olivocochlear efferents innervate the CN and Scarpa's ganglion, and also that urocortin is likely a neuromodulator in particular CN circuits. Conclusions: The current study supports innervation of specific regions of the mouse CN and Scarpa's ganglion by neurons expressing urocortin. The innervation may be one substrate by which stress modulates particular CN processes. Further studies are necessary to establish the role of urocortin in CN models of tinnitus.
A Novel Approach to Improving the Available Power Output of Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motors

Piezoelectric actuators have attractive operating properties because they do not generate electromagnetic fields and are not affected by them, and their power output characteristics scale linearly with decreasing size. These actuators have not seen widespread industrial use, however, because they have shown a limited power output. This work presents the initial efforts to increase the available power output of the Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motor (PUSM). Commercially available PUSMs are limited by the small friction forces generated at the rotor/stator interface. Small friction is generated because current PUMs use rubber or polyimides on the rotor to create as the contact with the stator. Traditionally, PUSM contact material has consisted of rubber or reinforced polyimides. The authors intend to replace the traditional contact layer with a compliant super-elastic Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) thin film shape memory alloy (SMA) layer to increase the available power output by increasing the friction forces at the rotor/stator interface, without significantly increasing the size or weight of the actuator. The unmodified motors were baselined tested, modified, tested and the results compared. Recommendations are made with regard to the results of the modified baseline testing and possible implementation of micromachined ‘teeth’ configurations.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Regulation of hdm2 by Stress-Induced hdm2alt1 in Tumor and Nontumorigenic Cell Lines Correlating with p53 Stability

Alternative and aberrant splicing of hdm2 occurs in tumor and normal tissues. However, the factors that induce these splice variants and whether they are translated to protein products in vivo is unknown, making it difficult to decipher which of these hdm2 transcripts have a normal physiologic function or contribute to carcinogenesis. We investigated the conditions that induce this post-transcriptional modification of hdm2 in tumor and nontumorigenic cell lines. We showed that UV and γ radiation as well as cisplatin treatment induced alternative splicing of hdm2 , which resulted in a single splice variant, hdm2alt1 , irrespective of the cell type. Interestingly, the mechanism of UV-induced splicing is independent of p53 status. Immunoanalysis revealed that, after UV radiation, HDM2ALT1 protein was expressed and interacted with HDM2 that correlated to increased p53 protein levels and its accumulation in the nucleus, whereas HDM2 localized more to the cytoplasm with a decrease in its RNA and protein level. We propose that stress-induced HDM2ALT1 regulates HDM2 at two levels, RNA and protein, further modulating the p53-HDM2 interaction or interactions of HDM2 with other cell cycle regulatory proteins. This kind of regulation may possibly restrict oncogenic functions of HDM2 and contribute to the many protective responses triggered by certain stress signals. Our data imply that HDM2ALT1 possesses a normal physiologic function in damaged cells, perhaps facilitating cellular defense. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(19): 9467-73)
Color image modeling based on edge detection

In contrast to differential methods applied to monochromatic images, color edge detection, or multispectral differential methods, necessitates the development of edge operators which can be utilized to determine the presence of a color edge in a number of color spaces. Too often, flat-spaces are used even when the underlying color space is itself non-flat. This is clearly the case with the Hue-Saturation-Intensity (HSI) color space, which describes a complex manifold. Here we concentrate on and explore differential models of the HSI imagery from a differential-geometric viewpoint.
Emerging Medical and Surgical Management Strategies in the Evaluation and Treatment of Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for approximately 10% of all strokes and causes high morbidity and mortality. Rupture of the small perforating vessels of the cerebral arteries is caused by chronic hypertension, which induces pathologic changes in the small vessels and accounts for most cases of ICH; however, amyloid angiopathy and other secondary causes are being seen more frequently with the increasing age of the population. Recent computed tomographic studies have revealed that ICH is a dynamic process with up to one third of initial hemorrhages expanding within the first several hours of ictus. Secondary injury is believed to result from the development of cerebral edema and the release of specific neurotoxins associated with the breakdown products of hemoglobin. Treatment is primarily supportive. Surgical evacuation is the treatment of choice for patients with neurologic deterioration from infratentorial hematomas. Randomized trials comparing surgical evacuation to medical management have shown no benefit of surgical removal of supratentorial hemorrhages. New strategies focusing on early hemostasis, improved critical care management, and less invasive surgical techniques for clot evacuation are promising to decrease secondary neurologic injury. We review the pathophysiology of ICH, its medical management, and new treatment strategies for improving patient outcome.
The pharmacological role of the kidney.

Renal function can modify the relationship between drug dose and clinical effect in a variety of ways. Effects on absorption, distribution volume and elimination influence the concentration of drug attained in blood. Consequently, such effects can often be detected and/or prevented by monitoring of serum concentrations of drugs. However, such monitoring alone is insufficient for optimum therapeutic use of drugs and must be accompanied by clinical monitoring of endpoints of efficacy and toxicity, since the relationship between the concentration of drug in serum and response may also be changed.
IODINE AND URANIUM IN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS.

Abstract The abundance of iodine and uranium in sedimentary rocks was determined by neutron activation analyses. The iodine content is higher in the sediments than in igneous rocks and the iodine concentrations follow the same general pattern as chlorine and bromine in sedimentary rocks and deep-sea sediments. The uranium concentrations in these sediments are in good agreement with previous estimates, except for two uranium-rich sandstones.
Nina Bouraoui’s Nos baisers sont des adieux: Ekphrasis and the Accumulation of Memories

This article aims to explore the function of the image and the purpose of the works of art in Franco-Algerian author Nina Bouraoui’s Nos baisers sont des adieux (2010). Similar to a scrapbook with short descriptions of people, places, and objects, the book itself does not contain any visual representations. In spite of this lack, the image—the latter intended as mental or physical picture that reproduces reality—is a central theme throughout the work. Because visual art is described and interpreted but not shown, I argue that, by means of ekphrasis, the word-image dialogue further enables the narrator to express the multiple aspects of her own subjectivity and the reader to participate in the emotional experience that visual art triggers. I also maintain that Bouraoui's decision to focus on the work of provocative, groundbreaking visual artists is a socio-political statement in and of itself.
Species selection considerations for preclinical toxicology studies for biotherapeutics.

Background: Preclinical efficacy and safety studies, especially chronic studies, can be difficult to perform when the candidate therapeutic agent is a human protein due to the specificity of these molecules for the human target. The main issues are: i) the human protein or target may not be pharmacologically active in rodents or dogs, the standard toxicology species; or ii) the therapeutic agent may be so immunogenic in these species, that longer duration studies are not possible due to the formation of neutralizing antibodies. Thus, preclinical safety testing of biotherapeutics poses a particular challenge in selecting a relevant animal species for use in toxicology studies. Objective: This article will discuss the considerations that are unique to safety assessment of biotherapeutics and will provide alternatives to the standard toxicity testing which is conducted for small molecules. Methods: This article is based on published information with regards to species selection considerations as well as info...
A New Theory for Fourier Analysis. Part III. Basic Analysis on the Dual

Abstract The dual to the space of analytic test functions is introduced along with operators generalizing translation, scaling, differentiation, and the Fourier-Laplace transform. Baste aspects and formulas concerning Fourier analysis on this dual is developed. It is shown that all elements of this dual space can be represented using Integration on C n. It is also shown that this dual contains all exponentially integrable functions. Results derived include formulas for the Fourier transforms of arbitrary exponential functions and step functions.
P16 hypermethylation predicts surgical outcome following curative resection of mid/distal bile duct cancer.

Background Bile duct cancer has very poor prognosis. Important prognostic factors include the TNM stage, cell differentiation, and histologic type; however, we often observe patients whose prognosis is not consistent with the TNM stage. Additional prognostic indicators are mandatory to complement those used presently. We evaluated the hypermethylation status of genes for the power to predict overall survival following curative resection of mid/distal bile duct cancer.
Serum Bioactive Follicle-Stimulating Hormone during the Human Menstrual Cycle and in Hyper- and Hypogonadotropic States: Application of a Sensitive Granulosa Cell Aromatase Bioassay

A sensitive in vitro assay based on the stimulation of estrogen production by cultured rat granulosa cells was recently developed for the measurement of biologically active FSH. This bioassay system is specific for FSH, highly sensitive, and capable of measuring basal FSH levels in rat serum. The granulosa cell aromatase bioassay was improved by the use of additives known to enhance FSH activity and by pretreatment of serum with 12% polyethylene glycol to remove inhibitory substances. We applied this method to the measurement of bioactive FSH levels in serum samples from human subjects. As determined in daily blood samples during ovulatory menstrual cycles in seven women, bioactive FSH levels exhibited a pattern closely resemblipg that of immunoreactive FSH. The mean bioactive serum FSH levels were 29.9, 20.5, 39.2, and 14.8 mlU/ml for the early follicular phase, late follicular phase, preovula-tory surge, and luteal phase, respectively. The bio- to immuno-ratio (B:I) throughout the menstrual cycle ranged...
Clandestine human and cinematic passages in the United Europe: The Polish Plumber and Kieślowski's hairdresser

ABSTRACTUsing a Cultural Studies approach, this article provides a re-interpretation of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Trzy kolory: Bialy/Trois couleurs: Blanc/Three Colours: White (Kieślowski, 1994) as an early example of the post-Soviet transnational cinema. Paired with the socio-economic analysis of the Polish Plumber controversy that surfaced in France in the summer of 2005 (with specific references to the notorious Polish Plumber poster), the following discussion explores how Kieślowski's text questions the conventional views about the European Union and the relationship between Western European and ex-communist countries. By looking at film within a range of cultural discourses, the argument treats White as a unique expose of political and symbolic tensions that accompany the process of European integration.
Shannon meets Bellman: Feature based Markovian models for detection and optimization

The goal of this paper is to develop modeling techniques for complex systems for the purposes of control, estimation, and inference: (i) A new class of hidden Markov models is introduced, called the optimal feature prediction (OFP) model. It is similar to the Gaussian mixture model in which the actual marginal distribution is used in place of a Gaussian distribution. This structure leads to simple learning algorithms to find an optimal model. (ii) The OFP model provides a unification of other modeling approaches including the projective methods of Shannon, Mori and Zwanzig, and Chorin, as well as a version of the binning technique for Markov model reduction. (iii) Several general applications are surveyed, including inference and optimal control. Computation of the spectrum, or solutions to dynamic programming equations are possible through a finite dimensional matrix calculation without knowledge of the underlying marginal distribution on which the model is based.
Sepsis Bundles: Just Do It

The initial management of patients with septic shock appears to be critical in terms of determining outcome; a standardized systematic approach for the management of patients with severe infections appears to consistently improve the delivery of recommended therapies and, as a result, may improve patient outcomes. With minimal-to-no risk or acquisition costs, severe sepsis bundle implementation should become the standard of care for the management of septic shock. A multifaceted approach may aid in the success of implementation of sepsis bundles in teaching and nonteaching institutions. Bundle implementation should change clinical practice by including surveillance, feedback reporting, and staff education to organize the target interventions into packages that must be implemented in strict compliance, for every patient, to ensure uniformity and provide practical applicability. Quality improvement via utilization of protocols can be achieved, regardless of institution size or academic status, and should continue to be promoted in the intensive care unit setting.
Noise tolerant symbolic learning of Markov models of tunneled protocols

Recent research has exposed timing side channel vulnerabilities in many security applications. Hidden Markov models (HMMs) have used timing data to extract passwords from cryptographically protected communications tunnels. We extend that work to show how HMM models of protocols can be extracted directly from observations of protocol timing artifacts with no a priori knowledge. Since our approach uses symbolic reasoning, an important question is how to best translate continuous data observations to symbolic data. This translation is problematic when observation variance makes continuous to symbolic translation unreliable. We examine this problem and show that the HMMs we infer compensate automatically for significant observation jitter and symbol misclassification. Experimental verification is presented.
Human Embryonic Stem Cells: the Practical Handbook

The promise of human embryonic stem (hES) cells as disease models and therapeutic agents is severely thwarted by a lack of skilled scientists and by insufficient funding. Human Embryonic Stem Cells: The Practical Handbook addresses the ormer by providing detailed, easy-to-read guideines and protocols for laboratory culture of these romising cells. The editors are young investigators, daily ntrenched in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture hemselves, who have sought contributions from ell-known investigators around the world. The omposit is a dynamic, detailed, in-depth but uccinct contribution, which will undoubtedly encourage more scientists to enter the field. The book is divided into three logical sections: section I: Obtaining and culturing hES cells, Chapters 1–6; section II: Characterization of hES cells, chapters 7 and 8; and section III: Manipulation of hES cells, Chapters 9–15. Chapter 1 details cell culture laboratory practices in stem cell laboratories at King’s College and University College, both in London, UK. Drs Patel, Stephenson and Minger provide valuable guidelines for preventing contamination in hES cell cultures, including the important recommendation of culturing without antibiotics in the medium to ensure the sterility of the cells. Inclusion of guidelines for safe disposal of ES cells and their culture medium, and a comparative description of the distinctions between vertical laminar flow hoods and horizontal laminar flow hoods would have been helpful in this chapter. Chapter 2, by Glyn Stacey of the UK Stem Cell Bank, is an excellent, well-referenced, cautionary resource for sources of hES cells and practical methods for evaluating them with respect to cell-line purity and possible pathogens. Chapter 3 by Drs Powers and Witmyer, of the Boston In Vitro Fertilization laboratory, which provided supernumerary embryos for ES cell
Leukotoxic effects of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Modulation by serum components.

A sonic extract of Actinobarillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4, a microorganism originally isolated from a patient with juvenile periodontitis, contains a leukotoxin (Aa-leukotoxin) which specifically kills human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and monocytes. In the presence of normal human sera, the toxicity of the leukotoxin is enhanced, whereas sera from patients with juvenile periodontitis neutralize leukotoxic activity. In juvenile penodontitis serum immunoglobulin G was identified as the specific inhibitor of the Aaleukotoxin. The leukotoxin enhancing factor(s) in normal human serum appeared to be a large molecular weight protein which was not immunoglobulin. Pooled sera from rabbits immunized with A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 sonic extract also neutralized Aaleukotoxic activity while normal rabbit serum enhanced toxicity. The presence of antileukotoxin antibody in sera from individuals with juvenile periodontilis suggests that these people have been immunized with A. actittotnyCetemeomitans microorganisms. Monitoring of this antibody may be a convenient tool in the study of the etiology of juvenile periodontitis.
On Fixing the Reference Range of ‘God’

If my arguments so far have been near to their mark, the dialogue between belief and unbelief and the concerns of traditional philosophical theology cannot be so easily put aside as certain fideists, and indeed as certain sceptics as well, would have it. Most importantly, there is no sound argument, providing a short way with dissenters, which shows that first-order religious discourse and religion itself are and can be in no conceptual disarray. No such short way with dissenters is rationally justified.
Socioeconomic status and injury mortality: individual and neighbourhood determinants

STUDY OBJECTIVE This study examined both individual and neighbourhood correlates of injury mortality to better understand the contribution of socioeconomic status to cause specific injury mortality. Of particular interest was whether neighbourhood effects remained after adjusting for individual demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status. DESIGN Census tract data (measuring small area socioeconomic status, racial concentration, residential stability, urbanisation, and family structure) was merged with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and a file that links the respondents to subsequent follow up of vital status and cause of death data. Cox proportional hazards models were specified to determine individual and neighbourhood effects on homicide, suicide, motor vehicle deaths, and other external causes. Variances are adjusted for the clustered sample design of the NHIS. SETTING United States, 1987–1994, with follow up to the end of 1995. PARTICIPANTS From a sample of 472 364 persons ages 18–64, there were 1195 injury related deaths over the follow up period. MAIN RESULTS Individual level effects were generally robust to the inclusion of neighbourhood level variables in the models. Neighbourhood characteristics had independent effects on the outcome even after adjustment for individual variability. For example, there was approximately a twofold increased risk of homicide associated with living in a neighborhood characterised by low socioeconomic status, after adjusting for individual demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Social inequalities in injury mortality exist for both persons and places. Policies or interventions aimed at preventing or controlling injuries should take into account not only the socioeconomic characteristics of people but also of the places in which they live.
‘This Sort of Thing Isn't Helpful’: The Dilemmas of the Australian Institute of Criminology*

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has had a rocky journey since its founding in 1971 and, at the moment, is undergoing a drastic cut in its funding. The article examines the structural stresses that reside in the location of a putatively autonomous agency within a political framework. Tensions arise when AIC findings and interpretations cause distress to federal or state officials. Difficulties also inhere in the question of who establishes the AlC's research agenda, and how that agenda is carried out. The article provides details of the AlC's origins and some of its history, and it reviews two recent reports which have come down heavily on the work of the Institute. It also considers the relationship between the AIC and the media and, in conclusion, suggests what its future might be.
The logic of persistence

A recent paper [Hanks 1985] examines temporal reasoning as an example of default reasoning. They conclude that all current systems of default reasoning, including non-monotonic logic, default logic, and circumscription, are inadequate for reasoning about persistence. I present a way of representing persistence in a framework based on a generalization of circumscription, which captures Hanks and McDermott's procedural representation.
Fiberizable Si(OC2H5)4‐H20‐C2H5OH Sols with Stabilized Viscosity

Sols in which the viscosity changes by only 4%/h in the range 1.5 to 150 Pa.s were produced, and fibers with diameters between 20 and 500 pm were hand-drawn from them. Sols remain fiberizable for <140 h at room temperature. Periodic additions of alcohol increase the time available for fiberizing to ≥ 300 h.
Discriminating the relevance of web search results with measures of pupil size

The overwhelming amount of information on the web makes it critical for users to quickly and accurately evaluate the relevance of content. Here we tested whether pupil size can be used to discriminate the perceived relevance of web search results. Our findings revealed that measures of pupil size carry information that can be used to discriminate the relevance of text and image web search results, but the low signal-to-noise ratio poses challenges that need to be overcome when using this technique in naturalistic settings. Despite these challenges, our findings highlight the promise that pupillometry has as a technique that can be used to assess interest and relevance in web interaction in a non-intrusive and objective way.
[18F]Fluoropropylsulfonyl chloride: A new reagent for radiolabeling primary and secondary amines for PET imaging

In vivo molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) requires the preparation of an appropriate positron-emitting radiotracer. New methods for the introduction of F-18 into biologically interesting molecules could increase the availability of specific PET radiotracers and increase the application of PET to the study of human diseases. In this work, [18F]fluoropropylsulfonyl chloride was synthesized from 3-toluenesulfonyloxypropyl thiocyanate in two steps and was successfully incorporated into molecules containing a reactive amino group. Both a primary amine, L-phenylalanine ethyl ester hydrochloride, and a secondary amine, 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-piperazine, were successfully radiolabeled by this method. The entire radiochemical synthesis required 90 min. The products were obtained in 25.7±2.3% (n=3) and 22.8±9.1% (n=6) (EOB). This method provides a useful and easy way to make new F-18 labeled radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Experimental Case for SIMO Random Access in Multi-hop Wireless Networks

In this paper, we demonstrate that multiple concurrent asynchronous and uncoordinated Single- Input Multiple-Output (SIMO) transmissions can successfully take place even though the respective receivers do not explicitly null out interfering signals. Thus motivated, we propose simple modifications to the widely deployed IEEE 802.11 MAC to enable multiple non-spatially-isolated SIMO sender-receiver pairs to share the medium. Namely, we propose to increase the physical carrier sensing threshold, disable virtual carrier sensing, and enable message in message packet detection. We use experiments to show that while increasing the peak transmission rate, spatial multiplexing schemes such as those employed by the IEEE 802.11n are highly non-robust to asynchronous and uncoordinated interferers. In contrast, we show that the proposed multi-flow SIMO MAC scheme alleviates the severe unfairness resulting from uncoordinated transmissions in 802.11 multi-hop networks.
Hybrid content delivery and learning styles in a computer programming course

An experimental course design was implemented in a senior-level computer programming course at Purdue University. The course used hybrid content delivery, including online lectures and interactive problem-solving laboratory sessions. This hybrid design is a follow-on to previous hardware courses implementing a similar design with “directed problem solving” laboratories. This paper describes the course and its three major components: online lectures, interactive laboratories, and online discussions, along with students' responses to the effectiveness of various aspects of the course on their learning. Students' learning style preferences are compared with their achievement as reflected in five programming assignments. The programming assignments provide hands-on, practical experience for students. Each assignment consists of the development of a game in either C++ or Java. This paper suggests that the hybrid format is an effective way of learning for all students and provides an instructional environment conducive to varying learning styles. There is no strong indication that one style can outperform peers in this programming class.
Superior temporal and premotor brain areas necessary for biological motion perception

We tested biological motion perception in a large group of unilateral stroke patients (N = 60). Both right and left hemisphere lesioned patients were significantly impaired compared with age-matched controls. Voxel-based lesion analyses revealed that lesions in superior temporal and premotor frontal areas had the greatest effect on biological motion perception. Moreover, the effect in each region was independent, and not attributable to indirect effects of lesions in the other area. When we explored functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from neurologically healthy controls in a separate experiment in relation to the lesion maps, we found that the two methods converged on their findings. We thus establish that superior temporal and premotor areas are not only involved in biological motion perception, but also have causal relationships to deficits in biological motion perception. While the precise functional roles of each region remain to be identified, this network has been implicated in the perception of action stimuli in many studies and as such patients' deficits may reflect an inability to effectively engage the action observation system.
Failed Metal-on-Metal: Full of Puss, is it Infected?

While metal-on-metal (MoM) surface bearings have regained popularity in total hip arthroplasty (THA), recent publicity regarding adverse local tissue reactions (ALTR) and systemic ion production has led to increased focus surrounding the failures of this bearing surface. The purpose of this review is to highlight the literature regarding clinical presentation of failed MoM THA, and the difficulty in differentiating these cases from periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). A PubMed literature search using MeSH terms "metal on metal" AND "hip" AND ("replacement" OR "arthroplasty") AND ("reaction" OR "infection") yielded 19 relevant articles from 2008–2012 regarding ALTR in THA. Included in these were 7 studies discussing MoM reactions and PJI. The most common symptoms in patients with adverse response to MoM bearings were groin pain aggravated by weight bearing; fever and elevated inflammatory markers were not uncommon in this population. Presence of "creamy milk-stained fluid" under high pressure was frequently encountered intraoperatively. Three studies found perivascular lymphocyte infiltration (PVLI) as suggestive of metal hypersensitivity reaction; however, two studies reported PVLI to be nonspecific for MoM prostheses failures. Serum metal ion levels were not adequate indicators of ALTR. Eight cases of PJI presenting concomitantly with ALTR were reported and suggested metal reaction may predispose to bacterial infection. Studies concurred that negative bacterial cultures were the only reliable characteristic distinguishing MoM reaction from PJI. Overall, the literature showed few conclusive diagnostic differences between the two conditions. Further studies will be required to definitively diagnose ALTR in MoM bearings preoperatively.
Duration of response to intramuscular versus low dose intradermal hepatitis B booster immunization.

OBJECTIVE To determine the duration of the immune response to plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine among healthcare workers responding to booster doses of intradermal (ID) or intramuscular (IM) vaccine in 1986 and those with protective levels of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) in 1986 without booster vaccine. Both groups received a primary hepatitis B vaccine series 24 to 36 months earlier. DESIGN Cross-sectional follow-up study two years later of an inception cohort defined in 1986. SETTING An academically affiliated metropolitan county hospital. PARTICIPANTS Group 1: Hospital employees responding to booster doses of hepatitis B vaccine given ID or IM in 1986 due to low anti-HBs levels. Forty-one (82%) of 50 eligible persons were evaluated. Group 2: Persons not receiving booster vaccine in 1986 due to protective levels of anti-HBs. A random sample of 95 persons was drawn from a pool of 152 participants with protective levels in 1986. Sixty-five (68%) of 95 contacted persons were restudied. RESULTS In 1988, 14 (64%) of 22 previous ID responders had anti-HBs levels greater than or equal to 10 milli-international units (mIU)/mL, compared with 17 (89%) of 19 IM responders (p = .055). The 1988 geometric mean titer of IM recipients was 66.4 +/- 4.5 mIU/mL and of ID recipients was 20.7 +/- 7.4 (p = .04). None of 65 Group 2 subjects' anti-HBs titers dropped below 10 mIU/mL by 1988. CONCLUSIONS Plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine recipients with anti-HBs levels greater than or equal to 10 mIU/mL at 24 to 36 months after primary immunization are likely to maintain these levels two years later. The diminished durability of the antibody response together with the increased rate of local side effects associated with the ID injection route may limit its applicability as an alternative to using IM booster doses of hepatitis B vaccine.
Perfluorinated Taddol Phosphoramidite as an L,Z-Ligand on Rh(I) and Co(-I): Evidence for Bidentate Coordination via Metal-C6F5 Interaction.

Perfluorinated Taddol-based phosphoramidite, CKphos, is a highly selective ligand for formation of vinylogous amide cycloadducts in the Rh(I) catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of alkenyl isocyanates and alkynes. CKphos overrides substrate bias of product selectivity in the cycloaddition, providing indolizidinones in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The excellent selectivities are attributed to a shortened Rh–P bond and coordination of one C6F5 to rhodium via a Z-type interaction, making the phosphoramidite a bidentate L,Z-ligand on rhodium. Evidence for the shortened Rh–P and C6F5 coordination is provided by X-ray, NMR and DFT computational analyses. Additionally, an anionic cobalt complex with CKphos was synthesized and two Co–C6F5 interactions are seen. The Rh(C2H4)Cl·CKphos catalyst in the [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of alkenyl isocyanates and alkynes represents a rare example of metal–C6F5 Z-type interaction affecting selectivity in transition metal catalysis.
Comparative study of the persistence of anti-HIV activity of deoxynucleoside HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors after removal from culture

Background Most in vitro assays of drug potency may not adequately predict the performance in vivo. Methods to assess the persistence of antiviral activity of deoxynucleoside analogs, which require intracellular activation to the active metabolites that can persist in cells, will be important for designing dosages, combination regimens, and assessing treatment compliance. Using an HIV-IIIB/TZM-bl indicator cell culture system, we assessed the ability of an inhibitor to protect cells from infection and to delay viral rebound after removal of inhibitor from culture.
Cardiac output estimated noninvasively from oxygen uptake during exercise

Stringer, William W., James E. Hansen, and K. Wasserman.Cardiac output estimated noninvasively from oxygen uptake during exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(3): 908–912, 1997.—Because gas-exchange measu...
Induction of Axial Mesoderm by zDVR-1, the Zebrafish Orthologue ofXenopusVg1

The zebrafish DVR-1 (zDVR-1) gene, like Xenopus Vg1, is present maternally as an unprocessed precursor protein which is distributed ubiquitously along the future dorsoventral axis. Also, like Vg1, overexpression of zDVR-1 in zebrafish directs synthesis of more precursor, but no processed protein. However, the native zDVR-1 precursor is processed to mature protein when expressed in Xenopus. Like processed Vg1, mature zDVR-1 is a potent inducer of axial mesoderm. The parallels in expression pattern, apparent regulation of protein processing, and mesoderm-inducing activity support the hypothesis that localized protein processing controls production of a dorsal mesoderm inducer in these two species. Furthermore, using mutant mRNAs, we show that cleavage site sequences of the precursor protein are important in regulating protein processing.
Trabecular bone volume fraction mapping by low-resolution MRI.

Trabecular bone volume fraction (TBVF) is highly associated with the mechanical competence of trabecular bone. TBVF is ordinarily measured by histomorphometry from bone biopsies or, noninvasively, by means of high-resolution microcomputed tomography and, more recently, by micro-MRI. The latter methods require spatial resolution sufficient to resolve trabeculae, along with segmentation techniques that allow unambiguous assignment of the signal to bone or bone marrow. In this article it is shown that TBVF can be measured under low-resolution conditions by exploiting the attenuation of the MR signal resulting from fractional occupancy of the imaging voxel by bone and bone marrow, provided that a reference signal is available from a marrow volume devoid of trabeculation. The method requires accurate measurement of apparent proton density, which entails correction for various sources of error. Key among these are the spatial nonuniformity in the RF field amplitude and effects of the slice profile, which are determined by B(1) field mapping and numerical integration of the Bloch equations, respectively. By contrast, errors from variations in bone marrow composition (hematopoietic vs. fatty) between trabecular and reference site are predicted to be small and usually negligible. The method was evaluated in phantoms and in vivo in the distal radius and found to be accurate to 1% in marrow volume fraction. Finally, in a group of 12 patients of varying skeletal status, TBVF in the calcaneus was found to strongly correlate with integral bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae (r(2) = 0.83, p < 0.0001). The method may fail in large imaging objects such as the human trunk at high magnetic field where standing wave and RF penetration effects cause intensity variations that cannot be corrected. Magn Reson Med 46:103-113, 2001.
Estimated age structure of wolves in northeastern Minnesota

Information about population age structures is useful to understand survival rates, longevity, and population turnover. However, little such information is available about wolf (Canis lupus) populations. Mech (1970) estimated age structures of wolf-population age structure from pup:adult ratios applying various demographic assumptions, but no direct information has been published to test his estimate. Mech et al. (1998) aged 94 live wolves darted in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA, but the estimates of wolf ages were based on educated guesses because no technique was available for aging live wolves. Since then, Gipson et al. (2000) published criteria for aging live wolves based on tooth wear of known-aged animals. This method allows data to be gathered from populations of live animals, which can facilitate examination of the age structure of populations. My objective was to use this method to estimate the age structure of a population of wolves in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota, USA.
Recent Advances in Topical Ocular Drug Delivery.

Abstract Topical ocular drug delivery has been considered to be an ideal route of administration for treatment of ocular diseases related to the anterior segment of the eye. However, topical ocular delivery is a challenging task because of barriers such as nasolacrimal drainage, corneal epithelium, blood–ocular barriers, and metabolism in the eye. Approaches to improve ocular bioavailability include physical approaches such as formulations of drugs as solutions (Zymaxid™), suspensions (Zigran®), gels (Akten®) and chemical approaches such as prodrugs (Xalatan™), chemical delivery systems, and soft drugs. The purpose of this review article is to summarize recent advances in topical drug delivery to the anterior segment of the eye. Functional transporters in the corneal epithelium were also discussed as they provide prospects in topical ocular delivery. In addition to conventional delivery systems, novel delivery systems involving nanocarriers were also investigated for topical ocular delivery. Furthermore, ...
Obesity, African American Race, Chronic Kidney Disease, and Resistant Hypertension: The Step Beyond Observed Risk

See related article, pp 387–396 The risk surrounding individuals with blood pressure (BP) that is difficult to control has now been characterized in many different populations in the United States. Prospective cohort studies,1,2 retrospective analyses of large clinical registries,3,4 and subgroup analyses of clinical trials5,6 have consistently identified a higher prevalence of obesity, African American race, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and diabetes mellitus among individuals with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (ATRH). Despite subtle differences in defining ATRH between studies, individuals with difficult-to-control BP are at increased risk for cardiovascular and kidney events compared with individuals with hypertension being treated with <3 antihypertensive medications.1,2,5,7,8 In this issue of Hypertension , Thomas et al2 expand these risk associations into the CKD population by examining ATRH in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC). The CRIC study included an ethnically diverse group of adults from across the United States with an estimated glomerular filtration rate 20–70 mL/min per 1.73 m2 Hypertension was present in 85.7% of the cohort, highlighting the strong, interdependent relationship between kidney disease and hypertension. Adhering to the American Heart Association definition of resistant hypertension,9 Thomas et al2 reported a prevalence of ATRH of 40.4% among CRIC study participants with hypertension. Although much higher than prevalence estimates for ATRH in general hypertensive populations (12.8%–21.5%), it is no surprise that ATRH is more common in CKD populations. In a cross-sectional analysis of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health system, CKD had the strongest association with resistant hypertension with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.78–1.90).3 When evaluated, CKD is inevitably associated with resistant hypertension.1,3,4 The analyses by Thomas et al2 are well suited to …
CBT-I Coach: A Description and Clinician Perceptions of a Mobile App for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.

Study Objectives:This paper describes CBT-I Coach, a patient-facing smartphone app designed to enhance cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). It presents findings of two surveys of U.S....
Paradigm of Metastasis for Malignant Melanoma

Melanomas usually progress from an in situ growth to a radial growth phase in which they expand into a vertical growth phase that is associated with an increased risk of metastasis. In general, the process metastasis occurs in an orderly fashion from the primary site to the regional sentinel lymph nodes before systemic dissemination. Occasionally, early blood-borne metastasis may occur. The role of selective sentinel lymphadenectomy is to provide accurate staging at the initial diagnosis of primary invasive melanoma, 1 mm or greater in depth; because the staging result is often accurate, the morbidity is reduced and the cost is less. Melanoma may spread to almost all organs. Autopsy reports have shown widespread dissemination with predominance to lymph nodes and lungs. The survival is dismal with visceral metastasis. Early diagnosis of melanoma through education and surveillance should be encouraged. Because treatments for metastatic cancer are still limited, it is imperative for oncologists to detect and resect an early cancer as soon as possible. Multifaceted aspects of micrometastasis, including proliferation and differentiation of various clones from the primary tumor, the acquisition of adhesion molecules, the process of angiogenesis, and host interaction with the microscopic tumor may shed new lights the biology and mechanism of early metastasis. Molecular and genetic tools may be used to dissect the mechanisms of lymphatic and hematogenous routes of metastasis. Understanding such mechanisms may help us to develop therapeutic strategies to prevent the process of micrometastasis.
Enhancement of OCT images with vinyl polysiloxane (VPS)

Several studies have shown that optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be used to measure the remaining enamel thickness and detect the location of subsurface lesions hidden under the sound enamel. Moreover studies have shown that high refractive index liquids can be used to improve the visibility of subsurface lesions in OCT images. In this study, we demonstrate that vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) impression materials which are routinely used in dentistry can be used to enhance the detection of dentinal lesions on tooth occlusal surfaces. Lesion presence was confirmed with polarized light microscopy and microradiography.
Policy Update: What is better for the environment: a biofuel tax credit or mandate?

The primary objectives of biofuel policies are to improve the environment, enhance energy security and increase prosperity in agriculture. In order to achieve these policy goals, several policies h...
Bending Effect of sp-Hybridized Carbon (Carbyne) Chains on Their Structures and Properties

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were exploited to evaluate the bending of polyynic and polycumulenic atomic carbon chains. It was found that the chains can be easily bent with a small arc−chord ratio. Furthermore, the bending of the chains caused the variation of bond lengths, leading to the change in the chain lengths; namely, the chain was first shortened slightly and then elongated with increasing arc−chord ratio. Furthermore, the bending decreased all bond angles as an oscillation manner, in which the larger decrease of bond angles occurred on even-ordinal-number carbon atoms than on corresponding odd-ordinal-number carbons, and the largest decrease was at the middle of the chain. With increasing the bending, the HOMO−LUMO energy gap of the polyynic chain was decreased, whereas the gap of the polycumulenic chain remained almost unchanged. This indicates that bending can increase the electric conductance of the polyynic chain, whereas the conductance of the polycumulenic chain is not affec...
A new electromechanical device for measurement of clot lysis times.

An experimental automatic lysis sensor has been designed to measure accurately the time required for fibrinolytic agents to lyse a standardized fibrin clot. New assay procedures for the determination of plasminogen activators, their inhibitors, and other fibrinolytic agents are reported. Procedures for the establishment of calibration curves and the reliability limits of these assays are presented.