cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Cross-Linked Intact Multiprotein Complexes: Enhanced Gas-Phase Stabilities and Altered Dissociation Pathways.

Analysis of protein complexes by ion mobility-mass spectrometry is a valuable method for the rapid assessment of complex composition, binding stoichiometries, and structures. However, capturing labile, unknown protein assemblies directly from cells remains a challenge for the technology. Furthermore, ion mobility-mass spectrometry measurements of complexes, subcomplexes, and subunits are necessary to build complete models of intact assemblies, and such data can be difficult to acquire in a comprehensive fashion. Here, we present the use of novel mass spectrometry cleavable cross-linkers and tags to stabilize intact protein complexes for ion mobility-mass spectrometry. Our data reveal that tags and linkers bearing permanent charges are superior stabilizers relative to neutral cross-linkers, especially in the context of retaining compact forms of the assembly under a wide array of activating conditions. In addition, when cross-linked protein complexes are collisionally activated in the gas phase, a larger p...
Gossip Economies: Jane Austen, Lady Susan, and the Right to Self-Fashion

ABSTRACTLady Susan’s dangerously entertaining heroine reads her world through systems of economic exchange, but must compete via circulations of gossip. Though gossip is frequently theorized as a feminine discourse, capable of subversive power, here it remains mediated by a male public. The epistolary style and narrative conclusion complicate textual authority, which becomes located in a broader discursive network that constitutes the characters. Thus despite the novella’s subversive potential, only women who give up their right to write themselves can succeed. Ironically, however, the text sustains a material disruption of the discursive control Austen’s family tried to exert over their famous Aunt Jane.
The curative effect of the combination of ademetionine 1,4-butanedisulfonate and ganciclovir on CMV hepatitis in infants

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of the combination of Ademetionine 1,4-Butanedisulfonate and Ganciclovir on treating CMV hepatitis among infants. Methods 134 children with CMV hepatitis were recruited and randomly divided into two groups(therapy group and control group). Therapy group consisted of 66 patients who were treated with intravenous drip of Ademetionine 1,4-Butanedisulfonate combined with Ganciclovir, whereas control group consisted of 68 patients treated with only Ganciclovir intravenous drip. The serum direct bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, CMV-DNA, urea nitrogen(BUN) and creatinine levels were measured after 14 days of therapy. Results The serum direct bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase levels of the therapy group were markedly lower than the control group(P 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups on BUN, creatinine and CMV-DNA levels(P 0.05). Conclusion Combination of Ademetionine 1,4-Butanedisulfonate and Ganciclovir could serve as an effective agent for treating children with CMV hepatitis.
Epidemiological characteristics of varicella in Zhabei District of Shanghai from 2005-2011

[Objective]To understand the incidence rate and epidemic trend of varicella in Zhabei District of Shanghai,provide scientific evidences for formulating the prevention and control strategies of varicella.[Methods]An epidemiological analysis was conducted in the reports and surveillance data of varicellain Zhabei District from 2005-2011.[Results]A total of 2 773 cases of varicella were reported during 2005-2011,and the total incidence rate was 47.79/lakh.The male-to-female ratio of incidence rate was 1.26∶1.The preschool children,primary and middle school students had the high incidence rate of varicella.There was obvious seasonal characteristic,and the peak seasons occurred in winter and spring,as well as spring and summer.[Conclusion]The related departments should pay great attention to the sporadic cases of varicella in schools and other crowded places,and improve people's awareness of knowledge about varicella.
Osama Bin Laden: The Man and the Myth

It was Fall 2006, less than five years ago. George Bush was President of the USA. The war on terror was full throttle forward. The October issue of US News & World Report had the following insert box in its “Washington Whispers” Section:
Design goals and challenges for a photovoltaic-powered electrochromic window covering

Abstract As the technical issues of performance and durability of electrochromic (EC) windows near resolution, more attention is being focused upon the economics of “smart” window fabrication, installation and operation. A retrofit EC window covering that could be readily applied to existing windows could have several economical advantages, particularly if it were photovoltaic (PV)-powered. Such a window covering could be produced on a flexible polymer substrate that would be adhered to the inside surface of a window. It could be conveniently replaced as newer, better coverings were developed and would not have to have as long a proven service lifetime as would a permanent window coating. A PV-EC window covering could also obviate the need for expensive electrical wiring for power and controls. Along with the advantages of a self-powered “smart” window covering come disadvantages and new technological challenges. In this paper, we will describe the design options and challenges associated with this retrofit concept which are presently being studied at NREL.
Candidates Responses to Sexual Boundary Violations

This paper addresses the subtle and not-so-subtle power that sexual boundary violations have on the candidates within psychoanalytic institutes. The unspoken leaves things shrouded in secrecy, generating powerful feelings in candidates. Multiple psychological responses, including splitting, envy, and paranoia, along with reactions that range from the sanctimonious to the apathetic, are explored. I address how elusive boundary violations can be and the multiple forms they can take (physical/sexual and nonsexual). I examine some of the reasons for a resulting generalized passivity in both faculty and candidates, including the evocation of early conflicts centered on primal scene and oedipal anxieties and reflect on the ongoing difficulties of finding a personal voice as a candidate.
Creating Culturally Responsive and Evidence-Based Lessons for Diverse Learners With Disabilities:

Students with disabilities or who are at risk for disabilities, and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds typically receive disproportionately more negative consequences in schools...
An historical review of racial bias in prison-based substance abuse treatment design

ABSTRACTThis study leverages critical race and legal epidemiological frameworks to illustrate the race-based historical evolution of U.S. rehabilitation paradigms directed at imprisoned heroin and opioid users. What began as a racist early-20th-century federal antinarcotic trafficking effort has since assumed a state-based treatment agenda whose programmatic operations are largely based in correctional settings disproportionately reserved for poor substance abusers of color. Even in contemporary carceral facilities, where incarcerated populations are teeming with White addicts, in the aggregate, White drug abusers have been protected from the depraved, incorrigible, and inherently pathological drug-using caricature assigned to their non-White counterparts. This historical examination demonstrates how links between broader drug policy and prison-based drug treatment support a legally codified White supremacist narrative that erodes health and wellbeing for program participants of color, and the communities...
Identification de nouvelles mutations somatiques récurrentes par séquencage de l’exome des lymphocytes T cutanés au cours du mycosis fongoïde

Introduction Le mycosis fongoide est la forme la plus frequente de lymphome T cutane primitif. Il se caracterise au stade precoce par des macules et plaques cutanees d’evolution indolente. Une minorite de patients cependant evolue vers un stade avance, generalement refractaire au traitement et de mauvais pronostic. La plupart des donnees de sequencage de l’exome dans les lymphomes T cutanes proviennent de cas de syndrome de Sezary car les cellules tumorales circulantes sont faciles a isoler en grand nombre. Les cellules tumorales dans la peau lesionnelle des patients atteints de mycosis fongoide representent, en moyenne, une cellule sur 100, rendant difficile leur etude. Il y a peu de donnees concernant les alterations genomiques pilotes (driver) responsables de la survie et la proliferation des cellules tumorales au cours du mycosis fongoide. Materiel et methodes Nous avons utilise la technique d’expression microdissection pour extraire les lymphocytes T de la peau lesionnelle de 16 patients atteints de mycosis fongoide. Ces patients presentaient une atteinte cutanee isolee sans clone sanguin circulant identifie par sequencage haut debit du gene TCRB. Treize d’entre eux presentaient un stade I et 3 d’entre eux un stade tumoral IIB. Nous avons sequence l’exome de ces echantillons de lymphocytes T cutanes tumoraux et des 16 echantillons controles d’ADN germinal constitues de cellules mononucleees sanguines peripheriques provenant des memes patients afin de determiner la presence de mutations somatiques, gains et deletions. Resultats Plus de 80 % des cibles etaient couvertes > 20 × chez > 80 % des patients. Les echantillons presentaient une frequence de mutations somatiques relativement elevee avec, en moyenne, 5 mutations somatiques/Mb d’ADN. Le type de transition predominant etait C − > T, evoquant une mutagenese UV-induite. Nous avons identifie des alterations genomiques somatiques recurrentes au niveau de genes impliques dans le controle epigenetique (KMT2 C, KMT2D, ZNF365, ARID1A, ARID3A, NCOR1, TET2), de potentiels genes suppresseurs de tumeur (TP53, CDKN2A, PTEN, NBPF1, RBMX, ZMYND11) et de molecules de surface (HLA-A, PD-1, PD-L1, FAS, CD300E). Certaines de ces alterations n’ont jamais ete rapportees au cours des lymphomes T cutanes. Discussion Treize echantillons supplementaires sont en cours de sequencage. Conclusion Cette etude identifie de potentiels genes pilotes responsables de la tumorigenese au cours du mycosis fongoide, ainsi que de potentiels neoantigenes.
Molecular mechanisms for regulating seed amino acid levels in maize (Zea mays)

The majority of worldwide maize production is used for food or feed; as such it is imperative that its amino acid balance mirror the needs of humans and animals. However, lysine and methionine, two essential amino acids necessary for proper growth and development, are lacking in the maize endosperm. In this thesis, molecular mechanisms to increase both lysine and methionine deposition in the kernel are explored. ZmbZIP1, a maize transcription factor, was identified through differential expression in a microarray experiment as a potential candidate to increase the lysine content of the endosperm while lessening the pleiotrophic effects of prior candidates, such as Opaque-2; however, RT-PCR shows this level of differential expression may be genotype specific. ZmbZIP1 was physically mapped to maize chromosome 9, contig 380, and a rice orthologue, RISBZ5 was found through synteny. Expression data shows that ZmbZIP1 mRNA is present in all tested maize tissues to some extent. An attempt to make a ZmbZIP1 knockdown/knock-out mutant did not result in any phenotypic changes in the maize plant as a whole. Further no changes were seen in kernel alpha-zein deposition, which is the main determinant of endosperm lysine content. These results suggest either a functionally redundant protein to ZmbZIP1 exists, the knock-out alleles retained sufficient activity to be functional, or phenotypes produced by disruption of ZmbZIP1 are not detectable by the methods we used. In all cases, these results suggest more work must be done to determine the efficacy of ZmbZIP1 in regulating endosperm lysine levels. A molecular mechanism for increasing methionine deposition into maize endosperm was investigated with regards to two candidate genes: the 10kDa delta-zein (Dzs10), a
Depression and Disability

In some lights, the connection between depression and disability seems almost commonsensical and obvious. But empirical data on the nature of this relationship suggest that the links between the two are surprisingly subtle and complex. This chapter has recommended a number of analytic strategies that could be useful to clarifying these relationships. Given the heterogeneity of both depression and disability, it is likely that simple solutions will be insufficient. In a very real sense, this complexity offers the potential that not one but a variety of strategies may be useful in reducing the burden of depression and disability in the lives of older adults.
Kossuth County, Iowa:

In this autoethnographic postcard, I consider the realities of a disabled body alongside the potential of self-driving cars. Placing these two considerations into dialogue with one another, I hope ...
WORKER INVESTMENTS IN SAFETY, WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS, AND COMPENSATING WAGE DIFFERENTIALS

The theory of compensating wage differentials (CWDs) assumes that firms supply and workers demand workplace safety, predicting a positive relationship between accident risk and wages. This article allows for safety provision by workers, which predicts a countervailing negative relationship between individual risk and wages: Firms pay higher wages for higher safety‐related productivity. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth panel data and data on fatal and nonfatal accidents, our precise CWDs imply a value of a statistical injury of $45.4 thousand and a value of a statistical life of $6.3 million. In line with our model, individual risk and wages are negatively correlated.
Abstract 1580: Separation of circulating biomarkers by nanoDLD lab-on-a-chip technology

Efficient isolation of circulating biomarkers is key for enabling liquid biopsies for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Circulating biomarkers such as exosomes and cell-free DNA hold promise for non-invasive early cancer diagnosis, determining cancer stage and prognosis, as well as monitoring treatment progression and the development of drug resistance. However, isolation of these biomarkers has proven challenging in the clinic. Exosomes range in size from approximately 30 to 150 nm and the current gold standard isolation method includes large-scale ultracentrifugation, which is time-consuming and lacks reproducibility. Circulating cell-free DNA is found in a variety of sizes and states and while clinical applications for prenatal testing have emerged, applications in oncology remain elusive in part due to high background and challenges in isolating relevant molecules. We have developed a lab-on-a-chip technology based on deterministic lateral displacement at the nanoscale (nanoDLD) which separates and concentrates particles as small as 20 nm from smaller particles in continuous flow. Analysis of nanoDLD isolation of exosomes and DNA show improved resolution, recovery, and concentration compared to standard techniques. Current efforts to scale nanoDLD technology to clinically relevant volumes will provide a reproducible and automated tool for isolation, study, and clinical use of these important non-invasive biomarkers. Citation Format: Stacey M. Gifford, Benjamin H. Wunsch, Joshua T. Smith, Navneet Dogra, Sungcheol Kim, Gustavo Stolovitzky. Separation of circulating biomarkers by nanoDLD lab-on-a-chip technology [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1580.
Female and male decision-making regarding whether to continue or abort an unintended pregnancy: a secondary analysis of the FECOND study.

Objective: We aimed to explore partner agreement in unintended pregnancy decisions and to describe predictors of female and male perceived agreement with their partner regarding the decision to con...
Reduction Potentials of P450 Compounds I and II: Insight into the Thermodynamics of C-H Bond Activation.

We present a mixed experimental/theoretical determination of the bond strengths and redox potentials that define the ground-state thermodynamics for C–H bond activation in cytochrome P450 catalysis...
Designing eco-industrial parks in a nested structure to mimic mutualistic ecological networks

Abstract Industrial Ecology uses ecological systems as a guide for improving the sustainability of complex industrial systems. Eco-industrial Parks (EIPs) have gained support as a solution that seeks to simultaneously reduce environmental burdens and promote economic interests by exchanging materials and energy between industries to their mutual benefit. Recent studies have focused on drawing relations between food webs (FWs) and EIPs to improve the sustainability of the latter using ecological metrics, such as the level of cycling or average connections between actors. This study incorporates a new ecological metric, nestedness, into the discussion of sustainable design for EIPs. The association of nestedness with mutualistic ecological networks supports its application to EIP design. The work here improves the understanding of holistic network structure with the goal of improving future design decisions for EIPs with purposeful placement of material and energy flows.
Patterns of identity and interaction in an agile community of practice

Software development communities of practice must adapt canonical best practices to suit their own situation-specific and evolving contexts. To uncover real strategies for organization and communication, we conducted a eight-month participant observation of a mature agile software development firm undergoing unprecedented and transformational growth. In this paper, we frame the shifting identities of software development team members, and shifting approaches to interaction, in terms of organizational patterns and how they fit together to characterize the firm's answer to its organizational challenges.
SPIN STATES AND REDOX POTENTIALS OF HEPATIC CYTOCHROME P450

Publisher Summary The chapter describes the spin states and redox potentials of hepatic cytochrome P-450. It has been demonstrated that both substrate free and substrate bound cytochrome P-450 from pseudomonas, adrenal mitochondria, and hepatic sources exist as a thermal—as opposed to quantum—mixture of high- and low-spin forms. In a study described in the chapter, the free-energy linkages of spin, redox, and substrate equilibria were examined in a partially purified hepatic P-450 obtained from untreated rats. When data obtained in this study from the pseudomonas camphor hydroxylase is presented together with data from a partially purified P-450 from untreated rat liver, excellent agreement between theory and experiment is found. The results clearly indicate that the principle effect of drug-binding alteration of the cytochrome redox potential is through modulation of the ferric heme spin equilibrium. Such a model could also account for observed substrate dependent reduction rates of P-450. If the equilibration of spin states is fast compared to electron transfer, the initial velocity for cytochrome reduction is k3Ka / (1 + Ka) whereas in the opposite case, interconversion between the high- and low-spin forms could be limiting in total turnover.
Ten-year survivors in AL amyloidosis: characteristics and treatment pattern

Improvement in survival in Light chain (AL) amyloidosis has been seen over recent decades, enabling more patients to achieve long-term survival. Patients with AL amyloidosis who survived ≥10 years from time of diagnosis (n = 186) were the subject of this study. Ten-year survivors represented 22% of the total population. These patients were characterized by favourable patient, organ and plasma cell features. Of note, trisomies were less common among 10-year survivors compared to those who did not survive to 10 years. All-time best haematological response was complete response in 67%, very good partial response in 30%, partial response in 2% and no response in 1%, with 11% having received a consolidative strategy for inadequate response to first line therapy. The overall organ response rate to first-line therapy was 76%, which increased to 86% when considering subsequent line(s) of therapy. Forty-seven percent of the 10-year survivors did not require a second-line therapy. The median treatment-free survival (TFS) among the 10-year survivors was 10·5 years (interquartile range 7·4-12·2). On multivariate analysis independent predictors for TFS were the achievement of complete haematological response and lack of cardiac involvement. Long-term survivors are increasingly seen in AL amyloidosis and present distinct patient, organ and clonal disease features.
2643 Ovarian Remnant Resection in a Patient with History of Ureteral Re-Implantation

Video Objective This video describes a systematic stepwise approach for complete dissection of ovarian remnant in the setting of a previous ureteral re-implantation. Setting A 40 year old patient presenting with a history of ureteral injury during hysterectomy, followed by re-implantation. She had another ureteral injury during oophorectomy which required a secondary re-implantation. The patient then developed pelvic pain, and she was found to have a large pelvic mass. Hormonal assays confirmed premenopausal status consistent with ovarian remnant syndrome. The patient decided on medical management for several years, including progestational agents and GnRH agonists, but ultimately the pain became excessive, and she decided on surgery. Interventions Laparoscopic resection of ovarian remnant was performed in a systematic stepwise approach, with sealing and cutting of the ovarian vessels at the pelvic brim, and removing of the entire ovarian vessels pedicle together with the adherent pelvic side wall. Conclusion This stepwise approach for ovarian remnant resection provides a roadmap for the effective and safe excision of the ovarian remnant, while minimizing the risk of injury to the bladder, the ureters and the rectum.
Informal IT and Routine Activity Theory -A Theoretical Review

This study seeks to explore the risks of insider threat due to frequent informal technology (IT) usage in organizations. The use of informal IT tools and resources at the workplace becomes a routine phenomenon which has diminished the boundaries between work and personal life domains. Also, it has increased the complexity of employees’ IT usage and created indistinctness in work ethics. It is a fact that the biggest threat organizations face today is the threat posed by their own employees. I propose that utilizing routine activity theory (RAT) from criminology to information system literature perspective is critical to understand the likelihood of insider threat as a consequence of informal IT usage. RAT assumes that a crime can arise from changes in the situation or environmental settings. Prior research reveals several positive outcomes of informal IT such as; employees’ productivity, job satisfaction, efficiency, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and lowering of operational costs for organizations. Bdes positive outcomes, prior research has also indicated the likelihood of security risks through informal IT usage. Guided by RAT, this research seeks to present a conceptual framework that explains that informal IT usage may jeopardize information security and may consider the activity as an insider threat. This research will, therefore. assist in developing more precise empirical and theoretical knowledge related towards informal-IT usage research in particular and overall to the information systems security research.
Alternative splicing of prosystemin pre-mRNA produces two isoforms that are active as signals in the wound response pathway.

Systemin and its precursor protein, prosystemin, play an essential role in the systemic wound response pathway of tomato plants. We report here the isolation from tomato of a novel prosystemin cDNA (prosysB) that differs from the reported cDNA sequence (prosysA) by the addition of a CAG trinucleotide. Inspection of the prosystemin genomic sequence, which was mapped to the central region of chromosome 5, indicated that prosysA and prosysB transcripts are generated by an alternative splicing event that utilizes different 3′ splice sites within intron 3. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that prosysB transcripts accumulated to approximately twice the level of prosysA in all tissues that express the prosystemin gene. The relative abundance of the two mRNAs was unaffected by wounding or methyl jasmonate treatment, conditions that increase the level of total prosys mRNA. These findings indicate that alternative splicing of prosys pre-mRNA is a constitutive process. The amino acid sequence of prosysB is predicted to differ from that of prosysA by replacement of Arg-57 with Thr-Gly in the non-systemin portion of the protein. Over-expression of the prosysB cDNA in transgenic tomato plants conferred constitutive expression of defense genes that are regulated by wounding and systemin. We conclude that prosysB is the major prosystemin-encoding transcript in tomato, and that this isoform is active as a signal in the wound response pathway.
Deep Learning for Optimal Resource Allocation in IoT-enabled Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing the way that we produce, deliver, and consume objects in many industries. Compared to traditional manufacturing, where large factories mass produce objects far away from consumers, additive manufacturing can build customized objects in many small factories closer to where they are needed. Building these simplified supply chains requires manufacturers to employ IoT technologies that can provide real-time monitoring of the 3D-printers, and automatically adjust their operation to meet a highly-dynamic object demand. To this end, researchers have proposed the Additive Manufacturing (AM) cloud that can automatically manage the manufacturing resources based on real-time data collected from IoT-enabled equipment. However, most existing works on the AM Cloud only focus on finding production decisions that minimize the operating costs of the AM Cloud, and disregard setting prices for their services, which limits the profits of the manufacturers. To bridge this gap, we design a deep-learning auction that maximizes the utility of the AM Cloud by assigning 3D-printers to the buyers who are willing to pay the highest prices for their objects, and by assigning production orders to the manufacturers that can build the objects at the lowest cost. The auction prevents buyers from unfairly affecting the results, and its assignments satisfy production capacity and raw material constraints. We conduct extensive simulations, and see that our proposed auction mechanism can both find production control decisions and improve the utility of the AM Cloud by up to 50% compared to existing approaches.
An Integrative Developmental Framework for Studying Gender Inequities in Politics

Gender inequities in politics persist around the world. Research in political science and social psychology underscores how gender gaps in politics are fueled by societal messages that politics is ...
An Investigation of Texture Features Based on Polyp Size for Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Colonic Polyps

Computer-aided diagnosis of polyps has played an important role in advancing the screening capability of computed tomographic colonography (CTC). Texture features, including intensity, gradient, and curvature, are the essential components in differentiation of neoplastic and nonneoplastic polyps. Clinical study has shown that the malignancy rates of polyps increase in correlation to their size. In this chapter, we present a study to investigate the effect of separating polyps based on size on the performance of machine learning. First, the volume of interest of each polyp was extracted and further confirmed by Radiologists. All polyp masses in this study have a diameter size ranging from 6 to 30 mm. Then, we group polyps into three groups based on their sizes: 6–9 mm, 10–30 mm, and a combined group of 6–30 mm. The corresponding malignancy risks of polyps were also recorded. From each polyp volume, we extracted the traditional 14 Haralick texture features plus 16 additional features with a total 30 texture features. Those features were further grouped as descriptors for intensity, gradient, and curvature characteristics. Finally, we employed the Random Forest classifier to differentiate neoplastic and nonneoplastic polyps. The proposed texture feature analysis was studied using 228 polyp masses. We generated a measure of area under the curve (AUC) values of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. The performance was determined by assessing the sensitivity and specificity values. Experimental results demonstrated that gradient and curvature features were ideal for differentiation of the malignancy risk for medium-sized polyps, whereas intensity feature was better for smaller-sized polyps.
Palliative care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinics: A survey of NEALS consortium membership

Introduction Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition managed with a multidisciplinary approach. Palliative care is important for this approach, but there is a lack of recommendations for the role and involvement of palliative medicine (PM) specialists in multidisciplinary ALS care. Methods This questionnaire-based survey assessed the state of palliative care in selective sites that are a part of Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Consortium (NEALS). Results Twenty-seven percent of the sites included palliative care specialists as a part of their ALS clinics and they were introduced to the patients and family by ALS specialists (75.94%) usually at an advanced stage of ALS. Discussion Our study when compared with other study results having a similar aim showed that there is a variability in the practice of palliative care specialists in ALS clinics. Having evidence-based guidelines will help in the management of ALS patients more effectively.
In vivo treatment with the NF-κB inhibitor ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) improves tension development in the isolated mdx costal diaphragm.

Introduction Previous experiments have indicated that in vivo administration of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) inhibits nuclear NF-κB activation and has beneficial effects on the structure and function of dystrophic (mdx) muscle. We examined the effect of UDCA on tension development in dystrophic muscle. Methods Isometric tension development was examined in costal diaphragms that were freshly isolated from vehicle and UDCA treated mdx mice. Percent recovery scores were obtained by directly comparing these measurements to those obtained from age-matched nondystrophic mice. Results Vehicle treated mdx mice exhibited significantly reduced optimal muscle lengths (lo ) and specific twitch and tetanic tensions compared with age-matched nondystrophic mice. UDCA treated preparations exhibited significantly improved tension development with a 33% recovery score. Conclusions Because UDCA is used in treating certain clinical disorders, these results provide a rationale for human clinical trials using this and related drugs for treatment of Duchenne and related muscular dystrophies.
Trends in Satisfaction and Confidence in Health Care, by Insurance and Health Status: Findings from the 2009 EBRI/MGA Health Confidence Survey

In general, Americans support concepts that are on the table for health reform. For instance, a majority either strongly or somewhat support health insurance market reform, the availability of a public plan option, mandates on employers and individuals, and expansion of public programs to cover more of the uninsured. When the implications of health reform are raised in public opinion polls, support for health reform drops. This paper examines public opinion by insurance status and health status, using data from the 2009 EBRI/Mathew Greenwald & Associates Health Confidence Survey. It finds that the uninsured are more likely than individuals with insurance coverage to be dissatisfied with the quality of health care received and they are less confident in various aspects of health care. The gap in satisfaction and confidence has also grown over time. Similar differences in satisfaction and confidence are found by health status. While these sharp differences in attitudes are not surprising, shoring up the system for the uninsured and individuals with chronic conditions means changing the health care system for everyone - notably for those with insurance coverage and in good health. Ultimately, will the needs of the few outweigh the satisfaction of the many? The PDF for the above title, published in the September 2009 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another September 2009 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: "Social Security Reform: How Different Options Might Affect Future Funding."
The Use of Factor Eight Inhibitor By-Passing Activity (FEIBA Immuno) Product for Treatment of Bleeding Episodes in Hemophiliacs With Inhibitors

FEIBA (factor eight inhibitor by-passing activity) Immuno was used to achieve hemostasis in 46 patients with factor VIII inhibitors with titers greater than 4 Bethesda units, and 3 patients with factor IX inhibitors. One-hundred and sixty-five bleeding episodes were treated with 50-70 U/kg; 102 of these episodes occurred in joints. 20 in mucous membranes, 33 muscle and soft tissue, and 10 were emergency episodes including 3 central nervous system and 4 surgical procedures. Ninety-three percent of the bleeding episodes were controlled, while 7% were not controlled: 36% were controlled by one infusion in 12 hr, another 42% with 1 or more infusions in 36 hrs and an additional 14% were controlled in more than 36 hr. There were no serious side effects, and while the inhibitor titer rose in 10 of the patients, the product continued to be efficacious.
Electron microscope heteroduplex studies of sequence relations among plasmids of Escherichia coli. II. Structure of drug resistance (R) factors and F factors.

Abstract The colicinogenic plasmid Col V-K94 and the class of transferable drug-resistance factors that inhibit fertility of the sex factor, F, are believed to be genetically similar to F. Heteroduplexes between these various F-like plasmids were studied by electron microscopy in order to identify and define the DNA segments that contain genes coding for fertility and other common functions. It was found that approximately 44% of the F factor is homologous to several different fi+ R factors and to Col V-K94, and that all of the homology between these plasmids and F is restricted to a region comprising only one-half of the F-factor molecule. These data, and previously reported electron microscope mapping of deletions of F factors, suggest that the genes active in the process of transfer are contained in one-half of the F factor, and therefore imply that the other half of F might not be required for expression of its fertility functions. DNA sequence homology among the R factors R6, R100 and R1 was also studied by heteroduplex formation. All of the DNA sequences contained in R100 were observed to be present in R6, and approximately 85% of the DNA sequences of R1 were included in R6. In the R1 R6 heteroduplex, homology is distributed equally in the R-factor region homologous to the F factor, and the region containing antibiotic-resistance determinants (i.e. the segment deleted in the resistance transfer factor unit, RTF). The position of certain drugresistance determinants has been mapped by using various R-factor deletion mutants and correlating the pattern of drug resistance with the sequence homology observed among different R factors. Unlike the other resistance-determinant genes identified, the tetracycline marker has been mapped in the segment of R6 that is largely homologous to the F factor. Inverted repeats, which consist of DNA segments repeated in reverse sequence on the same single strand of DNA, were observed in R6, R100 and Col V-K94. One inverted repeat of R6 is located near the tetraeycline marker. Further duplication of one of the complementary sequences of the inverted repeat, and insertion of this duplication into the plasmid genome apparently inactivates the tetracycline-resistance determinant of R6.
Spontaneous Contractions and Some Electrophysiologic Properties of Circular Muscle From Normal Sigmoid Colon and Ulcerative Colitis

Spontaneous contractions, inhibitory responses produced by electrical field stimulation, and some electrophysiologic properties of circular smooth muscle from normal sigmoid colon and from sigmoid colon of ulcerative colitis patients were compared in vitro using simultaneous recordings of mechanical and intracellular electrical activity. In normal colonic circular muscle obtained from 21 patients, the frequency of spontaneous summation contractions ranged from 3 to 7 per 4 min, whereas in circular muscle from 13 patients with ulcerative colitis, the frequency of these contractions ranged from 1 to 9 per 4 min. Nonadrenergic, noncholinergic relaxation produced by electrical field stimulation was recorded in the majority of circular smooth muscle strips from both normal colon and colon from patients with ulcerative colitis. There were no significant differences in mean resting membrane potential, mean slow-wave frequency, mean maximum slow-wave amplitude, or inhibitory-junction potential amplitudes recorded using circular smooth muscle from both normal colon and colon from patients with ulcerative colitis. There appeared to be a weak association in patients with ulcerative colitis between increasing duration of symptoms and decreasing frequency of spontaneous summation contractions, but there were no associations between the frequency of these contractions and the severity of colonic inflammation, patient age, or the frequency of stools. The mechanism accounting for a wider range in the frequency of summation contractions recorded from colonic circular smooth muscle in ulcerative colitis remains to be determined.
Nurse practitioner and physician assistant scope of practice in 118 acute care hospitals

Background Advanced practice providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are cost-effective substitutes for physicians, with similar outcomes in primary care and surgery. However, little is understood about APP roles in inpatient medicine. Objective Describe APPs role in inpatient medicine. Design Observational cross-sectional cohort study. Setting One hundred twenty-four Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals. Participants Chiefs of medicine (COMs) and nurse managers. Measurements Surveys included inpatient medicine scope of practice for APPs and perceived healthcare quality. We conducted bivariate unadjusted and multivariable adjusted analyses. Results One hundred eighteen COMs (95.2%) and 198 nurse managers (75.0%) completed surveys. Of 118 medicine services, 56 (47.5%) employed APPs; 27 (48.2%) used NPs only, 15 (26.8%) PAs only, and 14 (25.0%) used both. Full-time equivalents for NPs was 0.5 to 7 (mean = 2.22) and PAs was 1 to 9 (mean = 2.23). Daily caseload was similar at 4 to 10 patients (mean = 6.5 patients). There were few significant differences between tasks. The presence of APPs was not associated with patient or nurse manager satisfaction. Presence of NPs was associated with greater overall inpatient and discharge coordination ratings by COMs and nurse managers, respectively; the presence of PAs was associated with lower overall inpatient coordination ratings by nurse managers. Conclusions NPs and PAs work on half of VHA inpatient medicine services with broad, yet similar, scopes of practice. There were few differences between their roles and perceptions of care. Given their very different background, regulation, and reimbursement, this has implications for inpatient medicine services that plan to hire NPs or PAs.
You decide, we donate: Strengthening consumer–brand relationships through digitally co-created social responsibility

Abstract Brands increasingly use digital platforms to co-create social responsibility initiatives with consumers. The present research explores the branding implications of an emerging form of such co-created social responsibility, cause-related marketing (CM) with choice, in which the consumer, not the brand, chooses the charitable cause to which the brand will donate in response to the consumer's purchase. Study 1 shows that CM with choice strengthens brand attachment, an effect that is (1) stronger with unrestricted (i.e., choose any cause) than restricted (i.e., select from a list) choice and (2) serially mediated by consumer empowerment and engagement. Study 2 replicates these effects and extends them to brand attitudes while showing that expanding the number of cause options to as many as 48 increases decision difficulty but does not alter brand attachment or attitudes—a case of scope neglect prevailing instead of choice overload. Study 3 reveals that positive CM-with-choice effects are not universal. While introducing a conventional CM campaign improves brand outcomes (attachment, attitudes, and purchase intentions) regardless of brand image (negative, neutral, or positive), adding consumer cause choice to the campaign benefits brands as much as (or more than) introducing the campaign itself does, but only when brand image is neutral or positive. When brand image is negative, adding consumer cause choice fails to improve brand outcomes and can even backfire, as consumers prefer to keep their distance.
Conscience, Speech, and Money

This paper offers a defense of the idea that taxation to promote religion infringes on taxpayers’ freedom of conscience. Critics have argued that this idea, called the Jeffersonian proposition, is open to two objections. The equality objection says that taxation to promote religion does not violate the freedom of conscience any more than taxation to promote other views to which taxpayers conscientiously object. But if the Jeffersonian proposition is construed broadly to cover any government speech with which taxpayers disagree, it faces an anarchy objection, since no government can function properly without support for its speech. So proponents of the Jeffersonian proposition face a dilemma: either discriminate against those with non-religious conscientious claims, or confront the anarchical consequences of a general right of conscientious objection to government speech. Most proponents of the Jeffersonian proposition have grasped the first horn of this dilemma by denying the equality objection. Rejecting that approach, this paper confronts the anarchy objection by developing a balancing account of the freedom of conscience. According to this account, the state may override claims of conscience when it has a legitimate interest in compelling support for speech. When it comes to government religious speech, however, the state may not have any countervailing interest to balance against freedom of conscience. Under those circumstances, the Jeffersonian proposition may be vindicated. By showing how this argument is consistent with much of existing compelled support doctrine under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, and by defending it against objections that compelled support does not implicate the freedoms of conscience, association, or speech, this paper argues for the Jeffersonian proposition’s continued place in our thinking about the First Amendment.
Some prospects for investigating hydra cellsIn vitro

Over the past 15 years great strides have been taken in the laboratory culture of intact hydra, and in the discovery and elucidation of a wide variety of fundamental biological problems that can be studied using this organism. In the present article I restricted myself mostly to research being conducted in my laboratory on: environmental ions; uptake of food particles: a possible role of CO2 gas; the unusual collagenous nature of nematocyst capsules; the reproduction of cells from a hydra mutant in otherwise “normal” hydra; and activation of behavioral contraction responses by reduced glutathione and tyrosine. In addition, Dr. Campbell (4) and Dr. Haynes (5) have reviewed much research in developmental biology that is currently taking place using hydra, and which similarly could be enhanced through culture of hydra cells. Although in this review I have placed some emphasis on the present difficulties of raising the cells of hydrain vitro, I still believe that hydra cells can and should be cultured. The culture of cells from an animal at the tissue level of organization is a challenge that ought not to go unanswered.
Resting State and Elementary Steps of the Coupling of Aryl Halides with Thiols Catalyzed by Alkylbisphosphine Complexes of Palladium

Detailed mechanistic studies on the coupling of aryl halides with thiols catalyzed by palladium complexes of the alkylbisphosphine ligand CyPF-tBu (1-dicyclohexylphosphino-2-di-tert-butylphosphinoethylferrocene) are reported. The elementary steps that constitute the catalytic cycle, i.e. oxidative addition, transmetalation and reductive elimination, have been studied, and their relative rates are reported. Each of the steps of the catalytic process occurs at temperatures that are much lower than those required for the reactions catalyzed by a combination of palladium precursors and CyPF-tBu. To explain these differences in rates between the catalytic and stoichiometric reactions, studies were conducted to identify the resting state of the catalyst of the reactions catalyzed by a combination of Pd(OAc)2 and CyPF-tBu, a combination of Pd(dba)2 and CyPF-tBu, or the likely intermediate Pd(CyPF-tBu)(Ar)(Br). These data show that the major palladium complex in each case lies off of the catalytic cycle. The rest...
Changes in amphetamine sensitivity following frontal cortical damage in rats and mice

Abstract Frontal cortical lesions potentiated amphetamine-induced hyperactivity in both rats and mice tested one month after surgery. This lesion effect in rats was found to interact with the duration of habituation to the testing apparatus (photocell cage) prior to drug administration. The potencies of d- and l-amphetamine were compared in mice tested in either photocell cages or running wheels. The two drugs had similar dose-response curves in the running wheel but very different dose-response curves in the photocell cage. Frontal lesions altered responsiveness to 1- as well as to d-amphetamine in both apparatus. It was suggested that prior discrepancies among studies involving time-dependent changes in amphetamine sensitivity following frontal cortical damage could be attributed to the interaction of two recovering neurochemical systems differentially affecting noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurons.
Numerical solution of differential and algebraic equations for a flow model with diffusion

Abstract Two algorithms are described for solving systems of differential and algebraic equations arising in mathematical models of solute and water flow along a tube with permeable walls. Some computational results comparing the two algorithms are presented.