cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Postpartum thyroid disease A model of immunologic dysfunction

Abstract Women with underlying, often asymptomatic, thyroid autoimmunity are at risk of developing postpartum thyroid disease/dysfunction (PPTD). While a few cases were reported in the 1800s, the frequent occurrence of PPTD was not described until 1948. Careful delineation of its multiple clinical presentations has emerged only in the past two decades. The sequential increase in cellular immune response at 1–4 months after delivery, followed by a humoral response at 7–10 months, is believed to underlie PPTD in susceptible women. The prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity, determined by positive thyroid peroxidase (TPO) or microsomal antibody titer postpartum, is 10% (range 2.8–26.4%; n = 18). The thyroid antibody test has a sensitivity of 0.71 (0.45–0.89), specificity 0.94 (0.90–0.98) and positive predictive value of 0.57 (0.40–0.78). A small percentage of women have detectable thyroid stimulating or inhibitory antibodies. Clinical expression is variable. Most common is a painless thyroiditis, with a hyperthyroid phase (due to release of stored thyroxine from damaged thyroid follicles) followed by a hypothyroid phase (during repair of the thyroid). This biphasic response is observed in 25% of patients, while the hyperthyroid phase only occurs in 24% and the hypothyroid phase alone in 40%. Sustained hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) is present in 11% of these women. Management depends on severity and duration of symptoms. Hyperthyroidism due to thyroiditis is often mild and requires no therapy, although a β-blocker may help if adrenergic symptoms are prominent. Hyperthyroidism from Graves' disease requires definitive therapy. Hypothyroidism responds promptly to L-thyroxine (L-T 4 ). While most women recover and can discontinue L-T 4 after 6 to 12 months, long-term follow-up indicates that almost 20% of women remain permanently hypothyroid after an episode of PPTD. Optimal detection strategies are not yet defined. Education of health care providers and patients should lead to earlier detection. Laboratory testing of women at increased risk is also recommended.
Thermotropic Properties of Organic Nanocrystals Embedded in Ultrasmall Crystallization Chambers

Crystallization of organic compounds in nanometer-scale channels of controlled pore glass (CPG) and porous polystyrene (p-PS), the latter prepared by etching of the polylactide (PLA) component of shear-aligned PS-PLA diblock copolymers, produces crystals with dimensions that reflect the size constraints imposed by the channels. The nanoscopic dimensions of the organic crystals embedded in the channels result in a substantial melting point depression compared with the bulk, as demonstrated here for 2,2,3,3,4,4-hexafluoro-1,5-pentanediol (HFPD) and (R)-(+)-3-methyladipic acid (R-MAA). The melting points decreased with decreasing channel diameter, consistent with the increasing surface-area-to-volume ratio of the crystals. Furthermore, at these length scales the latent heat of melting decreased with decreasing crystal size. The melting point depression for both HFPD and R-MAA was greater in p-PS than in CPG, which can only be explained by interactions of the nanocrystals and their corresponding melts with the channel walls. Collectively, these discoveries reveal that simplified descriptions used in previous investigations of embedded crystals, which were limited to porous glass matrixes and ignored the influence of the channel walls, do not capture all the factors affecting the thermotropic properties of the embedded nanocrystals.
Differential regulation by triiodothyronine of substrate-specific uridinediphosphoglucuronate glucuronosyl transferases in rat liver

Abstract Hepatic uridinediphosphoglucroonate glucuronosyl transferase (UDPglucuronyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.17) functionally heterogeneus; 4-nitrophenol and bilirubin are representative subtrates for two separated from of the enzyme. UDPglucuronyltransferase activity for bilirubin and 4-nitrophenol was separated from solubilized rat liver microsomes by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and corresponding enzymes were purified. A radioimmunoassay was developed using a rabbit antiserum against purified rat 4-nitrophenol-specific UDPglucuronyltransferase, which precipitated enzyme activities toward both 4-nitrophenol and bilirubin. After treatment with triiodothyronine(T 3 ) (0.55 mg/kg body weight), hepatic microsomal UDPglucuronyltransferase activity for 4-nitropheelos was increased 400% as compared to controls; the enzyme activity for bilirubin was decreased by 80%; the changes in the substrate-specific enzyme activities were reflected in the enzymatically active fractions separated after DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The changes in enzyme activities paralleled changes in the concentrations of the two corresponing UDP glucuronyltransferase proteins in the chromatographic fractions, as measured by radioimmunoassay. The results indicate that the opposite effects of T 3 on the two forms of UDPglucuronyltransferase activity is due to its differential effect on corresponding enzyme proteins.
Habitat use by sympatric species of Eutamias

Differences in habitat use were investigated for four species of chipmunk ( Eutamias amoenus , E. speciosus , E. senex , and E. quadrimaculatus ) that occupy overlapping areas of roughly equal elevation in the northern Sierra Nevada. Livetrapping on six study plots was conducted over a 3-year period. Differences in vegetation structure among plots were quantified, and factors correlated with occurrence of each chipmunk species were identified by discriminant analysis. Three of the congeners appeared to exhibit preferences for different habitats. Only E. senex was found in closed-canopy forest. E. speciosus was associated only with areas of scattered trees. E. amoenus was almost the exclusive resident of brush plots and other disturbed areas but overlapped extensively with E. speciosus in open forest. The data suggest that the existence of different vegetational types accommodates overlapping occurrence of these species within a single altitudinal zone.
Adaptive position-velocity-force control of two manipulators

The motions of two manipulators operating in leader-follower mode are controlled by means of adaptive controllers of self-tuning type. The controllers are designed on the basis of the stochastic multi-variable discrete time model (ARX) with the external inputs in which the parameters are estimated on-line recursively, and a quadratic criterion. The resulting controllers are adaptive with time-varying gains. They also depend on predicted errors of both manipulators. A higher level controller implementing the control laws needs complete information about the two co-operating manipulators: their complete state (position, velocity, force), and the current parameter estimates in the ARX-models. The structure of the adaptive controllers is illustrated with an example.
Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Structure, Properties, and Band Gap Engineering

Semiconductor nanocrystals are tiny light-emitting particles on the nanometer scale. Researchers have studied these particles intensely and have developed them for broad applications in solar energy conversion, optoelectronic devices, molecular and cellular imaging, and ultrasensitive detection. A major feature of semiconductor nanocrystals is the quantum confinement effect, which leads to spatial enclosure of the electronic charge carriers within the nanocrystal. Because of this effect, researchers can use the size and shape of these “artificial atoms” to widely and precisely tune the energy of discrete electronic energy states and optical transitions. As a result, researchers can tune the light emission from these particles throughout the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectral ranges. These particles also span the transition between small molecules and bulk crystals, instilling novel optical properties such as carrier multiplication, single-particle blinking, and spectral diffusi...
Border rootedness as transformative resistance: youth overcoming violence and inspection in a US–Mexico border region

This essay addresses Mexican immigrant and children of immigrants' ‘border citizenship’ as they negotiate space, post-secondary education, national citizenship/s and immigration status, and the transgressive aspects of their transnational and transitional identities. As they travel to and from college, these young adults confront surveillance and racism by border reinforcers within an institutional setting and when crossing border inspection points, while learning strategies of transformative resistance. This essay examines how young people manage their cross-border lived experiences, and their daily survival of ‘rights’ infringements at the Border and within academic settings.
Accounting student characteristics: A survey of accounting majors at federation of schools of accountancy (FSA) schools☆

Abstract This paper reports the initial findings of a special study sponsored by the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) on accounting student quality, including provenance (“Where do our accounting graduates come from?”) and scholastic rankings. The purpose of the study, which is to be ongoing and longitudinal, is to establish a data base that will allow trends in accounting student characteristics to be tracked over time. During the spring semester of 1991, 29 FSA schools participated in the initial survey, yielding 2,124 usable responses from accounting majors. The survey results contain several disturbing findings as well as several salutary ones. They also point to a number of recruitment opportunities accounting faculty may wish to exploit.
Numerical inversion of Laplace transform

The paper describes a general method for the numerical calculation of Laplace's inverse transform of a given function. The general method is then specialized to two cases in which the computer is shown to be of great use. An appendix contains the solution of the collateral problem of the numerical derivation of a function. Some results are given as examples.
New taxanes as highly efficient reversal agents for multi-drug resistance in cancer cells

Abstract New non-cytotoxic taxanes synthesized from 10-deacetylbaccatin III and special hydrophobic acylating agents show remarkable MDR reversal activity (⩽99.8%) against drug-resistant human breast cancer cells when co-administered with paclitaxel or doxorubicin. This activity is ascribed to the highly efficient blocking of P-glycoprotein efflux by these new taxanes.
Unified representation of data and model for sparse measurement based fault location

Transmission line fault location methods typically need measurements from at least one end of the faulted line. Sparse measurement based fault location method using phasor measurements from different substations located near the faulted line can be applied if the measurements are not available from any of the line ends. This method uses data and model described in both bus-branch and node-breaker representation. This requires use of nomenclature correlation tables to correlate between different data and model, which is a very cumbersome process as for each substation separate nomenclature correlation tables are required. The proposed solution uses standard formats of data and model (IEC 61970-CIM for describing power system model and SCADA data; IEC 61850-SCL for describing substation model and COMTRADE for describing event data triggered by IEDs) all expressed in node-breaker format, which allows for unified data and model representation by using simple rules.
Note on the acid-base balance of the blood of rabbits following the intracerebral injection of fluorocitrate.

Convulsions in rabbits resulting from the injection of fluorocitrate are accompanied by a marked increase in fixed acids in the blood. This metabolic acidosis is accompanied by a respiratory alkalosis, which may be mild or severe. However, it would appear from the experiments reported that no relation exists between the acid-base changes and the convulsive seizures. It would be of interest to determine whether the correction of these two biochemical abnormalities would modify the number or severity of the convulsions, or length of survival of the animal.
Motion of Electrons in Liquid Argon

The scattering of electrons moving through nonpolar liquids is discussed. The Hartree field of an atom is assumed not to change on passing from gas to liquid. The screening of the long-range polarization potential is given by a self-consistent local field, which is found in terms of the pair correlation function. A microscopic dielectric function follows as a byproduct. The overlap of atomic force fields in the liquid is handled by the use of an effective potential suggested by Cohen. Detailed calculations are made for electrons in liquid argon. The principal result is that the Ramsauer minimum no longer exists in the liquid. The drift velocity in a steady electric field is found from the solution of the Boltzmann equation given by Cohen and Lekner. Agreement between experiment and theory is good.
Comparison of the equivalent width, the autocorrelation width, and the variance as figures of merit for XPS narrow scans

Abstract X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is widely used in surface and materials laboratories around the world. It is a near surface technique, providing detailed chemical information about samples in the form of survey and narrow scans. To extract the maximum amount of information about materials it is often necessary to peak fit XPS narrow scans. And while indispensable to XPS data analysis, even experienced practitioners can struggle with their peak fitting. In our previous publication, we introduced the equivalent width (EWXPS) as both a possible machine automated method, one that requires less expert judgment for characterizing XPS narrow scans, and as an approach that may be well suited for the analysis of complex spectra. The EWXPS figure of merit was applied to four different data sets. However, as previously noted, other width functions are also regularly employed for analyzing functions. Here we evaluate two other width functions for XPS narrow scan analysis: the autocorrelation width (AWXPS) and the variance ( σ XPS 2 ). These widths were applied to the same four sets of spectra studied before: (a) four C 1s narrow scans of ozone-treated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (EWXPS: ∼2.11–2.16 eV, AWXPS: ∼3.9–4.1 eV, σ XPS 2 : ∼5.0–5.2 eV, and a modified form of σ XPS 2 , denoted σ XPS 2 * : ∼6.3–6.8 eV), (b) silicon wafers with different oxide thicknesses (EWXPS: ∼1.5–2.9 eV, AWXPS: ∼2.28–4.9, and σ XPS 2 : ∼0.7–4.9 eV), (iii) hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces, before and after modification with pentyl groups, and after annealing of the pentyl-terminated surface (EWXPS: ∼0.7–1.0 eV, AWXPS: ∼1.2–1.6 eV, and σ XPS 2 : ∼0.12–0.19 eV), and (iv) C 1s narrow scans from five different nanodiamond samples, three of which showed charging (EWXPS: ∼2.6–4.8 eV, AWXPS: ∼3.8–6.9 eV, and σ XPS 2 : ∼1.6–4.2 eV). All three of the width functions showed similar trends, except in the case of the C 1s spectra of the CNT samples, which were the most complex spectra evaluated, where σ XPS 2 showed poor correlation with the corresponding O/C ratios. Accordingly, we favor EWXPS and AWXPS. EWXPS is advantageous because it is conceptually simple, giving the most intuitive results. AWXPS has the advantage of not requiring the user to specify the height of the function at its maximum, which will be affected by noise. Because these functions are based on different mathematical operations/algorithms, best practices may involve the calculation of both widths for a set of narrow scans. The standard deviation, σXPS, i.e., the square root of the variance, was also examined. As expected, it gave results similar to σ XPS 2 .
Neurologic complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: Increasing relevance in the era of biologics†

Extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can involve almost every organ system. Neurologic complications are not infrequent in patients with IBD, but are poorly recognized and underreported. Pathophysiologically, these may represent immune-mediated phenomenon, nonimmunologic complications due to micronutrient deficiencies, thromboembolism, or be medication-induced. Peripheral neuropathy is the most common neurologic complication of IBD and may be immune-mediated, or caused by therapy with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) therapy or metronidazole. Multiple sclerosis occurs with a greater frequency in patients with IBD. Anti-TNF-α therapy can cause neurologic disease characterized by central demyelination that mimics multiple sclerosis. Hence, patients with a history of demyelinating diseases or with symptoms of polyneuropathy should be carefully evaluated before initiation of anti-TNF-α therapy. Natalizumab has been associated with fatal progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy due to reactivation of JC virus, and occurs with greater frequency in patients with previous JC virus infection. Stroke secondary to venous or arterial thromboembolism can be seen in patients with active Crohn's disease. It is important for gastroenterologists to be aware of the neurologic complications in patients with IBD. Neurologic symptoms in these patients should be promptly evaluated.
New insights into Rho signaling from plant ROP/Rac GTPases

In animal and plant cells, a wide range of key cellular processes that require the establishment of cell polarity are governed by Rho-GTPases. In contrast to animals and yeast, however, plants possess a single Rho-GTPase subfamily called Rho-like GTPases from plants (ROPs). This raises the question of how plants achieve the high level of regulation required for polar cellular processes. It is becoming evident that plants have evolved specific regulators, including ROP-Guanine Exchange Factors (GEFs) and the Rop-interactive CRIB motif-containing protein (RIC) effectors. Recent research shows that the spatiotemporal dynamics of ROPs, the cytoskeleton, endocytosis, and exocytosis are intertwined. This review focuses on the proposed self-organizing nature of ROPs in plants and how ROP-mediated cellular mechanisms compare with those responsible for cell polarity in animals and yeast.
Hepatitis E viruses in humans and animals

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging pathogen belonging to a newly recognized family of RNA viruses (Hepeviridae). HEV is an important enterically transmitted human pathogen with a worldwide distribution. It can cause sporadic cases as well as large epidemics of acute hepatitis. Epidemics are primarily waterborne in areas where water supplies are contaminated with HEV of human origin. There is increasing evidence, however, that many animal species are infected with an antigenically similar virus. A recently isolated swine virus is the best candidate for causing a zoonotic form of hepatitis E. The virus is serologically cross-reactive with human HEV and genetically very similar, and the human and swine strains seem to be cross-infective. Very recent evidence has also shown that swine HEV, and possibly a deer strain of HEV, can be transmitted to humans by consumption of contaminated meat. In this review, we discuss the prevalence, pathogenicity, diagnosis and control of human HEV, swine HEV, the related avian HEV and HEV in other hosts and potential reservoirs.
Average density of chain atoms at points along the contour of freely jointed chains

The density of chain atoms in the volume element dV centered on atom i has been obtained for short and long freely jointed (FJ) chains. The Gaussian distribution function is used for long chains, and Treloar's corrections to this distribution are imposed for short chains. For long FJ chains, the density of chain atoms is a maximum when atom i is located midway along the contour of the chain, and it is a minimum when atom i is any of the three atoms at either end of the chain. The ratio of these densities is 2. Short FJ chains can exhibit qualitatively different behavior, with the site of the maximum density shifting from the middle to the end of the chain when the number of bonds decreases from 8 to 7. This shift is imposed by the strong deviations from the Gaussian distribution when n is small.
Differential gene expression by integrin β7+ and β7- memory T helper cells

The cell adhesion molecule integrin α4β7 helps direct the migration of blood lymphocytes to the intestine and associated lymphoid tissues. We hypothesized that β7+ and β7- blood memory T helper cells differ in their expression of genes that play a role in the adhesion or migration of T cells. RNA was prepared from β7+ and β7- CD4+ CD45RA- blood T cells from nine normal human subjects and analyzed using oligonucleotide microarrays. Of 21357 genes represented on the arrays, 16 were more highly expressed in β7+ cells and 18 were more highly expressed in β7- cells (≥1.5 fold difference and adjusted P < 0.05). Several of the differentially expressed transcripts encode proteins with established or putative roles in lymphocyte adhesion and chemotaxis, including the chemokine receptors CCR9 and CCR10, the integrin α4 subunit, L-selectin, KLRB1 (CD161), NT5E (CD73), LGALS1 and LGALS2 (galectin-1 and -2), and RGS1. Flow cytometry was used to determine whether differences in levels of transcripts encoding cell surface proteins were associated with differential expression of those proteins. Using this approach, we found that surface expression of KLRB1, LAIR1, and NT5E proteins was higher on β7+ memory/effector T cells than on β7- cells. Memory/effector T cells that express integrin β7 have a distinct pattern of expression of a set of gene transcripts. Several of these molecules can affect cell adhesion or chemotaxis and are therefore likely to modulate the complex multistep process that regulates trafficking of CD4+ memory T cell subsets with different homing behaviors.
Role of DNA Mismatch Repair and Double-Strand Break Repair in Genome Stability and Antifungal Drug Resistance in Candida albicans

Drug resistance has become a major problem in the treatment of Candida albicans infections. Genome changes, such as aneuploidy, translocations, loss of heterozygosity, or point mutations, are often observed in clinical isolates that have become resistant to antifungal drugs. To determine whether these types of alterations result when DNA repair pathways are eliminated, we constructed yeast strains bearing deletions in six genes involved in mismatch repair (MSH2 and PMS1) or double-strand break repair (MRE11, RAD50, RAD52, and YKU80). We show that the mre11Δ/mre11Δ, rad50Δ/rad50Δ, and rad52Δ/rad52Δ mutants are slow growing and exhibit a wrinkly colony phenotype and that cultures of these mutants contain abundant elongated pseudohypha-like cells. These same mutants are susceptible to hydrogen peroxide, tetrabutyl hydrogen peroxide, UV radiation, camptothecin, ethylmethane sulfonate, and methylmethane sulfonate. The msh2Δ/msh2Δ, pms1Δ/pms1Δ, and yku80Δ/yku80Δ mutants exhibit none of these phenotypes. We observed an increase in genome instability in mre11Δ/mre11Δ and rad50Δ/rad50Δ mutants by using a GAL1/URA3 marker system to monitor the integrity of chromosome 1. We investigated the acquisition of drug resistance in the DNA repair mutants and found that deletion of mre11Δ/mre11Δ, rad50Δ/rad50Δ, or rad52Δ/rad52Δ leads to an increased susceptibility to fluconazole. Interestingly, we also observed an elevated frequency of appearance of drug-resistant colonies for both msh2Δ/msh2Δ and pms1Δ/pms1Δ (MMR mutants) and rad50Δ/rad50Δ (DSBR mutant). Our data demonstrate that defects in double-strand break repair lead to an increase in genome instability, while drug resistance arises more rapidly in C. albicans strains lacking mismatch repair proteins or proteins central to double-strand break repair.
An Odyssey to Viral Pathogenesis

This odyssey is mine from early junior high school, where my dreams for adventure were shaped by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Percival Christopher Wren's Beau Geste, and best of all the remarkable explorers in Paul de Kruif's Microbe Hunters. My birth site was in Manhattan (my mother was a Vogue model and my father worked in retail), and I traveled to college at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where my love of history and English literature was shaped along with a sufficient exposure to biology, chemistry, and genetics to meet requirements for entering medical school. By the second year at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, through expert teachers such as Theodore (Ted) Woodward and Sheldon (Shelly) Greisman in medicine and Charles Weissmann in virology and microbiology, I found that understanding why and how people became ill was more my cup of tea than identifying and treating their illnesses. Although I was becoming competent in diagnosis and treatment, I left medical school at the end of my sophomore year to seek a more basic understanding of biology and chemistry. I achieved this by working toward a PhD in biochemistry at Johns Hopkins McCollum-Pratt Institute combined with study of rickettsial toxin at Maryland. This was a very important time in my life, because it convinced me that addressing biologic and medical questions in a disciplined scientific manner was what my life voyage should be. That voyage led me initially, through Woodward's contact, to work a summer in Joe Smadel's unit at Walter Reed (Smadel being one of the deans of American virology) and to meet several times with Carleton Gajdusek and then John Enders at Harvard, who pointed me to Frank Dixon at Scripps in La Jolla, California, for postdoctoral training. Dixon was among the founders of modern immunology and a pathfinder for immunopathology. Training by and association with Dixon and his other postdoctoral fellows, my independent position at Scripps, early polishing by Karl Habel (a superb senior virologist who left the National Institutes of Health and came to Scripps), and the gifted postdoctoral fellows who joined my laboratory over four decades form the log of my scientific voyage. The strong friendships and collaborations developed with other young but growing experimentalists like Bernie Fields and Abner Notkins are the fabric of the tale I will weave and were pivotal in the establishment of viral pathogenesis as a discipline.
Ultraviolet spectral efficiencies of surface-spark discharges with emphasis on the iodine photodissociation laser pumpband.

Spectroscopic studies of the uv emission from surface-discharge sparks across Al(2)O(3), BN, ZnO, ZrO(2), BaTiO(3), ZnO-Al(2)O(3), and Cr(2)O(3).Al(2)O(3) substrates have been performed in He, N(2), CO(2), Ar, SF(6), and Ar + i-C(3)F(7)I gases at pressures of 1-10 atm. Considerable differences were found in the performance of the various substrates; based on absolute measurements which are believed to be conservative, an electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 9.4 +/- 1.1% for uv emission in the 2500-2900-A iodine-laser pumpband was obtained from discharges across a Cr(2)O(3).Al(2)O(3) substrate in Ar gas. Pumpband energy densities of several J/cm(2) are readily attainable.
Focal adhesion kinase is expressed in the angiogenic blood vessels of malignant astrocytic tumors in vivo and promotes capillary tube formation of brain microvascular endothelial cells.

Purpose: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase that has been shown to promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of several cell types in vitro , and we have shown recently that FAK promotes proliferation of malignant astrocytoma cells in vivo . To determine the role of FAK in angiogenesis in malignant astrocytic tumors, we investigated the expression and function of FAK in brain endothelial cells. Experimental Design: We characterized the expression of FAK and activated FAK in endothelial cells by immunohistochemistry. We also determined the function of FAK in brain microvascular endothelial cells by transfecting these cells with a dominant interfering form of FAK [FAK-related nonkinase (FRNK)] or a mutant FRNK (Leu-1034 to Ser) and assessed the effect on capillary tube formation and cell migration. Results: We found that FAK was expressed in the endothelial cells of grade III (4 of 9 samples) and IV (9 of 10 samples) astrocytoma biopsies but not in the endothelial cells of normal brain (0 of 9 samples) and not in grade I (0 of 5 samples) or II (0 of 4 samples) astrocytoma biopsies. Furthermore, we found that both FAK and activated FAK were expressed in the endothelial cells in malignant astrocytoma tumors propagated intracerebrally in the severe combined immunodeficient mouse brain. As expected, immunofluorescence analysis showed FRNK protein to localize to focal adhesions, whereas mutant FRNK protein did not. FRNK-transfected endothelial cells showed a 55% reduction in branched tube formation and a 40% reduction in tube length when propagated in three-dimensional collagen gels, compared with cells transfected with the mutant FRNK construct. Furthermore, FRNK-transfected cells showed a 35–50% reduction in haptotactic migration toward fibronectin and collagen, compared with mutant FRNK-transfected cells. Conclusions: These data suggest that FAK promotes angiogenesis and that this occurs, at least in part, through the promotion of endothelial cell migration.
Two refinements to Shannon's source coding theorem

Shannon's celebrated source coding theorem can be viewed as a "one-sided law of large numbers." We formulate second-order noiseless source coding theorems for the deviation of the codeword lengths from the entropy. For a class of sources that includes Markov chains we prove a "one-sided" central limit theorem and a law of the iterated logarithm.
Intruded and Relict Groundwater of Marine Origin

Intruded and Relict Groundwater of Marine Origin is the proceedings volume of the seventh salt water intrusion meeting held, September 1981, in Uppsala, Sweden. There are 22 papers divided into four topical areas: descriptive contributions (9), field methods (4), modeling (8), and applications (1). Most of the papers contain some descriptive material on saline groundwater, including those from the field methods and modeling sessions. Saline groundwater in areas of Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Spain, Germany, and Belgium is discussed. The hydrogeochemical effects of flushing of aquifers alternately with fresh and saline groundwater as a result of repeated marine transgressions and regressions are discussed in one paper. Another paper addresses the flow of fresh and saline groundwater over a salt dome under consideration for construction of a nuclear waste repository. Field methods discussed include the use of VLF-resistivity to identify saline groundwater and methods of collecting water quality samples from between packers in deep boreholes. Papers on modeling include applications of vortex distributions to model fresh water storage in saline aquifers, consideration of simultaneous flow of heat and mass in a fresh-salt water system, a finite difference model for flow of fresh and saline water at a beach, and several papers addressing the shape of a fresh water lens under various conditions. The applications paper reports on a pilot study of the injection of freshwater into a saline aquifer for purposes of storage.
Acetyl halides—II vibrational spectra and assignment of acetyl bromide and acetyl bromide-d3

Abstract The infrared spectra of acetyl bromide and acetyl bromide- d 3 and the Raman spectrum of the heavy compound have been measured. A vibrational assignment similar to that proposed for acetyl chloride has been made.
Sexual differentiation of the zebra finch song system

The song system of zebra finches (Taeniopygia gutatta) is highly sexually dimorphic. Only males sing, and the brain regions and muscles controlling song are much larger in males than in females. Development of the song system is highly sensitive to steroid hormones. However, unlike similar sexually dimorphic systems in other animal models, masculinization of song system structure and function is most likely not induced by testosterone secreted from the testes. Instead, sex-specific development of the neural song system appears to be regulated by factors intrinsic to the brain, probably by the expression of sex chromosome gene(s) that influence the levels of estradiol synthesized in the brain and/or the responses of brain tissue to estradiol. However, the existing data are complex and in some cases contradictory. More work is required to identify the critical genes and their relationships with steroid hormones.
Pulsed Laser Interactions With Condensed Matter

The primary interaction is the absorption of photons by electrons. In metals free-free transitions increase the energy of the electron gas. In semiconductors and insulators electron-hole pairs are created, if the photon energy exceeds the band gap. If it is less, only multiphoton processes can initiate energy transfer from the light beam. In nearly all solid materials Auger processes and electron-phonon interactions occur on a picosecond time scale for the high density and energy of the carrier gas created by intense short laser pulses. Thus melting and evaporation of the material can occur on this time scale. These processes may be considered as the initial phases in the creation of laser produced plasmas. They have been studied by time-resolved measurements of the complex index of refraction, by electron and ion emission, by second harmonic generation, by electrical conductivity and other techniques. Fast time resolution is essential. The dynamic behavior of atoms and phase transitions in the picosecond and femtosecond regime has been opened up for experimental investigation.
Ensuring high-quality patient care: the role of accreditation, licensure, specialty certification and revalidation in medicine.

Context The accreditation of medical school programmes and the licensing and revalidation (or recertification) of doctors are thought to be important for ensuring the quality of health care. Whereas regulation of the medical profession is mandated in most jurisdictions around the world, the processes by which doctors become licensed, and maintain their licences, are quite varied. With respect to educational programmes, there has been a recent push to expand accreditation activities. Here too, the quality standards on which medical schools are judged can vary from one region to another. Objectives Given the perceived importance placed by the public and other stakeholders on oversight in medicine, both at the medical school and individual practitioner levels, it is important to document and discuss the regulatory practices employed throughout the world. Methods This paper describes current issues in regulation, provides a brief summary of research in the field, and discusses the need for further investigations to better quantify relationships among regulatory activities and improved patient outcomes. Discussion Although there is some evidence to support the value of medical school accreditation, the direct impact of this quality assurance initiative on patient care is not yet known. For both licensure and revalidation, some investigations have linked specific processes to quality indicators; however, additional evaluations should be conducted across the medical education and practice continuum to better elucidate the relationships among regulatory activities and patient outcomes. More importantly, the value of accreditation, licensure and revalidation programmes around the world, including the effectiveness of specific protocols employed in these diverse systems, needs to be better quantified and disseminated.
Control of volume holograms

The mismatch in the number of degrees of freedom supported by volume holograms and the boundary fields that control them limits the dynamic range of recorded holograms. For holograms controlled by using fractal sampling grids, the maximum dynamic range falls inversely with the minimum number of exposures needed to record the hologram, the rank of the hologram. In adaptive holography, feedback between coupled holograms prevents the dynamic range from decreasing faster than the fundamental limit. If the control problem is overcome, the maximum dynamic range that a hologram can support falls inversely with the square root of the rank. In principle, holograms in which the dynamic range falls inversely with the square root of the rank can be recorded by using cross-spectrally coherent polychromatic pulses.
Structural bottlenecks for communication in networks.

We consider the effect of network topology on the optimality of packet routing which is quantified by γc, the rate of packet insertion beyond which congestion and queue growth occurs. We show that for any network, there exists an absolute upper bound, expressed in terms of vertex separators, for the scaling of γc with network size N, irrespective of the static routing protocol used. We then derive an estimate to this upper bound for scale-free networks and introduce a static routing protocol, the “hub avoidance protocol,” which, for large packet insertion rates, is superior to the shortest path routing protocol.
Dopamine overflow in the nucleus accumbens during extinction and reinstatement of cocaine self-administration behavior

Both cocaine and cocaine-associated stimuli can reinstate extinguished self-administration behavior in animals. It has been suggested that reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior may be mediated by enhanced dopamine (DA) neurotransmission. To examine this hypothesis, DA overflow was measured in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of rats during both extinction and cocaine-induced reinstatement of self-administration behavior. Rats were either allowed to self-administer cocaine for 3 hours daily for 14 days, or they received yoked administration of saline. A stimulus light above the lever was illuminated during drug delivery. Baseline DA overflow was measured in the NAc, using in vivo microdialysis 7 to 8 days after the last self-administration session. The rats were then placed into the operant chambers and allowed to respond in extinction for 90 minutes, during which responses resulted in presentation of the stimulus light. The rats then received a cocaine injection that reinstated self-administration behavior. Contrary to our hypothesis, cocaine-experienced animals exhibited less DA overflow in the NAc relative to controls during both extinction and reinstatement.
Acquiring Visual Classifiers from Human Imagination

Abstract : The human mind can remarkably imagine objects that it has never seen, touched, or heard, all in vivid detail. Motivated by the desire to harness this rich source of information from the human mind, this paper investigates how to extract classifiers from the human visual system and leverage them in a machine. We introduce a method that, inspired by wellknown tools in human psychophysics, estimates the classifier that the human visual system might use for recognition but in computer vision feature spaces. Our experiments are surprising, and suggest that classifiers from the human visual system can be transferred into a machine with some success. Since these classifiers seem to capture favorable biases in the human visual system, we present a novel SVM formulation that constrains the orientation of the SVM hyperplane to agree with the human visual system. Our results suggest that transferring this human bias into machines can help object recognition systems generalize across datasets. Moreover, we found that people's culture may subtly vary the objects that people imagine, which influences this bias. Overall, human imagination can be an interesting resource for future visual recognition systems.
Association between days to complete inpatient discharge summaries with all-payer hospital readmissions in Maryland.

OBJECTIVE Hospital discharge summaries can provide valuable information to future providers and may help to prevent hospital readmissions. We sought to examine whether the number of days to complete hospital discharge summaries is associated with 30-day readmission rate. PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study conducted on 87,994 consecutive discharges between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014, in a large urban academic hospital. We used multivariable logistic regression models to examine the association between days to complete the discharge summary and hospital readmissions while controlling for age, gender, race, payer, hospital service (gynecology–obstetrics, medicine, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics, and surgical sciences), discharge location, length of stay, expected readmission rate in Maryland based on diagnosis and illness severity, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Comorbidity Index. Days to complete the hospital discharge summary—the primary exposure variable—was assessed using the 20th percentile (>3 vs ≤3 days) and as a continuous variable (odds ratio expressed per 3-day increase). The main outcome was all-cause readmission to any acute care hospital in Maryland within 30 days. RESULTS Among the 87,994 patients, there were 14,248 (16.2%) total readmissions. Discharge summary completion >3 days was significantly associated with readmission, with adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 1.09 (1.04 to 1.13, P = 0.001). We also found that every additional 3 days to complete the discharge summary was associated with an increased adjusted odds of readmission by 1% (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.01, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Longer days to complete discharge summaries were associated with higher rates of all-cause hospital readmissions. Timely discharge summary completion time may be a quality indicator to evaluate current practice and as a potential strategy to improve patient outcomes. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:393–400. 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine
Critical assessment of complications associated with use of the Pipeline Embolization Device

Background The Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) has become an important tool in the treatment of complex cerebrovascular pathology since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2011. Objective To determine the overall complication rate (permanent and transient) associated with the use of this new device from a single institution. Methods We retrospectively examined a prospectively maintained database of our patients treated with the PED since its availability to the current time. 126 patients (24 men, 102 women; age range 14–83 years, mean 59.8 years) were treated for a total of 137 intracranial aneurysms, one cervical internal carotid artery dissection, one cervical vertebral artery dissection, and one carotid-cavernous fistula with a total of 217 PEDs (1.72 PED/patient). Results A total of 40 complications were experienced by 33 patients in our cohort. Four complications (4/126, 3.2%) in four patients were permanent, resulting in three deaths and one permanent disability. The other 36 complications (28.6%) occurred in 29 patients, all of whom went on to recover completely. The total complication rate associated with the use of the PED was 31.7% (40/126). Conclusions Despite a low rate of permanent complications associated with the PED in this series, the total complication rate was high. This finding supports the conclusion that this device should be reserved for the most challenging aneurysms. Patients should be advised of this higher rate of transient periprocedural complications. Trial registration number IRB#:14BN027 Q7.
Nonaggressive management of White and Black prostate cancer patients in the United States.

Appropriate treatment for prostate cancer is controversial because of the lack of information from randomized clinical trials indicating the benefits of one treatment over another. Watchful waiting or conservative management remains an alternative for this disease. This paper assesses the extent to which White and Black prostate cancer patients in the USA choose nonaggressive therapy. Nonaggressive therapy is defined as patients not receiving cancer-directed surgery or radiation, or that undergo a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)/simple prostatectomy but no radiation. Of 112,445 prostate cancer patients diagnosed in 1992–1996, 40% Whites and 46% Blacks were not aggressively treated. Approximately 28% Whites and 33% Blacks did not receive cancer-directed surgery or radiation, and 12% Whites and 13% Blacks underwent a TURP/simple prostatectomy but no radiation. Stage, histologic grade and age at diagnosis, race (White and Black), and number of cancer primaries each significantly influence how patients are managed. Black patients are more likely than White patients to forego aggressive therapy, even after adjusting for less preferential stage and histologic grade at diagnosis, as well as differences in age and number of cancer primaries. Explanations for this result deserve further consideration.
Patient crossover and potentially avoidable repeat computed tomography exams across a health information exchange.

Objective The purpose of this study was to measure the number of repeat computed tomography (CT) scans performed across an established health information exchange (HIE) in New York City. The long-term objective is to build an HIE-based duplicate CT alerting system to reduce potentially avoidable duplicate CTs. Methods This retrospective cohort analysis was based on HIE CT study records performed between March 2009 and July 2012. The number of CTs performed, the total number of patients receiving CTs, and the hospital locations where CTs were performed for each unique patient were calculated. Using a previously described process established by one of the authors, hospital-specific proprietary CT codes were mapped to the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC®) standard terminology for inter-site comparison. The number of locations where there was a repeated CT performed with the same LOINC code was then calculated for each unique patient. Results There were 717 231 CTs performed on 349 321 patients. Of these patients, 339 821 had all of their imaging studies performed at a single location, accounting for 668 938 CTs. Of these, 9500 patients had 48 293 CTs performed at more than one location. Of these, 6284 patients had 24 978 CTs with the same LOINC code performed at multiple locations. The median time between studies with the same LOINC code was 232 days (range of 0 to 1227); however, 1327 were performed within 7 days and 5000 within 30 days. Conclusions A small proportion (3%) of our cohort had CTs performed at more than one location, however this represents a large number of scans (48 293). A noteworthy portion of these CTs (51.7%) shared the same LOINC code and may represent potentially avoidable studies, especially those done within a short time frame. This represents an addressable issue, and future HIE-based alerts could be utilized to reduce potentially avoidable CT scans.
Involvement of Plant Biologists in Undergraduate and High School Student Research

A survey of the ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists) was conducted through its Education Committee to determine theextentofmemberparticipationinsupportofundergraduate research and high school research. Analysis of this survey indicatesthat,of531totalrespondents,thevastmajority(88.5%)has supportedundergraduateresearchersintheirlaboratories,while a little less than half (49.2%) have supported high school researchers.Morethan80%ofeachparticipantgroupfoundtheir experiences rewarding. Among the most prevalent advantages mentionedwerethepleasureofmentoring,thecreationofanenthusiastic lab environment, and general motivation/learning in plantbiologyforthestudent.Manysurveysreportinggreatsuccesses with young researchers mentioned strategies for saving time,maximizingproductivity,andutilizingresourceswisely.On the other hand, the vast majority of disadvantage comments dealtwithtimeissuessuchasthetimespentbyseniorresearchers training students, the time restraints of students, and the effects of training students on lab productivity.