cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In vivo imaging of airway cilia and mucus clearance with micro-optical coherence tomography

We have designed and fabricated a 4 mm diameter rigid endoscopic probe to obtain high resolution micro-optical coherence tomography (µOCT) images from the tracheal epithelium of living swine. Our common-path fiber-optic probe used gradient-index focusing optics, a selectively coated prism reflector to implement a circular-obscuration apodization for depth-of-focus enhancement, and a common-path reference arm and an ultra-broadbrand supercontinuum laser to achieve high axial resolution. Benchtop characterization demonstrated lateral and axial resolutions of 3.4 μm and 1.7 μm, respectively (in tissue). Mechanical standoff rails flanking the imaging window allowed the epithelial surface to be maintained in focus without disrupting mucus flow. During in vivo imaging, relative motion was mitigated by inflating an airway balloon to hold the standoff rails on the epithelium. Software implemented image stabilization was also implemented during post-processing. The resulting image sequences yielded co-registered quantitative outputs of airway surface liquid and periciliary liquid layer thicknesses, ciliary beat frequency, and mucociliary transport rate, metrics that directly indicate airway epithelial function that have dominated in vitro research in diseases such as cystic fibrosis, but have not been available in vivo.
Use of promotoras de salud in interventions with latino families of children with IDD

Abstract Families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) experience unique rewards and challenges caring for their child. Many family interventions have been developed over the years to provide supports to these families and their children. However, few interventions have included racial and ethnic minority families and few researchers have developed and tested culturally competent interventions specifically for these populations. Because Latinos represent the largest racial/ethnic population, they also represent a large proportion of children with IDD and their families. We provide background on parent and family interventions, and those developed for use with Latino families. We then describe the use of the promotora de salud model as a culturally competent intervention mode for Latino families of children with IDD. We describe two parent training programs that used this mode, the results of their evaluation studies, and discuss lessons learned in the context using of a community-based research approach. Lastly, we explore the question of why promotoras were successful in promoting change among mothers of children with IDD by analyzing focus-group data across projects. Our findings suggest that role modeling and the collaborative style promotoras used in providing education promoted change among participants. In conclusion, more interventions are needed to serve Latino children with IDD and their families. The promotora de salud model holds promise as a mode of intervention delivery for these families.
Low bone mineral density in inflammatory bowel disease—a study of the prevalence and risk factors

Low bone mineral density in inflammatory bowel disease—a study of the prevalence and risk factors
Administration of the Tablet Formulation of Olaparib in Patients with Ovarian Cancer: Practical Guidance and Expectations

Olaparib is a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme inhibitor that is approved for use in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC) and genetic BRCA1/2 mutations who have received three or more prior lines of chemotherapy for maintenance treatment of recurrent OC that is in response to platinum-based chemotherapy regardless of BRCA mutation status and for human epidermal growth receptor factor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA mutations who have previously been treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting. Because olaparib is poorly soluble and requires advanced drug delivery techniques to ensure bioavailability, the originally approved 400 mg dose is taken as eight 50 mg capsules twice daily. An alternative melt-extrusion tablet formulation was developed to improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of olaparib and reduce the pill burden for patients. The recommended tablet dose is 300 mg twice daily (two 150 mg tablets). Phase III studies with the tablet formulation are ongoing for multiple tumor types. Two studies conducted with the olaparib tablet formulation have reported results: one in platinum-sensitive, BRCA-mutated recurrent OC (SOLO-2) and one that included patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer (OlympiAD). The tablet is the approved formulation based on the SOLO-2 trial results. Because the capsule and tablet formulations have different bioavailability, physicians must strictly adhere to the dosing instructions provided in the prescribing information. The tablet offers greater convenience for most patients, especially when using olaparib for maintenance therapy. This review discusses the differences between the two formulations, dose determination, and guidance for use of olaparib tablets by patients with OC. Prior to implementing any changes in therapy, health care providers should engage their patients in discussion to support an informed transition between the formulations. Implications for practice Olaparib has recently been approved for maintenance treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) that is in response to platinum-based chemotherapy. The originally approved capsule formulation was dosed as 400 mg twice daily (eight 50 mg capsules). The recommended olaparib tablet dose is 300 mg twice daily (two 150 mg tablets). The tablet is the new approved formulation based on the SOLO-2 trial results. Because the capsule and tablet formulations have different bioavailability, physicians must strictly adhere to the dosing instructions provided in the prescribing information. The tablet offers greater convenience for most patients, especially when using olaparib for maintenance therapy. This review discusses the differences between the two formulations, dose determination, and guidance for use of olaparib tablets by patients with OC.
CRETE: A Versatile Binary-Level Concolic Testing Framework

In this paper, we present crete, a versatile binary-level concolic testing framework, which features an open and highly extensible architecture allowing easy integration of concrete execution frontends and symbolic execution engine backends. crete’s extensibility is rooted in its modular design where concrete and symbolic execution is loosely coupled only through standardized execution traces and test cases. The standardized execution traces are llvm-based, self-contained, and composable, providing succinct and sufficient information for symbolic execution engines to reproduce the concrete executions. We have implemented crete with klee as the symbolic execution engine and multiple concrete execution frontends such as qemu and 8051 Emulator. We have evaluated the effectiveness of crete on GNU Coreutils programs and TianoCore utility programs for UEFI BIOS. The evaluation of Coreutils programs shows that crete achieved comparable code coverage as klee directly analyzing the source code of Coreutils and generally outperformed angr. The evaluation of TianoCore utility programs found numerous exploitable bugs that were previously unreported.
Central Issues in the Combined Management of Surface and Groundwaters

Abstract An overview of the major problems encountered when regional water resources consisting of surface streams and aquifers are to be developed and managed conjunctively is presented. The dynamics of complex hydrologic systems are discussed, including stream-aquifer interactions and some possible alternatives to groundwater mining. Most of the paper is devoted to a discussion of the economic aspects of managing complex hydrologic systems in a mature water economy. Following a presentation of water supply problems from the vantage point of water users and a brief discussion of opportunity cost of water use in complex hydrologic systems, a number of externalities generated by water resources development activities are brought into focus. Three methods for managing complex hydrologic systems are mentioned: (a) development of transferable property rights; (b) regulatory powers of agencies involved in water resources development and utilization; (c) centralized control of regional water sources. The paper concludes with a brief assessment of the current status of the area of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, and ventures to indicate some possible directions for future studies.
The Impact of State-imposed Fiscal Rules on Municipal Government Fiscal Outcomes: Does Institutional Configuration Matter?:

This study explores the impact of state-imposed fiscal rules on municipal fiscal outcomes. It provides a recent profile of state-imposed fiscal rules. Further, with particular attention to the year...
College women's sexual and reproductive health screening behaviors and the role of mother-daughter communication.

Objective: The study investigated the role of mother–daughter communication and race in college women’s decisions to pursue sexual health screening services. Participants: Participants were 301 col...
The Adult Scale of Parental Attachment-Short Form: Psychometric Properties, Factor Analyses, and Validation

A 40-item short form version (ASPA-SF) of the Adult Scale of Parental Attachment (ASPA; Snow et al. 2005) was constructed with a focus on instrument item selection, factor structure, and psychometric properties. The ASPA is a self-report measure that assesses individuals’ perceptions of patterns of relating based on their relationships with both mother and father figures in childhood. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), involving archived responses from the original work on developing the ASPA, supported the 5 factors of Safe, Dependent, Parentified, Fearful, and Distant in the ASPA-SF. Further verification of the ASPA-SF was established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and validity was determined in relation to the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker et al. in British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10, 1979) with a separate group of 250 respondents.
Learning Curve for Robot- and Computer-Assisted Knee and Hip Arthroplasty

The use of robotic-assisted surgery in hip and knee arthroplasty has grown over the past decade as interest and literature support burgeon. With the implementation of new technologies in surgical practice, a period of time or number of surgical procedures, also known as a “learning curve”, exists in which surgeons and staff become proficient in the steps and nuance of this technology in order to maximize efficiency and patient benefit. This chapter serves to outline the history of robotic implementation, the main clinical applications in orthopaedic surgery, and the associated learning curve of this new technology.
Characterization of Phosphorylation Sites in Bovine Rhodopsin Using Modified Gas Phase Sequencing Programs

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the characterization of phosphorylation sites in bovine rhodopsin using modified gas phase sequencing programs. In a study described in the chapter, phosphorylated peptides were prepared from isolated mono-, di-, and triphosphorylated forms of rhodopsin. The ATZ-amino acids were collected and the radioactivity was determined. This technique has been shown to be somewhat effective for the spinning cup sequencer, though the fraction of incorporated counts released is very low because of the limited solubilities of ATZ-phosphoserine, and ATZ-phosphothreonine in the extracting solvents. No radioactivity above background was detected using this protocol. Solid phase sequencing has also been used to determine the position of 32 P-phosphorylated residues. The peptide is covalently linked to a solid support, and then a somewhat hydrophilic solvent is used to extract the phosphorylated serine/threonine derivatives. The techniques have been successfully applied to both a solid-phase sequencer using the standard protocol which uses methanol as a solvent and to a liquid/gas phase sequencer but using 90:10 methanol: water containing 2 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.0 as the wash solvent.
Identification of Important Features in Mobile Health Applications for Surgical Site Infection Surveillance

Background: A landscape analysis of mobile health (mHealth) applications and published literature related to their use in surgical site infection (SSI) detection and surveillance was conducted by the Assessing Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Technologies (ASSIST) investigators. Methods: The literature review focused on post-discharge SSI detection or tracking by caregivers or patients using mHealth technology. This report is unique in its review across both commercial and research-based mHealth apps. Apps designed for long-term wound tracking and those focused on care coordination and scheduling were excluded. A structured evaluation framework was used to assess the operational, technical, and policy features of the apps. Results: Of the 10 apps evaluated, only two were in full clinical use. A variety of data were captured by the apps including wound photographs (eight apps), wound measurements (three apps), dressing assessments (two apps), physical activity metrics (three apps), medication adherence (three apps) as well as structured surveys, signs, and symptoms. Free-text responses were permitted by at least two apps. The extent of integration with the native electronic health record system was variable. Conclusion: The examination of rapidly evolving technologies is challenged by lack of standard evaluative methods, such as those more commonly used in clinical research. This review is unique in its application of a structured evaluation framework across both commercial and research-based mHealth apps.
CELLULASE IN TOMATO FRUITS.

A CELLULOLYTIC enzyme that reduces the viscosity of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) solution was found in sodium chloride extracts of ripe tomato fruits using the method of Bell et al.1 for determining activity. This is a viscometric method devised for detecting low enzyme-levels by measuring the change in drain time of solutions in Ostwald-Fenske pipettes during a 20-h period.
Building Background Knowledge within Literature Circles.

The Article Teachers have been familiar with literature circles for many years. Most conversations about literature circles focus on descriptions of the process, student conversation, and assessment. Rather than address these, we chose to examine the strength of literature circles in developing background knowledge, because for many students in intermediate grades, background knowledge is the sticking point in their development of text understanding. For instance, one student may understand the setting while another student may not be aware of its historical significance and thus may read a book as if it were set in today’s world. If a student does not have a combination of sufficient literacy skill and world knowledge, he or she will struggle with comprehension. While teachers routinely provide instruction in literacy skills and strategies, background knowledge is more difficult to shore up. Literacy circles can help to fill these contextual chasms.
Why the Optimal Long-Run Tax Rate on Capital is Zero…or Very High: The Missing Explanation

Judd’s (1985) finding that the optimal long-run rate of tax on capital is zero—even if equity is an important social objective—has exerted substantial influence in academic and policy circles over the last quarter century. Only very recently has it become clear that Judd’s zero-tax result rests on an implicitly adopted assumption about how savings responds to taxation. Working within the very same model structure, Straub and Werning (2020) demonstrate that the optimal long-term tax rate is positive and potentially large under an alternative equally plausible assumption. This paper attempts to fill a remaining gap in the literature by providing a clear explanation of what is driving results in both variants of Judd’s original model. Furthermore, it suggests that the real logical engine in both cases is an oddity in the mathematical conception of infinity that is of little consequence for actual tax policy. A mathematical appendix is available here: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3589726
Applying the Population Health Standard to the Regulation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.

Regulatory authorities have devoted increasing attention and resources to a range of issues surrounding the regulation of novel nicotine and tobacco products. This review highlights the inherent complexity of evaluating prospective policies that pertain to products that heat solutions containing nicotine but not tobacco leaf, sometimes referred to as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is compelled to incorporate a set of public health criteria in their decision-making, collectively referred to as the Population Health Standard. Adherence to this standard is necessary to estimate the impact of prospective ENDS policy decisions on net population harm associated with non-therapeutic nicotine products. For policies that are expected to decrease or increase ENDS use, application of the Population Health Standard requires a comprehensive assessment of the status quo impact of ENDS use on population health. Accordingly, this review first assesses the state of the evidence on the direct harms of ENDS and the indirect effects of ENDS use on smoking, particularly rates of initiation and cessation. After that, the example of flavor restrictions is used to demonstrate the further considerations that are involved in applying the Population Health Standard to a prospective ENDS policy. Implications This narrative review aims to inform regulatory considerations about ends through the prism of the population health standard. More specifically, this review: 1) describes and explains the importance of this approach; 2) provides guidance on evaluating the state of the evidence linking ends to the net population harm associated with non-therapeutic nicotine products; and 3) illustrates how this framework can inform policymaking using the example of flavor restrictions.
Imaging of Mandibular and Temporomandibular Joint Fractures

SUMMARY The various radiologic techniques used in imaging the presence and complications of mandibular fractures are discussed. Special emphasis is placed on the CT appearance of mandibular fractures.
A dual drug therapy for sunitinib resistant RCC: An in vitro analysis.

340Background: Over the last decade, medical treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma has made significant advances through the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) like sunitinib. ...
Stress Urinary Incontinence After Urethral Diverticulum Repair Without Concomitant Anti-Incontinence Procedure

Abstract Objective To review the rates of persistent and de novo stress urinary incontinence (SUI) following urethral diverticulum (UD) repairs performed without concomitant SUI surgical procedures. Methods Following IRB approval, charts of women who underwent UD excision by three FPMRS surgeons were reviewed. Data collected from the electronic medical record included demographic information, preoperative symptoms and evaluation (validated questionnaires [UDI-6, QoL]), imaging studies, operative details, post-operative symptoms, and subsequent surgical interventions. Excluded were women with Results From 2003-2018, 61 of 67 women met study criteria. SUI pre-UD repair was reported in 31 of 61 (51%). During UD repair, 3 patients underwent Martius flap interposition. Post-UD repair, 18/61 (30%) reported SUI. Persistent SUI was present in 14 of 31 (45%), and de novo SUI occurred in 4 of 30 (13%). Postoperative responses revealed statistically significant improvements in QoL and most questions of UDI-6 at median 18 months. SUI was surgically managed in 3 patients using bulking agent injections (2) and autologous fascial sling placement (1). Overall, 3 of 61 (5%) underwent SUI intervention post-UD repair. Conclusion Without prophylactic SUI corrective procedures performed during UD repair, we observed a low rate of de novo SUI, and only 5% with bothersome SUI opting for surgical intervention.
Characterizing Out-of-Pocket Payments and Financial Assistance for Patients Prescribed Abiraterone and Enzalutamide at an Academic Cancer Center Specialty Pharmacy.

1 in 3 Rxs for abiraterone or enzalutamide were obtained w financial assistance. 1 in 20 were never filled due to cost.
Monitoring the Impacts of a Tailings Dam Failure Using Satellite Images.

Monitoring dam failures using satellite images provides first responders with efficient management of early interventions. It is also equally important to monitor spatial and temporal changes in the inundation area to track the post-disaster recovery. On January 25th, 2019, the tailings dam of the Corrego do Feijao iron ore mine, located in Brumadinho, Brazil, collapsed. This disaster caused more than 230 fatalities and 30 missing people leading to damage on the order of multiple billions of dollars. This study uses Sentinel-2 satellite images to map the inundation area and assess and delineate the land use and land cover impacted by the dam failure. The images correspond to data captures from January 22nd (3 days before), and February 02 (7 days after the collapse). Satellite images of the region were classified for before and aftermath of the disaster implementing a machine learning algorithm. In order to have sufficient land cover types to validate the quality and accuracy of the algorithm, 7 classes were defined: mine, forest, build-up, river, agricultural, clear water, and grassland. The developed classification algorithm yielded a high accuracy (99%) for the image before the collapse. This paper determines land cover impact using two different models, 1) by using the trained network in the "after" image, and 2) by creating a second network, trained in a subset of points of the "after" image, and then comparing the land cover results of the two trained networks. In the first model, applying the trained network to the "after" image, the accuracy is still high (86%), but lower than using the second model (98%). This strategy can be applied at a low cost for monitoring and assessment by using openly available satellite information and, in case of dam collapse or with a larger budget, higher resolution and faster data can be obtained by fly-overs on the area of concern.
Accelerated 2d image processing on GPUs

Graphics processing units (GPUs) in recent years have evolved to become powerful, programmable vector processing units. Furthermore, the maximum processing power of current generation GPUs is roughly four times that of current generation CPUs (central processing units), and that power is doubling approximately every nine months, about twice the rate of Moore's law. This research examines the GPU's advantage at performing convolutionbased image processing tasks compared to the CPU. Straight-forward 2D convolutions show up to a 130:1 speedup on the GPU over the CPU, with an average speedup in our tests of 59:1. Over convolutions performed with the highly optimized FFTW routines on the CPU, the GPU showed an average speedup of 18:1 for filter kernel sizes from 3x3 to 29x29.
Cellular automata-based modeling program: synthetic immune system.

Summary: This article describes the functionality of a cellular automata-based immune system simulator, which we call SIS (synthetic immune system). SIS is based on descriptive cellular states and rules that define transitions between these states to model an entire immune system. Through the use of this program, an immunologist can test the validity of a proposed model by observing how it responds to self and non-self antigen. The output is then compared with the behavior of a real protective immune system, and the model can then be ruled as being adequate or inadequate. SIS-I, the first version of SIS written, has been modified through the years and is now available on our Web site (http://www.cig.salk.edu/sis-I/sis.html). Although SIS-I has some flexibility, it has many hardwired values as well as a predefined keyword language for writing immune system rules. SIS-II was developed from SIS-I and allows the user to change more variables and to define keywords used within the program. Herein, we give an overview on how to use SIS-I and SIS-II, along with a future direction, SIS-III.
A general inversion for end‐member ratios in binary mixing systems

[1] Binary mixing is one of the most common models used to explain variations in geochemical data. When the data being modeled are ratios of elements or isotopes, the mixtures follow hyperbolic trends with curvatures that depend on a cross-term representing the relative concentrations of the elements or isotopes under consideration in the mixing components. The inverse problem of estimating mixing components is difficult because of the cross-term in the hyperbolic equation, which requires the use of nonlinear methods to estimate the mixing parameters, and because the end-member ratio values are intrinsically underdetermined unless the mixing proportions of the samples are known a priori, which is not generally the case. I use maximum likelihood methods to address these issues and derive a general inversion for binary mixing model parameters from ratio-ratio data. I apply the method to synthetic test data and a global compilation of 230Th/232Th versus 87Sr/86Sr data from oceanic basalts and find that the concentration ratio parameter is well-constrained by the inversion while the end-member ratio estimates are strongly dependent on the initial guesses used to start the iterative solver, reflecting the underdetermined nature of the end-member positions on the mixing hyperbola. Monte Carlo methods that randomly perturb the initial guesses can be used to improve error estimates, and goodness-of-fit statistics can be used to assess the performance of the mixing model for explaining data variance.
Substrate Specificity of Tissue Type Plasminogen Activator CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FIBRIN INDEPENDENT SPECIFICITY OF t-PA FOR PLASMINOGEN

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a remarkably specific protease: the only known substrate of this enzyme in vivo is a single peptide bond (Arg560-Val561) within the proenzyme plasminogen. Part of the substrate specificity of t-PA is due to a ternary interaction between fibrin, t-PA, and plasminogen which reduces the Km of t-PA for plasminogen by a factor of 440. However, even in the absence of fibrin, t-PA continues to hydrolyze plasminogen more rapidly than does trypsin, a homologous serine protease. We have measured the extent of the specificity of t-PA for plasminogen by assaying t-PA and trypsin toward substrates modeled after the peptide sequence in plasminogen surrounding Arg560-Val561. Surprisingly, t-PA hydrolyzes these substrates with kcat/Km values which are 28,000-210,000-fold lower than those obtained using trypsin. Both the high activity toward plasminogen and the low activity toward peptides are also exhibited by the isolated protease domain. This suggests that the protease domain, in spite of its high homology to the nonspecific enzyme trypsin, is inherently specific for recognition of one or more structural features displayed by native plasminogen.
Blood manganese correlates with brain magnetic resonance imaging changes in patients with liver disease.

BACKGROUND Chronic liver failure is associated with high signal abnormalities in the basal ganglia on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. These abnormalities are strikingly similar to those seen following manganese intoxication. As dietary manganese is normally cleared by the liver, we hypothesize that hepatic dysfunction could lead to manganese overload and account for the MRI abnormalities seen in patients with chronic liver disease. METHODS We measured blood manganese concentrations in eleven patients with biopsy-proven hepatic cirrhosis and eleven healthy age and sex-matched controls. We also performed semi-quantitative measures of T1 signal abnormalities on MRI in the patients with chronic liver disease. RESULTS Patients with cirrhosis had significantly higher blood manganese concentrations (20.6 +/- 10.2 mcg/L) than controls (7.2 +/- 2.7, p = .0013). In addition, semi-quantitative scores of T1-weighted signal hyperintensity on MRI correlated with blood manganese concentration in patients with cirrhosis (r = .65, p = .029). CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that chronic liver disease is associated with manganese overload and suggest that manganese is responsible for the T1-weighted signal hyperintensity seen on MRI of patients with liver disease. As manganese intoxication is known to cause parkinsonism and an encephalopathy similar to those which occur with chronic liver disease, it is possible that manganese toxicity contributes to the development of these symptoms in liver damaged patients and that therapies which prevent or reduce manganese overload may have clinical benefit.
HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG GROUP A STREPTOCOCCI I. Hyaluronic Acid Production by Virulent and Avirulent Strains

Willoughby, Donald S. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), Yael Ginzburg, and Dennis W. Watson. Host-parasite relationships among group A streptococci. I. Hyaluronic acid production by virulent and avirulent strains. J. Bacteriol. 87: 1452–1456. 1964.—Intradermal passage of group A streptococcal strains in rabbits is an easy and effective technique for selecting organisms capable of producing increased amounts of hyaluronic acid. Glutamine was required for in vitro hyaluronate production, although the requirement varied with the organism tested. The virulent type 18 cells produced maximal amounts of hyaluronic acid in the presence of 0.01% glutamine compared with 0.1% for the more avirulent type 28; after animal passage, the glutamine requirement for type 28 decreased to 0.01%. Organisms selected by animal passage produced small quantities of hyaluronic acid in the absence of an exogenous source of glutamine. Glucose at a concentration of 1% gave the greatest stimulation for hyaluronate formation. Growth studies indicated similar rates of multiplication for types 18 and 28; yet, the rate of hyaluronate production under these conditions was much greater for the more virulent type 18. Because of these observations, it is suggested that the rate of hyaluronate production is a contributing factor in the virulence of type 18.
Phase-only adaptive filters: theory and algorithms

This paper presents algorithms and techniques for designing adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) filters that maintain nearly lossless constraints on their input-output characteristics. Both single-channel all-pass and multichannel paraunitary adaptive filters are considered. Our methods make use of a simple, iterative procedure for adjusting the coefficients of a single or multichannel FIR filter to impose all-pass or paraunitary filter constraints periodically during coefficient adaptation. The technique is easily extended to multidimensional convolution form and we illustrate such an extension via a simple image sequence encoding application.
A study of family health in Chareidi second and third generation survivors of the Holocaust

BACKGROUND: Intergenerational transmission of survivor syndrome places the health of family occupation of Chareidi second and third generation survivors of the Holocaust at risk. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience and capture the essence of family health from the perspective of this cultural group. METHODS: Guided by phenomenological research design, 5 participants were interviewed. They described their perception of the health of their families and how experiences in Nazi death camps impacted their families’ health. RESULTS: Family health is an experience of being together and doing together. Generational transmission of family health was disrupted by the Holocaust. Dysfunction exists in generations that were produced by the survivors. Daily effort is required to reverse the effects of the Holocaust and establish connections with subsequent generations. CONCLUSION: The essence of occupational therapy is described as “being before doing”, which is the cornerstone of individual health and well-being; and in this case family health. This study investigates a cultural group who is experiencing intergenerational transmission of trauma that disrupts family health. Opportunities to examine family health in all settings and consider implications for interventions should be explored.
Of-WN Evolution: Spectral Types and Effective Temperatures

Because of the growing evidence (Conti 1976, Snow and Morton 1976, Chiosi et al. 1978, de Loore et al. 1977) that some Of stars are evolving into WN stars, we reexamine the classification of WN stars. There are four schemes for classifying WN stars, those of the IAU (1938), Hiltner and Schild (1966), Smith (1968), and Walborn (1974). All of these schemes involve estimating by eye the ratio of the nitrogen line strengths. Walborn’s scheme is the most useful because he avoids problems that may arise from the use of helium lines. In other respects Walborn’s scheme gives WN classifications similar to those found by Smith.
Enzymic demethylation of lignin model polymers

We have studied the demethylation of [O14CH3]-polyguaiacol byPhanerochaete chrysosporium as a model for the fungal demethylation of lignin. Demethylating activity of whole-cell ligninolytic cultures was compared to demethylating activities of various oxygen-activating systems. Some of these systems demethylated polyguaiacol (e.g., Fenton’s reagent, rose bengal sensitized photolysis, and horseradish peroxidase + H2O2). Other systems did not (e.g., xanthine/xanthine oxidase). Even where oxygen-activating systems did demethylate polyguaiacol, we found no convincing evidence that these systems are used byPhanerochaete.
Novel Modes of Accelerator Operations

A wide spectrum of topics and ideas united by the common theme of operation of synchrotron light sources in special modes is covered in this edition of SRN. The collection of articles opens with a paper by M. Aiba and co-workers from Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. They describe the Swiss Light Source that, over one decade of operation, has reached the exemplary reliability and beam stability to provide a base for ambitious development tasks for new operation modes like short X-ray pulse generation by laser slicing, synchrotron light polarization switching with a rate of 1 Hz employing large local orbit manipulations, and obtaining an ultra-low vertical emittance.
Effect of a Pantothenic Acid-Deficient Diet on Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) in Rat Liver

Livers of rats maintained for 20 days on a pantothenic acid-deficient diet plus a molecular antagonist showed lower MAO activity and higher DNA content than those of the rats receiving a basic diet plus pantothenic acid. The biochemical changes reported are not understood.
The role of cytokines in hemolytic transfusion reactions.

Experimental evidence is accumulating to support a central role for cytokines in the pathophysiology of hemolytic transfusion reactions. The production of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein occurs in whole blood in response to ABO incompatible red cells, a model of acute hemolytic transfusion reactions. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells may produce interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein, and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in response to IgG-coated red cells, a model of delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions. Cultured umbilical vein endothelial cells respond to conditioned plasma from ABO-incompatibility reactions by expressing the procoagulant tissue factor and the leukocyte adhesion molecules ELAM-1 and ICAM-1. These in vitro endothelial cell responses can be inhibited by neutralizing antibodies to tumor necrosis factor, suggesting that TNF may have a central role in intravascular coagulation and end-organ injury...
Zinc, Insulin and Diabetes

The relationship between diabetes, insulin and zinc (Zn) is complex with no clear cause and effect relationships. In Type 1 diabetes there is a lack of insulin production, in Type 2 diabetes resistance to the effects of insulin are predominant. Both Type 1 and Type 2 have the same long-term complications. Diabetes effects zinc homeostasis in many ways, although it is most probably the hyperglycemia, rather than any primary lesion related to diabetes, which is responsible for the increased urinary loss and decreases in total body zinc. The role of Zn deficiency, which could, at least potentially, exacerbate the cytokine-induced damage in the autoimmune attack which destroys the islet cell in Type 1 diabetes, is unclear. Since Zn plays a clear role in the synthesis, storage and secretion of insulin as well as conformational integrity of insulin in the hexameric form, the decreased Zn, which affects the ability of the islet cell to produce and secrete insulin, might then compound the problem, particularly in Type 2 diabetes. Several of the complications of diabetes may be related to increased intracellular oxidants and free radicals associated with decreases in intracellular Zn and in Zn dependent antioxidant enzymes. There appears to be a complex interrelationship between Zn and both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The role of Zn in the clinical management of diabetes, its complications, or in its prevention is, at best, unclear.
Myocardial revascularization and carotid endarterectomy: a combined approach.

Abstract The approach to the patient with combined carotid and coronary artery occlusive disease has been evolving since coronary bypass procedures became feasible. When neurological and cardiac symptoms are remote, sequential procedures are adequate. Neurological symptoms or severe carotid stenoses (or both) appearing simultaneously with symptoms of myocardial ischemia present a more difficult problem. Simultaneous operation has been performed in 16 patients with 1 early death (low output) and 2 cerebral complications (1 patient with residual hand weakness and 1 without neurological residua). The morbidity and mortality seemed unrelated to the fact that procedures were done at one operation. Therapy, however, must be tailored to the individual patient.
Enzymatic reactions in microfluidic devices: Michaelis-Menten kinetics.

Kinetic rate constants for enzymatic reactions are typically measured with a series of experiments at different substrate concentrations in a well-mixed container. Here we demonstrate a microfluidic technique for measuring Michaelis−Menten rate constants with only a single experiment. Enzyme and substrate are brought together in a coflow microfluidic device, and we establish analytically and numerically that the initial concentration of product scales with the distance x along the channel as x5/2. Measurements of the initial rate of product formation, combined with the quasi-steady rate of product formation further downstream, yield the rate constants. We corroborate the x5/2 scaling result experimentally using the bioluminescent reaction between ATP and luciferase/luciferin as a model system.
Identification of a novel missense mutation of the SMN(T) gene in two siblings with spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disease caused by mutations in the telomeric copy of the survival motor neuron ( SMN T ) gene. Over 90% of SMA patients harbor a deletion of SMN T , but relatively few base-pair mutations have been reported. We report here a novel G279C mutation with a G to T transversion on exon 7 (nucleotide position 868) of SMN T . Another missense mutation has been reported recently on position 869. The fact that two mutations on the same codon both result in SMA suggest a functional significance of this amino acid within the SMN protein.
SENTINEL: a multiple engine information retrieval and visualization system

We describe a prototype Information Retrieval system, SENTINEL, under development at Harris Corporation's Information Systems Division. SENTINEL is a fusion of multiple information retrieval technologies, integrating n-grams, a vector space model, and a neural network training rule. One of the primary advantages of SENTINEL is its three-dimenstional visualization capability that is based fully upon the mathematical representation of information within SENTINEL. This three-dimensional visualization capability provides users with an intuitive understanding, with relevance feedback/query refinement techniques that can be better utilized, resulting in higher retrieval accuracy (precision).
Parasitic Insects Associated with Lepidoptera on Fresh-Market Tomato in Southeast Arkansas

Parasitism of Heliothis spp. and other Lepidoptera was monitored in commercial fresh-market tomato fields in southeast Arkansas during 1981 and 1982. Heliothis, looper, and tobacco hornworm eggs were commonly parasitized throughout the season by Trichogramma spp., primarily T. exiguum. Generally a higher percentage of Heliothis eggs were parasitized compared with looper eggs. The only larval parasitoid of Heliothis spp. found repeatedly was a species of Campoletis. Looper specimens were commonly parasitized by the egg-larval parasitoid Copidosoma truncatella.
Heparin/Heparan Sulfate (HP/HS) Interacting Protein (HIP) Supports Cell Attachment and Selective, High Affinity Binding of HP/HS

Abstract Heparin/heparan sulfate (HP/HS), HS proteoglycans, and their binding proteins play important roles in a variety of biological processes. Previously, we identified a novel cell surface HP/HS interacting protein (HIP) from human uterine epithelia and a variety of other human epithelial and endothelial cells and cell lines (Liu, S., Smith, S. E., Julian, J., Rohde, L. H., Karin, N. J., and Carson, D. D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 11817–11823; Rohde, L. H., Julian, J., Babaknia, A., and Carson, D. D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 11824–11830). In the current studies, we have purified and characterized HIP from HEC cells, a human uterine epithelial cell line, as well as recombinant HIP from a bacterial expression system. HIP supports attachment of the human trophoblastic cell line, JAR, in a HS-dependent fashion. Predigestion of JAR cells with a mixture of heparitinases, but not chondroitinase AC, abolished cell attachment to HIP. In addition, JAR cell attachment to HIP is highly sensitive to HP inhibition and much more selective for HP/HS than other glycosaminoglycans. Dermatan sulfate displays partial inhibitory activity as well, consistent with the observation that chondroitinase ABC digestion partially reduces JAR cell attachment to HIP. Solid-phase binding assays indicate HIP binds [3H]HP with high affinity (apparentK D = 8 nm). Furthermore, HIP bound cell surface/extracellular matrix-associated HS, expressed by RL95 cells, a human uterine epithelial cell line. Anti-HIP antibody generated against a synthetic peptide derived from a putative HP/HS-binding motif resident within HIP inhibited about half of [3H]HP binding to HIP, indicating that this domain is a functional HP-binding domain of HIP. Similarly, this same synthetic peptide motif of HIP could block about 50% of [3H]HP binding to HIP; however, this peptide almost completely inhibited cell attachment to HIP, suggesting a critical role, in this regard. Collectively, these results suggest that HIP can function as a HP/HS-binding cell-cell/cell-matrix adhesion molecule.
Validation requirements for diffuse reflectance soil characterization models with a case study of VNIR soil C prediction in Montana

Abstract There has been growing interest in the use of diffuse reflectance as a quick, inexpensive tool for soil characterization. Some studies, using techniques like Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression of 1st derivative spectra have reported predictive accuracies for soil Organic C (OC) and Inorganic C (IC) that approach the analytical limits of standard laboratory measures. We applied 1st derivative Visible and Near-Infrared (VNIR) reflectance PLS regression modeling to soil samples obtained from six sites with similar soils across three counties in north central Montana, with five completely random 30% test sets selected for model validation. We obtained–relative to estimated SEL (Standard Error of Laboratory reference measurements) of 1.07 and 0.97 g kg−1 for OC and IC, respectively–SECV (calibration Standard Error of Cross-Validation) values of 1.04–1.20 and 1.54–1.63 g kg−1, and SEP (validation Standard Error of Prediction) values of 1.09–1.27 and 1.43–1.63 g kg−1. These results, together with validation RPD (Residual Prediction Deviation) values ≥2, could suggest a stable, effective PLS calibration that could be applied to similar soils in the same physiographic region. However, when we attempted to predict soil C for each of the six sites in turn using the remaining five sites for calibration, the models failed completely at two of the six sites and gave inconsistent results at a third site despite pre-screening for spectral similarity. “One-off” local calibrations for this study required ∼20–35% of the full samples, which could be prohibitively expensive for many applications. The results of this study demonstrate that “pseudo-independent” validation (random selection of non-independent test samples) can overestimate predictive accuracy relative to independent validation. The spatial structure of calibration and validation samples matters a great deal. Greater care needs to be taken to ensure that validation samples are independent to a degree that matches intended model use.
DNA delivery from hyaluronic acid-collagen hydrogels via a substrate-mediated approach.

Efficient and controlled gene delivery from biodegradable materials can be employed to stimulate cellular processes that lead to tissue regeneration. In this report, a substrate-mediated approach was developed to deliver DNA from hyaluronic acid-collagen hydrogels. The hydrogels were formed by crosslinking HA with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether. Poly(ethylene imine)(PEI)/DNA complexes were immobilized to the substrate using either biotin/neutravidin or non-specific adsorption. Complexes were formed in the presence or absence of salt to regulate complex size, and resulted in complexes with z-average diameters of 1221.7±152.3 and 139.4±1.3 nm, respectively. During 48-h incubation in PBS or hyaluronidase, DNA was released slowly from the hydrogel substrate (<30% of immobilized DNA), which was enhanced by incubation with conditioned media (≈50% of immobilized DNA). Transgene expression mediated by immobilized, large diameter complexes was 3 to 7-fold greater than for small diameter complexes. However, the percentage of cells expressing the transgene was greater for small diameter complexes (48.7%) than for large diameter complexes (22.3%). Spatially controlled gene transfer was achieved by topographically patterning the hydrogel to pattern cell adhesion. Biomaterial-based gene delivery can be applicable to numerous tissue engineering applications, or as a tool to examine tissue formation.
Sustained nonischemic ventricular tachycardia during dobutamine stress echocardiography

Dobutamine stress echocardiography has become widely accepted as a safe, reliable and cost effective modality for the evaluation of patients with suspected myocardial ischemia or for prognostic stratification and outcome assessment in patients with known coronary artery disease. While the benefits of this means of cardiovascular testing are very clearly apparent, it is important to understand and recognize possible complications. This paper discusses the occurrence of sustained, nonischemic ventricular tachycardia during dobutamine stress echocardiography in the absence of functional, physiologic or anatomic evidence of coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy.