cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic spatial heterogeneity reveals interdependence of marine faunal density and fishery removals

Abstract The spatial structure and dynamics of populations, their environment, interacting species, and anthropogenic stressors influences community stability and ecological resilience. Despite the importance of spatial processes in ecological outcomes and increasing desire to implement ecosystem-based management, fine-scale spatial dynamics have been rarely incorporated in marine fisheries management. However, advances in population modeling and data availability provide the necessary ingredients to address this disconnect between the fields of ecology and fisheries. We used random forests and spatial indices to quantify spatial heterogeneity and dynamics of US west coast demersal marine faunal density (biomass of a community or assemblage per unit area) and the total removals (catches plus discards) from the system by the groundfish bottom trawl fishery from 2002 to 2017. We expected spatial heterogeneity of removals and density to increase following implementation of depth and habitat closures – due to proximally increasing density gradients and fishing-the-line – and following catch shares because of fleet consolidation and behavioral consequences of eliminating the race to fish. However, we found mixed responses, where at the broadest community levels spatial variation in removals and density declined with habitat closures, while spatial autocorrelation of removals increased with habitat closures and declined with catch shares. Our results reveal a complex interdependence between spatial distributions of faunal density and fishery removals that has been absent in previous studies focusing on catch only, and shows how these patterns are shaped by marine policy. Values of spatial variation of density and removals were positively correlated within year (i.e., each responded with the same sign and timescale), while there was also evidence that interannual changes in the spatial variation of removals among years led those of density by one year (i.e., increases in patchiness of removals were followed by increased patchiness of density). These results hint at the presence of a stronger than expected top-down effect of fishing, given that this system is considered to be dominated by strong bottom-up effects of environmental variation on primary and secondary productivity.
Temporal scaling in developmental gene networks by epigenetic timing control

During development, progenitors follow defined temporal schedules for differentiation, to form organs and body plans with precise sizes and proportions. Across diverse contexts, these developmental schedules are encoded by autonomous timekeeping mechanisms in single cells. These autonomous timers not only operate robustly over many cell generations, but can also operate at different speeds in different species, enabling proportional scaling of temporal schedules and population sizes. By combining mathematical modeling with live-cell measurements, we elucidate the mechanism of a polycomb-based epigenetic timer, that delays activation of the T-cell commitment regulator Bcl11b to facilitate progenitor expansion. This mechanism generates activation delays that are independent of cell cycle duration, and are tunably controlled by transcription factors and epigenetic modifiers. When incorporated into regulatory gene networks, this epigenetic timer enables progenitors to set scalable temporal schedules for flexible size control. These findings illuminate how evolution may set and adjust developmental speed in multicellular organisms.
Supramolecular structure of opsins

Abstract Opsins are G protein-coupled receptors present in photoreceptor cells of the retina that initiate vision upon activation by light. Cone opsins are present in cone photoreceptor cells and are responsible for photopic vision, whereas rhodopsin is present in rod photoreceptor cells and is responsible for scotopic vision. Due to the relative abundance of rod photoreceptor cells in most vertebrate retinas, our understanding about the structure and function of rhodopsin far exceeds that of cone opsins. Rhodopsin has been studied extensively for over a century, and our molecular and structural concept of the receptor has evolved over this time. The current molecular and structural concept of rhodopsin involves a supramolecular structure whereby the receptor exists in the membrane in nanodomains formed by oligomers of rhodopsin. This chapter focuses on our current understanding about the supramolecular architecture of rhodopsin in photoreceptor membranes and the modulation and functional implications of this structure. The developing understanding about the oligomerization of cone opsins is also discussed.
Differential Diagnoses in the Setting of Advanced Age and Multiple Conditions

Formulating a differential diagnosis is a dynamic process based on information received and is a key skill learned and perfected by medical professionals. As the population demographics in the United States (US) and the world change, clinicians everywhere are seeing greater numbers of older adults and those with multiple and chronic conditions in all care settings. Clinicians would benefit from developing and utilizing a systematic approach to differential diagnoses with geriatric patients and those with multiple conditions, who often present with what are known as atypical presentations. This chapter will elucidate physiological concepts like homeostenosis and practical considerations like challenges with history taking and emphasize the impact of the biopsychosocial framework in geriatric patients. The geriatric ROS (review of systems) and the Geriatric 5Ms© (mood, mobility, medications, multi-complexity, matters most) are key tools when evaluating an older adult to ensure accuracy and standardization of the process of differential diagnosis. Having a systematic approach to presenting symptoms and signs can aide medical decision-making, lead to fewer missed diagnoses, and enhance provider and patient satisfaction.
Asthma Plus: Comorbidities in Severe Childhood Asthma

The evaluation of pediatric patients with severe asthma requires assessment for underlying comorbidities that complicate asthma and make its treatment more difficult. Asthma in such patients has been termed “asthma plus,” reflecting the accurate underlying diagnosis with an additional factor (or factors) that worsens the intrinsic disease state of asthma or complicates asthma management. Comorbidities that should be considered in pediatric patients with severe asthma include allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, obesity, vocal cord dysfunction, sleep-related breathing disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease, psychological and psychosocial issues, vitamin D deficiency, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and eosinophilic esophagitis. For some of these, there is evidence proving their treatment improves asthma outcomes, while for others, the evidence is inconclusive or insufficient. This chapter discusses the known associations between comorbidities and asthma, highlighting data in pediatric severe asthma and effectiveness of interventions on improvement of asthma, where available.
Morphomic calcification score from clinical CT scans: A proxy for coronary artery calcium.

Abstract Background Screening of cardiovascular risk is essential in preventing cardiac events and quantifying asymptomatic risk. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores are a well-established in predicting cardiovascular risk, but require specialized computed tomography (CT) scans. Given the relationship of aortic calcification with cardiovascular risk, we sought to determine whether aortic calcification measures from incidental CT scans may approximate CAC. Study design Retrospective CT scans and corresponding volumetric CAC scores were obtained from patients at the University of Michigan. Aortic calcifications were measured in 166 scans. Correlations between a novel morphomic calcium (MC) percent score and CAC score were evaluated using Kendall's correlation coefficients. Comparison of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves based on MC at different vertebral levels showed the highest predictive values for measures taken at L4. Results MC at L4 shows promise in predicting CAC (AUC 0.90 in non-contrast scans, 0.70 in post-contrast scans). Proposed MC threshold are (4.21% for best sensitivity, B 12.93% for balance, C = 19.26% for specificity) in scans without contrast enhancement and (D = 7.31 for sensitivity, E 8.06 for specificity) in scans with contrast enhancement. Conclusion The MC score demonstrates promising potential in approximating CAC, particularly at the L4 level. The utilization of MC from incidental CT scans may be useful for assessment of cardiovascular risk. The ability to extract MC from contrast scans makes it especially valuable to patients receiving additional medical or surgical care. Recognition of high-risk patients would allow the use of indicated preventative strategies to avoid hard cardiovascular events in at risk patients.
E-049 Dwi infarction patterns and perfusion parameters in anterior versus posterior circulation stroke secondary to intracranial atherosclerotic disease

Purpose Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is a common etiology of ischemic strokes and stroke recurrence. Recent literature suggests treatment should be tailored according to plaque instability versus perfusion failure mechanisms, rather than the degree of stenosis. We aimed to study the difference in infarction patterns between anterior and posterior circulation intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD), and their relationship to vascular risk factors and perfusion parameters. Methods A retrospective review of our institution’s prospective stroke database from Jan 2012 to May 2018 was performed. We identified patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to ICAD, restricted diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) findings attributed to a > 50% intracranial stenosis with or without perfusion abnormality, mean transit time (MTT) elevation, on MRI/MRA/MRP performed within one week of presentation. Infarction patterns were qualitatively graded as thromboembolic (TE), perforator (P), or watershed (W) in the vascular distributions of interest with agreement between two interventional neuroradiologists. Baseline demographics, vascular risk factors and correlation of DWI infarction patterns and perfusion MTT patterns were studied with respect to the anterior versus posterior intracranial circulation. Results We identified 55 patients with anterior circulation and 18 patients with posterior circulation infarcts secondary to ICAD. There was no difference in baseline demographics between both groups. Watershed infarctions were seen in 30% of symptomatic patients with anterior circulation ICAD. There were no significant differences observed in the non-watershed infarction patterns between anterior and posterior circulation disease (TE: 41% vs 44%, P: 38% vs 39% and mixed: 21% vs. 17%, p=0.908), respectively. mean transit time was equally elevated in both watershed (90%) vs. non-watershed (86%) anterior circulation ICAD, p=0.99. ICAD patients with posterior circulation infarcts were more likely to have suffered prior strokes/TIAs (73% vs 35%, p=0.016) with higher trends in diabetics (73% vs. 43%, p=0.068). Conclusion Hemodynamically significant stenosis is observed in the majority of symptomatic anterior circulation ICAD but is not necessarily associated with watershed DWI infarction patterns. Posterior circulation ICAD exhibits higher likelihood for stroke recurrence with a perforator or thromboembolic pattern of infarction. Combining MR vessel wall imaging techniques with DWI patterns of infarction and 4D flow MRA imaging to assess flow compromise in the posterior circulation may be beneficial in further discerning the mechanisms of ICAD related stroke, risks of stroke recurrence, and guide medical versus interventional therapies. Disclosures R. Abdalla: None. O. Ansari: None. M. Pan: None. D. Cantrell: None. A. Shaibani: None. M. Potts: None. M. Hurley: None. B. Jahromi: None. S. Ansari: None.
Negative optics in vision machines

Can machine vision step beyond the ocularcentric metaphysics of the Western gaze and the reproduction of racial capital? Paul Virilio argued that machine vision requires no perceptual response or recognition of the world. The computer’s series of coded impulses mediate the real autonomously from physical and energetic analogies. This article calls “negative optics” this inhuman mode of machine vision that withdraws from the ocularcentric rules of transparency. Not only negative optics offers an internal critique of ocular metaphysics, but it also defies the equation of value between 0 and 1 s that sustains the universal law of capital. The equation of value needs the nullification of the racialized and gendered body to meet the function of surrogate machines feeding the neo-liberal human subject. Here, however, the negative optics of machine vision withdraws matter from the equation insofar as the AI mismatches of concepts and objects requires the formation of socio-technical assemblages amongst surrogates of all kinds. The intricacies of this surrogacy are discussed in connection to artist Elisa Giardina’s video installation entitled, The Cleaning of Emotional Data (2019). This video presents the background to address a surrogate human–machine alliance that steps beyond the human–machine equation of value. By starting from the negativity of the image, the racialized and gendered conditions of techno-social labor under artificial intelligence capitalism show that the equation of value maintains the condition of the zero of blackness, which like matter without form, has no value (On matter beyond the equation of value 2017). Drawing on Francois Laruelle, the article continues to elaborate the possibilities of a material image without form in terms of what Laruelle calls, the “fractal algorithm of the photo”. The article concludes that the negative optics of machine vision stands for the alien origination of knowledge, values, materialities that overturn the equation of value through the fractal infinities of 0 s.
Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics

Part I. Mormons as an Ethno-Religious Group: 1. Meet the Mormons 2. The sacred tabernacle: Mormons as an ethno-religious group 3. A peculiar people? Mormon religious distinctiveness Part II. Political Behavior of Mormons: 4. Mormon political views: cohesive, republican, and conservative 5. A politically peculiar people 6. Following the leader: Mormons' responsiveness to church leaders Part III. The Consequences of Distinctiveness: 7. Assessing the saints: how Americans view Mormons 8. A stained glass ceiling? Mormon candidates and presidential campaigns 9. How Mormonism affected Mitt, how Mitt has affected Mormonism 10. Conclusion: seeking the promised land.
Pathophysiology of Aspiration in a Unilateral SLN Lesion Model Using Quantitative Analysis of VFSS

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to elucidate the pathophysiology of aspiration in previously studied female infant piglets after a unilateral superior laryngeal nerve (uSLN) lesion. Methods Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) were acquired from 15 female piglets ages 2–3 weeks (9 with uSLN lesion and 6 controls). VFSS were analyzed at 30 frames/second sampling rate. Quantitative measures were conducted and compared between groups using published methodologies for VFSS assessment in adult and infant humans. Measures included the: 1) number of lingual-palatal contacts (LPC) (i.e. pre-swallow), 2) total pharyngeal transit time (TPT), 3) offset of swallow (offP), as well as onset of: 4) pharyngeal stage (onP), 5) pharyngoesophageal segment opening (oPES), 6) maximum PES opening (maxPES), 7) airway closure onset (oAC), and 8) maximum airway closure (maxAC). Measures 5–7 were determined relative to onP. Bolus residue was rated by severity (0 (none) to 3 (severe)). A gamma regression was used to compare continuous measures between lesioned and control groups. Results The number of LPC (p = .006), TPT (p = .023) and timing of maxAC (p = .041) were significantly greater in the uSLN lesion than the control group. Conclusions Outcomes of this study replicated prior published findings and elucidated that piglets with right uSLN lesions exhibited delayed maxAC. Noteworthy was the use of clinically relevant quantitative videofluoroscopic measures in piglets for comparison to future studies in human pediatric populations.
Self-assembly of tessellated tissue sheets by growth and collision

Tissues do not exist in isolation; they interact with other tissues within and across organs. While cell-cell interactions have been intensely investigated, less is known about tissue-tissue interactions. Here, we studied collisions between monolayer tissues with different geometries, cell densities, and cell types. First, we determine rules for tissue shape changes during binary collisions and describe complex cell migration at tri-tissue boundaries. Next, we demonstrate that genetically identical tissues displace each other based solely on cell density gradients, and present a physical model of tissue interactions that allows us to estimate the bulk modulus of the tissues from collision dynamics. Finally, we introduce TissEllate, a design tool for self-assembling complex tessellations from arrays of many tissues, and we use cell sheet engineering techniques to transfer these composite tissues like cellular films. Overall, our work provides insight into the mechanics of tissue collisions, harnessing them to engineer tissue composites as designable living materials.
A longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 biorepository for COVID-19 survivors with and without post-acute sequelae.

SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the globe, causing millions of deaths worldwide. Though most survive, many experience symptoms of COVID-19 for months after acute infection. Successful prevention and treatment of acute COVID-19 infection and its associated sequelae is dependent on in-depth knowledge of viral pathology across the spectrum of patient phenotypes and physiologic responses. Longitudinal biobanking provides a valuable resource of clinically integrated, easily accessed, and quality-controlled samples for researchers to study differential multi-organ system responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), and vaccination. Adults with a history of a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal PCR are actively recruited from the community or hospital settings to enroll in the Northern Colorado SARS-CoV-2 Biorepository (NoCo-COBIO). Blood, saliva, stool, nasopharyngeal specimens, and extensive clinical and demographic data are collected at 4 time points over 6 months. Patients are assessed for PASC during longitudinal follow-up by physician led symptom questionnaires and physical exams. This clinical trial registration is NCT04603677 . We have enrolled and collected samples from 119 adults since July 2020, with 66% follow-up rate. Forty-nine percent of participants assessed with a symptom surveillance questionnaire (N = 37 of 75) had PASC at any time during follow-up (up to 8 months post infection). Ninety-three percent of hospitalized participants developed PASC, while 23% of those not requiring hospitalization developed PASC. At 90–174 days post SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, 67% of all participants had persistent symptoms (N = 37 of 55), and 85% percent of participants who required hospitalization during initial infection (N = 20) still had symptoms. The most common symptoms reported after 15 days of infection were fatigue, loss of smell, loss of taste, exercise intolerance, and cognitive dysfunction. Patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have PASC than those not requiring hospitalization, however 23% of patients who were not hospitalized also developed PASC. This patient-matched, multi-matrix, longitudinal biorepository from COVID-19 survivors with and without PASC will allow for current and future research to better understand the pathophysiology of disease and to identify targeted interventions to reduce risk for PASC. Registered 27 October 2020 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04603677 .
Systematic Review of Replant Salvage and Cost Utility Analysis of Inpatient Monitoring After Digit Replantation.

Purpose Digit replantation is a high-stakes procedure that has been shown to be cost-effective, especially for multiple-digit replantation. However, it is associated with prolonged lengths of stay (LOS) for monitoring and attempts at salvage. The cost-effectiveness of prolonged inpatient stays presumes that this is necessary and inherent to the replantation. We hypothesized that prolonged monitoring of replanted digits, in the hope of possible salvage after primary failure, is cost-ineffective due to the low rates of vascular compromise and salvage after replantation. Methods Using previously published data comparing quality adjusted life years lost after traumatic digit amputation versus digit replantation, we devised a cost utility model to evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of inpatient monitoring. To determine rates of vascular compromise and salvage after digit replantation, we performed a systematic review of the literature through MEDLINE and SCOPUS database searches to identify relevant articles on digital replantation since 1990. Cost-effectiveness was stratified based on the number of digits replanted. Results Fewer than 9% of replanted digits both experience vascular compromise and are successfully salvaged. Adjusting for this, inpatient monitoring for single-digit and thumb replantation becomes cost-ineffective after 1 day of admission and monitoring for multiple-digit replantation becomes cost-ineffective after 2 days of admission. Conclusions In the United States, prolonged admissions for inpatient monitoring quickly become cost-ineffective, especially with relatively low rates of salvage. Surgeons should avoid extended hospitalizations for replant monitoring and should pursue enhanced recovery protocols for replantation, especially considering burgeoning health care costs in the United States. Type of study/level of evidence Economic/Decision Analysis III
What’s Love Got To Do with Caring, Hope and Critical Pedagogies?

It is impossible to teach without the courage to love, without the courage to try a thousand times before giving up. In short, it is impossible to teach without a forged, invented and well-thought-out capacity to love. (Freire, 2005, p. 5) “Love” is a common word, but its definitions, experiences and representations differ greatly.
A Derivation of Variational Principles for Inhomogeneous Equations

It is shown that variational principles need not be postulated and then correctness proved; they can, in fact, be derived, making their use more a matter of routine than ingenuity. A Lagrange multi...
Deployment and support of complex integrated solutions

BT needs to bring new products and services faster into the market-place. Consequently, network and system components must be deployed more rapidly than ever. Successful integration and launch processes demand efficient, effective delivery and commissioning of new components followed by equally efficient day-to-day operational support. This paper discusses the support framework needed to satisfy these demands.
The effects of corticosteroids and ACTH on sensory systems.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some of the relationships that exist between adrenal cortical hormone secretion and neural activity, particularly the effects of the hormones on sensory detection and perception—especially in the gustatory, olfactory, and auditory systems. These results related to the manner by which adrenocortical hormones control the detection and integration of sensory signals. Taste-detection thresholds have been studied in normal subjects and in patients with adrenocortical insufficiency. Using a three-drop, forced choice technique, the median detection threshold was determined by a variation of the methods of limits in both normal volunteers and patients. Figures provided in the chapter illustrate detection thresholds obtained for representatives of each of four taste qualities in both normal volunteers and in patients with untreated adrenocortical insufficiency. The stimuli for these tests were various solutions of chemically pure substances. For salt, solutions of NaCl, KCl, and NaHCO3 were used; for sweet, sucrose was used; for bitter, urea was used; and for sour, solutions of HCl were used. In other studies, treatment with hydrocortisone, cortisone, and dexamethasone have also returned taste detection acuity to normal. The return to normal acuity is also independent of the route of administration of the hormone—that is, oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous administration produced a return of taste acuity to normal.
Systematic review of medical home models to promote transitions to primary adult health care for adolescents living with autism spectrum disorder.

Background There is a growing number of children diagnosed and living with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the United States. This increasing incidence and prevalence of ASDs require care coordination within a medical home model, which needs to continue into adulthood. Aim This paper is an evidence review of medical home models for transitioning adolescents living with ASDs from pediatric primary healthcare practices to adult primary care practices. Method Databases were reviewed and articles selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Nine articles were reviewed and four met criteria. None of the articles addressed medical home models to transition adolescents living with ASDs into adult primary healthcare services. Linking Evidence to Action There is a need for nursing to work within an interdisciplinary framework to educate adult healthcare providers on the needs of adolescents living with ASDs and to evaluate medical home transition models for this vulnerable population.
Making Patents Useful

It is axiomatic in patent law that an invention must be useful. The utility requirement has been a part of the statutory scheme since the Patent Act of 1790. But what does it mean to be useful? The abstract and imprecise nature of the term combined with the lack of objective criteria for assessing it make utility the most malleable patentability requirement. As the invention landscape has evolved over time, the Patent Office and the courts have exploited this malleability to create technologically specific utility standards — de minimis for some inventions, but considerably more stringent for others. This has led to a bias against granting patents for entire categories of inventions. But this bias has come at a price. The extant utility requirement disconnects patent law from many of the technical communities that it serves and frustrates fundamental goals of the patent system.This Article calls for the elimination of a standalone utility requirement. It proposes a new theory of usefulness based on the normative premise that patent law should be less concerned with useful inventions and more concerned with ensuring that the public gets a useful disclosure. This objective is best obtained not through utility, but rather through compliance with enablement and nonobviousness — patentability requirements rooted in objective, technical factors. This is the first Article to both harshly criticize utility and — by seeking to eliminate it — urge a radical rethinking of what should be included in (or removed from) the patentability calculus. It will hopefully inform the ongoing debate over patent reform and spark further discussions about the extent to which basic patent doctrines actually promote technological progress.
Pain Medicine and Primary Care: The Evolution of a Population-Based Approach to Chronic Pain as a Public Health Problem

This chapter outlines our progress in establishing chronic pain as a public health problem and in developing a population-based approach to pain management that relies heavily on an informed and skilled primary care sector in the medical home model. Other AAPM book chapters deal with the causes and complexities of different pain conditions and their treatments. This chapter will focus on gains that have been made in structuring models of care that improve primary care treatment and elevate the critically important role that primary care providers play in managing chronic pain.
Personalizing Digital Libraries for Learners

User-centered digital libraries for education are developed. Instead of static contents on the web searched and retrieved in a traditional sense, we investigate personalized, dynamic information seeking in the learning environment of digital libraries. Learning objects and user profiles are important components of the digital library system. In their existing metadata standards, personalizing agents are designed and developed for realizing peer-to-peer educational and learning technologies on the Internet.
Fractional Approximation by Normalized Bell and Squashing Type Neural Networks

This chapter deals with the determination of the fractional rate of convergence to the unit of some neural network operators, namely, the normalized bell and “squashing” type operators.
Narrative conjunction's junction function: The interface of narrative grammar and semantics in sequential images

Abstract While simple visual narratives may depict characters engaged in events across sequential images, additional complexity appears when modulating the framing of that information within an image or film shot. For example, when two images each show a character at the same narrative state, a viewer infers that they belong to a broader spatial environment. This paper argues that these framings involve a type of “conjunction,” whereby a constituent conjoins images sharing a common narrative role in a sequence. Situated within the parallel architecture of Visual Narrative Grammar, which posits a division between narrative structure and semantics, this narrative conjunction schema interfaces with semantics in a variety of ways. Conjunction can thus map to the inference of a spatial environment or an individual character, the repetition or parts of actions, or disparate elements of semantic associative networks. Altogether, this approach provides a theoretical architecture that allows for numerous levels of abstraction and complexity across several phenomena in visual narratives.
Second cancer risk in hairy cell leukemia: analysis of 350 patients.

PURPOSEThe discovery of effective therapy for hairy cell leukemia (HCL) has increased the relevance of long-term outcome. We have therefore examined the incidence of second cancers.PATIENTS AND METHODSData on 350 HCL patients was obtained from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Cancer Registry's computerized data base and from chart review. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) (observed/expected [O/E]) were calculated with the expected number determined using age, sex, and calendar-year-specific rates from the Connecticut Tumor Registry and from national mortality data, respectively.RESULTSThe median age of the patients was 50 years and the median follow-up duration was 6 years. Twenty-six patients developed a second cancer at least 6 months after the HCL diagnosis (O/E ratio, 1.34; P = .08). There was no excess of malignancy among patients treated with interferon alfa (IFN-alpha; P = .27), 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2CDA; P = .37), or deoxycoformycin (DCF; P = .7). Howe...
Perinatal upregulation of benzodiazepine receptor ontogenesis: «Fearless» and more efficient goal-directed behavior of adult rat progenies

Abstract Pregnant and subsequently lactating rats had ad lib access to drinking water which contained either a benzodiazepine antagonist, Ro 15-1788 or diazepam (DZ). On the average, the rats consumed 2.9 mg/kg/day of Ro 15-1788 or 5.3 mg/kg/day of diazepam over the time period of 3 weeks, from gestation day 14 through postpartum day 14. The control group consumed equivalent volumes of the drug vehicle in water. While Ro 15-1788 had no apparent toxic effects, the numbers of viable pups in the DZ group were significantly reduced. The mean weight of the viable pups, and their gross behavior were not different in all three groups. However, the fully mature 4.5-month-old male progenies exposed to Ro 15-1788 were much more efficient in the radial arm maze test than the control or the diazepam-exposed animals; they rapidly habituated to the novel environment, their exploratory activity was uninhibited by distracting visual and auditory stimuli, they made fewer “working memory” errors in collecting baits, had a much better control over their emotional responses and the autonomic nervous system, as shown by very low defecation/urination scores, and, at the age of 5 months, they had a significant (66%) increase in the density of benzodiazepine receptors in the hippocampal formation, as compared to the control or the diazepam-exposed progenies. In conclusion, the upregulation of benzodiazepine receptor ontogenesis is retained in adult animals and resulted in improved “working memory” and better control over emotional responses that were particularly evident when the animals were challenged by novel and “intimidating” environmental stimuli.
Immunological and partial sequence identity of mouse BM180 with wheat alpha-gliadin.

Abstract BM180, a novel 180-kDa basement membrane protein enriched in guanidine-HCl extracts of lacrimal and parotid exocrine secretory glands, was immunopurified using the secretion inhibitory monoclonal antibody 3E12. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was found to be VRVPVPQLQPQNP. An identical sequence comprises the N-terminus of the wheat storage protein α-gliadin. The presence of a gliadin-like protein in basement membranes was confirmed using a monoclonal and several polyclonal anti-gliadin antibodies, the former of which detected a 180-kDa protein in basement membrane blots. A full-length α-gliadin cDNA was found to hybridize at high stringency with mouse and human genomic DNA; and in lacrimal gland Northern blots with a 2.3-kb message. Since BM180 appears to be required for stimulus-secretion coupling by lacrimal acinar cells, circulating anti-α-gliadin antibodies associated with Sjogren′s syndrome ("Dry Eye") and more commonly in Coeliac disease, may be secretion inhibitory.
Range forb lectins

In this study we tested the seeds of uncultivated plants for lectin activity. Extracts prepared from the seeds of 167 forb species were tested against human red cell samples. Extracts of 54 species agglutinated unmodified or enzyme-modified red cells. In nine species, the hemagglutinating lectin activity could be neutralized by N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, mannose, or glucose.
Inhibition of RNA Polymerase by Streptolydigin: No Cycling Allowed

Bacterial RNA polymerase is a common target for many antibiotics. In two recent papers in Cell and Molecular Cell, Tuske et al. (2005) and Temiakov et al. (2005) describe a structural basis for inhibition of bacterial RNA polymerase by the antibiotic streptolydigin. Streptolydigin may prevent distortion of a "bridge" α helix postulated to occur during the nucleotide addition cycle of RNA polymerase or may block a small movement of the bridge helix that helps load nucleotide triphosphates into the active site.
Optimal preventive maintenance and replacement schedules with variable improvement factor

Purpose – This paper seeks to develop and present a new mathematical formulation to determine the optimal preventive maintenance and replacement schedule of a system.Design/methodology/approach – The paper divides the maintenance‐planning horizon into discrete and equally‐sized intervals and in each period decide on one of three possible actions: maintain the system, replace the system, or do nothing. Each decision carries a specific cost and affects the failure pattern of the system. The paper models the cases of minimizing total cost subject to a constraint on system reliability, and maximizing the system reliability subject to a budgetary constraint on total cost. The paper presents a new mathematical function to model an improvement factor based on the ratio of maintenance and repair costs, and show how it outperforms fixed improvement factor models by analyzing the effectiveness in terms of cost and reliability of the system.Findings – Optimal decisions in each period over a planning horizon are soug...
Periodic reversal of heart action in the silkworm moth and pupa

Direction of peristalsis of the dorsal vessel in prepupa, chrysalis, and adult of Lepidoptera is not constantly forward; phases of forward peristalsis alternate with phases either of backward peristalsis throughout the whole dorsal vessel or of diverging waves originating in the third to fourth abdominal segments, proceeding backward and forward. Periodic reversal in the silkworm begins twenty-four hours after spinning, forty-eight before pupation. Pupation occurs during a vigorous backward phase. Soon after pupation, and sometimes during pupation, backward phases consist of diverging waves. Later, and in the adult, complete reversal intermittently occurs. Backward phases in the pupa are long (e.g., fifteen minutes), the average rate slow and variable, quickening at eight to ten days to that of the adult. Any long backward phase shows a gradual slowing down, except approaching pupation when the pulse quickens to equal that of forward beating. Average rate of forward beating is constant at constant temperature, but absolute rate in a long phase gradually slackens. Pauses (sometimes one and one-half hours long in older pupae) often follow forward phases. Alternating phases in the adult, compared with the pupa, are short, about one minute and usually less than one hundred beats. In old moths the phases become still shorter, often being reduced to single beats. Opposing waves occasionally conflict. Periodic reversal occurs for hours after excision of the dorsal wall with the pericardium and heart. As in ascidians, back pressure cannot explain reversal.
Hidden or misreported trial results cause widespread patient harm

The editors of the BMJ and PLOS Medicine describe the crisis of hidden or misreported information as “one of the leading scientific problems of our time.”1 As two new studies show, it has also produced an epidemic of harmful side effects from drugs with few clinical advantages to offset the harms.2 3 Patent replacement drugs are the …
Artistic choice in the display of chaotic dynamics

Abstract The analysis of chaotic systems often involves the visual display of the speed with which a variable changes as a function of iteration. In this paper, I survey existing algorithms (and present many new ones) for mapping these integers into screen pixel values to create images that are both scientifically and artistically interesting.
Hemopoietic support capacity of the adult mouse liver: II. Studies in acetylphenylhydrazine‐treated mice

We investigated the hemopoietic support capacity of the liver in intact and splenectomized adult mice treated with three daily injections of acetylphenylhydrazine (APH). Packed red cell volumes, liver and spleen weights, numbers of pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S) in blood and liver, and liver histology were evaluated 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 days after the first injection. We found that 1) splenectomized, APH-treated mice had a greater and more sustained increase in the weights of their livers than the increase found in livers of intact APH-treated mice; 2) APH treatment elicited a much greater increase in the blood and liver CFU-S of splenectomized mice (47 and 42 times normal, respectively) than it elicited in the blood and liver CFU-S of intact mice (4–5 and 4 times normal, respectively); and 3) APH treatment induced numerous foci of hemopoietic tissue in the livers of splenectomized mice. The results of the CFU-S studies can be explained by, and to some extent support, the thesis that the adult mouse liver does not support proliferation of normal CFU-S, but can trap large numbers of circulating CFU-S. In addition, these studies suggest that the livers of adult mice are able to support only limited proliferation of differentiated hemopoietic elements.
Testing for contributions of mitochondrial DNA mutations to complex diseases

Several complex disorders are suspected of being associated with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. We studied the statistical properties of a test based on proband-relative pairs to identify potential mtDNA mutation involvement in a complex disorder. The test compares the recurrence risk of relatives of probands along the mitochondrial lineage with that of relatives along the nonmitochondrial lineage. If mtDNA mutations are involved, the recurrence risk will be higher among relatives in the mitochondrial lineage. The form of the test is independent of the assumed models of inheritance and interaction of the nuclear autosomal mutations with mtDNA mutations. The power of the test, however, differs among the different models and by the type of proband-relative pairs used in the test. We considered heterogeneity models with and without phenocopies, a three-state heteroplasmic mtDNA transmission model, and a multiplicative epistasis model. Under the heterogeneity model, the power of the test increases as the relationship between the proband and the relative becomes more distant. Under the multiplicative epistasis model, the power of the test decreases as the relationship between the proband and the relative becomes more distant.
Control Sales in Family Firms

A large stock sale by an insider can be good news for a firm if it increases the potential for meaningful monitoring. I consider insider sales that represent voluntary releases of voting control by managers who continue to manage their firms, and ask if a manager's willingness to relinquish control is affected by the presence of other blockholders. I found that managers of family firms are much more defensive about maintaining their voting control, especially when there are other family members in management.
A Problem for Theology: The Concept of Nature

The growing general awareness that the order of nature within which man lives is a delicate ecological balance — a balance which cannot be indiscriminately exploited by men much longer without destroying the continuing possibility of human life — has not been without repercussions among theologians. There is an increasing attentiveness to nature as a theological problem and an interest in developing theologies of ecology and conservation. In addition there appears to be a growing belief that the theological focus on “history” in recent years has been extravagant or even entirely misplaced: it has turned attention in theology away from the natural world, which is “our real home”; it has led to a theological ignoring of the natural sciences and has thus helped to isolate theology from some of the most important and influential streams of human learning in modern culture; and it has contributed to and mightily re-enforced man's sense of self-importance and insularity, for history is preeminently the human story, and the “God of history” seems principally involved in transactions with men (although of course he is said to be the creator and father of all). What we need, we are told, is a “theology of nature” that will enable us to understand the orders of life and being within which we live and of which we are part, and even a “natural theology” that will illuminate for us, and teach us properly to worship, the God implicit in nature.
Valuation and Efficiency in the Market for Creatively Financed Houses

This paper examines two alternative approaches to valuing the impact of creative financing on housing prices. The cash equivalence adjustment which is the generally accepted approach is compared to an approach known as the financed fee valuation adjustment which is argued to be theoretically superior. A sample of 45 matched pairs of condominium sales in which one of the units is creatively financed and the other is conventionally financed is employed to test which model is most effective at explaining the market adjustment for creative financing. The authors are unable to reject the hypothesis that the housing market being examined is efficient and that the financed fee valuation adjustment is a superior model for valuing the impact of creative financing.
Taking Justice Outside the Courts: Judicial Activism in India

Judicial activism has emerged as a powerful mechanism of social change in India. Several judges have re-interpreted court procedures and evolved what has come to be known as Public Interest Litigation to empower ordinary citizens to write a letter and draw the attention of the apex court. The impact has been phenomenal. Judicial action initiated through these written petitions have given relief to a wide variety of cases, giving justice to the weaker sections and even taking action against political corruption and unaccountability. This article describes the genesis of judicial activism and its impact upon the criminal justice system. Some shortcomings and what this portends for the future are also discussed.
Teenagers with familial adenomatous polyposis: what is their risk for colorectal cancer?

PURPOSE: Familial adenomatous polyposis is a general growth disorder caused by highly penetrant germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene APC. The major manifestation of these mutations is colorectal adenomatous polyposis, which, if untreated, leads to early development of colorectal cancer. To prevent this from happening, endoscopic screening of at-risk family members begins early in the second decade of life. Patients with adenomas are offered surgery sometime in that decade. There is a concern about the risk of cancer in teenagers if such surgery is deferred. We conducted this study to investigate that risk. METHODS: A brief survey was sent by facsimile or mail to all familial adenomatous polyposis registries affiliated with the Leeds Castle Polyposis Group. This questionnaire asked for the number of teenage or younger patients in the registry diagnosed with invasive colorectal carcinoma. Other questions addressed the stages and treatment of the tumors and the outcome of their treatment. Patients with carcinoma-in-situ or intramucosal carcinoma were excluded. RESULTS: Replies were received from 26 of 52 registries, but not all questions were answered by all registries. There were 14 patients identified as having invasive colorectal cancer younger than 20 years, the youngest of whom was 9 and the oldest 19. Two patients had two cancers each. Three patients were diagnosed at surgery, and seven were diagnosed when they presented with symptoms. Of the 13 cancers that had staging information, 8 were T1N0M0; 1 was T2N0M0; 2 were TxN1M0; 1 was T3N0M0; and 1 was TxNxM1. Only one patient died of their colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: Cancer occurs rarely in familial adenomatous polyposis patients younger than 20 years, and only 1 case was reported younger than 15 years. Surgery for colorectal polyposis usually can be deferred safely until at least the age of 15, unless suspicious lesions are found.