cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial activity of Persicaria pensylvanica extract against Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract Introduction Staphylococcus aureus causes contagious mastitis in dairy cows with annual economic losses of 2 billion dollars in the United States alone. S. aureus mastitis remains important and difficult to eliminate using antimicrobial therapy due to its ability to form a biofilm, becomes a small colony variant or acquires antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antimicrobial resistant S. aureus strains including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have emerged and increasingly are isolated from animal and animal products. Thus, developing an alternative therapeutic approach is critically needed. Natural botanical products have received greater attention as alternatives to antibiotics since they contain a diverse array of antimicrobial compounds. Methods In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the extracts from herbal plant Persicaria pensylvanica’s flower, leaf, stem, and root. This plant is also known by a common name Pennsylvania smartweed. The antimicrobial effect of the extracts was tested using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) methods in comparison with tetracycline, a commercial antibiotic. Results We found that extract from P. pensylvanica kills bovine mammary glands pathogenic S. aureus strain Newbould 305. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) breakpoints for extracts from the flower, leaf, stem, and root were 62.5 μg/ml, 31.25 μg/ml, 7.8 μg/ml and Conclusion The crude extracts from different body parts of P. pensylvanica have a bacteriocidal effect against S. aureus. Purified active antimicrobial phytochemical compound/s from P. pensylvanica may serve as an alternative natural product to treat staphylococcal infections in human and animals.
Use of a mark-recapture model to evaluate largemouth bass delayed tournament mortality

Abstract Estimating fishing mortality, including initial and delayed mortality, is necessary to assess potential effects of catch and release tournament fishing events. Previous studies retaining angler-caught fish are useful in understanding delayed mortality but have associated limitations. As an alternative to tournament mortality studies, we estimated daily apparent survival rates of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides using a modified Cormack-Jolly-Seber model in Program MARK to test for the duration of delayed tournament mortality and to identify important covariates affecting survival. Multiple monotonic trends were evaluated to test acute (2, 3, 4, or 7 d) and chronic (15 or 30 d) delayed mortality hypotheses. The most supported models revealed an acute trend in survival following tournament capture but no support for chronic mortality. Largemouth bass survival decreased with increases in water temperature and the number of tournament capture events. Combined, these factors resulted in up to 90% cumulative mortality at temperatures of 18.8 °C for individuals captured at five tournament events. Our results confirm the potential for high delayed mortality associated with catch and release fishing tournaments. Using mark-recapture data to understand tournament fishing mortality can be a valuable tool in managing highly fished systems.
Sieve elements rapidly develop ‘nacreous walls’ following injury − a common wounding response?

Thick glistening cell walls occur in sieve tubes of all major land plant taxa. Historically, these ‘nacreous walls’ have been considered a diagnostic feature of sieve elements; they represent a conundrum, though, in the context of the widely accepted pressure–flow theory as they severely constrict sieve tubes. We employed the cucurbit Gerrardanthus macrorhizus as a model to study nacreous walls in sieve elements by standard and in situ confocal microscopy and electron microscopy, focusing on changes in functional sieve tubes that occur when prepared for microscopic observation. Over 90% of sieve elements in tissue sections processed for microscopy by standard methods exhibit nacreous walls. Sieve elements in whole, live plants that were actively transporting as shown by phloem‐mobile tracers, lacked nacreous walls and exhibited open lumina of circular cross‐sections instead, an appropriate structure for Munch‐type mass flow of the cell contents. Puncturing of transporting sieve elements with micropipettes triggered the rapid (<1 min) development of nacreous walls that occluded the cell lumen almost completely. We conclude that nacreous walls are preparation artefacts rather than structural features of transporting sieve elements. Nacreous walls in land plants resemble the reversibly swellable walls found in various algae, suggesting that they may function in turgor buffering, the amelioration of osmotic stress, wounding‐induced sieve tube occlusion, and possibly local defence responses of the phloem.
An Experimental Comparison of GPU Techniques for DBSCAN Clustering

DBSCAN is a density-based clustering algorithm that is especially useful for finding clusters of arbitrary shapes. As opposed to other clustering techniques, like K-means, it does not require the number of clusters to be specified as an input parameter, and it is highly robust to outliers. However, DBSCAN has a worst-case quadratic time complexity, which makes it difficult to handle large dataset sizes. To address this problem, several works have been proposed that exploit the massive parallelism of GPUs in DBSCAN clustering. Nonetheless, none of these works have been experimentally compared against each other. In this paper, we review the existing GPU algorithms for DBSCAN clustering and conduct the first experimental study comparing these GPU algorithms using three real-world datasets to identify the best performing algorithm. Our results show that CUDA-DClust is the best performing GPU algorithm in terms of execution time and memory requirements.
A "Low-Floor" Multimeter: Supporting E-textile Debugging by Revealing Voltage and Continuity

STEAM curriculums are widely implemented in K-12 schools as part of the effort to promote computational thinking skills. This, together with increased accessibility of electronic components and kits, has opened the door for novices to engage in physical computing projects. Debugging these projects challenges students to learn and apply electrical concepts together with programming skills. Multimeter, the most common tool for measuring electric circuits, is placing a very high bar for novices to use. This paper presents a work in progress toward the development of a "low floor" multimeter that is designed to be used by novices with no prior electricity knowledge. By providing students the opportunity to form a conceptual understanding of voltage and current flow, we hope to scaffold their exploration and debugging process in a meaningful way.
PIN1 Provides Dynamic Control of MYC in Response to Extrinsic Signals

PIN1 is a phosphorylation-directed member of the peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) family that facilitates conformational changes in phosphorylated targets such as c-MYC (MYC). Following signaling events that mediate phosphorylation of MYC at Serine 62, PIN1 establishes structurally distinct pools of MYC through its trans-cis and cis-trans isomerization activity at Proline 63. Through these isomerization steps, PIN1 functionally regulates MYC's stability, the molecular timing of its DNA binding and transcriptional activity, and its subnuclear localization. Recently, our group showed that Serine 62 phosphorylated MYC can associate with the inner basket of the nuclear pore (NP) in a PIN1-dependent manner. The poised euchromatin at the NP basket enables rapid cellular response to environmental signals and cell stress, and PIN1-mediated trafficking of MYC calibrates this response. In this perspective, we describe the molecular aspects of PIN1 target recognition and PIN1's function in the context of its temporal and spatial regulation of MYC.
A viral toolkit for recording transcription factor–DNA interactions in live mouse tissues

Transcription factors (TFs) enact precise regulation of gene expression through site-specific, genome-wide binding. Common methods for TF-occupancy profiling, such as chromatin immunoprecipitation, are limited by requirement of TF-specific antibodies and provide only end-point snapshots of TF binding. Alternatively, TF-tagging techniques, in which a TF is fused to a DNA-modifying enzyme that marks TF-binding events across the genome as they occur, do not require TF-specific antibodies and offer the potential for unique applications, such as recording of TF occupancy over time and cell type specificity through conditional expression of the TF-enzyme fusion. Here, we create a viral toolkit for one such method, calling cards, and demonstrate that these reagents can be delivered to the live mouse brain and used to report TF occupancy. Further, we establish a Cre-dependent calling cards system and, in proof-of-principle experiments, show utility in defining cell type-specific TF profiles and recording and integrating TF-binding events across time. This versatile approach will enable unique studies of TF-mediated gene regulation in live animal models.
Chapter 8 – Miscellaneous Topics

This chapter begins with a brief review of a few important topics that are pertinent to postprocessing of data generated by partial differential equation (PDE) solvers. These include interpolation and numerical integration. Interpolation using Lagrange polynomials and splines is discussed. Several methods for numerical integration are also discussed, with a particular emphasis on Gaussian quadrature. Further on, the chapter delves into the solution of nonlinear equations using the generalized Newton’s method and demonstrates how to use the Newton’s method for solution of nonlinear PDEs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the methods that may be used to solve a coupled set of PDEs, as encountered in a variety of practical problems. Fully coupled and segregated solution approaches are compared and contrasted through an example.
Thermal Atomic Layer Etching of Gallium Oxide Using Sequential Exposures of HF and Various Metal Precursors

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is a transparent semiconducting oxide with a large bandgap that has applications for power electronics and optoelectronics. Ga2O3 device fabrication requires etching for many ...
Medical costs of Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency-associated COPD in the United States.

There are limited data on economic aspects of the genetic variant of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the context of the more prevalent form of COPD. The objective of this study was to isolate the healthcare resource utilization and economic burden attributable to the presence of a genetic factor among COPD patients with and without Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), twelve months before and after their initial COPD diagnosis. Retrospective analysis of OptumLabs® Data Warehouse claims (OLDW; 2000–2017). The OLDW is a comprehensive, longitudinal real-world data asset with de-identified lives across claims and clinical information. AATD-associated COPD cases were matched with up to 10 unique non-AATD-associated COPD controls. Healthcare resource use and costs were assigned into the following categories: office (OV), outpatient (OP), and emergency room visits (ER), inpatients stays (IP), prescription drugs (RX), and other services (OTH). A generalized linear model was used to estimate total pre- and post-index (initial COPD diagnosis) costs from a third-party payer’s perspective (2018 USD) controlling for confounders. Healthcare resource utilization was estimated using a negative binomial regression. The study population consisted of 8881 patients (953 cases matched with 7928 controls). The AATD-associated COPD cohort had higher expenditures and use of office visits (OV) and other (OTH) services, as well as OV, outpatient (OP), emergency room (ER), and prescription drugs (RX) before and after the index date, respectively. Adjusted total all-healthcare cost ratios for AATD-associated COPD patients as compared to controls were 2.04 [95% CI: 1.60–2.59] and 1.98 [95% CI: 1.55–2.52] while the incremental cost difference totaled $6861 [95% CI: $3025 - $10,698] and $5772 [95% CI: $1940 - $9604] per patient before and after the index date, respectively. Twelve months before and after their initial COPD diagnosis, patients with AATD incur higher healthcare utilization costs that are double the cost of similar COPD patients without AATD. This study also suggests that increased costs of AATD-associated COPD are not solely attributable to augmentation therapy use. Future studies should further explore the relationship between augmentation therapy, healthcare resource use, and other AATD-associated COPD expenditures.
Accountability for the Human Right to Health Through Treaty Monitoring: Human Rights Treaty Bodies & the Influence of Concluding Observations

Employing novel coding methods to evaluate human rights monitoring, this article examines the influence of United Nations (UN) treaty bodies on national implementation of the human right to health. The advancement of the right to health in the UN human rights system has shifted over the past 20 years from the development of norms under international law to the implementation of those norms through national policy. Facilitating accountability for this rights-based policy implementation under the right to health, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) monitors state implementation by reviewing periodic reports from state parties, engaging in formal sessions of ‘constructive dialogue’ with state representatives, and issuing concluding observations for state response. These concluding observations recognise the positive steps taken by states and highlight the principal areas of CESCR concern, providing recommendations for implementing human rights and detailing issues to be addressed in the next state report. Through analytic coding of the normative indicators of the right to health in both state reports and concluding observations, this article provides an empirical basis to understand the policy effects of the CESCR monitoring process on state implementation of the right to health.
Does Perfusion MRI After Closed Reduction of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip Reduce the Incidence of Avascular Necrosis

Background Gadolinium-enhanced perfusion MRI (pMRI) after closed reduction/spica casting for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) has been suggested as a potential means to identify and avoid avascular necrosis (AVN). To date, however, no study has evaluated the effectiveness of pMRI in clinical practice or compared it with other approaches (such as postreduction CT scan) to show a difference in the proportion of AVN.
Operation of a Brain-Computer Interface Walking Simulator by Users with Spinal Cord Injury

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can leave the affected individuals unable to ambulate. Since there are no restorative treatments for SCI, novel approaches such as brain-controlled prostheses have been sought. Our recent studies show that a brain-computer interface (BCI) can be used to control ambulation within a virtual reality environment (VRE), suggesting that a BCI-controlled lower extremity prosthesis for ambulation may be feasible. However, the operability of our BCI has not been tested in a SCI population. Methods: Five subjects with paraplegia or tetraplegia due to SCI underwent a 10-min training session in which they alternated between kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) of idling and walking while their electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. Subjects then performed a goal-oriented online task, where they utilized KMI to control the linear ambulation of an avatar and make 10 sequential stops at designated points within the VRE. Multiple online trials were performed over 5 experimental days. Results: Classification accuracy of idling and walking was estimated offline and ranged from 60.5% (p=0.0176) to 92.3% (p=1.36*10^-20) across subjects and days. In the online task, all subjects achieved purposeful control with an average performance of 7.4 +/- 2.3 successful stops in 273 +/- 51 sec (p<0.01). All subjects maintained purposeful control throughout the study, and their online performances improved over time. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that SCI subjects can purposefully operate a self-paced BCI walking simulator to complete a goal-oriented ambulation task. The operation of this BCI system requires short training, is intuitive, and robust against subject-to-subject and day-to-day neurophysiological variations. These findings indicate that BCI-controlled lower extremity prostheses for gait rehabilitation or restoration after SCI may be feasible in the future.
Treatment of elderly and other adult patients for depression in primary care.

Objectives: To determine whether depression is treated differently in older and younger patients in primary care clinics. Design: Administrative data were used to identify patients with a depression diagnosis code. The sources of data were baseline and 3-month follow-up surveys, the health plan electronic database, and chart audits. Setting: Nine primary care clinics owned by a health maintenance organization in the Midwest. Participants: The study sample (N=1,023) consisted of adult patients, aged 19 to 93, and was divided into six age groups, from young adult, under age 35, to old old, 75 or older. Measurements: Independent variables were a series of dummy variables: age groups, baseline depression severity, sex, and incident depression. Outcomes were defined as care processes (assessment, resources) and improvement in depression symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression scale short form). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze patient characteristics, depression symptoms, and care process variables. Significance level was reported based on the chi-square test of probability, P≤.05. Results: The adjusted response rates to the baseline and follow-up surveys were 69% and 82%. Elderly depressed patients were more likely than younger depressed patients to be widowed, have low levels of education, have fair or poor health, and have three or more comorbid health problems. There were no differences, by age, in number of depressive symptoms, antidepressant treatment, or recommendation for a follow-up appointment. Younger patients were more likely than older patients to have a new diagnosis of depression and to report being depressed most of the past year. Providers were only 6% as likely to ask old-old depressed patients about suicide risk, about one-fourth as likely to referral them to a mental health therapist, about one-fifth as likely to ask if they felt depressed, and one-twentieth as likely to ask about a problem with alcohol as they were with young-adult depressed patients. The old-old were about one-third as likely to report improvement in depression symptoms after 3 months as the young-adult patients. Conclusion: This study suggests a possible pattern of underattention to the oldest depressed patients. Failure to ask about suicide risk is especially of concern because of the high suicide rate of depressed geriatric patients. The finding that physicians are less likely to focus on depression with old-old patients may be explained, in part, by the concept of invisibility of the ordinary.
Contractility and ventricular systolic stiffening in hypertensive heart disease insights into the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Objectives We sought to compare left ventricular (LV) systolic stiffness and contractility in normal subjects, hypertensive patients without heart failure, and patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and to determine whether LV systolic stiffness or myocardial contractility is associated with the rate of mortality in patients with HFpEF. Background Arterial load is increased in patients with hypertension and is matched by increased end-systolic LV stiffness (ventricular-arterial coupling). Increased end-systolic LV stiffness may be mediated by enhanced myocardial contractility or processes that increase passive myocardial stiffness. Methods Healthy control patients (n = 617), hypertensive patients (no heart failure, n = 719), and patients with HFpEF (n = 244, 96% hypertensive) underwent echo-Doppler characterization of arterial (Ea) and LV end-systolic (Ees) stiffness (elastance), ventricular-arterial coupling (Ea/Ees ratio), and chamber-level and myocardial contractility (stress-corrected midwall shortening). Results We found that Ea and Ees were similarly increased in hypertensive patients with or without HFpEF compared with control patients, but ventricular-arterial coupling was similar across groups. In hypertensive patients, increased Ees was associated with enhanced chamber-level and myocardial contractility, whereas in patients with HFpEF, chamber and myocardial contractility were depressed compared with both hypertensive and control patients. Group differences persisted after adjusting for geometry. In patients with HFpEF, impaired myocardial contractility (but not Ees) was associated with increased age-adjusted mortality. Conclusions Although arterial load is increased and matched by increased LV systolic stiffness in hypertensive patients with or without HFpEF, the mechanisms of systolic LV stiffening differ substantially. These data suggest that myocardial contractility increases to match arterial load in asymptomatic hypertensive heart disease, but that progression to HFpEF may be mediated by processes that simultaneously impair myocardial contractility and increase passive myocardial stiffness.
New direction for medical research

The epidemic of cardiovascular disease is beginning to ease with fewer acute myocardial infarctions, deaths and strokes. In the USA, the epidemic of cardiovascular disease appears to have peaked in 1980 for men and in 2000 for women.1 In developing countries, the epidemic continues to rise. There is some fear that advancing obesity and diabetes will erase the current declines in the disease most responsible for the death and disability. How did medical science achieve these goals? In 1950, myocardial infarction was a mystery. A seemingly healthy young male or older grandmother would suddenly be struck down with chest pain followed by a sudden death or 50% mortality within the hospitalisation. In 1948, the National Heart Institute began a longitudinal study of 5209 inhabitants of Framingham, Massachusetts.2 The purpose of the study was to identify risk factors for development of disease. The study has expanded and now includes children and grandchildren. It identified smoking, cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and inactivity as characteristics that were associated with disease. These factors, although statistically significant, had no apparent direct link to the process of myocardial infarction. Coronary thrombosis was a term for myocardial infarction, but at that time thrombosis was not clearly demonstrated. Post mortem examination often lacked a clot or was confused with post mortem clotting. The theories of coronary thrombosis versus demand outstripping supply due to vessel narrowing by atherosclerosis were debated until 1986 when angioscopy demonstrated clot within the vessel of a patient suffering from acute myocardial infarction.3 Once clot was definitively identified, fibrinolysis, antithrombotics and antiplatlets were developed, attacking the clot that was at least linked to the disease process. Trials began to test the hypothesis that if a blood clot could be dissolved, outcomes would be better. These trials were successful and have helped curb the …
Novel roles for iron regulatory proteins in the adaptive response to Iron deficiency

Iron regulatory proteins (IRP) modulate the use of mRNA-encoding proteins that are involved in the transport, storage and use of iron. Several new potential mRNA targets for IRP were recently identified: divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT-1) and ferroportin, which are critical regulators of iron absorption in the gut and of iron cycling between various tissues of the body. Although this may extend the reach of IRP to other processes that are important for maintaining body iron homeostasis, the extent to which IRP modulate other physiological processes that are altered in response to changes in iron availability is not clear. However, in the past several years, targets for IRP and IRP-like proteins were identified in eukaryotes and prokaryotes in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and electron-transport chain. In mammals, this includes the mRNA that encodes the TCA-cycle enzyme mitochondrial aconitase (m-acon). Recent work established that m-acon expression is translationally regulated by iron in a manner that is strongly correlated with IRP RNA-binding activity. Interestingly, these studies also demonstrate that IRP regulate their mRNA targets in a hierarchical manner. The changes in m-acon synthesis and abundance in liver during iron deficiency fail to affect TCA-cycle capacity but are associated with a significant upregulation of mitochondrial export of radiolabeled citrate. We conclude that IRP are required for the regulation of physiological pathways that include but are not limited to iron metabolism, and as such, IRP are critical factors in the adaptive response to iron deficiency.
Chemotherapy use in stage III colon cancer: a National Cancer Database analysis

Background:Although adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer improves overall survival, prior studies have shown that it is underused. We analyzed different factors that may influence its use.Methods:This is a retrospective study of stage III colon cancer patients (n = 207,718) diagnosed between 2000 and 2011 in the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). The NCDB contains ~70% of new cancer diagnosis from >1500 American College of Surgeons accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. The chi-squared test was used to determine any difference in characteristics of patients who did or did not receive chemotherapy.Results:A total of 35% of all stage III colon cancer patients, and 38% of stage III cases undergoing surgery, did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. The use of chemotherapy had increased in recent years (64% in 2007–2011 versus 59% in 2000–2002; p < 0.0001). Its use was lower in whites (61%), females (60%), patients ⩾60 years (55%), patients with one or more comorbidities (55%)...
Changing Effects of Job Accessibility on Employment and Commute: A Case Study of Los Angeles

Accessibility has become a key indicator to evaluate performance of transportation plans and policies. Nevertheless, empirical evidence of the effects of accessibility is inconclusive. The mixed results raise questions about the significance of space and require examining the constancy of job accessibility's effects over time. This research investigates the effects on worker-to-population ratios and commute time between 1990 and 2007–2011 in the Los Angeles metropolitan area using spatial regression models and interactive dummy variables. The results show that higher job accessibility is significantly associated with shorter commute time, and the association between job accessibility and worker-to-population ratios is weak and even insignificant. Moreover, the effects of job accessibility did not significantly change between 1990 and 2007–2011 but fluctuated in between.
Query costs in HB(1) trees versus 2–3 trees

Query costs in random AVL trees are compared to those in random 2–3 trees. Both data structures are assumed to reside in main storage. Costs are calculated in terms of the number of node visits and key comparisons required to find a match or no match for a given key. The comparison is based upon theoretical concepts and implementation dependent considerations; e.g., data and instruction fetch. It is shown that if the cost of a key comparison is greater than or equal to the cost of a node access, then AVL trees are more advantageous.
Nonlinear electromagnetic response in quark-gluon plasma

We perform the first systematic study of the nonlinear electromagnetic currents induced by the external electromagnetic field in quark-gluon plasma, in cases where the inhomogeneity of the electromagnetic field is small (large) so that the collision effect is important (negligible). In the former case, we list and classify possible components of the currents in a systematic way and make an order estimate of each component by using the Boltzmann equation in the relaxation time approximation. In the latter case, we explicitly calculate the quadratic current by using the Vlasov equation, and we find that the current generated by the chiral magnetic effect and the quadratic current can have the same order of magnitude by using the Kadanoff-Baym equation. We also demonstrate this property by using a possible configuration of the electromagnetic field realized in a heavy ion collision.
Pressure dependence of SiO2 growth kinetics and electrical properties on SiC

Dry oxidations between 0.25 and 4 atm at 1150 °C are used to characterize the pressure dependence of the growth kinetics of SiO2 along three orientations of the 4H-SiC polytype. The growth curves are studied using the Deal-Grove model. The extracted linear and parabolic constants are found to scale linearly with the pressure up to 2 atm. However, the data indicate that the (0001) Si-face exhibits a retarded growth rate above 2 atm. It is also found that, like Si, there is a critical oxide thickness below which the linear-parabolic model cannot be applied. This value is found to be between 36 and 40 nm for SiO2 on 4H-SiC, and is apparently independent of the crystal orientation and oxidation pressure. The extracted critical thickness and its properties are similar to what is observed on Si, suggesting that the fast growth regime is dictated by the nature of the oxide. Finally, it is shown that the density of interface states (Dit) on the (0001) Si-face is not reduced by faster oxide growth rates within the...
Early agriculture and early Postclassic Maya occupation in western Honduras

Evidence of the origins, intensification and end of cultivation can be obtained from pollen profiles indicating forest clearance. Independent archaeological data1,2 (the first occurrences of ceramics and village settlement) have yielded a date of ∼3,000 yr BP for the onset of agriculture in western Honduras. Recent research on early Postclassic Maya demography3,4 has identified much regional variation in settlement densities, contrary to an earlier view, based on limited data, of immediate pan-southern Maya abandonment or depopulation after ∼1,050 yr BP (ref. 5). Here I present pollen profiles which provide evidence of early slash-and-burn maize agriculture at Lake Yojoa, probably part of an Archaic hunting and gathering strategy, from ∼4,500 yr BP or earlier. Slash-and-burn agriculture intensified at ∼3,000 yr BP at Lake Yojoa, and stabilized thereafter. At Petapilla Swamp, 5 km north-east of the major Maya centre of Copan, the pollen sequence began at ∼1,000 yr BP and suggests terminal Classic–early Postclassic (AD 950–1200) agricultural activity. The present pollen evidence of occupation until ∼AD 1200 and subsequent abandonment of the Copan region reinforces recent archaeological settlement data6.
1168 CORD PLASMA C-PEPTIDE/GLUCOSE [C-P/G] IN INFANTS OF DIABETIC MOTHERS [IDM]: RETROSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE INDEX OF B-CELL FUNCTION

Top of pageAbstract We have reported evidence of ↑ fetal B-cell function [C-P/G] in umbilical cord plasma from IDM, including gestational diabetics with minimal degrees of glucose intolerance. In this report, we examined the relationships between C-P/G to antenatal (metabolic environment and intrauterine growth) and postnatal (glucose homeostasis) events in 87 term IDM (White Classes A-D) with uncomplicated neonatal courses. Retrospectively, maternal hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc) at term correlated with C-P/G (r=.3450, p<.01) and adiposity as reflected in skin fold thickness measurements (p<.05) and weight/height ratio (p<.01). Thus, even in tightly regulated diabetics, gradations of metabolic control reflected in HbAlc elicit ↑ B-cell function which is expressed in birthweight and adiposity. Prospectively, C-P/G correlated with the nadir of plasma glucose in the first 4 hours of life (r= .4976, p<.01) as well as with rate of glucose disposal (Kt r= .5830, p<.01) and acute B-cell stimulatory responses (ΔC-P r= .7128, p<.01) in a subgroup of IDM challenged with intravenous glucose at 2 hours of life. Thus, cord C-P/G relationships at the pivotal transition between in utero and extrauterine life are sensitive measures of ongoing B-cell function providing a retrospective index of antenatal fetal metabolic environment and augmented growth and a prospective index of altered neonatal glucose homeostasis.
NMR solution structure of butantoxin.

The NMR structure of a new toxin, butantoxin (BuTX), which is present in the venoms of the three Brazilian scorpions Tityus serrulatus, Tityus bahiensis, and Tityus stigmurus, has been investigated. This toxin was shown to reversibly block the Shaker B potassium channels (K(d) approximately 660 nM) and inhibit the proliferation of T-cells and the interleukin-2 production of antigen-stimulated T-helper cells. BuTX is a 40 amino acid basic protein stabilized by the four disulfide bridges: Cys2-Cys5, Cys10-Cys31, Cys16-Cys36, and Cys20-Cys38. The latter three are conserved among all members of the short-chain scorpion toxin family, while the first is unique to BuTX. The three-dimensional structure of BuTX was determined using (1)H-NMR spectroscopy. NOESY, phase sensitive COSY (PH-COSY), and amide hydrogen exchange data were used to generate constraints for molecular modeling calculations. Distance geometry and simulated annealing calculations were performed to generate a family of 49 structures free of constraint violations. The secondary structure of BuTX consists of a short 2(1/2) turn alpha-helix (Glu15-Phe23) and a beta-sheet. The beta-sheet is composed of two well-defined antiparallel strands (Gly29-Met32 and Lys35-Cys38) connected by a type-I' beta-turn (Asn33-Asn34). Residues Cys5-Ala9 form a quasi-third strand of the beta-sheet. The N-terminal C2-C5 disulfide bridge unique to this toxin does not appear to confer stability to the protein.
Effects of alterations of zinc-to-phosphorus ratios and meconium content on group B Streptococcus growth in human amniotic fluid in vitro.

Several authors have described the bacterial growth-altering properties of amniotic fluid. We examined Group B Streptococcus growth in aseptically obtained amniotic fluid in vitro after altering its zinc, phosphorus, and meconium contents. Zinc and phosphorus levels were calculated in amniotic fluid and in meconium. Separate solutions of zinc and phosphorus were added to yield concentrations of 0.7, 7.0, 70, and 700 μmol. The solutions were incubated with Group B Streptococcus III 893 and Escherichia coli C5 strains, and 24-hour growth curves were plotted. Meconium, 0.5 mg/ml, was added to each amniotic fluid + zinc and amniotic fluid + phosphorus solution, and growth curves were plotted. The rate of proliferation of Group B Streptococcus varied directly with the zinc concentration (700 = 70 > 7 > 0.7 μmol) and inversely with the phosphorus content (700
Lactosylceramide Stimulates Ras-GTP Loading, Kinases (MEK, Raf), p44 Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase, and c-fos Expression in Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells

Previously, our laboratory has shown that lactosylceramide (LacCer) can serve as a mitogenic agent in the proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells "a hallmark in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis" (Chatterjee, S. (1991) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 181, 554-561). Here we report a novel aspect of LacCer-mediated signal transduction. We demonstrate that LacCer (10 microM) can stimulate the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase p44MAPK to phosphorylated p44MAPK in aortic smooth muscle cells from rabbit or human origin. Western immunoblot assays and direct measurement of activity in immunoprecipitated MAP kinase revealed that within 5 min of incubation of cells with LacCer there was a 3.5-fold increase in the activity of p44MAPK. This continued up to 10 min of incubation; thereafter, the MAP kinase activity decreased in these cells. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that the tyrosine and threonine moieties of p44MAPK was phosphorylated by LacCer. Incubation of cells with ceramide and glucosylceramide did not significantly stimulate p44MAPK activity. Preincubation with tyrphostin (20 microM; a potent and specific inhibitor of tyrosine kinase) markedly inhibited the LacCer mediated stimulation in p44MAPK activity. Next we investigated the upstream and downstream parameters in MAP kinase signaling pathways. We found that lactosylceramide stimulated (7-fold) the loading of GTP on Ras. Concomitantly, LacCer stimulated the phosphorylation of MAP kinase kinases (MEK) and Raf within 2.5 min. Lactosylceramide specifically induced c-fos mRNA expression (3-fold) in these cells as compared to control. In summary, one of the biochemical mechanisms in LacCer mediated induction in the proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells may involve Ras-GTP loading, activation of the kinase cascade (MEK, Raf, p44MAPK), and c-fos expression.
Protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocytes XIX: EIF-2 promotes dissociation of Met-tRNAf-EIF-1-GTP complex and Met-tRNAf binding to 40S ribosomes.

Abstract The peptide chain initiation factor, EIF-2 has been partially purified from the 0.5 M KCl ribosomal wash. The molecular weight of EIF-2 is approximately 450,000. The purified EIF-2 preparation promotes the dissociation of the ternary complex, Met-tRNA f ·EIF-1·GTP in the presence of Mg ++ and is also required along with EIF-1 for AUG-directed Met-tRNA f binding to 40S ribosomes.
Interferon in renal cell carcinoma. The UCLA experience

Three sequential studies of alpha interferon were performed in a total of 84 evaluable patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In Study I, conducted from 1981 to 1982, 43 patients received human leukocyte alpha interferon (IFN alpha) 3 X 10(6) U/day, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. In Study II, performed in 1983, vinblastine (0.1 mg/kg/week) was added to the same IFN alpha regimen in 22 subjects. Study III, held from 1984 to 1985, evaluated the effects of escalating doses of interferon alfa-2a (from 3 to 36 X 10(6) U/day) administered 5 days per week to 19 patients. Overall, complete (CR) and partial responses (PR) totaled 17% (14%, 14%, and 26% in Studies I-III, respectively). Median survival of all patients was 49 weeks. Median survival appeared to be superior in the third study, likely because of the patient mix (skewed toward a Karnofsky performance status of 10, disease-free interval longer than 1 year, and disease confined to the lung). Those prognostic factors were also found to correlate with improved median survival in the total group of 84 patients. Likewise, response to therapy was linked to prolonged survival; patients with CR, PR, or minimal responses had a median survival of 72 weeks. In all the favorable subgroups, responders had better outcomes than nonresponders, but it was not clear whether response to therapy merely selected out patients with better initial prognoses or actually led to improved survival.
The ontological context of Gadamer's “Fusion”: Boehme, Heidegger, and non-duality

The notion that there can be no ultimately objective point of view by which the truth of a thing can be determined with absolute certainty is not congenial to the Western mind. It threatens to undermine the principle values of prediction and control on which the advance of technology continues to rest. Precisely what characterizes contemporary critical theory, however, particularly if schooled by Nietzsche's philosophical hammer, is the realization that theory, especially of a dogmatic kind, can easily become the child of ideology. We are witnessing an ever increasing concern about establishing a more explicit philosophical foundation for critical activity and are consequently becoming unusually open to the influences of European thought, particularly from hermeneutic and deconstructionist camps. We are gradually waking up to the unconscious presuppositions of our critical commonplaces and are discovering, as the Europeans have been discovering since the dissemination of Nietzsche's major writings, that we are caught on the dual horns of the Cartesian and Neo-Kantian dilemma. Typical of the new sound on the American critical scene is the following attack by Paul Bov6 on the "Gnosticism" of Harold Bloom:
Eductor Performance Testing

HB-Line uses eductors to pump the contents of the Recycle Tanks and the Filtrate Tanks to H Canyon. The eductors serve the functions of both pumping and diluting product bearing solutions. Dilution must be reliably controlled because of criticality concerns with H Canyon Tanks. Therefore, it is important to measure the performance characteristics of the eductors. An eductor (Schutte and Koerting, model 264, size 1/2 inch, 316 stainless steel) identical to the eductors in HB Line Phase II was tested in the Thermal Fluids Laboratory (TFL) over the appropriate ranges of eductant pressure, suction head and discharge head. After testing, the eductor was engraved with the following equipment number, HBL-221000-HV-NPCP-EDR-NT-31/32. The performance data were successfully correlated using two equations, one for the flowrate of eductant and the other for the flowrate of suction fluid. Flowrates were within 10 percent of the flowrates published by the vendor.
The Size and Scope of Strategic Planning in State Agencies: The New York Experience

Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in strategic planning in the public sector. However, a wide variety of structural arrangements, funding levels, and purposes and objectives are all grouped together under the rubric of strategic planning. This article is the first phase of a two-part research effort. The authors set out to promote a better understanding of the status of strategic planning in the public sector by examining the organization, funding, and mission of strategic planning units within New York State agencies. They report top state officials' reactions to strategic planning and how they explicitly use it.
Familial third-fourth pharyngeal pouch syndrome with apparent autosomal dominant transmission.

A family is presented in which both siblings and their father had evidence of third-fourth pharyngeal pouch syndrome (DiGeorge syndrome). All three individuals had hypocalcemia and unusual facies. Both infants had truncus arteriosus. One infant had evidence of impaired cell-mediated immunity: the father had a relatively decreased number of T-lymphocytes. The syndrome is uncommon, most cases being isolated, and familial presentations are even rarer. Two recent reports described several affected individuals who also had partial deletions of chromosome 22. Chromosome banding studies in our family were normal. Thus our family demonstrates an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, although it cannot be proved that this is a single gene defect. We propose that inasmuch as the presentation of the syndrome is quite varied, thorough family investigation including high-resolution cytogenetic analysis is necessary. Familial cases may be more common and require genetic counseling.
Attitudes and practices of Florida nurse practitioners on oral cancer prevention and early detection.

Background. Oral cancer continues to have a relatively low survival rate because most tumors are diagnosed at late stages. Nurse practitioners may be optimally positioned for oral cancer prevention and early detection. Methods. A statewide mail-based survey was conducted among 448 Florida nurse practitioners. Logistic regression was conducted to assess the independent relationships between nurse practitioners’ attitudes and their practices in oral cancer prevention and early detection. Results. Nurse practitioners’ oral cancer practice behaviors were significantly affected by their attitudes. Conclusions. Effective strategies should be implemented to enhance positive attitudes about oral cancer early detection among Florida nurse practitioners.
Neuroregenerative and neuroprotective actions of neuroimmunophilin compounds in traumatic and inflammatory neuropathies

FK506 (tacrolimus, Prograf®) is an immunosuppressant drug that also has profound neuroregenerative and neuroprotective actions independent of its immunosuppressant activity. The separation of these properties has led to the development of non-immunosuppressant derivatives that retain the neurotrophic activity. This review focuses on the peripheral nerve actions of these compounds following mechanical injury (nerve crush or transection with graft repair) and in models of inflammatory neuropathies. Whereas FK506 may be indicative for the treatment of inflammatory neuropathies where its immunosuppressive action would be advantageous, non-immunosuppressant derivatives represent a new class of potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of human neurological conditions in general. Moreover, these studies have led to the discovery of a novel mechanism whereby these compounds activate intrinsic neuroregenerative and neuroprotective pathways in the neuron.
Biochemistry: Another aspect of nature's ingenuity.

Eyewitnesses are sometimes asked to identify a culprit from a line-up of people associated with a crime scene. An enzyme — iridoid synthase — that catalyses an unusual reaction has been identified by a similar approach. See Letter p.138 This paper reports the identification of iridoid synthase, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of iridoids, a large family of bicyclic natural products that possess anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial activities. The enzyme produces a bicyclic ring system via a novel NAD(P)H-dependent cascade reaction. Knowledge of its structure and function should contribute towards efforts aimed at modifying and reconstituting iridoid and related pathways in crop plants or microbes for agricultural and pharmaceutical purposes.
Is the comparison of a left varicocele testis to its contralateral normal testis sufficient in determining its well-being?

Objective To determine whether a size difference between a left testis involved with a varicocele and the contralateral normal testis is sufficient in its size assessment. Methods We reviewed all pediatric scrotal ultrasounds at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital between 2001 and 2008. Sonographic testicular measurements were recorded for patients with clinically diagnosed left varicocele (n = 81 for “varicocele” group) and for patients with no specific pathologic findings (n = 184 for “normal” group). We first compared the sizes between left and right testes for all patients, then between the “varicocele” group and the “normal” group separately for left and right. Results There were no significant size differences between left and right testes for the “normal” group, whereas the left was significantly smaller than the contralateral right for the “varicocele” group ( P = .0048 for length; P = .012 for volume) for all ages. For boys 16 years or older, both the left and contralateral right testes of “varicocele” boys were smaller than those of “normal” boys, adjusting for age ( P for left = .026 for length and .059 for volume; for right P = .033 for length and .031 for volume). Conclusion Our study confirms that the left testis in boys with varicocele is most often smaller than the contralateral right testis no matter the age. Compared with normal boys in late adolescence, the contralateral right testis is smaller in boys with varicocele.
A substantive and methodological review of couples group therapy outcome research

Outcome research on couples' group therapy is reviewed and discussed in terms of substantive findings and relevant methodological components. Research to date has found couples group therapy to be as effective as either individual, conjoint, or non-spouse group formats. These results, however, are based on the findings of only five studies, all of which displayed methodological limitations. Suggestions for future research involving couples groups are discussed.