cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Calcium wave propagation in pancreatic acinar cells: functional interaction of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors, ryanodine receptors, and mitochondria.

In pancreatic acinar cells, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)–dependent cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) increases resulting from agonist stimulation are initiated in an apical “trigger zone,” where the vast majority of InsP3 receptors (InsP3R) are localized. At threshold stimulation, [Ca2+]i signals are confined to this region, whereas at concentrations of agonists that optimally evoke secretion, a global Ca2+ wave results. Simple diffusion of Ca2+ from the trigger zone is unlikely to account for a global [Ca2+]i elevation. Furthermore, mitochondrial import has been reported to limit Ca2+ diffusion from the trigger zone. As such, there is no consensus as to how local [Ca2+]i signals become global responses. This study therefore investigated the mechanism responsible for these events. Agonist-evoked [Ca2+]i oscillations were converted to sustained [Ca2+]i increases after inhibition of mitochondrial Ca2+ import. These [Ca2+]i increases were dependent on Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum and were blocked by 100 μM ryanodine. Similarly, “uncaging” of physiological [Ca2+]i levels in whole-cell patch-clamped cells resulted in rapid activation of a Ca2+-activated current, the recovery of which was prolonged by inhibition of mitochondrial import. This effect was also abolished by ryanodine receptor (RyR) blockade. Photolysis of d-myo InsP3 P4(5)-1-(2-nitrophenyl)-ethyl ester (caged InsP3) produced either apically localized or global [Ca2+]i increases in a dose-dependent manner, as visualized by digital imaging. Mitochondrial inhibition permitted apically localized increases to propagate throughout the cell as a wave, but this propagation was inhibited by ryanodine and was not seen for minimal control responses resembling [Ca2+]i puffs. Global [Ca2+]i rises initiated by InsP3 were also reduced by ryanodine, limiting the increase to a region slightly larger than the trigger zone. These data suggest that, while Ca2+ release is initially triggered through InsP3R, release by RyRs is the dominant mechanism for propagating global waves. In addition, mitochondrial Ca2+ import controls the spread of Ca2+ throughout acinar cells by modulating RyR activation.
Risks of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Is there a Role for Use in the Management of the Acutely Poisoned Patient?

Objective: To review the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the support of poisoned patients and provide a basis for comparison to other methods of respiratory support for these patients. Methods: The medical literature was reviewed and selected cases of poisoning supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and mechanical ventilation highlighted. Data from published outcome studies were reviewed. All cases found were included in the database. Case experiences were critiqued based on available clinical literature. Outcome studies were critiqued with respect to relevancy and bias. Many cases do not provide strong evidence of direct patient benefit. There are no data to support an improvement in outcome among poisoned patients. Conclusion: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenationfor respiratory failure following ingestion has the same limited indications as for other patients with respiratory failure. Data supporting an improvement in outcome are not available. Extracorporeal membrane o...
Selective precipitation and purification of monovalent proteins using oligovalent ligands and ammonium sulfate.

This paper describes a method for the selective precipitation and purification of a monovalent protein (carbonic anhydrase is used as a demonstration) from cellular lysate using ammonium sulfate and oligovalent ligands. The oligovalent ligands induce the formation of protein–ligand aggregates, and at an appropriate concentration of dissolved ammonium sulfate, these complexes precipitate. The purification involves three steps: (i) the removal of high-molecular-weight impurities through the addition of ammonium sulfate to the crude cell lysate; (ii) the introduction of an oligovalent ligand and the selective precipitation of the target protein–ligand aggregates from solution; and (iii) the removal of the oligovalent ligand from the precipitate by dialysis to release the target protein. The increase of mass and volume of the proteins upon aggregate formation reduces their solubility, and results in the selective precipitation of these aggregates. We recovered human carbonic anhydrase, from crude cellular lys...
MAIZE PREPARATION AND THE AZTEC SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY

The study of changes in the social organization of maize preparation provides an important opportunity to examine the integration of households into larger systems of social and economic relationships. Spatial analysis of the distribution of manos and metates at Otumba demonstrates a change in maize production from individual, household based to a more specialized system. It is hypothesized that scarcity of firewood for cooking was a causal factor for this change, but more evidence is needed to test this idea.
Review of Methods in Population Pharmacokinetics

There are many procedures for estimating pharmacokinetic parameters in a population of patients. Those reviewed here include two traditional methods: Standard Two-Stage (STS) and Iterative Two-Stage methods, and three direct population pharmacokinetic (PPK) methods: Naive Pooled Data, Mixed-Effects Models, and Nonparametric methods. The classical method of estimation is the Standard Two-Stage method; however, multiple samples are required for each individual, which may not be feasible in certain populations. Direct population pharmacokinetic methods have been developed to analyze data sets consisting of a small number of samples per patient, by pooling the data into one data set and analyzing them simultaneously. In general, the direct population methods perform as well as the traditional methods and possess several advantages over traditional methods.
Signal-to-clutter measure for ATR performance comparison

ATR algorithm performance is clearly directly related to the signature and clutter on which it operates. This paper describes a practical signal to clutter measure used for comparing data set relative detection and recognition difficulty by making use of the target signature directly. Results are shown on a variety of data sets.
Using commercial landings data to identify environmental correlates with distributions of fish stocks

We examined the efficacy of using commercial landings data to identify potential environmental correlates with fish distributions. Historical landings data for two commercially important species, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), were used along with historical conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data to infer monthly mean spatial distributions of catch per unit effort (CPUE), temperature, salinity, density, and stratification over Georges Bank. Relationships between CPUE and these environmental variables plus bottom sediment type and bottom depth were examined on seasonal, annual, and interannual time scales. Empirical analysis suggests that both cod and haddock are found preferentially in water temperatures of approximately 5� C in winter/spring, and as high as 10‐11� C during late fall. Both species are also found preferentially over coarse sand and gravel as opposed to fine sand, and in water depths between 60 and 70 m. These preferences appear to vary seasonally. The above results are consistent with findings of previous investigators using semi-annual research trawl survey data, and suggest that commercial landings data, despite their known errors and biases, can be used effectively to infer associations between fish and their environment.
Genetic effects of ATP1A2 in familial hemiplegic migraine type II and animal models

Na+/K+-ATPase alpha 2 (Atp1a2) is an integral plasma membrane protein belonging to the P-type ATPase family that is responsible for maintaining the sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) gradients across cellular membranes with hydrolysis of ATP. Atp1a2 contains two subunits, alpha and beta, with each having various isoforms and differential tissue distribution. In humans, mutations in ATP1A2 are associated with a rare form of hereditary migraines with aura known as familial hemiplegic migraine type II. Genetic studies in mice have revealed other neurological effects of Atp1a2 in mice including anxiety, fear, and learning and motor function disorders. This paper reviews the recent findings in the literature concerning Atp1a2.
Improving Consonant Intelligibility for Ineraid Patients Fit with Continuous Interleaved Sampling (CIS) Processors by Enhancing Contrast Among Channel Outputs

TOP Objective: In Experiment 1 the objective was to determine whether patients who have been implanted with the Ineraid electrode array perform better on tests of consonant identification when signals are processed through a continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) processor than when signals are processed through an analogue (Ineraid) processor. In Experiment 2 the objective was to determine, for patients using the CIS strategy, whether identification accuracy for stop consonant place of articulation could be improved by enhancing differences in the patterns of the signal processor channel outputs.
Chlorhexidine bathing and microbial contamination in patients' bath basins.

BACKGROUND Research has demonstrated the hazards associated with patients' bath basins and microbial contamination. In a previous study, soap and water bath basins in 3 acute care hospitals were found to be reservoirs for bacteria and potentially associated with the development of hospital-acquired infections. Bacteria grew in 98% of the basin samples; the most common were enterococci (54%), and 32% were gram-negative organisms. OBJECTIVE To assess the presence of bacterial contaminants in wash basins when chlorhexidine gluconate solution is used in place of standard soap and water to wash patients. METHODS Bathing with chlorhexidine gluconate is the standard of practice for all patients in intensive care units at St Vincent Hospital. Specimens from 90 bath basins used for 5 days or more were cultured for bacterial growth to assess contamination of basins when chlorhexidine gluconate is used. RESULTS Of the 90 basins cultured, only 4 came back positive for microbial growth; all 4 showed growth of gram-positive organisms. Three of the 4 organisms were identified as coagulase-negative staphylococcus, which is frequently found on the skin. This translates into a 95.5% reduction in bacterial growth when chlorhexidine gluconate is used as compared with soap and water in the previous study (Fisher exact test, P < .001). The only factor that was related to positive cultures of samples from basins was the sex of the patient. DISCUSSION Compared with the previous study examining microbial contamination of basins when soap and water was used to bathe patients, bacterial growth in patients' bath basins decreased significantly with the use of chlorhexidine gluconate, drastically reducing the risk for hospital-acquired infections. Such reduced risk is especially important for critically ill patients at high risk for bacterial infection.
Independent 5' and 3'-end determination of multiple dihydrofolate reductase transcripts.

Abstract Multiple dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) mRNAs, differing substantially in abundance, are produced as a result of the utilization of multiple transcription initiation sites and multiple polyadenylation sites. We have shown that dhfr mRNAs initiating from an upstream promoter region utilize the same collection of six polyadenylation sites and generate multiple dhfr mRNAs at the same relative abundance as do the mRNAs initiating from the major transcription promoter region. These results indicate that the 5' and 3' ends of dhfr mRNAs are independently determined. We show that the relative abundance of steady-state dhfr mRNAs was the same in nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA fractions. This finding makes it unlikely that differences in mRNA stability account for differences in the relative abundance of the multiple dhfr mRNAs in the cytoplasm. Our analysis of the dhfr promoter region revealed the existence of stable cytoplasmic polyadenylated transcripts complementary to the first 300 nucleotides of the dhfr transcripts initiating from the upstream promoter region. Therefore, the dhfr locus hosts two divergent and partially overlapping genes which share the same promoter region.
Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide. By Peter Andreas. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000. 176p. $39.95 cloth, $15.95 paper.

The difficulty of policing a complex border like that between the United States and Mexico, specifically stemming the flow of illegal drugs and immigration, demonstrates, according to Peter Andreas's insightful and pathbreaking analysis, the challenges associated with globalization, diminished sovereignty, and economic integration between developed and developing economies. In fact, as he notes, intensifying law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border has had several unintended consequences, including enhancing the incentive and thus the flow of illegal drugs and migrants, which, in turn, create obstacles to the expansion of legal flows. Throughout the book an implicit question emerges: How do you balance the positive gains from globalization with the negative or dark side effects of free trade, that is, drug trafficking and illegal immigration? Taking the dilemma further, how can states in a global, borderless economy promote two contradictory policies simultaneously: strong prohibitionist, law-enforcement policies to enforce state sovereignty and economic neoliberalism and integration?
Killing Bugs at the Bedside: A prospective hospital survey of how frequently personal digital assistants provide expert recommendations in the treatment of infectious diseases

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAS) are rapidly becoming popular tools in the assistance of managing hospitalized patients, but little is known about how often expert recommendations are available for the treatment of infectious diseases in hospitalized patients. To determine how often PDAs could provide expert recommendations for the management of infectious diseases in patients admitted to a general medicine teaching service. Prospective observational cohort study Internal medicine resident teaching service at an urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio 212 patients (out of 883 patients screened) were identified with possible infectious etiologies as the cause for admission to the hospital. Patients were screened prospectively from July 2002 until October 2002 for infectious conditions as the cause of their admissions. 5 PDA programs were assessed in October 2002 to see if treatment recommendations were available for managing these patients. The programs were then reassessed in January 2004 to evaluate how the latest editions of the software would perform under the same context as the previous year. PDAs provided treatment recommendations in at least one of the programs for 100% of the patients admitted over the 4 month period in the 2004 evaluation. Each of the programs reviewed improved from 2002 to 2004, with five of the six programs offering treatment recommendations for over 90% of patients in the study. Current PDA software provides expert recommendations for a great majority of general internal medicine patients presenting to the hospital with infectious conditions.
Kant's “Appropriation” of Lampe's God

It would be difficult to find a philosopher who has suffered more injustices at the hands of his commentators (friends and foes alike) than Immanuel Kant. This is particularly true when it comes to the many anecdotes that commentators are, for some reason, quite fond of reciting about Kant. The problem is that such tales are often used surreptitiously to twist Kant's own explicit claims about what he was attempting to accomplish, so that when his writings are read with these stories in mind, misunderstanding is almost inevitable. As an example, it is only necessary to think of the tale of the old ladies of Konigsberg who became so familiar with Kant's rigid schedule that they used to set their clocks by his daily comings and goings. This may or may not be true; the point is that unless this anecdote is recounted with a certain skepticism, it is likely to encourage a prejudice whereby the reader of Kant assumes at the beginning that Kant's writings are filled with the unreasonably rigid and formalistic ravings of someone out of touch with the unpredictable passions that punctuate the life of an ordinary person. In other words, such stories are in danger of creating an image of Kant that may have little or no justification in the text. One could cite other examples, such as the story of how Kant used to lead the procession of university professors up to the cathedral each Sunday, only to desert it at the door, or Bertrand Russell's quip that Kant's response to being “awakened” by Hume was merely to invent a transcendental “soporific” to help him fall asleep again.
Incidence of Floor Eggs as Influenced by Time of Nest Installation, Artificial Lighting and Nest Location

Abstract Placing normal-size White Leghorn pullets in pens with nests at 23 or at 18 weeks of age resulted in 1.56 and 0.65% floor eggs, respectively, during a 40-week test. Normal W.L. pullets in open-type pens with natural plus incandescent light and natural ventilation laid 0.79% floor eggs while those in closed pens with only incandescent light and with positive-pressure fan ventilation laid 6.42% floor eggs during a 40-week test. Dwarf W.L. pullets housed in darkened pens with an incandescent bulb as the major light source preferred nests under the bulb rather than on the opposite side of the room from the bulb. Other nest placements, shading the nests from the bulb and using a 100 W. instead of a 25 W. bulb gave variable results, with no statistically significant difference.
Deterministic self-test of a high-speed embedded memory and logic processor subsystem

A memory built-in self-test state machine (MBIST) was designed to test multiple RAMs, each with differing characteristics with deterministic patterns. These memories are all tested in parallel with a BIST that uses a high-performance pipelined architecture to supply patterns from a single centralized memory BIST state machine at memory cycle speeds. After verifying the RAM integrity, the state machine generates the minimum set of deterministic patterns required to test the associated comparator logic and applies the patterns through the corresponding RAMs to accomplish a 100% stuck fault logic test.
A novel buffer circuit for energy efficient signaling in dual-VDD systems

We propose a novel buffer circuit that allows on-chip signaling for dual-VDD systems at the lower supply (VDDL) with a higher performance and smaller area than the standard buffer. The proposed dual-VDD buffer uses a pull-up PMOS connected to the higher supply (VDDH) rail in parallel with a standard buffer connected to VDDL. The VDDH pull-up PMOS turns on only briefly during a rising transition to aid the VDDL pull-up PMOS but avoids contention at steady state. The higher current drive with the VDDH PMOS allows a favorable trade-off of a considerable reduction in the VDDL buffer size for a small increase in the VDDH PMOS size. This trade-off is especially useful for meeting aggressive delay targets with the lower supply and allows the dual-VDD buffer to increase performance (up to 22%) compared to the standard buffer at VDDL, while still consuming less energy than VDDH signaling. The dual-VDD buffer also achieves gains in energy (up to 17%), buffer area (up to 56%) and peak current (up to 33%) at delay targets that can be met with standard buffers using VDDL.
Measuring and Reducing Modeling Effort in Domain-Specific Modeling Languages with Examples

Domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs) facilitate rapid and ``correct-by-construction'' realization of concepts for the target domain. Although DSMLs provide such benefits, there is implied (or hidden) modeling effort---in terms of user actions---associated with using a DSML that can negatively impact its effectiveness. It is therefore critical that DSML developers understand the meaning of modeling effort and how to reduce it so their DSML is of high quality. This paper provides two contributions to research on developing DSMLs. First, the paper defines a metric for measuring model effort. Secondly, this paper discusses several techniques, with examples, reducing (or improving) modeling effort. The techniques discussed in the paper have been applied to an open-source DSML called the Platform Independent Component Modeling Language (PICML), which is currently used in both academic and industry settings for designing and implementing large-scale distributed systems. Finally, results show that it is possible to reduce modeling effort without requiring user studies to analyze such concerns.
Vocational Concerns of Elementary Teachers: Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Occupational Commitment

This study examines the vocational concerns of 185 elementary teachers. Participants were classified based on their perceptions of the magnitude of their classroom demands and resources. These groupings were then examined for differences in teachers' personal coping resources, job satisfaction, and occupational commitment. Results indicated that teachers classified as perceiving high classroom demand vis-a-vis classroom resources reported lower personal coping resources, less job satisfaction, and more plans to leave their current job.
Fatal hyperammonemia following orthotopic lung transplantation

There have been anecdotes of unexplained coma and death in patients after otherwise successful orthotopic lung transplantation. A patient with primary pulmonary hypertension who underwent a technically uncomplicated single orthotopic lung transplantation is described. The patient developed intractable status epilepticus 4 days after surgery in association with the presence of a markedly elevated plasma ammonium level. Despite multiple therapeutic interventions, the hyperammonemia ultimately resulted in the patient's death. Both metabolic and enzymatic studies showed that the unique physiological disturbance in this disorder results at least in part from defective in vivo conversion of waste nitrogen to urea and increased production of waste nitrogen. Although the rate of hepatic ureagenesis was therefore insufficient to prevent accumulation of ammonium, the cause was not severe liver disease. Liver histology showed widespread, microvesicular steatosis on light-microscopic examination, but only electron-microscopic examination showed severe microvesicular steatosis with severe mitochondrial injury. As in Reye's syndrome, it was unclear whether the hepatic mitochondrial injury played a role in development or if it was the result of hyperammonemia. We recommended that any patient with an unexplained alteration of mental status after solid organ transplantation be evaluated for hyperammonemia.
Effect of multimeric structure of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein on binding to platelets

The characteristics of the intact factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein binding to human platelets was compared to 2-mercaptoethanol-treated factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein and to fractions of plasma factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein that elute after the void volume. These studies indicate that the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein larger size oligomers bind preferentially with high affinity to low capacity sites on human platelets. The intermediate and smaller size oligomers bind with intermediate or low affinity to sites with a much greater capacity. The results from binding analysis are also paralleled by the competitive inhibition of the intact factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein by the various 2-mercaptoethanol-treated materials. These studies indicate that the two classes of binding sites seen in previous reports of factor VII/von Willebrand factor binding reflect heterogeneity in the oligomer size of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein used in these assays. This study provides a model for understanding some of the normal structure-function relationships of the normal factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein and the defect(s) in a variant form of von Willebrand's disease. In this form of the disease, decreased factor VIII/von Willebrand factor binding to platelets is reflected in decreased von Willebrand factor activity but coagulant and/or antigen levels are normal or only slightly decreased.
Series Solution to Problems in Elastodynamics

Presented herein is a power series solution to the mixed initial and boundary value problem in three-dimensional elastodynamics. Based on the characteristic properties of the governing hyperbolic system of equations, the problem is reduced to solving initial value problems in Cauchy-Kowalewsky normal form along characteristic surfaces and obtaining discontinuity expansions about these surfaces. A numerical example is also presented.
Characterization of strontium iodide scintillators with silicon photomultipliers

Abstract This work characterizes a commercially available europium-doped strontium iodide detector recently developed by Radiation Monitoring Devices (RMD). The detector has been chosen for a space-based mission scheduled to launch in early 2017. The primary goal of this work was to characterize the detector׳s response over the expected operational range of −10 °C to 30 °C as well as the expected operational voltage range of +26.5–+28.5 V and identify background interferences that may develop due to neutron activation produced by cosmic-ray interactions. The 8 mm×8 mm×20 mm detectors use KETEK silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), with an active area of 6 mmx6 mm (KETEK PM6660). Our results show substantial integral nonlinearity due to the SiPM ranging from 0% to 25% at room temperature over the energy range of 80–2614 keV. The nonlinearity, a function of temperature and overvoltage, leads to an underestimate of the full width at half max (FWHM), which is 2.6% uncorrected at 662 keV and 3.8% corrected at 662 keV. The temperature dependence of the detector results in a noise threshold that increases substantially above 30 °C due to the SiPM dark rate. In an effort to simulate the harsh environment of space, neutron activation of the detector was also explored. Gamma-ray lines at 127 keV and 164 keV were observed in the detector along with Kα x-rays associated with europium. Beta decay from europium- and iodine-activation products were also observed within the detector.
A software LDPC decoder implemented on a many-core array of programmable processors

This paper presents the design and implementation of a software Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) decoder on the AsAP2 platform, which contains a 2D mesh of 164 programmable processors designed for general DSP applications. A software decoding algorithm is described which requires low memory overhead, and scalable methods are provided for parallelizing the computational workload across many cores. LDPC codes of length 4095 and 16129 are implemented, respectively using 152 or 156 processors, achieving 21.3 or 13.4 Mbps of throughput, and using 131 or 188 nJ per decoded bit over four decoding iterations.
Structure of the Ice–Clathrate Interface

Clathrate hydrates are crystals in which water molecules form hydrogen-bonded cages that enclose small nonpolar molecules, such as methane. In the laboratory, clathrates are customarily synthesized from ice and gas guest under conditions for which homogeneous nucleation of hydrates is not possible. It is not known how ice assists in the nucleation of clathrate hydrates or how ice forms on clathrate hydrate in the case of self-preservation. There is no lattice matching between any plane of ice and clathrate hydrates; therefore, an interfacial transition layer has to form to connect the two crystals. Here, we use molecular dynamic simulations to study the structure of ice–clathrate interfaces produced by alignment and equilibration of the crystals, competitive growth of ice and clathrate from a common solution, nucleation of hydrate in the presence of a growing ice front, and nucleation of ice in the presence of clathrate hydrates. We find that the interfacial transition layer between ice and clathrate is a...
H-2 antigen variants in a cultured mouse leukemia cell line

We have investigated the effect of immune selection against a single gene product on a cultured mouse Friend leukemia cell line. The clonal cell line used is heterozygous at theH-2 complex and expresses theH-2 d andH-2 b haplotypes. The genes selected against were theH-2K locus alleles. Variants were obtained after a single-step selection using either antiH-2Kb or anti-H-2Kd serum. The phenotypes of the variants obtained showed an interesting asymmetry between the two haplotypes. Selection against theH 2K b allele resulted in the isolation of the two expected types of variant-those that had lost only H-2Kb and those that had lost both H-2Kb and the linked H-2Db. Selection against H-2Kd yielded, exclusively, variants that had lost both the selected antigen and the linked H-2Dd. None of the variants showed an alteration in expression of antigens intrans configuration. Karyotypic analyses of the variants revealed that all the cells had retained both copies of chromosome 17 present in the wild-type cells. The results suggest that the variants did not emerge through chromosome loss.
The Prevalence of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Obese Children Varies Depending on the Method Utilized to Determine Left Ventricular Mass

Obesity and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) have been identified as independent risk factors for cardiovascular events. The definition of LVH depends on the geometric algorithm used to calculate LV mass (LVM) by echocardiography and the method used to normalize LVM for body size. This study evaluates the effect of these methods on the prevalence of LVH in obese children. LVM for 109 obese and 109 age-matched non-obese children was calculated using M-mode or two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE). LVM was then normalized to height 2.7 as indexed LVM (LVMI), to body surface area (BSA), height, and lean body mass (LBM) as LVM Z-scores. LVH was defined as LVMI >95th ‰ using age-specific normal reference values or LVM Z-scores ≥2. The prevalence of LVH by LVMI and LVM Z-scores was compared. There was a correlation between LVM determined by M-mode and by 2DE (R (2) = 0.91), although M-mode LVM was greater than 2DE LVM. However, the difference between these values was greater in obese children than in non-obese children. Based on the method of normalization, the prevalence of LVH among obese children was 64 % using LVMI, 15 % using LVM Z-scores for height, 8 % using LVM Z-scores for BSA and 1 % using LVM Z-scores for LBM. Height-based normalization correlates with obesity and hypertension. The methods used to measure and normalize LVM have a profound influence on the diagnosis of LVH in obese children. Further study is needed to determine which method identifies children at risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Postpolymerization Functionalization of Copolymers Produced from Carbon Dioxide and 2-Vinyloxirane: Amphiphilic/Water-Soluble CO2-Based Polycarbonates

Common CO2-based polycarbonates are known to be highly hydrophobic, and this “inert” property makes them difficult for the covalent immobilization of bioactive molecules. A practical method for modifying polymers is to introduce various functional groups that permit decoration of polymer chains with bioactive substances. In this report, CO2-based poly(2-vinyloxirane carbonate) (PVIC) with more than 99% carbonate linkages is isolated from the CO2/2-vinyloxirane alternating copolymerization catalyzed by the bifunctional catalyst [(1R,2R)-SalenCo(III)(DNP)2] (1) (DNP = 2,4-dinitrophenolate) bearing a quaternary ammonium salt on the ligand framework. It was also observed that the presence of propylene oxide significantly activates 2-vinyloxirane for incorporation into the polymer chain as well as inhibits the formation of cyclic carbonate in the terpolymerization process. DSC studies demonstrate that the glass transition temperature (Tg) decreases with the increase in the content of vinyl groups in the polyca...
The lure of rationality: Why does the deficit model persist in science communication?

Science communication has been historically predicated on the knowledge deficit model. Yet, empirical research has shown that public communication of science is more complex than what the knowledge deficit model suggests. In this essay, we pose four lines of reasoning and present empirical data for why we believe the deficit model still persists in public communication of science. First, we posit that scientists’ training results in the belief that public audiences can and do process information in a rational manner. Second, the persistence of this model may be a product of current institutional structures. Many graduate education programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields generally lack formal training in public communication. We offer empirical evidence that demonstrates that scientists who have less positive attitudes toward the social sciences are more likely to adhere to the knowledge deficit model of science communication. Third, we present empirical evidence of how scienti...
Topical versus oral antibiotics, with or without corticosteroids, in the treatment of tympanostomy tube otorrhea.

Abstract Objective Antibiotic treatment is the standard of care for tympanostomy tube otorrhea. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of topical antibiotics with or without corticosteroids versus oral antibiotics in the treatment of tube otorrhea in children. Data Sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ProQuest. Review Methods The above databases were searched using a search strategy for randomized controlled trials for optimal treatment of tube otorrhea in the pediatric population. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed. Primary outcome was cure (i.e. clearance of otorrhea) at 2–3 weeks. Secondary outcomes were microbiological eradication and complications such as dermatitis and diarrhea. The incidence of these events was defined as dichotomous variables and expressed as a risk ratio (RR) and number needed to benefit (NNTB) in a random-effects model. Results We identified 1491 articles and selected 4 randomized controlled trials which met our inclusion criteria. Topical treatment had better cure (NNTB = 4.7, pooled RR = 1.35, p Conclusion Topical antibiotics should be the recommended treatment for management of tympanostomy tube otorrhea in view of its significantly improved clinical and microbiological efficacy with lower risk of systemic toxicity as compared to oral antibiotics. Further research is necessary to confirm the benefits of topical corticosteroids as an adjunct to topical antibiotics.
Granulocyte- and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factors Enhance Neutrophil Cytotoxicity Toward HIV-infected Cells

Although the control of retroviral disease in animal systems often involves antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), the role of cytotoxic function in human retroviral disorders is uncertain. The ability of the neutrophil to kill HIV-infected targets directed by antiviral antibody was examined. Neutrophils from patients with AIDS killed HIV-infected MOLT-3A cells in a manner equivalent to neutrophils obtained from normal volunteers. Both granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF and GM-CSF) markedly augmented the cytotoxic function. Studies done with fractionated human antisera revealed that ADCC to HIV-infected cells was mediated only by antibody to the env glycoprotein. ADCC in this system was not dependent on oxidative metabolism because neutrophils from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) were capable of CSF-augmented cytotoxicity. Although ADCC can be mediated by various classes of lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes, such cells may be infected by HIV. Because the neutrophil apparently is not productively infected by the virus, it is an ideal cell to focus on with regard to cytotoxic function in AIDS patients. The findings regarding neutrophil ADCC in AIDS are clinically relevant because the availability of CSFs now permits therapeutic regulation of neutrophils in AIDS patients, and presumably natural antibody may be useful in targeting HIV-infected cells for neutrophil cytotoxicity in vivo.
Short-term clinical outcomes and patient compliance with temporomandibular disorder treatment recommendations.

Aims: To evaluate short-term patient compliance with 5 conservative temporomandibular disorder (TMD) treatments (jaw relaxation, jaw stretching, heat application, cold application, and occlusal splint use) and the association of compliance with changes in pain intensity, pain-related activity interference, and jaw use limitations. Methods: Eighty-one TMD patients were given 1 to 5 treatment recommendations as part of usual care in a TMD specialty clinic. Compliance with each recommendation and pain, pain-related activity interference, and jaw use limitation measures were calculated from electronic interviews conducted 3 times daily for 2 weeks. Results: Median compliance with individual treatment modalities ranged from 7.7% for heat application to 92.7% for jaw relaxation; median overall compliance was 54.8%. Participants with higher initial pain intensity and jaw use limitations were significantly more compliant with their recommended treatment regimen (P < .05). The authors controlled for age, gender, education, and initial jaw use limitations. Overall compliance was associated significantly and positively with 2-week jaw use limitations (P = .03). A trend toward a statistically significant positive association was found between compliance and 2-week pain intensity (P = .09). Conclusion: Compliance varied widely across patients and therapies. Patients with higher initial pain and jaw use limitation levels were more compliant with treatment recommendations. Although compliance was associated with slight increases in pain and jaw use limitations in this preliminary study, further research is needed to evaluate the longer-term effects of compliance with recommended therapies.
The Impact of Facility Volume/Size on Breast Cancer Treatment and Outcome:

Recent studies have suggested that outcomes and survival from breast cancer are improved when definitive treatment is rendered at high-volume and/or teaching centers. Consolidation of such cases in tertiary centers, however, is often impractical and impossible. Patients often desire primary treatment of their breast cancer in their own communities. The current study was undertaken to examine the impact of treatment facility type on the treatment performed as well as on overall survival. Breast cancer treatment and survival data were available from the American College of Surgeons National Cancer Data Base. Only patients in whom no previous treatment had been rendered were included in the analysis. Data were stratified with regard to type and size of treatment facility/hospital; stage distribution; initial treatment performed; and 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival. A total of 665,409 patients were included in the current analysis. There were no significant differences in stage distribution between facility types nor was there a significant difference in the treatment performed (although there was a slight trend toward breast conservation at the larger centers). This was true overall and for each stage of cohort. There were also no significant differences in 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates overall and at any stage (although again, there was a slight trend toward a minimal survival advantage at the larger centers). There was no significant impact of facility size or type on either breast cancer treatment performed or overall survival. There was no evidence that more "advanced" treatments were offered at larger centers nor was there evidence of improved outcome/survival at larger centers. Care can be rendered safely, efficiently, and effectively in the community setting.
Improving World Liquidity

The experiment in convertibility launched a year ago faces the same two problems that contributed so much to the early wreckage of a similar experiment some thirty years ago — the shortage of gold and, largely in consequence of that shortage, the undue reliance on national currencies as international reserves. The ratio of world monetary gold stocks to annual imports has fallen persistently throughout the post-war years to less than 40 per cent in 1958, compared with 110 per cent in 1938. The International Monetary Fund recently estimated at $ 700 million a year the total increase in monetary gold stocks that can be expected in the foreseeable future from new gold production and Russian gold sales in Western markets. This is less than 1.5 per cent of current world reserves — of gold and foreign exchange — compared with the annual growth of about 5-6 per cent in the volume of world trade and manufacturing activity in most post-war years. It is evident that in the years ahead gold alone will not ensure the maintenance of adequate reserves in an expanding world economy. If new ways of economizing gold cannot be found — as they were found in the nineteenth century — current trends must lead, sooner or later, to widespread deflation, devaluation or the reimposition of trade and exchange restrictions.
Instrumental- and Emotion-Focused Care Work During Physical Health Events: Comparing Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Marriages.

Objectives We consider emotion- and instrumental-focused care work and marital stress during significant physical health events in midlife gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages. Method We employ the factorial method, an extension of the actor-partner interdependence model, to analyze survey data from 808 midlife gay, lesbian, and heterosexual spouses in 404 unions. Results The amount of emotion- and instrumental-focused care work provided during physical health events, and the associations between care work and marital stress, depends on the gender of the respondent, gender of the spouse, and whether spouses are in a same-sex or different-sex union. For example, in both same- and different-sex marriages, women report providing more emotion-focused care work during their own health event than do men, and respondents report more health-related marital stress when the patient is a woman. Discussion Investigating how midlife same-sex and different-sex spouses care for each other during a spouse's health event expands understandings of gendered aging experiences within marriage. Findings can elucidate health policies and clinical strategies that best support the health of men and women in same- and different-sex marriages.
The Lack of Association of Eosinophilia and Neurocysticercosis at Clinical Presentation: A Retrospective Analysis of Cases Seen at the National Institutes of Health, 1985–2015

Abstract Eosinophilia is a common laboratory finding in helminth infections but whether it is suggestive of neurocysticercosis (NCC) is controversial and inadequately studied. We determined the presence of eosinophilia (≥ 500 eosinophils/mm3) at clinical presentation in 72 patients with a proven or probable diagnosis of NCC and who had not received corticosteroids within 2 weeks of evaluation and complete blood count. Only two persons whose last possible endemic exposures to NCC were 7 and 6 years earlier had eosinophilia of 500 eosinophils/mm3 and both had a positive antibody serology to strongyloidiasis. In the one subject where a follow-up assessment was possible, the eosinophilia resolved. The likely cause for eosinophilia in both was strongyloidiasis. Therefore, none of the subjects with newly diagnosed NCC had significant eosinophilia. Eosinophilia in newly diagnosed symptomatic NCC subjects who had remote exposure is unusual and should prompt a search for another process or infection.
Defining Mastery: Knowledge Tracing Versus N- Consecutive Correct Responses.

Knowledge tracing (KT) is well known for its ability to predict student knowledge. However, some intelligent tutoring systems use a threshold of consecutive correct responses (N-CCR) to determine student mastery, and therefore individualize the amount of practice provided to students. The present work uses a data set provided by ASSISTments, an intelligent tutoring system, to determine the accuracy of these methods in detecting mastery. Study I explores mastery as measured by next problem correctness. While KT appears to provide a more stringent threshold for detecting mastery, N-CCR is more accurate. An incremental efficiency analysis reveals that a threshold of 3 consecutive correct responses provides adequate practice, especially for students who reach the threshold without making an error. Study II uses a randomizedcontrolled trial to explore the efficacy of various N-CCR thresholds to detect mastery, as defined by performance on a transfer question. Results indicate that higher thresholds of N-CCR lead to more accurate predictions of performance on a transfer question than lower thresholds of NCCR or KT.
The crisis of politicization within and beyond science.

Science, by its nature, is open to uncertainty and interpretation, but politicization — fuelled by motivated reasoning and advances in the technological environment — is leading to a new level of science scepticism among citizens and scientists themselves. What can be done to address these crises?
An 18-subject EEG data collection using a visual-oddball task, designed for benchmarking algorithms and headset performance comparisons.

Abstract This data note describes an 18-subject EEG (electroencephalogram) data collection from an experiment in which subjects performed a standard visual oddball task. Several research projects have used this data to test artifact detection, classification, transfer learning, EEG preprocessing, blink detection, and automated annotation algorithms. We are releasing the data in three formats to enable benchmarking of EEG algorithms in many areas. The data was acquired using a Biosemi Active 2 EEG headset and includes 64 channels of EEG, 4 channels of EOG (electrooculogram), and 2 mastoid reference channels.
Predictive power of statistical significance

A statistically significant research finding should not be defined as a P-value of 0.05 or less, because this definition does not take into account study power. Statistical significance was originally defined by Fisher RA as a P-value of 0.05 or less. According to Fisher, any finding that is likely to occur by random variation no more than 1 in 20 times is considered significant. Neyman J and Pearson ES subsequently argued that Fisher's definition was incomplete. They proposed that statistical significance could only be determined by analyzing the chance of incorrectly considering a study finding was significant (a Type I error) or incorrectly considering a study finding was insignificant (a Type II error). Their definition of statistical significance is also incomplete because the error rates are considered separately, not together. A better definition of statistical significance is the positive predictive value of a P-value, which is equal to the power divided by the sum of power and the P-value. This definition is more complete and relevant than Fisher's or Neyman-Peason's definitions, because it takes into account both concepts of statistical significance. Using this definition, a statistically significant finding requires a P-value of 0.05 or less when the power is at least 95%, and a P-value of 0.032 or less when the power is 60%. To achieve statistical significance, P-values must be adjusted downward as the study power decreases.