cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atypical Cerebrospinal Fluid Findings in Neuromyelitis Optica Relapse Mimicking Meningitis (P02.143)

OBJECTIVE: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a disabling, autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that preferentially affects the spinal cord and optic nerves. The serum autoantibody against aquaporin-4, NMO-Immunoglobulin (NMO-IgG), appears to be specific for the disease and is found in up to 75% of patients with an NMO-spectrum disorder. NMO-IgG has been shown to be directly involved in the pathogenesis of the disorder. However, relatively little is known about the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile in NMO relapses. BACKGROUND: Several case series have identified CSF pleocytosis as a consistent marker of the disease in some patients. The largest series of patients with serum-antibody positive NMO found that 50% of CSF samples demonstrated pleocytosis with a range of 6-380 white blood cells (WBC)/µl. However, severe pleocytosis, defined as CSF WBC > =100 cells/µl was present in only 6% of this series. DESIGN/METHODS: We present a case of a young woman with aquaporin-4 antibody positive NMO who presented with markedly severe CSF pleocytosis in the absence of CNS infection and in the setting of a relapse. RESULTS: A 27 year old woman with a history of aggressive NMO presented with acute onset of paraplegia and urinary retention. She was being treated with Rituximab and received her last dose 5 months prior. Magnetic resonance imaging of her cervical spine revealed a confluent, contrast-enhancing lesion from C2-C7. She was treated with intravenous steroids and plasma exchange. One day into her hospitalization, she developed headache and fever. CSF revealed 1000 WBC/µl with a neutrophilic predominance, 80 red blood cells (RBC)/µl, protein of 5420 mg/dl and glucose of 287 mg/dl. Viral PCRs and culture, bacterial culture, and fungal culture were negative. She was found to have a urinary tract infection. CONCLUSIONS: Relapses in NMO may be associated with severe CSF pleocytosis mimicking the profile of bacterial CNS infection. Disclosure: Dr. Vargas has received research support from the National MS Society and Biogen Idec. Dr. Gauthier has received personal compensation for activities with Teva, Genzyme, and Biogen Idec. Dr. Gauthier has received research support from Biogen Idec and Novartis. Dr. Nealon has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec and Serono, Inc. Dr. Vartanian has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec, Genzyme Corporation, and Teva Neuroscience. Dr. Vartanian has received research support from Teva Neuroscience. Dr. Perumal has received personal compensation for activities with Teva Neuroscience and Biogen Idec.
Signatures of Tropical Cyclone Intensification in Satellite Measurements of Ice and Liquid Water Content

AbstractThis study examines how the structure and amount of cloud water content are associated with tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change using the CloudSat Tropical Cyclone (CSTC) dataset. Theoretical and modeling studies have demonstrated the importance of both the magnitude and vertical structure of latent heating in regulating TC intensity. However, the direct observations of the latent heat release and its vertical profile are scarce. The CSTC dataset provides the opportunity to infer the vertical profile of the latent heating from CloudSat retrievals of cloud ice water content (IWC) and liquid water content (LWC). It is found that strengthening storms have ~20% higher IWC than weakening storms, especially in the midtroposphere near the eyewall. These differences in IWC exist up to 24 h prior to an intensity change and are observed for all storm categories except major TCs. A similar analysis of satellite-observed rainfall rates indicates that strengthening storms have slightly higher rainfall rates...
Practical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Calcium Urolithiasis

While there has been a significant advancement in the urological management of patients with renal stones, many patients still undergo repeated urological procedures without examination of the cause of stone formation or a trial on a preventative medical regimen. In the light of recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis, serious consideration should be given to the evaluation of patients with renal calculi in a search for the cause of urolithiasis. The value of such an evaluation derives from accumulating evidence that an appropriately selected treatment regimen may decrease the morbidity associated with this disease. 1,2
Effectiveness of ACL Injury Prevention Programs.

ACL injury prevention programs reduce the incidence of ACL injuries by at least 50% in a variety of sports, and should be used for all athletes. There is no evidence that any particular prevention program or component is superior.
Critical energy justice in US natural gas infrastructuring

Abstract We employ infrastructuring as a verb to highlight contested processes of infrastructure expansion to extract, store, transport, and transform natural gas (into liquefied natural gas, LNG). As faculty members and students embedded in mid-Atlantic universities in the United States (US), we conducted participatory action research to record nearby infrastructuring for Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG Export Terminal and Atlantic Coast Pipeline. We documented how frontline and impacted populations seized opportunities when infrastructuring was visible to challenge and erode the excessive economic and political power of Dominion, one of the US’s largest energy providers, who sought to maintain regulatory privilege through lobbying, campaign contributions, and delegitimization of public health and environmental risks. Extending Tsing’s concept of frictions (i.e., engagement in difference-based encounters), we highlight (1) coalition-building among unlikely allies (collective encounters), and (2) conflictive interactions between proand anti-gas stakeholders (oppositional encounters). Impacted populations collaborated with proximate and distant allies to publicize and legally challenge distributional, regulatory, racial and other forms of injustice from gas infrastructuring. Our critical energy justice (CEJ) framework helps to identity and defend interconnected components of justice under threat due to profit-oriented global gas infrastructuring based upon reckless disregard for climate science and public health.
Some Next Steps in Rights Protection for the Developmentally Disabled.

The past decade produced great strides in rights protection for developmentally disabled youngsters. But, although new or improved licensing standards, certification procedures, human rights commit...
Critical fields H c and H c 2 of superconducting niobium

New measurements of the thermodynamic critical field ${H}_{c}$ and the upper critical field ${H}_{c2}$ of a niobium crystal are interpreted by using realistic microscopic theory. The theory of ${H}_{c2}$ combined with band theory allows the ${H}_{c2}$ measurements to be compared with de Haas---van Alphen measurements. Eliashberg theory allows the ${H}_{c}$ measurements to be compared with other experiments that are sensitive to the electron-phonon interaction. Our measurements of ${H}_{c2}$ confirm the band theory of niobium as adjusted to match de Haas---van Alphen data. Our measurements of ${H}_{c}$ enable us to deduce the value of the electron-phonon-coupling parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$. Finally, we note a discrepancy between the value of the renormalization parameter $1+\ensuremath{\lambda}$ that is needed to match the ${H}_{c2}$ data with the band theory and the value of $1+\ensuremath{\lambda}$ that is required to give the observed ${H}_{c}$.
Coronary CT Angiography: Reversal of Earlier Utilization Trends.

Abstract Purpose To assess recent trends in utilization of coronary CT angiography (CCTA), based upon place of service and provider specialty. Materials and Methods The nationwide Medicare Part B master files for 2006 through 2016 were the data source. Current Procedural Terminology, version 4 codes for CCTA were selected. The files provided procedure volume for each code. Utilization rates per 100,000 Medicare fee-for-service enrollees were then calculated. Medicare’s place-of-service codes were used to identify CCTAs performed in private offices, hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), emergency departments (EDs), and inpatient settings. Physician specialty codes were used to identify CCTAs interpreted by radiologists, cardiologists, and all other physicians as a group. Medicare practice share was defined as the percent of total Medicare utilization that was billed by each specialty. Results The total utilization rate of CCTA in the Medicare population rose sharply from 2006 to 2007, peaking at 210.3 per 100,000 enrollees in 2007. Radiologists’ CCTA practice share in 2007 was 32%, compared with 60% for cardiologists. The overall utilization rate then declined to a nadir of 107.1 per 100,000 enrollees in 2013, but subsequently increased to 131.0 by 2016. By that year, radiologists’ share of CCTA practice had risen to 58%, compared with 38% for cardiologists. HOPD utilization increased sharply since 2010, primarily among radiologists. In EDs and inpatient settings, greater utilization has also occurred recently, primarily among radiologists. By contrast, private office utilization has dropped sharply since 2007. Conclusion After years of declining utilization, the utilization rate of CCTA is now increasing, predominantly among radiologists.
Reduced body size of insular black-tailed deer is caused by slowed development.

Adult body size correlates strongly with fitness, but mean body sizes frequently differ among conspecific populations. Ultimate, fitness-based explanations for these deviations in animals typically focus on community-level or physiological processes (e.g., competition, thermoregulation). However, proximate mechanisms underlying adaptive body size adjustments remain poorly understood. Adjustments in adult body size may result from shifts in growth-related life-history traits, such as the length of time to achieve adult body size (i.e., growth period) and how quickly the body increases in size (i.e., growth rate). Since insular populations often demonstrate dramatic shifts in adult body size, island populations represent a natural experiment by which to test the proximate mechanisms of size change. Here, using dental eruption patterns, we show that a dwarfed population of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) experiences significant heterochronic shifts relative to mainland conspecifics. Namely, juvenile development slowed, such that teeth erupted ≥ 1 year later, but cranial growth suggested no concurrent adjustments in skeletal growth period. Thus, slowed growth rate, shown here with teeth, combined with unchanged growth period resulted in dwarfism, consistent with ultimate predictions for insular, resource-limited populations. Therefore, selection on body size may act on life-history traits that influence body size, rather than acting on body size directly.
Reflections on the 2019 VASTA Conference: Connectors, Communicators, and Culture

This article continues the tradition begun last year of publishing an annual conference “plenary” article. The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), this journal’s sponsoring organization,...
Review of Current Advances in Serologic Testing for COVID-19.

Objectives To examine and summarize the current literature on serologic methods for the detection of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods A literature review was performed using searches in databases including PubMed, medRxiv, and bioRxiv. Thirty-two peer-reviewed papers and 23 preprints were examined. Results The studies included lateral flow immunoassay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, chemiluminescence immunoassay, and neutralizing antibody assays. The use of all major SARS-CoV-2 antigens was demonstrated to have diagnostic value. Assays measuring total antibody reactivity had the highest sensitivity. In addition, all the methods provided opportunities to characterize the humoral immune response by isotype. The combined use of IgM and IgG detection resulted in a higher sensitivity than that observed when detecting either isotype alone. Although IgA was rarely studied, it was also demonstrated to be a sensitive marker of infection, and levels correlated with disease severity and neutralizing activity. Conclusions The use of serologic testing, in conjunction with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing, was demonstrated to significantly increase the sensitivity of detection of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. There was conflicting evidence regarding whether antibody titers correlated with clinical severity. However, preliminary investigations indicated some immunoassays may be a surrogate for the prediction of neutralizing antibody titers and the selection of recovered patients for convalescent serum donation.
Effect of Glycation on Interlamellar Bonding of Arterial Elastin

Interlamellar bonding in the arterial wall is often compromised by cardiovascular diseases. However, several recent nationwide and hospital-based studies have uniformly reported reduced risk of thoracic aortic dissection in patients with diabetes. As one of the primary structural constituents in the arterial wall, elastin plays an important role in providing its interlamellar structural integrity. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of glycation on the interlamellar bonding properties of arterial elastin. Purified elastin network was isolated from porcine descending thoracic aorta and incubated in 2 M glucose solution for 7, 14 or 21 days at 37 °C. Peeling and direct tension tests were performed to provide complimentary information on understanding the interlamellar layer separation properties of elastin network with glycation effect. Peeling tests were simulated using a cohesive zone model (CZM). Multiphoton imaging was used to visualize the interlamellar elastin fibers in samples subjected to peeling and direct tension. Peeling and direct tension tests show that interlamellar energy release rate and strength both increase with the duration of glucose treatment. The traction at damage initiation estimated for the CZM agrees well with the interlamellar strength measurements from direct tension tests. Glycation was also found to increase the interlamellar failure strain of arterial elastin. Multiphoton imaging confirmed the contribution of radially running elastin fibers to resisting dissection. Nonenzymatic glycation reduces the propensity of arterial elastin to dissection. This study also suggests that the CZM effectively describes the interlamellar bonding properties of arterial elastin.
Derivation and Demonstration of a New Metric for Multitasking Performance.

ObjectiveWe proposed and demonstrate a theory-driven, quantitative, individual-level estimate of the degree to which cognitive processes are degraded or enhanced when multiple tasks are simultaneou...
Racial composition and trajectories of gentrification in the United States

Prior studies suggest that middle-income Americans are more likely to move to predominately white, low-income neighbourhoods than predominately black or Latino neighbourhoods. Given that black and ...
Simulating ECMO: Rationale and Genesis

ECMO is the classic low-frequency, high-risk activity that is ideally suited to the use of simulation-based training. Despite its low frequency, healthcare professionals must nevertheless acquire and maintain the cognitive, technical, and behavioral skills necessary to respond to routine, urgent, and emergent clinical situations in patients on ECMO. Simulation-based training can provide highly realistic opportunities to manage complex and challenging scenarios involving failure of both the mechanical function of the circuit and the physiology of the patient. Because effective ECMO simulation requires significant human and physical resources, every effort should be made to avail as many trainees as possible to its benefits. The use of simulation, feedback, and debriefing will help to better prepare healthcare professionals to successfully manage those rare but potentially devastating events that can and will occur to patients on ECMO.
Nós e os Outros: Autonomia e Recepção na Autotradução de João Ubaldo Ribeiro

No campo dos Estudos de Traducao, o fenomeno da autotraducao – termo que caracteriza traducoes realizadas pelo proprio autor do texto original – e um tema ainda pouco explorado em comparacao com as pesquisas em traducao, necessitando ser visitado pela critica uma vez que o sistema literario brasileiro conta com um caso exemplar. Assim, na primeira parte deste artigo discutiremos as estrategias autotradutorias em Viva o Povo Brasileiro, vertido do portugues para o ingles pelo seu autor, Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro, sob o novo titulo de An Invincible Memory. Em seguida, analisaremos como a critica anglofona recebeu o projeto de Ribeiro em comparacao com seu romance original para refletir sobre as condicoes de existencia da literatura brasileira no exterior, cuja autonomia se ve limitada quando traduzida para um contexto mercadologico hegemonico como o de lingua inglesa.
Treating anxiety and depression in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is associated with higher rates of clinically significant anxiety and depression than in healthy populations. Psychosocial interventions targeting anxiety and depre...
Seeking a Way: A White Teacher’s Journey from Critical Race Theory to Black Power Pedagogy

This article is the proposal and application of a teacher reflective practice method. This method was informed by the teacher practical knowledge movement, narrative inquiry, and racial realism as theorized by Derrick Bell. The method includes five steps: (1) restorying past experience, (2) listening/learning/problematizing one’s perspective through the study of other perspectives, in this case, the work of critical race theory and the writing of the Black Power Movement, (3) creating a new narrative of possible future teaching, and (4) problematizing again that new narrative. The final step of this method, which I do not discuss in this paper, is the application of that future narrative to actual teaching practice. The explanation of this method is interwoven with the author’s application of it to their teaching experience working in a fifth grade language arts classroom.
Examining the effect of unintended pregnancy on health utility using four measures.

Abstract Objectives We measured women's preferences for avoiding an unintended pregnancy. We determined if young age ( Study Design We conducted a cross sectional study of women presenting for hormonal contraception who did not desire a pregnancy. We used four techniques to elicit health prefences and calculate utilities for an unintended pregnancy: visual analog scale, and willingness to pay, time-tradeoff (TTO), and standard gamble. We dichotomized each measure to define lowest utility for each measure. We used predicted probabilities and multivariable logistic regression to estimate the association between age (≤25 vs ≥ 26 y) and lowest utility with an unintended pregnancy. Results Our sample included 419 participants from four states. We found that younger age (≤25) was positively associated with reporting the lowest utility for unintended pregnancy. In absolute terms, with the visual analog scale, the probability that a woman 25 years or younger would have lower preference for an unintended pregnancy was 26.8% (95% CI 20.4–33.2%) versus (21.7% (95% CI 14.3–29.0%). Using the willingness to pay, the probability of the younger group having lower preference was 84.9% (CI 80.3–89.4%) compared to 57.3% (CI 49.3–65.3). With the TTO, Women 25 years old and younger had a 78.3% probability (CI 72.6–84.0%) of low utility on the TTO vs 48.9% (CI 40.9–56.9%) in the older group. With standard gamble, younger women had a 47.0% probability (CI 36.8–50.6%) versus 18.0% (CI 14.7–27.5%). Conclusions Women of all ages report a decrease in health utility with unintended pregnancy. This decrease in health utility is greater among young women (age Implications Health utilities for unintended pregnancy can be used to guide cost effectiveness research and health policy.
Infectious complications after tracheoplasty for congenital tracheal stenosis: a retrospective comparative study

The factors related to infectious complications after tracheoplasty for congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) remain unclear; we, therefore, assessed these factors in this study. We divided 47 patients who underwent slide tracheostomy and tracheal resection for CTS between May 2016 and December 2020 into an infected group and a non-infected group. Their characteristics were compared between groups. Results are presented as the median (range) or incidence. Infectious complications were observed in 12 patients (25.5%). Empyema and mediastinitis were seen in 5 cases (10.6%). There was a significant difference in the following factors in the infected and non-infected groups, respectively: weight, 5457 (2868–20,750) g and 6554 (2275–20,800) g (p = 0.025); surgical time, 575.5 (313–646) min and 349 (270–651) min (p < 0.001); extracorporeal circulation time, 303.5 (186–610) min and 216 (117–478) min (p = 0.001); and postoperative intubation time, 13 (7–28) days, and 6 (5–22) days (p < 0.001). Age, malnutrition, cardiovascular comorbidities, and preoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus detection were not significantly different between the two groups. There were a few serious infectious complications and no perioperative deaths. Attention should be paid to low body weight, long surgical and extracorporeal circulation time, and intubation time in relation to infectious complications.
Innovation-Oriented Medical School Curricula: Review of the Literature.

Innovation and entrepreneurship (IE all of the programs integrated faculty leadership with backgrounds in medicine, engineering, and/or business/entrepreneurship. Of the programs, 57% (16/28) had been launched within the past four years and 75% (21/28) based program enrollment on a selective application process. Nearly all (27/28) incorporated lecture series and/or hands-on modules as a teaching technique. The most prevalent metric was completion of a capstone project (22/28; 79%). At least 15.2% (26/171) of American and Canadian allopathic medical schools include the option for students to participate in an I&E curriculum-based program. This review can be used to help medical school faculty with developing I&E curricula.
The alarmin S100A12 causes sterile inflammation of the human chorioamniotic membranes and preterm birth and neonatal mortality in mice

Sterile inflammation is triggered by danger signals or alarmins released upon cellular stress or necrosis. Sterile inflammation occurring in the amniotic cavity (i.e. sterile intra-amniotic inflammation) is frequently observed in women with spontaneous preterm labor resulting in preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, and is associated with increased amniotic fluid concentrations of alarmins. However, the mechanisms whereby alarmins induce sterile intra-amniotic inflammation are still under investigation. Herein, we investigated the mechanisms whereby the alarmin S100A12 induces inflammation of the human chorioamniotic membranes in vitro and used a mouse model to establish a causal link between this alarmin and adverse perinatal outcomes. We report that S100A12 initiates sterile inflammation in the chorioamniotic membranes by upregulating the expression of inflammatory mediators such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and pattern recognition receptors. Importantly, S100A12 induced the priming and activation of inflammasomes, resulting in the activation of caspase-1 and the subsequent release of mature IL-1β by the chorioamniotic membranes. This alarmin also caused the activation of the chorioamniotic membranes by promoting MMP-2 activity and collagen degradation. Lastly, the ultrasound-guided intra-amniotic injection of S100A12 at specific concentrations observed in the majority of women with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation induced preterm birth (rates: 17% at 200 ng/sac; 25% at 300 ng/sac; 25% at 400 ng/sac) and neonatal mortality (rates: 22% at 200 ng/sac; 44% at 300 ng/sac; 31% at 400 ng/sac), demonstrating a causal link between this alarmin and adverse perinatal outcomes. Collectively, our findings shed light on the inflammatory responses driven by alarmins in the chorioamniotic membranes, providing insight into the immune mechanisms leading to preterm birth in women with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation.
Vasectomy: is the apparent decline real or not?

Trends in vasectomy use are controversial, but rates might be declining over time. Several factors could contribute to this apparent decrease, which warrant consideration before definitive conclusions are made.
Two Hats, One Head, No Heart: The Anatomy of the ERISA Settlor/Fiduciary Distinction

ERISA, the comprehensive employee benefits reform statute, created a strict fiduciary standard for those involved in the administration or management of employee benefit plans or their assets, a standard that requires such actors to make decisions solely in the interests of the plan’s participants and their beneficiaries. The courts, however, have held that employer decisions on whether to adopt or terminate a plan, or how to design the provisions of a plan, are plan “settlor” functions, akin to a grantor’s design of a trust under the common law, and thus not subject to ERISA’s fiduciary duties. While the settlor/fiduciary doctrine has worked well and is not controversial in routine cases, the article shows that the doctrine has permitted employers in some cases to bypass express and implied ERISA requirements through artful plan drafting and, perhaps more troubling, has also permitted employers to exploit ERISA’s broad preemption of state law to insulate plans actions from judicial or state legislative oversight, even in areas where there is broad national consensus, such as limits on claim subrogation and liability for negligent medical decision-making. The article suggests three limiting principles that courts could use to provide a more nuanced approach to balancing employer and employee interests in and related to ERISA plans. These principles would leave intact the core of the doctrine while mitigating its most troubling effects.
USING GENOTYPE-BY-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION FOR CROP CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the use of genotype-by-environment interaction for crop cultivar development. The chapter begins with definitions of genotype, environment, and phenotype, and discusses the influence of environment on heredity that may result in modification of a phenotype and lead to genotype-environment (GE) interaction. Some terms from ecological genetics are used and explained. The chapter discusses the causes of genotype-environment interaction and ways to deal with it, stability statistics, and ways to exploit or minimize interaction. A crop cultivar development program has two major components—crop breeding methodology and performance evaluation of improved cultivars in target areas. Implications of GE interaction in breeding are discussed. The concepts of stability are presented. Methodology for identifying stable genotypes and environmental factors that may be responsible for stable or unstable performance is also presented. .
Multipurpose information encoding using interleaved optical coherence tomography

We present interleaved OCT as a unique strategy to exploit long coherence lengths for novel spectral multiplexing schemes that permit multi-purpose information encoding and streamlined image acquisition.
STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF THICK COLD-FORMED STEEL MEMBERS

A study was made on the use of the “Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members” of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) for the design of steel members cold-formed from thick sheets and plates. Experiments were conducted to study the increase in yield point caused by the cold work of forming. The investigation indicates that the design formulas for determining the effective design width of stiffened elements and the allowable stress for unstiffened compression elements currently included in the AISI Specification can be conservatively used for sections cold-formed from thick sheets and plates. It was also found that the AISI design provision for computing corner yield point provides good results for thick steel sheets and plates having a sharp yielding stress-strain curve with a small plateau and for cold-rolled sheets and strip.
The Role of Viruses in Dementia

Dementia is a clinical state characterized by impaired cognition and behavior. In this chapter we briefly summarize the historical, clinical, and neurological aspects of dementias that are known or suspected to be caused by unconventional virus-like agents as well as large and small conventional viruses with RNA or DNA genomes. These different agents gain access to the central nervous system (CNS), an organ normally protected from systemic infections, to cause (either directly or indirectly) the pathological damage that results in a state of dementia by mechanisms involving complex host—viral interactions. Wherever possible, we discuss how a particular virus induces the neuropathological changes and offer conjectures on other aspects of pathogenesis. We also emphasize the role of host factors such as genetic predisposition and the immune regulatory system in the dementing diseases associated with viral infection.
Differential item functioning due to cognitive status does not impact depressive symptom measures in four heterogeneous samples of older adults

Objective The objective of this study is to determine whether differential item functioning (DIF) due to cognitive status impacted three depressive symptoms measures commonly used with older adults. Methods Differential item functioning in depressive symptoms was assessed among participants (N = 3558) taking part in four longitudinal studies of cognitive aging, using the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Participants were grouped by cognitive status using a general cognitive performance score derived from each study's neuropsychological battery and linked to a national average using a population-based survey representative of the US population. The Clinical Dementia Rating score was used as an alternate grouping variable in three of the studies. Results Although statistically significant DIF based on cognitive status was found for some depressive symptom items (e.g., items related to memory complaints, appetite loss, lack of energy, and mood), the effect of item bias on the total score for each scale was negligible. Conclusions The depressive symptoms scales in these four studies measured depression in the same way, regardless of cognitive status. This may reduce concerns about using these depression measures in cognitive aging research, as relationships between depression and cognitive decline are unlikely to have been due to item bias, at least in the ways that were measured in the datasets we considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The mass of helium in white dwarf stars and the formation and evolution of hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars

We use two sets of ‘cradle-to-grave’ evolutionary calculations to investigate how the mass of the helium buffer layer between the CO core and the hydrogen-burning shell in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars depends on the initial stellar mass and heavy element abundance. Cool star mass loss is included by augmenting the Reimers’ formula with fits to mass-loss rates observed for Galactic Mira variables, obscured Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) AGB variables and Galactic OH/IR sources. Resulting white dwarf masses are in good agreement with the semi-empirical final mass‐initial mass relation. We derive lower and upper limits on the mass of helium in white dwarfs as functions of their mass and initial heavy element abundance. We find that stars that experience a very late thermal pulse (VLTP) have final helium masses that are about 25 per cent below the lower limit for stars that do not experience a VLTP. We have derived a modified form of Iben’s criterion for a star to experience a post-AGB helium shell flash, and subcriteria for discriminating between the occurrence of late and VLTPs. We find that a post-AGB flash does not necessarily result in formation of a nonDA white dwarf. Furthermore, we find that the relative amount of time spent burning helium or hydrogen depends on how the mass-loss rate varies with stellar surface parameters. These two considerations complicate the relationship between the probability that a star experiences a post-AGB flash and the relative formation rates of DA and non-DA white dwarfs. However, our calculations do lead to a non-DA/DA ratio that is consistent with the observed ratio. We find that our predicted abundances for PG1159 stars agree within the error bars with the observed abundances, without the need of convective overshoot. We also find that nitrogen is produced during VLTPs but not in the other evolutionary paths to hydrogen-deficient objects. Hence, we propose this as the reason why nitrogen is observed in some PG1159 stars but not all. Our VLTP models also produce surface abundances close to those of the low-gravity hybrid PG1159 stars. An inconsistency between asteroseismological and our evolutionary model determinations of helium layer mass remains.
Automated Filter Parameter Selection Using Measures of Noiseness

Despite the vast body of literature on image denoising, relatively little work has been done in the area of automatically choosing the filter parameters that yield optimal filter performance. The choice of these parameters is crucial for the performance of any filter. In the literature, some independence-based criteria have been proposed, which measure the degree of independence between the denoised image and the residual image (defined as the difference between the noisy image and the denoised one). We contribute to these criteria and point out an important deficiency inherent in all of them. We also propose a new criterion which quantifies the inherent ‘noiseness’ of the residual image without referring to the denoised image, starting with the assumption of an additive and i.i.d. noise model, with a loose lower bound on the noise variance. Several empirical results are demonstrated on two well-known algorithms: NL-means and total variation, on a database of 13 images at six different noise levels, and for three types of noise distributions.
Interrelation of Creep and Relaxation: A Modeling Approach for Ligaments

Experimental data (Thornton et al., 1997) show that relaxation proceeds more rapidly (a greater slope on a log-log scale) than creep in ligament, a fact not explained by linear viscoelasticity. An interrelation between creep and relaxation is therefore developed for ligaments based on a single-integral nonlinear superposition model. This interrelation differs from the convolution relation obtained by Laplace transforms for linear materials. We demonstrate via continuum concepts of nonlinear viscoelasticity that such a difference in rate between creep and relaxation phenomenologically occurs when the nonlinearity is of a strain-stiffening type, i.e., the stress-strain curve is concave up as observed in ligament. We also show that it is inconsistent to assume a Fung-type constitutive law (Fung, 1972) for both creep and relaxation. Using the published data of Thornton et al. (1997), the nonlinear interrelation developed herein predicts creep behavior from relaxation data well (R > or = 0.998). Although data are limited and the causal mechanisms associated with viscoelastic tissue behavior are complex, continuum concepts demonstrated here appear capable of interrelating creep and relaxation with fidelity.
Octreotide acetate is efficacious and safe in children for treating diarrhea due to chemotherapy but not acute graft versus host disease.

Background The Common Toxicity Criteria of the National Cancer Institute evaluates diarrhea as an adverse event of chemotherapy administration. Acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) causes diarrhea in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Guidelines for treating grade 3 and 4 chemotherapy induced diarrhea (CID) include octreotide acetate, a somatostatin analogue. These recommendations are based on adult octreotide trials. Data on octreotide use for treatment of CID in pediatric oncology patients are limited. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of octreotide in the treatment of CID or aGVHD induced diarrhea in pediatric patients. Methods This is a retrospective review of 34 patients of average age 6 years who received octreotide between 1994 and 2008 for treatment of CID or aGVHD induced diarrhea. Results Thirty-eight courses of intravenous octreotide were administered. A complete response was achieved during 25/27 (92%) CID and 5/11 (45%) aGVHD induced diarrhea courses. A partial response was achieved during 4/38 courses, all in the aGVHD induced diarrhea group. No response was observed for 3 of the aGVHD induced diarrhea courses and 1for the CID course. Octreotide was initiated at 2 mcg/kg/day and increased to a maximum of 9 mcg/kg/day. The mean total duration of treatment was 9 days. Common adverse effects observed were hyperglycemia, hyberbilirubinemia, nausea/vomiting, and abdominal cramping. Conclusion In pediatric patients, octreotide exhibits 92% efficacy in treating CID and 45% efficacy in aGVHD induced diarrhea. Further studies to better characterize the starting dose and dose escalation algorithm for treating CID in children are required. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;56:45–49. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Education: How technology influences journalism: Minicameras and microwave dishes have facilitated the gathering and transmission of news, but have the city editors and TV news producers raised the quality of the product they deliver?

News is a strange product. It is a shaper of society ? essential in a democratic process that depends on an informed public. It is a highly profitable commodity in a multibillion-dollar industry. But it is also a technological artifact.
Rhythms in deep sea, fine‐grained turbidite and debris‐flow sequences, Middle Ordovician, eastern Tennessee

Rhythms in fine-grained sediments have not previously been studied because of their complex depositional cycles and diagenetic changes. Examination of nearly 9000 layers in outcrops, polished slab samples, and thin sections has led to recognition of rhythms in the Middle Ordovician Whitesburg, Blockhouse, and Sevier formations of east Tennessee. Rhythms have been described in four orders based on relative magnitude. First order cycles (basin-fill sequences, hundreds of metres thick)are composed of thinning upward debris-flow sequences and thickening upward turbiditic shale sequences. Second order cycles (multiple sedimentation units, tens of centimetres thick) consist of: (1) thinning upward cycles; (2) symmetrical cycles; (3) thickening upward cycles; (4) minor multiple cycles; (5) uniform cycles; and (6) dubious cycles. Third order cycles (single sedimentation unit, tens of millimetres thick) have thinning upward and asymmetrical cycles. Fourth order portrays the grain-size variations within a single layer of the third order. First order rhythms were controlled by tectonism and progradation of a deep-sea fan system. Second and third order rhythms were controlled by depositional processes, bottom topography, and sediment source. Depositional processes, sediment source, and bioturbation were the dominant controlling factors in the fourth order. A deep-sea fan model is proposed for the fine-grained turbidites in which channels and lobes coexist in the lower fan. The lower fan/mid fan boundary is marked by the presence of a channel cycle near the top of a lobe sequence. The basin plain/lower fan boundary is suggested by the appearance of minor lobe cycles over the non-cyclic basin plain sequence.
Identification of Initiation Factors and Ribosome‐Associated Phosphoproteins by Two‐Dimensional Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

A two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure has been used to identify initiation factors rapidly in the high-salt-wash fraction from reticulocyte ribosomes. Initiation factors are identified by relative mobility and by co-electrophoresis with purified factors. A creatine phosphate/ATP/GTP/Pi exchange system is described which has been used to maintain [γ-32P]ATP and [γ-32P]GTP at constant specific activity in the cell-free protein-synthesizing system. Phosphorylated proteins associated with the protein-synthesizing complex have been identified using a combination of the two procedures. The salt-wash fraction contains eight major phosphorylated proteins and a number of minor ones. Two phosphorylated proteins are observed to comigrate with two of the three subunits of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2), the initiation factor involved in binding Met-tRNAf to 40-S subunits. Three phosphorylated proteins co-migrate with eIF-3, the factor facilitating entry of Met-tRNAf onto the 40-S subunit and promoting dissociation of 80-S ribosomes. eIF-4B, one of the proteins involved in binding mRNA to 40-S subunits is also phosphorylated. The remainder of the phosphorylated proteins in the high-salt-wash fraction are not previously characterized initiation factors and have not been identified further. Two of the six phosphoproteins associated with the salt-washed ribosomes comigrate with ribosomal proteins; one is the major phosphorylated protein in 40-S ribosomal subunits, the other is an acidic protein.
Metal-mediated protein stabilization

Metal binding provides several useful routes to protein stabilization. Metal chelation by binding sites engineered into proteins can increase thermal stability, conformational stability and reduce proteolytic degradation. As few as two coordinating ligands, if properly positioned on the protein surface, can form chelating sites suitable for metal binding and stabilization. Thus, this approach is relatively easy to implement and can be applied to a wide range of proteins.
The positive predictive value of cervical smears in previously screened postmenopausal women: The heart and estrogen/progestin replacement study (HERS)

Because of a poor positive predictive value, cervical smears should not be performed within 2 years of normal cytologic results in postmenopausal women. Therapy with oral estrogen plus progestin do...
Cardiac output monitoring by long time interval analysis of a radial arterial blood pressure waveform with correction for arterial compliance changes using pulse transit time

We previously developed a technique for estimating relative cardiac output (CO) change by long time interval analysis of a radial arterial blood pressure waveform. This technique analyzes the slow, beat-to-beat changes in the waveform to circumvent the confounding wave reflections but assumes constant arterial compliance (AC). Here, we sought to correct the CO estimates of the technique for potential AC changes using pulse transit time — a conveniently measured index of AC. For proof-of-concept, we compared the original and corrected techniques using invasive swine hemodynamic data. The corrected technique reduced the overall calibrated CO estimation error by 18% relative to the original technique.
Church and State in Seventeenth-Century Colonial Asia: Dutch-Parava Relations in Southeast India in a Comparative Perspective

This article is a comparative study of the relationship between church and state in seventeenth-century colonial Asia in general and South India in particular. In an era when political and religious loyalties were deemed interchangeable, the division of temporal and spiritual authority over the Parava community along the Madurai coast between the Dutch and the Portuguese, respectively, stands out as a unique arrangement. By the end of the seventeenth century, an informal understanding was reached according to which Portuguese Jesuits would exercise religious authority even in areas under immediate Dutch jurisdiction, while the Calvinist Dutch would claim wordly authority over the Roman Catholic Paravas. The arrangement on the Madurai Coast is compared with Dutch policy vis-a-vis similar Indo-Portuguese Catholic communities in other Asian "conquests" where they exercised territorial jurisdiction, such as Maluku (the Moluccas), Batavia (Jakarta), and Melaka (Malacca). The Luso-Dutch accommodation in southeast India is also examined in light of English religious policy at Fort St. George, Madras (Chennai), towards local Indo-Portuguese groups. The understanding between the Protestant English and French Capuchins differed markedly from the working arrangement between the Dutch and the Portuguese Jesuits. This dual comparative framework merely serves to emphasize the singularity of the "Madurai solution."
The Charge Transfer to Solvent (CTTS) Spectrum of Br − In Molten Tetrabutylphosphonium Tetrabromometalates

Recently we reported that some of the charge-transfer bands of CoBr4= which are ordinarily obscured by the absorption of Br− can be resolved in thin films of (Bu4P+)2CoBr4=.1 Apparently the concentration of free Br− is so small under these conditions that it permits the detection of CoBr4= bands in the same region. Here we note that it is also possible to observe at least the first component of the absorption band of Br− by the same technique.
It works in my hands

All improvements require change, but not all change is improvement. If we continue to behave as if evidence is bad for patient care we will continue to foster the clinical adage of ‘if it works well in my hands it must be good’.
The dTTPase mechanism of T7 DNA helicase resembles the binding change mechanism of the F1-ATPase

Bacteriophage T7 DNA helicase is a ring-shaped hexamer that catalyzes duplex DNA unwinding using dTTP hydrolysis as an energy source. Of the six potential nucleotide binding sites on the hexamer, we have found that three are noncatalytic sites and three are catalytic sites. The noncatalytic sites bind nucleotides with a high affinity, but dTTPs bound to these sites do not dissociate or hydrolyze through many dTTPase turnovers at the catalytic sites. The catalytic sites show strong cooperativity which leads to sequential binding and hydrolysis of dTTP. The elucidated dTTPase mechanism of the catalytic sites of T7 helicase is remarkably similar to the binding change mechanism of the ATP synthase. Based on the similarity, a general mechanism for hexameric helicases is proposed. In this mechanism, an F1-ATPase-like rotational movement around the single-stranded DNA, which is bound through the central hole of the hexamer, is proposed to lead to unidirectional translocation along single-stranded DNA and duplex DNA unwinding.