cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hormonal pleiotropy and the juvenile hormone regulation of Drosophila development and life history

Summary Understandinghowtraitsareintegratedattheorganismal level remains a fundamental problem at the interface of developmental and evolutionary biology. Hormones, regulatory signaling molecules that coordinate multiple developmental and physiological processes, are major determinants underlying phenotypic integration. The probably best example for this is the lipid-like juvenile hormone (JH) in insects. Here we review the manifold effects of JH, the most versatile animal hormone, with an emphasis on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster ,a n organism amenable to both genetics and endocrinology. JH affects a remarkable number of processes and traits in Drosophila development and life history, including metamorphosis, behavior, reproduction, diapause, stress resistance and aging. While many molecular details underlying JH signaling remain unknown, we argue that studying ‘‘hormonal pleiotropy’’ offers intriguing insights into phenotypic integration and the mechanisms underlying life history evolution. In particular, we illustrate the role of JH as a key mediator of life history trade-offs. BioEssays 27:999–1010, 2005. 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Straying off the Highway: Trafficking of Secreted Plant Proteins and Complexity in the Plant Cell Wall Proteome

From simply skimming through the abstract lists of more or less any collection of both basic and applied plant-related journals, it is immediately apparent that the plant cell wall represents a nexus of many fields of research: growth and development, plant-pathogen interactions, abiotic stress,
Establishing a system for the study of urethral biomechanical function

By applying experimental concepts and principles originally established in the study of blood vessel biomechanics, we are exploring various aspects of lower urinary tract function, dysfunction, and treatment effects on tissue properties and performance. We demonstrate here the feasibility of using a modified ex vivo vascular perfusion apparatus for urethral functional studies. Through administration of various pharmacologic agents, and against applied luminal pressures, we demonstrate control over urethral smooth and striated muscle contractile elements. The ability to measure such physiologic responses provides the basis for performing novel functional studies pertaining to the role of each component in overall urethral function and biomechanics. Therefore, the use of this system to evaluate ex vivo physiology and biomechanical properties will advance the understanding of underlying principles of both normal and abnormal urethral function.
Family Ties to Health Program: A Randomized Intervention to Improve Vegetable Intake in Children

Abstract Objective Evaluate a home-based intervention targeted toward parents to improve vegetable intake in preschool-aged children. Methods Four-month feasibility study of home-based intervention consisting of 4 tailored newsletters and 2 motivational phone calls compared to control; 4 children's books for the control group; and measured pre and post parent-reported physical and social home environment and child vegetable intake in 22 intervention and 21 control homes with a child 2-5 years old assessed with linear regression of group predicting home environment and diet characteristics post-intervention, adjusting for baseline ( P Results Intervention increased availability of vegetables (+1.5 ± 2.5 vegetable types vs -0.3 ± 2.7 vegetable types, P = .02), offering fruits and vegetables for snacks (+0.95 ± 1.5 d/wk vs -0.05 ± 1.9 d/wk, P = .04), and self-efficacy (+2.4 ± 4.1 vs -0.3 ± 2.0, P = .02). Conclusions and Implications The data suggest potential for home-based interventions to alter parent behaviors such as feeding practices and the home physical environment, which may be steps toward increasing vegetable intake in children.
Schistosoma mansoni: age-dependent susceptibility to immune elimination of schistosomula artificially introduced into preinfected mice

SUMMARY Mice chronically infected with Schistosoma mansoni exhibited a significant resistance to a second infection with the same parasite, as demonstrated by their challenge worm burdens measured by portal perfusion. A decreased worm recovery was also exhibited by chronically infected mice when the challenge was administered intravenously using 3-h schistosomula obtained by the isolated skin technique or using 5-, 6-, 7- and 9-day-old schistosomula obtained from the lungs ofinfected donor mice. Variable results were obtained with 10- and II-day-old forms, while schistosomula which were 12days old or older, did not undergo significant rejection when introduced into the mesenteric veins of preinfected mice. Attempts to analyse these phenomena using the‘lung assay’were made complicated by the observation that the day of maximum recovery from the lungs was dependent upon the age of injected worms.
Complications of elbow arthroscopy

Background: Although the potential complications of elbow arthroscopy, including nerve injuries, have been described, the prevalence of their occurrence has not been well defined. The purpose of this paper is to describe the serious and minor complications in a large series of patients treated with elbow arthroscopy. Methods: A retrospective review of 473 consecutive elbow arthroscopies performed in 449 patients over an eighteen-year period was conducted. Of the 473 cases, 414 were followed for more than six weeks. The most common final diagnoses were osteoarthritis (150 cases), loose bodies (112), and rheumatoid or inflammatory arthritis (seventy-five). The arthroscopic procedures included synovectomy (184), debridement of joint surfaces or adhesions (180), excision of osteophytes (164), diagnostic arthroscopy (154), loose-body removal (144), and capsular procedures such as capsular release, capsulotomy, and capsulectomy (seventy-three). Results: A serious complication (a joint space infection) occurred after four (0.8%) of the arthroscopic procedures. Minor complications occurred after fifty (11%) of the arthroscopic procedures. These complications included prolonged drainage from or superficial infection at a portal site after thirty-three procedures, persistent minor contracture of 20° or less after seven, and twelve transient nerve palsies (five ulnar palsies, four superficial radial palsies, one posterior interosseous palsy, one medial antebrachial cutaneous palsy, and one anterior interosseous palsy) in ten patients. The most significant risk factors for the development of a temporary nerve palsy were an underlying diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (p < 0.001) and a contracture (p < 0.05). There were no permanent neurovascular injuries, hematomas, or compartment syndromes in our series, and all of the minor complications, except for the minor contractures, resolved without sequelae. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the prevalence of temporary or minor complications following elbow arthroscopy may be greater than previously reported. However, serious or permanent complications were uncommon.
Successful therapy of Theiler's virus-induced demyelination (DA strain) with monoclonal anti-Lyt-2 antibody.

The effects of therapy with mAb to T cell subsets were studied in mice with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced demyelination. mAb GK1.5 (directed at class II-restricted T cells) and mAb 2.43 (directed at class I-restricted T cells) depleted the appropriate subset of T cells in lymph nodes, spleens, and peripheral blood for 6 to 8 wk after a single i.p. injection of 1 mg of purified mAb. Early treatment with mAb GK1.5 (days -1, 0, and +1 relative to virus injection) resulted in death, encephalitis, and increased demyelination in the majority of animals tested. Treatment with mAb 2.43 resulted in less meningeal inflammation and fewer demyelinating lesions in the spinal cord, irrespective of whether the mAb was given early or after demyelinating disease was established (days 15, 16, and 17). Beneficial response to mAb therapy did not correlate with titers of virus isolated from the central nervous system or serum. These results indicate an important role of class II-restricted T cells during early disease in preventing overwhelming encephalitis; class I-restricted T cells may be critical during demyelination.
Site-specific Conjugation on Serine → Cysteine Variant Monoclonal Antibodies

We have engineered a cysteine residue at position 442 (EU/OU numbering) in the third constant domain (C(H)3) of the heavy chain of several IgGs with different specificities, isoforms, and variants with the intent to introduce a site for chemical conjugation. The variants were expressed in NS0 mouse myeloma cells, where monomeric IgG is the major form and formation of aggregate was minimal. Monomeric IgG contained no free thiol; however, it was discovered that the engineered thiols were reversibly blocked and could be reduced under controlled conditions. Following reduction, reactive thiol was conjugated with a cysteine-specific bifunctional chelator, bromoacetyl-TMT to a humanized 323/A3 IgG4 variant. Conjugation had no significant effect on antibody affinity. To prove that the conjugation was site-specific, an antibody-TMT conjugate was labeled with lutetium-177 and subjected to peptide mapping followed by sequence analysis. Glu-C digestion demonstrated that 91% of the label was recovered in the COOH-terminal peptide fragment containing the engineered cysteine.
Effects of a long-term periodic substrate perturbation on an anaerobic community

The response of a glucose-fed anaerobic community to a long-term (>400 days) periodic substrate perturbation was examined. A completely mixed “mother” reactor operated at steady state with a 10-day hydraulic retention time (HRT) and constant 8 g/liter glucose feed served as the source of organisms for a “daughter” reactor. The daughter reactor was initially operated in the same manner as the mother reactor, i.e. at a 10-day HRT and a constant 8 g/liter glucose feed. After reaching steady state, the daughter reactor was subjected to a periodic organic loading pattern in which the influent glucose concentration was alternately varied from 16 to 0 g/liter (mineral media only) on a 6-day cycle. A rapid accumulation in glucose fermentation intermediates occurred immediately after initiating the perturbation. Effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased from ca 400 to a peak level of 6000 mg/liter, methane content of the biogas decreased from 50 to less than 20% and the pH decreased from 7.0 to 6.2. This was followed by a 230-day metastable “steady state” during which the effluent COD concentration fluctuated about a new median value of 5000 mg/liter and the acetate and butyrate concentrations varied in a cyclic, inverse pattern. At the end of the metastable period, volatile fatty acid concentrations decreased rapidly. Within ca 40 days, a new steady state was established. These observations indicate that the anaerobic system was able to adapt to the periodic substrate perturbation through a long-term change in microbial community.
Data Mining Geophysical Content from Satellites and Global Climate Models

We present an example of a simulated global climate model that is intended to stream real-time NASA data into the geophysical and climate science and assessment community over the next 5-10 years. It is known that the 3-D atmospheric wave structures and transport physics interact with spatially and time varying surface sources and sinks of CO2, and that this communication between surface and atmosphere results in an exceedingly complicated evolution of atmospheric CO2 in time and space. Data mining techniques may be applied to the further development this 4-D model by incorporating satellite-generated data sets for hundreds of geophysical climate variables into existing simulation structures. These data sets are of order 100’s of Terabytes. Data mining will allow the determination of the fluxes of atmospheric CO2. Data mining and knowledge acquisition contribute to the accurate determination of the sources and sinks of atmospheric CO2, facilitating among other scientific discoveries, global treaty verification.
The effect of molecular weight distribution on polyethylene film properties

Polymer molecular weight heterogeneity affects the rheological properties of polymer melts such as melt viscosity, fracture and die swell. These rheological properties affect the conversion of the polymer from the bulk resin state to its final usable form. In this particular study, the effect of molecular weight distribution on polyethylene blown film characteristics was studied. The effect of the molecular weight heterogeneity on the rheological characteristics of the polymer in the molten state and its effect on the film properties is presented. The properties studied included film gloss, haze, tear resistance and film impact strength. This study shows that broadening the molecular weight distribution increases haze and reduces film gloss. Further, it was shown that a linear relationship exists between film gloss and external haze. Both values are measures of surface irregularities in the film which are affected by the drawing characteristics of the polymer. A broader molecular weight distribution results in increased impact strength as measured by the Dart Drop Impact Test. This is, it is believed, a result of the increase in long chain branching of the higher molecular weight fractions of the polymer which cause a higher degree of molecular weight entanglement at the branch sites. In contrast the tear strength is reduced as the molecular weight distribution broadens because of the low molecular weight fraction in the broad spectrum material which tend to decrease resistance to tear.
Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus hypothesis of autoimmunity.

Diabetes mellitus, a disorder of hyperglycemia recognized for centuries by its classical symptoms of polyuria and polydipsia, affects about 5% of the population in Western nations. Among many diabetic syndromes now recognized, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, Type I) and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, Type II) are by far the most common1. IDDM accounts for ≊ 10% of all cases of diabetes and characteristically appears in children, whereas NIDDM is primarily a disorder of obese adults. A growing consensus supports the hypothesis that IDDM is a disorder of autoimmunity2-4. Evidence supporting this view falls into several broad categories.
Is economic value an effective proxy for embodied energy and environmental impact in material systems

This paper uses economic value metrics to evaluate the retention of value of secondary materials and provides a framework for characterizing value throughout a material and product life-cycle. These economic value metrics are compared with analogous life cycle assessment metrics in order to determine the conditions under which economic value effectively represents environmental impact for EoL material recovery decision-makers. A comparison of these metrics using several different material types indicates that there is a strong correlation between LCA metrics and economic value metrics for most of the materials studied. However, there were a few cases in which the economic value metrics were poor indicators of the LCA metrics.
Reinforcement Sensitivity and Risk for Psychopathology Following Exposure to Violence: A Vulnerability-Specificity Model in Latino Youth

Urban Latino youth are exposed to high rates of violence, which increases risk for diverse forms of psychopathology. The current study aims to increase specificity in predicting responses by testing the hypothesis that youths’ reinforcement sensitivity—behavioral inhibition (BIS) and behavioral approach (BAS)—is associated with specific clinical outcomes and increases risk for the development of such problems following exposure to violence. Utilizing a short-term longitudinal design, Latino youth (N = 168) provided reports of BIS/BAS and emotional/behavioral problems at Time 1, exposure to violence between Time 1 and Time 2, and clinical symptoms at Time 2. Results suggested that reinforcement sensitivity moderated the relation between violence exposure and psychopathology, such that increasing levels of BIS were associated with elevated risk for internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms following exposure to violence whereas BAS increased risk for externalizing problems. The importance of building on existing knowledge to understand minority youth psychopathology is discussed.
A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF AZINPHOSMETHYL BIOACCUMULATION AND TOXICITY IN TWO ESTUARINE MEIOBENTHIC HARPACTICOID COPEPODS

Aqueous, pore-water, and whole-sediment bioassays were conducted with meiobenthic copepods with different infaunal lifestyles to assess the acute and chronic toxicity of the organophosphorous pesticide azinphosmethyl (APM) and its bioaccumulation potential in sediments. Biota sediment accumulation factors were an order of magnitude higher for the deeper burrowing Amphiascus tenuiremis (26.6) than the epibenthic Microarthridion littorale (2.2). The female A. tenuiremis APM median lethal concentration (LC50; 3.6 μg/L) was twice the male LC50 (1.8 μg/L), in straight seawater exposures, and nearly 20% higher than males in whole-sediment exposures (540 vs 456 ng/g dry weight). Amphiascus tenuiremis were 17 times more sensitive to sediment-associated APM than M. littorale. In pore-water-only exposures, the adult mixed-sex A. tenuiremis LC50 (5.0 μg/L) was nearly twice the seawater mixed-sex LC50 (2.7 μg/L). Dissolved organic carbon in pore water was five times higher (20 mg/L) than in seawater-only exposures (4 mg/L). Differences in acute toxicity within exposure media were driven by species- and sex-specific differences in lipid content. Amphiascus tenuiremis likely experienced greater exposure to sediment-associated toxicants via longer periods of direct contact with pore water than M. littorale and, therefore, exhibited correspondingly higher bioaccumulation and acute toxicity. Copepod reproduction was significantly reduced (>60%) in 14-d sediment culture exposures at sublethal APM levels, suggesting that chronic field exposure to sediment-associated APM would result in sharp declines in copepod population growth.
Using the “Right Poem” to Raise Sociocultural Consciousness

AbstractThis essay posits performance poetry as an innovative pedagogical tool in teacher education. The expanding racial divide between white teacher candidates and schoolchildren of color calls for new and meaningful ways to inform teacher candidates’ sociocultural understandings of schoolchildren of color. Excerpts from the author's autoethnographic narrative poems are interwoven with the words and wisdom of notables Nikki Giovanni and Gwendolyn Brooks. Reflections on the author's efforts to integrate the right poem reveal success when framed by Urie Brofenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.
Glycemic Associations With Endothelial Function and Biomarkers Among 5 Ethnic Groups: The Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Studies

Background The association of prediabetic states with endothelial dysfunction measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) or endothelial biomarker levels remains controversial. We examined data from 5 ethnic groups to determine the association between glucose categories and FMD or endothelial biomarkers. We determined whether these associations vary by ethnic group or body mass index. Methods and Results We used data from 3516 participants from 5 race/ethnic groups with brachial FMD, endothelial biomarkers, and glucose category (normal, impaired fasting glucose [IFG], and diabetes) measures. There were significant ethnic differences in FMD, biomarker levels, and the prevalence of IFG and diabetes. However, all 5 ethnic groups showed similar patterns of higher FMD for the IFG group compared with the normal glucose and diabetes groups, which was most significant among whites and Asian Indians. Associations between glucose categories and endothelial biomarkers were more uniform, with the IFG and diabetes groups having higher biomarker levels than the normal glucose group. These associations did not change with further adjustment for fasting insulin levels. Whites with normal BMI had higher FMD values with higher glucose levels, but those with BMI in the overweight or obese categories had the inverse association ( P for interaction=0.01). Conclusions The discordance of IFG being associated with higher FMD but more abnormal endothelial biomarker levels is a novel finding. This higher FMD for the IFG group was most notable in whites of normal BMI. The higher FMD among those with impaired fasting glucose may reflect differences in insulin signaling pathways between the endothelium and skeletal muscle.
Topology Control for Reliable Sensor-to-Sink Data Transport in Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are generally used for harsh environments involving military surveillance, emergency response, and habitat monitoring. Due to severe resource constraints in sensor nodes, including memory space, energy storage, and communication bandwidth, a need arises for an in-network aggregation of sensory data. We propose a sensor- to-sink transport protocol, which is suitable for data aggregation and provides reliable upstream packet delivery by dynamically configuring inactive nodes as "monitors" to assist in quick loss detection and recovery. To ensure energy efficiency, a minimum set of monitors is preferred; however, the problem of finding a minimum set of monitors is NP-complete. Thus, we propose a distributed greedy heuristic to solve this problem efficiently. Our ns-2-based simulations show significant performance improvements over other transport schemes in terms of throughput and data delivery rate under scenarios with intermittent traffic load and unpredictable node failures.
Rapid cooling techniques in joggers experiencing heat strain

This study examined subjects that exercised on three occasions in a heated environment (WBGT = 39°C) until they experienced heat strain. Since morbidity and mortality due to heat injury increase with the duration of elevated core temperature, it is important that techniques to lower core temperature be evaluated. Following three exercise sessions, subjects underwent each of three core cooling treatments in random order: 1) Torso immersion in cool water, 2) Hands and feet immersion in cool water, and 3) Sit-in-shade with a 1.5mph breeze provided. Subjects (n=5) consistently reached peak rectal temperatures of 38.8 (±0.1)°C following each exercise bout in the heated environment. Torso immersion produced a significantly (p 0.05). It was concluded that rectal temperatures can be reduced rapidly through the use of a cool water torso-immersion technique.
p‐Toluenesulfenyl Chloride

[933-00-6] C7H7ClS (MW 158.65) InChI = 1S/C7H7ClS/c1-6-2-4-7(9-8)5-3-6/h2-5H,1H3 InChIKey = RSGBMGFQNOGIPC-UHFFFAOYSA-N (electrophilic reagent, sulfenylation reagent, promoter for glycosylations). Alternate Name: 4-methylbenzenesulfenyl chloride. Physical Data: bp 66–68 °C/0.8 mmHg, d 1.1 g cm−3. Solubility: miscible with most organic solvents, but reacts with many. Useful solvents are hexanes, CCl4, CH2Cl2, CHCl3, THF, and MeCN. Preparative Methods: by reaction of p-TolSH or the corresponding disulfide (p-TolS)2 with chlorine at low temperature in CCl4.1, 2 By distilling a reaction mixture of p-TolSH with SO2Cl2 under vacuum.3 In-situ preparation by reaction of p-TolSOR with acetyl chloride.4 Handling, Storage, and Precautions: light sensitive, very moisture sensitive. Can be stored in a desiccator at −20 °C for several months. p-TolSCl predominantly acts as an electrophilic agent in nucleophilic substitution reactions. In many cases, p-TolSCl reacts analogously with PhSCl. p-TolSCl has the advantage of containing a methyl group, which can be easily traced by NMR.
Health-related quality of life in older adults: Effects of hearing loss and common chronic conditions

Background: Recent findings on hearing loss (HL) and healthy aging have highlighted important clinical and policy implications concerning quality of life in older adults. Our objective was to explore the impact of HL on quality of life in older Americans, independent of survival, using the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and 2010 Census data. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 2,567 subjects aged 60-90 in the MEPS who provided information on selfreported HL, health-related quality of life and chronic conditions. The EQ-5D visual analog scale (VAS) transformation was used to estimate marginal utility decrements for 5-year age categories and conditions, including HL, hypertension, diabetes, angina, joint pain, asthma, emphysema, or blindness. The modeled decrements were applied to the 2010 US census population to estimate annual quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost. Results: Of the respondents, 15.4% had mild HL and 1.1% had moderate/severe hearing loss. Other conditions (utility decrement) included: joint pain 53% (.0643), hypertension 47.2% (.0292), diabetes 15.6% (.0577), angina 9.8% (.0352), asthma 7.9% (.0288), emphysema 4.5% (.1186), blindness 0.8% (.0836), and average age 71.0 with decrements .0033 per year. The decrement from hearing loss ranked 4th at 174,689 in the US population. Conclusions: The substantial impact of hearing loss on healthy aging may not be obvious when quality of life decrements include survival or when diluted with younger populations. Careful consideration of clinical interventions for age-related HL is warranted and further research is needed on the effect of HL on quality of life in otherwise healthy older adults.
Toward a Legal Realist View of the First Amendment

Under the influence of radical feminism and critical race theory, the last remnant of 1890s mechanical jurisprudence is beginning to give way to a view of speech that is flexible, policy-sensitive, and mindful of communication theory, politics, and setting. Steven Shiffrin's Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America is a welcome addition to this emerging "First Amendment legal realism" vein of scholarship. This Review begins in Part I by outlining Shiffrin's book, paying particular attention to its principal themes of flexibility of analysis on the procedural side and encouragement of citizen participation and dissent on the substantive side. As Part II will make plain, an interpretation of First Amendment law that places dissent at its center and protects speech insofar as it takes the form of dissent offers a vital corrective to social apathy and domination by big corporations. Nevertheless, any approach to free speech law that emphasizes (even flexibly) a single variable has overtones of the old formalist approach and is apt to work injustice in certain cases. In particular, Part II, which focuses on Shiffrin's treatment of hate speech, shows that, although he comes to the correct general conclusion by way of his dissent-based approach, Shiffrin loses nuance by framing the problem in that fashion. Part III outlines additional features that future realist analysis should consider. Part IV draws on all of the above to posit a number of practical solutions to the problem of regulating hate speech. The book review concludes with some lessons that realist First Amendment scholars should draw from Shiffrin's book, both from its formidable strengths as well as from its occasional lapses.
Is Content King

Conventional wisdom assigns primacy to content production, with distribution as the commodity adjunct. But is this perspective correct? The paper looks both analytically and empirically at this question, and concludes a. that distribution is the dominant factor; and b. that the trends in both content and distribution are such that this power differential will grow still further in the future. This has significant policy implications, which will be discussed.
CEREBRE: A Novel Method for Very High Accuracy Event-Related Potential Biometric Identification

The vast majority of existing work on brain biometrics has been conducted on the ongoing electroencephalogram. Here, we argue that the averaged event-related potential (ERP) may provide the potential for more accurate biometric identification, as its elicitation allows for some control over the cognitive state of the user to be obtained through the design of the challenge protocol. We describe the Cognitive Event-RElated Biometric REcognition (CEREBRE) protocol, an ERP biometric protocol designed to elicit individually unique responses from multiple functional brain systems (e.g., the primary visual, facial recognition, and gustatory/appetitive systems). Results indicate that there are multiple configurations of data collected with the CEREBRE protocol that all allow 100% identification accuracy in a pool of 50 users. We take this result as the evidence that ERP biometrics are a feasible method of user identification and worthy of further research.
(1-14C) acetate assimilation by obligate methylotrophs, Pseudomonas methanica and Methylosinus trichosporium.

The oxidation of one carbon compounds (methane, methanol, formaldehyde, formate) and primary alcohols (ethanol, propanol, butanol) supported the assimilation of [1-14C]acetate by cell suspensions of type I obligate methylotroph; Pseudomonas methanica, Texas strain, and type II obligate methylotroph, Methylosinus trichosporium, strain PG. The amount of oxygen consumed and substrate oxidized correlated with the amount of [1-14C]acetate assimilated during oxidation of C-1 compounds and primary alcohols.
Off-Label 'Promotion' May Not Be Merely Commercial Speech

Most attorneys (whether in practice or academia) assume that pharmaceutical companies’ discussion and dissemination of information regarding “off-label” uses of prescription drugs (i.e., uses that have not been specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)) are inherently commercial in nature. Two aspects of the speech, however, suggest that it does not cleanly fall into the category of “commercial speech” for purposes of First Amendment analysis. First, most prescribers are not, in fact, purchasing drugs for their patients, and so conversations between pharmaceutical company representatives and prescribers are not directly linked to a commercial transaction the same way they are with an advertisement or sales pitch to an end consumer. Second, prescribers are “learned intermediaries,” charged by profession and law to research and weigh the range of potential risks and benefits of each product they prescribe for their patients, whether it is prescribed for an FDA-approved use or an off-label use. As a result, scientific and medical information is “inextricably linked” to any speech that would be considered merely commercial. Prior attempts to restrict speech that included both financially driven and noncommercial components have received exceptionally rigorous scrutiny when reviewed by the Supreme Court. This Article suggests that the current restrictions on some pharmaceutical company speech may be given what I shall call “enhanced intermediate” (or even strict) scrutiny, rather than the usual intermediate scrutiny given to restrictions of merely commercial speech, because of the unique professional and legal role played by prescribers.
A controlled study of improvements in student exam performance with the use of an audience response system during medical school lectures

Background An audience response system (ARS) is an electronic classroom communication device. There are several educational justifications for using ARS. Our controlled study investigated whether ARS use was associated with improved performance on a course exam. Method This study used exam scores as the outcome and employed a switching replication design with a paired-samples t test analysis. The control and experimental groups differed only on whether students were expected to use ARS to enter data during lectures. Results The average scores on questions when ARS was used were statistically similar to scores when ARS was not used. A sign test on difference scores confirmed the result. Statistical power was adequate to detect at least a small effect size. Conclusions Improvements in test scores found in previous studies may have been due to the inclusion of questions in the lecture rather than the use of ARS. Embedding questions into lectures is beneficial, either with or without ARS technology.
Diagnosis of ruptured fetal membranes. Clinical study and review of the literature.

The pertinent literature relating to the laboratory diagnosis of ruptured fetal membranes has been reviewed. Vaginal aspirates from 100 consecutive patients in labor were submitted to a battery of six tests in an attempt to facilitate the clinical recognition of membrane rupture. The condition of the membranes at delivery was used as the basis for determining the accuracy of the laboratory tests. It was obvious that the optimum time to obtain a vaginal specimen was within 2 hours of presumed rupture. In selecting a spectrum of tests to be employed in doubtful instances of membrane rupture, it was determined that a combination of any three of the following (careful history, the nitrazine pH test, the amniotic fluid crystallization test, and/or the Nile blue stain) will produce accuracy of diagnosis approximating 93 per cent.
Exploring virtual mental practice in maintenance task training.

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to a general understanding of mental practice by investigating the utility of and participant reaction to a virtual reality maintenance training among underground coal mine first responders. Design/methodology/approach Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) developed software to provide opportunities for mine rescue team members to learn to inspect, assemble and test their closed-circuit breathing apparatus and to practice those skills. In total, 31 mine rescue team members utilized OMSHR’s BG 4 Benching Trainer software and provided feedback to the development team. After training, participants completed a brief post-training questionnaire, which included demographics, perceived training climate and general training evaluation items. Findings The results overall indicate a generally positive reaction to and high perceived utility of the BG 4 benching software. In addition, the perceived training climate appears to have an effect on the perceived utility of the mental practice virtual reality game, with benchmen from mines with more positive training climates reporting greater perceived efficacy in the training’s ability to prepare trainees for real emergencies. Originality/value This paper helps to broaden current applications of mental practice and is one of the few empirical investigations into a non-rehabilitation virtual reality extension of mental practice. This paper also contributes to the growing literature advocating for greater usage of accurate and well-informed mental practice techniques, tools and methodologies, especially for occupational populations with limitations on exposure to hands-on training.
BLS Versus ALS

Prehospital providers can be divided into basic providers – in the USA, they are called emergency medical technicians or EMTs – and advanced prehospital providers, paramedics. Although basic providers are restricted to splinting, bandaging, alignment of displaced limbs, and the administration of oxygen, many basic EMTs will have obtained an intermediate level (EMT-I); these individuals can start intravenous fluids and in many states obtain a more definitive airway such as using a Combitube or even endotracheal intubation. These emergency medical technicians are termed as delivering basic life support – BLS for short. Paramedics can initiate IVs, perform chest decompression for a pneumothorax, perform endotracheal intubation or a cricothyrotomy, and administer many medications. Because these trained individuals practice at a higher level and many of their skills are invasive, they are termed as providing advanced life support – ALS. Both BLS and ALS providers are licensed by the state usually for 2 years before relicensing is required (in a process similar to the licensing of nurses and physicians) and have defined codes of practice and standards of care. Many of these protocols are statewide; an example of such a protocol might be “Basic EMT protocol for the assessment and management of penetrating abdominal and thoracic injury.”
A grape seed procyanidin extract inhibits HDAC activity leading to increased Pparα phosphorylation and target‐gene expression

cope Histone deacetylases (HDACs) have emerged as epigenetic regulators of risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), and certain botanical extracts have proven to be potent HDAC inhibitors. Understanding the role of dietary procyanidins in HDAC inhibition is important in exploring the therapeutic potential of natural products. Methods C57BL/6 mice were gavaged with vehicle (water) or grape seed procyanidin extract (GSPE, 250 mg/kg) and terminated 14 h later. Liver and serum were harvested to assess the effect of GSPE on HDAC activity, histone acetylation, Pparα activity and target-gene expression, and serum lipid levels. Results GSPE increased histone acetylation and decreased Class I HDAC activity in vivo, and dose-dependently inhibited recombinant HDAC2 and 3 activities in vitro. Accordingly, Pparα gene and phosphorylated protein expression were increased, as were target genes involved in fatty acid catabolism, suggesting increased Pparα activity. Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (Fgf21) was elevated, and triglyceride levels were reduced by 28%. Conclusion GSPE regulates HDAC and Pparα activities to modulate lipid catabolism and reduce serum triglycerides in vivo.
Simultaneous Proteomic Discovery and Targeted Monitoring using Liquid Chromatography, Ion Mobility Spectrometry, and Mass Spectrometry *

Current proteomic approaches include both broad discovery measurements and quantitative targeted analyses. In many cases, discovery measurements are initially used to identify potentially important proteins (e.g. candidate biomarkers) and then targeted studies are employed to quantify a limited number of selected proteins. Both approaches, however, suffer from limitations. Discovery measurements aim to sample the whole proteome but have lower sensitivity, accuracy, and quantitation precision than targeted approaches, whereas targeted measurements are significantly more sensitive but only sample a limited portion of the proteome. Herein, we describe a new approach that performs both discovery and targeted monitoring (DTM) in a single analysis by combining liquid chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry and mass spectrometry (LC-IMS-MS). In DTM, heavy labeled target peptides are spiked into tryptic digests and both the labeled and unlabeled peptides are detected using LC-IMS-MS instrumentation. Compared with the broad LC-MS discovery measurements, DTM yields greater peptide/protein coverage and detects lower abundance species. DTM also achieved detection limits similar to selected reaction monitoring (SRM) indicating its potential for combined high quality discovery and targeted analyses, which is a significant step toward the convergence of discovery and targeted approaches.
Simulating cryo electron tomograms of crowded cell cytoplasm for assessment of automated particle picking.

Background Cryo-electron tomography is an important tool to study structures of macromolecular complexes in close to native states. A whole cell cryo electron tomogram contains structural information of all its macromolecular complexes. However, extracting this information remains challenging, and relies on sophisticated image processing, in particular for template-free particle extraction, classification and averaging. To develop these methods it is crucial to realistically simulate tomograms of crowded cellular environments, which can then serve as ground truth models for assessing and optimizing methods for detection of complexes in cell tomograms.
Esophageal Lichen Planus: Clinical and Radiographic Findings in Eight Patients

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to present the clinical and radiographic findings of esophageal lichen planus. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A search of computerized medical records identified 15 patients with pathologic findings of esophageal lichen planus on endoscopic biopsy specimens. Three other patients had presumed esophageal lichen planus, although no biopsy specimens were obtained. Twelve of these 18 patients (67%) had double-contrast esophagography performed at our institution; for eight of the 12 patients (67%), the studies revealed abnormalities in the esophagus. These eight patients constituted our study group. The barium esophagrams and medical records of these eight patients were reviewed to determine the clinical, radiographic, and endoscopic findings of esophageal lichen planus as well as the treatment and patient outcome. RESULTS. All eight patients were women (median age, 66.5 years), and all eight presented with dysphagia (mean duration, 3.2 years). Four patients had previous lichen p...
Social Outcomes and Acceptability of Two Peer-Mediated Interventions for High School Students With Severe Disabilities: A Pilot Study

Abstract Adolescents with severe disabilities often have few opportunities to learn alongside and connect socially with peers without disabilities at their high school. In this pilot study, nine hi...
Abstract 1930: New technology of RNA profiling at single cell level leads to the discovery of tumor heterogeneity in grade 1 endometrial cancer

Background: Due to high heterogeneity, a robust single-cell level profiling method is in great demand to analyze genomic and transcriptomic changes during cancer progression. However, existing amplification methods exhibit variable amplification efficiencies depending on the nature of templates and experimental conditions, which can generate significantly skewed representation of sequence fragments in the final profiling. This issue is much severer in RNA profiling due to lack of proper normalization controls. Methods: Tissue blocks from grade 1 endometrial cancer patients, as well as normal individuals were obtained from the Tumor Bank at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center. Single glands were microdissected from either normal or tumor tissue blocks. To accurately profile the transcriptome of each gland, we introduced modified polyT primers that harbor a random 10-nucleotide (10N) stretch, a definitive 7-nucleotide (7X) sample barcode, and a universal primer binding site. As a result, each newly synthesized cDNA contained a unique 10N stretch as its identity tag, a definitive 7X stretch as its sample barcode, and a universal primer binding site for massive amplification. The amplified cDNAs were subject to library construction and Illumina Hiseq 2000 sequencing. 7X sample barcodes were used for multiplexing, and 10N identity tags were used to calculate the expression level. Using this novel technology, the final transcriptome profiling faithfully revealed the mRNA expression level of each gene in spite of massive amplification bias. We further performed two-sample t-test to assess the differential gene expression between normal and tumor tissues on a gene-by-gene basis. We used the False-Discovery-Rate (FDR) to adjust the original p values using the Benjamini-Hochberg method. Results: We identified 2991 candidate genes as differentially expressed between normal and grade 1 tumor endometrial glands, with FDR adjusted p value Conclusions: This novel RNA profiling technology provided reasonable sensitivity and reliability with a small number of cells. The identified differential degree of heterogeneity in early endometrial carcinomas can be evaluated as a prognostic factor and facilitate personalized therapeutic decisions. Our profiling technique can also be broadly applied in other clinical fields that demand a higher resolution for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Citation Format: Zhu Zhu, Samuel C. Mok, Xiaoping Su, Ying Yuan, Karen H. Lu. New technology of RNA profiling at single cell level leads to the discovery of tumor heterogeneity in grade 1 endometrial cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1930. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1930
Real-time monitoring of conformational transitions of single-molecule histone deacetylase 8 with nanocircuits

Using single-molecule approaches, we directly observed the dynamic interaction between HDAC8 and various ligands as well as conformational interconversions during the catalytic reaction. Statistical analysis identified key kinetic parameters, demonstrating that the enzymatic activity is highly sensitive to both minor variations in the ligand structures and small synthetic molecules.
El misterio de la gobernanza global

Diferentes disciplinas han intentado explicara su manera la forma en que somos gobernados a nivel global. Siempre estentador en esta clase de situaciones imaginar que cada uno ha tocado una partedel elefante. Y eso hacen, ciertamente. Pero al mismo tiempo estan, cada uno,proponiendo un elefante diferente. Cada uno ofrece una vision, mas o menos enla misma manera en que nuestras disciplinas tradicionales lo hacian antes deestas, la cual reivindican como la version mas completa, como una respuesta totalmenteplausible o fundacional a la pregunta de como somos gobernados, o tambien comouna candidata para ser la reina de la ciencia cuando se trata de gobernanzaglobal
Effect of Personalized Instructor–Student E-mail and Text Messages on Online Students’ Perceived Course Quality, Social Integration With Faculty, and Institutional Commitment:

Social isolation among online college students may be a key contributor to the higher attrition rates reported by online universities relative to traditional institutions. This experiment investiga...
Residential and non-residential electricity dynamics☆

Abstract This paper uses U.S. panel data to instrument and examine the dynamics of electricity within the world market while separating between both residential and non-residential electricity consumptions during the time period of 1990–2014. To better assess the true differences within each causal relationship, all panel data has been separated into one Full panel and three subpanels of High, Middle, and Low income. The empirical framework used consists of various tests that identify the existence of cross-sectional dependency, a Pesaran panel unit root test, a Westerlund panel cointegration test, and the Dumitrescu–Hurlin method of the Granger causality test. Furthermore, this paper utilizes DOLS to estimate any long-run elastic relations between real GDP and residential or non-residential electricity consumption. Based on the results, this paper determines that no long-run relationship exists between non-residential electricity consumption and economic growth throughout and that the relationship between residential electricity consumption and economic growth possesses unit elastic behavior in the long run. Other findings throughout imply causality moves from economic growth in the direction of residential electricity consumption for all panels.