cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Posterior vertebral column subtraction osteotomy: a novel surgical approach for the treatment of multiple recurrences of tethered cord syndrome: Technical note

Recurrent tethered cord syndrome (TCS) has been reported to develop in 5-50% of patients following initial spinal cord detethering operations. Surgery for multiple recurrences of TCS can be difficult and is associated with significant complications. Using a cadaveric tethered spinal cord model, Grande and colleagues demonstrated that shortening of the vertebral column by performing a 15-25-mm thoracolumbar osteotomy significantly reduced spinal cord, lumbosacral nerve root, and terminal filum tension. Based on this cadaveric study, spinal column shortening by a thoracolumbar subtraction osteotomy may be a viable alternative treatment to traditional surgical detethering for multiple recurrences of TCS. In this article, the authors describe the use of posterior vertebral column subtraction osteotomy (PVCSO) for the treatment of 2 patients with multiple recurrences of TCS. Vertebral column resection osteotomy has been widely used in the surgical correction of fixed spinal deformity. The PVCSO is a novel surgical treatment for multiple recurrences of TCS. In such cases, PVCSO may allow surgeons to avoid neural injury by obviating the need for dissection through previously operated sites and may reduce complications related to CSF leakage. The novel use of PVCSO for recurrent TCS is discussed in this report, including surgical considerations and techniques in performing PVCSO.
Glucose counterregulatory hormones in the 72-hour fast.

OBJECTIVE: To attempt to establish a reference range of glucagon concentrations during hypoglycemia. METHODS: We measured glucagon, cortisol, and growth hormone responses in 65 patients with insulinoma and 29 normal control subjects who underwent a 72-hour fast. For comparison, we also assessed these responses in eight patients with noninsulinoma pancreatogenous hypoglycemia syndrome. RESULTS: At the end of the fasts, median serum cortisol (19.0 mg/dL [range, 3.7 to 44.0] versus 11.0 mg/dL [range, 5.0 to 28.0], respectively; P<0.001) and growth hormone levels (3.5 ng/mL [range, 0.1 to 46.0] versus 1.2 ng/mL [range, 0.1 to 34.0], respectively; P = 0.021) were higher, whereas plasma glucagon (54.5 pg/mL [range, 11.0 to 170.0] versus 75.0 pg/mL [range, 17.0 to 940.0], respectively; P = 0.012) was lower in patients with insulinoma (serum glucose level, 39 mg/dL [range, 14 to 58]) than in control subjects (serum glucose level, 63 mg/dL [range, 47 to 89]). In contrast, the 8 patients with noninsulinoma pancreatogenous hypoglycemia syndrome, a disorder of postprandial hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia with normal findings on a 72-hour fast (serum glucose level, 71.5 mg/dL [range, 48 to 82]), had concentrations of glucagon (81.0 pg/mL [range, 47.0 to 150.0]), cortisol (10.5 mg/dL [range, 2.7 to 17.0]), and growth hormone (1.5 ng/mL [range, 0.8 to 6.9]) similar to those in the control subjects. On multivariate analysis, the duration of the fast, baseline glucagon concentration, and male gender (but not age, body mass index, or concentrations of glucose and insulin) were correlated with end-of-fast glucagon concentration. CONCLUSION: Defective glucagon secretion in hypoglycemic disorders applies to the stimulus of hypoglycemia but not to food deprivation. A conservative estimate for glucagon deficiency based on the minimal observed glucagon response could be a level of 10 pg/mL during hypoglycemia.
Basis of difference between reciprocal crosses involving Triticum boeoticum and T. urartu

The boeoticum (♀) X urartu (♂) F1 hybrids gave small, plump and viable seeds while the reciprocal crosses with T. urartu as the female parent had long, shrivelled and non-viable seeds. Reciprocal nuclear-substitution lines comprising the nucleus of one species into the cytoplasm of the other were developed through repeated backcrossing and were crossed as female parents with respective non-recurrent parents (the cytoplasm donors). The difference between the reciprocal crosses was presumably attributable to different boeoticum urartu genomic ratios in the triploid endosperm rather than to the cytoplasmic difference between the diploid wheats. The endosperm with two doses of the boeoticum and one of the urartu genome resulted in small, plump and viable seed while the endosperm of the reciprocal crosses with two doses of the urartu and one of the boeoticum genome led to large but shrivelled and non-viable seeds irrespective of the cytoplasmic type. One dose of the paternal genome in the triploid endosperm is probably not expressed in the presence of two doses of the maternal genome thereby leading to the difference between the reciprocal crosses. The results reported here indicate that difference between reciprocal crosses may not always be attributed to cytoplasmic difference between the parental species.
A comparison of microbiology and demographics among patients with healthcare-associated, hospital-acquired, and ventilator-associated pneumonia: a retrospective analysis of 1184 patients from a large, international study

Acceptance of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) as an entity and the associated risk of infection by potentially multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter have been debated. We therefore compared patients with HCAP, hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) enrolled in a trial comparing linezolid with vancomycin for treatment of pneumonia. The analysis included all patients who received study drug. HCAP was defined as pneumonia occurring < 48 hours into hospitalization and acquired in a long-term care, subacute, or intermediate health care facility; following recent hospitalization; or after chronic dialysis. Data from 1184 patients (HCAP = 199, HAP = 379, VAP = 606) were analyzed. Compared with HAP and VAP patients, those with HCAP were older, had slightly higher severity scores, and were more likely to have comorbidities. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common gram-negative organism isolated in all pneumonia classes [HCAP, 22/199 (11.1%); HAP, 28/379 (7.4%); VAP, 57/606 (9.4%); p = 0.311]. Acinetobacter spp. were also found with similar frequencies across pneumonia groups. To address potential enrollment bias toward patients with MRSA pneumonia, we grouped patients by presence or absence of MRSA and found little difference in frequencies of Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter. In this population of pneumonia patients, the frequencies of MDR gram-negative pathogens were similar among patients with HCAP, HAP, or VAP. Our data support inclusion of HCAP within nosocomial pneumonia guidelines and the recommendation that empiric antibiotic regimens for HCAP should be similar to those for HAP and VAP.
One-Dimensional Coordination Polymers of Cobalt with 4,4'-Bipyridine: Syntheses and Structures.

Several new one-dimensional coordination polymers were obtained by reactions of different simple cobalt salts with 4,4‘-bipyridine. Co(SO4)(H2O)3(4,4‘-bipy)·2H2O (1) was obtained by reacting CoSO4 with 4,4‘-bipy in a water/ethanol solvent system: hexagonal, P65, a = 11.435(2) A, c = 20.886(4) A, Z = 6. CoCl2(DMSO)2(4,4‘-bipy) (2) was crystallized from the reaction of an aqueous solution of CoCl2 with a DMSO solution of 4,4‘-bipy: orthorhombic, Pbcn, a = 11.470(2) A, b = 11.390(2) A, c = 14.753(1) A, Z = 4. Reaction of Co(CH3COO)2 with 4,4‘-bipy in water/acetonitrile under hydrothermal conditions yielded Co(CH3COO)2(4,4‘-bipy) (3): triclinic, P1, a = 7.996(1) A, b = 9.128(1) A, c = 10.676(1) A, α = 109.79(1)°, β = 99.90(1)°, γ = 100.98(1)°, Z = 2. 1 and 2 have structures containing linear Co−bipy−Co chains. In 1, the chains are connected by a network of hydrogen bonds. The structure of 3 contains linear double Co−bipy−Co chains bridged by CH3COO- groups. The reaction chemistry observed in different sol...
Distribution and sedimentary characteristics of tsunami deposits along the Cascadia margin of western North America

Abstract Tsunami deposits have been found at more than 60 sites along the Cascadia margin of Western North America, and here we review and synthesize their distribution and sedimentary characteristics based on the published record. Cascadia tsunami deposits are best preserved, and most easily identified, in low-energy coastal environments such as tidal marshes, back-barrier marshes and coastal lakes where they occur as anomalous layers of sand within peat and mud. They extend up to a kilometer inland in open coastal settings and several kilometers up river valleys. They are distinguished from other sediments by a combination of sedimentary character and stratigraphic context. Recurrence intervals range from 300–1000 years with an average of 500–600 years. The tsunami deposits have been used to help evaluate and mitigate tsunami hazards in Cascadia. They show that the Cascadia subduction zone is prone to great earthquakes that generate large tsunamis. The inclusion of tsunami deposits on inundation maps, used in conjunction with results from inundation models, allows a more accurate assessment of areas subject to tsunami inundation. The application of sediment transport models can help estimate tsunami flow velocity and wave height, parameters which are necessary to help establish evacuation routes and plan development in tsunami prone areas.
Quantitative studies of phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages

Abstract The initial rate of phagocytosis by rabbit alveolar macrophages of paraffin oil emulsions stabilized with albumin was markedly increased by prior incubation of the emulsion with serum. The active component(s) of serum was non-dialyzable and heat-labile and was absent from zymosan-treated serum. Magnesium and calcium were both required for the maximal rate of phagocytosis. At 4 °C or in the presence of 1 mM N-ethylmaleimide, the rate of phagocytosis was less than 2% of the control (37° C) rate. The initial rates of phagocytosis of this emulsion by alveolar macrophages from rabbits injected with Freund's adjuvant were not demonstrably different from those observed with macrophages from normal rabbits. Per of mg of cell protein, polymorphonuclear leukocytes ingested serum-treated emulsion more rapidly than did macrophages, but per cell the rates were not different.
Inhibitory Effects of Central Hypertensive Activity of motensin I and II by 1-Sar-8-ala-angiotensin II (Saralasin Acetate)

The cerebroventricular administration of 0.25–2.00 μg/kg of angiotensin I or II into α-chloralose-anesthetized cats produced significant increases in mean systemic pressure. These central hypertensive effects were inhibited by the intraventricular injection of 0.5 or 1.0 μg/kg of 1-sar-8-ala-angiotensin II (saralasin acetate). The response to angiotensin I was attenuated to a lesser extent than that to angiotensin II with this preparation. However, when both the agonists and antagonists were administered intravenously, there was equal inhibition of the effects of both angiotensin I and II. Saralasin acetate alone had little or no effect on mean blood pressure or heart rate when administered by either route; when injected intravenously, it did not significantly alter the bradycardia induced by vagal stimulation, the pressor responses to bilateral carotid occlusion or intravenously administered epinephrine, and the depressor effect of intravenous acetylcholine. The difference in the levels of antagonism at central and peripheral sites suggests that the receptors for the angiotensins are not identical in these two areas.
Branch and Bound Methods for Multi-Item Scheduling

This paper presents two solution approaches for the multi-item activity scheduling problem; a problem of practical importance because it models many resource allocation and combinatorial problems. Both approaches are easily incorporated into commercially available linear programming LP based branch-and-bound codes such as IBM's MPSX370-MIP. Many practitioners rely on such codes and will find these approaches useful. The first approach is a specialization of a method for decomposing integer programs with block angular structure. In the second approach, the reduced costs in the solution to the usual LP relaxation are used to develop improved priorities for branching. Computational results on real applications are reported using MPSX 370-MIP.
Early fatigue failures of cemented, forged, cobalt-chromium femoral stems at the neck–shoulder junction

Femoral component fracture is a rare but well-documented complication after total hip arthroplasty. Historically, most stem fractures have occurred at the middle third of the implant, where proximal stem loosening and solid distal stem fixation result in cantilever bending and eventual fatigue failure. In contrast, we report 2 early fatigue failures of well-positioned, well-fixed, cemented, forged, cobalt-chromium femoral components at the neck-shoulder junction. A contributing factor to the implant failures was heavy laser etching in a region of the implant subjected to high stresses, leading to decreased fatigue resistance and subsequent fracture.
An overview of life-history variation in female threespine stickleback

[The threespine stickleback superspecies has become a model for evolutionary studies of morphology, behaviour, early-life development and host–parasite relationships. Its potential value for studying life-history evolution is also great. Fourteen years ago, a review of female stickleback life-history illustrated both the potential of the system to inform life-history evolution, and the limitations of the data at the time. In the succeeding years much more information has become available, especially from northwestern North America. Additionally, much more information is now available for the ancestral marine stickleback, a deficiency that was highlighted in the first stickleback book. One purpose of this review was to update information on female life history in the species. To this end, variation in the major life-history correlates (reproductive effort, clutch size, egg size and age/size at reproduction) is described, and a description of geographical structuring of this variation is provided. A second goal was to go beyond variation in individual traits to explore variation in trait correlations. The review ends with an exploration of allometric relationships between life-history traits and female size., The threespine stickleback superspecies has become a model for evolutionary studies of morphology, behaviour, early-life development and host–parasite relationships. Its potential value for studying life-history evolution is also great. Fourteen years ago, a review of female stickleback life-history illustrated both the potential of the system to inform life-history evolution, and the limitations of the data at the time. In the succeeding years much more information has become available, especially from northwestern North America. Additionally, much more information is now available for the ancestral marine stickleback, a deficiency that was highlighted in the first stickleback book. One purpose of this review was to update information on female life history in the species. To this end, variation in the major life-history correlates (reproductive effort, clutch size, egg size and age/size at reproduction) is described, and a description of geographical structuring of this variation is provided. A second goal was to go beyond variation in individual traits to explore variation in trait correlations. The review ends with an exploration of allometric relationships between life-history traits and female size.]
Prenatal Anoxia and Irradiation: Maternal-Fetal Relations:

A few years ago, after reviewing the negative resulcs of a series of srudies evaluating the effects of prenatal X-irradiation upon avian behavior, this invescigator concluded that although other possibilities existed, the most heuristic explanation involved a factor of maternal-fetal interaction in those instances where results of such exposure had been positive. Specifically, the behavioral effects of prenatal irradiation, at the ages used, were nor directly related to irradiation, per se, but to the effects produced by the irradiation in the mother. Conceivably, the differences in behavior reported by ochers were attributable to anoxia-like conditions imposed upon the fetus through irradiation effects in the mother (Meier, 1959). In the above studies the possibility of maternal-fecal interaction was eliminated; groups of fertile eggs were exposed to a median lethal dose of X-radiation at the end of 4, 8, 12, 16, or 19 days of incubation. In spite of the weight differences evidenced at hatching, no behavior differences could be discerned on a battery of tests which had been sensitive previously (Meier, 1958, pp. 55-66) to prolonged effects of prenatal oxygen deprivation meted to Ss at comparable incubation stages. True, many of the irradiated chicks were morphologic anomalies when seen at hatching. Even though the alterations, particularly in the head and in the extremities, were sufficiently numerous so that the various irradiation-age groups could be nicely differentiated, few of the deformed animals lived through the process of hatching. The morphologically-normal Ss (the only Ss used) were by tests behaviorally normal. Unhappily, the maternal-fetal explanation lacks popularity as evidenced by the firmly entrenched conrrary point-of-view in the literature of those primarily concerned with radiation biology In a review of the experimentation and concepts in radiation and prenatal development, Liane B. Russell (1954, pp. 900-901) contemplated the possibility of a maternal influence in the phenomena reported. Even after discussing numerous studies conducted over the last 50 or so years, srudies which were attempts to elucidate the mechanism of prenatal irradiation through selective irradiation procedures and which in sum imply a significant maternal influence, Russell concluded char "two pieces of evidence, added to evidence derived from analogy with the oviparous forms [viz., radiation can produce gross morphological damage in those embryo forms without direct maternal contact, therefore radiation doer produce morphological damage in those embryo forms with direct maternal contact]: make it likely that the majority of ab'Based on paper presented at symposium entitled "Prenatal Factors Determining Later Behavior," American Psychological Association, Chicago, September 1, 1960. The research and the interests upon which this paper is based were supported by the Atomic Energy Commission through Contract AT- (40-1) -2 166. 'Parenthetical comments inserted by present author.
Substituent Effects in Arylseleninic Acid-Catalyzed Bromination of Organic Substrates with Sodium Bromide and Hydrogen Peroxide

Arylseleninic acids were found to be catalysts for the oxidation of bromide with hydrogen peroxide in a two-phase mixture of ether and pH 6 phosphate buffer. Benzeneseleninic acid (3) and 4-methoxyphenylseleninic acid (4) were more efficient catalysts than 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylseleninic acid (1), 4-nitrophenylseleninic acid (2), 4-dimethylaminophenylseleninic acid (5), and 2,4,6-trimethylphenylseleninic acid (6). A variety of organic substrates were efficiently brominated under these conditions using 5−10 mol % of commercially available benzeneseleninic acid (3).
Performance of older versus younger brothers: data from major league baseball.

Summary Batting and pitching records and career lengths of 312 sets of brothers who became major league baseball players were compared. Older brothers at nonpitching positions (N=262) had significantly higher batting averages and longer careers than their younger siblings. Differences for pitchers were not statistically significant. The results corroborate other studies that firstborns are more likely than later born siblings to be higher achievers, but different factors may be operative for pitchers.
Nonradiative transitions in chromium-sulfur chelates☆

Abstract Lifetimes and quantum yields for the tris complexes of chromium (III) with acetylacetonate, ethylxanthate, methylxanthate, diethyldithiocarbamate and dimethyldithiocarbamate are reported. A rationale for the low quantum yields observed in these and other molecular chromium (III) complexes is given.
Crack dynamics in brittle fracture: An atomistic study

Abstract It is commonly believed that cracks cannot move faster than the speed of sound on a solid surface known as the Rayleigh wave speed. However, earthquake measurement and, more recently, laboratory experiments give evidence to the contrary for shear dominated crack growth along weak planes in brittle solids. To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of crack propagation along a weak interface joining two “strong” crystals. The microscopic features describing the nucleation and growth of the transonic crack are elucidated, including the hyperelastic stress field driving the failure mechanism.
Evaluation of a Local Adaptive Protocol for Distributed Discrete Event Simulation

The performance of a local adaptive protocol for distributed discrete event simulation is evaluated. This protocol allows each process to adapt at runtime to its environment on a per channel basis with the possible range of behavior varying from conservative to optimistic. This evaluation includes a comparison of the performance of the algorithm with that of both a conservative and an optimistic protocol, as well as, an examination of a number of unique characteristics of the algorithm. Results from simulations using a network of workstations on a closed queueing system are presented. The results demonstrate the importance of various protocol features and show that it performs better than either the conservative or optimistic protocols in certain simulations.
Synthesis of an ammonium ionophore and its application in a planar ion-selective electrode.

A modular technique was used to synthesize an ammonium-selective ionophore based on a cyclic depsipeptide structure. The ionophore was incorporated into a planar ion-selective electrode sensor form...
Temporal Association of Children's Pesticide Exposure and Agricultural Spraying: Report of a Longitudinal Biological Monitoring Study

We measured organophosphorus (OP) pesticide exposures of young children living in an agricultural community over an entire year and evaluated the impact of agricultural spraying on exposure. We also examined the roles of age, sex, parental occupation, and residential proximity to fields. We recruited 44 children (2-5 years old) through a Women, Infants, and Children clinic. We collected urine samples on a biweekly basis over a 21-month period. Each child provided at least 16 urine samples, and most provided 26. We analyzed samples for the dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites common to the OP pesticides. DAP concentrations were elevated in months when OP pesticides were sprayed in the region's orchards. The geometric means of dimethyl and diethyl DAPs during spray months were higher than those during nonspray months (p = 0.009 for dimethyl; p = 0.018 for diethyl). Dimethyl DAP geometric means were 0.1 and 0.07 micro mol/L for spray months and nonspray months, respectively (57% difference); diethyl DAP geometric means were 0.49 and 0.35, respectively (40% difference). We also observed differences for sex of the child, with male levels higher than female levels (p = 0.005 for dimethyl; p = 0.046 for diethyl). We observed no differences due to age, parental occupation, or residential proximity to fields. This study reports for the first time the temporal pattern of pesticide exposures over the course of a full year and indicates that pesticide spraying in an agricultural region can increase children's exposure in the absence of parental work contact with pesticides or residential proximity to pesticide-treated farmland.
From services-centered to student-centered: A "Wellness Wheel" approach to developing the library as an integrative learning commons

Under the information commons framework, libraries welcomed technologies that went beyond search and discovery to information use and creation, as well as presentation and performance, in the service of intellectual pursuits and inquiry. The learning commons model encompasses the information commons but takes as its focus the student, rather than the library environment and resources. The learning commons affords a more robust conception of student success, one that incorporates cognitive development and scholarly pursuits, but also other aspects of student growth and development as well as embracing the philosophy of integrative learning. The “Wellness Wheel” is often used as a framework for developing programming in student affairs units in higher education; it addresses a range of student learning needs from academic to social to occupational to emotional. By adopting and adapting this approach, libraries can respond to the full range of student needs. This approach also provides a foundation for share...
Antagonism between Dendroctonus frontalis and the Fungus Ceratocystis minor

The blue-staining fungus Ceratocystis minor (Hedge.) Hunt is a frequent associate of the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman (Dixon and Osgood 1961, Francke-Grosmann 1967). The beetles introduce the fungus into tree phloem, and from there it spreads into the xylem (Bramble and Hoist 1940, Hedgcock 1906, Nelson 1934, Nelson and Beal 1929) where it causes rapid wilting of the tree. Although it has been observed that miscellaneously stained phloem is unfavorable to bark beetle development (Franklin 1970), there is little information available on the role of this fungus in the complex microhabitat of the insect in the host phloem. Most C. minor isolations have not been made from phloem when beetles were present, but from and about older frass-filled galleries or from xylem (Rumbold 1929, 1931). Research reported here indicates that C. minor acting alone is detrimental to D. frontalis development, but that its growth and perithecia production are inhibited in the phloem when it is present with the beetle and other associated microorganisms.
ASPECTS OF THE SOLUTION OF SOME MULTICLASS LOSS SYSTEMS

Stochastic service systems in which no queueing is allowed have been around for quite some time as models of telephone systems. Recently, such loss systems with a finite number of request sources were shown to be of interest in the modeling of path contention occurring in many current I/O computer architectures. This paper considers two aspects of finite source loss sytems with several classes of requests (``customers'''') arising, for instance, in the representation of more realistic I/O workloads. First, we present a simple approach to the solution of such systems in the case of classical multiple servers. This approach is based on the use of recurrence relationships which can be shown to exist among conditional averages, and leads to an efficient computation of server utilizations and loss probabilities. In the second part of this paper, we consider generalized loss systems in which the service resources are viewed as a global quantity (rather than a specific fixed number of servers), each class of customers requesting a given amount of the global resource. Such systems are useful, for example, as models of bus bandwidth shared among several types of transfers. We find that, although these systems exhibit a product-form solution, the simple recurrences derived for regular multiserver loss systems do not seem to carry over to the generalized systems. Therefore, we present an alternative approach, based on equivalence techniques, which allows to obtain the solution of such generalized systems through repeated solutions of a single-class loss model. A comparison with the existing convolution method for evaluation the product-form solution, indicates that the proposed method is significantly more efficient both in terms of computational complexity and computer memory requirements. (Supersedes 90-03.)
Adding smarter systems instead of human annotators: re-ranking for system combination

Using a Knowledge Base Population (KBP) slot filling task as a case study, we describe a re-ranking framework in the context of two experimental settings: (1) high transparency; a few pipelines share similar resources that can be used to provide the developer detailed intermediate answer results; (2) low transparency; many systems use diverse resources, and serve as black boxes, absent of any intermediate system results. In both settings, our results show that statistical re-ranking can effectively combine automated systems, achieving better performance than the best state-of-the-art individual system (6.6% absolute improvement in F-score) and alternative combination methods. Furthermore, to create labeled data for system development and assessment, information extraction tasks often require expensive human annotators to struggle with the vast amounts of information contained within a large scale corpus. In this paper, we demonstrate the impact of our learning-to-rank framework to combine output from multiple slot filling systems to populate entity-attribute facts in a knowledge base. We show that our approach can be used to create answer keys more efficiently and at a lower cost (63.5% reduction) than laborious human annotation.
Green tea catechin EGCG inhibits ileal apical sodium bile acid transporter ASBT

Green tea catechins exhibit hypocholesterolemic effects probably via their inhibitory effects on intestinal bile acid absorption. Ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) is respo...
The extension of alcohol-induced behavioral deficits with pyrazole

Shuttlebox avoidance and fixed-ratio operant responding in rats are adversely affected, but not disrupted, by ethanol injections (2.5 g/kg and 1 g/kg, respectively) given 15 prior to test. The recovery of these impairments was retarded absolutely up to 2 h by 24 h prior injections of pyrazole (4.3 mmol/kg). The results are discussed as they related to differing central nervous effects of alcohol.
Naegleria fowleri meningoencephalitis.

![Figure][1] A 7-year-old boy with no prior illness or altered immunity presented to the emergency department with a 36-hour history of fever (103.7°F), emesis, headache, and lethargy. The patient had a history of swimming in a local lake the week before presentation. Physical examination
The menstrual cycle from a bio-behavioral approach: a comparison of oral contraceptive and non-contraceptive users.

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effects of the menstrual cycle on: (1) accuracy and simple reaction time in a problem-solving situation; (2) academic performance; (3) identify corresponding cyclic changes in a set of psychophysiological measures during rest/test conditions; and (4) to compare oral contraceptive with non-oral contraceptive users. Eight volunteer females, 4 normally cyclic and 4 oral contraceptive users, reported once weekly throughout two menstrual cycles during which changes in blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, finger pulse amplitude, and verbal reaction time were monitored. Differences in verbal reaction time were found between oral contraceptive users and non-users over phases of the cycle, the users being significantly slower during menstrual and premenstrual phases. It was also observed that all subjects reacted slower in the menstrual and ovulatory phases during cycle one, although no differences were found during cycle two. Skin temperature changes between groups occured during the postovulatory phase of cycle two, the control group having shown a much greater increase than oral contraceptive users. These results indicated a suppressive influence of oral contraceptives which appeared to affect cognitive rather than motor responses, and that these effects were residual when no pills were taken menstrually and premenstrually. Also indicated was the finding that although a 28-day cycle of menstrual events exists, periodicity of these events may be reflected in a much larger cycle non-currently defined.
Dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine prevents transforming growth factor-β1-mediated collagen accumulation in cultured rat hepatic stellate cells

Abstract Polyenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC), a mixture of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines, protects against alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver fibrosis in baboons and rats, respectively. In this study, we assessed the antifibrogenic action of dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC), the main phosphatidylcholine species of PPC, against transforming growth factor-β1-mediated expression of α1(I) procollagen, tissue inhibitor of metallopreoteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in cultured rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). In primary culture-activated HSCs, TGF-β1 up-regulated the α1(I) procollagen mRNA level with a concomitant increase in type I collagen accumulation in culture media. Whereas TIMP-1 mRNA levels and TIMP-1 accumulation in media were also increased by TGF-β1, MMP-13 mRNA expression and MMP-13 concentration in media were not altered. DLPC fully blocked TGF-β1-induced increase in α1(I) procollagen mRNA expression and decreased collagen accumulation in media. Whereas TIMP-1 mRNA level and TIMP-1 accumulation in media were decreased by DLPC, MMP-13 mRNA expression and MMP-13 concentration in media were not changed by this treatment. Palmitoyl-linoleoylphosphatidylcholine (PLPC), the second most abundant component of PPC, had no effect on the concentrations of collagen, TIMP-1, and MMP-13 in HSC culture. We conclude that DLPC prevents TGF-β1-mediated HSC fibrogenesis through down-regulation of α1(I) procollagen and TIMP-1 mRNA expression. The latter effect leads to a decreased accumulation of TIMP-1 that, in the presence of unchanged MMP-13 mRNA expression and MMP-13 concentration, results in a larger ratio of MMP-13/TIMP-1 concentrations in the culture media, favoring collagen degradation and lesser collagen accumulation. This effect of DLPC may explain, at least in part, the antifibrogenic action of PPC against alcoholic and other fibrotic disorders of the liver. (J Lab Clin Med 2002;139:202-10)
Use of baseline prostate-specific antigen measurements to personalize prostate cancer screening.

In this issue, Orsted and colleagues report on 4383 Danish men from the Copenhagen City Heart Study who gave plasma samples in 1981–1983 at a median age of 58 yr [1]. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was later measured from the stored samples, and the relationship of these baseline PSA levels to prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and mortality was examined over 28 yr of follow-up. There were 170 PCa diagnoses and 94 disease-specific deaths in the cohort. Despite the fact that PSA screening was not available in Denmark during the study period, the authors observed a significantly greater cumulative incidence of PCa diagnosis, metastasis, anddeathwith increasing PSA. Compared tomen with a baseline PSA level 1 ng/ml, they reported a 3.0-, 6.8-, 6.6-, 16-, and 57-fold increased relative risk of PCa diagnosis with baseline PSA levels of 1.01–2.0, 2.01–3.0, 3.01–4.0, 4.01–10.0, and >10 ng/ml, respectively. The corresponding relative risks for PCa mortality were 2.2, 5.1, 4.2, 7.0, and 14, respectively, for these groups. This study adds to a growing body of evidence showing the important prognostic value of baseline PSA measurements, which were recently reviewed [2]. This finding has been consistently demonstrated in screening studies aswell as in clinical populations without routine screening. This suggests that the results do not simply reflect ascertainment bias and that the baseline PSA value is truly a robust marker for PCa risk stratification. The findings of Orsted et al. [1] corroborate a prior study from the Malmo Preventive Project, which included 1167 Swedish men who gave blood samples at age 60 and were followed for more than two decades [3]. In that study, the median imputed PSA concentration at age 60 was 1 ng/ml. Interestingly, 90% of metastases and 95% of PCa deaths
Prospective Randomized Trial of LLETZ versus Laser Ablation in Patients with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Three hundred seventy-five patients with CIN on referral Pap and with a distinct cervical lesion on colposcopy were prospectively randomized to treatment with LLETZ or to standard colposcopic evaluation with directed cervical biopsies, endocervical curettage, and laser ablation of the transformation zone for biopsy proven CIN. Of the 195 patients that randomized to treatment with LLETZ, 32.5% had no evidence of dysplasia, 26.5% had CIN 1, 17.3% had CIN 2, 22.7% had CIN 3, and 0.5% had microinvasive carcinoma on final histologic evaluation. Of the 180 patients randomized to laser ablation, initial cervical biopsies demonstrated no evidence of dysplasia in 52.8% of patients, CIN 1 in 22.0%, CIN 2 in 18.3%, and CIN 3 in 5.7%. Only 114 (63.3%) of the women in the laser group required therapy. Complications were comparable for each treatment arm. Only 6.7% of patients randomized to LLETZ and 4.4% with laser ablation had persistent CIN on follow-up Pap. LLETZ appears to be effective, well tolerated, and less expensive, but the cost savings advantage of LLETZ over laser ablation may not apply to patients with CIN 1 on referral Pap smear since many do not require treatment.
Culture, Son Preference, and Beliefs About Masculinity

We examined whether endorsing hyper-masculine attitudes positively related to the psychological well-being of adolescent boys (N=233) in an extreme son preference community, in Tamilnadu, India. A survey with masculinity and measures of psychological well-being was administered. We predicted that endorsement of masculinity would positively relate to personal strength, academic achievement, and positive psychological outcomes. Using regression analyses, we found that greater endorsement of masculinity predicted lower self-reported depression (b=−.48, p<.001), lower internalized shame (b=−.48, p<.001), higher academic performance (b=.15, p<.05), and higher personal strength (b=.43, p<.001). We discuss the relevance of our findings for developing interventions to combat extreme female neglect.
Accelerating List Management for MPI

The latency and throughput of MPI messages are critically important to a range of parallel scientific applications. In many modern networks, both of these performance characteristics are largely driven by the performance of a processor on the network interface. Because of the semantics of MPI, this embedded processor is forced to traverse a linked list of posted receives each time a messages is received. As this list grows long, the latency of message reception grows and the throughput of MPI messages decreases. This paper presents a novel hardware feature to handle list management functions on a network interface. By moving functions such as list insertion, list traversal, and list deletion to the hardware unit, latencies are decreased by up to 20% in the zero length queue case with dramatic improvements in the presence of long queues. Similarly, the throughput is increased by up to 10% in the zero length queue case and by nearly 100% in the presence queues of 30 messages
The Seven Plus Story: Developing Hidden Talent Among Students in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Environments:

The Javits 7+ Gifted and Talented Program awarded to Community. School District 18 of Brooklyn, New York, was designed to provide an opportunity for socioeconomically disadvantaged children to receive intensive school-based activities which would prepare them for programs for the gifted. The philosophical approach of this grant was derived from Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences. The program was designed to involve teachers, parents, district staff, and students in program design and implementation. This article outlines the components of the grant, its operation, and its evaluation as viewed by the author.
Effect of forest removal on the abundance of the endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

We test the hypothesis that the decline of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) from over 90% of its original range is the result of habitat loss and fragmentation of eastern North America. Forest removal at a site in southeastern Oklahoma known to have a significant population of N. americanus gave us a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis. At the local scale of this experiment, N. americanus declined significantly after forest removal while beetle numbers at adjacent forested plots did not change. Our results indicate that local disturbances such as forest removal, if occurring across relatively broad spatial scales, can cause wholesale geographic range collapse in this species.
Expanding roles of hospital epidemiology: quality assurance.

The role of hospital epidemiology is expanding. Today's hospital epidemiologists are being asked for advice by hospital administrators for matters outside of infection control. The latter relate to the optimal use of drugs, the level of health care provided by the employee health services and a number of issues related to the distribution and determinants of health care in the institution, all of which fall under the umbrella of quality assurance (QA). There is no doubt about the national preoccupation for monitoring health care and health care providers.
Role of adipocyte-derived lipoprotein lipase in adipocyte hypertrophy

Background A major portion of available fatty acids for adipocyte uptake is derived from lipoprotein lipase (LPL)-mediated hydrolysis of circulating lipoprotein particles. In vivo studies aimed at identifying the precise role of adipocyte-derived LPL in fat storage function of adipose tissue have been unable to provide conclusive evidence due to compensatory mechanisms that activate endogenous fatty acid synthesis. To address this gap in knowledge, we have measured the effect of reducing adipocyte LPL expression on intracellular lipid accumulation using a well-established cultured model of adipocyte differentiation.
A Sampling Model for Validity

A multifacet sampling model, based on generalizability theory, is developed for the measurement of dispositional attributes. Dispositions are defined in terms of universes of observations, and the value of the disposition is given by the universe score, the mean over the universe defining the disposition. Observed scores provide estimates of universe scores, and errors of measurement are introduced in order to maintain consistency in these estimates. The sampling model provides a straightforward interpretation of validity in terms of the accuracy of estimates of the universe scores, and of reliability in terms of the consistency among these estimates. A third property of measurements, import, is defined in terms of all of the implications of a measurement. The model provides the basis for a detailed analysis of standardization and of the systematic errors that standardization creates; for example, the hypothesis that increases in reliability may cause decreases in validity is easily derived from the model...
Improving QoS under lossy channels through adaptive redundancy

Quality of service (QoS) of a network-wide broadcast (NWB) protocol is one of the most important performance metrics, especially in mobile ad hoc networks, where channel conditions and network topology change frequently. We propose a mesh networking inspired approach to overcome the performance degradation caused by lossy channels. We show that our adaptive approach, whereby the amount of redundancy is adjusted to the current link conditions, can achieve good performance while simultaneously reducing unnecessary energy dissipation.
Does Tax Smoothing Differ by the Level of Government? Time Series Evidence from Canada and the United States

The tax smoothing theory is examined for Canada and the United States. A distinction is made between federal and local levels of government. Mobility of taxable resources at the state and local levels may constrain the ability of these governments to smooth tax rates. Testing is undertaken in the frequency domain to see if the cumulated periodogram of the first differenced tax rate series differs from white noise. Testing is undertaken with and without correction for time averaging. Results generally support tax smoothing by both federal governments and the Canadian provinces. Tax smoothing is rejected for state and local governments.
SATIRE: a new incremental satisfiability engine

We introduce SATIRE, a new satisfiability solver that is particular-ly suited to verification and optimization problems in electronic de-sign automation. SATIRE builds on the most recent advances in satisfiability research, and includes two new features to achieve even higher performance: a facility for incrementally solving sets of related problems, and the ability to handle non-CNF constraints. We provide experimental evidence showing the effectiveness of these additions to classical satisfiability solvers.
Radiation-induced toxicity in cancer patients with low plasma fibronectin levels

The present study was carried out to evaluate the levels of plasma fibronectin (Fn) in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) in correlation with outcomes in terms of radiation toxicity. A total of 26 patients with lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, treated with RT were enrolled in this study. Plasma Fn levels were determined before and following a course of RT. The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) criteria were used to determine the grade of RT toxicity. Statistical analysis utilised the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U -test as well as bivariate linear regression. Pre-RT Fn levels were significantly higher in cancer patients without toxicity (median ± SE) (485.0 ± 87 μg/ml) as compared with the levels of plasma Fn in patients with grade I–II RTOG acute toxicity (354.0 ± 74 μg/ml, p = 0.01). No significant difference in Fn levels was found in patients with grade I toxicity compared with patients with grade II toxicity. In addition, low baseline Fn levels (148 and 299 μg/ml) were observed in two lung cancer patients who developed symptomatic pneumonitis during the first 2 months after RT. These preliminary results suggest that low baseline Fn may have potential as a predictive marker for development of RT-induced toxicity.
Incrementally reducing dispersion by increasing Voronoi bias in RRTs

We discuss theoretical and practical issues related to using Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRTs) to incrementally reduce dispersion in the configuration space. The original RRT planners use randomization to create Voronoi bias, which causes the search trees to rapidly explore the state space. We introduce RRT-like planners based on exact Voronoi diagram computation, as well as sampling-based algorithms which approximate their behavior. We give experimental results illustrating how the new algorithms explore the configuration space and how they compare with existing RRT algorithms. Initial results show that our algorithms are advantageous compared to existing RRTs, especially with respect to the number of collision checks and nodes in the search tree.
The sounds of the self: Voice and emotion in dance/movement therapy

Body movement is the primary medium in which dance/movement therapists help clients to connect with implicit experience, to tolerate and express emotion, and thereby to continuously re-work, re-weave and integrate embodied experiences of self. This article explores the role of non-verbal vocalisation within the overall movement ecology of the body, and suggests ways that it can support the aforementioned processes in clinical practice. Three existing frameworks for understanding the non-verbal voice are reviewed, from within and outside the realm of psychotherapy, as are several comprehensive theoretical studies of the ‘self’ in dance/movement therapy. The author emphasises that voice is an integral part of the body's cross-modal capacity for expressive movement, and suggests that the non-verbal voice prioritises and gives form to the emotional content of other bodily movement. This article aims to provide a theoretical starting place for integrating the non-verbal voice into dance/movement therapy schola...