cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Iron supplementation in premature infants using the zinc protoporphyrin to heme ratio: short- and long-term outcomes

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of incrementally higher doses of iron on the zinc protoporphyrin to heme ratio (ZnPP/H) and serum ferritin, and developmental outcomes in premature infants at risk for iron deficiency. Infants eligible for this prospective, randomized blinded trial were between 27 and 30 completed weeks of gestation, older than 1 week of age and tolerating 100 ml kg−1 per day of enteral feedings. The control group was treated with 2.2 mg kg−1 per day of ferrous sulfate and the treatment group was treated with 3 to 12 mg kg−1 per day based on the ZnPP/H. Infants had follow-up with Bayley exams at 6 and 24 months corrected age. Statistical evaluation included Student’s t-tests and Fisher’s exact test. Eighty-one infants were enrolled (40 control, 41 treatment). The average total iron dose for the control group was 2.2 mg kg−1 per day and for the treatment group was 10.4 mg kg−1 per day (P<0.05). The ZnPP/H was not different between the two groups. The ferritin at the end of the study was decreased in the control group but remained stable in the treatment group (control initial 202±109 ng ml−1, final 168±141 ng ml−1 (P<0.05); treatment initial 187±131 ng ml−1, final 176±118 ng ml−1). At 24 months, infants with psychomotor development index <85 occurred in 25% of the subjects in the control group and in 7% of subjects in the treatment group in a post hoc analysis (odds ratio, 4.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.7 to 43, P=0.07). The ZnPP/H may not be a reliable marker of iron status when used in a short period of time during iron supplementation. Infants treated with a lower dose of ferrous sulfate had a decreasing serum ferritin and a trend toward increased motor delays at 24 months.
Combustion advancements in gasoline engines

This paper presents a critical review of the recent combustion advancements made in gasoline engines for the reduction of fuel consumption and engine-out emissions, and the technologies associated with these advancements. For optimum combustion throughout their speed/load range, engines should operate in three combustion modes: stratified-charge spark-ignited (SCSI), homogeneous-charge spark-ignited (HCSI), and homogeneous-charge compression-ignited (HCCI). Key technologies to achieve this, with maximum reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, are spray-guided direct-injection system, flexible variable-valve actuation, and, cylinder-pressure based engine controls.
Dynamical calculations of linear momentum transfer in α-induced reactions

Abstract Linear momentum transfers in α-induced reactions with 20 MeV per nucleon are calculated by considering all important direct and incomplete fusion mechanisms along with complete fusion. The calculated results agree very well with the experimental data. Calculated total inelastic cross section and various incomplete fusion cross sections (including the stripping reactions to bound discrete states) also agree well with the experimental data.
A convex framework to control spreading processes in directed networks

We propose a convex optimization framework to compute the optimal distribution of protection resources in order to control a spreading process propagating throughout a network of contacts. The spreading process under consideration is an extension of the popular SIS model of viral infection in a network with non-identical nodes and directed edges. We assume we have a limited budget available to invest on three types of network protection resources: (i) Edge control resources, (ii), preventative resources and (iii) corrective resources. Edge control resources are employed to impose restrictions on the contact rates across directed edges in the contact network. Preventative resources are allocated to nodes in order to reduce the probability of infection at that node (e.g. vaccines), and corrective resources are allocated to nodes to increase the recovery rate at that node (e.g. antidotes). We assume these resources have monetary costs associated with them, from which we formalize an optimal budget allocation problem which maximizes containment of the infection. We present a polynomial time solution to the optimal budget allocation problem using Geometric Programming (GP) for an arbitrary weighted and directed contact network and a large class of resource cost functions. We illustrate our approach with numerical simulations in a real-world air transportation network.
The Heinrich Hoffmann photo archive: Price vs. United States (Final judgment, 19 May 1993)

(1993). The Heinrich Hoffmann photo archive: Price vs. United States (Final judgment, 19 May 1993). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 513-518.
Intercultural communication problems as perceived by Saudi Arabian and American managers

Abstract Research on Saudi Arabian communication patterns is inadequate. The present study reviews the literature on Saudi Arabian cultural and communication patterns and reports the results of data collected in Saudi Arabia on the perceived problems of Saudi Arabian businessmen when communicating with Americans. While large differences exist in the perceptions of the communication problems, both the Saudi Arabians and the Americans targeted differences in the patterns for organizing ideas as a major intercultural problem. Implications for intercultural training are provided.
Modulation of induction properties of glucocorticoid receptor-agonist and -antagonist complexes by coactivators involves binding to receptors but is independent of ability of coactivators to augment transactivation.

Coactivators such as TIF2 and SRC-1 modulate the positioning of the dose-response curve for agonist-bound glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and the partial agonist activity of antiglucocorticoid complexes. These properties of coactivators differ from their initially defined activities of binding to, and increasing the total levels of transactivation by, agonist-bound steroid receptors. We now report that constructs of TIF2 and SRC-1 lacking the two activation domains (AD1 and AD2) have significantly less ability to increase transactivation but retain most of the activity for modulating the dose-response curve and partial agonist activity. Mammalian two-hybrid experiments show that the minimum TIF2 segment with modulatory activity (TIF2.4) does not interact with p300, CREB-binding protein, or PCAF, which also modulates GR activities. DRIP150 and DRIP205 have been implicated in coactivator actions but are unable to modulate GR activities. The absence of synergism by PCAF or DRIP150 with SRC-1 or TIF2, respectively, further suggests that these other factors are not involved. The ability of a TIF2.4 fragment (i.e. TIF2.37), which is not known to interact with proteins, to block the actions of TIF2.4 suggests that an unidentified binder mediates the modulatory activity of TIF2. Pull-down experiments with GST/TIF2.4 demonstrate a direct interaction of TIF2 with GR in a hormone-dependent fashion that requires the receptor interaction domains of TIF2 and is equally robust with agonists and most antiglucocorticoids. These observations, which are confirmed in mammalian two-hybrid assays, suggest that the capacity of coactivators such as TIF2 to modulate the partial agonist activity of antisteroids is mediated by the binding of coactivators to GR-antagonist complexes. In conclusion, the modulatory activity of coactivators with GR-agonist and -antagonist complexes is mechanistically distinct from the ability of coactivators to augment the total levels of transactivation and appears to involve the binding to both GR-steroid complexes and an unidentified TIF2-associated factor(s).
Multisatellite observations and numerical simulation of an along-coast cumulus cloud line induced by sea-breeze circulation

A coastal cumulus cloud‐line formation along the east coast of the USA was observed on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite image from 17 August 2001. The cloud line starts to form at about 16:00 UTC (local 12:00 noon) and follows the coastline from Florida to North Carolina. The length and width of the cloud line are about 850 km and 8.5 km, respectively. A 15‐min interval sequence of NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) images shows that the cloud line maintains the shape of the coastline and penetrates inland for more than 20 km over the next 6‐h timespan. Model simulation with actual atmospheric conditions as inputs shows that the cloud line is formed near the land–sea surface temperature (SST) gradient. The synoptic flow at all model levels is in the offshore direction prior to 16:00 UTC whereas low‐level winds (below 980 hPa) reverse direction to blow ...
Communication competence in reading and learning disabilities

The evidence indicates that learning-disabled children show pervasive and enduring language problems across a wide variety of language tasks. The studies suggest that the problems experienced by learning and reading-disabled children may fall into the categories of phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics as well as nonverbal communication. In terms of nonverbal communication, these children are less accurate in interpreting nonverbal auditory and visual cues. In phonology, it appears that they are less skilled in detecting the segments of single words and thus have difficulty establishing phoneme to grapheme correspondence. In the area of syntax, learning-disabled males are less skilled in dealing with inflection and the comprehension and creation of complex sentences. In semantics, they are less adequate than nondisabled children in defining words, creating sentences, and classifying objects into categories. They show less adequate sentence production, are less skilled at recognizing their errors, and are significantly slower in generating verbal responses. Finally, there is one study that suggests that learning-disabled children may be discriminated by their use of language in social situations.
Externally modulated intense relativistic electron beams

The physics of modulation of an intense relativistic electron beam by an external microwave source is studied in this paper via experiment, theory, and simulation. It is found that the self‐fields of the electron beam, in general, intensify the current modulation produced by the external source. The linear and nonlinear theory, together with the simulation, show that the classical klystron description in the drift tube region is substantially modified by the beam’s high density. In the modulating gap, electron bunches may be generated instantaneously without the necessity of propagating the beam through a long drift tube. These properties, which have no counterparts in low‐density beams, lead to the generation of large amplitude, coherent, and monochromatic current modulation on an intense beam. The excellent amplitude stability and the phase‐locking characteristics (<2°) of the modulated current, demonstrated in experiments, open new areas of research in high‐power microwave generation and compact partic...
Cosmogenic rare gases and the 40K-40 Ar age of the kodaikanal iron meteorite

Kodaikanal iron meteorite measurements for cosmogenic rare gases and K-Ar isotopes ages for glass inclusions
Intrasubject Differences in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised

The three different types of standard error of measurement are discussed and tables of appropriate values are reported. These values may be used in setting confidence boundaries around test scores, assessing changes accrued across time as the result of retest, and assessing intrasubject versus intratest scale score differences in order to determine relative strengths and weaknesses. Two important considerations may be reached by comparing two sets of values. First, the use of the values contained in this article will result in more accurate decisions than would use of the values reported in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Second, the WISC-R was found to be a slightly more precise measurement technique than was reported in its manual. Additionally, the reliability of verbal versus performance differences was computed, as was the percentage of the normative sample that exhibited reliable differences.
Climacteric in women: An evolutionary defect?

This is a theoretical paper. Climacteric in women has two basic consequences: (i) Sterility, which is interpreted here as a positive feature, because it protects the older woman from the hardships of pregnancy. (ii) Hormonal deficiency, which is interpreted here as a negative feature, because it leads to deleterious changes in various parts of the body. Can these negative features be regarded as evolutionary defects? The answer is no, if the following points are considered. Through human innovations, women's natural lifespan of less than 30 years has been extended to almost 80 years. Had the lifespan not been manipulated, most women would not reach climacteric, which normally does not begin before the fourth decade of life. When interpreting climacteric as a phenomenon precipitated by man rather then by Nature, it follows that the negative features of climacteric should not be regarded as evolutionary defects.
Missing and delayed auditory responses in young and older children with autism spectrum disorders.

Background: The development of left and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) 50ms (M50) and 100ms (M100) auditory responses in typically developing children (TD) and in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined. It was hypothesized that (1) M50 responses would be observed equally often in younger and older children, (2) M100 responses would be observed more often in older than younger children indicating later development of secondary auditory areas, and (3) M100 but not M50 would be observed less often in ASD than TD in both age groups, reflecting slower maturation of later developing auditory areas in ASD. Methods: 35 typically developing controls, 63 ASD without language impairment (ASD-LI), and 38 ASD with language impairment (ASD+LI) were recruited.The presence or absence of a STG M50 and M100 was scored. Subjects were grouped into younger (6 to 10-years-old) and older groups (11 to 15-years-old). Results: Although M50 responses were observed equally often in older and younger subjects and equally often in TD and ASD, left and right M50 responses were delayed in ASD-LI and ASD+LI. Group comparisons showed that in younger subjects M100 responses were observed more often in TD than ASD+LI (90% vs 66%, p=0.04), with no differences between TD and ASD-LI (90% vs 76% p=0.14) or between ASD-LI and ASD+LI (76% vs 66%, p=0.53). In older subjects, whereas no differences were observed between TD and ASD+LI, responses were observed more often in ASD-LI than ASD+LI. Conclusions: Although present in all groups, M50 responses were delayed in ASD, suggesting delayed development of earlier developing auditory areas. Examining the TD data, findings indicated that by 11 years a right M100 should be observed in 100% of subjects and a left M100 in 80% of subjects. Thus, by 11years, lack of a left and especially right M100 offers neurobiological insight into sensory processing that may underlie language or cognitive impairment.
The challenge of producing skin test antigens with minimal resources suitable for human application against a neglected tropical disease; leprosy.

True incidence of leprosy and its impact on transmission will not be understood until a tool is available to measure pre-symptomatic infection. Diagnosis of leprosy disease is currently based on clinical symptoms, which on average take 3–10 years to manifest. The fact that incidence, as defined by new case detection, equates with prevalence, i.e., registered cases, suggests that the cycle of transmission has not been fully intercepted by implementation of multiple drug therapy. This is supported by a high incidence of childhood leprosy. Epidemiological screening for pre-symptomatic leprosy in large endemic populations is required to facilitate targeted chemoprophylactic interventions. Such a test must be sensitive, specific, simple to administer, cost-effective, and easy to interpret. The intradermal skin test method that measures cell-mediated immunity was explored as the best option. Prior knowledge on skin testing of healthy subjects and leprosy patients with whole or partially fractionated Mycobacterium leprae bacilli, such as Lepromin or the Rees' or Convit' antigens, has established an acceptable safety and potency profile of these antigens. These data, along with immunoreactivity data, laid the foundation for two new leprosy skin test antigens, MLSA-LAM (M. leprae soluble antigen devoid of mycobacterial lipoglycans, primarily lipoarabinomannan) and MLCwA (M. leprae cell wall antigens). In the absence of commercial interest, the challenge was to develop these antigens under current good manufacturing practices in an acceptable local pilot facility and submit an Investigational New Drug to the Food and Drug Administration to allow a first-in-human phase I clinical trial.
Automatable lipid bilayer formation for ion channel studies

Transmembrane proteins and ion channels are important drug targets and have been explored as single molecule sensors. For these proteins to function normally they must be integrated within lipid bilayers; however, the labor and skill required to create artificial lipid bilayers have the limited the possible applications utilizing these proteins. In order to reduce the complexity and cost of lipid bilayer formation and measurement, we have modified a previously published lipid bilayer formation technique using mechanically contacted monolayers so that the process is automatable, requiring minimal operator input. Measurement electronics are integrated with the fluid handling system, greatly reducing the time and operator feedback characteristically required of traditional bilayer experiments. To demonstrate the biological functionality of the resultant bilayers and the system's capabilities as a membrane platform, the ion channel gramicidin A was incorporated and measured with this system.
Cutaneous wound healing in the cat: a macroscopic description and comparison with cutaneous wound healing in the dog.

Objective— To describe the macroscopic features of first and second intention cutaneous wound healing in the cat and compare with the dog. Study Design— Experimental study. Animals— Domestic shorthaired cats (6) and beagle dogs (6). Methods— Square, open cutaneous wounds created on the dorsal aspect of the thorax were evaluated for 21 days for temporal and spatial development of granulation tissue, wound contraction, epithelialization, and total healing. To evaluate first intention healing, breaking strength of sutured linear cutaneous wounds was measured at 7 days post-wounding. Laser-Doppler perfusion imaging was used to measure cutaneous perfusion. Results— First intention healing: sutured wounds in cats were only half as strong as those in dogs at day 7 (0.406 versus 0.818 kg breaking strength). Second intention healing: cats produced significantly less granulation tissue than dogs, with a peripheral, rather than central distribution. Wound epithelialization and total wound healing (total reduction in open wound area from contraction and epithelialization) were greater for dogs than for cats over 21 days. Wound contraction on day 7 was greater for dogs, but not on day 14 or 21. Cutaneous perfusion was initially greater for dogs than for cats, but no differences were detected after day 7. Conclusions— Significant, previously unreported differences in cutaneous wound healing exist between cats and dogs. In general, cutaneous wounds in cats are slower to heal. Cats and dogs also appear to use different mechanisms of second intention healing. In cats wounds close mainly by contraction of the wound edges, whereas in dogs wounds close more from central pull, and epithelialization. Clinical Relevance— Surgeons should view the cat as a unique species, which presents its own special challenges in wound healing, and should take this into account when planning treatment of feline wounds, either by primary closure, or by second intention healing.
Anomalies in Hall-Petch strengthening for nanocrystalline Au-Cu alloys below 10 nm grain size

Abstract The mechanical behavior of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline alloy is assessed with regards to the experimentally measured strain-rate sensitivity. Foils are characterized with grain sizes as small as 3 nm, a nano-scale regime that has previously gone without detailed experimental examination. It is found from micro-scratch measurements that hardness, hence strength, approaches ideal values as the grain size decreases to 7 nm. Below 7 nm, softening in strength and departure from Hall–Petch behavior is related to an increase in the activation volume for deformation as grain size decreases further.
Effects of glucose and glycerol on γ‐poly(glutamic acid) formation by Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945a

Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945a is one of the bacterial strains that produce γ-poly(glutamic acid) (γ-PGA). The use of carbohydrate medium components for γ-PGA production was explored. Cells were grown in shake flasks or in controlled pH fermentors using medium formulations that contain different carbon sources. During the cultivations, aliquots were removed to monitor cell growth, carbon utilization, polymer production, and polymer molecular weight. Glucose was a better carbon source than glycerol for cell growth. Furthermore, glucose was utilized at a faster rate than glycerol, citrate, or glutamate. However, by using mixtures of glucose and glycerol in medium formulations, the efficiency of γ-PGA production increased. For example, by increasing the glycerol in medium formulations from 0 to 40 g/L, the γ-PGA broth concentration after 96 h increased from 5.7 to 20.5 g/L. Considering that glycerol utilization was low for the glucose/glycerol mixtures studied, it was unclear as to the mechanism by which glycerol leads to enhanced product formation. Cell growth and concomitant γ-PGA production (12 g/L) at pH 6.5 was possible using glucose as a carbon source if trace amounts (0.5 g/L each) of citrate and glutamate were present in the medium. We suggested that citrate and glutamate were useful in preventing salt precipitation from the medium. In addition, glutamate may be preferred relative to ammonium chloride as a nitrogen source. The conversion of glucose to γ-PGA by the strain ATCC 9945a was believed to occur by glycolysis of glucose to acetyl-CoA and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates that were then metabolized via the TCA cycle to form α-ketoglutarate, which is a direct glutamate precursor. ©1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 57: 430-437, 1998.
Associative and postprandial control of schedule-induced drinking: Implications for the study of interim behavior

Schedule-induced drinking and food-magazine contacts were examined in rats receiving either true- or pseudodiscriminative conditioning. Schedule-induced drinking was largely confined to S− following true discrimination training, but when SI and S2 were unrelated to food deliveries (pseudo condition), drinking occurred after food ingestion. A stimulus generalization test for drinking yielded an excitatory postdiscrimination gradient around S− after the true discrimination and a flat gradient after the pseudo discrimination. Additional observations showed S− drinking to be closely related to the amount of food consumed during the immediately preceding S+ trial. These data suggested that both the predictive feature of S− and postprandial stimuli can control schedule-induced drinking. It was argued that these variables represent two general processes—induction and selection—both of which are necessary conditions requiring further study. Magazine contacts during S+ did not distinguish the true from the pseudo condition and were not influenced by test stimuli during a generalization test.
A study of variational wave functions for the alpha particle

Abstract The upper and lower bound for the energy of the alpha particle have been calculated with several different trial wave functions. The best result for both bounds is obtained with a function which is a product of solutions of the two-nucleon Schrodinger equation up to a certain internucleon separation and goes over into a variational function for larger distances. With this trial function the results for the energy and the r.m.s. radius agree quite well with that obtained by Mang and Wild in an independent-pair model calculation.
Comparison of a Biological and an Immunological Assay for the Measurement of Plasma Renin Activity

The present study was undertaken to compare the values of plasma renin activity measured by both a bioassay (Skinner method) and by a radioimmunoassay procedure (Haber method). In 28 normal subjects, mean immunoassayable plasma renin activity (PRA) of 1.2 ng/ml/hr ± 0.1 se was not significantly different from the mean normal value of 1.3 ng/ml/hr ± 0.1 se determined by bioassay. Similarly, of 26 patients with either essential or renovascular hypertension, peripheral venous PRA measured by immunoassay did not differ from that determined by bioassay (p > 0.30). The correlation coefficient of 0.97 obtained by comparing the values from the 2 methods was highly significant (p < 0.001). In 6 of 18 patients being evaluated for renovascular hypertension, PRA in plasma from the vein of the affected kidney was at least 1.5 times that in plasma from the contralateral renal vein with both renin methods. Eleven patients had a renal venous renin ratio of less than 1.5 with both methods. In one patient, renin activity w...
The New Research on Civil Wars: Does It Help Us Understand the Colombian Conflict?

The article synthesizes contributions from the recent comparative research on civil war and the case-specific literature on Colombia to argue that too often, commentators on this conflict overlook some of its key dimensions. A comprehensive analysis shows that no fewer than six factors are fueling violent conflict in Colombia: economic forces, state weakness, landscape, U.S. policies, long-duration and spin-off violence, and malicious opportunism by non-combatants. The first three are the ones that matter most. The case made here is that when analysts disregard the range and interrelat-edness of the factors involved, the result is a distortion of reality and a tendency to support policies that will not enhance the prospects for peace.
Scott Prudham's Knock on Wood: Nature as Commodity in Douglas-Fir Country

Knock on Wood presents a persuasive analysis of the contradictions between capitalism and nature, developed through the case of Douglasfir logging, milling and reforesting in the Pacific Northwest. It starts from the spotted owl controversy that dominated debates about public lands, logging and wildlife through the 1990s. Although that controversy has cooled, Prudham provides the kind of historical–geographical depth and understanding that scholars and the public routinely need—but rarely get—in contending with apparent conflicts between environment and economy, conservation and use, wildlife and people. It was already well known that the 1980s had been a time of accelerated and unsustainable cutting of old growth timber on national forests; that Reagan-era forest policy had more or less preordained a crash in the logging sector sooner or later; and that when it came, it manifest politically in pitched battles between environmentalists and the rural timber-working class. Knock on Wood reveals that the crash was inevitable not because of Reagan or James Watt but by the very nature of capitalist timber production in the Douglas-fir region. But if the crash was in this sense unavoidable, its political expression in the 1990s—“Are you an environmentalist or do you work for a living?”—was not. My criticisms of the book concern, first, how to extend Prudham’s analysis of “ecoregulation” from Douglas-fir forests to other nature– capital interactions; second, the role of the state; and third, how Prudham treats the spotted owl.
Prepregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain as risk factors for preeclampsia and transient hypertension.

Abstract PURPOSE: Recent studies suggest prepregnancy obesity is a risk factor for preeclampsia, although only a handful of studies have examined the effect of gestational weight gain. The authors analyzed the effect of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and weight gain during pregnancy on risk of preeclampsia and transient hypertension. METHODS: Subjects were participants in a prospective cohort study of women who received prenatal care from thirteen obstetric practices in southern Connecticut (4/88–12/91). The women were interviewed in-person before 16 weeks gestation and in the immediate postpartum period. All subjects' hospital delivery charts were abstracted. BMI was categorized as: 29 (obese). A gestational weight gain index, created using multiple linear regression, compared observed weight gain to the weight gain expected after adjustment for significant covariables (e.g. gestational aged at delivery). Logistic regression was used to estimate risk of preeclampsia (N = 44) and transient hypertension (N = 172) associated with prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain. RESULTS: Obese women had a mild increased risk of preeclampsia (OR = 1.81; 0.73–4.52); women in the other BMI categories had risks similar to that of normal BMI subjects. In contrast, risk of transient hypertension was substantially decreased among underweight women (OR = 0.35; 0.14–0.87) and substantially increased among obese women (OR = 3.43; 2.27–5.21). Higher than expected gestational weight gain did not increase the risk of preeclampsia. In contrast, risk of transient hypertension was increased over twofold among women in the highest quartile of the weight gain index (OR = 2.55; 1.66–3.92). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity appears to be a strong risk factor for transient hypertension and a milder risk factor for preeclampsia. High gestational weight gain was associated with increased risk of transient hypertension but not preeclampsia.
Acyclovir prophylaxis against cytomegalovirus in high risk paediatric kidney transplant recipients

Aims Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important infectious pathogen after kidney transplantation causing significant morbidity and mortality. Several prophylactic antiviral treatments are used and the aim of this study was to review the efficacy of acyclovir prophylaxis to prevent CMV infection in paediatric kidney transplant recipients. Methods The clinical records of kidney transplant recipients over a 20 year period were reviewed. Details of recipient and donor CMV serostatus were recorded together with information regarding prophylaxis received, evidence of CMV infection, and CMV related complications. All patients were scheduled to receive 5 mg/kg loading dose acyclovir peri-operatively and then acyclovir 200 mg qds for 90 days. Results 192 kidney transplants were performed in 177 children between 1991 and 2010. Only first grafts were considered in subsequent analysis. 36 recipients were identified as being at risk of CMV after transplant (i.e. recipient CMV IgG negative, donor CMV IgG positive). All of these patients received oral acyclovir prophylaxis and 58% received an intravenous loading dose. Of these 36 patients, 9 (25%) developed CMV viraemia with a positive CMV PCR. 7 patients met the criteria for CMV disease. 8 of the 9 patients developed viraemia whilst on acyclovir indicating active CMV replication despite treatment. There were no cases of severe infection or tissue invasive disease. There was no graft loss as a consequence of CMV infection. Conclusions The evidence supporting the choice of prophylactic treatment for CMV in paediatric kidney transplant recipients is limited. Recent data from the adult population indicate rates of disease are substantially lower in kidney transplant recipients treated with valganciclovir. These data indicate that in high risk individuals there is substantial risk of CMV disease despite prophylaxis with acyclovir and suggest that prophylaxis with valganciclovir is likely to result in significantly lower rates of CMV disease.
Multi-layer Floorplanning on a Sequence of Reconfigurable Designs

Partial dynamic reconfiguration is an emerging area in FPGA designs which is used for saving device area and cost. In order to reduce the reconfiguration overhead, two consecutive similar sub-designs should be placed in the same locations to get the maximum reuse of common components. This requires that all the future designs be considered while floorplanning for any given design. In this work, we introduce a new multi-layer sequence pair representation based floorplanner that allows overlap of static and non-static components of multiple designs and guarantees a feasible overlapping floorplan with minimal area packing. The multi-layer sequence pair is an efficient representation that helps in reducing the total floorplan runtime significantly. It also improves the design quality of the whole sequence as floorplans of all the designs are simultaneously computed. In our experiments, compared to a traditional sequential floorplanner, our floorplanner removes infeasibility in many designs, achieves an improvement of clock period by 12% on average and reduces the place and route time by as much as 3 times. It also reduces the average wirelength by 50% in the designs. Our proposed floorplanner could be used for finding high quality floorplans for applications that use partial reconfiguration.
Nitric oxide: a physiological mediator of the type 2 (AT2) angiotensin receptor

Virtually all of the biological actions of angiotensin II (ANG II) have been thought to be mediated by the type 1 (AT1) angiotensin receptor and the function of the type 2 (AT2) receptor is unknown. We now describe a novel physiological action of ANG II to release nitric oxide (NO) mediated by the AT2 receptor in both the kidney and gastrointestinal tract. We present an integrated model for a counter-regulatory protective action of the AT2 receptor mediated by nitric oxide. In the kidney, ANG II at the AT2 receptor stimulates a vasodilator cascade of bradykinin (BK), NO and cyclic GMP which is tonically activated only during conditions of increased ANG II, such as sodium depletion. In the absence of the AT2 receptor, pressor and antinatriuretic hypersensitivity to ANG II is associated with BK and NO deficiency. In angiotensin-dependent hypertension, the hypotensive effect at AT1 receptor blockade is due at least in part to AT2 receptor stimulation and consequent increased activity of the vasodilator cascade. In the gastrointestinal tract, physiological quantities of ANG II stimulate the AT2 receptor releasing NO and cGMP leading to increased sodium and water absorption. In conclusion, NO is an important physiological mediator of ANG II at the AT2 receptor.
Demand Competition and Policy Compromise in Legislative Bargaining

I propose a new majoritarian bargaining model in which more than one implicit proposal can be on the table at the same time. Institutional differences from system to system affect the order of play, the equilibrium majorities, and the policy outcome. The ex post distribution of payoffs within a winning coalition is, however, invariant to fundamental institutional differences, and it is always proportional to the distribution of relative ex ante bargaining power. The bargaining process is modeled as a sequential demand game, in which players are called to propose a policy and to specify their desired share of the private benefits related to being in office. The order of play is endogenous, and the distribution of payoffs within an equilibrium majority usually does not depend on who is the proposal maker. The role of the head of state and the advantages to center parties are also studied.
Exercise-related hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure in diabetes.

Iatrogenic hypoglycemia is the limiting factor in the glycemic management of diabetes (1,2). It causes recurrent morbidity in most people with type 1 diabetes as well as many with advanced type 2 diabetes and is sometimes fatal. It precludes maintenance of euglycemia over a lifetime of diabetes and, therefore, full realization of the benefits of glycemic control. It compromises physiological and behavioral defenses against subsequent falling plasma glucose concentrations and thus causes a vicious cycle of recurrent hypoglycemia. Insight into the pathophysiology of glucose counterregulation will continue to lead to understanding of the frequency and impact of, risk factors for, and prevention of iatrogenic hypoglycemia (1,2). Marked absolute therapeutic hyperinsulinemia can cause isolated episodes of hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. However, episodes of hypoglycemia are more typically the result of the interplay of relative or mild-moderate absolute therapeutic hyperinsulinemia and compromised physiological and behavioral defenses against falling plasma glucose concentrations (1,2) (Fig. 1). The compromised physiological defenses include loss of decrements in β-cell insulin, loss of increments in α-cell glucagon, and, given the latter, attenuation of increments in adrenomedullary epinephrine. The compromised behavioral defense is the failure of carbohydrate ingestion resulting from loss of symptoms, which is largely the result of an attenuated sympathetic neural response. The concept of …
Towards fast, believable real-time rendering of burning objects in video games

We present a framework for emulating the deformation and consumption of polygonal models under combustion while generating procedural fire. Our focus is on achieving the best visual effects possible while maximizing computation speed so that the processing power is available for other tasks in video games. We have implemented and tested our method on a relatively modest GPU using CUDA. Our experiments suggest that our method gives a believable rendering of the effects of fire while using only a small fraction of CPU and GPU resources.
What Are the Predictors of Post-ERCP Pancreatitis, and How Useful Are They?

Acute pancreatitis is one of the major complications of ERCP. It is of paramount importance that we accurately identify which patients will go on to develop post-ERCP pancreatitis. As most ERCPs are performed on an outpatient basis, early evaluation can allow safe discharge of the majority of patients who will not develop post-ERCP pancreatitis or develop only mild symptoms that will be self-limited. Alternatively, early detection of those patients who will go on to develop moderate or severe post-ERCP pancreatitis can guide decisions regarding hospital admission and aggressive management and can help direct the use of targeted therapies that have the potential to prevent or mitigate pancreatic inflammation. Thus, significant efforts have focused on trying to identify predictors of post-ERCP pancreatitis. These parameters can be organized into three categories of tests: 1) pancreatic enzymes as markers of pancreatic injury: serum amylase/urine amylase; 2) markers of proteolytic activation: trypsinogen, trypsinogen activation peptide; 3) markers of systemic inflammation: C-reactive protein, various interleukins such as IL-6 and IL-10. A serum amylase level greater than 4-5 times the upper reference limit in conjunction with clinical symptoms has been shown to be an accurate and reliable predictor of post-ERCP pancreatitis. However, the exact timing and level of amylase elevation remains debatable. Urine testing of amylase and trypsinogen-2 in post-ERCP patients has also been shown to be highly sensitive and specific for detecting pancreatitis. The main advantage of these urinary markers is that they are available as rapid dipstick tests. Serum trypsinogen-2 levels have also been studied in post-ERCP pancreatitis patients; high levels seem to correlate with severity of disease. Among the markers of systemic inflammation, serum CRP is an accurate and readily available laboratory test for predicting severity of post-ERCP pancreatitis, but it appears to be helpful at 24-48 hours and, therefore, is not an early marker. Several other markers remain investigational and have not yet found wide clinical applicability.
Concurrence of multiple sclerosis and primary intracranial neoplasms

The concurrence of multiple sclerosis and primary intracranial neoplasms is uncommon. The literature contains 20 cases of multiple sclerosis associated with gliomas and nine cases with non-gliomatous neoplasms. This report describes a protoplasmic astrocytoma and arteriovenous malformation found incidentally at autopsy of a 63-year-old woman with a 25-year history of multiple sclerosis. This is the first demonstrated association of multiple sclerosis with an arteriovenous malformation. Although neoplastic transformation of reactive glial cells in multiple sclerosis plaques has been proposed as the source of gliomas, the association of multiple sclerosis with astrocytoma and arteriovenous malformation in the present case is considered to be coincidental. Gliomas reported in association with multiple sclerosis are more frequently (30%) multicentric than are uncomplicated gliomas.
Identification of Novel Radiosensitizers in a High-Throughput, Cell-Based Screen for DSB Repair Inhibitors

Most cancer therapies involve a component of treatment which inflicts DNA damage in tumor cells, such as double-strand breaks (DSBs), which are considered the most serious threat to genomic integrity. Complex systems have evolved to repair these lesions, and successful DSB repair is essential for tumor cell survival after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) and other DNA damaging agents. As such, inhibition of DNA repair is a potentially efficacious strategy for chemo- and radio-sensitization. Homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) represent the two major pathways by DSBs are repaired in mammalian cells. Here, we report the design and execution of a high-throughput, cell-based small molecule screen for novel DSB repair inhibitors. We miniaturized our recently developed dual NHEJ and HR reporter system into a 384-well plate-based format and interrogated a diverse library of 20,000 compounds for molecules which selectively modulate NHEJ and HR repair in tumor cells. We identified a collection of novel hits which potently inhibit DSB repair, and we have validated their functional activity in comprehensive panel of orthogonal secondary assays. A selection of these inhibitors were found to radiosensitize cancer cell lines in vitro, which suggests they may be useful as novel chemo- and radio-sensitizers. Surprisingly, we identified several FDA-approved drugs, including the calcium channel blocker, mibefradil dihydrochloride, which demonstrated activity as DSB repair inhibitors and radiosensitizers. These findings suggest the possibility for repurposing them as tumor cell radiosensitizers in the future. Accordingly, we recently initiated a Phase I clinical trial testing mibefradil as glioma radiosensitizer.
Spatial extent of CBF response during whisker stimulation using trial averaged laser Doppler imaging

Abstract The spatial pattern of activation in response to multiple whisker stimulation was studied using high-resolution laser Doppler (LD) imaging in urethane-anesthetized rats. LD flux change representing cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses were analyzed from a single trial or after averaging a number of similar trials. CBF change in a single trial was observed predominantly over pixels having low baseline flux values (microvessels), which included diffuse circular patterns of activation 400–800 μm in diameter similar to the histological dimensions of individual barrels established in the layer IV of the rat somatosensory cortex. The overall activation pattern varied considerably between each trial (only about 9–10% overlap); however, the diffuse circular pattern of activation was reproducible in every single trial within and across all rats. With trial averaging, no significant increase was observed in the outer boundary of activation, but the number of activated pixels increased within the diffuse circular patterns of activation. Emergence of further active pixels primarily within the diffuse circular regions of activity with trial averaging indicates distinct CBF responses in the septal and barrel regions, with a lesser LD signal to noise ratio in the barrel core.
Control of segmental expression of the cardiac-restricted ankyrin repeat protein gene by distinct regulatory pathways in murine cardiogenesis.

Although accumulating evidence suggests that the heart develops in a segmental fashion, the molecular mechanisms that control regional specification of cardiomyocytes in the developing heart remain largely unknown. In this study, we have used the mouse cardiac-restricted ankyrin repeat protein (CARP) gene as a model system to study these mechanisms. The CARP gene encodes a nuclear co-regulator for cardiac gene expression, which lies downstream of the cardiac homeobox gene, Nkx 2.5, and is an early marker of the cardiac muscle cell lineage. We have demonstrated that the expression of the gene is developmentally down regulated and dramatically induced as part of the embryonic gene program during cardiac hypertrophy. Using a lacZ/knock-in mouse and three lines of transgenic mouse harboring various CARP promoter/lacZ reporters, we have identified distinct 5′ cis regulatory elements of the gene that can direct heart segment-specific transgene expression, such as atrial versus ventricular and left versus right. Most interestingly, a 213 base pair sequence element of the gene was found to confer conotruncal segment-specific transgene expression. Using the transgene as a conotruncal segment-specific marker, we were able to document the developmental fate of a subset of cardiomyocytes in the conotruncus during cardiogenesis. In addition, we have identified an essential GATA-4 binding site in the proximal upstream regulatory region of the gene and cooperative transcriptional regulation mediated by Nkx2.5 and GATA-4. We have shown that this cooperative regulation is dependent on binding of GATA-4 to its cognate DNA sequence in the promoter, which suggests that Nkx2.5 controls CARP expression, at least in part, through GATA-4.
Living (with) Technical Time: From Media Surrogacy to Distributed Cognition

This article proposes that time is not so much constituted by time-consciousness as given by technical inscriptions of time (including those performed by time-consciousness). The `digital gift' of time that comprises one fundamental mode of this giving of time correlates with Aristotle's conception of time as `the number of movement according to the before and after'; more specifically, it furnishes a minimal form of temporal difference — a minimal before-after structure — that proves useful for exploring how the experience of time has changed today. The article argues that we increasingly live time not, as philosopher Bernard Stiegler argues, through neo-Husserlian temporal objects like the cinema that model the flow of time through our consciousnesses (or our brains), but rather with the aid of artworks that eschew the objectal in favor of the processual. In works like Wolfgang Staehle's Empire 24/7, Pierre Huyghe's L'Ellipse and Lynn Kirby's Six Shooter, we confront open-ended digital structures that p...
Semiconductor cylinder fiber laser

We fabricated a fiber laser that uses a thin semiconductor layer surrounding the glass core as the gain medium. This is a completely new type of laser. The In2Te3 semiconductor layer is about 15-nm thick. The fiber laser has a core diameter of 14.2 μm, an outside diameter of 126 μm, and it is 25-mm long. The laser mirrors consist of a thick vacuum-deposited aluminum layer at one end and a thin semitransparent aluminum layer deposited at the other end of the fiber. The laser is pumped from the side with either light from a halogen tungsten incandescent lamp or a blue light emitting diode flash light. Both the In2Te3 gain medium and the aluminum mirrors have a wide bandwidth. Therefore, the output spectrum consists of a pedestal from a wavelength of about 454 to 623 nm with several peaks. There is a main peak at 545 nm. The main peak has an amplitude of 16.5 dB above the noise level of −73 dB.