cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of objective nutritional indexes as predictors of one-year outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Abstract Background Objective nutritional indexes have been shown to predict prognoses in some clinical settings. We aimed to investigate the prognostic values of these indexes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Methods We retrospectively analyzed 95 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI at our institution from December 2013 to February 2017. As objective nutritional indexes, a controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) were calculated at baseline. The optimal cut-off values were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. According to the cut-off values, we investigated the association of these indexes with 1-year clinical outcomes including all-cause mortality and re-hospitalization due to heart failure. Results In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, patients with a higher CONUT score and lower PNI had significantly higher incidence rates of 1-year mortality (26.9% vs. 2.9%; p Conclusions The CONUT score and PNI are associated with 1-year clinical outcomes especially with 1-year all-cause mortality in patients undergoing TAVI. Moreover, the CONUT score and PNI might have better predictive values than GNRI.
Trimodality therapy for oropharyngeal cancer in the TORS era: Is there a cohort that may benefit?

Background With increasing adoption of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), more patients may receive trimodality therapy. We sought to investigate outcomes and toxicities in this cohort. Methods A retrospective study of patients with OPC treated with trimodality therapy at a tertiary-care hospital, comparing those receiving bilateral vs unilateral neck radiation. Results Four hundred thirty-six patients underwent TORS, 17% receiving adjuvant chemoradiation. Of the 46 patients completing adjuvant treatment in-house, contralateral neck was spared in 20%. There were no significant differences in survival, and patient-reported outcomes in salivary function, mood, and anxiety were superior in those patients receiving unilateral neck radiation and directly correlated with mean dose to local structures. Conclusions Surgery for OPC offers the potential for reduction in radiation volumes by omitting the contralateral neck in those who may have required definitive chemoradiation. Even in patients receiving concurrent chemotherapy, unilateral neck radiation has a favorable toxicity profile without compromising survival.
Assessment of Moral Injury in Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel With PTSD: A Review

Background: Moral injury (MI) involves distress over having transgressed or violated core moral boundaries, accompanied by feelings of guilt, shame, self-condemnation, loss of trust, loss of meaning, and spiritual struggles. MI is often found in Veterans and Active Duty Military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MI is widespread among those with PTSD symptoms, adversely affects mental health, and may increase risk of suicide; however, MI is often ignored and neglected by mental health professionals who focus their attention on PTSD only. Methods: A review of the literature between 1980 and 2018 conducted in 2018 is presented here to identify scales used to assess MI. Databases used in this review were PsychInfo, PubMed (Medline), and Google Scholar. Search terms were "moral injury," "measuring," "screening," "Veterans," and "Active Duty Military." Inclusion criteria were quantitative measurement of MI and health outcomes, Veteran or Active Duty Military status, and peer-review publication. Excluded were literature reviews, dissertations, book chapters, case reports, and qualitative studies. Results: Of the 730 studies identified, most did not meet eligibility criteria, leaving 118 full text articles that were reviewed, of which 42 did not meet eligibility criteria. Of the remaining 76 studies, 34 were duplicates leaving 42 studies, most published in 2013 or later. Of 22 studies that assessed MI, five used scales assessing multiple dimensions, and 17 assessed only one or two aspects (e.g., guilt, shame, or forgiveness). The remaining 20 studies used one of the scales reported in the first 22. Of the five scales assessing multiple dimensions of MI, two assess both morally injurious events and symptoms and the remaining three assess symptoms only. All studies were cross-sectional, except three that tested interventions. Conclusions: MI in the military setting is widespread and associated with PTSD symptom severity, anxiety, depression, and risk of suicide in current or former military personnel. Numerous measures exist to assess various dimensions of MI, including five multidimensional scales, although future research is needed to identify cutoff scores and clinically significant change scores. Three multidimensional measures assess MI symptoms alone (not events) and may be useful for determining if treatments directed at MI may both reduce symptoms and impact other mental health outcomes including PTSD.
The Impact of Depression in Older Adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration:

This study examined how depression impacts age-related macular degeneration (AMD) disability among 114 elderly AMD patients. Results indicated that 49 patients met DSM-IV criteria for syndromal dep...
Predictive regression modeling of body segment parameters using individual-based anthropometric measurements

Body segment parameters such as segment mass, center of mass, and radius of gyration are used as inputs in static and dynamic ergonomic and biomechanical models used to predict joint and muscle forces, and to assess risks of musculoskeletal injury. Previous work has predicted body segment parameters (BSPs) in the general population using age and obesity levels as statistical predictors (Merrill et al., 2017). Estimated errors in the prediction of BSPs can be as large as 40%, depending on age, and the prediction method employed (Durkin and Dowling, 2003). Thus, more accurate and representative segment parameter inputs are required for attempting to predict modeling outputs such as joint contact forces, muscle forces, and injury risk in individuals. This study aims to provide statistical models for predicting torso, thigh, shank, upper arm, and forearm segment parameters in working adults using whole body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan data along with a set of anthropometric measurements. The statistical models were developed on a training data set, and independently validated on a separate test data set. The predicted BSPs in validation data were, on average, within 5% of the actual in vivo DXA-based BSPs, while previously developed predictions (de Leva, 1996) had average errors of up to 60%, indicating that the new models greatly increase the accuracy in predicting segment parameters. These final developed models can be used for calculating representative BSPs in individuals for use in modeling applications dependent on these parameters.
Spatial and Temporal Contextual Multi-Armed Bandit Handovers in Ultra-Dense mmWave Cellular Networks

Although millimeter wave (mmWave) is a promising technology in 5G communication, its severe path attenuation and susceptibility to line-of-sight (LOS) blockage result in much more unpredictable outages than traditional technologies. This special propagation property raises a significant challenge to the mobility management in mmWave cellular networks. Since conventional handover policies purely rely on the measurement of signal strength, they would cause a large number of unnecessary handovers due to the frequent short-term LOS blockage by obstacles, imposing high signaling and energy overhead. In this paper, we propose two novel handover mechanisms to reduce unnecessary handovers by carefully deciding the next base station (BS) a user should handover to, so that the new user-BS connection after the handover can last as long as possible. Without prior knowledge of user’s mobility and environment, the proposed handover mechanisms exploit the empirical distribution of user’s post-handover trajectory and LOS blockage, learned online through a multi-armed bandit (MAB) framework. Depending on the contexts extracted from RSS information, two different MAB problems for handover are formulated, which focus on spatial and space-time contexts, respectively, The results of numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed contextual handover mechanisms significantly outperform existing counterparts on reducing handovers in all simulated scenarios.
Escaping the natural attitude about gender

Alex Byrne’s article, “Are Women Adult Human Females?”, asks a question that Byrne treats as nearly rhetorical. Byrne’s answer is, ‘clearly, yes’. Moreover, Byrne claims, woman is a biological category that does not admit of any interpretation as (also) a social category. It is important to respond to Byrne’s argument, but mostly because Byrne’s argument is a paradigmatic instance of a wider phenomenon. The slogan “women are adult human females” is a political slogan championed by anti-trans activists, appearing on billboards, pamphlets, and anti-trans online forums. In this paper, I respond to Byrne’s argument, revealing significant problems with its background assumptions, content, and methodology.
Biases and Uncertainties in Physical Parameter Estimates of Lyman Break Galaxies from Broad-band Photometry

We investigate the biases and uncertainties in estimates of physical parameters of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies (LBGs), such as stellar mass, mean stellar population age, and star formation rate (SFR), obtained from broad-band photometry. By combining LCDM hierarchical structure formation theory, semi-analytic treatments of baryonic physics, and stellar population synthesis models, we construct model galaxy catalogs from which we select LBGs at redshifts z ~ 3.4, 4.0, and 5.0. The broad-band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these model LBGs are then analysed by fitting galaxy template SEDs derived from stellar population synthesis models with smoothly declining SFRs. We compare the statistical properties of LBGs' physical parameters -- such as stellar mass, SFR, and stellar population age -- as derived from the best-fit galaxy templates with the intrinsic values from the semi-analytic model. We find some trends in these distributions: first, when the redshift is known, SED-fitting methods reproduce the input distributions of LBGs' stellar masses relatively well, with a minor tendency to underestimate the masses overall, but with substantial scatter. Second, there are large systematic biases in the distributions of best-fit SFRs and mean ages, in the sense that single-component SED-fitting methods underestimate SFRs and overestimate ages. We attribute these trends to the different star formation histories predicted by the semi-analytic models and assumed in the galaxy templates used in SED-fitting procedure, and to the fact that light from the current generation of star-formation can hide older generations of stars. These biases, which arise from the SED-fitting procedure, can significantly affect inferences about galaxy evolution from broadband photometry.
The ROI of Investments in Lean Agile Software Development Training

This paper investigates whether investments in lean agile software development training increase software development productivity and produce commensurate improvements in financial performance of the software development firm. Two experiments involving software development teams were conducted using treatment and control groups. In the first experiment, the treatment group received a multi-day lean agile development retraining exercise designed to enhance existing skills. Cycle time, the average number of days to complete a story, decreased 81% for those retrained compared to a 23% reduction for the control group, resulting in a net 58% point reduction in cycle time and a 40% reduction in development costs. There were similar improvements in throughput, flow efficiency and WIP, all measurements of productivity. In the second experiment, a treatment group received monthly coaching for a three-month period. In the coaching experiment, the treatment group realized a 52% decrease in cycle time compared to a 15% decrease for the control group, realizing a 37% point net reduction in cycle time and a 17% reduction in development costs. Again, there were comparable improvements in other productivity measures. This analysis uses productivity and financial metrics typically associated with manufacture of tangible products, uniquely applying these measures to intangible software products.
A Team-Based Roadmap for Healthcare Change in a Turbulent Environment: a Longitudinal Study of a Not-for-Profit Hospital Transitioning into a for-Profit Organization

This longitudinal research describes how a 50-person management staff, led by a committed chief executive officer (CEO), was able to successfully implement a team-based structure and strategy to achieve a radical change from a non-profit hospital to a for-profit organization over a 12-year period. Many of the issues addressed and practical steps taken to establish a team-based leadership model for the new organizational template are described. Organization development models, diagnosis, intervention, and specific practices to bring about a successful transition are discussed. Seven principles are presented that contain “The Lessons Learned” from the longitudinal organizational systemic change intervention.
Therapeutic supramolecular tubustecan hydrogel combined with checkpoint inhibitor elicits immunity to combat cancer

Abstract The clinical benefit of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy is substantially restricted by insufficient infiltration of T lymphocytes into tumors and compromised therapeutic effects due to immune-related adverse events following systemic administration. Some chemotherapeutic agents have been reported to trigger tumor-associated T cell responses, providing a promising strategy to achieve potent immune activation in a synergistic manner with PD-1 blockade immunotherapy. In light of this, a localized chemoimmunotherapy system was developed using an anti-cancer drug-based supramolecular polymer (SP) hydrogel to “re-edit” the host's immune system to combat cancer. This in situ forming injectable aPD1/TT6 SP hydrogel serves as a drug-delivery depot for sustained release of bioactive camptothecin (CPT) and aPD1 into the tumor microenvironment, priming the tumor for robust infiltration of tumor-associated T cells and subsequently prompting a response to the immune checkpoint blockade. Our in vivo results demonstrate that this chemoimmunotherapy hydrogel provokes a long-term and systemic anticancer T cell immune response, which elicits tumor regression while also inhibiting tumor recurrence and potential metastasis.
Mean-Square Structural Response to Stationary Ground Acceleration

Second-moment statistics are obtained for modal and structural responses of linear structures with classical modes of vibration subjected to stationary input ground accelerations, during the steady-state period of motion. These statistics are found by analysis in the time-domain based on the theory of linear systems. Their determination involves only simple algebraic operations for piecewise linear input spectra. The approach, in general, for any ground or floor spectra can be approximated by a piecewise linear function. An asymmetric space structure and a planar shear frame are analyzed to illustrate applications of the proposed approach.
Rapid Task Learning for Real Robots

For learning to be useful on real robots, whatever algorithm is used must converge in some “reasonable” amount of time. If each trial step takes on the order of seconds, a million steps would take several months of continuous run time. In many cases such extended runs are neither desirable nor practical. In this chapter we discuss how learning can be speeded up by exploiting properties of the task, sensor configuration, environment, and existing control structure.
Tuberculosis and stigmatization: pathways and interventions.

The social determinants of health refer to the institutional, community, and interpersonal factors that affect health outside of the ease with which an individual can access medical services.1 Stigma, which is shaped and promulgated by institutional and community norms and interpersonal attitudes, is a social determinant of health.2 Stigma is a process that begins when a particular trait or characteristic of an individual or group is identified as being undesirable or disvalued.3 The stigmatized individual often internalizes this sense of disvalue and adopts a set of self-regarding attitudes about the marked characteristic including shame, disgust, and guilt.4 These attitudes produce a set of behaviors that include hiding the stigmatized trait, withdrawing from interpersonal relationships, or increasing risky behavior.5,6 Stigmatization is conceptually distinct from discrimination—another social determinant of health—in that the primary goal of discrimination is exclusion, not necessarily for the target to feel ashamed or guilty.7,8 Stigmatized individuals can, however, suffer discrimination and status loss at the hands of the broader community, whose norms have caused them to be perceived as undesirable.3,9 Stigmatization is a complex process involving institutions, communities, and inter- and intrapersonal attitudes. While it has been recognized as an important social determinant of health and health disparities, the difficulties in identifying, characterizing, measuring, and tracking changes in stigmatization over time have made it challenging to justify devoting resource-intensive interventions to the problem.2,10 One exception is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research, where the interactions among stigma, HIV risk behaviors, and HIV-associated outcomes have been fairly well characterized.11,12 Substantially less study has been conducted on the mechanisms through which stigma impacts the health of individuals at risk for or infected with tuberculosis (TB). In this article, we review the available literature on TB stigma. Our goal was to identify the causes of TB stigma and to assess the impact of stigma on TB diagnosis and treatment. We identified three themes in the existing literature on TB stigma: (1) studies that characterize and measure TB stigma, (2) studies that explore the effect of TB stigma on TB diagnosis and treatment, and (3) studies that describe interventions to reduce TB stigma and the impact of these interventions on TB diagnosis and treatment. We also considered the gaps in existing research on stigma and the TB pandemic, and assessed potential interventions to reduce the health impact of TB stigma.
Integrating and Reusing GUI-Driven Applications

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Driven Applications (GDAs) are ubiquitous. We present a model and techniques that take closed and monolithic GDAs and integrate them into an open, collaborative environment. The central idea is to objectify the GUI of a GDA, thereby creating an object that enables programmatic control of that GDA.We demonstrate a non-trivial application of these ideas by integrating a stand-alone internet application with a stand-alone Win32 application, and explain how PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) can be used to remotely control their combined execution. Further, we explain how Integrated Development Environment (IDEs) may be extended to integrate and reuse GDAs using our approach. We believe our work is unique: we know of no other technology that could have integrated the GDAs of our example.
3‐Bromo‐1,1‐dichloro‐1‐propene

(R = Br) [36469-73-5] C3H3BrCl2 (MW 189.87) InChI = 1S/C3H3BrCl2/c4-2-1-3(5)6/h1H,2H2 InChIKey = JMURNZDCVGWDRG-UHFFFAOYSA-N (R = CH2OH) [42134-33-8] C4H6Cl2O (MW 141.00) InChI = 1S/C4H6Cl2O/c5-4(6)2-1-3-7/h2,7H,1,3H2 InChIKey = SWKSVRXPMSGZLW-UHFFFAOYSA-N (chloroalkene annulating agent for synthesis of cycloalkane carboxylic acids,1 halogenated vinyl epoxides,2 halogen-substituted allylglycines,3 and 1,1-dichloro terminal alkenes4) Physical Data: R = Br: bp 65–66.5 °C/17 mmHg; nD20 1.5363; d25 1.7593 g L−1. R = CH2OH: bp 80–81.5 °C/10 mmHg. Form Supplied in: R = Br: not available commercially; pale yellow liquid. R = CH2OH: not available commercially; liquid. Preparative Methods: R = Br: can be prepared by N-Bromosuccinimide/Dibenzoyl Peroxide bromination in CCl4 of 1,1-dichloropropene with >60% yield.1, 2, 5 Other methods of preparation are Hydrogen Bromide bromination of 1,1,3-trichloropropene (Copper(I) Chloride/Copper(II) Chloride or Iron(III) Chloride catalyzed halogen exchange, 90% yield)6 or 1,1-dichloropropen-3-ol (65% yield).7 NMR, dipole moment, and IR studies of the reagent show that it exists in a gauche conformation in solution.8 R = CH2OH: can be prepared by the condensation of Chloral (hypnotic, sedative) and Malonic Acid,9 followed by acetylation (Acetyl Chloride/Pyridine), Zinc dechloroacetoxylation, and Lithium Aluminum Hydride reduction to produce 4,4-dichloro-3-buten-l-ol in 30% yield.1
Extracellular matrix molecules, long-term potentiation, memory consolidation and the brain angiotensin system

Considerable evidence now suggests an interrelationship among long-term potentiation (LTP), extracellular matrix (ECM) reconfiguration, synaptogenesis, and memory consolidation within the mammalian central nervous system. Extracellular matrix molecules provide the scaffolding necessary to permit synaptic remodeling and contribute to the regulation of ionic and nutritional homeostasis of surrounding cells. These molecules also facilitate cellular proliferation, movement, differentiation, and apoptosis. The present review initially focuses on characterizing the ECM and the roles of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), in the maintenance and degradation of the ECM. The induction and maintenance of LTP is described. Debate continues over whether LTP results in some form of synaptic strengthening and in turn promotes memory consolidation. Next, the contribution of CAMs and TIMPs to the facilitation of LTP and memory consolidation is discussed. Finally, possible roles for angiotensins, MMPs, and tissue plasminogen activators in the facilitation of LTP and memory consolidation are described. These enzymatic pathways appear to be very important to an understanding of dysfunctional memory diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and infections.
Predicting surgical case durations using ill-conditioned CPT code matrix

Efficient utilization of existing resources is crucial for cost containment in medical institutions. Accurately predicting surgery duration will improve the utilization of indispensable surgical resources such as surgeons, nurses, and operating rooms. Prior research has identified the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes as the most important factor when predicting surgical case durations. However, there have been few attempts to create a general predictive methodology that can effectively extract information from multiple CPT codes. This research proposes two regression-based predictive models: (a) linear regression, and (b) log-linear regression models. To perform these regression analysis, a full-ranked design matrix based on CPT code inclusions in the surgical cases needs to be constructed. However, a naively constructed design matrix is ill conditioned (i.e., singular). A systematic procedure is proposed to construct a full-ranked design matrix by sifting out the CPT codes without any predictiv...
Transient expression of serotonin 5‐HT4 receptors in the mouse developing thalamocortical projections

The serotonin 5-HT(4) receptor (5-HT(4)-R) is an unusually complex G-protein coupled receptor that is likely to play important roles in brain development and that may underlie the comorbidity of central and peripheral abnormalities in some developmental disorders. We studied the expression of 5-HT(4)-Rs in the developing mouse forebrain at embryonic days 13, 15, 17, and at postnatal days 3 and 14 by using immunohistochemistry, tract tracing, and quantitative RT-PCR. The developing thalamocortical projections transiently expressed 5-HT(4)-Rs in the embryonic brain and the 5-HT(4)-R expression in the forebrain changed from axonal to somatic around birth. From embryonic days 13-17, the forebrain mRNA levels of the 5-HT(4(a))-R and 5-HT(4(b))-R splice variants increased nine- and fivefold, respectively, whereas the levels of the 5-HT(4(e))-R and 5-HT(4(f))-R variants remained relatively low throughout the studied period of embryonic development. These results suggest that during development 5-HT(4)-R expression undergoes a dynamic regulation and that this regulation may be important for the normal development of sensory and limbic processing.
Strain-specific modifier genes governing craniofacial phenotypes.

BACKGROUND The presence of strain-specific modifier genes is known to modulate the phenotype and pathophysiology of mice harboring genetically engineered mutations. Thus, identification of genetic modifier genes is requisite to understanding control of phenotypic expression. c-Ski is a transcriptional regulator. Ski−/− mice on a C57BL6J (B6) background exhibit facial clefting, while Ski−/− mice on a 129P3 (129) background present with exencephaly. METHODS In the present study, oligonucleotide-based gene expression profiling was used to identify potential strain-specific modifier gene candidates present in wild type mice of B6 and 129 genetic backgrounds. Changes in gene expression were verified by TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS Steady-state levels of 89 genes demonstrated a significantly higher level of expression, and those of 68 genes demonstrated a significantly lower level of expression in the developing neural tubes from embryonic day (E) 8.5, B6 embryos when compared to expression levels in neural tubes derived from E 8.5, 129 embryos. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results from the current comparative microarray study, and taking into consideration a number of relevant published reports, several potential strain-specific gene candidates, likely to modify the craniofacial phenotypes in various knockout mouse models have been identified. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimizing cervical specimen classifiers

In an automated cervical cancer screening program, a prescreening machine could pass suspicious specimens to a cytotechnologist or cytopathologist while eliminating the normals from human consideration. This decision should be made at minimum cost consistent with acceptable false negative error rates. The sequential probability ratio test allows the designer to specify the probability of detection, select the false positive rate to minimize the overall cost of the test, and determine the expected cost of operating the system. The paper formulates that approach and presents specific examples based on actual cell classification experiments to illustrate the trade-off between operating cost and probability of detection.
Measurements of sin 2α from the B factories

Abstract In this report, I review the experimental determination of the CKM angle α through the measurements of the time-dependent CP asymmetry of the decay B 0 → π + π − by the B a B ar and Belle experiments.
Concentration Fluorescence Quenching of L(-)-Tyrosine in Aqueous and Nonaqueous Solutions

Abstract A number of studies have demonstrated the dependence of both the fluorescence lifetimes and quantum yields of tyrosine in solution upon the nature of the solvent as well as upon the absence or the presence of air in the tyrosine solutions employed. Photobleaching of tyrosine in vacuum at pH 6.1 was found to be practically zero, whereas exposure of tyrosine to the full light of a Hglamp for 10 to 20 minutes gave rise to formation of non-fluorescing photoproducts(1). In addition, the phosphorescence lifetimes of tyrosine were determined as 2.7+−0.2 sect 2.7+0.2 sec. and < 1 sec in 1% ETOH in aqueous solution and at pH 6.1 and pH 13, respectively(l). The very long phosphorescence lifetimes are definitely responsible to a considerable extent as far as photobleaching is concerned. However, the participation of the excited singlet state cannot be ruled out. In a review, the fluorescence lifetimes of tyrosine in queous solutions were found to vary between 2.6 nsec to 3.6 nsec(2). On the other hand, the ...
Efficient And Accurate Computational Model For Realistic Seismic Propagation Problems

The higher-order elastic parabolic equation (HEPE) is an efficient and accurate computational model for elastic wave propagation in inhomogeneous fluids and solids (Collins, 1989a). Since HEPE is based on a parabolic approximation (Tappert, 1977) it can be solved numerically with an efficient marching algorithm; and it is valid for problems in which the material properties vary with both depth within the medium and with range from the source. Since HEPE is based on a higherorder approximation (Bamberger et al, 1988), it accurately accounts for all types of seismic waves as well as coupling between wave types due to boundaries, interfaces, and continuous variations in wave speeds, density, and attenuation. HEPE has been implemented on a computer for timeharmonic wave propagation in an ocean overlying an elastic bottom and has produced solutions that are in excellent agreement with known solutions. The model should also produce useful results for seismic wave propagation in the earth and probably can be extended to handle three-dimensional and time-domain problems. -
Patches and fences: probing for plasma membrane domains.

SUMMARY Cell plasma membranes appear to be composed of domains, patches whose composition and function differ from the average for an entire membrane surface. Proteins and lipids may be segregated into domains by different mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are discussed, followed by a summary of the evidence for membrane domains obtained in my laboratory. This evidence is largely based on measurements of the lateral diffusion of membrane proteins and lipids. Recent new approaches to the interpretation of lateral diffusion measurements, consideration of so-called fractal or long time-tails promise to give new insights into the stability and lifetime of membrane domains.
Surface reconstructions induced by submonolayers of tin on Si(111)

We report the use of the techniques of scanning tunneling microscopy and impact-collision ion scattering spectrometry to study the in-plane geometry of both the (root)3X(root)3 and 2(root)3X2(root)3 reconstructions of Sn on Si(111). For the (root)3X(root)3 reconstruction, the Sn adatoms were found to prefer fourfold atop (T4) sites. For the 2(root)3X2(root)3 reconstruction, a two-layer epitaxial Sn model with a four-atom unit cell on the top layer is found to provide the best agreement with experimental data.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Role of Human Dicer-dsRBD in Processing Small Regulatory RNAs

One of the most exciting recent developments in RNA biology has been the discovery of small non-coding RNAs that affect gene expression through the RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism. Two major classes of RNAs involved in RNAi are small interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNA (miRNA). Dicer, an RNase III enzyme, plays a central role in the RNAi pathway by cleaving precursors of both of these classes of RNAs to form mature siRNAs and miRNAs, which are then loaded into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). miRNA and siRNA precursors are quite structurally distinct; miRNA precursors are short, imperfect hairpins while siRNA precursors are long, perfect duplexes. Nonetheless, Dicer is able to process both. Dicer, like the majority of RNase III enzymes, contains a dsRNA binding domain (dsRBD), but the data are sparse on the exact role this domain plays in the mechanism of Dicer binding and cleavage. To further explore the role of human Dicer-dsRBD in the RNAi pathway, we determined its binding affinity to various RNAs modeling both miRNA and siRNA precursors. Our study shows that Dicer-dsRBD is an avid binder of dsRNA, but its binding is only minimally influenced by a single-stranded – double-stranded junction caused by large terminal loops observed in miRNA precursors. Thus, the Dicer-dsRBD contributes directly to substrate binding but not to the mechanism of differentiating between pre-miRNA and pre-siRNA. In addition, NMR spin relaxation and MD simulations provide an overview of the role that dynamics contribute to the binding mechanism. We compare this current study with our previous studies of the dsRBDs from Drosha and DGCR8 to give a dynamic profile of dsRBDs in their apo-state and a mechanistic view of dsRNA binding by dsRBDs in general.
Asymptotic Behaviors of Non-variational Elliptic Systems

We use a method, inspired by Pohozeav's work, to study asymptotic behaviors of non-variational elliptic systems in dimension n greater than two. The results apply to changing sign solutions.
Multiple forms of monoamine oxidase in rabbit platelets.

Abstract Rabbit platelets were found to contain both types A and B MAO activities. The specific enzymatic activity of rabbit platelet MAO was higher for the substrate serotonin than for phenylethylamine. The Km's for rabbit platelet MAO indicated that the MAO-B enzyme was similar to human platelet MAO and that both MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes in the rabbit platelet are similar to the corresponding forms in the rabbit brain. The drugs clorgyline and deprenyl confirmed the existence of types A and B MAO in the platelet and furthermore indicated that the type A form accounted for approximately 90% of the total enzymatic activity. Amitriptyline at low (micromolar) concentrations selectively inhibited MAO-B activity in both rabbit platelets and brain.
Genetics of terpenes II. Genetic variances and interrelationships of monoterpene concentrations in Pinus monticola

Genetics of terpenes II. Genetic variances and interrelationships of monoterpene concentrations in Pinus monticola
Endothelin-1 promotes cytoplasmic accumulation of RIP140 through a ET A-PLCβ-PKCε pathway

The physiological signal activating cytoplasmic accumulation of nuclear receptor interacting protein 140 (RIP140) in adipocytes was unclear. We uncover that endothelin-1 (ET-1) promotes cytoplasmic accumulation of RIP140 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We determine ET-1's signal transduction pathway in adipocytes, which is by activating ET(A) receptor-PLCβ-nuclear PKCe. Blocking this pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocyte cultures, by treating cells with an ET(A) antagonist, inhibiting PLCβ, or silencing PKCe, reduces ET-1-stimulated cytoplasmic accumulation of RIP140. In a HFD-fed obese mouse model, administration of a selective ET(A) antagonist, ambrisentan, effectively dampens cytoplasmic accumulation of RIP140 in the epididymal adipose tissue and reduces HFD-caused adipocyte dysfunctions. Importantly, ambrisentan improves blood glucose control and reduces the severity of hepatic steatosis in HFD-fed mice. This study reports a physiological signal that stimulates nuclear export of RIP140 in adipocytes and provides evidence for a strategy using selective ET(A) antagonist to treat obesity-induced insulin resistance and, possibly, other metabolic disorders.
A simple and fast method to determine and quantify urinary creatinine

Abstract A simple and fast method for the determination of urinary creatinine by high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) has been developed. The urine samples were diluted 50 fold before they were injected onto an HPCE column for analysis. With this technique, the urinary creatinine level can be determined within 4 min. The interference from urea in urine has been totally eliminated. The reproducibility and recovery of the technique have been studied and it was proven that the technique is satisfactory for quantitative determination of urine creatinine. The results obtained from this technique have been compared with results obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the results from both techniques agreed quite well (correlation coefficient = 0.993). The linear range of the technique was over two orders of magnitude (0.1–11 mg/dl) which covers the creatinine concentration in human urine after 50 fold dilution. The detection limit for creatinine is 0.04 mg/dl with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.
Personality characteristics associated with psychological reactance.

This study compared six different personality disorders on level of psychological reactance. Eighty clients met criteria for inclusion in one of six personality disorder groups, including passive-aggressive, dependent, personality disorder NOS (not otherwise specified), no personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive, and borderline. Instruments included the Therapeutic Reactance Scale (TRS) and the Questionnaire for the Measurement of Psychological Reactance (QMPR). Four one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted on the scales and subscales of the two reactance measures. All four ANOVAs were significant, although post hoc tests indicated significant differences only among the more extreme groups. The personality disorders were generally ordered on reactance level according to predictions derived from the theory of separation-individuation.
Scientists and Coastal Hazards: Opportunities for Participation and Policy Change

Earthquakes and hurricanes are important and costly natural hazards. Although there has been a National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act since 1977, there is no parallel statutory program dealing with the equally costly and dangerous hurricane hazard and with coastal hazards in general. A primary reason for the lack of comprehensive federal legislation is the lesser degree of scientific input at congressional hearings dealing with hurricane policy compared with the greater prominence of science in earthquake policy-making. The differences between earthquake and hurricane policy reflect broader factors that inhibit effective coastal hazards policy-making in general. But with these factors come opportunities for earth scientists to organize and press for more effective participation in coastal hazards policy.
Statistical Properties and Classification of N-2 Contingencies in Large Scale Power Grids

We present the systematic analysis of all dangerous N - 2 contingencies observed in medium size model of Polish power grid with about 2600 power lines. Each of the dangerous contingencies is composed of two initially tripped lines and one or more lines that overloaded as the result. There are 443 distinct contingencies that do not lead to immediate islanding of the grid. In the scope of the work we analyze the statistics of individual line participation in those contingencies and show that some lines have anomalously high rate of participation in the contingencies. Next, we show that about third of all the contingencies can be associated with the sub grids that are connected to the rest of the grid via small set of power line chains. The contingencies arise when cutting some of those chains results in overload of the others. Simple reduction of power grid corresponding to aggregation of chain components significantly reduces the total number of distinct contingencies. The rest of the contingencies are closely related to a set of almost dangerous N-1 contingencies that result in heavy loading of particular lines. Tripping many different additional lines on top of these N-1 contingencies results in an overload of one or more lines. We conclude our work by characterization of the joint distributions of power flows through the initiating and overloaded lines and statistical analysis of topological distance between the initially tripped and overloaded lines.
The adolescent trauma patient

Abstract Trauma poses the greatest medical problem for the adolescent in terms of morbidity, mortality, and years of productive life lost. The emergency physician caring for the adolescent trauma patient must consider physical and intellectual changes that occur during this period of life. Clinicians must be familiar with both the approach to the traumatized child as well as the adult, and decide on the apropriate approach to the individual adolescent. The emergency physician is also in a position to support greater preventive measures by continued contributions to trauma surveillance, and by serving as a spokesperson and educator about adolescent injuries.
History of the Development of Antiemetic Guidelines at Mayo Clinic Rochester

This article describes the historic experience of the development of antiemetic guidelines for patients taking chemotherapy drugs at Mayo Clinic Rochester. The initial guidelines for the use of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine3) receptor antagonists for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting were developed in early 1995 and implemented in September 1995. In February 1997, the guidelines were reviewed and modified. In the spring of 1998, major changes were made based on new data from the literature and discussions with antiemetic authorities in the United States. These guidelines were implemented in July 1998. The guidelines were again reviewed and modified in December 1998. In addition, we compared costs associated with the 1997 guidelines and the December 1998 guidelines. The developed guidelines, utilizing clinically available agents, seem to provide high-quality patient care at a reasonable cost.
Bis[aminoguanidinium(1+)] hexafluorozirconate(IV): redeterminations and normal probability analysis.

The crystal structure of bis[aminoguanidinium(1+)] hexafluorozirconate(IV), (CH 7 N 4 ) 2 [ZrF 6 ], originally reported by Bukvetskii, Gerasimenko & Davidovich [Koord. Khim. (1990), 16, 1479-1484], has been redetermined independently using two different samples. Normal probability analysis confirms the reliability of all refined parameter standard uncertainties in the new determinations, whereas systematic error detectable in the earlier work leads to a maximum difference of 0.069(6) A in atomic positions between the previously reported and present values of an F-atom y coordinate. Radiation-induced structural damage in amino-guanidinium polyfluorozirconates may result from minor displacements of H atoms in weak N-H...F bonds to new potential minima and subsequent anionic realignment.
Hospice and palliative care

The emergence of AIDS and the aging of the population, with the numerous malignant and debilitating maladies associated with growing older, have focused attention on the provision of cost-effective quality care by hospice and palliative care programs. Hospice and palliative care is a venerated system of care, which uses an interdisciplinary approach to address the medical, psychosocial, and spiritual issues that arise in the treatment of terminally ill patients. This interdisciplinary stratagem for symptom control is necessary to ensure that dying patients and their families are afforded dignity and quality of life through death and the period of familial bereavement. Although death is dominant in palliative situations, terminal care requires an affirmation of life and a recognition that dying is not an aberration of medical care but a natural and normal process. Palliative care, however, also requires a personal acceptance of death and an acknowledgment that dying does not denote a failure to provide good medical care but, rather, calls for an acquiescence that curative treatment is no longer feasible. Accordingly, the terminal state is an integral process and a time to reconcile differences so that patient and family may accept death with a minimum of physical, spiritual, and psychosocial anguish. This article discusses the various precepts cardinal to hospice and palliative care, including the philosophy of terminal care, the management of pain, the adverse effects of analgesic medications, the management of nonpain symptoms, the use of terminal sedation, and the stages of familial bereavement.
Invited award contribution for ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry. Geometric and electronic structure contributions to function in bioinorganic chemistry: active sites in non-heme iron enzymes.

Spectroscopy has played a major role in the definition of structure/function correlations in bioinorganic chemistry. The importance of spectroscopy combined with electronic structure calculations is clearly demonstrated by the non-heme iron enzymes. Many members of this large class of enzymes activate dioxygen using a ferrous active site that has generally been difficult to study with most spectroscopic methods. A new spectroscopic methodology has been developed utilizing variable temperature, variable field magnetic circular dichroism, which enables one to obtain detailed insight into the geometric and electronic structure of the non-heme ferrous active site and probe its reaction mechanism on a molecular level. This spectroscopic methodology is presented and applied to a number of key mononuclear non-heme iron enzymes leading to a general mechanistic strategy for O2 activation. These studies are then extended to consider the new features present in the binuclear non-heme iron enzymes and applied to unde...
Developmental expression of Bcl-2 protein in human cortex.

Abstract Apoptosis is essential for normal human neurodevelopment and is increasingly recognized for its role in various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Bcl-2 is a 26 kDa membrane-associated protein known to protect neurons against apoptosis. Interestingly, Bcl-2 protein levels are altered in certain neurodegenerative disorders that reveal increased apoptosis. However, little is known about the normal expression of Bcl-2 protein in human brain. Bcl-2 protein levels were determined by ELISA and semiquantitative Western Blotting in the frontal cortex of 20 human post-mortem brains, separated into three groups: six infants (age: 0.83±1.0 years, mean±S.D.), five adolescents (age: 17.4±1.7 years), and nine adults (age: 41.0±9.6 years). All subjects died of non-CNS related illness and had no history of psychiatric illness. Bcl-2 increased significantly across the age groups in the ELISA (p=0.0058) and the Western Blot (p=0.002) experiments. The ELISA demonstrated significant differences in Bcl-2 levels between infant and adolescent cortex (p
Misbehaved direct products

Abstract In this manscript, we discuss three open problems on direct products of groups. In spite of the fact that the problems are all easily stated and comprehended, they have stood the test of time and defied many efforts.
Grb2, a Double-Edged Sword of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) exhibit basal tyrosine phosphorylation and activity in the absence of ligand stimulation, which has been attributed to the "leaky" nature of tyrosine kinase autoinhibition and stochastic collisions of receptors in the membrane bilayer. This basal phosphorylation does not produce a signal of sufficient amplitude and intensity to manifest in a biological response and hence is considered to be a passive, futile process that does not have any biological function. This paradigm has now been challenged by a study showing that the basal phosphorylation of RTKs is a physiologically relevant process that is actively inhibited by the intracellular adaptor protein growth factor receptor-bound 2 (Grb2) and serves to "prime" receptors for a rapid response to ligand stimulation. Grb2 is conventionally known for playing positive roles in RTK signaling. The discovery of a negative regulatory role for Grb2 reveals that this adaptor acts as a double-edged sword in the regulation of RTK signaling.