cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
20 Male adolescents’ driving behaviours with multiple male peer passengers: a driving simulator evaluation

Statement of purpose Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of mortality and injury for U.S. teenagers. This risk is highest for male teenagers with multiple male teenaged passengers. This research was undertaken to examine how multiple peer passengers influence male teenagers’ driving behaviours. Methods/approach In this experimental driving simulator study, male teenagers drove two drives, one with two of their own friends as passengers, and one alone. Driving data was collected including intersection behaviours, distraction behaviour, eye-movements, and in-vehicle interaction data. These were compared between the two passenger presence conditions. Results We had hypothesised that drivers would engage in riskier behaviours when with passengers. However, the results showed that teenagers did not drive riskier with passengers. We had also hypothesised that drivers with passengers would be more distracted, but we found no differences in distraction behaviours. Finally, an analysis of the interactions between the driver and the passengers indicated that although some passengers encouraged risk taking, drivers were not swayed by the pressure. Conclusions Similar to the mixed evidence in the literature, this study found no significant effects of multiple passengers on drivers’ behaviours. These results underscore the necessity of conducting larger-scale, perhaps naturalistic research to better examine these issues. Significance and Contributions to Injury and Violence Prevention Science This study addresses issues of young driver safety by examining the influence of multiple male teen passengers on risky driving behaviour, a significant factor associated with the high fatal and non-fatal injury rates for teenagers, directly relating to injury aetiology and prevention. Understanding passenger influences on teenage drivers can provide evidence that can inform policy to help reduce the high rates of injuries in the young driver population.
Abstract 18071: Whole Body Periodic Acceleration Prevents Cardiac Ischemic-Reperfusion Injury by Transcriptional Regulation of Diverse Cytoprotective Signaling Pathways

Background: Periodic acceleration (pGz) delivers sinusoidal inertial forces (~0.3 x g) along the spinal (z) axis which imparts modest increases in pulsatile shear stress. pGz improves functional re...
Evolution of a Profession: A Review of The Community Engagement Professional in Higher Education: A Competency Model for an Emerging Field

In The Community Engagement Professional in Higher Education: A Competency Model for an Emerging Field, editor Lina D. Dostilio and her co-authors collectively assemble—through rigorous literature reviews and a survey of more than 400 respondents—a comprehensive list of competencies and personal attributes of community engagement professionals (CEPs), professional staff whose primary role on a university campus is to manage and support a wide spectrum of initiatives around community-campus partnerships. The volume is an important one, both for its attempt to identify the core characteristics and expertise needed to negotiate these increasingly nuanced partnerships and for its ability to illuminate the magnitude of responsibilities and resources that institutions of higher education need to employ in order to successfully impact their surrounding communities.
Delaminated Film Buckling Microchannels

This chapter describes the method of manufacturing microfluidic microchannels formed by delaminated buckled thin films. Thin films under compression tend to delaminate and buckle. Microchannel geometry can be controlled by tailoring film residual stress and placing patterned adhesion-weakening layers utilizing photolithographic techniques. Results based on the photoresist as the adhesion weakening layer and compressed tungsten thin films are described along with the corresponding thin film mechanics.
Mitigation of the Spectrum Sensing Data Falsifying Attack in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio networks (CRNs), offering novel network architecture for utilizing spectrum, have attracted significant attention in recent years. In CRNs, secondary users (SUs) first determine the status of a channel; if it is free, they start transmitting. If the status determination is wrong, SUs may unnecessarily interfere with the licensed primary user (PU). In cooperative spectrum sensing, a SU makes a decision about the presence of the PU based on its own and other SUs' sensing results. Malicious SUs (MSUs) send false sensing results to SUs so that they make wrong decisions about the PU presence. As a result, a SU may transmit during the presence of the PU or may keep starving for the spectrum. In this paper, we propose a reputation-based mechanism for cooperative spectrum sensing which can minimize the effects of MSUs on decision making. Some of the SUs are selected as distributed fusion centers (DFCs), which are responsible for making decisions about the PU presence and inform the reporting SUs. A DFC uses weighted majority voting among the reporting SUs, where weights are determined based on reputation. The DFC updates reputations of SUs based on confidence of an election. If the majority wins by a significant margin, the confidence of the election is high. In this case, SUs that belong to the majority get high reputations. We provide extensive simulations to validate our proposed model.
A Solar Powered Raspberry Pi Houston Toad Call Detection System Using Neural Network Model

The Houston Toad is an endangered amphibian living in the edge of extinction. To save from annihilation, localization of their mating call needs to be detected in order to protect the eggs from being hunted by predators. The current method of monitoring their vocalization lacks real-time and onboard voice recognition property. In this paper, a solar powered battery connected to a Raspberry Pi is designed with a microphone that records environmental sound at prescribed intervals triggered by a Witty Pi module. The purpose for developing such prototype is to deploy a trained neural network predictor model to identify Houston Toad onboard, and if it exists, send notification of time stamp and location via email and SMS over the GSM and GPRS modules to the researcher.
The luminescent HiBiT peptide enables selective quantitation of G protein-coupled receptor ligand engagement and internalization in living cells.

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prominent targets to new therapeutics for a range of diseases. Comprehensive assessments of their cellular interactions with bioactive compounds, particularly in a kinetic format, are imperative to the development of drugs with improved efficacy. Hence, we developed complementary cellular assays that enable equilibrium and real-time analyses of GPCR ligand engagement and consequent activation, measured as receptor internalization. These assays utilize GPCRs genetically fused to an N-terminal HiBiT peptide (1.3 kDa), which produces bright luminescence upon high-affinity complementation with LgBiT, an 18-kDa subunit derived from NanoLuc. The cell impermeability of LgBiT limits signal detection to the cell surface and enables measurements of ligand-induced internalization through changes in cell-surface receptor density. In addition, bioluminescent resonance energy transfer is used to quantify dynamic interactions between ligands and their cognate HiBiT-tagged GPCRs through competitive binding with fluorescent tracers. The sensitivity and dynamic range of these assays benefit from the specificity of bioluminescent resonance energy transfer and the high signal intensity of HiBiT/LgBiT without background luminescence from receptors present in intracellular compartments. These features allow analyses of challenging interactions having low selectivity or affinity and enable studies using endogenously tagged receptors. Using the β-adrenergic receptor family as a model, we demonstrate the versatility of these assays by utilizing the same HiBiT construct in analyses of multiple aspects of GPCR pharmacology. We anticipate that this combination of target engagement and proximal functional readout will prove useful to the study of other GPCR families and the development of new therapeutics.
A Zeroth-Order Learning Algorithm for Ergodic Optimization of Wireless Systems with no Models and no Gradients

Optimal resource allocation in real-world wireless systems is rather challenging, not only due to the unavailability of accurate statistical channel models, but also because expressions of maximal or achievable information rates are most often unknown, or not adequately precise. Under a modular stochastic functional optimization framework, we propose a new zeroth-order stochastic primal-dual algorithm for completely data-driven, model-free and gradient-free learning of optimal resource allocation policies for ergodic network optimization. Our contribution relies on Gaussian smoothing of the corresponding constrained policy search problem, and on the representation power of universal policy parameterizations, such as Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). Indeed, our simulations demonstrate that DNN-based policies produced by the proposed primal-dual method attain near-ideal performance, based exclusively on limited channel probing, completely bypassing the need for gradient computations, and at the absence of channel or information rate models.
Modeling Hypoxia Induced Factors to Treat Pulpal Inflammation and Drive Regeneration

Abstract Introduction: The ability to resolve pulpal inflammation to achieve predictable regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex has remained elusive and presents a challenge for clinicians and researchers. Although the dentin-pulp complex can react naturally to injury by forming a bridge of reparative dentin that protects the pulp from further damage, this process is significantly impaired if inflammation persists. Because the secretion of inflammatory cytokines by injured pulpal cells causes significant pain and discomfort to patients, it is critical to resolve pulpal inflammation in a timely manner so as to create a microenvironment conducive for pulpal healing and reparative dentin formation. The emergent field of regenerative endodontics has encouraged the development and application of biologically driven therapies that take advantage of the intrinsic healing capacities of host cells within dental pulp and the periapical complex. Methods: These studies were designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to hypoxic conditions can modulate the production of inflammatory cytokines/factors by mesenchymal cells in vitro. A multi-domain peptide hydrogel system that is highly conducive for the growth and differentiation of tooth-derived stem cells was used for these studies. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) were first cultured within 3-dimensional hydrogel constructs and then challenged with hypoxic stresses via addition of H2O2. Results: MDP constructs were successfully generated, challenged with H2O2, decellularized and lyophilized, forming a potential biomaterial containing hypoxia induced repair molecules. The ability of cell-derived factors to convert the phenotype of lipopolysaccharide-primed macrophages from a proinflammatory to a pro-resolving state was examined in the presence of the lyophilized SHED cell constructs. Conclusions: Our data suggest that hypoxia induced SHED cell products can be captured within the hydrogel system and may be useful in the resolution of pulpal inflammation to create a favorable microenvironment for regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex.
Routes to Acetonitrile-Supported Trifluoromethyl and Perfluorometallacyclopentane Complexes of Cobalt

In this report, synthetic routes to [(MeCN)3Co(CF3)3], [Co(MeCN)6][PF6]2, [(MeCN)4Co(CF3)2][PF6], [(MeCN)2(py)Co(CF3)3], [(MeCN)(py)2Co(CF3)3], and [(MeCN)4Co(C4F8)][PF6] are described. The unusual...
Charlie's Way: Changing Institutional Practices for Post-Mortem Care In Pediatrics By Bypassing The Morgue.

Background: In the past decades pediatric hospitals have developed beautiful end-of-life practices for families of dying children including memory boxes, photography, fingerprints and artwork. Incongruously, after death, the child’s body is typically bound, bagged and sent to the morgue as parents leave the hospital and leave them behind. When Charlie died at our institution his parents requested to bypass the morgue - they walked out of the hospital holding their baby, personally handing him to their trusted funeral director. The positive impact this had on the family and staff made us realize there is a better way, and we decided to …
PCImpact: A modeling tool for forecasting impact of primary care pharmacist services.

Abstract Background The role of the pharmacist in primary care (PC) has expanded to focus on medication optimization and management for chronic conditions. However, identifying the optimal pharmacist practice model to maximize pharmacist workload capacity, patient care quality, and PC provider satisfaction remains a challenge. PC clinical and administrative leaders could benefit from pharmacist impact forecasts to justify initiating new or optimizing/expanding current pharmacist services. Objectives (1) To describe the development of a PC pharmacist services modeling tool, PCImpact (2) To discuss the use of PCImpact by PC leaders to initiate, optimize, or expand integrated pharmacist services. Methods PCImpact was developed and internally tested with 6 clinical/administrative leaders within a federally qualified health center and health system-affiliated primary care organization by: (1) identifying pharmacist practice models, (2) obtaining data input values for PCImpact, and (3) calculating PCImpact output values. Two types of pharmacist practice models are defined: population health (PH) and direct patient care (DPC). In the PH models, a centralized pharmacist performs one-time, comprehensive or targeted medication reviews with no direct patient interaction. PC providers review and implement pharmacist recommendations. In DPC models, an embedded pharmacist in a PC practice performs patient visits with or without collaborative practice agreements with PC providers. Default values for all PCImpact data inputs were obtained/tested through literature reviews and discussions with pharmacy and physician leaders, including pharmacist and PC provider time required, and implementation percentage of pharmacist recommendations. PCImpact calculates: (1) pharmacist workload capacity, (2) PC provider time impact, and (3) patient care impact. Conclusions PCImpact presents a novel method to objectively forecast the impact of PH and DPC pharmacist services in 2 PC settings. PCImpact outputs showed that a DPC pharmacist practice model can save PC provider time and impact a greater number of patients compared to a PH pharmacist practice model.
Mercury and water level management in lakes of northern Minnesota

Water level (WL) fluctuations substantially alter the fauna, flora, and microbial community of nearshore aquatic ecosystems. Water level management therefore has the potential to strongly influence a wide variety of ecosystem processes. Many northern temperate lake food webs experience substantial methylmercury contamination, which is partially mediated by the action of sulfate‐reducing bacteria occurring in sediments that are periodically inundated. For lakes with elevated methylmercury, WL management could be designed to reduce methylmercury contamination. At the lake scale, this concept is supported by studies that identified statistical associations between fish mercury content and water level (WL) fluctuations. Here, we compiled a long‐term dataset (1997–2015) of mercury content in young‐of‐year Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) from six lakes on the border of the United States and Canada and examined whether mercury content was associated with WL fluctuation. Many WL metrics covary and appear to have strong associations with Yellow Perch mercury. However, these associations appear to vary by lake, and lake‐specific models are needed to identify relationships between WL fluctuation and Yellow Perch mercury content. We used partial least‐squares regression (PLSR) to identify the associations between Yellow Perch mercury content and WL metrics, temperature, and annual deposition data for lakes in northern Minnesota. These PLSR models not only showed some variation among lakes, but also supported strong associations between WL fluctuations and annual variation in Yellow Perch mercury content. The study lakes underwent a change in WL management in 2000, when winter WL minimums were increased by about 1 m in five of the six study lakes, which reduced annual WL fluctuation on those lakes. Using the PLSR models, we estimated how this change in WL management would have affected Yellow Perch mercury content. In four of the five study lakes in which annual WL fluctuation was reduced in 2000, the change in WL management likely reduced Yellow Perch mercury content, relative to the previous WL management regime.
Quantification of leaf wax and cutin monomer composition in Pima (Gossypium barbadense L.) and upland (G. hirsutum L.) cotton

Abstract Climatological drought is a historic problem that limits agricultural production worldwide. Reducing transpirational water loss can conserve soil moisture and confer drought tolerance to crops by delaying their dehydration during periods of drought stress. Transpiration can be regulated by the hydrophobic plant cuticle, which coats the aerial surfaces of plants and limits water loss through non-stomatal transpiration. The cuticle is composed primarily of two lipid classes, free cuticular wax components and the polymerized cutin polyester. Many studies suggest that both waxes and cutin are important in maintaining plant water status during periods of drought. Five varieties of Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense) and six varieties of upland cotton (G. hirsutum) were examined for variation in leaf wax and cutin composition. Wax and cutin monomers were analyzed using an Agilent 7890A gas chromatograph and a 5975C mass spectrometer (GC–MS). Results show that upland cotton produces more total wax than Pima varieties, whereas Pima cotton produces more total cutin than upland varieties. In both species, alcohols were the most abundant wax compounds and dihydroxy monobasic acids were the most abundant cutin monomers.
Clifford Mason, Macbeth in Harlem: Black Theater in America from the Beginning to Raisin in the Sun

Ira Frederick Aldridge is often believed by historians to herald the zenith of Black theatre, but he may instead herald the nadir of Black theatre. So argues actor, director, dramatic critic, and p...
The risk for recurrent preterm birth after prior preterm birth complicated by major fetal anomaly.

Major fetal anomalies (MFA) are a known risk factor for preterm birth (PTB), though the etiology of this is not well-studied, making counseling of these patients difficult. Thus, we sought to descr...
The burden of unsubstantiated messaging: collegiate athletes' chronic traumatic encephalopathy mechanism beliefs.

To investigate factors associated with collegiate athletes’ beliefs regarding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) mechanism.Cross-sectional study.A total of 838 collegiate athletes (61.9% men) f...
FlashCube: Fast Provisioning of Serverless Functions with Streamlined Container Runtimes

Fast provisioning of serverless functions is salient for serverless platforms. Though lightweight sandboxes (e.g., containers) enclose only necessary files and libraries, a cold launch still requires up to a few seconds to complete. Such slow provisioning prolongs the response time of serverless functions and negatively impacts users' experiences. This paper analyzes the main reasons for such slowdown and introduces an effective containerization framework, FlashCube. Instead of building a container from scratch, FlashCube quickly and efficiently assembles it through a group of pre-created general container parts (e.g., namespaces, cgroups, and language runtimes). In addition, FlashCube's user-space implementation makes it easily applicable to existing commodity serverless platforms. Our preliminary evaluation demonstrates that FlashCube can quickly provision containerized functions in less than 10 ms (vs. ~400 ms using Docker containers).
Looking Inside the Pipes: The Effect of Resource Flow Dependencies in Alliance Portfolios

In this research we investigate how magnitude and direction of resource flows between a firm and its alliance portfolio as well as the complementary nature of resources affect firm performance. Building on the resource dependence theory, we develop and test arguments on a sample of 59 firms in the U.S. passenger airline industry during 1998-2011. We find that dependencies between a focal firm and its alliance portfolio — assessed by access to complementary resources, by power imbalance, by mutual dependence, and by interactions between complementary resource access and mutual dependence — affect firm performance in different ways, which has implications for the management of alliance portfolios.
Fixity and Time in Talmudic Law and Legal Language

This article illuminates rabbinic concepts of temporality through examining metaphorical uses of the root qbʿ. The root has both concrete and metaphorical meanings, describing the physical attachment of objects as well as temporal ideas of permanence, stability, and endurance. While it has been argued that rabbinic texts do not display concepts of time in the modern sense, a combination of philological and conceptual analysis shows how rabbinic images of temporal themes can be elicited from rabbinic texts. Moreover, attention to the multivalence of words can clarify complex Bavli passages that engage overlapping but distinctive metaphorical meanings of the root.
A Modular Collaborative Parallel CFD Workbench

Simulation of physical phenomena on computers has joined engineering mechanics theory and laboratory experimentation as the third method of engineering analysis design. It is in fact the only feasible method for analyzing many critically important phenomena, e.g., quenching, heat treating, full scale phenomena, etc. With the rapid maturation of inexpensive parallel computing technology, and high performance communications, there will emerge shortly a totally new, highly interactive computing/simulation environment supporting engineering design optimization. This environment will exist on the Internet employing interoperable software/hardware infrastructures emergent today. A key element of this will involve development of computational software enabling utilization of all HPCC advances. This paper introduces the concept and details the development of a user-adapted computational simulation software platform prototype on the Internet.
Using color component overlays for result visualization in a classification by sketch system

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are notoriously difficult for users unfamiliar with the field, both for query formulation and for interpretation of display and results. Gaia is a graphical classification system which reduces this difficulty by using a sketch-like classification-by-example input interface, a fuzzy match of the classification against the GIS database, and the use of hue and saturation overlays to present results. This work presents Gaia’s interface and result visualization mechanism.
Stimulation of Amino Acid Transport in Rat Liver Slices by Epinephrine, Glucagon, and Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate

Abstract Net transport of α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) was increased in liver slices prepared from rats injected with hydrocortisone, epinephrine, or glucagon. When slices from untreated animals were initially incubated for 15 min with glucagon or cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) subsequent uptake of AIB in the presence of either agent was greater than in control experiments; epinephrine was without effect. If extended preliminary incubation with glucagon or cyclic AMP preceded the final incubation with AIB the net increase in uptake was 4 to 6 times that seen with a short preliminary incubation. Under these conditions epinephrine produced a distinct, but relatively small, increase in AIB transport. 1-Aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid transport was also stimulated in liver slices from rats injected with glucagon or in slices incubated in vitro with glucagon or cyclic AMP. These experiments show that glucagon, cyclic AMP, and epinephrine can stimulate to varying degrees amino acid transport in liver slices in vitro; therefore, these agents may directly affect hepatic amino acid transport in vivo. AIB uptake was relatively high in control liver slices after preliminary incubation for extended periods in Krebs-Ringer buffer alone. The effect was blocked by initially incubating the tissue in an ice bath or with cycloheximide; actinomycin D was less effective. These drugs also inhibited cyclic AMP-induced stimulation of AIB transport. Amino acid analyses of extracts of incubated slices provided little evidence that exchange diffusion is of major significance in stimulation of AIB transport by cyclic AMP.
Improved swarm intelligence solution in large scale radiation therapy inverse planning

This study employs particle swarm optimization to solve the non-convex inverse problem of 4D stereotactic body radiation therapy planning, targeting toxicity reduction, for a right lower lobe lung tumor with motion range of 1.5cm. A novel approach is introduced to reduce the swarm search space. 90 aperture-weights are optimized using both conventional and improved PSO algorithms over 5 optimization runs per method. It is shown that, on average, the improved PSO-based plan reduces the maximum dose to heart, spinal cord and esophagus by 43%, as compared to the conventional PSO, while swarm population is cut to half.
Different Views on Adolescent Abortion

We are writing to express strong disagreement with the perspective expressed in the recent article by Fleming and O9Connor (Pediatrics. 1993;91:561-565) with reference to adolescent abortion. Although there is virtue in using clinical scientific language in analysis of controversial issues, the seemingly objective approach used by the authors can obfuscate the real issues when issues of morality are involved. We do not quibble with the survey or its analysis in the results section, but we disagree with several points in the discussion. The discussion begins with the statement that "there is general agreement in the literature that abortion is one of the safest medical procedures with no clear evidence of long-term negative effects."
The γ2 adrenergic receptor as a model for g-protein-coupled receptor structure and activation by diffusible hormones

Publisher Summary G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest family of membrane proteins in the human genome. Structurally, all GPCRs are characterized by the presence of seven membrane-spanning α-helical segments. Many GPCR signaling systems are complex and tightly regulated, involving multiple G-protein subtypes and desensitization pathways. The β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) is among the most extensively characterized family A GPCRs. The β2AR is activated by epinephrine and norepinephrine, and plays key regulatory roles in cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology through mediation of sympathetic neurotransmission. Due to the importance of the β2AR and other adrenergic receptors in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, many drugs have been developed that target these GPCRs. The combination of high-resolution structure and in vitro biophysical data makes the β2AR unique among GPCRs recognizing diffusible ligands. This chapter provides an understanding of the β2 adrenergic receptor as a model for the G-protein-coupled receptor, focusing on its structure and function. It begins by reviewing the biochemical properties of the β2AR, in particular the evidence for multiple conformational states of the receptor. Following this, it describes various features of the recently published β2AR crystal structures. Finally, it discusses potential molecular mechanisms for β2AR activation, based on the structures as well as the existing biochemical and biophysical data on β2AR conformational changes.
Mahimahi: accurate record-and-replay for HTTP

This paper presents Mahimahi, a framework to record traffic from HTTP-based applications, and later replay it under emulated network conditions. Mahimahi improves upon prior record-and-replay frameworks in three ways. First, it is more accurate because it carefully emulates the multi-server nature of Web applications, present in 98% of the Alexa US Top 500 Web pages. Second, it isolates its own network traffic, allowing multiple Mahimahi instances emulating different networks to run concurrently without mutual interference. And third, it is designed as a set of composable shells, providing ease-of-use and extensibility. We evaluate Mahimahi by: (1) analyzing the performance of HTTP/1.1, SPDY, and QUIC on a corpus of 500 sites, (2) using Mahimahi to understand the reasons why these protocols are suboptimal, (3) developing Cumulus, a cloud-based browser designed to overcome these problems, using Mahimahi both to implement Cumulus by extending one of its shells, and to evaluate it, (4) using Mahimahi to evaluate HTTP multiplexing protocols on multiple performance metrics (page load time and speed index), and (5) describing how others have used Mahimahi.
The Shareholder Suit: Litigation without Foundation?

Shareholder litigation is accorded an important stopgap role in corporate law. Liability rules are thought to be called into play when the primary governance mechanisms-board of directors (Williamson), executive compensation (e.g., Smith and Watts), and outside block ownership (Shleifer and Vishny)- fail in their monitoring efforts but the misconduct is not of sufficient magnitude to make a control change worthwhile. By imposing personal liability on corporate officers and directors for breach of the duties of care (negligence) and loyalty (conflict of interest), litigation is thought to align managers' incentives with shareholders' interests. The efficacy of shareholder litigation as a governance mechanism is hampered by collective action problems because the cost of bringing a lawsuit, while less than the shareholders' aggregate gain, is typically greater than a shareholder-plaintiff's pro rata benefit. To mitigate this difficulty, successful plaintiffs are awarded counsel fees, providing a financial incentive to the plaintiff's attorney to police management. There is, however, a principalagent problem with such an arrangement: the attorney's incentives need not coincide with the shareholders' interest. For instance, settlement recoveries in
Pyrimethamine in prevention of relapses of meningeal leukemia: report of two cases.

Relapses of meningeal leukemia occurred in two children during hematologic remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Treatment of CNS leukemia consisted of radiotherapy and repeated intrathecal injections of methotrexate and cytosine arabinoside. Intrathecal installations of the drugs were accompanied with increasing neurological side effects which seemed to be life-threatening. To avoid them, repeated courses of pyrimethamine were introduced. No further relapse of meningeal leukemia occurred after pyrimethamine. Hematologic remissions in both children have lasted for over 7 years. All therapy was stopped 16 months ago.
DISCOVERY OF AN OH (1720 MHz) MASER IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

We report the first study of OH (1720 MHz) masers in the LMC in order to probe regions where supernova remnants interact with adjacent molecular clouds. Using the Australia Telescope Compact Array, we observed four sources in the LMC and detected a single OH (1720 MHz) maser with a flux density of 377 mJy toward 30 Dor. No main line emission at 1665 or 1667 MHz was detected. The observed OH (1720 MHz) maser emission from 30 Dor shows characteristics similar to the well-known collisionally pumped supernova remnant masers found in the Galaxy, though 30 Dor is known as a star-forming region. It is possible that shocks driven by a nearby supernova remnant or by strong stellar winds from young stars are responsible for production of OH (1720 MHz) maser in 30 Dor. Future studies are required to distinguish between collisional and radiative pumping mechanisms for the 30 Dor OH (1720 MHz) maser.
The use of amplitude-integrated electroencephalography: beware of its unintended consequences.

In the preface to the 2006 issue on brain monitoring in the neonate, White and Spitzer1 stated that continuous electroencephalogram monitoring “will substantially enhance our understanding of neonatal neurologic injury and markedly improve outcomes for all hospitalized newborn infants.” However, they caution that “access to information often precedes the ability to use it wisely.” In light of the experience of the obstetrical community with electronic fetal monitoring (EFM),2 widespread use of the new amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) to diagnose and manage neonatal seizures should be implemented cautiously. EFM was introduced into widespread clinical practice in the early 1960s in an effort to identify a fetus undergoing stress or distress who might develop hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and subsequent cerebral palsy.3,4 At the time of its introduction, there were no controlled studies to show that it was preferable to auscultation. Subsequent studies and meta-analyses have shown that although the cesarean-section rate has increased by 40% since the introduction of EFM, the perinatal morbidity and mortality rates have not changed, nor has the incidence of subsequent cerebral palsy.5–7 However, EFM has resulted in a marked increase in maternal morbidity associated with the cesarean sections. Nelson7 noted that three fourths of children who developed cerebral palsy showed no abnormalities on fetal monitoring, and monitoring … Address correspondence to John M. Freeman, MD, 1026 Rolandvue Rd, Towson, MD 21204. E-mail: jfreeman{at}jhmi.edu
A Tyrosine Kinase-Signaling Pathway Involving ERK-2 Activation Links Bradykinin B2 Receptors with AP-1 and is Crucial for Bradykinin-Induced DNA Synthesis in Mesangial Cells. |[bull]| 1646

We have recently shown that bradykinin (BK), acting via B2 receptors, stimulates DNA synthesis and proliferation of rat mesangial cells and that these responses were preceded by induction of c-fos and AP-1 binding activity (Kidney Int. 50: 1850, 1996). The present study was designed to examine the role of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in coupling the B2 receptors with AP-1 and DNA replication. BK (100 nM) induced tyrosine phosphorylation of distinct substrates of 170, 120-130, 70, 55-60, and 44-42 kDa as detected by antiphosphotyrosine immunoblotting. Immunoblotting with a polyclonal ERK antibody of BK-stimulated cells revealed predominant phosphorylation of the 42-kDa MAP kinase (ERK-2). Inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity with genistein (15-100 μM) abolished the stimulatory effect of BK on tyrosine phosphorylation and ERK-2 activation. Furthermore, genistein attenuated BK-mediated c-fos and c-jun induction and AP-1-DNA binding activity and suppressed BK-stimulated DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Herbimycin A (50-200 nM), a chemically and mechanistically distinct tyrosine kinase inhibitor, also abolished BK-stimulated DNA synthesis. Thus, tyrosine phosphorylation is an essential requirement in the mitogenic signaling of BK in glomerular mesangial cells. The data implicate the MAP kinase, ERK-2, and the transcription factor, AP-1, as the downstream signals linking BK-B2 receptor stimulation with DNA replication.
An approach to the selection of membrane mutants of Staphylococcus aureus based on pH sensitivity.

Abstract Mutants of Staphylococcus aureus that are incapable of growth at pH 5.2 but grow normally at pH 7.0 have been isolated. Several of these mutants have protoplasts that are osmotically fragile when compared to wild-type protoplasts. Another group of mutants have an alteration in the lipid composition of their membranes. This mutant-screening procedure, based on sensitivity to pH, may be useful in the isolation of membrane mutants.
Integrable polynomial factorization for symplectic systems.

It has been shown that an analytic symplectic map can be directly converted into a product of Lie transformations in the form of integrable polynomial factorization with the desired accuracy. A map in the form of integrable polynomial factorization is exactly symplectic and easy to evaluate exactly. Error involved in the integrable polynomial factorization has been studied with the case of the H\'enon map. The results suggest that the map in the form of integrable polynomial factorization is a reliable and convenient model for the study of the long-term behavior of a symplectic system such as a large storage ring.
Estimating the risk of solid organ malignancy in patients undergoing routine computed tomography scans after endovascular aneurysm repair

Objective Computed tomography (CT) scans are routinely used for graft surveillance in patients who have had endovascular repair (EVAR) of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. There is a growing concern for cancers associated with inadvertent use of CT scans. We report the estimated risk of radiation associated solid organ malignancy caused by routine surveillance CT after EVAR using the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII) model created by U.S. National Institute of Science and National Research Council. Methods Our study estimated the excess relative risk (ERR) of a patient acquiring a solid organ malignancy secondary to radiation exposure from postoperative EVAR surveillance CT imaging. The radiation dose was calculated in sieverts (Sv). The ERR of solid organ malignancy, as given by the BEIR VII model, is=β s D exp {γe*} (a/60) η , where β s , γ, and η are data-derived parameters, e is age at exposure, and e * = (e-30)/10 for e a is attained age, and D is dose in sieverts. Dose-weighted ERRs were calculated to allow a comparison of malignancy risk when using a CT at all time points (model 1: 0, 1, 6, 12, and 18 months, 2, 3, and 4 years, and yearly thereafter) vs replacing the CT scan with two other models (model 2: CT once in 3 years) and (model 3: CT once in 5 years). The risk was stratified by age groups, sex, and use of two different radiation doses (15 or 31 mSv) per CT scan. Statistical analysis used the paired t test. Results There were significant differences between the ERR of solid organ malignancy in those patients who would undergo surveillance CTs at all time points vs those whose surveillance consisted of alternative modalities at some time points ( P Conclusions Patients undergoing routine CT scans for postoperative surveillance after EVAR are at risk for acquiring new solid organ malignancy due to radiation exposure. The risk is higher in young patients, women, and those exposed to multiple contrast-enhanced CT scans. Our analysis questions the need for routine surveillance CT scans after EVAR in the absence of endoleaks or a change in aneurysm morphology, based on an increased malignancy risk.
Analysing early liver dysfunction after bone marrow transplantation

Liver dysfunction is a frequent early complication of bone marrow transplants, occuring in over 80% of recipients of HLA-identical transplants.1,2 Findings range from abnormal liver biochemical tests to coagulation abnormalities, ascites and hepatorenal failure. The most common causes of liver dysfunction early (<100 daya) post-transplant are acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), intrahepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), drug-induced abnormalities and infections.3–5 We discuss aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these disorders.
Mechanism of Growth Inhibition by 5-Fluorouracil. Reversal Studies with Pyrimidine Metabolites in Vitro∗

SummaryContinuous exposure to FU at a concentration of 0.05 μg/ml was uniformly toxic for a tissue culture strain of Ehrlich ascites tumor, ELD. Of the normal pyrimidine metabolites tested in the presence of FU, neither U, UR, or OA exerted a protective effect against FU toxicity. However, TdR did have a protective effect at a concentration of 5 μg/ml, permitting normal growth of ELD cells. At higher FU concentrations, TdR had less protective action. Brief (1-3 hr) exposures to FU at high concentrations (5-50 μg ml) produced toxicity which could be counteracted when the FU exposure was followed by cell washing and continuous exposure to TdR. These findings suggest that TdRP formation is the step most sensitive to FU.
Centrifugal projections upon the retina: an anterograde tracing study in the pigeon (Columba livia).

Previous work has shown that the avian retina receives two types of centrifugal fibers from the brain. These types can be distinguished based on the size and the morphology of their terminal endings and have been termed convergent and divergent. The centrifugal fibers arise from the isthmooptic nucleus (ION) and the surrounding ectopic cell region (ECR). We used injections of anterograde tracers either to the ION/ECR or to the ECR only to determine the morphology, depth of termination, and regional distribution of the centrifugal fibers arising from each. We found that the ECR gives rise only to the divergent type of the centrifugal fiber, whereas the ION gives rise mainly to the convergent type but may also send some fibers of the divergent type. Most of the fibers project contralaterally, although a few from the ECR project ipsilaterally. The terminals of either type are not uniformly distributed throughout the retina; instead, they are found mainly in the inferior, midtemporal, to nasal portion of the retina and appear to avoid the fovea and most of the red field. By comparison, the ION receives a major projection from portions of the tectum that receive input from the fovea and the red field in a type of neural loop. The neural loop does not project to the same point (homotopic), but projects from the red field to the inferior retina (heterotopic), as was recently proposed by Holden (1990; Vis. Neurosci. 4:493–497). The distribution of centrifugal axons corresponds to displaced ganglion cells that selectively innervate the nuclei of the accessory optic system (AOS), including the nucleus of the basal optic root (dorsal, ventral, and lateral) and the nucleus lentiformis mesencephali, pars magnocellularis. We suggest that the centrifugal axons act by increasing the gain on the AOS, thereby enhancing retinal stabilization of gaze with improved accuracy of pecking of small objects. © 1995 Wiley-Liss Inc.
3D teleimmersion for remote injury assessment

3D Teleimmersion is emerging as a 3D telepresence platform that enables remote participants to immerse themselves like in a 2D video conference, but in a joint virtual space with a sense of space and time. Distributed remote participants can move around each other, go through each other, operate virtual objects and cooperate on moving, changing and manipulating virtual objects jointly in the same virtual space.This 3D teleimmersive platform promises to lend itself very well to many healthcare applications such as tele-physiotherapy where telepresence, interactivity, depth of movement, and immersion are necessary ingredients for yielding performance gains, such as getting better from the patient and doctor point of view. In this position paper we discuss questions, requirements, and challenges for (a) understanding the first step in tele-physiotherapy, the remote injury assessment activity and (b) understanding the impact of the activity on 3D teleimmersion to be deployed and assist doctors/patients in remote injury assessment activity.
The use of continuous exposure data for predicting CTS in fish processing operators.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) remains one of the most commonly reported and studied work related musculoskeletal disorders. Categorical representations of exposures has been critical in identifying associations between risk factors and CTS, however, quantification of exposure—response relationships require using continuous exposure data. Also, few interactions between risk factors, especially between risk factor categories, have been investigated. The objectives of this study were to investigate the utility of using continuous exposure data and to identify interaction effects of risk factors, both within and between risk factor categories, for predicting CTS. A cross sectional study was performed at a fish processing facility in which 53 participants were evaluated during normal task performance. Due to task asymmetry, each hand was considered separately, providing 106 hands for analysis. Direct measurement and a questionnaire were used to quantify exposures to common occupational and personal risk factors...
In situ strengthening of titanium with yttrium

In situ processing consists of heavily deforming a two-phase alloy of mutually immiscible elements to produce composite sheet or wire. In the well-studied Cu(fcc)-Nb(bcc) system, severe deformation by swaging and drawing reduces niobium filament phase thicknesses from 1–5 μm (as-cast) to 0.007–0.030 μm (after deformation). Cu-20% (vol.) Nb ultimate tensile strengths exceed 2000 MPa for material deformed to a true strain of η=12, where η=In (areaoriginal/areafinal). In a study on in situ strengthening in immiscible hexagonal close-packed metals, Ti-50 wt % Y and Ti-20 wt % Y alloys were deformed by hot extrusion, hot swaging, and cold swaging. As deformation progressed, samples were taken for tensile testing and examination by SEM and TEM. Ti-Y alloys deformed to final true strains of 6.6 (Ti-50Y) and 7.6 (Ti-20Y) contain nanofilaments (100 nm phase spacing) similar to those of deformation-processed Cu-20Nb at comparable strains. The ultimate tensile strengths of the alloys approximately tripled as deformation progressed from the as-cast condition to these final true strains, although the exponential strength increase seen in Cu-Nb alloys was not observed.
Suboptimal Attainment of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Guideline Goals in Korean Women

Summary Purpose The purposes of this study were to estimate the distribution of three levels of risk for developing coronary heart disease (CHD; low, moderate, and high risk) and to evaluate the attainment of cardiovascular disease prevention guideline goals by the American Heart Association in a nationally representative sample of Korean women. Methods This is a secondary data analysis study using the data set from the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV. The sample was 3,301 Korean women (representing 15,600,514 women) older than 20 years without cardiovascular disease. Distribution of CHD risk and level of goal attainment were calculated using sampling weights and presented in percentages. Results Among Korean women without established cardiovascular disease, 7.9% were at high risk for CHD, 20.5% were at moderate risk, and 71.6% were at low risk. The proportion of Korean women who did not meet their goals was substantial, and most women at high risk remained unmanaged for their high blood lipids. Conclusion Korean women at risk for developing CHD need to be managed as soon as possible to attain the guideline goals and to lower their risk for future CHD. Aggressive risk reduction efforts are urgently needed to reduce the public burden of CHD in Korean women.