cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Brain proteomic changes by histone deacetylase inhibition after traumatic brain injury.

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. There are currently no cytoprotective treatments for TBI. There is growing evidence that the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) may be beneficial in the treatment of TBI associated with hemorrhagic shock and in isolation. We sought to further evaluate the mechanistic underpinnings of this demonstrated efficacy via proteomic analysis of injured brain tissue. Methods Swine were subjected to TBI via controlled cortical impact, randomized to treatment with VPA or control and observed for 6 hours. The brains of the pigs were then sectioned, and tissue was prepared and analyzed for proteomic data, including gene ontology (GO), gene-set enrichment analysis and enrichment mapping, and network mapping. Results Proteomic analysis demonstrated differential expression of hundreds of proteins in injured brain tissue after treatment with VPA. GO analysis and network analyses revealed groups of proteins and processes that are known to modulate injury response after TBI and impact cell fate. Processes affected included protein targeting and transport, cation and G-protein signaling, metabolic response, neurotransmitter response and immune function. Discussion This proteomic analysis provides initial mechanistic insight into the observed rescue of injured brain tissue after VPA administration in isolated TBI. Level of evidence Not applicable (animal study).
Recognition of Diagnostic Gaps for Laboratory Diagnosis of Fungal Diseases: Expert Opinion from the Fungal Diagnostics Laboratories Consortium (FDLC)

Fungal infections are a rising threat to our immunocompromised patient population, as well as other nonimmunocompromised patients with various medical conditions. However, little progress has been made in the past decade to improve fungal diagnostics. To jointly address this diagnostic challenge, the Fungal Diagnostics Laboratory Consortium (FDLC) was recently created. The FDLC consists of 26 laboratories from the United States and Canada that routinely provide fungal diagnostic services for patient care. A survey of fungal diagnostic capacity among the 26 members of the FDLC was recently completed, identifying the following diagnostic gaps: lack of molecular detection of mucormycosis; lack of an optimal diagnostic algorithm incorporating fungal biomarkers and molecular tools for early and accurate diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia, aspergillosis, candidemia, and endemic mycoses; lack of a standardized molecular approach to identify fungal pathogens directly in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues; lack of robust databases to enhance mold identification with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; suboptimal diagnostic approaches for mold blood cultures, tissue culture processing for Mucorales, and fungal respiratory cultures for cystic fibrosis patients; inadequate capacity for fungal point-of-care testing to detect and identify new, emerging or underrecognized, rare, or uncommon fungal pathogens; and performance of antifungal susceptibility testing. In this commentary, the FDLC delineates the most pressing unmet diagnostic needs and provides expert opinion on how to fulfill them. Most importantly, the FDLC provides a robust laboratory network to tackle these diagnostic gaps and ultimately to improve and enhance the clinical laboratory's capability to rapidly and accurately diagnose fungal infections.
Does Setting Matter? An Exploratory Examination of Victimization Risk Reduction Strategies Among Female College Students Studying Abroad.

This exploratory project assessed whether female college students studying abroad engage in more risk reduction strategies (RRSs) when abroad than in their community of origin and whether changes i...
SU-E-T-42: A Method to Determine the Optimal Proton Scanned Beam Angle to Ensure Robust Treatment Planning

Purpose: The ability of pencil beam scanning (PBS) to deliver highly conformal dose distributions may be affected by patient- and physics-related uncertainties. In clinical practice, selection of proton beam angles is determined qualitatively. This study investigates whether an optimal proton PBS beam angle could be quantitatively determined to ensure robust planning for pelvic targets. Methods: PBS beam angles were optimized based on two independent criteria; shortest and most homogeneous path from the patient surface to the distal edge of the target. The beam angle optimization criteria for gantry angles between 90°-270° were quantified in 10° increments for each ray, calculated as the straight line distance from the surface of the skin to the CTV’s distal edge. The goal was to minimize the path length of a proton PBS beam from the patient surface to the distal edge of the CTV, relative to the entry point, while minimizing HU inhomogeneity along the ray. HU homogeneity (i.e. HU variation) was quantitatively defined as the standard deviation of the average intra-ray HU intensity distribution of the rays comprising a single beam. This method was validated relative to inter-fraction changes on ten consecutive, locally advanced, rectal cancer patients, who underwent an average 4 verification CTs. The displacement of the 95–98% isodose lines was determined from forward calculated dose distributions on verification CTs. Results: The posterior beam (180°) had the average shortest path length, 132.7±17.2mm, and the most homogenous path, 31.9±4.3HU. The 95–98% isodose lines from all plans verified our path length to within 2.3±1.2% and HU homogeneity to within 1.2±0.5%. Conclusion: The proposed optimization algorithm determined the posterior beam dose distribution as the most robust relative to inter-fraction variation for large pelvic targets treated with PBS and was validated via verification CT for our patient cohort. Future work will focus on further algorithm development.
Stop Counting the Books! IMC is Here

(1976). Stop Counting the Books! IMC is Here. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 49, No. 5, pp. 227-229.
A Bayesian model for predicting reliability of software systems at the architectural level

Modern society relies heavily on complex software systems for everyday activities. Dependability of these systems thus has become a critical feature that determines which products are going to be successfully and widely adopted. In this paper, we present an approach to modeling reliability of software systems at the architectural level. Dynamic Bayesian Networks are used to build a stochastic reliability model that relies on standard models of software architecture, and does not require implementation-level artifacts. Reliability values obtained via this approach can aid the architect in evaluating design alternatives. The approach is evaluated using sensitivity and uncertainty analysis.
An efficient end-host architecture for cluster communication

Cluster computing environments built from commodity hardware have provided a cost-effective solution for many scientific and high-performance applications. Likewise, middleware techniques have provided the basis for large-scale applications to communicate and exchange data across the various end-hosts in a distributed system. Unfortunately, middleware services are typically encapsulated in user-level address spaces that suffer from scheduling delays and communication overheads induced by the host kernel. For various high performance distributed computing applications such overheads are unacceptable. This work therefore addresses the problem of providing an efficient end-host architecture to support application-specific communication services at user-level, without the need to explicitly schedule such services or copy data via the kernel. We briefly describe a sandboxing mechanism that allows applications to configure and deploy services at user-level that may execute in the context of any address space. Using Linux as the basis for our approach, we focus specifically on the implementation of a user-space network protocol stack that avoids copying data via the kernel when communicating with the network interface. Our approach enables services to efficiently process and forward data via proxies, or intermediate hosts, in the communication path of high performance data streams. Unlike other user-level networking implementations, our method makes no special hardware requirements. Results show that we achieve a substantial increase in throughput, and a reduction in jitter, over comparable user-space communication methods.
Ordinary People Voting Under Extraordinary Times

Given the recent history of Zimbabwe it is easy and legitimate to disregard the countrys recent elections as undemocratic and therefore not important. Zimbabwe in addition to its troubled politics has also suffered the worst economic crisis in modern history. However, in spite of all this there are millions of Zimbabweans who elections after election have continued to go out and vote. Zimbabweans in the last decade have been consistent patrons of democracy unwilling to give up on a system that is yet to yield any benefits for them. Ordinary Zimbabweans have responded to the crisis in their country by becoming extraordinarily democrats. Using survey and interview data this research finds that continued elections even under precarious circumstances improve individual attitudes and perceptions about democracy. This paper also challenges commonly accepted notions that African elections are mere ethnic censuses showing that voters make their voting choices based on policy and economic preferences underlying a preferred ideology.
Regulatory mechanisms in cell-mediated immune responses. III. Antigen-specific and nonspecific suppressor activities generated during MLC.

Mouse spleen cells which had been primed to alloantigens by in vitro mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) were found to actively suppress the in vitro generation of cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CML) by freshly explanted syngeneic spleen cells. Both antigen-specific and antigen-nonspecific suppressor activities were identified. Antigen-nonspecific suppression was active in suppressing CML sensitizations to alloantigens, including those to which the suppressor population had not been previously exposed. This form of suppression was radiation sensitive (abrogated by 1000 R). It was T cell dependent, appeared after 2 days of priming in MLC, and was effective in suppressing CML only when added during the first 2 days of sensitization culture. In contrast, antigen-specific suppression affected only those CML snesitizations in which the relevant sensitizing antigen either: 1) was the same antigen to which the suppressor population was previously primed, or 2) was presented on the same cell as that alloantigen. Antigen-specific suppression was resistant to 1000 R. It was T cell-dependent, first appeared after 3 days of priming in MLC, and suppressed CML only when added during the first 2 days of sensitization. These data are discussed in terms of regulatory mechanisms which may be active in determing the kinetics and antigen specificity of primary and secondary CML responses.
Internet Contracting and Standard Terms in the Global Electronic Age: Perspectives for Japan

This piece is intended to show Japanese law students how their own everyday experiences raise significant domestic and international legal questions. It shows that a seemingly technical matter need not be boring, but can provide an example of practical application of law internationally and of the benefits that knowledge of foreign law can bring in assisting in understanding and improving domestic law. It discusses standard terms in licenses of information and software.
Montesquieu’s Selective Religious Intolerance in Of the Spirit of the Laws

To what degree does Montesquieu advocate religious toleration in De l’Esprit des Lois? Scholars generally interpret Montesquieu in one of two ways: either as a proponent of religious toleration, or...
Process development for CuInSe/sub 2/-based power modules

The authors report further advances in CuInSe/sub 2/ photovoltaic technology aimed at a low cost manufacturing process. The incorporation of Ga into CIS has led to aperture area efficiencies over 8% for areas near one square foot. A modified selenization of Cu/In/sub x/Se/sub y/ stacks appear to be insensitive to variations in the Cu/In ratio. In-line manufacturing equipment has been constructed to prepare 50/spl times/125 cm modules with a power output of 50 watts.
Role of Dopamine Type 1 Receptors and Dopamine- and cAMP-Regulated Phosphoprotein Mr 32 kDa in Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol–Mediated Induction of ΔFosB in the Mouse Forebrain

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana, produces motor and motivational effects via interactions with the dopaminergic system in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens. However, the molecular events that underlie these interactions after THC treatment are not well understood. Our study shows that pretreatment with dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) antagonists before repeated administration of THC attenuated induction of Δ FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (ΔFosB) in the nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. Anatomical studies showed that repeated THC administration induced ΔFosB in D1R-containing striatal neurons. Dopamine signaling in the striatum involves phosphorylation-specific effects of the dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein Mr 32 kDa (DARPP-32), which regulates protein kinase A signaling. Genetic deletion of DARPP-32 attenuated ΔFosB expression measured after acute, but not repeated, THC administration in both the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens. THC was then acutely or repeatedly administered to wild-type (WT) and DARPP-32 knockout (KO) mice, and in vivo responses were measured. DARPP-32 KO mice exhibited enhanced acute THC-mediated hypolocomotion and developed greater tolerance to this response relative to the WT mice. Agonist-stimulated guanosine 5′-O-(3-[35S]thio)triphosphate ([35S]GTPγS) binding showed that cannabinoid-stimulated G-protein activity did not differ between DARPP-32 KO and WT mice treated with vehicle or repeated THC. These results indicate that D1Rs play a major role in THC-mediated ΔFosB induction in the forebrain, whereas the role of DARPP-32 in THC-mediated ΔFosB induction and modulation of motor activity appears to be more complex.
1,1,1,5,5,5-Hexamethyltrisiloxane: Preparation and some reactions

Abstract 1,1,1,5,5,5-Hexamethyltrisiloxane (I) was prepared by reaction of (Me3SiO)2Mg or of Me3SiOH with dichlorosilane. Its selective chlorination to give mostly Me3SiOSiHClOSiMe3 and only a small amount of Me3SiOSiCl2OSiMe3 was effected by its PdCl2-catalyzed reaction with CCl4. Photolysis of compound I gave H(Me3SiO)2SiSi(OSiMe3)2H in 30% yield, as well as polymer.
The pathological history of weather and climate modification: Three cycles of promise and hype

ABSTRACT The checkered history of weather and climate modification exhibits a modicum of promise and an excess of hype. This paper examines two completed historical cycles: the first, dating from 1839, involved western proprietary rainmaking or ““pluviculture;”” the second, from 1946 to 1978 involved ““cloud seeding,”” commercial rainmaking, and the attempted weaponization of the clouds. Recently, discussion of weather and climate modification has returned to the science-policy agenda, framed as seemingly inevitable responses to killer storms and global warming. The long history of deceptive and delusional attempts to ““control”” nature, however, raised serious questions about the rationality of these options.
Income distribution and the economy: Evidence from the vector autoregression model

Using the vector autoregression model, this research explores the impact of income concentration on GDP. The estimated results of the model and its impulse response confirm earlier studies which used different methodology or different data sets indicating that a higher concentration of income adversely affect GDP in the short run, although the effect turns positive in the long run.
Variation as an element in multi-agent control for target tracking

This work investigates the impact of inter-agent variation on the performance of a multi-agent system based control system. The control system is composed of a multi-agent team and aggregates the actions of the individual agents of the team to form a single output. In the process, this approach attempts to use error and variation that naturally occurs in physical systems to the system's advantage. We apply this multi-agent control system to a multiple task allocation problem and present an analytical model with which we can study the conditions under which such a system is expected to stabilize. We then compare the expected behavior of the analytical model with an empirical agent-based simulation applied to a tracking problem.
Externally heated hot cathode arcs

The conduction path in a noble gas between an anode and a copiously emitting hot cathode consists of one, two, or more plasmas connected by sheaths and existing at different potentials. These different conducting modes1)2), the conditions under which one changes into another, and other accompanying phenomena can be reasonably well described by simple models.
Separation of Wave Equations for Perturbations of General Type- D Space-Times

We separate the (decoupled) perturbation equations for the radiative components of perturbing fields of spin $s=0, \frac{1}{2}, 1, \mathrm{and} 2$ in an arbitrary type-$D$ vacuum background, realized in Pleba\ifmmode \acute{n}\else \'{n}\fi{}ski-Demia\ifmmode \acute{n}\else \'{n}\fi{}ski coordinates.
Massive Star Forming Regions in the Galactic Plane: A Comparative Study Using BGPS, Spitzer, & Optical/Near-IR Surveys

The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) is a 1.1 mm continuum survey that has detected more than 8300 clumps over a 170 square degree survey area in the Galactic plane. The full power of these data is realised only when considering the full complement of data spanning millimetre through x-ray wavelengths.
Accounting for Penetration of Laser Heating in Flash Thermal Diffusivity Experiments

Since the early 1960s, the laser flash method of thermal diffusivity measurement has been used on a large variety of materials. Several parameter estimation methods have also been used in analyzing such experiments, employing various levels of sophistication. Estimation of thermal parameters, using the models developed as part of this research, is performed on experimental data from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. The material used is carbon bonded carbon fiber (CBCF) which is designed as an insulating material for atmosphere re-entry applications. Ambient temperatures in the experiments range from 800°C to 1200°C. The approximate thermal diffusivity of the material is 0.3 mm 2 /sec. This research investigates the penetration of the laser flash beyond the surface of the material being heated. Three heat transfer models are presented, each with different assumptions about the initial temperature distribution inside the material. An evaluation is made of the response of the methods to factors which may enter into the experimental process. This is done in quantitative terms so as to assess the adequacy of the models in comparison to one another.
Dynamic models of economic systems and industrial organizations

In the material that follows, I comment on model building from the viewpoint of its effectiveness in predicting economic behavior and its value as a guide to the management of industrial organizations and the establishment of operating policies and organizational structure. I am referring throughout to models describing sequences of events progressing in time and not mathematical models for describing a static set of relationships. Although the text is written in a somewhat critical manner, I look on most of the statements as propositions for further consideration and discussion rather than as facts which I accept at face value. While my general propositions suggest that current economic model design techniques are not progressing in the most fruitful direction, it is certainly true that those avenues needed to be explored, that most of the efforts represent some progress, and that they provide a foundation from which we can hope to build a better system of economic and industrial ﬁrm models using techniques and machines which have become available in the last decade. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Studies on membrane transport. III. Further characterization of amino acid systems in Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda).

Abstract 1. 1. The absorption of the metabolically inert amino acids, 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid (cycloleucine) and α-amino-isobutyric acid (AIB), by the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta has been studied. 2. 2. Both compounds are accumulated against a concentration difference and are taken up by saturable processes showing Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 3. 3. Competitive interactions of eight amino acids with cycloleucine or AIB were analyzed. Cycloleucine and AIB reciprocally produced fully competitive inhibitions of uptake, whereas other amino acids tested produced partially competitive inhibition of cycloleucine or AIB uptake. Arginine and lysine did not produce inhibitions. 4. 4. Phenylalanine or proline produce maximal inhibitions of cycloleucine uptake at inhibitor : substrate ratios below 100. When either phenylalanine or proline is added to a preparation already maximally inhibited by the other amino acid, an arithmetically additive inhibition is produced, showing that cycloleucine is absorbed through at least two distinct membrane mechanisms. A third mechanism also appears to be involved. 5. 5. The data are discussed in terms of qualitative types of transport systems. The value of the metabolically inert amino acids in examining amino acid fluxes between hosts and parasites is pointed out.
Responses of the flexor reflex to LSD, tryptamine, 5-hydroxytryptophan, methoxamine, and d-amphetamine in acute and chronic spinal rats

The flexor reflex of acute (40–48 h after mid-thoracic spinal transection) and chronic (at least 2 months after transection) spinal rats was evoked by tetanic electrical stimulation of both hindfeet and recorded on a polygraph using a transducer connected to the left hindfoot. The flexor reflex in the chronic spinal rat was more responsive to electrical stimulation and to the actions of drugs studied than was the flexor reflex in the acute spinal rat. In chronic spinal rats, d-amphetamine, methoxamine, LSD, tryptamine, and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) facilitated the flexor reflex and induced spontaneous movements. These facilitative effects were seen in acute spinal rats only when much larger i.p. doses of amphetamine, methoxamine, and LSD were used. Small i.v. doses of tryptamine also produced the facilitation. The facilitation caused by LSD and tryptamine, but not 5-HTP, in chronic spinal rats was antagonized by cyproheptadine. These observations suggest that chronic spinal rats were more sensitive to the drugs than acute spinal rats and support the hypothesis that the mode of action of LSD is similar to that of tryptamine but different from that of 5-HTP since cyproheptadine antagonized the facilitative effects of LSD and tryptamine but not those of 5-HTP.
In Pursuit of Global Equity: What Universities Can Do

As seen by a rank outsider, there is no sign of consensus when it comes to the proper role of the developed world with respect to the undeveloped, of the north with respect to the south. Despite some clear and obvious successes, deep mistrust and confrontational disagreement seems to be endemic among and within governments and peoples, both undeveloped and developed, north and south, around the globe. There is no shortage of reasons - colonialism and other burdens and scars of history rank high among them.
Ideology and the Jus Ad Bellum: Justice in the Initiation of War

MORALLY and politically adequate position on when it is allowable, in the final analysis, for a nation to resort to war does not exist today in either international law or authoritative religious teaching. In the first part of this paper I wish to demonstrate this point. In the second part I shall explore the nature of this problem and its historical and theoretical roots. In the final section I shall propose a way to a position on the right of resort to war more adequate than that which now obtains.
Approximate Analysis of Fine-Particle Retention in the Cake Filtration of Suspensions

The migration and retention of fine particles through the cake adversely affects the filtration of suspensions containing particles of different sizes. We propose a new model for describing the effect of fines retention during cake filtration under constant pressure. Cake filtration is treated as a “diffusion-like” process, while fine-particle migration and retention through the cake is described as a depth-filtration process. Fine-particle deposition results in a change in the permeability and pressure drop characteristics of the filter cake although the actual Lagrangian rate of fines deposition from the suspension is quite small. The net effect of fine particles in cake filtration can be modeled as viscoelasticity of the cake where its compressibility and resistance characteristics change with time.
Cardiac transplantation in infants and children

Abstract Cardiac transplantation has become a more frequently used therapeutic modality for select cardiac pathology in infants and children. Since June 1986, 30 pediatric patients (19 male and 11 female) ranging in age from 4 days to 15 years (11 ≤ 1 month old) have undergone orthotopic cardiac transplantation at our institution. Indications included idiopathic cardiomyopathy (n = 8), hypoplastic left heart syndrome (n = 13), and other forms of complex congenital heart disease (n = 9). There have been four operative and three late deaths only in the groups with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other forms of complex congenital heart disease. Cumulative survival is 77% after a mean follow-up of 30 months (range, 6 to 77 months). Three operative deaths were attributable to pulmonary hypertension, and the other was due to pulmonary hemorrhage. Two late deaths were secondary to allograft rejection, and the third was due to infection. There has been uniform survival in the group with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, and intermediate-term survival rates are 78% and 62% in the groups with complex congenital heart diseases and hypoplastic left heart syndrome, respectively ( p = 0.15). Although longer-term results are necessary, orthotopic cardiac transplantation appears to be an acceptable mode of therapy for end-stage heart disease in the pediatric age group and technically can be performed despite complex malformations of the great arteries or atria.
Redeeming the aging self: John Kotre, George Drury, and cultural generativity

Abstract Through a series of life history inteviews, “narrative psychologist” John Kotre educes four types of generativity, each motivated by the impulse to “outlive the self. ” One form, cultural generativity, may be linked to a late life theme, the quest for personal redemption through carrying the meaning of a life from one generation to another. The following article explores that theme, both personally and critically.
Incremental support vector machine framework for visual sensor networks

Motivated by the emerging requirements of surveillance networks, we present in this paper an incremental multiclassification support vector machine (SVM) technique as a new framework for action classification based on real-time multivideo collected by homogeneous sites. The technique is based on an adaptation of least square SVM (LS-SVM) formulation but extends beyond the static image-based learning of current SVM methodologies. In applying the technique, an initial supervised offline learning phase is followed by a visual behavior data acquisition and an online learning phase during which the cluster head performs an ensemble of model aggregations based on the sensor nodes inputs. The cluster head then selectively switches on designated sensor nodes for future incremental learning. Combining sensor data offers an improvement over single camera sensing especially when the latter has an occluded view of the target object. The optimization involved alleviates the burdens of power consumption and communication bandwidth requirements. The resulting misclassification error rate, the iterative error reduction rate of the proposed incremental learning, and the decision fusion technique prove its validity when applied to visual sensor networks. Furthermore, the enabled online learning allows an adaptive domain knowledge insertion and offers the advantage of reducing both the model training time and the information storage requirements of the overall system which makes it even more attractive for distributed sensor networks communication.
Barriers to Community Pharmacists' Provision of Diabetes Care Services in Iowa

Background:Pharmacists are in a unique position to provide valuable patient care services to patients with diabetes. Even though many pharmacists have developed their diabetes care knowledge base and obtained credentials, they do not provide diabetes care on a regular basis, suggesting the existence of barriers to care other than knowledge and skills.Objective:To determine the barriers limiting the provision of diabetes care services in community pharmacy settings.Methods:Community pharmacists (N = 1,337) in Iowa were surveyed regarding (1) the types of diabetes care services provided, (2) reimbursement for services provided, (3) educational needs, (4) perceived barriers to providing diabetes services, and (5) demographics. A 46 item questionnaire was developed and mailed to participants with an addressed, stamped envelope. Nonrespondents were contacted by email or phone and asked to complete the questionnaire. Respondents' perceived barriers to diabetes care were compared based on their demographic chara...
Implantation technique of the CentriMag biventricular assist device allowing ambulatory rehabilitation

Non-implantable ventricular assist device plays a major role in emergent or urgent situation where a patient has acutely decompensating hemodynamics. One of its major disadvantages is that the patient needs to be bed-bound after insertion. We have developed a surgical technique that allows ambulatory management of the patients who received non-implantable device with CentriMag.
The Human Placental Renin–Angiotensin System ☆

Abstract The human placenta and related tissues are considered to be examples of the recently accepted local renin–angiotensin systems (RAS). The brain is another example of a system that is thought to be regulated independently of the kidney and the role of angiotensin within the CNS as a neural mediator has drawn considerable attention. It has been known for a long time that many of the neuroendocrine mediators and receptors are expressed in the placenta and it has been suggested that there are many parallels between the classical neuroendocrine system and the placental one. The present review summarizes information that components of the RAS are expressed in uteroplacental tissues, are regulated by endogenous substances, and have important biological functions within this reproductive system. A comparison of similarities and differences between the classical and the placental RAS may provide clues to functions in other endocrine and neuroendocrine systems. The major components of the placental RAS that are considered are renin, prorenin, angiotensin I, angiotensin II, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensin receptors, and angiotensinogen (renin substrate). The factors that regulate these components at the cellular and the nuclear level are described. It is concluded that prorenin via angiotensin-dependent and angiotensin-independent mechanisms influences functions within uteroplacental tissues. Some of these actions are direct and others are mediated by the release of different signalling molecules. These features are similar to many neuroendocrine systems and utilize some of the same messengers.
Traditional systemic treatments have not fully met the needs of psoriasis patients: results from a national survey.

Background Many psoriasis patients are dissatisfied with current therapies. However, patient-centered levels of satisfaction with individual treatments have not been well described. Objective To assess patients' satisfaction with 4 systemic treatment options available before 2002. Methods We used data from a recent national survey. Psoriasis patients were randomly recruited from the general US population, members of the Psoriasis Foundation, and persons who contacted the Psoriasis Foundation but did not join. The interview included questions about use and satisfaction with specific Psoriasis therapy. Results Of 1197 psoriasis patients interviewed, 311 (26%) indicated current or past use of methotrexate, psoralen plus ultaviolet A (PUVA), cyclosporin, and/or acitretin (users). Compared with those who had never used any of these systemic therapies, users reported more extensive disease (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=2.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.87-4.49) and higher Psoriasis Disability Index scores (category V: adjusted OR=2.31, 95% CI=1.22-4.36). After adjusting for these variables, more than one third of patients were dissatisfied with each therapy, except for PUVA (14%). Patients were most satisfied with methotrexate and PUVA. However, less than 40% of the users indicated they were very satisfied with any of the 4 therapies assessed. Only 10% of persons who ever used cyclosporin were currently using it. In a paired analysis, cyclosporin users were significantly less satisfied with cyclosporin than with other therapies ( P =.01). Conclusion For most patients, none of the 4 systemic therapies widely utilized in 2002 for psoriasis were highly satisfactory. If we are to learn whether new treatments satisfy patients' needs, long term, prospective, comparative studies of heterogeneous patient populations that include patients' assessments are needed.
Endocardial Surface Delineation in 3-D Transesophageal Echocardiography

We describe and compare several methods for recovering endocardial walls from 3-D transesophageal echocardiography (3-D TEE), which can help with diagnostics or providing input into biomechanical models. We employ a segmentation method based on 3-D level sets that maximizes enclosed volume while minimizing surface area and uses a growth inhibition function that includes 3-D gradient magnitude (to locate the endocardial walls) and a thin tissue detector (for the mitral valve leaflets). We also study delineation using a graph cut method that performs automated seeding by leveraging a fast radial symmetry transform to determine a central axis along which the 3-D volume is warped into a cylindrical coordinate space. Finally, a random walker approach is also used for automated delineation. The methods are used to estimate clinically relevant cardiovascular volumetric parameters such as stroke volume and left ventricular ejection fraction. Experiments are performed on clinical data collected from patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. Performance evaluation includes comparisons of the automated delineations against expert-defined ground truth using a number of error metrics, as well as errors between automatically computed and expert-derived physiologic parameters.
Chemical Mutation of Enzyme Active Sites

New active sites can be introduced into naturally occurring enzymes by the chemical modification of specific amino acid residues with the use of appropriately designed coenzyme analogs. The resultant semisynthetic enzymes can have catalytic activities very different from those of the corresponding native enzymes. For example, papain has been converted into a highly effective oxidoreductase by covalent modification of the sulfhydryl group of the active site cysteine residue (Cys25) with flavins such as 8-bromoacetyl-10-methylisoalloxazine. Thus, it is now possible to enhance the catalytic versatility of existing enzymes through the process of "chemical mutation" of the active site.
Identification of barriers to medication adherence in a Latino population

Background Barriers to medication adherence may present differently in diverse patient populations. Because of changing U.S. demographics, health care providers will be required to identify alternative strategies for managing increasingly diverse patient populations. Objectives This pilot project identified barriers that may hinder medication adherence in a Latino population. The results of the survey may identify trends in barriers allowing for the development of interventions aimed at improving medication adherence. Methods The study used a convenience sample of Spanish-labeled prescriptions that had not been picked up from a community pharmacy after a 2-week period to identify study subjects. Patients were contacted by phone and surveyed regarding reasons for not picking up their prescription medication. The 24-item survey instrument consisted of demographic and medication-related questions, reasons for, and associated barriers with failure to pick up medications. Results The most common classes of medications patients failed to pick up were chronic medications. More than 90% of the patients thought that the medication in question was helpful to them, and nearly 80% thought that the medicine was still needed. Patients cited communication issues (ie, content matter, such as when the prescription was ready), logistics, and limited hours of pharmacy operation as the primary barriers in picking up their medications, whereas nearly 40% failed to identify any barriers. Barriers identified by patients that could be improved included confusion regarding when their prescription was ready and limited hours of pharmacy operation. Most of the patients were comfortable using the American health care system. Conclusions The barriers to medication adherence identified did not appear to be the result of cultural influences. This could be because the community pharmacy had bilingual staff and interpreters available for patient education and prescription processing. Alternative methods are needed to further identify reasons for failure to pick up medications before medication adherence programs can be designed.
Distribution of light at and near the focus of high-numerical-aperture objectives

Classical diffraction theory is used to investigate the effects of high numerical aperture on the focusing of coherent light. By expanding the diffracted beam in plane waves, we show that the lens action can be expressed as a succession of three Fourier transforms. Furthermore, polarization effects are included in the model in a natural way. Some numerical results of the theory are also presented.
The Evolution of Allomothering Behavior Among Colobine Monkeys: Function and Opportunism in Evolution

The great majority of Old World monkey females are interested in infants, particularly very young ones. Characteristically, females will approach infants cradled by their mothers and subsequently attempt to touch or hold them. For Cercopithecine monkeys, the subfamily that includes the baboons and macaques, caretaking attempts by females other than the mother are ordinarily unsuccessful, at least during the first two or three weeks of life. Mothers are highly possessive of their offspring and will not surrender them to substitute infant-caretakers. In striking contrast, among the other major subfamily of Old World monkeys, the Colobines, mothers readily allow extensive and sometimes prolonged infant carrying and handling by other females (allomothering), even on the first day of life. This paper reviews the traditional functional explanations for these different maternal systems. Stressing opportunism in evolution, the paper suggests that the social and/or genetic benefits alone are not adequate to account for the origins of allomothering behavior among Colobines. Instead, emphasis is given to the kind of ancestral social structure and its environmental context that might allow such a behavioral system to begin. It is hypothesized that, relative to the Cercopithecines, who do not exhibit infant-sharing, the dental morphology and digestive system of the Colobines produced food-acquiring and food-processing advantages that, in effect, reduced intragroup feeding competition and, concomitantly, reduced the importance of status differences between females. Such a social structure could permit the emergence of allomothering behavior since, for all the participants in this activity pattern, there are varying benefits that contribute to individual fitness. [Colobine, allomothering, functions, opportunism, dietary adaptations, social structure]
Apparent dip and apparent anisotropy from multifrequency triaxial induction measurements

The triaxial (or multicomponent) induction log is used to measure not only the resistivity anisotropy of an anisotropic formation but also the relative dip of the tool with respect to the formation. The anisotropic resistivity and the relative dip of layered formations are also inverted from the triaxial induction-log measurements at a depth by assuming a homogeneous anisotropic formation or at multiple depths by assuming a multilayered formation model. When the triaxial induction log is run at multiple frequencies, multifrequency focusing can be applied to the log measurements. Then, the apparent dip is algebraically defined from the frequency-focused triaxial induction measurements at a depth. The apparent dip yields the true dip in an anisotropic formation. The algebraically calculated apparent dip may be used to determine the effective dip in layered formations. The apparent dip yields the true dip in thinly bedded formations. The apparentdip also yields the true dip in thick anisotropic formations. H...
Influenza Prevention and Treatment: Current Practices and New Horizons

Significant new tools to prevent and treat influenza will become available to clinicians this year, and additional advances in vaccine are on the horizon. Currently available vaccine is effective, ...
Generation of Hydrogen-Cyanide from Flexible Polyurethane Foam Decomposed Under Different Combustion Conditions

Experimental thermal conditions conducive to the production of high levels of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from flexible polyurethane foam were determined. In these experiments the material was exposed to relatively low-temperature non-flaming oxidative conditions for a short time period, during which a char was formed. Further heating of the char to temperature above 500°C generated the increased HCN levels. Upon exposure to this same two-step decomposition process, a fire-retarded flexible polyurethane foam produced twice as much char and twice as much HCN. Elemental analyses indicated that the HCN concentration was directly related to the amount of char formed and its nitrogen content. Room burns of slabs of flexible polyurethane foam and chairs containing flexible polyurethane foam indicated that this same phenomenon occurs in large-scale experiments. In these NBS tests, increased concentrations of HCN were produced when the material underwent flaming combustion following a period of smoldering, presumably from heating the char that was formed during smoldering. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms responsible for the increased HCN concentrations was attempted using ion chromatography, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), pyrolysis/mass spectrometry and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. While the molecular structures of the nitrogen-containing compounds in the char were not elucidated, these analyses provided evidence of multiple compounds containing amine, amide, imine and nitrile functional groups as the most likely sources of the observed HCN.
Dialysis: Vascular access in children--arteriovenous fistula or CVC?

Central venous catheters are currently the primary method of vascular haemodialysis access used by paediatric nephrologists in the USA. However, new data from Ma and colleagues suggest that in children who require chronic haemodialysis, arteriovenous fistulas might be a safer option.
Context, Location, and Space: The Continued Development of our ‘Geo-Sociological’ Imaginations

The history of sociology has been one of borrowing and synthesizing methods and theoretical frameworks form sister disciplines in largely a reciprocal fashion. While these transitions are often well documented and attributed to a progression towards an “improved” sociology, a recent increasing interest in the spatial context in which individual and group actions occur has largely gone unnoticed. The current manuscript takes a historical approach in implementing a pseudo content analysis of all articles ever published in mainstream sociology journals. The results show that while sociology has historically been a leader within the social sciences concerning ecological analyses, a recent boom in its presence has solidified its place within the discipline. Ultimately, this is not surprising given the core tenets and roots of the discipline. However, what is somewhat surprising is the relative absence of acknowledgement of such a transition outside of the sub-disciplines of demography, criminology and rural sociology. This manuscript looks to those areas as evidence of future work in the more general field of sociology and couples that argument with historical results substantiating the trend.
RGS19 regulates Wnt–β-catenin signaling through inactivation of Gαo

The Wnt-beta-catenin pathway controls numerous cellular processes, including differentiation, cell-fate decisions and dorsal-ventral polarity in the developing embryo. Heterotrimeric G-proteins are essential for Wnt signaling, and regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins are known to act at the level of G-proteins. The functional role of RGS proteins in the Wnt-beta-catenin pathway was investigated in mouse F9 embryonic teratocarcinoma cells. RGS protein expression was investigated at the mRNA level, and each RGS protein identified was overexpressed and tested for the ability to regulate the canonical Wnt pathway. Expression of RGS19 specifically was found to attenuate Wnt-responsive gene transcription in a time- and dose-dependent manner, to block cytosolic beta-catenin accumulation and Dishevelled3 (Dvl3) phosphorylation in response to Wnt3a and to inhibit Wnt-induced formation of primitive endoderm (PE). Overexpression of a constitutively active mutant of Galpha(o) rescued the inhibition of Lef-Tcf-sensitive gene transcription caused by RGS19. By contrast, expression of RGS19 did not inhibit activation of Lef-Tcf gene transcription when induced in response to Dvl3 expression. However, knockdown of RGS19 by siRNA suppressed canonical Wnt signaling, suggesting a complex role for RGS19 in regulating the ability of Wnt3a to signal to the level of beta-catenin and gene transcription.