cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Familial Mediterranean fever, inflammation and nephrotic syndrome: fibrillary glomerulopathy and the M680I missense mutation.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by inflammatory serositis (fever, peritonitis, synovitis and pleuritis). The gene locus responsible for FMF was identified in 1992 and localized to the short arm of chromosome 16. In 1997, a specific FMF gene locus, MEFV, was discovered to encode for a protein, pyrin that mediates inflammation. To date, more than forty missense mutations are known to exist. The diversity of mutations identified has provided insight into the variability of clinical presentation and disease progression. We report an individual heterozygous for the M680I gene mutation with a clinical diagnosis of FMF using the Tel-Hashomer criteria. Subsequently, the patient developed nephrotic syndrome with biopsy-confirmed fibrillary glomerulonephritis (FGN). Further diagnostic studies were unremarkable with clinical workup negative for amyloidosis or other secondary causes of nephrotic syndrome. Individuals with FMF are at greater risk for developing nephrotic syndrome. The most serious etiology is amyloidosis (AA variant) with renal involvement, ultimately progressing to end-stage renal disease. Other known renal diseases in the FMF population include IgA nephropathy, IgM nephropathy, Henoch-Schonlein purpura as well as polyarteritis nodosa. To our knowledge, this is the first association between FMF and the M680I mutation later complicated by nephrotic syndrome and fibrillary glomerulonephritis.
Matrix Methods in the Design Analysis of Mechanisms and Multibody Systems: Modeling Dynamic Aspects of Mechanisms and Multibody Systems

Introduction In the very beginning of this text, section 1.1, we observed that the science of mechanics is composed of two parts called statics and dynamics, first distinguished by Euler in 1765. His advice is, perhaps, worth repeating here [1]: The investigation of the motion of a rigid body may be conveniently separated into two parts, the one geometrical, the other mechanical. In the first part, the transference of the body from a given position to any other position must be investigated without respect to the causes of the motion, and must be represented by analytical formulae which will define the position of each point of the body after the transference with respect to its initial placement. This investigation will therefore be referable solely to geometry, or rather to stereomety [the art of stone-cutting]. It is clear that by the separation of this part of the question from the other, which belongs properly to Mechanics, the determination of the motion from dynamic principles will be made much easier than if the two parts were undertaken conjointly. We also noted that dynamics is made up of two major disciplines, later recognized as the distinct sciences of kinematics and kinetics, which treat the motion and the forces producing it, respectively.
The roles of expectation and syntactic knowledge in second and fourth graders' comprehension of complex sentences.

Second and fourth graders were tested, using a picture selection test, for comprehension of complex sentences. Pictures were withheld from subjects until after they showed that they understood the ...
Analyse de l'impact économique des actes de terrorisme

La securite nationale releve de la responsabilite fondamentale des Etats, mais elle est aussi de caractere intangible. Que peut apporter une analyse economique a cet egard? Dans ce domaine, l’analyse couts-avantages a rarement ete utilisee parce que les avantages sont ambigus et assimilables a des biens publics. Notre groupe, au Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism (CREATE) de l’Universite de Californie du Sud, s’est attache a approfondir et appliquer l’analyse d’impact economique pour decrire les pertes previsibles dans diverses hypotheses d’attentats terroristes. L’innovation, dans nos travaux, tient a la dimension territoriale que nous avons ajoutee a des modeles intersectoriels operationnels. Dans un souci de plausibilite, les scenarios d’attentats terroristes doivent comporter des precisions geographiques.
Magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI)

We report our theoretical and experimental investigations on a new imaging modality, magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI). In MAT-MI, the sample is located in a static magnetic field and a time-varying (micros) magnetic field. The time-varying magnetic field induces an eddy current in the sample. Consequently, the sample will emit ultrasonic waves by the Lorentz force. The ultrasonic signals are collected around the object to reconstruct images related to the electrical impedance distribution in the sample. MAT-MI combines the good contrast of electrical impedance tomography with the good spatial resolution of sonography. MAT-MI has two unique features due to the solenoid nature of the induced electrical field. Firstly, MAT-MI could provide an explicit or simple quantitative reconstruction algorithm for the electrical impedance distribution. Secondly, it promises to eliminate the shielding effects of other imaging modalities in which the current is applied directly with electrodes. In the theoretical part, we provide formulae for both the forward and inverse problems of MAT-MI and estimate the signal amplitude in biological tissues. In the experimental part, the experimental setup and methods are introduced and the signals and the image of a metal object by means of MAT-MI are presented. The promising pilot experimental results suggest the feasibility of the proposed MAT-MI approach.
Binocular summation in normal, monocularly deprived, and strabismic cats: visual evoked potentials

We have studied visual evoked potentials (VEP) in the cat using dichoptically presented sinusoidal gratings. Our goals were to determine if binocular disparity causes differential responses in the VEP, and to examine the effects of monocular deprivation and convergent or divergent strabismus on the degree of binocular summation. Binocular disparity in stimuli causes no regular alterations of visual evoked responses, except at very low spatial frequencies. However, this apparent selectivity is probably due to luminance modulation in the central retina at low frequencies. The insensitivity to binocular disparity establishes that binocular summation in the VEP may be estimated without regard to the relative phase of gratings presented to the two eyes. Binocular summation of the VEP was examined in normal animals. We found that the ratio of the binocularly evoked response to the largest monocular response (averaged across spatial frequency) ranged from 1.27 to 2.12 (4 animals) and had a mean of 1.48. These values fall within the range which has been reported for human subjects. The degree of summation might be expected to be greatly reduced in strabismic and monocularly deprived animals, in which the majority of the cells are functionally monocular. While summation was found to be reduced in 5 esotropic (convergent) animals (range = 1.13-1.24; mean = 1.18) it was approximately normal in three exotropic (divergent) animals (range = 1.29-2.12; mean = 1.61). However, single unit recordings carried out on the same animals show similar reductions of cells that can be driven through either eye for both groups of animals. Recordings from three monocularly deprived animals, on the other hand, show evidence of binocular interaction in the form of suppression. In this case, response amplitudes obtained using binocular stimulation were consistently and substantially smaller than those obtained from the normal eye alone (range = 0.76-0.85; mean = 0.80). We conclude that convergent and divergent strabismus differ substantially in the degree to which binocular summation is exhibited in the VEP, which in the latter condition, is indistinguishable from the normal cat. Monocular deprivation causes an effect which is markedly different from either form of strabismus in that the deprived eye suppresses the response of the normal eye.
Unit operations used to treat process and/or waste streams at nuclear power plants

Abstract An attempt is made to identify the main sources of low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) that are generated at light water reactor (LWR) nuclear power plants in the United States. To place the LWR waste problem in perspective, rough estimates are given of the annual amounts of each generic type of LLW [i.e., government and commercial (fuel cycle and nonfuel cycle)] that is generated. Most of the wet solid wastes arise from the cleanup of gaseous and liquid radioactive streams prior to discharge or recycle. Many different chemical engineering unit operations have been, are being, and likely will be used to treat process and/or waste streams at LWR plants. These include adsorption, evaporation, calcination, centrifugation, compaction, crystallization, drying, filtration, incineration, reverse osmosis, and solidification of waste residues. The treatment of these various streams and the secondary wet solid wastes thus generated (e.g., filter cartridges, filter sludges, and spent ion-exchange resins) is described. The dry wastes from all LWRs have similar physical and chemical characteristics in that they can be classified as compactible, noncompactible, combustible, noncombustible, or combinations thereof. The various treatment options for concentrates or solid wet wastes, and for dry wastes are discussed. Among the dry waste treatment methods are compaction, baling, and incineration, as well as chopping, cutting, and shredding. Organic materials [liquids (e.g., oils or solvents) and/ or solids] could be incinerated in most cases. The filter sludges, spent resins, and concentrated liquids (e.g., evaporator concentrates) are usually solidified in cement, or urea-formaldehyde or unsaturated polyester resins prior to burial. Incinerator ashes can also be incorporated in these binding agents. Asphalt has not yet been used as a solidification agent in the United States, but it probably will be used in the near future. This paper presents a brief survey of operational experience at LWRs with various unit operations, including a short discussion of problems and some observations on recent trends. Such information is a valuable aid in retrofitting old equipment and in selecting new equipment. Some areas appearing to need more research, development, and demonstration are specifically pointed out.
The preparation and enzymatic digestion of oxidized, reduced, and alkylated enterotoxin B☆

Abstract Reduced carboxymethylated, reduced aminoethylated, and oxidized enterotoxin B have been prepared with almost quantitative yields. Except for the transformation of half cystine to cysteic acid, methionine to methionine sulfone, and possible destruction of tryptophan upon performic acid oxidation, and half cystine to S -carboxymethylcysteine or S -β-aminoethylcysteine on reduction and subsequent alkylation of enterotoxin B no other amino acids were significantly affected. Thr-Cys-Met and Tyr-Glx-Cys have been found to be the sequences around two half cystine residues present in the enterotoxin B molecule by studying partial acid hydrolyzates of the oxidized enterotoxin. Significant differences were found to be present in the digestion rates with trypsin and chymotrypsin. Oxidized enterotoxin B proved to be more susceptible to the enzymatic digestion than reduced alkylated derivatives.
Production of new particles in heavy-ion collisions.

Experimentally observed sharp lines in the positron-emission spectra resulting from low-energy heavy-ion collisions are interpreted in terms of the production and subsequent decay of a neutral, pseudoscalar particle. This particle has a mass of about 1.6 MeV and a lifetime of about 1.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}13}$ sec.
Analysis of a proposed bistable injection laser

Abstract The operation of a proposed bistable injection laser is analysed. The device consists of a Fabry-Perot injection laser whose plated p-contact is divided into two electrically isolated portions by a slit parallel to the light reflecting sides of the crystal. An injection current is passed through one contact. The other is biased so that a negligible injection current flows through the junction beneath it, which then acts as a nonlinear absorber of light. Under proper conditions, the laser will have two states: in one, it emits coherent light and in the other, only spontaneous light, both being stable for the same injection current. Switching between states is possible with electrical pulses or incident light. The analysis is done for liquid helium temperatures and for the recombining electrons lying in an exponential conduction band tail, and for liquid nitrogen temperature and parabolic valence and conduction bands. In both cases, the analysis predicts bistable operation for certain conditions and favors a ratio of absorbing contact length to emitting contact length greater than unity.
Image and video based painterly animation

We present techniques for transforming images and videos into painterly animations depicting different artistic styles. Our techniques rely on image and video analysis to compute appearance and motion properties. We also determine and apply motion information from different (user-specified) sources to static and moving images. These properties that encode spatio-temporal variations are then used to render (or paint) effects of selected styles to generate images and videos with a painted look. Painterly animations are generated using a mesh of brush stroke objects with dynamic spatio-temporal properties. Styles govern the behavior of these brush strokes as well as their rendering to a virtual canvas. We present methods for modifying the properties of these brush strokes according to the input images, videos, or motions. Brush stroke color, length, orientation, opacity, and motion are determined and the brush strokes are regenerated to fill the canvas as the video changes. All brush stroke properties are temporally constrained to guarantee temporally coherent non-photorealistic animations.
Papillary muscle fibrosis in primary myocardial disease

Abstract A 44-year-old woman with primary myocardial disease was found to have fibrosis of the posterior papillary muscle of the left ventricle. The fibrosis also involved the free wall of the left ventricle just beneath this papillary muscle. In patients with primary myocardial disease who have mitral insufficiency, papillary muscle fibrosis should be considered as a possible cause of this murmur.
Silane-modified polyvinylimidazole(1) for corrosion protection on copper at elevated temperatures

Silane-modified N-polyvinylimidazole [PVI(1)] copolymers have been synthesized from various mole ratios of γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) and N-vinylimidazole, VI(1). Fourier transform infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (FTIR-RAS) is used to investigate the modified PVI(1) on copper surfaces. The silane-modified PVI(1) has good corrosion protection and adhesion promotion capabilities for copper substrate under severe environments. The relationship between coating thickness and corrosion protection is studied at elevated temperatures. The relationship between the mole ratio of comonomers and the corrosion processes of a copper surface has also been investigated at elevated temperatures. The corrosion protection improves drastically with increased VI(1) content. An adhesion study of the silane-modified PVI(1) film on a copper surface is also carried out using the ASTM adhesive tape test. From the adhesion strengths between the modified PVI(1) films and copper surface, it has been observed that modified PVI(1) acts as an adhesion promoter and does not depend on the mole ratio of γ-MPS/VI(1) within the range of this experiment. Good adhesion of an anticorrosion coating is important for the corrosion protection of a copper surface. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Weakly measurable cardinals

In this article, we introduce the notion of weakly measurable cardinal, a new large cardinal concept obtained by weakening the familiar concept of a measurable cardinal. Specifically, a cardinal κ is weakly measurable if for any collection containing at most κ+ many subsets of κ, there exists a nonprincipal κ-complete filter on κ measuring all sets in . Every measurable cardinal is weakly measurable, but a weakly measurable cardinal need not be measurable. Moreover, while the GCH cannot fail first at a measurable cardinal, I will show that it can fail first at a weakly measurable cardinal. More generally, if κ is measurable, then we can make its weak measurability indestructible by the forcing Add(κ, η) for any η while forcing the GCH to hold below κ. Nevertheless, I shall prove that weakly measurable cardinals and measurable cardinals are equiconsistent. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
The H,K-ATPase β Subunit as a Model to Study the Role of N-Glycosylation in Membrane Trafficking and Apical Sorting

The role of N-glycosylation in trafficking of an apical membrane protein, the gastric H,K-ATPase β subunit linked to yellow fluorescent protein, was analyzed in polarized LLC-PK1 cells by confocal microscopy and surface-specific biotinylation. Deletion of the N-glycosylation sites at N1, N3, N5, and N7 but not at N2, N4, and N6 significantly slowed endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi trafficking, impaired apical sorting, and enhanced endocytosis from the apical membrane, resulting in decreased apical expression. Golgi mannosidase inhibition to prevent carbohydrate chain branching and elongation resulted in faster internalization and degradation of the β subunit, indicating that terminal glycosylation is important for stabilization of the protein in the apical membrane and protection of internalized protein from targeting to the degradation pathway. The decrease in the apical content of the β subunit was less with mannosidase inhibition compared with that found in the N1, N3, N5, and N7 site mutants, suggesting that the core region sugars are more important than the terminal sugars for apical sorting.
Predicting Early School Success with Developmental and Social Skills Screeners

The purpose of this study was to identify developmental, social skill, and problem behavior sub-domains that best predict academic achievement and grade promotion or retention in the early school years. Subjects were 184 children tested at the end of kindergarten using the Early Prevention of School Failure screening package and the Social Skills Rating Scale, and a year later using the Stanford Achievement Test. Information on promotion or retention was gathered in late spring for the two school years. Four kindergarten screening areas figured prominently in predicting first grade academic success: receptive language, visual memory, cooperation, and self-control. In addition, social skill subscales played significant roles in predicting promotion and retention. The findings suggest that assessment of social skills should be included in kindergarten screening packages with the possibility of targeting deficits for early intervention. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Acute drug overdose: One hospital's experience

A retrospective review of all patients admitted to an urban teaching hospital emergency department with the complaint of overdose, poisoning, or ingestion during a 10-month period was conducted. Analysis of these 82 episodes involving 69 individuals revealed: 1) a preponderance of women in the 20- to 40-year-old range; 2) poly-drug character of the ingestion, with alcohol the most common secondary drug; 3) increased utilization of antidepressants and minor tranquilizers and decreased use of barbiturates; 4) non-concordance between drug history of ingested drug and toxicological findings. All patients survived and there was no apparent residual morbidity. Except for one patient requiring hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, all patients were treated with aggressive supportive care.
Mesodermal expression of the C. elegans HMX homolog mls-2 requires the PBC homolog CEH-20

Metazoan development proceeds primarily through the regulated expression of genes encoding transcription factors and components of cell signaling pathways. One way to decipher the complex developmental programs is to assemble the underlying gene regulatory networks by dissecting the cis-regulatory modules that direct temporal-spatial expression of developmental genes and identify corresponding trans-regulatory factors. Here, we focus on the regulation of a HMX homoebox gene called mls-2, which functions at the intersection of a network that regulates cleavage orientation, cell proliferation and fate specification in the Caenorhabditis elegans postembryonic mesoderm. In addition to its transient expression in the postembryonic mesodermal lineage, the M lineage, mls-2 expression is detected in a subset of embryonic cells, in three pairs of head neurons and transiently in the somatic gonad. Through mutational analysis of the mls-2 promoter, we identified two elements (E1 and E2) involved in regulating the temporal-spatial expression of mls-2. In particular, we showed that one of the elements (E1) required for mls-2 expression in the M lineage contains two critical putative PBC-Hox binding sites that are evolutionarily conserved in C. briggsae and C. remanei. Furthermore, the C. elegans PBC homolog CEH-20 is required for mls-2 expression in the M lineage. Our data suggest that mls-2 might be a direct target of CEH-20 in the M lineage and that the regulation of CEH-20 on mls-2 is likely Hox-independent.
Adaptation to rearranged eye-foot coordination

The generality of adaptation following three types of movements during prism exposure was investigated. The three exposure conditions consisted of (1) walking with prisms, (2) viewing leg movements through prisms, and (3) viewing arm movements through prisms. The results showed that changes in eye-foot coordination and egocentric localization occur following both (1) and (2). Exposure Conditions 2 and 3 both produce changes in eye-hand coordination; however, eye-foot coordination was found unaltered following (3).
Class of Exactly Solvable Models of Excitable Media

We introduce a class of exactly solvable reaction diffusion models of excitable media with nondiffusive control kinetics and the source term in the diffusion equation depending only parametrically on the control variable. A pulse solution can be found in the entire domain without any use of singular perturbation theory. We reduce the nonlinear eigenvalue problem for a steadily propagating one-dimensional pulse to a set of transcendental equations which can be compactly solved analytically within any power of the smallness parameter $\ensuremath{\varepsilon}$.
Identification of Partial Complementary DNA Clones Encoding a 59-kd Protein With Characteristics of a Unique Oncofetal Antigen

BACKGROUND Oncofetal antigens (OFAs) are conserved tumor-associated autoantigens or transplantation antigens present on the surface of all major classes of rodent and human tumors and on midgestational fetal cells but not on normal neonatal or adult human and rodent tissues. A syngeneically derived monoclonal antibody, MAb-115, recognizes murine OFAs of 44 and 200 kd in molecular mass. PURPOSE Our goal was to clone and characterize the complementary DNAs (cDNAs) that encode these murine OFAs. METHODS Rabbit antiserum raised against purified 44-kd OFA glycoprotein was used to screen a mouse embryo cDNA-lambda phage expression library. Recombinant phage clones positive for the expression of OFAs were detected by immunohistochemical staining, then isolated and plaque purified. The presence of an OFA-encoding sequence in the recombinant phage was confirmed by specific reaction of the expressed protein with MAb-115. Recombinant fusion protein was purified from the extracts of corresponding lysogens. Rabbit antiserum against purified recombinant fusion protein was raised, and the capacity of this antiserum to detect the expression of OFA on rodent tumor and fetal cells was determined by flow cytometry. In addition, immunoreactivity of tumor bearer and hyperimmune murine sera to bacterially expressed recombinant OFA protein was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The OFA-expressing insert DNA from plaque-purified lambda clones was subcloned into phagemid vectors for sequencing analysis. RESULTS Antiserum derived against the isolated recombinant mouse embryo polypeptide mimicked MAb-115 in its specific binding to all OFA-positive rodent tumor and fetal cell lines tested and likewise did not show reactivity to normal adult tissues. This antiserum specifically recognized the native 44- and 200-kd OFAs in extracts of murine lymphocytic lymphoma. Furthermore, sera of tumor-bearing mice or mice immunized with purified OFA or intact, irradiated OFA-positive lymphocytic lymphoma cells also reacted with the recombinant fusion protein. The characterization of the isolated clone included nucleotide sequence information followed by analysis of the deduced primary structure of the protein. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that the isolated cDNA clones encode a distinct gene product which is widely expressed on the surface of tumor and fetal cells and represents the first characterized sequence of a true OFA. IMPLICATIONS The availability of this cDNA, encoding a protein expressed only on tumor and fetal cells, provides a direct means to assess biological characteristics of malignant tissue which can be assayed by biochemical, histochemical, and molecular methods.
Exploring a tiered architecture for NASPInet

One of the missions of the North American SynchroPhasor Initiative (NASPI) is to create a robust, widely available and secure synchronized data measurement infrastructure, called the NASPI network or NASPInet. Leveraging the Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU), a GPS clock synchronized measurement device capable of measuring the current and voltage phasors in the power grid, NASPI will improve reliability of the power grid with NASPInet providing data delivery. While a conceptual architecture of NASPInet and its functional requirements have been developed, in this work we address the challenge of designing a deployable architecture that can realize NASPInet on a continental scale. To do so, we explore a tiered architecture for NASPInet and analyze its impact on the Quality of Service (QoS), cyber security and network management services. Furthermore, we discuss the distributed computing opportunities afforded by our architecture.
Aging in India

They say a medical student is never more dangerous than at the end of her second year. It is at this point that I find myself sweltering in the 100 |SDF heat of Mumbai, India, on a visit to my agin...
The need for comprehensive educational osteoporosis prevention programs for young women: Results from a second osteoporosis prevention survey

Objective To assess osteoporosis knowledge, beliefs, and preventive behaviors among young adult women and to identify sources that they would mostly likely utilize to learn more about the disease. Methods Information was gathered through a cross-sectional survey of 321 women (mean age 21.6 years; 63.5% were white, 29.2% were black) enrolled in a required undergraduate health course at a southeastern state university. Results Two hundred seventy-seven (86%) of the survey participants had heard about osteoporosis, but only 3.8% of respondents reported getting both adequate exercise and the recommended 1,200 mg of calcium per day. Respondents believed that they were unlikely to develop osteoporosis and that osteoporosis is less serious than other common causes of morbidity and mortality in women, such as heart disease and breast cancer (P < 0.0001). Brochures, magazines, and short counseling sessions were preferred information sources for learning about osteoporosis. Conclusions The majority of young women studied are at risk for developing premature osteoporosis. They prefer brochures, magazines, and short counseling sessions during medical office visits to learn about osteoporosis. Arthritis Care Res 45:28–34, 2001. © 2001 by the American College of Rheumatology.
Defect orientation on the chain folded surfaces of two-arm poly(ethylene oxide) lamellar crystals

Two-arm poly(ethylene oxide) fractions (PEOs) with arm lengths of 2 220 g/mol were synthesized via a reaction using terephthaloyl (1,4-), isophthaloyl (1,3-) and phthaloyl (1,2-) dichorides as coupling agents. The center of each molecule thus includes a phenylene group as a configurational defect, and they are excluded to the crystal folded basal surfaces. In the lamellar crystals with the once-folded overall molecular conformation, observations of surface-enhanced Raman scattering experiments show that only the in-plane vibration modes are selectively enhanced. This implies that the arrangement of phenylene groups adopts a “stand-up” orientation on the basal surface, i. e., the π plane of phenylene groups in the defects is perpendicular to the lamellar basal surface.
Justifying legal protection of intellectual property: the interests argument

Whether or not intellectual property rights ought, as a matter of political morality, to be protected by the law surely depends on what kinds of interests the various parties have in intellectual content. Although theorists disagree on the limits of morally legitimate lawmaking authority, this much seems obvious: the coercive power of the law should be employed only to protect interests that rise to a certain level of moral importance. We have such a significant interest in not being lied to, for example, that ordinary unilateral lies are morally wrong, but the wrongness of lying does not rise to the level of something the state should protect against by coercive criminal prohibition. Indeed, it would clearly be wrong for the law to coercively restrict behaviors in which no one has any morally significant interests (i.e., interests that are important enough from the standpoint of morality that they receive some protection from moral principles) whatsoever. Using the coercive power of the law to restrict freedom is not justified unless the moral benefits of restricting the behavior outweigh the moral costs involved in using force to restrict human autonomy and freedom.
Effects of administration of an avirulent live vaccine of Lawsonia intracellularis on mares and foals.

Lawsonia intracellularis, an obligate intracellular organism, is the aetiological agent of proliferative enteropathy in a number of domestic and wild animal species ([Lawson and Gebhart 2000][1]). In horses, equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) is considered an emerging disease and has been
Percutaneous Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Biliary Tract Malignancies

The role of percutaneous, transhepatic management of biliary tract malignancies is to provide diagnostic and palliative care for improving patient quality of life. To treat and manage biliary tract malignancies successfully, particularly in patients who have inoperable disease, percutaneous interventions, such as biliary decompression and catheter-directed liver therapies, must be available. Although most vascular interventions do not yet commonly produce significant increased survivability in patients who have biliary tract malignancies, continued advances in percutaneous technologies suggest that future benefits in life expectancy may be achieved.
Methylphenidate: rate-dependent drug effects in hyperactive boys

The purpose of this study was to test whether the effects of methylphenidate on rates of operant responding in hyperactive boys differed depending on the predrug baseline rates of responding. On the basis of the rate dependency hypothesis, dose-related decreases from high baseline rates and increases from low baseline rates would be predicted. A multiple FR-DRL (fixed ratio-differential reinforcement of low Rates) schedule was used to generate high and low rates of responding on a simple operant task, using nickels as reinforcers. Three dosage levels were used: placebo, 0.3 mg/kg, and 1.0 mg/kg of methylphenidate. Both experimenter and subject were blind to dosage level. Surprisingly, DRL response rates were not significantly affected by the drug, while FR rates increased linearly with increasing dose. Thus, the predicted between-schedule differences were not found. However, within the FR schedule, changes from baseline to postdrug rates within each active drug condition were consistent with the rate dependency hypothesis; i.e., subjects with lower baselines increased their response rates, while subjects with higher baselines decreased or did not change their rates. The opposite effect occurred following placebo.
In Situ Observation of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation in Ordered Mesoporous Hard Carbon by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

The aim of this work was to better understand the electrochemical processes occurring during the cycling of a lithium half-cell based on ordered mesoporous hard carbon with time-resolved in situ small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Utilizing electrolytes containing mixtures of deuterated (2H) and nondeuterated (1H) carbonates, we have addressed the challenging task of monitoring the formation and evolution of the solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. An evolution occurs in the SEI layer during discharge from a composition dominated by a higher scattering length density (SLD) lithium salt to a lower SLD lithium salt for the ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC) mixture employed. By comparing half-cells containing different solvent deuteration levels, we show that it is possible to observe both SEI formation and lithium intercalation occurring concurrently at the low voltage region in which lithium intercalates into the hard carbon. These results demonstrate that SANS can be employed to bette...
Promoting regional health cooperation: the South Asian Public Health Forum.

One of the ways in which health professionals can help to improve the poor state of public health in South Asia is through regional cooperation and collaboration.
Epstein-Barr virus reactivation during pregnancy and postpartum: Effects of race and racial discrimination

Abstract Objective Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth, are markedly higher among African–Americans versus Whites. Stress-induced immune dysregulation may contribute to these effects. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation provides a robust model for examining cellular immune competence. This study examined associations of EBV virus capsid antigen immunoglobulin G (VCA IgG) with gestational stage, race, and racial discrimination in women during pregnancy and postpartum. Methods Fifty-six women (38 African–American, 18 White) were included. African–Americans and Whites did not differ in age, education, income, parity, or body mass index (ps ⩾ .51). During the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester and ∼5 weeks postpartum, women completed measures of racial discrimination, perceived stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms and health behaviors. EBV VCA IgG antibody titers were measured via ELISA in serum collected at each visit. Results In the overall sample, EBV VCA IgG antibody titers were lower in the 3rd versus 1st trimester (p = .002). At every timepoint (1st, 2nd, 3rd trimester and postpartum), African–American women exhibited higher serum EBV VCA IgG antibody titers than Whites (ps Conclusions Compared to Whites, African–American women showed higher EBV VCA IgG antibody titers, indicative of impaired cellular immune competence, across pregnancy and postpartum. This effect was particularly pronounced among African–American women reporting greater racial discrimination, supporting a role for chronic stress in this association. In women overall, EBV antibody titers declined during late as compared to early pregnancy. This may be due to pregnancy-related changes in cell-mediated immune function, humoral immune function, and/or antibody transfer to the fetus in late gestation. As a possible marker of stress-induced immune dysregulation during pregnancy, the role of EBV reactivation in racial disparities in perinatal health warrants further attention.
RNA surfaces as functional mimetics of proteins

Accumulating evidence suggests that RNA molecules can form surfaces that mimic those of proteins. Reactivity of autoantibodies with RNA surfaces may be due to cross-reactivity between a protein epitope and the RNA. The structural mimicry detected by an autoantibody may reflect functional mimicry.
Implicit Navier-Stokes Solver for Three-Dimensional Compressible Flows

A three-dimensional numerical method based on the lower-upper symmetric-Gauss-Seidel implicit scheme in conjunction with the flux-limited dissipation model is developed for solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A new computer code based on this method requires only 9 μs per grid point per iteration on a single processor of a Cray YMP computer and executes at the sustained rate of 175 MFLOPS. A reduction of three orders of magnitude in the residual for a high-Reynolds-number flow using 636K grid points is obtained in 38 min
The influence of nonaudiological variables on audiological rehabilitation outcomes.

The link between nonaudiological variables and outcomes measurement is explored. Hearing impairment can affect an individual's everyday communication in numerous ways. Both audiological and nonaudiological variables interact with each other to produce a unique predicament for each individual with he
Lysine partitioning in broiler breeders is not affected by energy or protein intake when fed at current industry levels

Abstract A study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary energy and protein intake on the partitioning of lysine in broiler breeder hens. One hundred twenty-six broiler breeders were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 dietary treatments in a 2 (390, 450 kcal/d) × 3 (22, 24, 26 g of CP/d) fashion. Thirty-six hens were administered a daily oral dose of 15 mg of 15 N-Lys for a period of 2 wk or until first egg. After the 2-wk enrichment period, no isotopes were given for 2 d. After 2 d, a daily oral dose of 15 mg of 2 D4-Lys was administered until the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th egg (saved) after the initial 2 D4-Lys was given, at which point pectoralis muscle was sampled. Weeks 25, 29, and 45 were assessed. Isotopic enrichment of pectoralis muscle, egg yolk, and albumen was determined via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The 15 N-Lys was intended to represent endogenous lysine, whereas the 2 D4-Lys was intended to represent dietary lysine. Greater than 78% of all labeled lysine (15 N and 2 D4-Lys) was found in breast muscle. Endogenous muscle was the main source of lysine for yolk formation at wk 25 and 45. Diet was the main source of lysine for albumen formation at wk 25 and 29. A consistent decrease in the 15 N-Lys in breast muscle from the 2nd to the 3rd egg was observed, while also seeing an increase in the 15 N-Lys in the egg from the 3rd to the 4th egg. No difference in the partitioning of lysine was determined by energy or protein intake at levels typical for the current poultry industry. Rather, age, and possibly rate of production, appear to be the main drivers of lysine partitioning in the broiler breeder hen.
HST-COS far-ultraviolet detector: final ground calibration

The flight microchannel plate detectors to be used in the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, a fourth generation instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope, have been calibrated in the laboratory before being integrated into the spectrograph. This paper presents the results of these calibrations that include measurements of the detector quantum efficiency, spatial resolution, spatial linearity, flat field, electronic livetime and the local count rate limit.
Finite state transformations

A notion of index is defined for transformations which map n-tuples of words into m-tuples of words, and it is proved that the transformations of finite index are precisely those which are affected by finite state sequential machines, provided these are allowed to have certain unusual features. Further conditions are formulated which, together with the finite index requirement, characterize the transformations which can be effected by finite state sequential machines of the usual sort.
Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor δ Is Up-regulated during Vascular Lesion Formation and Promotes Post-confluent Cell Proliferation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Although peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ is widely expressed in many tissues, the role of PPARδ is poorly understood. In this study, we report that PPARδ was up-regulated in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) during vascular lesion formation. By using Northern blot analysis, we demonstrated that PPARδ was increased by 3–4-fold in VSMC treated with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) (20 ng/ml). In addition, PDGF-induced PPARδ mRNA expression neither needs de novo protein synthesis nor affects the stability of PPARδ mRNA in VSMC. Preincubation of VSMC with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor (LY294002, 50 μmol/liter) or infection of VSMC with an adenovirus carrying the gene for a dominant negative form of Akt abrogated PDGF-induced PPARδ mRNA expression, suggesting that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway is involved in the regulation of PDGF-induced PPARδ mRNA expression in VSMC. To explore the role of PPARδ in VSMC, we generated rat vascular smooth muscle cells (A7r5) stably overexpressing PPARδ and the control green fluorescent protein. Overexpression of PPARδ in VSMC increased post-confluent cell proliferation by increasing the cyclin A and CDK2 as well as decreasing p57kip2. Taken together, the results suggest that PPARδ plays an important role in the pathology of diseases associated with VSMC proliferation, such as primary atherosclerosis and restenosis.
Gene expression of apolipoprotein(a) within the wall of human aorta and carotid arteries

Abstract Atherosclerosis is associated with arterial deposition of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and lipoprotein(a), Lp(a). Both lipoproteins have been detected in atherosclerotic vessels; however, while LDL has been shown to be only blood-derived, it is not clear whether Lp(a) is also produced within the vessel wall. In the present investigation we studied gene expression of apo(a) and apoB in human blood vessels. Aorta, carotid arteries and liver specimens from 29 adult and pediatric autopsy cases were studied by RT–PCR and Southern blot analysis with primers and probes specific for apo(a), apoB and GAPDH (a control housekeeping gene). The mRNA of apo(a), but not apoB, was found within the vessel wall in both adult atherosclerotic arterial vessels and in pediatric non atherosclerotic vessels. Neither apo(a) nor apoB mRNA was detected in femoral veins. To verify the nature of the detected transcripts, we cloned the 162 base pair (bp) RT–PCR product derived from the arterial wall total RNA. Nucleotide sequencing revealed 100% homology with the apo(a) gene. Thus, while LDL in atherosclerotic arteries is exclusively blood-derived, the accumulation of Lp(a) within the artery may be due in part to in situ production of apo(a) within the vessel wall.
Comment on "DNA solitons with realistic parameters"

Recent claims of solitonic excitations in a nonlinear model of the DNA double helix are critically examined. It is found that the parameters used in a previous analysis are not physical and that the excitations presented in that previous analysis are not solitons. Using more realistic parameters, the excitations do not propagate and remain pinned on the lattice.
Trends in Resin and KCl-extractable Soil Nitrogen Across Landscape Gradients in Taylor Valley, Antarctica

Previous descriptions of soils in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, have focused on the dominance of abiotic controls rather than on nutrient cycling. Although free-living N2-fixing and nitrifying microorganisms have been isolated in Antarctic soils, little is known about in situ nitrogen (N) cycling. We measured KCl-extractable NH4 + and NO3 –, as well as anion resin exchangeable NO3 –, across sediment–soil transects and in two positions on a hill slope in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. These landscapes provide gradients of soil moisture, salinity, and texture that influence invertebrate communities and organic matter dynamics. Assuming an N cycle dominated by abiotic inputs, we hypothesized that inorganic N content would be predominantly comprised of NO3 – and most strongly correlated to soil salinity, while NO3 – flux (estimated by resin adsorption) would be most influenced by soil water content, salinity, and total soil NO3 – concentrations. Our results were inconsistent with a physically dominated N cycle. In contrast to previous studies of Dry Valley soils, we found that NH4 + made up a large proportion of inorganic N. Total KCl-extractable N was correlated most strongly with total soil N and soil moisture. The most saline soils in the swale of a hill slope had the highest concentrations of NO3 –, but we found no overall correlation between soil salinity and resin-exchangeable NO3 – or KCl-extractable N. Resin-extractable NO3 – was most strongly correlated with total soil N, soil water content, and KCl-extractable NH4 +, suggesting that accumulation of NO3 – in resins was influenced by the mineralization of organic matter and not strictly by ionic migration, as an abiotic-based model may have predicted. We conclude that biological N cycling is significant in some Dry Valley soils and that the dominance of biological vs physical influences over N cycling is controlled in part by the availability of soil moisture and organic matter.
Determining intrinsic compressibility of fine-grained soils

Results of laboratory oedometer tests on reconstituted specimens of four clays prepared at different initial water contents, ranging from the liquid limit to 1.75 times the liquid limit, show that ...
Frugal Sensing: Wideband Power Spectrum Sensing From Few Bits

Wideband spectrum sensing is a key requirement for cognitive radio access. It now appears increasingly likely that spectrum sensing will be performed using networks of sensors, or crowd-sourced to handheld mobile devices. Here, a network sensing scenario is considered, where scattered low-end sensors filter and measure the average signal power across a band of interest, and each sensor communicates a single bit (or coarsely quantized level) to a fusion center, depending on whether its measurement is above a certain threshold. The focus is on the underdetermined case, where relatively few bits are available at the fusion center. Exploiting non-negativity and the linear relationship between the power spectrum and the autocorrelation, it is shown that adequate power spectrum sensing is possible from few bits, even for dense spectra. The formulation can be viewed as generalizing classical nonparametric power spectrum estimation to the case where the data is in the form of inequalities, rather than equalities.
Tics and its disorders.

~Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a familial neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and phonic tics that begin in childhood. Once thought of as a rare and debilitating disorder, new scientific knowledge in the last decade suggests that TS and related tic disorders are more common and less debilitating for the majority of individuals. Evidence points toward a spectrum of TS symptomatology that extends beyond the tic disorder to probably include obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety disorders. Tourette’s syndrome and its differential diagnosis are discussed in this article with a focus on new developments in classification, etiology, epidemiology, genetics, pathophysiology, and clinical management.