cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respiratory syncytial virus G and/or SH protein alters Th1 cytokines, natural killer cells, and neutrophils responding to pulmonary infection in BALB/c mice.

BALB/c mice sensitized to vaccinia virus expressed G protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) develop a Th2-type cytokine response and pulmonary eosinophilia when challenged with live RSV. In this study, BALB/c mice were immunized or challenged with an RSV mutant lacking the G and SH proteins or with DNA vaccines coding for RSV G or F protein. F or G protein DNA vaccines were capable of sensitizing for pulmonary eosinophilia. The absence of the G and/or SH protein in the infecting virus resulted in a consistent increase both in pulmonary natural killer cells and in gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor expression, as well as, with primary infection, a variable increase in neutrophils and CD11b+ cells. The development of pulmonary eosinophilia in formalin-inactivated RSV-vaccinated mice required the presence of the G and/or SH protein in the challenge virus. These data show that G and/or SH protein has a marked impact on the inflammatory and innate immune response to RSV infection.
A MANUAL INSERTION MECHANISM FOR PERCUTANEOUS COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION

Percutaneous cochlear implantation (PCI) is a recently developed minimally invasive technique that utilizes image guidance and a custom-made microstereotactic frame to guide a drill directly to the cochlea. It enables cochlear access through a single drill port, reducing invasiveness in comparison to mastoidectomy. With the reduction in invasiveness, PCI enables a corresponding reduction in visualization and space in which to work at the cochlear entry point. This precludes standard cochlear implant deployment techniques and necessitates a new insertion tool that can deploy a cochlear implant into the cochlea while working down a deep, narrow channel. In this paper, we describe a manual insertion tool that we have developed for this purpose. The tool is capable of inserting an electrode array into the cochlea using the advance off-stylet technique, using simple manual controls on its handle.
Space Vehicle Conflict-Avoidance Analysis

The concept of conflict probability, which is used in the aviation community, is proposed for use in space vehicle collision avoidance and collision risk reduction. Instead of a cylindrical conflict volume used by the aviation community, a spherical conflict volume is proposed for the space community. Mathematical techniques needed to implement the method are presented. Analysis of actual space collision events supports the use of conflict probability in identifying high-risk conjunctions. The dependence of conflict risk reduction on the maneuver threshold is found. The associated maneuver rate is also determined. Results are presented for various values of conflict volume radius. The method eliminates uncertainty caused by unreliable space object size data. Space object conflict probabilities are larger than associated collision probabilities and therefore are more easily interpreted.
Seasonal trends in photosynthetic parameters and stomatal conductance of blue oak (Quercus douglasii) under prolonged summer drought and high temperature

Understanding seasonal changes in photosynthetic parameters and stomatal conductance is crucial for modeling long-term carbon uptake and energy fluxes of ecosystems. Gas exchange measurements of CO2 and light response curves on blue oak leaves (Quercus douglasii H. & A.) were conducted weekly throughout the growing season to study the seasonality of photosynthetic capacity (Vcmax) and Ball-Berry slope (m) under prolonged summer drought and high temperature. A leaf photosynthetic model was used to determine Vcmax. There was a pronounced seasonal pattern in Vcmax. The maximum value of Vcmax, 127 micromol m(-2) s(-1), was reached shortly after leaf expansion in early summer, when air temperature was moderate and soil water availability was high. Thereafter, Vcmax declined as the soil water profile became depleted and the trees experienced extreme air temperatures, exceeding 40 degrees C. The decline in Vcmax was gradual in midsummer, however, despite extremely low predawn leaf water potentials (Psipd, approximately -4.0 MPa). Overall, temporal changes in Vcmax were well correlated with changes in leaf nitrogen content. During spring leaf development, high rates of leaf dark respiration (Rd, 5-6 micromol m(-2) s(-1)) were observed. Once a leaf reached maturity, Rd remained low, around 0.5 micromol m(-2) s(-1). In contrast to the strong seasonality of Vcmax, m and marginal water cost per unit carbon gain (partial partial differential E/ partial partial differential A) were relatively constant over the season, even when leaf Psipd dropped to -6.8 MPa. The constancy of partial partial differential E/ partial partial differential A suggests that stomata behaved optimally under severe water-stress conditions. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of modeling carbon and water vapor exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere.
The Effects of UV Emission from Compact Fluorescent Light Exposure on Human Dermal Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes In Vitro

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs can provide the same amount of lumens as incandescent light bulbs, using one quarter of the energy. Recently, CFL exposure was found to exacerbate existing skin conditions; however, the effects of CFL exposure on healthy skin tissue have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we studied the effects of exposure to CFL illumination on healthy human skin tissue cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes). Cells exposed to CFLs exhibited a decrease in the proliferation rate, a significant increase in the production of reactive oxygen species, and a decrease in their ability to contract collagen. Measurements of UV emissions from these bulbs found significant levels of UVC and UVA (mercury [Hg] emission lines), which appeared to originate from cracks in the phosphor coatings, present in all bulbs studied. The response of the cells to the CFLs was consistent with damage from UV radiation, which was further enhanced when low dosages of TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs), normally used for UV absorption, were added prior to exposure. No effect on cells, with or without TiO(2) NPs, was observed when they were exposed to incandescent light of the same intensity.
The DNA base excision repair protein Ape1/Ref-1 as a therapeutic and chemopreventive target

Abstract With our growing understanding of the pathways involved in cell proliferation and signaling, targeted therapies, in the treatment of cancer are entering the clinical arena. New and emerging targets are proteins involved in DNA repair pathways. Inhibition of various proteins in the DNA repair pathways sensitizes cancer cells to DNA damaging agents such as chemotherapy and/or radiation. We study the apurinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (Ape1/Ref-1) and believe that its crucial function in DNA repair and reduction–oxidation or redox signaling make it an excellent target for sensitizing tumor cells to chemotherapy. Ape1/Ref-1 is an essential enzyme in the base excision repair (BER) pathway which is responsible for the repair of DNA caused by oxidative and alkylation damage. As importantly, Ape1/Ref-1 also functions as a redox factor maintaining transcription factors in an active reduced state. Ape1/Ref-1 stimulates the DNA binding activity of numerous transcription factors that are involved in cancer promotion and progression such as AP-1 (Fos/Jun), NFκB, HIF-1α, CREB, p53 and others. We will discuss what is known regarding the pharmacological targeting of the DNA repair activity, as well as the redox activity of Ape1/Ref-1, and explore the budding clinical utility of inhibition of either of these functions in cancer treatment. A brief discussion of the effect of polymorphisms in its DNA sequence is included because of Ape1/Ref-1’s importance to maintenance and integrity of the genome. Experimental modification of Ape1/Ref-1 activity changes the response of cells and of organisms to DNA damaging agents, suggesting that Ape1/Ref-1 may also be a productive target of chemoprevention. In this review, we will provide an overview of Ape1/Ref-1’s activities and explore the potential of this protein as a target in cancer treatment as well as its role in chemoprevention.
Effect of molecular weight on high pressure crystallization of linear polyethylene. II. Physical and chemical characterizations of crystallinity and morphology

The high pressure crystallized specimens described in the preceding paper (1) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, density, and differential scanning calorimetry, Nitric acid etching, followed by gel permeation chromatography and DSC on the residues provided further characterization of the morphology. The crystallinity decreased from 100 to 80 percent with increasing molecular weight, over the range Mw = 4.9 × 104 to 4.6 × 106. The crystallites were predominately in extended chain morphology, but the percent in extended chain form decreased from 98 to 85 percent over the indicated molecular weight range. In all cases, there was a wide, bimodal or multi-modal, distribution of lamellar thickness. The physical characterization results were consistent with and complementary to the results from electron microscopy. The large differences in crystallinity and gross morphology readily account for observed molecular weight dependent differences in mechanical properties.
A storage architecture for data-intensive computing

The assimilation of computing into our daily lives is enabling the generation of data at unprecedented rates. In 2008, IDC estimated that the "digital universe" contained 486 exabytes of data [9]. The computing industry is being challenged to develop methods for the cost-effective processing of data at these large scales. The MapReduce programming model has emerged as a scalable way to perform data-intensive computations on commodity cluster computers. Hadoop is a popular open-source implementation of MapReduce. To manage storage resources across the cluster, Hadoop uses a distributed user-level filesystem. This filesystem — HDFS — is written in Java and designed for portability across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms. The efficiency of a Hadoop cluster depends heavily on the performance of this underlying storage system. This thesis is the first to analyze the interactions between Hadoop and storage. It describes how the user-level Hadoop filesystem, instead of efficiently capturing the full performance potential of the underlying cluster hardware, actually degrades application performance significantly. Architectural bottlenecks in the Hadoop implementation result in inefficient HDFS usage due to delays in scheduling new MapReduce tasks. Further, HDFS implicitly makes assumptions about how the underlying native platform manages storage resources, even though native filesystems and I/O schedulers vary widely in design and behavior. Methods to eliminate these bottlenecks in HDFS are proposed and evaluated both in terms of their application performance improvement and impact on the portability of the Hadoop framework. In addition to improving the performance and efficiency of the Hadoop storage system, this thesis also focuses on improving its flexibility. The goal is to allow Hadoop to coexist in cluster computers shared with a variety of other applications through the use of virtualization technology. The introduction of virtualization breaks the traditional Hadoop storage architecture, where persistent HDFS data is stored on local disks installed directly in the computation nodes. To overcome this challenge, a new flexible network-based storage architecture is proposed, along with changes to the HDFS framework. Network-based storage enables Hadoop to operate efficiently in a dynamic virtualized environment and furthers the spread of the MapReduce parallel programming model to new applications.
Testing that distributions are close

Given two distributions over an n element set, we wish to check whether these distributions are statistically close by only sampling. We give a sublinear algorithm which uses O(n/sup 2/3//spl epsiv//sup -4/ log n) independent samples from each distribution, runs in time linear in the sample size, makes no assumptions about the structure of the distributions, and distinguishes the cases when the distance between the distributions is small (less than max(/spl epsiv//sup 2//32/sup 3//spl radic/n,/spl epsiv//4/spl radic/n=)) or large (more than /spl epsiv/) in L/sub 1/-distance. We also give an /spl Omega/(n/sup 2/3//spl epsiv//sup -2/3/) lower bound. Our algorithm has applications to the problem of checking whether a given Markov process is rapidly mixing. We develop sublinear algorithms for this problem as well.
Effects of sentence context on phonemic categorization of natural and synthetic consonant-vowel tokens.

Summary.—The purpose was to assess if phonemic categorization in sentential context is best explained by autonomous feedforward processing or by top-down feedback processing that affects phonemic representation. 11 listeners with normal hearing, ages 20–50 years, were asked to label consonants in /pi/ - /ti/ consonant-vowel (CV) stimuli in 9-step continua. One continuum was derived from natural tokens and the other was synthetically generated. The CV stimuli were presented in isolation and in three sentential contexts: a neutral context, a context favoring /p/, and a context favoring /t/. For both natural and synthetic stimuli, the isolated and neutral context sentences yielded significantly more /t/ responses than sentence contexts primed for either /p/ or /t/. No other conditions were significantly different. Results did not show easily explainable semantic context effects. Instead, data clustering was more readily explained by top-down feedback processing affecting phonemic representation.
2MASS/SDSS Close Major-Merger Galaxy Pairs

We select a close "major-merger candidate" galaxy pair sample in order to calculate the K_s luminosity function (LF) and pair fraction representative of the merger/interaction component of galaxy evolution in the local universe. The pair sample (projected separation 5 h^(–1) kpc ≤ r≤ 20 h ^(–1) kpc, K_s -band magnitude difference ΔK_s ≤ 1 mag) is selected by combining the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5 (DR5). The resulting data set contains 340 galaxies covering 5800 deg^2. A stellar mass function is also translated from the LF. A differential pair fraction displays nearly constant fraction of galaxy pairs as a function of galaxy mass from 10^9 to 10^(11.5) M_☉ . The differential pair fraction is less subject to absolute magnitude bias due to survey limitations than the standard total pair fraction. These results suggest that major-merger candidate pairs in the 0<z<0.1 universe are developed from ~1.6% of the galaxy population without dependence on galaxy mass for pair components below 10^(11) M_☉ . The derived LF combined with merger model timescales give local merger rates per unit volume which decrease with masses greater than 10^(11) M_☉ .
Primary cardiac sarcoma.

Abstract A case of primary fibromyxosarcoma of the right ventricle is described. The clinical findings simulated that of pulmonic stenosis. The diagnosis was clarified by angiocardiography. Excision was made with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass, and the right ventricular obstruction was relieved. Cardiac arrest prior to machine support led to a 25 minute period of cerebral ischemia, from which the patient recovered sufficiently to carry out household activities. Death from cardiac sarcomas appears to be secondary to the primary lesion, and adequate palliation in this case appears to be obtained.
A Simple and Robust Way of Concluding Meta-Analysis Results Using Reported P values, Standardized Effect Sizes, or Other Statistics

Meta-analysis is a powerful tool to estimate measures of associations or effects based on published or unpublished reports. However, problems exist in many meta-analyses, particularly related to study heterogeneity. This article proposes a way of concluding meta-analysis results using P values, taking heterogeneity into account. There is little published research focused on evaluating conclusiveness of summary results of reported meta-analyses. Generally, a P value is directly linked to the test statistic z=b/sb following a standard normal distribution with mean zero and unit variance, where b is an estimator of β and sb is the estimated standard error of b for any study included in a meta-analysis. This forms the basis of the proposed method for deriving overall test statistics and corresponding P values used for comparing results of meta-analyses. Two published meta-analyses were chosen and specific software was applied. Results are consistent with the two published meta-analysis reports in terms of P values for significance and direction of summary measure of treatment effect. This proposed method can be utilized to safeguard against improper conclusions of published meta-analyses due to heterogeneity. Exploring more sophisticated statistical methods for situations when the key assumption applied to this proposed method is violated could be pursued and could expand the scope of applications beyond this method.
Game Theory and the North American Fur Trade: A Comment.

In a recent article on the nineteenth-century North American fur trade Ann Carlos and Elizabeth Hoffman interpret negotiations between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the Northwest Company (NWC) through the application of formal bargaining models.' The article is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the negotiations that eventually resulted in the merger between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company, but its authors have the more ambitious goal of providing "a framework for studying other duopolies (or small groups of firms) in economic history.' 2 Their aim is to clarify economic history by analyzing this historical event within a framework of two-person bargaining under imperfect information. I suggest, however, that Carlos and Hoffman have not been altogether successful. Although they study an interesting historical case, they invoke an inadequate and inappropriate framework that distracts from the relevant historical issues. It is easy to see why the story of the North American fur trade negotiations would interest economic historians. Between 1804 and 1821 the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company were a duopoly protected from outside competition and unhindered by antitrust legislation. They operated in the same geographical region and in the same markets. Carlos and Hoffman ask why the two companies failed to merge for the better part of a quarter-century despite realizing that merger would be mutually beneficial. Although the merger eventually took place, it came only after protracted negotiation which dissipated most of the rents. Previous studies have modeled the fur trade in non-cooperative (Prisoners' Dilemma) terms, but, Carlos and Hoffman argue, there were too many attempts at cooperation to make that framework appropriate here.3 The two firms made numerous gestures of cooperation, were legally capable of signing an agreement, and were in constant negotiations for merger. But if cooperative game theory is the appropriate analytic structure, we are confronted with a paradox. The two firms resisted merger despite the obvious advantages and in contradiction to the predictions of a simple model of a cooperative game. Carlos and Hoffman suggest a resolution by appealing to more complicated models of bargaining. Making use of the theoretical work of Vincent Crawford and Roger Myerson, the authors conclude that the "achievement of a joint maximum was hindered by incomplete information, commitment to a strategy which led
K9 Water Searches: Scent and Scent Transport Considerations

Increased use of water search dogs for detecting submerged bodies has created the need for a better understanding of scent emanating from the bodies and how it transits the water to the dog's nose. A review of recent literature identifies likely scent sources, potential scent transport processes, and research needs. Scent sources include gases in bubbles or dissolved in the water, liquids as buoyant plumes and droplets or dissolved in the water, and solids consisting of buoyant particulates with secretions, bacteria, and body fluids. Potential transport processes through the water include buoyancy, entrainment, and turbulence. Transport processes from the water surface into the air include volatilization and evaporation enhanced by bubble bursting, breaking waves, splashing, and wind spray. Implications for the use of water search dogs are examined. Observations of submerged, decomposing bodies are needed to quantify the physical and chemical characteristics of the scent and scent transport processes.
A Survey and Historical Comparison of the Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Itasca State Park, Minnesota

ABSTRACT The University of Minnesota Insect Collection holds a rich collection of bees from Itasca State Park, MN, from 1937 and 1938. This collection formed the historical baseline data for comparison with a new survey conducted from 2011 to 2013, to measure changes in bee species over the last 75 yr. Bees were collected with timed net surveys and trap nests at eight different sites within the park. Megachilidae were the focal family for the current study, due to their importance as commercial pollinators and their unique nesting habits. Species richness and diversity of Megachilidae in the new survey were both significantly lower than that of the historical collection but were not significantly different when species accumulation curves were extrapolated to estimate the true species richness. Eleven species in the historical collection were not rediscovered, while three species not previously collected in Itasca State Park were found in 2011–2013.
5-Fluorocytosine: Inhibition of Hematopoiesis in Vitro and Reversal of Inhibition by Uracil

The in vitro effect of 5-fluorocytosine on human and murine hematopoiesis was studied by means of soft-gel assays for erythroid and myeloid colony-forming cells. The drug consistently inhibited colony formation by granulocyte-monocyte and erythroid precursor cells. Clear effects were observable at concentrations of 5-fluorocytosine of 5 x 10(-5) M (6.5 micrograms/ml), and concentrations of 5 x 10(-4) M (65 micrograms/ml) caused approximately 90% inhibition of cloning of bone marrow myeloid colony-forming cells from mice and normal humans. Greater concentrations of 5-fluorocytosine were required to inhibit erythroid progenitors than to inhibit myeloid precursors. Uracil competitively reversed the toxicity of 5-fluorocytosine. Our data strongly suggest that the hematopoietic toxicity of 5-5-fluorocytosine is mediated through cellular metabolism of the drug. The reversal of mammalian, but not of fungal, cytotoxic effects of 5-fluorocytosine by uracil may have important clinical applications.
Learning Benefits of On-Line Spaced Education Persist for 2 Years

Purpose: A total of 537 urology residents participated in a randomized trial of on-line spaced education in 2005 that used 96 American Urological Association Self-Assessment Study Program questions as educational material. I investigated whether the learning gains generated by the spaced education program could be detected 2 years later.Materials and Methods: A test instrument was constructed with 60 of the 96 Self-Assessment Study Program questions from the 2005 trial. These multiple choice questions were delivered to residents from September to November 2007 via daily interactive e-mails. Residents submitted answers on line and were included in analysis if they completed 85% or greater of the questions.Results: Of the 537 residents in the 2005 trial 206 (38%) were still in residency and volunteered to complete the test. Of those residents 104 (50%) were randomized to the spaced education cohort, 102 (50%) were randomized to the bolus cohort and 147 (71%) submitted answers to 85% or greater of the test q...
Participation In Goal-Setting Programs: An Attributional Analysis

This article offers a conceptual framework to examine the multiple dimensions of goal-oriented management programs such as management by objectives through the use of attribution theory. In organizational literature, participation has most often been used to describe group decision making where the members of a group share in the problem solving and decision making process. Attribution theory, which is concerned with how people perceive the behavior or outcomes of others or of themselves, may be a useful tool to explain the processes and outcomes of goal programs and provides insights into the goal-setting process. The author examines how this theory relates to the superior-subordinate relationship.
Energy-Aware Scheduling in Disk Storage Systems

This paper deals with the problem of scheduling requests on disks for minimizing energy consumption. We first analyze several versions of the energy-aware disk scheduling problem based on assumptions on the arrival pattern of the requests. We show that the corresponding optimization problems are NP-complete by reduction to the set cover or the independent set problem. Then both optimal and heuristic scheduling algorithms are proposed to maximize the energy saving of a storage system. Our evaluation results using two realistic traces show that our approach significantly reduces energy consumption up to 55% and achieves fewer disk spin-up/down operations and shorter request response time as compared to other approaches.
Update on Emerging Infections From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Abstract [Cheney P: Fatal human plague—Arizona and Colorado, 1996. Ann Emerg Med March 1998;31:410-411.]
A FURTHER ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF FOUNDER EFFECTS IN THE OUTCOME OF Tribolium COMPETITION EXPERIMENTS

A novel experimental design was employed to further investigate the importance of founder effects in determining the outcome of competition between the flour beetles Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum. Each of 10 replicate cultures in seven competition series was started with 10 pairs of adults of each species that were, in turn, the progeny of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 pairs of adults, respectively, from the foundation population. Thus the founder effect occurred one generation prior to the initiation of competition. An analysis of variability among replicate cultures for the first eight monthly censuses showed a significant increase in variation with smaller numbers of original pairs, confirming the hypothesis previously proposed to explain the indeterminate outcome of replicate competition cultures initiated with small numbers of founders. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the rate of elimination of T. confusum with smaller numbers of original pairs. It is suggested that T. castaneum is more sensitive to inbreeding, and that the differential response of the two populations to inbreeding reflects a difference in their homeostatic properties.
Early Enhanced Th1 Response after Leishmania amazonensis Infection of C57BL/6 Interleukin-10-Deficient Mice Does Not Lead to Resolution of Infection

C3H and C57BL/6 mice are resistant to Leishmania major but develop chronic lesions with persistent parasite loads when they are infected with Leishmania amazonensis. These lesions develop in the absence of interleukin-4 (IL-4), indicating that susceptibility to this parasite is not a result of development of a Th2 response. Expression of the cytokine IL-10 during infection could account for the lack of IL-12 expression and poor cell-mediated immunity towards the parasite. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that IL-10 plays a central role in downmodulating the Th1 response after L. amazonensis infection. Infection of C57BL/6 IL-10-deficient mice indicated that in the absence of IL-10 there was early enhancement of a Th1 response, which was downregulated during the more chronic stage of infection. In addition, although there were 1- to 2-log reductions in the parasite loads within the lesions, the parasites continued to persist, and they were associated with chronic lesions whose size was similar to that of the control lesions. These experiments indicated that L. amazonensis resistance to killing in vivo is only partially dependent on expression of host IL-10. However, IL-10-deficient mice had an enhanced delayed-type hypersensitivity response during the chronic phase of infection, indicating that there were Th1 type effector cells in vivo at this late stage of infection. These results indicate that although IL-10 plays a role in limiting the Th1 response during the acute infection phase, other immunomodulatory factors are responsible for limiting the Th1 response during the chronic phase.
A performance comparison of commercially available strontium extraction chromatography columns

Extraction chromatographic separations following a nuclear event will require both speed and accuracy. Ideally these separations will be carried out using commercially available products. Because 90Sr is a likely material to be used in a radioactivity dispersal device, commercially available products for the separation of strontium were tested to evaluate differences in their elution profiles that may affect elution procedures. Gravity flow columns show better resolution, but vacuum flow columns allow rapid processing and are still adequate for purification if multiple aqueous conditions can be employed in the elution strategy.
Commentary on: Beyond the operating room: a look at liability in body contouring procedures.

In the article “Beyond the Operating Room: A Look at Legal Liability in Body Contouring Procedures,” Paik and her coauthors1 examine factors influencing malpractice litigation outcomes. They state that “delineating and understanding these factors are critical for practicing plastic surgeons to improve patient care and to minimize legal action.” Studying these claims and lawsuits supports a greater understanding of patient injuries associated with these procedures. Reducing patient injuries will have the greatest impact on litigation. This commentary provides an insurance company's perspective on malpractice litigation and compares the findings of our own study with the study conducted by Paik et al.1 Medical malpractice insurance companies provide physician insurance that protects their practices and, therefore, their livelihoods. Insurance also compensates patients who suffer harm resulting from negligent care. Each claim is thoroughly evaluated to determine whether liability exists. Insurance companies select physicians currently in practice to evaluate the clinical care alleged to be substandard. Physician reviewers are of the same specialty as the defendant physician and are considered experts in their field. Insurance companies collect information to understand the nature of claim allegations and to develop a defense. The extensive information collected in claim files— medical records, expert physician reviews, legal analysis—provides a rich resource for studying the underlying causes of patient harm. To receive compensation, a patient must show injury due to negligence. Not all patient injuries are due to negligence. Through the Comprehensive Risk Intelligence Tool (CRIT; CRICO Strategies, Cambridge, Massachusetts), The Doctors Company captures and analyzes clinical data pertaining to …
OPTIMAL REVASCULARIZATION STRATEGY FOR IN-STENT OCCLUSION AFTER FEMOROPOPLITEAL STENTING

Revascularization of in-stent occlusion after endovascular therapy (EVT) for femoropopliteal (FP) lesions is not established. The purpose is to investigate the comparison of revascularization with balloon angioplasty (POBA), nitinol stenting (BMS), paclitaxel-coated drug-eluting stent (DES), and
Endocrine therapy reevaluated.

Endocrine therapy has produced dramatic results in some situations in obstetrics and gynecology and is beneficial in amenorrhea of unknown origin, in some menopausal patients, and in some cases of endometriosis. It also seems to retard progression of metastasis in patients who have had surgery or radiotherapy in breast cancer. Nevertheless, the physician must guard against using endocrine therapy injudiciously and limit it to only those conditions in which it is of proved benefit.
Human Epithelial Cells Discriminate between Commensal and Pathogenic Interactions with Candida albicans

The commensal fungus, Candida albicans, can cause life-threatening infections in at risk individuals. C. albicans colonizes mucosal surfaces of most people, adhering to and interacting with epithelial cells. At low concentrations, C. albicans is not pathogenic nor does it cause epithelial cell damage in vitro; at high concentrations, C. albicans causes mucosal infections and kills epithelial cells in vitro. Here we show that while there are quantitative dose-dependent differences in exposed epithelial cell populations, these reflect a fundamental qualitative difference in host cell response to C. albicans. Using transcriptional profiling experiments and real time PCR, we found that wild-type C. albicans induce dose-dependent responses from a FaDu epithelial cell line. However, real time PCR and Western blot analysis using a high dose of various C. albicans strains demonstrated that these dose-dependent responses are associated with ability to promote host cell damage. Our studies support the idea that epithelial cells play a key role in the immune system by monitoring the microbial community at mucosal surfaces and initiating defensive responses when this community is dysfunctional. This places epithelial cells at a pivotal position in the interaction with C. albicans as epithelial cells themselves promote C. albicans stimulated damage.
Determining the Best Method for Estimating the Observed Level of Maximum Detrainment Based on Radar Reflectivity

AbstractConvective mass transport is the transport of mass from near the surface up to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) by a deep convective updraft. This transport can alter the chemical makeup and water vapor balance of the UTLS, which affects cloud formation and the radiative properties of the atmosphere. It is, therefore, important to understand the exact altitudes at which mass is detrained from convection. The purpose of this study was to improve upon previously published methodologies for estimating the level of maximum detrainment (LMD) within convection using data from a single ground-based radar. Four methods were used to identify the LMD and validated against dual-Doppler-derived vertical mass divergence fields for six cases with a variety of storm types. The best method for locating the LMD was determined to be the method that used a reflectivity texture technique to determine convective cores and a multilayer echo identification to determine anvil locations. Although an imp...
Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Cellular Senescence

Mitochondria are central for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and both cellular dysfunction and aging are linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the principle cause of increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress, which is a key mediator of aging. The cell responds to this stressful stimulus by the induction of the cellular aging-stress response, cellular senescence. Here, we discuss the mechanisms through which mitochondrial ROS promotes senescence. In this context, we will highlight how mitochondrial ROS serves an initiating upstream, or sustaining downstream, role in the induction of senescence. We will also discuss potential interventions to alleviate mitochondrial ROS and delay cellular senescence.
Indefinability and Inconsistency

Our discussion of Tarski’s Intuitionistic Formalist treatment of truth in §§ 2–4 of CTFL concerned material that seems to have been developed by 1931 ([Hodges, 2008, 120–6]) and merely polished for the 1931 submission of the Polish original of the work. (Cf. Tarski’s own “Historical Note” where the addition of the Godelian treatment of indefinability is described as, of all the results in the work “the only one subsequently added to the otherwise already finished investigation” [Tarski, 1983a, 278].) We have thus been able to discuss the material of §§ 2–4 with little concern for our overall story about Tarski’s development from the late 1920s up to the Paris Unity of Science conference in 1935. Now that we turn to Tarski’s remarks on the conditions under which truth cannot be defined we will be unable to ignore the issues raised by Tarski’s evolving views.
Digestibility and Rumen Escape of Soybean Meal, Blood Meal, Meat and Bone Meal and Dehydrated Alfalfa Nitrogen

Summary Acid detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN), acid pepsin insoluble nitrogen (APIN), true nitrogen (N) digestibility, in situ residual N and ruminal N escape were determined for various protein sources. The ADIN and APIN of soybean meal (SBM), blood meal (BM), meat and bone meal (MBM) and dehydrated alfalfa (DA) were measured in Exp. 1. Soybean meal and BM contained the lowest amount of ADIN and APIN, DA contained the highest and MBM was intermediate (P<.05). True digestibility of SBM, BM, MBM and DA was estimated with sheep by regressing N digested against three levels of N intake for each protein source. Estimated true digestibilities were 100.4, 99.1, 86.4 and 85.2% for SBM, BM, MBM and DA, respectively. True digestibility of SBM was greater than MBM (P<.12) and DA (P<.07), but not greater than BM. Nitrogen escape of SBM, BM, MBM and DA was determined in continuously-fed steers. Lanthanum, Cr-EDTA and diaminopimelic acid served as markers for solid, liquid and bacterial N flow, respectively. Percentage N escape of SBM, BM, MBM and DA was 28.7, 81.7, 49.3 and 66.3, respectively. Nitrogen escape of SBM was lower (P<.05) than for BM, MBM and DA. Supplementation with BM or DA resulted in greater (P<.05) N flow to the duodenum than supplementation with SBM. Digestible N escape was estimated by combining true digestibility and N escape data. In situ residual N of SBM was lower (P<.05) than residual N of BM and DA after 3, 6, 12 and 24 h of incubation. Residual N of SBM was only lower (P<.05) than MBM after
The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music, by Anna Maria Busse Berger and Jesse Rodin, editors

The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music is the latest installment of the handsome Cambridge History of Music series. The series is described as a group of “reference works concerned with s...
Stiffness predictions for closed-cell PVC foams

Light-weight polymeric foams are frequently used in composite sandwich construction in which foam core material properties could significantly influence the overall performance of the sandwich stru...
Innovation in Information Systems Education-IAccelerated Systems Analysis And Design With Appreciative Inquiry - An Action Learning Approach

One of the challenges in teaching information systems analysis and design is setting up experiential learning projects in which students can apply and reinforce the theories and techniques they acquired in the classroom. This article aims to shed light on this issue and offers Appreciative Inquiry as an alternative to the prevailing problem solving lens. The Accelerated Systems Analysis and Design with Appreciative Inquiry Workshop revolves around a genuine system design project, which provides an opportunity to apply the latest systems analysis and design methodologies in a realistic setting and to gain hands-on experience in a safe learning environment. Building on the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, the workshop is designed to emphasize collaborative work in the pursuit of both organizational and personal value. The workshop provides not only a framework for looking at organizations and organizational life, but also a language to communicate their dynamic complexities and interdependencies. Overall, participants gain a balanced mix of formal theory, critical thinking, and hands on experience, which prepare them for effective communication and participation in system development in organizational settings. Editor’s Note: The article is one of the prize winning papers in the AIS 2004 Innovations in IS Education competition chaired by AIS Vice President M. Lynne Markus. An overview of the competition is presented in CAIS Volume 15, Article 16, February, 2005.
Freedom of Contract and the Publicly Traded Uncorporation

Over the past decade, individual investors have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into publicly traded companies that have opted-out of traditional fiduciary duties. These publicly traded “uncorporations” are organized as limited partnerships or limited liability companies, and many are governed by operating agreements that eliminate the fiduciary duties of managers and controlling equityholders. Advocates for the contractarian approach to fiduciary duties argue that parties should have the freedom opt-out of fiduciary duties and, instead, deploy contractual mechanisms for reducing agency costs. In 2004, Delaware fully integrated this contractarian approach to fiduciary duties into its alternative entity statutes, paving the way for today’s growing population of fiduciary-free public companies. Many other states followed. Yet, just over after a decade later, Delaware judges and commentators have begun to call for reintroduction of a mandatory fiduciary duty of loyalty. Although advocates for a mandatory duty of loyalty acknowledge the contractarian paradigm of contracting for substitutions, they argue that it is inapplicable in the context of publicly-traded companies, where robust contractual freedom leaves investors vulnerable to self-dealing and other misconduct. Advocates for reintroducing a mandatory duty of loyalty also argue that contractual freedom has led to sub-optimal levels of standardization with regard to the terms that govern these entities. As argued in this Article, the forces that shape state business lawmaking (in particular Delaware’s) make legislative adoption of a mandatory fiduciary duty of loyalty unlikely. Neither jurisdictional competition nor internal interest group dynamics will encourage the legislature to take this step and, in fact, make maintenance of the status quo more likely. This Article offers an alternative approach that reflects a new model for business lawmaking in the era of contractual freedom. With information available about commonly adopted governance structures and terms, their coherence in light of the circumstances under which these entities operate, and the ways that investors are routinely left vulnerable, it is possible to design a set of standardized terms that capture the benefits of contractability while also providing investors with additional protection where needed. Importantly, achieving widespread adoption of standardized terms would not require state lawmakers to negate their commitments to contractual freedom. Recent empirical and theoretical work on the role of statutory menus indicates that widespread adoption can be achieved even if the standardized terms are not mandatory.
Early Brain Injury Associated with Systemic Inflammation After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Early brain injury (EBI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is defined as brain injury occurring within 72 h of aneurysmal rupture. Although EBI is the most significant predictor of outcomes after aSAH, its underlying pathophysiology is not well understood. We hypothesize that EBI after aSAH is associated with an increase in peripheral inflammation measured by cytokine expression levels and changes in associations between cytokines. aSAH patients were enrolled into a prospective observational study and were assessed for markers of EBI: global cerebral edema (GCE), subarachnoid hemorrhage early brain edema score (SEBES), and Hunt–Hess grade. Serum samples collected at ≤ 48 h of admission were analyzed using multiplex bead-based assays to determine levels of 13 pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Pairwise correlation coefficients between cytokines were represented as networks. Cytokine levels and differences in correlation networks were compared between EBI groups. Of the 71 patients enrolled in the study, 17 (24%) subjects had GCE, 31 (44%) subjects had SEBES ≥ 3, and 21 (29%) had HH ≥ 4. IL-6 was elevated in groups with GCE, SEBES ≥ 3, and HH ≥ 4. MIP1β was independently associated with high-grade SEBES. Correlation network analysis suggests higher systematic inflammation in subjects with SEBES ≥ 3. EBI after SAH is associated with increased levels of specific cytokines. Peripheral levels of IL-10, IL-6, and MIP1β may be important markers of EBI. Investigating systematic correlations in addition to expression levels of individual cytokines may offer deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms related to EBI.
Protein kinase C signaling blocks cap-dependent translation initiation and cyclin D1 expression via a novel PI3K/Akt-independent, PP2A-dependent pathway in intestinal cells

3728 Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) α leads to down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cell cycle withdrawal in intestinal crypt cells. Our previous studies demonstrated that PKC-mediated loss of cyclin D1 protein involves inhibition of cyclin D1 translation. Activation of PKC/PKCα signaling leads to hypophosphorylation/activation of the translational repressor 4E-BP1, association of 4E-BP1 with the mRNA cap-binding protein eIF4E, and sequestration of cyclin D1 message in 4E-BP1-associated complexes. The current study explored the mechanisms underlying PKC-induced activation of 4E-BP1 in IEC-18 non-transformed intestinal crypt cells. We demonstrate that PKC signaling transiently inhibits phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt activity in these cells, consistent with a likely role for the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in mediating such regulation of 4E-BP1. However, PKC-induced activation of 4E-BP1 was not prevented by constitutively active mutants of PI3K or Akt, suggesting that PI3K or Akt are not key mediators of this PKC response. Use of pharmacological inhibitors (i.e., calyculin A, okadaic acid, tautomycin) demonstrated that PP2A activity, but not PP1, is required for PKC-induced 4E-BP1 hypophosphorylation/activation in intestinal cells. PKC signaling stimulated an ~2-fold increase in PP2A activity in these cells and phosphatase inhibition blocked the effects of PKC agonists on 4E-BP1 phosphorylation and cyclin D1 expression. Together, these studies point to activation of PP2A, or a PP2A-like phosphatase, as an important mechanism underlying PKC/PKCα-induced inhibition of cap-dependent translation initiation and growth suppression in intestinal epithelial cells. Supported by NIH grants DK60632, DK54909, CA16056, and CA102074.
Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors of Single Parents

ABSTRACTThis study was undertaken to determine whether or not attitudes regarding sexual behavior differ among single parents according to selected variables. A Likert-type attitude scale was devised for testing the null hypothesis which related to various aspects of sexual behavior. Data relative to sexual behavior, remarriage, divorce and the organization, Parents Without Partners, were obtained.A majority of single respondents had engaged in sex relations with the length of time single not affecting their sexual behavior. In addition, religious feelings influenced attitudes toward sexual behavior and both sexes agreed that single parents can have a satisfactory sex life.
Interferon β for Multiple Sclerosis

Despite that the availability of new therapeutic options has expanded the multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapy arsenal, interferon β (IFN-β) remains an important therapy option in the current decision-making process. This review will summarize the present knowledge of IFN-β mechanism of action, the overall safety, and the short- and long-term efficacy of its use in relapsing remitting MS and clinically isolated syndromes. Data on secondary progressive MS is also provided, although no clear benefit was identified.