cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cortical axons branch to multiple subcortical targets by interstitial axon budding: Implications for target recognition and “waiting periods”

We are studying how axons branch in vivo. Individual cortical neurons send axons to both the spinal cord and the basilar pons. Here we show that the corticopontine projection develops by an interstitial budding of collaterals from parent axons rather than a reported mechanism of axon branching, growth cone bifurcation. This mechanism is used regardless of whether the parent axon's postpontine segment, which forms the corticospinal projection, is permanent (motor cortex) or transient (visual cortex). Budding occurs days after the parent axons grow spinally past the pons, accounting for the "waiting period" reported in this system in contrast to an alternative explanation that the growth cones pause outside of their target. Timing and location of pontine collateral budding vary with cortical origin of the parent axon and are correlated with the temporal ordering of axon arrival.
Prolonged survival of GalT-KO swine skin on baboons

Weiner J, Yamada K, Ishikawa Y, Moran S, Etter J, Shimizu A, Smith RN, Sachs DH. Prolonged survival of GalT-KO swine skin on baboons. Xenotransplantation 2010; 17: 147–152. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Background: Allogeneic skin is currently the best alternative to autologous skin as a temporary treatment for severe burns, but it has several drawbacks. As a potential alternative, we have evaluated GalT-KO swine skin, which lacks expression of the Gal epitope, to investigate the effect of eliminating this epitope on survival of pig-to-baboon skin grafts. Methods: Two adult baboons that had fully recovered from previous T cell depletion received simultaneous skin grafts from: (i) GalT-KO swine, (ii) Gal-positive swine, (iii) a third-party baboon, and (iv) self (control skin). Recipients were treated with cyclosporin for 12 days and the survival, gross appearance, and histology of the grafts were compared. Results: In both baboons, the GalT-KO skin survived longer than either the Gal-positive swine skin or the allogeneic skin. Early rejection of the Gal-positive skin appeared to be mediated by cytotoxic preformed anti-Gal IgM antibodies, while the rejection of GalT-KO skin appeared to result from cellular mechanisms. Conclusions: GalT-KO skin may have potential clinical benefits as an alternative to allogeneic skin as a temporary treatment for severe skin injuries.
FEA model for predicting the response of powder metallurgy steel components to heat treatment

A model and the necessary database for predicting the response of powder metallurgy steels to heat treatment are presented and discussed. The model is based on a modification of the commercially available software DANTE coupled to the finite element analysis software ABAQUS. The model requires an extensive database that includes temperature- and porosity-dependent phase transformation kinetics, and temperature- and porosity-dependent phase-specific mechanical, physical, and thermal properties of the steel. This data is developed for FL-4065 PM alloy and is used in the model to predict dimensional change, distortion, residual stresses, and type and quantity of metallurgical phases present in the microstructure of a typical PM component after the component is subjected to a specified heat treatment schedule. The model predictions are found to be in very good agreement with measured values.
Response prevention in the treatment of cigarette smoking

The present study developed and tested a response prevention treatment for cigarette smoking. Response prevention is based on the conditioning theory of addictions. Thirty-nine smokers were divided into two groups, one receiving response prevention and the other a rapid smoking comparison treatment. No significant differences were found between the two treatments in terms of their effectiveness in achieving abstinence or smoking reduction. The abstinence rate at the 6-month follow-up for response prevention was 7% and for rapid smoking was 23%.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Mononuclear Zinc-β-lactamase from Bacillus Cereus

Herein, we report molecular dynamics simulations of the mononuclear form of the Bacillus cereus zinc-β-lactamase. We studied two different configurations which differ in the presence of a zinc-bound hydroxide or a zinc-bound water and in the protonation state of the essential His210 residue. Contacts of the catalytically important residues (Asp90, His210, Cys168, etc.) with the zinc center are characterized by the MD analyses. The nature of the Zn−OH2 → His210 proton transfer pathway connecting the two configurations was studied by means of QM calculations on cluster models while the relative stability of the two configurations was estimated from QM/MM calculations in the enzyme. From these results, a theoretical model for the kinetically active form of the B. cereus metalloenzyme is proposed. Some mechanistic implications and the influence of mutating the Cys168 residue are also discussed.
Letter to the Editor-Optimal Replacement Policies for Hyperexponentially and Uniformly Distributed Lifetimes

Policies of block replacement and replacement only of individual failures are compared. Block replacement is never desirable for hyperexponentially distributed lifetimes. For uniformly distributed lifetimes, block replacement is preferred only if the ratio of per item block replacement cost to per item individual replacement cost is less than 0.3863. The optimal time between block replacements is graphed as a function of this ratio.
Understanding Iron: Promoting Its Safe Use in Patients With Chronic Kidney Failure Treated by Hemodialysis

Although judicious use of intravenous iron preparations is an indispensable part of anemia treatment in hemodialysis patients, their excessive and indiscriminate use can have insidious but serious adverse consequences. With recent implementation of the bundling reimbursement policy, use of intravenous iron preparations in the hemodialysis population has markedly increased. Excessive use of these agents potentially can exacerbate oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and immune deficiency and potentially increases the risk of microbial infections in this population. Most of these adverse effects are mediated by iron-catalyzed generation of reactive oxygen species and the resultant cell injury and dysfunction. This review is intended to provide an overview of the nature and mechanisms of the adverse effects of iron overload and call for the judicious use of these vitally important products.
Addendum to the Duncan, et al. Study

Strmmary.-Two studies of self-actualization using the Personal Orientation Inventory pre- and posttest yield different results because the designs, goals, and methods of analysis were very different as detailed comparison shows. Of particular interest is the lack of analysis of pseudoactualization scores in the 1990 work by Duncan, Konefal, and Spechler. A study in Psychological Reports by Duncan, Konefal, and Spechler (1990), after noting significant increases on most subscales of the Personal Orientation Inventory for master practitioners and practitioners with 21 days of residential neurolinguistic programming training, contrasted the results with those of a prior study. In 1987 Peterson-Cooney used the Personal Orientation Inventory to compare concentrated and distributed instruction in Gestalt therapy and found concentrated instruction to be an immediate risk for self-actualization. According to Duncan, et a/. different results in the two studies were due to training differences in that their ". . . study focused on personal growth, both for self and others, and was not group-oriented" (p. 1329). The conclusion obscures the goal of the Peterson-Cooney study and ignores differences in research design great enough to confound comparison. Over a period of three years Peterson-Cooney studied two academic time structures providing group instruction of Gestalt therapy with the same instructor to assess which time structure was more favorable for self-actualization. Courses of three graduate hours compressed into summer terms of three weeks were compared with courses distributed over regular terms of 15 weeks. Significant diEferences were based on net movement into actualization. Net movement into actualization was achieved by tallying an individual's precourse subscale score in one of three ranges: below actualized, actualized, and pseudoactualized, according to parameters established in the testmaker's profile sheet (Educational & Industrial Testing Service). Next, postcourse scores by individual and by the teaching-environment were plotted for movement or lack of movement into and out of the actualized range with summation of tallies indicating a net increase or decrease in number of students receiving a score in each subscale's actualized range. The two teaching environments were then compared with z tests for proportional net change (pp. 185-188). Of five significant subscales, all favored the regular term with students in three of them increasing in self-actualization. But on the other two subscales, the students in both groups decreased their self-actualization, with regular-term students decreasing less. On these significant subscales less loss, not greater gain, was the distinguishing feature thereby emphasizing that in the Peterson-Cooney study, significance meant comparison. For Duncan, et 01. significance meant increased self-actualization as indexed by means and standard deviations. There are other confounding differences in the two studies; for example, populations, academic instruction versus training, and pseudoac~alized scores. Of these, treatment
Voltage-current relation and K+ transport in tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) midgut.

Voltage-current curves for the isolated midgut of the tobacco hornworm were determined by transient and steady voltage clamping over the range of 200 to −200 mV. Over this range the transient method yields a linear relation while the steady method usually yields a curve consisting of two lines of differing slope which intersect at zero voltage. The difference between the results of the methods is due to a slow decline in total conductance which accompanies steady voltage clamping. Holding the midgut at short circuit increases the total conductance of the tissue in a manner consistent with increasing shunt conductance; this effect was seen in both diet-reared and leaf-reared animals. When potassium transport is inhibited by substitution of choline or sodium for potassium in bathing solution the total conductance decreases and the voltage-current curve intersects the normal curve in the hyperpolarizing region. Applying a simple equivalent circuit analysis to the results from partial or total potassium replacement suggests that the electromotive force of the potassium transport system is of the order of 140–190 mV. The conductance decrease during inhibition of potassium transport by transient anoxia is of similar magnitude, suggesting that a major effect of metabolic inhibition is to decrease the active conductance of the potassium transport pathway.
A simple restraint system for long term intravenous administration of drugs in the monkey

Abstract A study in progress requires that monkeys (Macaca species) be implanted with a chronic in-dwelling catheter through which drugs may be administered under conditions of minimal restraint and without handling the animal. Although complex and multipurpose head restraint systems do exist [Findley, Jack, Personal communication, 1967], a relatively lightweight, inexpensive and easily fabricated system has been developed which admirably fulfills this requirement. To date, Macaca iris and Macaca mulatta subjects weighing up to 8.62 kg (19 lb) have been fitted to the restraint system without complications.
Outer membrane proteins of Bartonella henselae and their interaction with human endothelial cells.

Members of the genus Bartonella are unique in that they are bacteria which cause proliferation of microvascular endothelial cells and neovascularization (angiogenesis). The mechanisms by which Bartonella henselae causes these processes are unknown. Given the importance of surface-exposed determinants in the pathogenesis of many organisms, outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of B. henselae were identified. Enrichment of the outer membrane fraction of B. henselae by sarkosyl treatment of total membranes, together with radioiodination and biotinylation of intact organisms, suggest that at least nine proteins, with molecular weights of 28, 30, 35, 43, 58, 61, 79, 92 and 171 kDa, are located in the outer membrane. Triton X-100-extracted biotinylated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) surface proteins bound to the 43 kDa B. henselae OMP after B. henselae whole-cell lysates and sarkosyl-fractionated OMPs were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred onto nylon. Biotinylated B. henselae surface proteins of 28, 32, 43, 52 and 58 kDa were shown to bind intact HUVEC, with the 43 kDa protein being the major adhesin. Preincubation of HUVEC with an increasing concentration (20 microg/ml to 4 mg/ml) of sarkosyl-fractionated unlabelled B. henselae outer membrane proteins inhibited the attachment of all identified HUVEC binding proteins. The identification of B. henselae OMPs, as well as adhesins, should provide a basis for further investigation of the role of adherence in the pathogenesis of B. henselae.
A sweet synthesis

Peptides and proteins with sugars attached have many desirable biological properties, but their chemical synthesis is a technical challenge. An ingenious take on an old idea might simplify things considerably.
Comparison of Identical Temperature-Sensitive Mutations in the L Polymerase Proteins of Sendai and Parainfluenza3 Viruses

The L subunit of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of negative strand RNA viruses is believed to possess all the enzymatic activities necessary for viral transcription and replication. Mutations in the L proteins of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) have been shown to confer temperature sensitivity to the viruses; however, their specific defects have not been determined. Mutant PIV3 L proteins expressed from plasmids were tested for temperature sensitivity in transcription and replication in a minigenome reporter system in cells and for in vitro transcription from purified PIV3 template. The single L mutants, Y942H and L992F, were temperature sensitive (ts) in both assays, although viral RNA synthesis was not completely abolished at the nonpermissive temperature. Surprisingly, the T1558I L mutant was not ts, although its cognate virus was ts. Thus the ts defect in this virus may be due to the abrogation of an essential interaction of the mutant polymerase with a host cell component, which is not measured by the RNA synthesis assays. Most of the combinations of the PIV3 L mutations were not additive and did not show temperature sensitivity in in vitro transcription. Since they were ts in the minigenome assay in vivo, replication appears to be specifically defective. The ts mutations in PIV3 and VSV L proteins were also substituted into the Sendai L protein to compare the defects in related systems. Only Sendai Y942H L was ts in both transcription and replication. One Sendai L mutant, L992F, gave much better replication than transcription. Several other mutants could transcribe but not replicate in vitro, while replication in vivo was normal.
Cultured myofibroblasts generate angiotensin peptides de novo.

Scar tissue found at the site of myocardial infarction (MI) contains phenotypically transformed fibroblast-like cells termed myofibroblasts (myoFb). In injured cardiac tissue, autoradiography and immunolabeling have localized high density angiotensin (Ang) converting enzyme (ACE) and Ang II receptor binding to these cells, suggesting that they may regulate local concentrations of Ang II and transduce signals at this site. Ang II is known to modulate type I collagen gene expression of fibroblasts and myoFb, and to promote fibrous tissue contraction, each of which may contribute to tissue repair. It is unknown whether myoFb themselves generate Ang peptidesde novovia expression of angiotensinogen (Ao), an aspartyl protease needed to convert Ao to Ang I, and ACE. We therefore isolated and cultured myoFb from 4-week-old scar tissue of the adult rat left ventricle with transmural MI. In cultured myoFb we found: (a) immunoreactive membrane-bound ACE, cytosolic cathepsin D (Cat-D), and AT1receptors by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy; (b) mRNA expression for Ao, ACE, and Cat-D, but not renin, by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; (c) production of Ang I and II in serum-free culture media; (d) absence of renin activity; (e) a time-dependent conversion of Ao to Ang I by myoFb cytosol, which was inhibited by pepstatin A, but not by renin inhibitor; and (f ) significant increase in Ang II production (P<0.05) by exogenous Ao and Ang I (10 nm), which was significantly blocked by lisinopril (0.1μm;P<0.05). Thus, cultured myoFb express requisite components and are able to generate Ang I and IIde novo. In an autocrine and/or paracrine manner, Ang II may regulate myoFb collagen turnover and fibrous tissue contraction.
Results of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty at a minimum of ten years of follow-up.

Background: There is a renewed interest in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. The present report describes the minimum ten-year results associated with a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty design that is in current use. Methods: Sixty-two consecutive unicompartmental knee arthroplasties that were performed with cemented modular Miller-Galante implants in fifty-one patients were studied prospectively both clinically and radiographically. All patients had isolated unicompartmental disease without patellofemoral symptoms. No patient was lost to follow-up. Thirteen patients (thirteen knees) died after less than ten years of follow-up, leaving thirty-eight patients (forty-nine knees) with a minimum of ten years of follow-up. The average duration of follow-up was twelve years. Results: The mean Hospital for Special Surgery knee score improved from 55 points preoperatively to 92 points at the time of the final follow-up. Thirty-nine knees (80%) had an excellent result, six (12%) had a good result, and four (8%) had a fair result. At the time of the final follow-up, thirty-nine knees (80%) had flexion to at least 120°. Two patients (two knees) with well-fixed components underwent revision to total knee arthroplasty, at seven and eleven years, because of progression of patellofemoral arthritis. At the time of the final follow-up, no component was loose radiographically and there was no evidence of periprosthetic osteolysis. Radiographic evidence of progressive loss of joint space was observed in the opposite compartment of nine knees (18%) and in the patellofemoral space of seven knees (14%). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a survival rate of 98.0% ± 2.0% at ten years and of 95.7% ± 4.3% at thirteen years, with revision or radiographic loosening as the end point. The survival rate was 100% at thirteen years with aseptic loosening as the end point. Conclusions: After a minimum duration of follow-up of ten years, this cemented modular unicompartmental knee design was associated with excellent clinical and radiographic results. Although the ten-year survival rate was excellent, radiographic signs of progression of osteoarthritis in the other compartments continued at a slow rate. With appropriate indications and technique, this unicompartmental knee design can yield excellent results into the beginning of the second decade of use. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Dissecting Signal Control in the Multidrug Sensor, BMRR

Multidrug (MD) (or xenobiotic) e□ux actively removes cytotoxic chemicals from the interiors of normal-functioning cells. However, high levels of e□ux can render drug-targeted cells resistant to a broad-range of therapeutic agents, including those to which cells were never exposed. Key multidrug resistance (MDR) contributors include allosteric e□ux pumps, gene regulators and other sensory systems that mediate the detection and extrusion of diverse drugs from cellular environments. To date, MDR functions remain only partially understood. Ligand-dependent allosteric control in BmrR has been quantitatively addressed using in vitro transcription experiments, dose-response curves and thermodynamic models that relate the observed transcriptional responses to ligand binding and changes in BmrR conformation. Preliminary results indicate that allosteric control in BmrR is sensitive to both energetic and structural aspects of ligand recognition. Importantly, increased cooperativity in signal control relative to recognition implicates a major allosteric role for the RNA polymerase.
Pathogenesis and management of bleeding and thrombosis in plasma cell dyscrasias

Unexpectedly high rates of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) concurrent with the introduction of highly effective immune modulating drugs thalidomide and lenolidomide for treatment of multiple myeloma have focused attention on the incidence and underlying pathophysiology of VTE in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias, and on thromboprophylaxis approaches. While bleeding complications are relatively uncommon in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, acquired von Willebrand syndrome, typically occurring in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, and acquired coagulopathies associated with primary amyloidosis can present with haemorrhagic complications and both are challenging to manage. This review highlights these important haemostasis-related complications of plasma cell dyscrasias and provides an overview of other uncommon bleeding and thrombotic events that can affect diagnostic and therapeutic management of clonal plasma cell disorders. Due to the infrequency of most of these haemostasis complications, available information is typically based on retrospective cases or series.
Reasoning with Computer Code: a new Mathematical Logic

A logic is a mathematical model of knowledge used to study how we reason, how we describe the world, and how we infer the conclusions that determine our behavior. The logic presented here is natural. It has been experimentally observed, not designed. It represents knowledge as a causal set, includes a new type of inference based on the minimization of an action functional, and generates its own semantics, making it unnecessary to prescribe one. This logic is suitable for high-level reasoning with computer code, including tasks such as self-programming, objectoriented analysis, refactoring, systems integration, code reuse, and automated programming from sensor-acquired data. A strong theoretical foundation exists for the new logic. The inference derives laws of conservation from the permutation symmetry of the causal set, and calculates the corresponding conserved quantities. The association between symmetries and conservation laws is a fundamental and well-known law of nature and a general principle in modern theoretical Physics. The conserved quantities take the form of a nested hierarchy of invariant partitions of the given set. The logic associates elements of the set and binds them together to form the levels of the hierarchy. It is conjectured that the hierarchy corresponds to the invariant representations that the brain is known to generate. The hierarchies also represent fully object-oriented, self-generated code, that can be directly compiled and executed (when a compiler becomes available), or translated to a suitable programming language. The approach is constructivist because all entities are constructed bottom-up, with the fundamental principles of nature being at the bottom, and their existence is proved by construction. The new logic is mathematically introduced and later discussed in the context of transformations of algorithms and computer programs. We discuss what a full self-programming capability would really mean. We argue that self-programming and the fundamental question about the origin of algorithms are inextricably linked. We discuss previously published, fully automated applications to self-programming, and present a virtual machine that supports the logic, an algorithm that allows for the virtual machine to be simulated on a digital computer, and a fully explained neural network implementation of the algorithm.
The effects of cortisol and BUDR on cellular differentiation in the small intestine in suckling rats

In suckling rats absorptive cells in the distal two-thirds of the small intestine ingest colloids by pinocytosis. In the middle third of the intestine pinocytosis ceases 17 to 21 days after birth and can be halted prematurely by glucocorticoids. The adrenal cortex is relatively inactive in newborn rats and begins to secrete glucocorticoids two weeks after birth; this secretion has been suspected to cause the termination of pinocytosis. Glucocorticoids do not stop pinocytosis in absorptive cells already present on the villi but induce the renewing population of cells in the crypts to replace the cells on the villi with new ones that do not engage in pinocytosis. Therefore, glucocorticoids act by inducing a new direction of cellular differentiation. BUDR (5-bromodeoxyuridine) is reported to inhibit cellular differentiation reversibly in vitro. When injected into 8 to 9-day-old rats, simultaneously with cortisol, it inhibited the change in cellular differentiation induced by cortisol; that is, pinocytosis continued unabated. BUDR did not appear to be toxic and did not interfere with cellular replacement in the small intestine, as judged autoradio-graphically. Thus it appears that BUDR inhibits the initiation of cellular differentiation by cortisol but does not interfere with cellular proliferation or the pre-established program of cellular differentiation that leads to pinocytosis. The mechanism of action of BUDR is still unknown; it is discussed in light of the possibility that BUDR may after cellular differentiation without acting directly on the genome.
Global Biogeography and Quantitative Seasonal Dynamics of Gemmatimonadetes in Soil

Bacteria belonging to phylum Gemmatimonadetes comprise approximately 2% of soil bacterial communities. However, little is known of their ecology due to a lack of cultured representation. Here we present evidence from biogeographical analyses and seasonal quantification of Gemmatimonadetes in soils, which suggests an adaptation to low soil moisture.
On the Overestimation of Between-group Differences

The overestimation of between-group differences is a central characteristic of social stereotyping. The present review focuses on exemplar-based category learning. Evidence is presented for the assumptions that: (a) contrast effects need to be distinguished from accentuation effects; (b) both effects are general cognitive–perceptual phenomena; and (c) they affect stereotype formation as well as stereotype change. The implications of the overestimation of between-group differences for person perception and conflict resolution are discussed.
Society's Nervous System: Building Effective Government, Energy, and Public Health Systems

What is the potential for pervasive sensing and mobile computing over the next decade, and what are the challenges that researchers will have to face to realize this potential?
Fueling the Hypertrophied Heart

Substrate utilization by heart muscle provides the fuel for both maintenance of structure and function of the myocardium and for ample reserve capacity to meet sudden surges in cardiac energy requirements. Many factors influence the balance of substrate uptake by the myocardium, but in general, utilization of lipids versus carbohydrates correlates to their concentration in the arterial blood. There is evidence in humans that severe cardiomyopathy and heart failure are accompanied by alterations in the balance of substrates used and of energy reserves, and these may limit myocardial function.1 However, myocardial metabolic changes have not been well described in human hearts with compensated hypertrophy. Compensated cardiac hypertrophy due to systolic overload in experimental animals is associated with a recapitulation of a fetal genetic pattern.2,3 This is most dramatically demonstrated in the hearts of rodents in which their contractile proteins switch from a predominance of α-myosin to a more energy conserving β-myosin pattern,4 but also involves enzymes in metabolic pathways of energy transfer.2 Many of these genetic alterations affect reactions that influence the balance between carbohydrate and lipid use by the heart. GLUT-4 protein, the main insulin sensitive glucose transporter may be normal or its mRNA reduced.5,6 GLUT-4 deletion leads to hypertrophy and upregulation of GLUT-1, a glucose independent transporter, and to enhanced insulin independent glucose transport.7 However, selective GLUT-1upregulation protects heart function, but may also promote cardiac hypertrophy.8 On the lipid side, transcription of PPAR-α and other genes related to fatty acid oxidation is also reduced. …
Trust in Travel-related Consumer Generated Media

This study investigated the factors influencing trust in travel-related CGM and, in turn, the degree to whcih trust affects the benefits and impacts of using CGM in the course of planning pleasure trips. An online survey of US Internet users was conducted with a total of 1170 individuals responding to questions regarding their perceptions and use of CGM for travel planning. The findings show that CGM use is widespread and that trust depends on the type of Website on which the CGM is posted and perceptions of other CGM creators. Also, those who have greater trust in CGM report greater impacts and derive greater benefits from their CGM use.
Lung function decline and outcomes in an elderly population

Objective: To determine the risk factors for and outcomes associated with the rapid decline in lung function in a cohort of elderly US adults. Methods: Data from 4923 adult participants aged 65 years and older at baseline in the Cardiovascular Health Study were analysed. Subjects were classified using a modification of the GOLD criteria for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a “restricted” category (FEV 1 /FVC ⩾70% and FVC Results: Of the participants in the initial cohort, 3388 (68.8%) had spirometric tests at the year 4 visit. Participants with GOLD stages 3 or 4 COPD at baseline were less likely than normal subjects to have follow up spirometric tests (52.7% v 77.9%, p 1 (28.2% v 21.3%, p 1 of at least 3.5%. Overall, being in the most rapidly declining quartile of FEV 1 from baseline to year 4 was associated with an increased risk of admission to hospital for COPD (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3 to 2.0) and all-cause death (adjusted HR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.7) over an additional 7 years of follow up. Conclusion: More rapid decline in lung function is independently associated with a modest increased risk of hospital admissions and deaths from COPD in an elderly cohort of US participants.
Multidisciplinary management of pregnancy in complex congenital heart disease: A model for coordination of care

With advancements in medical care, many women with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) are now living into adulthood and childbearing years. The strains of pregnancy and parturition can be dangerous in such patients, and careful interdisciplinary plans must be made to optimize maternal and fetal health through this process. Several large studies have been published regarding risk prediction and medical management of pregnancy in complex CHD, though few case studies detailing clinical care plans have been published. The objective of this report is to describe the process of developing a detailed pregnancy and delivery care plan for three women with complex CHD, including perspectives from the multidisciplinary specialists involved in the process. This article demonstrates that collaboration between specialists in the fields of cardiology, anesthesiology, high-risk obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine, and neonatology results in clinically successful individualized treatment plans for the management of pregnancy in complex CHD. Multidisciplinary collaboration is a crucial element in the management of pregnancy in complex CHD. We provide a template used in three cases which can serve as a model for the design of future care plans.
Ethically justified, clinically comprehensive guidelines for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement

Guidelines for the placement of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes are not available. We developed a decision-making algorithm by integrating the medical and ethical dimensions of the decision. According to our algorithm, physicians should not offer PEG tubes to patients with anorexia-cachexia syndromes. For patients with permanent vegetative states, physicians should offer and recommend against the procedure. For patients who have dysphagia without other deficits in quality of life, physicians should offer and recommend the procedure. For the the remaining patients who have dysphagia with other deficits in quality of life, the physician's role is to provide non-directive counselling regarding the short and long-term consequences of a trial of PEG tube feeding.
Aging decreases auditory event-related potentials to unexpected stimuli in humans ☆

A P300 event-related potential (P3a) was recorded to unexpected, deviant auditory stimuli requiring no behavioral response. This brain potential underwent systematic latency prolongation and amplitude decrease with advancing age. The age-related changes paralleled those of the P300 (P3b) recorded in target detection tasks. These results provide physiological evidence of a decremented CNS response to unexpected stimuli with aging.
Backscatter from metal surfaces in diagnostic radiology

Backscatter from four commonly used metals (aluminum, lead, copper, and iron) was measured under diagnostic imaging conditions, using screen-film systems as detectors. The results indicate that for an 80-kV filtered beam and Par Speed/XRP system, backscatter increases as aluminum (Al) thickness increases until it reaches a plateau of approximately 12% at 50 mm Al. The amount of backscatter from any of these four metals increases as the tube voltage is raised from 60 to 115 kV. Measured backscatter depends strongly on the screens used, possibly due to their attenuation and energy response. Backscatter from aluminum was significantly greater than that from the other metals tested.
Multilevel coding of broadcast video over wireless channels

This paper addresses the problem of broadcasting video over wireless channels. In such a scenario, different end users perceive the video signal through channels with different quality. We propose a source-channel coding system, that partitions the video data in such a way that maintains a baseline quality of service even for the user with the worst channel. The system consists of a layered source representation that is robust to error propagation effects, combined with a multilevel channel coding scheme that provides an unequal error protection to the different layers of the encoded video. Experimental results show that our system is robust and guarantees a baseline quality of service to all users over a wide range of channel conditions.
The contribution of Neurocognitive functioning to quality of life after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background Neurocognitive late effects after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are well-documented, but their impact on quality of life (QOL) is not well understood. In this multi-site study, we examined the relative influence of neurocognitive functioning, steroid randomization (prednisone vs. dexamethasone), and demographic characteristics on QOL in first-remission survivors of childhood ALL. Methods Participants included 263 ALL survivors (ages 7–17 years at the time of evaluation; mean age at diagnosis 3.9 years) who were treated on similar legacy Children's Cancer Group chemotherapy protocols and did not receive cranial radiation. Children completed detailed neuropsychological performance tests. The Pediatric QOL Inventory was completed by children and their parents. Participants were a mean of 9 years from diagnosis at the time of assessment (with a range of 4 to 13 years). Results Children and their parents reported lower mean child psychosocial QOL than healthy population norms (p < 0.05), but were not in the impaired range. Physical QOL was similar to population norms. Though neurocognitive difficulties were predominantly mild for the sample as a whole, neurocognitive deficits, specifically problems in verbal cognitive abilities and visual-motor integration skills, were significantly associated with poor physical (p < 0.01) and Psychosocial QOL (p < 0.01). QOL was not associated with previous steroid randomization. Conclusions ALL survivors with neurocognitive deficits are at risk for poor QOL, with broad implications for their physical, social, and school functioning. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Counting intrinsic localized modes in an antiferromagnet

An experimental investigation of frequency locking intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) in an atomic lattice system is reported. The authors demonstrate that a nonlinear four wave mixing measurement is the most sensitive detection method for studying these locked ILMs. The authors are able to count individual ILMs, and confirm the discrete nature of the locked nonlinear state. Future applications may lead to directed energy transfer and smart materials.
Surface-wave scattering matrix for a shelf

The diffraction of gravity waves at a discontinuity in depth is described by a scattering matrix that relates the asymptotic, plane-wave fields (each of which may contain waves travelling towards and away from the discontinuity) on the two sides of the discontinuity. Plane-wave and variational approximations for the elements of this scattering matrix are developed. These approximate results are tested by comparison with the more accurate results obtained by Newman for an infinite step. The plane-wave approximation to the magnitude of the transmission coefficient is within 5% of Newman's result for all wavelengths, but the corresponding approximation to the reflexion coefficient is satisfactory only for rather long wavelengths. The variational approximations to the complex transmission and reflexion coefficients agree with Newman's results, within the accuracy with which his graphs can be read, for all wavelengths. The variational approximations also are used to determine the effects of trapped modes on the resonant width of a shelf that terminates at a vertical cliff.
Mechanism of the Spermatophoric Reaction in the Giant Octopus of the North Pacific, Octopus Dofleini Martini

1. The spermatophoric reaction in the giant octopus requires 1-2 h, and during that time the large mass of spermatozoa contained in the proximal (male-oriented) portion of the spermatophore, is propelled over a metre-long distance to the distal (female-oriented) end. 2. Osmotic pressure provides the main mechanism for the spermatophoric reaction; and the influx of sea water, as a result of which the intraspermatophoric fluid space increases fivefold, provides the main force for driving the spermatozoa from the proximal to the distal end of the spermatophore. 3. The outer tunic of the spermatophore acts as a semipermeable membrane, permeable to sea water but not to macromolecular substances. Its strength is adequate to resist inside pressure 400 cm water in excess of the external environment. 4. In the normal course of spermatophoric reaction intraspermatophoric hydrostatic pressure increases from about 140 cm water at the onset of the reaction to about 330 cm H 2 O at the moment when the cap of the spermatophore ruptures and the ejaculatory apparatus is extruded; the rate at which pressure increases during this phase of the reaction is about 8 cm H 2 O/min. 5. Immediately after the extrusion of the ejaculatory apparatus the pressure falls precipitously. It then increases once more, but very slowly, reaching 45-95 cm H 2 O before the ejaculatory apparatus evaginates. It declines once more during the final stage of the evagination process. At the end of the spermatophoric reaction the transmural pressure is only about 9 cm H 2 O in the spermatophoric bladder but approximately 4 times higher in the proximal portion of the spermatophore. 6. In spite of the increase in the concentration of sodium and chloride ions in the intraspermatophoric fluid, the osmolality of that fluid remains largely unaltered throughout the whole spermatophoric reaction, but always at a level distinctly higher than the surrounding water (by about 30 mOsm/kg water). 7. Large-molecular glycoproteins in the spermatophoric plasma are probably undergoing enzymic breakdown by glycosidases during the spermatophoric reaction, as a result of which some carbohydrate, aminosugar and other nitrogenous organic material pass from the interior to the exterior of the spermatophore.
Functional differences between summer and winter season rain assessed with MODIS‐derived phenology in a semi‐arid region

Questions: We asked several linked questions about phenology and precipitation relationships at local, landscape, and regional spatial scales within individual seasons, between seasons, and between year temporal scales. (1) How do winter and summer phenological patterns vary in response to total seasonal rainfall? (2) How are phenological rates affected by the previous season rainfall? (3) How does phenological variability differ at landscape and regional spatial scales and at season and interannual temporal scales? Location: Southern Arizona, USA. Methods: We compared satellite-derived phenological variation between 38 distinct 625-km 2 landscapes distributed in the northern Sonoran Desert region from 2000 to 2007. Regression analyses were used to identify relationships between landscape phenology dynamics in response to precipitation variability across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Results: While both summer and winter seasons show increases of peak greenness and peak growth with more precipitation, the timing of peak growth was advanced with more precipitation in winter, while the timing of peak greenness was advanced with more precipitation in summer. Surprisingly, summer maximum growth was negatively affected by winter precipitation. The spatial variations between summer and winter phenology were similar in magnitude and response. Larger-scale spatial and temporal variation showed strong differences in precipitation patterns; however the magnitudes of phenological spatial variability in these two seasons were similar. Conclusions: Vegetation patterns were clearly coupled to precipitation variability, with distinct responses at alternative spatial and temporal scales. Disaggregating vegetation into phenological variation, spanning value, timing, and integrated components revealed substantial complexity in precipitation-phenological relationships.
FrequencyIndependent Quasioptical Components

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Path Length Modulators/Delay Lines Polarization Processing Components Polarization Transducers and Wave Plates Quasioptical Hybrids Quasioptical Attenuators and Power Dividers Quasioptical Ferrite Devices Quasioptical Absorbers and Calibration Loads Bibliographic Notes
Noncanonical Wnt signaling promotes apoptosis in thymocyte development.

The Wnt–β-catenin signaling pathway has been shown to govern T cell development by regulating the growth and survival of progenitor T cells and immature thymocytes. We explore the role of noncanonical, Wnt–Ca2+ signaling in fetal T cell development by analyzing mice deficient for Wnt5a. Our findings reveal that Wnt5a produced in the thymic stromal epithelium does not alter the development of progenitor thymocytes, but regulates the survival of αβ lineage thymocytes. Loss of Wnt5a down-regulates Bax expression, promotes Bcl-2 expression, and inhibits apoptosis of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, whereas exogenous Wnt5a increases apoptosis of fetal thymocytes in culture. Furthermore, Wnt5a overexpression increases apoptosis in T cells in vitro and increases protein kinase C (PKC) and calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CamKII) activity while inhibiting β-catenin expression and activity. Conversely, Wnt5a deficiency results in the inhibition of PKC activation, decreased CamKII activity, and elevation of β-catenin amounts in thymocytes. These results indicate that Wnt5a induction of the noncanonical Wnt–Ca2+ pathway alters canonical Wnt signaling and is critical for normal T cell development.
Structures and Reactivities of Tin Oxide on Pt(111) Studied by Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (APXPS)

The reduction of disordered and ordered tin oxide monolayers and multilayers on Pt(111) by H2 was studied in situ by ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The disordered tin oxide monolayer was highly reactive and reduced by 5.5 × 10−7 Torr H2 at 295 K. However, the ordered monolayer was much less reactive, and nearly inert even in 2.2 Torr H2 at 295 K. Reduction of the tin oxide monolayer occurred only when the sample temperature increased to above 600 K in 5.5 × 10−7 Torr H2 or when the sample temperature was 450 K in 2.2 Torr H2. Disordered and ordered multilayers were found to be much less reactive by comparison to the disordered monolayer film. The reduction activity of these ordered and disordered Sn oxide films varied dramatically (by a factor of 107), demonstrating the structural flexibility of Sn oxides and the key interplay of structure and reactivity.
A randomized, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept trial of adjunctive topiramate for alcohol use disorders in bipolar disorder

Background and Objectives Topiramate is effective for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among non-psychiatric patients. We examined topiramate for treating comorbid AUDs in bipolar disorder (BD).
Development of a viscoelastic filament-winding process model

A process that is often used to fabricate cylindrical composite structures and other surfaces of revolution is filament-winding. The objective of this research is to develop a model of the filament-winding process. At a time when concurrent engineering philosophy is being accepted and implemented, design must incorporate as much of the manufacturing process as possible. This is critical in a process like filament-winding where the residual stresses associated with fabrication can be as significant as the stresses encountered during service. Thus the optimum design is dependent upon the physical and chemical phenomena that occur throughout manufacture as well as in the service life. Previous filament-winding process models have relied on a linear elastic assumption to describe the material behavior during cure. However, it is known that many of today's polymeric resins exhibit a viscoelastic response even during the cure cycle. This paper describes the development of a viscoelastic stress analysis and its incorporation into a filament winding process model. Results show that stress relaxation can occur during the cure cycle, causing a significant change in the overall residual stress state compared to the elastic solution.
Photopolymer Waveguide to Fiber Coupling via 3D Direct-Write Lithography

We demonstrate a novel fiber to waveguide coupling in which fiber ends are encapsulated in photopolymer and located by specialized microscopes. Optical waveguides are formed directly off of the fiber cores via 3D direct-write lithography.