cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Occupational Therapy Interventions for Employment and Education for Adults With Serious Mental Illness: A Systematic Review

In this systematic review, we investigated research literature evaluating the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions focusing on participation and performance in occupations related to paid and unpaid employment and education for people with serious mental illness. The review included occupation- and activity-based interventions and interventions addressing performance skills, aspects of the environment, activity demands, and client factors. The results indicate that strong evidence exists for the effectiveness of supported employment using individual placement and support to result in competitive employment. These outcomes are stronger when combined with cognitive or social skills training. Supported education programs emphasizing goal setting, skill development, and cognitive training result in increased participation in educational pursuits. The evidence for instrumental activities of daily living interventions that targeted specific homemaking occupations and supported parenting was limited but positive. Environmental cognitive supports, such as signs, and other compensatory strategies are useful in managing maladaptive behavior.
Effects of Nutrition on Lifelong Sleep and Activity Patterns in Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) exhibits several welldefined sleep parameters and a sleep:wake rhythm strength cycle that fragments and deteriorates with age. Because many aspects of functional senescence may be linked to the effects of accumulated oxidative damage, and as several lines of experimental evidence indicate that sleep parameters and sleep:wake rhythm strength may be modulated by oxidative stress in D. melanogaster, it has been postulated that sleep fragmentation is driven, at least in part, by accumulated oxidative damage in this fly. We investigated the contrasting effects of an enriched dietary regime that is likely to exacerbate processes associated with aging and oxidative damage accumulation, and a dietary restriction regime that has been demonstrated to delay the detectable effects of aging-related damage on lifelong sleep and activity patterns in male and female D. melanogaster. We found that female flies on a nutrient-rich dietary regime exhibited stronger sleep:wake cycles than females on a dietary restriction regime and that dietary restriction did not seem to alter the initiation of sleep fragmentation in female or male D. melanogaster.
SNP fine mapping of chromosome 8q24 in bipolar disorder.

We previously reported linkage to chromosome 8q24 in bipolar disorder (BP) with a LOD of 3.32. We fine mapped the locus with SNPs and tested for association with BP in families with evidence of linkage to the region. We genotyped 249 informative SNPs over 3.4 Mb in an initial sample of 155 nuclear families (352 affected offsprings), and followed up the best findings by genotyping six of the most significantly associated SNPs in a replication sample of 103 nuclear families (231 affected offsprings). We used FBAT and GIST for association tests. Two clusters of SNPs emerged with the strongest evidence of association. The first consisted of three SNPs, approximately 3 kb 5′ from the gene ST3GAL1. These SNPs were associated with BP in the initial sample by FBAT (best P = 0.001) and GIST (best P = 0.05) and associated in the replication sample by FBAT (best P = 0.04). The second cluster consisted of four SNPs (one of which was not genotyped in the replication sample), approximately 480 kb 5′ of ST3GAL1 in a relative gene desert. These SNPs were associated with BP in the initial sample by FBAT (best P = 0.007) and GIST (best P = 0.03), and marginally associated in the replication sample by FBAT (best P = 0.07) and GIST (P = 0.04). ST3GAL1 belongs to a family of glycosyltransferase proteins, several members of which are highly expressed in the brain and involved in neurogenesis. Several other interesting candidate genes are also located nearby. The congruence of findings across methods and samples suggests further investigation is warranted in these two targeted regions. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Relationships between degradability of silk scaffolds and osteogenesis

Bone repairs represent a major focus in orthopedic medicine with biomaterials as a critical aspect of the regenerative process. However, only a limited set of biomaterials are utilized today and few studies relate biomaterial scaffold design to degradation rate and new bone formation. Matching biomaterial remodeling rate towards new bone formation is important in terms of the overall rate and quality of bone regeneration outcomes. We report on the osteogenesis and metabolism of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in 3D silk scaffolds. The scaffolds were prepared with two different degradation rates in order to study relationships between matrix degradation, cell metabolism and bone tissue formation in vitro. SEM, histology, chemical assays, real-time PCR and metabolic analyses were assessed to investigate these relationships. More extensively mineralized ECM formed in the scaffolds designed to degrade more rapidly, based on SEM, von Kossa and type I collagen staining and calcium content. Measures of osteogenic ECM were significantly higher in the more rapidly degrading scaffolds than in the more slowly degrading scaffolds over 56 days of study in vitro. Metabolic analysis, including glucose and lactate levels, confirmed the degradation rate differences with the two types of scaffolds, with the more rapidly degrading scaffolds supporting higher levels of glucose consumption and lactate synthesis by the hMSCs upon osteogenesis, in comparison to the more slowly degrading scaffolds. The results demonstrate that scaffold degradation rates directly impact the metabolism of hMSCs, and in turn the rate of osteogenesis. An understanding of the interplay between cellular metabolism and scaffold degradability should aid in the more rational design of scaffolds for bone regeneration needs both in vitro and in vivo.
Individual and Organizational Correlates of Promotion Refusal.

Abstract Individual and organizational correlates of employees who refuse seniority-based promotions in union lines of progression are examined. The sample consisted of 313 production employees of a large manufacturing complex. Correlational and discriminant analyses revealed that age, being female, and number of employees in the department related positively to promotion refusal, while years of education and pay showed a negative relationship. Of these variables, years of education was the strongest predictor. Potential explanations for the results relate to stress avoidance, perceived inabilities, and equity theory. Areas for future research are suggested.
Effect of laser-pulse structure and wavelength on wound healing

We have investigated wound healing of incisions in the buccal mucosa of a canine model created with the Vanderbilt Free Electron Laser tuned to 6.1, 6.45 and 6.8 microns. We have also used a carbon dioxide laser, continuous wave and with a short-pulse structure (100 microseconds) to access wavelength and pulse structure components to wound healing from laser incisions. The tissue was evaluated histologically and with tensiometry acutely and at post operative days 3, 7, and 14. The data indicate that shorter laser pulse durations create less lateral thermal injury and wounds with greater tensile strength, resulting in earlier wound healing. Wound healing was only slightly dependent upon the wavelength of the laser. These results demonstrate that surgical carbon dioxide lasers with a short-pulse structure of approximately 100 microseconds or less could offer more prompt wound healing while maintaining the advantages of a 10.6 micron wavelength laser.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Foraging Path Selection in Bumblebees: Hindsight or Foresight?

Inflorescence richness and density did not effect the magnitude or variation in magnitude of the turning angles between inflorescences in the paths of foraging bumblebees. The pooled data indicated that bumblebees tended to move straight through the Vicia patch regardless of raceme density. The angular distributions from the field data were similar to those derived from a computer model in which consumers just visited the nearest inflorescences provided that they revisited few flowers. These results imply that the foraging paths of bumblebees may be determined, in part, by a tendency to visit nearest inflorescences. The distribution of turning angles from individual rather than pooled data, however, suggest that active selection of inflorescences with between two and six flowers may also play a role in determining the foraging path. I found no evidence for area-restricted foraging. This may be due to the heterogeneity of the natural resource patches.
Abnormal Responses of the Systolic Time Intervals to Exercise in Patients with Angina Pectoris

The effects of a 4-min exercise on the duration of the systolic time intervals were determined in 20 patients with angina and 20 age-matched normal controls. The pre-ejection period was shortened 26 msec in normal subjects and 35 msec in angina patients. In normal subjects, total electromechanical systole corrected for heart rate (Q22c) decreased 24 msec, while the left ventricular ejection time corrected for heart rate (LVETc) remained unchanged. In the angina group, by contrast, Q22c failed to change, while LVETc lengthened 23 msec. The angina patients developed similar abnormalities, without pain, after 2 min of exercise. Changes in arterial pressure, cardiac output, and stroke volume failed to explain these systolic temporal abnormalities. Similar abnormalities occurred in 12 patients with primary myocardial disease and heart failure, but not in seven noncardiac patients with nonanginal chest pain. Owing to impaired left ventricular performance and increased afterload, mild exercise prolongs left ventricular ejection in patients with angina. This abnormal prolongation contributes to the development of angina and has value in its diagnosis.
Hydrodynamic Considerations in Bioreactor Selection and Design

The biological production of renewable fuels and chemicals, medicines, and proteins is not possible without a properly functioning bioreactor. Bioreactors are expected to meet several basic requirements and create conditions favorable to the biological material such that the desired production is maximized. The basic requirements, which are strongly influenced by fluid mechanic principles, may include minimum damage to the biological material, maximum reactor volume utilization, optimized gas-liquid mass transfer, and/or enhanced mass transfer from the liquid to the biological species. Each of these goals may be achieved within any of the major bioreactor designs, which generally fall under the categories of stirred tank, bubble column, or airlift bioreactor. Yet, each of the bioreactor designs has strengths and weaknesses. This paper provides an overview of bioreactor hydrodynamic developments and the fluid mechanic issues that should to be considered when selecting a bioreactor for experimental and production purposes.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Radiation dose to patients and relatives incident to 131I therapy.

Radioiodine long has proven to be a safe and effective treatment for thyroid disease. Nonetheless, persisting concerns regarding radiogenic stochastic risks (e.g., carcinogenesis) to patients, their families, and the general public have led regulators to establish criteria for release of 131I-containing patients from medical confinement, with limits ranging from as low as 2 mCi in some parts of Europe to as high as 30 mCi in the United States. To optimize clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of 131I therapy, such regulations should be based on logical dosimetric considerations. The thyroidal absorbed dose, proportional to maximum uptake and effective half-life and inversely proportional to mass, is typically approximately 1,500 rad/mCi of 131I administered to a euthyroid adult (based on a thyroid maximum uptake of 25%, effective half-life equivalent to the physical half-life of 131I (8.04 days), and mass of 20 g). As thyroid uptake increases from 0% to 100%, extrathyroidal absorbed doses range from a minimum of 0.15 to 0.5 rad/mCi for breast and gonads to a maximum of 1.5 to 2 rad/mCi for stomach and salivary glands; the absorbed doses of the urinary bladder wall, in contrast, decrease with increasing thyroid uptake, from 2 to 0.6 rad/mCi. In hyperthyroid patients (approximately 15%) with a small iodine pool (so-called small patients), the short effective half-life of radioiodine in the thyroid and high serum concentrations of long-lived protein-bound 131I result in a standard 7,000-rad absorbed dose for treatment of Graves' disease requiring an administered activity of 28 mCi of 131I and yielding a prohibitively high blood absorbed dose of 150 rad. Importantly, once the fetal thyroid begins to function and accumulate radioiodine at a gestational age of 10-12 weeks, fetal thyroid absorbed doses as large as 5,000 rad/mCi of 131I administered to the mother can result. Thus, pregnancy is an absolute contraindication to administration of 131I because of the risk of radiogenic cretinism. Based on actual measurements of thyroid activity and of external absorbed dose, the total thyroid and mean extrathyroidal absorbed doses to adult family members from immediately released 131I-treated patients are approximately 0.01 and approximately 0.02 rad/mCi administered, respectively, yielding an effective dose of approximately 0.02 rem/mCi. A maximum permissible effective dose of 0.5 rem for adults therefore is consistent with a release criterion of 30 mCi of retained 131I. Lower-activity release criteria therefore may be unnecessarily restrictive.
Tonsillar Pain Mimicking Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia as a Complication of Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Case Report

An adolescent girl presented with severe, lancinating tonsillar pain exacerbated by swallowing 6 weeks after initiation of left vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy. Her symptoms mimicked those seen in glossopharyngeal neuralgia and were relieved by temporary cessation of stimulation. Gradual reinstitution of therapy with alteration in stimulus parameters resulted in improved seizure control as well as cessation of pain symptoms. Direct stimulation of the vagus nerve may result in vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia, which, in this case, was amenable to stimulus modification.
Bombesin may stimulate proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells through an autocrine pathway

Bombesin is trophic to normal pancreas and acinar cell adenocarcinoma, but its effects on ductal cell tumors are undetermined. The autocrine growth effects of bombesin on well-differentiated (HPAF, CD11) and poorly differentiated (CD18, PANC-1) human ductal pancreatic cancer cell lines were investigated. Receptor binding of labeled bombesin was measured in a whole-cell microplate assay. Bombesin production was measured by radioimmunoassay. Proliferative responses were quantified using the MTT assay. Messenger RNA for bombesin and its receptor were identified by primer extension analysis. A single class of high-affinity binding sites was detected on HPAF and CD18 cells. Similar affinities and high receptor densities were found on the 2 cell lines. Bombesin was secreted by all 4 cell lines during 24-hr culture in serum-free media, and its recovery was enhanced in the presence of protease inhibitors. Primer extension analysis demonstrated the presence of mRNA for both bombesin and its receptor in HPAF, CD18, CD11 and PANC-1 cells, even though no functional receptor was found in the latter 2 lines. Bombesin significantly stimulated the proliferation of HPAF and CD18 cells. This trophic effect was inhibited by the specific bombesin antagonist RC-3095. Bombesin may act as an autocrine growth factor in some human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, other cell lines transcribe mRNA for bombesin receptors but have no functional bombesin receptors, suggesting a genetic or post-translational change in the receptor for these cells. Bombesin may be involved as a growth factor in the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in humans. This possible autocrine growth pathway may provide an avenue for therapeutic intervention in this malignant disease. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Colonization Cycles in Man and Beast

Abstract Pre‐industrial man and other animal species are compared with respect to colonization cycles, i.e. the cycles of population expansion and contraction that provide the historical basis for instantaneous biological distribution patterns. Because every species is basically different from every other species, biogeography has developed a common framework for understanding such unlike distributions as those of giraffes, oak trees and man by seeking relations among key variables or processes relevant to any species. Like other species, man reproduces, dies, disperses, exploits environments of varying stability and productivity, adapts phenotypically and genetically, is subject to intraspecific competition and ‐ still like other species ‐ differs from other species in particular characteristics of each of these processes. These key ingredients for biogeographic analysis are discussed to inquire in what ways man is unique as a colonist.
Studies of the quantum Hall to quantum Hall insulator transition in InSb-based 2DESs

Abstract The temperature dependence of ρ xx is studied in the vicinity of the quantum Hall to quantum Hall insulator transition ( ν =1→0) in InSb/InAlSb based 2DESs. ρ xx displays a symmetric temperature dependence about the transition with ρ xx ∝ e − T 0 /T on the QH side and ρ xx ∝ e + T 0 /T on the insulating side. A plot of 1/ T 0 for successive ν displays power-law divergence with 1/ T 0 ∝| ν − ν c | − γ , 2 with γ =2.2±0.3. This critical behavior in addition to the ρ xx ∝ e − 1/T behavior expected of the quantum transport regime confirms that the QH/QHI transition is indeed a good quantum phase transition.
Probabilistic Modeling and Analysis of DoS Protection for the ASV Protocol

The Adaptive Selective Verification (ASV) protocol was recently proposed as an effective and efficient DoS countermeasure within the shared channel model, in which clients and attackers probabilistically share communication bandwidth with the server. ASV has been manually shown to satisfy some desirable availability and bandwidth consumption properties. Due to the probabilistic nature of the protocol and its underlying attacker model, it is intrinsically difficult to build a faithful model of the protocol with which one may automatically verify its properties. This paper fills the gap between manual analysis and simulation-based experimental analysis of ASV, through automated formal analysis. We describe a formal model of ASV using probabilistic rewrite theories, implemented in a probabilistic extension of Maude, and show how it can be used to formally verify various characteristics of ASV through automated statistical quantitative model checking analysis techniques. In particular, we formally verify ASV's connection confidence theorem and a slightly more general bandwidth consumption theorem of ASV. This is followed by a statistical comparison of ASV with non-adaptive selective verification protocols. We conclude with remarks on possible further development and future work.
Electrohydrodynamics of a liquid column under a transverse electric field in confined domains

Abstract The steady state electrohydrodynamics of a leaky dielectric fluid column in confined domains is investigated. The governing electrohydrodynamic equations are solved, in a plane normal to the column axis, for Newtonian and immiscible fluids in the framework of leaky-dielectric theory and for creeping flow regime. The domain confinement strengthens or weakens the electric field, depending on R > 1 or R R = σ i / σ o being the ratio of electric conductivity of the column to that of the surrounding fluid. Similarly, the flow intensity decreases for R R > 1, depending on the interplay of electric and hydrodynamic effects. An expression for the interface deformation for small distortion from the circular shape is found using the domain perturbation technique. It is shown that below a threshold domain size the confinement effect will lead to the reversal of the tendency of the net normal hydrodynamic stress in deforming the interface to an oblate or a prolate shape, and that below a critical domain size the necessary condition for having an oblate column will transfer from R S to R > S , where S = ϵ i / ϵ o is the permittivity ratio.
Appropriate use of interferon beta-1a in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, is the most common crippling neurological disease of young adults in the US. The 2 basic clinical forms of the disease (relapsing and progressive), which can occur singly or in combination, encompass a wide range of clinical severities are usually established between 18 and 35 years of age and can persist an entire lifetime. Life expectancy of 20 years is 85% of normal. Historically, the standard proven and generally accepted clinical treatment of the disease has been corticotropin (ACTH) and methylprednisolone, which benefited clinical relapses but had no effect on clinical disability (the most important factor influencing the lives of individual MS patients) or other aspects of the chronic course of the disease. The most important new development in the treatment of MS has been the introduction of interferon beta into the clinic. Two forms of recombinant interferon beta have been approved by the FDA for use in relapsing MS: interferon beta-1b (IFN-β-1b) and interferon beta-1a (IFN-β-1a). The efficacy of IFN-β-1b in the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS was established first but no effect on physical disability progression was discerned. In contrast, well designed trials of intramuscular IFN-β-1a (Avonex®) 6.0 MIU (30μ) weekly and subcutaneous IFN-α-1a (Rebif®) 6 MIU (22μg) or 12 MIU (44μg) 3 times weekly produced a significant delay in the time to sustained progression in physical disability, the first MS treatment to exert such a prophylactic effect. Additionally, IFN-β-1a significantly reduced clinical relapses and acute and chronic brain lesions revealed by MRI examinations. It is currently believed that IFN-β-1a treatment alters the fundamental course of relapsing MS. The mechanisms of the therapeutic benefit of recombinant interferon betas are incompletely understood but may include augmentation of suppressor T cell function, inhibition of interferon gamma actions, inhibition of T cell activation, or induction of interleukin-10 gene transcription.
What Extension Workers Need to Tell Dairy Farmers

Abstract The animal model is a method of estimating breeding values of dairy animals that uses the individual animal as the basis of calculations. Previous methods (the Modified Contemporary Comparison and other sire evaluations) have used performance of progeny groups as the basis of comparisons. Evaluation of females has been secondary, using results of sire evaluations. With an animal model, cows and sires are evaluated simultaneously with each evaluation impacting evaluation of all relatives. Other differences associated with adopting an animal model include a new genetic base and automatic adjustment for genetic merit of mates. Changes in sire evaluation will likely be small for widely sampled bulls, except for a lowering of all evaluations due to use of a more recent genetic base. Substantial changes in evaluations of some individual cows are likely.
Olfactory enrichment enhances the survival of newly born cortical neurons in adult mice.

Neurogenesis persists in the adult rodent olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulbs. Recent studies suggest that neurogenesis might also occur in the adult rodent piriform cortex, the primary cortical projection site of the olfactory bulbs. To determine whether olfactory enrichment influences neuroge
Cancer progression and p53

In a complex organism, somatic cells are under intermittent selection pressure for the emergence of mutants that can survive environmental insults and that can grow autonomously despite adverse conditions. Repeated rounds of mutation, selection, and proliferation may lead to cancer. The organism prevents malignant transformation by assuring accurate DNA repair before cell division, by forcing the death of cells with excessive DNA damage, and by placing limits on the replicative lifespans of most somatic cells. The p53 gene is a "guardian of the genome"--it regulates multiple components of the DNA damage control response and promotes cellular senescence. Disabling mutations and deletions of p53 occur in 50% of human tumours. p53-deficient cancers are often unstable, aggressive, and resistant to therapy.
The modulation of sensory input and motor output in autistic children

This paper explores the possible pathophysiologic mechanisms which might underlie the unusual motility disturbances which occur in autistic children. These motor behaviors are in some way related to the faulty modulation of sensory input which is also a significant feature of the autistic syndrome. Psychologic experiments have revealed that autistic children learn through manipulation and position cues rather than through normal perceptual processes. It is therefore suggested that their spontaneous abnormal motility may be the autistic children's way of making sense out of both exogenous and endogenous sensations through kinesthetic (sensorimotor) feedback. Experimental demonstrations of a deficient oculomotor response to vestibular and visual stimulation parallel clinical observations of the hypomotility also seen in response to sensory stimulation. Review of the neurophysiology of the vestibular system reveals that the vestibular nuclei modulate motor output at the time of sensory input and sensory input at the time of motor output. It is suggested that a dysfunction of the central connections of the vestibular system with the cerebellum and the brain stem may be responsible for the strange sensorimotor behavior observed in autistic children and may also have implications for understanding the manner in which autistic children learn, since clinical studies point toward a strong motor component to their perceptual processes.
A Novel Pathway for Nickel-induced Interleukin-8 Expression

Inhalation of particulate nickel subsulfide (Ni3S2) causes chronic active inflammation and fibrosis of the lungs. However, the mechanisms for these effects are not well understood. Therefore, cell culture experiments with BEAS-2B human airway epithelial cells were conducted to test the hypothesis that exposure to non-cytotoxic levels of Ni3S2 induces expression of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8). Exposure to Ni3S2 for 48 h was required to significantly increase IL-8 protein levels. Transcriptional stimulation of IL-8 mRNA levels preceded the increase in protein. Transient exposure to soluble nickel sulfate failed to increase IL-8 mRNA. Transfection with truncated IL-8 promoter constructs linked to the luciferase gene demonstrated that nickel-induced IL-8 transcription required -272 bp of the promoter relative to the transcriptional start site. A -133-bp construct, containing cytokine and hypoxia-sensitive AP-1, NF-IL6, and NF-kappaB sites, was insufficient for induction by nickel. Transfection with a dominant negative AP-1 construct or mutation of the AP-1, GATA, or C/EBP sites in the -272-bp IL-8 promoter construct blocked induction by nickel. Inhibiting ERK, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, but not p38 kinase, diacylglycerol kinase, or hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha, attenuated nickel induction of IL-8. These studies indicate that nickel induced IL-8 transcription through a novel pathway that requires both AP-1 and non-traditional transcription factors.
Mimicry of high-density lipoprotein: functional peptide-lipid nanoparticles based on multivalent peptide constructs.

We describe an approach for engineering peptide–lipid nanoparticles that function similarly to high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Branched, multivalent constructs, bearing multiple 23- or 16-amino-acid peptides, were designed, synthesized, and combined with phospholipids to produce nanometer-scale discoidal HDL-like particles. A variety of biophysical techniques were employed to characterize the constructs, including size exclusion chromatography, analytical ultracentrifuge sedimentation, circular dichroism, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The nanoparticles functioned in vitro (human and mouse plasma) and in vivo (mice) to rapidly remodel large native HDLs into small lipid-poor HDL particles, which are key acceptors of cholesterol in reverse cholesterol transport. Fluorescent labeling studies showed that the constituents of the nanoparticles readily distributed into native HDLs, such that the peptide constructs coexisted with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the main structural p...
Rates of evolutionary change in the hominid canine teeth.

RATES of evolutionary change in the size and shape of hominid cheek teeth were not constant during the Pleistocene1. Because of the widespread interest in the relationship between the use of tools and the evolution of human canine teeth, I now present data for rates of evolutionary change in hominid canines. Evolutionary rates should be rapid at times of strong selective pressure for larger or smaller canines. My data, however, do not support the orthodox view2 that a reduction in size of the canine accompanied the appearance or early development of tool making by the precedessors of man.
Does debulking improve survival rate in advanced-stage retroperitoneal embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma?

Abstract Background, Methods, and Purpose: The authors examined demographic and clinical features, therapy, and outcome of patients with advanced (group III or IV) rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) of the retroperitoneum and nongenitourinary pelvis treated in the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group (IRSG) III (1984 to 1991, n=41) or IV pilot (1987 to 1991, n=53) studies to assess the role of initial debulking surgery. Results: Ninety-four patients with retroperitoneal primary tumors and gross locoregional residual tumor (group III, n=53) or metastatic disease (group IV tumors, n=41) were treated with combination chemotherapy (ie, vincristine, dactinomycin, and cyclophosphamide with or without other agents plus radiation therapy, RT) after biopsy only or subtotal resection. These retroperitoneal tumors usually were invasive (T2, 76%). Most patients were younger than 10 years of age (n = 69, 73%), the male to female ratio was 1.4, and tumors usually were embryonal (n = 64, 68%). Overall 4-year failure-free survival (FFS) was 50%; survival was 60%. Survival rate was better for girls (4-year survival rate, 75% v 49% for boys; P = .05) and was not significantly different for patients treated in IRS-III (66%) or IRS-IV pilot (52%). However, it was better for patients with embryonal versus alveolar or undifferentiated tumors (4-year survival rate, 70% v 42%; P = .002). In adolescents, RMS is different from that seen in children less than 10 years old; most cases are alveolar or undifferentiated (16 of 29, 55%). Surgery for most (21 of 24) patients with alveolar tumors comprised biopsy only. By contrast, of 64 patients with embryonal tumors, 39 (61%) underwent biopsy only, whereas 25 (39%) had debulking surgery. Patients whose tumors were debulked fared better than those whose tumors underwent biopsy only (4-year FFS rate, 72% v 48%; P = 0.03). Patients with group IV embryonal tumors fared unexpectedly better than those with group IV alveolar or undifferentiated tumors (70% versus 42% 4-year survival rate, P Conclusions: Multimodal therapy, including multiagent chemotherapy plus RT, appears to improve survival rate in patients with advanced embryonal RMS arising in the retroperitoneum. These data suggest that debulking tumors of embryonal histology improves outcome further. This approach will be assessed in IRSG V.
A chamber attached to the SEM for fracturing and coating frozen biological samples

SUMMARY A chamber for introducing, fracturing and coating frozen biological samples has been developed as an attachment to the specimen chamber of a scanning electron microscope. Together with a eucentric-tilt cold-stage, this chamber constitutes a complete system for viewing fractured biological surfaces of the type normally only seen by replica techniques. An air-lock on the chamber accepts a transfer module to allow insertion of the frozen sample without frost build-up. Fracturing is carried out with a precisely adjustable cooled knife under a 10–100 × binocular microscope. The sample can tilt and rotate while being coated with carbon or metals evaporated from rechargeable sources introduced through the air-lock. Cooling in the chamber is provided by a cylindrical copper tank filled with liquid nitrogen. The chamber has its own LN2 trapped high vacuum system. After preparation the sample can be placed directly into the SEM through an isolation valve. The cold-stage utilizes a Joule-Thomson refrigerator. The sample can be kept below 103 K at all times though there are provisions for heating it in the fracturing and cold-stage positions. A system of controls, sensors and interlocks simplifies the operation of the system.
Comparative estrogenic activity of wine extracts and organochlorine pesticide residues in food.

The human diet contains industrial-derived, endocrine-active chemicals and higher levels of naturally occurring compounds that modulate multiple endocrine pathways. Hazard and risk assessment of these mixtures is complicated by noadditive interactions between different endocrine-mediated responses. This study focused on estrogenic chemicals in the diet and compared the relative potencies or estrogen equivalents (EQs) of the daily consumption of xenoestrogenic organochlorine pesticides in food (2.44 micrograms/day) with the EQs in a single 200-ml glass of red cabernet wine. The reconstituted organochlorine mixture contained 1,1,1-trichloro-2-(p-chlorophenyl)-2-(o-chlorophenyl)ethane, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene, endosulfan-1, endosulfan-2, p,p'-methoxychlor, and toxaphene; the relative proportion of each chemical in the mixture resembled the composition reported in a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration market basket survey. The following battery of in vitro 17 beta-estradiol (E2)-responsive bioassays were utilized in this study: competitive binding to mouse uterine estrogen receptor (ER); proliferation in T47D human breast cancer cells; luciferase (Luc) induction in human HepG2 cells transiently cotransfected with C3-Luc and the human ER, rat ER-alpha, or rat ER-beta; induction of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells transfected with E2-responsive cathepsin D-CAT or creatine kinase B-CAT plasmids. For these seven in vitro assays, the calculated EQs in extracts from 200 ml of red cabernet wine varied from 0.15 to 3.68 micrograms/day. In contrast, EQs for consumption of organochlorine pesticides (2.44 micrograms/day) varied from nondetectable to 1.24 ng/day. Based on results of the in vitro bioassays, organochlorine pesticides in food contribute minimally to dietary EQ intake.
Teaching evolution, the Kansas School Board of Education, and the democratization of science

In the August 1st Republican primaries for the Kansas State Board of Education, three board members were defeated who voted for the 1999 decision to remove most references regarding evolution from state education standards. This makes it likely that the board will in some way overturn or modify the 1999 decision.
The effects of mescaline, amphetamine and four-ring substituted amphetamine derivatives on spontaneous brain electrical activity in the cat.

Abstract Alterations in frequency distribution of spontaneous brain electrical activity were measured following administration of mescaline, amphetamine, trimethoxy-amphetamine (TMA), methoxy-methylenedioxy-amphetamine (MMDA), methylenedioxy-amphetamine (MDA) and dimethoxy-amphetamine (DMA) to unanesthetized and unrestrained cats. Two orthogonal patterns of frequency change were found which were correlated with dosage of the test compounds. It is proposed that one of these patterns represents central alerting in the cat, while the other is a correlate of the hallucinogenic effect produced in man by some of the drugs used. An analysis of the effects produced by individual compounds for their content of each pattern revealed that only amphetamine produced significant alerting; in terms of hallucinogenic effect, activities of the drugs decreased in the order TMA > MDA > MMDA > mescaline > DMA.
Structure of Bimodal Polymer Brushes in a Good Solvent by Neutron Reflectivity

Neutron reflection is used to examine the concentration profile of bimodal tethered layers in a good solvent. The tethered layers are Langmuir monolayers of highly asymmetric poly(dimethylsiloxane)−polystyrene (PDMS−PS) diblock copolymers at the air surface of ethyl benzoate. The PS blocks dangle into the good solvent, while the PDMS blocks anchor the copolymers to the surface. Bimodal layers are prepared using two block copolymers which vary in the molecular weight of the dangling block. The presence of the smaller PS blocks (DOP = N1) leads to additional stretching of the larger PS blocks (DOP = N2) relative to their dimension in a single-component monolayer, while the dimension of the smaller PS blocks is largely unaffected by the presence of the larger blocks. For the three bimodal brushes examined, the effect of additional stretching for the larger chains is greatest (up to 30%) for N2 ≅ 3N1, smaller for N2 ≅ 5N1, and negligible for N2 ≅ 11N1. These trends are in agreement with self-consistent field ...
Kyrgyzstan's dark ages: framing and the 2010 hydroelectric revolution

Prior to the 2010 overthrow of Kyrgyzstan's government, there were tangible signs of popular dissatisfaction with the ruling Bakiev regime. Beginning in spring 2008, electricity shortages and forced restrictions became a daily reminder of the government's ineptitude, corruption and regional vulnerability. This article reports the results of a survey and interviews conducted in 2009–10. The results reveal how popular perceptions of energy and water supply shaped the average Kyrgyzstani's frustration with the ruling regime in the year before the revolution. The paper explores how the Bakiev administration attempted to frame the electricity crisis in nationalistic and naturalized ways, and how this framing only partly resonated and created mismatch with daily lived experiences and widespread suspicions of corruption in the hydroenergy sector. Ultimately, this mismatched framing generated collective emotions of shame and blame, creating the context for revolution.
Type-I and type-II Stark ladders in an InGaAs/GaAs superlattice

Abstract The effects of an applied electric field on light and heavy-hole excitons have been observed in an InGaAs/GaAs superlattice using both photocurrent and electroreflectance measurements at 6 K. Type-I exciton Stark ladder calculations performed for this superlattice show good agreement with the measured heavy-hole Wannier-Stark ladders, while a type-II calculation for the light-hole Stark ladders yields rather large discrepancies. Type-I localization for the second miniband heavy-hole Stark ladders is also observed.
Composition and sources of atmospheric dusts in snow at 3200 meters in the St. Elias Range, southeastern Alaska, USA

Abstract Dusts in snow from the accumulation zone in the St. Elias Range appear from their chemical compositions to have come from terranes of rocks of ferromagnesian composition. These dusts, with respect to their composition and to the moderate degree of variation that occurs through a depositional year, are similar those deposited in Greenland. The high portion of the St. Elias Range is isolated from dominance by any local dust source terranes, because of altitude and the extent of the surrounding glacierized and snow-covered region. In Greenland the altitude is typically lower, but local sources are even less likely to dominate the character of the dusts deposited into the ice record there. The similar compositions and moderate compositional variations of dusts from these two places bear on the question of whether the dusts that are transported over long distances by the atmosphere under modern and glacial-period conditions are uniform and representative of a broad regional or even hemispheric background dust. The dusts in the snow were measured by means of a suite of major, minor, and trace rock-forming metals chosen to give information about rock types, their constituent minerals, degree of degradation (weathering), and energies of atmospheric uptake from source. The variations in amounts of rock dust through the year in the St. Elias Range snowpack have no time-stratigraphic correspondence to the also large variations in concentrations of other species that are not constituents of rock-derived dusts, such the anions chloride, sulfate, and nitrate; the highs and lows of the two types of materials are apparently completely independent. The structure revealed by the moderately fine-scale sampling of the present study (≈ 10 increments/y) serves as a background for the interpretation of analysis of ice core samples, in which annual layers may be too compressed to permit analysis of sub-annual samples.
The Cost of Expression of Escherichia coli lac Operon Proteins Is in the Process, Not in the Products

Transcriptional regulatory networks allow bacteria to express proteins only when they are needed. Adaptive hypotheses explaining the evolution of regulatory networks assume that unneeded expression is costly and therefore decreases fitness, but the proximate cause of this cost is not clear. We show that the cost in fitness to Escherichia coli strains constitutively expressing the lactose operon when lactose is absent is associated with the process of making the lac gene products, i.e., associated with the acts of transcription and/or translation. These results reject the hypotheses that regulation exists to prevent the waste of amino acids in useless protein or the detrimental activity of unnecessary proteins. While the cost of the process of protein expression occurs in all of the environments that we tested, the expression of the lactose permease could be costly or beneficial, depending on the environment. Our results identify the basis of a single selective pressure likely acting across the entire E. coli transcriptome.
Inactivation and Disassembly of the Anaphase-Promoting Complex during Human Cytomegalovirus Infection Is Associated with Degradation of the APC5 and APC4 Subunits and Does Not Require UL97-Mediated Phosphorylation of Cdh1

Infection of quiescent cells by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) elicits severe cell cycle deregulation, resulting in a G(1)/S arrest, which can be partly attributed to the inactivation of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC). As we previously reported, the premature phosphorylation of its coactivator Cdh1 and/or the dissociation of the core complex can account for the inactivation. We have expanded on these results and further delineated the key components required for disabling the APC during HCMV infection. The viral protein kinase UL97 was hypothesized to phosphorylate Cdh1, and consistent with this, phosphatase assays utilizing a virus with a UL97 deletion mutation (ΔUL97 virus) indicated that Cdh1 is hypophosphorylated at early times in the infection. Mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that UL97 can phosphorylate Cdh1 in vitro, and the majority of the sites identified correlated with previously characterized cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) consensus sites. Analysis of the APC core complex during ΔUL97 virus infection showed APC dissociation occurring at the same time as during infection with wild-type virus, suggesting that the UL97-mediated phosphorylation of Cdh1 is not required for this to occur. Further investigation of the APC subunits showed a proteasome-dependent loss of the APC5 and APC4 subunits that was temporally associated with the disassembly of the APC. Immediate early viral gene expression was not sufficient for the degradation of APC4 and APC5, indicating that a viral early gene product(s), possibly in association with a de novo-synthesized cellular protein(s), is involved.
Quality Health Care for Children and the Affordable Care Act: A Voltage Drop Checklist

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduces enormous policy changes to the health care system with several anticipated benefits and a growing number of unanticipated challenges for child and adolescent health. Because the ACA gives each state and their payers substantial autonomy and discretion on implementation, understanding potential effects will require state-by-state monitoring of policies and their impact on children. The “voltage drop” framework is a useful interpretive guide for assessing the impact of insurance market change on the quality of care received. Using this framework we suggest a state-level checklist to examine ACA statewide implementation, assess its impact on health care delivery, and frame policy correctives to improve child health system performance. Although children’s health care is a small part of US health care spending, child health provides the foundation for adult health and must be protected in ACA implementation.
Wide bandwidth source for high resolution ranging

An erbium-doped fiber ring laser with a 1 km-long resonator cavity is presented as an instantaneous wideband source for high-resolution lidar and radar. This signal source has a high bandwidth and a uniform spectrum, desirable qualities for high performance correlation-based ranging. A microwave bandwidth photodetector is used to convert the optical signal to an electrical signal with 4 GHz of bandwidth, whose spectral flatness is seen to be +/− 2 dB.
Pair potential calculations of single atom self-diffusion activation energies

Abstract The theoretical method most generally used to model single atom surface diffusion characteristics is evaluated in this paper. The method is based on the use of semi-empirical potentials to describe interatomic forces. In the present study calculations were performed for all bcc and fee transition metals. Comparison of these calculations with existing experimental data show that the final ordering of activation energies for single atom self diffusion on different surface orientations is critically dependent on the amount of lattice relaxation around the adatom, and that the existence of quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is fortuitous and strongly dependent on lattice relaxation procedures.