cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of monocyte activation and expression of proinflammatory cytochemokines by placenta growth factor

Monocytes from patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are in an activated state. However, the mechanism of activation of monocytes in SCD is not known. Our studies showed that placenta growth factor (PlGF) activated monocytes and increased mRNA levels of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] and interleukin-1beta [IL-1beta]) and chemokines (monocyte chemotactic protein-1 [MCP-1], IL-8, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta [MIP-1beta]) in both normal monocytes and in the THP-1 monocytic cell line. This increase in mRNA expression of cytochemokines was also reflected in monocytes derived from subjects with SCD. We studied the PlGF-mediated downstream cellular signaling events that caused increased transcription of inflammatory cytochemokines and chemotaxis of THP-1 monocytes. PlGF-mediated cytochemokine mRNA and protein expression was inhibited by PD98059 and wortmannin, inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPK/MEK) kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI3) kinase, respectively, but not by SB203580, a p38 kinase inhibitor. PlGF caused a time-dependent transient increase in phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK-1/2), which was completely inhibited by wortmannin, indicating that activation of PI3 kinase preceded MEK activation. PlGF also induced transient phosphorylation of AKT. MEK and PI3 kinase inhibitors and antibody to Flt-1 abrogated PlGF-induced chemotaxis of THP-1 monocytes. Overexpression of a dominant-negative AKT or a dominant-negative PI3 kinase p85 subunit in THP-1 monocytes attenuated the PlGF-mediated phosphorylation of ERK-1/2, cytochemokine secretion, and chemotaxis. Taken together, these data show that activation of monocytes by PlGF occurs via activation of Flt-1, which results in activation of PI3 kinase/AKT and ERK-1/2 pathways. Therefore, we propose that increased levels of PlGF in circulation play an important role in the inflammation observed in SCD via its effects on monocytes.
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE SCALING: PHYSICS, TRANSPORT, AND THE ROLE OF NANOWIRES

Nanoelectronics (including nanomagnetics and nanophotonics) generally refers to nanometer scale devices, and to circuits and architectures which are composed of these devices. Continued scaling of the devices into the nanometer range leads to enhanced information processing systems. Generally, this scaling has arisen from three major sources, one of which is reduction of the physical gate length of individual transistors. Until recently, this has also allowed an increase in the clock speed of the chip, but power considerations have halted this to levels around 4 GHz in Si. Indeed, there are indications that scaling itself may be finished by the end of this decade. Instead, there are now pushes to seek alternative materials for nano-devices that may supplement the Si CMOS in a manner that allows both higher speeds and lower power. In this paper, we will cover some of the impending limitations, and discuss some alternative approaches that may signal continued evolution of integrated circuits beyond the end of the decade.
Milk for “Growth”: Global and Local Meanings of Milk Consumption in China, India, and the United States

Whereas milk production and consumption and the genes that allow for milk digestion throughout life are strongly variable across populations, historically only a minority of human groups valued milk as an important component of local foodways. By the early 21st century, however, milk consumption has become globally normative, and a spectacular rise in intake has been documented in countries such as China and India. Meanwhile, in the United States, consumption has declined markedly, especially among children. In this article, I argue that milk has been able to succeed in India and China by being positioned as a food with special qualities that enhance physical growth, which in turn serves as a powerful metaphor for individual and national power and wealth. Simultaneously, milk is being repackaged as a salve for the problems of modernity in the United States. Milk's unique history in each country provides an interpretive framework within which these meanings emerge, and milk's current success in local foodw...
Home Monitoring Should Be the Central Element in an Effective Program of Heart Failure Disease Management

Heart failure (HF) is a major and growing public health problem in the United States. On the basis of current trajectories, it has been estimated that, over the next 20 years, the prevalence of HF will increase by 25%, from 2.8% to 3.5% of the population (Figure 1).1 The increased prevalence may be expected to contribute to an increase in annual direct medical costs from the present estimate of $24.7 billion to approximately $77.7 billion, in 2008 dollars. At the same time, indirect costs—that is, costs related to lost productivity due to morbidity and mortality—may be expected to increase from $9.7 to $17.4 billion. If current legislative and regulatory efforts are successful at expanding healthcare access while improving affordability, systematic approaches must be developed and implemented to drive cost-effectiveness. The management of patients with HF will be front and center in efforts to achieve this goal. Although many questions remain, extensive research performed to date indicates that certain disease management interventions cost-effectively improve clinical outcomes in patients with HF. Home monitoring—providing continuity of patient assessment and care beyond the hospital and conventional ambulatory settings—has been central among the elements of these programs. Figure 1. Twenty-year projections for United States heart failure prevalence and associated direct medical costs based on current trends. Adapted from Heidenreich et al1 with permission of the publisher. Response by Desai on p 827 ### Heart Failure Disease Management and Home Monitoring Home monitoring has been integral to most HF disease management programs, with demonstrable clinical benefit in randomized, controlled trials. A proposal for categorizing the generic components of disease management programs2 may be applied to define the elements of a HF program as 1) optimizing treatment prescriptions; 2) patient and caregiver education—including adherence to medication and dietary recommendations, self-monitoring, and connectivity to a healthcare provider; and 3) ongoing monitoring and responsiveness to …
Phase II study of transdermal estradiol in androgen-independent prostate carcinoma

Background Oral estrogen therapy has activity in patients with hormone-naive and androgen-independent prostate carcinoma (AIPC), but its utility is limited by the associated risk of thromboembolic toxicity. Parenteral administration may be safer as it avoids “first pass” liver exposure to estrogen. The authors tested the safety and efficacy of transdermal estradiol (TDE), as well as the effect of therapy on hot flashes, sex hormones, the procoagulant cascade, and bone turnover in patients with AIPC. Methods Patients with prostate carcinoma progressing after primary hormonal therapy received TDE 0.6 mg per 24 hours (administered as six 0.1 mg per 24-hour patches replaced every 7 days). Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and hormone levels, coagulation factors, markers of bone turnover, bone density measurements, and a hot flash diary were collected at regular intervals. Results Three of 24 patients (12.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0–26%) had a confirmed PSA reduction >50%. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of median time to disease progression was 12 weeks (95% CI, 4.6–19.4 weeks). Toxicity was modest and no thromboembolic complications occurred. The mean (±95% CI) serum estradiol level increased from 17.2 pg.mL (range, 14.8–19.6 pg/mL) to 460.7 pg/mL (range, 334.6–586.7 pg/mL). The total testosterone level remained stable in the anorchid range during treatment, but the free testosterone level decreased as a result of increased sex hormone binding globulin. No change in factor VIII activity, F 1.2, or resistance to activated protein C was observed, whereas a modest decrease in the protein S level was observed. Conclusions In patients with APIC, TDE was well tolerated and produced a modest response rate, but was not associated with thromboembolic complications or clinically important changes in several coagulation factors.
The Reversible Insertion Reaction of Carbon Dioxide with the W(CO)5OH- Anion. Isolation and Characterization of the Resulting Bicarbonate Complex [PPN][W(CO)5O2COH]

[Et4N][W(CO)5OH] (1) and [PPN][W(CO)5O2COH] (2) have been synthesized and characterized by 1H and 13C NMR and IR spectroscopies, and the X-ray crystal structure of 2 has been determined. Complex 2 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 with unit cell parameters a = 12.208(2) A, b = 13.497(2) A, c = 13.681(2) A, α = 101.06(2)°, β = 114.76(1)°, γ = 98.45(2)°, V = 1942.6(5) A3, and Z = 2. The structure of the anion of complex 2 consists of a central W(0) bound to five carbonyl ligands, and the coordination around the metal is completed by a monodentate bound bicarbonate ligand located 2.19(1) A away from the metal center. In the solid state, two anions are hydrogen bonded to one another via the bicarbonate ligands in the unit cell. Complex 1 inserts CO2, COS, or CS2 to rapidly afford the corresponding bicarbonate or thiocarbonate complexes. The lower limit for the rate constant for the carboxylation of complex 1 has been determined to be 4.2 × 10-4 M-1 s-1 at −70.2 °C, and the lower limit for the rate...
Antibodies to Streptococcal Carbohydrate: Substitutes for the Myeloma Proteins

Antibodies to streptococcal carbohydrates have been employed in a number of ways as substitutes for the myeloma proteins in studies of the structures of antibody molecules and the development of the immune response. This review concentrates on the chemical nature of the streptococcal polysaccharides and on structural studies of the variable regions of the light chains of rabbit anitbodies to the group A-variant polysaccharide produced by hyperimmunization. The chemistry of the group A-variant polysaccharide has now been clarified, and this information has explained the frequently reported difficulty in the preparation of precipitating antisera to this antigen. The group A-variant vaccine is a potent antigen, but the bulk of the antibody is nonprecipitating because it is directed against the noreducing terminal sugar of the nonbranched rhamnose polymer. Chemical studies of the light chains of homogeneous rabbit antibodies reveal two hypervariable regions and a J sequence that joins the variable region to the constant region. Although the precise topographic highlights of the antigen-binding site hae yet to be determined, these structural studies have extended our knowledge of the structure and diversity of antibody molecules.
Professors on the run: How Marcos's narratives of Zapatismo refashion North American Cold War anxiety

This article examines the communiques issued by Subcomandante Marcos during the early years of the Zapatista rebellion in Mexico (1992–1998). It addresses a double voice, and a double mission, of these internet pronouncements: first, as a tool for a local Indigenous uprising in the state of Chiapas; second, as a part of a much broader anti-neoliberal and anti-neo-imperialist struggle. The article argues that the unusual interlacing of a local, almost intimate struggle with a much broader ideological struggle has its sources, models and origins, paradoxically, in U.S. Cold War anti-communist discourse of the 1950s. Both discourses featured almost priestly, technocratic, master-explainers of an unseen enemy; both resorted to normative narratives of domesticity and infantilization; both relied on masked anti-heroes.
Henry A. Murray. The making of a psychologist

The work of Henry A. Murray at the Harvard Psychological Clinic played a major role in shaping the face of American psychology. In particular, he was instrumental in broadening the scope of academic psychology to include such topics as personality, abnormal, and clinical psychologies as viable areas of research. However, by reason of his background and education, Murray had virtually nothing in common with his specialist-trained professional colleagues. This article details Murray's education and conversion to psychology and briefly analyzes the controversies surrounding the establishment of the Harvard Psychological Clinic and its relationship with the Department of Psychology.
Signalling non‐comprehensions in the classroom: Toward a descriptive typology

This paper focuses on strategies that students use to signal non‐comprehension problems in classrooms. A series of weekly observations was conducted to identify verbal strategies that students use to deal with difficulties understanding teacher messages. A framework for isolating strategies in bi‐lingual conversations was applied and found to be useful in analyzing three types of non‐comprehension signals. Implications of both the framework and signalling strategies are discussed.
Spatial heterogeneity in size and parasitism: How it arises in an estuarine snail population

Abstract Populations of Ilyanassa obsoleta, a snail abundant in estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America, exhibit much unobvious spatial heterogeneity. Lifetime dispersal of snails stands to be great, as they live for decades and can make daily moves of tens of meters. They could distribute uniformly, but in many populations there are characteristic spatial distributions of differently sized and trematode-infected snails. This is the case where this work was done in the Savages Ditch habitat of Rehoboth Bay, Delaware, U.S.A.. The study was designed to explain how the spatial heterogeneity in that habitat arises as a consequence of snail movements. Individually marked snails were tested for trematode infections and released from five well-separated positions. Snails released from each position were in three groups: (1) natives, collected from the position area, and (2) large and (3) small “outlanders”, collected from a site in the habitat that was separated from all release positions, had enhanced tidal currents, and where both size classes were available. Locations of found, released snails were noted for up to four years. Depending on collection site, many native snails were parasitized. In any case, they always tended to disperse in the vicinity where initially collected. Large outlanders (∼ 21% infected) dispersed variably, moving back toward their source area from certain release positions, but not from others. Small outlanders (∼ 4% infected), almost regardless of where released, tended to disperse back toward their source area. Dispersals of these snail groups from the five release positions explains much about how the pattern of spatial heterogeneity seen in the habitat arises.
Investigation of subgrid-scale mixing of mixture fraction and temperature in turbulent partially premixed flames

Abstract The filtered mass density function (FMDF) of mixture fraction and temperature used in large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent combustion is studied experimentally using line images obtained in turbulent partially premixed methane flames (Sandia flames D and E). Cross-stream filtering is employed to obtain the FMDF and other filtered variables. The mean of the FMDF conditional on the subgrid-scale (SGS) scalar variance at a given location are found to vary from unimodal to bimodal, corresponding to quasi-equilibrium distributed reaction zones and laminar flamelets (including extinguished flamelets), respectively. The conditionally filtered mixture fraction dissipation for small SGS variances has a relatively weak dependence on the mixture fraction, and is not sensitive to temperature for extinguished samples. For large SGS variance the large dissipation is concentrated in the cliffs and increases with decreasing temperature. The conditionally filtered temperature dissipation for small SGS variances is the highest for intermediate temperature. For large SGS variance the dependence is more complex and the pilot gas appears to be playing an important role. The different SGS mixture fraction structures for small and large SGS variances, as reflected by the unimodal and bimodal FMDF, have a strong impact on the small-scale mixing and turbulence–chemistry interaction, as reflected by the results for the conditionally filtered temperature dissipation. The results have implications for understanding and modeling multiple reactive scalar SGS mixing.
An implantable time of flight flow sensor

A micro time of flight (TOF) electrochemical impedance (EI) flow sensor μEIFS suitable for implantation and integration with a catheter was developed. The transducer utilizes two pairs of electrodes to monitor using EI measurement the passage of a gas bubble generated upstream. High precision measurement of bubble TOF (SD < 6% of mean) was achieved over the velocity range 0.83–83 μm/s. The volumetric flow rate was inversely proportional (linearized, r2 = 0.99) to time of flight. Biocompatible construction (only Parylene C and platinum), low power consumption, and low profile thin film format make the μEIFS ideally suited for chronic in vivo monitoring with immediate application in tracking flow within hydrocephalus shunts.
An Update on Grading of Salivary Gland Carcinomas

Histologic grade is a significant predictor of outcome in salivary gland carcinomas. However, the sheer variety of tumor type and the rarity of these tumors pose challenges to devising highly predictive grading schemes. As our knowledge base has evolved, it is clear that carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is not automatically a high grade tumor as is traditionally suggested. These tumors should be further qualified as to type/grade of carcinoma and extent, since intracapsular and minimally invasive carcinomas ex pleomorphic adenoma behave favorably. The two carcinoma types for which grading schemes are common include adenoid cystic carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Adenoid cystic carcinomas are graded based solely on pattern with solid components portending a worse prognosis. Occasionally, adenoid cystic carcinomas may undergo transformation to pleomorphic high grade carcinomas. This feature confers a high propensity for lymph node metastasis and should thus be reported to alert the clinical team. Mucoepidermoid carcinomas are graded in a three tier fashion based on a constellation of features including cystic component, border, mitoses, anaplasia, and perineural invasion among others. All grading schemes are somewhat cumbersome, intimidating and occasionally ambiguous, but evidence suggests that using a scheme consistently shows greater reproducibility than using an intuitive approach. The intermediate grade category demonstrates the most variability between grading systems and thus the most controversy in management. In the AFIP system intermediate grade tumors cluster with high grade tumors, while in the Brandwein system, they cluster with low grade tumors.
Repositioning Politics in Education’s Circle of Knowledge

The model implicit in most research on the politics of education assumes that political factors such as interest group support and opposition shape policy. However, because this perspective yields incomplete information about the educational enterprise, researchers should not just ask what kinds of policies politics creates but also reverse the causal arrow to examine what kinds of politics result from different policies. In addressing this question, the concept of policy feedback focuses analytical attention on the institutional structures and rules policies establish, the elite and public interpretations of those policies, the interests that are mobilized, and how these factors interact to shape future policies.
Clinical oncologic positron emission tomography: An introduction

Summary PET imaging is a molecular imaging technology that is diffusing into imaging departments quite rapidly. The unique characteristics of positron emitting radionuclides such as fluorine-18 provide high-quality images with reasonable acquisition times. The imaging instrumentation continues to improve with new detector materials and combinations of PET scanners and CT scanners. FDG is now readily available to most hospitals in the United States. Third-party payers now recognize the importance of PET imaging in multiple malignancies. The number of PET scans performed annually will continue to increase as the indications increase and the instrumentation is more available.
Molecular dynamics simulation of α-lactalbumin and calcium binding c-type lysozyme

Alpha-lactalbumins (LAs) and c-type lysozymes (LYZs) are two classes of proteins which have a 35-40% sequence homology and share a common three dimensional fold but perform different functions. Lysozymes bind and cleave the glycosidic bond linkage in sugars, where as, alpha-lactalbumin does not bind sugar but participates in the synthesis of lactose. Alpha-lactalbumin is a metallo-protein and binds calcium, where as, only a few of the LYZs bind calcium. These proteins consist of two domains, an alpha-helical and a beta-strand domain, separated by a cleft. Calcium is bound at a loop situated at the bottom of the cleft and is important for the structural integrity of the protein. Calcium is an ubiquitous intracellular signal in higher eukaryotes and structural changes induced on calcium binding have been observed in a number of proteins. In the present study, molecular dynamics simulations of equine LYZ and human LA, with and without calcium, were carried out. We detail the differences in the dynamics of equine LYZ and human LA, and discuss it in the light of experimental data already available and relate it to the behavior of the functionally important regions of both the proteins. These simulations bring out the role of calcium in the conformation and dynamics of these metallo-proteins. In the calcium bound LA, the region of the protein around the calcium binding site is not only frozen but the atomic fluctuations are found to increase away from the binding site and peak at the exposed sites of the protein. This channeling of fluctuations away from the metal binding site could serve as a general mechanism by which the effect of metal binding at a site is transduced to other parts of the protein and could play a key role in protein-ligand and/or protein-protein interaction.
A neural model for generation of some behaviors in the fictive scratch reflex

We have studied the scratch reflex in order to better understand the strategy that the spinal neural structures use to program limb movements. A network is proposed for the positioning and rhythmic portions of the scratch reflex in the deafferented preparation. This model is based on Berkinblit's hypotheses regarding organization of neurons constituting the spinal central pattern generator (CPG) for this behavior. We offer a mechanism by which the initial position of the hindlimb can influence the output of the CPG in the immobilized animal.
Intra- and Intermolecular Kulinkovich Cyclopropanation Reactions of Carboxylic Esters with Olefins: Bicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-1-ol and trans-2-Benzyl-1-Methylcyclopropan-1-ol

Bicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-1-ol Trans-2-Benzyl-1-methylcyclopropan-1-ol Methyl 5-hexenoate Chlorotitanium triisopropoxide Butylmagnesium chloride Cyclopentylmagnesium chloride Keywords: intramolecular Kulinkovich cyclopropanation; carboxylic esters; olefins; cyclopropanols; intermolecular Kulinkovich cyclopropanation; waste disposal
The role of soil processes in δ18O terrestrial climate proxies

A paleoclimate interpretation of a terrestrial hydrologic proxy such as the δ18O of tree cellulose or speleothem calcite may be biased or misinterpreted if the isotopic composition of the soil water from which the proxy originated undergoes isotopic exchange or fractionation. In this study, we use a global isotope-enabled land surface model to investigate how the δ18O of precipitation may be altered in a soil column due to evaporation and vertical moisture transport. In order to assess how precipitation and evaporation contribute to the soil water isotopic variability, we compare seasonal and interannual changes in simulated xylem water δ18O within a control simulation and in a suite of sensitivity experiments where the effects of precipitation δ18O, water vapor δ18O, and soil water evaporation are independently removed. The simulations, carried out for the period 1979 to 2004, reveal that in semiarid regions, such as the southwest United States, the seasonal cycle in xylem water δ18O is strongly affected by evaporative loss during the dry season and evaporation can also constitute as much as 50% of the interannual δ18O variance. Additional simulations, including soil water tagging experiments, indicate that upward fluxes of soil water occur during drier periods. For soil water δ18O profiles that are isotopically more depleted in 18O at depth, this imparts a low isotopic signature to xylem water δ18O during such dry intervals. Hence, without taking into account vertical moisture transport in the soils, low δ18O years could be misinterpreted as wet conditions (due to decreased evaporative enrichment) when instead drier conditions are equally as likely.
INHALATION ACCIDENTS REPORTED TO THE SWORD SURVEILLANCE PROJECT 1990–1993

Abstract Inhalation accidents are the fifth most common cause of illness reported by occupational and chest physicians to the SWORD surveillance scheme, with an estimated total of 1180 cases in the 5-year period 1989–1994. Questionnaires were sent to all physicians still participating, to record the circumstances of each inhalation accident they had reported between January 1990 and July 1993, covering case management and any resultant effects on health or employment; 93% of physicians returned the forms completed with adequate data on 85% of cases. From the information provided, 30% of the accidents resulted from lack of effective respiratory protection or other contraventions of safety regulations, 19% from leaks or spills and 13% from equipment failure. Resultant symptoms were described in 92% of cases: of these 48% were respiratory, 12% non-respiratory or toxic and 39% a combination of the two. The symptoms persisted often with absence from work for 1 month or more, in 26% of cases, including 9% with asthma or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), 11% other respiratory diseases, 3% non-respiratory conditions and 3% unspecified. It was evident that cases reported by chest physicians were more seriously ill than those from occupational physicians, but of those with persistent symptoms the proportion with asthma or RADS was fairly similar in the two groups (24 and 37%, respectively). Agents associated with asthma or RADS were mainly respiratory irritants and those associated with non-respiratory conditions were organic chemicals or combustion products.
Skin Burns: Numerical Model Study of Radio Frequency Current Sources

Skin burns from radio frequency (RF) current remain an important clinical consideration. The classical studies on the kinetics of skin burns in the 1940s and 1950s [1–4] continue to be the most often cited and utilized framework for their prediction and analysis. The objective of this study was to apply numerical models to more thoroughly analyze previously-described experimental skin burns created by RF current under disk electrodes [5].Copyright © 2009 by ASME
TRB: Tag Replication Buffer for Enhancing the Reliability of the Cache Tag Array

Protecting the on-chip cache memories against soft errors has become an increasing challenge in designing new generation reliable microprocessors. Previous efforts have mainly focused on improving the reliability of the cache data arrays. Due to its crucial importance to the correctness of cache accesses, the tag array demands high reliability against soft errors while the data array is fully protected. Exploiting the address locality of memory accesses, we propose to duplicate most recently accessed tag entries in a small Tag Replication Buffer (TRB) thus to protect the information integrity of the tag array in the data cache with low performance, energy and area overheads. A Selective-TRB scheme is further proposed to protect only tag entries of dirty cache lines. The experimental results show that the Selective-TRB scheme achieves a higher access-with-replica (AWR) rate of 97.4% for the dirty-cache line tags. To provide a comprehensive evaluation of the tag-array reliability, we also conduct an architectural vulnerability factor (AVF) analysis for the tag array and propose a refined metric, detected-without-replica-AVF (DOR-AVF), which combines the AVF and AWR analysis. Based on our DOR-AVF analysis, a TRB scheme with early write-back (EWB) is proposed, which achieves a zero DOR-AVF at a negligible performance overhead.
A model for the molecular underpinnings of tooth defects in Axenfeld–Rieger syndrome

Patients with Axenfeld–Rieger Syndrome (ARS) present various dental abnormalities, including hypodontia, and enamel hypoplasia. ARS is genetically associated with mutations in the PITX2 gene, which encodes one of the earliest transcription factors to initiate tooth development. Thus, Pitx2 has long been considered as an upstream regulator of the transcriptional hierarchy in early tooth development. However, because Pitx2 is also a major regulator of later stages of tooth development, especially during amelogenesis, it is unclear how mutant forms cause ARS dental anomalies. In this report, we outline the transcriptional mechanism that is defective in ARS. We demonstrate that during normal tooth development Pitx2 activates Amelogenin (Amel )e xpression, whose product is required for enamel formation, and that this regulation is perturbed by missense PITX2 mutations found in ARS patients. We further show that Pitx2-mediated Amel activation is controlled by chromatin-associated factor Hmgn2, and that Hmgn2 prevents Pitx2 from efficiently binding to and activating the Amel promoter. Consistent with a physiological significance to this interaction, we show that K14-Hmgn2 transgenic mice display a severe loss of Amel expression on the labial side of the lower incisors, as well as enamel hypoplasia—consistent with the human ARS phenotype. Collectively, these findings define transcriptional mechanisms involved in normal tooth development and shed light on the molecular underpinnings of the enamel defect observed in ARS patients who carryPITX2 mutations. Moreover, our findings validate the etiology of the enamel defect in a novel mouse model of ARS.
50 Years of Microwave Communications Systems Development in the San Francisco Bay Area

This historical overview summarizes the rich industrial heritage in terrestrial microwave communications systems in the Bay Area over the past 50 years. Local companies have established themselves among the world's technologically most advanced and most competitive suppliers of systems for use in telecommunications infrastructures, cellular infrastructures, and broadband wireless access. What particularly sets the Bay Area companies apart from the rest of the major global players in the same markets is the spirit and successful practice of entrepreneurship that greatly facilitates effective adaptations to changing market conditions.
Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Children with HIV Infection

Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group describing a randomized comparison of daily administration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) and atovaquone-azithromycin brings into focus a number of interesting issues related to HIV infections worldwide as well as the daily use of prophylactic antimicrobials in general. The trial was halted early before it was fully accrued and perhaps as a result of this it failed to achieve statistical significance for its central comparisons. However in spite of this early discontinuation the trial teaches us a few important lessons. Hughes and colleagues’ own landmark placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial that compared daily doses of TMP-SMZ with placebo in children with cancer and leukemia showed clearly in 1977 that not only was Pneumocystis jiroveci (formerly “carinii”) pneumonia (PCP) almost completely prevented but the numbers of proven and presumptive bacterial infections were also reduced significantly in this population of high-risk immunocompromised patients. In HIV infected adults very similar results were seen in a randomized comparison between aerosolized pentamidine and daily doses of TMP-SMZ published in 1992. (excerpt)
Sensory Gating and Inhibitory Function in Late-life Schizophrenia

Although similarities between the cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia and those observed in aging have been recognized for over 50 years, little work has been done to directly examine these similarities or their implications for late-life schizophrenia. We review studies of prepulse inhibition, habituation, latent inhibition, and negative priming that indicate marked similarities in the patterns of deficits observed in schizophrenia and in aging. We also present new data from preliminary studies of prepulse inhibition and negative priming in which we compared young normal controls, older adult normal controls, and late-life schizophrenia patients. For both measures, both schizophrenia patients and older adults showed an inhibitory deficit relative to young controls. In the case of negative priming, older schizophrenia patients showed evidence of greater inhibitory dysfunction than did normal older adults, suggesting that older schizophrenia patients suffer a deficit resulting from the combined effects of schizophrenia and aging. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.
Tympanic membrane/middle ear pathologic correlates in chronic otitis media.

Objective: To correlate pathologic findings of the tympanic membrane with pathologic changes in the middle ear cleft in chronic otitis media. Study Design: Retrospective. Material and Methods: One hundred-fifty temporal bones from 97 subjects with chronic otitis media (defined as middle ear pathologic changes including granulation tissue, fluid, cholesteatoma, cholesterol granuloma, tympanosclerosis, and ossicular changes) were selected to correlate the presence of these middle ear pathologies with histopathologic changes of the tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane pathologies included perforation, myringosclerosis, retraction, hemorrhage, fluid-filled cystic spaces, or dilated vessels. Temporal bones were also assessed for atelectasis. Fifty-six normal temporal bones were taken as controls for measurements. Results: Significant correlations between tympanic membrane and middle ear pathology included myringosclerosis and granulation tissue, myringosclerosis and ossicular pathology, retraction and cholesterol granuloma, retraction and cholesteatoma, retraction and ossicular pathology, perforation and ossicular pathology, and hemorrhage and granulation tissue. Additive effects of some pathologies were also observed. Almost half the bones with middle ear pathology had no associated tympanic membrane pathology, whereas multiple pathologic changes in the tympanic membrane generally showed underlying multiple pathologic changes in the middle ear. Conclusion: When tympanic membrane pathology is detected otoscopically, its presence, alone or in combination, can be a strong indicator of underlying middle ear pathology. However, a normal-appearing tympanic membrane does not exclude the possibility of middle ear pathology. These findings suggest the need for other diagnostic tools such as multifrequency tympanometry and otoacoustic emissions to complement otoscopy for diagnosis of middle ear pathology, especially in a tympanic membrane that appears “normal.”
Death by confounding: bias and mortality.

All observations ― whether those of one clinician on one patient, or one clinician on a thousand patients over decades, or entire nations ― are inherently wrong, or, at least probably wrong, in some way. Even if huge databases are used, and the fanciest statistical regression models employed, observations are still observations, limited by the context in which they are made.
IntDOT Interactions with Core Sites during Integrative Recombination

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs), formerly called conjugative transposons, have been implicated in the proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes. CTnDOT is an extensively studied ICE found in Bacteroides spp. In addition to carrying resistance genes to both erythromycin and tetracycline, CTnDOT carries a gene that encodes a tyrosine recombinase called IntDOT that catalyzes integration into and excision out of the bacterial host chromosome. CTnDOT integrates into one of several known attB sites in the bacterial chromosome that consists of a pair of inverted repeat core sites called B and B' in attB. The attDOT site contains the core sites and D and D'. These sites flank the overlap regions where strand exchanges occur. A notable feature of all known attB sites is the conservation of the B core site sequence, which is also found in the D core site of attDOT. In this study, we used a mutational analysis to establish the importance of this conserved sequence for integration and characterize the interaction of IntDOT with individual base pairs. We identified important T-A base pairs at position -5 in the B and D core sites and position +5 in the poorly conserved B' core site that are important for integrative recombination. Base analog studies suggest that IntDOT may make specific contacts with the A residues in the major groove at positions -5 and +5. IntDOT interaction with the A at position -5 in the B core site is required for the first strand exchange.
A quick experiment on reflection from concave mirrors

I had need of an hour-long experiment illustrating the properties and use of cylindrical concave mirrors for my nonscience majors, and put together an exercise using off-the-shelf ideas and equipment. There is clearly nothing new here, but other teachers may find some combination of the ideas useful.
Eosinophilia in a 23-year-old woman with asthma

HISTORY OF THE PRESENT ILLNESS Six weeks prior to her current hospital admission (PTA), the patient developed mild dyspnea, low-grade fever, and cough productive of yellowish phlegm. A chest radiograph taken in an emergency department showed left lower lobe infiltrates, for which she was started on azithromycin. Her symptoms, however, persisted and a follow-up chest radiograph 6 days later showed bilateral lower lobe infiltrates with blunting of the costophrenic angles. She was then treated by her primary care physician with amoxicillin/ clavulanate and clarithromycin for another week, but remained symptomatic. She was thus hospitalized, with a chest radiograph showing multilobar infiltrates and a leukocyte count of 27,600/ L (58% eosinophils, 25% neutrophils, and 11% lymphocytes). Her physical examination at that time revealed diffuse wheezing and rhonchi. She was assessed to have an atypical pneumonia with asthma exacerbation, and was treated with oral clarithromycin and intravenous cefuroxime, as well as methylprednisolone 125 mg/day for 1 day, then prednisone 40 mg/day. This was followed by prompt clinical and radiographic improvement, together with a reduction of her eosinophil count to zero within 2 days. Sputum cultures were nonrevealing. She was discharged on cefuroxime and clarithromycin, as well as prednisone 20 mg/day tapered over 8 days. She felt well for about 2 weeks until 12 days PTA, when she had a syncopal episode that was assessed to be vasovagal in nature. Twenty-four hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring showed sinus tachycardia with rare ventricular ectopy. Two days later, she developed nonradiating pain across the chest, with no associated respiratory symptom. Her physical examination then was nonrevealing except for tachycardia. She was hospitalized overnight, and acute myocardial infarction was ruled out by normal serial cardiac enzymes. Serial electrocardiograms revealed nonspecific ST and T wave changes with low QRS voltage. Her leukocyte count then was 8,700/ L with 11% eosinophils. Her chest pain eventually resolved, but she subsequently developed vague abdominal pain with anorexia, nausea, and vomiting that prompted the present hospitalization. A complete blood cell count on admission showed hemoglobin of 13.2 g/dL, platelet count of 243,000/ L, and leukocyte count of 14,600/ L with 28% eosinophils. She was eventually referred to the Clinical Immunology service for evaluation of eosinophilia.
Integrating natural language processing and knowledge based processing

A central problem in text-understanding research is the indeterminacy of natural language. Two related issues that arise in confronting this problem are the need to make complex interactions possible among the system components that search for cues, and the need to control the amount of reasoning that is done once cues have been discovered. We identify a key difficulty iu enabling true interaction among system components and we propose an architectural framework that minimizes this difficulty. A concrete example of a reasoning task encountered in an actual text-understanding application is used to motivate the design principles of our framework.
Caged mussels and semipermeable membrane devices as indicators of organic contaminant uptake in dorchester and duxbury bays, Massachusetts

An experiment to measure organic contaminant depuration by the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) was carried out by transplanting mussels in stainless steel cages from a known contaminated site in Dorchester Bay, Massachusetts to a documented clean site in Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts approximately 30 nmi south of the original collection site. A parallel contaminant uptake experiment was performed in which mussels from Duxbury Bay were collected and deployed in similar cages in Dorchester Bay. The bivalves were collected from each transplant site at set intervals over a period of 95 days to monitor the rates and selectivity of depuration and uptake, respectively, of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and chlorinated pesticides. In a related study, semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD: polyethylene bags) containing the lipid material triolein were deployed in Dorchester Bay and collected at the same frequency as the caged mussels to evaluate their effectiveness as models for estimating bioconcentration of target organic contaminants. At the Duxbury site, results suggest that the caged mussels depurated contaminants within 68 days to levels found in native animals at the site. At the Dorchester site, bivalves concentrated the contaminants to a level similar to the native M. edulis. PCB and DDT uptake rates were found to be similar between caged mussels and SPMDs; PAH uptake by the SPMDs was initially lower than by transplanted bivalves. PCB and PAH assemblages were noticeably different between bivalves and SPMDs deployed at the same site.
Anion Photoelectron Spectroscopy of C3N− and C5N−†

Anion photoelectron spectroscopy of C3N− and C5N− is performed using slow electron velocity-map imaging (SEVI) and field-free time-of-flight (TOF), respectively. The SEVI spectrum exhibits well-resolved vibrational transitions from the linear C3N− ground state to the corresponding C3N ground state. The TOF spectrum comprises transitions arising from the linear C5N− ground state to the corresponding neutral ground and excited states. This study yields the adiabatic electron affinities of C3N and C5N to be 4.305 ± 0.001 and 4.45 ± 0.03 eV, respectively, and a term value of 560 ± 120 cm−1 for the A2Π state of C5N. Vibrational frequencies for the degenerate cis and trans bending modes of C3N− are also extracted.
Thrombolytic Treatment Using Drip and Ship Treatment Paradigm among Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients in the United States: Outcomes and Impact on Regional Thrombolytic Utilization and Referral Patterns (S03.002)

Objective: To provide national estimates of patients treated with thrombolytics using drip and ship paradigm and determine the impact of this treatment in a large cohort. Background While single center and regional estimates of thrombolytic administration using drip and ship treatment paradigm are available, outcomes, thrombolytic utilization, cost, and referral patterns has not been assessed in United States. Design/Methods: We determined the proportion of patients treated with drip and ship paradigm among all acute ischemic stroke patients treated with thrombolytic treatment and obtained comparative in-hospital outcomes from the Nationwide Inpatient Survey data files from 2008 to 2009. Results: Of the 26,814 ischemic stroke patients who received thrombolytic treatment, 5144 (19%) were treated using drip and ship paradigm. Seventy nine percent of all the drip and ship treated patients were referred to urban teaching hospitals for further care, and 7% of them received follow up endovascular treatment at the referral facility. States with higher proportion of patients treated using the drip and ship paradigm had higher rates of thrombolytic utilization (3.1% vs. 2.4%, p Conclusions: One out of every five patients who received thromboytic treatment in United States is currently treated using drip and ship paradigm with comparable adjusted rates of favorable outcomes. There is a trend towards higher rates of thrombolytic utilization in States where drip and ship is more commonly implemented. Disclosure: Dr. Rodriguez has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tekle has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chaudhry has nothing to disclose. Dr. Anderson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Suri has nothing to disclose. Dr. Qureshi has nothing to disclose.
EFFECTS OF ANGIOTENSIN ON THE TOAD SKIN.

SummaryAngiotensin, added alone or in conjunction with pitressin, did not influence sodium transport by the toad skin. Incubation with toad skin did not destroy the pressor effects of angiotensin. These results support the concept that angiotensin produces changes in sodium and water excretion through its action on the renal vascular system.
Disinhibited social engagement in postinstitutionalized children: differentiating normal from atypical behavior

The most commonly reported socially aberrant behavior in postinstitutionalized (PI) children is disinhibited social engagement (DSE; also known as indiscriminate friendliness). There is no gold standard for measurement of this phenomenon nor agreement on how to differentiate it from normative behavior. We adopted a developmental psychopathology approach (Cicchetti, 1984) to study this phenomenon by comparing it to normative social development and by studying its patterns over time in 50 newly adopted PI children (16-36 months at adoption) compared with 41 children adopted early from foster care overseas and 47 nonadopted (NA) controls. Using coded behavioral observations of the child's interaction with an unfamiliar adult, atypical behaviors were differentiated from normative behaviors. Principal components analysis identified two dimensions of social disinhibition. The nonphysical social dimension (e.g., initiations, proximity) showed wide variation in NA children and is therefore considered a typical form of sociability. Displays of physical contact and intimacy were rare in NA children, suggesting that they represent an atypical pattern of behavior. Both adopted groups demonstrated more physical DSE behavior than NA children. There were no group differences on the nonphysical factor, and it increased over time in all groups. Implications for understanding the etiology of DSE and future directions are discussed.
Comparison study on typical reconstruction algorithms for fan-beam geometric SPECT

AIM: To study and compare three typical reconstruction algorithms for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) under fan-beam geometry in their performance of attenuation compensation. METHODS: Filtered back-projection(FBP), ordered subset expectation maximization(OS-EM) together with the Novikov’s inverse formula under fan-beam geometry were introduced and used to reconstruct the Shepp-Logan phantom. The computation time and image quality were compared. RESULTS: Novikov's inverse formula could achieve the image quality close to OS-EM, but with less computation time. CONCLUSION: The quantitative analytical reconstruction algorithm can compensate the non-uniform attenuation fast and effectively, thus having a great application foreground.