cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methylation dependent expression of the mom gene of bacteriophage Mu: deletions downstream from the methylation sites affect expression

The expression of the DNA modification gene (mom) of bacteriophage Mu requires the cellular deoxyadenosine methylase (dam) and a transactivation factor from the phage. By hypothesis, the transcription of mom is activated by methylation of three GATC sequences upstream from the mom gene. We have introduced small deletions at a fourth GATC site located about 140 base pairs downstream from the primary methylation region. Some of the deletions severely affect the mom gene expression. We propose from this analysis that (1) some important elements, possibly the promoter, concerned with the expression of mom are located between nucleotides 840 and 880 from the right end of Mu and (2) the mom protein starts with the codon GTG located at position 810. We favor the hypothesis that methylation turns off transcription upstream, thereby allowing the main mom promoter to function.
Pilot dose-escalation study of caffeine plus ethanol (caffeinol) in acute ischemic stroke.

Background and Purpose— In animal models, the combination of caffeine and ethanol (caffeinol) provides robust neuroprotection at blood levels that should be easily and safely achieved in humans. This study was designed to determine the safety and tolerability of ascending doses of this combination in stroke patients. Methods— This Food and Drug Administration–approved open-label, single-arm, dose-escalation study had 3 original dose groups: group 1, caffeine 6 mg/kg plus ethanol 0.2 g/kg; groups 2 and 3, incremental increases of caffeine and ethanol by 2 mg/kg and 0.2 g/kg, respectively. Intravenous thrombolysis was encouraged if patients qualified. Drug was started within 6 hours of stroke onset, and blood levels of caffeine and ethanol were drawn at baseline and end of infusion. The target blood caffeine and ethanol ranges were 8 to 10 μg/mL and 30 to 50 mg/dL, respectively. Clinical outcome measurements included the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at the end of infusion, at 24 hours, and at ...
Factors associated with the provision of antenatal contraceptive counseling.

Abstract Background A chart review was conducted to evaluate patient and provider characteristics associated with having a documented antenatal plan regarding future contraception. Study Design A retrospective chart review of 528 parturients delivering between January and August 2002 was performed. Data obtained from chart review included demographics, antecedent pregnancy outcome, number of prenatal visits, provider type and documentation of an antenatal plan for postpartum contraception. Results Non-Hispanic white women, as compared to other racial/ethnic groups, were more likely to have documented counseling plans (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.9–2.3), while non–English-speaking women were significantly less likely to have contraceptive plans recorded (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3–0.8). Women with recorded antenatal plans attended more prenatal visits (median 10 vs. 8, p 10 prenatal visits (adjusted OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.9–13.2), being seen by a nurse practitioner (adjusted OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.9–7.0) and being non–English speaking (adjusted OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3–1.0). Conclusion The provision of antenatal contraceptive counseling is associated with certain characteristics, including the patient's primary language, the number of prenatal visits and type of provider seen.
Comparison of Point Intercept and Image Analysis for Monitoring Rangeland Transects

There is global recognition that sustainable land use requires monitoring that will detect change on a scale that protects the resource. That fundamental necessity is threatened where labor-intensive methods and high labor costs cause sampling deficiencies and increased Type-II error rates (false negatives). Ground-based imaging is a monitoring method that reduces monitoring labor costs. Nadir (vertical) images acquired with common digital cameras can be manually analyzed for cover using free software. We used an innovative field protocol to acquire standardized, freehand, nadir images (samples) of rangeland, then compared point intercept (PI) and image-analysis techniques. Between methods, precision (repeatability) across users was equivalent; cover measurements were often different, and the image-analysis technique took only a third as long to complete. Image analysis has several advantages over PI besides the reduced labor cost: Images are permanent resource records available for reanalysis if data are questioned, if software improves, or if management objectives change; and image analysis is less biased by moving vegetation, moving pointing devices, and bright vegetation color.
RELATION BETWEEN TEXTURE AND MASTICATION

Texture is one of the three main acceptability attributes of food (appearance, flavor, texture) that provide enjoyment in eating and lead the shopper to decide whether or not to purchase that food again. There is a very wide range of relished textures in foods ranging from the mobility of tea in the cup to the hardness of raw carrot. Whatever form the food takes, it must be converted into a liquid during the process of mastication to allow it to be swallowed. Because of the wide range of structures and textures found in foods, different procedures are used to reduce each textural type of food into a swallowable liquid. These include cutting, tearing and grinding between the teeth, softening by absorption of saliva or beverage, melting or hardening caused by a phase change, thinning by dilution with saliva, thinning by stirring with the tongue, and dissolving in saliva. For some products, mainly beverages, the food may be swallowed directly because no change inflow characteristics is needed. The chemical composition and type of texture dictates which of these procedures will be used for that kind of food. Healthy people use all the above procedures to prepare foods for swallowing. Those who have impaired masticatory or swallowing abilities avoid certain foods because of their inability to convert them into a bolus that can be easily swallowed. The number of different textures that must be avoided increases with increasing masticatory impairment.
Purpose: A Misunderstood and Misused Keystone of Group Work Practice

SUMMARY This paper examines the use of Purpose in social group work practice. It identifies and discusses six common mistakes that practitioners often make in regard to this central concept. A group example is used to illustrate the paper's content. The paper's intent is to enhance workers' understanding of and ability to use Purpose skillfully in their work with groups.
A phenotypic model for the evolution of ecological characters.

Abstract A phenotypic selection model written in terms of ecological rather than genetical parameters is derived. This model has certain advantages in clarity and ease of application to ecological simulations over other phenotypic expressions discussed by Slatkin, Lande, and Deniston and lends itself readily to description of the effects of population structure on the evolutionary process. Limitations of the method and its relationship with (and equivalence to) those of the above authors are discussed. Finally, simple, illustrative examples of application to life history and sex ratio evolution are presented.
THE ROLE OF MEMORY PERSPECTIVE IN SOCIAL PHOBIA: IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED MEMORIES FOR ROLE-PLAYED SITUATIONS

Cognitive-behavioral models (Clark & Wells, 1995; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997) and recent research suggest that individuals with social phobia (SP) experience both images (Hackmann, Surawy, & Clark, 1998) and memories (Coles, Turk, Heimberg, & Fresco, 2001; Wells, Clark, & Ahmad, 1998) of anxiety-producing social situations from an observer perspective. The current study examines memory perspective for two role-played situations (speech and social interaction) at multiple time points (immediate and 3 weeks post) in 22 individuals with generalized SP and 30 non-anxious controls (NACs). At both time points, SPs recalled the role-plays from a more observer/less field perspective than did NACs. Further, over time, the memory perspective of SPs became even more observer/less field while the memory perspective of NAC remained relatively stable.
The demise of ipecac.

In 1965, at the urging of 4 organizations (the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and the Food and Drug Administration’s [FDA’s] Medical Advisory Board), the FDA agreed to grant syrup of ipecac over-the-counter status.1,2 Over the previous 12 years, pediatricians and toxicologists were persuaded that the drug was both safe and effective for treatment of childhood poisonings, justifying its unrestricted availability. In 1985, the Academy recommended that ipecac be discussed with and given to parents at the 6-month (infant) visit.3,4 Although the efficacy of ipecac at improving outcome after childhood poisoning had not been rigorously proven and despite reports of failures,5 adverse outcomes,6,7 and even malicious use, the medication became an integral part of pediatric anticipatory guidance. Widespread use of ipecac in poisoned children was strongly advocated both because of its apparent ability to reduce morbidity and because it significantly reduced the need for emergency department referral.8 …
The Gulf War era multiple sclerosis cohort: age and incidence rates by race, sex and service

We characterize here a new nationwide incident cohort of multiple sclerosis from the US military-veteran population. This cohort provides an update to the only other US nationwide incidence study of multiple sclerosis performed during the 1970s. Medical records and data from the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs for cases of multiple sclerosis who served in the military between 1990, the start of the Gulf War era, and 2007 and who were service-connected for this disorder by the Department of Veterans Affairs from 1990 on, were reviewed. A total of 2691 patients were confirmed as having multiple sclerosis: 2288 definite, 190 possible, 207 clinically isolated syndrome and six neuromyelitis optica. Overall racial categories were White, Black and other, which included all Hispanics. There were 1278 White males and 556 females; 360 Black males and 296 females; and 200 others, 153 (77%) of whom were Hispanic. Mean age at onset of 30.7 years did not differ significantly by race or sex. Age at onset was 17-50 years in 99%, the same age range as 99% of the military. Average annual age specific (age 17-50 years) incidence rates per 100 000 for the entire series were 9.6 with 95% confidence interval of 9.3-10.0. Rates for Blacks were highest at 12.1 with confidence interval 11.2-13.1, Whites were 9.3 (interval 8.9-9.8) and others 6.9 (interval 6.0-7.9). For 83 Hispanics defined for 2000-07, the rate was 8.2 (interval 6.5-10.1). Much smaller numbers gave rates of 3.3 for Asian/Pacific Islanders and 3.1 for native Americans. Rates by sex for Whites were 7.3 and 25.8 male and female, respectively, for Blacks 8.4 and 26.3, and for Hispanics 6.6 and 17.0. Rates by service were high for Air Force (10.9) and Army (10.6), medium for Navy (9.1) and Coast Guard (7.9), and low for Marines (5.3). Relative risk of multiple sclerosis was 3.39 female:male and 1.27 Black:White. These new findings indicate that females of all races now have incidence rates for multiple sclerosis some three times those of their male counterparts and that among these groups, Blacks have the highest and others (probably including Hispanics) the lowest incidence rates regardless of sex or service. The low rate for Marines is unexplained. This Gulf War era multiple sclerosis cohort provides a unique resource for further study.
Effects of pyriproxyfen and imidacloprid on mortality and reproduction of Menochilus sexmaculatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), predator of Agonoscena pistaciae

The effect of two insecticides, imidacloprid and pyriproxyfen, were investigated on some biological parameters of ladybird beetle Menochilus sexmaculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) under laboratory condition. The ladybird beetle were exposed to insecticides by ingestion of the common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) (prey). For imidacloprid, maximum field recommended concentration (MFRC) (1/1 MFRC = 140 ppm), 1/2 and 1/4 MFRC were tested. For pyriproxyfen dilutions of 1/1 MFRC (50 ppm), 2/1 and 1/2 MFRC were used after 24 h. The 100% mortality was observed with imidacloprid in all tested concentrations, whereas no mortality was observed by pyriproxyfen even at the highest concentration (2/1 MFRC). Because of the high mortality observed with imidacloprid, lower concentrations of 1/10, 1/20 and 1/40 MFRC were tested and all predators were killed 3, 7 and 10 days after treatment, respectively. At 1/100 MFRC, no eggs were laid but prey consumption was continued for two weeks. At 1/1 and 2/1 MFRC of pyriproxyfen, ingestion of prey was reduced by 18% and 23%, respectively. At 1/1 and 1/2 MFRC of pyriproxyfen, fecundity and fertility of the coccinellid predator was decreased to 43% and 24.5%, respectively. Imidacloprid at 1/100 MFRC caused significant reduction on fecundity but had no detrimental effect on fertility of the produced eggs. Therefore, unlike the pyriproxyfen that had not acute toxicity, the imidacloprid was extremely toxic to coccinellid at MFRC. However, pyriproxyfen was able to affect on feeding ratio and reproduction of M. sexmaculatus.
Micro Devices and Micro Systems, Materials for

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are devices that typically combine electronic and mechanical functions in a small device. MEMS are made up of components such as sensors, actuators etc. having size in the micrometrerange (typically 1–1000 µm). The fabrication of MEMS involves process technology that is used in semiconductor device fabrication such as deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography and etching to produce the required shapes. This article reviews the current status of materials used in MEMS fabrication.
A New Genus and Species of Diaspididae (Honioptera: Coccoidea) from Georgia

A new genus of Diaspididae, GEODIASPIS, is described and assigned to the tribe Diaspidini of the subfamily Diaspidinae. The adult female and 1st- and 2ndstage males and females of the type-species, G. arundinariae , n. sp., are described and illustrated. The new species was collected on Arundinaria sp. in Spalding County, Georgia.
Geriatric Therapeutic Care – A Story to Tell about my Grand-Parents

The dramatic changes in the demographics will increase the number of elderly people from today’s 10 % to 20% of the population in 2050, which is considered of one of the biggest challenge for our society. [...]
Discursive Roles and Responsibilities: A Study of Interactions in Chinese Immigrant Households.

This study examines features of communication in American households where Chinese is used as a heritage language against the backdrop of global migration and technological advancement. It aims to elucidate how meaning emerges and evolves through repeated and varied performance by multiple participants over time, through mundane and iterative practices of everyday conversation. It focuses on how child and adult speakers in this context appropriate each other's vocabularies and voices, mimic and modify each other's utterances, and collaboratively construct provisional meanings as they jointly navigate and negotiate their worlds and complement each other's language skills and cultural knowledge.
Suppositional Matching Method Discussion based on Actual Measured Data of Every Parts

According to BOP based on human used hard Check fixture,Analyse and dope out what problems will be exsit according to optimize MP design,CF design and inspect sheet design.In order to reduce trial number and times,and shorten MC period.For final parts approved,there will be supported by detail inspect data with body coordinate.
Analysis of Keshan disease surveillance result in Chuxiong city from 2005 to 2012

Objective To study the tendency of prevalence and incidence of Keshan disease( KD) in Chuxiong city, and to provide reference for formulating prevention measures.Methods Based on the technology requirements of "The project supported by the central transfer payments for surveying KD in Yunnan province",fifteen natural villages were surveyed among 32 administrative villages for history serious ward in 7 townships from 2005 to 2012. The residents aged 3 to 65 years old were surveyed for taking comprehensively clinical physical examination and 12- lead ECG tracings. The suspicious patients with KD were taken the heart X-ray posterior-anterior chest radiograph from 2 meters distance. The patients of KD were diagnosed according to "the diagnosis standard of KD( GB17021-1997)." The data of the incidence rate of KD, death cases and the existing KD were collected,summed; also the data was collected about the results of searching KD patients from dilated cardiac patients in order to analyze and describe the condition of KD in recent 8 years. Results Forty-four patients of KD were screened out of 7 174 people who were examined in recent 8 years; the chronic KD patients accounted for 29.5 %( 13 / 44) and the potential KD patient accounted for 70.5 %( 31 / 44); there were seven cases aged 3 to 14 years old,who accounted for 15.9%( 7 / 44); the prevalence rate of KD was between 0.2 %( 1 / 500) and 1.9 %( 10 / 514) and the total prevalence rate was 0.6 %( 44 / 7174). The incidence of KD was between 0.27 / 100 000 and 2.91 / 100 000 and the annual prevalence rate was 1.53 / 100000. The accumulative total registered KD was 123 cases for eight years; sixty-four patients died of KD totally and the death rate was 52%. Seventy-nine patients of KD were screened out of dilated cardiac patients; they were all chronic KD patients. There were 112 existing patients in 2012; the oldest patient was eighty-one years old and the youngest patient was nine years old.Conclusions The patients of potential KD are in the majority, but KD patients aged 3 to 14 years old are accounting for nearly one- fifth of KD patients. The incidence rate of KD was 2.71 / 100 000 in 2012 and was close to the incidence levels( 2.91 / 100 000) in 2005. There are adult cases of KD patients who are searched from dilated cardiac patients. It shows that the current condition of KD generally tends to be stable or increased slightly and the pathogenic factors of KD have not been eliminated completely.
Monitoring results of occupational hazards in some enterprises of Dalian Area from 2008-2012

[Objective]To analyze the surveillance status of occupational hazards in some enterprises of Dalian Area,and provide scientific evidence for relevant departments to implement occupational health supervision.[Methods]The monitoring data from some enterprises in Dalian Area between 2008-2012 were collected for comparison of qualified rates of occupational hazards in different enterprises.[Results] Among different hazards,total qualified rates of dust,chemical factors and physical factors was93.8%,97.9%,82.2%,respectively,with significant differences(χ2= 635.144,P 0.01).In chemical factors,organic toxicants showed lower qualified rates(96.5%),with significant differences(χ2= 44.387,P 0.01).Physical factors monitoring mainly focus on noise and heat.Noise accounted for the largest proportion of total physical factors monitoring(89.3%),with the total qualified rates of 81.7%.The total qualified rates of heat and other physical factors was 84.7 % and 89.9 %,respectively.Among physical factors,noise monitoring had the lowest qualified rate,with significant difference(χ2= 9.858,P 0.01).[Conclusion]Total qualified rates of physical factors is lowest in enterprises of Dalian Area,noise contributes to the most.It is necessary to enhance the governance on noise-exposed posts and the implementation of protective measures,so as to do well in occupational health supervision.
Publicly Deliberative Drama: The 1934 Mock Trial of Adolf Hitler for “Crimes against Civilization”

On March 7, 1934 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, twenty thousand people gathered and listened to speeches marking the first anniversary of Hitler's rise to power in Germany, as thousands more tuned in to a live radio broadcast. The principal organizer of the protest rally, the American Jewish Congress, drew this level of public attention because it had carefully enlisted support from dozens of other organizations and solicited appearances from public figures like Al Smith and Fiorello LaGuardia. Most significantly, it had organized the rally, not as a typical protest rally, but as a mock trial of Adolf Hitler.1 Officially, the meeting was called the "Case of Civilization against Hitler." On the day following the meeting, the New York Evening Post announced that Hitlerism had been found guilty of "high crimes against civilization."2 The New York Times printed the headline, "Hitlerism Denounced as a Crime against Civilization," and reported that the trial "rendered solemn judgment that the Nazi government stood convicted before the world of a crime against civilization."3 In organizing the rally as a mock trial, its organizers deployed the spectacle of legal formality. The meeting began with a court crier announcing, "Hear ye! Hear ye! All those who have business before this court of civilization give your attention and ye shall be heard."4 The President of the Board of Alderman of New York, Bernard Deutsch, then
Reply to Safina and Walter et al.: Multiple lines of evidence for size-structured spawning migrations in western Atlantic bluefin tuna

Walter et al. (1) and Safina (2) raise numerous concerns regarding our study (3). Specifically, they question our conclusions that (i) a majority of spawning occurs outside the Gulf of Mexico, (ii) western North Atlantic bluefin tuna mature earlier than currently estimated, and (iii) additional spawning locations and younger age at maturity mean that the western Atlantic bluefin tuna are less vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, including exploitation.
Survival and transit of in-river and transported yearling Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River and estuary

Abstract The lower Columbia River and estuary (LRE) is a critically important environment for outmigrating salmonids, yet uncertainties remain about the survival and behavior of barged and in-river migrating fish. Although studies have used telemetry to monitor Chinook salmon movement and survival through the LRE, comparisons between outmigration years are confounded by differences in tag technologies, array locations, and experimental designs. In the present study, multiple releases of barged and in-river Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon were implanted with acoustic tags and monitored at multiple locations between Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River (695 km from the mouth of the Columbia River) to within 3 km of the Pacific Ocean. LRE survival estimates and transit rates of barged fish significantly varied throughout the outmigration season. The transit rates of in-river fish also varied, but without a corresponding seasonal difference in LRE survival estimates. Early release groups of barged salmon were slower and had lower survival in the LRE than in-river salmon. Estuary arrival timing and the magnitude of transit rates may contribute to significant differences in LRE mortality between in-river and barged juvenile salmon. Survival in the Lower River reaches was stable and exceeded 0.90 for both barged and in-river fish, while survival decreased markedly in the Estuary. Differential distributions of arrival to the LRE, transit rates, and survival suggest that the outmigration experience is not homogenous for barged and in-river yearling Snake River Chinook salmon, and that previous outmigration experience of threatened and endangered salmon should be considered in future management decisions and recovery plans.
Home/Schooling Our Children

I started this book with the idea of home/schooling. In that opening chapter, we reviewed literature on the history of the conventional homeschooling movement and saw the way in which our own present moment might lead us to believe that the forces that have, for so long, neatly divided public from private spheres are indeed lessening—with a variety of DIY movements leading the way to such changes (including, among certain sectors of the movement, conventional homeschooling).
Hybridizing the canon: Russian-American writers in dialogue with Russian literature

ABSTRACTSince the beginning of the twenty-first century, Russian-American writers – that is, Russian-speaking Jews who immigrated to North America from the late 1970s to the early 1990s – have garnered both a wide readership and critical acclaim. Although they live in the United States and write in English, their works manifest a marked focus on Russian-related themes, including the frequent employment of Russian literature. Three Russian-American texts engage in sustained intertextual play: Irina Reyn’s What Happened to Anna K. with Lev Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina; Lara Vapnyar’s Memoirs of a Muse with the diary of Fedor Dostoevskii’s mistress, Polina Suslova; and Anya Ulinich’s Petropolis with Osip Mandel’shtam’s poem “Na strashnoi vysote bluzhdaiushchii ogon'” (“At a terrifying height a wandering fire”). This article has two interrelated aims. The first is to demonstrate that, similar to postcolonial and other diasporic writers, Russian-American writers’ intertextual use is inextricably linked with a negot...
Committee Assignment Politics in the U.S. Senate: Democratic Leaders and Democratic Committee Assignments, 1953-1994

The extant literature on committee assignments in Congress focuses primarily on assignments in the House. This paper explores committee assignments in the Senate. In contrast to most other works on the topic, we employ the committee requests of senators to determine factors that influence committee assignment success. Earlier research by Charles Bullock (1985) examined request data for the period 1953 to 1971; our data cover the period 1953 to 1994. While addressing Bullock's primary finding that Senate committee assignments are mostly determined by seniority, we also explore an issue left unaddressed by Bullock: the influence of the Democratic Leader in the assignment process. We contend that each of the Democratic Leaders who served during this period (Lyndon Johnson, Mike Mansfield, Robert Byrd, and George Mitchell) approached the assignment process in a way that is consistent with their individual leadership style and that, in turn, had important consequences for senators seeking committee assignments...
Computerized spiral analysis using the iPad.

Background Digital analysis of writing and drawing has become a valuable research and clinical tool for the study of upper limb motor dysfunction in patients with essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and related disorders. We developed a validated method of computerized spiral analysis of hand-drawn Archimedean spirals that provides insight into movement dynamics beyond subjective visual assessment using a Wacom graphics tablet. While the Wacom tablet method provides robust data, more widely available mobile technology platforms exist.
Real-Time Two-Dimensional Imaging of Solid Contaminants in Gas Pipelines Using an Electrical Capacitance Tomography System

In this paper, an electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) system for real-time measurement of solid contaminants in gas pipelines is presented. It consists of a ring of eight electrodes evenly distributed in the circular cross section of the probe. The speed-up enhancement is achieved using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) for the post-processing part of the system to accelerate the intensive matrix multiplications which are required in the image reconstruction algorithm. Experimental results on field-collected solid contaminants demonstrated the capability of the system to build in real-time two-dimensional cross-sectional images of the contaminants while giving an estimated measurement of their concentration. This allows the flow regime of the contaminants in the pipeline to be identified. Results also show that using Altera's Stratix V FPGA, 305 KLEs are required to achieve image reconstruction throughput up to 3233 frames/s for image size of 64 × 64 pixels. Simulation results were also conducted using finite-element method solver to assess the ECT probe for various image reconstruction algorithms (i.e., Linear back projection, Landweber, and modified Landweber algorithms). The results indicate a good matching with the experimental results.
Translation of grape seed extract as a natural aromatase inhibitor for breast cancer prevention.

B166 Suppression of estrogen biosynthesis through aromatase inhibition is thought to have potential for chemoprevention of breast cancer. While pharmaceutical agents have an established therapeutic role, examination of foods and dietary compounds for cancer prevention is being explored. A research project was initiated in our laboratory to investigate whether any fruits contain phytochemicals that can inhibit aromatase. We found that of seven fruit juices tested, grape juice was the most effective in inhibiting the activity of human placental aromatase activity. Over the last several years, we have learned that a methanol extract of grape juice inhibits aromatase in a dose-dependent manner; the extract suppresses the proliferation of an aromatase over-expressing and estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell line, MCF-7aro; and oral administration of the extract completely abrogates aromatase-induced hyperplasia and other changes in the mammary tissue of aromatase transgenic mice. Procyanidin B dimers, the major phytochemicals in the seeds and skins of grapes, were found to be the chemicals responsible for the anti-aromatase activity. The in vivo efficacy of procyanidin B dimers was evaluated in an aromatase-transfected MCF-7 breast cancer xenograft model. The procyanidin B dimers were able to reduce androgen-dependent tumor growth, indicating that these chemicals suppress peripheral estrogen formation. Grape seed extract (GSE) is a common dietary supplement that has been found to contain high levels of procyanidin B dimers. We examined the ability of various manufactured brands of to inhibit human placental aromatase. We found that not all brands of GSE have equivalent anti-aromatase activity. GSE, which is rich in procyanidin B dimers, inhibits the growth of mammary tumors in nude mice when orally administered. A GSE demonstrated to significantly inhibit aromatase was associated with reduced androgen-dependent MCF-7aro tumor growth in nude mice when orally administered. Based on this preclinical data, we hypothesize that women could reduce their breast cancer risk with a GSE dietary supplement through suppression of estrogen biosynthesis. A Phase I chemoprevention trial to evaluate the anti-aromatase activity of GSE in post-menopausal women is underway to test this hypothesis. The design of this clinical trial will be presented.
Travel times for shear waves in a granitic layer

Abstract Travel times for shear waves in a layer of granite have been computed on the basis of recent laboratory work which permits an approximate evaluation of the variation of velocity with depth. The results are found to agree very closely with those of Leet, found by the method of timed blasts, for New England. The mean surface velocity of shear waves in granite having their focus at the surface is computed to be 3.52 km/sec. at 568 km., decreasing to 3.26 at 25 km.; the curvature is shown to be too small to be easily recognized from records of near earthquakes. A depth of 15 km. for the granitic layer is shown to be consistent with Leet9s observations of pulses through a second layer.
Imaging mouse cerebellum with serial optical coherence scanner (Conference Presentation)

We present the serial optical coherence scanner (SOCS), which consists of a polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography and a vibratome with associated controls for serial imaging, to visualize the cerebellum and adjacent brainstem of mouse. The cerebellar cortical layers and white matter are distinguished by using intrinsic optical contrasts. Images from serial scans reveal the large-scale anatomy in detail and map the nerve fiber pathways in the cerebellum and adjacent brainstem. The optical system, which has ~5.5 μm axial resolution, utilizes a scan lens or a water-immersion microscope objective resulting in 10 μm or 4 μm lateral resolution, respectively. The large-scale brain imaging at high resolution requires an efficient way to collect large datasets. It is important to improve the SOCS system to deal with large-scale and large number of samples in a reasonable time. The imaging and slicing procedure for a section took about 4 minutes due to a low speed of the vibratome blade to maintain slicing quality. SOCS has potential to investigate pathological changes and monitor the effects of therapeutic drugs in cerebellar diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia 1 (SCA1). The SCA1 is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by atrophy and eventual loss of Purkinje cells from the cerebellar cortex, and the optical contrasts provided by SOCS is being evaluated for biomarkers of the disease.
TDP-43 in the spectrum of MND-FTLD pathologies

The relationship between RNA-binding proteins, particularly TAR DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43), and neurodegeneration is an important area of research. TDP-43 is involved in so many cellular processes that perturbation of protein homeostasis can lead to countless downstream effects. Understanding what leads to this disease-related protein imbalance and the resulting cellular and molecular effects will help to develop targets for disease intervention, whether it be prevention of protein accumulation, or addressing a secondary effect of protein accumulation. Here we review the current literature of TDP-43 and TDP-43 pathologies, the effects of TDP-43 overexpression and disruption of synaptic proteins through its binding of messenger RNA, leading to synaptic dysfunction. This review highlights some of the still-limited knowledge of the protein TDP-43 and how it can contribute to disease.
Intermediate care to intensive care triage: A quality improvement project to reduce mortality.

Abstract Purpose Medical patients whose care needs exceed what is feasible on a general ward, but who do not clearly require critical care, may be admitted to an intermediate care unit (IMCU). Some IMCU patients deteriorate and require medical intensive care unit (MICU) admission. In 2012, staff in the Johns Hopkins IMCU expressed concern that patient acuity and the threshold for MICU admission were too high. Further, shared triage decision-making between residents and supervising physicians did not consistently occur. Methods To improve our triage process, we used a 4Es quality improvement framework (engage, educate, execute, evaluate) to (1) educate residents and fellows regarding principles of triage and (2) facilitate real-time communication between MICU residents conducting triage and supervising physicians. Results Among patients transferred from the IMCU to the MICU during baseline (n = 83;July–December 2012) and intervention phases (n = 94;July–December 2013), unadjusted mortality decreased from 34% to 21% (p = 0.06). After adjusting for severity of illness, admitting diagnosis, and bed availability, the odds of death were lower during the intervention vs. baseline phase (OR 0.33; 95%CI 0.11–0.98). Conclusions Using a structured quality improvement process targeting triage education and increased resident/supervisor communication, we demonstrated reduced mortality among patients transferred from the IMCU to the MICU.
The relationship between depression and chronotype: A longitudinal assessment during childhood and adolescence

Background/objective During adolescence, chronotype shifts toward “eveningness.” “Eveningness” is related to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Little is known about what influences the shift in chronotype beyond pubertal status. The current study examined the influence of earlier depression predicting later individual differences in adolescent chronotype, accounting for pubertal status, and the prospective prediction of later increases in depression from earlier chronotype. Methods Youth (age M = 12.06, SD = 2.35; 56.5% girls) from the community completed repeated assessments of depression, including both self-reports (14 assessments) and diagnostic interviews (eight assessments), over a 48-month period. At the 36-month timepoint, participants completed chronotype and pubertal development measures. Regression and ANOVA analyses examined: (1) the influence of earlier depression levels (baseline to 36 months) upon chronotype, and (2) chronotype (at 36 months) upon later depression (48 months). Results Youth with higher earlier depression symptoms (β = −0.347, P < .001) and history of depression diagnosis (β = −0.13, P = .045) showed a greater eveningness preference controlling for pubertal status, age, and gender. Further, depression diagnosis history interacted with pubertal status to predict chronotype: (F(1,243) = 4.171, P = .045) such that the influence of depression on chronotype was greatest among postpubertal youth (t = 3.271, P = .002). Chronotype (greater eveningness preference) predicted prospective increases in depression symptoms (β = −0.16, P = .03) and onset of depressive episode (b = −0.085, OR = 0.92, P = .03) 1 year later. Conclusion Depression, experienced earlier in life, predicts greater preference for eveningness, especially among postpubertal youth. In turn, later depression is predicted by evening preference. These findings suggest the reciprocal interplay between mood and biological rhythms, especially depression and chronotype, during adolescence.
The effect of crystal size on tunneling phenomena in luminescent nanodosimetric materials

Abstract The study of luminescence signals from nanodosimetric materials is an active research area, due to the many possible practical applications of such materials. In several of these materials it has been shown that quantum tunneling is a dominant mechanism for recombination processes associated with luminescence phenomena. This paper examines the effect of crystal size on quantum tunneling phenomena in nanocrystals, based on the assumption of a random distribution of electrons and positive ions. The behavior of such random distributions is determined by three characteristic lengths: the radius of the crystal R, the tunneling length a, and the initial average distance 〈d〉 between electrons and positive ions (which is directly related to the density of charges in the material). Two different cases are examined, depending on the relative concentrations of electrons and ions. In the first case the concentration of electrons is assumed to be much smaller than the concentration of positive ions. Examination of a previously derived analytical equation demonstrates two different types of crystal size effects. When the tunneling length a is much smaller than both R and 〈d〉, the analytical equations show that smaller crystals exhibit a faster tunneling recombination rate. However, when the tunneling length a is of the same order of magnitude as both R and 〈d〉, the opposite effect is observed, with smaller crystals exhibiting a slower tunneling recombination rate. As the crystal size increases, the rate of tunneling in both cases reaches the limit expected for bulk materials. In the second case we examine the situation where the concentrations of electrons and positive ions are equal at all times. In this situation there is no analytical equation available to describe the process, and the crystal size effects are simulated by using Monte Carlo (MC) techniques. The two opposite behaviors as a function of the crystal size are also observed in these MC simulations. The effect of sample temperature is also studied by extending the MC simulations to include thermal characteristics of the defects. The relevance of the simulated results for luminescence dosimetry is discussed.
Abstract 19431: Early Coronary Angiography & Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis

Background: Although acute myocardial infarction is a common cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), the role of early coronary angiography (ECA) in improving OHCA survival remains uncertai...
Preparing Your Pediatric Patients and Their Families for the Operating Room: Reducing Fear of the Unknown.

1. Adam C. Adler, MS, MD*,‡ 2. Stephanie Leung, BS, CCLS† 3. Benjamin H. Lee, MD*,‡ 4. Scott R. Dubow, MD§ 1. *Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine and 2. †Department of Child Life, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 3. ‡Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 4. §Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA * Abbreviations: BiPAP: : bilevel positive airway pressure CLS: : child life specialist CPAP: : continuous positive airway pressure DEA: : Drug Enforcement Administration IV: : intravenous MRI: : magnetic resonance imaging OSA: : obstructive sleep apnea Clinicians should: identify the resources available to patients and families to allow for a smooth perioperative experience; understand the long-term effects and potential maladaptive changes associated with an anxiety-provoking perioperative period; understand the most common parental and patient concerns and misconceptions regarding surgery; understand the most common and up-to-date perioperative anesthesia practices; understand the indication for referral to the preoperative anesthesia clinic for patient evaluation to avoid unnecessary cancellation. Pediatricians are often tasked with preparing children and their families for the preoperative period and dealing with questions related to postoperative issues and concerns. Instruction based on current practice and new research and techniques may help patients and families cope with the stressors of surgery. Determining which patients may benefit from a medical or child life preoperative visit is of crucial importance. After completing this article, the reader should be able to: 1. Describe common preoperative anesthesia practice. 2. Recognize the role of a child life specialist in preparing children for surgery. 3. Differentiate children who would benefit from a preoperative anesthesia and/or child life evaluation. 4. Instruct patients and families on issues related to the perioperative period. 5. Address a wide array of parental concerns regarding surgery, anesthesia, and postoperative pain management. The period of time surrounding a planned surgical procedure can be tumultuous and anxiety provoking for both pediatric patients and their parents. The “mysterious place” that is the operating room often remains a mystery to many health care providers, including those tasked with caring for patients both before and after a procedure. As the health care provider most familiar to patients and their families, the pediatrician is in a …
Foreign Body Giant Cell Reaction to a Proplast/Teflon Interpositional Implant: A Case Report and Literature Review.

After discectomy, interpositional implants (IPIs) are believed to provide temporomandibular joint stability and protect against degenerative joint space remodeling. Alloplastic IPIs gained popularity in the late 1970s because the practice showed early success without donor site morbidity. Unfortunately, these implants were subject to substantial fragmentation resulting in an exuberant foreign body giant cell response that progressively eroded adjacent structures. Most of these alloplastic implants were removed in the years following their recall by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1991, however some remained in circulation. This report describes a case of a failed Proplast/Teflon IPI 27 years after its placement. This case highlights the considerations for managing a patient with a Proplast/Teflon IPI and serves to remind providers that, although increasingly rare, these implants are still present and subject to delayed failure.
A Long-term Demographic Study of a Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) Population in Central Ohio

The need for long-term demographic studies on apparently healthy amphibian populations led us to undertake an intensive examination of a population of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) at a small, temporary pond in Ohio. From 2005 to 2014, we captured adults and juveniles at the pond edge, individually marked a subset of adults, and examined patterns in breeding population size, sex ratios, recruitment, differences in body size over time, and survival and recapture rates. We found that this breeding population size varied 2.65-fold across 10 yr, with an overall negative trend driven by a decline in adult males, despite the fact that adult annual survival was not dependent on sex, and that males were more likely to be recaptured annually than were females. We also found that recruitment rates were low and never reached replacement values. Body sizes varied across years for adults as well as for emerging juveniles, and females lost a larger fraction of their mass in the pond than males, especially as time in the pond increased. Some demographic variables were consistent with previous shorter term studies. We found unusually low recruitment and annual recapture rates, however, in addition to a decline in males over time, which might reflect an expansion of our understanding of what is typical for this species. It might also indicate that our population was in the early stages of decline, potentially affected by changes in hydroperiod and increases in infectious disease mortality.
iQCAR: A Demonstration of an Inter-Query Contention Analyzer for Cluster Computing Frameworks

Unpredictability in query runtimes can arise in a shared cluster as a result of resource contentions caused by inter-query interactions. iQCAR - inter Query Contention AnalyzeR is a system that formally models these interferences between concurrent queries and provides a framework to attribute blame for contentions. iQCAR leverages a multi-level directed acyclic graph called iQCAR-Graph to diagnose the aberrations in query schedules that lead to these resource contentions. The demonstration will enable users to perform a step-wise deep exploration of such resource contentions faced by a query at various stages of its execution. The interface will allow users to identify top-k victims and sources of contentions, diagnose high-contention nodes and resources in the cluster, and rank their impacts on the performance of a query. Users will also be able to navigate through a set of rules recommended by iQCAR to compare how application of each rule by the cluster scheduler resolves the contentions in subsequent executions.
Infrared Spectra of Weakly-Bound Complexes and Collision-Induced Effects Involving Atmospheric Molecules

Some of the links and gaps between collision-induced spectra and weakly-bound van der Waals complexes are outlined. Even though the spectrum of a complex is in a sense the direct low temperature limit of the corresponding collision-induced spectrum, there is a gap because the spectrum of a dimer at ‘real world’ (atmospheric) temperatures often cannot easily be determined from its known low temperature (molecular beam) spectrum. The infrared spectra of a ‘family’ of complexes of atmospheric interest are described: the nitrogen dimer, the carbon monoxide dimer, and the nitrogen-carbon monoxide complex. Although these complexes are isoelectronic with similar intermolecular forces, their spectra are very different due to symmetry effects. The challenge of measuring the spectrum of the water vapor dimer at atmo spheric temperatures is described.