cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA Networks Modulate Oxidative Stress in Cancer.

Imbalanced regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant factors in cells is known as “oxidative stress (OS)”. OS regulates key cellular physiological responses through signal transduction, transcription factors and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). Increasing evidence indicates that continued OS can cause chronic inflammation, which in turn contributes to cardiovascular and neurological diseases and cancer development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small ncRNAs that produce functional 18-25-nucleotide RNA molecules that play critical roles in the regulation of target gene expression by binding to complementary regions of the mRNA and regulating mRNA degradation or inhibiting translation. Furthermore, miRNAs function as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes in cancer. Dysregulated miRNAs reportedly modulate cancer hallmarks such as metastasis, angiogenesis, apoptosis and tumor growth. Notably, miRNAs are involved in ROS production or ROS-mediated function. Accordingly, investigating the interaction between ROS and miRNAs has become an important endeavor that is expected to aid in the development of effective treatment/prevention strategies for cancer. This review provides a summary of the essential properties and functional roles of known miRNAs associated with OS in cancers.
Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP): Stage 1 single-arm clinical trial

Background and objectives Impacts of mindfulness-based programs on blood pressure remain equivocal, possibly because the programs are not adapted to engage with determinants of hypertension, or due to floor effects. Primary objectives were to create a customized Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP) program, and to evaluate acceptability, feasibility, and effects on hypothesized proximal self-regulation mechanisms. Secondary outcomes included modifiable determinants of blood pressure (BP), and clinic-assessed systolic blood pressure (SBP). Methods This was a Stage 1 single-arm trial with one year follow-up. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were performed to evaluate acceptability and feasibility. Self-regulation outcomes, and determinants of BP, were assessed using validated questionnaires or objective assessments. The MB-BP curriculum was adapted from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to direct participants’ mindfulness skills towards modifiable determinants of blood pressure. Results Acceptability and feasibility findings showed that of 53 eligible participants, 48 enrolled (91%). Of these, 43 (90%) attended at least 7 of the 10 MB-BP classes; 43 were followed to one year (90%). Focus groups (n = 19) and semi-structured interviews (n = 10) showed all participants viewed the delivery modality favorably, and identified logistic considerations concerning program access as barriers. A priori selected primary self-regulation outcomes showed improvements at one-year follow-up vs. baseline, including attention control (Sustained Attention to Response Task correct no-go score, p<0.001), emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Score, p = 0.02), and self-awareness (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, p<0.001). Several determinants of hypertension were improved in participants not adhering to American Heart Association guidelines at baseline, including physical activity (p = 0.02), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension-consistent diet (p<0.001), and alcohol consumption (p<0.001). Findings demonstrated mean 6.1 mmHg reduction in SBP (p = 0.008) at one year follow-up; effects were most pronounced in Stage 2 uncontrolled hypertensives (SBP≥140 mmHg), showing 15.1 mmHg reduction (p<0.001). Conclusion MB-BP has good acceptability and feasibility, and may engage with self-regulation and behavioral determinants of hypertension.
Detection of clinically significant prostate cancer after negative fusion and systematic biopsy.

288Background: MRI/Ultrasound fusion biopsy of the prostate has enhanced the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). Detection of csPCa is greatest when fusion and systematic b...
European agriculture: Enlargement, structural change, cap reform, and trade liberalization

Preface Enlargement, Structural Change, CAP Reform, and Trade Liberalization in European Agriculture: Highlights of the Special Issue Agricultural Productivity Growth in the European Union and Transition Countries European Integration, Reforms, and Governance of Food Supply Chains in Eastern Europe Differentiated Food Quality Standards and Industry Structure in the Enlarged EU: The Polish Meat Sector The Impact of the European Enlargement and CAP Reforms on Agricultural Markets. Much Ado about Nothing? The 2003 Mid-Term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis for Ireland Policy Implications of the Decoupling of the Eu Cotton Subsidies Preferences Erosion and Trade Costs in the Sugar Market: The Impact of the "Everything but Arms" Initiative and the Reform of the EU Policy Index.
The relationship between coach behavior and athlete self-regulated learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesized link between athletes’ perception of coach behavior and their self-regulation of sport learning. Self-report questionnaires were admini...
Z-plasty for correction of standing cutaneous deformity

Many women report improvement in psoriasis during pregnancy; others report that psoriasis becomes worse during pregnancy. Balancing effective management of psoriasis against potential risk in pregnancy is important, especially because the severity of psoriasis can have an impact on the pregnancy experience and possibly the outcome. This article discusses current understanding of pregnancy risk profiles of medications used to treat psoriasis.
Carbonic anhydrase IX as a marker of hypoxia in gliomas: A narrative review

Hypoxia is a powerful driver of the malignant phenotype in solid tumors including gliomas. A major, though not sole, driver of this effect is the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) which promote the expression of hundreds of downstream genes through binding with hypoxia-responsive elements in the promoter regions of targeted genes. HIF-2α drives the cancer stem cell phenotype that has been shown to promote chemo- and radioresistance. HIF-1α drives the transcription of a number of genes, the most prolific and important of which appears to be that of CAIX, but also drives the transcription of VEGF and a number of glycolytic enzymes, thus participating in driving the Warburg effect. This brief review introduces how the localization of CAIX by immunohistochemistry has, though still in its early phases, allowed the identification of gliomas with worse prognosis, an application of significant importance in diagnostic neuropathology. The future of hypoxia research will manipulate these downstream pathways to provide further biomarkers through which the presence of hypoxia and its effects can be established, analyzed, and exploited.
Automated model versus treating physician for predicting survival time of patients with metastatic cancer

Objective Being able to predict a patient's life expectancy can help doctors and patients prioritize treatments and supportive care. For predicting life expectancy, physicians have been shown to outperform traditional models that use only a few predictor variables. It is possible that a machine learning model that uses many predictor variables and diverse data sources from the electronic medical record can improve on physicians' performance. For patients with metastatic cancer, we compared accuracy of life expectancy predictions by the treating physician, a machine learning model, and a traditional model. Materials and methods A machine learning model was trained using 14 600 metastatic cancer patients' data to predict each patient's distribution of survival time. Data sources included note text, laboratory values, and vital signs. From 2015-2016, 899 patients receiving radiotherapy for metastatic cancer were enrolled in a study in which their radiation oncologist estimated life expectancy. Survival predictions were also made by the machine learning model and a traditional model using only performance status. Performance was assessed with area under the curve for 1-year survival and calibration plots. Results The radiotherapy study included 1190 treatment courses in 899 patients. A total of 879 treatment courses in 685 patients were included in this analysis. Median overall survival was 11.7 months. Physicians, machine learning model, and traditional model had area under the curve for 1-year survival of 0.72 (95% CI 0.63-0.81), 0.77 (0.73-0.81), and 0.68 (0.65-0.71), respectively. Conclusions The machine learning model's predictions were more accurate than those of the treating physician or a traditional model.
Patriarchy and Gender Law in Ancient Rome and Colonial America

Roman Antiquity and Colonial America shared much in common regarding limits on women’s legal rights and the role of gender in law. Gendered stereotypes regarding women’s ability and place in society are reflected in the patria potestas and manus of Ancient Roman law, as well as through the patriarchal and pious Puritan laws of New England society during the American Colonial period. Both male-dominated social and legal systems were based on the notion of women’s innate inferiority and female submission to male authority. Gender expectations and biases are also present, not only in family law, but also in law governing sexual behavior and partnerships. While Roman law punishes sodomy and male same-sex relationships on the grounds of contradicting the concept of the pater familias, Puritan New England relied on Christian morals and religious teachings to govern their sodomy laws. However, such gender disparities in the law are also subject to social status and race, leading men who did not reflect the respective society’s preferable identity to face harsher punishments as a result. Regarding the concept of gender and male superiority, family law and the societal expectations that both shaped and were shaped by such laws reflect an ever-present patriarchal structure throughout the Early American and Ancient Roman legal systems. The gendered attitudes toward marriage, rape, sex, and consent in both Roman and Early American society are reflected in the laws that governed the lives of women and gender non-conforming minorities in both societies.
Association of Medicaid expansion and insurance status, cancer stage, treatment and mortality among patients with cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND Currently, little is known about the effect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion on care delivery and outcomes in cervical cancer. AIM We evaluated whether Medicaid expansion was associated with changes in insurance status, stage at diagnosis, timely treatment, and survival outcomes in cervical cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS Using the National Cancer Database, we performed a difference-in-differences (DID) cross-sectional analysis to compare insurance status, stage at diagnosis, timely treatment, and survival outcomes among cervical cancer patients residing in Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states before (2011-2013) and after (2014-2015) Medicaid expansion. January 1, 2014 was used as the timepoint for Medicaid expansion. The primary outcomes of interest were insurance status, stage at diagnosis, treatment within 30 and 90 days of diagnosis, and overall survival. Fifteen thousand two hundred sixty-five patients (median age 50) were included: 42% from Medicaid expansion and 58% from nonexpansion states. Medicaid expansion was significantly associated with increased Medicaid coverage (adjusted DID = 11.0%, 95%CI = 8.2, 13.8, p < .01) and decreased rates of uninsured (adjusted DID = -3.0%, 95%CI = -5.2, -0.8, p < .01) among patients in expansion states compared with non-expansion states. However, Medicaid expansion was not associated with any significant changes in cancer stage at diagnosis or timely treatment. There was no significant change in survival from the pre- to post-expansion period in either expansion or nonexpansion states, and no significant differences between the two (DID-HR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.83, 1.09, p = .48). CONCLUSION Although Medicaid expansion was associated with an increase in Medicaid coverage and decrease in uninsured among patients with cervical cancer, the effects of increased coverage on diagnosis and treatment outcomes may have yet to unfold. Future studies, including longer follow-up are necessary to understand the effects of Medicaid expansion.
Revisiting the Association Between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Parkinson's Disease.

Background Several studies have reported an association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study is to re-evaluate for an association between IBD and PD while controlling for potential socioeconomic and environmental confounders. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Truven Health Marketscan database between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2014. Individuals with IBD and household age-matched controls were identified. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated for the development of incident PD, adjusting for age, sex, residence type, US region, comorbidities, and behavior. Results In all, 154 051 subjects with IBD and an equal number of controls were identified. During a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.8 (2.2) years, 132 incident PD cases were identified. There was no significant association between IBD and PD (adjusted HR, 1.01; 0.72-1.42) when adjusting for the confounders previously mentioned. Conclusions We found no statistically significant association between these disorders. It is possible that previous associations identified between these disorders were confounded by environmental and socioeconomic factors.
Red Blood Cell Regeneration Induced by Subcutaneous Recombinant Erythropoietin: Iron-Deficient Erythropoiesis in Iron-Replete Subjects

Limited red blood cell (RBC) regeneration often prevents collection of sufficient blood from autologous donors. We studied the effects of subcutaneous recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) in subjects making frequent blood donations. Six healthy iron-replete male subjects took rEPO (200 U/kg) subcutaneously daily, and donated blood (450 mL) twice a week for 3 weeks. During a control study, these subjects also attempted twice-weekly blood donations without rEPO. Four other males given rEPO, including one with idiopathic hemochromatosis, waited until day 8 to begin blood donations. All healthy subjects took oral ferrous sulfate. Subcutaneous rEPO given with blood donations resulted in a marked reticulocytosis (mean peak value 568 +/- 159 x 10(9)/L v 235 +/- 77 x 10(9)/L, control study; P < .05), and enhanced RBC production at 28 days (1,208 +/- 227 mL v 719 +/- 161 mL, P < .05). rEPO in advance of blood donations was slightly less effective in normal subjects (941 +/- 139 mL, P < .05); however, the subject with hemochromatosis produced substantially more RBCs (1,764 mL) than any normal subject. rEPO-treated normal subjects (but not the rEPO-treated patient with hemochromatosis or untreated controls) produced iron-deficient RBCs with elevated zinc protoporphyrin levels and low hemoglobin content. These cells appeared within 1 week of rEPO administration and before laboratory confirmation of depleted iron stores. Thus, subcutaneous rEPO is an effective stimulant of erythropoiesis in nonanemic blood donors. However, in addition to eventual depletion of iron stores, early functional iron deficiency affects response to the drug.
Early Response to Rotavirus Infection Involves Massive B Cell Activation

Rotavirus is an acute enteric pathogen which induces severe diarrhea in infants and children. To determine the immune response to rotavirus in vivo, we used a mouse model of rotavirus infection. We observed dramatic increases in the sizes of both Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes, but not spleen, between 1 and 6 days after infection with a homologous strain of murine rotavirus, EC wild type. Histological analysis showed large increases in the numbers of lymphocytes in these same tissues in rotavirus-infected mice. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed the increase in numbers of lymphocytes and revealed a large increase in the percentage of activated B, but not T, lymphocytes in both Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes of rotavirus-infected mice compared with control mice. Fragment cultures from these tissues established at 3-4 days postinfection contain rotavirus-specific IgM but not IgA Ab. A similar degree of lymphoid hyperplasia and percentage of activated B cells were observed in rotavirus-infected TCR knockout mice. Taken together, our findings show that rotavirus infection, in the context of a normal immune response, induces a large increase in the percentages of activated B cells in the absence of any detectable increase in the percentage of activated T cells, implicating a T cell-independent B cell response as the primary mechanism for initial rotavirus clearance.
Classical Motions of Spin- 1/2 Particles

From the WKB solutions to the squared Dirac equation we derive the classical trajectories and spin precessions originally postulated by Bargmann, Michel, and Telegdi for charged spin-\textonehalf{} particles. Identical equations of motion are obtained from the WKB solutions to the Dirac equation.
BIOMECHANICAL POWER GENERATED BY FOREARM FLEXION.

A discrete voluntary ballistic forearm flexion in the sagittal plane was investigated. Interrupted-light photographs were taken of the movement. The photographs provided the basic data from which t...
Dynamical criteria for rogue waves in nonlinear Schrödinger models

We investigate rogue waves in deep water in the framework of the nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) and Dysthe equations. Amongst the homoclinic orbits of unstable NLS Stokes waves, we seek good candidates to model actual rogue waves. In this paper we propose two selection criteria: stability under perturbations of initial data, and persistence under perturbations of the NLS model. We find that requiring stability selects homoclinic orbits of maximal dimension. Persistence under (a particular) perturbation selects a homoclinic orbit of maximal dimension all of whose spatial modes are coalesced. These results suggest that more realistic sea states, described by JONSWAP power spectra, may be analyzed in terms of proximity to NLS homoclinic data. In fact, using the NLS spectral theory, we find that rogue wave events in random oceanic sea states are well predicted by proximity to homoclinic data of the NLS equation.
A role for NPC1 and NPC2 in intestinal cholesterol absorption--the hypothesis gutted.

Dietary and biliary cholesterol are taken up by intestinal epithelial cells and transported to the endoplasmic reticulum. At the endoplasmic reticulum, cholesterol is esterified, packaged into chylomicrons and secreted into the lymph for delivery to the bloodstream. NPC1L1 (Niemann–Pick C1-like 1) is a protein on the enterocyte brush-border membrane that facilitates cholesterol absorption. Cholesterol9s itinerary as it moves to the endoplasmic reticulum is unknown, as is the identity of any cellular proteins that facilitate the movement. Two proteins that play an important role in intracellular cholesterol transport and could potentially influence NPC1L1-mediated cholesterol uptake are NPC1 and NPC2 (Niemann–Pick type C disease proteins 1 and 2). In this issue of the Biochemical Journal , Dixit and colleagues show that the absence or presence of NPC1 and NPC2 has no effect on intestinal cholesterol absorption in the mouse. Thus neither protein fills the gap in our knowledge of intra-enterocyte cholesterol transport. Furthermore, the NPC1/NPC2 pathway would not be a good target for limiting the uptake of dietary cholesterol.
Escherichia coli mutants accumulating the precursor of a secreted protein in the cytoplasm

The maltose binding protein of Escherichia coli is secreted into the external periplasmic compartment of the cell. This article describes a selection procedure for the isolation of mutants which fail to export this protein. These mutants probably result from alterations in the amino terminal ‘signal sequence’, causing the maltose binding protein produced to accumulate in the cytoplasm in its precursor form.
Solvsolitons Associated with Heisenberg Algebras

Lauret recently characterized solvsoliton inner products as certain extensions of nilsolitons. Subsequent work of Will demonstrated that the space of solvsolitons extensions of a given nilsoliton is parametrized by the quotient of a Grassmannian by a finite group. In this paper, we consider the case of a nilsoliton on a Heisenberg algebra of arbitrary odd dimension, and determine the corresponding space of solvsoliton extensions.
Effects of adrenalectomy on spatial memory performance and dentate gyrus morphology

Abstract Adrenalectomy (ADX) causes neuronal degeneration and cell loss in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Since chemical or mechanical lesions of the DG are associated with impairments of spatial memory in rats, the effects of ADX on radial arm maze performance were evaluated. During 15 trials, where all 8 arms of the maze were baited, ADX rats were significantly impaired compared to sham operated controls (Shams). These trials were conducted 21–42 days post-ADX. Following these trials, time delays were instituted between the 4th and 5th choices, and ADX rats continued to show impaired performance. Daily intake of 3% saline was monitored in all rats and serum corticosterone (Cort) was measured. Saline consumption (ml/day) was higher in the ADX group (16.9 ± 1.6in ADX vs. 1.3 ± 0.3in Shams) and was negatively correlated with Cort level. serum Cort (% μg) differed between groups (0.6 ± 0.4vs. 15.0 ± 2.3) and was negatively correlated with a greater number of maze errors, a measure of impaired performance. Cross sectional DG area was not reduced in ADX rats, and pyknotic cell number did not differ significantly between ADX and Sham animals. Moreover, pyknotic cell counts did not correlate with behavioral measures. These results lead to two conclusions: First, the recovery of accessory adrenal tissue in ADX rats, as indicated by the low levels of Cort, appears sufficient to suppress dentate granule neuron pyknosis, but may not be sufficient to suppress salt appetite. Secondly, the persistent deficits in spatial memory performance by ADX rats without the marked presence of pyknotic cells or reduction in DG size suggests that adrenal hormones themselves may exert activational effects on spatial memory.
Implementation, Algorithmic, and Computational Level Descriptions of Neural Networks. Review ofMathematical Methods for Neural Network Analysis and Design,by R. M. Golden

Abstract Richard M. Golden is Associate Professor, Cognition and Neuroscience Program, at the University of Texas at Dallas. He received his Ph.D. from Brown University in 1987, followed by an Andrew Mellon Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and a NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. He is a member of the editorial boards for Neural Networks and Journal of Mathematical Psychology . Jerome R. Busemeyer is a Professor in Cognitive Science at Indiana University and he is the editor (with Hastie and Medin) of Decision Making from a Cognitive Perspective (Academic Press, Vol. 32 of The Psychology of Learning and Motivation , 1995).
Inference under right censoring for transformation models with a change-point based on a covariate threshold

We consider linear transformation models applied to right censored survival data with a change-point in the regression coefficient based on a covariate threshold. We establish consistency and weak convergence of the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimators. The change-point parameter is shown to be n-consistent, while the remaining parameters are shown to have the expected root-n consistency. We show that the procedure is adaptive in the sense that the nonthreshold parameters are estimable with the same precision as if the true threshold value were known. We also develop Monte Carlo methods of inference for model parameters and score tests for the existence of a change-point. A key difficulty here is that some of the model parameters are not identifiable under the null hypothesis of no change-point. Simulation studies establish the validity of the proposed score tests for finite sample sizes.
Synthesis and characterization of an 111In-labeled peptide for the in vivo localization of human cancers expressing the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR)

This study describes the synthesis and preliminary biologic evaluation of an 111In-labeled peptide antagonist of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) as a potential probe for as...
Diagnosing a Tooth Root Abscess in a Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Using Micro Computed Tomography Imaging

Abstract Dental disease in rodents can be difficult to diagnose based on oral examination and radiography alone, but diagnosis can be aided with computed tomography (CT). An adult guinea pig presented with nonspecific signs of pain, mild exophthalmia, and strabismus. Initial complete blood count, plasma biochemistry, and radiographs were nondiagnostic, so high-resolution micro CT was performed. A diagnosis of a tooth root abscess of the left maxillary third molar and associated osteomyelitis was made based on CT images. Micro CT, which can provide superior resolution over conventional CT, has been used primarily for research purposes in veterinary medicine but proved beneficial in this case.
A probable neuroleptic effect on platelet monoamine oxidase in chronic schizophrenic patients

Platelet monoamine oxidase activity (MAO) was studied serially over time in 16 chronic schizophrenic patients when medication free and then when medicated. Thirteen of the 16 patients had significant decreases in platelet MAO activity following neuroleptic drug treatment. The change in MAO activity was found to be correlated with response to treatment and to dose of medication.
The statistics of chemical trace concentrations in the steady state

Abstract The steady state probability distribution of chemical tracers in the atmosphere and in rain can be calculated from stochastic models, under explicit assumptions. We compare predictions from two such models, one based upon a linear stochastic equation in which random removal events … or storms … form a Poisson process, and the other based upon multiplicative random processes which produce a lognormal distribution. The two models predict different shapes for the resulting distributions of concentrations and fluxes of atmospheric tracers such as sulfates in ‘acid rain’. Consequently, estimates of the frequencies of extreme events, if based upon an assumed parametric form of a distribution function whose parameters are fitted by measurements of typical events, are model sensitive. To establish a preferred model for wet deposition, we have examined the statistics of sulfate deposition from the “European Network for the Study of Long Range Transport of Air Pollutants” (LRTAP), during the years 1973–1975. The shapes of the distributions of airborne sulfur species (SO 2 + SO 4 2− ), and of raincarried sulfate fluxes to the ground, are between those predicted by the two models. Our results are of operational significance to efforts directed to establishing national standards for rain quality.
Brain structural connectivity increases concurrent with functional improvement: Evidence from diffusion tensor MRI in children with cerebral palsy during therapy

Cerebral Palsy (CP) refers to a heterogeneous group of permanent but non-progressive movement disorders caused by injury to the developing fetal or infant brain (Bax et al., 2005). Because of its serious long-term consequences, effective interventions that can help improve motor function, independence, and quality of life are critically needed. Our ongoing longitudinal clinical trial to treat children with CP is specifically designed to meet this challenge. To maximize the potential for functional improvement, all children in this trial received autologous cord blood transfusions (with order randomized with a placebo administration over 2 years) in conjunction with more standard physical and occupational therapies. As a part of this trial, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to improve our understanding of how these interventions affect brain development, and to develop biomarkers of treatment efficacy. In this report, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and subsequent brain connectome analyses were performed in a subset of children enrolled in the clinical trial (n = 17), who all exhibited positive but varying degrees of functional improvement over the first 2-year period of the study. Strong correlations between increases in white matter (WM) connectivity and functional improvement were demonstrated; however no significant relationships between either of these factors with the age of the child at time of enrollment were identified. Thus, our data indicate that increases in brain connectivity reflect improved functional abilities in children with CP. In future work, this potential biomarker can be used to help differentiate the underlying mechanisms of functional improvement, as well as to identify treatments that can best facilitate functional improvement upon un-blinding of the timing of autologous cord blood transfusions at the completion of this study.
Neoplasms of the vagina following cervical carcinoma

Neoplasm in the vagina which occurs following treatment of cervical carcinoma could represent a separate primary neoplasm, a “field” response to a common carcinogen, or be due to neoplastic transformation of tissue from previous radiation treatment. Fifty patients with a second neoplasm in the vagina were identified: 17 following total hysterectomy for carcinoma in situ of cervix; 4 following radical hysterectomy; and 29 following radiotherapy for invasive cervical carcinoma. Their clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment modalities are presented. Since vaginal neoplasm may occur long after treatment of the initial cervical carcinoma especially after previous radiotherapy, life-long follow-up of all patients with cervical carcinoma is mandatory.
Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript is localized in pituitary lactotropes and is regulated during lactation.

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a highly expressed peptide implicated in the regulation of feeding, reward and reinforcement, and stress-related behaviors. CART has been localized to discrete cell populations in the brain, gut, adrenal gland, and pancreas. In contrast, CART-producing cell types in the pituitary gland remain ill defined. In the present study, double-label immunohistochemistry, employing a high-affinity antiserum we generated against CART-(62–102), was used to identify CART-producing cells in the pituitary gland. In the anterior pituitary, the majority of CART immunoreactivity (-ir) was localized in lactotropes; minor populations of CART-ir cells were identified as somatotropes and corticotropes. In the posterior pituitary, CART-ir extensively colocalized with oxytocin-containing fibers; in contrast, only a few vasopressin fibers contained CART-ir. As expected, CART colocalized with oxytocin in magnocellular neurons of the supraoptic nucleus. The effects of bromocrip...
Management of increased intracranial pressure in cryptococcal meningitis

Therapy of cryptococcal meningitis has been focused primarily on optimizing the antifungal regimen to improve the previously high treatment failure rates. Until recently, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of increased intracranial pressure, which is a frequent problem that complicates management of patients with cryptococcal meningitis. Patients with elevated baseline opening pressures have higher titers of cerebrospinal fluid cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide antigen, more frequent headaches, meningismus, papilledema, hearing loss, and pathologic reflexes, as well as increased morbidity and mortality compared with those patients with normal opening pressures. Optimal therapy has not yet been firmly established, but the diagnostic evaluation and available treatment options are reviewed here, including frequent high volume lumbar punctures, lumbar drains, ventriculoperitoneal shunting, and corticosteroids.
Parental Factors in Children's Motivation for Learning English: A Case in China.

Schools in China and elsewhere are starting to teach English as a second language or foreign language (FL) to students at increasingly earlier ages. Although young learners (YLs), due to their developmental stage, are likely to be particularly susceptible to the influence of parents, parents’ roles in YLs’ motivation to learn English as an FL is not well understood. Moreover, we don’t fully understand why YLs lose their motivation to learn English by their upper elementary school years. Using self-determination theory, this study examined how parents’ socio-economic status (SES) and behaviours and beliefs about their children’s English education influenced children’s motivation to learn English in China. The participants were 198 fourth-, 191 sixth- and 183 eighth-grade students and their parents. Data were gathered using a series of surveys distributed to all the students and their parents, as well as interviews with 96 focus group students. Parents had substantial but varying influences on their childre...
Bath salts and synthetic cathinones: An emerging designer drug phenomenon

Abstract Synthetic cathinones are an emerging class of designer drugs abused for psychostimulant and hallucinogenic effects similar to cocaine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or other amphetamines. Abuse of synthetic cathinones, frequently included in products sold as ‘bath salts’, became prevalent in early 2009, leading to legislative classification throughout Europe in 2010 and schedule I classification within the United States in 2011. Recent pre-clinical and clinical studies indicate that dysregulation of central monoamine systems is a principal mechanism of synthetic cathinone action and presumably underlie the behavioral effects and abuse liability associated with these drugs. This review provides insight into the development of synthetic cathinones as substances of abuse, current patterns of their abuse, known mechanisms of their action and toxicology, and the benefits and drawbacks of their classification.
A comparison of parents' models and expansions in promoting children's acquisition of adjectives

Abstract This study investigated the effects of parental models plus nondifferential praise and expansions plus nondifferential praise on 2-year-old children's spontaneous use of color and size adjective-noun combinations. Mothers modeled either a color or size adjective-noun combination and expanded the other. Both parental models and expansions increased the children's spontaneous use of the target adjective-noun combinations, but expansions produced a stronger effect than models. These results, and naturalistic data indicating that parents often provide a large number of expansions for their children, suggest that expansions may play an important role in normal language development.
Partisan Turnout Bias in Midterm Legislative Elections

: Lower salience elections present greater opportunities for representational bias at the polls than do elections with higher levels of political interest. We hypothesize that turnout bias is most likely to occur during midterm congressional elections in which there are clear short-term forces that exploit the low turnout setting. The effects of these forces are more likely to be observable among registered nonvoters than citizens who are not registered to vote because registrants have access to the polls and are likely to have voted in previous presidential contests. Using midterm National Election Study data from 1978 to 1998, we find that registered nonvoters are frequently more Democratic than midterm election voters, particularly in 1994 and 1998. The historic 1994 congressional election seat losses for Democrats may be partially explained by the finding that voters going to the polls were clearly more conservative than registered nonvoters.
Test of the trilemma for five selected Asian countries and policy implications

This article examines the trilemma for five Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and focuses on the functional form of the trilemma equation and the selection of different policy combinations. The semi-log relationship on the dependent variable performs better than the linear and other relationships due to smaller values of the Mean Absolute Per cent Error (MAPE) and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). There is support for the trilemma for Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore and lack of evidence of the trilemma for Indonesia and Thailand. Different policy combinations prevail in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. A country may switch to a different policy combination over time in order to deal with major economic events.
Daniel Kryder, Divided Arsenal: Race and the American State During World War II. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 320 pp. $30.00 cloth; $19.00 paper

There are advantages to focusing a single analytical lens on a complex and multidimensional historical event. Lines of causation can be drawn clearly. Intention, action, and consequence can be isolated and explored in depth. This is what Daniel Kryder has done for federal policy toward African Americans during World War II. A political scientist, Kryder looks at African Americans in war production industries, the army, and southern agriculture in the context of two overriding imperatives of officials of the federal state: maintaining wartime production and gaining reelection. He moves to the heart of what states do in wartime. They mobilize industry and people. They suppress dissent. They contain social unrest. Given these demands it is not surprising, Kryder argues, that reform of federal racial policy between 1941 and 1945 was so limited in scope, despite widespread black protest, calls for more progressive measures, and the popular “Double V” campaign. But there are also pitfalls to the single analytical lens, and Kryder encounters these in his conclusion. From one point of view, “the war contained rather than facilitated movements for black liberation” (243), as Kryder argues, but from another vantage the war told an entirely different story.
Talk is Cheap: Exploring Alternative Strategies for Counseling Gifted Adolescent Males

Adolescent gifted males behave, develop, and learn differently than their female peers. While there are many similarities between the genders, the unique socialization processes, typical characteristics, and common experiences of gifted males are important for school counselors and teachers of gifted boys to recognize and understand. Counselors should not rely on their usual talk therapy approaches when working with boys. To better support adolescent gifted males in schools, counselors and teachers may have to use different strategies to engage them in the counseling process so that they may become successful in school and in life.
Situation-specific variables as determinants of perceived environmental aesthetic quality and perceived crowdedness

Abstract It was hypothesized that relevant situation-specific variables may act along with objective physical conditions to determine environmental perception, and that the exclusive use of the physical level of an environmental stimulus to predict behavior may, therefore, be inadequate. A 2 × 4 between-subjects design was employed in which an attitudinally similar or dissimilar confederate interacted with a subject at one of four distances. As hypothesized, subjects who interacted with a similar confederate judged the environment to be of higher aesthetic quality, perceived themselves to be less crowded, and felt affectively more positive than subjects who interacted with a dissimilar other. The results were also interpreted as supporting the utility of the Byrne-Clore (1970) reinforcementaffect model of evaluative responses as a means of predicting environmental perception and the behavioral response to environmental stimuli.
Loving Friends: Surviving Widowhood in Late Medieval Westminster

Although medieval moralists routinely warned against women socialising with either men or women, this article argues that friendships were instrumental in helping women survive widowhood. In medieval Europe, widowhood was frequently a time of vulnerability and poverty. Unscrupulous businessmen and other opportunists often preyed upon widows. Looking at the different ways men and women in Westminster made their wills and analysing those chosen to administer them reveals that widows frequently turned to the husbands of their friends to execute their wills and oversee their estates.
Do Estimates of Water Productivity Enhance Understanding of Farm-Level Water Management?

Estimates of water productivity are appearing with increasing frequency in the literature pertaining to agronomy, water management, and water policy. Some authors report such estimates as one of the outcome variables of experiment station studies, while others calculate water productivities when comparing regional crop production information. Many authors suggest or imply that higher values of water productivity are needed to ensure that future food production goals are achieved. Yet maximizing water productivity might not be consistent with farm-level goals or with societal objectives regarding water allocation and management. Farmers in both rainfed and irrigated settings must address a complex set of issues pertaining to risk, uncertainty, prices, and opportunity costs, when selecting activities and determining optimal strategies. It is not clear that farmers in either setting will or should choose to maximize water productivity. Upon examining water productivity, both conceptually and empirically, using published versions of crop production functions, I conclude that estimates of water productivity contain too little information to enhance understanding of farm-level water management.
Placement rent exponent calculation methods, temporal behaviour and FPGA architecture evaluation

In the design of FPGA architectures, it is important to understand wiring requirements of placed circuits. Rent's Rule is an empirical metric of connectivity and congestion in a circuit that has applications in the prediction of interconnect usage.Traditional methods of calculating Rent exponents are based on recursive partitioning, with the exception of some recent work [21], [22] that defines an alternative Rent exponent of a circuit based on a placement-induced partitioning tree.In this paper we take a different look at the calculation of Rent exponents in placement, contrasting several different methods empirically and outlining the relevant biases in each. We will compare the Rent exponent observed for timing-driven vs. purely congestion-driven placement algorithms, and for different types of benchmark circuits. We also observe the temporal behaviour of Rent exponents through a simulated annealing placement and its correlation to the placement cost function and wirelength. Finally we apply the empirical results to the analysis of the Cyclone FPGA architecture and comment on the routability of the device.
Latent profile analysis with nonnormal mixtures

The performances of fit indices used for model selection in cross-sectional mixture modeling with nonnormally distributed indicators were examined in two studies using Monte Carlo methods. Simulation conditions were selected to mirror conditions found in educational and psychological research. The design factors under investigation were: indicator distribution, number of indicators, sample size, and profile prevalence. All models contained five, ten, or 15 continuous indicators with varying departures from normality. The fit indices examined were Akaike's information criterion (AIC), corrected Akaike's information criterion (AICc), consistent Akaike's information criterion (CAIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), sample size-adjusted Bayesian information criterion (SSBIC), Draper's information criterion (DIC), integrated classification likelihood criterion with Bayesian-type approximation (ICL), entropy, and the adjusted Lo-Mendell-Rubin likelihood ratio test (LMR). In the first study, nonnormally distributed data were used to estimate the mixture models. No fit index uniformly identified the simulated number of profiles using nonnormal indicators. The fit indices that tended to identify the simulated number of profiles more frequently than others were BIC, SSBIC, CAIC, and LMR although the condition(s) in which this was observed varied. In the second study, the raw data were transformed using van der Waerden quantile normal scores. Despite deflating the indicator variances, the use of normal scores increased the frequency with which fit indices identified the simulated number of profiles across most conditions.
Immediate and long‐term results of the splinting for acute closure trial

The ability of coronary splinting to salvage acute coronary occlusion was prospectively studied in 22 patients whose coronary occlusion was refractory to a 15-min balloon dilatation. Splinting was successful in 20 patients (91%). One patient required emergency bypass surgery, and one patient was treated medically for continued coronary occlusion. There was no late ischemic events. The peak CK was 1081 +/- 733 U/L and 1,451 +/- 1,646 U/L for the study and control patients (P = NS). The peak CK-MB was 110 +/- 102 mg/dl and 78 +/- 84 mg/dl, respectively (P = NS). There were no differences in electrocardiographic changes or Q-wave myocardial infarction between the groups. At 6-month follow-up, one patient required coronary artery bypass graft surgery. There were no late myocardial infarctions or deaths.
The Unequal Burden of Pain: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pain

CONTEXT: Pain has significant socioeconomic, health, and quality-of-life implications. Racial- and ethnic-based differences in the pain care experience have been described. Racial and ethnic minorities tend to be undertreated for pain when compared with non-Hispanic Whites. OBJECTIVES: To provide health care providers, researchers, health care policy analysts, government officials, patients, and the general public with pertinent evidence regarding differences in pain perception, assessment, and treatment for racial and ethnic minorities. Evidence is provided for racial- and ethnic-based differences in pain care across different types of pain (i.e., experimental pain, acute postoperative pain, cancer pain, chronic non-malignant pain) and settings (i.e., emergency department). Pertinent literature on patient, health care provider, and health care system factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in pain treatment are provided. EVIDENCE: A selective literature review was performed by experts in pain. The experts developed abstracts with relevant citations on racial and ethnic disparities within their specific areas of expertise. Scientific evidence was given precedence over anecdotal experience. The abstracts were compiled for this manuscript. The draft manuscript was made available to the experts for comment and review prior to submission for publication. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the Institute of Medicine's report on health care disparities, racial and ethnic disparities in pain perception, assessment, and treatment were found in all settings (i.e., postoperative, emergency room) and across all types of pain (i.e., acute, cancer, chronic nonmalignant, and experimental). The literature suggests that the sources of pain disparities among racial and ethnic minorities are complex, involving patient (e.g., patient/health care provider communication, attitudes), health care provider (e.g., decision making), and health care system (e.g., access to pain medication) factors. There is a need for improved training for health care providers and educational interventions for patients. A comprehensive pain research agenda is necessary to address pain disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.