cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-speed adaptive optics functional imaging of cone photoreceptors at a 100 MHz pixel rate

We evaluate a novel non-invasive technique for observing fast physiological processes, such as phototransduction, in single photoreceptor cells in the living human eye. The method takes advantage of the interference of multiple reflections within the outer segments of cones. This self-interference phenomenon is highly sensitive to phase changes such as those caused by variations in refractive index and scatter within the photoreceptor cell. A high-speed flood-illumination retina camera equipped with adaptive optics (AO) is used to observe this interference pattern, and to monitor the changes in those patterns in response to visible stimuli. AO and high frame rates are necessary for resolving individual cones and their fast temporal dynamics, respectively. Preliminary results suggest that a frame rate of 192 fps, corresponding to a full field 1024x512 pixel rate of 100 MHz, may be sufficient for observing these early stages of phototransduction. This pixel rate is at least 80 and 10 times faster than current flood-illumination and SLO pixel rates, respectively. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of in vivo single photoreceptor functional imaging, and the first demonstration of in vivo optical detection of phototransduction.
COMBINED USE OF α-ADRENERGIC AND MUSCARINIC ANTAGONISTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VOIDING DYSFUNCTION

ABSTRACT Purpose: We provide an overview of the medical literature supporting the combined use of muscarinic and α-adrenergic antagonist therapy for the treatment of voiding dysfunction. Materials and Methods: The MEDLINE database (1966 to 2004) of the United States National Library of Medicine was searched for pertinent studies. Results: Although the mechanism of action of α-adrenergic antagonist therapy for voiding dysfunction has traditionally been assumed to be relaxation of the periurethral, prostatic and bladder neck smooth muscle, substantial evidence supports action at extraprostatic sites involved in micturition, including the bladder dome smooth muscle, peripheral ganglia, spinal cord and brain. Likewise the mechanism of action of anticholinergic therapy has been traditionally assumed to be inhibition of the M 3 muscarinic receptor subtypes that mediate normal bladder contractions. However, M 2 receptor mediates hypertrophied bladder contractions and there is evidence for an M 2 component to the suprasacral control of voiding. Conclusions: Based on the physiology of α-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors the inhibition of each one would be expected to be more beneficial than that of either alone because they would work on 2 components of detrusor function. Patients who would likely benefit from this combination therapy are men with lower urinary tract symptoms, women with urgency/frequency syndrome (overactive bladder), patients with uninhibited bladder contractions due to neurogenic bladder, and patients with pelvic pain and voiding symptoms, ie interstitial cystitis and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
Typhlitis in adults

Although described initially in children, typhlitis is an important clinical condition that may also occur in adults with hematologic malignancy or, less commonly, aplastic anemia. We describe 6 adult patients with typhlitis and review the salient features of this condition. In typhlitis, a necrotizing process of multifactorial origin involves the right colon alone or the right colon and other areas of the intestine as well. Secondary colonization of mucosal ulcers by colonic flora commonly leads to septicemia and pyrexia. Typhlitis may be associated with a variety of clinical and radiographic findings. However, a high index of suspicion and certain constellations of clinical and radiographic findings may lead to an accurate presumptive diagnosis of typhlitis, followed by the institution of appropriate therapy. Notwithstanding, the short-term prognosis for typhlitis remains poor.
Model-free analysis of time-dependent single-molecule spectroscopy: Dynamics of biological macromolecules

Rigorous and unbiased statistical analysis of singlemolecule data is now recognized as a crucial component to substantiate any discovery made through such experiments. This presentation summarizes many such tools, and ventures some future directions in the context of the dynamics of biological macromolecules.
Neurovascular compromise due to true brachial artery aneurysm at the site of a previously ligated arteriovenous fistula: Case report and review of literature

True arterial aneurysms of the upper extremity are rare. The case described is that of a 48-year-old man presenting with median neuropathy and distal vascular compromise 4 years after ligation of a brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula. We describe our approach and present a review of the relevant literature.
Cross-section and asymmetry-parameter calculations for the outer- and inner-valence photoionization of ethane

We have computed cross sections and asymmetry parameters for the outer- and inner-valence photoionization of ethane using the Schwinger variational method with Pad\'e corrections. The calculated total cross section is found to be in rather good agreement with the available electron-impact and photoabsorption measurements. One-electron resonant processes in the ${(1{e}_{g})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, ${(3{a}_{1g})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, and ${(2{a}_{1g})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ ionization channels were examined comparing resonant states predicted from the virtual orbitals of a minimum basis set self-consistent-field (MBS-SCF) calculations with scattering resonances found using a local model potential for the electron-molecule interaction. The analysis of the interaction potential in terms of adiabatic radial components provides a description of the mechanism of the resonant trapping.
Consistent visualization and querying of GIS databases by a location-aware mobile agent

Location-aware mobile users need to access, query, and visualize, geographic information in a wide variety of applications including tourism, navigation, environmental management, and emergency response. Often they also need to communicate information back and forth with other mobile users or with a central agency. Depending upon the task, the user may have to share or switch between different databases or different views of the same database. We first describe our efforts to create a consistent visualization of different spatial geographic databases consisting of aerial imagery, AutoCAD drawings, schematic diagrams, and street maps. The location of a mobile user is obtained via GPS (global positioning system) and visualized synchronously across different visualizations. Our focus then is to support the mobile user in visually accessing and querying the spatial GIS databases. The mobile or the central user can interact with the database in real-time and communicate the information to each other over wireless networks. The system supports a variety of queries and tasks ("how far", "where", "closest" etc.) for many different types of geometric primitives (points, lines, polygons etc.) and objects (buildings, metro stops etc.). The output results can then be unobtrusively and consistently displayed to the user across multiple views of the scene.
A SAMPLE OF CANDIDATE RADIO STARS IN FIRST AND SDSS

We conduct a search for radio stars by combining radio and optical data from the FIRST survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The faint limit of SDSS makes possible a homogeneous search for radio emission from stars of low optical luminosity. We select a sample of 112 candidate radio stars in the magnitude range 15 <i 19.1 and with radio flux S20 1.25 mJy, from about 7000 deg 2 of sky. The selection criteria are positional coincidence within 1 �� , radio and optical point source morphology, and an SDSS spectrum classified as stellar. The sample contamination is estimated by random matching to be 108 ± 13, suggesting that at most a small fraction of the selected candidates are genuine radio stars. Therefore, we rule out a very rare population of extremely radio-loud stars: no more than 1.2 of every million stars in the magnitude range 15 <i <19.1 stars has radio flux S20 1.25 mJy. We investigate the optical and radio colors of the sample to find candidates that show the largest likelihood of being real radio stars. The significant outliers from the stellar locus, as well as the magnetically active stars, are the best candidates for follow-up radio observations. We conclude that, while the present wide-area radio surveys are not sensitive enough to provide homogeneous samples of the extremely rare radio stars, upcoming surveys that exploit the great sensitivity of current and planned telescopes do have sufficient sensitivity and will allow the properties of this class of object to be investigated in detail.
Methamphetamine neurotoxicity involves vacuolation of endocytic organelles and dopamine-dependent intracellular oxidative stress

Methamphetamine (MA) produces selective degeneration of dopamine (DA) neuron terminals without cell body loss. While excitatory amino acids (EAAs) contribute to MA toxicity, terminal loss is not characteristic of excitotoxic lesions nor is excitotoxicity selective for DA fibers; rather, EAAs may modulate MA-induced DA turnover, suggesting that DA-dependent events play a key role in MA neurotoxicity. To examine this possibility, we used postnatal ventral midbrain DA neuron cultures maintained under continuous EAA blockade. As in vivo, MA caused neurite degeneration but minimal cell death. We found that MA is a vacuologenic weak base that induces swelling of endocytic compartments; MA also induces blebbing of the plasma membrane. However, these morphological changes occurred in MA-treated cultures lacking DA neurons. Therefore, while collapse of endosomal and lysosomal pH gradients and vacuolation may contribute to MA neurotoxicity, this does not explain selective DA terminal degeneration. Alternatively, MA could exert its neurotoxic effects by collapsing synaptic vesicle proton gradients and redistributing DA from synaptic vesicles to the cytoplasm. This could cause the formation of DA-derived free radicals and reactive metabolites. To test whether MA induces oxidative stress within living DA neurons, we used 2,7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCF), an indicator of intracellular hydroperoxide production. MA dramatically increased the number of DCF-labeled cells in ventral midbrain cultures, which contain about 30% DA neurons, but not in nucleus accumbens cultures, which do not contain DA neurons. In the DA neuron cultures, intracellular DDF labeling was localized to axonal varicosities, blebs, and endocytic organelles. These results suggest that MA redistributes DA from the reducing environment within synaptic vesicles to extravesicular oxidizing environments, thus generating oxygen radicals and reactive metabolites within DA neurons that may trigger selective DA terminal loss.
Scenario Driven Testing

Software testing has traditionally focused on evaluating the functionality of implemented modules against feature specifications. This approach assumes that customer requirements and usage scenarios are accurately translated into specifications and that individual modules implemented using the feature specifications would work seamlessly and coherently to solve business problems meant to be addressed by the software under test. To ensure software built would help customers solve their business problems as intended, test teams have to go beyond traditional feature driven testing approach and test software for quality and completeness with respect to targeted customer scenarios. For this, test teams have to adopt scenario driven test methodology which involves understanding the targeted customer scenarios and use them along with feature specifications for the intended software solution to translate them into test specifications, prioritization of test work items and use them throughout project for shared understanding of tradeoffs and making decisions. In this short paper, we describe scenario driven testing and share how it was applied to test a feature-set developed for a successful product line at Microsoft®.
Generation and Measurement of Relativistic Electron Bunches Characterized by a Linearly Ramped Current Profile

We report the first successful attempt to generate ultrashort (1-10 ps) relativistic electron bunches characterized by a ramped longitudinal current profile that rises linearly from head to tail and then falls sharply to zero. Bunches with this type of longitudinal shape may be applied to plasma-based accelerator schemes as an optimized drive beam, and to free-electron lasers as a means of reducing asymmetry in microbunching due to slippage. The scheme used to generate the ramped bunches employs an anisochronous dogleg beam line with nonlinear correction elements to compress a beam having an initial positive time-energy chirp. The beam current profile is measured using a deflecting mode cavity, and a pseudoreconstruction of the beam's longitudinal phase space distribution is obtained by using this diagnostic with a residual horizontal dispersion after the dogleg.
Effects of a Tailored Activity Pacing Intervention on Pain and Fatigue for Adults With Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE. We examined whether tailored activity pacing intervention was more effective at reducing pain and fatigue than general activity pacing intervention. METHOD. Adults with knee or hip osteoarthritis (N = 32) stratified by age and gender were randomized to receive either tailored or general pacing intervention. Participants wore an accelerometer for 5 days that measured physical activity and allowed for repeated symptom assessment. Physical activity and symptom data were used to tailor activity pacing instruction. Outcomes at 10-week follow-up were pain (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) and fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory). RESULTS. Compared with general intervention, the tailored group had less fatigue interference (p = .02) and trended toward decreased fatigue severity (p = .09) at 10-wk follow-up. No group differences were found in pain reduction. CONCLUSION. Tailoring instruction on the basis of recent symptoms and physical activity may be a more effective symptom management approach than general instruction given the positive effects on fatigue
Blastocyst development in equine oocytes with low meiotic competence after suppression of meiosis with roscovitine prior to in vitro maturation

This study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro development of equine oocytes with compact cumuli that had been subjected to a period of meiotic suppression with roscovitine before in vitro maturation. In experiment 1, oocytes were recovered from slaughterhouse-derived ovaries and held in M199 + 10% fetal bovine serum containing 66 μM roscovitine with or without an overlay of mineral oil in 5% CO2 in air at 38.2 °C for 16–18 or 24 h. No oocytes treated with roscovitine in the absence of an oil overlay for 16–18 h were maturing, compared with 2–4% of oocytes in other treatments. In experiment 2, oocytes were either fixed immediately after recovery, or were cultured for 18 h in the presence or absence of roscovitine. Oocytes cultured in the absence of roscovitine had a significantly higher rate of meiotic resumption (18%) than was found in the other two treatments (0). In experiment 3, oocytes were matured immediately or after 16–18 h culture with roscovitine. Maturation rates were similar between oocytes previously treated with roscovitine (22%) and control oocytes (19%). Mature oocytes were fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection and then cultured, with or without oviductal epithelial cells, for 7.5 days. There was no significant effect of roscovitine treatment on blastocyst development. Development to blastocyst of roscovitine-treated oocytes in DMEM/F-12 + co-culture (37%) was significantly higher than that of control oocytes in DMEM/F-12 without co-culture (14%). These data indicate that equine oocytes with compact cumuli can be held in roscovitine before maturation without any harmful effect on blastocyst formation.
Vector quantization using image adaptive codebook

The authors present vector quantization using image adaptive codebook (VQIAC), an image adaptive vector-quantization technique where the codebook generated from the input image is encoded by using variable-length transform coding (VLTC). It is shown experimentally that VQIAC-VLTC is competitive with both vector quantization using a universal codebook and the conventional VLTC operating on the original image. Excellent subjective quality is obtained at a bit rate of about 0.9161 b/pixel. >
Directed Evolution of Methanococcus jannaschii Citramalate Synthase for Biosynthesis of 1-Propanol and 1-Butanol by Escherichia coli

Biofuels synthesized from renewable resources are of increasing interest because of global energy and environmental problems. We have previously demonstrated production of higher alcohols from Escherichia coli using a 2-keto acid-based pathway. Here, we took advantage of the growth phenotype associated with 2-keto acid deficiency to construct a hyperproducer of 1-propanol and 1-butanol by evolving citramalate synthase (CimA) from Methanococcus jannaschii. This new pathway, which directly converts pyruvate to 2-ketobutyrate, bypasses threonine biosynthesis and represents the shortest keto acid-mediated pathway for producing 1-propanol and 1-butanol from glucose. Directed evolution of CimA enhanced the specific activity over a wide temperature range (30 to 70°C). The best CimA variant was found to be insensitive to feedback inhibition by isoleucine in addition to the improved activity. This CimA variant enabled 9- and 22-fold higher production levels of 1-propanol and 1-butanol, respectively, compared to the strain expressing the wild-type CimA. This work demonstrates (i) the first production of 1-propanol and 1-butanol using the citramalate pathway and (ii) the benefit of the 2-keto acid pathway that enables a growth-based evolutionary strategy to improve the production of non-growth-related products.
Deconstructing Each Item's Category Contribution

Retailers and manufacturers believe that the mere presence of certain items in a retail assortment increases the sales volume of the whole assortment. This paper provides an empirical study of the role of every item in an assortment. Our results show that many items affect category sales over and above their own sales volume. After deconstructing the role of a stockout of individual items into three effects---lost own sales, substitution to other items, and the category sales impact---we find that the category impact has the largest magnitude. Interestingly, the disproportionate impact of individual items on category sales is not restricted to top-selling items, for almost every single individual item affects category sales. It seems that variety is indeed the price of entry in retailing. Our results support recent findings that more frequently purchased categories are less adversely affected by reductions in assortment. We also find that the assortment appears to gain attractiveness when certain items are out of stock, a result that is consistent with the discussion in the literature concerning category clutter.
Government Goes into Business: Parcel Post in the Nation's Political Economy, 1880–1915*

From today's vantage point, the radical potential originally envisioned for parcel post is hard to imagine. One historian facilely characterized postal savings banks (1910) and parcel post (1912) as small incremental advances in the evolution of state action: “From legislation designed to restrain harmful practices in big business, it was but a step for the government to embark in business on its own accord.” Yet parcel post marked a dramatic departure in public-sector initiatives: it put the federal government in the transportation business to compete with well-established private firms. That the United States started parcel post so late – it was the last major industrialized nation to do so – suggests the extent to which the service raised fundamental questions about the proper sphere of state action.
Trafficking to the Apical and Basolateral Membranes in Polarized Epithelial Cells

Renal epithelial cells must maintain distinct protein compositions in their apical and basolateral membranes in order to perform their transport functions. The creation of these polarized protein distributions depends on sorting signals that designate the trafficking route and site of ultimate functional residence for each protein. Segregation of newly synthesized apical and basolateral proteins into distinct carrier vesicles can occur at the trans-Golgi network, recycling endosomes, or a growing assortment of stations along the cellular trafficking pathway. The nature of the specific sorting signal and the mechanism through which it is interpreted can influence the route a protein takes through the cell. Cell type–specific variations in the targeting motifs of a protein, as are evident for Na,K-ATPase, demonstrate a remarkable capacity to adapt sorting pathways to different developmental states or physiologic requirements. This review summarizes our current understanding of apical and basolateral trafficking routes in polarized epithelial cells.
Is Brain Research Relevant for Music Education

During the past several years Dr Harvey has presented seminars on ‘Music and the Brain’ throughout the United States and Canada. In the course of a weekend seminar in 1985 he was, once again, particularly impressed with the power of music to affect individuals in many different ways; musical performances (live and taped) evoked responses as diverse as excitement, tears, loneliness, increases in pulse rate, changes in breathing rate, spontaneous body movement, memory recall and imagery experiences. To understand just how the brain produces both biophysical and psychological responses to music requires a basic understanding of the human brain, the areas of the human personality affected through brain processes, and an awareness of the interactions of musical elements affecting us. In this article Dr Harvey outlines some of the directions of recent research.
Instantaneous input Hypothesis in Pharmacokinetic Studies

Observed venous plasma concentrations of furosemide, propranolol, griseofulvin, and theophylline at 0.33 and 0 66 min after intravenous bolus injections to unanesthetized dogs were compared with those extrapolated using the instantaneous input hypothesis. At 0.33 min, extrapolated/observed plasma level ratios as high as 20.5, 65.5, 226, and 1.17 were found for these four drugs, respectively. Venous plasma levels peaked at 1 min postinjection in all studies. Total plasma areas (AUC0)- estimated using the instantaneous input principle were higher by as much as 6.0, 6.8, and 19.6% for propranolol, griseofulvin, and furosemide, respectively, when compared with experimental data. The effect on theophylline was negligible. These results suggest the need for cautious interpretation of some venous pharmacokinetic data. More studies in animals and humans are required to assess the magnitude of deviation from the instantaneous input hypothesis for drugs in general.
High-flux solar furnace processing of silicon solar cells

We used a 10-kW high-flux solar furnace (HFSF) to diffuse the front-surface n/sup +/-p junction and the back-surface p-p/sup +/ junction of single-crystal silicon solar cells in one processing step. We found that all of the HFSF-processed cells have better conversion efficiencies than control cells of identical structures fabricated by conventional furnace diffusion methods. HFSF processing offers several advantages that may contribute to improved solar cell efficiency: (1) it provides a cold-wall process, which reduces contamination; (2) temperature versus time profiles can be precisely controlled; (3) wavelength, intensity, and spatial distribution of the incident solar flux can be controlled and changed rapidly, (4) a number of high-temperature processing steps can be performed simultaneously; and (5) combined quantum and thermal effects may benefit overall cell performance. The HFSF has also been successfully used to texture the surface of silicon wafers and to crystallize a-Si:H thin films on glass.
Automatic All-Hex Mesh Generation of Thin-Walled Solids via a Conformal Pyramid-Less Hex, Prism, and Tet Mixed Mesh

A new computational method for creating all-hex meshes of thin-walled solids is presented. The proposed method creates an all-hex mesh in a three-step process. First, a tet mesh of the target geometric domain is created, and a layer of prism elements is inserted on the boundary of the mesh. Second, a sequence of novel topological transformations and smoothing operations is applied to reduce the number of tet elements and increase the number of hex elements. The topological transformations maintain conformity of the hex, prism, and tet mixed mesh. The proposed topological transformations do not introduce pyramid elements, and therefore avoids problems imposed by pyramid elements. Third and finally, the mixed mesh is subdivided into an all-hex mesh by applying mid-point subdivision templates. Experimental results show that the proposed method creates high-quality all-hex meshes.
Integrated simulation approach for assessment of performance in construction projects: a system-of-systems framework

This research proposes and tests an integrated framework for bottom-up simulation of performance in construction projects. The proposed framework conceptualizes construction projects as systems-of-systems in which the abstraction and micro-simulation of dynamic behaviors are investigated at the base-level consisting of the following elements: human agents, information, and resources. The application of the proposed framework is demonstrated in a numerical example related to a tunneling project. The findings highlight the capability of the proposed framework in providing an integrated approach for bottom-up simulation of performance in construction projects.
Quantum fluctuations in the superfluid state of the BCS-BEC crossover

We determine the effects of quantum fluctuations about the T=0 mean-field solution of the BCS-BEC crossover in a dilute Fermi gas using the functional integral method. These fluctuations are described in terms of the zero-point motion of collective modes and the virtual scattering of gapped quasiparticles. We calculate their effects on various measurable properties, including chemical potential, ground-state energy, the gap, the speed of sound and the Landau critical velocity. At unitarity, we find excellent agreement with quantum Monte Carlo and experimental results. In the BCS limit, we show analytically that we obtain Fermi liquid interaction corrections to thermodynamics including the Hartree shift. In the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) limit, we show that the theory leads to an approximate description of the reduction of the scattering length for bosonic molecules and also obtain quantum depletion of the Lee-Yang form. At the end of the paper, we describe a method to include feedback of quantum fluctuations into the gap equation, and discuss the problems of self-consistent calculations in satisfying Goldstone's theorem and obtaining ultraviolet finite results at unitarity.
Variable-range-hopping conductivity of the half-doped bilayer manganite LaSr 2 Mn 2 O 7

We report measurements of the in-plane (ρ a b ) and out-of-plane (ρ c ) resistivities on a single crystal of the half-doped bilayer manganite LaSr 2 Mn 2 O 7 . In the temperature T range 220 to 300 K, the resistive anisotropy ρ c /ρ a b =A + B/T (A and B constants), which provides evidence for the variable-range-hopping conduction in the presence of a Coulomb gap. This hopping mechanism also accounts for the quadratic magnetic field H and sin 2 φ dependences of the negative magnetoresistivity ln[ρ i (T,H,φ)/ρ i (T,H=0)] (i=ab,c), where φ is the in-plane angle between the magnetic field and the current.
Preliminary characterization of a group of unidentified pleomorphic bacteria isolated from blood and other tissues.

Abstract 1.1. Bacteriologic studies were carried out on fifty strains of unidentified pleomorphic bacteria (U.P.B.). They were isolated from the blood and tissues of patients with chronic illness. 2.2. The U.P.B. are nonmotile, nonspore-bearing, nonacid-fast rods. On solid media they form minute round colonies from 0.1 to 0.3 mm. in diameter. Colonies are flat with an entire edge, a finely granular surface, papillate center, and elevated periphery. Pigmentation is absent. Microscopically, the organisms show marked pleomorphism. They are gram-variable and stain irregularly with methylene blue, showing club forms, palisading, and metachromatic granules and bars resembling corynebacteria. 3.3. Biochemical reactions were essentially negative, carbohydrates being fermented only very slightly if at all. All of the strains formed catalase and a few strains reduced nitrates to nitrites. 4.4. Thirteen of 50 strains tested of the U.P.B. were resistant to penicillin, nine to streptomycin, and a few demonstrated resistance to other antibiotics. Only one strain was resistant to erythromycin, one to oxytetracycline, and none to tetracycline. 5.5. Although none of the U.P.B. were pathogenic for laboratory animals, all were pathogenic for 5-day-old chick embryos and caused death of the embryos in from one day to two weeks. 6.6. Inasmuch as the variable morphology of the U.P.B. resembles certain species of corynebacteria, taxonomically they may belong to this genus. With the exception of their unique colonial morphology, their biologic characteristics are in many ways typical of the so-called diphtheroid group. It is suggested that the pathogenicity of these bacteria may depend upon a synergistic or symbiotic relationship with other microorganisms or upon a deranged physiologic state in the host.
Effect of protein-calorie restriction on brain amino acid pool in neonatal rats.

SummaryNewborn rats fed restricted calories during the first 2 days of life showed a depression of brain weight, and the levels of glutamic acid, glutamine, alanine, serine, and GAB A compared to those allowed to suckle their mothers normally. Also it was found that the levels of valine, leucine, isoleucine, histidine, arginine, cystine, ornithine, urea, and ammonia were increased in newborn rats maintained on restricted calories. It is concluded that calorie malnutrition, even for a short period, during the neonatal development is associated with alteration in the brain amino acid pool.
Pathogenicity of the tubercle bacillus.

ConclusionsThe Boivin type of antigenic complexes derived from the human strain (H37Rv) of M. tuberculosis appear to abet generalized infection in guinea pigs receiving very small numbers of organisms. It is suggested that such complexes may function as a “virulence factor” for the tubercle bacillus in a susceptible species of host. The possible relationship of such a factor to acquired resistance to the tubercle bacillus is under investigation.
Prenatal exposure to cannabis and maternal and child health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective To assess the effects of use of cannabis during pregnancy on maternal and fetal outcomes. Data sources 7 electronic databases were searched from inception to 1 April 2014. Studies that investigated the effects of use of cannabis during pregnancy on maternal and fetal outcomes were included. Study selection Case–control studies, cross-sectional and cohort studies were included. Data extraction and synthesis Data synthesis was undertaken via systematic review and meta-analysis of available evidence. All review stages were conducted independently by 2 reviewers. Main outcomes and measures Maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes up to 6 weeks postpartum after exposure to cannabis. Meta-analyses were conducted on variables that had 3 or more studies that measured an outcome in a consistent manner. Outcomes for which meta-analyses were conducted included: anaemia, birth weight, low birth weight, neonatal length, placement in the neonatal intensive care unit, gestational age, head circumference and preterm birth. Results 24 studies were included in the review. Results of the meta-analysis demonstrated that women who used cannabis during pregnancy had an increase in the odds of anaemia (pooled OR (pOR)=1.36: 95% CI 1.10 to 1.69) compared with women who did not use cannabis during pregnancy. Infants exposed to cannabis in utero had a decrease in birth weight (low birth weight pOR=1.77: 95% CI 1.04 to 3.01; pooled mean difference (pMD) for birth weight=109.42 g: 38.72 to 180.12) compared with infants whose mothers did not use cannabis during pregnancy. Infants exposed to cannabis in utero were also more likely to need placement in the neonatal intensive care unit compared with infants whose mothers did not use cannabis during pregnancy (pOR=2.02: 1.27 to 3.21). Conclusions and relevance Use of cannabis during pregnancy may increase adverse outcomes for women and their neonates. As use of cannabis gains social acceptance, pregnant women and their medical providers could benefit from health education on potential adverse effects of use of cannabis during pregnancy.
Sewage pollution in New York, USA: impact of the ‘Right to Know’ Act

In 2012, New York, USA enacted the Sewage Pollution Right to Know (SPRtK) Act, which requires public notification of untreated and partially treated sewage discharges. With the passing of this law, New York joined 12 other states that have similar laws but none as comprehensive as New York9s. As part of the SPRtK Act requirements, aggregated sewage discharge reports (SDRs) are made available on the web. For this study, we made use of one year9s worth of SDRs to identify spatial and temporal patterns in sewage discharge incidents. The SDRs were strongly associated with the type of municipality, density and age of the treatment plant. New York has some of the oldest infrastructure in the USA, and this law enables the state environmental agency to document instances of failure and take corrective action. Proper implementation of the law would place information in the hands of the people and protect public health.
Autonomous Maneuver Planning at Small Bodies via Mission Objective Reachability Analysis

An autonomous trajectory planning scheme is formulated to pursue mission goals in strongly non-Keplerian orbit environments. Techniques for efficient reachability analysis are adapted into a receding-horizon implementation to generate mission profiles consisting of impulsive maneuvers and ballistic arcs that safely fulfill several science observation goals at close proximity to Phobos. Decisions are automated via a hierarchy of objective functions concerning overall mission progress, the balancing of short-term gains with long-term prospects, and the heuristic search of the complexly structured reachable space. Monte Carlo mission performance analyses reveal that although the planning scheme yields widely varied solutions, adjustments of its parameters nonetheless produce clear effects upon the mean performance. This initial characterization of a new paradigm for small body mission design demonstrates potential for realtime onboard application as well as for use in broad preliminary studies of the volatile mission solution space.
The Father in the Boy: On Roles, Goals, and Imagos in Boyhood—An Evolving Psychoanalytic Vision

The psychoanalytic vision of the father-son relationship, for far too long, remained yoked to patrifocal, patriarchal, phallocentric, and heteronormative biases. Fathers were seen as the paragons of masculinity, providing their sons with rescue and salvation from the sinister specter of enmeshment with and engulfment by mother. Only in the last approximate 25 to 30 years have we seen a significant shift in that vision of fathers begin to occur in psychoanalysis. In this paper, I consider some of the essentials that appear to now define that ever-evolving psychoanalytic vision of fathers. Some ways in which fathers seemingly contribute to boys’ development will be examined, and the roles, goals, and imagos that characterize the father-son relationship during boyhood will be accentuated. This current vision, still very much a work in progress, reflects earnest efforts to contemporize an antiquated and gender biased psychoanalytic perspective and render it relevant for the twenty-first century father, fathering, and father-son relationship. Upending psychoanalytic overemphases on pathology, misery, and negativity, it is an optimistic iconoclasm that challenges and questions tradition, proposes an alternative path to explanatory possibilities and conceptualizations, and above all else, embraces and celebrates “more life,” joy, happiness, health, and positivity in fathering.
Hormonal treatment at time of radical retropubic prostatectomy for stage D1 prostate cancer: results of long-term followup.

AbstractIn this long-term study with a median followup of greater than 10 years 62 patients who underwent bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy for stage D1 adenocarcinoma of the prostate were subdivided with respect to nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy status of the primary cancer and according to whether they received adjuvant early antiandrogen therapy. Patients with diploid cancers who underwent the operation and received adjuvant early endocrine therapy did significantly better than a similar group without early endocrine therapy with respect to disease-free survival (p <0.001) and survival from prostate cancer death (p = 0.03). Among patients with nondiploid tumors early endocrine therapy was of some benefit for disease-free survival (p = 0.06) but not for prostate cancer death (p = 0.46).
Detecting and treating tuberculosis infection in immigrants from developing countries were cost-effective.

Source Citation Khan K, Muennig P, Behta M, Zivin JG. Global drug-resistance patterns and the management of latent tuberculosis infection in immigrants to the United States. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:...
Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Presenting With Hypertensive Urgency in the Office Setting

Importance The prevalence and short-term outcomes of hypertensive urgency (systolic blood pressure ≥180 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥110 mm Hg) are unknown. Guidelines recommend achieving blood pressure control within 24 to 48 hours. However, some patients are referred to the emergency department (ED) or directly admitted to the hospital, and whether hospital management is associated with better outcomes is unknown. Objectives To describe the prevalence of hypertensive urgency and the characteristics and short-term outcomes of these patients, and to determine whether referral to the hospital is associated with better outcomes than outpatient management. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study with propensity matching included all patients presenting with hypertensive urgency to an office in the Cleveland Clinic Healthcare system from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2013. Pregnant women and patients referred to the hospital for symptoms or treatment of other conditions were excluded. Final follow-up was completed on June 30, 2014, and data were assessed from October 31, 2014, to May 31, 2015. Exposures Hospital vs ambulatory blood pressure management. Main Outcomes and Measures Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) consisting of acute coronary syndrome and stroke or transient ischemic attack, uncontrolled hypertension (≥140/90 mm Hg), and hospital admissions. Results Of 2 199 019 unique patient office visits, 59 836 (4.6%) met the definition of hypertensive urgency. After excluding 851 patients, 58 535 were included. Mean (SD) age was 63.1 (15.4) years; 57.7% were women; and 76.0% were white. Mean (SD) body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) was 31.1 (7.6); mean (SD) systolic blood pressure, 182.5 (16.6) mm Hg; and mean (SD) diastolic blood pressure, 96.4 (15.8) mm Hg. In the propensity-matched analysis, the 852 patients sent home were compared with the 426 patients referred to the hospital, with no significant difference in MACE at 7 days (0 vs 2 [0.5%]; P = .11), 8 to 30 days (0 vs 2 [0.5%]; P = .11), or 6 months (8 [0.9%] vs 4 [0.9%]; P > .99). Patients sent home were more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension at 1 month (735 of 852 [86.3%] vs 349 of 426 [81.9%]; P = .04) but not at 6 months (393 of 608 [64.6%] vs 213 of 320 [66.6%]; P = .56). Patients sent home had lower hospital admission rates at 7 days (40 [4.7%] vs 35 [8.2%]; P = .01) and at 8 to 30 days (59 [6.9%] vs 48 [11.3%]; P = .009). Conclusions and Relevance Hypertensive urgency is common, but the rate of MACE in asymptomatic patients is very low. Visits to the ED were associated with more hospitalizations, but not improved outcomes. Most patients still had uncontrolled hypertension 6 months later.
Analyzing the Effects of Family Communication Patterns on the Decision to Disclose a Health Issue to a Parent: The Benefits of Conversation and Dangers of Conformity

Family can be a key site of support for individuals who are diagnosed with a health issue, as long as the health condition is known within the family unit. This online experiment investigated variables that influence the likelihood that college students will disclose a hypothetical health issue to a parent. Family communication patterns (FCP) theory informed this analysis by outlining the role of FCP in disclosure dynamics among college students and their parents. Through structural equation modeling, a novel mediation model of FCP demonstrated that conformity indirectly reduced the likelihood to disclose through the constraint on conversation. The sensitivity of the hypothetical health condition did not moderate the relationship of conformity on likelihood to disclose through conversation. However, regardless of FCP, respondents were less likely to disclose sensitive health issues.
Somatomedin Receptors: Structure, Function, and Regulation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses somatomedin receptors, and its structure, function, and regulation. The somatomedins constitute a family of growth hormone-dependent peptides with anabolic and mitogenic activity for a variety of cell lines. The characterization of specific somatomedin receptors was hampered by the difficulties encountered in purifying somatomedin preparations to meet the following criteria: (1) able to be iodinated to a high specific activity, (2) to be immunoreactive insulin-free, and (3) to consist of a single purified peptide, rather than a mixture of several somatomedin peptides. Structural homologies between insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) explain the observation that somatomedins have insulin-like activity, while insulin has mitogenic activity in a variety of cell lines. These peptides have evolved from a common ancestor protein, and over time, their sequences, and their receptors, diverged to accommodate specific metabolic and mitogenic demands of the organism. The structural basis for the interrelationship among insulin, the somatomedins, and their receptors has been established by the methods, such as affinity and immunoaffinity purification of membrane proteins, photoaffinity labeling, and affinity cross-linking of cell surface receptors.
Classification and Nomenclature

There have been a number of attempts to classify related viruses into groups that have evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships. These attempts have proved difficult and none has been accepted universally.
The design and analysis of data from dyads and groups.

This chapter explores the promise and pitfalls of using the Internet as a tool to collect data, with a focus on practical and conceptual concerns relevant to social-personality psychologists. It discusses some of the benefits and challenges of collecting data over the Internet, and focuses primarily on using the Internet to recruit participants and collect data. The chapter reviews a practical guidance for implementing online studies. It provides detailed examples of how common study designs within social-personality psychology can be successfully implemented via the Internet. Using an experimental design in an Internet-based study requires translating the random assignment process and the experimental manipulation(s) to a Web-based format. The chapter highlights a few unique options and challenges of Internet-based study design. It also discusses a few but unique ethical concerns which the Internet data collection presents before ending with a discussion on the future opportunities for Internet use in research.
Impact of EGFR and ALK mutation on the outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases.

2005Background: Brain metastases (BM) are common serious complication of NSCLC. Activating mutations in EGFR and ALK constitute 10-15% and 5% of NSCLC respectively. Patients with multiple BM (≥4) have inferior outcomes compared to single or limited BM (≤ 3) in wild type NSCLC. There is limited information on impact of number of BM on EGFR and ALK positive NSCLC BM. Methods: With IRB approval, the Cleveland Clinic Neuro-Oncology Center’s database was used to identify patients treated between 2000-2014 for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) BM with mutational status (EGFR/ALK/wild). Overall survival (OS) from the diagnosis of BM was the primary end point. Cox proportional hazards models were used for data analysis. Results: 1032 NSCLC patients with BM were included in the analysis. Among 322 NSCLC BM with mutational analysis, 88 were positive for mutation (ALK = 21; EGFR = 67) and 234 were wild type. Median age at diagnosis in EGFR, ALK + NSCLC BM was 59.5 (range 29.8, 82.6) and 50.6% (43 patients) had KPS ...
The Promise and Peril of Precision Medicine: Phenotyping Still Matters Most

We illustrate the work necessary to reverse course after identification of a KCNQ1 variant interpreted erroneously as causing long QT syndrome (LQTS) and to identify the true cause of a case of sudden death in the young. Surrogate genetic testing of a decedent's living brother identified a rare KCNQ1-V133I variant, which prompted an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and subsequent diagnosis of LQTS in other family members. Subsequently, this presumed LQT1 family came to our institution for further clinical evaluation and research-based investigations, including KCNQ1-V133I variant-specific analysis of the decedent, heterologous expression studies of KCNQ1-V133I, and a whole-exome molecular autopsy along with genomic triangulation using his unaffected parents' DNA. After evaluating several V133I-positive family members, clinical doubt was cast on the veracity of the previously levied diagnosis of LQT1, resulting in a re-opening of the case and an intense pursuit of the lethal substrate. Furthermore, the decedent tested negative for V133I, and heterologous expression studies demonstrated a normal cellular phenotype for V133I-containing Kv7.1 channels. Instead, after whole-exome molecular autopsy, a de novo pathogenic variant (p.R454W) in DES-encoded desmin was identified. As detailed herein, the forensic evaluation of sudden death in the young requires meticulous focus on the decedent followed by a careful and deliberate assessment of the decedent's relatives. Surrogate genetic testing can have disastrous consequences and should be avoided. Genetic test results require careful scrutiny to avoid unintended and potentially devastating repercussions. Although the root cause of the decedent's tragic death would have remained a mystery, the unintended consequences for the living relatives described herein might have been avoided based on clinical grounds alone. All family members had electrocardiograms with normal QT intervals, making the diagnosis of familial LQTS unlikely. As such, if the clinicians caring for these patients had focused solely on clinical data from the survivors, there might have been no reason to embark on a path of inappropriate treatment based on genetic testing.