cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant Target Dose Optimization and Control of Severe Asthma Exacerbations in Uninsured and Underinsured Patients with Anxiety and/or Depression.

Background Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are prevalent in patients with asthma. These disorders may increase asthma severity and decrease asthma control. No studies have evaluated the impact of achieving antidepressant target dose optimization compared with not achieving antidepressant target doses on asthma control in uninsured and underinsured patients. Objective To evaluate the impact of achieving antidepressant target dose optimization in uninsured and underinsured adult asthma patients with GAD and/or MDD on the risk of severe asthma exacerbations and number of asthma-related outcomes. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of uninsured and underinsured adult asthma patients with GAD and/or MDD who have been initiated on a single antidepressant and maintained on a stable dose for 8 weeks (index date). Eligible patients were followed for 12-24 months after the index date and separated into those who achieved a target dose (target group) and those who did not (control group). Poisson regression was used to compare the risk of severe exacerbations, and analysis of covariance was used to compare the number of severe exacerbations and other asthma-related outcomes between the target and control groups during the 1- and 2-year post-index periods. Results A total of 61 patients (24 in the target group and 37 in the control group) met inclusion criteria. The target group had a reduced risk of severe asthma exacerbations compared with the control group during the 1-year post-index (adjusted risk reduction [RR] 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26-0.82) and 2-year post-index (adjusted RR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.82) periods. The target group also experienced a lower number of severe asthma exacerbations and other asthma-related outcomes during the 1- and 2-year post-index periods compared with the control group after adjusting for confounders. Conclusions Among uninsured and underinsured asthma patients with GAD and/or MDD who were initiated on a single antidepressant, those who were titrated to achieve target doses had a reduced risk of severe asthma exacerbations and a lower number of asthma-related outcomes than those who were not optimized to achieve target doses.
Senior surgical resident autonomy and teaching assistant cases: A prospective observational study.

Abstract Introduction Teaching assistant (TA) cases allow senior residents (SR) to gain autonomy. We compared the safety profiles of TA cases performed under direct vs. indirect staff supervision. Methods Prospective observational study of operative cases where a SR served as the TA between 7/2014-6/2017 (n = 161). Patient/operative characteristics, 30-day outcomes, and SR survey data were compared by level of supervision. Results Case mix included 68 laparoscopic appendectomies (42%), 49 laparoscopic cholecystectomies (30%), 10 I&Ds (6%), 10 umbilical hernia repairs (6%), 4 port placements (3%), and 11 others. Indirectly supervised cases were shorter (61 vs. 76 min, p Discussion Carefully selected TA cases offer SRs opportunities to practice autonomy without sacrificing operative time or patient safety.
Overcoming sociodemographic factors in the care of patients with testicular cancer at a safety net hospital

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to determine whether standardized treatment of germ cell tumors (GCTs) could overcome sociodemographic factors limiting patient care. METHODS The records of all patients undergoing primary treatment for GCTs at both a public safety net hospital and an academic tertiary care center in the same metropolitan area were analyzed. Both institutions were managed by the same group of physicians in the context of multidisciplinary cancer care. Patients were grouped by care center; clinicopathologic features and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS Between 2006 and 2018, 106 and 95 patients underwent initial treatment for GCTs at the safety net hospital and the tertiary care center, respectively. Safety net patients were younger (29 vs 33 years; P = .005) and were more likely to be Hispanic (79% vs 11%), to be uninsured (80% vs 12%; P < .001), to present via the emergency department (76% vs 8%; P < .001), and to have metastatic (stage II/III) disease (42% vs 26%; P = .025). In a multivariable analysis, an absence of lymphovascular invasion (odds ratio [OR], 0.30; P = .008) and an embryonal carcinoma component (OR, 0.36; P = .02) were associated with decreased use of adjuvant treatment for stage I patients; hospital setting was not (OR, 0.67; P = .55). For patients with stage II/III nonseminomatous GCTs, there was no difference in the performance of postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection between the safety net hospital and the tertiary care center (52% vs 64%; P = .53). No difference in recurrence rates was observed between the cohorts (5% vs 6%; P = .76). CONCLUSIONS Sociodemographic factors are often associated with adverse clinical outcomes in the treatment of GCTs; they may be overcome with integrated, standardized management of testicular cancer.
Context Is Key: Delineating the Unique Functions of IFNα and IFNβ in Disease.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are critical effector cytokines of the immune system and were originally known for their important role in protecting against viral infections; however, they have more recently been shown to play protective or detrimental roles in many disease states. Type I IFNs consist of IFNα, IFNβ, IFNe, IFNκ, IFNω, and a few others, and they all signal through a shared receptor to exert a wide range of biological activities, including antiviral, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and immunomodulatory effects. Though the individual type I IFN subtypes possess overlapping functions, there is growing appreciation that they also have unique properties. In this review, we summarize some of the mechanisms underlying differential expression of and signaling by type I IFNs, and we discuss examples of differential functions of IFNα and IFNβ in models of infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity.
Housing Type Matters for Pace of Recovery: Evidence from Hurricane Ike

Abstract Rapid and broad-based housing recovery is key to successful, resilient community recovery, due to the significant share of housing in disaster losses, population retention, and its importance for household and business recovery. In the literature, there is relative consensus on how housing damage is shaped by pre-impact conditions at household and neighborhood levels. However, systematic longitudinal studies that compare the recovery trajectories of different types of housing are rare. Here, we examine long-term recovery trajectories after Hurricane Ike (2008) in Galveston, Texas using parcel level data for multifamily, single-family, and duplexes over an eight-year period. Overall, we found that recovery trajectories differed significantly across housing types. Multifamily housing and duplex homes recover more slowly compared to single-family houses after controlling for damage and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods. These findings substantiate conclusions of previous research and call for disaster recovery assistance programs targeting recovery disparities among residential types to better ensure broad-based housing recovery.
Practice Variation in Utilization of Flap or Graft Reconstruction Among Veterans Affairs Surgeons After Extirpation of Keratinocyte Carcinoma on the Nose.

Background Practice variation has been well documented across the US health care system but has not been explored in reconstructive surgical choice after keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) extirpation. Objective Assess practice variation in utilization of complex (flap or graft) reconstruction after excision of KC on the nose among a multidisciplinary group of reconstructive surgeons (Mohs micrographic and plastic surgery). Materials and methods A randomly selected subset of surgically treated, routine, primary, invasive KCs on the nose between 2000 to 2012 at the Veterans Affairs (VA)-Boston Healthcare System were assessed. Patient factors, tumor factors, and individual surgeons with sufficient case volume were fit to a multivariate logistic regression model to assess between-surgeon differences in the odds of performing a complex reconstruction. Results Ten surgeons met the case volume threshold for analysis, encompassing 338 KC on the nose excised and reconstructed from 2000 to 2012. After adjusting for patient age, tumor diameter, and location, 6 surgeons performed significantly more complex reconstructions than the reference surgeon, and the case-adjusted predicted probability of complex reconstruction ranged from 7% to 99% (p ≤ .0001). Conclusion Marked practice variation in reconstruction choice exists among surgeons after extirpation of KC on the nose at one VA health care system. High-quality comparative studies regarding optimal nasal reconstruction after extirpation of KC are needed.
Texturing melting gels for water harvesting

Organically modified silica gels that show melting gel behavior were coated on sand-blasted steel substrates. The gel surfaces were patterned using silicone rubber molds and nickel mesh. Grooved and hexagonally imprinted surfaces were compared to an unpatterned substrate for their ability to condense water from water vapor in humid air. The patterns of vertical lines were best able to condense the vapor in a way that lead to more liquid water collection per area. The motivation for studying patterned surfaces is to find ways to extend water harvesting capabilities in regions of low humidity.
Evaluating Scholarly Impact: Towards Content-Aware Bibliometrics.

Quantitatively measuring the impact-related aspects of scientific, engineering, and technological (SET) innovations is a fundamental problem with broad applications. Traditional citation-based measures for assessing the impact of innovations and related entities do not take into account the content of the publications. This limits their ability to provide rigorous quality-related metrics because they cannot account for the reasons that led to a citation. We present approaches to estimate content-aware bibliometrics to quantitatively measure the scholarly impact of a publication. Our approaches assess the impact of a cited publication by the extent to which the cited publication informs the citing publication. We introduce a new metric, called “Content Informed Index” (CII), that uses the content of the paper as a source of distant-supervision, to quantify how much the cited-node informs the citing-node. We evaluate the weights estimated by our approach on three manually annotated datasets, where the annotations quantify the extent of information in the citation. Particularly, we evaluate how well the ranking imposed by our approach associates with the ranking imposed by the manual annotations. CII achieves up to 103% improvement in performance as compared to the second-best performing approach.
Symbolic production grammars in LSCs testing

We present LCT SG , an LSC (Live Sequence Chart) consistency testing system, which takes LSCs and symbolic grammars as inputs and performs an automated LSC simulation for consistency testing. A symbolic context-free grammar is used to systematically enumerate continuous inputs for LSCs, where symbolic terminals and domains are introduced to hide the complexity of different inputs which have common syntactic structures as well as similar expected system behaviors. Our symbolic grammars allow a symbolic terminal to be passed as a parameter of a production rule, thus extending context-free grammars with context-sensitivity on symbolic terminals. Constraints on symbolic terminals may be collected and processed dynamically along the simulation to properly decompose their symbolic domains for branched testing. The LCT SG system further provides either a state transition graph or a failure trace to justify the consistency testing results. The justification result may be used to evolve the symbolic grammar for refined test generation.
Multiplier Effect: High Performance Construction Assemblies and Urban Density in US Housing

The suburban house—an emblem of the 20th century American Dream—has come to symbolize unsustainable excess in the new millennium. For the homeowner, the single family home is increasingly burdensome to finance and maintain; for planners and policy makers, suburban sprawl has undermined efforts to limit land consumption and mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the link between sprawl and transportation emissions is well-established, the atmospheric impacts in the construction and operation of single-family houses are acknowledged but not as well understood. Using a readily available lifecycle assessment tool and building modeling software, this study compares the carbon emissions of low- and high-density housing morphologies and weighs the lifecycle embodied energy costs against the operational energy benefits of increasing thermal performance in the building envelopes of each housing type. The assessment shows that in spite of increasing energy demands embedded in the materially and technically intensive construction of high performance assemblies, the adoption of these techniques in both the house and multi-unit apartment dramatically reduces lifetime GHG emissions. However, the initial toll of building high performance houses—measured in emissions and extrapolated as construction costs—is burdensome to the environment and homeowner alike. As an alternative, high performance apartments can be built at a carbon and dollar cost only marginally higher than that of conventionally-constructed multi-unit dwellings, with a per-unit lifetime GHG footprint that is one quarter of that of a standard house. The economic and land-use efficiencies of enhanced construction assemblies deployed in dense urban residential development create a multiplier effect in potential GHG reduction; a critical factor for contemporary environmental planning and policy.
The status of low-income neighborhoods in the post-welfare reform environment: mapping the relationship between poverty and place

It has long been recognized that children and adults living in poverty are at risk for a number of negative outcomes. As inequality in the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity has grown in the U.S. during the post-welfare reform era, impoverished children and their families have tended to become increasingly concentrated in urban low-income neighborhoods. Research evidence demonstrates that living in these neighborhoods affects family well-being in several key areas: economic and employment opportunity, health and mental health condition, crime and safety, and children's behavioral and educational outcomes. Using the neighborhood indicator approach, public and nonprofit social service agencies will be better positioned to develop a comprehensive and integrated service delivery model at the neighborhood level by using neighborhood assessment to locate services and utilize neighborhood intervention strategies.
Affinity chromatography of serum albumin with fatty acids immobilized on agarose.

Abstract Fatty acids immobilized on agarose have been employed in the isolation and study of serum albumin by affinity chromatography. Various oleyl- and palmityl-aminoalkyl-amino-agarose preparations bound about 10 mg of albumin per ml of agarose; other proteins were retained in smaller amounts and with lesser affinity. Fatty acid-agarose columns which had been exposed to human serum and then washed yielded essentially pure albumin upon elution with 50% alcohol at pH 3. Lengthening the aminoalkylamino "arm" from 2 to 10 carbon atoms had little effect on the capacity for albumin, but increased the binding of other serum proteins. That the albumin binding was caused by the immobilized fatty acids was shown by the use of control preparations without fatty acids, by the inverse relation of albumin binding to the fatty acid content of the albumin, and by the ability to elute albumin from the agarose with solutions of sodium oleate. Efforts were made to isolate fatty acid binding regions of the bovine albumin molecule after tryptic digestion of albumin which was bound to fatty acid-agarose. Two peptides with molecular weight of about 10,000 and 23,000 were obtained which were resistant to further digestion; the larger of these was purified and its amino acid composition determined. This tryptic peptide lacked cysteine and tryptophan, and apparently arises from the carboxyl-terminal portion of the albumin molecule. Some implications on the properties of the fatty acid-binding sites on albumin have been offered.
Evaluation of parametric response mapping for monitoring COPD subtypes

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow obstruction that may be emphysematous and non-emphysematous in origin, ultimately complicating diagnosis. We evaluated and established guidelines for the parametric response mapping (PRM), a technique that spatially segments parenchyma as normal (PRMNormal), emphysematous (PRMEmph) and non-emphysematous tissue (PRMfSAD), to monitor longitudinal changes in COPD subtypes in subjects accrued for the SPIROMICS study. PRM was performed on inspiratory/expiratory CT scans acquired from subjects in intervals of 30 day (n=13) and one year (n=76; overall GOLD). Six percent variation in the 30-day data was observed for PRMNormal and PRMfSAD, and less than 2% for PRMEmph. Using cutoffs determined from 30-day data, PRM analysis of serial one-year data showed 11 of 76 subjects had significant changes in PRMfSAD with 7 showing a drop. PRM images at baseline and 1-year follow-up are provided from a representative subject that produced a significant drop in PRMfSAD (yellow voxels), which also had improvement in FEV1 from 1.36L to 1.94L. Mathematical model simulations showed agreement with PRM analysis of CT data, suggesting fSAD (i.e. non-emphysematous tissue) may serve as a transitional phase from normal parenchyma to emphysema. PRM of COPD patients provides an opportunity to more fully characterize patients based on disease subtyping. ![Figure][1] [1]: pending:yes
Stability of a set of matrices: a control theoretic approach

We define and investigate asymptotic stability and stabilizability of a set of matrices. Asymptotic stability of a set of matrices requires that all infinite products of matrices from that set tend to zero. Asymptotic stabilizability of a set of matrices, however, requires that there is at least one such sequence. We define the upper and lower spectral radius of a set as the two possible generalizations of the regular spectral radius. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability and stabilizability. We give some methods using Lyapunov theory and linear matrix inequalities to check asymptotic stability of a set of matrices. Finally we consider some problems from different areas of control and show that the concept of stability of matrix sets may be helpful in analysis and control design.
Negative Feedback Neuroendocrine Control of the Inflammatory Response in Rats

We describe that an ongoing inflammatory response at one site (produced by complete Freund's adjuvant injection in the hindpaw) produces a negative feedback inhibition on plasma extravasation, produced by perfusion of the inflammatory mediator, bradykinin (160 nM), at a second site (the knee joint). This negative feedback process is abolished in rats that have been neonatally treated with capsaicin to deplete most of their unmyelinated primary afferent fibers, which suggests that this negative feedback process is mediated by activation of primary afferent fibers. Electrical stimulation of the hindpaw at intensities that excite C-fibers also inhibited bradykinin-induced plasma extravasation. Stimulation at intensities that only excite A-fibers had no effect on bradykinin-induced plasma extravasation. Platelet activating factor-induced plasma extravasation, which is not dependent on the innervation of the joint, was not inhibited by stimulation of C-fibers from the hindpaw. Acute surgical interruption of the lumbar sympathetic outflow to the hind limb (the paravertebral ganglia between L2 and L4) did not attenuate the depression of bradykinin-induced plasma extravasation produced by C-fiber stimulation. This indicates that the depression is not mediated by activity in the sympathetic outflow. Transection of the spinal cord, hypophysectomy, inhibition of corticosterone synthesis, and adrenalectomy (but not adrenal medullectomy) all prevented the inhibition of BK-induced plasma extravasation by electrical simulation, indicating that the negative feedback inhibition on plasma extravasation is dependent on an intact neuraxis and an intact hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. In summary, our data demonstrate a negative feedback inhibition of an inflammatory process, which is elicited by stimulation of C-fiber afferents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ALTERATION IN TRANSFORMABILITY OF DIPLOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE AFTER THE ACQUISITION OF GENETIC DETERMINANTS INDUCING RESISTANCE TO ERYTHROMYCIN

Sirotnak, Francis M. (Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, N.Y.), Ramona B. Lunt, and Dorris J. Hutchison. Alteration in transformability of Diplococcus pneumoniae after the acquisition of genetic determinants inducing resistance to erythromycin. J. Bacteriol. 86:735–739. 1963.—The genetic alteration of a highly transformable (competent) recipient strain of Diplococcus pneumoniae by the transformation of at least two of three identified erythromycin-resistance determinants (Erya, Eryb, Eryc) results in a marked decrease (Erya-b recombinant) or complete loss (Erya-c recombinant) in the ability to be transformed. The occurrence of transformable cells in cultures of the R6 Erya-b recombinant strains, although greatly diminished, still varies during growth in a manner characteristic of the fully competent parent strain. Both Eryb and Eryc determinants appear to be linked to Erya. In experiments using P32-labeled deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), data correlating DNA uptake with transformation show a decrease or loss in uptake capacity of the erythromycin-resistant strains.
IN SUPPORT OF THE TELOMERE CONCEPT

The frequency of recovered X-ray-induced (4000R) rearrangements that, in all probability, mimic terminal deletions of the X chromosome was only one of, roughly, 105 X chromosomes screened for tip deficiencies. Although the single exception looks terminally deleted, it is probably capped by a very short or nonpolytene telomeric segment. It is apparent from these data that the probability of "healing" or stabilization of a terminally deleted X in the zygotic nucleus or developing embryo of Drosophila melanogaster is vanishingly small. The telomeric caps in two obviously interstitial deficiencies that were recovered represent, roughly, 1/500 of the length of a mitotic chromosome. These findings give some indication of the extreme difficulty of detecting short telomeric segments capping either deleted polytene chromosomes or deleted metaphase chromosomes of, for example, humans.
Chimeric regulatory light chains as probes of smooth muscle myosin function.

Abstract Functional domains of the smooth muscle regulatory light chain (LC) were identified from the assembly and motor properties of smooth muscle myosin containing chimeric LCs, in which the N- and C-terminal halves of the smooth and skeletal LCs were interchanged. A C-terminal domain was also expressed. The affinity of these LCs for the smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (HC) is: wild-type LC > N-skeletal/C-smooth > N-smooth/C-skeletal approximately skeletal LC > C-terminal domain. The C-terminal half of the LC thus contains an isoform-specific HC binding site, but the two halves of the LC must interact for tight binding. Smooth muscle myosin containing chimeric or skeletal LCs can no longer assume the folded monomeric conformation, suggesting that control of assembly involves both halves of the LC. Dephosphorylation/phosphorylation of the N-skeletal/C-smooth chimera nonetheless regulates the ability of smooth muscle myosin to move actin. Myosin containing phosphorylated N-smooth/C-skeletal or skeletal LCs, in contrast, is locked in the "off" state. Interactions between the stronger binding C-terminal domain of the LC and the HC are therefore primarily responsible for the regulatory capabilities of this subunit. Localization of the regulatory LC at the head/rod junction by electron microscopy establishes that phosphorylation-induced changes must be transmitted over 10 nm within the head for product release to be enhanced.
An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories.

Abstract Theories of transformational and charismatic leadership provide important insights about the nature of effective leadership. However, most of the theories have conceptual weaknesses that reduce their capacity to explain effective leadership. The conceptual weaknesses are identified here and refinements are suggested. The issue of compatibility between transformational and charismatic leadership is also discussed. Finally, some methodological problems involving construct validation and theory testing are identified, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Evaluating optical lightness as a proxy for carbonate content in marine sediment cores

Abstract Optical lightness is increasingly being used as a proxy for the carbonate content of marine sediment. We compared three measurements of optical lightness, gray scale, brightness and L*, to carbonate content to test the reliability of these measurements as carbonate content proxies. In five piston cores from isotope stages 1 though 6 (0–∼130 ka), all measures of optical lightness are reasonable proxies of relative, but not absolute, changes in carbonate content. In contrast, in the upper sediments of ODP Hole 997A, which are Holocene to Pliocene in age, lightness values in only the top 10 m of the 180 m analyzed exhibit a strong correlation to carbonate content. To better understand which factors control the optical lightness of sediments, we analyzed samples in which carbonate content remained constant while the composition of three common clay minerals — chlorite, illite and kaolinite was varied. Kaolinite, even at a concentration of 20%, did not significantly change optical lightness. However, 20% illite reduced optical lightness by 30%, and 20% chlorite reduced lightness by 20%. We conclude that regional and temporal changes in the composition of the non-carbonate sediment fraction may significantly alter the relationship between lightness and carbonate content. We recommend that care must be taken when applying these measures to sediment sequences which span long time intervals, or to sediment samples taken over a broad geographical areas.
Synthesis of 6,6′-Binaphthopyran-2-one Natural Products: Pigmentosin A, Talaroderxines A and B

Efficient and stereoselective syntheses of pigmentosin A, talaroderxine A, and its diastereomer talaroderxine B are reported. The binaphthyl ring system is assembled by vanadium-catalyzed phenolic coupling of tricyclic precursors. These key intermediates were prepared by Michael-Dieckmann annulation of a protected orsellinate ester, with the requisite pyranones accessed by a new variant of Ghosez's sulfone-epoxide annulation. Preliminary biological experiments are reported for pigmentosin.
Calculation of drift velocity in silicon at high electric fields

Abstract Drift velocity in n and p-type silicon is calculated using the Monto Carlo method to determine the current carrier distribution. Agreement with recent measurements for high field drift velocity is good. Carrier-lattice scattering rates for p-type silicon were determined from low field mobility versus temperature. D. Long's model was used for n-type silicon.
Effects of LH-RH on isolated pituitary gonadotropic cells.

SummaryRat anterior pituitary glands were dissociated with Pronase and the cells were separated by velocity sedimentation at unit gravity. After 30 min of incubation of the enriched gonadotropic cells with LH-RH, there was a significant increase in LH and FSH in the incubation medium. LH-RH (100 ng/ml) and 10−3M cAMP both caused significant increases in LH in the incubation medium after 24 hr of incubation.This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Training Grant IT05-GM 01932-03, The Ford Foundation Grant 630-0505A, and the National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5-T01-HD-00104-08.The authors thank Dr. W. F. White of Abbott Laboratories for the synthetic LH-RH, and NIAMD, NIH for the rat FSH and LH radioimmunoassay kits.
Acceleration and augmentation strategies for treating bipolar depression.

Abstract Despite the prevalence and morbidity of bipolar depression, few randomized treatment trials have been conducted to assess clinical efficacy. Even fewer studies have assessed approaches that optimize treatment response for bipolar depression. This review will define three types of common combination strategies—adjunctive, acceleration and augmentation—and discuss the limited literature of controlled studies reported on acceleration and augmentation approaches.
Infantile Aperiodic Alternating Nystagmus

Background This study identifies the clinical and ocular motility characteristics of the periodic and aperiodic forms of infantile alternating nystagmus (IAPAN) and establishes the range of electrophysiological and clinical characteristics while providing clues to its presence and pathophysiology. Methods Seventy-eight patients with ocular oscillations consistent with IAPAN were reported. Outcome variables were: age, follow-up in months, vision, strabismus, other eye and systemic abnormalities, head position, periodicity, cycle and null period duration, foveation time, waveforms, and cycle symmetry. Results Age range was 1 to 67 years, 50% had pure periodic and aperiodic forms, 46% had albinism, 26% had binocular acuity of 20/40 or greater, 72% had strabismus, 35% had amblyopia, 31% had other eye disease, 14% had systemic disease, 87% had an anomalous head posture, and 65% had binocular directional asymmetry. The periodic cycle averaged 224 seconds and the aperiodic cycle ranged from 2 to more than 300 seconds. One in three patients with strabismus and nystagmus periodicity had a static head posture. Conclusion Fifteen percent of the infantile nystagmus syndrome population had either the periodic or aperiodic form. A changing null period is often clinically missed because of long or irregular cycles, decreased acuity, associated strabismus, and either a nonexistent or inconsistent head posture. The changing null period is easier to recognize using eye movement recordings or if the non-preferred eye is occluded and the preferred eye is examined with the head straight and gaze in primary position for at least 5 to 7 minutes. The recognition of this variant has profound treatment implications.
Production of the gaseous signal molecule hydrogen sulfide in mouse tissues

The gaseous molecule hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been proposed as an endogenous signal molecule and neuromodulator in mammals. Using a newly developed method, we report here for the first time the ability of intact and living brain and colonic tissue in the mouse to generate and release H2S. This production occurs through the activity of two enzymes, cystathionine-γ-lyase and cystathionine-β-synthase. The quantitative expression of messenger RNA and protein localization for both enzymes are described in the liver, brain, and colon. Expression levels of the enzymes vary between tissues and are differentially distributed. The observation that, tissues that respond to exogenously applied H2S can endogenously generate the gas, strongly supports its role as an endogenous signal molecule.
Seeking the Polity's Bottom Line: A Conceptual Note

Somehow we have lost sight of what ought to be the bottom line for the polity: the condition of the individual Political science, public administration, urban politics, and policy analysis have all lost sight of this concern that was once the focus of classical political philosophy. We must establish systematic inventories of the principal dimensions of the human condition against which we can make comparisons as actors, structures, and processes change.
From an Editorial Board Member How Criminologists as Researchers Can Contribute to Social Policy and Practice

Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners have indicated support for the notion that social science research should inform policy and practice. Although expressions such as “data-driven policy” have become commonplace, there is no consensus about how research can and should contribute. In this article, two ways for criminal justice research to contribute to policy and practice are discussed. Criminologists can be providers of findings from their research that can be used to help policy makers and practitioners make informed decisions. Or they can be advocates for positions they espouse based on their substantial knowledge and experience as scientists. The former is more consistent with their training and socialization as social scientists. However, in this article, it is argued that for social scientists in general and for criminologists in particular to be effective, they need to be able to compete and collaborate in a political process that includes others making contrary claims.
Species recognition in human paleontology

Whatever their exact nature (rarely if ever specified), current generalcriteria for distinguishing species in the human fossil record are deficient Moreover, in discussing species distinctions, inter- and intra-species variability are often confused. The decoupling of morphological from taxic change in the evolutionary process means that there can be no absolute criteria for recognizing species on morphological grounds; however, ranges of morphological variation in closely related species in the living fauna normally overlap substantially or completely in most characters; some closely related species cannot be distinguished on the basis of hard parts. Hence there is a tendency to underestimate the number of species in the fossil record, where only clear osteological or dental distinguishing featurcs can be used to discriminate between species. It is thus important to ensure that, where distinct morphs do exist in the fossil record, they are not relegated to the epiphenomenological status of subspecies unless there is compelling reason for doing so. It is not clear why all the various morphs distinguishable in the Middle-to-Late Pleistocene are generally subsumed within the single species Homo sapiens . Several distinct hominid species are represented in the fossil record of this time period.
Formation and growth of iron nitrides during ion-nitriding

In order to clarify the formation and growth kinetics of iron nitrides, Fe2N (ζ), Fe2–3N (ɛ) and Fe4N (γ′), on the surface of iron during ion-nitriding, and their contribution to the mechanism of ion-nitriding coarse-grained specimens (2 to 6 mm) were ion-nitrided in pure nitrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen (20%–80%) plasma at temperatures between 500 and 600°C. Reflection electron diffraction (RED) showed immediate formation of the nitrides. Growth of these phases in latter stages of ion-nitriding was studied using optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The mechanism of the nitride layer formation is discussed and compared with the existing gas nitriding data. In the case region, Fe4N (γ′) and Fe16N2 (α″) precipitation was observed to occur under all experimental conditions studied. Case depth is seen to be parabolic with time and nitriding rate increases slightly when nitrogen-hydrogen plasma is used. Discussions are given to explain the difference in the nitriding efficiency under two different plasma compositions.
Pediatric wheelchair athletics: sports injuries and prevention

Two hundred and forty-seven competitors at the 1990 Junior National Wheelchair Games (USA) were surveyed for general information, training techniques, and injury patterns. Eighty-three athletes (34%) responded to the retrospective survey. Injuries were reported by 97% of those participating in track, 22% of the field participants, and 91% of the swimming competitors. A wide variety of injuries was reported ranging from minor bruises, blisters and abrasions to more serious problems (bladder infections, hyperthermia, and soft tissue injuries). While information-reporting biases may be inherent in this type of study, these data are significant in that they are the first obtained for this specific pediatric population via a systemic scientific approach and not from merely anecdotal information.
Determination of the particle counting efficiency and chemical sensitivities of an aerosol time of flight mass spectrometer under ambient sampling conditions

Abstract Recently developed aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) instruments are capable of determining the size and chemical composition of single particles (Noble and Prather, 1996, Gard et al., 1997). These instruments provide convenient determination of atmospheric aerosol composition on a single particle basis in real time. To date, data from these instruments have been used qualitatively to study both the sources of ambient aerosols (Liu et al., 1997) and the atmospheric transformation of particles (Gard et al., 1998). However, quantitative reconstruction of a continuous time series of the actual size distribution and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols requires that the absolute counting efficiency and chemical sensitivities of these instruments be known.
Psychological reactions to pregnancy loss

Abstract Miscarriage is a common event, affecting 15–20% of known pregnancies, yet the psychological repercussions are often not recognized. The emotional reactions to miscarriage can best be understood as part of a grieving process. In early stages of pregnancy, a woman feels a sense of oneness with the fetus, which represents her hopes and dreams, and those of her partner. This tends to magnify the impact of the loss. Customary societal rituals are often unavailable. Guilt, anger, and somatic complaints often accompany grief. Depression and anxiety are common in the week or months following miscarriage but tend to fall to community levels by 1 year. Rates of depression of 22–55% have been reported. Grief is often difficult to differentiate from a depressive disorder. The primary practitioner is in a good position to provide support to patients following a miscarriage and to monitor for the development of depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. Useful interventions include encouraging patients to discuss their feelings about the miscarriage, providing educational materials or referral to support groups, and treating psychiatric complications as indicated or providing mental health referral.
Development of a membrane-based vapor-phase bioreactor.

A vapor-phase bioreactor has been developed utilizing porous metal membranes in a cylindrical design employing radial flow as opposed to traditional axial flow for the vapor stream. The system was evaluated for the biodegradation of p-xylene (p-xylene) from a water-saturated air stream by Pseudomonas putida ATCC 23973 immobilized onto sand. The biocatalyst was placed in the annular space between two cylindrical, porous stainless-steel membranes. Details of the reactor system are presented along with biological data verifying system performance. The feed flow rate and p-xylene concentration were varied between 60 and 130 cm3/min and 15–150 ppm, respectively. Continuous reactor operation was maintained for 80–200 h with removal efficiencies (based on p-xylene disappearance) between 80 and 95%. The effluent concentration histories were compared to determine the operating range of the bioreactor.
Dopamine decreases the calcium-activated afterhyperpolarization in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells.

The effect of dopamine (DA) on the calcium-activated potassium conductance underlying the slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) which follows a train of action potentials in hippocampal pyramidal cells was studied utilizing the in vitro hippocampal slice preparation. Bath-applied DA (1-100 microM) significantly reduced the AHP in a reversible, dose-dependent manner. Neither the amount of current injected to elicit the AHP nor its initial amplitude had an effect on the reduction of the AHP by DA. DA did not depress calcium spikes, suggesting that the blockade of the AHP likely occurs at a step subsequent to the entry of calcium. Since DA's actions on the AHP closely mimicked those of norepinephrine, we examined the effect of beta-adrenergic antagonists on DA's actions. At concentrations which in other systems have been shown not to block DA stimulated adenylate cyclase, beta-adrenergic antagonists completely inhibited the reduction of the AHP by DA. In some cells DA also elicited small hyperpolarizations which were not blocked by application of dopamine receptor antagonists. These findings strongly suggest that a major electrophysiological action of DA in the hippocampus (i.e. blockade of the AHP) is due to its cross reactivity with beta-adrenergic receptors and that rigid pharmacologic criteria must be used before attributing an action of DA unambiguously to its interaction with DA receptors.
Response spectrum-oriented pulse identification and magnitude scaling of forward directivity pulses in near-fault ground motions

Abstract This paper presents a novel approach to identify the pulse-like motions in earthquake recordings that dominate the maximum structural responses over a wide period range. The identification method is based on the congruence relationship between the response spectrum and the dimensionless П -response spectrum established in this study through straightforward dimensional arguments of linear and bilinear SDOF oscillators subject to pulse-like ground motions. By evaluating the geometric match and dislocations of the П -response spectrum of a given waveform with the dimensional response spectrum in bi-logarithm plotting, one can identify the simple pulses and their parameters that match simultaneously the kinematic characteristics and the response spectrum of earthquake recordings that exhibit pulse-like features. The developed pulse identification method has been implemented in a computer program and applied successfully to detect the pulse-like motions in the PEER NGA strong motion database. Both velocity and acceleration pulses potentially due to forward directivity effects in near fault regions are identified. The identified velocity pulses show strong correlation with the seismological parameters. They are subsequently used in regression analysis to derive the empirical scaling laws that relate the directivity pulse parameters to the earthquake magnitude and rupture distance. The study confirms some magnitude scaling laws in literature and demonstrates the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed pulse identification method.
Functional Selectivity in GPCR Modulator Screening

In high throughput screening systems, a single concentration of a new compound is tested in a biological system to detect direct effects (agonists) or effects on other ligands (antagonists). In this latter case, the chemical context of the assay is defined by a balance of maximal sensitivity (limited agonist concentration) and maximal window to observe effect (sizable agonist concentration to induce measurable effect). For allosteric modulators, there are other factors that should be considered in high throughput screening environments. Specifically, the saturable aspect of allosteric effect can dissociate the observed ordinate change in response (% inhibition) and potency of effect (concentration at which a given ordinate % effect is obtained). Also, the specter of probe dependence can be important in systems where the physiologically relevant agonist cannot be used for screening (i.e. HIV-1 entry). Finally, the interactive nature of allosteric systems can cause complex relationships between the chemical context of an assay and potency of allosteric modulator. For example, in cases where the efficacy of an agonist is reduced but the affinity is increased by a modulator, it may be more beneficial to have higher concentrations of agonist in the screening assay to optimize sensitivity to modulators. This must be balanced for allosteric potentiators with the need to retain a window to observe increased agonist effect.
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE 90 PARTIAL DISLOCATION IN SI DUE TO GA IMPURITIES

Ga impurities in the 90{degree} Shockley partial dislocation in silicon have been investigated using first-principles total-energy pseudopotential calculations. The results indicate that Ga segregates to the core of the dislocation and destabilizes the asymmetric fourfold coordinated structure, which is known to be the low-energy configuration in pure Si. The segregation energy for Ga in the symmetric core configuration is 0.53 eV/atom. The atomic mechanism for this spontaneous transformation to the symmetric structure is the passivation of quasifive-fold sites in the symmetric core by Ga. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Inhibition of acoustic startle using different mechanoreceptive channels.

In this experiment, we investigated the impact of vibrotactile prepulse frequency and intensity on the acoustically elicited startle response in humans. Mechanoreceptive channels differing in their sensitivity to transient stimulation have been identified in the skin. The Pacinian channel is optimally sensitive to vibrations at approximately 300 Hz and is specialized for the detection of stimulus transients, whereas the non-Pacinian I and III channels are optimally sensitive to vibrations at approximately 30 Hz. Vibrotactile prepulses with frequencies of 30 and 300 Hz and intensities of 95 and 130 mV were presented for 50 msec to the dominant hand of college students (N=31), followed on some trials by a 95-dB broadband acoustic startle stimulus. The 300-Hz prepulses resulted in significantly more pronounced inhibition of startle magnitude, amplitude, and probability, whereas only the 30-Hz prepulses significantly facilitated blink latency. These results support the idea that the inhibition of acoustic startle is determined more by transient than by sustained aspects of vibrotactile prepulse stimuli. This study also demonstrates that different aspects of the startle response differentially reflect stimulus characteristics of the prepulse.
Constructs underlying community pharmacy dispensing functions relative to Florida pharmacy technicians

Abstract Objectives To assess pharmacist and pharmacy technician opinions on functions community pharmacy technicians should perform. Design Cross-sectional and descriptive. Setting Florida community pharmacies during August and September 2004. Participants Random sample of Florida community pharmacists (n = 2, 000) and Certified Pharmacy Technicians (n = 2, 000). Intervention Self-administered mail questionnaire. Main outcome measures Participant attitudes (6-point Likert-type scale:1, strongly disagree; 6, strongly agree) regarding whether pharmacy technicians should perform 26 community pharmacy dispensing functions. Chi-square difference tests and separate group exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted. Results Pharmacists (n = 383) and technicians (n = 579) agreed that technicians should perform 17 of the 26 (65%) functions. The groups differed significantly on eight items that were focused on patient care and beyond technicians’ traditional involvement in processing prescriptions, with technicians having a more expansive view of their roles than did pharmacist respondents. Three similar factors were extracted in both groups from the EFAs: functions typical of pharmacy technicians in current practice, clinical pharmacy knowledge functions, and pharmacist-only functions as specified by law. Additionally, general drug knowledge (technician data only) and pharmacy information evaluation and management skills (pharmacist data only) factors were generated. Conclusion Generally, pharmacists and technicians agreed on basic functions involving prescription and claims processing; however, technicians, as compared with pharmacists, supported a more expanded patient care role for themselves.