cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association between regional body fat and cardiovascular disease risk among postmenopausal women with normal body mass index

AIMS Central adiposity is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, even among people with normal body mass index (BMI). We tested the hypothesis that regional body fat deposits (trunk or leg fat) are associated with altered risk of CVD among postmenopausal women with normal BMI. METHODS AND RESULTS We included 2683 postmenopausal women with normal BMI (18.5 to <25 kg/m2) who participated in the Women's Health Initiative and had no known CVD at baseline. Body composition was determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Incident CVD events including coronary heart disease and stroke were ascertained through February 2017. During a median 17.9 years of follow-up, 291 incident CVD cases occurred. After adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical risk factors, neither whole-body fat mass nor fat percentage was associated with CVD risk. Higher percent trunk fat was associated with increased risk of CVD [highest vs. lowest quartile hazard ratio (HR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33-2.74; P-trend <0.001], whereas higher percent leg fat was associated with decreased risk of CVD (highest vs. lowest quartile HR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.89; P-trend = 0.008). The association for trunk fat was attenuated yet remained significant after further adjustment for waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio. Higher percent trunk fat combined with lower percent leg fat was associated with particularly high risk of CVD (HR comparing extreme groups = 3.33, 95% CI 1.46-7.62). CONCLUSION Among postmenopausal women with normal BMI, both elevated trunk fat and reduced leg fat are associated with increased risk of CVD.
Understanding Public Perceptions of Mosquito-Related Information Sources and Adapting Research Findings to the Needs of Industry Professionals

The Prevent & Protect publication series focuses on the creation of different material formats to resonate with various audiences and ways to maximize their efficacy in communicating risk to the public about mosquito control. The overview of the Prevent & Protect project, developed by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center), can be found in EDIS publication AEC694/WC357, Public Perceptions of Mosquitoes and Mosquito Control. This new 3-page document describes the importance of understanding and adapting to public perceptions of information sources and how scientists can adapt their research findings based upon the needs of professionals in the field to create usable outreach materials. Written by Shelli Rampold, Ricky Telg, Alena Poulin, Sandra Anderson, Angela B. Lindsey, Ashley McLeod-Morin, and Phillip Stokes, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication.
Long-Term Safety with Sling Mesh Implants for Stress Incontinence

Purpose:We examined long-term risks and predictors of mesh erosion and reoperation following mid urethral sling procedure for stress urinary incontinence.Materials and Methods:Women aged 18 years o...
Compétence paraphrastique et interprétation : Le verbe et ses entours en grande section de maternelle (5 ans)

L’enseignement du lexique est un incontournable des acquisitions a l’ecole maternelle. Il fait l’objet d’ateliers dits ‘’de langage’’ aupres des jeunes eleves. C’est alors souvent un lexique nominal et concret qui leur est enseigne via des cartes-images. Le verbe, pivot de la phrase, est ainsi peu etudie (excepte certains verbes d’action). C’est la raison pour laquelle nous avons souhaite travailler sur ce materiau lexical. Par ailleurs, il s’avere que la dimension syntagmatique du lexique, si elle participe a la construction semantique de l’unite lexicale, est egalement peu mobilisee dans l’enseignement. La competence lexicale se construisant au vu de l’accroissement du lexique disponible, mais aussi au vu des habiletes des eleves et des strategies qu’ils peuvent mettre en place, nous supposons que le fait d’enseigner des strategies de precision du sens des verbes va les aider a s’approprier ce lexique. A partir de l’analyse de verbes selectionnes avec deux enseignants de grande section (5 ans), le present article presente un dispositif d’exploration des verbes et de leur entour via la paraphrase, habilete essentielle dans les acquisitions lexicales, afin de favoriser la comprehension et le reemploi des verbes etudies. Trois tests emaillent la mise en oeuvre, les seances ont ete enregistrees et retranscrites. Leurs analyses tendent a montrer que les eleves comprennent mieux les verbes etudies et qu’ils se les sont appropries au point de pouvoir les reemployer.Mots cles : lexique, paraphrase, acquisition
Academic Pathology Departments and Associated Children’s Hospitals: An Overview of the Relationship:

A survey of academic pathology departments was conducted in order to evaluate the relationship with their associated children's hospitals. Forty percent (88) of US children's hospitals were associated with academic pathology departments. Sixty percent of pathology department respondents indicated that their children's hospital was part of their academic health system. As a reflection of this, the majority (54%) of all respondents reported that their children's hospitals were physically located within the academic health care system itself. Accordingly, a vast number (94%) of academic departments reported that they performed the clinical services for those children's hospitals that were part of their academic health system. For those associated children's hospitals that were not part of the academic health system, 70% of respondents reported that the academic pathology department provided at least some clinical services for them. The number of pathologists in the children's hospital pathology departments that were not part of the academic health system ranged from 1 to 5 (41%), 6 to 10 (18%), and >10 (41%), with one-third having salaried faculty appointments in the academic pathology department. The chief of pathology in those children's hospital departments was part of the academic department leadership team in half of the cases. Although 86% of respondents reported that pathology residents rotate through the associated children's hospital, in only 26% of instances did the children's hospital provide resident support for the academic pathology department. The perceived strengths and weaknesses of the relationship between academic pathology departments and associated children's hospitals are discussed.
Mode localization and suppressed heat transport in amorphous alloys

Glasses usually represent the lower limit for the thermal conductivity of solids, but a fundamental understanding of lattice heat transport in amorphous materials can provide design rules to beat such a limit. Here we investigate the role of mass disorder in glasses by studying amorphous silicon-germanium alloy (a-${\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{x}$) over the full range of atomic concentration from $x=0$ to $x=1$, using molecular dynamics and the quasiharmonic Green-Kubo lattice dynamics formalism. We find that the thermal conductivity of a-${\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{x}$ as a function of $x$ exhibits a smoother U shape than in crystalline mass-disordered alloys. The main contribution to the initial drop of thermal conductivity at low Ge concentration stems from the localization of otherwise extended modes that make up the lowest 8% of the population by frequency. Contributions from intermediate frequency modes are decreased more gradually with increasing Ge to reach a broad minimum thermal conductivity between concentrations of Ge from $x=0.25$ to 0.75. Modal analysis unravels the correlations among localization, line broadening, and the contribution to thermal transport of modes within different frequency ranges.
Rare Genetic Variation Underlying Human Diseases and Traits: Results from 200,000 Individuals in the UK Biobank

Abstract Background Many human diseases are known to have a genetic contribution. While genome-wide studies have identified many disease-associated loci, it remains challenging to elucidate causal genes. In contrast, exome sequencing provides an opportunity to identify new disease genes and large-effect variants of clinical relevance. We therefore sought to determine the contribution of rare genetic variation in a curated set of human diseases and traits using a unique resource of 200,000 individuals with exome sequencing data from the UK Biobank. Methods and Results We included 199,832 participants with a mean age of 68 at follow-up. Exome-wide gene-based tests were performed for 64 diseases and 23 quantitative traits using a mixed-effects model, testing rare loss-of-function and damaging missense variants. We identified 51 known and 23 novel associations with 26 diseases and traits at a false-discovery-rate of 1%. There was a striking risk associated with many Mendelian disease genes including: MYPBC3 with over a 100-fold increased odds of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, PKD1 with a greater than 25-fold increased odds of chronic kidney disease, and BRCA2, BRCA1, ATM and PALB2 with 3 to 10-fold increased odds of breast cancer. Notable novel findings included an association between GIGYF1 and type 2 diabetes (OR 5.6, P=5.35×10−8), elevated blood glucose, and lower insulin-like-growth-factor-1 levels. Rare variants in CCAR2 were also associated with diabetes risk (OR 13, P=8.5×10−8), while COL9A3 was associated with cataract (OR 3.4, P=6.7×10−8). Notable associations for blood lipids and hypercholesterolemia included NR1H3, RRBP1, GIGYF1, SCGN, APH1A, PDE3B and ANGPTL8. A number of novel genes were associated with height, including DTL, PIEZO1, SCUBE3, PAPPA and ADAMTS6, while BSN was associated with body-mass-index. We further assessed putatively pathogenic variants in known Mendelian cardiovascular disease genes and found that between 1.3 and 2.3% of the population carried likely pathogenic variants in known cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia or hypercholesterolemia genes. Conclusions Large-scale population sequencing identifies known and novel genes harboring high-impact variation for human traits and diseases. A number of novel findings, including GIGYF1,represent interesting potential therapeutic targets. Exome sequencing at scale can identify a meaningful proportion of the population that carries a pathogenic variant underlying cardiovascular disease.
Efficient second-harmonic generation in high Q-factor asymmetric lithium niobate metasurfaces

Lithium niobate (LN) has been widely used for second-harmonic generation (SHG) from bulk crystals. Recent studies have reported improved SHG efficiency in LN micro-ring resonators and hybrid waveguiding structures, as well as in LN nanostructures supporting anapole modes and plasmon-assisted dipole resonances. Here we numerically demonstrate that high Q-factor resonances associated with symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum can lead to highly efficient frequency doubling in LN metasurfaces. Simulations show that the radiative Q-factor and on-resonance field enhancement factor observed in the metasurface are closely dependent on the asymmetric parameter α of the system. Furthermore, high Q-factor resonances boost the SH conversion process in the LN nanostructures. In particular, for a LN metasurface with a Q-factor of ∼8×104, a 0.49% peak SH conversion efficiency is achieved at a pump intensity of 3.3kW/cm2. This suggests that such high Q-factor LN metasurfaces may be good candidates for practical blue-ultraviolet light sources. Our work provides insight into the possible implementation of metadevices based on nanoengineering of conventional nonlinear crystals.
Maize tissue culture, transformation, and genome editing

The importance of maize (Zea mays L.) to global agriculture, world economy, and food security is widely known and increasing. Current maize breeding programs are deeply integrated with recent and rapid technological advances in genome sequencing, computational biology, and new genotyping and phenotyping technologies. Transformation and genome editing capabilities are a central hub to an array of advanced molecular and breeding approaches to crop improvement. Tissue culture and somatic embryogenesis play essential and central roles in maize transformation biology. Synergistic applications of maize transformation, advanced genomics, and genome editing provide a potent interdependent triad for functional genomics research and advanced molecular breeding. Implementation of advanced capabilities to transform maize and conduct genome editing will profoundly influence the dynamics of global agriculture ushering in a new era of varietal development and molecular breeding. With over 60.9 Mha planted in 2019 alone, biotech maize accounts for 31% of the world’s maize production. Up to 10% higher yields are achieved using new varieties generated using genetic modification technologies compared to similar conventional varieties. By extension, the impact new varietal releases developed through genome editing will likely be more significant. Advances in transformation and genome editing technologies will facilitate an even wider applicability for the development of new varieties with increasingly complex traits. The introduction of biochemical pathways and the use of synthetic biology have become increasingly more attainable. The future is of genotype independent maize transformation and genome editing, as the working platform will impact world agriculture, global food security, and plant science well into the future.
Understanding the climate impacts on decadal vegetation change in northern Alaska

The Arctic is experiencing rapid climate change. This research documents tundra vegetation changes near Atqasuk and Utqiaġvik, Alaska. At each location, 30 plots were sampled annually from 2010 to ...
Remembering the personal past across adulthood

Abstract This chapter reviews three historical traditions that have informed the study of remembering the personal past: cognitive psychology, gerontology, and personality psychology. Each tradition’s conceptualization of remembering is reviewed followed by empirical work on the personal past in that area with an emphasis on age findings. Research grounded in cognitive psychology examines age patterns regarding what events are remembered, and the specificity of autobiographical memories. The gerontology tradition highlights age differences in the reasons why people reminisce about the personal past, including life review, and the beneficial outcomes of doing so. Work coming from the personality tradition focuses on biographical identity: how individuals remember and reason about the events of their life (e.g., making meaning) as a part of forging and reconstructing a life story. In conclusion, we argue that consolidating across these three different traditions provides the most complete account of remembering the personal past across individuals’ lives. Research grounded in the functional approach to autobiographical memory provides an exemplar for bridging across multiple traditions.
Conversion of dethiobiotin to biotin in Aspergillus niger.

Abstract Investigation of the direct incorporation of 14C-carboxyl- and 14C-carbonyl-d-dethiobiotin both randomly labeled with 3H into biotin in Aspergillus niger has revealed the following. The present results confirm our earlier evidence that 14C-carboxyl- and 14C-carbonyl-d-dethiobiotin is incorporated into biotin and show, moreover, that the dethiobiotin molecule is incorporated relatively intact into the biotin molecule, as the ratio 3H:14C remains nearly constant. The data provide some evidence that approximately 4 or more hydrogens must be abstracted from dethiobiotin in this over-all conversion.
Shape-Based Classification of 3D Head Data

Craniofacial disorders are one of the most common category of birth defects worldwide, and are an important topic of biomedical research. In order to better understand these disorders and correlate them with genetic patterns and life outcomes, researchers need to quantify the craniofacial anatomy. In this paper we introduce several different craniofacial descriptors that are being used in research studies for two craniofacial disorders: the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (a genetic disorder) and plagiocephaly/brachycephaly, disorders caused by pressure on the head. Experimental results show that our descriptors show promise for quantifying craniofacial shape.
Playing [with] multiple roles: Readers, authors, and characters in "Who Is Blaise Zabini?"

Fans who produce fan works in genres such as fiction, music, and music video take on dual roles in the process, as readers of the original canon and as creators of their own products. These roles—and more—are creatively explored in the Parselmouths' wizard rock composition "Who Is Blaise Zabini?" Like many works of fan fiction, the Parselmouths' songs move beyond a reader's ordinary role, taking on an authorial role to generate new characters and events in the Harry Potter universe. What makes this particular work unusual is that at the same time that they are adopting the roles of authors, and even of participants, the Parselmouths also restrict their own authorial and participatory power, claiming that the Slytherin characters they portray could not perceive their classmate Blaise Zabini until J. K. Rowling provided a complete description of him. To untangle their multiple roles and to recognize the creativity exercised by the Parselmouths in collapsing the boundaries among them, it will be helpful to turn to a theory of audience response that delineates specific roles and that specifies the limitations and the powers inherent in them.
Suspect Vehicle Identification for Border Safety

Border safety is a critical part of national and international security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security searches vehicles entering the country at land borders for drugs and other contraband. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents believe that such vehicles operate in groups and if the criminal links of one vehicle are known then their border crossing patterns can be used to identify other partner vehicles. We perform this association analysis by using mutual information (MI) to identify vehicles that may be involved in criminal activity. CBP agents also suggest that criminal vehicles may cross at certain times or ports to try and evade inspection. In a partnership with border-area law enforcement agencies and CBP, we include these heuristics in the MI formulation and identify suspect vehicles using large-scale, real-world data collections. Statistical tests and selected cases judged by domain experts show that the heuristic-enhanced MI performs significantly better than classical MI in identifying pairs of potentially criminal vehicles. The techniques described can be used to assist CBP agents perform their functions both efficiently and effectively.
The Effects of Refineries on Neighborhood Property Values

Capitalization of negative neighborhood externalities may be affected over time by household sorting, events that attain public notoriety and the relative proximity of adjacent parcels to the exter...
Hyperhistaminemia and Hyperchlorhydria in Basophilic Granulocytic Leukemia

A patient with basophilic granulocytic leukemia had hyperhistaminemia, hyperchlorhydria and gastroduodenal ulceration. Because the patient's whole blood, plasma, and urinary histamine levels were increased and the serum gastrin was normal, it was concluded that endogenous hyperhistaminemia was responsible for an ulcerogenic diathesis clinically indistinguishable from that seen in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.
Influence of Incubation Atmosphere on Growth and Amino Acid Requirements of Streptococcus mutans

The growth response of Streptococcus mutans representing antigenic type a or d in a chemically defined medium was influenced by the oxygen concentration of the growth atmosphere. Under controlled aerobic (1.5% O2) conditions these cultures attained a greater density than when the atmosphere contained 0.006% O2 or less. The growth of S. mutans strains representing antigenic types b or c in the defined medium was independent of the oxygen concentration of the growth environment. Under the conditions used in this study, none of the strains tested could utilize ammonium ion as a sole source of nitrogen for growth. The requirement for certain amino acids and inhibition by other amino acids varied with antigenic type and relative oxygen concentration of the growth environment. Under conditions where the atmospheric oxygen was reduced to 0.0006% O2 or less, the amino acid requirements of the cultures became either more numerous or more stringent. S. mutans strains of type c generally required the least number of amino acids, whereas cultures of type d had more numerous requirements. Nearly every culture tested under the anaerobic atmosphere was inhibited by one of the branched-chain amino acids, leucine, valine, or isoleucine. Methionine and lysine were also found to be inhibitory, particularly toward the type c strains.
Complement Activation in Patients with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

Background Recent pre-clinical studies have shown that complement activation contributes to glomerular and tubular injury in experimental FSGS. Although complement proteins are detected in the glomeruli of some patients with FSGS, it is not known whether this is due to complement activation or whether the proteins are simply trapped in sclerotic glomeruli. We measured complement activation fragments in the plasma and urine of patients with primary FSGS to determine whether complement activation is part of the disease process. Study Design Plasma and urine samples from patients with biopsy-proven FSGS who participated in the FSGS Clinical Trial were analyzed. Setting and Participants We identified 19 patients for whom samples were available from weeks 0, 26, 52 and 78. The results for these FSGS patients were compared to results in samples from 10 healthy controls, 10 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), 20 patients with vasculitis, and 23 patients with lupus nephritis. Outcomes Longitudinal control of proteinuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Measurements Levels of the complement fragments Ba, Bb, C4a, and sC5b-9 in plasma and urine. Results Plasma and urine Ba, C4a, sC5b-9 were significantly higher in FSGS patients at the time of diagnosis than in the control groups. Plasma Ba levels inversely correlated with the eGFR at the time of diagnosis and at the end of the study. Plasma and urine Ba levels at the end of the study positively correlated with the level of proteinuria, the primary outcome of the study. Limitations Limited number of patients with samples from all time-points. Conclusions The complement system is activated in patients with primary FSGS, and elevated levels of plasma Ba correlate with more severe disease. Measurement of complement fragments may identify a subset of patients in whom the complement system is activated. Further investigations are needed to confirm our findings and to determine the prognostic significance of complement activation in patients with FSGS.
Convergence rates of 2D moment method solutions for the MFIE and EFIE

We give theoretical convergence rates for the surface current and backscattering amplitude from an infinite, PEC circular cylinder associated with typical moment method solutions to the magnetic and electric field integral equations. These results are then numerically compared to other scatterer geometries.
Cardiomyopathy: How far have we come in 25 years, how far yet to go?

Abstract Twenty-five years ago clinical investigators began to appreciate that cardiomyopathy is an important and reasonably common form of heart disease. Since then, several functional classifications have been proposed, the specific myocardial diseases have been classified and chronic ischemic ventricular failure has been described. The boundary separating myocarditis from dilated cardiomyopathy remains hazy and, despite intensive research, the causes of dilated cardiomyopathy remain obscure. In particular, we still do not understand the role that may be played by viral infection and alcohol. Myocardial biopsy has proved useful in patients with specific myocardial disorders, heart transplant recipients and patients receiving Adriamycin, but is disappointing in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. It has become increasingly evident that exercise capacity does not correlate with ventricular function, being highly dependent on peripheral factors. Measurements of oxygen consumption during exercise promise to be useful in assessing treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy. True restrictive cardiomyopathy is uncommon, and the term should be reserved for cardiomyopathies that meet strict criteria. A restrictive component to filling is common to many cardiac disorders, including some cases of cardiac amyloidosis. The concept of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has evolved rapidly over the past 25 years, and continues to evolve. The importance of arrhythmia as a cause of sudden death is becoming increasingly clear. The place of calcium channel blocking agents in the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy will probably emerge soon. Amiodarone is finding an increasing role in the treatment of dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Surgical treatment is still required for some patients despite unanswered questions on how it works.
Compact, High Power Klystrons At 95 GHz

This presentation describes the design and test results of a 1.6 kW peak, 400 W average power amplifier utilizing an Extended Interaction Klystron (EIK) operating at 95 GHz. The EIK and power supply form a suitcase-sized package with an overall electrical efficiency greater than 20%. Also presented will be the design of a 95 GHz EIK amplifier with a target output power level of 1 kW CW.
Mapping the spread of malaria drug resistance.

The author has declared that no competing interests exist. This article was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health AI075145 and R01 AI48071. The funders played no role in the decision to submit the article or in its preparation. Provenance: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed
Synaptic patterns of the superficial layers of the superior colliculus of the rat

An electron microscopic study has been undertaken of the upper layers of the superior colliculus, into which run fibers from the retina and visual cortex. Study of the normal synaptic patterns shows large numbers of serial synapses, particularly near the surface of the colliculus. The presynaptic components usually contain round vesicles and the intermediate profiles always contain flattened vesicles. The latter may be dendrites, dendrite-like or dilatations of such profiles. Degeneration studies indicate that optic terminals are especially dense near the surface and that they are often the presynaptic terminal of a serial synapse. Very few optic terminals occur in the stratum opticum. Cortical afferents from the visual area mostly end deep in the stratum griseum superficiale, and in superficial stratum opticum, usually on small clear profiles. Studies of the progress of degeneration indicate that optic terminals first show a predominantly neurofilamentous and associated glycogen reaction, and later a predominantly electron dense reaction. Cortical terminals show an initial dense reaction, with occasional neurofilamentous endings. These time course fit well with light microscope data from Nauta and Glees stained material. The synaptic patterns described here closely resemble patterns described in retina and dorsal lateral geniculate body. How these reflect functional similarities has yet to be resolved.
Do thumbnail previews help users make better relevance decisions about web search results

We describe an empirical evaluation of the utility of thumbnail previews in web search results. Results pages were constructed to show text-only summaries, thumbnail previews only, or the combination of text summaries and thumbnail previews. We found that in the combination case, users were able to make more accurate decisions about the potential relevance of results than in either of the other versions, with hardly any increase in speed of processing the page as a whole.
Microstructure reconstructions from 2-point statistics using phase-recovery algorithms

Two-point statistics describe the first-order spatial correlations between the constituent distinct local states in the internal structure of the material. These are usually recovered by randomly throwing vectors of all sizes and orientations into the material microstructure. Building on very recent advances in this emerging field, it is demonstrated in this paper that the complete set of 2-point correlations carry all of the information needed to uniquely reconstruct an eigen microstructure to within an translation and/or an inversion. For this purpose, novel algorithms based on phase-recovery methods used in signal processing have been developed and successfully implemented. The computational speed and the versatility of these new mathematical procedures are demonstrated through reconstruction of several two- and three-dimensional microstructures from their 2-point statistics.
Good Jobs, Good Deeds: The Gender-Specific Influences of Job Characteristics on Volunteering

While research has shown that having a “good” job significantly promotes formal volunteering, we have limited knowledge of how this paid work-to-volunteer work relationship may differ between men and women. Based on the gender-identification spillover theory, we hypothesize that because of the societal expectations that women should be caring, giving and communal, positive job traits such as authority and autonomy promote women’s volunteering more than men’s. Our analysis of data from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States shows that women who exercise supervisory authority on the job volunteer significantly more hours than women who do not, whereas job authority makes no difference in the number of hours volunteered for men. Meanwhile, job autonomy promotes men’s volunteering, but not women’s. Implications of these and related findings for future research on gender and volunteering are discussed.
The simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index and high-sensitivity troponin T predicted prognosis in PE

Source Citation Lankeit M, Jimenez D, Kostrubiec M, et al. Predictive value of the high-sensitivity troponin T assay and the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index in hemodynamically stable p...
Type-specific protective immunity evoked by synthetic peptide of Streptococcus pyogenes M protein

The M protein on the surface of Streptococcus pyogenes cells enables the organisms to resist ingestion and killing by phagocytic cells in the blood of the non-immune host. In the immune host, type-specific antibodies against the M protein neutralize the antiphagocytic effect and allow the rapid elimination of any invading streptococcci having the same serotype of M protein. Recent studies1 in our laboratories of the primary structure of one of these M proteins (type 24) have indicated that the molecule is composed of repeating covalent structures, each of which contains protective antigenic determinants. These results suggest that only a small portion of the M protein molecule may be required to produce primary protective immunity against S. pyogenes. We now report that this notion is well founded. Our findings may have a bearing on the development of M-protein vaccines to protect against streptococcal infections causing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease2.
Association of dissolved aluminum with silica: Connecting molecular structure to surface reactivity using NMR

Abstract We studied uptake mechanisms for dissolved Al on amorphous silica by combining bulk-solution chemistry experiments with solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance techniques (27Al magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR, 27Al{1H} cross-polarization (CP) MAS NMR and 29Si{1H} CP-MAS NMR). We find that reaction of Al (1 mM) with amorphous silica consists of at least three reaction pathways; (1) adsorption of Al to surface silanol sites, (2) surface-enhanced precipitation of an aluminum hydroxide, and (3) bulk precipitation of an aluminosilicate phase. From the NMR speciation and water chemistry data, we calculate that 0.20 (±0.04) tetrahedral Al atoms nm−2 sorb to the silica surface. Once the surface has sorbed roughly half of the total dissolved Al (∼8% site coverage), aluminum hydroxides and aluminosilicates precipitate from solution. These precipitation reactions are dependent upon solution pH and total dissolved silica concentration. We find that the Si:Al stoichiometry of the aluminosilicate precipitate is roughly 1:1 and suggest a chemical formula of NaAlSiO4 in which Na+ acts as the charge compensating cation. For the adsorption of Al, we propose a surface-controlled reaction mechanism where Al sorbs as an inner-sphere coordination complex at the silica surface. Analogous to the hydrolysis of Al ( OH 2 ) 6 3 + , we suggest that rapid deprotonation by surface hydroxyls followed by dehydration of ligated waters results in four-coordinate (>SiOH)2Al(OH)2 sites at the surface of amorphous silica.
The Insecticidal Properties of Esters of Phosphonic and Phosphinic Acids

A large number of new alkyl p -nitrophenyl ethylphosphonates and p -nitrophenyl dialkylphosphinates were synthesized and examined for toxicity to house flies, Musca domestica L, anti cholinesterase activity, and stability to aqueous hydrolysis. The alkyy1 p -nitrophenyl ethylphosphonates maintained high insecticidal activity over a wide variety of alkyl groups. The phosphinate esters were slightly less toxic to house flies than analogous phosphonate esters hut activity was still high. Both series of compounds gave rough linear log relationships between rates of inhibition and hydrolysis. Some of the compounds showed unusually high anti cholinesterase activity and the influence of steric factor in heightening inhibition rates was demonstrated.
Effect of temperature on fluorescence and circular dichroism of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase and its complexes

Abstract Dihydrofolate reductase and its complexes have been studied by fluorescence and circular dichroism. NADPH, trimethoprim, pyrimethamine, or Methotrexate binding causes small changes in the enzyme far ultraviolet CD which possibly arise from alterations in polypeptide backbone of the enzyme; however, their effects on enzyme far ultraviolet CD are also explained as the result of ligand interactions with enzyme aromatic groups. In ternary complexes of the enzyme, fluorescence properties of bound NADPH are surprisingly sensitive to the type of inhibitor bound nearby. The effect of temperature on the enzyme and its complexes is clearly shown by changes in enzyme fluorescence and CD. At temperatures near 45°C, the enzyme undergoes an irreversible denaturation, as shown by major alterations in enzyme far ultraviolet CD and by an increased rate of fluorescence quenching. Binary complexes with NADPH or Methotrexate stabilize the enzyme towards this heat denaturation, whereas bound trimethoprim and pyrimethamine do not. Ternary complexes with NADPH and any of the ligands are more stable than the enzyme itself toward heat denaturation. Fluorescence-temperature and fluorescence polarization studies show that near 30°C the enzyme undergoes a reversible transition that is modified by NADPH or methotrexate.
A novel antiestrogen agent Shikonin inhibits estrogen-dependent gene transcription in human breast cancer cells

Shikonin (SK) has been isolated and identified as a key bioactive component in an herbal plant, Shikon (gromwell). In this study, we investigated antiestrogen activity of SK in breast cancer cells. In human breast cancer cells, we observed that treatment with SK inhibits tumor cell growth in estrogen receptor α (ERα)-positive, but not ERα-negative breast cancer cells. Estrogen-dependent cell growth was inhibited by co-treatment with SK. A potential molecular mechanism by which SK inhibits estrogen action was explored. We found that SK has no effect on ERα mRNA expression, but decreases its protein level. This effect is associated with an increase in ubiquitinated ERα for degradation. Our results suggest that SK downregulates ERα protein through a proteasome-mediated pathway. We also found that the treatment with SK inhibits estrogen-induced estrogen response elements reporter gene activity. Furthermore, SK inhibits recruitment of ERα at the estrogen-dependent gene promoters, and subsequently suppresses gene expression. Finally, co-treatment with SK enhanced sensitivity of breast cancer cells to endocrine therapy. Collectively, our studies suggested that SK has a potential for antihormone therapy in ERα-positive breast cancer cells, and should serve as a target for new drug developments.
Sex Hormone Modification of Tissue Levels and Urinary Excretion of α-Aminoisobutyric Acid in the Rat1

Male rats have been found to excrete smaller amounts than females of an injected dose of the model amino acid, C14-α-aminoisobutyric acid, into the urine during 24 hr. Testosterone propionate (0.1 mg daily for 1–2 weeks) reduced by 50% the 24-hr urinary excretion of the amino acid by immature female rats, while 1 or 40 Mg daily of β- estradiol doubled its excretion over that found in control animals. These changes have been shown to be a result of changes in the renal clearance of α-aminoisobutyric acid under the conditions used; both glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow were unchanged by the hormones. With both steroids, the changes in retention resulted in significant changes in serum levels of the amino acid, which were reflected in alterations in tissue levels in the same direction without an influence on transport of the amino acid. Changing the serum AIB level 100-fold (by altering the dose) did not produce large changes in the distribution ratios in any of the 5 tissues examined. This b...
Carbanionic Rearrangements of Halomethylenecyclobutanes. The Role of the Halogen

The carbanionic ring enlargement of (halomethylene)cyclobutanes to 1-halocyclopentenes has been extended to the fluoro analogues. At 180 °C, 3-hexyl-1-(fluoromethylene)cyclobutane provides better yields of rearranged product than the corresponding chloride, bromide, or iodide. At temperatures Br > Cl, and the fluoride does not react. Experiments with labeled substrates show that, in general, the larger the halide and the higher the reaction temperature, the greater the preference for double migration over single migration as a mechanistic pathway. The trifluormethyl group is ineffective in promoting anionic rearrangement.
Psychoeducation : A promising intervention strategy for families of children and adolescents with mood disorders

Mood disorders and suicide in youth represent major health concerns requiring effective intervention strategies. This paper briefly summarizes the literature on childhood mood disorders and discusses expressed emotion (EE) and the link between lowering EE and improved outcome for mood disordered individuals. Family psychoeducation is discussed as a means of reducing EE and similarities and differences between psychoeducation and other therapeutic interventions explored. The authors' adaptations that made psychoeducation developmentally appropriate for families of children and adolescents are reviewed. Psychoeducation for families of mood disordered youth is suggested as worthy of further clinical and empirical effort.
Pharmacokinetics of antimicrobial therapy

Pharmacokinetic variability of antimicrobial agents can increase the risk for both therapeutic failure and toxicity. This variability is of clinical relevance when the magnitude is substantial and the therapeutic index for a particular agent, such as the aminoglycosides, is narrow. Age-related differences in drug disposition for children are accommodated empirically by adjusting adult doses to pediatric doses based on body size. However, this approach does not consider the maturational effects on hepatic function, renal function, and body composition in children. Clinical pharmacology information for commonly used antibiotics is provided as a basis for making informed decisions among agents with similar antimicrobial activity. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of absorption, distribution, and elimination are discussed for the various antimicrobial classes, including the β-lactams, aminoglycosides, and macrolide antibiotics.
A Histopathologic Study of the Atrioventricular Communications in Two Hearts with the Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

The atrioventricular communications and the AV node, bundle, and bundle branches of two cases with the WPW syndrome were studied histologically. One case was that of chronic Chagas' myocarditis and the other possible chronic Chagas' myocarditis. Accessory muscular communications in the right atrioventricular junction were found in one heart, and no communications outside the conduction system in the other. Inflammatory changes were found in the conduction system of both hearts. The literature of the anatomic changes in hearts with the WPW syndrome, and that with the presence of accessory atrioventricular muscular communications without the WPW syndrome are reviewed. From the study of the literature and of our two cases, it appears that some cases of the WPW syndrome are associated with accessory communications and others are not, and accessory communications may be present without this syndrome. Of the four cases with this syndrome, however, in which a thorough study has been made of all possible conducti...
Rapid assay of galactose in blood serum and urine by amperometric measurement of enzyme-catalyzed oxygen consumption

Abstract An enzymatic method for the direct, rapid determination of galactose in blood serum and urine is described. The method is based on amperometric measurement of the rate of oxygen depletion when galactose is oxidized by molecular oxygen in the presence of galactose oxidase. The method does not require incubation nor deproteinization. A single sample measurement requires less than 1 min.
Calculating the electron mass in terms of measured quantities

We construct a class of models in which the electron mass can be calculated in terms of the fine-structure constant, the muon mass, and the Weinberg angle. We obtain $\frac{{m}_{e}}{{m}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}}=N(\frac{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{\ensuremath{\pi}{{sin}^{2}\ensuremath{\theta}}_{W}})$ where $N$ is a pure number of order 1 which depends on the specific model. (There are corrections to this formula which depend on parameters of the model, but which can be made arbitrarily small by arranging certain exotic gauge bosons to be heavy.) We show that within this class of models it is possible to obtain agreement with neutral-current data and the experimental value of $\frac{{m}_{e}}{{m}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$.
Tracer electrochemistry of pertechnetate: Chelation of 99mTc by EDTA after controlled-potential reduction at mercury and platinum cathodes

Abstract Technetium pharmaceuticals are usually prepared by reduction of TcO 4 - in the presence of a chelating agent. As a prototype for an electrolytic method, the reduction of tracer concentrations of 99m TcO 4 - was studied at Hg and Pt cathodes with and without EDTA. A tin-free chelate could be produced with less than 2% free TcO 4 - or hydrolyzed Tc in 5 min of electrolysis. The effects of pH and electrode potential on the yield and purity of chelate were determined by thin-layer chromatography. At Hg, Tc complexes were formed in complexing media at a potential approximating the polarographic half-wave potential so that the effect of pH could be predicted from previous measurements. In non-complexing media, deposition of Tc onto the electrode occurred at −0.7 to −1.1 V vs S.C.E. independent of pH. Electrodeposition was inhibited in complexing media. At Hg cathodes, the yield and purity of Tc-EDTA were comparable with those attained in parallel experiments using SnCl 2 as the reductant. By either method the yield and purity exceeded 98% using 0.1 M EDTA. When the EDTA concentration was lowered to 0.001 M both methods yielded a product contaminated by significant quantities of free TcO 4 − and hydrolyzed Tc. Pt electrodes gave less satisfactory results. At Hg, but not at Pt, loss of activity from solution to electrode generally occured only at potentials more negative than those used for labelling. Electrolytic labelling can be an effective means for preparing Tc chelates free from foreign cations such as Sn +4 , and electrochemical measurements performed at carrier concentrations of TcO 4 − can be used to select reacion conditions for tracer labelling.
Temperature dependence of intramolecular vibrational energy transfer in CO2: CO2(0001) + Ne/CO2 → CO2(nml0) + Ne/CO2

Abstract Intramolecular vibration-vibration energy transfer cross sections have been calculated for CO 2 (00 0 1) + Ne and CO 2 (00 0 1) + CO 2 (00 0 0) over the temperature range 100–3000 K. It is shown that (00 0 1) → (11 1 0) is the most important process at lower temperatures, while (00 0 1) → (10 0 0) dominates others at higher temperatures. The temperature dependence of (00 0 1) → (10 0 0) is very strong compared with that of (00 0 1) → (11 1 0). Calculations show that the sum of the total cross sections of these two processes and that of (00 0 1) → (20 0 ) is close to experimental data.
Low-Energy Elastic Electron Scattering by Atomic Oxygen

The B-spline R-matrix method is employed to investigate the low-energy elastic electron scattering by atomic oxygen. Flexible non-orthogonal sets of radial functions are used to construct the target description and to represent the scattering functions. A detailed investigation regarding the dependence of the predicted partial and total cross sections on the scattering model and the accuracy of the target description is presented. The predicted angle-integrated elastic cross sections are in good agreement with experiment, whereas significant discrepancies are found in the angle-differential elastic cross sections near the forward direction. .The near-threshold results are found to strongly depend on the treatment of inner-core short-range correlation effects in the target description, as well as on a proper account of the target polarizability. A sharp increase in the elastic cross sections below 1 eV found in some earlier calculations is judged to be an artifact of an unbalanced description of correlation in the N-electron target structure and the (N+l)-electron-collision problems.
Placing the Bayesian network approach to patient diagnosis in perspective.

In this month’s issue of Annals, Kline et al report the creation and validation of a Bayesian network designed to identify a low-risk subset of patients suspected of having a venous thromboembolism, using only readily available clinical data. During validation, they found that half of their patients were categorized as low risk by the network and that 98.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 97.2% to 99.2%) of these patients were determined to be free of disease. The clinical significance of this work is readily apparent: if data from our initial assessment (ie, history, physical examination, pulse oximetry) can comfortably exclude venous thromboembolism in half of the patients in whom we consider the diagnosis, then the potential savings to the patient and the health care system may be quite substantial. We would be able to reserve the use of D-dimer tests and lower extremity and pulmonary imaging studiesdwhich have their own inherent costs in terms of time, pain, associated risks, and potential false positive resultsdfor patients not in this low-risk category. In addition to its potential clinical utility, this research is noteworthy for the authors’ implementation of a Bayesian network, an important step forward in the application of Bayesian thinking to the clinical practice of medicine. In this editorial, we describe how evaluations of diagnostic tools have become more ‘‘Bayesian’’ over time, where the Bayesian network approach fits in this evolution, and how the Bayesian network captures much of the essence of clinical reasoning.