cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adrenergic and glucocorticoid modulation of the sterile inflammatory response

Exposure to an intense, acute stressor, in the absence of a pathogen, alters immune function. Exposure to a single bout of inescapable tail shock increases plasma and tissue concentrations of cytokines, chemokines, and the danger associated molecular pattern (DAMP) Hsp72. Although previous studies have demonstrated that adrenergic receptor (ADR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GCR)-mediated pathways alter pathogen or microbial associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-evoked levels of cytokines, chemokines, and Hsp72, far fewer studies have tested the role of these receptors across multiple inflammatory proteins or tissues to elucidate the differences in magnitude of stress-evoked sterile inflammatory responses. The goals of the current study were to (1) compare the sterile inflammatory response in the circulation, liver, spleen, and subcutaneous (SQ) adipose tissue by measuring cytokine, chemokine, and DAMP (Hsp72) responses; and (2) to test the role of alpha-1 (α1), beta-1 (β1), beta-2 (β2), and beta-3 (β3) ADRs, as well as GCRs in signaling the sterile inflammatory response. The data presented indicate plasma and SQ adipose are significantly more stress responsive than the liver and spleen. Further, administration of ADR and GCR-specific antagonists revealed both similarities and differences in the signaling mechanisms of the sterile inflammatory response in the tissues studied. Finally, given the selective increase in the chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in SQ tissue, it may be that SQ adipose is an important site of leukocyte migration, possibly in preparation for infection as a consequence of wounding. The current study helps further our understanding of the tissue-specific differences of the stress-induced sterile inflammatory response.
Hickam 2000: The maturation of, and linkages between, medical informatics and bioinformatics

I have always been infatuated with computers and convinced of their potential for solving problems in biologic research and clinical care. In the 1960s I thought we could use the computer to predict the shape of macromolecules from their chemical formulas and fundamental physical chemical principles. However, with the computers of the 1960s that was a fantasy. So I focused on the use of computers to manage medical record content and to assist with clinical care. The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) we began developing in 1972 with 33 diabetes patients now carries nearly 300 million separate results for more than 3 million patients. The data include lab and other diagnostic studies, dictated notes, orders, encounter records, radiology images, electrocardiograph tracings, and motion cardiac echoes, and the care provider at Indiana University and Wishard Hospital is accessed 10 million times per year. We have also agitated for standards to make the collection of these data easier. This work has become part of a field called medical informatics. In the meantime, the application of computers to biology has rapidly matured into a field called bioinformatics, and researchers in this field now provide annotated databases for many categories of molecules, programs for "matching" newly discovered genomic sequences with previously studied sequences, and systems for storing and processing massive amounts of genomic and molemic data. They have developed sophisticated methods for predicting the shape of biologic macromolecules and other important insights about biology and evolution. Medical informatics and bioinformatics intersect at many points. The most important intersection is between electronic medical records and the human specimen databases that can link genotype to the phenotype, as needed, to unravel polygenetic disease causality. The National Cancer Institute is embarking on an intriguing effort to use EMRs (phenotype) to link to paraffin blocks (genotype) in pathology laboratories where opportunities for cancer genomic discovery are open. We will participate in this effort and look forward to bending the EMR we developed for clinical use to bioinformatics uses as well.
Equivalence Between Conditional and Random-Effects Likelihoods for Pair-Matched Case-Control Studies

Two approaches dominate the analysis of highly stratified data sets: use of conditional likelihood and random-effects models. Conditioning is more traditional and has attractive robustness properties. Contemporary random-effects approaches rely more on accurate assumptions but can be applied to a larger class of problems. For pair-matched studies with arbitrary numbers of categorical covariates, we reconcile these two approaches, showing that the conditional approach has an exact interpretation as a specific type of random-effects model. The random-effects models that provide equivalence with conditioning naturally inherit all the attractive properties of that approach, and we argue they are a pragmatic model choice. We also discuss desirable characteristics of the random-effects model that are entirely novel and that have foundational implications. For example, although our model is specified entirely within a full-likelihood framework, its assumed random-effects distribution does not need a parametric f...
Diagnosing pulmonary embolism: time to rewrite the textbooks

Computed tomography (CT) is rapidly becoming the first line modality for imaging pulmonary embolism (PE). However, limitations for the accurate diagnosis of small peripheral emboli have prevented the unanimous acceptance of CT as the new standard of reference for imaging PE although the actual significance of the detection and treatment of isolated peripheral emboli is uncertain. At the same time the high negative predictive value of CT pulmonary angiography for excluding clinically significant PE has been established in retrospective and prospective studies. The introduction of multidetector-row spiral CT has greatly improved visualization of peripheral pulmonary arteries and detection of small emboli. Previous concerns regarding the accuracy of spiral CT for the accurate diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary emboli should thus be overcome. Multidetector-row spiral CT has become a widely available and cost-effective modality, which has surpassed other imaging modalities for PE diagnosis to a point where over-utilization may become of concern. Our most immediate goal must be to educate our referring colleagues about these important transitions so that the diagnostic algorithm in patients with suspected acute PE is updated to accurately reflect our current diagnostic prowess in medical imaging.
Detection of nonlinear dynamics in short, noisy time series

THE accurate identification of deterministic dynamics in an experimentally obtained time series1–5 can lead to new insights regarding underlying physical processes, or enable prediction, at least on short timescales. But deterministic chaos arising from a nonlinear dynamical system can easily be mistaken for random noise6–8. Available methods to distinguish deterministic chaos from noise can be quite effective, but their performance depends on the availability of long data sets, and is severely degraded by measurement noise. Moreover, such methods are often incapable of detecting chaos in the presence of strong periodicity, which tends to hide underlying fractal structures9. Here we present a computational procedure, based on a comparison of the prediction power of linear and nonlinear models of the Volterra–Wiener form10, which is capable of robust and highly sensitive statistical detection of deterministic dynamics, including chaotic dynamics, in experimental time series. This method is superior to other techniques1–6,11,12 when applied to short time series, either continuous or discrete, even when heavily contaminated with noise, or in the presence of strong periodicity.
In situ nutrient enrichment experiments with periphyton in agricultural streams

Four agricultural streams were examined to determine if nitrogen or phosphorus was limiting the growth of the attached algal communities. Experiments were conducted in situ using nutrient-diffusing artificial substrata. Experiments conducted over a 2-year period demonstrated that the benthic algal communities in these streams were seldom limited by nitrogen or phosphorus. Nitrogen was, however, found limiting on two occasions when ambient nitrogen levels were reduced. These experiments were characterized by extended low flows and warm water temperatures. Large algal mats which proliferate during these periods may be responsible for reducing the available nitrogen to a limiting level. Major storm events are thought to interrupt the development of nitrogen limiting conditions by scouring the algae and increasing the nitrogen loading from the watershed. Water temperature was demonstrated as an important factor in controlling periphyton growth rates and may have influenced algal response to nutrient input. Ammonium additions often enhanced algal growth in the absence of nitrate stimulation.
Tubal assessment and disease

Imaging the fallopian tube with transvaginal sonography is a daunting task for any sonologist. High-frequency ultrasound transducers, the advancement of color and power Doppler, as well as 3D surface rendering, have advanced the assessment of fallopian tubes in healthy and pathologic states. This review focuses on fallopian tube anatomy, imaging modalities available for its assessment and common pathologic processes, including infection/inflammation, ectopic pregnancy, salpingitis isthmica nodosum, tubal torsion and prolapse, and fallopian tube carcinoma. The natural history of pelvic inflammatory disease is discussed in detail with a sonographic representation of the disease process.
“Ms. Morales Needs to Go Back to English Class”: Narratives of a Bilingual Latina Preservice English Language Arts Teacher in a Diverse Society

This narrative inquiry aims to better understand and document how a bilingual Latina preservice elementary teacher's experiences as an immigrant student and English learner (EL) inform the construc...
A brain-to-blood carrier-mediated transport system for small, N-Tyrosinated peptides

Recently, we found that lipophilicity is a good predictor of the degree to which most peptides cross the blood-brain-barrier. Small (MW less than 1000) peptides with an N-terminal tyrosine, however, penetrated to a much smaller degree than was predicted by their measurements of lipophilicity. We show here that two such peptides, N-Tyr-MIF-1 and Met-enkephalin, can significantly inhibit transport of 125I-N-Tyr-MIF-1 out of the rat brain in vivo in a saturable, dose-dependent way. The half-time disappearance of injected 125I-N-Tyr-MIF-1 from the rat brain was 12.4 min but when injected with 200 nmol/animal of unlabeled N-Tyr-MIF-1 was 23.6 min (p less than 0.01). The Km was calculated to be 0.123 nmol. At higher doses, leucine, but not tyrosine, alanine, glutamine, MIF-1, or the dipeptide Gly-Gly, also significantly inhibited transport out of the brain.
SU‐GG‐J‐79: Effect of Body Weight On Patient Setup for Prostate Helical Tomotherapy Treatments

Purpose: To determine the effect of body weight and anatomical fat on initial setup for prostate patients receiving daily image guidance on helical tomotherapy. Method and Materials: Initial setup corrections from MVCT imaging were retrospectively analyzed for 25 prostate patients. All patients were set up in the head‐first supine position to skin tattoos, and immobilization consisted solely of foam knee pillows and foot rings. Patients were stratified into two groups based on body weight being above and below the median weight of all analyzed patients. Distributions of setup corrections in the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical directions were assessed. Additional preliminary analysis of anatomical fat comparing measurements of transverse areas of the body at the L4‐L5 vertebral inter‐space and setup tattoo levels was performed on planning CTimages of 13 out of the 25 patients. Results: The mean setup corrections in the positive vertical direction were significantly greater for Group A (patients weighing > 213 lbs) than for Group B (⩽ 213 lbs), which were 11.5 mm and 4.3 mm, respectively. This may be attributable to increased couch sag occurring with increased weight and with placing the patient head‐first instead of feet‐first. Variances for Group A were larger than for Group B, which show an increased variation in initial setup for the heavier patient group. The anatomical fat measures corresponded well with each other, indicating that the location of the body used for initial patient setup seems to correlate with methods used to characterize abdominal fat. Conclusion: Our measurements of setup corrections suggest that daily imaging is of greater benefit for heavier patients. Analysis of anatomical fat measures suggests that characteristics of the location of the setup tattoos are affected by abdominal fat. Conflict of Interest: Some authors have a financial interest in TomoTherapy, Inc.
Stark mixing by ion-Rydberg atom (molecule) collisions

Abstract Classical molecular dynamics simulations are performed to cover Stark mixing transitions ( n l → n l ′ ) in Rydberg atoms by collision with slow ions. Accuracy is tested by comparison with the exact analytical classical probabilities P l ′ l ( n ) previously obtained when the ion–atom potential is taken as the long-range ion–dipole interaction. The results are provided not only for the ion–dipole interaction but also for the full electrostatic interaction. It is shown, by comparison, that the ion–dipole potential alone provides reliable probabilities. The method is highly accurate and is very amenable to ready inclusion of other processes competing with Stark mixing.
Pubertal alterations in growth and body composition. VI. Pubertal insulin resistance: relation to adiposity, body fat distribution and hormone release.

Objective: To investigate the independent influence of alterations in fat mass, body fat distribution and hormone release on pubertal increases in fasting serum insulin concentrations and on insulin resistance assessed by the homeostasis model (HOMA). Design and Subjects: Cross-sectional investigation of pre- (n=11, n=8), mid- (n=10, n=11), and late-pubertal (n=10, n=11) boys and girls with normal body weight and growth velocity. Measurements: Body composition (by a four-compartment model), abdominal fat distribution and mid-thigh interfascicular plus intermuscle (extramyocellular) fat (by magnetic resonance imaging), total body subcutaneous fat (by skinfolds), mean nocturnal growth hormone (GH) release and 06:00 h samples of serum insulin, sex steroids, leptin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Results: Pubertal insulin resistance was suggested by greater (P 0.05) did not reliably improve r2 beyond the physical characteristic and adiposity variables. In a second model, differences in sex and pubertal maturation were again held constant (r2=0.25), but body size differences were accounted for using percentage fat data. Sequential addition of percentage body fat (r2(inc)remental=0.11, r2=0.36, P<0.05), then a block of fat distribution variables (percentage extramyocellular fat, percentage abdominal visceral fat, and percentage abdominal subcutaneous fat; r2inc=0.08, r2=0.44, P=0.058), and then a block of serum IGF-I and log(10) leptin concentrations (r2inc=0.07, r2=0.51, P<0.05) increased r2. Mean nocturnal GH release was not related to HOMA (r=−0.04, P=0.75) and therefore was not included in the hierarchical regression models. Conclusion: Increases in insulin resistance at puberty were most related to FM. Accumulation of fat in the abdominal visceral, subcutaneous and muscular compartments may increase insulin resistance at puberty beyond that due to total body fat. Serum concentrations of leptin and IGF-I may further modulate HOMA beyond the effects of adiposity and fat distribution. However, the results are limited by the cross-sectional design and the use of HOMA rather than a criterion measure of insulin resistance.
Spontaneous splenic rupture complicating anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy.

Abstract purpose: To characterize the clinical course and outcomes of reported cases of splenic hemorrhage during thrombolytic or anticoagulant therapy. methods: The Medline, EMBASE (Excerpta Medica), BIOSIS, and SCISEARCH databases for English and foreign literature between 1966 and 1991 were searched. All reports of patients with documented splenic hemorrhage during anticoagulant therapy or thrombolytic therapy were reviewed. Foreign language manuscripts were translated into English. results: Seventeen cases of splenic hemorrhage associated with anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy were found. In one case, there was minor antecedent trauma; in the remaining cases, hemorrhage was spontaneous. Mortality overall was 24% and was more likely in patients with splenic hemorrage after thrombolytic therapy (50%) than in patients receiving long-term anticoagulants (9%). Splenectomy was performed in 12 of 13 survivors. conclusions: Splenic hemorrhage associated with anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy is a rare entity. It may be lethal, especially when associated with lytic therapy. Reversal of the anticoagulated or lytic state and emergent splenectomy are the treatment of choice. Splenic hemorrhage can munic acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock and must be considered when the condition of cardiac patients receiving lytic or anticoagulant drugs suddenly deteriorates.
Affective exchanges between young autistic children and their mothers

This study examined autistic children's social behavior, affect, and use of gaze during naturalistic interactions with their mothers. Sixteen autistic children, 30 to 70 months of age, and 16 normal children, matched on receptive language, participated. Children and their mothers were videotaped during three situations: a free-play period, a more structured period during which communicative demand was made on the child, and a face-to-face interaction. In all three situations, autistic and normal children did not differ in the frequency or duration of gaze at mother's face. In the one condition (face-to-face interaction) during which affective expressions were coded, autistic and normal children also were not found to differ significantly in the frequency or duration of smiles displayed, and neither group displayed frowns. However, autistic children were much less likely than normal children to combine their smiles with eye contact in a single act that conveyed communicative intent. Autistic and normal children were not found to differ in the percentages of smiles they displayed to social versus nonsocial events. However, when autistic children's responses to mother's smiles specifically were examined, it was found that they were much less likely to smile in response to mother's smiles than were normal children. Finally, it was found that mothers of autistic children displayed fewer smiles and were less likely to smile in response to their children's smiles, when compared with mothers of normal children. These findings suggest that the autistic child's unusual affective behavior may negatively affect the behavior of others.
Elevation rate of glycosylated hemoglobins in dogs after induction of experimental diabetes mellitus

Abstract The glycosylated hemoglobin, hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ), which reflects average plasma glucose of the previous few weeks, has recently been used to monitor humans with diabetes mellitus. Further understanding of the HbA 1c elevation rate would improve interpretation of HbA 1c . We determined glycosylated hemoglobin elevation rates in 5 dogs with induced diabetes. Hemoglobin A 1c was determined by an established column chromatographic technique; plasma glucose by glucose oxidase. Values were determined on 13 normal dogs and compared with values obtained weekly from surgically or chemically-induced diabetic dogs. Hemoglobin A 1c increased in a fashion that could be predicted by modelling. The model predicts that large changes in Hb A 1c will occur within the first few weeks of a sudden change in glucose and that a new plateau will be reached at a time equal to the erythrocyte life span. In the present experiment abnormally elevated HbA 1c occurred after 2 wk of hyperglycemia. The results should approximate the elevation rate after acute onset and sustained severe hyperglycemia in humans, because humans and canines are hematologically similar and thus extend previously reported studies on human out-patient diabetics.
Electricity savings one, two, and three years after participation in the BPA Residential Weatherization Pilot Program

Abstract The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) operated a Residential Weatherization Pilot Program from 1980 through 1982. The program provided free home energy audits to 7200 electrically heated homes in the Pacific Northwest and gave zero-interest loans to weatherize 4100 of these homes. The total cost of the program was almost $11 million. This paper estimates the energy-saving effects of the BPA program. The data used include one year of preprogram and three years of postprogram electricity consumption records. The first stage of our method involves estimation of weather-adjusted annual electricity consumption for each household. The second stage uses this weather-adjusted consumption as the dependent variable in a pooled time-series/cross-section regression model of electricity use. The total annual electricity savings experienced by the households that received both an energy audit and a weatherization loan averaged 19 GJelec/year one year after participation, increasing to 22 GJelec and 23 GJelec two and three years after participation. The net annual electricity savings that can be directly attributed to the BPA pilot program for these households averaged 16 GJelec (15% of preprogram use) one year after participation and declined to 15 GJelec two years and three years after participation. Program-related savings decrease over time, presumably because participants would have been stimulated by other factors (especially rapidly rising electricity price) to adopt conservation actions.
Ultra low-voltage Delay Locked Loop using carbon nanotubes

Carbon Nanotube FET technology is investigated to implement ultra low-voltage DLL and simulation results show that operation at supply voltage as low as 0.3 V is possible with a peak jitter of 13 ps and lock is acquired in 7 cycles with a clock frequency range from 330 MHz to 10 GHz. The characteristics is dependent on the nanotube parameters and the optimum nanotube diameter is found to be 1.35 nm.
Glucocorticoid-induced bone loss in children

This article defines what is meant by glucocorticoid-induced bone loss (GIBL) in children, as opposed to glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. G1BL is found in various conditions, including therapy of chronic inflammatory states, antenatal and postnatal glucocorticoid administration to reduce respiratory distress syndrome risk, pre- and postorgram transplantation, and in certain malignancies. The prevalence of G1BL has not been determined for all conditions, but the published literature indicates a general occurrence rate between 25 and 33%. The effects of glucocorticoids on bone cells are discussed, including dimerization of the receptor, nuclear transport, and stimulation of nuclear transcription factors. Nongenomic actions are also mentioned. The glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis of osteoblasts and osteocytes and the reduction of marrow stromal cell differentiation into osteoblasts are mentioned, and it is postulated that osteocyte apoptosis may alter mechanical transduction and contribute to the creation of microdamage in the bone and an increase in fracture risk. Cushing’s disease is employed as a model of pure G1BL, whereas other conditions are more complex because additional factors may contribute to bone loss, such as the excessive monocytic production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in inflammatory conditions, and the use of cyclosporin A posttransplantation. Algorithms for the diagnosis and management of G1BL are provided, and consideration of the relative risk of inhaled steroids is also mentioned.
Combined pedigree and twin family study to determine the sources of variation in serum biotinidase activity: The usefulness of multiple study designs

Biotinidase, the enzyme responsible for recycling the vitamin biotin, is deficient in most individuals with late-onset multiple carboxylase deficiency. Based on clinical criteria, biotinidase deficiency appears to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait; however, the inheritance of biotinidase serum activity as a quantitative trait has not been studied previously. In this study, both segregation analysis of proband families and the analysis of twin family data were used to determine the relative contributions of a major gene, polygenes and environment to the variation in serum biotinidase activity. Segregation analysis of 24 families of biotinidase-deficient individuals indicated that serum biotinidase activity is determined by the segregation of a single codominant major gene with the variability about the mean of each major genotype attributable to environmental effects. Significant polygenic effects could not be detected by this analysis. Variance component analysis of 128 twin families, which included the twins, their spouses, and their offspring, indicated that 70% of total variance in biotinidase activity is attributable to additive genetic effects, 22% to individual environmental effects, and 8% to shared environmental effects. The model also included an age effect for females. A portion (27%) of the estimated additive variance may be attributed to the segregation of the major gene. This study emphasizes the usefulness of studying multiple data sets representing different types of family relationships. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Analysis and distribution of iron sulfide minerals in recent anoxic marine sediments

Abstract Acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), pyrite-sulfur, iron and organic carbon distributions were examined in sediments from a variety of oxic and anoxic marine environments. Multiple determinations of AVS using different acid conditions showed that most extractants give similar AVS concentrations, with the exception of stannous chloride in hot HCl which digested between 10 and 81% of pyrite-sulfur. An extensive examination of iron sulfide minerals in sediments, using scanning electron microscopy combined with simultaneous elemental analysis, showed that identifiable iron sulfides were almost always pyrite. Occurrence of greigite observable by SEM was limited to one site and mackinawite was not found in any samples. Thus, if these minerals are precursors to pyrite formation, as has been frequently hypothesized, they must be primarily present as coatings on other mineral grains or submicron particles.
Attributing responsibility for alcohol-related near-miss accidents

An experimental study was conducted to examine the attribution of responsibility for alcohol-related near-miss accidents. Ninety-six observers were presented with specially prepared accident scenarios in which the level of unsafe driving behavior (none, drinking, drinking and speeding) and the severity of accident outcome were varied. The results indicated that less responsibility was assigned to the perpetrator for near-misses than for more severe accidents, regardless of the presence or absence of unsafe behavior. Recommended penalties also varied with severity of outcome, particularly for drinking and driving accidents. In general, the culpability of drinking and driving appeared to depend on the consequences produced. The perceived seriousness of this behavior varied according to whether it led to a secondary unsafe driving act or whether it was associated with serious harm to others. When neither of these occurred, drinking and driving was not viewed as being significantly more serious than no unsafe behavior. Some implications of these findings for safety are discussed.
Daptomycin: a novel lipopeptide antibiotic

Abstract Daptomycin is a novel lipopeptide antibiotic with rapid in vitro bactericidal against activity virtually all gram-positive pathogens. The spectrum of activity includes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis , vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae . Daptomycin has a unique mechanism of action, and there is no cross-resistance with any other drug class. Daptomycin is a natural product derived from the fermentation of Streptomyces roseosporus . Daptomycin is administered intravenously and produces linear pharmacokinetics with an elimination half-life of approximately 8 h in humans. Daptomycin has demonstrated efficacy against drug-susceptible and drug-resistant gram-positive infections in a variety of animal models. Phase 3 studies with a once-daily dosage are under way to study the efficacy of daptomycin against serious infections by gram-positive bacteria, including skin and soft tissue infections, community-acquired pneumonia, and VRE infections.
What are the reasons for the strikingly different approaches to the use of ACTH in infants with West syndrome

A large body of experience has been compiled in different countries, documenting the efficacy of adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) for infantile spasms. This is important, because it may serve as a key for understanding this disorder, as well as for designing better medicines. However, significant discrepancies exist among studies originating in different countries regarding the relative efficacy of small or large ACTH doses. These differences may be caused by a number of factors, including potential genetic or environmental-related differences in the biology of the disorder or associated genetic components that determine responsiveness to ACTH. In addition, striking differences in the preparations used around the world may be responsible. These include bio-availability and extent of blood brain barrier penetration, efficacy in activating the efficacy-mediating 'ACTH receptors', the presence in certain preparations of competing analogs, and others. These issues should not detract from the overall agreement that ACTH might be the most useful medication currently available to treat WS.
Moral guidelines for international corporations: The Vesper-Hinksey challenge

The quest continues for a Code of Conduct embracing universal principles which will provide guidelines and norms for corporate decision making in our increasingly complex world of global business. The search continues to identify those criteria which will enable the corporate leadership, especially those engaged in international business to be more morally sensitive and to make better ethical decisions. This article will report on an ambitious initiative designed to achieve that goal: to develop through consultation and consensus new “Guidelines for International Corporations.”
Toll-like receptors in the depressed and suicide brain

Abnormalities of the immune function in depression and suicide are based in part on the observation of increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the serum and postmortem brain of depressed and suicidal patients. We have examined if abnormalities of the innate immune receptors, known as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), in the brain are associated with depression and suicide, since the activation of these receptors results in production of cytokines. Of all the TLRs shown to be present in humans, TLR3 and TLR4 appear to be unique and important in brain function. We have determined the protein (by ELISA method) and mRNA expression (using qPCR) of TLR3 and TLR4 in the postmortem brain (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC]) of 22 depressed suicide victims, 11 non-depressed suicide victims, 12 depressed non-suicide subjects and 20 normal control subjects. We found that the mRNA expression of TLR3 and TLR4 was significantly increased in DLPFC of depressed suicide victims and in depressed non-suicide subjects, compared with controls. However, the protein expression of TLR3 and TLR4 was significantly increased in depressed suicide victims, but not in depressed non-suicide subjects compared with controls. The observed abnormalities of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain of suicide victims may be related to an abnormality of TLR3 and TLR4 over-expression. To our knowledge, this is the first study of TLRs in the brain of psychiatric subjects.
Invertebrate synapse: Long-term maintenance of postsynaptic morphology following denervation

Abstract Large, electrical, axoaxonal synapses between identified interneurons and motoneurons in the crayfish abdomen can be visualized by injecting cobalt dye into the motoneuron. The dye reveals many fine branches of the post-synaptic cell that make intimate contact with the presynaptic axon. The morphology of these processes remained essentially unchanged for at least 16 months following degeneration of the main presynaptic axon. No sign of new or increased contact with nearby axons was observed.
Hippocampal activity during memory disruption of passive avoidance by electroconvulsive shock

Abstract Hippocampal activity was monitored during 1-trial passive avoidance learning of foot shock (FS) disrupted by electroconvulsive shock (ECS). Animals receiving FS showed synchronized activity concurrent with aversive responses and took significantly longer than FS-ECS subjects to descend from a platform 24 hrs. after experimental treatment. FS-ECS animals showed overt tonic-clonic seizures and hippocampal epileptiform activity followed by typical post-ictal behavioral and electrographic depression. On the retention trials, FS animals exhibited desynchronization concomitant with freezing behavior. No obvious difference in hippocampal activity between FS and FS-ECS animals was found that could be related to differences in retention; rather, such activity appeared to be related to momentary behavior patterns. It was suggested that hippocampus may function in initial stages of stimulas processing, resisting contamination of past experience.
Tailoring Treatment to the Individual Patient: Drug Monitoring

Understanding why drug concentrations vary between patients and which drug concentrations are associated with efficacy allow the development of rational treatment algorithms. Factors that affect the clearance of monoclonal antibodies include: (1) the presence of antidrug antibodies (increased clearance), (2) concomitant immunosuppression (decreased clearance), (3) increased serum CRP concentration (increased clearance), (4) decreased serum albumin concentration (increased clearance), (5) decreased body weight (increased clearance), and (6) increased fecal infliximab concentration (increased clearance). These factors can result in marked variability in drug clearance. Higher serum infliximab and adalimumab concentrations are associated with increased rates of clinical response and mucosal healing, and lower rates of colectomy. Treatment algorithms incorporate the following principles: (1) patients who have symptoms of active disease and in whom high concentrations of antibodies to infliximab or adalimumab are present should switch to another TNF antagonist, (2) patients who have symptoms of active disease and in whom there are low concentrations of infliximab or adalimumab should have dose intensification, and (3) patients who are negative for antidrug antibody and who have a therapeutic drug concentration should undergo evaluation to confirm the presence of active disease by endoscopy or radiology studies, and if active disease is confirmed, then these patients should discontinue anti-TNF therapy and switch to another class of medications or consider surgical options.
Surface hardening of AISI 4340 steel by machining: a preliminary investigation

Abstract An attempt has been made to investigate feasibility of applying machining, a material removal process, to surface harden steel parts. The idea is to utilize transient thermomechanical loading induced during machining to purposely generate a hardened layer while simultaneously removing excess materials. This approach, if capable, will be a cost-effective alternative to conventional surface hardening, giving possible benefits such as low production cost, short cycle time, and waste reduction, etc. Feasibility has been examined from thermal and mechanical perspectives. A preliminary experiment using cutting tools with large wear land (1.2 mm) to turn annealed AISI 4340 steel shows distinctly 30 μm deep phase-transformed structures. The machined surface has about 7 vol.% austenite, an evidence of phase transformation. The hardness of the phase-transformed structure increases to a maximum of about 49 HRC versus 28 HRC of the bulk. Residual stresses, measured by X-ray diffraction, were compressive down over 25 μm below the surface. These results suggest the possibility of using machining to surface harden steel parts. However, the challenge is to extensively increase wear land size to achieve hardened depth comparable to that in conventional surface hardening. In addition, surface properties and performance remain keys to justify the usage of machining hardening processes.
Intrasexual competition among women: Vocal femininity affects perceptions of attractiveness and flirtatiousness

Abstract Cognitive mechanisms for recognizing high quality sexual rivals should facilitate the economical allocation of mating effort. Women compete to attract male investment, and previous studies have shown that feminine voices are attractive to men. Here, we manipulated two sexually dimorphic acoustic parameters in women’s voices, fundamental frequency and formant dispersion, by the same perceptual amounts and explored the effects on attractiveness to heterosexual men in short- and long-term mating contexts. Femininity in both acoustic parameters was more attractive to men, especially in short-term mating contexts, and formant dispersion had a larger effect than did fundamental frequency. We then explored the effects of these manipulations on women’s perceptions of other women’s flirtatiousness and attractiveness to men. Feminine voices were perceived as more flirtatious and more attractive to men, and women were most sensitive to formant dispersion, the acoustic parameter that had the stronger effect on men’s preferences. These results support the interpretation that women use vocal femininity to track the threat potential of competitors.
An Elusive Science: The Troubling History of Education Research

Since its beginnings at the start of the 20th century, educational scholarship has been a marginal field, criticized by public policy makers and relegated to the fringes of academe. An Elusive Science explains why, providing a critical history of the traditions, conflicts, and institutions that have shaped the study of education over the past century.
Inclusion of Surface Topography into the Vector Vorticity Equation Model (VVM)

[1] Surface topography is implemented into the vector vorticity equation model with a block representation of mountains in the height coordinate. The kinematic boundary conditions at the surface are satisfied with a proper computational boundary condition for vorticity. This approach has been tested in various ways, including idealized 2D mountain waves, the much-studied “Boulder Downslope Windstorm” case, and 3D orographic precipitation over a ridge with and without small-scale irregularities. The model performs reasonably well in all of these cases, with no obvious computational difficulties due to the use of coordinate surfaces intersecting the surface and is ready to be used for arbitrarily prescribed surface topography without any artificial smoothing.
The Conceptual Politics of Race: lessons from Our Children

When thinking about race there is a tendency to combine into a single package two distinct cultural practices: one racialist, the other racist. On the one hand, people effortlessly (or seemingly effortlessly) partition humans into categories based on differences in external anatomy. On the other hand, people use these categories to rationalize inequitable distributions of valued resources, power, and authority. That people engage in these practices is uncontroversial. What is contentious is the relationship between racialist and racist modes of thought, which might be called the conceptual politics of race. Psychologists, who are principally concerned with the organization of mental life, tend to view racial categories as the unmediated outcome of discontinuity in human phenotype encountering a spontaneous impulse to categorize similar things together. Of course, psychologists do not deny that representations of race play a role in the rationalization of domination and of inequity. But they tend to view this role as a by-product of the way that racial representations are mentally formed. On such a view, race is a category of power because it is a category of mind. In contrast, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, and political scientists—that is, those scholars most concerned with race as a category of power—argue that the partitioning of humans into racial categories is contingent on and derived from the particular ways power and authority are articulated in specific systems of domination. In this view, race is a category of mind because it is a category of (certain) power relations. Both these approaches clearly have merit, and one might be tempted to adopt an eclectic reconciliation if not for one thing. Neither provides much insight into arguably the most significant aspect of racial thinking, the capacity of a system that simply represents human difference to underwrite judgments about the intrinsic value and potential of those groups represented. Thus, although thought to be directly derived from
Occupational impairment and disability among applicants for Social Security disability benefits in Pennsylvania.

OBJECTIVE. The study goal was to assess the extent of workplace-related disease and injury among Social Security Disability Insurance applicants. METHODS. A convenience sample of 240 consecutive applicants to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Disability Determination was studied to assess the prevalence of work-related disorders. An applicant had a work-related condition if there was a clear statement of a workplace illness or injury associated with the impairment, or if the applicant had worked at an occupation with a high likelihood of exposures known or suspected to contribute to the condition of interest. RESULTS. Of the 240 applicants, 166 (69%) were awarded disability insurance benefits; a total of 27 (11%) had work-related conditions, including 14 of the 166 (8%) who were found to be disabled. Forty percent of the 27 had a disorder that was musculoskeletal in origin. Of 59 applicants with cancer, 10.2% had some work-related etiological component. Of an estimated 71,680 adult disability insurance applicant...
Study on the relationship between the surface composition of copper pads and no-flow underfill fluxing capability

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of copper pad surface composition on the wetting of solder bumps during reflow processing for a certain no-flow underfill material. A purchased uncleaned copper foil which was laminated on FR4 board and an in-house developed G25 no-flow underfill encapsulant were used in this study. Six different procedures were followed to clean the copper foil to obtain six different surfaces. XPS was then used to examine the surface composition of the six surfaces and the uncleaned surface (as a control). The actual wetting test for each surface was performed using small eutectic solder balls. The correlation of the surface composition of copper foil (equivalent to the copper pads of substrates) with the solder wetting was then established. The composition of the copper foil surface was verified to depend on the cleaning procedure. For G25 no-flow underfill material, copper oxide (CuO) is the main composition that prevents the solder ball from wetting the copper foils, while the observed organic contamination does not have a noticeable effect on the solder wetting.
Analysis of Activity in the Open Source Software Development Community

Open source software is computer software for which the source code is publicly open for inspection, modification, and redistribution. While research of a few, large, successful projects have provided insights into the nature and practices of the open source software community; it still leaves open the question about the thousands of other open source projects which are neither large or highly successful. In this paper, we describe a data set of SourceForge.net, the world's largest open source software development site, which is available for research purposes; we discuss various data mining techniques that can be applied to the data and the type of research questions that can be answered. We apply a few of these techniques and provide analysis of the results
Phase equilibria and ternary phase formation in the In–Ni–P system

Isothermal sections of the In–Ni–P phase diagram have been determined at 600 °C and 470 °C. Two new ternary phases not previously identified in bulk samples were found. A phase with the composition Ni57In22P21 is present at both 600 °C and 470 °C and was found by differential thermal analysis to melt at 736 °C. The phase Ni2InP was found to be in equilibrium with InP at 470 °C, but it does not appear in the 600 °C isotherm since it melts at 526 °C. The phases (In), Ni2P, Ni5P4, and NiP2 are in equilibrium with InP at both temperatures studied.
Zeami and the Nô Theatre in the World. Edited by Benito Ortolani and Samuel E. Leiter. New York: Center for Advanced Studies in Theatre Arts, 1998; pp. 177. Paperback.

Thomas Rimer's Fall 1992 Asian Theatre Journal article, “What More Do We Need to Know about the No ?” notes that, despite the blossoming of interest in the no during the decade of the 1980s, and, despite having the no as a tradition and living performance to both study and enjoy, scholars of the no miss a “certain understanding of the tradition in the larger perspective” (217). Though perhaps not responding directly to Professor Rimer's concern, Zeami and the No Theatre in the World successfully places no in a larger context of theory, aesthetics, and performance. The editors of this volume, Benito Ortolani and Samuel Leiter, both widely published and highly respected scholars of traditional Japanese theatre, note in their introduction that Zeami (1363–1443), the acknowledged founder of the no, has “become increasingly well known as one of the great figures in the history of world theatre,” and they “wish not only to encourage readers to more effectively appreciate and understand no drama through increased access to his ideas, but to recognize Zeami's place in the pantheon of theatrical thinker artists as one whose insights are surprisingly pertinent on a universal plane.” The focus of the text is firmly fixed on Zeami as the creator of an art form that is at once ancient and modern, Japanese and universal. Despite the brevity of Zeami and the No Theatre in the World, the introduction by Ortolani and Leiter and the eleven essays they edited for inclusion in the volume attain the editors' stated goals, and, in so doing, provide a valuable resource for generalist and specialist alike.