cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
20+ Years and alive with primary myelofibrosis: Phenotypic signature of very long-lived patients

In the last decade, several prognostic models for primary myelofibrosis (PMF) have been introduced and shown to be effective in predicting overall survival. The main objective for this study was to identify clinical and genetic markers of very long (20+ years) survival in PMF. A total of 1282 patients with PMF were considered (median age 65 years, range 19-92; 63% males); 26 (2%) patients (median age 51 years, range 28-71; 38% males) survived their disease for at least 20 years (long-lived patients) and 626 (49%) patients (median age 68 years, range 27-92; 66% males) died within 5 years of their diagnosis (short-lived patients). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified 7 variables that were associated with survival beyond 20 years: age ≤ 70 years (P = .002); female sex (P = .03); hemoglobin level ≥ 10 g/dL for women and ≥ 11 g/dL for men (P = .03), leukocyte count ≤25 × 109 /L (P = .009), platelet count ≥100 × 109 /L (P = .002), circulating blasts 70 years (P 25 × 109 /L (P = .004); and circulating blasts ≥2% (P = .001). This study suggests that genetic risk factors in PMF are associated with early mortality while survival beyond 20 years could be predicted by easily accessible clinical variables, including age, sex, blood counts, and symptoms.
Is There Room for Efficiency in Pharmacy Education

The industry for educating pharmacists in the United States has grown substantially over the past few decades.[1-4][1] The term “industry” seems most appropriate in this context with total pharmacy school revenue approaching $3.8 billion in the US (estimated from 131 fully accredited programs
Electrochemistry of Nitrogenase and the Role of ATP

Publisher Summary The nitrogenase enzyme system catalyzes the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent reduction of N 2 to 2NH 3 , a process requiring the transfer of six electrons. Multielectron processes, such as this, are rare in either chemistry or biochemistry and are of considerable interest. Although the overall reaction is thermodynamically favorable, the chemical and biochemical reactions require a large energy input. The industrial reaction utilizes high temperature and high pressure to overcome the activation energy barrier, whereas the biological reaction requires the energy from at least 12 molecules of ATP for each N 2 reduced. This chapter focuses on how the electrons destined for the reduction of N 2 are processed and what role MgATP performs in the reaction. The role of MgATP represents the coupling of the hydrolysis energy of ATP to an electron transfer reaction that occurs in a soluble system
Sex Differences in the Reward-Enhancing Effects of Nicotine on Ethanol Reinforcement: A Reinforcer Demand Analysis.

Background Alcohol is often consumed with tobacco, and dependence to alcohol and tobacco are highly comorbid. In addition, there are differences in the prevalence of nicotine- and alcohol-abuse between the sexes. Nicotine produces enhancing effects on the value of other reinforcers, which may extend to alcohol. Methods Male and female Wistar rats were trained to self-administer 15% ethanol solution in 30-minute sessions. Once ethanol self-administration was established, demand for ethanol was evaluated using an exponential reinforcer demand method, in which the response cost per reinforcer delivery was systematically increased over blocks of several sessions. Within each cost condition, rats were preinjected with nicotine (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg base, SC) or saline 5 minutes before self-administration sessions. The effects of nicotine dose and biological sex were evaluated using the estimates generated by the reinforcer demand model. Results Under saline conditions, males showed greater sensitivity to ethanol reinforcement than females. Nicotine enhanced the reinforcement value of alcohol and this varied with sex. In both sexes, 0.4 mg/kg nicotine decreased intensity of ethanol demand. However, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg nicotine decreased elasticity of ethanol demand in females, but not in males. Conclusions Nicotine enhances ethanol reinforcement, which may partially drive comorbidity between nicotine-abuse and alcohol-abuse. Males showed signs of greater ethanol reinforcement value than females under saline conditions, and nicotine attenuated this effect by increasing ethanol reinforcement value in the females. These findings highlight that a complete understanding of alcohol-abuse must include a thorough study of alcohol use in the context of other drug use, including nicotine. Implications Nicotine dose dependently enhances the alcohol reinforcement value in a manner that is clearly influenced by biological sex. Under saline baseline conditions, males show lower elasticity of demand for alcohol reinforcement than females, indicative of greater reinforcement value. However, nicotine attenuated this difference by enhancing alcohol reward in the females. Specifically, low-to-moderate doses (0.05-0.2 mg/kg) of nicotine decreased elasticity of alcohol demand in female rats, increasing the perseverance of their alcohol taking behavior. These data indicate that the well-documented reward-enhancing effects of nicotine on sensory reinforcement extend to alcohol reinforcement and that these vary with biological sex.
Absolute Oral Bioavailability of Glasdegib (PF-04449913), a Smoothened Inhibitor, in Randomized Healthy Volunteers

Glasdegib (PF‐04449913) is an oral small‐molecule inhibitor of the Hedgehog signaling pathway under development for treating myeloid malignancies. This was an open‐label phase 1, randomized, 2‐sequence, 2‐treatment, 2‐period, crossover study evaluating the absolute bioavailability of glasdegib in healthy volunteers under fasting condition ({"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03270878","term_id":"NCT03270878"}}NCT03270878). In period 1, 12 eligible subjects received either a single oral dose of glasdegib 100 mg (tablet) or a single intravenous (IV) dose of glasdegib 50 mg. Following ≥6‐day washout, subjects received the treatment that they did not receive in the first period. Blood samples were collected for up to 96 hours after dosing. Drug plasma concentrations were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Glasdegib pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using noncompartmental analysis. The mean terminal half‐life was 14.3 hours for oral tablet treatment vs 13.8 hours for glasdegib IV treatment. The absolute oral bioavailability measured as the ratios (oral/IV) of adjusted geometric mean (90% confidence interval) of dose normalized area under the plasma concentration–time curve was 77.12% (71.83%‐82.81%). Two adverse events (1 mild and 1 moderate in severity) were reported by 2 subjects following oral tablet administration; these were fully resolved by the end of the study.
INTERNAL FRICTION IN TERRESTRIAL ROCKS AT HIGH PRESSURES

ABSTRACT Recent experimental investigations show that in the seismic Q profiles for certain parts of the earth's crust there is a range of Q values from several hundred at small depths to well over 1000 at depths greater than 15 km. Experimental investigations were conducted in our laboratory on the internal friction in wet and vacuum dried olivine basalts over a pressure range from 0 to 1 kbar. The results tend to support the view that the Q variation is due to processes involving various states of H 2 O in pores and cracks.
Electromechanical instabilities in periodic dielectric elastomer composites

Abstract Several types of electromechanical instability emerge in periodic dielectric elastomer (DE) composites – either limiting the range of electromechanical actuation or providing an opportunity to harness instabilities for enhanced functionality. The electromechanical pull-in instability – extensively studied in monolithic DEs – is also encountered in periodic DE composites, and additional instability types – microscopic, macroscopic, and interfacial instabilities – arise in DE composites. For general DE composites subjected to arbitrary electromechanical loading, numerical simulation is required to detect all types of instability. In this paper, using a finite-element-based numerical simulation capability, we consider electromechanical instabilities in DE composites consisting of periodic lattices of aligned circular-cross-section fibers embedded in a matrix. We report on several types of electromechanical instabilities that are known to occur in this type of DE composite: (1) pull-in, (2) microscopic, (3) macroscopic, and (4) interfacial instabilities, while surveying a comprehensive parameter space. Namely, the roles of shear modulus contrast, electric permittivity contrast, fiber volume fraction, chain-locking behavior, mechanical prestress, prestretch, and confinement are considered. The result is an overarching view of the instability landscape in periodic, fiber-based DE composites. We conclude by showing that microscopic instabilities may be harnessed to invoke electric-field-triggered pattern transformations in certain cases.
Trust and Trustworthiness of Christians, Muslims and Atheists/Agnostics in the U.S.

Trust is a cornerstone of economic development. Further, trust is promoted within religious groups and might even be the very reason religions emerged. The U.S. stands out as particularly religious, compared to other Western countries. Yet, little is known about trust within and across its religious affiliations. We use a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine how trust and trustworthiness vary across religions (Christianity, Islam, and non-believers; atheists and agnostics) and religiosity. Three novel findings emerge. First, Christians are trusted more than other religious groups in the U.S., which is due entirely to a Christian ingroup bias – Christians trust other Christians more than they trust Muslims and atheists/agnostics, while Muslims and non-believers trust all religious groups the same. Second, religiosity matters to trust. However, the way in which it matters depends on religious beliefs and ingroups. Religious people trust those of higher religiosity more only when they are of the same religion. In contrast, non-believers trust people of higher religiosity less. Third, religious people may be more trustworthy than non-believers. Our results may help explain the cause of observed discrimination against Muslims and atheists, given discrimination often originates in distrust, and underscore the importance of policies that promote trust.
Implementing Communications and Information Dissemination Technologies for First Responders

Despite technological advances in voice communications for disaster response, firefighter fatalities continue. This highlights the inadequacies of current communication between incident commanders and those in the fireground. Through its Major Fires Investigation Project, the United States Fire Administration (USFA) repeatedly cites inadequate communication systems as a contributing factor in first responder, rescue worker, and civilian casualties. Hence, emergency Response Communication and Information Technology must be improved. Santa Clara University's Frugal Innovation Hub (FIH) has undertaken the development of a minimum viable product (MVP) that includes a novel set of mobile applications and mobile hardware devices suitable for firefighters during emergency responses. This work is an evolution of earlier research conducted by principals of IncidentAid, P.B.C. While the long-term vision for IncidentAid has been to provide software and services that cover the entire lifecyle of disaster management, one of it's immediate efforts have been to improve communications and information solutions that reach the individual first responder. FIH's prototype is an effort towards the actualization of this IncidentAid's immediate effort.
A Unified Approach to Design Compact Multi-Way Bagley Polygon Power Dividers

Planar multi-way Bagley Polygon Power Divider (BPPD) and its compact form have existed. Most of them have an odd number of outputs. Some have an even number of outputs but with a different design approach. This paper extends the idea of a BPPD with an odd number of sides to those with even number of sides, with the only modification of removing one of the sides. Unified formulas for design are thus obtained. In addition, the method of varied characteristic impedances is applied to a 6-way BPPD design as an example, resulting in an area reduction of 93.7%.
Influence of Age on Cardiac Surgery Outcomes in United States Veterans.

OBJECTIVE Heart disease is still the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and the rate of cardiovascular disease in veterans is even higher than in civilians. This study examines age-related outcomes for veterans undergoing cardiac surgeries at a single institution. METHODS We included all veterans undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or valve surgery between 1997 to 2017 at a single Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. We stratified this cohort into 4 age groups: ≤59 years old, 60-69 years old, 70-79 years old, and ≥80 years old. Outcomes in age groups were compared using standard statistical methods with the ≤59 years old group as reference. RESULTS A total of 2,301 patients underwent open cardiac procedures at our institution. The frequency of simultaneous CABG and valve operations increased with age. Usage of cardiopulmonary bypass versus off-pump CABG and operative time was not associated with age. Increased pulmonary and renal complications as well as rates of postoperative arrhythmias all were associated with increasing age. There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality. However, multivariable analysis adjusted for covariates showed all-cause mortality significantly was increased with older age groups (aHR ≥80 years old: 2.94 [2.07-4.17], P < .01; aHR 70-79 years old: 2.15 [1.63-2.83], P < 0.01, with ≤59 years old as reference). CONCLUSIONS Older patients may have comparable perioperative mortality as their younger counterparts. However, age still is a significant predictor of all-cause mortality, pulmonary and renal complications, and postoperative arrhythmia, and should be considered as a major factor in preoperative risk assessment.
A mutation associated with stress resistance in mice is associated with human grip strength and mortality.

Hand grip strength (GS) is a valid and reliable predictor of future morbidity and mortality and is considered a useful indicator of aging. In this paper, we use results from the genetic analysis in...
Paratesticular clear cell carcinoma of müllerian origin—A case report

Abstract Ovarian epithelial-type tumors of the testis and paratestis are very rare, comprising
Cultural alienation: A concept analysis

Aim To analyze the concept of cultural alienation BACKGROUND: Culturally diverse populations are increasing nationwide. However, many culturally diverse clients have experienced cultural alienation. Design Rodgerian's method of concept analysis DATA SOURCE: Literature in CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, JSTOR, Scopus, LGBT Life, and Oxford Bibliographic databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were full text, peer-reviewed, English language, and published within 5 years. Review methods Articles were read in their entirety and reread to determine more contextual data. Antecedents, attributes, and consequences were extracted. Results Fifteen studies were included. Antecedents included: identification with racial, ethnic, sexual minority, disability, chronic illness, and threat to way of life. Attributes were traditional, different, negotiator, preserving, and sustaining. Consequences resulted in sociocultural deprivation, resistance, mistrust, distrust, loss of identity, and racism. Conclusions Nurses, health care providers, and communities can better support and engage their clients by working together to create an inclusive environment, in which exists a safe space to work, play, and heal. Findings highlight the need to examine one's own assumptions, inquire about the client's cultural care needs, tailor communication at the client's level, acknowledge individual strengths, provide empathetic support, and promote autonomy.
A Distributional Analysis of the Cost of Foodborne Illness: Who Ultimately Pays?

This paper traces the economic impact of the costs of foodborne illness on the U.S. economy using a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) framework. Previous estimates of the costs of seven foodborne pathogens are disaggregated by type, and distributed across the population using data from the National Health Interview Survey. Initial income losses resulting from premature death cause a decrease in economic activity. Medical costs, in contrast, result in economic growth, though this growth does not outweigh the total costs of premature death. A SAM accounting of how the costs of illness are diffused through the economy provides useful information for policy makers.
Bayesian Optimization of Multiobjective Functions Using Multiple Information Sources

Multiobjective optimization is often a difficult task owing to the need to balance competing objectives. A typical approach to handling this is to estimate a Pareto frontier in objective space by i...
Management of COVID-19: Current Status and Future Prospects.

COVID-19, a highly transmissible pandemic disease, affecting millions of lives around the world. Severely infected patients show acute respiratory distress symptoms. Sustainable management strategies are required to save the lives of the infected people and further preventing spread of the virus. Diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination development initiatives are already exhibited from the scientific community to fight against this virus. In this review, we primarily discuss the management strategies including Prevention of spread, prophylaxis, vaccinations, and treatment for COVID-19. Further, analysis of vaccine development status and performance are also briefly discussed. Global social and economic impact of COVID-19 are also analyzed as part of this review.
Changes in Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans and oral health conditions following Prenatal Total Oral Rehabilitation among underserved pregnant women

Objectives To assess the oral health condition and oral microbial outcomes from receiving an innovative treatment regimen - Prenatal Total Oral Rehabilitation (PTOR). Methods This prospective cohort study included 15 pregnant women in the PTOR group who had a baseline visit before PTOR and three follow-up visits (immediate after, 2 weeks and 2 months) after receiving PTOR. A historical control group of additional 15 pregnant women was matched from a separate study based on a propensity score. Along with demographic and medical background, oral health conditions and perinatal oral health literacy were assessed. Oral samples (saliva and plaque) were analyzed to identify and quantify Streptococcus mutans and Candida species by culturing-dependent and -independent methods. Results Significant reductions of salivary S. mutans were observed following PTOR, the effect remained until 2-month follow-up (p < 0.05). The carriage of salivary and plaque S. mutans at the 2-month visit of the PTOR group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). Oral health conditions reflected by BOP and PI were significantly improved upon receiving PTOR (p < 0.05). Receiving PTOR significantly improved the perinatal oral health literacy score, and the knowledge retained until 2-month follow-up (p < 0.05). Conclusions PTOR is associated with an improvement in oral health conditions and perinatal oral health literacy, and a reduction in S. mutans carriage, within a 2-month follow-up period. Future clinical trials are warranted to comprehensively assess the impact of PTOR on the maternal oral flora other than S. mutans and Candida, birth outcomes, and their offspring's oral health.
Transcript accumulation rates in the early C. elegans embryo

Dynamic changes in transcription are widespread in the developing embryo, where cell cycles are rapid and cell fate decisions sometimes need to be made quickly, before the next cell division. In the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, specification of the intestine relies on high absolute levels of transcription factors that are a part of the gut gene regulatory network. These absolute levels are likely achieved by controlled transcript accumulation rates. However, accumulation rates have not been measured globally in the worm embryo. We used single cell RNA-seq data from the early C. elegans embryo to estimate the accumulation rates of zygotic genes up to the 24-cell stage. We find that rapid transcript accumulation is a characteristic feature of transcription factors across different cell types and lineages. We identified genomic features associated with high transcription rates and core promoter motifs that might drive these rates. For one Very High-rate gene ceh-51, which is required for mesoderm development, we measured the contributions of core promoter elements to rate. We find that each of these motifs contribute modestly to the accumulation rate of ceh-51, suggesting a complex relationship between promoter motifs and gene structure in controlling transcript accumulation rates. These results are a step towards understanding the regulation of transcript accumulation rates during embryonic cell fate specification.
In memoriam: Mitchell B. Chamlin

John K. Cochran is Professor and Chair of Criminology at the University of South Florida. Professor Cochran earned his Ph. D. in Sociology at the University of Florida (1987). He has over 140 peer-...
The Enjoyment of Surprises

IN 1919, EINSTEIN TURNED 40 YEARS OLD. Having made incredible contributions to physics, he decided that with the help of a grand field theory, he would explain everything. From then on, his contributions to physics stopped. Today, many leading physicists have decided to imitate Einstein and find the final wisdoms in GUT (grand unified theory).
Footnotes to Teacher Leadership

scape for some time now. Since the mid-1980s, teachers have been looked to with increasing regularity as agents of school and classroom change. Their leadership has been promoted in a number of different ways, from involving them in school-level and district-level decision making; to creating specific leadership roles related to teacher professional development and instructional improvement; to encouraging informal and collaborative leadership work on teams, as part of school professional community, and through initiatives to develop distributed leadership. The proliferation of opportunities for teacher leadership development in recent years reveals a great deal of faith and confidence in its efficacy for promoting teacher professionalization and school improvement. With the proliferation of opportunities for teacher leadership has come increasing attention to the subject in the scholarly and professional literature. This literature now spans almost 30 years. A substantial amount of research has examined the development, exercise, and outcomes of different forms of teacher leadership. Other research has examined conditions that shape its function and effectiveness. This literature has been reviewed with increasing regularity. Several major reviews have been published in the past 10 years (Murphy, 2005; Smylie, Conley, & Marks, 2002; York-Barr & Duke, 2004; see also Lieberman & Miller, 2004), including one in the first edition of this handbook (Smylie, 1997). These reviews are extensive treatments of theory and empirical findings concerning teacher leadership and together they provide a clear and comprehensive picture of the history and state of the art of the research. Even though the study of teacher leadership continues unabated, we chose not to write another review of research findings and duplicate much of what has been done so recently. Instead we appropriated the idea for this chapter from a paper published some time ago by James March titled “Footnotes to Organizational Change” (1981). March stated in the introduction to that paper that his intention was not to review the findings of a rapidly growing empirical literature on organizational change. That task was left others. Instead, his purpose was to introduce several “footnotes” to the research, to “comment” on the corpus of knowledge at the time, and to “identify a few speculations stimulated by previous work” (p. 563). March’s footnotes were intended to draw attention to overlooked but potentially important FOOTNOTES TO TEACHER LEADERSHIP
Ampair 600 Wind Turbine Three-Bladed Assembly Substructuring Using the Transmission Simulator Method

This paper contains an example of the transmission simulator method for experimental dynamic substructuring using the Ampair 600 Wind Turbine. The structure of interest is the hub-and-three-bladed assembly. A single blade and hub is used as a substructure to develop a model for the hub-and-three-bladed assembly. The single-blade-and-hub substructure was developed from elastic modes of a free-free test and rigid body modes analytically derived from measured mass properties. This substructure can be rotated and replicated using the hub as a transmission simulator. Substructuring calculations were then performed using the transmission simulator method to derive a model of the hub-and-three-bladed assembly. This paper concludes with a comparison for this combined model to truth data derived from a free-free modal test of the entire rotor.
Neuroscience and Ideology: Why Science Can Never Supply a Complete Answer for Adolescent Immaturity

This paper argues that to resolve the issues about the role of neuroscience, we need to question the framework in which it arises. The increasing complexity of scientific determinations raises issues of institutional capacity. Recognizing innovations in the science of adolescent development may change not so much our view of adolescence as the calculus underlying institutional functions. Consider the issue of the juvenile death penalty or a life sentence for a crime committed by a fifteen-year-old. The fact that adolescent reasoning has not yet matured may or may not make the sentence cruel. But the ability to determine whether a particular fifteen-year old is capable of reasoned deliberation may be a more difficult task than judging whether fifteen-year-olds as a group have such capacity. Abolishing the juvenile death penalty may be the right answer not so much because adolescent decision-making is necessarily flawed, but because deciding whether it is in individual cases is impossible. At the same time, such a decision should not be resolved, in any absolute sense, on the basis of neuroscience findings. Instead, they can be at best a strand in a complex decision that situates the idea of justice, rather than cognitive capacity, in an appropriate societal framework. To consider the appropriate construction of such frameworks, this paper describes the promise and limitations of neuroscientific advances, comparing legal decision-making capacity in individual cases versus broader matters of constitutional doctrine or public policy, analyzing recent US Supreme Court decisions on the juvenile death penalty, and assessing the role of neuroscience in the different possible outcomes of that case. The paper concludes that Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion gave the appropriate weight to the sense; it is an element supporting, but not dictating, a conclusion the court reached on broader grounds.
The myosin filament: II. Interaction between myosin and actin filaments observed using antibody staining in fluorescent and electron microscopy

Abstract Using absorption techniques and fluorescent antimyosin staining, it is possible to identify three antigenically specific regions on the myosin molecule. The availability of these regions for antibody staining in different parts of the A-band reflects differences in the organization of myosin molecules in these parts. These results confirm and extend previous observations. The relationship of these results to the model of the myosin filament presented in the accompanying paper provides information concerning the interaction between the myosin and the actin filaments. The three antigenically distinct regions of the myosin molecule correspond to the two fragments produced by the action of trypsin (heavy meromyosin and light meromyosin) and the region of the molecule sensitive to trypsin digestion. The availability of these antigenic sites is as follows: (1) heavy meromyosin antigenic sites are available in the A-band only where no overlap of thin and thick filaments occurs. Everywhere else these sites are interacting with the actin filaments. (2) Trypsin-sensitive antigenic sites are only available in the middle one-third of each half of the A-band. In this region the myosin molecules in the filaments are precisely packed, leading to stable aggregation. On interaction with actin the myosin molecules are not able to bend out of the filament easily so that light meromyosin sites never become available for staining. Thus severe distortions are imposed on the hinge (trypsin-sensitive) portion of the cross-bridge, exposing sites otherwise unavailable for staining. (3) Light meromyosin antigenic sites are available only at the lateral edges of the A-band. In this region the packing of the molecules is affected by the taper of the filament and the molecules are able to bend out of the filament more easily on interaction with actin. Little or no distortion is imposed on the hinge region and no trypsin-sensitive sites are available for staining.
A novel negative element in the promoter of the mouse alcohol dehydrogenase gene Adh-1

The mouse alcohol dehydrogenase gene, Adh-1, is expressed in a tissue-specific manner. We examined the promoter activity of a series of 5' deletions extending from bp -473 to -47 and demonstrated that there are positive regulatory elements between bp -229 and +54 and a negative regulatory element between bp -323 and -229. To identify the sequence of the negative regulatory element, gel retardation and DNase I footprint assays were performed using nuclear proteins from mouse liver and from a hepatoma cell line, H4IIE-C3. A specific protein-binding site covered bp -324 and -297. Within this region, we identified sites of close protein-DNA contact by methylation interference assays, located in the sequence TGGAAGTTTCAGGTT (nt -316 to -302). Site-directed mutagenesis of four protein-DNA contact sites within this sequence eliminated the specific protein-DNA binding, assayed by gel retardation, and restored expression of Adh-1 in transient transfection assays to the levels seen when the entire region containing the negative element was deleted. Thus, we have identified a negative regulatory element within the Adh-1 promoter. No homology was found between this negative element and other regulatory elements, suggesting that this is a novel negative element.
Ammonia neurotoxicity: role of the mitochondrial permeability transition.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with severe liver disease. Although the mechanisms responsible for HE remain elusive, ammonia is generally considered to be involved in its pathogenesis, and astrocytes are thought to be the principal target of ammonia neurotoxicity. Altered bioenergetics and oxidative stress are also thought to play a major role in this disorder. In this paper, we present data invoking the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) as a factor in the pathogenesis of HE/hyperammonemia. The MPT is a Ca2+-dependent, cyclosporin A (CsA) sensitive process due to the opening of a pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane that leads to a collapse of ionic gradients and ultimately to mitochondrial dysfunction. Many of the factors that facilitate the induction of the MPT are also known to be implicated in the mechanism of HE, including free radicals, Ca2+, nitric oxide, alkaline pH, and glutamine. We have recently shown that treatment of cultured astrocytes with 5 mM NH4Cl resulted in a dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), which was sensitive to CsA. Similarly treated cultured neurons failed to show a loss of the ΔΨm. Further support for the ammonia induction of the MPT was obtained by observing an increase in mitochondrial permeability to 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate, and a decrease in calcein fluorescence in astrocytes after ammonia treatment, both of which were also blocked by CsA. CsA was likewise capable of exerting a protective effect against hyperammonemia in mice. Taken together, our data suggest that the MPT represents an important component of the pathogenesis of HE and other hyperammonemic states.
Experimental study of a shock accelerated water layer with imaging and velocity measurement

A shock tube investigation of a shocked water layer is undertaken to study the mitigating effects that a liquid sheet may provide for the protection of cooling tubes in an inertial fusion energy reactor chamber. The shock wave blast from the fusion microexplosion will cause the protecting liquid layer to break apart and the liquid droplets will then be suspended throughout the chamber. Some reactor designs require clearing the chamber (approximately 115 m3) between reactions, and therefore, the understanding of how a shock-accelerated liquid layer breaks up could be a critical consideration in the design. A large vertical shock tube is used to conduct shock-accelerated liquid layer experiments to model this scenario. A planar shock wave contacts, and then accelerates, a water layer down the shock tube where it is imaged in the test section using shadowgraphy and laser sheet techniques. Quantitative data of the water layer velocity inside the shock tube is measured using an array of photodiodes. It is found that the measured velocity of the leading edge of the shocked water layer is nearly constant, and this velocity is slightly less than the particle velocity behind the incident shock.
6. Shock Wave Techniques for Geophysics and Planetary Physics

Publisher Summary Shock wave techniques have a special place in the study of the earth's interior and the interiors of both the terrestrial and major plants because virtually the entire pressure and temperature ranges existing within these objects can be achieved in the laboratory. Shock wave methods have historically seen most applications in the measurement of density at high pressure. This chapter discusses other properties of earth and planetary materials whose measurements including sound speed and temperature. Both optical and electronic techniques are used to measure shock propagation times through samples and hence shock velocity. These are often used in conjunction with particle velocity and shock pressure profile measurements and radiative measurements of shock temperatures. Two methods that continue to be used for measuring shock velocities through samples and buffer materials are the flash-gap method and the reflected light method. Although some measurements of shock temperatures in the metals have been carried out using thermistors and the thermoelectric effect, most determinations of shock temperatures have been carried out radiatively by analysis of radiations from transparent media, many of the these being minerals.
Effects of 7, 12-dimethylbenz (a)Anthracene (DMBA) Treatment on Serum Oxidative and Nitrositive Stress in Obese Zucker Rats

Epidemiological studies showed that obese women have higher mortality rates from all cancers including breast cancer. Previously we reported that obesity effects methylation and create higher oxida...
A Non-binary Parallel Arithmetic Architecture

In this paper we present a novel parallel arithmetic architecture using an efficient non-binary logic scheme. We show that by using parallel broadcasting (or domino propagating) state signals, on short reconfigurable buses equipped with a type of switches, called GP (generate-propagate) shift switches, several arithmetic operations can be carried out efficiently. We extend a recently proposed shift switching mechanism by letting the switch array automatically generate a semaphore to indicate the end of each domino process. This reduces the complexity of the architecture and improves the performance significantly.
Interaction between regional and industrial policies : evidence from four countries

After World War II, policies to promote industrialization - both to substitute for manufactured imports and to encourage exports based on unskilled labor - often successfully complemented regional policies to better distribute economic activity. The recent shift toward high technology, however, has strongly favored major urban areas, undermining efforts at regional decentralization and stabilization. Furthermore, countries are increasingly abandoning top-down regional policy and passing on responsibility for development to provincial and local levels, setting off vigorous iterregional competition for economic activity and often favoring a few, relatively well-endowed regions. Evidence from Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States shows how the recent emphasis on high-tech exports and decentralizaed regional policy may reinforce polarization and slow progress toward eliminating regional growth and income differentials.
Structure of human steroid 21-hydroxylase genes

We have determined the structure of cDNA and two genomic genes encoding steroid 21-hydroxylase [21-OHase; steroid 21-monooxygenase; steroid, hydrogen-donor:oxygen oxidoreductase (21-hydroxylating); EC 1.14.99.10]. If this cytochrome P-450 enzyme is defective, cortisol cannot be synthesized, resulting in congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The cDNA encoding this enzyme is 2.0 kilobases long, and the encoded protein is predicted to contain 494 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 55,000. This enzyme is at most 28% homologous to other P-450 enzymes that have been studied. The 21-OHase genomic genes, which are located in the HLA major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6, each contain 10 exons. This structure is distinct from other characterized P-450 genes, which contain 7 or 9 exons. Studies of individuals with homozygous deletions of the 21-OHase A or B genes suggest that only the B gene encodes an active enzyme. This is confirmed by the finding that the A gene has an 8-base deletion within codons 110-112, resulting in a frameshift that brings a stop codon into the reading frame at codon 130. A second frameshift and a nonsense mutation occur downstream. In contrast, the sequence of the exons of the B gene is identical to the cDNA sequence. The 21-OHase A gene is, therefore, a pseudogene.
The effect of acclimation and acclimatization on the resting metabolic rate of the common redpoll

Abstract 1. 1. Average resting metabolic rates at thermal neutrality of common redpolls (Acanthis = Carduelis flammea) tested in the dark during the day did not differ among all conditions of acclimation (20°C, 0°C, t20°C and light: dark cycles of 12 : 12 and 20 : 4 hr) and acclimatization to season (6·84 kcal/bird per 24 hr) except in winter (9·47 kcal/bird per 24 hr). The former value agrees with the prediction of Aschoff & Pohl (1969). 2. 2. There were statistically significant differences in slope or level of the regression lines of metabolic rate vs. ambient temperature among most acclimation groups but the only trend evident was that metabolic rates of birds acclimated to short photoperiods (4 : 20) at moderate temperatures (20°C) were elevated in the cold in an amount equivalent to that of those either acclimatized to winter or acclimated to cold (−20°C). 3. 3. Winter and summer metabolic rates were higher than those in spring and fall at low ambient temperatures indicating either an increased requirement for metabolic capacity in winter and summer or conversely a decreased resting energy requirement in spring and fall. 4. 4. Heat loss coefficients of redpolls below the critical temperature (0·819 cal/g per hr per °C) were lower than those measured on dead birds of the same body weight (Herreid & Kessel, 1967). 5. 5. The hypothesis that the slope of the metabolic rate vs. temperature regression line of birds tested for short periods of time (ca. 1 hr) at the temperature of acclimation would be flat as is found in studies utilizing the food consumption method (several days) was not substantiated for the small (14 g) redpoll. However, when applied to the larger (550 g) willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) the hypothesis held true.
Field Tuning and Quantum Criticality in Ytterbium Based Heavy Electron Compounds

We review here the results of magnetization, specific heat, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements conducted on Yb3Pt4, Yb2Pt2Pb, Yb5Pt9, and YbRh2Pb, which indicate that the Yb moments in these heavy electron compounds are appreciably localized, at least in their paramagnetic states. The magnetic ground states in each are isolated magnetic doublets, and we show that magnetic fields suppress long ranged magnetic order and lead to a characteristic magnetic field-temperature phase diagram where order vanishes suddenly above a critical value for the field. We argue that the stability of magnetic order in these compounds arises from the competition between the Zeeman splitting gμBH of the ground state doublet, which favors a spin polarized state with minimal entropy and without long range order, and the exchange splitting Δ of the doublet, which enables long ranged magnetic order.
A Low Complexity Protocol for Relay Channels Employing Rateless Codes and Acknowledgement

We provide a low complexity communication protocol for relay channels that can achieve a significant rate reliably even when a code word spans only finite number of fading blocks on average. Both full duplex and half duplex relay are considered. In the past, when a fixed rate code word spans a finite number of fading blocks, the capacity is zero. Therefore, a large amount of research has tried to reduce outage probability and increase throughput, such as the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) diversity-and-multiplexing-gain-tradeoff study of relay channels. Differently, the protocol in this paper achieves a significant information rate with asymptotically zero error probability (no outage) when the number of information bits represented by a code word increases to infinity. This performance is achieved by employing rateless codes and acknowledgements so that the destination obtains just enough mutual information to decode. This approach has the advantages that the protocol is not channel statistics dependent, has low complexity, is power efficient, has high performance, and can be easily generalized to other network communication settings.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia isolated from cystic fibrosis patients bind specifically to gangliotetraosylceramide (asialo GM1) and gangliotriaosylceramide (asialo GM2)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in the lungs is a leading cause of death of patients with cystic fibrosis, yet a specific receptor that mediates adhesion of the bacteria to host tissue has not been identified. To examine the possible role of carbohydrates for bacterial adhesion, two species of Pseudomonas isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis were studied for binding to glycolipids. P. aeruginosa and P. cepacia labeled with 125I were layered on thin-layer chromatograms of separated glycolipids and bound bacteria were detected by autoradiography. Both isolates bound specifically to asialo GM1 (Gal beta 1-3GalNAc beta 1-4Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer) and asialo GM2 (GalNAc beta 1-4Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer) but not to lactosylceramide (Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer), globoside (GalNAc beta 1-3Gal alpha 1-4Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer), paragloboside (Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer), or several other glycolipids that were tested. Asialo GM1 and asialo GM2 bound the bacteria equally well, exhibiting similar binding curves in solid-phase binding assays with a detection limit of 200 ng of either glycolipid. Both isolates also did not bind to GM1, GM2, or GDla suggesting that substitution of the glycolipids with sialosyl residues prevents binding. As the Pseudomonas do not bind to lactosylceramide, the beta-N-acetylgalactosamine residue, positioned internally in asialo GM1 and terminally in asialo GM2, is probably required for binding. beta-N-Acetylgalactosamine itself, however, is not sufficient as the bacteria do not bind to globoside or to the Forssman glycolipid. These data suggest that P. aeruginosa and P. cepacia recognize at least terminal or internal GalNAc beta 1-4Gal sequences in glycolipids which may be receptors for these pathogenic bacteria.
Prolonged infusions of dexmedetomidine in critically ill patients

Purpose The efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine when used longer than the manufacturer-recommended 24 hours were evaluated Summary Dexmedetomidine is the newest agent available for use in the critical care setting to induce and maintain sedation and analgesia. However, concerns over efficacy and safety during prolonged administration are a limiting factor for use in this patient population. A literature review was conducted to assess the clinical evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine for longer than 24 hours. A total of 11 studies were identified. Of these trials, 6 included adult patients and 5 included pediatric patients. Of the 6 adult trials, 3 comparative trials demonstrated a similar efficacy with benzodiazepines (i.e., midazolam and lorazepam) or propofol, with a reduction in the incidence of delirium and coma associated with dexmedetomidine. In noncomparative trials, dexmedetomidine was efficacious in achieving sedation goals with only mild adverse effects. In the 5 pediatric trials evaluated, efficacy to achieve a target sedation scale score could not be assessed, as most studies did not use validated sedation scales to measure goal sedation. Alternatively, the safety of dexmedetomidine has been demonstrated throughout an extended duration of use. In all of the studies evaluated, dexmedetomidine was associated with bradycardia; however, there were no reports of withdrawal effects, including rebound tachycardia and hypertension, upon discontinuation of dexmedetomidine infusion. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine is an alternative to traditional sedatives and analgesics in critically ill patients. The safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine in adults likely persist beyond 24 hours, without the emergence of rebound effects after discontinuation.
Gifted Education in China.

China has one-fifth of the world's population, with 350 million children under the age of fourteen—many of these children have specific gifts and talents, and Chinese educators have taken steps in ...
Methotrexate di-n-butyl ester effects on thymidine metabolism.

Abstract The effects of methotrexate di-n-butyl ester (DBMTX) on thymidine (dThd) metabolism in cultured L1210 cells have been studied. In contrast to methotrexate. DBMTX markedly suppresses the incorporation of exogenous radiolabeled dThd into DNA. Uptake of dThd into the pools of thymidine nucleotides is decreased markedly. The DNA polymerases and thymidine kinase were unaffected by DBMTX in vitro. There was no net efflux of soluble dThd DNA precursors from cells. No specific block at any of the phosphorylation steps was found. dThd transport, however, was inhibited significantly, as were deoxyuridine (dUrd) and uridine (Urd) transport. These results suggest that DBMTX inhibits dThd incorporation by inhibiting initial transport of dThd across the cell membrane.