cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Medication safety and pharmacovigilance resources for the ambulatory care setting: enhancing patient safety

Reputable medication safety resources are fundamental to assist in reducing medication errors and educating consumers. The purpose of this article is to describe medication safety and pharmacovigilance electronic and mobile resources that are available to pharmacists to enhance patient safety in the ambulatory care setting at the national level through the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), American Medicine Chest Challenge, and Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Information concerning drug disposal methods is available through the FDA, DEA, and the American Medicine Chest Challenge Rx Drop app. The ISMP provides a variety of tools for reporting and preventing medication errors including Assess-ERR and ConsumerMedSafety.org. Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) were created as a requirement of the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 to ensure that the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks. Health care professionals are encouraged to report adverse drug events through the FDA’s MedWatch reporting system. Pharmacists have a variety of useful resources for their medication safety and pharmacovigilance toolbox. Studies should evaluate the use of these resources by pharmacists and consumers.
Efficient Discrimination of Temporal Patterns by Motion-Sensitive Neurons in Primate Visual Cortex

Although motion-sensitive neurons in macaque middle temporal (MT) area are conventionally characterized using stimuli whose velocity remains constant for 1-3 s, many ecologically relevant stimuli change on a shorter time scale (30-300 ms). We compared neuronal responses to conventional (constant-velocity) and time-varying stimuli in alert primates. The responses to both stimulus ensembles were well described as rate-modulated Poisson processes but with very high precision (approximately 3 ms) modulation functions underlying the time-varying responses. Information-theoretic analysis revealed that the responses encoded only approximately 1 bit/s about constant-velocity stimuli but up to 29 bits/s about the time-varying stimuli. Analysis of local field potentials revealed that part of the residual response variability arose from "noise" sources extrinsic to the neuron. Our results demonstrate that extrastriate neurons in alert primates can encode the fine temporal structure of visual stimuli.
Cu/CuI-coated hollow glass waveguides for delivery of infrared radiation

IR-transmissive hollow waveguides have been fabricated by depositing Cu and CuI thin-film coatings inside silica and polycarbonate tubing. These guides, which are similar in design to Ag/AgI-coated ones, have straight losses as low as 0.19 dB/m for a 1000-µm-bore waveguide at 10.6 µm. They also transmit IR wavelengths from 2 to more than 15 µm. This makes them very useful for broadband IR applications, including chemical sensing and radiometry, as well as for use in the delivery of IR laser power for laser surgery and low-power cutting. The thin-film coatings are deposited using a liquid-chemistry technique in which a Cu film is first formed on the inside of the tubing, followed by the deposition of the dielectric CuI layer. The thickness of the CuI layer is adjusted to give low loss at specific IR laser wavelengths or to give a broadband response for the transmission of incoherent light.
The scaffold protein CNK1 interacts with the tumor suppressor RASSF1A and augments RASSF1A-induced cell death.

The connector enhancer of KSR (CNK) is a multidomain scaffold protein discovered in Drosophila, where it is necessary for Ras activation of the Raf kinase. Recent studies have shown that CNK1 also interacts with RalA and Rho and participates in some aspects of signaling by these GTPases. Herein we demonstrate a novel aspect of CNK1 function, i.e. reexpression of CNK1 suppresses tumor cell growth and promotes apoptosis. As shown previously for apoptosis induced by Ki-Ras(G12V), CNK1-induced apoptosis is suppressed by a dominant inhibitor of the mammalian sterile 20 kinases 1 and (MST1/MST2). Immunoprecipitates of MST1 endogenous to LoVo colon cancer cells contain endogenous CNK1; however, no association of these two polypeptides can be detected in a yeast two-hybrid assay. CNK1 does, however, bind directly to the RASSF1A and RASSF1C polypeptides, constitutive binding partners of the MST1/2 kinases. Deletion of the MST1 carboxyl-terminal segment that mediates its binding to RASSF1A/C eliminates the association of MST1 with CNK1. Coexpression of CNK1 with the tumor suppressive isoform, RASSF1A, greatly augments CNK1-induced apoptosis, whereas the nonsuppressive RASSF1C isoform is without effect on CNK1-induced apoptosis. Overexpression of CNK1-(1–282), a fragment that binds RASSF1A but is not proapoptotic, blocks the apoptosis induced by CNK1 and by Ki-Ras(G12V). Thus, in addition to its positive role in the proliferative outputs of active Ras, the CNK1 scaffold protein, through its binding of a RASSF1A·MST complex, also participates in the proapoptotic signaling initiated by active Ras.
Development and validation of an NMR-based identity assay for bacterial polysaccharides.

A method utilizing NMR spectroscopy has been developed to confirm the identity of bacterial polysaccharides used to formulate a polyvalent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. The method is based on 600 MHz proton NMR spectra of individual serotype-specific polysaccharides. A portion of the anomeric region of each spectrum (5.89 to 4.64 ppm) is compared to spectra generated for designated reference samples for each polysaccharide of interest. The selected region offers a spectral window that is unique to a given polysaccharide and is sensitive to any structural alteration of the repeating units. The similarity of any two spectral profiles is evaluated using a correlation coefficient (rho), where rho >/= 0.95 between a sample and reference profile indicates a positive identification of the sample polysaccharide. This method has been shown to be extremely selective in its ability to discriminate between serotype-specific polysaccharides, some of which differ by no more than a single glycosidic linkage. Furthermore, the method is rapid and does not require extensive sample manipulations or pretreatments. The method was validated as a qualitative identity assay and will be incorporated into routine quality control testing of polysaccharide powders to be used in preparation of the polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine PNEUMOVAX 23. The specificity and reproducibility of the NMR-based identity assay is superior to the currently used colorimetric assays and can be readily adapted for use with other bacterial polysaccharide preparations as well.
The local electronic structure of α-Li3N

New theoretical and experimental investigations of the occupied and unoccupied local electronic densities of states (DOS) are reported for alpha-Li(3)N. Band-structure and density-functional theory calculations confirm the absence of covalent bonding character. However, real-space full-multiple-scattering (RSFMS) calculations of the occupied local DOS find less extreme nominal valences than have previously been proposed. Nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering, RSFMS calculations, and calculations based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation are used to characterize the unoccupied electronic final states local to both the Li and N sites. There is a good agreement between experiment and theory. Throughout the Li 1s near-edge region, both experiment and theory find strong similarities in the s-and p-type components of the unoccupied local final DOS projected onto an orbital angular momentum basis (l-DOS). An unexpected, significant correspondence exists between the near-edge spectra for the Li 1s and N 1s initial states. We argue that both spectra are sampling essentially the same final DOS due to the combination of long core-hole lifetimes, long photoelectron lifetimes, and the fact that orbital angular momentum is the same for all relevant initial states. Such considerations may be generally applicable for low atomic number compounds.
Post-Heart Transplant (HT) Survival for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD)

Purpose We sought to characterize the ACHD HT experience at a single referral institute. Methods and Materials We analyzed our HT database. All OHT patients aged ≥ 18 years from 2001-2011 were included. Longitudinal survival was examined with Kaplan-Meier & adjusted Cox PH regression. Follow-up time was censored at 1 year. Data from UNOS registry (2001-2011) was compared. Results In our institution, 728 HT patients were identified, with 699 non-ACHD & 29 ACHD. Overall, 34.6% were ischemic & 65.4% were non-ischemic. Overall age was 52.4 ± 13.8 years, with ACHD younger than non-ACHD (34.9 ± 14.6 versus 53.1 ± 13.3, p Figure 1a ). After adjusting for age, ACHD had worse survival at 30 days [OR 5.3 (95% CI 1.0-28.7), p = 0.05], 60 days [5.7 (1.4-22.7), 0.015], & 6 months [3.9 (1.3-12.1), 0.017]. This difference resolved at 1 year [1.8 (0.6-5.3), 0.277]. In UNOS, there were 465 ACHD HT-only from 2001-2011. When comparing our experience to UNOS ( Figure 1b ), there was no significant difference, but an apparent trend toward improved survival in our ACHD cohort (30-, 60- & 365-day survival of 84.2%, 81.9%, & 77.4%). Conclusions Management of ACHD patients with heart failure remains challenging with OHT as a viable strategy for end-stage disease. In our experience, ACHD patients have increased mortality early post-transplant that persists to 6 months. However, ACHD patients have similar survival by 1 year. When compared to UNOS ACHD, there was no significant difference in survival for 2001-2011, although a trend toward improved survival existed despite a complex referral base.
Arabidopsis thaliana wax synthase gene homologues show diverse expression patterns that suggest a specialized role for these genes in reproductive organs

Wax esters perform a wide variety of important functions in bacteria, plants, and animals. In plants, wax esters are integral components of the protective cuticles and also serve as primary carbon and energy storage compounds in the seeds of some species such as Simmondsia chinensis. Wax synthases catalyze wax ester formation from fatty acids and alcohols. While wax synthase activity has only been demonstrated for a few proteins, many putative wax synthases have been identified in sequence databases based on homology to known wax synthases. Twelve wax synthase homologues were previously identified in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequence. Establishing function(s) for these genes has proven difficult since prior studies failed to detect expression of any of these genes. Here we present results from reverse transcriptase PCR experiments and analysis of publicly available gene expression databases which show that eleven of these twelve homologues are expressed in Arabidopsis, with a bias toward expression in reproductive organs, and that one of the putative homologues is likely to be a pseudogene. These results are discussed relative to other previously described wax synthases as well as numerous new homologues that are being discovered as sequence databases expand.
Generalized Davenport-Schinzel sequences and their 0-1 matrix counterparts

A generalized Davenport-Schinzel sequence is one over a finite alphabet whose subsequences are not isomorphic to a forbidden subsequence @s. What is the maximum length of such a @s-free sequence, as a function of its alphabet size n? Is the extremal function linear or nonlinear? And what characteristics of @s determine the answers to these questions? It is known that such sequences have length at most [email protected]?2^(^@a^(^n^)^)^^^O^^^(^^^1^^^), where @a is the inverse-Ackermann function and the O(1) depends on @s. We resolve a number of open problems on the extremal properties of generalized Davenport-Schinzel sequences. Among our results:1.We give a nearly complete characterization of linear and nonlinear @[email protected]?{a,b,c}^@? over a three-letter alphabet. Specifically, the only repetition-free minimally nonlinear forbidden sequences are ababa and abcacbc. 2.We prove there are at least four minimally nonlinear forbidden sequences. 3.We prove that in many cases, doubling a forbidden sequence has no significant effect on its extremal function. For example, [email protected]?s upper bounds on alternating sequences of the form (ab)^t and (ab)^ta, for t>=3, can be extended to forbidden sequences of the form (aabb)^t and (aabb)^ta. 4.Finally, we show that the absence of simple subsequences in @s tells us nothing about @[email protected]?s extremal function. For example, for any t, there exists a @s"t avoiding ababa whose extremal function is @W([email protected]?2^@a^^^t^(^n^)). Most of our results are obtained by translating questions about generalized Davenport-Schinzel sequences into questions about the density of 0-1 matrices avoiding certain forbidden submatrices. We give new and often tight bounds on the extremal functions of numerous forbidden 0-1 matrices.
Mapping into a Structure: A Method for Studying Social Cognition

Many different techniques are used to study social cognition. Some of these have been used often; others have not, and therefore lack the development they may deserve. This paper describes a technique which should be of value to investigators concerned with a variety of questions. While the specific content of the illustrations used here may be of inherent interest to some investigators, the potential of the method itself is the main justification for this paper. To study social cognition the investigator often uses a survey technique in which people are asked what they believe other people would think or do in a particular siruation. Or, people may be asked to impose a structure upon social elements ( Kuethe, 1962 ) . Sometimes people's errors of memory are investigated and their errors in reconstructing a social structure are the source of data (Kuethe, 1964). Those ~nrerested in this literature and related problems are familiar with many variations of these methods. The fact that one of these methods consists in having people impose a structure on some array of social elements leads one to wonder about the potentialities of a converse method. This method would be based on presenting individuals with a structure and requesting them to map social elements into this predetermined framework. This approach has in fact been used, but usually not in its purest form. Ziller and Grossman (1967) presented subjects with structures into which they were requested to map a social element in relation to another element which already has a place in the strucrure. For example, a symbol for "self" could be placed above, below, or to the side of, a symbol for "father" as well as at varying distances from it. Ziller employs many different structures and different social elements which the subject can insert in a designated social space; usually at least one element is prelocated by the investigator. This is not true of all the tasks which Ziller gives to his subjects; in some there is no referent. That is, some structures are blank: they contain no pre-assigned elements. Such tasks are an example of the pure or basic format of this technique.
The Changing Epistemological Assumptions of Group Theory

Recent world events have brought the need to better understand how to work and live in a heterogeneous world into relief. The origins of group dynamics and development theory are reviewed, arguing ...
Prebypass Hemodynamic Instability in Patients with Severe Pulmonary Hypertension Undergoing Double Lung Transplantation

Purpose Severe Pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) is defined as the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) greater than 40 mmHg at rest. Lung transplantation is often the common treatment pathway for end-stage pulmonary hypertension. Anesthetic management of lung transplantation in a patient with severe PHTN can be challenging. The intraoperative period during the induction, initial one lung ventilation, and clamping of the pulmonary artery is particular dangerous as vasodilation, myocardial depression, initiation of positive pressure ventilation, acute increase in RV afterload can lead to systemic hypotension and acute RV failure leading to cardiac arrest. Our aim is review patients with severe PHT undergoing their first double lung transplantation over the last 10 year period. Methods and Materials We investigated the role of the severity of PHT in predicting the need for mechanical support (VA-ECMO, or CPB) prior to first lung pneumonectomy. We retrospectively reviewed 88 cases of sequential double lung transplants, between 2007 and September 2009, who had a mean pulmonary pressure greater (mPA) 40 mmHg on their preoperative right heart catheterization. Results Our results show a clear dose response relationship between mPA and need for MCS: for patients with mPA between 40-49 (45/59 patient done under support, with 19/45 needing support unplanned), 50-60 (21/22 with support, 9/21 unplanned), 60-70 (8/9, and 1/8 unplanned), and >70 (1/1, 0/1 unplanned). Moreover, examining all 88 patients, patients needing support 75/88 vs 13/88 done without support, the average mean PA was 50 vs 45, PVR (7.7 vs 4.6), and 6 minute walk distance (161 vs 221 meters). In conclusion, we show that mean pulmonary artery pressure shows a dose response relationship with need for MCS. Conclusions The incidence of hemodynamic instability requiring resuscitation and emergency institution of cardiopulmonary bypass or extracorporeal life support is very high (26%) in severe PHT and future studies should focus on the prediction and management.
Stacked organic light-emitting devices for full-color flat panel displays

We review recent progress in small molecule, stacked organic light emitting devices (SOLEDs) with emphasis on their potential application to lightweight, full-color displays. In a full-color SOLED pixel, the red, green and blue light emitting devices are vertically stacked to provide a simple fabrication process, minimum pixel size, and maximum fill factor. This architecture is uniquely applicable to organic semiconductors due to the lack of lattice matching requirements at the many materials interfaces. We discuss the effects of microcavity effects on the output color of the SOLED, and demonstrate an optimized three color pixel with good color saturation. Various drive schemes for stacked pixel architectures are introduced.
Agar-based heat-sensitive gel with linear thermal response over 65–80 °C

A nontoxic heat-sensitive gel containing 1.5 % (w/v) agar and 25 % (w/v) bovine serum albumin (BSA) was fabricated in this study. Optical density measurements with 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser indicated that, in spite of its BSA content, the current agar + BSA gel remained similar to agar only gel in terms of its optical response to NIR laser. The thermal response of the current agar + BSA gel to high temperatures was quantified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). According to the MRI measurements of T2 relaxation rate as a function of heating temperature, the current agar + BSA gel showed a linear response to heating temperatures between 65 and 80 °C, while it remained thermally stable at temperatures up to 80 °C. Therefore, the current agar + BSA gel can be used as thermal dosimeters or volumetric heat-sensitive gel phantoms in typical thermal therapy regime.
Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of a chelated precursor into spherical YBa2Cu3O7?x high temperature superconductor powders

YBa2Cu3O7−x powders have been prepared directly by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis using nitrate salts as precursors and citric acid and ethylene glycol as chelating agents. This method consists of ultrasonically atomizing a precursor solution into droplets, thermally chelating, drying, decomposing and solid state reacting these droplets in a carrier gas flowing through a tube furnace, forming a well characterized powder. The chelated precursor adjusted to pH 8 forms bidentate bonding between the cations and the chelating agents. Thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy identify the decomposition steps of the precursor. The dry gel of the chelated precursor is nearly amorphous indicating intimate mixing on the atomic level. X-ray diffraction suggests the mechanism of forming the 1∶2∶3 crystalline phase. Spherical powders are produced with diameters ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 μm depending on the ultrasonic frequency and the solution concentration. The spherical particles are hollow or solid depending on the precursor type and the furnace temperature. The primary crystallite size is about 10–50 nm. X-ray diffraction data and infrared spectra show that the spray pyrolysed powder from the chelating precursor forms the YBa2Cu3O7−x phase at 800 °C, which is 100 °C lower than that formed from unchelated precursors.
Displacements in a polar-orthotropic disk of varying thickness

Es werden allgemeingultige Gleichungen fur die Verschiebungen kreisrunder Scheiben mit radialer Anderung der Dicke und mit polar-orthotropen Elastizitatsmoduln abgeleitet. Dabei wird angenommen, dass es keine Unstetigkeiten in den Spannungskomponenten gibt. Volterra-Dislokationen, die Verschiebungs-, aber keine Spannungsunstetigkeiten haben, werden auch betrachtet. Anscheinend ist dies die erste Behandlung ebener Dislokationen, die Steifigkeitsveranderungen in Betracht zieht.
Cocaine decreases urinary prostacyclin release in pregnancy: correlation with uterine and umbilical Doppler velocimetry.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine maternal urinary prostacyclin and thromboxane excretion in patients with recent cocaine use, compared to cocaine-free controls, and correlate the findings with Doppler velocimetry. Study design: Seventeen patients admitted withpremature rupture of membranes between the gestational ages of 24 and 34 weeks were tested for urinary cocaine metabolites. Eleven patients had positive screening and six patients were negative and served as controls. After initial stabilization, 24-hurine collections were obtained and were assayed for the prostacyclin metabolite 2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF1α, and the thromboxane metabolite 2,3-dinor TXB2. These patients underwent uterine and umbilical arterial Doppler velocimetry expressed as the pulsatility index. Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS statistical package using the non-paired Student ttest, and Spearman correlation coefficient with p < 0.05 being considered significant. Results: Compared withcontrols, urinary ...
GPU-accelerated parallel Monte Carlo analysis of analog circuits by hierarchical graph-based solver

In this article, we propose a new parallel matrix solver, which is very amenable for Graphic Process Unit (GPU) based fine-grain massively-threaded parallel computing. The new method is based on the graph-based symbolic analysis technique to generate the computing sequence of determinants in terms of determinant decision diagrams (DDDs). DDD represents very simple data dependence and data parallelism, which can be explored much easier by GPU massively-threaded parallel computing than existing LU-based methods. The new method is based on the hierarchical determinant decision diagrams (HDDDs). Inspired by the inherent data parallelism and simple data dependence in the evaluation process of HDDD, we design GPU-amenable continuous data structures to enable fast memory access and evaluation of massive parallel threads. In addition to parallelism in DDD graph, the new algorithm can naturally explore data independence existing in Monte Carlo and frequency domain analysis. The resulting algorithm is a general-purpose matrix solver suitable for fine-grain massive GPU-based computing for any circuit matrices. Experimental results show that the new evaluation algorithm can achieve about two orders of magnitude speedup over the serial CPU based evaluation and more than 4× speedup over numerical SPICE-based simulation method on some large analog circuits.
The value of posterior levator repair in the treatment of anorectal incontinence due to rectal prolapse--a clinical and manometric study.

Background: When treating a complete rectal prolapse, the most important objective is elimination of the prolapse. In addition, restoration of sufficient anorectal continence is extremely important for the patients. We examined the value of posterior levator repair with respect to stabilization of the pelvic floor and to improvement in anorectal incontinence. Methods: In patients with disabling anorectal incontinence, a posterior levatorplasty can be concomitantly performed during operative removal of the prolapse. To facilitate evaluation of the operative results, we implemented a scoring system to judge the patients' subjective symptoms of incontinence; in addition, we performed manometric measurements of resting and squeezing pressures of the anal sphincter to objectify the anorectal incontinence. Results: From 1991 to 1997, 84 patients (mean age 65±10 years, 38–91 years; 79 women, 5 men) with complete rectal prolapse and severe incontinence were operatively treated; corresponding follow-ups were done. The following procedures were performed: Frykmann-Goldberg, 28 patients; Wells, 18 patients; Ripstein, 22 patients; and perineal proctectomy, 16 patients. Incontinence for liquid and solid stools was present in all of these patients. Posterior levatorplasty was implemented in 38 patients, and in this group we found significantly better postoperative results, both clinically and in the manometric measurements. Continence was improved by 84% in the group with levatorplasty, but improvement was only 67% in the other group (P<0.05). The incontinence score decreased significantly in the group with levatorplasty (preoperative 16.4±3.1, postoperative 9.3±4.5, P<0.05, vs the other group with preoperative 15.6±4.2, postoperative 11.5±5.1). Manometric observations in the group with levatorplasty demonstrated 55% improvement in resting pressure (preoperative 29±17 cm H2O, postoperative 45±21 cm H2O, P<0.05) and 40% improvement in squeezing pressure (preoperative 61±25 cm H2O, postoperative 85±31 cm H2O, P<0.05). In the group without levatorplasty, resting and squeezing pressure improved only by 20% (resting pressure: preoperative 32±16 cm H2O, postoperative 38±18 cm H2O; squeezing pressure: preoperative 64±29 cm H2O, postoperative 75±26 cm H2O). Conclusions: Posterior levatorplasty is an easy and efficient operative procedure which facilitates an improvement in anorectal continence. There are no apparent disadvantages. For this reason, levatorplasty can be part of operative procedures implemented in the treatment of a complete rectal prolapse accompanied by disabling anorectal incontinence.
How We Manage the Multiple Ligament Injured (Dislocated) Knee

Multiple-ligament knee injuries are increasingly recognized and require a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. Emergency department evaluation should focus on life- and limb-threatening issues with a high degree of suspicion for associated neurovascular injuries. The initial management should focus on emergent reduction with treatment priority given to vascular injuries. The management of ligamentous injuries should be undertaken after the treatment of vascular and bony injuries. After appropriate physical examination and imaging studies, an experienced surgeon will direct the surgical repair or reconstruction of the damaged ligaments. Our philosophy for surgical treatment of the knee with multiple-ligament injuries emphasizes the anatomic repair or reconstruction of each torn ligament and that ligament healing and stability take priority over knee range of motion. Indeed, in these complex injuries, stiffness is easier to address than recurrent instability.
Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Protein Kinase That Impairs Osteoblast Differentiation in Vitro

The bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) play a key role in skeletal development and patterning. Using the technique of differential display polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), we have identified a novel gene whose expression is increased during BMP-2-induced differentiation of the prechondroblastic cell line, MLB13MYC clone 17, to an osteoblastic phenotype. The 6.5-kilobase mRNA recognized by this ddPCR product is increased 10-fold by BMP-2 treatment of the MLB13MYC clone 17 cells. The mRNA recognized by this ddPCR product is also increased as MC3T3-E1 cells recapitulate the program of osteoblast differentiation during prolonged culture. The full-length transcript corresponding to this ddPCR product was cloned from a MLB13MYC clone 17 cell cDNA library. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence demonstrated that this gene encodes a novel 126-kDa putative serine/threonine protein kinase containing a nuclear localization signal. The kinase domain, expressed in Escherichia coli, is capable of autophosphorylation as well as phosphorylation of myelin basic protein. The gene was, therefore, named BIKe (BMP-2-Inducible Kinase). The BIKe nuclear localization signal is able to direct green fluorescent protein to the nucleus in transfected COS-7 cells. When stably expressed in MC3T3-E1 cells, BIKe significantly decreases alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin mRNA levels and retards mineral deposition relative to vector control. This novel kinase, therefore, is likely to play an important regulatory role in attenuating the program of osteoblast differentiation.
Effect of overexpression of protective genes on mitochondrial function of stressed astrocytes.

Antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family have been shown to reduce ischemic brain injury in vivo and in vitro. Understanding early changes in respiration are important in understanding the cells response to stress and the mechanisms of protection afforded by overexpression of protective genes. This mini-review summarizes current knowledge regarding early responses of astrocytes to ischemia-like stress and the effects of overexpression of protective Bcl-2 family genes on astrocyte mitochondrial function. Overexpression of Bcl-xL improves mitochondrial respiratory function, normalizes mitochondrial membrane potential, and reduces production of free radicals early after the imposition of a stress in primary cultured murine astrocytes.
Public hospitals as competitors for medicaid revenue: the case study of St. Louis regional medical center

Medicaid revenues may determine whether public hospitals will survive. Public hospitals participate aggressively in the public market competition for their states’ Medicaid dollars. States must decide whether the survival of public hospitals, as providers of last resort to both Medicaid and uninsured patients, is of continuing importance to their Medicaid programs. Cities, if the states were willing, alternatively could voucher uninsured patients and direct Medicaid patients to the private hospitals that would outlive closed public hospitals. In fact, Medicaid's managed care programs already have heightened this competition, by organizing sufficiently large populations of prepaid Medicaid patients to attract networks of private providers to offer discounted prices, in competition with public hospitals for this market. Although Medicaid has been a comparatively poor payer, nationally, almost half of public hospitals7 funding comes from this source of revenue. Urban public hospitals can barely live with Med...
Effects of patients' socioeconomic status and physicians' training and practice on patient-doctor communication

To determine characteristics of patients and doctors that are associated with effective communication, patient-doctor communication was studied in 100 ambulatory patients who underwent echocardiography to evaluate previously undefined cardiac problems. As a marker for effective communication, this report examined how often the patient and doctor agreed about basic aspects of care, including symptoms, test results, therapy, and prognosis. Communication between the patient and physician was less effective when the patient was of lower socioeconomic status, as determined by occupation or insurance coverage. Characteristics of physician's training and practice were not significantly associated with better communication. Physicians were unable to predict when their responses would or would not agree with those of their patients. These findings suggest that there is the risk of less effective communication between patients of lower socioeconomic status and their physicians, and that physicians may be unaware that less effective communication is occurring.
A nervous element of unknown function in the tympanic organs of moths

A large, richly tracheolated, Type II neurone occurs in the region known as the Bugel in the thoracic tympanic organs of many noctuid moths. This cell is the source of continuous and apparently spontaneous impulses in the tympanic nerve. The frequency of these impulses may be reversibly altered by stretching the sheath of tracheal epithelium which surrounds the Bugel and encloses the cell together with adjacent portions of the tympanic nerve. Although the B neurone is in close anatomical relation with the nerve fibres coming from the scoloparium, no direct interaction with the acoustic elements has been demonstrated, and the function of the cell remains unknown.
Intracardiac transplantation of skeletal myoblasts yields two populations of striated cells in situ.

Abstract Background . Adult heart lacks stem cells and cannot effectively regenerate. In contrast, skeletal muscle is constantly undergoing repair. We proposed to transplant immature skeletal myoblasts into injured myocardium. Methods . Approximately 7 × 10 6 soleus skeletal myoblasts were expanded in vitro from adult New Zealand White rabbits (n = 23) whose posterior left ventricle was cryoinjured to create a transmural lesion. Autologous myoblasts (n = 18) or saline (n = 5) was transplanted into the central cryolesion at the time of injury (n = 6) or 1 week later (n = 12). Hearts were harvested 2 weeks after injection. Results . Myoblast transfer did not incur further morbidity. After cryolesion, grossly, a 1.6-cm epicardial hemorrhagic lesion could be seen. Histologically, the transmural lesion contained inflammatory cells and active scarring but no viable cardiomyocytes. Electron microscopy demonstrated a predominance of collagen and fibroblasts. Nine hearts contained multinucleated cells within the cryolesion that covered approximately 75% of the central cryolesion in 17% of animals. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed their skeletal muscle origin. At the periphery of the lesion, isolated clusters of nonskeletal muscle cells could be visualized (n = 12) that resembled immature cardiocytes. Conclusions . Autologous skeletal myoblasts can regenerate viable striated tissue within damaged myocardium. Myoblast transfer warrants further investigation as a new method for improving myocardial performance within infarcted myocardium.
Predicting working set sizes

Empirical analyses of data on working set size are reported. The data do not support the hypothesis that working set sizes are normally distributed. The data suggest various algorithms for predicting working set size based on the program's past history. Several representative algorithms are discussed and evaluated.
THE INTERDEPENDENCE AMONG GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOODS: CENTRAL DENVER SINCE 1970

Gentrification is an intrinsic dimension of cyclical change in large cities. Stage theories define the process to be autonomous and sequentially predetermined. Yet the phenomenon is seldom confined to just one or two neighborhoods in single cities, and significant interactions occur among those experiencing parallel gentrification during any episode of urban economic recovery. An examination of neighborhoods having moderate or high potential for gentrification in Denver since the early 1970s reveals two aspects of interdependence One entails spillovers arising from the competition for gentrifiers and reinvestment capital, and the transfer of expectations as well as strategies for development and resistance. Another stems from the overall scale of residential reinvestment within the city and the resulting improvement in public services, lessening of risk, and reduction in unit production costs of larger scale rehabilitators. It is therefore preferable to reposition the study of gentrification within the en...
STERIC MODULATION OF ELECTROCATALYTIC BENZYL ALCOHOL OXIDATION BY RU(TRPY)(R2DPPI)(O)2+ COMPLEXES

The complexes [Ru(trpy)(H2dppi)Cl]+ (1a), [Ru(trpy)(Me2dppi)Cl]+ (1b), and [Ru(trpy)(Cl2dppi)Cl]+ (1c), where trpy is 2,2‘,2‘‘-terpyridine, H2dppi is 3,6-bis(pyrid-2-yl)pyridazine, Me2dppi is 3,6-b...
Confidence interval estimation of the difference between paired AUCs based on combined biomarkers

In many diagnostic studies, multiple diagnostic tests are performed on each subject or multiple disease markers are available. Commonly, the information should be combined to improve the diagnostic accuracy. We consider the problem of comparing the discriminatory abilities between two groups of biomarkers. Specifically, this article focuses on confidence interval estimation of the difference between paired AUCs based on optimally combined markers under the assumption of multivariate normality. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed generalized variable approach provides confidence intervals with satisfying coverage probabilities at finite sample sizes. The proposed method can also easily provide P-values for hypothesis testing. Application to analysis of a subset of data from a study on coronary heart disease illustrates the utility of the method in practice.
The DNF Ã2A′-X̃2A″ Band System: Rotational Analysis of the Origin Band and Partial Analysis of Several Higher Bands

Abstract The laser fluorescence excitation spectrum of the 0 0 0 band of the DNF A 2 A ′- X 2 A ″ system was obtained and rotationally analyzed. The K ″ a = 0-4 subbands were recorded at 0.06 cm −1 resolution, while higher subbands ( K ″ a ≤ 7) were obtained at lower resolution (0.2 cm −1 ). The assigned lines in this hand were fitted to obtain rotational, centrifugal distortion, and spin-rotation parameters for the zero-point levels of the A 2 A ′ and X 2 A ″ electronic states. Combining these rotational constants with those previously derived by Woodman [ J. Mol. Spectrosc. 33, 311-344 (1970)] from analysis of the analogous HNF band allowed estimation of the mean geometries in both electronic states independent of any assumptions about bond lengths. Fluorescence excitation scans were also taken over the 2 4 0 , 2 3 0 3 1 0 and 2 6 0 bands. The K structure in these bands is simpler because fluorescence can be detected only for excitation of the K ′ = 0 and 1 stacks. Fits of measured line positions in the K ′ a = 0- K ″ a = 1 subband allowed estimation of ( B ′ + C ′)/2 for the upper vibrational levels of these bands.
Ages of Young Children Who Fall down Stairs

Different accident patterns were noted for children using walkers and not using walkers at the time of an accident. The children were divided into two locomotion groups, natural locomotion (384 children) and walker-aided locomotion (235 children), depending on the presence or absence of a walker during the fall down the stairs. A review of incidents reported by a sample of emergency rooms identified 619 falls down steps by children between 5 and 18 mo. old during the first 6 months of 1995. The age of the highest risk, as indicated by the frequency of falls down the stairs, for the walker-aided locomotion group was 8 mo. The age of highest risk for the natural locomotion group was 12 mo. Children who fall down the stairs, in or out of a walker, are victims of the same hazard, unprotected stairs. Home safety recommendations to reduce the risk of young children falling down the stairs are provided.
The SEV system: a new disarmed Ti plasmid vector system for plant transformation.

A derivative of the octopine-type Ti plasmid, pTiB6S3, was constructed in which the TL-DNA oncogenic functions, the TL-DNA right border sequence and all of TR-DNA were deleted and replaced with the kanamycin antibiotic resistance marker from Tn903 (601). The resulting avirulent plasmid, pTiB6S3–SE contains only the TL-DNA left border sequence and a region (1.6 kb) of homologous DNA (LIH) to allow recombination with intermediate vectors such as pMON120 or pMON200. Cointegrate formation between pTiB6S3–SE and pMON200, which contains a chimeric plant kanamycin resistance gene (Kmr), an intact nopaline synthase gene (NOS), a poly linker region to facilitate the insertion of foreign genes into the vector and a functional T-DNA right border sequence, results in the formation of a selectable, avirulent T-DNA. This vector system is referred to as the SEV system (Split End Vector) since the T-DNA border sequences are present on separate plasmids prior to recombination. Plant cells (tobacco, petunia and tomato) transformed with SEV T-DNA are easily identified by their resistance to kanamycin and their ability to synthesize nopaline. A major advantage of the new disarmed system is that all transformed colonies can potentially be regenerated into intact plants that normally express and segregate the inserted foreign DNA sequences.
Radiation Therapy Is an Effective Modality in the Treatment of Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Even in Heavily Pretreated Patients

Abstract Introduction Mantle cell lymphoma has an aggressive clinical course and continuous relapse pattern with a median survival of 3 to 7 years. Multiple courses of chemotherapy are the basis of treatment. Radiotherapy is underutilized in this disease. We undertook this study to assess the role of radiation therapy. Materials and Methods A total of 41 consecutive patients with mantle cell lymphoma diagnosed from December, 1999 to January, 2010 who received radiation therapy were reviewed retrospectively. The main endpoint was in-field lymphoma response at each irradiated disease site. Results There were 39 evaluable patients (68 symptomatic sites). Sites treated included: nodal stations (n = 31), soft tissue (n = 13), mucosal sites (n = 11), central nervous system (n = 10), gastrointestinal tract (n = 2), and bone (n = 1). Median maximum tumor size at presentation was 3.5 cm (range, 1.3 cm-9.6 cm). The median dose of radiation was 30.6 Gy (range 18-40 Gy). Median follow-up post radiation per site was 12.3 months (range, 0.6-80.9 months). Response to treatment was complete in 47 sites (69.1%), partial in 16 sites (23.5%), and 5 sites (7.4%) had stable disease. In 9 (13.2%) sites local relapse occurred (median 7 months; range 2-21). The mean size of lymphoma at time of RT correlated with relapse, with tumors with local relapse larger than those without a local relapse ( P = .005). Conclusions Our data add to accumulating evidence that mantle cell lymphoma is a radio-sensitive disease with excellent responses to relatively low radiation doses, even in patients with chemo-refractory disease.
The Nature of Conversational Involvement and Nonverbal Encoding Patterns

Conversational involvement refers to the degree to which participants in a communicative exchange are cognitively and behaviorially engaged in the topic, relationship, and/or situation. It is argued that involvement should be viewed from a functional perspective and conceptualized as entailing fiue dimensions: immediacy, expressiveness, interaction management, altercentrism, and social anxiety. Specific nonverbal behaviors that are actually encoded to express involvement along these five dimensions are examined within an interview context. Unacquainted dyads (N=52) engaged in baseline interviews followed by a second interview in which one participant was asked to increase or decrease involvement significantly. Tiuentyone kinesic, proxemic, and vocalic behaviors were rated during five intervals. Change scores from baseline to manipulations shouted numerous differences between high and low involvement, as did correlations between magnitude of involvement and nonverbal behaviors. The behaviors that most strongly discriminated high from low involvement were general kinesic/proxemic attentiveness, forward lean, relaxed laughter, coordinated speech, fewer silences and latencies, and fewer object manipulations. Behaviors most predictive of magnitude of involvement change were facial animation, vocal warmth/interest, deeper pitch, less random movement, and more vocal attentiveness.
Improvement of multiple sclerosis-associated tremor as a treatment effect of natalizumab

Abstract Background Tremor is among the most physically disabling symptoms associated with MS. The effect of MS disease modifying therapies (DMTs) on the severity of MS tremor is unclear. Objective To compare the change over time in scores reflecting tremor severity between subjects treated with natalizumab and other disease modifying drugs. Methods Questionnaires were sent to North American Research Committee on MS registrants reporting mild or greater tremor on semiannual updates. Respondents on natalizumab and other MS therapies completed a survey which included tremor-specific scales to indicate tremor severity both currently and when the current therapy was initiated. Differences between natalizumab and non-natalizumab groups were compared using ANOVA. Results Surveys were returned by 567 registrants, including 202 taking natalizumab. Subjects on natalizumab were more likely to report tremor improvement (29.6%) than those never (15.2%) or previously (14.8%, p =0.0002) on natalizumab. Over a mean recall period of 6.2+4.6 years, the Tremor Related Activities of Daily Living score worsened by 1.8 points among natalizumab-treated subjects, 3.3 points among those previously on natalizumab, and 5.3 points among those who never took natalizumab ( p =0.009). Conclusion Respondents taking natalizumab were more likely to experience tremor improvement than those taking other MS disease modifying therapies.
Texture analysis of SAR sea ice imagery using gray level co-occurrence matrices

This paper presents a preliminary study for mapping sea ice patterns (texture) with 100-m ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The authors used gray-level co-occurrence matrices (GLCM) to quantitatively evaluate textural parameters and representations and to determine which parameter values and representations are best for mapping sea ice texture. They conducted experiments on the quantization levels of the image and the displacement and orientation values of the GLCM by examining the effects textural descriptors such as entropy have in the representation of different sea ice textures. They showed that a complete gray-level representation of the image is not necessary for texture mapping, an eight-level quantization representation is undesirable for textural representation, and the displacement factor in texture measurements is more important than orientation. In addition, they developed three GLCM implementations and evaluated them by a supervised Bayesian classifier on sea ice textural contexts. This experiment concludes that the best GLCM implementation in representing sea ice texture is one that utilizes a range of displacement values such that both microtextures and macrotextures of sea ice can be adequately captured. These findings define the quantization, displacement, and orientation values that are the best for SAR sea ice texture analysis using GLCM.
Control of the metal-insulator transition in vanadium dioxide by modifying orbital occupancy

Bulk vanadium dioxide undergoes a metal–insulator transition near room temperature. It is now shown that by putting a thin layer of vanadium dioxide on a buffer, and varying the buffer’s thickness, the orbital occupancy in the metallic state and the transition temperature can be tuned.