cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of mental health and support services among families of children with disabilities: discrepant views of parents and paediatricians

Viewing families of children with disabilities in terms of normative coping responses to stress is a relatively recent trend. This investigation examined differences between parents of children with spina bifida and paediatricians in their views of families' mental health support service needs. The study involved 21 parents and 23 paediatricians who completed a needs assessment instrument. Although the views of the two groups were similar in regard to a perceived need for services, discrepancies were evident in the type of mental health support service providers thought to be most appropriate, and the perceived severity of families' psychosocial problems. Results are discussed in relation to family compliance in paediatric health care settings, and the need to consider parental attitudes when family mental health support service issues are raised.
THE EFFECT OF ACTH ON THE MANDIBULAR JOINT OF THE RAT.

Abstract Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: (1) intact animals, (2) intact animals given ACTH treatment, (3) animals subjected to hypophysectomy, and (4) animals subjected to hypophysectomy plus ACTH treatment. After 36 days the animals were killed, and the mandibular joints were studied histologically. ACTH arrests osteoblastic activity in the erosion zone of the condylar head, reduces the number of cells throughout, and increases the amount of intercellular substance.
An exploratory survey on maternal child-rearing concerns and help seeking

A survey of 34 middle-class mothers on child-rearing concerns about preteen children listed 12 specific areas. These proved to provide adequate coverage. Most questions were in the area of methods of discipline and training, least in antisocial acts and morals. There was more concern about preschoolers (especially 2 1–year-olds) than about older children. Concerns were far less frequent for girls than for boys. Almost all the questions could be placed into four categories: Technique, Normative, Values, and Causal-Diagnostic. Mothers reported not asking anyone about most concerns. Of the only three groups frequently consulted, friends provided more satisfactory answers (77 percent) than physicians (63 percent) or teachers (60 percent). Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research were discussed.
Correlates of Willingness to Die for One's Religion and One's Country in American and Filipino Populations

A population of 780 Filipinos and 398 Americans were compared across cultural and religious groups on variables of willingness to die for one's religious beliefs and willingness to die for one's co...
HPV DNA vaccines.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV), particularly HPV type 16, are the primary etiologic agent of cervical cancer. Thus, HPV-associated cervical malignancies might be prevented or treated by induction of the appropriate virus-specific immune responses in patients. HPV capsid proteins including L1 and L2 proteins have been shown to generate neutralizing antibodies against HPV particles in vaccinated individuals. Furthermore, HPV oncogenic proteins such as E6 and E7 proteins are important in the induction and maintenance of cellular transformation and are co-expressed in the majority of HPV-containing carcinomas. They represent ideal targets for the development of therapeutic vaccines against HPV infections and HPV-associated neoplasia. Vaccines targeting these proteins may provide an opportunity to control HPV-associated malignancies. Genetic immunization with naked DNA has emerged as an important strategy for vaccine development. Plasmid DNA encoding antigen of interest, such as capsid protein L1 and L2 (for preventive vaccines) and non-structural proteins E6 and E7 (for therapeutic vaccines) enters the host and stimulates an antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune response. Various strategies to enhance preventive and therapeutic effects of DNA vaccines are currently under active investigation. Should they fulfill their promise, these DNA vaccines may prevent HPV infection or control HPV-related cervical lesions.
Some triple trigonometric series

On etudie deux classes d'equations serie triple et type trigonometrique. On donne des solutions sous forme fermee pour huit series triples dans chaque classe
Evaluation of a community-based poison education program.

This study suggests that: (1) a program directed at a specific town and coordinated by a local community group is more effective in transmitting poison control knowledge than is a statewide poison prevention week effort; (2) that transmission of educational material is optimized through programs directed at a specific age group (in this study ages 6 through 14); and, (3) that information about where to get the poison center number and actual acquisition of Ipecac syrup in homes was well transmitted. Language: en
Chemical and chromatographic isolation of K-casein

Abstract Improved chemical and chromatographic methods for the isolation of electrophoretically pure K-casein have been developed. The chemical method is simple, mild, reproducible, and can be completed in about one day. Contact of the protein with reactive chemicals is minimized. The use of 6.6 M urea in the first step apparently does not adversely affect the K-casein. The remaining treatments, addition of Ca2+, pH adjustment, dialysis, and centrifugation are mild. The method gives a good yield of K-casein (1.5/15 g of pI casein). A very pure K-casein was obtained by DEAE-cellulose chromatography of the chemically isolated protein. The polyacrylamide and starch gel urea electrophoretic gel patterns of chemically prepared K-casein show that the protein is electrophoretically pure and the gel zone patterns of K-casein reduced with 2-mercaptoethanol show the characteristic bands as reported by others. The amino acid composition, and content of sialic acid and phosphorus are comparable with the reported values. A single symmetrical sedimenting peak of 13.5 S was obtained on ultracentrifugation in 0.076 M Tris-0.005 M citrate buffer, pH 8.6.
Cytotoxic flavonols from Baccharis sarothroides

Abstract Two cytotoxic flavonols, isolated from the leaves and twigs of Baccharis sarothroides , have been characterized as 3,4′-dimethoxy-3′,5,7-trihydroxyflavone and centaureidin.
G2-population cells in mouse kidney and duodenum and their behavior during the cell division cycle.

Abstract Mouse ear epidermis contains “G2-population” cells, which are held up in the G2 period of the cell division cycle. These have now been found also in mouse kidney and duodenum. In addition, the behavior of G2-population cells during the cell cycle was investigated. The results show that G2-population cells do not move slowly through a prolonged G2 period, but instead are blocked indefinitely in G2. However, these non-cycling cells have retained the capacity to divide and do so during compensatory growth.
The Mediate Community: The Nature of Local and Extralocal Ties within the Metropolis

The author emphasizes the importance of studying both local and extralocal social ties found in community areas of the metropolis. Knowledge of temporal trends in these ties is limited, but both are important in the metropolis, leading to the mediate community: communities that often have many endogenous ties but also have strong links to the larger world. The author also suggests that local and extralocal ties should be subdivided on the basis of whether they are instrumental or expressive. Using data from previous community studies, the author illustrates possible relationships of local and extralocal social ties to community culture, including efforts to protect the community.
A 2.4GHz wireless transceiver with 0.95nJ/b link energy for multi-hop battery-freewireless sensor networks

An ultra-low power transceiver for battery-free wireless sensor networks is presented. The receiver uses a modified super-regenerative architecture with BFSK modulation to improve speed and sensitivity. Transmitter efficiency is improved by using a power oscillator to directly drive the antenna. The entire transceiver achieves a total link energy less than 1nJ/b and can communicate over distances as large as 20m, making it the lowest power integrated transceiver to date.
Dysregulation of matricellular proteins is an early signature of pathology in laminin-deficient muscular dystrophy

MDC1A is a congenital neuromuscular disorder with developmentally complex and progressive pathologies that results from a deficiency in the protein laminin α2. MDC1A is associated with a multitude of pathologies, including increased apoptosis, inflammation and fibrosis. In order to assess and treat a complicated disease such as MDC1A, we must understand the natural history of the disease so that we can identify early disease drivers and pinpoint critical time periods for implementing potential therapies. We found that DyW mice show significantly impaired myogenesis and high levels of apoptosis as early as postnatal week 1. We also saw a surge of inflammatory response at the first week, marked by high levels of infiltrating macrophages, nuclear factor κB activation, osteopontin expression and overexpression of inflammatory cytokines. Fibrosis markers and related pathways were also observed to be elevated throughout early postnatal development in these mice, including periostin, collagen and fibronectin gene expression, as well as transforming growth factor β signaling. Interestingly, fibronectin was found to be the predominant fibrous protein of the extracellular matrix in early postnatal development. Lastly, we observed upregulation in various genes related to angiotensin signaling. We sought out to examine the dysregulation of various pathways throughout early development (postnatal weeks 1-4) in the DyW mouse, the most commonly used mouse model of laminin-deficient muscular dystrophy. Muscle function tests (stand-ups and retractions) as well as gene (qRT-PCR) and protein levels (western blot, ELISA), histology (H&E, picrosirius red staining) and immunohistochemistry (fibronectin, TUNEL assay) were used to assess dysregulation of matricelluar protieins. Our results implicate the involvement of multiple signaling pathways in driving the earliest stages of pathology in DyW mice. As opposed to classical dystrophies, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the dysregulation of various matricellular proteins appears to be a distinct feature of the early progression of DyW pathology. On the basis of our results, we believe that therapies that may reduce apoptosis and stabilize the homeostasis of extracellular matrix proteins may have increased efficacy if started at a very early age.
Programmed Death Receptor-1/Programmed Death Receptor Ligand-1 Blockade after Transient Lymphodepletion To Treat Myeloma

Early phase clinical trials targeting the programmed death receptor-1/ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway to overcome tumor-mediated immunosuppression have reported promising results for a variety of cancers. This pathway appears to play an important role in the failure of immune reactivity to malignant plasma cells in multiple myeloma patients, as the tumor cells express relatively high levels of PD-L1, and T cells show increased PD-1 expression. In the current study, we demonstrate that PD-1/PD-L1 blockade with a PD-L1–specific Ab elicits rejection of a murine myeloma when combined with lymphodepleting irradiation. This particular combined approach by itself has not previously been shown to be efficacious in other tumor models. The antitumor effect of lymphodepletion/anti–PD-L1 therapy was most robust when tumor Ag–experienced T cells were present either through cell transfer or survival after nonmyeloablative irradiation. In vivo depletion of CD4 or CD8 T cells completely eliminated antitumor efficacy of the lymphodepletion/anti–PD-L1 therapy, indicating that both T cell subsets are necessary for tumor rejection. Elimination of myeloma by T cells occurs relatively quickly as tumor cells in the bone marrow were nearly nondetectable by 5 d after the first anti–PD-L1 treatment, suggesting that antimyeloma reactivity is primarily mediated by preactivated T cells, rather than newly generated myeloma-reactive T cells. Anti–PD-L1 plus lymphodepletion failed to improve survival in two solid tumor models, but demonstrated significant efficacy in two hematologic malignancy models. In summary, our results support the clinical testing of lymphodepletion and PD-1/PD-L1 blockade as a novel approach for improving the survival of patients with multiple myeloma.
Specific BPDE I modification of replicating and parental DNA from early S phase human foreskin fibroblasts.

Replicating DNA was modified by BPDE I to a greater extent than parental DNA when human fibroblast cells were treated with the carcinogen for 30 min in early S phase. Synchronized cells were exposed to 5-bromodeoxyuridine and treated with non-radioactive BPDE I and [methyl-3H]thymidine in early S phase. The density- and tritium-labeled, replicated DNA was separated from parental DNA in a CsCl gradient. The individual carcinogen-DNA adduct levels in both samples were quantitated by using the 32P-postlabeling method. The total modification of replicated DNA was 1.4-2.4 times greater than parental DNA. This difference was mainly reflected by differences in the main adducts, identified as the 3', [5'-32P]bisphosphates of 7R and 7S-BPDE I-dG. Confirmation of the identity of these two specific carcinogen-DNA adducts was accomplished by co-chromatography on t.l.c. with 3H-labeled 3',5'-bisphosphate adducts. The two 3H- and 32P-labeled adducts were isolated and dephosphorylated. The resultant 3H-labeled deoxyribonucleoside adducts were analyzed on h.p.l.c. and identified by co-chromatography with authentic standards. These results suggest that preferential modification of replicating DNA occurs when human cells are treated with BPDE I in early S phase. The ultimate result of this specific modification is the expression of a transformed phenotype.
The occurrence and pathological effects of Stephanostomum tenue (Digenea: Acanthocolpidae) metacercariae in elvers of the American eel

This is the first record of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata, as an intermediate host of Stephanostomum tenue. Metacercariae occurred most frequently in the pericardial cavity of elvers where they often produce severe distention of the thoracic region and impeded swimming.
In Vivo Transduction of an Stx-Encoding Phage in Ruminants

We assessed the ability of a kanamycin-marked Stx phage to move into a commensal, ovine Escherichia coli strain in the ruminant gastrointestinal tract. Transduction was detected in 19/24 sheep tested, resulting in the recovery of 47 transductants. Subtherapeutic doses of the quinolone antibiotic enrofloxacin did not increase the rate of transduction.
Altered Renal α2-Adrenoceptor Density in Dahl Rats Prenatally Exposed to a High Salt Diet

Female inbred Dahl hypertension-sensitive (S/JR) and -resistant (R/JR) rats were maintained on an 8.0% or 0.4% NaCl-containing diet (w/w) during pregnancy. Their offspring were weaned to the same diets at 26 days of age and at 5 4 days of age the density of renal a–adrenoceptors was assessed using3H-rauwolscine. In offspring prenatally exposed to the low salt diet, the density of adrenoceptors was greater In the S/JR rat than the R/JR rat, regardless of the postweaning diet or hypertension (HT) in S/JR rats weaned to a high salt diet. In contrast, the density of adrenoceptors was lower in S/JR but unchanged in R/JR offspring from dams that were maintained on a high salt diet during pregnancy. The rate at which HT developed in S/JR rats weaned to a high salt diet was similar, regardless of the dam's diet during pregnancy. This study indicates that prenatal exposure of the S/JR strain to a high salt diet can influence the development of renal a -adrenoceptors. Although the functional significance of these c...
Modern and late Holocene wind regimes over the Great Plains (central U.S.A.)

The Great Plains of the central United States contain numerous presently stabilized dune fields that were active during the late Holocene. The most recent period of reactivation occurred about 700–1000 years ago during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, a period of frequent, severe drought recognized throughout the North American West. Dune orientations and internal bedding preserve information about paleowinds from this time period. We compared paleowind information with modern winds and potential sand transport analyzed from meteorological data. While both reconstructed paleowinds and modern winds include a strong northwesterly component over the northern to central portions of the Great Plains, a significant difference exists to the south. During the late Holocene, southwesterly winds had a strong influence on dune forms over the central and southern Great Plains, while modern potential sand transport is dominated by southerly to southeasterly winds that bring moisture to the region from the Gulf of Mexico. Hypothetical dune types forming under modern winds would be different and have different crestal orientations than those preserved from the late Holocene. In order for such a shift in southerly winds to take place it is likely that: 1) the typical position of the Bermuda High in summer was shifted either to the east or to the south resulting in weaker low-level winds from the south and southeast and greater extent of southwesterly winds on the Great Plains, and/or 2) drought, likely enhanced by evapotranspiration and soil moisture feedbacks, brought the normally higher-level southwesterly flow down to the land surface. Given our understanding of megadroughts over the Great Plains as well as recent climate predictions for increased warmth and drought over this area, future reactivation of the dunes seems likely.
Interferon-γ inhibits central nervous system remyelination through a process modulated by endoplasmic reticulum stress

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is believed to play a deleterious role in the immune-mediated demyelinating disorder multiple sclerosis. Here we have exploited transgenic mice that ectopically express IFN-γ in a temporally controlled manner in the CNS to specifically study its effects on remyelination in the cuprizone-induced demyelination model and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis. CNS delivery of IFN-γ severely suppressed remyelination in both models and impaired the clinical recovery of the mice experiencing EAE. These observations correlated with a dramatic reduction of oligodendroglial repopulation in the demyelinated lesions. Moreover, we found that in cuprizone-treated mice the detrimental actions of IFN-γ were associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in remyelinating oligodendrocytes. Compared with a wild-type genetic background, the presence of IFN-γ in mice heterozygous for a loss of function mutation in the pancreatic ER kinase (PERK), a kinase that responds specifically to ER stress, further reduced the percentage of remyelinated axons and oligodendrocyte numbers in cuprizone-induced demyelinated lesions. Thus, these data suggest that IFN-γ is capable of inhibiting remyelination in demyelinated lesions and that ER stress modulates the response of remyelinating oligodendrocytes to this cytokine.
Analysis of design considerations for optimizing multi-channel MPI over InfiniBand

Modern day MPI implementations provide several communication channels for optimizing performance. To obtain the best performance for the most demanding contemporary applications, it becomes critical to manage these communication channels efficiently. Various issues related to overhead for message discovery and thresholds for choosing different channels need to be considered for designing the MPI layer. It is not a trivial task to choose these parameters since application characteristics and demands from the MPI layer vary widely. In this paper we try to address these issues. We propose several different schemes such as static priority and dynamic priority to efficiently implement channel polling. Our results indicate that we can reduce intra-node latency by up to 12% and message discovery time up to 45%. Further, we explore several different methodologies to choose appropriate thresholds for different channels.
Using biologically interrelated experiments to identify pathway genes in Arabidopsis

Motivation:Pathway genes are considered as a group of genes that work cooperatively in the same pathway constituting a fundamental functional grouping in a biological process. Identifying pathway genes has been one of the major tasks in understanding biological processes. However, due to the difficulty in characterizing/inferring different types of biological gene relationships, as well as several computational issues arising from dealing with high-dimensional biological data, deducing genes in pathways remain challenging. Results: In this work, we elucidate higher level gene–gene interactions by evaluating the conditional dependencies between genes, i.e. the relationships between genes after removing the influences of a set of previously known pathway genes. These previously known pathway genes serve as seed genes in our model and will guide the detection of other genes involved in the same pathway. The detailed statistical techniques involve the estimation of a precision matrix whose elements are known to be proportional to partial correlations (i.e. conditional dependencies) between genes under appropriate normality assumptions. Likelihood ratio tests on two forms of precision matrices are further performed to see if a candidate pathway gene is conditionally independent of all the previously known pathway genes. When used effectively, this is a promising approach to recover gene relationships that would have otherwise been missed by standard methods. The advantage of the proposed method is demonstrated using both simulation studies and real datasets. We also demonstrated the importance of taking into account experimental dependencies in the simulation and real data studies. Contact:hhuang@stat.berkeley.edu; ljfeldman@berkeley.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation

Book review of 'You’re Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation' by Deborah Tannen, published in 2006 by Ballantine Books, New York. Deborah Tannen, as Michael Billig (2000: 129) noted in his review of her 1998 book 'The Argument Culture', has a particular knack for writing best-sellers that ‘can outstrip the celebrity biographies, cookery books and sex manuals that dominate the non-fiction book trade’. Indeed, Tannen’s latest addition to her oeuvre meant for popular consumption, 'You’re Wearing That?' a New York Times bestseller, is no different.
Wave-number selection at finite amplitude in rotating Couette flow

Measurements have been made of the wavelength of Taylor vortices between rotating cylinders. It is shown that the relaxation time of such a vortex system is approximately L2/6v, where L is the length of the vortex column and v is the kinematic viscosity. Previous measurements reported in the literature have not been steady-state measurements because of the long relaxation time. The present data are accurate to 1% and extend to 40 times the critical Taylor number. The variation of wavelength with Taylor number is linear and the slope is exceedingly small and negative. The non-uniqueness of wave-number observed by Coles (1965) in doubly periodic flows is here shown to occur in the rotationally symmetric case. It is argued that variational methods are inapplicable in determining the wave-number of finite-amplitude secondary flows. The experimental results show that the wave-number is determined uniquely by the initial conditions of the system. It is suggested that any method which neglects the time-dependent behaviour of the system cannot select the final state from the manifold of solutions which occur in non-linear problems.
Observations of Cl2, Br2, and I2 in coastal marine air

Cl2, Br2, and I2 were measured in coastal Pacific air from 2 to 29 January 2006. Air was sampled at 10 m over the sea surface near the end of Scripps Pier (La Jolla, California). The measurements were made using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization with tandem mass spectrometry (APCI/MS/MS). Over the course of this study, Cl2, Br2, and I2 levels ranged from below detection limits of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.2 ppt, respectively, to maxima of 26, 19, and 8 ppt, respectively. Mean dihalogen levels for the study period were 2.3 ± 1 ppt for Cl2, 2.3 ± 0.4 ppt for Br2, and 0.7 ± 0.1 ppt for I2 (expressed as geometric mean ±1 geometric standard error). The mixed dihalogens BrCl, ICl, and IBr had geometric mean levels below 0.3 ± 1 ppt and never exceeded their detection limits of 0.5 ppt. Consistent patterns of diurnal variability were observed for Cl2 and I2, with Cl2 maxima during daytime and I2 appearing almost exclusively at night. The detection of I2 appeared to be related to the passage of air over nearby kelp beds. The observed dihalogen levels suggest that (1) chlorine atom oxidation of hydrocarbons makes a significant contribution to the formation of ozone and (2) halogen atom oxidation of airborne mercury contributes to mercury deposition in polluted coastal air.
The Farm Journal's Discourse of Farm Women's Femininity

During the 1950s, U.S. farm women's normative roles and self-identities changed from that of hard working, petty-commodity-producing “housekeepers” to that of unproductive, consuming “homemakers.” This article analyzes the way the Farm Journal constructed and promoted new roles for farm women at a time when farm families were negotiating the radical disruptions of farm and rural community after World War II—constructions that contributed to a hegemonic consensus that systematically excluded and rendered invisible large portions of farm women's daily lives.
Acute retinal arterial ischemia: an emergency often ignored.

R ETINAL ARTERIAL ISCHEMIA, WHETHER TRANSIENT or permanent, is a form of anterior circulation ischemic stroke caused by decreased blood flow in the ophthalmic branches of the internal carotid artery. Transient ischemic attack (TIA), including transient monocular visual loss (so-called retinal TIA or amaurosis fugax), is well known to be a prodromal syndrome of ischemic stroke. Indeed, a TIA is a medical emergency associated with a high risk of early ischemic stroke and other cardiovascular events. Among patients with TIA, 10% to 15% have a stroke within 90 days, with approximately half occurring within 48 hours. Individuals who have had a TIA and survive the initial high-risk period have a 10-year stroke risk of approximately 19% and a combined 10-year stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death risk of 43% (4% per year). These findings highlight the need for the urgent referral of patients with TIA and acute ocular and cerebrovascular events so that they can access expert evaluations and immediate treatment. The current trend is to consider TIA and acute ischemic stroke on the same spectrum of serious conditions involving brain and eye ischemia, just as angina and acute myocardial infarction are part of the continuum of acute coronary syndromes. Therefore, it is not surprising that the definition of TIA has evolved from a purely time-based definition to a tissue-based definition. Until recently, patients with spontaneously reversible acute visual loss or neurologic deficits were considered to have a TIA if the deficit lasted less than 24 hours. The new definition of TIA includes the absence of ischemia on funduscopic examination and on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed with diffusion-weighted imaging, and describes TIA as ‘‘a transient episode of neurologic dysfunction caused by focal brain, spinal cord, or retinal ischemia without acute infarction.’’ This newly proposed definition of TIA by the American Heart Association implies that a brain MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging be performed immediately on all patients with suspected TIA, including patients with apparently isolated retinal ischemia.
Outlier mining in large high-dimensional data sets

A new definition of distance-based outlier and an algorithm, called HilOut, designed to efficiently detect the top n outliers of a large and high-dimensional data set are proposed. Given an integer k, the weight of a point is defined as the sum of the distances separating it from its k nearest-neighbors. Outlier are those points scoring the largest values of weight. The algorithm HilOut makes use of the notion of space-filling curve to linearize the data set, and it consists of two phases. The first phase provides an approximate solution, within a rough factor, after the execution of at most d + 1 sorts and scans of the data set, with temporal cost quadratic in d and linear in N and in k, where d is the number of dimensions of the data set and N is the number of points in the data set. During this phase, the algorithm isolates points candidate to be outliers and reduces this set at each iteration. If the size of this set becomes n, then the algorithm stops reporting the exact solution. The second phase calculates the exact solution with a final scan examining further the candidate outliers that remained after the first phase. Experimental results show that the algorithm always stops, reporting the exact solution, during the first phase after much less than d + 1 steps. We present both an in-memory and disk-based implementation of the HilOut algorithm and a thorough scaling analysis for real and synthetic data sets showing that the algorithm scales well in both cases.
Ethnicity, Russification, and Excess Mortality in Kazakhstan.

Russians experience higher adult mortality than Central Asians despite higher socioeconomic status. This study exploits Kazakhstan’s demographic and geographic diversity to study ethnic differences in cause-specific mortality. In multivariate regression, all-cause mortality rates for Russian men is 27% higher than for Kazakh men, and alcohol-related death rates among Russian men are 2.5 times higher (15% and 4.1 times higher for women, respectively). Significant mortality differentials exist by ethnicity for external causes and alcohol-related causes of death. Adult mortality among Kazakhs is higher than previously found among Kyrgyz and lower than among Russians. The results suggest that ethnic mortality differentials in Central Asia may be related to the degree of russification, which could be replicating documented patterns of alcohol consumption in non-Russian populations.
A world of knowledge for the nation's health: the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The origins, history, current collections and services, and projected future services of the U.S. National Library of Medicine are described, and the seminal figure in its development is profiled. The library, now located on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, was founded in 1836 as the Library of the Army Surgeon General's Office. The current facility holds more than 3.5 million items and offers innovative information services to health-care professionals worldwide. The leading figure in the library's development was Army physician John Shaw Billings, whose accomplishments included the international expansion and bibliographic organization of the holdings and creation of the Index Medicus and Index-Catalogue. The computerized services offered by the library include the MEDLINE database, which is based on Index Medicus, and pharmacy-related databases. Health-care practitioners can gain access to the library's resources through the Regional Medical Library Network. Among projects under development at the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications are microcomputer and optical disk technologies, the preservation of paper collections, and a unified medical language system. The U.S. National Library of Medicine has served the health-care community for 150 years; many services in the area of biomedical communications are available to pharmacists and other practitioners through the library and the Regional Medical Library Network.
Clinical distribution and drug sensitivity analysis of 132 strains of Proteus mirabilis

Objective To study the clinical distribution and drug resistance of Proteus mirabilis isolated in Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital,and provide guidance for clinical medication.Method The authors collected 132 strains of Proteus mirabilis isolated from their hospital during June 1,2009 to May 31,2011.The clinical isolates were identified by VITEK-60 of Bio-Merieux of France.Antibiotic susceptivity test was done by Kirby-Bauer method.And quality control was done with reference strains.Result Most of the clinical specimens came from urine(51.50%),followed by wound secretion(21.21%),vaginal discharge(19.70%),and others(7.59%).Proteus mirabilis was more sentive to the following antibiotics: Amikacin,Aztreonam,Meropenem,Imipenem,Cefazolin,Cefuroxime axetil,Ceftriaxone,Ceftazidime,Cefotaxime,Maxipime,Cefoxitin,Roxithromycin,Ampicillin/sulbactam,Piperacillin/tazobactam,and Cefoperazone/sulbactam,respectively.Conclusion It is important to strengthen the separation,identification and resistance test of Proteus mirabilis to guide clinical selection of antibiotics.
The test research of the circulating water index control in Ningxia Maliantai Power Plant

The design of circulating water treatment system has weak acid bypass treatment system,but considering the problems of the protection of the condenser copper tube,the protection of ultrafiltration and the anti-penetration membrane of the boiler feed water pretreatment system,the circulating water treatment system hasn't operated as the designing technical process flow,so the paper discusses the control index of the circulating water meeting the demand of the design technical process flow.
ICTD or Technology Graves: Exploring ICT Lifecycle Management in Development Projects

What happens to an ICT when it becomes old and obsolete? Do we discard them blindly or do we adopt a systematic e-waste disposal mechanism? As researchers in this evolving field, do we consider ICT lifecycle management in our projects? We posed this question to the ICTD academic community and practitioners. Using 16 semi-structured interviews, this study analyzes the role of ICTD researchers in the lifecycle management of communication technologies. Our findings indicate the lack of a systematic approach, as well as the limited role of ICTD scholars in the lifecycle management of ICTs. This study concludes with suggestions for addressing the issue and provides future directions.
Modular Prototyping of Systems and Environments Using Models Developed with Attributed Event Grammar.

This paper introduces a technique for developing modular prototypes of systems and environment using models developed with attributed event grammar. The motivation underlying the technique is to provide support for rapidly modifying prototypes in order to perform what-if analyses that require updating the models to reflect new sets of system requirements. The modularity is achieved via modeling the necessary system components as independent models. The environment is also modeled and incorporated into the prototype to yield better what-if analyses. We demonstrate the technique using an autonomous homing torpedo system prototype as an example.
A systematic review of patient-reported outcomes in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Background Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is a chronic, dermatologic autoimmune disease marked by photosensitive lesions that can lead to hyperpigmentation changes, scarring, and hair loss. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in CLE patients is severely impaired. Given the heterogeneous nature of CLE, the health perceptions of patients can differ significantly from the clinicians’. It is, therefore, important to use subjective measures, such as patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to be able to capture HRQoL in CLE patients. Objectives We sought to conduct a systematic review of published PRO instruments used in measuring HRQoL in CLE patients. Also, we examined the disease burden on HRQoL in CLE patients. Methods PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and CINAHL databases were searched to identify studies using “CLE/cutaneous lupus erythematosus,” in combination with PRO-related keywords such as “quality of life,” “self-report,” and “instrument.” English language articles published between 2003 and 2014 were identified. Results A total of 482 citations were identified in the initial search of the journal databases. Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria resulting in five PRO instruments used in this population which are Skindex (Versions 16 and 29), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire, and Visual Analog Scales (VAS) for Pain and Pruritus. CLE patients reported to have a poor quality of life and experienced symptoms ranging from pain, pruritus, fatigue to photosensitivity. Conclusion There are a limited number of studies examining PRO in patients with CLE. While our findings suggest that quality of life in CLE patients is poor, further studies are needed to understand better the impact of CLE from the patient's perspective. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Brain Tumors—Epidemiology

The diagnosis of a brain tumor can have a significant impact on the life of a patient. Treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can have significant associated morbidity. In addition, many malignant brain tumors, such as glioblastoma, cannot be cured with present day treatments. Although known risk factors for the development of such brain tumors exist, many patients do not have an identifiable risk factor. Here, we describe the epidemiology of brain tumors, with a focus on meningioma and glioblastoma, the most common benign and malignant brain tumors, respectively. We also describe the risk factors for the development of brain tumors. We emphasize that further study of the risk factors for the development of benign and malignant brain tumors is needed.
Adjunctive Measures and New Therapies to Optimize Early Return of Urinary Continence

In the era of robotically assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy despite the powerful visualization, refined surgical techniques, minimal blood loss, and multiple nerve-sparing and reconstructive bladder neck techniques, urinary incontinence still creates a significant burden on patients and their treating physicians. Chapter 5 focuses on the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative technical and surgical skills and modifications that may improve urinary continence in the early and late postprostatectomy period. In this chapter, we review the literature on nonsurgical interventions that may improve urinary continence in the short near term. Return of urinary continence as reported in the literature varies considerably, depending on surgeon expertise, definition, surgical volume (of both the surgeon and the hospital/medical center), and whether or not the outcome is patient or surgeon reported. Furthermore, the incidence of urinary incontinence experienced by men prior to prostatectomy is generally not recorded and not well known. For instance, Johnson and Ouslander reported 15–30 % of men over age 65 had urinary incontinence to some degree before undergoing radical prostatectomy. Gibbs CF, Johnson 2nd TM, Ouslander JG. Office management of geriatric urinary incontinence. Am J Med. 2007;120:211.
Cytochrome c methylation: enzymology and biologic significance.

Publisher Summary Posttranslational side-chain modification reactions of protein constitute one of the most rapidly developing and exciting frontiers in modern biologic science. These reactions are accomplished at an expense of energy equivalent to 1 mole of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and evidence indicates that these modifications of protein side-chain structures are accompanied by simultaneous alterations of the protein function. The posttranslational side-chain modification reactions of protein might be one of the nature's most efficient means to manipulate the protein function by bypassing the elaborate and energy-consuming protein de novo biosynthetic pathway. One such side-chain modification reaction of protein, protein methylation, occurs ubiquitously in nature, in organisms ranging from prokaryotic to eukaryotic, and involves side chains of various amino acids, such as lysine, arginine, histidine, alanine, proline, and glutamine, for N -methylation and glutamic and aspartic acid for O -methylesterification. Among these amino acid residues, the enzymatic methylation of lysine, arginine, histidine, and glutamic acid residues have been investigated.
Prognostic Value of EEG in Neonatal Meningitis

The value of an EEG performed soon (first week) after onset of neonatal bacterial meningitis in the prediction of adverse outcome at 1-19 year follow-up (mean, 4 yrs) was evaluated in 37 of 101 infants admitted and diagnosed with meningitis at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
Masked Chimeric Antigen Receptor for Tumor-Specific Activation

Adoptive cellular therapy based on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T (CAR-T) cells is a powerful form of cancer immunotherapy. CAR-T cells can be redirected to specifically recognize tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and induce high levels of antitumor activity. However, they may also display "on-target off-tumor" toxicities, resulting from low-level expression of TAAs in healthy tissues. These adverse effects have raised considerable safety concerns and limited the clinical application of this otherwise promising therapeutic modality. To minimize such side effects, we have designed an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific masked CAR (mCAR), which consists of a masking peptide that blocks the antigen-binding site and a protease-sensitive linker. Proteases commonly active in the tumor microenvironment can cleave the linker and disengage the masking peptide, thereby enabling CAR-T cells to recognize target antigens only at the tumor site. In vitro mCAR showed dramatically reduced antigen binding and antigen-specific activation in the absence of proteases, but normal levels of binding and activity upon treatment with certain proteases. Masked CAR-T cells also showed antitumor efficacy in vivo comparable to that of unmasked CAR. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of improving the safety profile of conventional CARs and may also inspire future design of CAR molecules targeting broadly expressed TAAs.
Demographic Characteristics and Health Status of Transgender Adults in Select US Regions: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2014

Objectives. To describe the health status of the transgender population in the United States.Methods. We used 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data that comprised a probability sampl...
Abstract 321: Combination Dri With At1R Blockade Does Not Confer Additional Benefit to Improvement in Myocardial Tissue Hypertrophy and Fibrosis

Data support the notion that direct renin inhibition and angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT 1 R) blockade improve myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis. Even with contemporary use of AT 1 R blockade and renin inhibition, the burden of heart failure remains high. Thereby, we sought to determine if combination of direct renin inhibition with AT 1 R blockade in vivo , through greater reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and aldosterone would attenuate left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis to a greater extent than either intervention alone. We utilized the transgenic Ren2 rat which manifests increased expression of murine renin which, in turn, results in increased tissue RAS activity, aldosterone secretion and elevated SBP. Ren2 rats were treated with renin inhibition (aliskiren), AT 1 R blockade (valsartan), the combination (aliskiren+valsartan), or vehicle for 21 days. Compared to Sprague-Dawley controls, Ren2 rats displayed increased SBP, serum aldosterone levels, LV and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis and ultrastructural remodeling. These biochemical and functional alterations were accompanied by increases in LV tissue NADPH oxidase subunit Nox2 and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) content along with increases in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and reductions in protein kinase B phosphorylation. Combination therapy contributed to greater reductions in SBP and serum aldosterone but did not result in greater improvement in metabolic signaling or markers of oxidative stress, fibrosis or hypertrophy beyond either intervention alone. Thereby, our data suggest that the greater impact of combination therapy on reductions in aldosterone does not translate into greater reductions in myocardial fibrosis or hypertrophy in this transgenic model of tissue renin overexpression.
Subsurface tile drained area detection using GIS and remote sensing in an agricultural watershed

Abstract Subsurface tile drainage has been used around the globe to lower the water table and drain soils that are seasonally or perennially wet making them suitable for agriculture and/or increasing productivity. However, tile drainage systems have a negative impact on water quality of adjacent streams and ditches due to the transport of excess fertilizer nutrients like nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from fields. To support nutrient management and conservation practices like drain water management (DWM), accurate delineation of the agricultural area drained by tiles is critical for quantifying nutrient yields (nutrient mass per area per time) to downstream water bodies. In this study, we tested Geographic Information System decision tree classification (GIS DTC) and satellite remote sensing based methods (i.e., image differencing) to determine tile drainage area in an agricultural watershed, Shatto Ditch Watershed (SDW) in Indiana, USA. Using these techniques, we estimated that 79% of the cultivated area of SDW is tile drained with 94% accuracy according to the image differencing approach whereas 55% is classified as tile drained with an accuracy of 75% based on estimates from the DTC approach with the most relaxed rule thresholds (where tiles exist on ≤4% slope with poorly and moderately well drained soils). Using satellite imagery to characterize tile drained area at a high resolution over large geographical extent shows promise and will be important for accurately quantifying nutrient yields from tiles which will inform management and conservation efforts to reduce excess nutrient export to downstream water bodies.
Surgical Site Infections after Tissue Flaps Performed in Low- and Middle-Human Development Index Countries: A Systematic Review

Abstract Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) affect the safety of surgical care and are particularly problematic and prevalent in low and middle Human Development Index Countries (LMHDICs). Methods: We performed a systematic review of the existing literature on SSIs after tissue flap procedures in LMHDICs through the PubMed, Ovid, and Web of Science databases. Of the 405 abstracts identified, 79 were selected for full text review, and 30 studies met inclusion criteria for analysis. Results: In the pooled analysis, the SSI rate was 5.8 infections per 100 flap procedures (95% confidence interval [CI] 2%–10%, range: 0–40%). The most common indication for tissue flap was pilonidal sinus repair, which had a pooled SSI rate of 5.6 infections per 100 flap procedures (95% CI 2%–10%, range: 0–15%). No fatalities from an infection were noted. The reporting of infection epidemiology, prevention, and treatment was poor, with few studies reporting antibiotic agent use (37%), responsible pathogens (13%), infect...
On the Humphrey objection to modal realism

An intuitive objection to modal realism is that merely possible worlds and their inhabitants seem to be irrelevant to an analysis of modality. Kripke originally phrased the objection in terms of being concerned about one’s modal properties without being concerned about the properties one’s other-worldly counterparts have. The author assesses this objection in a variety of forms, and then provides his own formulation that does not beg the question against the modal realist. Finally, the author considers two potential answers to the objection so understood and concludes that only one of them has a chance of succeeding.