cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predicting Stock Returns in the Developing Markets of Eastern Europe

How well can market fundamentals such as earnings-to-price (EP) ratios, book-to-market (BM) ratios, and dividend yields (DY), along with political risk measures and economic variables, predict stock market returns in the transitional countries of Eastern Europe? BM ratios are positively and significantly related to future returns with 1- to 12-month horizons. There is some evidence that EP ratios are negatively related to returns with holding periods longer than six months. Dividend yields are on average positively related to stock returns but with lower degrees of statistical significance. The findings also show that stock returns are significantly related to market liquidity and systematic risk. The linkages between returns and economic and political variables are mixed and inconclusive.
Convergence of progesterone with growth factor and cytokine signaling in breast cancer: Progesterone receptors regulate signal transducers and activators of transcription expression and activity

STATS (signal transducers and activators of transcription) are latent transcription factors activated in the cytoplasm by diverse cell surface signaling molecules. Like progesterone receptors (PR), Stat5a and 5b are required for normal mammary gland growth and differentiation. These two proteins are up-regulated during pregnancy, a period dominated by high levels of progesterone. We now show that progestin treatment of breast cancer cells regulates Stat5a and 5b, Stat3, and Stat1 protein levels in a PR-dependent manner. In addition, progestin treatment induces translocation of Stat5 into the nucleus, possibly mediated by the association of PR and Stat5. Last, progesterone pretreatment enhances the phosphorylation of Stat5 on tyrosine 694 induced by epidermal growth factor. Functional data show that progestin pretreatment of breast cancer cells enhances the ability of prolactin to stimulate the transcriptional activity of Stat5 on a beta-casein promoter. Progesterone and epidermal growth factor synergize to control transcription from p21(WAF1) and c-fos promoters. These data demonstrate the convergence of progesterone and growth factor/cytokine signaling pathways at multiple levels, and suggest a mechanism for coordination of PR and Stat5-mediated proliferative and differentiative events in the mammary gland.
Yohimbine reduces neuropathology induced by ketamine/xylazine anesthesia.

Abstract Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, is commonly used in combination with xylazine, an α 2 -adrenergic receptor agonist, to induce surgical anesthesia in birds and other vertebrates. Problems associated with this anesthetic combination include impaired thermoregulation, compounded by the inability to feed while anesthesia lasts (approximately 6 h after a single dose), and the ketamine-induced vacuolization of large cortical neurons. In the zebra finch, yohimbine (an α2-adrenergic receptor agonist) counters the effects of ketamine/xylazine anesthesia, speeding recovery after the surgical procedure has been completed. In addition, administration of yohimbine reduces the formation of vacuoles in large cortical neurons and in neuropil. Yohimbine administration should be considered following all procedures involving ketamine/xylazine anesthesia.
Effects of three monoamine uptake inhibitors on behavior maintained by cocaine or food presentation in rhesus monkeys

Rhesus monkeys (n = 6) were surgically prepared with double lumen i.v. catheters and the effects of continuous infusion of the monoamine reuptake blockers mazindol, sertraline and fluoxetine were examined on behavior maintained by food presentation or i.v. cocaine injections. Under baseline conditions, lever pressing was maintained under a three-component multiple schedule of reinforcement in which food (1-g banana-flavored pellets) was available for 600 s under a fixed-ratio 30 schedule in the first and third components. In the second component, the dose of cocaine that maintained maximum rates of responding (0.03 or 0.05 mg/kg per injection) was available for 1800 s under a fixed-ratio 30 schedule. There was a brief time-out after each reinforcer. When behavior was stable, mazindol (0.4–3.2 mg/kg per 24 h), sertraline (0.1–8.0 mg/kg per 24 h) or fluoxetine (0.4–3.2 mg/kg per 24 h) was administered continuously via the second lumen of the double lumen catheter. Mazindol was administered for the same number of sessions that were required for responding to decline to low levels when the monkeys were allowed to self-administer saline [5–13] while sertraline and fluoxetine were administered for a minimum of 21 days. Baseline conditions were reinstated between doses of each drug. Each drug decreased cocaine-maintained responding in a dose-related manner. In most cases, food-maintained responding was disrupted at doses equal to or lower than those that decreased cocainemaintained responding. Additionally, the higher doses of each drug decreased food intake outside the daily sessions. These results suggest that monoamine uptake blockers with prominent effects on either dopamine or serotonin neurotransmission can decrease cocaine self-administration but only at doses that also affect behavior maintained by other reinforcers.
Phosphonate self-assembled monolayers as organic linkers in solid-state quantum dot sensetized solar cells

We have employed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, water contact angle (WCA) measurements, ellipsometry, and electrical measurements to study the effects of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with phosphonic acid headgroups on the bonding and performance of cadmium sulfide (CdS) solid-state quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). ∼2 to ∼6 nm size CdS quantum dots (QDs) were grown on the SAM-passivated TiO 2 surfaces by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). Our results show differences in the bonding of the CdS QDs at the TiO 2 surfaces with a SAM linker. Moreover, our data indicate that presence of a SAM increases the CdS uptake on TiO 2 as well as the performance of the resulting devices. Importantly, we observe ∼2 times higher power conversion efficiencies in the devices with a SAM compared to those that lack a SAM.
Fine and Domain-level Epitope Mapping of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A Neutralizing Antibodies by Yeast Surface Display

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), the most poisonous substance known, causes naturally occurring human disease (botulism) and is one of the top six biothreat agents. Botulism is treated with polyclonal antibodies produced in horses that are associated with a high incidence of systemic reactions. Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are under development as a safer therapy. Identifying neutralizing epitopes on BoNTs is an important step in generating neutralizing mAbs, and has implications for vaccine development. Here, we show that the three domains of BoNT serotype A (BoNT/A) can be displayed on the surface of yeast and used to epitope map six mAbs to the toxin domains they bind. The use of yeast obviates the need to express and purify each domain, and it should prove possible to display domains of other BoNT subtypes and serotypes for epitope mapping. Using a library of yeast-displayed BoNT/A binding domain (H(C)) mutants and selecting for loss of binding, the fine epitopes of three neutralizing BoNT/A mAbs were identified. Two mAbs bind the C-terminal subdomain of H(C), with one binding near the toxin sialoganglioside binding site. The most potently neutralizing mAb binds the N-terminal subdomain of H(C), in an area not previously thought to be functionally important. Modeling the epitopes shows how all three mAbs could bind BoNT/A simultaneously and may explain, in part, the dramatic synergy observed on in vivo toxin neutralization when these antibodies are combined. The results demonstrate how yeast display can be used for domain-level and fine mapping of conformational BoNT antibody epitopes and the mapping results identify three neutralizing BoNT/A epitopes.
Occupational exposure to nanomedical applications

Applications of nanotechnology in medicine such as cancer treatment drugs, imaging agents, and sensors promise to save people's lives and improve quality of life. Although only a limited number of nano-enabled medical applications are commercially available at this time, many are in the final stages of approval by regulatory agencies overseeing medical applications. Workers' exposure to nano-enabled medical applications in research and development laboratories and manufacturing facilities can already occur. This article reviews the information available on exposure to nano-enabled medical applications in occupational settings such as manufacturing and health care facilities. First, this report reviews monitoring exposure to conventional medical applications. Next, it describes monitoring exposure to nanomaterials. And, finally, it summarizes monitoring exposure to nano-enabled medical applications highlighting their unique aspects Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Studies on monomer reactivity ratios. I. An electronegativity model

A model based on an electronegativity scheme is proposed for treatment of monomer reactivity ratios in free-radical bulk copolymerization. Values for each monomer are assigned to three parameters: a relative localization (or resonance stabilization) energy, a radical electronegativity, and a monomer electronegativity. Parameters for 17 monomers are given and calculated reactivity ratios are tabulated for a large number of copolymerizations. Agreement with experiment is usually obtained to within experimental error except for systems involving acrylonitrile. Computed parameters are rationalized on the basis of molecular orbital theory.
REPETITIVE SKIN PICKING IN A STUDENT POPULATION AND COMPARISON WITH A SAMPLE OF SELF-INJURIOUS SKIN-PICKERS

The prevalence of skin-picking and its associated characteristics were documented in a nonclinical sample of 105 college students. Subjects completed a self-report skin-picking inventory and several paper-and-pencil scales. Students who endorsed skin-picking were compared to a clinical sample of self-injurious skin-pickers (n = 31) reported on previously. Of the student subjects, 78.1% (n = 82) endorsed some degree of skin-picking and four subjects satisfied criteria for severe, self-injurious picking. Student subjects significantly differed from the clinical sample-of self-injurious skin-pickers in the duration, focus, and extent of picking, techniques used, reasons for picking, associated emotions, and picking sequelae.
Chronic Gestational Stress Leads to Depressive-Like Behavior and Compromises Medial Prefrontal Cortex Structure and Function during the Postpartum Period

Postpartum depression, which affects approximately 15% of new mothers, is associated with impaired mother-infant interactions and deficits in cognitive function. Exposure to stress during pregnancy is a major risk factor for postpartum depression. However, little is known about the neural consequences of gestational stress. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region that has been linked to stress, cognition, maternal care, and mood disorders including postpartum depression. Here we examined the effects of chronic gestational stress on mPFC function and whether these effects might be linked to structural modifications in the mPFC. We found that in postpartum rats, chronic gestational stress resulted in maternal care deficits, increased depressive-like behavior, and impaired performance on an attentional set shifting task that relies on the mPFC. Furthermore, exposure to chronic stress during pregnancy reduced dendritic spine density on mPFC pyramidal neurons and altered spine morphology. Taken together, these findings suggest that pregnancy stress may contribute to postpartum mental illness and its associated symptoms by compromising structural plasticity in the mPFC.
Asset market equilibrium in infinite dimensional complete markets

Abstract In complete contingent claim markets, we prove the existence of equilibrium with short sales. All agents have the same belief about the events, and have a strictly concave von Neuman-Morgenstern utility function of income. The result is based on a general equilibrium existence theorem without consumption constraints, which says that an equilibrium exists if there is limited trade surplus. We also show that preferences are uniformly proper if and only if the marginal utility of income is bounded away from 0 and ∞.
Ideas and work of Richard M. Cyert

Abstract Richard M. Cyert's seminal contribution to economics is the development of behavioral theory of the firm. This theory has become an important plank in the bridge from economics to management. His other contributions include applications of Bayesian theory to economics, statistical sampling in accounting, experimental economics and developing an economic theory of stragetic management.
Competitive ionization of tetraphenylporphyrin in a laser-generated metal ion plasma.

The ionization of tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) in a laser-desorbed metal ion plasma is examined by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. Competitive reaction pathways observed to generate abundant molecular ion species include electron detachment, cation attachment, charge exchange, metallation, and transmetallation in the positive ion mode and electron capture, metallation, and transmetallation in the negative ion mode. In general, cation attachment reactions dominate positive ion spectra below the laser irradiance threshold for plasma ignition, although the metallation product from [TPP]+ reaction with the metal atom, M, is observed. Negative ion products are not observed in the FT-ICR spectrum when a plasma is not formed. Under plasma ignition conditions, positive ion spectra include [TPP]+ formed by charge exchange with M+, which is also present in the spectrum. Negative ion spectra are dominated by [TPP]−; which is formed by attachment to thermal electrons generated in the plasma. Metallation reactions involving TPP and the metal substrate are examined. Positive ion metallation products are observed both in the absence of a plasma through reaction of [TPP]+ with M and by a second pathway under plasma ignition conditions through reaction of TPP with M+. In negative ion mode, metallation is only observed under plasma ignition conditions through reaction of [TPP]− with M. Observation of metallated products is found to be consistent with formation of stable metal oxidation states in the metallated porphyrin.
A Comparison of Turbulence Models for a Supersonic Jet in Transonic Crossflow

Numerical simulations of a supersonic jet in a subsonic compressible crossflow are conducted using three turbulence models. The numerical results are compared to existing experimental data. The comparisons with the experiment include separation points, reattachment points, and surface pressures in the near jet region as well as mean total pressure and velocity measurements at 10 and 40 diameters downstream of the jet. The simulations employ a finite volume Navier-Stokes code on structured multi-block grids. The turbulence models considered in this study include the Spalart-Allmaras one-equation model, a low Reynolds number A:-e model and the Wilcox /c-co model. The Spalart-Allmaras model gave poor results in the near-field of the jet, but showed excellent agreement with the downstream total pressure and vorticity data. The two-equations models, while giving good results in the jet near-field, tended to over predict both the strength and the lift-off height of the jetinduced vortex pair.
NMR structure of the Apo-S100P protein.

dependent signal transduction pathways involved incell growth and differentiation, cell cycle regulationand metabolic control (Donato, 2001). S100 pro-teins have frequently been associated with a numberof neurological diseases, neoplastic diseases, humancardiac diseases and tumor development.Over twenty S100 proteins have been identiﬁedwith distinct functions and tissue distribution (Donato,2001). However, the three dimensional structures ofonly several dimeric S100 proteins have been determ-ined by NMR (S100B (Drohat et al., 1999), S100A1(Rustandi et al., 2002), S100A6 (Maler et al., 1999))method. Human S100P, a 95 amino acid residue pro-tein ﬁrst isolatedin 1992(Emotoet al., 1992),has50%and 35% sequence identity with S100B and calcyclin(S100A6), respectively (Gribenko and Makhatadze,1998). Protein expression studies have shown that thedifferent amounts of S100P in androgen-dependentand androgen-independent prostate cell lines might
Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies of sialidase L from the leech Macrobdella decora

Functional monomeric 83 kDa sialidase L, a NeuAcot2--->3Galspecific sialidase from Macrobdella leech, was expressed in Escherichia coli and readily crystallized by a macroseeding technique. The crystal belongs to space group PI with unit-cell parameters a = 46.4, b = 69.3, c = 72.5 A, o~ = 113.5,/3 = 95.4 and >, = 107.3 ~. There is one molecule per unit cell, giving a V,, = 2.4 A 3 Da -~ and a solvent content of 40%. Native and mercury-derivative data sets were collected to 2.0 A resolution. Threading and molecular-replacement calculations confirmed the existence of a bacterial sialidase-like domain.
Measuring stigma in children with epilepsy and their parents: instrument development and testing

Purpose. The goal of this work is to describe psychometric properties of two scales measuring perceived stigma in children with epilepsy and their parents. Methods. Data were collected for the parent scale in two samples: parents of 173 children with epilepsy and of 224 children with new-onset seizures. The child scale was tested in the chronic sample. Content validity, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity were tested. Results. Both scales had strong internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Higher scores were associated with greater seizure severity scores. In the parent scale, lower scores were associated with more positive mood, less worry, and more family leisure activities. In the child scale, higher scores were correlated with more negative attitude, greater worry, poorer self-concept, and more depression symptoms. Conclusions. Both scales were found to have strong psychometric properties. They are short, and items are easy to understand. These scales have potential for use in research and in the clinical setting to measure stigma. 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Nonneutralizing Anti-HIV-1 Antibody Turns into a Neutralizing Antibody When Expressed on the Surface of HIV-1-Susceptible Cells: A New Way to Fight HIV

During HIV-1 infection or vaccination, HIV-1 envelope spikes elicit Ab responses. Neutralizing Abs block viral entry by recognizing epitopes on spikes critical for their interaction with receptor, coreceptors or fusion. In contrast, nonneutralizing Abs fail to do so because they recognize epitopes either buried or exposed but not critical for viral entry. Previously, we produced a high-affinity human mAb against the cluster II determinant of gp41. This Ab or its recombinant Fab and single-chain Fv have been repeatedly shown to bind to HIV-1 gp160 or gp41, but fail to block viral entry. We report that, surprisingly, expression of this nonneutralizing anti-HIV-1 gp41 single-chain Fv on the surface of human CD4 T cells markedly inhibits HIV-1 replication and cell-cell fusion. The inhibition targets the HIV-1 envelope at the level of viral entry, regardless of HIV-1 tropism. Although this bona fide nonneutralizing Ab does not neutralize HIV-1 entry when produced as a soluble protein, it acts as a neutralizing Ab when expressed on the cell surface. Expressing Abs on the surface of HIV-1-susceptible cells can be a new way to fight HIV-1.
Adenovirus E4orf4 protein reduces phosphorylation of c-Fos and E1A proteins while simultaneously reducing the level of AP-1

Abstract Adenovirus E1A protein and cyclic AMP cooperate to induce transcription factor AP-1 and viral gene expression in mouse S49 cells. We report that a protein encoded within the viral E4 gene region acts to counterbalance the induction of AP-1 DNA-binding activity by E1A and cyclic AMP. Studies with mutant adenoviruses demonstrated that in the absence of E4orf4 protein, AP-1 DNA-binding activity is induced to substantially higher levels than in wild-type virus-infected cells. The induction is the result of increased production of JunB and c-Fos proteins. Hyperphosphorylated forms of c-Fos and E1A proteins accumulate in the absence of functional E4orf4 protein. We propose that the E4orf4 protein acts to inhibit the activity of a cellular kinase that phosphorylates both the E1A and c-Fos proteins. Phosphorylation-dependent alterations in the activity of c-Fos, E1A, or some unidentified protein might, then, lead to decreased synthesis of AP-1 components. This E4 function likely plays an important role in natural infections, since a mutant virus unable to express the E4orf4 protein is considerably more cytotoxic than the wild-type virus.
FXR-mediated regulation of eNOS expression in vascular endothelial cells

Aims The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that is highly expressed in liver, kidney, adrenals, and intestine. FXR was previously proposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases via regulating the metabolism and transport of cholesterol. We have recently shown that FXR is also expressed in rat pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (EC) and that activation of FXR leads to inhibition of endothelin-1 expression. In the present study, we examine whether activation of FXR also affects the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in rat, bovine, and sheep vascular EC. Methods and results Treatment of vascular EC with a FXR ligand resulted in upregulation of expression of eNOS mRNA and protein and an increased production of nitrite/nitrate. FXR appears to induce eNOS expression at a transcriptional level because (1) upregulation of eNOS mRNA expression was abolished by the treatment of a transcription inhibitor, actinomycin D; and (2) eNOS promoter activity was significantly increased by pharmacological or genetic activation of FXR. Functional analysis of rat eNOS promoter identified an imperfect inverted repeat DNA motif, IR2 (2628AGCTCAgtGGACCT-641), as a likely FXR-responsive element that is involved in eNOS regulation. Conclusion These results support the notion that vascular FXR may serve as a novel molecular target for manipulating the expression of eNOS for the treatment of vascular diseases.
Stellate rhytidectomy: superior entropion repair in a dog with excessive facial skin

A four-year-old Chinese shar pei was presented for entropion repair that had not been corrected adequately with two prior Hotz-Celsus procedures. The primary cause for the failure was the weight of the excessive, superior facial folds often found in this breed. A new technique is presented to measure and remove these folds in a stellate pattern by following natural stress lines, thus effecting surgical repair of the superior lid entropion.
A novel feature descriptor invariant to complex brightness changes

We describe a novel and robust feature descriptor called ordinal spatial intensity distribution (OSID) which is invariant to any monotonically increasing brightness changes. Many traditional features are invariant to intensity shift or affine brightness changes but cannot handle more complex nonlinear brightness changes, which often occur due to the nonlinear camera response, variations in capture device parameters, temporal changes in the illumination, and viewpoint-dependent illumination and shadowing. A configuration of spatial patch sub-divisions is defined, and the descriptor is obtained by computing a 2-D histogram in the intensity ordering and spatial sub-division spaces. Extensive experiments show that the proposed descriptor significantly outperforms many state-of-the-art descriptors such as SIFT, GLOH, and PCA-SIFT under complex brightness changes. Moreover, the experiments demonstrate the proposed descriptor's superior performance even in the presence of image blur, viewpoint changes, and JPEG compression. The proposed descriptor has far reaching implications for many applications in computer vision including motion estimation, object tracking/recognition, image classification/retrieval, 3D reconstruction, and stereo.
Links between Tropical Cyclone Activity and Madden-Julian Oscillation Phase in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific Basins

Abstract The leading intraseasonal mode of atmospheric and oceanic variability, the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), influences tropical and extratropical sea level pressure, temperature, divergent and rotational wind components, moisture, and deep convection. As a 40- to 50-day oscillation, the MJO is also known to influence tropical phenomena, including tropical cyclone (TC) activity in various TC basins. The links between the MJO and multiple measures of TC activity, including genesis, landfall, and an integrative accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index, were quantified for multiple TC-formation basins across the Western Hemisphere, including the North Atlantic and northeast Pacific Ocean and subbasins, for the period 1978–2006. Using this relatively long (29 yr) TC dataset and employing an upper-tropospheric MJO diagnostic that is physically meaningful over the entire Western Hemisphere, this study extends existing research on the relationships between the MJO and TCs. The NOAA Climate Prediction Cente...
Accelerated Maturation of the Adrenal Medulla in Anencephaly

A review of the pathologic features at autopsy of patients with anencephaly indicated the possibility of an accelerated maturation of the adrenal medullary tissue. The histologic features of the adrenal glands from 50 patients with anencephaly and 50 nonanencephalic infants matched for gestational age who had undergone autopsy at the Johns Hopkins Hospital were therefore examined. The cells of the adrenal medulla showed progressive maturation during fetal life from neuroblastic cells, to larger cells with increased cytoplasm, to still larger cells with vacuolated cytoplasm and a positive chromaffin reaction. Each anencephalic infant was compared to its matched control to determine which had the greater maturation of medullary cells. In 35 instances (70%) the adrenal medulla of the anencephalic infant was judged to be more mature than its control, in 13 (26%) the maturation was equal, and in 2 (4%) the anencephalic infant was less mature (p > 0.001). Although the data were not subject to quantitation in th...
Pharmacokinetics of Nelfinavir and Efavirenz in Antiretroviral-Naïve, Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Subjects when Administered Alone or in Combination with Nucleoside Analog Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

Pharmacokinetic studies were conducted with human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving efavirenz, nelfinavir, or both agents at weeks 4 and 32. Reductions of 25% and 45% were observed in the mean nelfinavir area under the concentration-time curve and minimum concentration of the drug in serum, and there was a 31% more rapid half-life for patients receiving both drugs compared to patients receiving nelfinavir alone. There were no significant differences in efavirenz pharmacokinetics.
Hoeffding Races: Accelerating Model Selection Search for Classification and Function Approximation

Selecting a good model of a set of input points by cross validation is a computationally intensive process, especially if the number of possible models or the number of training points is high. Techniques such as gradient descent are helpful in searching through the space of models, but problems such as local minima, and more importantly, lack of a distance metric between various models reduce the applicability of these search methods. Hoeffding Races is a technique for finding a good model for the data by quickly discarding bad models, and concentrating the computational effort at differentiating between the better ones. This paper focuses on the special case of leave-one-out cross validation applied to memory-based learning algorithms, but we also argue that it is applicable to any class of model selection problems.
Humor as Circuits in Semantic Networks

This work presents a first step to a general implementation of the Semantic-Script Theory of Humor (SSTH). Of the scarce amount of research in computational humor, no research had focused on humor generation beyond simple puns and punning riddles. We propose an algorithm for mining simple humorous scripts from a semantic network (Concept-Net) by specifically searching for dual scripts that jointly maximize overlap and incongruity metrics in line with Raskin's Semantic-Script Theory of Humor. Initial results show that a more relaxed constraint of this form is capable of generating humor of deeper semantic content than wordplay riddles. We evaluate the said metrics through a user-assessed quality of the generated two-liners.
Dynamic susceptibility contrast MR imaging of regional cerebral blood volume in Alzheimer disease: A promising alternative to nuclear medicine

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The goal of our study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity for Alzheimer disease of semiquantitative dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MR imaging as compared with results of qualitative single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the same patients and with previously published semiquantitative SPECT results. METHODS: Fifty subjects were studied: 19 patients with probable Alzheimer disease with moderate cognitive impairment, eight mildly impaired patients with possible or probable Alzheimer disease, 18 group-matched elderly healthy comparison subjects, and five elderly comparison patients with psychiatric diagnoses. Relative values of temporoparietal regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) were measured as a percentage of cerebellar rCBV, and group classification was assessed with logistic regression. The DSC MR imaging results were compared with SPECT scans in these same subjects and with previously published semiquantitative SPECT data. RESULTS: Temporoparietal rCBV ratios were reduced 20% bilaterally in the patients with Alzheimer disease. Using left and right temporoparietal rCBV as index measures, sensitivity was 95% in moderately affected patients with Alzheimer disease and 88% in patients with mild cases. Specificity was 96% in healthy comparison subjects and in psychiatric comparison subjects. Sensitivity with DSC MR imaging was considerably better than with visual clinical readings of SPECT scans (74% in moderate and 50% in mild Alzheimer disease cases), and was similar to previous published SPECT temporoparietal measurements (90%). Specificity with SPECT was 100% visually and 87% based on previous temporoparietal measurements. CONCLUSIONS: DSC MR imaging of rCBV is promising as a safe, potentially lower-cost alternative to nuclear medicine imaging for the evaluation of patients with dementia.
An algorithm for restricted maximum likelihood estimation in balanced multivariate variance components models

Restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimation of variance components in multivariate linear models is a computationally intensive task. Calvin and Dykstra (1991a) have developed a general maximum likelihood estimation algorithm for a product of Wishart densities when the parameter matrices of the Wishart distributions follow a partial order of the Lowner type (Lowner, 1934). The algorithm is iterative in nature and does not require the computation of derivatives. It is guaranteed to converge to the correct solution and, for an important class of models, can be applied to the problem of REML estimation of variance component. In this paper, we define the class of models for which the algorithm is applicable. This class includes all two-factor models and all nested models as special cases. We also relate the general algorithm to the problem of REML estimation for balanced multivariate variance components models. An imple-mentation is supplied in the Appendix and computational aspects of the algorithm are a...
Fossil Arthropods in the British Museum. VI. Oligocene insects from Garnet Bay, Isle of Wight

(1921). LVII.—Fossil Arthropods in the British Museum.—VI. Oligocene insects from Gurnet Bay, Isle of Wight. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 7, No. 42, pp. 453-480.
Non-equilibrium Dynamics in Zeeman-Limited Superconducting Al Films

We report non-equilibrium dynamics in the tunneling density of states of ultra-thin Al films in high Zeeman fields. We have measured the transport and tunneling density of states of the films through the first-order Zeeman critical field transition. Films with sheet resistances of a few hundred ohms exhibit slow, non-exponential relaxation in the hysteretic critical field region. The relaxation traces are interspersed with abrupt avalanche-like collapses of the condensate on the superheating branch of the critical field hysteresis loop but not on the supercooling branch. We believe that film dynamics reflects an inhomogeneous order parameter that emerges in the critical field region.
Reducing FDG-PET bed positions in selected oncology patients does not compromise study efficacy

1617 Objectives: Most oncology PET imaging protocols scan from the skull base to upper-mid thigh. However, isolated metastases above the mid neck level or below the pubis level without concurrent metastases/recurrence between these two levels are rare. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess if omitting bed positions above the mid neck and below the pubis level would affect the efficacy of PET in non- lymphoma, melanoma, or head/neck cancer patients. Methods: FDG PET scans in 385 patients without lymphoma, melanoma, and head/neck cancer, were reviewed (125 lung, 49 pulmonary nodules, 44 esophageal, 47 colorectal, 33 breast, and 87 various other cancers). Location of abnormal lesions were divided into Region A: above the mid neck; Region B: mid neck to pubis; and Region C: below the pubis. Results: Of the 385 patients, 83 patients had negative PET scans. 87 patients had 1 lesion in Region B; none of them had lesions in Region A or C. The remaining 215 patients had 2 or more lesions in Region B; 4 of them had lesions in Region A and/or C. Of these 4 patients, one had a cervical focus which appeared to represent DJD, and 2 other lesions in the chest. Two patients had lesions below the pubis level (femur), but also had multiple lesions in the body. The remaining one patient had a frontal lobe metastasis that was imaged as it was already suspected. With exception of this patient with brain lesion which would otherwise have also missed by conventional imaging field-of-view that does not include above the skull base, omitting Regions A & C in other 3 patients would not have resulted in any change in patient management. Conclusions: The yield of including above the mid neck level and below the pubis level appears to be quite low, and it appears safe to conclude that omitting these regions does not significantly affect the efficacy of PET imaging in patients with cancers other than lymphoma, melanoma, and head/neck cancer. At least one or possibly two bed positions can be reduced, which can result in either increased patient through-put or increased imaging time per patient.
Dental Students’ Perceived Level of Competence in Orofacial Pain

Orofacial pain (OFP) is a group of symptoms affecting a significant portion of the population; inadequate diagnosis and management of these symptoms present a potential detrimental effect on the public's health. It has been suggested that dental schools must prepare their graduates to deal with these problems rather than relying on their participation in continuing educa- tion courses after graduation. The aim of this study was to determine how third- and fourth-year students at one dental school perceived their level of competence related to OFP. Out of 140 students who were sent the survey, seventy-four (53 percent response rate) completed it in its entirety. The cross-sectional survey included questions regarding the students' familiarity with the categories of OFP. Questions asked how they perceived their knowledge in each of these areas, how comfortable they felt providing diagnosis and treatment, and if more knowledge was needed. The results showed that the fourth-year students were more comfortable than the third-year students in diagnosing and managing intraoral pain. Multiple comparisons also showed statistically significant differences between OFP categories for questions related to perceived knowledge, comfort in diagnosing and treating, and perceived need for more information. Overall, the students' perceived knowledge of and confidence in treating OFP varied with respect to certain categories, being lowest for psychogenic pain.
Synthesis of a Dimer of β-(1,4)-l-Arabinosyl-(2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline Inspired by Art v 1, the Major Allergen of Mugwort

Nα-tert-Butoxycarbonyl-l-trans-4-hydroxyproline allyl ester (Boc-Hyp-OAll) was glycosylated with 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-l-arabinose p-cresylthioglycoside in 60% yield with 4:1 β:α stereoselectivity. Deprotection of N- and C-terminii independently gave a prolyl amine and prolyl carboxylate respectively that were coupled under standard conditions with 1-[bis-(dimethylamino)methylene]-1H-1,2,3-triazolo-[4,5,b]-pyridininium hexafluorophosphate 3-oxide (N-HATU) to give the dimer 1 in 46% yield. These results represent the first steps toward the production of homogeneous oligomers to determine the minimal epitope of the Art v 1 allergen.
Six-item screener to identify cognitive impairment among potential subjects for clinical research.

Objective. To design a brief cognitive screener with acceptable sensitivity and specificity for identifying subjects with cognitive impairmentDesign. Cohort one is assembled from a community-based survey coupled with a second-stage diagnostic evaluation using formal diagnostic criteria for dementia.
Legal Briefs: Late-Onset Group B Streptococcus Meningitis: Should It Happen in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit?

* Abbreviations: BP; : blood pressure CBC; : complete blood cell CNS; : central nervous system EOGBS; : early-onset group B Streptococcus GBS; : group B Streptococcus HR; : heart rate IAP; : intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis ID; : infectious disease LOGBS; : late-onset group B Streptococcus A 28-6/7-weeks'-gestational-age boy whose birthweight was 1,340 g was born to a 32-year-old G3P0 woman whose pregnancy was complicated by a short cervix and preterm labor. Two cervical cultures and 1 urine culture were positive for group B Streptococcus (GBS), the latest positive cervical culture taken 2 days before delivery. Antibiotics were not given despite preterm labor with a positive GBS culture and bacteriuria. The infectious disease (ID) consult retained by the plaintiff was critical of this omission. The mother was given magnesium sulfate for tocolysis and antenatal steroids. An emergency cesarean delivery was performed because of heart rate (HR) decelerations down to the 70s for 6 to 7 minutes. At the time of delivery, membranes were ruptured and clear fluid was found. Apgar scores were 91 and 105. The GBS status was documented “unknown” in the delivery and neonatal records and remained unknown throughout the infant’s hospital stay. The plaintiff ID expert was critical of the physicians caring for the infant because he felt they should have become aware of the maternal GBS status . The treating neonatologists pointed out that nothing would have been done differently for the infant with that knowledge because the infant ’ s blood culture was sent and he was given empiric antibiotic. Continuous positive airway pressure was started immediately after birth, but because respiratory distress syndrome developed, he was intubated and given poractant alfa (Curosurf; Cornerstone Therapeutics, Inc, Cary, NC). The infant was extubated a few hours later and remained on room air for 1 month, initially with nasal continuous positive airway pressure, then nasal cannula. The blood culture was negative, and complete blood cell (CBC) count was normal. Ampicillin and gentamicin were discontinued after 2 days. His baseline HRs averaged 146 beats per minute until caffeine was started. Then …
Abstract 10804: Incidence and Prognostic Significance of Silent Versus Clinically Manifest Myocardial Infarction in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background: Differences in the incidence and prognostic significance of silent myocardial infarction (SMI) vs. MI with clinical manifestations (CMI) are not well-established in racially diverse populations. Methods: We compared the incidence of SMI and CMI and their associations with coronary heart disease (CHD) death and death from all causes in 9,498 participants (mean age 54 years, 56.9% women, 20.3% African-American) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline visit (1987-89). Incident SMI was defined as ECG evidence of MI without documented CMI occurring after the baseline visit until visit 4 (1996-98). CHD and all-cause deaths were ascertained starting from ARIC visit 4 until 2010 (median follow up 12 years). Results: There were 386 (4.1%) incident CMIs and 317 (3.3%) SMIs. Both CMI and SMI were more common in men (6.8% and 4.3%, respectively) than in women (2.0% and 2.6%, respectively) p Table ). A significant interaction by sex was observed; SMI and CMI were associated with higher risk of CHD and all-cause deaths in women compared to men (interaction p-value= 0.014). No significant interactions by age or race were detected. Conclusions: SMI is as common as CMI, and both are associated with increased risk of CHD and all-cause mortality. Racial and sex differences in the distribution of SMI and CMI, as well as sex differences in the prognostic significance of SMI and CMI exist. These findings suggest that an ECG finding of MI in persons without a history of MI may warrant consideration in personalized CHD prevention risk management efforts particularly in women.
The Mouse APRT Gene as a Model for Studying Epigenetic Gene Inactivation

Somatic cell variation is a broad term that covers heritable changes in phenotype due to mutational or epigenetic changes (Siminovitch, 1976). Mutational changes represent alterations in the primary structure of the DNA sequence and range from events as small as base-pair substitutions to those as large as loss of entire chromosomes. In contrast, epigenetic changes do not affect the primary structure of the DNA sequence, which makes them somewhat more difficult to analyze.
Effects of \( {K^0}-{{\overline{K}}^0} \) mixing on determining γ from B ± → DK ±

The decay B ± → DK ± followed by the subsequent decay of the D meson into final states involving a neutral kaon can be used to determine the CKM angle γ. We study CP violation effects due to mixing and decay of the final state kaon. We find that ignoring these effects produces a shift in γ of order ϵ K /r B , an enhancement of 1/r B compared to the naive expectation. We then show how to take these effects into account such that, in principle, they will not introduce any theoretical error in the extraction of γ.
Fatigue Life and Reliability of Randomly Excited Structures

An improved stochastic model is used to investigate the fatigue failure of a structural or machine component under random excitations. The failure is treated as a classic first-passage event in which a dominant crack grows to the critical length. Two specific improvements are made over previous analyses in that the critical crack length is treated properly as an absorbing boundary for the crack growth process, and that the correlation among the successive stress cycles which induce the crack growth is taken into account. Analytical and numerical results are given of the probability density and statistical moments of the fatigue life, and of the reliability function in the case of the Gaussian stress process
Heterogeneity Coefficients for Mahalanobis' D as a Multivariate Effect Size

The Mahalanobis distance D is the multivariate generalization of Cohen's d and can be used as a standardized effect size for multivariate differences between groups. An important issue in the interpretation of D is heterogeneity, that is, the extent to which contributions to the overall effect size are concentrated in a small subset of variables rather than evenly distributed across the whole set. Here I present two heterogeneity coefficients for D based on the Gini coefficient, a well-known index of inequality among values of a distribution. I discuss the properties and limitations of the two coefficients and illustrate their use by reanalyzing some published findings from studies of gender differences.
An Asymmetric Conformational Change in LacY

Galactoside/H+ symport by the lactose permease of Escherichia coli (LacY) involves reciprocal opening and closing of periplasmic and cytoplasmic cavities so that sugar- and H+-binding sites become alternatively accessible to either side of the membrane. After reconstitution into proteoliposomes, LacY with the periplasmic cavity sealed by cross-linking paired-Cys residues does not bind sugar from the periplasmic side. However, reduction of the S–S bond restores opening of the periplasmic cavity and galactoside binding. Furthermore, nanobodies that stabilize the double-Cys mutant in a periplasmic-open conformation and allow free access of galactoside to the binding site do so only after reduction of the S–S bond. In contrast, when cross-linked LacY is solubilized in detergent, galactoside binding is observed, indicating that the cytoplasmic cavity is patent. Sugar binding from the cytoplasmic side exhibits nonlinear stopped-flow kinetics, and analysis reveals a two-step process in which a conformational cha...
Message from a long-time friend: congratulations on Emeritus Professor Satoshi Ōmura's accomplishments

Message from a long-time friend: congratulations on Emeritus Professor Satoshi Ōmura’s accomplishments
First-Generation Iranian Refugees’ Acculturation in the United States: A Focus on Resilience

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the struggles and strengths of acculturation for first-generation Iranian refugees dealing with mass trauma in the United States, using the family resiliency framework lens. Transcendental phenomenology qualitative research approach developed by Moustakas (Phenomenological research methods, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1994) interpreted the interviews collected from 10 participants (five males, five females) who were first-generation Iranian refugees in the United States. The four essential themes that emerged from the transcriptions were: (a) Forced to leave home country because of persecution; (b) Culture shock in the U.S.; (c) Acculturation Process; and (d) Strengths and Resiliencies. Results of this study highlighted the importance of acculturation for first-generation Iranian refugees in the United States. It would be helpful for clinicians to be educated and aware of the mass trauma phenomenon that first-generation Iranian refugees experienced when they were forced to leave their home country and started a new life in the United States.