cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Short-Term, High-Dose Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein as a Skeletal Anabolic Agent for the Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

PTH-related protein (PTHrP) is homologous with PTH. PTH, an effective anabolic agent for treating osteoporosis, has been shown to stimulate both bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts. We examined whether PTHrP might share anabolic properties in osteoporosis. A 3-month double-blind, prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed in 16 healthy postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. All received calcium and vitamin D, and all continued their prior hormone replacement therapy. One group also received daily sc PTHrP (6.56 μg/kg·d, or approximately 400 μg/d), and the other group received placebo injections. The PTHrP group displayed a 4.7% increase in lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) and also demonstrated an increase in osteoblastic bone formation, as assessed using serum osteocalcin measurements. In contrast, there was no increase in bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and collagen-1 propeptide or either of two markers of osteoclastic bone resorption,...
Wireless Power Transmission: From Far Field to Near Field

Wireless power has been a topic of interest from the early 20th century until today. This paper traces the history of wireless power transmission starting with Nikola Tesla, continuing on to experiments with beaming power using microwaves. Examining the difference between near-field and far-field techniques, this paper continues into modern times explaining why near-field technique is more suitable for consumer electronic devices and exploring the near-field transmission of power via the magnetic field. Examples of short-range and midrange wireless power systems are explored.
Fuzzy Force-Feedback Augmentation for Manual Control of Multirobot System

Multirobot systems represent an enticing area of research with numerous real-world applications. Teams of multiple robots can achieve tasks that are more difficult or even impossible for a single robot, e.g., environment exploration, search and rescue, or surveillance operations. In a previous work, the authors developed a system for the single-operator manual control of a multirobot system. However, such teleoperation systems commonly suffer from inadequate perception of the remote environment. This paper extends the previously presented work by adding a fuzzy force-feedback (FFF) augmentation for the manual control of a multirobot system. The FFF augmentation delivers additional information to the operator. Moreover, it guides the operator toward the smooth control of the robotic group. The force feedback was generated by a system of fuzzy controllers monitoring the state of the multirobot group. The performance of the system was evaluated in a virtual environment, and the recorded forces were explored in various scenarios. The force-feedback augmentation demonstrated the following improvements: 1) operator's increased obstacle awareness and 2) improved maneuvering performance.
Rethinking Hospital-Associated Deconditioning: Proposed Paradigm Shift

Physical therapists often treat older adults with marked deficits in physical function secondary to an acute hospitalization. These deficits are often collectively defined as hospital-associated deconditioning (HAD). However, there is a paucity of evidence that objectively demonstrates the efficacy of physical therapy for older adults with HAD. Older adults with HAD represent a highly variable and complex population and thus may be difficult to study and develop effective interventions for using our current rehabilitation strategies. This perspective article outlines an innovative framework to operationalize and treat older adults with HAD. This framework may help therapists apply emerging exercise strategies to this population and facilitate additional research to support the total value of physical therapy for older adults in postacute care settings—with value measured not only by improvements in physical performance but perhaps also by reduced rates of disability development, rehospitalization, and institutionalization.
Mobiles phones and health

Mobile phones came on the market in the 1980s and people in the Nordic countries were among the first to use the technology. We are now among the most frequent mobile phone users in the world. Mobile phone technology has changed from analogue to digital signals, and signal frequencies have changed from 450 to 2200 MHz. Exposure to this non-ionizing radiation depends on the distance from base stations, the type of phone, where the antenna is placed, and of course on how frequently the phone is used by you and by those around you. A possible brain cancer risk was among the first concerns for no particular good reason. An anecdotal report on the Larry King Show in 1993 linking phone use to brain cancer had substantial significance for later funding, in spite of the fact that this type of radiation is not expected to cause DNA damage. The exposure may at worst promote a cancer risk, although we do not know how. It may, in fact, be more plausible that the exposure could impact brain functions and lead to a change in cognitive or behavioural problems. The largest research funds have by far been given to cancer studies, and a number of large and small studies have been carried out showing anything from no association to a possible protective effect, or that mobile phones are a possible cause of some types of brain cancer [1–9]. The only conclusion we can draw at present is that the use of mobile phones is probably not a strong cause of cancer. This conclusion is based on evidence from specific epidemiologic studies as well as on the general epidemiologic monitoring of brain cancer incidence over time. Some brain cancers have displayed an increasing incidence over time, but this can partly, or perhaps fully, be explained by improvements in diagnostic tools. But why is it so painful and difficult to reach consensus? One reason is that these studies are difficult to do, and perhaps because funding agencies jumped into large-scale case-control studies at an early stage without doing their homework properly. The casecontrol study is a valid design, as good as any observational design, if a number of conditions are fulfilled. In this case, they are not. First, you need to be able to obtain valid exposure data retrospectively, and in most of these studies exposure assessment is based on recall over years or even decades. This recall for cases is given by a brain with a cancer that may have been present for many years before it was diagnosed. How is it possible under these conditions to get valid exposure data or at least to maintain symmetry in the quality of exposure assessment among cases and controls? Most likely, it is not. The method studies done by the Interphone group have clearly shown that it is difficult to get valid exposure data and to avoid selection bias.
Evaluating Ester Crosslinking of Cotton Fabric by a Polycarboxylic Acid Using Acid-Base Titration

Polycarboxylic acids such as 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) have been the most promising nonformaldehyde durable press finishing agents to replace the traditional N-methylol reagents. High levels of smooth fabric appearance are the direct result of ester crosslinking of cotton cellulose by a polycarboxylic acid, and appearance is therefore determined by the amount of ester crosslinks formed on the fabric. In this research, we use acid-base titration to evaluate ester crosslinking by measuring the concentrations of the ester and the free carboxylic acid and the percent of carboxyl groups forming crosslinks on the cotton treated with BTCA. We correlate the wrinkle resistance of the treated cotton with the ester concentration on the fabric. The linear correlation between wrinkle-recovery angle and ester concentration indicates that ester concentration determined by titration can be used as the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of crosslinking for durable press finished cottons.
Temperature Dependence of Absorption in Ice at 532 nm.

A YAG laser was used to emit nanosecond pulses of light at 532 nm at depths from 1185 to 2200 m in Antarctic ice, corresponding to temperatures increasing from 229 to 249 K. From the timing distributions of photons arriving at phototubes at distances up to 100 m and at similar depths, the scattering and absorption coefficients were measured, and the temperature dependence of absorptivity at 532 nm was determined. Despite the absorptivity being many orders of magnitude lower at 532 nm than in the near ultraviolet and near infrared, the fractional increase of absorptivity, a-1da/dT = 0.01 K-1, was the same in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared. Analysis of published data at other wavelengths shows that a-1da/dT is ∼0.01 K-1 from 175 nm to ∼1 cm, above which it increases strongly from 1 cm to 10 m. That temperature dependence applies only in regions not close to absorption bands.
New York City Physicians’ Views of Providing Long-Acting Reversible Contraception to Adolescents

PURPOSE Although the US adolescent pregnancy rate is high, use of the most effective reversible contraceptives—intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implantable contraception—is low. Increasing use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) could decrease adolescent pregnancy rates. We explored New York City primary care physicians’ experiences, attitudes, and beliefs about counseling and provision of LARC to adolescents. METHODS We conducted in-depth telephone interviews with 28 family physicians, pediatricians, and obstetrician-gynecologists using an interview guide based on an implementation science theoretical framework. After an iterative coding and analytic process, findings were interpreted using the capability (knowledge and skills), opportunity (environmental factors), and motivation (attitudes and beliefs) conceptual model of behavior change. RESULTS Enablers to IUD counseling and provision include knowledge that nulliparous adolescents are appropriate IUD candidates (capability) and opportunity factors, such as (1) a clinical environment supportive of adolescent contraception, (2) IUD availability in clinic, and (3) the ability to insert IUDs or easy access to an someone who can. Factors enabling motivation include belief in the overall positive consequences of IUD use; this is particularly influenced by a physicians’ perception of adolescents’ risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Physicians rarely counsel about implantable contraception because of knowledge gaps (capability) and limited access to the device (opportunity). CONCLUSION Knowledge, skills, clinical environment, and physician attitudes, all influence the likelihood a physician will counsel or insert LARC for adolescents. Interventions to increase adolescents’ access to LARC in primary care must be tailored to individual clinical practice sites and practicing physicians, the methods must be made more affordable, and residency programs should offer up-to-date, evidence-based teaching.
Computers and Classroom Culture

Computers and Classroom Culture. Janet Ward Schofield. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. 271 pp.
The Chemistry of Platinum in the +3 Oxidation State

Platinum(III) is no longer an uncommon oxidation state. Numerous binuclear platinum(III) complexes have been prepared and structurally characterized over the past eight years. These include sulfate-bridged dimers of D4h symmetry, [Pt2(SO4)4L2]2−, L = H2O, DMSO; phosphate-bridged complexes [Pt2(HPO4)4-(H2O)2]2− and [Pt2(H2PO4)(HPO4)3(py)2]−; POP (H2 P2 O2−5)-bridged ions [Pt2-(POP)4X2]2−, X = halide; an extensive series of α-pyridonate (C5H4NO−)-bridged head-to-head and head-to-tail complexes, [Pt2(NH3)4 (C5H4NO)2XY]n−, X, Y = NO3, NO2, H2O, Cl, Br; n = 2, 3; and organometallic derivatives such as [Pt2(CH3)4-(CF3CO2)2(4-Mepy)2]. In all cases there is a Pt–Pt single bond of length 2.47–2.7 A, pseudo-octahedral geometry about platinum, and two or more bridging ligands. The complexes are stable in solution and some undergo quasi-reversible two-electron redox reactions. Mononuclear platinum(III) complexes are less well characterized structurally, but have been stabilized in diamagnetic host lattices in the solid state and by macrobicyclic cage ligands in solution following pulse radiolytic or γ-irradiation of precursor platinum(II) complexes. The first unequivocal, crystallographically characterized mononuclear platinum(III) complex, [Pt(C6Cl5)4]−, has just been reported.
Principlism and communitarianism

The decline in the interest in ethical theory is first outlined, as a background to the author’s discussion of principlism. The author’s own stance, that of a communitarian philosopher, is then described, before the subject of principlism itself is addressed. Two problems stand in the way of the author’s embracing principlism: its individualistic bias and its capacity to block substantive ethical inquiry. The more serious problem the author finds to be its blocking function. Discussing the four scenarios the author finds that the utility of principlism is shown in the two scenarios about Jehovah’s Witnesses but that when it comes to selling kidneys for transplantation and germline enhancement, principlism is of little help.
Postcontrast Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging: A Novel Technique for the Detection of Arteriovenous Shunting in Vascular Malformations of the Brain

Background and Purpose—The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of postcontrast susceptibility-weighted MRI (PCSWI) in the evaluation of vascular malformations of the brain (BVM). Methods—We retrospectively evaluated PCSWI and digital subtraction angiography data from 16 consecutive patients with known or suspected BVM, which had been entered into a prospectively maintained database during a 1-year period. There had been no intervening treatment or change in patients' symptoms between the PCSWI and digital subtraction angiography studies. The use of PCSWI in the detection of arteriovenous shunting was compared with that of routine noncontrast susceptibility-weighted imaging, time-of-flight MR angiography, and contrast-enhanced MR angiography using digital subtraction angiography results as the reference standard. The presence of arteriovenous shunting in PCSWI or susceptibility-weighted imaging sequences was defined by the presence of abnormal signal hyperintensity in the venous structures a...
Inhibition of Prostate Tumor Growth and Bone Remodeling by the Vascular Targeting Agent VEGF121/rGel

The pathophysiology of tumor growth following skeletal metastases and the poor response of this type of lesion to therapeutic intervention remains incompletely understood. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and its receptors play a role in both osteoclastogenesis and tumor growth. Systemic (i.v.) treatment of nude mice bearing intrafemoral prostate (PC-3) tumors with the vascular ablative agent VEGF(121)/recombinant gelonin (rGel) strongly inhibited tumor growth. Fifty percent of treated animals had complete regression of bone tumors with no development of lytic bone lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that VEGF(121)/rGel treatment suppressed tumor-mediated osteoclastogenesis in vivo. In vitro treatment of murine osteoclast precursors, both cell line (RAW264.7) and bone marrow-derived monocytes (BMM), revealed that VEGF(121)/rGel was selectively cytotoxic to osteoclast precursor cells rather than mature osteoclasts. VEGF(121)/rGel cytotoxicity was mediated by Flt-1, which was down-regulated during osteoclast differentiation. Analysis by flow cytometry and reverse transcription-PCR showed that both BMM and RAW264.7 cells display high levels of Flt-1 but low levels of Flk-1. Internalization of VEGF(121)/rGel into osteoclast precursor cells was suppressed by pretreatment with an Flt-1 neutralizing antibody or by placenta growth factor but not with an Flk-1 neutralizing antibody. Thus, VEGF(121)/rGel inhibits osteoclast maturation in vivo and it seems that this process is important in the resulting suppression of skeletal osteolytic lesions. This is a novel and unique mechanism of action for this class of agents and suggests a potentially new approach for treatment or prevention of tumor growth in bone.
Feature Selection for Intrusion Detection with Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines

Computational intelligence (CI) methods are increasingly being used for problem solving, and CI-type learning machines are being used for intrusion detection. Intrusion detection is a problem of general interest to transportation infrastructure protection, since one of its necessary tasks is to protect the computers responsible for the infrastructure's operational control, and an effective intrusion detection system (IDS) is essential for ensuring network security. Two classes of learning machines for IDSs are studied: artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVMs). SVMs are shown to be superior to ANNs in three critical respects of IDSs: SVMs train and run an order of magnitude faster; they scale much better; and they give higher classification accuracy. A related issue is ranking the importance of input features, which is itself a problem of great interest. Since elimination of the insignificant (or useless) inputs leads to a simplified problem and possibly faster and more accurate...
Safe Separation Modeling for Aerial Launched Weapon Systems

The United States military forces routinely face hazards in combat arenas. To increase the safety of our military, limiting the dangers of, and exposure to, inadvertent explosion of our own weapons must be minimized. One example is the requirement laid out for meeting safe separation. Safe Separation distance is defined as the minimum distance between the launching system (aircraft and pilot) and its launched munitions at which hazards associated with a munitions’ detonation are acceptable. For the Army, these requirements are laid out by the Army Fuze Safety Review Board (AFSRB). Original safe separation studies were conducted with munitions launched from a hovering helicopter. However, the current employment of munitions in theater is typically during a running fire, not a hover, and from other aerial launch platforms. In order to support these Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center’s (AMRDEC) System Simulation and Development Directorate (SSDD) has developed a simulation for running fire. Since September 2006, SSDD has provided safe separation studies for various Joint Attack Munition Systems (JAMS) Project Office systems. These systems include the Hellfire Thermobaric Warhead (AGM-114N) the sleeved Hellfire variants, AGM-114K2A, AGM114-FA and AGM114P missiles. The 2.75” Rocket systems include the M151, the M229, and the RA-79. The data from these studies were provided to the AFSRB and the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Safety Office for consideration. This paper outlines the processes utilized in the development of a safe separation distance for a moving platform. This methodology is also useful in the characterization of fragmentation impacting a launch platform if a munition does not meet the safe separation guidelines. 1.0 BACKGROUND
CDMA systems in fading channels: admissibility, network capacity, and power control

We study the admissibility and network capacity of imperfect power-controlled code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems with linear receivers in fading environments. In a CDMA system, a set of users is admissible if their simultaneous transmission does not result in violation of any of their quality-of-service (QoS) requirements; the network capacity is the maximum number of admissible users. We consider a single-cell imperfect power-controlled CDMA system, assuming known received power distributions. We identify the network capacities of single-class systems with matched-filter (MF) receivers for both the deterministic and random signature cases. We also characterize the network capacity of single-class systems with linear minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) receivers for the deterministic signature case. The network capacities can be expressed uniquely in terms of the users' signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) requirements and received power distributions. For multiple-class systems equipped with MF receivers, we find a necessary and sufficient condition on the admissibility for the random signature case, but only a sufficient condition for the deterministic signature case. We also introduce the notions of effective target SIR and effective bandwidth, which are useful in determining the admissibility and hence network capacity of an imperfect power-controlled system.
Microtubule dynamics at the G2/M transition: abrupt breakdown of cytoplasmic microtubules at nuclear envelope breakdown and implications for spindle morphogenesis.

We recently developed a direct fluorescence ratio assay (Zhai, Y., and G.G. Borisy. 1994. J. Cell Sci. 107:881-890) to quantify microtubule (MT) polymer in order to determine if net MT depolymerization occurred upon anaphase onset as the spindle was disassembled. Our results showed no net decrease in polymer, indicating that the disassembly of kinetochore MTs was balanced by assembly of midbody and astral MTs. Thus, the mitosis-interphase transition occurs by a redistribution of tubulin among different classes of MTs at essentially constant polymer level. We now examine the reverse process, the interphase-mitosis transition. Specifically, we quantitated both the level of MT polymer and the dynamics of MTs during the G2/M transition using the fluorescence ratio assay and a fluorescence photoactivation approach, respectively. Prophase cells before nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) had high levels of MT polymer (62%) similar to that previously reported for random interphase populations (68%). However, prophase cells just after NEB had significantly reduced levels (23%) which recovered as MT attachments to chromosomes were made (prometaphase, 47%; metaphase, 56%). The abrupt reorganization of MTs at NEB was corroborated by anti-tubulin immunofluorescence staining using a variety of fixation protocols. Sensitivity to nocodazole also increased at NEB. Photoactivation analyses of MT dynamics showed a similar abrupt change at NEB, basal rates of MT turnover (pre-NEB) increased post-NEB and then became slower later in mitosis. Our results indicate that the interphase-mitosis (G2/M) transition of the MT array does not occur by a simple redistribution of tubulin at constant polymer level as the mitosis-interphase (M/G1) transition. Rather, an abrupt decrease in MT polymer level and increase in MT dynamics occurs tightly correlated with NEB. A subsequent increase in MT polymer level and decrease in MT dynamics occurs correlated with chromosome attachment. These results carry implications for understanding spindle morphogenesis. They indicate that changes in MT dynamics may cause the steady-state MT polymer level in mitotic cells to be lower than in interphase. We propose that tension exerted on the kMTs may lead to their lengthening and thereby lead to an increase in the MT polymer level as chromosomes attach to the spindle.
Polarizable Atomic Multipole-Based AMOEBA Force Field for Proteins

Development of the AMOEBA (atomic multipole optimized energetics for biomolecular simulation) force field for proteins is presented. The current version (AMOEBA-2013) utilizes permanent electrostatic multipole moments through the quadrupole at each atom, and explicitly treats polarization effects in various chemical and physical environments. The atomic multipole electrostatic parameters for each amino acid residue type are derived from high-level gas phase quantum mechanical calculations via a consistent and extensible protocol. Molecular polarizability is modeled via a Thole-style damped interactive induction model based upon distributed atomic polarizabilities. Inter- and intramolecular polarization is treated in a consistent fashion via the Thole model. The intramolecular polarization model ensures transferability of electrostatic parameters among different conformations, as demonstrated by the agreement between QM and AMOEBA electrostatic potentials, and dipole moments of dipeptides. The backbone and...
A Teacher's Guide to The Cheater's Handbook.

SUMMARYFaculty and students come from different eras of scholastic ethics. Students are exposed to vast amounts of information through technology. Enormous pressure to receive high grades leaves students susceptible to the temptations of cheating. Faculty need to be aware of these challenging students and their possible cheating methods so faculty can foster ethical responsibility.
Reply to phelps et al: Liability rules provide incentives to protect natural capital

Pursuit of multiple avenues can speed incorporating the value of natural capital and ecosystem services into operations of individuals and institutions, such as businesses, government, development banks, nongovernmental institutions, and households. As Phelps et al. (1) rightly point out, the PNAS Special Feature (2) and much of the existing literature have not focused extensively on incorporating impacts on ecosystem services into liability for environmental damages. Like Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes, liability for damages caused to ecosystem services creates incentives to …
How to assess the binding strength of antibodies elicited by vaccination against HIV and other viruses

Vaccines that protect against viral infections generally induce neutralizing antibodies. When vaccines are evaluated, the need arises to assess the affinity maturation of the antibody responses. Binding titers of polyclonal sera depend not only on the affinities of the constituent antibodies but also on their individual concentrations, which are difficult to ascertain. Therefore an assay based on chaotrope disruption of antibody-antigen complexes was designed for measuring binding strength. This assay works well with many viral antigens but gives differential results depending on the conformational dependence of epitopes on complex antigens such as the envelope glycoprotein of HIV-1. Kinetic binding assays might offer alternatives, since they can measure average off-rate constants for polyclonal antibodies in a serum. Here, potentials and fallacies of these techniques are discussed.
Biochemical Changes and Secondary Tissue Injury After Brain and Spinal Cord Ischemia

Ischemia to the central nervous system (CNS) may cause tissue damage through both direct and indirect mechanisms (Siesjo, 1981; Raichle, 1983; Krause et al., 1988). Direct effects occur acutely as a result of interruption of blood flow. Indirect effects are delayed and develop over a period of minutes to hours following the ischemic insult; this secondary injury process results, in part, from the action of endogenous biochemical factors that are activated, synthesized, or released in response to ischemia. A partial list of such factors includes phospholipases (Edgar et al., 1982; Hirashima et al., 1984), membrane lipid hydrolysis products (Bazan, 1970; Bazan et al., 1971; Tang and Sun, 1982, 1985; Ikeda et al., 1986), eicosanoids (Moskowitz et al., 1983; Chen et al., 1986), oxygen radical species (Kontos, 1985), monovalent and divalent metal cations (Young et al., 1987; Hoehner et al., 1987), excitatory amino acids (Meldrum, 1985; Rothman and Olney, 1986), and opioid peptides (Faden, 1990). It is likely that the effects of a number of these factors are interactive, with ultimate tissue damage resulting from a complex multifactorial process.
Detrusor-External Sphincter Dyssynergia: Review of Minimally Invasive and Endoscopic Management

Detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) is a debilitating problem in patients with spinal cord injury. DSD carries a high risk of complications, and even life expectancy can be affected. Management of this condition includes the use of antimuscarinic agents in combination with intermittent catheterization, indwelling urethral catheterization, suprapubic catheterization, and a variety of surgical options, depending on patient and physician preference. This paper will review the current literature and data on minimally invasive and endoscopic management of DSD.
Thinking about Achinstein’s philosophy of science

The nineteen papers in this collection provide sophisticated critical analysis of Achinstein’s work, rather than being merely essays on related issues that are dedicated to him. This is a significant plus for those who wish to learn the intricate details of Achinstein’s thought. The papers focus on Achinstein’s theories of evidence, scientific realism, induction, and explanation. I only have space here to touch on the primary criticisms to, and Achinstein’s replies regarding, evidence and realism. The papers I will not discuss by Cat, Di Fate, Goldstein, Kronz, Laudan, Morgan, Norton, Richards, Ruse, and Woodward, are also of very high quality and deserve considerable attention.
Safety, Waste Disposal, Containment, and Accidents

The public acceptance of nuclear energy is still greatly dependent on the risk of radiological consequences in case of severe accidents. Such consequences were recently emphasized with the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011. The nation’s nuclear power plants are among the safest and most secure industrial facilities in the United States. Multiple layers of physical security, together with high levels of operational performance, protect plant workers, the public, and the environment.
Two Case Reports of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Related Minimal-Change Nephropathy and Its Literature Reviews

Objective To improve the knowledge of diversity of lupus nephritis and strengthen the understanding of systemic lupus erythematosus related minimal-change nephropathy. Methods The 2 children with systemic lupus erythematosus related minimal-change nephropathy were included.Clinical data,pathologic type and therapeutic process were retrospectively studied and related literatures were reviewed. Results The 2 cases were female teenagers who were diagnosed as typical systemic lupus erythematosus,their renal damage mainly presented as nephrotic syndrome during lupus activity.No significant change of kidney tissue was found under light microscope in 2 patients.Immunofluorescence microscope showed completely negative in case 1 and little segment mesangial deposition in case 2,with no deposition in glomerular capillary wall.The prominent change was extensive fusion of epithelial foot process under electron microscope.Urinary protein all disappeared after treatment with glucocorticoid or compound immunosuppressive agent. Conclusions Doctors shall pay attention to active systemic lupus erythematosus with nephrotic proteinuria.Renal biopsy is very necessary.It is very important to know the new type of lupus nephritis and improve the understanding about the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis.
Optimal Import Policy as an Effective Instrument of Economic Development of Russia in Terms of Sanctions

Background/Objectives: It is interesting to study theories revealing the principles of effective participation of national economies in the international commodity exchanges, the factors of competitiveness of separate countries in global market. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In the article, on the basis of statistical analysis, the authors assess Russia's participation in international trade in the current situation of economic and political dependence of Russian economy from other countries, which particularly confirms the imposition of economic sanctions by the EU. Findings: The necessity of optimization policies, as an effective tool for the recovery of the Russian economy is import substitution. The different levels of import substitution in the country, region, cluster, organization. The problem of import substitution of the national economy is defined as the direction of the country's transition from raw orientation to the creation of modern innovative industries with deep processing of raw materials and production of finished products. Application/Improvements: Analysis and solution of these problems is especially important for Russia and other countries that went path of creating open economy, oriented on active participation in international trade.
Prognosis of Clinically Undiagnosed Prostatic Carcinoma and the Influence of Endocrine Therapy

AbstractA 10-year series of 100 patients with clinically undiagnosed prostatic adenocarcinoma is presented. In 50 per cent of these patients the tumor was well differentiated and the survival was normal, while the remainder of the patients had moderately to poorly differentiated tumors and survival rates significantly less than normal. Of 8 deaths caused by cancer 7 were associated with less-than-well differentiated tumor. Patients who received endocrine therapy and died of causes other than cancer had a significantly shorter interval to death and a higher incidence of cardiovascular deaths than those who were untreated. While the majority of patients with incidental, clinically undiagnosed prostatic carcinoma is not at risk from the disease a minority exists who may benefit from radical therapy.
Magenlymphome — diagnostische und therapeutische Probleme

Erkrankungen des lympho-retikularen Systems mit primarer Manifestation am Magen sind selten, ihre Haufigkeit wird mit 2 bis 7,6% aller Magenmalignome angegeben. Wahrend das primare Magenlymphom als maligner Tumor mit umschriebener regionarer Lymphknotenbeteiligung mehr oder minder einen Zufallsbefund darstellt, findet sich autoptisch bei gezielter Suche beim Reticulumzellsarkom z. B. eine Beteiligung von rund 35%. Sie Sekundarmanifestationshaufigkeit von Lymphosarkom und Lymphogranulomatose liegen bei 20 bzw. 15% [8]. Eine subtile rontgenologische und endoskopisch bioptische Untersuchung des Magens sollte deshalb bei allen Patienten mit einer lympho-retikularen Systemerkrankung zur initialen Diagnostik gehoren.
The Effects of the Green Tea Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate on the Central Nervous, Endocrine, and Innate Immune Systems

The central nervous, endocrine, and immune systems interact at several levels, including cell surface and intracellular molecules as well as compounds facilitating intercellular communication. Molecules produced by components of the immune system, such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and some cytokines secreted by brain microglia, may induce disorders of the nervous and endocrine systems if present in excess. Pathologic conditions of these three systems, including neurodegenerative diseases, anxiety, memory loss, ischemia, multiple sclerosis, alterations in weight and metabolism, diseases of insulin dysregulation, and several autoimmune disorders, have several common themes such as changes in iron/Ca$+2$ levels, altered proteosomal activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and activation of the caspase cascade, leading to apoptosis. The green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has beneficial activity in a number of human diseases. It mitigates some of the above-listed damage in part by altering intracellular signal transduction pathways, by scavenging reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and iron, and by affecting cytokine production and expression of neurotransmitters or their receptors. This chapter presents these activities of EGCG and how they affect diseases of these related physiological systems.
Development of flexible zinc–air battery with nanocomposite electrodes and a novel separator

In this paper, we present the development of flexible zinc–air battery. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were added into electrodes to improve their performance. It was found that MWCNTs were effective conductive additive in anode as they bridged the zinc particles. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) was applied as a co-binder to enhance both the conductivity and flexibility. A poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coated paper separator was used to enhance the battery performance where the PVP–PAA layer facilitated electrolyte storage. The batteries remained functional under bending conditions and after bending. Multiple design optimizations were also carried out for storage and performance purposes.
Mechanisms Involved in the Renal Handling and Toxicity of Mercury

This is an update of Zalups, R.K., Renal Handling and Toxicity of Mercury, Comprehensive Toxicology, Second Edition, edited by Charlene A. McQueen, Elsevier, Oxford, 2010, Volume 7, Pages 475–493.
Environmental Risks of Biotechnologies: Economic Sector Perspectives

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses biotechnology from a number of environmental perspectives. Three priorities are addressed with respect to their actual and potential environmental implications: medical, agricultural, and industrial biotechnologies. The intended and unintended products of biotechnology affect myriad sectors of society, including applications in industry, medicine, and agriculture. Well-known applications in the early stages of biotechnology consist of advances in medical applications. However, industrial applications began to increase after these advances. Industrial biotechnology is not completely distinct from the other biotechnology fields. The growth of biotechnologies has signaled that private and public sectors are embracing bioscientific applications. This trend demonstrates the array of possible opportunities for failure and potential hazards, many of which are quite subtle and obscure. As a technology evolves, unforeseen events lead to unforeseen subsequent events and, ultimately, to unforeseen outcomes. Therefore, prospective risk assessments become difficult. Medicine accounts for about 17% of the US economy and agriculture touches quite a few other economic sectors, such as petrochemical and pharmaceuticals. Animal and agricultural biotechnology are also discussed.
Population-based pregnancy and birth defects surveillance in the era of Zika virus.

Background Zika virus is a newly recognized human teratogen; monitoring its impact on the birth prevalence of microcephaly and other adverse pregnancy outcomes will continue to be an urgent need in the United States and worldwide. Methods When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated the Emergency Operations Center for the Zika virus outbreak response in January of 2016, public health leadership recognized that a joint, coordinated effort was required between activities focused on the effects of the infection among pregnant women and those focused on birth defects in fetuses and infants. Before the introduction of Zika virus in the Americas, population-based birth defects surveillance occurred independently of pregnancy surveillance activities. Results The coordination of pregnancy surveillance and birth defects surveillance implemented through the CDC Zika virus response represents a paradigm shift. Conclusion Coordination of these surveillance systems provides an opportunity to capture information from both a prospective and retrospective approach. This relatively modest investment in the public health infrastructure can continue to protect pregnant women and their infants during the ongoing response to Zika virus and in the next emergent threat to maternal and child health. Birth Defects Research 109:372–378, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Self-guided online cognitive behavioral strategies for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): A multicenter, single blind, randomized, wait-list controlled trial.

e21710Background: Four in 10 individuals receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy develop chronic painful CIPN, symptoms which negatively influence quality of life and physical function, and may require t...
Criminal Law and Sentencing: What Goes With Free Will?

This Article notes that increasing numbers of scholars have argued that if we were to minimize our collective belief in the possibility of genuine free will and moral responsibility, we would as a result likely see a more humane, compassionate, enlightened, and generally progressive criminal justice and sentencing system.As it turns out, though, we must instead conclude that such optimism does not seem warranted.Beginning with Clarence Darrow’s closing argument in defense of Leopold and Loeb, and then discussing the work of contemporary legal scholars, scientists, and philosophers, as applied in various criminal law contexts, the Article concludes on a skeptical note. Even if a culture takes economic, structural, and institutional causes of crime with utmost seriousness, the more likely result of generally discounting free will and moral responsibility would involve criminal justice practices holding little appeal for most contemporary progressives and advocates of equality.
The Hush-Hush Norm

This column discusses the phenomenon of the “hush-hush norm,” wherein people avoid discussing online sex and porn to avoid offending others. The author looks at the economic institutions that grew up around the hush-hush norm and discusses the norm’s purpose, both then and now.
Climate and Energy Emergencies

On 3–5 November 1980 an informal meeting was held of Department of Energy (DOE) and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) personnel and contractors to discuss what kind of cl...
New Human Tumor Cell Lines

There has been a feeling of frustration among many investigators trying to establish cell lines of human tumor cells. Numerous unsuccessful attempts, many of which have remained unpublished, have led to the conclusion that cell line establishment is controlled by the rare occurrence of a tumor with a built-in potential for long-term in vitro growth and by the application of intriguing culture techniques. The results given in the present chapter may, at least in part, contradict these conclusions. With techniques which in no particular way stand out as unusual, and by using medium and serum combinations, and in some cases added hormones, which are generally known to everyone involved in tissue culture, we have, during a rather short period of time, established a high number of new cell lines. These have originated from primary or metastatic human tumors, solid or effusions. In all fairness, many of our attempts to establish continuous lines have failed. However, the total number of attempts over successes is not truly representative of the frequency with which lines might be established. Many variations must be considered in this respect, including the choice of material, collection procedures, lapse of time between the clinical procedure and preparation for tissue culture, technical competence of assistants, and incidental factors known to everyone working in tissue culture. One thing, however, stands out as a conclusion: the careful attention to all the minute details provided by the dedicated tissue culturist seems to be the most important of all factors and cannot well be substituted for by special recipes or fancy equipment.
Loe, Meika. Aging Our Way: Lessons for Living from 85 and Beyond

David Byrne, front-person of the rock and roll band Talking Heads, once commented that Talking Heads had chosen Jonathan Demme to direct a film about the band because Demme “knew what not to do.” A hallmark of Aging Our Way is that author Meika Loe very clearly knows what not to do (see Duneier 2011 on what not to do in ethnography). Rather than situating this ethnography of “oldest-old” Americans (those chronologically aged 85 years or more) on the terms of what might be called a “deficit model” of aging—a model of aging with sets of assumptions that elder populations are by definition social problems and that elders as individuals must be cared for and taken care of—Loe instead takes an action-research, eldercentered approach to show what elders do for themselves and for others and to show how they do what they do. As such, the book may be difficult for deficit-types to digest. It can also be difficult for all kinds of people of various chronological ages to call into question the meanings they associate with the everyday activities of people they see as chronologically aged differently from themselves—hence the omnipresence of ageism and age stereotypes (see, e.g., Thompson 2006). In Aging Our Way, Loe debunks an array of ageist stereotypes. In the first few pages, for example, readers are reminded that elders derive pleasure from having sexual intercourse. Later, readers are shown that elders are not necessarily lonely, that elders coordinate their own care, and that elders go about everyday life in their own ways and largely on their own terms. Throughout the elders’ stories presented in the book, readers are shown implicitly that the meanings people associate with folks they see as chronologically “old” ought be questioned. The author, conceptualizing elders as agents, shows convincingly and with clear prose that elders-as-agents engage in meaningful and “visible” activities for themselves and for others. And though perhaps not as provocative as Loe’s work on the Viagra phenomenon (2004), the author refuses to treat elders as victims and presents elders’ stories to show why her readers ought to do the same. As such, there is an activism in the subtext and an overall debunking quality to the book. The book provides readers with 13 lessons for “comfortable aging” – a new paradigm of aging, the author asserts, attuned to interdependency, self-acceptance, coming to terms with death, and accepting bodily changes. The lessons include: continue to do what you did, (re) Qual Sociol (2012) 35:359–360 DOI 10.1007/s11133-012-9232-6
Tuning three-dimensional collagen matrix stiffness independently of collagen concentration modulates endothelial cell behavior

Numerous studies have described the effects of matrix stiffening on cell behavior using two-dimensional synthetic surfaces; however, less is known about the effects of matrix stiffening on cells embedded in three-dimensional in vivo-like matrices. A primary limitation in investigating the effects of matrix stiffness in three dimensions is the lack of materials that can be tuned to control stiffness independently of matrix density. Here, we use collagen-based scaffolds where the mechanical properties are tuned using non-enzymatic glycation of the collagen in solution, prior to polymerization. Collagen solutions glycated prior to polymerization result in collagen gels with a threefold increase in compressive modulus without significant changes to the collagen architecture. Using these scaffolds, we show that endothelial cell spreading increases with matrix stiffness, as does the number and length of angiogenic sprouts and the overall spheroid outgrowth. Differences in sprout length are maintained even when the receptor for advanced glycation end products is inhibited. Our results demonstrate the ability to de-couple matrix stiffness from matrix density and structure in collagen gels, and that increased matrix stiffness results in increased sprouting and outgrowth.
A Task Analytic Process to Define Future Concepts in Aviation

A necessary step when developing next generation systems is to understand the tasks that operators will perform. One NextGen concept under evaluation termed Single Pilot Operations (SPO) is designed to improve the efficiency of airline operations. This SPO concept includes a Pilot on Board (PoB), a Ground Station Operator (GSO), and automation. A number of procedural changes are likely to result when such changes in roles and responsibilities are undertaken. Automation is expected to relieve the PoB and GSO of some tasks (e.g. radio frequency changes, loading expected arrival information). A major difference in the SPO environment is the shift to communication-cued crosschecks (verbal / automated) rather than movement-cued crosschecks that occur in a shared cockpit. The current article highlights a task analytic process of the roles and responsibilities between a PoB, an approach-phase GSO, and automation.