cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of perioperative ketorolac in the surgical treatment of pediatric spontaneous pneumothorax

Abstract Background We sought to determine the effect of ketorolac on pediatric primary spontaneous pneumothorax recurrence after operation. Methods The Pediatric Health Information System database was queried for patients ages 10–16 years discharged in the years 2004–2014 with pneumothorax or pleural bleb and a related operative procedure. Deaths and secondary pneumothorax were excluded. Variables included demographics, chronic disease, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, and lung resection or plication. The primary variable was any ketorolac administration between post-operative day 0 and 5. Outcomes included reintervention within 1 year, readmission, post-operative length of stay (LOS), and cost. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Of 1678 records that met inclusion criteria, 395 (23%) were subsequently excluded, leaving 1283 patients for analysis. Most patients had a lung resection recorded (78%) and the majority were administered ketorolac (57%); few required reintervention (20%) or readmission (18%). Mean postoperative LOS was 5.2 ± 3.8 days and mean cost was $17,649 ± $10,599. On bivariate analysis, ketorolac administration did not correlate with any measured outcome. On both bivariate and multivariate analysis, no variable was predictive of reintervention, and only lung resection correlated with readmission (adjusted odds ratio 0.63 [95% C.I. 0.45–0.90]). Conclusion Post-operative ketorolac administration was not associated with an increased likelihood of reintervention or readmission within 1 year of operative treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax, suggesting that it may be used safely as part of a post-operative pain control regimen. Effects on postoperative length of stay and cost, however, were not demonstrated. Level of evidence and type of study Level III treatment study.
Lack of human cytomegalovirus expression in single cells from glioblastoma tumors and cell lines

The relationship between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and glioblastoma (GBM) is an ongoing debate with extensive evidence supporting or refuting its existence through molecular assays, pre-clinical studies, and clinical trials. We focus primarily on the crux of the debate, detection of HCMV in GBM samples using molecular assays. We propose that these differences in detection could be affected by cellular heterogeneity. To take this into account, we align the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) reads from five GBM tumors and two cell lines to HCMV and analyze the alignments for evidence of (i) complete viral transcripts and (ii) low-abundance viral reads. We found that neither tumor nor cell line samples showed conclusive evidence of full HCMV viral transcripts. We also identified low-abundance reads aligned across all tumors, with two tumors having higher alignment rates than the rest of the tumor samples. This work is meant to rigorously test for HCMV RNA expression at a single cell level in GBM samples and examine the possible utility of single cell data in tumor virology.
Practice-Based Evidence: Intelligent Action Inquiry for Complex Problems

We have two goals for this article: to question the efficacy of evidence-based practice as the foundation of reading education policy and to propose practice-based evidence as a viable, more social...
Nup153 and Nup50 promote recruitment of 53BP1 to DNA repair foci by antagonizing BRCA1-dependent events

DNA double-strand breaks are typically repaired through either the high-fidelity process of homologous recombination (HR), in which BRCA1 plays a key role, or the more error-prone process of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), which relies on 53BP1. The balance between NHEJ and HR depends, in part, on whether 53BP1 predominates in binding to damage sites, where it protects the DNA ends from resection. The nucleoporin Nup153 has been implicated in the DNA damage response, attributed to a role in promoting nuclear import of 53BP1. Here, we define a distinct requirement for Nup153 in 53BP1 intranuclear targeting to damage foci and report that Nup153 likely facilitates the role of another nucleoporin, Nup50, in 53BP1 targeting. The requirement for Nup153 and Nup50 in promoting 53BP1 recruitment to damage foci induced by either etoposide or olaparib is abrogated in cells deficient for BRCA1 or its partner BARD1, but not in cells deficient for BRCA2. Together, our results further highlight the antagonistic relationship between 53BP1 and BRCA1, and place Nup153 and Nup50 in a molecular pathway that regulates 53BP1 function by counteracting BRCA1-mediated events.
Extrafollicular activities: perspectives on HIV infection, germinal center-independent maturation pathways, and KSHV-mediated lymphoproliferation

Early events in the pathogenesis of KSHV-associated lymphoproliferations in the context of HIV disease remain poorly understood. Recent research indicates that latent HIV infection causes persistent immune dysfunction in B cell follicles. Simultaneously, lack of T cell immune surveillance in the lymph nodes dysregulates the biology of EBV. In sum, these defects bias B lymphocyte maturation away from traditional T cell-dependent germinal center-mediated pathways and towards extrafollicular pathways. Recent advances in B lymphocyte immunology suggest that extrafollicular maturation pathways for antibody secreting cells are more flexible and robust than previously believed. These responses are now understood to be both durable and antigen-specific, and even canonically germinal center-restricted events such as class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation have now been demonstrated in an extrafollicular context. As a lymphotrophic pathogen which causes disease primarily in the context of HIV and EBV co-infection, future studies examining the interactions of KSHV biology with extrafollicular B cell maturation pathways will be critical to uncovering key aspects of KSHV-mediated immune pathology.
Quadratic and Poly-Quadratic Discrete-Time Stabilizability of Linear Parameter-Varying Systems

Abstract We introduce a new condition for the stabilizability of discrete-time Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) systems in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). A distinctive feature of the proposed condition is the ability to handle variation in both the dynamics as well as in the input matrix without resorting to dynamic augmentation or iterative procedures. We show that this new condition contains the existing poly-quadratic stabilizability result as a particular case. We also derive a corollary which shows improvement with respect to stabilizability even in the stronger case of quadratic stabilizability. A numerical example illustrates the results.
Optimization of Constrained Liquidity Management

A consistent framework for optimal liquidity management is presented. This framework optimizes the cost of covering expected cashflow gaps without violating regulatory and business constraints. Anticipated economic value loss, cashflow loss, and adverse market impact are the major drivers of cost. The notion of a deployable liquidity resource, which is subsequently extend to the notion of a dated liquidity strategy, is introduced. A formalization of LCR as a typical regulatory constraints is presented and included in the formulation. The formulation includes a general arbitrage free market impact function. A decoupling between liquidity risk management and that of market and credit risks is assumed. Both linear and quadratic programming approaches for solving the resulting optimization problem are derived. This is followed by the introduction of a novel mapping algorithm which transforms the linear program to a network flow problem that is more efficiently solvable via the network simplex algorithm. Next an algorithm for generating a plausible starting point for the iterative optimization problem, is given. This is shown to be already optimal under the risk neutral measure. Finally, heuristics that can help speed up the satisfaction of regulatory constraints are discussed. Throughout the presentation attention is given to algorithmic complexity issues.
Standardization Activities for Green IT

The problem of global climate change has evolved to a political and economic issue beyond a mere environmental issue and becomes critical for the survival of mankind as well as the stabilization of world economy.
STUDIES OF LYMPHOCYTE ACTIVATION

Publisher Summary This chapter presents some studies of lymphocyte activation. The results of these studies suggested that exogenous arachidonic acid can stimulate the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA; that inhibitors of arachidonic acid metabolism, particularly those affecting thromboxane synthesis, inhibit the DNA synthetic response to a variety of mitogens; and that lectins produce acute changes in the formation of free arachidonic acid from radiolabeled esterified arachidonic acid, which, in turn, is partially converted to products of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways. The studies were conducted in purified human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In another study, evaluation of the role of exogenous arachidonic acid in lymphocyte stimulation by mitogen was conducted in a variety of media, particularly RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% fetal calf serum but no added protein or 1 mg/ml lipid poor serum proteins. The most marked changes were obtained in a medium containing lipid poor proteins, where increases in the DNA synthetic response to PHA and Con A of as much as fourfold were seen. Smaller increases were seen with linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and oleic acid, whereas arachidic acid was without effect.
Anisotropic thermal expansion of group-IV monochalcogenide monolayers

By employing first-principles calculations, we investigate the thermal expansion behavior of group-IV monochalcogenide monolayers. We find that these two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit unusually large anisotropic thermal expansion, i.e., the two lattice parameters in the armchair and zigzag directions contract and expand, respectively, with increasing temperature, which is indicative of a second-order phase transition to a square lattice. Such anisotropic thermal expansion gives rise to a secondary pyroelectric response that is effectively 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than that of typical bulk pyroelectrics, suggesting that thermal expansion is essential to properly describe their electronic properties.
An investigation of mid-ocean ridge degassing using He, CO2, and δ13C variations during the 2005–06 eruption at 9°50′N on the East Pacific Rise

Abstract We report 3He/4He, He and CO2 concentrations for the dissolved (glass) and vapor (vesicle) phase of basalts, for 23 lavas from the 2005–2006 eruption and 4 lavas from 1991–92 at 9°50′N on the East Pacific Rise. We also determined δ 13 C and δ 18 O of CO2 in vesicles in 18 of these lavas. These sample suites provide a rare opportunity to study volatile systematics related to magma recharge at a mid-ocean ridge volcano and to quantify degassing prior to and during the eruptions. Our study covers the spatial and temporal extent of the 2005–06 eruption and is complementary to previous studies of variations in basaltic volatiles with distance from the ridge axis during part of this multi-stage eruption ( Soule et al., 2012 , Gardner et al., 2016 ). 3He/4He shows minor variation with a mean value of 8.51 ± 0.03 RA. All but 1 sample lies in a narrow range of 280–420 ppm for total (vesicles + glass) CO2 indicating volatile saturation at 1.2–2.3 km depth in the crust, similar to depths of the seismically imaged magma lenses in the region. Vesicle He and CO2 concentrations vary throughout the lava flow field by factors of 17 and 250, respectively. The vapor phase CO2/He ratio co-varies positively with the fraction of CO2 contained in vesicles due to kinetic fractionation between He and CO2 during vesiculation. Vesicle δ 13 CPDB co-varies with the fraction of CO2 in vesicles ( r 2 = 0.83 ) , ranging from −2.6 to −5.0‰, and straddles the isotope composition of EPR vent fluids. The vesicle 13C-enrichment ( δ vapor − δ melt ) is +3.3‰ and comparable to the experimentally determined fractionation factor for basaltic systems. Collectively the observations indicate closed-system degassing during rapid ascent of melt from the axial magma lens through the conduit to its eruption and emplacement on the seafloor, with minimal bubble loss. In contrast, CO2/Ba systematics and a comparison of δ 13 C for lavas and vent fluids indicate an earlier period of open-system degassing during which 50% or more of the initial (parental magma) CO2 inventory was lost prior to magma storage in the shallow crust.
Nipmuc Empowerment by Design

ABSTRACT: Public-interest design pioneers Lisa Abendroth and Bryan Bell have articulated the need for "creatively using and devising strategies to solve problems that often push the boundaries of conventional practice." (Abenroth/Bell, 2016) One of these problems is the persistent "black box" moment between community information-gathering and design production. The focus of this study is about empowering individuals and communities through a design-integrated planning process, so that they become full participants throughout the procedure in their own cultural production. Effective techniques need to be explicitly described and shared at a granular level, with detailed descriptions of and analysis about the multiple roles of design thinking and making in the empowerment process. I have been working with the Nimpuc Native Americans of central Massachusetts to develop such a process as we work towards the dream of establishing a Nipmuc cultural center. We seek not only to create a building/site that embodies their cultural and environmental values in both old and new ways, but to do in a process that will both help bring together the divided Nipmuc community and enabling it to move forward on shared goals. I will argue that design can take on a myriad of manifestations as "instruments” to play an integral role in eliciting hidden information and exciting response, as well as serving to enact narratives and become an engine of collective memory. I will also demonstrate the benefits of tapping into knowledge opportunities outside the design milieu. Methods described are entirely qualitative, relying on non-scientific "experiments" derived through design thinking, and using natural observation, subjective analysis and interpretation to assess their impact. The outcomes include greater confidence to participate and take on ideation and leadership roles, and various workshops getting turned into recurrent annual events. KEY WORDS: empowerment, design instruments, culture, Nipmuc, body language
Opiate Exposure and Predictors of Increased Opiate Use After Ureteroscopy.

Abstract Objective: Kidney stone formers are at risk for opioid dependence. The aim of this study is to describe opiate exposure and determine predictors of prolonged opiate use among kidney stone ...
Somalis in Minneapolis, Minnesota: An Analysis of Ethnicity and Politics

United States anti-terrorist efforts have been focused on Somalia and members of the Somali Diaspora since the 1990s. Somali communities are found in various cities across the U.S., but no matter where they are, Somalis are subjected to prejudices and discrimination that African Americans, African migrants and other people of color experience. Although Somalis are not the only African migrants looked upon suspiciously in the U.S., they seem to be among the African ethnic groups most frequently identified with terrorism. Their home country has become the U.S.’s primary anti-terrorist target in East Africa, consequently creating contemporary regional tensions by agitating historical ones. Somalis in the U.S. and the Diaspora must also contend with international disparities that impact Somalia’s domestic political, economic and social stability. The struggle for Somalia’s future is waged on the continent, as well as far from its shores by Somalis around the world. In the U.S., the largest group of Somalis are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the majority are resettled refugees. The Somali community in Minneapolis has grown to such a large extent that they are now considered a viable political voting bloc. This paper explores the intersections of international relations, forced migration, ethnicity and politics by examining the political participation of resettled Somali refugees in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Maternal Desires and Compulsory Motherhood: The Metaphor of "the Child of the Night" in Women's Reproductive Fantasies

Maternal desires have been explored from contrasting approaches in psychoanalysis. Women’s urges to have children have roughly said been put into two categories: positive maternal desires and compulsive or corrupted maternal urges. But can a perspective be developed, that holds together both sides without either idealizing or denigrating maternal desires? Can maternal subjectivity and ambivalence be appreciated without blaming the mother for negative aspects of maternal desires? This article is an attempt to present such a perspective with the works of Italian psychoanalyst Silvia Vegetti Finzi and her idea of the metaphor of omnipotence called “the child of the night.” Her theory has inspired my clinical work; psychoanalytic psychotherapy with women who are not yet mothers. Inspired by psychoanalytic ideas about the value of holding together opposites for reflection and by feminist critique of societal dynamics, I describe a way to use metaphors for omnipotent fantasies to deepen our understanding of maternal desires. If women are to find their own definitions of mothering in a feminist and matricentric sense, we may help as clinicians and scholars by holding space for the omnipotent fantasy trope of the child of the night.
A Purely Algebraic Justification of the Kabsch-Umeyama Algorithm

The constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem is the least-squares problem that calls for a rotation matrix that optimally aligns two matrices of the same order. Over past decades, the algorithm of choice for solving this problem has been the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm, which is effectively no more than the computation of the singular value decomposition of a particular matrix. Its justification, as presented separately by Kabsch and Umeyama, is not totally algebraic since it is based on solving the minimization problem via Lagrange multipliers. In order to provide a more transparent alternative, it is the main purpose of this paper to present a purely algebraic justification of the algorithm through the exclusive use of simple concepts from linear algebra. For the sake of completeness, a proof is also included of the well known and widely used fact that the orientation-preserving rigid motion problem, i.e., the least-squares problem that calls for an orientation-preserving rigid motion that optimally aligns two corresponding sets of points in d-dimensional Euclidean space, reduces to the constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem.
Evaluating the Efficacy and Trend of Sinus Surgery

Introduction From April 2009 to December 2016, 661 consecutive patients undergoing sinus surgery completed a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire (SNOT-22) preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Objective (1) To evaluate the long-term efficacy of sinus surgery using QOL instruments. (2) To determine the optimal evaluation time for surgical efficacy. (3) To determine if surgical results improve with yearly experience. Methods The prospective study patients were split into two groups: Group A, those who completed the initial preoperative evaluation and all postoperative evaluations, and Group B, who completed the preoperative questionnaire and at least one but not all of the postoperative questionnaires. Group A included 93 patients. Group B included 240 patients at 3 months, 180 at 6 months, and 121 at 12 months postoperatively. Results Group A efficacy reported at 3 months was 82.8%, 80.6% at 6 months, and 84.9% at 12 months postoperatively. Group B efficacy reported at 3 months was 71.3%, 78.3% at 6 months, and 84.3% at 12 months postoperatively. An 8-year trend analysis of year-to-year 12 months postoperative data illustrates a significant improvement with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) linear rate of 1.594 (p ≤0.12). Conclusion The 8-year trend at 12 months postoperatively shows a positive improvement in surgical results. Patients undergoing sinus surgery at tertiary medical center showed 84.9% improvement in sinus disease symptoms by 12 months postoperatively. Long-term improvement analysis showed no difference between 6 months postoperatively and 12 months, signifying 6 months as an effective evaluation for surgical efficacy.
Using the process approach to teach writing in economics

Economists largely agree that writing is fundamental to understanding and communicating economics and can serve as an effective way to teach students to “think like economists.” However, only a sma...
Case Study of SIMS analysis on Germanium isotopes and Arsenic implant sample

A previous study [1] on arsenic depth profiling in the silicon germanium alloys based structures using numerical approach was able to resolve mass interference between 28Si75 As-and (74Ge29Si−, 73Ge30Si−, 74Ge28Si1H−, 73Ge29Si1H−, 72Ge30Si1H−), demonstrated that an accurate arsenic profile with enough dynamic range can be obtained. The background subtraction algorithm is using un-doped silicon germanium alloy with lightest isotopes of Ge and Si with ion cluster 28Si70Ge as reference. However, this numerical approach is not suitable for the current case study on mass interference of germanium and arsenic due to absence of 70Ge implant, there is no available reference signal for background subtraction. In this paper, quantification approach was traced using 28Si75 As− and the abnormal profile was investigated using 30Si75 As− with high impact energy (hence high current) ion beam.
Inhibition of Glycine Re-Uptake: A Potential Approach for Treating Pain by Augmenting Glycine-Mediated Spinal Neurotransmission and Blunting Central Nociceptive Signaling

Among the myriad of cellular and molecular processes identified as contributing to pathological pain, disinhibition of spinal cord nociceptive signaling to higher cortical centers plays a critical role. Importantly, evidence suggests that impaired glycinergic neurotransmission develops in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in inflammatory and neuropathic pain models and is a key maladaptive mechanism causing mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia. Thus, it has been hypothesized that pharmacological agents capable of augmenting glycinergic tone within the dorsal horn may be able to blunt or block aberrant nociceptor signaling to the brain and serve as a novel class of analgesics for various pathological pain states. Indeed, drugs that enhance dysfunctional glycinergic transmission, and in particular inhibitors of the glycine transporters (GlyT1 and GlyT2), are generating widespread interest as a potential class of novel analgesics. The GlyTs are Na+/Cl--dependent transporters of the solute carrier 6 (SLC6) family and it has been proposed that the inhibition of them presents a possible mechanism by which to increase spinal extracellular glycine concentrations and enhance GlyR-mediated inhibitory neurotransmission in the dorsal horn. Various inhibitors of both GlyT1 and GlyT2 have demonstrated broad analgesic efficacy in several preclinical models of acute and chronic pain, providing promise for the approach to deliver a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic with a mechanism of action differentiated from current standard of care. This review will highlight the therapeutic potential of GlyT inhibitors as a novel class of analgesics, present recent advances reported for the field, and discuss the key challenges associated with the development of a GlyT inhibitor into a safe and effective agent to treat pain.
The Checkpoint Inhibitor Imperative: Differentiating neuromuscular complications (P3.4-015)

Objective: We highlight the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of PD-1 inhibitor induced neuromuscular disease. Background: Patients with metastatic melanoma developed fatigable ocular, bulbar and proximal muscle weakness 2 weeks after PD-1 inhibitor therapy. Although their presentations were similar, patient 1 responded well to IVIG and systemic steroids (dosed on a gradually incrementing schedule appropriate for myasthenic exacerbation), while patient 2 failed to respond to aggressive immunotherapy including steroids, IVIG, plasmaphersis, and rituxan. Design/Methods: N/A Results: Patient 1, an 87 yo male, received pembrolizumab. Electrodiagnostic testing showed postsynaptic neuromuscular junction defect and needle EMG consistent with an irritable myopathy. CK was elevated to 1876 and anti-striated muscle antibody was positive at 1:1920. Patient 2, a 79 yo male, received nivolumab. Ice pack test was positive on initial examination but facial and spinal accessory motor responses could not be obtained for repetitive nerve stimulation. Needle EMG was consistent with irritable myopathy. CK was initially 3610 and striated muscle antibody was 1:245,760. Respiratory failure developed soon after presentation requiring mechanical ventilation and the patient died 2 months later after developing complications of critical illness. Conclusions: Both of these patients developed severe PD-1 inhibitor induced autoimmune neuromuscular disorders with overlap of primary muscle injury and post-synaptic neuromuscular junction dysfunction. These cases demonstrate the aggressive immune dysregulation that can occur with checkpoint inhibitors and the unique situation in which distinction between primary myositis and myasthenia is most challenging and important. This is not trivial as myositis, but not myasthenia, would arguably dictate aggressive high dose corticosteroids initially; similarly, persistent or progressive weakness would suggest escalation of immunotherapy in myasthenia but not advanced myositis where weakness is likely a result of degraded muscle fibers. The very high striated muscle antibody titer seen in case 1 may indicate a profound immune response predictive of poor response to therapy and higher mortality. Disclosure: Dr. Prior has nothing to disclose. Dr. Martin-Yeboah has nothing to disclose. Dr. Robbins has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lawson has nothing to disclose.
Did chatbots miss their “Apollo Moment”? Potential, gaps, and lessons from using collaboration assistants during COVID-19

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have long been positioned as a tool to provide crucial data-driven decision support to people. In this survey paper, I look at how collaboration assistants (chatbots for short), a type of AI that allows people to interact with them naturally (such as using speech, gesture, and text), have been used during a true global exigency-the COVID-19 pandemic. The key observation is that chatbots missed their "Apollo Moment" when at the time of need, they could have provided people with useful and life-saving contextual, personalized, and reliable decision support at a scale that the state-of-the-art makes possible. By "Apollo Moment", I refer to the opportunity for a technology to attain the pinnacle of its impact. I review the chatbot capabilities that are feasible with existing methods, identify the potential that chatbots could have met, and highlight the use-cases they were deployed on, the challenges they faced, and gaps that persisted. Finally, I draw lessons that, if implemented, would make them more relevant in future health emergencies.
Lyman Alpha Absorption Systems and the Evolution of Disk Galaxies

The strong self-damped Lyman α absorption systems in high redshift QSOs show characteristics which lead us to associate them with the high-redshift precursors of current gaseous disk galaxies. Imaging observations for Lyman α emission have failed to detect these systems. We set a limiting star formation rate in these systems of approximately 1-4 M ⊙ yr-1. With small but observationally allowable amounts of dust the limit may be about ten times larger. We suggest that disk-like structures form early, within about 1 Gyr of the turnaround epoch, but that rapid star formation does not begin until later epochs, or occurs in episodic fashion.
Evolution of telomeres and telomerase: new partners spice up the dance (97.1)

Telomere maintenance occurs through dynamic engagement of telomerase by telomere binding proteins. In Arabidopsis thaliana, duplication and diversification of core telomere components has the potential to introduce new modes of regulation. Here I discuss the consequences of two duplication events: telomerase RNA (TER) and the Protection of Telomeres (POT1). A. thaliana harbors three distinct TER subunits. TER1 is a canonical telomerase RNA template, while TER2 is a negative regulator of TER1. TER2 is rapidly induced in response to double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs), triggering telomerase inhibition and thereby favoring faithful DNA repair. The third isoform, TER2s is generated by splicing and 3’ end cleavage of TER2. Notably, the TER2 intron is a transposable element, required for TER2 induction and telomerase inhibition. Thus, telomerase inhibition is not the ancestral function of TER2; it appears to be derived from transposon insertion. A. thaliana encodes three isoforms of POT1. Unlike orthologs in verteb...
The Movement of Electrolytes and Albumin in Different Types of Cerebral Edema

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the exchange of labeled proteins and electrolytes between circulating blood and edematous brain tissue. In the chapter, various types of cerebral edemas were produced experimentally. The tissues were then examined uniformly by conventional histological methods and by analyzing their water and electrolyte content. The dynamic exchange of constituents between blood and brain tissue was studied with trypan blue, radioactive iodinated serum albumin, 14 C-labeled amino acids, and 24 Na, 42 K and 32 P. The temporal and spatial aspects of the exchange of labeled substances were determined and correlated to the chemical composition of the tissue, including its regional alterations. The experimental prototype of focal and traumatic edema was produced by freezing the dura protected cortex. The resulting swelling was essentially localized to the white matter and was accompanied by hypertrophic changes of the astrocytes. The experiments reveal that this swelling is caused by a protein-rich serum exudate that originates in the cortical lesion. The process starts by an increased permeability of the involved cortical capillaries and continues by a gradual spread of the exudate into the underlying white matter. Microscopic radioautography revealed even distribution of albumin without any predilection to any particular cell. There is no evidence of primarily increased permeability in the edematous white matter itself.
Involvement of Abdominal Organs in Cystic Fibrosis of the Pancreas

Summary Cystic fibrosis of the pancreas is a generalized, hereditary disease affecting many or all exocrine glands. It is not primarily a disease of the pancreas, but one in which this organ is frequently, but not necessarily, involved. In fully developed cases there are chronic lung disease, pancreatic deficiency, abnormally high sweat electrolytes, and, at times, cirrhosis of the liver. Characteristic of the disorder is involvement of various organs or glandular systems, leading to marked variations in the clinical picture. The "sweat test" because of its simplicity and reliability, is the cornerstone for diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Involvement of abdominal organs in cystic fibrosis and its consequences are described. Meconium ileus, pancreatic achylia, prolapse of the rectum, cirrhosis of the liver, fecal masses, pancreatic calcifications and diabetes mellitus, and pancreatitis and abdominal pain are described. Case reports are presented on 4 patients with cystic fibrosis exemplifying complications of this disease not recorded previously. Studies relating cystic fibrosis to some chronic pulmonary and gastrointestinal disorders of adults are briefly related and thought to be one of the most challenging recent developments.
Multiple forms of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in normal and goitrous rat thyroid.

Abstract Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (3′:5′-cyclic-AMP 5′-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.17) activities were compared in soluble (105,000 g supernatant) and particulate (105,000 g pellet of 700 g supernatant) fractions of thyroid glands from normal and 6- N -propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU)-treated rats at 5 and 100 μ m substrate concentrations. Both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase activities were significantly increased in particulate (3- to 4-fold) and soluble (6- to 10-fold) fractions of PTU-treated rat thyroids as compared with the normal controls at both substrate concentrations. There were no differences in the metal ion requirements between PTU-treated and normal rat thyroids phosphodiesterases. Double reciprocal plots for cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity were nonlinear in soluble and particulate preparations of normal and PTU-treated rat thyroids whereas the plots for cyclic GMP hydrolysis were linear. The Michaelis-Menten constants for normal and PTU-treated rat thyroid supernatant as well as particulate preparation were not significantly different but V was increased 6- to 10-fold in PTU-treated groups for hydrolysis of both cyclic nucleotides. Chromatography on DEAE-cellulose columns separated soluble cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases from normal and PTU-treated rat thyroids into two peaks; the relative distribution of Peak I was increased in PTU-treated rats as compared to normal controls. V of Peak I was increased for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP hydrolysis more than 10-fold and for Peak II only 3-fold in PTU-treated animals compared to the normal controls. These results, therefore, suggest that by DEAE-cellulose chromatography two isoenzymes of phosphodiesterases can be separated from soluble fractions showing varying affinity for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP and that the activity of Peak I isoenzyme in PTU-treated animals is increased dramatically due to increase in V with no change in apparent K m .
Damage Assessment Using Hyperchaotic Excitation and State-Space Geometry Changes

The current study explores the use of a steady-state hyperchaotic signal to probe a system for state-space geometry changes used for structural health monitoring applications. This is an extension of a previous chaotic interrogation technique approach that exploited the intrinsic high sensitivity of chaotic systems to subtle changes of the parameters. The enhanced technique proposed in this paper explores a novel structural excitation, namely a hyperchaotic excitation, which exhibits a chaotic behavior wherein at least two Lyapunov exponents are positive due to stretching of the phase space in multiple directions. A feature called average local attractor variance ratio (ALAVR), which is based on attractor geometry, is used to compare the geometry of a baseline attractor to a test attractor. The enhanced technique is applied to analytically and experimentally analyze the response of an 8-degree-of-freedom system to the hyperchaotic excitation for the sake of damage assessment. A comparison between the results obtained from current hyperchaotic excitation vs. a chaotic excitation highlights the higher sensitivity of the hyperchaotic excitation. Thus, hyperchaotic interrogation can be used as an alternative damage assessment technique when increased sensitivity to small amounts of damage is required.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Spinal decompression in achondroplastic patients using high-speed drill versus ultrasonic bone curette: technical note and outcomes in 30 cases.

Background: This manuscript describes the clinical and operative characteristics of achondroplastic children who undergo multilevel thoracolumbar decompressions using either the high-speed drill or the ultrasonic bone curette (BoneScalpel). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 30 thoracolumbar decompressions in achondroplastic patients at a single institution between 2008 and 2013. Patients were classified into either the high-speed drill cohort or the BoneScalpel cohort, depending on which instrument was utilized to perform the decompression. A technical note on the role of the ultrasonic bone curette in decompressing stenotic achondroplastic spines is also provided. Results: In comparison with the high-speed drill cohort, the BoneScalpel cohort experienced less overall perioperative complications, including durotomy, cerebrospinal fluid leak, pseudomeningoceles, wound infection, and wound dehiscence. Although 45.0% of patients experienced a durotomy in the high-speed drill cohort, only 30.0% of patients experienced a durotomy in the BoneScalpel cohort (P=0.694). In the high-speed drill cohort, the number of patients complaining of sensory disturbances, back pain, ataxia, incontinence, neurogenic claudication, radiculopathy, ataxia, and/or weakness decreased postoperatively. Similar results were observed in the BoneScalpel cohort. Conclusions: Although spinal decompression provides symptomatic resolution in patients with achondroplasia, intraoperative complications, in general, and durotomies, in particular, are common. Here, we report a decreased incidence in intraoperative durotomy and overall perioperative complication rates in the BoneScalpel cohort, although this did not reach the level of statistical significance. Nonetheless, the data demonstrate that the BoneScalpel is a safe and efficacious alternative to the high-speed drill in these challenging patients. Level of evidence: Level II—retrospective study.
Successful use of chronic epoprostenol as a bridge to liver transplantation in severe portopulmonary hypertension.

Background. Portopulmonary hypertension, defined as mean pulmonary artery pressure >25 mmHg in the presence of a normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and portal hypertension, is a known complication of end-stage liver disease that has been associated with high morbidity and mortality at the time of liver transplantation. We have recently reported the successful treatment of portopulmonary hypertension with chronic intravenous epoprostenol and now report the first patient with severe portopulmonary hypertension successfully treated with epoprostenol who subsequently underwent successful liver transplantation. Methods. A patient with severe portopulmonary hypertension was treated with intravenous epoprostenol, 23 ng/kg/min, for a 4-month period, after which the portopulmonary hypertension resolved and the patient underwent successful liver transplantation. Results. The patient was discharged, continues to do well, and at 3 months is off epoprostenol with near normal pulmonary artery pressures. Conclusions. Chronic epoprostenol, in conjunction with a multidisciplinary, well-planned perioperative evaluation and treatment plan, may be the answer to a heretofore untreatable disease. Portopulmonary hypertension (PPHTN*), defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) .25 mmHg with a normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) in the presence of portal hypertension, is a known yet uncommon complication of chronic liver disease. Despite its low prevalence, PPHTN has received increasing attention as its pres
Ubiquilin Modifies TDP-43 Toxicity in a Drosophila Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

TDP-43 (43-kDa TAR DNA-binding protein) is a major constituent of ubiquitin-positive cytosolic aggregates present in neurons of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and ubiquitin-positive fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-U). Inherited mutations in TDP-43 have been linked to familial forms of ALS, indicating a key role for TDP-43 in disease pathogenesis. Here, we describe a Drosophila melanogaster model of TDP-43 proteinopathy. Expression of wild-type human TDP-43 protein in Drosophila motor neurons led to motor dysfunction and dramatic reduction of life span. Interestingly, coexpression of ubiquilin 1, a previously identified TDP-43-interacting protein with suspected functions in autophagy and proteasome targeting, reduced steady-state TDP-43 expression but enhanced the severity of TDP-43 phenotypes. Finally, ectopically expressed TDP-43 was largely localized to motor neuron nuclei, suggesting that expression of wild-type TDP-43 alone is detrimental even in the absence of cytosolic aggregation. Our findings demonstrate that TDP-43 exerts cell-autonomous neurotoxicity in Drosophila and further imply that dose-dependent alterations of TDP-43 nuclear function may underlie motor neuron death in ALS.
Neuroanatomical characterization of Fos induction in rat behavioral models of anxiety.

Immunohistochemical staining for Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) was used to map functional activation in discrete brain regions of rats processed in three empirical models of anxiety: foot shock avoidance responding in a shuttle box, the elevated plus maze, and an air puff-induced ultrasonic vocalization test. The avoidance test and elevated plus maze induced prominent Fos-LI in select brain regions, including the medial prefrontal, cingulate, and ventrolateral orbital cortices, taenia tecta, nucleus accumbens, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, medial nucleus of the amygdala and lateral septum. Air puff stimuli that produced ultrasonic vocalizations induced Fos-LI to a more limited extent compared to the plus maze and avoidance test, with only the medial prefrontal cortex, medial nucleus of the amygdala, and lateral septum being significantly affected by air-puff. Even though the sensory stimuli and environmental conditions associated with the three anxiety models were markedly different, specific common forebrain regions were affected, i.e. the medial prefrontal cortex, medial amygdala, and lateral septum. It is hypothesized that these regions are components of a circuit in the rat brain related to anxiety or distress. To determine the potential relationship between generalized arousal and the observed induction of Fos-LI in the anxiety models, rats were tested in a non-aversive situation involving marked behavioral activation. Accordingly, after vigorous bar pressing behavior for reinforcement with sweetened condensed milk, induction of Fos-LI was minimal and comparable to that in unhandled control rats. These latter data indicate that the distinctive neuroanatomical patterns of Fos-LI observed in the paradigms related to anxiety were not simply due to generalized behavioral activation. In summary, select common brain regions were identified that express Fos-LI in empirical models of anxiety. These data provide a functional framework to explore neuroanatomical sites of action of psychotherapeutic drugs that influence behavioral responses in these tasks.
Photolysis of SO2 in the presence of foreign gases. V. Sensitized phosphorescence of biacetyl

Abstract SO 2 was irradiated in the presence of biacetyl at 3020 A and 25°C. The SO 2 -sensitized phosphorescence of biacetyl was monitored both in the absence and presence of N 2 , CO, CO 2 , N 2 O, H 2 O, and thiphene. The results show that two triplet states of SO 2 must be involved to explain the yields of biacetyl phosphorescence. Neither of these states has the properties of the emitting triplet state of SO 2 ( 3 B 1 or 3 SO 2 ). In particular, neither of the two SO 2 triplets is quenched by N 2 , CO, CO 2 , or N 2 O. One of the states, SO 2 **, is quenched by H 2 O, but not by thiophene, whereas the reverse is true for the other state, SO 2 ≢. The emitting 3 SO 2 state is quenched by all six gases, and very markedly by thiophene. The state SO 2 ≢ is rapidly quenched by biacetyl and accounts for the sensitized phosphorescence at low biacetyl pressure. At higher biacetyl pressures (∼ 1 Torr), its phosphorescence is enhanced because of quenching of SO 2 **. The SO 2 ** state has the same properties as the triplet state responsible for chemical reactioin between photoexcited SO 2 and CO.
Growth Pattern in the Green Hydra, Chlorohydra viridissima

A method was employed whereby it was possible to determine the growth pattern of hydra without using the traditional techniques of grafting and vital staining. It has been shown that hydra possess a growth region just below the hypostome where constant cell proliferation renews the tissues of the animal completely every few weeks.
Oxidative Aromatic Substitutions: Hartree−Fock/Density Functional and ab Initio Molecular Orbital Studies of Benzene and Toluene Nitrosation1

Aromatic nitrosations are prototypes of a recently proposed reaction mechanismoxidative aromatic substitutionsincorporating ground-state electron transfer prior to the substitution step. Ab initio MO and B3LYP hybrid Hartree−Fock/density-functional (HF/DF) calculations confirm that nitrosation proceeds through initial formation of intermediate electron donor−acceptor (EDA) π-complexes. Calculated π-complex geometries and energies agree qualitatively with experimental data and indicate the applicability of HF/DF methods for modeling EDA complexes. Subsequent transformation of (benzene−NO)+ and (toluene−NO)+ π-complexes into N-protonated nitroso-derivatives in B3LYP and MP2 calculations suggest an alternative to the currently proposed mechanism involving π-complex transformation into Wheland type σ-complexes (supported by CISD calculations). Kinetic analysis suggests the alternative mechanism is plausible and indicates that proton transfer from the N-protonated nitroso-derivatives to the medium would not be...
Simultaneous Temperature and Holdup Time Ratio Optimization for Tandem Column Tunable Selectivity with High-Speed GC

Analysis time for high-speed, capillary column GC is reduced by the use of a pressure-tunable tandem combination of a nonpolar poly(methylsiloxane) (DB-5) column and a polar trifluoropropyl poly(methylsiloxane) (Rtx-200) column operated isothermally at an optimized oven temperature. By adjusting the pressure at the midpoint between the two columns, the residence times of all sample components are adjusted to give the maximum resolution of the critical component pair. The result is a two-dimensional optimization where the column temperature and the midpoint pressure were adjusted to give the shortest possible analysis time. A previously defined relative resolution function, which requires only empirical capacity factor data for the target compounds, is used as the dependent variable in the optimization algorithm. The resulting three-dimensional resolution map is projected parallel to the relative resolution axis in order to obtain a useful two-dimensional display from which the optimal operating conditions...
Quantum-cascade laser-based nanoscale photoexpansion micro-spectroscopy in mid-infrared and terahertz

We report highly-sensitive photoexpansion micro-spectroscopy using tunable quantum cascade lasers in mid-infrared and terahertz. High sensitivity is obtained by moving laser pulses repetition frequency in resonance with an atomic force microscope cantilever eigenfrequency. 50 nm spatial resolution is demonstrated with a tunable mid-IR QCL.
Monotone scheme for finite difference equations concerning steady-state prey-predator interactions☆

Abstract In this article a system of semilinear elliptic partial differential equations is studied. This system determines the equilibria of the Volterra-Lotka equations describing prey-predator interactions with diffusion. To analyze the system, a new monotone scheme is presented. A rigorous foundation is given for numerical calculations by adapting a suitable finite difference method to the new monotone scheme. Earlier theories in finite differences are not successful in solving the system without this scheme.