cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Higher incidence of single nucleotide polymorphisms at codon 72 of the p53 gene are associated with poor prognosis of African-American patients with high grade colorectal adenocarcinomas

391 Background: We reported an increased incidence of mortality for African-Americans with colonic adenocarcinomas but not with rectal adenocarcinomas when compared to Caucasians (Cancer 2004;101:66-76); moreover, this disparity was due to high-grade CRCs (Cancer 2005;103:2163-70). To understand the molecular basis for this disparity, the current preliminary study assessed the mutational patterns of the p53 gene and microsatellite instability (MSI) in high-grade CRCs collected from African-American and non-Hispanic Caucasian patients and correlated with their survival. Materials and Methods: The genomic DNA samples were isolated from archival tissues of high-grade CRCs and matching control tissues collected from 27 African-American and 32 Caucasian patients. None of these patients have received any pre- or post-surgery adjuvant therapies. The status of the p53 gene was assessed by direct sequencing of the entire coding region (exons 2 through 11), using exon-specific primers. Polymerase chain reaction amplifications were performed with the National Cancer Institute-recommended 5-oligonucleotide primer sets to assess the BAT25, BAT26, D2S123, D5S346 and D17S250 loci. We used the Chi-square test to compare baseline characteristics and Univariate Kaplan-Meier survival analyses to assess the prognostic significance of molecular alterations based on race/ethnicity. Results: Similar proportions of high-grade CRCs from African-American and Caucasian patients have exhibited the high-level MSI (MSI-H) (37% versus 41%) and missense point mutations at hotspot codons 175, 245, 248, 273, or 282 of the p53 gene (11% versus 16%). In contrast, single nucleotide polymorphic mutations (SNP) at codon 72 (Arginine to Proline) were more frequent in African-Americans (33%) than in Caucasians (9%) (χ2, P = 0.025). African-Americans with SNPs at codon 72 which exhibit the phenotypes, Proline/Proline (33%) or Arginine/Proline (37%) had higher mortality than those with the phenotype Arginine/Arginine (30%) (Overall, log-rank, P=0.023), such a difference in mortality was not observed in Caucasian patients (Overall, log-rank, P=0.630). Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that the SNP pattern at codon 72 of the p53 gene differs in African-American and Caucasian patients with high-grade CRCs; specifically, the phenotypes Arg/Pro or Pro/Pro of p53 are associated with poor clinical outcome of African-American patients. These studies are supported by a NCI/NIH grant CA098932-01.
The Mind Is Its Own Place: Of Lalla’s Comparative Poetics

What is comparative poetics, and where is it to be found? The tradition of verses in Kashmiri ascribed to the fourteenth-century female ascetic Lalla might seem a strange place to look for answers ...
Ant-SNE: Tracking Community Evolution via Animated t-SNE.

We introduce a method for tracking the community evolution and a prototype (Ant-SNE) for analyzing multivariate time series and guiding interactive exploration through high-dimensional data. The method is based on t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), a machine learning algorithm for nonlinear dimension reduction well-suited for embedding high-dimensional data for visualization in a low-dimensional space of two or three dimensions. By tracking the evolution of temporal multivariate data points, we are able to locate unusual behaviors (outliers) and interesting sub-series for further analysis. In the experiments, we conducted two case studies with the US employment dataset and the HPC health status dataset in order to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system.
Exploring Vaccine Hesitancy

According to the World Health Organization, the coverage of vaccine-preventable diseases rests at 86% with nearly 20 million children worldwide who have not received basic vaccines. Vaccine-hesitant individuals are a heterogeneous group who hold varying degrees of indecision about specific vaccines or vaccination in general. Vaccine hesitancy is a behavior influenced by several factors including issues of confidence, complacency, and convenience. In countries where access is not the main issue for lack of vaccination, there are many cultural influences that affect the decision for parents to seek vaccination for their children or themselves. Media and social media can create a negative or positive vaccine sentiment and can provide a platform for lobbies and key opinion leaders to influence others. Community leaders and influencers, including religious leaders in some settings, celebrities in others, can all have a significant influence on vaccine acceptance or hesitancy. Vaccine mandates can provoke vaccine hesitancy not necessarily because of safety or other concerns, but due to resistance to the notion of forced vaccination. Lastly, the pharmaceutical industry may be distrusted and influence vaccine hesitancy when perceived as driven only by financial motives and not by public health interest. This can extend to distrust in government when perceived that it also is being pushed by industry and is not transparent. When working with patients faced with the decision of whether vaccination will be undertaken, it is imperative to understand the cultural, ethical, and legal implications that may affect their decision. Working from a place of understanding and acceptance of various views and beliefs about vaccination, nurses can be better advocates for the wishes of their patients.
The Normative Force of Higher-Order Law: Evidence from Six Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic

An important question in law and political science is whether higher-order law—such as constitutional law and international human rights law—has normative pull with ordinary citizens. An experimental literature has begun to study this question, but methodological obstacles have made it all but impossible to draw consistent conclusions. We study the normative force of constitutional law in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which allows us to overcome some of these common methodological challenges. We administered survey experiments in six countries—the United States, Japan, Israel, South Korea, Taiwan, and China—that assessed support for liberty restrictions designed to combat COVID-19 while experimentally manipulating information about the constitutionality of these policies. We find that law’s normative force of law varies across countries and issues. Respondents in countries with strong constitutional traditions are most willing to be swayed by law, but only for the most coercive policies.
A Feminist Critique of Police Stops

A Feminist Critique of Police Stops examines the parallels between stop-and-frisk policing and sexual harassment. An expert whose writing, teaching and community outreach centers on the Constitution's limits on police power, Howard Law Professor Josephine Ross, argues that our constitutional rights are a mirage. In reality, we can't say no when police seek to question or search us. Building on feminist principles, Ross demonstrates why the Supreme Court got it wrong when it allowed police to stop, search, and sometimes strip-search people and call it consent. Using a wide range of sources - including her law students' experiences with police, news stories about Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland, social science and the work of James Baldwin - Ross sheds new light on policing. This book should be read by everyone interested in how Court-approved police stops sap everyone's constitutional rights and how this form of policing can be eliminated.
Telomere lengths in plants are correlated with flowering time variation

Abstract Telomeres are highly repetitive tandemly repeating DNA sequences found at chromosomal ends that protect chromosomes from deterioration during cell division. Using whole genome re-sequencing data, we found substantial natural intraspecific variation in telomere lengths in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa (rice) and Zea mays (maize). Genome-wide association mapping in A. thaliana identifies a region that includes the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene as underlying telomere length variation. TERT appears to exist in two haplotype groups (L and S), of which the L haplogroup allele shows evidence of a selective sweep in Arabidopsis. We find that telomere length is negatively correlated with flowering time variation not only in A. thaliana, but also in maize and rice, indicating a link between life history traits and chromosome integrity. We suggest that longer telomeres may be more adaptive in plants that have faster developmental rates (and therefore flower earlier), and that chromosomal structure itself is an adaptive trait associated with plant life history strategies.
A critical examination of leisure in modernity: Rejecting instrumentalism and embracing flourishing

We provide a critical approach to current colloquial and scholarly understandings of leisure focusing on instrumental understandings of leisure in modern, liberal-democratic society since these ins...
Preventing Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Deaths: Assessing the Impact of Increased Screening.

Introduction The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends select preventive clinical services, including cancer screening. However, screening for cancers remains underutilized in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leads initiatives to increase breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. We assessed the number of avoidable deaths from increased screening, according to USPSTF recommendations, for CRC and female breast and cervical cancers. Methods We used model-based estimates of avoidable deaths for the lifetime of single-year age cohorts under the current and increased use of screening scenarios (data year 2016; analysis, 2018). We calculated prevented cancer deaths for each 1% increase in screening uptake and extrapolated to current level of screening (2016), current level plus 10 percentage points, and increasing screening to 90% and 100% of the eligible population. Results Increased use of screening from current levels to 100% would prevent an additional 2,821 deaths from breast cancer, 6,834 deaths from cervical cancer, and 35,530 deaths from CRC over a lifetime of the respective single-year cohort. Increasing use of CRC screening would prevent approximately 8.5 times as many deaths as the equivalent increase in use of breast cancer screening (women only), although twice as many people (men and women) would have to be screened for CRC. Conclusions A large number of deaths could be avoided by increasing breast, cervical, and CRC screening. Public health programs incorporating strategies shown to be effective can help increase screening rates.
J M Keynes’s 1937 Refutation of the Claim That Hicks–Hansen (and Others) Saved Keynes’s General Theory by the Development of the IS-LM Model in His ‘Professor Pigou on Money Wage Rates in Relation to Unemployment’

The myth or story regarding the creation of the IS-LM model in the economics profession goes something like this. Keynes correctly showed in the General Theory that you could not specify the rate of interest just from the supply of savings and demand for investment schedules alone because this only provided an IS curve. However, Keynes erred in claiming that it was the demand and supply of money that determined the rate of interest. This meant that Keynes was arguing that the LM curve alone determined the rate of interest. Thus, Hicks, Harrod, Meade, Champernowne, Reddaway, etc., saved Keynes from error by combining the IS and LM curves together to provide a consistent and coherent theory of the rate of interest. A more sophisticated version of this myth is that, while Keynes himself did derive and specify the IS-LM model in his student lectures in December, 1933, and included them in the 1934 draft copy of the General Theory, he refused to present this formal model in the General Theory because he was a follower of Marshall’s dictum that required a writer to burn the mathematics after he had used it to confirm the accuracy of the literary analysis. Various additional claims in this version of the myth were that Keynes was an anti-formalist or had an anti-mathematical or anti-quantificationist streak in him that resulted in his not presenting any formal model of his theory in the General Theory. Both of these stories were destroyed by Keynes himself in the draft copy of his 1937 paper, titled “Professor Pigou on money wage rates in relation to unemployment.” The perpetuation of this myth for over 80 years, combined with the perpetuation of the myth of Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand, exposed repeatedly by G. Kennedy, could lead citizens to question whether economics is even a weak or inexact science. Science and myths can never coexist together if a field of study is truly scientific. Keynes originated, created developed, applied and taught the IS-LP(LM) model starting in December, 1933. Sections IV of both chapters 15 and 21 contained Keynes’s theory and applications, as well as astute criticisms of his own theoretical work. The myth that there was no IS-LM model in the GT is an anti- scientific claim that directly conflicts with the scientific claims made by the economics profession. The sooner this myth is put to rest, the better it will be in the long run for all economists.
Border Security and State Safety and Security: Addressing Common Agendas

This chapter shows how state and local government can reduce illegal border crossing and entry of criminals. On the southern border, community policing can combat trans-border crime and deter illegal border crossing. On the northern border, states can help make cross-border traffic both more rapid and secure. Borderland states ought to promote public–private partnerships to build more resilient and higher capacity infrastructure that will enhance efficient border crossing, trade, and security.
Efficient Oblivious Query Processing for Range and kNN Queries

Increasingly, individuals and companies adopt a cloud service provider as a primary data and IT infrastructure platform. The remote access of the data inevitably brings the issue of trust. Data encryption is necessary to keep sensitive information secure and private on the cloud. Yet adversaries can still learn valuable information regarding encrypted data by observing data access patterns. To solve such problem, Oblivious RAMs (ORAMs) are proposed to completely hide access patterns. However, most ORAM constructions are expensive and not suitable to deploy in a database for supporting query processing over large data. Furthermore, an ORAM processes queries synchronously, hence, does not provide high throughput for concurrent query processing. In this work, we design a practical oblivious query processing framework to enable efficient query processing over a cloud database. In particular, we focus on processing multiple range and kNN queries asynchronously and concurrently with high throughput. The key idea is to integrate indices into ORAM which leverages a suite of optimization techniques (e.g., oblivious batch processing and caching). The effectiveness and efficiency of our oblivious query processing framework is demonstrated through extensive evaluations over large datasets. Our construction shows an order of magnitude speedup in comparison with other baselines.
Moving Toward Accurate Assessment of Working Memory in Adults With Neurogenically Based Communication Disorders.

Purpose This article presents a viewpoint highlighting concerns regarding currently available assessments of working memory in adults with neurogenic communication disorders. Additionally, we provi...
Gene Expression of CRAL_TRIO Family Proteins modulated by Vitamin E Deficiency in Zebrafish (Danio Rerio)

Abstract An evaluation of the impact of vitamin E deficiency on expression of the alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) and related CRAL_TRIO genes was undertaken using livers from adult zebrafish based on the hypothesis that increased lipid peroxidation would modulate gene expression. Zebrafish were fed either a vitamin E sufficient (E+) or deficient (E–) diet for 9 months, then fish were euthanized, and livers were harvested. Livers from the E+ relative to E– fish contained 40-times more α-tocopherol (P
Estrogen receptor Alpha in human knee articular cartilage of healthy and osteoarthritic females.

Abstract Objective Estrogen and osteoarthritis association has previously been proposed. This study evaluates the presence of estrogen receptors (ER)-α in articular cartilage, and its association. Methods A prospective cohort study of women undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (controls) or total knee arthroplasty (cases) was performed. Cartilage samples were processed and ER-α expression was quantified. Results Twenty patients were included: 12 cases and 8 controls. ER-α expression was higher in the case subjects. Conclusion Increased ER-α expression is associated with age, and degeneration. This suggests estrogen deficiency is a risk for osteoarthritis and is inversely related to proliferative looking chondrocytes.
Large Scale Tracked Vehicle Concurrent Engineering Environment

In this paper, a fully integrated Tracked Vehicle Concurrent Engineering environment that exploits CAD and CAE technologies in support of simulation-based design of large scale tracked vehicles is presented. The Tracked Vehicle Concurrent Engineering environment comprises a series of engineering workspaces that include CAD/CAE Services, Tracked Vehicle Workspace, Dynamic Stress and Life Prediction Workspace, and Design Sensitivity Analysis and Optimization Workspace. These engineering workspaces are the principal functional components of the integrated simulation-based design environment that utilizes mechanical system data modeling techniques and ROSE object-oriented database to facilitate and manage data sharing. Wrappers have been developed to integrate these engineering workspaces by providing bi-directional data access and translation capabilities between the engineering workspaces and the database. In addition to these engineering workspaces, the Iowa Driving Simulator is integrated into the environment to provide a customer-driven simulation and design environment.
Genetically Engineered Mice by Pronuclear DNA microinjection

The generation of transgenic mice by DNA microinjection is a powerful tool to investigate the molecular regulation of gene expression, development, and disease. The power of this technology is that foreign DNA can be introduced into every cell of a developing organism and the phenotypic impact of this genetic modification can be investigated in a system under the constraints of normal development and physiology. The generation of transgenic mice requires the preparation of the transgene DNA construction, collection of one-cell fertilized mouse embryos, injection of the transgene into mouse embryos, and transfer of the surviving embryos. Mice born from such manipulations are then screened for the presence of the transgene. The execution of these procedures requires a highly efficient system otherwise the cost of the generation of these mice can be cost prohibitive. However, the production of these animals can serve as an invaluable research resource.
Voltage Regulation & Stabilization in Power Networks

It is commonly believed that the danger of voltage instability and collapse in heavily loaded power networks can be significanty reduced by secondary voltages control. Such voltage regulstors must alter the befurcation structure of the network. Issues involved with the design of regulators which do so are discussed and illustrated.
Initial experience with seven tesla magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hypothalamic GABA during hyperinsulinemic euglycemia and hypoglycemia in healthy humans

Purpose Hypothalamic GABA signaling has been shown to regulate the hormonal response to hypoglycemia in animals. The hypothalamus is a challenging brain region for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) due to its small size and central location. To investigate the feasibility of measuring GABA in the hypothalamus in humans, ultra-high field MRS was used. Methods GABA levels in the hypothalamus and occipital cortex (control region) were measured in healthy volunteers during euglycemia and hypoglycemia at 7 tesla using short-echo STEAM (TE = 8 ms, TR = 5 s). Results Hypothalamic GABA levels were quantified with a mean within-session test–retest coefficient of variance of 9%. Relatively high GABA levels were observed in the hypothalamus compared with other brain regions. Hypothalamic GABA levels were 3.5 ± 0.3 µmol/g during euglycemia (glucose 89 ± 6 mg/dL) vs. 3.0 ± 0.4 µmol/g during hypoglycemia (glucose 61 ± 3 mg/dL) (P = 0.06, N = 7). In the occipital cortex, GABA levels remained constant at 1.4 ± 0.4 vs.1.4 ± 0.3 µmol/g (P = 0.3, N = 5) as glucose fell from 91 ± 4 to 61 ± 4 mg/dL. Conclusion GABA concentration can be quantified in the human hypothalamus and shows a trend toward decrease in response to an acute fall in blood glucose. These methods can be used to further investigate role of GABA signaling in the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia in humans. Magn Reson Med 71:12–18, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Rebirth of Kinship

Kinship was one of the key areas of research interest among anthropologists in the nineteenth century, one of the most hotly debated areas of theory in the early and mid-twentieth century, and yet an area of waning interest by the end of the twentieth century. Since then, the study of kinship has experienced a revitalization, with concomitant disputes over how best to proceed. This special issue brings together recent studies of kinship by scientific anthropologists employing evolutionary theory and quantitative methods. We argue that the melding of the evolutionary theoretical perspective with quantitative and ethnographic methodologies has strengthened and reinvigorated the study of kinship by synthesizing and extending existing research via rigorous analyses of evidence.
A Review of “Staff Development on a Shoestring: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians”

Library staff may be considered an asset second only to library collections. In current economic times and with library trends toward access rather than ownership, I would contend that staff may no...
Cosmological baryon number and kaon CP violation from a common source.

We extend an earlier model for radiatively generated fermion masses based on the Pati-Salam group to include {ital CP} violation. Spontaneous {ital CP} violation in the early universe gives rise to a complex mass matrix for heavy sterile neutrinos. The out-of-equilibrium decay of these neutrinos generates a {ital B}{minus}{ital L} asymmetry. The sterile neutrinos also act as a mass seed in generating one-loop (complex) mass matrices for the quarks. Thus, the two low energy manifestations of {ital CP} violation, the CKM phase and the baryon number asymmetry, can both be traced in a calculable way to a common source. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Spatiotemporal filtering using principal component analysis and Karhunen-Loeve expansion approaches for regional GPS network analysis

Spatial filtering is an effective way to improve the precision of coordinate time series for regional GPS networks by reducing so-called common mode errors, thereby providing better resolution for detecting weak or transient deformation signals. The commonly used approach to regional filtering assumes that the common mode error is spatially uniform, which is a good approximation for networks of hundreds of kilometers extent, but breaks down as the spatial extent increases. A more rigorous approach should remove the assumption of spatially uniform distribution and let the data themselves reveal the spatial distribution of the common mode error. The principal component analysis (PCA) and the Karhunen-Loeve expansion (KLE) both decompose network time series into a set of temporally varying modes and their spatial responses. Therefore they provide a mathematical framework to perform spatiotemporal filtering.We apply the combination of PCA and KLE to daily station coordinate time series of the Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN) for the period 2000 to 2004. We demonstrate that spatially and temporally correlated common mode errors are the dominant error source in daily GPS solutions. The spatial characteristics of the common mode errors are close to uniform for all east, north, and vertical components, which implies a very long wavelength source for the common mode errors, compared to the spatial extent of the GPS network in southern California. Furthermore, the common mode errors exhibit temporally nonrandom patterns.
Ionic-passivated FeS2 photocapacitors for energy conversion and storage

A solid-state photocapacitor is prepared, utilizing iron pyrite (FeS2) as both the photoactive material and blocking electrode, which exhibits a high performance near-infrared (NIR) photodetectivity of 1.6 × 1011 Jones, an energy density of 1.13 × 104 J g−1 and a specific capacitance of 37.5 mA h g−1 directly charged by sunlight.
The impact of cognitive feedback on judgment performance and trust with decision aids

Abstract Computerized decision aids are designed to support human operators’ decision-making activities in a variety of contexts including medicine, military command and control, and aviation industry. One common characteristic of these systems is of the role of the decision-aid, integrating a variety of measured information to produce a simple form of more meaningful information that can be used to support human operators’ judgment about environmental states of interest. When these aids malfunction, the decision makers may ignore the aid due to the lack of trust in the aid. This study examines the effect of automated decision aids of varying quality in producing environmental estimates, and investigates the effect of meta-information in supporting judgment performance of human operators’ with the decision aids and calibrating human trust in such aids. A Lens Model based feedback is used to provide meta-information about the decision-aid. An aircraft identification task is performed under varying conditions of aid quality and the presence of meta-information. Results show that performance, as well as assessments of trust in the aid, are affected by the decision aid's quality. More importantly, participants given with the meta-information performed significantly better than those without it. Results indicate that human operators can compensate for a poor performing aid when meta-information is available. Further, operators’ trust was better calibrated corresponding to the decision aid's quality. A practical implication of this study is that meta-information can be useful to human operators in increasing their understanding and appropriate utilization of automated decision aids.
Tetravalent Rhesus Rotavirus Vaccine In Young Infants

A study of a tetravalent live oral rhesus rotavirus vaccine was conducted in 26 healthy infants 6-22 weeks of age to evaluate safety, viral shedding, and immunogenicity in a double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion. The tetravalent rhesus rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) contained equal amounts of RRV (serotype 3) and the VP7 reassortants DxRRV (serotype 1), DS1xRRV (serotype 2), and ST3xRRV (serotype 4). RRV-TV was highly infectious; 16 of 18 recipients shed virus. However, the recovered virus was almost exclusively the parent rhesus strain, RRV. Humoral immune responses were largely limited to the RRV strain. The most consistent response, seen in 14 of 18 vaccines, was an ELISA IgM response to purified RRV. Mucosal antibody responses were not seen. The limited immune response may be a function of age, presence of maternal antibody, timing of the convalescent specimens, or the polyvalent nature of the vaccine.
Thermal annealing of photoluminescent Si deposited on silica aerogels

Abstract Photoluminescence (PL) of chemically vapor deposited Si on silica aerogels has been investigated as a function of annealing temperature up to 650°C in air. The PL peak red shifts considerably with temperatures up to 350°C and then slightly blue shifts above 350°C. There are at least two different oxidation stages in the thermal annealing of porous Si: surface oxidation below 350°C, which results in higher luminescence yield particularly for large Si particles, and internal oxidation above 350°C, which reduces the effective particle size.
Exercise and the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

Longitudinal population studies have consistently demonstrated an association between sedentary lifestyles and the incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Diverse lines of evidence from clinical and experimental studies further implicate physical inactivity as an important risk factor for CAD. The relation between physical inactivity and CAD appears to be curvilinear and independent of other major risk factors, but of lower magnitude. Several training-induced physiologic adaptations offer plausible mechanisms for the protective effects of physical activity. Extrapolation from available data indicates that exercise must be habitual, vigorous and continuous to provide protection from CAD. However, the observed association between inactivity and CAD could represent several hypotheses other than cause and effect. The need for an appropriately designed clinical trial is apparent, but such an endeavor is not feasible at present. Until more rigorous scientific data are available, judgment on the use of exercise in prevention of CAD must necessarily be based on the accumulation of evidence supporting the role of physical activity. The rationale for exercise in preventing the occurrence of CAD is reviewed.
Interaction between anions and the reduced folate/methotrexate transport system in L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles: directional symmetry and anion specificity for differential mobility of loaded and unloaded carrier.

The effect of various anions on the mediated influx and efflux of [3H]methotrexate by L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles in a HEPES buffer system was studied. Our results show that flux is stimulated to the same extent in either direction when SO4, Pi, or folate compounds (1,L5-CHO-folate-H4, methotrexate), but not Cl− was present in the opposite compartment. This implies the property of directional symmetry, a condition in which differential mobility of loaded and unloaded carriers occurs in both directions.We also observed a similarity in the specificity of the interaction between various anions and carrier in each orientation of the membrane, in the order, Cl− ≪ Pi ≊ SO 4 2− ≪ methotrexate < 1,L5-CHO-folate-H4. Also, the absolute differential in mobility of loaded and unloaded carrier (assumed from the extent of transstimulation obtained) varied substantially among the anions examined. No stimulation was obtained with Cl−, and stimulation was twofold with Pi, SO 4 2− and methotrexate and fourfold with 1,L5-CHO-folate-H4. Transstimulation of flux from either external or internal compartment only occurred when a positive gradient of total anions was maintained in the opposite compartment. Also, no stimulation occurred when the same equivalence of two different anions are present in opposing compartments. The concentration of anions required to transstimulate [3H]methotrexate influx was increased four- to 10-fold when vesicles were equilibrated in 145mM NaCl. These results suggest that under physiological conditions, concentrative uptake of methotrexate in intact L1210 cells as a result of anion exchange would require a large positive gradient in the total concentration of internalized anions.
Developments in neurochemistry related to axoplasmic transport

Abstract Fast transport of labeled proteins in vertebrate nerve and the particle movement seen in the axoplasm of giant fibers with video microscopy share basic properties. They are both dependent on oxidative metabolism providing ATP to drive transport with the microtubules acting as the “rails” for transport. Glucose is the usual metabolite but when glucose is deleted from an in vitro medium some other endogenous metabolite(s) present in vertebrate nerve can temporarily provide ATP to carry on transport for several hours. The transport filament hypothesis was proposed to account for fast transport in vertebrate nerve. Carriers were pictured to which the various components transported are bound and these moved along the microtubules with the needed energy supplied by ATP utilized by a calmodulin activated Ca-Mg ATPase. Analogous models based on video visualization of particle movement have been proposed. While these models can in general account for fast transport, we require a better understanding of the wide range of slower and intermediate rates of transport seen in vertebrate nerve. The large component of cytoskeletal proteins moved down as slow component a (SCa) at a rate close to 1 mm/d has been accounted for by two different models. In the Structural Hypothesis the microtubules and neurofilament cytoskeletal organelles are considered to be assembled in the cell bodies and then moved down within the axon as an assembled matrix. In the Unitary Hypothesis the cytoskeletal proteins are moved down as soluble proteins on carriers as in the case of fast transport, but these slow transported proteins are more rapidly dropped off in the axon for turnover in the stationary cytoskeleton. Other slow and intermediate rates can similarly be accounted for on the basis of this one mechanism. Experimental evidence in support of the Unitary Hypothesis is presented based on the use of the beading phenomenon to partition the assembled cytoskeleton from the soluble components. Additional evidence is given for a distal assembly of the cytoskeleton in regenerating fibers which further supports Unitary Hypothesis. The Unitary Hypothesis not only best fits with the known properties of transport, it offers new approaches to an understanding of the action of neurotoxins and the genesis of neuropathological changes.
Venous catheter thrombus formation and pulmonary embolism in children

Central venous catheter (CVC)-related thrombus formation has been increasingly recognized as a complication in adults and somewhat less frequently in children and neonates. However, the association of CVC thrombus and pulmonary embolism (PE) has rarely been reported in infants or children, and the few existing reports primarily involve chronic, indwelling CVCs such as Broviac or Hickman catheters. During an 18-month-period of autopsy review, we found that 5 of our pediatric intensive care unit patients had autopsy-proven CVC thrombus and pulmonary embolism. All of them had prolonged mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure and required insertion of one or more short-term, temporary CVCs during the course of routine critical care management. In retrospect, signs related to CVC thrombus were present in 4 patients (3 had positive blood cultures and 1 had persistent hypertension). PE was not diagnosed until autopsy in every case. The diagnosis may have been missed because the symptoms of PE are the same as those of severe lung disease. We, therefore, advocate a heightened suspicion of CVC thrombus formation and PE in critically ill children with respiratory failure and temporary CVCs and recommend early diagnostic ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. Once a CVC thrombus is found, subsequent pulmonary deterioration may necessitate evaluation for acute PE.
Using Edge Effect to Estimate Animal Densities

A method is presented for determining the area censused by an open, concentric array of traps which requires only basic census data. The trap array must be dense enough and trapped long enough to produce an edge effect. The method is based on the assumption that traps on the edge of the array are affecting a larger area than inner traps. The relative success of these classes of traps is the basis for the area estimate. The method was validated by computer simulation, which showed its accuracy to be sensitive to trap interval but insensitive to grid shape and animal density. Grids as small as five rows produced good density estimates. The range of error in density estimates was 0 to 15%. The method was also applied to data from field populations of unknown density.
The changing role of the autopsy: A social environmental perspective

Abstract Over 1 the past decade, the declining autopsy rate has been the subject of much debate. Many articles in professional journals have explored both the cause of the decline as well as its desirability. Explanations for the declining rate of autopsies have typically been of two types, specifically "professional" and "technical". The former implicate declining professional standards, while the latter point to the emergence of new diagnostic technologies as the cause of the lower autopsy rate. This paper argues that both of these explanations are better understood as two components of a larger explanation known as the "social environmental perspective". Applied to the autopsy debate, the environmental perspective focuses on social, political, and economic forces that influence research hospitals and the different groups of people practicing within them. By placing the debate in a larger social framework, a more complete understanding of the declining autopsy rate may be reached. More important, it is hoped that the illumination of social processes affecting the work of medical professionals will encourage explicit discussions of those forces and possible ways of dealing with them.
Predicted and inferred waiting times for key mutations in the germinal centre reaction: evidence for stochasticity in selection.

Predicted and inferred waiting times for key mutations in the germinal centre reaction: Evidence for stochasticity in selection
Effect of polydispersity on the phase behavior of polymer blends

The effect of polydispersity on polymer blend phase behavior is studied by in situ small-angle X-ray scattering. In a polydisperse polyethylene (PE)/isotactic poly(propylene) (iPP) blend, the enthalpic portion of the interaction parameter is greater than that of a corresponding blend with lower polydispersity. This is attributed to the presence of long chains, which provide a higher interaction energy and packing constraint, reducing the system miscibility. As expected, the radius of gyration is higher in the system with higher polydispersity.
Medication Overuse Headaches

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” in the management of MOH. Prevention of transformation of primary headache types to their chronic counterparts is necessary to prevent this most troubling transformation. Strict attention to what patients are telling you (and often times not telling you) about their episodic headaches will enable pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic measures to avoid that transformation to chronic daily headache, so often associated with MOH. Once MOH becomes manifest, withdrawal of the overused drug is mandatory; otherwise experience tells us the pattern of overuse will only be perpetuated and no measure will help alleviate the headache. At the same time, as detoxification takes place, measures to ensure that relapse will not take place should begin. These efforts include prophylactic pharmacologic measures as well as psychological support, education, and surveillance to prevent relapses. The rate of relapse is unfortunately high, but these general and specific measures enumerated above will add greatly to the chances of success.
Centrifugal distortion and oxygen-17 quadrupole coupling in ethylene oxide

Abstract The microwave spectrum of ethylene oxide has been reinvestigated to determine its quartic centrifugal distortion constants and the quadrupole coupling constants of the 17 O species. The measurements of the quadrupole structure were done in natural isotopic abundance (0.037%) using a computer coupled spectrograph.
Ordered Structures in Unstrained, Epitaxial Ge-Si-C Films

An ordered GeSi2 structure has been observed in layers of approximate composition GeSi2Cx grown epitaxially on Si. Except for regions very close to the interface, the ordered phase forms throughout the layer and is readily identified by high-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction. The structure is formed by Ge−Si−Si ordering along the diamond [111] direction to yield a new structure with P3m1 symmetry. Analogous (but not as extensive) ordering in the Ge2SiCx (x = 6%) system is also observed. The role of carbon, which is incorporated into the material as Si4C tetrahedra, is used to explain the formation of these novel structures.
Inner thigh taping vs traction for cervical ripening with a Foley catheter: a randomized controlled trial

Objective To assess the effectiveness of inner thigh "Taping" compared with "Traction" using a weighted bag when an intracervical Foley catheter is used for cervical ripening. Study Design We performed a randomized controlled trial at a tertiary hospital on women with a singleton pregnancy in cephalic presentation admitted for labor induction with a Bishop score ≤6. A 30 mL intracervical Foley catheter was placed for ripening. Women were randomly allocated to inner thigh Taping or to Traction with a 500 mL weighted bag of fluid. The primary outcome was time to delivery. Secondary outcomes were time to expulsion of the catheter, maternal discomfort (visual analog scale), mode of delivery, and maternal morbidities. Results We randomized 197 women. After exclusions (4 ineligible, 2 withdrawn by provider), we analyzed 191 (96 Taping, 95 Traction) women in their assigned groups. Groups were similar regarding maternal race, age, parity, gestational age, and induction indication. Time to delivery was not significantly different (mean ± standard deviation: 19.8 ± 8.5 vs 18.8 ± 8.0 hours; P = .39). Time to catheter expulsion was shorter in the Traction Group (median, 2.6; range, 0.2–10.8 vs median, 1.5; range, 0.1–6.3 hours; P Conclusion Traction on the intracervical Foley catheter during cervical ripening shortens the time to spontaneous catheter expulsion without affecting the time to delivery.
FEATURE SELECTION IN VALIDATING MASS SPECTROMETRY DATABASE SEARCH RESULTS

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) combined with protein database searching has been widely used in protein identification. A validation procedure is generally required to reduce the number of false positives. Advanced tools using statistical and machine learning approaches may provide faster and more accurate validation than manual inspection and empirical filtering criteria. In this study, we use two feature selection algorithms based on random forest and support vector machine to identify peptide properties that can be used to improve validation models. We demonstrate that an improved model based on an optimized set of features reduces the number of false positives by 58% relative to the model which used only search engine scores, at the same sensitivity score of 0.8. In addition, we develop classification models based on the physicochemical properties and protein sequence environment of these peptides without using search engine scores. The performance of the best model based on the support vector machine algorithm is at 0.8 AUC, 0.78 accuracy, and 0.7 specificity, suggesting a reasonably accurate classification. The identified properties important to fragmentation and ionization can be either used in independent validation tools or incorporated into peptide sequencing and database search algorithms to improve existing software programs.
Infrared Absorptance of Ammonia—20 to 35 Microns*

Experimental absorptance data are given for atmospheres of pure ammonia and for mixtures of ammonia and nitrogen at wavelengths between 20 and 35 μ. The wavelength interval is subdivided into five regions and the total absorptance is tabulated as a function of ammonia pressure and nitrogen pressure for each region. The average absorptance for each region is plotted as a function of the parameter U = WP*, in which W is the ammonia concentration and P* is an effective pressure. This effective pressure is the sum of the total pressure and the ammonia partial pressure multiplied by a self-broadening factor. A single absorptance function fits each region, indicating that the absorption is in the strong line region for the gas pressures used. This absorptance function does not agree with the strong-line limit of either the Goody or Elsasser models of band absorptance.
Perspectives on achieving via interpersonal competition between college men and college women

The beliefs of college students about (a) choices they would make when presented with opportunities to achieve by competing with persons of the other gender and (b) the consequences of such achievement choices were assessed. Drawn from a population of predominantly upper middle-class students, with a minority enrollment of 14.7%, 83 men and 84 women were presented with vignettes which depicted (a) either a challenge for a first violin in an orchestra or a Ping-Pong match at a party and (b) events related to the opportunity to become class valedictorian. Multivariate analytic techniques were employed, and overall the results indicated that men seemed less willing than women to compete against the other gender, and women seemed to view the consequences about such competition as more positive than men. In the violin and Ping-Pong vignettes, men indicated that they, more than women, would be criticized for playing to win and that, if a woman played to win, her male opponent would feel more ridiculed than respected. In the valedictorian vignette, women indicated that men who decided to compete would feel more pleasure than guilt, whereas women who decided to compete would feel more guilt than pleasure. The results are discussed in terms of conceptualizing achievement choices as more situational than static or gender linked.
Chemical evidence that chromatin DNA exists as 160 base pair beads interspersed with 40 base pair bridges.

Abstract Digestion of rat liver nuclei by an endogenous endonuclease generates double-stranded DNA fragments which are initially about 205 base pairs long, as reported previously by Hewish and Burgoyne. As digestion proceeds, the average size of these fragments is reduced to about 160 base pairs. Electrophoresis under denaturing conditions shows that these DNA fragments contain single strand nicks at ten base intervals. Fifteen bands, 10-150 bases, are clearly resolvable. DNA Fragments of 160 to 200 nucleotides are not resolved as distinct species. The results suggest that the chromosomal subunit contains both a 160 base-pair DNA segment, in a conformation susceptible to single strand nicking at ten base intervals, and a forty base-pair DNA segment in a conformation more uniformly susceptible to endogenous endonuclease activity. This chemical evidence agrees with morphological observations suggesting that chromatin has a "bead and bridge" structure.