cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
619 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TOTAL BODY WATER AND ANTHROPOMETRY IN YOUNG PERUVIAN CHILDREN

Recent studies show that in preschool-aged children from poor marginal communities outside Lima, Peru, 90% are below the 50th %ile in height-for-age, while 68% are above the 50th %ile in weight-for-height. In order to describe body composition and develop equations to predict body composition, total body water (TBW) was measured on 134 Peruvian children by 18O dilution, together with 34 anthropometric variables. TBW as a % of body weight averaged 67.5 ± 8.1%, corresponding to an average % fat of 13.6 ± 10.6%. TBW as a % of body weight is higher (and % fat is lower) than the values for Fomon's American reference children. TBW was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with 23 anthropometric variables. Height and weight were the most highly correlated with TBW, both with r = 0.92. Equations to predict TBW from height or weight were significantly different from those developed for normal American children by Mellits and Cheek. Stepwise multiple regression showed that height, weight, suprailiac skinfold, sitting height, chest circumference, and height-for-age %ile score could account for 90% of the variation in TBW values. Conclusions: 1) TBW as a % of body weight is higher and % fat is lower in these children than in American children of comparable height, weight, and age; 2) height and weight are the anthropometric variables most highly correlated with TBW; and 3) a multiple regression analysis based on easily determined anthropometric measures can account for 90% of the variation in TBW values in this population.
Cells as delivery vehicles for cancer therapeutics

Cell-based therapeutics have advanced significantly over the past decade and are poised to become a major pillar of modern medicine. Three cell types in particular have been studied in detail for their ability to home to tumors and to deliver a variety of different payloads. Neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and monocytes have each been shown to have great potential as future delivery systems for cancer therapy. A variety of other cell types have also been studied. These results demonstrate that the field of cell-based therapeutics will only continue to grow.
The Higgs phase of QCD

Abstract The local potential for the temporal component of the gauge field is computed in finite temperature SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in one-loop order. The renormalized potential has minima at nonzero values of the gauge field indicating that the three dimensional effective theory for the static modes is in the Higgs phase at high temperature.
Assimilation of Japanese-Born Women in an American City

In summary, it can be stated that there are major differences in the characteristics, stresses and needs of patients from different social classs backgrounds. A single therapeutic approach determined by the values and biases of the psychiatric sub-culture will be applicable only to those patients who are most similar to the psychiatrist or psychotherapists. If the applicability of the treatment is used as criterion for the evaluation of
The Death Inhibitory Molecules CED-9 and CED-4L Use a Common Mechanism to Inhibit the CED-3 Death Protease

The apoptotic machinery of Caenorhabditis elegans includes three core interacting components: CED-3, CED-4, and CED-9. CED-3 is a death protease composed of a prodomain and a protease domain. CED-4 is a P-loop-containing, nucleotide-binding molecule that complexes with the single polypeptide zymogen form of CED-3, promoting its activation by autoprocessing. CED-9 blocks death by complexing with CED-4 and suppressing its ability to promote CED-3 activation. A naturally occurring alternatively spliced form of CED-4 that contains an insertion within the nucleotide-binding region (CED-4L) functions as a dominant negative inhibitor of CED-3 processing and attenuates cell death. Domain mapping studies revealed that distinct regions within CED-4 bind to the CED-3 prodomain and protease domain. Importantly, the CED-4 P-loop was involved in prodomain binding. Disruption of P-loop geometry because of mutation of a critical lysine (K165R) or insertional inactivation (CED-4L) abolished prodomain binding. Regardless, K165R and CED-4L still retained CED-3 binding through the protease domain but were unable to initiate CED-3 processing. Therefore, the P-loop-prodomain interaction is critical for triggering CED-4-mediated CED-3 processing. Underscoring the importance of this interaction was the finding that CED-9 contacted the P-loop and selectively inhibited its interaction with the CED-3 prodomain. These results provide a simple mechanism for how CED-9 functions to block CED-4-mediated CED-3 processing and cell death.
Understanding email use: predicting action on a message

Email consumes significant time and attention in the workplace. We conducted an organizational survey to understand how and why people attend to incoming email messages. We examined people's ratings of message importance and the actions they took on specific email messages, based on message characteristics and characteristics of receivers and senders. Respondents kept half of their new messages in the inbox and replied to about a third of them. They rated messages as important if they were about work and required action. Importance, in turn, had a modest impact on whether people replied to their incoming messages and whether they saved them. The results indicate that factors other than message importance (e.g., their social nature) also determine how people handle email. Overall, email usage reflects attentional differences due both to personal propensities and to work demands and relationships.
Spleen weight as a measure of marrow cell growth in irradiated mice.

SummaryC57BL, C3H, C57BL/6, and DBA/2 parental marrow cells were injected at varying doses into lethally irradiated BC3F1 and B6D2F1 mice. Spleen weight in recipients was compared to spleen colony formation and Fe59 uptake. Results showed that increased spleen weight was proportional to formation of increased numbers of splenic nodules and percentage of Fe59 uptake. Data suggest that spleen weight, spleen colony formation, and Fe59 uptake are equally suitable assays, within appropriate limits, for studies on proliferation of marrow cell transplants in irradiated mice. Spleen weight is a useful index of growth for doses of transplanted marrow cells which promote recovery of hematopoietic injury in lethally irradiated mice.
Maurer's clefts of Plasmodium falciparum are secretory organelles that concentrate virulence protein reporters for delivery to the host erythrocyte

In blood-stage infection by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, export of proteins from the intracellular parasite to the erythrocyte is key to virulence. This export is mediated by a host-targeting (HT) signal present on a “secretome” of hundreds of parasite proteins engaged in remodeling the erythrocyte. However, the route of HT-mediated export is poorly understood. Here we show that minimal soluble and membrane protein reporters that contain the HT motif and mimic export of endogenous P falciparum proteins are detected in the lumen of “cleft” structures synthesized by the pathogen. Clefts are efficiently targeted by the HT signal. Furthermore, the HT signal does not directly translocate across the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM) surrounding the parasite to deliver protein to the erythrocyte cytoplasm, as suggested by current models of parasite protein trafficking to the erythrocyte. Rather, it is a lumenal signal that sorts protein into clefts, which then are exported beyond the PVM. These data suggest that Maurer's clefts, which are unique to the virulent P falciparum species, are pathogen-induced secretory organelles that concentrate HT-containing soluble and membrane parasite proteins in their lumen for delivery to the host erythrocyte.
Electroweak Interactions with Distinctly Gauged Quark and Lepton Hypercharges

The possibility that quarks and leptons have distinct hypercharge sources in nature is considered. This requires the gauge symmetry of electroweak interactions to be extended from SU(2)×U(1) to SU(2)×U(1)×U(1). Consistent with data on neutrino neutral currents and the measurement of forward-backward charge asymmetry in e+e−→μ+μ−, a second neutral boson exists that has mass either below or above the mass of the presently discovered neutral boson.
Gain-saturated 10.9 nm tabletop laser operating at 1 Hz repetition rate

We report the demonstration of a gain-saturated 10.9 nm tabletop soft x-ray laser operating at 1 Hz repetition rate. Lasing occurs by collisional electron impact excitation in the 4dS01-->4pP11 ...
Opioid growth factor (OGF) inhibits human pancreatic cancer transplanted into nude mice

Nude mice inoculated with human pancreatic cancer (BxPC-3) cells and receiving 5 mg/kg of opioid growth factor ([Met5]enkephalin; OGF) three times daily exhibited a marked retardation in tumorigenicity compared to animals injected with sterile water (controls). OGF-treated animals had a delay of 43% in initial tumor appearance compared to control subjects (10.6 days). At the time when all of the control mice had tumors, 62% of the mice in the OGF group had no signs of neoplasia. Tumor tissue excised from mice after 30 days was assayed for levels of [Met5]enkephalin and zeta opioid receptors. Tumor tissue levels of [Met5]enkephalin were 24-fold greater in OGF-treated mice than controls, but plasma levels of OGF were 8.6-fold lower in animals receiving OGF. Specific and saturable binding of radiolabeled [Met5]enkephalin to nuclear homogenates of pancreatic tumor tissue was recorded, with a binding affinity (Kd) of 10 nM and a binding capacity (Bmax) of 46.8 fmol/mg protein. Binding capacity, but not affinity, of [3H-Met5]enkephalin was reduced by 58% of control levels in tumor tissue from mice of the OGF group. OGF and the zeta (zeta) opioid receptor were detected in human pancreatic tumor cells by immuno-cytochemistry. These results demonstrate that an endogenous opioid and its receptor are present in human pancreatic cancer, and act as a negative regulator of tumorigenesis in vivo.
Intact chemoreceptor-based biosensors: responses and analytical limits

Abstract Further development of a prototype receptor-based biosensor, or ‘receptrode’, utilizing the intact chemosensing structures of Callinectes sapidus is reported. Significant gains in lifetime extension of the system have been made. Also, an expansion of the list of analytes to which the receptrode responds is reported. Data are presented which indicate that the receptrode can be used to quantify some biologically important purine compounds, as well as the amino acids previously reported. The receptrode responds to stimuli concentrations over six orders of magnitude, with a high degree of specificity and a response time on the order of milliseconds. Approximately two minutes are required for the system to return to baseline, providing the limit for the analysis time. The rapid analysis time, large overall dynamic range of detection, and the high degree of specificity demonstrate the receptrode's potential as a powerful tool for chemical analysis in the future.
Selective molecular sorption by high surface area catalyst supports

Abstract Three high surface area catalyst supports were studied for the selective molecular sorption of organic compounds. The first was a carbon molecular sieve with a well-defined pore structure. The other two were silica gel and high surface area alumina. Both have a random pore structure. A mixture of phenol and acetic acid was used to qualitatively characterize the intermolecular force potentials and pore selectivity. Thermal gravimetric analysis and mass spectroscopy were used to characterize the desorption kinetics and differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the heats of desorption. The analyses illustrate an approach for characterizing adsorption-desorption processes in catalysts and high surface area materials.
Impact jetting as the origin of chondrules.

The origin of most chondrules (small, previously molten spherules inside meteorites) is shown to be impact jetting; chondrules form from the shock-melted material ejected from a protoplanet on impact, making meteorites a byproduct of planet formation. The origin of chondrules, the millimetre-scale, once-molten droplets found in most meteorites, has been an enduring mystery in the science of meteoritics. Using a hydrocode model and a dynamical accretion model to simulate protoplanetary impacts, Brandon Johnson et al. show that large-scale accretionary impacts can produce massive sprays of millimetre-scale molten droplets in sufficient quantities during the first 5 Myr of planetary accretion to explain the observed abundance of chondrules. This finding supports an impact origin for chondrules and implies that meteorites are a byproduct of planet formation rather than leftover building material. Chondrules are the millimetre-scale, previously molten, spherules found in most meteorites1. Before chondrules formed, large differentiating planetesimals had already accreted2. Volatile-rich olivine reveals that chondrules formed in extremely solid-rich environments, more like impact plumes than the solar nebula3,4,5. The unique chondrules in CB chondrites probably formed in a vapour-melt plume produced by a hypervelocity impact6 with an impact velocity greater than 10 kilometres per second. An acceptable formation model for the overwhelming majority of chondrules, however, has not been established. Here we report that impacts can produce enough chondrules during the first five million years of planetary accretion to explain their observed abundance. Building on a previous study of impact jetting7, we simulate protoplanetary impacts, finding that material is melted and ejected at high speed when the impact velocity exceeds 2.5 kilometres per second. Using a Monte Carlo accretion code, we estimate the location, timing, sizes, and velocities of chondrule-forming impacts. Ejecta size estimates8 indicate that jetted melt will form millimetre-scale droplets. Our radiative transfer models show that these droplets experience the expected cooling rates of ten to a thousand kelvin per hour9,10. An impact origin for chondrules implies that meteorites are a byproduct of planet formation rather than leftover building material.
Product, process, and organizational design for remanufacture – an overview of research

Abstract In this paper, an overview of research aimed to improve remanufacturing is given. Compared with recycling, the research efforts in the area of remanufacture seem to be less pervasive. Specifically, descriptive work that seeks to characterize the current state or future of remanufacture, and developmental work that seeks to improve product, process, and/or organizational aspects of remanufacture are presented. The review presented is intended to provide an overview of the types of work that exists in the field of remanufacture and to provide a useful starting point for researchers interested in exploring the area of remanufacturing in greater depth.
Some preliminary observations on the mucopolysaccharide and glycoprotein formation in bovine heart valves

Abstract Bovine aortic and pulmonary valves were incubated with labeled glucosamine. Both mucopolysaccharide and glycopeptide fraction in these tissue incorporated radioactive material. The biosynthetic activities of both substances were higher in the aortic than in the pulmonary valve. In both valves, the carbohydrate moieties in glycoproteins may be more rapidly synthesized than mucopolysaccharides.
Characterization of Lipid A Acylation Patterns in Francisella tularensis, Francisella novicida, and Francisella philomiragia Using Multiple-Stage Mass Spectrometry and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization on an Intermediate Vacuum Source Linear Ion Trap

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. The lipid A region of LPS stimulates the immune system in a structure-dependent manner. We have previously identified the two major lipid A species from Francisella tularensis as asymmetric tetraacylated structures containing four long acyl chains (16 and 18 carbons) and a single phosphate group that is partially modified by galactosamine (Phillips, N. J.; Schilling B.; McLendon, M. K.; Apicella, M. A.; Gibson, B. W. Infect. Immun. 2004, 72, 5340−5348). In the current study, we used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization on an intermediate vacuum source (vMALDI) coupled to a linear ion trap (LIT) mass spectrometer in multiple-stage mass fragmentation mode (MSn) to determine the structures of several minor and low abundant lipid A species present in F. tularensis, Francisella novicida, and Francisella philomiragia LPS that have not been previously characterized. Comprehensive vMALDI-MSn fragmentation studies...
The immunocytochemical demonstration of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase in the brain

Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) has been localized in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of both canine and rat brains. Staining with an immunoenzyme bridge sequence revealed CuZn-SOD in all regions of the brains examined. Specific sites of localization included cerebral cortical pyramidal cells, cerebellar Purkinje cells, neurons in ‘subcortical nuclei’, and oligodendrocytes throughout the brain. Similar sites of CuZn-SOD localization were identified in both species. These results are compared with reports by various investigators of SOD bioactivity in the brain.
Impedance of tissue-mimicking phantom material under compression

The bioimpedance of tissues under compression is a field in need of study. While biological tissues can become compressed in a myriad of ways, very few experiments have been conducted to describe the relationship between the passive electrical properties of a material (impedance/admittance) during mechanical deformation. Of the investigations that have been conducted, the exodus of fluid from samples under compression has been thought to be the cause of changes in impedance, though until now was not measured directly. Using a soft tissue-mimicking phantom material (tofu) whose passive electrical properties are a function of the conducting fluid held within its porous structure, we have shown that the mechanical behavior of a sample under compression can be measured through bioimpedance techniques.
Primary female urethral carcinoma. A retrospective comparison of different treatment techniques

Between July 1951 and January 1984, 14 female patients (11 black and three white; average age, 58 years) were treated for primary urethral carcinoma. Five patients had radical surgery, six received preoperative radiotherapy (2000 cGy in five fractions) followed by anterior exenteration, and three had definitive radiotherapy (external beam 4000 to 5000 cGy plus 2800 to 3000 cGy interstitial implant). The mean follow-up times were 5.6, 3.9, and 2 years, respectively. In the first two groups, two of 11 patients (18%) are alive and well with no evidence of disease. The rest died of local as well as distant disease. In the third group, two of three patients (67%) are alive and well with no evidence of disease. The third patient died of papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterus 30 months later with no evidence of the primary tumor.
The solubility of ethane, propane, and carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions of sodium cumene sulfonate

Measurements have been made to determine the solubilities of ethane, C2H6, propane, C3H8, and carbon dioxide, CO2, in aqueous solutions of sodium cumene sulfonate (NaCS) at 25 degrees C. The solubilities measured for each gas satisfy Henry's law at all concentrations of NaCS. The solubilities of C2H6 and C3H8 exhibit quite similar behavior with respect to added NaCS. The solubilities of these two gases are very low in pure water and are found to be nearly independent of NaCS concentration over a concentration range of 0-0.4 mol NaCS/kg H2O. At intermediate concentrations of NaCS, the solubilities of C2H6 and C3H8 exhibit a gradual increase with added NaCS concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 2.0 mol NaCS/kg H2O. At NaCS concentrations greater than 2.0 mol NaCS/kg H2O, the solubilities of these two gases increase with added NaCS in an approximately linear manner, with the solubility of C3H8 increasing more rapidly than that for C2H6 (by a factor of approximately 2.5). CO2 is much more soluble in pure water than the hydrocarbon gases and exhibits markedly different behavior with respect to added NaCS. The solubility of CO2 decreases with added NaCS over a concentration range of 0-0.9 mol NaCS/kg H2O, passes through a minimum at a concentration of approximately 1.0 mol NaCS/kg H2O, and then increases with added NaCS at higher NaCS concentrations in a manner similar to that observed with C2H6 and C3H8. The trends in solubility observed for these three gases dissolved in aqueous solutions of NaCS resemble those found previously with aqueous solutions of ordinary surfactants. The solubility data measured for these three gases can be interpreted surprisingly well in terms of the mass-action model for micellization, in which salting-out effects due to monomer salt ions suppress gas solubility at low NaCS concentrations and gas solubilization by small micelles of NaCS acts to enhance gas solubility at the higher NaCS concentrations.
A ham sandwich theorem for general measures

The “ham sandwich” theorem has been proven only for measures that are absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure. After noting some uses of the ham sandwich approach in the study of majority rule voting, we prove a generalized version of the ham sandwich theorem which is applicable to arbitrary finite measures, and give some sufficient conditions for uniqueness of the hyperplane identified by the theorem.
Genetic dissection of the photoreceptor system in the compound eye of Drosophila melanogaster

1. Three mutations which eliminate specific types of photoreceptors in Drosophila were characterized. 2. Of the eight photoreceptors in each facet, two mutations delete the outer six (R 1-6). The third eliminates R 7, one of the two central photoreceptors. Double mutants can be constructed in which only photoreceptor R 8 is present. 3. The spectral sensitivities, photopigments, and behavioural properties of these mutants were investigated. 4. R 1-6 have two sensitivity peaks, near 350 and 470 nm. These receptors contain a rhodopsin with these absorption peaks. It interconverts with a metarhodopsin that absorbs around 570 nm. 5. R 7 is a U.V.-receptor, containing rhodopsin that absorbs around 370 nm and interconverts with a metarhodopsin which absorbs around 470 nm. 6. R 8 is a non-adapting blue-receptor with a third type of rhodopsin. 7. The properties of these photopigments explain the different sensitivities and spectral adaptation phenomena of the various photoreceptors. 8. All the photoreceptors have input into phototaxis. Spectral analysis of this behaviour provides evidence for integration of the input from the different photoreceptors.
ViGs: A grid simulation and monitoring tool for ATLAS workflows

With the recent success in transmitting the first beam through Large Hadron Collider (LHC), generation of vast amount of data from experiments would soon follow in the near future. The data generated that will need to be processed will be enormous, averaging 15 petabytes per year which will be analyzed and processed by one- to two-hundred-thousand jobs per day. These jobs must be scheduled, processed and managed on computers distributed over many countries worldwide. The ability to construct computer clusters on such a virtually unbounded scale will result in increased throughput, removing the barrier of a single computing architecture and operating system, while adding the ability to process jobs across different administrative boundaries, and encouraging collaborations. To date, setting up large scale grids has been mostly accomplished by setting up experimental medium-sized clusters and using trial-and-error methods to test them. However, this is not only an arduous task but is also economically inefficient. Moreover, as the performance of a grid computing architecture is closely tied with its networking infrastructure across the entire virtual organization, such trial-and-error approaches will not provide representative data. A simulation environment, on the other hand, may be ideal for this evaluation purpose as virtually all factors within a simulated VO (virtual organization) can easily be modified for evaluation. Thus we introduceldquovirtual grid simulatorrdquo (ViGs), developed as a large scale grid environment simulator, with the goal of studying the performance, behavioral, and scalability aspects of a working grid environment, while catering to the needs for an underlying networking infrastructure.
Early Responses to Climate Change: An Analysis of Seven U.S. State and Local Climate Adaptation Planning Initiatives

Abstract State and local governments in the United States manage a wide array of natural and human resources that are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change. Recent revelations of the extent of the current and potential climate impact in this realm such as with the quality of water, the structure of the coasts, and the potential and witnessed impact on the built infrastructure give these political authorities impetus to minimize their vulnerability and plan for the future. In fact, a growing number of subnational government bodies in the United States have initiated climate adaptation planning efforts; these initiatives emphasize an array of climate impacts, but at different scales, scopes, and levels of sophistication. Meanwhile, the current body of climate adaptation literature has not taken a comprehensive look at these plans nor have they questioned what prompts local adaptation planning, at what scope and scale action is being taken, or what prioritizes certain policy responses over...
Multiple instance learning of Calmodulin binding sites

Motivation: Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitously conserved protein that acts as a calcium sensor, and interacts with a large number of proteins. Detection of CaM binding proteins and their interaction sites experimentally requires a significant effort, so accurate methods for their prediction are important. Results: We present a novel algorithm (MI-1 SVM) for binding site prediction and evaluate its performance on a set of CaM-binding proteins extracted from the Calmodulin Target Database. Our approach directly models the problem of binding site prediction as a large-margin classification problem, and is able to take into account uncertainty in binding site location. We show that the proposed algorithm performs better than the standard SVM formulation, and illustrate its ability to recover known CaM binding motifs. A highly accurate cascaded classification approach using the proposed binding site prediction method to predict CaM binding proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana is also presented. Availability: Matlab code for training MI-1 SVM and the cascaded classification approach is available on request. Contact:fayyazafsar@gmail.com or asa@cs.colostate.edu
Risk-Informed Regulation: Lessons for FCC Spectrum Management from Nuclear Industry Policy Making

The FCC’s use of worst-case interference analysis results in overly conservative final service rules that are sub-optimal in a time when the demand for wireless services is constantly increasing and more efficient use of spectrum is essential. Thus, this paper argues that the FCC should implement risk-informed wireless regulation as a complement to its traditional worst-case analysis. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has increasingly applied risk-informed decisionmaking (RIDM) over the past forty years, and based on technical analysis and real-world success, the agency has concluded that its integrated risk-informed approach is the best way to regulate the nuclear industry. We argue that if risk-informed regulation is the best option for the life-safety critical nuclear industry, it is surely appropriate for regulating radio interference, and the FCC should begin incorporating RIDM into wireless regulation. Accordingly, we use the NRC’s implementation of RIDM as a guide for FCC action. We conclude that RIDM will help the FCC make better decisions and rules regarding interference. First, RIDM considers a wide variety of scenarios, allowing the FCC to better understand the interference risks. Second, RIDM provides a tool to prioritize risks, allowing better allocation of FCC resources. Third, RIDM highlights gaps in knowledge. The NRC’s experience with RIDM shows that adoption requires a cultural change and is therefore a slow, gradual process. Accordingly, we suggest that the FCC start small but start soon, and use RIDM to complement its traditional worst-case analysis. We recommend that the FCC begin by soliciting risk analyses on a voluntary basis; apply the approach to low profile proceedings such as waivers and experimental licenses; develop know-how in the agency through courses and lecture series; and develop metrics to quantify risk assessment.
Neural-network performance assessment in sonar applications

The authors focus on passive sonar applications which involve analyzing data with unknown signals. A general set of signal events (which are classified by a human aural analysis) are used for network training. The primary objective of the application is to discriminate between target and nontarget event categories. A ground truth (GT) and classical decision theory are used in assessing various neural-network (NN) classifiers operating on the DARPA Phase 1 data set. Changes in classifier operating point are shown to vary results between classifier type. These results show the importance of identifying the objective of the NN application before performance assessment is made. >
Are Incentive-Based Formularies Inversely Associated with Drug Utilization in Managed Care?

OBJECTIVE:To review recent studies comprehensively assessing the impact of incentive-based multitier formularies on pharmaceutical costs and utilization.DATA SOURCES:PubMed (2001–December 2003) was searched using the key terms formularies, cost-sharing, and drug costs. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Studies addressing the impact of implementing multitiered incentive-based formularies as a central component of an outpatient drug benefit were selected.DATA SYNTHESIS:One study using pharmacy claims from 25 employers with data from 402 786 members modeled the range of anticipated plan/employer savings associated with single- to 3-tier shifts and found that, going from a single- to 3-tier benefit results in decreased plan/employer pharmaceutical costs from $650 to $494 (24% decrease) per member per year and decreased pharmaceutical utilization from 12.3 to 9.4 (23.6% decrease) prescriptions per member per year. Another study demonstrated that adding an additional tier decreased pharmaceutical utilization...
Safety of Air Medical Transportation After Tissue Plasminogen Activator Administration in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose—We sought to determine the safety of air medical transport (AMT) of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) immediately after or during administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Patients with AIS treated with tPA in nonuniversity hospitals frequently need transfer to tertiary care centers that can provide specialized care. AMT is a widely available mode of transport that is crucial in providing expedient and quality health care to critically ill patients while assuring high level of care during transportation. The safety of AMT of patients with AIS after or during administration of tPA has not been examined. Methods—We performed retrospective chart review of 24 patients with AIS who were treated with intravenous tPA and transferred by helicopter to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania or the University of Cincinnati Hospital. The charts were reviewed for neurological complications, systemic complications, and adherence to the National Institutes of Neurologic...
When Suicide Is Not Suicide: Self-induced Morbidity and Mortality in the General Hospital.

Suicidal phenomena in the general hospital can take a variety of forms that can be parsed by taking into account whether or not the patient 1) intended to hasten death, and 2) included collaborators, including family and health care providers, in the decision to act. These two criteria can be used to distinguish entities as diverse as true suicide, non-compliance, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide, and hospice/palliative care. Characterizing the nature of “suicide” events facilitates appropriate decision-making around management and disposition.
How to Minimize Stent Thrombosis

Case Presentation —A 58-year-old diabetic woman with stable angina pectoris (class II symptoms despite medical therapy) presented for elective cardiac catheterization after undergoing a stress test that demonstrated anterior wall ischemia at a low-moderate workload. Coronary angiography demonstrated single-vessel disease with a 90% lesion in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery (Figure, A). Treatment with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was selected as a revascularization strategy, and a drug-eluting stent (DES) was deployed in the LAD without complications (Figure, B). Before discharge, a treating physician concerned about the risk for stent thrombosis assessed the patient's platelet reactivity using point-of-care testing, which demonstrated minimal platelet response to clopidogrel. This clinician update will discuss strategies for the prevention of stent thrombosis. Figure. A , Diagnostic angiogram demonstrating severe stenosis of mid LAD (arrow). B , Postintervention angiogram demonstrating successful PCI of the LAD with a drug-eluting stent (arrow). The most feared complication related to coronary stent placement is stent thrombosis, which, although fortunately rare (occurring in ≈0.5% to 1% of patients within 1 year), most commonly presents as an acute myocardial infarction (MI).1 Treatment for stent thrombosis almost always requires emergent repeat PCI, although optimal reperfusion is only achieved in two thirds of patients.2 As a result, stent thrombosis has been associated with 30-day mortality rates of 10% to 25%. Moreover, ≈20% of patients with a first stent thrombosis experience a recurrent stent thrombosis episode within 2 years. The mechanisms underlying stent thrombosis are multifactorial (Table 1) and include patient-related factors, procedural factors (including stent choice), and postprocedural factors (including type and duration of antiplatelet therapy). Numerous strategies may be employed to reduce the occurrence of stent thrombosis (Table 2). View this table: Table 1. Potential Mechanisms of Stent Thrombosis View this table: Table 2. Strategies to Minimize the Occurrence of Stent Thrombosis Stent thrombosis occurs more frequently …
Cognitively-directed spatial selection in the frontal eye field in anticipation of visual stimuli to be discriminated

Single neuron activity was recorded in the frontal eye field (FEF) of monkeys trained to perform a difficult luminance discrimination task. The appearance of a cue stimulus informed the monkeys of the locations of two gray luminance stimuli that would appear within 500–1500 ms. The monkeys were rewarded for making a saccade to the brighter of the two luminance stimuli, or if they were the same luminance, for making a saccade to the cue stimulus. Sixty percent (51/85) of FEF neurons exhibited elevated activity when the cue informed the monkeys that one of the luminance stimuli would appear in their response field (RF). This spatially selective anticipatory activity occurred without any visual stimulus appearing in their RF and was not related to saccade choice or latency. The responses of 27 of the anticipatory neurons (32% of the total sample) were also incompatible with the hypothesis that the activity represents saccade probability because they did not exhibit elevated activity for the cue stimulus which was the most probable saccade target. Behaviorally, monkeys exhibited improved perception at locations informed by cue than at unpredictable locations. These results provide physiological evidence that FEF serves an important role in endogenous spatial attention in addition to its well-known role in saccade production.
Capillary Electrophoretic Monitoring of the Folding and Unfolding of β-Lactoglobulin B

Capillary electrophoresis is used to monitor the change in peak mobility and shape that results from the folding and unfolding of β-lactoglobulin B. The protein is unfolded with denaturing solutions containing either urea or dithiothreitol or both denaturants. Samples are analyzed after varying exposure time to the denaturing solutions. When only urea is used as the denaturant, unfolded protein is refolded after dialysis, and the electrophoretic changes again suggest that a conformational change takes place as a function of time. The short analysis time required by capillary electrophoresis allows for observation of non-native conformations that are difficult to observe by conventional methods of electrophoresis or high-performance liquid chromatography.
Transport of CRH from mouse brain directly affects peripheral production of β-endorphin by the spleen

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) regulates the passage of substances between the brain and the periphery. It has not been shown that the secretion from the brain of a small amount of a substance can directly affect the periphery by transport across the BBB. We found that central injection of radioactively labeled corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) resulted in the accumulation of intact CRH in the spleen. CRH also increased splenic β-endorphin, an effect not blocked by pretreatment with dexamethasone. Inhibition of the secretion of CRH from the brain by colchicine resulted in decreased accumulation of CRH in the spleen and also decreased splenic β-endorphin. Similar findings occurred in the pituitary gland. The results show that the passage of labeled CRH from the brain can directly affect a peripheral organ, thus emphasizing the regulatory function of the BBB.
Estimating State IQ: Measurement Challenges and Preliminary Correlates.

The purpose of this study is threefold. First, an estimate of state IQ is derived and its strengths and limitations are considered. To that end, an indicator of downward bias in estimating state IQ is provided. Two preliminary causal models are offered that predict state IQ. These models were found to be highly predictive of state IQ, yielding multiple R's of 0.83 and 0.89. Second, the extent to which state IQ predicts state outcome variables (e.g., gross state product, health, violent crime, and government effectiveness) is estimated. State IQ shows positive correlations with gross state product, health, and government effectiveness and negative correlations with violent crime. These results are consistent with the extent to which IQ predicts outcomes at the level of the individual. Third, a research agenda is provided for improving estimates of state IQ, identifying factors that cause differences in state IQ, and delineating the role of IQ in predicting important variables.
Factors related to the growth of psittacosis agent (strain 6BC). VI. Host cell purine nucleotide pyrophosphorylases.

SummaryThe 6BC strain of psittacosis agent is sensitive to the growth inhibitory effects of 2, 6 diaminopurine (DP) and 8-aza-guanine (AZA) when infecting normal L cells. However, when L-cell mutants resistant to the analogs are derived and are infected with the psittacosis agent, its growth is not effectively inhibited by addition of DP to infected cultures of DP resistant cells. In contrast, addition of AZA to infected cultures of AZA resistant cells is as effective in inhibition of growth of psittacosis agent as it is when placed on infected, normal L-cells. The implications regarding the dependence of this agent on the metabolic functions of the host cell are discussed and the usefulness of this technic for investigation of the specific cellular enzymatic dependence of intracellular parasites is considered.
Electromagnetic scattering by an exponentially inhomogeneous plasma sphere

The mathematical analysis of electromagnetic wave scattering by radially inhomogeneous spherical objects is treated. Numerical integration of the differential equations for the separated radial wave functions has been carried out for the case of a plasma with an exponential electron density gradient, Parametric calculations of bistatic scattering have given many interesting results. The range of validity of the Born approximation has been demonstrated by comparing it with computed results.
Systemic lupus erythematosus: all roads lead to type I interferons.

In recent years, the study of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has revealed a central role for type I interferon (IFN) in disease pathogenesis. IFN induces the unabated activation of peripheral dendritic cells, which select and activate autoreactive T cells rather than deleting them, thus failing to induce peripheral tolerance. IFN also directly affects T cells and B cells. Furthermore, immune complexes binding to FcγR and Toll-like receptors provide an amplification loop for IFN production and B-cell activation in SLE. Polymorphisms in genes that control IFN production or its downstream signaling pathway, such as IRF5, might be responsible for some of these alterations. This novel information is leading to the development of IFN antagonists as a potential therapeutic intervention in SLE, thus bringing hope to SLE patients.
The SISCone and anti-k_t jet algorithms

We illustrate how the midpoint and iterative cone (with progressive removal) algorithms fail to satisfy the fundamental requirements of infrared and collinear safety, causing divergences in the perturbative expansion. We introduce SISCone and the anti-k{sub t} algorithms as respective replacements that do not have those failures without any cost at the experimental level.
Role of perforin in controlling B-cell hyperactivity and humoral autoimmunity

To determine the role of perforin-mediated cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector function in immune regulation, we studied a well-characterized mouse model of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Induction of acute GVHD using perforin-deficient donor T cells (pfp→F1) initially resulted in features of acute GVHD, e.g., engraftment of both donor CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, upregulation of Fas and FasL, production of antihost CTL, and secretion of both Th1 and Th2 cytokines. Despite fully functional FasL activity, pfp donor cells failed to totally eliminate host B cells, and, by 4 weeks of disease, cytokine production in pfp→F1 mice had polarized to a Th2 response. Pfp→F1 mice eventually developed features of chronic GVHD, such as increased numbers of B cells, persistence of donor CD4 T cells, autoantibody production, and lupuslike renal disease. We conclude that in the setting of B- and T-cell activation, perforin plays an important immunoregulatory role in the prevention of humoral autoimmunity through the elimination of both autoreactive B cells and ag-specific T cells. Moreover, an ineffective initial CTL response can evolve into a persistent antibody-mediated response and, with it, the potential for sustained humoral autoimmunity. This article may have been published online in advance of the print edition. The date of publication is available from the JCI website, http://www.jci.org. J. Clin. Invest. 106:R39–R47 (2000).
Flux averaging devices for the infrared

Abstract : The spatial and angular sensitivity of infrared detectors recently has been investigated. In order to eliminate this effect and obtain accurate measurements in the infrared, it is necessary to distribute the flux as uniformly as possible over the entire sensitive area of the detector. A solution to this problem is presented in the form of several averaging devices developed at the National Bureau of Standards. Among the devices investigated are roughened NaCl windows, diffusing light ducts, and spheres with different coatings. Each device was subjected to a series of tests to establish its averaging capability and useful wavelength range. Results of these tests indicate that the use of a small sulfur coated hollow sphere over the detector increased the accuracy of most types of infrared reflectance measurements and, at the same time, decreased the requirement for precise optical alignment of the detector in the wavelength range of 1.5 to 8 microns. The use of the sulfur coated sphere over a thermopile extends the usefulness of the multiple-reflection specular reflectometer to about 10 microns.
Inhibition of gas hydrates by methanol

A molecular-thermodynamic correlation has been developed for calculating the inhibition effect of methanol on the formation of hydrates in moist gas mixtures. Six phases are potentially present in these mixtures: gas, aqueous liquid, hydrocarbon liquid, ice, and hydrate structures I and II. For a given temperature and system composition, the molecular-thermodynamic method described here allows computation of the hydrate-point pressure as well as relative amounts and compositions of all coexisting phases. Good agreement is obtained when calculated results are compared with diverse experimental data reported in the literature. The correlation given here may be useful for computeraided design for gas processing and transportation.
Maximizing Resilient Throughput in Peer-to-Peer Network: A Generalized Flow Approach

A unique challenge in P2P network is that the peer dynamics (departure or failure) cause unavoidable disruption to the downstream peers. While many works have been dedicated to consider fault resilience in peer selection, little understanding is achieved regarding the solvability and solution complexity of this problem from the optimization perspective. To this end, we propose an optimization framework based on the generalized flow theory. Key concepts introduced by this framework include resilience factor, resilience index, and generalized throughput, which collectively model the peer resilience in a probabilistic measure. Under this framework, we divide the domain of optimal peer selection along several dimensions including network topology, overlay organization, and the definition of resilience factor and generalized flow. Within each subproblem, we focus on studying the problem complexity and finding optimal solutions. Simulation study is also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of our model and performance of the proposed algorithms.
Deaf Students’ Reading and Writing in College: Fluency, Coherence, and Comprehension

Research in discourse reveals numerous cognitive connections between reading and writing. Rather than one being the inverse of the other, there are parallels and interactions between them. To understand the variables and possible connections in the reading and writing of adult deaf students, we manipulated writing conditions and reading texts. First, to test the hypothesis that a fluent writing process leads to richer content and a higher degree of coherence in a written summary, we interrupted the writing process with verbal and nonverbal intervening tasks. The negligible effect of the interference indicated that the stimuli texts were not equivalent in terms of coherence and revealed a relationship between coherence of the stimuli texts, amount of content recalled, and coherence of the written summaries. To test for a possible effect of coherence on reading comprehension, we manipulated the coherence of the texts. We found that students understood the more coherent versions of the passages better than the less coherent versions and were able to accurately distinguish between them. However, they were not able to judge comprehensibility. Implications for further research and classroom application are discussed.