cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Évolution après traumatisme de l'aorte thoracique : l'expérience d'un centre de traumatologie de niveau 1

La rupture traumatique de l'aorte thoracique est une lesion potentiellement fatale qui entraine le deces immediat dans 75% a 90% des cas. Dans ce travail, nous rapportons notre experience des lesions traumatiques de l'aorte thoracique et comparons l'evolution des malades en fonction de leur stabilite hemodynamique lors de la presentation et au moment du traitement chirurgical. Nous avons realise une analyse retrospective des donnees des dossiers medicaux de 30 malades ayant eu une rupture traumatique de l'aorte thoracique au cours de la periode allant du 1er Janvier 2000 au 30 Octobre 2005. Les donnees demographiques, le mecanisme de la lesion, les modalites du diagnostic, la localisation de la lesion, les lesions associees, la stabilite hemodynamique lors de la presentation, la reponse a la reanimation, le moment de la reparation aortique, ainsi que la morbidite et la mortalite en resultant ont ete etudies. Une rupture traumatique de l'aorte thoracique a ete diagnostiquee chez 30 malades. La lesion etait localisee a l'aorte ascendante chez deux malades, a l'isthme aortique chez 25 malades et au niveau de l'aorte thoracique descendante, en aval de l'isthme, chez trois malades. Les lesions associees comportaient des lesions crânio-encephaliques (50%), rachidiennes (23,3%), pulmonaires (80%), viscerales (63%) et des membres (60%). Sept malades (23%) ont ete declares decedes a leur arrivee en salle d'urgence, 14 malades (47%) etaient hemodynamiquement instables lors de leur arrivee et 9 malades (30%) etaient hemodynamiquement stables. Dans le groupe des malades instables, deux malades (14%) sont decedes avant l'intervention chirurgicale, 11 malades (79%) ont eu un traitement en urgence de la lesion de l'aorte thoracique, entrainant une mortalite de 46% et un malade (7%) a eu une reparation differee apres une stabilisation initiale grâce a une splenectomie pour rupture de rate. Dans le groupe stable, trois malades (33%) ont eu une chirurgie aortique precoce (dans les 24 heures) alors que la reparation a ete differee chez 6 malades (67%). La duree moyenne de temps passe avant la reparation differee a ete de 20,8 jours (extremes 2 et 53 jours, mediane 25 jours). Il n'y a pas eu de mortalite dans ce groupe. La rupture traumatique aigue de l'aorte thoracique reste une lesion hautement mortelle. L'instabilite hemodynamique reste le principal facteur de risque de mortalite. La reparation differee est sure et n'entraine pas un risque accru de rupture aortique chez les malades hemodynamiquement stables.
Research Involving Wards of the State: Protecting Particularly Vulnerable Children

In 2005, allegations arose that hundreds of children in foster care and state institutions were improperly enrolled in HIV drug trials in the late 1980s and early 1990s.(1) A watchdog group claimed that, “The most vulnerable, disadvantaged children are being exploited by powerful entities and used as guinea pigs as if they were not human beings.”(2) Subsequent coverage by the news media,(3, 4) investigation by the Office for Human Research Protections,(5) and a congressional hearing(6) focused on whether the studies followed existing federal regulations for research with children who are wards of the state.(7, 8) However, the research ethics literature has said little about the underlying question of when children who are wards of the state should be enrolled in research and what safeguards are needed to protect them. Current federal regulations mandate additional safeguards, beyond those that apply to all pediatric research, for some research with wards of the state. Although these additional requirements are attentive to the concerns research with wards of the state raises, we argue that they do not go far enough. Society is obligated to ensure the harms wards of the state have already experienced due to parental mistreatment or abandonment are not compounded by further harm from inappropriate clinical research enrollment. This means wards of the state must be appropriately protected from risk and from being unfairly selected to bear burdens in clinical research. To these ends, additional safeguards and modifications to existing guidelines are needed.
Prevention counseling among pediatric patients presenting with unintentional injuries to physicians' offices' in the United States

Abstract Objectives There is increasing emphasis on preventive care delivery among primary care providers. In accordance with this, health education approaches have been shown to positively influence patients' behavior. As injuries are the leading public health problem among youth, primary care providers may play a critical role in the prevention of unintentional injuries among their pediatric populations. Method Data from the 2007–2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) were used to examine patient visits presenting to physicians' offices with unintentional injuries. The prevalence of the delivery of injury prevention counseling was assessed, as were factors associated with the provision of injury prevention education. Results Findings indicated that injury prevention counseling was low. Overall, 14.6% of patients presenting with an unintentional injury received injury prevention counseling. Gender differences were notable, with 8% of injured girls receiving injury education compared to 18% of boys. Results of multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed odds of injury counseling to be 2.4 times more likely among boys when compared to girls (OR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.2–4.6). Conclusion Findings indicate that physician counseling about injury prevention was low. Reasons for the findings are discussed, as are issues related to gender differences in injury risk and prevention.
The timing of syllable repetitions in developmental dyslexia.

The temporal organization of motor speech was examined in dyslexic dolescents and adults without overt speech difficulties, matched normal readers, and learning disabled adolescents without reading...
Financial losses due to financial derivatives: A problem of technology transfer

Financial derivatives represent a new technology for the financial services sector. Large and widely publicized financial losses by end users of financial derivatives (e.g., Barings Bank, Procter and Gamble) may be attributed to two major problems in transferring this technology from derivatives dealers to derivatives users: (1) valuation of derivatives; and (2) control systems to manage this new financial technology. Some effective solutions to these problems are being developed by private standard setting organizations and private firms; these solutions can be viewed in terms of non-product standardization and product standardization, respectively. The effectiveness of these solutions in facilitating technology transfer comes from involvement of all stakeholders (e.g., dealers; users; private standard setters; government regulators).
Characterization of GABAergic neurons in hippocampal cell cultures

The morphological characteristics of GABAergic neurons and the distribution of GABAergic synaptic terminals were examined in cultures of hippocampal neurons from 4–35 daysin vitro. Neurons expressing GABA immunoreactivity represented about 6% of the total number of cultured neurons at all time points. Although the morphological characteristics of GABAergic cells suggested a heterogeneous population, GABAergic cells as a class were notably different from the non-GABAergic, presumably pyramidal cells. Most GABAergic cells had more fusiform or polygonal shaped somata, non-spiny and less tapering dendrites and appeared more phase-dense than nonGABAergic cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that GABAergic cells had fewer primary dendrites, more elongated dendritic arbors, and longer dendritic segments than non-GABAergic neurons-characteristics that are similar to GABAergic cellsin situ. Double immunostaining revealed that GAD65-positive varicosities were also immunopositive for synapsin I, suggesting that GAD65-positive varicosities that contacted somata and dendrites represented presynaptic specializations. Confocal microscopy revealed the proportion of the synaptic specializations on the cell soma that were GAD65-positive was greater than on the dendrites, suggesting that somata and dendrites differ in their ability to induce the formation of presynaptic specializations by GABAergic axons. These data indicate that the GABAergic cells that develop in culture exhibit distinctive morphological characteristics and participate in different synaptic interactions than nonGABA cells. Thus many of the features that distinguish GABAergic neurons in culture are reminiscent of the characteristics that distinguish GABAergic neuronsin situ.
Improving survival for children with sickle cell disease: newborn screening is only the first step

Invited commentary on ‘Survival of children with sickle cell disease in the comprehensive newborn screening programme in Minas Gerais, Brazil’, Sabarense et al.
Dissociative excitation of HeH+ by electron impact.

We report the results of an {ital ab} {ital initio} variational treatment of electron-impact cross sections for the process {ital e}{sup {minus}}+HeH{sup +}{r arrow}{ital e}{sup {minus}}+He{sup +}+H for electron energies between 21 eV, the threshold for excitation of the dissociative 1 {sup 3}{Sigma}{sup +} state, and 26 eV, corresponding to the excitation energy of the first {sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +} excited state. The calculations, which were carried out using a recent modification of the complex Kohn method, employed accurate correlated target wave functions, as well as {ital ab} {ital initio} optical potentials to incorporate the effect of closed channels. The fixed-nuclei excitation cross sections were found to be dominated by a series of sharp resonance structures. However, when the cross sections are averaged over the Franck-Condon envelope of the ground vibrational state, these sharp features are no longer seen. We conclude that the recent experiments that report structure in the HeH{sup +} dissociation cross section cannot be explained within the context of traditional adiabatic-nuclei theory.
Integrity of human YACs during propagation in recombination-deficient yeast strains

Abstract Several isogenic strains with defects in recombination/repair genes ( RAD1, RAD50, RAD51, RAD52, RAD54, and RAD55 ) were examined for their ability to propagate accurately a variety of linear and circular yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) containing human DNA inserts. To assess YAC stability, the human DNA inserts were internally marked by an ADE2-pBR-URA3 cassette. Following selection for Ura − clones on 5-fluoroorotic acid containing medium, the following types of YAC deletions were identified: (i) those caused by homologous recombination with a telomeric pBR sequence; (ii) internal deletions, presumed to occur by recombination between commonly occurring DNA repeats such as Alu and LINE sequences; and (iii) deletions leading to loss of part of a YAC arm. rad52 host strains, but not other recombination-deficient strains, decreased the rate of all types of YAC deletions 25- to 400-fold. We have also developed and tested kar1 strains with a conditional RAD52 gene that allow transfer of a YAC from any host into a recombination-deficient background. These strains provide an efficient tool for stabilization of YACs and are useful for allowing additional recombinational modification of YACs.
A scatter search approach to sequence-dependent setup times job shop scheduling

Scheduling jobs on multiple machines is a difficult problem when real-world constraints such as the sequence setup time, setup times for jobs and multiple criteria are used for solution goodness. It is usually sufficient to obtain a near-optimal solution quickly when an optimal solution would require days or weeks of computation. Common scheduling heuristics such as Shortest Processing Time can be used to obtain a feasible schedule quickly, but are not designed for multiple simultaneous objectives. We use a new meta-heuristic known as a scatter search (SS) to solve these types of job shop scheduling problems. The results are compared with solutions obtained by common heuristics, a tabu search, simulated annealing, and a genetic algorithm. We show that by combining the mechanism of diversification and intensification, SS produces excellent results in a very reasonable computation time. The study presents an efficient alternative for companies with a complicated scheduling and production situation.
Expected and actual experience in labour and delivery and their relationship to maternal attachment

Abstract Mothers of one-month-old infants were asked to provide information regarding their psychological and physical expectations about childbirth, and their actual experiences. This information was obtained by means of a questionnaire which was completed by 267 women who gave birth in the Seattle area. The results showed that primiparous women (n=139) had greater discrepancies between expectations and outcomes than did multiparous women (n=128). This discrepancy was largely due to poorer outcomes rather than differences in the initial level of expectations. Specifically, primiparas had many more obstetric interventions and had a more negative psychological experience. Psychological outcomes were also positively correlated with maternal attachment in this group. The clinical implications of these results are discussed, especially of the psychological care of mothers before and shortly after childbirth.
Signal-to-noise ratio for source determination and for a comodulated masker in goldfish, Carassius auratus

The masking effects of white and amplitude comodulated noise were studied with respect to simple signal detection and sound source determination in goldfish. A stimulus generalization method was used to determine the signal-to-noise ratio required to completely determine the signal’s characteristics. It was found that the S/N required for this determination is about 4 dB greater than that required for signal detection, or was about 4 dB greater than the critical masking ratio. This means that the potential harm to fish of a given masking noise is at least 4 dB greater than previously thought, based on critical masking ratios. However, for amplitude comodulated noise between 10 and 50 Hz modulation rate, the potential harmful effects are up to 5.3 dB less than would be predicted from the critical masking ratio for unmodulated noise.
A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Pharmacological Treatment Versus Enhancement Under Competitive and Noncompetitive Conditions

Background: The goal of this study was to examine how the variables of treatment versus enhancement, competition, type of behavioral characteristic, and a person's history of enhancer or psychotropic medication use are related to acceptability and ethical concerns raised by psychotropic drug use. Methods: Participants completed online surveys probing acceptability (e.g., a person has the right to use a drug) and ethical concerns (e.g., fairness, authenticity) of a hypothetical drug described as effective in altering different behavioral characteristics under either competitive or noncompetitive situations. Past use of enhancing agents or psychotropic medication on attitudes toward enhancement was also examined. Results: Ethical concerns were greater for enhancement than for prescribed usage. Competitive framing affected attitudes under the enhancement but not the treatment conditions. Participants who have used prescribed medications for either enhancement or therapeutic reasons often had more generally p...
Indexing Noncrashing Failures: A Dynamic Program Slicing-Based Approach

Recent software systems usually feature an automated failure reporting component, with which a huge number of failures are collected from software end-users. With a proper support of failure indexing, which identifies failures due to the same fault, the collected failure data can help developers prioritize failure diagnosis, among other utilities of the failure data. Since crashing failures can be effectively indexed by program crashing venues, current practice has seen great success in prioritizing crashing failures. A recent study of bug characteristics indicates that as excellent memory checking tools are widely adopted, semantic bugs and the resulting noncrashing failures have become dominant. Unfortunately, the problem of how to index non-crashing failures has not been seriously studied before. In previous study, two techniques have been proposed to index noncrashing failures, and they are T-Proximity and R-Proximity. However, as T-Proximity indexes failures by the profile of the entire execution, it is generally not effective because most information in the profile is fault-irrelevant. On the other hand, although R-Proximity is more effective than T-Proximity, it relies on a sufficient number of correct executions that may not be available in practice. In this paper, we propose a dynamic slicing-based approach, which does not require any correct executions, and is comparably effective as R-Proximity. A detailed case study with gzip is reported, which clearly strates the advantages of the proposed approach.
What to do when your automated test equipment and Unit Under Test are out of reach

Cabling from the Unit Under Test (UUT) to the Test System has become an increasingly difficult challenge to overcome. There are a few distinct challenges. The distance between the UUTs and the Test System has become a major challenge with today's high speed busses. Current UUTs and Test Systems have trouble driving long cable lengths of 10 meters or more due to signal integrity reasons, latency, and the skew across high speed busses which can run as fast as 5Gb/s. Also, multipoint busses such as PCI do not have support for external cabling solutions which makes testing difficult. Furthermore, limited space in the General Purpose Interface (GPI) prevents the tester from cabling out all necessary signals. This paper will explore a solution to these problems, which is to bring a piece of the Test System close to the UUT, instead of bringing the UUT close to the Test System. In most Test Systems, there exists a master chassis with instrumentation. The key to solving this problem is to create a small form factor chassis that can be placed close to the UUT, which can be thought of as a Remote Test Head. The Remote Test Head is an extension of the Master Chassis allowing the same instrumentation and software to be used as in the local system; therefore saving the System Designer and TPS Developer from having to design new instrumentation or writing new tests. The connection between the Test System and the Remote Test Head is optical thus alleviating problems with signal integrity. The connection allows the Remote Test Head and the Test System to be more than 10m apart while still maintaining a throughput of 5Gb/s even when going through a GPI.
Robotic laparoendoscopic single-site surgery using GelPort as the access platform.

Abstract Background Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) allows for the performance of major urologic procedures with a single small incision and minimal scarring. The da Vinci Surgical System provides advantages of easy articulation and improved ergonomics; however, an ideal platform for these procedures has not been identified. Objective To evaluate the GelPort laparoscopic system as an access platform for robotic LESS (R-LESS) procedures. Design, setting, and participants Since April 2008, 11 R-LESS procedures have been completed successfully in a single institutional referral center. For the last four consecutive cases, the GelPort has been used as an access platform through a 2.5–5-cm umbilical incision. Intervention R-LESS cases performed with the GelPort included pyeloplasty ( n =2), radical nephrectomy ( n =1), and partial nephrectomy ( n =1). Measurements Perioperative data were obtained for all patients including demographic data, operative indications, operative records, length of stay, complications, and pathologic analysis. Results and limitations For both pyeloplasty cases, average operative time (OR time) was 235min and estimated blood loss (EBL) was 38cm 3 . For the patient undergoing radical nephrectomy for a 5.1-cm renal tumor, OR time was 200min and EBL was 250cm 3 . The final patient underwent partial nephrectomy without renal hilar clamping for an 11-cm angiomyolipoma with OR time of 180min and EBL of 600cm 3 . All R-LESS procedures attempted with the GelPort were completed successfully and without complication. Average length of hospital stay was 1.75 d (range: 1–2). The partial nephrectomy patient required transfusion of 1 U of packed red blood cells. Conclusions Use of the GelPort as an access platform for R-LESS procedures provides adequate spacing and flexibility of port placement and acceptable access to the surgical field for the assistant, especially during procedures that require a specimen extraction incision. Additional platform and instrumentation development will likely simplify R-LESS procedures further as experience grows.
Forced detachment of a vesicle in adhesive contact with a substrate

We consider the forced detachment of a thin-walled vesicle bonded to a substrate for two particular cases. In both cases, the configuration is three-dimensional and the bonding is assumed to occur under conditions of axial symmetry for which the adhered area is always circular. Detachment is driven by a force applied to the top of the vesicle in a direction normal to the substrate surface. The first case is the static or time-independent situation of a vesicle for which bonding is the result of nonspecific interactions between the vesicle and substrate surfaces. For this case, it is shown that the radius of the adhesion patch is determined implicitly by the pulling force F. The maximum pulling force Fcr, beyond which the adhered configuration is unstable and the detachment proceeds spontaneously, can also be calculated implicitly. For the particular case of weak adhesion, all significant parameters of the detachment process can be determined explicitly. The second case studied is the time-dependent debonding of a vesicle for which adhesion with the substrate is the result of specific interactions between binders on the two surfaces, typical of biological materials for which the binders are ligand–receptor protein pairs. By treating the detachment process as a result of the debonding of the protein pairs at the edge of the circular adhesion patch, the governing equation for the radius of the adhesion patch is obtained. If a constant force is suddenly applied, it is found that the elapsed time to full detachment is proportional to the magnitude of this force to the power −1.1; alternatively, if the force applied to the vesicle increases linearly in time, it is found that the value of the force at complete detachment is proportional to the applied loading rate F˙ to the power 0.39, in agreement with recent experimental observations.
Chronic kidney disease: considerations for nutrition interventions.

Abstract Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent and has major health consequences for patients. Caring for patients with CKD requires knowledge of the food supply, renal pathophysiology, and nutrition-related medications used to work synergistically with diet to control the signs and symptoms of the disease. The nutrition care process and International Dietetic and Nutrition Terminology allow for systematic, holistic, quality care of patients with this complex, progressive disease. Nutrition interventions must be designed with the individual patients needs in mind while prioritizing factors with the largest negative impact on health outcomes and mortality risk. New areas of nutrition treatment are emerging that involve a greater focus on micronutrient needs, the microbiome, and vegetarian-style diets. These interventions may improve outcomes by decreasing inflammation, improving energy and protein delivery, and lowering phosphorus, electrolytes, and fluid retention.
Mechanical dissipation at elevated temperatures in tetrahedral amorphous carbon oscillators

We have measured the temperature dependence of mechanical dissipation in tetrahedral amorphous carbon flexural and torsional resonators over the temperature range from 300 to 1023 K. The mechanical dissipation was found to be controlled by defects within the material, and the magnitude and temperature dependence of the dissipation were found to depend on whether flexural or torsional vibrational modes were excited. The defects that were active under flexural stresses have a relatively flat concentration from 0.4 to 0.7 eV with an ever increasing defect concentration up to 1.9 eV. Under shear stresses (torsion), the defect activation energies increase immediately beginning at 0.4 eV, with increasing defect concentration at higher energies.
The photolytic stability of the Martian atmosphere

Several recent suggestions for stabilizing the Martian atmosphere against photolysis have proved untenable. However, downward convective transport as well as a low altitude (0-35 km) aerosol, which catalyzes two-body molecular recombination reactions, can bring about such stability. The 'effective' convection velocity and 'average' two-body reaction rate coefficients required by observed abundances are evaluated. The computed profiles of CO and O at high altitude are shown to agree well with observations.
Adolescent Pregnancy Correlates with Educational Underachievement in an Urban Setting 27

In order to better understand the factors leading to teenage pregnancy in our high risk population, we interviewed 119 adolescent females ≤ age 21; 102 postpartum mothers and 17 hospitalized control adolescents (mostly PID and asthma). In addition to direct questioning, the WRAT for reading and Gillmore Reading Comprehension Test were administered to assess educational level. The two groups did not differ for race, citizenship, economic situation or employment. When those sexually active were asked about contraception method, 70% reported using condoms, 7% oral contraceptives, 6% other methods and 17% no method. Of the teens who used some form of contraception, 17% use it every time, 23% most of the time, 45% sporatically and 15% rarely. Information about contraception was obtained primarily from health clinics (45%), with only 14% from schools and 11% from parents. Male partners rarely play a primary role in the decision to use contraception, with only 15% raising the issue first vs 49% of the females. 70% of the pregnancies were unplanned and 30% of the mothers were using contraception at the time of conception. The postpartum group were older when they first had sexual intercourse (15±2 vs 11±6, p=0.0000). Educational underachievement was based on the difference between the expected grade level based upon age and the grade level performed on the reading tests. Teen mothers were academic underachievers, both on the WRAT (4.5±2.8 vs 1.8±2.5, p=0.0006) and on the Gillmore (4.8±2.6 vs 2.4±2.5, p=0.0008). In addition, teen mothers were in a significantly lower percentile on the WRAT than the control teens (12.3±17.6 vs 26.8±29.6, p=0.0060). We conclude that adolescents who are pregnant score lower in academic tests. These findings suggest that better intervention in terms of general education as well as education geared to preventing teenage pregnancy needs to be targeted towards this high risk population.
Harsh Discipline and Child Problem Behaviors: The Roles of Positive Parenting and Gender

This study examined harsh verbal and physical discipline and child problem behaviors in a community sample of 2,582 parents and their fifth and sixth grade children. Participants were recruited from pediatric practices, and both parents and children completed questionnaire packets. The findings indicated that boys received more harsh verbal and physical discipline than girls, with fathers utilizing more harsh physical discipline with boys than did mothers. Both types of harsh discipline were associated with child behavior problems uniquely after positive parenting was taken into account. Child gender did not moderate the findings, but one dimension of positive parenting (i.e., parental warmth) served to buffer children from the detrimental influences of harsh physical discipline. The implications of the findings for intervention programs are discussed.
Stereoselective determination of methadone and the primary metabolite EDDP in human plasma by automated on-line extraction and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Abstract A sensitive stereoselective bioanalytical liquid chromatographic assay with mass spectrometric detection (LC–MS) was developed and validated for the on-line extraction and quantification of R- and S-methadone and the primary metabolite R- and S-2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) from human plasma. Deproteinized plasma was injected directly onto a small C8 column, washed and then back-flushed using a column switching valve and a second pump onto an α1-acid glycoprotein analytical column, and enantioselective separation achieved using a mobile phase gradient of methanol and ammonium formate. Analytes were validated over a range of 0.1–25 ng/ml R- and S-EDDP and 0.1–100 ng/ml R- and S-methadone, respectively. Unweighted standard curves were linear over this concentration range (regression coefficients >0.999). Quality control samples were evaluated at 1, 5, 12.5 ng/ml R- and S-EDDP and 1, 10, 50 ng/ml R- and S-methadone. Intra- and inter-day accuracy was >95%, and intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation were less than 10% for all analytes and concentrations. This assay represents the only method currently available which combines on-line extraction and achieves chiral separation of both methadone and EDDP from plasma, and offers improvements in sensitivity over existing methods.
Range-image segmentation, free-space determination, and position estimate for a mobile vehicle

Two processing methods using range data are shown to perform different navigation tasks for a mobile vehicle. The first, a low-level processing method based on mathematical morphology, computes in real time, the free space and is used for collision avoidance. A parallel between this method and polar histogram techniques is drawn. The second method, based on a hierarchical segmentation technique, can extract a multiple resolution description of the range data produced by the sensor. This segmentation is used to describe the immediate environment of the vehicle using simple geometrical primitives, refine the vehicle position estimate, and create a detailed representation of the immediate environment of the vehicle. Experimental results using the BIRIS range sensor are shown.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Thyroid Hormone Levels after Acute L-Thyroxine Loading in Hypothyroidism

While extrathyroidal conversion of T4 to T3 sustains circulating T3 blood levels in patients receiving maintenance doses of L-T4, the serum T3 rise after the acute administration of large doses of L-T4 may involve an additional mechanism, T3 contamination in L-T4 preparations. L-T4 (1000 micrograms; Synthroid) was given orally to four noncompliant hypothyroid individuals (mean T4, 1.0 micrograms/dl; mean T3, 28 ng/dl). Continuously withdrawn blood sampling revealed a mean rise in serum T4 to 7.7 micrograms/dl at 4 h and a parallel rapid mean rise in serum T3 to 66 ng/dl (136% over baseline) at 4 h. RIA analysis of the experimental batches of Synthroid revealed 0.7-0.9% T3 contamination. Oral administration of 5 or 10 micrograms Cytomel (T3; corresponding to 0.5% and 1% T3 contamination in 1000 micrograms Synthroid) to two of the hypothyroid subjects at a later date resulted in T3 serum elevations 12% and 68% as great as post 1000 micrograms L-T4. To eliminate basal hormone changes between these experiments, a third subject received 7.5 micrograms Cytomel on day 1 (corresponding to the measured T3 contamination in 1000 micrograms Synthroid), followed by 1000 micrograms Synthroid on day 2. Resulting peak T3 levels were identical. In summary, hypothyroid individuals rapidly absorb acute L-T4 loads, with parallel increases in T4 and T3 blood levels. The major source of this T3 elevation is the contaminant in L-T4 preparations. This degree of T3 contamination becomes clinically significant in acute large dose T4 regimens and results in euthyroid levels of T3.
An evaluation of least-squares fits to COSY spectra as a means of estimating proton-proton coupling constants. II. Applications to polypeptides.

A new computational method for simultaneously estimating all the proton-proton coupling constants in a molecule from COSY spectra [Yang, J.-X. and Havel, T.F. (1994) J. Biomol. NMR, 4, 807–826] is applied to experimental data from two polypeptides. The first of these is a cyclic hexapeptide denoted as VDA (-d-Ala1-Phe2-Trp3-Lys(Z)4-Val5-Phe6-), in deuterated DMSO, while the second is a 39-residue protein, called decorsin, in aqueous solution. The effect of different data processing strategies and different initial parameter values on the accuracy of the coupling constants was explored. In the case of VDA, most of the coupling constants did not depend strongly on the initial values chosen for the optimization or on how the data were processed. This, together with our previous experience using simulated data, implies strongly that these values are accurate estimates of the coupling constants. They also differ by an average of only 0.36 Hz from the values of the 14 coupling constants that could be measured independently by established methods. In the case of decorsin, many of the coupling constants exhibited a moderate dependence on their initial values and a strong dependence on how the data were processed. With the most successful data processing strategy, the amide-α coupling constants differed by an average of 1.11 Hz from the 21 values that could be measured by established methods, while two thirds of the three-bond coupling constants fell within 1.0 Hz of the ranges obtained by applying the Karplus relation to an independently computed ensemble of distance geometry structures. The averages of the coupling constants over multiple optimizations using random initial values were computed in order to obtain the best possible estimates of the coupling constants. Most clearly incorrect averages can be identified by large standard deviations in the coupling constants or the associated line widths and chemical shifts, and can be explained by strong coupling and/or overlap with the water signal, the diagonal peaks or other cross peaks.
Establishment of axon-dendrite polarity in developing neurons

Neurons are among the most highly polarized cell types in the body, and the polarization of axon and dendrites underlies the ability of neurons to integrate and transmit information in the brain. Significant progress has been made in the identification of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment of neuronal polarity using primarily in vitro approaches such as dissociated culture of rodent hippocampal and cortical neurons. This model has led to the predominant view suggesting that neuronal polarization is specified largely by stochastic, asymmetric activation of intracellular signaling pathways. Recent evidence shows that extracellular cues can play an instructive role during neuronal polarization in vitro and in vivo. In this review, we synthesize the recent data supporting an integrative model whereby extracellular cues orchestrate the intracellular signaling underlying the initial break of neuronal symmetry leading to axon-dendrite polarization.
A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease in Normal-Weight Men

Very low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets are popular yet little is known regarding the effects on serum biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study examined the effects of a 6-wk ketogenic diet on fasting and postprandial serum biomarkers in 20 normal-weight, normolipidemic men. Twelve men switched from their habitual diet (17% protein, 47% carbohydrate and 32% fat) to a ketogenic diet (30% protein, 8% carbohydrate and 61% fat) and eight control subjects consumed their habitual diet for 6 wk. Fasting blood lipids, insulin, LDL particle size, oxidized LDL and postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) and insulin responses to a fat-rich meal were determined before and after treatment. There were significant decreases in fasting serum TAG (-33%), postprandial lipemia after a fat-rich meal (-29%), and fasting serum insulin concentrations (-34%) after men consumed the ketogenic diet. Fasting serum total and LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL were unaffected and HDL cholesterol tended to increase with the ketogenic diet (+11.5%; P = 0.066). In subjects with a predominance of small LDL particles pattern B, there were significant increases in mean and peak LDL particle diameter and the percentage of LDL-1 after the ketogenic diet. There were no significant changes in blood lipids in the control group. To our knowledge this is the first study to document the effects of a ketogenic diet on fasting and postprandial CVD biomarkers independent of weight loss. The results suggest that a short-term ketogenic diet does not have a deleterious effect on CVD risk profile and may improve the lipid disorders characteristic of atherogenic dyslipidemia.
Changes in valence, coordination and reactivity that occur upon oxidation of fresh metal surfaces

To promote a greater understanding of the process and nature of metal passivation, we have performed a first-principles analysis of partially oxidized Ni(111) and Ni(311) surface and ultra-thin film NiO layers on Ni(111). We have adopted a bimodal theoretical strategy that considers the oxidation process using either a fixed generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional for the description of all atoms in the system, or a perturbation approach, that perturbs the electronic structure of various Ni atoms in contact with oxygen by application of the GGA+U technique. This strategy allows us to assess the relative merits of the two approaches, and whether or not the two approaches are at variance with one another as concerns the process of metal passivation. We consider oxygen binding in the cases of isolated atomic adsorption, the development of an oxygen monolayer, and epitaxial NiO(111) monolayers and bilayers with various terminations. Selective application of GGA+U drives structural and charge-trans...
Phenotypic differences between dermal fibroblasts from different body sites determine their responses to tension and TGFβ1

Wounds in the nonglabrous skin of keloid-prone individuals tend to cause large disordered accumulations of collagen which extend beyond the original margins of the wound. In addition to abnormalities in keloid fibroblasts, comparison of dermal fibroblasts derived from nonwounded glabrous or nonglabrous skin revealed differences that may account for the observed location of keloids. Fibroblast apoptosis and the cellular content of α-smooth-muscle actin, TGFβ1 receptorII and ED-A fibronectin were estimated by FACS analysis. The effects of TGFβ1 and serum were examined. In monolayer cultures non-glabrous fibroblasts were slower growing, had higher granularity and accumulated more α-smooth-muscle actin than fibroblasts from glabrous tissues. Keloid fibroblasts had the highest level of α-smooth-muscle actin in parallel with their expression level of ED-A fibronectin. TGFβ1 positively regulated α-smooth-muscle actin expression in all fibroblast cultures, although its effects on apoptosis in fibroblasts from glabrous and non-glabrous tissues were found to differ. The presence of collagen I in the ECM resulted in reduction of α-smooth-muscle actin. A considerable percentage of the apoptotic fibroblasts in attached gels were α-smooth-muscle actin positive. The extent of apoptosis correlated positively with increased cell and matrix relaxation. TGFβ1 was unable to overcome this apoptotic effect of matrix relaxation. The presence of myofibroblasts and the apoptosis level can be regulated by both TGFβ1 and by the extracellular matrix. However, reduction of tension in the matrix is the critical determinant. This predicts that the tension in the wound bed determines the type of scar at different body sites.
Effects of upstream lakes on dissolved organic matter in streams

We examined the effects of upstream lakes on dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and the absorbance of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the streams of northern Michigan. We assessed DOM concentration and absorbance in 15 streams with upstream lakes and 17 streams without upstream lakes located in the same geographic region in May and August 2003. In addition, we estimated watershed land cover and morphology to assess the possibility that other landscape variables could account for DOM differences between the two stream types. The concentration of dissolved organic carbon, its UVB absorbance, and its molar absorbtivity (absorbance per unit carbon) were all significantly lower in streams with upstream lakes than in streams with no lakes. Strong predictive relationships existed between upstream watershed metrics and stream DOM properties, but varied by season and the presence of upstream lakes. DOM quantity and UV-absorbing ability were related to different watershed metrics, with DOM quantity being strongly related to terrestrial watershed metrics, whereas UV-absorbing ability was most strongly related to percent water surface area. Upstream lakes strongly influence downstream DOM potentially because of their long water residence times, which could increase opportunities for DOM processing. Upstream lakes represent a strong landscape predictor of stream DOM properties that is not directly tied to terrestrial DOM sources and processing.
Delayed Inflammatory Response to Primary Pneumonic Plague Occurs in Both Outbred and Inbred Mice

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague, a disease that can manifest as either bubonic or pneumonic plague. An interesting feature of plague is that it is a rapidly progressive disease, suggesting that Y. pestis either evades and/or suppresses the innate immune response to infection. Therefore, the early host response during the course of primary pneumonic plague was investigated in two mouse strains, the outbred strain CD1 and the inbred strain C57BL/6. A comparative analysis of the course of disease in these two strains of mice indicated that they are susceptible to intranasal Y. pestis CO92 infection and have similar 50% lethal doses and kinetics of infection with respect to colonization of the lung, liver, and spleen. Significantly, in both strains of mice, robust neutrophil recruitment to the lungs was not observed until 48 h after infection, suggesting that there was a delay in inflammatory cell recruitment to the site of infection. In addition, proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor alpha, gamma interferon, IL-12p70, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1) and chemokines (KC, MIP-2) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids were not readily detected until 48 h after infection, which coincided with the increase in polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) recruitment to the lungs. In comparison, CD1 mice with gram-negative pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited strong inflammatory responses early in infection, with PMNs comprising the majority of the cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 24 h postinfection, indicating that PMN recruitment to the lungs could occur earlier in this infection than in Y. pestis infection. Together, our results indicate that there is a delay in the recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs in the mouse model of primary plague pneumonia that correlates with delayed expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in both outbred and inbred mice.
Application of interval analysis techniques to linear systems. II. The interval matrix exponential function

For pt.I see ibid., vol.35, no.9, p.1129-38 (1988). In part I the authors established new results for continuous and rational interval functions which are of interest in their own right. The authors use these results to study interval matrix exponential functions and to devise a method of constructing augmented partial sums which approximate interval matrix exponential functions as closely as desired. The authors introduce and study 'scalar' and matrix interval exponential functions. These functions are represented as infinite power series and their properties are studied in terms of rational functions obtained from truncations. To determine optimal estimates of error bounds for the truncated series representation of the exponential matrix function, the authors establish appropriate results dealing with Householder norms. In order to reduce the conservativeness for interval arithmetic operations, they consider the nested form for interval polynomials and the centered form for interval arithmetic representations. They also discuss briefly machine bounding arithmetic in digital computers. Finally, the authors present an algorithm for the computation of the interval matrix exponential function which yields prespecified error bounds. >
Neurotransmitter-related enzymes in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Abstract Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutamic acid decar☐ylase (GAD) activities were measured in 20 brain regions from autopsied control and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) cases. Large, widespread reductions in the activities of ChAT and AChE were found in tissues from SDAT cases, while GAD activities were reduced in 3 of the 20 regions investigated. AChE activity in cerebrospinal fluid from SDAT cases was similar to that found in samples from non-demented patients.
Multi-objective evaluation model for aviation ammunition maintenance quality

Aiming at the uncertain information in the multi-objective assessment for aviation ammunition maintenance quality, the model adopts the deviation degree of the interval number to determine the attribute weight, and uses WAA operator to obtain the comprehensive attribute value of the scheme. According to the possibility matrix, it gains the sequencing vector, so as to get the assessment scheme. The final calculation cases show the feasibility & reliability of the model. Under the circumstance that the weight is unknown, the model carried out the assessment for many schemes. The multi-objective evaluation model can effectively solve complex problem for evaluation of aviation ammunition maintenance quality in uncertain condition, and can provide the scientific support for the aviation ammunition maintenance decision.
Seasonal Variation in the Hepatoproteome of the Dehydration- and Freeze-Tolerant Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica

Winter's advent invokes physiological adjustments that permit temperate ectotherms to cope with stresses such as food shortage, water deprivation, hypoxia, and hypothermia. We used liquid chromatography (LC) in combination with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) quantitative isobaric (iTRAQ™) peptide mapping to assess variation in the abundance of hepatic proteins in summer- and winter-acclimatized wood frogs (Rana sylvatica), a northerly-distributed species that tolerates extreme dehydration and tissue freezing during hibernation. Thirty-three unique proteins exhibited strong seasonal lability. Livers of winter frogs had relatively high levels of proteins involved in cytoprotection, including heat-shock proteins and an antioxidant, and a reduced abundance of proteins involved in cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and mitochondrial function. They also exhibited altered levels of certain metabolic enzymes that participate in the biochemical reorganization associated with aphagia and reliance on energy reserves, as well as the freezing mobilization and post-thaw recovery of glucose, an important cryoprotective solute in freezing adaptation.