cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potassium deficiency in chronic renal failure

Potassium deficiency in chronic renal failure. That total body potassium depletion may occur in the presence of a normal or high serum K + concentration in patients with end-stage renal disease is controversial. Since muscle K + stores are the best single index of body potassium stores, we measured sketetal muscle water, Na + , K + and Cl - content in volunteers, in patients with stable chronic renal failure (CRF) and in patients maintained on chronic hemodialysis (CHD). Skeletal muscle resting membrane potential (E m ), measured in the anterior tibial compartment to facilitate calculation of intracellular electrolyte concentrations, was immediately followed by the procurement of muscle samples, obtained by percutaneous needle biopsy of the thigh. Chronic renal failure was associated with a high intracellular Na + concentration; (20.4mEq/liter of intracellular water (ICW); normal=11.4, P + concentration, (126mEq/liter of ICW; normal=155, P m (-76.7 mv; normal=-86.7 mv, P m remained low (-75 mv). We conclude that K + deficiency is common in advanced CRF despite a normal serum K + concentration, and is corrected by hemodialysis. Depletion en potassium dans l'insuffisance renale chronique. La survenue eventuelle d'une depletion en potassium en presence d'une concentration normale ou elevee de potassium plasmatique chez des malades atteints d'insuffisance renale terminale est discutee. Du fait que le potassium musculaire est le meilleur index du potassium total nous avons mesure les contenus du muscle squelettique en eau, Na + , K + et Cl - chez des volontaires, des malades atteints d'insuffisance renale chronique stable (CRF) et des malades soumis a l'hemodialyse iterative. Le potentiel de repos membranaire du muscle squelettique (Em) a ete mesure dans la loge tibiale anterieure afin de faciliter le calcul des concentrations intracellulaires. Les echantillons musculaires ont ete preleves immediatement apres, pour biopsie percutanee a l'aiguille de la cuisse. A l'insuffisance renale chronique etaient associes une concentration intracellulaire elevee en Na + (20,4mEq par litre d'eau intracellulaire (ICW): valeur normale: 11,4; P + est frequente dans l'insuffisance renale chronique avancee, en depit d'une kaliemie normale, et qu'elle est corrigee par l'hemodialyse.
Fire risk in buildings: Scenario definition and ignition frequency calculations

This work proposes a methodology for assessing the frequency of ignition of a consumer product in a building and shows how the method would be used in a scenario where, as an example, upholstered furniture is the target product and an auxiliary heating device (electric heaters, wood stoves) is the ignition source. Deterministic thermal models of the heat transfer processes are coupled with parameter uncertainty analysis of the models and with a probabilistic analysis of the events involved in a typical scenario. This leads to a distribution of the frequency of ignition for the product.
Elasto-Viscoplastic Dispersive Waves in Silicon Wafers

This paper provides the required knowledge base for establishing Laser Induced Stress Wave Thermometry (LISWT) as a viable alternative to current infrared technologies for temperature measurement up to 1000°C with ±1°C resolution. A stress wave propagation model having a complex, temperature-dependent elasto-viscoplastic constitutive law is developed. Investigated results show that wave group velocity is a nonlinear function of temperature. Nonlinearity becomes more prominent at high temperatures and low frequencies. As such, for LISWT to achieve better thermal resolution at high temperatures, low frequency components of the induced stress wave should be exploited. The results also show that the influence of temperature on attenuation is relatively small. It is not recommended to use attenuation for resolving temperature variation as small as several degrees Celsius. In addition to temperature, geometry also is found to have an impact on wave dispersion and attenuation. The influence of thickness on wave velocity is significant, thus suggesting that for LISWT to achieve high temperature resolution, wafer thickness must be accurately calibrated in order to eliminate all possible errors introduced by thickness variation.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
The spindle checkpoint protein Mad2 regulates APC/C activity during prometaphase and metaphase of meiosis I in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The spindle checkpoint protein Mad2 sets the duration of meiosis I by down-regulating APC/C activity to ensure the timely degradation of APC/C substrates. In the absence of Mad2, premature APC/C ac...
Hemodynamic effects of catecholamine stimulation in constrictive pericarditis.

Cardiac hemodynamic studies during control resting state and isoproterenol infusion were performed on five patients with constrictive pericarditis. During isoproterenol infusion, stroke volume increased by 60%, while there was no significant change in pulmonary wedge and right atrial mean pressures. The relatively fixed filling pressure is the indirect evidence of fixed diastolic size of the heart. However, the fixed cardiac size in diastole per se does not necessarily indicate hindrance to filling of the heart unless the limits of diastolic size of the heart are reached. It is concluded that during the supine resting state, when the influence of catecholamines is minimal, systolic emptying of ventricles is hindered. The systolic hindrance is, however, overcome by strong positive inotropic stimulation.
Photophysical Properties of C60 Colloids Suspended in Water with Triton X-100 Surfactant: Excited-State Properties with Femtosecond Resolution

We examine the photophysics of a colloidal suspension of C60 particles in a micellar solution of Triton X-100 and water, prepared via a new synthesis which allows high-concentration suspensions. The particle sizes are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering and found to be somewhat polydisperse in the range of 10−100 nm. The suspension is characterized optically by UV−vis spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, laser flash photolysis, and z-scan. The ground-state absorbance spectrum shows a broad absorbance feature centered near 450 nm which is indicative of colloidal C60. The transient absorption dynamics, presented for the first time with femtosecond resolution, are very similar to that of thin films of C60 and indicate a strong quenching of the singlet excited state on short time scales and evidence of little intersystem crossing to a triplet excited state. Laser flash photolysis reveals that a triplet excited-state absorption spectrum, which ...
Numerical evaluation of temperature profiles and interface position in filaments undergoing solidification

A numerical method has been described for the solution of the general equations which depict solidification in the cylindrical coordinate system. The method has been outlined for cooling and solidification of a moving filament of molten polymer. The solution is given in terms of six dimensionless variables: αl/αs, kl/ks, hR/kR, L/[Cps(To−Tc)], To/Tc, and σϵpR(To−Tc)3/kR. Plots are shown for the solution of the heat transfer equations and associated boundary conditions for several values of the dimensionless variables. The method describes the process of cooling and freezing liquids when convective and/or radiative energy losses are considered. The form of the theoretical equation compares very favorably with experimental data.
Protein conversion efficiencies of four test diets based on milk, two milk and tea treatments, and casein.

Milk consumption in 80 households in western Kenya averaged .25 to 1.00 L per family per day. Most of this milk was processed into a milk and tea beverage. Polyphenols, the major determinants of tea flavor and character, form soluble complexes with casein when black tea infusions are mixed with milk. Test diets were prepared from the following treatments: a) casein reference diet; b) milk, no tea leaves; c) milk added after heat treatment; and d) traditional Kenyan-style tea (i.e., milk and tea leaves heated together). Four groups of 10 male 21-day-old Sprague Dawley weanling rats were assembled and assigned to the test diets. Weight gain and protein intake (g/g) during a 28-d test period for the four diets were 1.94, 2.99, 2.93, and 2.77. The least significant difference test showed weight gain for protein intake was greater for rats on the milk-based diet and the diet with milk added after heating than for rats on the traditionally prepared milk and tea drink. Rats did most poorly when assigned to the casein reference diet. Modification of traditional Kenyan tea preparation practices (i.e., adding milk after tea leaves have been removed) might improve the nutritional value of the most popular milk product in western Kenya.
Leadership in Public Organizations: An Introduction

Now in a completely revised and updated Third Edition, Leadership in Public Organizations provides a compact but complete analysis of leadership for students and practitioners who work in public and nonprofit organizations. Offering a comprehensive review of leadership theories in the field, from the classic to the cutting-edge, and how they relate specifically to the public sector context, this textbook covers the major competency clusters in detail, supported by research findings as well as practical guidelines for improvement. These competencies are graphically portrayed in a leadership action cycle that aids readers in visually connecting theory and practice. Including questions for discussion and analysis and hypothetical scenarios for each chapter, as well as an easily reproducible leadership assessment instrument students may use to apply the theories they’ve learned, this Third Edition also explores: The rise of e-leadership, or the relationship between leadership and information and communication technologies, as well as the role leaders play in selecting those technologies The challenges of nonprofit management leadership, including an extensive case study designed to illustrate the differences between public and nonprofit sector leadership curricula Separate, dedicated chapters on charismatic and transformational leadership; distributed leadership; ethics-based leadership; and power, world cultures, diversity, gender, complexity, social change, and strategy. Leadership in Public Organizations is an essential core text designed specifically with upper-level and graduate Public Administration courses on leadership in mind, but it has also proven an indispensable guidebook for professionals seeking insight into the role of successful leadership behavior in the public sector. It can further be used as supplementary reading in introductory courses examining management competencies, in leadership classes to provide practical self-help and improvement models, and in Organizational Theory classes that wish to balance organizational perspectives with individual development.
Movement of Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid Reveals Regulatory Points of Phloem-Mediated RNA Traffic

Increasing evidence indicates that the phloem mediates traffic of selective RNAs within a plant. How an RNA enters, moves in, and exits the phloem is poorly understood. Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is a pathogenic RNA that does not encode proteins and is not encapsidated, and yet it replicates autonomously and traffics systemically within an infected plant. The viroid RNA genome must interact directly with cellular factors to accomplish these functions and is, therefore, an excellent probe to study mechanisms that regulate RNA traffic. Our analyses of PSTVd traffic in Nicotiana benthamiana yielded evidence that PSTVd movement within sieve tubes does not simply follow mass flow from source to sink organs. Rather, this RNA is transported into selective sink organs. Furthermore, two PSTVd mutants can enter the phloem to spread systemically but cannot exit the phloem in systemic leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). A viroid most likely has evolved structural motifs that mimic endogenous plant RNA motifs so that they are recognized by cellular factors for traffic. Thus, analysis of PSTVd traffic functions may provide insights about endogenous mechanisms that control phloem entry, transport, and exit of RNAs.
Pharmacology of the enantiomers of threo-methylphenidate.

The pharmacology of the enantiomers of threo-methylphenidate (MPH) was evaluated in the rat to assess the relative contribution of each isomer to central and peripheral actions of the racemic drug. Fractional recrystallization of binaphthyl phosphate salts of dl-threo-MPH allowed resolution of d-threo-MPH and 92% enrichment of l-threo-MPH. The enantiomeric disposition was monitored using gas chromatographic separation of trifluoroacetylprolyl diastereomeric derivatives. The activity of the d-isomer was greater than the l-isomer in the induction of locomotor activity and the inhibition of tritiated dopamine and l-norepinephrine uptake into striatal and hypothalamic synaptosomes, respectively. Neither isomer produced a significant change in the spontaneous release of tritiated catecholamines from synaptosomes. Destruction of catecholaminergic neurons by 6-hydroxydopamine pretreatment attenuated the locomotor response to d-threo-MPH, indicating the involvement of catecholaminergic neural pathways in the locomotor response. Only the d-enantiomer significantly potentiated the pressor responses to i.v. l-norepinephrine. Receptor site stereoselectively for threo- vs. erythro-MPH is discussed in terms of isomer conformational preferences. These results suggest that synaptic inhibition of catecholamine uptake by d-threo-MPH may be involved fundamentally in behavioral and pressor effects of the racemic drug.
Using Fluorous Amino Acids to Modulate the Biological Activity of an Antimicrobial Peptide

The emergence of bacterial strains resistant to most of the clinically useful antibiotics has provided the impetus to develop new classes of antibiotics that might combat bacterial resistance more effectively. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptides (typically 15–30 residues) that show promise as therapeutic agents against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. [1–3] Widely distributed in plants and animals, they form part of the innate immune system’s defense against microbes. Although highly diverse in sequence and structure, almost all AMPs share the property of being highly amphiphathic: one face of the peptide is hydrophobic and the other face presents a cluster of positively charged residues. [4, 5] AMPs function by disrupting bacterial membranes, [4] which contain predominantly negatively charged phospholipids. Eukaryotic membranes, which contain predominantly neutral phospholipids, are not targeted. Although promising as broad-spectrum antibiotics, AMPs are susceptible to proteolysis in vivo by endogenous or bacterial proteases, which can considerably diminish their effectiveness. Attempts to overcome this problem by increasing the dose of AMP often leads to toxic side effects, most notably lysis of red blood cells, which has been attributed to nonspecific hydrophobic interactions between the peptide and the eukaryotic cell membrane. [6, 7] Here we describe a strategy to overcome
Capacity of Gaussian channels with duty cycle and power constraints

In many wireless communication systems, radios are subject to duty cycle constraint, that is, a radio only actively transmits signals over a fraction of the time. For example, it is desirable to have a small duty cycle in some low power systems; a half-duplex radio cannot keep transmitting if it wishes to receive useful signals; and a cognitive radio needs to listen and detect primary users frequently. This work studies the capacity of scalar discrete-time Gaussian channels subject to duty cycle constraint as well as average transmit power constraint. The duty cycle constraint can be regarded as a requirement on the minimum fraction of nontransmission or zero symbols in each codeword. A unique discrete input distribution is shown to achieve the channel capacity. In many situations, numerical results demonstrate that using the optimal input can improve the capacity by a large margin compared to using Gaussian signaling over a deterministic transmission schedule, which is capacity-achieving in the absence of the duty cycle constraint. This is in part because the positions of the nontransmission symbol in a codeword can convey information. The results suggest that, under the duty cycle constraint, departing from the usual paradigm of intermittent packet transmissions may yield substantial gain.
Factors associated with screening or treatment initiation among male United States veterans at risk for osteoporosis fracture.

article i nfo Male osteoporosis continues to be under-recognized and undertreated in men. An understanding of which factors cue clinicians about osteoporosis risk in men, and which do not, is needed to identify areas for im- provement. This study sought to measure the association of a provider's recognition of osteoporosis with pa- tient information constructs that are available at the time of each encounter. Using clinical and administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration system, we used a stepwise procedure to construct prognostic models for a combined outcome of osteoporosis diagnosis, treatment, or a bone mineral density (BMD) test order using time-varying covariates and Cox regression. We ran separate models for patients with at least one primary care visit and patients with only secondary care visits in the pre-index period. Some of the stron- gest predictors of clinical osteoporosis identification were history of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist exposure, fragility fractures, and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Other characteristics as- sociated with a higher likelihood of having osteoporosis risk recognized were underweight or normal body mass index, cancer, fall history, and thyroid disease. Medication exposures associated with osteoporosis risk recognition included opioids, glucocorticoids, and antidepressants. Several known clinical risk factors for fracture were not correlated with osteoporosis risk including smoking and alcohol abuse. Results suggest that clinicians are relying on some, but not all, clinical risk factors when assessing osteoporosis risk.
Effect of assay measurement error on parameter estimation in concentration-QTc interval modeling.

Linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs) of concentration–double-delta QTc intervals (QTc intervals corrected for placebo and baseline effects) assume that the concentration measurement error is negligible, which is an incorrect assumption. Previous studies have shown in linear models that independent variable error can attenuate the slope estimate with a corresponding increase in the intercept. Monte Carlo simulation was used to examine the impact of assay measurement error (AME) on the parameter estimates of an LMEM and nonlinear MEM (NMEM) concentration–ddQTc interval model from a ‘typical’ thorough QT study. For the LMEM, the type I error rate was unaffected by assay measurement error. Significant slope attenuation (>10%) occurred when the AME exceeded >40% independent of the sample size. Increasing AME also decreased the between-subject variance of the slope, increased the residual variance, and had no effect on the between-subject variance of the intercept. For a typical analytical assay having an assay measurement error of less than 15%, the relative bias in the estimates of the model parameters and variance components was less than 15% in all cases. The NMEM appeared to be more robust to AME error as most parameters were unaffected by measurement error. Monte Carlo simulation was then used to determine whether the simulation–extrapolation method of parameter bias correction could be applied to cases of large AME in LMEMs. For analytical assays with large AME (>30%), the simulation–extrapolation method could correct biased model parameter estimates to near-unbiased levels. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High and Low Faculty Evaluations: Descriptions by Students

Undergraduate students were asked to describe faculty members to whom they had given their highest and lowest evaluations. Highest rated faculty were described in terms of positive personal/motivational and interpersonal characteristics. Lowest rated faculty were described in terms of classroom behavior. Characteristics of highest evaluated faculty, it is suggested, are not bipolar opposites of characteristics of lowest evaluated faculty.
Closing the knowledge gap: How the USDA could tap the potential of biologically diversified farming systems

Modern agriculture has proven highly productive, yet has simultaneously generated environmental and social impacts of global concern. Pressing environmental issues call into question the ability of the current model of industrial agriculture to sustain adequate yields without undermining the natural resource base upon which it depends.
Source coding for general penalties

Given a probability vector, Huffman coding finds a corresponding prefix-free binary code that minimizes the expected codeword length. In this paper we explore situations in which the goals are different from those in Huffman coding. We gener- alize an efficient algorithm for finding length-limited codes (3) to an efficient algorithm for finding optimal codes for any of a family of penalties proposed by Campbell (l). This algorithm, which also applies to a larger family of problems, may be performed using quadratic time and linear space.
Thermochemistry of Nanomaterials

The term “nanoparticle” or “nanomaterial” is somewhat difficult to define rigorously. A nanoparticle has dimensions somewhere in the nanometer regime, that is, a diameter of 1 to 100 nm. Thus nanoparticles span the range from clusters of atoms in solution at the small end to colloidal particles at the large end. Nanoparticles may be amorphous or consist of only a few unit cells of crystalline material. A very large fraction of their atoms are near the surface, see Figure 1⇓. Nanoparticles may be surrounded by vacuum, a gaseous atmosphere, water, or other fluid. In the natural environment, nanoparticles are generally heavily hydrated. Figure 1. Fraction of atoms within 0.5 nm of the surface of a nanoparticle as a function of its diameter. [Used by permission of the editor of Materials Research Society Symp Proc , from Navrotsky (1997), Fig. 3, p. 10.] A nanomaterial can be loosely defined to be any material containing heterogeneity at the nanoscale in one or more dimensions. In the broadest sense, then, the following are nanomaterials: phase-separated glasses or crystals with domains in the nanoregime, zeolites and mesoporous materials with pores of nanometer dimensions, clays with nanometer sized alternations of aluminosilicate layers and interlayer hydrated cations, and nanoscale leach layers at the mineral-water interface. A broad definition in the sense above emphasizes the commonality of phenomena at the nanoscale. In essence “if it quacks like a nanomaterial, it is one.” A nanomaterial is any state of condensed matter whose properties diverge significantly from those of the bulk or of molecules by the emergence of new phenomena not seen at smaller or larger scales. Such properties are related to nanoscale heterogeneity created by pervasive surfaces, interfaces, chemical variability, or pores. The exact size at which this happens depends both on the system and the property …
Bitstream-based Overlap Analysis for Multi-view Distributed Video Coding

In this paper, we develop a low complexity algorithm for spatial overlap detection and characterization that operates directly on the bitstream of motion- JPEG compressed video. Its low complexity and the fact that it does not require video decoding at the sensor nodes makes it well suited to multi-view distributed video coding applications for wireless sensor networks. In addition to determining overlap, we also show using the MERL ballroom database that the proposed algorithm can accurately identify and localize non-common foreground objects (e.g., dancers) within the common overlap region of two camera views.
Abrupt Decline in Kidney Function Before Initiating Hemodialysis and All-Cause Mortality: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study

Background It is not clear whether the pattern of kidney function decline in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may relate to outcomes after reaching end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We hypothesize that an abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD predicts early death after initiating maintenance hemodialysis therapy. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Setting & Participants The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study enrolled men and women with mild to moderate CKD. For this study, we studied 661 individuals who developed chronic kidney failure that required hemodialysis therapy initiation. Predictors The primary predictor was the presence of an abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD. We incorporated annual estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) into a mixed-effects model to estimate patient-specific eGFRs at 3 months prior to initiation of hemodialysis therapy. Abrupt decline was defined as having an extrapolated eGFR≥30mL/min/1.73m 2 at that time point. Outcomes All-cause mortality within 1 year after initiating hemodialysis therapy. Measurements Multivariable Cox proportional hazards. Results Among 661 patients with CKD initiating hemodialysis therapy, 56 (8.5%) had an abrupt predialysis decline in kidney function and 69 died within 1 year after initiating hemodialysis therapy. After adjustment for demographics, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, abrupt decline in kidney function was associated with a 3-fold higher risk for death within the first year of ESRD (adjusted HR, 3.09; 95% CI, 1.65-5.76). Limitations Relatively small number of outcomes; infrequent (yearly) eGFR determinations; lack of more granular clinical data. Conclusions Abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD occurred in a significant minority of incident hemodialysis patients and predicted early death in ESRD.
The Role of Institutional Research in Institutional Engagement with DQP and Tuning.

This chapter discusses the role of institutional research in DQP and Tuning work. Examples from the field of the myriad ways in which IR has been involved, as well as an exploration of ways in which IR has yet to be involved, are discussed.
A Question of Cotton

Foreword. J. Knox Walker, Emeritus Professor of Entomology at Texas A&M University, was born in 1927, at Bryan, TX. He spent the first 10 years of his life living in a small “Arts and Crafts” home on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a.k.a. Texas A&M University. During this time, many faculty and staff lived on the campus in houses owned by the college. Growing up during the Great Depression and in the middle of a college campus gave him a unique perspective on life. Professor Walker earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1950 and 1957, respectively, from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. After a brief stent working for the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, he spent the remainder of his career beginning in 1953 and until his retirement in 1992 on the faculty of Texas A&M University. His entire career was spent studying insects and unraveling the ecological mysteries on one crop, cotton. Professor Walker can best be described as an entomologist, a naturalist,...
Detroit and the Legacy of Vincent Chin

While the narrative of Chin's murder and the subsequent miscarriage of justice which followed are well-known within Asian American Studies circles, working on the Detroit remembrance challenged me to explore the intersection of this narrative with local urban history. For instance, study of the Chin case was central to the curriculum of a first-year seminar entitled "Asian Americans and the Civil Rights Movement," which I taught at the University of Michigan during the Winter 2002 semester. Most of the students, the majority of whom had grown up in Michigan, knew something about the African American struggle for civil rights but had never heard of Vincent Chin. On the other hand, when the 300th anniversary of the City of Detroit was celebrated in 2001, little or no attention in the mass public celebration was devoted to the history of Asian/Pacific Americans in the region or the potential role of APAs in re-envisioning and revitalizing our troubled city.
Field studies on carbon dioxide as a possible host simulant to mosquitoes.

SummaryCarbon dioxide alone was a mosquito attractant in disease vector studies. Large numbers of female mosquitoes of several species were attracted into a trap baited with carbon dioxide. It consistently attracted more mosquitoes than calf or chicken baits. This chemotropism may be a major factor in controlling host selection by various species of mosquitoes.
Metabolic Studies in Dermatomyositis, with a Note on the Effect of Wheat Germ.

SummaryTwo patients with dermatomyositis showed a decreased excretion of urinary calcium and an apparent impaired ability to store phosphorus. The amounts of urinary creatinine were diminished proportionally to the amounts of muscular wasting. Both patients had considerable creatinuria and an impaired creatine tolerance. Prolonged administration of large amounts of wheat germ was followed by decrease in creatinuria, increase in urinary creatinine, and definite clinical improvement.
Exposure to chronic alcohol accelerates development of wall stress and eccentric remodeling in rats with volume overload.

Chronic alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in the United States. Volume overload (VO) also produces DCM characterized by left ventricular (LV) dilatation and reduced systolic and diastolic function, eventually progressing to congestive heart failure. For this study, we hypothesized that chronic alcohol exposure would exacerbate cardiac dysfunction and remodeling due to VO. Aortocaval fistula surgery was used to induce VO, and compensatory cardiac remodeling was allowed to progress for either 3 days (acute) or 8 weeks (chronic). Alcohol was administered via chronic intermittent ethanol vapor (EtOH) for 2 weeks before the acute study and for the duration of the 8 week chronic study. Temporal alterations in LV function were assessed by echocardiography. At the 8 week end point, pressure-volume loop analysis was performed by LV catheterization and cardiac tissue collected. EtOH did not exacerbate LV dilatation (end-systolic and diastolic diameter) or systolic dysfunction (fractional shortening, ejection fraction) due to VO. The combined stress of EtOH and VO decreased the eccentric index (posterior wall thickness to end-diastolic diameter ratio), increased end-diastolic pressure (EDP), and elevated diastolic wall stress. VO also led to increases in posterior wall thickness, which was not observed in the VO + EtOH group, and wall thickness significantly correlated with LV BNP expression. VO alone led to increases in interstitial collagen staining (picrosirius red), which while not statistically significant, tended to be decreased by EtOH. VO increased LV collagen I protein expression, whereas in rats with VO + EtOH, LV collagen I was not elevated relative to Sham. The combination of VO and EtOH also led to increases in LV collagen III expression relative to Sham. Rats with VO + EtOH had significantly lower collagen I/III ratio than rats with VO alone. During the acute remodeling phase of VO (3 days), VO significantly increased collagen III expression, whereas this effect was not observed in rats with VO + EtOH. In conclusion, chronic EtOH accelerates the development of elevated wall stress and promotes early eccentric remodeling in rats with VO. Our data indicate that these effects may be due to disruptions in compensatory hypertrophy and extracellular matrix remodeling in response to volume overload.
Hybridomas as a source of antibodies.

Hybridomas, the progeny of fusion between antibody-secreting spleen cells and myeloma cells, produce large quantities of a single species of antibody. They are an ideal source of serologic reagents...
Genomic instability and radiation mutagenesis

La frequence des mutations spontanees est augmentee dans certaines populations cellulaires obtenues a partir de clones de cellules survivant a une irradiation. Ce phenotype supramutant persiste pendant de nombreuses divisions cellulaires. Les modifications structurales de l'ADN dans la region du gene hprt observees dans ces mutations qui apparaissent avec retard sont differentes de celles qui sont induites directement par l'irradiation. Dans d'autre experiences, on a trouve une augmentation de la frequence des mutations simultanees des sequences minisatellites et microsatellites dans des clones qui ont ete selectiones pour des mutations du gene thymidine kinase (tk). L'irradiation semble donc provoquer l'induction d'un processus mutagenique global qui persiste apres de nombreuses replications cellulaires. On pourrait emettre l'hypothese qu'un tel processus pourrait augmenter la probabilite de mutation de nombreux genes, en particulier ceux impliques dans le developpement du cancer.
Humour Applied to STEM Education

Humour has been shown to improve elements of the educational experience, but only under certain circumstances. We use Cognitive Load Theory to explain that these circumstances occur when humour does not overload the student's cognitive load. The problem-solving approach, typically used in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, already increases the cognitive load, and the addition of humour can push STEM education past this overload point. Using examples from the literature and classroom experiences, we illustrate how to integrate humour in an effective manner. We pay particular attention to integrating humour with STEM problem-solving so as to avoid adding additional cognitive load. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Abyss at The Heart of Mediation: Louis-Marie Chauvet's Fundamental Theology of Sacramentality

In his imposing work, Symbol and Sacrament, Louis-Marie Chauvet creatively explores the implications of symbolic mediation for the whole of Christian theology. Central to Chauvet's “fundamental theology of sacramentality” is the assertion that there is an inescapable absence within any mediation of presence. With this critical principle, he attempts to counter ecclesial triumphalism. Despite this critical concern, Chauvet's impressive project suffers from a naive optimism concerning symbolic mediation. Religious symbols are misused not only by those who assume direct, unmediated presence but also by those who coopt them to ideological ends. Chauvet's theology provides no principle of discernment concerning the possibility of the corruption of the Christian symbol tradition. His use of the notion of Gelassenheit to describe the proper posture toward religious symbols stifles critical reception. This article offers suggestions for correcting these shortcomings in Chauvet's worthwhile project using the thought of Levinas, Habermas, and Ricoeur.
CHAPTER 46 – Primary Hyperparathyroidism and Other Causes of Hypercalcemia in Children and Adolescents

Primary hyperparathyroidism and other causes of hypercalcemia occur far less commonly in children than in adults. The mechanisms of hypercalcemia in children are similar to those that occur in adults, but the smaller size and relative immaturity of the skeleton and kidney make children particularly sensitive to factors that affect renal handling of calcium and bone remodeling. An increase in net calcium mobilization from the skeleton is most often the cause of hypercalcemia, although excess intestinal absorption of calcium can also lead to hypercalcemia. Regardless of the underlying pathophysiology, hypercalcemia occurs when excessive transport of calcium from the skeleton and/or gut into the extracellular fluid exceeds the ability of the kidney to excrete the increased filtered load. The clinical features are dependent on the underlying disorder, age of the child, and degree of hypercalcemia. Children may be more adaptive to hypercalcemia compared to adults, and infants and children with mild hypercalcemia may not have any symptoms. With moderate to severe hypercalcemia, symptoms —such as anorexia, vomiting, and constipation (rarely diarrhea) may occur.
Legalities in the Book of Ruth: A Renewed Look*

This article contends that commentaries on the book of Ruth have overlooked an important legality—that of the daughters of Zelophehad—that may aid in understanding some of the legal and literary oddities in the story of Ruth. Especially, the regulation of Zelophehad's daughters clarifies several of the curiosities in the marriage scene in Ruth 4, such as why Ruth is required in marriage in order for the kinsman-redeemer to act or why Naomi is the beneficiary of the marriage between Boaz and Ruth. Furthermore, the regulation of Zelophehad's daughters helps explain the unique combination of levirate marriage and the actions of the kinsman-redeemer found in Ruth 4.
Numerical Investigation of Free Overfall from a Circular Pipe Flowing Full Upstream

AbstractResults are presented for a computational study of free overfall from a smooth, horizontal, circular pipe that is flowing full upstream. The limiting discharge value that delineates the par...
Deformable image registration in radiation therapy

The number of imaging data sets has significantly increased during radiation treatment after introducing a diverse range of advanced techniques into the field of radiation oncology. As a consequence, there have been many studies proposing meaningful applications of imaging data set use. These applications commonly require a method to align the data sets at a reference. Deformable image registration (DIR) is a process which satisfies this requirement by locally registering image data sets into a reference image set. DIR identifies the spatial correspondence in order to minimize the differences between two or among multiple sets of images. This article describes clinical applications, validation, and algorithms of DIR techniques. Applications of DIR in radiation treatment include dose accumulation, mathematical modeling, automatic segmentation, and functional imaging. Validation methods discussed are based on anatomical landmarks, physical phantoms, digital phantoms, and per application purpose. DIR algorithms are also briefly reviewed with respect to two algorithmic components: similarity index and deformation models.
Comparative Evaluation of Bladder-specific Health-related Quality of Life Instruments for Bladder Cancer.

Objective To compare 2 bladder cancer-specific health-related quality of life instruments (HRQOL) in the same patient population. Previous HRQOL studies in cystectomy patients have yielded conflicting results. Using a cross-sectional study design, we examined the only 2 validated bladder cancer-specific (HRQOL) measures. Methods Of the 256 patients who had undergone radical cystectomy from 2009 to 2014, 131 met both inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index (FACT-VCI) and Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) were mailed to these patients. Overall HRQOL and individual domain scores were compared between the 2 instruments with a Spearman correlation coefficient. HRQOL scores were compared by urinary diversion type as well using a non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results Our study had a response rate of 49% from 31 ileal conduit (IC) and 33 orthotopic neobladder patients. Overall, there was a moderate correlation between the FACT-VCI and BCI surveys (r = 0.57, P Conclusion The FACT-VCI and BCI instruments correlate well within the same patient cohort but capture different aspects of HRQOL. By focusing exclusively on bladder cancer treatment concerns, the BCI appears to be a better tool for assessing and counseling patients on expected treatment-specific changes after diversion type.
Reassessing Twitter’s Agenda-Building Power: An Analysis of Intermedia Agenda-Setting Effects During the 2016 Presidential Primary Season

This study examined the relationship between elite news media agendas and campaign agendas during the 2016 presidential primary season. Computer-assisted content analysis was used to assess issue e...
Immunogenicity of Biologic Agents in Psoriasis

Biologic immunotherapies for psoriasis are protein medications that use monoclonal antibody-binding sites or naturally occurring receptors to attain exquisite specificity for their target. However, by their very nature of being proteins that are made externally to the patient, there is a risk that the patient’s immune system will develop an immune reaction to these medications. It is clear that immune reactions to medications, generally manifested as antidrug antibodies (ADA), can impact the pharmacokinetics of biologics. What is less clear is the true impact of these reactions on the efficacy and safety of biologic immunotherapy. Additional confusion in the study of ADAs is generated by different methods of measurement of these antibodies which result in widely different results when measured. In this chapter we review the underpinnings of the development of immunogenicity, how it is measured, and how it may influence the success of biologic therapy. Additionally, we give a brief review of what is known about the immunogenicity of available biologic therapies for psoriasis.
Assigning matrix metalloproteinase roles in ischaemic cardiac remodelling.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors have been studied in the myocardium for the past 2 decades. An incomplete knowledge base and experimental design issues with inhibitors have hampered attempts at translation, but clinical interest remains high because of strong associations between MMPs and outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI) as well as mechanistic studies showing MMP involvement at multiple stages of the MI wound-healing process. This Review focuses on how our understanding of MMPs has evolved from a one-dimensional early focus on measuring MMP activity, monitoring MMP:inhibitor ratios, and evaluating one MMP–substrate pair to the current use of systems biology approaches to integrate the whole MMP repertoire of roles in the left ventricular response to MI. MMP9 is used as an example MMP to explain these concepts and to provide a template for examining MMPs as mechanistic mediators of cardiac remodelling. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of 25 enzymes that proteolytically process extracellular matrix and inflammatory proteins, making them highly relevant in ischaemic remodelling after myocardial infarction. In this Review, Lindsey focuses on systems biology approaches to integrate the roles of MMPs in left ventricular remodelling, using MMP9 as an example.
Health care utilization and overall costs based on opioid dependence in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis

OBJECTIVE Opioid abuse is highly prevalent in patients with back pain. The aim of this study was to identify health care utilization and overall costs associated with opioid dependence in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). METHODS The authors queried the MarketScan database using ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes from 2000 to 2012. Opioid dependency was defined as having a diagnosis of opioid use disorder, having a prescription for opioid use disorder, or having 10 or more opioid prescriptions. Opioid dependency was evaluated in 12-month period leading to surgery and in the period 3-15 months following the procedure. Patients were segregated into 4 groups based on opioid dependence before and after surgery: group NDND (prior nondependent who remain nondependent), group NDD (prior nondependent who become dependent), group DND (prior dependent who become nondependent), and group DD (prior dependent who remain dependent). The outcomes of interest were discharge disposition, hospital length of stay (LOS), complications, and health care resource costs. The 4 groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test and linear contrasts built from generalized regression models. RESULTS A total of 10,708 patients were identified, with 81.57%, 3.58%, 8.54%, and 6.32% of patients in groups NDND, NDD, DND, and DD, respectively. In group DD, 96.31% of patients had decompression with fusion, compared with 93.59% in group NDND. Patients in group NDD, DND, and DD had longer hospital LOS compared with those in group NDND. Patients in group DD were less likely to be discharged home compared with those in group NDND (odds ratio 0.639, 95% confidence interval 0.52-0.785). At 3-15 months postdischarge, patients in group DD incurred 21% higher hospital readmission costs compared with those in group NDND. However, patients in groups NDD and DD were likely to incur 2.8 times the overall costs compared with patients in group NDND (p < 0.001) at 3-15 months after surgery (median overall payments: group NDD $20,033 and group DD $19,654, vs group NDND $7994). CONCLUSIONS Patients who continued to be opioid dependent or became opioid dependent following surgery for DS incurred significantly higher health care utilization and costs within 3 months and in the period 3-15 months after discharge from surgery.
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Fetal Growth Vary during Sensitive Periods in Pregnancy

Aberrant fetal growth is associated with morbidities and mortality during childhood and adult life. Although genetic and environmental factors are known to influence in utero growth, their relative contributions over pregnancy is unknown. We estimated, across gestation, the genetic heritability, contribution of shared environment, and genetic correlations of fetal growth measures (abdominal circumference (AC), humerus length (HL), femur length (FL), and estimated fetal weight (EFW)) in a prospective cohort of dichorionic twin gestations recruited through the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies. Structural equation models were fit at the end of first trimester, during mid-gestation, late second trimester, and third trimester of pregnancy. The contribution of fetal genetics on fetal size increased with gestational age, peaking in late second trimester (AC = 53%, HL = 57%, FL = 72%, EFW = 71%; p < 0.05). In contrast, shared environment explained most of phenotypic variations in fetal growth in the first trimester (AC = 50%, HL = 54%, FL = 47%, EFW = 54%; p < 0.05), suggesting that the first trimester presents an intervention opportunity for a more optimal early fetal growth. Genetic correlations between growth traits (range 0.34–1.00; p < 0.05) were strongest at the end of first trimester and declined with gestation, suggesting that different fetal growth measures are more likely to be influenced by the same genes in early pregnancy.
Personality and its Assessment

Every time I teach a course in personality theory, I begin the class by asking the students, “What is personality?” Given the newness of the class situation and the perennial need of college students to remain anonymous to teachers, this question is always followed by a long silence. In order to jump-start this social interaction, I follow up with a request. I ask students to raise their hands if they believe they have a personality. Invariably, there are muffled coughs, eyes begin to dart around the room, and perhaps two or three people will, grudgingly, raise their hands. “Good,” I say. “It seems that some people are certain that they have a personality but others are not as sure as to whether they have one or not. Perhaps some people may have had a personality at some time in the past, but do not have one currently, while still others may be engaged in an ongoing search to find one.”