cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Default mode network connectivity is related to pain frequency and intensity in adolescents.

Abstract Pain during adolescence is common and is associated with future pain chronicity and mental health in adulthood. However, understanding of the neural underpinnings of chronic pain has largely come from studies in adults, with recent studies in adolescents suggesting potentially unique neural features during this vulnerable developmental period. In addition to alterations in the pain network, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in adults suggest alterations in the default mode network (DMN), involved in internally-driven, self-referential thought, may underlie chronic pain; however, these findings have yet to be examined in adolescents. The current study sought to investigate associations between pain frequency and intensity, and disruptions in DMN connectivity, in adolescents. Adolescents (ages 12–20) with varying levels of pain frequency and intensity, recruited from a pediatric pain clinic and the local community (n = 86; 60% female), underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Using independent components analysis, the DMN was identified and correlated voxel-wise to assess associations between pain frequency and intensity and DMN connectivity. Findings revealed that adolescents with greater pain frequency demonstrated greater DMN to superior frontal gyrus connectivity, while adolescents with greater pain intensity demonstrated lesser DMN to cerebellum (lobule VIII) connectivity, during rest. These findings suggest that increasing levels of pain are associated with potential desegregation of the DMN and the prefrontal cortex, important for cognitive control, and with novel patterns of DMN to cerebellum connectivity. These findings may prove beneficial as neurobiological targets for future treatment efforts in adolescents.
State Standards for Insurance Access to Oncologists

As the market for health insurance plans expands, each state is responsible for setting standards to ensure that plans contain adequate coverage for cancer care. Little is currently known about what criteria states use for network adequacy of insurance plans. We contacted representatives of the Department of Insurance (or equivalent) for 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as searched official state websites to compile data on network adequacy standards for cancer care nationwide. The standards of 16 (31.4%) states contained only qualitative elements for access to an oncologist (eg, "reasonable access"), 7 (13.7%) states included only quantitative elements (eg, travel distance and time restrictions), and 24 (47.1%) states included standards with both qualitative and quantitative elements. Standards from 4 states were not available. States should make certain that robust, transparent protections exist to ensure that patients are able to access high-quality cancer care without experiencing the financial toxicity associated with out-of-network billing.
Common Vertical Jump and Reactive Strength Index Measuring Devices: A Validity and Reliability Analysis.

ABSTRACT Montalvo, S, Gonzalez, MP, Dietze-Hermosa, M, Eggleston, JD, and Dorgo, S. Common vertical jump and reactive strength index measuring devices: A validity and reliability analysis. J Strength Cond Res 35(5): 1234-1243, 2021-Several field-test devices exist to assess vertical jump, but they either lack proper validation or have been validated for the countermovement jump (CMJ) only. This study aimed to quantify the validity and reliability of metrics, including jump height and the calculated reactive strength index (RSI), obtained using the flight-time method from 4 different assessment devices with 3 different vertical jump modalities in comparison to a force platform (criterion assessment). The Optojump, Push-Band 2.0, MyJump2 mobile application, and What'sMyVert mobile application were used synchronously and together with the force platforms. Thirty subjects (17 males and 13 females; age ± SD: 23.37 ± 1.87 years) performed 5 repetitions of CMJ, squat jump (SQJ), and drop jump (DJ) with a standardized 90° knee flexion for all jumps. Relative reliability was determined by intraclass correlation (ICC) and absolute reliability by coefficient of variation (CV) analyses. Excellent reliability was considered as ICC > 0.9 and CV < 10%. Validity was obtained through an ordinary least products regression, ICC, and CV. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Reliability was excellent on jump height for the CMJ (ICC ≥ 0.98; CV ≤ 8.14%) for all instruments. With the exception of the Optojump, all instruments also had excellent reliability for the SQJ (ICC ≥ 0.98; CV ≤ 6.62) and DJ (ICC ≥ 0.94; CV ≤ 8.19). For the RSI metric, all instruments had excellent relative reliability (ICC ≥ 0.92), but none had excellent absolute reliability (CV ≥ 12.5%). The MyJump2 and What'sMyVert apps showed excellent validity on all jump modalities and RSI. The Optojump and Push-Band 2.0 devices both showed system and proportional bias for several jump modalities and RSI. Overall, both mobile applications may provide coaches with a cost-effective and reliable measurement of various vertical jumps.
Altered Activity of Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Neurons in Mice following Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Exposure.

The Lateral Orbito-Frontal Cortex (LOFC) is thought to encode information associated with consumption of rewarding substances and is essential for flexible decision making. Indeed, firing patterns of LOFC neurons are modulated following changes in reward value associated with an action outcome relationship. Damage to the LOFC impairs behavioral flexibility in humans and is associated with sub-optimal performance in reward devaluation protocols in rodents. As chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure also impairs OFC-dependent behaviors, we hypothesized that CIE exposure would alter LOFC neuronal activity during alcohol drinking, especially under conditions when the reward value of ethanol was modulated by aversive or appetitive tastants. To test this hypothesis, we monitored LOFC activity using GCaMP6f fiber photometry in mice receiving acute injections of ethanol and in those trained in operant ethanol self-administration. In naive mice, an acute injection of ethanol caused a dose-dependent decrease in the frequency but not amplitude of GCaMP6f transients. In operant studies, mice were trained on an fixed-ratio one schedule of reinforcement and were then separated into CIE or Air groups. Following four cycles of CIE exposure, GCaMP6f activity was recorded during self-administration of alcohol, alcohol + quinine (aversive), or alcohol + sucrose (appetitive) solutions. LOFC neurons showed discrete patterns of activity surrounding lever presses and surrounding drinking bouts. Responding for and consumption of ethanol was greatly enhanced by CIE exposure, was aversion resistant, and was associated with signs of LOFC hyperexcitability. CIE exposed mice also showed altered patterns of LOFC activity that varied with the ethanol solution consumed.Significance Statement: These studies demonstrate that, in intact mice, LOFC neurons are acutely inhibited by alcohol and become hyperexcitable following CIE exposure. Furthermore, we report that unique patterns of LOFC neuronal activity occur during alcohol seeking and consumption. Interestingly, these patterns of activity are modulated following CIE exposure, particularly when the rewarding properties of the alcohol solution are modulated through adulterations with quinine (aversive) or sucrose (appetitive). Conversely, control animals have considerably more stable patterns of LOFC activity following exposure to air. These unique effects of CIE exposure on LOFC activity likely contribute to the development of excessive alcohol consumption and behavioral inflexibility that are associated with the onset of alcohol dependence.
Beyond Getting Rid of Stupid Stuff in the Electronic Health Record (Beyond-GROSS): Protocol for a User-Centered, Mixed-Method Intervention to Improve the Electronic Health Record System.

Background: Up to 60% of health care providers experience one or more symptoms of burnout. Perceived clinician burden resulting in burnout arises from factors such as electronic health record (EHR) usability or lack thereof, perceived loss of autonomy, and documentation burden leading to less clinical time with patients. Burnout can have detrimental effects on health care quality and contributes to increased medical errors, decreased patient satisfaction, substance use, workforce attrition, and suicide. Objective: This project aims to improve the user-centered design of the EHR by obtaining direct input from clinicians about deficiencies. Fixing identified deficiencies via user-centered design has the potential to improve usability, thereby increasing satisfaction by reducing EHR-induced burnout. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data will be obtained from clinician EHR users. The input will be received through a form built in a REDCap database via a link embedded in the home page of the EHR. The REDCap data will be analyzed in 2 main dimensions, based on nature of the input, what section of the EHR is affected, and what is required to fix the issue(s). Identified issues will be escalated to relevant stakeholders responsible for rectifying the problems identified. Data analysis, project evaluation, and lessons learned from the evaluation will be incorporated in a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) manner every 4-6 weeks. Results: The pilot phase of the study began in October 2020 in the Gastroenterology Division at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, NY, which includes 39 physicians and 15 nurses. The pilot is expected to run over a 4-6–month period. The results of the REDCap data analysis will be reported within 1 month of completing the pilot phase. We will analyze the nature of requests received and the impact of rectified issues on the clinician EHR user. We expect that the results will reveal which sections of the EHR have the highest deficiencies while also highlighting issues about workflow difficulties. Perceived impact of the project on provider engagement, patient safety, and workflow efficiency will also be captured by evaluation survey and other qualitative methods where possible. Conclusions: The project aims to improve user-centered design of the EHR by soliciting direct input from clinician EHR users. The ultimate goal is to improve efficiency, reduce EHR inefficiencies with the possibility of improving staff engagement, and lessen EHR-induced clinician burnout. Our project implementation includes using informatics expertise to achieve the desired state of a learning health system as recommended by the National Academy of Medicine as we facilitate feedback loops and rapid cycles of improvement.
COVID-19 and the Drug Overdose Crisis: Uncovering the Deadliest Months in the United States, January‒July 2020

Objectives. To determine the magnitude of increases in monthly drug-related overdose mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Methods. We leveraged provisional records from the ...
Simulated fire regimes favor oak and pine but affect carbon stocks in mixed oak forests in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Abstract Changes in fire regimes can alter patterns of species dominance and forest carbon stocks by amplifying or diminishing fire vegetation feedbacks. The combined influence of 19th century forest harvesting followed by 20th century fire exclusion has caused a shift in species composition in fire adapted mixed oak forests toward fire sensitive shade tolerant hardwoods that reduce flammability of surface fuels. Prescribed fire is a tool with potential to restore fire adapted oak forests with a history of fire exclusion, but outcomes from the practice of prescribed burning are unclear due to a paucity of studies that apply prescribed fire over multi decadal periods. Here we use simulation modeling to investigate how variation in fire frequencies and period of burning influence simulated dominance of oak, pine, and other hardwoods and forest carbon stocks in Pennsylvania mixed oak forests. Single burns had little effect on basal area (BA) or species composition while more frequent burning increased pine BA, especially when pine was initially abundant. Simulated fire regimes with fire intervals of 10–20 years applied for multiple decades maintained high oak BA and reduced fire sensitive hardwoods. Average BA at the end the 60-year simulation period was inversely related to fire frequency and live carbon stocks decreased with more frequent burning. Simulated fire effects suggest implementation of prescribed fire regimes over periods of decades may be a feasible strategy to maintain or increase oak and pine dominance where management objectives are compatible with fire use. Moreover, several simulated fire regimes seem capable of maintaining BA of fire adapted species and maintaining or increasing overall live C stocks providing a range of management options for maintaining oak and pine, and live carbon stocks using prescribed fire.
How Does the "Cookie-Bite" Audiogram Shape Perform in Discriminating Genetic Hearing Loss in Adults?

“Cookie-bite” or U-shaped audiograms—specifically, those showing midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss (HL)—are traditionally taught to be associated with genetic HL; however, their utility as a ...
Preliminary effects of low-intensity focused ultrasound treatment program for cancer-related neuropathic pain.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) therapy in the management of cancer-related neuropathic pain (CNP). Methods: A retrospective review with 22 patients with CNP treated with LIFU therapy (frequency 3 Hz, 3 W/cm2, pulse mode duty cycle 50%) was conducted. Results: Out of the 22 patients, 15 had CNP secondary to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Compared with baseline, there was a significant reduction in numeric pain rating scale (p < 0.001). Additionally, 76.5% of patients (n = 13) were considered to be responders to LIFU therapy. Conclusion: LIFU therapy may be a viable treatment modality in the management of CNP, specifically chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, with a minimal side effect profile. Larger, prospective studies with a structured protocol are necessary.
The impact of clonal diversity and mosaicism on haematopoietic function in Fanconi anaemia

Recent advances have facilitated studies of the clonal architecture of the aging haematopoietic system, and provided clues to the mechanisms underlying the origins of hematopoietic malignancy. Much less is known about the clonal composition of haematopoiesis and its impact in bone marrow failure (BMF) disorders, including Fanconi anaemia (FA). Understanding clonality in FA is likely to inform both the marked predisposition to cancer and the rapid erosion of regenerative reserve seen with this disease. This may also hold broader lessons for haematopoietic stem cell biology in other diseases with a clonal restriction. In this review, we focus on the conceptual basis and available tools to study clonality, and highlight insights in somatic mosaicism and malignant evolution in FA in the context of haematopoietic failure and gene therapy.
Constraints on the Structure of Fibrils Formed by a Racemic Mixture of Amyloid-β Peptides from Solid-State NMR, Electron Microscopy, and Theory

Previous studies have shown that racemic mixtures of 40- and 42-residue amyloid-β peptides (d,l-Aβ40 and d,l-Aβ42) form amyloid fibrils with accelerated kinetics and enhanced stability relative to their homochiral counterparts (l-Aβ40 and l-Aβ42), suggesting a "chiral inactivation" approach to abrogating the neurotoxicity of Aβ oligomers (Aβ-CI). Here we report a structural study of d,l-Aβ40 fibrils, using electron microscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Two- and three-dimensional solid-state NMR spectra indicate molecular conformations in d,l-Aβ40 fibrils that resemble those in known l-Aβ40 fibril structures. However, quantitative measurements of 13C-13C and 15N-13C distances in selectively labeled d,l-Aβ40 fibril samples indicate a qualitatively different supramolecular structure. While cross-β structures in mature l-Aβ40 fibrils are comprised of in-register, parallel β-sheets, our data indicate antiparallel β-sheets in d,l-Aβ40 fibrils, with alternation of d and l molecules along the fibril growth direction, i.e., antiparallel "rippled sheet" structures. The solid-state NMR data suggest the coexistence of d,l-Aβ40 fibril polymorphs with three different registries of intermolecular hydrogen bonds within the antiparallel rippled sheets. DFT calculations support an energetic preference for antiparallel alignments of the β-strand segments identified by solid-state NMR. These results provide insight into the structural basis for Aβ-CI and establish the importance of rippled sheets in self-assembly of full-length, naturally occurring amyloidogenic peptides.
SU-E-T-656: Quantitative Analysis of Proton Boron Fusion Therapy (PBFT) in Various Conditions

Purpose: Three alpha particles are concomitant of proton boron interaction, which can be used in radiotherapy applications. We performed simulation studies to determine the effectiveness of proton boron fusion therapy (PBFT) under various conditions. Methods: Boron uptake regions (BURs) of various widths and densities were implemented in Monte Carlo n-particle extended (MCNPX) simulation code. The effect of proton beam energy was considered for different BURs. Four simulation scenarios were designed to verify the effectiveness of integrated boost that was observed in the proton boron reaction. In these simulations, the effect of proton beam energy was determined for different physical conditions, such as size, location, and boron concentration. Results: Proton dose amplification was confirmed for all proton beam energies considered (< 96.62%). Based on the simulation results for different physical conditions, the threshold for the range in which proton dose amplification occurred was estimated as 0.3 cm. Effective proton boron reaction requires the boron concentration to be equal to or greater than 14.4 mg/g. Conclusion: We established the effects of the PBFT with various conditions by using Monte Carlo simulation. The results of our research can be used for providing a PBFT dose database.
Constructing Competence: Formulating Standards of Legal Competence to Make Medical Decisions

A young woman twenty-six weeks pregnant and dying from cancer lies heavily sedated and attached to a respirator. Is she competent to determine what life-prolonging measures should be taken, or to consent to an emergency cesarean section that may save her fetus but will probably shorten her life? A quadriplegic young man wishes to end his life and requests a court order granting immunity for the medical staff who will unhook his respirator and administer sedatives. Is he competent to choose to die? A person's competence will have implications for whether he or she is allowed to decide what type of treatment, if any, is received; whether treatment is discontinued, including life-sustaining treatment; and whether medical professionals implementing decisions are exposed to civil or criminal liability.
A limit theorem for the Shannon capacities of odd cycles. II

It follows from a construction for independent sets in the powers of odd cycles given in the predecessor of this paper that the limit as k goes to infinity of k + 1/2 - Θ(C 2k+1 ) is zero, where 6(G) is the Shannon capacity of a graph G. This paper contains a shorter proof of this limit theorem that is based on an 'expansion process' introduced in an older paper of L. Baumert, R. McEliece, E. Rodemich, H. Rumsey, R. Stanley and H. Taylor. We also refute a conjecture from that paper, using ideas from the predecessor of this paper.
Response: One Market We Do Not Need

The author responds to Alexander Volokh’s, Prison Vouchers, 160 U. Pa. L. Rev. 779 (2012). She argues that Professor Volokh is right that American prisons are considered to be “low quality,” and that they suffer from “high violence rates, bad medical care, [and] overuse of highly punitive measures like administrative segregation . . . .” But his proposed solution — a system of “prison vouchers” that would permit prisoners to choose their facilities and thus create a market for prison services — would provide only an illusion of choice. Even worse, such a system runs the risk of strengthening the self-interested forces that drive our overgrown system of incarceration. Just when it seems the United States may finally be turning away from its over-reliance on incarceration, Professor Volokh's "prison vouchers" proposal runs the risk of kick-starting prison growth.
Symptomatic Intestinal Disaccharidase Deficiency in Alcoholics

Lactase and sucrase activities were measured in jejunal biopsies from a group of alcoholic and nonalcoholic men of similar nutritional status, consisting of American blacks, and whites of northern European origin. When measured within 10 days of alcohol withdrawal, sucrase activity was decreased by 33% in the alcoholics. Lactase activity was less than 1 U per g in 100% of the black and 20% of the white alcoholics as compared to 50% of the black and none of the white control subjects. Lactase activity was virtually absent in 45% of the black alcoholics. A second jejunal biopsy after an additional 2-week period of alcohol abstinence exhibited significant secondary increases in the activities of both disaccharidases. Oral administration of lactose (1 g per kg of body weight) resulted in significantly lower blood glucose concentration and higher incidence of adverse effects in alcoholics, mainly among the blacks. Although data from larger populations are needed to confirm our observations, these findings suggest that chronic alcohol ingestion decreases intestinal disaccharidase activities even in the absence of overt malnutrition. The decrease in enzyme activity produced by alcohol is associated with increased morbidity after lactose administration.
Anti-GPIIb/IIIa drugs: current strategies and future directions.

Three platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists have been approved as adjunctive therapy to decrease the ischemic complications of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and/or unstable angina. They include the chimeric murine/human monoclonal antibody 7E3 Fab fragment (abciximab), a cyclic heptapeptide based on the KGD amino acid sequence (eptifibatide), and a nonpeptide mimetic of the RGD sequence (tirofiban). The agents are very effective in providing both short-term and long-term benefit after PCI, and one agent has also demonstrated a progressive long-term mortality benefit. The long-term mortality benefit is highly cost-effective when compared to other medical interventions. The benefits in treating unstable angina without PCI are less dramatic and robust, with some agents providing no benefit. Severe thrombocytopenia is an infrequent, but potentially serious, complication of therapy with all of the agents. The risk of major bleeding is increased only minimally or not at all by the drugs. Currently, a number of new indications for GPIIb/IIIa antagonists are under study, including acute myocardial infarction (± thrombolytic therapy, ± PCI) and stroke. In addition to their impact on improving outcome, the results of clinical trials with these agents provide crucial insights into the contribution of GPIIb/IIIa-mediated platelet function in the pathophysiology of thrombotic vascular disease.
Genome-Wide Analysis of Gene-Gene and Gene-Environment Interactions Using Closed-Form Wald Tests

Despite the successful discovery of hundreds of variants for complex human traits using genome-wide association studies, the degree to which genes and environmental risk factors jointly affect disease risk is largely unknown. One obstacle toward this goal is that the computational effort required for testing gene-gene and gene-environment interactions is enormous. As a result, numerous computationally efficient tests were recently proposed. However, the validity of these methods often relies on unrealistic assumptions such as additive main effects, main effects at only one variable, no linkage disequilibrium between the two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a pair or gene-environment independence. Here, we derive closed-form and consistent estimates for interaction parameters and propose to use Wald tests for testing interactions. The Wald tests are asymptotically equivalent to the likelihood ratio tests (LRTs), largely considered to be the gold standard tests but generally too computationally demanding for genome-wide interaction analysis. Simulation studies show that the proposed Wald tests have very similar performances with the LRTs but are much more computationally efficient. Applying the proposed tests to a genome-wide study of multiple sclerosis, we identify interactions within the major histocompatibility complex region. In this application, we find that (1) focusing on pairs where both SNPs are marginally significant leads to more significant interactions when compared to focusing on pairs where at least one SNP is marginally significant; and (2) parsimonious parameterization of interaction effects might decrease, rather than increase, statistical power.
A Resveratrol and Polyphenol Preparation Suppresses Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress Response to a High-Fat, High-Carbohydrate Meal

A supplement containing resveratrol and muscadine polyphenols prior to a high-fat high-carbohydrate meal significantly reduced multiple indices of oxidative and inflammatory stress.
Coloring quasi-line graphs

A graph G is a quasi-line graph if for every vertex v, the set of neighbors of v can be expressed as the union of two cliques. The class of quasi-line graphs is a proper superset of the class of line graphs. A theorem of Shannon's implies that if G is a line graph, then it can be properly colored using no more than 3-2 ω(G) colors, where ω(G) is the size of the largest clique in G. In this article, we extend this result to all quasi-line graphs. We also show that this bound is tight. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory This research was conducted while the author served as a Clay Mathematics Institute Research Fellow.
Effect of Warm-up Passages in Measuring Reading Rate:

Summary.-Will one or more warm-up exercises prior to a 1-min. measure of reading rate improve reliability? Students in Grades 4, 6, and 8 read four 1-min. passages. One-fourth of each sample took the passages in each of four orders. Interpassage correlations were significantly greater for later pairs of consecutive passages than for the first-administered pairs in Grades 4 and 8 but not in Grade 6. The findings offered some support to the claim that a warm-up exercise enhances consecutive-passage reliability of rate scores but inconsistencies among the samples prevented definitive conclusions. Measures of reading rate, such as the one provided in the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Brown, Nelson, & Denny, 1973) and in the Nelson Reading Skills Test (Hanna, Schell, & Schreiner, 1977), are often obtained in time intervals as short as 1 min. Examinees who do not understand the necessity to begin promptly thus may perform less well on this highly speeded kind of test than do other equally able readers who understand the need for speed. Therefore obtained scores may reflect more than reading rate; they may be contaminated to some extent by irrelevant behaviors such as beginning promptly and working rapidly. Some highly speeded measures, e.g., Clerical Speed and Accuracy of the Differential Aptitudes Tests (Bennett, Seashore, & Wesman, 1973), use a warm-up exercise to establish a response set in examinees that speed is of the essence. This presumably minimizes individual differences on irrelevant traits such as beginning tasks promptly and working rapidly and thereby produces scores that are purer with respect to the relevant dimension of speed with which examinees are able to respond. This study was prompted by the question of whether one or more warm-up exercises prior to a 1-min. measure of reading rate would improve accuracy of measurement. Would practice rate passages increase students' test-wiseness, as advocated by Millman, Bishop, and Ebel ( 1965), and increase the generalizability of the scores? It was reasoned that, if warm-up exercises had this result, then correlations between words-per-minute scores on consecutively administered passages would be greater for subsequent pairs of passages than for the first pair. If so, the resulting scores would be purer with regard to reading rate than if the warm-up passages were not used
Limits of Performance of a Tailless Fighter in the Presence of Saturation

In this paper, the authors apply l1-based methods to the pitch control of a Tail-less Advanced Fighter Aircraft (TAFA) developed by Boeing St. Louis, to directly and accurately assess the fundamental trade-offs between performance limits and saturation position and rate constraints. Linear input-output and nonlinear state-space design techniques are utilized. Although the nonlinear methods are computationally significantly more complex, they offer flexibility to accurately address performance in the presence of broader classes of constraints such as nonsymmetric saturation levels.
Multiple residues in the extracellular domains of CCR3 are critical for coreceptor activity.

Abstract Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) binds to the human CD4 (hCD4) and a coreceptor to enter permissive human cells. The chemokine receptors, hCCR5 and hCXCR4, are the primary coreceptors used by HIV-1 isolates in vivo, however, hCCR3 has been implicated as a coreceptor for HIV infection of the central nervous system. To determine the domains and amino acids important in hCCR3 coreceptor activity, chimeras between the permissive hCCR3 and the non-permissive rhesus macaque CCR3 (RhCCR3) were constructed and assessed for coreceptor activity for two R5 strains of HIV-1 (YU-2 and ADA) and one R5X4 strain (89.6). Even though three extracellular domains of CCR3 participated in coreceptor activity for the two R5 isolates (ECD-1, ECD-3, and ECD-4), for the R5X4 isolate, ECD-4, and to a lesser extent ECD-3, were critical for coreceptor activity. In addition, residues 13 and 20 in ECD-1, residue 179 in ECD-3, and residue in 271 in ECD-4 of CCR3 were identified for HIV-1 envelope-mediated entry for R5 isolates. In contrast, all the residues on ECD-4 appeared necessary for coreceptor activity for HIV-189.6. Therefore, multiple residues on multiple extracellular domains of hCCR3 are important for coreceptor activity for HIV-1.
Automated quantification of pulmonary emphysema from computed tomography scans: comparison of variation and correlation of common measures in a large cohort

The purpose of this work was to retrospectively investigate the variation of standard indices of pulmonary emphysema from helical computed tomographic (CT) scans as related to inspiration differences over a 1 year interval and determine the strength of the relationship between these measures in a large cohort. 626 patients that had 2 scans taken at an interval of 9 months to 15 months (μ: 381 days, σ: 31 days) were selected for this work. All scans were acquired at a 1.25mm slice thickness using a low dose protocol. For each scan, the emphysema index (EI), fractal dimension (FD), mean lung density (MLD), and 15th percentile of the histogram (HIST) were computed. The absolute and relative changes for each measure were computed and the empirical 95% confidence interval was reported both in non-normalized and normalized scales. Spearman correlation coefficients are computed between the relative change in each measure and relative change in inspiration between each scan-pair, as well as between each pair-wise combination of the four measures. EI varied on a range of -10.5 to 10.5 on a non-normalized scale and -15 to 15 on a normalized scale, with FD and MLD showing slightly larger but comparable spreads, and HIST having a much larger variation. MLD was found to show the strongest correlation to inspiration change (r=0.85, p<0.001), and EI, FD, and HIST to have moderately strong correlation (r = 0.61-0.74, p<0.001). Finally, HIST showed very strong correlation to EI (r = 0.92, p<0.001), while FD showed the least strong relationship to EI (r = 0.82, p<0.001). This work shows that emphysema index and fractal dimension have the least variability overall of the commonly used measures of emphysema and that they offer the most unique quantification of emphysema relative to each other.
Measurement-based editing of diffuse albedo with consistent interreflections

We present a novel measurement-based method for editing the albedo of diffuse surfaces with consistent interreflections in a photograph of a scene under natural lighting. Key to our method is a novel technique for decomposing a photograph of a scene in several images that encode how much of the observed radiance has interacted a specified number of times with the target diffuse surface. Altering the albedo of the target area is then simply a weighted sum of the decomposed components. We estimate the interaction components by recursively applying the light transport operator and formulate the resulting radiance in each recursion as a linear expression in terms of the relevant interaction components. Our method only requires a camera-projector pair, and the number of required measurements per scene is linearly proportional to the decomposition degree for a single target area. Our method does not impose restrictions on the lighting or on the material properties in the unaltered part of the scene. Furthermore, we extend our method to accommodate editing of the albedo in multiple target areas with consistent interreflections and we introduce a prediction model for reducing the acquisition cost. We demonstrate our method on a variety of scenes and validate the accuracy on both synthetic and real examples.
A magneto-optic imaging probe for continuous magnetic field profiles

Magnetic field profiles are measured continuously in space and time using Faraday rotation in magneto‐optic glass. A line focused laser beam which undergoes Faraday rotation within the glass element is imaged in one dimension through a polarizer and onto a streak camera. The system is described and used to characterize an exploding diamagnetic plasma cavity.
State Parity Laws and Access to Treatment for Substance Use Disorder in the United States: Implications for Federal Parity Legislation

Importance The passage of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the 2010 Affordable Care Act incorporated parity for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment into federal legislation. However, prior research provides us with scant evidence as to whether federal parity legislation will hold the potential for improving access to SUD treatment. Objective To examine the effect of state-level SUD parity laws on state-aggregate SUD treatment rates and to shed light on the impact of the recent federal SUD parity legislation. Design, Setting, and Participants We conducted a quasi-experimental study using a 2-way (state and year) fixed-effect method. We included all known specialty SUD treatment facilities in the United States and examined treatment rates from October 1, 2000, through March 31, 2008. Our main source of data was the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, which provides facility-level information on specialty SUD treatment. Interventions State-level SUD parity laws during the study period. Main Outcomes and Measures State-aggregate SUD treatment rates in (1) all specialty SUD treatment facilities and (2) specialty SUD treatment facilities accepting private insurance. Results The implementation of any SUD parity law increased the treatment rate by 9% ( P P = .02) in facilities accepting private insurance. Full parity and parity only if SUD coverage is offered increased the SUD treatment rate by 13% ( P = .02) and 8% ( P = .04), respectively, in all facilities and by 21% ( P = .03) and 10% ( P = .04), respectively, in facilities accepting private insurance. Conclusions and Relevance We found a positive effect of the implementation of state SUD parity legislation on access to specialty SUD treatment. Furthermore, the positive association is more pronounced in states with more comprehensive parity laws. Our findings suggest that federal parity legislation holds the potential to improve access to SUD treatment.
Outpatient Continuous Parenteral Inotropic Therapy as Bridge to Transplantation in Children With Advanced Heart Failure

Abstract Background Advanced heart failure in children is associated with high morbidity and mortality and is often refractory to standard medical therapy. The purpose of this study was to review our institutional experience with the use of outpatient parenteral inotropic therapy (PIT) for advanced chronic heart failure in children. Methods and Results We reviewed the medical records of all patients treated with PIT as outpatients. Seven patients received outpatient PIT from 2/99 to 1/05 (mean age was 14.6 years ± 3.7). Median duration of therapy was 10 weeks (range 4–84 weeks). The mean number of emergency department visits per patient was greater before starting PIT than after starting PIT (2.3 ± 1.8 versus 1.1 ± 2.2, P P P Conclusion Outpatient continuous parenteral inotropic therapy may serve as a successful bridge to cardiac transplantation in selected pediatric outpatients.
Tropical Intraseasonal Oscilations Appearing in a GFDL General Circulation Model and FGGE Data. Part I: Phase Propagation

Abstract Space-time spectrum and filter analyses are made of the tropical intraseasonal osciliations in the northern summer appearing in a GFDL 30-wavenumber spectral general circulation model and the FGGE IIIB data. The model exhibits major and minor wavenumber 1 spectral peaks in the equatorial zonal velocity at eastward moving periods of 40–50 and 25–30 day oscillations are associated with a similar spatial structure. In particular, both of these oscillations exhibit a phase reversal between the 200 and 800 mb zonal velocities. They propagate eastward with a node near the dateline and an antinode in the western hemisphere. Their wave patterns take the form of an eastward-moving Kelvin mode near the equator and an eastward-moving Rossby mode away from the equator. Both spectral peaks are also detectable in the model's precipitation, corresponding to those in the observed outgoing longwave radiation. The 40–50 and 25–30 day precipitation oscillations are in phase with the vertical velocity and propagate ...
Writing Someone Else's Diary

I sit by his side and read him passages from his own life. They fill him with surprise. Everyone should keep someone else's diary; I sometimes suspect you of keeping mine. (Oscar Wilde [5 October 1...
Xenopus cytochrome b561: molecular confirmation of a general five transmembrane structure and developmental regulation at the gastrula stage.

ABSTRACT Cytochrome b561 transports electrons by a novel transmembrane vectoral pathway. Using the human cytochrome b561 cDNA probe, the Xenopus cytochrome b561 cDNA has been isolated and sequenced. A specific ATG was unambiguously identified because the Xenopus sequence has a stop codon 7 amino acids upstream from the initiation site ATG. The 741-bp open reading frame encodes a 247-amino-acid protein. The position of the initiating ATG site in Xenopus cytochrome b561 is consistent with the first ATG site in human and mouse proteins, and with the second of two ATG sites in the bovine protein. This result indicates that a five transmembrane domain model best represents the conformation of cytochrome b561 in membranes. Cytochrome b561 plays a fundamental role in the physiology of all neuroendocrine tissues, and the results presented here show that Xenopus cytochrome b561 mRNA is specific to neuroendocrine tissues and is developmentally regulated at the gastrula stage.
Tunneling of Hydrogen in Surface Diffusion on the Tungsten (110) Plane

The diffusion coefficients of $^{1}\mathrm{H}$ and $^{2}\mathrm{H}$ on the (110) plane of W have been measured by the field-emission fluctuation method. Below 140 K $^{1}\mathrm{H}$ diffusion corresponds to pure tunneling. The barrier is shown to be 0.21 eV high and \ensuremath{\sim} 0.5 \AA{} wide, and probably corresponds to passage over the saddle formed by two nearest-neighbor W atoms. Evidence for a phase transition at 89 K (at $\ensuremath{\theta}=0.6$) is also presented.
Mapping genre fields

This workshop will introduce the components and methodology of genre field analysis and engage participants in mapping genre fields in which they are currently immersed.
Precise indoor localization systems: Alternative methods for sub-sampling UWB pulses and associated error sources

A millimeter precision indoor ultra-wideband (UWB) localization system has been developed for high accuracy indoor localization applications including surgical navigation. We use two competing sub-sampling techniques in our system: the first technique exploits a small frequency shift of the transmitter clock and the receiver clock; the second technique uses a delay line chip at the receiver side. We discuss the limitations of these sub-sampling systems in the context of achieving sub-mm precision performance for biomedical applications requiring high accuracy indoor localization.
Use of resorbable collagen dural substitutes in the presence of cranial and spinal infections-report of 3 cases.

Abstract Background Various allografts, xenografts, and synthetic materials are used in neurosurgery to repair dural defects when primary suture closure is impossible and autologous grafts are inadequate or inaccessible. When used in contaminated or infected wounds, however, nonautologous grafts promote chronic colonization and recurring infection. Recently, several resorbable dural substitutes that are broken down biologically and replaced by autologous tissues have been introduced. These include type 1 collagen matrix (DuraGen, Integra LifeSciences, Plainsboro, NJ) and a collagen implant derived from bovine skin (Durepair, Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, Minn), which can be applied as sutured or sutureless onlay grafts. The safety and efficacy of this material has not been reported in the setting of wound contamination or infection. Case Descriptions We present 3 cases in which these new collagen dural substitutes were successfully used to close dural defects in the presence of wound contamination and infection. In one case, a lumbar dural defect was closed with DuraGen in the presence of a subdural empyema. In the second case, maceration of the cranial dura mater from extensive compound depressed skull fractures was repaired with DuraGen in the presence of a subgaleal abscess. In the third case, a large dural defect in the setting of frontal osteomyelitis was successfully closed with sutured Durepair. In all cases appropriate antibiotic coverage was provided for the infection, and the tissues healed with excellent biologic incorporation and without evidence of further infection. Conclusions Resorbable collagen dural grafts appear to be effective alternatives to either primary dural closure or the use of autologous-harvested tissue grafts in the setting of grossly contaminated or infected wounds.
PCR amplification using a single cell allows the detection of the mtDNA lesion associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Abstract The development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which routinely can amplify specific target sequences more than one billion-fold, has made it possible to produce readily detectable amounts of DNA from a few copies of very rare sequences. We have begun a study of mitochondrial myopathies with the purpose of developing a diagnostic test using PCR to amplify appropriate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) target sequences from small amounts of sample. We have developed a 15-min procedure for recovering mtDNA which can be amplified by PCR to detectable levels, from as little as 30 μl of blood or 5 μl of amniotic fluid. We have microscopically selected HL60 cells, and have found that 28 cycles of PCR allows the detection of mitochondrial targets from a single cell. Using micromanipulation techniques, we utilized this approach to analyze mtDNA from a single cell isolated from an 8-cell stage mouse blastocyst. Finally, a single cell cultured from a patient with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, a mitochondrial myopathy, provided sufficient mtDNA for detection of the single base substitution that leads to loss of a restriction endonuclease recognition site for Sfa NI and generation of a site for Mae III.
Child maltreatment and termination of parental rights: Can behavioral research help solomon?

Termination of parental rights is one of the most important decisions that the legal system undertakes regarding children's lives. Judges who are called upon to make this decision have increasingly looked to mental health professionals to provide scientific information to aid them in decision making. This paper argues that caution needs to be exercised as professionals approach this task, given the limitations of our current theory and data base. Using cognitive theory, places where personal or societal biases can enter evaluations and testimony are highlighted. Behavioral research, it is argued, has much to offer, given its emphasis on a functional approach to understanding behavior. The ways in which behaviorally oriented assessment can be of use to the legal system around this question are outlined and a research agenda for the field is offered.
An empirical evaluation of the argon diffusion geometry in muscovite

Abstract The temperature-time significance of 40Ar/39Ar muscovite ages is difficult to evaluate quantitatively because of ambiguities in the choice of an appropriate model diffusion geometry, the effective diffusion dimension and large uncertainties in experimentally determined diffusion parameters. Laser 40Ar/39Ar studies of natural 40Ar concentration gradients suggest that argon loss in muscovite occurs primarily via cylindrical volume diffusion, commonly with an effective diffusion dimension equal to the crystal diameter. The present study tests the cylinder model geometry and the control of physical grain size on the effective diffusion dimension by measuring the anisotropy of a natural40Ar diffusion gradient, parallel and perpendicular to 001, in a single euhedral muscovite phenocryst. The new data, combined with previous studies, clearly indicate loss of 40Ar via cylindrical volume diffusion and strongly suggest that loss of 40Ar across the 001 sheets (slab diffusion geometry) is minimal in undeformed crystals.
Synergy: Some Notes of Ruth Benedict'

Excerpts from 1941 lectures by Ruth Benedict call attention to the correlation between social structure and character structure, especially aggressiveness. Social orders characterized by high or low synergy, by a syphon or a funnel system of economic distribution, are compared for their different capacities to support or humiliate the individual, render him secure or anxious, or to minimize or maximize aggression. Religion, an institution in which people apotheosize the cooperation or aggression their cultural life arouses, differs between societies with high and low synergy.