cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural homology of human, bovine, and porcine milk lactoferrins: evidence for shared antigenic determinants.

ABSTRACT: Although some degree of structural homology has been demonstrated among lactoferrins of different species, other reports suggest that these proteins are immunologically distinct. Human, bovine, and porcine lactoferrins were purified to homogeneity from colostral whey by affinity chromatography on immobilized single-stranded DNA. Evidence for shared antigenic determinants among human, bovine, and porcine lactoferrins was demonstrated by Ouchterlony immunodiffusion and immuno “dot” blots using whole antisera and purified Ig directed against each species of lactoferrin. There was no evidence that human transferrin was recognized by any of the lactoferrin-specific antisera evaluated. The degree of cross-reactivity between the lactoferrins and their trypsin digestion products was also evaluated after SDS-PAGE by immunoblotting. These data demonstrate that human, porcine, and bovine lactoferrins share common antigenic determinants and are likely to be more homologous in tertiary structures than suggested previously. Thus, investigations of human or bovine lactoferrin metabolism in infants that are based upon immunologic methods alone should be conducted cautiously in those cases where the presence of both human and bovine lactoferrin is suspected.
Near-surface compositional modifications of ternary alloys during sputtering at elevated temperatures☆

Abstract The complex interplay of several physical processes in producing changes in the surface and subsurface compositions of ternary alloys during high-temperature ion bombardment has been theoretically investigated, using a phenomenological model that includes Gibbsian adsorption, preferential sputtering, displacement mixing, radiation-enhanced diffusion, and radiation-induced segregation. Sample calculations were performed for an Fe-Cr-Ni solid solution, representative of an austenitic stainless steel, under 3 keV Ne+ sputtering. The effects of the diverse phenomena involved were examined in details as a function of time and temperature. The present model calculations provide useful information about ion-beam modifications, which is important in the areas of sputter depth-profiling of multicomponent materials and elevated-temperature ion implantation.
Chemical heterogeneity of the living human brain: a proton MR spectroscopy study on the effects of sex, age, and brain region.

Abstract Brain chemistry was compared between 19 male and female normal volunteers in the age group 19–31 years, across six brain regions and nine metabolites using in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The relative concentrations of N-acetyl aspartate, choline, glutamate, glutamine, GABA, inositol, glucose, and lactate were measured relative to creatine within 8-cm3 brain voxels. These measurements were performed in six brain regions: thalamus and cingulate, insula, sensorimotor , dorsolateral prefrontal , and orbital frontal cortices in the left hemisphere. Total metabolite concentration was highest in prefrontal regions (28% higher in orbital frontal cortex and 18.7% higher in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared with insula and thalamus, P
Evaluation of a rat tracheal epithelial cell culture assay system to identify respiratory carcinogens.

To evaluate a short-term epithelial cell assay system to detect respiratory carcinogens, primary cultures of rat tracheal epithelial cells were exposed to a series of 17 compounds and scored for morphologically transformed cell colonies 28 days later. The test compounds included known carcinogens and noncarcinogens in volatile or liquid form. Tracheal epithelial cells were isolate from F344 rats, plated onto collagen-coated dishes, and exposed to the test compounds on day 1 for 24 hours. At day 30 the cultures were fixed, stained, and scored for colonies having a density greater than 1,300 cells/mm{sup 2}. With standardized protocols, such colonies are very infrequent in media and solvent control cultures. Concentration levels for each chemical were chosen over a range from nontoxic to toxic levels. Highly positive compounds in this assay included benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(l)aceanthrylene, 3-methylcholanthrene, and formaldehyde. Compounds which were negative in this assay included pyrene, benzo(e)pyrene, and 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide. Examining the concordance of in vitro results with whole animal carcinogenesis studies revealed an accuracy of 88% with one false-positive and one false-negative compound. The results of these studies indicate that the rat tracheal epithelial cell assay may be useful in identifying potential respiratory carcinogens in our environment.
Localization of absorbers in scattering media by use of frequency-domain measurements of time-dependent photon migration

Frequency-domain studies of time-dependent light propagation in tissuelike phantoms that contain optical heterogeneities are described. Specifically the phase shift and amplitude modulation of reemergent light were measured when illuminated by an amplitude-modulated light source. Changes in the phase angle and the extent of modulation revealed the presence of a light-absorbing object. Furthermore the magnitude and direction of these changes were sensitive to the absorber depth and the light modulation frequency in a manner that could be used to infer the location of the heterogeneity. These data suggest the feasibility of optical imaging by frequency-domain methods.
Meeting highlights: 47th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology.

The following studies were presented at the 47th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta, Ga, March 29–April 1, 1998. ### TIMI 14 (Final Results) Presenter: Elliott Antman, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. The study: A prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of combined therapy with thrombolytic agents and the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist abciximab in patients with AMI. A total of 681 patients were randomized to standard front-loaded tPA (100 mg), streptokinase (500 000, 750 000, 1 250 000, or 1 500 000 U) plus abciximab, low-dose tPA (20, 35, 50, or 65 mg) plus abciximab, or abciximab alone. In the streptokinase groups, lytic therapy was administered as a 30- to 50-minute infusion. In the tPA groups, lytic therapy was administered as either a bolus, a bolus plus a 30-minute infusion, or a bolus plus a 60-minute infusion. The primary end point of the study was the incidence of TIMI grade 3 flow at 90-minute angiography. The results: The incidence of TIMI 3 flow at 90 minutes was 58% in the tPA-alone arm (n=146), 32% in the abciximab-alone arm (n=31), and 42% (n=36), 39% (n=49), 47% (n=47), and 80% (n=5; discontinued because of excessive bleeding and excess mortality) in the respective streptokinase-plus-abciximab groups. In the tPA-plus-abciximab groups, the incidence of TIMI 3 flow at 90 minutes was 53% (20-mg bolus; n=36), 38% (35-mg bolus; n=40), 62% (15-mg bolus, 20-mg infusion over 30 minutes; n=50), 54% (50-mg bolus; n=28), 61% (15-mg bolus, 35-mg infusion over 30 minutes; n=46), 79% (15-mg bolus, 35-mg infusion over 60 minutes; n=34), and 71% (15-mg bolus, 50-mg infusion over 60 minutes; n=31). A group that combined tPA (15-mg bolus, 35-mg infusion over 60 minutes) with higher-dose abciximab (and reduced heparin) had a 90-minute TIMI 3 flow rate of 69% (n=36). The …
Effect of typicality of ad hoc categories in lexical access

Ten normal young, ten normal older, and ten aphasic individuals participated in an online category verification task where primes were ad hoc category labels while targets were typical examples, atypical examples, nonmembers or nonwords. Results indicated that for all the three groups, accuracy and reaction time of atypical items was significantly worse than all other response types (p<.001). Additionally, the accuracy and reaction time of aphasic patients were significantly worse on all items compared to young and older adults (p<.001). The results of the present experiment illustrate typicality effect in ad hoc categories.
The postgenomic era and complex disease

The articles published in this special issue of Pharmacogenomics culminate from a multidisciplinary group of researchers, demonstrating that data integration and multidisciplinary collaboration can yield novel approaches for handling large, complex data sets and reveal new insight and relevance to a complex illness such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Data were generated from a 2-day clinical study of CFS and comprised clinical, genomic and genetic information. The data, including over 500 clinical and epidemiological measurements and 20,000 gene expression measurements, was shared with 20 investigators who were challenged with integrating the data to delineate the heterogeneity of the study population and identify biological correlates of CFS. As Suzanne Vernon and William Reeves describe in their overview of the Wichita (KS, USA) CFS project [1], diseases such as CFS are a major challenge to public health and to investigators trying to understand the causes of such disorders. One of the great hopes for studying complex disorders is that the new tools of human genomics will help in dissecting the multiple factors underlying individual responses to those factors. Genetic and biochemical individuality was recognized long ago, and this editorial discusses pharmacogenomics in the historical context of the development of human genetics. Just over 100 years ago, the first step was taken in understanding the genetic basis of human disorders. Archibald Garrod, then a young physician working at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, UK, observed a patient with urine that turned black on exposure to air. This was not a new observation, as was clear from the monograph that Garrod published in
The immobilization of wapiti with etorphine hydrochloride.

Data and observations on the use of Etorphine hydrochloride (M99) (in combination with Acepromazine) and its antagonist M50-50 for immobilization of captive elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) are presented. The study period covers 3 years during which 8 adult elk were immobilized 52 times with M99. The average dose of M99 administered for each immobilization was 2.2 mg per 100 kg body weight. Reversal with M50-50 was effected by an average dose of 4.4 mg per 100 kg body weight. Induction averaged 5.9 minutes while reversal took an average of 4.6 minutes.
Model for the Particle Size, Overpotential, and Strain Dependence of Phase Transition Pathways in Storage Electrodes: Application to Nanoscale Olivines

In the drive toward improved electrical energy storage for applications ranging from wireless devices to electric vehicles to grid stabilization, nanoscale materials are of growing interest as ion storage electrodes. Nanoscale olivines based on LiMPO4 (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni) are one class of compounds for which recent experimental developments reveal very different phase transition and solid-solubility behavior compared to larger particles. The olivines may be an exemplar for generalized behavior for which metastable crystalline or amorphous phases are produced under the large driving forces incurred during electrochemical reactions. Here we use a diffuse-interface thermodynamic model to assess the conditions under which amorphous phase transitions may occur in nanoscale LiMPO4 particles. There are three central conclusions. First, assuming as with similar solids that the amorphous phase has the lower surface energy, it is found that an initially crystalline phase may undergo amorphization during cycling whe...
Diurnal rhythm of mitosis in rabbit corneal epithelium

Incorporation of 3H-thymidine by rabbit corneal epithelium during the course of a one-hour incubation in vitro varies according to the time of day, suggesting a diurnal rhythm of mitotic activity. Adrenergic decentralization of the cornea does not affect this rhythm. Furthermore, there is no diurnal variation in the basal or sympathomimetically-stimulated cyclic AMP production by freshly excised rabbit corneas, incubated in vitro. Therefore, the diurnal rhythm of corneal epithelial mitosis in the rabbit is not paced by catecholamines.
AUSTRALOIDS, NEGROIDS, AND NEGROES: A SUGGESTED EXPLANATION FOR THEIR DISJUNCT DISTRIBUTIONS

ABSTRACT Australoids, Negroids (Negrito), and Negroes display perplexing disjunct distributions for which there is no historical explanation. Australoids and Negroids alternate with one another in areas from Africa to Australia but maintain their racial distinctions throughout. A careful examination of their distributions, plus examination of their cultures, shows a striking ecological correlation with Negroids always in the rainforests and Australoids clinging to the open country. Two populations of so-called full sized negroes, African and Oceanic, are physically very similar but are unrevokably distinct in origin. Mixture is strongly indicated in their origins, one element clearly being Negroid. It is suggested that there are physical and geographic reasons for the other element being an early Causcasoid (Cro-Magnon) type, this type being in positions to mix with the Negroid type at an early date in the two places, and only in those two, where Negroes appeared.
Effect of the Residual Heat Release of the Nuclear Waste Stored in an Unsaturated Zone on Radionuclide Release

Over time, nuclear waste packages disposed in geological repositories are expected to fail gradually due to localized and general corrosion. As a result, water will have access to the nuclear waste and radionuclides will be transported to the accessible environment by ground water. In this paper we consider a serious failure case in which penetrations at the top and bottom of the waste package will allow water to flow through it (flow-through model). We introduce a new conceptual model that examines the effect of the residual heat release of the nuclear waste stored in an unsaturated environment on radionuclide release. This model predicts that the evaporation of water at the hotter sheltered areas (from condensate and seepage) inside the failed waste package will create a capillary pressure gradient that drives water to wick with its dissolved and suspended contents toward these relict areas, effectively preventing radionuclides release. We drive a dimensionless group to estimate the minimum length of the sheltered areas required to sequester radionuclides and prevent their release. The implications of this model on the performance of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain or unsaturated zone geological repositories in general are explored.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Inner-City Environments and Mitigation of Cockroach Allergen

d a r e ( t d Exposure and sensitization to indoor allergens are important risk factors for asthma.While the role of indoor allergen exposure in the development of allergic sensitization and the onset of asthma remains a subject of controversy, there is strong evidence that indoor allergens play a key role in exacerbation of existing asthma, particularly in sensitized individuals. In this supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Crocker and coworkers advocate for a multi-trigger, multicomponent, home-based environmental intervention for the reduction of morbidity in asthmatic children and adolescents. This is appropriate guidance when dealing with the general population; however, inner-city asthmatic children, especially those who are sensitive and exposed to cockroach allergen, may experience greater benefit from a highly effective, single-component intervention that specifically targets cockroach allergen. Asthma morbidity is a significant public health concern, especially in inner-city populations. The National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS) demonstrated that asthma morbidity was strongly associated with the presence of a positive skin test and high allergen exposure. In particular, sensitization and exposure to ockroach allergen was shown to be one of the major risk actors for severe asthma. Asthma morbidity was highest in children with both a positive skin-test response to cockroach and a high exposure (defined as 8 units of cockroach allergen per gram of dust [U/g]) in the bedroom. Detectable levels of cockoach allergen were found in 85% of the bedrooms tested, nd 50% of the bedrooms had levels 2 U/g, the proosed threshold for allergic sensitization. Correspondngly, a study of children in Boston showed that cockoach allergen exposure in the family room was a redictor of two or more episodes of wheeze in the first ear of life. The risk of asthma from exposure to cockroach allergen is not limited to children. Indeed, a recent study showed that sensitization to cockroach allergenwas
A genetic algorithm based multi-dimensional data association algorithm for multi-sensor--multi-target tracking

The central problem in multitarget-multisensor tracking is the data association problem of partitioning the observations into tracks and false alarms so that an accurate estimate of true tracks can be found. The data association problem is formed as an N-dimensional (N-D) assignment problem, which is a state-of-the-art method and is NP-hard for N >= 3 sensor scans. This paper proposes a new genetic algorithm for solving the above problem which is typically encountered in the application of target tracking. The data association capacities of the genetic algorithm have been studied in different environments, and the results are presented.
Developmental dyslexia: an update.

Dyslexia is the most common and carefully studied of the learning disabilities in school-age children. It is characterized by a marked impairment in the development of reading skills, and affects a large number of people (5–10%). Reading difficulties may also arise from poor vision, emotional problems, decreased hearing ability, and behavioral disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD). Although many areas of the brain are involved in reading, analysis of postmortem brain specimens by a variety of imaging techniques most consistently suggests that deficiency within a specific component of the language system—the phonologic module—in the temporo-parietal-occipital brain region underlies dyslexia. It is a highly familial and heritable disorder with susceptibility loci on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 15 and 18. Recently, four candidate genes (KIAA 0319, DYX1C1, DCDC2 and ROBO1) are shown to be associated with dyslexia. Although some of these results are controversial because of the genetic heterogeneity of the disorder, the available evidence suggests that dyslexia could be due to the abnormal migration and maturation of neurons during early development. Interestingly, in spite of genetic heterogeneity, the pathology appears to involve common phonological coding deficits. The condition can be managed by a highly structured educational training exercise.
Mycoplasmacidal action of normal tissue extracts.

WHILE studying experimental infection with various mycoplasmas, we found that concentrated homogenates of infected animal tissues sometimes yielded negative cultures, while higher dilutions of the same homogenates were positive. Further examination revealed the presence of a mycoplasmacidal factor in extracts of normal tissues, which appears during incubation at 37° C and kills the organisms by lysis.
Nuclear overexpression of p53 protein does not correlate with gene mutation in primary peritoneal carcinoma

Primary peritoneal carcinoma (PPC) is an aggressive malignancy of the female coelomic epithelium. Previously we had analyzed 29 cases of PPC for p53 protein accumulation by immunocytochemistry. P53 was overexpressed in 83% (24 of 29) of PPCs, including 21 tumors with diffuse intense staining of 100% of tumor nuclei and three additional tumors with significant focal staining. Here we report results of a mutational analysis on the entire p53 coding sequence of 22 of these cases (comprising 18 p53-positive and four negative tumors), using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and direct sequence analysis. Only 2 of 22 (9%) patients harbored a p53 mutation (which, interestingly, were identical and consisted of a codon 259 Asp → His exchange), despite diffuse overexpression of high levels of nuclear p53 protein in most cases. This result indicates that (1) the abnormal p53 expression is usually not caused by mutations of the p53 gene in PPC and (2) PPC is part of a growing number of tumors that share evidence of p53 dysfunction in the absence of mutation.
A self-consistent polarization potential model for describing excess electrons interacting with water clusters.

A new polarization model potential for describing the interaction of an excess electron with water clusters is presented. This model, which allows for self-consistent electron–water and water–water polarization, including dispersion interactions between the excess electron and the water monomers, gives electron binding energies in excellent agreement with high-level ab initio calculations for both surface-bound and cavity-bound states of (H2O)n– clusters. By contrast, model potentials that do not allow for a self-consistent treatment of electron–water and water–water polarization are less successful at predicting the relative stability of surface-bound and cavity-bound excess electron states.
Limitation on two-photon temporal correlation

We show theoretically that two-photon correlation time for a biphoton, a pair of entangled photons generated in the process of parametric down conversion, is limited by the inverse frequency width of the single-photon spectrum, which is limited by the dispersion of the nonlinear material used for the pair generation. The dispersion is determined by the transparency window of the material, which provides the ultimate limitation for the two-photon correlation time. We discuss several experimental approaches enabling realization of such a limiting case.
An Occupational Therapy Protocol for Assessing Infants and Toddlers Who Fail to Thrive

Children who "fail to thrive" are frequently referred to occupational therapists. Yet there is no organized protocol that therapists could use to assess these children. This paper reviews criteria that distinguish organic from nonorganic "failure to thrive" and describes the occupational therapist's contribution to the evaluation process. An occupational therapy protocol is presented to facilitate a thorough assessment, emphasizing feeding issues and caretaker-child interaction.
Creating the Appearance of Consensus in Mende Political Discourse

The language and logic of consensus as a discourse and political strategy are analyzed with the case of a Mende lineage meeting in Sierra Leone. A methodology of collecting local, private, and skeptical exegesis of public discourse leads to theoretical questions related to the use of language and secrecy to orchestrate a public consensual order while concealing alternative orders of opposition.
Bipolar disorder in a preschooler: long-term ramifications of an early diagnosis and treatment.

Joe is a 12-year-old boy living in a Boston suburb with his mother, the younger of his two brothers (the older being a half-brother), his mother’s boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s son. He has been in treatment at a Boston hospital since the age of 6 years, receiving both medications and therapy for bipolar disorder and separation anxiety disorder. He has been tried on different medications and has experienced significant side effects (namely, weight gain and other metabolic problems). In July 2005, between fifth and six grades, he was transferred to his current psychiatrist, FTM (a PGY-4 resident), for psychotherapy and medication management. At the time of this report (spring 2006), Joe is a sixthgrade student who has been in some form of psychiatric treatment since the age of 3 years. His mother reports that he was doing well until that time, when his younger brother was born. Joe was first referred for psychiatric treatment when his mother found him “jumping on the head of his younger newborn brother.” The patient was referred for play therapy at a community mental health center, where he received therapy for a couple of years. After starting in kindergarten, he began to have outbursts at school and was re-
Sentinel lymph node versus axillary lymph node dissection for early-stage breast carcinoma: a comparison using a utility-adjusted number needed to treat analysis.

BACKGROUND The current study was performed to compare the value of sentinel lymph node dissection (SND) and axillary lymph node dissection (AND) in improving the utility-adjusted survival for early-stage breast carcinoma patients. METHODS A number needed to treat (NNT) analysis was used to compare SND with AND. In the NNT equation, 1/(SSND − SAND), S is the 5-year utility-adjusted survival. A literature review was performed to estimate 1) the prevalence of axillary lymph node disease for early-stage breast carcinoma, 2) the sensitivity and specificity of SND and AND, 3) the 5-year overall survival as a function of axillary lymph node involvement, 4) the risk of arm lymphedema as a function of the intervention performed, and 5) the utility correction (Uc; impairment of quality of life) for arm lymphedema. RESULTS The NNT method of analysis favored SND over nearly the entire range of parameters with a sign change to a negative value occurring only as Uc becomes very close to unity. This suggests the superiority of the SND approach. Only when there is minimal loss of utility does AND become favored and then only minimally. CONCLUSIONS Compared with AND, SND improves the utility-adjusted survival in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma. This finding is quite robust and was found to remain constant over a range of values for utility and lymph node prevalence. Cancer 2003;97:359–66. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11081
Simultaneous automated submicrodetermination of glucose, blood urea nitrogen, and uric acid on 25 microliters of capillary blood

Abstract The current technique is both accurate and precise. The usefulness on pediatric cases is obvious. Further use of Unopette systems in screening programs, particularly those currently using the Unopette in a program of diabetic detection, could triple the value of the program with very nominal increase in costs. Most programs find the greatest expenditure of funds and effort are placed in the area of collection and reports. These functions of a program are nearly the same for one test or three. The increase in laboratory expense is incidental for the usual routine laboratory.
Slow algae, fast fungi: exceptionally high nucleotide substitution rate differences between lichenized fungi Omphalina and their symbiotic green algae Coccomyxa

Omphalina basidiolichens are obligate mutualistic associations of a fungus of the genus Omphalina (the exhabitant) and a unicellular green alga of the genus Coccomyxa (the inhabitant). It has been suggested that symbiotic inhabitants have a lower rate of genetic change compared to exhabitants because the latter are more exposed to abiotic environmental variation and competition from other organisms. In order to test this hypothesis we compared substitution rates in the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) among fungal species with rates among their respective algal symbionts. To ensure valid comparisons, only taxon pairs (12) with a common evolutionary history were used. On average, substitution rates in the ITS1 portion of Omphalina pairs were 27.5 times higher than rates in the corresponding pairs of Coccomyxa since divergence from their respective ancestor at the base of the Omphalina/Coccomyxa lineage. Substitution rates in the 5.8S and the ITS2 portions were 2.4 and 18.0 times higher, respectively. The highest rate difference (43.0) was found in the ITS1 region. These are, to our knowledge, the highest differences of substitution rates reported for symbiotic organisms. We conclude that the Omphalina model system conforms to the proposed hypothesis of lower substitution rates in the inhabitant, but that the mode of transmission of the inhabitant (vertical versus horizontal) could be a prevailing factor in the regulation of unequal rates of nucleotide substitution between co-evolving symbionts. Our phylogenetic study of Coccomyxa revealed three main lineages within this genus, corresponding to free-living Coccomyxa, individuals isolated from basidiolichens Omphalina and Coccomyxa isolated from ascolichens belonging to the Peltigerales.
The Effects of Age and Diabetes Mellitus on Nerve Function

Objective: This project evaluated the association of age and vibratory thresholds (assessment modality of large sensory nerve fibers) in subjects with and without diabetes mellitus. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Medical Research Institute of Delaware. Participants: Individuals with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic control subjects. Measurements: Vibratory thresholds were examined in four age groups (ie, <45 yrs, 45–54 yrs, 55–64 yrs, ≥65 yrs). The independent association of age, duration of diabetes, height, gender, glycemic control, and smoking history were analyzed in terms of their relationship to vibratory thresholds. Main Results: Vibratory thresholds increased with age for both control and diabetic subjects. Comparing controls with diabetic subjects in the same age categorizes revealed significant differences for vibratory thresholds only in the ≥65 year old age group. Modeling with vibratory thresholds as the dependent variable showed that age and male gender were independently associated with vibratory thresholds for the controls and explained the majority of the variability (R2 = 0.79). Age, duration of diabetes, and height were independently associated with vibratory thresholds for the diabetic subjects but explained much less of the variability (R2 = 0.39). Conclusion: The results suggest an acceleration of the natural aging process for large sensory nerve fiber function in diabetic subjects. Thus, young diabetic subjects may be at a risk of lower extremity complications as a result of injuries similar to that of older non-diabetic individuals.
Hyperglycemia during induction therapy is associated with poorer survival in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Objectives To investigate whether children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) who have development of hyperglycemia during induction may have worse relapse-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates. Study design A review of 167 children diagnosed with ALL between 1999 to 2002 at Texas Children's Hospital was performed. Blood glucose concentrations during induction therapy were reviewed; patients were assigned to 3 groups: euglycemia (blood glucose 200 mg/dL). RFS and OS among groups were compared by use of Kaplan-Meier and Cox-proportional hazard analyses, adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results The median follow-up in survivors was 6 years; there were 18 deaths and 36 relapses. Overt hyperglycemia was seen in 56 (34%) patients. Patients with overt hyperglycemia had poorer RFS (68% ± [SE] 6.7 vs 85% ± 3.6, P = .025) and OS (74% ± 6.1 vs 96% ± 1.9, P P = .01) greater risk for death, independent of risk group and type of steroid. Conclusions Overt hyperglycemia may be an independent predictor of survival in children with ALL.
Barriers and Facilitators of a Healthy Lifestyle Among Persons with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness: Perspectives of Community Mental Health Providers

The investigators used qualitative methods to examine perspectives of community mental health professionals on obesity management in adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Data from 5 focus groups were subjected to constant comparison analysis and grounded theory. Results showed that influences at individual, social, community, and societal levels impact development and maintenance of obesity. Mental health providers desired a collaborative relationship with health promotion program staff. They also believed that frequent, group-based health promotion should include participation incentives for adults with SMI and should occur over durations of at least 6-months to achieve improved health outcomes for this population.
Alterations of nasal mucociliary clearance in association with HIV infection and the effect of guaifenesin therapy.

Objectives: To determine if human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with a prolonged mucociliary clearance time (MCT) and to evaluate the effect of guaifenesin on MCT in HIV+ patients. Study Design: A cross-sectional study comparing HIV+ and HIV- volunteers followed by a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of HIV+ patients before and after guaifenesin treatment. Methods: Twenty-five HIV+ patients and 29 HIV- controls were enrolled and MCT was measured using the saccharin method. A separate group of 20 HIV+ patients participated in the second arm of the study and underwent saccharin testing before and after a 3-week course of guaifenesin or placebo. All study participants completed a medical history questionnaire, a sinonasal symptom (SNOT-16) survey, and were examined with both anterior rhinoscopy and rigid nasal endoscopy. Results: There was a significant difference (P .05). The HIV+ group had a higher SNOT-16 score compared to HIV- controls (21.1 vs. 7.4, P <.001). Guaifenesin therapy in HIV+ patients led to a significant improvement in the SNOT-16 score (P <.05). Conclusions: Compared to HIV- controls, HIV+ patients have a prolonged MCT and more sinonasal symptoms as indicated by a higher SNOT-16 score. Guaifenesin therapy was associated with improved SNOT-16 scores, although there was not a detectable improvement in MCT. Use of guaifenesin in HIV+ patients with sinonasal disease may lead to improved patient perception of quality of life.
Spontaneous spatial symmetry breaking in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates

We discuss the general features of spontaneous spatial symmetry breaking in trapped two-component alkali-metal--atom Bose-Einstein condensates, and give qualitative guidelines for when it will occur. We further show that the Hartree-Fock equations admit symmetry-broken solutions for as few as two trapped atoms, discussing the particular system of one ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ atom and one ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atom. It is also shown that the critical value of the interspecies scattering length for a mixture of Na and Rb in an isotropic trap depends strongly on the number of atoms in a manner not described by the standard Thomas-Fermi phase separation condition.
Chiromancy in Mediaeval Latin Manuscripts

IN Latin the earliest separate treatment of chiromancy as a distinct subject, art or science, appears to have been in translation from the Arabic albeit somewhat dubiously ascribed to Adelard of Bath' and John of Seville2 of the twelfth century. In both cases Aristotle is sometimes named as the original author. Of Latin manuscripts containing chiromantic texts none seems older than the thirteenth century. The printed catalogue so dates Vienna 2525, whose content is medical except for fols. 58r-59r: "Tres sunt naturales linee omnis chiros . . . / ... haec in iuventute." Sloane 2030 of the British Museum, a quarto on membrane, is dated in the long-hand catalogue of Sloane manuscripts as twelfth to thirteenth century, but is a collection of many MSS an(d fragments, some of which may even date back to the eleventh century, while several seem of the fourteenth. At fols. 125r-126v is the chiromancy ascribed to Aristotle, with the incipit, "Linie naturales tres sunt in planitie omnis ciros . . . " with two large figures of hands on 125v and 126r, and fol. 127 left blank. Meanwhile the text has ended on 126v, . . . Hoc signum alicubi de pedum amissione. De oscullis alias agitur. Explicit." The late professor Haskins did not accept the ascription to Adelard of the translation of a text on chiromancy, writing:
Extent, multiplying, and proportionality rules in children's judgments of area.

Abstract The study examined children's use of multiplying and proportionality rules in judgments of area. In two experiments children judged the area of rectangles. Seven-year-olds used linear extent as an index of area. Eight- and nine-year-olds replaced the extent rule with the height × width rule. In a third experiment 8-through 11-year-olds were presented with a rectangle and a horizontal line representing the width of a second rectangle. Children were asked to indicate the height that would make the second rectangle equal in area to the first. The correct response was proportional to the product of the ratio of the widths of the two rectangles and the height of the first rectangle. Graphical and statistical analyses indicated that children applied the ratio rule to these judgments. The implications for Piaget's theory of cognitive development were discussed.
Effect of Speaker Gaze on Word Learning in Fragile X Syndrome: A Comparison With Nonsyndromic Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose This study examined use of a speaker's direction of gaze during word learning by boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), boys with nonsyndromic autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and typically developing (TD) boys. Method A fast-mapping task with follow-in and discrepant labeling conditions was administered. We expected that the use of speaker gaze would lead to participants selecting as the referent of the novel label the object to which they attended in follow-in trials and the object to which the examiner attended in the discrepant labeling trials. Participants were school-aged boys with FXS (n = 18) or ASD (n = 18) matched on age, intelligence quotient, and nonverbal cognition and younger TD boys (n = 18) matched on nonverbal cognition. Results All groups performed above chance in both conditions, although the TD boys performed closest to the expected pattern. Boys with FXS performed better during follow-in than in discrepant label trials, whereas TD boys and boys with ASD did equally well in both tr...
Fitness and freezing: vector biology and human health

Microbes transmitted to mammals by arthropods contend with many factors that could impede survival. To survive, host fitness with infection must outweigh costs. In this issue of the JCI, Neelakanta et al. demonstrate that ticks infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum show enhanced fitness against freezing injury owing to induced expression of tick “antifreeze glycoprotein.” This allows A. phagocytophilum to successfully propagate and survive to cause disease in nonnatural hosts, such as humans. How an intracellular microbe with a small genome subverts host cell function for survival provides insight into the control of some cellular function programs and underscores how vector biology can have an impact on human health.
Multiple Bonding Involving Late Transition Metals. The Case of a Silver-Oxo Complex.

Calculations at a variety of theoretical levels were carried out on putative silver−oxo species, models of an experimentally proposed complex. Additionally, statistical analysis of metal−oxo bond lengths involving the early and middle transition series metals was carried out. This work casts doubt on the formulation of a reported complex as a diamagnetic, Ag(III)−oxo species. Two major points of contention are found. First, a cationic Ag(III)−oxo species is predicted to have a triplet ground state, with the singlet lying much higher in energy. Even the triplet would be an unstable species, due to its very low predicted bond energy. Second, the experimentally determined “silver−oxo” bond length of 1.59 A is very short in comparison to values obtained from calculation and estimated from the crystal structures of other metal−oxo species.
Perverse Effects of an External Ratings‐Related Capital Adequacy System

It has recently been proposed that banks should be allowed to hold less capital against loans to borrowers who have received a favourable rating by an approved external credit assessment institution (ECAI), or rating agency. But a plausible model of rating agency behaviour shows that this strategy could have perverse results, actually increasing the risk of deposit insurance outlays. First, there is an issue of signalling, whereby low-ability borrowers may alter their behaviour so as to secure a lower capital requirement for their borrowing. Second, the establishment of a regulatory cut-off may actually reduce the amount of risk information made available by raters. Besides, the credibility of rating agencies may not be damaged by neglect of the risk of unusual systemic shocks, though it is these that cause the major bank failure costs. (J.E.L.:E53, G21, G33)
Optical design of a CubeSat-compatible imaging spectrometer

We describe a fast, uniform, low-polarization imaging spectrometer and telescope system that can be integrated in a 6U CubeSat. The spectral range is 350-1700 nm, with 5.7 nm sampling. The telescope and spectrometer operate at F/1.8. At 100 mm focal length, the telescope is the highest resolution form that can fit in the CubeSat frame without deployable mirrors. The field of view is 10° with 600 cross-track pixels. The spectrometer is designed for the new Teledyne CHROMA detector array with 30μm pixel size for maximizing throughput. The primary intended applications are coastal ocean and snow cover monitoring.
Arousal and imitation of aggression

Forty boys, aged 5 and 6 years, viewed either an aggressive or nonaggressive film and were tested for imitation of the behavior displayed in the film. On the next day, before being tested again for imitation of the film, half the subjects in each film condition engaged in arousing play with the experimenter, and half in quiet play. According to the prediction, those aroused on the second day displayed more imitative behavior than those not aroused, regardless of which film they had seen. The results are discussed in terms of arousal as a performance variable in social learning.
Room-temperature QWIP detection at 10 μm

Liquid-nitrogen cooled quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIP) provide high response and high-speed detection of 10-micron radiation. When processed with high doping, QWIP's have been found to provide sensitive detection for long-wavelength infrared radiation at elevated temperatures. Experimental measurements using both direct and heterodyne detection show excellent performance at 10 microns and at temperatures up to 300 degrees-Kelvin. This high temperature operation allows applications in small or power limited platforms and significantly reduces the cost of the infrared detection system. Although only single element detectors have been evaluated, linear and 2-D arrays are expected to have similar performance characteristics. Experimental results for both video and heterodyne detection will be presented.
View angle dependence of cloud optical thicknesses retrieved by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

[1] This study examines whether cloud inhomogeneity influences the view angle dependence of MODIS cloud optical thickness retrieval results. The degree of cloud inhomogeneity is characterized through the local gradient in 11 μm brightness temperature. The analysis of liquid phase clouds in a 1 year long global data set of Collection 4 MODIS data reveals that while optical thickness retrievals give remarkably consistent results for all view directions if clouds are homogeneous, they give much higher τ-values for oblique views than for overhead views if clouds are inhomogeneous and the Sun is fairly oblique. The mean optical thickness retrieved for the most inhomogeneous third of cloudy pixels is more than 40% higher for oblique views than for overhead views if the solar zenith angle exceeds 60°. After considering a variety of possible scenarios, the paper concludes that the most likely reason for the increase lies in three-dimensional radiative interactions that are not considered in current, one-dimensional retrieval algorithms. Namely, the radiative effect of cloud sides viewed at oblique angles seems to contribute most to the enhanced optical thickness values. The results presented here will help understand and estimate cloud retrieval uncertainties related to cloud inhomogeneity and may eventually help correct for the observed view angle-dependent biases.
Embryonic stem cell-derived neural precursor grafts for treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy

Complex partial seizures arising from mesial temporal lobe structures are a defining feature of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). For many TLE patients, there is an initial traumatic head injury that is the precipitating cause of epilepsy. Severe TLE can be associated with neuropathological changes, including hippocampal sclerosis, neurodegeneration in the dentate gyrus, and extensive reorganization of hippocampal circuits. Learning disabilities and psychiatric conditions may also occur in patients with severe TLE for whom conventional anti-epileptic drugs are ineffective. Novel treatments are needed to limit or repair neuronal damage, particularly to hippocampus and related limbic regions in severe TLE and to suppress temporal lobe seizures. A promising therapeutic strategy may be to restore inhibition of dentate gyrus granule neurons by means of cell grafts of embryonic stem cell-derived GABAergic neuron precursors. “Proof-of-concept” studies show that human and mouse embryonic stem cell-derived neural precursors can survive, migrate, and integrate into the brains of rodents in different experimental models of TLE. In addition, studies have shown that hippocampal grafts of cell lines engineered to release GABA or other anticonvulsant molecules can suppress seizures. Furthermore, transplants of fetal GABAergic progenitors from the mouse or human brain have also been shown to suppress the development of seizures. Here, we review these relevant studies and highlight areas of future research directed toward producing embryonic stem cell-derived GABAergic interneurons for cell-based therapies for treating TLE.
Trapping Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase

Recent findings indicate that a major mechanism by which poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors kill cancer cells is by trapping PARP1 and PARP2 to the sites of DNA damage. The PARP enzyme-inhibitor complex "locks" onto damaged DNA and prevents DNA repair, replication, and transcription, leading to cell death. Several clinical-stage PARP inhibitors, including veliparib, rucaparib, olaparib, niraparib, and talazoparib, have been evaluated for their PARP-trapping activity. Although they display similar capacity to inhibit PARP catalytic activity, their relative abilities to trap PARP differ by several orders of magnitude, with the ability to trap PARP closely correlating with each drug's ability to kill cancer cells. In this article, we review the available data on molecular interactions between these clinical-stage PARP inhibitors and PARP proteins, and discuss how their biologic differences might be explained by the trapping mechanism. We also discuss how to use the PARP-trapping mechanism to guide the development of PARP inhibitors as a new class of cancer therapy, both for single-agent and combination treatments.
Momentum-dependent low energy losses in angle-resolved core level photoemission spectra

Abstract Angle-resolved photoemission spectra of the Sb 4d and Bi 5d core levels show spectral features split-off in energy by Δ E ∼170–320 meV from the main peaks. The appearance of a second component in the Bi 5d spectrum was previously assigned to a surface related binding energy shift. However, use of synchrotron radiation ranging from 30 to 150 eV and angular scans along different symmetry directions of the (1 1 1) surface Brillouin zone show that the split-off peaks disperse as a function of the electron momentum k . Additionally, the peak width and intensity of the split-off peak oscillates between final state symmetry points. Since the d 5/2 and d 3/2 components show the same features symmetry arguments rule out crystal-field effects as the source of the observed peak splitting. The data can be explained by a k -dependent loss function consisting of several characteristic direct and indirect low energy interband transitions excited in various parts of the bulk Brillouin zone.