cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DNA Aptamer-Based Activatable Probes for Photoacoustic Imaging in Living Mice

DNA aptamers are a powerful class of molecules for sensing targets, but have been limited when applied to imaging in living animals because most aptamer probes are fluorescence-based, which limits imaging penetration depth. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging emerged as an alternative to MRI and X-ray tomography in biomedical imaging, due to its ability to afford high-resolution images at depths in the cm range. Despite its promise, PA imaging is limited by a lack of strategies to design selective and activatable probes for targets. To overcome this limitation, we report design and demonstration of PA probes based on DNA aptamers that can hybridize to DNA strands conjugated to a near-infrared fluorophore/quencher pair (IRDye 800CW/IRDye QC-1) with efficient contact quenching. Binding of the target triggered a release of the DNA strand with the quencher and thus relief of the contact quenching, resulting in a change of the PA signal ratio at 780/725 nm. Using thrombin as a model, a relationship was established betw...
In-hospital infective endocarditis following transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a cross-sectional study of the National Inpatient Sample database in the USA.

Summary Background While the utilization of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with severe aortic stenosis has been increasing, in-hospital infective endocarditis (IE) following TAVR has not been well described. Aim To identify in-hospital IE following TAVR. Methods All patients who underwent TAVR between 2012 and 2014 were identified using the National Inpatient Sample database. Multi-variate logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of in-hospital IE after TAVR. Findings Of the 41,025 patients who received TAVR, 120 patients (0.3%) developed in-hospital IE. Viridans group streptococci (20.8%) was the most frequent causative organism for in-hospital IE, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (16.7%) and enterococci (8.3%). Patients who developed in-hospital IE after TAVR had significantly higher rates of death (20.8% vs 4.1%, P Conclusion IE occurred in 0.3% of patients after TAVR during the same hospitalization, resulting in higher rates of adverse outcomes including mortality. Patients with younger age, a history of drug abuse or HIV infection are at greater risk of in-hospital IE following TAVR, and would benefit from vigilant preventive measures perioperatively.
Gendered Mechanisms Underlie the Relation Between Pubertal Timing and Adult Depressive Symptoms.

Abstract Purpose Sex differences in depression emerge in adolescence, in concert with puberty. Off-time maturers, especially early-maturing girls, report more depressive symptoms than their same-sex peers. Recent evidence shows that these pubertal timing effects persist into adulthood, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Methods Participants were 318 young adults (201 women, 117 men) who rated their depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks and provided valid retrospective reports of their pubertal timing. Controlling for age, regression analyses were used to examine effects of sex, linear and quadratic pubertal timing, and their interaction on depressive symptoms. (Non)linear indirect effects analyses were used to identify psychological mechanisms (self-perceived masculinity, positive affect, and negative affect) underlying persisting effects, separately for men and women. Results For young men, pubertal timing effects on depression were linear, with later maturers reporting more symptoms. Effects were partially explained by late maturers' low self-perceptions of masculinity and low positive affect. For young women, pubertal timing effects on depression were quadratic, with early and late maturers reporting more symptoms than on-time maturers. Effects were partially explained by off-time maturers' high negative affect. Conclusions Pubertal timing is related to adult depressive symptoms, but the nature of the link and the mechanisms underlying it differ for men and women. This increases understanding of the long-term consequences of gendered adolescent experiences and may have downstream implications for individualized prevention and intervention through gender-related individual differences that contribute to heterogeneity in depression etiology.
Echocardiographic Identification of the Intra-Atrial Baffle Following Surgery in Transposition of the Great Vessels

Seven patients with dextro-transposition of the great vessels were studied by echocardiography before and following Mustard’s operation. Post-operatively, linear echoes could be demonstrated in the atrial chambers behind the pulmonary artery and/or in the vicinity of the tricuspid valve in all. In general, they exhibited a sharp anterior excursion followed by flattening in diastole and rapid posterior movement in systole. The maximum amplitude of motion ranged from 5 to 17 mm. Ultrasonic contrast studies performed by injecting indocyanine green via catheters placed on either side of the intra-atrial baffle may have potential in evaluating its long-term functional status.
Control of Microorganisms

The control of microorganisms is one of the major concerns of food microbiologists. This control is needed to retard or prevent spoilage and to reduce or eliminate health hazards associated with foods. The control of contaminants also aids in obtaining better results when specific microorganisms or enzymes are used in food processing.
Mediating factors that influence the technology integration practices of teacher educators

Abstract While the United States federal government and the main teacher education accreditation organization push for the inclusion of technology in teacher education across the curriculum, little attention has been paid to understanding the technology competencies and behaviors of teacher educators. This study explores this gap by investigating what direct and mediating factors predict technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in teacher educators, and how these factors along with TPACK influence the adoption of the ISTE technology standards in teacher education. The findings from a sample of 806 teacher educators across the United States indicate that there are significant differences in both TPACK and ISTE standard alignment across subject areas, and that experience levels positively predict ISTE standard alignment to a small degree. More significant, however, is the finding that technology knowledge and institutional support are important mediators, predicting TPACK and ISTE standard alignment. Additionally, TPACK strongly predicts ISTE standard alignment. These findings suggest that institutions should provide targeted support to teacher educators across disciplines and should adopt coherent technology frameworks for their programs.
Local Cancer Recurrence: The Realities, Challenges, and Opportunities for New Therapies

Locoregional recurrence negatively impacts both long-term survival and quality of life for several malignancies. For appropriate-risk patients with an isolated, resectable, local recurrence, surgery represents the only potentially curative therapy. However, oncologic outcomes remain inferior for patients with locally recurrent disease even after macroscopically complete resection. Unfortunately, these operations are often extensive, with significant perioperative morbidity and mortality. This review highlights selected malignancies (mesothelioma, sarcoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, rectal cancer, and peritoneal surface malignancies) in which surgical resection is a key treatment modality and local recurrence plays a significant role in overall oncologic outcome with regard to survival and quality of life. For each type of cancer, the current, state-of-the-art treatment strategies and their outcomes are assessed. The need for additional therapeutic options is presented given the limitations of the current standard therapies. New and emerging treatment modalities, including polymer films and nanoparticles, are highlighted as potential future solutions for both prevention and treatment of locally recurrent cancers. Finally, the authors identify additional clinical and research opportunities and propose future research strategies based on the various patterns of local recurrence among the different cancers.
The Evolution of Interplanetary Shocks Propagating into the Very Local Interstellar Medium

Voyager 1 has made in situ measurements of the very local interstellar medium (VLISM) since August 2012 and its magnetometer and plasma wave instrument have detected several VLISM shock waves. Interplanetary shocks propagate through the supersonic solar wind and then through the inner heliosheath after colliding with the heliospheric termination shock (HTS). Interplanetary shock waves are transmitted partially across the heliopause (HP) into the VLISM and partially reflected back into the inner heliosheath. Previous studies showed that the in situ VLISM shocks observed by Voyager 1 were very weak and remarkably broad and had properties different than shocks inside the heliosphere [1, 2]. We model the first VLISM shock observed by Voyager 1 and compare with observations. We calculate the collisionality of the thermal particles and the dissipation terms such as heat conduction and viscosity that are associated with Coulomb collisions in the VLISM. The VLISM is collisional with respect to the thermal plasma and the VLISM shock structure is determined by thermal proton-proton collisions, which is the dominant thermal collisional term. The VLISM shock is controlled by particle collisions and not mediated by PUIs since they do not introduce significant dissipation through the shock transition. As a result, we find that the extremely broadness of the weak VLISM shock is due to the thermal collisionality.
Increased Utilization of American Administrative Databases and Large-scale Clinical Registries in Orthopaedic Research, 1996 to 2016.

Introduction Administrative databases and clinical registries provide large sample sizes that characterize specific outcomes and trends over time in orthopaedic surgery. Methods A literature review of all English-language orthopaedic surgery journals was conducted. All publications from 1996 to 2016 were reviewed for the utilization of an administrative database or clinical registry. We performed a linear regression with logarithmic transformation to identify trends in database utilization. Results Eight hundred forty-nine publications used a database from 1996 to 2016. Each year, 35.3% more database publications are reported than the previous year (95% confidence interval, 30.0 to 40.7), from zero articles in 1996 to 286 in 2016. The ratio of database research publications to overall orthopaedic publications increased from zero in 1996 to 2% in 2016. The most commonly used databases included the National Inpatient Sample and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Conclusion Database research in orthopaedics has grown at a faster rate than orthopaedic literature as a whole.
Chemical Trapping of CO2 by Clay Minerals at Reservoir Conditions: Two Mechanisms Observed by in Situ High-Pressure and -Temperature Experiments

This paper presents the results of experiments performed in situ at temperature and pressure relevant to reservoir conditions (T = 323 K and Pfluid = 90 bar) to evaluate whether clay minerals can react with supercritical CO2 to produce carbonate phases by ion exchange–precipitation reactions and dissolution–reprecipitation reactions. The results show that both can occur on a time scale of hours under the conditions of our studies. The dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism was examined using Ca-, Cs-, and tetramethylammonium (TMA+) laponite, a synthetic smectite analogous to hectorite that has small particles (basal dimensions of ∼10 × 10 nm2) and a high fraction of edge sites where only two of the usual three bridging oxygen atoms are shared with other tetrahedra in the silicate sheet (Q2 sites), making it an excellent case for examining the role of T–O–T edges. The ion exchange–precipitation mechanism was observed for a Pb-exchanged natural low-Fe smectite (hectorite). Novel X-ray diffraction and NMR and...
Ultra-Low Power Receivers for IoT Applications: A Review

Efficient wireless connectivity is an important requirement for IoT applications and has attracted a lot of research interest recently. The receivers designed for such applications need to be low power while still supporting sufficient communication range and co-existing with other receivers that share the same frequency band. In addition, supporting adopted communication standards is key for ubiquitous integration with the existing infrastructure. This paper presents a review of the recent design trends and techniques in ultra-low power receivers for IoT applications.
Statistical Considerations for Comparative Assessment of Quality Attributes

The objective of this article is to provide a list of considerations when selecting a statistical method for demonstrating comparability. Two approaches are proposed and evaluated against these con...
An overview of adult health outcomes after preterm birth.

Abstract Preterm birth (gestational age 95% of preterm infants who receive modern neonatal and pediatric care now survive into adulthood. The earliest birth cohorts to benefit from those advances are now in their 4th and 5th decades of life. A growing number of large cohort studies have investigated the long-term health sequelae in adulthood. Evidence has consistently shown that adult survivors of preterm birth have increased risks of chronic disorders involving various organ systems, including cardiovascular, endocrine/metabolic, respiratory, renal, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders, which either persist from childhood into adulthood or sometimes first manifest in adulthood. These disorders also lead to moderately (30% to 50%) increased mortality risks during early to mid-adulthood among persons born preterm compared with full-term, and even higher risks among those born at the earliest gestational ages. However, the majority of persons born preterm have low absolute risks of these outcomes and good self-reported quality of life in adulthood. Priorities for future research include the assessment of long-term health sequelae of preterm birth in racially and economically diverse populations, additional follow-up of existing cohorts into older adulthood, elucidation of outcomes by preterm birth subtype (e.g., different underlying causes) to improve risk stratification, and identification of protective factors that will support the long-term health trajectory and well-being of preterm-born adults.
Is Early Extubation Associated with Better Outcomes After Neonatal Congenital Heart Disease Surgery

Early extubation (EE) of children after surgery (occurring within the operating room or ≤ 6 hours postadmission) for congenital heart disease (CHD) has been advocated to improve postoperative care. The objective of this study is to compare outcomes of neonates undergoing EE following CHD surgical repair with those extubated more than 6 hours after surgery. Retrospective cohort study utilizes data from the Virtual Pediatric Systems database. Data from neonates undergoing surgical repair for six common CHD lesions and admitted to 57 pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2015, were analyzed. A total of 1,274 neonates were analyzed; 100 (7.8%) had EE, and 146 (11.5%) were extubated > 6 hours but ≤ 24 hours. Most patients (80.4%) were extubated > 24 hours. The EE group had higher (p
Cross-Sectional Associations among Components of Injustice Appraisals and Functioning in Adolescents With Chronic Pain.

Objective Pain-related appraisals, including pain-related injustice, impact the development and maintenance of chronic pain. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between the cognitive-emotional components of pain-related injustice-blame/unfairness and severity/irreparability of loss-and functioning in a mixed sample of adolescents with chronic pain. Methods Pediatric patients age 11-18 years (N = 408) completed forms assessing pain-related injustice, pain intensity, and physical and psychosocial functioning as part of their routine assessment in a pediatric chronic pain clinic between January 2014 and January 2019. A series of hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate the relationships among the separate components of pain-related injustice appraisals and functioning. Results Pain intensity and blame/unfairness appraisals were significantly associated with emotional functioning with blame/unfairness being the stronger association (β = -.27). Blame/unfairness appraisals, severity/irreparability appraisals, and pain intensity were significantly associated with physical functioning with pain intensity being the strongest association (β = .36). Pain intensity, blame/unfairness appraisals, and severity/irreparability appraisals were significantly associated with social functioning with blame/unfairness being the strongest association (β = -.34). Pain intensity and severity/irreparability appraisals were significantly associated with school functioning with severity/irreparability being the stronger association (β = -.19). Conclusions These results lend further support to incorporating pain-related injustice appraisals in standard clinical pain assessments. Treatment practices should target the specific injustice appraisals and domains of functioning impacted for each pediatric patient with chronic pain.
Geometry-agnostic data-driven thermal modeling of additive manufacturing processes using graph neural networks

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) is commonly used to produce builds with complex geometries. Despite recent advancements in data-driven modeling of AM processes, the generalizability of such models across a wide range of geometries has remained a challenge. Here, a graph-based representation using neural networks is proposed to capture spatiotemporal dependencies of thermal responses in AM processes. Our results tested on the Directed Energy Deposition process, indicate that our deep learning architecture accurately predicts long thermal histories for unseen geometries in the training process, offering a viable alternative to expensive computational mechanics or experimental solutions.
Prediction consistency of forward iterated regression and selection technique

Abstract Recently, Hwang et al. (2009) introduced a penalized forward selection technique for high dimensional linear regression which appears to possess excellent prediction and variable selection properties. In this article, we show that the procedure is prediction consistent.
Childhood Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Diagnosis, Treatment, and School Reintegration

Childhood, in our culture, does not preclude exposure to trauma. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, natural disaster, urban violence, school violence, and terror- ism result in significant numbers of children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Many factors contribute to symptomatic expression, with some children showing few effects and others being unable to return to school. School psychologists should have a basic understanding of the impairing effects of PTSD, assessment tools, treatment options, and school reintegration planning. Specifically, this article explicates the prevalence and etiological factors related to PTSD. Assess- ment tools, therapeutic techniques, and school reintegration are discussed.
Maintaining Context and Control in a Digital World

Over the next three to five years most major electronics companies and service providers will be competing for the portal in your pocket. Your disposable income is their ultimate goal. We spend $27bn a year on music content alone. The humble and somewhat fragmented PDA market will be swept aside as our need to consume overpowers our need to be organized. The ubiquitous Internet has taken the potential for these devices way beyond the niche of electronic organizers. As clients to a pervasive infrastructure the processor in your pocket becomes a valuable source of advertising revenue in an attempt to provide whatever you want whenever you want it at a price you can afford. The internet represents the secon wave of change in this category.
Multiscale iterative voting for differential analysis of stress response for 2D and 3D cell culture models.

Summary Three-dimensional (2D) cell culture models have emerged as the basis for improved cell systems biology. However, there is a gap in robust computational techniques for segmentation of these model systems that are imaged through confocal or deconvolution microscopy. The main issues are the volume of data, overlapping subcellular compartments and variation in scale or size of subcompartments of interest, which lead to ambiguities for quantitative analysis on a cell-by-cell basis. We address these ambiguities through a series of geometric operations that constrain the problem through iterative voting and decomposition strategies. The main contributions of this paper are to (i) extend the previously developed 2D radial voting to an efficient 3D implementation, (ii) demonstrate application of iterative radial voting at multiple subcellular and molecular scales, and (iii) investigate application of the proposed technology to two endpoints between 2D and 3D cell culture models. These endpoints correspond to kinetics of DNA damage repair as measured by phosphorylation of γH2AX, and the loss of the membrane-bound E-cadherin protein as a result of ionizing radiation. Preliminary results indicate little difference in the kinetics of the DNA damage protein between 2D and 3D cell culture models; however, differences between membrane-bound E-cadherin are more pronounced.
A View from the Top of the Tree.

Coyote, trickster figure in many Native American cultures, learned how to perform a marvelous feat: He could take his eyeballs out of their sockets and throw them into the top of a tree. From that ...
An efficient and robust localization scheme on massively distributed systems

Summary A parallel localization scheme is presented to enable solution transfers between unstructured grids. The scheme relies on neighbor walks to reduce the number of candidate elements that are visited to find the enclosing element. An advancing front method efficiently allows a subset of nodes to efficiently sweep through the grid, progressively reducing search spaces. The algorithm is parallelized permitting solution transfers over arbitrary grid decompositions. A hierarchical localization process helps prevent the neighbor walk algorithm from failing when encountering the boundaries of a concave domain by localizing the boundaries before the interior of the domain is localized. Random selections of the next step interrupt cyclic loops that may occur during a neighbor walk. The complexity of the search algorithm is verified over parallel decompositions and is effectively independent of the number of partitions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The plasma growth hormone response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in children with retardation of growth.

The response of plasma growth hormone (HGH) concentration to insulin-induced hypoglycemia has been assessed in children with growth disturbances of varied etiology. In normal children and in patients with genetic short stature, constitutional delay in growth and development, Down9s syndrome, Turner9s syndrome, and glucocorticoid-induced growth retardation, plasma HGH concentration increased several fold following the administration of insulin. In patients with hypopituitarism of unknown etiology and in four of six patients with hypopituitarism secondary to a craniopharyngioma, HGH concentration did not increase significantly in response to the hypoglycemic stimulus. In two patients with hypopituitarism secondary to craniopharyngioma, low concentrations of HGH were detectable but did not increase in response to the hypoglycemic state. Remnants of autonomously functioning pituitary tissue most probably explain this observation. Normal HGH responsivenesss was observed in children with vasopressin sensitive diabetes insipidus. Three children with hypothyroidism had abnormal HGH responsiveness, which improved following restoration of the euthyroid state. Pituitary and/or hypothalamic myxedema may be responsible for the decreased responsiveness. It is suggested that the control of growth hormone secretion in the young, growing child differs quantitatively from that of the adult subject.
Hybrid verification of a hardware modular reduction engine

Wide-operand modular math functions pose an enormous challenge for verification. We present a novel method to verify a modular reduction engine implemented as a finite state machine (FSM), leveraging a combination of model checking and theorem proving. As a first step of the verification, preconditions and post-conditions for each state transition of the FSM are identified. Next the implications from the pre-conditions to the post-conditions are verified using a model checker. The last step entails combining all the implications in a theorem prover to derive the overall correctness proof. We carried out this verification using a hybrid formal verification platform comprising the ACL2 theorem prover and IBM's model checker SixthSense, along with numerous techniques to cope with the complexities of this verification task. To our knowledge, this is the first published method for the exhaustive verification of an RTL-implementation of a wide-operand industrial modular reduction engine.
Seebeck coefficients of Fe 3 − y Ti y O 4 and Fe 3 − x Zn x O 4 single crystals and their interpretation

Seebeck coefficient data have been measured for ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{Ti}}_{\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ and for ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Zn}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ single crystals in the range 75--300 K and for 0\ensuremath{\le}y\ensuremath{\le}0.9 and 0\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.29. The data have been rationalized in terms of a small polaron model, on the basis of an adaptation of the standard order-disorder theory. Very good agreement is obtained between the two-parameter theory and experiment. In this model the Ti sites do not participate in electronic conduction.
Interleukin-1 beta causes the increase in anterior hypothalamic interleukin-6 during LPS-induced fever in rats.

The purpose of this study was to determine, using push-pull perfusion, whether the central pyrogenic action of interleukin-6 (IL-6) during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever in rats is induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and to determine the source of the hypothalamic IL-6 (i.e., from the periphery or from the brain). Samples of cerebrospinal fluid were collected 60 min before and 60, 120, 180, and 240 min after the intraperitoneal injection of LPS or saline as a control. Immediately before the injection of LPS, anti-rat neutralizing IL-1 beta antibody (anti-IL-1 beta) or control immunoglobulin G antibody (IgG) was microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus (AH) of each rat. At the end of the last perfusion, blood was collected by cardiac puncture. Microinjection of anti-IL-1 beta into the AH caused a 58% reduction of LPS fever (measured by biotelemetry). AH microinjection of anti-IL-1 beta or IgG followed by intraperitoneal injection of saline did not result in significant change in core body temperature. AH injection of anti-IL-1 beta also resulted in a 97% reduction in AH IL-6 levels during LPS fever, with the average values of IL-6 for the four post-LPS time points being 113 +/- 50 U/ml for the rats injected with IgG and LPS and 3 +/- 2 U/ml for the rats injected with anti-IL-1 beta and LPS (P = 0.024).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Promoting an active form of learning out-of-class via answering online “study questions” leads to higher than expected exam scores in General Biology

A rising need for workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has fueled interest in improving teaching within STEM disciplines. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of active learning approaches on student learning outcomes. However, many of these studies have been conducted in experimental, rather than real-life class, settings. In addition, most of these studies have focused on in-class active learning exercises. This study tested the effects of answering questions outside of class on exam performance for General Biology students at the University of Minnesota. An online database of 1,020 multiple-choice questions covering material from the first half of the course was generated. Students in seven course sections (with an average of ∼265 students per section) were given unlimited access to the online study questions. These students made extensive use of the online questions, with students answering an average of 1,323 questions covering material from the half of the semester for which the questions were available. After students answered a set of questions, they were shown the correct answers for those questions. More specific feedback describing how to arrive at the correct answer was provided for the 73% of the questions for which the correct answers were not deemed to be self-explanatory. The extent to which access to the online study questions improved student learning outcomes was assessed by comparing the performance on exam questions of students in the seven course sections with access to the online study questions with the performance of students in course sections without access to the online study questions. Student performance was analyzed for a total of 89 different exams questions that were not included in the study questions, but that covered the same material covered by the study questions. Each of these 89 questions was used on one to five exams given to students in course sections that had access to the online study questions and on three to 77 exams given to students in sections that lacked such access. Data from over 1,800 students in sections with access to the online study questions show that those students scored a statistically significant average of 6.6% points higher on the exam questions analyzed than students in sections without access to the study questions. This difference was greater than the average amount necessary to raise students' exam grades by one grade (e.g., from a "B-" to a "B"). In addition, there was a higher correlation between number of questions answered and success on exam questions on material related to the study questions than between number of questions answered and success on exam questions on material unrelated to the study questions. The online study question system required substantial effort to set up, but required minimal effort to maintain and was effective in significantly raising average exam scores for even very large course sections.
Imide-aryl Ether Phenylquinoxaline Triblock Copolymers

Imide-aryl ether phenylquinoxaline triblock copolymers were investi gated. A key feature of the copolymer systems is the preparation of a mono-functional amine-terminated aryl ether phenylquinoxaline oligomer via nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The oligomer was co-reacted with various compositions of 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) diethyl ester diacyl chloride in an N- methylpyrrolidone/N-cyclohexylpyrrolidone (NMP/CIIP) solvent mixture in the pres ence of N-methylmorpholine. The resulting amic ester-aryl ether phenylquinoxaline copolymers were isolated and washed to remove homopolymer contamination. Co polymer compositions, analyzed by 1H-NMR, showed good agreement with that charged. Solutions of the copolymers were cast and cured (350°C) to effect imidization, affording tough and clear films. Multiphase morphologies were observed for the copolymers prepared, and the ordered morphology characteristic of the polyimide homopolymer was retained in the copolymers. In addition...
Ab initio calculations on the barrier height for the hydrogen addition to ethylene and formaldehyde. The importance of spin projection

Heats of reaction and barrier heights have been computed for H + CH2CH2 C2H5, H + CH2O CH3O, and H + CH2O CH2OH using unrestricted Hartree-Fock and Moller–Plesset perturbation theory up to fourth order (with and without spin annihilation), using single-reference configuration interaction, and using multiconfiguration self-consistent field methods with 3-21G, 6-31G(d), 6-31G(d,p), and 6-311G(d,p) basis sets. The barrier height in all three reactions appears to be relatively insensitive to the basis sets, but the heats of reaction are affected by p-type polarization functions on hydrogen. Computation of the harmonic vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities with two sets of polarization functions on heavy atoms [6-31G(2d)] improves the agreement with experiment. The experimental barrier height for H + C2H4 (2.04 ± 0.08 kcal/mol) is overestimated by 7‒9 kcal/mol at the MP2, MP3, and MP4 levels. MCSCF and CISD calculations lower the barrier height by approximately 4 kcal/mol relative to the MP4 calculations but are still almost 4 kcal/mol too high compared to experiment. Annihilation of the largest spin contaminant lowers the MP4SDTQ computed barrier height by 8‒9 kcal/mol. For the hydrogen addition to formaldehyde, the same trends are observed. The overestimation of the barrier height with Moller-Plesset perdicted barrier heights for H + C2H4 C2H5, H + CH2O CH3O, and H + CH2O CH2OH at the MP4SDTQ/6-31G(d) after spin annihilation are respectively 1.8, 4.6, and 10.5 kcal/mol.
An enzymatic explanation of the differential effects of oleate and gemfibrozil on cultured hepatocyte triacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and secretion.

Abstract Incubation (1–4 h) of primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes with gemfibrozil (0.1–1.0 mM) significantly decreased the: (1) incorporation of [1,3-14C]glycerol into cellular triacylglycerol (30%); (2) secretion of labeled (VLDL) triacylglycerol (4-fold); and (3) oleate-induced rise in triacylglycerol biosynthesis and secretion. Gemfibrozil also increased the: (1) incorporation of labeled glycerol into cellular phosphatidylcholine (2-fold); and (2) secretion of labeled (HDL) phosphatidylcholine (10-fold). The gemfibrozil-dependent increase in the flux of labeled diacylglycerol into phosphatidylcholine is rapid (15 min) and associated with a 2-fold increase in membrane-bound phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase activity. A phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase-mediated rise in cellular CDP choline content may explain the gemfibrozil-dependent rise in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis since homogenates of monolayers incubated with CDP choline preferentially incorporate labeled diacylglycerol into phosphatidylcholine rather than triacylglycerol. Therefore, the triacylglycerol-lowering potential of gemfibrozil may be due in part to its ability to shunt liver cell diacylglycerol into phosphatidylcholine rather than triacylglycerol. These results suggest that CDP choline may be a key regulator of the diacylglycerol branchpoint, since diacylglycerol is primarily incorporated into phosphatidylcholine or triacylglycerol depending on whether CDP choline is or is not available.
PU.1, Interferon Regulatory Factor (IRF) 2, and the Interferon Consensus Sequence-binding Protein (ICSBP/IRF8) Cooperate to Activate NF1 Transcription in Differentiating Myeloid Cells

Nf1 (neurofibromin 1) is a Ras-GAP protein that regulates cytokine-induced proliferation of myeloid cells. In previous studies, we found that the interferon consensus sequence-binding protein (ICSBP; also referred to as interferon regulatory factor 8) activates transcription of the gene encoding Nf1 (the NF1 gene) in differentiating myeloid cells. We also found that NF1 activation requires cytokine-stimulated phosphorylation of a conserved tyrosine residue in the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) domain of ICSBP/IRF8. In this study, we found that ICSBP/IRF8 cooperates with PU.1 and interferon regulatory factor 2 to activate a composite ets/IRF-cis element in the NF1 promoter. We found that PU.1 binds directly to the NF1-cis element, and DNA-bound PU.1 interacts with IRF2, recruiting IRF2 to the cis element. This interaction requires cytokine-induced phosphorylation of specific serine residues in the PU.1 PEST domain and of a conserved tyrosine residue in the IRF domain of IRF2. We found that ICSBP/IRF8 interaction with the NF1-cis element requires pre-binding of PU.1 and IRF2. The conserved IRF domain tyrosine in ICSBP/IRF8 is required for interaction with the DNA-bound PU.1-IRF2 heterodimer. NF1 deficiency in myeloid progenitor cells results in cytokine hypersensitivity and myeloproliferation. Therefore, these studies identify a target gene for the previously observed tumor-suppressor effect of PU.1. Additionally, these studies identify a tumor-suppressor function for the "oncogenic" transcription factor, IRF2.
Changes in MMPI scale scores and an index of psychopathology following unilateral temporal lobectomy for epilepsy.

SUMMARY The direction and extent of change in personality functioning, as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), were investigated longitudinally before and one year or more following unilateral temporal lobectomy for intractable psychomotor seizures. Although the pre- to postoperative changes were not sufficiently profound to postulate a major reorganization of personality functioning in these patients, selected scale scores consistently were observed to decline in the less psychopathological direction, especially on test measures for which schizoadaptive behavioral correlates have been established in psychiatric populations. These reductions were not conspicuously different after left as compared to right temporal lobectomy. However, the presence of bilateral preoperative EEG abnormalities was associated with higher initial MMPI scale elevations and greater scale score declines postoperatively. This was especially prevalent among patients with independent bitemporal EEG spike foci preoperatively. REASUMEA La direction et l'eAtendue des changements de la personnaliteA, aG l'aide de l'Inventaire de PersonnaliteA Multiphasique Minnesota (MMPI), ont ete explorees longitudinale-ment avant et un an ou davantage apreGs lobotomie temporale unilateArale pour crises psychomotrices rebelles. Quoique les changements de la personnaliteA de ces patients, entre les peAriodes preA- et post-opeAratoires, ne soient pas suffisamment profonds pour postuler une reAorganisation majeure de la personnaliteA, on observe que les scores de certaines eAchelles baissent de facLon constante dans une direction indiquant des troubles psychopathologiques moindres. Cet abaissement concerne plus particulieGrement les eAchelles pour lesquelles des correAlations avec le comportement schizoiUde ont eAteA eAtablies dans des populations psychiatriques. Ces modifications ne sont pas sensiblement diffeArentes apreGs lobotomie temporale droite ou gauche. Par contre, la preAsence d'anomalies eAlectroenceAphalographiques bilateArales sur l'E.E.G. avant intervention s'est trouveAe associeAe, d'une part, aux plus hauts scores initiaux du MMPI et, d'autre part, aux plus grandes diminutions apreGs l'opeAration. Ceci est particulieArement eAvident parmi les patients preAsentant aG l'E.E.G., avant intervention, des foyers de pointes bitemporales indeApendants.
Morphological responses of plant roots to heterogeneity of soil resources

Summary • Root morphological response to experimentally induced soil heterogeneity is reported here on three grassland species (Luzula campestris, Poa angustifolia and Plantago lanceolata) under field conditions. • Nutrient application was combined with suppression of mycorrhizal infection and with substrate structure modification in experimental patches. For each isolated root, we determined five dimensional characteristics and two topological parameters, including a newly introduced topological index (dichotomous branching index). • Nonmycorrhizal L. campestris responded little to nutrient application, but strongly to benomyl application, in all characteristics measured. Mycorrhizal P. angustifolia produced the longest, most branched roots but exhibited limited sensitivity to nutrients and benomyl application. Strongly mycorrhizal P. lanceolata was the most sensitive to nutrient application, but showed little response to benomyl application. It was the only one among the species studied with root characteristics influenced (negatively) by increased production of total root biomass in the patches. Substrate structure influenced dimensional characteristics of Poa and Luzula roots, but not the topological indices. • Results indicate different exploitation of soil microsites by L. campestris, P. angustifolia and P. lanceolata. Root topology seems to play a limited role in this process.
Ribonucleotide reductase — new twists in an old tale

Abstract Although they are proliferatively quiescent, the cells in the intact adult rat liver express the gene coding for the M1 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase. But since they do not need deoxyribonucleotides, they promptly inactivate the 88 to 90kDa M1 products and degrade them into 40kDa fragments. Partial hepatectomy signals the remaining cells to start proliferating. Two hours before the onset of DNA replication, around 16 to 18 hr after partial hepatectomy, the cells start accumulating a large pool of functional ribonucleotide reductase M2 subunits. Near the end of the G1 build-up the cells step up M1 gene expression, stop inactivating, and reduce the degradation of the M1 products. The accumulating functional 88 to 90kDa M1 subunits, each with more than one catalytic site, couple with functional M2 subunits to produce active ribonucleotide reductase holoenzyme which accumulates in the outer nuclear membrane from which they supply deoxyribonucleotide precursors to intranuclear replication enzymes. At the end of the S phase, the cell reduces M1 gene expression and resumes degrading 88 to 90kDa M1 subunits. At least some of the 40kDa M1 fragments are still active and can form partially active “holoenzymes” when mixed with a standard preparation of functional M2 subunits. The M1 control mechanism appears not to operate in hepatoma cells and Ehrlich ascites tumor cells, both of which maintain a pool of undegraded 88 to 90kDa M1 components.
Vitamin D, race, and risk for anemia in children.

Objective To examine the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] deficiency and anemia in a cohort of otherwise-healthy children and to determine whether race modifies the association between 25(OH)D status and hemoglobin (Hgb). Study design Cross-sectional study of 10 410 children and adolescents ages 1-21 years from the 2001-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Anemia was defined as Hgb less than the 5th percentile for age and sex based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (1988-1994) data. Results Lower 25(OH)D levels were associated with increased risk for anemia; P = .006, and P = .004. In linear regression, small but significant increases in Hgb were noted in the upper quartiles of 25(OH)D compared with the lowest quartile ( Conclusion 25(OH)D deficiency is associated with increased risk of anemia in healthy US children, but the 25(OH)D threshold levels for lower Hgb are lower in black children in comparison with white children.
Medication Dispensing Errors in Community Pharmacies: A Nationwide Study

The available literature concerning medication dispensing errors provides relatively few studies that focus on community-based pharmacies. This paper presents the results of a nationwide, observation-based study of dispensing errors. Although community-based pharmacies were the primary focus, a small number of health-system pharmacies were also included. Investigators collected information concerning the frequency and type of errors and near errors as well as data regarding a number of task and environmental factors previously correlated with dispensing errors. A total of 5,784 prescriptions were inspected, revealing 91 errors (1.57%) and 74 near errors (1.28%). Errors were categorized as either content (41.76%) or labeling (58.24%) errors. Results are consistent with findings in the available literature. In particular, lighting levels, type of inspection system used (e.g., bar code product verification), number of available employees, and the arrangement of drug stock were significantly associated with both types of errors.
PhenoDB: an integrated client/server database for linkage and population genetics

In this paper we describe PhenoDB, an Internet-accessible client/server database application for population and linkage genetics. PhenoDB stores genetic marker data on pedigrees and populations. A database for population and linkage genetics requires two core functions: data management tasks, such as interactive validation during data entry and editing, and data analysis tasks, such as generating summary population statistics and performing linkage analyses. In PhenoDB we attempt to make these tasks as easy as possible. The client/server architecture allows efficient management and manipulation of large datasets via an easy-to-use graphical interface. PhenoDB data (73 populations, 34 pedigrees, approximately 4200 individuals, and close to 80,000 typings) are stored in a generic format that can be readily exported to (or imported from) the file formats required by various existing analysis programs such as LIPED and Lathrop and Lalouel's Multipoint Linkage. PhenoDB allows performance of complex ad-hoc queries and can generate reports for use in project management. Finally, PhenoDB can produce statistical summaries such as allele frequencies, phenotype frequencies, and Chi-square tests of Hardy-Weinberg ratios of population/pedigree data.
Predicting Memory for Words and Symbols from Spatial Abilities

This study seeks to better understand the aspects of working memory, particularly spatial processing, involved in memory for visually presented verbal and non-verbal stimuli. Prior research has suggested that there are separate memory stores for words and symbols. It is proposed that memory for the location of words is assisted by the phonological loop, which provides comprehension, and a contextual basis to use logical reasoning to determine the location of words. Participants in this study were tested on measures of object and location memory, spatial relations, spatial visualization, as well as their memory for the location of words or symbols, and reading comprehension. Results suggest different processes are involved when remembering the location of words when compared to remembering the location of symbols. The measure for location memory was found to have a significant negative relationship with memory for the location of words, suggesting that subjects with better location memory (who, presumably,...
The 2008 financial crisis and Stability and Growth Pact II? Let us move on to SGP III: "A la carte"

After the fuzziness in Europe that surrounded the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure foreseen by the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), the European Union had to restore the credibility of the weakened fiscal rule. The constraint was to keep alive the Treaty of Amsterdam. Indeed, an attempt to make major changes to the SGP would have necessitated a new Treaty. This could have meant no more Europe-wide fiscal rule. But are minor changes enough in light of the 2008 financial crisis? This paper addresses this question by deciphering the amended version of the SGP, and finds that, in the case countries still breach the SGP, another minor change is possible: an "A la carte" version of the SGP.