cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Attention deficits in schizophrenia — Preliminary evidence of dissociable transient and sustained deficits

Attention deficits are considered to be fundamental in patients with schizophrenia. During attention tasks, patients with schizophrenia have been shown to display increased brain activity in some neuroimaging studies but reduced brain activity in others. These conflicting findings may be due to some study designs primarily eliciting transient engagement of attention and other study designs primarily eliciting sustained engagement of attention. In the present study, ten males with schizophrenia and fourteen age-matched, male controls performed a visual selective attention task. A mixed block/event-related fMRI design was used, allowing for separate analysis of transient and sustained phases of attention. Results revealed that the schizophrenia group made significantly fewer correct responses and displayed a significantly slower mean response time than the control group. Voxel-wise random effects analyses revealed that both groups displayed activation in regions considered to constitute a core attentional network including the anterior cingulate gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, insula and inferior parietal sulcus. Region of Interest (ROI) analyses revealed that across the entire sequence of task and non-task blocks, the schizophrenia group displayed a greater percentage of active voxels than controls in many ROIs. However, during transient periods most pertinent to task performance, the schizophrenia group displayed a lower percentage of active voxels than controls. These results help to explain contrasting findings across previous studies and suggest that attention deficits displayed by patients with schizophrenia are more likely to reflect deficits in modulating brain activity in response to variations in transient, attention demanding stimuli, rather than deficits in sustained attention.
Motor inhibition and excitation are independent effects of magnetic cortical stimulation

We administered magnetic cortical stimulation (MCS) during voluntary contraction of intrinsic hand muscles to 8 patients with motor neuron disease (MND), 5 patients with pure lower motor neuron syndromes (LMN), a patient with severe subacute sensory neuropathy (SSN), and 10 healthy volunteers. Patients with MND had clinical evidence of upper MND and elevated thresholds for (3 patients) or absence of (5 patients) motor evoked potentials (MEPs). MCS during sustained contraction inhibited electromyographic activity in 6 of 8 patients with MND, without preceding MEPs. MCS had no effect on the electromyogram (EMG) of the other 2 patients with MND. In normal subjects and patients with LMN, inhibition of EMG was never seen without a preceding MEP, regardless of stimulus intensity. In the patient with SSN, MCS elicited normal MEPs and inhibited the EMG in a pattern similar to normal subjects, whereas supramaximal electrical stimulation of median and ulnar nerves failed to inhibit the EMG despite normal M and F responses. Our findings indicate that the inhibitory effects of MCS on EMG are not dependent solely on changes in afferent feedback caused by the muscle twitch produced by the MEP, or on Renshaw cell inhibition. We suggest that some of the inhibitory and excitatory effects of MCS on the motor system are mediated by distinct cortical elements, which may have different susceptibilities to pathophysiological processes in MND.
EFFECT OF ADRENALECTOMY ON CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM

THE MARKED AMELIORATION OF PANCREATIC (I) and of phloridzin diabetes (2, 3) I which is mediated by adrenalectomy has been explained at least in large part by the reduced capacity of adrenalectomized animals to convert protein to carbohydrate. The experiments here presented investigate the extent to which carbohydrate metabolismitself is altered in the adrenalectomized animal. Influence of fasting. Twentyfour male rats, weighing from 150 to 200 gm. were adrenalectomized and maintained for the next 2½ days on their customary diet of Purina dog chow but with 0.9% NaCl solution as drinking water. In groups of 6 they were killed when fully fed and after 7, 15 and 24 hours of fasting for examination of carbohydrate stores. Similar groups of intact rats were similarly killed and examined. The procedure of examination consisted of producing rapid anesthetization with nembutal andobtaining a blood sample from the femoral vein as soon as the limb stretch reflexes were lost.
Anatomy and physiology of the perionychium: A review of the literature and anatomic study

The perionychium includes the nail and surrounding structures. The anatomy and physiology of the perionychium is presented in detail. Microscopic examination reveals the nail production to take place on the dorsal roof of the nail fold, the ventral floor of the nail fold, and on the nailbed to the free margin of the nail. The arterial supply is by two dorsal terminal branches of the proper digital artery and the nerve innervation by dorsal terminal branches of the proper digital nerve.
Binding of A1 Adenosine Receptor Ligand [3H]8-Cyclopentyl-1,3-Dipropylxanthine in Coronary Smooth Muscle

Vascular smooth muscle has been reported to contain the A1 subtype of adenosine receptors, but the existence of such receptor(s) in coronary smooth muscle has not been established. In the present study, the 3H-labeled A1-selective antagonist [3H]8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine ([3H]DPCPX) was used to demonstrate the specific binding in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle membranes. The binding was saturable with a Bmax of 6.43 +/- 1.02 fmol/mg protein. Scatchard analysis of the binding data provided a single binding site with a Kd of 0.21 +/- 0.025 nmol/L. In the competition experiments, adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists showed the following order of potency (nmol/L): S-N6-(2-endonorbornyl)adenosine (S-ENBA) 0.11 = R(-)-N6-phenylisopropyladenosine 0.32 > DPCPX 3.2 = xanthine amine congener 2.4 = N6-cyclopentyladenosine 2.67 > 5'-(N-ethylcarboxamido)-adenosine 7.35 >> 2-[p-(2-carboxyethyl)-phenethyl-amino]-5'-(N-ethylcarboxamido)- adenosine 1000 > theophylline 83,000. This order of potency fits the criteria for the A1 adenosine receptor. S-ENBA, a highly selective A1 receptor agonist, was used to investigate the effect on isoproterenol-mediated vasorelaxation and cAMP accumulation. S-ENBA (0.1 to 10 nmol/L) dose-dependently shifted the isoproterenol-mediated (10(-8) to 10(-5) mol/L) vasorelaxation to the right in vascular rings. S-ENBA (10 nmol/L) inhibited the basal cAMP levels by 36% and attenuated the isoproterenol (10(-5) mol/L)-stimulated cAMP by 25% in the coronary rings. These inhibitory effects of S-ENBA on isoproterenol-mediated cAMP-accumulation and vasorelaxation were abolished by pertussis toxin (100 ng/mL, overnight) treatment of the arteries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Field Study of Sex‐role Attitude Change in College Women

Two field studies are presented which examine to what extent women's studies courses are effective in changing sex-role attitudes in college women. Factor analyses were performed on the questionnaire data to produce summary variables for the change analysis and to examine the structure of sex-role ideology. The results, consistent in both studies, showed the women's sex-role beliefs are comprised of definable areas and that awareness of sex discrimination and traditional beliefs regarding the proper roles for men and women are more susceptible to influence than are other types of variables.
The View from Nowhen: The Mctaggart-Dummett Argument for the Unreality of Time

Years ago, Michael Dummett defended McTaggart’s argument for the unreality of time, arguing that it cannot be dismissed as guilty of an “indexical fallacy.” Recently, E. J. Lowe has disputed Dummett’s claims for the cogency of the argument. I offer an elaboration and defense of Dummett’s interpretation of the argument (though not of its soundness). I bring to bear some work on tense from the philosophy of language, and some recent work on the concept of the past as it occurs in memory, in an effort to support the claim that McTaggart is not guilty of any simple indexical fallacy. Along the way I criticize an account of what is at stake in disputes about the reality of tense due to A. W. Moore, and I argue for the superiority of the conception of tense-realism that is implicit in McTaggart’s work. The paper is intended to prepare the ground for a substantive defense of the reality of tense.
Oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma—an update

Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OC-SCC) is the most common malignancy of the head and neck (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer). Recent trends have shown a dramatic rise in the incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OP-SCC), with a marked increase in lesions related to human papillomavirus infection. This update presents the latest evidence regarding OC-SCC and OP-SCC. In particular, the authors compare and contrast tumors at these two sites with respect to epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinicopathologic presentation, clinical assessment, imaging, management, and prognosis. It is important for clinicians to be aware of differences between OC-SCC and OP-SCC so that appropriate patient education and multidisciplinary care can be provided to optimize outcomes.
Chaos: a mixed metaphor for turbulence

There are special circumstances when the equations of fluid mechanics can be asymptotically reduced to third- or higher-order differential equations that admit chaotic solutions. For physically extended systems, similar reductions lead to simplified partial differential equations whose solutions contain coherent structures that interact in complicated and erratic ways. It is suggested here that analogous reductions of the fluid equations are possible even when the fluid is in a turbulent state. From this we conclude that, more than being a metaphor for turbulence, chaos is a basic property of turbulent fluids.
The Myth of the Pro-Colonialist SPD: German Social Democracy and Imperialism before World War I

In his seminal The German Empire, published in German in 1973, historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler posited that in respect to the German Empire's colonial policies only the SPD, unlike all other political parties, “retained its capacity to take a critical view on matters of principle.” Moreover, in Wehler's view, the SPD's critical stance on this and many other political questions along with the party's massive electoral gains in the 1912 parliamentary elections precipitated a situation in the years immediately preceding the Great War that prompted the German Empire's “old elites” to bet increasingly on a major military conflict to solve the Empire's internal political tensions (“leap into darkness”). Thus in Wehler's view the Social Democrats contributed in no small part to Imperial Germany's perceived domestic crisis, which prompted the infamous “old elites” to choose war over domestic reform in 1914.
A Moderate-Protein Diet Produces Sustained Weight Loss and Long-Term Changes in Body Composition and Blood Lipids in Obese Adults

Diets with increased protein and reduced carbohydrates (PRO) are effective for weight loss, but the long-term effect on maintenance is unknown. This study compared changes in body weight and composition and blood lipids after short-term weight loss (4 mo) followed by weight maintenance (8 mo) using moderate PRO or conventional high-carbohydrate (CHO) diets. Participants (age = 45.4 +/- 1.2 y; BMI = 32.6 +/- 0.8 kg/m(2); n = 130) were randomized to 2 energy-restricted diets (-500 kcal/d or -2093 kJ/d): PRO with 1.6 g x kg(-1) x d(-1) protein and 220 g/d carbohydrates. At 4 mo, the PRO group had lost 22% more fat mass (FM) (-5.6 +/- 0.4 kg) than the CHO group (-4.6 +/- 0.3 kg) but weight loss did not differ between groups (-8.2 +/- 0.5 kg vs. -7.0 +/- 0.5 kg; P = 0.10). At 12 mo, the PRO group had more participants complete the study (64 vs. 45%, P 10% weight loss, the PRO group had more participants (31 vs. 21%) lose more weight (-16.5 +/- 1.5 vs. -12.3 +/- 0.9 kg; P < 0.01) and FM (-11.7 +/- 1.0 vs. -7.9 +/- 0.7 kg; P < 0.01) than the CHO group. The CHO diet reduced serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol compared with PRO (P < 0.01) at 4 mo, but the effect did not remain at 12 mo. PRO had sustained favorable effects on serum triacylglycerol (TAG), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and TAG:HDL-C compared with CHO at 4 and 12 mo (P < 0.01). The PRO diet was more effective for FM loss and body composition improvement during initial weight loss and long-term maintenance and produced sustained reductions in TAG and increases in HDL-C compared with the CHO diet.
Listening to the stakeholders: exploring possibilities for family and community science education in the US

Vocational academic programs in secondary classrooms and in university settings are interdependent in terms of teacher preparation and curriculum design. Significant changes in either entity will affect the viability of the other. Family and Consumer Science programs in US secondary schools are facing several challenges. A focus group design was used to gain insight on the vitality and viability of these programs from the perspectives of three stakeholder groups—students, parents, and school administrators. Emerging themes are presented and discussed. The impact of multiple realities and their possible negative consequences on this and similar vocational programs are explored.
Influence of structural and adsorbed Si on the transformation of synthetic ferrihydrite

The transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite and/or hematite, as influenced by the presence of co-precipitated Si, was investigated by infrared spectroscopy OR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ferrihydrite samples having Si/Fe molar ratios ranging from 0 to 1 were synthesized by reacting Fe2(SO4)3 with NaOH to an equilibrium pH of 8.2 in the presence of Na2SiO3. The XRD pattern of the Si-free sample contained five distinct but weak peaks, whereas the patterns of ferrihydrite samples containing Si had only two broad bands. With an increase of the Si/Fe molar ratio from 0.10 to t .0, the 2.54-/k XRD peak shifted to 2.97 A, and broad IR bands were observed at 990 cm -t (Si-O stretching region) and 450 cm -~ (silicate bending region). The intensities of both IR bands increased with increasing Si/Fe molar ratio. Ferrihydrite samples were incubated at room temperature in sodium acetate/acetic acid buffer solutions at pH 3, 5, 7, and 10 and in CaCO3 suspension at pH 8.3 for 10 months. Additional samples were incubated at pH 12.5 at 24 ~ 40 ~ 60", and 9 I~ for 36 hr. Room-temperature incubation of ferrihydrite samples having Si/Fe molar ratios ->0.1 at pH 3 for one week resulted in the dissolution of Fe and the precipitation of silica gel. Ferrihydrite samples having Si/Fe molar ratios ---0.05 transformed to poorly crystalline goethite during room-temperature incubation at pH 5. The rate of transformation and the degree of crystallinity of the product were inversely related to Si/Fe molar ratio, and, with heat treatment, were also dependent on incubation temperature. Siliceous ferrihydrite samples having Si/Fe molar ratios >0.10 did not transform to phases having greater crystallinity during incubation at either room temper- ature in buffered solutions at pH ->7 for as long as 10 months or at pH 12.5 at 91~ for 36 hr. The XRD peak at 2.97 /~ did not shift significantly during incubation procedures, providing evidence that the structure of the high-Si ferrihydrite was not significantly altered.
Public School Early Childhood Music Education: Challenges and Solutions

With the increase of preK programs in public schools, music educators are increasingly more involved in teaching 3- and 4-year-old students. Many music educators find this difficult, as teaching yo...
A test for repertoire matching in eastern song sparrows

Repertoire matching occurs when one songbird replies to another with a song type that the two birds share. Repertoire matching has previously been demonstrated to occur at well above chance levels in a western population of song sparrows, where it is hypothesized to serve as a low level threat in a hierarchy of aggressive signals. Here we test for repertoire matching in an eastern population of song sparrows. Previous work indicates that this eastern population differs from the western one in having lower levels of song sharing between neighboring males and in showing no association between song sharing and territory tenure. Here we confirm that males in this eastern population on average share few whole songs with their neighbors. The eastern males are familiar with their neighbors’ repertoires, as evidenced by a stronger singing response to stranger song than to neighbor song. Males in the eastern population did not repertoire match: when played an unshared song type from a specific neighbor, they did not reply with a song type shared with that neighbor more often than expected by chance or more often than in response to playback of a control song (an unshared stranger song). The results thus demonstrate a qualitative difference in vocal signaling strategies between two populations of the same species.
Neuropeptide depletion impairs postischemic recovery of the isolated rat heart: role of substance P

Objectives: Ischemia of the myocardium stimulates cardiac sensory nerve endings resulting in the local release of neuropeptides. The significance of the release of neuropeptides, such as substance P (SP), for the function of the heart during ischemia and reperfusion is not known. We examined the effects of both chronic and acute neuropeptide depletion and of SP administration on contractile function and rhythmicity of the isolated rat heart during global ischemia and subsequent reperfusion. Methods: Experiments were conducted on the isolated perfused heart from vehicle and capsaicin-pretreated rats (100 mg/kg) to deplete neuropeptides from peripheral nerve terminals. The hearts were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution (95%O2 + 5% CO2, 37 °C, at constant pressure of 90 cmH2O). Left ventricular developed and diastolic pressures (LVDevP and LVEDP), heart rate (HR) and coronary flow (CF) were measured. Hearts were subjected to 20 min global no-flow ischemia and 30 min reperfusion. Results: Prior to interrupting coronary flow, LV pressures, HR and CF did not differ between vehicle and capsaicin-pretreated rats. However, throughout the reperfusion period, the recovery of LVDevP, HR and CF in hearts from capsaicin-pretreated rats was consistently less than in control hearts ( P < 0.05), and the incidence of fibrillation during reperfusion was higher ( P < 0.05). In other experiments, acute perfusion of isolated hearts with capsaicin (10−6 M) for 5 min before ischemia had a similar limiting effect during reperfusion. Administration of SP (10−6–10−9 M) to capsaicin-pretreated hearts before ischemia restored their ability to recover contractile function and CF during reperfusion. Administration of SP to untreated hearts before ischemia also improved their recovery above normal during reperfusion and decreased the incidence of fibrillation without affecting postischemic CF. The beneficial effects of SP were abolished by an NK-1 receptor antagonist, CP-96,345 (10−6 M). Conclusions: These data indicate that sensory neuropeptides play a role in protection of the isolated heart against ischemic damage and suggest a role of SP in the resistance of the myocardium to ischemia and reperfusion injury.
Relationship between temperature and Ceratomyxa shasta -induced mortality in Klamath River salmonids.

Abstract: Water temperature influences almost every biological and physiological process of salmon, including disease resistance. In the Klamath River (California), current thermal conditions are considered sub-optimal for juvenile salmon. In addition to borderline temperatures, these fish must contend with the myxozoan parasite Ceratomyxa shasta, a significant cause of juvenile salmonid mortality in this system. This paper presents 2 studies, conducted from 2007 to 2010, that examine thermal effects on C. shasta–induced mortality in native Klamath River Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon. In each study, fish were exposed to C. shasta in the Klamath River for 72 hr and then reared in the laboratory under temperature-controlled conditions. The first study analyzed data collected from a multi-year monitoring project to asses the influence of elevated temperatures on parasite-induced mortality during the spring/summer migration period. The second study compared disease ...
Computer-aided manufacturing simulation (CAMS) generation for interactive analysis: concepts, techniques, and issues

Simulation models are usually developed as a one-time use analytical models by a systems analyst (usually from an external firm) rather than for routine and interactive use by a shop floor engineer. This is because it usually takes a longer time to generate a result from the simulation, and the simulation model of a manufacturing system is usually too sophisticated and time-consuming to use as an interactive tool by the manufacturing/production engineer. A CAMS reduces this complication by encapsulating the 'complicated-logic' and automating the 'tedious data-acquisition' with a more user-friendly interface like a spreadsheet or database input form. The paper describes how CAMS can automatically generate a simulation model; specifically, techniques and issues to structure the model to hide those tasks, so that it is a user-friendly interactive decision support with minimal amount of automation code. The paper concludes with a capacity analysis example from the real industry.
Post-translational modifications induce significant yet not extreme changes to protein structure

Motivation: A number of studies of individual proteins have shown that post-translational modifications (PTMs) are associated with structural rearrangements of their target proteins. Although such studies provide critical insights into the mechanics behind the dynamic regulation of protein function, they usually feature examples with relatively large conformational changes. However, with the steady growth of Protein Data Bank (PDB) and available PTM sites, it is now possible to more systematically characterize the role of PTMs as conformational switches. In this study, we ask (1) what is the expected extent of structural change upon PTM, (2) how often are those changes in fact substantial, (3) whether the structural impact is spatially localized or global and (4) whether different PTMs have different signatures. Results: We exploit redundancy in PDB and, using root-mean-square deviation, study the conformational heterogeneity of groups of protein structures corresponding to identical sequences in their unmodified and modified forms. We primarily focus on the two most abundant PTMs in PDB, glycosylation and phosphorylation, but show that acetylation and methylation have similar tendencies. Our results provide evidence that PTMs induce conformational changes at both local and global level. However, the proportion of large changes is unexpectedly small; only 7% of glycosylated and 13% of phosphorylated proteins undergo global changes >2 A. Further analysis suggests that phosphorylation stabilizes protein structure by reducing global conformational heterogeneity by 25%. Overall, these results suggest a subtle but common role of allostery in the mechanisms through which PTMs affect regulatory and signaling pathways. Contact: predrag@indiana.edu Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
There Are Important Reasons For Delaying Implementation Of The New ICD-10 Coding System

Federal authorities have recently signaled that they would consider delaying some aspects of implementation of the newest version of the International Classification of Diseases , known as ICD-10-CM, a coding system used to define health care charges and diagnoses. Some industry groups have reacted with dismay, and many providers with relief. We are concerned that adopting this new classification system for reimbursement will be disruptive and costly and will offer no material improvement over the current system. Because the health care community is also working to integrate health information technology and federal meaningful-use specifications that require the adoption of other complex coding standardization systems (such as the system called SNOMED CT), we recommend that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services consider delaying the adoption of ICD-10-CM. Policy makers should also begin planning now for ways to make the coming transition to ICD-11 as tolerable as possible for the health care and ...
Adaptation of a white clover population to ozone stress

SUMMARYWhite clover {Trifolium repens L.) 'Regal' and tall fescue {Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)' Kentucky 31 ' were growntogether in a field and exposed for two seasons in open-top chambers to six ozone (O3) regimes ranging from 0'59to 1-95 times the ambient O^ concentration. Plants that survived were propagated cionally and used in the presentstudy to determine whether selection for resistance or sensitivity' to O^ had occurred. Relative foliar sensitivity ofsurviving clones to various short-term O3 exposure regimes was determined with and without infection by severalviruses. In tests of aU surviving clones with viruses present, higher percentages of clones that survived two seasonsat the high O3 levels were resistant to short-term exposure to O^ than were those that survived exposure to the lowO3 treatments. Only one of the 33 clones that survived exposure to charcoal-filtered air (0-59 treatment) was O3-resistant while 19 of the 30 clones surviving the 1-95 treatment were O^-resistant. Conversely, eight clones thatsurvived the 0-59 treatment were sensitive to O3 while none of those that survived the 1-95 treatment weresensitive. The results indicate that selection pressure in the presence of O3 stress was for resistance to O^. Variouscombinations of five common viruses of clover were present among the surviving clones. Shoot-tip meristemcukure was used to free one O^-resistant and one Oj-sensitive clone from all viruses. The relative O^ sensitivityof these two clones was not affected by viruses. Further testing is required to determine the relationships betweenrelative foliar sensitivity to short-term Og exposure and relative sensitivity to growth effects caused by long-termexposure.Key words: Ozone stress, air pollution, Trifolium repens, white clover, adaptation.
The Contribution of Economic Methodology to our Understanding of Terrorism

Recently several studies have used economic methodology to interpret and analyze terrorists behavior. This interdisciplinary endeavor is aimed at shedding as much light as possible on measures to e...
Ba0.4Rb0.6Mn2As2: A prototype half-metallic ferromagnet

Half-metallic ferromagnetism (FM) in single-crystal ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.39(1)}{\mathrm{Rb}}_{0.61(1)}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ below its Curie temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}=103(2)$ K is reported. The magnetization $M$ versus applied magnetic field $H$ isotherm data at 1.8 K show complete polarization of the itinerant doped-hole magnetic moments that are introduced by substituting Rb for Ba. The material exhibits extremely soft FM, with unobservably small remanent magnetization and coercive field. Surprisingly, and contrary to typical itinerant FMs, the $M(H)$ data follow the Arrott-plot paradigm that is based on a mean-field theory of local-moment FMs. The in-plane electrical resistivity data are fitted well by an activated-${T}^{2}$ expression for $T\ensuremath{\le}{T}_{\mathrm{C}}$, whereas the data sharply deviate from this model for $Tg{T}_{\mathrm{C}}$. Hence the activated-${T}^{2}$ resistivity model is an excellent diagnostic for determining the onset of half-metallic FM in this compound, which in turn demonstrates the presence of a strong correlation between the electronic transport and magnetic properties of the material. Together with previous data on 40% hole-doped ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.6}{\mathrm{K}}_{0.4}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$, these measurements establish 61%-doped ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.39}{\mathrm{Rb}}_{0.61}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ as a prototype for a class of half-metallic ferromagnets in which all the itinerant carriers in the material are ferromagnetic.
Palladium-catalyzed oxidative direct arylation polymerization (Oxi-DArP) of an ester-functionalized thiophene

Poly(hexyl thiophene-3-carboxylate), an alkyl ester side-chain functionalized thiophene polymer herein referred to as poly(3-hexylesterthiophene) (P3HET), is synthesized via a novel palladium-catalyzed oxidative dehydrogenative polycondensation method. The ester promotes the generation of high molecular weight polymers as a directing group, enabling direct hetero C–H/C–H coupling and bypassing the functionalization requirements of traditional direct arylation (halogenation) and transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling (halogenation and metalation) methods. Despite lacking functional groups in the 2- and 5-position, these unique reaction conditions achieve good regioregularity (around 85%) through the utilization of a phosphine ligand. To evaluate this new polymerization method, poly(hexyl thiophene-3-carboxlates) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) polymers are synthesized via Oxi-DArP, traditional DArP, and Stille polycondensation and subsequently characterized by electrochemical HOMO determination, UV-Vis, GIXRD, and space-charge limited current (SCLC) hole mobilities. High quality polymers via Oxi-DArP were only acquired when the ester functional group was present, whereas molecular weight, regioregularity, and yields suffered with 3-hexylthiophene. Optimized Oxi-DArP P3HET exhibited absorption coefficients, electrochemical HOMO levels, and semi-crystallinity comparable to DArP and Stille P3HET. This work expands on an emerging synthetic method and develops attractively simple and mild conditions toward the generation of high quality polymers promoted by carbonyl directing groups.
Association between insurance status and mortality in individuals with albuminuria: An observational cohort study

In the general population, the association between uninsurance and mortality is well established. We sought to evaluate the association of health insurance status with mortality among working-age participants with albuminuria in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994 (NHANES III). We used data from non-elderly adult participants (18–64) of NHANES III (1988–1994), a nationally representative study of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population, who provided information on insurance and who had albuminuria, defined as a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR] ≥ 30 mg/g and their subsequent mortality to December 31, 2006. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine associations between insurance status and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients with CKD while adjusting in a stepwise fashion for sociodemographic factors, co-morbidities, and co-morbidity severity/control covariates. In our sample of individuals with albuminuria (n = 903), mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 101.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 with 4.7 % with an eGFR <60. Approximately 15 % of the sample was uninsured, 18 % had public insurance and 67 % had private insurance. Compared to individuals with private insurance, those with public insurance or no insurance were significantly more likely to be a racial or ethnic minority, to have income <200 % below the federal poverty level, to have less than high school education; and they were less likely to be married and to report good or excellent health, all p < 0.05. Being uninsured or having public insurance was associated with increased all-cause mortality in the fully adjusted model (HR 2.97 and 3.65, respectively, p < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between insurance status and cardiovascular mortality. In a nationally representative sample of individuals with albuminuria, uninsurance and public insurance were associated with increased mortality compared to the private insurance even after controlling for sociodemographic, health status, and health care variables. Improving access to care and the quality of care received may potentially reduce mortality in individuals with evidence of early CKD.
a Southern Hemisphere cold front passage at the equator

During mid-July 1975, a strong frontal system crossed into the tropical latitudes of South America. Freezing temperatures were reported in southern Brazil, and the daily thunderstorm activity over the Amazon River Basin gave way to low stratiform cloudiness. Daily infrared data from the SMS-1 satellite are presented for this weather event.
A Systems-Based Approach to Functional Decomposition and Allocation for Developing UAS Operational Concepts

In integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System, separation assurance is one of the important air traffic services for ensuring safe operations of air traffic. This paper describes an approach to develop a range of operational concepts by describing what functions and technologies are required to maintain safe separation of unmanned aircraft and how those functions are allocated and distributed across primary system elements, such as air traffic controllers, automation systems, aircraft onboard systems, and UAS ground control stations including UAS pilots. A framework proposed in this study identifies key functions and capabilities by decomposing high-level system goals into smaller functions to achieve them hierarchically and also identifies primary system elements to perform the identified functions by decomposing the whole system into smaller systems hierarchically. The framework represents hierarchical functional/physical structure and allocation of functions across system elements at different levels to generate a range of potential separation assurance concepts systematically. The detailed representation of functional decomposition and allocation enables an application of the framework for recommending levels of automation (LOA) developed based on human factors engineering principles. The detailed functional decomposition and allocation framework to develop a concept of operations provides additional analysis capabilities: stability, workflow, and taskload analysis to examine the completeness, correctness, and balance of functional decomposition and allocation schemes for concept development without requiring complex simulations. This paper demonstrates the framework through a case study of providing separation assurance functions for UAS operating in en-route and transition airspace in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) timeframe.
The Action of Tyrothricin on Fecal Streptococci in Vitro and in Vivo

Streptococcus fecalis has been shown to possess marked resistance against two of the more recently developed therapeutic agents, sulfanilamide' and other sulfonamide compounds, and penicillin.2 It seemed of interest, therefore, to test its resistance in vitro and in vivo against tyrothricin, a substance isolated by Dubos3 from a spore-bearing soil bacillus and shown by him to be active against certain types of streptococci, including Streptococcus hemolyticus, Streptococcus viridans and 2 strains of gamma streptococci. In subsequent work Dubos and Hotchkiss4 were able to isolate two fractions, gramicidin and tyrocidine, from the parent tyrothricin, the former of which was especially active against gram-positive organisms. As gramicidin has not yet become available, the present experiments were conducted with tyrothricin, generously supplied by Sharp and Dohme.
Withdrawal Pains: Giving Up Desert

Underlying our present conception of punishment is the moral notion of desert. As Hodgson sets the problem, either we treat people as sometimes deserving punishment, or we treat them as “vehicles for treatment to be manipulated for the general good.” But treating them as mere vehicles to be dealt with for the common good, he says, (1) is an inappropriate way to treat rational people, and (2) does not encourage them to take responsibility for their conduct. I’m not sure about the second claim, since if human beings are not in fact responsible for what they do, I’m not entirely sure what it would mean for them take responsibility for their actions. I think it’s worth saying a word or two about that. I entirely agree with him about the first of these claims, though: treating human beings as mere instruments to be used for the common good is an inappropriate way to deal with rational people. Where, however, do we find the root of that claim? Is it in the belief that human beings deserve something else? That, of course, would simply be to insist on the position Hodgson has taken, and it may be that that is as far as the argument can go. All argument ends somewhere. I want to explore the other option, that perhaps even if there is no responsibility and no desert it is still wrong to treat human beings as mere instruments of the common good. I have begun to argue this possibility in an earlier paper, and I would like to follow out that line of thinking in this essay. If I am wrong about this third possibility (people do not morally deserve punishment for wrongdoing, and yet it is wrong to treat them as mere instruments), then (pace Greene and Cohen) I believe the outlook is pretty bleak.
Pore Network Modeling of Reactive Transport and Dissolution in Porous Media

Dissolution of solid grains in a porous medium is important in many applications, such as groundwater transport, carbon storage, mineral systems, formation of geologic features, and enhancement of near-wellbore permeability in carbonate reservoirs. Many models for dissolution in porous media are continuum-scale descriptions, but the flow, reactive transport, and subsequent increase in porosity and permeability occur at the pore scale. Thus, proper inclusion of parametric inputs is challenging. We present a single-phase, 3D, pore network model of dissolution for porous media in the mass-transfer-limited regime. A novel mass transfer coefficient correlation and pore-merging criterion are developed from finite element simulations that greatly improve the pore-scale physics and the quantitative accuracy of the network. The optimal Damkohler number determined from our network simulations closely matches the optimum of 0.29 reported experimentally for mass transfer dissolution in porous media.
Hand-Camera Coordination Varies over Time in Users of the Argus(®) II Retinal Prosthesis System.

Introduction:Most visual neuroprostheses use an external camera for image acquisition. This adds two complications to phosphene perception: 1) stimulation locus will not change with eye movements; and 2) external cameras can be aimed in directions different from the user’s intended direction of gaze. Little is known about the stability of where users perceive light sources to be or whether they will adapt to changes in camera orientation. Methods:Three end-stage retinitis pigmentosa patients implanted with the Argus II participated in this study. This prosthesis stimulated the retina based on an 18° x 11° area selected within the camera’s 66° x 49° field of view. The center of the electrode array’s field of view mapped with the camera’s field of view is the camera alignment position (CAP). Proper camera alignments minimize errors in localizing visual percepts in space. Subjects touched single white squares in random locations on a darkened touchscreen 40 or more times. To study adaptation, subjects were given intentional CAP misalignments of 15°–40° for 5–6 months. Subjects performed this test with auditory feedback during (bi-)weekly lab sessions. Misaligned CAPs were maintained for another 5–6 months without auditory feedback. Touch alignment was tracked to detect any adaptation. To estimate localization stability, data for when CAPs were set to minimize errors were tracked. The same localization test as above was used. Localization errors were tracked every 1–2 weeks for up to 40 months. Results:Two of three subjects used auditory feedback to improve accuracy with misaligned CAPs at an average rate of 0.02°/day (p < 0.05, bootstrap analysis of linear regression). The rates observed here were ~4000 times slower than those seen in normally-sighted subjects adapting to prism glasses. Removal of auditory feedback precipitated error increases for all subjects. Optimal CAPs varied significantly across test sessions (p < 10−4, bootstrap MANOVA), up to 21°–29° within subjects over the observed period. Across subjects, optimal CAPs showed an average rate of change of 0.39°/day (SD 0.36°/day). Conclusions:Optimal CAPs varied dramatically over time for all subjects. Subjects displayed no adaptation to misaligned CAPs without feedback. Regular recalibration of CAPs may be required to maintain hand-camera coordination.
Analysis on working status of surveillance system for acute flaccid paralysis case in Luohe in 2012

Objective In order to know the working status of surveillance system for acute flaccid paralysis case in Luohe in 2012,improve the quality of surveillance and maintain Polio-free status. Methods The epidemiological method was carried out in analyzing the case data. Results 25 AFP cases were reported in 2012,based on the standard for virological classification,all cases were excluded from polio case. All the surveillance indicators are in conformation with the related requirements of ministry of health. The rate of reporting at the first consultation was 63. 64%,with the rate of reporting by other places was 9. 10%. Conclusion The surveillence system for AFP was run well in 2012,and it is important for improving the reporting rate of first diagnosis and maintaining the sensitivity of AFP surveillance.
Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Quenching of L-(−)-Tryptophan in DMSO by Eu3+

The fluorescence emission of tryptophan in DMSO at room temperature, with λmax = 355±1 nm, becomes weaker in the presence of Eu3+ due to an enhancement of intersystem crossing via an external heavy atom perturbation. The corresponding phosphorescence spectrum of tryptophan, with maxima at about 407, 435 and 460 nm, also becomes weaker in the presence of Eu3+ due to energy transfer from the 3La or 3Lb-states of tryptophan to Eu3+, leading to sensitized fluorescence monitored at 591±1 nm (5Do → 7Fl). The energy transfer rate constant is given by kET ≥ 3 × 104 M−1 sec−1.
Mechanism-based profiling of MMPs

The recognition that the successful clinical use of MMP inhibitors will require quantitative correlation of MMP activity with disease type, and to disease progression, has stimulated intensive effort toward the development of sensitive assay methods, improved analytical methods for the determination of the structural profile for MMP-sub-type inhibition, and the development of new methods for the determination - in both quantitative and qualitative terms - of MMP activity. This chapter reviews recent progress toward these objectives, with particular emphasis on the quantitative and qualitative profiling of MMP activity in cells and tissues. Quantitative determination of MMP activity is made from the concentration of the MMP from the tissue, using immobilization of a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor on a chromatography resin. Active MMP, to the exclusion of MMP zymogens and endogenous TIMP-inhibited MMPs, is retained on the column. Characterization of the MMP sub-type(s) follows from appropriate analysis of the active MMP eluted from the resin. Qualitative determination of MMP involvement in disease can be made using an MMP sub-type-selective inhibitor. The proof of principle, with respect to this qualitative determination of the disease involvement of the gelatinase MMP-2 and MMP-9 sub-types, is provided by the class of thiirane-based MMP mechanism-based inhibitors (SB-3CT as the prototype). Positive outcomes in animal models of disease having MMP-2 and/or -9 dependency follow administration of this MMP inhibitor, whereas this inhibitor is inactive in disease models where other MMPs (such as MMP-14) are involved.
Detection of Salmonella Cells within 24 to 26 Hours in Poultry Samples with the Polymerase Chain Reaction BAX System

BAX, a commercial polymerase chain reaction-based system, was evaluated to determine the efficacy of the system with different concentrations of Salmonella cells in mixed cultures and compared to conventional methods for detection of inoculated Salmonella cells from poultry samples. When present in enrichment broths at levels of 105, 104, and 103 CFU/ml, Salmonella cells were detected in 100, 93, and 41% of samples, respectively. Salmonella cells were detected in 23 of 150 (15%) processed chicken rinse samples with the BAX system compared to 18 of 150 (12%) samples with conventional methods. Salmonella cells were detected in 28 of 50 (56%) ground turkey samples with the BAX system compared to 25 of 50 (50%) samples with conventional methods. Overall there was a 97% method agreement. One false-negative and two false-positive results were obtained with the BAX. Band sizes and intensity of the polymerase chain reaction product were shown to be correlated with estimated numbers of Salmonella CFU present in th...
Autoantibodies as Markers and Possible Mediators of Scleroderma Pathogenesis

Scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by a distinct, proliferative vasculopathy associated with skin thickening and fibrosis within internal organs and is associated with a unique autoimmune response. Within scleroderma, specific immune responses are strikingly associated with distinct clinical features. These autoantibody-defined clinical subgroups have distinct phenotypic and biological behavior, suggesting that the selection of specific immune targets has pathogenic consequences. This chapter focuses on the specificity and dynamics of these immune responses and the insights that they provide into disease mechanism, including as markers of key pathogenic events that initiate specific immune responses (e.g., mutation of scleroderma autoantigens in cancers), as well as potential roles as active mediators of damage of specific tissues. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying this extraordinary specificity may provide novel therapeutic targets or disease monitoring and management strategies.
Challenges in the hepatic histopathology in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Bedossa et al 1 present a cross-sectional clinicopathological correlation study of 798 consecutively prospectively obtained liver biopsies from patients who underwent bariatric surgery for severe obesity (body mass index >40 or >35 kg/m2 in whom at least one obesity-related comorbidity existed). Clinical phenotyping included body weight and composition by dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), relative and total body fat mass, limb fat measurements and fasting venous samples for liver, glucose and insulin tests. Diabetes and metabolic syndrome were defined according to international criteria, and 84% of subjects also had abdominal subcutaneous fat needle aspiration biopsies. The latter were analysed for adipocyte size and volume by published methods.2 As expected, the majority of subjects were women (78%), and Caucasian (73.5%). A range of liver histology was found, including 141 (18%) with ‘no’ (grade 0) steatosis (0%–5%) and no other lesions, and 38 (5%) with grade 0 steatosis, but with either inflammation, ballooning or mild fibrosis. Thus, 77.5% of subjects in the study had some form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the authors detailed the findings according to the Fatty Liver Inhibition of Progression (FLIP) European Consortium scoring system3 ,4 further discussed below. Several interesting findings resulted from this careful study. In spite of similar durations of obesity, younger individuals had less severe liver disease (most were categorised as ‘presumably normal’) compared with their older counterparts (whose biopsies showed the full spectrum of fatty liver including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis). The younger cohort was more often female (92% vs 73%), but less often Caucasian (40% vs 81%). …