cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coping and healthcare utilization in LGBTQ older adults: A systematic review.

Abstract Purpose This systematic review was conducted to identify, synthesize, and elucidate the coping mechanisms described by aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adults (60+) when utilizing healthcare. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Embase and Ovid databases to identify studies of aging LGBTQ adults using coping mechanisms during healthcare utilization. Qualitative and quantitative studies published in English between 1969 and 2020 were included and assessed with COREQ, STROBE Statement, and CASP instruments. Results Of 227 articles identified, six were included in the review. The final synthesis revealed that coping mechanisms were associated with social support, social network size, provider competency, and disclosure management. Frequency of appointments varied when seeking healthcare, and one study indicated delay in treatment. Conclusion This systematic review highlights various coping mechanisms associated with healthcare utilization and supports the need to develop research uniquely focused on aging LGBTQ adults.
Kpop: A kernel balancing approach for reducing specification assumptions in survey weighting

With the precipitous decline in response rates, researchers and pollsters have been left with highly non-representative samples, relying on constructed weights to make these samples representative of the desired target population. Though practitioners employ valuable expert knowledge to choose what variables, $X$ must be adjusted for, they rarely defend particular functional forms relating these variables to the response process or the outcome. Unfortunately, commonly-used calibration weights -- which make the weighted mean $X$ in the sample equal that of the population -- only ensure correct adjustment when the portion of the outcome and the response process left unexplained by linear functions of $X$ are independent. To alleviate this functional form dependency, we describe kernel balancing for population weighting (kpop). This approach replaces the design matrix $\mathbf{X}$ with a kernel matrix, $\mathbf{K}$ encoding high-order information about $\mathbf{X}$. Weights are then found to make the weighted average row of $\mathbf{K}$ among sampled units approximately equal that of the target population. This produces good calibration on a wide range of smooth functions of $X$, without relying on the user to explicitly specify those functions. We describe the method and illustrate it by application to polling data from the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a COVID-19 Recovered Patient

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease primarily affecting the lungs with a spectrum of post-viral complications. There are well-described examples of pneumonia, empyema, pneumomediastinum, and spontaneous pneumothorax cases following COVID-19 infection within the literature. However, there is insufficient evidence implicating the cause of spontaneous pneumothorax in COVID-19 recovered patients. We present a previously infected COVID-19 patient who developed a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax two weeks after recovering. A review of the literature for similar cases was limited and therefore includes a summary of recommendations. Overall, the literature establishes that pneumothorax can occur during different phases of COVID-19 in patients without a history of pulmonary disease or barotrauma and is not necessarily associated with the severity of the viral infection. As in the case of our patient, the culmination of chronic inflammatory changes and an acute exacerbation from COVID-19 further predisposed him to a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. In summary, all cases of recovered COVID-19 patients should maintain close follow-up with their physician and seek medical attention if acute respiratory symptoms develop.
Multi-target Vital Sign Detection Using Metamaterial Leaky Wave Antenna-Integrated Super-Regenerative Oscillator

In this article, a new kind of metamaterial (MTM) leaky wave antenna (LWA)-integrated super-regenerative oscillator (SRO) is introduced to detect multi-target vital sign signals. The proposed radar sensor with beam-scanning angle from -30 ° to -10 ° is designed, while oscillation frequency varies from 2.24 GHz to 2.48 GHz. A quench signal is imposed at the drain voltage of transistor in the circuit to operate the SRO-based radar sensor in the logarithmic mode. Experiment results show that the measured vital sign information for different targets at different locations, such as respiration rates and heartbeat rates, agree well with the ground truth. Meanwhile, the proposed SRO sensor using MTM LWA exhibits higher sensitivity with the further detectable distance compared to the SIL-based MTM LWA.
Direct Detection of the Labile Nickel Pool in Escherichia coli: New Perspectives on Labile Metal Pools.

Nickel serves critical roles in the metabolism of E. coli and many prokaryotes. Many details of nickel trafficking are unestablished, but a nonproteinaceous low-molecular-mass (LMM) labile nickel pool (LNiP) is thought to be involved. The portion of the cell lysate that flowed through a 3 kDa cutoff membrane, which ought to contain this pool, was analyzed by size-exclusion and hydrophilic interaction chromatographies (SEC and HILIC) with detection by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometries. Flow-through-solutions (FTSs) contained 11-15 μM Ni, which represented most Ni in the cell. Chromatograms exhibited 4 major Ni-detected peaks. MS analysis of FTS and prepared nickel complex standards established that these peaks arose from Ni(II) coordinated to oxidized glutathione, histidine, aspartate, and ATP. Surprisingly, Ni complexes with reduced glutathione or citrate were not members of the LNiP under the conditions examined. Aqueous Ni(II) ions were absent in the FTS. Detected complexes were stable in chelator-free buffer but were disrupted by treatment with 1,10-phenanthroline or citrate. Titrating FTS with additional NiSO4 suggested that the total nickel-binding capacity of cytosol is approximately 20-45 μM. Members of the LNiP are probably in rapid equilibrium. Previously reported binding constants to various metalloregulators may have overestimated the relevant binding strength in the cell because aqueous metal salts were used in those determinations. The LNiP may serve as both a Ni reservoir and buffer, allowing cells to accommodate a range of Ni concentrations. The composition of the LNiP may change with cellular metabolism and nutrient status.
Autonomy and Schizophrenia: Reflections on an Ideal

Here I shall consider an assumption that is widespread in psychoanalysis, psychiatry, and clinical psychology, and that is presented with characteristic subtlety in the writings of David Shapiro. This is the notion that the essential touchstone or ­yardstick of mental health is a person’s capacity for what Shapiro alternatively terms “autonomy,” “agency,” “intentionality,” or “self-directed action.” Corollary ideas are (1) that degrees of psychopathology correlate with a person’s or patient’s distance from this ideal, and (2) that the essential purpose of psychotherapy will be to increase one’s sphere of self-awareness and personal agency. Shapiro’s presentation of this extremely influential notion or assumption is the richest and clearest of which I am aware in clinical psychology or psychiatry. I will criticize the adequacy of this notion in relation to what is perhaps the most severe form of psychopathology: the schizophrenic disorders, a topic Shapiro mentions in Autonomy and Rigid Character (AR, published in 1981) and treats at length in Dynamics of Character (DC 2000). Part of my discussion focuses on the nature of schizophrenic symptoms in particular. The other part concerns the ambiguity of the psychological concepts in question – namely, personal “autonomy” as well as closely related notions including agency, volition, self-direction, and free will.
A Pragmatic and Sociolinguistic Account of δαιμόνιε in Early Greek Epic

Consideration of the social standing and emotional relation of speaker to addressee in epic shows that the address daimonie implies negative disposition and surprise, not the friendship term that would emerge later.
Local antiferromagnetic correlations and dx2-y2 pairing

Abstract The high Tc cuprate superconductors doped near half-filling have short-range antiferromagnetic correlations. Here we describe an intuitive local picture of why, if pairing occurs in the presence of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations, the orbital state will have dx2-y2 symmetry.
The mediator of cellular immunity: VIII. Effect of mitomycin C on specifically sensitized lymphocytes☆

Abstract The antimitotic agent, mitomycin C, was used to probe cellular events underlying the expression of acquired resistance to L. monocytogenes in the rat. It was found that thoracic duct lymphocytes from donors primarily immunized with this organism can protect normal recipients against a Listeria challenge and that their ability to do so is inhibited by treatment of the lymphocytes with mitomycin C. Concentrations of the drug which are effective in this regard also inhibit lymphocyte proliferation, but have little if any effect upon RNA or protein synthesis in cells tested at the time of transfer. Yet mitomycin C probably has irreversible effects on lymphocytes in addition to its capacity to block cell replication, for inhibitor-treated immunoblasts fail to localize in peritoneal exudates induced in recipient rats. The inability of mitomycin-treated immunoblasts to extravasate in inflammatory foci is associated with a diminished capacity of specificially sensitized lymphocytes to promote cell division in peritoneal exudates induced by L. monocytogenes. The results illustrate the importance of lymphocyte-macrophage interactions in cellular resistance to infection and give credence to the view that these interactions occur locally at sites of microbial invasion.
Comments on “The Subsidy Provided by the Federal Safety Net: Theory and Measurement”

Kwast and Passmore (K&P) examine the important current policy issue of the federal government safety net under U.S. depository institutions. The current safety net structure has been criticized for a number of reasons, including Encouraging excessive risk taking behavior by banks with resulting losses to the FDIC and ultimately the taxpayer. Providing recipient banks with an unfair competitive advantage by reducing their cost of funds.
Mathematics and Virtual Culture: an Evolutionary Perspective on Technology and Mathematics Education

This paper suggests that from a cognitive-evolutionary perspective, computational media are qualitatively different from many of the technologies that have promised educational change in the past and failed to deliver. Recent theories of human cognitive evolution suggest that human cognition has evolved through four distinct stages: episodic, mimetic, mythic, and theoretical. This progression was driven by three cognitive advances: the ability to ‘represent’ events, the development of symbolic reference, and the creation of external symbolic representations. In this paper, we suggest that we are developing a new cognitive culture: a ‘virtual’ culture dependent on the externalization of symbolic processing. We suggest here that the ability to externalize the manipulation of formal systems changes the very nature of cognitive activity. These changes will have important consequences for mathematics education in coming decades. In particular, we argue that mathematics education in a virtual culture should strive to give students generative fluency to learn varieties of representational systems, provide opportunities to create and modify representational forms, develop skill in making and exploring virtual environments, and emphasize mathematics as a fundamental way of making sense of the world, reserving most exact computation and formal proof for those who will need those specialized skills.
A veneziano model for the reaction π−p → π+π−n

A generalization of the one-pion exchange model for the reaction π−p → π+π−n in the resonant ππ region is developed by means of the five-point function of Bardakci and Ruegg. The model, using the slope of the pion trajectory as the only adjustable parameter, has appropriate spin content and proper Regge behavior. We have used aK-matrix unitarization scheme for mesons, generalized for the production process. The model is applied over a wide range of energies, and variations of all four remaining independent variables are also examined. The results are in general agreement with experiment, suggesting that the formulation is a desirable improvement over previous phenomenological models.
Evidence for the Site of Lambda Insertion in the ilv Gene Cluster of Escherichia coli K-12

The experiments reported herein provide evidence that the secondary site of λ is in the ilvC instead of the ilvA gene.
A comparison of computer-generated and naturally occurring foraging patterns in route-network-constrained spider monkeys.

The attribution of goal-directed behavior to observations of primate foraging and ranging requires that simpler explanations for observed behavior patterns be eliminated. Computer-generated simulations of non-goal-directed foraging behavior can be used as null models for higher complexity cognitive foraging, and can provide quantifiable data against which to compare the observed behavioral patterns in wild primates. In this paper, we compare the results of two variations of computer simulated null models with observed foraging behavior of wild spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth). One model simulates monkeys searching using a modified random-walk model in which monkeys alternate 100-m steps with turn angles derived from observed behavior. The second model constrains travel to an observed route system derived from observations of wild spider monkeys. Simulated monkeys in each model searched among increasing densities of feeding trees ranging from 10 to 1,000. We compared travel distance, travel directness, and accuracy of starting direction for each feeding tree discovered for the two models. We then compared these results with those derived from observations of wild spider monkeys. Route-model monkeys traveled shorter distances and more directly to feeding trees than did randomly foraging monkeys, and discovered trees in the direction they started more often. Observed spider monkeys outperformed simulated monkeys from both models in all variables, allowing us to reject the null hypothesis that observed foraging and ranging behavior could be explained by non-goal-directed travel. Am. J. Primatol. 76:460–471, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dynamics of Membrane Clathrin‐Coated Structures During Cytokinesis

Remodeling of cell membranes takes place during motile processes such as cell migration and cell division. Defects of proteins involved in membrane dynamics, including clathrin and dynamin, disrupt cytokinesis. To understand the function of clathrin-containing structures (CCS) in cytokinesis, we have expressed a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein of clathrin light chain a (GFP-clathrin) in NRK epithelial cells and recorded images of dividing cells near the ventral surface with a spinning disk confocal microscope. Punctate GFP-CCS underwent dynamic appearance and disappearance throughout the ventral surface. Following anaphase onset, GFP-CCS between separated chromosomes migrated toward the equator and subsequently disappeared in the equatorial region. Movements outside separating chromosomes were mostly random, similar to what was observed in interphase cells. Directional movements toward the furrow were dependent on both actin filaments and microtubules, while the appearance/disappearance of CCS was dependent on actin filaments but not on microtubules. These results suggest that CCS are involved in remodeling the plasma membrane along the equator during cytokinesis. Clathrin-containing structures may also play a role in transporting signaling or structural components into the cleavage furrow.
Bioavailability, Disposition, and Dose-Response Effects of Soy Isoflavones When Consumed by Healthy Women at Physiologically Typical Dietary Intakes

The pharmacokinetics of isoflavones in 10 healthy women were determined from serum appearance/disappearance concentration profiles and urinary excretions after single-bolus ingestion of 10, 20 or 40 g of soy nuts delivering increasing amounts of the conjugated forms of daidzein (6.6, 13.2 and 26.4 mg) and genistein (9.8, 19.6 and 39.2 mg). Peak serum daidzein and genistein concentrations were attained after 4-8 h, and elimination half-lives were 8.0 and 10.1 h, respectively. There were no differences in the pharmacokinetics of daidzein and genistein between pre- and postmenopausal women, indicating absorption and disposition of isoflavones to be independent of age or menopausal status. A curvilinear relationship was observed between the bioavailability of daidzein and genistein, apparent from the area under the curve to infinity (AUC(inf)) of the serum concentration-time profiles and the amount of isoflavones ingested. The mean fraction of the isoflavones excreted in urine decreased with increasing intake when expressed as a percentage of the administered dose (63.2 +/- 8.0, 54.4 +/- 8.1 and 44.0 +/- 4.3%, respectively, for daidzein, and correspondingly, 25.2 +/- 5.3, 13.4 +/- 2.1 and 15.8 +/- 2.7% for genistein), underscoring the trend toward nonlinear pharmacokinetics. Equol was identified as a metabolite in 30% of women; it was present consistently in urine and blood from the same subjects. Its delayed appearance was consistent with colonic synthesis. On the basis of the pharmacokinetics, optimum steady-state serum isoflavone concentrations would be expected from modest intakes of soy foods consumed regularly throughout the day rather than from a single highly enriched product.
Many-body physics in the radio-frequency spectrum of lattice bosons

We calculate the radio-frequency spectrum of a trapped cloud of cold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice. By using random phase and local-density approximations we produce both trap-averaged and spatially resolved spectra, identifying simple features in the spectra that reveal information about both superfluidity and correlations. Our approach is exact in the deep Mott limit and in the dilute superfluid when the hopping rates for the two internal spin states are equal. It contains final state interactions, obeys the Ward identities (and the associated conservation laws), and satisfies the $f$-sum rule. Motivated by earlier work by Sun, Lannert, and Vishveshwara [Phys. Rev. A 79, 043422 (2009)], we also discuss the features that arise in a spin-dependent optical lattice.
Adapting cDNA Microarray Format to Cytokine Detection Protein Arrays

A cytokine detection protein array was developed that combines the advantages of the cDNA microarray technology and sandwich fluoroimmunoassay. The protein array was printed by robotically spotting five human cytokine andgrowth factor capture antibodies onto planar substrates. The printed arrays were incubated with cytokine samples, bound by biotin-conjugated detection antibodies, and then detected by streptavidin-conjugated Cy5. This assay protocol was prepared specifically for the special requirements of the cytokine detection, with special attention paid to identifying the substrate, array printing buffer, blocking buffer, and the fluorescent dyes that yielded the highest sensitivity and selectivity against the lowest background. The dynamic ranges of the parallel assay for IL-1β, TNF-a, VEGF, MIP-1β, and TGF-β1 were 4 orders of magnitude with a detection limit (2 x background) of 10 pg/mL. The system was tested against patient sera and samples from an in vitro VEGF release study, measuring very low cytokine levels without any detectable nonspecific cross reactivity. This cytokine detection protein array can be extended to a larger menu of cytokines and growth factors for applications such as profiling the molecular signaling in wound healing.
The global expansion of alcohol marketing: illustrative case studies and recommendations for action.

As evidence emerges showing alcohol's significant share of the global burden of disease, alcohol sales have flattened in the developed countries, but sales are rising in developing and post-communist countries. A three-year study sought to assess the growing impact of global alcohol transnationals in the developing and post-communist countries. Case studies in three countries–Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and Estonia–provide concrete examples of current global alcohol marketing policies and procedures. Recommendations stress the need for national and local governments, international bodies, non-governmental organizations, and the global alcohol companies to adopt specific measures designed to achieve improved monitoring of alcohol problems, greater public awareness of alcohol's impact, stronger and more effective regulation of the alcohol trade, and greater restraint on the part of the companies. Alcohol problems are too serious and too preventable for the world to be left thirsting for action.
Gendered experiences of migration and conceptual knowledge of illness.

Migration is a gendered process which may differentially alter conceptual models of illness as variation and change within specific sub-domains reflect unique experiences and interactions. Forty Mexican migrants completed a questionnaire consisting of 30 true/false questions regarding the symptoms, causes, and treatments of 19 illnesses (570 total questions). Results were analyzed using the Cultural Consensus Model and residual agreement analyses to measure patterns of inter-informant agreement. While men and women share overall agreement, they differ significantly in conceptions of treatment. In general, men over-extend the efficacy of treatment options while women restrict the abilities of folk healers and emphasize dietary changes in treating many illnesses. Variations reflect different social roles and interactions as migration patterns and living conditions reinforce gendered roles in medical decision-making. Women have greater experience with illnesses and interactions with biomedical services, which causes them to approximate biomedical providers’ model of treatment.
THE DIRECT METHOD IN COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS

THE prospective return of the study of German in colleges and secondary schools to something approaching normal conditions holds in store splendid opportunities as well as a grave responsibility for both classes of institutions. The problem of the preparatory schools, serious as it is, seems to be the easier of the two. It consists mainly in a careful selection of new teachers, and since the supply is ample, the chief danger will probably lie in the rather natural tendency to provide for German instruction in a temporary, makeshift way. Wherever such a suicidal policy is avoided by the resolute appointment of the best teachers available, the question of method will easily take care of itself-provided that the colleges recognize the seriousness of their own responsibility and refrain from exerting a disastrous influence. Such a warning implies the heretical assertion that hitherto the influence of the colleges on modern language instruction has not been altogether beneficial. I am far from making that assertion a sweeping one. In my twenty years of experience as a college teacher I have met with instances of material improvement in high school instruction thru the aid and guidance of universities (notably so in the case of the University of Wisconsin), but, unfortunately, also with evidences of unpardonable hampering. Of the various types of contact between the two types of schools, such as inspection, admission requirements, bulletins, meetings, correspondence, and entrance examinations, I shall discuss only one, namely, the last-mentioned. There is more potential good and evil contained in examinations than in any of the other factors.
First-Year Teachers' Support Networks: Intentional Professional Networks and Diverse Professional Allies

In this article the author describes a mixed-methods study of first-year urban teachers' social support networks. Social Network Analysis (SNA) data on the support networks of 24 first-year teachers provided a background context and framework for the case study analysis of 4 of the teachers. Findings of the analysis identified 2 important networks of support for the new teachers: “Intentional Professional Networks” and “Diverse Professional Allies.” These findings have important implications for the ways in which administrators, policy makers, teacher-educators, and teachers can conceptualize and nurture teacher support networks and the interactions and relationships that influence teacher professional support.
Pharmacokinetics and Anesthetic Potency of a Thiopental Isomer

□ In developing a high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for thiopental [5-ethyl-5-(l-methylbutyl)-2-thiobarbituric acid], a thiopental isomer [5-ethyl-5-(l-ethylpropyl)-2-thiobarbituric acid] was found. This isomer occurs (6–7%) in supposedly pure thiopental and in the commercially available thiopental sodium administered to patients for induction of anesthesia. A similar type of isomer also occurs in pentobarbital, the oxybarbiturate analogue of thiopental. Because the disposition and anesthetic potency of the isomer is unknown, its pharmacokinetic properties were determined in humans and its anesthetic potency in mice. In five surgical patients, the terminal elimination halflife, clearance, and volume of distribution at steady state of the isomer were not statistically different from those of thiopental. In mice, the isomer proved to be as effective as thiopental for induction of anesthesia. The LD50 and sleep time at one-half the LD50 did not statistically differ between the two compounds in mice. The close structural similarity of thiopental and the isomer results in similar pharmacokinetic and anesthetic properties. It does not appear critical that the isomer be separated from thiopental in subsequent pharmacological research.
EYE SAFE POLARIZATION DIVERSITY LIDAR FOR AEROSOL STUDIES: CONCEPT DESIGN AND PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS

The concept design and preliminary applications of a new Eye Safe Polarization Diversity Lidar (ESPDL) instrument are described. The lidar operates with polarization diversity in the laser emission and polarization discrimination in the receiver at 1574 nm for tropospheric aerosol studies in the Arctic atmosphere. This instrument was originally designed to operate in the eye-safe wavelength range with a one-channel receiver and 20 dB linear polarization accuracy in the laser emission, and assembled in a compact optical bench. The instrument was upgraded for polarization diversity laser emission, i.e polarization selectivity better than 30 dB, and for linear polarization reception discrimination, i.e. polarization discrimination better than 50 dB. Geophysical lidar applications under the scope of this instrument with an overall instrumental polarimetric accuracy better than 0.1% focus on the identification of very dilute suspended aerosols in the troposphere, ice in-cloud initiation and aerosol/water interfaces, complex aerosols, sub-visible high altitude clouds and environmental issues and dynamic processes in the Arctic such as ice fog, forest fire, and a multilayered stably stratified Arctic boundary layer. In this article we describe the instrument design concept and the electronic synchronization necessary to achieve the maximum instrumental polarization accuracy. We report a preliminary case study of differential polarization analysis.
Two-Temperature Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Thermal Transport Across Metal-Nonmetal Interfaces

We have used a two-temperature nonequilibrium molecular dynamics method for predicting interfacial thermal resistance across metal-nonmetal interfaces. This method is an extension of the conventional nonequilibrium molecular dynamics for the dielectric-dielectric interface, where a temperature bias is imposed and the heat current is derived. We have included the electron degree of freedom for the interfacial thermal transport problem by treating the electron-phonon coupling with the two-temperature model. The method is demonstrated on two model systems, that is, silicon-copper interface and carbon-nanotube–copper interface. Temperature nonequilibrium between electrons and phonons in the metal side is quantitatively predicted, and a temperature drop across the interface is observed. The results agree with experimental data better than those obtained from conventional nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations where only phonons are considered. Our approach is capable of taking into account both the electron and lattice degrees of freedom in a single molecular dynamics simulation and is a generally useful tool for modeling interfacial thermal transport across metal-nonmetal interfaces.
Efficacy of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease and Barcelona criteria for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scan and MRI are essential for preoperative diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), using the established Barcelona and AASLD criteria, which have been validated in only a few reports. The aim of this study is to retrospectively assess the diagnostic performance of these criteria in diagnosing or excluding HCC in at-risk patients with histopathology confirmation. After institutional review board approval, a HIPAA compliant study was performed. The study cohort consisted of 156 de novo hepatic nodules imaged by either dynamic contrast-enhanced CT or MRI within 90 days of histopathology. Images were retrospectively reviewed by two abdominal radiologists blinded to clinical details, and all nodules were categorized as either meeting or not meeting AASLD and Barcelona criteria. By AASLD or Barcelona criteria, HCC was defined as any nodule greater than or equal to 1 or 2 cm, respectively, with hyperenhancement relative to background liver on arterial phase and hypoenhancement relative to background liver on portal venous or delayed phases. Significant differences in cohorts were analyzed using chi squared analysis (p < 0.05). On biopsy, 141/156 (90.38%) nodules were diagnosed as HCC. The respective sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and positive predictive value of AASLD and Barcelona were 78.7% and 63.1% (sensitivity), 73.3% and 86.7% (specificity), 78.2% and 65.4% (accuracy), and 82% and 63% (positive predictive value) (p < 0.001). Using established imaging criteria, up to 21.8% of presumed HCC nodules are inaccurately characterized and many small HCC nodules remain undiagnosed.
Anion–π interactions and positive electrostatic potentials of N-heterocycles arise from the positions of the nuclei, not changes in the π-electron distribution

We show that the positive electrostatic potentials and molecular quadrupole moments characteristic of π-acidic azines, which underlie the ability of these rings to bind anions above their centres, arise from the position of nuclear charges, not changes in the π-electron density distribution.
Control of in vitro growth of viviparous embryo mutants of maize by abscisic acid

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is believed to play a role in the onset of developmental arrest in seeds. Embryos of the viviparous mutants of Zea mays do not undergo arrest but germinate directly on the ear. This study investigates the possibility that the mutants vp1, vp5, vp7, vp8, and vp9 are defective in some aspect of ABA action. Mutant and wild type embryos were removed from developing seeds at 18, 21, and 24 days after pollination and cultured aseptically on media containing a range of ABA concentrations. Seedlings were harvested after seven days when lengths and fresh and dry weights were recorded. The results indicate that these five viviparous mutants differ in their response to ABA. Two mutants, vp5 and vp8, exhibit the same sensitivity to growth inhibition by ABA as wild type. The remaining three mutants, however, manifest a range of decreased sensitivities with vp1 being the least sensitive, followed by vp7 and vp9.
Validity of two new patient-reported outcome measures in systemic sclerosis: Patient-reported outcomes measurement information system 29-item health profile and functional assessment of chronic illness therapy–dyspnea short form

Systemic sclerosis (SSc)/scleroderma is a rare, chronic connective tissue disease that causes skin and internal organ fibrosis, production of autoantibodies and deregulation of vascular homeostasis. Given the systemic nature of the disease, SSc can greatly impact quality of life(1). Accepted SSc clinical trial outcomes include assessment of functional, laboratory and radiographic disease markers, and patient reported outcomes (PRO). A PRO instrument is a patient-completed questionnaire that assesses a symptom or functional limitation. A multitude of PRO instruments including the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)(2), Short-Form-36 (SF-36)(3), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI)(3, 4), Medical Research Council (MRC) Dyspnea Score, and others have been developed, validated in SSc (as indicated) and used to assess treatment response in SSc clinical trials. However, the lack of a standardized and uniformly scored set of PRO instruments to measure various SSc manifestations complicates between-study comparisons and interpretation of PRO results. In order to address this impediment to SSc and other disease-focused research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System/PROMIS (www.nihpromis.org). The PROMIS is a network of NIH-funded research sites and coordinating centers working collaboratively to develop a series of dynamic tools to reliably and validly measure PROs(5). In 2004, PROMIS investigators developed a plan to create a bank of PRO items and short forms that could be used by all investigators conducting patient-oriented research. Multidimensional scales including PROMIS-29 Health Profile (PROMIS-29), and symptom-specific instruments such as the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Dyspnea short form were created in English and Spanish. PROMIS-29 and FACIT-Dyspnea were validated in the general US, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) populations respectively, and were standardized using a T-score metric with a mean set to 50 (standard deviation=10) to ensure simple scoring and interpretable results(6–8). The purpose of the study was to assess the construct validity for discriminative purposes of the PROMIS-29 and FACIT-Dyspnea for the measurement of general health and dyspnea in SSc. We hypothesized that these new instruments to assess global health and dyspnea would perform as well as legacy instruments (SGRQ, MRC Dyspnea Score, HAQ-DI, SF-36) that have been used in SSc clinical trials. The benefit of the new instruments is that they are available in multiple languages (English and Spanish), free, and simple to administer, score and interpret.
IDEOLOGY AND RACIAL STRATIFICATION: A THEORETICAL JUXTAPOSITION

Structural explanations of racial stratification are weakened by a failure to in‐corporate attitudinal and ideological factors into their theories. But attitudinal researchers have tended to focus on racial prejudice and tolerance and neglected non‐racially specific beliefs that support white dominance. This article reviews the limits of each approach, discusses the problem of ideology for race relations theory and explores how, through the analysis of ideology, attitudinal and structural analysis might be synthesised. Findings on the relation between adherence to individualist explanations of poverty, perceptions of racial discrimination in employment and attitudes toward affirmative action programs are used to exemplify the power of class ideologies in shaping beliefs about racial inequality and vice versa. An exploration of ideologies of local autonomy and attitudes toward public housing and residential desegregation might elicit similar findings.
Rocky Mountain species of Paronychia (Caryophyllaceae): A morphological, cytological, and chemical study

Data derived from a morphological, cytological, flavonoid, and greenhouse study indicate thatParonychia pulvinata (2n = 32) andP. sessiliflora (2n = 64) should be distinguished in specific rank rather than in subspecific rank as recently proposed. Additionally, new evidence is brought to bear onP. depressa var.brevicuspis, which is shown to be synonymous withP. sessiliflora.
Long-term effects of the treatment of polycythemia vera with recombinant interferon-α

Patients with polycythemia vera (PV) are most often treated with phlebotomy-only (PHL-O) or phlebotomy plus hydroxyurea (PHL + HU). Such treatment is often unsatisfactory because of persistent susceptibility to thrombosis owing to inadequate control of abnormal erythropoiesis and thrombopoiesis. Recombinant interferon-alpha (rIFN alpha) inhibits erythroid progenitors and affects megakaryocyte function and thus may be a more effective treatment, but reports of its use have been of relatively short duration. The long-term use (median, 13 years) of rIFN alpha in 55 patients previously treated with PHL alone or with PHL + HU was studied. Data pertaining to the natural history of the disease were also examined. Patients achieved partial response of their disease by 6 months, and complete response by 1-2 years (phlebotomy-free, HCT < or =45%, platelets < or =600,000/microL); spleen size was reduced in 27 of 30 patients with prior splenomegaly. The initial dose of rIFN alpha was 1 mega unit 3 times a week (1 MU/tiw) for the majority of patients, with periodic dose increases as required and as tolerated. The maintenance dose, usually 3 MU/tiw, could be decreased after the second year of treatment in half the patients. Toxicity was acceptable. Disease-free survival was marked by no thrombohemorrhagic complications reflecting both the effect of rIFN alpha and total patient care. Evidence is presented indicating that rIFN alpha effectively reduces PHL requirements, thrombocythemia, splenomegaly, and thrombohemorrhagic events. It is an effective drug for treating PV with acceptable toxicity.
Default Mode, Dorsal Attention and Auditory Resting State Networks Exhibit Differential Functional Connectivity in Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

We investigated auditory, dorsal attention, and default mode networks in adults with tinnitus and hearing loss in a resting state functional connectivity study. Data were obtained using continuous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while the participants were at “rest” and were not performing any task. Participants belonged to one of three groups: middle-aged adults with tinnitus and mild-to-moderate high frequency hearing loss (TIN), age-matched controls with normal hearing and no tinnitus (NH), and a second control group with mild-to-moderate high frequency hearing loss without tinnitus (HL). After standard preprocessing, (a) a group independent component analysis (ICA) using 30 components and (b) a seeding-based connectivity analysis were conducted. In the group ICA, the default mode network was the only network to display visual differences between subject groups. In the seeding analysis, we found increased connectivity between the left parahippocampus and the auditory resting state network in the TIN group when compared to NH controls. Similarly, there was also an increased correlation between the right parahippocampus and the dorsal attention network when compared to HL controls. Other group differences in this attention network included decreased correlations between the seed regions and the right supramarginal gyrus in TIN patients when compared to HL controls. In the default mode network, there was a strong decrease in correlation between the seed regions and the precuneus when compared to both control groups. The findings of this study identify specific alterations in the connectivity of the default mode, dorsal attention, and auditory resting state networks due to tinnitus. The results suggest that therapies for tinnitus that mitigate the increased connectivity of limbic regions with auditory and attention resting state networks and the decreased coherence of the default mode network could be effective at reducing tinnitus-related distress.
Surface Analysis of the Rear-Flank Downdraft Outflow in Two Tornadic Supercells

Abstract The rear-flank downdraft regions of two tornadic supercells were sampled on 12 June 2004 and 9 June 2005 using four “mobile mesonet” probes. These rear-flank downdraft outflows were sampled employing two different data collection routines; therefore, each case is described from a different perspective. The data samples were examined to identify variations in measured surface equivalent potential temperature, virtual potential temperature, and kinematics. In the 12 June 2004 case, the tornadic circulation was accompanied by small equivalent potential temperature deficits within the rear-flank downdraft outflow early in its life followed by increasing deficits with time. Virtual potential temperature deficits modestly increased through the duration of the sample as well. The 9 June 2005 case was highlighted by heavy precipitation near the tornado itself and relatively small negative, or even positive, equivalent and virtual potential temperature perturbations. Large horizontal variations of surface...
Erythema multiforme secondary to herpes simplex infection: a case report.

Background: Erythema multiforme (EM) is a complex disease that may have cutaneous and/or mucosal involvement. The severity may range from mild to severe and potentially life threatening. The literature cites many factors including viruses, infections, and medications as causes. This report documents a patient who developed EM secondary to a herpes simplex viral (HSV) infection. Methods: Two weeks following an eruption of herpes labialis, a 20-year-old white female patient developed acutely painful oral and labial ulcers accompanied by target skin lesions. A diagnosis of erythema multiforme (EM) was made. The patient was treated with antivirals, analgesics, and symptomatic therapy. Results: Nine days after the onset of symptoms, the oral and cutaneous lesions had started to heal and the patient no longer required pain medication. Conclusions: Although the etiology of EM is still often unknown, infections with herpes simplex virus have been implicated as a possible precipitating factor. This case illustrate...
Solutions containing miotic agents: Effects on corneal transendothelial electrical potential difference

• Background: Anterior chamber miotic solutions are widely used during anterior chamber surgery. We examined the effects of solutions containing miotic agents such as carbachol and/or acetylcholine on corneal endothelial pumping activity. • Methods: We monitored, in vitro, the transendothelial electrical potential difference of isolated rabbit corneal endothelial preparations. As controls, we used solutions without miotics. • Results: We found that a solution containing 55 mM acetylcholine and minimal amounts of salts (Miochol E) maintains transendothelial electrical potential difference some 30% above control levels for up to 4 h. Two other solutions, one including balanced salts and 0.55 mM carbachol (Miostat), the other a mixture of 0.19 mM carbachol and 55 mM acetylcholine plus minimal salts, are adequate to maintain the potential difference at control levels. Lastly, a solution with acetylcholine but without any salts (Miochol) greatly decreases the potential difference, to 30% of the control level, in 100 min. • Conclusion: Our results indicate that: (1) 55 mM (1%) acetylcholine stimulates the endothelial electrical potential difference; (2) addition of 0.19 mM (0.003%) carbachol negates the stimulatory effect of acetylcholine; and (3) absence of electrolytes severely depresses the endothelial electrical activity.
Self inhibition of phagocytosis: the affinity of ‘Marker of Self’ CD47 for SIRPα dictates potency of inhibition but only at low expression levels

Phagocytes engulf foreign cells but not 'self' in part because self cells express CD47 as a ligand for signal regulatory protein SIRPalpha, which inhibits phagocytosis. Motivated by reports of upregulation of CD47 on both normal and cancerous stem cells [1: Jaiswal et al., 2009] and also by polymorphisms in SIRPalpha [2: Takenaka et al., 2007], we show here that inhibition of engulfment correlates with affinity of CD47 for SIRPalpha - but only at low levels of CD47. One common human polymorph of SIRPalpha is studied and binds more strongly to human-CD47 than to mouse-CD47 (K(d) approximately 0.12 microM and 6.9 microM, respectively) and does not bind sheep red blood cells (RBCs) - which are well-established targets of human macrophages; in comparison, a common mouse polymorph of SIRPalpha binds with similar affinity to human and mouse CD47 (K(d) approximately 0.22 microM). Using immunoglobulin (IgG)-opsonized particles with varying levels of either human- or mouse-CD47, the effective inhibition constants K(i) for blocking phagocytosis are then determined with both human- and mouse-derived macrophages. Only human phagocytes show significant differences in man versus mouse K(i)'s and only at CD47 levels below normal densities for RBCs. While phospho-signaling through human-SIRPalpha shows similar trends, consistent again with the affinity differences, saturating levels of CD47 (>K(i)) can signal and inhibit phagocytosis regardless of man versus mouse. Quantitative analyses here prompt more complete characterizations of both CD47 levels and SIRPalpha polymorphisms when attempting to study in vivo effects of these key proteins in innate immunity.
Kleine technische Mitteilungen

Zweck der kurzen Mitteilung ist: 1. Neuerdings auf die erstmals von F. Lange, spater von P. Pitzen, M. Lange u. a. hingewiesene uberragende Bedeutung der Dauerentspannung nervengelahmter Muskeln hinzuweisen und auf die Verhinderung von Uberdehnung dieser Muskeln. 2. Eine kleine Radialisschiene bekannt zu geben, welche wahrscheinlich eher geeignet ist fur die Behandlung von Radialislahmungen als die bisher gebrauchlichen Schienen.
On a theorem of Müller and Carlitz

Let r(n) denote the number of representations of n as a sum of two squares. We have ∑n⩽χ r(n) log(x/n) = Ax +B log x + C + O(x−14) where A, B, C are constants. The evaluation of C in “closed form” is established by a new method in this paper.
Global estimates of seafloor slope from single‐beam ship soundings

[1] Rough topography on the ocean floor is a source of ocean mixing which is of interest to both physical oceanography and climate science. Most mixing has been attributed to high slopes of the large-scale structures of the deep ocean floor such as seamounts, continental margins, and mid-ocean ridge axes. In this paper, we show the small-scale but ubiquitous abyssal hills and fracture zones dominate the global map of rough topography. Much of this rugged seafloor occurs in the Southern Ocean on the flanks of the Pacific-Antarctic Rise and Southwest Indian Ridge. We present our results as a global map of the mean slope of the ocean floor, and as a global map of the ocean floor above theM2 critical slope. We compare our results to multibeam and satellite bathymetry data to show that satellite bathymetry is not a valid proxy for multibeam measurements, but edited single-beam sonar data are adequate to provide a global perspective on features with horizontal wavelengths as small as 2 km.