cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A propensity-adjusted comparison of middle meningeal artery embolization versus conventional therapy for chronic subdural hematomas.

OBJECTIVE Middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization is a promising treatment strategy for chronic subdural hematomas (cSDHs). However, studies comparing MMA embolization and conventional therapy (surgical intervention and conservative management) are limited. The authors aimed to compare MMA embolization versus conventional therapy for cSDHs using a propensity-adjusted analysis. METHODS A retrospective study of all patients with cSDH who presented to a large tertiary center over a 2-year period was performed. MMA embolization was compared with surgical intervention and conservative management. Neurological outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). A propensity-adjusted analysis compared MMA embolization versus surgery and conservative management for all individual cSDHs. Primary outcomes included change in hematoma diameter, treatment failure, and complete resolution at last follow-up. RESULTS A total of 231 patients with cSDH met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 35 (15%) were treated using MMA embolization, and 196 (85%) were treated with conventional treatment. On the latest follow-up, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in the percentage of patients with worsening mRS scores. Of the 323 total cSDHs found in 231 patients, 41 (13%) were treated with MMA embolization, 159 (49%) were treated conservatively, and 123 (38%) were treated with surgical evacuation. After propensity adjustment, both surgery (OR 12, 95% CI 1.5-90; p = 0.02) and conservative therapy (OR 13, 95% CI 1.7-99; p = 0.01) were predictors of treatment failure and incomplete resolution on follow-up imaging (OR 6.1, 95% CI 2.8-13; p < 0.001 and OR 5.4, 95% CI 2.5-12; p < 0.001, respectively) when compared with MMA embolization. Additionally, MMA embolization was associated with a significant decrease in cSDH diameter on follow-up relative to conservative management (mean -8.3 mm, 95% CI -10.4 to -6.3 mm, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This propensity-adjusted analysis suggests that MMA embolization for cSDH is associated with a greater extent of hematoma volume reduction with fewer treatment failures than conventional therapy.
Promoting Quality of Mixed Methods Consultation Research: A Synergistic Participatory Framework

The purpose of this article is to provide researchers with a framework for promoting high quality mixed methods school-based consultation research. Furthermore, this article is intended for researc...
Assessing Bias in Cognitive Testing for Older Adults with Sensory Impairment: An Analysis of Differential Item Functioning in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (BLSA) and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS)

Objectives Vision and hearing impairments affect 55% of people aged 60+ years and are associated with lower cognitive test performance; however, tests rely on vision, hearing, or both. We hypothesized that scores on tests that depend on vision or hearing are different among those with vision or hearing impairments, respectively, controlling for underlying cognition. Methods Leveraging cross-sectional data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), we used item response theory to test for differential item functioning (DIF) by vision impairment (better eye presenting visual acuity worse than 20/40) and hearing impairment (better ear .5-4 kHz pure-tone average > 25 decibels). Results We identified DIF by vision impairment for tests whose administrations do not rely on vision [e.g., Delayed Word Recall both in ARIC-NCS: .50 logit difference between impaired and unimpaired (p = .04) and in BLSA: .62 logits (p = .02)] and DIF by hearing impairment for tests whose administrations do not rely on hearing [Digit Symbol Substitution test in BLSA: 1.25 logits (p = .001) and Incidental Learning test in ARIC-NCS: .35 logits (p = .001)]. However, no individuals had differences between unadjusted and DIF-adjusted measures of greater than the standard error of measurement. Conclusions DIF by sensory impairment in cognitive tests was independent of administration characteristics, which could indicate that elevated cognitive load among persons with sensory impairment plays a larger role in test performance than previously acknowledged. While these results were unexpected, neither of these samples are nationally representative and each has unique selection factors; thus, replication is critical.
Pediatric End-of-life Simulation: Preparing the Future Nurse to Care for the Needs of the Child and Family.

Abstract Purpose Preparing a future nurse to respond to the complex and sensitive needs of a child and family during the end-of-life requires more than didactic content in a classroom. During clinical experiences, students may care for children diagnosed with a terminal illness however; it is less likely that a student will have a clinical opportunity to care for a child and their family at the end-of-life. Without having an experience, it is challenging to teach students how to care for the dying child and family including how to appreciate the emotions, thoughts, and expectations when faced with a pediatric death (Lindsay, 2010). Design and Methods The instructional model integrates an end-of-life simulation into an undergraduate pediatric nursing course allowing students to practice caring for a child and their family while developing an understanding of the unique needs of a dying pediatric patient. Results Post simulation, students participating in guided reflection, identified several themes impacting their experience with end-of-life care, including symptom management, emotional care and “what to say”. Conclusions The structured simulated experience provided knowledge, skill and awareness to the role of the nurse when providing care at the end-of-life. Practice Implications Nurses' behaviors and responses when caring for a child can have a significant impact on the family's experience and memory of their child's death. Unintended actions may result in the family experiencing negative impressions, causing further distress to the grieving family (Butler, Hall, Willetts, & Copnell, 2015).
What’s for dinner this time?: DNA authentication of “wild mushrooms” in food products sold in the USA

Mushrooms have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, and while some have gastronomic and nutritional value, it has long been recognized that only select species of mushrooms are suitable for consumption. Adverse health effects of consuming poisonous mushrooms range from mild illness to death. Many valuable edible mushrooms are either impractical or unable to be grown commercially, requiring them to be harvested from the wild. In the U.S., products containing these wild-collected mushrooms are often sold with the nonspecific and undefined label "wild mushrooms," although in some cases particular species are listed in the ingredients. However, the ambiguity of the definition of "wild mushrooms" in foods makes it impossible to know which species are involved or whether they are truly wild-collected or cultivated varieties. As a consequence, any individual adverse reactions to consuming the mushrooms in these products cannot be traced to the source due to the minimal regulations around the harvest and sale of wild mushrooms. For this study, we set out to shed light on what species of fungi are being sold as "wild mushrooms" using DNA metabarcoding to identify fungal contents of various food products acquired from locally sourced grocers and a large online retail site. Twenty-eight species of mushroom were identified across 16 food products, ranging from commonly cultivated species to wild species not represented in global DNA databases. Our results demonstrate that "wild mushroom" ingredients often consist entirely or in part of cultivated species such as the ubiquitous white and brown "button" mushrooms and portabella (Agaricus bisporus), oyster (Pleurotus spp.) and shiitake (Lentinula edodes). In other cases truly wild mushrooms were detected but they were not always consistent with the species on the label. More alarmingly, a few products with large distribution potential contained species whose edibility is at best dubious, and at worst potentially toxic.
Novel population of human monocyte and osteoclast progenitors from pluripotent stem cells and peripheral blood.

Abstract Osteoclasts are multi-nuclear cells of monocytic lineage, with the ability to resorb bone. Studies in mouse have identified bone marrow clonal progenitors able to generate mature osteoclast cells (OCs) in vitro and in vivo. These osteoclast progenitors (OCPs) can also generate macrophages and dendritic cells. Interestingly, cells with equivalent potential can be detected in periphery. In humans, cells with OCP activity have been identified in bone marrow and periphery. However, their characterization has not been as extensive. We have developed reproducible methods to derive, from human pluripotent stem cells, a population containing monocyte progenitors able to generate functional OCs. Within this population, we have identified cells with monocyte and osteoclast progenitor activity based on CD11b and CD14 expression. A population double positive (DP) for CD11b and CD14 contains cells with expected osteoclastic potential. However, the double negative (DN) population, containing most of the hematopoietic progenitor activity, also presents a very high osteoclastic potential. These progenitor cells can also be differentiated to macrophage and dendritic cells. Further dissection within the DN population, identified cells bearing the phenotype: CD15-CD115+ as the population with highest monocytic progenitor and osteoclastic potential. When similar methodology was used to identify OCPs from human peripheral blood, we confirmed a published OCP population with the phenotype CD11b+CD14+. In addition, we identified a second population (CD14-CD11bloCD115+) with high monocytic progenitor activity and also able to form osteoclast like (OCL) cells, similar to the two populations identified from pluripotent stem cells.
CSC software corrects off-target mediated gRNA depletion in CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens.

Off-target effects are well established confounders of CRISPR negative selection screens that impair the identification of essential genomic loci. In particular, non-coding regulatory elements and repetitive regions are often difficult to target with specific gRNAs, effectively precluding the unbiased screening of a large portion of the genome. To address this, we developed CRISPR Specificity Correction (CSC), a computational method that corrects for the effect of off-targeting on gRNA depletion. We benchmark CSC with data from the Cancer Dependency Map and show that it significantly improves the overall sensitivity and specificity of viability screens while preserving known essentialities, particularly for genes targeted by highly promiscuous gRNAs. We believe this tool will further enable the functional annotation of the genome as it represents a robust alternative to the traditional filtering strategy of discarding unspecific guides from the analysis. CSC is an open-source software that can be seamlessly integrated into current CRISPR analysis pipelines. Off-target effects often confound the interpretation of CRISPR screens. Here, the authors introduce a computational method that corrects for off-targets in gRNA depletion assays, circumventing the need to completely discard unspecific guides.
Scheduling with dynamic voltage/speed adjustment using slack reclamation in multi-processor real-time systems

The power consumption of modern high-performance processors is becoming a major concern because it leads to increased heat dissipation and decreased reliability. While many techniques have been proposed to reduce power consumption for uni-processors, there has been considerably less work on multi-processor systems. In this paper we focus on power-aware scheduling for multi-processor real-time systems. Based on the idea of slack sharing among processors, we propose two novel scheduling algorithms for task sets with and without precedence constraints. These scheduling techniques reclaim the time unused by a task to reduce the execution speed of future tasks, and thus reduce the total energy consumption of the system. Simulation results indicate that our algorithms achieve up to 60% energy savings on multi-processor systems with variable voltage processors.
Central Venous Access

Maintenance of venous access is the cornerstone of many medical therapies. Durable venous access into the central venous systems is essential for most cancer regimens, extended antibiotic therapies, parenteral nutrition, and inotropic therapies. Durable central venous access for patients who require hemodialysis serves as a bridge until a dialysis fistula or graft is established or as a means of last resort when a graft or fistula is no longer possible. Increasingly, the placement of a long-term central venous access device is performed using ultrasound and fluoroscopic image guidance and is most commonly performed by interventional radiology (Fig. 45.1).
The Adrenal Cortex and its Disorders

Abstract The adrenal cortex produces dozens of steroids having varying degrees of glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, and androgenic activity. Cortisol, the principal glucocorticoid, and aldosterone, the principal mineralocorticoid, are essential for normal physiology. Steroidogenesis entails more than 25 enzymes and cofactors arrayed in complex pathways that differ among the various types of steroidogenic cells; some important pathways are newly described. Evaluation of adrenal function entails steroid measurements in basal, stimulated, and inhibited states. Many technologies are used for steroid measurements, yielding different results; the endocrinologist must be familiar with the assay technologies used and normal values by age and sex. Adrenal insufficiency (Addison disease) may be attributable to autoimmune, infectious, or genetic causes. Glucocorticoid excess (Cushing syndrome) may be caused by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) of pituitary or tumor origin, or caused by adrenal genetic disorders or tumors. Mineralocorticoid excess (hyperaldosteronism) may be caused by adrenal tumors (Conn syndrome) associated with genetic disorders of potassium channels. Steroid hormones act via nuclear receptors; genetic disorders affecting these may mimic steroidal excess or deficiency states. In all, over 100 genes relevant to steroid hormone production, metabolism, or action may be seen as adrenal disorders. Deficiency states are known for most of these, yielding complex clinical phenotypes attributable to deficient hormonal products and accumulated hormonal precursors. Many apparently unrelated medical conditions and commonly used drugs may increase or decrease steroid metabolism. Steroids are widely used as therapeutic agents; the relative activities of different agents as glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, and growth suppressants are discordant. Withdrawal from long-term glucocorticoid treatment may be difficult and require substantial time.
A necessary and sufficient condition for mismatch shaping in multi-bit DACs

Mismatch-shaping digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are enabling components in most of today's high performance delta-sigma data converters. These multi-bit DACs ensure that the noise created by static component mismatches in the DAC is spectrally shaped so that most of its power resides outside of the signal band. Although most mismatch-shaping DACs adhere to a common architecture consisting of a digital encoder and a bank of 1-bit DACs, the theoretical analysis of the DAC noise has been tailored to the specific implementations. This paper presents a necessary and sufficient condition for a general multi-bit DAC to produce DAC noise that has desired properties in its PSD. As an example application, this paper uses the condition to analyze and compare several mismatch-shaping DACs.
A Strategic Model of Judicial Behavior in the U.S. Federal Courts

Although judges may be primarily motivated by their policy preferences, their pursuit of those preferences is often constrained by institutional roles and norms both internal and external to the federal judicial system that require judges to act strategically to translate those preferences into decision outcomes. This research combined endogenous constraints to the court in the interactions amongst justices with exogenous constraints to the court present in the relationships between the judicial, executive and legislative branches into strategic models for U.S. district court and court of appeals judges. Results suggest that the strategic model does explain judicial behavior that may not otherwise be understood as driven solely by attitudinal concerns. In both district court and court of appeals judges’ opinions, the strategic model correctly predicted more decisions than the attitudinal model. A judges’ ideological conflict with the preferences of their colleagues on appellate panels, the Supreme Court, Congress and the President were found to have a significant relationship with judges’ decisions to varying degrees. This research provides empirical support for the strategic model of judicial behavior and contributes to building this relatively new theory for use in understanding the behavior of lower federal court judges.
Enabling a Learning Health System through a Unified Enterprise Data Warehouse: The Experience of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute.

The Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) was launched in 2007 to create a central hub supporting clinical and translational science (CTS) across numerous schools at Northwestern University, our three main clinical partners (Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Corporation, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), community and industry stakeholders, and beyond. NUCATS is designed to support the entire spectrum of CTS, from basic discovery through clinical trials to community-based research, dissemination and implementation, regardless of disease area. Funded by a Clinical and Translational Award (CTSA) from the NIH, and supported by extensive institutional resources, NUCATS has become an innovation leader in several key areas of CTS. Here we highlight the critical contributions an enterprise data warehouse can make to advancing translational science and quality clinical care to enable a learning healthcare system. Central to the success of our EDW has been the governance model and data structure that have enabled rapid advances in CTS, several examples of which we provide.
A framework for optimal temporal reduced order modeling of nonlinear dynamical systems

Abstract An optimal temporal reduced order modeling framework is proposed for nonlinear dynamical systems. The governing equations are modified for an under-resolved simulation with an arbitrary scheme and a coarse temporal grid. Subgrid-scale models are developed to account for the unresolved temporal structure via inclusion of statistical information on a multi-point temporal stencil. These models are based upon principles of mean-square error minimization, conditional expectations and stochastic estimation. In order to validate the proposed framework, we investigate time-periodic solutions for a canonical Duffing oscillator using a coarse harmonic balance scheme. In order to demonstrate application of the proposed framework to a high dimensional nonlinear dynamical system, we also investigate a simply supported, geometrically nonlinear beam under the influence of time-periodic external forcing. For both problems, the subgrid-scale models are shown to significantly improve the accuracy of coarse-grained solutions.
The effect of protein deficiency on the in vivo binding of aflatoxin B1 to rat liver macromolecules

Abstract Male, weanling rats divided into three groups were maintained for 15 days on a semipurified diet containing either 5% casein fed ad libitum (group 1), 20% casein pair-fed to group 1 (group 2), or 20% casein fed ad libitum (group 3). Animals on day 16 were injected i.p. with 3H-AFB1 (1.90 mg/kg) and were sacrificed six hours later. In both the control and protein deficient animals, binding of AFB1 to DNA was greater than that for chromatin protein. In the protein deficient animals, there was a consistent decrease (70%) in binding to chromatin, DNA and chromatin protein. The decrease in binding to nuclear macromolecules in protein deficient animals is correlated with carcinogenicity and mixed function oxidase (MFO) enzyme activity, and the relationships between carcinogenicity, MFO activity, and binding are discussed.
Inheritance of Linoleic and Oleic Acids in Maize.

Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of methyl esters of fatty acids of individual maize seeds of parental and segregating populations suggests that desaturation at the Δ 12-13 position in oleic acid is under simple Mendelian control. High linoleic acid content is recessive to low.
Electrophoretic Mobility Of Oil Drops In The Presence Of Solvent Extraction Reagents

Abstract The electrophoretic mobility (EM) of hexane and toluene droplets dispersed in aqueous solution has been investigated as a function of pH in the presence and absence of 5,8-diethyl–7–hydroxy–6–dodecanone oxime (the active extractant in the Henkel reagent, LIX63), Dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (HDNNS), di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) and tricaprylyl methyl ammonium chloride (Aliquat 336). Both hexane and toluene droplets were found to be negatively charged at pH > 3, with the absolute EM increasing with pH; the toluene droplets were more negatively charged than the hexane droplets. The hydroxyoxime reagent had no significant effect on the EM, whereas the addition of HDNNS and HDEHP dramatically enhanced the negative charge at the organic/ water interface. In the presence of 1·5 × 10−4 kmol m−3 Aliquat 336, the organic drops became less negatively charged and eventually acquired a positive charge at pH < 9. The results are explained In terms of the preferential adsorption of the aqueous ...
Simple and robust screening of pooled yeast artificial chromosome libraries by the restriction enzyme digestion of polymerase chain reaction products.

Abstract The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for screening pooled yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) libraries was modified by adding a step for the restriction enzyme digestion of the PCR products. This modification significantly increased the reliability of YAC screening and made it possible to identify YAC clones without a cumbersome verification step by colony hybridization and/or Southern blotting. Using this method, we assigned 39 mouse YAC clones to a mouse genetic map with 13 biallelic, polymorphic expressed sequence tags. This method provides a fast, reliable way to identify YAC clones with PCR-based sequenc-tagged sites.
Fragmentary narrative and the formation of pre-digital scholarly hypertextuality: G. Leopardi's Zibaldone and its hypertext rendition

Native scholarly hypertext is a rare genre which issues from a particular cognitive experience that is difficult to translate in expository academic writing. The fragmentary form of some research note collections of eminent unconventional intellectuals from the pre-digital age exhibits the groundwork of hypertext. Giacomo Leopardi's Zibaldone is one such text comprised of ca. 10,000 internal and external references, and thematic indexes with ca. 11,000 referenced fragments. The TEI encoding of the manuscript and its hypertext rendition, undertaken by a group of scholars and technologists at Princeton University, provide insight into the genesis of dialectical thought, grapple with the inadequacy of current technology to represent its hypertextuality, and raise questions about hypertext's potentialities for being adopted by scholars today.
Continuous Recording of Cell Number in Logarithmic and Synchronized Cultures

An instrument for the continuous recording of cell number has been developed and is being used to record changes in populations of logarithmic and synchronized cultures of protozoan flagellates. A Coulter cell counter is used in conjunction with a counting chamber that is fitted with a flexible polyethylene aperture (75 µ in diameter). This aperture rarely becomes blocked and appears to be self-clearing. The unit consists of a proportioning pump, a cell counter, a counting chamber, a rate meter, and a recorder.
Measurement of hyperpolarized gas diffusion at very short time scales.

We present a new pulse sequence for measuring very-short-time-scale restricted diffusion of hyperpolarized noble gases. The pulse sequence is based on concatenating a large number of bipolar diffusion-sensitizing gradients to increase the diffusion attenuation of the MR signal while maintaining a fundamentally short diffusion time. However, it differs in several respects from existing methods that use oscillating diffusion gradients for this purpose. First, a wait time is inserted between neighboring pairs of gradient pulses; second, consecutive pulse pairs may be applied along orthogonal axes; and finally, the diffusion-attenuated signal is not simply read out at the end of the gradient train but is periodically sampled during the wait times between neighboring pulse pairs. The first two features minimize systematic differences between the measured (apparent) diffusion coefficient and the actual time-dependent diffusivity, while the third feature optimizes the use of the available MR signal to improve the precision of the diffusivity measurement in the face of noise. The benefits of this technique are demonstrated using theoretical calculations, Monte-Carlo simulations of gas diffusion in simple geometries, and experimental phantom measurements in a glass sphere containing hyperpolarized 3He gas. The advantages over the conventional single-bipolar approach were found to increase with decreasing diffusion time, and thus represent a significant step toward making accurate surface-to-volume measurements in the lung airspaces.
Rational approaches to chemotherapy: antisickling agents

Biomedical scientists withachemical orientation recognize thattherational design oftherapeutic compounds must bebasedonanunderstanding ofadiseaseatamolecular level; that is, biologicalfunction isembedded inmolecular structure. Amajor obstacle tosuccess in therational design ofspecific drugs is ourignorance ofthemolecular basis of disease. However, there isonenotable exception tothisignorance: namely, sickle cell disease. After decades ofresearch, itisnowknownthatthepathophysiology ofthesickle cell syndrome is theconsequence ofanaggregation processansing fromaspecific substitution ofasingle aminoacidresidue inthe,B chains ofhemoglobin. identical a andtwoidentical 1Bchains, eachcontaining 141and146aminoacid residues (4), respectively. A single residuemutation inthesixth position inthe Xchains HbA: Val-His-Leu-Thr-Pro-Glu-GluLys-**X HbS:Val-His-Leu-Thr-Pro-Val-GluLys-* * X leads toanaggregation ofHbSmolecules into longfibers (Fig. 2)whichdistort the erythrocyte intothecharacteristic deformed shape associated withsickle cell syndrome (5). Theprecise structural arrangement of hemoglobin molecules within thesefiSummary. Therationale leading tothedesign andsynthesis ofdouble-headed aspirins aspotential antisickling agents isdescribed.
Control of sulphur oxides emission during the roasting of lime-coated metal sulphide pellets

Abstract A promising method for controlling sulphur oxides emission during the roasting of metal sulphides is with the use of lime-coated sulphide pellets. The roasting of lime-coated zinc sulphide concentrate pellets in air at temperatures between 700 and 800°C is investigated. The experimental data show that these pellets have a very high sulphur retention capability, close to 100% up to approximately 60% sulphide conversion. The concentrate pellet size has no significant effect on sulphur capture. Lowering the temperature in the range investigated and using excess lime improve the sulphur capture without a significant adverse effect on the roasting rate. The sulphur emissions at higher sulphide conversions are primarily attributed to cracking of the lime coating. Preliminary data show that cracking can be reduced by increasing the water content of the initial lime.
Amity prison-based therapeutic community: 5-year outcomes.

Few studies have examined outcomes of prison-based treatment programs over a 5-year observation period. The present analysis was based on a sample of 715 prisoners randomly assigned either to the A...
987 COMPARISON OF OUTER MEMBRANE PROTEINS OF TYPE B AND NONTYPE B HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE

We have proposed a subclassification scheme for H. influenzae type b (Hib) based upon distinctive and reproducible strain differences in the SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of outer membrane (OM) proteins. Of 49 invasive isolates from patients hospitalized in St. Louis (StL), 92% could be assigned to 1 of 5 subtypes (1L, 1H, 2L, 2H, 3L). In the present study, we used this system to subtype 86 invasive isolates from patients hospitalized in 12 other states. The results were compared to the subtypes in StL, and to the OM protein patterns of nontype b Haemophilus isolates from middle ear (14 isolates), or blood/CSF (4 isolates). The overall distribution of Hib subtypes in other areas of the U.S. was similar to St.L (p>.35). However, there were possible regional differences: Isolates from New Orleans had a higher proportion of 3L strains than the rest of the U.S.,6/15 (40%) compared to 16/120 (13%), p<.01. Also, 3 of 11 apparently unrelated type b isolates from Denver had identical OM protein patterns not identified in 124 other isolates (p<10−8). Nontype b isolates (middle ear or invasive) had OM protein patterns different from the common type b patterns, and exhibited much greater variability. Thus, type b isolates causing invasive infections in the U.S. appear to be derived from a small number of distinctive clones. Nontype b isolates are genetically distinct from type b strains, and are more heterogenous. These findings may have important epidemiologic and immunologic implications.
β-Endorphin Response to Endurance Exercise: Relationship to Exercise Dependence:

Considerable research has shown significant increases in beta-endorphin levels after aerobic activity. These increases and their accompanying euphoric effect have been suggested as a possible psychophysiological mechanism underlying the exercise-dependence syndrome. The relationship between plasma beta-endorphin levels and a tendency towards exercise dependence, however, has not been established. To examine this relationship, 8 women trained in aerobic dance completed an exercise-dependence assessment prior to participation in a 45-min. session of continuous aerobic dance. Plasma beta-endorphin concentration was measured both prior to and following the aerobics routine. A Student t test for paired observations indicated that mean plasma beta-endorphin levels (+/- SE) were significantly higher after the aerobics routine (11.96 +/- 1.3 pg beta-EP.ml-1) than preexercise levels (8.62 +/- 1.4). However, beta-endorphin difference values (% change) were not significantly correlated with scores on the exercise-dependence survey. Those data suggest that scores on exercise dependence are not related to changes in plasma beta-endorphin levels after aerobic exercise.
Phenology of the Adult Spotted Cutworm in the Yakima Valley

In Washington, there were 2 flights of adult spotted cutworm, Amathes c-nigrum (L.), yearly and 2 generations of larvae; the 2nd-generation larvae overwintered and completed development in the spring. A partial, small 3rd flight appeared occasionally. The sex ratio of laboratory-reared specimens was 1♂:1♀. Blacklight (BL) traps caught as many as or more females than males 16% of the time, which indicated that both sexes were attracted equally, but 84% of the time BL traps caught 15–20% more males than females because of the abundance and behavioral differences of males. The sex ratio became skewed in favor of males in the 2nd flight; females diminished to as little as 5–10% of the catch in Sept. and Oct. The female spotted cutworm proved to be polygamous, and some mated as many as 9 times. The average number of matings was 2 for 1st flight and 3 for 2nd flight females. There were seasonal increases in mating frequency in each flight. Most mated females that were trapped were in a reproductive condition. Populations were observed to grow and decline in response to environmental factors and not necessarily as a reflection of the size of the preceding population. The specific environmental factors that cause such fluctuations have not been isolated.
The use of anatomically detailed dolls in sexual abuse evaluations: The state of the science

Abstract In child sexual abuse investigations, anatomically detailed dolls (ADDs) are used frequently with the intention of facilitating expression or demonstration in children who do not disclose abuse verbally. We review and critique research that examines the play of nonabused children with ADDs, compares the ADD play of abused children with that of nonabused children, or compares ADD-aided interviews with interviews using other data-gathering methods. We conclude that the APA Council of Representatives' recent statement (February 8, 1991) endorsing the use of ADDs by certain examiners and the current research on this topic are incompatible.
Computer aspects of three-dimensional finite element analysis of stresses and strains in the intact heart.

Abstract Three main computing aspects encountered in the stress and strain analysis of the intact heart using the finite element technique, namely, the automatic partitioning of the myocardium of the heart into finite elements, the assemblage of the structural stiffness matrix of the myocardium, and the storage and retrieval of its nonzero coefficients are described. The influence of boundary conditions and different relaxation factors on the speed of convergence to the final solution are also described. Programming for the solution of the large number of simultaneous linear equations generated by the finite element method on computers with capacity not exceeding 32K words of memory required special attention to very compact storage of the stiffness matrix and the retrieval of its coefficients. Computation time for the three-dimensional stress and strain analysis of a heart represented by approximately 7000 finite elements was less than 20–25 min on a CDC 3500 computer operated in the multibatch MASTER mode.
Purification and characterization of arginine kinase from the sea cucumber Caudina arenicola

Abstract 1. 1. Arginine kinase from Caudina arenicola, a Pacific sea cucumber, has been purified from muscle to apparent homogeneity and shown to be a dimeric protein of mol. wt 80,000. 2. 2. The isoelectric point of arginine kinase from Caudina arenicola occurs at pH 7.8, unusually high compared to the monomeric arginine kinase from lobster muscle, but similar to muscle type creatine kinase from vertebrate. The enzyme is also unusually unstable to heat, losing half its activity after exposure to 40°C for about 10 min. The pH optimum of arginine kinase is approximately 7.9. 3. 3. Kinetic analysis reveals Michaelis constants of 1.3 mM for MgATP and 0.5 mM for arginine. The dissociation constant for arginine from the binary enzyme—substrate complex is four times greater than for the ternary complex containing MgATP. Dissociation constants for MgATP from the binary and ternary complexes do not differ significantly. Inhibition of arginine kinase by MgADP is potentiated by nitrate anion, presumably by formation of a transition state analog in which nitrate stabilizes the dead-complex between enzyme, MgADP and arginine. 4. 4. Arginine kinase from Caudina arenicola and creatine kinase from rabbit brain will hybridize in vitro to form a bifunction dimer.
Genetic and biochemical analysis of in vivo protein folding and subunit assembly.

The in vivo pathway of folding and subunit assembly of a trimeric bacteriophage protein has been studied by characterizing precursors to the native protein and by analyzing temperature-sensitive mutations that kinetically block the pathway. The native trimer is formed via an intermediate composed of three partially folded chains, the protrimer. At 39°C, temperature-sensitive mutations prevent the formation of both the native trimer and the protrimer, possibly by destabilizing earlier intermediates. However, the mutations do not affect the stability of the native protein, formed at 30°C. Thus, these mutations identify amino acid residues involved in interactions that determine the folding pathway.
Application of tracer techniques to continuous-flow toxicity testing

Abstract Frequent toxicant analyses are essential for good quality data in long-term continuous-flow tests. Due to the time consuming and costly chemical analyses, exposure levels are measured at best on a daily basis. These infrequent determinations may not detect variability in toxicant concentrations that could result in test failures. To minimize repetitive testing and improve data quality, a dye tracer method was evaluated. Rhodamine WT was selected as a toxicant tracer because of easy detectability, low toxicity to aquatic organisms, and negligible transformation in the aquatic environment. Results over a 24 h period showed that rhodamine reliably predicted the toxicant (diquat) concentrations with an r value of 0.99. Based upon these data, two replicate long-term tests with and without tracer were carried out exposing fathead minnows Pimephales promelas to diquat (1:1′-ethylene-2:2′-dipiridium dibromide). The test results indicated that the added rhodamine WT did not alter the diquat toxicity to fathead minnows using LC 50 and EC 50 values for comparisons. From these findings it is concluded that dye tracers are suitable toxicant surrogates. Their use in flow-through tests allow more frequent analyses which result in better data and minimizes experimental failure.
A surfactant hydroperoxide

Abstract The micellar hydroperoxy surfactant n -C 16 H 33 N + (CH 3 ) 2 CH 2 CH 2 OOH, CF 3 SO 3 − cleaves p -nitrophenyl acetate ∼500 times faster than the corresponding hydroxy surfactant, and ∼20,000 times faster than lyate ion at pH 8.
Reproducibility of two-dimensional exercise echocardiography

Abstract To determine the reproducibility of two-dimensional exercise echocardiography, duplicate studies were performed on the same patients a median of 14 days apart. Because measurements are operator-dependent, interobserver variability was calculated for two experienced readers who interpreted the findings independently in a blinded manner. A high degree of interobserver agreement was found in evaluation of both ejection fraction measurements and wall motion abnormalities. Readings for ejection fraction immediately after exercise taken on different days could be estimated within 4% of the values measured in the first test; similarly measured wall motion score index was within 6% of that in the first test. Ejection fractions and wall motion scores were highly correlated between tests 1 and 2. The correlation coefficients between tests 1 and 2 were 0.92 for both the pre- and postexercise ejection fractions and 0.98 for both the pre- and postexercise wall motion scores. Quantitative two-dimensional echocardiography immediately after exercise is highly reproducible, providing a valuable tool for assessing serial changes in left ventricular function.
Protease inhibitors and human plasmin: interaction in a whole plasma system.

Abstract Using trace amounts of [125I]-plasminogen and conventional biochemical techniques, the distribution of the labeled zymogen amongst the various protease inhibitors was studied in whole plasma before and after activation with urokinase and streptokinase. A small percentage of the labeled enzyme was bound to α2-macroglobulin while a majority was complexed to a component in plasma immunologically distinct from the well known human antiplasmins. The inhibitor was identified as α2-antiplasmin and confirmed the existence of this antiprotease recently described by others. These data also suggest that the other antiplasmins may play a minor, yet important role in the regulation of plasmin activity under different physiological conditions.
Recurrent IDH mutations in high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia with isolated del(5q)

Recurrent IDH mutations in high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia with isolated del(5q)
Biological Nitrogen Fixation, 1924-1974

Crop rotation was practiced in ancient times by alternating the use of leguminous and nonleguminous plants. The basis for the benefit derived from this practice was not understood, but it was observed empirically that crops were improved and the condition of the soil was maintained better with rotation than by continual cropping with nonleguminous plants. Rotation was recognized as good husbandry, but it remained for Boussingault to offer an explanation of the benefit in the 1830's. He established one of the earliest agricultural experiment stations and demonstrated in the greenhouse that clover and peas increased their nitrogen content when grown on sand that was virtually free of fixed nitrogen. His field experiments likewise supported the view that leguminous plants could use N2 from the atmosphere. The observations of Boussingault touched off heated controversy and Liebig suggested that the observed increases in nitrogen in the leguminous crops arose merely because the large leaved leguminous plants were capable of extracting more ammonia from the atmosphere than were the smaller leaved control plants. Because Liebig could speak with authority in the area of organic chemistry, he apparently felt that this carried with it the privilege of speaking in the area of agricultural chemistry without the need to present experimental evidence in support of his postulates. It is hardly surprising that a French commission, assigned to the task of checking to see whether Liebig or Boussingault were correct, came to the conclusion that their fellow countryman in fact had demonstrated an increase in nitrogen in the leguminous plants.
Multiple Regulatory Elements in the 5′-Flanking Sequence of the Human ε-Globin Gene

We have previously reported, on the basis of transfection experiments, the existence of a silencer element in the 5'-flanking region of the human embryonic (epsilon) globin gene, located at -270 base pairs 5' to the cap site, which provides negative regulation for this gene. Experiments in transgenic mice suggest the physiological importance of this epsilon-globin silencer, but also suggest that down-regulation of epsilon-globin gene expression may involve other negative elements flanking the epsilon-globin gene. We have now extended the analysis of epsilon-globin gene regulation to include the flanking region spanning up to 6 kilobase pairs 5' to the locus control region using reporter gene constructs with deletion mutations and transient transfection assays. We have identified and characterized other strong negative regulatory regions, as well as several positive regions that affect transcription activation. The negative regulatory regions at -3 kilobase pairs (epsilonNRA-I and epsilonNRA-II), flanked by a positive control element, has a strong effect on the epsilon-globin promoter both in erythroid K562 and nonerythroid HeLa cells and contains several binding sites for transcription factor GATA-1, as evidenced from DNA-protein binding assays. The GATA-1 sites within epsilonNRA-II are directly needed for negative control. Both epsilonNRA-I and epsilonNRA-II are active on a heterologous promoter and hence appear to act as transcription silencers. Another negative control region located at -1.7 kilobase pairs (epsilonNRB) does not exhibit general silencer activity as epsilonNRB does not affect transcription activity when used in conjunction with an epsilon-globin minimal promoter. The negative effect of epsilonNRB is erythroid specific, but not stage-specific as it can repress transcription activity in both K562 erythroid cells as well as in primary cultures of adult erythroid cells. Phylogenetic DNA sequence comparisons with other primate and other mammalian species show unusual degree of flanking sequence homology for the epsilon-globin gene, including in several of the regions identified in these functional and DNA-protein binding analyses, providing alternate evidence for their potential importance. We suggest that the down-regulation of epsilon-globin gene expression as development progresses involves complex, cooperative interactions of these negative regulatory elements, epsilonNRA-I/epsilonNRA-II, epsilonNRB, the epsilon-globin silencer and probably other negative and positive elements in the 5'-flanking region of the epsilon-globin gene.
Po2 of cat cerebral cortex: Response to breathing N2 and 100% O2

Abstract Oxygen tensions in the cerebral cortex of cats anesthetized and artificially ventilated or spontaneously breathing air were measured with a micro O2 electrode. In the nine cats studied, 627 locations were sampled with a range in PO2 from 0 to 99 mmHg and a mean of 38.7 ± 0.93 (SE) mmHg. Values in the outer 600 μm were higher than deeper locations. The mean PO2 for each animal did not correlate with arterial pressure, PO2, pH, or body temperature. On giving the animal pure N2 or He to breathe (30–90 sec.), the tissue PO2 dropped to zero, or close to zero, in 34 out of 45 locations in the eight animals tested. On returning to air breathing, the tissue PO2 rose above the control value (36 out of 45 trials in 8 cats), then dropped below control and after several minutes returned to the control value. 100% O2 caused an increase in tissue PO2 in 22 out of 29 locations. Results indicate regional vascular control mechanisms in the cerebral cortex.
Recent evidence on the effect of real earnings on net migration.

Izrael O. and Lin A. (1984) Recent evidence on the effect of real earnings on net migration, Reg. Studies 18, 113–120. This paper examines the effect of gross nominal earnings, gross real earnings, and net real earnings on net migration in a simultaneous-equation model of net migration and employment growth. Using US SMSA data for 1970–75, the study shows that nominal earnings are not a good proxy for real earnings. In addition, gross real earnings performed better than net real earnings, suggesting a possibility of ‘tax illusion’ on the part of the migrants. Besides, employment growth had a significant positive effect on net migration, whereas net migration affected employment growth positively but less significantly.
Triple annual maximum series in wave climate analyses

A recurring problem in wave climate analyses is the need to predict long term events from short duration records. The relative sparsity of the observational record is enhanced by judicious recognition of near-maximum events, in addition to the annual maximum events. This paper pursues the application of triple annual maximum series. Given any extreme value distribution, the theoretical distributions for the annual second largest monthly wave and the annual third largest monthly wave are established. A maximum likelihood method is proposed to fit these simultaneous distributions to the triple annual maximum series. An application of the method to the historical record at the Farallon Is. off San Francisco adopts several of the more common extreme value distributions and demonstrates the potential of triple annual maximum series in enhancing the reliability of distribution fits. Nevertheless, the common practice of extrapolating short duration records to long term events remains precarious.
Spectroscopy Of Absorbers In Rare Gas-Halide Laser Plasmas

The spectroscopy and chemical kinetics of small molecules known (or believed) to absorb in rare gas-halide laser plasmas are being studied by laser excitation and probing tech-niques. Two examples from recent experiments -- inter-Rydberg absorption spectroscopy of Art and photoassociation (bound 4- free absorption) of Kr-F collision pairs -- are described.