cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of isolated posterior compartment defects on lower urinary tract symptoms and urodynamic findings.

OBJECTIVES To determine any significant patterns among subjective and/or objective storage or voiding variables in women with isolated rectoceles or posterior enteroceles. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 23 women with isolated posterior compartment defects. Patient histories, physical examination findings, catheterized postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) after uroflowmetry, and urodynamic evaluations were reviewed. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were classed as pure storage (urgency, frequency, nocturia, etc.), pure voiding (hesitancy, straining, positional voiding, etc.), or mixed. RESULTS The mean (range) age of the women was 67 (48–85) years. On physical examination, 15 women had a grade 3 defect, and eight a grade 2 defect. Thirteen women reported symptoms related to their prolapse (vaginal bulge, splinting with defecation): nine reported pure storage symptoms, one pure voiding symptoms, and 12 mixed symptoms; two women relied on catheterization for bladder emptying. Only one woman reported no LUTS. An elevated PVR (>100 mL) was found in 11 women (48%). Urodynamic studies were available for 17 women, and revealed detrusor overactivity in nine of them. There were low maximum urinary flow rates (Qmax ≤ 15 mL/s) in 12 of the 17 women, and high voiding pressures at Qmax (Pdet.Qmax ≥ 20 cmH20) in 10. Both findings were present in seven of the 17 women. There was evidence of abdominal straining to void in nine of the 17 women. CONCLUSIONS The overwhelming majority of women with isolated posterior compartment defects reported bothersome LUTS and most had abnormal urodynamic variables. The findings suggest that significant posterior prolapse defects can cause bladder outlet obstruction.
Corrected effective-medium study of metal-surface relaxation.

We have studied the relaxation of some metal surfaces using a corrected effective-medium (CEM) theory. CEM is a non-self-consistent, density-functional technique. The interaction energy is calculated as a sum of three components: the embedding energy of an atom in jellium, the interatomic Coulomb energy, and the kinetic exchange-correlation energy. A theoretical procedure has been developed to determine the embedding energies via linear-muffin-tin-orbital calculations. This refinement of the theory is tested for surface energies and structures of some relaxed Al, Ni, Cu, Rh, Pd, and Ag surfaces. Comparisons are made to the embedded-atom method, the effective-medium technique, and a simpler version of CEM that is used in molecular-dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. We present an in-depth analysis of the results, and discuss the physical basis of surface relaxation within CEM. Finally, we address the limitations inherent in calculations of metal-surface relaxation.
Case study: public consensus building on the Internet.

Many groups or organizations advocating different special interests or policies now promote and conduct grassroots movements online through their own web sites. On the basic assumption that collect...
Design of a Large Network for Radiological Image Data

Radiological imaging is a rapidly growing business. The field is quickly evolving from films to electronic or digital imaging. By the year 2015, the amount of radiological image data that will have been generated in the U.S. alone is projected to be between 100 and 300000 PB. (1 PB equals 250 B or about 1015 B.) As the volume of radiological data increases, the need to transmit the data over long distances also increases. For example, radiologists in Chicago, India, or Israel, working in the same medical practice, may read images taken in Chicago. Globally distributed research requires that images be transmitted around the world. Radiologists and researchers want to be able to download files containing hundreds of megabytes in seconds. This service requirement suggests that multiple copies of images should be retained in globally distributed databases to minimize access and transmission delays. Key design issues for such a database include the location of the data repositories relative to the generating and retrieval (reading) sites and the number and location of the copies of the files that are generated. In this paper, we approximate the time to retrieve images stored in city j by a radiologist in city k at time period t. Next, we formulate a model designed to minimize the average retrieval time weighted over all demands. We briefly outline a nested Lagrangian relaxation approach to the problem. Computational results are then summarized. The paper ends with conclusion and directions for future research
Salty taste in dairy foods: Can we reduce the salt?

Sodium can be found in many sources of the US diet. Dietary guidelines currently suggest a maximum intake of 2,300 mg of sodium (6g of sodium chloride) per day, whereas the average consumer intake is 3,600 mg of sodium (9 g of sodium chloride) per day. The main health concern with high consumption of sodium is hypertension. The objectives of this study were to identify the salty taste intensity of sodium chloride in water and various dairy food matrices, and to identify the just-noticeable difference in concentration at which consumers noticed a decrease in salty taste in these food products. Solutions and food products (water, cheese sauce, cottage cheese, and milk-based soup) were prepared with sodium chloride ranging in concentration from 0.008 to 0.06 M. Seventeen panelists evaluated the salty intensity of each product in triplicate using a magnitude estimation scale. In subsequent tests, panelists (n=50) evaluated salty intensity of these food products in separate sessions using an ascending force choice method to determine the just-noticeable difference. Consumer acceptance tests (n=75 consumers) were conducted with cottage cheeses with and without sodium reductions and under conditions with and without health benefits of sodium reduction. The magnitude estimation scale data were log-transformed, and all data were analyzed by ANOVA with Fisher's least significant difference for means separation. The linear proportion of the power function in the salty taste intensity curve for sodium chloride solutions and the 3 foods was between 0.03 and 0.20 M. Consumers were able to notice and correctly identify reductions in salt concentration of less than 20% in all products. When consumers were informed of sodium reduction and its health benefits before tasting cottage cheese with lower sodium (4-12%), overall liking scores for the lower sodium cottage cheeses were not different from higher sodium cottage cheeses. These results suggest that reducing sodium in cheese sauce, cottage cheese, and milk-based soups may be challenging and that exploration of sodium chloride alternatives in these foods is warranted. Appropriate product positioning or advertising may be beneficial to consumer acceptance of lower sodium types of products.
Cytochrome P-450 epoxygenase products contribute to attenuated vasoconstriction after chronic hypoxia

The systemic vasculature exhibits attenuated vasoconstriction following chronic hypoxia (CH) that is associated with endothelium-dependent vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell hyperpolarization. We hy...
Efficient crosstalk noise modeling using aggressor and tree reductions

This paper describes a fast method to estimate crosstalk noise in the presence of multiple aggressor nets for use in physical design automation tools. Since noise estimation is often part of the inner-loop of optimization algorithms, very efficient closed-form solutions are needed. Previous approaches have typically used simple lumped 3-4 node circuit templates. One aggressor net is modeled at a time assuming that the coupling capacitances to all quiet aggressor nets are grounded. They also model the load from interconnect branches as a lumped capacitor and use a dominant pole approximation to solve the template circuit. While these approximations allow for very fast analysis, they result in significant underestimation of the noise. In this paper, we propose a new and more comprehensive fast noise estimation model. We use a 6 node template circuit and propose a novel reduction technique for modeling quiet aggressor nets based on the concept of coupling point admittance. We also propose a reduction method to replace tree branches with effective capacitors which models the effect of resistive shielding. Finally, we propose a new double pole approach to solve the template circuit. We tested the proposed method on noise-prone interconnects from an industrial high performance processor. Our results show a worst-case error of 7.8% and an average error of 2.7%, while allowing for very fast analysis.
Distinct Roles for Nod2 Protein and Autocrine Interleukin-1β in Muramyl Dipeptide-induced Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Activation and Cytokine Secretion in Human Macrophages

Elucidating factors regulating Crohn's disease-associated nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (Nod2) responses is critical to understanding the mechanisms of intestinal immune homeostasis. Stimulation of primary monocyte-derived macrophages by muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a component of bacterial peptidoglycan and specific Nod2 ligand, produces cytokines, including IL-1β. We found that IL-1β blockade profoundly inhibits MDP-induced cytokine production in human monocyte-derived macrophages, demonstrating a key role for IL-1β autocrine secretion in Nod2-mediated responses. Importantly, although MAPK activation has previously been attributed directly to Nod2 signaling, we determined that the IL-1β autocrine loop is responsible for the majority of MDP-induced MAPK activation. Because the critical effects of IL-1β autocrine secretion on MAPK activation are observed as early as 10 min after Nod2 stimulation, we hypothesized that secretion of IL-1β from preexisting intracellular pro-IL-1β stores is necessary for optimal MDP-mediated cytokine induction. Consistently, we detected IL-1β secretion within 10 min of MDP treatment. Moreover, caspase-1 inhibition significantly attenuates MDP-mediated early MAPK activation. Importantly, selective JNK/p38 activation is sufficient to rescue the decreased cytokine secretion during Nod2 stimulation in the absence of autocrine IL-1β. Finally, we found that the IL-1β autocrine loop significantly enhances responses by a broad range of pattern recognition receptors. Taken together, MDP stimulation activates Nod2 to process and release preexisting pro-IL-1β stores in a caspase-1-dependent fashion; this secreted IL-1β, in turn, contributes to the majority of MDP-initiated MAPK activation and leads to subsequent cytokine secretion. Our findings clarify mechanisms of IL-1β contributions to Nod2 responses and elucidate the dominant role of IL-1β in MDP-initiated MAPK and cytokine secretion.
Place navigation in the Morris water task: Effects of reduced platform interval lighting and pseudorandom platform positioning

Two procedural components of place navigation training in the Morris (1981) water task were studied. Specifically, rats were required to escape onto a submerged (hidden) platform located in either a fixed or a pseudorandomly varied position throughout training. Following escape, the animals were either given unrestricted visual access to the extramaze environment for the duration of the platform interval (45 sec) or denied this opportunity through reduced laboratory illumination. The results of the experiment indicate that (1) pseudorandom platform positioning primarily attenuated the rats’ rate of acquisition rather than postasymptotic escape performance, and (2) visibility of distal cues from the goal location during training was not necessary for appropriate place navigation to occur. Further evidence obtained from a transfer test given on the final day of training suggests that rats trained with a pseudorandomly positioned platform may have acquired specific knowledge of multiple goal locations. These findings provide further support for the claim that rats acquire distal cue information primarily while en route to the platform.
Relational Service Composition

Although the service composition problem has been widely addressed, automatically composing a service from existing services is still very difficult. This paper focuses on the composition problem for relational web services. It considers answering complex queries using a set of available relational services collectively. The method we present is guaranteed to find a solution if there is one.
Senior management's responsibilities in promoting information technologies: some empirical perspectives

After reviewing the reasons urging the direct involvement of senior management in promoting information technology, the author discusses the requirements for effectively harnessing the potentials of information technologies and provides some empirical perspectives on the results of some major applications. It is suggested that effective development and utilization of information technology systems should be recognized by top management as requiring a comprehensive long-term program of progressively broader applications rather than an array of independent acquisitions of whatever components promise attractive short-term returns during periodic evaluations of new capital allocation proposals. Sound planning of an information technology program would benefit from an early broad perspective which envisions the overall sequential stages of development. >
Kevin Bacon, degrees-of-separation, and MIS research

The standard method for measuring the "value" of a researcher is to sum the total number of articles they have published in peer-reviewed journals. The research described proposes the use of "degrees-of-separation" (DOS) as another dimension that considers collaboration along which we might assess the value of a researcher: The average DOS value for one node in a graph is the average of the number of steps in each of its shortest paths to each other node. The graph node with the smallest average DOS value is the node that is, on average, "most closely connected" to the rest of the nodes. When applied to academic research, an author can be considered a node, connected to other nodes through co-authored articles. The experiment described in the article uses DOS to rank and compare with earlier rankings, those MIS researchers previously judged to be highly productive.
Atlas of Salivary Gland Tumor Cytopathology, Oral & Surgical Pathology - CD-ROM Disk 2: by Kini S. & Dardick I. Pathology Images Inc, 2006

This CD-ROM version of Atlas of Salivary Gland Tumor Cytopathology, Oral & Surgical Pathology is an excellent and concise tool for easy reference during sign out of cytology and surgical cases. It is also invaluable as a teaching tool for residents and fellows. Atlas of Salivary Gland Tumor Cytopathology, Oral & Surgical Pathology CD-ROM (ISBN 0-9736518-0-7), Published by Pathology images Inc Ottawa, Ontario K2B 7L4, Canada
FORMATION OF C3a AND C5a ANAPHYLATOXINS IN WHOLE HUMAN SERUM AFTER INHIBITION OF THE ANAPHYLATOXIN INACTIVATOR

Two biologically and chemically distinct anaphylatoxins (ATs) could be generated in whole human serum after removal of the AT inactivator (AI) by immune-absorption or after inhibition of AI with 1 M epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA). Both human ATs could be generated by treatment of serum with antigen-antibody complexes, which activate the classical complement pathway, and with inulin or yeast, both of which trigger the alternate pathway. The ATs were isolated from serum in active form and characterized as C3a and C5a. Although human C3a had been characterized previously, C5a had not. The molecular weight of human C5a AT was 17,500; its electrophoretic mobility at pH 8.5 was -1.7 x 10(-5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). The minimal effective concentration in vitro was 7.5 x 10(-10) M. The minimal effective doses of human C5a in producing a wheal and erythema in the human skin was 1 x 10(-15) mol. The results strongly suggest a biological function for both ATs and indicate that the expression of their activity is controlled by the AI of normal blood plasma.
Molecular transport. I. In-vitro studies of isolated glycoprotein subunits of the amino acid transport system of Neurospora crassa conidia.

Abstract Neurospora crassa conidia have constitutive transport systems for neutral and basic amino acids. KCl-extracted conidia show reduced l -arginine transport. KCl extracts contain several molecular species, some of which will bind l -amino acids. Purification of these extracts by affinity chromatography yields two glycoprotein species with a relatively high affinity for l -arginine. The chromatographic disappearance of one glycoprotein species is associated with a single gene mutation resulting in reduction of l -arginine transport in vivo . Disappearance of the second glycoprotein species from the chromatography profile is associated with modification of either of two, unlinked transport loci. Initial biochemical characterization of both molecular species indicate a weight composition of approximately 50% carbohydrate and 50% protein. Disc electrophoresis of the glycoprotein species associated with the single gene transport mutation yields a single band of both amido black and periodic acid-Schiff reagent staining material.
Defending against Terrorist Attacks with Limited Resources

This paper develops a framework for analyzing a defender's allocation of scarce resources against a strategic adversary like a terrorist group in four settings: (1) a baseline case in which the sites the defender tries to guard are “independent” in that resources dedicated to protecting one site have no effect on any other site; (2) if the defender can also allocate resources to border defense, intelligence, or counterterrorist operations which, if successful, protect all of the sites; (3) if threats have strategic and nonstrategic components (e.g., the threat to public health from bioterror attacks and the natural outbreak of new diseases); and (4) if the defender is unsure of the terrorists' preferred targets. The analysis characterizes the defender's optimal (equilibrium) allocations in these settings, an algorithm or approach to finding the optimal allocations, and relevant comparative statics. These characterizations provide a general way of thinking about the resource-allocation problem in these settings.
Detection of Barrett's epithelium by acoustic microscopy.

Abstract Barrett’s esophagus is associated with increased risk of adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junctional region. The presence of goblet cells (intestinal metaplasia) in columnar cell-lined esophageal mucosa defines Barrett’s change. The diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus is based on the presence of intestinal metaplasia in a biopsy from an endoscopically visualized abnormal columnar epithelium. In this pilot study, acoustic microscopy was used to identify the mucosal structure of 10 distal esophageal biopsies. Sections cut at 5 μm of archival paraffin blocks on glass slides were used for this study. Acoustic microscopy permitted the identification of low- and high-power images of epithelial architecture and cellular detail, including Barrett’s epithelium. This modality of visualization has the potential to detect lesions such as Barrett’s metaplasia, low- and high-grade dysplasia and early carcinoma. If it can be applied to in vivo endoscopy, acoustic microscopy has the potential to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus, dysplasia and malignancy by providing a method of accurately directing biopsies at endoscopy.
Evaluation of the Perceived Association Between Resident Turnover and the Outcomes of Patients Who Undergo Emergency General Surgery: Questioning the July Phenomenon.

Importance The influx of new surgical residents and interns at the beginning of the academic year is assumed to be associated with poor outcomes. Referred to asthe July phenomenon, this occurrence has been anecdotally associated with increases in the frequency of medical errors due to intern inexperience. Studies in various surgical specialties provide conflicting results. Objective To determine whether an association between the July phenomenon and outcomes exists among a nationally representative sample of patients who underwent emergency general surgery (EGS). Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective analysis of data from the 2007-2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Data on adult patients (≥16 years of age) presenting to teaching hospitals with a principal diagnosis of an EGS condition, as defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, were retrospectively analyzed. The patients who were included in our study were dichotomized into early (July-August) vs late (September-June) management. The original analyses were conducted in March 2015. Main Outcomes and Measures Risk-adjusted multivariable regression based on calculated propensity scores was assessed for associations with differences in in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay, and total hospital cost. Results A total of 1 433 528 patients who underwent EGS were included, weighted to represent 7 095 045 patients from 581 teaching hospitals nationwide; 17.6% were managed early. Relative to patients managed later, early patients had marginally lower risk-adjusted odds of mortality (odds ratio [OR], 0.96 [95% CI, 0.92-0.99]), complications (OR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.96-0.99]), and developing a secondary EGS condition (OR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.97-0.98]). Length of stay and total hospital cost were comparable between the 2 groups (P > .05). Conclusions and Relevance Contrary to expectations, the EGS patients who were managed early fared equally well, if not better, than the EGS patients who were managed later. Potentially attributable to increased manpower and/or hypervigilance on the part of supervising senior residents or attending physicians, the results suggest that concerns among EGS patients related to the July phenomenon are unfounded.
Modified poly(ethylene‐co‐propene‐co‐1,4‐hexadiene) (EPDM) bearing acetylacetonato groups and its chelate crosslinking with Fe(III)

Acetylacetonato group-bearing poly(ethylene-co-propene-co-1,4-hexadiene) (EPDM) was prepared and its chelate by crosslinking reaction with ferric salts. The hydroiodination of residual double bonds in the EPDM terpolymer under phase-transfer conditions and the substitution of iodine atoms in the hydroiodinated EPDM by acetylacetonato groups were studied. The ligand exchange reactions of acetylacetone with ferric trifluoromethanesulfonate (Fe(TFS)3) or ferric chloride in THF were explored by UV/Vis spectroscopy to find optimum conditions for the formation of the chelate complex ferric acetylacetonate. The results indicate that these two ligand exchange reactions are equilibrium reactions, and the addition of an organic base such as triethylamine can make the reactions go to completion. The character of the anion in the ferric salts has a significant effect on the ligand exchange reactions, which may be attributed to the different dissociation tendency of FeX bonds. The ligand exchange reactions in the polymer systems were studied, and Fe(III)-chelate complex crosslinked EPDM elastogels with gel fractions higher than 90% were prepared. The mechanism of the chelate complex formation in the polymer systems is similar to that in model compound systems.
A Meta-analysis of Depression During Pregnancy and the Risk of Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Context Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy have been reported in some, but not all, studies to be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW), and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Objective To estimate the risk of PTB, LBW, and IUGR associated with antenatal depression. Data Sources and Study Selection We searched for English-language and non–English-language articles via the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Social Work Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts International databases (January 1980 through December 2009). We aimed to include prospective studies reporting data on antenatal depression and at least 1 adverse birth outcome: PTB ( Data Extraction Information was extracted on study characteristics, antenatal depression measurement, and other biopsychosocial risk factors and was reviewed twice to minimize error. Data Synthesis Pooled relative risks (RRs) for the effect of antenatal depression on each birth outcome were calculated using random-effects methods. In studies of PTB, LBW, and IUGR that used a categorical depression measure, pooled effect sizes were significantly larger (pooled RR [95% confidence interval] = 1.39 [1.19-1.61], 1.49 [1.25-1.77], and 1.45 [1.05-2.02], respectively) compared with studies that used a continuous depression measure (1.03 [1.00-1.06], 1.04 [0.99-1.09], and 1.02 [1.00-1.04], respectively). The estimates of risk for categorically defined antenatal depression and PTB and LBW remained significant when the trim-and-fill procedure was used to correct for publication bias. The risk of LBW associated with antenatal depression was significantly larger in developing countries (RR = 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-2.93) compared with the United States (RR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.21) or European social democracies (RR = 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.47). Categorically defined antenatal depression tended to be associated with an increased risk of PTB among women of lower socioeconomic status in the United States. Conclusions Women with depression during pregnancy are at increased risk for PTB and LBW, although the magnitude of the effect varies as a function of depression measurement, country location, and US socioeconomic status. An important implication of these findings is that antenatal depression should be identified through universal screening and treated.
A 5-chunk developmental brain-mind network model for multiple events in complex backgrounds

There has been no prior general purpose brain-mind model for multiple events in complex backgrounds. I first discuss that although the age of brain-mind seems to have arrived, the current infrastructure does not well fit the need of research and peer-review for the challenging and important subject of brain-mind. Then, I present a general purpose model of the brain-mind, called the Epigenetic Developer (ED) network model. The model proposes five necessary “chunks” for the brain picture: development, architecture, area, space and time. The development chunk means that any practical brain, natural or artificial, needs to autonomously develop through interactions with the natural environments without any previously given set of tasks. The architecture chunk handles (1) multiple objects in complex backgrounds; (2) reasoning under abstract contexts; (3) multiple sensory modalities and multiple motor modalities and their integration. The area chunk addresses the issue of feature development and area representation, without rigidly specifying what each neuron does. The space chunk deals with spatial attention to individual objects in complex backgrounds, to satisfy the invariance and specificity criteria for type, location, and other concepts. The time chunk indicates that the brain uses its intrinsic spatial mechanisms to deals with time, without dedicated temporal components. The model copes with temporal contexts of events, to satisfy invariance and specificity criteria for time warping, time duration, temporal attention, and long temporal length. The theory and mechanisms are presented and some related experimental results are summarized.
Value of High-Sensitivity Troponin in Assessing the Extent of Benefit Provided by Ticagrelor Versus Clopidogrel in Non–ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes

There is considerable evidence supporting an aggressive approach to the management of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). This includes intensive medical therapy and an early invasive strategy. These tactics, alone or in combination, can reduce the rate of subsequent ischemic events though increase bleeding events. The challenge for clinicians is to efficiently identify those patients (from among the very large number of patients presenting to the hospital with chest pain) who will receive the greatest net benefit from an aggressive approach. Numerous methods for risk stratification of NSTE-ACS patients have emerged. Clinical risk assessments such as the TIMI risk score have been shown to predict adverse outcomes and, perhaps more importantly, identify patients most likely to benefit from an early invasive strategy or intensive antithrombotics. 1-2 Elevated levels of serum troponin have been found separately to predict adverse events and identify patients likely to benefit from intensive antiplatelet therapy. 3 Other biomarkers, such as B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP) predict adverse outcomes in the setting of NSTE-ACS, but have not consistently been shown to predict a response to a specific treatment regimen. 4 In this issue of Circulation , Wallentin et al 5 report their analysis of baseline levels of high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT), NT-proBNP, and growth-differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) in NSTE-ACS patients enrolled in the Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes (PLATO) trial. 6
Gifted Students with Asperger Syndrome

The number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the United States, including Asperger Syndrome, has risen sharply in the last several years. More students with Asperger Syndrome are appearing in gifted classrooms, yet most teachers of the gifted have little or no knowledge or experience with this special group of students, and are often at a loss as to how to meet their educational, emotional, and social needs. From the limited literature on the topic that is available, it is clear that the ideal classroom structure recommended for gifted students is not appropriate for students with Asperger Syndrome. What can the teacher of the gifted do to meet the needs of these students in her classroom? Literature is reviewed and definitions, characteristics, theories, and classroom recommendations are presented.
Molecular microbial diversity of an agricultural soil in Wisconsin.

A culture-independent survey of the soil microbial diversity in a clover-grass pasture in southern Wisconsin was conducted by sequence analysis of a universal clone library of genes coding for small-subunit rRNA (rDNA). A rapid and efficient method for extraction of DNA from soils which resulted in highly purified DNA with minimal shearing was developed. Universal small-subunit-rRNA primers were used to amplify DNA extracted from the pasture soil. The PCR products were cloned into pGEM-T, and either hypervariable or conserved regions were sequenced. The relationships of 124 sequences to those of cultured organisms of known phylogeny were determined. Of the 124 clones sequenced, 98.4% were from the domain Bacteria. Two of the rDNA sequences were derived from eukaryotic organelles. Two of the 124 sequences were of nuclear origin, one being fungal and the other a plant sequence. No sequences of the domain Archaea were found. Within the domain, Bacteria, three kingdoms were highly represented: the Proteobacteria (16.1%), the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group (21.8%), and the low G+C-content gram-positive group (21.8%). Some kingdoms, such as the Thermotogales, the green nonsulfur group, Fusobacteria, and the Spirochaetes, were absent. A large number of the sequences (39.4%) were distributed among several clades that are not among the major taxa described by Olsen et al. (G.J. Olsen, C.R. Woese, and R. Overbeek, J. Bacteriol., 176:1-6, 1994). From the alignments of the sequence data, distance matrices were calculated to display the enormous microbial diversity found in this soil in two ways, as phylogenetic trees and as multidimensional-scaling plots.
Neuroimaging of cognitive disability in schizophrenia: search for a pathophysiological mechanism.

This article reviews how functional neuroimaging research of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia has resulted in a progression of influential pathophysiological models of the disorder. The review begins with discussion of the ‘hypofrontality’ model, moving from resting studies examining anterior to posterior gradients of cerebral blood flow (CBF), to cognitive activation studies employing the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of working memory and cognitive control utilizing parametric task designs and event-related procedures. A similar progression is described for development of the temporal lobe model of schizophrenia, moving from research on the temporal cortex and language processing to the hippocampal formation and long-term memory (LTM). These LTM studies found that hippocampal dysfunction was often accompanied by disrupted prefrontal function, supporting a hybrid model of impaired fronto-temporal connectivity. Developments in image analysis procedures are described that allow assessment of these distributed network models. However, given limitations in temporal and spatial resolution, current methods do not provide ‘real-time’ imaging of network activity, making arrival at a definitive pathophysiologic mechanism difficult. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) dysfunction and disrupted fronto-temporal integration appear to be equally viable current models. The article concludes with a discussion of how fMRI can help facilitate development of novel psychosocial and pharmacological interventions designed to improve cognition and functional outcome in patients with schizophrenia.
A distributed efficient face image screening and retrieval with affine transformations, disguised, and varying facial expressions

The detection of wanted or suspicious individuals, encountered generally in airports or transportation stations, via the recognition of their faces for security purposes, is an important area for preventing terrorism and smuggling. This problem remains still in its infancy due to the many challenges involved. In particular, face recognition becomes more complicated and challenging when a given face to recognize is rotated off the plane, or is having changes in the facial expressions, or is being disguised, as it is often the case in the real world. In this paper we consider the problem of, given a time-varying face image template or only a sub-part of it, whether the template object image exists in a given image database of images stored in a given nominal configuration. We demonstrate here the main advantages of using sub-image patches and patches pre-processing instead of the whole face image are three-fold namely (a) the ability to deal with the situation of face disguise where only a small portion of the face can be recognized, (b) smaller face sub-image patches are less tuned to being significantly affected by affine transformations such as image translation/scaling/off-the-plane-rotation (c) the ability to perform image searching in an efficient way; since correlation methods have their short coming of requiring extremely large computation costs caused by exhaustive database searches and image similarity computations, when the image collections are large. In this work we demonstrate how by using sub-image patches leads itself to a distributed architecture for face recognition and how by combining a technique of distributed computing with a an image template pre-processing method the performance of image searching and matching is greatly improved by a several order of magnitude.
Value of Historical Controls in the Interpretation of Rodent Tumor Data

In long term rodent carcinogenicity studies, the concurrent control group is the primary control group for data evaluation. However, there are instances in which the use of historical control data can help in the interpretation of experimental results, such as rare tumors and marginally increased tumor rates relative to concurrent controls. However, if historical control data are to be utilized in a formal testing framework, it is important that studies in the database be similar to the concurrent controls with respect to the factors known to influence tumor occurrence. These include dietary factors/body weight gain, gross necropsy and slide preparation procedures, histopathologic diagnosis, and study duration/survival of animals. Different types of control groups (eg, untreated and corn oil gavage) may also have different tumor rates. Time-related trends and inter-laboratory variability in tumor rates frequently observed in long term rodent studies are likely attributable to these factors. Examples are g...
Casuistry versus Ethical Pluralism with Applied Principles

Building upon prior descriptions of casuistry, this reading compares and contrasts casuistry to popular ethical pluralistic approaches that apply principle-based methods in combination to reach moral judgments.
Frontline Orthopedic Care for Hand Injuries

Injuries to the hand in the combat environment can range from trivial, small lacerations to extensive-, explosive-type injuries, leaving the hand and upper extremity mangled. With the improved personal protective equipment and advances in vehicles, morbidity and mortality on the battlefield have been greatly improved. However, the extremities remain vulnerable to injury. Although many of these injuries can appear quite daunting on first inspection, it is important to keep a very systematic approach to examining the hand. The goal of initial treatment is to:
Supporting Effective Collaboration: Using a Rearview Mirror to Look Forward

Our original research, to design and develop an Intelligent Collaborative Learning System (ICLS), yielded the creation of a Group Leader Tutor software system which utilizes a Collaborative Skills Network to monitor students working collaboratively in a networked environment. The Collaborative Skills Network was a conceptualization of collaborative skills and subskills associated with particular sentence openers. The Group Leader (GL) Tutor taught students effective use of collaboration skills while they worked in Jigsaw Teams on a Local Area Network (LAN). In their discussions, students selected sentence openers associated with particular collaborative skills defined in the Collaborative Skills Network, completing them with free-form sentence closers. Subsequent researchers leveraged this system in various ways including incorporating intelligent agents, expanding the Collaborative Skills Network, and matching sentence openers with appropriate sentence closers. The universal use of the Internet, responsive user interfaces, and learning management systems (LMS) have since provided additional research opportunities using more powerful technology. The ICLS research continues to hold promise for future applications and extensions of our model to new domains. Addressing the needs of both traditional students as well as adult learners in e-learning environments, even MOOCs, may extend the reach of our research into the future. Additionally, enhanced assessment of students’ learning outcomes may help improve their collaborative skills.
Heads Up Communication Is Key in School Nurses’ Preparedness for Facilitating “Return to Learn” Following Concussion

Background. Recent literature advocates for a school academic team, including school nurses, to support concussed students’ return to the classroom. This study aimed to assess the current understanding and practices of a sample of school nurses regarding the concept of “return to learn” in concussed students. Methods. Cross-sectional survey of New England school nurses. Results. The greatest barrier to the school nurses’ functioning within the academic rehabilitation team for students with concussion was “inadequate communication with the provider that diagnosed the concussion” (73%). Of the 151 school nurses surveyed, 19% felt that they did not have the training necessary for this role. Other barriers included “inadequate concussion training” (38%) and “inadequate time necessary to care for a student with concussion” (30%). Conclusions. By identifying specific gaps in knowledge and challenges at the school level, these results inform interdisciplinary medical teams about the importance of educating and f...
A comparison of the therapeutic effectiveness of and preference for postural drainage and percussion, intrapulmonary percussive ventilation, and high-frequency chest wall compression in hospitalized cystic fibrosis patients.

INTRODUCTION: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have abnormally viscid bronchial secretions that cause airway obstruction, inflammation, and infection that leads to lung damage. To enhance airway clearance and reduce airway obstruction, daily bronchopulmonary hygiene therapy is considered essential. OBJECTIVE: Compare the effectiveness of and patient preferences regarding 3 airway clearance methods: postural drainage and percussion (PD&P), intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV), and high-frequency chest wall compression (HFCWC). METHODS: The participants were hospitalized CF patients ≥ 12 years old. Effectiveness was evaluated by measuring the wet and dry weights of sputum obtained with each method. In random order, each patient received 2 consecutive days of each therapy, delivered 3 times daily for 30 minutes. Sputum was collected during and for 15 minutes after each treatment, weighed wet, then dried and weighed again. Participants rated their preferences using a Likert-type scale. Mean weights and preferences were compared using analysis of variance with repeated measures. Patient preferences were compared using Freidman9s test. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were studied. The mean ± SD wet sputum weights were 5.53 ± 5.69 g with PD&P, 6.84 ± 5.41 g with IPV, and 4.77 ± 3.29 g with HFCWC. The mean wet sputum weights differed significantly (p = 0.035). Wet sputum weights from IPV were significantly greater than those from HFCWC (p CONCLUSIONS: HFCWC and IPV are at least as effective as vigorous, professionally administered PD&P for hospitalized CF patients, and the 3 modalities were equally acceptable to them. A hospitalized CF patient should try each therapy and choose his or her preferred modality.
Influence of opioids on CSF vasopressin concentration in newborn pigs.

This study was designed to determine the influence of opioids on periarachnoid cortical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) vasopressin concentration in newborn pigs equipped with closed cranial windows. Topical dynorphin-(1-13) produced tone-dependent pial arterial responses (dilation during normotension, constriction when cerebrovascular tone was decreased by hypotension). Dynorphin-(1-13) increased periarachnoid cortical CSF vasopressin concentrations in both normotensive and hypotensive piglets (5 +/- 1, 11 +/- 1, and 233 +/- 27 microU/ml for control, 10(-10), and 10(-6) M dynorphin-(1-13) during normotension, respectively). Dynorphin-(1-8) and U 50488H, a purported selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, produced similar tone-dependent responses associated with smaller increases in CSF vasopressin concentration. beta-Endorphin caused only cerebral vasoconstriction associated with modest increases in CSF vasopressin (3 +/- 1, 5 +/- 1, 9 +/- 2 microU/ml for control, 10(-10), and 10(-6) M beta-endorphin, respectively). In contrast, methionine enkephalin- and leucine enkephalin-induced dilations were not associated with changes in CSF vasopressin concentration. Naloxone (1 mg/kg i.v.) blocked both the opioid-induced vascular effects and associated changes in CSF vasopressin concentration. Naloxone also attenuated the increase in CSF vasopressin concentration in response to hemorrhagic hypotension. These data show that dynorphin- and beta-endorphin-induced cerebrovascular effects are associated with increased CSF vasopressin concentration. Furthermore, these data indicate that opioids could contribute to the increase in CSF vasopressin concentration observed in response to hemorrhagic hypotension.
Models of visual categorization

Visual categorization refers to our ability to organize objects and visual scenes into discrete categories. It is an essential skill as it allows us to distinguish friend from foe or edible versus poisonous food. Understanding how the visual system categorizes objects and scenes is a challenge because it requires bridging the gap between different levels of understanding-from the level of neural circuits and neural networks to the level of information processing and, ultimately, behavior. Computational models have become powerful tools for integrating knowledge across these levels of analysis. We review recent progress in our understanding of the computational mechanisms underlying visual categorization and discuss some of the remaining challenges.
Influence of Water Content on Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomographic Imaging of Collagen

Polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to evaluate the effect of water content and fiber orientation on collagen sponges. This holds promise for evaluating properties of intact tissues and synthetically engineered biological materials.
Update on Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract Objective: To review current treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as recent advances. Data Sources: MEDLINE search from 1990 to 1998 for human studies using search terms "rheumatoid arthritis"; "cyclooxygenase inhibitors" combined with "anti-inflammatory agents, nonsteroidal"; "tumor necrosis factor" limited to "antagonists and inhibitors"; "isoxazoles." Data Synthesis: RA is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by symmetrical joint involvement, usually of the small joints of the hands and feet. Although the hallmark of the disease is inflammation of joints, other organ systems—including the eyes, blood vessels, lungs, and car-diopulmonary system—may also be involved. Treatment of RA requires both drug and non drug approaches. Current drug therapy consists of combinations of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Corticosteroids are also used either for short-term treatment during initiation of therapy, in bursts during acute disease flares, or chronically in low doses. A number of promising new agents are in development. NSAIDs with preferential inhibition of cyclooxygenase II may offer a better safety profile than existing agents. Leflunomide and biological agents such as etanercept may provide benefit for patients who fail to achieve adequate response from conventional therapy. Conclusion: Traditional approaches to treatment of RA include NSAIDs combined with DMARDs. New agents just reaching the market represent important advances and have the potential to make a positive impact on treatment of RA.
Intra-Party Organization and the Development of the House Insurgency, 1908-1910

A legislative “breakpoint,” the Cannon Revolt profoundly transformed congressional operation, spurring a series of reforms that would ultimately lead to the long-term disintegration of traditional modes of partisan authority and the creation of new patterns of legislative governance. Whereas contemporary accounts are largely attentive to the entrepreneurial elements of the 1910 Revolt -- highlighting the parliamentary ingenuity of Rep. George Norris (R-NE) -- I focus on the structural conditions that facilitated the congressman’s success. Specifically, I draw attention to the efforts of Norris’s allies, “Insurgent” Republicans, to develop a formal intra-party organization. In the face of a seemingly intractable status quo, progressive members of the Republican Party devised this organizational arrangement to overcome Speaker Cannon’s vast political machine and revise House rules. Absent intra-party organization, it is improbable that individual reformers like Norris would have successfully designed, introduced, and passed new procedures to govern chamber activity. The episode further exemplifies a crucial, yet under-studied dynamic in congressional politics. Whereas spatial theories of Congress typically find that legislators located at the floor median are decisive actors in chamber politics, the archival account presented here suggests that these majority party moderates require the scaffolding of an intra-party organization to secure themselves pivotal status.