cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strategic Use of Affinity-Based Mass Spectrometry Techniques in the Drug Discovery Process

Advances in biomolecular mass spectrometry (Bio-MS) have made this technique an invaluable tool for analytical chemists and biochemists alike. The applicability of Bio-MS approaches in drug discovery now encompasses in vitro, cellular, and in vivo pharmacological and clinical applications in an unprecedented expansion of utility. As a result, the role of Bio-MS in pharmaceutical discovery continues to proliferate for both structural and functional characterization of biomolecules. From target characterization to lead optimization, affinity techniques have been used to purify, probe, and enrich analytes of interest. Affinity selection employed prior to MS analysis can “edit” out extraneous noise and enable the researcher to examine only what is important. These affinity-based methods can be used as an alternative strategy when classical biochemical techniques are insufficient in advancing difficult projects. We have applied various affinity techniques in conjunction with mass spectrometry throughout the dr...
Cytocentrifugation in the management of central nervous system leukemia.

Summary Cytocentrifugation is an excellent technique for evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with acute leukemia. Although large amounts of patients must be evaluated before therapeutic implications can be drawn, the following conclusions are suggested by the preliminary data: 1. Cytocentrifugation is an accurate method to clarify the morphology of “mononuclear” cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. 2. Cytocentrifugation can serve to distinguish between arachnoiditis and emerging central nervous system leukemia in patients receiving prophylactic intrathecal therapy who develop elevated protein and increased numbers of mononuclear cells on therapy. 3. Cytocentrifugation of fluid containing less than 10 mononuclear cells per cubic millimeter may concentrate small numbers of blasts that cannot be seen on the counting chamber. Such patients may require more intensive therapy to ensure central nervous system remission.
Responses to radioactive iodine therapy in hyperthyroidism, with special reference to cardiac problems.

THE preliminary use of radioactive iodine in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the thyroid (1–5) stands out as one of the major achievements in medicine in the past decade. The origins and early experience with the use of this isotope have been reviewed recently (6, 7). Continued experience with this form of therapy has enabled us to observe its advantage or disadvantage in patients with varying clinical forms of hyperthyroidism. Here we wish to present data gained from treating 330 such patients with radioactive iodine and especially in treating 47 of them who had heart disease or heart symptoms as the chief clinical manifestation of their departure from health. We seek to evaluate the usefulness of radioactive iodine in the treatment of these particular patients whose cardiac problem is the major consideration. Two objections have been raised to the use of radioactive iodine. First, that the length of time needed to control the hyperthyroidism constitutes a hazard to the patient's life; and sec...
Homological properties of balanced Cohen-Macaulay algebras

A balanced Cohen-Macaulay algebra is a connected algebra A having a balanced dualizing complex ω A [d] in the sense of Yekutieli (1992) for some integer d and some graded A-A bimodule ω A . We study some homological properties of a balanced Cohen-Macaulay algebra. In particular, we will prove the following theorem: Theorem 0.1. Let A be a Noetherian balanced Cohen-Macaulay algebra, and M a nonzero finitely generated graded left A-module. Then: 1. M has a finite resolution of the form 0 →ω A (-l mj )→...ω A (l 1j )→H→M→0, where H is a finitely generated maximal Cohen-Macaulay graded left A-module. 2. M has finite injective dimension if and only if M has a finite resolution of the form 0 → ω A (-l mj ) →...→ ωA (-l 1j ) → ω A (-l 0j ) → M → 0. As a corollary, we will have the following characterizations of AS Gorenstein algebras and AS regular algebras: Corollary 0.2. Let A be a Noetherian balanced Cohen-Macaulay algebra. 1. A is AS Gorenstein if and only if ω A has finite projective dimension as a graded left A-module. 2. A is AS regular if and only if every finitely generated maximal Cohen-Macaulay graded left A-module is free.
High false positive rates in common sensory threshold tests.

Large variability in thresholds to sensory stimuli is observed frequently even in healthy populations. Much of this variability is attributed to genetics and day-to-day fluctuation in sensitivity. However, false positives are also contributing to the variability seen in these tests. In this study, random number generation was used to simulate responses in threshold methods using different “stopping rules”: ascending 2-alternative forced choice (AFC) with 5 correct responses; ascending 3-AFC with 3 or 4 correct responses; staircase 2-AFC with 1 incorrect up and 2 incorrect down, as well as 1 up 4 down and 5 or 7 reversals; staircase 3-AFC with 1 up 2 down and 5 or 7 reversals. Formulas are presented for rates of false positives in the ascending methods, and curves were generated for the staircase methods. Overall, the staircase methods generally had lower false positive rates, but these methods were influenced even more by number of presentations than ascending methods. Generally, the high rates of error in all these methods should encourage researchers to conduct multiple tests per individual and/or select a method that can correct for false positives, such as fitting a logistic curve to a range of responses.
Polarizable Atomic Multipole Solutes in a Generalized Kirkwood Continuum

The generalized Born (GB) model of continuum electrostatics is an analytic approximation to the Poisson equation useful for predicting the electrostatic component of the solvation free energy for solutes ranging in size from small organic molecules to large macromolecular complexes. This work presents a new continuum electrostatics model based on Kirkwood's analytic result for the electrostatic component of the solvation free energy for a solute with arbitrary charge distribution. Unlike GB, which is limited to monopoles, our generalized Kirkwood (GK) model can treat solute electrostatics represented by any combination of permanent and induced atomic multipole moments of arbitrary degree. Here we apply the GK model to the newly developed Atomic Multipole Optimized Energetics for Biomolecular Applications (AMOEBA) force field, which includes permanent atomic multipoles through the quadrupole and treats polarization via induced dipoles. A derivation of the GK gradient is presented, which enables energy minimization or molecular dynamics of an AMOEBA solute within a GK continuum. For a series of 55 proteins, GK electrostatic solvation free energies are compared to the Polarizable Multipole Poisson-Boltzmann (PMPB) model and yield a mean unsigned relative difference of 0.9%. Additionally, the reaction field of GK compares well to that of the PMPB model, as shown by a mean unsigned relative difference of 2.7% in predicting the total solvated dipole moment for each protein in this test set. The CPU time needed for GK relative to vacuum AMOEBA calculations is approximately a factor of 3, making it suitable for applications that require significant sampling of configuration space.
A Historical-Philosophical Analysis of the Professional Nurse Obligation to Participate in Sociopolitical Activities:

Professional nurses practice within a social, economic, cultural, and political context. Despite this, nursing practice and education have historically focused their attention on the nurse-patient relationship. That focus is inadequate to address the needs of society in today’s health care environment. Considering the context of nursing care delivery, a historical-philosophical analysis was done to answer the ontological question: Does the scope of professional nursing practice include the obligation to participate in sociopolitical activities? The scope of professional nursing practice included key professional documents, predominant published ideologies, and the contemporary knowledge paradigm of nursing. An extensive analysis of the scope was done to search for evidences of sociopolitical obligation. Strong evidence was found in all sources. A logical argument based on findings showed that professional nursing practice does include a moral and professional obligation to participate in sociopolitical ac...
A 3-D Pattern-Space Representation for Volumetric Arrays

A 3-D pattern-space representation is presented for volumetric arrays. In this representation, the radiation pattern of an array is formed by the evaluation of the 3-D pattern-space on a spherical surface. The scan angle of the array determines the position of this surface within the pattern-space. This pattern-space representation is used in conjunction with a genetic algorithm to minimize the sidelobe levels exhibited by a thinned volumetric array during scanning.
Commentary on Hey and Kimmelman

Hey and Kimmelman disagree with the purported ethical advantage of outcome-adaptive randomization in the setting of two-arm trials and/or early phase studies. They also conclude that, compared to equal randomization, adaptive randomization might have a compelling ethical basis in multi-arm trials. They raise important considerations; however, many criticisms of adaptive randomization are broad and unjustified. It deserves a more thorough evaluation. Hey and Kimmelman use “ethics” to cover many things. It helps to discuss the usefulness of a trial design on the basis of three categories: statistical properties; practical considerations; and real-life performance.
Design patterns- evolving from passive to active learning

Students in Rochester Institute of Technology's Software Engineeringprogram gain an appreciation for the importance of design in their second year when they work on a term-long team-based software project. Student comments oJim express an eagerness to be taught more about rhe design of larger soJiware systems. Our next course, Engineering of Software Subsystems, aims to achieve that outcome. This paper describes the evolution of this design course. The course was initially delivered as three one-hour lectures and one two-hour lab per week. Particularly in lectures, the students were not engaged to actively learn the material. The course has taken several evolutionary steps moving from its initial low level of active learning to where it now is mostly under the control of student teams participating as active learners. Dora from one offering of the course suggests improved course evaluation ratings and a noticeable increase in student appreciation for the textbook.
Double Dissociation between the Involvement of the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis and the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala in Startle Increases Produced by Conditioned versus Unconditioned Fear

The amplitude of the acoustic startle response is reliably enhanced when elicited in the presence of bright light (light-enhanced startle) or in the presence of cues previously paired with shock (fear-potentiated startle). Light-enhanced startle appears to reflect an unconditioned response to an anxiogenic stimulus, whereas fear-potentiated startle reflects a conditioned response to a fear-eliciting stimulus. We examine the involvement of the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, the central nucleus of the amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in both phenomena. Immediately before light-enhanced or fear-potentiated startle testing, rats received intracranial infusions of the AMPA receptor antagonist 2, 3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulphamoylbenzo(F)-quinoxaline (3 microg) or PBS. Infusions into the central nucleus of the amygdala blocked fear-potentiated but not light-enhanced startle, and infusions into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis blocked light-enhanced but not fear-potentiated startle. Infusions into the basolateral amygdala disrupted both phenomena. These findings indicate that the neuroanatomical substrates of fear-potentiated and light-enhanced startle, and perhaps more generally of conditioned and unconditioned fear, may be anatomically dissociated.
Influence of ruthenium red on calcium (45Ca2+) absorption by sorghum seedling roots

Abstract Root tips (1 cm) from sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench cv SC574, SC283, GP‐10, and Funk G522DR] cultivars were exposed concomitantly to 45Ca2+ and ruthenium red (0,0.001,0.01, 0.1, or 1 mM) at pH 5.5 in 0.01M sodium acetate buffer. Ruthenium red induced a decreased 45Ca2+ uptake that was 50% inhibited between 0.01 ‐ 0.1 mM ruthenium red. Ruthenium red is known to inhibit Ca2+‐ATPase but not H+‐ATPase. When the roots were exposed to 0.1 mM ruthenium red at pH 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.5, or 4.0, deceased 45Ca uptake occurred as H+ concentration increased. Although there were differences between 45Ca in total uptake when plotted as percentages of the uptake at 0 ruthenium red (pH 5.5) or at pH 6.0 (0.1 mM ruthenium red), inhibition of 45Ca uptake by increased H+ or ruthemum red concentrations was equivalent among the cultivars.
A NEW SPECIES OF DRASSYLLUS (ARANEAE, GNAPHOSIDAE) FROM WEST TEXAS

Abstract A new species, Drassyllus broussardi, is described from Presidio County, West Texas, USA. The species belongs to the insularis group but has a distinctively elongated embolus in males and concomitantly elongated copulatory ducts in females.
Does rising income increase or decrease damage risk from natural disasters

Abstract Recent empirical literature has found a negative relationship between income per capita and measures of risk from natural disaster, supportive of logic that higher incomes allow countries to mitigate disaster risk. We argue that behavioral changes at the micro level in response to increasing income (such as location choice and extent of costly abatement activity) may lead to a non-linear relationship between aggregate incomes and disaster damages, where the risks increase with income before they decrease. In a country-year panel data set, we show that disaster risk associated with flooding, landslides and windstorms increases with income up to GDP per capita levels of $5044, $3360, and $4688 per year respectively and decrease thereafter. Such non-linear impacts are absent for other disaster types such as extreme temperature events and earthquakes where the links between human behavioral choices and exposure to risk are not as strong. From a policy perspective, this suggests that for the least developed countries, the dual goals of disaster risk prevention and economic development cannot be assumed to be complementary for all forms of natural disaster. In addition to allocating resources to manage disaster risk, the poorest nations may have to be more proactive in enacting policies that alter the behavioral choices of citizens that impact a country's exposure to natural disaster risk.
Mediation analysis with categorical independent variables

The primary goal of mediation analysis is to explicate the mechanism that underlies an observed relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable by including a third explanatory variable, known as a mediator variable. While the concept of mediation is theoretically appealing, our literature study indicates that there has not been a comprehensive research work on how a categorical variable is assessed in the statistical mediation analysis of time and perceived quality of life. The main objective of this paper is two-fold. First, this paper develops conceptual justifications of employing psychological variables to represent unique constructs with as little conceptual overlap as possible in the mediation analysis to prevent multicollinearity issues. Second, a modified approach is then proposed to estimate relative direct and indirect effects as well as relative total effects between a categorical independent variable and a dependent variable. A numerical example is provided to facilitate the proposed approach.
A Systematic Study of Metal-assisted Chemical Etching Parameters for Well-Ordered Silicon Nanowire Array Fabrication

Metal-assisted chemical etching is a simple and low-cost silicon nanowire fabrication method which allows control of nanowire diameter, length, shape and orientation. In this work, we fabricated well-ordered silicon nanowire array by patterning gold thin film by nanosphere lithography and etching single crystalline silicon wafer by metal-assisted chemical etching technique. We investigated relation between etched solution concentration and nanowire morphology, wafer crystal orientation, etching rate. This well-ordered silicon nanowires arrays have the potential applications in many fields but especially next generation energy related applications from solar cells to lithium-ion batteries.
Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma mimicking stroke.

Journal of Neuroradiology - In Press.Proof corrected by the author Available online since samedi 4 juin 2011
Plasmacytosis of the bovine udder during colostrum secretion and experimental cessation of milking.

THE concomitance of bone marrow plasmacyte formation and induced hypersensitivity was noted by Kolouch1 in 1938. This was succeeded by a large number of papers indicating the part played by the plasma cell in the secretion of specific antibodies and by clinical studies reporting the strict parallelism between hyperglobulinaemia and plasmacytosis in various diseases. These have been reviewed by Kolouch, Good and Campbell2. The present communication records that the plasmacytosis in the bovine udder is synchronous with heightened periods of immune-body formation at parturition and during experimental cessation of milking.
Factors affecting interaction of staphylococcal alpha toxin with membranes.

Abstract Staphylococcal alpha toxin interacts not only with membranes of erythrocytes but also with membranes of other kinds of mammalian cells (platelets, hepatocytes, and lysosomes from polymorphonuclear leukocytes) with the formation of characteristic ring-like structures that can be seen by electron microscopy. Such structures are not observed when alpha toxin is added to membranes derived from various bacteria. The rings seen on mammalian cell membranes tend to be either randomly disposed or in square array. The frequency with which square arrays are seen is influenced by the presence of staphylococcal delta toxin, by the negative staining agent, and by the kind of cell from which the membrane is derived. Synthetic membranes in the form of liposomes, prepared individually from phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl inositol, and cardiolipin, produced randomly disposed rings upon addition of alpha toxin. Liposomes made from phosphatidyl ethanolamine did not yield rings. Alpha toxin-treated liposomes prepared from chloroform-methanol extracts of brain white matter consistently showed rings that were rectangularly ordered. Ordered rings on membranes derived from toxin-treated platelets and those on toxin-treated brain extract liposomes were seen in freeze-etched as well as in negatively stained preparations.
Dispersion analysis in scalar generalized finite element method

A semi-analytic technique for the dispersion analysis of scalar generalized finite element method (GFEM) that can be easily applied to higher dimensions and vector GFEM has been developed. The phase error simulation results validate the O([h/lambda]2p) convergence rate of the Legendre polynomials. GFEM compared to FEM significantly suppresses the error for the higher orders. The phase error depends on the incident angle and it shows different behavior for each order. The error in discrete representation of the differential equation is shown to be related to the error in function representation. Results using different local approximation functions as well as generalization of the methodology to vector basis functions are presented.
Available alternative incentives modulate anticipatory nucleus accumbens activation

A reward or punishment can seem better or worse depending on what else might have happened. Little is known, however, about how neural representations of an anticipated incentive might be influenced by the available alternatives. We used event-related FMRI to investigate the activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), while we varied the available alternative incentives in a monetary incentive delay task. Some task blocks included only uncertain gains and losses; others included the same uncertain gains and losses intermixed with certain gains and losses. The availability of certain gains and losses increased NAcc activation for uncertain losses and decreased the difference between uncertain gains and losses. We suggest that this pattern of activation can result from reference point changes across blocks, and that the worst available loss may serve as an important anchor for NAcc activation. These findings imply that NAcc activation represents anticipated incentive value relative to the current context of available alternative gains and losses.
Wavelet transform analysis of electromyography kung fu strikes data.

In martial arts and contact sports strikes are performed at near maximum speeds. For that reason, electromyography (EMG) analysis of such movements is non-trivial. This paper has three main goals: firstly, to investigate the differences in the EMG activity of muscles during strikes performed with and without impacts; secondly, to assess the advantages of using Sum of Significant Power (SSP) values instead of root mean square (rms) values when analyzing EMG data; and lastly to introduce a new method of calculating median frequency values using wavelet transforms (WMDF). EMG data of the deltoid anterior (DA), triceps brachii (TB) and brachioradialis (BR) muscles were collected from eight Kung Fu practitioners during strikes performed with and without impacts. SSP results indicated significant higher muscle activity (p = 0.023) for the strikes with impact. WMDF results, on the other hand, indicated significant lower values (p = 0.007) for the strikes with impact. SSP results presented higher sensitivity than rms to quantify important signal differences and, at the same time, presented lower intersubject coefficient of variations. The result of increase in SSP values and decrease in WMDF may suggest better synchronization of motor units for the strikes with impact performed by the experienced Kung Fu practitioners.
Eating Disorders in Hospitalized Substance Abusers

Among 386 consecutive patients hospitalized for substance abuse, 15% of 143 women had a lifetime diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia nervosa, compared to only 1% of 243 men. Women with eating disorders had significantly higher rates of stimulant abuse and lower rates of opioid abuse than women without eating disorders.
Defining the Optimal Requirements for the Liquid Indium Microelectric Propulsion System

Recent technology advancements in microelectric propulsion will enable the next generation of small spacecraft to perform trajectory and attitude maneuvers with significant ΔV requirements, provide thrust over long mission durations, and replace reaction wheels for attitude control. These advancements will open up the class of mission architectures achievable by small spacecraft to include formation flying, proximity operations, and precision pointing missions in both low Earth orbit and interplanetary destinations. The goal of this study is to establish the optimal performance parameters for future microelectric propulsion technology that are applicable to a broad range of flight demonstration platforms (for example, dedicated 3- to 12-unit CubeSats to evolved expendable launch vehicle secondary payload adaptor-class spacecraft) for a variety of applications, including low Earth orbit and Earth escape orbit transfers, travel to interplanetary destinations, hover and drag makeup missions, and performing r...
Estimation of maximum currents for fault tolerant design of power distribution systems in integrated circuits

Current flow in power distribution systems inside an integrated circuit (IC), especially in VLSI and wafer-scale ICs, causes problems of voltage drop and metal migration, leading to logic malfunction, reduction in operating speed, and reduction in the expected life span of a chip. Accurate estimations of currents are needed to design the power distribution systems so that they will withstand the adverse effects of current surges. During fabrication or as a result of aging, the power distribution systems may break at some weak points. As a result, some parts of the systems may have to route excessive amounts of currents. A power distribution system should be designed so that, in the presence of a limited number of these breaks, the system will deliver currents to the macro cells without violating some prescribed limits on voltage drops and without causing metal migration. The author deals with estimating currents in the segments of power distribution systems under fault conditions and develops guidelines for designing the systems so that the voltage drop and metal migration constraints with respect to these current estimates will not be violated. >
Tracheal and bronchoalveolar permeability changes in rats inhaling oxidant atmospheres during rest or exercise

Permeability of tracheal and bronchoalveolar airways of rats was measured and used to examine the effects of inhaled oxidant-containing atmospheres. The atmospheres studied were (a) ozone (O3) at 0.6 ppm (1.2 mg/m3) or 0.8 ppm (1.6 mg/m3); (b) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 6 ppm (11.3 mg/m3) or 12 ppm (22.6 mg/m3); (c) O3 + NO2 at 0.6 ppm (1.2 mg/m3) and 2.5 ppm (4.7 mg/m3), respectively; and (d) a 7-component particle and gas mixture (complex atmosphere) representing urban air pollution in a photochemical environment. The rats were exposed for 2 h. The effects of exercise during exposure were evaluated by exposing additional groups in an enclosed treadmill. Exposure of resting rats to 0.8 ppm O3 increased tracheal permeability to DTPA and bronchoalveolar permeability to diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) at 1 h after the exposure. Bronchoalveolar, but not tracheal, permeability remained elevated at 24 h after the exposure. Exercise during exposure to O3 increased permeability to both tracers in the tracheal and the bronchoalveolar zones, and prolonged the duration of increased permeability in the tracheal zone from 1 h to 24 h, and in the bronchoalveolar zone from 24 h to 48 h. Permeability in the tracheal and bronchoalveolar zones of rats exposed at rest to 6 or 12 ppm NO2 did not differ from controls. However, rats exposed during exercise to 12 ppm NO2 for 2 h developed a significant increase in tracheal and bronchoalveolar permeability to DTPA and BSA at 1 h, but not at 24 or 48 h, after exposure. Exposure at rest to 0.6 ppm O3 plus 2.5 ppm NO2 significantly increased bronchoalveolar permeability at 1 and 24 h after exposure, although exposure at rest to 0.6 ppm O3 alone increased bronchoalveolar permeability only at 1 h after exposure. Exposure to O3 + NO2 during exercise led to significantly greater permeability to DTPA than did exercising exposure to O3 alone. Resting rats exposed to a complex gas/aerosol atmosphere composed of the above O3 and NO2 concentrations, plus 5 ppm (13.1 mg/m3) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and an aerosol of insoluble colloidal Fe2O3 with an aerosol of manganese, ferric, and ammonium salts, demonstrated increased permeability at 1 and 24 h after exposure. Nitric acid vapor was formed in both the O3 + NO2 atmosphere and the complex gas/aerosol atmosphere.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Book and Resource Reviews

The article reviews the book “Strategy Synthesis: Resolving Strategy Paradoxes to Create Competitive Advantage,” 2nd ed., by Bob De Wit and Ron Meyer.
Psychological stress in families of children in a pediatric intensive care unit.

In recent years tremendous growth and development of pediatric intensive care units has occurred. New units have been established, and new forms of therapy have been introduced for the critically ill child. Children who in the past were too sick to move are being transported to referral centers sometimes hundreds of miles away. Children who would have died from respiratory failure are being saved with modern techniques of ventilation; children with intracranial disease are being monitored and treated to prevent intracranial hypertension; dialysis is readily available for children with renal failure.
Is complex concomitant surgery justified or does it simply support guard rails

From the Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Disclosures: Author has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support. Received for publication Oct 22, 2015; accepted for publication Oct 24, 2015; available ahead of print Nov 19, 2015. Address for reprints: Susan D. Moffatt-Bruce, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSC, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, 410 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210 (E-mail: Susan.moffatt-bruce@osumc.edu). J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2016;151:568-9 0022-5223/$36.00 Copyright 2016 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2015.10.091
Capital Market Integration and Exchange-Rate Regimes in Historical Perspective

This chapter uses very long time series of historical data to investigate the cross-country convergence of real and nominal short-term and long-term interest rates across exchange-rate regimes. Consistent with theory, the behavior of nominal interest rates varies considerably across regimes, while the behavior of real interest rates, in contrast, proves to be very nearly the same under the classical gold-standard, Bretton Woods and floating-rate regimes. The chapter goes on to discuss theoretical reasons for this neutrality and to present related qualitative evidence on the similarity of important capital-market institutions in the gold and floating-rate periods, and on the changes in such institutions that took place during the latter.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Salicylate Inhibition of Intimal Hyperplasia Following Balloon Catheter-Induced Vascular Injury

Angioplasty followed by stent placement, bare or drug-eluting, proved to be a major step forward in the treatment of coronary and carotid artery disease. It was soon recognized that patients undergoing these procedures presented with restenosis within 6 months. The cause of these failures was the development of intimal hyperplasia. Aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, soon became a focus of therapeutic intervention alone or in combination with other drugs due to its antiplatelet properties. When it was recognized that inflammation is a primary underlying factor in vascular disease, the use of aspirin was further encouraged. More recently, the anti-inflammatory proprieties of aspirin other than inhibition of cyclooxygenase activity have been described, namely, alterations in the expression and formation of proinflammatory molecules such as NF-κB. However, aspirin has gastrointestinal side effects and bleeding problems. Salicylates became the drug of interest, and more recently salsalate, the dimeric form of salicylic acid, is being recognized for similar anti-inflammatory actions as well as for lowering hyperglycemic glucose levels in type 2 diabetics without the deleterious side effects of aspirin. As revascularization procedures in type 2 diabetics have proven to produce a greater degree of intimal hyperplasia and, therefore, procedure failures, the effect of salsalate on the development of intimal hyperplasia in animals exhibiting symptoms of the metabolic syndrome was studied; the authors reported salsalate decreased intimal hyperplasia, increased eNOS expression, decreased NF-κB and VEGF expression. It is concluded in this chapter that clinical trials are indicated to define the effect of salsalate on the development of intimal hyperplasia and inflammation.
How Similar Are Chimpanzee and Human Class I Antigens

Although the HLA and H-2 systems have provided considerable information of the structure and function of the class I MHC molecules, little is known concerning the evolution of the genes during the process of mammalian radiation. This is largely due to the fact that the two best studied species (mouse and man) diverged 75 to 90 million years ago. Comparison of nucleotide sequences has suggested that some of the current HLA-A,B,C alleles are of relatively ancient origin; however, sequence information with species closely related to man has been lacking. To investigate the possibility that HLA alleles predate primate speciation, our efforts are directed towards analyzing the class I molecules of the chimpanzee, a species with which we shared an ancestor some 3.5 to 5 million years ago.
Surgical management of adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas

Cushing's disease is defined as hypercortisolemia caused by secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone from a pituitary adenoma. The diagnosis of Cushing's disease is based on clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging findings. Once an adrenocorticotropic-hormone-secreting adenoma is found, the standard of care is transsphenoidal adenomectomy. MRI negative microadenomas and large, invasive macroadenomas provide a surgical and clinical challenge and are best handled at high volume centers. Multiple options exist for refractory disease or recurrence, including repeat surgery, radiosurgery and radiotherapy, medical management and bilateral adrenalectomy.
Elective central node dissection: Comparison of open to minimally invasive video‐assisted approach

Objectives/Hypothesis Compare outcomes of concomitant primary thyroidectomy with elective central neck dissection (CND) by the standard open versus minimally invasive video-assisted (MIVA) approach. Study Design Case series chart review, single institution, tertiary referral center. Methods Current Procedural Terminology code 60252 was used to identify patients undergoing CND from February 2005 through June 2012. Therapeutic CND and revision cases were excluded. The MIVA approach was performed in patients with low-risk thyroid carcinoma (cT1 or 2, cN0). Primary outcomes included nodal yield and complications, and secondary outcomes included recurrence. Results Of 87 eligible patients, 38 were open and 49 were MIVA. The MIVA group was more likely female (88% vs. 68%, P = .03), but groups were similar in age (46.0 vs. 48.6 mean years, P = .37) and percentage of unilateral dissection (69.4% vs. 71.0%, P = .86). The MIVA group was more often pT1 or 2 (86.9% vs. 76.4%, P = .02). Pathological node positivity was 40% overall and not significantly different between groups (43.5% vs. 35.3%, P = .46). Nodal yield was similar between groups (6.4 vs. 6.8, P = .73). Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis rates were similar (4.1% vs. 2.6%, P = .71). Transient hypoparathyroidism (postanesthesia care unit parathyroid hormone ≤15 pg/mL) was lower in the MIVA group but not statistically significant (29.2% vs. 45.2%, P = .15). No patients experienced permanent hypoparathyroidism or developed clinically detectable structural recurrence. Rates of biochemical response were similar (any thyroglobulin >1 ng/dL) (13.8% vs. 8.0%, P = .86). Conclusions Concomitant MIVA thyroidectomy with elective CND appears to be a safe and effective alternative to the open approach for low-risk thyroid carcinoma with similar nodal yield, complications, and recurrence. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2016
Cognitive Deficits at Onset of Epilepsy

Neuropsychological functioning and academic achievement were determined at the time of the first seizure in a prospective study of 282 children (ages 6-14 years, with IQ >70) and compared with 147 healthy siblings examined at Indiana University, Case Medical Center, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Splanchnic hemodynamics as influenced by hepatic ischemia.

SummaryThe influence of complete hepatic ischemia of 2 hours' duration on arterial blood pressure, portal vein pressure, heart rate, and mesenteric vascular resistance was investigated in dogs. During ischemia, small gradual decreases occurred in arterial pressure, heart rate, portal blood flow and mesenteric resistance. On release of the occluding ligatures on the hepatic artery and portal vein, the following changes were observed: an immediate sharp decrease in arterial blood pressure; a brief period of increase in portal blood flow, followed by a decline; a sharp increase in portal venous pressure, and a marked decrease in mesenteric vascular resistance. These manifestations lasted approximately 5 minutes, and were then followed by a partial recovery of arterial pressure and portal blood flow, some reduction of portal venous pressure, and a significant increase in mesenteric resistance. Heart rate showed no significant change.
Adaptation of hypophysectomized rat to fasting.

SummaryIt was found that in a group of hypophysectomized rats allowed to feed ad libitum as well as in a group force fed by stomach tube some animals subsequently survived fasting about at long as their non-hypo-physectomized controls. These hypophysectomized animals which survived fasting well also maintained blood sugar concentrations during fasting which were comparable to those of their controls.
117. Insight into the role of CD8 T cells in HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment

Previous studies of HIV-associated neurocognitive disease (HAND) have focused on the role of monocytes/macrophages. Having observed that high CD8 levels are a risk factor for HAND and hypothesizing that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could be a portal of entry for activated CD8 T-cells, we investigated cytokine responses by CSF T-cells. HIV+ participants with and without HAND were treated with CNS-penetrating anti-retroviral agents. CSF cells and PBMCs were harvested before treatment and at 6 and 16 weeks post-treatment and assessed for intracellular expression of IL-2, IFNg and TNFa, in response to HIV antigens. Data were examined both longitudinally (16 subjects with 3 visits) and cross-sectionally (30 subjects, total 59 visits). Overall, CD4 and CD8 T-cells in the CSF were more likely to make all three cytokines than CD4 and CD8 T-cells in blood. Impairment was associated with higher levels of constitutive and HIV-induced IFNg (p = .04) and TNFa (p = .05) expression by CD8 T-cells in the CSF. While higher levels of HIV RNA in CSF suppressed CD8 cytokine expression in unimpaired subjects, impaired subjects persisted with high cytokine expression regardless of RNA levels (p = .04). In addition to identifying a novel mechanism of HIV pathogenesis, these findings validate viral suppression in both CSF and the periphery as an important treatment goal for HAND, but also suggest that modulation of the CD8 T-cell response may be required.
Synthesis of Catecholate Ligands with Phosphonate Anchoring Groups

New catecholate ligands containing protected phosphonate anchoring groups in the 4-position of the catecholate ring were synthesized. The catechol 4-diethoxyphosphorylbenzene-1,2-diol, (Etphoscat)H2, was prepared in three steps from pyrocatechol; whereas, the catechol 4-(diethoxyphosphorylmethyl)benzene-1,2-diol, (EtBnphoscat)H2, containing a methylene spacer between the catecholate ring and phosphonate anchor, was prepared from protocatechuic acid in six linear steps. Both catechol derivatives were further elaborated to their trimethylsilyl-protected counterparts to facilitate their binding to nanocrystalline metal oxides. Electronic spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to probe the electronic properties of the phosphonate-functionalized catecholates in charge-transfer complexes of the general formula (catecholate)Pd(pdi) (pdi = N,N′-bis(mesityl)phenanthrene-9,10-diimine). These studies show that attachment of the phosphonate anchor directly to the 4-position of the (Etphoscat)2– ligand signific...
Ex Situ Thermo-catalytic Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapors Using a Traveling Wave Microwave Reactor

Abstract Microwave heating offers a number of advantages over conventional heating methods, such as, rapid and volumetric heating, precise temperature control, energy efficiency and lower temperature gradient. In this article we demonstrate the use of 2450 MHz microwave traveling wave reactor to heat the catalyst bed for thermo-catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors. HZSM-5 catalyst was tested at three different temperatures (290°, 330° and 370 °C) at a catalyst to biomass ratio of 2. Results were compared with conventional heating and induction heating method of catalyst bed. The yields of aromatic compounds and coke deposition were dependent on temperature and method of heating. Microwave heating yielded higher aromatic compounds and lower coke deposition. Microwave heating was also energy efficient compared to conventional reactors. The rate of catalyst deterioration was lower for catalyst heated in microwave system.
MicroRNAs in frequently deleted loci of prostate cancer: Novel players in disease progression, recurrence and metastasis

A major clinical challenge in prostate cancer is the elucidation of pathways of tumor progression, recurrence and metastasis, which could lead to the design of better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against the disease. This lecture will address the role of novel microRNA (miRNA) genes located at frequently deleted genomic region in prostate cancer epithelial-to mesenchymal transition (EMT), recurrence and metastasis. The most frequent alteration in the prostate oncogenome is the loss of chromosome (chr) 8p21 that has been traditionally associated with the loss of homeodomain protein, NKX3.1, that plays important roles in prostate carcinogenesis. Genomic deletions of this region increase significantly with tumor grade and are associated with poor prognosis in prostate cancer suggesting the critical involvement of this region in prostate cancer progression. Recent genomic studies suggest that this region harbors alternative tumor suppressor genes apart from NKX3.1. However, the identity of these tumor suppressors has largely remained elusive. Our studies support a novel, paradigm shifting hypothesis that this frequently deleted locus is associated with a cluster of miRNA genes that are lost in prostate cancer and play an important mechanistic role in prostate cancer progression and metastasis by regulating Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Also, these miRNA genes regulate prostate cancer tumor-initiating cells, implicating a role in prostate cancer recurrence. These studies have high transformative potential in the field of prostate cancer and will potentially identify new agents for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of advanced prostate cancer.
Bioinspired Multifunctional Ceramic Platelet-Reinforced Piezoelectric Polymer Composite†

Hybrid materials of inorganic–organic phases in which each phase provides different functionality are attractive candidates for achieving multifunctionality. Using a layer-by-layer approach, we fabricated sheets of piezoelectric polymer P(VDF-TrFE) reinforced by aligned sub-micron thick sapphire platelets. The films were transparent and piezoelectric, exhibited ductility up to ≈330%, and tensile toughness of up to 26 J g–1. We investigated the effect of thermal annealing on the crystallinity of the polymer phase and its effect on the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of the films. Thermal annealing resulted in improvement of the elastic modulus and piezoelectric properties of the films. in situ SEM tensile experiments were conducted for observation of the deformation mechanism of the films.
General Relativity, Time and Determinism

Einstein’s theory of general relativity models the physical universe using spacetimes which satisfy Einstein’s gravitational field equations. To date, Einstein’s theory has been enormously successful in modeling observed gravitational phenomena, both at the astrophysical and the cosmological levels. The collection of spacetime solutions of Einstein’s equations which have been effectively used for modeling the physical universe is a very small subset of the full set of solutions. Among this larger set, there are many spacetimes in which strange phenomena related to time are present: There are solutions containing regions in which determinism and the predictability of experimental outcomes breaks down (the Taub-NUT spacetimes), and there others in which the breakdown of determinism occurs everywhere (the Godel universe). Should the existence of these strange solutions lead us to question the usefulness of Einstein’s theory in modeling physical phenomena? Should it instead lead us to seriously search for strange time phenomena in physics? Or should we simply treat these solutions as anomalous (if embarrassing) distractions which we can ignore? In this essay, after introducing some basic ideas of special and general relativity and discussing what it means for a spacetime to be a solution of Einstein’s equations, we explore the use of spacetime solutions for modeling astrophysical events and cosmology. We then examine some of the spacetime solutions in which determinism and causal relationships break down, we relate such phenomena to Penrose’s “Strong Cosmic Censorship Conjecture”, and finally we discuss the questions noted above.
Honey bee gut microbial communities are robust to the fungicide Pristine® consumed in pollen

Honey bees that consume pollen with sublethal levels of the fungicide Pristine® can have reduced pollen digestion, lower ATP synthesis, and in many ways resemble malnourished bees. Reduced nutrient acquisition in bees exposed to Pristine® might be due to the effects of this fungicide on the composition of gut microbial communities. Two experiments were conducted in two separate years to test for the effects of Pristine® on the composition and diversity of bacteria in nurse bee midguts. In the low-dose experiment, bees fed the fungicide had a reduced relative abundance of Gilliamella sp. and the number of bacterial taxa within each individual bee was lower. In the high-dose experiment, the fungicide treatment led to increased relative abundance of Lactobacillus sp. Firm 4 and Firm 5 relative to the control. Presence of the fungicide did not impact the distribution of bacteria among individuals on either the low-or high-dose experiments. Considerable differences in gut microbial communities existed between the two experiments perhaps due to environmental and dietary factors. The effects of Pristine® on the gut microbiota were inconsistent between experiments indicating that exposure rate and environmental conditions can influence the effects of this fungicide on gut microbial communities.
Spatial pyramid deep hashing for large-scale image retrieval

Effective feature representations and similarity measurements are crucial for large-scale image retrieval, and conventional methods often learn hash functions from a predefined hand-crafted feature space. Meanwhile, the spatial structure in raw images always lost in most previous methods. Encouraged by the recent advances in convolutional neural networks (CNNs), a novel Spatial Pyramid Deep Hashing (SPDH) algorithm is developed for the task of fast image retrieval. In our SPDH algorithm, the CNN with a spatial pyramid pooling and a locally-connected layer with binary activation functions is utilized to build the end-to-end relation between the raw image data and the binary hashing codes for fast indexing. Different from the fully-connected layer, the locally-connected layer can consider each local spatial bin as an independent unit and only connect the local bin to preserve the spatial pyramid structure for hash codes. The learning of both the hash function and the feature representations are jointly optimized via backward propagation with classification or similarity loss function on the large-scale labeled dataset such as ImageNet. Moreover, a spatial pyramid binary pattern matching algorithm is developed to achieve partial local similar matching among the images. Our experimental results have shown that our SPDH method can outperform several state-of-the-art hashing algorithms on the CIFAR-10, SIVAL and the Oxford buildings datasets.