cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The COVID-19 Crisis and Clinical Ethics in New York City

The COVID-19 pandemic that struck New York City in the spring of 2020 was a natural experiment for the clinical ethics services of NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP). Two distinct teams at NYP's flagship academic medical centers-at NYP/Columbia University Medical Center (Columbia) and NYP/Weill Cornell Medical Center (Weill Cornell)-were faced with the same pandemic and operated under the same institutional rules. Each campus used time as an heuristic to analyze our collective response. The Columbia team compares consults during the pandemic with the same period during the year prior. The Weill Cornell service describes the phases of the pandemic to depict its temporal evolution and subsequent ethical challenges. Both sites report that the predominant ethical challenges centered around end-of-life decision making, setting goals of care, and medical futility, all complicated by resource allocation questions and the ambiguity of state law under crisis standards of care. The Columbia campus saw a statistically significant increase in ethics consultations provided to Hispanic patients, perhaps reflective of the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 suffered by this demographic. While Weill Cornell and Columbia saw a surge in clinical ethics consultations, the two services assumed a more expansive role than one normally played in institutional life. Serving as intermediaries between frontline clinicians and senior hospital administrators, consultants provided critical intelligence to hospital leadership about the evolution of the pandemic, disseminated information to clinicians, and attended to the moral distress of colleagues who were asked to provide care under truly extraordinary circumstances. The COVID-19 surge in New York City revealed latent capabilities in ethics consultation that may prove useful to the broader clinical ethics community as it responds to the current pandemic and reconceptualizes its potential for future service.
Expression of extracellular multiheme cytochromes discovered in a betaproteobacterium during Mn(III) reduction

Abstract Soluble ligand-bound Mn(III) can support anaerobic microbial respiration in diverse aquatic environments. Thus far, Mn(III) reduction has only been associated with certain Gammaproteobacteria. Here, we characterized microbial communities enriched from Mn-replete sediments of Lake Matano, Indonesia. Our results provide the first evidence for biological reduction of soluble Mn(III) outside of the Gammaproteobacteria. Metagenome assembly and binning revealed a novel betaproteobacterium, which we designate “Candidatus Dechloromonas occultata.” This organism dominated the enrichment and expressed a novel cytochrome c-rich protein cluster (Occ), including an undecaheme putatively involved in extracellular electron transfer during Mn(III) reduction. The occ gene cluster was detected in diverse aquatic bacteria, including uncultivated Betaproteobacteria from the deep subsurface. These observations provide new insight into the taxonomic and functional diversity of microbially-driven Mn(III) reduction in natural environments.
Reversible acral and mucosal hyperpigmentation in a patient with B12 deficiency secondary to polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type II.

Reversible cutaneous hyperpigmentation often occurs in the setting of nutritional deficiencies and protein energy malnourishment, with atypical presentations arising from autoimmune disease. Here, ...
Signaling interaction link prediction using deep graph neural networks integrating protein-protein interactions and omics data

Abstract Uncovering signaling links or cascades among proteins that potentially regulate tumor development and drug response is one of the most critical and challenging tasks in cancer molecular biology. Inhibition of the targets on the core signaling cascades can be effective as novel cancer treatment regimens. However, signaling cascades inference remains an open problem, and there is a lack of effective computational models. The widely used gene co-expression network (no-direct signaling cascades) and shortest-path based protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis (with too many interactions, and did not consider the sparsity of signaling cascades) were not specifically designed to predict the direct and sparse signaling cascades. To resolve the challenges, we proposed a novel deep learning model, deepSignalingLinkNet, to predict signaling cascades by integrating transcriptomics data and copy number data of a large set of cancer samples with the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) via a novel deep graph neural network model. Different from the existing models, the proposed deep learning model was trained using the curated KEGG signaling pathways to identify the informative omics and PPI topology features in the data-driven manner to predict the potential signaling cascades. The validation results indicated the feasibility of signaling cascade prediction using the proposed deep learning models. Moreover, the trained model can potentially predict the signaling cascades among the new proteins by transferring the learned patterns on the curated signaling pathways. The code was available at: https://github.com/fuhaililab/deepSignalingPathwayPrediction.
Psychometric Assessment of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale for People With Lower-Limb Amputation.

Objective The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the psychometric properties of the 25- and 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scales (CD-RISC25, CD-RISC10) for people with lower-limb amputation (LLA) in middle age or later, and (2) describe relationships of the CD-RISC with biopsychosocial, sociodemographic, and health variables. Methods Participants were included if their most recent LLA was 1 or more years prior, if they were independently walking with a prosthesis, and if they were between 45 and 88 years of age (N = 122; mean = 62.5 years of age [SD = 8]; 59.5 [mean = 58] months since LLA; 88.5% male; 82.0% with dysvascular etiology; 68.0% with unilateral transtibial LLA). Psychometric analyses included assessment of skewness, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, and agreement between versions. Correlation analyses were used to determine associations between the CD-RISC with disability, perceived functional capacity, falls efficacy, life-space, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, social support, sociodemographic, and health variables. Additionally, quartiles of participants were identified using CD-RISC25 and CD-RISC10 scores and compared using ANOVA and post-hoc comparisons for disability, perceived functional capacity, falls efficacy, and life-space. Results Skewness, floor, and ceiling effects of both CD-RISC versions were acceptable. Both versions of the CD-RISC were internally consistent (CD-RISC25: α = .92; CD-RISC10: α = .89). The CD-RISC25 and CD-RISC10 were highly correlated with disability, perceived functional capacity, falls efficacy, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy (r = 0.52-0.67). CD-RISC25 and CD-RISC10 quartile differences, especially the lowest quartile, were identified for disability, perceived functional capacity, falls efficacy, and life-space. Conclusion The CD-RISC25 and CD-RISC10 have acceptable psychometric properties for use with people who have LLA. CD-RISC scores are associated with clinically relevant biopsychosocial measures targeted by physical therapist intervention following LLA. Impact The CD-RISC may be an appropriate tool to measure resilience following LLA.
Association between ambient air pollution and county-level cardiovascular mortality in the United States by social deprivation index.

Background Air pollution and socioeconomic status have both been strongly associated with cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. We sought to determine if socioeconomic status modifies the risk association between fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and CV mortality. Methods We linked county-level age-adjusted CV mortality data from Multiple Cause of Death files (2000-2016, ICD10: I00-I99) with 2015 Social Deprivation Index (SDI), a validated estimate of socioeconomic status, and modelled spatial and temporal mean annual PM2.5 exposures (2012-2018). Higher SDI suggests greater deprivation and lower socioeconomic status. Associations between PM2.5 and age adjusted CV mortality were estimated using linear models. Results A total of 5,769,315 cardiovascular deaths from 2012-2018 across 3106 United States counties were analyzed. Both PM2.5 (β (SE) 7.584 (0.938), P Conclusion Social deprivation and PM2.5 exposures were independently associated with county level age-adjusted CV mortality. The associations between PM2.5 and CV mortality were stronger in counties with high vs low social deprivation. SDI and PM2.5 represent potential targets to reduce CV mortality disparities and interventions to reduce PM2.5 exposure may be most impactful in communities of low socioeconomic status.
Taxable Income and Firm Risk

ABSTRACT: We examine whether estimated taxable income provides incremental information about firms' operating risk. We develop taxable income-based measures that should be useful in assessing risk in a simple earnings predictability model. In our empirical tests these taxable income-based measures explain cross-sectional variation in the predictability and variability of future pre-tax financial performance. Further, these measures are associated with predictable variation in market-based measures of firm risk. Our findings shed light on how accounting information—specifically, book income and tax income—impacts investors' assessment of firm risk as well as improving our understanding of the extent and nature of information contained in estimated taxable income.
The origin of chloroplasts: Constantin S. Merezhkowsky (1855–1921) and symbiogenesis

One century ago (Jan. 9, 1921), the Russian biologist Constantin S. Merezhkowsky, who proposed the endosymbiotic origin of plastids, committed suicide at the age of 66 years. Here, we provide Merezhkowsky’s original observations on chloroplast development in seedlings and recount the career and achievements of the “founding father” of this Anti-Darwinian symbiogenesis-theory of cell evolution via cooperation and functional integration. In his phylogenetic tree published in 1910, Merezhkowsky distinguished between organisms that belong to all five Kingdoms of Life (Monera, Protoctista, Fungi, Animalia and Plantae), proposed a hypothesis concerning the origin of life, and argued that chloroplasts are descendants of once free-living cyanobacteria. A few years later, the American biologist Ivan E. Wallin (1883–1969) proposed that mitochondria evolved from ancient bacteria. The Merezhkowsky-Wallin-principle of organelle origin is summarized, and its current status critically evaluated. In addition, the contributions of Lynn Margulis (1938–2011), who died ten years ago, are outlined and evaluated in the light of Merezhkowsky’s pioneering work that led to the establishment of “evolutionary cell biology” as an independent research agenda.
A qualitative analysis of x′ = Ax + b

Abstract For a dynamical system x =Ax+b , where A is constant real n×n matrix and b is an n-vector there is special interest in the existence of a constant asymptotically stable attractor trajectory in positive orthant of R n. For certain patterns of signs of entries (+, −, or 0) in A and b, such a trajectory always must exist, regardless of the magnitudes of those entries. This paper describes all such patterns in terms of digraphs. Applications to a nonlinear systems and ecosystem models are also mentioned.
Patrimonial Ethics and the Field of Heritage Production

This chapter explores different historically and culturally contingent ethical models that inform archaeologists’ and anthropologists’ practices concerning heritage sites and their preservation. Rather than seeing the meanings of heritage sites as produced primarily through an authorized, hegemonic discourse, the author argues that such significances—and the concomitant notions of ethical (“right, fair, just or good”) actions towards such sites and the social worlds they occupy—are continually shaped through the positioning and position-taking of many diverse epistemic groups who stake claims to the site within a “field of heritage production.” Two distinctive ethical paradigms appear to be most prominent among archaeologists and anthropologists. The first is what the author terms “paternalistic ethics,” which is manifested when these groups assume an explicitly dominant position as both “experts” and self-defined stewards of cultural property over other epistemic groups that may lay claim to it. The second is termed “multicultural ethics,” which posits a distinctively explicit openness (if only superficially) to incorporating alternative or “minority” voices in acts of designating and preserving objects of cultural heritage—voices that specifically come from equally alternative epistemic “cultures.” Yet building on critiques of multiculturalism from Asad and Gnecco, among others, the author argues that even this paradigm does not adequately take into consideration the fact that a heritage site exists on many different and oft-conflicting planes and scales (local, regional, national, transnational), is valued by different groups for different reasons, and is strategically deployed for different ideological reasons. The author suggests that a new ethical paradigm should be adopted, which he calls “patrimonial ethics.” This model focuses both on the multi-vocality of all stakeholders (including “indigenous” and “Westerners,” or “insiders” and “outsiders”) as well as on the heritage object itself, pregnant as it is with myriad meanings.
An architecture of immanence architecture for worship and ministry today Torgerson, Mark A.

(2009). An architecture of immanence architecture for worship and ministry today Torgerson, Mark A. Material Religion: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 119-120.
Effects of cancer immunotherapy regimens on primary vs. secondary immune responses and the potential impact on long-term antitumor responses.

While the use of immunotherapy to promote T cell responses for the treatment of certain cancers has made significant progress, it has been hampered with relatively low response rates with regard to overall survival and has been applied to a limited number of cancers. One area that is lacking thus far is an understanding of the importance (or not) of memory T cell generation after immunotherapy in cancer. There are multiple models of memory T cell formation. 1 , 2 When properly primed, memory T cells are tenacious and capable effectors that can remove antigen-positive cells before any signs of re-encounter have occurred (Fig. 1 ). For this reason, the generation of memory T cells in an individual with cancer is desirable for durable and sustained antitumor responses. 1 , 2 The generation of antigen-specific T cell responses to cancer has been the focus of some groups attempting to increase the numbers of antigen-specific T cells in patients through ex vivo expansion followed by adoptive transfer. 3 However the reported increase is in complete response rates without discussion of the overall survival time of patients. This may be an indicator that immunological memory is not being attained or that downregulation pathways may be exerted after immunotherapy. 4 – 6 For adoptive lymphocyte transfer to be efficacious, it is imperative to understand how T cells persist in an environment where extensive immune stimulation is being applied. Our laboratory has recently introduced the question: what effect does the use of potent immune stimuli have on immunological memory? Our previous work demonstrated that immunotherapy resulting in high production of IFNγ impaired secondary T cell responses, despite initial antitumor responses capable of eliciting tumor regression. 7 , 8 These findings have created a paradox with respect to the use of strong immunotherapeutic agents to treat cancer; while strong immune stimulation may be necessary for the immune system to adequately recognize and destroy weakly immunogenic tumors, their use may also be impairing the development of immunological memory or sustained antitumor responses.
Rural Women Veterans Demographic Report: Defining VA Users’ Health and Health Care Access in Rural Areas

Purpose While many women choose to live in rural areas after retiring from active military duty, a paucity of studies examine rural women veterans’ health care needs. This report is the first of its kind to describe the population demographics and health care utilization of rural female veteran patients enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Methods Using the National Patient Care Datasets (n = 327,785), we ran adjusted regression analyses to examine service utilization between (1) urban and rural and (2) urban and highly rural women veterans. Findings Rural and highly rural women veterans were older and more likely to be married than their urban counterparts. Diagnostic rates were generally similar between groups for several mental health disorders, hypertension, and diabetes, with the exception of nonposttraumatic stress anxiety that was significantly lower for highly rural women veterans. Rural and highly rural women veterans were less likely to present to the VA for women's specific care than urban women veterans; highly rural women veterans were less likely to present for mental health care compared to urban women veterans. Among the users of primary care, mental health, women's specific, and all outpatient services, patients’ annual utilization rates were similar. Conclusions Improved service options for women's specific care and mental health visits may help rural women veterans access care. Telehealth technologies and increased outreach, perhaps peer-based, should be considered. Other recommendations for VA policy and planning include increasing caregiver support options, providing consistency for mental health services, and revising medical encounter coding procedures.
The role of CCL5 in T cell recruitment to the aorta (HUM1P.303)

T cell adaptive immunity is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Previously our lab found that APCs present antigens to effector T cells (Teff). This causes local T cell activation and cytokine production, which sustain local inflammation. However, the chemokine(s) that drive T cell homing to the atherosclerotic aorta are not known. By multi-color flow cytometry to analyze chemokine receptor expression on T cells from Apoe-/- aorta, we found that more than 40% of CD4 T cells in Apoe-/- aorta express CCR5. Notably, >80% of the CCR5+ T cells in the plaques are IFN-γ+Foxp3+ Tregs. This is a unique CD4 T cell subset in atherosclerosis. They are found only in the aorta and para-aortic lymph nodes of Apoe-/- mice but not in the spleen or other organs, suggesting that the generation of the Th1-like Tregs is associated with local antigen presentation. To test my hypothesis that CCR5 and its ligand CCL5 play an important role in Teff recruitment to the aorta, Teff cells from CD45.1Apoe-/- mice were incubated with explanted Apoe-/- aortas with media alone, CCL5 or CCR5 neutralizing antibody. The CCL5 and CCR5 neutralizing antibody significantly decreased the number of T cells infiltrating into the aorta (53% and 70% respectively vs. media alone). The result is also confirmed by in vivo adoptive transfer experiment using leukocytes from CCR5-/-Apoe-/-mice. CCR5-deficient CD4 T cells displayed dramatic decrease in homing to the aorta compared to the CCR5 competent T cells.
A new optimization approach to energy network modeling: anthropogenic CO2 capture coupled with enhanced oil recovery

SUMMARY To meet next generation energy needs such as wind- and solar-generated electricity, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), CO2 capture and storage (CCS), and biofuels, the US will have to construct tens to hundreds of thousands of kilometers of new transmission lines and pipelines. Energy network models are central to optimizing these energy resources, including how best to produce, transport, and deliver energy-related products such as oil, natural gas, electricity, and CO2. Consequently, understanding how to model new transmission lines and pipelines is central to this process. However, current energy models use simplifying assumptions for deploying pipelines and transmission lines, leading to the design of more costly and inefficient energy networks. In this paper, we introduce a two-stage optimization approach for modeling CCS infrastructure. We show how CO2 pipelines with discrete capacities can be ‘linearized’ without loss of information and accuracy, therefore allowing necessarily complex energy models to be solved. We demonstrate the new approach by designing a CCS network that collects large volumes of anthropogenic CO2 (up to 45 million tonnes of CO2 per year) from ethylene production facilities and delivers the CO2 to depleted oil fields to stimulate recovery through EOR. Utilization of anthropogenic CO2 has great potential to jumpstart commercial-scale CCS while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of domestic oil production. Model outputs illustrate the engineering challenge and spatial extent of CCS infrastructure, as well as the costs (or profits) of deploying CCS technology. We show that the new linearized approach is able to offer insights that other network approaches cannot reveal and how the approach can change how we develop future energy systems including transporting massive volumes of shale gas and biofuels as well as electricity transmission for wind and solar energy. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Fusion power and the environment

Environmental characteristics of conceptual fusion-reactor systems based on magnetic confinement are examined quantitatively, and some comparisons with fission systems are made. Fusion, like all other energy sources, will not be completely free of environmental liabilities, but the most obvious of these-- tritium leakage and activation of structural materials by neutron bombardment-- are susceptible to significant reduction by ingenuity in choice of materials and design. Large fusion reactors can probably be designed so that worst-case releases of radioactivity owing to accident or sabotage would produce no prompt fatalities in the public. A world energy economy relying heavily on fusion could make heavy demands on scarce nonfuel materials, a topic deserving further attention. Fusion's potential environmental advantages are not entirely ''automatic'', converting them into practical reality will require emphasis on environmental characteristics throughout the process of reactor design and engineering. The central role of environmental impact in the long-term energy dilemma of civilization justifies the highest priority on this aspect of fusion. (auth)
Hydrodynamics in full general relativity with conservative adaptive mesh refinement

There is great interest in numerical relativity simulations involving matter due to the likelihood that binary compact objects involving neutron stars will be detected by gravitational wave observatories in the coming years, as well as to the possibility that binary compact object mergers could explain short-duration gamma-ray bursts. We present a code designed for simulations of hydrodynamics coupled to the Einstein field equations targeted toward such applications. This code has recently been used to study eccentric mergers of black hole-neutron star binaries. We evolve the fluid conservatively using high-resolution shock-capturing methods, while the field equations are solved in the generalized-harmonic formulation with finite differences. In order to resolve the various scales that may arise, we use adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) with grid hierarchies based on truncation error estimates. A noteworthy feature of this code is the implementation of the flux correction algorithm of Berger and Colella to ensure that the conservative nature of fluid advection is respected across AMR boundaries. We present various tests to compare the performance of different limiters and flux calculation methods, as well as to demonstrate the utility of AMR flux corrections.
Fire Effects on Plant Biodiversity Across Multiple Sites in California Vernal Pool Grasslands

Millions of dollars are spent annually to restore degraded grasslands throughout the world with little research conducted at scales relevant to guide restoration. Fire is commonly used as a management tool in grasslands, particularly in California grasslands where exotic plant cover often exceeds 85%. Seasonal wetlands (vernal pools) with high native biodiversity often occur within these invaded grasslands. Here I assessed the effects of fire on plant community composition in the heavily invaded uplands and less invaded vernal pools at four sites in the Central Valley of California, USA. Across all sites, fire reduced exotic grass cover but increased exotic forb cover, suggesting that fire cannot be used to control exotics generally. However, exotic forb cover increased only in the upland habitat outside the vernal pools while exotic annual grass cover was reduced throughout the habitat. Native plant species richness was 15% higher in burned versus unburned treatments across all sites one year but not two years post burn. At one site, I detected increased native plant biodiversity for at least three years post burn. Despite fire effects being ephemeral across all sites, these results provide compelling evidence for the use of fire to enhance vernal pool grassland plant communities at some sites. While the difficulty of implementation presents a major drawback, the ability to treat large areas and effectively control exotic grass species while providing a short boost in native biodiversity provide strong justification for maintaining fire as a management tool.
Evaluation of Target Attainment of Vancomycin Area Under the Curve in Children With Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia.

Background Vancomycin is often required to treat methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia in children. Treatment failure occurs in up to 50% of adults and is associated with a 24 hour area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC24h/MIC) <400. We sought to identify patient factors associated with vancomycin AUC and whether AUC24h/MIC <400 was predictive of treatment failure in children.
Continued Racial Disparities in the Capital of Capital Punishment? The Rosenthal Era

Given the substantial amount of research that has been conducted throughout the United States regarding the relationship between race and capital punishment, one might assume that much of the attention has been focused on Harris County, Texas. After all, Harris County – home to Houston and surrounding areas – is the capital of capital punishment. Indeed, if Harris County were a state it would rank second in executions after Texas. Yet only one study has examined whether race influences the death penalty in Houston. Specifically, Phillips (2008) reports that death was more likely to be imposed against black defendants, and more likely to be imposed on behalf of white victims, during the period from 1992 to 1999 – the final years of Johnny Homes tenure as District Attorney. After Holmes retired, Charles Rosenthal served as District Attorney from January 1, 2001 to February 15, 2008. Did racial disparities continue during the Rosenthal administration? The current research suggests that the impact of defendant race disappeared, but the impact of victim race continued: death sentences were imposed on behalf of white victims at 2.5 times the rate one would expect if the system were blind to race, and death sentences were imposed on behalf of white female victims at 5 times the rate one would expect if the system were blind to race and gender. Such disparities are particularly troubling because Rosenthal was forced out of office in a scandal that included racist emails. Given the disparities, coupled with racist emails from the elected official who decides whether to seek the death penalty, the paper contemplates a key question: Should the state of Texas be allowed to execute inmates who were sentenced to death in Harris County during the Rosenthal administration?
Isolation and characterization of a protein subunit of broad bean mottle virus.

Broad bean mottle virus can be degraded by dialysis against 1 M -CaCl 2 . The virus RNA is quantitatively precipitated together with some of the protein. Most of the virus protein, free of RNA, can be recovered from the supernatant liquid. The amino acid composition of the protein was determined. End group analyses were performed on the oxidized protein. The C-terminal amino acid was found to be alanine. No N-terminal amino group was found. The tryptic peptides of the oxidized protein were separated by a two-dimensional combination of paper chromatography and electrophoresis. Twenty-eight peptides were detected. From the number of tryptic peptides and the amino acid composition, the molecular weight of the protein subunit was calculated to be 20,500.
On Modeling Bonds in Fused, Porous Networks: 3D Simulations of Fibrous–Particulate Joints

The deformation and failure of fused, porous networks are key concerns in microscale power sources and open trusses for structural applications. We have found that the behavior of the connection points in these open networks is the most critical determinant of materials response. For many manufacturable material geometries, both stiffness and strength are largely controlled by these interparticle or interelement bonds, rather than by the response of the longer aspect ratio sections. Classic work in sintered materials is of limited applicability in this context, since formation of multiphase porous networks often involves volume-conserving interconnects, or fused sections created by additional material, rather than via (heated) compaction of particles or elements. Here we expand on previous work in 2D network behavior (reviewed in [1]) by focusing on the geometry and response of 3D interconnects between cylindrical elements. We present computational results for deformation of 3D interconnects in a large cl...
Copy number variation and susceptibility to human disorders (Review)

A large number of analyses of a new form of genetic variation, known as copy number variation (CNV), have been published recently as a new tool for understanding the genetic basis of complex traits such as diabetes, asthma, Crohn's disease, autism and bipolar disorder. Through the use of different types of genome-wide scanning procedures, CNVs have been shown to be associated with several complex and common disorders, including nervous system disorders. One of the common features of the regions associated with the complex and common disorders identified thus far is the presence of CNVs and segmental duplications. Segmental duplications lead to genome instability. Because of their location and nature (several contain genes), many CNVs have functional consequences, such as gene dosage alteration, the disruption of genes and the modulation of the activities of other genes. Therefore, these genetic variations have an influence on phenotypes, the susceptibility of an individual to disease, drug response and human genome evolution. These types of variants (gain and loss of DNA) are not restricted to humans, having also been identified in other organisms. Our current knowledge regarding CNVs and their heritability is still rudimentary, due to their location in regions of complex genomic structure and to the technical limitations of association studies. Future advances in the technology will aid in the construction of a new CNV map, used to find the genes underlying common diseases and to understand familial genetic conditions, severe developmental defects in humans and other organisms, and genome evolution.
Calcium and ionophore A23187 lower calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity in endocrine cells of organ cultured fetal rat lungs

Small-granule endocrine cells differentiate in airway epithelium of intact and cultured fetal rat lungs. We noted that the cells store calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in vitro as well as in vivo and used the ionophore A23187 to test the effects of calcium on peptide secretion in this system. Lungs of 14-day and 15-day fetal rats, organ cultured for 6–9 days, were divided into groups of 5 explants each and incubated for 15 min at 37°C in the basic medium containing 0 mM, 1 mM, or 10 mM CaCl2, with or without 8 μM A23187, or 10 mM EGTA. Intracellular CGRP in these explants was quantified by supraoptimal dilution peroxidase immunocytochemistry (Springall et al.: J. Pathol. 155:259–267, 1988): counts were made of endocrine cells stained with a 1/60,000 dilution of anti-CGRP and repeated on the same sections after restaining with antibody diluted at 1/1,000. Results, analyzed by Chi-square test, were expressed as % cells stained with antibody at 1/60,000 vs. those stained at 1/1,000. Immunoreactivity for CGRP was significantly reduced by A23187 in the presence of high extracellular Ca2+ (10 mM), the inference being that these cells secrete peptide hormones in response to Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane. The organ cultures evidently can be used to assess certain physiological responses of lung endocrine cells in an accessible, relatively organotypical setting. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Analysis of some historically unfamiliar Canadian mayflies (Ephemeroptera)

Douze especes rares d'ephemeropteres decrites au Canada il y a plus de 65 ans et jusqu'alors mal identifiees ont ete etudiees. Grâce a des caracteres diagnostiques le specimen Acerpenna akataleptos (McDunnough) (Baetidae) a ete valide, tandis que certains specimens larvaires du genre Acerpenna Waltz et McCafferty ne peuvent encore etre associes a aucune espece. Il est montre: que Cinygmula confusa (McDunnough, 1924), syn.nov., (Heptageniidae) est un synonyme plus recent de Cinygmula par (Eaton, 1885) et que Serratella serratoides (McDunnough, 1931), syn.nov., (Ephemerellidae) est un synonyme plus recent de Serratella molita (McDunnough, 1930). De nouvelles localites viennent s'ajouter aux repartitions d'Ironodes flavipennis Traver (Heptageniidae), Cinygmula gartrelli McDunnough, Heptagenia adaequata McDunnough (Heptageniidae) et Siphlonurus autumnalis McDunnough (Siphlonuridae); ces trois dernieres especes sont signalees pour la premiere fois aux Etats-Unis. Une premiere description larvaire de S. autumnalis est donnee. Ephemerella fratercula McDunnough (Ephemerellidae) est rare apparemment, mais sa presence douteuse en Caroline du Nord est confirmee. Touts les larves anterieurement citees sous le nom de Neoephemera bicolor McDunnough (Neoephemeridae) n'ont pu etre attribuees a aucune espece nominale. Parameletus croesus (McDunnough) (Siphlonuridae), Plauditus rubrolateralis (McDunnough) (Baetidae) et Rhithrogena gaspeensis McDunnough (Heptageniidae) sont des especes distinctes mais qui demeurent encore peu connues.
Outcomes measurement: health state preferences and economic evaluation.

A major health care policy issue in this era of accountability is controlling the introduction and utilization of increasingly sophisticated and expensive health care technologies. Data are needed about both the effectiveness and the costs of assistive technologies before making decisions without relying on “that's what we did last time,” “gut feelings,” or even “educated guesses.” Services, such as assistive technology, fall in the category where rigorous scientific evidence about cost-effectiveness is virtually nonexistent. The field of medical technology assessment has been studying cost-effectiveness for decades and offers many methodological ideas to related fields such as assistive technology. Based on the experiences of medical technology assessment, the measurement of health state preferences and its use to estimate quality-adjusted life years is discussed in this paper. Economic evaluation can be defined as the comparative analysis of alternative courses of action in terms of both costs and conse...
Monosodium glutamate exposure in the neonate alters hypothalamic and pituitary neuropeptide levels in the adult.

Abstract Administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) during the neonatal period in rats produced differential effects on the contents of various neuropeptides in the hypothalamus: β-endorphin (β-E) level was reduced by 70% while substance P (SP), neurotensin (NT) and Met5-enkephalin (ME) levels were not significantly changed (ME content of male rats was slightly reduced). The contents of ME, SP, and NT in striatum and hippocampus were also unaffected by the same treatment. Male rats contain higher pituitary content of β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (β-ELI) than female rats. MSG treatment reduced the pituitary content of β-ELI and abolished the sex difference in β-ELI level seen in the control rats. MSG treatment in the neonates by eliminating β-E neurons while sparing ME neurons in the brain may be a useful tool for studying the different functions of these two separate opioid peptides.
Diminished lung injury with vascular adhesion molecule-1 blockade in choline-deficient ethionine diet-induced pancreatitis.

Abstract Background. Lung injury in severe acute pancreatitis is mediated by infiltrating leukocytes. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that acute lung injury in acute pancreatitis results in an up-regulation of vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) cell surface receptor expression on pulmonary vascular endothelium and neutrophil sequestration. The objective of this study was to determine whether blocking expression of VCAM-1 in acute pancreatitis would modify acute pulmonary injury. Methods. Young female mice were fed a choline-deficient ethionine (CDE) supplemented diet to induce acute pancreatitis. After initiation of the diet, one group (acute pancreatitis treated [n = 18]) was treated with blocking doses (2.35 mg/kg) of monoclonal anti-VCAM-1 receptor antibody (Ab) at 48, 96, and 120 hours. A second group (acute pancreatitis treated control [n = 5]) was treated with a similar dose of an isotypic control for VCAM-1 (nonbinding Ab) at the same time points. A third group (acute pancreatitis untreated [n = 12]) received a CDE diet, and a fourth group (control [n = 11]) received standard food with no Ab treatment. All animals were killed at 144 hours. The dual radiolabeled monoclonal Ab method was used to quantitate VCAM-1 cell surface expression in lung tissue. Lung injury was assessed histologically, and apoptosis was detected by transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling assay. Pulmonary leukocyte sequestration was determined by myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay and CD18 staining. Results. Pulmonary VCAM-1 cell surface expression was significantly increased in animals with acute pancreatitis when compared to controls (P
Experiments and Theory of In situ and Operando Soft X-ray Spectroscopy for Energy Storage

Energy and environment are at the heart of modern societal concerns. Energy storage is one of the critical links in the chain of sustainable energy applications due to the increasing demand of portable energy carriers and the intermittent nature of green energy sources. Conventional chemical energy sources, mostly in the form of fossil fuels, exert short- and long-term negative impacts on the environment, with climate change being attributed to CO2 emission. Developing high-efficiency, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage devices has become one of the key challenges for realizing clean energy applications in transportation and grid storage [1]. Among current energy storage technologies, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are ubiquitous in today's portable electronic devices. However, LIBs are typically expected to gain only 30% more specific energy. Further improvements in energy density, safety, and cost are necessary to meet next-generation energy storage requirements. Transformational ...
Analyzing multiple end points with a two-stage design in clinical trials

In many clinical trials, the assessment of the response to interventions can include a large variety of outcome variables which are generally correlated. The use of multiple significance tests is likely to increase the chance of detecting a difference in at least one of the outcomes between two treatments. Furthermore, univariate tests do not take into account the correlation structure. A new test is proposed that uses information from the interim analysis in a two-stage design to form the rejection region boundaries at the second stage. Initially, the test uses Hotelling’s T2 at the end of the first stage allowing only, for early acceptance of the null hypothesis and an O’Brien ‘type’ procedure at the end of the second stage. This test allows one to ‘cheat’ and look at the data at the interim analysis to form rejection regions at the second stage, provided one uses the correct distribution of the final test statistic. This distribution is derived and the power of the new test is compared to the power of ...
On the stability of S(OF)2: A coupled-cluster analysis of the structures and thermochemical properties for conformers of sulfur-oxyfluorides

Abstract High level ab initio calculations have been performed on the C 2 , C s , and C 1 conformers of S(OF) 2 using the rigorous (CCSD(T)) method for the first time. Although S(OF) 2 has not been detected experimentally, we investigate the structure, harmonic vibrational frequencies, enthalpies of reaction ( Δ H rxn o ), and enthalpies of formation ( Δ H f o ) for these highly reactive prototypical sulfur oxyfluorides species. These calculations have been performed with a number of extended basis sets, namely the cc-pV(T+ d )Z, aug-cc-pV(T+ d )Z, cc-pV(Q+ d )Z, and aug-cc-pV(Q+ d )Z to provide benchmark accuracy and assist in the interpretation of potential experimental work. In this report, we recommend preferred values of Δ H f o for the C 2 and C s conformers to be −74.4 and −65.6 kJ mol −1 , respectively.
Acute carbon monoxide poisoning in an animal model: the effects of altered glucose on morbidity and mortality

Abstract An animal in model which the common carotid artery and the jugular vein serving one side of the brain are occluded by indwelling catheters has been used during the past few years to investigate acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. This article reviews the recent research examining the pattern of changes in blood glucose concentration which results from CO exposure, and the manner in which altered glucose concentration alters neurologic outcome and mortality. At present it appears that either greatly depressed glucose or greatly elevated glucose during and/or after CO exposure increases morbidity and mortality. Cyanide (CN) poisoning, in contrast to CO, produces a different pattern of changes in blood glucose and lactate, and unlike CO, fails to slow cardiac AV conduction and ventricular repolarization. Through the use of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopic techniques, cerebral cortical edema and the changes in brain phosphagens have been assessed following CO poisoning in the rat. The published results as well as data from recent pilot studies are discussed in the light of our current understanding of CO toxicology.
Piecewise Affine System Identification of a Hydraulic Wind Power Transfer System

Hydraulic wind power transfer systems exhibit a highly nonlinear dynamic influenced by system actuator hysteresis and disturbances from wind speed and load torque. This paper presents a system identification approach to approximate such a nonlinear dynamic. Piecewise affine (PWA) models are obtained utilizing the averaged nonlinear models of hysteresis in a confined space. State-space representation of PWA models is obtained over the allocated operating point clusters. The experimental results demonstrate a close agreement with that of the simulated. The experimental results and simulation show more than 91% match.
Effects of clonidine on cerebral blood flow and the response to arterial CO2.

CBF, as measured by the clearance of 133Xe or 85Kr in the pentobarbital-anesthetized cat, displays a monotonic increase as the PaCO2 is elevated over a range of 20-60 mm Hg (slope Xe, 1.65 +/- 0.14 ml/100g/min/mm Hg; slope Kr, 1.40 +/- 0.11 ml/100 g/min/mm Hg). Clonidine (20 micrograms/kg i.v.), a centrally acting, alpha 2-preferring agonist, reduced the slope of the PaCO2-CBF response functions for Xe and Kr by 70 and 64%, respectively. Clonidine reduced normocarbic CBF-Xe by 36%, but had no effect on normocarbic CBF-Kr. ST-91, a polar structural analog of clonidine that does not cross the blood-brain barrier, did not reproduce the effects of clonidine when administered at an equivalent dose. This indicates that the effects of clonidine observed were secondary to its action on central rather than peripheral sites. In addition to the effects on the clearance of CBF markers, clonidine reduced the increased MABP otherwise evoked by elevated PaCO2. Reduction in the MABP response to PaCO2 did not account for the lowering of CBF during hypercarbia. In separate experiments where MABP was elevated to correspond with the PaCO2-MABP response observed in the absence of clonidine, a comparable reduction in the slope of the PaCO2 response was also observed. In addition, the pressure autoregulatory response was unaltered after clonidine treatment. These observations suggest that the central action of alpha 2-receptors on the CBF-CO2 response cannot be attributed to an altered perfusion pressure.
The identification of brain damage by an abbreviated form of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery.

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the development of neuropsychological tests that can diagnose accurately brain damage. The most successful of these tests are represented in the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, which has been shown to be 90% or more effective in the diagnosis of brain damage. However, this battery is not available to many psychologists or clients because of its length, cost, and the considerable background required to use it properly. The present study tested 121 Ss (30 normal, 91 brain-damaged) to develop an abbreviated version of the battery that is relatively brief (1 hour) and inexpensive, but accurate. It was found by discriminant analysis that the abbreviated battery is capable of diagnosing brain damage equally as well as the full battery 93% of the time. The limitations and advantages of the abbreviated battery are discussed.
Enabling, Implementing, and Validating Training Methods in Laparoscopic Surgery

Background The challenges of teaching and learning technical skills for laparoscopic surgery have limited the use of laparoscopy for complex abdominal surgery. In an attempt to facilitate learning these skills, surgical educators are using simulators, but there is little conclusive evidence that simulators can predict improved performance by surgical trainees receiving training on them (predictive validity).