cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A randomized, controlled trial of a patient/caregiver symptom control intervention: effects on depressive symptomatology of caregivers of cancer patients.

In this study, we investigated whether a clinical nursing intervention focusing on teaching family caregivers and their cancer patients skills to better manage the patients' symptoms would reduce caregiver depressive symptomatology. Two hundred thirty-seven patient/caregiver dyads were recruited for the study. These dyads were randomized into either the 10-contact, 20-week experimental intervention group (n = 118), which focused on assisting the patient and caregiver in managing patient symptoms and reducing emotional distress, or to a conventional care control group (n = 119). A longitudinal random effects regression analysis did not indicate that the clinical nursing intervention was effective in decreasing caregiver depression over the 20-week course of the study. The relationship of the intervention to caregiver depressive symptomatology seems to be a complex one. We recommend further research to explore whether a lengthened intervention and/or delayed follow-up might reveal delayed positive effects of such interventions.
Physical Therapy: The Truth For Students, Clinicians, and Health Care Professionals

Phillips M. Bloomington, IN 47403, AuthorHouse, 2006, paperback, 100 pp, ISBN: 1-4259-2464-6, $20.81. This book was self-published . Integrity, quality, and accountability are stated to be at the core of this book, and the author challenges the reader to choose, or solidify, his or her choice of physical therapy as a professional career after taking into account the expectations of the field. He frames the expectations with knowledge that the rules and regulations of Medicare and Medicaid, clear goals for patient progress, and outcomes demonstrating an improvement in the patient's performance will drive the work of the physical therapist. As a 1996 graduate, the author states that he has experience in most health care settings, with the exception of pediatrics and sports. He indicates that 5 years were spent …
N67 as an X-ray bright planetary nebula in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Among the known planetary nebulae in the SMC, N67 has the hottest nucleus and highest N/O abundance ratio. Here, the identification of this planetary with an X-ray source 1E00056.8 - 7154 is reported, and it is shown that the observed extreme soft spectrum and strong emission of this X-ray source are consistent with the radiation from the surface of a single nucleus of N67 which is collapsing into a white dwarf. At a known distance in the SMC, N67 will be invaluable in testing the understanding of the structure and evolution of planetary nebulae.
Inventing the medical portrait: Photography at the 'Benevolent Asylum' of Holloway, c. 1885-1889

In 1885, Holloway Sanatorium, an asylum for the ‘mentally afflicted of the middle classes’ opened in Egham, Surrey, 20 miles outside London. Until 1910, photographs of about a third of the patients—both those ‘Certified Lunatic by Inquisition’ and the ‘Voluntary Boarders’ who admitted themselves—were pasted into the asylum9s case books. This paper analyses the photographs that were included in the very first of these, when there was a great uncertainty as to how to represent these patients, or whether to represent them at all. The photographs are unlike any other institutional images of the period, and raise critical questions about the imagined incompatibility between documentary photography and personal agency.
Endotoxin of Neisseria meningitidis Composed Only of Intact Lipid A: Inactivation of the Meningococcal 3-Deoxy-d-Manno-Octulosonic Acid Transferase

Lipopolysaccharide, lipooligosaccharide (LOS), or endotoxin is important in bacterial survival and the pathogenesis of gram-negative bacteria. A necessary step in endotoxin biosynthesis is 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo) glycosylation of lipid A, catalyzed by the Kdo transferase KdtA (WaaA). In enteric gram-negative bacteria, this step is essential for survival. A nonpolar kdtA::aphA-3 mutation was created in Neisseria meningitidis via allelic exchange, and the mutant was viable. Detailed structural analysis demonstrated that the endotoxin of the kdtA::aphA-3 mutant was composed of fully acylated lipid A with variable phosphorylation but without Kdo glycosylation. In contrast to what happens in other gram-negative bacteria, tetra-acylated lipid IVA did not accumulate. The LOS structure of the kdtA::aphA-3 mutant was restored to the wild-type structure by complementation with kdtA from N. meningitidis or Escherichia coli. The expression of a fully acylated, unglycosylated lipid A indicates that lipid A biosynthesis in N. meningitidis can proceed without the addition of Kdo and that KdtA is not essential for survival of the meningococcus.
Why are there so few fish in the sea

The most dramatic gradient in global biodiversity is between marine and terrestrial environments. Terrestrial environments contain approximately 75–85% of all estimated species, but occupy only 30 per cent of the Earth's surface (and only approx. 1–10% by volume), whereas marine environments occupy a larger area and volume, but have a smaller fraction of Earth's estimated diversity. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain this disparity, but there have been few large-scale quantitative tests. Here, we analyse patterns of diversity in actinopterygian (ray-finned) fishes, the most species-rich clade of marine vertebrates, containing 96 per cent of fish species. Despite the much greater area and productivity of marine environments, actinopterygian richness is similar in freshwater and marine habitats (15 150 versus 14 740 species). Net diversification rates (speciation–extinction) are similar in predominantly freshwater and saltwater clades. Both habitats are dominated by two hyperdiverse but relatively recent clades (Ostariophysi and Percomorpha). Remarkably, trait reconstructions (for both living and fossil taxa) suggest that all extant marine actinopterygians were derived from a freshwater ancestor, indicating a role for ancient extinction in explaining low marine richness. Finally, by analysing an entirely aquatic group, we are able to better sort among potential hypotheses for explaining the paradoxically low diversity of marine environments.
Multichannel time varying autoregressive modeling: a circular lattice-smoothness priors realization

An algorithm for multichannel time varying autoregressive (MCTVAR) modeling of nonstationary covariance time series data is shown. The multichannel modeling is achieved by doing things one channel at a time using only scalar computations. The method exploits the smoothness priors modeling (W. Gersch and G. Kitagawa, 1988) of partial correlation coefficients in a time-varying linear regression model and the 'circular lattice-form' structure (H. Sakai, 1982) for multichannel stationary time series modeling. The circular lattice structure permits the multichannel model to be realized one channel at a time. Smoothness priors permit fitting the MCTVAR model with the explicit computation of only a small number of hyperparameters. An example is shown. >
Splenectomy and second malignancies in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma: is there a causal relationship?

The spleen is a part of the reticuloendothelial system that plays an important role in immune surveillance [1]. Removal of the spleen has been shown to be associated with higher risks of infections...
The abundance of voids and the excursion set formalism

We present measurements of the number density of voids in the dark matter distribu- tion from a series of N-body simulations of aCDM cosmology. We define voids as spherical regions of ρv = 0.2ρm around density minima in order to relate our results to the predicted abundances using the excursion set formalism. Using a linear underden- sity of δv = 2.7, from a spherical evolution model, we find that a volume conserving model, which does not conserve number density in the mapping from the linear to nonlinear regime, matches the measured abundance to within 16% for a range of void radii 1 10h 1 Mpc, voids compared to the dark matter. These results indicate that voids identified in the halo or galaxy distribution are related to the underlying void distribution in the dark matter in a complicated way which merits further study if voids are to be used as a precision probe of cosmology.
Effects of grassland plant species diversity, abundance, and composition on foliar fungal disease

In an experiment that directly manipulated grassland plant species richness and composition, decreased plant species richness (''diversity'') increased pathogen load (the percentage of leaf area infected by species-specific foliar pathogens across the plant community) in 1998. Pathogen load was almost three times greater in the average mono- culture than in the average plot planted with 24 grassland plant species, an approximately natural diversity. Eleven individual diseases increased in severity (percentage of leaf area infected by a single disease) at lower plant species richness, and severity of only one disease was positively correlated with diversity. For 10 of the 11 diseases whose severity was negatively related to diversity, disease severity was positively correlated with host abun- dance, and in six of these cases, species diversity had no effect on disease severity after controlling for the effects of host abundance. These results suggest that increased abun- dances of individual host species at lower species diversity increased disease transmission and severity. In 1996 and 1997, similar results for a smaller number of diseases sampled were found in this experiment and another similar one. Although the effect of diversity on disease was highly significant, considerable variance in pathogen load remained among plots of a given diversity level. Much of this residual variance was explained by community characteristics that were a function of the species composition of the communities (the identity of species present vs. those lost). Specifically, communities that lost less disease- prone species had higher pathogen loads; this effect explained more variance in pathogen load than did diversity. Also, communities that lost the species dominant at high diversity had higher pathogen loads, presumably because relaxed competition allowed greater in- creases in host abundances, but this effect was weak. Among plant species, disease prone- ness appeared to be determined more by regional than local processes, because it was better correlated with frequency of the plant species' populations across the region than with local abundance or frequency across the state. In total, our results support the hypothesis that decreased species diversity will increase foliar pathogen load if this increases host abun- dance and, therefore, disease transmission. Additionally, changes in community character- istics determined by species composition will strongly influence pathogen load.
Strictly regio-controlled method for α-alkenylation of cyclic ketones via palladium-catalyzed cross coupling

Abstract Cyclic α-iodoenones and α-triflyloxyenones, but not α-bromoenones, smoothly react with alkenylzinc and related derivatives in the presence of a catalytic amount of a palladium-phosphine complex, such as Pd(PPh3)4 or Cl2Pd(PPh3)2 treated with n-BuLi (2 equiv), to give α-alkenylenones which can be conjugately reduced to the corresponding α-alkenyl ketones with complete retention of both enone regiochemistry and alkenyl stereochemistry.
THE EFFECTS OF BEHAVIOR SKILLS TRAINING ON CORRECT TEACHER IMPLEMENTATION OF NATURAL LANGUAGE PARADIGM TEACHING SKILLS AND CHILD BEHAVIOR

Natural Language Paradigm (NLP) is a naturalistic teaching strategy for children with autism that increases immediate and delayed imitative utterances, spontaneous utterances and new words, and production of utterances. NLP includes increasing child choice, varying stimulus items, loose shaping contingencies for communicative attempts, and providing reinforcers with a direct relationship to the response. Only one previous study investigated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on staff acquisition and generalization of implementation of NLP and child behavior. A BST package of instructions, modeling rehearsal and feedback, was used to train teachers to implement NLP teaching procedures with three pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder. Training increased correct teacher performance systematically across all three teachers during NLP teaching sessions and with children for whom teachers did not directly receive training. Correct teacher performance increased appropriate child vocalizations and decreased maladaptive behavior for four of six children. BST is effective in quickly training teachers in the generalized implementation of complex NLP teaching procedures across children. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The hospital mortality of patients admitted to the ICU on weekends.

Study objectives: Previous studies have suggested that patients are more likely to die in the hospital if they are admitted on a weekend than on a weekday. This study was conducted to determine whether weekend admission to the ICU increases the risk of dying in the hospital. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: ICU of a single tertiary care medical center. Patients: A total of 29,084 patients admitted to medical, surgical, and multispecialty ICUs from October 1994 through September 2002. Interventions: None. Measurements and results: The weekend ICU admissions comprised 27.9% of all ICU admissions (8,108 ICU admissions). The overall hospital mortality rate was 8.2% (2,385 deaths). Weekend ICU admission was associated with a higher unadjusted hospital mortality rate than that for weekday ICU admission (11.3% vs 7.0%, respectively; odds ratio [OR], 1.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55 to 1.85). In multivariable analyses controlling for the factors associated with mortality such as APACHE (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation) III predicted mortality rate, ICU admission source, and intensity of treatment, no statistically significant difference in hospital mortality was found between weekend and weekday admissions in the overall study population (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.17). For weekend ICU admissions, the observed hospital mortality rates of the medical, multispecialty, and surgical ICUs were 15.2%, 17.2%, and 6.4%, respectively, and for weekday ICU admissions the rates were 16.3%, 10.1%, and 3.5%, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that weekend ICU admission was associated with higher adjusted hospital mortality rates than was weekday ICU admission in the surgical ICU (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.48), but not in the medical or multispecialty ICUs. Conclusions: The overall adjusted hospital mortality rate of patients admitted to the ICU on a weekend was not higher than that of patients admitted on a weekday. However, weekend ICU admission to the surgical ICU was associated with an increased hospital mortality rate.
Abstract 702: Walnut Treatment Reduces Specific Pro-inflammatory Lipid Mediators While Increasing Anti-inflammatory Ones: An RCT subanalysis

Background: Lipid mediators are transported in plasma, inducing pro- or anti-inflammatory responses in target tissues. Each daily nut serving is associated with 30% reduction in risk for cardiovascular or ischemic heart disease. Walnuts are an abundant source of bioactives and of precursors to lipid mediator synthesis: linoleic (LA) and alpha-linolenic (aLA) acids. How walnuts impact plasma lipid mediators either by providing more substrate or more specifically via other bioactives is unknown. Objective: Measure lipid mediators from the cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX), cytochrome p450 (CYP), and auto-oxidative pathways in plasma from subjects consuming large and small amounts of walnuts. Design: 40 hypercholesterolemic, postmenopausal females were randomly assigned to a null dose (5g/d) or an active dose (40 g/d) of walnuts for 4 weeks. In a subset of 20 subjects, plasma lipid mediators synthesized from LA, aLA and other polyunsaturated fatty acids were measured by LC/MS/MS at baseline and final ...
An Exploratory Pathways Analysis of Temporal Changes Induced by Spinal Cord Injury in the Rat Bladder Wall: Insights on Remodeling and Inflammation

Background: Spinal cord injuries (SCI) can lead to severe bladder pathologies associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and increased susceptibility to urinary tract infections. We sought to characterize the complex pathways of remodeling, inflammation, and infection in the urinary bladder at the level of the transcriptome in a rat model of SCI, using pathways analysis bioinformatics. Methodology/Principal Findings: Experimental data were obtained from the study of Nagatomi et al. (Biochem Biophys Res Commun 334: 1159). In this study, bladders from rats subjected to surgical SCI were obtained at 3, 7 or 25 days post-surgery, and Affymetrix GeneChipH Rat Genome U34A arrays were used for cRNA hybridizations. In the present study, Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IngenuityH Systems, www.ingenuity.com) of differentially expressed genes was performed. Analysis of focus genes in networks, functional analysis, and canonical pathway analysis reinforced our previous findings related to the presence of up-regulated genes involved in tissue remodeling, such as lysyl oxidase, tropoelastin, TGF-b1, and IGF-1. This analysis also highlighted a central role for inflammation and infection, evidenced by networks containing genes such as CD74, S100A9, and THY1. Conclusions/Significance: Our findings suggest that tissue remodeling, infection, inflammation, and tissue damage/ dysfunction all play a role in the urinary bladder, in the complex response to SCI.
Tungsten Nitride Inverse Opals by Atomic Layer Deposition

In this letter, we demonstrate a new method of creating inverse opal structures by infiltrating thin-film colloidal crystals using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and then dissolving the templating particles. ALD offers several advantages over previous techniques including improved step-coverage of high aspect ratio structures and high conformality. In addition, ALD allows for the preparation of a large variety of non-oxide materials (in particular nitrides) with desirable optoelectronic properties and a diversity of phases. Here we form a metallic tungsten nitride inverse opal as an example.
Spectrometry for urban area remote sensing—Development and analysis of a spectral library from 350 to 2400 nm

We investigate the spectral complexity and unique spectral characteristics of urban environments using a comprehensive regional field spectral library of more than 4500 individual spectra. Spectral properties of urban surface materials are presented and interpreted, and their separability is systematically analyzed using the Bhattacharyya distance (B-distance) as a quantitative measure of spectral discrimination. We find considerable spectral confusion between urban land cover types (i.e. specific roof and road types) but also show the potential of fine spectral-resolution remote sensing for detailed mapping of urban materials and their condition based on their spectral signal. An evaluation of the most suitable wavelengths for separation of urban land cover identified specific spectral features that provided the best separation. There is a strong indication that current multispectral systems, including IKONOS and LANDSAT ETM+, provide only marginal abilities to resolve these important features and are limited for urban land-cover mapping.
Filtering revolution: Reporting bias in international newspaper coverage of the Libyan civil war

Reporting bias – the media’s tendency to systematically underreport or overreport certain types of events – is a persistent problem for participants and observers of armed conflict. We argue that the nature of reporting bias depends on how news organizations navigate the political context in which they are based. Where government pressure on the media is limited – in democratic regimes – the scope of reporting should reflect conventional media preferences toward novel, large-scale, dramatic developments that challenge the conventional wisdom and highlight the unsustainability of the status quo. Where political constraints on reporting are more onerous – in non-democratic regimes – the more conservative preferences of the state will drive the scope of coverage, emphasizing the legitimacy and inevitability of the prevailing order. We test these propositions using new data on protest and political violence during the 2011 Libyan uprising and daily newspaper coverage of the Arab Spring from 113 countries. We uncover evidence of a status-quo media bias in non-democratic states, and a revisionist bias in democratic states. Media coverage in non-democracies underreported protests and nonviolent collective action by regime opponents, largely ignored government atrocities, and overreported those caused by rebels. We find the opposite patterns in democratic states.
Dietary tocopherols inhibit PhIP-induced prostate carcinogenesis in CYP1A-humanized mice

Tocopherols, the major forms of vitamin E, exist as alpha-tocopherol (α-T), β-T, γ-T and δ-T. The cancer preventive activity of vitamin E is suggested by epidemiological studies, but recent large-scale cancer prevention trials with high dose of α-T yielded disappointing results. Our hypothesis that other forms of tocopherols have higher cancer preventive activities than α-T was tested, herein, in a novel prostate carcinogenesis model induced by 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP), a dietary carcinogen, in the CYP1A-humanized (hCYP1A) mice. Treatment of hCYP1A mice with PhIP (200 mg/kg b.w., i.g.) induced high percentages of mouse prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPIN), mainly in the dorsolateral glands. Supplementation with a γ-T-rich mixture of tocopherols (γ-TmT, 0.3% in diet) significantly inhibited the development of mPIN lesions and reduced PhIP-induced elevation of 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine, COX-2, nitrotyrosine, Ki-67 and p-AKT, and the loss of PTEN and Nrf2. Further studies with purified δ-T, γ-T or α-T (0.2% in diet) showed that δ-T was more effective than γ-T or α-T in preventing mPIN formations and p-AKT elevation. These results indicate that γ-TmT and δ-T could be effective preventive agents of prostate cancer.
Science Translational Medicine Podcast: 18 November 2015

In this podcast, Nathan Welham describes an engineered vocal fold mucosa that shows promise for restoring voice to patients with some types of dysphonia. Listen to Podcast Download the Transcript (Adobe PDF format)
Bioactive products formed in humans from fish oils

Resolvins, maresins, and protectins can be formed from fish oils. These specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) have been implicated in the resolution of inflammation. Synthetic versions of such SPMs exert anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and when administered to animal models. However, their importance as endogenous products formed in sufficient amounts to exert anti-inflammatory actions in vivo remains speculative. We biased our ability to detect SPMs formed in healthy volunteers by supplementing fish oil in doses shown previously to influence blood pressure and platelet aggregation under placebo-controlled conditions. Additionally, we sought to determine the relative formation of SPMs during an acute inflammatory response and its resolution, evoked in healthy volunteers by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Bioactive lipids, enzymatic epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), and free radical-catalyzed prostanoids [isoprostanes (iPs)] formed from arachidonic acid and the fish oils, served as comparators. Despite the clear shift from ω-6 to ω-3 EETs and iPs, we failed to detect a consistent signal, in most cases, of SPM formation in urine or plasma in response to fish oil, and in all cases in response to LPS on a background of fish oil. Our results question the relevance of these SPMs to the putative anti-inflammatory effects of fish oils in humans.
Co-occurring Mood and Substance Use Disorders

Mood disorders, which include depressive and bipolar disorders, are among the most common disorders observed to co-occur with substance use disorders. These disorders have been associated with a worse prognosis among substance use disorder patients, and vice versa. Furthermore, treatment of co-occurring mood disorders has been shown to improve treatment outcome among substance-dependent patients with improvement in both mood and substance use. At the same time, mood symptoms among patients with substance use disorders frequently remit when patients reduce substance use or achieve abstinence without specific mood disorder treatment. Thus, it is important for clinicians working with substance-abusing patients to be able to recognize mood disorders in the clinical history, distinguish mood disorders that require specific treatment, recommend appropriate treatment options, and monitor clinical course. This chapter reviews the evidence on the diagnosis and treatment of co-occurring substance and mood disorders, with emphasis on depressive disorders.
A tractable model for per user rate in multiuser millimeter wave cellular networks

Large antenna arrays will be deployed at base stations (BSs) and user equipments (UEs) in future millimeter wave (mmWave) cellular networks. Although highly directional beamforming is a key enabling technology, the optimal way to use these large arrays is still unclear. With this broad goal in mind, we compare the coverage and rate performance of fully-connected hybrid beamforming enabled multiuser (MU) MIMO with single user beamforming (SU-BF). We show that MU-MIMO has the potential to give higher per user rates but at the cost of higher power consumption and reduced signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). However, if only the average power per unit area is preserved, a denser SU-BF network usually outperforms MU-MIMO in terms of cell edge rates. A stochastic geometry based model that captures these trends for a large number of antennas at the BSs and UEs is proposed.
Investigating Spontaneous Flexibility in Concept Generation

Guilford’s Alternate Uses Test (ALTU) measures a person’s spontaneous flexibility, a propensity for generating many varied responses to a situation, by requiring them to list six possible uses for a given object. Shah’s metrics of ideation effectiveness measure the innovative qualities of engineering concepts with similar scales. The study presented in this paper explores the relationship between spontaneous flexibility and engineering concept generation through a research study. Fifty-two participants generated ideas for three items on a spontaneous flexibility test (SFT) and three problems on an engineering ideation test (EIT). The participants’ responses were analyzed for fluency and flexibility. Correlations between the SFT and EIT were identified in order to better understand the role of spontaneity and divergent thinking in an engineering environment. It was found that both fluency and flexibility of responses were strongly correlated between the two test types. It is hypothesized that the EIT complements the SFT in measuring spontaneous flexibility in engineering design.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Structural determinants for binding, activation, and functional selectivity of the angiotensin AT1 receptor

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disorders. Pharmacologic interventions targeting the RAS cascade have led to the discovery of renin inhibitors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and AT(1) receptor blockers (ARBs) to treat hypertension and some cardiovascular and renal disorders. Mutagenesis and modeling studies have revealed that differential functional outcomes are the results of multiple active states conformed by the AT(1) receptor upon interaction with angiotensin II (Ang II). The binding of agonist is dependent on both extracellular and intramembrane regions of the receptor molecule, and as a consequence occupies more extensive area of the receptor than a non-peptide antagonist. Both agonist and antagonist bind to the same intramembrane regions to interfere with each other's binding to exhibit competitive, surmountable interaction. The nature of interactions with the amino acids in the receptor is different for each of the ARBs given the small differences in the molecular structure between drugs. AT(1) receptors attain different conformation states after binding various Ang II analogues, resulting in variable responses through activation of multiple signaling pathways. These include both classical and non-classical pathways mediated through growth factor receptor transactivations, and provide cross-communication between downstream signaling molecules. The structural requirements for AT(1) receptors to activate extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 through G proteins, or G protein-independently through β-arrestin, are different. We review the structural and functional characteristics of Ang II and its analogs and antagonists, and their interaction with amino acid residues in the AT(1) receptor.
Expression of functional mitochondrial creatine kinase in liver of transgenic mice

The mitochondrial isoform of creatine kinase (MiCK) is localized to the mitochondrial intermembrane space, and its precise role in vivo is still actively being investigated. Here, we report a transgenic mouse model in which MiCK is expressed in liver, a tissue that does not normally express significant levels of CK. Expression of the genomic clone for human, ubiquitous MiCK was controlled by the promoter/enhancer region of the transthyretin gene. Three of seven founder mice were chosen to establish lines and had MiCK activity values ranging from 13 to 269 micromol x min(-1) x g wet wt(-1). Differential centrifugation and histochemical staining demonstrated that >90% of the CK activity is localized to the mitochondrial intermembrane space. An unusual mitochondrial morphology characterized by an angular nature to the membranes was detected using electron microscopy in the transgenic line expressing the highest levels of MiCK. Increasing hepatic total creatine levels led to a return to normal mitochondrial morphology. 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrated that the expressed MiCK is capable of producing and utilizing phosphocreatine. These mice will be useful for investigating gain of function effects of MiCK in cellular energetics.
Surgical treatment of congenital pulmonary stenosis due to dysplastic leaflets and small valve anulus.

Seven cases of pulmonary valve stenosis due to congenital dysplasia of the valvular apparatus have been corrected by patch-graft enlargment of the right ventricular outflow tract. The six surviving patients (85%) are now leading normal lives with good exercise tolerance. The satisfactory right ventricular performance, manifested by these subjects after the operation and in the long-term follow-up, supports the validity of the procedure in the presence of a normal right ventricle and tricuspid valve.
Mouse Sin3A interacts with and can functionally substitute for the amino-terminal repression domain of the Myc antagonist Mxi1

Mxi1 is a basic region helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLH/LZ) protein that, in association with Max, antagonizes Myc oncogenic activities. A possible mechanistic basis for Mxi1-mediated repression was provided by the recent demonstration that the repressive potential of Mxi1 correlates with its ability to physically associate with mSin3B, one of two mammalian homologues of the yeast transcriptional repressor SIN3. Here, we sought to characterize more fully the physical properties of the second homologue, mSin3A and to determine whether the recruitment of mSin3A by Mxi1 is indeed required for anti-Myc activity. Transient transfection of mammalian cells showed that the mSin3A protein can associate with the strong repressive isoform of Mxi1 (Mxi1-SR) and that, like other Myc superfamily members, both mSin3A and Mxi1-SR localize to the nucleus. From a developmental standpoint, a comparative analysis of Myc, Mxi1-SR and Sin3A expression during postnatal mouse development and in differentiating mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells revealed that dramatic and reciprocal changes in Myc and Mxi1-SR mRNA levels are accompanied by minimal stage-specific changes in mSin3A gene expression. This constant expression profile, coupled with the observation that over-expression of mSin3A does not augment the anti-Myc activity of Mxi1-SR in the rat embryo fibroblast (REF) transformation assay, suggests that mSin3A is not a limiting factor in the regulation of Myc superfamily function. Finally, a mSin3A-Mxi1 fusion protein, in which the amino terminal mSin3-interacting domain of Mxi1-SR was replaced with the full-length mSin3A, exhibited a level of repression activity equivalent to, or greater than, the level of repression obtained with Mxi1-SR. Taken together, these observations directly demonstrate that the amino-terminal repression domain of Mxi1-SR functions solely to recruit mSin3A and possibly other proteins like mSin3A and this association is necessary for the anti-Myc activity of Mxi1-SR.
Efficient Multiscale Models of Polymer Assembly

Abstract Protein polymerization and bundling play a central role in cell physiology. Predictive modeling of these processes remains an open challenge, especially when the proteins involved become large and their concentrations high. We present an effective kinetics model of filament formation, bundling, and depolymerization after GTP hydrolysis, which involves a relatively small number of species and reactions, and remains robust over a wide range of concentrations and timescales. We apply this general model to study assembly of FtsZ protein, a basic element in the division process of prokaryotic cells such as Escherichia coli , Bacillus subtilis , or Caulobacter crescentus . This analysis demonstrates that our model outperforms its counterparts in terms of both accuracy and computational efficiency. Because our model comprises only 17 ordinary differential equations, its computational cost is orders-of-magnitude smaller than the current alternatives consisting of up to 1000 ordinary differential equations. It also provides, to our knowledge, a new insight into the characteristics and functioning of FtsZ proteins at high concentrations. The simplicity and versatility of our model render it a powerful computational tool, which can be used either as a standalone descriptor of other biopolymers' assembly or as a component in more complete kinetic models.
Advances in the treatment of craving for alcohol and tobacco

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews advances in contemporary science-based approaches to the treatment of craving for alcohol and tobacco. Treatment for craving can be broadly divided into cognitive–behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic interventions, each with strengths and weaknesses and specific areas where improvement is necessary. Cognitive–behavioral approaches to addictive behavior have inherently incorporated craving as a treatment target because of their heavy emphasis on situational factors and coping with high-risk situations, which could include acute craving. The most common pharmacological approach for craving for alcohol is naltrexone, whereas the most common approach for craving for nicotine is nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). It is suggested that that forms of NRT with swifter routes of administration appear to be effective in acutely tamping down cravings. It is found that oral naltrexone dosing results in somewhat variable levels of plasma naltrexone, which may influence its effects clinically and the applicability of more standardized laboratory studies. It is suggested that enhanced compliance and stability of administration are important priorities for improving the pharmacotherapy of alcohol craving. It is emphasized that a transdisciplinary approach will enable to develop both a fully integrated science of craving and maximally efficacious treatments.
Proof Without Words: A Recursion for Triangular Numbers and More

SummaryWe visually demonstrate a recurrence satisfied by the triangular numbers and hence all quadratic sequences including all types of polygonal numbers.
Impact of human factors on wildfire occurrence in Mississippi, United States

Fires have important ecological and socioeconomic effects in fire-prone regions globally. Human-caused wildfires often pose considerable safety and environmental hazards, and can result in sizeable economic losses. This study analyzed the relative importance of temporal, spatial, and socioeconomic factors on occurrence of 52,532 human-caused wildfires in Mississippi that burned during 1991–2005. The probability of human-caused wildfires was modeled using a multinomial logit regression for unordered nominal outcomes. Results indicated that in comparison to incendiary wildfires, other types of human-caused wildfires were most likely to occur in summer. Wildfires caused by equipment use, children, and debris burning were more likely than incendiary wildfires to occur in close proximity to primary roads and railroad tracks, whereas close proximity to population centers increased the relative likelihood of wildfires caused by debris burning. Socioeconomic characteristics also influenced occurrence of many human-caused wildfires. Wildfires caused by children and debris burning were more likely than incendiary wildfires to occur in densely populated areas, whereas wildfires caused by debris burning, equipment use, and related to smoking were more likely in areas with high unemployment rates and large proportions of people below the poverty level. Wildfires related to smoking were also more likely than incendiary wildfires to occur in areas with higher median income. These findings will be helpful in predicting wildfire occurrence as well as developing new wildfire awareness and prevention strategies, allocating resources, and reducing wildfire damage costs in Mississippi and other fire-prone regions.
Health behavior change in advance care planning: an agent-based model

A practical and ethical challenge in advance care planning research is controlling and intervening on human behavior. Additionally, observing dynamic changes in advance care planning (ACP) behavior proves difficult, though tracking changes over time is important for intervention development. Agent-based modeling (ABM) allows researchers to integrate complex behavioral data about advance care planning behaviors and thought processes into a controlled environment that is more easily alterable and observable. Literature to date has not addressed how best to motivate individuals, increase facilitators and reduce barriers associated with ACP. We aimed to build an ABM that applies the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change to ACP as a health behavior and accurately reflects: 1) the rates at which individuals complete the process, 2) how individuals respond to barriers, facilitators, and behavioral variables, and 3) the interactions between these variables. We developed a dynamic ABM of the ACP decision making process based on the stages of change posited by the Transtheoretical Model. We integrated barriers, facilitators, and other behavioral variables that agents encounter as they move through the process. We successfully incorporated ACP barriers, facilitators, and other behavioral variables into our ABM, forming a plausible representation of ACP behavior and decision-making. The resulting distributions across the stages of change replicated those found in the literature, with approximately half of participants in the action-maintenance stage in both the model and the literature. Our ABM is a useful method for representing dynamic social and experiential influences on the ACP decision making process. This model suggests structural interventions, e.g. increasing access to ACP materials in primary care clinics, in addition to improved methods of data collection for behavioral studies, e.g. incorporating longitudinal data to capture behavioral dynamics.
Naturally Adaptive, Low-Loss Zero-Voltage-Transition Circuit for High-Frequency Full-Bridge Inverters With Hybrid PWM

This paper proposes a low-loss, auxiliary zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) circuit to realize zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) for all the main switches of a full-bridge inverter, and inherent zero-current-switching (ZCS) turn-on and ZCS turn-off for the auxiliary switches. Two configurations consisting of discrete inductor and coupled inductor structures are proposed. The advantages of the proposed strategy include the provision to implement zero-state modulation schemes such as unipolar and hybrid pulse width modulation schemes in the full-bridge inverter to achieve low THD, naturally adaptive auxiliary inductor current and the elimination of capacitor voltage balancing issues seen in other similar ZVT approaches. The modulation scheme and the commutation stages are analyzed in detail. The complete inverter including the auxiliary ZVT branch is modeled in detail. Finally, a 1 kW, 400 kHz switching frequency inverter of the proposed topology using SiC MOSFETs has been built to validate the theoretical analysis. The ZVT with hybrid modulation technique is implemented in DSP TMS320F28335 resulting in full ZVS for the main switches in the full-bridge inverter. Compared to conventional hard switching full-bridge inverter, the proposed scheme improves the California Energy Commission efficiency from 95.58% to 97.63% and the peak efficiency from 96.29% to 97.91%.
Leaf and Stem Cold Hardiness of Four Selections of Raphiolepis umbellate Makino

Abstract Leaves and stems of four selections of Raphiolepis umbellata Makino were evaluated for cold hardiness at various times throughout the winter over a two year period and compared to the hardiness of their cold hardy parent plant (PI 277653). All four selections were equally or more cold tolerant than the parent plant on all test dates over both years tested. The leaves of these plants were hardier than the stem tips, but were similar to the cold hardiness of two year old stems. During midwinter the leaf and two year old stem cold hardiness ranged from −15 to −18°C (5 to 0°F). These data indicate that the new selections have good cold hardiness potential and may increase the range of adaptability of raphiolepis.
Progression-free survival as a surrogate for overall survival in advanced cancer.

e17765 Background: Progression-free survival (PFS) is sometimes being used instead of overall survival (OS) as a primary end-point in clinical trials of advanced cancer patients (ACP). We examine t...
Coal Refining Chemical Looping Systems with CO2 as a Co-Feedstock for Chemical Syntheses

This study quantifies the advantages of a chemical looping reducer reactor modularization strategy that leverages two or more reducer reactors operating in parallel to enhance syngas production beyond what is achievable by a single reducer reactor or conventional processes. The modularized system incorporates CO2 capture and utilization as a feedstock in an iron–titanium composite metal oxide based chemical looping system to enhance coal based chemical production. Simulations conducted in ASPEN Plus software suggest that adopting a cocurrent moving bed reducer reactor based modularization strategy can improve syngas yield by greater than 11% over a single chemical looping reducer reactor. Experiments conducted on a bench scale reducer reactor confirm the findings of the simulations. The modularization simulation was scaled up and incorporated into commercial sized methanol and acetic acid production plants. Chemical looping modularization demonstrates the ability to reduce coal consumption by 25% over a b...
Current Emergency Preparedness Resources and Capabilities Among Academic Health Systems in the United States.

Objective Although hospital emergency preparedness efforts have been recognized as important, there has been growing pressure on cost containment, as well as consolidation within the US health care system. There is little data looking at what health care emergency preparedness functions have been, could be, or should be centrally coordinated at a system level. Methods We developed a questionnaire for academic health systems and asked about program funding, resources provided, governance, and activities. The questionnaire also queried managers' opinions regarding the appropriate role for the system-level resources in emergency response, as well as about what is most helpful at the system-level supporting preparedness. Results Fifty-two of 97 systems (54%) responded. The most frequently occurring system-wide activities included: creating trainings or exercise templates (75%), promoting preparedness for employees in the system (75%), providing access to specific subject matter experts (73%), and developing specific plans for individual member entities within their system (73%). The top resources provided included a common mass notification system (71%), arranging for centralized contracts for goods and services (71%), and providing subject matter expertise (69%). Conclusions Currently, there is wide variation in the resources, capabilities, and programs used to support and coordinate system-level emergency preparedness among academic health systems. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:574-577).
Predicting opioid receptor binding affinity of pharmacologically unclassified designer substances using molecular docking

Opioids represent a highly-abused and highly potent class of drugs that have become a significant threat to public safety. Often there are little to no pharmacological and toxicological data available for new, illicitly used and abused opioids, and this has resulted in a growing number of serious adverse events, including death. The large influx of new synthetic opioids permeating the street-drug market, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, has generated the need for a fast and effective method to evaluate the risk a substance poses to public safety. In response, the US FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) has developed a rapidly-deployable, multi-pronged computational approach to assess a drug's risk to public health. A key component of this approach is a molecular docking model to predict the binding affinity of biologically uncharacterized fentanyl analogs to the mu opioid receptor. The model was validated by correlating the docking scores of structurally diverse opioids with experimentally determined binding affinities. Fentanyl derivatives with sub-nanomolar binding affinity at the mu receptor (e.g. carfentanil and lofentanil) have significantly lower binding scores, while less potent fentanyl derivatives have increased binding scores. The strong correlation between the binding scores and the experimental binding affinities suggests that this approach can be used to accurately predict the binding strength of newly identified fentanyl analogs at the mu receptor in the absence of in vitro data and may assist in the temporary scheduling of those substances that pose a risk to public safety.
Effect of Finite Rise Time on the Strength of the Magnetic Field Generated in a Switched Plasma

The effect of a magnetized transient plasma on a circularly polarized source wave, when the rise time of the electron density profile is comparable to the source wave period, is considered. The H-formulation Green's function is developed to study the effect of a finite rise time on the generation of a wiggler magnetic field.