cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pain, catastrophizing, and depression in the rheumatic diseases

Persistent and disabling pain is the hallmark of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and various other rheumatologic conditions. However, disease severity (as measured by 'objective' indices such as those that employ radiography or serology) is only marginally related to patients' reports of pain severity, and pain-related presentation can differ widely between individuals with ostensibly similar conditions (for example, grade 4 osteoarthritis of the knee). Increasing evidence in support of the biopsychosocial model of pain suggests that cognitive and emotional processes are crucial contributors to inter-individual differences in the perception and impact of pain. This Review describes the growing body of literature relating depression and catastrophizing to the experience of pain and pain-related sequelae across a number of rheumatic diseases. Depression and catastrophizing are consistently associated with the reported severity of pain, sensitivity to pain, physical disability, poor treatment outcomes, and inflammatory disease activity, and potentially with early mortality. A variety of pathways, from cognitive to behavioral to neurophysiological, seem to mediate these deleterious effects. Collectively, depression and catastrophizing are critically important variables in understanding the experience of pain in patients with rheumatologic disorders. Pain, depression, and catastrophizing might all be uniquely important therapeutic targets in the multimodal management of a range of such conditions.
Convergent Critical Rhetoric at the Rally to Restore Sanity: Exploring the Intersection of Rhetoric, Ethnography, and Documentary Production.

This essay offers convergent critical rhetoric as an approach to critical television studies. Constructed through a combination of rhetoric, ethnography, and documentary filmmaking, the approach encourages critics to utilize the logic of production to illuminate participatory practices in media. We use the “Rally to Restore Sanity,” hosted by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, as an exemplar. Through a combination of an academic essay and a short film, we examine the voice of participants at the rally, who questioned the polarized climate of the modern television industry. Using our approach, we found that attendee participation in the spectacle enacted a critique of “The Media” and the politics of profit-motivated news production. We close the essay with a discussion of limitations and future directions of the approach.
Hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of negative and positive words: A divided field study

Research on the lateralisation of brain functions for emotion has yielded different results as a function of whether it is the experience, expression, or perceptual processing of emotion that is examined. Further, for the perception of emotion there appear to be differences between the processing of verbal and nonverbal stimuli. The present research examined the hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of verbal stimuli varying in emotional valence. Participants performed a lexical decision task for words varying in affective valence (but equated in terms of arousal) that were presented briefly to the right or left visual field. Participants were significantly faster at recognising positive words presented to the right visual field/left hemisphere. This pattern did not occur for negative words (and was reversed for high arousal negative words). These results suggest that the processing of verbal stimuli varying in emotional valence tends to parallel hemispheric asymmetry in the experience of emotion.
Phospholipase D1 is required for angiogenesis of intersegmental blood vessels in zebrafish

Phospholipase D (PLD) hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine to generate phosphatidic acid and choline. Studies in cultured cells and Drosophila melanogaster have implicated PLD in the regulation of many cellular functions, including intracellular vesicle trafficking, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the function of PLD in vertebrate development has not been explored. Here we report cloning and characterization of a zebrafish PLD1 (pld1) homolog. Like mammalian PLDs, zebrafish Pld1 contains two conservative HKD motifs. Maternally contributed pld1 transcripts are uniformly distributed in early embryo. Localized expression of pld1 is observed in the notochord during early segmentation, in the somites during later segmentation and in the liver at the larval stages. Studies in intact and cell-free preparations demonstrate evolutionary conservation of regulation. Inhibition of Pld1 expression using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) interfering with the translation or splicing of pld1 impaired intersegmental vessel (ISV) development. Incubating embryos with 1-butanol, which diverts production of phosphatidic acid to a phosphatidylalcohol, caused similar ISV defects. To determine where Pld1 is required for ISV development we performed transplantation experiments. Analyses of the mosaic Pld1 deficient embryos showed partial suppression of ISV defects in the segments containing transplanted wild-type notochord cells but not in the ones containing wild-type somitic cells. These results provide the first evidence that function of Pld1 in the developing notochord is essential for vascular development in vertebrates.
Murine sex-limited protein (Slp) antigenic sites in human complement component C4

Human complement component C4 is encoded by two HLA-linked loci, A and B. In the mouse, the H-2 region contains structural genes for two serum proteins that react with antibodies to human C4, but one of these proteins (Slp) has no C4 hemolytic activity. Because the product of C4-A locus in man has low hemolytic activity, a previous report suggests it may be the homologue of murine Slp. We show here that Slp antigenic determinants are found in human C4. However, they are expressed in the products of both loci A and B, that is, C4A and C4B, since both proteins were specifically immunoprecipitated by the IgG fraction of alloantisera to mouse Slp. Therefore, Slp-associated structural features are preserved in evolution, although they do not seem to be relevant to the hemolytic properties of C4.
Effect of graded arterial occlusion on ileal blood flow distribution.

SummaryThe reactive hyperemic response of the intestinal vasculature to graded arterial occlusion is often used to delineate mechanisms involved in the intrinsic regulation of intestinal blood flow. This study assesses if the reactive hyperemic response to 60- and 120-sec arterial occlusions occur uniformly throughout the wall of the small intestine. Radiolabeled microsphere injections were used to determine blood flow distribution in the mucosa-submucosa and muscu-laris layers of the small intestine under control conditions and during 60- and 120-sec arterial occlusion. The results of this study suggest that relatively uniform increases in intestinal wall blood flow occurs only for an occlusion period of 60 sec. Increasing the duration of the arterial occlusion to 120 sec results in a predominant hyperemia in the muscularis layer.
Physiological and Anatomical Properties of Mouse Medial Vestibular Nucleus Neurons Projecting to the Oculomotor Nucleus

Neurons in the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) vary in their projection patterns, responses to head movement, and intrinsic firing properties. To establish whether neurons that participate in the v...
The emerging structural understanding of transglutaminase 3.

Abstract Transglutaminases (TGase; protein-glutamine: amine γ-glutamyl-transferase) are a family of calcium-dependent acyl-transfer enzymes ubiquitously expressed in mammalian cells and responsible for catalyzing covalent cross-links between proteins or peptides. A series of recent crystal structures have revealed the overall architecture of TGase enzymes, and provided a deep look at their active site, calcium and magnesium ions, and the manner by which guanine nucleotides interact with this enzyme. These structures, backed with extensive biochemical studies, are providing new insights as to how access to the enzyme's active site may be gated through the coordinated changes in cellular calcium and magnesium concentrations and GTP/GDP. Calcium-activated TGase 3 can bind, hydrolyze, and is inhibited by GTP, despite lacking structural homology with other GTP binding proteins. A structure based sequence homology among the TGase enzyme family shows that these essential structural features are shared among other members of the TGase family.
Immunohistochemical detection of ARID1A in colorectal carcinoma: loss of staining is associated with sporadic microsatellite unstable tumors with medullary histology and high TNM stage ☆,☆☆

Summary AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1A ( ARID1A ), a chromatin remodeling gene recently discovered to be a tumor suppressor in ovarian cancers, has been found to be mutated at low frequencies in many other tumors including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). An association between ARID1A alteration and DNA mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency has been implicated; understanding this association may facilitate the understanding of the role of ARID1A in the various tumors. In this pilot study, we analyzed the immunohistochemical expression of ARID1A in a consecutive series of 257 CRCs that fulfilled a set of relaxed criteria for Lynch syndrome screening; 59 (23%) were MMR deficient by immunohistochemistry (44 MLH1/PMS2 deficient, 9 MSH2/MSH6 deficient, 4 MSH6 deficient, and 2 PMS2 deficient). ARID1A loss was observed in 9% (22/257) of the cohort: 24% of MMR-deficient tumors (14/59, 13 of the 14 being MLH1/PMS2 deficient) and 4% of MMR-normal tumors (8/198) ( P MLH1 ( mutL homolog 1 ) promoter hypermethylation was observed in 10 of the 13 MLH1/PMS2-deficient/ARID1A-loss tumors, indicating an association between ARID1A loss and sporadic microsatellite unstable CRCs. Among the MMR-deficient cases, ARID1A loss correlated with old age ( P = .04), poor tumor differentiation ( P P P = .03); these patients also trended toward a worse 5-year overall survival. Among MMR-normal tumors, no differences in clinicopathological features were detected between the groups stratified by ARID1A. In conclusion, our results suggest that ARID1A loss may be linked to a specific subset of sporadic microsatellite unstable CRCs that may be medullary but is more likely to present with metastatic disease, warranting further investigation.
Malignant Sarcomatous Transformation of Fibrous Dysplasia

A case of osteosarcoma developing from fibrous dysplasia of the sphenoid bone in a 59-year-old female will be discussed. The characteristic radiologic and histologic features of the entity will be described.
Synthesis of titanium polyamines via the interfacial and aqueous solution techniques

Abstract Titanium polyamines of the form below were synthesized using aqueous solution and interfacial routes. The products are insoluble in all tested solvents. Some of the products exhibit RNH3+ endgroups and/or internal protonated amines. Products from aromatic diamines possess endgroups derived from the reaction of RCp2TiCl with Et3N when Et3N is used as the added base.
Food preferences of Cherokee Indian teenagers in Cherokee, North Carolina

Food preferences of 257 Cherokee Indian teenagers living on tribal lands in Cherokee, North Carolina, were assessed. Differences between the sexes and body fat classes were also examined. There was a high preference for high fat foods and fried foods and a low preference for desserts and sugared foods. Males preferred a greater variety of foods than females, particularly for meats and wild game. Lean students preferred more sweets/desserts than the fat students. Fat students preferred more sweetened beverages, fried foods and high‐fat meats. There was low acceptance for traditional wild animals and wild plants among the majority of students. Overall, food preferences were found to be similar to those for the general United States teenage population.
Pleural Fluid and Peripheral Eosinophilia from Hemothorax: Hypothesis of the Pathogenesis of EPE in Hemothorax and Pneumothorax

Blood and air in the pleural space are the most common conditions associated with an eosinophilic pleural effusion. The recruitment of eosinophils is dependent upon stimulation by cytokines, specifically interleukin (IL)-3, IL-5, granulocyte-monocyte cell stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal t-cell expressed and secreted), that cause eosinophil proliferation in the bone marrow, movement into the circulation, and adhesion and migration across endothelial barriers into tissues. There are several possible mechanisms that can explain eosinophilic pleural effusions. We report a case of an eosinophilic pleural effusion after spontaneous hemothorax that illustrates the course of pleural fluid and blood eosinophilia in following hemothorax and describe the different pathophysiology of eosinophil trafficking in the pleural space and serum following hemothorax and pneumothorax.
Multidimensional Assessment of Resilience in Mothers Who Are Child Sexual Abuse Survivors.

OBJECTIVE: There has been relatively little attention given to positive adaptation following childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and typically such resilience has been explored primarily in the intrapersonal domain. This study explored questions about later resilience following CSA within a multidimensional framework by assessing resilience across intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intrafamilial domains. METHOD: This community sample consisted of 79 mothers with a history of CSA who had a child living at home with them. Participants completed four outcome measures (Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale, Parenting Stress Index [PSI] Health Scale, PSI Parenting Competence Scale, and a measure of marital satisfaction). Risk and protective factors examined in relation to outcome included mother's age, socioeconomic status, severity of the CSA experience, coping strategy (avoidance, seeking social support, and problem solving), child characteristics, and spousal/partner support. RESULTS: Results indicated that when multiple adaptational domains were assessed, mothers showed discrepancies in how adequately they functioned across domains. While severity of the CSA experience was only weakly associated with outcome, use of avoidant coping emerged as a significant risk factor and was strongly and consistently associated with negative outcome across domains. Spousal/partner support was a strong protective factor and buffered the relationship between depressive symptoms and parenting competence. Difficult child characteristics were significantly associated with mothers' perceptions of physical health and parenting competence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the importance of comprehensive multimethod assessments of resilience and extend the knowledge of factors associated with positive outcome. The results highlight the need for further research exploring current contextual risk and protective factors associated with resilience in each domain. Language: en
BARTONELLA-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Bartonella-associated infections occur in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. The spectrum of diseases caused by Bartonella species has expanded and now includes cat-scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, bacillary peliosis, bacteremia, endocarditis, and trench fever. Most Bartonella-associated infections that occur in North America and Europe are caused by B. henselae or B. quintana. The domestic cat serves as the major reservoir for B. henselae; the reservoir for the modern day B. quintana infection remains unknown. Methods used to diagnose Bartonella-associated infections include histopathologic analysis of biopsy specimens, culture of tissue samples, blood culture, and serology. Available data on treatment of Bartonella-associated infections remain relatively sparse but would suggest that erythromycin or doxycycline provide the best responses.
Thumb Motor Performance is Greater for Two-Handed Grip Compared to Single-Handed Grip on a Mobile Phone:

The aim of this study was to determine if thumb motor performance varied between singlehanded and two-handed grip for thumb tapping tasks on a mobile phone. A secondary aim was to determine if diff...
PROBING CHARGINO-NEUTRALINO PRODUCTION AT THE FERMILAB TEVATRON COLLIDER IN A SUPERSYMMETRIC LEFT-RIGHT MODEL

We study production of chargino-neutralino through the process at the Fermilab Tevatron collider within the framework of the left-right supersymmetric model. We investigate various regions of parameter space accessible through a clean isolated trilepton signals from production for which the standard model background is expected to be tiny.
Rhoa Function in Lamellae Formation and Migration Is Regulated by the α6β4 Integrin and Camp Metabolism

Clone A colon carcinoma cells develop fan-shaped lamellae and exhibit random migration when plated on laminin, processes that depend on the ligation of the α6β4 integrin. Here, we report that expression of a dominant negative RhoA (N19RhoA) in clone A cells inhibited α6β4-dependent membrane ruffling, lamellae formation, and migration. In contrast, expression of a dominant negative Rac (N17Rac1) had no effect on these processes. Using the Rhotekin binding assay to assess RhoA activation, we observed that engagement of α6β4 by either antibody-mediated clustering or laminin attachment resulted in a two- to threefold increase in RhoA activation, compared with cells maintained in suspension or plated on collagen. Antibody-mediated clustering of β1 integrins, however, actually suppressed Rho A activation. The α6β4-mediated interaction of clone A cells with laminin promoted the translocation of RhoA from the cytosol to membrane ruffles at the edges of lamellae and promoted its colocalization with β1 integrins, as assessed by immunofluorescence microscopy. In addition, RhoA translocation was blocked by inhibiting phosphodiesterase activity and enhanced by inhibiting the activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Together, these results establish a specific integrin-mediated pathway of RhoA activation that is regulated by cAMP and that functions in lamellae formation and migration.
Heparin Responsiveness In Vitro as a Prognostic Tool for Vascular Graft Stenosis A Tale of Two Cell Types

Vascular graft stenosis after infrainguinal vein grafting or coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a significant cause of morbidity and suboptimal long-term clinical outcome of patients with vascular disease. Numerous animal and clinical studies have been undertaken to reveal the pathophysiological mechanisms accounting for this detrimental process. Stenotic lesions are dominated by neointima formation with migration and proliferation of SMCs and deposition of extracellular matrix. This appears to be a conserved response in the vasculature not only after vein grafting but also after various injurious stimuli such as angioplasty, endarterectomy, embolectomy, and arterial catheterization. However, the mechanisms of the process of stenosis are still not fully understood, and there is neither an effective treatment for prevention nor a diagnostic test for reliable prediction of patients at risk for developing graft stenosis. Most clinical and experimental studies have focused on the control of SMC proliferation with the intention of developing strategies for the prophylaxis of restenosis, whereas relatively little has been achieved in the area of early tests to define the prognosis and need for clinical monitoring of particular patients. The anticoagulant heparin has been used for many years in the therapy and prophylaxis of thrombotic conditions. It is also known for its antiproliferative effects on SMCs when applied in higher doses and has been studied extensively in animal models and clinical studies for the inhibition of neointima formation after vascular injury. As for many other compounds, encouraging results obtained in animal models have not been matched by successful clinical studies, perhaps because of dissimilar dosing levels or strategies in the patients or different contributions of SMC proliferation in stenotic lesions of animals and humans. Notwithstanding the failure of heparin to prevent graft stenosis, recent investigations, including that by Refson et al in this issue of Circulation ,1 focus attention …
Effects of Prenatal Nicotine Exposure on Primate Brain Development and Attempted Amelioration with Supplemental Choline or Vitamin C: Neurotransmitter Receptors, Cell Signaling and Cell Development Biomarkers in Fetal Brain Regions of Rhesus Monkeys

Studies in developing rodents indicate that nicotine is a neuroteratogen that disrupts brain development by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that control neural cell replication and differentiation. We administered nicotine to pregnant Rhesus monkeys from gestational day 30 through 160 by continuous infusion, achieving maternal plasma levels comparable to those in smokers (30 ng/ml). Fetal brain regions and peripheral tissues were examined for nAChR subtypes, other neurotransmitter receptors, and indices of cell signaling and cell damage. Nicotine evoked nAChR upregulation, but with distinct regional disparities indicative of selective stimulatory responses. Similarly, indices of cell loss (reduced DNA), cell size and neuritic outgrowth (protein/DNA and membrane/total protein ratios) were distinct for each region and did not necessarily follow the rank order of nAChR upregulation, suggesting the involvement of additional mechanisms such as oxidative stress. We then attempted to offset the adverse effects of nicotine with standard dietary supplements known to interact with nicotine. By itself, choline elicited nicotine-like actions commensurate with its promotion of cholinergic neurotransmission. When given in combination with nicotine, choline protected some regions from damage but worsened nicotine's effects in other regions. Similarly, Vitamin C supplementation had mixed effects, increasing nAChR responses while providing protection from cell damage in the caudate, the brain region most susceptible to oxidative stress. Our results indicate that nicotine elicits neurodevelopmental damage that is highly selective for different brain regions, and that dietary supplements ordinarily thought to be neuroprotectant may actually worsen some of the adverse effects of nicotine on the fetal brain.
Inherited neuropathies: new genes don't fit old models.

Mutations in GARS cause dominantly inherited neuropathies in humans. GARS encodes glycyl-tRNA synthetase, the enzyme that couples glycine to its tRNA. In this issue of Neuron , Seburn et al. have identified and characterized a mutant mouse with a dominantly inherited axonal neuropathy caused by a Gars mutation that is inferred to have a gain of function.
Primary cultures of dispersed hypothalamic cells from fetal rats: Morphology, electrical activity, and peptide content

Cultures prepared from dispersed fetal hypothalamic tissue have cells which can be identified as neurons by their morphology and electrical activity. The elongation of neuritic processes in these cultures is increased by treatment with 1-beta-D arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C). Hypothalamic cultures have measurable quantities of immunoreactive substance P and neurotensin, and the neurons can accumulate (3H)GABA.
Reproducibility of spirometry during cystic fibrosis pulmonary exacerbations.

Objectives: To compare the within day variation of spirometry between hospital admission, discharge, and outpatient follow up among children with cystic fibrosis (CF) hospitalized for a pulmonary exacerbation. Hypothesis: Within day variation of spirometry will be greater at hospital admission than at hospital discharge or outpatient follow up. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of spirometry data for all patients with CF ≥6 years old admitted to our pediatric CF center for a pulmonary exacerbation in 2004 or 2005. For patients who had previously performed spirometry successfully, measurements were used from one admission only during 2004–2005 if the spirometry occurred within 3 days of hospital admission, 3 days of discharge, or at a follow up clinic visit when well. We compared the within day coefficients of variation (CV) for FVC, FEV1, and FEF25–75 between time points using the Wilcoxon signed rank-test. We also determined the change in spirometry that is likely to be beyond measurement variability during inpatient treatment of a pulmonary exacerbation. Results: Spirometry data were available from 40 subjects at admission and follow up and 35 at hospital discharge. There was no significant difference in CV at admission, discharge, and follow up for FVC, FEV1, or FEF25–75. The mean (SD) CV was 3.1% (2.7) for FVC, 3.2% (2.1) for FEV1, and 9.7% (7.0) for FEF25–75 at admission, 2.8% (2.2) for FVC, 3.1% (2.1) for FEV1, and 8.1% (6.7) for FEF25–75 at discharge, and 2.7% (1.7) for FVC, 2.8% (2.0) for FEV1, and 8.4% (7.8) for FEF25–75 at follow up. These are similar to previous reports of outpatients with CF. The improvement in spirometry that exceeded measurement variability for our cohort was 80 ml for FVC, 70 ml for FEV1, and 220 ml/sec for FEF25–75. Conclusions: The presence of an acute pulmonary exacerbation in children and adolescents with CF does not substantially contribute to the within day variation in spirometry. Within day variation of spirometry for children with CF during pulmonary exacerbations is similar to previously reported values from clinically stable CF patients. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 2008; 43:1142–1146. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Integrating the thematic approach into information literacy courses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review selected publications in library-related literature and discuss the thematic approach to course design in colleges and universities and how it has been implemented into information literacy (IL) courses. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review of peer-reviewed journals, professional journals, magazines and blogs contextualizes the thematic approach to instruction at the college and university levels. Search terms included “thematic approach”, “thematic approach in education” and “theme-based instruction”; the search was restricted to articles published in the past 20 years. Findings – In addition to the IL courses, thematic-based instruction has been used in biology, chemistry, English, French literature, history, mathematics, philosophy and sociology courses in college and university campuses. While instructors report that the thematic approach enhances student learning, few studies have directly tested the impact. No studies have been published ...
Future‐focused learning ecologies in a rapidly evolving global ecosystem

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the role of education as the formal means for preparing people for the future, outlining the need for interdisciplinary and systemic use of new learning technologies to re‐align with present learning needs.Design/methodology/approach – Using the lens of Miller's Living Systems Theory, such a collaboration between learning scientists, educators, and policy makers is now both possible and necessary because of emerging learning technologies.Findings – Using these learning technologies across the curriculum throughout a learner's life will assist them to adapt within increasingly fast‐paced, interconnected, and complex systems.Practical implications – Administrators should collaborate with teachers, organizations, learning scientists, and students, themselves to integrate these new learning technologies in substantive new ways that enhance future conciousness.Originality/value – The paper provides a potential bridge between the abstract notion of future cons...
On a multi-channel transportation loss system with controlled input and controlled service

A multi-channel loss queueing system is investigated. The input stream is a controlled point process. The service in each of m parallel channels depends on the state of the system at certain moments of time when input and service may be controlled. To obtain explicitly the limiting distribution of the main process (Zt) (the number of busy channels) in equilibrium, an auxiliary three dimensional process with two additional components (one of them is a semi-Markov process) is treated as semi-regenerative process. An optimization problem is discussed. Simple expressions for an objective function are derived.
Mechanical testing of pyrolysed poly-furfuryl alcohol nanofibres

We present experimental results on the characterization of the mechanical properties of pyrolysed poly-furfuryl alcohol (PFA) nanofibres. Specifically, Young's modulus and the fracture strain of the nanofibres were measured by performing uni-axial tensile experiments on individual nanofibres in situ in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) using a microfabricated tensile testing device. The nanofibres tested varied in diameter from 150 to 300 nm. Young's modulus is observed to be within the 1.3–2 GPa range.
How many comparisons does Quicksort use

Abstract We examine the probability distribution of the number of comparisons needed by the Quicksort sorting algorithm, where probability arises due to the items being in random order. We develop a general class of distributions for the permutation of the items to be sorted which includes the uniform distribution on permutations as a special case. For this general class, the distribution of the number of comparisons is given by the solution of a simple recurrence relation. We provide an exact solution of the recurrence for very small n. We show that the solution can be approximated asymptotically by the solution of a "quadratic" operator equation. We exhibit three numerical solutions to the operator equation for two different distributions on permutations from the general class. We also exhibit numerical solutions for the case in which the algorithm is modified so that arrays are partitioned by the median-of-three selected items rather than by a single selected item.
THE USE OF PHENOL RED AND BROM-CRESOL PURPLE AS INDICATORS IN THE BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF STOOLS

1. Either phenol red or brom-cresol purple may be used as indicators in the preparation of lactose agar plates for the isolation of members of the typhoid-dysentery group of bacteria from stools. Of the two, brom-cresol purple gives sharper differentiation and is to be preferred. 2. These indicators exercise no restraining influence upon the growth of cultures of the typhoid bacillus or paratyphoid bacillus freshly isolated from the human body, or of laboratory cultures of Bacillus dysenteria. 3. Both indicators may be successfully employed with brilliant green in the isolation of the typhoid-paratyphoid group from stools without sacrificing the restraining activity of the brilliant green upon other bacteria.
Linear and Nonlinear Elastic Modulus Imaging: An Application to Breast Cancer Diagnosis

We reconstruct the in vivo spatial distribution of linear and nonlinear elastic parameters in ten patients with benign (five) and malignant (five) tumors. The mechanical behavior of breast tissue is represented by a modified Veronda-Westmann model with one linear and one nonlinear elastic parameter. The spatial distribution of these elastic parameters is determined by solving an inverse problem within the region of interest (ROI). This inverse problem solution requires the knowledge of the displacement fields at small and large strains. The displacement fields are measured using a free-hand ultrasound strain imaging technique wherein, a linear array ultrasound transducer is positioned on the breast and radio frequency echo signals are recorded within the ROI while the tissue is slowly deformed with the transducer. Incremental displacement fields are determined from successive radio-frequency frames by employing cross-correlation techniques. The rectangular regions of interest were subjectively selected to obtain low noise displacement estimates and therefore were variables that ranged from 346 to 849.6 mm . It is observed that malignant tumors stiffen at a faster rate than benign tumors and based on this criterion nine out of ten tumors were correctly classified as being either benign or malignant.
Astrocytic metabolic and inflammatory changes as a function of age

This study examines age-dependent metabolic-inflammatory axis in primary astrocytes isolated from brain cortices of 7-, 13-, and 18-month-old Sprague–Dawley male rats. Astrocytes showed an age-dependent increase in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism respiring on glucose and/or pyruvate substrates; this increase in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism was accompanied by increases in COX3/18SrDNA values, thus suggesting an enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis. Enhanced mitochondrial respiration in astrocytes limits the substrate supply from astrocytes to neurons; this may be viewed as an adaptive mechanism to altered cellular inflammatory–redox environment with age. These metabolic changes were associated with an age-dependent increase in hydrogen peroxide generation (largely ascribed to an enhanced expression of NOX2) and NFκB signaling in the cytosol as well as its translocation to the nucleus. Astrocytes also displayed augmented responses with age to inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, and TNFα. Activation of NFκB signaling resulted in increased expression of nitric oxide synthase 2 (inducible nitric oxide synthase), leading to elevated nitric oxide production. IL-1β and TNFα treatment stimulated mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis in astrocytes. It may be surmised that increased mitochondrial aerobic metabolism and inflammatory responses are interconnected and support the functionality switch of astrocytes, from neurotrophic to neurotoxic with age.
LIMITING PERFORMANCE OF SEAT BELT SYSTEMS FOR THE PREVENTION OF THORACIC INJURIES

AbstractThe theoretically optimal performance of seat belt systems for occupants in automobile frontal crashes is investigated based on a two-mass injury model of the thorax. The performance is mea...
Veratrum Alkaloids XXXV: The Hypotensive Principles of Cryptenamine, A Veratrum viriae Alkaloid Preparation

Cryptenamine has been reported to have a more favorable ratio of emetic to hpotensive dose than other veratrum preparations, and the advantageous ratio has geen attributed to the presence of new hypotensive alkaloids. Cryptenamine was fractionated with the aid of partition column chromatography, adsorption column chromatography, and paper partition chromatography. The known hypotensive alkaloids protoveratrine A, protoveratrine B, germitrine, neogermitrine, germerine, and germidine were isolated. In addition, the relatively nonhypotensive alkaloids jervine, rubijervine, isorubijervine, and an apparently new noncarbonyl alkamine were obtained. Paper chromatographic evidence suggesting the presence of the hypotensive alkaloids germbudine and neogermbudine and the relatively nonhypotensive veratramine was also obtained.
Elemental mass spectroscopy of remote surfaces from laser-induced plasmas

The elemental mass analysis of laser-produced ions from Al, Cu, Ge, Ag, and a lunar simulant target when irradiated by a 400-mJ, 8-ns, Nd: YAG laser at 1 × 109 W/cm2 is reported. Ions traveled down a 11.1-m evacuated tube to an ion-trap 1-m time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer where an elemental mass spectrum was recorded. The amount of target material removed per laser pulse and the ionization fraction were also measured. The ion spatial distribution was measured at 11.1-m distance and found to be near a fourth-power cosine distribution. These results indicate the ability to mass analyze a surface over a distance of many kilometers for lunar and asteroid surface elemental mass analysis by a remote satellite or lunar rover.
Association of age, sex and breed factors in acute equine colic: A retrospective study of 320 cases admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital in the U.S.A.

A retrospective study of 320 horses, presented to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital from July 1974 to June 1984 with acute abdominal pain, is describe. The proportion of horses presented with colic, compared to all other horses admitted during the same period, increased slightly with age (P < 0.01). Horses <6 months of age were over-represented among the cases of small colon disease requiring surgical intervention. The sex distribution of the colic cases was similar to the non-colic control population. The Arabian and Morgan breeds were over-represented among the colic cases compared to the non-colic control population. Geldings and horses ⩾15 years of age were more likely to require surgical intervention (P < 0.05). Intact male horses had a higher overall surgical rate (55.8%) than geldings (24.5%) or females (30.9%). Older horses tended to have a lower overall surgical survival rate than younger horses. The overall survival rate of the colic-affected horses was 58.8%. The overall survival rates for the horses with small intestinal, large colon or small colon surgical conditions were 25, 37 and 70%, respectively. The surgical survival rate of the colic-affected horses was 44%, with small intestinal, large colon and small colon surgical conditions being 30, 48 and 78%, respectively.
Detection of spotted fever group Rickettsiae in ticks from Zhejiang Province, China

Tick species distribution and prevalence of spotted fever group Rickettsiae (SFGR) in ticks were investigated in Zhejiang Province, China in 2010 and 2011. PCR was used to detect SFGR and positive amplicons were sequenced, compared to published sequences and phylogenic analysis was performed using MEGA 4.0. A total of 292 adult ticks of ten species were captured and 7.5 % (22/292) of the ticks were PCR-positive for SFG Rickettsia. The PCR-positive rates were 5.5 % (6/110) for Haemaphysalis longicornis, 3.6 % (1/28) for Amblyomma testudinarium and 16 % (15/94) for Ixodes sinensis, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of gltA genes detected in ticks indicated that there are two dominating groups of SFGR. Sequences of group one were closely related to Rickettsia monacensis, whereas sequences of group two were closest related to Rickettsia heilongjiangensis and Rickettsia japonica, which are human pathogens. Our findings underline the importance of these ticks in public health surveillance in Zhejiang Province, China.
Direct adaptive control with bounded tracking errors

Direct model reference adaptive control procedures were developed to control linear plants which satisfy a positivity condition. Using a combination of proportional and integral adaptive gains these procedures achieved asymptotically perfect model output tracking with a large class of time-variable input commands. However, if perfect output tracking is not possible due to output measuring disturbances or due to the internal structure of the plant, the adaptive control system may diverge. Such divergence is now shown to be eliminated if the pure integration in the adaptive gains is replaced with a first order pole.
Shibutani and Pragmatism

Tamotsu (Tom) Shibutani was generous in revealing the secrets of his inventive mind with other people. This article, the second in Symbolic Interaction's symposium tribute to this exceptionally creative sociologist, is written by a University of California colleague. The author shares some of Shibutani's creative ideas with those of us who were not fortunate enough to know Shibutani personally.
Nonstationary Response of Linear Systems under Uncorrelated Parametric and External Excitations

An explicit solution for the nonstationary second moment response and the evolutionary spectral density of the response of linear systems subjected to uncorrelated parametric and external excitations is obtained by a simplified state-variable approach. The excitations are modeled as suddenly applied white noise processes. The solution is expressed as a sum of the solution for the external excitation alone and a correction term which accounts for the effect of the parametric excitation. In the limiting stationary case, the total solution is proportional to the solution for the external solution alone. However, the proportionality does not hold during the nonstationary stage. The solution presented is conditionally stable. The effect of the parametric excitation on the second moment response is significant in certain cases, especially near the region of instablity where the intensity of the parametric excitation could be very small relative to that of the external excitation. It is also shown that the solution under the uncorrelated parametric and external excitations is exponentially stable for a general form of envelopes employed in engineering practice. Some numerical results are presented.
The PDX1 Homeodomain Transcription Factor Negatively Regulates the Pancreatic Ductal Cell-specific Keratin 19 Promoter *

Keratin 19 is a member of the cytokeratin family that is critical for maintenance of cellular architecture and organization, especially of epithelia. The pancreas has three distinct cell types, ductal, acinar, and islet, each with different functions. Embryologically, the pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1) homeodomain protein is critical for the initiation of all pancreatic lineages; however, the later differentiation of the endocrine pancreas is uniquely dependent upon high PDX1 expression, whereas PDX1 is down-regulated in the ductal and acinar cell lineages. We find that this down-regulation may be required for normal ductal expression of cytokeratin K19. The K19 promoter-reporter gene assay demonstrates that ectopic PDX1 inhibits K19 reporter gene activity in primary pancreatic ductal cells. This is reinforced by our findings that retrovirally mediated stable transduction of PDX1 in primary pancreatic ductal cells suppresses K19 expression, and short interfering RNA to PDX1 in Min6 insulinoma cells results in the induction of normally undetectable K19. Complementary functional and biochemical approaches led to the unexpected finding that a multimeric complex of PDX1 and two members of the TALE homeodomain factor family, MEIS1a and PBX1b, regulates K19 gene transcription through a specific cis-regulatory element (-341 to -325) upstream of the K19 transcription start site. These data suggest a unifying mechanism whereby PDX1, myeloid ecotropic viral insertion site (MEIS), and pre-B-cell leukemia transcription factor 1 (PBX) may regulate ductal and acinar lineage specification during pancreatic development. Specifically, concomitant PDX1 suppression and MEIS isoform expression result in proper ductal and acinar lineage specification. Furthermore, PDX1 may inhibit the ductal differentiation program in the pancreatic endocrine compartment, particularly beta cells.
New CLEO results on rare B decays

Abstract We present new branching fraction measurements and limits of rare charmless decaus of charged and neutral B mesons to hh ′, where h and h ′ are charged or neutral kaons or pions. We also present measurements of B decays to ω h + and ν′ h + .
Differential effects of bromination on substrates and inhibitors of kynureninase from Pseudomonas fluorescens.

A series of brominated compounds has been synthesized and evaluated as substrates and inhibitors of kynureninase from Pseudomonas fluorescens. Both 3-bromo-L-kynurenine and 5-bromo-L-kynurenine were found to be substrates with similar kcat values to L-kynurenine, but the Km value for 3-bromo-L-kynurenine is very high (ca. 2 mM) compared to that for 5-bromo-L-kynurenine (11 µM) and L-kynurenine (25 µM). Both isomers of bromokynurenine react with kynureninase within the dead time of the stopped-flow instrument (ca. 1 ms) to form quinonoid intermediates with a λmax of 494 nm that decay with rate constants of 300–600 s−1, similar to L-kynurenine. The two diastereomers of 5-bromodihydro-L-kynurenine were also prepared, and are more potent inhibitors than dihydro-L-kynurenines. (4R)-5-Bromodihydro-L-kynurenine is one of the most potent inhibitors of P. fluorescens kynureninase found to date (Ki = 55 nM) and also acts as a slow substrate; the (4S)-epimer, on the other hand, shows no measurable substrate activity, but it is a potent competitive inhibitor with a Ki value of 170 nM. In contrast, brominated analogs of (S)-(2-aminophenyl)-L-cysteine S,S-dioxide, (S)-(2-amino-4-bromophenyl)-L-cysteine S,S-dioxide and (S)-(2-amino-5-bromophenyl)-L-cysteine S,S-dioxide are competitive inhibitors of kynureninase, with Ki values of about 300 and 400 nm, respectively, about ten-fold higher than the value of 27 nM obtained for the parent compound. These results suggest that the binding modes of substrates and the various classes of inhibitors in the active site of kynureninase are different.
Impact of Loop Transformations on Software Reliability

Application-level correctness is a useful and widely accepted concept for many kinds of applications in this modern world. The results of some applications, such as multimedia, may be incorrect due to transient hardware faults or soft-errors, but they are still acceptable from a user's perspective. Thus, it is worthwhile to develop approaches to guarantee application-level correctness in software, instead of hardware, to reduce cost and save energy. Many previous research efforts presented solutions to identify parts of programs that may potentially cause unacceptable results, and placed error detectors to improve reliability. On the other hand, we observe that loop transformations have the ability to improve reliability. By applying suitable loop transformations, some critical instructions may become non-critical. In this paper we propose a metric to analyze the reliability impact of each loop transformation. Thus, we can guide a compiler to optimize programs not only for reliability improvement, but for energy saving. The experimental results show that our analysis perfectly matches the results of fault injection, and achieves a 39.72% energy saving while improving performance by 52.16% when compared with [1]. To our knowledge, this is the first work that considers a software reliability by loop transformations.
HUA-TYPE ITERATION FOR MULTIDIMENSIONAL WEYL SUMS

We develop Weyl differencing and Hua-type lemmata for a class of multidimensional exponential sums. We then apply our estimates to bound the number of variables required to establish an asymptotic formula for the number of solutions of a system of diophantine equations arising from the study of linear spaces on hypersurfaces. For small values of the degree and dimension, our results are superior to those stemming from the author’s earlier work on Vinogradov’s mean value theorem.
Rapid high spatial resolution diffusion MRI at 7 Tesla using simultaneous multislice acquisition

Diffusion weighted MRI (dMRI) data with very high spatial resolution can be obtained using ultra high magnetic field strength MRI such as 7 Tesla(T). However, for extensive brain coverage a large number of imaging slices are required, which can result in long acquisition times (TA). Simultaneous Multi-Slice (SMS) acquisition technology enables increased temporal efficiency of MRI to permit rapid acquisition of dMRI. However, Multiband (MB) RF-pulses used for SMS acquisition can cause large energy deposition into the subject and limit the rate at which data can be acquired. Power Independent of Number of Slices (PINS) pulses can be used instead of MB pulse to reduce RF-power. However, this comes at a cost of reduced bandwidth and increased off-resonance dependency, which degrades image quality. We proposed a new RF pulse design, MultiPINS, by combining MB with PINS RF pulses to further decrease RF energy and/or shorten pulse lengths. Employing SMS technology and PINS/MultiPINS pulses, in-vivo dMRI results were recorded at high spatial resolutions at 7 T. The data shows that this method enables a 3-fold scan time reduction while preserving image quality.