cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protein S Regulates Factor IXa/VIIIa Activity Independent of Activated Protein C

Abstract 2196 Protein S (PS) is a vitamin-K-dependent plasma protein that plays an important role in the feedback regulation of thrombin generation. PS is a well recognized anticoagulant protein, the absence of which causes venous and arterial thrombosis. While PS has been studied for over three decades, the precise role this protein plays in attenuating the hemostatic response is far from clear. PS was initially identified as a cofactor for activated protein C (APC). Interestingly, recent reports suggest PS may function in an APC-independent manner as it has been suggested to inhibit prothrombinase complex formation and act as a stimulator of factor Xa-TFPI (tissue factor pathway inhibitor) complex. Based on these new data, we have begun to examine possible roles of PS outside of the PC pathway which contribute to the regulation of thrombin generation. We recently obtained exciting preliminary data which suggests that PS plays an important role in the inhibition of Xa generation by the intrinsic Xase complex. Our central hypothesis is that PS binds to the enzyme FIXa in the presence of Phosphatidyl serine (PhosSer) containing membranes and inhibits FXa generation in the presence and absence of VIIIa. We did clotting assays with FIX deficient plasma both with and without anti PS antibody. Clotting initiated with 0.1 nM FIXa shows a must faster clotting in the presence of anti PS antibody (57 seconds compared to 107 seconds without the incubation with anti PS antibody) (see [Table 1][1]). However, there is no difference in clotting times when the clotting is initiated with FVIIa in the presence and absence of anti PS antibody. Our results showing PS is only able to alter FIXa initiated clotting indicates that PS inhibits the FXa generation by FIXa/FVIIIa in plasma. [Table 1][1]: Clotting of FIX deficient plasma initiated with FIXa (A) & initiated with FVIIa (B) View this table: (A) View this table: (B) We determined the binding of PS to factor IXa by determining the change in anisotropy and fluorescence of DEGR(5 (dimethylamino)1-naphthalenesulfonyl]-glutamylglycylarginyl chloromethyl ketone)-IXa. The Kd was ~ 1 nM in both cases suggesting a tight binding of PS with factor IXa. We also determined the activation of FX by FIXa in the presence of FVIIIa and 50 μM Phosphatidylserine membrane in the presence of PS. We used physiological concentrations of FX, PS, 0.1 nM FIXa, 5 nM FVIIIa and monitored the rate of FXa generation by using S2222 (chromogenic substrate). There was ~ 95 % inhibition in the rate of FXa generation by FIXa in the 0.2 presence of FVIIIa. Our results clearly indicate that PS inhibits FXa generation by factors IXa/VIIIa. We believe that these new findings have major implications for better understanding how FXa generation is regulated during the initial phases of coagulation and may shed light on a major outstanding question in the field relating to how a key anticoagulant, PS contributes to the down regulation of the haemostatic response. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. [1]: #T1
Non-linear Convolutional Neural Network for Automatic Detection of Mine-Like Objects in Sonar Imagery

Detection of mines on the seafloor is most accurately performed by a human operator. However, it is a difficult task for machine vision methods. In addition, mine detection calls for high accuracy detection because of the high-risk nature of the problem. The advancements in the capabilities of sonar imaging and autonomous underwater vehicles has led to research using machine learning techniques and well known computer vision features (Barngrover et al., IEEE J. Ocean Eng. (2015), [1]). Non-linear classifiers such as Haar-like feature classifiers have shown good potential in extracting complex spatial and temporal patterns from noisy multidirectional series of sonar imagery, however this approach is dependent on specific sonar illumination methods and does not account for amount of lighting or soil type variation in training and test images. In this paper, we report on the preliminary methods and results of applying a non-linear classification method, convolutional neural networks (CNN) to mine detection in noisy sonar imagery. The advantage of this method is that it can learn more abstract and complex features in the input space, leading to a lower false-positive and higher true positive rates. CNNs routinely outperform other methods in similar machine vision tasks (Deng and Yu, Found. Trends Signal Process. 7, 197–387 (2013), [2]). We used a simple CNN architecture trained to distinguish mine-like objects from background clutter with up to 99% accuracy.
Early pregnancy vaginal microbiome trends and preterm birth

Background Despite decades of attempts to link infectious agents to preterm birth, an exact causative microbe or community of microbes remains elusive. Nonculture 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing suggests important racial differences and pregnancy specific changes in the vaginal microbial communities. A recent study examining the association of the vaginal microbiome and preterm birth documented important findings but was performed in a predominantly white cohort. Given the important racial differences in bacterial communities within the vagina as well as persistent racial disparities in preterm birth, it is important to examine cohorts with varied demographic compositions. Objective To characterize vaginal microbial community characteristics in a large, predominantly African-American, longitudinal cohort of pregnant women and test whether particular vaginal microbial community characteristics are associated with the risk for subsequent preterm birth. Study Design This is a nested case-control study within a prospective cohort study of women with singleton pregnancies, not on supplemental progesterone, and without cervical cerclage in situ. Serial mid-vaginal swabs were obtained by speculum exam at their routine prenatal visits. Sequencing of the V1V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed on the Roche 454 platform. Alpha diversity community characteristics including richness, Shannon diversity, and evenness as well as beta diversity metrics including Bray Curtis Dissimilarity and specific taxon abundance were compared longitudinally in women who delivered preterm to those who delivered at term. Results A total of 77 subjects contributed 149 vaginal swabs longitudinally across pregnancy. Participants were predominantly African-American (69%) and had a preterm birth rate of 31%. In subjects with subsequent term delivery, the vaginal microbiome demonstrated stable community richness and Shannon diversity, whereas subjects with subsequent preterm delivery had significantly decreased vaginal richness, diversity, and evenness during pregnancy ( P Conclusion In a predominantly African-American population, a significant decrease of vaginal microbial community richness and diversity is associated with preterm birth. The timing of this suppression appears early in pregnancy, between the first and second trimesters, suggesting that early gestation may be an ecologically important time for events that ordain subsequent term and preterm birth outcomes.
Topological edge states of distorted photonic Kagome lattices

We demonstrate that the distorted Kagome lattice formed by two-dimensional(2d) array of dielectric rods embedded in air exhibits a new class of topological states characterized by a topological invariant number in Pauli vector space. The Kagome lattice can be considered as a 2d analogue of the Su-Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model, which displays a phase transition by detuning the relative amplitudes of the inter-cell and intra-cell hopping terms. The phase transition is accompanied by the opening of a complete band gap in the Brillouin zone, which may host topological edge states on either the truncated end of the lattice or at the domain walls between topological nontrivial and trivial domains. To further reveal the connection between the bulk invariance and edge states, polarizations of shrunken and expanded effects are calculated. Our first-principles simulations based on finite element method (FEM) are used to design the lattice and confirm the analytic prediction.
Imaging Shear Strength Along Subduction Faults

Subduction faults accumulate stress during long periods of time and release this stress suddenly, during earthquakes, when it reaches a threshold. This threshold, the shear strength, controls the occurrence and magnitude of earthquakes. We consider a 3-D model to derive an analytical expression for how the shear strength depends on the fault geometry, the convergence obliquity, frictional properties, and the stress field orientation. We then use estimates of these different parameters in Japan to infer the distribution of shear strength along a subduction fault. We show that the 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake ruptured a fault portion characterized by unusually small variations in static shear strength. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that large earthquakes preferentially rupture regions with relatively homogeneous shear strength. With increasing constraints on the different parameters at play, our approach could, in the future, help identify favorable locations for large earthquakes.
Sub-shot noise measurement strategies for precision atomic sensors

Measurement and interaction-based quantum measurement protocols based on dispersive cavity-assisted interactions will be described. We will show how these protocols lead to performance improvements for precision atomic sensors such as clocks.
Practice patterns of US neurologists in patients with SPMS and PPMS: A consensus studyAuthors Respond:Editors’ Note

Conflict of interest and disclosure policies remain an important and difficult topic for journals. Companion surveys describing practice patterns of US neurologists with regard to treatment choices in patients with various forms of multiple sclerosis recently published in Neurology: Clinical Practice highlight this issue.1,2 Is a disclosure declaration sufficient to permit publication of studies that are sponsored entirely by pharmaceutical companies or do journals have an editorial responsibility to reject such articles? The disclosure statement regarding study funding for these 2 articles revealed that Biogen Idec "convened a steering committee to develop the contents of this article and paid committee members for their participation." This raises the question of why Biogen Idec selected these particular neurologists to be the steering committee. The authors reveal that the company reviewed drafts of the manuscript and had input into the development of the surveys, the manuscript, and provided feedback on the manuscript.
Perfusion flow phantoms with many variably oriented micro channels

Ultrasound perfusion imaging with and without contrast agents continues to be an exciting pre-clinical and clinical problem as ultrasound systems and algorithms get more sensitive to slow blood flow. Unfortunately, there have been few phantoms to help develop these techniques. Some have used very small straight tubes, while others have adapted dialysis cartridges. Here, we form a gelatin phantom around a polymer resin template. Then, the resin structure is dissolved leaving behind a network of small randomly oriented channels. These small microchannels are connected to a large channel and then connected to a pump to perfuse blood-mimicking fluid through the phantom.
Appeals and spiels: a comparative analysis on alcohol advertising in the USA and Ireland

The USA and Ireland vary in their policies and regulations regarding the alcohol industry. In this study, we sought to see whether the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and alcohol company's appeals and target audiences varied among the two countries, as well. 150 total alcohol commercials (75 from the USA, 75 from Ireland), ranging from the year 2002 to the current year, were collected and analysed. The brand, commercial name, appeal used (image, product, sex or humour), type of alcoholic beverage promoted, and the audience targeted (young men ages 18-49, young women ages 18-49 and niche markets: craft beer, health conscious, sports fans) were observed and noted, as were ads explicitly targeting youth. Although appeal utilised and type of alcoholic beverage promoted did not vary significantly between the two countries, the target audiences by country varied significantly, as did target audience by type of alcoholic beverage. This study reveals how the similarities in alcohol advertisements contrast with the difference in policies and regulations among the USA and Ireland, thus bringing the varying levels of industry clout and influence between the two countries to light.
An Accurate Sense-FET-based Inductor Current Sensor with Wide Sensing Range for Buck Converters

This paper introduces an accurate sense-FET-based inductor current sensor for buck converters. The proposed sensor utilizes nonlinear adaptive biasing to maintain consistent bandwidth and phase margin in the sensor's control loop across a wide range of load currents, leading to high sensing accuracy independent of the load. Moreover, auxiliary sensing FETs are proposed to eliminate sharp transitions in the sensed high-side and low-side currents as the buck converter switches between the ON and OFF phases. Eliminating these sharp transitions enables the bandwidths of the current sensor's control loop and the nonlinear adaptive biasing generator to be greatly relaxed without compromising sensing accuracy, leading to lower power consumption. The proposed sensor is implemented as part of a 2-MHz buck converter in a 0.5-μm standard CMOS technology. Simulation results of the proposed sensor show a 10% reduction in current sensing error at light loads (∼50mA) and 40 degrees of improvement in the phase margin of the sensor's control loop at heavy loads (∼5A), compared to conventional sense-FET-based current sensors. Furthermore, the variation in the unity gain frequency (UGF) of the proposed sensor's control loop across the entire load range is 4.5 times lower than that of conventional designs.
CENTRAL NERVOUS INTEGRATION OF DEFENSIVE REFLEXES

Publisher Summary This chapter explores central nervous integration of defensive reflexes. Integrative waystations can be roughly defined by employing electrical stimulation of the appropriate afferent nerve while recording with microelectrodes at central sites. Electrical stimulation of the ethmoidal nerve induces sneezes in which inspiratory–expiratory patterns are much like those induced by mechanical stimulation of the nasal mucosa. The pattern of discharge of expiratory neurons under the influence of ethmoidal nerve stimulation is very varied, yet there is a general property running through the population of expiratory neurons, including some of the laryngeal motoneurons. This property is the tendency to respond in some time relation to the stimulus pulse. Peculiarities of the response patterns of expiratory neurons may be related to the course of their membrane potential. The time of the lowest probability of firing seems to correspond to the time of hyperpolarization. Estimates of the number of latent expiratory neurons capable of being mobilized may vary with anesthesia.
Knowledge Maps as Scaffolds for Cognitive Processing

Knowledge maps are node-link representations in which ideas are located in nodes and connected to other related ideas through a series of labeled links. The research on knowledge mapping in the last 12 years has produced a number of consistent findings. Students recall more central ideas when they learn from a knowledge map than when they learn from text and those with low verbal ability or low prior knowledge often benefit the most. The use of knowledge maps also appears to amplify the benefits associated with scripted cooperation. Learning from maps is enhanced by active processing strategies such as summarization or annotation and by designing maps according to gestalt principles of organization. Fruitful areas for future research on knowledge mapping include examining whether knowledge maps reduce cognitive load, how map learning is influenced by the structure of the information to be learned, and the possibilities for transfer. Implications for practice are briefly delineated.
Ovulation and embryonic survival in pubertal gilts treated with gonadotropin releasing hormone.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of exogenous gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) on ovulation and embryonic survival in pubertal gilts. Gilts were assigned in replicates to a control (n = 10) and treatment (n = 10) group. Treatment consisted of an iv injection of 200 micrograms of GnRH immediately after initial mating on the first day of detected estrus. Control gilts were similarly injected with physiological saline. Blood samples were collected from the anterior vena cava immediately prior to injection, thereafter at 15-min intervals for 90 min, and subsequently, before slaughter on d 30 of gestation. Serum samples were analyzed for luteinizing hormone (LH) and progesterone by radioimmunoassay. Treatment with GnRH increased the quantity of LH released (P less than .05), with highest serum concentrations (ng/ml, means +/- SE) of gonadotropin in treated gilts (17.3 +/- 3.5) occurring at 75 min post-injection. In control gilts, serum concentrations of LH were not affected by injection of saline. Mean number of ovulations in treated gilts was also greater (P less than .05) than that of control animals (14.5 +/- .7 vs 12.1 +/- .6). However, treatment with GnRH did not enhance the number of attached conceptuses (normal and degenerating) present (treated, 10.9 +/- .9 vs control, 10.5 +/- .7) nor the percentage of viable fetuses (treated, 74.7 +/- 6.9 vs control, 83.5 +/- 5.0%) on d 30 of gestation. Although GnRH increased ovulation rate, mean weight of corpora lutea of treated and control gilts did not differ (402.8 +/- 16.3 vs 389.5 +/- 11.3 mg, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION IN RULE-BASED SYSTEMS—KNOWLEDGE ABOUT REPRESENTATIONS AS A BASIS FOR SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE1

Recent research efforts aimed at task-oriented systems have emphasized the importance of large stores of domain-specific knowledge as a basis for high performance. But assembling the required knowledge base is a difficult task that often extends over several years, and involves numerous modification to the knowledge base. Given the difficulty of making even small changes to a program, this presents a challenging problem in system construction. We have studied this issue in the context of TIERESIAS, a program designed to function as an assistant in the task of building large knowledge bases. TIERESIAS facilitates the interactive transfer of expertise from a human expert to the knowledge base of the system, in a dialog conducted in a restricted subset of natural language. One such knowledge transfer task involves teaching the system about a new conceptual primitive from which new inference rules can be built. We show that by providing a program with a store of knowledge about its own representations, this acquisition of new concepts can be carried out in a high-level dialog that transfers information efficiently. The necessary knowledge about representations includes both structural and organizational information, and is specified in a data structure schema, a device used to describe representations.
Synergistic Performance of Lithium Difluoro(oxalato)borate and Fluoroethylene Carbonate in Carbonate Electrolytes for Lithium Metal Anodes

There is significant interest in the development of rechargeable high-energy density batteries which utilize lithium metal anodes. Recently, fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) have been reported to significantly improve the electrochemical performance of lithium metal anodes. This investigation focuses on exploring the synergy between LiDFOB and FEC in carbonate electrolytes for lithium metal anodes. In ethylene carbonate (EC) electrolytes, LiDFOB is optimal when used in high salt concentrations, such as 1.0 M, to improve the electrochemistry of the lithium metal anode in Cu||LiFePO4 cells. However, in FEC electrolytes, LiDFOB is optimal when used in lower concentrations, such as 0.05–0.10 M. From surface analysis, LiDFOB is observed to favorably react on the surface of lithium metal to improve the performance of the lithium metal anode, in both EC and FEC-based electrolytes. This research demonstrates progress toward developing feasible high-energy density lithium-based batteries.
The Common Model of Cognition and humanlike language comprehension

Abstract The Cognitive Model of Cognition (CMC) describes a consensus among many researchers about architectural assumptions that define aspects of humanlike minds, whether natural or artificial. This consensus combines ideas from several existing cognitive architectures. Our research group has been developing a theory and an implemented system to do humanlike language comprehension within an embodied autonomous agent. This paper analyzes how this theory of humanlike language comprehension maps onto the CMC, what extensions to the CMC it might suggest, and what major challenges for the CMC come from applying it to language processing.
Intersectionality and Clinical Decision Making: The Role of Race.

Wilson and colleagues (2019) propose intersectionality as a framework that can make clinical medicine more attentive to the complexity of patients’ and health care providers’ social identities. We ...
Emotion-Focused Curricula Models and Expressions of and Talk About Emotions Between Teachers and Young Children

ABSTRACTEarly childhood curricula reflect guiding principles or beliefs about the knowledge, skills, and behavior that are considered important for learning in the early childhood setting. This stu...
Environmental Equity and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urban Tree Canopy in Atlanta

While previous studies in environmental equity found positive relationships between tree canopy and socioeconomic/demographic status of neighborhoods, few examined how changes in tree canopy are as...
The effect of structured exercise during chemotherapy on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): A role for interoceptive brain circuitry.

11590Background: Over half of patients receiving “neurotoxic” taxane, platinum, or bortezomib chemotherapy experience CIPN—a dose-limiting toxicity involving numbness and pain in the extremities. T...
Prediction and Planning

This chapter deals with applying knowledge of the future to personal and organizational planning. It defines the terms “choice” and “alternative” and demonstrates the relation of forecasting to decision making. Introducing the idea of risk management, it lists ways of minimizing the downside consequences of risk. The chapter proceeds to give brief overviews of the most common planning and forecasting techniques, directing readers to textbooks for details on these methods, but emphasizing that each technique assumes a different set of perspectives and goals regarding the future. The chapter continues with observations about the practicality of very long-range plans and forecasting. It concludes by demonstrating why “What do I know about the future?” can be a less useful question than “How fast am I learning more about the future?”
Graphene-integrated polymeric membrane as a flexible, multifunctional electrode

Abstract Herein, we report on the fabrication of a graphene-based, semi-permeable membrane electrode (gr-ME) using non-solvent phase inversion to confine a packed-layer of graphene nanosheets into a ≤1 µm thick surface layer that smoothly transitions into the microporous membrane, primarily using polysulfone. The gr-MEs have: (i) gas permeance on the order of 100–1000 GPU with ∼0.3 CO2/N2 ideal selectivity (lower than Knudsen diffusion expectations); (ii) salt water permeance (∼5 LMH/bar) with NaCl rejection 20–40%, on the order of nanofiltration membranes, as well as, (iii) high electronic surface conductivity, with a sheet resistance as low as ∼18 Ω/sq. We've characterized the durability using tensile testing and it retains electrical conductivity when stretched until fracture at 9.5%. Electrochemical activity for these gr-MEs have been demonstrated for both the hydrogen evolution reaction, and as electrochemical capacitors. Finally, we illustrate that the capacitance can be increased by UV surface treatment of the graphene layer.
Characterization of Islet Leukocyte Populations in Human and Murine Islets by Flow Cytometry

An increasing body of evidence indicates that a local islet immune response is not only limited to type 1 diabetes, but also is associated with islet dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Recently, the presence of pancreatic CD68+ macrophages within islet tissues was demonstrated by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical methods. However, the precise profile and activation status of intraislet leukocytes, which are present in both murine and human islets, are poorly defined. Here, we describe a detailed flow cytometry protocol designed to analyze both human and murine islets for intraislet leukocytes and leukocyte subsets. This approach permits the simultaneous identification of multiple intraislet leukocyte subsets, as well as their activation statuses. The use of flow cytometry-based approaches will advance the field of islet biology and help to identify unique changes in the immune cell composition that accompanies pathological islet inflammation and dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.
Preventable or Unpreventable Chinese Smog Problem in Media: How Attribution Tells the Story

China’s polluted air has seriously affected the health of the Chinese population. This paper uses attribution theory to investigate how Chinese newspapers and non-Chinese newspapers presented smog in China and attributed causes and responsibilities. Built on previous studies, this study adopted covariation model within attribution theory and painted an interesting picture of smog coverage by Chinese and non-Chinese newspapers because of the apparent differences in perspectives. The criteria further provided folder for elaboration on explaining why the different coverages attributed causes as they did. Implications are discussed.
Class Legislation, Fundamental Rights, and the Origins of Lochner and Liberty of Contract

While legal scholars and historians have criticized many judicial doctrines from the pre-New Deal period, critics have been especially scathing in their attacks on the “liberty of contract” doctrine enforced most famously in Lochner v. New York. Until recently, academics routinely asserted that the Lochner Court’s Justices simply made up the doctrine based on a combination of belief in laissez-faire economics and hostility to workers’ rights. Contemporary scholars, by contrast, have reconstructed the period’s due-process jurisprudence, finding in it a principled commitment to a conception of justice with philosophical and jurisprudential roots dating back to the Founding and beyond. There are two primary lines of this revisionist literature. One emphasizes traditional Anglo-American hostility to “class legislation” — legislation that arbitrarily favors or disfavors particular factions. The other emphasizes the influence of the natural rights tradition, tempered by precedent and historicism, on the Court’s due-process decisions. Part I of this Article reviews the debate that emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s between partisans of these interpretations. Part II of this Article discusses subsequent developments in the class legislation vs. fundamental rights debate through the present time, noting an increasing convergence between the two sides; both sides acknowledge that both class legislaton and fundamental rights played significant roles in the development of the Supreme Court’s due process jurisprudence, with the remaining debate primarily over which doctrine deserves more emphasis in histortical recountings. This Article concludes by noting that as this debate has progressed, certain areas of historical consensus have emerged. First, both sides agree that the Court did not attempt to enforce anything approaching a night watchman-type laissez-faire policy on government. Second, both sides agree that the Supreme Court’s fundamental-rights jurisprudence, often traced to the 1930s, in fact began to emerge in the pre–New Deal period. Finally, they agree that the Supreme Court Justices who adopted and applied the liberty of contract doctrine did not have the cartoonish reactionary motives attributed to them by Progressive and New Deal critics. Rather, the Justices, faced with constitutional challenges to novel assertions of government power, sincerely tried to protect liberty as they understood it, consistent with longstanding constitutional doctrines that reflected the notion that governmental authority had limits enforceable via the Due Process Clause.
Relationship of Self-Reported Home Seizure Frequency to Seizure Occurrence and Time to Seizure Onset in Children Undergoing Presurgical Workup in the Long Term Monitoring Unit (P05.095)

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether home seizure-frequency and other patient/seizure characteristics predict seizure-occurrence and time-to-seizure-onset in children undergoing presurgical Long-Term-Monitoring (LTM). BACKGROUND: Data on seizure-occurrence in children undergoing presurgical LTM is lacking. Children undergoing monitoring for epilepsy surgery require longer duration of expensive monitoring and can increase the risk for prolonged seizures. DESIGN/METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on ninety-five patients admitted to LTM unit. Home seizure-frequency was defined as low (up-to 1/month), medium (up-to 1/week) and high (>1/week). Relationship between seizure-occurrence and home seizure-frequency was analyzed by logistic regression, and between time-to-seizure-onset and home seizure-frequency by Cox Proportional Hazards and Kaplan-Meier survival models. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were in low, eighteen in medium and fifty-five in high-frequency group. Eighty-eight patients had at-least one seizure during monitoring. Odds of first-seizure increased by 15.88 in high vs. low-frequency group (p=0.01), and by 10.4 in medium-high vs. low-frequency group (p=0.0076). Hazard rate for first-seizure in high-frequency group was 2.17 times higher than low-frequency group (p=0.006), and 2.06 times higher for high-medium frequency group than low-frequency group (p=0.008). Time-to-onset of first-seizure was lesser in high-frequency group than low-frequency group (p=0.0004); and in medium-high frequency group than low-frequency group (p=0.0007). Odds of second-seizure increased by 37.38 in high vs. low-frequency group (p=0.001), and by 11.77 in medium vs. low-frequency group (p=0.027). Home seizure-frequency did not significantly predict time-to-onset of second-seizure in any three categories. Odds of >3 seizures increased by 3.6 in high vs. low-frequency group (p=0.03), by 5.7 in medium-high vs. low-frequency group (p=0.0008). Other factors (age/gender/seizure-localization/prolonged-seizure/neuro-exam) were not significant predictors for odds/time-to-onset/hazard-rate of first-seizure (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Of all factors examined only home-seizure frequency correlated with occurrence and time-to-onset of seizures during monitoring. Low-frequency patients are less likely to have multiple seizures which can affect successful completion of pre-surgical monitoring. Disclosure: Dr. Singh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kothare has nothing to disclose. Dr. Takeoka has nothing to disclose. Dr. Loddenkemper has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for European Journal of Epilepsy. Dr. Loddenkemper has received research support from the National Institutes of Health/NINDS, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children9s Hospital. Dr. Chellamani has nothing to disclose.
Hippocampal subfield volumes in abstinent men and women with a history of alcohol use disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been associated with abnormalities in hippocampal volumes, but these relationships have not been fully explored with respect to sub-regional volumes, nor in association with individual characteristics such as gender differences, age, and memory. The present study examined the impact of those variables in relation to hippocampal subfield volumes in abstinent men and women with a history of AUD. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 3 Tesla, we obtained brain images from 67 participants (31 women) with AUD and 63 healthy control (NC) participants (30 women) without AUD. We used Freesurfer 6.0 to segment the hippocampus into 12 regions. These were imputed into mixed models to examine the relationships of brain volume with AUD group, gender, age, drinking history, and memory. The AUD group had approximately 5% smaller CA1, hippocampal tail, and molecular layer regions than the NC group. Age was negatively associated with volumes for the AUD group in the hippocampal tail, subiculum, and presubiculum. The relationships for delayed and immediate memory with hippocampal tail volume differed for AUD and NC groups: Higher scores were associated with smaller volumes in the AUD group, but larger volumes in the NC group. Length of sobriety was associated with decreasing CA1 volume in women (0.02% per year) and increasing volume size in men (0.03% per year). These findings confirm and extend evidence that AUD, gender, age, and abstinence differentially impact volumes of component parts of the hippocampus. The course of abstinence on CA1 volume differed for men and women, and the differential relationships of subregional volumes to age and memory could indicate a distinction in the impact of AUD on functions of the hippocampal tail.
Pushing the CAP: Strategies for Consistency and Availability

The CAP theorem asserts that any networked shared-data system can have only two of three desirable properties. However, by explicitly handling partitions, designers can optimize consistency and availability, thereby achieving some trade-off of all three. The featured Web extra is a podcast from Software Engineering Radio, in which the host interviews Dwight Merriman about the emerging NoSQL movement, the three types of nonrelational data stores, Brewer's CAP theorem, and much more.
West Point Women’s Views on Leadership: Perceptions From First Women Graduates Through Current Cadets

As the nation’s oldest service academy, the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point has provided U.S. Army officers since 1802. While women have attended West Point and the other milita...
Tunable quantum-cascade laser pumped molecular lasers for terahertz imaging

We demonstrate a new class of optically pumped far-infrared lasers using quantum cascade lasers as the pump. Following an initial demonstration using nitrous oxide, we show how we can generate light at THz frequencies using different gases.
Phase Behavior and Interfacial Properties of an Amphoteric Surfactant for a High Temperature and High Salinity Reservoir

The phase behavior of the mixtures of crude oil/aqueous solutions has been well studied to screen appropriate surfactants in the aqueous solution to improve oil production. Several microemulsion types present when aqueous surfactant solution mixes with oils in the presence of electrolytes. By varying the salinity from low to high values, the microemulsion type could pass from Winsor Type I, and Winsor Type III to Winsor Type II. This study looked into the phase behavior properties of an amphoteric surfactant, OCT-9, with a light crude oil from a Middle East representative carbonate reservoir and its interfacial tension (IFT) reduction capability in high temperature and high salinity conditions. The phase behavior study was conducted under salinities ranged from 10,700 mg/L to 185,900 mg/L, containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ at 90 °C with a light crude oil. IFT was estimated using the oil and water solubilization ratios obtained from phase behavior results. Winsor Type III micoemulsion appeared in the salinity ranging from 85,500 mg/L to 138,900 mg/L. The solubilization ratio was 4.7 at the optimum salinity of 128,000 mg/L. This leads to an IFT of 0.014 mN/m by Chun Huh’s equation (Huh 1979). The fitting results modified by the Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation-Net Average Curvature (HLD-NAC) model were in good agreement with the experimental data, which further determined the salinity range of Winsor Type III. IFT was also measured by spinning drop tensiometer. The result was consistent with the value calculated based on phase behavior tests. These results show significant oil production potential using this surfactant for the high temperature and high salinity reservoir.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse among women: effects of ethnic minority stressors

The aims of this study were to examine the relationship between adult-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and subsequent alcohol use outcomes (frequent heavy drinking, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence) in non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic US women, and whether this relationship was moderated by ethnic minority stressors (discrimination and acculturation). The study sample was drawn from two waves of the National Epidemiologic Surveys of Alcohol and Related Conditions, employing time-dependent data to conduct multiple extended Cox regression. Women with PTSD were over 50 % more likely than those without PTSD to develop alcohol dependence [adjusted hazards ratio (aHR) 1.55; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.15, 2.08]. Hispanic and black women were at lower risk of most alcohol outcomes than white women. In race-/ethnic-specific analyses, however, PTSD only predicted alcohol abuse among Hispanic women (aHR 3.02; CI 1.33, 6.84). Higher acculturation was positively associated with all alcohol outcomes among Hispanic women and discrimination was associated with AUD among Hispanic and black women. Acculturation and discrimination modified the effect of PTSD on AUD among Hispanic women: PTSD predicted alcohol dependence among those with low acculturation (aHR 10.2; CI 1.27, 81.80) and alcohol abuse among those without reported discrimination (aHR 6.39; CI 2.76, 16.49). PTSD may influence the development of hazardous drinking, especially among Hispanic women. The influence of PTSD on alcohol outcomes is most apparent, however, when ethnic minority stressors are not present.
Responses of Children Immunized with Capsular Polysaccharide of Hemophilus influenzae Type b, by David H. Smith, MD, et al,Pediatrics, 1973;52:637–644; and Haemophilus influenzae Type b Capsular Polysaccharide Vaccine in Children: A Double-blind Field Study of 100 000 Vaccinees 3 Months to 5 Years of Age in Finland, by Heikki Peltola, MD et al,Pediatrics, 1977;60:730–737

One hundred forty-one children of 5 to 59 months of age were immunized with a single intramuscular dose of 0.67, 3.3, 17, or 67 μg polyribophosphate (PRP), the capsular antigen of Hemophilus influenzae , type b. The immunizations were well tolerated, particularly at doses of .67 to 17 μg. Antibody activity was measured by radioactive antigen binding, using 3 H-labelled PRP. Doses of 3.3 and 17 μg produced significant antibody rises in nearly 90% of recipients; 0.67 and 67 μg in approximately half. The geometric mean titers were similar at three and six weeks after immunization and were greater with the middle doses. The net antibody increase in responding children was strongly age dependent, but was not related to the preimmunization antibody concentration. Rises in serum bactericidal activity against H. influenzae type b generally accompanied rises in antibody concentration as measured by the antigen-binding assay. A recently developed Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide vaccine was given to 48 977 children 3 months to 5 years of age; an equal number of children receiving group A meningococcal vaccine served as controls. The protection as well as serum antibody response was strongly age dependent. Among children who had received the H. influenzae type b vaccine when 18 months of age or older, there were no cases of bacteremic disease caused by H. influenzae type b in the first year after vaccination. At the same time 11 such cases were seen in the control group of the same age, a highly significant difference. In the second year after vaccination two cases occurred in the H. influenzae type b-vaccinated group, five in the meningococcal-group A vaccinated group. No protection was seen among children who had been younger than 18 months when vaccinated, even if they received a booster dose of the vaccine. The serum antibody response to the H. influenzae type b polysaccharide, measured by radioimmunoassay, was poor in children below 18 months of age and good in those above it. No effect of the vaccine could be seen on the nasopharyngeal carriage of H. influenzae type b, which was approximately 6% in this age group. Adverse effects of the vaccine were mild.
Cultural neuroscience: a once and future discipline

The study of culture and biology has long stood stratified within the social and natural sciences, a gap that physicist C.P. Snow (1959) famously called "the two cultures." Cultural neuroscience is an emerging, interdisciplinary field that examines the bidirectional influence of culture and genes to brain and behavior across multiple timescales. Integrating theory and methods from cultural psychology, brain sciences, and population genetics, cultural neuroscience is the study of how cultural values, practices and beliefs shape brain function and how the human brain gives rise to cultural capacities and their transmission across macro- (e.g., phylogeny, lifespan) and micro timescales (e.g., situation). The current article presents the aims and methods of cultural neuroscience, highlights recent empirical findings in the field, and discusses the potential implications of this field for bridging the social and natural sciences as well as informing interethnic ideology and population health concerns, more broadly construed.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage and the distribution of drugs delivered into the cerebrospinal fluid. Laboratory investigation.

Object Investigators in experimental and clinical studies have used the intrathecal route to deliver drugs to prevent or treat vasospasm. However, a clot near an artery or arteries after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) may hamper distribution and limit the effects of intrathecally delivered compounds. In a primate model of right middle cerebral artery (MCA) SAH, the authors examined the distribution of Isovue-M 300 and 3% Evans blue after infusion into the cisterna magna CSF. Methods Ten cynomolgus monkeys were assigned to SAH and sham SAH surgery groups (5 in each group). Monkeys received CSF injections as long as 28 days after SAH and were killed 3 hours after the contrast/Evans blue injection. The authors assessed the distribution of contrast material on serial CT within 2 hours after contrast injection and during autopsy within 3 hours after Evans blue staining. Results Computed tomography cisternographies showed no contrast in the vicinity of the right MCA (p < 0.05 compared with left); the distributio...
Whole-cell repetitive element sequence-based polymerase chain reaction allows rapid assessment of clonal relationships of bacterial isolates.

Repetitive element sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) enables the generation of DNA fingerprints which discriminate bacterial species and strains. We describe the application of whole-cell methods which allow specimens from broth cultures or colonies from agar plates to be utilized directly in the PCR mixture. The rep-PCR-generated DNA fingerprints obtained with whole-cell samples match results obtained with genomic DNA templates. Examples with different gram-negative bacteria (e.g., Citrobacter diversus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) are demonstrated. Rapid specimen preparation methods enable rep-PCR-based fingerprinting to be completed in several hours and, therefore, allows the timely analysis of epidemiological relationships.
Numerical Calculations of Plasma Heating by Means of Subnanosecond Laser Pulses

Numerical computer techniques have been used to calculate plasma heating by means of focused subnanosecond pulses at the neodymium laser wavelength. The plasma is treated as a single fluid in the hydrodynamic equations, but the electrons and ions may be at different temperatures. Thermal diffusion, electron-ion interaction, and free-free radiation emission are included. The linear equation for the absorption of laser light is derived from the free-free equation, and its properties are shown to lead to the consequence that a laser-produced plasma should be described by a “coronal” type of equation of state. The calculation technique is applied to various experimental situations, including the recent lithium deuteride thick target neutron detection experiments, and the results are presented.
Influence of Pt heterostructure bottom electrodes on SrBi2Ta2O9 thin film properties

The properties of SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) films, such as remanent polarization and leakage current density, are closely related to the film/electrode interface and surface roughness of the underlying electrode. SBT films grown on stable Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si and Pt/ZrO2/SiO2/Si substrates exhibit high remanent polarization, low leakage current density, and low voltage saturation as compared to SBT films synthesized on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si. It is shown that severe diffusion of Ti from the Ti interlayer onto the surface of the Pt bottom electrode and the increased surface roughness of this electrode stack play key roles in degradation of SBT properties.
Syndromes of Extreme Insulin Resistance

This group of syndromes shares severe insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia with variable clinical manifestations.1,2 Attention has been paid to these rare disorders because they provide insight into several aspects of insulin action at the molecular level and advance our understanding of the more common insulin resistant disorders, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome3 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.4
Synthesis of ribonuclease labelled with 13C on methionine-29.

Abstract The C ϵ methyl group of methionine-29 of RNAase was enriched with 13 C. The synthesis involved the reaction of RNAase with 13 CH 3 I at pH 4. S-Methylmethionine-29 RNAase was recovered in 80% yield. This sulfonium derivative was subsequently demethylated with 0.1 M mercaptoethanol at pH 8.5, 25°C for 4 days. These conditions allowed the demethylation reaction to successfully compete with the reaction of the thiol with the four disulfide bridges in RNAase. After dialysis, concentration and chromatography, native RNAase with approx. 50% of its Met 29 methyl groups enriched in 13 C was recovered as was unreversed S-Methylmethionine-29 RNAase. Both proteins showed full enzymatic activity toward cytidine 2′:3′-cyclic monophosphate. 13 C-methyl signals from enriched RNAase and the sulfonium derivative were observed at 13.8 and 26.7 ppm from TMS respectively. Preliminary denaturation studies with the methylated protein suggest that 13 C enrichment of methionine methyl groups in RNAase will be a useful technique for following the unfolding transition at these sites of the protein.
A physical map of the bioAB region in the λbio transducing phage

The center of the pBopA promoter-operator region for the bioABFCD operon is located 1.71 kb clockwise from the att lambda site on the Escherichia coli genome, as determined by the position of the p131 (IS1) insertion. The order of several bio endpoints to the right of p131 is lambda bio267, 122, 169, 74, 1, and 69. The endpoints of the two bio deletions, delta 61 in bioA and delta 3h in bioB, were also determined.