cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interventions to improve sarcopenia in cirrhosis: A systematic review

Background Sarcopenia, i.e., muscle loss is now a well-recognized complication of cirrhosis and in cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can contribute to accelerate liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis. Hence, it is imperative to study interventions which targets to improve sarcopenia in cirrhosis. Aim To examine the relationship between interventions such nutritional supplementation, exercise, combined life style intervention, testosterone replacement and trans jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) to improve muscle mass in cirrhosis. Methods We search PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane between June-August 2018, without a limiting period and the types of articles (RCTs, clinical trial, comparative study) in adult patients with sarcopenia and cirrhosis. The primary outcome of interest was improvement in muscle mass, strength and physical function interventions mentioned above. In the screening process, 154 full text articles were included in the review and 129 studies were excluded. Results We identified 24 studies that met review inclusion criteria. The studies were diverse in terms of the design, setting, interventions, and outcome measurements. We performed only qualitative synthesis of evidence due to heterogeneity amongst studies. Risk of bias was medium in most of the included studies and low quality of evidence showed improvement in the muscle mass, strength and physical function following aerobic exercise. 60% of the included studies on the nutritional intervention, 100% of the studies on testosterone replacement in hypogonadal men and trans-jugular portosystemic shunt were proved to be effective in improving sarcopenia in cirrhosis. Conclusion Although the quality of evidence is low, the findings of our systematic review suggest improvement in the sarcopenia in cirrhosis with exercise, nutritional interventions, hormonal and TIPS interventions. High quality randomized controlled trials needed to further strengthen these findings.
Critical librarianship in health sciences libraries: an introduction

The Medical Library Association recently announced its commitment to diversity and inclusion. While this is a positive start, critical librarianship takes the crucial concepts of diversity and inclusion one step further by advocating for social justice action and the dismantling of oppressive institutional structures, including white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Critical librarianship takes many forms but, at its root, is focused on interrogating and disrupting inequitable systems, including changing racist cataloging rules, creating student-driven information literacy instruction, supporting inclusive and ethical publishing models, and rejecting the notion of libraries as neutral spaces. This article presents examples of the application of critical practice in libraries as well as ideas for applying critical librarianship to the health sciences. This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program .
Phononics of Graphene and Graphene Composites

I present a concise account concerning the emergence of a research field, which deals with the thermal properties of graphene, covering the refinement of understanding of phonon transport in two-dimensional material systems. The practical application of graphene and few-layer graphene in thermal interface materials are also discussed.
Extra-Skeletal Effects of Vitamin D

The vitamin D receptor is expressed in multiple cells of the body (other than osteoblasts), including beta cells and cells involved in immune modulation (such as mononuclear cells, and activated T and B lymphocytes), and most organs in the body including the brain, heart, skin, gonads, prostate, breast, and gut. Consequently, the extra-skeletal impact of vitamin D deficiency has been an active area of research. While epidemiological and case-control studies have often suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency and conditions such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, connective tissue disorders, inflammatory bowel disorders, chronic hepatitis, food allergies, asthma and respiratory infections, and cancer, interventional studies for the most part have failed to confirm a causative link. This review examines available evidence to date for the extra-skeletal effects of vitamin D deficiency, with a focus on randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses.
Corneal Endothelial Pump Coupling to Lactic Acid Efflux in the Rabbit and Mouse.

Purpose Confirm that the corneal endothelial pump uses a lactate-coupled water efflux mechanism. Methods Corneal thickness, lactate efflux, and stromal [lactate] were measured in de-epithelialized swollen and nonswollen ex vivo-mounted rabbit corneas perfused with bicarbonate-rich and bicarbonate-free Ringers, ouabain, or acetazolamide to determine if the relationships among these parameters were similar to previous data using intact corneas. The role of barrier function was tested by perfusion with calcium-free EGTA. Predictions of [lactate] in endothelial dystrophy were examined in the Slc4a11 knock out mouse. Results De-epithelialized corneal swelling, lactate efflux, and stromal [lactate] in response to bicarbonate-free Ringers, ouabain, and acetazolamide perfusion had the same relationship as in intact corneas. The absolute amount of lactate efflux and stromal [lactate] in the de-epithelialized corneas was about half of intact corneas. De-epithelialized, swollen corneas deswelled fully with bicarbonate-rich, partially in the presence of acetazolamide, but continued to swell with bicarbonate-free or ouabain. The relationship among corneal thickness, lactate efflux, and [lactate] was the same as with nonswollen de-epithelialized corneas. In intact corneas swollen by perfusion with calcium-free EGTA, the relationship between swelling and lactate flux was the inverse of control corneas. The relationship between corneal swelling and [lactate] of intact corneas exposed to ouabain, but perfused with 7 mM lactate to simulate aqueous humor, was the same as without lactate. Corneal [lactate] in Slc4a11 knock out was twice that of wild type. Conclusions The corneal endothelial pump works via a lactate efflux mechanism that requires an intact osmotic barrier.
Reproductive efficiency of human oocytes fertilized in vitro.

On an egg-by-egg basis, normal human reproduction is an inefficient process. The indirect methods to determine this suggest that only about every fourth or fifth egg-sperm interaction results in a live birth (Wilcox et al., 1985; Zinaman et al., 1985). This is, of course, an average estimate and depends on many variables, the principal one of which is age. A 21st century study (Wang et al., 2003) calculated that among 441 subjects who averaged 24.9 years of age there was only a 30.1% chance of having a term pregnancy on the first exposure, even when explicitly trying to get pregnant. In vivo in the human, there is no possibility to examine material from loss at the early cleavage stages. A majority of the failures seem to occur at this early stage. However, material has been studied from early clinical pregnancy losses. In one study, abnormalities were demonstrated at the chromosome level in approximately two-thirds of the specimens (Lathi et al., 2008). Another large study comparing aneuploidy in spontaneous loss vs loss after ART found 55.14% abnormalities from spontaneous and 51.88% after ART (Martinez et al., 2010). While normal human reproduction seems to be quite inefficient, on an egg-by-egg basis reproduction by in vitro fertilization seems to be even more inefficient. Reproductive efficiency of human eggs fertilized in vitro on an egg-to-egg basis is a seldom used evaluation of clinical assisted reproductive technology. However, there have been a number of studies on this point (Inge et al., 2005; Meniru and Craft, 1997; Patrizio et al., 2007). It seems that only about 5% of harvested mature oocytes produce a live baby. The purposes of this study are to determine if our own data confirm previous studies on the efficiency of eggs fertilized in vitro, to compare the inefficiency of normal human reproduction with the inefficiency of clinical IVF on an egg basis and to point out the implications of these inefficiencies.
Diurnal rhythms across the human dorsal and ventral striatum.

The human striatum can be subdivided into the caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Each of these structures have some overlapping and some distinct functions related to motor control, cognitive processing, motivation, and reward. Previously, we used a “time-of-death” approach to identify diurnal rhythms in RNA transcripts in human cortical regions. Here, we identify molecular rhythms across the three striatal subregions collected from postmortem human brain tissue in subjects without psychiatric or neurological disorders. Core circadian clock genes are rhythmic across all three regions and show strong phase concordance across regions. However, the putamen contains a much larger number of significantly rhythmic transcripts than the other two regions. Moreover, there are many differences in pathways that are rhythmic across regions. Strikingly, the top rhythmic transcripts in NAc (but not the other regions) are predominantly small nucleolar RNAs and long noncoding RNAs, suggesting that a completely different mechanism might be used for the regulation of diurnal rhythms in translation and/or RNA processing in the NAc versus the other regions. Further, although the NAc and putamen are generally in phase with regard to timing of expression rhythms, the NAc and caudate, and caudate and putamen, have several clusters of discordant rhythmic transcripts, suggesting a temporal wave of specific cellular processes across the striatum. Taken together, these studies reveal distinct transcriptome rhythms across the human striatum and are an important step in helping to understand the normal function of diurnal rhythms in these regions and how disruption could lead to pathology.
Beyond “Getting Asked to Dance”: Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Can a community have a truly healthy, growing entrepreneurial ecosystem unless all segments of the community have access to the tools and resources to develop as entrepreneurs. The Kauffman Foundation uses the mantra of ‘zero barriers’, that is, if some groups have barriers to entrepreneurship then it holds back the entire ecosystem. Thus, ecosystem building needs to actively focus on inclusion. This chapter provides an overview of the key aspects of how to develop entrepreneurial ecosystems inclusively. Further, it discusses how a focus on true inclusion is a ‘rising tide strategy’ that lifts all entrepreneurial boats in the community. The chapter offers actionable policy recommendations for communities.
Images: Rhythmic movement disorder in a normal developing child with obstructive sleep apnea.

Children can exhibit a plethora of strange movements during sleep. Asymptomatic rhythmic movements of the head, neck, and trunk can be normal. When these interfere with sleep or cause self-injury, ...
Machine Learning Detects Distinct Subtypes of Minimal Cognitive Impairment

Minimal cognitive impairment (MCI), a potential precursor to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), may be a heterogeneous entity consisting of distinct subtypes. To evaluate this hypothesis, we applied unsupervised machine-learning to a subset of the Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data set, and detected MCI subtypes with distinct clinical correlates. Our subtype-detection system consists of preprocessing, clustering, validation, and visualization modules. We applied this system to data from MCI subjects in the ADNI-2 cohort. The resulting six subtypes demonstrated different profiles with respect to cognitive and laboratory assessment, potentially indicating differing clinical trajectories and treatment responses.
Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infections in Patients Hospitalized With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection (Coronavirus Disease 2019): Association With Immunosuppressive Therapies

Background Immunosuppressive therapies proposed for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management may predispose to secondary infections. We evaluated the association of immunosuppressive therapies with bloodstream-infections (BSIs) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective, multicenter, cohort study of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 over a 5-month period. We obtained clinical, microbiologic and laboratory data from electronic medical records. Propensity-score-matching helped create balanced exposure groups. Demographic characteristics were compared across outcome groups (BSI/no BSI) using two-sample t-test and Chi-Square test for continuous and categorical variables respectively, while immunosuppressive therapy use was compared using McNemar's test. Conditional logistic regression helped assess the association between immunosuppressive therapies and BSIs. Results 13,007 patients were originally included, with propensity-score-matching producing a sample of 6,520 patients. 3.74% and 3.97% were diagnosed with clinically significant BSIs in the original and propensity-score-matched populations respectively. COVID-19 patients with BSIs had significantly longer hospitalizations, higher intensive care unit admission and mortality rates compared to those without BSIs. On univariable analysis, combinations of corticosteroids/anakinra [odds-ratio (OR) 2.00, 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) 1.05-3.80, P value.0342] and corticosteroids/tocilizumab [OR 2.13, 95% C.I. 1.16-3.94, P value .0155] were significantly associated with BSIs. On multivariable analysis (adjusting for confounders), combination corticosteroids/tocilizumab were significantly associated with any BSI [OR 1.97, 95% C.I. 1.04-3.73, P value.0386] and with bacterial BSIs [OR 2.13, 95% C.I. 1.12-4.05, p-value 0.0217]. Conclusions Combination immunosuppressive therapies were significantly associated with BSI occurrence in COVID-19 patients; their use warrants increased BSI surveillance. Further studies are needed to establish their causative role.
The Speed-Robustness Trade-Off for First-Order Methods with Additive Gradient Noise

We study the trade-off between convergence rate and sensitivity to stochastic additive gradient noise for first-order optimization methods. Ordinary Gradient Descent (GD) can be made fast-and-sensitive or slow-and-robust by increasing or decreasing the stepsize, respectively. However, it is not clear how such a trade-off can be navigated when working with accelerated methods such as Polyak's Heavy Ball (HB) or Nesterov's Fast Gradient (FG) methods, or whether any of these methods can achieve an optimal trade-off. We consider three classes of functions: (1) strongly convex quadratics, (2) smooth strongly convex functions, and (3) nonconvex functions that satisfy a weak notion of strong convexity. For each function class, we present a tractable way to compute convergence rate and sensitivity to additive gradient noise for a broad family of first-order methods, and we present near-Pareto-optimal algorithm designs. Each design consists of a simple analytic update rule with two states of memory, similar to HB and FG. Moreover, each design has a scalar tuning parameter that explicitly trades off convergence rate and sensitivity to additive gradient noise. When tuned as aggressively as possible, our proposed algorithms recover the algorithms with fastest-known convergence rates for each function class. When tuned to be more robust, our algorithms are novel and provide a practical way to control noise sensitivity while maintaining the fastest possible convergence rate. We validate the performance and near-optimality of our designs through numerous numerical simulations.
SU‐E‐J‐180: Imaging‐Based ITV May Provide Insufficient Internal Margin for Lung SBRT Patients with Tumor Misalignments Between 3D and 4D Planning CTs

Purpose: To evaluate the target positional differences between 3D/4D planning CTs (pCTs) and daily CBCTs, and assess ITV coverage of daily GTVs, for lung SBRT patients with misaligned tumor positions between the 3D and 4D pCTs. Methods: Simulation 3D and 4D pCTs, both under free breathing, were acquired on a Sensation Open (Siemens) with RPM (Varian). ITV_All is the union of the GTVs delineated on the 3D pCT (GTV_3D) and on all phases of the 4D pCT (ITV_4D). While for most patients GTV_3D is included in ITV_4D, for some patients GTV_3D shows a substantial misalignment in the axial plane from ITV_4D with spine-based rigid registration. Under IRB approval, pCTs of 51 patients were retrospectively reviewed to assess the frequency of such misalignments. For one patient with daily kV CBCTs available, all planning and treatment CTs were rigidly registered. GTV_3D, ITV_4D, GTV_F1 through GTV_F5 (on daily CBCTs of Fractions 1–5) were delineated. ITV_All and ITV_5mm (5mm uniform expansion of GTV_3D) were generated. Volumes and centers-of-mass (COMs) of all structures were analyzed. The inclusion relations (percentage of Structure-A included in Structure-B) were studied between GTV_F1 to GTV_F5 (Structure-As) and GTV_3D, ITV_4D, ITV_All, ITV_5mm (Structure-Bs). Results: Three patients showed substantial target misalignments between the 3D and 4D pCTs. For the analyzed patient, daily GTV positions agreed better with GTV_3D than with ITV_4D, with a median (range) COM vector difference of 2.45mm (1.00–4.58) and 16.06mm (15.39–17.44), respectively. The average inclusion of daily GTVs was 99.47% and 69.53% in ITV_5mm and ITV_All, respectively; although ITV_5mm was ∼35% larger than ITV_All for the ∼2cc tumor (GTV_3D). Conclusion: Substantial lung tumor misalignments were observed between 3D and 4D pCTs for some patients. For one such patient, daily tumor positions agreed better with the 3D pCT. Using spinebased localization for SBRT, ITV_All may provide insufficient internal margin.
Symbolic Conduct and Freedom of Speech

Civil disobedience is no longer the live topic it was in the United States during the 1960s. As the Vietnam war ended, and the civil rights struggle gave way to more intractable racial difficulties, public discussion of civil disobedience virtually died out. Civil disobedience long predated the sixties, however, and it will continue to be a mode of protest, resistance, or political change as long as governments exist. Moreover, there is much unfinished business in the area of the political and legal philosophy of American institutions which bears on civil disobedience. Despite years of litigation involving conscience-motivated disobedience, there still is no clearcut jurisprudence of civil disobedience to which the American legal system is committed. This is especially true of protest that involves symbolic conduct. The courts have been faced with claims to the First Amendment protection of such conduct as distributing literature,2 soliciting donations for a religious group,3 parading,4 picketing,5 burning a flag,6 wearing black armbands to schools, burning a draft card,8 sitting-in at a segregated lunch counter,9 and so on. Although the Supreme Court has a at times shown admirable sensitivity to the claim of the protestors, it has also shown a remarkable flexibility in the decisions it has taken. The results have appeared to some observers quite anomalous or even bordering on the contradictory.
Governing of Finance Suppy in Bulgarian Farms

Attempt has been made to identify dominant forms and factors for finance supply in Bulgarian farms. New Institutional and Transaction Costs Economics framework is used to estimate comparative efficiency of various modes for financing of short-term and long-term activities of farms of different type and size. Study is based on a large-scale microeconomic data collected through interviews with managers of 0.5% of commercial farms in the country. Big transitional institutional, economic and behavioral uncertainty combined with high asset specificity and low recurrence of transactions, have blocked use of market debt financing of farms. Great variety of specific private modes have emerged to overcome funding difficulties and to govern dependant transactions (internal investment, personal contacts, share investment, interlinked organization). However, vast development and maintenance costs ("free riding") have prevented formation of effective collective credit supply forms. Large third-party (Government, international assistance, NGO) intervention has also taken place to finance (directly or indirectly) farms or to assist market and private modes of funding of farm activities. Nevertheless, for majority of Bulgarian farms external funding is still either too expensive (high interest rate, unaffordable collateral requirements, immense paper work and bureaucratic procedures, big "side payments") or not accessible at all. High transaction costs for "credit supply", and "marketing", and "contract enforcement" are the major factors limiting farm enlargement at present stage of transition. Along with further credit support, public involvement should be directed to enhancement of efficiency of State lending programs and improvement of general institutional environment (legislative framework, contract enforcement system, market infrastructure etc.).
Chapter 6 Mosaic Analysis

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the analysis of genetic mosaics. In mosaics, some cells of an individual are genotypically mutant and other cells are genotypically wild type. Genetic procedures for generating genetic mosaics, as opposed to methods involving cell or tissue transplants, involve the loss of a wild-type gene from a progenitor cell during development, which then leads to the generation of a mutant clone. The wild type product synthesized in the progenitor cell or its ancestral cells prior to gene loss might persist and be transmitted to descendant cells even though they lack the gene; this is referred to as “perdurance.” The effect of perdurance would be to prevent the appearance of or to weaken the expected mutant phenotype. Good candidates for mosaic analysis are genes that affect patterns of cell lineage, cell migration, or neuron process outgrowth; it is often not clear at the outset that these genes will behave cell autonomously. The best cell autonomous genetic marker known for tracking duplication is ncl-1.
Weight initialization of MLP classifiers using boundary-preserving patterns

This paper presents a new weight initialization technique for three layer feedforward neural network classifiers. The method estimates the subsidiary discriminant functions, represented by middle layer node activations, using a priori information about the class boundaries. A set of boundary-preserving patterns are extracted from the original training set using a modified condensed nearest neighbor algorithm. Unlike the approach proposed by Smyth (1992), this method does not require an initial guess of the appropriate number of cluster centers needed to correctly estimate the class boundaries. >
Computational regulatory genomics: motifs, networks, and dynamics

Gene regulation, the process responsible for taking a static genome and producing the diversity and complexity of life, is largely mediated through the sequence specific binding of regulators. The short, degenerate nature of the recognized elements and the unknown rules through which they interact makes deciphering gene regulation a significant challenge. In this thesis, we utilize comparative genomics and other approaches to exploit large-scale experimental datasets and better understand the sequence elements and regulators responsible for regulatory programs. In particular, we develop new computational approaches to (1) predict the binding sites of regulators using the genomes of many, closely related species; (2) understand the sequence motifs associated with transcription factors; (3) discover and characterize microRNAs, an important class of regulators; (4) use static predictions for binding sites in conjunction with chromatin modifications to better understand the dynamics of regulation; and (5) systematically validate the predicted motif instances using a massively parallel reporter assay. We find that the predictions made by our algorithms are of high quality and are comparable to those made by leading experimental approaches. Moreover, we find that experimental and computational approaches are often complementary. Regions experimentally identified to be bound by a factor can be species and cell line specific, but they lack the resolution and unbiased nature of our predictions. Experimentally identified miRNAs have unmistakable signs of being processed, but cannot provide the same insights our machine learning framework does. Further emphasizing the importance of integration, combining chromatin mark annotations and gene expression from multiple cell types with our static motif instances allows for increasing our power and making additional biologically relevant insights. We successfully apply the algorithms in this thesis to 29 mammals and 12 flies and expect them to be applicable to other clades of eukaryotic species. Moreover, we find that our performance has not yet plateaued and believe these methods will continue to be relevant as sequencing becomes increasingly commonplace and thousands of genomes become available. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Are human beings part of the rest of nature

Unified explanations seek to situate the traits of human beings in a causal framework that also explains the trait values found in nonhuman species. Disunified explanations claim that the traits of human beings are due to causal processes not at work in the rest of nature. This paper outlines a methodology for testing hypotheses of these two types. Implications are drawn concerning evolutionary psychology, adaptationism, and anti-adaptationism.
Pedestrian detection using global-local motion patterns

We propose a novel learning strategy called Global-Local Motion Pattern Classification (GLMPC) to localize pedestrian-like motion patterns in videos. Instead of modeling such patterns as a single class that alone can lead to high intra-class variability, three meaningful partitions are considered - left, right and frontal motion. An AdaBoost classifier based on the most discriminative eigenflow weak classifiers is learnt for each of these subsets separately. Furthermore, a linear three-class SVM classifier is trained to estimate the global motion direction. To detect pedestrians in a given image sequence, the candidate optical flow sub-windows are tested by estimating the global motion direction followed by feeding to the matched AdaBoost classifier. The comparison with two baseline algorithms including the degenerate case of a single motion class shows an improvement of 37% in false positive rate.
An iterated limits theorem applied to the Henstock integral

An iterated limits theorem is used to establish two sets of necessary and sufficient conditions for a Henstock integral convergence theorem. The motivation for the iterated limits theorem originates from Bartle’s notion of \(\gamma\)-convergence.
Lunar sample 14425 - Characterization and resemblance to high-magnesium microtektites

Measurements by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis of the surface of lunar sample 14425, a large glass bead, yield a noritic composition enriched in aluminum and magnesium and, as compared with other norites, depleted in iron and especially calcium. The sample is close in composition to the most basic microtektites. Spherical inclusions of nickel-iron, flattened where they protrude, are found to be enriched in sulfur and phosphorus, at least at the surface. The inclusions form approximately 1 percent of the volume.
Functional connectivity associated with gait velocity during walking and walking-while-talking in aging: a resting-state fMRI study

Gait decline is common among older adults and is a risk factor for adverse outcomes. Poor gait performance in dual-task conditions, such as walking while performing a secondary cognitive interference task, is associated with increased risk of frailty, disability, and death. Yet, the functional neural substrates that support locomotion are not well established. We examined the functional connectivity associated with gait velocity in single- (normal pace walking) and dual-task (walking while talking) conditions using resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). We acquired 6 minutes of resting-state fMRI data in 30 cognitively healthy older adults. Independent components analyses were performed to separate resting-state fMRI data into group-level statistically independent spatial components that correlated with gait velocity in single- and dual-task conditions. Gait velocity in both task conditions was associated with similar functional connectivity in sensorimotor, visual, vestibular, and left fronto-parietal cortical areas. Compared to gait velocity in the single-task condition, the networks associated with gait velocity in the dual-task condition were associated with greater functional connectivity in supplementary motor and prefrontal regions. Our findings show that there are partially overlapping functional networks associated with single- and dual-task walking conditions. These initial findings encourage the future use of resting-state fMRI as tool in developing a comprehensive understanding of age-related mobility impairments. Hum Brain Mapp, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Language: en
Total Elbow Arthroplasty as Primary Treatment for Distal Humeral Fractures in Elderly Patients

We retrospectively reviewed the results of primary total elbow arthroplasty for the treatment of an acute fracture of the distal aspect of the humerus in twenty consecutive patients (twenty-one elbows) who had a mean age of seventy-two years (range, forty-eight to ninety-two years) at the time of the injury. The patients were managed between November 1982 and October 1992. The presence of rheumatoid arthritis in nine patients (ten elbows) influenced the choice of treatment. The mean interval between the injury and the total elbow arthroplasty was seven days (range, one to twenty-five days). The mean duration of postoperative hospitalization was seven days (range, four to thirteen days). The mean duration of follow-up was 3.3 years (range, three months to 10.5 years). All patients were followed for a minimum of two years or until the time of death; the duration of follow-up was less than two years for three patients who died. None of the patients were lost to follow-up. Twenty implants were intact at the latest follow-up examination. One patient had a revision total elbow arthroplasty twenty months after the index procedure because of a fracture of the ulnar component sustained in a fall on the outstretched arm. On the basis of the Mayo elbow performance score, fifteen elbows had an excellent result and five had a good result; there were inadequate data for one elbow. There were no fair or poor results. The mean arc of flexion was 25 to 130 degrees. There was no evidence of loosening on the radiographs. Postoperative complications included fracture of the ulnar component in one patient, ulnar neurapraxia in three, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy in one. The results suggest that total elbow arthroplasty can be an alternative form of treatment of a severely comminuted fracture of the distal aspect of the humerus in older patients even in the presence of rheumatoid arthritis. This procedure is not an alternative to osteosynthesis in younger patients.
Thickness effects of SrTiO3 buffer layers on superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7−δ coated conductors

Abstract A thin layer of SrTiO3 has been successfully used as a buffer layer to grow high quality superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) thick films on polycrystalline metal substrates with a biaxially oriented MgO template produced by ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD). Using this architecture, 1.5 μm-thick-YBCO films with an in-plane mosaic spread in the range of 2–3° in full width at half maximum, and a critical current density over 2 MA/cm2 in self-field at 75 K have been achieved routinely. More interestingly, we found the thickness of SrTiO3 buffer layers strongly affects the properties of YBCO films. The critical current density of YBCO films increases dramatically when the thickness of SrTiO3 buffer layer reaches an optimum range of 40–120 nm. Microstructure studies, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ion-milling experiments suggest that the YBCO texture evolution, STO outgrowths and STO surface dents are strongly related to STO thickness. They are the key factors for YBCO self-field Jc variation.
Synthesis and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of a tetra- and a hexa-saccharide fragment of the O-specific polysaccharide of Shigella dysenteriae type 1

Abstract The synthesis of the tetra- and hexa-saccharide methyl glycosides α- d -Gal p-(1 → 3)α- d -Glc pNAc-(1 → 3)-α- l -Rha p-(1 → 3)-α- l -Rha p-OMe (1), and α- l -Rha p-(1 → 3)-α- l -Rha p-(1 → 2)-α- d -Gal p-(1 → 3)-α- d -Glc pNAc-(1 → 3)-α- l -Rha p-(1 → 3)α- l -Rha p-OMe (3) is described, which represent various epitopes of the O-specific polysaccharide of Shigella dysenteriae type 1. The following monosaccharide intermediates were used: 1,3-di-O-acetyl-2-O-benzoyl-4-O-benzyl-α- l -rhamnopyranose (6α), methyl 2,4-di-O-benzyl-α- l -rhamnopyranoside (7), methyl 2,4-di-O-benzoyl-1-thio-α- l -rhamnopyranoside (8), 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-α- l -rhamnopyranosyl bromide (9), methyl 3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-2-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-1-thio-β- d -galactopyranoside (13), methyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-1-thio-β- d -galactopyranoside (16), and 2-azido-4,6-O-benzylidene-3-O-bromoacetyl-2-deoxy-β- d -glucopyranosyl chloride (19). A detailed analysis of the 1H and 13C NMR spectra of oligosaccharides 1 and 3 confirmed that the hexasaccharide 3 better approaches the conformation of the native polysaccharide, than either 1 or the homologous pentasaccharide 41.
Study of the Long-Time Fluorescence Tail of the Green Fluorescent Protein

The time-resolved optical response of the wild-type green fluorescent protein (WT-GFP) in water and D2O was measured at room temperature by two optical techniques. The pump probe technique, with about 150 fs resolution, was used to measure the short-time response up to 150 ps. The short-time signals are similar to previously reported measurements. Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) was used to measure the fluorescence of both the protonated and deprotonated emission bands of WT-GFP. The long-time fluorescence decay of the protonated form of WT-GFP decays nonexponentially. When this decay curve is multiplied by exp(t/τf) where τf is the lifetime of deprotonated form, the long-time tail decays as a power law of about t-3/2. Such a long-time fluorescence decay behavior represents the general emission decay pattern of excited photoacids in solutions and microemulsions and adds additional previously unrevealed information on the dynamics of this reaction. We attribute the long-time behavior to a di...
POSTCOITAL PATTERNS OF SECRETION OF PITUITARY GONADOTROPIN AND OVARIAN PROGESTIN IN THE RABBIT.

Progestin (20αhydroxy-pregn-4-en-3-one) secretion by the rabbit ovary increases rapidly postcoitally, remains elevated for about 8 hr, and drops to nondetectable levels by the time of follicular rupture. Circulating endogenous or exogenous gonadotropin can be assessed by the progestin responses elicited by the blood when infused intraarterially through ovaries of recipient rabbits in vivo. Following mating the gonadotropic potency of peripheral blood rises immediately and a high level is sustained for about 6 hr before dropping to nonmeasurable values. These high and low levels of circulating gonadotropin thus correspond to the pattern of progestin release from the donor rabbit's ovaries between coitus and ovulation. When exogenous luteinizing hormone is administered intravenously to a donor rabbit, one half the original potency still remains in the circulation after 4 hr. From these and related data it is calculated that the postcoital release of pituitary gonadotropin continues for about 2 hr and that t...
Is the Use of Antimicrobial Devices to Prevent Infection Correlated across Different Healthcare-Associated Infections? Results from a National Survey

Antimicrobial devices are often used to prevent nosocomial infection, despite mixed evidence as to their efficacy. Using a national survey, we found that a hospital's use of an antimicrobial device to prevent one type of infection was associated with a higher likelihood that a similar device would be used to prevent a different infection.
Reliability of degrading dynamic systems

Abstract Methods are developed for finding the reliability of Daniels systems and plates with cracks that are subjected to dynamic random load processes. Reliability of these systems is defined, respectively, as the probability that there is at least an unfailed fiber and crack length does not exceed a critical value during a reference period. Properties of conditional mean crossing rates and diffusion models are used in analysis.
Cardiac Arrhythmias During Epinephrine-Propranolol Infusions for Measurement of In Vivo Insulin Resistance

Sixty-eight determinations of in vivo insulin resistance were conducted in 35 males (aged 29-63 yr) by measurement of steady-state plasma glucose levels during a combined intravenous infusion of propranolol, epinephrine, glucose, and insulin. Subjects were mildly diabetic and/or hyperlipidemic. All were asymptomatic, denied taking medication, and had no history of cardiac disease. All had normal resting electrocardiograms. During the infusion, mean increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 27 ± 12.2 (X¯ ± SD) and 14 ± 5.7 mm Hg, respectively;, mean reduction in heart rate was 19 ± 6.1 beats/min. Six out of the 35 subjects developed cardiac arrhythmias during the infusion test. Maximal exercise treadmill tests failed to predict all subjects who subsequently developed arrhythmias during the infusion test. These results suggest that this infusion test should be performed under continuous cardiac monitoring and promptly terminated if major arrhythmias develop.
Effect of son mortality on contraceptive practice in Bangladesh.

Researchers used data on 5596 mothers from the 1975-1976 Bangladesh Fertility Survey (part of the World Fertility Survey) to test 3 propositions. 1005 mothers had ever used contraceptives (17.96%). The discontinuation rate stood at 48.76%. These mothers were more likely to discontinue using contraceptive if at least 1 son had previously died (p<.05). Yet mothers who lost just daughters discontinued contraceptives at almost the same rate as mothers who experienced no child deaths. This supported the 3rd proposition: Mothers face a greater chance of discontinuing contraception if they have at least 1 dead son. Moreover Bangladeshi mothers who had experienced the death of at least 1 son were considerably less likely to start contraception (z-value=2.239; p<.05). Thus the study did not reject the 2nd proposition which suggested that mothers would be less likely to start using contraception if they experienced the death of at least 1 son. This study found no significant differences in initiation of contraception between mothers with at least 1 previous child death and mothers who experienced no child deaths. Thus this result did not disprove the 1st proposition stating that mothers in Bangladesh were equally likely to begin using contraceptives irrespective of previous child survival or mortality. Therefore this study indicated that son mortality can postpone initiation and foster discontinuation of contraceptive use in son favoring societies even when the desired number of living children is great and child mortality is high. This study confirmed the interrelatedness of son preference son mortality and contraception in societies which clearly favor sons. Further research should determine if the resumption of contraceptive usage which was discontinued due to the death of a son is less likely than beginning contraceptive usage after his death.
Twenty-week exposures to the drinking water disinfection by-product dibromoacetic acid: reproductive cyclicity and steroid concentrations in the female Sprague–Dawley rat

Elevated gavage exposures to the drinking water disinfection by-product dibromoacetic acid (DBA) have been found to disrupt estrous cyclicity in the rat and induce increases in estradiol concentrations in both cycling (day of estrus) and ovariectomized/estradiol-implanted females. The present study was designed to investigate both effects in Sprague-Dawley rats following an extended 20-week treatment with lower dosages of DBA administered in the drinking water (calculated mean intake concentrations of 5, 16, and 33 mg/kg/d). No treatment-related effects on cyclicity were present, although elevations in serum estradiol on the day of vaginal estrus were noted in regularly cycling rats when assessed at the 3rd and 11th weeks of exposure. By the 19th week, this effect was no longer present in cycling animals, but its absence was attributable to a marked increase in control estradiol concentrations, which may be associated with endocrine alterations that precede a disruption in estrous cyclicity in middle-aged females. In the 20th week, diestrous estrone levels were elevated at all dosages without effects on serum androstenedione or progesterone. Uterine and pituitary weights were unchanged at this time, although there were modest increases in liver weights at the two highest dosages. A small number of rats in persistent estrus (PE) did show a general increase in pituitary weight associated with DBA exposure, possibly reflecting an added layering of treatment on the PE-associated rise in estradiol normally seen in these females. The results indicate that increases in circulating estradiol from drinking water exposures to DBA were not linked to a premature disruption of estrous cyclicity in this moderately estrogen-sensitive rat strain.
The Effects of Detrending in Granger Causality Tests

Nonstationary time series are frequently detrended in empirical investigations by regressing the series on time or a function of time. The effects of the detrending on the tests for causal relationships in the sense of Granger are investigated using quarterly U.S. data. The causal relationships between nominal or real GNP and M1, inferred from the Granger–Sims tests, are shown to depend very much on, among other factors, whether or not series are detrended. Detrending tends to remove or weaken causal relationships, and conversely, failure to detrend tends to introduce or enhance causal relationships. The study suggests that we need a more robust test or a better definition of causality.
Bilateral interactions in single units driven by MFB self-stimulation electrodes

Recordings from neurons in the brain stem of the rat while stimulating the MFB through bilaterally placed self-stimulation electrodes show that many such neurons are bilaterally driven, i.e., there is bilateral convergence of input to these neurons. However, relatively few show bilateral summation. Simultaneous bilateral inputs produce no greater response than either input acting alone. Since behavioral work on self-stimulation has shown bilateral summation of excitation in the substrate for self-stimulation, the presence of bilateral summation at the single unit level appears to be a potentially powerful criterion for delimiting the class of neurons that are likely to play a role in the mediation of self-stimulation. We also report general characteristics of the single units whose activity we recorded during this investigation.
Effects of dietary 9-trans, 12-trans linoleate on arachidonic acid metabolism in rat platelets

In order to determine the minimal amount of dietary 9-trans,12-trans-linoleate which can decrease endoperoxide metabolites synthesized and their precursor in rat platelets, graded amounts (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5%) of thetrans-linoleate were fed to rats with a constant amount of all-cis-linoleate (2.5%) for 12 weeks. Arachidonic acid levels in platelet phospholipids of groups receiving thetrans-linoleate at 2.5 and 1.0% were significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of the control receiving notrans-linoleate. Concentrations of TXB2 and PGF2α in sera of the group receiving 2.5%trans-linoleate were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of the control; however, there was no difference between the group receiving 1.0%trans-linoleate and the control. To determine whether the difference in serum concentrations of endoperoxide metabolites could be manifested if rats were fed for longer period of time, 2 groups of rats were again fed diets containing 0 and 1.0%trans-linoleate, respectively, for 16 weeks. Arachidonic acid in platelet phospholipids of the group receiving thetrans-linoleate was again significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of the control group. Concentrations of TXB2 and PGF2α, and 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid formed in platelets, were smaller in the group receivingtrans-linoleate than the control group; however, the difference was not statistically significant. These results indicated that all-trans-linoleate can reduce arachidonic acid metabolites formed in rat platelets when its dietary level is equal to or exceeds the level of all-cis-linoeate.
Under the hood of the earthquake machine: toward predictive modeling of the seismic cycle

Advances in observational, laboratory, and modeling techniques open the way to the development of physical models of the seismic cycle with potentially predictive power. To explore that possibility, we developed an integrative and fully dynamic model of the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas Fault. The model succeeds in reproducing a realistic earthquake sequence of irregular moment magnitude ( M w ) 6.0 main shocks—including events similar to the ones in 1966 and 2004—and provides an excellent match for the detailed interseismic, coseismic, and postseismic observations collected along this fault during the most recent earthquake cycle. Such calibrated physical models provide new ways to assess seismic hazards and forecast seismicity response to perturbations of natural or anthropogenic origins.
Effect of Electric Fields on Two-Phase Impingement Heat Transfer

The effect of electric fields applied to two-phase impingement heat transfer is explored for the first time. The application of an electric field between a capillary and heated surface results in the ability to control the free boundary flow from discreet drops to jets to sprays. Through an experimental study, the impingement heat transfer was evaluated over a range of operating and geometrical parameters using subcooled ethanol as the working fluid. The ability to change the mode of impinging mass did change the surface heat transfer. The characteristics of the impinging mass on heat transfer was dependent on capillary flow rate, applied voltage, capillary to heated surface spacing, capillary geometry, and heat flux. Enhancement occurred primarily at low heat fluxes (below 30 W/cm2 ) under ramified spray conditions where the droplet momentum promoted thin films on the heated surface. Higher heat fluxes resulted in greater vapor momentum from the surface minimizing the effect of different modes. However, under ramified spray conditions less mass was impacting the heated surface showing that heat transfer rates at higher heat fluxes were achievable with less mass, resulting in greater evaporation efficiency.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Fecal α1-antitrypsin and infant feeding

Stool samples from 232 infants aged 7 days to 18 months were analyzed for α 1 -antitrypsin and for occult blood by two techniques. Among the 450 stool samples, no correlation between positive tests for occult blood and the concentration of α 1 -antitrypsin was found. The α 1 -antitrypsin concentration in the stool decreased after the age of 6 months in both breast-fed (P 1 -antitrypsin (P 1 -antitrypsin was lower in cow milk-fed infants than in those receiving either breast-feeding supplemented with formula (P 1 -antitrypsin in the stool may reflect subtle changes in gastrointestinal tract function in infancy.