cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recognizing and Assessing Risk Factors for Difficult-to-Treat Depression and Treatment-Resistant Depression

Many patients will not respond adequately to their initial trial of antidepressant medication or subsequent trials. By identifying features that can signal potential treatment-resistant or difficult-to-treat depression early in the course of illness, clinicians may be able to find the right balance of treatment strategies to help patients achieve remission. Here, follow the case of Alice, a 32-year-old lawyer with a treatment-resistant depressive episode.
Do working conditions at older ages shape the health gradient

This study examines whether working conditions at the end of workers' careers impact health and contribute to health disparities across occupations. A dynamic panel correlated random effects model is used in conjunction with a rich data set that combines information from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), expert ratings of job demands from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), and mid-career earnings records from the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Master Earnings File (MEF). Results reveal a strong relationship between positive aspects of the psychosocial work environment and improved self-reported health status, blood pressure, and cognitive function. However, there is little evidence to suggest that working conditions shape observed health disparities between occupations in the years leading up to retirement.
Base camp quality of life standardization and improvement

The United States (US) Army has over 66,000 soldiers engaged in contingency operations across the world. Current budgetary constraints and an uncertain global security environment require these operations to be executed as efficiently as possible. Base camps are the secured areas where soldiers live when deployed to contingency operations. Base camps impose a significant financial and tactical burden during contingency operations and sub-optimal soldier quality of life decisions have significantly contributed to costs. Quality of life (QOL) refers to the non-security and non-mission related services that directly sustain the mission effectiveness of soldiers. Current US Army base camp tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) do not sufficiently specify QOL services, and more detailed doctrine should be developed to support combat units executing contingency operations. In this investigation we employ quantitative methods to select decisions that improve QOL and inform doctrine. We leverage a QOL function and resource consumption data developed by US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center's (Natick Labs) to build a model that improves QOL under the constraints of four fundamental resources: fuel, water, waste water, and solid waste. We employ a mixed integer linear program modeling approach and execute sensitivity analysis to evaluate the strength of our results. Our final model is formulated as a chance constraint optimization to address the uncertainty associated with resource availability in contingency operations. Our results provide QOL decisions that reduce resource consumption while maintaining an equivalent QOL level when compared to current TTPs. The model provides quantitative rigor, informing decision makers of specific base camp design principles for the development of doctrine.
High prevalence of same-sex twins in patients with cloacal exstrophy: Support for embryological association with monozygotic twinning☆☆☆

Abstract Purpose Previous studies have hypothesized that cloacal exstrophy may be caused by errors early in embryological development related to monozygotic twinning. This study reports the prevalence of twins in a large cohort of patients with cloacal exstrophy. Methods Patients with cloacal exstrophy treated 1974–2015 were reviewed for reports of multiple gestation or conjoined twinning. The genetic sex of the patient and their twin, and any mention of anomaly in the twin were recorded. Neither placental exam nor genetic testing results were available to definitively determine zygosity. Results Of 71 patients, 10 had a live born twin (14%), all of whom were of the same genetic sex as the affected patient. One additional patient's twin suffered intrauterine fetal demise, and another patient had a conjoined heteropagus twin. None of the twins were affected by exstrophy–epispadias complex. The rate of twin birth in this cohort was 4.4–7.7 higher than that reported by the Centers for Disease Control in the general population time period ( P Conclusions The highly significant prevalence of same-sex twin pairs within this cohort supports the hypothesis that the embryogenesis of cloacal exstrophy may be related to errors in monozygotic twinning. Level of evidence 2b
Chapter 42 - Parkinson's Disease: Genetics

Since the mid-1990s, genetic studies have advanced our understanding of Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology, showing it to be a polygenic disorder with a heterogeneous phenotypic spectrum. Mutations in LRRK2 and SNCA (α-synuclein) have been linked to autosomal-dominant PD, while risk variants for sporadic PD have also been identified around the same genes, showing that sporadic and familial PD may share pathogenic mechanisms, which may include protein turnover and aggregation pathways. Mutations that associate with early-onset recessive PD have been identified in Parkin, PINK1 , and DJ-1 that have been implicated in parallel cellular pathways of mitochondrial homeostasis. A remaining challenge for the field is to understand the interplay of genetic factors involved in PD pathogenesis sufficiently to allow for development of pathway-targeted molecular therapeutics.
Adverse Pathology After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radical Cystectomy: The Role of Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Abstract Background The current guidelines do not recommend adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for patients with adverse pathologic findings after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer. We sought to evaluate the association of AC with overall survival (OS) in these patients. Materials and Methods The National Cancer Database was used to identify patients with adverse pathologic findings (ypT3N0, ypT4N0, or ypTanyN1-N3) after NAC and RC for bladder cancer from 2006 to 2012. The clinicopathologic variables were abstracted, and the patients were stratified according to the receipt of AC. OS was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Associations between AC and OS were evaluated in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models among all patients and stratified by pathologic classification. Results A total of 1361 patients were identified: 444 (32.6%) with ypT3N0, 162 (11.9%) with ypT4N0, and 755 (55.5%) with ypTanyN1-N3. The median OS for the entire cohort was 22.9 months, which differed by pathologic classification: 34.6 months with ypT3N0, 21.4 months with ypT4N0, and 19.3 months with ypTanyN1-N3 ( P P = .18). On multivariable analysis, AC was not independently associated with OS (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-1.01; P = .06). Conclusion Patients with adverse pathologic findings at RC after previous NAC have a median OS of approximately 2 years, which was not significantly improved with AC. Clinical trials with newer systemic agents are warranted for patients in this setting to guide future therapy.
NAIL DISORDERS:Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious, Inflammatory, and Neoplastic Nail Conditions

Nail problems (Table 1) are common complaints among patients. The physician treating nail disorders should have a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the nail and its growth pattern.
Embodying Turing’s Machine: Queer, Embodied Rhetorics in the History of Digital Computation

Although Alan Turing has been cast as a thinker who separates mind and body, this article approaches his technical writing anew through the theoretical lenses of embodied rhetoric and queer rhetoric. Alan Turing’s technical and theoretical writings are shown to be lively with embodied, gendering, and queer rhetoric. This article also argues that queer, embodied experiences ground Turing’s contributions toward early digital computation. Turing’s rhetoric resists norms in technical communication that expect stable and complete knowledge. Instead, Turing is an outlier who reminds us that queer, embodied rhetorics can complicate and expand our understanding of technical and scientific communication.
Extreme Preterm Infant Rates of Overweight and Obesity at School Age in the SUPPORT Neuroimaging and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Cohort.

Objective To identify rates of overweight (body mass index [BMI] ≥85th percentile) and obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) at 6-7 years of age and associated risk factors among extremely preterm infants born at Study design Anthropometrics, blood pressure, and active and sedentary activity levels were prospectively assessed. Three groups were compared, those with a BMI ≥85th percentile (overweight or obese for age, height, and sex) and ≥95th percentile (obese) vs Results Of 388 children, 22% had a BMI of ≥85th percentile and 10% were obese. Children with obesity and overweight compared with normal weight children had higher body fat (subscapular skinfold and triceps skinfold >85th percentile), central fat (waist circumference >90th percentile), spent more time in sedentary activity (20.5 vs 18.2 vs 16.7 hours/week), and had either systolic and/or diastolic hypertension (24% vs 26% vs 14%), respectively. Postdischarge weight gain velocities from 36 weeks postmenstrual age to 18 months, and 18 months to 6-7 years were independently associated with a BMI of ≥85th percentile, whereas weight gain velocity from 18 months to 6-7 years was associated with obesity. Conclusions One in 5 former extremely preterm infants is overweight or obese and has central obesity at early school age. Postdischarge weight gain velocities were associated with overweight and obesity. These findings suggest the obesity epidemic is spreading to the most extremely preterm infants. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT00063063 and NCT0000.
INTERACTIVE INTEGER GOAL PROGRAMMING: METHODS AND APPLICATION

Goal programming has received a great deal of attention during the past several years as a management decision making tool for problems that involve multiple conflicting objectives. One area of goal programming which requires further development is the integer solution methodology. The purpose of this paper is the development and demonstration of interactive integer goal programming methods for multiple objective problems through a real-world application example. The interactive approach allows not only a simple way to derive an integer solution to the problem but it also provides a complete sensitivity analysis of the model.
Experimental Observation of Superconducting Gap Anisotropy in the a-b Plane and Its Theoretical Implications

In this short paper, we give a brief account of our recent experimental observation of superconducting gap anisotropy in the a-b plane and its theoretical implications.
Gender, Social Difference and Coastal Resource Management in Lowland Philippine Fishing Communities

This paper considers how an effort to institutionalize coastal resource management (CRM) at the municipal level in the Philippines has unfolded against the class, ethnic, and gender divisions characteristic of lowland Philippine society. It draws inspiration from recent suggestions that the study of community-based natural resource management would be better served by focusing on institutions rather than on community per se (King and Durrenberger 2000; Agrawal and Gibson 2001) and, more particularly, on how institutions shape (and are shaped by) the multiple interests and actors within communities (Agrawal and Gibson 1999, p. 640). Of special interest here is how institutional arrangements may influence both the reality and the perception of local community “participation,” which is much sought-after in resource management projects in general.
Reminiscences on the life and work of Johannes Holtfreter.

One of the pleasures of being this book’s editor has come from corresponding with Dr. Johannes Holtfreter and his wife, Hiroko. It is hard to think of a person who has contributed more to the conceptual foundations of modern developmental biology than Dr. Holtfreter. It was his work that “devitalized” the concept of the organizer by devitalizing the organizing tissue itself. His also was the “solution” that enabled experiments to be performed on amphibian embryos without enormous mortality. Dr. Holtfreter has contributed to this series before, discussing the work done in Spemann’s laboratory and the evolution of the organizer concept. But the following essay is both a companion piece to that and an evocation of a life well lived in science and art. I have been privileged to receive some of this artwork, which Dr. Holtfreter has permitted me to publish here.
Non-motor features of Parkinson’s disease in a nested case–control study of US men

Background Several non-motor features may individually contribute to identify prodromal Parkinson’s disease (PD), but little is known on how they interact. Methods We conducted a case–control study nested within the Health Professionals Follow-up Study in a large cohort of men age 40–75 at recruitment in 1986. Cases (n=120) had confirmed PD, were Results Concurrent constipation, probable RBD and hyposmia were present in 29.3% of cases and 1.1% of controls, yielding an age-adjusted OR of 160 (95% CI 72.8 to 353) for three features versus none. The odds of PD increased exponentially with additional non-motor features (OR for 6–7 features versus none: 1325; 95% CI 333 to 5279). Among men without PD, the number of non-motor features was associated with odds of parkinsonism (OR for 6–7 features versus none: 89; 95% CI 21.2 to 375). We estimated that in a population with a prodromal PD prevalence of 2%, concurrent constipation, probable RBD and hyposmia would have a maximum sensitivity of 29% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 35%. The PPV could increase up to 70% by including additional features, but with sharply decreased sensitivity. Conclusions Concurrent constipation, probable RBD and hyposmia are strongly associated with PD. Because these features often precede motor symptoms and their co-occurrence could provide an efficient method for early PD identification.
Prostate Cancer Detection and Diagnosis: Role of Ultrasound with MRI Correlates

Prostate cancer (PCA) detection and diagnosis has rapidly changed in recent years, with medical imaging playing an instrumental component. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has led to an alternative diagnostic pathway for patient triage and diagnosis. Ultrasound (US) is already essential to this pathway, and development of new US technologies ensures it will assume an even more important role. Conventional US is widely used for anatomic guidance during prostate biopsy, but has low PCA detection rates. Ultrasound elastography and contrast-enhanced US are promising for improving PCA detection, have been utilized in addition to traditional systemic biopsy, and provide complementary information to MRI. Here we summarize the current clinical use and newest developments in prostate US. We also present their MRI correlates with the vision that the two modalities will be used closely together in the future to improve PCA care.
Laparoscopic enteropexy for intussusception at Roux-en-Y anastomosis

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most commonly performed bariatric procedure in the world. Jejunojenual intussusception after RYGB is a rare but potentially serious complication. Timely radiographic recognition and surgical therapy with laparoscopic enteropexy of all limbs of the enteroenteric anastomosis in our experience allows same-day management with return to work and activities of daily living without recurrence of intussusception.
Constructivist education in an age of accountability

The constructivist approach frees teachers to make decisions which enhance and enrich student’s development and it shifts the focus from teacher to the student and content. The Common Core State St...
Books for Children, Books for Adults: Age and the Novel from Defoe to James

In this groundbreaking and wide-ranging study, Teresa Michals explores why some books originally written for a mixed-age audience, such as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, eventually became children's literature, while others, such as Samuel Richardson's Pamela, became adult novels. Michals considers how historically specific ideas about age shaped not only the readership of novels, but also the ways that characters are represented within them. Arguing that age is first understood through social status, and later through the ideal of psychological development, the book examines the new determination of authors at the end of the nineteenth century, such as Henry James, to write for an audience of adults only. In these novels and in their reception, a world of masters and servants became a world of adults and children.
Progressive anemia of prematurity is associated with a critical increase in cerebral oxygen extraction.

Abstract Background Elevated cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction (cFTOE) is an adaptation to anemia of prematurity (AOP). cFTOE ≥0.4 is associated with brain injury in infants ≤30 weeks. This longitudinal study sought to investigate the utility of cFTOE in the evaluation of AOP. Methods Infants ≤30 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA) underwent weekly hemoglobin, cerebral saturation, and pulse oximetry recordings from the second through 36 weeks post-menstrual age (PMA). Recordings were excluded if they were under 1 h or if hemoglobin was not measured within 7 days of recording. Mean cFTOE was calculated for each recording. Statistical analysis used linear mixed-effects modeling and receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results 144 recordings from 39 infants (mean EGA 27.6 ± 2.2 weeks, BW 1139 ± 286 g) were included of whom 39% (15/39) were transfused. The mean recording length was 2.8 ± 1.3 h. There was a significant negative correlation between hemoglobin and cFTOE (R = −0.423, p ≤.001). In a multivariate model, adjusting for EGA, PMA, and patent ductus arteriosus treatment the AUC was 0.821. A critical increase in cFTOE occurred at a hemoglobin level of 9.6 g/dL. Conclusions AOP is associated with a critical increase in cFTOE that occurs at a significantly higher hemoglobin level than standard clinical thresholds for transfusion.
Timely Access to Mental Health Services for Patients with Pain.

Efficient access to pediatric mental health services is a growing concern as the number of patients increases and outpaces efforts to expand services. This study outlines interventions implemented using quality improvement (QI) science and methodology to demonstrate how a clinic embedded in a large children's hospital can improve access to the first appointment for a population seeking pain management services. Methods A process improvement project started with a QI team, whose members designed interventions to change scheduling practices. Initial changes involved decreased time between calls to families, and efforts to streamline notifications among clinicians. Additional interventions included a close examination of waitlist assignment based on appropriateness and assessing patient interest in treatment. Results Within 3 months of implementation, a significant decline in wait time occurred for patients seeking services for pain management, from 106 to 48 days. This change remained stable for 6 months. In light of a sharp increase in referrals and wait time during the study period, efforts to engage additional clinicians in managing referrals resulted in wait time to stabilize at an average of 63 days to the first appointment. This change remained for 10 months. Scheduling changes did not negatively affect other providers. Conclusions This study demonstrates the application of QI science to improve patient access to mental health care. Future directions will focus on enhancing the use of the electronic health record, along with previsit family engagement.
Reliable and energy-aware fixed-priority (m, k)-deadlines enforcement with standby-sparing

For real-time computing systems, energy efficiency, Quality of Service, and fault tolerance are among the major design concerns. In this work, we study the problem of reliable and energy-aware fixed-priority (m, k) -deadlines enforcement with standby-sparing. The standby-sparing systems adopt a primary processor and a spare processor to provide fault tolerance for both permanent and transient faults. In order to reduce energy consumption for such kind of systems, we proposed a novel scheduling scheme under the QoS constraint of (m, k)-deadlines. The evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed approach significantly outperformed the previous research in energy conservation while assuring (m, k)-deadlines and fault tolerance for real-time systems.
Gideon’s Ghost: Providing the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel in Times of Budgetary Crisis

This Article discusses how the budget crisis, caused by the recent economic downturn, has created a constitutional crisis with regard to the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel. The landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright required states, under the Sixth Amendment, to provide free counsel to indigent criminal defendants. However, as a result of the current financial crisis, many of those who represent the indigent have found their funding cut dramatically. Consequently, Gideon survives, if at all, only as a ghostly shadow prowling the halls of criminal justice throughout the country. This Article analyzes specific budget cuts from various states and how those cuts have impacted indigent defense in this country. Further, the Article highlights recent litigation surrounding this issue from four states: Florida, New York, Michigan and Kentucky. It proposes that, while litigation may be one way to reform the system, fundamental reform is necessary in the criminal justice system. The Article offers three specific suggestions on how to bring Gideon back to life: change the tough on crime attitude to free up much needed funding; reform the overburdened misdemeanor system; and implore more prosecutorial discretion in charging crimes.
The Simultaneity Puzzle: Lawyers Working at Multiple Law Firms

Lawyers often find themselves representing clients at more than one law firm at the same time. For instance, a law firm member may have the status as “of counsel” at a separate law firm in town. A partner at a law firm might volunteer at the community legal services office, or serve as a supervising lawyer at a law school clinic. Law students, and especially students enrolled in law school clinics, often have responsibilities to clients at multiple placements. That reality implicates intriguing legal ethics questions which have not yet been fully examined in the literature. This Article aims to accomplish that end. If a lawyer is associated with a law practice, she is deemed by the legal ethics doctrine, almost conclusively, to represent every client of that practice. If she works at two settings, that imputation travels across the two firms. Analytically, any new client seeking services from one setting should therefore be conflict-checked at the other setting. The presence of the lawyer at both firms makes the two practices effectively one firm for conflicts purposes. It is entirely likely that no such cross-setting conflict checks occur. Indeed, sharing the respective client lists across firms may itself be a breach of the lawyers’ confidentiality and fiduciary duties. In practice, what appears to occur is that lawyers and law students check conflicts situationally, and set up effective screens when any hint of a conflict arises. That arrangement works, but whether the strategy is congruent with the substantive ethical rules and guidance is a separate and inevitable question, and an important one. In this Article I explore the rules and guidance to determine how lawful and ethical such “jury-rigged” practices are. The Article concludes that very often such practices cannot be squared with substantive ethics doctrine, but most often they will satisfy a more casuistic functional analysis. The Article addresses the propriety of lawyers’ engaging in a functional approach to conflicts without explicit ex ante authority. It also suggests an avenue by which the relevant ethics authorities, including the American Bar Association’s Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, might offer lawyers more practical and reliable guidance about this puzzle. This Article is scheduled for publication in the Fall 2021 issue (Volume 89, Issue 1) of the Tennessee Law Review.
Machine learning predictive analytics for player movement prediction in NBA: applications, opportunities, and challenges

Recently, strategies of National Basketball Association (NBA) teams have evolved with the skillsets of players and the emergence of advanced analytics. This has led to a more free-flowing game in which traditional positions and play calls have been replaced with player archetypes and read-and-react offensives that operate off a variety of isolated actions. The introduction of position tracking technology by SportVU has aided the analysis of these patterns by offering a vast dataset of on-court behavior. There have been numerous attempts to identify and classify patterns by evaluating the outcomes of offensive and defensive strategies associated with actions within this dataset, a job currently done manually by reviewing game tape. Some of these classification attempts have used supervised techniques that begin with labeled sets of plays and feature sets to automate the detection of future cases. Increasingly, however, deep learning approaches such as convolutional neural networks have been used in conjunction with player trajectory images generated from positional data. This enables classification to occur in a bottom-up manner, potentially discerning unexpected patterns. Others have shifted focus from classification, instead using this positional data to evaluate the success of a given possession based on spatial factors such as defender proximity and player factors such as role or skillset. While play/action detection, classification and analysis have each been addressed in literature, a comprehensive approach that accounts for modern trends is still lacking. In this paper, we discuss various approaches to action detection and analysis and ultimately propose an outline for a deep learning approach of identification and analysis resulting in a queryable dataset complete with shot evaluations, thus combining multiple contributions into a serviceable tool capable of assisting and automating much of the work currently done by NBA professionals.
Hierachical Resampling for Bagging in Multi-Study Prediction with Applications to Human Neurochemical Sensing

We propose the "study strap ensemble," which combines advantages of two common approaches to fitting prediction models when multiple training datasets ("studies") are available: pooling studies and fitting one model versus averaging predictions from multiple models each fit to individual studies. The study strap ensemble fits models to bootstrapped datasets, or "pseudo-studies." These are generated by resampling from multiple studies with a hierarchical resampling scheme that generalizes the randomized cluster bootstrap. The study strap is controlled by a tuning parameter that determines the proportion of observations to draw from each study. When the parameter is set to its lowest value, each pseudo-study is resampled from only a single study. When it is high, the study strap ignores the multi-study structure and generates pseudo-studies by merging the datasets and drawing observations like a standard bootstrap. We empirically show the optimal tuning value often lies in between, and prove that special cases of the study strap draw the merged dataset and the set of original studies as pseudo-studies. We extend the study strap approach with an ensemble weighting scheme that utilizes information in the distribution of the covariates of the test dataset. Our work is motivated by neuroscience experiments using real-time neurochemical sensing during awake behavior in humans. Current techniques to perform this kind of research require measurements from an electrode placed in the brain during awake neurosurgery and rely on prediction models to estimate neurotransmitter concentrations from the electrical measurements recorded by the electrode. These models are trained by combining multiple datasets that are collected in vitro under heterogeneous conditions in order to promote accuracy of the models when applied to data collected in the brain. A prevailing challenge is deciding how to combine studies or ensemble models trained on different studies to enhance model generalizability. Our methods produce marked improvements in simulations and in this application. All methods are available in the 9studyStrap9 CRAN package.
Seasonal trends in the Southeast Florida current and shelf CO2 fluxes

Abstract An anthropogenically driven increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations is known to drive an increase in the globally integrated ocean carbon sink. However, there is significant regional and seasonal variability, and significant changes in seasonal cycle amplitudes have been predicted. Three decades of sea surface observations collected from the southeast Florida Current and shelf waters reveal behavior over seasonal and interannual timescales for a region important to global carbon storage and transport. The strong temperature dependence of fCO2 in the region dominates the seasonal cycle of air-sea flux, although biophysical processes are also important. The possibility of wet and dry seasonal asymmetric trends through time were evaluated, but no statistically significant trends were found. The results indicate that uptake in the region has not changed over the last three decades after accounting for sampling bias and demonstrate the importance of robust seasonally unbiased data sets in conducting climate studies. Even in this highly sampled region, data distribution biases were found, mainly in the early 1990s. Seasonally biased data are thus not only a problem for polar regions but can also affect flux calculations in sub-tropical regions. Although not statistically significant to date, different responses in different seasons with time may lead to seasonal amplification and a decoupling of the annual mean and the seasonal means in the future.
A Review of miRNAs as Biomarkers and Effect of Dietary Modulation in Obesity Associated Cognitive Decline and Neurodegenerative Disorders

There has been a progressive increase in the prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Recent studies have suggested that the crosstalk between adipose tissue and central nervous system (CNS), through cellular mediators and signaling pathways, may causally link obesity with cognitive decline and give rise to neurodegenerative disorders. Several mechanisms have been proposed in obesity, including inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, altered lipid and cholesterol homeostasis, which may result in neuroinflammation, altered brain insulin signaling, amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and neuronal cell death. Since obesity is associated with functional and morphological alterations in the adipose tissues, the resulting peripheral immune response augments the development and progression of cognitive decline and increases susceptibility of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Studies have also elucidated an important role of high fat diet in the exacerbation of these clinical conditions. However, the underlying factors that propel and sustain this obesity associated cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, remains highly elusive. Moreover, the mechanisms linking these phenomena are not well-understood. The cumulative line of evidence have demonstrated an important role of microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression and transcriptional changes, as biomarkers of pathophysiological conditions. Despite the lack of utility in current clinical practices, miRNAs have been shown to be highly specific and sensitive to the clinical condition being studied. Based on these observations, this review aims to assess the role of several miRNAs and aim to elucidate underlying mechanisms that link obesity with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, this review will also provide evidence for the effect of dietary modulation which can potentially ameliorate cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases associated with obesity.
Semidehydroascorbic acid as an intermediate in norepinephrine biosynthesis in chromaffin granules

We investigated whether semidehydroascorbic acid was an intermediate in norepinephrine synthesis in chromaffin granules and in electron transfer across the chromaffin granule membrane. Semidehydroascorbic acid was measured in intact granules by electron spin resonance. In the presence of intragranular but not extragranular ascorbic acid, semidehydroascorbic acid was formed within granules in direct relationship to dopamine beta-monooxygenase activity. However, semidehydroascorbic acid was not generated when granules were incubated with epinephrine instead of the substrate dopamine, with dopamine beta-monooxygenase inhibitors, without oxygen, and when intragranular ascorbic acid was depleted. Experiments using the impermeant paramagnetic broadening agents [K3 [Cr(C2O4)3].3H2O] and Ni(en)3(NO3)2 provided further evidence that semidehydroascorbic acid was generated only within granules. We also investigated semidehydroascorbic acid formation in the presence of intragranular and extragranular ascorbic acid. Under these conditions, semidehydroascorbic acid was formed on both sides of the granule membrane, and formation was coupled to dopamine beta-monooxygenase activity. These data indicate that dopamine beta-monooxygenase is reduced by single electron transfer from intragranular ascorbic acid, that transmembrane electron transfer occurs by single electron transfer, and that transmembrane electron transfer is directly coupled to formation of intragranular semidehydroascorbic acid via dopamine beta-monooxygenase activity.
Compression-Ignited Homogeneous Charge Combustion

Experimentally obtained energy release results, a semi-empirical ignition model, and an empirical energy release equation developed during this research were used to evaluate the combustion of compression-ignited homogeneous mixtures of fuel, air, and exhaust products in a CFR engine. A systematic study was carried out to evaluate the response of compression-ignited homogeneous charge (CIHC) combustion to changes in operating parameters with emphasis being placed on the phenomena involved rather than the detailed chemical kinetics. This systematic study revealed that the response of the combustion process to changes in operating parameters can be explained in terms of known chemical kinetics, and that through the proper use of temperature and species concentrations the oxidation kinetics of hydrocarbon fuels can be sufficiently controlled to allow an engine to be operated in a compression-ignited homogeneous charge combustion mode.
Bringing the excitement and motivation of research to students; Using inquiry and research‐based learning in a year‐long biochemistry laboratory

Research-based learning in a teaching environment is an effective way to help bring the excitement and experience of independent bench research to a large number of students. The program described here is the second of a two-semester biochemistry laboratory series. Here, students are empowered to design, execute and analyze their own experiments for the entire semester. This style of laboratory replaces a variety of shorter labs in favor of an in depth research-based learning experience. The concept is to allow students to function in independent research groups. The research projects are focused on a series of wild-type and mutant clones of malate dehydrogenase. A common research theme for the laboratory helps instructors administer the course and is key to delivering a research opportunity to a large number of students. The outcome of this research-based learning laboratory results in students who are much more confident and skilled in critical areas in biochemistry and molecular biology. Students with research experience have significantly higher confidence and motivation than those students without a previous research experience. We have also found that all students performed better in advanced courses and in the workplace.
Recovery of Division Ability in Ultraviolet-irradiated Escherichia coli Induced by Photoreactivation, Photoprotection, and Liquid Holding Treatment

Small doses of ultraviolet light (UV, 265 mμ) cause Escherichia coli B to grow into long, multinucleate, nonseptate, filamentous cells. This UV-induced filament formation can be prevented by irradiating with photoprotecting light (335 mμ) prior to UV irradiation, and by irradiating with photoreactivating light (406 mμ), or by liquid holding treatment, after UV irradiation. It is concluded that UV-induced division inhibition in E. coli B is initially induced by repairable lesions in the deoxyribonucleic acid, probably pyrimidine dimers.
STREPTOMYCIN FORMATION BY INTACT MYCELIUM OF STREPTOMYCES GRISEUS

Abstract Nomi, Ryosaku (Rutgers, The State University, New Brunswick, N.J.). Streptomycin formation by intact mycelium of Streptomyces griseus. J. Bacteriol. 86:1220–1230. 1963.—A study was made of streptomycin formation by intact mycelium of Streptomyces griseus 107 grown in glucose-yeast extract medium. When mycelium harvested after 24, 48, and 72 hr was compared, the earliest growth showed the highest activity in producing streptomycin from glucose. The concentration of streptomycin in the mycelium was higher in the older growth. Calcium chloride had a remarkable effect in increasing streptomycin production from the precursors in the mycelium, especially when the mycelium was grown for 48 hr or longer. The effect of calcium chloride cannot be attributed to the precipitation of an excess of inorganic phosphate in the medium. Glucose, fructose, glycerol, lactic acid, glucosamine, streptidine, and inositol stimulated streptomycin formation, whereas gluconic acid, glucuronic acid, streptamine, and strepturea did not. When 24-hr-old mycelium was suspended and shaken in 0.5% glucose solution, the antibiotic precursors necessary to produce streptomycin were found mainly in the supernatant of the culture rather than in the mycelium. The supernatant included some substance which had a weak antibiotic activity. This substance was less basic than streptomycin and was transformed to streptomycin with a remarkable increase in antibiotic activity.
Driver responses to navigation information on full-windshield, head-up displays

While seated in a vehicle mockup, drivers (6 young, 6 old) made same/different judgements of simultaneously shown pairs of slides (real intersections and navigation displays that could be for them). The navigation information was presented on either an instrument panel (IP) display or superimposed on the road scene, simulating a full–windshield, head–up display (HUD). Response times to full–windshield HUDs (1170 ms) were shorter than IP displays (1511 ms), a difference of about 20%. HUD colour had no significant effect on response time, but displays aligned with the road scene produced times slightly faster than misaligned ones (34 ms difference). As reported previously, plan and aerial views were responded to faster than perspective views. Due to high error rates in some conditions, continued experimental evaluation of full–windshield HUDs is desired.
The Illusion of Conscious Will

Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will -- those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.
Posterior Cervical Fusion Using Cervical Interfacet Spacers in Patients With Symptomatic Cervical Pseudarthrosis.

BACKGROUND Posterior cervical fusion with cervical interfacet spacer (CIS) is a novel allograft technology offering the potential to provide indirect neuroforaminal decompression while simultaneously enhancing fusion by placing the allograft in compression. OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical and radiological outcomes after posterior cervical fusion with CIS in patients with symptomatic anterior cervical pseudarthroses. METHODS Medical records of patients who underwent posterior cervical fusion with CIS for symptomatic pseudarthrosis after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion were reviewed. Standardized outcome measures such as visual analog scale (VAS) score for neck and arm pain, Neck Disability Index (NDI), and upright lateral cervical radiographs were reviewed. RESULTS There were 19 patients with symptomatic cervical pseudarthrosis. Preoperative symptoms included refractory neck or arm pain. The average follow-up was 20 months (range, 12-56 months). There was improvement in VAS score for neck pain (P < .004), radicular arm pain (P < .007), and NDI score (P < .06) after surgery, with 83%, 72%, and 67% of patients showing improvement in their VAS neck pain, VAS arm pain, and NDI scores, respectively. Fusion rate was high, with fusion occurring at all levels treated for pseudarthrosis. There was a small improvement in cervical lordosis (mean difference, 2 ± 5.17°; P = .09) and slight worsening of C2-7 sagittal vertical axis after surgery (mean difference, 1.89 ± 7.87 mm; P = .43). CONCLUSION CIS provides an important fusion technique, allowing placement of an allograft in compression for posterior cervical fusion in patients with anterior cervical pseudarthroses. Although there was improvement in clinical outcome measures after surgery, placement of CIS had no clinically significant impact on cervical lordosis and C2-7 sagittal vertical axis.
Genetic analysis of the Drosophila 63F early puff. Characterization of mutations in E63-1 and maggie, a putative Tom22.

The 63F early puff in the larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes contains the divergently transcribed E63-1 and E63-2 ecdysone-inducible genes. E63-1 encodes a member of the EF-hand family of Ca 2+ -binding proteins, while E63-2 has no apparent open reading frame. To understand the functions of the E63 genes, we have determined the temporal and spatial patterns of E63-1 protein expression, as well as undertaken a genetic analysis of the 63F puff. We show that E63-1 is expressed in many embryonic and larval tissues, but the third-instar larval salivary gland is the only tissue where increases in protein levels correlate with increases in ecdysone titer. Furthermore, the subcellular distribution of E63-1 protein changes dynamically in the salivary glands at the onset of metamorphosis. E63-1 and E63-2 null mutations, however, have no effect on development or fertility. We have characterized 40 kb of the 63F region, defined as the interval between Ubi-p and E63-2 , and have identified three lethal complementation groups that correspond to the dSc-2, ida , and mge genes. We show that mge mutations lead to first-instar larval lethality and that Mge protein is similar to the Tom22 mitochondrial import proteins of fungi, suggesting that it has a role in mitochondrial function.
Firewalling the Net

To connect any stand-alone enterprise network to the Internet in a safe and secure manner, it is necessary to erect a ‘firewall‘ at the interface between the internal and external networks. We review the current state of firewall technology and describe the principles behind the solutions that are being adopted by BT. We also describe how companies are presently utilising the bandwidth of the Internet to extend their internal intranets using cryptographic techniques and indicate some of the directions in which firewall research will be going in the next few years.
Aerobic oxidation of methanol by a Ni(II)-O2 reaction

An unusual oxygen-activating Ni(II)-oximate complex oxidizes two-hydrogen atom donating substrates, including the traditionally inert alcohol, methanol, as well as ethanol, benzyl alcohol, benzylamine, and N-methylbenzylamine.
Validation of the Community Integration Questionnaire in the adult burn injury population

With improved survival, long-term effects of burn injuries on quality of life, particularly community integration, are important outcomes. This study aims to assess the Community Integration Questionnaire’s psychometric properties in the adult burn population. Data were obtained from a multicenter longitudinal data set of burn survivors. The psychometric properties of the Community Integration Questionnaire (n = 492) were examined. The questionnaire items were evaluated for clinical and substantive relevance; validation procedures were conducted on different samples of the population; construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis; internal consistency reliability was examined using Cronbach’s α statistics; and item response theory was applied to the final models. The CIQ-15 was reduced by two questions to form the CIQ-13, with a two-factor structure, interpreted as self/family care and social integration. Item response theory testing suggests that Factor 2 captures a wider range of community integration levels. Cronbach’s α was 0.80 for Factor 1, 0.77 for Factor 2, and 0.79 for the test as a whole. The CIQ-13 demonstrates validity and reliability in the adult burn survivor population addressing issues of self/family care and social integration. This instrument is useful in future research of community reintegration outcomes in the burn population.