cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review of the Relationship between Amyloid-β Levels and Measures of Transgenic Mouse Cognitive Deficit in Alzheimer's Disease

Amyloid-β (Aβ) is believed to directly affect memory and learning in Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is widely suggested that there is a relationship between Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels and cognitive performance. In order to explore the validity of this relationship, we performed a meta-analysis of 40 peer-reviewed, published AD transgenic mouse studies that quantitatively measured Aβ levels in brain tissue after assessing cognitive performance. We examined the relationship between Aβ levels (Aβ40, Aβ42, or the ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40) and cognitive function as measured by escape latency times in the Morris water maze or exploratory preference percentage in the novel object recognition test. Our systematic review examined five mouse models (Tg2576, APP, PS1, 3xTg, APP(OSK)-Tg), gender, and age. The overall result revealed no statistically significant correlation between quantified Aβ levels and experimental measures of cognitive function. However, enough of the trends were of the same sign to suggest that there probably is a very weak qualitative trend visible only across many orders of magnitude. In summary, the results of the systematic review revealed that mice bred to show elevated levels of Aβ do not perform significantly worse in cognitive tests than mice that do not have elevated Aβ levels. Our results suggest two lines of inquiry: 1) Aβ is a biochemical "side effect" of the AD pathology; or 2) learning and memory deficits in AD are tied to the presence of qualitatively "high" levels of Aβ but are not quantitatively sensitive to the levels themselves.
Influence Of Depositional Environment On Devil's Hole Calcite Morphology And Petrology

Devils Hole, a steeply dipping (δ80°) tectonically formed planar fissure >165 m deep (Riggs et al., 1994), has been accumulating calcite speleothems that contain at least two different paleoclimate records. Below water table deposits contain a 560,000 year paleoclimate isotopic record (Winograd et al., 1992), while above water table deposits record 120,000 years of changing water table elevation (Szabo et al., 1994). The different depositional environments in Devils Hole control the form of the speleothems.
Safety of contralateral submandibular gland sparing in locally advanced oropharyngeal cancers: A multicenter review

Background Previous groups have shown contralateral submandibular gland sparing to improve xerostomia with safe outcomes, but primarily in early-stage disease. In this study, we present a large cohort of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer that underwent contralateral submandibular gland-sparing radiotherapy, to demonstrate feasibility and safety specifically in patients with locally advanced disease. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients who were treated prospectively with contralateral submandibular gland sparing. Only patients who underwent bilateral neck radiotherapy with contralateral submandibular gland doses <39 Gy were included. Results We identified 71 patients. Approximately 80% of patients had ≥N2b disease. The contralateral submandibular gland mean dose was 33 Gy and, at a median follow-up of 27.3 months, no patients experienced treatment failure in the contralateral level IB lymph nodes. Conclusion Xerostomia remains a significant morbidity despite parotid sparing and can be minimized further by contralateral submandibular gland sparing. These data provide important preliminary evidence that contralateral submandibular gland sparing is feasible and may be safe even in locally advanced cancers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
Multimedia Learning: Personalization, Voice, and Image Principles

Personalization Principle : People learn better from multimedia presentations when words are in conversational style rather than formal style . Example : In a narrated animation on how the human lungs work, personalization involves using “you” and “your” in the narration script – for example, saying “your nose” rather than “the nose” and “your throat” rather than “the throat.” Theoretical Rationale : When learners feel that the author is talking to them, they are more likely to see the author as a conversational partner and therefore will try harder to make sense of what the author is saying . Empirical Rationale : In eleven out of eleven tests, learners who received the words of a multimedia lesson in conversational style performed better on transfer tests than learners who received the words in formal style, yielding a median effect size of d = 1.11 . Boundary Conditions : The personalization principle may be most effective when it is not overdone and when the learners are beginners . Preliminary Research on the Voice Principle : People learn better when narration is spoken in a human voice rather than in a machine voice. The voice principle was supported in three out of three experiments, with a median effect size of d = 0.78 . Preliminary Research on the Image Principle : People do not necessarily learn better when the speaker's image is added to the screen. In five experiments, the median effect size favoring adding the speaker's image to the screen was d = .22, which is in the small-to-negligible range .
Optimal trajectories for the aeroassisted flight experiment, 1988-89

Research is summarized on optimal trajectories for the aeroassisted flight experiment, performed by the Aero-Astronautics Group of Rice University during the period 1988 through 1989. This research includes the following topics: (1) equations of motion in an Earth-fixed system; (2) equations of motion in an inertial system; (3) formultion of the optimal trajectory problem; (4) results on the optimal trajectory problem; and (5) guidance implications.
Impairment-driven cancer rehabilitation: An essential component of quality care and survivorship

Adult cancer survivors suffer an extremely diverse and complex set of impairments, affecting virtually every organ system. Both physical and psychological impairments may contribute to a decreased health-related quality of life and should be identified throughout the care continuum. Recent evidence suggests that more cancer survivors have a reduced health-related quality of life as a result of physical impairments than due to psychological ones. Research has also demonstrated that the majority of cancer survivors will have significant impairments and that these often go undetected and/or untreated, and consequently may result in disability. Furthermore, physical disability is a leading cause of distress in this population. The scientific literature has shown that rehabilitation improves pain, function, and quality of life in cancer survivors. In fact, rehabilitation efforts can ameliorate physical (including cognitive) impairments at every stage along the course of treatment. This includes prehabilitation before cancer treatment commences and multimodal interdisciplinary rehabilitation during and after acute cancer treatment. Rehabilitation appears to be cost-effective and may reduce both direct and indirect health care costs, thereby reducing the enormous financial burden of cancer. Therefore, it is critical that survivors are screened for both psychological and physical impairments and then referred appropriately to trained rehabilitation health care professionals. This review suggests an impairment-driven cancer rehabilitation model that includes screening and treating impairments all along the care continuum in order to minimize disability and maximize quality of life.
SU-E-J-266: Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Inter-Scan and Inter-Observer Tumor Volume Variability Assessment in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Purpose: Quantification of volume changes on CBCT during SBRT for NSCLC may provide a useful radiological marker for radiation response and adaptive treatment planning, but the reproducibility of CBCT volume delineation is a concern. This study is to quantify inter-scan/inter-observer variability in tumor volume delineation on CBCT. Methods: Twenty earlystage (stage I and II) NSCLC patients were included in this analysis. All patients were treated with SBRT with a median dose of 54 Gy in 3 to 5 fractions. Two physicians independently manually contoured the primary gross tumor volume on CBCTs taken immediately before SBRT treatment (Pre) and after the same SBRT treatment (Post). Absolute volume differences (AVD) were calculated between the Pre and Post CBCTs for a given treatment to quantify inter-scan variability, and then between the two observers for a given CBCT to quantify inter-observer variability. AVD was also normalized with respect to average volume to obtain relative volume differences (RVD). Bland-Altman approach was used to evaluate variability. All statistics were calculated with SAS version 9.4. Results: The 95% limit of agreement (mean ± 2SD) on AVD and RVD measurements between Pre and Post scans were −0.32cc to 0.32cc and −0.5% to 0.5% versus −1.9 cc to 1.8 cc and −15.9% to 15.3% for the two observers respectively. The 95% limit of agreement of AVD and RVD between the two observers were −3.3 cc to 2.3 cc and −42.4% to 28.2% respectively. The greatest variability in inter-scan RVD was observed with very small tumors (< 5 cc). Conclusion: Inter-scan variability in RVD is greatest with small tumors. Inter-observer variability was larger than inter-scan variability. The 95% limit of agreement for inter-observer and inter-scan variability (∼15–30%) helps define a threshold for clinically meaningful change in tumor volume to assess SBRT response, with larger thresholds needed for very small tumors. Part of the work was funded by a Kaye award; Disclosure/Conflict of interest: Raymond H. Mak: Stock ownership: Celgene, Inc. Consulting: Boehringer-Ingelheim, Inc.
The new synthesis

I shall be addressing three related questions: What are the aims and claims of contemporary sociobiology? How does the enterprise fit into the history of ideas7 And does sociobiology have the earmarks of being indeed the beginning of a major synthesis? There are really two pursuits going under the term, sociobiology. One of the two pursuits is what I would call the Special (or Restricted) Discipline; the other, the General Discipline. The former deals with animals below man. In Wilson's book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975), he devotes about 90 percent of the text pages and all but a handful of the approximately 2,500 references to research in the Special Discipline. And there seems to be little doubt that, in the sense of the Special Discipline, sociobiology "works" for large areas of animals exhibiting social behavior, perhaps best for social insects, but to a greater or lesser degree also for others, from slime molds and corals to nonhuman primates. Thus, many specific observable and measurable aspects of behavior are correlated with genetic factors. To be sure, as in any growing scientific field, there should be and are vigorous debates about detailed observations and conclusions, for example, to what extent the relative investment in the care of offsprings is influenced by the degree of genetic relatedness of individuals in the Order Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, and bees). But the Special Discipline promises to mature soon into a Special Theory that may explain much of the observable social behavior of animals below man. This by itself is no mean promise, not least because of the large number (an estimated 10,000) and the staggering biological diversity of social species that exist on this planet. One is thus led to expect to attain the use of one coherent corpus of variables and one theory to predict aspects of the social behavior of nonhuman animals from a knowledge of population parameters (demographic information concerning population growth and age structure) combined with information on the behavioral constraints imposed by the genetic constitution of the species. Such an achievement would surely be counted among the major advances of science, even if not a single word of it would apply to the case of man. (One may add that if such a discontinuity in the applica-
Identification of a competitive binding component in vitamin D‐resistant new world primate cells with a low affinity but high capacity for 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3

Monkeys in a number of different New World primate genera express a form of compensated target organ resistance to steroid hormones, including 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3]. Characterization of these phenotypes has previously relied upon the study of the 1,25-(OH)2D3-receptor (VDR) interaction in cultured dermal fibroblasts from affected primates. In this report, we show that three of these prototypic phenotypes can be faithfully reproduced in previously established cultured cell lines: B95–8, EBV-transformed B lymphoblasts from the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a New World primate with recognized vitamin D resistance; OMK, renal tubular epithelial cells from the owl monkey (Aotus trivergatus), a New World primate with an Old World primate-like VDR phenotype; and MLA144, transformed B lymphoblasts from a gibbon (Hylobates), an Old World primate that expresses the wild-type VDR phenotype. The rank order of specific nuclear uptake and binding of [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3 to the VDR was OMK ≥ ML A144 » B95–8. Despite a 7- to 9-fold difference in cellular VDR content according to ligand binding analyses, there was no discernible difference in the internalization constant Kin for specific cellular uptake of [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3 (0.12–0.26 nM) or in the quantity of VDR detected by immunoblot analysis. We now speculate that the discrepancy in VDR quantitation by binding and immunoblot analysis in the B95–8 New World primate cell line results from the presence of an intracellular, vitamin D metabolite binding moiety in this cell line that competes with the VDR for metabolite binding. Extracts of B95–8 cells, but not wild-type MLA144 cells, exhibited a binding component that had a relatively low affinity (∼ 50 nM) but high capacity for 1,25-(OH)2D3 compared to the VDR. When mixed with extracts of OMK and MLA144 cells (containing the wild-type VDR) of equivalent protein concentration, B95–8 cell extract inhibited specific 1,25-(OH)2D3-VDR binding 84–86%. Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography of the sterol binding component in the B95–8 cell extract detected a single peak of [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3 and [3H]25-OHD3 binding to a protein eluting with an apparent molecular mass of 58–60 kD. This 58–60 kD sterol binding component was also distinguished from the 50 kD VDR by its elution from DEAE-cellulose anion-exchange HPLC at 0.45 M KCl; the mammalian VDR eluted at 0.25 M KCl. These data suggest that the 1,25-(OH)2D3-resistant phenotype of B95–8 cells may be due to the presence of a relatively plentiful, 58–60 kD intracellular protein that binds 1,25-(OH)2D3 with low affinity but high capacity and inhibits the high-affinity nuclear localization of 1,25-(OH)2D3 to the VDR.
Theoretical three-dimensional potential-energy surface for the reaction of Be with HF

Abstract The three-dimensional potential-energy surface for reaction of Be and HF has been computed and fit with an analytic form. Several hundred points on the surface were obtained from a two-configuration MC SCF function using a DZ GTO basis set. Comparisons with much larger calculations at a smalle rnumber of points suggest that this level of approximation gives a good qualitative and probably a reasonable quantitative description. The present surface is in good accord with a previous collinear surface (although the barrier is significantly higher in the present work) and also with a recently published valence-bond calculation. The surface is found to be quite insensitive to orientation for angles of approach between collinear and perpendicular: the minimum-energy path is not collinear. An analytic fit to the surface has been obtained. The general features are reproduced by a three-structure effective hamiltonian which is motivated by valence-bond-like ideas and which accurately reproduces the asymptotic diatomic limits. In the region of strong interaction this model is augmented by a damped fourth-order polynomial in the internuclear separations. Despite the complexity of this fitting function, it provides only a fair quantitative representation.
Short-range dissolution–precipitation crystallization of hydrothermal barium titanate

Abstract A modified autoclave was used to investigate the crystallization mechanism of BaTiO 3 during the hydrothermal reaction of Ba(OH) 2 and TiO 2 anatase. An uneven distribution of the crystallized BaTiO 3 particles was observed: more than 99 wt.% of total BaTiO 3 particles remained where the precursor TiO 2 was put; less than 1 wt.% was collected from the areas away from the TiO 2 . According to the experimental observations in this work and proofs reported in the literature, we propose that the crystallization mechanism is dissolution–precipitation in nature, but the soluble Ti 4+ species can only redisperse in a short distance away from TiO 2 particles before precipitation. In other words, the nucleation of hydrothermal BaTiO 3 starts at a low concentration of Ti 4+ . The mechanism of the Ba(OH) 2 –Ti(OH) 4 reaction is a fast dehydration process.
Salivary nerve growth factor response to stress related to resilience.

Abstract Salivary nerve growth factor (sNGF) has recently been shown to respond to psychosocial stress, but little is known about how individual differences in this neurotrophic marker relate to stress vulnerability vs. resilience. This study followed up on these initial findings by examining sNGF responses to interpersonal stress in relation to both well-being and state/trait factors that determine the way a person approaches and is impacted by stress. Young adults ( n = 40) gave 5 saliva samples over the course of a laboratory session that involved an interpersonal conflict stressor, and all samples were assayed for sNGF. Participants also completed self-report measures of global well-being, stress appraisals before and following the conflict, and agency. Greater sNGF reactivity to conflict related to stronger appraisals of coping ability and agency. Post-conflict sNGF recovery related to lower anticipatory stress appraisals, and to higher agency and well-being. These results support the idea that dynamic sNGF responses are adaptive. Implications for the potential role of the neurotrophic system in stress resilience are discussed.
Stereographic evaluation of cellular changes in vivo or in vitro

A method is described for the preparation of stereopairs of micrographs of thick sections of plasticembedded cells, regardless of the in vivo or in vitro source. The procedure, based on the use of stereoscopic electron microscopy, results in the assessment of three-dimensional ultrastructural changes in single sections of cells and avoids the time-consuming collection of serial ultrathin sections, photography, and subsequent reconstruction of the structures of interest. Although data from hepatocytes (i.e. both cultures and tissues) are presented, this technique is applicable to almost any cell type of interest. Electron dense structures can be visualized throughout a maximum depth of 10 µm, allowing the evaluation of ultrastructural changes in electron dense organelles, as well as the assessment of xenobiotic-induced changes in whole cells.
Monitoring marine mammal acoustics using Wave Glider

The Wave Glider, a wave-powered unmanned maritime vehicle (UMV), represents a novel and unique approach to persistent ocean presence. Wave Gliders harvest the abundant energy contained in ocean waves to provide essentially limitless propulsion. The Wave Glider can operate as a vessel, covering long distances in the ocean, or as a station-keeping platform. Wave Gliders have demonstrated long open-ocean transits and extended deployments of up to one year.
Electrochemical Properties of Monoclinic NaMnO2

Monoclinic α- NaMnO2 is re-investigated electrochemically as a positive electrode material for sodium ion batteries. About 0.85 Na can be deintercalated from NaMnO2 and 0.8 Na be intercalated back during potentiostatical intermittent charge and discharge. Galvanostatical cycling between 2.0 V and 3.8 V gives 185 mAh/g discharge capacity for the first cycle at C/10 rate and 132 mAh/g remains after 20 cycles. Charge and discharge curves are significantly different indicating more hysteresis than is typical for lithium intercalation compounds. We also explain the remarkable difference between layered LiMnO2 and NaMnO2 upon alkali removal.
Denumerable state markovian sequential control processes: On randomizations of optimal policies

We consider a denumerable state Markovian sequential control process. It is well known that when we consider the expected total discounted income as a criterion, there exists a nonrandomized stationary policy that is optimal. It is also well known that when we consider the expected average income as a criterion, an optimal nonrandomized stationary policy exists when a certain system of equations has a solution. The problem considered here is: if there exist two optimal nonrandomized stationary policies, will a randomization of these two policies be optimal? It is shown that in the discounted case the answer is always yes, but in the average income case, the answer is yes only under certain additional conditions.
Mechanistic considerations of halogenating enzymes

In nature, halogenation is a strategy used to increase the biological activity of secondary metabolites, compounds that are often effective as drugs. However, halides are not particularly reactive unless they are activated, typically by oxidation. The pace of discovery of new enzymes for halogenation is increasing, revealing new metalloenzymes, flavoenzymes, S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent enzymes and others that catalyse halide oxidation using dioxygen, hydrogen peroxide and hydroperoxides, or that promote nucleophilic halide addition reactions.
Energy transfer in polymers and nitroxide decay during photolysis

When polymeric materials doped with nitroxides of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine type are exposed to light, the nitroxide concentration decreases. The two mechanisms for the decrease of the nitroxide are the reaction of nitroxide with free radicals produced during photolysis of the polymer to form amino ethers and the abstraction of hydrogen atoms by excited-state nitroxides to form hydroxyl amines. Excited-state nitroxides can be formed in two ways: by direct absorption and by energy transfer. In this paper, the effect of energy transfer on the rate of decay of the nitroxide signal is studied, and measurements of nitroxide decay are used to probe energy transfer in crosslinked polymeric coatings. A simple kinetic scheme is used to interpret nitroxide decay during photolysis of both solutions and polymers containing benzophenone. These results are used to show that the slope of the line relating nitroxide decay rate to nitroxide concentration is essentially determined by energy transfer from a coating-based chromophore to nitroxide. The nitroxide decay assay is also used to study the effectiveness of a benzotriazole ultraviolet light absorber as a quencher.
Effect of Tightening Speed on the Torque-Tension and Wear Pattern in Bolted Connections

This experimental study investigates the effect of tightening speed and coating on both the torque – tension relationship and wear pattern in threaded fastener applications. The fastener torque – tension relationship is highly sensitive to normal variations in the coefficients of friction between threads and between the turning head and the surface of the joint. Hence, the initial level of the joint clamp load and the overall integrity and reliability of a bolted assembly is significantly influenced by the friction coefficients. The effect of repeated tightening and loosening is also investigated using M12, Class 8.8, fasteners with and without zinc coating. The torque – tension relationship is examined in terms of the non-dimensional nut factor K. The wear pattern is examined by monitoring the changes in surface roughness using a WYKO optical profiler and by using a LECO optical microscope. A Hitachi S-3200N Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used to examine the contact surfaces, under the fastener head, after each tightening/loosening cycle. Experimental data on the effect of variables and the tightening speed, fastener coating and repeated tightening on the nut factor are presented and analyzed for M8 and M12, class 8.8, fasteners.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
How established firms respond to threatening technologies

Executive Overview Major product innovations that create new industries are considered from the perspective of established firms for whom the innovation poses a substitution threat. Based upon a study of eight young industries and twenty-seven leading “threatened firms,” common patterns of industry development are considered, as are the participation strategies of those companies that decided to enter the new field. The challenges and pitfalls that were often encountered are examined and implications are developed for firms that choose to enter threatening young industries. While there are no assured success formulas, the discussion highlights some of the problems that can be encountered and suggests possibilities for avoiding them.
Pulmonary surfactant given prophylactically alleviates an asthma attack in guinea‐pigs

Summary Backgronnd Previous studies have indicated that the increased airway resistance that develops in asthma may partly be due to a surfactant dysfunction. If so. it might be possible to alleviate the acute signs following an allergen challenge by prophylactically instilling into the airways a well functioning pulmonary surfactant. Objective The study was planned and enacted to test the above hypothesis. Methods The lung function (airway resistance, tidal volume, minute ventilation, and dynamic compliance) of 22 immunized guinea-pigs was studied for 30min following a challenge. Ten of the animals had received a tracheal instillation of 0.5 ml. calf lung surfaetant extract (CLSE, 35mg/mL) prior to the challenge. Results The animals receiving the dose of 17.5 mg surfactant were less affected by the challenge than were the controls. Onty one of them died following the challenge, whereas four of the 12 controls succumbed. Lung function was significantly less affected among the nine surviving animals treated with surfactant prior to the challenge than among the eight surviving controls (P< 0.01) and also their blood gases (pCO2 and pO2) were less influenced (P<0.05). Conclusion The study indicated that the symptoms developing after a challenge. which to some extent simulate those ot asthma. can be alleviated by a prophylactic airway instillation of pulmonary surfactant.
THE IMPACT OF EARLY AND COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES ON LENGTH OF STAY

The efficient use of health care resources requires that patients remain in in-patient facilities only as long as is necessary. High-quality patient care requires that patients are physically, socially and psychologically prepared for leaving the hospital and that plans for their post-hospital care are adequate. The authors discuss a study of Orthopaedic patients which demonstrates that early and comprehensive social work intervention can reduce the length of time patients stay in the hospital. They also describe the effect of the study on expanding the role of social work within the acute care, general hospital.
Dominance and Genetic Drift

Many public sector maize recurrent selection programs have been designed based on additive genetic expectations. Populations have been managed as large metapopulations with the assumption that population size must be very large because inbreeding due to finite size causes a linear reduction in genetic variance; we show that in BS13(S)C0 such predictions are inaccurate and discuss some implications. The objective of this study was to predict the effects of subdividing a maize population, BS13(S)C0, into finite subpopulations with previous estimates of genotypic variance-covariance components in the BS13(S)C0 population. Changes in variance among subpopulations, genetic variances within subpopulations, and mean values of subpopulations were predicted. Predicted variance among subpopulations increased approximately linearly with the inbreeding coefficient, in accordance with additive genetic expectations. Additive genetic theory predicts a linear decline in both total and additive genetic variance within subpopulations. Predicted total genetic variance within subpopulations initially increased, then decreased when the inbreeding coefficient was between 0.2 and 0.4 for most traits. Predicted additive genetic variance within subpopulations for grain yield decreased little at inbreeding coefficients <0.5. Predicted additive genetic variance for other traits decreased in approximate accordance with additive genetic expectations. These results provide model-based predictions that inbreeding BS13(S)C0, that is, genetic drift, will not lead to linear reductions in total genetic variance or additive genetic variance as typically expected. Implications of these results for agricultural selection programs are discussed.
Engaging non-majors in computer literacy courses

Institutes of higher education are feeling more and more pressure to cut costs whenever possible. Increasing section sizes and offering online versions of courses is sometimes seen as the quick fix to the problem, a situation particularly evident in many core courses populated by a wide array of students who are not majoring in that specific field. How can instructors of these courses create an environment that engages and draws these large groups of non-majors into learning and understanding the core knowledge and skills presented in the class? The authors of this paper present a redesign of, and initial findings from, a reworked introductory computer science class that seeks to address this question through the use of active, communication focused, and student-centric techniques, materials, and technologies.
Pediatric firearm injuries: a 10-year single-center experience of 194 patients.

BACKGROUND: The objective was to investigate the relationship of high gun ownership and gun death rate on children and determine predictors influencing the incidence and outcome of pediatric firearm injuries in a major pediatric level 1 trauma center. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of our trauma registry to identify hospital admissions between April 1999 and March 2010. We extracted demographic and geographic data, seasonal variation, injury type, firearm type, and outcome. RESULTS: We identified 194 firearm injuries. The incidence did not change during the past decade. Most occurred during the second half of the year (61.4%). Mean age was 12.2 ± 4.6 years (range, 0.4-19.2 years). Unintentional shootings accounted for 100 injuries followed by assaults (n = 55) and innocent bystanders (n = 39). African American children were most often injured because of a violent cause (60.3%), whereas white children were shot unintentionally (80.1%). Powder-propelled firearms caused 82.5% of injuries. Overall, 17.5% of children required an operation, and 9.3% died. CONCLUSIONS: The overwhelming majority of children were injured after a gun went off unintentionally, whereas most African American children were shot violently. We identified certain seasonal and geographic clusters. These data can be used to target gun injury prevention programs. Language: en
Insulin Acutely Suppresses Parathyroid Hormone Second Messenger Generation in UMR-106–01 Osteoblast-Like Cells: Differential Effects on Phospholipase C and Adenylate Cyclase Activation

Insulin modifies the effects of PTH on osteo-blast-like cells. However, the basis for this effect is unknown. In bone and kidney cells, the effects of PTH on cellular function are mediated by second messengers generated through both the phospholipase C and adenylate cyclase systems. Therefore, we examined the effects of insulin on PTH second messenger generation in UMR-106-01 rat osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells. PTH produced a rapid, transient increase in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) which was maximal at 30 sec and was only minimally reduced in the absence of extracellular calcium. Inositol-triphosphate (IP3) production was increased in parallel. PTH stimulation of [Ca2+]i was concentration-dependent from 0.5–1,000 nM, with half-maximal stimulation at approximately 50 nM PTH. A 30-sec exposure to 50 nM PTH produced 32% and 23% increases in IP1 and IP3 production, respectively (both P < 0.05). Although insulin alone did not significantly alter basal [Ca2+]i, a 1-min exposure to 1-100 ...
Downcore variation in sediment organic nitrogen

An historical record of natural (pre-cultural) and anthropogenic (influenced by man's activities) chemical inputs to the environment is contained in accumulating sediment deposits and is commonly expressed as a depositional flux1. This flux is traditionally calculated as the product of the sediment accumulation rate and the concentration of a substance in the sediment1. Previous work has quantified depositional fluxes of metals and nutrients by assuming that the vertical distribution of these substances in sediments is unaffected by post-depositional migration, chemical reaction or porosity variations2–10. We present here a procedure for calculating the historical depositional flux (loading record) of a substance which undergoes post-depositional chemical reaction in a compacting sediment column. The method is demonstrated by calculating the loading record of organic nitrogen at one locality in Lake Erie.
Postharvest Fruit Rots in Apples Caused by Botrytis cinerea, Phacidiopycnis washingtonensis, and Sphaeropsis pyriputrescens

Postharvest fruit rot diseases can be a limiting factor for storage of apples, and identifying target pathogens is the first necessary step for development and implementation of relevant measures f...
Along-wind dispersion of puffs released in a built-up urban area

The SF6 gas tracer observations for puffs released near the ground during the Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) urban dispersion experiment in Oklahoma City have been analysed. The JU2003 observations, at distances of about 100–1,100 m from the source, show that, at small times, when the puff is still within the built-up downtown domain, the standard deviation of the concentration time series, σt, is influenced by the initial puff spread due to buildings near the source and by hold-up in the wakes of large buildings at the sampler locations. This effect is parameterised by assuming an initial σto of about 42 s, leading to a comprehensive similarity formula: σt = 42 + 0.1t. The second term, 0.1t, is consistent with an earlier similarity relation, σt = 0.1t, derived from puff observations in many experiments over rural terrain. The along-wind dispersion coefficient, σx, is assumed to equal σtu, in which u is the puff speed calculated as the distance from the source to the sampler, x, divided by the time after the release that the maximum concentration is observed at the sampler. σx can be expressed as σx = σxo + 0.14x, with the initial σxo of 45 m. This initial σxo agrees with the suggestion of an initial plume spread of about 40 m, made by McElroy and Pooler from analysis of the 1960s’ St. Louis urban dispersion experiment. The puff speeds, u, are initially only about 20% of the observed wind speed, averaged over about 80 street-level and rooftop anemometers in the city, but approach the mean observed wind speed as the puffs grow vertically. The scatter in the σt data is about ± a factor of two or three at any given travel time. The maximum σt is about 250 s, and the maximum duration of the puff over the sampler, Dt, sometimes called the retention time, is about 1,100 s or 18 min for these puffs and distances.
Praxeology and the Development of Human Capital The Separation of School and State

The paper uses Murray Rothbard's reconstruction of utility and welfare economics to critically analyze current neoclassical justifications for government intervention in the market for educational ...
Infant posterior neocortical lesions do not induce visual responses in spared anterior neocortex

Infant posterior neocortex lesions enhance the significance of anterior neocortex for acquisition of a two-choice brightness discrimination. The present research was designed to determine if this result was an effect of neocortical reorganization inducing anterior neocortex to assume the functions of visual neocortex. However, attempts to record visual evoked responses from anterior neocortex were unsuccessful. It was concluded that whatever infant posterior neocortical lesions do, they do not cause the surviving anterior neocortex to vicariously function for the lost visual neocortex. An explanation is offered in terms of more general facilitatory influences of neocortex.
The Effect of Halothane on Reflexes Elicited by Acute Coronary Artery Occlusion in the Dog

Acute myocardial infarction in the intra or perioperative period may be accompanied by either bradycardia and hypotension or tachycardia and hypertension. Different degrees of activation of cardiac and arterial receptors stimulated by the infarction may produce the seemingly dichotomous results. When infarction occurs intraoperatively, the effects of anesthesia may also play a role on the reflex responses observed. This study was performed for two reasons: 1) to study the effects of acute coronary artery occlusion (ACO) on vascular resistance; and 2) to study the effects of halothane (H) anesthesia on this ACO reflex. Snare occlusions of the left coronary arteries were performed in pentothalanesthetized mongrel dogs, and changes in arterial pressure, left ventricular length, hindlimb vascular resistance, and lumbar sympathetic efferent nerve activity were measured during 30- to 60-s occlusions at 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 per cent end tidal halothane concentrations. ACO produced a consistent depressor response, produced by withdrawal of sympathetic efferent activity, that was significantly attenuated by vagotomy. Increasing levels of H blunted the reflex depression in vascular resistance, and also produced decreases in baseline resistance and increases in left ventricular and diastolic length (LVEDL). Vagotomy blunted the dose-dependent decrease in baseline resistance with H. Therefore, the study has shown that: 1) ACO activates vagal afferents to initiate a reflex decrease in vascular resistance; 2) this reflex dilation is attenuated with increasing levels of H; and 3) by producing increases in LVEDL,H stimulates cardiac receptors and reflexly reduces vascular resistance.
Empire's Allure: Babylon and the Exception to Law in Two Conservative Discourses

Reference to Babylon and Babel in theonomist and neoconserative discourse is instructive in thinking about how the Bible and processes of biblical interpretation might condition U.S. citizens to accept the inconsistencies of empire and its recourse to the state of exception, in which leaders suspend the law in order to save democracy. Despite significant philosophical and religious differences, these conservative discourses are strikingly similar in allegorizing the Babel story to motivate resistance to a universalizing secular humanism and its laws (which are called Babylonian). Though suspicious of political unities like empires, and in favor of decentralization and individualism that can go beyond the law, these discourses insist that resistance is in the name of a unified truth, often presented in strongly imperialist terms. Slippages between unity and multiplicity in these allusions to Babylon—partially produced by a melange of pre- and post-Enlightenment values—are found to be homologous with the structure of the exception and with a common canonical mode of biblical interpretation. When these dynamics are read alongside Carl Schmitt’s genealogy of the exception in Political Theology, a clear picture emerges of the scripturalized structure of exception to law in U.S. liberal democracy.
Join-Idle-Queue: A novel load balancing algorithm for dynamically scalable web services

The prevalence of dynamic-content web services, exemplified by search and online social networking, has motivated an increasingly wide web-facing front end. Horizontal scaling in the Cloud is favored for its elasticity, and distributed design of load balancers is highly desirable. Existing algorithms with a centralized design, such as Join-the-Shortest-Queue (JSQ), incur high communication overhead for distributed dispatchers. We propose a novel class of algorithms called Join-Idle-Queue (JIQ) for distributed load balancing in large systems. Unlike algorithms such as Power-of-Two, the JIQ algorithm incurs no communication overhead between the dispatchers and processors at job arrivals. We analyze the JIQ algorithm in the large system limit and find that it effectively results in a reduced system load, which produces 30-fold reduction in queueing overhead compared to Power-of-Two at medium to high load. An extension of the basic JIQ algorithm deals with very high loads using only local information of server load.
1010-67 Effect of Subcutaneous Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator Patches on TI-201 Myocardial Imaging

Subcutaneous patches are frequently used with nonthoracotomy implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) devices. The effect of these patches on thallium imaging for the evaluation of myocardial ischemia is unknown. This study evaluated the attenuation effects of two commercially available subcutaneous ICD patches on TI-201 myocardial tomograms. Methods Two sets of post-reinjection TI-201 tomograms, with and without ICD patches (Medtronic or CPI), were obtained in 29 patients undergoing routine exercise or dipyridamole TI-201 stress testing. Patches were positioned over the anterior, mid, or posterior axillary line in the fourth intercostal space. Gated planar TI-201 images with and without patches were used to determine the presence of preserved regional wall motion in the area of the patch-induced attenuation defect. Readers were blinded to the patch type, location, and order of imaging, which were all randomized. Two independent readers: (1) inspected the 2 sets of the 32 raw images from the 180° acquisition to determine if the patch was visible, (2) interpreted 2 sets of tomograms for defects, and (3) assessed regional wall motion in the area of the defect. Results Patch location could be identified in 42% of patients with CPI patches and 71% with Medtronic patches. Attenuation defects were observed in 6 patients (35%) with Medtronic patches and 4 patients (33%) with CPI patches. In the subset of patients with patch-induced defects, preserved wall motion was present in 89% of these regions. Conclusions Subcutaneous patches can cause attenuation defects which may be mistaken as an area of infarction. Normal wall motion on gated images allows differentiation between attenuation artifacts due to the patches from fixed defects due to infarction.
Bayesian point event modeling in spatial and environmental epidemiology

This paper reviews the current state of point event modeling in spatial epidemiology from a Bayesian perspective. Point event (or case event) data arise when geo-coded addresses of disease events are available. Often, this level of spatial resolution would not be accessible due to medical confidentiality constraints. However, for the examination of small spatial scales, it is important to be capable of examining point process data directly. Models for such data are usually formulated based on point process theory. In addition, special conditioning arguments can lead to simpler Bernoulli likelihoods and logistic spatial models. Goodness-of-fit diagnostics and Bayesian residuals are also considered. Applications within putative health hazard risk assessment, cluster detection, and linkage to environmental risk fields (misalignment) are considered.
Wet-Milling Characteristics of Selected Yellow Dent Corn Hybrids as Influenced by Storage Conditions

ABSTRACT Three yellow dent corn hybrids (FR1064×LH59, FR600×FR1087, and FR618×LH123HT) from the 1994 crop, one hybrid (FR1064×LH59) from the 1995 crop, and two hybrids (FR1064×LH59 and FR618×LH123HT) from the 1996 crop were used to study the effect of storage time and storage temperature on starch yields. Samples of all of the corn hybrids were stored under one of two conditions: in a 4°C cold room or under a shed exposed to ambient conditions. The hybrids from the 1994, 1995, and 1996 crops were stored for up to 24, 12, and 3 months, respectively. No significant differences were found between starch yields of the hybrids with respect to storage time. However, there was a significant difference in hybrids from the 1994 samples. Starch yields of two of the three corn hybrids (from the 1994 crop) stored in the 4°C cold room were higher when compared to the starch yields of the same hybrids stored at ambient conditions.
Interleukin-7 induces HIV replication in primary naive T cells through a nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT)-dependent pathway

Interleukin (IL)-7 plays several roles critical to T cell maturation, survival, and homeostasis. Because of these functions, IL-7 is under investigation as an immune-modulator for therapeutic use in lymphopenic clinical conditions, including HIV. We reported that naive T cells, typically not permissive to HIV, can be productively infected when pre-treated with IL-7. We evaluated the mechanism by which IL-7-mediates this effect. IL-7 potently up-regulated the transcriptional factor NFAT, but had no effect on NFkappaB. Blocking NFAT activity using a number of reagents, such as Cyclosporin A, FK-506, or the NFAT-specific inhibitor known as VIVIT peptide, all markedly reduced IL-7-mediated induction of HIV replication in naive T cells. Additional neutralization of cytokines present in IL-7-treated cultures and/or those that have NFAT-binding sequences within their promotors indicated that IL-10, IL-4, and most significantly IFNgamma, all contribute to IL-7-induction of HIV productive replication in naive T cells. These data clarify the mechanism by which IL-7 can overcome the block to HIV productive infection in naive T cells, despite their quiescent cell status. These findings are relevant to the treatment of HIV disease and understanding HIV pathogenesis in the naive CD4+ T cell compartment, especially in light of the vigorous pursuit of IL-7 as an in vivo immune modulator.
Instabilities in droplets spreading on gels

We report a novel surface-tension driven instability observed for droplets spreading on a compliant substrate. When a droplet is released on the surface of an agar gel, it forms arms or cracks when the ratio of surface-tension gradient to gel strength is sufficiently large. We explore a range of gel strengths and droplet surface tensions and find that the onset of the instability and the number of arms depend on the ratio of surface tension to gel strength. However, the arm length grows with an apparently universal law $L\ensuremath{\propto}{t}^{3/4}$.