Probing Optical Multi-Level Memory Effects in Single Core-Shell Quantum Dots and Application Through 2D-0D Hybrid Inverters.
Challenges in the development of a multi-level memory (MM) device for multinary arithmetic computers have posed an obstacle to low-power, ultra-high-speed operation. For the effective transfer of a huge amount of data between arithmetic and storage devices, optical communication technology represents a compelling solution. Here, by replicating a floating gate architecture with CdSe/ZnS type-I core/shell quantum dots (QDs), a 2D-0D hybrid optical multi-level memory (OMM) device operated is demonstrated by laser pulses. In the device, laser pulses create linear optically trapped currents with MM characteristics, while conversely, voltage pulses reset all the trapped currents at once. Assuming electron transfer via the energy band alignment between MoS2 and CdSe, the study also establishes the mechanism of the OMM effect. Analysis of the designed device led to a new hypothesis that charge transfer is difficult for laterally adjacent QDs facing a double ZnS shell, which is tested by separately stimulating different positions on the 2D-0D hybrid structure with finely focused laser pulses. Results indicate that each laser pulse induced independent MM characteristics in the 2D-0D hybrid architecture. Based on this phenomenon, we propose a MM inverter to produce MM effects, such as programming and erasing, solely through the use of laser pulses. Finally, the feasibility of a fully optically-controlled intelligent system based on the proposed OMM inverters is evaluated through a CIFAR-10 pattern recognition task using a convolutional neural network.


Quantum optical arbitrary waveform manipulation and measurement in real time.
We describe a technique for dynamic quantum optical arbitrary-waveform generation and manipulation, which is capable of mode selectively operating on quantum signals without inducing significant loss or decoherence. It is built upon combining the developed tools of quantum frequency conversion and optical arbitrary waveform generation. Considering realistic parameters, we propose and analyze applications such as programmable reshaping of picosecond-scale temporal modes, selective frequency conversion of any one or superposition of those modes, and mode-resolved photon counting. We also report on experimental progress to distinguish two overlapping, orthogonal temporal modes, demonstrating over 8 dB extinction between picosecond-scale time-frequency modes, which agrees well with our theory. Our theoretical and experimental progress, as a whole, points to an enabling optical technique for various applications such as ultradense quantum coding, unity-efficiency cavity-atom quantum memories, and high-speed quantum computing.


Uniformity of the nuclear and chloroplast genomes of Spartina maritima (Poaceae), a salt-marsh species in decline along the Western European Coast.
Spartina maritima is a salt-marsh species from European and African Atlantic coasts. In the northern range of the species (including north-west France), a rapid decline of the populations has been observed during the 20th century. In this paper, the molecular diversity of 10 populations of S. maritima from France has been investigated using nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers: inter-simple sequence polymorphism (ISSR), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP), and PCR-RFLP of a 5 kb long portion of chloroplast DNA. The results reveal an extremely low level of genetic variation in this species: only one nuclear marker (out of 98) was polymorphic, with the presence of two genotypes randomly distributed among the populations. The lack of genetic diversity is interpreted in light of the almost exclusive vegetative propagation of the species in its northern range, the colonization history of the populations, and the origin of S. maritima (2n = 60) in the hexaploid lineage of the genus and in the context of the management of S. maritima populations.


Why do African Americans get more colon cancer than Native Africans?
The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is dramatically higher in African Americans (AAs) than in Native Africans (NAs) (60:100,000 vs. <1:100,000) and slightly higher than in Caucasian Americans (CAs). To explore whether the difference could be explained by interactions between diet and colonic bacterial flora, we compared randomly selected samples of healthy 50- to 65-y-old AAs (n = 17) with NAs (n = 18) and CAs (n = 17). Diet was measured by 3-d recall, and colonic metabolism by breath hydrogen and methane responses to oral lactulose. Fecal samples were cultured for 7-alpha dehydroxylating bacteria and Lactobacillus plantarum. Colonoscopic mucosal biopsies were taken to measure proliferation rates. In comparison with NAs, AAs consumed more (P < 0.01) protein (94 +/- 9.3 vs. 58 +/- 4.1 g/d) and fat (114 +/- 11.2 vs. 38 +/- 3.0 g/d), meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. However, they also consumed more (P < 0.05) calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and fiber intake was the same. Breath hydrogen was higher (P < 0.0001) and methane lower in AAs, and fecal colony counts of 7-alpha dehydroxylating bacteria were higher and of Lactobacilli were lower. Colonic crypt cell proliferation rates were dramatically higher in AAs (21.8 +/- 1.1% vs. 3.2 +/- 0.8% labeling, P < 0.0001). In conclusion, the higher CRC risk and mucosal proliferation rates in AAs than in NAs were associated with higher dietary intakes of animal products and higher colonic populations of potentially toxic hydrogen and secondary bile-salt-producing bacteria. This supports our hypothesis that CRC risk is determined by interactions between the external (dietary) and internal (bacterial) environments.


An in vitro model of the wound microenvironment: local phagocytic cell abnormalities associated with in situ complement activation.
An in vitro model was developed to investigate the inflammatory response to tissue damage. Human fibroblasts were heat killed and incubated with serum. Complement studies showed activation of the alternative pathway proportional to the number of dead cells; C3 was fixed on dead cells, and C5a was generated. Neutrophils (PMNLs) adhered to killed fibroblasts, a process requiring fresh serum. After adhering to killed fibroblasts in the presence of serum, PMNLs exhibited depressed chemotactic responsiveness to activated serum and reduced bactericidal activity against preopsonized Staphylococcus aureus. These data suggest that thermally killed cells activate and fix complement, a process generating cleavage products that, in turn, recruit PMNLs and bind them to the inflammatory site. Thus, in our model, dead tissue activates humoral mechanisms and inflammatory cells; this process results in depressed in situ host-defense function upon subsequent local challenge with microbes.


Knotted fields and explicit fibrations for lemniscate knots.
We give an explicit construction of complex maps whose nodal lines have the form of lemniscate knots. We review the properties of lemniscate knots, defined as closures of braids where all strands follow the same transverse (1, ℓ) Lissajous figure, and are therefore a subfamily of spiral knots generalizing the torus knots. We then prove that such maps exist and are in fact fibrations with appropriate choices of parameters. We describe how this may be useful in physics for creating knotted fields, in quantum mechanics, optics and generalizing to rational maps with application to the Skyrme-Faddeev model. We also prove how this construction extends to maps with weakly isolated singularities.


Effect of sinapic acid on 1,2 dimethylhydrazine induced aberrant crypt foci, biotransforming bacterial enzymes and circulatory oxidative stress status in experimental rat colon carcinogenesis.
This study was aimed to investigate the effect of sinapic acid (SA) on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) induced experimental rat colon carcinogenesis. Rats were assorted into six groups, group 1 served as control, group 2 received SA (80 mg/kg b.w.) post orally every day until the end of the experimental period of 16 weeks, groups 3-6 rats were injected DMH (20 mg/kg b.w.) subcutaneously once a week for first four weeks. In addition, groups 4-6 rats received different doses of SA (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg b.w.). Our results showed that DMH induced rats revealed significantly increased ACF development and multiplicity, which were significantly inhibited on supplementation with SA. Moreover, elevated levels/activities of circulatory oxidative stress markers, faecal and colonic mucosal bacterial enzymes were observed in DMH exposed rats, which were diminished on supplementation with SA. Overall, our findings revealed that supplementation with SA offers significant protection against DMH induced rat colon carcinogenesis and the effect of SA at the dose of 40 mg/kg b.w. was more pronounced as compared to the other two doses. (Tab.5, Fig. 3, Ref. 46)


Stroke-GFCN: ischemic stroke lesion prediction with a fully convolutional graph network.
The interpretation of image data plays a critical role during acute brain stroke diagnosis, and promptly defining the requirement of a surgical intervention will drastically impact the patient's outcome. However, determining stroke lesions purely from images can be a daunting task. Many studies proposed automatic segmentation methods for brain stroke lesions from medical images in different modalities, though heretofore results do not satisfy the requirements to be clinically reliable. We investigate the segmentation of brain stroke lesions using a geometric deep learning model that takes advantage of the intrinsic interconnected diffusion features in a set of multi-modal inputs consisting of computer tomography (CT) perfusion parameters. We propose a geometric deep learning model for the segmentation of ischemic stroke brain lesions that employs spline convolutions and unpooling/pooling operators on graphs to excerpt graph-structured features in a fully convolutional network architecture. In addition, we seek to understand the underlying principles governing the different components of our model. Accordingly, we structure the experiments in two parts: an evaluation of different architecture hyperparameters and a comparison with state-of-the-art methods. The ablation study shows that deeper layers obtain a higher Dice coefficient score (DCS) of up to 0.3654. Comparing different pooling and unpooling methods shows that the best performing unpooling method is the proportional approach, yet it often smooths the segmentation border. Unpooling achieves segmentation results more adapted to the lesion boundary corroborated with systematic lower values of Hausdorff distance. The model performs at the level of state-of-the-art models without optimized training methods, such as augmentation or patches, with a DCS of 0.4553±0.0031. We proposed and evaluated an end-to-end trainable fully convolutional graph network architecture using spline convolutional layers for the ischemic stroke lesion prediction. We propose a model that employs graph-based operations to predict acute stroke brain lesions from CT perfusion parameters. Our results prove the feasibility of using geometric deep learning to solve segmentation problems, and our model shows a better performance than other models evaluated. The proposed model achieves improved metric values for the DCS metric, ranging from 8.61% to 69.05%, compared with other models trained under the same conditions. Next, we compare different pooling and unpooling operations in relation to their segmentation results, and we show that the model can produce segmentation outputs that adapt to irregular segmentation boundaries when using simple heuristic unpooling operations.


Porphyromonas gingivalis outer membrane vesicles shape trophoblast cell metabolism impairing functions associated to adverse pregnancy outcome.
Periodontitis is proposed as a risk factor for preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, and preeclampsia with severe consequences for maternal and neonatal health, but the biological mechanisms involved are elusive. Porphyromonas gingivalis gain access to the placental bed and impair trophoblast cell function, as assessed in murine and human pregnancy, suggesting a pathogenic role in adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. P. gingivalis releases outer membrane vesicles (P. gingivalis OMV) during growth that spread to distant tissues and are internalized in host cells as described in metabolic, neurological, and vascular systemic diseases. Here we tested the hypothesis that P. gingivalis OMV internalized in trophoblast cells disrupt their metabolism leading to trophoblast and placenta dysfunction and adverse pregnancy outcomes. An in vitro design with human trophoblast cells incubated with P. gingivalis OMV was used together with ex vivo and in vivo approaches in pregnant mice treated with P. gingivalis OMV. P. gingivalis OMV modulated human trophoblast cell metabolism by reducing glycolytic pathways and decreasing total reactive oxygen species with sustained mitochondrial activity. Metabolic changes induced by P. gingivalis OMV did not compromise cell viability; instead, it turned trophoblast cells into a metabolic resting state where central functions such as migration and invasion were reduced. The effects of P. gingivalis OMV on human trophoblast cells were corroborated ex vivo in mouse whole placenta and in vivo in pregnant mice: P. gingivalis OMV reduced glycolytic pathways in the placenta and led to lower placental and fetal weight gain in vivo with reduced placental expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1. The present results point to OMV as a key component of P. gingivalis involved in adverse pregnancy outcomes, and even more, unveil a metabolic cue in the deleterious effect of P. gingivalis OMV on trophoblast cells and mouse pregnancy, providing new clues to understand pathogenic mechanisms in pregnancy complications and other systemic diseases.


Neuroprotective effect of dauricine in cortical neuron culture exposed to hypoxia and hypoglycemia: involvement of correcting perturbed calcium homeostasis.
We have previously reported that dauricine protects brain tissues from focal cerebral ischemia. To corroborate this effect, neurotoxicity due to hypoxia and hypoglycemia was assessed in primary cultures of rat cortical neurons by using a trypan blue exclusion method. To further clarify the mechanism, the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsim) of dissociated rat cortical cells were monitored by fura-2 fluorescence measurements and flow cytometry, respectively. The results showed that 1 and 10 micromol/L dauricine significantly enhanced neuronal survival during 4 h of hypoxia and hypoglycemia. Dauricine inhibited the increase in [Ca2+]i and decrease in Deltapsim induced by 30 min of hypoxia and hypoglycemia. When exploring the pathway, we found that 1 micromol/L dauricine inhibited the [Ca2+]i increase induced by 7.5 nmol/L thapsigargin in either the presence or absence of extracellular Ca2+ and by 1 mmol/L L-glutamate in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. These results suggest that dauricine prevents neuronal loss from ischemia in vitro, which is in accordance with our previous research in vivo. In addition, by inhibiting Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum and Ca2+ influx from the extracellular space, dauricine suppressed the increase in [Ca2+]i and, subsequently, the decrease in Deltapsim induced by hypoxia and hypoglycemia. This effect may underlie the mechanism of action of dauricine on cerebral ischemia.


Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: Role of Coping Strategies.
Adaptive coping strategies are used to reduce stress in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. These strategies have a major role in physical health, psychological health, quality of life and also affect an individual's response to the disease. The current study was conducted to comprehend the impact of coping strategies on the quality of life of patients suffering from cardiac disease. A purposive convenient sampling method was used to collect data from different hospitals in South Punjab. We applied Carver's Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced (Brief COPE) inventory and the WHO quality of life scale. A cross-sectional research design was proposed for the study. The findings of the study showed that coping strategies and quality of life are associated with each other, and the use of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies have a significant impact on patients experiencing cardiac surgery. Demographic details of patients also revealed the differences in both variables. Implications and future recommendations have also been discussed.


Arthroscopy in the management of knee disorders.
In the past 15 years arthroscopy and arthroscopic surgery have dramatically altered the pattern of knee surgery throughout the western world. Although the equipment is expensive and fragile and patience and skill are required to perform the lengthy procedures, the advantages to the patient are significant. Accurate diagnosis is possible and the microsurgical corrective procedure causes little interference to lifestyle. An early return to full activity benefits the patient and the community by reducing both hospital costs and loss of earnings. The safe application of these techniques is available in all major Australian cities from experienced and capable orthopaedic surgeons.


Motivational groups support adherence to antiretroviral therapy and use of risk reduction behaviors in HIV positive Nigerian women: a pilot study.
Nigerian women comprise the fastest growing group of persons with AIDS in Africa. Antiretroviral therapy has transformed the course of HIV/AIDS to a treatable, chronic illness worldwide. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy of a group intervention using motivational interviewing (MI) to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and use of risk reduction behaviors (RRB) among HIV-infected women in Nigeria. Recruited participants (n=60) were randomly assigned to the motivational group or the health promotion program (HPP) control group. The 6 month follow-up results indicate that, compared to the control group, MI participants reported significantly higher levels of adherence to ART, higher knowledge of HIV, higher use of condoms/protection during sexual encounters and decision-making not to have sex when no protection was available. The MI participants also had fewer mean number of sexual partners. MI in group format shows promise in promoting adherence to ART and use of RRB in HIV-infected Nigerian women.


Spectral CT imaging as a new quantitative tool? Assessment of perfusion defects of pulmonary parenchyma in patients with lung cancer.
This study investigated the capability of dual-energy spectral computed tomography (CT) to quantitatively evaluate lung perfusion defects that are induced by central lung cancer. Thirty-two patients with central lung cancer underwent CT angiography using spectral imaging. A univariate general linear model was conducted to analyze the variance of iodine concentration/CT value with three factors of lung fields. A paired t-test was used to compare iodine concentrations and CT values between the distal end of lung cancer and the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung. Iodine concentrations increased progressively in the far, intermediate and near ground sides in the normal lung fields at 0.60±0.28, 0.93±0.27 and 1.25±0.38 mg/mL, respectively (P<0.001). The same trend was observed for the CT values [-(840.64±49.08), -(812.66±50.85) and -(760.83±89.17) HU, P<0.001]. The iodine concentration (0.70±0.42 mg/mL) of the lung field in the distal end of lung cancer was significantly lower than the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung (1.19±0.62 mg/mL) (t=-7.23, P<0.001). However, the CT value of lung field in the distal end of lung cancer was significantly higher than the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung [-(765.29±93.34) HU vs. -(800.07±76.18) HU, t=3.564, P=0.001]. Spectral CT imaging based on the spectral differentiation of iodine is feasible and can quantitatively evaluate pulmonary perfusion and identify perfusion defects that are induced by central lung cancer. Spectral CT seems to be a promising technique for the simultaneous evaluation of both morphological and functional lung information.


Clinical efficacy of buprenorphine after oral dosing in rats undergoing major surgery.
Serum corticosterone, serum buprenorphine, body weight change, consumption of food and water and behaviour-based pain assessment were measured in catheterised and non-catheterised male Wistar rats undergoing myocardial infarct (MI) surgery under general anaesthesia following buprenorphine dosing by subcutaneous (Bup-SC, 0.05 mg/kg) and oral (Bup-O, 0.4 mg/kg) routes. Buprenorphine was dosed subcutaneously at half an hour before and 8, 16 and 24 hours after surgery (Bup-SC), orally at one hour before surgery (Bup-O1) or at one hour before and 12 hours after surgery (Bup-O2) in catheterised rats and at one hour before and 24 hours after surgery (Bup-O24) in non-catheterised rats. Serum corticosterone, body weight changes and food and water consumption were not significantly different between treatments in catheterised rats. Bup-SC resulted in rapidly decreasing serum concentrations below the clinically effective concentrations (1 ng/mL) already at two hours after the first dose. Bup-O provided significantly higher and slowly decreasing serum concentrations, at or above clinically effective concentrations, for 24 hours (Bup-O1) and 42 hours (Bup-O2) after surgery. In non-catheterised rats, body weight development and food consumption were significantly higher in Bup-O24 rats compared to Bup-SC rats. The results indicate that a SC buprenorphine dose of 0.05 mg/kg every eight hours provides long periods of serum concentrations below clinically effective levels, and that a higher dose and/or more frequent dosage are required to provide stable serum concentrations at or above clinically effective levels. A single oral buprenorphine dose of 0.4 mg/kg provides clinically effective and stable serum concentrations for 24 hours in rats after MI surgery.


Antibiotic-Producing Beneficial Bacteria in the Gut of the Burying Beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides.
The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant human pathogens is a growing public concern and there is intense pressure to identify new antibacterial compounds that can be developed into antibiotics with novel mode of action. Evolutionary theory predicts that insects that have evolved to occupy sophisticated ecological niches by feeding and reproducing on carcasses will depend on their gut microbiome to prevent colonization by invading pathogens taken up with the diet. This inspired our hypothesis that the complex interactions between the core microbiome and the more flexible microbial communities dependent on the environment may promote the outsourcing of antibiotic synthesis to beneficial microbes. We tested this hypothesis by cultivating and characterizing bacteria isolated from the gut of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, which feeds and reproduces on small vertebrate carcasses buried in the soil to avoid competitors such as fly maggots. The extracts of isolated bacteria were screened for activity against human pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. More than 400 strains were isolated, among which the crude extract of Serratia marcescens 2MH3-2 displayed promising activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Bioactivity-guided fractionation enabled purification of the primary antimicrobial compound of the extract. By LC-MS and NMR experiments, it was identified as serrawettin W2 (C38H61N5O9), the antibacterial and nematostatic activity of which was corroborated in our study. We postulate that this antibiotic could contribute to the control of both bacteria and phoretic nematodes in the gut, which compete for food when transferred to the carcass. Our study shows that the gut microbiome of N. vespilloides is a promising resource for the screening of antibiotic-producing bacteria.


Critical evaluation of simple network models of protein dynamics and their comparison with crystallographic B-factors.
In recent years, elastic network models (ENM) have been widely used to describe low-frequency collective motions in proteins. These models are often validated and calibrated by fitting mean-square atomic displacements estimated from x-ray crystallography (B-factors). We show that a proper calibration procedure must account for the rigid-body motion and constraints imposed by the crystalline environment on the protein. These fundamental aspects of protein dynamics in crystals are often ignored in currently used ENMs, leading to potentially erroneous network parameters. Here we develop an ENM that properly takes the rigid-body motion and crystalline constraints into account. Its application to the crystallographic B-factors reveals that they are dominated by rigid-body motion and thus are poorly suited for the calibration of models for internal protein dynamics. Furthermore, the translation libration screw (TLS) model that treats proteins as rigid bodies is considerably more successful in interpreting the experimental B-factors than ENMs. This conclusion is reached on the basis of a comparative study of various models of protein dynamics. To evaluate their performance, we used a data set of 330 protein structures that combined the sets previously used in the literature to test and validate different models. We further propose an extended TLS model that treats the bulk of the protein as a rigid body while allowing for flexibility of chain ends. This model outperforms other simple models of protein dynamics in interpreting the crystallographic B-factors.


[Surveillance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 among animals in Jiangsu province in 1999].
To understand the Escherichia coli O157:H7 carrier rate of host animals and the toxic gene of the strains in different areas in Jiangsu province. Surveillance spots were set up in different areas, to collect feces of pigs, chickens, sheep, cattle to culture for O157:H7 with immunomagnetic separation as well as detection of toxic gene of the strain with MPCR were both carried out. One hundred and seventy strains of O157:H7 were separated from 1 767 feces of different animals in six spots, with a overall positive rate 9.62%. The positive rates of cattle and sheep were 19.05% and 12.01% respectively. Among 85 strains SLT1, SLT2, eaeA and hly toxic genes were detected. In which, 56.47% of the strains were positive curturely while 79.17% of them carried SLT2, eaeA and hly gene simultaneously. The positive rate of O157:H7 in animals and the positive rates of strains were correlated to the incidence of the area. The highest rates were seen in areas where there had been O157:H7 epidemic, followed by the areas where there were only scattered cases identified while the lowest was in areas with no patients. Data indicated that it was important to enforce the surveillance of O157:H7 in animals to better predict and control of the disease.


Critical Evaluation of Cross-Sectoral Collaborations to Inform the Implementation of the "One Health" Approach in Guadeloupe.
In Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory located in the Eastern Caribbean, infectious and non-infectious diseases, loss of biodiversity, natural disasters and global change threaten the health and well-being of animals, plants, and people. Implementing the "One Health" (OH) approach is crucial to reduce the archipelago's vulnerability to these health threats. However, OH remains underdeveloped in Guadeloupe, hampering efficient and effective intersectoral and transdisciplinary collaborations for disease surveillance and control. A multidisciplinary research group of volunteer researchers working in Guadeloupe, with collective expertise in infectious diseases, undertook a study to identify key attributes for OH operationalization by reviewing past and current local collaborative health initiatives and analyzing how much they mobilized the OH framework. The research group developed and applied an operational OH framework to assess critically collaborative initiatives addressing local health issues. Based on a literature review, a set of 13 opinion-based key criteria was defined. The criteria and associated scoring were measured through semi-directed interviews guided by a questionnaire to critically evaluate four initiatives in animal, human, plant, and environmental health research and epidemiological surveillance. Gaps, levers, and prospects were identified that will help health communities in Guadeloupe envision how to implement the OH approach to better address local health challenges. The methodology is simple, generic, and pragmatic and relies on existing resources. It can be transposed and adapted to other contexts to improve effectiveness and efficiency of OH initiatives, based on lessons-learned of local past or current multi-interdisciplinary and intersectoral initiatives.


Reducing substance abuse risk factors among children through a teacher as facilitator program.
A Teachers as Facilitators (TAF) Program used classroom teachers as leaders of small groups that promoted social, emotional, and academic development of children at high risk of adopting potentially destructive substance abuse patterns. The program was intended to increase participating students' positive socialization experiences and academic achievement by successfully integrating these students into the school's social system. A longer-range goal was to increase students' sense of worth as it affects their attitudes toward relationships with other people and academic demands. Program results were: 1) school personnel were found capable of accurately identifying and referring to the TAF Program children who were at risk of substance usage and in need of assistance; 2) the TAF Program was effective in improving at-risk students' perceived academic self-concept, but was less effective in increasing students' perceived sense of social support; and 3) the program was endorsed by participating teachers, counselors, and administrators.


Diversity in phenotypic and nutritional traits in vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor), a nutritionally underutilised crop.
Assessment of genetic diversity in a crop-breeding programme helps in the identification of diverse parental combinations to create segregating progenies with maximum genetic variability and facilitates introgression of desirable genes from diverse germplasm into the available genetic base. In the present study, 39 strains of vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) were evaluated for eight morphological and seven quality traits for two test seasons to study the extent of genetic divergence among the strains. Multivariate analysis showed that the first four principal components contributed 67.55% of the variability. Cluster analysis grouped the strains into six clusters that displayed a wide range of diversity for most of the traits. Cluster analysis has proved to be an effective method in grouping strains that may facilitate effective management and utilisation in crop-breeding programmes. The diverse strains falling in different clusters were identified, which can be utilised in different hybridisation programmes to develop high-foliage-yielding varieties rich in nutritional components.


'Muprints' of the lac operon demonstrate physiological control over the randomness of in vivo transposition.
A method called Muprinting has been developed that uses PCR to generate a detailed picture of the bacteriophage Mu transposition sites in chosen domains of the bacterial chromosome. Muprinting experiments in Escherichia coli show that the frequency of phage integration changes dramatically near two repressor binding sites in the lac operon. When the lac operon was repressed, hotspots for Mu transposition were found near the O1 and O2 operators that are proposed to make a repression loop. When cells were grown in lactose, Mu transposition near these operators was greatly diminished. Striking changes in transposition frequencies were limited to the control region and were not found in a region of the lacZ gene lying beyond the O2 operator. Muprints of the bgl operon showed a different pattern; hotspots for Mu transposition detected in sequences upstream of the bglC promoter when the operon was silenced changed when the operon became activated by mutation. By targeting transposition to the regulatory regions around non-expressed genes, Mu may demonstrate a self-restraint mechanism that allows the virus to move through its host genome without disrupting the functions that contribute to a healthy cell physiology.


Beneficial effect of mioflazine in limiting myocardial infarct size in the anesthetized dog.
The effect of mioflazine (R 51 469) on infarct size was studied in anesthetized dogs subjected to 24 h of LAD (left anterior descending) coronary artery occlusion. The myocardium normally supplied by the occluded coronary artery (perfusion area, PA) was delineated by perfusion of the arterial bed distal to the occlusion with colorless fluid while the remainder of the heart was simultaneously perfused with an Evans blue solution. After sectioning the heart, infarct areas (IA) could be visualized by incubation of the slices in triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride (TTC). Quantification of the areas was performed using a Quantimet 900 image analysis system. The animals either received mioflazine (2.5 mg X kg-1 orally) or a same volume of 20% polypropylene glycol, the solvent of mioflazine 2.5 h before the start of the surgical procedure. For perfusion areas greater than 20% of the left ventricle infarct size was significantly reduced in mioflazine pretreated animals compared with the control group, both expressed as per cent of the left ventricle (10.6 +/- 2.3 vs 19.2 +/- 1.5, p less than 0.005) and as per cent of the perfusion area (35.1 +/- 7 vs 64.4 +/- 5, p less than 0.005).


Prediction of individual prosthesis size for valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction based on geometric features.
Valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction is an up- and-coming approach for patients suffering from aortic valve insufficiencies which promises to significantly reduce complications. However, the success of the treatment strongly depends on the challenging task of choosing the correct size of the prosthesis, for which, up to now, surgeons solely have to rely on their experience. Here, we present a novel machine learning based approach, which might make it possible to predict the size of the prosthesis from pre-operatively acquired ultrasound images. We utilize support vector regression to train a prediction model on three geometric features extracted from the ultrasound data. In order to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of our approach we created a large data base of porcine aortic root geometries in a healthy state and an artificially dilated state. Our results indicate that prediction of correct prosthesis sizes is feasible. Furthermore, they suggest that it is crucial that the training data set faithfully represents the diversity of aortic root geometries.


Charged oxygen defects in SiO2: going beyond local and semilocal approximations to density functional theory.
The long-standing problem of the oxygen self-diffusion mechanism in silicon dioxide, a prototypical oxide, both in the crystalline and in the amorphous phase, is studied from first principles. We demonstrate that the widely used local-density approximation to density functional theory (DFT) predicts a kinetic behavior of oxygen in strong disagreement with available experiments. Applying a recently developed scheme that combines DFT with quasiparticle energy calculations in the G0W0 approximation considerably improves defect energetics and gives gratifying agreement with experiment.


Pirenzepine depresses plasma noradrenaline in duodenal ulcer patients.
The effect of pirenzepine--a selective antimuscarinic compound--on plasma catecholamine, serum gastrin and somatostatin concentrations was studied in duodenal ulcer patients. Plasma concentration of noradrenaline decreased significantly after injection of pirenzepine (10 mg intravenously), whereas the circulating levels of adrenaline, dopamine, gastrin and somatostatin remained unchanged. The results may be explained by a decreased activity in postganglionic sympathetic ganglia. This is in line with the recent observation in vitro that pirenzepine effectively blocks muscarinic receptors in some sympathetic ganglia.


Achieving Health SDG 3 in Africa through NGO Capacity Building - Insights from the Gates Foundation Investment in Partnership in Advocacy for Child and Family Health (PACFaH) Project.
As global impact investors gear up to support roll out of the Sustainable Development Goals in the developing world, African CSOs are urged to ensure that governments shift health funding sources away from aid and loans to innovative domestic funding sources which prioritize health. To do so, African CSOs require support to build their capacity for policy and budget advocacy. Governments and development partners have failed to invest in long term capacity building projects for indigenous NGOs and instead support INGOs to push the health advocacy agenda forward. In Nigeria, the Gates foundation has risen to the challenge of building capacity of indigenous NGOs for social accountability in child and family health. The 3 year pilot project - Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health Project (PACFaH) mainstreams capacity building as an effective implementation strategy for 8 indigenous NGOs to deliver on - policy; budgetary; legislative; and administrative advocacy in four issue areas: 1) family planning; 2) nutrition; 3) routine immunization; and 4) reduction of under-5 deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia. This paper documents the achievements of the eight advocacy NGOs in PACFaH, at midterm and notes that while there have been challenges, working through capacity building as an implementation strategy has enabled the local groups in the delivery of evidence based advocacy.


Effect of metformin on ballooning degeneration in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH): when to use metformin in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
The key histologic feature of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is hepatocellular ballooning (HB). It plays an important role in NASH progression and is an independent predictor of liver mortality. In this review, we identified all studies using metformin in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that included pre- and post-treatment liver biopsies. We specifically reviewed the effects of metformin on HB. Improved HB was noted in pediatric populations and in those adult patients who were able to lose weight and improve or normalize transaminases during therapy. Previous studies have supported the beneficial effects of metformin in reduction of body weight, improvement of insulin resistance, prevention of complications related to diabetes and chemo-preventive benefits in reducing hepatocellular carcinoma. All these effects make it an attractive treatment consideration for patients with diabetes, and prediabetes who have co-existing NAFLD. Future studies are warranted in order to confirm this effect of metformin on HB and its association with improving long-term outcomes in patients with NAFLD.


Cervical cancer screening in a low-resource setting: a pilot study on an HPV-based screen-and-treat approach.
Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in sub-Saharan Africa, primarily because of limited access to effective screening and preventive treatment. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of a human papillomavirus (HPV)-based CC screen-and-treat approach in a low-resource context. We recruited 1012 women aged 30-49 years through a CC screening campaign conducted in the District Hospital of Dschang, Cameroon. Participants performed HPV self-sampling, which was tested for high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) DNA using the point-of-care Xpert HPV assay. All HPV-positive women were invited for visual inspection with acetic acid and Lugol's iodine (VIA/VILI) to exclude CC or enable triage. A cervical sample for histological analysis was also collected. Women positive for HPV 16/18/45 and for other HR-HPV with pathological VIA/VILI were selected to undergo treatment with thermocoagulation. The HPV prevalence in the study population was 18.5% (n = 187); of these cases, 20 (10.6%), 42 (22.3%) and 140 (74.9%) were positive for HPV16, HPV18/45 and other HR-HPV types, respectively. Overall, 107/185 (57.8%) VIA/VILI examinations were classified as pathological and 78 (42.2%) as normal. Women positive for HPV16/18/45 were 4.2 times more likely to harbor cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) than those with other HPV types. The specificity of HPV 16/18/45 genotypes for detection of high-grade lesions among HR-HPV positive women was higher than that of VIA/VILI in all age groups. The sensitivity and specificity of VIA/VILI in detecting CIN2+ among HPV positive women were 80% and 44%, respectively. Overall, 110/121 screen-positive women (90.9%) were eligible for, and were treated with, thermocoagulation. An HPV-based screen-and-treat approach is feasible in a low-resource context and may contribute to improving the effectiveness of CC prevention programs. Immediate thermocoagulation treatment for women who are HPV16- and/or HPV18/45-positive is a practical approach for the treatment of CIN2+. The combination of HPV-testing and VIA/VILI for CC screening might reduce overtreatment.


The hydroxylation of phenylalanine and tyrosine by tyrosine hydroxylase from cultured pheochromocytoma cells.
Pheochromocytoma tyrosine hydroxylase was reported to have unusual catalytic properties, which might be unique to the tumor enzyme (Dix, T. A., Kuhn, D. M., and Benkovic, S. J. (1987) Biochemistry 24, 3354-3361). Two such properties, namely the apparent inability to hydroxylate phenylalanine and an unprecedented reactivity with hydrogen peroxide were investigated further in the present study. Tyrosine hydroxylase was purified to apparent homogeneity from cultured pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. The purified tumor enzyme was entirely dependent on tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) for the hydroxylation of tyrosine to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and hydrogen peroxide could not substitute for the natural cofactor. Indeed, in the presence of BH4, increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide completely inhibited enzyme activity. The PC12 hydroxylase exhibited typical kinetics of tyrosine hydroxylation exhibited typical kinetics of tyrosine hydroxylation, both as a function of tyrosine (S0.5 Tyr = 15 microM) and BH4 (apparent Km BH4 = 210 microM). In addition, the enzyme catalyzed the hydroxylation of substantial amounts of phenylalanine to tyrosine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (apparent Km Phe = 100 microM). Phenylalanine did not inhibit the enzyme in the concentrations tested, whereas tyrosine showed typical substrate inhibition at concentrations greater than or equal to 50 microM. At higher substrate concentrations, the rate of phenylalanine hydroxylation was equal to or exceeded that of tyrosine. Essentially identical results were obtained with purified tyrosine hydroxylase from pheochromocytoma PC18 cells. The data suggest that the tumor enzyme has the same substrate specificity and sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide as tyrosine hydroxylase from other tissues.


Supported and Unsupported Chiral Squaramides as Organocatalysts for Stereoselective Michael Additions: Synthesis of Enantiopure Chromenes and Spirochromanes.
Novel supported chiral bifunctional squaramides have been easily prepared starting from diamines derived from natural amino acids and commercially available aminoalkyl polystyrene resins. These squaramides behave as excellent stereoselective recoverable organocatalysts in different Michael additions, in neat conditions at room temperature. The reaction on 2-(2-nitrovinyl) phenol as electrophile lead, in excellent yields and enantioselectivities, to intermediates that can be easily transformed into 4H-chromenes, and spirochromanones.


[A new scale for assessing affects in opposite-sex relationships: love, unrequited love, and friendship].
This article develops a scale of affects in opposite-sex relationships, and investigates affects of opposite-sex love, unrequited love, and friendship. In study 1 (N= 231), a factor analysis of the affect items produced four factors: passion, affiliation-dissatisfaction, respect/trust, and aggressive/refusal. All scales were shown to be reasonably reliable (alpha > .80). In study 2 (N=295), the test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from .59 to .67. In study 3 (N=406), confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure. The results also showed that respect/trust was important for opposite-sex friendships. Affiliation-dissatisfaction was an important factor in unrequited love. Most important for lover relationships were passionate affects, respect/trust affects, and aggressive/refusal affects.


Quantum Dot Doping-Induced Photoluminescence for Facile, Label-Free, and Sensitive Pyrophosphatase Activity Assay and Inhibitor Screening.
Development of simple, convenient, and sensitive assay methods for pyrophosphatase (PPase) activity is of importance, for disease diagnosis and drug discovery. Herein, a simple, rapid, label-free, and sensitive fluorescence sensor for PPase activity assay is developed, using Cu2+ doping-induced quantum dot (QD) photoluminescence as a signal reporter. The Cu2+ doping of ZnSe QD can induce a dopant-dependent emission response, which will be inhibited after the premixing of Cu2+ with pyrophosphate (PPi), to form a Cu2+-PPi complex. Then, the hydrolysis of PPi into phosphate (Pi), specifically catalyzed by PPase, liberates the free Cu2+ to regain the QD doping for the fluorescence response, which is highly dependent on the PPase activity. The PPase can be sensitively and selectively assayed, with a detection limit of 0.1 mU/mL. The developed sensing strategy can be also employed for the PPase inhibitor screening. Thus, the current QD doping-based sensing strategy offers an efficient and promising avenue for Cu2+, PPi, or PPase-related target analysis, and might hold great potential for the further applications in the clinical disease diagnosis.


The latissimus dorsi flap for breast reconstruction.
The major factor limiting reconstruction of major postmastectomy deformities (especially after a radical mastectomy, such as that of Halsted) has been the lack of a satisfactory flap operation. The latissimus dorsal flap fills this need, as it allows a safe one-stage breast reconstruction, with an improved aesthetic result. It should be considered whenever insufficient chest wall skin remains for a satisfactory reconstruction. The author's technique for performing this flap operation is described, having evolved from cadaver dissections and eight clinical cases.


Generation of stable complex gradients across two-dimensional surfaces and three-dimensional gels.
Many chemical and biological processes are dependent on molecular gradients. We describe a new microfluidic approach that can be used to produce spatiotemporal gradients across two-dimensional surfaces and three-dimensional gels under flow-free conditions. Free diffusion between dynamically replenished flow channels acting as a sink and source is utilized to give rise to stable steady-state gradient profiles. The gradient profile is dictated by the engineered design of the device's gradient-generating region. Different designs can yield both linear and non-linear gradients of varying profiles. More complex gradients can be made by juxtaposing different designs within a single gradient-generating region. By fabricating an array of designs along the gradient-generating region, different gradient profiles can be generated simultaneously, allowing for parallel analysis. Additionally, simple methods of localizing gels into microdevices are demonstrated. The device was characterized by experimentally obtained gradient profiles of fluorescent molecules that corroborated closely with a simulated finite element model.


Climate Surveys: An Inventory of Understanding Sexual Assault and Other Crimes of Interpersonal Violence at Institutions of Higher Education.
Sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment, and stalking are complex crimes and have been a major focus of national attention at institutions of higher education (IHEs). To grasp the extent and nature of these crimes on campuses, institutionally specific climate surveys are being developed and endorsed by the federal government and conducted at IHEs. These climate surveys differ in content and length. This article describes 10 different climate surveys and outlines the variables measured in each tool. Next steps for assessing climate surveys are discussed.


Comparative effects of sulfuric and nitric acid rain on litter decomposition and soil microbial community in subtropical plantation of Yangtze River Delta region.
Acid rain is mainly caused by dissolution of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, and has a significant negative effect on ecosystems. The relative composition of acid rain is changing gradually from sulfuric acid rain (SAR) to nitric acid rain (NAR) with the rapidly growing amount of nitrogen deposition. In this study, we investigated the impact of simulated SAR and NAR on litter decomposition and the soil microbial community over four seasons since March 2015. Results first showed that the effects of acid rain on litter decomposition and soil microbial were positive in the early period of the experiment, except for SAR on soil microbes. Second, soil pH with NAR decreased more rapidly with the amount of acid rain increased in summer than with SAR treatments. Only strongly acid rain (both SAR and NAR) was capable of depressing litter decomposition and its inhibitory effect was stronger on leaf than on fine root litter. Meanwhile, NAR had a higher inhibitory effect on litter decomposition than SAR. Third, in summer, autumn and winter, PLFAs were negatively impacted by the increased acidity level resulting from both SAR and NAR. However, higher acidity level of NAR (pH=2.5) had the strongest inhibitory impact on soil microbial activity, especially in summer. In addition, Gram-negative bacteria (cy19:0) and fungi (18:1ω9) were more sensitive to both SAR and NAR, and actinomycetes was more sensitive to SAR intensity. Finally, soil total carbon, total nitrogen and pH were the most important soil property factors affecting soil microbial activity, and high microbial indices (fungi/bacteria) with high soil pH. Our results suggest that the ratio of SO42- to NO3- in acid rain is an important factor which could affect litter decomposition and soil microbial in subtropical forest of China.


Endovenous laser ablation of the great saphenous vein comparing 1920-nm and 1470-nm diode laser.
The aim of this study was to compare venous occlusion rates at a one-year follow-up comparing 1920-nm versus 1470-nm endolaser. Randomized prospective study with consecutive patients with varicose veins associated to great saphenous reflux. The 1470-nm laser ablation was performed in continuous mode, with power of 10 W, while for the 1920-nm it was set in 5 W. Follow-up data were collected at the 7-day, 30-day, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year visits, and involved clinical, ultrasound evaluation and measurement of occlusion length. Sixty seven patients were included, with 42 limbs operated in the 1470-nm group and 48 limbs in the 1920-nm group. There were no differences in relation to age, CEAP (Clinical, Etiologic, Anatomical and Pathological Classification), VCSS (Venous Clinical Severity Score) and saphenous diameter. The resulting LEED in 1920-nm group was 17.8±0.6 J/cm and vs. 24.7±0.8 J/cm in 1470-nm group (P<0.01). Closure rates were lower for the 1920-nm group: 90.9% vs. 96.8% (P=0.06) at 30 days, 87.5% vs. 96.3% at 6 months (P=0.03), and 87.5% vs. 94.7% (P=0.05) at one year. The 1920-nm group had less ecchymosis (18.7% vs. 52.4%), induration (12.4% vs. 38.1%) and days of analgesic use (1.4±0.2 vs. 2.4±0.4). CEAP and VCSS were reduced over time in both groups. Treatment with endolaser 1920-nm was feasible and with reduced complications. The use of low endoluminal energy resulted in lower vein occlusion rates comparing to the 1470-nn laser. Clinical outcome scores were similar between groups.


Asymmetric aerobic decarboxylative Povarov reactions of N-aryl α-amino acids with methylenephthalimidines via cooperative photoredox and chiral Brønsted acid catalysis.
An enantioselective aerobic decarboxylative Povarov reaction of N-aryl α-amino acids with methylenephthalimidines through cooperative photoredox and chiral Brønsted acid catalysis is reported. With a transition metal-free dual catalytic system including a chiral phosphoric acid and DPZ as a photosensitizer mediated by visible light, the transformations provided a series of valuable chiral isoindolin-1-ones containing a 3,3-spiro-tetrahydroquinoline-based stereocenter in high yields (up to 83%) with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) and excellent diastereoselectivity (>20 : 1 dr).


Injectable scaffold materials differ in their cell instructive effects on primary human myoblasts.
Scaffolds are materials used for delivery of cells for regeneration of tissues. They support three-dimensional organization and improve cell survival. For the repair of small skeletal muscles, injections of small volumes of cells are attractive, and injectable scaffolds for delivery of cells offer a minimally invasive technique. In this study, we examined in vitro the cell instructive effects of three types of injectable scaffolds, fibrin, alginate, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based microparticles on primary human myoblasts. The myoblast morphology and progression in the myogenic program differed, depending on the type of scaffold material. In alginate gel, the cells obtained a round morphology, they ceased to proliferate, and entered quiescence. In the fibrin gels, differentiation was promoted, and myotubes were observed within a few days in culture, while poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based microparticles supported prolonged proliferation. Myoblasts released from the alginate and fibrin gels were studied, and cells released from these scaffolds had retained the ability to proliferate and differentiate. Thus, the study shows that human myogenic cells combined with injectable scaffold materials are guided into different states depending on the choice of scaffold. This opens for in vivo experiments, including testing of the significance of the cell state on regeneration potential of primary human myoblasts.


Effects of particulate air pollution on nasal and lung function development among Greek children: a 19-year cohort study.
The aim was to investigate respiratory symptoms, lung function and nasal airflow development among a cohort of children who were exposed to particulate air pollution. We used questionnaires, spirometry and rhinomanometry, while central-monitored PM10 concentrations were used for exposure assessment. We initially examined 1046 children (10-12 year old) in the heavily polluted town of Ptolemaida, Greece, and 379 children in the cleaner town of Grevena (control group). We re-evaluated 312 of the former and 119 of the latter after 19 years. PM10 concentrations were above permissible levels in Ptolemaida during all study period. At both visits, nasal flow was significantly lower in the study sample. At the follow-up visit, 34.3% had severe nasal obstruction (< 500 ml/s) and 38.5% reported chronic nasal symptoms. Spirometric parameters did not differ compared to the control group. Particulate air pollution had significant and negative effects on nasal but not on lung function development.


Short Stature Syndromes: Case Series from India.
Syndromes causing short stature include Noonan syndrome (NS), Williams syndrome, and Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS). SRS is a primordial dwarfism with genetic heterogeneity. The SRS children present with prenatal growth retardation, neonatal hypoglycemia, feeding difficulties, physical asymmetry, with scoliosis and cardiac defect in some cases. The incidence is up to 1 in 100,000. Uniparental disomy, methylation abnormalities, and variants in some genes have been found underlying such phenotype. Growth hormone therapy has been used to improve the height gain in these patients. NS has genetic heterogeneity and most patients present with short stature with or without cardiac defect. Multiple genetic variants, mostly autosomal dominant, contribute to the phenotype. With the availability of next-generation sequencing, more and more genetic disorders causing short stature are being identified in different ethnic populations like Kabuki syndrome and Nance-Horan syndrome. Here, we present some cases of SRS and other additional syndromes with dysmorphism seen in past 5 years.


Flint Photovoice: community building among youths, adults, and policymakers.
Flint Photovoice represents the work of 41 youths and adults recruited to use a participatory-action research approach to photographically document community assets and concerns, critically discuss the resulting images, and communicate with policymakers. At the suggestion of grassroots community leaders, we included policymakers among those asked to take photographs. In accordance with previously established photovoice methodology, we also recruited at the project's outset another group of policymakers and community leaders to provide political will and support for implementing photovoice participants' policy and program recommendations. Flint Photovoice enabled youths to express their concerns about neighborhood violence to policymakers and was instrumental in acquiring funding for local violence prevention. We note salutary outcomes produced by the inclusion of policymakers among adults who took photographs.


Research and the standards of nursing care: what is the relationship?
Research and standards of nursing care are looked at to see in what way they are inter-related. The label "standards of care' is said to embrace several meanings: the quality of care and the measures against which the care can be judged. For research, it is argued, concepts must be clearly defined before they can be the subject of serious study. It is thus essential that the different meanings implied by standards are separated out. After discussion on this point, whereby the different components are analysed, quality of care, standards of care and effectiveness of care are illustrated through their inter-relationship. It is then suggested that the contribution of research to standards used as measures against which care can be judged may be either to indicate which criteria could comprise useful measures, or to indicate the limitations and constraints of the measures chosen for use.


GENETIC CORRELATIONS AMONG TRAITS DETERMINING MIGRATORY TENDENCY IN THE SAND CRICKET, GRYLLUS FIRMUS.
Migration by flight is an important component of the life cycles of most insects. The probability that a given insect will migrate by flight is influenced by many factors, most notably the presence or absence of fully-developed wings and functional flight musculature. Considerable variation has also been reported in the flight propensity of fully-winged individuals with functional flight musculature. We test the hypothesis that these components of migratory tendency are genetically correlated in a wing-dimorhic cricket, Gryllus firmus. Flight propensity and condition of the dorsal longitudinal flight muscles (DLM) are examined in fully-winged (LW) crickets from lines selected for increasing and for decreasing %LW, as well as from unselected control lines. Increased %LW is found to be associated with increased flight propensity among individuals with intact DLM, and with retention of functional DLM. The opposite is true for lines selected for decreased %LW. These results indicate both phenotypic and genetic correlations among behavioral, physiological, and morphological traits determining migratory tendency. We propose that these correlations may result from the multifunctional role of juvenile hormone, which has been reported to influence wing development, flight muscle development and degeneration, and flight propensity. Finally, we discuss the potential influence of genetic correlations for migratory traits on the evolution and maintenance of migratory polymorphisms in insects.


Priority of revascularization in patients with graft enteric fistulas, infected arteries, or infected arterial prostheses.
Patients with arterial infections, infected arterial prostheses, or graft enteric erosions or fistulas have high amputation and mortality rates after treatment. An unresolved therapeutic question is whether remote ("extra-anatomic") bypass should precede or follow removal of the infected artery or prosthesis. None of the ten patients reported here who had a remote bypass inserted first developed distal limb ischemia or infection of the remote bypass. Literature review of patients with aortic prosthetic infections revealed a mortality of 71% (10/14) if infected graft removal preceded remote bypass and 26% (6/23) if remote bypass was first. Patients with graft enteric erosions or fistulas had a mortality of 53% (40/75) if graft removal was first and 17% (5/29) if remote bypass was first. Subsequent infection of the remote bypass was rare. Therefore, when possible, remote bypass with a prosthetic graft should precede removal of an infected artery, an infected arterial prosthesis, a graft enteric erosion, or a graft enteric fistula.


No-touch time in donors after cardiac death (nonheart-beating organ donation).
To evaluate arterial pulselessness and the no-touch time of 5 min in defining irreversible cessation of cardiorespiratory functions in nonheart-beating donation (NHBD). Experimental NHBD studies identified compensatory neurohumoral mechanisms elicited in controlled terminal shock after withdrawal of life support. The neurohumoral mechanisms can preserve the viability of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems by: 1) diverting systemic blood flow from nonvital to vital organs; and 2) maintaining the perfusion pressure (arterial to venous pressure gradient minus interstitial tissue pressure) and microcirculation in vital organs. These compensatory mechanisms cause an early onset of splanchnic hypoperfusion and antemortem ischaemia of transplantable organs and preclude irreversible cessation of cardiorespiratory functions after brief periods of circulatory arrest. Allograft ischaemia is associated with primary nonfunction or delayed function in transplant recipients similar in aetiology to organ dysfunction in the postresuscitation phase of shock. In-situ perfusion can reverse ceased cardiac and neurological functions after arterial pulselessness and a no-touch time of 5 min in experimental models. Perfusion pressures are superior to arterial pulselessness in determining reversibility of ceased cardiac and neurological functions in circulatory arrest. Utilizing physiologically relevant circulatory and neurological parameters in NHBD protocols is essential for ascertaining irreversible cessation of vital functions in donors.


[Barriers and opportunities for social participation in health: the main social actors' perceptions].
Analysing barriers to and opportunities for user involvement as perceived by the social actors involved in implementing Colombian policy regarding social participation in health. An exploratory qualitative study was carried out in the Colombian towns of Tuluá and Palmira between 2000 and 2001. There were 10 focus groups having 260 users and leaders. Semi-structured individual interviews were given to health personnel (36) and policy-makers (3). Narrative content, mixed categories and data segmentation by informants and topics were then analysed. Users and leaders considered their own lack of knowledge, apathy and fear of revenge as barriers for participation. However, there were institutional factors such as lack of institutional transparency, limited receptiveness and responsiveness regarding participation. These opinions were shared by policy-makers. Most health personnel identified users' knowledge and attitudes as barriers for participation; few mentioned any institutional barriers such as the behaviour of personnel, institutional opacity and the lack of resources for fostering work in the community. Opportunities for participation were described in terms of suitable and possible scenarios. Users perceived their great ability to achieve change through their direct participation appeared to them as presenting an important opportunity. Users' and leaders' perceptions of the current barriers and opportunities seemed to show that they are critical of their own reality and constitute important potential actors for becoming key interlocutors with institutions and the state. A similar attitude would be necessary on the part of institutional actors to build a real and permanent participatory culture.


Strain and mechanical behavior measurements of soft tissues with digital speckle method.
Soft tissues of the body are composite, typically being made up of collagen and elastin fibers with high water contents. The strain measurement in soft tissues has proven to be a difficult task. The digital speckle method, combined with the image processing technique, has many advantages such as full field, noncontact, and real time. We focus on the use of an improved digital speckle correlation method (DSCM) and time-sequence electric speckle pattern interferometry (TSESPI) to noninvasively obtain continual strain measurements on cartilage and vessel tissues. Monoaxial tensile experiments are well designed and performed under constant temperature and the necessary humidity with smart sensors. Mechanical behaviors such as the tensile modulus and Poisson ratio of specimens are extracted based on the deformation information. A comparison of the advantages and the disadvantages of these techniques as well as some problems concerning strain measurements in soft tissues are also discussed.


Grand-canonical quantized liquid density-functional theory in a Car-Parrinello implementation.
Quantized Liquid Density-Functional Theory (QLDFT) [S. Patchkovskii and T. Heine, Phys. Rev. E 80, 031603 (2009)], a method developed to assess the adsorption of gas molecules in porous nanomaterials, is reformulated within the grand canonical ensemble. With the grand potential it is possible to compare directly external and internal thermodynamic quantities. In our new implementation, the grand potential is minimized utilizing the Car-Parrinello approach and gives, in particular for low temperature simulations, a significant computational advantage over the original canonical approaches. The method is validated against original QLDFT, and applied to model potentials and graphite slit pores.


Behavioral and neurotransmitter abnormalities in mice deficient for Parkin, DJ-1 and superoxide dismutase.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of neurons in the substantia nigra that project to the striatum and release dopamine. The cause of PD remains uncertain, however, evidence implicates mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Although most cases of PD are sporadic, 5-10% of cases are caused by inherited mutations. Loss-of-function mutations in Parkin and DJ-1 were the first to be linked to recessively inherited Parkinsonism. Surprisingly, mice bearing similar loss-of-function mutations in Parkin and DJ-1 do not show age-dependent loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons or depletion of dopamine in the striatum. Although the normal cellular functions of Parkin and DJ-1 are not fully understood, we hypothesized that loss-of-function mutations in Parkin and DJ-1 render cells more sensitive to mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. To test this hypothesis, we crossed mice deficient for Parkin and DJ-1 with mice deficient for the mitochondrial antioxidant protein Mn-superoxide dismutase (SOD2) or the cytosolic antioxidant protein Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Aged Parkin -/-) DJ-1(-/-) and Mn-superoxide dismutase triple deficient mice have enhanced performance on the rotorod behavior test. Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase triple deficient mice have elevated levels of dopamine in the striatum in the absence of nigral cell loss. Our studies demonstrate that on a Parkin/DJ-1 null background, mice that are also deficient for major antioxidant proteins do not have progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons but have behavioral and striatal dopamine abnormalities.


Split-field helical tomotherapy with or without chemotherapy for definitive treatment of cervical cancer.
The objective of this study was to investigate the chronic toxicity, response to therapy, and survival outcomes of patients with cervical cancer treated with definitive pelvic irradiation delivered by helical tomotherapy (HT), with or without concurrent chemotherapy. There were 15 patients with a new diagnosis of cervical cancer evaluated in this study from April 2006 to February 2007. The clinical stages of their disease were Stage Ib1 in 3 patients, Ib2 in 3, IIa in 2, IIb in 4, IIIb in 2, and IVa in 1 patient. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) simulation was performed in all patients. All patients received pelvic irradiation delivered by HT and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Four patients also received para-aortic irradiation delivered by HT. Thirteen patients received concurrent chemotherapy. Patients were monitored for chronic toxicity using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0 criteria. The median age of the cohort was 51 years (range, 29-87 years), and the median follow-up for all patients alive at time of last follow-up was 35 months. The median overall radiation treatment time was 54 days. One patient developed a chronic Grade 3 GI complication. No other Grade 3 or 4 complications were observed. At last follow-up, 3 patients had developed a recurrence, with 1 patient dying of disease progression. The 3-year progression-free and cause-specific survival estimates for all patients were 80% and 93%, respectively. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy delivered with HT and HDR brachytherapy with or without chemotherapy for definitive treatment of cervical cancer is feasible, with acceptable levels of chronic toxicity.


Psychological profiles of anti-vaccination argument endorsement.
The proliferation of anti-vaccination arguments online can threaten immunisation programmes, including those targeting COVID-19. To effectively refute misinformed views about vaccination, communicators need to go beyond providing correct information and debunking of misconceptions, and must consider the underlying motivations of people who hold contrarian views. Drawing on a taxonomy of anti-vaccination arguments that identified 11 "attitude roots"-i.e., psychological attributes-that motivate an individual's vaccine-hesitant attitude, we assessed whether these attitude roots were identifiable in argument endorsements and responses to psychological construct measures corresponding to the presumed attitude roots. In two UK samples (total n = 1250), we found that participants exhibited monological belief patterns in their highly correlated endorsements of anti-vaccination arguments drawn from different attitude roots, and that psychological constructs representing the attitude roots significantly predicted argument endorsement strength and vaccine hesitancy. We identified four different latent anti-vaccination profiles amongst our participants' responses. We conclude that endorsement of anti-vaccination arguments meaningfully dovetails with attitude roots clustering around anti-scientific beliefs and partisan ideologies, but that the balance between those attitudes differs considerably between people. Communicators must be aware of those individual differences.


Involvement of proteolytic enzymes--plasminogen activators and matrix metalloproteinases--in the pathophysiology of pressure ulcers.
The role of matrix-degrading enzymes, particularly plasminogen activators and matrix metalloproteinases, in the acute wound healing response has been the focus of many scientific studies. Only recently have these classes of endogenously produced proteinases been studied with regard to their involvement in the chronic wound environment. Using both in situ histologic zymography and immunohistochemical techniques, we examined the distribution of plasminogen activators and matrix metalloproteinase in the granulation tissue of pressure ulcers. Using in situ histologic zymography, urokinase was found to be the predominant plasminogen activator activity in the chronic wound granulation tissue, with little or no tissue-type plasminogen activator activity. These results were confirmed with the use of immunohistochemical techniques. In contrast, tissue-type plasminogen activator was found to be constitutively expressed in normal skin. Levels of matrix metalloproteinases were also found to be elevated in the granulation tissue of pressure ulcers. Immunohistochemical localization of leukocyte-associated proteinases (PMN elastase and cathepsin G) suggested a highly inflamed environment within the pressure ulcer granulation tissue. These results suggest a highly proteolytic environment within the chronic wound.


Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement under thoracic epidural anesthesia in a conscious patient: case report.
Cardiopulmonary bypass and full median sternotomy have been recognized as major morbidity factors in cardiac surgery. Additional morbidity factors are general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation. Over the past several years high-thoracic epidural anesthesia (hTEA) has emerged as a potentially beneficial supplement to general anesthesia in the care of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We report a case of ministernotomy aortic valve replacement performed with hTEA. The procedure was not converted to general anesthesia or to a conventional operation and was performed without adverse incidents. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 2nd postoperative day. There were no complications within 30 days after surgery. This case demonstrates that thoracic epidural anesthesia without endotracheal intubation used for aortic valve replacement performed through ministernotomy is feasible. Further experience is necessary to determine the safety of this method and the effect on outcome.


Perceived discrimination, racial identity, and health behaviors among black primary-care patients who use drugs.
Blacks who use drugs are at heightened risk for health problems. Discrimination experiences may contribute to these risks by influencing health behaviors. This study examined associations between discrimination, racial identity, and health behaviors (alcohol use, cigarette smoking, low physical activity, and unprotected [condomless] sex) in a sample of 203 Black primary-care patients who reported current drug use. Logistic regression analyses did not find direct effects of discrimination or identity on outcomes. Hypothesized moderation of discrimination by racial identity was not observed in expected direction for the outcome of unprotected sex.


Metamagnetism in CePd5Ge3.
Metamagnetic transitions in CePd5Ge3 were investigated by means of low-temperature magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and magnetoresistivity measurements. In transverse magnetic fields applied in a direction close to the b-axis the antiferromagnetic structure of the compound undergoes two successive transitions, first to a spin-flop phase and then to a paramagnetic phase with field-induced ferromagnetic-like alignment of the Ce magnetic moments. In contrast, a single anomaly occurs in the magnetic field dependences of the resistivity in a transverse magnetic field applied close to the c-axis, which reflects a direct transition from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic state. Such behavior is in agreement with theoretical descriptions of metamagnetic transitions in uniaxial antiferromagnets. The experimental magnetic and electrical transport data indicate that the b-axis is the easy axis of magnetization in CePd5Ge3.


Regulation of EphB2 activation and cell repulsion by feedback control of the MAPK pathway.
In this study, we investigated whether the ability of Eph receptor signaling to mediate cell repulsion is antagonized by fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) activation that can promote cell invasion. We find that activation of FGFR1 in EphB2-expressing cells prevents segregation, repulsion, and collapse responses to ephrinB1 ligand. FGFR1 activation leads to increased phosphorylation of unstimulated EphB2, which we show is caused by down-regulation of the leukocyte common antigen-related tyrosine phosphatase receptor that dephosphorylates EphB2. In addition, FGFR1 signaling inhibits further phosphorylation of EphB2 upon stimulation with ephrinB1, and we show that this involves a requirement for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. In the absence of activated FGFR1, EphB2 activates the MAPK pathway, which in turn promotes EphB2 activation in a positive feedback loop. However, after FGFR1 activation, the induction of Sprouty genes inhibits the MAPK pathway downstream of EphB2 and decreases cell repulsion and segregation. These findings reveal a novel feedback loop that promotes EphB2 activation and cell repulsion that is blocked by transcriptional targets of FGFR1.


Electrochemical detection of cardiac biomarker myoglobin using polyphenol as imprinted polymer receptor.
An electrochemical biosensor was developed by merging the features of Molecular Imprinting technique and Screen-Printed Electrode (SPE) for the simple and fast screening of cardiac biomarker myoglobin (Myo) in point-of-care (POC). The MIP artificial receptor for Myo was prepared by electrooxidative polymerization of phenol (Ph) on a AuSPE in the presence of Myo as template molecule. The choice of the most effective protein extraction procedure from the various extraction methods tested (mildly acidic/basic solutions, pure/mixed organic solvents, solutions containing surfactants and enzymatic digestion methods), and the optimization of the thickness of the polymer film was carefully undertaken in order to improve binding characteristics of Myo to the imprinted polymer receptor and increase the sensitivity of the MIP biosensor. The film thickness was optimized by adjusting scan rate and the number of cycles during cyclic voltammetric electropolymerization of Ph. The thickness of the polyphenol nanocoating of only few nanometres (∼4.4 nm), and similar to the protein diameter, brought in significant improvements in terms of sensor sensitivity. The binding affinity of MIP receptor film was estimated by fitting the experimental data to Freundlich isotherm and a ∼8 fold increase in the binding affinity of Myo to the imprinted polymer (KF = 0.119 ± 0.002 ng-1 mL) when compared to the non-imprinted polymer (KF = 0.015 ± 0.002 ng-1 mL) which demonstrated excellent (re)binding affinity for the imprinted protein. The incubation of the Myo MIP receptor modified electrode with increasing concentration of protein (from 0.001 ng mL-1 to 100 μg mL-1) resulted in a decrease of the ferro/ferricyanide redox current. LODs of 2.1 and 14 pg mL-1 were obtained from calibration curves built in neutral buffer and diluted artificial serum, respectively, using SWV technique, enabling the detection of the protein biomarker at clinically relevant levels. The prepared MIP biosensor was applied to the determination of Myo spiked serum samples with satisfactory results.


Diagnostic frameworks and nursing diagnoses: a normative stance.
Diagnostic frameworks are essential to many scientific and technological activities and clinical practice. This study examines the main fundamental aspects of such frameworks. The three components required for all diagnoses are identified and examined, i.e. their normative dimension, temporal nature and structure, and teleological perspective. The normative dimension of a diagnosis is based on (1) epistemic values when associated with Hempel's inductive risk concerning the balance between false-positive and false-negative outcomes, leading to probabilistic judgements; and (2) non-epistemic values when related to ideas such as well-being, normality, illness, etc, as idealized norms or ideal points of reference. It should be noted that medical diagnoses match the three necessary components, while some essential diagnostic frameworks - the taxonomies of Gordon and NANDA - in nursing lack some components. The main lack is normative as the most popular frameworks in nursing diagnosis seem to be descriptions of observed reality rather than normative and value-based judgements in which both epistemic and non-epistemic values may coexist.


Theoretical investigation of ground and excited states of the methylene amidogene radical (H(2)CN).
The excited states and the absorption spectrum of the methylene amidogene radical are studied by high-level ab initio calculations. The multireference configuration interaction method was used in combination with different basis sets and basis set extrapolation to compute equilibrium geometries, harmonic frequencies, and excitation energies of the four lowest doublet electronic states of the title species. Potential curves and transition dipole moment functions were determined along the normal mode coordinates of the electronic ground state. These functions were employed to determine vibronic absorption spectra. The intensities of dipole forbidden but vibronically allowed transitions were calculated by explicitly evaluating integrals over the vibrational wave functions and the transition dipole functions of the involved electronic states. By this method the oscillator strengths of the dipole allowed (2)A(1)<--(2)B(2) and the dipole forbidden (2)B(1)<--(2)B(2) bands were computed. It turns out that the dipole forbidden transition is two orders of magnitude weaker than the dipole allowed one. The 0-0 excitation energies are found to be 30 256 cm(-1) for the (2)B(1) state and 34,646 cm(-1) for the (2)A(1) state. From the combined results of the excitation energies and oscillator strengths it is concluded that the experimentally observed peaks must be due to the (2)A(1) state, in contradiction to earlier assignments.


Role of multiplex polymerase chain reaction in diagnosing tubercular meningitis.
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is one of the most serious manifestations of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Timely and accurate diagnosis provides a favorable prognosis in patients with TBM. The study evaluated the use of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of TBM. A study was conducted on 74 patients clinically suspected with TBM. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were processed for smear microscopy, middle brook 7H9 culture, and multiplex PCR using primers directed against IS6110 gene and 38 kD protein for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The results were analyzed to assess the role of multiplex PCR in the diagnosis of TBM. A total of 26 (35.1%) patients were diagnosed with TBM. Microscopy was negative in all while culture was positive in two cases only. Comparing with clinical diagnosis and CSF adenosine deaminase levels of ≥10 U/L, multiplex PCR showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 71.4%, 89.6%, 83.3%, and 81.2%, respectively, in the diagnosis of TBM.


Luteinizing Hormone is an effective replacement for hCG to induce ovulation in Xenopus.
Injection of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) directly into the dorsal lymph sac of Xenopus is a commonly used protocol for induction of ovulation, but recent shortages in the stocks of commercially available hCG as well as lack of a well tested alternative have resulted in frustrating experimental delays in laboratories that predominantly use Xenopus in their research. Mammalian Luteinizing Hormones (LH) share structural similarity, functional equivalency, and bind the same receptor as hCG; this suggests that LH may serve as a good alternative to hCG for promoting ovulation in Xenopus. LH has been found to induce maturation of Xenopus oocytes in vitro, but whether it can be used to induce ovulation in vivo has not been examined. Here we compared the ability of four mammalian LH proteins, bovine (bLH), human (hLH), ovine (oLH), porcine (pLH), to induce ovulation in Xenopus when injected into the dorsal lymph sac of sexually mature females. We find that both ovine and human LH, but not bovine or porcine, are good substitutes for hCG for induction of ovulation in WT and J strain Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis.


Protonation and complexation properties of polyaromatic terdentate six-membered chelate ligands.
The successive protonation steps occurring in 2,2′;6′,2″-terpyridine (L1) are characterized by a strong affinity for the first entering proton (ΔG(connect)(H,L1) = −17 kJ/mol) followed by allosteric anticooperativity (ΔE(interaction)(H,H,L1) = 6 kJ/mol), a behavior mirrored by 2,6-bis(azaindolyl)pyridine (L2) despite the extension of the chelate ring size from five members (L1) to six members (L2; ΔG(connect)(H,L2) = −28 kJ/mol and ΔE(interaction)(H,H,L2) = 7 kJ/mol). On the contrary, 2,6-bis(8-quinolinyl)pyridine (L3) is less eager for the initial protonation (ΔG(connect)(H,L3) = −10 kJ/mol), but the fixation of a second proton in [H2L3]2+ is driven to completion by positive cooperativity (ΔE(interaction)(H,H,L3) = −5 kJ/mol). Because of its unusual ability to adopt a cis–cis conformation with a large affinity for the entering protons, L2 has been selected for exploring the reactivity of a terdentate fused six-membered chelate with labile metallic cations possessing increasing electrostatic factors along the series Mz+ = Li+ < Mg2+ ≈ Zn2+ < Y3+. Spectroscopic, thermodynamic, and structural studies demonstrate that covalency is crucial for stabilizing the complexes [Zn(L2)n]2+. With the highly charged Y3+ cation, hydrolysis drastically competes with ligand complexation, but anhydrous conditions restore sufficient selectivity for the successful coordination of neutral fused six-membered polyaromatic terdentate chelates with large 4f-block cations.


[Aortic dissection--a differential diagnosis in patients with chest pain and ECG changes].
The effect of thrombolytic therapy in patients with myocardial infarction is well documented. In patients presenting with chest pain it may, however, be difficult to discriminate between myocardial infarction and aortic dissection only on the basis of clinical manifestations. Moreover, patients with type A dissection may have ECG changes caused by affection of the coronary flow. We retrospectively investigated all patients admitted to our hospital with type A dissection of the aorta over the period 1999 to March 2001. Fourteen patients were identified. Only two patients had normal ECG, six had ST elevation. Two patients had received antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy. In patients with chest pain and ST elevation, aortic dissection must be considered as a differential diagnosis before thrombolytic therapy.


Rab GTPases: master regulators that establish the secretory and endocytic pathways.
Several of the most important discoveries in the field of membrane traffic have come from studies of Rab GTPases by Marino Zerial and Peter Novick and their colleagues. Zerial was the first to discover that Rab GTPases represent identity markers for different membrane-bound compartments, and each Rab organizes a collection of specific effectors into function-specifying membrane microdomains to carry out receptor trafficking. Novick discovered that the order (and thus polarity) of Rab GTPases along the secretory and endocytic pathways are established by their specific, cognate guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), which partner with one Rab to regulate the subsequent- and prior-acting Rabs. Such so-called Rab cascades have evolved to establish domains that contain unique Rab proteins and their cognate effectors, which drive all steps of membrane trafficking. These findings deserve much broader recognition by the biomedical research community and are highlighted here, along with open questions that require serious attention for full understanding of the molecular basis of Rab GTPase-regulated membrane trafficking in eukaryotic cells.


Transforming Behavioral Health Care in Virginia.
The behavioral health care transformation in Virginia resulted not from one policy change but from multiple changes prior to Medicaid expansion. These changes combined to shape a new behavioral health landscape, with more providers and more treated patients. Virginia's layered approach may inform other states seeking to strengthen their capacity to fight the substance use epidemic, even as new epidemics emerge. The recent policy changes to procedures, outreach, eligibility, coverage, the workforce, and payment have laid the foundation for additional steps in the transformation of behavioral health care, including incorporating improvement in social determinants and addressing disparities.


Canine H3N8 influenza virus infection in dogs and mice.
An H3N8 influenza virus closely related to equine influenza virus was identified in racing greyhound dogs with respiratory disease in 2004 and subsequently identified in shelter and pet dogs. Pathologic findings in dogs spontaneously infected with canine influenza virus were compared with lesions induced in beagle and mongrel dogs following experimental inoculation with influenza A/canine/Florida/43/2004. BALB/c mice were inoculated with canine influenza virus to assess their suitability as an experimental model for viral pathogenesis studies. All dogs inoculated with virus developed necrotizing and hyperplastic tracheitis and bronchitis with involvement of submucosal glands as well as mild bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Viral antigen was identified in bronchial and tracheal epithelial cells of all dogs and in alveolar macrophages of several dogs. Many dogs that were spontaneously infected with virus also developed bacterial pneumonia, and greyhound dogs with fatal spontaneous infection developed severe pulmonary hemorrhage with hemothorax. Virus-inoculated BALB/c mice developed tracheitis, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and mild pneumonia in association with viral antigen in airway epithelial cells and in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells. Virus was not detected in extrarespiratory sites in any animals. The results indicate that canine influenza virus infection consistently induces acute tracheitis and bronchitis in dogs. Mice may be a useful model for some pathogenesis studies on canine influenza virus infection.


African-American students' perceptions of their majors, future professions, and the dietetics major and profession: a qualitative analysis.
African-American professionals are underrepresented in the profession of dietetics. This preliminary qualitative study identified African-American students' perceptions of their majors, future professions, and the dietetics major/profession to understand why they did or did not enter dietetics. It was hypothesized that dietetics students chose dietetics primarily for altruistic reasons, whereas students in other fields of study did not choose dietetics due to lack of awareness of dietetics. To learn students' views, African-American college students engaged in elicitation interviews or focus group discussions. Twenty-eight women and 12 men participated. Phenomenologic analysis identified common themes and meanings: African-American students selected their majors for a variety of reasons, including desire to help people, interest in the field, recommendation from an adult, and family influence. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics believed that the dietetics major was not selected due to lack of awareness about dietetics. Both dietetics students and students in other fields of study perceived versatility, ability to work with/help people, and to have an influence as positive qualities about their future professions. Advanced degree and training requirements, lack of diversity, and low salary were identified as negative qualities about future professions. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics had not been exposed to the dietetics major, careers, and profession. Recruitment efforts should begin early to increase the number of African-American students in dietetics.


Clinical Trial Characteristics and Barriers to Participant Accrual: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Experience over 30 years, a Historical Foundation for Trial Improvement.
Purpose: Slow-accruing clinical trials delay the translation of basic biomedical research, contribute to increasing health care costs, and may prohibit trials from reaching their original goals.Experimental Design: We analyzed a prospectively maintained institutional database that tracks all clinical studies at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX). Inclusion criteria were activated phase I-III trials, maximum projected accrual ≥10 participants, and activation prior to March 25, 2011. The primary outcome was slow accrual, defined as <2 participants per year. Correlations of trial characteristics with slow accrual were assessed with logistic regression.Results: A total of 4,269 clinical trials met inclusion criteria. Trials were activated between January 5, 1981, and March 25, 2011, with a total of 145,214 participants enrolled. Median total enrolment was 16 [interquartile range (IQR), 5-34], with an average enrolment rate of 8.7 participants per year (IQR, 3.3-17.7). There were 755 (18%) trials classified as slow accruing. On multivariable analysis, slow accrual exhibited robust associations with national cooperative group trials (OR = 4.16, P < 0.0001 vs. industry sponsored), time from trial activation to first enrolment (OR = 1.13 per month, P < 0.0001), and maximum targeted accrual (OR = 0.16 per log10 increase, P < 0.0001). Recursive partitioning analysis identified trials requiring more than 70 days (2.3 months) between activation and first participant enrolment as having higher odds of slow accrual (23% vs. 5%, OR = 5.56, P < 0.0001).Conclusions: We identified factors associated with slow trial accrual. Given the lack of data on clinical trials at the institutional level, these data will help build a foundation from which targeted initiatives may be developed to improve the clinical trial enterprise. Clin Cancer Res; 23(6); 1414-21. ©2017 AACR.


Time for a New 3-D Image for Globus Pallidus Internus Deep Brain Stimulation Targeting and Programming.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective neuromodulatory therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Early studies using globus pallidus internus (GPi) DBS for PD profiled the nucleus as having two functional zones. This concept disseminated throughout the neuromodulation community as the "GPi triangle". Although our understanding of the pallidum has greatly evolved over the past 20 years, we continue to reference the triangle in our clinical decision-making process. We propose a new direction, termed the spatial boundary hypothesis, to build upon the 2-dimensional outlook on GPi DBS. We believe an updated 3-D GPi model can produce more consistent, positive patient outcomes.


Teratoid Wilms' tumor: a case report with literature review.
Teratoid Wilms' tumor is an unusual histologic variant of nephroblastoma in which the heterologous tissue predominates. The treatment for this tumor has not been established because of its rarity and varying tumor components. The authors report a case of localized teratoid Wilms' tumor in a 4-month-old male infant successfully treated with nephrectomy only. The tumor originated from the right kidney with multiple cysts and calcifications; renal teratoma was suspected preoperatively, and the operation was performed. The tumor was excised completely, and the specimen weighed 340 g. Histopathologic examination showed that various teratoid elements occupied most of the tumor with sparse islands of triphasic nephroblastoma, which was consistent with teratoid Wilms' tumor. Anaplastic elements, tumor capsule invasion, renal sinus soft tissue invasion, or tumors in intrarenal vessels were not observed. The patient was disease free for 3 years after surgery without receiving chemotherapy. We selected this therapeutic approach because of the chemoresistance of this tumor and the excellent prognosis in small (<550 g) stage I/favorable-histology classical Wilms' tumor diagnosed at less than 24 months of age. Therefore, nephrectomy alone may be an acceptable treatment of this stage of tumor in patients with teratoid Wilms' tumor.


Seal properties of TachoSil: in vitro hemodynamic measurements.
Fibrin glue products and collagen patches are frequently used as a sealing product, preventing surgical side bleedings. This is especially true in the field of cardiovascular surgery, where increasing numbers of patients are being operated with antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy. The aim of this report was, in an in vitro hemodynamic setting, to examine the sealant properties of the TachoSil (Nycomed Pharma, Linz, Austria) patch. Burst pressure and normal force of 15 TachoSil sealed defects were measured. This was determined in a closed hydraulic system. Mean burst pressure load for a 5-mm defect was 69+/-11.4 mmHg; for a 7-mm defect was 63+/-16 mmHg; and, 62+/-16 mmHg for the defect with a diameter of 10 mm (P>0.05). The mean calculated normal force was as follows: 0.91+/-0.15 N for the 5 mm defect, 6.5+/-1.6 N for the 7 mm, and 8.1+/-0.75 N for the 10 mm defect. The TachoSil patch has the capability to seal small defects. However, at the larger defects the seal character was significantly reduced. These results suggest that the device may be a good alternative for hemostasis for small defects. The capacity to curtail or stop hemorrhage at the larger defects is unlikely.


[Hospital-acquired clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea].
Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) is common among hospital-acquired bacterial diarrhea, its mortality and morbidity show an increasing trend in recent years. Improper antimicrobial drug use is one of the key reasons. Adequate hand hygiene of healthcare workers, thorough disinfection of hospital environment, and appropriate isolation of patients are effective measures to prevent the outbreak of hospital-aquired CDAD.