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INTRODUCTION: Military sexual trauma (MST) includes sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs during military service and is of increasing public health concern. The population prevalence of MST among female and male veterans who served during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) has not been estimated to our knowledge. The purpose of this study is to assess the population prevalence and identify military correlates of MST, sexual harassment, and sexual assault among OEF/OIF veterans. METHODS: MST was assessed in the 2009-2011 National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans, a survey of 60,000 veterans who served during the OEF/OIF eras (response rate, 34%, n=20,563). Weighted prevalence estimates and AORs of MST, sexual harassment, and sexual assault among women and men were calculated. Gender-stratified logistic regression models controlled for military and demographic characteristics. Data analyses were conducted in 2013-2014. RESULTS: Approximately 41% of women and 4% of men reported experiencing MST. Deployed men had lower risk for MST compared with non-deployed men, though no difference was found among women. However, veterans reporting combat exposure during deployment had increased risk for MST compared with those without, while controlling for OEF/OIF deployment. Among women, Marines and Navy veterans had increased risk for MST compared with Air Force veterans. MST was significantly higher among veterans who reported using Veterans Affairs healthcare services. CONCLUSIONS: These prevalence estimates underscore the importance of public awareness and continued investigation of the public health impact of MST. Language: en

Molecular studies are part of standard care for cancer patients. Bone, a common and sometimes sole site of metastasis, requires decalcification for morphological examination. Many commonly used decalcification agents contain strong acids that degrade nucleic acids. The paradigm shift in oncology, with biomarker targeted therapy and gene expression profiling analysis, requires sufficient nucleic acid recovery from bone biopsy specimens. We systematically studied the effects of a spectrum of decalcification agents on the quantity and quality of RNA and DNA recovered from bone biopsies. Multiple bone biopsies of similar size and cellularity were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin, randomized to various decalcification agents for 2 hours then processed, and embedded. Tissue lysates were obtained from unstained sections and nucleic acid isolated. DNA and RNA were quantified. Assessment of DNA and RNA integrity was accomplished by comparison of the average cycle threshold by polymerase chain reaction of selected housekeeping genes for each agent. Results were then analyzed by 2-sample t test. There was a significant decrease in both DNA and RNA yield and integrity with strong acids (hydrochloric, nitric) vs 14% EDTA and formic acid. DNA yield was (mean nanograms) 6.15 vs 68.68 (P.001) and RNA was (mean nanograms) 121.53 vs 288.89 (P=.003), respectively. DNA integrity (mean cycle threshold) was 35.79 vs 30.16 (P.001), and RNA was 33.03 vs 26.5 (P.001), respectively. Decalcification of bone biopsies with EDTA or formic acid agents was associated with a significant improvement in recovered nucleic acid quantity and quality.

An 11-year-old boy presented with exercise intolerance due to chronic hypoxemia. Work-up revealed a diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) secondary to a congenital extrahepatic portal-venous shunt (Abernethy malformation). Plasticity in the developing liver was exploited as a strategy for the treatment of HPS. With use of a staged endovascular approach, the portosystemic vascular circuitry was modified in a manner that facilitated progressive growth and development of the severely hypoplastic and underdeveloped intrahepatic portal venous system. After completion of the final procedure, the patient's intrahepatic portal veins were normal in appearance; 2 months later, signs and symptoms of HPS completely resolved. The patient remains free of HPS stigmata after 2 years.

Transport experiments are sensitive to charged ‘quasiparticle’ excitations of the fractional quantum Hall effect. Inelastic Raman scattering experiments have probed an amazing variety of other excitations: excitons, rotons, bi-rotons, trions, flavor altering excitons, spin waves, spin-flip excitons, and spin-flip rotons. This paper reviews the status of our theoretical understanding of these excitations.

Purpose The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in the general US population and in beneficiaries of the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Healthcare System. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence and correlation of overweight, obesity and associated co-morbidities in the DoD beneficiary population. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was preformed on data from the DoD's 2003 Population Health Survey. Prevalence odds ratios (POR) were used to describe the association between overweight and obesity categories and prevalence of co-morbidities. Results Eighty percent of men and 60% of women were overweight or obese and 33% of men and 29% of women were obese. The PORs increased in magnitude corresponding to increasing BMI categories for all co-morbidities. The percent of individuals reporting between 2 and 4 co-morbidities also increased with increasing weight class. Conclusions Overweight, obesity and associated co-morbidities are prevalent among DoD beneficiaries. Overweight and obese individuals have an increased prevalence of co-morbidities compared to normal weight individuals. Twenty plus years of active duty in the military does not confer any long-term protection against overweight, obesity or the associated co-morbidities. The DoD should emphasize prevention in order to reduce healthcare costs and the disease burden in this cohort.

We present extensive comparisons of the composite fermion theory with exact results in the filling factor range $2/5>\nu>1/3$, which affirm that the composite fermion theory correctly describes the qualitative reorganization of the low energy Hilbert space of the strongly correlated electrons, and predicts eigenenergies with an accuracy of $\sim 0.1$ %. These facts establish the basic validity of the composite fermion description in this filling factor region., Comment: For a special issue of Solid State Communications on Advances in Studies of Electrons in Low Dimensional Structures

In yeast, the Class C Vps protein complex (C-Vps complex), composed of Vps11, Vps16, Vps18, and Vps33, functions in Golgi-to-vacuole protein transport. In this study, we characterized and purified this complex and identified its interaction with the syntaxin homolog Vam3. Vam3 pairs with the SNAP-25 homolog Vam7 and VAMP homolog Vti1 to form SNARE complexes during vesicle docking/fusion with the vacuole. The C-Vps complex does not bind to Vam3-Vti1-Vam7 paired SNARE complexes but instead binds to unpaired Vam3. Antibodies to a component of this complex inhibited in vitro vacuole-to-vacuole fusion. Furthermore, temperature-conditional mutations in the Class C VPS genes destabilized Vam3-Vti1-Vam7 pairing. Therefore, we propose that the C-Vps complex associates with unpaired (activated) Vam3 to mediate the assembly of trans-SNARE complexes during both vesicle docking/fusion and vacuole-to-vacuole fusion.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to look objectively at cervical cytological differences between women Gulf War female veterans (GWFV) and Gulf War-era active duty females not deployed to the Gulf (NDF) during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm using Pap smear results. METHODS: A cohort of 6715 active duty Air Force women who also served on active duty between August 7, 1990–March 1, 1991 provided at least one Pap smear as part of routine medical care during 1994. Of these, 1446 were identified as GWFV and 5269 were identified as NDF. Diagnoses were compared using Chi-square tests with Yate's continuity correction. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups, overall, in the diagnosis of other than within normal limits (OTWNL), the diagnoses of significant disease or in Bethesda system diagnoses in each of the three years for which comparisons were made. GWFV diagnosed in the 26–30 age group were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of OTWNL than were NDF in the same age group p = 0.013 in 1994. There were no differences between the two groups in any other age category. CONCLUSIONS: The data provide little support for the hypothesis that a difference exists between GWFV and NDF with respect to abnormal cervical cytology.

A study of the energies of the model compounds diphosphinoamine (dpa) and diphosphino-methane (dpm) as a function of the P-E-P (E = N and C respectively) bond angle was conducted using ab initio methods at the MP4SDQ/6-31G∗//RHF/3-21G∗ level. Equilibrium structures of C2v and Cs, symmetry were obtained for both compounds. The compounds were found to exhibit a very similar angular dependence of their potential energy. The difference in destabilization between dpa and dpm as they are distorted from their equilibrium geometries to any angle o emanates from the difference in their equilibrium P-E-P bond angles.

The thermal dissociation processes of diazomethane and 2-diazo-1-acetaldehyde were studied by ab initio computations with 3-21G and 6-31G ∗ basis sets, using the CN bond as the reaction axis. The geometries were optimized, and the correlation energies were taken into account by doing a single-point, fourth-order Moller-Plesset calculation (MP4//6-31G ∗ ). The results show that, owing to the substitution of the carbonyl group, the N-C-C group is no longer a linear structure. The corresponding dissociation process is more like a “single-bond breakage”, and a negative dissociation energy was calculated from SCF plus correlation energies, which means that this dissociation process is energetically favourable.

Recent genome-wide association studies have uncovered genetic links for a number of complex diseases, but these powerful tools have not yet been widely applied to the clinical management of disease. Here we describe our experience using a genetic approach to uncover newmolecular insights in a young patient presenting with unexplained infections and chronic intestinal inflammation whomwe eventually diagnosed with anti-goblet cell antibody positive autoimmune enterocolopathy. Using a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, we identified a deletion of the gene Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells-5 (NFAT5) in one chromosome in the patient and verified this deficiency at the mRNA and protein levels. In mice, NFAT5 has previously been shown to regulate cellular responses to osmotic stress and to play a critical role in influencing differentiation of pro-inflammatory T helper 17 (Th17) lymphocytes. We demonstrate for the first time that human NFAT5 deficiency appears to result in functional defects in both innate and adaptive immunity, with a markedly reduced number of natural killer (NK) cells, and impaired proliferation and cytokine production by T lymphocytes. We confirm the molecular link between immune cell function and NFAT5 deficiency using human cells as well as cells from mice deficient in NFAT5. Together our approach and observations demonstrate the potential power of genetic analyses to facilitate clinical diagnosis and to provide novel mechanistic insights into disease.

A S L D A b st ra ct s were significantly lower in the patient group (4,443 [1,035-1.079] mcg/ml vs. 5.934 [3,26611,757] mcg/ml, p=0.006). Mean serum TWEAK level was also lower in subjects with fibrosis than in patients without fibrosis (p,0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that TWEAK was an independent predictor in patients with NAFLD. Conclusion: Increased serum TWEAK concentration was significantly and independently associated with the development of NAFLD. TWEAK appeared to be robustly and negatively associated with fibrosis.

Enucleation is a technique which can be applied to benign and low grade lesions of the liver such as select neuroendocrine tumors (NET), cysts, hemangiomas and focal nodular hyperplasia. The benefits of enucleation include the preservation of maximal hepatic parenchyma, as well as the low likelihood that underlying vascular or biliary structures will be compromised. A laparoscopic approach to enucleation not only offers the benefits of minimal access surgery, but also allows simultaneous access to multiple regions of the abdomen. This may be ideal for managing certain scenarios such as the patient with distal pancreatic NET and synchronous liver metastases. Illustrative cases are shown.

A S L D A b st ra ct s correlation was observed between PI signal and fibrosis scores (r = 0.33; p = 0.04). When patients were stratified according to their liver parenchyma PI signal, a significant difference was achieved between patients with Ishak score 1-2 vs 3-5 (p = 0.01). The median DI was 0.39 ± 0.15 (0.17 0.61); because DI is given by the ratio between the minimum velocity/ maximum velocity of downward HV flow, with higher DI, HV waveforms tended to become abnormal (r = 0.7, p = 0.01). All patients with Ishak > 3 had an abnormal hepatic vein waveform; DI > 0.45 was significantly more likely to be seen in patients with Ishak > 3. Conclusions: We report preliminary results suggesting that CEUS with software-based quantitative analysis in addition to standard Doppler indices may provide a useful noninvasive tool in assessing the severity of liver fibrosis in a clinical setting.

A S L D A b st ra ct s correlation was observed between PI signal and fibrosis scores (r = 0.33; p = 0.04). When patients were stratified according to their liver parenchyma PI signal, a significant difference was achieved between patients with Ishak score 1-2 vs 3-5 (p = 0.01). The median DI was 0.39 ± 0.15 (0.17 0.61); because DI is given by the ratio between the minimum velocity/ maximum velocity of downward HV flow, with higher DI, HV waveforms tended to become abnormal (r = 0.7, p = 0.01). All patients with Ishak > 3 had an abnormal hepatic vein waveform; DI > 0.45 was significantly more likely to be seen in patients with Ishak > 3. Conclusions: We report preliminary results suggesting that CEUS with software-based quantitative analysis in addition to standard Doppler indices may provide a useful noninvasive tool in assessing the severity of liver fibrosis in a clinical setting.

We characterized rat cDNAs that predict a protein, r-Slyl, which is similar to SLY1, a yeast protein that plays a critical role in endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus vesicle trafficking. The r-Slyl gene is expressed in all tissues examined

The vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mediates transport of vacuolar protein precursors from the late Golgi to the lysosome-like vacuole. Sorting of some vacuolar proteins occurs via a prevacuolar endosomal compartment and mutations in a subset of VPS genes (the class D VPS genes) interfere with the Golgi-to-endosome transport step. Several of the encoded proteins, including Pep12p/Vps6p (an endosomal target (t) SNARE) and Vps45p (a Sec1p homologue), bind each other directly [1]. Another of these proteins, Vac1p/Pep7p/Vps19p, associates with Pep12p and binds phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P), the product of the Vps34 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) [1,2]. Here, we demonstrate that Vac1p genetically and physically interacts with the activated, GTP-bound form of Vps21p, a Rab GTPase that functions in Golgi-to-endosome transport, and with Vps45p. These results implicate Vac1p as an effector of Vps21p and as a novel Sec1p-family-binding protein. We suggest that Vac1p functions as a multivalent adaptor protein that ensures the high fidelity of vesicle docking and fusion by integrating both phosphoinositide (Vps34p) and GTPase (Vps21p) signals, which are essential for Pep12p- and Vps45p-dependent targeting of Golgi-derived vesicles to the prevacuolar endosome.

Ab initio (3-21G) calculations have been used to study the structure of protonated ketene as well as unprotonated and protonated vinylketene (CH 2 (δ)CH(γ)CH(β)C(α)O). Single-point 6-31G* determinations of the total energies of the optimized 3-21G structures of protonated vinylketene were also carried out. Two stable conformations of the ground state of vinylketene were found, with the s-trans conformations being more stable than the s-cis ones by 7.3 kJ mol −1 (6-31G*). δ-Protonation of vinylketene gave CH 3 C + HCHCO with an s-trans CCCC torsion angle as the most stable structure, with a preference of 66.1 kJ mol −1 (6-31G*) relative to β protonation forming CH 2 CHCH 2 C + O and 159.3 kJ mol −1 (6-31G*) relative to α protonation forming CH 2 CH C + HCO. For ketene, the β protonated form is more stable than the O and C α protonated isomers by 157.1 and 318.2 kJ mol −1 , respectively (3-21G).

The molecular geometries of twenty-one monosubstituted acetylenes and their anions have been optimized using the LCAO-SCF-MO method at the STO-3G level. Single 4-31G calculations at the STO-3G geometries permit comparison of the different basis set results to test the reliability of intrinsic acidities calculated from the differences in molecular energy of the neutral acetylenes and the corresponding anions [E(RCC)E(RCCH)] The size and centroid of charge have been computed for the acetylenic CH bond and lone electron pairs and were found to be substituent dependent. The calculated intrinsic acidities correlate well with tritium isotope exchange rates reported elsewhere, indicating that the anion solvation effects are relatively uniform throughout the series of monosubstituted acetylenes, presumably due to the large intramolecular distance from the substituent to the reaction center.

The geometry of vinylcyclopropane has been completely optimized at each critical point by analytic gradient (force) methods at the minimal STO-3G and the split-valence 3-21G basis set levels. The geometries obtained for the various critical points have been used to generate potential energy curves for vinyl group rotation within the rigid rotor approximation. Comparison of these curves clearly demonstrates the importance of complete geometry optimization. The potential energy curve for vinyl group rotation, generated with the s-trans STO-3G optimized geometry, predicts secondary gauche minima which are an artifact of the rigid rotor approximation. With complete geometry optimization along the curve, the STO- 3G basis set computations predict only s-trans and s-cis minima. In contrast, the complete optimizations with the 3-21G basis set, in agreement with experiment, predict a three-fold rotational contour with two equivalent gauche minima. These minima lie 6.86 kJ mol−1 above th e s-trans minimum. The computed barrier to rotation for the s-trans → gauche interconversion is 13.3 kJ mol−1. The electric dipole moment computed with the 3-21G basis for the s-trans 3-21G optimized geometry is 0.446 D or about 10% less than the experimental value.

The ground, triplet n → π* and triplet Rydberg n → 3s states of acetaldehyde have been studied at both the SCF and CI levels. The minimal STO-3G, split valence 3-21G and polarized 6-31G* basis sets have been used in conjunction with both spin unrestricted (UHF) and restricted (RHF) wavefunctions. The CI calculations included all single and double excitations from the SCF reference configuration, excluding three core and the six highest-lying virtual orbitals, using the 3-21G basis set. The Rydberg calculations used the 3-21G basis, augmented by a diffuse s function, plus CI. The agreement between theory and experiment is very good where corresponding data exist. The ground-state methyl rotation barrier is calculated to be 4.3 kJ mol−1 at the 6-31G*/SCF level and 5.2 kJ mol−1 at the 3-21G/CI level, with the syn conformer lowest. The triplet n → π* state is pyramidal, and lies 264 kJ mol−1 above the S0 state while the vertical excitation energy is 362 kJ mol−1. The main effect of either an RHF versus a UHF wavefunction, a larger basis, or CI, is to increase barrier and excitation energies somewhat. The CO bond length is reduced below the experimentally determined value at the 6-31G* level. The preferred Rydberg state conformation is syn, in agreement with the recent experimental result. The methyl rotation barrier is computed to be 9.0 kJ mol−1 and the excitation energy 595 kJ mol−1 (602 kJ mol−1 vertical).

A conformational study on the lowest triplet states of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde and acetone has been done using a minimal basis set, within the unrestricted Hartree—Fock framework. For the C 3 H 6 O species, the energy hypersurfaces ( E θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 ) were generated, where energy is a function of the methyl rotations (θ 1 , θ 2 ) and CO out-of-plane bending for acetone, and a function of methyl rotation (θ 1 ), C 2 H 5 C rotation (θ 2 ) and CHO out-of-plane deformation (θ 3 ) for propionaldehyde. The analysis of the hypersurface equations revealed the location and relative energies of the critical points (minima, first and second order saddle points as well as maxima): the barriers to inversion at the carbonyl group were 2.7 kcal mol −1 for acetone and 4.2 kcal mol −1 for propionaldehyde. Partial geometry optimization reduced these barriers to 2.5 and 2.4 kcal mol −1 respectively. For comparison, both the pyramidal minimum and planar saddle point for the inversion of triplet formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were totally optimized; the resultant barriers were 2.0 kcal mol −1 and 2.3 kcal mol −1 , respectively. The barrier to rotation about the bond to the α-carbon was 1.1 kcal mol −1 for pyramidal acetone, 1.0 for acetaldehyde and ranged from 0.8 to 1.8 kcal mol −1 for the various propionaldehyde conformers.

Topological relations among the number of critical points of various orders (zero order are minima, first order are saddle points, etc.) are presented, which are invariants of the actual periodic (hyper)surfaces considered. The principal results involve the Betti numbers, the minimum number of critical points of a given order that must be present, and the Euler characteristic, based on an alternating sum rule involving the number of critical points of each order. Several conformational potential energy (hyper)surfaces are analyzed in terms of these relationships, including two containing lines of degeneracy and degenerate critical points.

Pyogenic granulomas are vasoproliferative, inflammatory lesions composed of granulation tissue, which occur on cutaneous or mucosal tissues, often arising secondary to other processes such as trauma or infection. Conjunctival pyogenic granulomas are not rare, but corneal involvement is very unusual and can occasionally lead to problems in the differential diagnosis of corneal masses. We report three cases of pyogenic granuloma involving the cornea. The clinicopathologic features of these cases and a review of the literature on the ocular manifestations of this condition are presented.

A systematic computational study, using the 3–21G basis set, of the F 2 C 2 H 4 system shows that several molecular complex configurations can exist and that the axial-perpendicular type is not the most stable. Full geometry optimization results for F 2 C 2 H 4 and Cl 2 C 2 H 4 in axial-perpendicular configurations are reported and shown to be improvements over previous calculations.

The geometry of cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde has been optimized completely at each critical point in the torsional potential curve for—CHO group rotation by analytic gradient (force) methods at the STO—3G, 3—21G and 6—31G* basis set levels. In agreement with the available gas-phase electron-diffraction and microwave spectroscopy results, minima in the torsional potential energy curves are located only at the cis and trans conformations. The STO—3G basis computations place the cis 1.4 kJ mol −1 above the trans conformer and predict the barrier for the trans → cis rotation to be 13.8 kJ mol −1 at θ = 99.3° The computations with the 3–21G and 6–31G* basis sets predict (i) that the cis is more stable than the trans rotamer by 7.0 and 1.2 kJ mol −1 , respectively, (ii) that the cis → trans rotational barrier is 31.7 and 24.3 kJ mol −1 , respectively and (iii) that the transition state is located at θ = 101.5 and 99.9°, respectively. The geometrical parameters obtained are compared with the corresponding values for vinylcyclopropane, acetaldehyde and glyoxal. Evidence is found for important geometry changes due to the attraction between the oxygen and adjacent ring hydrogen atoms in the cis -cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde rotamer. Electric dipole moments were computed with the optimized geometries at each critical point. Those obtained with the STO—3G basis are unsatisfactory, being less than 65% of the experimental values. In contrast, the dipole moments computed with the 3–21G and 6–31G* basis sets (which are identical within 0.02 D for the same rotamer) are larger than the experimental values by less than 8%.

Standard covalent bond lengths for compounds of the main group elements H through I are given, based on experimental structure determinations from the literature. Single, aromatic, delocalized, double and triple bond types are considered. A procedure for estimating missing values is given, based on the single bond length and/or the covalent radii of the atoms. Correction factors for ring bonds, and the problem of obtaining closed rings due to the redundant bond lengths and angles are discussed.

The ion—molecule reaction CH+3 + CH4 → CH3CH+2 + H2 has been studied in a mass spectrometer equipped with a collision chamber. An H/D isotope study indicated that the three hydrogen atoms of CH+3 remain incorporated in the methyl group of CH3CH+2, while the CH2 unit originates from CH4. An ab initio molecular orbital study suggested two possible intermediates of the type in which the CH4 moiety exhibits two unusually long CH bond lengths signalling the departure of H2.

The geometries of thirteen triplet C3H6O species, plus methyloxirane and propene in the ground state, have been completely optimized by analytic gradient (force) techniques at both the minimal STO-3G and split valence 3-21G basis set levels. Single calculations using the 6-31G* polarized basis set were performed for each 3-21G optimum structure. With the exception of bond angles at oxygen and the pyramidality at carbon radical centers, the geometries obtained with the two basis sets differ little. Except for the propene +O(3P) atom, the addition of d orbitals has little effect on the relative energies compared to the 3-21G energy differences (ΔE), but both were markedly different from the STO-3G results. Whereas the latter ΔE values covered a range of almost 40 kcal mol−1, this range was reduced to 24.5 and 22.4 kcal mol−1 at the 3-21G and 6-31G−* levels, respectively.

C and Oprotonated formaldonitrone was studied at the 6–31G*//6–31G* level of Hartree—Fock theory. The Oprotonated formaldonitrone was found to exist in an unexpected skewed conformation which was found to be 23.9 kcal mol −1 more stable than Cprotonated formaldonitrone. A high barrier of 96.9 kcal mol −1 was found to exist for the antarafacial 1,3-hydrogen migration between the C and Oprotonated formaldonitrones.