cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear optical corneal collagen crosslinking of ex vivo rabbit eyes

Purpose To determine whether riboflavin-induced collagen crosslinking (CXL) could be precisely achieved in the corneal stroma of ex vivo rabbit eyes using nonlinear optical excitation with a low numerical aperture lens and enlarged focal volume. Setting Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA. Design Experimental study. Methods The corneal epithelium was removed and the corneas were soaked in 0.5% riboflavin solution. Using a 0.1 numerical aperture objective, a theoretical excitation volume of 150 μm × 3 μm was generated using 1 W of 760 nm femtosecond laser light and raster scanned with 4.4 μm line separation at varying effective speeds over a 4.50 mm × 2.25 mm area. Corneal sections were examined for collagen autofluorescence. Results Collagen autofluorescence was enhanced 2.9 times compared with ultraviolet-A (UVA) CXL. Also, increasing speed was linearly associated with decreasing autofluorescence intensity. The slowest speed of 2.69 mm/s showed a mean of 182.97 μm ± 52.35 (SD) long autofluorescent scan lines axially in the central cornea compared with 147.84 ± 4.35 μm for UVA CXL. Conclusions Decreasing dwell time was linearly associated with decreasing autofluorescence intensity, approaching that of UVA CXL at a speed of 8.9 mm/s. Using an effective speed of 8.9 mm/s, nonlinear optical CXL could be achieved over a 3.0 mm diameter area in fewer than 4 minutes. Further development of nonlinear optical CXL might result in safer, faster, and more effective CXL treatments. Financial Disclosure None of the authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Of kangaroo rats and gypsum gravel: Probing the extremes of aeolian transport in the present and the past

A whirlwind is “a small-scale, rotating column of air” ([American Meteorological Society, 2012a][1]): a terse definition for some of the most intriguing and terrifying phenomena in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. Whirlwinds fall into two classes: those that hang from cumulus clouds (tornadoes
Understanding Pulmonary Stress-Strain Relationships in Severe ARDS and Its Implications for Designing a Safer Approach to Setting the Ventilator

This review describes the current understanding of the lungs' response to deforming stress under conditions of both normal physiology and acute lung injury. Several limiting assumptions are needed to infer lung parenchymal stress and strain from airway pressure, volume, and flow data from mechanically ventilated patients with injured lungs. These assumptions include the effects of the chest wall on lung-surface pressure, its topographical distribution, and the effects of non-uniform tissue properties on local parenchymal stresses. In addition, there is a spectrum of biophysical lung injury mechanisms that involves normal as well as tangential alveolar wall stresses. To these are added important secondary effects on pulmonary vascular resistance and right heart function. Understanding both the assumptions of lung mechanics and the scope of injury mechanisms operating during ARDS is necessary to interpret the results of clinical trials that inform prevailing ventilator-management guidelines. The implications issuing from these 3 topics inform a safer approach to setting and adjusting the ventilator to minimize the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury. This is enumerated in a 5-step approach that can be used to guide ventilator management of unstable patients with severe lung injury.
Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: An Integrative Review

Much evidence exists documenting the comorbidity of anxiety and affective disorders in youth. Furthermore, comorbidity appears to have serious implications both in terms of severity of impairment and course of disorder. Despite this, little is known about the meaning behind the high rate of co-occurrence of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Several conditions exist that may give rise to comorbidity. Specifically, two disorders may be comorbid when there is a high rate of symptom overlap between the disorders, when one underlying construct is split into two separate disorders, when the disorders share common risk or etiological factors, or because one disorder causes or increases the risk of developing the second disorder. The present paper examines each of these explanations as they relate to the comorbidity of anxiety and depression in youth.
Characteristics of Postradical Neck Pain Syndrome: A Report of 25 Cases

The postradical neck pain syndrome has been briefly described in the literature, but detailed characterization has not been reported. To further define this syndrome, 25 patients with persistent pain for at least 1 month following neck dissection were evaluated. The sample consisted of 13 men and 12 women with moderate to severe pain ranging from 1 month to 27 years in duration. All patients had at least one type of neuropathic pain: spontaneous, continuous burning pain (81%), shooting pain (69%), and/or allodynia (88%). Neuropathic pain sites were within the distribution of the superficial cervical plexus (SCP). Regional myofascial pain was also common (72%). Seventeen patients agreed to undergo diagnostic local anesthetic injections. Ten of these patients had both neuropathic and somatic (myofascial) pain. Local anesthetic injection of the SCP temporarily eliminated all neuropathic pain in the 17 patients who underwent the procedure. The 10 patients who also had myofascial pain reported temporary relief of their somatic pain following myofascial trigger point injections (TPI). Criteria for the postradical neck pain syndrome are proposed: (1) persistent, nonprogressive neuropathic pain involving one or more branches of the SCP, which may be accompanied by (2) regional nonprogressive somatic pain associated with myofascial pain trigger points in head and neck muscles.
Bioenergy Systems, Soil Health and Climate Change

Biomass energy (bioenergy) could play a significant role in meeting global energy demands. But this would entail a substantial increase in the scale and intensity of biomass production, which could have negative implications for soil health. Bioenergy can contribute to climate change mitigation through displacement of fossil fuels and potentially through sequestration of carbon. Conversely, the required expansion of bioenergy feedstock production could lead to emissions through loss of soil carbon, especially through indirect land use change (iLUC). The gain or loss of terrestrial carbon is determined by the LUC and systems used for biomass production. In this chapter, we first define bioenergy systems and outline their potential to deliver low-carbon energy. We then describe the opportunities and risks to soil health from bioenergy systems, and finally discuss measures by which these risks can be minimised, and biomass can be produced while protecting and ideally enhancing soil health. While our focus is on the interaction between bioenergy systems and soil health predominantly at a local scale, we also discuss larger scale issues including the intensification of production and how biomass supply will need to meet developing sustainability systems to meet different social and environmental constraints.
Screens for Proteins Binding to the ARS Consensus Sequence

A subset of autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) elements, identified on the basis of their ability to promote high efficiency transformation and extrachromosomal maintenance of plasmids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has recently been shown to function as bona fide chromosomal replication origins (Huberman et al. 1988, Dubey et al. 1991, Greenfeder and Newlon, ms. in prep.). Extensive analysis of the DNA sequences required for ARS function on plasmids has revealed the necessity for an eleven base pair (bp) consensus sequence and a variable number of bases 3’ to the T-rich strand of the consensus sequence (reviewed by Newlon 1988, Campbell and Newlon 1991). Mutational analysis of the consensus sequence demonstrated a stringent requirement for most of the bases in the consensus sequence, a finding which suggests that this sequence may function as a protein binding site. In vivo footprinting at ARS1 is consistent with the binding of a protein in the region of the consensus sequence (Lohr and Torchia 1988).
How Do Investors Respond to Disclosure of Audit Quality Indicators

SUMMARY Both U.S. and international standard setters have sponsored initiatives to develop a reliable portfolio of audit quality indicators (AQIs). We conduct two experiments to examine how investo...
Treatment of dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease

Dysphagia is frequently present in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Abnormalities may be localized to the oral, pharyngeal, or esophageal level and may be evident even in the early stages of the disease. Individuals with dysphagia have an increased risk for aspiration, and silent aspiration may be present in up to one-third of patients with PD. The modified barium swallow (MBS) study is the standard screening test for dysphagia in PD, but it is important to remember that esophageal abnormalities may not be visualized on the MBS and a barium esophagram should be considered if the MBS is negative. Surgical treatment may be curative for structural abnormalities such as a Zenker’s diverticulum, but when the problem is due to oropharyngeal or esophageal dysmotility, speech/swallowing therapy is the most effective treatment.
Commercial Aviation History

This chapter recounts the history of commercial aircraft from the open cockpit WWI surplus aircraft delivering airmail to the wide-body aircraft that opened up air travel during the 1970s. The chapter introduces the vital system improvements that allowed air travelers to fly comfortably above weather and in pressurized comfort. It introduced some of the systems that allowed commercial air travel to occur at Mach 0.85 or faster.
Role of Riociguat in Treatment of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension

Background Exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension (EiPH) can cause a significant deterioration in quality of life as well as a decrease in life expectancy. Additionally, EiPH may precede the development of manifest PH in a proportion of patients. In this study, we evaluated the effect of riociguat on the functional capacity of patients with EiPH. Hypothesis Riociguat improves 6-minute walk test in patients with exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension. Methods We reviewed the medical records of patients who were started on riociguat for exercise induced pulmonary hypertension. All patients had a right heart catheterization done at baseline that showed normal pulmonary hemodynamics (mPAP 30 mmHg, PVR> 3 Wood units at maximum arm exercise). All patients had a baseline 6-minute walk test, and a repeat test at 6 months (+/− 2 months) after starting riociguat. Results Out of the nine patients included in this study, seven patients showed improvement of 6-minute walk distance (from 891 feet to 1197 feet, mean change 306 feet). One patient showed worsening of 6MWT (from 991 feet to 905 feet) and one patient did not show any significant change from baseline. Conclusions In this case series of patients with exercise induced pulmonary hypertension, the use of riociguate was associated with an improvement in the functional status of patients with EiPH at 6 months. Larger size prospective studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Adrienne Herndon's Homeplaces: Shakespeare and Black Resistance in Atlanta, c.1906

This essay examines the political significance of the career of Atlanta-based Shakespearean Adrienne McNeil Herndon in the early twentieth century. It contextualizes Herndon's writing in the activist journal Voice of the Negro and elucidates the radicalism of Herndon's Shakespeare work at Atlanta University and beyond. More broadly, the essay shows how Herndon's performances and pedagogy – especially her focus on elocution work, bodily expressivity, domestic spaces, and visual culture – repeatedly challenged the white supremacist culture of the Jim Crow South, offering black Americans a way to resist racial terrorism and endure racial trauma.
On the high-frequency response of unsteady lift and circulation: A dynamical systems perspective

Abstract In this paper, we consider the unsteady aerodynamics of a two-dimensional airfoil as a dynamical system whose input is the angle of attack (or airfoil motion) and output is the lift force. Based on this view, we discuss the evolution of lift and circulation from a purely dynamical perspective through step response, frequency response, transfer function, etc. In particular, we point to the relation between the high-frequency gain of the transfer function and the physics of the development of lift and circulation. Based on this view, we show that the circulatory lift dynamics is different from the circulation dynamics. That is, we show that the circulatory lift is not lift due to circulation. In fact, we show that the circulatory–non-circulatory classification is arbitrary. By comparing the steady and unsteady thin airfoil theory, we show that the circulatory lift possesses some acceleration (added-mass) effects. Finally, we perform simulations of Navier–Stokes equations to show that a non-circulatory maneuver in the absence of a free stream induces viscous circulation over the airfoil.
Fluorescent Calcium Imaging and Subsequent In Situ Hybridization for Neuronal Precursor Characterization in Xenopus laevis

Spontaneous intracellular calcium activity can be observed in a variety of cell types and is proposed to play critical roles in a variety of physiological processes. In particular, appropriate regulation of calcium activity patterns during embryogenesis is necessary for many aspects of vertebrate neural development, including proper neural tube closure, synaptogenesis, and neurotransmitter phenotype specification. While the observation that calcium activity patterns can differ in both frequency and amplitude suggests a compelling mechanism by which these fluxes might transmit encoded signals to downstream effectors and regulate gene expression, existing population-level approaches have lacked the precision necessary to further explore this possibility. Furthermore, these approaches limit studies of the role of cell-cell interactions by precluding the ability to assay the state of neuronal determination in the absence of cell-cell contact. Therefore, we have established an experimental workflow that pairs time-lapse calcium imaging of dissociated neuronal explants with a fluorescence in situ hybridization assay, allowing the unambiguous correlation of calcium activity pattern with molecular phenotype on a single-cell level. We were successfully able to use this approach to distinguish and characterize specific calcium activity patterns associated with differentiating neural cells and neural progenitor cells, respectively; beyond this, however, the experimental framework described in this article could be readily adapted to investigate correlations between any time-series activity profile and expression of a gene or genes of interest.
Pediatric firearm injuries: Racial disparities and predictors of healthcare outcomes.

Abstract Background/Purpose The U.S. has an alarming rate of firearm injuries. Racial disparities among victims and predictors of outcomes are not well established. Our objective was to assess costs, length of stay (LOS), and inpatient mortality among nonfatal and fatal pediatric firearm injuries that required hospitalization. Methods Pediatric (≤ 18 years of age) hospitalizations with a firearm injury discharge diagnosis were identified from the national Kids' Inpatient Databases (KID) for 2006 through 2012. Firearm injury intent, weapon type, and hospitalization rates by racial groups were examined. Inpatient mortality, costs, and length of stay were examined using regression models. Results Of 15,211 hospitalizations, the majority of injuries were due to assault (60%) and the intentions of firearm injury differed by race (p On regression analysis, Black (OR: 0.41; CI: 0.30–0.55) and Hispanic (OR: 0.47; CI: 0.34–0.66) patients were less likely to die than White patients. Conclusion Pediatric firearm injury circumstances and survival vary by race with Whites being more likely to experience unintentional injury and suicide, while Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to experience inflicted injury. Level of Evidence Level II. Type of Study Clinical Research Study.
Moving Toward Precision: Understanding the Heterogeneity of Obesity

12054Background: Obesity is a global health epidemic and has been linked to detrimental impact on cancer incidence, recurrence, and mortality. Growing evidence have recognized the complex biopsycho...
Athermal behavior of core-shell particles in nanocrystalline Cu-Ta

Abstract Nanocrystalline Cu-Ta is among the most successfully developed nanostructured alloys involving microstructural design, synthesis, characterization, and testing. However, the interplay of direct and indirect thermal stability mechanisms is still unclear. In this work, mechanically alloyed Cu-10at.%Ta was characterized with atomic-resolution electron microscopy to identify thermal stability mechanisms. A new mechanism involving athermal core-shell particles that were coarsening resistant was discovered after annealing between 100–800 °C up to 1000 h. Evidence suggests that oxide amorphous shells decreased the phase boundary energy thereby reducing the thermodynamic driving force for particle growth and indirectly maximizing thermal stability of Cu(Ta) grains.
Better together: designing for child-robot collaboration

The goal of this research is to design a system that encourages a child and robot to collaborate and learn together. My research has two key hypotheses: 1) The expressive motion of an "error-prone," non-humanoid robot can be algorithmically characterized to motivate a child to regularly assist it; 2) An "error prone" robot will provide social motivation for a child to learn and collaborate, which will demonstrably improve the learning outcomes of the child. These two hypotheses will be evaluated via user studies, child-robot interaction analysis, and child learning outcome assessments. Through these analyses, I intend to purposely cultivate the abilities of the robot, such that it can capitalize on the prosocial behavior of a child and minimize its own computational expenses. In so doing, robots can become better collaborators that are more accessible, educational, and cost effective.
Effects of prolonged peri-neural bupivacaine infusion in rat sciatic nerves (axon and myelin).

Background/objective Peripheral-nerve blocks (PNBs) using continuous-infusion of local anesthetics are used to provide perioperative analgesia. Yet little research exists to characterize the histopathological effects of continuous long-duration PNBs. Herein we test the hypothesis that continuous peri-neural bupivacaine infusion (3-day vs. 7-day infusion) contributes to histologic injury in a duration-dependent manner using an in vivo model of rat sciatic nerves. Methods We placed indwelling catheters in 22 rats for infusion with low-dose (0.5mg/kg/hr) bupivacaine or normal saline proximal to the right sciatic nerves for 3 or 7 consecutive days. Hind-limb analgesia was measured using Von-Frey nociceptive testing. At infusion end, rats were sacrificed, bilateral nerves were sectioned and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and CD68 for evaluation of inflammatory response, and eriochrome to assess damage to myelin. Results Animals receiving continuous infusion of bupivacaine maintained analgesia as demonstrated by significant decrease (50%on average) in nociceptive response in bupivacaine-infused limbs across time points. Both 7-day saline and bupivacaine-infused sciatic nerves showed significantly-increased inflammation by H&E staining compared to untreated native nerve controls (P = 0.0001, P 0.99) or duration (3-day bupivacaine vs 7-day bupivacaine P > 0.99). No significant change in sciatic nerve myelin was found in bupivacaine-infused animals compared to saline-infused controls, regardless of duration. Conclusions Long-duration (7-day) bupivacaine infusion provided durable post-operative analgesia, yet contributed to equivalent neural inflammation as short duration (3-day) infusion of bupivacaine or saline with no evidence of demyelination.
The Ironies of Citizenship: Naturalization and Integration in Industrialized Countries

1. Introduction: the politics of granting citizenship 2. Wide measures with synthetic and dynamic methods Part I. The Colonizers and Settlers: 3. Colonization in reverse: the degrees of empire in the UK and France 4. From manifest destiny to multi-culturalism in the settler countries Part II. Matched Case Studies and Exceptions: 5. European colonizer versus short term occupier: Austria and Germany 6. World colonizer versus late occupier: The Netherlands and Belgium 7. Left and green politics trump regime types in Nordic countries Part III. The Comprehensive Analysis of Naturalization Rates: 8. Explaining naturalization rates in eighteen countries: regimes over centuries and politics and institutions over decades 9. Conclusion - explanations and future of citizenship.
Clues to pathogenesis of spondyloarthropathy derived from synovial fluid mononuclear cell gene expression profiles.

OBJECTIVE: To use gene expression profiles of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMC) to determine if there are transcripts that support the unfolded protein response (UPR) hypothesis, and to identify which cytokines/chemokines are being expressed and which cell fractions are involved. METHODS: Gene expression profiles were generated by microarray screening of SFMC of 5 patients with SpA, 5 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 6 controls. Results were validated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction using samples from a larger panel of subjects. RESULTS: The repertoires of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines expressed by SpA and RA SFMC were very similar: monocyte chemotractant protein 1 (MCP-1), interleukin 8 (IL-8), IL-1beta, endothelial-monocyte activating polypeptide II, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. MCP-1 was highly expressed in SpA SFMC. There was enhanced expression of immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (BiP) in SpA, which is compatible with the UPR hypothesis. BiP was most highly expressed in the adherent fraction of SpA SFMC. CONCLUSION: Previous data postulating UPR in SpA are based on in vitro experiments with transfected cell lines. Our patient derived data suggest that it also occurs in vivo in the macrophages of SpA joints.
Studies on hepatic injury and antioxidant enzyme activities in rat subcellular organelles following in vivo ischemia and reperfusion

The activities of rat hepatic subcellular antioxidant enzymes were studied during hepatic ischemia/reperfusion. Ischemia was induced for 30 min (reversible ischemia) or 60 min (irreversible ischemia). Ischemia was followed by 2 or 24 h of reperfusion. Hepatocyte peroxisomal catalase enzyme activity decreased during 60 min of ischemia and declined further during reperfusion. Peroxisomes of normal density (d = 1.225 gram/ml) were observed in control tissues. However, 60 min of ischemia also produced a second peak of catalase specific activity in subcellular fractions corresponding to newly formed low density immature peroxisomes (d = 1.12 gram/ml). The second peak was also detectable after 30 min of ischemia followed by reperfusion for 2 or 24 h. Mitochondrial and microsomal fractions responded differently. MnSOD activity in mitochondria and microsomal fractions increased significantly (p < 0.05) after 30 min of ischemia, but decreased below control values following 60 min of ischemia and remained lower during reperfusion at 2 and 24 h in both organelle fractions. Conversely, mitochondrial and microsomal glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity increased significantly (p < 0.001) after 60 min of ischemia and was sustained during 24 h of reperfusion. In the cytosolic fraction, a significant increase in CuZnSOD activity was noted following reperfusion in animals subjected to 30 min of ischemia, but 60 min of ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion resulted in decreased CuZnSOD activity. These studies suggest that the antioxidant enzymes of various subcellular compartments respond to ischemia/reperfusion in an organelle or compartment specific manner and that the regulation of antioxidant enzyme activity in peroxisomes may differ from that in mitochondria and microsomes. The compartmentalized changes in hepatic antioxidant enzyme activity may be crucial determinant of cell survival and function during ischemia/reperfusion. Finally, a progressive decline in the level of hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and concomitant increase in serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) activity also suggest that greater tissue damage and impairment of intracellular antioxidant activity occur with longer ischemia periods, and during reperfusion. (Mol Cell Biochem 176: 337–347, 1997)
In Vitro Studies with Cefotaxime: Disk Diffusion Susceptibility Tests

Until recently two sets of conflicting interpretive criteria existed for use with the standardized 30-μg cefotaxime diffusion disk [National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) M2-A2S, supplement 1; product information package insert for Claforan (cefotaxime sodium), edition 10/81.] The latter criteria recently were superseded by a third set which differs radically from the first two in both minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and zone size breakpoints. The first two sets of criteria differed mainly in the zone of inhibition diameters used to predict resistant and intermediate organisms. The accuracies of these two sets of criteria were evaluated by paired agar dilution (World Health Organization-International Collaborative Study) and disk diffusion tests (Food and Drug Administration) with 347 clinical isolates of aerobic bacteria. A total of 274 isolates (79%) were clinically susceptible by agar dilution as defined by NCCLS (MIC ≤8 μg/ml) and 61, including 48 Pseudomonas spp., were of intermediate susceptibility (MIC of 16 or 32 μg/ml). Twelve were resistant (MIC ≥64 μg/ml). The original product information package insert criteria proved to be most unreliable in identification of the intermediate organisms (zone of inhibition diameters of 18 to 22 mm); only 5 were correctly predicted as being intermediate, whereas 54 were predicted as being resistant, and 2 were predicted as being susceptible. In contrast, the NCCLS criteria (zone of inhibition diameter of 15 to 22 mm) predicted 41 as being intermediate and 18 as being resistant; again, 2 were susceptible. The 12 isolates resistant to cefotaxime by agar dilution were correctly predicted to be resistant by either set of breakpoints (zone of inhibition diameter of ≤14 or ≤17 mm). These results suggest that the package insert criteria previously recommended for use with the 30-μg cefotaxime disk were overly conservative and required revision to bring them into agreement with NCCLS performance standards. Unfortunately however, the recent revision of the package insert criteria has further confused this issue [product information package insert for Claforan (cefotaxime sodium), edition 2/82].
Moderation, the Noblest Gift of Heaven

Improving the outcome of pregnancy is a long sought goal of perinatologists. Observations that starvation during pregnancy could lead to disturbances in newborns, and in some cases to low birth weight infants, particularly if starvation occurrred late in the pregnancy, led to studies of food supplementation of pregnant women. One of the most carefully designed studies is that of Rush and co-workers,1 part of which is described in this journal. They found that supplementing the diet of the pregnant woman, particularly with protein but also with calories, resulted in increased fetal wastage and few if any good effects. There was apparently a neutralization of some deleterious effects of smoking, an effect also recently observed in obese gravidas.2
Purification of β-Glucosidase from Saccharomyces lactis Strain Y-123

Saccharomyces lactis strain Y-123, a constitutive high producer of β-glucosidase (Bh), was grown in an enriched medium. β-Glucosidase, extracted most easily by cell autolysis, was purified by successive ammonium sulfate precipitation, ethyl alcohol precipitation, gel filtration, calcium phosphate gel adsorption-elution, and hydroxyapatite column chromatography. The specific activity of the enzyme increased 200-fold during the purification. The electrophoretic and catalytic properties of the enzyme did not change during the procedure. Polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis of the partially purified enzyme revealed one major and several minor protein-staining bands. β-Glucosidase activity in the polyacrylamide gel columns was measured directly by assaying sections of columns frozen and sliced immediately after electrophoresis. Most of the activity coincided with the major protein-staining band. Prolonged assay produced minor activity coinciding with the less intense protein bands. Properties of the enzyme suggest that it is a single, unconjugated, intracellular, high molecular weight protein. The purification procedure is applicable to strains of S. lactis which possess alleles of the B locus for β-glucosidase synthesis.
Relations Between Coenzyme A and Presumptive Acyl Carrier Protein in Different Conditions of Streptococcal Growth

Exploration of the specific role of cystine in the postexponential growth of Streptococcus faecalis led to an inquiry into the fate of cellular coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP), both of which depend for their biosynthesis on cystine and pantothenate as precursors. In S. faecalis cells labeled by growth in the presence of 14C-pantothenate, the label could be separated on the basis of solubility at pH 2.1 into two fractions of sharply differing metabolic characteristics. The fractions were not purified, but the soluble 14C behaved analytically like CoA, and the insoluble 14C was considered to represent an ACP-like entity on the basis of circumstantial evidence. The fate of these two fractions under various conditions of growth was studied. When the medium contained an excess of the needed precursors, the cellular content of CoA and ACP appeared to remain constant during exponential growth, and in a molar ratio of about 4 CoA to 1 ACP. Cellular ACP, once formed, appeared to be stable under these conditions, but CoA was degraded and replaced at the rate of approximately 20% per division period. With restrictive levels of pantothenate in the medium, initially formed CoA disappeared during growth, as a result, apparently of being converted to ACP. However, when the resulting CoA-depleted cells were returned to a medium containing enough pantothenate, resumption of normal growth was preceded by a lag period, during which rapid conversion of ACP to CoA appeared to take place.
Conditional Independence of Events

In setting up a probability model for a system under study, the modeler utilizes all available prior knowledge about the system to determine probability assignments to appropriate events. This knowledge may be obtained from systematic statistical study, or from mathematical deductions based on assumptions supported by experience or experiment, or, less formally, from the judgment of a decision maker. These probability assignments serve to determine a prior probability measure. The probability P(A) of an event A provides a measure of the likelihood of the occurrence of this event.
Technique for Measuring 14CO2 Uptake by Soil Microorganisms In Situ

Uptake of 14CO2 in soils due to algae or sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was examined by incubation of soil samples with gaseous 14CO2 and subsequent chemical oxidation of biologically fixed radioactive isotope to 14CO2 for detection with a liquid scintillation counting system. The 14CO2 was added to the soil in the gas phase so that no alteration of the moisture or ionic strength of the soil occurred. Wet oxidation of radioactive organic matter was carried out in sealed ampoules, and the 14CO2 produced was transferred to a phenethylamine-liquid scintillation counting system with a simply constructed apparatus. The technique is inexpensive and efficient and does not require elaborate traps since several possible interfering factors were found to have no harmful effects. Experiments in coal mine regions and in geothermal habitats have demonstrated the ecological applicability of this technique for measurement of CO2 fixation by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and soil algae.
A trimodality approach in the management of metastatic low-grade epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the bone

A 29-year-old man presented with a 2-week history of severe pain in the left foot with no preceding history of trauma. A left foot radiograph demonstrated a cortical lucency in the mid-distal shaft of the third metatarsal bone. MRI of the left foot showed an expansile lesion in the same location. A staging bone scan showed a focal uptake in the known lucency in the left third metatarsal and in the proximal left femur. A subsequent left hip radiograph demonstrated a lucency in the intertrochanteric region. CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis was unremarkable. A biopsy of the left third metatarsal expansile lesion performed during an incision and curettage procedure revealed an epithelioid haemangioma (EHE) of the bone. MRI of the left hip performed in response to the findings on the bone scan showed metastatic disease in the left intertrochanteric region. A prophylactic left hip fixation surgery with an interlocking intramedullary femoral nail was therefore undertaken to avoid a pathological fracture of the left hip from the metastatic disease. Simultaneously, a left hip biopsy was performed, which also revealed an EHE. The patient underwent external beam radiation to the left femoral head and neck. This was followed by fractionated radiosurgery to the left third metatarsal. Once the left foot wound had healed, the patient subsequently received four cycles of doxorubicin and ifosfamide. A restaging positron emission tomography CT carried out after completion of therapy showed no metabolic evidence of residual primary tumour or metastasis. More than 2 years after completing his trimodality therapy, the patient remains fully functional and symptom free.
Amber, women, and situla art

(1985). Amber, women, and situla art. Journal of Baltic Studies: Vol. 16, Studies in Baltic Amber, pp. 276-291.
Far infrared optical constants of liquid water measured with an optically pumped laser

A tunable far infrared optically pumped laser has been used to measure the reflection R and transmission of liquid water at 25°C. The laser covered the range 8.22–175.7 cm−1 with an average spacing between lines of 8 cm−1. The optical data were used to find the complex index of refraction n-ik with typical errors of 2%. A small peak in n was observed near 55 cm−1. This feature correlates with published Raman data. The values of R, n, k, and the absorption coefficient α are given in graphical and tabular form.
Timing of platelet recovery is associated with adequacy of leukapheresis product yield after cyclophosphamide and G-CSF in patients with lymphoma.

A subgroup of patients with refractory Hodgkin's (HD) or non-Hodgkin's (NHL) lymphoma may be cured with high-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood progenitor cell rescue. To investigate the relationship of adequate leukapheresis yield and time course of platelet recovery after mobilization chemotherapy, we retrospectively analyzed the leukapheresis yields in seven patients with Hodgkin's disease and fifteen patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma undergoing high-dose chemotherapy. Our goal was to develop a rule to determine when to initiate leukapheresis and then to prospectively validate this rule. All patients were mobilized with cyclophosphamide and G-CSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor). A total of 144 leukaphereses were completed and analyzed. Based on the CD34 content in the initial harvest product, fifteen patients were defined as poor mobilizers (CD34 < 0.15 × 106/kg) and seven were good mobilizers. The platelet count on the first day of harvesting was significantly associated with the poor mobilizers (P = .03). Age, sex, marrow involvement, disease (HD vs. NHL), prior radiation, time since last chemotherapy, and total number of cycles of prior chemotherapy were not predictive of poor mobilizers. By using a platelet count cut off of 35 × 109/L, we retrospectively analyzed 144 individual leukapheresis products, to test whether CD34 yield was predicted by the peripheral blood platelet count on the day of leukapheresis. This rule had an excellent sensitivity, 91%, and a specificity of 67%. Subsequently, we validated this rule with the next twenty-four patients undergoing leukapheresis of which there were 143 leukaphereses. The prediction rule exhibited a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 68% in the validation set. There does appear to be utility in using the platelet count to guide the initiation of leukapheresis after chemotherapy and G-CSF mobilization. J. Clin. Apheresis 14:31–34, 1999.© 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Measuring industrial energy intensity: practical issues and problems

Abstract Because of limitations on the availability and quality of data, energy analysts and policy makers are forced to use indicators of industrial energy intensity (energy input/industrial output) that are less than ideal. In this paper, we identify and discuss several issues and problems that arise in the construction of commonly-used industrial energy intensity indicators; in particular, we focus on issues that arise due to the use of alternative measures of output in intensity indicators. Several commonly-used indicators of industry-level energy intensity were constructed for several US manufacturing industries in order to illustrate these issues and problems. We find that trends in energy intensity based on value of output (eg value of production) can diverge quite sharply from trends in energy intensity based on volume of output (eg tons of output). Discrepancies between value- and volume-based indicators of energy intensity in large part appear to be due to the way in which industrial output statistics are constructed under the US Standard Industrial Classification system. Discrepancies may also be the result of measurement errors in price deflators and simple definitional differences between various value-based measures of output. We conclude that policy makers should carefully examine and understand the limitations of commonly-used energy intensity indicators before such indicators serve as a basis for policy decisions.
Charge transfer spectra and structure of the copper (II) halide complexes

Abstract An exhaustive critical literature survey has been made of the spectra reported for copper (II) halide complexes. When this is supplemented with data from this laboratory for dry and moist acetic acid solutions, there are available reasonably detailed spectral data for about 10 such complexes of differing stoichiometry and geometry. The d—d and charge transfer spectra of the various complexes can be fitted within 1500 cm−1 by a simple semi-empirical theory. σ-bonds and π-bonds are treated as perturbations on the copper d-orbitals, using a simple “point bond” model to allow for the effects of different geometry. These simple calculations are sufficiently accurate to permit definite conclusions from the spectra concerning the stoichiometry and geometry of copper halide species observed in solution. Thus the CuBr3− ion cannot be assigned D3h symmetry.
A path to 10% efficiency for tin sulfide devices

We preform device simulations of a tin sulfide (SnS) device stack using SCAPS to define a path to 10% efficient devices. We determine and constrain a baseline device model using recent experimental results on one of our 3.9% efficient cells. Through a multistep fitting process, we find a conduction band cliff of −0.2 eV between SnS and Zn(O,S) to be limiting the open circuit voltage (V OC ). To move towards a higher efficiency, we can optimize the buffer layer band alignment. Improvement of the SnS lifetime to >1 ns is necessary to reach 10% efficiency. Additionally, absorber-buffer interface recombination must be suppressed, either by reducing recombination activity of defects or creating a strong inversion layer at the interface.
Quantifying Published Scholarly Works of Experiential Education Directors

Objective. To determine the amount and potential impact of scholarly works that directors of experiential education in US colleges and schools of pharmacy have published since 2001.Methods. A searc...
A Program Error Localization Expert System

Error localization in program debugging is the process of identifying program statements which cause incorrect behavior. This paper describes a prototype of the error localization expert system which guides a programmer during debugging of Pascal programs. The system is interactive: it queries the programmer for the correctness of the program behavior and uses answers to focus the programmer's attention on an erroneous part of the program (in particular, it can localize a faulty statement). The system differs from previous approaches in that it makes use of the knowledge of program structure rather than the knowledge at the level of symptom-fault rules. The knowledge of program structure is represented by the dependence network which is based on the concept of dependence relationship between program instructions. The inspiration behind using the dependence network is that any instruction in the execution trace from the beginning to a position of incorrectness could conceivably have been responsible for the faulty behavior. Using dependence network, as a guide to which instruction to examine, seems to be an effective way to focus the programmer's attention appropriately. The dependence network is used by the error-locating reasoning mechanism to guide the construction, evaluation, and modification of hypotheses of possible causes of the error. The backtracking reasoning has been implemented in the reasoning mechanism. This type of reasoning is, in some sense, just an abstraction and elaboration of what experienced programmers do intuitively. The expert system frees the programmer from trial-and-error process that is typical during locating the source of an error when using a traditional break-and-examine debugger.
Structure and swelling of poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels: effect of pH, ionic strength, and dilution on the crosslinked polymer structure

The network formation of crosslinked polymer hydrogels made via a free radical polymerization mechanism is significantly influenced by the polymerization conditions. In particular, the crosslinked structure of ionic networks like poly(acrylic acid) copolymers is affected by the monomer concentration, the pH, and ionic strength during the polymerization. In this work experimental data as well as theoretical analysis are used to investigate how these factors control the degree of crosslinking and primary cyclization during the network formation of multifunctional monomers. It was found that the amount of water present during the polymerization increases primary cyclization rates, and this change affects the subsequent swelling behavior of the acrylic acid hydrogel. The effects of ionic strength and pH on the network structure are interrelated. An increase in the pH decreases the degree of primary cyclization while an increase in the ionic strength increases cyclization. To investigate further the effect of pH, a cationic polymer was formed that contained a monovinyl amine monomer and a novel diamine crosslinking agent synthesized in our laboratory. The combined effect of the ionizing backbone chain and crosslinking agent cause the degree of primary cyclization in this material to be extremely sensitive to the pH during polymerization. This result confirms the significant role of pH on the network formation in ionic materials.
Anion-controlled nuclearity in nickel complexes with potentially dinucleating, poly(oxime) amine ligands.

Two new ligands consisting of bis(oxime) amine units tethered by a bridge have been synthesized. Their nickel chloride and nickel nitrate complexes have also been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, FTIR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. One of these ligands, L1 (N,N,N‘,N‘-tetra(1-propan-2-onyl oxime)-diamino-m-xylene), is always dinucleating, while the other ligand, L2 (N,N,N‘,N‘-tetra(1-propan-2-onyl-oxime)-1,3-diaminopropane), shows an unusual anion dependence on the nuclearity. When nickel chloride is used, the ligand acts in a dinucleating manner and coordinates two nickels; however, when nickel nitrate is used, the ligand acts in a monodentate fashion and coordinates only one nickel. Once the mononuclear complex is formed, it is not possible to add a second nickel if Ni(NO3)2 is used as the nickel source; it is possible, however, to add a second nickel if NiCl2 is used as the nickel source. The dinuclear complex can be converted to the mononuclear one by either using si...
Angiogenic profile of childhood primitive neuroectodermal brain tumours/medulloblastomas

Primitive neuroectodermal brain tumours (PNET) including medulloblastomas (PNET/MB) are the most common malignant brain tumours of childhood. Similar to many other brain tumours, PNET/MB often show marked neovascularisation. To determine which angiogenic factors contribute to PNET/MB angiogenesis, we examined the expression of eight angiogenic factors (vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF, VEGF-B, VEGF-C), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), angiopoetins (Ang-1, Ang-2), transforming growth factor (TGF-alpha), and platelet-derived endothelial growth factor (PDGF-A)) by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in six PNET cell lines and 28 primary PNET/MB. Expression levels of angiogenic factors were compared with microvessel density, TrkC mRNA expression, clinical variables and survival outcomes. Our results indicate that all PNET/MB tested produce a wide range of angiogenic factors that are, individually or together, likely to play a direct role in PNET/MB tumour growth. This suggests that anti-angiogenesis approaches targeting VEGF alone may be insufficient in PNET/MB.
Do Adults Show an Effect of Delayed First Language Acquisition When Calculating Scalar Implicatures

Language acquisition involves learning not only grammatical rules and a lexicon, but also what someone is intending to convey with their utterance: the semantic/pragmatic component of language. In this paper we separate the contributions of linguistic development and cognitive maturity to the acquisition of the semantic/pragmatic component of language by comparing deaf adults who had either early or late first exposure to their first language (ASL). We focus on the particular type of meaning at the semantic/pragmatic interface called scalar implicature, for which preschool-age children typically differ from adults. Children's behavior has been attributed to either their not knowing appropriate linguistic alternatives to consider or to cognitive developmental differences between children and adults. Unlike children, deaf adults with late language exposure are cognitively mature, although they never fully acquire some complex linguistic structures, and thus serve as a test for the role of language in such interpretations. Our results indicate an overall high performance by late learners, especially when implicatures are not based on conventionalized items. However, compared to early language learners, late language learners compute fewer implicatures when conventionalized linguistic alternatives are involved (e.g. ). We conclude that (i) in general, Gricean pragmatic reasoning does not seem to be impacted by delayed first language acquisition and can account for multiple quantity implicatures, but (ii) the creation of a scale based on lexical items can lead to ease in alternative creation that may be advantageously learned early in life, and that this may be one of several factors contributing to differences between adults and children on scalar implicature tasks.