cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endothelial dysfunction and history of recurrent depression in postmenopausal women with Type 2 diabetes: a case-control study.

Abstract Objectives This study of postmenopausal women with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) investigated (1) history of depression as a predictor of endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD); (2) the relative associations of single and recurrent depressive disorders with FMD; and (3) cortisol as a potential mechanism. Methods Participants were nonsmoking, naturally postmenopausal women with T2DM with no known vascular disease. All were free of current mood disorder. On average, the 44 participants were 63 years of age, White, diabetic for 6 years, and were in adequate glycemic control. Thirty-eight percent were never depressed, 19% had experienced one disorder, and 43% had experienced recurrent disorders. History of depression was assessed with Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual—IV. Current depressive symptoms were measured with Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) scale. FMD was assessed by standard procedures and calculated as percent change in brachial artery diameter from baseline. Results Women with history of recurrent depression showed vasoconstriction (mean=−1%), which was significantly different from women with history of single depression (mean=+6) and never depressed women (mean=+5) (P Conclusions In postmenopausal women with T2DM, recurrent depressive disorders, even in full remission, are associated with endothelial dysfunction. Potential mechanisms of the relationship between depression and endothelial dysfunction other than cortisol warrant investigation.
Mo2 paddlewheel complexes functionalized with a single MLCT, S1 infrared-active carboxylate reporter ligand: preparation and studies of ground and photoexcited states.

From the reactions between Mo2(DAniF)3pivalate (DAniF = N,N′-di(p-anisyl)formamidinate) and the carboxylic acids LH, the title compounds Mo2(DAniF)3L have been prepared and characterized: compounds...
LONG-TERM OUTCOME FOR CHILDREN WITH MINIMAL-CHANGE NEPHROTIC SYNDROME

A retrospective study was undertaken to assess the outcome of a cohort of 183 unselected children who presented with the nephrotic syndrome between 1963 and 1969. All subjects showed minimal glomerular changes in biopsy samples and were given conventional steroid therapy. Information was available on 152 children, now aged 14-32 years. Activity persisted longer in patients presenting at an early age. The outcome for most of the children was favourable. Only 10 patients (5.5%), all of whom presented with initial symptoms before their 6th birthday, continued to have steroid-responsive relapses in adult life. There were 11 deaths, of which 7 (4% of the series) were from avoidable complications of the disorder.
Trans-vivo delayed type hypersensitivity assay for antigen specific regulation.

Delayed-type hypersensitivity response (DTH) is a rapid in vivo manifestation of T cell-dependent immune response to a foreign antigen (Ag) that the host immune system has experienced in the recent past. DTH reactions are often divided into a sensitization phase, referring to the initial antigen experience, and a challenge phase, which usually follows several days after sensitization. The lack of a delayed-type hypersensitivity response to a recall Ag demonstrated by skin testing is often regarded as an evidence of anergy. The traditional DTH assay has been effectively used in diagnosing many microbial infections. Despite sharing similar immune features such as lymphocyte infiltration, edema, and tissue necrosis, the direct DTH is not a feasible diagnostic technique in transplant patients because of the possibility of direct injection resulting in sensitization to donor antigens and graft loss. To avoid this problem, the human-to-mouse "trans-vivo" DTH assay was developed 1,2. This test is essentially a transfer DTH assay, in which human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and specific antigens were injected subcutaneously into the pinnae or footpad of a naive mouse and DTH-like swelling is measured after 18-24 hr 3. The antigen presentation by human antigen presenting cells such as macrophages or DCs to T cells in highly vascular mouse tissue triggers the inflammatory cascade and attracts mouse immune cells resulting in swelling responses. The response is antigen-specific and requires prior antigen sensitization. A positive donor-reactive DTH response in the Tv-DTH assay reflects that the transplant patient has developed a pro-inflammatory immune disposition toward graft alloantigens. The most important feature of this assay is that it can also be used to detect regulatory T cells, which cause bystander suppression. Bystander suppression of a DTH recall response in the presence of donor antigen is characteristic of transplant recipients with accepted allografts 2,4-14. The monitoring of transplant recipients for alloreactivity and regulation by Tv-DTH may identify a subset of patients who could benefit from reduction of immunosuppression without elevated risk of rejection or deteriorating renal function. A promising area is the application of the Tv-DTH assay in monitoring of autoimmunity15,16 and also in tumor immunology 17.
Language performance on visual processing tasks in right hemisphere lesion cases.

Abstract Seven language tests were constructed or adapted to assess the performance of three groups of 10 right-handed adult subjects: a right hemisphere lesion (RHL) group, a left hemisphere lesion (LHL) group, and a neurologically normal (NN) control group. Both the LHL and RHL groups produced poorer scores than the NN group on six of the seven tests. On two of the six significant tests, the RHL performed more poorly than the NN group. Analyses of words uttered during an oral story telling test indicated that the RHL group told significantly fewer complete stories using significantly more nouns, adjectives, and conjunctions than the NN group. On a 7-point scale, three judges rated the overall communication abilities of the RHL group as having “mild problems,” a significantly different rating than the ratings of the LHL and NN groups. The findings suggest that underlying visual spatial and perceptual deficits may be accompanied by clearly recognizable language differences in certain subjects.
Permanent Sterility Induced in Boll Weevils with Busulfan without Reducing Production of Pheromone

When busulfan (1,4-butanediol dimethanesulfonate) was fed to adult Anthonomus grandis Boheman for 6 days as 0.1% of the diet, it induced greater than 99% sterility in all males and permanent sterility in 97% of the males, and it drastically reduced the fecundity of females. The cumulative mortality at 3 weeks post treatment was moderate. In at least 4 consecutive matings, each treated male displaced normal sperm in a previously mated female. The production of pheromone by treated males was normal.
Bacterial curli protein promotes the conversion of PAP248-286 into the amyloid SEVI: cross-seeding of dissimilar amyloid sequences

Fragments of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP248-286) in human semen dramatically increase HIV infection efficiency by increasing virus adhesion to target cells. PAP248-286 only enhances HIV infection in the form of amyloid aggregates termed SEVI (Semen Enhancer of Viral Infection), however monomeric PAP248-286 aggregates very slowly in isolation. It has therefore been suggested that SEVI fiber formation in vivo may be promoted by exogenous factors. We show here that a bacterially-produced extracellular amyloid (curli or Csg) acts as a catalytic agent for SEVI formation from PAP248-286 at low concentrations in vitro, producing fibers that retain the ability to enhance HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. Kinetic analysis of the cross-seeding effect shows an unusual pattern. Cross-seeding PAP248-286 with curli only moderately affects the nucleation rate while significantly enhancing the growth of fibers from existing nuclei. This pattern is in contrast to most previous observations of cross-seeding, which show cross-seeding partially bypasses the nucleation step but has little effect on fiber elongation. Seeding other amyloidogenic proteins (IAPP (islet amyloid polypeptide) and Aβ1-40) with curli showed varied results. Curli cross-seeding decreased the lag-time of IAPP amyloid formation but strongly inhibited IAPP elongation. Curli cross-seeding exerted a complicated concentration dependent effect on Aβ1-40 fibrillogenesis kinetics. Combined, these results suggest that the interaction of amyloidogenic proteins with preformed fibers of a different type can take a variety of forms and is not limited to epitaxial nucleation between proteins of similar sequence. The ability of curli fibers to interact with proteins of dissimilar sequences suggests cross-seeding may be a more general phenomenon than previously supposed.
RFID Security Threats to Consumers: Hype vs. Reality

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are being adopted rapidly by retail giants such as Wal-Mart In the near future these tags will be used for item level tracking of consumer products such as milk cartons, television sets, and clothing. While this technology brings many benefits to consumers, such as increased convenience and efficiency through automation, it has also caused a lot of concerns about its potentially adverse impact on consumers' personal privacy. Researchers have theorized various threats relating to clandestine tracking and clandestine inventorying of RFIDs. In this paper the authors research practical security threats to consumers in an RFIO environment The authors study various RFID standards and types of RFID tags that are proposed for consumer products. Initial analysis reveals that not all theoretical security threats translate into practical concerns for consumers' privacy. Based on this analysis the authors build a risk model with which consumers can quantify various threats that RFID poses to their information security and privacy. Such evaluation will assist in creating risk-appropriate threat mitigation strategies in consumer RFID environments.
Prediction of cooling-coil performance under condensing conditions

Abstract The possibility of predicting chilled-water cooling-coil performance under condensing conditions using dry-surface heat transfer correlations is examined. Experimentally determined wet-surface Nusselt number data are presented and compared with dry-surface data obtained from the same cooling coils. The wet-surface Nusselt numbers show considerable scatter; some of the results are higher than the corresponding dry-surface correlations, while others are lower. A sensitivity analysis is presented to illustrate that the wet-surface Nusselt numbers are very sensitive to the uncertainties in the measured inlet dew-point temperature and the measured heat transfer rate. It is demonstrated that the use of dry-surface Nusselt number correlations in a coil model result in wet-surface heat transfer predictions that are generally within 5 percent of the experimentally determined value.
Design of Experiment Approach to Atmospheric Skip Entry Maneuver Optimization

An optimal trans-atmospheric vehicle and trajectory design are presented to simultaneously maximize the change in inclination angle and minimize total ΔV for an atmospheric skip entry maneuver. As an alternative to contemporary optimization techniques such as pseudospectral methods, a Design of Experiments approach featuring orthogonal arrays of experiments is implemented to solve the multi-objective maneuver optimization problem of atmospheric re-entry. Conducting both Pareto front and main effects analysis, the optimal solution is determined by evaluating the relative performance of six design variables, to include mass, planform area, aerodynamic coefficients, perigee altitude, and bank angle. Depending on the chosen re-circularization altitude, the optimal design performing an out-of-plane skip entry maneuver can achieve an inclination change of 19.91 deg with 50–85% less ΔV than a simple plane change.
A higher incidence of intermittent hypoxemic episodes is associated with severe retinopathy of prematurity.

Objective Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a vasoproliferative disorder of the retina in preterm infants, is associated with multiple factors, including oxygenation level. We explored whether the common intermittent hypoxemic events in preterm infants are associated with the development of ROP. Study design Oxygen desaturation events were quantified in 79 preterm infants (gestational age, 24 to 27-6/7 weeks) during the first 8 weeks of life. Infants were classified as requiring laser treatment for ROP versus having less severe or no ROP. A linear mixed model was used to study the association between the incidence of intermittent hypoxia and laser treatment of ROP, controlling for gestational age, sex, race, multiple births, and initial severity of illness. Results For all infants, hypoxemic events increased with postnatal age ( P .001). Controlling for all covariates, a higher incidence of oxygen desaturation events was found in the infants undergoing laser therapy for ROP ( P .001), males ( P .02), and infants of younger gestational age ( P .003). Conclusions The incidence of hypoxemic events was higher in infants with ROP requiring laser therapy. Therapeutic strategies to optimize oxygenation in preterm infants should include minimization of desaturation episodes, which may in turn decrease serious morbidity in this high-risk population.
The effects of delayed auditory feedback revealed by bone conduction microphone in adult zebra finches

Vocal control and learning are critically dependent on auditory feedback in songbirds and humans. Continuous delayed auditory feedback (cDAF) robustly disrupts speech fluency in normal humans and has ameliorative effects in some stutterers; however, evaluations of the effects of cDAF on songbirds are rare. We exposed singing young (141–151 days old) adult zebra finch males to high-amplitude cDAF. cDAF exposure was achieved by the recording of bone-conducted sounds using a piezoelectric accelerometer, which resulted in high-quality song recordings that were relatively uncontaminated by airborne sounds. Under this condition of cDAF, birds rapidly (2–6 days) changed their song syllable timing. The one bird for which we were able to maintain the accelerometer recordings over a long period of time recovered slowly over more than a month after cDAF was discontinued. These results demonstrate that cDAF can cause substantial changes in the motor program for syllable timing generation over short intervals of time in adult zebra finches.
Environmental Effects on Soybean with Modified Phosphorus and Sugar Composition

Development of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] with modified phosphorus (P) and sugar composition adds value to soybean meal. The identification and release of the soybean line V99-5089 with a mutation in the D-myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase 1 gene (MIPS1) provides a germplasm source that dually enhances both P and sugar composition of soybeans. An evaluation of the recombinant inbred line population from the cross of V99-5089 x Essex was completed at three environments in 2 yr. Phenotypic selection for modified composition was slightly more effective than marker-assisted selection with the Satt453 marker, which was 87% efficient. In the mutant lines, a significant genotype x environment interaction was shown for inorganic phosphorus (Pi) concentration but not sugar concentration. Correlations for improving P and sugar composition were favorable, and with the exception of emergence there were no strong correlations with agronomic traits. The correlation of emergence with Pi was significant (r = -0.59), indicating reduced emergence due to the mutation. Reduced emergence is a problem in low phytate germplasm generally and further research is necessary to genetically improve emergence of low phytate lines.
Oral contraceptive use, iron stores, and vascular endothelial function in healthy women

Abstract Background Increased iron stores are associated with greater cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. Oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use decreases the volume of menstrual blood loss and increases iron stores, but the link between OCP use, iron stores and cardiovascular risk in premenopausal women has not been characterized. Study Design We conducted a cross-sectional study of 23 healthy OCP users to determine the association between type and duration of OCP exposure, iron stores, and vascular endothelial function [flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in the brachial artery]. Results Median duration of OCP use was 45 months. FMD in the brachial artery was significantly associated with progestin type used (estranes/gonanes vs. drospirenone) and duration of OCP use (both p Conclusions Use of OCP containing drospirenone was independently associated with greater FMD in the brachial artery and, thus, a potentially more favorable cardiovascular risk profile, when compared with use of OCP containing estranes/gonanes.
Toward the Development of a Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics

This study represents an improvement in the ethics scales inventory published in a 1988 Journal of Business Ethics article. The article presents the distillation and validation process whereby the original 33 item inventory was reduced to eight items. These eight items comprise the following ethical dimensions: a moral equity dimension, a relativism dimension, and a contractualism dimension. The multidimensional ethics scale demonstrates significant predictive ability.
Laser ablation construction of on-column reagent addition devices for capillary electrophoresis.

A simple and reproducible technique for constructing perfectly aligned gaps in fused-silica capillaries has been developed for postcolumn reagent addition with capillary electrophoresis. This technique uses laser ablation with the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) at 13.5 mJ/pulse and a repetition rate of 15 Hz to create these gaps. A capillary is glued to a microscope slide and positioned at the focal point of a cylindrical lens using the focused beam from a laser pointer as a reference. Gaps of 14.0 ± 2.2 μm (n = 33) at the bore of the capillary are produced with a success rate of 94% by ablation with 400 pulses. This simple method of gap construction requires no micromanipulation under a microscope, hydrofluoric acid etching, or use of column fittings. These structures have been used for reagent addition for postcolumn derivatization with laser-induced fluorescence detection and have been tested for the separation of proteins and amino acids. Detection limits of 6 × 10-7 and 1 × 10-8 M have be...
Ethanol-Induced Conditioned Place Aversion in Rats: Effect of Interstimulus Interval

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of interstimulus interval (ISI) on ethanol-induced place aversion in rats. Six groups of rats initially received four pairings of a distinctive floor stimulus (CS+) with ethanol (1 g/kg, I.P.) and four pairings of a different floor stimulus (CS-) with saline. Groups -30, -15, -10, -5, 0, and 5 were injected 30, 15, 10, 5, or 0 min before, or 5 min after exposure to the 5 min CS, respectively. After testing for place aversion, all groups were exposed to an additional set of conditioning trials using a higher dose of ethanol (1.5 g/kg). During the first test, only groups 0 and -15 exhibited conditioned place aversion. However, during the second test, all groups showed conditioned aversion except group -30. The results suggest that ethanol's aversive effects dissipate by 30 min postinjection or that it is more difficult to associate those effects with short-duration external stimuli at long backward intervals. In contrast to recent findings with mice, the direction of ethanol-induced place conditioning was not altered in rats exposed to different ISIs.
FACTORS INFLUENCING SPECIES COMPOSITION IN TROPICAL LOWLAND RAIN FOREST: DOES SOIL MATTER?

The soil properties most likely to influence species composition in lowland tropical rain forests are, in decreasing order of importance: P availability, Al toxicity, drainage, water-holding capacity, and availability of K, Ca, and Mg. A total of 18 studies were located in which species occurrence was studied in relation to such soil properties. Several of these report clear trends with soil physical properties, mainly drainage as affected by topographic position. Only three offer evidence for correlations with soil chemical properties. In all three, the study area spanned soils of very widely differing age and thus soil fertility. Failure to find correlations with chemical properties may be due to: lack of range in soil fertility across the sites studied, failure of soil test methods to measure availability of nutrients to plants, or temporal and spatial variability in soil properties. Existing soil classification systems do not provide enough information on any particular soil to help establish relation...
Human acoustic nerve action potential recordings from the tympanic membrane without anesthesia.

A non-surgical method for recording human acoustic nerve action potentials is described. Data obtained from 18 subjects with normal hearing are presented, and a relationship between stimulus intensity and latency of the N1 component of the acoustic nerve response is given. Possible application of this relationship as a reference in diagnosing hearing disorders is discussed.
Relapse to smoking.

Abstract Relapse is by far the most likely outcome of any smoking cessation attempt, even those made with the benefit intensive psychosocial treatment and pharmacotherapy. The present article briefly reviews the epidemiology of smoking and self-quitting, the outcome data for major forms of behavioral and pharmacologic smoking cessation treatments, and what is known about the natural history of relapse and recovery among treated smokers. A recent trend in smoking relapse research has been to study the dynamics of key motivational processes, such as withdrawal symptoms, negative affect, and craving, in the laboratory and in smokers' natural environments. This literature is also briefly reviewed, with an emphasis on how such investigations may reveal the limitations of current cessation treatments. Finally, three significant research themes that are likely to be important in future relapse research are highlighted—the possible “hardening” of the smoking population, the potential for developmental research to deepen our understanding of smoking motivation, and the promise of molecular genetic studies for advancing treatment and our understanding of relapse.
Imaging widespread seismicity at midlower crustal depths beneath Long Beach, CA, with a dense seismic array: Evidence for a depth‐dependent earthquake size distribution

We use a dense seismic array composed of 5200 vertical geophones to monitor microseismicity in Long Beach, California. Poor signal-to-noise ratio due to anthropogenic activity is mitigated via downward-continuation of the recorded wavefield. The downward-continued data are continuously back projected to search for coherent arrivals from sources beneath the array, which reveals numerous, previously undetected events. The spatial distribution of seismicity is uncorrelated with the mapped fault traces, or with activity in the nearby oil-fields. Many events are located at depths larger than 20 km, well below the commonly accepted seismogenic depth for that area. The seismicity exhibits temporal clustering consistent with Omori's law, and its size distribution obeys the Gutenberg-Richter relation above 20 km but falls off exponentially at larger depths. The dense array allows detection of earthquakes two magnitude units smaller than the permanent seismic network in the area. Because the event size distribution above 20 km depth obeys a power law whose exponent is near one, this improvement yields a hundred-fold decrease in the time needed for effective characterization of seismicity in Long Beach.
A bispectral-based test for spatial reversibility with application to texture images

Statistical approaches to image modeling have largely relied upon random models which characterize the 2-D process in terms of its first- and second-order statistics, and therefore cannot completely capture phase properties of random fields which are non-Gaussian. This constrains the parameters of noncausal image models to be symmetric and therefore the underlying random field to be spatially reversible. Higher- than second-order statistics are used to derive and implement a spatial reversibility test to validate this modeling assumption and consequently determine if higher-order statistics would be more appropriate for modeling an image. The performance of this test is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally and then applied to texture images. >
Blood Pressure Management in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke

### Case A 68-year-old right-hand-dominant man was brought to the hospital because of a speech disturbance and right arm and leg weakness. He awoke with these deficits and was last known to be symptom-free when retiring to bed the previous evening 8 hours earlier. His past medical history was notable for coronary heart disease, the patient having underwent coronary artery bypass surgery 7 years previously for unstable angina, but he had no known history of myocardial infarction. He also had hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and smoked 1 pack of cigarettes daily for more than 40 years. He had no history of calf claudication. His hypertension was being treated with a diuretic and β-adrenergic receptor blocker. He was also prescribed 325 mg of aspirin daily and an HMG CoA-reductase inhibitor (statin); however, his wife remarked that he often forgot to take his medications. His last total cholesterol was 240 mg/dL, with LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL. He had a strong family history of coronary heart disease after the age of 50. He had no known drug allergies. #### Physical Examination The patient’s blood pressure was 195/100 mm Hg in both arms, with a regular pulse of 90 bpm. His weight was 225 lb (body mass index: 31.4 kg/m2). His lungs were clear to auscultation. Cardiac examination showed a laterally displaced point of maximum impulse with an S4 gallop and a soft nonradiating systolic murmur at the base. His abdomen was obese without organomegaly and no abdominal bruits were detected. He had no rashes and no joint deformities. The left superficial temporal artery pulse was stronger than the right. There were soft bilateral anterior cervical bruits, left louder than right, but no supraclavicular bruits. There were bilateral femoral bruits. Radial pulses were 2+ and symmetric. Dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses were 1+. …
Androgen Receptor Interacts with the Positive Elongation Factor P-TEFb and Enhances the Efficiency of Transcriptional Elongation

Abstract Androgen receptor (AR) may communicate with the general transcription machinery on the core promoter to exert its function as a transcriptional modulator. Our previous report demonstrated that the AR interacted with transcription factor IIH (TFIIH) under physiological conditions and that overexpression of Cdk-activating kinase, the kinase moiety of TFIIH, enhanced AR-mediated transcription in prostate cancer cells. In an effort to further dissect the mechanisms implicated in AR transactivation, we report here that AR interacts with PITALRE, a kinase subunit of positive elongation factor b (P-TEFb). Cotransfection of the plasmid encoding the mutant PITALRE (mtPITALRE), defective in its RNA polymerase II COOH-terminal domain (CTD)-kinase activity, resulted in preferential inhibition of AR-mediated transactivation. Indeed, AR transactivation in PC-3 cells was preferentially inhibited at the low concentration of 5,6-dicloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB), a CTD kinase inhibitor. These results suggest that CTD phosphorylation may play an important role in AR-mediated transcription. Furthermore, a nuclear run-on transcription assay of the prostate-specific antigen gene, an androgen-inducible gene, showed that transcription efficiency of the distal region of the gene was enhanced upon androgen induction. Taken together, our reports suggest that AR interacts with TFIIH and P-TEFb and enhances the elongation stage of transcription.
On the Meaning of “Democracy”

HERE is much talk these days about "Americanism," "our way of life," and "democracy." But what meanings do people attach to these terms? A delegate from a Near Eastern country has argued that the greatest problem in the United Nations was one of communication. "Oh, but electrical gadgets work well," he said, "and the translators are expert. But what neither the gadgets nor the translators can help is that the same words may have vastly different meanings to different people." "This word 'Democracy,'" he continued, "is used freely by both the Russian and United States Delegations, yet neither of them knows what the other means by it." In the research here reported, an effort was made to find with what fidelity the word "democracy" communicated like ideas among various economic groups.' When used by our leaders, does it mean the same as when used by our laymen? When used by a farmer, does it carry the same connotation as when used by a laborer or by a businessman?
Drug Treatment of Systolic and of Diastolic Heart Failure in Elderly Persons

Underlying causes, risk factors, and precipitating causes of heart failure (HF) should be treated. Patients with HF and an abnormal left ventricular ejection fraction (systolic HF) or normal left ventricular ejection fraction (diastolic HF) should be treated with diuretics if fluid retention is present, with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker if the patient cannot tolerate an ACE inhibitor because of cough, angioneurotic edema, rash, or altered taste sensation, and with a beta blocker unless contraindicated. If severe systolic HF persists, an aldosterone antagonist should be added. If HF persists, isosorbide dinitrate plus hydralazine should be added. Calcium channel blockers should be avoided if systolic HF is present. Digoxin should be avoided in men and women with diastolic HF if sinus rhythm is present and in women with systolic HF. Digoxin should be given to men with systolic HF if symptoms persist, but the serum digoxin level should be maintained between 0.5 and 0.8 ng/ml. Cardiac synchronized pacing should be considered in patients with severe systolic HF despite optimal medical therapy, with sinus rhythm, and with ventricular dyssynchrony.
The effect of labeling on perceptions of the quality of AM and FM signals

Abstract The extent to which a barrier against AM radio listening has resulted from imagined versus real differences between AM and FM signal quality was addressed by examining the effects of AM and FM labels versus actual AM and FM signal quality differences. A total of 605 college undergraduates in four separate groups rated a recording of an AM broadcast, an FM broadcast, or a recording of a compact disc identified as either an AM or FM broadcast on semantic differential scales for fidelity, technical sound, hiss/noise/distortion, and overall quality. For all four scales, signals identified as FM (simulated and actual) were rated significantly more favorably than signals identified as AM. The results suggest that attitudinal barriers to the acceptance of AM radio depress evaluations of AM radio signals when compared to FM radio signals of the same quality.
Near IR photolysis of HO2NO2: Implications for HOx

We report observations and calculations of peroxynitric acid, HO_2NO_2, in the stratosphere and upper troposphere. The simulations show that photolysis of HO_2NO_2 via excitation of purely vibrational modes at wavelengths longward of 760 nm (the near IR) can dominate loss of this species. Consideration of this photolytic pathway reduces calculated HO_2NO_2, resolving a large discrepancy between standard model calculations and observations of HO_2NO_2 at high-latitude spring. The lower calculated abundance of HO_2NO_2 reduces the efficiency of the OH + HO_2NO_2 sink of HO_x. Consideration of this process leads to large increases in calculated HO_x (20 to 60%) for high-latitude spring and better agreement with observed stratospheric abundances of HO_x. Near IR photolysis of HO_2NO_2 alters the coupling between NO_x and HO_x in stratospheric and upper tropospheric photochemical models.
A Wish List for Systematic Biology

“When you're movin' in the positive, your destination is the brightest star.”Stevie Wonder, “Master Blaster (Jammin'),” 1980
Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and multifocal pulmonary blood supply: does an intensive interventional approach improve the outcome?

Introduction. Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (VSD) continues to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, with significant institutional variation in therapeutic strategies. This study reports a single center experience utilizing an intensive transcatheter approach to promote pulmonary vascular growth. Methods. A retrospective analysis of 20 patients undergoing surgical and transcatheter treatment for pulmonary atresia with VSD between 2002 and 2010. Results. The median age at initial surgical palliation was 6.3 months (8 days to 2.5 years). Eleven patients (group 1) underwent initial surgical palliation without VSD closure and nine patients (group 2) underwent an initial complete repair with fenestrated or complete VSD closure. Group 1 had a smaller Nakata index (54 mm2/m2 vs. 134 mm2/m2, P= .04) and a smaller absolute native pulmonary artery diameter (2.7 mm vs. 4.5 mm, P= .01) than group 2. Intraoperative angiography was performed in 10 cases to evaluate if early transcatheter intervention was warranted. The median follow-up during the study period was 2.3 years (1.6 months to 8.3 years). Of the 16 patients who survived the initial early postoperative period, 15 patients (94%) went on to receive surgical (n = 11) and/or interventional (n = 25) catheterization procedures. There was improvement in the mean Nakata index from the initial presurgical evaluation to the most recent catheterization data (38.4 mm2/m2 vs. 169.7 mm2/m2, P≤ .05). To date, two of 11 (18%) patients in group 1 ultimately underwent surgical VSD closure. Overall mortality was six of 20 (30%) with four deaths in group 1 and two deaths in group 2. There were no procedural deaths. Conclusions. Combining surgical unifocalization procedures with subsequent early and intensive catheter-based pulmonary artery rehabilitation may improve vascular growth, ultimately rendering many patients suitable for fenestrated VSD closure. Risk stratification, including intraoperative exit angiography, is essential to determine the need for early transcatheter interventions.
The Efficacy of Daptomycin Versus Vancomycin for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infection in Patients With Impaired Renal Function

Background. Concerns regarding the efficacy of daptomycin for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections in patients with impaired renal function are reflected in a recent package insert change by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, this decision was based on a small subgroup analysis and it is unclear if this is a true association. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with MRSA bacteremia treated at a tertiary hospital from 2001 to 2011 and who received either vancomycin or daptomycin. We used propensity score and multivariable logistic regression to assess the outcome of treatment failure, via blinded adjudication, in daptomycin- vs vancomycin-treated subjects and the interaction with renal function. Results. One hundred fifty patients were analyzed, 100 in the vancomycin arm and 50 in the daptomycin arm. The average age was 61 years, and 60% were men. Of patients treated with daptomycin or vancomycin, 29 (58%) and 51 (51%), respectively, had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 50 mL/minute/1.73 m2 (odds ratio [OR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], .11 -1.79), nor in patients with a GFR of <50 mL/minute/1.73 m2 (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, .11 -1.94). There was no significant interaction between them (P = .54). Conclusions. In patients with MRSA bacteremia, daptomycin efficacy was not affected by GFR level and was similar to vancomycin's efficacy. Although our sample size was small, it was larger than than the one used by the FDA. However, smaller differences may be significant with a larger sample size.
Steroids after cardiac arrest: A retrospective study with concurrent, nonrandomized controls

We retrospectively examined the effect of steroid treatment on the outcome of 458 consecutive patients admitted after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Of those given steroids, 128/213 (60%) regained consciousness, and of those not given steroids, 150/245 (61%) regained consciousness. Findings remained unchanged using logistic regression to adjust for differences in the two treatment groups. These results suggest that there is no role for steroids in the treatment of global brain ischemia.
Hyperglycemia promotes oxidative stress through inhibition of thioredoxin function by thioredoxin-interacting protein

Increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to vascular disease and pro-atherosclerotic effects of diabetes mellitus may be mediated by oxidative stress. Several ROS-scavenging systems tightly control cellular redox balance; however, their role in hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress is unclear. A ubiquitous antioxidative mechanism for regulating cellular redox balance is thioredoxin, a highly conserved thiol reductase that interacts with an endogenous inhibitor, thioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip). Here we show that hyperglycemia inhibits thioredoxin ROS-scavenging function through p38 MAPK-mediated induction of Txnip. Overexpression of Txnip increased oxidative stress, while Txnip gene silencing restored thioredoxin activity in hyperglycemia. Diabetic animals exhibited increased vascular expression of Txnip and reduced thioredoxin activity, which normalized with insulin treatment. These results provide evidence for the impairment of a major ROS-scavenging system in hyperglycemia. These studies implicate reduced thioredoxin activity through interaction with Txnip as an important mechanism for vascular oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus.
Multi-scale defect interactions in high-rate failure of brittle materials, Part II: Application to design of protection materials

Abstract Micromechanics based damage models, such as the model presented in Part I of this 2 part series ( Tonge and Ramesh, 2015 ), have the potential to suggest promising directions for materials design. However, to reach their full potential these models must demonstrate that they capture the relevant physical processes. In this work, we apply the multiscale material model described in Tonge and Ramesh (2015) to ballistic impacts on the advanced ceramic boron carbide and suggest possible directions for improving the performance of boron carbide under impact conditions. We simulate both dynamic uniaxial compression and simplified ballistic loading geometries to demonstrate that the material model captures the relevant physics in these problems and to interrogate the sensitivity of the simulation results to some of the model input parameters. Under dynamic compression, we show that the simulated peak strength is sensitive to the maximum crack growth velocity and the flaw distribution, while the stress collapse portion of the test is partially influenced by the granular flow behavior of the fully damaged material. From simulations of simplified ballistic impact, we suggest that the total amount of granular flow (a possible performance metric) can be reduced by either a larger granular flow slope (more angular fragments) or a larger granular flow timescale (larger fragments). We then discuss the implications for materials design.
Alexander Hollaender: The Man and His Work*

Hollaender’s first research dealt with the interaction of light and molecules. It was this fascination with light that was to be a common thread running through many of his experimental investigations. He entered the world of science at the age of 33, long enough before the explosions of molecular biology took place so that he had a historical perspective on genetics. Indeed, he was one of the more important and influential members of the genetics community from the 1930s through the 1980s. His influence was not only a result of exciting experimental work. It also stemmed from his organization of the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory around the themes of genetics and nucleic acid chemistry and biochemistry.
Active Artificial Hair Cells Using Nonlinear Feedback Control

There is interest in developing devices that mimic the sound transduction of the cochlear hair cells. Current artificial hair cell (AHC) designs have focused on passive transduction of sound into electrical signals. However, measurements inside living cochleae have revealed that a nonlinear amplification is at work in mammalian hearing. This amplification lowers the threshold for sound detection allowing mammals to hear faint sounds. The nonlinearity results in an amplitude compression whereby a large range of sound pressure levels produces a smaller range of displacements. This compressive nonlinearity gives the ear a large dynamic range. This work seeks to develop and analyze active artificial hair cells which employ a bio-inspired amplification to improve performance. This paper examines two artificial hair cell designs. The first is an 18.5 in long aluminum cantilever beam which is excited and controlled using piezoelectric actuators along the length of the beam. The second design is a one inch piezoelectric bimorph beam subject to a base excitation. In both cases a nonlinear feedback control law is implemented which reduces the beam’s linear viscous damping and introduces a cubic damping term. Model and experimental results show the control law amplified the response of the artificial hair cell to low excitation levels near the resonance frequency. Increasing input levels produced a compressive nonlinearity at resonance similar to that observed in measurements from mammalian cochleae. This work could lead to the development of new bio-inspired sensors with a lower threshold of detection, improved frequency sensitivity, and larger dynamic range.© 2014 ASME
SEASONAL SELECTION IN THE LEOPARD FROG, RANA PIPIENS.

The leopard frog, Rana pipiens, exists as a polymorphic species in an area of about 100,000 square miles in Minnesota, western Wisconsin, northern Iowa, and northeastern South Dakota (Merrell, 1965). In addition to the usual spotted wild type, the populations frequently contain about 1 to 10% of the unspotted burnsi type, shown by Moore (1942) to be due to a single dominant gene. The wide distribution and fairly high frequency of the burnsi gene seem to rule out the possibility that it is being maintained by recurrent mutation. Furthermore, heterozygote advantage, the mechanism most commonly invoked to explain balanced polymorphism, does not seem an adequate explanation in this case. First, the frequency of the heterozygotes in natural populations is lower than would reasonably be expected if heterosis were involved. Also, the results from crosses in the laboratory between wild-type and burnsi individuals showed no evidence of heterozygote advantage (Merrell-unpublished). Crosses between heterozygous burnsi (B/+) and pipiens (+/+) yielded the expected one-to-one burnsi to pipiens ratio, even under crowded conditions. Crosses between heterozygous burnsi frogs gave the expected 3: 1 ratios with no indication that the homozygous burnsi type (B/B) was less vigorous than the B/+ or +/+ genotypes. Finally, crosses between burnsi and kandiyohi heterozygotes gave the four genotypes, burnsi, kandiyohi, double mutant burnsi-kandiyohi, and wild type pipiens, in the expected equal numbers. (Kandiyohi is another dominant polymorphic gene in R. pipiens not linked to burnsi-Volpe 1955, 1956, 1960; Anderson and Volpe, 1958). Not only were the expected ratios obtained, but there were no significant differences in rate of development or size at metamorphosis among the different types of progeny. Therefore, the available evidence gives no support to heterozygote advantage as an explanation for the burnsi polymorphism. For this reason, other mechanisms for maintaining the burnsi polymorphism must be considered. One possibility is a seasonal shift in selection pressure (Merrell, 1965). The data presented below suggest that the burnsi frogs are somewhat better able to survive the winter than the pipiens type.
Investigating the multifunctional nature of bimetallic FeMoP catalysts using dehydration and hydrogenolysis reactions

Abstract Herein, we investigate the effects of altering the multifunctional nature of a series of FeMoP catalysts for biomass deoxygenation reactions. Unsupported FeMoP catalysts were synthesized at reduction temperatures between 650 °C and 850 °C. The reduction temperature used during the synthesis of FeMoP altered the surface properties of these materials (i.e., acidity and CO-titrated metal sites) while leaving the bulk crystal structure of FeMoP unaffected. This alteration in the surface properties significantly affected the catalytic performance of FeMoP materials in the deoxygenation reactions. The catalytic performance of the FeMoP catalysts was first investigated using the acid catalyzed, non-aqueous, dehydration of cyclohexanol. Aside from showing high selectivities to cyclohexene (>99%) for all catalysts, the experiments demonstrated that FeMoP-650 showed the highest initial rate due to the largest number of surface acid sites among these catalysts. In addition, these FeMoP catalysts were examined using the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenol. While all FeMoP catalysts were highly selective to benzene (∼90%) at conversions less than 15%, studies at higher conversions of phenol provided evidence that catalysts with a higher amount of acid sites maintained enhanced selectivity to benzene. Furthermore, the stability of FeMoP catalysts for phenol HDO was tested with a 48 h time-on-stream (TOS) study. FeMoP exhibited excellent stability, as evidenced by the retention of the initial reaction rate, selectivity to benzene, and oxidation state of surface species throughout the TOS run.