cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis And Localization of the Water-Deficit Stress-Induced Gene (lp3)

LP3 is a water-deficit-induced protein, which is highly homologous to ASR (ABA, stress and ripening) proteins. Homology was found in the C-terminal region of the putative LP3 protein while lower homologies were found in the N-terminal region. The goal of this study was to investigate the function of the LP3 protein and the mechanism of the lp3 promoter in response to water-deficit stress (WDS) and other stresses. In regenerated transgenic tobacco (T0), expression of b-glucuronidase (GUS) from the lp3 promoter-GUS construct was observed in polyethylene glycol (PEG), abscisic acid (ABA), methyl-jasmonate (MeJa), and fluridone (Flu) treatments. GUS expression was not observed following gibberellin (GA3), 2-methyl-4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), silver nitrate, or ethephon (ethylene releasing agent) treatments. Germinated T1 seedlings containing the lp3 promoter-GUS construct exhibited GUS activity up to 40 days postgermination. Expression could be restored when 5-azacytidine was included in the culture media, indicative of a developmentally regulated silencing mechanism involving methylation. In transgenic tobacco, the LP3 protein localized in the cell nucleus was induced by WDS and appeared to be developmentally regulated.
Lift as a mechanism of patch initiation in mussel beds

Abstract The mussel Mytilus californianus is the dominant competitor for space in the mid-intertidal zone of wave-swept rocky shores in the Pacific Northwest where it forms extensive tightly packed beds. The rate at which patches are formed in these beds, can play an important role in community ecology by controlling the establishment and persistence of fugitive species. Despite the biological importance of physical disturbance, the mechanism of patch initiation has not been adequately explained. Battering by logs can create patches, but is the predominant mechanism only on shores near active logging sites. In other areas, it has been speculated that the hydrodynamic forces associated with storm waves somehow cause patches to form. However, the forces acting along the direction of flow — drag and the acceleration reaction — are unlikely to initiate patch formation. Here, it is suggested that fluid-dynamic lift forces imposed on mussel beds by breaking waves are sufficient to dislodge individual mussels and trigger patch formation. Arguments are presented suggesting that the likelihood of dislodgment by lift is consistent with the observed rate of patch formation in the absence of log battering.
Whiners Go Home: Tough Mudder, Conspicuous Consumption, and the Rhetorical Proof of “Fitness”

This article examines how the confluence of sports and masculinity articulates with modern capitalism in shaping subjectivities crucial to performing in the hypercompetitive corporate world. We exp...
Complexity of Finite Precision Neural Network Classifier

A rigorous analysis on the finite precision computational aspects of neural network as a pattern classifier via a probabilistic approach is presented. Even though there exist negative results on the capability of perceptron, we show the following positive results: Given n pattern vectors each represented by cn bits where c > 1, that are uniformly distributed, with high probability the perceptron can perform all possible binary classifications of the patterns. Moreover, the resulting neural network requires a vanishingly small proportion O(log n/n) of the memory that would be required for complete storage of the patterns. Further, the perceptron algorithm takes O(n2) arithmetic operations with high probability, whereas other methods such as linear programming takes O(n3.5) in the worst case. We also indicate some mathematical connections with VLSI circuit testing and the theory of random matrices.
InAs/GaSb Broken-Gap Heterostructure Laser for Terahertz Spectroscopic Sensing Application

A completely new type of solid-state laser device is presented that offers the potential for achieving significantly increased levels of terahertz (THz) frequency output power at relatively high operating temperatures. Specifically, a double-barrier GaSb/InAs/GaSb heterostructure device concept is introduced that simultaneously leverages resonant electron injection and interband tunneling electron depletion to realize electron-population inversion, while at the same time mitigating the scattering effects that degrade the lasing process. Here, the main innovations are the ability to spatially separate the upper and lower electron populations using the quantum confinement of the double-barrier conduction band well and the valence-band (VB) well (i.e., of the second barrier), respectively, and the depopulation of the VB well by heavy hole interband tunneling. A theoretical analysis of the radiative and nonradiative transition rates based upon a multiband Kane model formalism is used to confirm the large available optical gain and to estimate the lasing output power at very long wavelengths. Therefore, this study establishes the initial foundation for a solid-state THz laser that can provide significant levels of output power below 1 THz. Furthermore, the inherently high spectral purity and natural tunability offered by this novel laser technology will be instrumental in future spectroscopic analysis of nanoscale biological and/or organic systems that are well known to possess unique spectral signatures at very long wavelengths.
Finite-difference time-domain analysis of the Celestron-8 telescope

Electromagnetic interference analyses of large complex systems demand large computational resources and give limited information on general types of systems. A finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) code was used to determine the response of a "generic" optical system to microwave radiation. A plane wave with a Gaussian pulse excitation was used along with "point sensors" within the system model to determine time and frequency response. In the low-frequency region, ramped sinusoidal excitation from a point within the sensor was used to determine angles of high sensitivity and field distributions within the sensor. From these field distributions, resonance modes were identified that are similar to those found in a simple cylindrical cavity.
Deletion of the anion exchanger Slc26a4 (pendrin) decreases apical Cl−/HCO3− exchanger activity and impairs bicarbonate secretion in kidney collecting duct

The anion exchanger Pendrin, which is encoded by SLC26A4 (human)/Slc26a4 (mouse) gene, is localized on the apical membrane of non-acid-secreting intercalated (IC) cells in the kidney cortical collecting duct (CCD). To examine its role in the mediation of bicarbonate secretion in vivo and the apical Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger in the kidney CCD, mice with genetic deletion of pendrin were generated. The mutant mice show the complete absence of pendrin expression in their kidneys as assessed by Northern blot hybridization, Western blot, and immunofluorescence labeling. Pendrin knockout (KO) mice display significantly acidic urine at baseline [pH 5.20 in KO vs. 6.01 in wild type (WT); P < 0.0001] along with elevated serum HCO(3)(-) concentration (27.4 vs. 24 meq/l in KO vs. WT, respectively; P < 0.02), consistent with decreased bicarbonate secretion in vivo. The urine chloride excretion was comparable in WT and KO mice. For functional studies, CCDs were microperfused and IC cells were identified by their ability to trap the pH fluorescent dye BCECF. The apical Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger activity in B-IC and non-A, non-B-IC cells, as assessed by intracellular pH monitoring, was significantly reduced in pendrin-null mice. The basolateral Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger activity in A-IC cells and in non-A, non-B-IC cells, was not different in pendrin KO mice relative to WT animals. Urine NH(4)(+) (ammonium) excretion increased significantly, consistent with increased trapping of NH(3) in the collecting duct in pendrin KO mice. We conclude that Slc26a4 (pendrin) deletion impairs the secretion of bicarbonate in vivo and reduces apical Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger activity in B-IC and non-A, non-B-IC cells in CCD. Additional apical Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger(s) is (are) present in the CCD.
Abnormal, Error-Prone Bypass of Photoproducts by Xeroderma Pigmentosum Variant Cell Extracts Results in Extreme Strand Bias for the Kinds of Mutations Induced by UV Light

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare genetic disease characterized by a greatly increased susceptibility to sunlight-induced skin cancer. Cells from the majority of patients are defective in nucleotide excision repair. However, cells from one set of patients, XP variants, exhibit normal repair but are abnormally slow in replicating DNA containing UV photoproducts. The frequency of UV radiation-induced mutations in the XP variant cells is significantly higher than that in normal human cells. Furthermore, the kinds of UV-induced mutations differ very significantly from normal. Instead of transitions, mainly C3T, 30% of the base substitutions consist of C3A transversions, all arising from photoproducts located in one strand. Mutations involving cytosine in the other strand are almost all C3T transitions. Forty-five percent of the substitutions involve thymine, and the majority are transversions. To test the hypothesis that the UV hypermutability and the abnormal spectrum of mutations result from abnormal bypass of photoproducts in DNA, we compared extracts from XP variant cells with those from HeLa cells and a fibroblast cell strain, MSU-1.2, for the ability to replicate a UV-irradiated form I M13 phage. The M13 template contains a simian virus 40 origin of replication located directly to the left or to the right of the target gene, lacZa, so that the template for the leading and lagging strands of DNA replication is defined. Reduction of replication to ;37% of the control value required only 1 photoproduct per template for XP variant cell extracts, but ;2.2 photoproducts for HeLa or MSU-1.2 cell extracts. The frequency of mutants induced was four times higher with XP variant cell extracts than with HeLa or MSU-1.2 cell extracts. With XP variant cell extracts, the proportion of C3A transversions reached as high as 43% with either M13 template and arose from photoproducts located in the template for leading-strand synthesis; with HeLa or MSU-1.2 cell extracts, this value was only 5%, and these arose from photoproducts in either strand. With the XP variant extracts, 26% of the substitutions involved thymine, and virtually all were T3A transversions. Sequence analysis of the coding region of the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase delta in XP variant cell lines revealed two polymorphisms, but these do not account for the reduced bypass fidelity. Our data indicate that the UV hypermutability of XP variant cells results from reduced bypass fidelity and that unlike for normal cells, bypass of photoproducts involving cytosine in the template for the leading strand differs significantly from that of photoproducts in the lagging strand. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients are genetically predisposed to sunlight-induced skin cancer, and the cells from a majority of such patients are defective in some aspect of nucleotide excision repair (NER) (28). However, the cells from
High Definition Digital Fabrication of Active Organic Devices by Molecular Jet Printing

We introduce a high resolution molecular jet (MoJet) printing technique for vacuum deposition of evaporated thin films and apply it to fabrication of 30 μm pixelated (800 ppi) molecular organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) based on aluminum tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq 3 ) and fabrication of narrow channel (15 μm) organic field effect transistors (OFETs) with pentacene channel and silver contacts. Patterned printing of both organic and metal films is demonstrated, with the operating properties of MoJet-printed OLEDs and OFETs shown to be comparable to the performance of devices fabricated by conventional evaporative deposition through a metal stencil. We show that the MoJet printing technique is reconfigurable for digital fabrication of arbitrary patterns with multiple material sets and high print accuracy (of better than 5 μm), and scalable to fabrication on large area substrates. Analogous to the concept of "drop-on-demand" in Inkjet printing technology, MoJet printing is a "flux-on-demand" process and we show it capable of fabricating multi-layer stacked film structures, as needed for engineered organic devices.
Synoptic-Scale Features Common to Heavy Snowstorms in the Southeast United States

Eighteen heavy snowstorms in the Southeast are examined to determine the synoptic-scale features common to these storms. Storm-relative composites in the temporal domain are created by assigning a ‘‘zero hour’’ to each storm based on the time of initial snowfall at Asheville, North Carolina. The composites indicate the importance of warm air advection (isentropic upglide) in producing upward motion within these storms. Of secondary importance in producing upward motion are the right entrance region of an upper-level jet streak, diabatic processes, and cyclogenetic lift. The composites also indicate that moisture is drawn off the Gulf of Mexico to feed these storms, while Atlantic moisture pools at low levels and may inhibit snowfall in the Piedmont region by limiting evaporative cooling. The surface cyclones, which deepen over the Atlantic near the Carolina coast, appear to play a small role in the development of Southeast snowstorms but often lead to heavy snowfall in the Northeast.
Treatment of depression in the elderly: a review of the recent literature on the efficacy of single- versus dual-action antidepressants.

Background: Despite the prevalence of depression in the elderly, there is a shortage of randomized controlled studies comparing the efficacy of various antidepressant classes in this population. Objectives: This review of recent data on the treatment of depression in the elderly examined the relative efficacy of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and 2 antidepressant classes having broader neuroreceptor activity—the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and the serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Tolerability was examined as a secondary objective. Methods: A systematic review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and PubMed (January 2003–January 2009) was performed using the terms antidepressant, SSRI, SNRI, TCA, depression, randomized controlled trials, human trials, and individual antidepressant names. The criteria for inclusion in the review were a doubleblind design, a placebo control or active comparator group, a population exclusively aged ≥59 years, and enrollment of patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Results: The literature search identified 18 trials of the treatment of depression in the elderly: 10 compared SSRIs either head to head or versus placebo, 2 compared TCAs with SSRIs, and 6 examined SNRIs (2 vs placebo, 1 vs a TCA, and 3 vs SSRIs). In 2 headto-head trials, one of which measured efficacy in terms of change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores and response rates, and the other in terms of a preset 90% CI, TCAs and SSRIs had comparable efficacy. The data from 5 studies using various measures (including changes in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, HAM-D, or Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS] scores; response rates; and remission rates) suggested no additional efficacy benefit for the SNRI venlafaxine compared with SSRIs or TCAs. In a single trial, duloxetine was significantly more effective than placebo in terms of reductions in HAM-D and GDS scores (both, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The available data, although limited, suggest that the dual-action agents (TCAs and SNRIs) do not appear to confer any additional benefits in efficacy over single-action agents (SSRIs) in the treatment of depression in the elderly. (Clin Ther. 2009;31: 945–961) © 2009 Excerpta Medica Inc.
Influence of nicotine on cardiovascular and hormonal effects of cigarette smoking.

To elucidate the importance of nicotine in determining the effects of cigarette smoking, we studied 10 healthy subjects on a research ward who were either smoking their usual brand of cigarettes, smoking high- (HN, 2.5 mg) or low- (LN, 0.4 mg) nicotine research cigarettes, or abstaining. Blood nicotine concentrations were four times as high smoking HN than LN cigarettes. Values while smoking their own brands were intermediate. Cigarette smoking increased mean (24-hr) heart rate (HR), but HR effect did not differ as a function of nicotine exposure. Analysis of the hourly HR pattern showed that smoking increased HR more over the first few hours of the morning, but then followed a circadian pattern similar to that during abstention. HR remained elevated all night even though no cigarettes were smoked. Blood pressures tended to be higher while smoking, but plasma Cortisol concentrations throughout the day did not differ while smoking or abstaining. Thus the amount of nicotine consumed when assessed over the whole day has little influence on magnitude of cardiovascular responses to cigarette smoking. Insofar as nicotine contributes to risk, changing nicotine content per se may not alter the risk of sudden adverse cardiac events associated with cigarette smoking. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1984) 36, 74–81; doi:10.1038/clpt.1984.142
Role of Global Regulators and Nucleotide Metabolism in Antibiotic Tolerance in Escherichia coli

Bacterial populations produce a small number of persister cells that exhibit multidrug tolerance. Persister cells are largely responsible for the antibiotic recalcitrance of biofilm infections. The mechanism of persister cell formation largely remains unknown due to the challenges in identifying persister genes. We screened an ordered comprehensive library of 3,985 Escherichia coli knockout strains to identify mutants with altered antibiotic tolerance. Stationary-state cultures in 96-well plates were exposed to ofloxacin at a concentration which allows only tolerant persister cells to survive. The persister cell level of each culture was determined. A total of 150 mutants with decreased persistence were identified in the initial screen, and subsequent validation confirmed that neither the growth rate nor the ofloxacin MIC was affected for 10 of them. The genes affected in these strains were dnaJ and dnaK (chaperones), apaH (diadenosine tetraphosphatase), surA (peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase), fis and hns (global regulators), hnr (response regulator of RpoS), dksA (transcriptional regulator of rRNA transcription), ygfA (5-formyl-tetrahydrofolate cyclo-ligase), and yigB (flavin mononucleotide [FMN] phosphatase). The prominent presence of global regulators among these strains pointed to the likely redundancy of persister cell formation mechanisms: the elimination of a regulator controlling several redundant persister genes would be expected to produce a phenotype. This observation is consistent with previous findings for a possible role of redundant genes such as toxin/antitoxin modules in persister cell formation. ygfA and yigB were of special interest. The mammalian homolog of YgfA (methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase) catalyzes the conversion of 5-formyl-tetrahydrofolate (THF) into the rapidly degraded 5,10-methenyl-THF, depleting the folate pool. The YigB protein is a phosphatase of FMN which would deplete the pool of this cofactor. Stochastic overexpression of these genes could lead to dormancy and, hence, tolerance by depleting the folate and FMN pools, respectively. Consistent with this scenario, the overexpression of both genes produced increased tolerance to ofloxacin.
Diaphragm muscle fatigue resistance during postnatal development

Changes in the contractile and fatigue properties of the cat diaphragm muscle were examined during the first 6 wk of postnatal development. Both twitch contraction time and half-relaxation time decreased progressively with age. Correspondingly, the force-frequency curve was shifted to the left early in development compared with adults. The ratio of peak twitch force to maximum tetanic force decreased with age. Fatigue resistance of the diaphragm was highest at birth and then progressively decreased with age. At birth, most diaphragm muscle fibers stained darkly for myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase after alkaline preincubation and thus would be classified histochemically as type II. During subsequent postnatal development, the proportion of type I fibers (lightly stained for adenosinetriphosphatase) increased while the number of type II fibers declined. At birth, type I fibers were larger than type II fibers. The size of both fiber types increased with age, but the increase in cross-sectional area was greater for type II fibers. On the basis of fiber type proportions and mean cross-sectional areas, type I fibers contributed 15% of total muscle mass at birth and 25% in adults. Thus postnatal changes in diaphragm contractile and fatigue properties cannot be attributed to changes in the relative contribution of histochemically classified type I and II fibers. However, the possibility that these developmental changes in diaphragm contractile and fatigue properties correlated with the varying contractile protein composition of muscle fibers was discussed.
Object specialization

Specialization hierarchies typically are treated as type-level constructs and are used to define various inheritance mechanisms. In this paper we consider specialization at the level of objects. We show that doing so creates a more flexible and powerful notion of inheritance by allowing objects to define their own inheritance path. Object specialization can also be used to model certain forms of versioning, implement data abstraction, and provide a “classless” prototype-based language interface to the user.
Effects of Larval Rearing Density and Food Availability on Adult Size and Coloration in Monarch Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Completing development to a reproductively mature adult is energetically expensive, and environmental stress can impose substantial fitness tradeoffs during developmental processes. We tested the prediction that high larval rearing density and food stress should compromise monarch, Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), larval growth and the production of melanin or other pigments in the adult wings. We reared focal larvae on caged, potted plants in control, food stress and high density treatments. Food stressed larvae experienced food shortages but no crowding (n = 1 larva per plant), whereas high density larvae were crowded (n = 5 larvae per plant) but had constant access to food. We used digital image analysis to measure the size and coloration (black and orange) of the resulting adult forewings. Larval rearing treatment affected adult size, but not wing coloration or development time. Adults emerging from the high density treatment were significantly larger than adults from the control or foo...
Activation of skeletal alpha-actin gene transcription: the cooperative formation of serum response factor-binding complexes over positive cis-acting promoter serum response elements displaces a negative-acting nuclear factor enriched in replicating myoblasts and nonmyogenic cells.

Three upstream CBAR cis-acting promoter elements, containing the inner core CC(A/T)6GG of the serum response element (SRE), are required for myogenic cell type-restricted expression of the avian skeletal alpha-actin gene (K.L. Chow and R.J. Schwartz, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:528-538, 1990). These actin SRE elements display differential binding properties with two distinct nuclear proteins, serum response factor (SRF) and another factor described here as F-ACT1. SRF is able to bind to all actin SREs with various affinities. This multisite interaction is marked by cooperative binding events in that the two high-affinity proximal and distal SREs facilitate the weak central-site interaction with SRF, leading to the formation of a higher-order SRF-promoter complex. Functional analyses reveal that undisrupted multiple SRF-DNA interactions are absolutely essential for promoter activity in myogenic cells. F-ACT1, present at higher levels in nonmyogenic cells and replicating myoblasts than in myotubes, binds solely to the proximal SRE, and its binding is mutually exclusive with that of SRF owing to their overlapping base contacts. The cooperative promoter binding by SRF, however, can effectively displace prebound F-ACT1. In addition, an intact F-ACT1 binding site acts as a negative promoter element by restricting developmentally timed expression in myoblasts. F-ACT1 may therefore act as a repressor of skeletal alpha-actin gene transcription. This interplay between F-ACT1 and SRF may constitute a developmental as well as a physiologically regulated mechanism which modulates sarcomeric actin gene expression.
Antifeeding and Oviposition-deterring Effects of Insecticides on Adult Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

Antifeeding and oviposition-deterring effects of foliar sprays of permethrin and microencapsulated methyl parathion (separately and in combination) on Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) were measured on the day of application and 1, 3, and 7 days following application in choice trials. Effects of the granular systemics aldicarb, acephate, disulfoton, methamidophos, and oxamyl were measured 1, 5, 7, and 10 days after application in choice and no-choice trials. Permethrin or microencapsulated methyl parathion significantly reduced feeding and oviposition compared to the check. However, the combination of these materials significantly reduced feeding compared with either material applied separately in choice trials. None of the systemic insecticides exhibited antifeeding properties in the choice trials. However, antifeeding effects were observed with the systemics in no-choice trials. Aldicarb, oxamyl, and disulfoton produced oviposition-deterring effects in both choice and no-choice trials.
Research of Portable Tower Impulse Grounding Resistance Measuring Instrument

There is no suitable on-site for the tower impulse grounding resistance measuring instrument.Based on the impulse grounding resistance measurement theory,this paper develops a portable impulse grounding resistance measuring instrument.Impulse current by more moderate and lower amplitude can be used as the incident wave,which measures voltage response under the current of grounding.And then the mathematical transformation method is used to obtain the impulse grounding resistance of tower under high-amplitude standard lightning current.The results of simulation calculation and on-site measurement show that this measuring instrument has strong anti-interference ability and it has prototype of engineering application.
The study of AEEG、BAEP In children with Epilepsy

Objective:To find the significance in the AEEG,BAEP detectation of children wint Ep- ilepsy.Methods:To lanuary 2000 to lanuary 2008.38eases children winh Epilepsy AEEG、BAEP sum up the tests results.Results:Normal AEEG 6 cases(15.8%).Abnormal 32 cases(84.2 %).Among them nonspecifie abnormal EEG was ofundin 12 cases(31.6%).Nad epileptiform discbarges were found in 20 cases(52.6%).Normal BAEP 15 cases(39.5%),abnormal 23 cases(60.5%).Among them,21 cases BAEP change various forms,abnormal indicators appear mixed.AEEG and BAEP There was significant difference in the adnormal rate between aeeg group and BAEP group(χ~2=5.329,P0.05).Conclusion:There is no doubt that the Epilepsy pa- cients have brainstem dysfunction.
Discussions on Generator Excitation Technologies in Smart Power Stations

According to the development of electric power systems,the needs of smart power stations are analyzed and the development priorities of generator excitation technologies are discussed under the new situation of smart power station constructions.It is pointed that designs of redundancy-tolerance and Self-diagnosis systems for generator excitations and controls,suppression of low frequency oscillation in electric power systems after large regional interconnections,control strategies of supplementary links,coordinated controls between supplementary links and main links are required works of intelligent excitation and the key components of intelligent power station construction.
Effects of Umbrella and Insulation Length on Electric Field Intensity Distribution of Compound Insulator

In order to analyze the influence of umbrella and insulation,finite element method is applied to calculate the electric field intensity distribution of 220 kV compound insulator under the different umbrella distances and insulation length and with or without umbrella.The result shows that the increase of insulation length with small scale will improve electric field intensity distribution of 220 kV compound insulator while the umbrella has little effect;it has no effect on the electric field intensity distribution for increasing the insulation length and improving the umbrella structure.
A Comparison of Facial Nerve Monitoring Systems in Cerebellopontine Angle Surgery

The use of peripheral nerve monitoring during skull base surgery is becoming a more common procedure. One widely used method (Jako) detects surface muscle contraction, which can be transduced into an audible signal. A 200 microsecond square wave current can be delivered periodically, in order to identify the nerve and verify its integrity. Another monitoring method has been developed, which provides a continuous audible needle electromyographic (EMG) feedback signal from computer averaging of a monopolar low impedance constant voltage stimulus. This study compares facial nerve preservation and postoperative facial nerve function results of three groups of cerebellopontine angle surgical cases: 38 cases performed with no monitoring; 29 cases done with Jako motion detection monitoring; and 41 performed with evoked needle EMG audible feedback monitoring. Postoperative facial nerve function is evaluated using the House-Brackmann grading system. Each of the three study groups are matched for a time at which postoperative evaluation was made. Analysis of results reveals that in addition to the expected increase in facial nerve preservation rates when monitoring is in use, the near real-time feedback provided by audible evoked EMG results in a significant reduction in permanent postoperative facial nerve dysfunction. Using evoked monitoring, a greater proportion of the cases had a final outcome of class I or II results, compared to those cases performed using Jako motion detection monitoring.
Parental child care during and outside of typical work hours

It has been argued that child care should be treated separately from leisure or housework when analyzing time use data. This is because child care has a positive income gradient, whereas leisure and housework do not. Using U.S. data from PSID-CDS, this paper computes parental child care during and outside of typical work hours (TWH) by income quintile for two-parent families. The TWH distinction is important because the opportunity cost of spending time with children is first and foremost in terms of forgone earnings during TWH; outside of TWH, leisure or housework mainly constitute this opportunity cost. Indeed, I find that child care decreases with income during TWH and, hence, behaves similarly to leisure and other household chores. While maternal child care also slightly decreases with income outside of TWH, paternal care increases with income outside of TWH. Also, the discrepancy between paternal and maternal child care is smaller outside of TWH than it is during TWH. This is particularly pronounced in high income families. Theoretical implications are derived in a static framework of time allocation and child quality production encompassing the recent literature on the topic. Variation in child care during TWH can be rationalized by assuming a high elasticity of substitution between leisure, consumption and child quality. This is the standard explanation for the patterns observed in leisure and housework. Within this widely used framework, however, the facts outside of TWH point to systematic differences by income in preferences or productivity. Further exploration of child care patterns during and outside of TWH is needed to inform us about the dimensions in which this widely used framework should be extended.
Transposition of the great arteries with posterior aorta. Anatomic repair.

An uncommon but historically important form of transposition of the great arteries {S,D,D} was originally recognized in 1971. The unusual features of an aorta that is posterior and to the right of the pulmonary artery, a hypoplastic subaortic conus, and a well-developed subpulmonary conus influenced the evolution of the contemporary classification of conotruncal abnormalities and concepts of their development Presented in this report is the case of a patient with transposition of the great arteries {S,D,D} and posterior aorta treated by an arterial switch operation. The unusual orientation of the great arteries did not preclude coronary transplantation or a satisfactory pulmonary arterial anastomosis. Moreover, the ventricular septal defect, which is characteristic of this atypical form of transposition of the great arteries, was most accessible for closure through the native aortic valve.
Extending C++ with co-array semantics

The current trend of large scientific computing problems is to align as much as possible to a Single Programming Multiple Data (or SPMD) scheme when the application algorithms are conducive to parallelization and vectorization. This reduces the complexity of code because the processors or (computational nodes) perform the same instructions which allows for better performance as algorithms work on local data sets instead of continuously transferring data from one locality to another. However, certain applications, such as stencil problems, demonstrate the need to move data to or from remote localities. This involves an additional degree of complexity, as one must know with which localities to exchange data. In order to solve this issue, Fortran has extended its scalar element indexing approach to distributed structures of elements. In this extension, a structure of scalar elements is attributed a ”co-index” and lives in a specific locality. A co-index provides the application with enough information to retrieve the corresponding data reference. In C++, containers present themselves as a ”smarter” alternative of Fortran arrays but there are still no corresponding standardized features similar to the Fortran co-indexing approach. In this paper, we present an implementation of such features in HPX, a general purpose C++ runtime system for applications of any scale. We describe how the combination of the HPX features and the actual C++ Standard makes it easy to define a high performance API similar to Co-Array Fortran.
Viperin interaction with mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) limits viperin-mediated inhibition of the interferon response in macrophages

Viperin is an antiviral protein that is upregulated by interferons and by ligands for a variety of innate immune receptors. It possesses diverse capabilities and functions in an array of viral infections. Studies have shown that it appears to be particularly important in defence against RNA viruses, such as West Nile, Dengue, and Chikungunya viruses, although the specific mechanisms involved are not well understood at the molecular level. Here we identify the mitochondrial antiviral signalling protein MAVS as a novel viperin interaction partner, most likely in mitochondria associated membranes, and characterize a more central, overarching role of viperin as a negative regulator of the interferon response, an ability that can be regulated by the viperin-MAVS interaction. This suggests a novel mechanism of viperin action in immune defence against RNA viruses by which it may prevent pathology from excessive immune responses.
Reply to Letter of Warner

(1997). Reply to Letter of Warner. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 519-520.
Local Asymptotic Normality for Linear Homogeneous Difference Equations with Non-Gaussian Noise

This paper considers the problem of estimation of drift parameter for linear homogeneous stochastic difference equations. The Local Asymptotic Normality (LAN) for the problem is proved. LAN implies the Hajek–Le Cam minimax lower bound. In particular, it is shown that the Fisher's information matrix for the problem can be expressed in terms of the stationary distribution of an auxiliary Markov chain on the projective space P(ℝd).
THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA ON REVENUE AND PROFIT: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

The growing popularity of social media has fundamentally altered the business ecosystem where companies can no longer solely capture consumers’ attention via reach; instead, companies must focus on engaging consumers in product and service development and improvement. This exploratory study details how the corporate strategic use of social media relates to corporate revenue and profit among Fortune 500 corporations. The findings indicate that the proper corporate use of social media impacts positively the corporate revenue and profit; whereas the improper corporate use of social media affects negatively the corporate revenue and profit.
Legislative Enforcement of Nonconsensual Determination of Neurological (Brain) Death in Muslim Patients: A Violation of Religious Rights.

Death is defined in the Quran with a single criterion of irreversible separation of the ruh (soul) from the body. The Quran is a revelation from God to man, and the primary source of Islamic knowledge. The secular concept of death by neurological criteria, or brain death, is at odds with the Quranic definition of death. The validity of this secular concept has been contested scientifically and philosophically. To legitimize brain death for the purpose of organ donation and transplantation in Muslim communities, Chamsi-Pasha and Albar (concurring with the US President’s Council on Bioethics) have argued that irreversible loss of capacity for consciousness and breathing (apneic coma) in brain death defines true death in accordance with Islamic sources. They have postulated that the absence of nafs (personhood) and nafas (breath) in apneic coma constitutes true death because of departure of the soul (ruh) from the body. They have also asserted that general anesthesia is routine in brain death before surgical procurement. Their argument is open to criticism because: (1) the ruh is described as the essence of life, whereas the nafs and nafas are merely human attributes; (2) unlike true death, the ruh is still present even with absent nafs and nafas in apneic coma; and (3) the routine use of general anesthesia indicates the potential harm to brain-dead donors from surgical procurement. Postmortem general anesthesia is not required for autopsy. Therefore, the conclusion must be that legislative enforcement of nonconsensual determination of neurological (brain) death and termination of life-support and medical treatment violates the religious rights of observant Muslims.
The influence of industry-specific personal characteristics on consumer reactions to domestic vs. foreign comparative advertising in the American automobile market

Many US households depend on jobs generated by foreign automobile production and marketing. Foreign vs. domestic comparative advertising influences consumer ethnocentric reactions, but what effect ...
Sukli: uneven exchanges of care work of children left behind in Filipino transnational families

This article explores the complicated affective realities of children in the Philippines who engage in the labour of caring from the place of being ‘left behind’. I explore how children demonstrate...
Improved Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users With Interleaved High-Rate Pulse Trains.

OBJECTIVE Electrical stimulation with a cochlear implant (CI) elicits abnormally high neural synchrony, which poses significant challenges for speech perception. Previous investigations showed that constant-amplitude high-rate pulse trains (HRPs) desynchronize neural responses and improve stimulus encoding. The study objective was to investigate the effects of HRP on speech perception in adult CI users. STUDY DESIGN Prospective, within-subject design. SETTING Tertiary CI center. PATIENTS Ten adult CI recipients. INTERVENTION Sentence stimuli were created by modifying a basic continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) strategy (1,000 pulses per second; pps) with interleaved biphasic pulse trains (3,000 pps) on even electrodes. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers sentences in quiet and in noise were tested without HRP, and with HRPs of various stimulation levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Sentence perception in percent correct was calculated for all conditions. The highest speech perception score with HRP stimulation was defined as "max-HRP." RESULTS Group analyses showed significantly improved sentence perception in background noise with HRPs (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference for sentence perception in quiet for the group. However, seven of 10 subjects experienced some benefit from HRP stimuli in quiet and the degree of HRP benefit showed significant relationships with baseline performance and age at implantation, indicating that HRP stimuli may be most beneficial for older patients or poorer performers. CONCLUSIONS Significant improvement in speech perception in noise was observed with HRP stimuli. Some recipients may also benefit from HRP stimulation in quiet. Interleaved HRPs hold promise as a novel stimulation paradigm with clinical sound processing strategies to improve patient performance.
Incidence of Acute Cardiovascular Event After Acute Exacerbation of COPD.

Background There is a lack of comprehensive view of the association between acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and the risk of acute cardiovascular events. Objective To determine the association of AECOPD with 30-day and 1-year incidences of acute cardiovascular event. Design Self-controlled case series analysis using population-based datasets from three US states from 2005 through 2011. Participants Patients aged ≥ 40 years with AECOPD. Main measures The primary outcome was a composite of an ED visit or hospitalization for acute cardiovascular events, including acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. We compared the incidence of each patient's acute cardiovascular event during the first 30-day period before the index AECOPD (30-day reference period) in comparison with that during the 30-day period after the index AECOPD. Likewise, with the 1-year period before the index AECOPD as reference, we also estimated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for each patient's outcomes during 1-year period after the index AECOPD. Key results Overall, there were 362,867 patients with an ED visit or hospitalization for AECOPD. Compared with the 30-day reference period, the incidence of acute cardiovascular event in the 30-day period after the AECOPD was significantly higher (IRR, 1.34; 95%CI, 1.30-1.39; P Conclusions AECOPD was associated with increased 30-day and 1-year incidences of acute cardiovascular event.
Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness; however, acute angle-closure glaucoma accounts for only a small percentage of these cases. Acute angle-closure glaucoma is an ocular emergency, as it can result in permanent vision loss and blindness. In order to preserve vision, an adept response from the clinician is imperative.
Abstract 3536: SENP1 is a p53 deSUMOylating enzyme and its depletion induces p53 activity

SUMOylation plays important roles in diverse cellular processes by regulating protein-protein interaction, protein localization, trafficking, stability and activity. p53 can by SUMOyalted at lysine (K) 384. Yet, how SUMOylation regulates p53 activity remain unclear. SUMOylation can be revered by a group of proteins called deSUMOylating enyzme including the SUMO specific protease (SENP) family proteins. How p53 is regulated by deSUMOylation is also not well understood. Here, we show that SENP1 directly interacts with and desumoylates p53 in cells and in vitro. Depletion of SENP1 by siRNA-mediated knockdown drastically increased the p53 transactivation activity without inducing p53 protein levels, resulting p53-depndent cell cycle arrast. Further, SENP1 knockdown significantly promoted p53 transactivation activity in cells following DNA damage. Additionally, we found that SENP1 binds to and deSUMOylates PML and aborageted the enhancing effect of PML on p53 SUMOylation. Thus, SNEP1 is novel p53 desumoylating enzyme that regulates p53 activity but not its stability. Citation Format: Mushui Dai, Krishna Chauhan, Yingxiao Chen, Xiao-Xin Sun. SENP1 is a p53 deSUMOylating enzyme and its depletion induces p53 activity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3536.
Effect on lymphocyte subsets of clotting factor therapy in human immunodeficiency virus-1-negative congenital clotting disorders. The Transfusion Safety Study Group.

Patients with hemophilia A without human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection have lower CD4+ counts and CD4+/CD8+ ratios than controls. This is usually interpreted as a therapy-induced immunodeficiency. Our data re-examine the effect of therapy on peripheral blood mononuclear cell immunophenotypic subpopulations in all congenital clotting disorders. Since late 1985 we have prospectively observed HIV-1 uninfected persons with all types and severity of disorder. Controls were household members without clotting disorders or HIV-1 infection. Analyses of immunophenotype and treatment included a longitudinal random effects model. Compared with controls, age-adjusted CD4+ counts were significantly lower in treated patients (P < .0001) and in patients with all types of clotting disorders who were seldom or never treated (P = .0005). Significantly lower values among both treated and untreated clotting disorder subjects (P < .05) were likewise found for total lymphocytes, several other T-cell subsets, and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio. For most indexes, including the CD4+ count and CD4+/CD8+ ratio, the type of clotting deficiency was not a significant variable. Comparing persons who had no or minimal therapy with those having the most showed increases in CD8+ (P = .0017) and CD20+ CD21- counts (P = .0255), and a lower CD20+ CD21+/CD20+ ratio (P = .0106) in the latter. Controls and persons with clotting disorders differ in CD4+ count. Among those with clotting factor disorders, there is no difference attributable to type of clotting disorder or factor therapy. Large amounts of treatment increased CD8+ and CD20+ CD21- counts, but were not associated with a change in CD4+ count.
An elution procedure for visualization of adult hemoglobins in human blood smears.

A procedure is described for visualization of normal and mutant adult hemoglobins in human blood smears. After extraction of blood smears with a concentrated potassium phosphate buffer (2.76 M , pH 7.2), erythrocytes that had adult hemoglobins stained bright red with erythrosin, whereas cells that had only fetal hemoglobin appeared as clear ghosts. Analyses of cord blood from newborn infants indicate that, although most erythrocytes contain only Hb F and a few contain only Hb A, many contain both hemoglobins A and F.