cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decomposition of Sudan Black B by Ultraviolet Light and Gases; its Lipid and Protein Staining Properties

The bluish-black spots of lipid-containing materials stained with a saturated solution of Sudan black B in 55% ethanol were found to fade and change color to brownish-pink shades in 5 min if exposed to ultraviolet light. Spots that were exposed to daylight for 6 hr on a sunny day lost 14% of their original color intensity but the decrease was less on cloudy days. Exposure to H2S initiated fading and color change in 2 hr. Exposure to HCl vapors restored the original color but not its intensity. Spots kept in darkness and wrapped airtight showed a decline of 2.5% in color intensity after 96 hr and no obvious color change. The speed and extent of change of color and fading of the various fractions of the dye separated by means of paper chromatography were different. Heat coagulated serum proteins were stained blue with commercial Sudan black B solution in 55% ethanol.
Identification and characterization of mutants affecting transcription termination at the threonine operon attenuator.

Mutations that map in or delete the attenuator of the threonine (thr) operon of Escherichia coli were isolated and characterized. These mutations disrupt or delete the transcription termination structure encoded by the attenuator leading to increased transcriptional readthrough into the thr operon structural genes. Most of the base substitutions and single base-pair insertions and deletions map in the G + C-rich region of dyad symmetry in the attenuator and decrease the calculated stabilities of the attenuator RNA secondary structures to similar extents (from −30.8 kcal/mol to approximately −21 kcal/mol). Most of the mutants showed a three- to fourfold increase in homoserine dehydrogenase (thrA gene product) synthesis relative to the wild-type parent strain. The mutation in one mutant (thrL153 + G) lowered the calculated stability of the RNA secondary structure only slightly (from −30.8 to −27.8 kcal/mol) but the mutant still exhibited high levels of homoserine dehydrogenase synthesis. In addition, three base substitution mutants (thrL135U, thrL139A and thrL156U) showed only slightly (1.5 to 2-fold) elevated levels of homoserine dehydrogenase activity, even though the calculated stabilities of the attenuator RNA secondary structures were reduced as much as most of the other mutants. Two of the mutations (thrL135U and thrL156U) mapped in the G + C-rich-A + T-rich junction of the attenuator. The third mutation (thrL139A) creates an A · C pair in the center of the G + C-rich region of the attenuator stem. The results obtained for these mutants show that the stability of the RNA secondary structure does not always correlate with the efficiency of transcription termination. Finally, analysis of the base changes in the substitution mutations showed that the mutational changes do not appear to be random.
Geospatial Perspective: Toward a Visual Political Literacy Project in Education, Health, and Human Services

Unless there is a radical departure from recent trends, poverty and affluence are almost certain to become geographically concentrated at high levels throughout the world early next century. . . . This ecological structure constitutes a radical departure from the past, and creates the potential for a new geopolitical order capable of compounding the benefits and liabilities of class by superimposing administrative segmentation on economic segregation.
Some properties of apoferritin isolated from guinea pig liver.

Apoferritin isolated from livers of guinea pigs and characterized by a s°w,20 of 17.7 and a pI of 4.8 (in acetate buffer Γ/2 0.1) was hydrolyzed with 5.7 N HCl for 22 and 44 hours and its amino aci...
Ambipolar-to-Unipolar Conversion of Carbon Nanotube Transistors by Gate Structure Engineering

The switching behavior of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs) can be improved by decreasing the gate oxide thickness. However, decreasing the oxide thickness also results in more pronounced ambipolar transistor characteristics and higher off-currents. To achieve high-performance unipolar CNFETs as required for CMOS logic gates, we have fabricated partially gated CNFETs with an asymmetric gate structure with respect to the source and drain electrodes. With our gate structure engineering concept, p-type CNFETs have been fabricated from an ambipolar CNFET. It is also found that fringing fields from source and drain are important in determining the CNFET behavior as the device size decreases.
Cell dynamical system approach to block copolymers.

A cell-dynamical-system (CDS) model of the microphase separation of block copolymers is described in detail. The model suggests a partial-differential-equation (PDE) model that allows us to find a close relation between the block copolymer and spinodal decomposition problems. A detailed numerical study of the CDS model is given, which indicates that hydrodynamic effects are crucial for very late time-ordering processes. The strong segregation regime is studied analytically with the aid of an exactly solvable PDE model, which is suggested by the universality supported by the CDS simulations. The results obtained show that dimensional analysis gives the correct exponent for the block copolymer lamellar thickness.
Babesia bovis: common protein fractions recognized by oligoclonal B. bovis-specific CD4+ T cell lines from genetically diverse cattle

CD4+ helper T cells are believed to be important for inducing protective immunity against Babesia bovis through the production of cytokines, including IFN-gamma, that will provide help to B lymphocytes for IgG production and activate macrophages to become parasiticidal. To provide maximum protection in an outbred population, an effective vaccine against B. bovis should contain antigens that would elicit an IFN-gamma response and would be recognized by cattle with diverse genetic backgrounds. To identify potentially protective "universal" T helper (Th) cell antigens, fractions of homogenized B. bovis merozoites were tested for the ability to stimulate proliferation of oligoclonal CD4+, IFN-gamma-producing T cell lines derived from four immune animals previously shown to differ in major histocompatibility complex class II expression. Homogenized B. bovis merozoites were separated by denaturing continuous flow electrophoresis (CFE) on 15, 10, and 7.5% polyacrylamide gels into fractions containing proteins ranging from <14.5 to approximately 95 kDa. Eighteen of 280 CFE fractions elicited anamnestic proliferative responses in all T cell lines tested. Nine of these cross-stimulatory fractions contained proteins of <14.5 to 24.5 kDa, and the remaining ones contained proteins with estimated molecular weights of 30, 31.5, 44.5, 49, 49.5, 54, 62, 72, and 82 kDa. Immunoblot analysis showed that four cross-stimulatory fractions contained a predicted known B. bovis antigen of similar molecular size. Previous studies had demonstrated that fractionated merozoite proteins stimulatory for CD4+ Th cell clones had apparent molecular weights similar to those present in 7 of the 18 stimulatory fractions. In the present study, two Th cell clones responded to cross-stimulatory CFE fractions, underscoring the potential to use both oligoclonal and monoclonal Th cell lines to identify commonly recognized polypeptides as potential vaccine antigens.
Editorial Commentary: Flying Under the Radar: The Stealth Pandemic of Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131

Escherichia coli plays a prominent role in the etiology of both healthcare-acquired and community-acquired bacterial infections. Of the >7 million uncomplicated outpatient urinary tract infections that occur in the United States annually, E. coli accounts for 80%–90% [1, 2]. Urinary tract infections are also the most common healthcare-acquired infection [3], and E. coli also comprises the majority of these infections. When complicated by bloodstream involvement, E. coli infections are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality [4].
Reliability of the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda

Studies of HIV often use self-reported surveys to measure sexual knowledge, attitudes, and practices. However, the self-reported data are vulnerable to social desirability (SD), a propensity of individuals to report favorable responses. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS) was developed as a measure of the effect of social desirability, but it has not been adapted for or used in Africa. This study aimed to apply the MC-SDS nested in an HIV behavioral intervention program and to measure its reliability in four African countries. The MC-SDS was adapted based on consultations with local stakeholders and pilot tested in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda. Trained interviewers administered the modified 28-item MC-SDS survey to 455 men and women (ages 15-24 years). The scores for the social desirability scales were calculated for all participants. An analysis of the internal consistency of responses was conducted using the Cronbach's α coefficient. Acceptable internal consistency was defined as an α coefficient of ≥ 0.70. Mean social desirability scores ranged from a low of 15.7 in Kenya to a high of 20.6 in Mozambique. The mean score was 17.5 for Uganda and 20.6 for Mozambique. The Cronbach's α coefficients were 0.63 in Kenya, 0.66 in Mozambique, 0.70 in Uganda, and 0.80 in Ethiopia. The MC-SDS can be effectively adapted and implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. The reliability of responses in these settings suggest that the MC-SDS could be a useful tool for capturing potential SD in surveys of HIV related risk behaviors.
Technical considerations in lung transplantation

The technical aspects of lung transplantation have been refined over the past two decades. Anomalous donor anatomy and suboptimal harvests do not preclude transplantation, but they must be appropriately dealt with to ensure good outcomes. New techniques have been developed to increase the donor pool. Techniques for recipient pneumonectomy and graft implantation have been optimized, and ways of dealing with difficult exposures and anatomic variants have been designed. Novel methods for prevention of ischemia-reperfusion injury have been developed based on experimental studies, but more complete clinical scrutiny is needed to determine their impact.
Prediction Analysis in Political Research.

Procedures for empirical tests of political theory should be designed to evaluate the success of the specific prediction being tested. This paper introduces; (1) a formal language, termed “prediction logic,” for stating an important class of predictions, including predictions that imply there will be relatively few cases in certain cells of a cross-classification; (2) a population measure, (“del”), that indicates the degree of success achieved by a statement in the language; (3) partial measures for the multivariate case; (4) bivariate statistical inference methods when the data arise from a sample rather than a population, both for an a priori prediction statement and for a statement selected post hoc. A number of well-known measures of “association” are measures for specific prediction logic statements. Research applications are indicated through the use of contingency tables appearing in APSR articles by Eulau and Eyestone, Goldberg, Muller, Riker and Zavoina, Rosenthal, Sawyer and MacRae, Sickles, Wolfinger and Field, and Wolfinger and Heifetz.
Myospherulosis following sinus surgery: pathological curiosity or important clinical entity?

Objectives/Hypothesis: Myospherulosis is a foreign body reaction to lipid material used on nasal packing at the conclusion of sinus surgery. This reaction has been associated with postoperative adhesion formation. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the occurrence of myospherulosis has an adverse effect on clinical outcome following sinus surgery. Study Design: Case-control study at an academic medical center. Methods: Thirty-two cases of myospherulosis were identified in 28 patients (4 with bilateral disease) who underwent sinus surgery between 1989 and 1999. Cases were staged according to histological and radiological grading systems. Clinical outcome was compared with a control group of 28 patients who had similar surgery during the same time period. Results: Patients with myospherulosis were found to have a significantly higher likelihood of developing postoperative adhesions compared with control subjects (50% vs. 18%, respectively [P = .023]). Histological stage, based on the extent of lipid vacuoles and spherules (erythrocyte remnants) present in the surgical specimen, was found to correlate with disease severity based on preoperative sinus computed tomography staging (P = .009). Patients with myospherulosis tended to have a shorter interval between their last two surgeries than did control subjects (2.2 ± 2.1 vs. 4.5 ± 7.1 y, respectively [P = .086]). Patient age, sex, comorbid conditions, CT stage, and number of previous operations were not predictive for the occurrence of myospherulosis. Conclusions: Patients who develop myospherulosis from lipid-based packing material used during sinus surgery are more likely to form postoperative adhesions. These adhesions appear to be clinically relevant and may hasten the need for revision surgery.
Digital Imaging in Cytopathology

Rapid advances are occurring in the field of cytopathology, particularly in the field of digital imaging. Today, digital images are used in a variety of settings including education (E-education), as a substitute to multiheaded sessions, multisite conferences, publications, cytopathology web pages, cytology proficiency testing, telecytology, consultation through telecytology, and automated screening of Pap test slides. The accessibility provided by digital imaging in cytopathology can improve the quality and efficiency of cytopathology services, primarily by getting the expert cytopathologist to remotely look at the slide. This improved accessibility saves time and alleviates the need to ship slides, wait for glass slides, or transport pathologists. Whole slide imaging (WSI) is a digital imaging modality that uses computerized technology to scan and convert pathology and cytology glass slides into digital images (digital slides) that can be viewed remotely on a workstation using viewing software. In spite of the many advances, challenges remain such as the expensive initial set-up costs, workflow interruption, length of time to scan whole slides, large storage size for WSI, bandwidth restrictions, undefined legal implications, professional reluctance, and lack of standardization in the imaging process.
The effect of process adjustment error on X̄ chart design

The existing literature on economic design of X process control charts generally assumes perfect process adjustment, such that the process mean is returned to an exactly centered “in control” state following any real or false alarm control chart signal. This paper presents a model which demonstrates the effects of imperfect process adjustment on the economically designed control chart parameters. The model demonstrates that the optimal control limit width depends fundamentally on the precision with which the process can be adjusted. The greater the process adjustment error, all else constant, the wider will be the optimal control limits, in order to alleviate the potential for process overcontrol and tampering effects. By endogenously modeling these effects, the new model helps to rectify the problem of poor statistical properties for which the economic design approach has been criticized. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 597–612, 1999
Twenty years as an independent state: Ukraine’s ten logical inconsistencies

This main focus of the article is an analysis of Ukraine two decades after it became an independent state through ten factors that have remained constant features of Ukrainian life. The first factor is low public trust in state institutions and the wide gulf between elites and state on the one hand and the public on the other. A second factor is the striving by political forces to monopolize political and economic power for the sake of power and selfenrichment – not for the conducting of reforms. The third factor is threats to democracy under eastern Ukrainian Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yanukovych. The fourth factor is the low quality and ideological amorphousness of political parties. The fifth factor is the absence of political will and re-occurrence of missed opportunities; a prominent example of which is the Viktor Yushchenko presidency. The sixth factor is the domination of elite greed and rapaciousness over pursuit of the national interest and national security. The most egregious example of this corruption is in the energy sector which western Ukrainians have dominated (It’s a Gas: Funny business in the Turkmen-Ukraine Gas Trade, 2006). A seventh constant factor is the prevalence of virtual over actual policies and the non-fulfillment of domestic obligations which leads to low public trust in state institutions. The eighth factor is an imitation of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures because virtual policies lead to inconsistent and multi-vector foreign policies. Virtual policies make it difficult for European and American governments to engage with the Ukrainian authorities because they rarely fulfill their obligations. The ninth factor is eastern Ukrainian naivety about Russia, regardless of whether it is democratic or authoritarian, that pursues hard-nosed geopolitical goals, a naivety that applies to Kuchma in 1994 as much as to Yanukovych in 2010. The tenth factor, the Russia factor, is Russia’s inability to accept Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity. Both eastern and western Ukrainian have been unable to fashion responsive policies to deal with Russia’s un-acceptance of Ukraine and its hard-nosed geopolitical goals.
Poor Taste as a Bright Character Trait: Emmy Noether and the Independent Social Democratic Party

The creation of algebraic topology required “all the energy and the temperament of Emmy Noether” according to topologists Paul Alexandroff and Heinz Hopf. Alexandroff stressed Noether's radical pro-Russian politics, which her colleagues found in “poor taste”; yet he found “a bright trait of character.” She joined the Independent Social Democrats (USPD) in 1919. They were tiny in Gottingen until that year when their vote soared as they called for a dictatorship of the proletariat. The Minister of the Army and many Gottingen students called them Bolshevist terrorists. Noether's colleague Richard Courant criticized USPD radicalism. Her colleague Hermann Weyl downplayed her radicalism and that view remains influential but the evidence favors Alexandroff. Weyl was ambivalent in parallel ways about her mathematics and her politics. He deeply admired her yet he found her abstractness and her politics excessive and even dangerous.
Granular Computing and Web Processing: Representing Documents in Polyhedron

Summary form only given. Granular computing (GrC) is a pragmatic approach to data and knowledge engineering. Roughly, it is a methodology that involves elements (data) and subsets (knowledge). We will illustrate the idea via a web application. In traditional web processing, we often represent a document by a set of keywords. In GrC, let us call it granular representation, we include the knowledge. More precisely, a document is not only represented by its keywords, but also by its granules. Here by a granule we mean a keyword association, which is a set of frequent co-occurring near by keywords. For a trivial example, the association, "Wall street," as a financial concept, is in the granular representation. The granular representation has an interesting geometric interpretation. We can regard the set of keywords as a set of vertices, and the set of keyword associations as a set of simplexes. Interestingly in such a translation, the a priori principle is converted into the closed condition of simplical complexes. In other words, the collection of keywords and keyword associations is an abstract simplicial complex in algebraic topology.
From King to Court Jester? Weber’s Fall from Grace in Organizational Theory

While the work of Max Weber was an omnipresent guiding force in the early development of organizational theory, contemporary scholars have seemingly little connection to that heritage. In this paper, we probe the dynamics of Weberian organizational theory scholarship from mid-century to the present and examine how shifts in research orientation have facilitated Weber’s apparent fall from grace. We draw on a dataset of all articles published in the Administrative Science Quarterly from 1956 to 2002 to track shifts in Weber citation patterns and three streams of Weberian-inspired organizational research: intraorganizational, social organization and organization-environment relations. We show how the shift from the early bureaucracy and social organization studies of the 1950s and 1960s to the more instrumental, resource focus of the organization-environment tradition in the 1970s and 1980s went hand-in-hand with the marginalization of Weber in organizational theory. We also show that Weber has increasingly ...
Activator of G-protein Signaling 1 Blocks GIRK Channel Activation by a G-protein-coupled Receptor APPARENT DISRUPTION OF RECEPTOR SIGNALING COMPLEXES

The Ras-related protein, activator of G-protein signaling 1 (AGS1) or Dexras1, interacts with G(i)/G(o)alpha and activates heterotrimeric G-protein signaling systems independent of a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). As an initial approach to further define the cellular role of AGS1 in GPCR signaling, we determined the influence of AGS1 on the regulation of G(betagamma)-regulated inwardly rectifying K(+) channel (GIRK) current (I(ACh)) by M(2)-muscarinic receptor (M(2)-MR) in Xenopus oocytes. AGS1 expression inhibited receptor-mediated current activation by >80%. Mutation of a key residue (G31V) within the G(1) domain involved in nucleotide binding for Ras-related proteins eliminated the action of AGS1. The inhibition of I(ACh) was not overcome by increasing concentrations of the muscarinic agonist acetylcholine but was progressively lost upon injection of increasing amounts of M(2)-MR cRNA. These data suggest that AGS1 may antagonize GPCR signaling by altering the pool of heterotrimeric G-proteins available for receptor coupling and/or disruption of a preformed signaling complex. Such regulation would be of particular importance for those receptors that exist precoupled to heterotrimeric G-protein and for receptors operating within signaling complexes.
Optimization with Artificial Neural Network Systems: A Mapping Principle and a Comparison to Gradient Based Methods

General formulae for mapping optimization problems into systems of ordinary differential equations associated with artificial neural networks are presented. A comparison is made to optimization using gradient-search methods. The performance measure is the settling time from an initial state to a target state. A simple analytical example illustrates a situation where dynamical systems representing artificial neural network methods would settle faster than those representing gradient-search. Settling time was investigated for a more complicated optimization problem using computer simulations. The problem was a simplified version of a problem in medical imaging: determining loci of cerebral activity from electromagnetic measurements at the scalp. The simulations showed that gradient based systems typically settled 50 to 100 times faster than systems based on current neural network optimization methods.
High performance on the fly reconfigurable MIMO detector

Upcoming wireless communication standards such as 802.11 n, WiMax etc require support for multiple modulation schemes. These standards all have multiple transmit and receive antennas(MIMO). Hence, the MIMO detector hardware should be able to accommodate different modulation schemes preferably on a single reconfigurable architecture. This paper presents an high performance FPGA implementation of a novel MIMO detector architecture that is able to reconfigure on the fly and provides quasi-optimal Bit Error Rate(BER). The design is implemented in Xilinx Virtex-4, and achieves a sustained throughput of 1.72 Gbps for QPSK, 860 Mbps for 16-QAM, and 430 Mbps for 64-QAM. The total area is approximately 140.26 KGates equivalent.
Improving Construct Validity with Cognitive Psychology Principles.

Cognitive psychology principles have been heralded as possibly central to construct validity. In this paper, testing practices are examined in three stages: (a) the past, in which the traditional testing research paradigm left little role for cognitive psychology principles, (b) the present, in which testing research is enhanced by cognitive psychology principles, and (c) the future, for which we predict that cognitive psychology's potential will be fully realized through item design. An extended example of item design by cognitive theory is given to illustrate the principles. A spatial ability test that consists of an object assembly task highlights how cognitive design principles can lead to item generation. Cognitive psychology has been heralded as promising to reinvigorate intelligence and ability testing. Carroll and Maxwell (1979) lauded cognitive psychology as a breath of fresh air in research on ability. However, more than two decades have passed since their enthusiastic review. And, although today cognitive psychology concepts seem to be interfused with discussions of abilities, actual applications in testing are few and far between. Construct validity is central to establishing test quality. The concept has guided most testing research programs since it was introduced by Cronbach and Meehl (1955). In this article, testing practices are examined in three stages to understand how cognitive psychology can improve construct validity: (a) the past, in which the traditional testing research paradigm left little role for cognitive psychology principles, (b) the present, in which some testing applications involves cognitive psychology principles, and (c) the future, for which we predict that cognitive psychology's potential will be fully realized by its influence on item design. An extended example will be given to show how item design influences construct validation.
Improvement of laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms after laparoscopic Hill repair.

Background: People with proven gastroesophageal reflux disease may also experience symptoms such as voice loss, chronic cough, globus, and sore throat. These laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms have been reported to respond to prolonged proton pump inhibitor therapy, but the Hill approach to resolving these specific individual symptoms has not been widely reported in surgical literature. Methods: This clinical outcome study is an analysis of symptom improvement in 145 patients who underwent laparoscopic Hill hiatal hernia repair. A standardized questionnaire was used to score eight gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms and four laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms. Also, each patient’s primary chief complaints were analyzed. Results: Gastroesophageal reflux and laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms significantly improved (P 0.01) compared with preoperative symptoms. Each patient’s primary chief complaints improved as well. Conclusions: This clinical outcome analysis documents symptomatic improvement of laryngopharyngeal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux. Likewise, when these laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms are chief complaints, with proven gastroesophageal reflux disease, the Hill approach to symptom resolution is likely to be successful. © 2003 Excerpta Medica, Inc. All rights reserved.
A single-arm, investigator-initiated study of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of intravitreal aflibercept injection in subjects with exudative age-related macular degeneration previously treated with ranibizumab or bevacizumab (ASSESS study): 12-month analysis.

SUMMARY STATEMENT In subjects with active exudative age-related macular degeneration, treating with a fixed intravitreal aflibercept injection dosing regimen for 12 months demonstrated improved anatomic and vision endpoints from baseline. PURPOSE Switching therapies in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may offer an advantage for some patients. This study evaluates the efficacy of intravitreal aflibercept injection (IAI) in subjects previously treated with ranibizumab and/or bevacizumab. METHODS Subjects (n=26) were given monthly 2 mg of IAI for 3 months, followed by 2 mg once in every 2 months for up to 12 months. The mean absolute change from baseline in central subfield thickness (CST) measured by optical coherence tomography and the mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) early treatment in diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) letter score were obtained. Additionally, the percentage of subjects who gained or lost ≥15 letters of vision and the percentage of subjects who are 20/40 or better or 20/200 or worse were evaluated. RESULTS There was a mean decrease in CST of -50.3 μm (P<0.001) and a mean increase in ETDRS BCVA of +9.2 letters (P<0.001). Twenty-seven percent of subjects experienced a ≥15-letter improvement in visual acuity, and no subject lost ≥3 lines of vision from baseline. Fifty percent of subjects were 20/40 or better, and 11.5% of subjects were 20/200 or worse at month 12. CONCLUSION Fixed IAI dosing regimen for 12 months demonstrated improved anatomic and vision endpoints in subjects with active exudative AMD.
Analysis of dispersed, conducting-system frequency-response data

Abstract Widely used equations for the analysis of dispersive relaxation data for conducting materials, developed by Moynihan and associates more than two decades ago, are shown to be require correction. Corrected equations which can differ appreciably in their consequences from those of Moynihan et al. are derived and used to justify the empirical Barton, Nakajima, Namikawa (BNN) formula satisfied by much frequency-response data for disordered materials. The conductive-system frequency-response analysis described in the paper and the corrected Moynihan approach both allow arbitrary fitting models to be used. It is shown that, for one class of models, the two fitting approaches are identical and yield maximum information while, for other models, the fit information is intrinsically more limited and inaccurate. Improved methods for inverting transient-response data to yield the associated distribution of relaxation times and frequency response are compared with the approach Moynihan et al. used for the fractional-exponential fitting model (KWW), and a misconception in their work is corrected. Correct and incorrect ways to invert frequency-response data that include the effects of a high-frequency-limiting dielectric constant are illustrated for KWW response. The conventional KWW model yields physically unrealizable time and frequency responses, but a modification which restores realizability is developed. Analysis approaches are described which allow one to identify the type of dispersed behavior present in the data: either conductive- or dielectric-system response. Weighted, complex-non-linear-least-squares analyses of frequency-response data for Li2OAl2O32SiO2 glass at 24°C using an approximate KWW fitting model are compared with earlier fitting results of the same data obtained by Moynihan and others using the Moynihan et al. equations and fitting approach. Excellent fits were obtained over the entire measured frequency range when the fitting model included elements accounting for electrode polarization effects in the data. These effects are shown to make non-negligible contributions at both extremes of the frequency-response range. Such contributions, and the past use of the Moynihan approach, probably explain most previously unexplained excess losses found present in the high frequency region, ones which Moynihan and associates characterized as endemic to the vitreous state.
ParticleCall: A particle filter for base calling in next-generation sequencing systems

Background Next-generation sequencing systems are capable of rapid and cost-effective DNA sequencing, thus enabling routine sequencing tasks and taking us one step closer to personalized medicine. Accuracy and lengths of their reads, however, are yet to surpass those provided by the conventional Sanger sequencing method. This motivates the search for computationally efficient algorithms capable of reliable and accurate detection of the order of nucleotides in short DNA fragments from the acquired data.
Patellar Tendon Rupture After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery

Patellar tendon ruptures after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery can become a potentially serious postoperative complication if handled incorrectly. Proper surgical and rehabilitation must be undertaken to ensure that the overall results of both the initial ACL reconstruction and subsequent tendon rupture are satisfactory. If properly managed, postoperative patellar tendon rupture can be treated and the overall outcome of the ACL surgery is not affected. In our experience of 5,000 ACL reconstructions, a total of 11 patellar tendon ruptures have occurred with 6 occurring after an ipsilateral ACL reconstruction and 5 occurring after a contralateral ACL reconstruction. All patellar tendons were repaired using suture anchors and augmented with a Dall-Miles cable. Follow-up at an average of 3.1 years postoperatively shows that patients regained full knee hyperextension with 141° of flexion on the involved side with average of 143° on the uninvolved knee. Average return of strength was 94% measured with isokinetic testing. Single leg hop scores averaged 96% compared with opposite noninvolved knee. In this article, we discuss the surgical technique, rehabilitation, and results of our experience treating this potentially difficult postoperative complication after ACL reconstruction.
Ulcerative keratitis caused by beta-hemolytic Streptococcus equi in 11 horses.

Purpose To describe 11 clinical cases of ulcerative keratitis in horses associated with betahemolytic Streptococcus equi in Florida, USA. Methods Retrospective clinical study (1996–99). Results Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus equi was cultured from 11 horses with deep ulcers, descemetoceles or iris prolapse (n= 8), a suture abscess found with a penetrating keratoplasty for a stromal abscess (n= 1), and ulceration that developed following keratectomy/irradiation for corneal squamous cell carcinoma (n= 2). Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus was found in 10 eyes and subspecies equi in one. Marked signs of uveitis including miosis and hypopyon were present in 8/11 (72.7%) eyes. Keratomalacia was severe in all eyes. The mean diameter of the ulcers associated with betahemolytic Streptococcus was 10.2 ± 6.1 mm. Eight of the eyes required conjunctival flap surgery (four grafts dehisced) and one eye corneal transplantation. Two eyes were treated with medication only. Isolate sensitivity to antibiotics included ampicillin (6/11), bacitracin (11/11), cephalothin (11/11), chloramphenicol (11/11), gentamicin (5/11), polymyxin B (2/11), and tobramycin (1/11). All isolates were resistant to neomycin. The average healing time was 44.7 ± 26.7 days. The visual outcome was positive in 8/11 eyes, and the globe retained in 9/11 eyes. Conclusions Although Gram-positive bacteria predominate in the normal conjunctival microflora of horses throughout the world, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi are more often isolated from equine ulcers. Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus spp. are associated with a very aggressive ulcerative keratitis with the capability to digest conjunctival graft tissue. Clinical signs are pronounced. Aggressive surgical and intensive medical therapy with topical antibiotics and protease inhibitors is indicated.
Detecting and Estimating Signals in Noisy Cable Structures, II: Information Theoretical Analysis

This is the second in a series of articles that seek to recast classical singleneuron biophysics in information-theoretical terms. Classical cable theory focuses on analyzing the voltage or current attenuation of a synaptic signal as it propagates from its dendritic input location to the spike initiation zone. On the other hand, we are interested in analyzing the amount of information lost about the signal in this process due to the presence of various noise sources distributed throughout the neuronal membrane. We use a stochastic version of the linear one-dimensional cable equation to derive closed-form expressions for the second-order moments of the fluctuations of the membrane potential associated with different membrane current noise sources:thermal noise, noise due to the random opening and closing of sodium and potassium channels, and noise due to the presence of "spontaneous" synaptic input. We consider two different scenarios. In the signal estimation paradigm, the time course of the membrane potential at a location on the cable is used to reconstruct the detailed time course of a random, band-limited current injected some distance away. Estimation performance is characterized in terms of the coding fraction and the mutual information. In the signal detection paradigm, the membrane potential is used to determine whether a distant synaptic event occurred within a given observation interval. In the light of our analytical results, we speculate that the length of weakly active apical dendrites might be limited by the information loss due to the accumulated noise between distal synaptic input sites and the soma and that the presence of dendritic nonlinearities probably serves to increase dendritic information transfer.
Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Exercise, and Blood Pressure

Findings from well-designed large epidemiological studies and diverse populations support a robust, inverse, and independent association between physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiovascular and overall mortality risk. The association is independent of age, race, sex, documented cardiovascular disease, or comorbidities, including hypertension.1,2 In prehypertension and hypertension, cardiorespiratory fitness exhibits preventive, prognostic, and therapeutic properties.1–4 Thus, appropriate lifestyle interventions, including increased physical activity designed to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness, are recommended by the Eight Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 8) and the European Society of Hypertension/European Society of Hypertension of Cardiology recent guidelines as initial therapy to prevent, treat, and control hypertension.5,6 This review presents evidence on the preventive, prognostic, and therapeutic aspects of exercise and fitness status of the individual on blood pressure (BP). The age-related progressive increase in BP is accompanied by an incremental increase in cardiovascular risk evident beyond BP levels of 115/75 mm Hg.7 Evidence suggests that this increase in BP is preceded by arterial stiffness, an important and independent contributor to hypertension.8–12 To some extent, the age-related increase in arterial stiffness and BP is inevitable (biological aging). However, a substantial portion of the pronounced increase observed in industrialized societies is pathological and more likely a consequence of lifestyle characterized by high-fat and salt diets and physical inactivity than an inevitable outcome of aging.13–19 Indigenous populations living a relatively traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle exhibit only a modest and substantially lower increase in arterial stiffness and BP compared with individuals living in westernized environments.14,15 Additionally, vascular health is improved by habitual physical activity and exercise intervention programs implemented in westernized populations16–19 and diminished by inactivity and …
Gastrointestinal cancer studies in the human to nude mouse heterotransplant system

Human gastrointestinal cancer xenografts were established in the nude mouse. Grafts were accomplished with gastric adenocarcinomas, gastric leiomyosarcoma, histiocytic lymphoma of the stomach and gallbladder, pancreatic tumors, colonic cancers and cell lines of duodenal (HUTU-80) and pancreatic (HS-766-T) cancers, melanoma (SK-Mel-5), and murine metastasizing Lewis lung carcinoma. The rate of successful xenografting of these tumors varied from virtually 100% with colon and duodenal cancer, 50% for a pancreatic cancer (P-1), to only 17% for gastric adenocarcinoma. Pancreas and colon adenocarcinomas have been maintained by successive xenotransplantation over 16 and 19 months, respectively. Human xenografts retained morphological identity with tissues of origin through several transplant generations and shared some of their ultrastructural characteristics but did not metastasize. Rodent xenografts, of heterogenous origin were characterized by differences in the duration of the latent period and in the rate of their initial development as described by the average doubling times and average slopes (B) of their growth curves. Differences between B of the Lewis lung carcinoma and all of the human xenografts and between B of a pancreatic adenocarcinoma and three other neoplasms were significant (P less than 0.05 to 0.04). Labeling indices determined for 14 cancer transplants were in the range of previously reported data for similar neoplasms in patients or other xenograft systems. These findings suggest that the nude mouse model can be used to evaluate endogenous properties of gastrointestinal cancers and their responses to exogenous agents.
Magnetic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional L a 3 Os O 7 as determined by neutron powder diffraction

Insulating $5{d}^{3}\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{3}\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ and the isostructural hole-doped analog $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{2.8}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.2}\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ that feature pseudo-one-dimensional zigzag chains of corner-sharing $\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{O}}_{6}$ octahedra have been synthesized and their magnetic and electrical transport properties characterized. Both compounds are insulating antiferromagnets. Long range magnetic order between the antiferromagnetic chains is determined with a propagation vector $k=1/2,1/2,1$ and ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}=45$ and 33 K for the parent and doped materials. An $\mathrm{O}{\mathrm{s}}^{5+}$ moment of $1.7(1){\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ for $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{3}\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ and $1.2(2){\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ for $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{2.8}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.2}\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ is refined. The long range magnetic structure is compared to the isostructural compounds $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{3}\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ and $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{3}\mathrm{Mo}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$, both of which adopt different magnetic structures.
Using Augmented ɛ-constraint Method for Solving a Multi-objective Operating Theater Scheduling☆

Abstract Operating Theaters are among the most critical parts in hospitals. Generally, an Operating Theater consists of three stages: Public Health Unit (PHU), Operating Rooms, and Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Operating Theater significantly affects annual costs and revenues of a hospital due to requiring skillful staff and expensive equipment to operate surgeries beside high service fees. In this paper, proposing an operating theater daily schedule to serve surgical demands is considered as a three-stage flow-shop scheduling problem. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective mixed integer programming model aiming to balance workload of operating rooms and surgeons, minimize waiting times and maximize human (surgeons) reliability. Weighted-sum method and an augmented ɛ-constraint method are applied to solve two test problems. Analysis of obtained solutions verifies that both solution approaches are capable of providing appropriate schedules in a reasonable time.
Aqueducts for Least Cost Conveyance of Water

Models of the cross section of a tunnel, a pipeline and a canal are designed showing the relative sizes of all dimensions. These relative sizes are all related to some one important dimension. The construction costs and the costs to make up the loss due to fluid friction are then expressed in terms of the one important selected dimension and added. By differential calculus the optimum size of the one important dimension is then found from which all the other characteristics of the most economical aqueduct are obtained. Equations are derived for size, maximum velocity of flow, maximum energy gradient, construction cost per unit length, annual construction cost per unit length, annual cost to overcome fluid friction per unit length, and conveyance cost per unit volume.
Reforming Medicare--toward a modified Ryan plan.

The need for Medicare reform is widely acknowledged, and Congressman Paul Ryan has proposed a reform strategy strikingly different from that of the Affordable Care Act. His plan could be viable if its harsher provisions were relaxed.
The Memory of Slavery at Saint Louis University

This essay examines both the history and memory of slavery at Saint Louis University (SLU). The essay argues that, despite the fact that slavery and slaves featured prominently in the university's early history, later members of the SLU and St. Louis community have forgotten or misremembered the role of human bondage in the school's past. This process of forgetting is particularly notable given the fact that SLU is a Jesuit University that plays a prominent role in the cultural, educational, and economic life of the city of St. Louis. The essay will analyze the process by which the role of slavery at SLU has been forgotten before concluding with suggestions for how the topic might be treated in the future.
Effect of Temperature, Humidity, Light, and Gravity on the Parasitoid Brachymeria intermedia ,

Females of the parasitoid Brachymeria intermedia (Nees) were studied in the laboratory for their response to various physical environmental factors. They preferred low humidities and temperatures between 26 and 29°C in gradients. Most activity was observed from mid-morning until late afternoon, with a peak between 1330 and 1530 hours. They were photopositive, inactive in the dark, and did not respond to gravity.
San Carlos Lantern Relay

The San Carlos Lantern Relay is a public art piece installed in December 2015 in downtown San Jose. This proposal is to articulate a presentation about the project. This includes the background of the piece, its conceptual inception, the production process, and its current working behavior. The documentation will provide context for the piece as well as inviting patrons to visit the piece, which is within walking distance of Works Gallery.
Gradual Painless Visual Loss: Chronic Optic Neuropathies

The clinician must be the ultimate medical detective when dealing with chronic optic neuropathies. History taking is crucial. Clinical examination may require supplementation with visual field testing, fluorescein angiography, ocular and orbital ultrasound imaging, CT and MR imaging, blood test data, and cerebrospinal fluid or tissue biopsy data to determine the specific diagnosis. This supplementation is labor-intensive and time-consuming; the visual loss usually will progress throughout the process, frustrating and frightening the patient and physician. The final common pathway is gradual optic atrophy; the appearance of the optic nerve is rarely adequate to determine the cause of the visual loss. This article includes tables that review diagnostic aids and therapies, and lists the frequency with which several disease entities were encountered over 15 years in one tertiary care neuro-ophthalmic practice. If a specific cause is discernible, then a specific therapy may be available. This approach has the best chance of saving the patient‘s vision with the least toxicity caused by erroneous trials. By necessity, the work-up for these patients is expensive, but the cost of not pursuing the cause is irrevocable, permanent blindness.