cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differences in the formation of poles of Enterococcus and Bacillus

The pole of Enterococcus hirae (Streptococcus faecium) is more pointed than that of Bacillus subtilis; i.e. the pole of the former is prolate and the latter is oblate. Both species form their poles by constructing annular additions on the inside surface. In both cases, the thick septum starts to split from the outside before the septum is complete. Physiochemical considerations dictate that the peptidoglycan must be unstretched as laid down. However, it later becomes stressed and may stretch to increase its surface area or to change its shape. Our earlier analysis for B. subtilis demonstrated that, without the addition of new peptidoglycan, the nascent wall is stretched after it is externalized to 1.51 times the original area. The wall of partially formed poles that is already exteriorized continues to deform with further development. For E. hirae, Higgins & Shockman's measurements showed that the completed pole has a surface area 2.18 times larger than a completed septal disk and the wall changes shape very little after exteriorization. A model is presented here for the streptococcus in which the septal wall does not increase its surface area on exteriorization either by expansion or by murein insertion. Instead, the septal wall as it is split and exteriorized twists to become oblique, increasing the inner radius of the incomplete septum. In consequence of this rotation, extra layers of peptidoglycan are added to the inside face of the developing septum. This additional murein forms the more pointed pole shape for E. hirae. This "split-and-splay" model thus refines and extends the surface stress theory of E. hirae developed a decade ago by proposing a source of the extra wall needed for the formation of its prolate, more pointed, pole.
A case of metastatic carcinoid arising in an ovarian teratoma: Case report with autopsy findings and review of the literatur

A case is presented of widely metastasizing carcinoid tumor with clinical manifestations of the carcinoid syndrome arising in an adult cystic ovarian teratoma in a 66-year-old woman. Biochemical assays showed both 5-HIAA and calcitonin levels to be markedly elevated. By light microscopy, the neoplasm was strongly argyrophilic and weakly argentaffin positive. Ultrastructurally, the presence of pleomorphic intracellular dense core granules averaging 260 nm in diameter were found. The literature is reviewed.
Triple correlation as a phase closure technique

Abstract A simple heuristic model is used to discuss the relationship between triple correlation and phase closure in interferometric image reconstruction. The main properties of triple correlation are easily rederived giving deeper insight into the method.
A simple modified local pion-nucleus optical potential

Abstract A simple local π -nucleus optical potential is developed using the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The internal motion and binding of the target nucleons and effects due to the Pauli principle are accounted for. Using a simple but realistic parametrization for the P 33 resonating amplitude we evaluate the above model for π − − 12 C scattering in the region of the (3, 3) resonance. Reasonable fits to the data are obtained with no adjustable parameters. The effects of the internal motion and binding of the target nucleons and the Pauli principle are small at the higher energies ( T L > 150 MeV), and most significant at the larger momentum transfers.
Open bicondylar Hoffa fracture with patella fracture: a case report and literature review

Bicondylar Hoffa fractures are rare. We report a patient who sustained an open bicondylar Hoffa fracture with an ipsilateral transverse fracture of the patella after a high-energy motor vehicle accident.
Mass or heat transfer coefficients under assisting or non-assisting natural and forced convection near a vertical wall

Abstract The velocity superimposition and the Lighthill transformation are used to calculate heat or mass transfer coefficients for large Schmidt (Prandtl) number under combined natural and forced convection near a vertical wall at constant concentration or temperature. The resultant correlation for assisting flow is in complete agreement with the results of Ruckenstein and Rajagopalan and Churchill. However, the results for non-assisting (opposing) flow are in disagreement with the simplified result of Ruckenstein and Rajagopalan due to the occurrence of zero shear stress and flow reversal at the wall. An explicit, but more complicated, correlation in terms of the pure natural and pure forced convection is presented for the case of opposing flow.
Enhanced Reactivity of Cationic Hafnocene Complexes toward σ-Bond Metathesis Reactions. Si−H and Si−C Bond Activations in Stoichiometric and Catalytic Organosilane Conversions

Interest in developing highly active catalysts for processes involving σ-bond metathesis steps led to a study directly comparing neutral, zwitterionic, and cationic derivatives of CpCp*Hf− in reactions with silanes. In stoichiometric transformations, comparisons of the reactivities of CpCp*HfMe2 (1), CpCp*HfMe(OTf) (2), CpCp*HfMe(μ-Me)B(C6F5)3 (3), and [CpCp*HfMe][B(C6F5)4] (4) with organosilanes indicate that the cationic character in the complex influences the activity of the Hf−Me bond toward reactions with Si−H bonds. Enhanced activity in catalytic σ-bond metathesis reactions of PhSiH3 was also observed with zwitterionic hafnium hydride complexes. Neutral CpCp*HfHCl (7) reacts slowly with PhSiH3 to give oligomers, while zwitterionic CpCp*HfH(μ-H)B(C6F5)3 (6) reacts ca. 10 times faster, activating both Si−C and Si−H bonds of PhSiH3, to give redistribution and dehydrocoupling products. A mechanism based on σ-bond metathesis is evidenced by identical experimental rate laws (rate ∝ [catalyst][PhSiH3]2) fo...
Investigating Homology between Proteins using Energetic Profiles

Accumulated experimental observations demonstrate that protein stability is often preserved upon conservative point mutation. In contrast, less is known about the effects of large sequence or structure changes on the stability of a particular fold. Almost completely unknown is the degree to which stability of different regions of a protein is generally preserved throughout evolution. In this work, these questions are addressed through thermodynamic analysis of a large representative sample of protein fold space based on remote, yet accepted, homology. More than 3,000 proteins were computationally analyzed using the structural-thermodynamic algorithm COREX/BEST. Estimated position-specific stability (i.e., local Gibbs free energy of folding) and its component enthalpy and entropy were quantitatively compared between all proteins in the sample according to all-vs.-all pairwise structural alignment. It was discovered that the local stabilities of homologous pairs were significantly more correlated than those of non-homologous pairs, indicating that local stability was indeed generally conserved throughout evolution. However, the position-specific enthalpy and entropy underlying stability were less correlated, suggesting that the overall regional stability of a protein was more important than the thermodynamic mechanism utilized to achieve that stability. Finally, two different types of statistically exceptional evolutionary structure-thermodynamic relationships were noted. First, many homologous proteins contained regions of similar thermodynamics despite localized structure change, suggesting a thermodynamic mechanism enabling evolutionary fold change. Second, some homologous proteins with extremely similar structures nonetheless exhibited different local stabilities, a phenomenon previously observed experimentally in this laboratory. These two observations, in conjunction with the principal conclusion that homologous proteins generally conserved local stability, may provide guidance for a future thermodynamically informed classification of protein homology.
The fixed-polarizer nulling scheme in generalized ellipsometry☆

Abstract In the polarizer-compensator-system-analyzer (PCSA) ellipsometer arrangement the nulling scheme in which P is set and C and A are adjusted for null provides the largest number of nulls per setting of the fixed element. The emergent polarization from a system composed of a fixed polarizer and a rotating compensator follows a double-lobed contour in the complex plane which generally intersects a circle at four points leading to four nulls. This is in contrast with the one and two nulls obtained from the fixed-analyzer and fixed-compensator schemes, respectively. The present scheme is recommended for automatic self-nulled ellipsometers.
Convective Precipitation Variability as a Tool for General Circulation Model Analysis

Abstract Precipitation variability is analyzed in two versions of the Community Atmospheric Model (CAM), the standard model, CAM, and a “multiscale modeling framework” (MMF), in which the cumulus parameterization has been replaced with a cloud-resolving model. Probability distribution functions (PDFs) of daily mean rainfall in three geographic locations [the Amazon Basin and western Pacific in December–February (DJF) and the North American Great Plains in June–August (JJA)] indicate that the CAM produces too much light–moderate rainfall (10 ∼ 20 mm day−1), and not enough heavy rainfall, compared to observations. The MMF underestimates rain contributions from the lightest rainfall rates but correctly simulates more intense rainfall events. These differences are not always apparent in seasonal mean rainfall totals. Analysis of 3–6-hourly rainfall and sounding data in the same locations reveals that the CAM produces moderately intense rainfall as soon as the boundary layer energizes. Precipitation is also co...
Being human: kinship: race relations.

Our notions of family, population and race may need revising in the age of personal genomics, argues Aravinda Chakravarti.
Optimum number of hops in linear multihop wireless networks

In this paper, we study the capacity of a multihop relay network with decode-and-forward strategy at each of the relay nodes. We consider both transmission power and processing power consumption at each link and a total network power constraint. We characterize the optimal number of hops that achieves maximum end-to-end throughput. In one special case, we derive an analytical expression for this optimal number of hops and show that it depends inversely on the computational power at each link. Both full-duplex (FD) and half-duplex (HD) operation of the nodes are considered and we also characterize situations in which HD operation provides higher throughput than FD operation. The effect of interference cancellation at the relay nodes is considered and the improvement in throughput is quantified.
Partially Formed Bonds In HCN−SO3 and CH3CN−SO3: A Comparison between Donor−Acceptor Complexes of SO3 and BF3

The gas-phase structures of HCN−SO3 and CH3CN−SO3 have been determined by microwave spectroscopy in a supersonic jet. Both adducts are symmetric tops with the nitrogen bonded to the SO3. In HCN−SO3, the N−S distance is 2.577(6) A and the NSO angle is 91.8(4)°. In CH3CN−SO3, the bond length and bond angle are 2.466(16) A and 92.0(7)°, respectively. The N−S distances are significantly shorter than the sum of van der Waals radii, and the structures are indicative of N−S dative bonds which are in their early stages of development. 14N nuclear hyperfine structure is consistent with this assessment. The bond length−bond angle relationship for a series of SO3 complexes with amine and nitrile donors is examined and compared with that for a similar series of complexes of BF3 and BH3. The variation of bond angle with bond length is strikingly similar for both sets of systems despite the differing atomic sizes of boron and sulfur. With a given base, however, the degree of bond formation to SO3 appears to lag that to...
Varactor Tuned Public Service Band Monitors

This paper deals with some practical and cost conscious approaches to varactor tuned radio receivers.
Modeling bed-load transport of coarse sediments in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Abstract Current, sea level and bed-load transport are investigated in the Lower Piscataqua River section of the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, USA—a well-mixed and geometrically complex system with low freshwater input, having main channel tidal currents ranging between 0.5 and 2 m s −1 . Current and sea level forced by the M 2 M 4 M 6 tides at the estuarine mouth are simulated by a vertically averaged, non-linear, time-stepping finite element model. The hydrodynamic model uses a fixed boundary computational domain and accounts for flooding–drying of tidal flats by making use of a groundwater component. Inertia terms are neglected in comparison with pressure gradient and bottom friction terms, which is consistent with the observed principal dynamic balance for this section of the system. The accuracy of hydrodynamic predictions in the study area is demonstrated by comparison with four tidal elevation stations and two cross-section averaged current measurements. Simulated current is then used to model bed-load transport in the vicinity of a rapidly growing shoal located in the main channel of the lower system. Consisting of coarse sand and gravel, the shoal must be dredged every five to eight years. Two approaches are taken—an Eulerian parametric method in which nodal bed-load flux vectors are averaged over the tidal cycle and a Lagrangian particle tracking approach in which a finite number of sediment particles are released and tracked. Both methods yield pathways and accumulations in agreement with the observed shoal formation and the long-term rate of sediment accumulation in the shoal area.
Evidence for and rate of denitrification in the Arabian Sea

Abstract Results from a recent cruise in the Arabian Sea show a clear association of the secondary nitrite maximum with the intermediate salinity maximum originating in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. During its spreading through the Arabian Sea the Persian Gulf core layer mixes with water of higher nitrate content and low oxygen content. Reduction of nitrate to nitrite and beyond occurs at dissolved oxygen concentrations below about 7 μM1−1 and is restricted to a well defined area of the northern Arabian Sea. The original nitrate concentrations can be calculated from the salinity-nitrate relationship in waters outside this area. This, in turn, allows determination of a combined nitrogen deficit, i.e. the amount of nitrate reduced beyond nitrite. Based on limits of the spreading rate of the Persian Gulf core layer through the ArabiaSea a range for the dentrification rate of 1011 to 1012 gN yr−1 was determined. This is equivalent to about 1%, to a maximum of 10% of the global rate required for maintenance of a steady state in the distribution of nitrogen at the surface of the Earth.
Relationship between depth and occurrence of pea crabs, Pinnotheres maculatus , in Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis , in the Vicinity of Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Blue mussels,Mytilus edulis, were collected from eight sites near Woods Hole, Massachusetts and examined for presence of the symbiont,Pinnotheres maculatus. Mussels (550) from 6 intertidal areas contained 2 crabs. Mussels (421) from 2 subtidal areas contained 238 crabs. Only 1% of mussels growing near the surface on a piling contained crabs, while those from depths of 10 feet and below were highly infected.
Chemistry Education: Ten Facets to Shape Us.

The chemistry knowledge that we want our students to develop is rich, complex, and multifaceted. However, some teachers and instructors at the secondary school and college levels approach it in rather rigid and unidimensional ways. The central goal of this contribution is to describe and discuss 10 different complementary perspectives or “facets” from which chemistry content in introductory courses can be analyzed. This multidimensional view may help chemical educators, particularly those who are new to the profession, enrich their understanding of chemistry as a teaching subject and open the path for diverse reconceptualizations of the chemistry curriculum.
Melody: Importance in Learning Oral and Book Language.

This paper reviews the concept that the melodic features of language play a major role in the child's acquisition of both oral and book language. The first linguistic features learned by children when acquiring oral language are the melodic or rhythmic structures (stress, intonation and juncture) and these features are learned before the phonemic. Therefore, it is feasible to claim that the melodic features of book language are learned before awareness of print. Exposure to text language read aloud and instructional methods, such as, repeated readings may supply the necessary experiential background needed to learn the rhythmic rule system of the text.
Site-specific fascial defects in the diagnosis and surgical management of enterocele

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the surgical feasibility and clinical outcomes of a vaginal enterocele repair that was based on the theory of site-specific defects in the vaginal fascia. Study Design: Seventeen patients during a 2-year period with a diagnosis of enterocele and vaginal vault descensus with or without coexisting rectocele underwent surgical correction with a site-specific fascial defect repair. An enterocele was defined as vaginal wall prolapse seen during the operation in which the peritoneum was found to be in direct contact with the vaginal epithelium, with no intervening fascia. Patients were examined at 4 weeks after the operation and then at 6-month intervals, with site-specific analysis of pelvic prolapse at the vaginal apex and posterior vaginal segment. Results: Identification and site-specific fascial defect repair of the enterocele were successfully performed in all 17 cases. All patients also underwent a uterosacral ligament vaginal vault suspension, and 15 patients (88%) underwent concurrent posterior colporrhaphy. There were no intraoperative complications. At a mean follow-up of 6.3 months (range 1-17 months), 2 patients (12%) had mild, asymptomatic vaginal vault descensus but no patients (0/17) had evidence of a recurrent enterocele or rectocele. Conclusion: Enterocele correction through a fascial defect repair is easily performed through the vaginal route and is associated with excellent surgical outcomes on short-term follow-up. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998;179:1418-23.)
Acetazolamide and smooth muscle: Possible mechanisms conditioning the contractile responses induced by various experimental procedures in several isolated preparations

Summary In vitro experiments on isolated preparations of different smooth muscles confirmed that Acetazolamide (ACZ) may have direct effects on muscular contractility, as it has been shown for the skeletal muscle. On guinea-pig ileum ACZ counteracts the contractile responses to acetylcholine, histamine and barium chloride. In the same preparation ACZ removes the atropinic blockade of the acetylcholine stimulating effects on contractility, when used before the antagonist. ACZ opposes the sympathetic nerve stimulation on the rabbit nerve-jejunum and guinea-pig vas deferens preparations. In any case ACZ causes concentration-dependent effects, highly significant and linearly fitting. The carbonic anhydrase absence in the smooth muscle cell and the lack of ACZ own effects on muscular contractility of studied preparations (with the exception of the rabbit duodenum) demonstrate that the drug is directly active towards mechanisms determined either by tested substances or by nerve stimulation. In particular, it may be inferred that the ACZ conditions the contractile effectorial responses being predominantly effective in facilitating and/or in increasing the efflux of potassium from the intracellular to extracellular compartment.
Asymptotic linear prediction of extreme order statistics

We consider the problem of predicting thesth order statistic using the lowestr order statistics from a large sample of sizen under the assumption that the sample minimum, appropriately normalized, has a non-degenerate limit distribution asn→∞. Assumingr, s fixed andn→∞ we obtain asymptotically best linear unbiased as well as asymptotically best linear invariant predictors of thesth order statistic.
THE ROLE OF NITRIC OXIDE IN OBSTRUCTIVE NEPHROPATHY

Purpose:: Ureteral obstruction leads to tubulointerstitial fibrosis and loss of renal function. Nitric oxide production ameliorates fibrosis due to obstructive uropathy. However, nitric oxide is produced by 3 isoforms of the enzyme, nitric oxide synthase. We evaluated the role of inducible nitric oxide synthase in obstructive uropathy using nitric oxide synthase knockout mice, and determined whether the administration of L-arginine to promote nitric oxide synthesis by alternative nitric oxide synthase isoforms modulates renal fibrosis in these animals.Materials and Methods:: Complete unilateral ureteral obstruction was created in wild-type C57 and inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout mice. Control animals of each strain underwent sham surgery. Throughout the experiment mice had free access to untreated tap water or water supplemented with 10 gm./l. L-arginine. Animals were sacrificed 1 and 2 weeks, respectively, after creation of unilateral ureteral obstruction. We obtained serum as well as bladder an...
GENETIC VARIABILITY AND PARENTAGE IN MACROCYSTIS PYRZFERA (PHAEOPHYCEAE) USING MULTI-LOCUS DNA FINGERPRINTING1

Multi-locus DNA fingerprints using an M13 probe were obtained for two individuals of Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C. Ag. collected from Monterey Bay, California, and their laboratory-reared offspring. DNA was extracted from each of two field-collected individuals (= parents), their self-fertilized diploid offspring (three and seven individuals), and one diploid individual resulting from spores of the two parents. A total of 20 bands (4–19 kb) was detected among all individuals, ranging from 7 to 14 bands for any one individual. Two bands were present in all individuals, and three bands were unique to one parent and its three progeny. Ten bands were observed in the out-crossed individual, of which three were inherited from one parent, two from the other parent, and five were present in both parents. Genetic similarity between each parent and their self-fertilized offspring was significantly higher than similarity between the two self-fertilized groups. The data show that multi-locus DNA fingerprints can be used to assess parentage in the giant kelp and that there is consistent agreement between genetic similarity and known genetic relatedness among parents and offspring.
Microteaching: A Personal Review.

(1980). Microteaching: a personal review. British Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 147-151.
Morphologic and genetic analysis of retinal angioma associated with massive gliosis in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease.

We report morphologic and genetic analysis of bilateral retinal angiomas in a 35-year-old patient with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. Enucleation of both eyes revealed extensive intraocular tumor. Whereas the right eye demonstrated large amounts of retinal angioma tissue, the left eye showed small areas of retinal angioma associated with massive diffuse retinal gliosis. Genetic analysis of the angioma showed allelic deletion of the VHL gene locus, suggesting that the origin of the angiomas was directly related to the patient’s underlying VHL disease. Genetic analysis of the pleomorphic glial proliferation showed no allelic VHL gene deletion, which is consistent with the assessment that the glial component represents a reactive process. Apoptosis detected by TUNEL revealed lack of DNA fragmentation in the angioma; in contrast, many positive signals were found in the massive gliosis. We confirmed that the abnormal VHL genes were located in the “stromal” cells of the retinal angioma. Massive gliosis in VHL disease is a true reactive retinal gliosis.
Turning up the heat on colorectal cancer

Mutations in the microsatellite of the chaperone heat shock protein 110 (HSP110) yield a mutant protein that counteracts oncogenic potential, enhances responsiveness to chemotherapy and associates with increased survival in individuals with colorectal cancers that arise through defective DNA mismatch repair (pages 1283–1289).
The histochemical detection of thallium.

Thallium can be histochemically localized in formalin-fixed, paraffin-processed tissues by treating sections, after passing them to water through xylene and graded alcohols, in a 0.5% aqueous Bi(NO3)3 solution acidified with 1 drop of concentrated HNO3 per 100 ml. Sections are then washed and placed for 5 min in 2% aqueous KI, again washed, routinely dehydrated, cleared and covered. If desired, they may be lightly counterstained prior to dehydration. The tissue sites of T1 will be demonstrated by the fine wine-red crystals of (T1I)2-BiI3 resulting from the reaction, and will appear black with the usual microscopic illumination.
An evaluation of the change in electrocardiographic P-wave variables after acute caffeine ingestion in normal volunteers.

Background: Caffeine’s effect on supraventricular dysrhythmias is poorly understood, and establishing a marker to predict atrial fibrillation may help to explain supraventricular dysrhythmias caused by caffeine. Objective: To evaluate the effects of caffeine (mean 6·1 mg/kg) on maximum P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion in normal volunteers. Method: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in 10 healthy volunteers at least 17 years of age at the University of Connecticut. Participants abstained from caffeinated products for at least 2 days before study initiation and were randomly allocated on different days to receive placebo or caffeine 400 mg. For each of the study phases, a baseline 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed and a subsequent 12-lead ECG was performed 3 h after ingesting the study drug. Results: No significant changes were found within intra- or intergroup comparisons for any P-wave variables measured. Conclusions: Single dose caffeine (400 mg) does not affect average P-wave duration, maximum P-wave duration or P-wave dispersion in normal individuals.
A Hierarchical Distributed Loop Self-Scheduling Scheme for Cloud Systems

Cloud systems have demonstrated the powerful computation and storage capability in many scientific applications. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical distributed loop self-scheduling scheme to achieve good load balancing by applying weighted self-scheduling scheme on a heterogeneous cloud system. This scheme also considers the distribution of the output data, which can help reduce communication overhead. We evaluated the scheme with two scientific applications: Matrix Multiplication and Quick Sort. The results shows that our schemes achieve better load balancing and better overall performance than standard loop self-scheduling scheme.
Archaea and Fungi of the Human Gut Microbiome: Correlations With Diet and Bacterial Residents

Diet influences health as a source of nutrients and toxins, and by shaping the composition of resident microbial populations. Previous studies have begun to map out associations between diet and the bacteria and viruses of the human gut microbiome. Here we investigate associations of diet with fungal and archaeal populations, taking advantage of samples from 98 well-characterized individuals. Diet was quantified using inventories scoring both long-term and recent diet, and archaea and fungi were characterized by deep sequencing of marker genes in DNA purified from stool. For fungi, we found 66 genera, with generally mutually exclusive presence of either the phyla Ascomycota or Basiodiomycota. For archaea, Methanobrevibacter was the most prevalent genus, present in 30% of samples. Several other archaeal genera were detected in lower abundance and frequency. Myriad associations were detected for fungi and archaea with diet, with each other, and with bacterial lineages. Methanobrevibacter and Candida were positively associated with diets high in carbohydrates, but negatively with diets high in amino acids, protein, and fatty acids. A previous study emphasized that bacterial population structure was associated primarily with long-term diet, but high Candida abundance was most strongly associated with the recent consumption of carbohydrates. Methobrevibacter abundance was associated with both long term and recent consumption of carbohydrates. These results confirm earlier targeted studies and provide a host of new associations to consider in modeling the effects of diet on the gut microbiome and human health.
In search of a holy grail: predicting cardiac resynchronization therapy outcomes by echocardiography.

“It came out of nowhere and captured the cardiology community by storm.” The cliche seems very appropriate when describing the impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on the treatment of heart failure. CRT improves survival rate in symptomatic patients 1 and is the only nonsurgical technique that provides substantial and stable reverse remodeling in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.2,3 The most surprising fact is that this is accomplished through mechanisms that are still unclear and that are not fully elucidated in experimental models. CRT is the only heart failure therapy with a potential to improve survival rate that is not based on neurohormonal modulation. Finally, it represents a challenge to the imaging community, as it establishes a need to measure something that was previously overlooked—dyssynchrony. Article see p 14 Unfortunately, CRT is not universally successful. One third of CRT patients do not feel better,4 and close to 40% of patients do not experience reverse remodeling, which is important because it predicts survival rate.5 This should not be a surprise—treatment of chronic diseases is rarely homogenously beneficial to all the patients. Nevertheless, in the case of CRT, some extra precautions are necessary. CRT is expensive; placement of electrodes may be difficult; and, even in experienced centers, a significant number of patients may require surgical placement. Finally, it is an expensive, healthcare-intensive therapy with extensive follow-up and occasional complications. Thus, there is an ongoing search for practical methods to predict the outcome of CRT and guide its use. Current guidelines use QRS duration (and symptoms) as the principal determinants for implantation, and as noted, this is fairly successful, with two thirds of such patients demonstrating improvement. The real challenge for clinicians comes in two situations: identifying those patients with narrow QRS who are …
Lowered Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors, but Not Increased Insulin Sensitivity, with Infliximab

Objectives: To verify whether Infliximab could modify insulin sensitivity and TNF-α and GLUT4 mRNA expression in muscle and adipose tissue of morbidly obese subjects. Soluble TNF receptors I and II (TNFR-I and TNFR-II) were also assayed. Research Methods and Procedures: Six obese subjects were investigated before and 2 weeks after a single intravenous administration of 5 mg/kg Infliximab; insulin sensitivity was evaluated by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, and TNF-α and GLUT4 mRNA expression were assessed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on muscle and adipose tissue. TNF-α, TNFR-I, and TNFR-II were determined using the ELISA technique. Results: Infliximab infusion did not affect fasting plasma insulin or fasting plasma glucose levels; whole body glucose uptake did not change significantly. TNF-α and GLUT4 mRNA did not show any significant change in muscle or adipose tissue. Serum TNF-α was undetectable before and after treatment, whereas TNFR-I and TNFR-II concentrations significantly decreased (p < 0.01). Discussion: An explanation for the absence of effect of Infliximab on insulin resistance in morbidly obese subjects may be the paracrine way of action of this cytokine. Because Infliximab is predominantly distributed within the vascular compartment, its effectiveness in penetrating muscle and adipose tissue is potentially low. The significant decrease of TNFR-I and TNFR-II might be ascribed to a targeted effect of Infliximab on the immune system.
Temporal changes in lead levels in common tern feathers in New York and relationship of field levels to adverse effects in the laboratory

In this paper the authors examine lead levels in the feathers of adult common terns (Sterna hirundo) from 1978 to 1992, compare them to values for other species breeding in the same or nearby colonies from one year (1989), and contrast these levels with those associated with sublethal behavioral and physiological effects in the lab. Lead levels in feathers of common tern decreased significantly from 1978 through 1985, were stable until 1988, and then increased through 1992. The mean levels of lead in feathers of roseate tern (Sterna dougallii), herring gull (Larus argentatus), and black skimmer (Rynchops niger) were slightly higher than those for common terns in 1989. Levels in feathers of some individuals of all species in the wild were within the range associated with behavioral impairment and growth retardation in the lab.
Beam Bunch Length Matching at Transition Crossing with Space-Charge Forces

The compensation of the mismatch of beam bunch length due to longitudinal space-charge forces in crossing the transition energy is studied. The rms beam bunch length (envelope) equation for small phase oscillation is solved numerically. The results indicate that perfect matching of bunch length for high intensity beams is possible by using the ?t-jump or ?s-jump schemes.
Cholesterol absorption inhibitors: Defining new options in lipid management

Although many studies have documented that reduction of plasma cholesterol levels decreases the risk of coronary artery disease, it remains the most common cause of death in the Western world. Current therapeutic options are effective in lowering cholesterol, especially in clinical trials, but clinical application is not optimized for many reasons. Dietary restriction for long-term management of hypercholesterolemia is helpful but usually insufficient to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to goal levels. Powerful drugs are available, but these are often insufficient to meet the clinical demands for cholesterol-lowering therapy. Phytosterols and phytostanols have been partially effective by providing some inhibition of absorption of cholesterol. Compounds that specifically and more effectively block intestinal absorption of dietary and biliary cholesterol should provide a significant new agent for altering lipoprotein concentrations favorably. Ezetimibe is the first of this class of compounds that act at the gut epithelium to reduce cholesterol absorption in the milligram dose range markedly. Clinical studies indicate that ezetimibe effectively decreases LDL-C by 15 to 20% as monotherapy, with a favorable safety profile. Moreover, results from preliminary clinical trials indicate that ezetimibe given concomitantly with a statin provides additive efficacy. The combination represents a new approach to lipid management, achieving greater LDL-C and triglyceride reductions and greater improvements in HDL-C than statin monotherapy. This could offer another important option in clinical practice for management of hypercholesterolemic patients.
Are clusters found in one dataset present in another dataset

In many microarray studies, a cluster defined on one dataset is sought in an independent dataset. If the cluster is found in the new dataset, the cluster is said to be "reproducible" and may be biologically significant. Classifying a new datum to a previously defined cluster can be seen as predicting which of the previously defined clusters is most similar to the new datum. If the new data classified to a cluster are similar, molecularly or clinically, to the data already present in the cluster, then the cluster is reproducible and the corresponding prediction accuracy is high. Here, we take advantage of the connection between reproducibility and prediction accuracy to develop a validation procedure for clusters found in datasets independent of the one in which they were characterized. We define a cluster quality measure called the "in-group proportion" (IGP) and introduce a general procedure for individually validating clusters. Using simulations and real breast cancer datasets, the IGP is compared to four other popular cluster quality measures (homogeneity score, separation score, silhouette width, and weighted average discrepant pairs score). Moreover, simulations and the real breast cancer datasets are used to compare the four versions of the validation procedure which all use the IGP, but differ in the way in which the null distributions are generated. We find that the IGP is the best measure of prediction accuracy, and one version of the validation procedure is the more widely applicable than the other three. An implementation of this algorithm is in a package called "clusterRepro" available through The Comprehensive R Archive Network (http://cran.r-project.org).
Towards the measurement of tuple space performance

Many applications rely upon a tuple space within distributed system middleware to provide loosely coupled communication and service coordination. This paper describes an approach for measuring the throughput and response time of a tuple space when it handles concurrent local space interactions. Furthermore, it discusses a technique that populates a tuple space with tuples before the execution of a benchmark in order to age the tuple space and provide a worst-case measurement of space performance. We apply the tuple space benchmarking and aging methods to the measurement of the performance of a JavaSpace, a current example of a tuple space that integrates with the Jini network technology. The experiment results indicate that: (i) the JavaSpace exhibits limited scalability as the number of concurrent interactions from local space clients increases, (ii) the aging technique can operate with acceptable time overhead, and (iii) the aging technique does ensure that the results from benchmarking capture the worst-case performance of a tuple space.
Enhancement of Immunoassay’s Fluorescence and Detection Sensitivity Using Three-Dimensional Plasmonic Nano-Antenna-Dots Array

Protein detection is universal and vital in biological study and medical diagnosis (e.g., cancer detection). Fluorescent immunoassay is one of the most widely used and most sensitive methods in protein detection (Giljohann, D. A.; Mirkin, C. A. Nature2009, 462, 461–464; Yager, P.; et al. Nature2006, 442, 412–418). Improvements of such assays have many significant implications. Here, we report the use of a new plasmonic structure and a molecular spacer to enhance the average fluorescence of an immunoassay of Protein A and human immunoglobulin G (IgG) by over 7400-fold and the immunoassay’s detection sensitivity by 3 000 000-fold (the limit of detection is reduced from 0.9 × 10–9 to 0.3 × 10–15 molar (i.e., from 0.9 nM to 300 aM), compared to identical assays performed on glass plates). Furthermore, the average fluorescence enhancement has a dynamic range of 8 orders of magnitude and is uniform over the entire large sample area with a spatial variation ±9%. Additionally, we observed that, when a single mole...
Wavelengths of the O vi 2s 2 Sp–2p 2 P° resonance-doublet lines

We have determined the wavelengths of the O vi resonance lines by measuring spectrograms obtained with a 10.7-m normal-incidence vacuum spectrograph. The values are 1031.926(5) and 1037.620(5) A for the S21/2–P23/2° and S21/2–P1/2° lines, respectively. Combining these values with results of comparable accuracy obtained in three other laboratories, we suggest use of the averages 1031.9261(30) and 1037.6167(30) A for these wavelengths.
Maternal body mass index moderates the influence of smoking cessation on breast feeding.

INTRODUCTION Smoking cessation is associated with greater breast feeding in newly postpartum women, while being overweight or obese is associated with lower rates of breast feeding. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the increases in breast feeding associated with smoking cessation are moderated by maternal body mass index (BMI). To our knowledge, the interaction of maternal smoking status and overweight/obesity on breast feeding has not been previously reported. METHODS Participants (N = 370) were current or recent smokers at the start of prenatal care who participated in controlled trials on smoking cessation or relapse prevention during/after pregnancy. Study participants were followed from the start of prenatal care through 24 weeks postpartum. Smoking status was biochemically verified, and maternal reports of breast feeding were collected at 2-, 4-, 8-, 12-, and 24-week postpartum assessments. RESULTS Women who reported postpartum smoking abstinence or had a normal/underweight prepregnancy BMI (<25) were more likely to be breast feeding at the time that smoking status was ascertained (odds ratio [OR] = 3.02, confidence interval [CI] = 2.09-4.36, and OR = 2.07, CI = 1.37-3.12, respectively). However, smoking status and BMI interacted such that (a) normal/underweight women showed a stronger association between smoking abstinence and breast feeding (OR = 4.58, CI = 2.73-7.66) than overweight/obese women (OR = 1.89, CI = 1.11-3.23), and (b) abstainers showed an association between normal/underweight BMI and breast feeding (OR = 3.53, CI = 1.96-6.37), but smokers did not (OR = 1.46, CI = 0.88-2.44). CONCLUSIONS Overweight/obesity attenuates the positive relationship between smoking abstinence and greater breast feeding among newly postpartum women.
Three-Dimensional Modeling for Wet Compression in a Single Stage Compressor Including Liquid Particle Erosion Analysis

Gas turbine inlet fog/overspray cooling is considered as a simple and effective method to increase power output. To help understand the water mist transport in the compressor flow passage, this study conducts a 3D computational simulation of wet compression in a single rotor-stator compressor stage using the commercial code FLUENT . A sliding mesh scheme is used to simulate the stator-rotor interaction in a rotating frame. Eulerian–Lagrangian method is used to calculate the continuous phase and track the discrete (droplet) phase. Models to simulate droplet breakup and coalescence are incorporated to take into consideration the effect of local acceleration and deceleration on water droplet dynamics. Analysis on the droplet history (trajectory and size) with stochastic tracking is employed to interpret the mechanism of droplet dynamics under the influence of local turbulence, acceleration, diffusion, and body forces. A liquid-droplet erosion model is included. The sensitivity of the turbulence models on the results is conducted by employing six different turbulence models and four different time constants. The result shows that the local thermal equilibrium is not always achieved due to short residence time and high value of latent heat of water. Local pressure gradients in both the rotor and stator flow passages drive up the droplet slip velocity during compression. The erosion model predicts that the most eroded area occurs in the leading edge and one spot of the trailing edge of the rotor suction side.
Information search optimization and interactive retrieval techniques

Automatic information retrieval systems must be designed to serve a multiplicity of users, each of whom may have different needs and may consequently require different kinds of service. Under these circumstances, it appears reasonable that the system should reflect this diversity of requirements by providing a role for the user in determining the search strategy. This is particularly important in automatic systems, where presently used one-shot (keyword) search procedures normally produce poor results.
Learning Centers: A Report of the 1977 N.E.H. Institute at Ohio State University

A promising solution to meeting the needs and interests of all students is the use of learning centers. A learning center is a corner or a table in the back of a classroom where a group of one to five students can work on a subject or topic that interests them. It always contains reading materials and often a cassette tape recorder and a slide or film projector. Students are given tasks to complete and can find answer keys in accompanying envelopes or packets. A group of twenty-four French and twenty-four Spanish teachers from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan received a grant in the summer of 1977 to come to Ohio State University and develop learning centers for ‘small and large c’ culture. They created twenty learning centers or units on housing, shopping, cooking, transportation, sports, fiestas, literature, history, achitecture, painting, and music.
Enrichment of transiently transfected mesangial cells by cell sorting after cotransfection with GFP.

Early passage mesangial cells, like many other nonimmortalized cultured cells, can be difficult to transfect. We devised a simple method to improve the efficiency of transient protein expression un...
An evolutionarily motivated model of decision-making under uncertainty

There has been a recent shift in decision theory research from attempting to fix classical compensatory models towards adopting non-compensatory models of decision-making. This shift has arisen largely because of the inability of compensatory expected-utility based approaches to explain a large number of cognitive biases reliably observed in human subjects on experimental decision tasks. We show, using a jointly evolutionary and information-theoretic argument, that these so-called biases are, in fact, completely rational, if rationality is defined as minimizing the subject's cognitive effort in making a satisfactorily accurate decision. In this paper, we formalize this intuition in the form of a compensatory model of decision-making, and show that this extremely simple and interpretable model can generatively replicate three classic experimental studies spanning distinctive families of cognitive biases, viz. probabilistic sub-additivity leading to a fourfold pattern of risk aversion, confirmatory positive hypothesis selection and serial ordering effects. We suggest that this unified explanation for hitherto unconnected cognitive phenomena provides evidence for the existence of a fundamental information-theoretic optimality principle in the nature of human intelligence.
Connection between the packing efficiency of binary hard spheres and the glass-forming ability of bulk metallic glasses.

We perform molecular dynamics simulations to compress binary hard spheres into jammed packings as a function of the compression rate $R$, size ratio $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, and number fraction ${x}_{S}$ of small particles to determine the connection between the glass-forming ability (GFA) and packing efficiency in bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). We define the GFA by measuring the critical compression rate ${R}_{c}$, below which jammed hard-sphere packings begin to form ``random crystal'' structures with defects. We find that for systems with $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0.8$ that do not demix, ${R}_{c}$ decreases strongly with $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{J}$, as ${R}_{c}\ensuremath{\sim}exp(\ensuremath{-}1/\ensuremath{\Delta}{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{J}^{2})$, where $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{J}$ is the difference between the average packing fraction of the amorphous packings and random crystal structures at ${R}_{c}$. Systems with $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.8$ partially demix, which promotes crystallization, but we still find a strong correlation between ${R}_{c}$ and $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{J}$. We show that known metal-metal BMGs occur in the regions of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and ${x}_{S}$ parameter space with the lowest values of ${R}_{c}$ for binary hard spheres. Our results emphasize that maximizing GFA in binary systems involves two competing effects: minimizing $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ to increase packing efficiency, while maximizing $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ to prevent demixing.