cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Glycosylation of Zika Virus Is Important in Host-Virus Interaction and Pathogenesis

Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global public health issue due to its association with severe developmental disorders in infants and neurological disorders in adults. Because ZIKV uses glycosylation of its envelope (E) protein to interact with host cell receptors to facilitate entry, these interactions could also be important for designing therapeutics and vaccines. Due to a lack of information about Asn-linked (N-glycans) on ZIKV E, we analyzed ZIKV E of various strains derived from different cells. ZIKV E proteins are extensively modified with oligomannose-, hybrid- and complex-N-glycans of a highly heterogeneous nature. Host cell-surface glycans correlated strongly with the glycomic features of ZIKV E. Mechanistically, we discovered that ZIKV N-glycans are important in viral pathogenesis, as mannose-specific C-type lectins DC-SIGN and L-SIGN mediate cell entry of ZIKV. Our findings represent the first detailed mapping of N-glycans on ZIKV E of various strains and their functional significance.
Efficient control and Fault Detection and Isolation in Building HVAC systems

My thesis work is focused on advancing the state of the art in smart building monitoring and control problems. A major part of my thesis will develop combined model- and data-driven models for the energy systems of buildings and apply them for energy monitoring and optimization, fault diagnosis, and fault-adaptive control. In past work, I have already developed initial machine learning-based models for energy optimization. In this paper, I am focusing on developing a framework using bond graphs to build a model of the HVAC system and understand how different factors affect the measurement variables of this system. This information will help us do subsequent fault diagnosis by studying the characteristics of the system behavior represented by the temporal causal graph. It will also provide the basis for fault-adaptive control of buildings
Electron transfer and ionization in collisions between H + , He 2 + , Li 3 + , Be 4 + , B 5 + , C 6 + , N 7 + ions and target C 5 + ( 1 s ) ions studied using a Sturmian basis

Cross sections have been determined for electron transfer and ionization in collisions between ${\mathrm{H}}^{+},$ ${\mathrm{He}}^{2+},$ ${\mathrm{Li}}^{3+},$ ${\mathrm{Be}}^{4+},$ ${\mathrm{B}}^{5+},$ ${\mathrm{C}}^{6+},$ ${\mathrm{N}}^{7+}$ ions and target ${\mathrm{C}}^{5+}(1s)$ ions for projectile energies 125--1000 keV/amu using a coupled-Sturmian-pseudostate approach [Phys. Rev. A 35, 3799 (1987)]. A comparison is made with results using simpler approaches, and rules for scaling with the projectile nuclear charge are considered. Except for ${\mathrm{H}}^{+},$ the results for electron transfer to the ground state are estimated to be converged to 1%; for ionization, the convergence is probably to 10--20 %.
Complementors' engagement in an ecosystem: A study of publishers' e-book offerings on Amazon Kindle

Research Summary In ecosystems, tensions between value creation and appropriation can arise when complementors form relationships with a partner that benefits from network effects. While creating value collectively, these relationships strengthen the network effects, which increase the partner's ability to appropriate value. We posit that complementors strategize their product offerings to benefit from the relationship with the partner while preserving bargaining power by keeping relationships with other partners as outside options. We examine book publishers' product portfolios in the Amazon Kindle e‐book and the printed book ecosystems. Our results illuminate specific product offering decisions by large publishers that are more protective of the printed book ecosystem and less conducive to Kindle's success. This research adds to the literature on interorganizational relationships, platform ecosystems, and managing digital innovations. Managerial Summary How do book publishers deal with Amazon? This paper compares book publishers' product offerings on Amazon's Kindle digital platform and in the physical print channel. We find that publishers offer high demand products as e‐books on Kindle to benefit from logistics savings. Yet, relative to small publishers, large publishers product decisions that support Kindle less, such as withholding some of their greatest revenue generating books. Such decisions could both limit Kindle's attractiveness to the consumers and preserve the economic viability of the print channel as an outside option. These findings improve our understanding of how companies can leverage their product portfolios to both benefit from digital technology efficiencies and maintain their bargaining power vis‐a‐vis digital platforms.
MUC1-C activates the NuRD complex to drive dedifferentiation of triple-negative breast cancer cells

The NuRD chromatin remodeling and deacetylation complex, which includes MTA1, MBD3, CHD4, and HDAC1 among other components, is of importance for development and cancer progression. The oncogenic mucin 1 (MUC1) C-terminal subunit (MUC1-C) protein activates EZH2 and BMI1 in the epigenetic reprogramming of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, there is no known link between MUC1-C and chromatin remodeling complexes. Here, we showed that MUC1-C binds directly to the MYC HLH-LZ domain and identified a previously unrecognized MUC1-C→MYC pathway that regulates the NuRD complex. MUC1-C/MYC complexes selectively activated the MTA1 and MBD3 genes and posttranscriptionally induced CHD4 expression in basal- but not luminal-type BC cells. In turn, MUC1-C formed complexes with these NuRD components on the ESR1 promoter. Downregulating MUC1-C decreased MTA1/MBD3/CHD4/HDAC1 occupancy and increased H3K27 acetylation on the ESR1 promoter, with induction of ESR1 expression and downstream estrogen response pathways. Targeting MUC1-C and these NuRD components also induced expression of FOXA1, GATA3, and other markers associated with the luminal phenotype. These findings support a model in which MUC1-C activates the NuRD complex to drive dedifferentiation and reprogramming of TNBC cells. SIGNIFICANCE: MUC1-C directly interacts with MYC to activate the NuRD complex, mediating regulation of the estrogen receptor in triple-negative breast cancer cells.
Impact of HHV-6 in Recipients of Ex Vivo T-Cell Depleted Hematopoietic Cell Transplant

Introduction Recipients of ex-vivo T-cell depleted (TCD) (CD34+ selected) hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) are at increased risk for infections by double-stranded DNA viruses. TCD HCT recipients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center were routinely screened for HHV-6 by plasma PCR between 2012 and 2016. The objectives of our study were to 1) report the incidence of persistent HHV-6 viremia and disease 2) identify risk factors of persistent HHV-6 viremia; 3) examine the association between persistent HHV-6 viremia and overall survival (OS) at 1-year post-HCT. Methods Recipients with TCD HCT between 2012 and 2016 routinely screened for HHV-6 by plasma PCR were reviewed retrospectively. CD34+ selection was performed by the CliniMACS CD34 Reagent system (Miltenyi Biotec, Germany). HHV-6 viremia was defined as ≥1 HHV-6 viral load (VL) >limit of quantification. Persistent HHV-6 viremia was defined as ≥2 consecutive measurements of VL ≥500 copies/mL through day+100 post-HCT, death, relapse, and second transplant whichever occurred first. Cox proportional model was used to examine the risk factors of persistent HHV-6 viremia. One-year OS was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results Of 312 patients, 59% were male and median age was 55 years (range, 22-73). 67% had acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome and 18% had mismatched donors. 55% developed HHV-6 viremia. Eighty-three (27%) had persistent HHV-6 viremia with a median duration of 67 days (interquartile range [IQR], 56-75) (Figure 1). Mismatched donor (P=0.04) and recipient CMV seronegativity (R-) (P=0.04) were associated with persistent HHV-6 viremia. Of 83 patients with persistent HHV6 viremia, 23 (28%) had max VL ≥10,000 copies/mL and 7 (8%) developed HHV-6 disease (encephalitis 1, pneumonitis 4, and organizing pneumonia 2). Maximum VL with HHV-6 disease was a median VL 71,700 copies/mL (IQR, 8,211-123,500). Persistent HHV-6 viremia was associated with lower absolute lymphocyte counts (ALCs) up to 1-year post-HCT (figure 2) and lower 1-year OS (P=0.02) (figure 3). Conclusion 27% of TCD HCT recipients developed persistent HHV-6 viremia. Mismatched donor and CMV R- were associated with persistent HHV-6 viremia. Among patients with persistent HHV-6 viremia, 8% developed HHV-6 disease. Persistent HHV-6 viremia was associated with lower ALCs and OS at 1-year post-HCT.
Russian Twitter Accounts and the Partisan Polarization of Vaccine Discourse, 2015-2017.

Objectives. To understand how Twitter accounts operated by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) discussed vaccines to increase the credibility of their manufactured personas.Methods. We analy...
Advanced renal cell carcinoma and COVID-19 - a personal perspective.

The management pathways of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have considerably evolved in the past 5 years, presenting a particular challenge during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this Comment, we propose a management algorithm on the basis of the current evidence to safely manage patients with advanced RCC during this pandemic.
The Prototypes of Tobacco Users Scale (POTUS) for Cigarette Smoking and E-Cigarette Use: Development and Validation.

Endorsing prototypes of cigarette smokers predicts cigarette smoking, but less is known about prototypes of users of other tobacco products. Our study sought to establish the reliability and validity of a measure of prototypes of smokers and e-cigarette users. Participants were from a national survey of smokers and non-smokers (n = 1414), a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of adult smokers (n = 2149), and adolescent children of adults in the trial (n = 112). The Prototypes of Tobacco Users Scale (POTUS) has four positive adjectives (cool, sexy, smart, and healthy) and four negative adjectives (disgusting, unattractive, immature, and inconsiderate) describing cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users. Confirmatory factor analyses identified a two-factor solution. The POTUS demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability in all three samples (median α = 0.85) and good test–retest reliability among adults in the RCT (median r = 0.61, 1–4 weeks follow-up). In the RCT, smokers more often agreed with negative prototypes for smokers than for e-cigarette users (mean = 2.03 vs. 1.67, p < 0.05); negative prototypes at baseline were also associated with more forgoing of cigarettes and making a quit attempt at the end of the trial (Week 4 follow-up). The POTUS may be useful to public health researchers seeking to design interventions that reduce tobacco initiation or cessation through the manipulation of tobacco user prototypes.
Health Disparities in COVID-19: Addressing the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Immune System Dysfunction to Turn the Tide

It is evident that health disparities exist during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Underlying reasons for COVID-19 health disparities are multi-factorial. However, social determinants, including those regarding socioeconomic status, social inequalities, health behaviors, and stress, could have implications on these disparities. Exposure to one or more of these social determinants is associated with heightened inflammatory responses, particularly increases in the cytokine interleukin-6, as well as immune system dysfunction. Thus, an amplified effect during SARS-CoV-2 infection could occur, potentially resulting in vulnerable patients experiencing an intensified cytokine storm due to a hyperactive and dysfunctional immune response. Further understanding how social determinants play a mechanistic role in COVID-19 disparities could potentially help reduce health disparities overall and in future pandemics.
Evolving Near Optimal Kiting Behavior with an Anchor Point Parameterization

In this paper, an evolutionary algorithm (EA) is used in conjunction with an Anchor Point parameterization to obtain near optimal kiting behavior for an Attacker in a 1v1 real-time combat scenario. In this scenario, an Attacker attempts to use its limited weapon energy to inflict as much damage as possible onto a fortified Defender while incurring as little damage as possible in return. An Anchor Point feedback controller parameterization allows the EA to represent the control boundaries more accurately and efficiently than our previously used grid based method. The evolved solution is compared with the analytically optimal solution to verify the EA’s effectiveness and accuracy. The framework presented in this paper can be used to evolve a feedback controller for any unit in the 1v1 real-time combat scenario if its damage profile can be modeled as a function of distance.
Research on Parental Burnout across Cultures: Steps toward Global Understanding.

In this commentary we first examine psychometric issues in the ambitious enterprise of cross-cultural application of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). The present reports span a wide range of cultural places. Overall, the PBA presents good face validity and a strong replication of factor structure; future multi-group confirmatory factor analysis will enable quantitative comparisons not currently possible. Content validity is not fully addressed in these reports, so nuanced differences in the nature of parental burnout remain an interesting possibility. Variation the PBA's correlations with other measures, such as education and household type, suggests cultural mediation in the causes and dynamics of parental burnout. In the second part of our commentary, we address more directly whether parental burnout is influenced by the sociocultural context in which it is manifest. We propose that future research will benefit from more precise description of the particular cultural community involved, including the settings, customs, and ethnotheories of parenting. Gaining a global understanding of parental burnout, in other words, rests on building firmer and more differentiated pictures at the local level. The papers in this volume nevertheless present an important step forward in what promises to be an exciting journey of discovery.
Exploring Clinical Use of Apparel Design Activities: Enhancing Spatial Ability Through Virtual Apparel Pattern-making

Pattern-making activities have great potential to act as an effective means to enhance spatial abilities of individuals. This is because the ability to visualize a garment (e.g., how it will fit and move on a 3D body) is a vital step of the apparel construction. In addition, the use of virtual technology has recently gained traction as an attractive tool in enhancing cognitive skills of patients – such as Alzheimer Disease’s patients. Therefore, virtual pattern-making activities can stimulate the minds of individuals with spatial ability impairment in the direction to enhance that ability. However, no prior study has utilized the apparel design concepts as a clinical method for individuals with spatial ability impairment. Therefore, this study will expand the dimension of apparel design discipline to the clinical area and provide innovative insights to the apparel, clinical, and psychological fields.
Gestational Stress and Resilience: Perspectives to Guide Interdisciplinary Research

Decades of resilience research has focused on uncovering protective factors that support resilience from infancy into early adulthood. However, very little research has focused on resilience during the fetal period and the pregnancy phase in the female lifespan. This chapter aims to integrate developmental psychopathology and resilience science with fetal and maternal programming perspectives in an effort to create a roadmap for future gestational resilience research. We conceptualize maternal and fetal resilience as good or better-than-expected functioning or outcomes in the face of stress. In operationalizing maternal and fetal resilience, we draw from existing resilience research while simultaneously attending to unique aspects of the gestational period, particularly that three systems are developing in concert: fetus, placenta, and mother. We review extant research on gestational stress, resilience, and promotive and protective factors, as well as propose additional possibilities for investigation into these domains. We discuss methodological considerations for gestational resilience research and implications for prevention and intervention. We conclude that just as fetal and maternal programming research stands to benefit from developmental psychopathology and resilience science, these disciplines can be advanced by extending their scope “backwards” into the fetal period and “forwards” into the pregnancy phase of the female lifespan.
Historical and Technical Overview of Electromagnetic Surface Waves; Introduction to Lateral Waves

When an oscillating infinitesimal electric dipole with unit electric moment Ih = 1 ampere meter is located in air far from all material media, it generates an electromagnetic field in the form of outward-traveling spherical waves. At sufficiently large electrical distances from the source [kr ≫ 1, where k = ω(μ0e0)1/2 the wave number], its component electric and magnetic fields in the spherical coordinates r, Θ, Φ are $$ {E_{\Theta }}(r,t) = - c{B_{\Theta }}(r,t) = - \frac{{\omega {\mu_0}}}{{4\pi r}}\,\sin \,\Theta \,\sin (\omega t - kr) $$ (1.1.1) where Θ is measured from the positive z-axis and c = ω/k is the velocity of light. In (1.1.1), the argument of the sine function is, in general, ωt - kr + constant; the origin of the time variable t has been chosen such that this constant is absorbed in ωt. The EΘ and BΦ components are mutually perpendicular and both are perpendicular to the radial direction of propagation which is also the direction of the Poynting vector S(r, t) = 1 E(r, t) × B(r, t). The expanding spherical surfaces of constant phase axe defined by $$ \omega t - kr = \omega \left( {t - \frac{r}{c}} \right) = {\text{constant}} $$ (1.1.2) Each surface travels radially outward with the velocity $$ \frac{{dr}}{{dt}} = \frac{\omega }{k} = c $$ (1.1.3) The distance between adjacent spherical surfaces of the same phase at any given istant is $$ {r_2} - {r_1} = \frac{{2\pi }}{k} = \lambda $$ (1.1.4) Where λ is the wevelength.
Site-Specific Recombinational Cloning Using Gateway and In-Fusion Cloning Schemes

The comprehensive study of protein structure and function, or proteomics, depends on the obtainability of full-length cDNAs in species-specific expression vectors and subsequent functional analysis of the expressed protein. Recombinational cloning is a universal cloning technique based on site-specific recombination that is independent of the insert DNA sequence of interest, which differentiates it from classical restriction enzyme-based cloning methods. Recombinational cloning enables rapid and efficient parallel transfer of DNA inserts into multiple expression systems. This unit summarizes strategies for generating expression-ready clones using the most popular commercial recombinational cloning technologies, Gateway (Life Technologies) and In-Fusion (Clontech).
HIGH-sensitive magnetoresistive sensors with integrated micro-fabricated and external magnetic flux concentrators

The sensitivity of the magnetoresistive sensors based on magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are to reduce sources of noise, to increase the signal, and to understand the fundamental limitations involved. Relevant properties, such as tunneling magnetoresistance ratio (TMR), coercivity (H c ), exchange coupling field (H e ), domain structures, and noise sensitively depend on the free layer structure in the MTJ [1-9]. There are also external factors that affect the performance of the sensor, such as the design of magnetic concentrators [10]. We have studied the using of micro-magnetic concentrators and external magnetic concentrators to improve the sensitivity of the magnetoresistive sensor. By optimizing the TMR ratio, H c , H e , domain structures, noise and magnetic concentrators, we fabricate a sensor with a sensitivity as high as 5,146 %/mT. This magnetic sensor only dissipates 200 μW of power while operating under an applied voltage of 1 V.
Does Mutual Fund Advertising Practice Conform to Financial Theories of the Information Needed for Investment Decisions

The accounting and mutual fund scandals of the last few years have led to increased scrutiny over the information provided by financial services to investors. These scandals have cast doubt on the supposedly honest and impartial reporting of facts by the financial industry. This paper looks at the information available in the marketing of a particular financial product - mutual funds. This paper examines whether or not the information in mutual fund advertisements aimed at consumers conforms to theories regarding the information required for investment decisions from the discipline of finance. Findings indicate that mutual funds advertise to increase perceptions of quality, successfulness, and honesty often without providing the information that consumers need to make optimal investment decisions.
Migraine and Cluster Headaches

Migraine headache is a disorder characterized by episodic pain preceded in some cases by a prodrome and aura. The disorder has a vascular component, an inflammatory component and a component of amplification of sensory input in the brain, intensifying the pain. The pain is sometimes relieved by conventional analgesics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, more often, the condition is treated with drugs that are, in some cases, more selective for this disorder. These agents generally interact with serotonergic or dopaminergic transmission, as well as other important mediators.
Towards a Progressive Politics and a Progressive Constitution

commitment to equality, understood as treating similarly those similarly situated, has done little to eliminate real social inequalities, since those who are unequal tend not to be similarly situated (the rich and the poor, the abled and the disabled, women who are caretakers as well as workers and men who are primarily workers-individuals in these groups tend not to be similarly situated). On the other hand, a commitment to help those in need can translate into an obligation of those who are best off to help those in far-different circumstances because of "shared fellow feeling." To the extent such empathy actually exists, there will be a commitment to doing something despite, indeed because of, differences. There is another way in which care and equality are linked. Traditionally, women have been-and women continue to becaretakers of dependents, the young, the old, and others unable to care for themselves. Women have done this work for no pay, in their own families, or for low pay, when caring for dependents in other women's families. Many women, particularly poor women and women of color, do both: care for dependents in their own families without pay and for dependents in other women's families for low pay. Workers with significant caretaking responsibilities are at a disadvantage in the wage-labor market, in politics, sports, and other "public" areas of human endeavor. One of the points West makes in her book, and a point made by an increasing number of feminists writing about equality today, is that until we place greater value on caretaking and provide support for caretakers of dependents, women will continue to be unequal." 8 Eva Kittay emphasizes the link between acknowledging dependency and valuing caregiving, on the one hand, and equality for
Detectability of planetesimal impacts on giant exoplanets

The detectability of planetesimal impacts on imaged exoplanets can be measured using Jupiter during the 1994 comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 events as a proxy. By integrating the whole planet flux with and without impact spots, the effect of the impacts at wavelengths from 2 to 4 μμm is revealed. Jupiter’s reflected light spectrum in the near-infrared is dominated by its methane opacity including a deep band at 2.3 μμm. After the impact, sunlight that would have normally been absorbed by the large amount of methane in Jupiter’s atmosphere was instead reflected by the cometary material from the impacts. As a result, at 2.3 μμm, where the planet would normally have low reflectivity, it brightened substantially and stayed brighter for at least a month.
Intracellular pH response to hypercapnia in neurons from chemosensitive areas of the medulla

We investigated whether neurons in two chemosensitive areas of the medulla oblongata [nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and ventrolateral medulla (VLM)] respond to hypercapnia differently than ne...
5. Vaccine development: basic considerations: Asexual blood stage vaccines: from merozoites to peptides

Asexual blood stage proliferation is responsible for the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria infection in man. These developmental stages are therefore obvious targets for the development of malaria vaccines. Several asexual blood stage components have been identified as potential candidates for the development of vaccines and some of them have been shown, following immunization, to induce at least partial protection in a variety of Plasmodium-host combinations. Studies on defined parasite components and on synthetic peptides derived from them have revealed new insights at the molecular level into parasite mechanisms involved in propagation and survival in the infected host, and into the interaction between parasite components and the host immune system. Practical application of these findings is likely to provide the basis for the design of more appropriate antigens for the development of vaccines.
The Arithmetic of Justice: Calculating Restitution for Mortgage Fraud

The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act requires restitution for federal crimes involving property. In particular, the defendant is required to return any property taken, or, if return is impossible, to pay for the victim’s loss, which may be offset by a partial return of the property. In mortgage fraud cases, this usually entails calculating the lender’s loss — an unpaid loan — and offsetting that loss by the value of the collateral for the loan, which the lender recovers. The circuits disagree about how to value the recovered collateral as an offset to restitution: Should its value be determined by its appraised fair market value or, conversely, by its final foreclosure price when the victim-lender sells it? This Note concludes that courts should presumptively use the foreclosure price, except when that price can be shown not to approximate the value at the date of return.
Habermas' Discourse Theory of Law: Bridging Anglo-American and Continental Legal Traditions?

The English-speaking intellectual world has eagerly awaited the translation of Jiirgen Habermas' magnum opus on legal and state theory, Faktizitdit und Geltung, since its German publication in 1992.1 The impressive way in which Habermas absorbs Anglo-American constitutional theory into his primarily European theoretical framework has been commented upon repeatedly in the early review literature on the translation. In what follows, I trace out several of the successes of Habermas' attempt to bring together Anglo-American considerations on law with more continental traditions: (A) focusing specifically on his notion of communicative constitutional democracy; (B) defending it against certain crude interpretations of the theory; (C) explicating his discourse theory of legal interpretation; and, finally, (D) assessing the extent of Habermas' success in appropriating Anglo-American legal traditions. Despite the many legal-theoretical advances offered by Habermas' endeavour, there are, I conclude, German ghosts that haunt Habermas' project that keep him from taking full advantage of the possibilities afforded by Anglo-American sources. (A) Habermas' mammoth tome purports to mediate the opposition between empirical facticity [Faktizitdit] and abstract validity [Geltung] expressed in its title. Habermas discusses contemporary expressions of each of these aspects of legal studies from both sides of the Atlantic, as well as from the past and the present in Germany. It is not terribly difficult to detect that hiding behind the normdismissing, factually-fixated systems theory of Niklas Luhmann frequently criticised in the work looms the spectre of Weimar antiliberal jurist extraordinaire, and eventual National Socialist, Carl Schmitt. Likewise, behind what Habermas identifies as the contemporary representation of an empirically blind normativity, John Rawls, stands Hans Kelsen. According to Habermas, the former, 'sociological theories of law,' convey a 'false realism that underestimates the empirical impact of the normative presuppositions of existing legal practice'; while the latter, 'philosophical theories of justice,' are problematically formulated 'in vacuo' socially, that is, to a great extent oblivious to social reality and the politically marginalising effects of purely abstract categories.2 Habermas can be understood to propose a solution to the insufficiencies of either
Synchronized Spontaneous Calcium Release Events Throughout The Intact Heart

Intracellular calcium (Ca) dysregulation associated with cardiac disease (e.g. heart failure) has been linked to mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmias. Such arrhythmias can arise at the sub-cellular level from delayed afterdepolarizations that are due to spontaneous calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The mechanisms that govern an aggregate of sub-cellular spontaneous calcium release events at the tissue level (i.e. an SCR) are not well understood. We hypothesize that in tissue, an SCR can be significantly influenced by ryanodine receptor (RyR) function. Methods: High resolution optical mapping of Ca (Indo-1AM) from the anterior surface of the Langendorff perfused guinea pig heart (n=4) was performed in hearts under high Ca conditions ([Ca2+]e=5.5mM), with and without caffeine (CAFF, 1mM) to enhance RyR open probability. Endocardial cryoablation was performed to eliminate Purkinje fibers and cytochalasin-D (7μM) was administered to remove motion artifact. Fifteen seconds of rapid pacing (400-160 ms cycle length) followed by a pause was used to induce SCR activity. Results: In all preparations, synchronized SCR activity was observed across the entire anterior surface of the heart with and without CAFF. SCR activity increased in magnitude and occurred earlier with decreasing pacing cycle length. With CAFF, the amplitude of SCR activity increased (+10.9%, p < 0.05) and occurred earlier (+15.6%, p < 0.05). CAFF also decreased the spatial heterogeneity of SCR onset across the mapping field (-37.4%, p < 0.05), suggesting that increased RyR open probability enhances the synchronization of SCR activity. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that sub-cellular spontaneous calcium release events (an SCR in tissue) occur over a broad region of the intact heart and are enhanced when RyR open probability is increased. SCR activity may be an important mechanism of arrhythmogenesis in heart disease associated with calcium dysregulation.
Internal Organization and Economic Performance: The Case of Large US Commercial Banks

This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the impact of bank internal organization structure characteristics on costs and productive efficiency. The specific internal organization characteristics examined include centralized versus decentralized 1) decision‐making, 2) service delivery systems, and 3) back‐office operations, e.g. accounting, computing, and advertising, among others. The analysis is conducted using average data drawn from a sample of 118 large US commercial banks for the years 1989 and 1990. The analysis reveals that centralized decision‐making tends to increase costs. Likewise, centralized service delivery systems either increase or have an insignificant impact on costs. In no case was it found that centralized service delivery systems reduce costs as is often envisioned by proponents of centralization. Centralized back‐office operations were found to reduce costs significantly and is consistent with the existence of scale economies in bank back‐office operations.
Causal inferences as perceptual judgments

We analyze how subjects make causal judgements based on contingency information in two paradigms. In the discrete paradigm, subjects are given specific information about the frequency a, with which a purported cause occurs with the effect; the frequency b, with which it occurs without the effect; the frequency c, with which the effect occurs when the cause is absent; and the frequency d, with which both cause and effect are absent. Subjects respond to P1 = a/(a + b) and P2 = c/(c + d). Some subjects' ratings are just a function of P1 while others are a function of delta P = P1-P2. Subjects' post-experiment reports are accurate reflections of which model they use. Combining these two types of subjects results in data well fit by the weighted delta P model (Allan, 1993). In the continuous paradigm, subjects control the purported causes (by clicking a mouse) and observe whether an effect occurs. Because cause and effects occur continuously in time, it is not possible to explicitly pair causes and effects. Rather, subjects report that they are responding to the rate at which the effects occur when they click versus when they do not click. Their ratings are a function of rates and not probabilities. In general, we argue that subjects' causal ratings are judgments of the magnitude of perceptually salient variables in the experiment.
Similarity transformed equation of motion coupled-cluster study of excited states of selected azabenzenes

Abstract The recently developed similarity transformed equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method (STEOM-CC) is applied to calculate the vertical excitation spectra and various 0-0 transitions of selected azabenzenes. The primary purpose of these studies is to gain further experience with the STEOM-CCSD approach, and to gauge its accuracy. It is shown that the accuracy of the method exceeds the accuracy of EOM-CCSD, and that results for valence excited states are often close to EOM-CCSD( T ). A number of low lying 0-0 transitions are determined in pyridine and the diazines. The geometries and vibrational frequencies of excited states are determined at the CI singles level, while final electronic energies are calculated through single point STEOM-CCSD. The manifold of excited states, ionized and electron attached states are analyzed as the geometries are distorted from the ground state equilibrium structures.
Annual biomass and production of epiphytes in three monospecific seagrass communities of Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenb.) Aschers

Abstract The biomass of epiphytes and seagrasses has been measured in relation to leaf age in three monospecific seagrass stands of Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenb.) Aschers. in Papua New Guinea. From June 1981 through August 1982, biomass values for epiphytes at the three sites ranged from 5 to 70 g ADW m−2 sediment surface at site 1, from 5 to 14 g ADW m−2 at site 2, and from 3.5 to 7.0 g ADW m−2 at the site 3. Annual mean epiphyte biomass values for the different sites were 1.3 g ADW m−2 leaf surface at site 1, 1.7 g ADW m−2 leaf surface at site 2, and 1.5 g ADW m−2 leaf surface at site 3. The annual mean standing crop of T. hemprichii leaves was highest at site 1 (103 g ADW m−2. Values for site 2 and site 3 were 60 g ADW m−2 and 41 g ADW m−2, respectively. Production of epiphytes was calculated in three different ways: firstly, by using biomass values for each specific leaf-age group, with corrections for colonization; secondly, by fitting the biomass values with a specific growth curve; and thirdly, by estimated the rate of biomass accumulation. On an area basis, production of epiphytes on leaves of T. hemprichii ranged from 0.55 to 3.97 g ADW m−2 day−1 at site 1, from 0.17 to 0.73 g ADW m−2 day−1 at site 2, and from 0.24 to 0.68 g ADW m−2 day−1 at site 3.
Lesbians Surviving Culture Relational-Cultural Theory Applied to Lesbian Connection

Because mainstream society privileges and assumes heterosexuality, nonheterosexual persons experience isolation and disconnection, especially lesbian women who may also in turn strategize a correct...
Clonidine prevents enhancement of spinal sympathetic transmission by phosphodiesterase inhibitors

Abstract Preganglionic sympathetic discharges, evoked by cervical stimulation in spinal cats, were rapidly and markedly enhanced for 1–2 h by aminophylline or isobutylmethylxanthine. Clonidine depressed intraspinal transmission and prevented enhancement by the xanthines; α 2 -receptor antagonists blocked the effect of clonidine and not only restored but also markedly prolonged the enhancement by the xanthines. The results suggest that the excitability of sympathetic preganglionic neurons is regulated by cyclic AMP through activation of different subtypes of adrenergic receptors that are either positively or negatively coupled to adenylate cyclase.
Cost reduction using ultrasound in blunt abdominal trauma

Ultrasound (US) provides a rapid, portable, and noninvasive method for evaluating the blunt trauma patient. In 1993, US was introduced into the workup of blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) at our institution and has rapidly become the modality of choice over computed tomography (CT) and diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL). In this study, the cost effectiveness of utilizing US in BAT was evaluated. We compared the number of DPLs and CTs performed during the 6-month period in 1993 preceding the incorporation of US with the number of CTs, DPLs, and USs performed during the last 6 months of 1994. Costs were determined by the finance department based on actual expenditures by the hospital, excluding physician fees, in 1994 U.S. dollars. Six hundred twenty-six patients were evaluated for BAT during the 6-month period in 1993. In this group, 450 patients had CT examinations, 160 had DPL, and 16 had both. This resulted in a cost of $254,316. During the last 6 months in 1994,564 patients were evaluated for BAT, including 470 USs, 175 CTs, and 11 DPLs. The cost for this group was $133,077, with a decrease in hospital expenditure of $170 per patient. We conclude that utilizing US in the evaluation of BAt leads to a significant cost reduction. Extrapolated over 1 year, with 1100 blunt abdominal trauma patients, the cost savings would be over $187,000.
Impact of low-dose B-type natriuretic peptide infusion on urine output after total artificial heart implantation

The total artificial heart (TAH) orthotopically replaces a recipient’s native ventricles and all four cardiac valves, interrupting neural and hormonal signaling pathways that are dependent upon the intact ventricular myocardium. Btype natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a cardiac neurohormone primarily secreted from ventricular cardiomyocytes in response to cardiac stretch. In healthy individuals, BNP decreases vascular tone, increases renal blood flow, promotes natriuresis and suppresses the renin–aldosterone axis. The influence of nesiritide (exogenous BNP) on renal function after ventriculectomy and removal of endogenous of BNP is poorly understood and we and others have observed that renal function declines after placement of the total artificial heart. We hypothesized that infusion of exogenous BNP after ventriculectomy would improve renal function as marked by an increase in urine output. We screened 8 consecutive patients who received the TAH (December 2010 to May 2011) with the intention of bridge to heart transplantation. To remove the confounding influence of calcineurin inhibitor exposure on renal function, 3 patients who had devices implanted for retransplantation were not included in the study. All patients met criteria for infusion of nesiritide ( 50% decrease in the estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] or urine output 30 ml/h) based on their evolved oliguria pattern
Oxidized Flavor in Milk. VIII. The Effect of the Degree of Saturation of Fat in the Ration of the Cow upon the Iodine Number of the Butter Fat and the Susceptibility of the Milk to Metal-Induced Oxidized Flavor

Summary 1. The feeding of 1 pound per day of cocoanut oil in the daily ration of a dairy cow decreased slightly the iodine number of the resulting butter fat and reduced slightly the intensity of the oxidized flavor developed by copper. 2. The feeding of 1 pound per day of either expeller, crude, or refined soybean oil in the daily ration of a dairy cow increased greatly the iodine number of the resulting butter fat and increased the susceptibility of the milk to metal-induced oxidized flavor. 3. The difference in the lecithin content of the different types of soybean oils produced no noticeable change on the development of oxidized flavor. 4. The feeding of 1 pound per day of hydrogenated soybean oil in the daily ration of the dairy cow increased slightly the iodine number of the resulting butter fat. This is believed to be due to the desaturation of this fat by the cow. 5. In rations low in fat the change in iodine number of the butter fat does not appear to be correlated with the intensity of oxidized flavor developed. Apparently other factors are of more importance. 6. In these experiments the range in iodine number of butter fat has been from 23 as an average for the cocoanut oil supplement to 48 for refined and expeller soybean oil. 7. Under the conditions of these experiments, approximately three weeks were required before the iodine number of the butter fat had reached the period of maximum change.
Antiangiogenic agents can increase tumor oxygenation and response to radiation therapy

The Lewis lung carcinoma growing subcutaneously in the hind leg of male C57BL mice is very hypoxic, having 92% of the pO2 measurements ≤ 5 mmHg as determined with a polarographic oxygen electrode. Administration of a perflubron emulsion (8 ml/kg) along with carbogen breathing increased the tumor oxygen level so that 82% of the pO2 readings were ≤ 5 mmHg. Treating tumor-bearing animals with TNP-470 (30 mg/kg, s.c.) on alternate days and minocycline (10 mg/kg, i.p.) daily beginning on day 4 after tumor cell implantation resulted in decreased hypoxia in the tumors on day 9 when pO2 measurements were made. The percent of pO2 readings ≤ 5 mmHg in the tumors of the TNP-470/ minocycline-treated animals was 75%, which upon administration of the perflubron emulsion along with carbogen breathing was reduced to 45%. Therapeutically daily fractionated radiation (2, 3, or 4 Gy ≤ 5) was used as an oxygen-dependent cytotoxic modality. The radiation response of the rumors in TNP-470/minocycline-treated animals was greater than that in the untreated tumors. The addition of carbogen breathing for 1 hr prior to and during radiation delivery further increased the radiation response so that overall there was a 2.2-fold increase in the tumor growth delay produced by the fractionated radiation in the animals treated with TNP-470/minocycline compared with untreated animals. Administration of the perflubron emulsion along with carbogen breathing prior to and during radiation delivery resulted in a 3.4-fold increase in tumor growth delay by the fractionated radiation regimens in the TNP-470/minocycline-treated animals compared with the tumor growth delay obtained with radiation alone. There was a linear relationship between decrease in the percent of pO2 readings ≤ 5 mmHg and tumor growth delay at each radiation dose indicating that the diminution in tumor hypoxia produced by these treatments may be directly responsible for the increase in the effectiveness of the radiation therapy. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
On ${\bi d}$ -Diagonal Colorings of Embedded Graphs of Low Maximum Face Size

The problems of cyclic colorings (due to Ore and Plummer) and diagonal colorings (due to Bouchet, Fouquet, Jolivet, and Riviere) were simultaneously generalized by Hornak and Jendrol into d-diagonal colorings. A coloring of a graph embedded on a surface is d-diagonal if any pair of vertices which are in the same face after the deletion of at most d edges of the graph are colored differently. A cyclic coloring is a 0-diagonal coloring, and a diagonal coloring is a 1-diagonal coloring. These types of problems have proved hard for graphs of low maximum face size. Equivalent problems are the Four Color Theorem, Ringel's 1-embeddable problem, and the Nine Color Conjecture. Previously, general results for d-diagonal colorings have only been established for maximum face size at least eight, and for graphs all of whose faces are the same size. This paper establishes the first results on d-diagonal colorings for graphs whose maximum face size is between four and seven, and improves the known upper bounds for maximum face size between eight and ten. The proofs use five instances of the Discharging Method.
Do CTL kill target cells by inducing apoptosis

Inhibitors of ICE-family proteases (caspases) block many examples of apoptotic cell deathin vivoandin vitro, including multiple apoptotic stimuli for T lymphocytes. We have tested whether cell death induced by cytotoxic T lymphocytes was also blocked by caspase inhibitors. We found that the rapid apoptotic target cell death induced by Fas ligand-bearing CTL using the target Fas death pathway was efficiently blocked by caspase inhibitors. In contrast, target lysis induced by the CTL granule exocytosis pathway is not detectably blocked by such inhibitors, although the accompanying apoptotic nuclear damage is efficiently blocked. Thus caspase inhibitors prevent the hallmark phenotype of apoptosis without measurably affecting target cell death as evidenced by lysis.
Modulation of an NCAM-related adhesion molecule with long-term synaptic plasticity in Aplysia

A form of learning in the marine mollusk Aplysia, long-term sensitization of the gill- and siphon-withdrawal reflex, results in the formation of new synaptic connections between the presynaptic siphon sensory neurons and their target cells. These structural changes can be mimicked, when the cells are maintained in culture, by application of serotonin, an endogenous facilitating neurotransmitter in Aplysia. A group of cell surface proteins, designated Aplysia cell adhesion molecules (apCAM's) was down-regulated in the sensory neurons in response to serotonin. The deduced amino acid sequence obtained from complementary DNA clones indicated that the apCAM's are a family of proteins that seem to arise from a single gene. The apCAM's are members of the immunoglobulin class of cell adhesion molecules and resemble two neural cell adhesion molecules, NCAM and fasciclin II. In addition to regulating newly synthesized apCAM, serotonin also altered the amount of preexisting apCAM on the cell surface of the presynaptic sensory neurons. By contrast, the apCAM on the surface of the postsynaptic motor neuron was not modulated by serotonin. This rapid, transmitter-mediated down-regulation of a cell adhesion molecule in the sensory neurons may be one of the early molecular changes in long-term synaptic facilitation.
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia An Jatrogenic Catastrophe

Serious limband life-threatening thromboembolic complications may result from immune-mediated, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) type II. The authors describe three such cases associated with devastating outcomes. The clinical diagnosis of HIT II was based on (1) falling platelet count on heparin (< 150,000/mm3), (2) thromboembolic events on heparin, and (3) absence of new thrombotic events after heparin discontinuation. These distinct case presentations are discussed to broaden clinical awareness of HIT II. A high index of suspicion is warranted to prevent this catastrophic complication.