cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sediment transport in a microtidal estuary: Matanzas River, Florida (U.S.A.)

Abstract Tidal channels and shoals at the mouth of the Matanzas River are the site of considerable sediment transport. Rates and patterns of transport were determined using fluorescent dyed sediment tracers which were introduced on three intertidal locations. Temporal sampling after introduction was at the surface and by coring. Transport rates and patterns were examined for both quartz and shell hash fragments in the distinctly bimodal sediment. Wave activity and time-velocity asymmetry of currents produced a net landward sediment transport over the channel-margin bar and flood delta. The combination of time-velocity asymmetry and deflection of currents by the ebb shield causes landward transport over the flood delta. Ebb transport of sediment dominates in the south flood channel. Minimum sediment transport rates vary with morphology, currents, and grain-size parameters, but these rates average 15–20 m over one tidal cycle. Wave activity enhances transport of shell hash. Vertical variation in tracer concentration consistently decreases with depth. Depth of disturbance values are typically 10–15 cm on the channel margin bar, but are variable elsewhere, being controlled by type and height of bedforms.
Helical CT image noise—analytical results

Helical CT is an important recent development in x-ray CT. In helical CT, planar projection sets are synthesized from raw projection data via interpolation. Among various interpolation schemes, linear interpolation is usually preferred due to its efficiency and performance. In this paper, image noise variance is derived for typical helical CT linear interpolation techniques, including the full scan (FS), under-scan (US), full scan with interpolation (FI), half-scan (HS), half-scan with interpolation (HI) and half-scan with extrapolation (HE) methods. Image noise deviation ratios of helical CT to conventional 360 degrees reconstruction (CR) are tabulated. These are consistent with previously reported simulation results. The theoretical results provide further understanding of helical CT noise performance. It is shown that helical CT image noise deviation is independent of transaxial position, proportional to the raw projection noise deviation, and not affected by the fan angle (approximately for the HE method). Also, helical CT image noise variance is proportional to the area under the square of the reconstruction filter.
Choreographing Space, Time, and Dikovinki in the Films of Evgenii Bauer

E/vgenii Frantsevich Bauer (1865-1917), the "decadent" of Russian prerevolutionary cinema, directed over seventy-five films in the four short years of his cinematic career, beginning with his directorial debut, Twilight of a Woman s Soul (Sumerki zhenskoi dushi, 1913), and ending with his final film, The King of Paris (KoroT Parizha, 1917).1 Bauer was not only one of the most popular filmmakers of the prerevolutionary period (attested both by high ticket sales and the abundance of articles and advertisements devoted to him in film journals from the 1910s), but his innovative use of texture, sweeping tracking shots, and unconventional lighting techniques departed radically from the work of other well known directors of the time, such as Kai Hansen, Petr Chardynin, Vasilii Goncharov, and Iakov Protazanov.2 Since the rediscovery of Bauer's oeuvre in Soviet archives in the late 1980s and the screening of his work at the 1989 Pordenone Silent Film Festival (Italy), Bauer has been the focus of a number of laudatory articles and monographs in a variety of disciplines.3 This body of work has solidified his position in Russia and the West as a prominent auteur, if not the figurehead, of early Russian cinema. In contemporary journals from the period in which he worked, however, Bauer aesthetics at times received as much criticism as they did praise: in particular, Bauer was accused repeatedly of loving his dikovinki?the props that take on a particular narrative significance in his mise-en-scene?
POPULATION GENETICS, PLEIOTROPY, AND THE PREFERENTIAL FIXATION OF MUTATIONS DURING ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION

Ongoing debate centers on whether certain types of mutations are fixed preferentially during adaptive evolution. Although there has been much discussion, no quantitative framework currently exists to test for these biases. Here, we describe a method for distinguishing between the two processes that likely account for biased rates of substitution: variation in mutation rates and variation in the probability that a mutation becomes fixed once it arises. We then use this approach to examine the type and magnitude of these biases during evolutionary transitions across multiple scales: those involving repeated origins of individual traits (flower color change), and transitions involving broad suites of traits (morphological and physiological trait evolution in plants and animals). We show that fixation biases can be strong at both levels of comparison, likely due to differences in the magnitude of deleterious pleiotropy associated with alternative mutation categories. However, we also show that the scale at which these comparisons are made greatly influences the results, as broad comparisons that simultaneously analyze multiple traits obscure heterogeneity in the direction and magnitude of these biases. We conclude that preferential fixation of mutations likely is common in nature, but should be studied on a trait-by-trait basis.
Influence of embryo quality and number of previous cycles on pregnancy and multiple pregnancy rates in women aged 35 to 37 years who received two or three embryos

Women aged 35–37 years undergoing IVF-ET with fresh embryos at a university infertility center were analyzed to evaluate factors useful in determining whether two or three embryos should be transferred in this age group. Embryo quality and number, but not number of previous failed cycles, were important in determining outcome, and all triplet pregnancies could have been avoided at our program in this age group by limiting the transfer to two good-quality embryos, without reducing pregnancy rates.
Placental chorioangioma. Presentation of a case with electron-microscopic and immunochemical studies

A case of placental chorioangioma in an infant who experienced transient congestive heart failure is presented. The mechanism for this heart failure was probably due to excessive left to right shunting of blood across the tumor. Electron-microscopic examination revealed the tumor to be composed of endothelial cells and vascular structures of different types. Immunochemistry revealed the lack of normal placental antigens indicating that these tumors are not composed of trophoblastic tissue.
Urinary metallothionein and tissue metal levels of rats injected with cadium, mercury, lead, copper or zinc☆

Since Cd exposure results in a dose dependent increase in metallothionein level i urine, the present investigation was conducted to examine whether exposure to other divalent cations would also cause an elevation in urinary metallothionein. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were injected subcutaneously with either saline 5 μmol/kg/day of CdCl2, HgCl2, Pb(C2H3O2)2, CuSO4 or ZnCl2 for 5 days. Significant increase in hepatic Cu levels in rats treated with not only Cu, but also Zn, Cd or Hd, and in hepatic Zn levels in rats treated with Zn or Cd were noted. Similarly, renal Cu and Zn levels were elevated significantly in all groups except the Pb-injected group. These increases in tissue metal levels were presumably due to induction of metallothionein. The urinary metallothionein level in control rats on day 0, determined by radioimmunoassay, was 0.85 ± 0.17 mg/g creatinine. There was no significant change in urinary metallothionein level in rats given up to 5 injections of saline of Pb. Hg-injected rats showed 25-fold increase in urinary metallothionein after 5 injections, whereas C-injected rats had 9-fold increase. There were also 2- and 3-fold increases of urinary metallothionein by cu and Zn treatments for 5 days, respectively. Thus, urinary metallothionein levels were elevated in response to Cd, Hg, Cu, and Zn but not Pb; Hg had most profound effect at equimolar doses.
Mapping, Measurement and Alignment of Strategy using the Balanced Scorecard: The Tata Steel Case

This management accounting case provides insights into the emergence of global firms from emerging economies that have effectively adapted modern management accounting tools in strategy implementation. It is based on real-life situations and was developed using information from interviews and access to the firm's internal processes, journal articles, and other publicly available information. It is suitable for use in second level courses in management accounting or on MBA programs. It provides insight into the use of the balanced scorecard, in particular the strategy map and measurement.
Stress dependence of water diffusion in epoxy resin

The effect of stress on the diffusion of water in glassy polymers is analytically treated. Utilizing the free volume concept the effect of stress on the free volume fraction is established and in turn is related to the diffusion coefficient yielding the following formula: Dσ = Doe(6 to 10)σ/G where Dσ and Do are the diffusion coefficients in the presence and absence of stress respectively, G is the shear modulus, and σ is the stress. Experiments are described which demonstrate that in a bent epoxy bar, more water is picked up at the tension side than at the compression side. Theory and experiment are discussed and compared.
Coordinatewise star-shaped sets in c0

Abstract In 1981, R. Haydon, E. Odell, and Y. Sternfeld [R. Haydon, E. Odell, Y. Sternfeld, A fixed point theorem for a class of star-shaped sets in c 0 , Israel J. Math. 38 (1–2) (1981) 75–81] proved that weakly compact, coordinatewise star-shaped sets in c 0 have the fixed point property for nonexpansive mappings. In this article, it is shown that, for closed, bounded, coordinatewise star-shaped sets, the fixed point property is equivalent to weak compactness.
Pulmonary responses to amiodarone in hamsters: comparison of intratracheal and oral administrations.

Amiodarone (AD) has been shown to produce a transient pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters after intratracheal (i.t.) instillation. The goal of this study was to examine bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) parameters during the development of fibrosis after i.t. AD in hamsters and to examine the responses to oral AD in hamsters for comparison to responses to i.t. AD in an effort to explore the roles of inflammation, phospholipidosis, and lung drug burden in AD-induced pulmonary disease. Two i.t. instillations on Days 0 and 7 of AD in hamsters produced fibrosis as characterized by elevated lung hydroxyproline content and variable increases in lavage macrophage, neutrophil, and eosinophil number through Day 28. Intratracheal AD also increased the permeability of the alveolar-capillary barrier as evidenced by an increase in BAL fluid albumin only on Day 8. Pulmonary phospholipidosis was not induced by i.t. AD and only small amounts of AD and its metabolite desethyl-AD (dAD) were detected in lung tissue through Day 10 after instillation on Days 0 and 7. The repeated oral administration of AD did not result in pulmonary fibrosis during the 35-day course of this study. Oral AD did cause a sustained increase in BAL fluid neutrophil number; other BAL cells were only slightly affected. Oral AD did not increase BAL fluid albumin content but a prominent BAL cell phospholipidosis was noted. Measurement of AD and dAD in lung tissue demonstrated a substantial accumulation of drug and metabolite after oral treatment with AD. The results of this study indicate that lung drug burden, pulmonary phospholipidosis, and lung neutrophil influx are not crucial factors in the development of AD-induced pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters. This study supports the possible involvement of physical damage to the lung and/or pulmonary eosinophilia in the generation of AD-induced pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters.
Conch, Cooperatives, and Conflict: Conservation and Resistance in the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve

In theory, biosphere reserves link biodiversity conservation with development, primarily through sustainable resource utilisation, and alternative, conservation-compatible economies in the buffer and transition zones outside the core area. Successful management should reduce pressure on natural resources within its core area as well as enable local communities to participate in the management of buffer zone resources in a sustainable manner. The Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve was declared in 1996 to protect coral reefs and marine biodiversity, while also enabling fishing cooperatives to maintain their livelihoods based upon the sustainable extraction of lobster, conch, and scalefish. In 2004, eight years after the Reserve's declaration, Mexican authorities struggled to control marine resource use in the reserve, especially the extraction of queen conch (Strombus gigas). This article provides an overview of the long struggle to conserve queen conch populations in the area. Particular attention is paid to describing the various forms of resistance fishermen employed to counter the increasing regulation and vigilance that accompanied the creation of the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve. This case chronicles the resistance to regulation and interpersonal violence that erupts when entrenched attitudes and practices are confronted with increasing surveillance. Thus, what was observed in the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve parallels other research that depicts the forms of resistance to conservation that local people enact when confronted with conservation interventions. Finally, the plight of queen conch in the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve clearly reflects the conflicts and difficulties found across Mexico in the implementation of the biosphere reserve model.
Orthotopic transplantation of neonatal GFP rat ovary as experimental model to study ovarian development and toxicology

The rat is one of the most commonly used experimental animal species in biomedical research. The availability of new research tools in rats could therefore provide considerable advances in the areas where this mammal is extensively used. We report the development of a new green fluorescent protein (GFP) rat strain suitable for organ transplantation and the birth of GFP rats following orthotopic transplantation of neonatal ovaries from this newly developed GFP rat strain to a wild-type Fischer 344 (F344) strain. A new GFP rat strain was developed by backcrossing eGFP Sprague-Dawley (SD-Tg(CAG-EGFP)Cz-004Osb) to wild-type F344 for eight generations. Whole ovaries from postnatal day (PND) 8 or PND 21 GFP rats were transplanted orthotopically to bilaterally ovariectomized wild-type adult females (n=6). All recipients were mated, and three of the five resulting litters contained GFP pups. In the PND 8 group, all recipients cycled regularly and the ovarian morphology appeared normal when collected at 9 months post-transplantation. In the PND 21 group, 60% of the recipients displayed regular estrous cycles at 9 months post-transplantation, but showed reduced ovarian size. This new strain and neonatal orthotopic transplantation could be useful for many biomedical fields including transplantation, development, and reproductive toxicology.
Graph indexing of road networks for shortest path queries with label restrictions

The current widespread use of location-based services and GPS technologies has revived interest in very fast and scalable shortest path queries. We introduce a new shortest path query type in which dynamic constraints may be placed on the allowable set of edges that can appear on a valid shortest path (e.g., dynamically restricting the type of roads or modes of travel which may be considered in a multimodal transportation network). We formalize this problem as a specific variant of formal language constrained shortest path problems, which we call the Kleene Language Constrained Shortest Paths problem. To efficiently support this type of dynamically constrained shortest path query for large-scale datasets, we extend the hierarchical graph indexing technique known as Contraction Hierarchies. Our experimental evaluation using the North American road network dataset (with over 50 million edges) shows an average query speed and search space improvement of over 3 orders of magnitude compared to the naive adaptation of the standard Dijkstra's algorithm to support this query type. We also show an improvement of over 2 orders of magnitude compared to the only previously-existing indexing technique which could solve this problem without additional preprocessing.
Impact of repackaging hazardous (infectious) hospital waste on the indoor air quality of a hospital

With landfill bans on the disposal of hazardous (infectious) hospital wastes, many hospitals in the United States are faced with selecting alternative means of disposal. One alternative method of disposal is to repackage the waste and ship it off site for incineration. This paper reports on a study in which airborne bacteria were sampled in an area where waste was repackaged. Results of the sampling showed bacteria concentrations ranging from not detectable (central supply room) to 105 colonies/m3 air (approximately 40 feet from the incinerator room door). This would seem to indicate that the source of the bacteria was at or near the incinerator room door where the repackaging operation took place. Although some human pathogens were identified, most of the bacteria identified do not represent a serious health threat. However, Staphylococcus aureus was found in air samples collected from locations in the hospital served by the same ventilation system in the area of the repackaging operation. The waste handling practices used in hospitals need to be reevaluated, and the definition of 'sick building syndrome' needs to be expanded beyond chemicals to include microorganisms. More research is needed to characterize bacteria in air and to determine the impact of airborne bacteria on human health.
Mining semantics for large scale integration on the web: evidences, insights, and challenges

The Web has been rapidly "deepened" -- with myriad searchable databases online, where data are hidden behind query interfaces. Toward large scale integration over this "deep Web," we are facing a new challenge- With its dynamic and ad-hoc nature, such large scale integration mandates dynamic semantics discovery. That is, we must on-the-fly cope with "semantics" of dynamically discovered sources without pre-configured source-specific knowledge. To tackle this challenge, our initial works hinge on the insight that the large scale is itself also a unique opportunity: We observe that the desired "semantics" often connects to surface presentation characteristics, through some hidden regularities over many sources. Such regularities can be essentially leveraged in enabling semantics discovery. In particular, we report our evidences in three initial tasks for integrating the deep Web: interface extraction, schema matching, and query translation. Generalizing these specific evidences, we thus propose our "unified insight" of "mining" semantics for large scale integration by exploiting hidden regularities across holistic sources. Further, to fulfill the promise of such holistic mining, we discuss challenges toward its realization for dynamic semantics discovery. As our initial works as well as several related efforts have witnessed, we believe our unified insight, holistic mining for semantics discovery, is a promising methodology toward enabling large scale integration.
Aspartic acid racemization and protein diagenesis in corals over the last 350 years

Abstract D/L aspartic acid values from a 350-year time series of annual growth bands of a living colony of the coral Porites australiensis show a very regular pattern of increase with age. The initial rate of racemization is extraordinarily rapid (0.6% per year) but slows in older growth bands to 0.04% per year (4% per century). The skeletal proteins show progressive hydrolysis with increasing age, with free aspartic acid comprising 16% of the total aspartic acid in the 350-year-old band. The proteins are unusually rich in aspartic acid (nearly 50 mol%). The relative weakness of the peptide bonds formed by aspartic acid moieties is probably responsible for the rapid hydrolysis and consequent rapid racemization of aspartic acid. Racemization analysis provides a means for checking for sections of missing bands in corals and for screening of prospective samples for U-Th dating.
Cylindrically symmetric wormholes

This paper discusses traversable wormholes that differ slightly but significantly from those of the Morris-Thorne type under the assumption of cylindrical symmetry. The throat is a piecewise smooth cylindrical surface resulting in a shape function that is not differentiable at some value. It is proposed that the regular derivative be replaced by a one-sided derivative at this value. The resulting wormhole geometry satisfies the weak energy condition.
Life history evolution in tropical and south temperate birds : What do we really know ?

ity in driving life history evolution (e.g., Cole 1954, Murphy 1968, Charlesworth 1980, Reznick and Bryga 1987, Curio 1989, Reznick et al. 1990). Yet, food is thought to be more important in birds (Lack 1948, 1968, Murphy and Haukioja 1986, Martin 1987). Nest predation is a theoretical alternative to food limitation (Slagsvold 1982, Lima 1987, Martin 1992) and recent evidence suggests that nest predation may exert a greater influence on life history evolution than previously thought (Slagsvold 1982, Martin 1993a, b, 1995, Martin and Clobert 1996, McCleery et al. 1996). However, nest predation may often interact with food limitation to influence life history traits (Lima 1987, Martin 1992, 1995). These contrasting and interacting roles of food limitation versus mortality (nest predation) make birds an intriguing system for examining ecological and evolutionary causes of life history variation.
Bacterial diversity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) rhizosphere in response to salinity, soil pH, and boron

Soil salinity is a major factor relating microbial communities to environmental stress in the microbial selection process as stress can reduce bacterial diversity. In the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, the problem of increasing salinity and consequently, decreasing crop productivity, due to reuse of saline drainage water are major concerns. An experiment was conducted in a closed, recirculating volumetric lysimeter system (VLS) consisting of 24 experimental plant growth units to determine the interactive effects of salinity, boron and pH on rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere microbial composition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Seminis Turbo hybrid). Plants in the VLS were irrigated from individual reservoirs containing a modified half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution combined with salinity, boron (B), and pH treatments. The results indicated that salinity and pH were the most influential factors affecting the growth of plants and the effect of boron on the plant was more severe under slightly acidic conditions. Total bacterial DNA was extracted from rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere samples, and a 236-bp DNA fragment in the V3 region of the small subunit ribosomal RNA genes of eubacteria was amplified. The 16S rRNA and the products were subjected to denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing. Analyses of bacterial diversity showed that the effects of salinity, boron, and pH were more severe on the rhizosphere bacterial population during the first week of growing cucumber, with decreasing impacts with plant growth. However, there was no salinity–B–pH interaction effects on plant biomass, but the effects were seen in the number of heterotrophic bacteria in the rhizosphere and on species richness and diversity during week seven of the study. These suggest that the effects of salinity–B–pH interactions may influence microorganisms first before plants and may pose long term effects on soil quality.
Sulfate as a synergistic anion facilitating iron binding by the bacterial transferrin FbpA: the origins and effects of anion promiscuity.

The ferric binding protein, FbpA, has been demonstrated to facilitate the transport of naked Fe3+ across the periplasmic space of several Gram-negative bacteria. The sequestration of iron by FbpA is facilitated by the presence of a synergistic anion, such as phosphate or sulfate. Here we report the sequestration of Fe3+ by FbpA in the presence of sulfate, at an assumed periplasmic pH of 6.5 to form FeFbpA-SO4 with K‘eff = 1.7 × 1016 M-1 (at 20 °C, 50 mM MES, 200 mM KCl). The iron affinity of the FeFbpA-SO4 protein assembly is 2 orders of magnitude lower than when bound with phosphate and is the lowest of any of the FeFbpA-X assemblies yet reported. Iron reduction at the cytosolic membrane receptor may be an essential aspect of the periplasmic iron-transport process, and with an E1/2 of −158 mV (NHE), FeFbpA-SO4 is the most easily reduced of all FeFbpA-X assemblies yet studied. The variation of FeFbpA-X assembly stability (K‘eff) and ease of reduction (E1/2) with differing synergistic anions Xn- are correl...
Diabetes mellitus accelerates cartilaginous metaplasia and calcification in atherosclerotic vessels of LDLr mutant mice

Background Vascular calcification is highly prevalent in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Little is known about whether T2DM is causative.
China's Anti-Access Strategy in Historical and Theoretical Perspective

Abstract This article views China's development of anti-access capabilities against the backdrop of the theory and history of military innovation. It begins with a discussion of the process of military innovation, as well as the indicators that may appear at different stages of that process. It then discusses the barriers to recognizing new ways of war and applies that framework to China's development of advanced ballistic missiles, to include precision-guided conventional ballistic missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs). It concludes with several suggestions for how to improve the ability to recognize and understand foreign military innovation.
Miniature Unified Imaging Device Using Fluidic Lenses

A tunable fluidic lens with wide tuning range is combined with fixed lenses and a CMOS sensor to form an imaging device that can function in regular camera mode, macro mode, and microscope mode.
Theory of polymer chains tethered at interfaces

Abstract Using self-consistent field calculations and scaling analysis, we determined the property of polymers that are tethered onto impenetrable, solid surfaces or adsorbed onto penetrable interfaces. In the case of impenetrable solids, we consider homogeneous walls, as well as surfaces containing chemically distinct patterns. These findings provide guidelines for tailoring the morphology of the polymer layer and thereby controling the interaction between polymer-coated surfaces. In particular, we pinpoint routes for creating ordered arrays of polymer-coated colloidal particles. The results also yield prescriptions for creating laterally patterned polymer films, which are useful in device applications. In the case of penetrable interfaces, we examine the adsorption of polymers into layers of tethered chains. These studies yield design criteria for creating selective filtration and separation systems, and insight into how adsorbing chains interact with a soft, responsive surface.
Mitotic spindle defects and chromosome mis-segregation induced by LDL/cholesterol-implications for Niemann-Pick C1, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerosis.

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol is a risk factor for both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Atherosclerosis (CVD), suggesting a common lipid-sensitive step in their pathogenesis. Previous results show that AD and CVD also share a cell cycle defect: chromosome instability and up to 30% aneuploidy–in neurons and other cells in AD and in smooth muscle cells in atherosclerotic plaques in CVD. Indeed, specific degeneration of aneuploid neurons accounts for 90% of neuronal loss in AD brain, indicating that aneuploidy underlies AD neurodegeneration. Cell/mouse models of AD develop similar aneuploidy through amyloid-beta (As) inhibition of specific microtubule motors and consequent disruption of mitotic spindles. Here we tested the hypothesis that, like upregulated As, elevated LDL/cholesterol and altered intracellular cholesterol homeostasis also causes chromosomal instability. Specifically we found that: 1) high dietary cholesterol induces aneuploidy in mice, satisfying the hypothesis’ first prediction, 2) Niemann-Pick C1 patients accumulate aneuploid fibroblasts, neurons, and glia, demonstrating a similar aneugenic effect of intracellular cholesterol accumulation in humans 3) oxidized LDL, LDL, and cholesterol, but not high-density lipoprotein (HDL), induce chromosome mis-segregation and aneuploidy in cultured cells, including neuronal precursors, indicating that LDL/cholesterol directly affects the cell cycle, 4) LDL-induced aneuploidy requires the LDL receptor, but not As, showing that LDL works differently than As, with the same end result, 5) cholesterol treatment disrupts the structure of the mitotic spindle, providing a cell biological mechanism for its aneugenic activity, and 6) ethanol or calcium chelation attenuates lipoprotein-induced chromosome mis-segregation, providing molecular insights into cholesterol’s aneugenic mechanism, specifically through its rigidifying effect on the cell membrane, and potentially explaining why ethanol consumption reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis or AD. These results suggest a novel, cell cycle mechanism by which aberrant cholesterol homeostasis promotes neurodegeneration and atherosclerosis by disrupting chromosome segregation and potentially other aspects of microtubule physiology.
P41 Hydrogen sulfide induces myosin light chain de-phosphorylation and smooth muscle relaxation in small intrapulmonary airways

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) relaxes airway smooth muscle and it has been suggested to have a protective role during asthma and other obstructive lung diseases. However, the mechanism of H2S-induced airway relaxation is unknown. Smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction depends on the phosphorylation state of the regulatory myosin light chain (rMLC) which is determined by the relative activities of the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP). Changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration in SMCs regulate MLCK activity whereas Ca2+ independent mechanisms regulate MLCP activity. In an accompanying abstract, we report that H2S inhibits intracellular Ca2+ release through InsP3 receptors and agonist-induced intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in airway SMCs. Here we investigated the effect of H2S on rMLC phosphorylation in small intrapulmonary airways. We hypothesize that H2S-induced airway relaxation is accompanied by rMLC de-phosphorylation that results from a decrease in MLCK activity due to the inhibition of agonist-induced Ca2+ oscillations. We used mouse lung slices in combination with phase-contrast- and confocal- video microscopy to measure contraction and Ca2+ signaling in SMCs of small airways and used Western blot analysis to measure protein phosphorylation in airways micro-isolated from lung slices. Methacholine (MCh, 0.3 μM) induced strong and sustained airway contraction. This response was accompanied by the generation of intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in airway SMCs that persisted in time and by a sustained increase in rMLC phosphorylation. Subsequent addition of 100 μM Na2S (a H2S donor) resulted in a strong and sustained airway relaxation. This relaxation was accompanied by a decrease in the frequency and amplitude of Ca2+oscillations and by rMLC de-phosphorylation. Washout of H2S in the continuous presence of MCh resulted in the increase in Ca2+ oscillation frequency and amplitude, rMLC phosphorylation, and airway re-contraction. Our results suggest H2S induces relaxation of small intrapulmonary airways by inhibiting agonist-induced Ca2+ oscillations which in turn induces rMLC de-phosphorylation in airway SMCs.
The First Single-Step Immobilization of a Calix-[4]-arene onto the Surface of Silica

A novel synthetic method for immobilizing calixarene macrocycles onto the surface of silica is reported that does not require calixarene synthetic derivatization with a flexible tether. In part because of the rigidity of the linkage between the calixarene and the silica resulting from this method, immobilized site densities in excess of 0.2 mmol/g are obtained, which are the highest values reported to date on a per gram of material basis for anchored calixarenes on silica. The immobilized calixarenes contain lipophilic cavities that can be accessed with gas physisorption experiments at cryogenic temperatures, as well as with neutral organic molecular guests at room temperature. The toluene adsorption isotherm from aqueous solution clearly demonstrates a saturation coverage that is commensurate with formation of a 1:1 stoichiometric complex between the immobilized host and guest. The reversibility of adsorption within this class of materials is demonstrated with phenol, which is shown to bind reversibly vi...
Structural and thermodynamic insights into the recognition of native proteins by anti-peptide antibodies.

The mechanism by which antibodies elicited against protein-derived peptides achieve cross-reactivity with their cognate proteins remains unknown. To address this question, we have carried out the complete thermodynamic characterization of the association of a monoclonal antibody (260.33.12) raised against a peptide (SNpep) derived from staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) with both eliciting peptide and cognate protein. Although both ligands bind with similar affinity (Kd=0.42 μM and 0.30 μM for protein and peptide, respectively), protein and peptide binding have highly different thermodynamic signatures: peptide binding is characterized by a large enthalpic contribution (ΔH=-7.7 kcal/mol) whereas protein binding is dominated by a large entropic contribution (-TΔS=-7.2 kcal/mol). The structure of the SNpep:Fab complex, determined by X-ray diffraction, reveals that the bound conformation of the peptide differs from the conformation of the corresponding loop region in crystal structures of free SNase. The energy difference, estimated by molecular dynamics simulations between native SNase and a model in which the Ω-loop is built in the conformation of the Fab-bound peptide, shows that the energetic cost of adopting this conformation is compatible with the enthalpic cost of binding the protein vis-a-vis the peptide. These results are compatible with a mechanism by which the anti-peptide antibody recognizes the cognate protein: high affinity is maintained upon binding a non-native conformation by offsetting enthalpic penalties with reduced entropic losses. These findings provide potentially useful guidelines for the identification of linear epitopes within protein sequences that are well suited for the development of synthetic peptide vaccines.
A new role for corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-2: suppression of vascularization.

Abstract The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of receptors and ligands are known to have potent effects on vasculature function. Our recent data has described a novel role of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-2 (CRFR2) as a tonic inhibitor of neovascularization. CRFR2 is found in both endothelial and smooth muscle cells (SMC) in the vasculature, where its function has been elusive. From investigation into the role of CRFR2 as a determinant of tissue vascularization, it was discovered that mice deficient for CRFR2 become hypervascularized postnatally and express increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Mechanistically, CRFR2 activation in vitro was found to result in reduced VEGF release from SMCs, an inhibition of SMC proliferation, and an inhibition of capillary tube formation in collagen gels. Treatment of a subcutaneously injected gel matrix with a CRFR2 agonist inhibited growth factor-induced vascularization in vivo. Western blots for the cell-cycle retinoblastoma protein (Rb)—essential for cell-cycle progression, showed decreased levels of phosphorylated Rb following CRFR2 agonist treatment in SMCs—supporting a role for CRFR2 in regulation of SMC proliferation. These results suggest that CRFR2 is a critical component of a novel pathway necessary for tonic inhibition of adult neovascularization, and that CRFR2 may be a potential target for therapeutic modulation of angiogenesis.
Electronic structure of Si (111) interface between diamond and hexagonal phases

Abstract The electronic structure of the Si (111) interface between the diamond and hexagonal wurtzite structure is studied by first-principles LCAO method. No gap interfacial states or resonances are found; instead, the calculated density of states curve shows an oscillatory redistribution of electron states and a reduction of band gap of about 10%. It is concluded that the electronic structure of this interface can be approximated as the average of that of the bulk diamond and the hexagonal Si.
Serotonergic Agents as an Alternative to Hormonal Therapy for the Treatment of Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms

Hot flashes represent one of the most common complaints among women undergoing menopause. Despite their prevalence, the pathophysiology leading to hot flashes is only partly understood. Short-term estrogen remains the most effective treatment for hot flashes, but because of safety concerns many women are reluctant to use this treatment. Several non-hormonal pharmacologic treatments have been evaluated in randomized, prospective clinical trials. Placebo-controlled clinical trials have suggested that agents from the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor/serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSRI/SNRI) family reduce hot flashes by 50–60%. Successful treatment of hot flashes with these compounds may also be associated with improvements in sleep, mental health, and vitality. Adverse events may cause 10–20% of individuals to withdraw from treatment. The agents should be stopped with caution to prevent a discontinuation syndrome. Given the available data, the North American Menopause Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have recommended that women with moderate to severe, menopause-related hot flashes, with concerns or contraindications to estrogen-containing treatments, should consider prescription progestogens, venlafaxine, paroxetine, fluoxetine, or gabapentin. Prescribing clinicians are urged to discuss the potential benefits, adverse effects, and new information that may become available for each of the treatment options. Caution should also be exercised when prescribing strong cytochrome P450 2D6 inhibitors, such as paroxetine or fluoxetine, to women who are taking tamoxifen. Further studies are required to evaluate the optimal agent and duration of SSRI/SNRI treatment in menopausal women.
Single-site Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery Provides Similar Lengths of Hospital Stay and Similar Costs Compared with Standard Laparoscopy: Results of a Retrospective Cohort Study

The present study sought to compare the length of stay (LOS) and hospital costs for elective single-site (SSL) and standard laparoscopic (SDL) colorectal resections performed at a tertiary referral center. An IRB-approved, retrospective cohort study of all elective SDL and SSL colorectal resections performed from 2008 to 2012 was undertaken. Patient charges and inflation adjusted hospital costs (US dollars) were compared with costs subcategorized by operating room expense, room and board, and pharmacy and radiology utilization. A total of 149 SDL and 111 SSL cases were identified. Compared with SSL, SDL surgeries were associated with longer median operative times (SSL: 153 min vs. SDL: 189 min, p = 0.001); however, median operating room costs were similar (p > 0.05). Median postoperative LOS was similar for both groups (SSL: 3 days; SDL: 4 days; p > 0.05). There was no difference between SSL and SDL with respect to either total patient charges (SSL: $34,847 vs. SDL: $38,306; p > 0.05) or hospital costs (SSL: $13,051vs. SDL: $12,703; p > 0.05). Median costs during readmission were lower for SSL patients (SSL: $3,625 vs. SDL: $6,203, p = 0.04). SSL provides similar LOS as well as similar costs to both patients and hospitals compared with SDL, making it a cost-feasible alternative.
Equal Aspiration Rates From Postpylorus and Intragastric-Placed Small-Bore Nasoenteric Feeding Tubes: A Randomized, Prospective Study

Postpylorus delivery of enteral feeding is perceived by many experts to be safer than intragastric delivery. To test this assumption, patients with similar Glasgow Coma Scores were given identical enteral formulas continuously via a 10-French nasoenteric tube, placed into the stomach or beyond the second portion of the duodenum. Observations were made for attainment of desired nutrition, bowel changes, and clinical signs of aspiration. Radiographs of the chest and abdomen were obtained every 3 days. If a tube migrated out of a chosen location, it was replaced. Thirty-three patients were studied. Seventeen patients were fed into the stomach and 16 patients were fed postpylorus. The mean duration of enteral feeding was 11.8 days for the gastric group and 10.9 days for the postpylorus group (p = NS). The time to deliver the desired kilocalories was 3.33 and 2.77 days (p = NS) for gastric and postpylorus-fed patients. Tubes displaced similarly in each group, gastric 0.647, postpylorus 0.750 per duration of fe...
In vivo quantitative evaluation of gold nanocages' kinetics in sentinel lymph nodes by photoacoustic tomography

As a new class of sentinel lymph node (SLN) tracers for photoacoustic (PA) imaging, Au nanocages offer the advantages of noninvasiveness, strong optical absorption in the near-infrared region (for deep penetration), and accumulation in higher concentrations than the initial injected solution. By monitoring the amplitude changes of PA signals in an animal model, we quantified the accumulations of nanocages in SLNs over time. Based on this method, we quantitatively evaluated the kinetics of gold nanocages in SLN in terms of concentration, size, and surface modification. We could detect the SLN at an Au nanocage injection concentration of 50 pM and a dose of 100 μL in vivo. This concentration is about 40 times less than the previously reported value. We also investigated the influence of nanocages' size (50 nm and 30 nm in edge length), and the effects of surface modification (with positive, or neutral, or negative surface charges). The results are helpful to develop this AuNC-based PA imaging system for noninvasive lymph node mapping, providing valuable information about metastatic cancer staging.
Features of T-cell recognition and antigen structure useful in the design of vaccines to elicit T-cell immunity.

In contrast to antibodies, T lymphocytes tend to recognize a limited number of immunodominant antigenic sites on a protein antigen. Therefore, the effective design of synthetic or recombinant fragment vaccines would be better approached if these sites could be identified. From studies of the processing and genetically restricted presentation of the model protein antigen myoglobin to murine T cells, certain general principles have emerged which should be useful in this endeavour. The immunodominant sites for helper T cells in model proteins tend to be regions which can fold as α-helices and, in particular, helices which are amphipathic, i.e. which have a hydrophobic side and a hydrophilic side separated in space. These two sides may serve to interact with the major histocompatibility molecule on the antigen-presenting cell and with the T-cell receptor, respectively. A computer algorithm has been developed to search for such sites in protein sequences and it has been applied to two proteins of interest for vaccine development, the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the envelope protein of the AIDS virus (HIV). Corresponding peptides were synthesized and shown to induce helper and/or proliferative T-cell immunity.
A computational approach to biologically inspired design

The natural world provides numerous cases for analogy and inspiration in engineering design. During the early stages of design, particularly during concept generation when several variants are created, biological systems can be used to inspire innovative solutions to a design problem. However, identifying and presenting the valuable knowledge from the biological domain to an engineering designer during concept generation is currently a somewhat disorganized process or requires extensive knowledge of the biological system. To circumvent the knowledge requirement problem, we developed a computational approach for discovering biological inspiration during the early stages of design that integrates with established function-based design methods. This research defines and formalizes the information identification and knowledge transfer processes that enable systematic development of biologically inspired designs. The framework that supports our computational design approach is provided along with an example of a smart flooring device to demonstrate the approach. Biologically inspired conceptual designs are presented and validated through a literature search and comparison to existing products.
Effect of hormone replacement therapy on self-reported cognitive symptoms: results from the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions (PEPI) trial

Objective To describe self-reported cognitive changes in 875 postmenopausal women aged 45–64 years and assigned randomly to hormone therapy (either estrogen alone or estrogen in combination with a progestin).Methods: A 3-year placebo-controlled trial which included self-report data on problems with forgetfulness, concentration and distraction in groups of women assigned randomly to placebo, estrogen alone or estrogen plus one of three progestin regimens.Results: Women assigned to any active treatment were consistently less likely to report cognitive symptoms than women assigned to placebo, but these results were not statistically significant. When compared with women assigned to estrogen plus any progestin, women assigned to estrogen alone had a significant increased risk for reporting problems with forgetfulness at follow-up (odds ratio, OR = 1.47). In the absence of problems with distraction at baseline, women assigned to estrogen alone were significantly less likely to report problems with distraction ...
THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTOMATICITY FOR DEVELOPING EXPERTISE IN READING

Automaticity refers to the ability to perform complex skills with minimal attention and conscious effort. Automaticity is essential for higher‐order thinking, such as skilled reading and writing, because important sub‐skills must be performed accurately, quickly, and effortlessly. If reading sub‐skills are performed automatically, then higher‐order aspects of the task, such as comprehension or metacognitive functions, can be performed effectively at the same time. How do students become automatic at these sub‐skills? What are the indicators that can be used to determine whether a student is automatic? What are the psychological mechanisms that allow one to perform complex skills automatically? These questions are addressed in this article.
A NOVEL VARIATIONAL APPROACH FOR QUANTUM FIELD THEORY: EXAMPLE OF STUDY OF THE GROUND STATE AND PHASE TRANSITION IN NONLINEAR SIGMA MODEL

We discuss a novel form of the variational approach in Quantum Field Theory in which the trial quantum configuration is represented directly in terms of relevant expectation values rather than, e.g., increasingly complicated structure from Fock space. The quantum algebra imposes constraints on such expectation values so that the variational problem is formulated here as an optimization under constraints. As an example of application of such approach we consider the study of ground state and critical properties in a variant of nonlinear sigma model.