cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmias originating from the left ventricular papillary muscles on mitral valve function

BACKGROUND Ablation of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) originating from the left ventricular (LV) papillary muscles (PM) has the potential to damage the mitral valve apparatus resulting in mitral regurgitation (MR). This study sought to evaluate the effect of radiofrequency (RF) ablation of a PM on MR severity. METHODS Patients with pre- and postablation transthoracic echocardiograms who underwent PM ablation for treatment of VA were retrospectively identified and compared to similar patients who underwent VA ablation at non-PM sites. MR severity was evaluated pre- and postablation in both groups and graded as none/trace (Grade 0); mild/mild-to-moderate (Grade 1); moderate (Grade 2); moderate-to-severe/severe (Grade 3). RESULTS A total of 45 and 49 patients were included in the PM and non-PM groups, respectively. There were no significant baseline demographic differences. The PM group had longer RF ablation times (22.3 vs. 13.3 min, p < .01) compared to the non-PM group. Most patients had low-grade MR in both groups at baseline. Change in pre- versus postablation MR within the PM group was not statistically significant by Wilcoxon rank-sum test (Figure 2, p = .46). MR severity following ablation was also evaluated using logistic regression models. The odds ratio for worsening MR in the PM group compared to non-PM was 0.19 (95% confidence interval: 0.008-4.18, p = .29) after adjusting for comorbidities, LV ejection fraction, and LV internal end-diastolic diameter. CONCLUSION RF ablation of VA originating from PM under intracardiac echocardiography guidance did not result in clinically or statistically significant worsening of MR.
Delineating Corneal Elastic Anisotropy in a Porcine Model Using Noncontact OCT Elastography and Ex Vivo Mechanical Tests

Purpose To compare noncontact acoustic microtapping (AμT) OCT elastography (OCE) with destructive mechanical tests to confirm corneal elastic anisotropy. Design Ex vivo laboratory study with noncontact AμT-OCE followed by mechanical rheometry and extensometry. Participants Inflated cornea of whole-globe porcine eyes (n = 9). Methods A noncontact AμT transducer was used to launch propagating mechanical waves in the cornea that were imaged with phase-sensitive OCT at physiologically relevant controlled pressures. Reconstruction of both Young’s modulus (E) and out-of-plane shear modulus (G) in the cornea from experimental data was performed using a nearly incompressible transversely isotropic (NITI) medium material model assuming spatial isotropy of corneal tensile properties. Corneal samples were excised and parallel plate rheometry was performed to measure shear modulus, G. Corneal samples were then subjected to strip extensometry to measure the Young’s modulus, E. Main Outcome Measures Strong corneal anisotropy was confirmed with both AμT-OCE and mechanical tests, with the Young’s (E) and shear (G) moduli differing by more than an order of magnitude. These results show that AμT-OCE can quantify both moduli simultaneously with a noncontact, noninvasive, clinically translatable technique. Results Mean of the OCE measured moduli were E = 12 ± 5 MPa and G = 31 ± 11 kPa at 5 mmHg and E = 20 ± 9 MPa and G = 61 ± 29 kPa at 20 mmHg. Tensile testing yielded a mean Young’s modulus of 1 MPa – 20 MPa over a strain range of 1% to 7%. Shear storage and loss modulus (G′/G′′) measured with rheometry was approximately 82/13 ± 12/4 kPa at 0.2 Hz and 133/29 ± 16/3 kPa at 16 Hz (0.1% strain). Conclusions The cornea is confirmed to be a strongly anisotropic elastic material that cannot be characterized with a single elastic modulus. The NITI model is the simplest one that accounts for the cornea’s incompressibility and in-plane distribution of lamellae. AμT-OCE has been shown to be the only reported noncontact, noninvasive method to measure both elastic moduli. Submillimeter spatial resolution and near real-time operation can be achieved. Quantifying corneal elasticity in vivo will enable significant innovation in ophthalmology, helping to develop personalized biomechanical models of the eye that can predict response to ophthalmic interventions.
Mechanics of intact bone marrow

The current knowledge of bone marrow mechanics is limited to its viscous properties, neglecting the elastic contribution of the extracellular matrix. To get a more complete view of the mechanics of marrow, we characterized intact yellow porcine bone marrow using three different, but complementary techniques: rheology, indentation, and cavitation. Our analysis shows that bone marrow is elastic, and has a large amount of intra- and inter-sample heterogeneity, with an effective Young׳s modulus ranging from 0.25 to 24.7 kPa at physiological temperature. Each testing method was consistent across matched tissue samples, and each provided unique benefits depending on user needs. We recommend bulk rheology to capture the effects of temperature on tissue elasticity and moduli, indentation for quantifying local tissue heterogeneity, and cavitation rheology for mitigating destructive sample preparation. We anticipate the knowledge of bone marrow elastic properties for building in vitro models will elucidate mechanisms involved in disease progression and regenerative medicine.
The carbohydrate components of the cardiac glycosides.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses naturally occurring substances known as the cardiac glycosides that comprise a relatively widespread group, the members of which occur as the glycosides of aglycons that are derivatives of the lactone of 21-hydroxy-Δ20-norcholenic acid. The chemistry of the glycosides themselves, particularly those that have been the subject of intensive study, is adequately treated elsewhere. The primary emphasis is placed on the chemistry of the carbohydrate components of the cardiac glycosides. The sugars may be divided into two broad groups: (1) one consisting of hexomethyloses and (2) one consisting of 2-desoxyhexomethyloses, the majority of which also contain methyl ether groupings.
Agrarian Change and Labour Supply in Turkey, 1950–1980

Agrarian structures based on small peasant property can have two opposite kinds of impact on urban wages. In the first type, stable smallholder farming bringing high returns puts upward pressure on wages. In the second type, smallholder farming that does not bring sufficient returns leads to semi-proletarianization in which workers' access to rural sources of income functions as wage subsidy and puts downward pressure on wages. This paper argues that the situation in Turkey between 1950 and 1980 fits the second type. By pointing out the factors that changed the attitude of the migrant labourers towards class struggle from relative passivity to increasing militancy, it suggests that instead of the rural ties of the emerging working class, the main reason behind the dramatic rise in urban wages in Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s was the working-class struggle throughout the period.
Haddad, Lawrence, John Hoddinott, and Harold Alderman, eds. Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Developing Countries: Models, Methods, and Policy. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997, 384 pp., $55.00

In this volume economists, demographers, sociologists and anthropologists collaborate in the study of how resources are allocated within households in developing countries and why it matters from a policy perspective. Surveying a broad range of theory and evidence, the contributors examine the many social and cultural factors that influence decisions about the family and household level about the allocation of time, income, assets and other resources. Ths contributors show that a more complete understanding of intrahousehold behaviour can increase the likelihood that policies will reach the people they are intended to affect.
The Coercive Limits of Nuclear Weapons

What are the coercive effects of nuclear weapons? Sixty-five years into the nuclear age, we still lack a complete answer to this question. This article employs a new dataset of nearly 200 militarized compellent threats from 1918 to 2001 to evaluate whether states with nuclear weapons are better able to make successful compellent threats than non-nuclear states. Using a bivariate probit model designed to jointly model the initiation and outcomes of threats, we find that states possessing nuclear weapons are not more likely to make successful compellent threats. If anything, possessing the bomb reduces the likelihood that targets will accept challengers’ demands without a fight. While nuclear weapons may carry coercive weight as instruments of deterrence, it appears that these effects do not extend to compellent threats.
The Real-Time Channel Administration Protocol

The Real-time Channel Administration Protocol (RCAP) provides control and administration services for the Tenet real-time protocol suite, a connection-oriented suite of network and transport layer protocols for realtime communication. RCAP performs per-channel reservation of network resources based on worst-case analysis to provide hard guarantees on delay, jitter, and packet loss bounds. It uses a hierarchical approach to provide these guarantees across a heterogeneous internetwork environment.
Activation of the c-fos gene by the HPV16 oncoproteins depends upon the cAMP-response element at -60

The E6 and the E7 genes of the high-risk types of human papillomavirus (types 16 and 18) are associated with the induction or maintenance of malignant growth. The molecular mechanism by which these oncogenes contribute to the malignant phenotype is not clear. To study the effects of E7 on cellular processes, we constructed a stable cell line that inducibly expressed the E7 gene of HPV16. By using this cell line, we provide evidence that expression of E7 of HPV16 stimulates c-fos gene expression. Also, by doing transient transfection experiments, we show that the expression of either E6 or E7 induces transcription from the c-fos promoter. Analysis of a series of c-fos promoter mutants indicates that the activation by both E6 and E7 is dependent on the cyclic AMP response element. To further investigate the mechanism(s) of the activation of the c-fos gene and their relation to the oncogenic properties of E6 and E7, several mutants of the E6 and E7 genes were analyzed. The results of these studies indicate that the CR1 and CR2 regions in the E7 protein, and sequences distinct from the p53-binding region in the E6 protein, are critical for activation of the c-fos promoter.
Comparing predictive power in climate data: clustering matters

Various clustering methods have been applied to climate, ecological, and other environmental datasets, for example to define climate zones, automate land-use classification, and similar tasks. Measuring the "goodness" of such clusters is generally application-dependent and highly subjective, often requiring domain expertise and/or validation with field data (which can be costly or even impossible to acquire). Here we focus on one particular task: the extraction of ocean climate indices from observed climatological data. In this case, it is possible to quantify the relative performance of different methods. Specifically, we propose to extract indices with complex networks constructed from climate data, which have been shown to effectively capture the dynamical behavior of the global climate system, and compare their predictive power to candidate indices obtained using other popular clustering methods. Our results demonstrate that network-based clusters are statistically significantly better predictors of land climate than any other clustering method, which could lead to a deeper understanding of climate processes and complement physics-based climate models.
Students and Computers as Partners in Developing Students' Problem-Solving Skills.

AbstractOne-hundred and twenty students in the second and fourth grades worked in pairs to solve computer-posed problems. Students used the IDEA (Identify, Define, Explore, Assess) Model as a self-regulatory strategy to engage them as partners in a question-and-answer dialog while solving problems. Students reflected on their progress by writing in journals and in classroom debriefings recorded by teachers following the problem-solving sessions. Additional observational data was collected by the researchers through informal classroom discussions with the teachers. The results of this exploratory study indicated that the strategy was successful in helping students monitor their own learning. Implications for teaching practices and future research are discussed.
Theory of angular-dispersive, imaging hard-x-ray spectrographs

A spectrograph is an optical instrument that disperses photons of different energies into distinct directions and space locations and that images photon spectra on a position-sensitive detector. Spectrographs consist of collimating, angular dispersive, and focusing optical elements. Bragg reflecting crystals arranged in an asymmetric scattering geometry can be used as the dispersing elements in the hard-x-ray regime. A ray-transfer matrix technique is applied to propagate x-rays through the optical elements. Several optical designs of hard-x-ray spectrographs are proposed and their performance is analyzed. Spectrographs with an energy resolution of 0.1 meV and a spectral window of imaging up to a few tens of meVs are shown to be feasible for inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) spectroscopy applications. In another example, a spectrograph with a 1-meV spectral resolution and 85-meV spectral window of imaging is considered for Cu $K$-edge resonant IXS.
Effects of Thermal Conductivity and Index of Refraction Variation on the Inclusion Dominated Model of Laser-Induced Damage

The inclusion-dominated model of laser-induced damage is reexamined in light of recent measurements of thin film thermal conductivities. In particular, the effects of varying the thermal conductivity and imaginary part ofthe index of refraction are explored. Two different values of the index of refraction are shown to be associated with a given damage threshold, and physical mechanisms are proposed for each value. Thermal conductivity is demonstrated to affect only weakly the value of the imaginary part of the index of refraction corresponding to a particular damage threshold.
Respiration and the Emotion of Dyspnea/Suffocation Fear

The thesis of this paper is that the experience of acute severe dyspnea accompanied by dyspnea/suffocation fear are prerequisites for the classic primary panic attack (1, 2). The probability that the occurrence of a single panic attack leads to panic disorder depends on the intensity and duration of the initial attack and whether or not the accompanying environmental cues (endogenous and/or exogenous) facilitate generalization of dyspnea/suffocation fear to a relatively broad range of stimuli. Thus, an initial classic panic attack is less likely to lead to subsequent secondary panic attacks (attacks of dyspnea/suffocation fear in the absence of severe dyspna) or to tertiary attacks (relatively mild anxiety/apprehension elicited by anticipatory thoughts, and their antecedents, of prior primary or secondary attacks) if the initial primary attack occurs in a relatively unique environment.
MYC-repressed long noncoding RNAs antagonize MYC-induced cell proliferation and cell cycle progression

// Taewan Kim 1, * , Ri Cui 2, * , Young-Jun Jeon 2 , Paolo Fadda 2 , Hansjuerg Alder 2 , Carlo M. Croce 2 1 Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 2 Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Carlo M. Croce, e-mail: carlo.croce@osumc.edu Keywords: MYC, long noncoding RNA, cell proliferation, cell cycle Received: April 09, 2015 Accepted: April 28, 2015 Published: May 11, 2015 ABSTRACT The transcription factor MYC is a proto-oncogene regulating cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and metabolism. The recent identification of MYC-regulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) expands our knowledge of the role of lncRNAs in MYC functions. Here, we identify MYC-repressed lncRNAs named MYCLo-4, -5 and -6 by comparing 3 categories of lncRNAs (downregulated in highly MYC-expressing colorectal cancer, up-regulated by MYC knockdown in HCT116, upregulated by MYC knockdown in RKO). The MYC-repressed MYCLos are implicated in MYC-modulated cell proliferation through cell cycle regulation. By screening cell cycle-related genes regulated by MYC and the MYC-repressed MYCLos, we identified the MYC-repressed gene GADD45A as a target gene of the MYC-repressed MYCLos such as MYCLo-4 and MYCLo-6.
Digital composites: Technology for creativity in a cloud-connected world

Creative Professionals have traditionally worked primarily in desktop applications such as Photoshop. Today, the creative process also occurs on mobile devices and places a greater emphasis on remixing elements of others' work. Traditional digital media file formats are poorly suited for this environment. Digital Composite Technology (DCX) is a framework for the creation of digital media in a mobile-first, cloud-connected world. DCX organizes creative works as a set of components. Component media types and relations are recorded in a well-known syntax, which furthers remix as part of the creative process. DCX also introduces network transfer algorithms that guarantee efficient, correct synchronization using standard cloud-scale storage services and web protocols. Taken together, these capabilities enable seamless creativity across mobile, desktop, and cloud.
Suckling-induced attenuation of plasma cortisol concentrations in postpartum lactating women.

The effect of suckling on serum cortisol concentrations was assessed in postpartum lactating women studied during serial breast feeding sessions 1–24 weeks postpartum. The mean ± SD serum cortisol concentration at 15 min after the start of nursing, 9.8 ± 3.89 μg/dl, was significantly lower, P = 0.001, than prior to the start of nursing, 13.2 ± 5.92 μg/dl. The decline in the serum cortisol concentrations in the breast feeding women was not due entirely to the normal metabolism of the hormone or the normal circadian variation in cortisol secretion. These studies complement and expand upon a recent report [3] of a significant decrease in plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone in breast feeding women studied one week postpartum. The neuroendocrine mechanisms responsible for this effect in women have yet to be defined.
Soluble P3HT-Grafted Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis and Photovoltaic Application

CH2OH-terminated regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was grafted onto carboxylic groups of acid-oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via esterification reaction. The P3HT-attached CNTs (P3CNTs) are soluble in common organic solvents, facilitating an intimate mixing with free P3HT chains for strong electronic interactions. The optical and electrochemical properties of the resultant nanocomposite were found to be different from the conventional composite, in which the pristine CNT and P3HT were physically mixed together (P3HT/CNT). Electrochemical measurements on the onset oxidation and reduction potentials of the P3CNT showed positive shifts by 0.06 and 0.1 eV, respectively, with respect to the corresponding values of pure P3HT, indicating that P3CNT has a lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level and a lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level than those of pure P3HT. Bilayer photovoltaic devices with a thin film of pure P3CNT as the electron-donor and C60 as the ...
Effect on chlorine incorporation as Mg is alloyed into ZnSe

We have investigated chlorine incorporation in ZnSe and ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{x}{\mathrm{Mg}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{Se}$ through both modeling and experiment. Solubility issues, native defects and chlorine-impurity-related defects have been studied using the ab initio full potential linear muffin-tin-orbital method. Our calculations indicate that the addition of Mg reduces the formation energy for chlorine on the Se site, thereby predicting increased solubility. Subsequent chlorine doping experiments in ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{x}{\mathrm{Mg}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{Se}$ using molecular beam epitaxy indicated significantly higher chlorine incorporation in the presence of magnesium, directly supporting the prediction of the calculations. Calculations support the strong tendency for the formation of a defect complex between a chlorine impurity at the Se site and a vacancy at the neighboring Zn site for heavy n-type doping. The formation of this defect serves to compensate, i.e., negate, the chlorine as an n-type dopant. Experimental observations indicated that significant compensation occurs for heavy Cl doping. There are competing mechanisms that contribute to the effect of magnesium on chlorine when used as an n-type dopant in ZnSe. First, the formation energies for chlorine substituting for selenium decrease in the presence of magnesium. Second, the formation energies of the ${\mathrm{Cl}}_{\mathrm{Se}}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Zn}}$ complex also decrease. Finally, the band gap increases in the presence of magnesium, decreasing the net electron concentration at room temperature. Thus, the net effect of adding magnesium is to decrease the maximum achievable carrier concentration through the use of chlorine as an n-type dopant.
Survival outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma arising from sinonasal inverted papilloma: report of 6 cases with systematic review and pooled analysis.

Abstract Background Inverted papilloma (IP) is an uncommon sinonasal tumor. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is associated with IP in about 7% of cases. To date, there has been no pooled analysis to formulate a survival outcome associated with this rare condition. Patients and methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with IP and SCC treated at our institution during 1999–2007. Including our series, a systematic review of literature on Medline database and pooled analysis were performed to establish a survival estimate. Results Six patients were identified. Squamous cell carcinoma was metachronous to the initial diagnosis of IP in 1 case and synchronous in 5 cases. Of 5 patients who had completed therapy at the time of this report, only 1 remained disease-free at 74 months. The median overall survival in our series was 33 months. Three patients developed distant metastases in brain, lung, bone, and liver. Literature review and pooled survival analysis consisting of 76 cases indicated a median overall survival of 126 months with 3- and 5-year survival rates of 63% and 61%, respectively. Conclusion Although the survival outcome of SCC arising from IP seems comparable with sinonasal SCCs, some patients with this disease do have a highly aggressive disease, including hematogenous distant metastasis. Overall, about 40% of patients will die of the disease within the first 3 years.
Novel method of tensor representation for reconstruction of 3D PET images from projections

In this paper, a novel transform-based method of reconstruction of three-dimensional (3-D) positron emission tomography (PET) images is proposed. The proposed method is based on the concept of the non-traditional tensor form of representation of the 3-D image with respect to the 3-D discrete Fourier transform (DFT). Such representation uses a minimal number of projections. The proposed algorithms are described in detail for an image ( N × N × N ), where N is a power of two. The paired transform is defined completely by projections along the discrete grid nested on the image domain. The measurement data set containing specified projections of the 3-D image are generated according to the tensor representation and the proposed algorithm is tested on the data. The algorithm for selecting a required number of projections is described. This algorithm allows the user to select the projections that contain the maximum information and automatically selects the rest of the projections, so that there is no redundancy in the spectral information of the projections.
Numerical simulation of shock initiation of Ni/Al multilayered composites

The initiation of chemical reaction in cold-rolled Ni/Al multilayered composites by shock compression is investigated numerically. A simplified approach is adopted that exploits the disparity between the reaction and shock loading timescales. The impact of shock compression is modeled using CTH simulations that yield pressure, strain, and temperature distributions within the composites due to the shock propagation. The resulting temperature distribution is then used as initial condition to simulate the evolution of the subsequent shock-induced mixing and chemical reaction. To this end, a reduced reaction model is used that expresses the local atomic mixing and heat release rates in terms of an evolution equation for a dimensionless time scale reflecting the age of the mixed layer. The computations are used to assess the effect of bilayer thickness on the reaction, as well as the impact of shock velocity and orientation with respect to the layering. Computed results indicate that initiation and evolution of the reaction are substantially affected by both the shock velocity and the bilayer thickness. In particular, at low impact velocity, Ni/Al multilayered composites with thick bilayers react completely in 100 ms while at high impact velocity and thin bilayers, reaction time was less than 100 μs. Quantitative trends for the dependence of the reaction time on the shock velocity are also determined, for different bilayer thickness and shock orientation.
Thermal effects in laser pumped Kerr-lens modelocked Ti:sapphire lasers

Abstract Numerical beam propagation simulations are used to demonstrate that the distributed thermal lensing, produced by the absorption of the pump laser in the gain medium, profoundly affects the operation of hard-apertured, Kerr-lens modelocked Ti:sapphire lasers. The pump-induced thermal lensing is shown to shift and distort the resonator stability regions (even allowing the regions to overlap) and severely perturb the modelocking mechanism in one of the stability regions.
Patency Rate of Bifurcated Aortic Grafts: Comparative Analysis of Woven versus Knitted Prostheses in the Same Patient

To investigate the difference in patency rate between woven and knitted aortofemoral or aortoiliac prosthetic grafts, a special vascular prosthesis was manufactured with one limb of the graft knitted and the other, woven. The prosthesis was implanted in 143 consecutive patients with occlusive aortoiliac arteriosclerotic disease or aneurysms. Detailed statistical analysis failed to reveal any difference in the patency rate between the woven and knitted limbs of the grafts during an observation period ranging from one month to two years.
Oscar Wilde's America: Counterculture in the Gilded Age

In 1882 Oscar Wilde toured America as the "Apostle of Aestheticism", his wit and brilliance and deliberate outrageousness creating controversy among audiences across the continent. The America visited by Wilde was a nation still badly shaken by the trauma of the Civil War and Reconstruction. In this atmosphere Wilde's message of regeneration through art and beauty seemed to many Americans to open new horizons of social possibility. In this book, a cultural history of the aesthetic movement in the United States, Mary W. Blanchard provides an account of a neglected dimension of American history. Blanchard shows that the aestheticism was a wide-ranging popular movement, implemented by an array of tastemakers, resisted by the moral guardians of Victorianism. She constructs the lives of the female visionaries who used the decorative arts to assault the conventions of middle-class milieu and to advance in the social and business worlds of the Gilded Age. She also shows how the movement allowed new forms of identity for men - in particular feminized or homosexual roles that were profoundly at odds with Victorian notions of manliness. Drawing on evidence from material culture, popular media, and history and literature, Blanchard reveals aestheticism as an oppositional movement in the American Gilded Age.
Effect of Linking Bridge Modifications on the Antipsychotic Profile of Some Phthalimide and Isoindolinone Derivatives

A series of phthalimide and isoindolinone derivatives bridged to 4-(1,2-benzisothiazol-3-yl)-1-piperazinyl was prepared. The compounds were evaluated in vitro at dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT1a and 5-HT2 receptors and in vivo for their ability to antagonize the apomorphine-induced climbing response in mice. The effects of bridge length and conformation on the biological activity of these potential antipsychotic agents are discussed. A four-carbon spacer provided optimal activity within the two homologous series. Conformational investigations of the lead compound, isoindolinone 2, were conducted in an attempt to account for the superior activity observed for the butyl derivatives. On the basis of NMR and molecular modeling studies, two types of folded structures were proposed and several conformationally restrained analogues were synthesized. In general, restrictions incorporated within the linking bridge were detrimental to activity.
Optical properties of colored dissolved organic matter in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Variations in the concentration and inherent optical properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in river-dominated margins provide information on the cycling of carbon and its chemical composition. Large-scale temporal and spatial variability in CDOM concentration and optical properties were observed in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in June of 2000 and April of 2001. Terrestrial CDOM from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers dominates the region. Although the primary factor controlling CDOM in this region is the quantity of fresh water runoff, strong regional variability in fresh water sources also plays a major role. Physical complexity due to changes in circulation patterns, volume of river flow and multiple river sources makes observation of biological and photochemical effects challenging in this region. We have used two approaches to distinguish between source and transformation effects: mixing models, which include the concentration and inherent optical properties of CDOM from discrete samples, and high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of multi-spectral fluorescence.
Localization of the efferent neurons of the tensor tympani muscle of the newborn kitten using horseradish peroxidase.

Abstract The tracer protein horseradish peroxidase was used in localizing the efferent neurons of the tensor tympani muscle of the newborn kitten. They were found to be within the parvocellular division of the trigeminal motor nucleus. This nucleus was redefined according to cell size. Cell counts showed an average neuron population of 534. Fiber counts on the kitten tensor tympani nerves revealed an average of 2470 fibers consisting of an average of 176 myelinated and 2299 unmyelinated fibers. The fiber counts on the adults revealed an average of 924 myelinated and 473 unmyelinated fibers and a total average of 1396. Caliber determinations showed fibers up to approximately 9.6 μm with the majority falling in a range of 2.4 to 3.6 μm.
Enrichment of genes in the aortic intima that are associated with stratified epithelium: implications of underlying biomechanical and barrier properties of the arterial intima.

Background— Arteries and veins are exposed to different pressures and are easily distinguished by morphology. Although several recent studies have focused on differential gene expression between the arterial and venous endothelium, the molecular distinctions that give rise to the dramatic structural distinctions between arteries and veins, such as in the organization of the intima, are not known. Methods and Results— We used high-density oligonucleotide arrays to analyze the transcriptional profile of the mouse aorta and inferior vena cava (IVC), not restricting our analysis to the endothelium, to identify genes whose expression was enriched in aorta over other tissues and the IVC. By quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis, these genes have been shown to be highly expressed in the mouse aorta and were either expressed at low levels or were undetectable in the murine IVC. By immunofluorescence analysis of human tissue, we determined that a subset of these aorta-enriched prote...
Nucleation and growth mechanisms of an electrodeposited manganese oxide oxygen evolution catalyst

We investigate the mechanisms of nucleation and steady-state growth of a manganese oxide catalyst (MnOx) electrodeposited from Mn2+ solutions in a weakly basic electrolyte. Early catalyst growth was probed through chronoamperometry transients, which were fit to reveal a progressive nucleation mechanism for initial catalyst formation. Time-dependent atomic force microscopy snapshots of the electrode surface reveal a rapid increase in nucleus size together with a sluggish rise in coverage, which is also characteristic of progressive nucleation. Electrochemical kinetic studies of the catalyst growth yield a Tafel slope of approximately 2.3 × RT/2F and a rate law consisting of a second-order and inverse fourth-order dependence on [Mn2+] and proton activity, respectively. These results are consistent with a deposition mechanism involving rate-limiting disproportionation of aqueous Mn3+, resolving a longstanding ambiguity surrounding the deposition of manganese oxides under nonacidic conditions.
Robotic surgery applications in the management of gynecologic malignancies.

This review evaluates the use of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies and objectively evaluates the use of these systems in performing radical hysterectomies and surgical staging of gynecologic malignancies. The review focuses on surgical length, blood loss, complications, recovery time, and adequacy of surgical staging of robotic-assisted surgery compared to abdominal and non-robotically assisted laparoscopic surgery for malignancies. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 105:481–487. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Observation of the Pr 141 and Tm 169 Nuclear Magnetic Resonances in the Paramagnetic States of Rare-Earth Intermetallic Compounds

The first observations of the ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{141}$ and ${\mathrm{Tm}}^{169}$ nmr in rare-earth intermetallic compounds are described. The calculated and observed values for the nmr frequency shifts are in good agreement.
Effect of combined 17β-estradiol and vitamin E on low-density lipoprotein oxidation in postmenopausal women

The analysis of 9,725 electrocardiograms recorded on the fourth day of life has shown that gender-related differences in QTc observed in the adult population are not present at birth.
The method of multiple scales: asymptotic solutions and normal forms for nonlinear oscillatory problems

Abstract The method of multiple scales is implemented in Maple V Release 2 to generate a uniform asymptotic solutionO(ϵr) for a weakly nonlinear oscillator.In recent work, it has been shown that the method of multiple scales also transforms the differential equations into normal form, so the given algorithm can be used to simplify the equations describing the dynamics of a system near a fixed point.These results are equivalent to those obtained with the traditional method of normal forms which uses a near-identity coordinate transformation to get the system into the “simplest” form.A few Duffing type oscillators are analysed to illustrate the power of the procedure. The algorithm can be modified to take care of systems of ODEs, PDEs and other nonlinear cases.
The Tolerance of Growing Chicks for High Levels of Different Forms of Zinc

Abstract RECENTLY, the zinc requirement of the growing chick was established at approximately twenty ppm. of zinc exclusive of that found in the isolated soybean protein basal diets (Roberson and Schaible, 1958; O’Dell et al., 1958; Moeller and Scott, 1958). Mehring et al. (1956) fed as high as 778 ppm. in the ration without harmful results on growth or feed efficiency of growing chicks. The purpose of the experiments reported herein was to determine the upper level of zinc which can be tolerated by the chick without adverse effects. Three zinc compounds were used. EXPERIMENTAL Experiment 1. Five hundred White Leghorn male chicks, grown to one week of age on the basal diet (Table 1), were alloted on the basis of weight into five replicates of ten chicks for each of the ten treatments (Table 2). Graded levels of zinc ranging from none to 1,000 ppm, as zinc oxide, were added …
Applicator for Applying Granular Insecticides to Small Plots at Planting Time

Construction details of a one-row applicator to hand apply granular insecticides after the crop is planted are discussed. The hand-pushed applicator is constructed by attaching a Gandy Granular Applicator frame to a corn planter packer wheel. Modified metering devices allow for rapid change of insecticides.
The latch region of calcineurin B is involved in both immunosuppressant-immunophilin complex docking and phosphatase activation

The immunosuppressants cyclosporin A and FK506, when complexed with their intracellular receptors, prevent T cell activation by directly binding to the phosphatase calcineurin. We have used molecular modeling and mutagenesis to identify sites on calcineurin important for this interaction. We have created calcineurins that are resistant to both cyclosporin A and FK506 by mutating specific residues in CnB, a calcium-binding protein that regulates the catalytic subunit, CnA. Significantly, on a model of CnB, these mutations map to the latch region, an element of tertiary structure that forms when CnB binds CnA. In addition, we show that this latch region plays an important role in activating the catalytic subunit CnA. These results suggest a molecular mechanism for suppression of calcineurin by cyclosporin A and FK506 involving their binding to the same region of CnB used for allosterically activating CnA.
Relations of total and abdominal adiposity to muscle sympathetic nerve activity in healthy older males

Relations of total and abdominal adiposity to muscle sympathetic nerve activity in healthy older males
Small molecule modulators of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Abstract The Wnt signal transduction pathway is dysregulated in many highly prevalent diseases, including cancer. Unfortunately, drug discovery efforts have been hampered by the paucity of targets and drug-like lead molecules amenable to drug discovery. Recently, we reported the FDA-approved anthelmintic drug Niclosamide inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling by a unique mechanism, though the target responsible remains unknown. We interrogated the mechanism and structure–activity relationships to understand drivers of potency and to assist target identification efforts. We found inhibition of Wnt signaling by Niclosamide appears unique among the structurally-related anthelmintic agents tested and found the potency and functional response was dependent on small changes in the chemical structure of Niclosamide. Overall, these findings support efforts to identify the target of Niclosamide inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and the discovery of potent and selective modulators to treat human disease.
Newborn behavior and the transition to extrauterine life

The relationship between behavior and physiological regulation in the newborn infant is examined from an evolutionary perspective. It is argued that the newborn's behavior contributes to the resolution of physiological disturbances which arise during the transition from fetal to extrauterine life. The implications of this functional perspective are that: (a) “normal” variation in physiological status may be a potent determinant of behavioral variation; (b) the monolithic “at risk” categorization of newborns obscures distinct behaviors which evolved in response to specific complications; (c) the day-to-day stability of a measure of newborn behavior should not be used as the metric in assessing that measure's utility; and (d) the absence of a significant correlation between newborn behavior and later developmental status may reflect behavior's contribution to the successful resolution of an early complication that would otherwise have resulted in a subsequent deficit.
Exogenous Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Amplifies Its Own Expression and Induces Scar Formation in a Model of Human Fetal Skin Repair

OBJECTIVE: Fetal skin wounds heal without scarring. To determine the role of TGF-beta 1 in fetal wound healing, mRNA expression of TGF-beta 1 was analyzed in human fetal and adult skin wounds. METHODS: Human fetal skin transplanted to a subcutaneous location on an adult athymic mouse that was subsequently wounded heals without scar, whereas human adult skin heals with scar formation in that location. In situ hybridization for TGF-beta 1 mRNA expression and species-specific immunohistochemistry for fibroblasts, macrophages, and neutrophils were performed in human adult wounds, fetal wounds, and fetal wounds treated with a TGF-beta 1 slow release disk. RESULTS: Transforming growth factor-beta 1 mRNA expression was induced by wounding adult skin. No TGF-beta 1 mRNA upregulation was detected in human fetal skin after wounding. However, when exogenous TGF-beta 1 was added to human fetal skin, induction of TGF-beta 1 mRNA expression in human fetal fibroblasts occurred, an adult-like inflammatory response was detected, and the skin healed with scar formation. CONCLUSIONS: Transforming growth factor-beta 1 is an important modulator in scar formation. Anti-TGF-beta 1 strategies may promote scarless healing in adult wounds.
Application of electron linacs in medicine, food sterilization and synchrotron light sources

Abstract A review of the state of the art and new trends in electron linac technology is given with emphasis on three particular applications: radiotherapy, food sterilization and synchrotron light sources. The requirements on linac performances that these applications call for, namely energy variation flexibility, high power, high energy and low cost, will open linacs to new applications to come.
Bio-optical model describing the distribution of irradiance at the sea surface resulting from a point source embedded in the ocean

A model of the optical properties of the ocean, providing the absorption and scattering coefficients of the medium as nonlinear functions of the concentration of pigments associated with phytoplankton and their immediate detrital material, is presented. Monte Carlo computations of the attenuation coefficient of downwelling irradiance Kd for an ocean–atmosphere system illuminated by the sun at zenith, agree well with experimental data and demonstrate the validity of such a model for studying the influence of phytoplankton biomass on the propagation to the surface of light generated through bioluminescence. The radiative transfer equation for the irradiance at the sea surface resulting from illumination by a point source embedded in the water is solved by Monte Carlo techniques. The solution technique is validated through comparison with an asymptotic analytic solution for isotropic scattering. The computations show that the irradiance distribution just beneath the surface as a function of R, the distance measured along the surface from a point vertically above the source, is described by two regimes: (1) a regime in which the irradiance is governed mostly by absorption and geometry with scattering playing a negligible role—the near field; (2) a regime in which the light field at the surface is very diffuse and the irradiance decays approximately exponentially in R and is a very weak function of the source depth—the diffusion regime. The near field is of primary interest because it contains most of the power reaching the sea surface. An analytical model of the irradiance distribution just beneath the surface as a function of R, the source depth, and the pigment concentration for the near field is presented. This model is based on the observation that at most scattering events the change in the photon's direction is slight, and therefore, scattering is rather ineffective in attenuating the irradiance. An analytic solution for the irradiance from the point source, then, is first carried out ignoring scattering altogether; however, recognizing that backscattering will attenuate the irradiance, the absorption coefficient is replaced by an effective attenuation coefficient k. This effective attenuation coefficient is determined by fitting the total power just beneath the surface determined from the Monte Carlo computations to the analytical model. The resulting k is closely related to Kd, and the Monte Carlo irradiance as a function of R and source depth in the near-field regime can be approximated with high accuracy using the model. These results indicate Kd can be estimated at night by releasing a point source in the water, measuring the irradiance at the surface as it sinks, and fitting the measurements to the relationships developed here to determine k. The analytic model also enables estimation of the source depth and power from the irradiance distribution just beneath the surface.
Stable distributions for asset returns

Abstract Alternative stable distributions for modeling returns on financial assets are proposed. Their goodness-of-fit with respect to daily stock-index data is compared.
Long-term Follow-up After Anti-reflux Surgery in Patients with Barrett’s Esophagus

Factors associated with the risk of progression of Barrett’s esophagus remain unclear, and the impact of therapy on this risk remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to assess patients followed long-term after anti-reflux surgery for Barrett’s esophagus. A retrospective review was performed of all patients with Barrett’s who underwent anti-reflux surgery from 1989 to 2009 and had ≥5 years of follow-up. There were 303 patients and 75 had follow-up ≥5 years. Median follow-up time for the 75 patients was 8.9 years (range 5–18). Regression was seen in 31%. Progression occurred in 8%, and these patients were significantly more likely to have a failed fundoplication (67% vs. 16%, p = 0.0129). The rate of progression from non-dysplastic Barrett’s to high-grade dysplasia or cancer was 0.8% per patient year, and was seven times higher in patients with a failed fundoplication. Compared to the accepted rate of progression of non-dysplastic Barrett’s to high-grade dysplasia or cancer of 1.0% per patient year, anti-reflux surgery reduces this rate during long-term follow-up. The rate of progression was significantly lower in patients with an intact compared to a disrupted fundoplication, further suggesting that anti-reflux surgery can alter the natural history of Barrett’s esophagus.
Interaction between classical and quantum systems; a new approach to quantum measurement. II. Theoretical considerations

We develop further a new approach to the quantum measurement process. In this approach, which we proposed in a recent paper, the apparatus is treated as a classical system; however, the classical apparatus is directly coupled to the quantum system. A principle of integrity, which requires that the observables of the classical apparatus retain their classical integrity, is introduced. We examine the constraints which this principle places upon the coupling between the apparatus and the quantum system. To illustrate our approach we use a model loosely based on the Stern-Gerlach experiment. For this model we exhibit a coupling which satisfies the principle of integrity.