cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genital Ulcers: Differential Diagnosis and Management.

Genital ulcers may be located on the vagina, penis, and anorectal or perineal areas and may be infectious or noninfectious. Herpes simplex virus is the most common cause of genital ulcers in the United States. A diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection is made through physical examination and observation of genital lesions. The 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sexually transmitted disease guidelines provide strategies for the management of patients with genital ulcer disease. Specific testing includes a polymerase chain reaction test for herpes simplex virus; syphilis serology and darkfield microscopy or a direct fluorescent antibody test for Treponema pallidum; and/or culture for Haemophilus ducreyi in settings where chancroid is highly prevalent. Rarely, cases of Epstein-Barr virus may present with genital ulcers. Syphilis and chancroid cause genital ulcers and are mandatory reportable diseases to the local health department. In some cases, no pathogen is identified. It is important to consider noninfectious etiologies such as sexual trauma, psoriasis, Behcet syndrome, and fixed drug eruptions. Genital ulcers are symptomatic by definition, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for syphilis infection for those at risk, early screening for syphilis infection in all pregnant women, and against routine serologic screening for genital herpes simplex virus infection in asymptomatic adolescents and adults, including those who are pregnant.
An Unusual Case Presentation of Emphysematous Cystitis.

Emphysematous cystitis (EC) is a rare infection characterized by gas formation in the bladder wall. We present an unusual case of emphysematous cystitis of a 37-year-old female patient with pneumaturia, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain. EC was diagnosed on a computed tomography (CT) scan which demonstrated abnormal bladder wall thickening that contained air. Urinalysis was positive for hematuria, bacteria and an elevated leukocyte esterase which further supported the diagnosis. This patient's atypical symptoms and lack of other risk factors that are commonly seen in patients with EC highlight the need for vigilance when assessing for EC.
Disability and Ableism in Medicine: A Curriculum for Medical Students

Introduction Individuals with disabilities (approximately 20% of the population) experience discrimination and health disparities. Medical school must equip students with expertise to care for pati...
How Neutrinos Get Mass and What Other Things May Happen Besides Oscillations

In this talk I address the theoretical issue of what new physics is required to make $m_\nu \neq 0$. I then discuss what other things may happen besides neutrino oscillations. In particular I consider a possible new scenario of leptogenesis in R parity nonconserving supersymmetry.
Do FTC Privacy Enforcement Actions Matter? Compliance Before and after US-ES Safe Harbor Agreement Actions

Online information privacy in the United States lacked any comprehensive laws or enforcement required to meet the more stringent European Union privacy laws until July 2000, when authorities established the (now defunct) U.S.-E.U. Safe Harbor Agreement. This mechanism allowed firms to meet the more stringent E.U. information privacy standards by adhering to certain information practices and including particular commitments in their privacy policy contracts. A critical component of this regime has been enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. Many have argued that industry participants fear such enforcement actions and study the associated settlement agreements diligently to ensure compliance with the articulated standards. We track the terms in more than 200 privacy policies over time and find no evidence that highly-publicized FTC Safe Harbor actions lead to modifications of firms’ privacy policies. Even when the FTC specifically identifies a particular Safe Harbor violation as deceptive, privacy policies that are committing similar violations almost invariably continue to do so. On the other hand, firms have been reducing the number of specific commitments in their privacy policy over time.
NASA Space Science and a Search for Ram-Pressure Stripping in the Hydra I Cluster

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Sciences and Exploration Directorate seeks to expand scientific knowledge through observational and theoretical research in the study of the Earth-Sun system, the solar system and the origins of life, and the birth and evolution of the universe. This talk will discuss some of the cutting-edge space science research being conducted at Goddard. In addition, I will discuss my research on ram-pressure stripping in cluster elliptical galaxies. Ram-pressure stripping is a method by which hot interstellar gas can be removed from a galaxy moving through a group or cluster of galaxies. Indirect evidence of ram-pressure stripping includes lowered X-ray brightness in a galaxy due to less X-ray emitting gas remaining in the galaxy. Here we present the initial results of our program to determine whether cluster elliptical galaxies have lower hot gas masses than their counterparts in less rich environments. This test requires the use of the high-resolution imaging of the Chandra Observatory and we present our analysis of the galaxies in the nearby cluster Hydra I.
Studies in metabolic spectra. IV. Effects of tetracyclines, some of their derivatives, and chloramphenicol on accumulation of glutamic acid in Escherichia coli.

Cheng, Lorraine (Radiobiochemistry Department, Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., Maywood, N. J.) and J. F. Snell. Studies in metabolic spectra. IV. Effects of tetracyclines, some of their derivatives, and chloramphenicol on accumulation of glutamic acid in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 83:711–719. 1962.—Escherichia coli strain 21 was incubated in the Warburg apparatus at 37 C with sodium acetate-2-C14 and 0.1 μmole/ml of various test compounds. Up to 1 hr, de novo C14-glutamic acid (synthesized from the C14-acetate precursor) accumulation in the fermentation broth was found to be a common phenomenon for the control cells and cells treated with oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. Subsequently, C14-glutamic acid continued to accumulate in the broth of the inhibited cells, but began to disappear from the broth of the control cells. During the first half hour, the rate of accumulation was most rapid in the presence of oxytetracycline. At 3 hr the total de nova C14-glutamic acid was found to be the same whether cells were treated with oxytetracycline or not. However, the distribution of this glutamic acid was different. In the oxytetracycline-treated cells, more than 87% of the total de nova C14-glutamic acid was in the broth, and only 13% was incorporated into the cell residue. In the control cells, no C14-glutamic acid was found in the broth, although 67% was in the cell residue. The possibility that the tetracyclines and chloramphenicol have different modes of action, and that oxytetracycline inhibits the incorporation of d-glutamic acid into the cell wall and membrane material in E. coli 21, was discussed.
"People of the Apokalis": Spatial Disability and the Bhopal Disaster

This paper considers Indra Sinha's Animal's People (2007), a fictional re-telling of the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster, as a productive site of mutual engagement between postcolonial studies and disability studies, two fields rarely in dialogue. Dominant models of disability, I argue, do not translate to formerly colonial sites and/or sites that bear the burden of global capitalism. The uneven processes of globalization—which produce disabling environments—necessitate that we revise established conceptions of disability, which are derived largely from US/UK contexts. I explore a socio-spatial model that emphasizes the necessity of specific locational axes in figurations of disability. This enables more flexible understandings of embodiment, which may shift and be shifted by the particularities of space. A victim of the disaster, Animal--the novel's protagonist--navigates Bhopal’s streets on all fours. His unique spatial imaginary, contingent on his particular form of embodiment, produces a local and embodied knowledge that foregrounds points of convergence between anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and disability politics. Keywords: postcolonialism, globalization, Bhopal India, Union Carbide, neoliberalism, transnational, contemporary English literature, industrial disaster, environmental studies
Leveraging Advanced Analytics Techniques for Medical Systematic Review Update

While systematic reviews (SRs) are positioned as an essential element of modern evidence-based medical practice, the creation and update of these reviews is resource intensive. In this research, we propose to leverage advanced analytics techniques for automatically classifying articles for inclusion and exclusion for systematic review update. Specifically, we used the soft-margin Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a classifier and examined various techniques to resolve class imbalance issues. Through an empirical study, we demonstrated that the soft-margin SVM works better than the perceptron algorithm used in current research and the performance of the classifier can be further improved by exploiting different sampling methods to resolve class imbalance issues.
Pathogenesis of Diabetic Microvascular Complications

Complications of diabetes have been the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Based on the sites of functional and pathological changes, these complications have been characterized as cardiomyopathy, macrovasculopathy, and microvasculopathy. Multiple clinical studies have shown that glycemic control is by far the most effective approach in the prevention of microvascular and neuropathic complications. However, tight glycemic control is still difficult to achieve using current available regimen, and therefore novel pathogenesis-based interventions that can prevent and reverse the complications even in the presence of hyperglycemia are needed. Over the past decade, advances in molecular and cellular biological techniques have revealed many potential mechanisms utilized by hyperglycemia to induce its adverse effects. Several mechanisms, including vascular oxidative stress; formation of advanced glycation endproducts; activation of protein kinase C; increased flux through hexosamine pathway; inflammation-induced vascular pathology; altered expression and actions of growth factors, cytokines, and vasomotor mediators; and increased flux through polyol pathway, have been studied in detail. The identification of such mechanisms has lead to the development of novel pharmacological approaches. Keywords: diabetes; vascular; Oxidative stress; polyol pathway; advanced end products; protein kinase C; inflammation; growth factors
Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mice Display Gender Differences in Electrophysiological Abnormalities

Genetically-manipulated mice harboring an α-myosin heavy chain Arg403Gln missense mutation (α-MHC 403/+ ) display a phenotype characteristic of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC). Male and female (30±8 week old) heterozygous α-MHC 403/+ mice and littermate controls were evaluated using a surface electrocardiogram (ECG) and an in vivo cardiac electrophysiology study (EPS). Wild type animals had normal intracardiac electrophysiology, with no significant differences between male and female control mice during EPS. The female wild-type mice did have slower heart rates and longer ECG intervals than their male wild-type counterparts. The female α-MHC 403/+ mice had similar ECG's, cardiac conduction times, and refractory periods compared with female wild-type mice. In contrast, male FHC mice had distinctive ECG and electrophysiologic abnormalities including right axis deviation, prolonged ventricular repolarization and prolonged sinus node recovery times. During programmed ventricular stimulation, 62% of male α-MHC 403/+ mice and 28% of female α-MHC 403/+ mice had inducible ventricular tachycardia. These studies identify gender-specific electrophysiologic abnormalities in α-MHC 403/+ FHC mice, concordant with the histological and hemodynamic derangements previously reported.
Rad52 protein stimulates DNA strand exchange by Rad51 and replication protein A

The generation of a double-strand break in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome is a potentially catastrophic event that can induce cell-cycle arrest or ultimately result in loss of cell viability.The repair of such lesions is strongly dependent on proteins encoded by the RAD52 epistasis group of genes (RAD50-55, RAD57, MRE11, XRS2)1,2, as well as the RFA13,4 and RAD59 genes5. rad52 mutants exhibit the most severe phenotypic defects in double-strand break repair2, but almost nothing is known about the biochemical role of Rad52 protein. Rad51 protein promotes DNA strand exchange6,7,8 and acts similarly to RecA protein9. Yeast Rad52 protein interacts with Rad51 protein10,11, binds single-stranded DNA and stimulates annealing of complementary single-stranded DNA12. We find that Rad52 protein stimulates DNA strand exchange by targeting Rad51 protein to a complex of replication protein A (RPA) with single-stranded DNA. Rad52 protein affects an early step in the reaction, presynaptic filament formation, by overcoming the inhibitory effects of the competitor, RPA. Furthermore, stimulation is dependent on the concerted action of both Rad51 protein and RPA, implying that specific protein–protein interactions between Rad52 protein, Rad51 protein and RPA are required.
Treatment of vertebrobasilar fusiform aneurysms with Pipeline embolization device

ObjectTreatment of complex intracranial aneurysms with Pipeline embolization device (PED) (ev3/Covidien Vascular Therapies) has gained recent popularity. One application of PEDs that is not well de...
LXV. On the angle of dock gates and the bee's cell

(1859). LXV. On the angle of dock gates and the bee's cell. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science: Vol. 18, No. 122, pp. 427-429.
A Framework for Dynamic and Aeroelastic Analysis of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

This paper presents a framework for the dynamic and aeroelastic analysis of a horizontal axis wind turbine modeled as a multi-flexible-body system. The multi-rigid-body portions of the system, composed of the nacelle and hub, are modeled as a system of interconnected rigid bodies using Kane’s equations. The flexible portions, composed of the the blades and tower, are represented using nonlinear beam finite elements, taken from a mixed formulation for the dynamics of moving beams. Each analysis leads to a set of symbolic equations that can be coupled symbolically to represent the dynamic behavior of the wind turbine. A solution procedure is implemented to assess the dynamic stability of the system. Here the solution is divided into two parts: a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations governing the periodic steady-state operating condition, and a set of equations that are linearized about the steady-state operating condition governing the transient dynamics. The harmonic balance method is used for the nonlinear periodic steady-state solution, and the finite element in time method is proposed as an alternative method. Linearization of the equations about the steady-state operating condition yields system equations with periodic coefficients which are solved by Floquet approach to extract the modal parameters. For the aeroelastic analysis, aerodynamic loads from an aerodynamic model to be selected in the future will be inserted into the present framework. Then, the framework can produce a symbolic system matrix, potentially useful for control design. Numerical results are presented for the dynamic characteristic of HAWT’s with flexible tower and blades.Copyright © 2002 by Donghoon Lee, Dewey H. Hodges, and ASME
Discovery of 2-(4-methylfuran-2(5H)-ylidene)malononitrile and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-2-carboxylic acid derivatives as G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) agonists.

Screening with dynamic mass redistribution (DMR) assays in a native cell line HT-29 led to identification of two novel series of chemical compounds, 2-(4-methylfuran-2(5H)-ylidene)malononitrile and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-2-carboxylic acid derivatives, as GPR35 agonists. Of these, 2-(3-cyano-5-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-4,5-dimethylfuran-2(5H)-ylidene)malononitrile (YE120) and 6-bromo-3-methylthieno[3,2-b]thiophene-2-carboxylic acid (YE210) were found to be the two most potent GPR35 agonists with an EC50 of 32.5 ± 1.7 nM and 63.7 ± 4.1 nM, respectively. Both agonists exhibited better potency than that of zaprinast, a known GPR35 agonist. DMR antagonist assays, knockdown of GPR35 with interference RNA, receptor internalization assays, and Tango β-arrestin translocation assays confirmed that the agonist activity of these ligands is specific to GPR35. The present study provides novel chemical series as a starting point for further investigations of GPR35 biology and pharmacology.
The cervical spinal stenosis controversy

Cervical spinal cord symptoms after a spine injury from contact sports require a more precise work up to detect cervical spinal stenosis than radiographic bone measurements alone can provide. Imaging technologies such as MRI, contrast-positive CT, and myelography more accurately identify true spinal stenosis and allow for safer return-to-play decisions.
Synthesis and reaction chemistry of boryliridium hydride complexes formed by oxidative addition of catecholborane to iridium(I): Lessons for metal-catalyzed hydroboration

Abstract The mechanism of catalytic hydroboration was studied through the use of an iridium model complex. Oxidative addition of the B–H bond in (1,2-phenylenedioxy)borane (catecholborane) to (Me3P)3Ir(COE)(Cl) (COE = cyclooctene) produces mer-(Me3P)3Ir(Cl)(H)(BO2C6H4) (1). Compound 1 reacted with alkynes to form vinyliridium complexes and will catalyze the hydroboration of alkynes with (1,2-phenylenedioxy)borane. The mechanism of catalytic hydroboration of acetylenes with catecholborane involves: oxidative addition of the B–H bond to the iridium center, followed by chloride dissociation and acetylene coordination, migratory-insertion into the Ir–H bond to form the metallo-vinyl complex, and finally reductive elimination to produce trans-alkylvinylboronate esters. A stable metallo-vinyl complex was produced in the reaction of 1 with dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate and displayed two isomers in solution, one of which showed fluxional behavior. Single crystal X-ray diffraction elucidated a single solid-state structure, but the structures of the isomers in solution and the fluxional properties were studied with NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations.
The role of bacteria in pit propagation of carbon steel

Pit propagation in carbon steel exposed to a phosphate‐containing electrolyte required either stagnant conditions or microbial colonization of anodic regions. A scanning vibrating electrode (SVE) was used to resolve formation and inactivation of anodic and cathodic sites on carbon steel. In sterile, continuously aerated medium, pits initiated and repassivated, while in the absence of aeration, pits initiated and propagated. Pit propagation was also observed in continuously aerated medium inoculated with a heterotrophic bacterium, originally isolated from a corrosion tubercle formed on a steel pipe in a fresh water environment. Autoradiography of bacteria following uptake of 14C‐acetate into cellular material in combination with SVE analysis demonstrated that sites of anodic activity coincided with sites of bacterial activity. Prelabeled bacteria also preferentially attached to corrosion products over the anodic sites. Confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that attraction to anodic sites did not ...
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEISHMANIA DONOVANI IN VITRO AT 37°C : EFFECTS OF THE KIND OF SERUM

Suspensions of leishmanias from the spleen of hamsters infected with Leishmania donovani were placed in culture flasks and incubated at 37°C. In a medium of human erythrocyte extract and human serum there appeared within a day or two aflagellate forms resembling leishmanias but larger, as well as other aflagellate forms more nearly resembling rounded leptomonads. These intermediate forms multiplied during the first 4 days of culture. They then slowly died off, despite frequent renewal of the culture medium. Sometimes a small proportion of motile, typical leptomonads also appeared in such cultures. Leptomonads from cultures maintained at 28°C., when placed in the human red cell extract-human serum medium and incubated at 37°C., survived at least 4 days. For both types of effect, human serum could be replaced by normal hamster serum but not by rabbit serum. Nicotinamide, added to the human red cell extract-human serum medium at a concentration of 400 mg. per 100 ml., completely prevented the development of intermediate forms from leishmanias and brought about the rapid death of leptomonads at 37°C.
Safety of biologics in inflammatory bowel disease.

Various biologic agents have been evaluated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (eg, Crohn’s disease [CD]) and ulcerative colitis (UC). At present, only one, infliximab (humanized monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor-a antibody), is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for induction and maintenance treatment in patients with active moderate to severe and/or fistulizing CD who are refractory to conventional therapy. Two recent trials, Active Ulcerative Colitis Trial (ACT) 1 and ACT 2, observed high efficacy of infliximab in inducting and maintaining clinical remission, mucosal healing, and corticosteroid-sparing effects in patients with moderate to severe UC. A plethora of randomized, double-blind, controlled and open-label, uncontrolled studies on large and small numbers of patients has assessed efficacy and safety of various biologic agents of potential use in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. With respect to safety of biologic agents used for treatment, the most accurate data are available only in the case of infliximab. This is due to the fact that infliximab was evaluated in many more trials than any other biologic agent. Moreover, postmarketing experience also provides very valuable information about any side effects occurring during treatment with this agent.
Association of body size estimation and age in African-American females

This cross-sectional research study tested the hypothesis that body image estimates of African-American females differ as a function of age. To test this hypothesis, body image estimates of 379 African-American females, ranging in age from 16 to 96 years, were contrasted as a function of age group, while statistically controlling body mass index. Three body size estimates, current body size, ideal body size, and reasonable body size were measured using the Body Image Assessment for Obesity. The discrepancies between current and ideal body size estimates and between current and reasonable body size estimates were also analyzed to assess for differences in body size dissatisfaction. The study found that younger African-American women (16 to 35 years) differed from older African-American women (>35 years) on measures of body size dissatisfaction. Women in the age range of 26 to 35 years reported higher estimates of current body size in comparison to women older than 35 years. The youngest age group (16 to 25 years) reported thinner ideal body size goals in comparison to women who were slightly older (26 to 35 years) and women who were older than 75 years. The pattern of body image estimates across a large age range suggests that younger African-American women, in comparison to older African-American women, may have body images that may make them more susceptible to eating disorders.
The Influence of Shrouded Stator Cavity Flows on the Aerodynamic Performance of a High-Speed Multistage Axial-Flow Compressor

This paper investigates numerically the effects of shrouded stator seal cavity flows on a high-speed, six-stage, advanced axial-flow compressor performance. Two cases of fully three-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations are performed. The first case includes only the main flow path without cavities, while the second case takes into account the effect of cavities by fully meshing and solving the seal cavity flows under each of the stator vanes. Both simulations included rotor blade tip clearances. The latter case showed 1.7 point degradation in efficiency from the first case. Contributors to the overall performance degradation, such as windage heating, mixing loss due to seal leakage flow with the main flow, and additional loss of the rotors and stators due to alteration in velocity triangles, are identified by comparing the two simulation results. Compared to theoretical or semi-empirical leakage and windage models, higher loss production and temperature rise are found especially in mid to rear stages. Unsteady effects for such differences are discussed.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Analgesics and Anti-inflammatory Medications in Sports: Use and Abuse

Both acute and overuse musculoskeletal injuries are common in adolescent athletes. Pharmacologic agents including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen, and topical over-the-counter agents have been shown to be effective in controlling pain, but data regarding their efficacy in expediting healing and time to recovery continue to be debated. Studies indicate that adolescents consume analgesic agents on their own and may be unaware of their potential toxicities. Data also indicate that adolescent athletes use medications in hopes of alleviating pain and allowing continuation of sports without adequate time for healing. This article reviews the mechanisms, toxicity, drug interactions, efficacy, and abuse potential of commonly used analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs.
Feature Selection Metric Using AUC Margin for Small Samples and Imbalanced Data Classification Problems

Feature selection helps us to address problems possessing high dimensionality, retaining only those features that are most important for the classification task. However, traditional feature selection methods fail to account for imbalanced class distributions, leading to poor predictions for minority class samples. Recently, there has been a growing interest around the Area Under ROC curve (AUC) metric due to the fact that it can provide meaningful performance measures in the presence of imbalanced data. In this paper, we propose a new margin-based feature selection metric that defines the quality of a set of features by considering the maximized AUC margin it induces during the process of learning with boosting. Our algorithm measures the cumulative effect each feature has on the margin distribution associated with the weighted linear combination that boosting produces over the positive and the negative examples. Experiments on various real imbalanced data sets show the effectiveness of our algorithm when faced with selecting informative features from small data possessing skewed class distributions.
Data-intensive e-science frontier research

Large-scale e-science, including high-energy and nuclear physics, biomedical informatics, and Earth science, depend on an increasingly integrated, distributed cyberinfrastructure serving virtual organizations on a global scale.
Equal Thickness Contours of Films Deposited on Inclined Substrates by Evaporation and Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

A study is presented of the geometrical shape of deposition contours that arise when material is evaporated from a point source onto an inclined substrate, an arrangement common in ion-assisted deposition. The shape of the contours, as determined by the inverse square law and the angles of emission and incidence, is described by a fourth-order algebraic equation in polar coordinates on the surface of the substrate. The equation defines a family of distorted ellipses whose form depends on the angle of tilt. An experimental test of these relations by electron-beam deposition of an ion-bombarded oil film on a tilted silicon wafer will be reported.
Role of nitric oxide in diabetic complications

Diabetic vascular disease is accompanied by decreased formation of the vasodilators, nitric oxide (NO), and prostacyclin and increased formation of vasoconstrictor eicosanoids, which exacerbate the progression of vascular disease. Similarities between the dysfunction introduced by short-term effects of elevated glucose and long-term effects of diabetes suggest that the alteration in endothelial factors in diabetes primarily results from exposure of endothelial cells to elevated glucose, although undoubtedly hyperlipidemia contributes as well. A key alteration in endothelial cell phenotype is increased formation of reactive oxygen species. This is in part due to uncoupling of endothelial NO synthase such that it generates superoxide anion in addition to NO. This is responsible for NO synthase to produce peroxynitrite, a damaging molecule. Peroxynitrite inactivates prostacyclin synthase leading to the accumulation of inflammatory and prothrombotic eicosanoids. This not only helps to explain the impairment of endothelial vasodilator mechanisms, but also increased progression of vascular disease. Many of these cellular abnormalities can be prevented by adequate scavenging of oxygen-derived free radicals or by blocking the actions of the eicosanoids at thromboxane (TP) receptors. Exposure to elevated glucose also gives rise to oxidants in smooth muscle, and recent studies indicate that oxidation of cysteine thiols under these conditions may prevent physiological NO signaling. As a result, the responsiveness to NO is impaired and accounts in part for abnormal endothelium-dependent vasodilation.
Nitrogen fixation by the savanna tree Philenoptera violacea (Klotzsch) Schrire (Apple leaf) of different ages in a semi-arid riparian landscape

Abstract The acquisition of nitrogen for growth and maintenance is essential for plants, and having multiple strategies for that acquisition is especially important for those colonizing nutrient poor substrates. Philenoptera violacea (Apple leaf) is a prominent tree in nutrient poor savanna and alluvial soils near rivers in southern Africa, where nutrient availabilities are highly variable in space and time. We investigated nitrogen fixation in P. violacea within riparian corridors flanking the Sabie River in Kruger National Park (KNP) in the Lowveld in northeastern South Africa using the natural 15N abundance technique. Results indicated that P. violacea fixes atmospheric nitrogen and this varies with life history stage. We found that foliar δ15N levels were significantly lower in all life stage classes of P. violacea compared with the reference plant D. mespiliformis growing in open riparian forest. In addition δ15N values were significantly different within the different life stages of P. violacea with the leaves of saplings and juvenile plants having significantly lower δ15N levels than mature plants. While δ15N values increased with age, foliar nitrogen concentration values declined, with leaves from sapling P. violacea having significantly higher total nitrogen than adults and juveniles, which were in turn significantly higher than juvenile D. mespiliformis. However, foliar δ15N levels in seedlings of P. violacea growing in a high nutrient environment in flood debris piles did not differ from levels recorded in seedlings of the reference tree. This study confirms that P. violacea is able to fix nitrogen, but it is dependant on soil conditions and the life stage of the trees.
A specific binding site for a fragment of the B-loop of epidermal growth factor and related peptides.

Abstract Fragments of the B-loop of the epidermal growth factor family of peptides are reported to have mitogenic and angiogenic properties but appear to fail to compete with radioiodinated EGF in receptor binding. In this study, 11 analogs of a fragment of the B-loop of EGF-related peptides from several species were synthesized to study binding to A431 human epidermoid carcinoma using both 125 I-EGF and [3′4′- 3 H-Tyr 22,29 , Abu 20,31 ]EGF(20–31)-NH 2 . Specific binding sites were found for the human fragment and 8 analogs at a density five times higher than that of the EGF receptors. Analogs did not compete with 125 I-EGF for binding to the EGF receptor. The novel binding site may mediate the biological effects of the fragments. The primary rather than secondary structure of the fragments appears to determine affinity.
Resonant thermo-tunneling design for ultra-efficient nanostructured solar cells

Nanostructured solar cells are touted to lead to super high photo-conversion efficiencies. Nevertheless the inclusion of potential energy fluctuations associated with those structures hinders the smooth vertical transport of photo-generated carriers. We present an innovative energy level engineering design that significantly facilitates the collection of all photo-generated carriers. Using dilute nitride III-V semiconductor quantum wells embedded in a conventional III-V GaAs host, we demonstrate the possibility of achieving a quasi-flat valence band that will ease the smooth transport of holes. The conduction band confinement energies are designed in a way that promotes thermo-tunneling electrons from their potential wells to the conduction band continuum. Energy levels were calculated by including strain and spin-orbit interaction. The calculation of confinement energies was also undertaken. Once confinement energies and potential barrier heights were determined we complemented the theoretical evaluation by calculating carrier escape times via thermionic and tunneling routes at 300 K. Here we demonstrate that an optimized resonant thermo-tunneling design leads to ultra rapid escape. The suggested approach is thus expected to circumvent recombination losses and lead to a substantial carrier collection and efficiency improvements.
Community complexity drives patterns of natural selection on a chemical defense of Brassica nigra.

Abstract: Plants interact with many different species throughout their life cycle. Recent work has shown that the ecological effects of multispecies interactions are often not predictable from studies of the component pairwise interactions. Little is known about how multispecies interactions affect the evolution of ecologically important traits. We tested the direct and interactive effects of inter‐ and intraspecific competition, as well as of two abundant herbivore species (a generalist folivore and a specialist aphid), on the selective value of a defensive chemical compound in Brassica nigra. We found that investment in chemical defense was favored in interspecific competition but disfavored in intraspecific competition and that this pattern of selection was dependent on the presence of both herbivores, suggesting that selection will depend on the rarity or commonness of these species. These results show that the selective value of ecologically important traits depends on the complicated web of interact...
RELIABILITY OF SCALED SCORES

The reliability of a scaled score can be computed by use of item response theory. Estimated reliability can be obtained even if the item response model selected is not valid.
Reduce Your Pelvis in 10,000 Years or Less

While the avid dieter obsesses about reduction of different body parts, permanent reduction of many structures seems to be achieved relatively effortlessly (though much more slowly) throughout evolution. In a recent article in Nature, Shapiro et al. examine one such example, the genetic basis of pelvic reduction in the threespine stickleback fish (2004). They conclude that a regulatory mutation in the Pitx1 gene is responsible for the pelvic reduction.
Treatment-Resistant Depression: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Treatment Strategies

Full symptomatic remission is the optimal outcome for patients with major depression. Unfortunately, initial antidepressant efficacy is limited to partial response for many patients. Incomplete remission of depressive symptoms is associated with increased risk of relapse, decreased functioning in work and social settings, and increased risk of suicide. Factors that increase the likelihood of treatment resistance include chronicity, severe symptomatology, and comorbid illnesses. Strategies to manage patients who do not respond to an initial course of antidepressant medication include optimizing the dose, switching antidepressants, or adding adjunctive treatment (ie, psychotherapy or a second medication). Augmentation may be the preferred strategy for improving response if tolerability to the original agent is acceptable and the initial medication has had some beneficial effects. Tracking patients' depressive symptoms with standardized measurement tools during the course of treatment is necessary for identifying incomplete remission and providing appropriate treatment modification.
Biomaterials and Granulomas

Abstract The rapidly expanding use of implants for reconstruction and repair of diseased or traumatized tissues and organs has fueled the search for biomaterials that are stable, nontoxic, and biologically inert. Unfortunately, implants frequently cause acute or chronic inflammation resulting in tissue damage and rejection. Inflammation usually occurs at the biomaterial–tissue interface and reflects surface adsorption of plasma proteins, complement activation, neutrophil and macrophage infiltration, hyperplasia, and release of inflammatory mediators and proteolytic enzymes. If the biomaterial degrades, either spontaneously or due to biologic activity, components can leach into surrounding tissues and may enter the circulation, causing toxic effects systemically and in distant sites. Inflammation of connective tissues in genetically susceptible individuals can potentially activate the immune system and break tolerance to tissue-specific antigens. Experimentally induced animal models of arthritis chronicle the evolution of a chronic, destructive inflammation localized to peripheral joints. Models of autoimmune arthritis involve hyperimmunization with heterologous cartilage components, such as type II collagen or proteoglycan, leading to cross-reactivity with self-cartilage. Other apparently nonimmune models, oil-induced arthritis and pristane arthritis, may reflect granuloma formation and uncontrolled cytokine production. The antigen-induced arthritis model, developed by hyperimmunization with a foreign antigen that is subsequently injected into the joint cavity, is ideal for biocompatibility testing of cationic substances that may be immunogenic. This variety of models offers the means to understand adverse implant–tissue interactions and granuloma formation such that safer biomaterials can be developed in the future.
The positive column with negative ions in a magnetic field at low pressure

The effect of an axial magnetic field on the structure of the positive column at low pressures is examined in situations where negative ions are present and where they may dominate in density over electrons. In particular, when the electrons are magnetized to the extent that their cross-field mobility is severely reduced and their effective mass is greater than that of the negative ions the structure of the discharge becomes quite different from the conventional Langmuir-Tonks description at low pressures or the Schottky one at medium pressures. The results of computations in both plane and cylindrical geometries are given, demonstrating that in such circumstances the negative ion density increases towards the outer boundary. This has been carried through for parameters appropriate to discharges where the dominant processes for negative ions are attachment-detachment, for example O2, and also attachment-recombination, for example CCl4. Experimental results in CF4 which simulated the present work are consistent with the general conclusions. Furthermore, the nature and relevance of the Bohm criterion for sheath formation is examined, with the conclusion that at moderately strong magnetic fields it is no longer of significance because other criteria take over.
Acknowledgement of manuscript reviewers

The editors of the Journal of Biological Engineering thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in volume 5 (2011) and volume 6 (2012).
Changes in Cognitive Function During Substance Use Disorder Treatment

This study investigated the pattern of acute cognitive function of an ecologically valid sample of 58 consecutively admitted adults completing a 24 day residential/day substance use disorder treatment program at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and its change over the 24 days of monitored abstinence. Participants were assessed at entry with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) Form A and at treatment conclusion with the RBANS Form B and with the Similarities subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) and the Trail Making A and B tests at both time points. There were significant (p < 0.002) improvements in the RBANS Immediate Memory, Attention, and Total Index scores over the course of treatment and on the Similarities subtest and the Trail Making A and B tests with effect sizes ranging between 0.37 and 0.56. There was greater cognitive performance increase for participants in the lower versus upper quantiles at treatment entry on all cognitive measures.
Sudden infant death syndrome: altered aminergic-cholinergic synaptic markers in hypothalamus.

Alterations of sleep are reported to occur in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It is well established that the hypothalamus mediates the onset, maintenance, and timing of sleep, and does so via serotonergic and cholinergic mechanisms.We have investigated serotonergic and cholinergic synaptic markers in the hypothalamus from eight SIDS infants and six age-matched non-SIDS infants between 3 and 7 months of age. By use of established methods, we observed a number of chemical alterations in SIDS hypothalamus: (1) tryptophan content was increased and serotonin content was decreased, (2) serotonin binding was increased and imipramine binding was unchanged, (3) monoamine oxidase-A activity was increased without an effect on monoamine oxidase-B, and (4) choline acetyltransferase activity was decreased and acetylcholinesterase activity was unchanged. (J Child Neurol 1991;6:335-339).
Perceptual anisotropies in visual processing and their relation to natural image statistics.

The amplitude spectra of natural scenes are typically biased in terms of the amount of content at the cardinal orientations relative to the oblique orientations. This anisotropic distribution has been related to the 'oblique effect' (the greater visual sensitivity for simple line/grating stimuli at cardinal compared to oblique orientations). However, we have recently shown that with complex visual stimuli possessing broadband spatial content (i.e. random phase noise patterns), sensitivity for detecting oriented manipulations of amplitude is best for oblique orientations, and worst for horizontal orientations (the 'horizontal effect'). Here we investigated this effect with respect to the phase spectra of natural scenes. Oriented manipulations of both amplitude and phase were made on a set of natural scene images that were dominated by naturally occurring structure at one of four orientations in order to determine whether the presence of predominant scene content, carried by the Fourier phase spectra, altered the ability to detect an oriented increment of amplitude. The horizontal effect was observed regardless of any scene's content bias. In addition, a content-dependent effect was observed which could be related to the presence of spatial structure conveyed by the phase spectra of this set of natural scenes. Results are evaluated in the context of a divisive normalization model.
Renal transplantations performed using non-heartbeating organ donors: Going back to the future?

Background As more expanded-criteria organ donors are used to bridge the widening gap between organ supply and demand, non-heart-beating (NHB) donors will become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to analyze renal transplant outcomes using this source of cadaveric (CAD) organs and compare the results with heart-beating organ sources. Methods Data from 98,698 adult CAD renal transplant recipients and 34,531 living donor renal transplant recipients registered in the U. S. Renal Data System database between January 1993 and June 2000 were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare graft and patient survival rates between NHB, CAD, and living donor transplant recipients. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify risk factors for NHB donor recipients, while adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results Recipients of NHB donor organs experienced nearly twice the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) compared with heart-beating donors (42.4% vs. 23.3%, respectively). NHB donor transplants experienced comparable allograft survival when compared with CAD transplants at 6 years (73.2% vs. 72.5%, respectively; P=NS); patient survival was greater at 6 years for NHB compared with CAD renal transplant recipients (80.9% vs. 77.8%, respectively; P=NS). Significant factors for allograft loss for NHB donor organ recipients included the following: organ used for repeat transplants; DGF; donor age older than 35 years; and head trauma as a cause of initial injury (relative risk 2.74, 1.90, 1.78, and 1.41, respectively). Conclusions Although exhibiting elevated DGF rates, allograft and patient survival rates of transplants from NHB donor sources are equivalent to those from conventional CAD sources. Donor age, recipient transplant number, female recipient, mechanism of injury, and DGF were the most pertinent variables leading to poor outcomes.
Mitochondrial Disease in the Pediatric Patient

Long referred to as the powerhouses of human cellular function, mitochondria are responsible for converting nutrients derived from food into adenosine triphosphate, the principal intracellular energy source on which normal eukaryotic cell function is entirely dependent. Although disease of the mitochondria is still considered to be relatively rare, diagnosis of the many mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders is on the rise, and it remains the most prevalent group of inherited neurometabolic diseases. Diagnosis is complicated by poor differentiation between signs and symptoms of other diseases, and the testing process is rigorous at best. Along with pharmaceutical intervention, nutrition is the primary means of support in these individuals, with a focus on adequate energy intake coupled with cofactor and vitamin supplementation. Unfortunately, as with all rare diseases, there is a distinct lack of adequate research to support one treatment over another. This article examines the current research regardi...
Evidence for ammonium-bearing minerals on ceres

Spectra obtained from recent telescopic observation of 1-Ceres and laboratory measurements and theoretical calculations of three component mixtures of Ceres analog material suggest that an ammoniated phyllosilicate is present on the surface of the asteroid, rather than H(2)O frost as had been previously reported. The presence of an ammoniated phyllosilicate, most likely ammoniated saponite, on the surface of Ceres implies that secondary temperatures could not have exceeded 400 kelvin.