cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application of Lipolytic Enzymes to Flavor Development in Dairy Products

Abstract Hydrolysis of milk fat catalyzed by enzymes, though a major dairy industry problem because of the production of rancid flavor defects in milk, cream, and manufactured dairy products, commonly is applied as a controlled process for the development of desirable flavors in certain products. These applications include flavor development in various cheeses, manufacture of lipolyzed milk fat products for enhancement of butter-like flavors, and flavor development in milk chocolate. Our paper reviews research on the relationship between lipolysis and flavor, which involves a variety of tissue and microbial lipase or esterase enzymes. Comparative data on enzyme specificity and enzyme activity indicate a wide variety of flavor effects from various enzyme preparations. The technology of application of lipolytic enzymes to flavor development in dairy products is described. Commercial applications, including patents, involving lipolytic enzymes or products therefrom in various cheeses, lipolyzed milk fat products, bakery formulations and flavor preparations, are reviewed. Potential future applications also are considered.
Impact of the Viral Respiratory Season on Postoperative Outcomes in Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

To compare postoperative outcomes in children undergoing cardiac surgery during the viral respiratory season and nonviral season at our institution. This was a retrospective cohort study and secondary matched case–control analysis. The setting was an urban academic tertiary-care children’s hospital. The study was comprised of all patients <18 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital from October 2002 through September 2007. Patients were stratified by season of surgery, complexity of cardiac disease, and presence or absence of viral respiratory infection. Measurements included patient characteristics and postoperative outcomes. The primary outcome was postoperative length of stay (LOS). A total of 744 patients were included in the analysis. There was no difference in baseline characteristics or outcomes, specifically, no difference in postoperative LOS, intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, and mortality, among patients by seasons of surgery. Patients with viral respiratory illness were more likely to have longer postoperative LOS (p < 0.01) and ICU LOS (p < 0.01) compared with matched controls. We identified no difference in postoperative outcomes based on season in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Children with viral respiratory infection have significantly worse outcomes than matched controls, strengthening the call for universal administration of influenza vaccination and palivizumab to appropriate groups. Preoperative testing for respiratory viruses should be considered during the winter months for children undergoing elective cardiac surgery.
Why Ambiguity Detection Is a Predictor of Early Reading Skill.

This study was designed to determine the contributions of metalinguistic skill and psycholinguistic processing ability to children's ability to detect the ambiguity of sentences and the relationship among all three factors to early reading ability. A total of 20 first graders and 20 second graders were given tasks testing the following abilities: ambiguity detection, conservation, lexical processing, and reading comprehension. Although intercorrelations among all four tasks were highly significant, regression analyses indicate independent contributions of processing and metalinguistic skills to ambiguity detection, which is, in turn, the sole predictor of reading comprehension. A developmental sequence is hypothesized. The authors suggest that ambiguity detection can be used to identify children who are at risk for reading failure and that training in ambiguity detection can be used in reading-readiness training and as an intervention tool.
Sensory maps in the olfactory cortex defined by long-range viral tracing of single neurons

Sensory information may be represented in the brain by stereotyped mapping of axonal inputs or by patterning that varies between individuals. In olfaction, a stereotyped map is evident in the first sensory processing centre, the olfactory bulb (OB), where different odours elicit activity in unique combinatorial patterns of spatially invariant glomeruli. Activation of each glomerulus is relayed to higher cortical processing centres by a set of ∼20-50 'homotypic' mitral and tufted (MT) neurons. In the cortex, target neurons integrate information from multiple glomeruli to detect distinct features of chemically diverse odours. How this is accomplished remains unclear, perhaps because the cortical mapping of glomerular information by individual MT neurons has not been described. Here we use new viral tracing and three-dimensional brain reconstruction methods to compare the cortical projections of defined sets of MT neurons. We show that the gross-scale organization of the OB is preserved in the patterns of axonal projections to one processing centre yet reordered in another, suggesting that distinct coding strategies may operate in different targets. However, at the level of individual neurons neither glomerular order nor stereotypy is preserved in either region. Rather, homotypic MT neurons from the same glomerulus innervate broad regions that differ between individuals. Strikingly, even in the same animal, MT neurons exhibit extensive diversity in wiring; axons of homotypic MT pairs diverge from each other, emit primary branches at distinct locations and 70-90% of branches of homotypic and heterotypic pairs are non-overlapping. This pronounced reorganization of sensory maps in the cortex offers an anatomic substrate for expanded combinatorial integration of information from spatially distinct glomeruli and predicts an unanticipated role for diversification of otherwise similar output neurons.
The dangerous shores‐one last time

I have watched with interest, over a long period of time, the ways in which interpretation (and now performance studies) moves between interests in text and interests in the performer. Elizabeth Bell's recent helpful and stimulating essay in Text and Performance Quarterly argues for a center in the performer, but in fact it is as interested in the whole text-performer relationship as views of mine which she contests. From the beginning, studies of interpretation have been concerned with both of the "shores," and it is as true now as ever that one may be grounded on either. To say that both text and performer are of vital importance is not to deny that a student of the art may, at any given time, choose to spend time with one rather than the other. In my own case, I have, in what I have written, spent much time with the text, partly because when I came to the field it seemed to me that the notion of "text" needed exploring in relationship with performance, and the idea of performance as a way of knowing was new and exciting to me. I have never lost that sense of excitement about performance and its double value as both pleasure and use, for performance is more than pleasure, though pleasure is a necessary part of it. The vocabularies of theory vary greatly from theory to theory, and it is often difficult-sometimes impossible—to talk across them. Elizabeth Bell's vocabulary, for example, is not mine, and there is, as they say, "something lost in the translation" when one goes from one language to another, but I think we agree that the joy of performance (when the performance is successful) is grounded in the body of the performer. I would simply argue that the body of the text is part of what gives rise to the joy and that it is the initiating cause. The performer comes to the text ready (one hopes) to be responsive to it. The response, when it is full, involves the whole being of the performer. What goes on, during the course of rehearsal for a performance, is what I have called-and still call-a process of matching. It often, with a complex text, involves struggle, though this is not a matter of browbeating a text into submission, as Bell seems to interpret my view to mean. It is a caring, loving relationship where the performer is doing her best to listen and to understand. We do struggle to understand when understanding is difficult. Nor is this a question of dominance and submission by either text or performer, but a sharing of whatever it is that the two can finally share. The process of matching takes time, at least for me-and, I gather, for Bell. It shouldn't be-can't be-hurried. It is never complete, and it is not, from performance to performance, static. Each gives in the process. Texts are elastic; they exist in language, and language changes not only over time but from reader to reader. What goes on in the matching process is a gradual merging of two bodies into a third body which
MicroRNA-206 Targets notch3, Activates Apoptosis, and Inhibits Tumor Cell Migration and Focus Formation

MicroRNAs contribute to cancer development by acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. However, only a few microRNA target genes were determined. We identified a nearly perfect complementarity between miR-206 and the 3′-untranslated regions of both mouse and human notch3. Expression of miR-206 decreased the luciferase activity dose-dependently when cotransfected with the mouse or human notch3 3′-untranslated region-luciferase reporter containing the miR-206 target site in HeLa cells. This suppression was relieved by deletion and mutation of the miR-206-binding site and was partially recovered by expression of notch3 or by a specific inhibitor of miR-206. Interestingly, overexpression of miR-206 decreased the levels of both Notch3 protein and mRNA. Expression of miR-206 markedly induced apoptotic cell death and blocked the anti-apoptotic activity of Notch3. In addition, ectopic expression of miR-206 inhibited HeLa cell migration and focus formation. Therefore, we identified miR-206 as a pro-apoptotic activator of cell death, which was associated with its inhibition of notch3 signaling and tumor formation. The inhibition of cancer cell migration and focus formation by miR-206 strongly suggests that miR-206 may function as a novel tumor suppressor.
The incentive salience of courtship vocalizations: hormone-mediated 'wanting' in the auditory system.

Abstract Conspecific vocalizations differ from many other sounds in that they have natural incentive salience. Our thinking about auditory responses to vocalizations may therefore benefit from models originally developed to understand reward. According to those models, the brain attributes incentive salience to rewarding stimuli via the activity of monoaminergic neuromodulators. These neuromodulators, in turn, mediate the effects of experience and internal state. Songbirds lend themselves well to this discussion because the natural incentive salience of song is clearly modulated by both factors. Their auditory responses have been well-studied, particularly the song-induced expression of plasticity-associated genes such as ZENK. Here I review evidence that ZENK responses to song are regulated by monoamine neuromodulators, and I interpret this evidence in the context of incentive salience. First, hearing conspecific song engages monoaminergic activity in the auditory system and elsewhere. Second, in females this activity may be regulated by the same hormones that regulate behavioral preferences for song. Finally, much of the evidence thought to implicate neuromodulators in song discrimination and memory suggests that they may affect incentive salience. Expanding the study of incentive salience beyond the mesolimbic reward system may reveal some new ways of thinking about its underlying neural basis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Communication Sounds and the Brain: New Directions and Perspectives”.
Trends and philosophical aspects of cancer with special reference to combined methods of treatment.

During the past four or five decades cancer has received more public attention than any other disease. There has been a 15% increase in deaths from cancer in males and a 9% decrease in the female population per 100,000 during the past 15–20 years. It appears more and more likely that viruses play a vital role in the development of human cancer, thus raising the possibility of development of an anti-cancer vaccine, although many questions remain unanswered. A great deal of research has been done on tumor antigenicity and the use of anti-tumor vaccines in animals since 1943 when Gross first reported regression of intradermal sarcoma following injection of autoantibodies. Since that time cancer antibodies have been found to be produced by the human being, and it has been shown conclusively that some people have a resistance to cancer whereas others may have little or none. Surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy remain the only three effective methods of treatment, although the latter cannot as yet be considered curative. Until a marked improvement is attained in anticancer drugs it is the author's opinion that the greatest possiblity of significant improvement in results of treatment for cancer lies in the development of effective combinations of methods.
Differences in the constitutive forms of hepatic cytochrome P-450 in male and female adult beagle dogs.

Abstract Cytochrome P-450 isoenzymes were prepared from the solubilized liver microsomes of untreated adult male and female dogs, then separated into groups by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Partial purification was also completed through DEAE-53 cellulose and phosphocellulose ion-exchange chromatography. For comparison, solubilized hepatic cytochromes P-450 were obtained from rats dosed with phenobarbital (PB), β-naphthoflavone (BNF) or pregnenolene-16 α-carbonitrile. Minimal molecular masses of cytochrome P-450 subpopulations were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. HPLC and ion-exchange chromatography results suggested the presence of two or three major and several minor cytochrome P-450 subpopulations. Three distinct groups were predominant in the female and two major and two or three minor subpopulatins were found in the male. One of two isoenzymes prominent in BNF-dosed rats were present in the male but was missing in the female dog; another minor canine cytochrome similar to one found in PB-dosed rats was missing from the male. These data indicate qualitative and quantitative sex-dependent differences in the constitutive cytochrome P-450 populations of the dog and suggest that HPLC analysis may be useful for the interpretation of toxicology studies were microsomal enzyme induction is suspected.
Near-infrared polarization studies of Saturn and Jupiter

Abstract Polarization measurements of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's rings from 1 to 3.5 μm are presented. At 1.6 μm on the discs of the two planets, the radially directed limb polarizations observed in the visible undergo, in some cases, a surprising 90° rotation to a tangential direction, particularly on the poles. The only immediate explanation for this effect is double Mie scattering, due to aerosols which must be of the order of a micrometer in size. On Jupiter the patterns are not uniform and are not stable, reflecting variable aerosol concentrations on the two poles. The ring polarization is uniformly negative ( E vector parallel to the ecliptic plane) from the visible through 3.5 μm, and is inversely proportional to the albedo. This is as expected from Wolff's model for scattering from rough solid surfaces; but the degree of polarization seems uncommonly high, exceeding 2% at 3.5 μm.
Overview of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration tether activities

NASA research concerning the use of tethers in space is reviewed, including joint research with the Italian Space Agency. Tether applications under consideration are described, such as a tethered fuel depot and a tethered gravity laboratory platform for the Space Station, providing artificial gravity to and from Mars, payload recovery and waste management, aerothermodynamic magnetospheric physics, and electrodynamic propulsion, braking, and power generation for the Space Shuttle. Also, tether flight demonstrations are examined, including the Small Expendable Deployer System, the Get-Away Tether Experiment, the Tether Elevator Crawler System, and the Kinetic Isolation Tether Experiment.
Simultaneous Evaluation of Cardiorespiratory and Analgesic Effects of Intravenous Analgesia in Combination with Local Anesthesia

Through controlled studies of cardiovascular and respiratory response and correlation of analgesia levels with the physiological status of the patient as required, efforts were made to establish intravenous analgesia on a sound physiologic basis. Cardiorespiratory and analgesic effects of intravenous analgesia in conjunction with regional block anesthesia were investigated in nine healthy men not undergoing dental operation. Significant decreases in cardiac output, cardiac rate, and minute work were found, and indicate the need for careful postoperative evaluation before the patient is discharged.
GABAA receptor messenger RNA expression in the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration mutants is maintained following the loss of innervating Purkinje neurons

Abstract Recent studies have suggested that innervation modulates GABA A receptor gene expression in the rodent cerebellum. To examine this question, the expression and levels of GABA A receptor subunit messenger RNAs in the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration mice and littermate controls were examined by quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry. In the Purkinje cell degeneration mutant, the selective postnatal degeneration of Purkinje neurons disrupts GABAergic input from the cerebellar cortex to the deep nuclei. Despite this loss of Purkinje cells, virtually all large neurons of the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration animals expressed the α1, β2, and γ2 subunit messenger RNAs. These subunit messenger RNAs were observed at all experimental times from postnatal day 24 to postnatal day 90, a period ranging from the onset of behavioral abnormalities in the mutant to the completion of Purkinje cell loss. At no time were additional β subunit messenger RNAs, normally absent from the deep cerebellar nuclei in control mice, detected in this region of the mutant. Quantitative analysis of the hybridization signals over individual neurons revealed that Purkinje cell loss differentially affected the expression of GABA A receptor subunit messenger RNAs. While the levels of the β2 and γ2 subunit messenger RNAs in individual neurons were comparable in mutants and controls at all ages, differences in α1 subunit messenger RNA expression were observed. At postnatal day 24, the level of α1 subunit mRNA in individual neurons of the mutant was only 60% that found in the control. At later stages (postnatal day 60 to postnatal day 90), the levels of α1 subunit messenger RNA expression increased in the mutant, and similar grain densities were detected over mutant and control neurons. These studies demonstrate that Purkinje cell innervation is not required to maintain the expression of messenger RNAs encoding the α1, β2 and γ2 GABA A receptor subunits in the deep cerebellar nuclei of the Purkinje cell degeneration mutant. However, Purkinje cell input appears to selectively modulate the level of the α 1 subunit messenger RNA, suggesting that GABA A receptor genes are differentially regulated.
Efficient Inter-Vehicle Data Dissemination

Data services for in-vehicle consumption are expected to become a primary driver in the development of future vehicular networks. Due to download rate limitations of present wide-area cellular connectivity such as 3G (the likely 'pipe' to/from vehicles), direct peer-to-peer data sharing among vehicles can supplement vertical downloading. This paper studies the inter-vehicle data dissemination problem in a WAVE/802.11p vehicular ad hoc network, using network coding (NC). The gains from such NC, relative to a baseline scheme of random transmission, is estimated using analysis and simulations.
An Effective Numerical Method for Linear Mode Conversion Problems

Linear mode conversion, an important issue in the physics of plasma waves, involves an ordinary differential equation of at least fourth order. Attempts to integrate this differential equation using conventional numerical methods typically fail to provide a physically sensible result. This failure occurs because small, unavoidable truncation and differencing errors excite nonphysical, mathematically allowed exponentially growing solutions which quickly overwhelm the desired physical solution. We present here a two-point boundary numerical method which avoids exciting these unwanted nonphysical solutions and so provides solutions that are physically significant. The numerical algorithm is a generalization of the standard tridiagonal method and provides single-pass solutions which satisfy the original difference equations to within the numerical accuracy of the computer.
Questions and responses in Korean conversation

This study examines the question and response system in Korean conversation as part of a comparative project across 10 languages. Using conversation analysis as the primary methodology, this particular study analyzes 352 questions drawn from eight sets of naturally occurring conversations. Based on the analysis of these questions, this study provides an overview of the question and response system in Korean conversation; more specifically, various types of linguistic resources for questions, actions performed through questions, and types of responses to questions. It also discusses noteworthy aspects of actions and sequences compared to the other languages presented in this volume.
The Origin of Missouri Fire Clays

The origin of Missouri fire clays is interpreted from the testimony of the clays in terms of the geologic setting in which they were deposited and developed. Hence, the approach to the interpretation is fundamentally that of sedimentary petrology, rather than economic geology. The clays, as sedimentary rocks, are considered to be the products (mineralogic and geologic) resulting from the responses of their source materials to the energetics of the physical and chemical environments which were impressed upon them during the time interval of their deposition and diagenesis. The fire clays are inferred to have a sedimentary origin; it is believed that their present-day characteristics were essentially developed in the time intervals of the Cheltenham to pre-Fort Scott (Pennsylvanian) age. The different varieties of fire clay are interpreted as different lithofacies within a continuous Cheltenham deposit. The high-alumina facies (diaspore-burley and boehmite) appears to have been formed by severe leaching on a relatively stable land area, whereas the kaolinitic-illitic facies (semi-plastic to semi-flint clay) seem to characterize products formed near the margin of a slowly sinking depositional region. Both processes of destruction and construction (“katamorphism” and “anamorphism,” as used by Van Hise, 1904) appear to have operated in the genesis of the clay minerals. Evidence points toward a negative Eh and an approximately neutral to slightly acid pH during the formation of the clays. The presence of diaspore and boehmite and the absence of gibbsite in the high-alumina clay are interpreted as indications of leaching of clay minerals under waterlogged conditions. Diaspore may inherit part of the crystal structure and energy of the kaolinite from which it was derived.
Life-cycle inventory of toner produced for xerographic processes

Abstract This paper reports on the methodology and results of a baseline life-cycle inventory (LCI) performed on toner used in the xerographic process. Toner is the dry ink that creates the image on paper and is used in most copiers and some large printers. The goal is to perform an LCI on a system that encompasses the life-cycle of toner in order to determine the environmental effects related to the product. The findings of the study show that the system is mainly a classical “cradle to grave” model, although recycle streams within the system improve the overall environmental performance. The majority of the solid process waste produced (95%) is associated with post-toner production processes, and the majority of the air emissions in the system resulted from energy use. Post-production processes combine for just over 85% of the total energy used in the system, with customer use accounting for 58% of the total.
Relativistic Linear Theory in the Absence of External Fields

The dielectric tensor for a multi-component, homogeneous, field-free relativistic plasma is derived in manifestly covariant form. From the dielectric tensor, linear dispersion relations are obtained explicitly when each component of the plasma is isotropic in its rest frame. If the components are relativistic Maxwellians, these dispersion relations are expressible in terms of the relativistic plasma dispersion function. Special attention is given to the Weible and two-stream instabilities and to the normal modes of a quiescent, hot electron gas. For the last case the dispersion relations are solved numerically and compared against computer simulation data. An appendix applies the formalism to cold plasmas.
Enhanced Photocleavage of Water Using Titania Nanotube Arrays

In this study highly ordered titania nanotube arrays of variable wall thickness are used to photocleave water under ultraviolet irradiation. We demonstrate that the wall thickness and length of the nanotubes can be controlled via anodization bath temperature. We find that the nanotube wall thickness is a key parameter influencing the magnitude of the photoanodic response and the overall efficiency of the water-splitting reaction. For 22 nm inner pore diameter nanotube arrays, those fabricated in a 5 °C anodization bath, 224 nm length and 34 nm wall thickness produced a photoanodic response that was thrice that of a nanotube array fabricated in a 50 °C anodization bath, 120 nm length and 9 nm wall-thickness. At high anodic polarization, above 1 V, the quantum efficiency under 337 nm illumination was greater than 90%. For the 5 °C anodization bath samples (22 nm pore-diameter, 34 nm wall thickness), upon 320−400 nm illumination at an intensity of 100 mW/cm2, hydrogen gas was generated at the power−time norm...
PDGF-AB-based functional cardioprotection of the aging rat heart.

Abstract Recent studies have demonstrated that targeting of an age-associated impairment in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-AB) pathways could reduce histological measures of myocardial infarction in aging rat hearts. To facilitate preclinical developments of this approach, non-invasive measures of cardiac function were investigated in a 24-month-old rat myocardial infarction model employing intramyocardial PDGF-AB (100 ng) or vehicle control pretreatment. Electrocardiographic recordings post-coronary occlusion revealed ST segment elevation—myocardial injury patterns in both groups, which was confirmed histologically 2 weeks later by Masson's trichrome stains (PDGF-AB, 14.6±2.8% of left ventricular area (LVA) vs. control, 27.9±9.2%; P P =0.005) vs. sham operation-34.5±6.7%), with a significant inverse relationship between FS and extent of myocardial injury ( m =−0.68; r =−0.84). Notably, exercise testing did not correlate with myocardial injury. These findings provide an important functional foundation in preclinical translations of PDGF-AB-based cardioprotective treatment strategies. Moreover, demonstration of respective roles of electrocardiography and echocardiography in the confirmation and correlation of myocardial injury in the aging rat heart may serve to facilitate both PDGF-AB-based and other age-targeted approaches in large animal models of aging and cardiovascular disease.
CLINICAL TRIALS OF REDUCING LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS

Much diverse evidence suggests that the plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol play a causal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease. Until recently, clinical trials of LDL lowering, while showing significant reductions in coronary heart disease (CHD) rates, were not entirely convincing and left some questions of long-term toxicity unresolved. The results of a series of new trials using members of the powerful statin class of drugs are now being reported. Whether they are primary or secondary prevention studies, they have been uniformly successful in reducing mortality and morbidity from CHD and even total mortality, and have decreased the need for revascularization procedures. Their effectiveness is apparent in many different subgroups such as women, diabetics, hypertensives, and in stroke prevention. Statin drugs also have proven to be remarkably safe over the duration of the studies. Angiographic studies show an impact on coronary or carotid lesions.
Frequency selectivity of layer II stellate cells in the medial entorhinal cortex.

Electrophysiologically, stellate cells (SCs) from layer II of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) are distinguished by intrinsic 4- to 12-Hz subthreshold oscillations. These oscillations are thought to impose a pattern of slow periodic firing that may contribute to the parahippocampal theta rhythm in vivo. Using stimuli with systematically differing frequency content, we examined supra- and subthreshold responses in SCs with the goal of understanding how their distinctive characteristics shape these responses. In reaction to repeated presentations of identical, pseudo-random stimuli, the reliability (repeatability) of the spiking response in SCs depends critically on the frequency content of the stimulus. Reliability is optimal for stimuli with a greater proportion of power in the 4- to 12-Hz range. The simplest mechanistic explanation of these results is that rhythmogenic subthreshold membrane mechanisms resonate with inputs containing significant power in the 4- to 12-Hz band, leading to larger subthreshold excursions and thus enhanced reliability. However, close examination of responses rules out this explanation: SCs do show clear subthreshold resonance (i.e., selective amplification of inputs with particular frequency content) in response to sinusoidal stimuli, while simultaneously showing a lack of subthreshold resonance in response to the pseudo-random stimuli used in reliability experiments. Our results support a model with distinctive input-output relationships under subthreshold and suprathreshold conditions. For suprathreshold stimuli, SC spiking seems to best reflect the amount of input power in the theta (4-12 Hz) frequency band. For subthreshold stimuli, we hypothesize that the magnitude of subthreshold theta-range oscillations in SCs reflects the total power, across all frequencies, of the input.
End modification of a linear DNA duplex enhances NER-mediated excision of an internal Pt(II)-lesion

The study of DNA repair has been facilitated by the development of extract-based in vitro assay systems and the use of synthetic DNA duplexes that contain site-specific lesions as repair substrates. Unfortunately, exposed DNA termini can be a liability when working in crude cell extracts because they are targets for DNA end-modifying enzymes and binding sites for proteins that recognize DNA termini. In particular, the double-strand break repair protein Ku is an abundant DNA end-binding protein that has been shown to interfere with nucleotide excision repair (NER) in vitro. To facilitate the investigation of NER in whole-cell extracts, we explored ways of modifying the exposed ends of synthetic repair substrates to prevent Ku binding and improve in vitro NER efficiency. Replacement of six contiguous phosphodiester linkages at the 3′-ends of the duplex repair substrate with nuclease-resistant nonionic methylphosphonate linkages resulted in a 280-fold decrease in binding affinity between Ku and the modified ...
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Multiple Morphologies of Ventricular Tachycardia by Targeting a Single Region of the Left Ventricle

Radiofrequency Ablation of Multiple VTs. Introduction: As treatment options for ventricular tachycardia (VT) continue to evolve, the use of radiofrequency catheter ablation is rapidly expanding. However, in the presence of multiple morphologies of VT, achieving successful results may seem less likely. We report two patients with multiple morphologies of VT who underwent successful radiofrequency ablation by application of adiofrequency energy to a single region in the left ventricle. Methods and Results: Two patients, each without any apparent cardiac dysfunction and a history of documented VT, were referred to our institution for further management. They underwent an electrophysiologic study and were found to have easily inducible VT, of three morphologies in one patient and two in the other. Using a transaortic approach, left ventricular mapping was performed for detecting a site with presystolic potentials, earliest ventricular activation, or both. Application of radiofrequency energy to a single area in the left ventricle resulted in the elimination of all previously inducible VT in each patient. Conclusion: VTs with distinctly different morphologies can occur in patients with no detectable structural heart disease. These VT circuits may share a common pathway and, therefore, may readily be amenable to therapy with radiofrequency catheter ablation.
Another digital divide? Instructional delivery and pay scale inequity among traditional and online lecturers: A labor market analysis

If the use of online delivery methods requires specialized training in online technologies, is this specialized training reflected in lecturer pay? This paper investigates the discrepancy between salaries offered amongst adjunct lecturers utilizing traditional methods of instructional delivery versus those employing online instructional delivery methods. This study incorporates human capital theory and labor market theory to explore this question. A cross-classified random effects model utilizing data compiled through various sources, primarily from the US Department of Education, and online recruiting sources, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, suggests very little variation in pay scale amongst traditional and online lecturers. Though several measures have been taken by various colleges and universities in an attempt to ensure pay scale equity, pay scale inequity relative to workloads and training still exists and remains for the most part unaddressed.
Defending the Rationale for the Two-Tailed Test in Clinical Research

The issue of one-sided versus two-sided hypothesis testing in clinical trial analyses has been the subject of debate in the medical and statistical literature.1–4⇓⇓⇓ This design consideration represents a sharp divide in the research community, separating the investigators’ deep-seated beliefs in therapy effectiveness from their obligatory primary concern for patient welfare. In a recent commentary, Knottnerus and Bouter5 advanced the theory that, for individual trials evaluating new interventions not previously studied, a one-sided hypothesis test seems sensible from both an ethical and cost-efficiency perspective. Certainly, to many healthcare researchers, the temptation of one-tailed hypothesis testing, in which the location of type I errors coincides exactly with the investigator’s prospective intuition (based on available but sometimes misleading information) about the research result, can be difficult to resist. For a specified experimental probability of type I error, the allure of the smaller sample size associated with one-tailed testing further strengthens its attraction for some researchers. We argue here, however, that one-tailed testing should be avoided in healthcare research for ethical and cost-efficiency reasons, especially in randomized trials in which the investigator controls the intervention. Rather than reflecting the investigators’ a priori intuition, the type I error should reflect the uncertainty of the research effort’s future conclusions. This is critical in a field in which healthcare practitioners and healthcare researchers can inadvertently do harm to their patients. In clinical intervention trials, we as investigators wish to demonstrate that the tested intervention is beneficial. As clinical researchers, we do not like to harbor the notion that the interventions we have developed for the benefit of our patients can cause harm. Nevertheless, harm is often the result, as demonstrated by the use in the past of bleedings and potent purgatives for diseases that practitioners believed they understood. These now debunked …
Direct circuit simulation algorithms for parallel processing (VLSI)

The improvement in computational throughput of VLSI circuit simulation is addressed. A high degree of natural parallelism exists in the circuit simulation problem; potentially a large number of processor can be used efficiently. Three distinct approaches for obtaining parallel execution in direct-method circuit simulators are investigated. These approaches differ primarily in the size of the individual tasks used to obtain parallel execution. The relative advantages of each approach are examined, and performance data from simulations on parallel processing systems are presented. For the third approach, very good parallel efficiency was obtained; in some cases, 99% parallelism has been observed. >
MYSTIC (Meropenem Yearly Susceptibility Test Information Collection) results from the Americas: resistance implications in the treatment of serious infections

The Meropenem Yearly Susceptibility Test Information Collection (MYSTIC) programme aims to provide in vitro surveillance data for geographically diverse institutions where meropenem is available for use. The in vitro activity of meropenem and eight comparator antimicrobial agents against 2340 significant pathogens obtained in 1999 was assessed and compared in 14 study centres in Brazil, Mexico and the USA. Isolates were further characterized for production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), AmpC beta-lactamases and carbapenemases. Carbapenems demonstrated their broad spectrum and potency, inhibiting > or = 95% of all isolates irrespective of the geographical region or centre type. The overall order of activity of the nine agents tested against all pathogens in 1999 was meropenem (96%) > imipenem (95%) > cefepime (92%) > gentamicin (89%) > piperacillin/tazobactam (88%) > ceftazidime = tobramycin (86%) > cefotaxime (84%) > ciprofloxacin (83%). Thus far, the results from the Americas indicate that meropenem has excellent potency and spectrum of activity despite being prescribed for the treatment of seriously ill patients. In contrast, other ESBLs, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides have lost activity in many institutions as a result of the selection of strains producing ESBLs or having AmpC and other resistance determinants. Carbapenem resistance was observed rarely and at a prevalence similar to those reported in earlier studies. Carbapenems appear to be a continuing reliable option for the treatment of serious nosocomial infection.
Far-infrared lasing in ruby

The feasibility of submillimeter wavelength (870 GHz) lasing in Al 2 O 3 is discussed. The proposed scheme is based on the pumping of the 2\bar{A} level of ruby via a ruby laser operating on its R 2 line. Lasing is expected on the 2\bar{A} \rightarrow \bar{E} transition of the split2 E level.
I'm Embarrassed for You: The Effect of Valuing and Perspective Taking on Empathic Embarrassment and Empathic Concern

Much research has investigated the cognitive-perceptual factors that promote empathic concern. However, little research has investigated such factors for a related emotion: empathic embarrassment. We suggest that 2 factors promote empathic embarrassment for a target in a compromising situation: liking the target, and imagining oneself in the target’s situation. Results revealed that liking a socially compromised target increases both empathic concern and empathic embarrassment (Experiment 1). Furthermore, imagining the person’s thoughts and feelings increases empathic concern and a desire for future exposure to the person, whereas imagining oneself in the person’s situation primarily increases empathic embarrassment (Experiment 2). Implications of these results for future empathy research and applications for those who suffer from chronic embarrassability are discussed. jasp_699 1..26 Imagine overhearing two people conversing, during which details about a rather unpleasant first date are recounted. Although you are not directly involved in the situation, it is nonetheless possible to experience a range of emotions for, or about, the person describing that unpleasant experience. For example, one might feel embarrassment on the other’s behalf. Or, one might experience compassion for his or her troubles. In some cases, one might feel nothing at all in response to the other’s plight. This rather commonplace scenario raises important questions about when—and for whom—one will experience various empathic emotions in response to events in the lives of others.
High reliability prototype quadrupole for the Next Linear Collider

The Next Linear Collider (NLC) will require over 5600 magnets, each of which must be highly reliable and/or quickly repairable in order that the NLC reach its 85% overall availability goal. A multidiscipline engineering team was assembled at SLAC to develop a more reliable electromagnet design than historically had been achieved at SLAC. This team carried out a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) on a standard SLAC quadrupole magnet system. They overcame a number of long standing design prejudices, producing 10 major design changes. This paper describes how a prototype magnet was constructed and the extensive testing carried out on it to prove full functionality with an improvement in reliability. The magnet's fabrication cost will be compared to the cost of a magnet with the same requirements made in the historic SLAC way. The NLC will use over 1600 of these 12.7 mm bore quadrupoles with a range of integrated strengths from 0.6 to 132 Tesla, a maximum gradient of 135 Tesla per meter, an adjustment range of 0 to -20% and core lengths from 324 mm to 972 mm. The magnetic center must remain stable to within 1 micron during the 20% adjustment. A magnetic measurement set-up has been developed that can measure sub-micron shifts of a magnetic center. The prototype satisfied the center shift requirement over the full range of integrated strengths.
The toxicity of copper to the marine bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus

The toxicity of copper to the marine bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus was examined. Experiments were conducted with both aerobic and anaerobic cultures. Calorimetric and radiochemical techniques were used to examine the effect of copper on heat production, respiration, and carbon assimilation by the cultures. Plate counts were used to determine the number of viable cells present. Copper was more toxic to the bacterium in anaerobic culture (mean toxic concentration (TC50) = 2.1 μM)) than in aerobic culture (TC50 = 6.4 μM). Both cytotoxic and cytostatic effects were observed. The cytotoxic effect was not significantly different under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The cytostatic effect, observed only in anaerobic culture, resulted in a decrease in the rate of metabolism of the surviving cells. The magnitude of the cytostatic and cytotoxic effects were dependent on the copper concentration, exhibiting saturation at higher concentrations. Organic chelators EDTA and nitrilotriacetic acid protected the anaerob...
Arabidopsis GLASSY HAIR genes promote trichome papillae development

Specialized plant cells form cell walls with distinct composition and properties pertinent to their function. Leaf trichomes in Arabidopsis form thick cell walls that support the upright growth of these large cells and, curiously, have strong light-reflective properties. To understand the process of trichome cell-wall maturation and the molecular origins of this optical property, mutants affected in trichome light reflection were isolated and characterized. It was found that GLASSY HAIR (GLH) genes are required for the formation of surface papillae structures at late stages of trichome development. Trichomes in these mutants appeared transparent due to unobstructed light transmission. Genetic analysis of the isolated mutants revealed seven different gene loci. Two--TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE (TBR) and NOK (Noeck)--have been reported previously to have the glassy trichome mutant phenotype. The other five glh mutants were analysed for cell-wall-related phenotypes. A significant reduction was found in cellulose content in glh2 and glh4 mutant trichomes. In addition to the glassy trichome phenotype, the glh6 mutants showed defects in leaf cuticular wax, and glh6 was found to represent a new allele of the eceriferum 10 (cer10) mutation. Trichomes of the glh1 and glh3 mutants did not show any other phenotypes beside reduced papillae formation. These data suggest that the GLH1 and GLH3 genes may have specific functions in trichome papillae formation, whereas GLH2, GLH4, and GLH6 genes are also involved in deposition of other cell-wall components.
Altruistic Dynamic Pricing with Customer Regret: Altruistic dynamic pricing with customer regret

A model is considered in which firms internalize the costly regret that consumers experience when prices change unexpectedly. This regret is greater when prices change by more, and this can explain why the actual size of price increases for firms with rigid prices is less sensitive to inflation than in models with fixed costs of changing prices. Regret costs of this form also lead to more variable price changes than fixed costs do. Last, the practice of announcing price increases in advance is easier to rationalize with regret concerns by consumers than with more standard approaches to price rigidity.
CloudSense: continuous fine-grain cloud monitoring with compressive sensing

Continuous fine-grain status monitoring of a cloud data center enables rapid response to anomalies, but handling the resulting torrent of data poses a significant challenge. As a solution, we propose CloudSense, a new switch design that performs in-network compression of status streams via compressive sensing. Using MapReduce straggler detection as an example of cloud monitoring, we give evidence that CloudSense allows earlier detection of stragglers, since finer-grain status can be reported for a given bandwidth budget. Furthermore, CloudSense showcases the advantage of an intrinsic property of compressive sensing decoding that enables detection of the slowest stragglers first. Finally, CloudSense achieves in-network compression via a low-complexity encoding scheme, which is easy and convenient to implement in a switch. We envision that CloudSense switches could form the foundation of a "compressed status information plane" that is useful for monitoring not only the cloud data center itself, but also the user applications that it hosts.
On the principle of stationary complementary energy in finite elastostatics

Abstract In this work, we explore conditions sufficient to guarantee the existence of a principle of stationary complementary energy in finite elastostatics. We are then able to derive a principle of complementary energy. The results also apply to a large class of incompressible and almost incompressible materials.