cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A POU factor binding site upstream of the Chx10 homeobox gene is required for Chx10 expression in subsets of retinal progenitor cells and bipolar cells

Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) undergo a series of changes over time that affect their competency to produce different cell types at different times in development. The transcriptional machinery that regulates these changes, as well as associated gene expression changes, have not been characterized. An analysis of the regulatory region of the retinal homeodomain transcription factor, Chx10, was carried out using in ovo electroporations in chick and transgenic mice. An RPC enhancer was defined that mediates reporter activity in subsets of RPCs and directs high-level expression in intermediate and late RPCs. Using bioinformatic and biochemical analysis, a key binding site in this enhancer was found and was shown to be bound by the POU domain factors, Brn-2 and Tst-1/SCIP, in retinal extracts. Analysis of the Brn-2 expression pattern shows that it is expressed in intermediate and late RPCs, but not early RPCs, and thus partially overlaps with expression of the reporter activated by the defined Chx10 enhancer. Biochemical analysis also revealed binding of both Chx10 and Brn-2 to an enhancer of the CNS progenitor cell marker, Nestin. Nestin expression in the retina is restricted to intermediate/late RPC subsets, and genetic evidence is presented that demonstrates that Chx10 represses Nestin expression in early RPCs. A bipolar cell enhancer for Chx10 also was defined, and a role for Brn-2 in expression of Chx10 in bipolar cells is predicted. These data identify Brn-2 as a new marker of subsets of RPCs and suggest a mechanism by which a combination of POU factors and Chx10 define RPC gene expression patterns, such as that of Nestin.
Steroid receptor antibodies in autoimmune disorders.

Abstract Sera from patients with autoim mune disorders have been analyzed for the presence of antibodies against the estrogen receptor. About 42% of the male and 34% of the female patients had measureable levels of antibody under our assay conditions. However, whereas the male patient population had significantly higher levels of anti-estrogen receptor than normal males, there was no significant difference between female patients and controls. Separation of the estrogen receptor by sucrose gradient centrifugation into the large (9–10S) and small (4S) molecular weight forms demonstrated that only the large form was antigenic, suggesting that the antibodies are not interacting with the steroid binding subunit. The clinical significance of increased levels of antibodies against the estrogen receptor in a parcentage of male patients remains to be established.
Enhancement Of RIE Resistance Of Conventional Resist Materials

With the increasing use of dry processes for etching silicon, silicon dioxide, aluminum, and other materials, the enhancement of etch resistance of resist images in such severe dry processing conditions becomes an important issue. This is particularly so in cases where both high resist sensitivity and high reactive ion etch (RIE) resistance are required. This paper describes the enhancement of RIE resistance of conventional resists by incorporating aluminum, magnesium or silicon into resist images. The process has been carried out in vapor phase and/or in liquid phase. In some cases, resist solutions were mixed with certain organometallic materials to give wet developable resist films which exhibit enhanced resistance without any further processing.
Expanded criteria donor kidneys for retransplantation United Network for Organ Sharing update: proceed with caution.

Summary This study analyzed outcomes of retransplantation from expanded criteria donors (ECD) over the last two decades to determine the benefits and risks of using ECD kidneys for retransplantation. Data from the United Network for Organ Sharing database were collected and analyzed. Graft survival, death-censored graft survival, and patient survival for retransplantation with ECD kidneys (re-ECD) were reported and compared with primary transplantation with ECD kidneys (prim-ECD) and retransplantation with standard criteria donor kidneys (re-SCD). Re-ECD kidneys had higher risk of graft failure compared with prim-ECD (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.19) and to re-SCD (HR = 1.76). Patient survival was better in re-ECD compared with prim-ECD (HR = 0.89) but was worse than re-SCD (HR = 1.82). After censoring the patients who died with a functioning graft, re-ECD had a higher mortality risk compared with prim-ECD (HR = 1.45) and re-SCD (HR = 1.79). Transplantation improves quality of life and reduces healthcare costs, and due to the risk associated with resumption of hemodialysis and the longer waiting list times for SCD kidneys, there is a benefit to accepting ECD kidneys for select patients requiring retransplantation. Although this benefit exists for select patients, retransplantation with ECD kidneys should be undertaken with trepidation, and appropriate informed consent should be obtained.
Orexin receptor antagonist-induced sleep does not impair the ability to wake in response to emotionally salient acoustic stimuli in dogs

The ability to awaken from sleep in response to important stimuli is a critical feature of normal sleep, as is maintaining sleep continuity in the presence of irrelevant background noise. Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) effectively promote sleep across species by targeting the evolutionarily conserved wake-promoting orexin signaling pathway. This study in dogs investigated whether DORA-induced sleep preserved the ability to awaken appropriately to salient acoustic stimuli but remain asleep when exposed to irrelevant stimuli. Sleep and wake in response to DORAs, vehicle, GABA-A receptor modulators (diazepam, eszopiclone and zolpidem) and antihistamine (diphenhydramine) administration were evaluated in telemetry-implanted adult dogs with continuous electrocorticogram, electromyogram (EMG), electrooculogram (EOG), and activity recordings. DORAs induced sleep, but GABA-A modulators and antihistamine induced paradoxical hyperarousal. Thus, salience gating studies were conducted during DORA-22 (0.3, 1, and 5 mg/kg; day and night) and vehicle nighttime sleep. The acoustic stimuli were either classically conditioned using food reward and positive attention (salient stimulus) or presented randomly (neutral stimulus). Once conditioned, the tones were presented at sleep times corresponding to maximal DORA-22 exposure. In response to the salient stimuli, dogs woke completely from vehicle and orexin-antagonized sleep across all sleep stages but rarely awoke to neutral stimuli. Notably, acute pharmacological antagonism of orexin receptors paired with emotionally salient anticipation produced wake, not cataplexy, in a species where genetic (chronic) loss of orexin receptor signaling leads to narcolepsy/cataplexy. DORA-induced sleep in the dog thereby retains the desired capacity to awaken to emotionally salient acoustic stimuli while preserving uninterrupted sleep in response to irrelevant stimuli.
Infinite order summation of particle-particle ring diagrams in a model-space approach for nuclear matter

Abstract A ring diagram model-space nuclear matter theory is formulated and applied to the calculation of the binding energy per nucleon ( BE A ) , saturation Fermi momentum (kF) and incompressibility coefficient (K) of symmetric nuclear matter, using the Paris and Reid nucleon-nucleon potentials. A model space is introduced where all nucleons are restricted to have momentum k ⩽ kM, typical values of kM being ∼3.2 fm−. Using a model-space Hartree-Fock approach, self-consistent single particle spectra are derived for holes (k ⩽ kF) and particles with momentum kF kM, we use a free particle spectrum. Within the model space we sum up the particle-particle ring diagrams (both forward- and backward-going) to all orders. A rather simple expression for the energy shift ΔE0pp is obtained, namely ΔE0pp is expressed as integrals involving the trace of Y(λ)Y+(λ)GM where GM is the model-space reaction matrix, the Y's are transition amplitudes obtained from solving RPA-type secular equations and λ is a strength parameter to be integrated from 0 to 1. We have used angle-average approximations in our calculations, and in this way different partial wave channels are decoupled. For the 3S1-3D1 channel, the effect of the ring diagrams is found to be particularly important. The inclusion of the ring diagrams has largely increased the role of the tensor force in determining the nuclear matter saturation properties, and consequently we obtain saturation densities which are significantly lower than those given by most other calculations. For the Paris potential, our results for BE A , kF and K are respectively 17.38 MeV, 1.42 fm−1 and 96.3 MeV. For the Reid potential, the corresponding results are 15.15 MeV, 1.30 fm−1 and 110.7 MeV. Our calculated values for the binding energy per nucleon and saturation density are both in rather satisfactory agreement with the corresponding empirical values.
Long-term survival of patients with coronary artery disease during the 1970s: A cohort study

Study objective This study was undertaken to determine the effects of altered risk factors and treatment modalities on the short- and long-term survival of patients with documented coronary artery disease whose conditions were diagnosed from 1972 through 1982. Study design The study was a retrospective database analysis of clinical, angiographic, and follow-up information. Setting Data from all patients referred for cardiac catheterization at the Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, Tenn, were studied. Patients Risk factors and survival of patients who underwent cardiac catheterization from 1972 through 1982 and who were followed up for at least 5 years were evaluated. Cohort A included 1,821 patients studied from 1972 through 1977; cohort B included 5,369 patients studied between 1977 and the end of 1982. Each cohort was subdivided based on type of therapy (medical or surgical) that the patients received. Measurements and results The 30-day (short-term) and 5-year (long-term) survival rates were compared by life table methods. Short-term survival improved significantly in both medical (from 94.9% to 97.5%, p Conclusions These results indicate that during the study period, a significant decline in short-term mortality occurred for patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease. Long-term survival did not, however, improve possibly due to a complex interplay between factors that promote coronary artery disease, eg, cigarette abuse and hypercholesterolemia, and factors that determine survival, eg, increases in age and history of prior infarction and advances in medical and surgical therapy.
Thermodynamic time asymmetry and the Boltzmann equation

An important result of statistical mechanics is the Boltzmann equation, which describes the evolution of the velocity distribution of a gas towards the equilibrium Maxwell distribution. We introduce the Boltzmann equation by considering a dynamical model of a two-dimensional gas consisting of hard disks. We derive the Boltzmann equation for the model and compare the behavior predicted by this equation against the actual behavior of the system as observed in computer simulations. A puzzling feature of the Boltzmann equation is that although the dynamical laws governing the gas are time-reversal invariant, the behavior predicted by the Boltzmann equation is time asymmetric. We show that this time asymmetry arises from assumptions made in the derivation of the Boltzmann equation, and we use computer simulations of the model system to investigate the circumstances under which these assumptions hold.
Validation of a home monitoring system based on calibration-free wireless tracking

Wireless location technology is a potentially important tool in clinical monitoring applications, yet many issues remain regarding location estimating accuracy and ease of installation. A simple method was recently developed which employs currently available home monitoring systems, coupled with a signal processing algorithm which maps a stream of received radio frequency (RF) signals onto an abstract plane, preserving the essential features of the trajectory while avoiding the more difficult problem of location estimation. We present in this article a validation study, based on data obtained by the RF tracking system installed in parallel with a sensor network. (7 pages)
Synthesis of Reverse Osmosis Membranes by Plasma Polymerization of Allylamine

The polymerization of allylamine in a radio-frequency electrodeless plasma to form thin polymer films on microporous filter media provides very effective dry composite membranes for reverse osmosis. Salt and urea rejections as high as 98 percent and 46 percent, respectively, have been achieved from a solution containing 10 grams of sodium chloride per liter and 10 grams of urea per liter. The plasma conditions and polymerization technique are discussed.
Test selection with integral gross score weights

A new method of test selection, which attempts to combine the merits of the ToopsL-Method with those of the Wherry-Doolittle Method, is presented. It results in integral (unit if desired) positive and/or negative (optional) weights. This flexibility makes the method applicable to all kinds of material and for both selecting items for tests and tests for batteries. An explicit solution of one test construction problem is presented. Necessary changes in method for the solution of five other types of test construction problem are presented. A few cautions are provided for potential users.
Effect of hypertonic mannitol and intraaortic counterpulsation on regional myocardial blood flow and ventricular performance in dogs during myocardial ischemia

Studies were performed to determine if intervention with hypertonic mannitol and intraaortic balloon counterpulsation increases regional myocardial blood flow during acute myocardial ischemia. Anesthetized dogs on right heart bypass were studied. Heart rate was kept constant by atrial pacing. Myocardial ischemia was provided by ligating the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery for 12 minute periods. Infusion of hypertonic mannitol begun immediately after ligation increased coronary blood flow to the ischemic area by 36 ± 9.0 percent (standard error) (P < 0.01) and to the nonischemic left ventricle by 21 ± 8.8 percent (P < 0.05) as compared with flow in the same regions during the control coronary ligation. Intraaortic balloon counterpulsation begun immediately after ligation increased regional coronary flow to the ischemic region by 20 ± 8.4 percent (P < 0.05) but did not significantly alter flow to the nonischemic left ventricle as compared with levels during the control ligation. Combined intraaortic counterpulsation and hypertonic mannitol increased coronary flow to the ischemic region by 46 ± 13 percent (P < 0.02) and to the nonischemic left ventricle by 59 ± 22 percent (P < 0.05) as compared with flow during occlusion of the left anterior descending artery with mannitol alone. The data demonstrate that both hypertonic mannitol and intraaortic counterpulsation increase left ventricular ischemic regional flow and that combined hypertonic mannitol and intraaortic balloon counterpulsation provide a greater increase in regional coronary blood flow to both the ischemic and nonischemic regions of the left ventricle than mannitol alone.
STUDIES ON SPECIATION IN MALDANID POLYCHAETES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC COAST. III. INTRASPECIFIC AND INTERSPECIFIC DIVERGENCE IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION.

Abstract 1. 1. Measurements of oxygen consumption in latitudinally separated populations indicate that genetic divergence has occurred within the polychaete species Clymenella torquata and C. mucosa . The direction of divergence supports Krogh's (1916) prediction that rate functions of populations living in cooler climates will tend to be higher at a given temperature than those of populations living in warmer climates. However, the effects of divergence are masked by a concomitant trend in reduction of size with latitude, according to Bergmann's rule. 2. 2. The important problem of the relation of Q 10 , size regression and metabolism is discussed. The nature of temperature-dependency of the regression slope b is uncertain. 3. 3. The shape of metabolism-temperature curves of different species is correlated with the zoogeography of the species. The wide-ranging species C. torquata shows a relatively constant Q 10 near 2·0 over most of its zone of thermal tolerance. C. mucosa , more restricted in geographic distribution, shows lower Q 10 's at intermediate temperatures and higher values at the extremes. 4. 4. The actual rates of oxygen consumption in five sympatric species of Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina, are correlated with their activity patterns and ecological distribution.
Media use and political commitment: The 1992 U.S. presidential election

This study explores the relationship between media use and political commitment. Undergraduate participants answered an extensive political background questionnaire, which included measures of media use, perceived importance of information sources regarding the 1992 presidential election, and various political behaviors as an index of political commitment. Correlational analyses revealed that those who are more politically committed tend to select a variety of media sources regarding a presidential candidate. This study also investigated how informational and commitment variables were related to attitudes towards the major presidential candidates. Results observed for people expressing positive attitudes toward Perot are discussed in terms of the modern day “third party voter.”
A new liver perfusion and preservation system for transplantation research in large animals.

A kidney perfusion machine, model MOX-100 (Waters Instruments, Ltd, Rochester, MN) was modified to allow continuous perfusion of the portal vein and pulsatile perfusion of the hepatic artery of the liver. Additional apparatus consists of a cooling system, a membrane oxygenator, a filter for foreign bodies, and bubble traps. This system not only allows hypothermic perfusion preservation of the liver graft, but furthermore enables investigation of ex vivo simulation of various circulatory circumstances in which physiological perfusion of the liver is studied. We have used this system to evaluate the viability of liver allografts preserved by cold storage. The liver was placed on the perfusion system and perfused with blood with a hematocrit of approximately 20%, and maintained at 37°C for 3 h. The flows of the hepatic artery and portal vein were adjusted to 0.33 mL and 0.67 mL/g of liver tissue, respectively. Parameters of viability consisted of hourly bile output, oxygen consumption, liver enzymes, electro...
Ambivalence on the front lines? Attitudes toward Title IX and women’s sports among Division I sports information directors

In light of continuing research that assesses how dominant ideology is communicated via mediated sport, this study examines the attitudes of sports information directors (SIDs), arguably initial “gatekeepers” in the media production process and, thus, critical players in shaping sports media messages. A random sample of Division I SIDs was surveyed on questions clustered around gender and sexuality issues. The results showed that Division I SIDs are likely to help gay athletes stay in the closet, although they express more progressive attitudes toward sexuality than sports journalists, who were similarly surveyed in 2009. The results also showed mixed support for women’s sports and Title IX – with implications for coverage – and strong support for a gendered division of labor that could be problematic for the future prospects of women in the profession. The authors use the survey to question assumptions that female SIDs will advocate on behalf of women’s sports, Title IX and other related issues.
The Circadian Clock Interacts with Metabolic Physiology to Influence Reproductive Fitness

Circadian rhythms are regulated by a synchronized system of central and peripheral clocks. Here, we show that a clock in the Drosophila fat body drives rhythmic expression of genes involved in metabolism, detoxification, the immune response, and steroid hormone regulation. Some of these genes cycle even when the fat body clock is disrupted, indicating that they are regulated by exogenous factors. Food is an important stimulus, as limiting food availability to a 6 hr interval each day drives rhythmic expression of genes in the fat body. Restricting food to a time of day when consumption is typically low desynchronizes internal rhythms because it alters the phase of rhythmic gene expression in the fat body without affecting the brain clock. Flies maintained on this paradigm produce fewer eggs than those restricted to food at the normal time. These data suggest that desynchrony of endogenous rhythms, caused by aberrant feeding patterns, affects reproductive fitness.
Mechanical characterization of outer epidermal middle lamella of onion under tensile loading

UNLABELLED • PREMISE OF THE STUDY The cells in plant tissue are joined together by a distinct layer called the middle lamella (ML). Understanding the mechanical properties of the ML is crucial in studying how tissue-level mechanical properties emerge from the subcellular-level mechanical properties. However, the nanoscale size of the ML presents formidable challenges to its characterization as a separate layer. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the ML under tensile loading are as yet unknown.• METHODS Here, we characterize the ML from a subcellular sample excised from two adjacent cells and composed of two wall fragments and a single line of ML in between. Two techniques, cryotome sectioning and milling with a focused ion beam, were used to prepare ML samples, and tensile experiments were performed using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) tensile testing devices.• KEY RESULTS Our test results showed that even at a subcellular scale, the ML appears to be stronger than the wall fragments. There was also evidence that the ML attached at the corner of cells more strongly than at the rest of the contact area. The contribution of the additional ML contact area was estimated to be 40.6 MPa. Wall fragment samples containing an ML layer were also significantly stronger (p < 0.05) than the wall fragments without an ML layer.• CONCLUSIONS The tensile properties of the ML might not have a major impact on the tissue-scale mechanical properties. This conclusion calls for further study of the ML, including characterization under shear loading conditions and elucidation of the contributions of other extracellular parameters, such as cell size and shape, to the overall tissue-level mechanical response.
Hypoxia-responsive growth factors upregulate periostin and osteopontin expression via distinct signaling pathways in rat pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells.

This study tested the hypothesis that expression of the novel adhesion molecule periostin (PN) and osteopontin (OPN) is increased in lung and in isolated pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PAS...
Renal effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors: Nondiabetic chronic renal disease

Based on studies in the rat remnant kidney model, it has been proposed that glomerular hypertension is responsible for the progressive nature of chronic renal disease. In that model, therapy with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduced glomerular pressures. As a result, glomerular injury was reduced and the rate of progression of renal disease was slowed. Thus, alterations in hemodynamics may play an important role in glomerular injury. However, it is now evident that a variety of metabolic and other factors affect the progression of renal disease. Moreover, recent studies suggest that ACE inhibitors may also have beneficial effects that are independent of alterations in glomerular pressure. In humans, the glomerular hemodynamic response to renal disease cannot be measured, and it is not known whether or under which conditions glomerular capillary pressure might be elevated. Treatment with ACE inhibitors safely lowers blood pressure without adversely affecting renal function in mots patients with nondiabetic chronic renal failure. Although proteinuria and the rate of progression of renal disease may decrease in some patients, these effects are inconsistently seen. Identification of the factors that modulate this variability in response to ACE inhibition may provide new insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of progressive renal disease in humans.
Barbiturate tolerance and hypersensitivity of arterial smooth muscle

Abstract Experiments were undertaken on rats chronically treated with pentobarbital sodium, 50 mg/kg three times per day for a period of five days, to determine whether excised aortic or venous (portal vein) smooth muscle would demonstrate any change in reactivity to catecholamines or potassium chloride. Although sleeping time was reduced 50% (indicative of tolerance to the barbiturate), mean arterial blood pressure was not affected. Aortic strips, but not portal veins, excised from barbiturate-treated animals exhibited hypersensitivity to both contractile stimulants. Potassium-depolarized, calcium-depleted aortic tissue, but not portal venous smooth muscle, from the barbiturate-treated animals contracted to lower concentrations of Ca 2+ than did the arterial smooth muscle from the saline-treated control rats. The present observations thus indicate that chronic barbiturate treatment in rats can induce drug supersensitivity of excitable tissue other than one associated with the central nervous system. Our results on arterial smooth muscle could help to shed light on the unexplained rises in arterial blood pressure observed in humans undergoing barbiturate withdrawal.
Developmentally Expressed Ca2+-sensitive Adenylyl Cyclase Activity Is Disrupted in the Brains of Type I Adenylyl Cyclase Mutant Mice

The type I Ca2+-sensitive adenylyl cyclase has been implicated in several forms of synaptic plasticity in vertebrates. Mutant mice in which this enzyme was inactivated by targeted mutagenesis show deficient spatial memory and altered long term potentiation (Wu, Z. L., Thomas, S. A., Villacres, E. C., Xia, Z., Simmons, M. L., Chavkin, C., Palmiter, R. D., and Storm, D. R.(1995) Proc. Natl Acad Sci. U. S. A. 92, 220-224). Long term potentiation in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus develops during the first 2 weeks after birth and reaches maximal expression at postnatal day 15 with a gradual decline at later stages of development. Here we report that Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in rat hippocampus, cerebellum, and cortex increases significantly between postnatal days 1-16. This increase appears to be due to enhanced expression of type I adenylyl cyclase rather than type VIII adenylyl cyclase, the other adenylyl cyclase that is directly stimulated by Ca2+ and calmodulin. Type I adenylyl cyclase mRNA in the hippocampus increased 7-fold during this developmental period. The developmental expression of Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in mouse brain was attenuated in mutant mice lacking type I adenylyl cyclase. Changes in expression of the type I adenylyl cyclase during the period of long term potentiation development are consistent with the hypothesis that this enzyme is important for neuroplasticity and spatial memory in vertebrates.
Postoperative radiation for cervical cancer with pathologic risk factors

Purpose: To examine the efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy for early-stage cervical cancer with pathologic risk factors. Methods and Materials: We reviewed the charts of 83 patients who received postoperative radiation therapy at our facility from March 1980 to November 1993 for early stage cervix cancer with positive surgical margins, positive pelvic or periaortic lymph nodes, lymphovascular space invasion, deep invasion, or for disease discovered incidently at simple hysterectomy. Twenty-eight patients received low dose rate (LDR) intracavitary radiation with or without external beam pelvic irradiation and 55 patients received external beam pelvic irradiation with high dose rate (HDR) intracavitary implants. Of these 83 patients, 66 were evaluable-20 LDR and 46 HDR patients. All patients received 45-50 Gy external beam irradiation and 20 Gy LDR equivalent intracavitary irradiation prescribed to 0.5 cm below the mucosa. Ninety percent of the LDR group and 92% of the HDR group completed treatment within < 56 days. Treatment-related toxicities were scored according to the GOG toxicity scale. Mean and median follow-up times were 101 months and 111 months (3-172 months) for the LDR group and 42 and 40 months (3-98 months) for the HDR group. Results: The 5-year disease-free survival was 89% for the LDR group and 72% for the HDR group. Local control was observed in 90% (18 out of 20) of the LDR patients and 89% (41 out of 46) of the HDR patients for an overall local control rate of 89.5%. Two of 20 LDR patients (10%) experienced recurrence (two pelvic with distant metastasis). Nine of 46 HDR patients (22%) had recurrence of disease (three pelvic, four distant metastasis, and two pelvic with distant metastasis). In the HDR group, 6 out of 16(38%) with positive lymph nodes died of disease whereas, 27 out of 30 (90%) of the patients with negative lymph nodes remain free of disease. Three of 20 (15%) LDR patients and 4 out of 46 (9%) ) HDR patients experienced Grade 2 or 3 late treatment- related complications. No patient in either group had Grade 4 or 5 complications. Pathologic risk factors were analyzed. Lymph node positivity and lymphovascular space invasion were found to be significant (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02). Positive margins, deep invasion, and age were not significant. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the efficacy of postoperative irradiation for cervical cancer with pathologic risk factors. Overall, the local control rate was 89.5% The HDR results demonstrate that this method can be delivered safely and effectively.
Facteurs prédictifs d’échec d’entrée en travail par dinoprostone en cas de grossesse prolongée et de conditions locales défavorables

Resume But Identifier des facteurs predictifs d’echec d’entree en travail dans les 24 heures suivant la pose d’un dispositif intravaginal a la dinoprostone en cas de grossesse prolongee avec conditions locales defavorables a l’aide d’une etude retrospective monocentrique. Patientes et methode Trois cent vingt-cinq patientes ayant eu un dispositif intravaginal a la dinoprostone pour une grossesse unique prolongee (> 41 semaines d’amenorrhee) et des conditions locales defavorables (score de Bishop er janvier 2011 et le 31 decembre 2012 ont ete incluses et reparties en 2 groupes : les patientes entrant en travail dans les 24 heures suivant la pose, defini par une dilatation cervicale superieure a 4 cm associee a des contractions uterines (groupe R ; n = 248 ; 76,3 %) et les patientes n’entrant pas en travail dans les 24 heures (groupe E ; n = 77 ; 23,7 %). Les caracteristiques maternelles et obstetricales de ces patientes ont alors ete comparees. Resultats Les facteurs predictifs d’echec d’entree en travail apres maturation etaient la nulliparite (74,0 versus 56,0 % ; OR = 2,23 ; IC95 % : 1,27–4,00 ; p = 0,005), un âge gestationnel ≤ 41 SA + 4 (53,2 versus 33,9 % ; OR = 2,22 ; IC95 % : 1,32–3,74 ; p = 0,003) et un antecedent de dilatation cervicale et curetage (27,3 versus 10,5 % ; OR = 3,19 ; IC95 % : 1,66–6,11 ; p = 0,0005). Le score de Bishop etait significativement plus eleve dans le groupe R (3,6 versus 1,9 ; p = 0,001). Parmi les differents items du score de Bishop, un col tonique (74,0 versus 44,4 % ; OR = 3,57 ; IC95 % : 2,04–6,40 ; p −5 ) et ferme (59,7 versus 23,0 % ; OR = 4,97 ; IC95 % : 2,89–8,56 ; p −6 ) etaient des facteurs predictifs d’echecs de maturation. Conclusion La nulliparite, un âge gestationnel ≤ 41 SA + 4, un antecedent de dilatation cervicale et curetage et le score de Bishop, en particulier un col tonique et ferme, semblent etre des facteurs predictifs d’echecs de maturation en cas de grossesse prolongee.
Nanoimprint lithography of plasmonic platforms for SERS applications

In this review, we describe the use of nanoimprint lithography in our group to fabricate plasmonic platforms with nanometer-scale critical features that would be significantly more expensive using other fabrication techniques: 3-D cones that have tips with a sub-10 nm radius of curvature, active polygonal nanofingers with sub-2 nm spacing, and deterministic nanoparticle assemblies both on arbitrary substrates and in solution. These nanostructures were primarily designed to make surface-enhanced Raman Scattering a viable analytical technique for low-level chemical and biological contaminants, but the same fabrication methods should also be useful for other nanophotonic and nanoelectronic applications.
Conflicting Selection Pressures on T-cell Epitopes in HIV-1 subtype B

Analysis of population-level polymorphism in eight coding genes of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype B revealed evidence not only of past purifying selection, but also of abundant slightly deleterious nonsynonymous variants subject to ongoing purifying selection. Both CD4 and CTL epitopes showed an excess of nonsynonymous variants that were singletons (occurring in just one sequence) in our dataset. Overall, median gene diversities at polymorphic nonsynonymous sites were highest at sites located in neither CD4 nor CTL epitopes, while polymorphic nonsynonymous sites in CD4 epitopes revealed the lowest median gene diversity. Our results support the hypothesis that there is an evolutionary conflict between immune escape and functional constraint on epitopes recognized by host T-cells, and suggest that amino acid sequences of CD4 epitopes are subject to particularly strong functional constraint.
Luxationsfraktur der unteren Brustwirbelsäule beim Säugling

Es wird uber eine im Sauglingsalter erlittene schwere Luxationsfraktur des 11. BWK mit Beteiligung des ganzen Bewegungssegmentes berichtet.
Comparisons of meteorological structure parameters in complex terrain using optical and acoustical techniques.

Remotely sensed wind, temperature changes with height, and turbulence have been compared with in situ instrumentation using optical and acoustic techniques across and within valleys. These comparisons have provided data useful in the interpretation of spatial averages inherent in remote sensing with spatial and temporal representativity of point meteorological measurements in complexterrain. Of particular interest in this study was comparison of the optical turbulence derived index-of-refraction structure function Cn with the acoustically derived temperature structure function CT over divergent scales across and within a valley.
Quantum reaction in a condensed phase: Turnover behavior from new adiabatic factorizations and corrections

This paper further investigates quantum activated rate theory from the viewpoint of quantum evolution operators. It is shown that a new adiabatic separation of the quantum system-bath Hamiltonian can, in a single time step, account for quantum turnover behavior at moderate temperatures, and it is also shown how this turnover exponentially vanishes at low temperatures. It is further shown that incorporation of nonadiabatic (interaction representation form) corrections produces quantitatively accurate results at low temperatures, thus extending the applicability of the interaction representation form of nonadiabatic corrections to adiabatic evolution operators.
Effects of Exercise Training on Abnormal Ventilatory Responses to Exercise in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Patients with chronic heart failure frequently report shortness of breath during daily activities as their primary symptom. In recent years, many efforts have been made by researchers to explain the mechanisms that underlie the characteristic heightened ventilatory response to activity in patients with chronic heart failure. The degree to which the ventilatory response to exercise is heightened parallels the severity of the disease, and measuring the ventilatory gas exchange response to exercise can help quantify the patient's response to therapy. Prior to the 1990s, patients with chronic heart failure were generally discouraged from participating in programs of exercise training. However, in the last decade, studies have demonstrated that exercise training is quite safe for these patients, and a multitude of benefits have been reported. Among the benefits of training are improvements in the abnormal ventilatory response to exercise. Although many mechanisms could potentially explain this response, it appears most likely that this improvement after training is due to a reduction in lactate accumulation and an attenuation of the heightened muscle receptor reflex response that occurs in chronic heart failure. This article reviews the mechanisms of dyspnea in chronic heart failure, along with recent studies assessing the effects of training on abnormal ventilatory responses to exercise in these patients. (c)2000 by CHF, Inc.
A systems engineering approach for performance surface computational architectures

The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NAVMETOCCOM) produces operational image products referred to as performance surfaces. A performance surface is the projection of numerical values that reflect the performance of a system or phenomenon into a Geographic Coordinate System layer portraying a physical representation of the earth's atmosphere, surface, or ocean. That is, a performance surface is a graphic that indicates optimal performance through visual cues. To date, performance surface algorithms exist for AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW) and Piracy, and future performance surfaces are anticipated. A characteristic of performance surfaces is their computational complexity, which can be either deterministic or stochastic in nature. The use of stochastic processes drives a significant computational burden based on the sheer volume of individual simulations that must be run and then combined to form a probabilistic prediction. To mitigate the difficulties imposed by large volume stochastic processes, NAVMETOCCOM chartered an Integrated Product Team (IPT) to characterize a suitable computational architecture for existing and future performance surfaces. The IPT was also tasked to document an engineering process by which emergent performance surfaces could implement suitable architectures. This engineering process used tailored DoD acquisition best practices that were agile and easily repeatable for use by future NAVMETOCCOM IPT efforts.
A stochastic parser based on a structural word prediction model

In this paper, we present a stochastic language model using dependency. This model considers a sentence as a word sequence and predicts each word from left to right. The history at each step of prediction is a sequence of partial parse trees covering the preceding words. First our model predicts the partial parse trees which have a dependency relation with the next word among them and then predicts the next word from only the trees which have a dependency relation with the next word. Our model is a generative stochastic model, thus this can be used not only as a parser but also as a language model of a speech recognizer. In our experiment, we prepared about 1,000 syntactically annotated Japanese sentences extracted from a financial newspaper and estimated the parameters of our model. We built a parser based on our model and tested it on approximately 100 sentences of the same newspaper. The accuracy of the dependency relation was 89.9%, the highest accuracy level obtained by Japanese stochastic parsers.
Algorithms for the fixed point property

This survey exhibits various algorithms to decide the question if a given ordered set P has the fixed point property resp. if P has a fixed point free order-preserving self-map. While a depth-first search algorithm for a fixed point free map is easily written it is also quite inefficient. We discuss a reduction algorithm by Xia which can be used to speed up the search for a fixed point free self-map. The ideas used in creating this algorithm show close connections to two problems: the decision whether an ordered set has a fixed point free automorphism and the decision whether a given r-partite graph has an r-clique. The latter two problems are shown to be NP-complete using the work of Goddard, Lubiw and Williamson. The problem to decide whether a given finite ordered set has a fixed point free order-preserving self-map has recently been shown to be NP-complete, thus showing that the above close connection is not by accident. Retraction theorems leading to dismantling algorithms are another approach to the problem. We present the classical dismantling procedure by Rival and extensions by Fofanova, Li, Milner, Rutkowski and the author. These theorems give a polynomial algorithm to decide if an ordered set has the fixed point property for some nice classes of ordered sets (height 1, width 2), and structural insights for other classes (chain-complete ordered sets with no infinite antichains, sets of (interval) dimension 2). The related issue of uniqueness of cores gives an insight into Birkhoff's problem regarding cancellation of exponents. Walker's relational fixed point property for which the analogous problem has a very satisfying solution also is discussed. Another variation on the retraction theme is the use of algebraic topology in deriving fixed point theorems initiated by Baclawski and Bjorner and continued for example by Constantin and Fournier. After a primer on the basic concepts of (integer) homology we present their retraction/dismantling procedures, which always prove acyclicity of the associated simplicial complex and then the fixed point property via a Lefschetz-type fixed point theorem. Differences and similarities with the above combinatorial procedures are pointed out. The main problem in making these results accessible to entirely combinatorial proofs is the lack of a combinatorial/discrete analogue of the continuous concept of a weak (resp. deformation) retract. We also present a class of ordered sets without the fixed point property, such that all proper retracts have the fixed point property. This class is induced via triangulations of n-spheres. Finally, we include an indication how methods developed for work on the fixed point property can be used in other areas. For example, the arguments by Abian, Brown and Pelczar to prove that in a chain-complete ordered set existence of a point P with P ⩽ f(P) implies existence of a fixed point have recently found application to analysis in the work of Carl, Heikkila, Lakhshmikantham and others.
a-b plane tunneling spectroscopy and in-plane gap anisotropy in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Abstract The quality of the tunneling spectroscopy of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 can be improved significantly by tunneling into the edge of a single crystal, as opposed to directly into a cleaved face. This junction geometry allows tunneling exclusively in the a-b plane, and we will discuss some features that can be reproduced consistently with this technique. This experimental approach also provides us a unique opportunity to observe the gap anisotropy within the a-b plane. We find that the energy gap (Δ ab ) varies from 20 meV to 40 meV, with the maximum value along the orthorhombic crystal axes and the minimum value along the CuO bond direction. No nodal line has been observed, possibly due to the limitation in angular resolution of the tunneling technique.
Foam application of methomyl to sweet corn and leafy vegetables.

Methomyl in foam produced from Fomex® (principal functioning agents: alcohol sulfates, salts of alkyl and dialkyl 2, 5 diketotetrahydrofuran, alkyl sulfonates, isopropanol, total 54.8%) when applied to sweet corn, cabbage, lettuce, and celery reduced drift but did not change insect control from that obtained with methomyl alone. The insects were beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), fall armyworm, S. frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and a leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess). Repeated applications of sprays with high rates of the foam agent, whether sprayed with a foam producing nozzle or a regular nozzle, caused marked stunting of sweet corn. Foamspray® (alkyl-omegahydroxypoly (oxyethylene) sulfate, 1, 3 propane diol, coconut fatty acid, ethenol, isopropanol, total 60%) when applied to sweet corn gave the same results as Fomex.
Validating instrument models through the calibration process

The performance of modern IR instruments is becoming so good that meeting science requirements requires an accurate instrument model be used throughout the design and development process. The huge cost overruns on recent major programs are indicative that the design and cost models being used to predict performance have lagged behind anticipated performance. Tuning these models to accurately reflect the true performance of target instruments requires a modeling process that has been developed over several instruments and validated by careful calibration. The process of developing a series of Engineering Development Models is often used on longer duration programs to achieve this end. The accuracy of the models and their components has to be validated by a carefully planned calibration process, preferably considered in the instrument design. However, a good model does not satisfy all the requirements to bring acquisition programs under control. Careful detail in the specification process and a similar, validated model on the government side will also be required. This paper discusses the model development process and calibration approaches used to verify and update the models of several new instruments, including Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) and Far Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST).
Gut microbiome in chronic kidney disease

What is the topic of this review? This review addresses the contribution of the altered gut microbiome to uraemic syndrome, with specific reference to gut microbiome-derived uraemic toxins. It also discusses the potential treatment options to normalize the disturbed microbiome in chronic kidney disease (CKD). What advances does it highlight? This review highlights the importance of the gut-kidney connection and how the altered microbial landscape in the intestine contributes to dysmetabolism and inflammation in CKD. Recent findings linking gut-derived uraemic toxins to progression of CKD, cardiovascular disease and mortality are also discussed. Finally, we briefly explain targeted therapies that have been studied to restore intestinal symbiosis in CKD. The human intestine is now recognized as an important metabolic organ powered by gut microbiota. This review addresses the alteration in the gut microbiome in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its consequence. We describe the major uraemic toxins, p-cresol sulfate, indoxyl sulfate and trimethylamine N-oxide, which are produced by the gut microbiome, and how these metabolites contribute to progression of CKD and associated cardiovascular disease. Translocation of endotoxin from the gut into the systemic circulation contributes to inflammation in CKD. Targeting the gut microbiome to restore symbiosis may prove to be a potent strategy in reducing inflammation and production of these uraemic toxins.