cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oral and cardiovascular disease associations do not call for extraction of teeth

Abstract Objective This paper reviews the existing evidence examining the relationship between periodontal disease, tooth loss, and cardiovascular disease to determine whether tooth extractions reduce the risk of CVD. Study Design All published cohort studies that evaluated both periodontal disease and tooth loss in relation to the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke were included in this review. Results Tooth loss appears to be associated with a similar or greater risk for CHD and stroke than does periodontal disease, in all but 1 out of 8 comparisons. The association between periodontal disease and CHD ranges from a relative risk of 1.01 in 1 study to 1.37 in another study after controlling for common risk factors (ie, a 1% to 37% increased risk of CHD among people with periodontal disease compared with those without), whereas the relative risk for tooth loss and CHD ranges from 1.01 to 1.90 across studies (a 1% to 90% increase). The association between periodontal disease and stroke ranges from a relative risk of 1.01 to 2.11, whereas the relative risk for tooth loss and stroke ranges from 1.07 to 1.63 across studies. The associations are modest and similar for both periodontal disease and tooth loss. Conclusion The scientific evidence to date that relates both periodontal disease and tooth loss to CHD and stroke does not support the removal of teeth that have periodontal disease as a means for reducing CVD risk because tooth loss shows a similar association with CVD. J Evid Base Dent Pract 2002;2:261-6
Family Healthcare With King’s Theory of Goal Attainment:

King's conceptual system and theory of goal attainment provide a systematic approach to the thought and action of nursing that has stood the test of time with continuing utility for organizing the complex factors of healthcare. Following a brief overview of the conceptual system and theory of goal attainment, application to family healthcare is discussed and illustrated with the programs of research of three exemplar King scholars: family healthcare with a mentally-ill child, family healthcare with children with type 1 diabetes or asthma, and family healthcare when a family member has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The scientific benefit and developmental progression of a theory-driven program of research for practice is noted. Future studies are presented as well as additional sources for King's conceptual system and theory of goal attainment.
Expert representation of design repository space: A comparison to and validation of algorithmic output

Development of design-by-analogy tools is a promising design innovation research avenue. Previously, a method for computationally structuring patent databases as a basis for an automated design-by-analogy tool was introduced. To demonstrate its strengths and weaknesses, a computationally-generated structure is compared to four expert designers’ mental models of the domain. Results indicate that, compared to experts, the computationally-generated structure is sensible in clustering of patents and organization of clusters. The computationally-generated structure represents a space in which experts can find common ground/consensus e making it promising to be intuitive/accessible to broad cohorts of designers. The computational method offers a resourceefficient way of usefully conceptualizing the space that is sensible to expert designers, while maintaining an element of unexpected representation of the space.
Conflict over Convoys: Anglo-American Logistics Diplomacy in the Second World War

Conflict over Convoys examines the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of Anglo-American diplomacy, deepening our understanding of Allied grand strategy, British industrial policy, and operations TORCH and OVERLORD. Failure to build and maintain enough ships to feed the people and wage war made Britain dependent upon American-built merchant ships and American logistical support, yet British strategists aspired to dominate Allied strategy, while Roosevelt mismanaged merchant shipping allocations. The resulting gap between strategic ambition and logistical reality embittered the controversy over the 'Second Front'. Victory in the Atlantic finally led to American dominance of Allied logistics diplomacy and strategy. Conflict over Convoys relates these tensions to the decline of British hegemony and the rise of the USA to global influence.
Sleep- and wake-dependent changes in neuronal activity and reactivity demonstrated in fly neurons using in vivo calcium imaging

Sleep in Drosophila shares many features with mammalian sleep, but it remains unknown whether spontaneous and evoked activity of individual neurons change with the sleep/wake cycle in flies as they do in mammals. Here we used calcium imaging to assess how the Kenyon cells in the fly mushroom bodies change their activity and reactivity to stimuli during sleep, wake, and after short or long sleep deprivation. As before, sleep was defined as a period of immobility of >5 min associated with a reduced behavioral response to a stimulus. We found that calcium levels in Kenyon cells decline when flies fall asleep and increase when they wake up. Moreover, calcium transients in response to two different stimuli are larger in awake flies than in sleeping flies. The activity of Kenyon cells is also affected by sleep/wake history: in awake flies, more cells are spontaneously active and responding to stimuli if the last several hours (5–8 h) before imaging were spent awake rather than asleep. By contrast, long wake (≥29 h) reduces both baseline and evoked neural activity and decreases the ability of neurons to respond consistently to the same repeated stimulus. The latter finding may underlie some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and is consistent with the occurrence of local sleep during wake as described in behaving rats. Thus, calcium imaging uncovers new similarities between fly and mammalian sleep: fly neurons are more active and reactive in wake than in sleep, and their activity tracks sleep/wake history.
The phonon maser

Abstract : The report is a proposal for a c.w., continuously tunable, phonon maser. The mechanism is quite analogous to optical pumping schemes, utilizing a double pump to preferentially populate an excited state of a paramagnetic ion.
Maternal Health‐Seeking on Behalf of Low‐Income Children

Background Women receiving Medicaid account for almost one-third of the childbearing population in the United States, an extensive investment for federal and state governments. Gaps and conflicting research results exist that explain/predict maternal health-seeking behavior for vulnerable children. Public health nurses (PHN) need evidence to design interventions that improve maternal health-seeking and child health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine factors: maternal (key influences), child, and household that contribute to maternal health-seeking behavior. Methods The design was a descriptive, correlational, longitudinal study (n = 1,141 mother-child dyads). Results Children were more likely to receive preventive medical care if they had a medical condition (OR: 1.60, p < .01) and had access to private transportation (OR: 1.49, p < .05). Children of married mothers (OR: 1.51, p < .01) and access to private transportation (OR: 1.47, p < .05) received more preventive dental care. African-American mothers (OR: 0.61, p < .01) and mothers with higher self-reported health status (OR: 0.84, p < .05) sought less illness-related medical child health services (CHS). Conclusion Maternal health-seeking behavior in low-income households is complex. Predictors may depend on whether care is preventive or illness-related, medical, or dental. Further study should clarify what factors predict what type of CHS use to better specify PHN interventions.
Compact emittance scanners for MeV particle beams

Compact electric sweep emittance scanners have been developed to operate in the mega-electronvolt range. These scanners are suitable for the analysis of electron and ion beams. The scanners have excellent angular resolution despite their compact dimensions. Electrical and mechanical design and scaling parameters are presented. Operational experience with a 1 MeV, 25 mA, 50 mu s H/sup -/ beam is discussed. >
Prior Antiplatelet Therapy, Platelet Infusion Therapy, and Outcome after Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background Recent studies examining the effect of prior antiplatelet therapy (APT) on outcome in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have shown conflicting results. The effect of platelet infusion therapy (PIT) on outcome in patients with ICH taking APT is unknown. Methods We reviewed records of patients with ICH admitted to a single hospital, excluding those with international normalized ratio greater than or equal to 1.5. Baseline characteristics were compared by APT status in all patients and by PIT status in the subgroup of patients on APT. We used multivariate analyses to generate propensity and prognostic scores for exposures (APT and PIT) and outcomes (favorable outcome and hospital death), respectively. We examined the associations between exposures and outcomes and adjusted these for propensity and/or prognostic scores. We then validated our findings with a sensitivity analysis. Results Of 368 patients identified, 121 (31.3%) were taking APT, mostly aspirin. Patients on APT were older and more likely to have vascular comorbidities than those not. The APT group also had a higher initial Glasgow Coma Scale score at presentation. In analyses adjusted for both propensity and prognostic scores, APT was associated with a higher likelihood of hospital death (odds ratio [OR] 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-5.6); PIT did not prevent hospital death (OR 1.2; 95% CI 0.3-5.5) or increase favorable outcome (OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.4-5.4). Conclusions In patients with ICH, APT is associated with an increased risk of hospital death. In the subgroup of patients on APT, PIT did not prevent death or improve outcome.
Market diversification and financial performance and stability: A study of hotel companies

Abstract The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a diversification strategy by hotel companies on corporate financial performance and stability. Using 36 publicly traded hotel companies, this study analyzed the differences in financial performance and stability between market-diversified and undiversified hotel companies. Accounting measures, market measure, and risk-adjusted performance measure were employed to gauge financial performance. The results of this study indicated that diversification strategy does not provide profit growth, but diversification partly improves the stability of performance. This study supported the nature of the trade-off between financial performance and stability in the company diversification, and also implied that the market diversification strategy by hotel companies does not function as a means to improve financial performance.
Chemically Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Label for Immunoassay

A recent approach in disease diagnosis and viral epidemics is aimed at point-of-care tests that could be administered near the patient rather than time-consuming processes involving centralized laboratories. Point-of-care devices provide rapid results in simple and low-cost manner requiring only small sample volumes. These devices will strongly benefit from advanced materials and fabrication methods to improve their efficiency and sensitivity. We report a functionalized carbon nanotube label for an immunosensor application. Carbon nanotube label was prepared by modifying the carbon nanotube surface to anchor biomolecules. First, the carboxylic acid treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were uniformly dispersed with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) by sonication in aqueous solution. PVP partially wraps around the carbon nanotubes and exposes the surface of the nanotubes for further functionalization. The MWCNTs were then conjugated with human immunoglobulin G (IgG) using EDC/Sulfo-NHS coupling chemistry, where the antibodies occupied sites not covered by PVP. The dispersion, surfactant modification, and antibody conjugation of the MWCNTs were also confirmed using SEM and TEM images. The successful functionalization of the MWCNTs and reactivity of the covalent attached antibodies were demonstrated for specific antigen binding on the microelectrode device. The carbon nanotube-based detection mechanism could be tailored for screening various analyte specific molecules. Furthermore, the reported technique could easily be integrated in various microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices for the development of functional electronic sensors providing quantitative, sensitive, and low-cost detection in pointof-care setup.
Phaseolin expression in tobacco chloroplast reveals an autoregulatory mechanism in heterologous protein translation

Plastid DNA engineering is a well-established research area of plant biotechnology, and plastid transgenes often give high expression levels. However, it is still almost impossible to predict the accumulation rate of heterologous protein in transplastomic plants, and there are many cases of unsuccessful transgene expression. Chloroplasts regulate their proteome at the post-transcriptional level, mainly through translation control. One of the mechanisms to modulate the translation has been described in plant chloroplasts for the chloroplast-encoded subunits of multiprotein complexes, and the autoregulation of the translation initiation of these subunits depends on the availability of their assembly partners [control by epistasy of synthesis (CES)]. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, autoregulation of endogenous proteins recruited in the assembly of functional complexes has also been reported. In this study, we revealed a self-regulation mechanism triggered by the accumulation of a soluble recombinant protein, phaseolin, in the stroma of chloroplast-transformed tobacco plants. Immunoblotting experiments showed that phaseolin could avoid this self-regulation mechanism when targeted to the thylakoids in transplastomic plants. To inhibit the thylakoid-targeted phaseolin translation as well, this protein was expressed in the presence of a nuclear version of the phaseolin gene with a transit peptide. Pulse-chase and polysome analysis revealed that phaseolin mRNA translation on plastid ribosomes was repressed due to the accumulation in the stroma of the same soluble polypeptide imported from the cytosol. We suggest that translation autoregulation in chloroplast is not limited to heteromeric protein subunits but also involves at least some of the foreign soluble recombinant proteins, leading to the inhibition of plastome-encoded transgene expression in chloroplast.
Mass‐balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO2 consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA

Mineral weathering rates and a forest macronutrient uptake stoichiometry were determined for the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed in north-central Maryland, USA. Previous studies of Hauver Branch have had an insufficient number of analytes to permit determination of rates of all the minerals involved in chemical weathering, including biomass. More equations in the mass-balance matrix were added using existing mineralogic information. The stoichiometry of a deciduous biomass term was determined using multi-year weekly to biweekly stream-water chemistry for a nearby watershed, which drains relatively unreactive quartzite bedrock. At Hauver Branch, calcite hosts ~38 mol% of the calcium ion (Ca2+) contained in weathering minerals, but its weathering provides ~90% of the stream water Ca2+. This occurs in a landscape with a regolith residence time of more than several Ka (kiloannum). Previous studies indicate that such old regolith does not typically contain dissolving calcite that affects stream Ca2+/Na+ ratios. The relatively high calcite dissolution rate likely reflects dissolution of calcite in fractures of the deep critical zone. Of the carbon dioxide (CO2) consumed by mineral weathering, calcite is responsible for approximately 27%, with the silicate weathering consumption rate far exceeding that of the global average. The chemical weathering of mafic terrains in decaying orogens thus may be capable of influencing global geochemical cycles, and therefore, climate, on geological timescales. Based on carbon-balance calculations, atmospheric-derived sulfuric acid is responsible for approximately 22% of the mineral weathering occurring in the watershed. Our results suggest that rising air temperatures, driven by global warming and resulting in higher precipitation, will cause the rate of chemical weathering in the Hauver Branch watershed to increase until a threshold temperature is reached. Beyond the threshold temperature, increased recharge would produce a shallower groundwater table and reduced chemical weathering rates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A novel phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)P3 pathway in fission yeast

The mammalian tumor suppressor, phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), inhibits cell growth and survival by dephosphorylating phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PI[3,4,5]P3). We have found a homologue of PTEN in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe (ptn1). This was an unexpected finding because yeast (S. pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) lack the class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases that generate PI(3,4,5)P3 in higher eukaryotes. Indeed, PI(3,4,5)P3 has not been detected in yeast. Surprisingly, upon deletion of ptn1 in S. pombe, PI(3,4,5)P3 became detectable at levels comparable to those in mammalian cells, indicating that a pathway exists for synthesis of this lipid and that the S. pombe ptn1, like mammalian PTEN, suppresses PI(3,4,5)P3 levels. By examining various mutants, we show that synthesis of PI(3,4,5)P3 in S. pombe requires the class III phosphoinositide 3-kinase, vps34p, and the phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase, its3p, but does not require the phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate 5-kinase, fab1p. These studies suggest that a pathway for PI(3,4,5)P3 synthesis downstream of a class III phosphoinositide 3-kinase evolved before the appearance of class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases.
Adaptive inventory management using RFID data

In this paper, inventory management of time-sensitive materials using RFID data is studied using simulation. Based on the production data obtained from a manufacturing company, three inventory management models that rely on RFID data for tracking and dispatching of time-sensitive materials on a shop floor is presented. The complexity of the models ranges from statically-set, fixed baseline inventory models to dynamic, forecast-integrated inventory control schemes. This study compares the inventory models on the basis of service level, cost, inventory and waste reduction, and decision-making complexity. A comparative analysis of the models is presented in a simulation environment, which also demonstrates the overall benefits and effectiveness of RFID technologies in providing low-cost manufacturing solutions, reduced inventory levels, and lower overall waste. The forecast-integrated inventory model is developed based on a trend-adjusted exponential smoothing algorithm, with two smoothing parameters, α and β, used as coefficients for the average production demand and its trend, respectively. The study shows that the desired level of system performance can be achieved by adjusting the values of the smoothing parameters.
Twenty Years in the Making Understanding the Difficulty for Change in Belarus

Even after twenty years of Lukashenka’s rule, Belarusians still have to struggle for democracy. However, there has been a modest growth in the number of protesters during presidential elections and...
tau couples the leading- and lagging-strand polymerases at the Escherichia coli DNA replication fork.

Synthesis of an Okazaki fragment occurs once every 1 or 2 s at the Escherichia coli replication fork. To account for the rapid recycling required of the lagging-strand polymerase, it has been proposed that it is held at the replication fork by protein-protein interactions with the leading-strand polymerase as part of a dimeric polymerase assembly. Solution studies showed that the replicative polymerase, the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, was indeed a dimer with two catalytic cores held together by the tau subunit. However, the functionality of this arrangement at the replication fork has never been demonstrated. We showed previously that the lagging-strand polymerase acted processively during multiple rounds of Okazaki fragment synthesis, i.e. the same polymerase core assembly synthesized each and every fragment made by the fork. Using extreme dilution of active replication forks and the isolation of protein-DNA complexes capable of supporting coupled leading- and lagging-strand synthesis, we demonstrate here that this coupling of leading- and lagging-strand synthesis is, in fact, mediated by the tau subunit of the holoenzyme acting as a physical bridge between the core assemblies synthesizing the leading and lagging strands.
Determination of the optimum packet length and buffer sizes for the consumer electronics bus

Two issues related to the implementation of the consumer electronics bus (CEBus) on a power line medium are considered. These are the determination of (a) optimum packet length and (b) optimum buffer size. The delay-throughput characteristics of each of the three priority classes of messages, i.e., HIGH, STANDARD, and DEFERRED, have been measured by simulation experiments for various packet lengths and buffer sizes. This way optimum packet length and buffer sizes have been deduced. The optimum buffer size at a node corresponds to the best overall performance for messages of all priorities in terms of overflow rates at the buffers of the nodes with respect to increasing offered loads. The optimum packet length has been found to be between 276 and 400 USTs (unit symbol times), i.e., 184 and 286 b. If 276 USTs is assigned as the optimum packet length, the optimum buffer size at each node is found to be between 150 and 200 packets, i.e., approximately 28 to 37 kb. >
Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Their Receptors in Muscle Development

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF) I and II exert pleiotropic actions on target tissues. In muscle both IGF-I and II exhibit a range of physiological effects, including a concentration-dependent stimulation of metabolic functions such as glucose and amino acid uptake, acceleration of the rate of DNA synthesis, and enhancement of myoblast differentiation (1-4). The mitogenic and metabolic effects of the IGFs can be distinguished from their differentiation-promoting properties: the stimulation of differentiation persists in the presence of inhibitors of cell replication (5,6), and antisense myogenin oligonucleotides, which block IGF-l-induced differentiation, do not influence IGF-I stimulated metabolite uptake or proliferation (7). These observations imply that distinct signal-transduction pathways may be involved in each process.
Hematologic and semen quality changes in bulls with experimental eperythrozoon infection

Eperythrozoon organisms were isolated from the blood of a young beef bull with scrotal and hindlimb edema. Young beef bulls, managed under conditions closely mimicking those used in organized bull testing programs, were experimentally administered eperythrozoon organisms. Scant to few organisms were identified on blood smears from bulls (5 of 6) for 2 to 4 days starting 12 days after administration. After a second challenge with intravenously administered viable eperythrozoon organisms, the bulls demonstrated immunity by either failing to become parasitemic (4 of 6) or rapidly clearing the organisms from the blood (2 of 6). No bull became anemic, icteric, or hypoglycemic. Increased serum lactate and decreased blood bicarbonate concentrations probably reflected increased glycolytic activity of infected erythrocytes. A cause for azotemia observed late in the study was not determined. The bulls did not develop scrotal or hindlimb edema. Scrotal circumference and texture remained constant throughout the study. Semen quality was minimally altered while the bulls had organisms identified on blood smears. Harsh lung sounds were asculted in bulls during and immediately after organisms were present in the blood. Although the bulls reliably had organisms in the blood, none showed anemia, scrotal or hindlimb edema, or decreased semen quality; therefore, an additional factor or factors, or greater parasite load may be required for the expression of disease.
Simulating the effects of wolf-elk population dynamics on resource flow to scavengers

The reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provides a natural experiment regarding the effects of top predators on scavenger species. Fieldwork on the Northern Range of Yellowstone indicates that wolves facilitate carrion acquisition by scavengers, but it is unclear whether this represents a transient or permanent effect of wolf reintroduction. Here we present a wolf-elk model with human elk harvest and use it to investigate the long-term consequences of predator–prey dynamics and hunting on resource flow to scavengers. Our model shows that while wolves reduce the total amount of carrion, they stabilize carrion abundance by reducing temporal variation in the quantity of carrion and extending the period over which carrion is available. Specifically, the availability of carrion is shifted from reliance on winter severity and elk density to dependence on the strength of wolf predation. Though wolves reduce the overall abundance of carrion by lowering the elk population, this reduction is partially offset by increases in the productivity of an elk population invigorated by removal of the weakest individuals. The result of this is higher carrion production per elk in the presence of wolves. In addition, this yields an ecological explanation for the phenomena that predators increase the robustness of their prey: namely that by reducing the effect of density-dependent resource competition among elk, those that remain, even some of the older animals, are better fed and healthier as a result. Our model also suggests that human hunting has no effect on the distribution of carrion across the year but is crucial in determining the long-term abundance of carrion because of the effect of hunting on elk population levels. By reducing the proportion of cows in the annual hunt, which have historically been high in order to control the number of elk migrating north of the park, managers can allow an adequate supply of carrion without substantially reducing hunter take. The effects of a more tractable food resource is likely to benefit scavengers in Yellowstone and other areas of the world where wolves have been or are currently being considered for reintroduction. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Streaming face recognition using multicamera video arrays

We present face recognition schemes based on video streams: the majority decision rule and HMM maximum likelihood (ML) decision rules. PCA type of subspace feature analysis is first applied to the face images in a video segment of a fixed number of frames. The majority decision rule is then applied to PCA recognition results in the video segment. Discrete HMM (DHMM) is also applied to the single-frame recognition sequences. Continuous density HMM (CDHMM) is applied directly to the sequence of PCA feature vectors for ML decision on the video segment in a delayed decision manner. Experimental results are compared between these three schemes in terms of the number of states and Gaussian mixtures of the HMMs. CDHMM-based decision rule achieved a 99% correct recognition rate in average. A geometric interpretation of ML in the feature subspace well explains the observed performances.
Gossip-based Reputation Aggregation for Unstructured Peer-to-Peer Networks

Peer-to-peer (P2P) reputation systems are needed to evaluate the trustworthiness of participating peers and to combat selfish and malicious peer behaviors. The reputation system collects locally generated peer feedbacks and aggregates them to yield global reputation scores. Development of decentralized reputation system is in great demand for unstructured P2P networks since most P2P applications on the Internet are unstructured. In the absence of fast hashing and searching mechanisms, how to perform efficient reputation aggregation is a major challenge on unstructured P2P computing. We propose a novel reputation aggregation scheme called GossipTrust. This system computes global reputation scores of all nodes concurrently. By resorting to a gossip protocol and leveraging the power nodes, GossipTrust is adapted to peer dynamics and robust to disturbance by malicious peers. Simulation experiments demonstrate the system as scalable, accurate, robust and fault-tolerant. These results prove the claimed advantages in low aggregation overhead, storage efficiency, and scoring accuracy in unstructured P2P networks. With minor modifications, the system is also applicable to structured P2P systems with projected better performance.
Bedside insertion of inferior vena cava filters by a medical intensivist: preliminary results.

The development of percutaneous techniques has allowed vena cava filters to be safely placed at the bedside. Such procedures appear uniquely suited for critically ill patients as they avoid the inherent risks associated with transportation. We report a ``medical intensivist's'' experience with the placement of 13 percutaneous vena cava filters. Vena cava filters were successfully placed in 12 of 13 patients as confirmed by postplacement venacavograms; 1 placement attempt was aborted because of a completely occluded inferior vena cava. These results suggest that with appropriate training and supervision, medical intensivists can safely insert vena cava filters in the intensive care unit setting. Such a practice appears safe, reduces patient risk associated with intrahospital transport, and may promote cost containment.
Relative Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetics: A Combination of Pentazocine and Acetaminophen

Abstract The relative bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of a combination product containing pentazocine and acetaminophen were studied in 20 healthy human males. Each subject, in a single-dose three-way crossover design, received two different preparations containing 50 mg of pentazocine (as base) and 1300 mg of acetaminophen either as capsule-shaped tablets or as a solution. Plasma concentrations of pentazocine and acetaminophen were determined from 0.25 to 12 h following oral administration. The plasma data for both compounds in the tablet formulation were described by an open one-compartment body model with first-order absorption. The average (± SD ) bioavailability of the tablet relative to that of the solution was 85.0 ± 31.1 and 88.6 ± 13.1% for pentazocine and acetaminophen, respectively. The apparent first-order regression-dependent elimination rate constants for pentazocine from the tablet and solution preparations were 0.19 ± 0.08 and 0.20 ± 0.06 h −1 , respectively, while the rate constants for acetaminophen were 0.26 ± 0.03 and 0.25 ± 0.03 h −1 for the tablet and solution preparations, respectively. These rate constants correspond to terminal elimination half-lives of ~3.6 h for pentazocine and ~2.7 h for acetaminophen.
Correlations between types of absorbed water molecules and water permeability in swollen polymer membranes

A series of poly(vinyl formal) membranes was synthesized by formalization of poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes. Representative pieces were selected for this study. Some cellulose acetate membranes cast from dioxane were used for comparison. The main experimental techniques employed included water absorption measurements and direct osmosis measurements. Aqueous solutions of sodium chloride at various concentrations were used for the studies of permeation through the membranes by direct osmosis. The plot of water permeability coefficient Pw versus volume fraction Vw of water absorbed in a membrane was interpreted in terms of the effect of two different types of absorbed water molecules. The individual diffusion coefficients were evaluated from asymptotic slopes of the curves. Similar analyses applied satisfactorily to data found in the literature.
Axial irradiance of a focused beam

The principal maximum of axial irradiance of a focused beam with a low Fresnel number does not lie at its focal point; instead it lies at a point that is closer to the focusing pupil. It has been shown by the numerical example of a weakly truncated Gaussian beam that its value increases and its location moves closer to the pupil when spherical aberration is introduced into the beam. Such an increase has been referred to as “beyond the conventional diffraction limit.” Similarly, an increase in the value and a shift in the location of the principal maximum of axial irradiance of a uniform beam toward the pupil by the introduction of some spherical aberration has been characterized as an unexpected result. We explain why and how such a result comes about and that it neither invalidates any diffraction limit nor is it unexpected. We illustrate this for uniform as well as Gaussian beams of various truncation ratios. Both focused and collimated beams aberrated by spherical aberration or astigmatism are considered.
Flexor Tendon Repair: Healing, Biomechanics, and Suture Configurations

Successful outcome after flexor tendon repair requires a delicate balance between tendon healing and limiting scar tissue formation. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of the number of core sutures crossing the repair and the benefits of specific suture configurations in determining the strength of tendon repair. Researchers have attempted to augment the biological environment to improve the speed and strength of tendon repair.
Objective Determination of Safety Factor in Reservoir Design

Objective criteria for determining hydrologic safety factor for reservoir design are developed for streamflow sample sizes of 10 yr, 25 yr, 50 yr and 100 yr. For the smaller sample sizes, the index of allowable shortages, for which average net benefits are maximum, is also smaller. This reduction in the index of allowable shortages results in an increase in the average reservoir size needed to offset the effects of sampling error. Thus, by varying the index of allowable shortages on the basis of hydrologic record length, safety factors may be determined.
Vascular effects alter early-gestation fetal renal responses to vasopressin.

Distinct receptors mediate the vascular (V1) and renal (V2) effects of arginine vasopressin (AVP). Although ovine fetal AVP-induced antidiuresis can be demonstrated in early gestation (< 120 days; term 150 days), the early-gestation fetal renal responses to AVP are variable, including increases in urine flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). AVP V1 receptor predominance and/or V2 receptor system immaturity may contribute to variable early-gestation renal responses to AVP. To differentiate these possibilities, we assessed early-gestation fetal V2 receptor function in the presence and absence of V1 receptor-mediated effects by comparing the responses to AVP (a combined V1-V2 receptor agonist; n = 10; 112 +/- 2 days) with the selective V2-receptor agonist 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) (n = 5; 111 +/- 2 days). AVP infusion increased fetal mean arterial pressure (MAP; 36 +/- 1 to 44 +/- 2 mmHg) and decreased heart rate (197 +/- 2 to 171 +/- 3 beats/min); DDAVP infusion had no effect on MAP or heart rate. Free water clearance decreased in response to AVP (0.13 +/- 0.02 to 0.02 +/- 0.01 ml.min-1.kg-1) and DDAVP (0.21 +/- 0.04 to 0.04 +/- 0.02 ml.min-1.kg-1), and urine osmolality increased in response to both analogues (AVP: 145 +/- 4 to 283 +/- 15 mosmol/kgH2O; DDAVP: 146 +/- 5 to 244 +/- 32 mosmol/kgH2O).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A is for Adaptivity, but What is Adaptivity? Re-Defining the Field of AIED

This paper proposes to define the field currently known as AIED not in terms of the technology used, but in terms of system behavior. Specifical- ly, it is proposed that AIED is the science and engineering of systems that adapt to learners, so as to help bring about effective, efficient, and enjoyable learning experiences. But what, in general, is adaptivity? Intuitively, being adaptive means that the system adjusts the course of instruction in nuanced and effective ways based on learner differences, for example the goals and needs of individu- al learners and group of learners. It is difficult to state necessary and sufficient conditions for the concept of adaptivity. Instead, I stipulate that a system is more adaptive to the degree that: (a) its design is grounded in a thorough (em- pirical) understanding of learners in the given task domain, (b) it is appropriate- ly interactive, and (c) it takes into account, in its pedagogical decision making, how individual learners measure up along different psychological dimensions. These factors help in comparing systems in terms of their degree of adaptivity. They imply that the presence of Artificial Intelligence technology is not a defin- ing factor, even if it can be (and often is) instrumental in bringing about adap- tivity.
PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND SECRETION BY THE BARLEY ALEURONE: A PERSPECTIVE

Revue sur la synthese et la secretion des hydrolases par les cellules a aleurone des cereales
A Surprising Max-Min Result

(1987). A Surprising Max-Min Result. The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 225-229.
Suppression by Naloxone of Rise in Plasma Growth Hormone and Prolactin Induced by Suckling

AbstractThe effects of three different doses of the specific opiate antagonist, naloxone (0.2, 2.0, and 5.0 mg/kg body wt), on release of growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) induced by suckling were determined in postpartum lactating rats. Blood was collected from mother rats via an indwelling atrial cannula 8 hr after separation from their pups. Suckling for 30 min induced a 3-fold increase in plasma GH and more than a 10-fold increase in plasma PRL. Injection of naloxone into mother rats just prior to suckling by their pups produced significant inhibition of both GH and PRL release. Doses of 0.2 and 5.0 mg naloxone/kg body wt almost completely inhibited GH release, whereas an intermediate dose (2.0 mg/kg body wt) was partially effective. Inhibition of PRL release by naloxone was dose related, and the highest dose (5.0 mg/kg body wt) decreased plasma PRL values by 60-80%. These results suggest that the endogenous opioid peptides are involved in release of GH and PRL induced by the suckling stimulus i...
Effect of digitalis on cholinesterase.

SummaryThese results confirm the observation that the cardiac slowing by digitalis is not due to inhibition of cholinesterase.
Effects of bicarbonate on intercompartmental reducing-equivalent translocation in isolated parenchymal cells from rat liver.

1. Incubation of isolated liver cells in a medium containing bicarbonate raises malate concentrations almost sixfold compared with values obtained in a bicarbonate-free phosphate medium. The malate concentration of about 0.3mm in bicarbonate medium is of the same order as the Km for malate dehydrogenase. 2. The utilization of ethanol, glyercol and sorbitol was increased by 20–35% in bicarbonate medium. 3. Fluoromalate, a specific inhibitor of malate dehydrogenase and the malate carrier, inhibited or ethanol oxidation by 23%, glycerol uptake by 20% and sorbitol uptake by 42% in bicarbonate medium, but had a much smaller inhibitory action in phosphate medium. In consequence fluoromalate almost abolished the stimulatory effects of bicarbonate on substrate utilization. 4. Difluoro-oxaloacetate, a specific inhibitor of aspartate aminotransferase, had about one-half the inhibitory activity of fluoromalate. The two inhibitors in combination were less effective than fluoromalate by itself. 5. It is concluded that bicarbonate stimulates the utilization of reduced substrates, which are oxidized in the cytoplasmic compartment of the liver cell, by increasing the activity of rate-limiting malate dehydrogenase-dependent intercompartmental hydrogen shuttles. Both malate–oxaloacetate and malate–aspartate systems are involved in these hydrogen-translocation processes.
Investigation of Sex Differences In sIgA Response to the Trier Social Stress Test.

Acute stressors can activate the immune system. While many immune system diseases disproportionally affect women, sex differences in adaptive immune response to acute, psychosocial stressors remain to be investigated. The present study tested the hypothesis that female participants experience increased immune response to acute psychosocial stress relative to male participants. Salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) was assessed before and after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and at two time points during a recovery period in healthy male (n = 25) and female (n = 24) participants. Exposure to the TSST resulted in significantly increased sIgA that returned to baseline during a subsequent recovery period. Baseline sIgA was higher among women, however, no differences between men and women in response to or recovery from the stressor were observed in the present study. This research describes an initial investigation of sex differences in immune response to acute psychosocial stressors and demonstrates similarity in sIgA response among male and female participants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Perturbation of bacteriochlorophyll molecules in Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein complexes through mutagenesis of cysteine residues.

Abstract The Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) pigment–protein complex in green sulfur bacteria transfers excitation energy from the chlorosome antenna complex to the reaction center. In understanding energy transfer in the FMO protein, the individual contributions of the bacteriochlorophyll pigments to the FMO complex's absorption spectrum could provide detailed information with which molecular and energetic models can be constructed. The absorption properties of the pigments, however, are such that their spectra overlap significantly. To overcome this, we used site-directed mutagenesis to construct a series of mutant FMO complexes in the model green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum (formerly Chlorobium tepidum). Two cysteines at positions 49 and 353 in the C. tepidum FMO complex, which reside near hydrogen bonds between BChls 2 and 3, and their amino acid binding partner serine 73 and tyrosine 15, respectively, were changed to alanine residues. The resulting C49A, C353A, and C49A C353A double mutants were analyzed with a combination of optical absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. Our results revealed changes in the absorption properties of several underlying spectral components in the FMO complex, as well as the redox behavior of the complex in response to the reductant sodium dithionite. A high-resolution X-ray structure of the C49A C353A double mutant reveals that these spectral changes appear to be independent of any major structural rearrangements in the FMO mutants. Our findings provide important tests for theoretical calculations of the C. tepidum FMO absorption spectrum, and additionally highlight a possible role for cysteine residues in the redox activity of the pigment–protein complex.
Ramus and other renaissance philosophers on subjectivity

This paper considers philosophical approaches that are relevant to the intertwinement of logic, metaphysics, and psychology proposed by the Aquinas commentator Tommaso de Vio Cardinal Cajetan, the humanist Petrus Ramus, the pure Aristotelian Cornelius Martini, the Semi-Ramist Bartholomaeus Keckermann, and the lexicographer Rudolf Goclenius. Mostly, however, it is about Ramus and his followers, the Ramists, because of the role they played in exacerbating a discussion on the constitution of objectivity during the Renaissance that was to have an impact on Cartesian andpost-Cartesian theories of subjectivity. Finally, keeping in mind that Kant was familiar with the secunda Petri, i.e., with the second part of Ramus's logic, namely the theory of judgment, some common ground is recognizable between Ramus and Kant as well.
Inhibition of Thrombin by Peptides Containing Lysyl-α-Keto Carbonyl Derivatives

Several H-N-Me-D-Phe-Pro-Lysyl-alpha-keto carbonyl derivatives were shown to be potent thrombin inhibitors (Ki 0.2 to 27 nM). The inhibitory potencies of these compounds toward tissue plasminogen activator, plasmin and factor Xa were minimal; however, substantial cross-reactivity versus trypsin was observed (Ki values from 0.5 to 1500 nM). Inhibition of thrombin by alpha-keto carbonyl compounds appeared to occur via a one-step reversible reaction. The alpha-keto carbonyl inhibitors bound thrombin with a second order rate constant (k1 1-4 microM-1s-1) that was 10-100-fold slower than that expected for a diffusion-controlled reaction. Certain alpha-keto carbonyl inhibitors were as potent (on a weight basis) as hirudin when evaluated in a rat arterial thrombosis model. The modest oral bioavailability (10-19%) in rats demonstrated for three of the alpha-keto carbonyl thrombin inhibitors suggests the possibility that alpha-keto amide containing thrombin inhibitors may have utility as orally-active antithrombotic agents.
Thermo-Energy Transfer Optimization of a Solar Distiller with Energy Storage Under Bou-Ismail Climatic Conditions

Seawater desalination techniques are sustainable, but their use is limited in rich countries. However, in recent years, the capacity of desalination stations has greatly increased and production costs by m3 experienced a sharp decline. Seawater and brackish water desalination using solar energy witnesses a growing interest in some developing countries. Solar distillation is a technically feasible, simple, profitable, and operational method for the production of freshwater. This thermal process is a key to future water problems in the water poorest regions, namely arid and isolated sites in southern Algeria as it permits to desalinate brackish water and treated wastewater reuse concentrated salt. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of temperature and the internal components of solar still on its operation. An experimental examination of a solar distiller performance is realized and designed by a team of research of UDES. The daily instantaneous and global yield will be examined to show the temperatures’ influence on the different distiller elements as well as on the quantity of distillate produced. Also, a comparison of different geometries with energy storage has been undertaken in order to study the influence of geometry on the production of distilled water.
Supplement: Special Considerations in the Management of Amblyopia and Strabismus in Craniofacial Disorders

As many as 60–70 % of children with craniosynostosis have strabismus (Coats, J AAPOS. 4:338–42, 2000). The most common ocular motility issue in these patients is V-pattern strabismus, with apparent overaction of the inferior oblique muscles, and/or underaction of the superior oblique muscles (Coats, J AAPOS. 4:338–42, 2000; Nischal, Am Orthopt J. 64:24–31, 2014; Clement and Nischal, Strabismus. 11:239–42, 2003). For many reasons, strabismus surgery in such patients should be considered with care.