cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Registration of the BTx623/IS3620C Recombinant Inbred Mapping Population of Sorghum

ABSTRACTThe BTx623/IS3620C sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] mapping population (Reg. No. MP-1, NSL 469802 MAP) is a set of 430 F 7 and F 9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) (F 7 lines: PI 658758 through PI 659060; F 9 lines: PI 659144 through PI 659271) from a cross between the inbred lines BTx623 (PI 659985 MAP) and IS3620C (PI 659986 MAP). This sorghum mapping population was released jointly by the Plant Stress and the Germplasm Development Unit, Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Lubbock, TX and the Crop Germplasm Research Unit, USDA-ARS, College Station, TX in 2009. The original 137 RILs of this mapping population served as the basis for the construction of landmark high-density genetic and physical maps, with the integrated genome map subsequently used to aid in assembly of the sorghum genome sequence. This population has been genotyped by a number of investigators with a total of 3348 markers—including ampliﬁ ed fragment length polymorphisms, DArT (Diversity Arrays Technology, Yarralumla, Australia), restriction fragment length polymorphisms, simple sequence repeats, and insertion-deletions—mapped to ten linkage groups corresponding to the ten sorghum chromosomes. The population has been utilized to map quantitative trait loci that underlie various agronomic traits, including tillering, ﬂ oral architecture, plant height, ﬂ owering date, grain size, and abiotic stress tolerance. The registration of this recombinant inbred mapping population will allow public access to the genomic and germplasm resources that can facilitate mapping and gene discovery for complex traits in sorghum and related cereal species.
The role of diabetes mellitus in the treatment of skin and skin structure infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: results from three randomized controlled trials.

Summary Objective To compare outcomes of treating complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with linezolid versus vancomycin in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Methods We pooled data from three prospective clinical trials in which 1056 patients were randomized to receive either linezolid (intravenous (IV) or oral) or vancomycin (IV) every 12h, for 7–28 days. Results Diabetic ( n =349) and non-diabetic patients ( n =707) had comparable demographics and co-morbidities. Clinical success rates were lower in diabetic than in non-diabetic patients (72.3% and 85.8%, respectively). Overall, non-diabetic patients had a shorter adjusted mean length of stay (LOS) compared with diabetic patients (8.2 and 10.7 days, respectively; p p =0.03) and non-diabetic patients (7.6 and 8.9 days, respectively; p =0.02). Conclusions Clinical success rates were lower in diabetic than non-diabetic patients with cSSSI caused by MRSA. Comparing linezolid and vancomycin, clinical and microbiological success rates were comparable in diabetic patients, but were better for linezolid than for vancomycin in non-diabetic patients.
The application of ground penetrating radar attenuation tomography in a vadose zone infiltration experiment

Cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (XBGPR) is used in monitoring a long-term vadose zone infiltration experiment at a test site in Socorro, NM in order to examine contaminant transport in the vadose zone. XBGPR attenuation tomography is conducted in order to test the ability of using images of electromagnetic attenuation for hydrogeologic investigations. The results of four pre-infiltration attenuation inversions shows standard deviations below 0.1 Np/m, and demonstrate the consistency of the XBGPR tomography technique for making time-lapse observations. Correlation to the core records indicates that XBGPR attenuation tomograms provide high-resolution images of clay distribution in the vadose zone. Water infiltration at the ground surface was initiated in February 1999 at a constant rate of 2.7 cm/day, and continued at this rate throughout the data collection experiment. Time-lapse attenuation tomograms show that attenuation increases by approximately 0.3 Np/m during the water infiltration, and indicate a snowplow effect may be occurring where salts are dissolved by the water and concentrated at the front of the plume. Seasonal temperature changes may also cause changes in electromagnetic attenuation images, and masking the evidence of water infiltration. Thus caution must be taken when using time-lapse attenuation images to interpret the movement of a water plume during a long-term experiment as temperature changes.
EVALUATION OF INHALATION HAZARDS BASED UPON THE RESPIRABLE DUST CONCEPT AND THE PHILOSOPHY AND APPLICATION OF SELECTIVE SAMPLING.

Abstract The genesis and evolution of the respirable dust and selective sampling concepts are described. The background material includes a resume of current ideas on dust deposition and retention in the human respiratory tract and a brief but critical examination of modern dust sampling instruments and methods. Theoretical and practical developments in selective sampling for the respirable or hazardous dust fraction(s) are reviewed.
Behavior in light-dark cycles of Drosophila mutants that are arrhythmic, blind, or both.

Certain of the rhythm mutations in Drosophila melanogaster lead to arrhythmic locomotor activity (and aperiodic eclosion) in constant conditions. In light-dark (LD) cycles, however, such mutants exhibit clear fluctuations between high levels of activity when the lights are on and much lower ones when they are off. Our data, in contrast to some previous conclusions, strongly suggest that period0 (per0) adults are, in LD conditions, merely being "forced" into exhibiting periodic behavior. These experiments involved application of 8-, 12-, 16-, and 24-hr LD cycles, in which the arrhythmic mutant could have any of these periodicities imposed upon it, whereas wild-type flies tended to exhibit periods of about 24 hr in cycling conditions whose T values were >8 hr different from 24. In phase-shift experiments, it was found that Drosophila expressing genotypes associated with rhythmicity achieved a 5-hr advance over a 2-day period following an advanced lights-on; per0 adults altered the phase of their locomotor p...
Preservation of Viability in the Isolated Monkey Brain Utilizing a Mechanical Extracorporeal Circulation

Preservation of Viability in the Isolated Monkey Brain Utilizing a Mechanical Extracorporeal Circulation
Soybean row spacing: effects on insecticide efficacy against three common lepidopteran defoliators of different size classes

Field studies were conducted in wide- and narrow-row soybean plantings during 1981 (central Mississippi)and 1982 (south Mississippi)to investigate the differential effect of commonly used insecticides in three common species of lepidopteran larvae of three size classes (small, medium, and large). Percentage of larva reduction was calculated based on populations in the untreated control on the same sample date, and data were analyzed separately for each of three species. Results demonstrated clear differences between row-spacing types for each of three pest species (soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker); velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner; and green cloverworm, Plathypena scabra (F.) when all size classes are combined. When row-spacing data were combined in a single analysis, differences among size classes were noted; large larvae generally, but not always, were more difficult to control than small or medium larvae. Analyses to segregate differences between row spacings within size classes are presented for each species. Significant differences were recorded in many instances. The differences observed 2 days after application often were not observed at later intervals. Data from these experiments may prove helpful in the development of pest management programs that consider agronomic (row-spacing) and biological (size-class)effects on insecticide effectiveness.
Immunological Unresponsiveness Characterized by Increased Expression of CD5 on Peripheral T Cells Induced by Dendritic Cells In Vivo

In the steady state, interaction between T cells and antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) leads to T cell tolerance. To examine the role of DC regulated peripheral tolerance in a model autoimmune disease, we delivered an encephalitogenic oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide to DCs in vivo. We found that targeting MOG peptide to DCs resulted in a novel form of peripheral T cell tolerance that was sufficiently profound to prevent autoimmune experimental acute encephalomyelitis (EAE). The tolerized T cells were severely impaired in specific secondary responses to antigen in vivo but they were not intrinsically anergic since they remained highly responsive to T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation in vitro. The mechanism that mediates this dynamic antigen-specific T cell unresponsiveness differs from previously described forms of tolerance in that it requires that DCs induce CD5 expression on activated T cells.
The Evolutionary Logic of the Obsessive Trait Complex: Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder as a Complementary Behavioral Syndrome

Freud noted that the obsessive traits of orderliness, parsimony, and obstinacy incontestably belonged together. This observation has been unfailingly justified, but unsatisfactorily explained. Being a highly heritable pattern essentially unaffected by parental influence, it is counterfactual to continue to explain the obsessive trait constellation as a pathological signature of harsh, authoritarian parenting. Alternatively, the present paper, building upon a previously promulgated evolutionary etiological model, describes how obsessive traits work in unison to enable survival within harsh northerly climates. What appears to be a loosely federated inventory of pathology, after the application of evolutionary reasoning, becomes a coherent behavioral package, adaptive suite, or behavioral syndrome. All three of these terms, taken from behavioral biology, suggest that traits strategically covary, such that the adaptive value of each trait is enhanced by the presence of the others. In this vein, the union of anxious tension and conscientiousness drives the obsessive personality to labor incessantly. The fruits of obsessive labor are then conserved through parsimoniousness, hoarding, vigilance, and niggardliness. And so, obsessive personality is a coherent behavioral package in that the drive to work towards the acquisition of necessities is paired with the drive to conserve and defend them.
Asthma in the Elderly

Asthma is more prevalent and more severe in older individuals. Here, we review the literature on asthma in the elderly, with special focus on the pathophysiologic and immunologic mechanisms, healthcare utilization, the role of menopause and obesity, and the impact of chronic asthma on biological aging. Aging of the lung is characterized by constant decline in lung function, which is accelerated by occupational or tobacco exposure and pollution that may contribute to new onset asthma or greater severity of asthma in the elderly. Gender and sex hormones are critical determinants of asthma severity, such that perimenopausal women have more severe asthma, but postmenopausal women are protected from asthma. Immunosenescence places older adults at risk for infections, which may lead to airway hyper-reactivity and asthma exacerbations. Furthermore, the chronic low-level inflammatory state of aging is associated with decreased function of regulatory T (Treg) cells, which are important to resolve inflammation. The rate of obesity increases with age, and obesity independently places individuals at higher risk for asthma. Recent provocative studies suggest that asthma is characterized by accelerated molecular aging as defined by shorter leukocyte telomere lengths. Overall, older asthmatics suffer from greater morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization. More studies of the older asthmatic are needed to understand mechanisms and identify times for intervention to improve asthma control and outcomes.
Value of Impedance Cardiography in Patients Studied for Pulmonary Hypertension

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of impedance cardiography as a method for noninvasive hemodynamic evaluation of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). We performed a prospective and blinded study of patients who underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) for evaluation of known or presumed PH at the University of Florida from August 2009 to March 2010. The cohort consisted of a total of 39 patients (age = 57 ± 14 years, 87% women) with presumed (23%) or confirmed PH (77%) of different etiologies. Patients underwent RHC and impedance cardiography using the PhysioFlow PF-05. The PhysioFlow PF-05 measures cardiac output (CO) and LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), among other parameters. The median pulmonary artery pressure was 36 (IQR 26-56) mmHg. The CO (mean ± SD) by thermodilution (CO-T) and by impedance cardiography (CO-IC) was 5.9 ± 2.2 and 5.6 ± 1.5 L/min, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis of CO-T versus CO-IC revealed a mean of 0.3 L/min (95% LoA: −2.2 to +2.8). In patients with PH, the correlation of CO-T and CO-IC had a mean of 0.4 L/min (95% LoA: 2.9 and −2.2). Pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) correlated with LVEDV (R 2 = 0.2, p = 0.005). By ROC analysis, EDV ≥ 200 ml had a sensitivity of 53% and a specificity of 86% for PAOP > 15 mmHg (AUC = 0.78). In patients with PH, impedance cardiography had good accuracy and fair precision for CO determination when compared with thermodilution. Impedance cardiography may provide information about the preload status and has the potential to become a cost-effective and noninvasive method for the follow-up of patients with PH.
Theoretical Studies of Inorganic and Organometallic Reaction Mechanisms. 10. Reversal in Stability of Rhodium and Iridium η2-Ethene and Hydridovinyl Complexes

Ab initio quantum mechanical calculations were used to examine models for the reaction [η3-HB(X)3](CO)M(η2-CH2CH2) → [η2-HB(X)3](CO)M(η2-CH2CH2) → [η3-HB(X)3](CO)M(H)(CHCH2), for which it is known that the equilibrium lies toward the hydridovinyl product for iridium, with X = 3-trifluoromethyl-5-methylpyrazol-1-yl, and lies toward the η2-ethene reactant for rhodium, with X = 3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl, and most other related systems. The ligand models tested correspond to X = NHNH2, NHNCHF, N2C3H3 (pyrazol-1-yl), N2C3H2F (3-fluoropyrazol-1-yl), N2C3H2F (5-fluoropyrazol-1-yl), N2C3H2CH3 (3-methylpyrazol-1-yl), and N2C3H2CF3 (3-(trifluoromethyl)pyrazol-1-yl). For the iridium complexes, the restricted Hartree−Fock (RHF) optimized geometries are similar to the Moller−Plesset second-order (MP2) ones and the energy calculations at the MP2//RHF, MP2//MP2, and MP4SDQ//MP2 levels give reasonable results. For the rhodium complexes, although the RHF energies appear to be in qualitative accord with the calculated resul...
Assembling and Dissembling Policy as Productive Play

In this piece, the authors examine educational policy by focusing on the ways in which actors “play” or selectively follow, negotiate, and appropriate cultural instructions and rules. They outline a framework that situates assemblage, a notion utilized in actor-network theory, within the critical cultural study of policy. Treating policy assemblage as a dynamic cultural form, they argue, provides a way of revealing the complexities of sociomaterial connections inherent to policy implementation. The authors pay particular attention to what happens when disparate actors join together to perform policy-directed tasks. It is within these heterogeneous and hybrid linkages that policy negotiations and controversies can become productive play. The authors briefly discuss the dynamic composition of productive policy play. Then, applying it to a controversy revealed in the ethnographic analysis of No Child Left Behind conducted by the first author, they demonstrate the framework’s usefulness in considering the soc...
Communication software design for telescience

Summary form only given. An emerging discipline called telescience utilizes robotics, computers, communications, controls, and signal processing for the performance of scientific experiments in remote locations. The future Space Station Freedom and Manned Lunar Base are likely telescience candidates. NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications initiated a program using a user-oriented rapid-prototyping testbed approach to investigate the potential of telescience for space applications. Two of the testbeds, designed and constructed for the NASA program, use an identical teleoperation architecture. The first investigated the teleoperation of an astrometric telescope and the second demonstrated the teleoperation of a remote fluid-handling laboratory. The teleoperation configuration includes an operator who inputs telecommands and views telemetry and scientific data at a remote commanding computer (RCC). The RCC sends the telecommands to and receives the data from a local controlling computer (LCC). The main focus of the work reported is the design goals and functional description of the generic communications software for the LCC system. >
Contiguity and imbeddedness factors in the discriminative learning of retardates.

Abstract Previous studies show that imbedding a reward within a stimulus and spatial contiguity of stimulus and reward are factors which facilitate 2-choice discriminations. In the present study, the separate and joint effects of the two factors on discriminative learning are studied in a factorial design. Reward imbeddedness was manipulated by presenting the reward within a hollow box and was compared with a nonimbeddedness situation in which the reward was placed in a foodwell under the box. Contiguity was arranged by presenting copies of the discriminative stimulus in the goal situation (either the box or the foodwell) and was compared with noncontiguity in which the reward alone was presented in the goal situation Contiguity facilitates learning but imbeddedness does not reliably improve learning. The two factors interact significantly and in a direction which is consistent with previous findings.
The unique character of involvement in multi-site evaluation settings.

Abstract As the number of large federal programs increases, so, too, does the need for a more complete understanding of how to conduct evaluations of such complex programs. The research literature has documented the benefits of stakeholder participation in smaller-scale program evaluations. However, given the scope and diversity of projects in multi-site program evaluations, traditional notions of participatory evaluation do not apply. The purpose of this research is to determine the ways in which stakeholders are involved in large-scale, multi-site STEM evaluations. This article describes the findings from a survey of 313 program leaders and evaluators and from follow-up interviews with 12 of these individuals. Findings from this study indicate that attendance at meetings and conferences, planning discussions within the project related to use of the program evaluation, and participation in data collection should be added to the list of activities that foster feelings of evaluation involvement among stakeholders. In addition, perceptions of involvement may vary according to breadth or depth of evaluation activities, but not always both. Overall, this study suggests that despite the contextual challenges of large, multi-site evaluations, it is feasible to build feelings of involvement among stakeholders.
Cerebral and systemic hemodynamics changes during upright tilt in chronic fatigue syndrome.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: During head-up tilt (HUT), patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have higher rates of neurally mediated hypotension (NMH) and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) than healthy controls. The authors studied whether patients with CFS were also more likely to have abnormal cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) compared with controls in response to orthostatic stress. METHODS: Transcranial Doppler monitoring of middle cerebral artery (MCA) CBFV was performed during 3-stage HUT prospectively in 26 patients with CFS and 23 healthy controls. At the same time, continuous monitoring of arterial blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), endtidal CO2 (ET-CO2) were performed. Results are reported as mean +/- SD. RESULTS: NMH developed in 21 patients with CFS and in 14 controls (P = .22). POTS was present in 9 CFS patients and 7 controls (P = .76). Supine HR was higher in CFS patients, but all other hemodynamics and CBFV measures were similar at baseline. The median time to hypotension did not differ, but the median time to onset of orthostatic symptoms was shorter in those with CFS (P < .001). The CBFV did not differ between groups in the supine posture, at 1 or 5 minutes after upright tilt, at 5 or 1 minute before the end of the test, or at termination of the test. Mean CBFV fell at termination of tilt testing in those with CFS and controls. ET-CO2 was lower at termination of the test in those with CFS versus controls (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are not consistent with the hypothesis that patients with CFS have a distinctive pattern of MCA CBFV changes in response to orthostatic stress.
Speaking rate, conversational speech acts, interruption, and linguistic complexity of 20 pre-school stuttering and non-stuttering children and their mothers

This is the second in a series of reports concerning stuttering pre-school children enrolled in a longitudinal study; the first was Ryan (1992). Conversational samples of 20 stuttering and 20 non-stuttering pre-school children and their mothers were analysed for speaking rate, conversational speech acts, interruption, and linguistic complexity. Between-group analyses revealed few differences between either the two children or two mother groups. Within-group analyses indicated differences that involved conversational speech acts and linguistic complexity. Most stuttering occurred on statements (M = 32.3% stuttered) and questions (M = 20.9% stuttered). Stuttered and disfluent sentences had higher Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) (Lee, 1974) scores (M = 10.9, 12.9, respectively) than fluent sentences (M = 7.6). Multiple correlation analyses indicated that speaking rate of mothers (0.561) and normal disfluency of children (0.396) were major predictor variables.
Cat scan characterization of sedimentation and floccs

L'appareil de mesure utilise une source aux rayons X qui permet d'obtenir une representation tridimensionnelle de la sedimentation
Familism and structural assimilation of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

The relationship between geographic mobility kinship ties and social status is examined in this article using data for a sample of 820 Mexican immigrants aged 18-60 who were interviewed upon legal entry to the U.S. in late 1973-71 and reinterviewed three years later. An attempt is made to determine whether and how the maintenance of kinship ties influences the integration of immigrants during the period immediately following emigration. (authors)
"Peculiar and Characteristic": New Orleans's Exceptionalism from Olmsted to the Deluge

Two hundred years after Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out to limn the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase, demonstrating its seamlessness with the national body in direct travel to the West Coast, a different kind of travel narrative-one that demonstrated New Orleans's profound discontinuity from the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina-dominated the national conversation about the city's suffering and recovery. This paper seeks to examine what Barbara Eckstein calls "claims for New Orleans's exceptionalism," considering theorizations of the city's uniqueness as products of terror at the abandonment of national amity and the evacuation of the category of citizenship. It adumbrates a history of New Orleans's exceptionalism through Frederick Law Olmsted's A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States (1856), considering the ways that African American women's bodies become signifiers of disorder and potential in the city, as well as aberrations from economic norms of enslavement in the Upper South.
Experimental study of the effects of hydrodynamics and membrane fouling in electrodialysis

Experimental data are presented for the performance of a multicompartment electrodialysis system with laminar flow in plane, unobstructed channels. The data include current-voltage characteristics, current density distributions, and pH in the brine and dialysate effluents, for a wide range of operating conditions. The results are shown to be in good agreement with the theory of Sonin and Probstein (Desalination, 5(1968) 293), provided that the membranes are relatively free of surface contamination. Fouling of the membrane surfaces, induced in these experiments by iron oxide in the feed water, is shown to bring about a reduction of the limiting current by as much as a factor of two below the theoretical value. The magnitude of the decrease depends on flow speed and other operating conditions.
The role of oxidizing radicals in neptunium speciation in γ-irradiated nitric acid

The irradiation of aqueous nitric acid solutions generates transient, reactive species that are known to oxidize neptunium. However, nitrous acid is also a long-lived product of nitric acid irradiation, which reduces neptunium. When we irradiated nitric acid solutions of neptunium and measured its speciation by UV/Vis spectroscopy, we found that at short irradiation times, oxidation of Np(V) to Np(VI) occurred due to reactions with radicals such as •OH, •NO3 and •NO2. However, at higher absorbed doses and after a sufficient amount of nitrous acid was produced, reduction of Np(VI) to Np(V) began to occur, eventually reaching an equilibrium distribution of these species depending on nitric acid concentration. Neptunium(IV) was not produced.
Spinal hemiepiphysiodesis decreases the size of vertebral growth plate hypertrophic zone and cells.

Background: Hemiepiphysiodesis is a potential method to treat idiopathic juvenile scoliosis early. The purpose of the present study was to investigate a mechanism of curve creation in the pig thoracic model of spinal hemiepiphysiodesis by determining whether the structure of the vertebral growth plate varied with distance from the stapled, concave side of the spine. The hypotheses were that the heights of the hypertrophic zone, hypertrophic cells, and disc would be decreased on the treated side of the treated level as compared with both an unstapled control level and the side opposite the staple. Methods: Custom spine staples were implanted into six midthoracic vertebrae in each of five skeletally immature pigs. After eight weeks, the spines were harvested and histological sections were prepared. Hypertrophic zone height, hypertrophic cell height and width, and disc height were measured at discrete coronal plane locations at stapled and unstapled thoracic levels. Differences between stapled and unstapled levels and locations were compared with use of mixed linear modeling for repeated measures, followed by regression models to determine growth plate intercept and slope across the plane by thoracic level. Results: Zone height, cell height, and cell width were lowest on the stapled side of the stapled level, with significant differences in the overall statistical model (p < 0.02). Disc heights were significantly reduced (p < 0.0001) at the stapled levels across the coronal plane. Conclusions: Unilateral control of intervertebral joint motion decreased growth plate height, cell size, and disc height. Clinical Relevance: A method of spinal hemiepiphysiodesis with use of a clinically relevant procedure has been shown to create a gradient in growth plate structure. If a similar gradient can be produced in humans, mechanical growth modulation may prove capable of slowing or stopping the progression of early-stage spinal deformity.
Efficient optical communications using multibit differential signaling

We present an alternative signaling method for multi-channel fiber ribbon based optical links. The method is based on a hybrid of differential signaling and single-ended channels. Channels are grouped into code blocks of n-bits. Each code word transmitted in the block is restricted to conform to an n choose m rule. Electrical drivers steer current between m active VCSELS with no dummy loads. A virtual reference is synthesized from the received signals and used for differential discrimination. This signaling method approaches the signal-to-noise characteristics of fully differential signaling but can be implemented with significantly lower channel overhead, giving as much as a 33% reduction in fiber count and a 44% reduction in power. Further, code utilization rates on these links can be as low as 51%, leaving substantial code space available for ECC or channel management functions. In this paper, we describe the signaling method and present a prototype transceiver chip. The transceiver is implemented in 0.25um UTSi Silicon-on-Sapphire technology with flip-chip bonded VCSEL and photodetector arrays. The design demonstrates a pin-compatible alternative to the POP4-MSA transceiver standard with 125% greater data throughput and 25% better power efficiency.
Neuromodulatory Therapy to Improve Erectile Function Recovery Outcomes After Pelvic Surgery

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction is a recognized, common adverse consequence of radical prostatectomy as well as various other pelvic surgeries. While a host of management options have been considered to decrease this complication, neuromodulatory therapy has recently been advanced as an intervention that may be applied for this purpose. We evaluated concepts regarding the neuropathic basis for erectile dysfunction following pelvic surgery, principles for establishing neuromodulatory therapy in this clinical context, evidence from preclinical studies supporting neuromodulatory approaches as a therapeutic strategy and the progress of early clinical developments in this field.Materials and Methods: The exercise principally consisted of a current literature search using the National Library of Medicine PubMed Services, a survey of recent abstract proceedings from national meetings relevant to the topic and an Internet online search for current information on federally and privately supported clinical trials spe...
Biosensor for dengue virus detection: sensitive, rapid, and serotype specific.

A serotype-specific RNA biosensor was developed for the rapid detection of Dengue virus (serotypes 1−4) in blood samples. After RNA amplification, the biosensor allows the rapid detection of Dengue virus RNA in only 15 min. In addition, the biosensor is portable, inexpensive, and very easy to use, making it an ideal detection system for point-of-care and field applications. The biosensor is coupled to the isothermal nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) technique with which small amounts of virus RNA are amplified using a simple water bath. During the NASBA reaction, a generic sequence is attached to all RNA molecules as described earlier (Wu, S. J.; Lee, E. M.; Putvatana, R.; Shurtliff, R. N.; Porter, K. R.; Suharyono, W.; Watt, D. M.; King, C. C.; Murphy, G. S.; Hayes, C. G.; Romano, J. W. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2001, 39, 2794−2798.). It has been shown earlier that Dengue virus can be detected specifically using two DNA probes: a first probe hybridized with the attached generic sequence and, t...
The perception of surface curvature from optical motion

Observers viewed the optical flow field of a rotating quadric surface patch and were required to match its perceived structure by adjusting the shape of a stereoscopically presented surface. In Experiment 1, the flow fields included rigid object rotations and constant flow fields with patterns of image acceleration that had no possible rigid interpretation. In performing their matches, observers had independent control of two parameters that determined the surface shape. One of these, called the shape characteristic, is defined as the ratio of the two principle curvatures and is independent of object size. The other, called curvedness, is defined as the sum of the squared principle curvatures and depends on the size of the object. Adjustments of shape characteristic were almost perfectly accurate for both motion conditions. Adjustments of curvedness, on the other hand, were systematically overestimated and were not highly correlated with the simulated curvedness of the depicted surface patch. In Experiment 2, the same flow fields were masked with a global pattern of curl, divergence, or shear, which disrupted the first-order spatial derivatives of the image velocity field, while leaving the second-order spatial derivatives invariant. The addition of these masks had only negligible effects on observers’ performance. These findings suggest that observers’ judgments of three-dimensional surface shape from motion are primarily determined by the second-order spatial derivatives of the instantaneous field of image displacements.
Experimental and Surgical Aspects of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Transplantation

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To discuss the current status of experimental studies on transplantation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and surgical results on the excision of subfoveal choroidal new vessel membranes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and presumed ocular histoplasmosis (POHS). STUDY DESIGN: Experimental study on transplantation of the RPE in organ culture and in vivo, and results of a prospective series on surgical excision of choroidal neovascularization. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine. PATIENTS: Patients with subfoveal neovascular membranes secondary to AMD and POHS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histological results on transplantation of the RPE onto Bruch's membrane in experimental animal models, and visual results on surgical excision of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in patients with AMD and POHS. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that the RPE monolayer can heal after surgical debridement in the experimental animal, and retinal recovery occurs after healing of the RPE monolayer. We have demonstrated that RPE can reattach to healthy Bruch's membrane in vitro, and have performed RPE transplantation into the subretinal space in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: We are currently involved in a multifaceted approach aimed at RPE transplantation and surgical reconstruction of the photoreceptor-RPE-Bruch's membrane interface. We are hopeful that our approach will be applicable to the clinical problem of subfoveal choroidal new vessel membranes in AMD and POHS, in addition to the broad applicability of RPE transplantation to patients with diseases arising from primary RPE dysfunction.
Infinite dilution activity coefficients in chemical, environmental and biochemical engineering

Abstract Here we briefly review several methods by which infinite dilution activity coefficients can be obtained, and then consider how such data can be used. In particular, we examine the accuracy of predictions of vapor-liquid equilibria over the complete concentration range, and over a range of temperatures based on infinite dilution activity coefficient data at a single temperature. Next, we review the direct use of infinite dilution activity coefficients in estimating the environmental fate of chemicals released into the atmosphere. Finally, the thermodynamics of some systems of biochemical interest are considered.
Evaluation of Metallothionein Measurement as a Biological Indicator of Stress from Cadmium in Brook Trout

Abstract A modification of an established technique for quantifying metallothionein (MT) in mammals was used to evaluate the toxicological importance of MT as a biological indicator of stress from chronic cadmium toxicity in brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis. In a 30-d study, fish mortality was significantly increased but growth was not altered by exposure to 3.6 μg Cd/L or more. After chronic exposure to cadmium, both mortality and whole-body residues showed a dose-response relation over the exposure range of 3.6 to 60.6 μg Cd/L. Concentrations of MT were increased significantly in all exposures that resulted in significant mortality; however, they showed no dose-response relation to cadmium exposure, nor were they correlated with mortality or whole-body cadmium residues. Consequently, measurement of MT alone was not a useful indicator of cadmium toxicity in brook trout. A better biological indicator was the amount of free cadmium in liver tissue. Free cadmium (the difference between the amount of cadmiu...
Aspergillosis in Common Crows in Nebraska, 1974

During fall 1974, approximately 1,000 to 1,500 common crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) died of aspergillosis in south-central Nebraska. The birds were debilitated, lethargic and dyspneic. On necropsy, typical lesions of aspergillosis were found in the lungs and air sacs. Histopathologic examination revealed granulomatous lesions around fungal hyphae in the respiratory system.
NMR Studies of Single Crystals of H2. VII. Orientational Ordering in the HCP Phase

We report an analysis of NMR lineshape measurements in hcp single crystals of H2 at ortho concentrationsX between 0.15 and 0.55 over the temperature range where the orientational ordering becomes substantial. The normalized rms order parameter\(\bar \sigma \) is obtained from the second momentM2 and is plotted against the reduced orientational entropySred derived from calorimetric measurements. For comparison, we present calculations for a single-particle model, for isolated pairs and triangles ofo-H2 molecules. They confirm that single-particle models as used by previous authors cannot satisfactorily account for the orientational ordering in the hcp phase. Rather, cluster configurations where the lowest excited states have a quite different ordering arrangement from that of the ground state, yet only a small energy change, need to be invoked. In a\(\bar \sigma \) versus 1−Sred plot, the hcp phase ordering is contrasted with that in the ordered cubic phase. In the Appendix, the experimental sample cell design at Duke University and the observed NMR line shapes are compared with those of the groups at Saclay and Harvard University under similar conditions ofT andX and the differences in results are discussed.
Exchange energy of H 2 + calculated from polarization perturbation theory and the Holstein-Herring method

Tang, Toennies, and Yiu have shown that unsymmetrized Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory can be used to calculate the leading terms in the ground-state exchange energy of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$ using the method of Holstein and Herring. We clarify this seemingly puzzling result by showing that their approximation to the polarization wave function is exactly he leading term of the Herring-Holstein function. We also show that a generalization of their method yields the leading asymptotic exchange energy terms for excited states, thereby suggesting the existence of a general underlying property and the applicability of the method to many-electron systems.
Production of small volcanoes in the Superswell region of the South Pacific

Abstract We use Sea Beam swath bathymetry and wide beam profiler data to investigate the production of small (50–700 m high) volcanoes in the region of the Superswell [1] in French Polynesia. Seamount population parameters are estimated for three study regions. We find that seamount abundances increase threefold going southward across the Marquesas fracture zone, the inferred northern boundary of the Superswell. In addition, we document that south of the Marquesas fracture zone, seamount abundances, on average, are equally as high on young crust (0–18 My) generated at the East Pacific Rise (9°–22°) as on the adjacent Superswell region ( ∼ 20–60 My old crust). The fact that seamount abundance estimates are the same in the two regions south of the Marquesas fracture zone leads to an uncertainty in whether the seamounts have been produced by ridge or off-axis processes, and suggests the following possibilities: (1) processes at the East Pacific Rise have produced more small seamounts south of the fracture zone than to the north for the last 60 My, (2) off-axis processes (possibly related to the Superswell) have led to excess seamount volcanism on both the Superswell region and the region adjacent to the East Pacific Rise, or (3) off-axis seamount production is anomalously high on the Superswell, and the production of seamounts has increased at the East Pacific Rise since 20 My.
Nonstationary Trapped Lee Waves Generated by the Passage of an Isolated Jet

AbstractThe behavior of nonstationary trapped lee waves in a nonsteady background flow is studied using idealized three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations. Trapped waves are forced by the passage of an isolated, synoptic-scale barotropic jet over a mountain ridge of finite length. Trapped waves generated within this environment differ significantly in their behavior compared with waves in the more commonly studied two-dimensional (2D) steady flow. After the peak zonal flow has crossed the terrain, two disparate regions form within the mature wave train: 1) upwind of the jet maximum, trapped waves increase their wavelength and tend to untrap and decay, whereas 2) downwind of the jet maximum, wavelengths shorten and waves remain trapped. Waves start to untrap approximately 100 km downwind of the ridge top, and the region of untrapping expands downwind with time as the jet progresses, while waves downstream of the jet maximum persist. Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) ray tracing shows that spatial gradien...
Internationalizing Business Education in Latin America: Issues and Challenges

This article examines the extent of internationalization of business education in Latin America and identifies the key challenges facing the Latin American business schools. Based on a survey of the business schools that are members of CLADEA (Consejo Latinoamericano de Escuelas de Administracion—Latin American Council of Management Schools), and also from available information from various public sources and the literature, this study finds that most Latin American universities recognize the importance of internationalization of curricula and have undertaken measures to provide a business education that creates a global awareness among students and sensitizes them to differences across countries. The study also identifies the areas that need further attention and resources for widening the extent of internationalization of business education in Latin America and recommends ways to address these challenges.
Drug Injury in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

It is well established that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and aspirin confer significant morbidity and mortality. The widespread use of these drugs has increased the absolute numbers of cases of NSAID- or aspirin-related upper gastrointestinal complications. Emerging data indicate that antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants, may also increase risk for gastrointestinal bleeding. Multiple factors have been identified that increase risk for NSAID- and aspirin-related upper gastrointestinal complications. The highest risks are related to age (>60 years) and prior complicated peptic ulcer; additional risk factors include use of multiple NSAIDs and high doses of NSAIDS. Recent studies have demonstrated enhanced healing and prevention of NSAID- and aspirin-related gastrointestinal lesions with proton pump inhibitors.
Between Anatamo- and Bio-Politics: Geographies of Sexual Health in Wartime Seattle

Abstract We offer an analysis of public health governmentality and its constitutive elements during a moral panic around venereal disease in World-War II Seattle, Washington. Tracing how norms of sexuality, gender, race, age and class were instilled through urban public health practices, we highlight the importance of the local state’s spatial ontologies and imaginations in connecting in particular the elements of anatamo-politics and bio-politics. By doing this, we extend current work on governmentality in geography by suggesting that geographical imaginations and ontological framings by the local state – particularly urban public health authorities – are themselves important elements in the control of populations and identity.
Reversible logic synthesis through ant colony optimization

We propose a novel synthesis technique for reversible logic based on ant colony optimization (ACO). In our ACO-based approach, reversible logic synthesis is formulated as a best-path search problem, where artificial ants, starting from their nest (reversible function output), attempt to find the best path to the food source (reversible function input). The experimental results have demonstrated superior performance in terms of both synthesis quality and computation time. They also show that the proposed method is scalable in handling large reversible functions.
The Complex Roles of Anaphylatoxins in Allergic Asthma and Autoimmune Diseases

Complement has a long-recognized role as a lytic effector system that protects against microbial pathogens as well as a mediator of acute and chronic inflammatory responses. Many of the inflammatory properties related to complement activation can be related to the complement cleavage fragments C3a and C5a, the so-called anaphylatoxins. Cloning and subsequent gene targeting of their corresponding receptors, as well as generation of specific C3a and CSa inhibitors, have fueled new interest in studies aimed at defining the roles of the anaphylatoxins in inflammatory diseases. Traditionally, the anaphylatoxins have been considered mediators of end-stage effector mechanisms. However, recent data from animal models of allergic asthma suggest that C3a and C5a provide a critical link between innate and adaptive immunity. Further, the anaphylatoxins appear to form a sophisticated regulatory network together with immunoglobulin G Fc receptors that links regulatory events with effector activities in autoimmune disease. In this review, we will focus exclusively on the role of C3a and C5a in allergic asthma and autoimmune disease.
The relationship between reward-based learning and nicotine dependence in smokers with schizophrenia

Cigarette smoking rates remain remarkably high in schizophrenia relative to smoking in other psychiatric groups. Impairments in the reward system may be related to elevated rates of nicotine dependence and lower cessation rates in this psychiatric group. Smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (SWS; n=15; M(age)=54.87, S.D.=6.51, 100% male) and a non-psychiatric control group of smokers (NCL; n=16; M(age)=50.38, S.D.=11.52; 93.8% male) were administered a computerized signal detection task to measure reward-based learning. Performance on the signal detection task was assessed by response bias, discriminability, reaction time, and hit rate. Clinician-assessed and self-reported measures of smoking and psychiatric symptoms were completed. SWS exhibited similar patterns of reward-based learning compared to control smokers. However, decreased reward-based learning was associated with increased levels of nicotine dependence in SWS, but not among control smokers. Nicotine withdrawal and urge to smoke were correlated with anhedonia within the SWS group. Among SWS, reduced reward responsiveness and increased anhedonia were associated with and may contribute to greater co-occurring nicotine dependence. These findings emphasize the importance of targeting reward system functioning in smoking cessation treatment for individuals with schizophrenia.