cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Echocardiographic dP/dt as a Novel Tool to Predict Early Right Ventricular Failure in Patients with Left Ventricle Assist Devices

Introduction Right ventricle failure (RVF) remains a major source of morbidity and mortality with Left Ventricle Assist devices (LVAD) use. Common invasive and non-invasive measurements of RV function have not been predictive of RVF post-LVAD placement. The rate of rise of intra-ventricular pressure (dP/dt) correlates with myocardial contractility and is less dependent of loading conditions. We sought to evaluate if TTE derived dP/dt predicts early RVF after LVAD implantation. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients who had TTE, off inotropic support within 3 months prior to LVAD implant in our center. RV dP/dt was assessed by two independent reviewers using continuous-wave TR Doppler recordings. The time required for TR velocity to increase from 0.5 to 2 m/s was measured and used to calculate dP/dt by the simplified Bernoulli equation. Baseline demographics, right heart catheterization measurements, and clinical outcomes of RVF failure and mortality were obtained by chart review. Presence and severity of RVF was based on current INTERMACS criteria. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare groups that had mild or no RVF vs those that had moderate or severe RVF. Results From a total of 60 patients, 39 had TTE performed while off inotropic support and 23 had an adequate TR Doppler signal for analysis. Moderate or severe RVF was present in 10/23 (43%) of patients with average dP/dt 233 ± 58 mmHg/sec. The remaining 13/23 had mild or no RVF with an average dP/dt 314 ± 93 mmHg (p = 0.036). Pre-operative tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV free wall tissue Doppler velocity (s’), RV fractional area change, pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi), and the ratio of central venous pressure to pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (CVP/PCWP) ratio did not significantly differ between groups (Figure 1). Of note, no patients with dP/dt greater than 325 mmHg/sec had moderate or severe RVF. Conclusions TTE derived RV dP/dt strongly correlates with post LVAD RVF, and when greater than 325 mmHg/sec identifies those at low risk for RVF. Future prospective studies are needed to determine if this TTE measurement independently predicts a favorable outcome in LVAD patients.
Convective overshooting and penetration in a Boussinesq spherical shell

Author(s): Korre, L; Garaud, P; Brummell, NH | Abstract: We study the dynamics associated with the extension of turbulent convective motions from a convection zone (CZ) into a stable region (RZ) that lies below the latter. For that purpose, we have run a series of three-dimensional direct numerical simulations solving the Navier-Stokes equations under the Boussinesq approximation in a spherical shell geometry. We observe that the overshooting of the turbulent motions into the stably stratified region depends on three different parameters: the relative stability of the RZ, the transition width between the two, and the intensity of the turbulence. In the cases studied, these motions manage to partially alter the thermal stratification and induce thermal mixing, but not so efficiently as to extend the nominal CZ further down into the stable region. We find that the kinetic energy below the convection zone can be modeled by a half-Gaussian profile whose amplitude and width can be predicted a priori for all of our simulations. We examine different dynamical lengthscales related to the depth of the extension of the motions into the RZ, and we find that they all scale remarkably well with a lengthscale that stems from a simple energetic argument. We discuss the implications of our findings for 1D stellar evolution calculations.
Alterations in EGFR trafficking and degradation in EGFR inhibitor resistant tumor cells

2348 The development of acquired resistance has been identified as a treatment obstacle for some cancer patients receiving anti-EGFR cancer therapies. To better understand potential mechanisms of acquired resistance to EGFR inhibition, we have established cetuximab-resistant (Cet-R) clones from the NSCLC (H226) cell line following long-term exposure to cetuximab. Through comparative analysis of Cet-R vs parental tumor lines, we identify that cells resistant to cetuximab display a significant increase in the total and active forms of EGFR in addition to an enhanced release of the EGFR ligands TGFa i\#8364; and neuregulin. To explore whether constitutive expression and activation of EGFR contributes to acquired resistance, we investigated differences between Cet-R and parental cells with regard to patterns of ligand-stimulated EGFR internalization. Using flow cytometry to measure the surface EGFR, we observed a reduced level of surface EGFR 45 min following EGF stimulation in parental H226 cells. However, no similar reduction of surface EGFR was observed in Cet-R cells following EGF stimulation. Using fluorescent microscopic methods, we consistently observe that EGFR is internalized following EGF stimulation in parental but not in Cet-R cells. To further investigate differences between Cet-R and parental cells regarding ligand-stimulated EGFR degradation, we examined Cbl-mediated ubiquitinylation of EGFR that is required for lysosomal sorting of receptor. Using co-immunoprecipitation, we find that EGFR is ubiquitinized and recruits Cbl protein 45 min following EGF stimulation in parental but not in Cet-R cells. We also observe an increased association of EGFR with hsp90, a negative regulator of Cbl-mediated downregulation of EGFR in Cet-R cells. These results indicate that EGFR is not readily internalized and degraded following EGF stimulation in the Cet-R cells. These findings suggest that alterations in EGFR trafficking and degradation may play an important role in the acquisition of resistance to cetuximab.
Estimation of Beat-to-Beat Interval from Wearable Photoplethysmography Sensor on Different Measurement Sites During Daily Activities

In this study, we present an algorithm to detect beat-to-beat interval from PPG in the presence of motion artifacts. Our approach includes splitting slowly varying DC components, statistical detrending, and Bessel filtering and Fast Fourier Transform with square window to reduce motion artifacts dependent on spectrum analysis. The algorithm segments beat intervals with a spectrogram to find the characteristic points of the waveform such as systolic and diastolic points. Interbeat intervals (IBI) are determined from these characteristic points to calculate heart rate. The PPG IBI algorithm is validated against ECG RR intervals from five different measurement sites during three daily activities. The results show that the most accurate IBI and HR detection from a wearable PPG device during regular user activity is from the upper arm or finger.
Ultrashort pulse-induced elastodynamics in polycrystalline materials. Part I: Model validation

AbstractThe coupled thermal-mechanical response of a polycrystalline metallic film in response to ultrafast optical impingement is investigated. The thermo-elastodynamics formulated in the article considers laser absorption along the axial direction and thermal diffusion along the radial direction to account for the normal and shear stresses initiated by the rapid heating. The generalized formulation incorporates a two-step hyperbolic temperature model that characterizes the energy transport of electrons and lattices as finite in velocity. The coupling of thermal and mechanical fields is established through considering the energy dissipated in the form of propagating thermo-mechanical disturbances. The thermo-elastodynamical response of the polycrystalline film is found to be a strong function of the electron heat capacity that is also temperature-dependent. In addition, grain size effects due to film surface and grain-boundary scatterings are found to impact several thermophysical properties of the mater...
Prostaglandin E 2 Inhibits the Ability of Neutrophils to Kill Listeria monocytogenes

PGE2 is a lipid-signaling molecule with complex roles in both homeostasis and inflammation. Depending on the cellular context, PGE2 may also suppress certain immune responses. In this study, we tested whether PGE2 could inhibit bacterial killing by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) using a mouse model of foodborne listeriosis. We found that PGE2 pretreatment decreased the ability of PMN harvested from the bone marrow of either BALB/cByJ or C57BL/6J mice to kill Listeria monocytogenes in vitro. PGE2 treatment slowed the migration of PMN toward the chemoattractant leukotriene B4, decreased uptake of L. monocytogenes by PMN, and inhibited the respiratory burst of PMN compared with vehicle-treated cells. When immune cells were isolated from the livers of infected mice and tested directly ex vivo for the presence of PGE2, BALB/cByJ cells produced significantly more than C57BL/6J cells. Together, these data suggest that robust PGE2 production can suppress PMN effector functions, leading to decreased bacterial killing, which may contribute to the innate susceptibility of BALB/cByJ mice to infection with the facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen L. monocytogenes.
Vomiting, Lethargy and Pallor

Food protein-induced enterocolitis (FPIES) syndrome typically presents with a delayed onset of vomiting beginning 1–4 h after ingestion of the offending food(s) Classic IgE mediated symptoms including hives, flushing or respiratory symptoms are absent in FPIES Rarely, chronic forms of FPIES can present with frequent antigen exposure/ingestion and are characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and failure to thrive Treatment of FPIES is by removal of the offending food(s) from the diet and supportive care as needed for dehydration and to optimize nutrition Diagnosis of FPIES is based on clinical features Skin testing and specific-IgE testing do not predict FPIES triggers and have little utility in this non-IgE-mediated disorder Prognosis of FPIES in children is generally good and the majority of patients will tolerate the offending food(s) after a period of avoidance
Drug Combination Antagonism and Single Agent Dominance Result from Differences in Death Activation Kinetics

ABSTRACT Therapeutic regimens for cancer generally involve drugs used in combinations. Most prior work has focused on identifying and understanding synergistic drug-drug interactions; however, understanding sources of antagonistic interactions remains an important and understudied issue. To enrich for antagonistic interactions and reveal common features of these drug combinations, we screened all pairwise combinations of drugs characterized as canonical activators of different forms of regulated cell death. We find that this network is strongly enriched for antagonistic interactions, and in particular, enriched for an extreme form of antagonism, which we call “single agent dominance”. Single agent dominance refers to antagonisms in which a two drug combination phenocopies one of the two agents. We find that dominance results from differences in the cell death onset time, with dominant drugs inducing death earlier and at faster rates than their suppressed counterparts. Finally, we explored the mechanisms by which parthanatotic agents dominate apoptotic agents, finding that dominance in this scenario is caused by mutually exclusive and conflicting use of PARP1. Taken together, our study reveals death activation kinetics as a predictive feature of antagonism, due to inhibitory crosstalk between cell death pathways.
McConnell's Sign Still Holds Its Value: A Lesson Learned from Two Cases.

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) can be potentially fatal if not diagnosed and treated early. Mortality in untreated cases can be as high as 30%. Atypical presentation and submassive PE can be missed due to subtle clinical features. Computerized tomography pulmonary angiogram is expensive, exposes to radiation and carries the risk of contrast nephropathy or anaphylactic reactions. On the contrary, McConnell's sign, which is a highly specific sign of PE, can be demonstrated at the bedside with a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). Here we discuss two cases where bedside TTE demonstrating McConnell's sign helped in the diagnosis and treatment of PE.
Laboratory detection of imported Plasmodium ovale wallikeri in Sichuan Province

Objective To identify 10 imported cases of Plasmodium ovale wallikeri infection in Sichuan Province from January to April in 2018, and to analyze the P. ovale wallikeri infection status of 1 079 malaria cases reported in this area from 2013 to 2017. Methods The 10 cases collected in 2018 were examined by microscopy, RDT, nested PCR and sequencing. Meanwhile, the retrospective detections of P. ovale wallikeri of the 1 079 blood samples from past 5 years were conducted by nested PCR using wallikeri-specific primers. Results For the 10 cases, the microscopic examinations were all positive for P. ovale, of which 2 were mixed infection with P. falciparum, and the results of RDT were all positive for Plasmodium. Except for 2 cases of P. falciparum infection, the routine nested PCR showed negative results for rest of the samples. The nested PCR for the specific detection of P. ovale wallikeri showed the 10 cases were all positive, and the following sequencing confirmed that the 10 cases were all infected with P. ovale wallikeri. The retrospective tests discovered 2 cases both reported in 2017 and recorded as simple P. falciparum infection tuned out to be mixed infection with P. falciparum and P. ovale wallikeri. Conclusions This is the first time that imported P. ovale wallikeri infection is founded in Sichuan Province.
Trends in Social Media Topics During COVID-19 Among Women Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatments

Patients undergoing fertility treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), face unique challenges both physically and mentally. With the emergence of the COVID-19 global pandemic, IVF patients began to face additional obstacles as hospitals and clinics shut down in compliance with recommendations for limiting exposure risk. In order to assess the impact of COVID-19 on IVF patients, we conducted a qualitative analysis using 563 public Instagram posts collected from three randomly selected days in March 2020. After the exclusion of 354 posts, thematic coding was used to analyze 209 posts. Five major themes were identified including (1) the medical and physical experience of IVF, (2) emotional spectrum, (3) sources of social support, (4) coping mechanisms, and (5) education on social media. Posts were categorized based on whether COVID-19 was discussed and theme frequencies were compared. The majority of patients impacted by the pandemic discussed setbacks to care, such as clinic closures. In addition, posts authored by those impacted by COVID-19 contained more negative emotions and fewer positive emotions compared to unaffected users. Despite an increase in setbacks and negative emotions, posts offering support nearly tripled in frequency highlighting the resilience of the IVF community. Our thematic analysis supports the need for careful consideration of the psychological and social effects of cycle cancellations on the IVF community. Experiences and sentiments revealed by this study should be considered when a successive pandemic or global emergency threatens IVF treatment protocols.
On deriving Murray's law from constrained minimization of flow resistance.

Abstract Murray’s law, which states that the cube of the radius of a parent vessel equals the sum of the cubes of the radii of the daughter vessels, was originally derived by minimizing the cost of operation of blood flow in a single cylindrical tube. An alternative widely cited derivation by Sherman is based upon the optimization problem of minimizing the total flow resistance subject to a material constraint, and that study claimed that “Conservation of the sum of the cubes of the radii is the condition for minimal resistance whether the parent vessel divides symmetrically or asymmetrically, and whether it divides into two, three, four, or, presumably, any number of daughter vessels.” In this paper we show that Sherman’s analysis is flawed, since with N daughter vessels there are 2 N - N - 1 sets of vessel radii which satisfy Murray’s law but which do not yield minimal total flow resistance. Moreover, we show that when there are N daughter vessels, each with the same radius, the minimal total flow resistance is an increasing function of N for N ⩾ 1 . Since N = 1 corresponds to the degenerate case of no branching at all, our result implies that bifurcation ( N = 2 ) achieves the minimal total flow resistance. Our analysis thus offers an explanation for the preponderance of bifurcations (as opposed to trifurcations or higher level branchings) in many biological systems.
Hardware Architecture of Wireless Power Transfer, RFID, and WIPT Systems.

In this work, we provide an overview of the hardware architecture of wireless power transfer (WPT), RFID, and wireless information and power transfer (WIPT) systems. The historical milestones and structure differences among WPT, RFID, and WIPT are introduced.
Natural variation in colony inbreeding does not influence susceptibility to a fungal pathogen in a termite.

Reduced genetic diversity through inbreeding can negatively affect pathogen resistance. This relationship becomes more complicated in social species, such as social insects, since the chance of disease transmission increases with the frequency of interactions among individuals. However, social insects may benefit from social immunity, whereby individual physiological defenses may be bolstered by collective-level immune responses, such as grooming or sharing of antimicrobial substance through trophallaxis. We set out to determine whether differences in genetic diversity between colonies of the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, accounts for colony survival against pathogens. We sampled colonies throughout the United States (Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, and Massachusetts) and determined the level of inbreeding of each colony. To assess whether genetically diverse colonies were better able to survive exposure to diverse pathogens, we challenged groups of termite workers with two strains of a pathogenic fungus, one local strain present in the soil surrounding sampled colonies and another naive strain, collected outside the range of this species. We found natural variation in the level of inbreeding between colonies, but this variation did not explain differences in susceptibility to either pathogen. Although the naive strain was found to be more hazardous than the local strain, colony resistance was correlated between two strains, meaning that colonies had either relatively high or low susceptibility to both strains regardless of their inbreeding coefficient. Overall, our findings may reflect differential virulence between the strains, immune priming of the colonies via prior exposure to the local strain, or a coevolved resistance toward this strain. They also suggest that colony survival may rely more upon additional factors, such as different behavioral response thresholds or the influence of a specific genetic background, rather than the overall genetic diversity of the colony.
Practice enhancement strengthens hospital-physician ties.

In the increasingly competitive U.S. healthcare environment, hospitals must be concerned with maintaining and increasing the number of patients admitted. A key strategy for hospitals is to fortify relationships with physicians who admit and refer patients. Practice enhancement services designed to improve the strategic, financial, and administrative operation of physicians' practices can contribute significantly to the development of positive hospital-physician relationships.
Inscrutable Belongings: Queer Asian North American Fiction: by Stephen Hong Sohn, Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 2018, 336 pp., $90.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 9781503604018; $30.00 (softcover), ISBN: 9781503605923

Where and how does the queer Asian North American figure in the political and cultural landscape? Stephen Hong Sohn’s lucidly written and broad-ranging study argues that queer Asian North Americans...
Monitoring Operating Conditions of Wireless Power Transfer Systems Using Distributed Estimation Process

The cyber-physical system such as wireless information and wireless power (WIPT) transfer plays an important role in the internet of things (IoT) applications. The billions of smart objects and devices are connected to the global IoT platform. To get benefit from the IoT technology, smart customers and system operators demand to supply wireless power wireless for making electronic things alive. In this way, the IoT can make greener and smart city with an interconnected digital platforms. However, it is a very difficult and challenging task for supplying wireless power to the smart objects. In order to provide wireless power to the IoT enabled devices, the wireless power transfer system can play a vital role for providing greener and sustainable environment. In light of this demand, this paper provides a comprehensive literature review and potential research challenges for WIPT incorporating wireless power transfer (WPT) system. In order to supply energy to the devices, the electricity generating electronics circuit requires to know the operating conditions of the system state, which acts as a precursor to design the controller. To know the system operating conditions of wireless power transfer system, the distributed state estimation algorithm is proposed and it convergence is analysed. Finally, the proposed algorithm is verified considering the WPT system. For doing this, the state-space framework of the WPT system is developed. Numerical simulations results show that the proposed algorithms can able to estimate and stabilise the WPT system states within a short period of time. Therefore, this framework is valuable to design WIPT and IoT platform and provide a compressive of source for researchers.
Time-energy Entangled Photon Pairs Generated via SFWM in an AlGaAsOI Ring Resonator

We report a time-energy entangled photon pair source from an AlGaAs microring resonator with an internal generation rate greater than 20×109 pairs sec−1 mW−2 while maintaining high heralded single photon purity > 99% and visibility > 97%.
Managerial and Corporate Taxes and Debt Contract Design

We examine how income taxes—both managerial and corporate—influence the design of firms’ debt contracts and their use of financial covenants in particular. Both levels of taxation have the potential to exacerbate conflicts of interest among creditors, shareholders, and managers and, consequently, should influence the design of their debt contracts. Specifically, a decrease in corporate and an increase in managerial taxes encourage managers to take more risk, accordingly, we predict and find that loans issued following such changes in taxation are more likely to include performance rather than capital covenants. A series of cross-sectional tests provide further insight into the effect of both levels of taxation, and corroborate our main inferences. Overall, our study demonstrates how debt contract layouts change in response to arguably exogenous changes in income taxes—and, in turn, managers’ preferences—for risk.
A novel fully integrated fan controller for advanced computer systems

A low-cost, high-efficiency, compact architecture of a PWM (pulse-width-modulation) drive fan controller is designed for use in an embedded multicomputer system with an integrated hierarchical thermal management scheme. This pure digital design yields lower cost and higher conventional linear drive fan providing the functionality and advantages of PWM drive fan controllers. The implementation and system integration of this circuit is also described in this paper.
SMAP telecom and science antenna multipath interference

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission is a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit mission that will perform a global mapping of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state. The data collected will be useful in understanding the land/surface processes and the link between water, energy and carbon cycles. This will lead to better weather forecasting, and improve flood prediction and drought monitoring capability. SMAP uses a Radiometer and a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which share a high gain 6-meter diameter offset mesh reflector, fed by a dual polarization, dual band feed-horn. Two low gain antennas, one in S-band and one in X-band provide telecommunications. All these antennas and frequencies make SMAP an RF-rich environment that could corrupt telecom and/or contaminate science. This paper covers SMAP's telecom performance with interference due to multipath reflections from the 6-m reflector, verification challenges, and its mitigation.
Optimal significance tests in simultaneous equation models

Consider testing the null hypothesis that a single structural equation has specified coefficients. The alternative hypothesis is that the relevant part of the reduced form matrix has proper rank, that is, that the equation is identified. The usual linear model with normal disturbances is invariant with respect to linear transformations of the endogenous and of the exogenous variables. When the disturbance covariance matrix is known, it can be set to the identity, and the invariance of the endogenous variables is with respect to orthogonal transformations. The likelihood ratio test is invariant with respect to these transformations and is the best invariant test. Furthermore it is admissible in the class of all tests. Any other test has lower power and/or higher significance level.
New methods for the synthesis of set theoretic estimates (digital signal processing)

Two methods for the synthesis of set theoretic estimates are presented. The first is a generalization of the method of successive projections onto closed and convex subsets of Hilbert spaces to approximately compact subsets of metric spaces. The second is based on a stochastic search in the solution space. These methods allow greater flexibility with regard to the incorporation of prior knowledge, thereby extending the scope of set theoretic estimation. Applications to digital signal processing problems are discussed. >
Androgens regulate neprilysin expression: role in reducing β‐amyloid levels

Age-related testosterone depletion in men is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Prior studies suggest that androgens affect Alzheimer’s disease risk by regulating accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) by an undefined mechanism. In this study, we investigated the role of the Aβ-catabolizing enzyme neprilysin (NEP) in this process. First, we observed that androgens positively regulate neural expression of NEP in adult male rats. Next, we investigated androgen regulatory effects on both NEP expression and Aβ levels using cultured hippocampal neurons and neuronally differentiated rat pheochromocytoma cell 12 with or without androgen receptor (AR). Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) induced a time-dependent increase in NEP expression. DHT also significantly decreased levels of Aβ in AR-expressing cells transfected with amyloid precursor protein, but did not affect levels of either full-length or non-amyloidogenic, soluble amyloid precursor protein. Importantly, the DHT induced decrease of Aβ was blocked by pharmacological inhibition of NEP. The DHT-mediated increase in NEP expression and decrease in Aβ levels were (i) not observed in rat pheochromocytoma cell 12 lacking AR and (ii) blocked in AR-expressing cells by the antagonists, cyproterone acetate and flutamide. Together, these findings suggest that androgen regulation of Aβ involves an AR-dependent mechanism requiring up-regulation of the Aβ catabolizing enzyme NEP.
Where to Look Next Using a Bayes Net: Incorporating Geometric Relations

A task-oriented system is one that performs the minimum effort necessary to solve a specified task. Depending on the task, the system decides which information to gather, which operators to use at which resolution, and where to apply them. We have been developing the basic framework of a task-oriented computer vision system, called TEA, that uses Bayes nets and a maximum expected utility decision rule. In this paper we present a method for incorporating geometric relations into a Bayes net, and then show how relational knowledge and evidence enables a task-oriented system to restrict visual processing to particular areas of a scene by making camera movements and by only processing a portion of the data in an image.
Auditory Discrimination Tasks Performed by Mentally Retarded and Normal Children

Eighty-five institutionalized mentally retarded children and 86 normal children were compared on a battery of auditory discrimination tests. Subjects were matched for mental age over the range from...
B-CELL ACTIVATION

Extraordinary progress has been made in refining our understanding of the B-cell antigen receptor complex, the role of protein-tyrosine phosphorylation as the key intermediary in immunoglobulin signal transduction, and in identifying candidate effectors of immunoglobulin-mediated signaling. In addition, the properties of a new group of G proteins may rekindle interest in older observations implicating such molecules as important in B-cell activation.
The first principles O[N] LSMS method and its applications to magnetic structure of alloys

Abstract We present an overview of the locally self-consistent multiple scattering (LSMS) method. The method is based on real space multiple scattering theory, is naturally highly parallel, and has been implemented on Intel Paragon parallel platforms within the Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. O[ N ]-scaling is demonstrated for unit cells as large as 1000 atoms. The LSMS method can be extended to treat noncollinear magnetic states of materials. We applied the method to calculating the ground state magnetic structure of Fe 0.65 Ni 0.35 alloys. The result indicates the possible existence of noncollinear arrangements of magnetic moments in these alloys.
On the nonlinear stability of rotating Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids

The effect of superimposed rigid body rotations on the nonlinear stability of an arbitrary base flow is examined from a theoretical standpoint for incompressible Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. It is proven mathematically, from an analysis of the full nonlinear equations of motion, that instabilities which depend on the state of rotation of the fluid must arise from variations in the velocity disturbances along the axis of rotation of the fluid. Consequently, it follows that Squire's theorem cannot, under any circumstances, apply to rotationally dependent instabilities. The consistency of these results with previous work on Couette flow and rotating plane Poiseuille flow is discussed briefly.
Endocrine phenotype of 6q16.1–q21 deletion involving SIM1 and Prader–Willi syndrome‐like features

Proximal interstitial 6q deletion involving Single-minded 1 (SIM1) gene causes a syndromic form of obesity mimicking Prader-Willi syndrome. In addition to obesity, Prader-Willi syndrome includes several other endocrinopathies, such as hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency, and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The endocrine phenotype of interstitial 6q deletion remains largely unknown, although clinical similarities between Prader-Willi syndrome and interstitial 6q deletion suggest endocrine abnormalities also may contribute to the interstitial 6q deletion phenotype. This report describes the endocrine phenotype in a propositus with the Prader-Willi-like syndrome associated with an interstitial 6q deletion including the SIM1 gene. Detailed endocrine evaluation of the propositus during childhood and adolescence revealed hypopituitarism, though initial endocrine evaluations during infancy were unremarkable. Our patient raises the possibility that hypopituitarism may be part of the phenotype, especially short stature, caused by interstitial 6q deletion. SIM1 plays an important role in the development of neuroendocrine lineage cells, implicating SIM1 haploinsufficiency in the pathophysiology of hypopituitarism seen in our propositus. Early identification of endocrine abnormalities can improve clinical outcome by allowing timely introduction of hormone replacement therapy. Hence, we suggest that detailed endocrine evaluation and longitudinal endocrine follow up be performed in individuals with proximal interstitial 6q deletion involving SIM1.
Potassium sorbate inhibition of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase

Abstract Potassium sorbate was found to inhibit yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (alcohol: NAD oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.1) maximally at the pH optimum of the enzyme; viz . pH 8.5. Potassium sorbate competed with NAD and ethanol for a site on the enzyme but in an irreversible manner. Sorbamide was found to be approx. 1000 times a better inhibitor of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase than was potassium sorbate. The evidence presented indicates that potassium sorbate inhibits yeast alcohol dehydrogenase irreversibly by either the formation of a covalent bond between the sulfur of the essential sulfhydryl group or the ZnOH − of the enzyme and the δ and/or β carbons of the sorbate ion.
The Recruitment Phoenix: Strategies for Attracting Medical Students Into Obstetrics and Gynecology

In less than a decade, the popularity of obstetrics and gynecology as a career choice has declined significantly. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) are working to develop a multifaceted approach aimed at reversing this trend. We report on the findings and action plan developed by the ACOG Medical Student Recruitment Task Force as well as the current activities of APGO related to recruitment. Strategies include improving the quality of the medical student clerkship, frankly addressing gender and lifestyle issues that dissuade students from choosing obstetrics and gynecology as a career, and engaging students early in their medical school careers through student interest groups and mentoring programs.
SP-03CARE OF THE CAREGIVER: ENHANCING NEURO-ONCOLOGY PATIENT CARE

UCSF Neuro Oncology has developed a formalized program to identify and meet the needs of caregivers of brain tumor patients. To date the program has targeted care to three groups of caregivers, those of new patients seen at clinic, caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, and caregivers of patients deemed to be at " high risk", either by an interaction with the healthcare provider, or because of the phase in the illness trajectory. Caregiver assistance has been offered at specific points in the first 4 months of illness to 30 caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, 13 of which received care. 13 caregivers reported no needs over the first 4 months of illness. Although various needs were identified, over half had concerns with financial issues and disability as well as need for emotional support around adjusting to the diagnosis, role changes, and care demands. In addition we have offered varying levels of care to 70 caregivers of patients identified at high risk for distress. Similar themes were identified in this group, with over 31 caregivers receiving emotional support, 22 needing help with financial and disability concerns and 15 needing various kinds of information about the disease, treatment, and resources available. Challenges encountered include providing the right information at the right time, where to house caregiver documentation, measuring outcomes with minimal extra burden to the caregiver, and blurred lines of service between care of the patient and of the caregiver. Future directions include offering psycho-educational support groups for caregivers and a program designed to reach caregivers at time of surgery to provide information and basic caregiver skills in efforts to boost confidence and improve efficacy as well as bridge the gap of interactions with the health care team between time of discharge and first visit to the clinic.
Solubilization of methanol by soap micelles as measured by gas chromatography

Abstract Gas-liquid chromatography was used to analyze equilibrium vapors over toluene dispersions of sodium and magnesium dinonylnaphthalene sulfonates and magnesium phenylstearate containing total concentrations of methanol ranging from 0.2% to 2.6% by weight. Resulting data were used to derive the extent of solubilization of methanol by these oil-soluble soaps. Within the region investigated, as many as 5 moles of methanol were solubilized per equivalent of soap. The degree of solubilization with respect to the concentration of available solubilizate was a function of the cation and its tendency to coordinate, as well as of the anion of the soap. The addition of water to a system containing 2.3% of methanol increased the proportion of methanol solubilized. Infrared data indicated that hydrogen bonding is an important influence in the solubilization process. Fluorescence depolarization data suggest a decrease in micelle size with increasing solubilization of methanol. Special precautions were required to minimize interferences and disturbances to the chromatographic observations arising from radio-frequency sources, unstable carrier-gas flow rates and pressures, and sampling valve contamination.
Open Access and Institutional Repositories

Abstract One recent response to the crisis in scholarly publishing has been the advent of open access journals housed in institutional repositories. This column describes some of the trends and drawbacks of these new initiatives that leverage the traditional strengths of educational and research institutions to further open up access to scholarly journals.
Volume changes in copper due to point defects

Isotropic linear elasticity theory is used to calculate the volume change due to point defects and the pressure of atomistic helium bubbles. Atomistic defect calculations for the specific case of helium in copper are used to illustrate the technique. It is found that helium atoms introduced into vacancies in copper produce a volume increase of \ensuremath{\sim}0.62 atomic volumes per helium atom. However, this linear increase is found only after the number of helium atoms is greater than the number of vacancies. The pressure of helium as a function of density is also calculated. Extremely high pressures are found for the high densities considered; it is found that the pressure increases nearly linearly with density.
Impact of sperm donor information on parents and children

Parents who use sperm donation to have a family must consider whether or not to be open about the donor and the details of the child's donor origins. Current research suggests that when children learn at a young age, such as when pre-schoolers or pre-adolescents, they do not have negative responses to learning about their donor origins. As children grow, however, many are curious about their donors and want information that will help give them a sense of who the donors are. In turn, this donor information may help adolescents complete their own identities. With parental disclosure becoming more common, donor insemination programs are responding by providing more information about donors—a move that is likely to help both parents and their children.
Mitochondrial glutathione replacement restores surfactant synthesis and secretion in alveolar epithelial cells of ethanol-fed rats.

Background: Chronic alcohol abuse increases the incidence and severity of acute lung injury in critically ill patients. Previously we determined that ethanol ingestion in rats dramatically decreased alveolar epithelial cellular levels of glutathione and surfactant synthesis and secretion in vitro. Previous studies in alcoholic liver disease suggest that mitochondrial glutathione levels, and not cellular levels per se, are involved in the pathogenesis of ethanol-mediated hepatotoxicity. Therefore, we hypothesized that alveolar epithelial mitochondrial glutathione depletion mediates the observed defects in surfactant synthesis and secretion in ethanol-fed rats. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet with or without ethanol (36% of total calories) for 6 weeks. In some experiments, ethanol-fed rats were then switched to the control diet for 1 week, with or without glutathione supplementation with either N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or procysteine (PRO). Alveolar epithelial type II cells were then isolated and glutathione levels (cytosolic and mitochondrial) and surfactant production (synthesis and secretion) were determined. Results: Ethanol ingestion decreased (p 0.05), and had no effect (p > 0.05) on surfactant synthesis and secretion in type II cells isolated from ethanol-fed rats. In contrast, PRO treatment restored (p < 0.05) cytosolic and mitochondrial glutathione levels, and normalized (p < 0.05) surfactant synthesis and secretion in type II cells isolated from ethanol-fed rats. Conclusions: These results suggest that mitochondrial, and not simply cytosolic, replacement of glutathione is necessary to improve surfactant function in critically ill patients with a history of alcohol abuse.
Single-molecule nanometry for biological physics.

Precision measurement is a hallmark of physics but the small length scale (?nanometer) of elementary biological components and thermal fluctuations surrounding them challenge our ability to visualize their action. Here, we highlight the recent developments in single-molecule nanometry where the position of a single fluorescent molecule can be determined with nanometer precision, reaching the limit imposed by the shot noise, and the relative motion between two molecules can be determined with ?0.3?nm precision at ?1?ms time resolution, as well as how these new tools are providing fundamental insights into how motor proteins move on cellular highways. We will also discuss how interactions between three and four fluorescent molecules can be used to measure three and six coordinates, respectively, allowing us to correlate the movements of multiple components. Finally, we will discuss recent progress in combining angstrom-precision optical tweezers with single-molecule fluorescent detection, opening new windows for multi-dimensional single-molecule nanometry for biological physics.
Effect of exercise on myocardial infarction in young vs. old male rats: electrocardiograph changes☆

Abstract Young (90 days) and old (15 months), male, Sprague-Dawley rats were either exercised (forced swimming) daily for two weeks or allowed to remain naturally active (young) or sedentary (old). Two subcutaneous injections of the potent beta-adrenergic stimulating agent, isoproterenol, were given to induce acute myocardial ischemia and infarction in both the exercised and nonexercised, young and old rats. Exercise improved the survival capacity of the old but not of the young rats. In addition, the exercised old rats manifested cardiac hypertrophy, reduced excursion of serum enzymes indicative of myocardial necrosis, and their ECG tracings demonstrated less evidence of arrhythmias or extensive myocardial infarction.
Supplier Selection and Assessment: Their Impact on Business Performance

SUMMARY Increasingly, firms are allocating more resources to their core competencies and encouraging the outsourcing of non-core activities, which increases their reliance and dependence on suppliers. This increases the importance of effective supplier selection and assessment. Sparse evidence exists regarding the impact of supplier selection and assessment on a buying firm's business performance. This research describes an empirical study of the importance of supplier selection and assessment criteria of American manufacturing companies for items to be used in products already in production. Moreover, it identifies relationships between criteria and a buying firm's business performance. Results indicate that soft, non-quantifiable selection criteria, such as a supplier's strategic commitment to a buyer, have a greater impact on performance than hard, more quantifiable criteria such as supplier capability, yet are considered to be less important. Assessment of a supplier's willingness and ability to share information also has a significant impact on the buying firm's performance, yet is again considered to be relatively unimportant.
WODA 2008: the sixth international workshop on dynamic analysis

Dynamic analysis techniques reason over program executions and deal with data produced at program execution time. At WODA 2008, we bring together researchers and practitioners working in all areas of dynamic analysis to discuss new issues, share results and ongoing work, and foster collaborations.
Improving timeliness in real-time secure database systems

Database systems for real-time applications must satisfy timing constraints associated with transactions, while maintaining data consistency. In addition to real-time requirements, security is usually required in many applications. Multilevel security requirements introduce a new dimension to transaction processing in real-time database systems. In this paper, we argue that because of the complexities involved, trade-offs need to be made between security and timeliness. We briefly present the secure two-phase locking protocol and discuss an adaptive method to support trading off security for timeliness, depending on the current state of the system. The performance of the adaptive secure two-phase locking protocol shows improved timeliness. We also discuss future research direction to improve timeliness of secure database systems.
Hemispheric asymmetry in neglect produced by unilateral lesions of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in rats.

Abstract Unilateral lesions of the medial precentral prefrontal cortex produce severe polymodal neglect which reaches a stable level of recovery over 3 to 4 weeks. Previous research has indicated that neglect is produced by unilateral destruction of this region in either hemisphere, but that the nature of the neglect produced is dependent on the hemisphere damaged. The present study is a further examination of behavioral laterality produced by this unilateral destruction. The results indicated that destruction of medial precentral cortex in the left hemisphere ( n = 12) produced severe contralateral multimodal neglect of visual, somatosensory, and auditory stimuli. Identical destruction in the right hemisphere ( n = 18) also produced severe neglect, but unlike the left hemisphere operates which always demonstrated contralateral neglect, there were two distinct populations of right hemisphere operates. These subjects demonstrated either ipsilateral neglect or a “switching” response pattern characterized by the initial demonstration of contralateral or ipsilateral neglect and then, during the course of recovery, severe neglect on the opposite body side. Histological analysis indicated that the left and right hemisphere lesions were equivalent, as were the lesions in the two behavioral subcategories of right hemisphere operates. Operated controls ( n = 12) did not demonstrate long-standing neglect or this switching pattern. The behavioral laterality observed following unilateral destruction of medial precentral prefrontal cortex is discussed in relationship to the anatomical and neurochemical asymmetries which have been demonstrated in this cortical region.
Comment: has automated detection of cortical dysplasias come of age?

Cortical dysplasias cause pharmacoresistant epilepsy and are amenable to surgical treatment, but their detection relies on expert visual analysis of MRI. Variability in MRI interpretation, false-positives, and false-negatives are problematic. Therefore, validated, accurate, automated algorithms to identify cortical dysplasias would be a great step forward. Hong et al.1 describe such an algorithm for type II cortical dysplasias.