cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Melanotic Neuroectodermal Tumor of Infancy in the Epididymis: A Rare and Considerable Cause of Scrotal Mass.

Abstract Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a rare, benign neoplasm with a predilection for children that predominantly involves the craniofacial region. Here we report 2 cases of MNTI involving epididymis, placing emphasis on the sonographic features. Both appeared to be hypoechoic, regular shaped masses with abundant blood supplies. The unique sonographic features and age of predilection make it possible to diagnose MNTI within the scrotum by ultrasonography.
TCF7L2 Genetic Variants Do Not Influence Insulin Sensitivity or Secretion Indices in Autoantibody-Positive Individuals at Risk for Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE We aimed to test whether type 2 diabetes (T2D)–associated TCF7L2 genetic variants affect insulin sensitivity or secretion in autoantibody-positive relatives at risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied autoantibody-positive TrialNet Pathway to Prevention study participants (N = 1,061) (mean age 16.3 years) with TCF7L2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information and baseline oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to calculate indices of insulin sensitivity and secretion. With Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, P values RESULTS None, one, and two T2D-linked TCF7L2 alleles were present in 48.1%, 43.9%, and 8.0% of the participants, respectively. Insulin sensitivity (as reflected by 1/fasting insulin [1/IF]) decreased with increasing BMI z score and was lower in Hispanics. Insulin secretion (as measured by 30-min C-peptide index) positively correlated with age and BMI z score. Oral disposition index was negatively correlated with age, BMI z score, and Hispanic ethnicity. None of the indices were associated with TCF7L2 SNPs. In multivariable analysis models with age, BMI z score, ethnicity, sex, and TCF7L2 alleles as independent variables, C-peptide index increased with age, while BMI z score was associated with higher insulin secretion (C-peptide index), lower insulin sensitivity (1/IF), and lower disposition index; there was no significant effect of TCF7L2 SNPs on any of these indices. When restricting the analyses to participants with a normal OGTT (n = 743; 70%), the results were similar. CONCLUSIONS In nondiabetic autoantibody-positive individuals, TCF7L2 SNPs were not related to insulin sensitivity or secretion indices after accounting for BMI z score, age, sex, and ethnicity.
PRINCIPLES OF PATTERN-DIRECTED INFERENCE SYSTEMS

The general class of pattern-directed inference systems (PDISs) is defined and its general properties are investigated. Within a taxonomy of PDISs, the special properties of rule-based systems and two subclasses, production systems and transformation systems, are considered in detail. A comparison between these PDIS properties and contemporary information processing conceptions of human cognition suggests that PDISs provide an excellent basis for cognitive modeling. Principles for knowledge representation and system architecture are developed that suggest guidelines for controlling the combinatorial explosion that will accompany efforts to implement intelligent systems with extensive amounts of knowledge.
Multi-disciplinary ontological geo-analytical incident modeling

Cultural patterns and representations of crime areas are important in geo-analytics. We discuss a multi-disciplinary ontology that provides an analytical, architectural framework to apply a broad spectrum of analytical capabilities to changes the world faces on a daily basis to determine an optimal allocation of resources for continuous enrichment of Foundation GEOINT content. All of these changes such as food shortages, weather, environmental hazards, traffic congestion, economic crises, political unrest, un-employment, and specifically crime, pose a constant struggle in societies to maintain status quo. What has always been difficult to predict is change to status quo, or predicting regions at risk or undergoing stress. We propose taking knowledge of a location and society, and marrying that with modern analytical capabilities, including linear game theory, to pit forces of maintaining status quo against forces within society that desire to force a drastic change. The result is a probabilistic output of potential outcomes that can be further analyzed to predict most likely and most dangerous outcomes. Our solution is based on analytical environment to support ingestion of many data sources and integration of analytical algorithms such as feature extraction, crowd source analysis, open source data mining, trends, pattern analysis and linear game theory optimization. Our framework consists of a hierarchy of data, space, time and knowledge entities. We exploit such crime statistics to predict crime activity based on past observations. We also show simulations based on minimum mean squared error (mmse) and pseudo estimators of crime activity.
Property Changes Resulting from Impurity-Defect Interactions in Iron and Pressure Vessel Steel Alloys

The effects of 0.3 atomic percent copper, vanadium, nickel, and phosphorus and 0.1 atomic percent carbon addition on the irradiation response of pure iron have been investigated to clarify the role of copper and phosphorus in embrittlement of pressure vessel steels. Compression tests and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the aforementioned alloys and selected heats of pressure vessel steel and weldment have been examined after irradiation to fluences of 2.5 x 10 1 9 and 4.5 x 10 2 0 n/cm 2 >1 MeV at 290 C (550 F). Copper is found to influence the properties by promoting nucleation of defect aggregates, probably vacancy loops, at low fluences, thus increasing the radiation strengthening and shifting the transition temperature upward. Small voids were observed in the 0.3Ni, 0.3Cu, and 0.1C alloys and in pure iron but not in 0.3V or 0.3P alloys.
Disagreement and Design: An Arbitration of the Climate Change and Intergenerational Discounting Debate

Current approaches to discounting in climate policy present a seemingly intractable problem and stalemate. While it is widely recognized that choice of discount rate in climate models can easily dwarf the effect of other parameter inputs, there is at present a very wide disagreement, both in law and in economics, about the appropriate discount rate to use. This paper provides a framework for achieving a workable consensus range for acceptable discount rates in climate models. It does so by emphasizing three factors previously ignored in the literature. First, it demonstrates that the choice of discount rate should be tailored to the type of climate model at issue, distinguishing particularly between policy evaluation models versus optimization models. Second, it suggests that some disagreement in these debates is fundamental (because reflecting deep unbridgeable differences in views about the proper scope of the market) while some disagreement is not. By focusing attention on the non-fundamental sorts of disagreement it becomes possible to shrink the consensus range of plausible discount rates. Third, the paper argues that some of the current disagreement about the choice of discount rate for modeling purposes on the front-end can actually be better addressed through elements of program design on the back-end.
Are transepidermal water loss and clinical signs correlated in canine atopic dermatitis? A compilation of studies.

Background – Cutaneous impairment plays a crucial role in atopic dermatitis (AD). Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurement is an indirect assessment of skin barrier function and correlates with disease severity in humans. Skin impairment also exists in canine AD; however, concerns exist regarding variability and reliability of TEWL measurements in dogs. Hypothesis/Objectives – The purposes of this retrospective study were twofold: first, to investigate the correlation between severity of dermatitis [measured by Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI)] and TEWL; and second, to evaluate whether increased TEWL at a young age correlates with disease severity later in life. Methods – Data from atopic beagles and dogs with natural AD were analysed. Transepidermal water loss was measured in atopic beagles (n = 24) with an open chamber and in dogs with naturally occurring AD with a closed chamber device (two studies, with n = 14 and n = 18). Pearson product–moment correlation was used for analyses. Transepidermal water loss of the inguinal region, axilla, antebrachial flexure and pinna was analysed. Correlations were investigated for each study, separately first and then jointly. They included CADESI and TEWL of individual regions, total CADESI and total TEWL of all measured regions, and total CADESI and TEWL of key regions. Results – In atopic beagles, TEWL measured at 1 year of age pre- and post-allergen challenge was correlated with CADESI at 1, 3 and 6 years of age. Overall, low correlation coefficients were found; therefore, a biologically relevant connection could not be demonstrated. The main significant positive correlation was found between TEWL in the pinna and total CADESI. Conclusions and clinical importance – It is concluded that TEWL does not correlate with disease severity.
Linear sweep voltammetry at ring microelectrodes: The reversible case

Abstract Linear sweep voltammograms have been computed for reversible electron transfer at ring microelectrodes of various shapes for sweep rates spanning nine diffusion-limited current, computed using the integral equation method for a ring electrode of specified shape, and the appropriate potential scan func computer, each voltammogram typically requiring about 3 min of computation time. The dependence of the maximum current and of the potential at one-half Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental voltammograms is demonstrated.
Mitral valve replacement with maintenance of mitral annulopapillary muscle continuity in patients with mitral stenosis

Abstract Postoperative left ventricular performance was evaluated in patients with mitral stenosis who underwent mitral valve replacement with maintenance of the continuity of the mitral anulus and papillary muscles. Mitral valve replacement with preservation of autologous chordae tendineae ( n=7) or their replacement with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sutures ( n=14) was performed in 21 patients with mitral stenosis. Hemodynamic parameters were compared with those of 28 patients who underwent conventional mitral valve replacement and 27 patients who underwent open mitral valve commissurotomy. No deaths occurred in the early or late follow-up period. All hemodynamic parameters were improved after the operation, and no significant differences were detected among the three groups with regard to postoperative cardiac index or mitral valve area. No significant differences were observed in left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, end-systolic volume index, or contractility index, but the postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction in the chordal preservation and open commissurotomy groups was greater than that in the group having conventional mitral valve replacement. Postoperative regional shortening was greatest at the diaphragmatic portion in the chordal preservation group and at the long axis in the open commissurotomy group. In the mid-term postoperative period, although no differences were noted among the three groups in echocardiographic data or global ejection fraction measured by multigated equilibrium radionuclide angiography, the regional shortening at the anterolateral portion of the left ventricle in the chordal preservation and commissurotomy groups was greater than that in the group having conventional mitral valve replacement. Postoperative radionuclide angiography during exercise failed to demonstrate any difference between the ejection fraction in the chordal preservation group and that in the group having conventional mitral valve replacement. (J T HORAC C ARDIOVASC S URG 1994;108:42-51)
Muscle protein synthesis, degradation and the effect of mTORC1, after resistance exercise (1163.7)

We aimed to measure mTORC1 signaling, rates of muscle protein synthesis (MPS), and proteasome activity after acute resistance exercise (REx). A second aim was to determine whether mTORC1 signaling ...
Hypercapnia increases expiratory braking in preterm infants

In contrast to adults, newborn infants breathe from an elevated end-expiratory lung volume, determined by the interaction of airflow retardation (braking) by the diaphragm and larynx, and expirator...
Synthesis of urobilinogen by broken cell preparations of intestinal bacteria.

Summary Bilirubin was converted to urobilinogen by broken cell preparations of mixed fecal flora. Anaerobic conditions were necessary for the reaction. Reduction of bilirubin to urobilinogen required the combined presence of factors in the 105,000 X g pellet and in the soluble fraction of cells disintegrated by sonic vibration. Boiled or dialyzed preparations of broken cells were inactive. Mesobilirubin was a suitable substrate. Bacterial and synthetic urobilin were essentially indistinguishable with respect to spectroscopic properties, melting point, and chromatographic behavior in three solvent systems.
Dynamics of target recognition by interstitial axon branching along developing cortical axons

Corticospinal axons innervate their midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal targets by extending collateral branches interstitially along their length. To establish that the axon shaft rather than the axonal growth cone is responsible for target recognition in this system, and to characterize the dynamics of interstitial branch formation, we have studied this process in an in vivo-like setting using slice cultures from neonatal mice containing the entire pathway of corticospinal axons. Corticospinal axons labeled with the dye 1,1′-dioctodecyl- 3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (or Dil) were imaged using time-lapse video microscopy of their pathway overlying the basilar pons, their major hindbrain target. The axon shaft millimeters behind the growth cone exhibits several dynamic behaviors, including the de novo formation of varicosities and filopodia-like extensions, and a behavior that we term “pulsation,” which is characterized by a variable thickening and thining of short segments of the axon. An individual axon can have multiple sites of branching activity, with many of the branches being transient. These dynamic behaviors occur along the portion of the axon shaft overlying the basilar pons, but not just caudal to it. Once the collaterals extend into the pontine neuropil, they branch further in the neuropil, while the parent axon becomes quiescent. Thus, the branching activity is spatially restricted to specific portions of the axon, as well as temporally restricted to a relatively brief time window. These findings provide definitive evidence that collateral branches form de novo along corticospinal axons and establish that the process of target recognition in this system is a property of the axon shaft rather than the leading growth cone.
Phase I study to determine the maximum-tolerated dose of radiation in standard daily and hyperfractionated-accelerated twice-daily radiation schedules with concurrent chemotherapy for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSEAn improvement in radiation dose schedule is necessary to increase local tumor control and survival in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer. The goal of this study was to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of radiation (RT) in both standard daily and hyperfractionated-accelerated (HA) twice-daily RT schedules in concurrent chemoradiation.METHODSThe study design consisted of a sequential dose escalation in both daily and HA twice-daily RT regimens. RT dose to the initial volume was kept at 40 to 40.5 Gy, while it was gradually increased to the boost volume by adding a 7% to 11 % increment of total dose to subsequent cohorts. The MTD was defined as the radiation dose level at one cohort below that which resulted in more than 33% of patients experiencing grade > or = 4 acute esophagitis and/or grade > or = 3 pulmonary toxicity. The study plan included nine cohorts, five on HA twice-daily and four on daily regimens for the dose escalation. Chemotherapy consisted of three cycles of cisplatin 33 ...
Opposing functions of IL-2 and IL-7 in the regulation of immune responses

Regulation of the magnitude and quality of immune responses is dependent on the integration of multiple signals which typically operate through positive and negative feedback loops. Cytokines that promote or limit T cell expansion and differentiation are often both present in the complex lymphoid environment where antigen-initiated T cell responses take place. The nature and strength of the cytokine signal received by the responding cell, as well as by surrounding regulatory cells, will determine the extent of clonal expansion and the progression towards effector and memory cell differentiation. The mechanisms that determine how much cytokine is produced and how cytokine activities are controlled by receptor expression and intracellular regulators of signaling are not fully understood. Here we discuss the opposing functions of two members of the common receptor gamma chain (γc) cytokines, IL-2 and IL-7 in the generation and regulation of immune responses in vivo.
Costs of Infrastructure Deficiencies for Manufacturing in Nigerian, Indonesian and Thai Cities:

This paper is a sequel to an earlier paper on Nigeria published in this journal. Using the fresh results obtained from the sample survey of manufacturing establishments conducted in Indonesia and T...
Plastic Pipe Failure Analysis

The Gas Technology Institute is currently addressing the risks and threats to plastic pipes through research sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. With the upcoming proposed rulemaking, the United States distribution companies will be required to implement a distribution integrity management plan. In developing an integrity management plan, it is key to understand system risks and threats and with 39.6 million plastic services and nearly 620,000 miles of plastic gas main, the threats to plastic pipe need to be addressed. The research discussed in this paper identifies the types of failures that affect plastic piping, excluding third party damage. The paper also describes the most common cause of leaks, slow crack growth, as well as root cause analysis of a pipe removed from service due to leaking. The cause of leaks for five other pipe segments is also discussed. The final topic of this paper is rapid crack propagation and small-scale steady state testing.Copyright © 2008 by Gas Technology Institute
Synchronous penile urethra onlay patch and scrotal reconstruction after Fournier's gangrene using medial thigh flaps

Massive penoscrotal skin loss, frequently a sequela of Fournier's gangrene, can sometimes be successfully treated using skin grafts alone. If the urological debridement has been extensive with a concomitant disruption of the urethra, a regional vascularized flap must be introduced. A superiorly based fasciocutaneous flap can be constructed on the medial thigh to provide scrotal reconstruction. The underlying gracilis muscle is an ideal onlay patch for ventral penile defects. Simultaneous use of independent, multiple flaps from a single medial thigh donor site allows coverage of separate penile and scrotal deformities, and leaves only a linear scar.
Weld temperature effects during friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminum alloys 6061-t6 and 7075-t6

The objective of this work is to establish nominal friction stir [butt] welding process parameters for joining 4.76-mm-thick aluminum alloys 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 and to improve the joint quality via programmed tool offsets. In addition, dynamic tool–workpiece interface temperatures are measured during welding and used to explain the effects of alloy placement and weld tool offset from the joint. Weld tool offsets into the retreating side AA7075 increase the measured tensile strength of the dissimilar joint. The increased joint strength is facilitated by lower average weld temperatures with increasing amount of AA7075 stirred into the nugget.
A comprehensive electromotive force series of redox couples in soda–lime–silicate glass

The redox equilibria of several multivalent elements were measured in a soda–lime–silicate composition at 1400°C to determine the relative reduction potentials for Co2+–Co0, Cr6+–Cr3+, Cr3+–Cr2+, Eu3+–Eu2+, Fe3+–Fe2+, Mn3+–Mn2+, Ni2+–Ni0, and Ti4+–Ti3+ in this solvent. A comprehensive electromotive force (emf) series of redox couples for soda–lime–silicate glass at 1400°C was then developed by calibrating these selected reduction potentials to the corresponding emf series in a reference alkali borosilicate composition. The reliability of this reference emf series was corroborated by measurements of the reduction potentials of redox couples by electrochemical methods. Applications of the comprehensive emf series include (1) the estimation of the redox ratio of a specific multivalent element under a prescribed set of processing conditions, (2) the identification of whether a multivalent element acts as an oxidizing or reducing agent with respect to another redox couple in the glass-forming system, (3) the prediction of color and other redox-dependent properties of the glass product, and (4) an explanation for the fining characteristics of certain polyvalent elements.
Slow light propagation in a linear-response three-level atomic vapor

We observe pulse delays of up to twenty times the input pulse duration when 200 ps laser pulses pass through a hot Rb 85 vapor cell. The pulse peak travels with a velocity equal to c/20, and the energy transmission is 5%. For pulses with a linewidth greater than typical features in the atomic dispersion, pulse delay is predicted and observed for all center frequencies near resonance. Pulse advance is never observed. The measurements are in good agreement with a three-level linear-dispersion calculation. We are able to control the amount of delay by using a steady-state laser beam for optical pumping of the ground states prior to sending in the test pulse.
Physical-based models of internal migration

The use of physical principles as paradigms to model a socioeconomic/demographic phenomenon-the migration of people within a nation-is discussed. In particular, an entropy-maximization model, analogizing migrants to particles interacting through a Lennard-Jones-type potential, is proposed. Certain constraints-dictated by conservation principles and the specific nature of internal-migration data (irregularly coarse-grained configurations of residences at two points of time)-are imposed on the solution. The results of this model can serve as estimates of the probability transition rates employed by Weidlich and Haag in their master-equation approach to the analysis of internal migration.
Assessment of electrical burn injury using structured illumination in an in-vivo electrical injury model

Electrical injury is a devastating and hard to treat clinical lesion. Fully understanding the pathophysiology of electrical trauma is still a challenge for clinicians and scientists. Further elucidating the natural history of this form of tissue injury could be helpful in improving limb salvage and offering stage-appropriate therapy. Multi-spectral imaging technique is a non-invasive technology that can be used to determine optical properties of tissues in and adjacent to injury. Images at different wavelengths can provide essential information related to the pathophysiological condition of the tissue. To promote the applicability of this technique in medical diagnosis, we built a complete experimental model of electrical injury. In this model, electrical injuries were created by a reliable high-tension shock system at preset voltage or current. A thermal camera recorded the change of skin temperature during the electrical shock. Then, a high-resolution spectral imaging system based on structured illumination was used to capture images for post analysis to extrapolate optical properties of the tissue. To test accuracy, this imaging system was calibrated by using a set of epoxy phantoms with known optical properties. In this paper, the results of experiments conducted on rats and discussions on the systemic changes in tissue optical properties before and after electrical shock are presented.
Stability, Bistability, and Instability in Small Group Influence Patterns

Three models of change and continuity in group structure are tested using existing longitudinal data on 20 small groups. Groups met face to face or via a computer-mediated communication system for 13 weeks. Computer-mediated groups fit the robust equilibrium pattern best, with initial fluctuations in the influence hierarchy followed by a more stable structure that persisted despite changes in operating conditions. Face-to-face groups fit a bistable punctuated equilibrium pattern best, retaining their initial influence structure until an environmental cue triggered a shift. Contrary to die predictions of this model for radical change, adjustments were modest. Poor performance on tasks failed to trigger changes predicted by the adaptive response model, probably because outcomes were not very important to group members. When a number of persons have come together to form a group, their behavior never holds to its first pattern. Homans, 1950, p. 109 Lasting patterns can appear as early as the first few seconds of a group's life. Gersick, 1988, p. 33 Traditional models of group development—the patterning of change and continuity in group structure and behavior over time—propose that groups follow a fixed sequence of stages (Bales, 1970; Bennis & Shepard, 1956; Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977; see Mennecke, Hoffer, & Wynne, 1992, for a review). These models typically presume a stable group composition and context and ignore external causes of change. Changes in group composition or other interventions are treated as externalities that disrupt the ideal path of development (Hill & Gruner, 1973). Yet most naturally occurring groups with an extended history experience temporary or permanent changes of membership and cope (or fail to cope) with other changes
Biogeography of azooxanthellate corals in the Caribbean and surrounding areas

Biogeographic patterns for azooxanthellate corals are not as well known as those of zooxanthellate (primarily reef-building) corals. I analyzed occurrences of 129 species of azooxanthellate corals in 19 geopolitical regions in the Caribbean and surrounding areas. I performed an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis using Bray-Curtis' similarity measure on the complete data set and shallow- and deep-water subsets of the data. The results indicate two provinces, each with a widespread (tropical and subtropical distributions) component to its fauna. One province has a tropical and primarily insular component to it, while the other has a subtropical and primarily continental component. By contrast, zooxanthellate corals have a uniform faunal composition throughout the Caribbean. Moreover, zooxanthellate corals have half as many species in the Caribbean as the azooxanthellate corals even though their global diversities are equal. These differences in diversity and geographic distribution patterns should be considered when developing conservation strategies.
Recovery of proteins from water-in-oil microemulsions in highly concentrated form through dilution techniques

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was recovered from water/Aerosol-OT (Sodium bis [2-ethylhexyl] sulfosuccinate)/isooctane water-in-oil microemulsion solution as a solid precipitate that was virtually free of surfactant by the addition of isooctane or 0.01 v/v 1-butanol. The recovery was greater when the fractional occupancy of BSA was higher and the extent of dilution greater. Proteins which interact with the microemulsion interface are more likely to be recovered.
Direct Spectrophotometric Determination of Sulfathiazole in Presence of Sulfadiazine and Sulfamerazine

Abstract A direct spectrophotometric method for the quantitative determination of sulfathiazole and the total pyrimidyl sulfonamide content in a mixture containing sulfadiazine and sulfamerazine is reported. This three-component system was readily reduced to the problem of a simple two-component system analysis. Based on dual isoabsorptive wavelength spectroscopy, simultaneous equations were developed that required absorbance measurements at only two selected wavelengths, both isoabsorptive. The location of the isoabsorptive wavelengths was dependent on the pH of the solvent medium, and 0.1 M HCl gave the best results. The validity of the derived equations was demonstrated in a recovery study involving synthetic mixtures containing varying quantities of the three sulfonamides. The recovery was linear over a wide concentration range, and the precision of the method was about 1%.
Ionization within a Cylindrical Capacitor: Electrospray without an Externally Applied High Voltage

An interface was developed for mass spectrometry based on dc induction. Ions were produced as liquid flowed through a concentric cylindrical capacitor at room temperature. No externally applied high voltages affecting the spray tip were used, thus eliminating corona discharge problems in negative ion mode. The voltages applied to the capacitor were lower than those used for electrospray on the same instrument. Stable signals were observed for positive ions infused at flow rates from 50 nL/min to 200 μL/min, anions in the range 50−500 nL/min, without addition of sheath liquid or gas. The minimum concentration required to generate an interpretable product ion spectrum from the [M − 2H]2- precursor, for infused Salmonella typhimurium diphosphorylated lipid A, was improved by a factor of ∼500. Positive ion capillary LC/MS results for a horse apomyoglobin tryptic digest were similar to those observed for an optimized electrospray interface. Factor XIII b subunit, an 83-kDa protein, yielded an interpretable pos...
Glaucoma gene therapy

Gene therapy appears to be a promising approach to glaucoma treatment. Strategies include increasing conventional and uveoscleral outflow, decreasing aqueous humor secretion, increasing neuroprotection and preventing wound healing in glaucoma filtration surgery. The trabecular meshwork, ciliary body, retina and optic nerve are potential targets for glaucoma gene therapy. Different vectors for ocular gene transfer have been developed in recent years. Nonviral vectors are often limited by low transfection efficiency and transient gene expression. By contrast, virus-based vectors transfer genes more efficiently, but tissue specificity may be reduced and inflammation can limit their applicability. Even though progress has been made in glaucoma gene therapy, significant challenges and obstacles, such as problems in gene targeting technology and lack of suitable promoters, remain.
Light-promoted changes in apoplastic K + activity in the Samanea saman pulvinus, monitored with liquid membrane microelectrodes

The movement of Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merrill leaflets is a consequence of the re-distribution of K+ and anions between motor cells on opposite sides of the pulvinus. We used a K+-sensitive microelectrode to study dynamic changes in K+ transport through motor-cell membranes during and immediately after change in illumination. Potassium-ion-sensitive and reference microelectrodes were inserted into extensor or flexor tissue of a whole pulvinus in white light (WL). A brief pulse of red light (RL) followed by darkness (D) (a) increased K+ activity in the extensor apoplast, indicating K+ release by the protoplast; and (b) decreased K+ activity in the flexor apoplast, indicating K+ uptake by the protoplast. White light after 35–40 min D reversed K+ activity in the extensor apoplast to approximately its original value. Blue light substituted partially for WL in this regard. Potassium-ion activity in the flexor apoplast reverted to approximately its original value after 2 h, with or without white illumination. Our data support the hypothesis that K+ efflux from extensor cells and K+ uptake by flexor cells following a WL→RL→D transition occurs by way of K+ channels.
Enzymatic synthesis and 19F NMR studies of 2-fluoroadenine-substituted RNA.

The production of isotopically labeled RNA remains critical to current NMR structural studies. One approach to obtain simple NMR spectra is to label with a nucleus that is not naturally occurring in RNA. Fluorine-19 can serve as a sensitive site-specific probe upon incorporation into RNA. Here we report the efficient in vitro enzymatic synthesis of 2-fluoroadenosine-5‘-triphosphate and its incorporation into the HIV-2 transactivation region (TAR) of RNA by DNA template-directed transcription using phage T7 RNA polymerase. We provide unequivocal evidence for this 19F-substituted base analogue capability to selectively interact with uracil, forming 2F-A−U base pairs in RNA. The introduction of a 2-fluoroadenyl substitution is relatively nonperturbing and provides us with uniquely positioned, sensitive NMR reporter groups to monitor structural changes in the local RNA environment.
Structural basis for the coupling between activation and inactivation gates in K + channels

The coupled interplay between activation and inactivation gating is a functional hallmark of K(+) channels. This coupling has been experimentally demonstrated through ion interaction effects and cysteine accessibility, and is associated with a well defined boundary of energetically coupled residues. The structure of the K(+) channel KcsA in its fully open conformation, in addition to four other partial channel openings, richly illustrates the structural basis of activation-inactivation gating. Here, we identify the mechanistic principles by which movements on the inner bundle gate trigger conformational changes at the selectivity filter, leading to the non-conductive C-type inactivated state. Analysis of a series of KcsA open structures suggests that, as a consequence of the hinge-bending and rotation of the TM2 helix, the aromatic ring of Phe 103 tilts towards residues Thr 74 and Thr 75 in the pore-helix and towards Ile 100 in the neighbouring subunit. This allows the network of hydrogen bonds among residues Trp 67, Glu 71 and Asp 80 to destabilize the selectivity filter, allowing entry to its non-conductive conformation. Mutations at position 103 have a size-dependent effect on gating kinetics: small side-chain substitutions F103A and F103C severely impair inactivation kinetics, whereas larger side chains such as F103W have more subtle effects. This suggests that the allosteric coupling between the inner helical bundle and the selectivity filter might rely on straightforward mechanical deformation propagated through a network of steric contacts. Average interactions calculated from molecular dynamics simulations show favourable open-state interaction-energies between Phe 103 and the surrounding residues. We probed similar interactions in the Shaker K(+) channel where inactivation was impaired in the mutant I470A. We propose that side-chain rearrangements at position 103 mechanically couple activation and inactivation in KcsA and a variety of other K(+) channels.
On the outside, looking in: a review and evaluation of the comparability of blood and brain "-omes"

In this article, we review studies detailing the correspondence between peripheral blood and brain tissue across various domains of high-throughput -omic analysis in order to provide a context for evaluating blood-based biomarker studies. Specifically, we reviewed seven studies comparing patterns of DNA methylation (i.e., an aspect of the epigenome), eight articles comparing patterns of gene expression (i.e., the transcriptome), and three articles comparing patterns of protein expression (i.e., the proteome). Our review of the epigenomic literature suggests that CpG-island methylation levels are generally highly correlated (r = 0.90) between blood and brain. Our review of transcriptomic studies suggests that between 35% and 80% of known transcripts are present in both brain and blood tissue samples; estimates of cross-tissue correlation in expression levels were found to range from 0.25 to 0.64, with stronger correlations observed among particular subsets of genes. Relative to the epigenome and transcriptome, the proteome has not been as fully compared between brain and blood samples, highlighting an important area for future work as whole-proteome profiling methods mature. Beyond reviewing the relevant studies, we discuss some of the assumptions, methodological issues, and gaps in knowledge that should be addressed in order to better understand how the multiple “-omes” of the brain are reflected in the peripheral blood. A better understanding of these relationships is a critical precursor to the validation of biomarkers for brain disorders. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Patent ductus arteriosus in patients more than 50 years old

At the Mayo Clinic, from 1945 through 1983, a definitive diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus was first made in 38 patients when they were more than 50 years old. Of the 29 patients who had cardiac catheterization, 14 had a small left-to-right shunt, 7 had a moderate shunt, and 8 had a large shunt. Five patients, including 2 with right-to-left shunts through the ductus, had pulmonary systolic pressures greater than 75 mm Hg. Thirty procedures were done in 29 patients: ductal ligation in 7, division and suture in 13, transaortic patch closure in 3, and closure via median sternotomy with extracorporeal circulation in 7. There was one intraoperative death (operative mortality, 3.3%). Although technically more challenging, surgical repair is associated with low mortality and excellent follow-up survival. The patients who benefit most from surgical correction are those with Qp/Qs greater than 1.5 and pulmonary artery systolic pressure less than 75 mm Hg.
Development of new control techniques for the ventilation and heating of livestock buildings

From statistical analysis of field data, normal mechanical ventilating systems using exhaust fans were found to give no better mean production results than natural open-ridge systems. To explain this, components of the mechanical ventilating system, namely the fan and the controller, were analysed in a laboratory test installation. The equipment tested revealed important shortcomings that explain why normal mechanical ventilating systems do not perform adequately in the field. By use of a steady-state analysis, the effects of the air flow rate on indoor temperature and on energy losses in a livestock building were analysed. A new controller has been developed, in an attempt to achieve improved control of air flow and hence more effective environmental control in livestock buildings.
An Approach to Ancova that Allows Multiple Covariates, Nonlinearity, and Heteroscedasticity

It is known that nonnormality, a heteroscedastic error term, or a nonlinearassociation can create serious practical problems when using the conventional analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) method. This article describes a simple ANCOVA method that allows heteroscedasticity, nonnormality, nonlinearity, and multiple covariates. When standard assumptions are met, all indications are that the power of the proposed method compares very favorably with that of the conventional technique.
Sex differences in vulnerability to developmental spatial learning deficits induced by limited binge alcohol exposure in neonatal rats.

Abstract The two main objectives of this study were (1) to replicate previous findings that 6 days of binge-like exposure to alcohol during the neonatal brain growth spurt induces significant place learning deficits in juvenile rats and (2) to determine whether more limited (3-day) binge-like exposure during the neonatal period induces place learning deficits and whether the effects depend on the developmental timing of the exposure. Using artificial rearing methods and a split-litter experimental design, groups of male and female neonatal rats were given binge-like exposure to 4.5 g/kg/day of ethanol in milk formula either on Postnatal Days (PD) 4–6, PD 7–9, or PD 4–9, which yielded mean peak blood alcohol concentrations of 230–260 mg/dl. Controls included an artificially reared gastro- stomy control group (GC) given an isocaloric milk formula diet on PD 4–9 and a suckle control group reared normally by lactating dams. Acquisition of place learning in the Morris spatial navigation task was trained for 6 consecutive days beginning on PD 26; a probe trial was given at the end of the sixth day. As expected, both males and females given alcohol on PD 4–9 had significant deficits in acquisition and probe trial performance relative to SC and GC groups. Males given the PD 7–9 exposure had significant place learning deficits which were as severe as with the full 6-day exposure. The PD 4–6 exposure in males produced only a nonsignificant trend toward slower acquisition. Females were not significantly affected by either 3-day exposure. The latter phase of the neonatal brain growth spurt appears to constitute a sex-specific period of enhanced vulnerability to alcohol-induced developmental spatial learning deficits.
On the moving block bootstrap under long range dependence

Abstract It is shown that, under some conditions, the moving block bootstrap provides valid approximation to the distribution of the normalized sample mean T n for a class of long-range dependent observations if and only if T n is asymptotically normal.
AB initio studies of hydrogen exchange and abstraction in the H + CH4 system

Abstract Energies and optimal geometries have been computed in the UHF LCAO MO GTO framework for reactant, product and likely intermediate structures in the exchange and abstraction reactions of H + CH4. The effects of addition of polarization functions to both the hydrogen and carbon basis sets have been evaluated.
MCNP simulation of radiation doses distributions in water phantoms simulating interventional radiology patients

Purpose: To investigate the dose distributions in water cylinders simulating patients undergoing Interventional Radiological examinations. Method: The irradiation geometry consisted of an x-ray source, dose-area-product chamber, and image intensifier as currently used in Interventional Radiology. Water cylinders of diameters ranging between 17 and 30 cm were used to simulate patients weighing between 20 and 90 kg. X-ray spectra data with peak x-ray tube voltages ranging from 60 to 120 kV were generated using XCOMP3R. Radiation dose distributions inside the water cylinder (D w ) were obtained using MCNP5. The depth dose distribution along the x-ray beam central axis was normalized to free-in-air air kerma (AK) that is incident on the phantom. Scattered radiation within the water cylinders but outside the directly irradiated region was normalized to the dose at the edge of the radiation field. The total absorbed energy to the directly irradiated volume (E p ) and indirectly irradiated volume (E s ) were also determined and investigated as a function of x-ray tube voltage and phantom size. Results: At 80 kV, the average D w /AK near the x-ray entrance point was 1.3. The ratio of D w near the entrance point to D w near the exit point increased from ~ 26 for the 17 cm water cylinder to ~ 290 for the 30 cm water cylinder. At 80 kV, the relative dose for a 17 cm water cylinder fell to 0.1% at 49 cm away from the central ray of the x-ray beam. For a 30 cm water cylinder, the relative dose fell to 0.1% at 53 cm away from the central ray of the x-ray beam. At a fixed x-ray tube voltage of 80 kV, increasing the water cylinder diameter from 17 to 30 cm increased the E s /(E p +E s ) ratio by about 50%. At a fixed water cylinder diameter of 24 cm, increasing the tube voltage from 60 kV to 120 kV increased the E s /(E p +E s ) ratio by about 12%. The absorbed energy from scattered radiation was between 20-30% of the total energy absorbed by the water cylinder, and was affected more by patient size than x-ray beam energy. Conclusion: MCNP offers a powerful tool to study the absorption and transmission of x-ray energy in phantoms that can be designed to represent patients undergoing Interventional Radiological procedures. This ability will permit a systematic investigation of the relationship between patient dose and diagnostic image quality, and thereby keep patient doses As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA).
Exposure of cells to an acidic environment reverses the inhibiton by methylamine of the mitogenic response to epidermal growth factor

Abstract Lysosomotropic alkylamines inhibit the mitogenic response of cells to epidermal growth factor. This inhibition can be reversed if the extracellular medium is acidified for a brief period of time. More importantly, the period of time that EGF is required in the medium to elicit responses is reduced from 8 hours to only 4 hours. The response is specific since antisera against epidermal growth factor prevent the enhancement in DNA synthesis. The response is dependent on the external pH and the duration of the exposure. Thus, stimulation of cultured fibroblasts by epidermal growth factor may require exposure to an acidic compartment like that found in lysosomes, and supports the notion that inhibition of mitogenesis by alkylamines is caused by their ability to raise the pH in an intracellular acid compartment.
Optimized design and data analysis of tag-based cytosine methylation assays

Using the type III restriction-modification enzyme EcoP15I, we isolated sequences flanking sites digested by the methylation-sensitive HpaII enzyme or its methylation-insensitive MspI isoschizomer for massively parallel sequencing. A novel data transformation allows us to normalise HpaII by MspI counts, resulting in more accurate quantification of methylation at >1.8 million loci in the human genome. This HELP-tagging assay is not sensitive to sequence polymorphism or base composition and allows exploration of both CG-rich and depleted genomic contexts.
Women's Movements and Challenges to Neopatrimonial Rule: Preliminary Observations From Africa

Womens movements in Africa represent one of the key societal forces challenging state clientelistic practices the politicization of communal differences and personalized rule. In the 1980s and 1990s the authors witnessed not only the demise of patronage-based womens wings that were tied to ruling parties but also the concurrent growth of independent womens organizations with more far-reaching agendas. The emergence of such autonomous organizations has been a consequence of the loss of state legitimacy the opening-up of political space economic crisis and the shrinking of state resources. Drawing on examples from Africa this article shows why independent womens organizations and movements have often been well situated to challenge clientelistic practices tied to the state. Gendered divisions of labor gendered organizational modes and the general exclusion of women from both formal and informal political arenas have defined womens relationship to the state to power and to patronage. These characteristics have on occasion put womens movements in a position to challenge various state-linked patronage practices. The article explores some of the implications of these challenges. (authors)
A 10-Vertex Iron−Dicarbollide System Formed by Insertion of {Fe(CO)4} into 8-Vertex [closo-1-CB7H8]−: Synthesis and Reactivity Studies

Reaction of [NBun4][closo-1-CB7H8] with [Fe2(CO)9] in refluxing THF (tetrahydrofuran) gives the neutral ferradicarborane [2,2,2-(CO)3-1-OH-closo-2,1,10-FeC2B7H8] (3), which, upon treatment with PEt...