cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the Intensive Care Unit: can the adequacy of empirical β-lactam antibiotic therapy be improved?

Inadequate empirical antibiotic therapy for serious Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections has been linked to increased mortality. We performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, bacteraemia or other sterile-site infections caused by P. aeruginosa occurring during Intensive Care Unit admissions. One hundred and fifty-eight episodes of serious infection with P. aeruginosa occurred in 140 patients. Empirical antibiotic therapy was microbiologically adequate in 67% of episodes of infection. Patients with P. aeruginosa isolates resistant to piperacillin/tazobactam or cefepime were more likely to have received these antibiotics in the month prior to the P. aeruginosa infection or to have had a Gram-negative bacillus resistant to these antibiotics isolated in the month prior to the P. aeruginosa infection. From these data, we have developed simple algorithms for empirical antibiotic choice in seriously ill patients with suspected P. aeruginosa infections based on prior antibiotic exposure and prior isolation of antibiotic-resistant organisms. Application of these algorithms would have improved the adequacy of empirical antibiotic therapy from 67% to 80-84%. Routine empirical addition of amikacin to the beta-lactam would have increased the adequacy of the antibiotics to 96%. We conclude that knowledge of the prior receipt of beta-lactam antibiotics with activity against P. aeruginosa and the isolation of Gram-negative bacilli resistant to such antibiotics in the recent past can readily increase the adequacy of empirical antibiotic therapy for suspected P. aeruginosa infections.
Contrasting Effects of thc on Adult Murine Lymph Node and Spleen Cell Populations Stimulated with Mitogen or Anti-CD3 Antibody

Marijuana, and specifically its psychoactive component, THC, can up or down regulate lymphocyte proliferation in murine spleen cells depending in part on the method used to stimulate the cells. This study identifies a difference in THC induced disregulation using cells derived from two different secondary lymphoid organs, the spleen and the lymph node. It was found that THC treatment of mitogen (concanavalin A or phytohemagglutinin) stimulated cells derived from either organ resulted in suppression of the proliferative response. In contrast, spleen cells stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody and treated with low doses of THC displayed an enhanced proliferation whereas the response in lymph nodes did not change. The cell type involved with this THC immunoenhancement in spleen cells was found to be the Ly2 cell. Further differences in the THC modulation of Ly2 spleen cells as compared to lymph node cells were noted following stimulation with PHA. Proliferation of Ly2 cells of splenic origin was inhibited with low doses of THC whereas the Ly2 cells of lymph node origin were more resistant to this drug induced suppression. This study, therefore, demonstrates differences in the immunomodulatory capability of THC dependent upon the organ source of the lymphocytes.
Degeneration of NO-synthesizing cerebrocortical neurons in transgenic mice expressing mutated superoxide dismutase is not due to elevated nitric oxide levels.

Nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS)-containing cerebrocortical neurons degenerate in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and dementia, and in transgenic mice expressing a mutated superoxide dismutase gene (G93A) associated with familial ALS. The cerebral cortex of transgenic mice displayed decreased NOS activity (p<0.001) and cGMP levels (p<0.01), but no changes in NOS content indicating that less NO is produced. Therefore, NOSN degeneration is not caused by elevated NO.
The chemical characterization of zone refined lanthanum hexaboride

Abstract A complete chemical analysis has been out on zone refined hot pressed LaB 6 crystals. It is shown that 3 pass zone refined crystals are highly purified with C being the major remaining impurity. The B/La ratio of the zone refined crystals is around 5.75 and evidence is presented to show that this low value results from C present in the starting hot pressed material. Density and lattice parameter measurements show that the probable defect structure consists of a loss of boron octahedrons from the lattice with a partial filling of these sites by interstitial La atoms.
Characterization of Growth-related Osmiophilic Particles in Corn Coleoptiles and Deepwater Rice Internodes

Abstract Osmiophilic particles are secreted from the epidermal cells into the outer epidermal cell wall of deepwater rice internodes and corn coleoptiles that have been induced to elongate rapidly by treatment with gibberellin or auxin, respectively. The diameter of the osmiophilic particles is 80 to 100 nm in deepwater rice and up to 300 nm in corn coleoptiles. Because these particles are secreted to the outer epidermal wall only, they may contain either cell wall components that are specific for the outer epidermal wall or components of the cuticle that coats the outer epidermal wall. Monensin inhibited the appearance of these particles, indicating that they are derived from the Golgi apparatus. An attempt was made to identify the contents of the osmiophilic particles by enzyme-gold or antibody-gold labelling. Cutinase-gold accumulated mostly in the region of the cell wall just below the cuticle. The osmiophilic particles became densely labelled after incubation with proteinase K-gold, indicating that they are, at least in part, proteinaceous. In excised tissue and ultrathin sections treated with proteinase K, the number of osmiophilic particles was reduced, while glucanase and cutinase treatments were without effect. Antibodies against lipid transfer protein, an extensin-like protein, an arabinogalactan protein, a peroxidase, and expansin bound to the cell wall or plasma membrane but not to the osmiophilic particles.
Evaluation of the Siemens Minifonator Vibrotactile Aid

The Siemens Hearing Instruments Minifonator, a single-channel, wrist-worn vibrotactile aid, was evaluated in a laboratory setting with hearing-impaired adults. Eight subjects, with hearing loss gre...
Rapid and Slow Voltage-Dependent Conformational Changes in Segment IVS6 of Voltage-Gated Na+ Channels

Abstract Mutations in segment IVS6 of voltage-gated Na + channels affect fast-inactivation, slow-inactivation, local anesthetic action, and batrachotoxin (BTX) action. To detect conformational changes associated with these processes, we substituted a cysteine for a valine at position 1583 in the rat adult skeletal muscle sodium channel α -subunit, and examined the accessibility of the substituted cysteine to modification by 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTS-EA) in excised macropatches. MTS-EA causes an irreversible reduction in the peak current when applied both internally and externally, with a reaction rate that is strongly voltage-dependent. The rate increased when exposures to MTS-EA occurred during brief conditioning pulses to progressively more depolarized voltages, but decreased when exposures occurred at the end of prolonged depolarizations, revealing two conformational changes near site 1583, one coupled to fast inactivation, and one tightly associated with slow inactivation. Tetraethylammonium, a pore blocker, did not affect the reaction rate from either direction, while BTX, a lipophilic activator of sodium channels, completely prevented the modification reaction from occurring from either direction. We conclude that there are two inactivation-associated conformational changes in the vicinity of site 1583, that the reactive site most likely faces away from the pore, and that site 1583 comprises part of the BTX receptor.
Age-related changes in the sexual performance of Hereford bulls

Abstract Twelve polled Hereford bulls were subjected to annual sexual performance evaluations starting at 12–13 months of age and continuing to 5 years. Significant year effects ( P Ejaculation and mount frequencies in year 4 were correlated with performance in year 5 but between-year correlations at younger ages were not significant. While average sexual performance of a population of bulls may remain relatively stable from years 2 through 5, individual year-to-year variation in sexual performance may be sufficient up to 3 years of age to preclude long-term assessment of the mating potential of individual males.
Digital breast tomosynthesis: effects of projection-view distribution on computer-aided detection of microcalcification clusters

We investigated the effect of projection view (PV) distribution on detectability of microcalcification clusters (MC) in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) by a computer-aided detection (CAD) system. With IRB approval, DBT of breasts with biopsy-proven MCs were acquired with 60° tomographic angle, 21 PVs, and 3° increment (full set). The DBT volume was reconstructed using simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) with multiscale bilateral filtering (MSBF) regularization. Three subsets simulating acquisition with 11, 9 and 11 PVs at tomographic angle and angular increment of (30°, 3°), (24°, 3°) and (60°, 6°), respectively, were also reconstructed with MSBF-regularized SART at several iterations. The subsets therefore had about half the dose of the full set. An enhancement-modulated multiscale calcification response volume was derived, and prescreening of the individual microcalcification candidates was performed in this volume. Iterative thresholding in combination with region growing identified the potential microcalcification candidates. The prescreening sensitivity was analyzed using the mean and standard deviation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the microcalcification candidates and rank-sensitivity plot. The candidates of MCs were detected by dynamic clustering using SNR and distance criteria. No additional FP reduction steps were performed to avoid the variability due to parameter tuning for a small data set. The performance of MC detection was compared at this stage. For the three subsets, view-based FROC analysis showed that the lowest FP rates at 90% sensitivity was achieved at 6.2, 11.8 and 9.0 per volume, respectively, compared to that of the full set at 3.9. The (30°, 3°) set performed better than the other two subsets.
A Tale of Two Cities: Team Teaching in Action

Team teaching is increasingly being integrated into the marketing curriculum., as schools begin to apply precepts of Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement in an effort to both increase the quality of offerings and respond to increasing budgetary downsizing. This requires a "doing more with less" approach to academic excellence that has drawn the attention of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. This article reviews the current literature on the topic and reports on two key presentations at the recent AACSB Continuous Improvement Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Comparison of defibrillator therapy and other therapeutic modalities for sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation associated with coronary artery disease.

Abstract Outcomes of 282 patients referred to the arrhythmia service at Montefiore Medical Center for sustained ventricular tachycardia (n = 214) or ventricular fibrillation (n = 68) associated with coronary artery disease were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent serial drug trials by electrophysiologic testing and Holter monitoring. Sixty-eight patients who did not respond to drug therapy were treated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD group), and 214 patients were treated with other methods guided by electrophysiologic testing and Holter monitoring (non-ICD group). The non-ICD group included 49 patients who responded to drug therapy as judged by electrophysiologic testing, as well as patients who did not respond and were not treated with defibrillator therapy for various reasons. Ten patients died in the hospital (2 patients in the ICD group, 8 in the non-ICD group). Actuarial survival rates free of total cardiac death at 1, 2, and 3 years were, respectively, 94%, 87%, and 85% in the ICD group, and 82%, 78%, and 73% in the non-ICD group (p = NS). Survival rates free of total death at 1, 2, and 3 years were 90%, 82%, and 76% in the ICD group, and 82%, 76%, and 70% in the non-ICD group, respectively (p = NS). Survival rates free of total cardiac and total deaths of 49 patients treated with an effective regimen determined by electrophysiologic testing were not significantly different from those of the ICD group. This retrospective study suggests that outcomes of patients treated with ICDs may not be dramatically different from those of patients treated with other methods guided primarily by electrophysiologic testing. Therefore, prospective studies comparing ICD therapy with drug therapies are ethically justified and should be conducted to determine roles of various therapeutic procedures.
Microalgae: a green source of renewable H2

This article summarizes recent advances in the field of algal hydrogen production. Two fundamental approaches are being developed. One involves the temporal separation of the usually incompatible reactions of O(2) and H(2) production in green algae, and the second involves the use of classical genetics to increase the O(2) tolerance of the reversible hydrogenase enzyme. The economic and environmental impact of a renewable source of H(2) are also discussed.
Absorption and rotation of light by helical oligomers: The nearest neighbor approximation

Explicit expressions for the DK and RK associated with the excitation of regular oligomers from their ground states to the Kth exciton state as functions of N, P, μ, μ∥, μt, and μr have been derived on the assumption that the only perturbation Vij to the N singly excited states results from exciton transfer between adjacent residues, V12. The DK relation predicts the occurrence of a perpendicularly polarized absorption band arising from μ⟂ and a parallel polarized band from μ∥ with maxima at K = [2(N + 1)/P] and 1, which are shifted from the monomer band by 2V12 cos(2π/P) and 2V12cos[π/(N + 1)], respectively. Overlapping of the bands, which may occur in oligomers, decreases rapidly with N, leaving two perfectly polarized bands in the polymer. Within each band which includes only a few levels near the maxima, the most probable transition may be associated with all of the intensity for very short chains but only 40.2–50% (⟂) and 80.9% (∥) as N ∞ (polymer case). A relation was derived by which V12 may be simply calculated from μ, μr, μt, μ∥, a, and z. The nearest neighbor theory was compared with experiment by calculating a reasonable set of the relevant parameters which exactly account for known spectral shifts.
A quenched c=1 critical matrix model

Abstract We study a variant of the Penner-Distler-Vafa model, proposed as a c =1 quantum gravity: the “quenched” matrix model with logarithmic potential. The model is exactly soluble, and exhibits a two-cut branching as observed in multicritical unitary matrix models and multicut hermitian matrix models. Using analytic continuation of the power in the conventional polynomial potential, we also show that both the Penner-Distler-Vafa model and our “quenched” matrix model satisfy the Virasoro algebra constraints.
Evaluation of mineral agar plates for the enumeration of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria

Abstract The enumeration of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria is important in the evaluation and monitoring of the bioremediation of petroleum spills. Colony formation on mineral agar plates incubated in the presence of hydrocarbons is often used for such enumerations. We evaluated this method by inoculating mineral agar plates with dilutions of gasoline-contaminated ground water and of unpolluted surface water and incubating the plates either with or without toluene-xylene (TX) fumes. Approximately the same number of colonies formed on both sets of plates, and the colony-forming units calculated were much higher than the most probable number of TX-degrading bacteria or of TOL plasmid-containing bacteria estimated using liquid mineral media containing TX or meta -toluate. Colonies that grew on both the fume-incubated and the control plates were examined for growth in TX fumes or on meta -toluate on transfer to fresh mineral agar, and for the presence of the TOL plasmid using a dioxigenin-dUTP labelled whole TOL plasmid probe. About 98% of the colonies from plates inoculated with unpolluted surface water were negative for all three characters even when they came from TX-incubated plates. Many of the colonies from fume or control plates inoculated with gasoline-contaminated ground water possessed one or more of these phenotypic characters. We conclude that many environmental bacteria, which are not hydrocarbon degraders, can form colonies on mineral agar plates in the presence of hydrocarbons, and that the use of this type of medium may result in the over-estimation of the population of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria.
Axisymmetric elastodynamic response from normal and radial impact of layered composites with embedded penny-shaped cracks

A method is developed for the dynamic stress analysis of a layered composite containing an embedded penny-shaped crack and subjected to normal and radial impact. Quantitatively, the time-dependent stresses near the crack border can be described by the dynamic stress intensity factors. Their magnitude depends on time, on the material properties of the composite and on the relative size of the crack compared to the composite local geometry. Results obtained show that, for the same material properties and geometry of the composite, the dynamic stress intensity factors for an embedded (penny-shaped) crack reach their peak values within a shorter period of time and with a lower magnitude than the corresponding dynamic stress factors for a through-crack.
Consecutive and parallel dissociation of energy-selected Co(CO)3NO+ ions

Photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) spectroscopy has been used to investigate the dissociation dynamics of the cobalt tricarbonyl nitrosyl ion, Co(CO) 3 NO + . The ionization energy of Co(CO) 3 NO was measured from the threshold photoelectron spectrum to be 8.33 ′ 0.04 eV. The dissociation of the molecular ion proceeds by two sequential carbonyl-loss steps and then a parallel carbonyl- or nitrosyl-loss step. The first two reactions were observed to be slow (lifetimes in the microsecond range). By simulating the resulting asymmetric time-of-flight peak shapes and the relative ion abundances (breakdown curves), 0 K onsets for the following fragment ions were determined: Co(CO) 2 NO + , 9.28 ′ 0.02 eV; CoCONO + , 10.43 ′ 0.02 eV; CoNO + , 12.00 ′ 0.02 eV; CoCO + , 12.07 ′ 0.02 eV. Combining these onsets with the experimental adiabatic ionization energy of Co(CO) 3 NO + , the three cobalt-carbonyl bond energies in Co(CO) x NO + (x = 1-3) were determined along with the cobalt-nitrosyl bond energy in CoCONO + . Using a literature value for the [Co-CO] + bond energy, the 0 K heats of formation of the above-mentioned molecular and fragment ions and of the neutral compound, Co(CO) 3 NO, were determined. Using these thermochemical data, the cobalt-nitrosyl bond energies were also derived for Co(CO) 3 NO + and CoNO + . The latter is in good agreement with a theoretical literature value, while the first one explains why there is no observable NO loss from the molecular ion, Co(CO) 3 NO + . Room-temperature values of the heats of formation are also given using the calculated harmonic frequencies.
The Relationship between Trait, Expressive, and Familial Correlates of Emotion Regulation in a Clinical Sample of Anxious Youth.

Although emotion and its regulation have been linked to children’s general psychopathology, it has only recently been studied in relation to childhood anxiety disorders. In this study, the authors examine the relationship between various inputs of emotion regulation and anxiety in a clinical sample of youth. Participants (N = 112) were administered a battery of questionnaires that assessed for negative emotionality, emotion expression style, and familial affective expression. Participants also took part in a structured diagnostic interview to assess for clinical levels of anxiety. Results of standard multiple regression analyses indicated a relationship between all three components of the emotion in question. Moderator analyses revealed that age, but not gender, affects the relationship between negative emotionality and self-reported anxiety symptomatology. Results of mediation analyses suggested that emotion expression influences the relationship between negative emotionality and anxiety in older participants (ages 13–17), whereas the direct effect of negative emotionality and anxiety is maintained for younger participants (ages 8–12).
Analysis of iterated ADI-FDTD schemes for Maxwell curl equations

The convergence of the iterative ADI-FDTD method proposed by Wang et al. [S. Wang, F. Teixeira, J. Chen, An iterative ADI-FDTD with reduced splitting error, IEEE Microwave Wireless Comp. Lett. 15 (2005) 1531-1533] towards the classical implicit Crank-Nicolson scheme when applied to Maxwell curl equations, and the accuracy, stability, and dispersion properties of the resulting iterated schemes are investigated. The iterated schemes are shown both mathematically and numerically to be unconditionally stable for 2D wave problems, in agreement with numerical experiments conducted in [S. Wang, F. Teixeira, J. Chen, An iterative ADI-FDTD with reduced splitting error, IEEE Microwave Wireless Comp. Lett. 15 (2005) 1531-1533]. However these schemes lose their unconditional stability when applied to full 3D wave problems where TE and TM modes do not decouple, as illustrated by numerical experiments in a PEC box.
A Longitudinal Investigation of Sport Participation, Peer Acceptance, and Self-esteem among Adolescent Girls and Boys

The present investigation was designed to explore the relations between sport participation, peer acceptance, and global self-esteem. Peer acceptance was considered as a possible mediator of the relationship between sport participation and global self-esteem. The sample included girls (N = 4,689) and boys (N = 5,811) between the ages of 12 and 21 (M = 15 years) who were part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Analyses revealed that peer acceptance partially mediated the relation between sport participation and global self-esteem for girls as well as boys. Findings suggest the importance of considering how sport participation and self-evaluations in particular domains may contribute to global feelings of self-worth. The role of peers in this relationship is discussed in relation to changing social attitudes about girls’ sport participation.
Action of Ryanodine on Mammalian Cardiac Muscle

The relationship between stimulation frequency and twitch tension was determined for isolated strips of rat right ventricle. Prolonged perfusion of the tissue in physiological saline solution results in diminished twitch tension at low rates of stimulation without alteration of contractility at high stimulation frequency. These changes, which develop over a period of several hours of perfusion, can be induced within 15 minutes by the addition of ryanodine. The addition of strophanthidin restores the twitch tension-frequency relationship of the long-perfused rat ventricle to normal. However strophanthidin has no effect on the impaired contractility of ryanodine treated ventricle ; and, conversely, the addition of ryanodine to digitalized ventricle abolishes the action of the glycoside. The effects of ryanodine can be reversed by perfusing the muscle in a solution which is deficient in either sodium or potassium. Because of the opposing actions of ryano-dine and the cardiac glycosides, the effect of ryanodine was studied in anesthetized animals with digitoxin-induced cardiac arrhythmias. The intravenous infusion of ryanodine rapidly abolishes the ventricular arrhythmias characteristic of digitalis toxicity. However, the presence of both digitoxin and ryanodine is frequently associated with depression of sinus node activity, and the cardiac cycle is initiated by another focus, probably nodal. The effect on the sinus node may be mediated by the vagus, through a synergistic action of the two drugs, since normal sinus rhythm can be restored by the administration of atropine.
Jaundice and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy in pregnancy.

Jaundice in pregnancy can be caused by viral hep­ atitis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, chole­ docholithiases, HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, ele­ vated liver enzymes, and a low platelet count), severe preeclampsia, and acute fatty liver of preg­ nancy. I Acute fatty liver of pregnancy occurs in approximately 1 in 13,000 pregnancies. 2 More than 90% of patients with acute fatty liver of pregnancy have jaundice and disseminated intravascular co­ agulopathy (DIC).3 Before 1985 the associated ma­ ternal mortality was reported as 85%.4 Patients die with DIC, hemorrhage, severe hypoglycemia, and fulminant liver failure. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy was first recog­ nized as a distinct clinical syndrome in 1940. 5 The high maternal mortality initially associated with this condition was multifactorial, and in many cases the diagnosis was made at postmortem. Pregnancy­ related consumptive coagulopathy was not a recog­ nized clinical entity until the 1950s. Furthermore, rapid serologic testing for infectious hepatitis was not readily available until the 1980s. 6 The historic management of hepatitis in pregnancy was conser­ vative, and patients with undiagnosed acute fatty liver of pregnancy frequently progressed to fulmi­ nant liver failure and death. Today early diagnosis of acute fatty liver of pregnancy and prompt delivery of the fetus is more commonplace. 7 Rapid serologic testing for infec­ tious hepatitis and DIC gives the modem clinician an edge in making the diagnosis. The following case has the classic clinical findings of acute fatty liver of pregnancy. The subsequent discussion pro­ vides an overview of this condition.
Changes in intake of protein foods, carbohydrate amount and quality, and long-term weight change: results from 3 prospective cohorts

Background: Dietary guidelines recommend interchanging protein foods (e.g., chicken for red meat), but they may be exchanged for carbohydrate-rich foods varying in quality [glycemic load (GL)]. Whether such exchanges occur and how they influence long-term weight gain are not established. Objective: Our objective was to determine how changes in intake of protein foods, GL, and their interrelationship influence long-term weight gain. Design: We investigated the association between 4-y changes in consumption of protein foods, GL, and their interaction with 4-y weight change over a 16- to 24-y follow-up, adjusted for other lifestyle changes (smoking, physical activity, television watching, sleep duration), body mass index, and all dietary factors simultaneously in 3 prospective US cohorts (Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study) comprising 120,784 men and women free of chronic disease or obesity at baseline. Results: Protein foods were not interchanged with each other (intercorrelations typically 0.40 for each); and relative weight loss for yogurt, peanut butter, walnuts, other nuts, chicken without skin, low-fat cheese, and seafood (−0.14 to −0.71 kg; P = 0.01 to P < 0.001). Increases in GL were independently associated with a 0.42-kg greater weight gain per 50-unit increase (P < 0.001). Significant interactions (P-interaction < 0.05) between changes in protein foods and GL were identified; for example, increased cheese intake was associated with weight gain when GL increased, with weight stability when GL did not change, and with weight loss when exchanged for GL (i.e., decrease in GL). Conclusion: Protein foods were commonly interchanged with carbohydrate, and changes in protein foods and GL interacted to influence long-term weight gain.
Degree of elasticity determination in solid foods

Specimens of a variety of foods (banana, cheese, frankfurter, jelly candy, marshmallow, and potato) were subjected to four compression-decompression cycles at two prefailure deformation levels (12.5–15 and 20–25%). Total and percent recoverable work in each cycle were determined using a universal testing machine interfaced with a computer. The magnitude of recoverable work, its strain dependency and response to successive cycles were characteristic of each material. Percent recoverable work was unrelated, however, to strength (stress at failure), deformability, and stiffness. The general level of recoverable work was about 60–80% of total work in the materials commonly considered “elastic” and 20–50% in those known as “plastic.”
Growth Responses of C4Grasses of Contrasting Origin to Elevated CO2

Nine grass species representing three independent origins of the C4photosynthetic pathway were grown at ambient (350 ppm) and elevated (700 ppm) CO2and were harvested after flowering. Setaria andArundinella are both members of the subfamily Panicoideae, and represent a single origin of the pathway. Aristida and Stipagrostis are sister genera in the subfamily Aristidoideae (formerly classified in subfamily Arundinoideae), and represent a second origin. Sporobolus, a member of the subfamily Chloridoideae, represents the third. By investigating two genera each within Panicoideae and Aristidoideae, we test the hypothesis that genera sharing the same origin of C4respond similarly. To explore variation among congeneric species, five species of Setaria were also examined to test the hypothesis that congeneric species have similar responses. Plant height and numbers of tillers, branches and inflorescences were measured, both over time and at final harvest. Biomass of roots, shoots, and inflorescences was also measured. Members of the Aristidoideae were generally significantly larger in elevated CO2, as indicated by measurements of biomass and plant height, whereas representatives of the Panicoideae varied considerably in their response. The two subfamilies differed significantly in their responses to elevated CO2and this effect outweighed any effect of CO2alone.Sporobolus, though equally distantly related to Panicoideae and Aristidoideae, had a CO2response similar to that of some panicoid species. Even within the genus Setaria, some species were significantly smaller at elevated than at ambient CO2, whereas others were larger. This may reflect diversity in internal regulation rather than acclimation or changes in source-sink allocation of carbon. The variation complicates any prediction of responses of C4plants to future atmospheric change. Comparison of closely related species, however, may well lead to intriguing new insights into how regulatory pathways of CO2assimilation are modified during evolution.
14-3-3 (Bmh) Proteins Inhibit Transcription Activation by Adr1 through Direct Binding to Its Regulatory Domain

14-3-3 proteins, known as Bmh in yeast, are ubiquitous, highly conserved proteins that function as adaptors in signal transduction pathways by binding to phosphorylated proteins to activate, inactivate, or sequester their substrates. Bmh proteins have an important role in glucose repression by binding to Reg1, the regulatory subunit of Glc7, a protein phosphatase that inactivates the AMP-activated protein kinase Snf1. We describe here another role for Bmh in glucose repression. We show that Bmh binds to the Snf1-dependent transcription factor Adr1 and inhibits its transcriptional activity. Bmh binds within the regulatory domain of Adr1 between amino acids 215 and 260, the location of mutant ADR1c alleles that deregulate Adr1 activity. This provides the first explanation for the phenotype resulting from these mutations. Bmh inhibits Gal4-Adr1 fusion protein activity by binding to the Ser230 region and blocking the function of a nearby cryptic activating region. ADR1c alleles, or the inactivation of Bmh, relieve the inhibition and Snf1 dependence of this activating region, indicating that the phosphorylation of Ser230 and Bmh are important for the inactivation of Gal4-Adr1. The Bmh binding domain is conserved in orthologs of Adr1, suggesting that it acquired an important biological function before the whole-genome duplication of the ancestor of S. cerevisiae.
Joint energy and Laplacian regularization in the inverse problem of electrocardiography

In the inverse problem of electrocardiography one attempts to characterize cardiac electrical activity based on noninvasive measurements on the torso surface and knowledge of body geometry. This problem is ill-conditioned and requires regularization. Traditional methods minimize a spatial error at each time instant or a temporal error at each spatial location. Here the authors describe a method which attempts to use more than one spatial constraint in the regularization of the inverse problem at each time instant. >
Facets of the knapsack polytope

A necessary and sufficient condition is given for an inequality with coefficients 0 or 1 to define a facet of the knapsack polytope, i.e., of the convex hull of 0---1 points satisfying a given linear inequality. A sufficient condition is also established for a larger class of inequalities (with coefficients not restricted to 0 and 1) to define a facet for the same polytope, and a procedure is given for generating all facets in the above two classes. The procedure can be viewed as a way of generating cutting planes for 0---1 programs.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN EWA LEARNING WITH PARTIAL PAYOFF INFORMATION

We extend experience-weighted attraction (EWA) learning to games in which only the set of possible foregone payoffs from unchosen strategies are known, and estimate parameters separately for each player to study heterogeneity. We assume players estimate unknown foregone payoffs from a strategy, by substituting the last payoff actually received from that strategy, by clairvoyantly guessing the actual foregone payoff, or by averaging the set of possible foregone payoffs conditional on the actual outcomes. All three assumptions improve predictive accuracy of EWA. Individual parameter estimates suggest that players cluster into two separate subgroups (which differ from traditional reinforcement and belief learning).
Thermal interaction of the core and the mantle and long‐term behavior of the geomagnetic field

The effects of temperature changes at the earth's core-mantle boundary on the velocity field of the core are analyzed. It is assumed that the geomagnetic field is maintained by thermal convection in the outer core. A model for the thermal interaction of the core and the mantle is presented which is consistent with current views on the presence of heat sources in the core and the properties of the lower mantle. Significant long-term variations in the frequency of geomagnetic reversals may be the result of fluctuating temperatures at the core-mantle boundary, caused by intermittent convection in the lower mantle. The thermal structure of the lower mantle region D double prime, extending from 2700 to 2900 km in depth, constitutes an important test of this hypothesis and offers a means of deciding whether the geomagnetic dynamo is thermally driven.
Evaluating sparsity penalty functions for combined compressed sensing and parallel MRI

The combination of compressed sensing (CS) and parallel magnetic resonance (MR) imaging enables further scan acceleration via undersampling than previously feasible. While many of these methods incorporate similar styles of CS, there remains significant variation in the particular choice of function used to promote sparsity. Having developed SpRING, a framework for combining CS and GRAPPA, a parallel MR image reconstruction method, we view the choice of penalty function as a design choice rather than a defining feature of the algorithm. For both simulated and real data, we compare different sparsity penalty functions to the empirical distribution of the reference images. Then, we perform reconstructions on uniformly undersampled data using a variety of penalty functions to illustrate the impact appropriately choosing the penalty function has on the performance of SpRING. These experiments demonstrate the importance of choosing an appropriate penalty function and how such a choice may differ between simulated data and real data.
African American women and family planning services: perceptions of discrimination.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine perceived race-based discrimination in obtaining family planning or contraceptive services among African American women in the U.S. Methods We conducted a 30-minute telephone survey with a random sample of 500 African Americans (aged 15-44), which included questions about race-based discrimination when obtaining family planning services. The present analyses were limited to the 326 women who completed interviews. Results The majority (79%) of women reported having seen a health care provider for family planning or birth control services. Of those, 67% reported race-based discrimination when obtaining such services. Half of the women reported more general experiences of discrimination when obtaining family planning services (e.g., poorer service), and 52% reported experiences that reflect stereotypes of African American women (e.g., doctor or nurse assumed they had multiple sexual partners). Most indicated that experiences of discrimination occurred infrequently. Generally, background characteristics were not significantly associated with perceived discrimination. However, in multivariate models, stronger Black identity, younger age, and lower income were associated with reports of discrimination. Conclusion African American women may be vulnerable to prejudice within reproductive health care contexts, including family planning.
Urban Catholic High Schools and Disadvantaged Females

The purpose of this study was to discover the life experiences of disadvantaged female graduates of urban Catholic high schools and what they say about the capacity of Catholic education to meet their academic, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. Based on narrative inquiry, this study was conducted using a series of in-depth, semistructured interviews to elicit the life experiences of 5 participants. Twelve common personal characteristics emerged directly from the narratives of the participants and provided the backdrop for two patterns: (a) the importance of education, and (b) the importance of relationships. This study found the high school experiences met the academic needs of all participants, but the different school sites varied in their ability to meet the emotional, social, and spiritual needs. This study also found four characteristics interacted in creating the Catholic school culture: (a) building relationships, (b) promoting a sense of community, (c) supporting a caring and nurturing environment, and (d) emphasizing respect for all members of the school community.
Ionic strength of the intermembrane space of intact mitochondria as estimated with fluorescein-BSA delivered by low pH fusion.

The electrostatic interactions of cytochrome c with its redox partners and membrane lipids, as well as other protein interactions and biochemical reactions, may be modulated by the ionic strength of the intermembrane space of the mitochondrion. FITC-BSA was used to determine the relative value of the mitochondrial intermembrane ionic strength with respect to bulk medium external to the mitochondrial outer membrane. FITC-BSA exhibited an ionic strength-dependent fluorescence change with an affinity in the mM range as opposed to its pH sensitivity in the microM range. A controlled, low pH-induced membrane fusion procedure was developed to transfer FITC-BSA encapsulated in asolectin liposomes, to the intermembrane space of intact mitochondria. The fusion procedure did not significantly affect mitochondrial ultrastructure, electron transport, or respiratory control ratios. The extent of fusion of liposomes with the mitochondrial outer membrane was monitored by fluorescence dequenching assays using a membrane fluorescent probe (octadecylrhodamine B) and the soluble FITC-BSA fluorescent probe, which report membrane and contents mixing, respectively. Assays were consistent with a rapid, low pH-induced vesicle-outer membrane fusion and delivery of FITC-BSA into the intermembrane space. Similar affinities for the ionic strength-dependent change in fluorescence were found for bulk medium, soluble (9.8 +/- 0.8 mM) and intermembrane space-entrapped FITC-BSA (10.2 +/- 0.6 mM). FITC-BSA consistently reported an ionic strength in the intermembrane space of the functionally and structurally intact mitochondria within +/- 20% of the external bulk solution. These findings reveal that the intermembrane ionic strength changes as does the external ionic strength and suggest that cytochrome c interactions, as well as other protein interactions and biochemical reactions, proceed in the intermembrane space of mitochondria in the intact cell at physiological ionic strength, i.e., 100-150 mM.
Levels of soluble adhesion molecules are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with moyamoya syndrome.

Objective The pathogenesis of moyamoya syndrome is unknown; however, previous studies suggested an inflammatory component. Because adhesion molecules mediate inflammation during cerebral ischemia, we measured the levels of soluble isoforms of the endothelial adhesion molecules vascular cell adhesion molecule Type 1, intercellular adhesion molecule Type 1, and E-selectin in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from children with moyamoya syndrome. Methods Serum and CSF samples were obtained from children with moyamoya syndrome (n = 20) and patients with congenital spinal deformities (n = 20). Soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule Type 1, intercellular adhesion molecule Type 1, and E-selectin levels were measured in enzyme-linked immunoassays. The correlation between the levels of soluble adhesion molecules and the Suzuki angiographic classification was analyzed. CSF/serum albumin index values were also measured, to determine the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Results Compared with the control group, children with moyamoya syndrome exhibited significantly elevated CSF levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule Type 1, intercellular adhesion molecule Type 1, and E-selectin. The albumin index for the moyamoya group was 9, which was significantly higher than that for the control group. However, there were no differences in the serum levels of the three soluble adhesion molecules and no correlations between age, Suzuki classification, and serum and CSF levels of adhesion molecules. Conclusion Our study demonstrates increased CSF levels of soluble endothelial adhesion molecules, suggesting that children with moyamoya syndrome have ongoing central nervous system inflammation, with slight impairment of the blood-brain barrier. These soluble adhesion molecules may be clinically useful as indicators of this inflammatory process and may provide some insight into this enigmatic disease process.
Right-to-Try Laws: Hope, Hype, and Unintended Consequences

Some states have recently passed “right-to-try” laws that authorize terminally ill patients to request drugs and devices that are too early in their development to be approved by the U.S. Food and ...
Susceptibility to insecticides and activities of glutathione S‐transferase and esterase in populations of Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Mississippi

BACKGROUND Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) is a serious pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mississippi, particularly in the Delta region. This may be due to decreased insecticide susceptibility in that region. Research has revealed populations of L. lineolaris in the Delta region with high levels of insecticide resistance; however, comparisons with populations in the remainder of the state are limited. RESULTS Experiments were undertaken to compare the LC50 values and activities of detoxification enzymes of L. lineolaris populations. The results of these studies indicated that the LC50 values were not different between the Delta and Hills regions, but differences were significant between populations within and across regions. Results of the detoxifying enzyme activity assays revealed significantly higher esterase activity in the Delta region when compared with the Hills. Glutathione S-transferase activity was not different between regions, but differences within and across regions were significant. CONCLUSION The results indicated that glass-vial assays to determine and compare LC50 values may be less accurate than enzymatic assays for detecting insecticide susceptibility differences. Higher esterase activity is likely a contributing factor to the difficulties with managing L. lineolaris in the Mississippi Delta region. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
Vortex simulations of bubble oscillations

Vortex methods for domains bounded by closed surfaces such as bubbles must be modified to account for the changes in the enclosed volume. In the past, this has been accomplished by placing a source of unknown strength inside the bubble. Here, a new vortex method capable of simulating problems of this nature is developed. The volume changes of the domain are handled by introducing a uniform source distribution at the surface. Examples of the application of this technique are drawn from the area of bubble dynamics. A vapor bubble collapsing under hydrostatic pressure is studied as a test case. The results agree very well with the available boundary integral calculations in the literature. As an example of importance to bubble dynamics,the shape and volume oscillations of two bubbles in an acoustic field are also examined and several intriguing results are found.
What to Consider in Choosing Among Forums for Resolving the Ordinary Tax Dispute

The taxpayer may choose between a number of forums in which to pursue the judicial resolution of a dispute over a proposed increase in civil federal income tax liability. However, the Internal Revenue Service makes certain preliminary administrative steps available to the taxpayer, and in some cases these administrative measures are mandatory. The first of these preliminary administrative steps occurs during audit by the examining officer. During the audit the taxpayer is afforded an informal conference and an opportunity to reach agreement. If the taxpayer remains unprepared to accept the adjusted tax, the taxpayer has the opportunity to have an independent review and conference by the Service's Appeals Division, in hopes that the independent review will lead to a settlement.
Synthesis and Properties of Ring Polybutadienes

Abstract Much of polymer science is concerned with the linear joining of monomers and the properties of the new materials that emerge from this process. Of almost equal importance is the formation of tridimensional networks as the result of branching and crosslinking reactions. Ring formation has always been considered an unavoidable consequence of extensive crosslinking and, from the theoretical point, it is often neglected. Nevertheless, rings may contribute to the network properties by means of permanent entanglements. Indeed, rings alone can form special permanent networks without any chemical connectivity between the rings. The interest in flexible ring polymers has grown considerably in recent years with 32, 21, and 34 papers published in 1985, 1986, and 1987 respectively, dealing equally with experimental or theoretical aspects, although the theoretical and experimental papers do not always address the same problems. Most significant has been the work of Semlyen and his coworkers on ring poly(dimet...