cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of Peak Oxygen Consumption in Predicting Physical Function and Quality of Life in COPD Patients

Objective To determine whether peak oxygen consumption (V o 2 peak) adds to the power of FEV 1 in predicting physical function and quality of life in COPD patients. Design Single-center cross-sectional study. Methods Subjects included 291 COPD patients who completed pulmonary function testing, a graded exercise test, a 6-min walk, and stair climb test to assess physical function; a questionnaire assessing self-reported physical function; and a disease-specific, health-related quality-of-life questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of V o 2 peak in predicting physical function and quality of life after accounting for FEV 1 . Results After accounting for FEV 1 , V o 2 peak added significantly to the prediction of 6-min walk distance ( R 2 increased by 0.395 [p R 2 increased by 0.262 [p R 2 increased by 0.109 [p R 2 increased by 0.044 [p o 2 peak was found to significantly predict the health-related quality-of-life domain of fatigue ( R 2 = 0.094 [p Conclusion After controlling for FEV 1 , V o 2 peak adds significantly to the prediction of physical function and health-related quality-of-life domain of mastery in COPD patients. These results provide additional support for the use of V o 2 peak in the multidimensional assessment of COPD patients.
Neuropsychological and psychiatric sequelae of pallidotomy for PD: clinical trial findings.

Objective: To evaluate the neuropsychological and psychiatric sequelae of unilateral posterior pallidotomy for treatment of PD. Methods: Patients with idiopathic PD completed baseline and 3- and 6-month assessments after random assignment to an immediate surgery (n = 17) or medical management (n = 16) group. Results: Compared with the medical management group, the immediate surgery group with single lesions centered on the posterior internal pallidum showed superior naming and response inhibition, better verbal recall at 6 months, but greater distractibility, a tendency toward lower phonemic fluency, and a transient (3 months’ only) semantic fluency deficit. The group with left lesions had more neuropsychological deficits than the group with right lesions or the medical management group, although these occurred mainly at 3 (but not 6) months. At 6 months, the patients with left lesions showed better verbal memory retention than the patients with right lesions. On most measures, the pattern of individual clinical change did not differ as a function of surgery or lesion laterality, with the exception of a higher frequency of decline in phonemic fluency in the patients with left lesions at 6 months. Although psychiatric status did not change overall, a history of depression tended to increase the risk of a depressive episode following surgery. Conclusions: Well-targeted, uncomplicated, unilateral pallidotomy does not produce overall neuropsychological or psychiatric change, although there are subtle changes on specific measures sensitive to frontal lobe function.
The use of full-thickness skin grafts for the repair of defects on the dorsal hand and digits.

background The hand is a complex part of the human body and plays an important role in our everyday lives. It is critical to preserve manual function when repairing surgical defects on the dorsum of the hand and digits. objective To demonstrate the effectiveness of the full-thickness skin graft (FTSG) in the repair of surgical defects on the dorsum of the hand and digits. methods Through a retrospective review of photographic and written records and person-to-person interviews, the authors evaluated 19 patients who underwent FTSG repair of 21 defects on the dorsum of the hand and digits after Mohs micrographic surgery. results In all cases, the FTSG was durable, yielded good cosmetic results, and maintained normal function of the hand. conclusion The FTSG is a good option for repairing surgical defects on the dorsum of the hand and digits.
Prodrugs and codrugs as strategies for improving percutaneous absorption

Although the advent of marketed transdermal drug-delivery products is nearing three decades, considerable strides in this noninvasive route of administration have been slow compared with its intravenous and oral counterparts, primarily due to the extreme barrier capabilities of the skin. The development of prodrug and codrug systems provides opportunity to enhance drug flux through the skin and thereby create highly desirable and efficacious treatment. The pharmacologically inactive prodrug is synthesized to increase or maximize its transdermal diffusion capabilities and then metabolized in vivo to the active compound. Similarly, codrugs are mutual prodrugs that are linked together in order to improve the drug-delivery properties of one or both drugs. This article reviews the current advances in prodrug and codrug transdermal therapy and their respective mechanisms for improvement in percutaneous absorption.
Multiple forms of an angiogenesis factor: basic fibroblast growth factor

An angiogenesis factor has been isolated from human placenta and human hepatoma cells on the basis of its ability to stimulate protease production in cultured capillary endothelial cells. The purified angiogenesis factor also stimulated DNA synthesis and motility in capillary endothelial cells and induced angiogenesis in vivo. Amino acid sequence data revealed that the angiogenesis factor was human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Other angiogenesis factors isolated on the basis of their ability to stimulate endothelial cell proliferation have also been identified as bFGFs. The bFGFs that have been sequenced show variability in their N-termini. These different forms of bFGF may be naturally occurring processed forms or may be generated by proteases released during the isolation procedure. Recently a bFGF with a large N-terminal extension has been identified. This Mr 25,000 bFGF has the same biological activity and the same affinity for the bFGF receptor as the typical Mr 18,000 bFGFs. The Mr 25,000 bFGF can be converted into an Mr 18,000 form by treatment with low concentrations of trypsin, suggesting that it may be a precursor to the Mr 18,000 bFGF.
The Geographic Footprint of Glacier Change

Alpine glaciers leave spectacular records of climate change. Lakes, moraines, and other landforms shaped by past glacier advances and retreats dominate the foreground of nearly all mountain landscapes. These glacial deposits are rich records of past climate that are widespread, obvious, and easily accessible. In many regions without sedimentary or ice-core records, they are the only record of climate before instrumental records began. A report on page [622][1] of this issue by Schaefer et al. highlights the value of these glacial records in understanding past climate dynamics while also revealing their complexity ( 1 ). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1169312
Paraheliotropic leaf movement in Siratro as a protective mechanism against drought-induced damage to primary photosynthetic reactions: damage by excessive light and heat

Damage to primary photosynthetic reactions by drought, excess light and heat in leaves of Macroptilium atropurpureum Dc. cv. Siratro was assessed by measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence emission kinetics at 77 K (-196°C). Paraheliotropic leaf movement protected waterstressed Siratro leaves from damage by excess light (photoinhibition), by heat, and by the interactive effects of excess light and high leaf temperatures. When the leaves were restrained to a horizontal position, photoinhibition occurred and the degree of photoinhibitory damage increased with the time of exposure to high levels of solar radiation. Severe inhibition was followed by leaf death, but leaves gradually recovered from moderate damage. This drought-induced photoinhibitory damage seemed more closely related to low leaf water potential than to low leaf conductance. Exposure to leaf temperatures above 42°C caused damage to the photosynthetic system even in the dark and leaves died at 48°C. Between 42 and 48°C the degree of heat damage increased with the time of exposure, but recovery from moderate heat damage occurred over several days. The threshold temperature for direct heat damage increased with the growth temperature regime, but was unaffected by water-stress history or by current leaf water status. No direct heat damage occurred below 42°C, but in water-stressed plants photoinhibition increased with increasing leaf temperature in the range 31-42°C and with increasing photon flux density up to full sunglight values. Thus, water stress evidently predisposes the photosynthetic system to photoinhibition and high leaf temperature exacerbates this photoinhibitory damage. It seems probable that, under the climatic conditions where Siratro occurs in nature, but in the absence of paraheliotropic leaf movement, photoinhibitory damage would occur more frequently during drought than would direct heat damage.
Quantitation of the nucleophosmin/B23-translocation using imaging analysis

We have previously detected by immunofluorescent assay that the cellular localization of nucleophosmin/B23 (NPM) shifts from the nucleolus to the nucleoplasm (NPM-translocation) after exposure of cells to multiple agents. In order to improve the quantification of the NPM-translocation, we have developed a digital imaging technique. Human Lo leukemia cells, MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells, and fresh human leukemia cells were exposed to anthracyclines or actinomycin D for 4 h. The degree of NPM-translocation was determined and presented as the localization index (LI). Control cells had a LI of about 10, which indicates that the majority of NPM was localized in nucleoli. The LI for drug-treated cells decreased in a dosage- and time-dependent manner. The effect of two classes of anthracycline (daunomycin and aclacinomycin A) and different types of intercalators (daunomycin and actinomycin D) had additive effects on induction of NPM-translocation. The imaging procedure was easily applied to fresh leukemia cells, thus providing useful information regarding drug effects on cancer cells.
Fibroblast growth factor modulates the release of transferrin from cultured Sertoli cells.

Abstract The acute and chronic effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on transferrin (TF) secretion from Sertoli cells were investigated by using reverse hemolytic plaque assays which enabled the visualization of release from individual cells in culture. We found that acute treatment with bFGF stimulates the release of TF from some but not al Sertoli cells in cultures obtained from 20-day-old rats. Chronic treatment with this growth factor resulted in increases in overall cell number in cultures from animals of each age tested (8–20 days of age). In contrast, this long-term treatment decreased markedly the proportions of Sertoli cells that secreted TF but only in cultures from 10-day-old animals. When taken together, these findings of acute and chronic influences of bFGF on TF secreting cells support the possibility that bFGF not only contributes to the modulation of the day-to-day release of certain substances from Sertoli cells, but may also influence development of the portions of the cell population that secrete these substances.
Processing Gravity Gradiometer Data Using an Equivalent Source Technique

The inherent relationship among the different components of gravity gradiometer data requires that the processing applied to the data must be consistent from component to component. This restricts the applicability of some traditional techniques for processing potential-field data, but it also provides opportunities for methods that are uniquely suited for such data sets. The equivalent source technique is one such example. In this paper, we estimate and remove the noise in multi-component data by constructing a single equivalent source layer. We then remove consistently a regional field from each component by performing filtering operation on the constructed equivalent source.
A new method for estimation of Halophila decipiens Ostenfeld seed banks using density separation

Few studies have addressed the spatial and temporal variability in seagrass seed banks. For small-seeded species in particular, seed banks are hard to sample quantitatively because of the difficulty in separating small seeds from sediment. Halophila decipiens is a highly fecund and cosmopolitan seagrass species, occupying niches which other larger-sized perennial species cannot utilize. Although many studies have suggested H. decipiens meadows are annual and depend on seed banks to re-establish, none have quantitatively examined this necessary life history component. To process the number of samples required to adequately address questions of spatial and temporal variability in H. decipiens seed banks, we developed a density separation technique which removes seeds from sediment and allows easier enumeration. Sediment samples were treated with refrigerated Ludox, a colloidal silica. The colloidal silica supernatant and two surface sediment rinses were examined for the presence of seeds. Our protocol removed between 78 and 100% of seeds from sediment, with a mean removal efficiency of 89%. Use of this method increased our sample processing capability from 4 to 20 samples per day.
Immune-Mediated Subepithelial Blistering Diseases of Mucous Membranes: Pure Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid Is a Unique Clinical and Immunopathological Entity Distinct From Bullous Pemphigoid and Other Subsets Identified by Antigenic Specificity of Autoantibodies

• Background and Design.— There is much confusion in the clinical classification of immune-mediated subepithelial blistering diseases of mucous membranes. We conducted a 6-year comprehensive study to better classify this heterogeneous disease group. Indirect immunofluorescence was performed on a salt-split-skin substrate to detect circulating antibasement membrane antibodies (n=47). Serologic reactivity against cultured keratinocyte antigens was examined by immunoblots (n=38) and immunoprecipitation (n=15). The results were correlated with the clinical features and direct immunofluorescence data of the entire patient group (n=87) without preassignment of clinical diagnoses. χ2Statistical analyses compared these results with those of the classic bullous pemphigoid group (n=36). Results.— When compared with the bullous pemphigoid patients, a subset of patients with combined oral mucosal and skin lesions demonstrated marked similarity in direct and indirect immunofluorescence findings and in serologic reactivity to bullous pemphigoid antigens. By contrast, a subset of patients with only ocular lesions exhibited significantly lower in vivo deposits of IgG and C3, higher deposits of fibrin, virtual absence of circulating antibodies, and negative serologic reactivity to bullous pemphigoid antigens. Conclusions.— Ocular patients without skin or mouth lesions, in particular those with negative indirect immunofluorescence, should be distinctively classified as ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, a unique clinical and immunopathologic entity. Patients with mucous membrane involvement who also demonstrate skin lesions and antibodies to the roof of salt-split-skin substrate should be classified as anti-BP Ag mucosal pemphigoid, even though they may exhibit severe oral and/or ocular diseases. The remaining mucous membrane patients are heterogeneous. Some can be classified on the basis of autoantibodies to other basement membrane determinants, or if serum autoantibody negative, on the basis of clinical features (ie, pure oral mucosal pemphigoid or overlapping mucosal involvement). (Arch Dermatol.1993;129:448-455)
Mitochondrial abnormalities in CLN2 and CLN3 forms of batten disease

The storage of subunit c of mitochondrial ATP synthase, other hydrophobic peptides, and autofluorescent pigment in both late infantile (CLN2) and juvenile (CLN3) neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, but not in infantile (CLN1), has raised the question of abnormal mitochondrial function. We now report a partial deficiency in three types of fatty acid oxidation in intact skin fibroblasts from CLN2 and CLN3 patients, but not CLN1. We observed a statistically significant 33% reduction in palmitate (β-oxidation; mainly mitochondrial) and lignocerate (β-oxidation; mainly peroxisomal), and a 50% reduction in phytanic acid (α-oxidation; mainly peroxisomal) in the absence of exogenous carnitine. In contrast, when we measured fatty acid β-oxidation (lignoceric acid and palmitic acid), in the same human skin fibroblasts, following lysis in the presence of carnitine, we found no difference in enzyme activity among normal, CLN1, CLN2, and CLN3. However, we did observe a 40% reduction in peroxisomal particulate (bound) catalase activity in CLN1 and CLN2 fibroblasts, which typically results from organellar lipid accumulation or a membrane abnormality. However, total catalase levels were normal, and western blot analysis of this and three other major oxidant protective enzymes (Mn-dependent superoxide dismutase [MnSOD], CuZn-dependent superoxide dismutase [CuZnSOD], and glutathione peroxidase) were normal in CLN1, CLN2, and CLN3, as well as in liver from an animal (English Setter dog) model for CLN, which shows similar pathology and subunit c storage. Our data showing differences between CLN1 and forms CLN2 and CLN3 suggest some type of mitochondrial membrane abnormality as the source of the pathology in CLN2 and CLN3.
Interband casade thermophotovoltaic devices with Type-II superlattice absorbers of ∼0.4 eV bandgap

We present studies of two- and three-stage interband cascade thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaSb substrates. The absorbers were composed of InAs-GaSb-Al0.8In0.2Sb-GaSb superlattices. The thin layers of AlInSb inserted into the superlattice enable the devices to have a relatively short cutoff wavelength of 3.0 μm at room temperature. In addition, the absorber lengths of the cascade stages were varied across the structure in order to achieve better photocurrent matching between stages. The devices' photovoltaic properties were investigated with both a broadband blackbody source, and a mid-infrared laser with an emission wavelength within kbT of the absorber bandgap. We observe that the three-stage devices can achieve higher values of output power than the two-stage devices, despite a certain mismatch of photocurrent between the stages. In addition, these three-stage devices are able to achieve values of open-circuit voltage comparable to widerbandgap GaSb-based TPV devices at significantly lower values of the short-circuit current density.
Weak equivalence in a class of structured program schemes

Given predicates Pi and biscalar schemes Fi, 1 ⩽ i ⩽ n, the operation Ωn(P1, F1,…,Pn, Fn) yields a scheme For any positive integer n, BJn is defined to be the least class of schemes containing the trivial scheme and the atomic schemes closed under composition, binary alternation, and the operations Ωi,1 ⩽ i ⩽ n. BJ1 is the well-known class of D-schemes. Two program schemes are weakly equivalent if they compute the same partial function in every interpretation: equational axioms for the weak equivalence of strongly free BJn schemes are presented. It follows from the proof of the completeness of these axioms that there is a unique minimal strongly free BJn scheme weakly equivalent to a given strongly free BJn scheme. This result is used to design an algorithm which optimizes strongly free D-schemes: given a strongly free D-scheme F, it is possible to construct the unique minimal strongly free D-scheme FM weakly equivalent to F in time proportional to the square of the number of nonexit vertices of F.
Family, school, community engagement, and partnerships: an imperative for k-12, and colleges of education in the development of twenty-first-century educators

The need for engaging families in their children’s education in schools and for schools and communities to also engage in supporting families can no longer be ignored. Teachers themselves cannot do...
Autoimmune response to the thyroid in humans: thyroid peroxidase--the common autoantigenic denominator.

Autoimmunity to thyroid peroxidase (TPO), manifest as high affinity IgG class auto-antibodies, is the common denominator of human thyroid autoimmunity, encompassing patients with overt hyper-or hypothyroidism as well as euthyroid individuals with subclinical disease. The identification and cloning of TPO (the “thyroid microsomal antigen”) provided the critical tool for analyzing B and T cell reactivity to this major thyroid autoantigen. In particular, the availability of immunoreactive TPO permitted the isolation of essentially the entire repertoire of human monoclonal antibodies, a feat unparalled in an organ-specific autoimmune disease. These recombinant autoantibodies (expressed as Fab) provide insight into the genes encoding their H and L chains as well as the conformational epitopes on TPO with which serum autoantibodies interact. Analyses of TPO autoantibody epitopic “fingerprints” indicate a lack of epitope spreading as well as a genetic basis for their inheritance. Limited data are available for t...
Radial and Nonradial Periods and Growth Rates of an AI Velorum Model

Walraven, Walraven and Balona recently discovered several new periodicities in addition to the well-known fundamental and first overtone periods of the high-amplitude δ Scuti star AI Velorum. Linear nonadiabatic pulsation calculations were performed for an AI Velorum model of mass 1.96M ⊙, 24.05L ⊙, and T eff 7566 K for the radial and low-degree nonradial modes to help verify the tentative identifications made by Walraven, et al. Comparison of the calculated periods with the observations suggests some alternatives to the identifications proposed by Walraven, et al.
Ebullitive methane emissions from oxygenated wetland streams

Stream and river carbon dioxide emissions are an important component of the global carbon cycle. Methane emissions from streams could also contribute to regional or global greenhouse gas cycling, but there are relatively few data regarding stream and river methane emissions. Furthermore, the available data do not typically include the ebullitive (bubble-mediated) pathway, instead focusing on emission of dissolved methane by diffusion or convection. Here, we show the importance of ebullitive methane emissions from small streams in the regional greenhouse gas balance of a lake and wetland-dominated landscape in temperate North America and identify the origin of the methane emitted from these well-oxygenated streams. Stream methane flux densities from this landscape tended to exceed those of nearby wetland diffusive fluxes as well as average global wetland ebullitive fluxes. Total stream ebullitive methane flux at the regional scale (103 Mg C yr(-1) ; over 6400 km(2) ) was of the same magnitude as diffusive methane flux previously documented at the same scale. Organic-rich stream sediments had the highest rates of bubble release and higher enrichment of methane in bubbles, but glacial sand sediments also exhibited high bubble emissions relative to other studied environments. Our results from a database of groundwater chemistry support the hypothesis that methane in bubbles is produced in anoxic near-stream sediment porewaters, and not in deeper, oxygenated groundwaters. Methane interacts with other key elemental cycles such as nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, which has implications for ecosystem changes such as drought and increased nutrient loading. Our results support the contention that streams, particularly those draining wetland landscapes of the northern hemisphere, are an important component of the global methane cycle.
Quasi-real normal matrices and eigenvalue pairings

Abstract For square complex matrices A and B of the same size, commutativity-like relations such as AB=±BA, AB=±BA ∗ , AB=±BAT, AB=±BTA, etc., often cause a special structure of A to be reflected in some special structure for B. We study eigenvalue pairing theorems for B when A is quasi-real normal (QRN), a class of complex matrices that is a natural generalization of the real normal matrices. A new canonical form for QRN matrices is an essential tool in our development.
The finer structure of revealed preference

Abstract The ideas underlying Richter's Congruence Axiom are developed in order to sort out the various types of choice functions that are implied, and their connections with the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference and the von Neumann-Morgenstern theory of cooperative games.
Timing without a timer.

Inferred-process theories propose various internal timing mechanisms to provide discriminative stimuli for temporal control of behavior. Biobehaviorally informed computer simulations indicate that timing may emerge from the action of reinforcement on neural circuits without the need to postulate timers of any sort.
Immunotherapy dispenses with tumor antigens.

The induction of CD8+ T-cell-mediated immunity against antigens released from normal melanocytes is exploited to destroy metastatic melanomas.
Geology and geochronology of Grenville-age rocks in the Van Horn and Franklin Mountains area, west Texas: Implications for the tectonic evolution of Laurentia during the Grenville

New U-Pb zircon and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronological data for the Mesoproterozoic rocks at Van Horn, far west Texas, indicate that metarhyolite, quartzite, phyllite, and metabasalt of the Carrizo Mountain Group were formed ca. 1380–1330 Ma and are probably a southern part of the Southern Granite–Rhyolite province of W.R. Van Schmus and coworkers. These rocks were thrust over the ca. 1250 Ma carbonate-basalt-rhyolite sequence of the Allamoore and Tumbledown Formations and the younger Hazel Conglomerate (ca. 1035 Ma). The Castner Marble and Mundy Breccia of the Franklin Mountains near El Paso are coeval, and probably correlative, with the Allamoore-Tumbledown sequence. The ca. 1120 Ma granite and rhyolite boulders in the Hazel Formation are coeval with the Red Bluff Granite Suite and rhyolite of the Thunderbird Formation, both occurring in the Franklin Mountains, indicating that formation of granite and rhyolite was widespread in far west Texas at this time. Although these rocks are temporally related to the classic Grenvillian events of eastern North America and the Llano uplift of central Texas, they contrast starkly in their much lower (lowest greenschist) metamorphic grade and degree of deformation. It is likely that the Allamoore-Tumbledown-Castner-Mundy sequences, with their shallow-water sedimentary rocks and bimodal volcanic assemblages, accumulated ca. 1250 Ma in rift basins that formed on the southern margin of Laurentia during Grenville orogenesis. Renewed or continued extensional tectonism is implied by the presence of ca. 1120 Ma alkaline granitic and/or basaltic rocks in the Franklin Mountains, at Pajarito Mountain in New Mexico, in the Apache Group of southern Arizona, and in the Pahrump Group of the Death Valley region of southeastern California; all of these occurrences have been attributed to accumulation in rift basins. The striking alignment of these occurrences suggests that they were formed along a zone of transcurrent faulting that extended along the southern margin of Laurentia during Grenvillian (Mesoproterozoic) time.
Regional differences in the response of serotonergic neurons in rat CNS to drugs.

Abstract In vivo rates of 5-hydroxytryptophan accumulation (following administration of the decarboxylase inhibitor R04/4602/1) and levels of 5-HT in the nucleus raphe dorsalis (DR), nucleus centralis superior (NCS), nucleus septalis lateralis (LS), nucleus suprachiasmaticus (SCN), nucleus hypothalamicus anterior (AH), and nucleus amygdaloideus centralis (AG) were determined following administration of fluoxetine, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, methiothepin, L-tryptophan and reserpine. Fluoxetin amd 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine inhibited 5-hydroxytryptophan synthesis in all nuclei, although inhibition of synthesis in the DR was resistant to fluoxetine. Methiothepin inhibited 5-HT synthesis in the DR, NCS, LS and AG, but not in the SCN or AH. L-Tryptophan greatly increased 5HT synthesis in all areas, but this increase was not uniform, being fourfold greater in the NCS than in the L.S. Reserpine, while greatly depleting 5HT did not increase 5-hydroxytryptophan synthesis in any nucleus. In no region could changes in brain tryptophan account for the observed drug effects on serotonin metabolism. We conclude that not all CNS serotonergic structures respond to the same drug in a uniform manner.
Control of Inferior Vena Cava Injury Using Percutaneous Balloon Catheter Occlusion

Traumatic inferior vena cava (IVC) injuries are highly lethal and require prompt surgical intervention. Traditional methods of vascular control include manual compression, gentle clamping or balloon occlusion catheters. These open methods require direct dissection into the hematoma for visualization, which can lead to massive hemorrhage. We present a case of percutaneously delivered balloon catheter occlusion for vascular control prior to repair of an infrarenal IVC injury as a potential alternative. This approach achieves complete occlusion of the injury site and allow easier repair of the IVC, thereby reducing operative time and blood loss.
Measurements of properties of the Higgs-like boson in the H → ZZ(*) → 4ℓ decay channel using the ATLAS detector

This article presents results on measurements of the signal strength, mass, and spin of the recently discovered Higgs-like boson in the H → ZZ(*) → 4l decay channel using the ATLAS detector. The results are based on the combined dataset of the 2011 and 2012 LHC runs consisting of 4.6 fb−1 of ps √s = 7 TeV and 20.7 fb−1 of √s = 8 TeV proton-proton collision data. An excess of events is observed corresponding to mH = 124.3 GeV with a p0 value of 2.7 × 10−11 (6.6 standard deviations). The fit at this mass point yields a signal strength relative to the SM of 1.7−0.4 +0.5 with mH = 124.3−0.5 +0.6 (stat)−0.3 +0.5 (syst) GeV. Tests of various spin-parity hypotheses are also presented, with the 0− and 1+ hypotheses being excluded versus the 0+ hypothesis at >97% confidence level.
A trireme named Isis: the sgraffito from Nymphaion

Abstract A large and detailed image of a Hellenistic galley with the name ‘Isis’ inscribed on its bow was found in a cult centre at ancient Nymphaion, near modern-day Kertsch, in 1984. Given the likelihood that warships received written names on their hulls as early as 480 BCE, the vessel is surely named Isis and is of Ptolemaic origin. When compared to evidence from actual Ptolemaic rams (the Athlit and Actian rams), the Isis ram is clearly for a small class of warship, probably a trireme. We must now rethink our understanding of this image.
The Digital Mapping Program of the U.S. Geological Survey

As the nation’s primary Federal earth-science, factfinding and research agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides cartographic and natural resource information to many users to aid in planning and decision-making. Users of the data, both inside and outside the USGS, have become more and more sophisticated in their applications. As a consequence, scientists at the USGS are embracing computer technology as an essential element of their data gathering and production activities. Now, much of that cartographic information is available in computer-compatible form on magnetic tape from USGS national digital cartographic data bases.
Elevation-dependent temperature trends in the Rocky Mountain Front Range: changes over a 56- and 20-year record.

Determining the magnitude of climate change patterns across elevational gradients is essential for an improved understanding of broader climate change patterns and for predicting hydrologic and ecosystem changes. We present temperature trends from five long-term weather stations along a 2077-meter elevational transect in the Rocky Mountain Front Range of Colorado, USA. These trends were measured over two time periods: a full 56-year record (1953–2008) and a shorter 20-year (1989–2008) record representing a period of widely reported accelerating change. The rate of change of biological indicators, season length and accumulated growing-degree days, were also measured over the 56 and 20-year records. Finally, we compared how well interpolated Parameter-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) datasets match the quality controlled and weather data from each station. Our results show that warming signals were strongest at mid-elevations over both temporal scales. Over the 56-year record, most sites show warming occurring largely through increases in maximum temperatures, while the 20-year record documents warming associated with increases in maximum temperatures at lower elevations and increases in minimum temperatures at higher elevations. Recent decades have also shown a shift from warming during springtime to warming in July and November. Warming along the gradient has contributed to increases in growing-degree days, although to differing degrees, over both temporal scales. However, the length of the growing season has remained unchanged. Finally, the actual and the PRISM interpolated yearly rates rarely showed strong correlations and suggest different warming and cooling trends at most sites. Interpretation of climate trends and their seasonal biases in the Rocky Mountain Front Range are dependent on both elevation and the temporal scale of analysis. Given mismatches between interpolated data and the directly measured station data, we caution against an over-reliance on interpolation methods for documenting local patterns of climatic change.
Nanotubule-Based Molecular-Filtration Membranes

Polymeric membranes that contain a collection of monodisperse gold nanotubules, with inside diameters of molecular dimensions (less than 1 nanometer), were used in a simple membrane-permeation experiment to cleanly separate small molecules on the basis of molecular size. For example, when such a membrane was presented with an aqueous feed solution containing pyridine (molecular weight 79) and quinine (molecular weight 324), only the smaller pyridine molecule was transported through the nanotubules and into a receiver solution on the other side of the membrane.
The Xenopus 9 bp ribosomal terminator (T3 box) is a pause signal for the RNA polymerase I elongation complex

In Xenopus, termination by RNA polymerase I (pol I) is mediated by the 9 bp sequence GACTTGCNC and RNA 3'-ends are formed -15-20 nt upstream of this terminator element. Here I show that this 9 bp element, also called the 'T3 box', is a pause signal for the elongating transcription complex. The two major transcripts in the paused complex have 3'-ends mapping to 15 and 21 nt upstream of the T3 box, remain bound to the template in 0.25% Sarkosyl, are subject to pyrophosphorolysis and can be chased into longer transcripts. Mutations that reduce overall termination also affect pausing, indicating that pausing is a limiting step in the termination process. Oligonucleotide competition experiments, furthermore, suggest that pausing requires a DNA binding factor. The data support a model in which the first step leading to transcription termination by pol I in Xenopus is pausing of the elongation complex upstream of the T3 box.
Large eddy simulation of smooth–rough–smooth transitions in turbulent channel flows

We describe a high Reynolds number large-eddy-simulation (LES) study of turbulent flow in a long channel of length 128 channel half heights, δ, with the walls consisting of roughness strips where the long stream-wise extent invites a full relaxation of the mean velocities within each strip. The channel is stream-wise periodic and strips are oriented transverse to the flow resulting in repeated transitions between smooth and rough surfaces along the stream-wise direction. The present LES uses a wall model that contains Colebrook’s empirical formula as a roughness correction to both the local and dynamic calculation of the friction velocity and also the LES wall boundary condition. This operates point-wise across wall surfaces, and hence changes in the outer flow can be viewed as a response to the temporally and/or spatially variant roughness distribution. At the wall surface, dynamically calculated levels of time- and span-wise-averaged friction velocity u_τ[bar](x) over/undershoot and then fully recover towards their smooth or rough state over a stream-wise distance of order 10–30 δδ depending on both roughness and Reynolds number. Also, the initial response rate in u_τ[bar] shows Reynolds number and roughness dependence over both transitions. The growth rate of the internal boundary layer (IBL), defined by the abrupt change in stream-wise turbulent intensity, is found to grow as x^0.70 on average over multiple simulation conditions for the case of a smooth-to-rough transition, which agrees with the experimental results of Antonia and Luxton (1971) [1] and Efros and Krogstad (2011) [2]. IBL profiles demonstrate a good collapse on δ/log(Re^(*)_(τ)), where View the Re^(*)_(τ) is the local Reynolds number based on u_τ[bar] at the point of full recovery.
A product decomposition of Ω30ΣRP2

Abstract We give a specific product decomposition of the base-point path-connected component of the triple-loop space of the suspension of the projective plane.
Effect of virus yellows on yield of some monogerm cultivars of sugar beet

SUMMARY The yield of plants of monogerm cultivars of sugar beet artificially infected with both beet yellows and beet mild yellowing viruses was, on average, depressed 2–7% for every 100 ‘infected plant weeks’, equivalent to c. £25/ha at 1976 prices. The cv. Vytomo, previously recommended to growers as being tolerant of infection by virus yellows, had a high sugar content and abundant foliage but in field trials its actual yield of sugar was no greater when infected, and lower when virus-free, than that of some other monogerm cultivars.
Lack of effect of isoflavonic phytoestrogen intake on leptin concentrations in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Abstract Objective: To assess the effect of soy isoflavone ingestion on plasma leptin concentrations in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Design: Randomized, crossover studies, with blinding of participants and laboratory personnel. Setting: Procedures involving free-living individuals were carried out at the University of Minnesota General Clinical Research Center. Patient(s): Fourteen regularly cycling premenopausal women, and 18 postmenopausal women. Intervention(s): Each premenopausal participant consumed, on a daily basis, each of three soy protein powders containing different levels of isoflavones for three menstrual cycles plus 9 days, with plasma samples collected every other day the last 6 weeks of each diet period. Similarly, each postmenopausal participant consumed each of the three powders for 93 days, with plasma samples collected daily on days 64 to 66 and 92 to 94 of each diet period. The powders, dosed on a per-kilogram body weight basis, provided mean isoflavone intakes of 8, 65, and 130 mg/day, for the control, low-isoflavone, and high-isoflavone diet periods, respectively. Main Outcome Measure(s): Plasma leptin concentrations. Result(s): Isoflavone intake had essentially no effect on leptin concentrations in either premenopausal or postmenopausal participants. Concentrations in the premenopausal women were higher during the periovulatory and midluteal phases as compared to the early follicular and midfollicular phases. Conclusion(s): Despite the well-documented effect of estrogens to enhance leptin production, even high levels of isoflavone consumption do not alter leptin concentrations in women. Further studies are needed to more precisely delineate the nature of estrogenic and/or antiestrogenic effects of isoflavones in humans.
Response to Drs Heuchan and Goldman

We thank Dr Heuchan and Dr Goldman for their interest and comments on our paper as well as their insight in identifying the important role of monitoring and maintaining ambient temperatures of above 25 °C in improving admission temperatures of preterm newborns. We commend Dr Heuchan and her colleagues for their persistence and success in dramatically improving admission temperatures of newborns in their neonatal intensive care unit through their quality improvement programs.
Overcoming Variations in Nanometer-Scale Technologies

Nanometer-scale circuits are fundamentally different from those built in their predecessor technologies in that they are subject to a wide range of new effects that induce on-chip variations. These include effects associated with printing finer geometry features, increased atomic-scale effects, and increased on-chip power densities, and are manifested as variations in process and environmental parameters and as circuit aging effects. The impact of such variations on key circuit performance metrics is quite significant, resulting in parametric variations in the timing and power, and potentially catastrophic failure due to reliability and aging effects. Such problems have led to a revolution in the way that chips are designed in the presence of such uncertainties, both in terms of performance analysis and optimization. This paper presents an overview of the root causes of these variations and approaches for overcoming their effects.
Reliability of the log-transformed EMG amplitude-power output relationship for incremental knee-extensor ergometry.

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the reproducibility of the log-transformed model for electromyography (EMG) amplitude during incremental single-leg knee-extensor exercise. Methods: Eight healthy college-aged men performed 3 incremental tests on separate occasions on a knee-extensor ergometer. EMG amplitude was analyzed for each participant on each occasion for the rectus femoris and vastus medialis muscles at 4 different exercise power outputs (30%, 50%, 70%, and 90%) corresponding to each participant's maximal power output. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were determined for the slope and y-intercept terms derived from the log-transformed EMG amplitude-power output relationship for each muscle. Results: The ICC values for the rectus femoris (slope = 0.779; y-intercept = 0.787) and vastus medialis (slope = 0.756; y-intercept = 0.763) muscles were high. Conclusions: The log-transformed EMG amplitude-power output relationship is a reliable index for measuring motor unit activation. Muscle Nerve 52:428–434, 2015
Dysregulation of hepatic fatty acid metabolism in chronic kidney disease

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) results in hypertriglyceridemia which is largely due to impaired clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins occasioned by downregulation of lipoprotein lipase and very low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor in the skeletal muscle and adipose tissue and of hepatic lipase and LDL receptor-related protein in the liver. However, data on the effect of CKD on fatty acid metabolism in the liver is limited and was investigated here.
Automatic programming for end users: the TOAD system

An automatic programming system must embody not only a methodology for program synthesis, but also a formalism whereby problems can be specified by the user. The authors have designed TQ as a language for specifying programming problems and built a problem solver based on the methodology of classification problem solving. TQ is an informal specification language that allows a problem description to be written in nonprocedural terms by users who have no knowledge of programming. TOAD, the prototype system, demonstrates the feasibility and potential of the proposed approach and its suitability for end users. The authors compare their approach to those of other researchers in automatic programming and to the fourth generation languages. >
X-ray Microanalysis and High Resolution Imaging of Ge-Au-Ni Metal Layers on Gallium Arsenide

Ohmic contacts to GaAs have been studied using a high resolution TEM, an SEM and a STEM with an energy dispersive x-ray attachment. Two different deposition sequences of the constituent Au-Ge-Ni metals yielded specific contact resistivities that varied by one order of magnitude. Cross-section images of the interface between the GaAs and the metal Au-Ge-Ni layers following alloying showed protrusions at the interface. Contacts with low specific resistivities showed deeper protrusion and also significantly more Ge and Ni in the GaAs.
Impact of reinforcing filler on the dynamic moduli of elastomer compounds under shear deformation in relation to wet sliding friction

In pursuit of a better understanding of the relationship between wet sliding friction and bulk viscoelastic properties of elastomer compounds, especially the contribution from different reinforcing fillers, the linear thermorheological behavior, the nonlinear dynamic moduli under shear deformation (for strain up to about 140%), and the wet sliding friction have been characterized in detail for crosslinked compounds of low-cis polybutadiene filled with different reinforcing fillers including carbon black, graphitized carbon black, and precipitated silica. We examine the scenario of possible extra energy dissipation via higher harmonic excitation in rubber compounds coupled with dynamic deformation consisting of components at many frequencies during sliding of rubber on a rough surface. While no straightforward explanation is identified relating the observed difference in wet sliding friction arising from different fillers to the bulk viscoelastic properties, some unexpected viscoelastic features arising from the compounds are observed.
The influence of environmental variables on the hematology of pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) and striped mullet (Mugil cephalus).

Abstract 1. 1. At high temperatures, a field population of pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, showed increased hemoglobin concentration, increased red blood cell counts (RBC's), decreased hematocrit (Hc) and decreased mean erythrocyte volume (MEV). Laboratory acclimation experiments showed a similar change in Hb concentratino, but not in Hc. 2. 2. At high temperatures, a field population of striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, showed increased Hb, Hc and RBC's, and unchanged MEV. 3. 3. Experiments involving acclimation of pinfish to low oxygen, high salinity and exercise showed increased blood concentration. 4. 4. The observed changes in blood oxygen capacity are probably of some significance to seasonal adjustment of oxygen transport, but are far less than the amount of change in respiratory demand. Some of the other changes in ghe blood (e.g. erythrocyte size, and mean diffusion pathlength) are undoubtedly of importance to respiration also.