cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translating the “effective patient teaching“ course to a second university setting

Nutrition counseling is often not effective, I and one obstacle may be the quality of the patient education being offered. Specifically, many dietitians have not had formal instruction in teaching, and many do not routinely employ teaching skills known to enhance instructional effectiveness.3•4 There have been calls for teaching skills training for nutritionists, and many health professionals desire such instruction.4.5 Unfortunately, it has not been widely available or accessible. This article reports an evaluation of a course on skills for teaching patients when it was translated from the institution where it was developed to another academic setting. The course "Effective Patient Teaching" (EPT) has been offered both as an elective to health professions students and as a continuing education course for health professionals.79 Course time (30 hours) is equally divided between facultyled lecture-discussions and four to five videotaped "microteaching"IO exercises in which classmates serve as surrogate patients, and participants are able to practice 20 selected teaching skills (Table 1) and receive feedback on their effectiveness. The individual items form four subgroups. For example, Interpersonal Skills help build trust and rapport. Essential Teaching Functions are general strategies that should form a framework for most teaching. Presentation Skills help make instruction memorable (i.e., they improve efficiency). Finally, Adherence Promotion Skills are used to improve the likelihood that patients will apply what they learn. Evaluations show that EPT improves the patient teaching skills of undergraduate medical and nursing students8• and practicing health professionals. II •12 EPT may prove a helpful response to the need for teaching skills instruction for undergraduate nutrition stu-
A series of stable salts of the oxidized donors TTF, o-Me2TTF, TMTTF, and TTF(SCH2CH2CN)4

Abstract Reactions of the organic donors tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), o-dimethyltetrathiafulvalene (o-Me2TTF), tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene (TMTTF), and tetrathiafulvalene tetrathiolate [TTF(SCH2CH2CN)4] with oxidizing agents of suitable potential resulted in the formation of stable salts in which the donors are present in their monocationic radical forms. The salts presented herein represent a series of reagents containing oxidized chalcofulvalene donors that can be used as starting materials for metathesis reactions with other cations. All of the salts were characterized by X-ray crystallography and UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy.
High-temperature superconducting magnet motor demonstration

A superconducting field winding, assembled with coils constructed with Bismuth 2223 HTS wire, has been successfully operated in an electric homopolar motor. At a field winding temperature of 4.2 K, the motor produced 125 kW of output power. At a temperature of 28 K, the motor power developed was 91 kW. These measured power levels are the highest that have been produced by an electric motor containing a HTS field winding.
Analysis of a tandem queue with state-dependent general blocking: a GSMP perspective

Abstract In this paper, we study a tandem queue where there is a finite number of buffer positions at each stage. The blocking scheme is general in the sense that it can model a number of classical blocking schemes, including communication, manufacturing and kanban blockings as special cases. The system considered here differs from the conventional system in two aspects: (1) departure of jobs from the system is determined by an external arrival process of another queue lying parallel to the tandem queue; (2) the control parameters of the blocking scheme are state-dependent in that they may change values depending on the state of the system. We model this system as a generalized semi-Markov process (GSMP), we study the structural properties of its scheme, and establish monotonicity and convexity properties of event times with respect to both the clock times and the integer blocking parameters. In particular, we demonstrate that the state-dependent scheme is “better”, in certain sense, than the corresponding static scheme. Our results also recover the structural properties previously established for the classical blockings.
Manifest values of eminent psychologists: A content analysis of their obituaries

Obituaries published in theAmerican Psychologist (from January 1979 to December 1990,N=161) were content analyzed to create a modal demographic profile of the deceased and a ranking of the most frequently occurring value themes. Virtually all of the eminent psychologists were highly productive academicians and researchers. Typically, they were also actively involved in other professional arenas (e.g., administration, service). The majority were male (87%), white (99%), and born in the United States (86%). Ninety-seven percent had obtained Ph.D.’s, most frequently from Columbia University (16%), Harvard (11%), and Chicago (6%). Median age at death was 76. The most frequently occurring value themes written about the deceased were that they were independent-minded (67%), a good friend (61%), hard-working (53%), a good teacher/mentor (51%), and a beloved family member (35%). The implications of these data are discussed.
IMMUNOBLOT ASSAY: A RAPID AND SENSITIVE METHOD FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SALMONID FISH VIRUSES

An immunoblot assay was used to identify the viruses of infectious pancreatic necrosis, infectious hematopoietic necrosis, and viral hemorrhagic septicemia. Viral antigen in infected cell culture supernatant was adsorbed onto nitrocellulose membrane or Whatman 541 filter paper and detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. The immunoblot assay took less than 4 hr to perform and required no special instrumentation. Assays using cell culture supernatant fluids showed immunoblot sensitivity was 105–106 PFU/ml. Assay sensitivity, determined using purified virus, is 0.85–4.0 ng of viral antigen. The immunoblot assay was used to detect and identify virus in cell culture fluids.
Infinitesimal perturbation analysis of discrete event dynamic systems: A general theory

We give a rigorous extension of the perturbation analysis approach to more general Discrete Event Dynamic Systems (DEDS). For a fairly general class of DEDS, and for certain parameters and performance measures of such DEDS, an infinitesimal perturbation analysis algorithm is stated. It is then proved that this algorithm gives exact values for the gradients of performance w.r.t. the parameters, by observing only one sample-path of the DEDS. This enables very efficient calculation of these gradients: a fact that can be used for design/operation of manufacturing systems, communication networks, and many other real-world systems.
The Effect of Pore Size Distribution on the Rate of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulosic Substrates

Hard and softwoods were pretreated by mild acid hydrolysis and their pore size distribution determined. Regardless of the substrate, the initial rate of hydrolysis using cellulase from Trichoderma reesei is linearly correlated with the pore volume of the substrate accessible to a nominal diameter of 51 A representative of the size of the cellulase. In contrast, crystallinity index has no relationship to the rate of hydrolysis.
Probing tRNA binding sites on the Escherichia coli 30 S ribosomal subunit with photoreactive analogs of the anticodon arm.

Abstract Two analogs of the anticodon arm of yeast tRNA Phe (residues 28−43), in which G43 was replaced by the photoreactive nucleosides 2-azidoadenosine and 8-azidoadenosine, have been used to create ‘zero-length’ cross-links to ribosomal components at the peptidyl-tRNA binding site (P site) of 30 S subunits from the Escherichia coli ribosome. To prepare the analogs, 2-azidoadenosine and 8-azidoadenosine bisphosphates were first ligated to the 3′ end of the anticodon-containing dodecanucleotide ACmUGmAAYAψm5CUG from yeast tRNA Phe . The trinucleotide CAG was then joined to the 5′ end of the resulting tridecanucleotide in a subsequent ligation. Both analogs bound to poly(U)-programmed 30 S subunits with affinities similar to that of the unmodified anticodon arm from yeast tRNA Phe . Irradiation of noncovalent complexes containing the photolabile analogs, poly(U) and 30 S ribosomal subunits with 300 nm light led to the covalent attachment of the anticodon arms to proteins S13 and S19. Further analysis revealed that S13 accounted for about 80%, and S19 for about 20%, of the cross-linked material. Labeling of these two proteins with ‘zero-length’ cross-linking probes provides useful information about the location and orientation of P site-bound tRNA on the ribosome and permits a test of recently proposed models of the three-dimensional structure of the 30 S subunit.
Preeclampsia Related to a Functioning Extrauterine Placenta: Report of a Case and 25-Year Follow-up

We report the case of a patient with preeclampsia due to an extrauterine, intra-abdominal pregnancy. After the fetus was delivered, but while the functioning placenta remained in the abdomen, preeclampsia, which was documented by clinical data and a kidney biopsy, persisted until the placenta was removed 99 days postpartum. A kidney biopsy 21 months postpartum was normal. Twenty-five years later, her kidney function and blood pressure were normal. The observation of this patient supports the view that the placenta must be intact for the development of preeclampsia and is the first description of endotheliosis in a kidney biopsy from a hypertensive woman with an intra-abdominal pregnancy.
Demonstration of ocular dominance columns in a New World primate by means of monocular deprivation

Abstract We investigated the pattern of transneuronally transported [ 3 H]proline to the visual cortex of normal and deprived marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ). In the normal marmoset a continous band of label was evident within layer IV of striate cortex. Following injection of the closed eye of deprived marmosets, distinct fluctuations of label were apparent over the base of layer IV in both hemispheres. These results support the hypothesis that the presence of ocular separation of geniculo-striate afferents is a feature common to all primates.
Health care provider attitudes and practices regarding adolescent immunizations: a qualitative study.

Abstract Objective Assess health care providers’ attitudes and practices regarding adolescent immunizations, including factors that either impede or facilitate vaccination. Methods Focus groups —In 2005, 3 focus groups were conducted in Monroe County, NY for (1) urban primary care physicians (PCPs); (2) suburban PCPs; and (3) nurses from practices represented in PCP groups. Audiotaped discussions were transcribed and analyzed using Atlas.ti. Key informant interviews —We recruited knowledgeable informants (18 physicians, 6 nurses) from across the US. The authors conducted in-depth telephone interviews with the participants, typed their interview notes, and sent them to the participant for verification. Separately for nurses, urban physicians, and suburban physicians results for each question were listed and reviewed by the authors. Themes were added to those from the focus groups. Results Three overarching themes were identified: professional buy-in (e.g., reimbursement, professional organization recommendations, disease and vaccine characteristics, office consensus); parent/adolescent buy-in (e.g., school requirements, perception of MD recommendations, cost and insurance coverage, media reports, disease and vaccine characteristics, “vaccine fatigue”), and delivery factors (e.g., vaccine supply, ordering, timing and scheduling, consent). Conclusions Providers identified intertwined system issues that color their attitudes about adolescent immunization. Practice implications Buy-in and delivery factors must be addressed before high immunization rates will be achieved.
Combination therapy with daptomycin, vancomycin, and rifampin for recurrent, severe bone and prosthetic joint infections involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are commonly treated with vancomycin (VAN) or another glycopeptide antibiotic. However, when vancomycin fails or infections recur, there are few other therapeutic options. Presented here are 2 cases where a novel combination of daptomycin, vancomycin, and rifampin resolved recurrent MRSA bone and prosthetic joint infections.
Role of the Chaperonin CCT/TRiC Complex in G Protein βγ-Dimer Assembly

Gβγ dimer formation occurs early in the assembly of heterotrimeric G proteins. On nondenaturing (native) gels, in vitro translated, 35S-labeled Gγ subunits traveled primarily according to their pI and apparently were not associated with other proteins. In contrast, in vitro translated, 35S-labeled Gβ subunits traveled at a high apparent molecular mass (∼700 kDa) and co-migrated with the chaperonin CCT complex (also called TRiC). Different FLAG-Gβ isoforms coprecipitated CCT/TRiC to a variable extent, and this correlated with the ability of the different Gβ subunits to efficiently form dimers with Gγ. When translated Gγ was added to translated Gβ, a new band of low apparent molecular mass (∼50 kDa) was observed, which was labeled by either 35S-labeled Gβ or Gγ, indicating that it is a dimer. Formation of the Gβγ dimer was ATP-dependent and inhibited by either adenosine 5′-O-(thiotriphosphate) or aluminum fluoride in the presence of Mg2+. This inhibition led to increased association of Gβ with CCT/TRiC. Although Gγ did not bind CCT/TRiC, addition of Gγ to previously synthesized Gβ caused its release from the CCT/TRiC complex. We conclude that the chaperonin CCT/TRiC complex binds to and folds Gβ subunits and that CCT/TRiC mediates Gβγ dimer formation by an ATP-dependent reaction.
A Contribution to the Life History of the Blueback Herring, Alosa aestivalis

Abstract Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) were first detected near the mouth of the Connecticut River on April 13, 1966, April 18, 1967, and April 19, 1968, when water temperatures were 7.8, 4.7, and 9.4 C, respectively. Spawning was first observed when stream temperature was 14 C. Abundance in the river was greatest from mid-May to mid-July, but smaller spawning groups were observed in late April and mid-September. Blueback herring preferred a swift stream flow and hard substrates for spawning sites, and to a great degree were spatially isolated from spawning alewives. Both sexes were present in age classes III through VII; age V was the modal class for each sex. In the spawning areas there was a 2:1 sex ratio of males to females. Males were more abundant in age classes III, IV, and V; there was equal abundance in age class VI, but females dominated age class VII. Fecundity was related to total fish length up to about 300 mm, but declined in larger females.
Test Equivalence of Unstructured Self-Evaluation Instruments*

(1969). Test Equivalence of Unstructured Self-Evaluation Instruments. The Sociological Quarterly: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 204-215.
Assessment of climate change impact on floodplain and hydrologic ecotones.

Summary Current modeling efforts continue to indicate that the effects of climate change will be both global and local in scale, and that ecohydrologic factors including vegetation pattern, altered precipitation events, reduced system yields due to streamflow changes, increased flooding and changes to current floodplain characteristics will be affected. Therefore, using technology such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, using future general circulation model (GCM) data, and conducting floodplain analyses to predict the changes to ecohydrologic factors are critical for cataloging existing ecosystem resources and for understanding the effects that different climate change scenarios may have on these resources at the basin scale. This study considers the effects of three different GCM climate change emissions scenarios (high from the IPSL GCM’s A2 scenario, middle from the ECHAM5 GCM’s A2 scenario and low from the GISS GCM’s B1 scenario) using daily downscaled precipitation and temperature data over the Lower Tualatin basin in the Pacific Northwest US. The Tualatin River basin is a dynamic watershed that supports urban and agricultural uses and is also 50% forested. Its economic drivers include agricultural and forest products, as well as other consumer products including high-tech software and hardware industries. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) software was used as a distributed hydrologic model to predict the daily flows in the basin. It is predicted the 50-year recurrence interval (RI) flow will decrease significantly for the low and middle emissions scenarios (to between approximately 18,000–19,000 cfs compared to the observed 50-year RI of near 26,000 cfs) and will increase significantly under the high emissions scenario to nearly 33,000 cfs. Floodplain extents for the various climate scenarios and timeframes were delineated using the HEC-RAS model. A geo-processing procedure was employed to delineate hydrologic ecotones to evaluate the condition of riparian areas and streams. A current and future conditions analysis was performed using the combination of aerial imagery and LiDAR data for the vegetation within the ecotones in order to: (1) provide an existing inventory of vegetation within the basin and (2) to predict the effects that climate change may have on vegetation within the basin.
Photoaffinity labeling of procaine-binding sites in normal and sickle cell membranes

Abstract A photoaffinity probe, procaine azide, was employed to determine the sites of interaction of procaine in normal and sickle cell erythrocytes. Studies show that the number of binding sites and affinity of procaine to membranes derived from normal and sickled cell erythrocytes were similar, although procaine retards the in vitro formation of irreversibly sickled cells from cells. The results show that procaine azide, a photoaffinity analogue of procaine, is covalently incorporated into both protein (60–70%) and lipid (40–30%) components of the membrane. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis of the labeled ghosts show that procaine binds specifically to band 3 and periodic acid-Schiff staining bands in membranes derived from labeled erythrocytes. Binding of procaine or covalent incorporation of procaine azide into membrane proteins does not affect the phosphate transport. Moreover, pre-treatment of intact erythrocytes with 4,4′-diisothiocyano-2,2′-stilbene disulfonate, an anion transport inhibitor, did not affect either the binding or covalent incorporation of procaine azide into erythrocytes. These results indicate that the binding of procaine azide to Band 3 protein occurs at a locus different than that involved in anion translocation process.
Modeling epithelial cell homeostasis: assessing recovery and control mechanisms.

Critical to epithelial cell viability is prompt and direct recovery, following a perturbation of cellular conditions. Although a number of transporters are known to be activated by changes in cell volume, cell pH, or cell membrane potential, their importance to cellular homeostasis has been difficult to establish. Moreover, the coordination among such regulated transporters to enhance recovery has received no attention in mathematical models of cellular function. In this paper, a previously developed model of proximal tubule (Weinstein, 1992, Am. J. Physiol.263, F784–F798), has been approximated by its linearization about a reference condition. This yields a system of differential equations and auxiliary linear equations, which estimate cell volume and composition and transcellular fluxes in response to changes in bath conditions or membrane transport coefficients. Using the singular value decomposition, this system is reduced to a linear dynamical system, which is stable and reproduces the full model behavior in a useful neighborhood of the reference. Cost functions on trajectories formulated in the model variables (e.g., time for cell volume recovery) are translated into cost functions for the dynamical system. When the model is extended by the inclusion of linear dependence of membrane transport coefficients on model variables, the impact of each such controller on the recovery cost can be estimated with the solution of a Lyapunov matrix equation. Alternatively, solution of an algebraic Riccati equation provides the ensemble of controllers that constitute optimal state feedback for the dynamical system. When translated back into the physiological variables, the optimal controller contains some expected components, as well as unanticipated controllers of uncertain significance. This approach provides a means of relating cellular homeostasis to optimization of a dynamical system.
End-of-life decisions in adult intensive care: current research base 158 and directions for the future

Abstract The current research knowledge base for end-of-life decision making in adult intensive care units is reviewed. Proposals for future research needs and for practice are described. Nurs Outlook 2000;48:158–64.
Physiological modulation of thyrotropin secretion by somatostatin and thyroliberin

Summary When injected into rats together with a rabbit antiserum to Somatostatin, Thyroliberin released significantly more Thyrotropin than when injected together with normal rabbit serum. This was true in normal, thyroidectomized, and even in hyperthyroxinemic rats, and in each case the maximum effect was seen soon after injection. The data are interpreted to indicate a rapidly-acting feedback control over Thyrotropin secretion involving Somatostatin as the agonist. Such a mechanism can explain a number of situations where the traditional model of the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis does not account for the experimental data.
Further Extensions of Adaptive Extended Exponential Smoothing and Comparison with the M-Competition

This study presents and evaluates three new approaches to nonintervention, extrapolative (time series) forecasting. This is an extension of the adaptive extended exponential smoothing methodology (AEES) that allows the model additional smoothing constant adaptability to improve forecasting accuracy. The performance of the basic AEES method and two enhancements are first compared to five other time series techniques on a limited, validation data set and then compared to the 24 methods used in the M-Competition. Comparisons are made across all 111 M-Competition data sets and across the yearly, quarterly, and monthly components of the 111 data sets. When empirically tested across the 111 M-Competition data series, the heuristic AEES approach generally provided improved or comparable accuracy. This result was repeated with the yearly data series. Results for the quarterly and monthly data series were mixed. Discussion of these results within the marketing context of sales forecasting is provided.
Production and Function of the Cytoplasmic Deproteinized Relaxed Circular DNA of Hepadnaviruses

Removal of genome-bound viral DNA polymerase ought to be an essential step in the formation of hepadnavirus covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). We previously demonstrated that deproteinized (DP) relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) existed in both the cytoplasm and nuclei of infected cells and the vast majority of cytoplasmic DP rcDNA was associated with DNase I-permeable nucleocapsids. In our efforts to investigate the role of the cytoplasmic DP rcDNA in cccDNA formation, we demonstrated that rcDNA deproteinization could occur in an endogenous DNA polymerase reaction with either virion-derived or intracellular nucleocapsids. As observed in the cytoplasm of virally infected cells, in vitro deproteinization requires the maturation of plus-strand DNA and results in changes in nucleocapsid structure that render the DP rcDNA susceptible to DNase I digestion. Remarkably, we found that the cytoplasmic DP rcDNA-containing nucleocapsids could be selectively immunoprecipitated with an antibody against the carboxyl-terminal peptide of HBV core protein and are associated with cellular nuclear transport receptors karyopherin-α and -β. Moreover, transfection of small interfering RNA targeting karyopherin-β1 mRNA or expression of a dominant-negative karyopherin-β1 in a stable cell line supporting HBV replication resulted in the accumulation of DP rcDNA in cytoplasm and reduction of nuclear DP rcDNA and cccDNA. Our results thus favor a hypothesis that completion of plus-strand DNA synthesis triggers the genomic DNA deproteinization and structural changes of nucleocapsids, which leads to the exposure of nuclear localization signals in the C terminus of core protein and mediates the nuclear transportation of DP rcDNA via interaction with karyopherin-α and -β.
Cognitive Control and Conflict Adaptation Similarities in Children and Adults

Conflict adaptation effects occur when previous-trial congruency affects current-trial performance. We examined developmental differences in response time (RT), error rate, and electrophysiological (N450 and conflict slow-potential [conflict SP] event-related potentials [ERPs]) indices of conflict adaptation in 21 typically developing children and 26 adults during a Stroop task. Children exhibited significantly slower RTs, increased error rates, and increased ERP amplitudes relative to adults. Groups did not differ in magnitude of conflict adaptation for RTs, error rates, or the conflict SP. Neither group showed significant N450 conflict adaptation. Results suggest current indices of conflict adaptation do not differ between children and adults.
Defining the Strain-Dependent Impact of the Staphylococcal Accessory Regulator (sarA) on the Alpha-Toxin Phenotype of Staphylococcus aureus

We demonstrate that mutation of the staphylococcal accessory regulator (sarA) limits the accumulation of alpha-toxin and phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) in Staphylococcus aureus isolates of the USA300 clonal lineage. Degradation assays and experiments done with protease inhibitors suggested that this was due to the increased production of extracellular proteases rather than differences associated with the impact of sarA on transcription of the target gene (hla) or the accessory gene regulator (agr). This was confirmed by demonstrating that concomitant mutation of the gene encoding aureolysin (aur) reversed the alpha-toxin and PSM-deficient phenotypes of a USA300 sarA mutant. Mutation of sarA had little impact on the alpha-toxin or PSM phenotypes of the commonly studied strain Newman, which is known to have a mutation in saeS that results in constitutive activation of the saeRS regulatory system, and we also demonstrate that repair of this defect resulted in the increased production of extracellular proteases and reversed both the alpha-toxin and PSM-positive phenotypes of a Newman sarA mutant.
Thermoelastic Damping in the Longitudinal Vibration: Analysis and Simulation

The thermoelastic damping (TED), one of the main energy lost sources in MEMS and NMEMS, is analyzed for the longitudinal vibration mode. Two approximations based on the insulated thermal boundary condition (B.C.) and the modified fixed temperature B.C. are developed and compared. Until now, the highest reported experimental Q factors for the longitudinal vibrating MEMS device are still more than one order less than the predicted TED Q factors. Therefore, a numerical simulation approach is proposed and used for validation. The aim of this paper is to provide a prediction of TED for the fast developing bulk mode micro and sub-micro oscillators operating in a longitudinal vibrating mode.
Abstract 13783: Paradigms to Predict Cardiometabolic Disease in African Descent Populations Should Focus on HDL-Cholesterol Rather than Triglyceride

Paradigms for the early detection of cardiometabolic disease usually incorporate both elevated triglyceride (TG) and low high density lipoprotein -cholesterol (HDL-C). However, African-Americans with cardiometabolic disease usually have normal TG levels. The HDL-C pattern of African-Americans with cardiometabolic disease is uncertain. The TG and HDL-C pattern in Africans with cardiometabolic disease is unknown. To clarify the TG and HDL-C pattern in African descent populations with cardiometabolic disease, 377 blacks (167 African-Americans, 210 African immigrants, 59% male, age 36±9y, mean±SD, range 20-64y, BMI 29.0±6.3 kg/m2, range 18.5-54.7) had glucose tolerance status determined by OGTT, lipid profiles and insulin resistance determined by the insulin sensitivity index (SI). Insulin resistance was defined as the lowest quartile of SI (<2.18 L/mU - 1min- 1). Metabolic triad was defined as hyperinsulinemia (fasting insulin≥3.7 μU/mL), hyperapolipoproteinB (≥64 mg/dL) and sdLDL(≥21.5 nm) based on the medi...
Influence of Sodium Chloride, pH, and Lactic Acid Bacteria on Anaerobic Lactic Acid Utilization during Fermented Cucumber Spoilage

Cucumbers are preserved commercially by natural fermentations in 5% to 8% sodium chloride (NaCl) brines. Occasionally, fermented cucumbers spoil after the primary fermentation is complete. This spoilage has been characterized by decreases in lactic acid and a rise in brine pH caused by microbial instability. Objectives of this study were to determine the combined effects of NaCl and pH on fermented cucumber spoilage and to determine the ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) spoilage isolates to initiate lactic acid degradation in fermented cucumbers. Cucumbers fermented with 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% NaCl were blended into slurries (FCS) and adjusted to pH 3.2, 3.8, 4.3, and 5.0 prior to centrifugation, sterile-filtration, and inoculation with spoilage organisms. Organic acids and pH were measured initially and after 3 wk, 2, 6, 12, and 18 mo anaerobic incubation at 25 ◦ C. Anaerobic lactic acid degradation occurred in FCS at pH 3.8, 4.3, and 5.0 regardless of NaCl concentration. At pH 3.2, reduced NaCl concentrations resulted in increased susceptibility to spoilage, indicating that the pH limit for lactic acid utilization in reduced NaCl fermented cucumbers is 3.2 or lower. Over 18 mo incubation, only cucumbers fermented with 6% NaCl to pH 3.2 prevented anaerobic lactic acid degradation by spoilage bacteria. Among several LAB species isolated from fermented cucumber spoilage, Lactobacillus buchneri was unique in its ability to metabolize lactic acid in FCS with concurrent increases in acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol. Therefore, L. buchneri may be one of multiple organisms that contribute to development of fermented cucumber spoilage.
Pressure and flow characteristics of terminal mesenteric arteries in postnatal intestine

The responses of buffer-perfused terminal mesenteric arteries from 3- and 35-day-old swine to manipulation of intravascular pressure and flow rate were determined. Under in vivo conditions, these v...
Broad tissue expression of membrane progesterone receptor Alpha in normal mice

The broad tissue distribution of membrane progesterone receptor alpha (mPRα) in vertebrates suggests multiple physiological functions of the receptor. Current knowledge regarding the receptor distribution, however, is largely obtained via non-histological assays. In this study, the tissue distribution of mPRα in mice of both sexes was described using both histological and non-histological methods. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that abundant expression of mPRα was consistently detected in the cytoplasm and membrane of smooth muscles in vasculatures, gastro-intestines, and uterus. It was also observed in myoepithelial cells of mammary gland and intra-ovarian myofibroblasts. These findings suggest that mPRα may function as a mediator of P4 in regulating function of smooth muscles or smooth muscle-like cells in numerous physiological processes such as vasodilation, transportation of contents within luminary organs, relaxation of the uterine myometrium during pregnancy, release of oocytes, and milk secretion. In addition, strong mPRα expression was identified in the parietal cells of gastric glands, indicating the potential roles of P4/mPRα signaling in the modulation of gastric acid secretion. Surprisingly, in the testis of male mice mPRα was mainly seen in the nuclei, rather than cytoplasm and/or membrane, of the primary and secondary spermatocytes, suggesting a direct role of the receptor in gene regulation. Our results indicate that mPRα may function as a key modulator of P4 in the modulation of multiple physiological functions in normal mice.
Recent Results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

In September 1999, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) completed a nine month run with the first generation detectors (0.5 kg of germanium BLIPs sensing thermal phonons and ionization). The data acquired in this run significantly decrease the upper limits on WIMP interaction in germanium by a factor 2.5 to 10 depending on the mass region and begin to probe supersymmetry. The results are however strongly inconsistent with the claims of the DAMA experiment.
Detecting Patterns of Occupational Illness Clustering with Alternating Logistic Regressions Applied to Longitudinal Data

In longitudinal surveillance studies of occupational illnesses, sickness episodes are recorded for workers over time. Since observations on the same worker are typically more similar than observations from different workers, statistical analysis must take into account the intraworker association due to workers’ repeated measures. Additionally, when workers are employed in groups or clusters, observations from workers in the same workplace are typically more similar than observations from workers in different workplaces. For such cluster-correlated longitudinal data, alternating logistic regressions may be used to model the pattern of occupational illness clustering. Data on 182 Latino farmworkers from a 1999 North Carolina study on green tobacco sickness provided an estimated pairwise odds ratio for within-worker clustering of 3.15 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.84, 5.41) and an estimated pairwise odds ratio for within-camp clustering of 1.90 (95% CI: 1.22, 2.97). After adjustment for risk factors, the estimated pairwise odds ratios were 2.13 (95% CI: 1.18, 3.86) and 1.41 (95% CI: 0.89, 2.24), respectively. In this paper, a comparative analysis of alternating logistic regressions with generalized estimating equations and random-effects logistic regression is presented, and the relative strengths of the three methods are discussed. agricultural workers’ diseases; generalized estimating equation; logistic models; odds ratio; random effect; repeated measures
Spatial analysis of rural land development

Abstract This article examines patterns of rural land development and density using spatial econometric models with the application of Geographical Information System (GIS). The cluster patterns of both development and high-density development indicate that the spatially continuous expansions of development and high-density development exist in relatively remote rural areas. The results also revealed that a closer distance to roads, a closer distance to cities, greater access to streams and rivers, higher elevations, and greater proportions of flat area are valued highly in rural land development.
Hag Mediates Adherence of Moraxella catarrhalis to Ciliated Human Airway Cells

Moraxella catarrhalis is a human pathogen causing otitis media in infants and respiratory infections in adults, particularly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The surface protein Hag (also designated MID) has previously been shown to be a key adherence factor for several epithelial cell lines relevant to pathogenesis by M. catarrhalis, including NCIH292 lung cells, middle ear cells, and A549 type II pneumocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that Hag mediates adherence to air-liquid interface cultures of normal human bronchial epithelium (NHBE) exhibiting mucociliary activity. Immunofluorescent staining and laser scanning confocal microscopy experiments demonstrated that the M. catarrhalis wild-type isolates O35E, O12E, TTA37, V1171, and McGHS1 bind principally to ciliated NHBE cells and that their corresponding hag mutant strains no longer associate with cilia. The hag gene product of M. catarrhalis isolate O35E was expressed in the heterologous genetic background of a nonadherent Haemophilus influenzae strain, and quantitative assays revealed that the adherence of these recombinant bacteria to NHBE cultures was increased 27-fold. These experiments conclusively demonstrate that the hag gene product is responsible for the previously unidentified tropism of M. catarrhalis for ciliated NHBE cells.
Belowground fate of 15N injected into sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua) at the ORNL FACE experiment

Nitrogen (N) cycling can be an important constraint on forest ecosystem response to elevated atmospheric CO2. Our objective was to trace the movement of 15N, injected into tree sap, to labile and stable forms of soil organic matter derived partly from the turnover of tree roots under elevated (545 ppm) and ambient (394 ppm) atmospheric CO2 concentrations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) FACE (Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) Experiment. Twenty-four sweetgum trees, divided equally between CO2 treatments, were injected with 3.2 g 15N-ammonium sulfate (99 atom %), and soil samples were collected beneath the trees over a period of 89 weeks. For 16 cm deep soil samples collected beneath the study trees, there was 28% more fine root (less than or equal to 2 mm diameter) biomass under elevated CO2 (P = 0.001), but no significant treatment effect on the amounts of necromass, coarse root biomass, or on the N concentrations in tree roots and necromass. Nitrogen-15 moved quickly into roots from the stem injection site and the 15N content of roots, necromass, and labile organic matter (i.e. particulate organic matter, POM) increased over time. At 89 weeks post-injection, approximately 76% of the necromass 15N originated from fine root turnover. Nitrogen-15 in POM had a relatively long turnover time (47 weeks) compared with 15N in roots (16 to 22 weeks). Over the 1.7 year period of the study, 15N moved from roots into slower cycling POM and the disparity in turnover times between root N and N in POM could impose progressive limitations on soil N availability with stand maturation irrespective of atmospheric CO2, especially if the release of N through the decomposition of POM is essential to sustain forest net primary production. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Analysis of Southwest Airlines: Applying the Horngren, Datar, and Foster (2006) Strategic Profitability Analysis Approach

ABSTRACT: This case requires students to collect financial and operational data from Southwest Airlines' 2003–2006 annual reports and to use that data to conduct a strategic profitability analysis of the firm's changes in operating income. As described in Horngren et al. (2006), this analysis decomposes changes in a firm's operating income into components related to growth, price recovery, and productivity. Similar to other studies (e.g., Dikolli and Sedatole 2004), this case uses publicly available data to link textbook concepts to “real world” applications. Linking strategy with profitability allows students to see how firms manage inputs in order to compete, grow, and profit in output markets.
Breast carcinoma cells re-express E-cadherin during mesenchymal to epithelial reverting transition

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), implicated as a mechanism for tumor dissemination, is marked by loss of E-cadherin, disruption of cell adhesion, and induction of cell motility and invasion. In most intraductal breast carcinomas E-cadherin is regulated epigenetically via methylation of the promoter. E-cadherin expression is therefore dynamic and open to modulation by the microenvironment. In addition, it has been observed that metastatic foci commonly appear more differentiated than the primary tumor, suggesting that cancer cells may further undergo a mesenchymal to epithelial reverting transition (MErT) in the secondary organ environment following the EMT that allows for escape. We first examined E-cadherin expression in primary breast tumors and their corresponding metastases to liver, lung and brain and discovered that 62% (10/16) of cases showed increased E-cadherin expression in the metastases compared to the primaries. These observations led to the question of whether the positive metastatic foci arose from expansion of E-cadherin-positive cells or from MErT of originally E-cadherin-negative disseminated cells. Thus, we aimed to determine whether it was possible for the mesenchymal-like MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells to undergo an MErT through the re-expression of E-cadherin, either through exogenous introduction or induction by the microenvironment. Ectopic expression of full-length E-cadherin in MDA-MB-231 cells resulted in a morphological and functional reversion of the epithelial phenotype, with even just the cytosolic domain of E-cadherin yielding a partial phenotype. Introduction of MDA-MB-231 cells or primary explants into a secondary organ environment simulated by a hepatocyte coculture system induced E-cadherin re-expression through passive loss of methylation of the promoter. Furthermore, detection of E-cadherin-positive metastatic foci following the spontaneous metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells injected into the mammary fat pad of mice suggests that this re-expression is functional. Our clinical observations and experimental data indicate that the secondary organ microenvironment can induce the re-expression of E-cadherin and consequently MErT. This phenotypic change is reflected in altered cell behavior and thus may be a critical step in cell survival at metastatic sites.
3D Reconstruction of Frozen Plant Tissue: A Unique Histological Analysis to Image Postfreeze Responses

Winter hardiness in plants is the result of a complex interaction between genes, the tissue where those genes are expressed, and the environment. The light microscope is a valuable tool to understand this complexity which will ultimately help researchers improve the tolerance of plants to freezing stress. In a series of histological analyses of winter cereal crops, we identified a unique response of oat that was not found in rye, wheat, or barley. This response was in the form of a barrier that separated live from dead tissue within the crown. A three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction is described that gives an unprecedented view of the interior of the crown during recovery from freezing.
Alterations in Glycoproteins of the Cell Surface

It has been a widely held view over the last several years that the surface membrane of mammalian cells can initiate growth regulatory events when presented with specific external stimuli. This idea has stemmed mainly from the effect of various substances which are presumed not to enter the target cell and elicit a specific response in the cell.
Design of an Experiment to Measure the Thermal Accommodation Coefficient Between Helium and Stainless-Steel in Concentric Cylinders

Heat transfer through a 1 mm gap between two concentric cylinders representing the gap between a fuel support basket and a canister is experimentally and numerically investigated. The objective of this work is to study rarefied gas heat transfer in a simple geometry, and to measure the thermal accommodation coefficient at the interface between stainless steel and rarefied helium. The thermal accommodation coefficient is used to characterize the interaction between gas molecules and wall at the molecular level. It is important to determine its value with precision for better determination of heat transfer at low pressure. The experimental procedure consists of measuring the temperature difference between the inner and outer cylinders as the pressure is decreased in the gap. By knowing the heat flux across the gap the thermal accommodation coefficient can be extracted from the theoretical expression relating the temperature difference to the radial heat flux. Three-dimensional simulations using the ANSYS/Fluent commercial code are conducted to assess on the design of the experimental apparatus. These simulations confirmed that the apparatus design is effective to study the heat transfer across rarefied gas and to determine the thermal accommodation coefficient for helium on stainless steel surface.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Drug Coated Balloons as the New Standard of Care for Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis: FAIR Assumption?

The femoropopliteal segment is increasingly treated via an endovascular-first approach for both lifestyle-limiting claudication and critical limb ischemia. Nitinol stents have been shown to be superior to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and have become one of the primary modalities for the treatment of femoropopliteal obstructive atherosclerotic disease because of the improved structural integrity and conformability of newer devices.1–3 Current nitinol stents have low rates of stent fracture and excellent clinical patency out to 3 years.2,4 Despite these advances, femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (FP-ISR) remains an important clinical problem, occurring in up to 19% to 37% of cases after stenting of moderate-length (up to 150 mm) lesions and more frequently after treatment of longer lesions.1,2,5 Article see p 2230 Tosaka and colleagues6 have described the angiographic patterns of FP-ISR. Class I FP-ISR consists of focal ( 50 mm) within the stent body or stent edge. Class III FP-ISR lesions consist of total occlusion within the stent. They described the outcomes of PTA for the treatment of FP-ISR and found that in-stent occlusion (class III FP-ISR) was a significant predictor of recurrent restenosis (84.8%) and reocclusion (64.6%) at 2 years. Two-year outcomes for patients with focal (class I) and diffuse (class II) ISR were similar, with recurrent restenosis in 49.9% and 53.3% and stent occlusion in 15.9% and 18.9%, respectively. These results highlighted the lack of efficacy of PTA for FP-ISR, particularly for in-stent occlusion. In a follow-up to that study, we evaluated a multimodality approach to the treatment of FP-ISR.7 Seventy-five patients underwent endovascular treatment of FP-ISR using a variety of adjunctive devices, including laser atherectomy, excisional atherectomy, …