cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anoxia inhibits biofilm development and modulates antibiotic activity.

Background Many infections involve bacterial biofilms that are notoriously antibiotic resistant. Unfortunately, the mechanism for this resistance is unclear. We tested the effect of oxygen concentration on development of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, and on the ability of gentamicin and vancomycin to inhibit biofilm development. Materials and methods To mimic catheter-associated biofilms, silastic coupons were inoculated with 107S aureus and incubated either aerobically (∼21% O2) or anaerobically (10% CO2, 5% H2, 85% N2) for 16 h at 37°C with varying concentrations of gentamicin and vancomycin. Viable colony-forming units were quantified from sonicated biofilms, and the crystal violet assay quantified biofilm biomass. Metabolomic profiles probed biochemical differences between aerobic and anaerobic biofilms. Results Control biofilms (no antibiotic) cultivated aerobically contained 8.1–8.6 log10S aureus. Anaerobiasis inhibited biofilm development, quantified by viable bacterial numbers and biomass (P < 0.05). Bactericidal concentrations of gentamicin inhibited biofilm development in normoxia but not anoxia, likely because bacterial uptake of gentamicin is oxygen dependent. The inhibitory effect of vancomycin was more uniform aerobically and anaerobically, although at high bactericidal concentrations, vancomycin effectiveness was decreased under anoxia. There were notable differences in the metabolomic profiles of biofilms cultivated under normoxia versus anoxia. Conclusions Compared with aerobic incubation, anaerobiasis resulted in decreased biofilm development, and metabolomics is a promising tool to identify key compounds involved in biofilm formation. The effectiveness of a specific antibiotic depended on its mode of action, as well as on the oxygen concentration in the environment.
Effects of inhalation anesthetics on hepatic glucuronide conjugation: a study of the rat in vitro.

The effects of four inhalation anesthetics on rat-liver microsomal glucuronyltransferasc activity-have been examined in vitro. Anesthetics depressed tilts reaction in a dose-related, noncompetitive manner. Equal MAC values inhibited in a quantitatively similar manner. Formation of the glucuronic acid donor, UDPCA (uridine diplios-phoglucuronic acid) was depressed by only one of the anesthetics studied, diethyl ether.
Simple Non-gassing Electrodes for Use in Electrophoresis

THE electrodes conventionally used in electrophoresis are noble metal (usually platinum), metal/metal ion (for example, Cu/Cu2+) and metal/insoluble metal salt (for example, Ag/AgGl/Cl−). With the last two types the apparatus must be provided with convection barriers to prevent metal ions in the electrode compartments from contaminating the experimental material. Platinum electrodes, even if platinized, permit only a limited current density (less than 2 m.amp./cm.2) without giving an evolution of gas bubbles which disturbs the observations in closed electrophoresis systems such as are used in the moving boundary and microscopic methods. We wish to describe here the general conditions under which palladium–hydrogen electrodes can be used to provide adequate current densities for electrophoresis without gassing or danger of contamination from heavy metals.
Stress tensor in model polymer systems with periodic boundaries

The calculation of the stress tensor from molecular simulations of atomistic model polymer systems employing periodic boundary conditions is discussed. Starting from the dynamical equations governing the motion of sites, correct double summation forms of the atomic and the molecular virial equations are derived, which are valid for flexible, infinitely stiff and rigid chain models even in the presence of interactions between different images of the same parent macromolecule. A new expression for the true instantaneous stress (flux of momentum through the faces of the simulation box) is derived and shown to exhibit large fluctuations when applied in molecular dynamics simulations. A new equation for the thermodynamic stress, cast exclusively in terms of intermolecular forces on interaction sites, is also derived. Application to Monte Carlo simulations shows that the molecular virial expression exhibits the smallest fluctuations among all stress expressions discussed, and thus allows computation of the thermodynamic stress with least uncertainty. A scheme is developed for the calculation of surface tension from intermolecular forces only.
The behavior of alloxan in the Hill reaction

Hill activity induced by alloxan is characterized by non-stoichiometric oxygen evolution and cyclic electron flow due to autoxidation of dialuric acid and alloxantin, the reduction products of alloxan.
Intermittent fluconazole dosing in patients with onychomycosis: results of a pilot study.

Abstract Background: Therapeutic limitations of griseofulvin in treating onychomycosis have led to a search for alternative antimycotic agents. An optimal dosing regimen for fluconazole has yet to be defined. Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the intermittent use of fluconazole (either once-weekly or alternate-day dosing) without concurrent nail avulsion in patients with moderate to severe onychomycosis. Methods: Eleven patients with mycologically confirmed onychomycosis of the toenails or fingernails (43 infected nails) were treated with intermittent fluconazole until clinical cure was obtained. Eight patients received fluconazole 300 mg once weekly, one patient received 200 mg once weekly, and two patients received 100 or 200 mg of fluconazole every other day. Eight patients also used an adjunctive topical antimycotic preparation. Results: All six patients with toenails involved (32 infected nails) were clinically cured after a mean treatment duration of 6 months, and all five patients with fingernails involved (11 infected nails) were cured after 3.7 months. There were no significant clinical or laboratory adverse events. Conclusion: Intermittent fluconazole, taken once weekly or on alternate days, is a well-tolerated and efficacious method to treat onychomycosis.
Compression of high spectral resolution imagery

The Earth Orbiting Satellite (EOS), scheduled for launch in the mid-1990s, will include a next-generation multispectral imaging system (HIRIS) having unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution. Its high resolution, however, comes at the cost of a raw data rate which exceeds the communication channel capacity assigned to the entire EOS mission. This paper explores noisy compression algorithms which may compress multispectral data by up to 30:1 or more. Algorithm performance is measured using both traditional and mission-oriented criteria (e.g., feature classification consistency). It is shown that vector quantization, merged with suitable preprocessing techniques, is the most viable candidate.
Comparative Studies of Some Simple Viscoelastic Theories

Some current simple integral theories of the Lodge type are compared in simple shearing, small sinusoidal shearing, combined simple and sinusoidal shearing, cessation and start of simple shearing, finite amplitude sinusoidal shearing, and simple elongational motions. Of the simpler models only the recently proposed network‐rupture theory shows a realistic response in elongational flows; in the other flows it gives a reasonable prediction of experimental results from poly‐isobutylene‐cetane solutions.
The cyclic stress-strain behavior of a nickel-base superalloy at 650°C

It is pointed out that examinations of the monotonic tensile and fatigue behaviors of single crystal nickel-base superalloys have disclosed orientation-dependent tension-compression anisotropies and significant differences in the mechanical response of octahedral and cube slip at intermediate temperatures. An examination is conducted of the cyclic hardening response of the single crystal superalloy PWA 1480 at 650 C. In the considered case, tension-compression anisotropy is present, taking into account primarily conditions under which a single slip system is operative. Aspects of a deformation by single slip are considered along with cyclic hardening anisotropy in tension and compression. It is found that specimens deforming by octahedral slip on a single slip system have similar hardening responses in tensile and low cycle fatigue loading. Cyclic strain hardening is very low for specimens displaying single slip.
Number of trials of underwater weighing necessary to estimate percent body fat

To measure percent body fat (%F) using hydrodensitometry, “true” underwater weight (UWW) has conventionally been determined from the mean of 8, 9, or 10 UWW trials. Because the procedure is time‐consuming, many subjects are uncomfortable in water, and the elderly often fatigue rapidly, it would be desirable to reduce the number of trials. In 400 Caucasian men (age 35.5 years, height 176.9 cm, mass 85.7 kg) we compared %F estimates derived by four selection methods based on the mean of: (1) three trials with the highest adjacent trial correlations (trials 4, 5, 6) (%P = 22.9%); (2) three successive trials within 100 g (3 ROW) of UWW (22.9%), (3) any three trials within 100 g (3 WIN) of UWW (22.8%), and (4) trials 8, 9, and 10 (22.8%). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant (p >0.05) difference between groups in %F using the four respective methods for selecting true UWW. A repeated measures ANOVA, using %F as the dependent variable, comparing selection methods across age qua...
Skeletal Muscle Triglycerides, Diacylglycerols, and Ceramides in Insulin Resistance: Another Paradox in Endurance-Trained Athletes?

OBJECTIVE Chronic exercise and obesity both increase intramyocellular triglycerides (IMTGs) despite having opposing effects on insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that chronically exercise-trained muscle would be characterized by lower skeletal muscle diacylglycerols (DAGs) and ceramides despite higher IMTGs and would account for its higher insulin sensitivity. We also hypothesized that the expression of key skeletal muscle proteins involved in lipid droplet hydrolysis, DAG formation, and fatty-acid partitioning and oxidation would be associated with the lipotoxic phenotype. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 14 normal-weight, endurance-trained athletes (NWA group) and 7 normal-weight sedentary (NWS group) and 21 obese sedentary (OBS group) volunteers were studied. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by glucose clamps. IMTGs, DAGs, ceramides, and protein expression were measured in muscle biopsies. RESULTS DAG content in the NWA group was approximately twofold higher than in the OBS group and ~50% higher than in the NWS group, corresponding to higher insulin sensitivity. While certain DAG moieties clearly were associated with better insulin sensitivity, other species were not. Ceramide content was higher in insulin-resistant obese muscle. The expression of OXPAT/perilipin-5, adipose triglyceride lipase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase protein was higher in the NWA group, corresponding to a higher mitochondrial content, proportion of type 1 myocytes, IMTGs, DAGs, and insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS Total myocellular DAGs were markedly higher in highly trained athletes, corresponding with higher insulin sensitivity, and suggest a more complex role for DAGs in insulin action. Our data also provide additional evidence in humans linking ceramides to insulin resistance. Finally, this study provides novel evidence supporting a role for specific skeletal muscle proteins involved in intramyocellular lipids, mitochondrial oxidative capacity, and insulin resistance.
Band structure and thermodynamic properties of He atoms near a graphite surface

The energy-band structure and thermodynamic properties (in the noninteracting limit) of He atoms on graphite are calculated. Bound-state eigenvalues epsilon/sub n/ and matrix elements obtained in scattering experiments are used as input. The validity of the assumptions used to derive these quantities is verified for self-consistency. The results of these calculations differ from earlier studies in that the binding energies are 15 percent smaller and the corrugation is 50 --100 percent larger. The effective mass enhancement m*/m is 1.06 for /sup 4/He and 1.03 for /sup 3/He. Agreement with adsorption-isotherm determinations of the chemical potential in the limit of low coverage and temperature is remarkably good for both isotopes. These results, which are consistent with our previous analysis of the potential energy V(r), indicate that band-structure effects cannot be neglected in treating He films on graphite.
Approaching the Hartree-Fock limit for organotransition metal complexes

Abstract In theoretical studies of the electronic structure of organometallic complexes, the choice of basis set is critical, much more so than for analogous studies of molecules containing only H, C, N, and O. This problem is discussed in the light of structural predictions for the transition metal hydrides MH, MH2, and MH4, for the fluorides MF2 and MF3, and for Ni(CO)4, Ni(C2H4)3, (CO)3NiCH2, and Ni(C4H4)2.
Growth hormone release in conscious pinealectomized and sham-operated male rats.

Conscious, adult male, sham-operated (control), and pinealectomized (Pect) rats with chronic jugular cannulae were bled during the day or night. Daytime samples were obtained from rats housed singly in small cages, while the night samples were obtained from animals on a reversed light-dark cycle kept in a larger isolation cubicle. During the day, controls showed frequent secretory bursts of GH release, as evidenced by dramatic elevations of plasma GH with a periodicity of 2.3 h. In the Pect rats, there was a more variable GH release, with some animals showing spikes similar in amplitude to those of controls and others showing no spikes. There were significantly fewer GH values in excess of 150 ng/ml after Pect, and GH release over the total period of sampling, calculated from the area under the plasma GH curve, was significantly reduced. During the night, plasma GH spikes of controls were significantly reduced in frequency and amplitude, but these were not further significantly reduced by Pect. Under our ...
Free trade and the environment-development system☆

Abstract We develop a simulation model to analyze the trade-environment-development system that contains a number of important advances over the earlier and current theoretical models. Our model, like other models, has an income-induced pollution policy, allows country factor endowments to influence trade patterns, and allows production factors to be mobile intersectorally. Unlike other theoretical models, our model treats pollution stemming from both production and consumption in a way that does justice to empirical observations. We model pollution policy explicitly as an abatement investment, thus effectively allowing for differences in pollution-intensive technology across countries. In addition, we allow for an internationally traded intermediate good (a natural resource). As a result of this novel approach, we find that (1) the benefits of trade (i) can be either positive or negative, and (ii) depend on country endowments; and (2) the pollution effects of trade are closely tied to the benefits of trade. Our model generally shows higher pollution levels under free trade than autarky; however, our results do not support the pollution haven hypothesis (i.e. trade causes less pollution in developed countries and more pollution in developing ones). Some developing countries produce more of the pollution-intensive good, but ultimately consume less pollution under autarky because they have higher per capita income and, thus, invest more heavily in environmental upgrading under autarky.
Electrical conductivity of lithium at megabar pressures

We report measurements of the electrical conductivity of a liquid alkali metal---lithium---at pressures up to 1.8 Mbar and fourfold compression, achieved through shock compression experiments. We find that the results are consistent with a departure of the electronic properties of lithium from the nearly free electron approximation at high pressures.
Re-examination of Maintenance Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with the Advent of New Anti-cancer Agents

Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer remains a disease with a high annual incidence and annual mortality worldwide, with limitations in first-line treatment past a fixed amount of platinum doublet chemotherapy for patients that do not harbor a targetable genetic abnormality such as an EGFR mutation or ALK gene rearrangement. Previous attempts to extend first-line treatment past 4–6 cycles of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy have been disappointing, resulting in diminished quality of life and increased toxicity without improvement of progression-free or overall survival. Several advances in third-generation chemotherapy and targeted agents have generated a renewed interest in maintenance therapy, with several randomized phase III trials reporting a significant improvement in progression-free and overall survival with manageable toxicity profiles. The availability of new chemotherapy agents, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and immunotherapy agents with a more tolerable or nonoverlapping toxicity profile have resulted in improvements in progression-free survival and median overall survival in maintenance settings with specific agents such as pemetrexed and erlotinib. Patients who are responding to first-line therapy, have not suffered a detrimental decrease in quality of life or performance status, and understand the risks and benefits of further immediate chemotherapy should be considered for maintenance treatment.
Clinical Management of Septic Arthritis

Septic arthritis is a rheumatologic emergency as joint destruction occurs rapidly and can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Accurate diagnosis can be particularly challenging in patients with underlying inflammatory joint disease. This review outlines the risk factors for septic arthritis and summarizes the causative bacterial organisms. We highlight advances in antibiotic management with a focus on new drugs for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and discuss the use of adjunctive therapies for treatment of septic arthritis in adults.
Electronic Conductance Behavior of Carbon-Based Molecular Junctions with Conjugated Structures

A novel molecular junction based on a monolayer between carbon and mercury “contacts” was investigated by examining current/voltage behavior as a function of temperature and monolayer thickness. Monolayers of phenyl, biphenyl, and terphenyl were covalently bonded to flat, graphitic carbon, then a top contact was formed with a suspended mercury drop. Similar molecular junctions were formed from multilayer nitroazobenzene (NAB) films of 30 A and 47 A thickness, and junctions were examined over the temperature range of +80 °C to −50 °C. Junction resistances were a strong function of molecular length and structure, with mean resistances for 0.78 mm2 junctions of 34.4 Ω, 13.8 KΩ, and 41.0 KΩ for phenyl, biphenyl, and terphenyl junctions. The i/V characteristics of biphenyl and phenyl junctions were nearly independent of temperature, while those of terphenyl and NAB junctions were temperature independent below 0 °C but thermally activated above 10 °C. The results are consistent with a tunneling process at low t...
A novel mechanism associated with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) mutations R1232W and T1620M in human cardiac sodium channels.

Two mutations associated with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) are localized within extracellular loops between segments DIIIS1-S2 (R1232W) and DIVS3-S4 (T1620M) of the human cardiac sodium channel (hNaV1.5) α-subunit. We studied wild-type hNaV1.5 channels and hNaV1.5 channels with the R1232W/T1620M double mutation expressed in Xenopus oocytes using the cell-attached macropatch technique. We demonstrate that these mutations destabilize the fast-inactivated state (described with a two-state first-order reaction model) by decreasing reaction valence, accelerating recovery, and slowing the onset of fast inactivation, collectively resulting in delayed decay of macroscopic currents. R1232W/T1620M mutations in hNaV1.5 channels also significantly increase steady-state channel availability, indicating that mutated channels occupy the slow inactivated state less than hNaV1.5 channels. Under the stress of repetitive depolarizing pulses, R1232W/T1620M channels demonstrate less use-dependent current reduction compared to wild-type channels. We propose that increased channel availability coupled with destabilized fast inactivation contributes to the pathological effect of R1232W/T1620M mutations, and leads to increased excitability of cardiac tissue in vivo.
TU‐C‐213CD‐04: Tracking Implanted Fiducials Using Kilovoltage (kV) Projection Images: A Feasibility Study

Purpose: We have developed a method of tracking irregularly shaped implanted markers using KV projection images acquired in rotational mode and assess its potential for detecting intra‐fractional target motion. This is a feasibility study directed toward long‐range goals of acquiring such images during rotational treatment and using them for motion correction. Methods: KV projection images were acquired (Varian TrueBeam) during seven cone beam scans of two gastroesophageal and two pancreas cancer patients (IRB‐approved protocol). Each had at least one irregularly shaped radiopaque marker (Visicoil) implanted in or near the tumor. Specialized digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) used for template based tracking were created from a breath‐hold planning CT at end expiration, in which the ray tracing was confined to a small volume of interest surrounding each marker. Sobel filter preprocessing of KV images served to enhance marker visibility and suppress background features. DRRs were matched with processed KV images both manually (ground truth) and automatically (normalized cross‐correlation with simplex minimization). Anthropomorphic phantom studies were also done to evaluate measurement uncertainty.Results: The mean (over patient scans) and standard deviation of the differences (Auto‐manual) were −0.04 ± 0.68 mm and 0.08 ± 0.89 mm in transverse and superior‐inferior (SI) directions respectively. The percentages of matches with difference exceeding 2 mm were 1.8% transverse and 5.0% SI. Intra‐observer consistency of manual registration was checked by repeating the manual registration for all 657 projections in one patient; the standard deviation of the difference was 0.4 mm. Phantom studies showed the measurement uncertainty of automatic registration to be approximately 0.15 mm. Conclusions: The proposed method can track arbitrary marker shapes using templates generated from a breath‐hold CT or alternatively, respiration‐correlated CT scan at one phase. Preliminary results indicate accuracy and robustness are adequate for clinical application but confirmation in larger numbers of patients is required. Research grant from Varian Medical Systems
The Spice Route: A History – By John Keay

A spate of fine books about spices has inexplicably been published recently, including Jack Turner's Spice, Michale Krondl's The Taste of Conquest, Paul Freedman's Out of the East, and the present ...
Valence isomer of a β -diketiminate -supported phosphinidene : a case of C-H activation and ring contraction

A valence isomer of a β-diketiminate-supported phosphinidene has been prepared by potassium metal reduction of the corresponding chlorophosphenium cation.
Stumbling Blocks to the Secularization of Personal Status Laws in the Lebanese Republic (1926-2013)

Despite recurrent efforts to introduce a civil personal status code since 1926, personal status laws in Lebanon remain regulated by the confessional codices of the country’s eighteen denominations. This article examines how efforts at secularization were repeatedly thwarted due to veto rights accorded to sectarian heads in the Lebanese Constitution. The codification of sectarian marriage and inheritance laws is related to Lebanon’s confessional political system and to the attendant perpetuation of kinship ties and fluctuating confessional attitudes. The latter are measured and compared diachronically with a series of surveys. Paradoxically, the chronic weakness of the Lebanese state would render top-down reform measures an exceedingly difficult task even as it opened the space for increasingly effective civil society activism aimed at dismantling the juridical hegemony of the sects.
The large Nc baryon–meson It=Jt rule holds for three flavors

It has long been known that nonstrange baryon–meson scattering in the 1/Nc expansion of QCD greatly simplifies when expressed in terms of t-channel exchanges: The leading-order amplitudes satisfy the selection rule It=Jt. We show that It=Jt, as well as Yt=0, also hold for the leading amplitudes when the baryon and/or meson contain strange quarks, and also characterize their 1/Nc corrections, thus opening a new front in the phenomenological study of baryon–meson scattering and baryon resonances.
Optimal configurations for hinged, two-body satellites.

Optimal configurations for hinged, two-body, four-degree-of-freedom satellite systems in both circular and elliptical orbits are determined by a parameter optimization in which the geometrical and physical properties of the system are used as parameters. Specifically, the moments of inertia of the control body, the angles specifying the orientation of the principal axes of inertia of the bodies and the hinge rotation axis, and the spring and viscous damping constants are considered as the optimizing variables. An algorithm for the optimization is developed which uses a gradient method, the step size being selected with a Fibonacci search technique. A quadratic cost function is used which is physically the mean-square error of the main body in pitch and roll from its nominal earth-pointing attitude. The results of the optimization show that the parameter values that give good transient performance give poor steady-state performance, and vice versa. This dichotomous condition suggests the new concept of an adaptive system for use in elliptical orbits which would have the ability to change the control-body configuration in orbit.
Interaction between two coupled oscillators

The quantum dynamics for two coupled harmonic oscillators is presented. Using the coupled-boson representation, the assumed problem is shown to be isomorphic with a perturbed angular-momentum oscillator. The current operator is obtained and its associated expectation values with respect to the number states, coherent states (Glauber states), and atomic coherent states are given. The eigenvalue spectrum of the current operator is seen to be finite and discrete. An interesting correspondence between this analysis and past work on Josephson tunneling and quantum interference is discussed.
The Solid-Phase Zincke Reaction: Preparation of ω-Hydroxy Pyridinium Salts in the Search for CFTR Activation

A study of structural modifications of MPB-07 was undertaken as part of a synthetic program aimed at discovering small molecules with CFTR activation potential. Solid-phase synthesis techniques were used to prepare derivatives of MPB-07 employing the Zincke reaction for the construction of aromatic, quaternary ammonium salts such as those found in 2 or 3. In this transformation, primary amines react with highly electrophilic N-2,4-dinitrophenylpyridinium (DNP) salt 4 to afford pyridinium salt 8 with release of 2,4-dinitroaniline 6. Thus, the reaction of 1-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)pyridinium salts with various polymer-bound amino ethers, followed by cleavage from the resin, delivers the desired salts in good yield and high purity.
Intracellular location of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase. II. Wheat roots.

Abstract Approximately 15% of the total nitrite reductase of crude homogenates of wheat roots applied to sucrose gradients was separated with an organelle whose isopycnic density was about 1.22 g·cm−3. The activity recovered in the supernatant was thought to be particulate in origin, because similar ratios of activity of isoenzyme 1 and 2 of nitrite reductase were found in both particulate and supernatant fractions. The particle with nitrite reductase activity also contained glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase and NADPH diaphorase. This root particle and whole chloroplasts from leaves had a similar isopycnic density as well as these enzymes, and thus the data suggest that the root particle may be a proplastid. Nitrate reductase was found only in the supernatant and it was not associated with any of the root organelles. Mitochondria from wheat roots had an equilibrium density of 1.18 g·cm−3 and contained both NAD and NADP glutamate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase and NADPH diaphorase but not nitrite reductase. Microbodies of wheat roots had an equilibrium density of about 1.20 g·cm−3 on the sucrose gradient and contained catalase and glycollate oxidase.
A case report response of two cows with hydramnios and hydrallantois to treatment with cloprostenol (ICI 80, 996)☆

Abstract Cloprostenol (ICI 80, 996) was administered to a cow with hydrallantois and a cow with hydramnios to induce parturition. In both cases circulating plasma progesterone levels at parturition were decreased from pretreatment levels. Circulating estradiol-17β levels in the case of hydramnios did not change post treatment. A 64 kg dead fetus with pituitary and adrenal defects was delivered via cesarean section. Circulating estradiol-17β levels in the case of hydrallantois rose from 200 pg/ml pre-treatment to 450 pg/ml at parturition. A live 37 kg heifer calf was delivered via forced extraction. In both cases cloprostenol was effective in reducing plasma progesterone levels, dilating the cervix and initiating labor.
Wait-free dining under eventual weak exclusion

We present a wait-free solution to the generalized dining philosophers problem under eventual weak exclusion in environments subject to crash faults. Wait-free dining guarantees that every correct hungry process eventually eats, regardless of process crashes. Eventual weak exclusion (◊WX) actually allows scheduling mistakes, whereby mutual exclusion may be violated finitely-many times; for each run, however, there must exist a convergence point after which live neighbors never eat simultaneously. Wait-free dining under ◊WX is particularly useful for synchronization tasks where eventual safety is sufficient for correctness (e.g., duty-cycle scheduling, self-stabilizing daemons, and contention managers). Unfortunately, wait-free dining is unsolvable in asynchronous systems. As such, we characterize sufficient conditions for solvability under partial synchrony by presenting a wait-free dining algorithm for ◊WX using a local refinement of the eventually perfect failure detector ◊P1.
Minimizing Fish Oil and Fish Meal with Plant-based Alternatives in Sunshine Bass Diets without Negatively Impacting Growth and Muscle Fatty Acid Profile

We determined whether canola oil could spare menhaden oil (MO) in diets containing minimal fish meal without affecting sunshine bass, Morone chrysops × Morone saxatilis, production. Seven isonitrogenous, isocaloric (41.7% crude protein and 14.6% crude lipid) diets containing graded levels (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100%) of menhaden to canola oils with 20% menhaden meal (MM) or 100% canola oil with 20% lipid-extracted MM were fed to sunshine bass (initial weight 9.3 ± 0.16 g; mean ± SD) twice daily to apparent satiation for 10 wk. Sunshine bass fed less than 40% of their dietary lipid as MO exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) lower feed intake and growth rates. Increased concentrations of saturated, n-3, and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (FA) in the fillet were associated with MO-rich diets, while monounsaturated and n-6 FA were most common in fillets from fish fed diets rich in canola oil. Reducing MO to 40% of the dietary lipid in diets containing minimal fish meal allows for efficient utilization of marine resources without negatively impacting juvenile sunshine bass production.
Hydrodynamic mediation of predator–prey interactions: differential patterns of prey susceptibility and predator success explained by variation in water flow

In most shallow water marine systems, fluid movements vary on scales that may influence local community dynamics both directly, through changes in the abundance of species, and indirectly, by modifying important behaviors of organisms. We examined how differences in current speed affect the outcome of predator‐prey interactions for two species of marine benthic predators (knobbed whelks, Busycon carica, and blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus) foraging on two common prey species (bay scallops, Argopecten irradians, and hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria). The predators differ in their foraging strategies and prey in their potential escape responses. Predation by blue crabs, highly mobile predators/scavengers that rely upon chemical odors transported in the water column to locate prey, could be strongly affected by changes in current speed and turbulent mixing because their foraging strategy relies on a high degree of spatial integration of prey odor plumes. Whelks, slow moving, predatory gastropods that often forage with their bodies buried in the sediment, may be less susceptible to flow-induced distortion of prey odor plumes because their sluggish movements result in a high degree of temporal integration of prey odors. Bay scallops, relatively mobile bivalves capable of rapid short-distance swimming burst, and hard clams, sedentary bivalves, have been shown to respond to varying degrees to predator odors that are dispersed in the water column. Flow regime for the predator‐prey experiments was manipulated in situ using large channels. Predation by blue crabs on both juvenile hard clams and bay scallops decreased with increases in water flow (0‐ 12 vs. 0‐30 cm s ! 1 ). Whelk predation on bay scallops increased with increases in water flow, whereas predation by whelks on hard clams did not differ between flow regimes. For blue crabs
Relationship between the heat tolerance of photosynthesis and the thermal stability of rubisco activase in plants from contrasting thermal environments.

Inhibition of net photosynthesis (Pn) by moderate heat stress has been attributed to an inability of Rubisco activase to maintain Rubisco in an active form. To examine this proposal, the temperature response of Pn, Rubisco activation, chlorophyll fluorescence, and the activities of Rubisco and Rubisco activase were examined in species from contrasting environments. The temperature optimum of Rubisco activation was 10°C higher in the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) compared with the Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica), resembling the temperature response of Pn. Pn increased markedly with increasing internal CO2 concentration in Antarctic hairgrass and creosote bush plants subjected to moderate heat stress even under nonphotorespiratory conditions. Nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, the effective quantum yield of photochemical energy conversion (ΔF/Fm′) and the maximum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) were more sensitive to temperature in Antarctic hairgrass and two other species endemic to cold regions (i.e. Lysipomia pumila and spinach [Spinacea oleracea]) compared with creosote bush and three species (i.e. jojoba [Simmondsia chinensis], tobacco [Nicotiana tabacum], and cotton [Gossypium hirsutum]) from warm regions. The temperature response of activity and the rate of catalytic inactivation of Rubisco from creosote bush and Antarctic hairgrass were similar, whereas the optimum for ATP hydrolysis and Rubisco activation by recombinant creosote bush, cotton, and tobacco activase was 8°C to 10°C higher than for Antarctic hairgrass and spinach activase. These results support a role for activase in limiting photosynthesis at high temperature.
Online facade reconstruction from dominant frequencies in structured point clouds

We present an online method for filling holes in point clouds by exploiting the regularity of urban areas. Sweeping a plane across the scene we compute periodicity, major planes, and occlusions. Extending rays from the laser that have been occluded gives a planar approximation for holes in facades. The periodicity of the architecture is used to vastly improve this approximation yielding facades that seem complete and natural. Both abstract and high resolution mesh data is constructed from the improved point clouds. All this processing is performed online allowing for seamless integration with scanner hardware.
Bayesian inference in a sample selection model

This paper develops methods of Bayesian inference in a sample selection model. The main feature of this model is that the outcome variable is only partially observed. We first present a Gibbs sampling algorithm for a model in which the selection and outcome errors are normally distributed. The algorithm is then extended to analyze models that are characterized by nonnormality. Specifically, we use a Dirichlet process prior and model the distribution of the unobservables as a mixture of normal distributions with a random number of components. The posterior distribution in this model can simultaneously detect the presence of selection effects and departures from normality. Our methods are illustrated using some simulated data and an abstract from the RAND health insurance experiment.
Development and validation of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC).

Development and targeting efforts by academic organizations to effectively promote research integrity can be enhanced if they are able to collect reliable data to benchmark baseline conditions, to assess areas needing improvement, and to subsequently assess the impact of specific initiatives. To date, no standardized and validated tool has existed to serve this need. A web- and mail-based survey was administered in the second half of 2009 to 2,837 randomly selected biomedical and social science faculty and postdoctoral fellows at 40 academic health centers in top-tier research universities in the United States. Measures included the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC) as well as measures of perceptions of organizational justice. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded seven subscales of organizational research climate, all of which demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.81 to 0.87) and adequate test–retest reliability (Pearson r ranging from 0.72 to 0.83). A broad range of correlations between the seven subscales and five measures of organizational justice (unadjusted regression coefficients ranging from 0.13 to 0.95) document both construct and discriminant validity of the instrument. The SORC demonstrates good internal (alpha) and external reliability (test–retest) as well as both construct and discriminant validity.
The Influence of Process Drama on Elementary Students' Written Language.

This article describes the influence of process drama on fourth grade students’ written language productivity and specificity. Participants included 16 students with learning and/or behavioral chal...
Obesity and the Risk for a Hematological Malignancy: Leukemia, Lymphoma, or Myeloma

The aggregate of epidemiological studies indicates a significantly elevated risk for cancer in people with a high body mass index (BMI); a "dose-response" effect exists with increasing risk as BMI increases from the normal to overweight to obese categories. Successful sustained weight loss decreases future risk. The relationship of being overweight to the risk for leukemia in the aggregate has been supported in several large cohort studies and two meta-analyses of cohort and case-control studies. One meta-analysis found an elevated risk for each of the four major subtypes of leukemia. A significant association between the risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and elevated BMI was supported by a meta-analysis of 13 cohort and nine case-control studies. The risk for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma may be especially significant. A high BMI increases the risk for myeloma, as judged by a meta-analysis of 11 cohort and four case-control studies. The biological relationship of obesity to the risk for cancer (biological plausibility) is unresolved. The two major causal final pathways could be "inductive" or "selective." The metabolic, endocrinologic, immunologic, and inflammatory-like changes resulting from obesity may increase the cell mutation rate, dysregulate gene function, disturb DNA repair, or induce epigenetic changes, favoring the induction of neoplastic transformation (inductive). Alternatively, obesity may create an environment in which pre-existing clones that are dormant are permitted (selected) to emerge.
Regulated Expression of Adenosine Triphosphate-Sensitive Potassium Channel Subunits in Pancreatic β-Cells1

The regulation of glucose-dependent insulin secretion in pancreaticβ -cells is linked to the expression and function of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel (KATP), which is composed of a sulfonylurea receptor (SUR1) and an inwardly rectifying potassium channel (Kir6.2). Previous animal and human genetic studies have demonstrated that disruption or defective expression of KATP subunit genes has a profound impact on the regulation of insulin secretion. Little is known about how SUR1 and Kir6.2 gene expression is regulated. Here we show that high glucose concentrations lead to a marked decrease (∼70%) in Kir6.2 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in isolated rat pancreatic islets as well as in the INS-1β -cell line. This effect is reversible, because exposure to low glucose reinduces Kir6.2 transcript levels. The cognate KATP channel subunit SUR1 showed similar down-regulation at high glucose concentration. The KATP channel activity of INS-1 cells cultivated at high glucose was reduced by 33–51%. In contrast, glucag...
An optimal absorbing boundary condition for elastic wave modeling

Absorbing boundary conditions are widely used in numerical modeling of wave propagation in unbounded media to reduce reflections from artificial boundaries (Lindman, 1975; Clayton and Engquist, 1977; Reynolds, 1978; Liao et al., 1984; Cerjan et al., 1985; Randall, 1988; Higdon, 1991). We are interested in a particular absorbing boundary condition that has maximum absorbing ability with a minimum amount of computation and storage. This is practical for 3-D simulation of elastic wave propagation by a finite‐difference method. Peng and Toksoz (1994) developed a method to design a class of optimal absorbing boundary conditions for a given operator length. In this short note, we give a brief introduction to this technique, and we compare the optimal absorbing boundary conditions against those by Reynolds (1978) and Higdon (1991) using examples of 3-D elastic finite‐difference modeling on an nCUBE-2 parallel computer. In the Appendix, we also give explicit formulas for computing coefficients of the optimal abso...
Services as Customer-Intensive Systems

Introduction Visiting the design section of a bookstore is a simple way to inventory traditional objects of the design discipline: you will find books on the design of everyday objects, furniture, houses, gardens, books, cars, clothes, posters, textiles, glass, type, ceramics, literature, logos, and, more recently, software interfaces and websites. In many ways, design seems to center around the creation of tangible artifacts, with the notable, but recent, exception of “interaction design.” By doing so, design as a discipline currently has almost no participation in the services sector, more than half of the world economy. Service design is simply the application of human-centric ideas and methods of design to services. Its importance, needs, and methods have been addressed by a small group of researchers,1 some design institutions such as the British Design Council,2 and an even smaller group of practitioners such as some groups in the design houses Live|Work, 31Volts, and IDEO.3 Which types of services can be designed? Healthcare systems, government services, entertainment experiences, transportation services, retail experiences, maintenance and support systems, education, travel and tourism, telecommunication services, utilities, information services, and much more. In many ways, most of our service-related daily experiences are devoid of thoughtful design, except in their tangible aspects. Cars are designed, but not the transportation experience, seen as the interaction of people, cars, and public transportation systems; or the experience of buying cars and maintaining them. There is, however, some anecdotal evidence that the impact of good design in services can be tremendous. One of the most famous is the case of the Shouldice Hospital & Hernia Center in Toronto, Canada, where the redesign of the hospitalization services decreased patient stays in the hospital from an average of four to fifteen days, with reported gains in productivity, healthcare quality, and patient and family satisfaction.4 This realization of the need of systematic understanding of services is not limited to the design field. Similar shortcomings have led to calls for the establishment of science, management, and engineering disciplines specific to services in the so-called Service Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME) initiative.5 Footnotes for this article begin on page 12.
Safety and shedding of an attenuated strain of Listeria monocytogenes with a deletion of actA/plcB in adult volunteers: a dose escalation study of oral inoculation.

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular bacterial pathogen which causes bacteremia and has a tropism for the central nervous system and a propensity to cause maternofetal infection. L. monocytogenes has been shown to be an effective prophylactic and a therapeutic vaccine vector for viral and tumor antigens in animal models. L. monocytogenes mutants lacking the ActA protein, which is essential for intracellular movement, are attenuated but retain immunogenicity in mice. Given the pathogenic potential of L. monocytogenes, we created an attenuated mutant strain bearing double deletions in the actA and plcB virulence genes for an initial clinical safety study of a prototype L. monocytogenes vector in adults. Twenty healthy volunteers received single escalating oral doses (106 to 109 CFU, 4 volunteers per dose cohort) of this attenuated L. monocytogenes, designated LH1169. Volunteers were monitored in the hospital for 14 days with frequent clinical checks and daily blood and stool cultures, and they were monitored for six additional weeks as outpatients. There were no positive blood cultures and no fevers attributable to the investigational inoculation. Most volunteers shed vaccine bacteria for 4 days or less, without diarrhea. One volunteer had a late positive stool culture during outpatient follow-up. Three volunteers had abnormal liver function test results temporally associated with inoculation; one could be reasonably attributed to another cause. In the highest-dose cohort, humoral, mucosal, and cellular immune responses to the investigational organism were detected in individual volunteers. Attenuated L. monocytogenes can be studied in adult volunteers without serious long-term health sequelae.
Spontaneous dissection of the internal carotid artery in a patient with polyarteritis nodosa.

Premiere observation rapportee de dissection carotidienne interne dans une periarterite noueuse. Role favorisant possible d'une hypertension arterielle ayant precedee la maladie inflammatoire, mais bien equilibree lors de la complication vasculaire
The use of variance reduction techniques in the estimation of simulation metamodels

Variance reduction techniques can be useful strategies for improving the estimates of simulation metamodel coefficients. Depending upon the goals of the experimenter, the type of metamodel being estimated, and the characteristics of the system being simulated, an appropriate variance reduction technique can be applied. This paper provides a review of recent research that investigates the application of variance reduction techniques in the simulation metamodeling context. One strategy, Schruben and Margolin's (1978) assignment rule, which utilizes a combination of antithetic and common random number streams, is found to be a particularly useful variance reduction technique for the estimation of simulation metamodels.