cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lesion comparison of multiple sclerosis in hispanic and caucasian patients utilizing an imaging informatics-based eFolder system

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease in the central nervous system. Genetics have been considered as a leading factor in the prevalence and disease course of MS. We have presented an informatics-based eFolder system for integrating patients' clinical data with MR images and lesion quantification results. The completed eFolder system has been designed and developed in aiding to evaluate disease manifestation differences in Hispanic and Caucasian MS patients. MS lesion data, as shown in MRI, can be extracted by the 3-D automatic lesion detection tool in the eFolder, and data storing and mining tools in eFolder is able to extract and compare data from individual patients. The computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm has been modified and enhanced to include spatial information as detection criteria. For this study, 36 Caucasian MS patients and 36 matched Hispanic patients have been selected. Most recent MR images of the patients are collected, and images are evaluated both by the CAD tool in the eFolder and radiologists. The results are compared between Caucasian and Hispanic patients and statistically evaluated to see if the two populations have significant difference in lesion presentations. The results can be used to evaluate differences in the two groups of patients and to evaluate the new CAD algorithm's performance with radiologists' contours. Significant findings can further evaluate effectiveness of MS eFolder in MS-related research.
Leslie R. Groves, Jr. (August 17, 1896–July 13, 1970): Driven Leader, Caustic Personality, Obsessive Security Director, and Commemorated Adviser to Presidents

In August 1945 two atomic bombs, the first ever to be used against an enemy in warfare, were dropped on Japan. The world was immediately awakened to the fact that the American nuclear development p...
Integrating GIS, simulation models, and visualization in traffic impact analysis

Planners have a long history of using Geographic Information Systems, simulation models and three-dimensional (3D) visualizations in research and practice projects. Although some have successfully integrated GIS and simulation modeling or GIS and computer visualization, few have met the challenge of integrating the three technologies into one system in order to support planning and decision-making. In an effort toward reaching this goal, a prototype traffic impact analysis system has been developed. Automobile traffic and travel speed are predicted with a volume/capacity ratio model. Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations along roadways are calculated using the US Environmental Protection Agency's CAL3QHC model. GIS is used to prepare data and execute the models and present the modeling results in a geographic context. A series of 3D models of street segments and buildings along the highway are developed and subsequently integrated with simulation results to allow a geo-referenced 3D presentation, including animations of driving experiences. This study documents the benefits and challenges of integrating the technologies.
Reconciling the Numbers: ESTs Versus Protein-Coding Genes

The number of expressed sequences greatly surpasses the estimated number of protein-coding genes in mammalian genomes. An evolutionary approach reveals that only 9% to 14% of human-expressed and mouse-expressed sequences are able to code for proteins. Clustering of these sequences using cross-species relationships suggests that millions of expressed sequences may correspond to only approximately 20,000 distinct protein-coding transcripts.
The Capabilities Approach to Justice and the Flourishing of Nonsentient Life

In Frontiers of Justice , Martha Nussbaum expands the capabilities approach to justice to include sentient nonhuman animals. As for humans, justice requires that sentient animals have access to capabilities necessary for their flourishing, as specified by a “species norm.” I argue that if Nussbaum’s extension to nonhuman animals is cogent, then we can extend justice to nonsentient life. First, Nussbaum equivocates between an objective and a subjective definition of “flourishing,” but the capabilities approach only needs an objective definition for determining the scope of justice. Second, drawing on Lori Gruen (1994) and Donna Haraway’s (1998) work, I argue that nonsentient life can be considered a subject or agent insofar as it is a producer, not merely a product. Third, I suggest a relational, political conception of dignity that applies to nonsentient life. I also suggest that we best account for justice toward nonsentient life by accounting for justice within ecosystems.
Femtosecond laser versus mechanical microkeratome for LASIK: a randomized controlled study.

Purpose To compare corneal haze (backscattered light) and visual outcomes between fellow eyes randomized to LASIK with the flap created by a femtosecond laser (bladeless) or with the flap created by a mechanical microkeratome. Design Randomized, controlled, paired-eye study. Participants Twenty-one patients (42 eyes) received LASIK for myopia or myopic astigmatism. Methods One eye of each patient was randomized to flap creation with a femtosecond laser (IntraLase FS, IntraLase Corp., Irvine, CA) with intended thickness of 120 μm, and the fellow eye to flap creation with a mechanical microkeratome (Hansatome, Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY) with intended thickness of 180 μm. Patients were examined before and at 1, 3, and 6 months after LASIK. Main Outcome Measures Corneal backscatter, high-contrast visual acuity, manifest refractive error, contrast sensitivity, and intraocular forward light scatter were measured at each examination. Flap thickness was measured by confocal microscopy at 1 month, and patients were asked if they preferred the vision in either eye at 3 months. Results Corneal backscatter was 6% higher after bladeless LASIK than after LASIK with the mechanical microkeratome at 1 month ( P = 0.007), but not at 3 or 6 months. High-contrast visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and forward light scatter did not differ between treatments at any examination. Flap thicknesses at 1 month were 143±16 μm (bladeless, mean ± standard deviation) and 138±22 μm (mechanical microkeratome), with no statistical difference in variances. At 3 months, 5 patients preferred the bladeless eye, 7 patients preferred the microkeratome eye, and 9 patients had no preference. Conclusions The method of flap creation did not affect visual outcomes during the first 6 months after LASIK. Although corneal backscatter was greater early after bladeless LASIK than LASIK with the mechanical microkeratome, patients did not perceive a difference in vision.
Electrolyte mixing thermodynamics to probe ion-ion interactions

In their study of solvent-averaged ion-ion pair potentials, Pettitt and Rossky show that, at least for the given underlying Born-Oppenheimer level model, there is a remarkable well in the potential of the solventaveraged Cl−−Cl− interaction in water; it has a minimum below-kT and near 3.6A, the Pauling diameter for the Cl− ion. As Pettitt and Rossky also showed, the osmotic coefficient of aqueus NaCl solution as a function of ionic strength ϕ(I) could be insensitive to this remarkable feature, even when the well implies that there is a substantial concentration of dimers at 1M or higher stoichiometric concentration. Here it is argued that the thermodynamics of mixtures of aqueous NaCl with, say, aqueous NaClO4, should be sensitive to the presence of the well in the Cl−−Cl− interaction. Accordingly we apply the HNC approximation to calculate the mixing coefficients that characterize the excess free energy functions of several model aqueous NaCl−NaClO4 mixed electrolyte solutions. For reference we use a model (V6) in which all six ion-ion pair potentials have the simple ‘vanilla’ form: charged soft spheres supplemented by a dielectric image correction and an adjustable Gurney term that represents an interaction of the solvation structures about the ions. The six Gurney coefficients were adjusted to tune the model ϕ(I) close to the experimental for pure NaCl, pure NaClO4, and an equimolar mixture, all in the range 0.1≤I≤2M. We find that the V6 model gives mixing coefficients that agree closely with experiment. The calculations were also made for five models that incorporate, in varying degrees, the Pettitt-Rossky pair potentials. Comparison of the mixing coefficients for these models with the experimental data leads to the conclusion that the Cl−, Cl− well is unrealistic, although a shallower well in the same place might be acceptable.
SPATIAL VARIABILITY IN SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES ON THE EEL CONTINENTAL SLOPE

The northern California continental margin receives episodically large quantities of sediment from the Eel River, which seasonally discharges to the shelf. Regional circulation broadcasts this sediment widely, not only affecting sedimentation on the shelf, but on the slope as well. A suite of 60 cores has been collected to examine the processes of sediment accumulation and sediment delivery to the Eel continental slope in waters <800 m deep. Spatial surveys of accumulation rate (0.2‐1.3 g cm 2 year 1 ) and surficial sediment grain size (4‐8.5 #) demonstrate that sediment is accumulating throughout the Eel margin, reflecting a rapid and widespread redistribution of the fluvial discharge. Downcore grain-size profiles of heterogeneous sediments suggest that hemipelagic and other episodic sediment-delivery processes may be important for the slope in areas proximal to the river. In more distal areas, downcore profiles reveal relatively homogeneous sediments, delivered dominantly by hemipelagic processes. A budget for fine-grained sediment shows that this upper portion of the slope contains, at a maximum, 20% of the river’s annual discharge; a combined budget for the shelf and upper slope suggests that at least 60% of the annual sediment load is not accounted for in these areas. The Eel continental slope, because of the large terrigenous sediment input, the narrow width of the adjacent shelf, and its energetic environment, is a good analogue for slopes during transitional stands of sea level and for modern, tectonically active settings. Processes typically associated with these geological settings (i.e., supply of sediment to the slope, and downslope mass movement) are actively occurring. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Legal and social service responses to child sexual abuse: a primer and discussion of relevant research

This paper provides a broad overview of legal and social service responses to child sexual abuse, the overarching legal framework provided by federal legislation, and funding mandates and the unique and shared investigative concerns of law enforcement and child protective service entities. Relevant psychological research is highlighted throughout, including research on investigator training, forensic interviewing techniques, children's suggestibility, jurors' perceptions of child witnesses, and courtroom accommodations for child witnesses.
Raman spectra of NF compounds—I Raman spectrum of gaseous trans-1,2-difluorodiazine

Abstract The Raman spectrum of gaseous trans -N 2 F 2 has been recorded and analysed. All three symmetric vibrations were obtained and assigned NF sym. stretch—1018 cm −1 ; NN stretch—1523 cm −1 and NNF sym. bond—603 cm −1 . The i.r. and Raman spectra prove the structure of trans -N 2 F 2 to be of point group C 2 h . The Raman data also make possible a fuller assignment of the i.r. combination lines.
Terahertz target illumination fluctuation estimates derived from field measurements of atmospheric water vapor

Many terahertz imaging systems under development will be employed in outdoor environments, where spatial and temporal fluctuations of atmospheric absorbing species can affect image quality. Absorption across most of the terahertz band is dominated by water vapor. Active systems that illuminate targets with scanned ("flying spot") or floodlight terahertz sources will experience some spatial and temporal noise modulation of target plane irradiance due to path-integrated inhomogeneities in the turbulent water vapor density field. We have analyzed data collected during field measurement campaigns conducted at the White Sands Missile Range during the spring and summer of 2007 for spectral characteristics and diurnal variations of water vapor fluctuations under dry to moderately humid synoptic conditions. The results of these analyses were then used to model the statistics of irradiance fluctuations that might be observed in the target plane of a THz imager under varying propagation conditions. The measurements acquired can also be compared with a statistical model of path-integrated absorptance considering either the evolution of the absorption with time or the effects of decorrelation in absorber for two angularly separated lines-of-sight.
The Indispensable University: Higher Education, Economic Development, and the Knowledge Economy (review)

(2011). The Indispensable University: Higher Education, Economic Development, and the Knowledge Economy. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 82, No. 1, pp. 117-119.
Propagation of excitation in neural network models

We study the propagation of waves of excitation in neural network models. Through analytic calculation and computer simulation, they determine how the propagation velocity depends on the range and strength of synaptic interactions, the firing threshold and on transmission delays. For the models considered, the propagation velocity depends on either the first or the second moment of the distribution function characterizing the length of synaptic interactions.
The Legacy and Future of Radioactive Waste Management at the Millennium

Wastes containing radioactive materials have been produced ever since ore recovery and processing began; however, such materials did not become of public concern until the large-scale activities involving uranium and thorium ores and nuclear fission during and after World War II. Efforts to provide disposal sites for radioactive wastes, especially those associated with nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, have been largely unsuccessful for the past 40 years or so and are nearing crisis proportions as the new millennium begins — its eventual resolution is believed to require greater reliance on stewardship and a larger governmental presence.
Maximum likelihood SPECT in clinical computation times using mesh-connected parallel computers

Extending the work of A.W. McCarthy et al. (1988) and M.I. Miller and B. Roysam (1991), the authors demonstrate that a fully parallel implementation of the maximum-likelihood method for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can be accomplished in clinical time frames on massively parallel systolic array processors. The authors show that for SPECT imaging on 64*64 image grids, with 96 view angles, the single-instruction, multiple data (SIMD) distributed array processor containing 64/sup 2/ processors performs the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm with Good's smoothing at a rate of 1 iteration/1.5 s. This promises for emission tomography fully Bayesian reconstructions including regularization in clinical computation times which are on the order of 1 min/slice. The most important result of the implementations is that the scaling rules for computation times are roughly linear in the number of processors. >
Severe Deformation Based Process for Grain Subdivision and Resulting Microstructures

Significant interest exists within the materials science community to create nanocrystalline microstructures in metallic alloys in an effort to obtain improved strength and processability of these alloys. Repeated deformation methods, such as 3-axis forging, ECAE (Equal Channel Angular Extrusion), pressurized torsion etc. have been used to create bulk materials with 50–500 nm size microstructures. Stability of these microstructures to further deformation and to thermal exposure is however a major problem which needs to be addressed in the future years. Another issue for process scale-up is die-wall sticking with the moving workpiece, which make scale-up of billet size a nontrivial problem. To minimize these structure-altering aspects of rolling deformation, a surface-shear based deformation technique has been developed and applied to plates and sheets of aluminum alloys to create desired fine-scale microstructures. Initial studies using this and other processes on several Al alloys with and without dispersoid particles have been analyzed by optical, and electron microscopy. Preliminary results on mechanical behavior and texture are reported.
Production of long pulse high magnetic fields using chemical double-layer capacitor banks

The application of CDLs (chemical double-layer capacitors) for the production of high magnetic fields is described. From a knowledge of the internal parameters of the individual CDL units, scaling laws are developed which allow the specification of a capacitor bank which can produce an arbitrary magnetic field. Bank designs are presented using both commercially available and laboratory prototype units capable of producing fields greater than 1 T for several seconds. A laboratory unit was built which operated at a voltage of 21 V, had an equivalent series resistance (ESR) of approximately 7 m Omega , and a capacitance of about 30 F. In practice, the limiting field is governed by material parameters such as magnet wire size, dynamic stresses, and system heating which limits the current on the time scale for discharge of the bank. To test the scaling relations, a capacitor bank was constructed from commercially available products. Bank designs based on commercial products are contrasted with those which could be realized with laboratory prototypes. >
Scalable Fluidic Injector Arrays for Viral Targeting of Intact 3-D Brain Circuits

Our understanding of neural circuits--how they mediate the computations that subserve sensation, thought, emotion, and action, and how they are corrupted in neurological and psychiatric disorders--would be greatly facilitated by a technology for rapidly targeting genes to complex 3-dimensional neural circuits, enabling fast creation of "circuit-level transgenics." We have recently developed methods in which viruses encoding for light-sensitive proteins can sensitize specific cell types to millisecond-timescale activation and silencing in the intact brain. We here present the design and implementation of an injector array capable of delivering viruses (or other fluids) to dozens of defined points within the 3-dimensional structure of the brain (Figure. 1A, 1B). The injector array comprises one or more displacement pumps that each drive a set of syringes, each of which feeds into a polyimide/fused-silica capillary via a high-pressure-tolerant connector. The capillaries are sized, and then inserted into, desired locations specified by custom-milling a stereotactic positioning board, thus allowing viruses or other reagents to be delivered to the desired set of brain regions. To use the device, the surgeon first fills the fluidic subsystem entirely with oil, backfills the capillaries with the virus, inserts the device into the brain, and infuses reagents slowly (<0.1 microliters/min). The parallel nature of the injector array facilitates rapid, accurate, and robust labeling of entire neural circuits with viral payloads such as optical sensitizers to enable light-activation and silencing of defined brain circuits. Along with other technologies, such as optical fiber arrays for light delivery to desired sets of brain regions, we hope to create a toolbox that enables the systematic probing of causal neural functions in the intact brain. This technology may not only open up such systematic approaches to circuit-focused neuroscience in mammals, and facilitate labeling of brain regions in large animals such as non-human primates, but may also open up a clinical translational path for cell-specific optical control prosthetics, whose precision may enable improved treatment of intractable brain disorders. Finally, such devices as described here may facilitate precisely-timed fluidic delivery of other payloads, such as stem cells and pharmacological agents, to 3-dimensional structures, in an easily user-customizable fashion.
Analysis of ECN on TCP Performance Enhancing Proxy performance for satellite networks

TCP has been a robust and efficient protocol for data communication in the terrestrial wired networks for more than a couple of decades now. However, TCP is very inefficient over high delay and high-error-rate links that might be found in tactical networks especially tactical SATCOM networks. The space communications protocol standards (SCPS) organization has proposed a more efficient SCPS-TP protocol, which is a modification of TCP to be used for space environments. The selective negative acknowledgement (SNACK) is an important capability provided by SCPS-TP. Because TCP/IP has gone through many incremental refinements, the protocol itself has grown increasingly complex, which makes analytical modeling quite difficult. As a result, much of the evaluation of TCP/IP QoS mechanism has been done using event driven simulators, such as NS-2 or OPNET. More recently, effort for analytical modeling of the performance of TCP has been active. This analysis has been triggered by the limitations inherent in event driven simulations: 1) Time consuming for network-centric system engineer to use a packet level granularity when investigating the performance of large, complex networks. 2)Analytical models help network engineer understand the effectiveness of new mechanisms such as TCP performance enhancing proxy and/or ECN being added to the system and implement better requirements and test cases coverage for different network deployment scenarios. SCPS-TP is typically available from performance enhancement proxy (PEP) which serves as a transport layer proxy to split TCP connections. explicit congestion notification (ECN) is used by routers to signal congestion to end points. The analytical model provides quantitative results to compare the ability of ECN signals vs PEP to distinguish between the packet losses due to network congestion and those due to interference or blockages frequently encountered in tactical wireless networks.
Predicting Novel Human Gene Ontology Annotations Using Semantic Analysis

The correct interpretation of many molecular biology experiments depends in an essential way on the accuracy and consistency of the existing annotation databases. Such databases are meant to act as repositories for our biological knowledge as we acquire and refine it. Hence, by definition, they are incomplete at any given time. In this paper, we describe a technique that improves our previous method for predicting novel GO annotations by extracting implicit semantic relationships between genes and functions. In this work, we use a vector space model and a number of weighting schemes in addition to our previous latent semantic indexing approach. The technique described here is able to take into consideration the hierarchical structure of the gene ontology (GO) and can weight differently GO terms situated at different depths. The prediction abilities of 15 different weighting schemes are compared and evaluated. Nine such schemes were previously used in other problem domains, while six of them are introduced in this paper. The best weighting scheme was a novel scheme, n2tn. Out of the top 50 functional annotations predicted using this weighting scheme, we found support in the literature for 84 percent of them, while 6 percent of the predictions were contradicted by the existing literature. For the remaining 10 percent, we did not find any relevant publications to confirm or contradict the predictions. The n2tn weighting scheme also outperformed the simple binary scheme used in our previous approach.
Concurrent versus individual binding of HuR and AUF1 to common labile target mRNAs

RNA-binding proteins HuR and AUF1 bind to many common AU-rich target mRNAs and exert opposing influence on target mRNA stability, but the functional interactions between HuR and AUF1 have not been systematically studied. Here, using common target RNAs encoding p21 and cyclin D1, we provide evidence that HuR and AUF1 can bind target transcripts on both distinct, nonoverlapping sites, and on common sites in a competitive fashion. In the nucleus, both proteins were found together within stable ribonucleoprotein complexes; in the cytoplasm, HuR and AUF1 were found to bind to target mRNAs individually, HuR colocalizing with the translational apparatus and AUF1 with the exosome. Our results indicate that the composition and fate (stability, translation) of HuR- and/or AUF1-containing ribonucleoprotein complexes depend on the target mRNA of interest, RNA-binding protein abundance, stress condition, and subcellular compartment.
Josephson's junction, annulus maps, Birkhoff attractors, horseshoes and rotation sets

We investigate the implications of transverse homoclinic orbits to fixed points in dissipative diffeomorphisms of the annulus. We first recover a result due to Aronson et al. [3]: that certain such ‘rotary’ orbits imply the existence of an interval of rotation numbers in the rotation set of the diffeomorphism. Our proof differs from theirs in that we use embeddings of the Smale [61] horseshoe construction, rather than shadowing and pseudo orbits. The symbolic dynamics associated with the non-wandering Cantor set of the horseshoe is then used to prove the existence of uncountably many invariant Cantor sets (Cantori) of each irrational rotation number in the interval, some of which are shown to be ‘dissipative’ analogues of the order preserving Aubry-Mather Cantor sets found by variational methods in area preserving twist maps. We then apply our results to the Josephson junction equation, checking the necessary hypotheses via Melnikov's method, and give a partial characterization of the attracting set of the Poincare map for this equation. This provides a concrete example of a ‘Birkhoff attractor’ [10].
Hydrocephalus Is a Determinant of Early Mortality in Putaminal Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose—Previous studies have shown that the volume of intracerebral hemorrhage and Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) on admission are powerful predictors of 30-day mortality. However, the significance of hydrocephalus associated with deep cerebral hemorrhage has not been studied extensively. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic indicators of 30-day mortality in patients with deep cerebral hemorrhage. Methods—We studied 100 consecutive patients with deep cerebral hemorrhage between 1994 and 1998. Deep cerebral hemorrhage was divided into 2 groups: putaminal hemorrhage (lateral group) and thalamic and caudate hemorrhage (medial group). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent prognostic indicators of 30-day mortality. Results—Hydrocephalus was present in 40 of the 100 patients. The 30-day mortality was 29%, and hydrocephalus was present in 76% of those who died. Multivariate analyses showed 2 independent prognostic indicator...
Probabilistic representation of gene regulatory networks

Motivation: Recent experiments have established unambiguously that biological systems can have significant cell-to-cell variations in gene expression levels even in isogenic populations. Computational approaches to studying gene expression in cellular systems should capture such biological variations for a more realistic representation. Results: In this paper, we present a new fully probabilistic approach to the modeling of gene regulatory networks that allows for fluctuations in the gene expression levels. The new algorithm uses a very simple representation for the genes, and accounts for the repression or induction of the genes and for the biological variations among isogenic populations simultaneously. Because of its simplicity, introduced algorithm is a very promising approach to model large-scale gene regulatory networks. We have tested the new algorithm on the synthetic gene network library bioengineered recently. The good agreement between the computed and the experimental results for this library of networks, and additional tests, demonstrate that the new algorithm is robust and very successful in explaining the experimental data. Availability: The simulation software is available upon request. Supplementary information: Supplementary material will be made available on the OUP server.
Exact global color symmetry in quantum chromodynamics

From an analysis of the Dyson-Schwinger equations we find that global colorSU(3) is not a spontaneously broken symmetry in quantum chromodynamics. Hence we conclude that either color as a local symmetry remains exact or it is broken in such a manner that global color remains an exact symmetry.
Growth, Flowering, and Cold Hardiness of Rockrose in Western Oregon

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Cistus, Halimium, drought, landscape, shrubs SUMMARY. Ninety-three species, cultivars, and hybrid selections of rockrose (Cistus spp., Halimium spp., and ·Halimiocistus spp.) were evaluated for growth, flowering, and cold hardiness in a landscape trial in Aurora, OR, from 2004 to 2009. Plants were irrigated to aid establishment when planted in summer 2004, but thereafter were not watered, fertilized, or pruned throughout the trial. Cold damage was recorded following freezing events in Feb. 2006 and Dec. 2008 in which low temperatures were 20 and 17 � F, respectively. Those plants that consistently suffered the most cold damage were Halimium atriplicifolium, Cistus creticus ssp. creticus ‘Tania Compton’, Cistus ·pauranthus, and Cistus albidus forma albus. Other plants showed cold damage related to poor vigor. The length of the flowering period and foliage quality varied widely among plants in the evaluation. The plants with the longest flowering period were Halimium ·pauanum, Cistus inflatus, Cistus ·pulverulentus ‘Sunset’, and ·Halimiocistus ‘Ingwersenii’, all of which flowered for more than 55 days. Plant form and foliage quality declined drastically for some plants during the evaluation. Those that retained the best foliage quality included Cistus ·obtusifolius, Cistus ·laxus ,C istus salviifolius ‘Gold Star’, Cistus ‘Gordon Cooper’, Halimium lasianthum ‘Sandling’, Halimium ‘Susan’, and ·Halimiocistus sahucii. Based on ratings of foliage and bloom time, as well as hardiness, several Cistus are recommended as droughttolerant groundcovers, including Cistus ·gardianus and C. ·obtusifolius. Cistus ·laxus, C. inflatus, Cistus ‘Gordon Cooper’, Cistus ‘Ruby Cluster’, and Cistus ‘Snow Fire’ are suggested as tall groundcovers or landscape specimens. Several Halimium are recommended for landscape use, including H. lasianthum ‘Sandling’, Halimium ‘Susan’, H. ·pauanum, and ·Halimiocistus ‘Ingwersenii’.
Candida albicans switch phenotpes display differential levels of fitness

BACKGROUND Candidiasis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed individuals. Currently, there are limited treatment options for this opportunistic infection and there have been many reports in the literature of increased resistance to treatment. There is evidence to suggest that phenotypic switching of Candida albicans may play a role in this resistance. It was therefore, the purpose of this study to assess the variability among C. albicans switch phenotypes isolated from a single strain. MATERIAL/METHODS Four switch phenotypes from a single strain of Candida albicans isolated from an HIV+ individual were evaluated for growth rates, post-antifungal effects in the presence of fluconazole, fluconazole uptake and morphological changes after fluconazole exposure. RESULTS We found that, overall, smooth white and very wrinkled grew significantly faster then either ring or heavily myceliated and were most drastically affected by 4X and 6X MIC concentrations of fluconazole over a 24 hour period. When all four phenotypes were exposed to 64. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that switch phenotypes from Candida albicans serve different roles in providing adaptability and survivability under differing conditions.
Unusual intragenic suppression of an IFT52 gene disruption links hypoxia to the intraflagellar transport in Tetrahymena thermophila.

IFT52 protein is a conserved intraflagellar transport protein (a part of the IFT complex B) that is essential for assembly and maintenance of cilia. Tetrahymena null mutants with an insertion of a neo gene cassette into the IFT52 gene undergo frequent suppressions that lead to conditional assembly of cilia only under hypoxic conditions (Brown et al. 2003). Here we show that these conditional suppressions are intragenic and occur by a novel mechanism. First, the non-native (bacterial) portion of the DNA sequence of the neo cassette is deleted during the process of genome rearrangement that occurs in the developing macronucleus of conjugating Tetrahymena. Next, the residual sequences of the neo cassette (of Tetrahymena origin) within the IFT52 mRNA are recognized as multiple introns and undergo splicing, leading to a restoration of the translational frame of IFT52. The resulting hypoxia-dependent IFT52 protein contains an insertion of 43 new amino acids that replace 7 original amino acids. Taken together with a study in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii showing a hypoxia-dependence of another IFT subunit mutant, IFT46, (Hou et al. 2007), our observations generalize that defective IFT complex subunits can regain functionality under hypoxia.
Enallagma and Telagrion from Western Florida, with a Description of a New Species.

The author received a collection of Odonata from Western Florida made during the first weeks in April 1927. The collection, though small, proved to be a very interesting one, the following list and notes resulting from a study of Enallagma and Telagrion.
Lina Bo Bardi

In this hybrid of biography and monograph, Zeuler Rocha Mello de Almeida Lima deftly explores the remarkably prolific life and intriguingly idiosyncratic work of Italo-Brazilian architect Lina Bo B...
Photogeneration of H2O2 in Water-Swollen SPEEK/PVA Polymer Films

Efficient reduction of O2 took place via illumination with 350 nm photons of cross-linked films containing a blend of sulfonated poly(ether etherketone) and poly(vinyl alcohol) in contact with air-saturated aqueous solutions. Swelling of the solid macromolecular matrices in H2O enabled O2 diffusion into the films and also continuous extraction of the photogenerated H2O2, which was the basis for a method that allowed quantification of the product. Peroxide formed with similar efficiencies in films containing sulfonated polyketones prepared from different precursors and the initial photochemical process was found to be the rate-determining step. Generation of H2O2 was most proficient in the range of 4.9 ≤ pH ≤ 8 with a quantum yield of 0.2, which was 10 times higher than the efficiencies determined for solutions of the polymer blend. Increases in temperature as well as [O2] in solution were factors that enhanced the H2O2 generation. H2O2 quantum yields as high as 0.6 were achieved in H2O/CH3CN mixtures with...
Posterolateral approach for open reduction and internal fixation of trimalleolar ankle fractures

The standard indication for fixing a posterior malleolar fracture is a displaced fragment that involves more than 25%–35% of the articular surface of the distal tibia.1,2 A number of different surgical approaches to this fracture have been advocated.1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Often, the posterior fragment reduces simultaneously when the lateral malleolus is reduced because of their respective attachments to the posteroinferior tibiofibular ligament (PITFL). This fragment, also known as a Volkmann's fragment, can then be fixed with lag screws inserted from anterior to posterior. This expected reduction is not likely if the ankle is not being fixed acutely because of the interposition of organized hematoma or callus. Further, it would seem that a supine approach to an ankle fracture with a posterior malleolus fragment fixed with screws placed anterior to posterior would be analogous to fixing a lateral tibial plateau fracture with screws from the medial side. If direct exposure of the fragment is necessary, the posteromedial approach has been recommended.2,7 This allows fixation of the medial and posterior malleoli through the same incision. The limited visualization of the posterior malleolar fragment afforded by this exposure has led other authors to describe different techniques to facilitate anatomical reduction. One such approach is to use the same posteromedial incision and access the posterior malleolus by incising the sheaths of the tibialis posterior and flexor digitorum longus tendons and retracting them anteriorly.3 A medial approach for a typically posterolateral fragment still would seem suboptimal. An extensile posteromedial approach with dislocation of the talus laterally and complete release of soft-tissue attachments to the posterior malleolus has also been described.1 This seems overly aggressive and can compromise syndesmotic integrity. Other options include arthroscopically assisted reduction4 and the lateral transmalleolar approach.5 It is very difficult to get an anatomical reduction of the posterior malleolus fragment using a lateral transmalleolar approach, however, because the PITFL is attached to the unreduced fibula. The purpose of this paper is to describe in detail a different method of approach and fixation that has proved very useful in the authors' experience: open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of trimalleolar ankle fractures using the posterolateral approach. The posterolateral approach has been described in the literature but has not received much attention.6 The rationale and nuances of the execution of this approach will be elaborated on here.
Improvement in aerobic and hemodynamic responses to exercise following aorta-coronary bypass grafting

Preoperative and postoperative hemodynamic studies were performed during exercise in 70 patients having aorta-coronary bypass grafting for the treatment of angina. There was significant symptomatic improvement with 88% of patients free of angina postoperatively. In patients with complete revascularization there was a marked improvement during exercise in maximal oxygen consumption, cardiac index, and maximal pressure-rate product In addition, there was a fall in pulmonary arterial pressure postoperatively. In contrast, patients with incomplete revascularization showed a small but insignificant rise in maximal oxygen consumption and cardiac index. The major reason for the increase in cardiac index was a marked increase in heart rate rather than a change in stroke index. In patients with complete revascularization there was a significant increase in stroke work index at maximal exercise.
Congress as manager: oversight hearings and agency morale

Federal agencies perform many important tasks, from guarding against terrorist plots to mailing social security checks. A key question is whether Congress can effectively manage such a large and influential bureaucracy. We argue that Congress, in using oversight to ensure agency responsiveness to legislative preferences, risks harming agency morale, which could have negative long-run effects on performance and the implementation of public policy. More specifically, we argue that oversight’s effects on agency morale are conditional on whether oversight is adversarial or friendly. We assess our claims using a novel data set of the frequency and tone of hearings in which federal agencies are called to testify before Congress from 1999 to 2011 and merge it with data on agency autonomy and job satisfaction. Our findings suggest that agency morale is sensitive to congressional oversight attention, and thus speak to questions regarding democratic accountability, congressional policymaking and the implementation of public policy.
Time volunteered on community health activities by brigadistas in Nicaragua

ABSTRACT Objective To report on how brigadistas (“health brigadiers”) in Nicaragua volunteer their time before the introduction of expanded responsibilities (beyond the scope of integrated community case management (iCCM)) for sick children 2–59 months old. Methods Three complete teams of brigadistas (n = 12 brigadistas total) were selected from remote communities in the department of Matagalpa. Each respondent brigadista was interviewed privately regarding the frequency and duration (i.e., preparation, round-trip travel, and implementation time) of 13 separate activities. The correlation between their overall estimates and summed times of individual activities were measured. Results Brigadista mean density was 1 per 156 total population (range: 120–217). Each team had one encargado/a (“manager”) with an iCCM drug box plus two to four asistentes (“assistants”). All resided in the community they served. Eight reported competing time demands during one to nine months of the year. Brigadistas volunteered an average of 75 hours per month (range: 35–131). Encargados were busier than asistentes (98 versus 68 hours per month). Three activities accounted for 70% of their time: 1) iCCM (30%: treatment (11%), follow-up (19%)); 2) receiving training (21%); and 3) promoting birth planning (19%). Brigadistas’ time was divided among preparation (12%), travel (27%), and implementation (61%). Overall estimates were highly correlated (+0.70) with summed implementation time. Conclusions Brigadistas from these remote Nicaraguan communities were busy with different activities, levels of effort, and patterns of task-sharing. These findings, plus an ongoing job satisfaction survey and a follow-on time study after the introduction of the new interventions, will inform policy for this valuable volunteer cadre.
General Principles of Adrenal Surgery

Over the past 20 years laparoscopic adrenalectomy has become standard treatment for most adrenal lesions requiring resection. Today the primary indication for open adrenalectomy is local invasion of either adrenocortical carcinoma or malignant pheochromocytomas requiring en bloc resection. Size of the tumor and surgeon experience may also influence the decision for an open approach, although there is no size cutoff that is an absolute contraindication to laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Perioperative management and follow-up are dictated by patient disease, with most patients able to be discharged from the hospital the day after surgery.
Biophysical investigation of type A PutAs reveals a conserved core oligomeric structure

Many enzymes form homooligomers, yet the functional significance of self-association is seldom obvious. Herein, we examine the connection between oligomerization and catalytic function for proline utilization A (PutA) enzymes. PutAs are bifunctional enzymes that catalyze both reactions of proline catabolism. Type A PutAs are the smallest members of the family, possessing a minimal domain architecture consisting of N-terminal proline dehydrogenase and C-terminal l-glutamate-γ-semialdehyde dehydrogenase modules. Type A PutAs form domain-swapped dimers, and in one case (Bradyrhizobium japonicum PutA), two of the dimers assemble into a ring-shaped tetramer. Whereas the dimer has a clear role in substrate channeling, the functional significance of the tetramer is unknown. To address this question, we performed structural studies of four-type A PutAs from two clades of the PutA tree. The crystal structure of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus PutA covalently inactivated by N-propargylglycine revealed a fold and substrate-channeling tunnel similar to other PutAs. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and analytical ultracentrifugation indicated that Bdellovibrio PutA is dimeric in solution, in contrast to the prediction from crystal packing of a stable tetrameric assembly. SAXS studies of two other type A PutAs from separate clades also suggested that the dimer predominates in solution. To assess whether the tetramer of B. japonicum PutA is necessary for catalytic function, a hot spot disruption mutant that cleanly produces dimeric protein was generated. The dimeric variant exhibited kinetic parameters similar to the wild-type enzyme. These results implicate the domain-swapped dimer as the core structural and functional unit of type A PutAs. ENZYMES Proline dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.5.2); l-glutamate-γ-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.88). DATABASES The atomic coordinates and structure factor amplitudes have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under accession number 5UR2. The SAXS data have been deposited in the SASBDB under the following accession codes: SASDCP3 (BbPutA), SASDCQ3 (DvPutA 1.5 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCX3 (DvPutA 3.0 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCY3 (DvPutA 4.5 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCR3 (LpPutA 3.0 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCV3 (LpPutA 5.0 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCW3 (LpPutA 8.0 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCS3 (BjPutA 2.3 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCT3 (BjPutA 4.7 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCU3 (BjPutA 7.0 mg·mL-1 ), SASDCZ3 (R51E 2.3 mg·mL-1 ), SASDC24 (R51E 4.7 mg·mL-1 ), SASDC34 (R51E 7.0 mg·mL-1 ).
Nonessential Trace Minerals: Basic Nutritional and Toxicological Aspects

Abstract Since 1970, numerous elements have been suggested to be essential based on an apparently beneficial action in experimental animals. These elements include aluminum, arsenic, boron, bromine, cadmium, chromium, fluoride, germanium, lead, lithium, nickel, rubidium, silicon, strontium, tin, and vanadium. The lack of any of these elements has not been shown to interrupt the life cycle or have a defined biochemical function in humans; thus they are generally considered nonessential. The benefits of supranutritional intakes of chromium and fluoride are presented in other chapters. Two of the other elements, boron and silicon, in nutritional or physiological amounts, have beneficial effects in humans. An intake of boron of 1 mg/day or more has been found to be beneficial for bone growth and maintenance, central nervous system function, and hormone action. Silicon intakes greater than 15 mg/day have been associated with bone health. Plausible mechanisms of actions for these effects are described herein.
Visual vertigo: Vertigo of oculomotor origin.

Since Robert Barany proposed his hypothesis on vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), dizziness associated with vertigo has been interpreted as being vestibular in origin. However, there have been many contradictory findings showing modulations of VOR, which have caused confusion as to VOR's role and accuracy. Further, there seems to be an influence of VOR when the anatomical inner ear structures are congenitally absent. Many people report vertiginous symptoms when they are exposed to visually challenging situations. These people with visually induced vertigo are usually found to have only mildly abnormal labyrinthine findings. Accurate visual information via binocular vision in animals, including humans, is important for the survival. Understanding how visual information is used in balance can help us to apply a different approach to the mechanism of vertigo. This article will review how accurate binocular viewing is possible for precise images through a complex oculomotor system and the proprioceptive senses of the external ocular muscles (EOMs). The proprioceptive senses from EOMs appear to affect motor efferents of the body. Oculomotor activities during viewing are important not just for learning but also for executing whole body motor responses. An error in the oculomotor afferents will cause a reaction to the error signal. This can be troubling for proper balancing during movement. Especially, common oculomotor causes (including fatigue of EOMs which is common in today's lifestyle) can contribute to many vertiginous conditions.
Dental Embryology, Anatomy, Development, and Aging

Equine practitioners should be knowledgeable of dental anatomy and development to enhance their skill of age estimation of horses. The permanent teeth of horses are continually undergoing changes in shape and appearance. These changes may be used to suggest a reasonable age range for a horse.