cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Use of a Novel Antimicrobial Implant Coating In Vivo to Prevent Spinal Implant Infection.

Author(s): Hegde, Vishal; Park, Howard Y; Dworsky, Erik; Zoller, Stephen D; Xi, Weixian; Johansen, Daniel O; Loftin, Amanda H; Hamad, Christopher D; Segura, Tatiana; Bernthal, Nicholas M | Abstract: Study designA controlled, interventional animal study.ObjectiveSpinal implant infection (SII) is a devastating complication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel implant coating that has both a passive antibiotic elution and an active-release mechanism triggered in the presence of bacteria, using an in vivo mouse model of SII.Summary of background dataCurrent methods to minimize the frequency of SII include local antibiotic therapy (vancomycin powder), betadine irrigation, silver nanoparticles, and passive release from antibiotic-loaded poly(methyl methacrylate) cement beads, all of which have notable weaknesses. A novel implant coating has been developed to address some of these limitations but has not been tested in the environment of a SII.MethodsA biodegradable coating using branched poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG-PPS) polymer was designed to deliver antibiotics. The in vivo performance of this coating was tested in the delivery of either vancomycin or tigecycline in a previously established mouse model of SII. Noninvasive bioluminescence imaging was used to quantify the bacterial burden, and implant sonication was used to determine bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) from the implant and surrounding bone and soft tissue.ResultsThe PEG-PPS-vancomycin coating significantly lowered the infection burden from postoperative day 3 onwards (P l 0.05), whereas PEG-PPS-tigecycline only decreased the infection on postoperative day 5 to 10 (P l 0.05). CFUs were lower on PEG-PPS-vancomycin pins than PEG-PPS-tigecycline and PEG-PPS pins alone on both the implants (2.4 × 10, 8.5 × 10, and 1.0 × 10 CFUs, respectively) and surrounding bone and soft tissue (1.3 × 10, 4.8 × 10, and 5.4 × 10 CFUs, respectively) (P l 0.05).ConclusionThe biodegradable PEG-PPS coating demonstrates promise in decreasing bacterial burden and preventing SII. The vancomycin coating outperformed the tigecycline coating in this model compared to prior work in arthroplasty models, highlighting the uniqueness of the paraspinal infection microenvironment.Level of evidenceN/A.
Control of PMSG wind electrical system in network context and during the MPP tracking process

This study presents a control strategy for grid-connected WES based on a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The power system comprises five PMSG-based 2 MW which connected to the dc-bus with rectifiers, whereas the grid-side inverter is connected to the power grid throughout a grid-side filter. The objectives of grid-side inverter are to deliver the energy from the PMSGs side to the power grid, to regulate the dc-bus and to achieve unity power factor (UPF). The generator side converters are employed to control the velocities of the PMSGs with maximum power point tracking algorithm. Moreover, a pitch control algorithm is used. The proposed vector control technique (VCT) is able to fully decouple the quadrature (q) and direct (d) components of the currents. Simulations results using MATLAB/Simulink software are presented to validate the proposed control scheme for fault conditions into the grid as well as for normal working conditions.
Breakdown characteristics of carbon dioxide–ethane azeotropic mixtures near the critical point

The properties of traditional dielectric media have been a major limiting factor impacting the design and operation of many applications spanning from particle accelerators over x-ray radiography and radiotherapy to electrical power systems. Supercritical fluids (SCFs) combine the properties of high dielectric strength, low viscosity, and excellent heat transfer capability. Here, we show, for the first time, the anomalous breakdown strength characteristics of SCF mixtures, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethane (C2H6) mixtures and their azeotropic mixture under supercritical conditions. Our experiments suggest that the dielectric behavior deviates significantly from the established theory of gas discharge known by the work of Townsend and Paschen. Our results reveal that not only pure substances such as CO2 exhibit a discontinuity of the dielectric strength near the critical point, but the supercritical mixture also manifests a discontinuity. The effect of random particle clustering in the pure substance and the mixture is observed, which impacts the mean free path of electrons. We present the measured breakdown voltage in a 0.1 mm gap with a uniform electric field over a wide range of mixture ratios and fluid densities and use a mathematical model by Stanley to show the density fluctuations that peak at around the critical point. By adjusting the mixing ratio, we prove that the mixture forms a useful combination of dielectric strengths and critical points and broadens the applicability of SC mixtures for a variety of purposes.
Developing and Ground-Truthing Multi-Scalar Approaches to Mapping Gentrification

Gentrification scholars have produced one of the most dynamic literatures in geography. Yet, an underexplored feature is the different outcomes that arise based on the spatial scale and index varia...
Extended Linear Order Statistic (ELOS) Aggregation and Regression

The ordered weighted average (OWA) operator is a well-known aggregation tool that is primarily used for decisionlevel fusion. However, the OWA is a convex sum, i.e., its learned coefficients are constrained to sum to one, and thus the output is restricted to lie between the maximum and minimum values of the inputs. Relaxing this constraint on the sum of weights transforms the OWA into a linear order statistic (LOS), which allows the aggregation operation to map the input to any value on the set of reals, thus behaving more like a regression operator. The LOS parameterizes the regression operation of d-features using just d parameters, which helps with the model’s interpretability. However, learning just d parameters limits the amount of nonlinear space explored for an optimal solution, and thus reduces the expressibility of the LOS algorithm. We propose a novel aggregation method called the extended linear order statistic (ELOS), where for each position in the sorted input vector we have d parameters, one for each input feature, thus learning a total of d2 weights for the aggregation of d features. The increased number of parameters helps the algorithm improve its expressibility while maintaining interpretability. In our experiments on real-world benchmark data sets, ELOS has outperformed both linear regression and LOS in 8 out of 10 experiments.
Heart Health and Behavior Change in HIV-Infected Individuals

Management of cardiovascular disease risk requires many lifestyle changes involving diet, smoking, and exercise. Individuals with arterial plaque are encouraged to adopt these changes to promote longevity through a variety of interventions. This study examined behavioral changes in response to the standard of care after detection of arterial plaque, specifically among HIV-infected cocaine users. 127 individuals (HIV − COC − n = 43, HIV + COC − n = 19, HIV + COC + n = 35, HIV − COC + n = 30) were followed after a standard of care intervention and assessed 1 and 2 years later on a variety of lifestyle (diet, exercise, smoking) and physiological (blood pressure, body mass index, number of arterial plaques) outcomes. Arterial plaque was found to increase over time (b = 0.003, SE = 0.002, p = .031), and a composite measure of cardiovascular disease risk did not change (b = − 0.004, SE = 0.01, p = .548). Following provision of a standard of care cardiovascular risk reduction intervention, important health behaviors related to CVD risk were resistant to change among both those HIV-infected and uninfected and among cocaine users and non-users.
Conclusions and Future Directions for Understanding Survey Methodology

This chapter ties together the preceding chapters, organizing them in terms of shared methodological topics—item and unit nonresponse, measurement and socially desirable responding, and interaction and interactional problems in the survey interview—and highlighting potential areas of future research. A common thread connecting the preceding chapters, inequality and its effect on each of the methodological topics, is traced and discussed. Feelings of powerlessness, marginalization, and stigmatization emerge as important potential causes of item nonresponse, measurement error, and other types of survey errors. As inequality is a primary focus of sociological theory and research, the need for sociological understandings in survey methodology is emphasized. Extensions and additional theories and perspectives that may be fruitfully applied to survey methodological problems are also discussed.
Predictive Digital Twins: Where Dynamic Data-Driven Learning Meets Physics-Based Modeling

A digital twin is an evolving virtual model that mirrors an individual physical asset throughout its lifecycle. An asset-specific model is a powerful tool to underpin intelligent automation and drive key decisions. The formulations and methods of dynamic data-driven application systems (DDDAS) have a key role to play in the tasks of inference, assimilation, prediction, control, and planning that enable the digital twin paradigm. Of particular importance is a tight feedback loop between models and data, which has long been a central concept in DDDAS. This keynote talk presents an approach to create, update, and deploy data-driven physics-based digital twins. We demonstrate the approach through the development of a structural digital twin for a custom-built unmanned aerial vehicle.
VerHealth: Vetting Medical Voice Applications through Policy Enforcement

Healthcare applications on Voice Personal Assistant System (e.g., Amazon Alexa), have shown a great promise to deliver personalized health services via a conversational interface. However, concerns are also raised about privacy, safety, and service quality. In this paper, we propose VerHealth, to systematically assess health-related applications on Alexa for how well they comply with existing privacy and safety policies. VerHealth contains a static module and a dynamic module based on machine learning that can trigger and detect violation behaviors hidden deep in the interaction threads. We use VerHealth to analyze 813 health-related applications on Alexa by sending over 855,000 probing questions and analyzing 863,000 responses. We also consult with three medical school students (domain experts) to confirm and assess the potential violations. We show that violations are quite common, e.g., 86.36% of them miss disclaimers when providing medical information; 30.23% of them store user physical or mental health data without approval. Domain experts believe that the applications' medical suggestions are often factually-correct but are of poor relevance, and applications should have asked more questions before providing suggestions for over half of the cases. Finally, we use our results to discuss possible directions for improvements.
Can one hear the shape of a neural network?: Snooping the GPU via Magnetic Side Channel

We examine the magnetic flux emanating from a graphics processing unit’s (GPU’s) power cable, as acquired by a cheap $3 induction sensor, and find that this signal betrays the detailed topology and hyperparameters of a black-box neural network model. The attack acquires the magnetic signal for one query with unknown input values, but known input dimension and batch size. The reconstruction is possible due to the modular layer sequence in which deep neural networks are evaluated. We find that each layer component’s evaluation produces an identifiable magnetic signal signature, from which layer topology, width, function type, and sequence order can be inferred using a suitably trained classifier and an optimization based on integer programming. We study the extent to which network specifications can be recovered, and consider metrics for comparing network similarity. We demonstrate the potential accuracy of this side channel attack in recovering the details for a broad range of network architectures including also random designs. We consider applications that may exploit this novel side channel exposure, such as adversarial transfer attacks. In response, we discuss countermeasures to protect against our method and other similar snooping techniques.
Sex-related impelling cues uniquely predict event-level alcohol-related sexual behavior that poses heightened risk for negative consequences among college women.

The occurrence of sexual behavior that poses heightened risk for negative outcomes (e.g., condomless sex, sex with new or unfamiliar partners) often involves drinking alcohol for social and enhancement purposes, with female college students being particularly at-risk for resulting consequences. This study examined whether alcohol use, drinking motives, and sex-related impelling cues (i.e., cues that may impel one toward engaging in sexual activity) could predict sexual behaviors that pose heightened risk for negative consequences among female undergraduates. A total of 251 drinking episodes from 56 female college students (M age = 19.66) were obtained via surveys assessing alcohol use, drinking motives, sex-related impelling cues, and sexual behaviors at the event level. Relationships between variables were examined via main effect and factorial generalized estimating equations for social, enhancement, coping, and conformity drinking motives. In each main effects model, sex-related impelling cues were the only significant predictor. Significant three-way interactions were found in the social and enhancement factorial models, such that sexual behaviors that pose heightened risk for negative consequences occurred 58.81% and 55.81% of the time, respectively, under conditions of high drinks, motives, and sex-related impelling cues. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of the circumstances under which these sexual behaviors are most likely to occur, necessitating the consideration of sex-related impelling cues in addition to previously known predictors (i.e., alcohol use and drinking motives). This knowledge may assist in developing targeted interventions designed to reduce sexual behavior that poses heightened risk for negative consequences and ultimately improve the lives of college women. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Active Learning Configuration Interaction for Excited States Calculations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

We present the active learning configuration interaction (ALCI) method for multiconfigurational calculations based on large active spaces. ALCI leverages the use of an active learning procedure to find important electronic configurations among the full configuration space generated within an active space. We tested it for the calculation of singlet-singlet excited states of acenes and pyrene, by using different machine learning algorithms. The ALCI method yields excitation energies within 0.2–0.3 eV from those obtained by traditional complete active space configuration interaction (CASCI) calculations (affordable for active spaces up to 16 electrons in 16 orbitals), by including only a small fraction of the CASCI configuration space in the calculations. For larger active spaces (up to 26 electrons in 26 orbitals), not affordable with traditional CI methods, ALCI captures the trends of experimental excitation energies. Overall ALCI provides satisfactory approximations to large active-space wave functions with up to ten orders of magnitude fewer configurations. These ALCI wave functions are promising and affordable starting points for subsequent second order perturbation theory or pair-density functional theory calculations.
Can we eat our way to a lower prostate cancer risk, and if so, how?

Within a few decades of moving to the United States, immigrants from countries with low cancer risk show a risk for several cancer types comparable to the average American [1]. These findings have long been used to argue that lifestyle factors play a strong role in cancer development. As such, it is logical to ask whether men living and working in the United States who adhere to ‘‘old world’’ diets (eg, Mediterranean) are at decreased risk of cancer. To address this specific question in the context of prostate cancer (PCa), Kenfield et al. [2] in this issue of European Urology tested whether adherence to a Mediterranean diet (calculated using aMediterranean diet score) amongUSmen was associated with reduced risk of overall PCa or advanced PCa. During a 14-yr follow-up period of 47 867 men, they identified 6220 cases of PCa and found that the Mediterranean diet score was not associated with overall risk or risk of advanced PCa. They further examined 4538 men who were diagnosed with PCa and among these men found no association between the Mediterranean diet score and PCa-specificmortality. Of note, they did observe a significant association between a higher Mediterranean diet score and reduced overall mortality in men with nonmetastatic PCa. Although these results are disappointing to the enthusiast for the role of diet and PCa, it is important to determine exactly what the authors meant by a ‘‘Mediterranean diet.’’ Specifically, Table 1 in Kenfield et al. [2] is extremely informative. For example, theMediterranean diet score was influenced by factors commonly associated with a Mediterranean diet, such as vegetables, fish, whole grains and ‘‘healthy fats’’ (ie, a high polyunsaturated-to-saturated fat ratio). However, the role of some of these factors in PCa risk is unclear. For example, one study suggested that whole
Toward a Theory of Knowledge Economics: An Information Systems Approach

A comprehensive theory of knowledge societies and knowledge economics is still missing. This article shows that the analytical tools from computer science, information systems and information theory provide an adequate language to work toward such theory. The presented formalization follows an evolutionary and multilevel approach, and embraces both the concepts of information and knowledge. It is shown that economic evolution can be modeled as a process that selects superior strategies from a set of possibilities through natural (market driven) selection. This reduces uncertainty by the production of negative entropy ('negentropy'). Furthermore, economic 'fitness' can be modelled in terms of the informational 'fit' of the economic system with its environment, which takes the form of Shannon's mutual information. In the case of a deterministic dynamic, uncertainty reduction takes the form of a predictable algorithm, which is quantified through Kolmogorov complexity. The length of such algorithm represents the knowledge about the unfolding dynamic. This shows that we might be able to eventually describe both, economics and technological information systems within the same analytical framework.
The Cart Before the Horse

Chimeric RNAs, transcribed from malignancy-associated chromosomal translocations, can also arise from RNA trans-splicing in normal cells.
Astroglial Differentiation of Cortical Precursor Cells Triggered by Activation of the cAMP-Dependent Signaling Pathway

In the developing brain, differentiation of neural precursors into neurons or glial cells occurs in response to neurotrophic factors acting on the cell surface. Intracellular signaling mechanisms that relay information to initiate differentiative responses of neural precursor cells are poorly understood. To investigate whether stimulation of the cAMP-dependent signaling pathway participates in differentiative responses of cells in the developing CNS, we performed experiments using both conditionally immortalized neural precursor cells (RC2.E10 cells) and primary cultures of cells from developing rat cortex. Initially, we determined that RC2.E10 cells retain phenotypic features of neural precursors after inactivation of the immortalizing oncogene, a temperature-sensitive mutant of the simian virus 40 large-T antigen (SV40T). We found that, once SV40T is inactivated, RC2.E10 cells cease to divide and die. However, RC2. E10 cells can proliferate in the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor. In addition, they express nestin, a marker of neural precursor cells. Both RC2.E10 cells and primary cortical precursor cells undergo astroglial differentiation in response to cAMP stimulation by treatment with 8-bromo-cAMP. In both cases, cAMP-induced astrocyte differentiation is characterized by morphological changes, stimulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein expression, downregulation of nestin expression, and decreased proliferation. No increases in the expression of neuronal or oligodendrocytic markers were observed. Our results support the notion that the developing CNS contains neural precursor cells with the capacity of undergoing astrocyte differentiation in response to increased intracellular cAMP concentrations.
Involvement of excitatory amino acids in neurotransmission of inspiratory drive to spinal respiratory motoneurons

The role of excitatory amino acids in the transmission of bulbospinal respiratory drive to spinal motoneurons was investigated in the in vitro and in vivo spinal cord of the rat. In vitro studies were performed with a preparation of neonatal rat brain stem and spinal cord that spontaneously generates rhythmic respiratory drive to spinal respiratory motoneurons. This in vitro system allowed examination of the effects of pharmacological agents on spinal motoneuron activity, without perturbing the activity of bulbospinal neurons transmitting the respiratory drive. The amplitude of spontaneous motor discharge in spinal ventral roots containing phrenic and intercostal motor axons was reduced in a dose-dependent manner by antagonists to excitatory amino acids acting at NMDA receptors [D,L-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D,L-AP5)] and non-NMDA receptors [kynurenic acid, gamma-D- glutamylglycine, gamma-D-glutamyltaurine, and L- and D,L-2-amino-4- phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4,D,L-AP4)]. The order of potency of the antagonists for complete block of the motor output was L-AP4 greater than D,L-AP4 greater than kynurenic acid greater than gamma-D- glutamylglycine greater than D,L-AP5 greater than or equal to gamma-D- glutamyltaurine. Amino acid uptake inhibitors augmented the spontaneous motoneuron activity, further confirming the involvement of endogenous excitatory amino acids in transmission of respiratory drive. The results obtained in vitro with AP4, kynurenic acid, and amino acid uptake inhibitors were confirmed in vivo by bathing segments of the rat spinal cord in situ with solutions containing antagonists and uptake inhibitors. The present results suggest that an important component of the neurotransmission of bulbospinal respiratory drive involves endogenous excitatory amino acids acting at AP4-sensitive sites and other non-NMDA (quisqualate/kainate) receptors. The bulbospinal-spinal respiratory motoneuron synapse may provide a convenient model synapse in the spinal cord for detailed analysis of mechanisms underlying excitatory amino acid-mediated synaptic transmission of motor drive.
Immune and Glial Regulation of Pain. Edited by Joyce A. DeLeo, PhD; Linda S. Sorkin, PhD; Linda R. Watkins, PhD

Fifty-two authors with expertise and research interest in the areas of immunology, neuroscience, and medicine have joined forces under the editorial board of three outstanding researchers in the fi...
Characterization of Oil-in-Water Emulsions Prepared with Commercial Soy Protein Concentrate

: Oil-in-water emulsions containing a commercial fraction of soy protein concentrate (SPC) were characterized for stability and microstructural differences. Emulsions were prepared with SPC (concentrations between 1% and 10% (w/v)) and soybean oil (10% w/w) and homogenized at 80 MPa. When SPC was added at a concentration high enough to be present in the dispersed phase, the average particle size, as determined by integrated light scattering, reached a plateau value. In addition, emulsions prepared with > 4% SPC showed increased viscosity with increasing SPC concentration. The protein formed a continuous network and emulsions were stable to creaming. Microstructural observations showed that phase separation occurred in emulsions prepared with high SPC concentrations.
Optical Scatter Characteristics And Surface Smoothing Effects In Coated Metal Surfaces

Deposition of 0.1 to 1.0 μM thick metal films on a CaF2 coated Si wafer causes a reduction in optical scatter and related microroughness. This effect is not observed when the coated surfaces are examined using a surface profilometer (Talystep). Scanning electron micrographs indicate that coated surfaces are smoother than uncoated surfaces.
Photodetachment Cross Section and the Electron Affinity of Atomic Oxygen

Experiments and theory on the continuous absorption of radiation by atomic-oxygen negative ions are described and discussed. The absorption cross section for photon energies not too near threshold is obtained directly from one of the experiments. Theory and experiment are combined to give the cross section in the vicinity of threshold and a precise value of the electron affinity of atomic oxygen. The latter result is EA(O) = 1.465\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005 ev. The data are used for computation of the radiative attachment coefficient, and other applications of the experimental results are discussed.
Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Medication Regimen Adherence in Clinical Trials and Clinical Practice

Researchers and clinicians have used numerous methods in their attempts to adequately assess patient compliance (adherence) with medication regimens and to identify noncompliant patients. Large variations have been reported in the extent of noncompliance in individual patients and large populations. In addition, nonadherence has often been poorly defined. Direct measures of adherence include drug assays of blood or urine, use of drug markers with the target medication, and direct observation of the patient receiving the medication. Indirect measures of adherence imply that the medication has been used by the patient; these measures include various forms of self-reporting by the patient, medication measurement (pill count), use of electronic monitoring devices, and review of prescription records and claims. Compliance measures should be assessed on the basis of their validity (sensitivity and specificity or statistical correlation) and the reference standard used. Many early studies used pill counts as a reference standard, but electronic monitoring devices such as the Medication Event Monitoring System have replaced pill counts as the reference standard. The choice of a method for measuring adherence to a medication regimen should be based on the usefulness and reliability of the method in light of the researcher's or clinician's goals. Specific methods may be more applicable to certain situations, depending on the type of adherence being assessed, the precision required, and the intended application of the results.
Glomerular volume and renal histology in obese and non-obese living kidney donors

The link between obesity and renal disease is unclear, and there is no consensus as to whether obese individuals are at increased risk for kidney disease after living kidney donation if they otherwise meet acceptance criteria. We retrospectively studied time-zero (implantation) biopsies in 49 obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥30kg/m 2 ) and 41 non-obese (BMI 2 ) renal donors that met acceptance criteria. We found that our obese donor population had higher systolic blood pressure ( P P =0.001 vs non-obese) before donation. The obese donors had larger glomerular planar surface area compared to non-obese controls ( P =0.017), and this parameter correlated with patient weight and urinary microalbumin excretion. Detailed examination of the biopsies revealed that although most histologic findings were similar between groups, the obese donors had more tubular dilation ( P =0.01), but less tubular vacuolization ( P =0.02) than the non-obese controls. There was also a trend toward more arterial hyalinosis in the obese patients than controls ( P =0.08). From these data, our studies detected subtle differences in donor organs obtained from obese compared to non-obese individuals. Further studies should be carried out to quantify the long-term impact of these findings.
Povinelli’s Problem and Introspection

Povinelli’s Problem is a well-known methodological problem confronting those researching nonhuman primate cognition. In this paper I add a new wrinkle to this problem. The wrinkle concerns introspection, i.e., the ability to detect one’s own mental states. I argue that introspection either creates a new obstacle to solving Povinelli’s Problem, or creates a slightly different, but closely related, problem. I apply these arguments to Robert Lurz and Carla Krachun’s (Review of Philosophy and Psychology 2: 449–481, 2011) recent attempt at solving Povinelli’s Problem.
The effect of hiccup on the electrocardiogram: registration of diaphragmatic action currents and mechanical artifacts.

Abstract Electrocardiographic records demonstrating electrical and mechanical artifacts due to hiccups are presented and discussed.
A SLAM-based approach for underwater mapping using AUVs with poor inertial information

This paper presents a SLAM-based approach for creating maps of underwater terrain using AUVs with poor inertial information. The initial motivating application for this work was mapping in the non-inertial frame of a free-drifting Antarctic iceberg, but poor inertial information can also occur if low-cost, high drift inertial instrumentation is used in standard mapping tasks, or if DVL bottom lock is lost during the mission. This paper presents a SLAM-based approach in which features are extracted from concatenated multibeam data and descriptors are created, allowing these features to be compared against past terrain as the vehicle traverses the area. There have been a number of previous research efforts that used feature-based SLAM techniques for underwater mapping, but they have generally made assumptions or relied on sensors that are inconsistent with this paper's motivating application, such as a flat bottom, the availability of visual imagery, or manmade fiducial markers. The method presented here uses natural terrain, is robust to water turbidity, and can be used in areas with vertical terrain like the walls of canyons and icebergs. Results are presented on data collected from Monterey Canyon using a vehicle with a high-grade IMU but that lost DVL bottom lock during the mapping run.
Role of Tigecycline for the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections.

Objective: To review and critically analyze the literature for the use of tigecycline for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Data Sources: A search of the MEDLINE database was perfor...
Cardiac myocyte cell surface: identification and expression of differentiation antigens during chick heart development.

Abstract Cardiac myocytes from various stages of chick development were examined for specific cell-surface antigens not found on skeletal muscle to determine if specification of this striated muscle's cell-surface antigenicity accompanies differentiation of cardiac tissue. Rabbit antisera raised against 10-day chick embryonic cardiac cells were assayed for specific anti-cell-surface antibodies with the complement-dependent 51Cr release and indirect immunofluorescence assays. Identification of specific surface antigens was possible following removal of cross-reactive antibodies by absorption of a 1 25 dilution of anti-cardiac serum with skeletal muscle cells; a significant titer remained for cardiac cultures, while the absorbed antiserum no longer lysed skeletal muscle cells. A second class of shared surface antigens common to both heart and skeletal muscle cells was detectable at higher dilutions ( 1 250 ). These shared antigens were expressed in quantitatively similar amounts of both cell surfaces, although one lot of antisera appeared to detect a particular shared antigen that was slightly enriched on cardiac cells. Indirect immunofluorescence further corroborated the specificity found with the 51Cr release assay; fluorescent staining specific for cardiac cell surfaces remained after removal of all detectable fluorescence on skeletal muscle cells. Preferential lysis of cardiac myocytes but not cardiac fibroblasts by the absorbed antiserum demonstrated that the cardiac myocyte expresses a unique antigenic composition specific for its differentiated state. Titration of the absorbed antiserum against various developmental ages indicates that these specific antigens are expressed, and at a constant level, from Day 4 to Day 15 of chick embryogenesis. Last, cytolytic tests against a panel of embryonic cell types indicates that the absorbed antiserum is not absolutely tissue specific, but cross-reacts to a limited extent with kidney and some endodermal organs. Nonetheless, the strongest reactivity remains for cardiac cells, the tissue against which the antiserum was raised.
Inhibition of angiotensin-coverting enzyme by analogs of peptides from Bothrops jararaca venom.

Nachweis mit Analogen der im Gifte vonBothrops jararaca gefundenen Peptide, dass die Inhihibition des Angiotensins «converting enzyme» von zwei eindeutigen Teilsequenzen dieser Peptide abhangig ist. Die hohe spezifische kompetitive Inhibition, hervorgerufen durch die Peptide vonBothrops jararaca, wird der Bindung ihrer Tripeptidreste vom Carboxyterminus mit dem aktiven Zentrum des Enzyms zugeschrieben, die in gleicher Weise wie die Peptidsubstrate mit dem Enzym gebunden werden. Die Wirksamkeit der Giftpeptide hangt von der Bindung eines zweiten Teiles der Peptide mit dem Enzym ab.
SEARCH FOR NEW VECTOR MESONS BY DIFFRACTIVE PHOTOPRODUCTION AT THE NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORY.

If an as yet unobserved vector meson exists, it can be seen most easily by diffractive photoproduction on nuclei using a photon beam at the National Accelerator Laboratory (NAL). We have considered the problem of coherent production of such a particle on nuclei, taking into account the mixing between the $\ensuremath{\rho}$ and the new vector meson to arbitrary order. The method used here can be generalized to describe coherent scattering of hadrons and nuclei. It will be shown that the interference effect reduces the production of the new vector meson considerably and that the $A$ dependence of the production cross section plays an important role.
Heavy metal mobility in runoff water and absorption by eggplant fruits from sludge treated soil

Sewage sludge addition to agricultural lands requires judicious management to avoid environmental risks arising from heavy metal and nitrate contamination of surface water and accumulation in edible plants. A field study was conducted on a silty-loam soil of 10% slope at Kentucky State University Research Farm. Eighteen plots of 22 × 3.7 m each were separated using metal borders and the soil in six plots was mixed with sewage sludge and yard waste compost mix (SS-YW) at 15 t acre−1, six plots were mixed with sewage sludge (SS) at 15 t acre−1, and six unamended plots that never received sludge were used for comparison purposes. Plots were planted with eggplant, Solanum melongena L. as the test plant. The objectives of this investigation were to: 1) assess the effect of soil amendments on the transport of NO3, NH4, and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Mo) into surface water; 2) investigate the effect of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability in eggplant fruits at harvest; and 3) assess chem...
The effects of syntactic complexity on the occurrence of disfluencies in 5 year old nonstutterers

Abstract The effect of syntactic complexity on the number of disfluencies for sentence imitation and sentence modeling production tasks was studied in a sample of 5 year old nonstutterers. The subjects repeated 30 sentences representing six different syntactic constructions: (1) simple affirmative active declarative with auxiliary + ing, (2) negative with contraction, (3) future, (4) negative interrogative with contraction, (5) passive, and (6) auxiliary have with copula + ing. For the modeled sentence production task, the subjects modeled 30 sentences from pictures that represented the same six syntactic constructions as in the sentence imitation task. Subject responses were tape-recorded, and the number of disfluencies was counted for each subject for each stimulus sentence. A significant difference among the number of disfluencies occurring on the six sentence constructions was not found on the sentence imitation task. Significant differences among the number of disfluencies occurring on the sentence constructions, however, were evident for the sentence-modeling task. Results are discussed with regard to the effect of different sentence production tasks and varying syntactic complexity on the occurrence of normal disfluencies in preschool children.
Semi-automated model matching using version difference

Interoperability of software is a critical requirement in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, where a number of data exchange standards have been created to enable data exchange among different software packages. To be able to comply with existing data exchange standards, the software developers need to match their internal data schemas to the schema defined in a standard and vice versa. The process of matching two large scale data models is time consuming and cumbersome when performed manually, and becomes even more challenging when a source and/or a target model is being updated frequently to meet the ever expanding real world requirements. While several prior studies discussed the need for approaches toward automated or semi-automated schema matching, an approach that builds on existing matches between two models has rarely been studied. In this paper, we present a semi-automated approach for model matching. This approach leverages a given set of existing matching between two models and upgrades those matching when a new version of a target model is released. The paper describes in detail a list of upgrade patterns generated and validated through a prototype by matching a domain-specific data model to several recent releases of the industry foundation classes.
A new method for determination of intrinsic viscosity

The Huggins and Kraemer equations generally used to determine intrinsic viscosity frequently do not yield identical results, and their constants often do not add up to 1/2 as is mathematically required. To overcome these difficulties an equation has been deduced which through linear plots gives unambiguous intrinsic viscosities, constants which meet the 1/2 condition, as well as two other flow constants. Extensive tests of the equation with precise data on solutions of poly(methyl methacrylates) and polystyrenes in benzene and toluene confirm the validity of the new equation in every respect. It is further shown that the four constants involved are interrelated, and that it is possible to express the values of three of these in terms of the fourth.
Systemic phlorizin prevents gold thioglucose necrosis in the ventromedial hypothalamus

Intraventricular and intrahypothalamic infusions of phlorizin (PHL) are known to cause hyperphagia and to prevent gold thioglucose (GTG) lesion formation in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), respectively. In this study, PHL, administered IP in a large dose (900 mg/kg), completely inhibited GTG necrosis in the VMH. PHL did not cause excessive urinary excretion of GTG. This evidence suggested that systemic PHL must be injected in a high concentration to alter the hypothalamic response to GTG. In vitro measurements of VMH glucose oxidation substantiated this idea. Only at a high concentration of PHL was glucose oxidation significantly depressed in the VMH (p<0.001). Small amounts of PHL elevated VMH glucose oxidation (p<0.001). Since PHL is an inhibitor of glucose transport, these data support the concept of a hypothalamic glucostatic modulation for the control of food intake.
Classical gauge and BRST structure of covariant heterotic strings

Abstract We investigate the classical world-sheet gauge symmetries of heterotic string theories in the formalism of Siegel, which permits covariant gauge-fixing and BRST quantization. Siegel has demonstrated by algebraic considerations that superstrings possess two further gauge invariances, in addition to the usual general coordinate invariance and the “ k -supersymmetry” discovered by Green and Schwarz. We display the actions of the four gauge symmetries upon all fields, and compute the gauge algebra. The algebra only closes modulo the equations of motion, in principle necessitating arbitrarily complicated ghost interactions in a BRST quantization of the theory. However, the present situation is tractable, and we explicitly display the required BRST structure and ghost interactions.
Zerbe Noah. Agricultural Biotechnology Reconsidered: Western Narrative and African Alternatives . Trenton, N.J.: African World Press, 2005. x + 238 pp. Graphs. Bibliography. Index. $29.95. Paper.

Noah Zerbe. Agricultural Biotechnology Reconsidered: Western Narratives and African Alternatives. Trenton, N.J.: African World Press, 2005. x + 238 pp. Graphs. Bibliography. Index. $29.95. Paper. Ostensibly, this is a book focusing on agricultural biotechnology in Zimbabwe. In many respects, however, it is two books in one. The author is supremely competent to write the one on the colonial and postcolonial injustices that Zimbabwe has suffered, but for the other part-on agricultural biotechnology-he is not. His chapter on Zimbabwe's colonial inheritance is an absolute gem, succinct and to the point. This inheritance down through and including the Lancaster House Agreement is replete with injustices to the indigenous African population, and Noah Zerbe does a magnificent job of identifying and analyzing them. Though opposed to agricultural biotechnology or biotechnology in general, he unexpectedly comes out in favor of an "appropriate" biotechnology. Zerbe seems not to know that there has been a graduate program in biotechnology at the University of Zimbabwe since 1991. Its graduates have gone on to prestigious molecular biology programs in South Africa or around the world for their Ph.D.s, and many have returned to Zimbabwe where they are engaged in research. He could also have interviewed internationally known molecular biologists in Zimbabwe, including one who did a post-doc with James Watson quite literally at the dawn of biotechnology. To be sure, Zerbe is not alone in simply being unaware of African work on biotechnology. In 2002, when the NGOs raised such a fuss about the dangers of biotech food for famine relief in Africa, they totally ignored a U.N. Economic Commission for Africa report, "Harnessing Technology for Sustainable Development in Africa" (August 2002), which was almost entirely about the potential for biotechnology in agriculture ("green biotechnology") and in pharmaceuticals ("red biotechnology"). There is an African Journal of Biotechnology in which African scholars from around the continent publish. In July 2000, the Third World Academy of Sciences joined with the national academies of science in Brazil, Mexico, India, China, and the U.S., along with the Royal Society of the U.K., on the safety of transgenic food production. Early in 2006, another report was issued by this group in which other academies of science in Africa and Asia joined in. Today there is NEPAD Science and Technology Forum and a Biotechnology Advisory Group for the African Union. Obviously, some of these organizations were not in existence when Zerbe turned his dissertation into a book, but enough were to make one wonder why their views on biotechnology were ignored then in favor of non-peer-reviewed activists' publications-and why they are still ignored. Since Zerbe is interested in practical uses for agricultural biotechnology, why did he ignore "Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the Needs of the Poor? …
A gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric assay for catechol estrogens in microsomal incubations: Comparison with a radiometric assay

A gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric assay for quantifying two catechol estrogens, 2-hydroxyestradiol and 4-hydroxyestradiol, in microsomal preparations is described. The assay employs deuterium-labeled analogs of the catechol estrogens as internal standards and permits quantification of catechol estrogens, in microsomal incubations, at low (1–2) μM concentrations. The compounds are analyzed as their trimethylsilyl derivatives following separation by capillary gas chromatography.
Transport and uptake of immunogenic lipids

An increasing number of lipid mediators have been identified as key modulators of immunity. Among these is a family of glycolipids capable of cellular uptake, loading onto the MHC-like molecule CD1d and stimulation of NKT cells. NKT cells are particularly interesting because they bridge innate and adaptive immunity by coordinating the early events of dendritic cell maturation, recruitment of NK cells, CD4 and CD8 T cells, and B cells at the site of microbial injury. As such, their therapeutic manipulation could be of the greatest interest in vaccine design or active immunotherapy. However, the use of NKT cells as cellular adjuvant of immunity in the clinic will require a better knowledge of the pharmacology of lipid agonists in order to optimize their action and avoid potential unseen off-target effects. We have been studying extracellular transport and cellular uptake of NKT agonists for the past few years. This field is confronted to a very limited prior knowledge and a small set of usable tools. New technology must be put in place and adapted to answering basic immunology questions related to NKT cells. The intimate link between the pharmacology of glycolipids and lipid metabolism makes us believe that great variations of bioactivity could be seen in the general population when NKT agonists are used therapeutically.
Effects of nicotine and tyramine on contractile activity of the colon

Abstract Contractile activity of the descending colon of the anesthetized dog was monitored with strain gage force transducers. Nicotine and tyramine caused primarily a relaxation of the circular and longitudinal muscle. A secondary stimulation frequently followed the inhibition. Adrenalectomy partially antagonized the effects of nicotine. Xylocholine and reserpine petreatment reduced the early portion of the inhibitory response to nicotine. Hexamethonium or a combination of adrenalectomy with either xycholine or reserpine pretreatment abolished the effects of nicotine. The effects of tyramine were antagonized by cocaine and reserpine-pretreatment. Tolazoline and propranolol (in combination) reduced the effects of both nicotine and tyramine. We conclude that both nicotine and tyramine relaxed the colon by releasing catecholamines. Nicotine caused release from the adrenal glands and adrenergic nerve endings; tyramine produced release from the adrenergic nerve endings.