cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alcohol Exacerbates Liver Injury and Fibrosis in Mice With Liver-Specific Deficiency of Augmenter of Liver Regeneration

Augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) protein is expressed predominantly by hepatocytes in the liver, and is essential for their mitochondrial function. Liver-specific ALR knockout (ALR-L-KO) mice ...
Measuring Longshore Sediment Transport in a Large-Scale 3-Dimensional Laboratory Facility

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M ViF^^^^ \i WANQ P., 2006. Measuring longshore sediment transport in a large-scale 3-dimensional laboratory facility. Journal t ?J of Coastal Research, SI 39 (Proceedings of the 8th International Coastal Symposium), 816 821. Itajai, SC, Brazil, WSsgy ISSN0749-0208. Aiming at improving present understanding on longshore sediment transport (LST), the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center recently established a Large-scale Sediment Transport Facility (LSTF). The 3 dimensional movable-bed facility has the capability of simulating wave conditions that are directly comparable to annual averages along many low energy coasts. Wave, current, and sediment concentration are measured accurately at numerous longshore and cross-shore locations and throughout the water column. Depth-integrated LST rate and its cross-shore distribution are measured with 20 bottom traps installed at the downdrift end. These, along with beach-profile data, allow detailed analyses of LST processes. This paper focuses on the methodology of designing and implementing LST experiments. Each experiment consists of a number of wave-run segments. Each segment has a specific objective. The first few segments are designed to accomplish two tasks before the actual LST measurement. One is to achieve proper pump settings for the circulation of breaking-wave-generated longshore current. The other task is to allow the beach to reach equilibrium state. Successful accomplishment of these two tasks is crucial to ensure longshore uniformity of hydrodynamic and beach conditions, and to minimize interactions at the lateral boundaries. LST measurement is then accomplished with at least four wave-run segments, including one focusing on measurements at maximum number of locations alongshore, one on measurement of vertical current profiles, and two repeated measurements to ensure data quality. The first phase of LSTF experiments indicated that the above procedure was successful and should be valuable to the design of future laboratory studies. ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Nearshore sediment transport, surf-zone dynamics, physical modeling.
Abstract 20042: Comparison Between Alcohol Septal Ablation and Myomectomy for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopahty: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Both myomectomy and alcohol septal ablation (ASA) are used to treat patients with symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiolmyopathy (HOCM). There is limited evidence to guide decision making between the two. Our aim was to compare the clinical and procedural outcomes among septal ablation and surgical myomectomy in patients with HOCM. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane for studies comparing septal ablation to surgical myomectomy between January 1966 and June 2014. Primary end-point was 30 day mortality. Secondary end-points were long-term mortality (>12 months), and peak LVOT gradient reduction. We used RevMan 5.1.7 software. Heterogeneity was defined as I2 values > 25%. Results: A total of 11 observational and case-control studies were included and provided a total of 1155 patients. Myomectomy group was younger than septal ablation (9.37± 4 years; p Conclusion: Patients undergoing myomectomy are significantly younger than those having ASA. Short and long term mortality were similar. Clinical and anatomical features favoring one or the other strategy were not captured by our analysis. Further studies are required to resolve clinical equipoise.
The Future of Chinese Growth

China’s real GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 10% for the last 30 years. A period of such super-growth is historically most unusual and now is likely nearing an end. The devices that have stimulated growth in the past – heavy capital investment and a massive focus on exports – face constraints: capital investment faces diminishing returns, and exports are undermined by wage inflation. Both constraints are visible in China today. China needs to stimulate domestic consumption of its prodigious output, but this is easier said than done. A push to do so will damage the export model well before it succeeds in building a replacement.
Color and Color Perception/A Study in Anthropocentric Realism

Color and Color Perception/A Study in Anthropocentric Realism. David R. Hilbert. Published by Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford, CA. 1987.
Concurrent optimization technique for a structure and its controller

A design technique is presented to improve the overall performance of a structural system by simultaneously optimizing the design of the structure and an associated controller. This procedure requires the minimization of a single objective function, subject to dimensional or mass constraints. This is done by including the control and disturbance forces in the equations of motion for the structure and using the eigenfunctions of a uniform structural design as a basis for the eigenfunctions of the optimally designed, nonuniform structure. The results of the concurrent optimization of an Euler-Bernoulli beam and H2 controller are presented. More complicated structures/controllers can be designed using this technique, provided the structure can be modeled as a linear time-invariant plant and the controller synthesis technique involves a single cost functional.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Confinement induced lateral segregation of polymer coated nanospheres

The equilibrium structures of polymers end-tethered to nanoparticles or to nanomicelles interacting with surfaces have been studied theoretically. Polymer chains chemically grafted to nanoparticles are laterally immobile. On the other hand, nanosized polymer micelles formed by polymer chains conjugated with lipids, have end-tethered chains that are laterally mobile within the self-assembled structure. Using a molecular theory, we investigated the influences of the mobile nature of the tethered chains and the nanoscale dimension of the anchoring surface on the structures and interactions of the polymers during the process of binding of the nanoparticle to a surface. We show that polymer chains with bidisperse molecular weight distributions end-tethered to a nanomicelle/nanoparticle surface segregate upon approach to a surface. The shorter chains preferentially locate in the vicinity of the surface, while the longer ones are excluded from the region between the micelle and the surface and thus become more concentrated on the opposite side of the micelle surface. The extent of this segregation is controlled by the overall surface coverage and compositions of the tethered chains, and the sizes of the short and long chains. Combining lateral mobility of the polymer tether with an end-binding capability of the chain (e.g., through a ligand–receptor interaction) can give rise to an enhancement of the interaction of the polymer nanoparticle with a surface. The results demonstrate that laterally mobility of tethered chains is an important aspect that needs to be taken into account in designing polymeric nanoparticles with enhanced surface interaction properties.
Membrane coating granules in nonkeratinizing oral epithelium.

Examination of a variety of nonkeratinized oral epithelia with the electron microscope reveals the presence of a population of small cytoplasmic granules, approximately 0.2 μm in diameter, that appear in the Golgi region of the prickle cell layers, migrate to the superficial aspect of cells in the midepithelial region and then apparently fuse with the cell membrane in the third quarter of the epithelium. Serial sections cut through the granules show that they are autonomous structures and not infoldings of the cell membrane. These granules are similar in size, distribution, and behavior to the “membrane coating granules” of keratinized oral epithelium and epidermis and may represent an homologous organelle in nonkeratinized epithelium.
The Mediating Role of Knowledge and Efficacy in the Effects of Communication on Political Participation

This study explicates the indirect process through which news media use influences political participation. Specifically, it investigates the role of political knowledge and efficacy as mediators between communication and online/offline political participation within the framework of an O-S-R-O-R (Orientation-Stimulus-Reasoning-Orientation-Response) model of communication effects. Results from structural equation modeling analysis support the idea that political knowledge and efficacy function as significant mediators. In addition, results expound the increasing importance of the Internet in facilitating political participation. Implications of findings, limitations of this study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Smoothing bandwidth selection for response latency estimation

Stimulus response latency is the delay between stimulus onset and the evoked modulation in neural activity. A common technique to estimate latencies involves binning the spike arrival times to form a peri-stimulus histogram. This histogram is smoothed using a fixed bandwidth. The estimated latency is the first time following stimulus onset in which the smoothed histogram exceeds the midpoint between the minimum and maximum of the smoothed histogram. We demonstrate that the choice of smoothing bandwidth is critical to the accuracy of this latency estimation technique. We suggest a bootstrap resampling technique for bandwidth selection which results in a robust latency estimate.
Pulmonary vascular actions of the antihistamine oxatomide during hypoxia

The role of histamine in the cardiovascular responses to hypoxia has not been resolved. Oxatomide, an orally active anti-allergic drug, has been reported to inhibit mast cell discharge and to antagonize any histamine which is released. This drug was administered to six dogs to determine the effect of inhibiting histamine release on the pulmonary vascular and cardiac responses to hypoxia. Oxatomide potentiated hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, but reduced the cardiac output and stroke volume responses to hypoxia. These findings suggest that histamine is released during hypoxia and acts to oppose hypoxic vasoconstriction. In addition, histamine released from peripheral tissues may play an important role in mediating the increased cardiac output observed during acute hypoxia. By utilizing infusions of histamine, oxatomide was also found to be a histamine H1-receptor antagonist.
Dural fibroblasts play a potential role in headache pathophysiology

Nociceptive signaling from the meninges is proposed to contribute to many forms of headache. However, the events within the meninges that drive afferent activity are not clear. Meningeal fibroblasts are traditionally thought to produce extracellular proteins that constitute the meninges but not to contribute to headache. The purpose of these studies was to determine whether dural fibroblasts release factors that activate/sensitize dural afferents and produce headache-like behavior in rats. Dura mater was removed from male rats and dural fibroblasts were cultured. Fibroblast cultures were stimulated with vehicle or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), washed, and conditioned media was collected. Fibroblast media conditioned with vehicle or LPS was applied to retrogradely labeled rat dural trigeminal ganglion neurons in vitro. Patch-clamp electrophysiology was performed to determine whether conditioned media activated/sensitized dural afferents. A preclinical behavioral model was used where conditioned media was applied directly to the rat dura to determine the presence of cutaneous facial and hind-paw allodynia. Conditioned media was also tested for interleukin-6 (IL-6) content using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Application of LPS-conditioned fibroblast media to dural afferents produced a significant increase in action potential firing as well as cutaneous facial and hind-paw allodynia when this media was applied to the dura. Finally, stimulation of cultured fibroblasts with LPS increased IL-6 levels in the media. These findings demonstrate that fibroblasts stimulated with LPS release factors capable of activating/sensitizing dural afferents. Further, they suggest that fibroblasts play a potential role in the pathophysiology of headache.
Geophysical implications from relocations of Tibetan Earthquakes; Hot lithosphere

ISC locations for earthquakes beneath Tibet indicate a random distribution of events down to a depth of about 50 km. This distribution would be expected from a relatively cool crust which would allow the seismo-genic zone to extend to such depths. A detailed investigation of the Tibetan earthquakes, with magnitude greater than 5.5 from 1964 to 1986, yields a distinctly different picture. Waveform modeling of depth phases indicates that only a few events from this population is actually deeper than 25 km. These few events occurred near the edges of the Plateau where active subduction is occurring as suggested by the thrust-like nature of their mechanisms. The events, averaging the entire population, occurred earlier than indicated by the ISC by about 3 seconds which leads to about a 1.5% and 0.5% over estimation of Pn and Sn velocities respectively applying ISC tables and standard flat-layered models. A more serious error occurs if the Pn and Sn velocities are determined by correcting for source depth but assuming the ISC origin times.
Effect of Balint training on resident professionalism.

Objective The study was designed to assess the impact of 6 months of Balint training on self- and faculty-assessed measures of professionalism in obstetrics and gynecology residents. Study design Pre- and post-Balint training resident self-assessment and pre- and post-training faculty assessment using standard professionalism instruments were used to compare the resident Balint group to the group that did not participate. Participating residents also completed a qualitative assessment of the experience. Results Residents who participated were enthusiastic regarding the value of Balint in promoting self-reflection and gaining insight into self- and patient-care issues, both key components of professionalism. There were no significant differences in self or faculty assessment of professionalism between residents who participated in Balint and those who did not. Conclusion Six months of Balint training was successful in providing resident education in professionalism, measured by resident self-report. No differences were detected on 2 measures of professionalism between the training and control groups.
A Basic Analysis of Synchronous Machines-Part I

The equivalent circuits presented here differ from those previously presented in two principal respects: 1. By a different choice of coefficient in the defining equations for id and iq, the equivalent circuits have been made reciprocal inherently, so that a special choice of base or turns ratio is not required to accomplish this desirable result. 2. The circuits have been so developed that they may be easily established either in a per-unit system, as has been the practice heretofore, or in a physical system, as may be more convenient. These two features should make circuits of this type easier to use and more convenient for practical calculation. The programming of the solution of the corresponding equations on a digital computer should make possible the routine use of these methods for computation of the starting performance of synchronous motors in design work. Since many variations can be tried easily and rapidly, it would now be possible to achieve optimum design proportions for specified needs. The further development of these circuits and their specific application to the calculation of starting performance of synchronous motors is treated in a paper by Giaever.14 It has been shown that the turns ratios used to modify the field and damper circuits are arbitrary, but that there is a definite range of ratios which will ensure that each branch of an equivalent circuit used to represent the relations between any two windings will be positive.
Dynamic exchange language layer for RUBE

There exist various model types to represent dynamic systems but they arenÂÂ©t generally reused for new modeling methods. The DXL (Dynamic eXchange Language) represents system using a simple block diagram defined by XML (eXtensible Markup Language), where each block has codes for either JavaScript or Java. The DXL were designed for being parsed from various existing models represented by MXL (Multimodel eXchange Language), and plays a role of basic unit layer for simulating and modeling in the rube. Models denoted by this DXL are produced to actual simulation codes used in rube through a translator using DOM (Document Object Model). These simulation codes use a SimpackJ/S toolkit as a target library for simulation.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Monosaccharide Transporter Gene Family in Arabidopsis and Rice: A History of Duplications, Adaptive Evolution, and Functional Divergence

Current hypotheses of gene duplicate divergence propose that surviving members of a gene duplicate pair may evolve, under conditions of purifying or nearly neutral selection, in one of two ways: with new function arising in one duplicate while the other retains original function (neofunctionalization [NF]) or partitioning of the original function between the 2 paralogs (subfunctionalization [SF]). More recent studies propose that SF followed by NF (subneofunctionalization [SNF]) explains the divergence of many duplicate genes. In this analysis, we evaluate these hypotheses in the context of the large monosaccharide transporter (MST) gene families in Arabidopsis and rice. MSTs have an ancient origin, predating plants, and have evolved in the seed plant lineage to comprise 7 subfamilies. In Arabidopsis, 53 putative MST genes have been identified, with one subfamily greatly expanded by tandem gene duplications. We searched the rice genome for members of the MST gene family and compared them with the MST gene family in Arabidopsis to determine subfamily expansion patterns and estimate gene duplicate divergence times. We tested hypotheses of gene duplicate divergence in 24 paralog pairs by comparing protein sequence divergence rates, estimating positive selection on codon sites, and analyzing tissue expression patterns. Results reveal the MST gene family to be significantly larger (65) in rice with 2 subfamilies greatly expanded by tandem duplications. Gene duplicate divergence time estimates indicate that early diversification of most subfamilies occurred in the Proterozoic (2500-540 Myr) and that expansion of large subfamilies continued through the Cenozoic (65-0 Myr). Two-thirds of paralog pairs show statistically symmetric rates of sequence evolution, most consistent with the SF model, with half of those showing evidence for positive selection in one or both genes. Among 8 paralog pairs showing asymmetric divergence rates, most consistent with the NF model, nearly half show evidence of positive selection. Positive selection does not appear in any duplicate pairs younger than approximately 34 Myr. Our data suggest that the NF, SF, and SNF models describe different outcomes along a continuum of divergence resulting from initial conditions of relaxed constraint after duplication.
Folding and unfolding thermodynamics of the TC10b Trp-cage miniprotein.

We examine the folding–unfolding of a variant of the Trp-cage, known as TC10b, and compare structural stability, dynamics, and thermodynamics with that of the TC5b variant, using replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD). The TC10b variant was designed to have larger helical stability by the substitution of amino acids with greater alpha helical propensities in the N-terminal region. Experiments have shown TC10b to possess larger overall stability than TC5b. Simulations starting from unbiased, unfolded initial conditions are run for 1 μs per replica. The calculations show a higher melting temperature for TC10b than TC5b, and suggest a more ordered folded structure through the elimination of a substate found in the folded ensemble of TC5b. We model the difference in Gibbs free energy, ΔG(P,T), of folding using the bootstrap statistical method, which is used to calculate uncertainties associated with the thermodynamic parameters for both variants of the Trp-cage. We find that while the shape of the area for which the protein is stability folded is elliptical for TC5b, there is a degree of uncertainty associated with that of TC10b, with one model suggesting elliptical and another suggesting hyperbolic. This model suggests that at high pressures, TC5b can experience pressure denaturation, but TC10b may not.
RELATIONSHIP OF FREQUENCY, AGE, SEX, STONE WEIGHT AND COMPOSITION IN 15,624 STONES: COMPARISON OF RESULTS FOR 1980 TO 1983 and 1995 TO 1998

Purpose: We studied the relationship of stone frequency and composition to age, sex and stone weight.Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed of all 15,624 stones submitted for analysis with infrared and wet chemical methods in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1979 to 1998.Results: There were 1,067 bladder stones of which 216 contained magnesium ammonium phosphate. The remaining 14,557 stones were from the kidney and ureter, and 11,707 were composed only of calcium oxalate and/or phosphate. Of the remaining 2,850 kidney and ureter stones magnesium ammonium phosphate was present in 573, uric acid/urate without magnesium ammonium phosphate in 1,109 and other compounds in 1,168. The 11,707 oxalate phosphate group was subdivided by infrared peak analysis based on oxalate-to-phosphate ratio into phosphate—ratio 1 or less, intermediate—1 to 10 and oxalate—10+. Oxalate comprised 65% of the 11,707 stones compared to 16% for phosphate. Women submitted 52% of phosphate stones compared with 28% of ox...
Heavy metal pollution in the sediments of the Coeur d'Alene river delta

Analysis of sediment samples collected from the Coeur d'Alene River in northern Idaho, USA, indicates that the main stem and the south fork of the river are contaminated with heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Mn, and Zn) from the local mining operations. Laboratory experiments indicate that these metals in the sediments can be leached and reach saturation concentrations in water in a relatively short period of time. The rate of leaching of heavy metals with distilled water appeared to follow first-order kinetics. The saturation concentrations of Mn and Zn in water reached ppm levels from the leaching process. Cadmium and Pb are much less soluble relative to Zn in the sediments. The high concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments are a source of contamination that should be considered for the water quality management planning of the Coeur d'Alene River-Lake system.
Solubility of gases in polyethylene

The solubility constants for thirteen permanent gases were measured within the temperature range 5–55°C. in a linear and a branched polyethylene, hydrogenated polybutadiene, and natural rubber. Equilibrium and time lag solubility determinations were made, the latter being indirectly obtained as the ratio of the permeability to the diffusion constants. Within experimental precision, equilibrium and time lag measurements were in agreement. The solubility of each gas in polyethylene was found to be proportional to the volume fraction of amorphous material when the polymer was treated as a simple, two-phase mixture of crystalline and amorphous polymer, each with a characteristic specific volume. Even the small helium molecule exhibited no detectible solubility in the crystallites according to this model. Therefore, a solubility constant in completely amorphous polyethylene could be determined for each gas which, with the density of an arbitrary sample, would enable calculation of the solubility of each gas in that particular sample. A correlation of the solubility constants in completely amorphous polyethylene was obtained from a thermodynamic model of the disolution process. Comparison of this correlation with a similar one for normal hydrocarbon liquids emphasized the analogy between the amorphous phase in polyethylene and these low molecular weight substances. The solubility constants in natural rubber, a completely amorphous polymer under the experimental conditions, were approximately 50% higher than those in amorphous polyethylene. Higher intermolecular forces due to the unsaturation in natural rubber may account for this result. The apparent heats of solution of all gases in branched polyethylene were approximately 1.0 kcal./g. mole more positive than those in linear polyethylene. This behavior was shown quantitatively, by comparison with dilatometric data, to be simply the result of crystalline melt-out in branched polyethylene. In linear polyethylene the experimental solubility data yielded essentially true heats of solution, since negligible crystalline melt-out occurred between 5 and 55°C. These were correlated quite satisfactorily by further application of the thermodynamic model for the dissolution process. Available evidence, therefore, indicates that the crystallites in polyethylene are impenetrable, and are randomly distributed on a macroscopic scale with respect to the diffusion and dissolution processes. The amorphous phase behaves as a homogeneous liquid whose thermodynamic properties are independent of the mode of polymer preparation, thermal history of the sample, and level of crystallinity.
Therapeutic effect of caspase inhibitors in the prevention of apoptosis and reversal of chronic cerebral vasospasm

Abstract One of the important histological changes in cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is endothelial cell damage, which involves apoptosis. The current study was undertaken to determine whether anti-apoptosis therapy prevents apoptosis and reverses vasospasm in a dog SAH model. Twenty-three mongrel dogs of either sex, weighing 17–25 kg, were subjected to autologous arterial blood injection into the cisterna magna on day 0 and day 2, and sacrificed on day 7. Angiography was performed on day 0 before blood injection and on day 7 before sacrifice. Caspase-2 (Z-VDVAD-FMK, 10 μM) inhibitor, caspase-3 (Z-DEVD-FMK, 10 μM) inhibitor, or vehicle (DMSO) were injected intrathecally from day 2 to day 6. The effects of caspase inhibitors on apoptosis and vasospasm were evaluated by angiography and transmission electron microscopy. The residual diameter of the basilar artery on day 7 in SAH dogs without treatment was 53.4±5.5% of the day 0 diameter. Marked damage to the endothelial cells, including apoptotic like changes, was observed in these arteries. Both caspase inhibitors prevented apoptosis in the endothelial cells. Only caspase-3 inhibitor, however, had a near- significant effect on reducing 13.3% of angiographic vasospasm. Higher doses and early treatment, as well as other more potent apoptosis inhibitors, are recommended for future studies.
Determination of serum sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in preadolescent and adolescent boys

Abstract The saturation assay for sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) originally described by Rosner[1] has been modified to optimize assay conditions and the method applied to clinical studies. A set of equations is given which fully describes the assay system and helps to calculate various parameters. The use of filtration instead of centrifugation allows one to measure directly SHBG bound DHT and reduces the error due to the calculation by subtraction of nearly equal numbers in the indirect procedure of Rosner [1]. The improvement due to modification is demonstrated in detail, and a procedure is described for the assay of SHBG in human male serum. Normal values are given for boys during multiphase pubertal developments.
Archival description and linked data: a preliminary study of opportunities and implementation challenges

This paper presents the results of a study to investigate how archives can connect their collections to related data sources through the use of Semantic Web technologies, specifically Linked Data. Questions explored included (a) What types of data currently available in archival surrogates such as Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids and Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) records may be useful if converted to Linked Data? (b) For those potentially useful data points identified in archival surrogates, how might one align data structures found in those surrogates to the data structures of other relevant internal or external information sources? (c) What features of current standards and data structures present impediments or challenges that must be overcome in order to achieve interoperability among disparate data sources? To answer these questions, the researcher identified metadata elements of potential use as Linked Data in archival surrogates, as well as metadata element sets and vocabularies of data sets that could serve as pathways to relevant external data sources. Data sets chosen for the study included DBpedia and schema.org; metadata element sets examined included Friend of a Friend (FOAF), GeoNames, and Linking Open Description of Events (LODE). The researcher then aligned tags found in the EAD encoding standard to related classes and properties found in these Linked Data sources and metadata element sets. To investigate the third question about impediments to incorporating Linked Data in archival descriptions, the researcher analyzed the locations and frequencies at which controlled and uncontrolled access points (personal and family name, corporate name, geographic name, and genre/form entities) appeared in a sample of MARC and EAD archival descriptive records by using a combination of hand counts and the natural language processing (NLP) tool, OpenCalais. The results of the location and frequency analysis, combined with the results of the alignment process, helped the researcher identify several critical challenges currently impeding interoperability among archival information systems and relevant Linked Data sources, including differences in granularity between archival and other data source vocabularies, and inadequacies of current encoding standards to support semantic tagging of potential access points embedded in free text areas of archival surrogates.
Potassium and Its Effect on Glycogen in the Dog Heart

Potassium chloride, infused into 10 anesthetized dogs until severe electrical changes were observed in the heart (electrocardiogram) and serum potassium was elevated (9.5 mEq./L.), had no apparent effect on the glycogen content of any of the 4 heart chambers. Dog ventricular slices did not tolerate a medium high in potassium. Glycogenolysis was noted when the slices were incubated in a Krebs-Ringer buffered phosphate glucose medium containing 9 mM of potassium. The glycogen loss was confined to the acid-soluble form of the polysaccharide. A homogenate of dog myocardium, incubated in a simulated "intracellular" medium for up to 50 minutes, rapidly and continuously lost acid-soluble glycogen. The acid-insoluble fraction was not degraded until the homogenate was incubated for 50 minutes.
SOLAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION FROM DOPPLER SHIFTS OF THE Fe I LINE AT 5250 Å AS MEASURED BY THE 150-FOOT SOLAR TOWER TELESCOPE AT THE MT. WILSON OBSERVATORY

Doppler shifts of the Fe I spectral line at 5250 A from the full solar disk obtained over the period 1986 to 2009 are analyzed to determine the circulation velocity of the solar surface along meridional planes. Simultaneous measurements of the Zeeman splitting of this line are used to obtain measurements of the solar magnetic field that are used to select low field points and impose corrections for the magnetically induced Doppler shift. The data utilized is from a new reduction that preserves the full spatial resolution of the original observations so that the circulation flow can be followed to latitudes of 80° N/S. The deduced meridional flow is shown to differ from the circulation velocities derived from magnetic pattern movements. A reversed circulation pattern is seen in polar regions for three successive solar minima. A surge in circulation velocity at low latitudes is seen during the rising phases of cycles 22 and 23.
Guns and butter: a no cost defense against predation for Chrysomela confluens.

Chrysomela confluens produces a salicylaldehyde-based defensive secretion which is very effective against generalist predators and apparently produced at no cost. If no cost defenses are common, then one of the basic assumptions in the plant-herbivore literature, i.e. tradeoffs among defense, reproduction, and growth, must be reconsidered. We examined the effectiveness of this defense by exposing defended larvae and larvae whose secretion had been removed to a generalist predator. Larvae which had their secretions intact were attacked by only 7% of the ants which encountered them, and none of these larvae suffered serious damage. In contrast, those which had been "milked" of their secretions immediately prior to exposure were attacked in 48% of such encounters, and two-thirds of the larvae were killed. Larvae which had been milked 24 or 72 h before exposure, then allowed to regenerate their defenses, were attacked at rates indistinguishable from larvae that had not been milked. Thus regenerated defenses are just as effective as original defenses. We also tested the hypothesis that the cost of defense production and maintainence would be reflected in reductions in developmental rates and final adult mass and increases in leaf consumption rate. We found that larvae which were milked daily of their secretions manifested no measurable cost of recharging reservoirs. Milked larvae grew and fed at the same rates as their control sibs, and became adults of equal or slightly larger size. The liberation of glucose from salicin, a precursor present in leaves of salicaceous hosts, during the production of salicylaldehyde apparently provides enough of an energetic benefit to offset the cost of maintaining an effective defense. Consistent with this hypothesis, we did not find that milked larvae compensated for increased nutritional or salicin demands by increasing their feeding rates. Although this patterns is familiar to chemical ecologists it is generally unappreciated in the plant-herbivore literature. It is likely that many arthropod herbivore defensive systems come at little or no cost, given the intimacy of association between herbivores and their food plants. Sequestration of host plant defensive chemicals which eliminates the cost of synthesis is common in arthropods. The de novo synthesis of chemical defenses may be less costly than expected if it is integrated into other parts of an insects metabolism. Calculations based on the bond energies or molecular constitution of the compounds will not yield a complete perception of cost. Tests over the life of the herbivore, coupled with an understanding of the herbivore's metabolism, are necessary.
Risk factors: Race, renal disease and albuminuria.

A new report suggests that differences in albuminuria might contribute to disparities in susceptibility to nephropathy in African American and white individuals. Interpretation of this finding requires consideration of renal histology, clinical trials and genetic studies. These factors indicate that a far more complex scenario is likely to exist than previously thought.
Multilayered epithelium in a rat model and human Barrett's esophagus: Similar expression patterns of transcription factors and differentiation markers

In rats, esophagogastroduodenal anastomosis (EGDA) without concomitant chemical carcinogen treatment leads to gastroesophageal reflux disease, multilayered epithelium (MLE, a presumed precursor in intestinal metaplasia), columnar-lined esophagus, dysplasia, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Previously we have shown that columnar-lined esophagus in EGDA rats resembled human Barrett's esophagus (BE) in its morphology, mucin features and expression of differentiation markers (Lab. Invest. 2004;84:753–765). The purpose of this study was to compare the phenotype of rat MLE with human MLE, in order to gain insight into the nature of MLE and its potential role in the development of BE. Serial sectioning was performed on tissue samples from 32 EGDA rats and 13 patients with established BE. Tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for a variety of transcription factors and differentiation markers of esophageal squamous epithelium and intestinal columnar epithelium. We detected MLE in 56.3% (18/32) of EGDA rats, and in all human samples. As expected, both rat and human squamous epithelium, but not intestinal metaplasia, expressed squamous transcription factors and differentiation markers (p63, Sox2, CK14 and CK4) in all cases. Both rat and human intestinal metaplasia, but not squamous epithelium, expressed intestinal transcription factors and differentiation markers (Cdx2, GATA4, HNF1α, villin and Muc2) in all cases. Rat MLE shared expression patterns of Sox2, CK4, Cdx2, GATA4, villin and Muc2 with human MLE. However, p63 and CK14 were expressed in a higher proportion of rat MLE compared to humans. These data indicate that rat MLE shares similar properties to human MLE in its expression pattern of these markers, not withstanding small differences, and support the concept that MLE may be a transitional stage in the metaplastic conversion of squamous to columnar epithelium in BE.
Monotonicity and symmetry of solutions of fully nonlinear elliptic equations on unbounded domains

(1991). Monotonicity and symmetry of solutions of fully nonlinear elliptic equations on unbounded domains. Communications in Partial Differential Equations: Vol. 16, No. 4-5, pp. 585-615.
From rainfed agriculture to stress-avoidance irrigation: I. A generalized irrigation scheme with stochastic soil moisture

Abstract With vast regions already experiencing water shortages, it is becoming imperative to manage sustainably the available water resources. As agriculture is by far the most important user of freshwater and the role of irrigation is projected to increase in face of climate change and increased food requirements, it is particularly important to develop simple, widely applicable models of irrigation water needs for short- and long-term water resource management. Such models should synthetically provide the key irrigation quantities (volumes, frequencies, etc.) for different irrigation schemes as a function of the main soil, crop, and climatic features, including rainfall unpredictability. Here we consider often-employed irrigation methods (e.g., surface and sprinkler irrigation systems, as well as modern micro-irrigation techniques) and describe them under a unified conceptual and theoretical framework, which includes rainfed agriculture and stress-avoidance irrigation as extreme cases. We obtain mostly analytical solutions for the stochastic steady state of soil moisture probability density function with random rainfall timing and amount, and compute water requirements as a function of climate, crop, and soil parameters. These results provide the necessary starting point for a full assessment of irrigation strategies, with reference to sustainability, productivity, and profitability, developed in a companion paper [Vico G, Porporato A. From rainfed agriculture to stress-avoidance irrigation: II. Sustainability, crop yield, and net profit. Adv Water Resour 2011;34(2):272–81].
The development of a quinone α-anion synthon. Utilization of a maleoylcobalt complex as a quinone surrogate and a dominant rolefor ligand effects

Previously it was demonstrated that maleoylcobalt and phthaloylcobalt complexes react with alkynes and produce substituted quinones after oxidative decomplexation. Herein is reported a study of the deprotonation of 3,4- dimethylmaleoylcobalt complexes leading to a reactive dienolate that on treatment with electrophiles provides new cobalt complexes functionalized at either the γ- or α-position of the dienolate. The γ/α ratio depends significantly on the steric demand of the maleoylcobalt complex auxiliary ligands with high γ-alkylation selectivity provided by 3,4-dimethylmaleoyl(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)(SbPh3). These γ-alkylated products react with alkynes to give a variety of pentamethylcyclopentadienylcobalt (substituted η4-benzoquinone) complexes that produce substituted benzoquinones on oxidative decomplexation.
Impact of Escalating Construction Costs on Long-Term Pavement Performance Loss

Escalating construction costs caused by increasing crude oil prices have a serious impact on long-term pavement performance. There is an urgent need for transportation agencies to quantify the impact of the long-term loss of pavement performance (LOPP) and the additional pavement preservation need. This paper proposes a mathematical model that can be used to quantify LOPP. Historical data from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) from fiscal years (FYs) 1999 to 2007, including pavement survey data and resurfacing expenditures, were used to develop Markovian transition probability matrices. The average annual escalation rate (AAER), 18.1%, was obtained by analyzing the historical resurfacing costs. The impacts of different AAERs (15%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) were analyzed. At GDOT's current funding level, the results show that the composite rating of the non-Interstate pavement network with a 40% AAER would drop to 70 almost 2 years earlier than the one with a 15% AAER. If the AAER is increased from ...
A model for charged π rmN and πΔ photoproduction

Abstract A model, consisting of absorptively corrected, exchange degenerate π -B and σ -A 2 Regge trajectories, is constructed for charged π-nucleon photoproduction. A fit is obtained to the existing data, and it is found that there are two significant features of the model that disagree with the data. The addition of Regge-Regge cut effects and a reduction of absorptive corrections away from the forward direction strikingly improve the fit. Using the Stodolsky-Sakurai model for ϱNΔ coupling the same improved model is applied to πΔ photo-production from deutrons. Excellent agreement is obtained with the existing data.
Force-deflection behavior of piezoelectric C-block actuator arrays

C-blocks are unique piezoelectric building blocks which can be combined in series or parallel to generate tailorable performance and exploit the advantages of bender and stack architectures. This paper presents a complete theoretical model that predicts the force-deflection behavior for any generic C-block actuator array configuration. An experimental investigation with five case studies is described that validates the model over a broad range of actuator prototypes and performance. This study characterizes the sensitivity of this class of actuator array with respect to material, geometric, and configuration parameters. The paper concludes with a comparison of the generic C-block architecture to the current state of art on a basis of absolute measures such as maximum force, deflection, and work and normalized measures such as effective stress, strain, and work per actuator volume. From this, it is concluded that C-blocks are a highly efficient, mid-range actuation technology.
Issues and Methodologies for Sampling Breast Tissue for Tissue Banking and Molecular Studies: Lessons from a Pathologist’s Bench

Breast cancer tissue and corresponding clinical and follow-up data are of extreme importance in translational cancer research, and construction and maintenance of a tissue bank that provides such materials is of significant value. This review delineates many of the issues concerning the collection, processing, storing, and distributing of biospecimens obtained from patients being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Although examples specific to breast cancer are provided, most of the issues covered here can be generalized and applied to collections for other tumors as well. Procedures used in banking tissue can have significant effects on the results obtained from molecular analyses, and need consideration.
IUE investigation of mass flow in the interacting binary U Sagittae

Fifteen far-UV and 13 mid-UV high-resolution spectra of the interacting Algol-type binary U Sagittae have been obtained with the IUE satellite. The resonance lines of Si IV and C IV are present in absorption of moderate strength at all phases. At several phases, weak absorption due to the N V resonance lines is present. The high-temperature pseudophotospheric region which is found surrounding the equatorial regions of the primary star in all active Algol-type binaries is present in U Sge, indicating that it is not as dormant as once believed. This is also consistent with recent ground-based studies.
Live-Cell Single-Molecule Imaging of Sense and Antisense Transcription of a Yeast Gene

The eukaryotic genome is pervasively transcribed, giving rise to various sorts of non-coding RNAs whose mechanisms of action are for the most part not understood. Recent technological advances now allow direct visualization of the synthesis of nascent transcripts from individual genes over time by decorating RNAs with fluorescent proteins. Using the orthogonal RNA-binding MS2 and PP7 bacteriophage coat proteins, we were recently able to tag two regions of the same RNA in two different colors [Coulon et al. 2014, eLife, in press]. Here, we used this technique to visualize simultaneously sense and antisense transcription from the GAL10 locus in yeast, during activation of the GAL pathway. Fluorescence fluctuations recorded in both channels at the transcription site reflect the kinetics of transcription on both strands as the GAL10 gene gets activated in response to galactose. We observe transient antisense transcription occurring almost exclusively prior to the appearance of sense transcription. Using cross-correlation analysis, we uncovered specific temporal windows relatively to sense activation where antisense transcription is enriched or depleted - likely reflecting the biochemical mechanisms underlying activation. Once transcription of the GAL10 gene starts, transcripts are produced in bursts separated by periods of inactivity, occasionally leaving the opportunity for antisense transcription to happen. We developed a method for applying fluctuation correlation analysis to non-stationary time traces. This allowed us to isolate the bursting kinetics even in the non-steadystate context of a transient response to galactose. By modeling the autocorrelation of a bursting gene, we were able to infer from our data how the elongation rate, burst size and burst frequency of the GAL10 gene are modulated by different doses of galactose. This work shows how in vivo single-molecule methods and fluctuation analysis can reveal unanticipated mechanisms of transcriptional regulation.
Response to Type 2 Deiodinase Thr92Ala Polymorphism Is Not Associated With Arterial Hypertension in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Canani et al1 reported that a type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (Dio2) nonsynonymous polymorphism, threonine 92 to alanine (Thr92Ala), was not associated with arterial hypertension in 315 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We have recently reported that among euthyroid adults not on thyroid hormone replacement therapy the common Ala92 Dio2 allele approximately doubles the risk for …
The coherent potential approximation applied to a system with long-range potential

Abstract The coherent potential approximation (CPA) is expected to be more reliable in long-range systems than in systems with only nearest neighbor interactions. This increase in reliability is studied for a 1D binary random alloy model with interactions decaying as 1 r 2 , for which the CPA equations can be obtained in closed form. The CPA spectral density obtained reflects the major gaps and the coarse structure of the actual spectral density, but yet it is not as reliable as the CPA for the 3D model with only nearest neighbor interactions.