cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Model for Two Germline Stem Cells Competing for Niche Occupancy

In the Drosophila germline stem cell ovary niche, two stem cells compete with each other for niche occupancy to maintain stem cell quality by ensuring that differentiated stem cells are rapidly pushed out the niche and replenished by normal ones (Jin et al. in Cell Stem Cell 2:39–49, 2008). To gain a deeper understanding of this biological phenomenon, we have derived a mathematical model for explaining the physical interactions between two stem cells. The model is a system of two nonlinear first order and one second order differential equations coupled with E-cadherins expression levels. The model can explain the dynamics of the competition process of two germline stem cells and may help to reveal missing information obtained from experimental results. The model predicts several qualitative features in the competition process, which may help to design rational experiments for a better understanding of the stem cell competition process.
Application of a solution-adaptive method to fluid flow: Line and arclength approach

Abstract Among the different kinds of solution-adaptive methods, the control-function approach has proven to be very powerful in the numerical simulation of fluid-dynamics problems. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the solution-adaptive method can be applied to 1-D, 2-D and 3-D flow using the control-function approach based on a line and arclength strategy. A new strategy for the choice of weight functions and the selection of the parameters used in the method is presented. Applications to the solutions of the 1-D Burgers equation and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations (both 2-D and 3-D) are included.
The Non-Bricks and Non-Mortar of an intellectual culture: My Americanization Story of Graduate Education

My discussion focuses on the cultural practices of graduate studies. I call these cultural practices rather than ‘themes’ or topics to consider a program of conduct through which rules and standards of reason are generated to produce a ‘graduate’. My assumption of graduate studies is that it embodies strategies of disrupting the complacency of the assumption of the progressive character of the present society and the established rules that normalize conduct. Section One is historical, considering university graduate studies as concerned with the management of society constituted by the agency and empowerment of the citizen. Section Two focuses on the cultural conditions for critical strategies that interrogate the systems of reason that shape and fashion what we are and might be. I speak of this focus as a form of resistance. The final and third section uses an autobiographical genre to consider further the cultural conditions of knowledge. My focus is on learning how we think about and ask questions, and on learning to read closely and historically in dislodging the ordering principles of schooling.
Evidence for a large thyrotropin and its accumulation during aging in rats.

Summary The existence of large molecular forms of thyrotropin (TSH) in the pituitary and serum of the male Sprague-Dawley rat is suggested by specific immunoassay and immunoprecipitation of isotopically labeled pituitary extracts. These high-molecular-weight forms may represent biosynthetic precursors to TSH. There is a progressive age-dependent accumulation of these immunologically cross-reactive large forms of TSH in the serum of the rat associated with a progressive decline in bioassayable levels of serum TSH. Preliminary experiments indicate that this large molecular form of TSH may inhibit thyroidal response to TSH.
Effects of Care Management and Telehealth: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Medicare Data

Objectives: To evaluate mortality and healthcare utilization effects of an intervention that combined care management and telehealth, targeting individuals with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or diabetes mellitus. Design: Retrospective matched cohort study. Setting: Northwest United States. Participants: High-cost Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (N = 1,767) enrolled in two Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services demonstration participating clinics and a propensity-score matched control group. Intervention: The Health Buddy Program, which integrates a content-driven telehealth system with care management. Measurements: Mortality, inpatient admissions, hospital days, and emergency department (ED) visits during the 2-year study period were measured. Cox-proportional hazard models and negative binomial regression models were used to assess the relationship between the intervention and survival and utilization, controlling for demographic and health characteristics that were statistically different between groups after matching. Results: At 2 years, participants offered the Health Buddy Program had 15% lower risk-adjusted all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.74�0.98; P = .03) and had reductions in the number of quarterly inpatient admissions from baseline to the study period that were 18% greater than those of matched controls during this same time period (-0.035 vs -0.003; difference-in-differences = -0.032, 95% CI = -0.054 to -0.010, P = .005). No relationship was found between the Health Buddy Program and ED use or number of hospital days for participants who were hospitalized. The Health Buddy Program was most strongly associated with fewer admissions for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and mortality for those with congestive heart failure. Conclusion: Care management coupled with content-driven telehealth technology has potential to improve health outcomes in high-cost Medicare beneficiaries.
A Structured Program to Reduce Percutaneous Central Venous Catheter Related Sepsis in Newborn Infants 1481

A Structured Program to Reduce Percutaneous Central Venous Catheter Related Sepsis in Newborn Infants 1481
The Fluorine Content of Various Fractions of Milk and Commercial Caseins

Summary Whole milk contains small quantities of fluorine. The fluorine content of milk is not concentrated in the protein fraction but can be found largely in the aqueous phase. Therefore uncontaminated caseins should be relatively low in fluorine. Certain commercial crude caseins were found to contain unexpectedly large amounts of fluorine. The advisability of using such contaminated crude caseins for nutritional purposes is questionable in the light of previous experience.
Casein Kinase 1 Delta (CK1δ) Regulates Period Length of the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock In Vitro

Background: Casein kinase 1 delta (CK1d) plays a more prominent role in the regulation of circadian cycle length than its homologue casein kinase 1 epsilon (CK1e) in peripheral tissues such as liver and embryonic fibroblasts. Mice lacking CK1d die shortly after birth, so it has not been possible to assess the impact of loss of CK1d on behavioral rhythms controlled by the master circadian oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, mPER2::LUCIFERASE bioluminescence rhythms were monitored from SCN explants collected from neonatal mice. The data demonstrate that SCN explants from neonatal CK1d-deficient mice oscillate, but with a longer circadian period than littermate controls. The cycle length of rhythms recorded from neonatal SCN explants of CK1e-deficient mice did not differ from control explants. Conclusions/Significance: The results indicate that CK1d plays a more prominent role than CK1e in the maintenance of 24hour rhythms in the master circadian oscillator.
Soil reinforcement for seismic design of geotechnical structures

Abstract The kinematic theorem of limit analysis is used to evaluate the amount of reinforcement necessary to prevent collapse of slopes. The results are also applicable to some failure modes of reinforced walls. Calculations were performed assuming uniform and linearly increasing distributions of reinforcement strength through the slope height. The computational results are presented in charts, which can be used in design. The seismic influence is substituted with a quasi-static horizontal force. While such an approach ignores the acceleration history and does not allow any insight into the behavior of a structure, it is being routinely used in practice, and the charts are offered as a design aid to determine the amount or strength of reinforcement. The length of reinforcement was also calculated, based on collapse mechanisms which include rupture in some layers and pull-out in others. It was found that the distribution of reinforcement with variable spacing, to match the triangular distribution of “smeared” strength, is more economical than a uniform spacing. Uniform spacing requires longer reinforcement and larger strength.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia in the age of imatinib: assessing response, acceleration, and blast phase

Chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1+ (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm defined by the presence of the BCR-ABL fusion gene and a t(9;22)(q34;q11) cytogenetic abnormality. Its natural history is that of inexorable progression to an acute leukemia (blast crisis) after a prolonged chronic phase. The recent development of imatinib and other inhibitors of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase activity has dramatically altered the clinical course of CML, with long-term remissions in most patients treated early in the course of the disease. Monitoring of resistance to therapy and progression on therapy are critical in the current management of the disease. Problems facing the diagnostic pathologist in this “Age of Imatinib” include accurate diagnosis and determination of CML disease phase prior to therapy, evaluating response to therapy, and assessing for disease progression on therapy.
DIARRHŒA CAUSED BY CANDIDA

Candida proliferation in the gastrointestinal tract was responsible for diarrhoea in six patients. Their common presentation was multiple loose or watery bowel movements, without blood or mucus but sometimes associated with abdominal cramps, and lasting as long as 3 months. Yeast cells were most easily identified by direct microscopic examination of stool specimens. Symptoms disappeared in all patients after 3 to 4 days of oral nystatin therapy.
X-ray emission from cataclysmic variables with accretion disks. I - Hard X-rays. II - EUV/soft X-ray radiation

Theoretical models explaining the hard-X-ray, soft-X-ray, and EUV emission of accretion-disk cataclysmic variables in terms of the disk boundary layer (DBL) are developed on the basis of a survey of the published observational data. The data are compared with model predictions in graphs for systems with high or low (greater than or less than 10-Pg/s) accretion rates. Good agreement is obtained both at low accretion rates, where an optically thin rarefied hot (Te = 10 to the 8th K) DBL radiates most of its energy as hard X-rays, and at high accretion rates, where an optically thick 100,000-K DBL radiates most of its energy in the EUV and as soft X-rays. Detailed analysis of the old nova V603 Aql suggests that previous models predicting more detections of soft-X-ray/EUV emissions from thick-DBL objects (Ferland et al., 1982) used inappropriate dwarf masses, interstellar column densities, or classical-nova space densities.
Managerial Conservatismand Rational Information Acquisition

Managerial behavior that is rational and profit-maximizing sometimes will seem to be overly conservative. If the valuation of innovations contains white noise and the status quo would be preferred to random innovation, then any innovation that does not appear substantially better than the status quo should be rejected, for reasons arising from regression toward the mean. The more successful the firm, the higher is the optimal acceptance threshold and conservative bias. Other things equal, more successful firms will spend less on research, adopt fewer innovations, and be less likely to advance the industry's best practice.
CARBOHYDRATE ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL SUBSTANCES BY A NEW ANTHRONE PROCEDURE.

Abstract A micro procedure is presented for the application of the anthrone reaction to the quantitative characterization of the carbohydrates of bacteria and their anatomical parts. The data obtained indicate that the principal saccharide components of Streptococcus faecalis are glucose and rhamnose, and that the cell membrane contains glucose but no rhamnose, while rhamnose and glucose are both present in the cell wall and both absent in the cytoplasm of exponentially growing cells.
Autism, affective disorders, and social phobia.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that major affective and/or anxiety disorders are increased among relatives of autistic probands compared with controls. Among 36 families with an autistic child, 23 (64%) have a first degree relative diagnosed with major depressive disorder and 14 (39%) have a first degree relative diagnosed with social phobia. These rates are significantly greater than the 19% and 5%, respectively, found among 21 families with a child having a genetic condition, tuberous sclerosis complex, or a seizure disorder but no autism. The frequency of major depression among the 96 first degree relatives of autistic probands is 37.5% compared with 11.1% found among 45 relatives of control probands. The frequency of social phobia, 20.2%, is approximately 10 times more common than that found among the relatives of the control probands (2.4%). Elevated rates of both major depression and social phobia are found among parents and siblings in the families with an autistic child. Furthermore, 64% of parents affected with a major depression had the onset of the first depressive episode prior to the birth of the autistic child and all parents with social phobia had the onset of condition prior to the birth of the autistic child. Family patterns differ depending on the intellectual level of the autistic child; specifically, social phobia is significantly greater among the first degree relatives of nonretarded autistic probands than among relatives of individuals with autism and comorbid mental retardation. Whether this familial association of autism, major mood disorders, and social phobia reflects shared genetic underpinnings requires further research. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
High-order shock-fitting methods for direct numerical simulation of hypersonic flow with chemical and thermal nonequilibrium

In recent years, much progress has been made in the direct numerical simulation of laminar-turbulent transition of hypersonic boundary layer flow. However, most of the efforts at the direct numerical simulation of transition previously have been focused on the idealized perfect gas flow or ''cold'' hypersonic flows. For practical problems in hypersonic flows, high-temperature effects of thermal and chemical nonequilibrium are important and cannot be modeled by a perfect gas model. Therefore, it is necessary to include the real gas models in the numerical simulation of hypersonic boundary layer transition in order to accurately predict flow field parameters. Currently most numerical methods for hypersonic flow with thermo-chemical nonequilibrium are based on shock-capturing approach at relatively low order of accuracy. Shock capturing schemes reduce to first-order accuracy near the shock and have been shown to produce spurious oscillations behind curved strong shocks. There is a need to develop new methods capable of simulating nonequilibrium hypersonic flow fields with uniformly high-order accuracy and avoid spurious oscillations near the shock. This paper presents a fifth-order shock-fitting method for numerical simulation of thermal and chemical nonequilibrium in hypersonic flows. The method is developed based on the state-of-the-art real gas models for thermo-chemical nonequilibrium and transport phenomena. Shock-fitting approach is used because it has the advantage of capturing the entire flow field with high-order accuracy and without any oscillations near the shock. The new method has been tested and validated for a number of test cases over a wide span of free stream conditions. The developed method is applied for the study of receptivity of free stream acoustic waves over a blunt cone for hypervelocity flow. Some preliminary results of the computations of the high order shock fitting method for the above mentioned study have also been presented.
Preservation of sensory cells by placing stumps of transected nerve in an impermeable tube

It is known that transection of a major peripheral nerve results in the loss of a significant number of sensory cells whose axons travel in that nerve. The present study confirms this observation and shows that placement of the stump of such a transected nerve into an impermeable tube prevents this loss. We further show that this preservation does not depend on axonal regeneration. Further experiments to define the phenomenon and to obtain beginning insight into mechanisms are discussed. If these findings can be generalized to humans, they may have clinical significance.
Relative Packing Efficiency in Hydrates

We define two parameters, Πice and Πparent, estimated from hydrate and parent volumes, to be a measure of the efficiency of the packing of molecules in a hydrate compared on the one hand to that of idealized solid ice and on the other to the parent molecule from which the hydrate is derived. The packing efficiency ratio, Πice[Mp·Xq·nH2O], is defined for a general hydrate Mp·Xq·nH2O containing p (complex) cations Mq+ and q (complex) anions Xp− by Πice[hydrate] = [Vat(parent) − Vat(hydrate)]/[Vat(parent) − 0.0082] where Vat(parent) and Vat(hydrate) are the average volumes occupied per atom in the parent and hydrate structures, respectively, and 0.0082 corresponds to the average volume per atom in ice. All volumes are measured in units of nm3. Πpar[hydrate] + Πice[hydrate] = 1. Two simpler indices are studied, Π and Π*, and we explore the use of these as a means of categorizing hydrates and defining their domain of existence.
Factors Associated with Invasive Lung Aspergillosis and the Significance of Positive Aspergillus Culture after Liver Transplantation

From January 1981 to December 1990, 2180 patients underwent orthotopic liver transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh. Thirty-two patients (1.5%) were identified with invasive aspergillosis (29 lung, 2 intraabdominal, 1 meningitis). Of 29 patients with invasive lung disease, only 23 (79%) had positive culture (Aspergillus fumigatus, 20; Aspergillus flavus, 3). Forty-eight variables were analyzed and compared in 23 patients with invasive disease with positive cultures and 9 patients with colonization only. The variables associated with pulmonary invasive disease, by univariate analysis, were surgical time (P = .03), presence of laparotomies (P = .02), higher creatinine level at time of Aspergillus isolation (P = .01), and use of OKT3 (P = .02). However, in a multivariate analysis, only the last two (creatinine, OKT3) were associated with invasive lung aspergillosis. Of 4 patients with positive abdominal wound culture, 2 had local invasive aspergillosis. Therefore, positive cultures of Aspergillus organisms from respiratory secretions and wound drainage may represent invasive disease and should not be ignored.
Comparison of model-fitting kinetics for predicting the cure behavior of commercial phenol–formaldehyde resins

Phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resins have been the subject of many model-fitting cure kinetic studies, yet the best model for predicting PF dynamic and isothermal cure has not been established. The objective of this research is to compare and contrast several commonly used kinetic models for predicting degree of cure and cure rate of PF resins. Toward this objective, the nth-order Borchardt–Daniels (nth-BD), ASTM E698 (E698), autocatalytic Borchardt–Daniels (Auto-BD), and modified autocatalytic methods (M-Auto) are evaluated on two commercial PF resins containing different molecular weight distributions and thus cure behaviors. The nth-BD, E698, and M-Auto methods all produce comparable values of activation energies, while Auto-BD method yields aberrant values. For dynamic cure prediction, all models fail to predict reaction rate, while degree of cure is reasonably well predicted with all three methods. As a whole, the nth-BD method best predicts degree of cure for both resins as assessed by mean squared error of prediction. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007
Integrating theory, synthesis, spectroscopy and device efficiency to design and characterize donor materials for organic photovoltaics: a case study including 12 donors

The remarkable improvements in the power conversion efficiency of solution-processable Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) have largely been driven by the development of novel narrow bandgap copolymer donors comprising an electron-donating (D) and an electron-withdrawing (A) group within the repeat unit. Given the large pool of potential D and A units and the laborious processes of chemical synthesis and device optimization, progress on new high efficiency materials can, and has been, slow with a few new efficient copolymers reported every year despite the large number of groups pursuing these materials. In this paper we present an integrated approach toward new narrow bandgap copolymers that uses theory to guide the selection of materials to be synthesized based on their predicted energy levels, and time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) to select the best-performing copolymer–fullerene bulk heterojunction to be incorporated into complete OPV devices. We validate our methodology by using a diverse group of 12 copolymers, including new and literature materials, to demonstrate good correlation between (a) theoretically determined energy levels of polymers and experimentally determined ionization energies and electron affinities and (b) photoconductance, measured by TRMC, and OPV device performance. The materials used here also allow us to explore whether further copolymer design rules need to be incorporated into our methodology for materials selection. For example, we explore the effect of the enthalpy change (ΔH) during exciton dissociation on the efficiency of free charge carrier generation and device efficiency and find that ΔH of −0.4 eV is sufficient for efficient charge generation.
The kinetics of water exchange across the chloroplast membrane

The kinetics of water exchange across the membrane of class II chloroplasts has been studied by two NMR methods. Both methods utilize Dy(en)3+ (en = ethylenediamine) to induce a transmembranal chemical shift the order of 40 Hz in the water proton resonance. The shift reagent is impermeant to the chloroplast membrane, inert as a redox reagent, soluble at millimolar concentrations at neutral pH, and associated with a large, virtually temperature independent molar shift (0.10-0.12 ppm/mM). Water exchange across the membrane is monitored by two independent experiments. In the first, chemical exchange causes line broadening in the water proton resonance in the high-resolution spectrum. Measurement of the incremental linewidth as a function of transmembranal chemical shift determines the exchange kinetics as well as the fractions of water protons in internal and external media. In the second experiment, chemical exchange causes the transverse relaxation time, as measured by the Carr-Purcell-Gill-Meiboom technique, to be dependent on the 180 degree pulse spacing. The two experiments, while independent of each other, depend on the same set of theoretical parameters. These parameters are overdetermined by simultaneous analysis of both experiments. The mean lifetime of a water proton in the inner thylakoid space is found to be 1.1 +/- 0.8 ms at 25 degrees C and 2.75 +/- 0.4 ms at 3 degrees C in NH2OH/EDTA-treated chloroplasts. Values derived from dark-adapted chloroplasts that are active with respect to oxygen evolution are 1.1 +/- 0.3 ms (25 degrees C) and 1.75 +/- 0.4 ms (3 degrees C). The internal thylakoid volume is also determined in principle by the data, but uncertainties in the membrane volume and the transmembranal chemical shift severely limits the accuracy of this measurement.
SU-FF-T-393: An Anthropomorphic Phantom for Respiratory Motion Research in Dynamic SRS

Purpose: The purpose of our experiment is to study the use of a respiratory anthropomorphic phantom evaluating the respiratory motion tracking capabilities in dynamic stereotactic radiosurgery(SRS).Method and Materials: An anthropomorphic phantom was scanned with 1.25 mm slice spacing on a 4‐slice GE Lightspeed CT. A Harvard lung pump was attached to the lung bellows of the phantom and set to 15 breath/min, 40% expiration. The abdominal cavity was filled with humid sponges to resemble lungtissue density. A mini‐ballcube containing a pair of orthogonal GaF‐chromic films was attached to the diaphragm. The spherical target was treated to 3000cGy at 100% isodose line using both a static SRS and dynamic SRS (Synchrony) treatment. The films were analyzed using a Vidar VXR‐16 scanner and the Accuray film analysis tool.. Results:CT numbers measured in the phantom range from 42–162 for the sponges, 1111–1193 for the silicone tissue, and 1412 – 1512 for the embedded plastic skeleton. The total targeting error for the diaphragm treatment was 0.77 mm in the static and 0.91 in the dynamic case. The eccentricity for the spherical target was 1.27 mm in the axial plane for both treatments, and 1.34 mm for the static and 1.41 mm for the dynamic treatment in the coronal plane. The respiratory pattern was very similar to patterns observed in Synchrony patients. The extent of diaphragmatic motion was 8–10 mm in the superior/inferior direction. Conclusion: The respiratory anthropomorphic phantom is a promising tool for evaluating the respiratory motion tracking capabilities of dynamic SRS in a patient‐like environment. The accessible abdominal cavity allows for different target positions. It can easily be filled with different materials (sponges, saline solution, organic material,gels) to simulate different environments in the body. The electron densities (CT numbers) of the phantom material are very close to human tissue.
Hierarchical Collectives in MPICH2

Most parallel systems on which MPI is used are now hierarchical, such as systems with SMP nodes. Many papers have shown algorithms that exploit shared memory to optimize collective operations to good effect. But how much of the performance benefit comes from tailoring the algorithm to the hierarchical topology of the system? We describe an implementation of many of the MPI collectives based entirely on message-passing primitives that exploits the two-level hierarchy. Our results show that exploiting shared memory directly usually gives small additional benefit and suggests design approaches for where the benefit is large.
Analysis of a Realizable Unified RANS-LES Model

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is computationally expensive at high Reynolds numbers (Re), especially for the accurate resolution of the near-wall region in wall-bounded flows. Hence, hybrid turbulence models have been developed to reduce the computational cost of LES. In the hybrid modeling approach, the nearwall region is modeled using Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods while regions away from the wall are modeled using LES. However, the recently proposed hybrid turbulence models cannot be seen as real unified turbulence models. Hence, there is a need for the development of unified turbulence models which can be used continuously as LES or RANS methods. The formulation of a realizable unified turbulence model and the evaluation of its properties will be addressed in the current study. Turbulent channel flow is used as the test case to evaluate the unified turbulence model. The accuracy of the numerical predictions are validated against a benchmark DNS data. It was found that the numerical simulations of the unified turbulence model are more accurate than LES on coarse grids. Also, the numerical predictions of the unified turbulence model was less sensitive to the choice of the RANS model in the near-wall region. The current study provides encouraging results for the use of the unified turbulence model considered to investigate complex turbulent flows.
Stagnation and Disruption of Wire Array Z-Pinch Radiation Sources on the Z Pulsed Power Generator

Magnetic implosions provide extremely intense soft X-ray radiation on the Z accelerator. Shock heating at stagnation provides temperatures that are capable of producing K-shell radiation from stainless steel plasma. Time-gated multicolor X-ray pinhole imaging is used to study stagnation and disruption in fast Z pinches. Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities are observed to grow, following peak X-ray power until the Z-pinch column disrupts well after the main power pulse.
Survey and phylogenetic analysis of culturable microbes in the oral secretions of three bark beetle species

In a recent study, we reported a previously undescribed behavior in which a bark beetle exuded oral secretions containing bacteria that have antifungal properties, and hence defend their galleries against pervasive antagonistic Hyphomycete fungi. Actinobacteria, a group known for their antibiotic properties, were the most effective against fungi that invade the spruce beetle galleries. In the present study, we describe the isolation and identification of microorganisms from oral secretions of three bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae): the spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby, the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, and the pine engraver, Ips pini Say. Bacteria isolated from these three species span the major bacterial classes α-, β-, and γ-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, except for D. ponderosae, which yielded no α-proteobacteria or Bacteroidetes isolates. Spruce beetles and pine engraver beetles had similar numbers of α-proteobacteria isolates, but pine engravers yielded twice as many Bacteroidetes isolates as spruce beetles. In contrast, mountain pine beetles yielded more isolates in the β- and γ-proteobacteria than spruce beetles and pine engravers. The highest percentage of Actinobacteria was obtained from spruce beetles, followed by pine engravers and mountain pine beetles. All of the fungal isolates obtained from the three beetle species were Ascomycetes. The greatest fungal diversity was obtained in spruce beetles, which had nine species, followed by pine engravers with five, and mountain pine beetles with one.
Treatment options in severe aortic stenosis

Case presentation: An 80-year-old woman is referred for cardiovascular evaluation because of a systolic murmur. She denies symptoms of angina, syncope, or heart failure. The physical examination and echocardiogram are consistent with severe aortic stenosis (AS). What further evaluation is indicated? Aortic stenosis is becoming more frequent as the average age of the population increases; it affects up to 5% of the elderly population.1 The diagnosis of severe AS is most easily defined by Doppler echocardiography with maximum aortic jet velocity >4.0 m/s, mean transvalvular pressure gradient >40 mm Hg, and continuity equation valve area <1.0 cm2 or valve area index <0.6 cm2 (Figure 1).2 However, when cardiac output is low, a lower transvalular gradient and jet velocity may be present. Echocardiography is also used in patients with AS to assess left ventricular hypertrophy, size, and function; left atrial size, and the presence of pulmonary hypertension or other associated valvular disease. Nevertheless, the decision to proceed with aortic valve replacement (AVR) is usually based on the presence of symptoms. So, if this patient really is asymptomatic, the echocardiographic criteria for severe AS would not automatically result in a cardiac surgery referral.3–5 Figure 1. Management strategy for patients with severe aortic stenosis. AVA indicates aortic valve area; BP, blood pressure; CABG, coronary artery bypass graft surgery; echo, echocardiography; LV, left ventricular; and Vmax, maximal velocity across aortic valve by Doppler echocardiography. Reprinted from Bonow et al2 with permission of the publisher. Copyright © 2008, the American Heart Association. The 1%/y risk of sudden death in asymptomatic patients with AS is not higher than that of historical controls without AS.5 However, because patients may deny or fail to recognize symptoms or avoid them by decreasing physical activity, exercise testing can be useful in asymptomatic …
Reynolds number scaling of flow in a stirred tank with Rushton turbine. Part II — Eigen decomposition of fluctuation

We consider the question of scaling of flow within a stirred tank with increasing Reynolds number. Experimental results obtained from two different tanks of diameter 15.25 and 29.21 cm with a Rushton turbine operating at a wide range of rotational speed is considered for the scaling analysis. The resulting Reynolds number of the flow ranges from 4000 to about 80,000. Phase locked stereoscopic PIV measurements have been performed in order to obtain all three components of velocity on three different vertical planes close to the impeller. The scaling of plane-averaged mean flow was explored in the companion part-I of the paper. The scaling of rms and skewness of fluctuation about the mean is investigated here. The fluctuation about the mean is explained in terms of time-dependent oscillation of the impeller-induced jet and tip vortex components of the flow. The spatial structure of the instantaneous fluctuation about the mean is investigated in terms of eigenmodes obtained using proper orthogonal decomposition with the method of snapshots. The scaling of energy content of the dominant eigenmodes with Re is investigated.
The Mesoamerican World System

discuss Mesoamerica in terms of world-system spatial structure (cores, boundaries, peripheries) and in terms of change over time expressed as a series of cycles (horizons and intermediate periods) that describe variation in degree of world-system integration and the degree of expression of core-periphery hierarchies. Mesoamerica never had a simple structure of core, semi-periphery, and periphery. Instead, it had a series of separate core regions (e.g., the Basin of Mexico and the Valley of Oaxaca), each of which could be multi-state systems, or dominated by single states. Surrounding the cores are zones that were at times peripheralized by these cores. We leave out the outer periphery, called the "Chichimeca," located beyond the northern reaches of Mesoamerica, which was important in some periods in terms of military threats of nomadic foragers, and as a source of raw materials. Here we focus on peripheral regions that were situated along boundaries between cores (that we refer to variously as "inner peripheries" or "boundary zones"), for example, the Mixteca and Veracruz (Figure 1), located between multiples cores. Mesoamerica was thus more like a congeries of Chinese macroregions in the Skinnerian sense (Skinner, 1977), i.e., it was made up of a number of interacting nodal regions, except that no Mesoamerican polity ever solidified a multi-nodal macroregional structure to form a world-empire as happened in China. Late imperial China was composed of eight nodal regions (Skinner, 1977), while Mesoamerica tended to display two, three, or possibly four at any given timethis was variable. The core-boundary dichotomization that we are visualizing is in fact a simplification, since
Polarography of lead in hydroxide and cyanide media

Abstract The polarographic reduction wave of lead in cyanide-supporting electrolytes has been shown to be due to the presence of the biplumbite ion. No evidence for a lead-cyanide complex in aqueous solution has been found. The polarographic characteristics of lead in alkaline solutions have been redetermined in media of constant ionic strength using cells without liquid junction potentials. The mercury/mercuric oxide electrode has been studied and its use as a reference electrode in polarography is recommended.
An optimal algorithm for river routing with crosstalk constraints

With the increasing density of VLSI circuits, the interconnection wires are getting packed even closer. This has increased the effect of interaction between these wires on circuit performance and hence, the importance of controlling crosstalk. In this paper, we consider river routing with crosstalk constraints. Given the positions of the pins in a single-layer routing channel and the maximum tolerable crosstalk between each pair of nets, we give a polynomial time algorithm to decide whether there is a feasible river routing solution and produce one with minimum crosstalk whenever the problem is feasible.
Some Characteristics of Faculty Union Memberships and Their Implications

Some aspects of policy formation as an outcome of aggregation from diverse collective bargaining agreements are identified. Data from a nationwide sample of 7,325 full-time teaching faculty were used to show differences between membership or nonmembership in either AAUP, AFT, or NEA organizations by site and type of college or university, the career situation, the research orientation, and general conservatism. The implications of these differences for possible outcomes of social policy are considered.
An evaluation of the barotropic and internal tides in a high‐resolution global ocean circulation model

[1] Global comparisons of barotropic and internal tides generated in an eddy-resolving ocean circulation model are made with tidal estimates obtained from altimetric sea surface heights and an altimetry-constrained tide model. As far as we know, our Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) simulations shown here and in an earlier paper are the only published high-resolution global simulations to contain barotropic tides, internal tides, the general circulation, and mesoscale eddies concurrently. Comparing the model barotropic tide with a global data-assimilative shallow water tide model shows that the global tidal elevation differences are approximately evenly split between discrepancies in tidal amplitude and phase. Both the model and observations show strong generation of internal tides at a limited number of “hot spot” regions with propagation of beams of energy for thousands of kilometers away from the sources. The model internal tidal amplitudes compare well with observations near these energetic tidal regions. Averaged over these regions, the model and observation internal tide amplitude estimates agree to approximately 15% for the four largest semidiurnal constituents and 23% for the four largest diurnal constituents. Away from the hot spots, the comparison between the model and altimetric amplitude is not as good due, in part, to two problems, errors in the model barotropic tides and overestimation of the altimetric tides in regions of strong mesoscale eddy activity. Examining the general energy distribution of the simulated internal tide is an important first step in the evaluation of internal tides in HYCOM.
Activity of LBM415 compared to those of 11 other agents against Haemophilus species.

When tested against 254 Haemophilus influenzae strains, LBM415, a peptide deformylase inhibitor, gave MIC50 and MIC90 values of 2.0 μg/ml and 8.0 μg/ml, respectively. The MICs were independent of β-lactam or quinolone susceptibility and the presence or absence of macrolide efflux or ribosomal protein mutations. The MICs of LBM415 against 23 H. parainfluenzae strains were similar to those against H. influenzae. In contrast, erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin gave unimodal MIC distributions, and apart from β-lactamase-negative, ampicillin-resistant strains, all strains were susceptible to the β-lactams tested. Apart from selected quinolone-resistant strains, all strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gemifloxacin. Resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was common. The potencies of all drugs against 23 H. parainfluenzae strains were similar to those against H. influenzae. Time-kill studies with 10 Haemophilus strains showed LBM415 to be bactericidal at 2× the MIC against 8 of 10 strains after 24 h. For comparison, the macrolides and β-lactams were bactericidal against 8 to 10 strains each at 2× the MIC after 24 h. Quinolones were bactericidal against all 10 strains tested at 2× the MIC after 24 h. Against six H. influenzae strains, postantibiotic effects for LBM415 lasted between 0.8 and 2.2 h. In multistep resistance selection studies, LBM415 produced resistant clones in 7 of the 10 strains tested, with MICs ranging from 4 to 64 μg/ml. No mutations in deformylase (def) and formyltransferase (fmt) genes were detected in any of the LBM415-resistant mutants.
Invasive Aspergillosis Masquerading as Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome

A 25-year-old woman with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus who was taking steroids came to the hospital because of vague signs and symptoms of weight loss, constipation, and oral ulcers. Multiorgan dysfunction developed, and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome was suspected. She was treated with an intravenous infusion of heparin, but she experienced a subdural hemorrhage and died on day 10 of the hospitalization. An autopsy revealed disseminated invasive aspergillosis. This case illustrates that invasive aspergillosis is a frequently missed diagnosis and should be part of the differential diagnosis for any patient who is immunosuppressed, including patients with autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
Activity-based management for electronic commerce: a structured implementation procedure

This paper explores the application of Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management in ecommerce. The proposed application may lead to better firm performance of many companies in offering their products and services over the Internet. A case study of a fictitious Business-to-Customer (B2C) company is used to illustrate the proposed structured implementation procedure and effects of an Activity-Based Costing analysis. The analysis is performed by using matrixes in order to trace overhead. The Activity-Based Costing analysis is then used to demonstrate operational and strategic Activity-Based Management in e-commerce.
Ultra low loss millimeter wave multichip module interconnects

We present the design and electrical characterization of a multilayer organic based multichip module (MCM) for use at W-band (75-110 GHz). The ultra-low loss microstrip transmission line on Kapton E(R) (a trademark of DuPont) thin films and benzocyclobutene (BCB) adhesives is reported at W-band. An electrical model for a vertically stacked via interconnect to an integrated circuit (IC) is experimentally developed. This interconnect exhibits very low parasitics and preserves excellent matched conditions for devices and circuits in a module. The electrical performance of the vertically stacked via offers superior performance relative to ribbon and wire bond results reported in the literature at millimeter wave frequencies. We conclude that this technology is capable of realizing compact modules at millimeter wave frequencies.
An evaluation of software tools for the design and development of cockpit displays

The use of all-glass cockpits at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) simulation facility has changed the means of design, development, and maintenance of instrument displays. The human-machine interface has evolved from a physical hardware device to a software-generated electronic display system. This has subsequently caused an increased workload at the facility. As computer processing power increases and the glass cockpit becomes predominant in facilities, software tools used in the design and development of cockpit displays are becoming both feasible and necessary for a more productive simulation environment. This paper defines LaRC requirements of a display software development tool and compares two available applications against these requirements. As a part of the software engineering process, these tools reduce development time, provide a common platform for display development, and produce exceptional real-time results.
Thrombospondin-1: A proatherosclerotic protein augmented by hyperglycemia

Objective Diabetes is associated with a more aggressive form of atherosclerosis. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), an extracellular matrix protein, is an acute-phase reactant that induces vascular smooth muscle (VSMC) migration and proliferation in areas of vascular injury and is also up-regulated in VSMCs exposed to hyperglycemia. This study tested the hypothesis that hyperglycemia amplifies the expression of genes induced by TSP-1 in VSMCs. Methods Human aortic VSMCs were cultured in Dulbecco Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% antibiotics. Cells were used between passages three and five. VSMCs were preincubated in DMEM containing 0.2% FBS with 5 mM glucose (normoglycemia), 25 mM glucose (hyperglycemia), 25 mM mannose (osmotic control), TSP-1 (20 μg/mL), 25 mM glucose + TSP-1 (20 μg/mL), or 25 mM mannose + TSP-1 (20 μg/mL). Total RNA was extracted. Microarray analysis was performed and analyzed by analysis of variance. P Results Microarray analysis revealed: (1) hyperglycemia altered 30 genes; (2) TSP-1 altered 212 genes, of which 8 were altered similarly to VSMCs exposed to 25 mM glucose; (3) TSP-1 up-regulated 10 genes associated with atherosclerosis and 4 others with diabetic vascular disease; (4) hyperglycemia combined with TSP-1 altered expression of 2822 genes. The three genes most up-regulated by TSP-1 in a normoglycemic environment were uridine 5′-diphosphoglucose (UDP-glucose) dehydrogenase ( UGDH , 127%), transforming growth factor β-2 ( TGF β 2 , 116%), and hyaluronan synthase 2 ( HAS2 , 113%). Further, TSP-1 altered the expression of genes in 13 canonical pathways; however, when combined with hyperglycemia, 53 canonical pathways were affected. Conclusion Quantitative rtPCR confirmed that genes in several of these pathways for TSP-1 and hyperglycemia combined with TSP-1 were up-regulated. These findings suggest that TSP-1 may be germane to the progression of atherosclerosis and may have a large effect with concurrent hyperglycemia.
Survey of curriculum content related to geriatrics in physical therapy education programs.

We investigated the current status of the education of physical therapy students regarding elderly individuals. Data were collected through a questionnaire mailed to the directors of 101 accredited physical therapy education programs; the rate of return was 79%. Nearly all of the program directors (96%) affirmed a need to focus on the care of elderly individuals in their curricula. Currently, 92% of the programs teach aging-related material in six different course areas. The most frequently cited course area was professional physical therapy practice, followed by the behavioral-social sciences. Content on aging was incorporated primarily as parts of required courses, averaged 3 credits (representing 10–15 clock hours of study), and was taught primarily through didactic methods. The main obstacle to offering aging-related courses was a full curriculum. The results of our survey suggest that selective changes are needed, including additional course content that would enrich current education and provide physical therapy students with expanded capabilities to meet the health care needs of the elderly population.