cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acquired idiopathic generalized anhidrosis: A case series of two Caucasian patients

Acquired idiopathic generalized anhidrosis (AIGA) is a rare disorder characterized by insidious or sudden onset of the inability to sweat involving >25% of body surface area in the absence of other neurologic or sweat gland abnormalities and typically affects young, healthy, Asian men. Here, we describe two Caucasian teenagers with the diagnosis. They both had variable responses to prednisone, one in the setting of an elevated ANA, suggesting an autoimmune or inflammatory pathomechanism of the disorder. It is essential the clinician recognizes this rare entity and initiates timely intervention to prevent the serious consequences of hyperpyrexia.
The promise of a health professions education imagination.

CONTEXT Social factors play a key role in health professions education and are thus a foundational topic that medical trainees must be taught. Although medical educators have discussed the best ways to teach these concepts for decades, there are still significant barriers to full incorporation of 'the social' into medical training. FRAMEWORK Building upon previous scholarship in medical education, the author argues for the development in trainees of a 'health professions education imagination' or a unique 'quality of mind' that facilitates navigating competing ways of knowing. This concept borrows explicitly from 'the sociological imagination', which is briefly described. Next, some of the principles of thinking that might contribute to a similar 'imagination' in health professions education are identified. Finally, exemplars are provided highlighting how recent scholars have used their health professions education imaginations in recent research and teaching practice. IMPLICATIONS The health professions education imagination provides a useful framework to help guide clinical and research trainees to integrate the epistemologically diverse forms of knowledge they are exposed to and to break down the silos that these forms of knowledge are commonly taught within.
Audit quality effects of the PCAOB's 2006 tax service restrictions

Abstract In 2004 and 2005, use of aggressive tax services provided by a company's auditor had become so broadly concerning that it was the focus of a PCAOB roundtable and discussed in a Congressional subcommittee investigation report (PCAOB, 2004 and US Senate, 2005). Although auditor provision of these and other nonaudit services to issuer audit clients was restricted in 2006, research on the effectiveness of these restrictions finds that they did not impact audit quality (Notbohm, Paterson and Valencia, 2015 and Lennox, 2016). We reexamine this issue with a focus on the audit quality effects for the engagements most impacted by the restrictions-Big 4 audit clients with pre-restriction tax service fees of at least $100,000 that fell by at least 75% following the restrictions. Using a difference-in-difference framework and two proxies for audit quality, we find evidence of the effectiveness of the PCAOB's 2006 restrictions among those clients. Additionally, we find these results are sensitive to the level of pre-restriction tax service fees, with the restatement (going concern) effect of the restrictions strengthening (weakening) in the pre-restriction tax service fee level. We also find that the effects of these restrictions are concentrated among clients of Big 4 auditors rather than clients of the 2nd tier or 3rd tier auditors. Results of additional analyses indicate that audit quality, as measured by the probability of restatement, was lower in the pre-restriction period for purchasers than for non-purchasers. Our results are robust to a barrage of sensitivity tests. Our findings contribute to the continued regulator discussion about the proper level and types of allowable tax nonaudit services.
Alternative ordering of process hierarchy for more efficient and cost-effective valorization of shale resources

Summary In the past 2 decades, natural gas flaring and venting have increased due to the lack of transforming or transportation infrastructure in emerging shale-gas-producing regions. To reduce carbon emissions and wastage of shale resources, here, we report an alternative process hierarchy for natural gas liquid (NGL) to liquid fuel processes, which enables efficient valorization of shale resources on a small scale near the wellhead. While the conventional shale gas process follows a front-end separation, NGL activation, NGL upgrading hierarchy, our process introduces a hierarchy of NGL activation, NGL upgrading, back-end separation. This proposed hierarchy intensifies and simplifies the entire process by eliminating repeated or unnecessary unit operations and associated equipment. We illustrate the benefit of the proposed process hierarchy through synthesis, simulation, and analysis of an exemplary process via dehydrogenation followed by oligomerization. For small-scale plants, detailed simulation and economic analysis demonstrate this process to be economically attractive.
Examining Ancient Inter-domain Horizontal Gene Transfer

Details of the genomic changes that occurred in the ancestors of Eukarya, Archaea and Bacteria are elusive. Ancient interdomain horizontal gene transfer (IDHGT) amongst the ancestors of these three domains has been difficult to detect and analyze because of the extreme degree of divergence of genes in these three domains and because most evidence for such events are poorly supported. In addition, many researchers have suggested that the prevalence of IDHGT events early in the evolution of life would most likely obscure the patterns of divergence of major groups of organisms let alone allow the tracking of horizontal transfer at this level. In order to approach this problem, we mined the E. coli genome for genes with distinct paralogs. Using the 1,268 E. coli K-12 genes with 40% or higher similarity level to a paralog elsewhere in the E. coli genome we detected 95 genes found exclusively in Bacteria and Archaea and 86 genes found in Bacteria and Eukarya. These genes form the basis for our analysis of IDHGT. We also applied a newly developed statistical test (the node height test), to examine the robustness of these inferences and to corroborate the phylogenetically identified cases of ancient IDHGT. Our results suggest that ancient inter domain HGT is restricted to special cases, mostly involving symbiosis in eukaryotes and specific adaptations in prokaryotes. Only three genes in the Bacteria + Eukarya class (Deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXPS), fructose 1,6-phosphate aldolase class II protein and glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase) and three genes–in the Bacteria + Archaea class (ABC-type FE3+-siderophore transport system, ferrous iron transport protein B, and dipeptide transport protein) showed evidence of ancient IDHGT. However, we conclude that robust estimates of IDHGT will be very difficult to obtain due to the methodological limitations and the extreme sequence saturation of the genes suspected of being involved in IDHGT.
Power Efficient MapReduce Workload Acceleration Using Integrated-GPU

With the pervasiveness of MapReduce - one of the most prominent programming models for data parallelism in Apache Hadoop-, many researchers and developers have spent tremendous effort attempting to boost the computational speed and energy efficiency of MapReduce-based big data processing. However, the scalable and fault-tolerant nature of MapReduce introduces additional costs in disk IO and data transfer, caused by streaming intermediate outputs to disk. In light of these issues, many interesting research projects have been initiated with the goal of improving the compute speed and power efficiency of compute-intensive cloud computing workloads, several with the addition of discrete GPUs. In this work, we present a modified MapReduce approach focused on the iterative clustering algorithms in the Apache Mahout machine learning library that leverage the acceleration potential of the Intel integrated GPU in a multi-node cluster environment. The accelerated framework shows varying levels of speed-up (?45x for Map tasks-only, ?4.37x for the entire K-means clustering) as evaluated using the HiBench benchmark suite. Based on various experiments and in-depth analysis, we find that utilizing the integrated GPU via OpenCL offers significant performance and power efficiency gains over the original CPU based approach. Further analysis is also done to understand the correlations between compute, IO and power efficiency. As such, our results show that embracing the integrated GPU in the Hadoop MapReduce framework represents a promising advance in adding cost and energy efficient compute parallelism to a data parallel multinode environment.
Who does what when partners become parents: Implications for men, women, and marriage.

Forty-seven couples who were first-time parents were assessed in late pregnancy and again at 6 and 18 months postpartum. Fifteen couples not yet decided about having a baby were assessed at equivalent times. Actual involvement in household, decision-making, and childcare roles was determined by responses to a 36-item "Who Does What?" questionnaire. Psychological involvement in parent, partner, and worker roles was also determined, as was each partner's satisfaction with behavioral and psychological involvement in each domain. On the basis of global analyses, previous studies have suggested that new parents adopt more traditional roles. Item analyses indicated that men's and women's roles change in both traditional and nontraditional ways during the transition to parenthood, depending on the item and the time of assessment. Measures of individual and couple adaption were also obtained: self-esteem, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction. Men's involvement in family tasks was correlated with their own o...
"Home alone": potential implications for adolescents.

Considerable attention has been given in the literature to the clustering of adolescent "problem behaviors" (premature sexual activity, substance abuse, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, school underachievement).1-3 The resultant potential of these behaviors for morbidity and mortality has prompted further investigation into the clustering of problem behaviors as a concept. Moreover, if one theory or condition could be shown to underlie such high-risk behaviors, it might be possible to target interventions specifically toward that one etiology rather than toward the several elements of the combination of personal, social, and environmental etiologies that are thought to lead to risk-taking. The earlier the intervention, the potentially more effective it would be, because young people, their families, and society would be spared untoward outcomes.
The new communication order: Management, language, and morality in a multinational corporation

“Communication” is central to participative management strategies associated with post-Fordist capitalism. Although exhortations to manage via “communication” instrumentalize managerial linguistic practices, they also moralize them in reference to a larger therapeutic moral order. By drawing from fieldwork conducted in the office of a Russian factory affiliated with a U.S. multinational corporation and by attending to metadiscourses in training manuals, managerial meetings, and conversations with company staff, I examine how “communication” can serve as a touchstone for managers and professionals endeavoring to exemplify moral personhood and create moral workplaces, even as it leaves fundamental inequalities of global capitalism intact. I also highlight the substantial transformations that “communication” can undergo in its global circulation and the particular tensions between morality and instrumentality that arise in post-Fordist overseas manufacturing. [capitalism, morality, language and political economy, language ideology, management, globalization, postsocialism]
FieldBus-Real-time comes to OSI

The authors describe FieldBus, the activity initially responsible for the creation of communications standards suitable for time-critical automation system use. The authors focus on time-critical communications and on new standards and alternatives to the open system interconnection (OSI) seven-layer stack to support time-critical applications. Automation vendors and users are the driving force behind the development of the new standards for time-critical communications, because their control systems are the current preeminent users of time-critical networks, and because market forces are necessitating the conversion from currently-existing proprietary networks to an open system where products from different vendors all intercommunicate. The standards support a mix of time-critical and informational traffic, both to provide for current time-critical functions and to integrate with the general OSI informational networks which are commonly required in factory management applications. The first set of such de jure standards supporting the FieldBus sensor-controller-effector architecture is now starting to emerge. >
SCITT: Bringing DRAMs Into the Test Fold

dously successful in addressing the problem of component, board and system level interconnect testing. The standard is widely embraced by the semiconductor industry and virtually any logic component can be found in an 1149.1 compliant version. The glaring exception is DRAM devices. This prevents a sound, structured and standardized interconnect test methodology from being applied to a significant portion of a modern system, namely the memory interface. The time is clearly at hand for the development of a standard for structured interconnect test that is feasible and acceptable for DRAM devices. Such a standard would ideally: 1) be usable at different levels of the packaging/manufacturing process (i.e. chip package, module, system); 2) provide effective, adequate isolation and diagnostic information; 3) be low cost and low overhead so it will be embraced by the industry; 4) not preclude innovation in the future. The current SCITT proposal is an admirable attempt at addressing these multiple and potentially conflicting criteria. However we believe that several modifications to SCITT would ultimately lead to a more flexible and usable standard.
Modelling for Insight: The Case of Dementia in Singapore

Many nations have rapidly ageing populations and consequently face important health care policy issues, including a need to address the care and treatment of individuals afflicted with ageing-related dementia. To help inform policymakers in Singapore concerned with dementia, we constructed a system dynamics model that represents changing population characteristics, incidence and prevalence of dementia, and a population-level natural history of this pernicious condition. In the model-building process, we encountered an unexpected simulation outcome that led to valuable insights. This article (i) describes how a difference between measured census data and the simulated population led to improvements in our population modelling, (ii) introduces a novel and generalizable means to simulate how the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe dementia is likely to change over the next 20 years, and (iii) provides a comparison between two means of prevalence projection. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Glycosphingolipid Biosynthesis May Not Be Necessary for Vertebrate Brain Developmenta

: Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) in general and gangliosides in particular have long been considered essential for CNS growth and development. Recent studies with intact developing systems in fish and mice challenge this general notion. These studies suggest that glycosphingolipid biosynthesis and expression is neither essential nor necessary for neural growth and differentiation in the developing vertebrate brain. Rather than having a major role in neural cell growth and morphogenesis, the GSLs may have a role in modulating such membrane properties as signaling, electrical conduction, maintenance, and stability.
Analysis of a Plate Containing a Polygon-Shaped Inclusion With a Uniform Eigencurvature

An infinite isotropic plate containing a polygon-shaped inclusion with a uniform eigencurvature is analyzed. An algorithmic closed-form solution of the curvature is derived for both interior and exterior points of the polygon.
Improvements to science operations at Kitt Peak National Observatory

ABSTRACT In recent years Kitt Peak National Observatory has undertaken a number of innovative projects tooptimize science operations with the suite of telescopes we operate on Kitt Peak, Arizona. Changingscientific requirements and expectations of our users, evolving technology and declining budgets have motivated the changes. The operations improvements have included telescope performance enhancements  with the focus on the Mayall 4-m  modes of observing and scheduling, telescope control and observing systems, planning and communication, and data archiving. Keywords: science operations, astronomical telescopes, control systems, computers 1. iNTRODUCTION Effective astronomical observations are the product of the site, the telescope, the instrumentation, and the broad infrastructure supporting the research. The infrastructure in turn is the intersection oftechnology, science and operations, all of which must be combined to realize maximum scientificreturn. Recent management philosophy at Kitt Peak National Observatory has been to establish benchmarks tojudge the effectiveness of our operations (2) and to tackle first those areas where we would expect the
Epothilones: novel microtubule-stabilising agents

The past few years have witnessed the regulatory approvals of the anticancer microtubule stabilising taxane drugs, Taxol® and Taxotere®, which are rapidly gaining acceptance as important antineoplastic agents with potential against numerous solid tumour malignancies. Despite a basic understanding of the biochemical target of taxanes dating back nearly 20 years, new classes of tubulin-binding microtubule polymerisation enhancers were only reported in the last two years. Epothilones and discodermolide are newly discovered compounds, which are structurally distinct from the taxanes, but which possess similar tubulin polymerising and cell biological effects. In the first studies reported, these compounds displayed similar or greater potencies than taxanes, and the epothilones may represent an advance over the taxanes in retaining toxicity against various taxane-resistant cell lines. This review summarises the data published on epothilones and discodermolide and proposes further steps that could establish thes...
MPEG-2/ECVQ look-ahead hybrid quantization and spatially scalable coding

In this paper, a nonlinear approach to spatially scalable coding is developed. Within the context of the MPEG-2 scalable syntax, various decimation and prediction schemes are discussed for the interlaced and progressive format video processing. A novel spatio-temporal video interpolation technique is presented, which is used as the basic unit in the prediction schemes. In addition to the considerable scalability techniques, a lookahead quantization scheme is introduced for P- and B-type picture coding. The new quantization scheme results in further performance improvement by selective combination of the DCT domain scalar quantization and the spatial domain entropy- constrained vector quantization. The performance of the proposed scalable scheme is compared with that of the simulcast technique and the single layer coding. Remarkable performance improvement over the simulcast coding is achieved. While spatial scalability involves multi-layer coding, the new scalable scheme also achieves comparable or better performance that the single layer coding.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chemisorption of Organics on Platinum. 1. The Interstitial Electron Model

Using first principles quantum mechanics (nonlocal density functional theory), we studied the bonding and electronic states for clusters of Pt atoms. These calculations suggest the interstitial electron model (IEM) in which (i) the 6s valence orbitals from the four atoms of a tetrahedron combine to form an interstitial bonding orbital at the center of the tetrahedron that is occupied by two electrons to form the interstitial electron bond (IEB), (ii) the 5d valence orbitals from each atom form a band of bonding and antibonding states sufficiently dense that the optimum occupation is high spin (Hund’s rule) or nearly so, and (iii) bonds of organics to the Pt surface lead to covalent U bonds to d orbitals localized on individual Pt atoms. This simple model explains the bonding and lowest electronic state of essentially all clusters studied. The IEM suggests that the bonding in three-dimensional face-centered cubic (fcc) systems has two electrons from each atom in the IEB, leaving the remaining eight valence electrons in d-like orbitals. For bulk Pt, this leads to a 6s 2 5d 8 effective electronic configuration. The IEM suggests that the (111) surface of Pt would have a 6s 1 5d 9 effective electronic configuration. This suggests that to model the chemistry of the Pt(111) surface we should use clusters leading to the (6s) 1 (5d) 9 configuration. This suggests the interstitial electron surface model (IESM) in which a simple planar cluster with eight atoms serves to model the chemistry of the Pt(111) surface. This is used in the accompanying paper (part 2) to examine CHx and C2Hx species chemisorbed on Pt(111).
Augmented right ventricular function in systemic hypertension-induced hypertrophy.

The contractile properties of right ventricular papillary muscles from the hearts of 15 rats which had developed hypertension 6 weeks following renal artery ligation were compared with those from 14 normal litter-mates. In the experimental group, the heart weight–body weight ratio was increased by 39%, while the right ventricular weight–body weight ratio increased 20%. Right ventricular papillary muscles from the hypertensive rats demonstrated increased tension development at the apex of the length-active tension curve (P < 0.0001), elevated maximal rate of tension development (P < 0.001), and increased maximal velocity of contraction at muscle lengths corresponding to both a light preload and at Lmax (P < 0.05). Resting tension and time-to-peak tension in the muscles from the hypertensive group were not significantly different from the normal group. Thus, improved right ventricular performance, in the presence of increased left ventricular afterload, may indicate the existence of a stimulus to increased function in hyper-trophied muscle not yet negated by the adverse effects of direct exposure to stress.
Uveal metastasis from lung cancer: clinical features, treatment, and outcome in 194 patients.

Purpose To evaluate the clinical features, treatment, and prognosis of patients with uveal metastasis from lung cancer. Design Retrospective chart review. Participants There were 194 patients with a diagnosis of uveal metastasis from lung cancer. Intervention Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, enucleation, or observation. Main Outcome Measures Ocular tumor control, final visual acuity, and tumor-related death. Results There were 374 uveal metastatic tumors originating from primary lung cancer in 229 eyes of 194 patients. Tumor location included choroid (88%), ciliary body (2%), and iris (10%), with bilateral involvement in 18%. Diagnosis of uveal metastasis preceded the diagnosis of primary lung cancer in 44% of patients. The choroidal metastatic focus had a mean basal diameter of 8 mm and mean thickness of 3 mm, and were mostly located posterior to the equator (91%). The choroidal metastasis commonly had yellow or orange color (98%), had plateau (61%) or dome (38%) configuration, and displayed associated subretinal fluid (85%). Choroidal tumors were multifocal in 49 cases (23%). Ciliary body tumors were commonly dome shaped (75%) with an episcleral sentinel vessel (75%). Iris tumors were multifocal in 2 cases (13%), had visible intrinsic vessels (97%), and were associated with tumor seeding in the angle (38%) or on the iris stroma (25%). The uveal metastases were treated with teletherapy (31%), chemotherapy (18%), brachytherapy (9%), chemotherapy combined with teletherapy or brachytherapy (14%), enucleation (3%), or observation (21%). At last visit, eyes with follow-up showed tumor regression (66%), stability (12%), growth (14%), recurrence (3%), or new metastasis (5%). Visual acuity improved or remained stable in 59% eyes. One-year mortality from the time of detection of uveal metastasis was 54%. Conclusions Of 194 patients with uveal metastasis from lung cancer, 44% did not have a history of known lung cancer. Current methods of ocular treatment allow globe salvage in 92% of patients and improved/stable vision in 59% of patients. Systemic prognosis remains poor with tumor-related death in 54% of patients at 1 year.
Cloning of mouse γ-glutamyl hydrolase in the form of two cDNA variants with different 5′ ends and encoding alternate leader peptide sequences

Abstract Mouse-liver γ-glutamyl hydrolase (GH) is a lysosomal endopeptidase with an acid pH optimum that is activated by sulfhydryl compounds and preferentially hydrolyzes the most proximal γ-glutamyl linkage of longer chain polyglutamates of folates and their analogues. We describe the cloning of this mouse lysosomal cDNA enzyme from liver GH mRNA in the form of two cDNA variants (1.295 and 1.268 kb in length) differing 14-fold (Variant I versus Variant II) in relative frequency that exhibited 5′-end heterogeneity and encoded alternate leader peptides. The 5′ UTR in these variants also differs in length by 27 nucleotides. Otherwise, the ORF and 3′ UTR in each case are the same. These cDNAs encode a protein in which the deduced amino acid sequence shares 78.9 and 69.1% identity to rat and human GH sequences, respectively. Amino acid sequence comparisons among the three species identified three conserved Asn sites and two conserved Cys residues that may be sites of glycosylation and sulfhydryl compound activation, respectively. Variant I GH mRNA was more abundant than Variant II GH mRNA in all mouse tissues examined. Variant I GH mRNA levels were extremely high in salivary gland, moderately high in kidney, liver, lung, stomach and uterus, low in small intestine, brain and fetal liver and relatively rare in thymus, spleen and skeletal muscle. Abundance of GH mRNA among tumors varied from low to high, with no discernible correlation with their tissue of origin.
ATR performance modeling for building multiscenario adaptive systems

Modeling Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) system performance is important for a number of reasons. Many of these reasons have to do with the fact that performance models can enhance the ability to predict the ATR system performance in scenarios where data is not available. However, a critical use of ATR performance models that has not been explored until recently is the adaptation of the ATR system parameters. A system has been developed in recent years called Knowledge and Model-Based Algorithm Adaptation (KMBAA) for automatic ATR parameters adaptation. KMBAA has shown tremendous success in its ability to adapt ATR parameters and enhance the ATR system performance. KMBAA relies heavily on the use of complex ATR performance models. These models relate a number of ATR performance measures, such as probability of detection, to a number of ATR critical parameters, such as bright thresholds, and image/scene metrics, such as target range. The models being used in the KMBAA systems, and the process of building such models, are discussed in this paper.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Central Supply Room: We Made our Own Glove Powdering Device

(1955). Central Supply Room: We Made our Own Glove Powdering Device. Hospital Topics: Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 77-80.
Pulmonary diseases other than asthma as potential targets for antileukotriene therapy.

A highly plausible rationale exists for implicating LTs in the pathogenesis of all the diseases considered in this discussion. In general, the weakest link is the paucity of therapeutic trials in humans. It is only recently that pharmacologic agents with acceptable potency and specificity have been available. As experience and comfort with these new anti-LT agents grow, it is anticipated that their application will be extended beyond asthma to the diseases discussed herein. For most of these diseases, a case can be made for the involvement of not only cysteinyl LTs, but also of LTB4 and 5-HETE. For this reason, it can be hypothesized that drugs that inhibit 5-LO metabolism at a proximal step (i.e., 5-LO or 5-LO activating protein) would appear to hold the most promise and versatility. It is hoped that the opportunity to test this hypothesis will be realized.
Protective effect of Staphylococcus chromogenes infection against Staphylococcus aureus infection in the lactating bovine mammary gland.

Abstract The susceptibility of uninfected or Staphylococcus chromogenes -infected quarters to challenge with Staphylococcus aureus was measured. Seventeen S. chromogenes -infected quarters were challenged by infusion of S. aureus into the teat sinus; 47% (8 of 17) became infected and all 18 uninfected quarters challenged similarly with S. aureus became infected. No differences in daily milk yield were seen between uninfected quarters and S. chromogenes -infected quarters prior to S. aureus infusion. Postinfusion, milk yield for S. aureus -infected, S. chromogenes -infected, and S. chromogenes - and S. aureus -infected quarters differed. Somatic cell counts were elevated in S. chromogenes -infected quarters compared with uninfected quarters prior to S. aureus infusion. Somatic cell counts were not different between S. aureus - and S. chromogenes - and S. aureus -infected quarters postinfusion, but were different for S. chromogenes -infected quarters. Chloride concentrations in S. chromogenes -and S. aureus -infected quarters were different from either S. aureus -infected or S. chromogenes -infected quarters. Staphylococcus aureus colony forming units in quarters with preexisting S. chromogenes infections were lower than S. aureus colony-forming units in previously uninfected quarters. Possible protective mechanisms induced by S. chromogenes against superinfection by S. aureus are discussed.
Effects of Hypophysectomy and Hormone Substitution on Packed-Cell Volume in Chickens

Abstract In this study, packed-cell volume (hematocrit) readings were obtained in hypophysectomized and sham-operated chickens, both with and without hormone substitution. White Plymouth Rock chicks of the Massachusetts high- and low-growth lines (Farrington and Mellen, 1967; Proudman et at., 1970) were hypophysectomized (anterior lobe only) at 3-4 weeks of age, using the parapharyngeal method of King (1965). Following hypophysectomy or sham hypophysectomy, birds were placed in heated chick-starting batteries and fed a standard chick-starter ration ad libitum. Hormone injections were started 1–3 days after hypophysectomy and were continued daily for two weeks. One group of sham-operated birds in each line and one group of hypophysectomized birds from each line were injected daily with 0.5 U.S.P. units of porcine growth hormone (GH) per 100 g. body weight. Other sham-operated and hypophysectomized groups from each line were injected daily with .075 units of bovine thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) per 100 g. Both hormone…
Evidence from in vitro replication that O6-methylguanine can adopt multiple conformations.

Abstract The effect of O6-methylguanine (m6G) on replication, in a partially double-stranded defined 25-base oligonucleotide, has been studied under nonlimiting conditions of unmodified dNTPs and over an extended time period, using the Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. The sequence surrounding m6G has flanking cytosines (C-m6G-C), and the initial steady-state kinetics have been reported. When the primer was annealed so that the first base to be replicated was m6G, replication was virtually complete in approximately 5 min, although the reaction appears biphasic. When annealed with a primer where thymine or cytosine is paired opposite template m6G, about half the molecules were replicated in the first 15 sec, and no significant further replication was seen over a 1-hr period. When m6G was dealkylated by DNA-O6-methylguanine-methyltransferase, replication was rapid with no blockage. These data suggest that there can be two (or more) conformations of m6G. In these studies the term syn refers to conformers interfering with base-pairing, whereas anti refers to those allowing such base-pairing. Previous physical studies by others indicate that syn- and anti-conformers of the methyl group relative to the N1 of guanine are possible. Here molecular modeling/computational studies are described, suggesting that syn- and anti-m6G can be of similar energy in DNA, and, therefore, these two conformers may explain the two types of species observed during in vitro replication. An alternative explanation could be the possibility that the different species may manifest differential interactions of m6G with Klenow fragment. These results may provide a rationale for why m6G lesions in vivo have been reported to be lethal as well as mutagenic.
Enhanced Depth Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography of Deep Optic Nerve Complex Structures in Glaucoma

Objective To assess the usefulness of enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) for evaluating deep structures of the optic nerve complex (ONC; optic nerve head and peripapillary structures) in glaucoma. Design Prospective, observational study. Participants Seventy-three established glaucoma patients (139 eyes) with a range of glaucomatous damage. Methods Serial horizontal and vertical EDI OCT images of the ONC were obtained from both eyes of each participant. Deep ONC structures, including the lamina cribrosa (LC), short posterior ciliary artery (SPCA), central retinal artery (CRA), central retinal vein (CRV), peripapillary choroid and sclera, and subarachnoid space around the optic nerve, were investigated for their visibility and morphologic features. Main Outcome Measures Deep ONC structures identified in EDI OCT images. Results Visual field mean deviation of 139 included eyes was −11.8±8.6 dB (range, −28.70 to −2.01 dB). The anterior laminar surface was identified in all eyes in the central laminar area and in 91 (65%) eyes in the periphery beneath the neuroretinal and scleral rims or vascular structures. The LC pores with various shapes and sizes were visualized in 106 (76%) eyes, mainly in the central and temporal areas of the LC. Localized LC lesions seen on optic disc photographs were identified as focal LC defects (partial loss of LC tissue) in the EDI OCT images. The locations of the CRA and CRV were identified in all eyes. In the LC, the CRA maintained a straight shape with a consistent caliber, but the CRV (and tributaries) assumed a more irregular shape. The SPCAs, their branches through the emissary canals in the sclera, or both were visualized in 120 (86%) eyes. The subarachnoid space around the optic nerve was identified with varying degrees of clarity in 25 eyes (18%): 17 had high myopia and extensive parapapillary atrophy. Intrachoroidal cavitation or choroidal schisis, which had been unrecognized clinically, was identified in 2 eyes (1%) with high myopia. Conclusions Enhanced depth imaging OCT was able to visualize a wide variety of deep ONC structures in glaucoma patients and may be helpful in detecting, conceptualizing, and understanding basic and complicated in vivo anatomic and pathologic features of the ONC in glaucoma. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
Emerging Contaminants—The Growing Problem

Finding solutions to the complex environmental problems of today's society involves a thorough understanding of the processes and our perception of the specific contaminants causing these problems....
Scale dependence in earthquake phenomena and its relevance to earthquake prediction

Abstract The recent discovery of a low-velocity, low-Q zone with a width of 50-200 m reaching to the top of the ductile part of the crust, by observations on seismic guided waves trapped in the fault zone of the Landers earthquake of 1992, and its identification with the shear zone inferred from the distribution of tension cracks observed on the surface support the existence of a characteristic scale length of the order of 100 m affecting various earthquake phenomena in southern California, as evidenced earlier by the kink in the magnitude-frequency relation at about M3, the constant corner frequency for earthquakes with M below about 3, and the sourcecontrolled fmax of 5-10 Hz for major earthquakes. The temporal correlation between coda Q-1 and the fractional rate of occurrence of earthquakes in the magnitude range 3-3.5, the geographical similarity of coda Q-1 and seismic velocity at a depth of 20 km, and the simultaneous change of coda Q-1 and conductivity at the lower crust support the hypotheses that coda Q-1 may represent the activity of creep fracture in the ductile part of the lithosphere occurring over cracks with a characteristic size of the order of 100 m. The existence of such a characteristic scale length cannot be consistent with the overall self-similarity of earthquakes unless we postulate a discrete hierarchy of such characteristic scale lengths. The discrete hierarchy of characteristic scale lengths is consistent with recently observed logarithmic periodicity in precursory seismicity.
Self-assembling wireless autonomously reconfigurable module design concept

Abstract Presently, most spacecraft are one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind creations, optimized for some particular task, and containing as much functionality as is feasible. While components or subsystems may be re-used from one spacecraft to the next, there is a high degree of customization, which leads to increases in testing and verification costs, along with reductions in reliability. The self-assembling wireless autonomous reconfigurable module concept proposes a set of small satellites which can perform the functionality of a large integrated system, but have the advantages of avoiding substantial up-front design cost, flexibility in the reconfiguration of the system, subsystem level testing capability, marginal cost benefits of large production runs, and ease of on-orbit subsystem repair and replacement. These small satellite modules can be reconfigured to execute a large variety of tasks, such as astronaut assistance or solar tracking. The modules use wireless communication, which minimizes hard interfaces between subsystems, and remaining structural interfaces are standardized and autonomous. Different modules, such as computer, attitude control and propulsion, work together to provide autonomy in sensing and mobility. A set of prototype modules have been constructed and tested for structural, electrical, data transfer, and general performance measurements. Results show full compliance with design requirements.
Searching for the common ancestor.

In this brief mini-review I address the current controversy surrounding the nature of the last common ancestor of all life on Earth. The pros and cons of the various positions have been hotly debated of late with no sign of the tumult subsiding. As such, I could not possibly do justice to all the varied and opposing views, nor even cite them. Let me just say at the outset that my own views on the subject at hand have been greatly influenced by the writings of T. Cavalier-Smith, W.F. Doolittle, P. Gogarten, R. Gupta, H. Hartman, O. Kandler, E. Koonin, J. Lake, W. Martin, M. Sogin, and C. Woese, inter alia. I hope they will forgive me if my depiction of events does not do full justice to their contributions.
Anuloaortic ectasia: A clinical and echocardiographic study

Abstract Twenty-six patients with an aortic root diameter ≥ 3.7 cm by 2-dimensional echocardiography (2-D echo) were studied. Group I consisted of 14 patients (mean age 50 ± 14 years) with idiopathic anuloaortic ectasia and group II consisted of 12 patients (mean age 60 ± 12 years) with secondary causes of aortic root dilatation. Patients in group I had a significantly larger aortic root diameter at the level of the aortic valve (5.0 ± 0.7 cm) and 2 cm above the aortic valve (5.3 ± 1.2 cm) as assessed by echo than did patients in group II (4.1 ± 0.3 and 4.4 ± 0.4 cm, respectively, p cm , difference not significant). Over a mean follow-up period of 18 months, in group I, aortic dissection developed in 3 patients and severe aortic regurgitation and congestive heart failure in 2; 7 patients had aortic root grafting, aortic valve replacement or both. The 3 patients in group I with aortic dissection had an aortic root diameter ≥ 5.3 cm, but 4 asymptomatic patients also had a diameter > 5 cm. Only 1 patient in group II required surgery for aortic dissection. Thus, 2-D echo is useful in identifying and following high-risk patients with anuloaortic ectasia.
Neutralization of IL-17 ameliorates uveitis but damages photoreceptors in a murine model of spondyloarthritis

Uveitis, or intraocular inflammatory disease, is a frequent extra-articular manifestation of several forms of arthritis. Despite the frequent co-occurrence of uveitis and arthritis, little is understood of the eye's predisposition to this disease. We recently described a previously unreported uveitis in a murine model of spondyloarthropathy triggered by autoimmunity to aggrecan, a prominent proteoglycan (PG) macromolecule in cartilage. In contrast to the joint and spine, wherein interferon-gamma (IFNγ) deficiency reduced disease, IFNγ deficiency worsened uveitis. Given the regulatory role of IFNγ on the Th17 response and the current focus of anti-interleukin-17 therapeutics in patients with uveitis and spondyloarthritis, we sought to determine the extent to which interleukin (IL)-17 mediates uveitis in the absence of IFNγ. Antigen specific T cell cytokine production was measured in splenocyte cultures using multiplex-ELISA. Transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the T cell receptor (TCR) recognizing the dominant arthritogenic epitope in the G1 domain of PG (TCR-Tg), also lacking IFNγ, were immunized with PG. Mice were then systemically administered an anti-IL-17 neutralizing antibody. The onset and severity of peripheral arthritis was evaluated by clinical scoring criteria and histology. Uveitis was assessed using intravital videomicroscopy, which visualizes leukocyte trafficking within the vasculature and tissue of the iris, and by histology. TCR-Tg splenocytes stimulated in vitro with recombinant G1 peptide demonstrated exacerbated production of cytokines, such as macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, IL-1β, and most notably IL-17A as a consequence of IFNγ deficiency. In vivo, IL-17 inhibition prevented the component of PG-induced arthritis that occurs independently of IFNγ. Blockade of IL-17 ameliorated the ongoing leukocyte trafficking responses within the iris vasculature and tissue, which coincided with reduced infiltration of leukocytes within the anterior and posterior eye segments. However, the anti-IL-17 treatment resulted in unanticipated photoreceptor toxicity. These data support a protective, regulatory role for IFNγ in suppression of IL-17-mediated intraocular disease and to a lesser extent, joint disease. The unanticipated photoreceptor toxicity raises some caution regarding the use of anti-IL-17 therapeutics until the mechanism of this potential effect is determined.
DEPRESSION OF ANAEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS OF EMBRYONIC TISSUE BY WESTERN STRAIN OF EQUINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS VIRUS. PREVENTION OF THIS EFFECT BY SPECIFIC IMMUNE SERUM.

Studies were made on the effect of mixing the Western strain of equine encephalomyelitis virus (W.E.E.) and embryonic tissue on the rate of anaerobic glycolysis of the tissue. Whole chick embryo, chick embryo from which brain and spinal cord had been removed, and embryonic skeletal muscle were employed. 1. W.E.E. virus depressed the rate of anaerobic glycolysis of embryonic tissues within 2 days after its addition to the tissue. The decrease in anaerobic glycolysis varied from 17 to 82 per cent and was apparent 2 to 4 days after the addition of the virus. No significant effect of the virus was observed 4 hours and 6 days after mixing it with the tissue. 2. Anti-W.E.E. immune serum prevented the inhibiting action of W.E.E. virus on the anaerobic glycolysis of embryonic skeletal muscle.
Antihemophilic Factor (AHF) Stability in Fresh Frozen Blood Bank Plasma

One hundred randomly chosen units of fresh frozen blood bank plasma were assayed for antihemophilic activity (AHF). A wide range in AHF levels was observed. The variability appears to be due in part to different AHF levels of donors. Most of the units had as much as 30 per cent less AHF than was contained in unfrozen, freshly prepared plasma. There was no trend toward lower values in plasma frozen up to 15 weeks. Many factors contribute to the unpredictable loss of AHF. The effects of slow and rapid freezing on the AHF content of plasma were studied. Freezing of fresh bank plasma in a bath of liquid and in air are compared. Plasma freezes much more rapidly in liquid, with negligible loss of AHF. Freezing is considerably slower in air, and losses of 20 per cent or greater frequently occur.
Scattering of a transient electromagnetic wave by a dielectric sphere

The transient scattered field from a lossless dielectric sphere is evaluated by the inverse Laplace transform of the frequency-domain solution. Two methods of obtaining the inverse transform are employed. In the first approach, direct numerical evaluation of the Bromwich integral is carried out. To overcome the slow convergence of the Mie series at high frequencies (HF), asymptotic expressions are used in the large | s | portion of a properly chosen Bromwich contour, allowing a significant reduction of the computation time. In the second approach, the asymptotically compensated singularity expansion method is employed. In this method, a multiplicative function is chosen to compensate for the asymptotic growth of the field in the right half of the s–plane, leading to a singularity expansion without entire functions. The transient scattered field is then recovered. The numerical results obtained from both methods are in complete agreement. Reference to the physical origins of the various structures appearing in the time-domain response is made by considering the dependence of their magnitude and time of arrival on the permittivity. Verification of the various predictions previously given by frequency-domain analysis can be carried out in a different perspective with new physical insight.
Clomiphene citrate versus letrozole: molecular analysis of the endometrium in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective To compare the effect of clomiphene citrate (CC) and letrozole on endometrial receptivity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design A randomized controlled trial. Setting University teaching hospital. Patient(s) Ten anovulatory women with PCOS and 5 fertile ovulatory women. Intervention(s) Patients received 2.5 mg of letrozole on cycle days 3–7 (5 patients, 1 cycle) or 50 mg of CC on cycle days 5–9 (5 patients, 1 cycle). Main Outcome Measure(s) Serum estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) endometrial protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), dickkhopf homolog 1 (DKK-1), fibroblast growth factor 22 (FGF-22), and endometrial mRNA expression of LIF/GP130 receptor (LIFR). Result(s) No statistically significant differences were observed between groups compared with fertile ovulatory women when serum E and P were examined, or between body mass index (BMI), and cycle day at time of biopsy. Letrozole increased mRNA expression of LIF, DKK1, LIFR, and FGF-22, whereas CC only increased endometrial mRNA expression of LIF. Letrozole mRNA expression directly translated into increased protein expression of like genes in the endometrium. The CC protein expression of DKK-1 was significantly decreased compared with controls. Conclusion(s) Letrozole positively influences a number of markers of endometrial receptivity compared with CC.