cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sequence variation in the coding region of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R) is not associated with plumage variation in the blue-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata)

Avian plumage traits are the targets of both natural and sexual selection. Consequently, genetic changes resulting inplumage variationamongcloselyrelatedtaxamightrepresentimportant evolutionaryevents. The molecular basis of such differences, however, is unknown in most cases. Sequence variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R) is associated with melanistic phenotypes in many vertebrate taxa, including several avian species. The blue-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata), a widespread, sexually dichromatic passerine, exhibits striking geographic variation in male plumage colour across its range in southern Central America and western Amazonia. Northern males are black with brilliant blue crowns whereas southern malesaregreenwithlighterbluecrowns.Wesequenced810 bpof theMC1Rcoding region in 23 individuals spanning the range of male plumage variation. The only variable sites we detected among L. coronata sequences were four synonymous substitutions, none of which were strictly associated with either plumage type. Similarly, comparative analyses showed that L. coronata sequences were monomorphic at the threeaminoacidsiteshypothesizedtobefunctionallyimportantinotherbirds.Theseresultsdemonstratethat genes other than MC1R underlie melanic plumage polymorphism in blue-crowned manakins.
Levels of Nonlethal Force: An Examination of Individual, Situational, and Contextual Factors

This work examines the determinants of the levels of nonlethal force employed by Philadelphia police using 1 year of archival self-reports (N= 747). Integrated, ordinal multilevel models attend to officer, situational, and contextual determinants of levels of force. The current work seeks to improve on earlier work in several ways. The use of multilevel models reveals whether levels of force vary across locales. In addition, treating the outcome as an ordinal variable and making weaker measurement assumptions reveal different patterns of predictors than seen in earlier works. Key theoretical ideas tested include Smith's suggestion that mixed racial composition of the locale increases the forcefulness of the response, Black's idea that officer-citizen racial combinations affect forcefulness, and Klinger's concept of police vigor and its variation across contexts. Some support is also found for Toch's suggestion that there may be violence-prone police officers.
Patent rights and innovative activity: evidence from national and firm-level data

Global standards of patent protection have been strengthened and harmonized in recent years. Despite the heated policy debates and theoretical controversies, empirical studies of the consequences for innovative activity are scant. This paper contributes to the debate by providing an empirical analysis of the effects of patent strength on different aspects of innovative activity, namely firm-level research and development (R&D), domestic patenting, and foreign patenting. The analysis employs an updated index of patent rights. The results show the complexity of evaluating the effects of patent reform on innovative activity, since the effects vary nonlinearly (depending on the initial level of patent strength) and vary by a country’s level of economic development. Overall, for developing economies, patent strength negatively affects domestic patent filings and insignificantly affects R&D and foreign patent filings. For developed economies, patent strength positively affects R&D and domestic patent filings, and negatively affects foreign patent filings, after some critical level of patent protection is reached. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 878–900. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400306
Sleep disturbances in adults with eczema are associated with impaired overall health: a US population-based study

Sleep disturbances are associated with poor health outcomes in adults. However, little is known about the sleep disturbances that occur in adult eczema. We studied the association between adult eczema and sleep disturbance and their impact on overall health and health care utilization. We used the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional questionnaire of 34,613 adults. Eczema was associated with higher odds of fatigue (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.97 (2.65–3.34)), regular daytime sleepiness (2.66 (2.34–3.01)), and regular insomnia (2.36 (2.11–2.64)), even after controlling for sleep duration, history of allergic disease, sociodemographics, and body mass index. There were significant interactions between eczema and fatigue, sleepiness, and insomnia as predictors of poorer overall health status, number of sick days, and doctor visits, such that eczema and each of the sleep symptoms were associated with higher odds of poorer outcomes than either eczema or sleep symptoms alone. Latent class analysis was used and identified five classes of fatigue, sleep disturbances, and allergic disorders. Two classes had high probabilities of eczema: one with high probabilities of asthma, hay fever, food allergy, and multiple sleep symptoms and the other with intermediate probability of insomnia alone. Future studies are warranted to better characterize sleep loss in eczema and develop strategies for treatment and prevention.
Prosthetic joint infections: bane of orthopedists, challenge for infectious disease specialists.

Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) occur in ∼1.5%–2.5% of all primary hip or knee arthroplasties. The mortality rate attributed to PJIs may be as high as 2.5%. Substantial morbidity is associated with a loss of mobility, although this is temporary. The costs associated with a single episode of PJI are ∼$50,000 per episode, exclusive of lost wages. Risk factors that increase the occurrence of PJI include revision arthroplasty, time in the operating room, postoperative surgical site infection, and malignancy. Pain is the most consistent symptom. Staphylococcus species are the most common organisms isolated from PJI sites. Two-stage revision is superior to single-stage revision or to debridement with prosthesis retention. Long-term antibiotic suppression and/or arthrodesis are useful for patients too frail to undergo extensive surgery. Using an optimal approach, recurrent infection occurs in !10% of previously infected joints. Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) of total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) occur with an incidence of 1.5%–2.5% for primary THA or TKA, respectively, whereas revision THA or TKA carries a respective infection risk of 3.2% or 5.6% [1] (table 1). The estimated cost of treating an infected arthroplasty is 1$50,000 per episode [2]. The attendant mortality was estimated, in the 1970s and 1980s, to be between 2.7% and 18% [2] in older patients. More current studies have estimated the mortality attendant to surgical intervention for PJI to be 0.4%–1.2% for 65-year-old patients and 2%–7% for 80-year-old patients [3]. Fisman et al. [3] estimated a 2-fold increase in the probability of death during the 3 months after resection arthroplasty. The mortality reported since 1989 has ranged between 1% and 2.7% [4–10]. Berbari et al. [2] performed a large case-controlled prospective study of patients undergoing THA at the Mayo Clinic between 1969 and 1991. They reported that the 4 most significant factors predictive of PJI were (1) postoperative surgical site infection (OR, 35.9), (2) a National Nosocomial Infection
Human Migration and the Acculturation of Minorities

Majority-minority relations have historically taken the forms of elimination, segregation, fusion, assimilation, or pluralism. Cultural pluralism, which is the dominant ideology in the world today, is based upon the assumptions of tolerance on the part of the majority and a willingness to learn on the part of the minority. This process of learning is called acculturation. Modern theories of acculturation have tended to neglect the importance of individual differences in the process of adaptation. The socioanalytic model, based upon psychological role theory and studies of natural language, offers a model of acculturation which accounts for individual differences as well as situational factors which affect acculturation.
A method and rationale for deriving nutrient criteria for small rivers and streams in Ohio.

A mechanistic understanding of the effects of nutrient enrichment in lotic systems has been advanced over the last two decades such that identification of management thresholds for the prevention of eutrophication is now pos- sible. This study describes relationships among primary nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), benthic chlorophyll a concentrations, daily dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, and the condition of macroinvertebrate and fish communities in small rivers and streams in Ohio, USA. Clear associations between nutrients, secondary response indicators (i.e., ben- thic chlorophyll and DO), and biological condition were found, and change points between the various indicators were identified for use in water quality criteria for nutrients in small rivers and streams (\1300 km 2 ). A change point in benthic chlorophyll a density was detected at an inorganic nitrogen concentration of 0.435 mg/l (±0.599 SD), and a total phosphorus (TP) concentration of 0.038 mg/l (±0.085 SD). Daily variation in DO concentration was significantly related to benthic chlorophyll concentration and canopy cover, and a change point in 24-h DO concentration range was detected at a benthic chlorophyll level of 182 mg/m 2 . The condition of macroinvertebrate communities was rela- ted to benthic chlorophyll concentration and both minimum and 24-h range of DO concentration. The condition of fish communities was best explained by habitat quality. The thresholds found in relationships between the stressor and the response variables, when interpreted in light of the uncertainty surrounding individual change points, may now serve as a framework for nutrient criteria in water quality standards.
Pruning policies for two-tiered inverted index with correctness guarantee

The Web search engines maintain large-scale inverted indexes which are queried thousands of times per second by users eager for information. In order to cope with the vast amounts of query loads, search engines prune their index to keep documents that are likely to be returned as top results, and use this pruned index to compute the first batches of results. While this approach can improve performance by reducing the size of the index, if we compute the top results only from the pruned index we may notice a significant degradation in the result quality: if a document should be in the top results but was not included in the pruned index, it will be placed behind the results computed from the pruned index. Given the fierce competition in the online search market, this phenomenon is clearly undesirable.In this paper, we study how we can avoid any degradation of result quality due to the pruning-based performance optimization, while still realizing most of its benefit. Our contribution is a number of modifications in the pruning techniques for creating the pruned index and a new result computation algorithm that guarantees that the top-matching pages are always placed at the top search results, even though we are computing the first batch from the pruned index most of the time. We also show how to determine the optimal size of a pruned index and we experimentally evaluate our algorithms on a collection of 130 million Web pages.
CLASP: integrating term subsumption systems and production systems

The general architecture and an implementation of a classification-based production system (CLASP) are presented. The main objective is to extend the benefits of classification capabilities in frame systems to the developers of rule-based systems. Two major processes of CLASP, a semantic pattern matcher and a pattern classifier, are described. The semantic pattern matcher extends the pattern matching capabilities of rule-based systems through the use of terminological knowledge. The pattern classifier enables the system to compute a rule's specificity, which is useful for conflict resolution, based on the semantics of its left-hand side. The paradigm not only enhances the reasoning capabilities of rule-based systems, but also helps to reduce the cost of maintaining such systems because definitional knowledge is explicitly represented in a form that facilitates sharing and minimizes duplication of effort. >
A One‐to‐One Bias and Fast Mapping Support Preschoolers’ Learning About Faces and Voices

A multimodal person representation contains information about what a person looks like and what a person sounds like. However, little is known about how children form these face-voice mappings. Here, we explored the possibility that two cognitive tools that guide word learning, a one-to-one mapping bias and fast mapping, also guide children's learning about faces and voices. We taught 4- and 5-year-olds mappings between three individual faces and voices, then presented them with new faces and voices. In Experiment 1, we found that children rapidly learned face-voice mappings from just a few exposures, and furthermore spontaneously mapped novel faces to novel voices using a one-to-one mapping bias (that each face can produce only one voice). In Experiment 2, we found that children's face-voice representations are abstract, generalizing to novel tokens of a person. In Experiment 3, we found that children retained in memory the face-voice mappings that they had generated via inference (i.e., they showed evidence of fast mapping), and used these newly formed representations to generate further mappings between new faces and voices. These findings suggest that preschoolers' rapid learning about faces and voices may be aided by biases that are similar to those that support word learning.
Nonlinear Vibration of Simply Supported Angle Ply Laminated Plates

The large amplitude oscillations of a simply supported plate, constructed of plies alternately oriented at ±0 and unsymmetrically laminated about the midsurface are investigated. It is determined that the Berger approximation does not lead to a significant simplification of the problem and that the dynamic von K arm an equation must be used. It is concluded that for the single mode solution the bending stretching coupling terms do not directly enter the nonlinear term in the amplitude frequency equation. However since they do enter the linear frequency term these terms do affect the degree of nonlinearity of the system. For the multimode solution the bending stretching coupling terms do enter the nonlinear terms; however, it is determined that they may be neglected in special cases. The angle of the laminates can lead to varying types of ultraharmonic instabilities and a method of predicting these regions is given.
Influence of Incisal Length of Ceramic and Loading Orientation on Stress Distribution in Ceramic Crowns

For ceramic crowns, the recommended depth of tooth reduction from the incisal edge of anterior teeth is 1.5 mm to 2. 0 mm. Although some prosthodontists have suggested that incisal heights of ceramic which exceed 2 mm are associated with dangerously high intra-oral stresses, this theory has not been verified. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the stress distribution in ceramic crowns designed for a prepared maxillary central incisor which are subjected to applied loading is relatively insensitive to the incisal length of ceramic. Finite element stress analyses were performed on three crown designs loaded with a horizontal or vertical force of 200 N along the lingual surface near the incisal edge. Ceramic crowns for maxillary central incisors were modeled with incisal lengths of 1.0 mm (Case I), 1.9 mm (Case II), and 4.0 mm (Case III). Zinc phosphate cement with a film thickness of 30 μm was included for each case. Plane-stress finite element analyses indicated that tensile and co...
Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency in Gene-Targeted Mice

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is the most common inherited disorder of mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation in humans. To better understand the pathogenesis of this disease, we developed a mouse model for MCAD deficiency (MCAD−/−) by gene targeting in embryonic stem (ES) cells. The MCAD−/− mice developed an organic aciduria and fatty liver, and showed profound cold intolerance at 4 °C with prior fasting. The sporadic cardiac lesions seen in MCAD−/− mice have not been reported in human MCAD patients. There was significant neonatal mortality of MCAD−/− pups demonstrating similarities to patterns of clinical episodes and mortality in MCAD-deficient patients. The MCAD-deficient mouse reproduced important aspects of human MCAD deficiency and is a valuable model for further analysis of the roles of fatty acid oxidation and pathogenesis of human diseases involving fatty acid oxidation.
Cereal and nonfat milk support muscle recovery following exercise

Background This study compared the effects of ingesting cereal and nonfat milk (Cereal) and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink (Drink) immediately following endurance exercise on muscle glycogen synthesis and the phosphorylation state of proteins controlling protein synthesis: Akt, mTOR, rpS6 and eIF4E.
Tuning ECN for data center networks

There have been some serious concerns about the TCP performance in data center networks, including the long completion time of short TCP flows in competition with long TCP flows, and the congestion due to TCP incast. In this paper, we show that a properly tuned instant queue length based Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) at the intermediate switches can alleviate both problems. Compared with previous work, our approach is appealing as it can be supported on current commodity switches with a simple parameter setting and it does not need any modification on ECN protocol at the end servers. Furthermore, we have observed a dilemma in which a higher ECN threshold leads to higher throughput for long flows whereas a lower threshold leads to more senders on incast under buffer pressure. We address this problem with a switch modification only scheme - dequeue marking, for further tuning the instant queue length based ECN to achieve optimal incast performance and long flow throughput with a single threshold value. Our experimental study demonstrates that dequeue marking is effective for increasing the maximum incast senders close to the performance limit of ECN, achieving a gain anywhere from 16% to 140%.
Organization of the Olfactory and Respiratory Skeleton in the Nose of the Gray Short-Tailed Opossum Monodelphis domestica

The internal nasal skeleton in Monodelphis domestica, the gray short-tailed opossum, primarily supports olfactory and respiratory epithelia, the vomeronasal organ, and the nasal gland. This scaffold is built by the median mesethmoid, and the paired vomer and ethmoid bones. The mesethmoid ossifies within the nasal septum cartilage. The bilateral ethmoid segregates respiratory and olfactory regions, and its geometry offers insight into the functional, developmental, and genomic organization of the nose. It forms through partial coalescence of separate elements known as turbinals, which in Monodelphis comprise the maxilloturbinal, nasoturbinal, five endoturbinals, and two ectoturbinals. Geometry of the ethmoid increases respiratory mucosal surface area by a factor of six and olfactory mucosal surface by nearly an order of magnitude. Respiratory epithelium warms and humidifies inspired air, recovers moisture as air is exhaled, and may help mediate brain temperature. In contrast, the olfactory skeleton functions as a series of small funnels that support growth of new olfactory neurons throughout life. Olfactory mucosa lines the mouth of each funnel, forming blind olfactory recesses known as the ethmoid cells, and neuronal axons are funneled from the epithelium through tiny olfactory foramina in the cribriform plate, into close proximity with target glomeruli in the olfactory bulb of the brain where each axon makes its first synapse. The skeleton may thus mediate topological correspondence between odorant receptor areas in the nose with particular glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, enabling growth throughout life of new olfactory neurons and proper targeting by their axons. The geometric arrangement of odorant receptors suggests that a measure of volatility may be a component in the peripheral olfactory code, and that corresponding glomeruli may function in temporal signal processing. Supporting visualizations for this study are available online at www.DigiMorph.org.
Novel Active Surface Prepared by Embedded Functionalized Clays in an Acrylate Coating

The research on a self-decontaminating surface has received significant attention because of the growth of pathogenic microorganisms on surfaces. In this study, a novel and simple technique for producing an active surface with antimicrobial functionality is demonstrated. A tethering platform was developed by grafting the biocide ampicillin (Amp) to a nanoclay and dispersing the nanoclay in a UV-curable acrylate coating applied on polypropylene films as the substrate. A coupling agent, [3-(glycidyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane, was used as a linker between the nanoclay and Amp. The Amp-functionalized clay was further modified with an organic surfactant to improve the compatibility with the coating. Several characterization assays, such as Fourier infrared transform analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction, were conducted to confirm the presence of Amp in the nanoclay. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that the clay particles were well dispersed in the coating and had a parti...
The importance of pre-operative needle core breast biopsy results on resected tissue volume, margin status, and cosmesis.

Summary Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between pre-operative image-guided large needle core biopsy (LNCB) histopathology results and surgical resection volumes in breast conserving surgery (BCS), with attention to both margin status and cosmetic outcome. Methods: Breast volumes (BV) were calculated using the elliptical cone based formula on mammography images for each patient. Initial resected volume (IRV), final resected volume (FRV), and resected volume ratio (RVR) were calculated and compared according to histopathological diagnosis and cosmetic outcomes. Final pathology results were classified as benign, high risk lesion (HRL), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or invasive cancer. The cosmetic results were graded based on the Harvard breast cosmesis grading scale. Results: A total of 217 women underwent BCS by the same experienced breast surgeon. The resected volumes (mean, cm 3 ) were higher among patients who underwent LNCB than those who did not (54.3 vs 26.5 ;p=0.005). The LNCB diagnoses were 16% benign, 19% HRLs, 16% DCIS, and 49% invasive cancers. Reexcision rates were 15.6% and 25.8% for DCIS and invasive cancer, respectively. Cosmesis was excellent in 79.8%. Age, pathological tumor size, IRV and FRV were different among the benign, HRLs and carcinoma groups (p= 0.001). Conclusion: The diagnosis of carcinoma by LNCB leads to the planning of a wider resection, but the need for reexcision is no different than less resection. HRLs are best approached with diagnostic excision, as there is no strong evidence that larger resections reduce the incidence of involved resection margins.
Fluorescent imprinted polymers for detection of explosive nitro-aromatic compounds

Molecular recognition is an important aspect of any biosensor system. Due to increased stability in a variety of environmental conditions, molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) technology is an attractive alternative to biological-based recognition. This is particularly true in the case of improvised explosive device detection, in which the sensor must be capable of detecting trace amounts of airborne nitroaromatic compounds. In an effort to create a sensor for detection of explosive devices via nitroaromatic vapor, MIPs have been deployed as a molecular recognition tool in a fluorescence-based optical biosensor. These devices are easily scalable to a very small size, and are also robust and durable. To achieve such a sensor scheme, polymer microparticles synthesized using methacrylic acid monomer and imprinted with a 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) template were fabricated. These microparticles were then conjugated with green CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, creating fluorescent MIP microparticles. When exposed to the DNT template, rebinding occurred between the DNT and the imprinted sites of the MIP microparticles. This brings the nitroaromatic DNT into close proximity to the quantum dots, allowing the DNT to accept electrons from the fluorescent species, thereby quenching the fluorescence of the quantum dot. Results indicate that this novel method for synthesizing fluorescent MIPs and their integration into an optical biosensor produced observable fluorescence quenching upon exposure to DNT.
Presentation graphics

With the advent of recent software and hardware developments in the microcomputer area it is now economically feasible to produce many different types of graphics using computers. The source of this capability is in the new presentation graphics software and the decreasing costs of microcomputers, printers, plotters, and good-quality RGB monitors. As members of user support groups we will be called on more and more to provide information in this area. One of the best ways in which to become knowledgeable in presentation graphics is to use the technology in our everyday environment.
Absence of tubuloglomerular feedback responses in AT1A receptor-deficient mice

Experiments were performed in a recently generated strain of mice with an angiotensin II AT1A-receptor null mutation (M. Ito, M. I. Oliverio, P. J. Mannon, C. F. Best, N. Maeda, O. Smithies, and T....
The effect of acute endurance exercise on lipoproteins: a comparison of the nuclear magnetic resonance technique with the conventional lipid profile in healthy men

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of lipoprotein particle size and number may provide greater sensitivity to detecting cardiovascular disease risk compared with the conventional lipid profile in som...
Resistance of Cotton Plant Hairs to Mobility of First-Instars of the Pink Bollworm2

Movements of 1st-instars of pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) on 6 varieties of cotton with leaves and petioles differing in amount of pubescence were observed, timed, and traced with a camera lucida. The 2 most pubescent varieties, SA-166 and TM-1(H2), appeared to confuse larvae and greatly impeded their movements. We conclude that high plant hair density in cotton is a promising mechanism for host plant resistance to the pink bollworm. Larvae paused regularly to head swing and to sample the substrate with their mandibles while moving on leaves and petioles. When leaf neclaries were encountered by larvae, feeding usually occurred.
What Can Be Known and How People Grow: The Philosophical Stakes of the Assessment Debate

Fierce debates over standardized assessments in teacher preparation have revolved around flaws in implementation and the politics of privatization. While important, this focus obscures the philosophical divide between proponents and opponents of standardized assessments. This article examines how faculty in New York State argue for and against a controversial performance assessment for teacher candidates, the edTPA. Revealing the distinctive ways that teacher educators on opposing sides of this debate understand the nature of knowledge, human development, professionalism, and social justice clarifies what is at stake in debates over how to prepare teachers. Such clarification can deepen the discussion on how to evaluate learning and growth as well as enrich the conversation on how to protect the integrity of educational professions and practices.
Causal inference without ignorability: Identification with nonrandom assignment and missing treatment data

How a treatment causes a particular outcome is a focus of inquiry in political science. When treatment data are either nonrandomly assigned or missing, the analyst will often invoke ignorability assumptions: that is, both the treatment and missingness are assumed to be as if randomly assigned, perhaps conditional on a set of observed covariates. But what if these assumptions are wrong? What if the analyst does not know why—or even if—a particular subject received a treatment? Building on Manski, Molinari offers an approach for calculating nonparametric identification bounds for the average treatment effect of a binary treatment under general missingness or nonrandom assignment. To make these bounds substantively more informative, Molinari’s technique permits adding monotonicity assumptions (e.g., assuming that treatment effects are weakly positive). Given the potential importance of these assumptions, we develop a new Bayesian method for performing sensitivity analysis regarding them. This sensitivity analysis allows analysts to interpret the assumptions’ consequences quantitatively and visually. We apply this method to two problems in political science, highlighting the method’s utility for applied research. How does job loss affect vote choice? Can democracy impede war onset? Do single member districts impact political party structure? Whether using experimental data with random assignment or observational data with unknown assignment mechanisms, political scientists seek to infer the causal effect of treatments, z, on outcomes, y. Unfortunately, in many, if not most, studies involving observational data, the treatment is not randomly assigned or, even worse, is missing for some observations. Nonrandom treatment assignment is the defining feature of observational data (Cochran and Rubin 1973; Rubin 2006). Without random assignment, variables that affect y other than z may be distributed differently across the treated and control groups in ways that cannot be statistically determined. In other words, in observational data the treatment is generally confounded with other covariates, and only some of the potential confounders may be observable. Consequently, “it is virtually impossible in many practical circumstances to be convinced that the estimates of the effects of treatments are in fact unbiased” (Cochran and Rubin 1973, 30). Nevertheless, analysts must
The Method of Intravenous Anesthesia Combined with Inhalation Anesthesia is Used in the Operation of Congenital Choledochal Cyst in Infant

OBJECTIVE To observe and study the anesthetic management of choledochal cyst in infant. METHOD Summarize and analyse the anesthetic management of 50 patients with congenital choledoechal cyst in infant, divided into two groups(n=25, each group) according to the anesthesia methods used: Group A(intravenous anesthesia combined with inhalation anesthesia); Group B(basal anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia). RESULT The method of intravenous anesthesia combined with inhalation anesthesia.The anesthetic effect of group A is much more better than group B(P0.01); The respiration and circulation are more stable than group B (P0.01); CONCLUSION The method of intravenous anesthesia combined with inhalation anesthesia is an effective way used in the operation of congenital choledochal cyst in infant.
Van Kampen’s Method

The following method is similar to the method of cumulants in that it is both continuous and yields a Gaussian process as an approximation. It is also interesting to note the mean and variance for the asymptotic distribution obtained by this method agree with those obtained by the method of stochastic linearization. Van Kampen (1973) presents this method as being generally applicable for finding asymptotic solutions of birth and death processes.
Nonlinear Viscous Water at Nanoporous Two-Dimensional Interfaces Resists High-Speed Flow through Cooperativity

Recently emerging ultrathin two-dimensional carbon materials provide potentially game-changing membranes for water filtration. Here we discover a changed water behavior at the nanoscale that is significantly distinct from its bulk state as water flows through two-dimensional carbon allotropes. We find that water exhibits a very high viscosity due to the cooperativity of water molecules that enhances the nonbonded H-bond interactions with the dense lattice of carbon structures, which renders flow significantly more viscous, with a resistance that is inversely proportional to the sixth power of the characteristic length of the nanopores. This is in contrast to a constant value as assumed in conventional knowledge. Our findings reveal how water molecules behave drastically different from their bulk state under extreme nanoconfinement conditions. These insights enable us to incorporate the size analysis of particles in variant untreated water into membrane design and propose the design of more efficient devic...
Growth and Toxin Production by Clostridium botulinum in Sliced Raw Potatoes Under Vacuum With and Without Sulfite.

The ability of Clostridium botulinum type A or B spores to grow and produce toxin in fresh raw potatoes under vacuum with or without sulfite at 22°C was investigated. Fresh, peeled, sliced potatoes, untreated or dipped for 2 min in sulfite (NaHSO3) and drained, were surface-inoculated at several levels with a mixture of C. botulinum spores, either type A or B, and placed in oxygen-impermeable bags (200 g/bag) that were then vacuum-sealed and incubated at room temperature (22°C). Toxicity was tested on days 0, 3, 4, 5 and 6. After incubation, the potatoes were blended and centrifuged, and the millipore-filtered supernatant fluid was injected intraperitoneally into mice. Sensory evaluation, except taste, was also performed. Potatoes inoculated with C. botulinum type A spores, but untreated with NaHSO3 became toxic in 3 days, which coincided with the sensory evaluation, "Unfit for human consumption." However, despite inoculum size or residual SO2 levels, potatoes treated with NaHSO3 appeared acceptable for human consumption through day 6, even though they were toxic after 4 days of incubation. Toxicity from type B spores occurred later and in fewer test samples than type A. Again, the potatoes appeared acceptable but were toxic. Thus, although NaHSO3 markedly extended the consumer acceptability of peeled, sliced, raw potatoes at the abuse temperature, it did not inhibit outgrowth and toxin production by C. botulinum under these same conditions.
Spatial prediction of crystalline defects observed in molecular dynamic simulations of plastic damage

ABSTRACTMolecular dynamic computer simulation is an essential tool in materials science to study atomic properties of materials in extreme environments and guide development of new materials. We propose a statistical analysis to emulate simulation output with the ultimate goal of efficiently approximating the computationally intensive simulation. We compare several spatial regression approaches including conditional autoregression (CAR), discrete wavelets transform (DWT), and principle components analysis (PCA). The methods are applied to simulation of copper atoms with twin wall and dislocation loop defects, under varying tilt tension angles. We find that CAR and DWT yield accurate results but fail to capture extreme defects, yet PCA better captures defect structure.
Cardiac Complications of Fukuyama-Type Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

The course of left ventricular function was evaluated using M-mode and Doppler echocardiography in 34 patients with Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD), in a study at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
Evolutionary drivers of thermoadaptation in enzyme catalysis

With early life likely to have existed in a hot environment, enzymes had to cope with an inherent drop in catalytic speed caused by lowered temperature. Here we characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying thermoadaptation of enzyme catalysis in adenylate kinase using ancestral sequence reconstruction spanning 3 billion years of evolution. We show that evolution solved the enzyme’s key kinetic obstacle—how to maintain catalytic speed on a cooler Earth—by exploiting transition-state heat capacity. Tracing the evolution of enzyme activity and stability from the hot-start toward modern hyperthermophilic, mesophilic, and psychrophilic organisms illustrates active pressure versus passive drift in evolution on a molecular level, refutes the debated activity/stability trade-off, and suggests that the catalytic speed of adenylate kinase is an evolutionary driver for organismal fitness.
Effect of pore penetration on transport through supported membranes studied by electron microscopy and pervaporation

Abstract It has long been recognized that the performance of supported membranes comprising a thin, selective layer and a microporous support layer, is affected by penetration of the selective layer into the porous support. We have attempted to shed light on this phenomenon using a combination of pervaporation experiments and hard angle dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). We use a nanophase-separated polystyrene- b -polydimethylsiloxane- b -polystyrene (SDS) as the selective layer and microporous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as the support layer. Effective permeabilities of butanol and water were measured as a function of selective layer thickness using a dilute butanol/water mixture as the feed in pervaporation. We were able to estimate the pore penetration layer thickness by comparing experiments with model calculations. We were also able to directly observe the pore penetration by HAADF-STEM. The choice in using a nanophase-separated block copolymer as the selective layer enabled identification of the regions of pore penetration. The pore penetration layer thickness obtained from the HAADF-STEM micrographs corresponded well with estimates based on pervaporation.
All-Atom Molecular Dynamics-Based Analysis of Membrane-Stabilizing Copolymer Interactions with Lipid Bilayers Probed under Constant Surface Tensions

An all-atom phospholipid bilayer and triblock copolymer model was developed for Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies. These were performed to investigate the mechanism of interaction between membrane stabilizing triblock copolymer P188 and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn- glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) lipid bilayers under applied lateral surface tension (γ) to model membrane mechanical stress. Results showed that P188 insertion is driven by the hydrophobic polypropylene oxide (PPO) core and dependent on bilayer area per lipid. Moreover, insertion of P188 increased the bilayer’s resistance to mechanical rupture, as observed by a significant increase in the absolute lateral pressure required to disrupt the bilayer. To further investigate the specific chemical features of P188 underlying membrane stabilizer function, a series of MD simulations with triblock copolymers of the same class as P188 but of varying chemical composition and sizes were performed. Results showed that triblock copolymer insertion into the li...
MotI (DgrA) acts as a molecular clutch on the flagellar stator protein MotA in Bacillus subtilis.

Stator elements consisting of MotA4MotB2 complexes are anchored to the cell wall, extend through the cell membrane, and interact with FliG in the cytoplasmic C ring rotor of the flagellum. The cytoplasmic loop of MotA undergoes proton-driven conformational changes that drive flagellar rotation. Functional regulators inhibit motility by either disengaging or jamming the stator–rotor interaction. Here we show that the YcgR homolog MotI (formerly DgrA) of Bacillus subtilis inhibits motility like a molecular clutch that disengages MotA. MotI-inhibited flagella rotated freely by Brownian motion, and suppressor mutations in MotA that were immune to MotI inhibition were located two residues downstream of the critical force generation site. The 3D structure of MotI bound to c-di-GMP was solved, and MotI-fluorescent fusions localized as transient MotA-dependent puncta at the membrane when induced at subinhibitory levels. Finally, subinhibitory levels of MotI expression resulted in incomplete inhibition and proportional decreases in swimming speed. We propose a model in which flagellar stators are disengaged and sequestered from the flagellar rotor when bound by MotI.
Shortest path deliveries using density-based clustering

In e-commerce customers put orders online and goods are delivered to their destinations. The shortest path deliveries problem (SPD) is to compute a schedule for delivering the goods to all the destinations so that the total distance is minimal. In this paper we developed a new efficient delivery algorithm called DenCluSPD (Density-based Clustering for Shortest Path Deliveries). More specifically, we form a grid to hold the locations of the destinations and then create the clusters of various densities. By visiting the densest clusters first we speedup the performance and achieve the approximately optimal schedule. Our comprehensive experimentation results show that the new algorithm is indeed faster than the popular nearest neighbor first (NNF) algorithm and covers a shorter distance per destination initially.
Deconvoluting the Role of Charge in a Supramolecular Catalyst.

We have demonstrated that the microenvironment of a highly anionic supramolecular catalyst can mimic the active sites of enzymes and impart rate accelerations of a million-fold or more. However, these microenvironments can be challenging to study, especially in the context of understanding which specific features of the catalyst are responsible for its high performance. We report here the development of an experimental mechanistic probe consisting of two isostructural catalysts. When examined in parallel transformations, the behavior of these catalysts provides insight relevant to the importance of anionic host charge on reactivity. These two catalysts exhibit similar host-substrate interactions, but feature a significant difference in overall anionic charge (12– and 8–). Within these systems, we compare the effect of constrictive binding in a net neutral aza-Cope rearrangement. We then demonstrate how the magnitude of anionic host charge has an exceptional influence on the reaction rates for a Nazarov cy...
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

In vitro fertilization is the fertilization of oocytes in a laboratory. In vitro literally means “in glass.” In vitro fertilization and other procedures used to allow fertilization outside the female reproductive system are collectively known as assisted reproductive technologies.
Collection-Based Persistent Digital Archives - Part 2

Collection-Based Persistent Digital Archives: Part 2" describes the creation of a one million message persistent E-mail collection. It discusses the four major components of a persistent archive system: support for ingestion, archival storage, information discovery, and presentation of the collection. The technology to support each of these processes is still rapidly evolving, and opportunities for further research are identified. 1. Collection Support, General Requirements Persistent archives can be characterized by two phases, the archiving of the collection, and the retrieval or instantiation of the collection onto new technology. The processes used to ingest a collection, transform it into an infrastructure independent form, and store the collection in an archive comprise the persistent storage steps of a persistent archive. The processes used to recreate the collection on new technology, optimize the database, and recreate the user interface comprise the retrieval steps of a persistent archive. The two phases form a cycle that can be used for migrating data collections onto new infrastructure as technology evolves. The technology changes can occur at the system-level where archive, file, compute and database software evolves, or at the information model level where formats, programming languages and practices change.
Suppression of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation in myeloma (MM) is specific to the osteoblast (OBL) lineage

3679 Myeloma bone disease is characterized by increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation. Several inhibitors of OBL differentiation have been identified, including the WNT signaling inhibitors , Dickkopf1 and secreted Frizzle-Related Protein-2, as well as IL-3 and IL-7. However, it is unknown if osteoblast suppression in MM is reversible or if the capacity of MSC to differentiate to other lineages is also affected by MM. Therefore, we developed an in vivo mouse model to determine the time course for OBL suppression and if OBL activity can be restored. We generated 5TGM1 murine myeloma cells stably expressing GFP and thymidine kinase (TK), which permits eradication of these cells with gancyclovir, and demonstrated that gancyclovir treatment did not affect hematopoietic progenitors differentiation or MSC differentiation to OBL in vivo. When SCID mice were injected intratibally with 5TGM1-TK cells, lytic lesions developed over three weeks. Treatment of SCID mice bearing 5TGM1-TK cells with gancyclovir for 2 weeks resulted in maintanence of trabecular bone volume compared to the saline treated control group. Further, MSC cultures from gancyclovir treated mice displayed increased OBL differentiation and had significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity compared to the saline treated controls (p=0.03). To delineate the mechanism of osteoblast dysfunction, MC4 cells, a pre-osteoblast murine cell line, was co-cultured with 5TGM1-TK cells and assessed for expression of markers of osteoblast differentiation by real time PCR and alkaline phosphatase staining. Expression of Runx2 mRNA in MC4 cells, a critical OBL transcription factor, was decreased by 60% on day 4 and osteocalcin mRNA was decreased by more than 80% on day 7 of co-culture with myeloma cells, whereas ATF4, another important OBL transcription factor, and alkaline phosphatase mRNA levels remained unchanged. As expected OBL differentiation was severely suppressed in the co-cultures although MC4 cell growth was unaffected . Further, cell to cell contact was not required for MM cells to inhibit OBL differentiation. In contrast, adipocytic differentiation of MSC was unaffected by co-culture with 5TGM1-TK cells. These results suggest that myeloma cells specifically inhibit osteoblast differentiation early during MSC differentiation by releasing a soluble factor(s) that suppresses Runx2 mRNA expression without affecting the capacity of MSC to differentiate to other cell lineages. This in vivo model system should be useful for further dissecting the mechanisms responsible for OBL suppression in MM.
Total Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) Flares in Pregnant North American Women With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: Results From a Prospective Observational Study

INTRODUCTION:Alterations in the immune system can result in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) flares either during pregnancy or after delivery in women with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess changes in serum biochemical and virological markers