cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The paradox of ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention measures

There is a striking paradox in the literature supporting high-profile measures to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP): many studies show significant reductions in VAP rates but almost none show any impact on patients' duration of mechanical ventilation, length of stay in the intensive care unit and hospital, or mortality. The paradox is largely attributable to lack of specificity in the VAP definition. The clinical and microbiological criteria for VAP capture a population of patients with an array of conditions that range from serious to benign. Many of the benign events are manifestations of bacterial colonization superimposed upon pulmonary edema, atelectasis, or other non-infectious processes. VAP prevention measures that work by decreasing bacterial colonization preferentially lower the frequency of these mislabelled, more benign events. In addition, misclassification obscures detection of an impact of prevention measures on bona fide pneumonias. Together, these effects create the possibility of the paradox where a prevention measure may have a large impact on VAP rates but minimal impact on patients' outcomes. The paradox makes changes in VAP rates alone an unreliable measure of whether VAP prevention measures are truly beneficial to patients and behooves us to measure their impact on patient outcomes before advocating their adoption.
Acute spinal cord compression caused by vertebral hemangioma.

Abstract Background context The reported incidence of vertebral hemangioma within the spinal column is common. Most often these benign vascular tumors are incidental radiographic findings and do not cause neurological sequelae. Rarely, vertebral hemangiomas will cause compressive neurological symptoms, such as radiculopathy, myelopathy and paralysis. In these cases the clinical presentation is usually the subacute or delayed onset of progressive neurological symptoms. This report demonstrates a symptomatic vertebral hemangioma presenting with rapid onset neurologic sequelae. Purpose To discuss diagnostic and management issues presented by symptomatic vertebral hemangioma. Study design Case report and review of literature. Patient sample Sixty-one-year-old white woman with low back pain and rapidly progressive myelopathic symptoms. Methods A case of vertebral hemangioma with neurological sequelae is presented followed by a discussion of the literature concerning diagnostic and therapeutic options in the management of this pathologic entity. Results The results of our review reveal that the incidence of vertebral hemangioma causing compressive neurological symptoms is rare despite the overall prevalence of vertebral hemangioma. Vertebral hemangioma may present with rapid onset myelopathic symptoms and may mimic those symptoms caused by a malignancy. Radiographic imaging modalities are extremely useful and display characteristic findings in the diagnostic evaluation of these tumors. Angiographic embolization of feeding vessels has been effective in minimizing operative blood loss, and surgical decompression and stabilization is frequently indicated. Postsurgical radiotherapy has also been demonstrated to serve as a limited adjunct to surgery by reducing tumor recurrence in the event of less than complete tumor resection. Conclusions Because of the rapid presentation of myelopathic symptoms in this case, preoperative angiographic embolization was not performed, and the patient underwent emergent decompressive surgery. In this case emergent operative decompression and stabilization was effective in reversing the patient's myelopathic symptoms, while maintaining long-term stability of the spinal column. Postoperative radiation was not administered because of the extent of tumor resection. Surgical intervention has produced long-term cure of this patient's myelopathy and T10 vertebral hemangioma.
‘Who's this Tong‐il?’: English, culture and ambivalence in South Korea

Many supporters and critics of a ‘global English’ assume that English is (initially) ‘outside’ of cultures in what Braj Kachru calls the ‘Expanding Circle’. But this ignores the ways English has been culturally and historically constituted in countries where it is still a ‘foreign’ language. In South Korea, English education—as an institution—has been part of Korean life since the 1880s. During that time, English has acquired a variety of contradictory cultural meanings related to the colonial and postcolonial experiences of South Korean people. For example, although introduced as part of the late‐nineteenth century ‘enlightenment’ of Korean society, English became associated during the Korean War with conservatism and the US military government. More recent beliefs surrounding English suggest a combination of liberatory possibility and imperialism. Through an examination of historical sources, literature and ethnographic interviews undertaken from 1999 to 2001, I describe some of these shifting meanings ...
Fecal pellet output does not always correlate with colonic transit in response to restraint stress and corticotropin-releasing factor in rats

Background Fecal pellet output has been assessed as a colonic motor activity because of its simplicity. However, it remains unclear whether an acceleration of colonic transit correlates well with an increase in fecal pellet output. We examined the causal relationship between colonic transit and fecal pellet output stimulated by the central application of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and restraint stress.
The molecular basis for intersexuality part one: the developing testis.

Intersex disorders are the result of an adverse event which occurs at some stage along the pathway of normal sexual differentiation. We owe our understanding of this pathway largely to the pioneering intrauterine experiments carried out by Alfred Jost in wartime France during the 1940's. He showed that by removing the gonadal ridges in the early rabbit embryo before the stage of sexual differentiation both the internal and external genitalia went on to develop along female lines irrespective of the genetic sex. In a second series of experiments, he inserted a crystal of testosterone where the ridges had been and observed that the external genitalia in all cases masculinized although the Mullerian ducts persisted and went on to form fallopian tubes and a uterus. Jost concluded from these studies that in sexual differentiation female was the pathway of default but for normal masculinization to occur, the testes must secrete, in addition to testosterone, another substance which was responsible for suppression of the Mullerian ducts which he called ilihormone inhibitrice.i We now know this as Mullerian inhibiting substance or anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), a TGF-betalike growth factor which is produced by the Sertoli cells early in testicular development. We have subsequently come to appreciate that testosterone, produced by the Leydig cells, is converted in the peripheral tissues by the enzyme 5 alpha reductase to dihydrotestosterone which is actually responsible for the masculinizing process and that the effectiveness of these hormones depends on the integrity of testosterone receptors in the target cells. Nonetheless, it is clear that the testis occupies a central role in the pathway of male sexual differentiation. The gonads in the early embryo are identical in both sexes and initially appear as swellings in the central portion of the urogenital ridges on either side of the dorsal midline. The first signs of testicular organization can be recognized at 42 days when cells in the medial portion of the mesonephros aggregate into cords of primordial Sertoli cells which come to envelope inflowing germ cells to form primordial tubules. Leydig cells migrate into the developing testicular interstitium where they come to rest as clusters between the tubules. These events are clearly genetically determined but the precise mechanisms responsible for initiating these steps in testicular development were, until recently, unknown.
Nitrogen and phosphorus transport between Fourleague Bay, LA, and the Gulf of Mexico: the role of winter cold fronts and Atchafalaya River discharge

Abstract Nutrient fluxes were measured between Fourleague Bay, a shallow Louisiana estuary, and the Gulf of Mexico every 3 h between February 1 and April 30, 1994 to determine how high velocity winds associated with cold fronts and peak Atchafalaya River discharge influenced transport. Net water fluxes were ebb-dominated throughout the study because of wind forcing and high volumes of water entering the northern Bay from the Atchafalaya River. Flushing time of the Bay averaged
Should children with otitis media be treated with antibiotics

This is a systematic review abstract, a regular feature of the Annals’ Evidence-Based Emergency Medicine (EBEM) series. Each features an abstract of a systematic review from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and a commentary by an emergency physician knowledgeable in the subject area. The source for this systematic review abstract is: Glasziou PP, Del Mar CB, Sanders SL, Hayem M. Antibiotics for acute otitis media in children (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library. Issue 2. Chichester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2004. The Annals’ EBEM editors prepared the abstract of this Cochrane systematic review as well as the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Points.
Caloric intake versus temporal pattern of food intake.

Aging Clin Exp Res, Vol. 16, No. 6 423 In 2003, Anson et al. (1) published some surprising findings: when C57BL/6 mice were given unlimited access to food one day and fasted the next day, from age 9 through 38 weeks, their total caloric intake was similar to that of mice with continuous access to food (i.e., ad libitum-fed), and this “every other day feeding” regime had beneficial effects on both carbohydrate metabolism and resistance of neurons to injury. In fact, the beneficial effects were even more pronounced with mice on the “every other day feeding” regime than with mice whose daily caloric intake was restricted to 60% of that of mice with continuous access to food. The authors suggested that “every other day feeding” may extend life by means other than reducing caloric intake, but their research provided no such information, since the duration of “every other day feeding” was only 29 weeks and the mice were about 9 months of age at the end of the study. Moreover, Duffy et al. (2) reported that longterm “every other day feeding” of mice did result in a 40% reduction in caloric intake. However, it must be noted that all experimental paradigms in caloric restriction studies have involved fasting periods of varying durations, depending on the study design (3). Thus, the anti-aging action that has been attributed to caloric restriction might instead relate to the occurrence of periodic fasting. This possibility certainly warrants further study. Indeed, an attempt was made in our laboratory to address this issue by comparing the effects of caloric restriction in rats whose daily allotment of food was provided in a single meal at 15:00 h or in two daily meals at 07:00 h and 15:00 h (4). Both of these procedures resulted in the same increase in longevity, leading us to conclude that energy intake rather than temporal pattern of food intake is the factor responsible for life extension. However, these findings do not conclusively eliminate the role of periodic fasting, since even in this twice-a-day feeding paradigm daily brief periods of fasting are likely. Caloric intake versus temporal pattern of food intake
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of Bacterial Cell Culture Growth Media:

The application of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to characterizing bacteria is an active area of investigation. Micro- and nano-structured SERS substrates have enabled detection of pathogens present in biofluids. Several publications have focused on determining the spectral bands characteristic of bacteria from different species and cell lines. In this report, the spectra of fifteen commonly used bacterial growth media are presented. In many instances, these spectra are similar to published spectra purportedly characteristic of specific bacterial species. The findings presented herein suggest that bacterial fingerprinting by SERS requires further examination.
Discriminating a gravitational wave background from instrumental noise in the LISA detector

The multiple Doppler readouts available with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) permit simultaneous formation of several observables. All are independent of laser phase fluctuations, but have different couplings to gravitational waves and the various LISA instrumental noises. Comparison, for example, of the Michelson interferometer observable with the fully symmetric Sagnac data-type allows discrimination between a confusion-limited gravitational wave background and instrumental noise.
On the density of states for random potentials in the presence of a uniform magnetic field

Abstract We extend recent results of Wegner and Brezin, Gross and Itzykson concerning the averaged density of states of electrons in the presence of a random potential and of a uniform magnetic field. Our results are as follows: (i) Using the irreducibility of the representation of the gauge-translation group in each Landau level we derive a general result about the structure of the averaged Green function restricted to each Landau level. (ii) We give a non-perturbative proof of the dimensional reduction that yields Wegner's formula for the density of states in the lowest Landau level; we use Brezin, Gross and Itzykson's supersymmetric formulation and show that the mechanism of the dimensional reduction is the same as Parisi and Sourlas'. (iii) We compute the complete density of states for the Lloyd model in the presence of a uniform magnetic field.
Absence of analgesia during induced hyperadrenalism.

SummaryA systematic evaluation of cutaneous, dental and visceral pain before and during the administration of either cortisone or ACTH demonstrated that these agents had no analgesic effect at therapeutic dose levels. The marked alteration in the host reaction to inflammation during treatment with cortisone or ACTH probably is the principal factor responsible for the alleviation of pain.
INCOME DISTRIBUTION THEORY

This paper introduces two special issues of the Review devoted to income distribution theory and its empirical implementation. Most of the papers that will appear in these two issues were prepared for a special session on income distribution held during the Eleventh General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, held at Nathanya, Israel, in August 1969. The present issue contains theoretical papers; the following one will present more empirical work. This introductory paper is intended to indicate the relationships among the papers that follow, and to suggest possible future directions for work in this area. In the latter connection, the author discusses the use of microanalytic models applied to microdata sets dealing with individuals and households.
Sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis for chloroquine in body fluids application to studies of drug resistance in plasmodium falciparum

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the sensitive determination of chloroquine in body fluids. The method has been applied to quality-control assay of World Health Organization (WHO) In-Vitro, Macro-Test Kits for the assessment of susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine. Experiments utilizing [14C]chloroquine demonstrated that water was not capable of efficiently desorbing chloroquine from the inside surfaces of kit vials. The addition of blood to the vials effectively desorbs chloroquine. Subsequent addition of the blood to aqueous base followed by hexane extraction permits quantitation by reversed-phase, ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography utilizing ultraviolet detection at 344 nm. The method is capable of determining as little as 20 ng of chloroquine per vial. This method, utilizing the methyl other of 9-anthracenemethanol as internal standard, can quantify chloroquine in 1 ml of blood or urine with a minimum detection limit of 20 ppb1 (ng/ml). Measurement of blood levels of chloroquine in persons contracting falciparum malaria while following a prophylactic regimen complements in-vitro drug susceptibility measurements in characterizing resistant strains of the parasite.
An unwelcome synergy: leishmaniasis and HIV.

m PRESENTATION When patients with HIV/AIDS travel to the United States from other parts of the world, they can bring more exotic opportunistic infections with them. In November 2010, a 29-year-old man presented to the emergency department after a few days of fever, chills, diffuse abdominal pain, vomiting, and dysuria. For the previous 6 months, he also had experienced diarrhea and unintentional weight loss, totaling 40 lb (18 kg). Two weeks prior to his acute presentation, he had been treated for pyelonephritis at an outside institution, where he also had reported 2-3 weeks of worsening diarrhea. The patient had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2007. At the time of diagnosis, he was treated for cerebral toxoplasmosis with pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine, and leucovorin. In 2008, he was treated with intraocular ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus retinitis. Since his diagnosis, he had been intermittently adherent to antiretroviral therapy with Atripla, (Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, NY), a combination of efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and to his maintenance therapy for the aforementioned opportunistic infections. He also had a history of pancytopenia, diagnosed in 2008; a bone marrow biopsy was hypocellular with poorly-formed noncaseating granulomas. His attendance at follow-up visits was erratic, preventing further workup. Born in Honduras, the patient worked on a farm, and moved to the United States in 2004, where has worked in construction. He had had a single male sexual contact and multiple female sexual partners. Condom use was inconsistent.
The surgical anatomy of the nasolabial fold.

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this cadaver dissection study was to investigate the anatomy of the nasolabial fold with a view to explaining the problems of surgical softening or elimination of the fold. Study design. Ten formalin-fixed cadavers and 6 fresh-frozen cadavers were used for this study. In 12 cadavers (8 formalin-fixed, 4 fresh-frozen), the nasolabial fold was sectioned at right angles to the fold for histologic examination, and in 4 cadavers (2 formalin-fixed, 2 fresh-frozen) the epithelium was dissected off the fold to allow for more detailed gross examination of the underlying musculature. Results. The fold was clearly identified on 14 of the cadavers but was indistinct on 2 on gross examination. Beneath the fold were 2 muscle bundles. The more superficial muscle runs parallel to the fold whereas a deeper muscle runs at right angles to it. The buccal fat pad lies above the fold and appears to be retained by horizontal septae in the fat pad and also by the musculature of the fold. Cadavers showing a poorly defined nasolabial fold had fewer muscle bundles to support the fat and fewer fibrous septae running through the fat. Conclusions. The nasolabial fold is defined by structures that support the buccal fat pad and hold it above the fold. This appears to be a combination of muscle bundles that run both across and parallel to the fold and also by fibrous septae supporting the fat pad. This has implications for the development of surgical procedures to soften or eliminate the fold, which must separate the muscles from the dermis of the fold and allow the fat to descend and soften the fold.
Derivation of a relation between the activation energies of ionic conductivity in the glassy and molten states of glass-forming ionic conductors: an application to silver iodide–silver selenate

Abstract In the glassy state of glass-forming ionic conductors, the temperature dependence of dc conductivity σ is Arrhenius with a constant activation energy, Eσ,. High above the glass transition temperature where σ is approaching a level of 1 Ω−1 cm−1 and the corresponding conductivity relaxation times τσ are of the order of 1 ps, the apparent activation energy of σ, Ea, is significantly smaller than Eσ. In a previous study it was shown that the ratio, Ea/Eσ, is nearly equal to the fractional exponent, β, of the Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts function, exp[−(t/τKWW)β], which is a characteristic of the nonexponential conductivity relaxation of ionic conductors. In this work we show that this correlation between activation energies in the glassy and the molten states follows from results of the coupling model. Experimental data of C. Cramer and M. Buscher have given conductivity relaxation spectra over a broad frequency range for a fast ion conducting 0.48(AgI)2–0.52Ag2SeO4 composition below and above the glass transition temperature Tg. We have analyzed the glassy state conductivity relaxation data by using the electric modulus formalism as well as by direct consideration of the ac conductivity. After the removal of a contribution to the ac conductivity that is proportional to ω1.0, where ω is the angular frequency, the data in both representations are well fitted by the appropriate Fourier transform of Φ(t)= exp [−(t/τ KWW ) β ] , with β=0.51. With this value of β, we found that the product, βEσ, is about the same as Ea within experimental error. This agreement provides support for the correlation, Ea/Eσ ≈ β, which was previously established for glass-forming ionic conductors with decoupling indices, Rτ, that vary over twelve orders of magnitude, as well as for several crystalline ionic conductors.
Kangaroo Mother Care – a review

Kangaroo Mother Care is a simple and beneficial intervention for the care of low birth weight infants. Although initially conceived for use in developing countries with limited resources, its use has expanded worldwide as clinicians, administrators and parents become familiar with the psychological, physiological, clinical and cost benefits associated with the practice. A recently documented benefit has specific relevance to blood transfusion medicine.
Uniform resonant chaotic mixing in fluid flows

Laminar flows can produce particle trajectories that are chaotic1,2, with nearby tracers separating exponentially in time. For time-periodic, two-dimensional flows and steady three-dimensional (3D) flows, enhancements in mixing due to chaotic advection are typically limited by impenetrable transport barriers that form at the boundaries between ordered and chaotic mixing regions. However, for time-dependent 3D flows, it has been proposed theoretically3,4,5 that completely uniform mixing is possible through a resonant mechanism5 called singularity-induced diffusion; this is thought to be the case even if the time-dependent and 3D perturbations are infinitesimally small. It is important to establish the conditions for which uniform mixing is possible and whether or not those conditions are met in flows that typically occur in nature. Here we report experimental and numerical studies of mixing in a laminar vortex flow that is weakly 3D and weakly time-periodic. The system is an oscillating horizontal vortex chain (produced by a magnetohydrodynamic technique) with a weak vertical secondary flow that is forced spontaneously by Ekman pumping—a mechanism common in vortical flows with rigid boundaries, occurring in many geophysical, industrial and biophysical flows. We observe completely uniform mixing, as predicted3,4,5 by singularity-induced diffusion, but only for oscillation periods close to typical circulation times.
Physiology and morphology of neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and the nucleus of the solitary tract that are sensitive to distension of the small intestine.

We have recently shown that distension-sensitive vagal afferents are part of a neural circuit affecting absorption of water in the rat small intestine. Our results indicated that vagal afferent activity directly or indirectly influences the activity of neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNV). In the present study we pursued this interaction by examining the structure and function of neurons in the DMNV and nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) that responded to moderate distension of the small intestine. Distension-sensitive cells were filled by intracellular iontophoretic injection of horseradish peroxidase. A total of 43 distension-sensitive brainstem neurons were successfully characterized and labeled. Sixteen of the 17 NST neurons were excited by distension of the small intestine. Ten of the seventeen were restricted to the ipsilateral NST. Only two NST neurons possessed axons that terminated in the subjacent DMNV. In contrast to the response profile of the NST neurons, 24 of 26 DMNV neurons were inhibited by intestinal distension. Fourteen of the DMNV neurons appeared to contribute to the vagus nerve and 15 extended dendrites into the overlying NST. We propose that distension-induced inhibition of DMNV activity is accomplished by inhibitory NST neurons, which synapse on the dendrites of DMNV neurons in the NST. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
GROWTH AND GRAVITATIONAL RESPONSE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEAF BLADE HYPONASTY

A B S T R A C T Rapid (4 hr) auxin-induced hyponastic curvature of primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaltis is shown to depend on a positive increase in growth of the lower portion of the blade. The curvature involves laminar growth as well as vein growth and is not due to simple turgor changes. The response is sensitive to gravitational orientation, as inversion and horizontal rotation reduce the auxin-induced curvature. The ethylene-generating compound, 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, had no hyponastic effect on the leaves when applied to either the upper or lower surface and it inhibited auxin-induced hyponasty. This inhibition was additive to that of inversion. Long-term (24-48 hr) effects of 1 mm auxin depend on the surface of the leaf treated. Application to the upper surface results in epinasty, lower surface application in hyponasty, although the initial response in each case is a hyponastic curvature. A dorsi-ventral auxin transport system and differential auxin sensitivity of upper and lower portions of the leaf blade are postulated to account for these responses. THE MECHANISMS which maintain growth of the typical leaf blade in planar form are unknown. Much of this planar growth has a plagiotropic orientation and depends on the coordinated division and expansion of histologically and physiolo0gically different cell types, whose axes of elongation and spatial arrangement are at various angles to the plane of growth. Despite the obvious importance of the leaf blade and the possible benefits which the ability to manipulate this aspect of development might provide, little experimental evidence is available to describe how planar blade growth is maintained or how it might be controlled. The blades of developing primary leaves of intact Phaseolus vulgaris plants, when treated with auxin, develop a hyponastic curvature within a few hours (Lippincott and Lippincott, 1971). The response is readily measured and the degree of hyponastic curvature is related to the logarithm of the auxin concentration applied to the leaf. Because this response involves a readily induced deviation from the normal planar plagiotropic growth habit of the leaf blade, it provides an experimental system in which factors contributing to planar blade growth may be examined. The studies reported here show that auxininduced hyponastic curvature of primary leaves derives from a positive increase in growth of the lower portions of the blade and is sensitive to gravitational orientation and ethylene.
Economic analysis of civil wars

(2002). Economic analysis of civil wars. Defence and Peace Economics: Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 429-433.
Salivary glands sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is chronic multisystem disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by non caseating granulomas in the involved organs. Lung involvement is the most common organ involvement. Other common manifestations include skin, joint and ocular lesions. Otolaryngologic manifestations are seen in 10-15% of sarcoidosis patients. Sarcoidosis of the salivary glands present with a painless and persistent enlargement of the parotid glands. Xerostomia is often present. A second presentation is uveo parotid fever or Heerfordt's syndrome. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis is made when there is a histological evidence of non caseating granulomas in the absence of infection and malignancy. There are no FDA approved therapies for sarcoidosis. Corticosteroids remain the standard of care. Corticosteroid sparing agents may be used in patients with progressive disease. The use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors may be effective in refractory cases.
Drug testing in children with excessive daytime sleepiness during multiple sleep latency testing.

Study Objective:To determine the incidence of positive drug screens in children undergoing a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).Methods:A retros...
CHARLES KINGSLEY, THE ROMANTIC LEGACY, AND THE UNMAKING OF THE WORKING-CLASS INTELLECTUAL

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. —Percy Shelley, “A Defence of Poetry” T HESE WORDS , written in 1821, celebrate the figure of the poet as leader and prophet. 1 By noting that this position is “unacknowledged,” however, Shelley intimates that the Industrial Revolution sweeping Britain threatens to shrink the political and social relevance of poets. While Shelley makes no mention of class distinctions in “A Defence of Poetry,” had he paused to consider the relative status of the poet in class terms, he would probably have admitted that his era’s working-class versifiers were, with a few exceptions, the most unacknowledged poets of all.
Exploiting NIC Memory for Improving Cluster-Based Webserver Performance

Improving the performance of Web servers has become a critical issue to handle the increasing demand on various network-based services. In this context, we exploit the local memory of programmable network interface cards (NICs) to improve the performance of cluster-based Web servers, which are increasingly used in designing Web server platforms. We use the NIC memory for caching recently accessed data blocks to improve server performance. We have implemented a prototype of the proposed NIC caching mechanism for a distributed Web server, based on PRESS (Carrera et al., 2002), on an 8-node, Myrinet-connected Linux cluster. Measurements with several server workloads show that NIC caching can enhance throughput by up to 27% compared to the original PRESS Web server without NIC caching, by minimizing the DMA and PCI bus overhead
Decreased Expression of A-Kinase Anchoring Protein 150 in GT1 Neurons Decreases Neuron Excitability and Frequency of Intrinsic Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Pulses

The frequency of intrinsic pulsatile GnRH secretion from endogenous GnRH neurons and GT1 GnRH cell lines is stimulated by increased intracellular cAMP levels. The downstream molecules comprising the cAMP signaling pathway are organized in microdomains by a family of scaffolding proteins, A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs). These molecules tether protein kinase A, cAMP-specific phosphodiesterases, phosphatases to known substrates. In neurons AKAP150 organizes many of the signaling molecules known to regulate the excitability and intrinsic pulsatile activity of GnRH neurons. AKAP150 was expressed in both the GT1-1 and GT1-7 cells. We determined the role of AKAP150 in coordinating GT1-1 cell excitability and intrinsic GnRH pulsatile secretion by lowering AKAP150 levels with a small interfering RNA (siRNA) adenovirus construct to AKAP150 (Ad-AKAP150-siRNA). Infection with Ad-AKAP150-siRNA specifically decreased AKAP150 mRNA levels by 74% and protein levels by 53% relative to uninfected cells or cells infecte...
Moisture Effects on Flexural Performance of Wood Fiber‐Cement Composites

Wood fiberreinforced cement can provide the highest performancetocost ratio among fibrous cement composites considered for the replacement of asbestos cement. Such composites can find applications ...
A plausible mechanism for flagellar rotation in bacteria

A novel model for the action of the flagellar motor of bacteria is presented in which rotational motion is produced by conformational changes in a helically or rotationally symmetric multi-subunit component of the basal body. The model is consistent with the known properties of the motor, including its ability to rotate equally well clockwise and counterclockwise. Formally, the model is similar to mechanisms that have been proposed for other biologic transducers of free energy, such as active transporters.
DISCRIMINATIVE RESPONDING ON ASSOCIATED MIXED AND MULTIPLE SCHEDULES AS A FUNCTION OF FOOD AND ICS REINFORCEMENT1

Performance on associated mixed and multiple variable-interval-extinction schedules was studied as a function of food versus intracranial stimulation (ICS) reinforcement. For the mixed schedule, differential responding was greater for an ICS reinforcement group than for a food reinforcement group, demonstrating that conditions affecting resistance to extinction help to determine the control exerted by a mixed schedule. Performance on the multiple schedule demonstrated greater differential responding for an ICS group than for a food reinforcement group during the early training sessions, indicating that the control exerted by mixed schedules interacts with that exerted by the exteroceptive discriminative stimuli. The results suggest that the influence of the associated mixed schedule on discriminative responding would be greater, the greater the difficulty of the stimulus discrimination.
FRACTALS, AVERAGE DISTANCE AND THE CANTOR SET

The average distance between points of a fractal is proposed as a natural measure of the way in which the points of a fractal are distributed. The average distance between points of the Cantor Set is found to be $\frac{2}{5}$, the average distance between points of the Cantor p-set is $\frac{p+1}{p+3}$, and the average distance between points of the Fat Cantor p-set is $\frac{2}{3(2-p)}$. A general formula for computing the average distance between points of a self-similar set satisfying the open set condition is found.
Internal three dimensional tongue motion during “s” and “sh” from tagged magnetic resonance imaging; control and glossectomy motion

This study aims to ascertain the effects of differences in closure procedure after tongue cancer surgery (glossectomy) on tongue motion during the speech sounds /s/ and /∫/. Subjects were one control and two post-glossectomy patients. The patients had similar resections, but different closure procedures. Cine and tagged-MRI data were recorded of tongue motion during speech in axial, coronal and sagittal orientations at 26 fps. 3D tissue point motion was tracked at every time-frame in the word. 3D displacement fields were calculated at each time-frame to show tissue motion during speech. A previous pilot study showed differences among these subjects in /s/ production [Pedersen, et al., JASA, 2013A]. Specifically, they differed in internal tongue motion pattern, and the flap patient had unusual Genioglossus lengthening patterns. The /s/ requires a midline tongue groove, which is challenging for the patients. The present study continues that effort by adding the motion of /∫/ because /∫/ does not require a midline groove and may be easier for the patients to pronounce. Two additional muscles are studied, to determine how they interact to produce successful motion. [This study was supported by NIH R01CA133015]
Creating Positive School Experiences for Students with Disabilities.

The school experiences of students with disabilities can be positively or negatively influenced by the attitudes and behaviors of students and school personnel and by general school policies. School counselors can take the lead in assessing school climate in relation to students with disabilities and initiating interventions or advocating for change when appropriate. This article provides an overview of factors to consider in creating positive school experiences for students with disabilities and suggestions for intervention efforts.
Pharmacogenetic Effect of the Stromelysin (MMP3) Polymorphism on Stroke Risk in Relation to Antihypertensive Treatment The Genetics of Hypertension Associated Treatment Study

Background and Purpose—Atherothrombotic diseases including stroke share a common etiology of atherosclerosis, and susceptibility to atherosclerosis has a genetic component. Stromelysin-1 (matrix metalloproteinase-3 [MMP3]) regulates arterial matrix composition and is a candidate gene for atherothrombosis. A common polymorphism of MMP3 alters expression levels and affects atherosclerotic progression and plaque stability. As part of the Genetics of Hypertension Associated Treatment study, ancillary to the Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering to Prevent Heart Attack Trial, we evaluated the 5A/6A polymorphism in MMP3 to determine its association with stroke and determine whether it modifies clinical outcome response to blood pressure–lowering drugs. Methods—The effect of the MMP3 5A/6A polymorphism on stroke rates was examined by using multivariate-adjusted Cox regression models, including a test for interactions between genotype and antihypertensive drug class. Results—Compared with participants treated with ...
On-road and laboratory evaluation of combustion aerosols-Part1: Summary of diesel engine results

Abstract The objective was to characterize diesel exhaust aerosols on road and to duplicate the results in the laboratory without altering the physical characteristics of the nuclei mode. On-road emissions from four, heavy-duty diesel truck engines were measured. The same engines were reevaluated in the manufacturers’ laboratories. For highway cruise and acceleration conditions, all engines produced bimodal size distributions with the nuclei mode ranging in size from 6 to 11 nm and the accumulation mode from 52 to 62 nm. On-road size distribution measurements nearly always showed a nuclei mode while laboratory measurements showed a nuclei mode under many, but not all conditions. Laboratory studies showed that nuclei mode particles consisted mainly of heavy hydrocarbons. More than 97% of the volume of 12 and 30 nm particles disappeared on heating to 400 °C. The volatility resembled that of C24–C32 n -alkanes implying a significant contribution from lubricating oil.
Emerging infectious diseases: vulnerabilities, contributing factors and approaches.

We live in an ever more connected global village linked through international travel, politics, economics, culture and human–human and human–animal interactions. The realization that the concept of globalization includes global exposure to disease-causing agents that were formerly confined to small, remote areas and that infectious disease outbreaks can have political, economic and social roots and effects is becoming more apparent. Novel infectious disease microbes continue to be discovered because they are new or newly recognized, have expanded their geographic range, have been shown to cause a new disease spectrum, have jumped the species barrier from animals to humans, have become resistant to antimicrobial agents, have increased in incidence or have become more virulent. These emerging infectious disease microbes may have the potential for use as agents of bioterrorism. Factors involved in the emergence of infectious diseases are complex and interrelated and involve all classifications of organisms t...
Dynamics of protein and chromophore structural changes in the photocycle of photoactive yellow protein monitored by time-resolved optical rotatory dispersion.

The dynamics of the PYP photocycle have been studied using time-resolved optical rotatory dispersion (TRORD) spectroscopy in the visible and far-UV spectral regions to probe the changes in the chro...
Air Wars, Memory Wars

The German preoccupation with the Nazi past, with issues of guilt, responsibility, and victimization “… doesn't end. Never will it end,” to quote the resigned note on which Gunter Grass concluded his latest novel, Crabwalk. It manifests itself in ever new forms, as different parts of the past, which may or may not have been repressed, come to the fore and are painfully reconstructed, tentatively probed, and reluctantly and often only partially accepted. Each new perspective on the past reorders, sometimes even shatters, the previous mosaic. Recall the impact of the film Holocaust or of the Wehrmacht exhibition. A similar phenomenon is now occurring—or so some hope and others fear. Since 2002 German suffering, rather than German guilt, has become the principal theme in discourses about the past. The firebombing of Hamburg and Dresden, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, “moral bombing,” mass rape, and ethnic cleansing dominate historical and literary production and public debate as the Eastern Front, war crimes, and the pervasive knowledge of the Holocaust did in the mid- and late-1990s, and the uniqueness of the Holocaust and its central place within the Third Reich did a decade before that.
Cooperative Interaction in Desegregated Settings: A Laboratory Analogue

Several cooperative heterogeneous team-learning interventions have been developed to promote improved intergroup relations in desegregated school settings. Despite their positive effects, little or no evidence demonstrates any generalization to new children or to children outside the classroom setting. Furthermore, social-categorization theory suggests that some procedural aspects of these interventions interfere with these intended benefits. Data from an experimental laboratory paradigm structurally paralleling these small-group cooperative-learning interventions, and testing hypotheses derived from social-categorization theory show that a generalized increase in outgroup acceptance will be produced by (a) an interpersonal as opposed to a task orientation toward team members, and (b) the assignment of persons to teams on the basis of their unique personal attributes rather than attributes that explicitly exemplify their category.
Interferon gamma-induced transcription of the high-affinity Fc receptor for IgG requires assembly of a complex that includes the 91-kDa subunit of transcription factor ISGF3.

Abstract A 39-nt DNA sequence, the interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) response region (GRR), is necessary for the IFN-gamma-induced transcription of the high-affinity Fc receptor for IgG (Fc gamma RI) and sufficient for the IFN-gamma-induced transcription of transfected plasmids. By using extracts from IFN-gamma-treated cells, three protein complexes will assemble in vitro on a 9-nt core region in the 3' domain of the GRR. The sequence of this core resembles the IFN-gamma-activated sequence (GAS) described for the GBP gene. Mutations in this GAS core region prevent complex assembly and result in the loss of IFN-gamma induction of reporter constructs containing the mutation. In addition to the GAS core region, a 5' region of the GRR is necessary for optimal IFN-gamma induction and for formation of one of the DNA-protein complexes. By antibody reactivity, we show that a 91-kDa protein, first identified as a component of ISGF3, the IFN-alpha-induced transcription complex, is present in at least two of the DNA-protein complexes. IFN-alpha can induce the formation of the faster-migrating 91-kDa protein-GAS complex but not the slower-migrating complex. Furthermore, IFN-alpha does not result in appreciable transcriptional activation of Fc gamma RI or constructs containing the GRR. Thus, these data demonstrate that the IFN-gamma-activated 91-kDa protein is required for IFN-gamma induction of Fc gamma RI and suggest that an additional complex may be required for optimal expression and specificity.
Esophageal preservation in esophageal high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal adenocarcinoma

The management of esophageal high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and intramucosal adenocarcinoma remains controversial. Because lymph node involvement is unlikely in this setting, interest in the treatment strategies for esophageal preservation has grown. Esophageal preservation indicates any endoluminal procedure that is used in an attempt to completely eradicate disease while preserving the anatomic structure of the esophagus. The goal of esophagus-preserving approaches is to provide definitive therapy while avoiding the morbidity of esophagectomy. This article describes the patient selection and the status of currently available esophagus-preserving options, and discusses the strategy for treating HGD and intramusocal adenocarcinoma.
Introduction: Terrorist Assemblages meets the study of religion

On 19 November 2011, those present at the annual joint meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature had the opportunity to attend a book panel on Jasbir Puar'...
Possible insights into metal ion recognition in calcium-binding proteins provided by complexing properties of ligands containing amide oxygen donors

The formation constants of the ligand N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(carbamoylmethyl)-ethylenediamine suggest that the amide oxygen is a stronger Lewis base in water than the alcoholic oxygen, or water, and that part of the selectivity for Ca2+ over Mg2+ shown by calcium-binding proteins such as calmodulin or annexin may be due to the higher affinity of Ca2+ for the O-donor of the Ca-binding amide groups present in such proteins.
Multi-Task Learning for Analyzing and Sorting Large Databases of Sequential Data

A new hierarchical nonparametric Bayesian framework is proposed for the problem of multi-task learning (MTL) with sequential data. The models for multiple tasks, each characterized by sequential data, are learned jointly, and the intertask relationships are obtained simultaneously. This MTL setting is used to analyze and sort large databases composed of sequential data, such as music clips. Within each data set, we represent the sequential data with an infinite hidden Markov model (iHMM), avoiding the problem of model selection (selecting a number of states). Across the data sets, the multiple iHMMs are learned jointly in a MTL setting, employing a nested Dirichlet process (nDP). The nDP-iHMM MTL method allows simultaneous task-level and data-level clustering, with which the individual iHMMs are enhanced and the between-task similarities are learned. Therefore, in addition to improved learning of each of the models via appropriate data sharing, the learned sharing mechanisms are used to infer interdata relationships of interest for data search. Specifically, the MTL-learned task-level sharing mechanisms are used to define the affinity matrix in a graph-diffusion sorting framework. To speed up the MCMC inference for large databases, the nDP-iHMM is truncated to yield a nested Dirichlet-distribution based HMM representation, which accommodates fast variational Bayesian (VB) analysis for large-scale inference, and the effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated using a database composed of 2500 digital music pieces.