cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RAPIDLY LABELED RIBONUCLEIC ACIDS OF RHODOPSEUDOMONAS SPHEROIDES UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS OF CATALASE SYNTHESIS.

Abstract The relationship between the apparent composition of rapidly labeled RNA and the synthesis of a protein — in the present instance, of catalase (H 2 O 2 :H 2 O 2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.6) — was studied in a wild strain (2.4.1) and a constitutive high-catalase mutant (CCl) of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides . The nucleotide composition of the total RNA of these two strains was determined under several conditions of growth as well as that of ribosomal and soluble RNA and DNA. Pulses of inorganic [ 32 P]phosphate, and in many instances also of [ 14 C]uracil, were applied to the cultures under a variety of physiological conditions and, in the case of the wild strain, without and with the induction of catalase formation. The nucleotide composition of the rapidly labeled RNA remained, with one exception, unchanged in all experiments, regardless of far-reaching metabolic shifts that must have taken place; it did not resemble that of DNA, but was intermediate between a DNA-like RNA and ribosomal RNA. Only the rapidly labeled RNA of the high-catalase mutant in the stationary stage showed a divergent composition which was, however, even farther removed from that of DNA. The induction of catalase in the wild strain was without effect on the incorparation of uracil into RNA, nor was the uptake of the precursor by the RNA of different cellular fractions influenced by enzyme induction. It must be concluded that, if a shift towards the massive production of catalase is accompanied by the appearance of a species of RNA having a characteristic composition, this has not been demonstrated in the studies presented here.
Estimating the reliability of diet overlap measures

Diet overlap measures, commonly used in studies of resource partitioning and competition in fish, are too often treated as fixed values; in fact, they are random variables. Two methods for estimating the variance of some overlap measures using stomach content data are examined here: the jackknife and the bootstrap. Simulation results indicate that the methods work well. In addition, they are valid for either continuous (biomass, percent volume) or discrete (abundance) data. Applications indicate that outliers, such as a stomach much different than others, may have large influence in determing the overlap value.
The negative symptom challenge.

Fenton and McGlashan 1 note the relatively recent attention to the proposition that deficit or negative symptoms in schizophrenia have a distinct pathophysiologic process from that which underlies the production of positive psychotic symptoms. Although the attention is new, the proposition is not. Kraepelin 2 asserted that two See also p 179. maladies characterized dementia praecox: the dissociative processes, so well described by Bleuler, 3 and "the weakening of those emotional activities which permanently form the mainsprings of volition." The latter process is the source of those primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia that defined the deficit syndrome. 4,5 Kraepelin's distinction between two pathologic processes yielded to two prominent alternative paradigms, the most influential of which has been the presumption that a fundamental or primary pathologic process underlies schizophrenia (eg, Bleuler's dissociative process). In this paradigm, schizophrenia is a single disease entity associated in all cases with the same fundamental pathologic
Binding ensemble profiling with photoaffinity labeling (BEProFL) approach: mapping the binding poses of HDAC8 inhibitors.

A Binding Ensemble PROfiling with (F)photoaffinity Labeling (BEProFL) approach that utilizes photolabeling of HDAC8 with a probe containing a UV-activated aromatic azide, mapping the covalent modifications by liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometry, and a computational method to characterize the multiple binding poses of the probe is described. Using the BEProFL approach two distinct binding poses of the HDAC8 probe were identified. The data also suggest that an “upside-down” pose with the surface binding group of the probe bound in an alternative pocket near the catalytic site may contribute to the binding.
Cellular pharmacology of chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide and a related compound in murine B16 melanoma cells

Chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide (CQS), a chlorinated derivative of sulfaquinoxaline (SQ), inhibited proliferation of murine B16 melanoma cells, but only when relatively high drug concentrations (1 mM) were used. The inhibition of cell growth by CQS was at least partially reversible by incubation in drug-free medium. Incubation of melanoma cells with CQS was associated with an arrest of the cell cycle in G0/G1 as measured by flow cytometry. The drug slightly decreased uptake of radiolabeled deoxyuridine and thymidine after 24- and 48-hr incubation periods but increased nucleoside incorporation at 72 hr. No evidence of intercalation with DNA was found. Because SQ previously was reported to inhibit an aspect of folate metabolism, we investigated the possibility that CQS limits tumor cell growth by altering folate homeostasis. This appears unlikely, however, in view of the following observations: (1) the cytotoxic effects of CQS could not be reversed by folinic acid; (2) deoxyuridine suppression of thymidine incorporation was not affected by CQS treatment; (3) CQS did not inhibit dihydrofolate reductase from mammalian or bacterial sources; and (4) CQS toxicity in mice was not reduced by folinic acid. Experiments performed with analogues modified in the quinoxaline and para-amino phenyl functions indicated that tumor cell inhibition did not require preservation of the conventional sulfonamide structure.
Assessing the performance indices and design parameters of treatment wetlands for H+, Fe, and Mn retention

Abstract Using correlations analysis on water quality and wetland design parameters from a set of 35 natural wetlands receiving mine water, treatment efficiency was found to be a better index of Fe and Mn treatment than area-adjusted mass removal. However, area-adjusted mass removal was found to be a better index of performance for pH treatment. Weaknesses of using an area-adjusted measure to evaluate wetland performance for Fe retention included a significant load dependency aspect, strong positive correlations to inlet and outlet Fe concentrations, null correlations with vegetation parameters, and a tendency to rate highly small wetlands receiving high flow rates. H + retention was a better indication of pH treatment than treatment efficiency because of its relationships with inlet H + concentration, Fe treatment efficiency, and H + load. Design parameters enhancing Fe treatment efficiency included broad shapes, non-channelized flow patterns, high plant diversity, a southern exposure, and low Fe loads. Design parameters enhancing Mn treatment efficiency included large areas, non-channelized flow patterns, high vascular plant and bryophyte cover, high plant diversity, and low inlet Fe concentrations. Design parameters favoring pH mitigation included broad shapes, low flow rates, low surface water depths, non-channelized flow patterns, high plant diversity and cover, and low inlet Fe concentrations.
Superplasticity in aluminium base metal matrix composites

Preparation d'alliages a base de Al-2014 et Al-7475, contenant chacun 15% de particules de SiC, en forme de toles a grains fins. Mesure des sensibilites a la vitesse de deformation aux temperatures ou le materiau non renforce est normalement superplastique
Long-term outcome after aortic arch replacement with a trifurcated graft.

Objective We describe the long-term results of aortic arch replacement using a trifurcated graft, including an assessment of survival, neurologic complications, and graft patency. Methods A retrospective review was conducted on data from 206 consecutive patients (125 male; median age, 67 years; range, 20–87 years) who had a trifurcated graft used for aortic arch replacement between September 1999 and September 2009. Seventy-four patients (35.9%) had chronic dissection, 68 patients (33.0%) had atherosclerotic aneurysms, and 39 patients (18.9%) had degenerative disease. Ninety-one patients (44.2%) had undergone previous cardiac surgery. Results An elephant trunk was placed in 190 patients (92.2%) and completed in 101 patients (53.1%), with an interval of less than 365 days between stages in 94 of 101 patients. Hospital mortality was 6.8% (14/206). Adverse outcome (death/stroke within the first year postoperatively) occurred in 27.7% of patients (57/206; 50 deaths/7 strokes). Among 152 1-year survivors, the annual rates of transient ischemic attack and stroke were 0.85% and 1.1%, respectively. At 6 years, 75% of patients were still alive, compared with 92% in a matched New York State control population ( P Conclusions Aortic arch replacement using a trifurcated graft is highly durable, with excellent patency in the branch grafts, and is associated with a low incidence of cerebral embolization. However, the long-term outcome in these patients is compromised by extensive comorbidities.
Water transport in human aquaporin-4: Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the central nervous system, where it has been reported to be involved in many pathophysiological roles including water transport. In this paper, the AQP4 tetramer was modeled from its PDB structure file, embedded in a palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl-choline (POPC) lipid bilayer, solvated in water, then minimized and equilibrated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. Analysis of the equilibrated structure showed that the central pore along the fourfold axis of the tetramers is formed with hydrophobic amino acid residues. In particular, Phe-195, Leu-191 and Leu-75, form the narrowest part of the pore. Therefore water molecules are not expected to transport through the central pore, which was confirmed by MD simulations. Each monomer of the AQP4 tetramers forms a channel whose walls consist mostly of hydrophilic residues. There are eight water molecules in single file observed in each of the four channels, transporting through the selectivity filter containing Arg-216, His-201, Phe-77, Ala-210, and the two conserved Asn-Pro-Ala (NPA) motifs containing Asn-213 and Asn-97. By using Brownian dynamics fluctuation–dissipation-theorem (BD-FDT), the overall free-energy profile was obtained for water transporting through AQP4 for the first time, which gives a complete map of the entire channel of water permeation.
HYPERFINE STRUCTURE BY THE METHOD OF ATOMIC BEAMS PROPERTIES OF NUCLEI AND OF THE ELECTRON

Abstract The fundamental experimental methods of molecular beams as applied to the observation of atomic hyperfine structure and its Zeeman effect are discussed, with emphasis on special techniques which have made it possible to obtain some of the recent important results derived from the observation of hfs. Among these are: (a) the determination of the nuclear spin of the radioactive isotopes Na22, K40, Cs135, Cs137; (b) the determination of the quadrupole moments of the nuclei Al27, Cl35, Cl37, Ga69, Ga71, In113 and In115 from a measurement of the interaction energy of the nuclear magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments with the electron configuration and a prior knowledge of the magnetic dipole moment; (c) the investigation of the anomaly between the ratio of the observed hfs splitting and the ratio of the magnetic moments of two isotopes. The anomaly has been observed for H, Li, K and Rb and its detection is possible only because of the very high precision with which the frequencies of lines in the hfs spectrum may be found by use of the method of atomic beams. Important conclusions as to the structure of the nucleus are derived from the anomaly; (d) the precise determination of the magnitude of the anomalous spin magnetic moment of the electron, essentially by a measurement of the ratio of atomic g values for different electronic energy states.
Efficient probabilistic representation of tibiofemoral soft tissue constraint.

Verified and efficient representations of knee ligamentous constraints are essential to forward-dynamic models for prediction of knee mechanics. The objectives of this study were to develop an efficient probabilistic representation of knee ligamentous constraint using the advanced mean value (AMV) probabilistic approach, and to compare the AMV representation with the gold standard Monte Carlo (MC) approach. Specifically, the effects of inherent uncertainty in ligament stiffness, reference strain and attachment site locations on joint constraint were assessed. An explicit finite element model of the knee was evaluated under a series of anterior–posterior (AP) and internal–external (IE) loading at full extension and 90° flexion. Distributions of AP and IE laxity were predicted using experimentally-based levels of ligament parameter variability. Importance factors identified the critical properties affecting the predicted bounds, and agreed with reported ligament recruitment. The AMV method agreed closely wi...
Wall effects on rotational population of OH2Σ+ in a microwave discharge

Abstract A study is presented of the rotational intensity distribution in the 2 Σ + - 2 Π electronic transition of OH radicals exeited in electrodeless discharges through argon containing about one-half percent water vapor, at a total pressure of 0.05 mm Hg. Two independent rotational distributions appear, their relative importance depending on the temperature of the wall of the discharge tube, the density of power dissipation in the discharge, and on the frequency of the exciting field. In the sensitivity of the spectrum to changes in discharge conditions, the wall plays a determining role.
Molecular biology: hairpins at split ends in DNA.

What do changing colours in corn kernels, mutations in houseflies and the variability of antibodies and of a T cell's antigen receptors in the vertebrate immune system have in common? A great deal, it turns out.
Accurate Temperature Measurements in a Naturally-Aspirated Radiation Shield

Experiments and calculations were conducted with a 0.13 mm fine wire thermocouple within a naturally-aspirated Gill radiation shield to assess and improve the accuracy of air temperature measurements without the use of mechanical aspiration, wind speed or radiation measurements. It was found that this thermocouple measured the air temperature with root-mean-square errors of 0.35 K within the Gill shield without correction. A linear temperature correction was evaluated based on the difference between the interior plate and thermocouple temperatures. This correction was found to be relatively insensitive to shield design and yielded an error of 0.16 K for combined day and night observations. The correction was reliable in the daytime when the wind speed usually exceeds 1 m s−1 but occasionally performed poorly at night during very light winds. Inspection of the standard deviation in the thermocouple wire temperature identified these periods but did not unambiguously locate the most serious events. However, estimates of sensor accuracy during these periods is complicated by the much larger sampling volume of the mechanically-aspirated sensor compared with the naturally-aspirated sensor and the presence of significant near-surface temperature gradients. The root-mean-square errors therefore are upper limits to the aspiration error since they include intrinsic sensor differences and intermittent volume sampling differences.
Overlapped text segmentation using Markov random field and aggregation

Separating machine printed text and handwriting from overlapping text is a challenging problem in the document analysis field and no reliable algorithms have been developed thus far. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for separating handwriting from binary image of overlapped text. Instead of using fixed size training patches, we describe an aggregation method which uses shape context features to extract training samples automatically. We use a Markov Random Field (MRF) to model the overlapped text. The neighbor system is inherited from a coarsening procedure and the prior and likelihood of the MRF is learned based on a distance metric. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve 87.97% recall for handwriting and 91.44% recall for machine printed text.
Idiopathic esophageal ulceration in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: radiologic reappraisal in 10 patients.

Idiopathic esophageal ulceration in patients with AIDS has previously been described. Establishing this diagnosis is important because of the excellent response of these ulcers to corticosteroid therapy. We studied 10 such patients with esophagography and endoscopy. HIV was isolated from the ulcer base in six of the 10 patients utilizing various techniques including in situ hybridization. No other organisms were found. All of the ulcers were in the distal half of the esophagus and were solitary in eight of the 10 patients. The solitary ulcers were large (2.5×2.0 cm to 12×9 cm) and deep (>0.5 cm) with undermined margins. In three patients, fistulae arose from the distal esophagus and crossed the gastroesophageal junction. In one patient, a huge idiopathic ulcer perforated into the mediastinum. These latter findings are not seen in the more common ulcerating AIDS esophagitides due to herpes simplex and cytomegalovirus.
Can U.S. GI fellowship programs meet American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommendations for training in EUS? A survey of U.S. GI fellowship program directors.

Background American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) EUS training and credentialing guidelines exist, but the capability of U.S. GI fellowships to meet these guidelines has not been assessed. Objective To ascertain the capability of U.S. GI fellowship programs to meet ASGE guidelines for EUS training in the context of 3-year and advanced GI fellowships. Methods U.S. GI fellowship programs were surveyed for the presence or the absence, type, and extent of EUS training. Demographics regarding the programs and the program directors were obtained. Main Outcome Measurements Data on the annual total EUS volume and data on EUS performed by 3-year and/or advanced-year fellows were collected and analyzed. Results Ninety-one of 142 contactable GI programs responded (64%); 72% of programs performed >200 EUS/y and thus could train ≥1 EUS trainee/y. For 3-year GI fellows, 55% received less than 3 months of training, with 43% not receiving actual "hands-on" EUS experience, and 61% not learning EUS-guided FNA. The median EUS performed by 3-year fellows was 50 (0-350). Programs that offer advanced endoscopy fellowship had a median advanced-trainee EUS volume of 200 procedures (range, 50-1100 procedures). Of advanced fellows, 20% failed to receive "hands-on" training and 52% performed P Conclusions The majority of U.S. GI fellowship programs have established the EUS volume to train at least 1 EUS fellow, per ASGE guidelines; however, most 3-year and many advanced fellows are currently receiving insufficient EUS training.
Tailoring the Crosslinking and Degradation of Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels to Enhance Neocartilage Formation by Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Optimization of tissue formation is essential for the success of a tissue engineered scaffold. Crosslinking density affects encapsulated cell viability, initial mechanical properties, and the diffusion of nutrients and waste. Degradation affects scaffold properties, cell-scaffold interactions, and the quantity and distribution of extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by entrapped cells with time [1,2]. Previously, we showed that neocartilage formation by encapsulated chondrocytes is influenced by network structure and properties [3], and that the chemistry of hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels supports and promotes the chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) [4]. While others have also investigated the use of HA-based hydrogels for cartilage repair [5,6], by tuning HA network degradation, with the inclusion of hydrolytically degradable components, we show the effects of temporal network structure on scaffold properties and enhanced neocartilage formation. This type of control could help translate tissue engineering technology to clinical applications.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Liberal Empire: Assessing the Arguments

This essay is an attempt to take the idea of empire seriously as an element in normative political theory. The sudden reappearance of “empire” as a doctrine to be taken seriously had some of the thrill of the forbidden. Who would dare to endorse imperial ambitions as good for their country or, more heretical still, good for the world? Iconoclasm, though, is a short-lived pleasure. Now that the concept of empire has shed its pariah status, the time has come for some rigor in characterizing and assessing the arguments for empire.
Erosion Control On Surface Mined Watersheds: A Modeling Approach

ABSRTACT A simulation model developed to predict distribution of erosion and deposition on stripmined areas is used to illustrate the effectiveness of different conservation options in controlling erosion and runoff from a mined and reclaimed site. The model shows how much the diversions reduce offsite sediment yield and predicts optimal size and locations of a sediment pond to satisfy requirements of effluentstandards. Model predictions appear to be supported by the experimental data.
Growth conditions for analytic functions in unbounded open sets

Let G be a non-empty open set in the complex plane ℂ with at least two finite boundary points. Let be a continuous function that is analytic in G. Let μ be a non-decreasing non-negative function defined for t ≥ 0 such that μ(2t) ≤ 2μ(t) for all t ≥ 0. Suppose that |f(z 1) − f(z 2)| ≤ μ(|z 1 − z 2|) for a fixed z 1 ∈ ∂G and for all z 2 ∈ ∂G. Suppose that for each unbounded component D of G, if any, there is a positive number q such that f(z) = O(|z| q ) as z → ∞ in D. Then at least one of the following holds: For all z 2 ∈ G we have |f(z 1) − f(z 2)| ≤ Cμ(|z 1 − z 2|) where C = 3456. The set G contains a neighbourhood of infinity, so that G has exactly one unbounded component, and f has a pole at infinity. Furthermore, if |f(z 1) − f(z 2)| ≤ μ(|z 1 − z 2|) for all z 1, z 2 ∈ ∂G, then |f(z 1) − f(z 2)| ≤ Cμ(|z 1 − z 2|) for all with C = 3456 except perhaps when G contains a neighbourhood of infinity, so that G has exactly one unbounded component, and f has a pole at infinity.
Homogenization for semilinear hyperbolic systems with oscillatory data

Abstract : The behavior of multi-dimensional discrete Boltzmann systems with highly oscillatory data is studied. Homogenized equations for the mean solutions are obtained. Uniform convergence of the oscillatory solutions of the discrete Boltzmann equations to the solutions of the corresponding homogenized equations is established. Moreover, we find that the weak limits of the oscillatory solutions for a model of Broadwell type are not continuous functions of the discrete velocities. Generalization of the above results to problems with multiple-scale initial data is also established. Reprints.
Acquisition of Japanese as a Foreign Language Through a Baseball Video Game

Video games have become increasingly more popular and more technologically advanced. This one-month study used interview, observation, self-report, and reading and listening test data to demonstrate and investigate how one intermediate Japanese-as-a-foreign-language (JFL) student improved his listening comprehension and kanji character recognition by playing a Japanese baseball video game. It is suggested that language acquisition was facilitated by the subject being able to control the video game's repetitive, highly contextualized, and simultaneously presented aural and textual language. Limitations of the study and implications for the foreign language teacher are briefly discussed. Background Video games have grown increasingly more popular; hundreds of millions of video games are sold each year, and Phillips, Rolls, Rouse, and Griffiths (1995) studied 816 11- to 16-year olds and found that over 75% of them played video games, with many playing 30 minutes to an hour every day. Video games have also advanced technologically; modern sports games feature true- to-life graphics and celebrity play-by-play announcers that make them almost indistinguishable from the real games on Saturday afternoon television. Is it possible that video games may not only entertain, but also serve in the process of language acquisition? Although material authen- ticity has been found to be beneficial (Peacock, 1997; Thanajaro, 2000), and instrumental moti- vation can play a large role in language learning (Van Aacken, 1999), the fact that nearly all com- mercial video games are designed for native speakers (Japanese and American games are often translated for distribution in other countries) and are highly motivating does not mean that games will guarantee the acquisition of language. Additional support is needed before video games are used to enhance certain areas of formal language education for motivated individuals. First, because video games are quite repetitious (batting in a baseball game or navigating menus in a simulation game may be the game's most integral and enjoyable aspect), they may prolong time on task and allow for increased familiarity of unknown language in video games. Gass and Selinker (2001) advanced the idea that language learners are able to unravel new lan- guage based on its context, and because a video game player already understands the setting of repetitive language used in a game, he/she may be able to decode first semantic and then lexical and/or syntactic items ("bootstrap"), or vice versa, thereby building receptive comprehension skills that may later be transferred to more productive usage. Second, although the question of control is complex and largely unexplored (see Skehan, 1989, for a discussion of locus of control and its effects on individual motivation), a player's con- trol of a video game's language may facilitate acquisition. A player can affect the audio com-
Factors affecting exchange of thyroid hormones between liver and blood.

Radioactively labeled thyroxine was administered to rats, and after 1 to 20 hr their livers were isolated and perfused with pooled rat blood. It was found that, during the perfusion, unchanged T4 was released to the perfusing blood. The efflux of T4 from liver to blood was decreased by the addition of sodium salicylate to the perfusing blood and was reversed by the addition of 2 mg of stable T4 to the perfusate. When T4 in liver and blood had approached an equilibrium, exchange transfusion resulted in a further efflux of T4 from the liver and the establishment of a new equilibrium. The dynamic equilibrium existing between T4 in liver and in blood was shown most dramatically when T4- 131I was in the liver and T4-125I was in the blood when perfusion of the liver began. Livers from rats given radioactively labeled triiodothyronine (T3) released only a small amount of T3 to the perfusing blood but deiodination and conjugation were greater than after administration of T4-131I. (Endocrinology 79: 391, 1966)
The concentration spectrum of the product of a fast bimolecular reaction

Abstract The concentration spectrum of the product of a fast chemical reaction of form A + B → P is determined analytically for wave numbers greater than the Kolmogorov wave number in a turbulent reactor model with vortical microscale structure. The Schmidt number is large and the volume of one of the reactants is small. The spectrum first decreases like k −1 as for a passive scalar, then increases linearly with wave number, peaking near the Batchelor wave number from which it drops off like k −4 for larger wave numbers to finally decay exponentially for wave numbers of the order of the reciprocal of the reaction layer thickness.
Dynamic target identification and classification based on resonance topography grouping

We address the long-standing challenge of sonar target identification against weak ground truths and interfering scatter components by harnessing robust topographic elements of target resonance profiles. Our goal is to achieve unknown target discovery when supervised learning is not practical due to ground truth uncertainties. Specifically, we examine topographic manifolds to localize resonance components, and thus discover target sub-signatures that may be combined wholly or partially to enable robust classification. Numerical results as well as field data-driven evidence are presented.
Perioperative outcome of esophageal fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease in obese and morbidly obese patients

Abstract Background To determine the perioperative safety of esophageal fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥35 kg/m 2 . Methods A retrospective review of 4,231 patients who underwent fundoplication for GERD from 2005 to 2009 was performed. Patients were identified via National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and grouped by BMI 2 . Univariate analysis compared 30-day outcomes. Results Of the 4,231 patients, 3,496 (83%) had BMI 2 and 735 (17%) had BMI ≥ 35 kg/m 2 . Mean BMI for each cohort was 27.9 versus 39.1, respectively. Patients with BMI ≥ 35 kg/m 2 had significantly longer operative times (129.7 vs 118 minutes, P P = .001). The overall complication rate was 1.96%. No difference was demonstrated by BMI in complication rate or hospital length of stay. Increased American Society of Anesthesiologists score, diabetes, black race, longer operative time, and intraoperative transfusion significantly increased postoperative complication rates. Conclusions No increased risk is conferred to morbidly obese patients who undergo fundoplication for GERD management. This study identified independent patient risk factors for postoperative complication following esophageal fundoplication.
iNOS expression in rat aorta is increased after spinal cord transection: A possible cause of orthostatic hypotension in man

Orthostatic hypotension commonly occurs in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), limiting rehabilitation and independence. Findings of increased production of nitric oxide (NO) by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) after exposure to simulated microgravity suggest that increased iNOS expression contributes to OH in persons with SCI. To test this possibility, male Wistar rats underwent surgical transection of the spinal cord (T10) or sham-SCI surgery followed by euthanasia 3, 7 or 14 days later. Expression in thoracic aortic of inducible (iNOS), endothelial (eNOS) and neuronal (nNOS) NOS was then determined. In SCI rats, expression of iNOS mRNA was decreased at 3 days, had returned to normal levels of expression at 7 days and was increased at 14 days post-SCI (1.8-fold). In contrast, levels of eNOS mRNA were increased at 3 days (1.4-fold), then declined over time reaching levels by day 14 that were reduced compared to sham-SCI (0.23-fold). There were no significant effects of SCI on nNOS expression. These findings suggest a possible role for increased iNOS expression in the pathogenesis of OH in persons with SCI.
An expedited technique for remaking a single complete denture for an edentulous patient

Traditional techniques for fabricating complete dentures commonly require 5 visits. Reduction of the number of visits and chair time for complete denture fabrication would be welcomed by dentists and patients. This article describes and illustrates clinical and laboratory procedures for fabricating a new denture for a patient with an existing complete denture. The procedure can be completed in 3 to 4 visits. (J Prosthet Dent 2007;98:232-234)
Effects of a selective agonist and antagonist of CRF2 receptors on cardiovascular function in the rat.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of activation or blockade of the CRF(2) receptor subtype on cardiovascular function in conscious rats following systemic i.v. administration of the CRF(2) receptor peptide agonist urocortin 2 given alone and the selective CRF(2) receptor peptide antagonist antisauvagine-30 given alone. Urocortin 2 caused a dose-dependent reduction in mean arterial blood pressure and a dose-dependent increase in heart rate. Pretreatment with antisauvagine-30 blocked the hypotensive effect of urocortin 2. Antisauvagine-30 failed to produce any statistically significant effects on mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate at doses that completely blocked the effects of urocortin 2. These data verify the cardiovascular effects of selective CRF(2) receptor activation, but find no evidence for an endogenous CRF(2)-mediated tone.
Single-alternation patterning in sated, sucrose-rewarded rats

Rats were runway trained six trials per day for 32 days with alternating values of sucrose rewards (32% and 4%), and an interval between trials of about 20 sec. The animals were trained without the motivation of hunger: they were allowed free access to food for 1.5 h prior to each training session. Patterning developed. Running times were faster, in the later stages of training, for 32% rewards than for 4% rewards. Patterning had not been observed in similar experiments with sucrose (Burns, 1976) and hunger-motivated rats.
The Stabilizing Effect of Moisture on the Solid-State Degradation of Gabapentin

Gabapentin is known to undergo intramolecular cyclization to form a lactam (gaba-l) with concomitant loss of water. Gabapentin was milled in a planetary mill for 15–60 min. Unmilled and milled gabapentin were stored at 50°C with relative humidity ranged between 5% and 90%. The unmilled and milled samples were assayed for gabapentin and gaba-l by reversed phase-high-performance liquid chromatography and also subjected to powder X-ray diffraction, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and surface area analyses. The rates of lactamization in the milled gabapentin samples correlated to increased surface area, milling duration, and in-process lactam levels. This effect of milling could not be explained solely by the increase in surface area with increased milling time but was more likely due to increased regions of crystal disorder caused by the mechanical and thermal milling stresses. The lactamization rate of milled gabapentin samples was greatest in the presence of the lowest humidity conditions and dramatically decreased with increasing humidity. In particular, milled gabapentin appeared to be much more stable at humidity levels greater than 31% RH. This finding could not be attributed to the possibility of lactam hydrolysis at high humidity but rather to a competitive annealing process wherein milling-induced crystal defects were lost upon exposure to atmospheric moisture thereby stabilizing the milling-damaged drug substance.
Fine mapping supports previous linkage evidence for a bipolar disorder susceptibility locus on 13q32.

A region between D13S71 and D13S274 on 13q32 showed linkage to bipolar disorder (BP) based on a genome scan using markers with an average spacing of approximately 6 cM and an average heterozygosity of approximately 60% [Detera-Wadleigh et al., 1999: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:5604-5609]. In an attempt to confirm this finding and achieve fine mapping of the susceptibility region, nine additional microsatellite markers with average heterozygosity of approximately 86%, located between D13S71 and D13S274, were typed in the same sample. The strongest linkage evidence was detected by multipoint linkage analysis (ASPEX program) around D13S779-D13S225 with maximum LOD score of 3.25 under Affection Status Model II (ASM II; P = 0.0000546). Data from additional nine markers resulted in a decrease of the 95% confidence interval of the linkage region. Association analyses with GASSOC TDT and ASPEX/sib_tdt detect potential linkage disequilibrium with several markers, including D13S280 (ASPEX TDT P = 0.0033, ASM I). These data generated using a higher marker density within the proposed susceptibility region strengthen the validity of our previous findings and suggest a finer localization of the susceptibility gene(s) on 13q32.
Mycobacterium Fortuitum Lipoid Pneumonia in a Dog

A 1-year old female spayed German Shepherd dog was evaluated for acute onset of dyspnea. Pyogranulomatous inflammation and green globoid structures were present on aspirates of the affected lung. Impression smears and histopathology confirmed pyogranulomatous pneumonia, with large amounts of lipid corresponding to the green structures noted cytologically, and identified poorly staining bacterial rods within lipid vacuoles. Special stains confirmed the presence of acid-fast bacterial rods, and polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing identified the organism as Mycobacterium fortuitum. M. fortuitum pneumonia is well described in humans and has previously been reported in 4 dogs and 1 cat. Lipid was a prominent cytologic and histologic feature, as is often described in humans and in the single feline case report. Additionally, this case highlights the variable cytologic appearance of lipid, as well as Mycobacterium spp, which are classically nonstaining with Wright-Giemsa.
Radiation-induced defects in chemical-mechanical polished MOS oxides

Defect centers in chemical-mechanical polished MOS oxides generated by either X-ray irradiation or high-field stress have been characterized using electron paramagnetic resonance and C-V analysis. In X-ray irradiated samples equivalent densities of both oxide trap E' and interface-trap P/sub b0/ centers were detected in unpolished and polished oxides. In addition, significantly larger (6 times) densities of P/sub b1/ centers were observed in irradiated chemical-mechanical polished oxides as opposed to unpolished oxides. This suggests that the polishing process alters the SiO/sub 2//Si interface. However, the P/sub b1/ centers detected in these samples do not respond electrically like conventional interface traps or border traps. This raises questions concerning the electrical and physical nature of P/sub b1/ centers in these oxides. The high-field stress data showed no difference in the density of defect centers induced in polished and unpolished oxides P/sub b1/ centers were not observed in either oxide following high-field stress.
Long-term results of an intraoperative adjustable superior oblique tendon suture spacer using nonabsorbable suture for Brown Syndrome.

Objective To investigate the long-term surgical outcome of Brown syndrome using an intraoperative adjustable superior oblique (SO) tendon suture spacer. Design Retrospective case series. Participants Thirteen patients with congenital unilateral Brown syndrome operated on at the Wolfe Eye Clinic from 2001 through 2007. Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients managed with the SO suture spacer followed up for at least 10 months. Main Outcome Measures Surgical intervention for patients having severe or moderate forms of Brown syndrome. Postoperative effect on abnormal head posture, vertical strabismus in primary gaze, vertical strabismus into affected side gaze, and elevation in adduction. Results The mean duration of follow-up was 30 months (range, 10–72 months). Abnormal head posture improved from 13° (range, 0°–30°) to 0.4° (range, 0°–5°). Vertical strabismus in primary gaze improved from −10Δ (range, 0Δ to −35Δ) to 2.8Δ (range, −16Δ to 16Δ). Vertical in side gaze improved from −20Δ (range, −35Δ to −8Δ) to −1.5Δ (range, −20Δ to 18Δ). Elevation in adduction improved from −3.5 (range, −4 to −2) to −0.4 (range, −2 to 4). Four patients had an overcorrection and 2 patients experienced an increasing late effect. In no patient did a late under correction develop. Conclusions The SO suture spacer procedure alleviated abnormal head positions in patients with Brown syndrome by improving vertical strabismus in primary position and in the affected field of gaze while avoiding overcorrection in contralateral gaze. The benefits of the procedure persisted over time. Financial Disclosure(s) The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Immobilization-Induced Glutamate Efflux in Medial Prefrontal Cortex: Blockade by (+)-Mk-801, a Selective NMDA Receptor Antagonist

Previous research has shown that stress increases glutamate efflux in the prefrontal cortex. The NMDA receptor has been shown to modulate glutamate efflux. The present study examines the effect of the selective NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-MK-801 (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) on stress-induced glutamate efflux in the prefrontal cortex. As expected, a 20-minute restraint stress resulted in a significant increase in glutamate efflux. Systemic administration of (+)-MK-801 prior to stress attenuated this increase. This result further confirms the role of the NMDA receptor in the modulation of glutamate efflux and suggests that the NMDA receptor may play a role in stress-induced glutamate efflux. Further experimentation is necessary to determine the exact nature and precise locus of the action of the NMDA receptor regarding this phenomenon.
Hopf bifurcations on cubic lattices

We analyze three-dimensional pattern forming Hopf bifurcations with the spatial periodicity of the face-centered (FCC) and body-centered (BCC) cubic lattices. This is an equivariant bifurcation with spatial symmetry Γ = T 3∔O⊕ℤ3. By extending the group to a larger, wreath product group we can use the method of 5 to find all solution branches guaranteed by group theory to be primary. This work is an extension of that done for the steady state FCC and BCC bifurcations in 3 4
Low-Cost ZnO-Based Ultraviolet–Infrared Dual-Band Detector Sensitized With PbS Quantum Dots

A low-cost photoconductive dual-band detector based on a ZnO film sensitized with lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS-QDs) is reported. The UV response arises from the interband absorption of UV radiation by ZnO, and the IR response is due to the absorption in the PbS-QDs. The detector exhibits UV response from 200 to 400 nm with a peak responsivity of 4.0 × 105 V/W and detectivity D* of 5.5 × 1011 Jones at 370 nm at room temperature. The observed visible-near IR response is from 500 to 1400 nm with a responsivity of 5.4 × 105 V/W and D* of 7.3 × 1011 Jones at 700 nm operating at room temperature. By increasing the PbS-QD size, the IR response can extend up to 2.9 μm.
Feeling Like You Know Who You Are: Perceived True Self-Knowledge and Meaning in Life

The essence of who a person really is has been labeled the "true self," and an emerging area of research suggests that this self-concept plays an important role in the creation of a fulfilling existence. Three studies investigate the role of the subjective feeling that one possesses knowledge of one's true self in meaning in life judgments. Consistently, the perception of availability of true self-knowledge (operationalized as the metacognitive experience of ease in describing one's true self) predicted meaning in life judgments over and above other potentially related constructs such as mood and self-esteem. Conversely, the subjective availability of knowledge of how one actually behaves (i.e., one's actual self) was unrelated to meaning in life judgments. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
A comparison of risk factors in juvenile-onset and adult-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

The clinical triad of a firstborn delivered vaginally to a young (teenage) mother has been previously noted among juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JO-RRP) patients. This study was based on a questionnaire survey of JO-RRP patients, adult onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (AO-RRP) patients, and juvenile and adult controls. The survey results revealed that the complete or partial triad was observed in 72% of JO-RRP patients, 36% of AO-RRP patients, 29% of juvenile controls, and 38% of adult controls. As compared with juvenile controls, JO-RRP patients were more often firstborn (P less than .05), delivered vaginally (P less than .05), and born to a teenage mother (P less than .01). Among adult participants, AO-RRP patients reported more lifetime sex partners (P less than .01) and a higher frequency of oral sex (P less than .05) than reported by adult controls. AO-RRP and JO-RRP appear to have distinguishable epidemiologic features indicating that the mode of human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission is different in these two disorders.
IgE memory: persistence of antigen-specific IgE responses years after treatment of human filarial infections.

Background The human immune response to helminth infections is characterized by elevated serum levels of antigen-specific IgE. Although it is well established that IgG humoral immunity can persist for years, as yet there have been no longitudinal studies of antigen-specific IgE responses to helminth infection in the absence of re-exposure to pathogen. Objective We sought to determine the presence of filaria-specific IgE responses years after treatment of human filarial infections in patients no longer living in a region endemic for filariasis. Methods Filaria-specific IgE levels were measured in 34 filaria-infected patients before and 11 to 178 (median = 33) months after anthelmintic therapy. Frequencies of filaria-specific IgE-producing cells and measures of filaria-specific IgE-mediated histamine and IL-4 release from basophils were measured in subsets of these patients. Results At follow-up, all patients were asymptomatic without evidence of active infection, and none had traveled to filaria-endemic regions since initial evaluation. Although frequencies of Brugia malayi antigen (BmAg)-specific IgE-producing cells and serum levels of BmAg-specific IgE decreased significantly over time, both remained detectable in the majority of patients years after initial treatment. Six of 10 patients' basophils released histamine in response to BmAg after treatment (vs 7 of 10 before treatment). Basophils also continued to release IL-4 after stimulation with BmAg years after treatment. Conclusion These results demonstrate that filaria-specific IgE production and filaria-specific IgE-mediated basophil release of histamine and IL-4 persist for years after treatment of human filarial infections. Clinical implications These findings suggest that (1) absolute allergen avoidance may not result in the loss of allergy, and (2) parasite-specific IgE-inducing vaccines, if effective, could potentially induce longstanding protection.
Inferring thermodynamic stability relationship of polymorphs from melting data

This study investigates the possibility of inferring the thermodynamic stability relationship of polymorphs from their melting data. Thermodynamic formulas are derived for calculating the Gibbs free energy difference (ΔG) between two polymorphs and its temperature slope from mainly the temperatures and heats of melting. This information is then used to estimate ΔG, thus relative stability, at other temperatures by extrapolation. Both linear and nonlinear extrapolations are considered. Extrapolating ΔG to zero gives an estimation of the transition (or virtual transition) temperature, from which the presence of monotropy or enantiotropy is inferred. This procedure is analogous to the use of solubility data measured near the ambient temperature to estimate a transition point at higher temperature. For several systems examined, the two methods are in good agreement. The qualitative rule introduced this way for inferring the presence of monotropy or enantiotropy is approximately the same as The Heat of Fusion Rule introduced previously on a statistical mechanical basis. This method is applied to 96 pairs of polymorphs from the literature. In most cases, the result agrees with the previous determination. The deviation of the calculated transition temperatures from their previous values (n = 18) is 2% on average and 7% at maximum.