cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Synthetic Dual Drug Sideromycin Induces Gram-Negative Bacteria To Commit Suicide with a Gram-Positive Antibiotic

Many antibiotics lack activity against Gram-negative bacteria because they cannot permeate the outer membrane or suffer from efflux and, in the case of β-lactams, are degraded by β-lactamases. Herein, we describe the synthesis and studies of a dual drug conjugate (1) of a siderophore linked to a cephalosporin with an attached oxazolidinone. The cephalosporin component of 1 is rapidly hydrolyzed by purified ADC-1 β-lactamase to release the oxazolidinone. Conjugate 1 is active against clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii as well as strains producing large amounts of ADC-1 β-lactamase. Overall, the results are consistent with siderophore-mediated active uptake, inherent activity of the delivered dual drug, and in the presence of β-lactamases, intracellular release of the oxazolidinone upon cleavage of the cephalosporin to allow the freed oxazolidinone to inactivate its target. The ultimate result demonstrates that Gram-positive oxazolidinone antibiotics can be made to be effective against Gram-negati...
Effects of Tubificid Oligochaetes on Physical and Chemical Properties of Lake Erie Sediments

Laboratory experiments and field observations show that tubificid oligochaetes have important effects on sediment properties. Tubificids pelletize the surface sediment of the western and central basins of Lake Erie and increase the median sediment grain size and settling velocity by two orders of magnitude. The thickness of the pelletized layer in the lake is about 1 – 2 cm. The critical entrainment stress of pelletized sediment in box cores from Lake Erie is about twice that of unpelletized sediment. The difference in entrainment rate of sediment may be even greater. In sandy sediments from the Vermilion River, tubificids have the opposite effect: ultimate grain size in the upper 1 cm of sediment is decreased, water content is increased, and surface sediments are more easily eroded than non-pelletized sediments because the tubificids feed selectively on clay and silt size sediments.
In vitro culture of rabbit esophageal epithelial cells.

Abstract An in vitro model using esophageal epithelial explant cultures has been developed. Esophageal mucosa from New Zealand white rabbits was cut into 1.5-mm 2 sections and fixed to a plastic petri dish using chick plasma. Appropriate outgrowth medium was added, and the expiants were incubated in a humidified CO 2 incubator at 37 °C. Cell outgrowth was measured directly, and lipid content was determined qualitatively. Esophageal epithelial cells grow as confluent sheets of multilayered cuboidal cells. Three growth phases were identified. Increased oxygen tensions inhibited growth. Optimum growth occurred at pH 7.4. Growth was significantly inhibited at pH 6.4, and no growth occurred at pH 5.8. Cells may be released by trypsin and five subcultures obtained. These results demonstrate that monolayer cultures of normal esophageal epithelium may be routinely established and maintained in cell culture for extended periods from small samples of tissue and that factors affecting growth may be quantitatively determined.
Coronary Artery Disease and Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common valve disease affecting mainly the elderly population. Risk factors for AS have been shown to be similar to those for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). Over the last decades, the standard treatment option for patients with AS and CAD has been surgical aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting. However, the arrival of transcatheter aortic valve replacement has created a paradigm shift in the management of patients with AS. In the setting of this less invasive approach, the management of coexistent significant CAD remains unclear. This book chapter summarizes the actual knowledge on the topic of AS and concomitant CAD, but also identifies some unanswered questions.
Three exceptions for thermal dark matter with enhanced annihilation to γ γ

Recently, there have been hints for dark matter (DM) annihilation in the Galactic center to one or more photon lines. In order to achieve the observed photon line flux, DM must have a relatively large effective coupling to photons, typically generated radiatively from large couplings to charged particles. When kinematically accessible, direct annihilation of DM to these charged particles is far too large to accommodate both the DM relic density and constraints from the observed flux of continuum photons from the Galactic center, halo and dwarf galaxies. We discuss three exceptions to these obstacles, generating the observed line signal while providing the correct relic density and evading photon continuum constraints. The exceptions are (i) coannihilation, where the DM density is set by interactions with a heavier state that is not populated today, (ii) forbidden channels, where DM annihilates to heavier states that are kinematically blocked today, but open in the early Universe, and (iii) asymmetric DM, where the relic density is set by a primordial asymmetry. We build simple models to realize these scenarios.
Microbial communities of salmon resource subsidies and associated necrophagous consumers during decomposition: Potential of cross-ecosystem microbial dispersal

Abstract Ephemeral resource subsidies affect ecosystems at both short- and long-term temporal scales. One such resource is carrion, which varies in size and nutrient composition. Salmon of the Pacific Northwest have an anadromous life cycle resulting in immatures feeding and developing in vast oceanic expanses and adults returning to freshwater streams for spawning and eventual death, leaving large numbers of carcasses to decompose. Nutrients from these carcasses act as subsidies for both aquatic and terrestrial communities. However, what is less understood is the fate of microbial communities of the salmon upon death and then decomposition in watershed ecosystems. We evaluated the microbiomes of salmon carcasses and how they changed in conjunction with associated necrophagous larval blow fly consumers (Diptera: Calliphoridae). We determined microbes were shared among the carcass resource, internal communities of blow fly larvae, and excretions and secretions from blow fly larval aggregates. Larval feeding also represented a possible filtering effect on some microbial taxa from the collective community due to the observed decrease in microbial richness and diversity during larval growth and development. These results suggest some carcass resource microbes are not detected in the primary insect consumers during feeding, assimilation, and egestion. Ultimately, taxa remaining with larvae can potentially be dispersed into an ecosystem by adult flies. Our findings support a more general hypothesis of the potential of microbial transfer among ecosystems via salmon necrobiome food webs. Additional controlled field studies are needed to test and identify the ubiquity and mechanism of these potential bottom-up trophic dynamics.
A BRACKET POLYNOMIAL FOR GRAPHS, I

A knot diagram has an associated looped interlacement graph, obtained from the intersection graph of the Gauss diagram by attaching loops to the vertices that correspond to negative crossings. This construction suggests an extension of the Kauffman bracket to an invariant of looped graphs, and an extension of Reidemeister equivalence to an equivalence relation on looped graphs. The graph bracket polynomial can be defined recursively using the same pivot and local complementation operations used to define the interlace polynomial, and it gives rise to a graph Jones polynomial VG(t) that is invariant under the graph Reidemeister moves.
1-Trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) Urea, a Selective and Potent Dual Inhibitor of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase and p38 Kinase Intervenes in Alzheimer's Signaling in Human Nerve Cells.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. Neuroinflammation is a prevalent pathogenic stress leading to neuronal death in AD. Targeting neuroinflammation to keep neuro...
Associations of a metabolic syndrome severity score with coronary heart disease and diabetes in fasting vs. non-fasting individuals.

Abstract Background and Aims Many traditional assessments of risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes require laboratory studies performed after an 8-hour fast. We assessed whether metabolic-syndrome (MetS) severity would remain linked to future CHD and diabetes even when assessed from non-fasting samples. Methods and Results Participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study were assessed at 4 visits and followed for 20-years of adjudicated CHD outcomes. We used Cox proportional-hazard models (for 20-year CHD outcomes) and logistic regression (for 9-year diabetes outcomes) to compare incident disease risk associated with a race/ethnicity-specific MetS-severity Z-score (MetS-Z) calculated in participants who were fasting ( > 8 hours) or non-fasting. All analyses were adjusted for sex, race, education, income and smoking. MetS Z-scores were overall similar between participants who were always fasting vs. those non-fasting at Visits 1-3 (all values -0.1 – 0.4), while MetS-Z for participants who were non-fasting at Visit-4 were higher at each visit. Baseline MetS-Z was linked to future CHD when calculated from both fasting and non-fasting measurements, with hazard ratio (HR) for fasting MetS-Z 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.42,1.66) and for non-fasting 1.28 (CI 1.08,1.51). MetS-Z at Visit-1 also remained linked to future diabetes when measured from non-fasting samples, with odds ratio for fasting MetS-Z 3.10 (CI 2.88,3.35) and for non-fasting 1.92 (CI 1.05,3.51). Conclusions MetS-Z remained linked to future CHD and diabetes when assessed from non-fasting samples. A score such as this may allow for identification of at-risk individuals and serve as a motivation toward interventions to reduce risk.
Ergodicity/non-ergodicity or else?

Throughout most of his writings Paul Davidson has argued that Keynes broke away from the classical mainstream understanding of his time by rejecting three crucial classical axioms, one of which was ergodicity and acknowledge non-ergodicity. As such, to Davidson, as to a Post Keynesian, one must accept non-determinism if one correctly wants to understand the fundamental impact that ontological uncertainty has on households and firms when they plan, decide and act today with respect to the future. However, recently a substantial critique has been given by Rod Oâ€™Donnell and others. In the present paper, some important elements of this critique are discussed.
Transfer of an erbium ion across the water/dodecane interface: Structure and thermodynamics via molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract The thermodynamics and structural changes involved in the transfer of the Er3+ ion across the water/dodecane interface are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the Er3+ ion is transferred as a highly conserved 8-water coordinated species and that the transfer involves significant perturbation of the interfacial water structure. Several structural properties are used to quantify this process. Implications for the ion extraction process are discussed.
Prediction of Buckling Loads Based on Experimentally Measured Initial Imperfections

Correlation studies between experimental buckling loads and analytical predictions based on experimentally measured initial imperfections were carried out for axially compressed isotropic and stiffened cylindrical shells. By expanding the response of a cylindrical shell in truncated Fourier series, the nonlinear Donnell type shell equations for imperfect stiffened shells were reduced to a set of linear equations in the correction terms by Newton’s method of quasilinearization. Solutions were obtained for isotropic and for ring and stringer stiffened shells. The amplitudes of the initial imperfections used in the analysis were calculated from the corresponding Imbert-Donnell imperfection models. The free parameters in this imperfection model were obtained by least square fitting the harmonics of the experimentally measured initial imperfections. It was possible in all cases to achieve satisfactory correlation using only a few suitably chosen deflection and imperfection modes.
We are No Longer Invisible

Sickle cell discourses are not merely descriptions of medical matters but contentious sites that invoke rhetorical arguments to support racialized medical borders, human difference, and ontological essentialism. In this essay, I examine in this essay is the way that those stricken by Sickle Cell Anemia appropriate the disease to advocate for their voice and visibility. I disclose how the construction of SCA as a black disease becomes a contested terrain which is often a “cultural centering on identity and dignity.” At odds is how the body is inscribed with a set of meanings in its association with blackness, the woeful ignorance that’s pervasive in the medical community of those who treat sickle cell patients and the indomitable will of the warrior to survive regardless. I consider the “warring ideals in one dark body,” urgings to be seen and heard. These manifest as performances of resistance, acts of resilience, and ways of asserting agency to maintain a semblance of humanity in the midst of situations that are anything but.
"I hope to share my struggles, my successes, and everything in between": a rhetorical study of health blogs

Many patients who are experiencing a serious illness need a way to express their emotions and continue their everyday lives. For some patients, one outlet is through a health blog. Health blogs allow these individuals to share their emotions about their illness through narrative and with a wide audience over the Internet. The visual and textual elements of health blogs work together to create an identity that is unique to each blogger. As these visual and textual elements combine, one can see the narratives emerge. Through these narratives, the bloggers persuade both themselves and others that they can (to some degree) control what is happening to them. An analysis of these health blog narratives will show how their messages are persuasive. From this analysis, we can argue that using these health blogs for health information is not a viable application. Instead, the audience should understand health blogs as representing specific individuals and their experiences with illness as they try to continue their everyday lives.
WaterML R package for managing ecological experiment data on a CUAHSI HydroServer

We present the design and development of a new WaterML R package that provides access to the Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI) Hydrologic Information System (HIS) HydroServer as a means for storing and managing data. The new WaterML R package is presented in terms of its functional requirements and design, with the express goal of providing support for four core web methods defined by the HydroServer WaterOneFlow web services specification. The system is tested in the context of data collected as part of a large ecological manipulation experiment. The resulting system allows research scientists to use a familiar statistical computation environment, R, together with the open source HydroServer software (for data archival and sharing). We also developed a new HydroServer data upload web service to facilitate data upload to a PHP version of HydroServer called HydroServer Lite directly from the WaterML R package presented here. Using the WaterML R package, the user can retrieve and analyze data from HydroServers of multiple organizations that are listed in the CUAHSI Water Data Center catalog and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems data catalog of the World Meteorological Organization. The new HydroServer Lite data upload API simplifies the upload of data to HydroServer Lite directly from the R environment.
Using Experimental Data to Model Bargaining Behavior in Ultimatum Games

In ultimatum games two players bargain anonymously to divide a fixed amount between them, using a computer or human intermediary for communication. One player (proposer) proposes a division of the “pie” and the other player (responder) decides whether to accept the proposal. If accepted, the proposal is implemented so both players receive their agreed upon shares; if rejected, players receive nothing.
Systematic Review of Studies on Visual Phonics

Visual Phonics is a multisensory teaching tool that has the potential to improve reading outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine studies on Visual Phonics to provide a compreh...
Neural Transplantation in Mammalian Brain: Some Conceptual and Technical Considerations

Neural transplantation, in recent years, has attracted the attention of many individuals in the field of neuroscience. Contrary to the notion held by many investigators, who have Just entered into this field of research, transplantation of neural tissues has a long and multifaceted history. The early investigators, with their relatively unsophisticated histological methods and instruments of observation, were able to distinguish various histological characteristics of viability, differentiation, necrosis, and degeneration of the neural transplants. Their critical, insightful, and well-documented observations, strewn unobtrusively in the literature, provide an important basis for various conceptualizations. These along with the findings made by some investigators recently, and various considerations on technical aspects of neural transplantation are presented in this chapter.
Endoscopy and Endoscopic Ultrasound Examination of the Stomach

As the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide, and the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths, gastric cancer represents a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality. Gastrointestinal endoscopy plays an integral role in the screening, surveillance, diagnosis, and staging of gastric cancer. This chapter reviews the most recent evidence-based clinical and endoscopic practice for adenocarcinoma of the stomach.
Adaptive properties of the myotatic feedback.

Publisher Summary Relationships between the overall input from muscle receptors, expressed in terms of angular position and its low order derivatives, and motor output changes during externally applied perturbations were quantitated using linear systems analysis techniques. These relationships are denoted by the term “myotatic feedback” and were defined at specified operating points of the system. This chapter reviews the premises upon which the approach is predicated and defining the terminology introduced. The operating points were characterized, for example, by the instruction given the subject and the mean level of force produced by the perturbation. It was found that the myotatic feedback could be adequately characterized by a simple linear relation between angular position and its derivatives, the importance of the parameters depending on the operating point. These findings are discussed in relation to other motor.
Localized argyria after a surgical endodontic procedure. Report of a case.

Abstract Presented are a case report and discussion of a pigmented lesion of the gingiva, localized argyria, which can arise after endodontic treatment combined with apical surgery. Included are a pathologist's report and comments and a suggestion for prevention of this unesthetic lesion.
A Saga of Wormholes and Anatase

Maps, Myths, and Men The Story of the Vinland Map . By Kirsten A. Seaver . Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA, 2004. 504 pp. $65, £44.50. ISBN 0-8047-4962-0. Paper, $24.95, £17.50. ISBN: 0-8047-4963-9. Besides reviewing the controversies surrounding the map and arguing that it is a modern fake, the author discusses our current understanding of medieval Norse culture and voyages to North America.
Time Resolution of the Reactions Preceding Penetration of the Zona Pellucida

3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) is a potent inhibitor of fertilization of mouse eggs in vitro: it acts by blocking penetration of the zonae by sperm. The time course of this inhibition was examined by addition of 50 μM QNB to the in vitro system for fertilization of cumulusfree mouse eggs at increasing times post-insemination. QNB, added prior to and at intervals up to 20 minutes post-insemination, inhibited fertilization by more than 90%. When added at longer times, QNB inhibition decreased; at 60 minutes post-insemination, added QNB had no effect on fertilization. The time course of onset of insensitivity to QNB inhibition was compared to the time courses of other reactions identified as precursors to fertilization in the mouse system. The most rapid reaction is Ca2+-mediated binding of sperm to zonae, which is reversible by EGTA; it has no time lag and is complete by 15 minutes post-insemination. The second reaction is onset of insensitivity of this binding to reversal by EGTA; it has a lag time of 5 minutes post-insemination and all bound sperm become insensitive 20 minutes post-insemination. The acrosome reaction occurring in sperm bound to zonae has a lag time of 25 minutes, and is not completed in all bound sperm until 240 minutes post-insemination. The time course of loss of QNB inhibition lies between the second reaction and the acrosome reaction. These studies allow the time resolution of four sequential reactions, which lead to fertilization of mouse eggs in vitro and occur prior to penetration of the zona pellucida. These are: EGTA-reversible, Ca2+-mediated binding of sperm to zona; onset of insensitivity to EGTA reversal of binding; onset of insensitivity to QNB inhibition of zona penetration; and onset of the acrosome reaction in sperm bound to zonae.
Conceptual and empirical confounds in the organizational sciences: An explication and discussion

Summary Confounding occurs when the definitions and measurements of constructs overlap. It is considered a fundamental flaw in both conceptualizing and testing relationships between variables. Although this logical and methodological error is well known, we argue that a significant amount of the published research and models of organizational behavior is undermined by definitional (i.e., conceptual) and subsequent measurement confounds. Throughout this article, examples of confounding are described. The article ends with a discussion of preventive measures that can be taken to reduce both the conceptual and measurement errors that result from confounding. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
From the Sun to Pluto

A core piece of technology which is common amongst three missions described is the avionics system being developed under NASA's Advanced Deep Space Systems Development Program (ADSSDP). One of the first deliveries from ADSSDP is the X2000 avionics architecture which includes the main engineering computing system, the attitude control sensors, the power electronics and the core software used to operate the spacecraft in ground test and in flight. The avionics hardware technology utilizes integration of functions among a set of multichip modules with standard interfaces to achieve lower production costs, power and mass. Additionally, the packaging density improvements allow the reduction of the shielding mass required for the survival of the Europa Orbiter electronics within the intense Jupiter radiation belts.
Determination of electric breakdown strength for various materials in pure water

The authors present results of experiments designed to maximize the electric breakdown strength of pure water subject to high-voltage pulses and effective stress times in excess of 50 ms. Several hypotheses for improving voltage holdoff are presented and evaluated: charge injection from the electrodes, potential-of-zero-charge (PZC) and other electromechanical effects in the interfacial double-layer, the effect of oxide coating, micron-sized particles in the water, and organic contamination. A description of the apparatus and test procedures is included. >
Immune recognition of cyclin B1 as a tumor antigen is a result of its overexpression in human tumors that is caused by non-functional p53

Cyclin B1, which plays a key role in the control of cell cycle progression from G2 through M phase, was recently identified by us as a tumor antigen recognized by human T-cells. To understand what makes this normal molecule antigenic, we compared its expression in malignant versus normal cells. Immunohistology showed overexpression of cyclin B1 protein in tumors compared to surrounding normal tissue and localization in the cytoplasm rather than the nucleus. Cyclin B1 is overexpressed at protein and mRNA level in many tumor cell lines including breast, lung, colorectal carcinoma, lymphoma and leukemia. While overexpressed in tumor cells at all stages of the cell cycle, its expression still peaks at G2/M phase, as it does in normal cells. We compared cyclin B1 expression in two cell clones derived from the same colorectal tumor cell line, one wild type for p53 (HCT116p53+/+) and one with deleted p53 (HCT116p53−/−). HCT116p53+/+ cells had undetectable (normal) level of cyclin B1 protein, while HCT116p53−/− cells showed overexpression. When reconstituted with p53, HCT116p53−/− cells reverted to normal cyclin B1 expression. We conclude that p53 plays an important role in cyclin B1 regulation and that tumors with mutated p53 will be good candidates for cyclin B1 based immunotherapy.
Shil’nikov chaos in the 4D Lorenz–Stenflo system modeling the time evolution of nonlinear acoustic-gravity waves in a rotating atmosphere

The Lorenz–Stenflo system serves as a model of the time evolution of nonlinear acoustic-gravity waves in a rotating atmosphere. In the present paper, we study the Shil’nikov chaos which arises in the 4D Lorenz–Stenflo system. The analytical and numerical results constitute an application of the Shil’nikov theorems to a 4D system (whereas most results present in the literature deal with applying the Shil’nikov theorems to 3D systems), which allows for the study of chaos along homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits arising as solutions to the Lorenz–Stenflo system. We verify the observed chaos via competitive modes analysis—a diagnostic for chaotic systems. We give an analytical test, completely in terms of the model parameters, for the Smale horseshoe chaos near homoclinic orbits of the origin, as well as for the case of specific heteroclinic orbits. Numerical results are shown for other cases in which the general analytical method becomes too complicated to apply. These results can be extended to more complicated higher-dimensional systems governing plasmas, and, in particular, may be used to shed light on period-doubling and Smale horseshoe chaos that arises in such models.
CURRENT INDICATIONS FOR OPEN STONE SURGERY IN THE TREATMENT OF RENAL AND URETERAL CALCULI

AbstractPurpose: The development and advances in extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and endourological procedures have greatly diminished the need for open surgery in the treatment of renal and ureteral stones. We reviewed our experience with open stone surgery to determine the current indications and efficacy of this treatment modality.Materials and Methods: Hospital and office charts, operative notes and records, and pertinent radiographic studies of all patients undergoing open stone surgery from January 1991 through December 1995 at 3 university affiliated hospitals were reviewed. Patient characteristics, stone burden, indications, surgical factors and outcomes were reviewed for each patient.Results: Of 780 procedures performed for stone removal, 42 were open surgical procedures (5.4%) including pyelolithotomy in 15 (extended pyelolithotomy or pyelonephrolithotomy in 7), anatrophic nephrolithotomy in 14, ureterolithotomy in 7 and radial nephrolithotomy in 6. There were 24 men and 18 women ranging i...
Synthesis, characterization and modification of DDR membranes grown on α-alumina supports

Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates with uniformly sized pores of molecular dimensions [1–3]. In recent years, considerable effort has been directed into synthesis of zeolite membranes, such as silicalite-1 [4–7] and ZSM-5 [8–11], for energy-efficient, simple, and compact gas separation processes where integration of separation with chemical reaction could improve reaction conversion or selectivity [12]. Hydrogen separation by zeolite membranes from products of coal gasification, steam reforming of natural gas, and water-gas-shift reaction, to yield high purity hydrogen fuel has attracted much recent attention due to current energy crisis [13, 14]. Moreover, zeolite membranes displaying high H2 permselectivity will concentrate CO2 from the above dilute streams, which is required for many CO2 sequestration schemes proposed to curb the global warming effect of this greenhouse gas [15, 16]. However, no satisfactory hydrogen permselectivities have been obtained to date, especially at elevated temperatures because the kinetic diameters of H2, CO, and CO2 are smaller than the zeolitic pore diameter of the silicalite-1 and ZSM-5 [17]. High separation selectivity for zeolite membranes may be achieved through differences in adsorption or steric resistances between hydrogen and other gas molecules permeating through zeolitic pores [18]. Deca-dodecasil 3R (DDR) is a particularly promising membrane material for hydrogen separation from larger gas molecules due to its 8-membered ring pore aperture of 0.36 9 0.44 nm [18–25]. First examples of DDR membranes have been recently reported. Yajima et al. [26] reported the selectivity of H2O/ethanol over 1,100 at 75 C with a total flux of 0.85 kg mh explained by the molecular sieving effect and hydrophobic nature of the DDR phase. Corcoran et al. [27], van den Bergh et al. [28], and Tomita et al. [29] reported very high CO2/CH4 selectivity ([100) for DDR membranes. However, to the best of our knowledge, hydrogen separation at elevated temperatures by DDR membranes has not been investigated. We report here the hydrogen separation properties of DDR membranes obtained by in-situ crystallization, seeded secondary growth and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) employed to repair DDR membrane defects.
MicroRNAs: a new therapeutic frontier for muscle wasting in chronic kidney disease

Multiple microRNAs (miRs) are implicated in muscle cell differentiation and muscle mass regulation. Pharmacological agents targeting miR-486 and other miRs, involved in muscle mass regulation, could potentially be developed into therapeutic agents for muscle wasting. Muscle wasting is prevalent among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Xu et al. showed that miR-486 mimetic ameliorated muscle wasting in mice with CKD. miR mimetics may represent a new therapeutic frontier for muscle wasting in CKD.
Thermochemical studies of the reactions between silicon nitride and carbon

Abstract The reactions between silicon nitride and carbon were studied using thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. A two-stage mass loss process was observed during the interaction. The first beginning at around 1130°C is related to the reaction between carbon and the surface silica of the silicon nitride powder; the second starting at about 1280° corresponds to the silicon nitride and carbon interaction. The majority of the silicon carbide was formed during the second stage without the assistance of the silica on the silicon nitride powder surfaces — a reaction mechanism for the Si 3 N 4 -C system which is different from that suggested by other researchers.
Solution of elliptic partial differential equations by an optimization-based domain decomposition method

An optimization-based, non-overlapping domain decomposition method for the solution of elliptic partial differential equations is presented. The crux of the method is a constrained minimization problem for which the objective functional measures the jump in the dependent variables across the common boundaries between subdomains; the constraints are the partial differential equations. The method is reformulated as a linear least-squares problem. The latter is examined and a conjugate gradient method for its solution is presented and analyzed. The results of some numerical experiments are also given.
The relationship of perceived physician communicator style to patient satisfaction

Using Norton's (1978, 1983) communicator style construct, this study examined how patients’ perceptions of their physician's communicator style was related to patient satisfaction. Eight communicator styles and six dimensions of patient satisfaction were identified. The results revealed that most of the significant relationships were nonlinear and that different styles were related to different types of satisfaction. Theoretic and pragmatic implications, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed.
Polymeric Carbon Nanocomposites from Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Matrix Polymer

Single-walled and multiple-walled carbon nanotubes were functionalized with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in esterification reactions. Similar to the parent PVA, the functionalized carbon nanotube samples are soluble in highly polar solvents such as DMSO and water. The common solubilities have allowed the intimate mixing of the functionalized nanotubes with the matrix polymer for the wet-casting of nanocomposite thin films. The PVA−carbon nanotube composite films are of high optical quality, without any observable phase separation, and the carbon nanotubes in the films are as well-dispersed as in solution. The functionalization of carbon nanotubes by the matrix polymer is apparently an effective way in the homogeneous nanotube dispersion for high-quality polymeric carbon nanocomposite materials. Results from characterizations of the solubilized carbon nanotubes and the nanocomposite thin films are presented and discussed.
A consistent bootstrap procedure for nonparametric symmetry tests

This paper proposes a bootstrap algorithm for testing symmetry of a univariate density. Validity of the bootstrap procedure is shown theoretically as well as via simulations. Three empirical examples demonstrate the versatility of the test in practice.
Single-phase aluminum nitride films by dc-magnetron sputtering

Single-phase aluminum nitride films were deposited onto fused quartz and single-crystal sapphire by current-controlled, reactive, dc magnetron sputtering from an aluminum metal target. Optical and structural properties were observed to correlate systematically with the composition of the sputter gas over a wide range of nitrogen partial pressures. A transition in the electrical conductivity of the deposited films occurred as a function of N2 partial pressure. This transition is driven by the condition of the target surface. When the N2 partial pressure was high and the target surface was substantially covered with A1Nx, the deposited film was insulating, stoichiometric A1N. When the N2 partial pressure was low and the target surface was substantially Alo, the deposited film was conducting, substoichiometric A1Nx.
CONCERNING THE NOTION OF "TIME INTERVAL" IN S-MATRIX THEORY

The notion of time duration is considered within the framework of S-matrix theory. It is shown that Wigner's definition of the time delay, -ih[(dlnS/dE)], for a scattering process permits one to define time duration in a "coarse-grained" sense.
A LIFE ASSESSMENT FOR STEAM TURBINE CASING USING INELASTIC ANALYSIS

An important characteristic of a fossil power plant is its ability to maintain reliability and safety of the plant against frequent start-ups and load changes. Unstable states arising during start-ups, shutdowns and load changes give rise to unsteady temperature distribution with time in steam turbine innercasing (HP/IP), which results in non-uniform strain and stress distribution. The rapid increase of temperature during starts-ups, especially, causes susceptible to failure and reduction of expected life for steam turbine components. Thus accurate knowledge of thermal stresses is required for the integrity and lifetime assessment for the turbine components. In this paper, the fatigue damage is calculated of steam turbine inner casing was calculated by combining the stress analysis based procedure and Neuber's rule. By substituting the material cyclic stress-strain relationship into the Neuber equation, the inelastic total strain range was obtained. Using this study, life consumption of steam turbine inner-casing can be obtained and a guideline for effective maintenance was proposed.
Semisynthetic combinatorial antibody libraries: a chemical solution to the diversity problem

Abstract The properties of naivete and large diversity are considered to be essential starting features for combinatorial antibody libraries that eschew immunization by evolution in vitro. We have prepared large libraries with such properties by using random oligonucleotide synthesis, which has the potential to create approximately 10(20) complementarity-determining regions for antibody heavy chains. When combined with light chains and expressed on phage surfaces, high-affinity antibodies could be selected from 5.0 x 10(7) Escherichia coli transformants. Remarkably, antibodies selected only for binding displayed both general structural features known to be important in nature's own antibodies and specific consensus sequences thought to be critical for interaction with the hapten against which the library was selected. Semisynthetic and ultimately totally synthetic combinatorial libraries when coupled with mutation and selection procedures should replace immunization for generation of reagent, therapeutic, and catalytic antibodies.
Incorporation of teratocarcinoma stem cells into blastocysts by aggregation with cleavage-stage embryos.

Abstract Embryonal carcinoma cells from the in vitro teratocarcinoma cell line PSA-1 were combined with normal, eight-cell stage, embryonic cells of the strain SWR J . The aggregates compacted and formed apparently normal blastocysts within 48 hr. Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) assays of the blastocysts revealed the presence of both PSA-1 and SWR J GPI isozymes. Inner cell masses isolated from the blastocysts by immunosurgery expressed predominantly the PSA-1 GPI type.
Tricuspid valve closure in pulmonary atresia and important RV-to-coronary artery connections

Mortality is high for children with pulmonary atresia, intact ventricular septum, and important connections between the right ventricle and the coronary arteries because of myocardial ischemia: in systole, suprasystemic right ventricular pressure delivers deoxygenated blood to the coronary artery (or arteries) and in diastole, the right ventricle provides a lower resistance alternative to coronary perfusion of the myocardium. Tricuspid valve closure was performed in 10 such children. None had stenosis of native coronary arteries. A trial of tricuspid valve closure (by balloon) was performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory in 5 of 10 patients. Seven of 10 children survived surgical closure of the tricuspid valve plus concurrent procedures; none had heart block. Two of the 3 nonsurvivors were probably in inoperable condition due to preoperative myocardial ischemia. Before operation, 4 patients had ischemic changes on electrocardiograms; these changes were abolished after operation. Three of 10 patients have had a Fontan operation with 2 survivors. We conclude that children with pulmonary atresia, intact ventricular septum, important connections between the right ventricle and the coronary arteries, and normal native coronary arteries should have surgical closure of the tricuspid valve within the first year of life and treated thereafter as patients with "tricuspid atresia."
Unusual polypeptide synthesis in the kinetoplast-mitochondria from Leishmania tarentolae. Identification of individual de novo translation products.

The de novo synthesis of cytochromec oxidase subunits I, II (COI and COII), and apocytochromeb (Cyb) was investigated in kinetoplast-mitochondria ofLeishmania. The organelles were isolated after breaking whole cells with nitrogen cavitation. Individual COI, COII, and Cyb polypeptides were identified by fractionation of the kinetoplast membranes, labeled with [35S]methionine and cysteine, using two-dimensional (9 versus 14% and 20versus 11%) denaturing gel electrophoresis. The reaction did not require exogenous energy sources or amino acids. On the contrary, the presence of amino acids other than methionine somewhat inhibited the labeling reaction probably by competing with the uptake of labeled amino acids. The synthesis reaction was insensitive to 100 μg/ml chloramphenicol, gentamycin, paromomycin, lincomycin, hygromycin, and tetracycline, as well as cycloheximide. The process showed a linear increase in the amount of synthesized polypeptides during the first 2 h of incubation, followed by a slower accumulation of products for up to 4 h. The de novosynthesized polypeptides were stable for several additional hours. Their assembly into respiratory complexes, investigated using two-dimensional Blue Native/N-[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]glycine-SDS gels, began early during the incubation and continued throughout the course of the synthesis. This work represents the first unequivocal identification of the polypeptide synthesis in kinetoplasts.
Mechanism of attraction between like-charged particles in aqueous solution

Although it has been long known that like-charged particles attract one another in aqueous media, the mechanism underlying this counter-intuitive phenomenon has remained controversial. We tested the hypothesis put forth long ago by Langmuir and again by Feynman and by Ise, that the attraction between like-charged entities lies in an intermediate of unlike charges. Tests were facilitated by the observation that the attractive forces could be confirmed between widely separated particles of macroscopic size. Two approaches showed comparable results. In the first, pH-sensitive dyes showed intermediate zones of opposite charge: an accumulation of protons was found between negatively charged spheres, whereas between positively charged spheres the intermediate zone contained OH−groups. In the second and complementary approach, microelectrode measurements showed that in between negatively charged spheres, the electrical potential was relatively positive, whereas between positively charged spheres it was relatively negative. Hence, both approaches confirm theoretical expectations. The large number of unlike charges lying in between the like-charged spheres may come from the build-up of the recently reported “exclusion zone” surrounding each particle.
Evaluation of patients with severe pulmonary disease before and after pulmonary rehabilitation.

Purpose: The purpose was to evaluate the impact of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program upon changes in anxiety, depression, psychological outlook, and dyspnea. A secondary purpose was to pre...
Quantitative Ruthenium Method for Analysis of Nitrogen Ion-Implanted Titanium Alloy (Ti-6AI-4V) and the Effect on Bacterial Adherence

The effects of nitrogen ion implementation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy on growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria on surfaces of the alloy have been investigated. Results for ion implanted samples were compared with controls with similarly smoothly polished surfaces and with controls that had intentionally roughened surfaces. The test consisted of exposing sterile alloy samples to a microbiological broth, to which 24-hour-old cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa had been added. After bioassociation at normal temperature 37{degrees}C, bacteria adhering to the surface were fixed and treated with a new ruthenium tetroxide staining method, and quantified by use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), back-scattered electron imaging and EDAX energy dispersive microanalysis. For smooth samples of the alloy, after a 12 hour growth period, the retained bacteria (revealed by the biologically incorporated ruthenium), decreased monotonically with nitrogen dose out to a total fluence of approximately 7 {times} 10{sup 17}/cm{sup 2} in an affected depth of approximately 0.1500 {mu}m. The SEM confirmed that the Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhered equally to control materials. The ruthenium studies revealed that the amount of bacterial adhesion is indirectly proportional to the nitrogen ion implantation of the titanium. The greater the percentage of nitrogen ion implantation in the titanium alloy, the less bacteriamore » colonized the disk.« less
Assessment of Proactive Environmental Initiatives: Evaluation of Efficiency Based on Interval-Scale Data

In recent years, firms have pursued a host of environmental operational practices to derive superior environmental and business performance. However, the relative effectiveness of these practices has not been explored adequately. Past empirical studies have mainly assessed the performance impact of various practices across firms without accounting for firm-specific considerations. Consequently, it is not clear how the costs and benefits of various practices compare across firms that may weigh the practices differently. We examine this issue by analyzing the financial and environmental performance impact of five commonly adopted operational practices of 30 firms across a diverse set of industries. The operational practices are measured in interval scale through content analysis. Subsequently, we apply a data envelopment analysis-based technique proposed by Dehnokhalaji et al . [22] that can incorporate both ratio and interval-scale data. We find that although the emphases on various environmental practices vary among firms, mainly two of the five practices (i.e., proactive waste reduction and remanufacturing) differentiate firms’ business and environmental performance. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are also discussed.
Immigration and violence: the offsetting effects of immigrant concentration on Latino violence

Despite longstanding interest in the effects of immigration on American society, there are few studies that examine the relationship between immigration and crime. Drawing from social disorganization theory and community resource/social capital perspectives, this study examines the effects of Latino immigration on Latino violence. Data on violence (i.e., homicide, robbery, and Violent Index) and the structural conditions of Latino populations are drawn from the California Arrest Data (CAL), New York State Arrest Data (NYSAD), and U.S. Census data for approximately 400 census places during the 1999-2001 period. Findings suggest that immigrant concentration has no direct effect on Latino homicide or Violent Index rates but may reduce Latino robbery. Immigration also appears to have multiple, offsetting indirect effects on Latino violence that work through social disorganization and community resource measures. These results suggest that (1) immigrant concentration does not contribute to Latino violence and may even reduce some forms of violence, (2) immigration simultaneously stabilizes and destabilizes structural conditions in Latino populations, and (3) it is useful to examine both the direct and indirect effects of immigration on crime.
The eighteenth-century invention of a measure in the Caribbean: the Danish acre of St Croix

Abstract Plantations in the Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands, were for a century or more registered and taxed in Danish acres, a unit of measure not used in Denmark itself. This “acre” was derived from the round arithmetic subdivision of the uniform rectangular plantation lots into which the island of St Croix was laid out in the 1730s and '40s. The measure was a cultural compromise between Danish administrative practices and the customs of the predominantly English planter class on the island. Its derivation from the locally unprecedented grid survey system of St Croix is directly comparable to Thomas Jefferson's unrealized proposals in the 1790s for the incorporation of a geodetic decimal system of measures into the legislation for the survey of the public lands of the United States. Both of these New World cases exemplify the developing faith—naive, tentative, and demonstrably misplaced, given the technical and administrative limitations of the age—in rational ideals of measurement that at the end of the century produced the revolutionary French metric system.