cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Agrobacterium F-Box Protein Effector VirF Destabilizes the Arabidopsis GLABROUS1 Enhancer/Binding Protein-Like Transcription Factor VFP4, a Transcriptional Activator of Defense Response Genes

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation not only represents a technology of choice to genetically manipulate plants, but it also serves as a model system to study mechanisms employed by invading pathogens to counter the myriad defenses mounted against them by the host cell. Here, we uncover a new layer of plant defenses that is targeted by A. tumefaciens to facilitate infection. We show that the Agrobacterium F-box effector VirF, which is exported into the host cell, recognizes an Arabidopsis transcription factor VFP4 and targets it for proteasomal degradation. We hypothesize that VFP4 resists Agrobacterium infection and that the bacterium utilizes its VirF effector to degrade VFP4 and thereby mitigate the VFP4-based defense. Indeed, loss-of-function mutations in VFP4 resulted in differential expression of numerous biotic stress-response genes, suggesting that one of the functions of VFP4 is to control a spectrum of plant defenses, including those against Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We identified one such gene, ATL31, known to mediate resistance to bacterial pathogens. ATL31 was transcriptionally repressed in VFP4 loss-of-function plants and activated in VFP4 gain-of-function plants. Gain-of-function lines of VFP4 and ATL31 exhibited recalcitrance to Agrobacterium tumorigenicity, suggesting that A. tumefaciens may utilize the host ubiquitin/proteasome system to destabilize transcriptional regulators of the host disease response machinery.
Adding a Diversity Component to a Recreation and Tourism Curriculum

This paper describes a core curriculum course that surveys a range of general and leisure-related issues relevant to diverse populations. The development of the course is considered, followed by a ...
Improved Heat FT Induction Leads to Earlier and More Prolific Flowering in Poplar

Trees have a long juvenile phase before reproductive onset. This makes their breeding and studying floral development difficult. Precocious flowering using FT technology has shown promise. However, transgenic FT overexpression has significant negative pleiotropic effects. Hence, there has been interest in inducible FT expression for flower induction. Previously reported heat inducible expression of FT in poplar successfully induced flowering. However, flowering was sporadic and took up to 6 weeks. Here we report improvements in the protocol, which led to faster and more prolific flowering. Specifically, we increased the once to three times daily heat treatment. The repeated heat inductive treatments led to nearly five times higher FT expression, compared to the single daily treatment. The highly increased FT expression led to significant acceleration and abundance of flowering.
Agreement between actual and synthesized right-sided and posterior electrocardiographic leads in identifying ischemia.

Abstract Objective A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the standard of care for chest pain patients. However, 12-lead ECGs have difficulty detecting ischemia of the right ventricle or posterior wall of the heart. New technology exists to mathematically synthesize these leads from a 12-lead ECG; however, this technology has not been evaluated in the emergency department (ED). We assessed the level of agreement between synthesized 18-lead ECGs and actual 18-lead ECGs in identifying ST elevations, ST depressions, and T wave inversions in ED patients. Methods Actual 12- and 18-lead ECGs were acquired and synthesized 18-lead ECGs were produced based on waveforms from 12-lead ECGs. A blinded cardiologist interpreted the actual and synthesized 18-lead ECGs to identify the presence of abnormalities. Using actual 18-lead ECGs as the reference, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and kappa of synthesized 18-lead ECGs in identifying abnormalities were determined. Results Data from 295 patients were analyzed. There was 100% agreement between synthesized 18-lead ECGs and actual 18-lead ECGs in identifying ST elevations and ST depressions (sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 100%, and kappa of 1.00). Synthesized 18-lead ECGs had 95% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 97% PPV, and 70% NPV in identifying T wave inversions, when compared with actual 18-lead ECGs (kappa: 0.70). Conclusion Synthesized 18-lead ECGs demonstrated 100% agreement with actual 18-lead ECGs in the identification of ST elevations and ST depressions and good agreement in the identification of T wave inversions in a sample of patients ED patients with complaints suspicious of cardiac origin.
Factors Associated With Disability Self-Disclosure to Their Professors Among College Students With Disabilities:

This study examined factors associated with disability disclosure to professors among students with disabilities (n = 289) who either registered or did not register with disability support services...
Role of soft tissue metastases on tumor progression in castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer.

214Background: While visceral metastases in castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are a negative prognostic factor, patients may still derive treatment benefits. Given varying anatomic sites o...
Hip Joint Osteoarthritis Pain Sources and Control

Hip joint osteoarthritis, a widespread disabling disease with no known cause, produces considerable bouts of intractable pain as a result of multiple disease associated problems. This paper examines some sources of osteoarthritic hip joint pain, a poorly understood topic at best. Presented in three parts are data retrieved from several sources, including animal models. It is concluded that to improve the effectiveness of treatments designed to minimize hip osteoarthritis pain, a better understanding of the diverse origins of hip joint pain, and hip joint neurology, may permit the development of more precise as well as targeted pain strategies.
Septic arthritis of the pubic symphysis in pregnancy.

Septic arthritis of the pubic symphysis is a rare but serious entity which can be difficult to distinguish from common pregnancy-related problems. The following highlights the risk factors and clinical features of this uncommon condition and describes its diagnosis and management. The patient is a 26-year-old gravida 2 para 1 (second pregnancy that lasted >20 weeks and one prior term delivery) who presented to the labour and delivery triage unit of a tertiary care centre at 23 weeks’ gestation with pelvis and hip pain. The patient had elevated inflammatory markers and Staphylococcal bacteraemia. MRI demonstrated pubic symphyseal septic arthritis and osteomyelitis. The patient underwent two fluoroscopy-guided joint aspirations; synovial fluid contained abundant neutrophils and grew colonies of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. She then completed 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy. Repeat MRI of the pelvis at 31 weeks’ gestation was favourable. The patient underwent caesarean delivery at 39 weeks’ gestation without complication. Pelvic pain is common in pregnancy. However, abnormal musculoskeletal exam findings, historical elements and elevated inflammatory markers may suggest septic arthritis or osteomyelitis of the pubic symphysis. Accurate microbial identification, aggressive source control and multidisciplinary treatment are essential to optimal maternal and pregnancy outcomes.
The Give and Take: Feminist Redefinition of Detective Fiction in Maisie Dobbs and Death at La Fenice

Jacqueline Winspear and Donna Leon have written two very different, but both feminist, detective novels in Maisie Dobbs (2003) and Death at La Fenice (1992). The novels take place in London and Ven...
Research on Intelligent Identification Method for Access Equipment of Grid Information System

Establishing a controllable information network security access management mechanism is the key task of power supply enterprise management, and it is also a key link to ensure enterprise information network security. In this article, we use a technology to intelligently obtain information about access devices. This technology is based on active and passive information collection. At the same time, it uses device portrait technology to intelligently identify network topology, device type and device status. And use an intelligent access mechanism to improve the controllability of information network security access.
The epitracheal endocrine system and associated signalling cascades in development, reproduction, and behaviour

Abstract The epitracheal endocrine system is a network of glands whose functions during larval development are critical for initiation and scheduling of the ecdysis sequence at the end of each moult in insects. Ecdysis triggering hormones (ETHs) released from Inka cells recruit a cascade of downstream chemical signaling events that coordinate tracheal airfilling and sequential behaviours. Genes encoding ETHs and corresponding receptors are induced early in the molt by ecdysteroids, while Inka cell secretory competence depends upon late gene expression during steroid decline. During adulthood, ETH signaling is repurposed for reproductive functions, including promotion of vitellogenesis and ovulation in females and courtship memory in males. Some of these physiological actions depend upon ETH acting as a juvenile hormone promoting allatotropin. Emerging functions for ETH signaling include regulation of water balance, stress responses, and olfactory-mediated behaviours.
Sleep disturbances in the speech-language variant of progressive supranuclear palsy

Abstract Introduction Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) variants other than PSP-Richardson Syndrome (PSP-RS) have been recognized, including PSP with speech and language problems (PSP-SL). Given the reported sleep disruptions in PSP-RS, we investigated sleep abnormalities in PSP-SL. Methods Four sleep-related screening questions were given to the caregivers of 90 patients with PSP-SL (59 suggestive of PSP-SL and 31 possible PSP-SL) and 71 probable PSP-RS (prob. PSP-RS) patients. Results At least one sleep-related disturbance was observed in 35.6% of suggestive of PSP-SL, 38.7% of possible PSP-SL, and 67.6% of prob. PSP-RS, the most common being “unable to fall or stay asleep”. Prob. PSP-RS showed higher frequency of “screaming or talking in sleep”, “acting out dreams”, and “unable to fall or stay asleep” compared to both PSP-SL groups, but did not differ from possible PSP-SL in “excessive daytime sleepiness”. Conclusion Sleep abnormalities are common in PSP-SL, but less frequent than prob.PSP-RS.
Influential variables impacting the reliability of building occupancy sensor systems: A systematic review and expert survey

Occupancy information is critical for buildings, as it can substantially impact energy consumption. However, occupancy is highly unpredictable, and depends on occupants’ schedules and their interac...
Outlaw Contract Terms in Consumer Contracting: Mispricing, Market Inefficiency and the Overconsumption of Risk

Modern consumer contracts set aside a lot of state law and legal tradition that would normally govern consumer transactions. Instead, they contract around the standards, creating their own governing law. While generally recognized as efficient and proper in sophisticated bargaining, these “outlaw contract terms” in consumer contracts can lead to inefficient risk distribution, as well as inefficient consumption of risk by consumers. Because of the structure of the consumer market and the constraints on consumer rational choice, the market does not create the proper incentives for producers to use only optimally efficient terms in consumer contracts. Principles of liberty have long militated for increased freedom of contracting. However, the unique market abnormalities in consumer contracting means that while more choices in contract terms can lead to more theoretical freedom, in aggregate those choices will become less meaningful. When signaling and decision making is spread across a greater number of terms, consumers are forced to make a larger percentage of their decisions through irrational methods. This article will show that the structure of the present system incentivizes producers to use inefficient contract terms in order to maintain a competitive position. This article argues that the problem can be minimized by clearly defining the legal rights of the parties and by preventing reallocation of those rights ex ante. Essentially, increased mandatory default terms could be implemented with minimal harm to producers over the long run. The mandatory defaults will alter the timing of negotiations so that rights are fixed at a later period in time, when inefficient information and cost asymmetries are less pronounced.
Nitric Oxide Regulates Prostaglandin E2 Release by Rat Kupffer Cells

Nitric oxide has recently been identified as an intermediate of mammalian nitrogen metabolism [1, 2]. This highly reactive radical is derived from the amino acid L-arginine and degrades within seconds into its stable end products nitrite and nitrate. Important biological functions of nitric oxide include regulation of vascular tone [1], inhibition of thrombocyte adherence and aggregation [3], as well as enhancement of macrophage cytotoxicity [4]. Macrophage nitric oxide biosynthesis is inducible, namely by inflammatory mediators such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) [5]. Kupffer cells, the fixed macrophages of the liver, also produce nitric oxide in response to LPS [6]. In addition, LPS-stimulated Kupffer cells release cytokines, which induce nitric oxide synthesis in hepatocytes [7]. The role of nitric oxide in the septic liver is not very well understood. Experiments were undertaken to determine whether nitric oxide synthesis influences other functions of Kupffer cells, specifically the release of eicosanoids.
Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment

The microenvironment of a tumor is constituted of a heterogenous population of stromal cells, extracellular matrix components, and secreted factors, all of which make the tumor microenvironment distinct from that of normal tissue. Unlike healthy cells, tumor cells require these unique surroundings to metastasize, spread, and form a secondary tumor at a distant site. In this review, we discuss that stromal cells such as fibroblasts and immune cells including macrophages, their secreted factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, transforming growth factor β, and various chemokines, and the integrins that connect the various cell types play a particularly vital role in the survival of a growing tumor mass. Macrophages and fibroblasts are uniquely plastic cells because they are not only able to switch from tumor suppressing to tumor supporting phenotypes but also able to adopt various tumor-supporting functions based on their location within the microenvironment. Integrins serve as the backbone for all of these prometastatic operations because their function as cell-cell and cell-matrix signal transducers are important for the heterogenous components of the microenvironment to communicate.
The Personal Costs of Subprime Lending and the Foreclosure Crisis: A Matter of Trust, Insecurity, and Institutional Deception

Objective. Research on widespread loan failures suggests that many of the mortgage loans that were made since 2000 were of a deceptive or predatory nature. This study explores the experiences and sentiments of those who are at risk of foreclosure within a broader framework of trust, individualization, and ontological security. Methods. Interviews examine families' lending experience and how they have coped with their personal troubles that resulted from their housing crisis. Results. As many of these loans were of a deceptive or predatory nature, individuals are likely to reflect on the psychological consequences of their predicament. Although these findings suggest that these individuals have lost trust in the housing market, many have internalized their situation as a personal failure. In addition, feelings of anxiety, stress, insecurity, and uncertainty have come to characterize their experiences. Conclusions. This research calls for policy recommendations that seek to restore confidence and to ensure greater consumer protection in financial markets.
Intraoperative Motor Evoked Potentials

ABSTRACT.Motor impairment is among the most feared and devastating outcomes following major surgery. Traditionally, the “wake-up test” has been used for intraoperative evaluation of motor function, but is associated with a number of limitations such as its general crudeness, common anesthetic risks such as extubation and recall, inadequacy as a continuous neuromonitoring technique, and lack of clinical utility with a neurologically uncooperative patient. Various neurophysiological monitoring techniques have been championed as alternatives. Although intraoperative neuromonitoring of dorsal column function using somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) has been well established and routinely used for over 20 years during spinal surgeries, selective injury to the anterior spinal cord and its motor pathways can go undetected. Because of the distinct differences in blood supply to the dorsal and ventral aspects of the spinal cord and since somatosensory evoked potentials do not directly monitor the motor pathwa...
Ultrafast photon counting applied to resonant scanning STED microscopy

To take full advantage of fast resonant scanning in super-resolution STimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy, we have developed an ultrafast photon counting system based on a multi-giga-sample per second analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) chip that delivers an unprecedented 450 MHz pixel clock (2.2 ns pixel dwell time in each scan). The system achieves a large field of view (~50 × 50 μm) with fast scanning that reduces photobleaching, and advances the time-gated continuous wave (CW) STED technology to the usage of resonant scanning with hardware based time-gating. The assembled system provides superb signal-to-noise ratio and highly linear quantification of light that result in superior image quality. Also, the system design allows great flexibility in processing photon signals to further improve the dynamic range. In conclusion, we have constructed a frontier photon counting image acquisition system with ultrafast readout rate, excellent counting linearity, and with the capacity of realizing resonant-scanning CW-STED microscopy with on-line time-gated detection.
Extended access to cocaine self-administration results in reduced glutamate function within the medial prefrontal cortex

Previous studies have shown that brief access to cocaine yields an increase in D2 receptor binding in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but that extended access to cocaine results in normalized binding of D2 receptors (i.e. the D2 binding returned to control levels). Extended-access conditions have also been shown to produce increased expression of the NR2 subunit of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor in the mPFC. These results implicate disrupted glutamate and dopamine function within this area. Therefore, in the present study, we monitored glutamate and dopamine content within the mPFC during, or 24 hours after, cocaine self-administration in animals that experienced various amounts of exposure to the drug. Naive subjects showed decreased glutamate and increased dopamine levels within the mPFC during cocaine self-administration. Exposure to seven 1-hour daily cocaine self-administration sessions did not alter the response to self-administered cocaine, but resulted in decreased basal dopamine levels. While exposure to 17 1-hour sessions also resulted in reduced basal dopamine levels, these animals showed increased dopaminergic, but completely diminished glutamatergic, response to self-administered cocaine. Finally, exposure to 17 cocaine self-administration sessions, the last 10 of which being 6-hour sessions, resulted in diminished glutamatergic response to self-administered cocaine and reduced basal glutamate levels within the mPFC while normalizing (i.e. causing a return to control levels) both the dopaminergic response to self-administered cocaine as well as basal dopamine levels within this area. These data demonstrate directly that the transition to escalated cocaine use involves progressive changes in dopamine and glutamate function within the mPFC.
Application of Front Tracking to Two-Dimensional Gas Dynamics Calculations

We present the results from some validation tests for a two-dimensional front tracking code for gas dynamics. We study initial value problems with circularly symmetric initial data and compare the results to those obtained by a one-dimensional calculation exploiting the circular symmetry. We also study the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the compressible, small amplitude regime and compare the results with a linear perturbation analysis. Results from a large amplitude calculation are included, showing vortex formation and roll-up.
Breaking the Tyranny of the Semester: A Phase-Gate Sprint Approach to Teaching Colorado School of Mines Students Important Engineering Concepts, Delivering Useful Solutions to Communities, and Working on Long Time Scale Projects

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) hosts the oldest Humanitarian Engineering (HE) minor program in the USA, originally started in 2004. During the 2012/2013 academic year the program was overhauled and new curriculum was introduced. Several deficiencies in senior capstone courses were noted including poor quality of designs resulting from the tyranny of the rigid semester schedule; students focusing on the technical aspects of a design project while largely ignoring the social, financial, and sustainable aspects; and a loss of knowledge between academic terms due to turnover of students. These were addressed in the development of the Projects for People course through several methods. The course has been offered for two semesters and will be offered in multiple sections in the immediate future. Students, CSM faculty, and NGO partners have all found the course to be useful and rigorous, and the HE faculty have found the resulting designs to be of high quality.
The Arrival Of A New GAAP: International Financial Reporting Standards

This article examines the International Accounting Standards Board’s efforts to create greater comparability and uniformity in global financial reporting. Prefacing this will be an examination of 1) the reasons for past and present inter-country reporting differences and 2) the changes that have affected the governing structure of the international financial reporting environment. Most importantly, however, this article explores the areas that will be most impacted when companies move to a uniform group of international accounting standards. An understanding of the accounting regulatory process and the changes underway is important for all businesses professionals, including those in large and small businesses alike, and understanding how to read and interpret the language of business is important to competing in today’s smaller world.
From Evidence to Impact: Recommendations for a Dissemination Support System

While finding effective solutions to child and adolescent health problems is very much a scientific endeavor, getting those solutions into widespread practice largely is not. This paper applies lessons from business and engineering to highlight the shortcomings of current approaches to science translation. In challenging the status quo, the paper introduces and defends three propositions: that many evidence-based programs are not worth disseminating; most research-tested versions of programs are not ready for widespread use; and most intervention developers and testers make poor disseminators. These propositions provide the basis for recommending three components of an enhanced dissemination support system, and the conceptualization of a new model to disseminate evidence-based solutions to promote child and adolescent health.
Organometallic coordination complexes of the bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)-alkaline earth compounds, (Me5C5)2MLn, where M is Mg, Ca, Sr, OR Ba and Me5C5BeCl

Abstract The ether complexes, (Me5C5)2Sr(OEt2) and (Me5C5)2Ba(thf)2, have been isolated from reactions of SrI2 in Et2O or BaI2 in thf with NaC5Me5. The base-free compounds were isolated by the “toluene-reflux” method. The coordination compounds (Me5C5)2M(bipy) (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba), (Me5C5)2M(2,6-xylylisocyanide)2, and (Me5C5)2M(PEt3) (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) have also been obtained. The (Me5C5)2Be cannot be prepared from (Me5C5)2 Mg and BeCl2(OEt2)2; instead Me5C5BeCl is isolated.
Prevention of Colorectal Cancer: The Future Is Now

An estimated 140,000 new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) were diagnosed in the USA in 2013. This review focuses on primary, secondary, and tertiary efforts to improve outcomes for patients at risk of CRC. Primary prevention to prevent the occurrence of CRC should focus on the reduction of modifiable CRC risk factors, including education regarding the deleterious effects of Western diets consisting of red and processed meats and the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Foods containing folates, vitamin D, and calcium may be protective against CRC and their consumption should likely be encouraged. Secondary preventive screening efforts can have a profound effect on reducing mortality by identifying neoplasia when precancerous lesions such as adenomas may be removed or when early-stage CRCs exist. Efforts must be made to increase the uptake of CRC screening on a worldwide level. The most resounding data for pharmacologic success in the prophylaxis of colorectal neoplasia belong to the class of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Future therapies improving the efficiency of CRC screening modalities and genomic medical breakthroughs to personalize prophylactic treatments will change the way CRC prevention is viewed.
Strongly enhanced static friction using a film-terminated fibrillar interface

We examine the behavior under shear of a bio-inspired fibrillar interface that consists of poly(dimethlysiloxane) micro-posts terminated by a thin film. These structures demonstrate significantly enhanced adhesion due to a crack trapping mechanism. We study the response of this structure to shear displacement relative to a spherical indenter placed on its surface under a fixed normal force. The shear force required to initiate sliding between the indenter and the sample, its static friction, is strongly enhanced compared to a flat control, and increases with inter-fibril spacing. Examination of the contact region reveals that its area changes with applied shear and that static friction is controlled by a mechanical instability. The shear force resisting steady sliding, surprisingly, is independent of fibril spacing and is nearly the same as for the flat unstructured control samples. We interpret dynamic friction to result from the action of Schallamach-like waves. Our results show that the film-terminated architecture can be used to design an interface with significantly enhanced static friction without altering its sliding frictional resistance.
Universal screening for drug use in urban primary care

We describe universal screening in a large urban hospital-based primary care practice. Trained staff aimed to screen all adult patients presenting for primary care visits between July 2010 and February 2011. Screening included three items about past three-month drug use: frequency of heavy drinking (>3 standard drinks in a day for women and >4 for men); any use of prescription sedatives, opioids, or amphetamines without a prescription or in greater amounts than prescribed; and any use of illicit drugs. A convenience sample of those who screened positive for drug use was evaluated for eligibility to be in a study of brief counseling efficacy; enrollment resulted in further research assessment. During six months, 15,818 patients arrived for primary care appointments. Of these, 5549 (35%) were screened, 539 (10%) of whom reported heavy drinking (5.9% of those screened) or drug use (6.2% of those screened). Of the 539, 41% reported drug use only, 38% heavy drinking only, and 21% reported both. Of patients meeting eligibility criteria for the brief counseling study for drug use (current drug use, not pregnant, able to provide two contacts for follow-up, willing to return for research assessments, spoke English), 14% had lower risk scores (2 or 3) on the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). Of those with scores of 4 or more (moderate risk), marijuana was the drug of most concern for 61%, cocaine for 19%, and opioids for 18%. Twenty-one percent reported prescription drug misuse, 31% used more than one drug, 20% had high-risk ASSIST scores (27+), and 48% met criteria for drug dependence. In-person universal screening in busy urban primary care settings reaches some but misses many. Drug use prevalence was 6.2%, most of which was marijuana, and many of those screened had drug dependence. Most drug use would have been missed if drug screening had been done only for those who screened positive for heavy drinking.
Continuous affine functionals on convex families of analytic functions

Abstract Characterizations are given for the continuous affine functionals on families of analytic functions that are defined by integrating a kernel with respect to probability measures on the unit circle. These families include functions of positive real part, the closed convex hulls of convex and starlike mappings, and the typically real class. The solution set is characterized for the maximum of a continuous affine functional over these families. Conditions are given under which a continuous affine functional extends to the real part of a continuous linear functional on a space of analytic functions. A generalization extends the results to families including the close-to-convex class.
Robotic radical prostatectomy: The new gold standard

Abstract Objectives Open radical prostatectomy (RP) has been the standard and primary treatment for focal prostate cancer. However, in recent years this view has changed, as robot-assisted laparoscopic RP has gained acceptance among urologists. In this review we evaluate the importance and place of robotics in laparoscopic urological surgery, discussing several techniques that are currently being used and potentially new techniques that might be used in the future. Methods We systematically reviewed papers published between 1998 and 2011 using the keywords ‘robotic prostatectomy’ ‘gold standard’ and the Medline database. In addition, after selecting relevant reports we searched ‘related citations’ of the documents to find further supporting published papers. Results In all, 50 original papers were identified using the search criteria; we also found 28 through ‘related citations’ browsing. Papers were selected according to their relevance to the current topic (i.e. RP, original articles) and incorporated into this review. These papers were used for their information on the advantages of using robotics, as well as innovative ideas being used in the field of robotic urological surgery. Conclusion Almost a decade after the first robotic RP many reports show the benefits and advantages of incorporating robotics into urological surgery. Robotic surgery decreases the learning curve necessary for surgeons when compared with laparoscopic techniques. In addition, patients prefer robotics, as the procedure is less invasive, diminishes the duration of hospitalisation and speeds the return to function.
Delayed onset of posterior interosseous nerve palsy after a nonanatomic routing of a distal biceps repair: A case report

Rupture of the distal biceps tendon is an uncommon injury. Conservative management of distal biceps ruptures has been reported to lead to a loss of power and endurance in elbow flexion and forearm supination. Surgical repair using a singleor double-incision technique has been recommended by most authors to restore elbow flexion and supination strength, especially in young active patients. Injury to the posterior interosseous nerve (PIN) has been reported to be more common with the singleincision technique, whereas heterotopic ossification and synostosis of the proximal radioulnar joint has been reported to be more common with the double-incision technique. Cases have also been reported of tendon rerupture, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and neurologic injury, including the median nerve, superficial sensory branch of the radial nerve, lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve, and anterior interosseous nerve, as well as temporary and permanent deficits of the PIN. We present a very rare complication of a distal biceps tendon repair performed through the double-incision technique. The tendon was fixed to the radial tuberosity but was routed laterally to the radius, with resultant radial nerve compression and delayed PIN palsy. To our knowledge, this complication has not been reported previously in the literature. The patient was informed of and agreed to publishing his case.
FRACAS: A Computerized Aid for Reasoning in Tax

Problem solving in the tax domain requires two kinds of knowledge: of the law itself and of how the law has been applied in the past. The need for the second factor arises as a result of the ambiguity of natural language. The problem solver requires information on how the courts have adjudicated specific cases in the past. This information would then provide the basis for reasoning about the current case. In this paper we address the issue of developing a system which will retrieve relevant historical cases. The cases are stored using a frame representation scheme and the users can retrieve cases by specifying either attributes alone or attributes and values associated with them. Currently the system has been implemented in Pascal on a Cray. The case base contains 250 cases relating to Section 183 of the tax code.
Comparative effects of ethanol administration on hepatic monooxygenases in rats and mice

The inducing effects of chronic ethanol ingestion on hepatic monooxygenases in Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans rats, and A/J and C57BL/6J mice, were studied. Cytochrome P-450 content was significantly increased in livers of all animals receiving the experimental ethanol-containing liquid diet. The CO-difference spectra of microsomes from ethanol-treated animals showed a shift in the absorbance maximum to 451–452 nm, compared to the absorbance maximum of 450 nm observed with microsomes from control animals. Ethylmorphine N-demethylase and benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activities in livers of ethanol-treated animals were minimally affected. The shift in the absorbance maxima to longer wavelengths in the CO-difference spectrum and the minimal effects on the metabolism of ethylmorphine and benzo[a]pyrene demonstrate that ethanol differs in its inducing properties, when compared to the properties of the two widely used hepatic microsomal enzyme inducers, phenobarbital and 3-methylcholantrhene. In contrast to the minimal effects observed on the metabolism of ethylmorphine and benzo[a]pyrene, several fold increases were observed in hepatic 7-ethoxycoumarin 0-deethylase and aniline hydroxylase activities in the treated animals. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of hepatic microsomes from those animals receiving ethanol revealed protein band(s) in the cytochrome P-450 molecular weight region, the intensities of which were markedly increased relative to that from control animals. The heme-associated peroxidase activity was also increased in the same molecular weight region. The results of the present spectral, catalytic, and electrophoretic studies demonstrate that in mice, as in rats, chronic ethanol treatment causes the induction of specific cytochrome(s) P-450 with preferential activity toward aniline and 7-ethoxycoumarin.
Influence of collision gas on doubly charged ion mass spectra

The influence of the collision gas on doubly charged ion mass spectra of a selected number of hydrocarbons has been examined. Relative abundances of various product ions in 2E spectra, resulting from charge exchange collisions of doubly charged hydrocarbon ions, do not vary drastically as the collision gas is varied. However, the absolute intensities of these doubly charged ion mass spectra increase significantly when the collision gas is changed from argon to methane to isobutane. Tbese observations are rationalized in terms of a multichannel diabatic curve crossing model.
Housing : The Market Versus the Welfare State Model Revisited

Most housing policy analyses conclude that housing is a commodity that cannot be efficiently and equitably allocated via the market process. Major contentions in this respect are that market allocation will result in suboptimal housing investment and that the market process leads to the creation of slums. Furthermore, the proponents of the welfare housing model argue that welfare state interventions have raised the average level of housing consumption above the level that would have been achieved under a more market-oriented allocative model. However, both theory and evidence fail to support these beliefs.
Mind the Gap: Bridging economic and naturalistic risk-taking with cognitive neuroscience

Economists define risk in terms of the variability of possible outcomes, whereas clinicians and laypeople generally view risk as exposure to possible loss or harm. Neuroeconomic studies using relatively simple behavioral tasks have identified a network of brain regions that respond to economic risk, but these studies have had limited success predicting naturalistic risk-taking. By contrast, more complex behavioral tasks developed by clinicians (e.g. Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Iowa Gambling Task) correlate with naturalistic risk-taking but resist decomposition into distinct cognitive constructs. We propose here that to bridge this gap and better understand neural substrates of naturalistic risk-taking, new tasks are needed that: are decomposable into basic cognitive and/or economic constructs; predict naturalistic risk-taking; and engender dynamic, affective engagement.
REVERSIBLE DIOXYGEN BINDING TO HEMERYTHRIN. 2. MECHANISM OF THE PROTON-COUPLED TWO-ELECTRON TRANSFER TO O2 AT A SINGLE IRON CENTER

In the reaction of the binuclear non-heme iron protein hemerythrin (Hr) with dioxygen, one electron from each Fe(II) center and the proton from the bridging hydroxide of the diferrous site (deoxyHr) are transferred to O2 binding to a single iron center (Fe2), yielding the oxo-bridged diferric site possessing a terminal hydroperoxide (oxyHr). Using the experimentally calibrated bonding descriptions of oxyHr and deoxyHr developed in the accompanying paper [Brunold, T. C.; Solomon, E. I. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 8277], the process of O2 release from Hr is explored through density functional calculations that interpolate between these well-defined reference electronic structures. The relevant steps are (i) elongation of the Fe2−hydroperoxide bond driving the first one-electron transfer (ET) from the peroxide to the coordinated iron (Fe2), followed by (ii) tunneling of the hydroperoxide proton to the μ-oxo bridge coupled with the second ET, from the O2 species to the noncoordinated iron (Fe1). Significantl...
Suppression of period-doubling and nonlinear parametric effects in periodically perturbed systems.

We consider the effect on a generic period-doubling bifurcation of a periodic perturbation, whose frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{1}$ is near the period-doubled frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{0}$/2. The perturbation is shown to always suppress the bifurcation, shifting the bifurcation point and stabilizing the behavior at the original bifurcation point. We derive an equation characterizing the response of the system to the perturbation, analysis of which reveals many interesting features of the perturbed bifurcation, including (1) the scaling law relating the shift of the bifurcation point and the amplitude of the perturbation, (2) the characteristics of the system's response as a function of bifurcation parameter, (3) parametric amplification of the perturbation signal including nonlinear effects such as gain saturation and a discontinuity in the response at a critical perturbation amplitude, (4) the effect of the detuning (${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{1}$-${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{0}$/2) on the bifurcation, and (5) the emergence of a closely spaced set of peaks in the response spectrum. An important application is the use of period-doubling systems as small-signal amplifiers, e.g., the superconducting Josephson parametric amplifier.
Engineering a high throughput axon injury system

Several key biological mechanisms of traumatic injury to axons are being elucidated using in vitro stretch injury models. However, these models are based on the experimentation of single cultures keeping productivity slow. Indeed, low yield has hindered important and well-founded investigations requiring high throughput methods such as proteomic analyses. To meet this need, we engineered a multi-well high throughput injury device to accelerate and accommodate the next generation of traumatic brain injury research. This modular system stretch-injures neuronal cultures in either a 24-well culture plate format or 6 individual wells simultaneously. Custom software control allows the user to set the input pressure and valve timing to achieve the desired substrate deformation and injury parameters. Characterization plots were created to aid the user in choosing the programmed parameters. Precise control of the pressure pulse was achieved. Peak pressure was linearly related to input pressure and valve open times. Analysis of the pressure waveforms in the 6 and 24-well modules displayed rise times, peak pressures, and decays with extremely small standard deviations. Data also confirmed that the pressure pulse was distributed evenly throughout the pressure chambers and therefore to each injury well. Importantly, the relationship between substrate deformation and applied pressure was consistent among the multiple wells and displayed a predictable linear behavior in each module.
Evidence for an early role for BMP4 signaling in thymus and parathyroid morphogenesis

The thymus and parathyroids are pharyngeal endoderm-derived organs that develop from common organ primordia, which undergo a series of morphological events resulting in separate organs in distinct locations in the embryo. Previous gene expression and functional analyses have suggested a role for BMP4 signaling in early thymus organogenesis. We have used conditional deletion of Bmp4 or Alk3 from the pharyngeal endoderm and/or the surrounding mesenchyme using Foxg1-Cre, Wnt1-Cre or Foxn1-Cre. Deleting Bmp4 from both neural crest cells (NCC) and early endoderm-derived epithelial cells in Foxg1-Cre;Bmp4 conditional mutants resulted in defects in thymus-parathyroid morphogenesis. Defects included reduced condensation of mesenchymal cells around the epithelium, partial absence of the thymic capsule, a delay in thymus and parathyroid separation, and failed or dramatically reduced organ migration. Patterning of the primordia and initial organ differentiation were not affected in any of the mutants. Deleting Bmp4 from NCC-derived mesenchyme or differentiating thymic epithelial cells (TECs) had no effects on thymus-parathyroid development, while loss of Alk3 from either neural crest cells or TECs resulted in only a mild thymic hypoplasia. These results show that the processes of cell specification and morphogenesis during thymus-parathyroid development are independently controlled, and suggest a specific temporal and spatial role for BMP4-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during early thymus and parathyroid morphogenesis.
Factors in Developing the Oxytocin Challenge Test as a Standard Hospital Procedure

Implementing oxytocin challenge testing as standard procedure in a metropolitan hospital is outlined in an article covering developing the extended role of the nurse in administering the test, setting up nursing guidelines, patient education, hospital charges, and insurance coverage. A discussion, more detailed than that presented in the September/October JOCN supplement, of nurse involvement in administering the oxytocin challenge test is presented in two articles. The first focuses on implementing the test as hospital procedure; the second, on administering the test. The latter includes a reassessment of the possible role of the OCT in the future.
Kinetics and mechanisms of action of antibiotics on microorganisms V chloramphenicol and tetracycline affected escherichia coli generation rates

Total and viable count methods were used to study Eschericbia coli generation rates at various temperatures and tetracycline and chloramphenicol concentrations. The negative dependence of apparent first-order generation rate constants on concenrrations of these antibiotics was determined for all temperatures. The coincidence of the heat of activation for E. coli growth in antibiotic-free media and for the inhibitory rate constants was observed. The facile reversibility of antibiotic effects to predictable rates of E. coli generation in the subinhibitory concentration ranges of these antibiotics was demonstrated. A quantitative model consistent with the observed concentration dependencies and observed reversibilities is proposed which relates antibiotic partitioning from the media, a critical value for protein synthesis that results in microbial generation, and the present concept that these antibiotics compete for ribosomal binding sites and so inhibit the function of messenger RNA in protein synthesis.
The astronomy of Eudoxus: Geometry or physics?

But as Eudoxus made no attempt to connect the movements of the various groups of spheres with each other, it seems probable that he only regarded them as geometrical constructions suitable for computing the apparent paths of the planets . . . the system of homocentric spheres which Aristotle had borrowed from Eudoxus [he] modified from a mathematical theory into a physical representation of the Kosmos . . .l
The Mathematics Outreach Center—Saving Dreams

The Amarillo College Mathematics Outreach Center (ORC) uses innovative funding and cross-discipline cooperation to make a cost-effective difference in the lives of thousands of students. Using limited resources, tutoring sessions have increased in four years and students' test grades have been proven to increase up to two letter grades.
Operative status and survival after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: The effect of race on long-term survival of patients undergoing elective and nonelective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare long-term survival between black and white CABG patients by operative status.Methods: Long-term survival of black versus white patients undergoing elective and nonelective CABG procedures between 1992 and 2011 was compared. Survival probabilities were computed using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method and stratified by race. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using a Cox regression model.Results: A total of 13,774 patients were included in this study. The median follow-up time for study participants was 8.2 years. Black patients undergoing elective CABG died sooner than whites (adjusted HR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2–1.5). Survival was similar between blacks and whites in the nonelective population (adjusted HR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.96–1.1).Conclusions: Black race was a statistically significant predictor of long-term survival after elective but not nonelective CABG.
Characterization of reactive areas in the direct process for the production of methylchlorosilanes

Abstract The surface of silicon reacting with methyl chloride in a laboratory fluidized bed via the direct process is characterized at several stages. In the first activation stage, the CuCl catalyst reacts with the Si, resulting in a decrease in the Cu surface concentration. Once reaction with methyl chloride has begun the Cu catalyst, the promoters (Zn, Sn) are found only on reactive sections of the silicon. The regions where reaction occurred had high Cu levels with Cu Si ratio near 1. XPS determined the oxidation state of Cu on the surface to be zero. Zn is found to remain at higher surface concentrations than those of Cu during the course of reaction.