cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The structures of cis‐polyacetylene and highly conducting derivatives

The structures of cis‐polyacetylene and polyacetylene–iodine derivatives have been investigated by x‐ray diffraction and crystal packing analysis. Results obtained for cis‐polyacetylene are consistent with the space group Pnma with one CH per asymmetric unit and a chain symmetry (m1)t. Hence, the structure is analogous to that of orthorhombic polyethylene. For a structure with such a concentration of π electrons there is minimal overlap between parallel π orbitals. The π orbitals are almost orthogonal for four of the six closest neighbors of a given chain. Based on x‐ray diffraction and spectroscopic results, a model is proposed for the structure of the highly conducting polyacetylene–iodine complexes. According to this model, linear arrays of polyhalide ions (principally in the form of I−3) substitute in positions of displaced polyacetylene chains. At high dopant concentrations, alternate close‐packed layers of polyacetylene are separated by a layer consisting of such polyhalide arrays. This model predi...
Neutron Scattering Study of the Lattice-Dynamical Phase Transition in Nb 3 Sn

Neutron scattering experiments have been carried out on a single crystal of ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}$Sn through the lattice-dynamical phase transition at ${T}_{m}=45$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. A small tetragonal lattice distortion, $\frac{a}{c}=1.0062$ at 4 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, was previously established by x-ray studies, but sublattice displacements below ${T}_{m}$ have remained undertermined. The present study reveals that the tetragonal phase exhibits new Bragg reflections, which are forbidden by symmetry in the cubic phase. From the intensity distribution among these new reflections, the structure was determined uniquely as ${D}_{4h}^{9}$ with Nb displacements from the special positions of 0.016(3) \AA{} at 4 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Only the Nb sublattices shift, and in a pattern identical with the eigenvectors of the ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{12}(+)q=0$ optic-phonon mode in the cubic phase. Such a mode is linearly coupled with the soft [110] shear acoustic mode. This linear coupling requires, and our measurements confirm, that the intensities of new Bragg peaks are proportional to ${(\frac{a}{c}\ensuremath{-}1)}^{2}$. An optic-phonon instability is not required to explain these internal displacements.
Thermodynamic Implications for Natural Resource Extraction and Technical Change in U.S. Copper Mining

Motivated by the lack of integrated approaches that do justice to both the thermodynamic and economic aspects of natural resource use and the lack of empirical studies combining the two disciplines, this paper provides an integrated framework for the valuation of technologies, substitution and technical change. The paper determines empirically the relationships between thermodynamic states of materials and the use of high-quality energy sources for the case of copper mining in the United States. The empirical analysis provides the basis for a nonlinear dynamic simulation of optimal resource extraction and endogenous technical change in the light of changing resource quality. The study assesses the potential for future improvements in U.S. copper mining.
Redistribution of cell surface anionic sites on hepatoma cells after treatment with concanavalin A.

Abstract Chang rat hepatoma ascites cells were treated with Con A and subsequently labeled with cationized ferritin (CF). When ascites cells were treated with Con A, fixed with glutaraldehyde, then labeled with CF, the labeling on the surface of the microvilli and plasma membrane was clustered and irregular. The areas of the cell surface between CF clusters were either lightly labeled or completely free of label. Cells fixed before Con A and CF treatment or cells incubated with Con A and α-methyl- d -mannoside were labeled with a continuous, even layer of ferritin particles. Treatment of ascites cells with cetyl pyridinium chloride before CF labeling resulted in an almost complete absence of ferritin particles from the cell surface.
Using High-Speed WANs and Network Data Caches to Enable Remote and Distributed Visualization

Visapult is a prototype application and framework for remote visualization of large scientific datasets. We approach the technical challenges of tera-scale visualization with a unique architecture which employs high speed WANs and network data caches for data staging and transmission. This architecture allows for the use of available cache and compute resources at arbitrary locations on the network. High data throughput rates and network utilization are achieved by parallelizing I/O at each stage in the application, and by pipelining the visualization process. On the desktop, the graphics interactivity is effectively decoupled from the latency inherent in network applications. We present a detailed performance analysis of the application, and improvements resulting from field-test analysis conducted as part of the DOE Combustion Corridor project.
Age-related differences in neurosteroid potentiation of muscimol-stimulated 36Cl(-) flux following chronic ethanol treatment.

Abstract Alcoholism and alcohol abuse create costly social and economic problems in many nations. Recent studies indicate that alcohol exposure during adolescence may convey unique risks for subsequent neurocognitive deficits and problem drinking. Although GABA A receptor function is one of the principle neurochemical targets of ethanol action in the adult brain, little is known about the effects of alcohol on this system during adolescence. Adolescent (30-day-old) and adult (90-day-old) male rats were intermittently exposed to ethanol for 1 month. At various times after the end of the exposure period, synaptoneurosomes were prepared from their cerebral cortices. GABA A receptor-mediated 36 Cl − influx was measured in the absence and presence of the neurosteroid 3α,21-dihydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (THDOC). In tissue from ethanol-exposed animals, sensitization to the potentiating effects of the neurosteroid was apparent 5 and 12 days after ethanol withdrawal. This sensitization was more apparent at the low concentrations of THDOC in animals pretreated with ethanol as adolescents. Sensitization to the potentiating effects of a neurosteroid is an enduring phenomenon, persistent long after the acute phase of ethanol withdrawal, and may be indicative of long-term changes in GABA A receptor function. Enhanced neurosteroid sensitization in animals pretreated as adolescents is consistent with the notion that adolescence is a period of unique sensitivity to the effects of ethanol. This uniqueness may now be extended to the chronic effects of ethanol.
Subdural Hemorrhage and Antithrombotic Therapy

Investigators at the Mott Children’s Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, report 4 infants with diffuse brain injury and cerebral atrophy who developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and were treated with the low-molecular-weight heparin, enoxaparin.
The Writings of the Gibreths

The article reviews the book “The Writings of the Gilbreths,” edited by William R. Spriegel and Clark E. Myers.
Recombinant human growth hormone improves muscle amino acid uptake and whole-body protein metabolism in chronic hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND Intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN), with or without exercise, has been shown to reverse the net negative whole-body and forearm muscle protein balances observed during hemodialysis. Pharmacologic doses of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) constitute another potential anabolic therapy in chronic hemodialysis patients. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to examine the potential additive anabolic effects of rhGH compared with IDPN and exercise on protein and energy homeostasis. DESIGN We studied 7 chronic hemodialysis patients in a crossover design study in which each subject participated in 2 protocols: GH (rhGH + IDPN + exercise) and no GH (IDPN + exercise). During the GH protocol, the subjects were studied after 3 daily doses of rhGH. Each subject was studied 2 h before, 4 h during, and 2 h after a hemodialysis session with the use of a primed, constant infusion of l-[1-(13)C]leucine. RESULTS Whole-body net protein balance was -0.50 +/- 0.07 mg x kg fat-free mass(-1) x min(-1) when the patients did not receive rhGH and -0.39 +/- 0.04 mg x kg fat-free mass(-1) x min(-1) when the patients received rhGH, a 22% improvement in prehemodialysis whole-body protein homeostasis (P < 0.05). Essential amino acid muscle loss was also significantly less during the prehemodialysis period when rhGH was administered (-18 +/- 23 compared with -71 +/- 20 mmol/L; P < 0.05). The whole-body anabolic effects of rhGH observed during the prehemodialysis period persisted throughout the entire study, as evidenced by a lack of significant interaction or main effect of treatment during hemodialysis and in the posthemodialysis period. CONCLUSION rhGH improves whole-body protein homeostasis in chronic hemodialysis patients.
Use of the Esophageal Lead in the Diagnosis of Mechanisms of Reciprocating Supraventricular Tachycardia

Recent studies have emphasized the role of concealed accessory pathways in reciprocating supraventricular tachycardia. Diagnosis has generally required multicatheter electrophysiologic study. We recorded esophageal electrograms during study in 16 patients with reciprocating tachycardia due to reentry using an accessory atrioventricular pathway, and in 12 patients with reciprocating tachycardia due to reentry in the AV node. The interval from onset of ventricular depolarization to earliest atrial activation (V-AMIN), earliest atrial activity on the esophageal lead (V-AESO), and high right atrium (V-HRA) was measured. No patient with RT due to an accessory atrioventricular pathway had a V-AMIN or V-AESO less than 70 ms, or a V-HRA less than 95 ms. In contrast, 11 of 12 patients with reentry in the AV node had V-AESO intervals less than 70 ms. Esophageal recording during reciprocating tachycardia provides a simple screening procedure available to all practicing physicians to exclude the diagnosis of accessory atrioventricular pathways in the genesis of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.
A Class of Optimal Operation Planning for Kanban Managed Multi-Stage Production System

This paper deals with the evaluation of an operation planning for a multi-stage, single-product kanban managed production system with varying production rates at different work-stages. Raw materials are replenished at the first work-stage and processed through multi-work-stages to generate the finished products. Simultaneous releases of kanbans are considered to determine the orders of raw parts at all stages. The study pursued is to determine the optimal orders of raw materials at the first work-stage with a varying (linear) demand pattern to minimize the total inventory cost incurred due to raw materials, finished products and work-in-process (WIP) inventories. This decision eventually determines the number of kanbans at each stage, and the economic deliveries of the finished products. This paper further studies the effect of the configuration of the production rates at different work-stages on the total inventory cost. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed optimal operation planning mechanism for the multi-stage kanban managed production system
Aerobic Denitrification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Monitored by Online NAD(P)H Fluorescence

Continuous cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) maintained at different dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) were studied for the effects of DO on various culture properties, especially aerobic respiration and denitrification. The DO was varied from 0 mg/liter (completely anoxic conditions) to 1.3 mg/liter and measured with optical sensors that could accurately determine very low DO based on oxygen-quenched luminescence. The strain was found to perform aerobic denitrification; while the specific rate decreased with increasing DO, denitrification persisted at approximately 1/8 of the maximum rate (1.7 mmol/g of cells/h) even at relatively high DO (1 to 1.3 mg/liter). In the presence of nitrate, the culture's Monod half-rate saturation constant for O2 was very small, <0.1 mg/liter. Aerobic denitrification appeared to function as an electron-accepting mechanism supplementary to or competitive with aerobic respiration. The shift of the culture's respiratory mechanism was also clearly detected with a fluorometer targeting intracellular NAD(P)H, i.e., the reduced forms of the NAD(P) coenzymes. Comparatively, the NAD(P)H fluorescence under the anoxic, denitrifying conditions (NFUDN) was highest, that under fully aerobic conditions (NFUOX) was lowest, and that under conditions in which both denitrification and aerobic respiration occurred (NFU) was intermediate. Representing a quantitative measure of the culture's “fractional approach” to the fully denitrifying state, the normalized fraction (NFU − NFUOX)/(NFUDN − NFUOX) was correlated with DO and the calculated fraction of electrons accepted by denitrification. The NFU fraction decreased with increasing DO, following an empirical exponential relationship. The fraction of denitrification-accepted electrons increased with the NFU fraction: the increase was gradual and approximately linear at DO of ≥0.1 mg/liter but much sharper at lower DO. Online NAD(P)H fluorescence was demonstrated as a feasible technique for effective monitoring and quantitative description of the microaerobic state of microorganisms.
Tn917 Targets the Region Where DNA Replication Terminates in Bacillus subtilis, Highlighting a Difference in Chromosome Processing in the Firmicutes

The bacterial transposon Tn917 inserts preferentially in the terminus region of some members of the Firmicutes. To determine what molecular process was being targeted by the element, we analyzed Tn917 target site selection in Bacillus subtilis. We find that Tn917 insertions accumulate around the central terminators, terI and terII, in wild-type cells with or without the SPbeta lysogen. Highly focused targeting around terI and terII requires the trans-acting termination protein RTP, but it is unaffected in strains compromised in dimer resolution or chromosome translocation. This work indicates that Tn917 is sensitive to differences in DNA replication termination between the Firmicutes.
Detection and Genotyping of Human Group A Rotaviruses by Oligonucleotide Microarray Hybridization

A rapid and reliable method for the identification of five clinically relevant G genotypes (G1 to G4 and G9) of human rotaviruses based on oligonucleotide microarray hybridization has been developed. The genotype-specific oligonucleotides immobilized on the surface of glass slides were selected to bind to the multiple target regions within the VP7 gene that are highly conserved among individual rotavirus genotypes. Rotavirus cDNA was amplified in a PCR with primers common to all group A rotaviruses. A second round of nested PCR amplification was performed in the presence of indodicarbocyanine-dCTP and another pair of degenerate primers also broadly specific for all genotypes. The use of one primer containing 5′-biotin allowed us to prepare fluorescently labeled single-stranded hybridization probe by binding of another strand to magnetic beads. The identification of rotavirus genotype was based on hybridization with several individual genotype-specific oligonucleotides. This approach combines the high sensitivity of PCR with the selectivity of DNA-DNA hybridization. The specificity of oligonucleotide microchip hybridization was evaluated by testing 20 coded rotavirus isolates from different geographic areas for which genotypes were previously determined by conventional methods. Analysis of the coded specimens showed that this microarray-based method is capable of unambiguous identification of all rotavirus strains. Because of the presence of random mutations, each individual virus isolate produced a unique hybridization pattern capable of distinguishing different isolates of the same genotype and, therefore, subgenotype differentiation. This strain information indicates one of several advantages that microarray technology has over conventional PCR techniques.
Interpretation in Middle East ethnography

Lords of the Lebanese Marches: Violence and Narrative In an Arab Society. MICHAEL GILSENAN. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. xvi + 377 pp., plates, maps, figures, notes, bibliography, index.
The Russian Orthodox Church and Political Party Platforms

This essay examines some of the ways in which the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has influenced political outcomes in the Russian Federation between 1995-2005. It is useful to begin by exploring political ideology as a potential point of intersection between the ROC’s preferences and those of the people whom the church purports to represent. If the ROC speaks for the overwhelming portion of Russian society that identifies itself as Orthodox, as the religious leadership has consistently claimed, then it is logical to expect that the political views of that population will display at least some congruence with the official positions of the church. Moreover, this should be a conscious phenomenon: ostensibly Orthodox voters and politicians should demonstrate to at least some degree that they have purposefully referenced the ROC’s official ideology when defining their own political stance. The influence of the ROC on voter choice has been explored in depth elsewhere, and has been found to be minimal. Here, I look beyond the voters to determine whether or not the ideology of Russia’s political elite has been affected at all by the church’s positions. This essay, then, assesses the platforms of twelve political parties that have played a visible role in Russian politics in the period under examination, to determine whether there was a significant increase in their purposeful orientation towards the ROC. A careful study of the available evidence reveals a division within the political elites. On the one hand, some of the party platforms show that politicians tend to assign the ROC more influence over voter choice than the church actually yields. On the other hand, analysis of
Bribecaster: documenting bribes through community participation

Corruption is endemic in many emerging economies - many transactions of private citizens with government institutions require payment of bribes. While well known as a general phenomenon, specific data about the "bribe economy" are hard to come by. But such data are needed for rational responses to corruption at the societal and individual level - to expose it; to know which offices to avoid; or to know how much to pay if other recourse is not available. In response to a corruption survey of 102 Indian participants we are developing Bribecaster, a mobile application that enables citizen collection and curation of corruption data. A key research question is how to create a system that has accurate data while simultaneously protecting users from repercussions of having their identities revealed.
Effect of aqueous PEG or PPG solvents on reaction selectivity and Gibbs energies

Low molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG 300), polypropylene glycol (PPG 425), and their aqueous solutions are investigated for use as novel, nonvolatile, environmentally friendly reaction solvents. The kinetics and selectivities of a SN1 and a Diels-Alder reaction (reactions commonly used in pharmaceutical synthesis) in the polyglycol-H2O solutions are reported. Reaction rate constants and product selectivities in the polyglycol-H2O solvents were comparable to those observed in the traditional organic solvents used with these reactions. Gibbs free energy calculations show that the reactants and reaction transition states for the SN1 and Diels-Alder reactions are stabilized in the presence of the polyglycol-H2O solvents. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50:511–517, 2004)
Illustrative Design Space Studies with Microarchitectural Regression Models

We apply a scalable approach for practical, comprehensive design space evaluation and optimization. This approach combines design space sampling and statistical inference to identify trends from a sparse simulation of the space. The computational efficiency of sampling and inference enables new capabilities in design space exploration. We illustrate these capabilities using performance and power models for three studies of a 260,000 point design space: (1) Pareto frontier analysis, (2) pipeline depth analysis, and (3) multiprocessor heterogeneity analysis. For each study, we provide an assessment of predictive error and sensitivity of observed trends to such error. We construct Pareto frontiers and find predictions for Pareto optima are no less accurate than those for the broader design space. We reproduce and enhance prior pipeline depth studies, demonstrating constrained sensitivity studies may not generalize when many other design parameters are held at constant values. Lastly, we identify efficient heterogeneous core designs by clustering per benchmark optimal architectures. Collectively, these studies motivate the application of techniques in statistical inference for more effective use of modern simulator infrastructure
Ebola Outbreak Response: The Role of Information Resources and the National Library of Medicine

The US National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers Internet-based, no-cost resources useful for responding to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Resources for health professionals, planners, responders, and researchers include PubMed, Disaster Lit, the Web page “Ebola Outbreak 2014: Information Resources,” and the Virus Variation database of sequences for Ebolavirus. In cooperation with participating publishers, NLM offers free access to full-text articles from over 650 biomedical journals and 4000 online reference books through the Emergency Access Initiative. At the start of a prolonged disaster event or disease outbreak, the documents and information of most immediate use may not be in the peer-reviewed biomedical journal literature. To maintain current awareness may require using any of the following: news outlets; social media; preliminary online data, maps, and situation reports; and documents published by nongovernmental organizations, international associations, and government agencies. Similar to the pattern of interest shown in the news and social media, use of NLM Ebola-related resources is also increasing since the start of the outbreak was first reported in March 2014 (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)
Structural model identification of a small flexible aircraft

The system identification of a light-weight, high-aspect ratio wing is presented. Experimental data is obtained from a ground vibration test. The input signals are sine sweep wave forces and the outputs are the corresponding acceleration responses of the aircraft. Subspace algorithms are used to estimate a state-space model of the aircraft. Minimization of the model prediction error is performed to fit the frequency response data. As result, the estimated model identifies six structural modes between 5 Hz and 30 Hz.
Analysis of off-axis performance of compliant mechanisms with applications to mobile millirobot design

We present an approach to quantifying the off-axis stiffness properties of parallel compliant mechanisms used in the design of mobile millirobots. By transforming the stiffness of individual flexure elements and rigid links comprising a compliant mechanism into a global coordinate system, we enable the formulation of an equivalent mechanism stiffness. Using that stiffness in concert with an energy-based performance metric, we predict the performance of a compliant mechanism subjected to a prescribed set of forces in the global coordinate system. We analyze a flexure-based Sarrus linkage and use the performance metric to improve the design by adding topological redundancy. Finally, our approach is experimentally validated by constructing and testing SCM Sarrus linkages in a variety of geometries and topologies and demonstrating agreement between the model and our experiments.
Preliminary efficacy of a comprehensive HIV prevention intervention for abstinent adolescent girls: pilot study findings.

We developed and pilot-tested a comprehensive HIV prevention/ sexual risk reduction intervention with 54 sexually abstinent girls and estimated the effect of the intervention on three antecedents of sexual risk behavior: information, motivation, and behavioral skills. Girls ages 14- 18 were randomized into either (a) an AbsPlus intervention or (b) a structurally equivalent control group. Assessments were obtained at base- line and 3 months follow-up using audio computer assisted self-interview. The intervention resulted in a large effect for information (d ¼ 1.11); small to large effects for the motivational measures (d ¼ .34-.88), and a moderate effect for a measure of behavioral skills (d ¼ .67). The results indicate that antecedents of sexual risk behavior change were improved by a gender- specific theoretically guided intervention. 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 32:569-581, 2009
Extensions to the Bartels-Stewart algorithm for linear matrix equations

It is shown that the Bartels-stewart algorithm can be extended to treat the adjoint and nonsymmetric matrix equations, while taking advantage of substantial savings in computer time afforded by the sequential solution property of the algorithm.
Integration Of Information Technology And Simulation For Managing Manufacturing-Logistics Network

This paper helps investigate the integration of information technology (IT) and simulation in order to help understand how to set reliable delivery dates in manufacturing-logistics networks. This integration is necessary to assist organizations involved in the network to help plan and control their operations more efficiently. The authors reviewed previous work in the areas of IT-oriented logistics, real time simulation, and due date assignment. We describe a general architecture for a real-time simulation-based system and create a prototype based on our architecture. An application of the prototype in a small manufacturing company is employed. The prototype implemented was for a local manufacturer of made-to-order safety windows with three manufacturing plants and a one office location, all within a 50-mile radius. The prototype for this company was developed utilizing a Boreland’s Delphi 3 application development tool. The reason that a distributed simulation model was not implemented was that we focused on validating the most critical components of our architecture using a simple prototype as our initial validation effort. The following possible advantages of our architecture were identified: * The architecture can use the most up-to-date operational data to make decisions regarding delivery date assignment and network management. * The architecture can support both central and distributed environments. * The prototype developed based on the architecture could assign tight delivery dates. * The prototype could be used to maintain or increase the level of on-time deliveries by monitoring the operations. * The prototype could generate options on delivery dates and cost based on routings/priority and transportation service options.
At a Loss for Words: Televisual Liveness and Corporeal Interruption

In the closing days of 2004, the New York Times published a list of “TV’s Best Live Moments” from the preceding year.2 By the night of its release, the list already seemed outdated, as television networks scrambled to bring viewers the first live reports from a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean. However, even before its historical relevance became superseded by the natural disaster, the list already presented a very peculiar survey of television. After all, no major events or catastrophes from the previous year were included in its inventory of captivating spectacles—not Hurricanes Jeanne or Ivan; not the publicized funeral of Ronald Reagan or the much-discussed re-election of George W. Bush; not the historical Olympic Games in Athens or the self-congratulatory Academy Awards. Not a single important live broadcast was featured in the newspaper’s year-end reflection. Instead, the list consisted entirely of much more banal events that somehow attained mythical status in public discourse. These included, among others: Janet Jackson’s bared breast, Ashlee Simpson’s lip-syncing embarrassment, Jon Stewart’s political commentary on CNN’s Crossfire, and Scott Peterson’s cold response to his death penalty sentence. This strange selection, which emerged amidst wider coverage of feel-good holiday stories and year-end recaps, is by no means an accurate representation of national political values. Nor do I think that its contents can simply be ascribed to journalistic contempt for television. After all, many of the selected televised moments did receive a frenzy of public attention, and were widely circulated or discussed by multiple media. Instead of dismissing these moments as historically irrelevant products of cultural consumption, I argue that they expose the significant role of interruption in establishing and maintaining the effect of television “liveness.” The attraction of television liveness, as an ideological (or simulated?) media construction, depends precisely on such brief, unexpected ruptures in
It’s Time to Shine the Light on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

Pharmaceutical marketing is undergoing a transition as the business, delivery, and consumption of health care have increasingly become part of a growing digital landscape. Changes in pharmaceutical promotion also coincide with federal “sunshine” regulations newly implemented under the Affordable Care Act that require disclosure of certain marketing and industry payments to physicians. Collectively, these trends could lead to fundamental shifts in physician-directed and direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) that have yet to be adequately identified or explored. In response, we advocate for greater DTCA transparency, especially in the emerging digital forms of DTCA, to complement forthcoming sunshine transparency data. This will allow more robust study and understanding of changes in overall pharmaceutical marketing trends and their impact on health care consumption and behavior. This can also lead to more targeted state and federal policy interventions leveraging existing federal transparency regulations to ensure appropriate marketing, sales, and consumption of pharmaceutical products.
Correction-Spontaneous Central Retinal Artery Occlusion in Hemoglobin SC disease1

PURPOSE: To describe a case of spontaneous central retinal artery occlusion in a young man with hemoglobin sickle cell disease.METHOD: Case report.RESULTS: A 31-year-old African-American man with a history of hemoglobin SC (sickle C) disease developed sudden painless loss of vision in the right eye. Medical history was remarkable for the recent history of a mild sickle crisis, but no other systemic illness or contributing factors. Central retinal artery occlusion was diagnosed with retinal whitening, cherry red spot, and delayed arteriovenous transit on fluorescein angiography. Over the ensuing week, the patient had visual recovery to 20/60 in the absence of therapeutic intervention.CONCLUSION: Central retinal artery occlusion has been reported in sickle cell hemoglobinopathies (ie, SS, S-thal, sickle trait, and SC), but the association with double heterozygous SC disease is rare. Most reports have described additional contributing factors, such as trauma or concomitant systemic illness, to help account for the central retinal artery occlusion. The present case suggests that SC disease alone is sufficient for the development of central retinal artery occlusion.
Long-distance communication by specialized cellular projections during pigment pattern development and evolution

Animals have very different patterns of skin pigmentation, and these patterns can be important for survival and reproduction. Zebrafish, for example, have horizontal dark and light stripes along their bodies, while a closely related fish called the pearl danio has an almost uniform pattern. The dark stripes of the zebrafish contain cells called melanophores, while the lighter regions contain two other types of cells known as xanthophores and iridophores. These pigment cell types interact with each other to create stripes. The iridophores establish the lighter stripes and specify the position and orientation of the dark stripes. They also produce a protein called Csf1, which allows the xanthophores to mature. As the stripes form, melanophores present in lighter stripes move into nearby dark stripes. Pearl danios also contain these three types of pigment cells, but these cells remain intermingled giving the fish their uniform color. Eom et al. have now used microscopy to image pigment cells in zebrafish and pearl danio to uncover how interactions between these cells differ in species with different pigment patterns. The technique involved tagging pigment cells with fluorescent markers and using time-lapse imaging to track them during the formation of the adult pigmentation pattern. The experiments show that stripes form in zebrafish because the cells that make the xanthophores form long, thin projections that extend to neighboring melanophores. These so-called ‘airinemes’ deliver materials to melanophores and help to clear the melanophores from interstripe regions, partly by activating a cell communication pathway called Delta-Notch signaling. These cell projections are mostly absent from the cells that make xanthophores in the pearl danio due to differences in when Csf1 is produced. This alters the timing of when the xanthophores develop, leading to the loss of long-distance airineme signaling. Eom et al.’s findings identify a new way in which cells can communicate and an unanticipated cell behavior that contributes to a striking difference in the pigmentation patterns of zebrafish and pearl danio. Future studies should further our understanding of these unique projections and reveal whether they are produced by other types of cells.
Physical Variables and Major Ion Chemistry of the Lake

The geology of the Lake Dillon region has been well documented in connection with the construction of the Roberts Tunnel and the exploitation of mineral resources in the watershed. The publication of Wahlstrom and Hornback (1962) gives details and contains references to earlier studies.
Origin and genetic structure of a recovering bobcat (Lynx rufus) population

Genetic analyses can provide important insights into the demographic processes that underlie recovering populations of mammals of conservation concern such as felid species. To better understand the recent and rapid recovery of bobcats (Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)) in Ohio, we analyzed samples from four states in the lower Great Lakes Region using 12 microsatellite DNA loci and a portion of the mtDNA control region. Our results showed that a newly established population of bobcats in the eastern part of Ohio was genetically distinct from a multistate population distributed across Kentucky, southern Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. There was no direct genetic evidence of a bottleneck or inbreeding in this population. A lack of private alleles and only slightly lower levels of allelic richness and heterozygosity compared with its neighbors suggest that the eastern Ohio population likely originated from the migration of relatively large numbers of individuals from a source population rather tha...
Ocular Component Correlations in Infant Eyes

Previous studies find that axial length is not correlated with refractive error at birth. By three months of age and into childhood, the most important ocular components for determining refractive error are vitreous chamber depth and corneal power.
Perceived and experienced stigma among people living with HIV: Examining the role of prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures

ABSTRACTHIV remains a significant health concern entering the fourth decade of the epidemic [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2014. HIV basics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html], and people living with HIV continue to grapple with stigma. This study uses Leary and Schreindorfer's [1998. The stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: Rubbing salt in the wound. In V. J. Derlega & A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 12–29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage] conceptualization of stigma to explore prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures. We interviewed HIV+ individuals (N = 59) and used a combination of deductive and inductive coding to analyze participants’ responses. Deductive codes consisted of four stigma characteristics (pose a threat to others’ health and safety, deviate from group standards, create negative emotional reactions in others, and failure to contribute), experiences of feeling stigmatized due to HIV status (yes or no), and the degree t...
Investigating the synthesis of ligated metal clusters in solution using a flow reactor and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

The scalable synthesis of subnanometer metal clusters containing an exact number of atoms is of interest due to the highly size-dependent catalytic, electronic and optical properties of these species. While significant research has been conducted on the batch preparation of clusters through reduction synthesis in solution, the processes of metal complex reduction as well as cluster nucleation, growth and post-reduction etching are still not well understood. Herein, we demonstrate a temperature-controlled flow reactor for studying cluster formation in solution at well-defined conditions. Employing this technique methanol solutions of a chloro(triphenylphosphine)gold precursor, 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane capping ligand and borane-tert-butylamine reducing agent were combined in a mixing tee and introduced into a heated capillary with an adjustable length. In this manner, the temperature dependence of the relative abundance of different ionic reactants, intermediates and products synthesized in real time was characterized using online mass spectrometry. A wide distribution of doubly and triply charged cationic gold clusters was observed as well as smaller singly charged metal-ligand complexes. The results demonstrate that temperature plays a crucial role in determining the relative population of cationic gold clusters and, in general, that higher temperature promotes the formation of doubly charged clusters and singly charged metal-ligand complexes while hinderingmore » the growth of triply charged clusters. Moreover, the distribution of clusters observed at elevated temperatures is found to be consistent with that obtained at longer reaction times at room temperature, thereby demonstrating that heating may be used to access cluster distributions characteristic of different stages of reduction synthesis in solution.« less
Student Evaluation of Teaching: An Investigation of Nonresponse Bias in an Online Context

The online administration of student evaluations has its shortcomings, including low participation, or low response rates, and bias. This study examines nonresponse bias in online student evaluatio...
The Laboratory Diagnosis of Lyme Borreliosis

The dependence on laboratory tests for the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis has been increasing as the recognized clinical spectrum of disease manifestations has widened. Unfortunately, the state of standardization and proficiency testing for these tests is not well established and the quality of testing not optimum. It is extremely important in diagnosing Lyme borreliosis that clinical symptomatology and history be critically reviewed to make valid conclusions from the laboratory test results.
Quorum Activation at a Distance: Spatiotemporal Patterns of Gene Regulation from Diffusion of an Autoinducer Signal

Quorum sensing (QS) bacteria regulate gene expression collectively by exchanging diffusible signal molecules known as autoinducers. Although QS is often studied in well-stirred laboratory cultures, QS bacteria colonize many physically and chemically heterogeneous environments where signal molecules are transported primarily by diffusion. This raises questions of the effective distance range of QS and the degree to which colony behavior can be synchronized over such distances. We have combined experiments and modeling to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression that develop in response to a diffusing autoinducer signal. We embedded a QS strain in a narrow agar lane and introduced exogenous autoinducer at one terminus of the lane. We then measured the expression of a QS reporter as a function of space and time as the autoinducer diffused along the lane. The diffusing signal readily activates the reporter over distances of ∼1 cm on time scales of ∼10 h. However, the patterns of activation a...
Secure store: a secure distributed storage service

As computers become pervasive in environments that include the home and community, new applications are emerging that will create and manipulate sensitive and private information. These applications span systems ranging from personal to mobile and hand held devices. They would benefit from a data storage service that protects the integrity and confidentiality of the stored data and is highly available. Such a data repository would have to meet the needs of a variety of applications, handling data with varying security and performance requirements. Providing simultaneously both high levels of security and high levels of performance may not be possible when many nodes in the system are under attack. The agility approach to building secure distributed services advocates the principle that the overhead of providing strong security guarantees should be incurred only by those applications that require such high levels of security and only at times when it is necessary to defend against high threat levels. A storage service that is designed for a variety of applications must follow the principles of agility, offering applications a range of options to choose from for their security and performance requirements. This research presents secure store, a secure and highly available distributed store to meet the performance and security needs of a variety of applications. Secure store is designed to guarantee integrity, confidentiality and availability of stored data even in the face of limited number of compromised servers. Secure store is designed based on the principles of agility. Secure store integrates two well known techniques, namely replication and secret-sharing, and exploits the tradeoffs that exist between security and performance to offer applications a range of options to choose from to suit their needs. This thesis makes several contributions, including (1) illustration of the principles of agility, (2) a novel gossip-style secure dissemination protocol whose performance is comparable to the best-possible benign-case protocol in the absence of any malicious activity, (3) demonstration of the performance benefits of using weaker consistency models for data access, and (4) a technique called collective endorsement that can be used in other secure distributed applications.
Distribution, Sources, and Sinks of Cyanate in the Coastal North Atlantic Ocean

On the basis of reverse genomics and growth of cultured populations, it has been hypothesized that cyanate is utilized as a nitrogen source by ubiquitous groups of marine phytoplankton. Recently, a nanomolar method was developed to measure cyanate concentrations in marine and estuarine waters. Here we report the first measurements of cyanate distributions, biological utilization, and production from the coastal North Atlantic Ocean. Cyanate concentrations were highest below the chlorophyll maximum at many stations but were high throughout the water column on the shallow Georges Bank where chlorophyll concentrations were especially high down to the bottom, suggesting production by organic matter degradation or release by phytoplankton. Here we demonstrate that cyanate is produced in senescent algal cultures and through photochemical reactions at rates comparable to rates of production of other labile nitrogen compounds. Cyanate uptake accounted for up to 10% of total N uptake at an oligotrophic mid-Atlanti...
Bundling Information Goods to Reduce Search Costs

We model the potential for a company bundling high search cost information goods to obtain an advantage over conventional sales. Using the streaming video industry as an example, we find that bundling services can increase a user's utility from films with higher search costs, allowing the service to charge a price premium in a fully served market when the reduction in search costs exceeds the consumer's disutility from a less preferred source. This implies the consumer's benefits are greatest when streaming services focus on products with high search costs. Using theatrical critical review data from film releases as a proxy for demand, the number of reviews as a proxy for search costs, and data from the Netflix streaming library, we find empirical evidence that films with higher search costs are more likely to be included in a streaming bundle.
Narrative career counseling: My career story and pictorial narratives

Abstract The present article addresses the questions of what changes during narrative-informed career interventions and what prompts client reflection. We interrogated two case studies that both used the interventions of Pictorial Narratives (Taylor & Santoro, 2016) and My Career Story (Savickas & Hartung, 2012). Being heard and validated were elements that prompted client change through increased reflexivity and agency. And, reflexivity and agency were fostered by encouraging clients to consider the contrast between problem and preferred pictorials and to connect the perspective from early recollections to possibilities in a reconstructed career narrative. This pair of contrasting symbols prompted deep sense-making and new realizations that primed purposeful actions in the real world to reconstruct career and life. In addition to addressing the questions posed by the organizers, this article describes how the Pictorial Narrative methods, when used in career counseling, can been integrated with the My Career Story workbook to enhance client reflection and agency. The two case examples illustrate this unique integration of constructionist career counseling interventions.
Transparent anemone shrimp (Ancylomenes pedersoni) become opaque after exercise and physiological stress in correlation with increased hemolymph perfusion.

ABSTRACT Whole-body transparency, an effective camouflage strategy in many aquatic species, can be disrupted by environmental and/or physiological stressors. We found that tail-flip escape responses temporarily disrupt the transparency of the anemone shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni . After as few as three tail flips, the previously transparent abdominal muscle became cloudy. Eliciting additional tail flips to the point of exhaustion (16±1 s.e.m.; n =23) resulted in complete opacity, though the original transparency returned after 20–60 min of inactivity. We hypothesized that an exercise-induced increase in blood volume between muscle fibers creates regions of low refractive index fluid between high refractive index muscles, thereby increasing light scattering. We documented pre- and post-contraction perfusion by injecting Alexa Fluor 594 wheat germ agglutinin that labeled sarcolemmal surfaces and endothelial cells in contact with hemolymph and found more hemolymph perfused through the abdominal tissue post-exercise, presumably owing to more capillaries opening. In addition, we altered salinity (to 55‰ and 8‰), perforated the abdomen and injected a vasodilator. All three treatments increased both perfusion and opacity, lending further support to our hypothesis that increased hemolymph perfusion to the abdomen is one mechanism that can disrupt a shrimp9s transparency. The fact that transparent shrimp at rest have little to no evidence of perfusion to their abdominal musculature (unlike the opaque shrimp Lysmata pederseni , which had more perfusion even at rest) indicates that they may experience significant physiological trade-offs in order to maintain their transparency; specifically, limiting blood flow and thereby reducing oxygen delivery may result in reduced performance.