cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Repair of broken dentures in resin undercuts

This technique utilizes both irreversible hydrocolloid impression material and fast-setting stone to repair a denture which has fractured in a tissue undercut. This procedure maintains the same tissue surface detail on the repaired denture as existed on the denture prior to the repair.
Effects of PKA Phosphorylation of Cardiac Troponin I and Strong Crossbridge on Conformational Transitions of the N-Domain of Cardiac Troponin C in Regulated Thin Filaments

Regulation of cardiac muscle function is initiated by binding of Ca2+ to troponin C (cTnC) which induces a series of structural changes in cTnC and other thin filament proteins. These structural changes are further modulated by crossbridge formation and fine-tuned by phosphorylation of cTnI. The objective of the present study is to use a new Forster resonance energy transfer-based structural marker to distinguish structural and kinetic effects of Ca2+ binding, crossbridge interaction, and protein kinase A phosphorylation of cTnI on the conformational changes of the cTnC N-domain. The FRET-based structural marker was generated by attaching AEDANS to one cysteine of a double-cysteine mutant cTnC(13C/51C) as a FRET donor and attaching DDPM to the other cysteine as the acceptor. The doubly labeled cTnC mutant was reconstituted into the thin filament by adding cTnI, cTnT, tropomyosin, and actin. Changes in the distance between Cys13 and Cys51 induced by Ca2+ binding/dissociation were determined by FRET-sensed ...
Stable Expression of the Neuronal BI (Class A) Calcium Channel in Baby Hamster Kidney Cells

Abstract Plasmids containing the BI (α 1 ) cDNA with the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene, skeletal muscle α 2 -subunit cDNA with the neo marker gene, and β-subunit cDNA were co-transfected into baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. BHK cells lack endogenous calcium channel activity. Twenty percent of the methotrexate (MTX) and G418 resistant clones were found to express calcium channel activity using the patch-clamp technique. A single clone, BHKBI147, demonstrated stable electrophysiological characteristics over 20 passages. Ca 2+ currents of the BI channel in BHKBL147 cells were largely blocked by a specific P-type blocker, ω-AgaIVA, with an IC 50 of 150 nM. Unlike the BI channel, Ca 2+ currents of cardiac L-type channels expressed in BHK cells were completely blocked by the L-type antagonist, nifedipine, with an IC 50 of 56 nM.
The initiation ritual as a model for oncology counseling

This article examines the use of the initiation ritual of primitive people, described in the works of Mircea Eliade, as a model for counseling cancer patients, giving both meaning and structure to the interactions between patient and counselor. Within this model the patient's encounter with death, whether feared or actualized, can be used as impetus toward personal growth, whatever the stage of the person's disease process. Case examples are given to illustrate how the model can be used in practice. Comparison is also made between stages and components of the initiation ritual and other techniques used to alter a person's consciousness.
Value of continuous glucose monitoring for minimizing severe hypoglycemia during tight glycemic control.

Objective:Tight glycemic control can potentially reduce morbidity and mortality in the intensive care unit but increases the risk of hypoglycemia. The most effective means to avoid hypoglycemia is to obtain frequent blood glucose samples, but this increases the burden to nursing staff. The objective
Socrates’ Muse and the audience's desire

Plato's philosophical dialogues provide the earliest theory of performance in the Western tradition. Surprisingly, performance theorists have not closely examined the one dialogue devoted to the performer's art—the Ion. A close reading of this dialogue reveals a non‐Platonic theory of performance buried beneath the one advanced by Socrates. Socrates argues that performance begins in the Muse, but the rhapsode Ion suggests that it begins in the audience. Desiring to shape itself after heroic models, the audience possesses and displaces the performer who embodies those models. Socrates’ Muse is the audience's desire. An episode from Stanislavsky's An Actor Prepares is analyzed in order to contrast the two perspectives on performance offered by Plato's Ion. The essay concludes with a brief discussion of the audience's desire from psychological and political points of view.
Ranking whist players

We present methods for ranking players in whist tournaments and consider desirable properties of these methods. This work is analogous to the study of rankings for players in round-robin tournaments.
Mining the maintenance history of a legacy software system

A considerable amount of system maintenance experience can be found in bug tracking and source code configuration management systems. Data mining and machine learning techniques allow one to extract models from past experience that can be used in future predictions. By mining the software change record, one can therefore generate models that can be used in future maintenance activities. In this paper, we present an example of such a model that represents a relation between pairs of files and show how it can be extracted from the software update records of a real world legacy system. We show how different sources of data can be used to extract sets of features useful in describing this model, as well as how results are affected by these different feature sets and their combinations. Our best results were obtained from text-based features, i.e. those extracted from words in the problem reports as opposed to syntactic structures in the source code.
Speaking with Tongues

Author's Summary— It so happens that our experience with the Language Classes in the A.S.T.P. can be strikingly phrased in terms of the New Testament. The implications of this experience for civilian teachers tend towards the practice of Speaking, yes, but with Love and Understanding for the people whose languages we teach.
Associating genes with gene ontology codes using a maximum entropy analysis of biomedical literature.

Functional characterizations of thousands of gene products from many species are described in the published literature. These discussions are extremely valuable for characterizing the functions not only of these gene products, but also of their homologs in other organisms. The Gene Ontology (GO) is an effort to create a controlled terminology for labeling gene functions in a more precise, reliable, computer-readable manner. Currently, the best annotations of gene function with the GO are performed by highly trained biologists who read the literature and select appropriate codes. In this study, we explored the possibility that statistical natural language processing techniques can be used to assign GO codes. We compared three document classification methods (maximum entropy modeling, naive Bayes classification, and nearest-neighbor classification) to the problem of associating a set of GO codes (for biological process) to literature abstracts and thus to the genes associated with the abstracts. We showed that maximum entropy modeling outperforms the other methods and achieves an accuracy of 72% when ascertaining the function discussed within an abstract. The maximum entropy method provides confidence measures that correlate well with performance. We conclude that statistical methods may be used to assign GO codes and may be useful for the difficult task of reassignment as terminology standards evolve over time.
Change in adipocytokines and ghrelin with menopause.

Objectives To determine if ghrelin and adipocytokine (leptin, adiponectin, resistin) levels vary with menopause stage or with estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations measured in three stages of the menopause transition.
Influence of Thermal History on the Crystallization Behavior and Hardness of a Glass‐Ceramic

The glass system SiO2─Al2O3─Li2O─TiO2 was examined to determine the dependence of hardness on heat-treatment temperature. In addition to hardness measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the type and amount of phases present and to relate this to the hardness results. Hardness increased with heat-treatment temperature. This correlated with the amounts of crystals present, as determined by XRD. For a particular heat-treatment temperature, when hardness was plotted versus load on the indenter, there was a load dependence. There was at first a rapid decrease as the load on the indenter increased, with a constant value being approached at higher loads.
On optimizing I/O through InfiniBand RDMA for commodity clusters

Our goal was to enable pNFS as a highperformance parallel file system by using network file system (NFS) storage objects and InfiniBand remote direct memory access (RDMA) transport in the Linux mainline. One obstacle to this approach was the performance bottleneck in NFS/RDMA streaming-writes from the compute nodes. We benchmarked, tuned, and improved the streaming-write efficiency of the Linux NFS client. However, deeper analyses of the benchmarks and the various I/O short-circuit schemes established upper bounds on the performance of the NFS client — even with an infinitely fast network — so that the performance was substantially less than the theoretical streaming bandwidth of the fast interconnections. The complex interactions between the Linux virtual file system, Linux virtual memory management, and the IB network subsystems apparently impose a limit on further improvement.
Editorial Response: Choosing Amphotericin B Formulations—Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When choosing lipid formulations of amphotericin B to be used in treatment, physicians and pharmacies have been forced to choose on the basis of either price and or adverse reactions. There have been no adequate studies comparing the efficacy of any 2 amphotericin B formulations in proven cases of mycosis; all comparisons performed so far have been either with historical controls of limited value or with empirical therapy. Although amphotericin B has come to be used in febrile neutropenic patients who have not responded to as little as 72 h of antibacterial therapy, there are no studies that have established the efficacy of antifungal therapy at this juncture, with or without prior fluconazole prophylaxis. Without knowing whether amphotericin B is needed at all, concluding that 2 formulations are equally efficacious is meaningless.
Housing Tenure Choice in Australia and the United States: Impacts of Alternative Subsidy Policies

This article compares the homeownership rates of young households in Australia and the United States and evaluates the impacts of the two countries' different approaches to subsidizing homeownership. Since about 1950, Australia's rate of homeownership has consistently been higher than that of the United States. The homeownership rate for young adults is also significantly higher in Australia. While the United States allows mortgage interest and property taxes to be deducted from income for tax purposes, Australia has provided cash subsidies for down payments and mortgage payments. We conclude that differences in housing costs and household characteristics do not explain differences in ownership rates. We also conclude that differences in subsidy policies have only a minor impact on ownership rates.
Sequential Counteracting Kinases Restrict an Asymmetric Gene Expression Program to early G1

Gene expression is restricted to specific times in cell division and differentiation through close control of both activation and inactivation of transcription. In budding yeast, strict spatiotemporal regulation of the transcription factor Ace2 ensures that it acts only once in a cell's lifetime: at the M-to-G1 transition in newborn daughter cells. The Ndr/LATS family kinase Cbk1, functioning in a system similar to metazoan hippo signaling pathways, activates Ace2 and drives its accumulation in daughter cell nuclei, but the mechanism of this transcription factor's inactivation is unknown. We found that Ace2's nuclear localization is maintained by continuous Cbk1 activity and that inhibition of the kinase leads to immediate loss of phosphorylation and export to the cytoplasm. Once exported, Ace2 cannot re-enter nuclei for the remainder of the cell cycle. Two separate mechanisms enforce Ace2's cytoplasmic sequestration: 1) phosphorylation of CDK consensus sites in Ace2 by the G1 CDKs Pho85 and Cdc28/CDK1 and 2) an unknown mechanism mediated by Pho85 that is independent of its kinase activity. Direct phosphorylation of CDK consensus sites is not necessary for Ace2's cytoplasmic retention, indicating that these mechanisms function redundantly. Overall, these findings show how sequential opposing kinases limit a daughter cell specific transcriptional program to a brief period during the cell cycle and suggest that CDKs may function as cytoplasmic sequestration factors.
Volatility and Underwriting Cycles

This paper describes and illustrates the main ideas and findings of research on the volatility and cyclical behavior of insurance prices relative to those predicted by a perfectly competitive market in long-run equilibrium. After presenting evidence that insurance market prices indeed follow a second order autoregressive process, we examine several lines of research that have tried to explain the cyclical behavior of insurance prices. Particular emphasis is given to the theoretical developments of and empirical results supporting capital shock models, which primarily explain periods of high insurance prices. We then summarize the idea that moral hazard and/or winners curse effects can explain periods of low insurance prices. Finally, the potential effects of regulation on insurance price volatility are summarized.
Forward genetic analysis of Toll-like receptor responses in wild-derived mice reveals a novel antiinflammatory role for IRAK1BP1.

Although inflammatory cytokines produced by activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential for early host defense against infection, they also mediate a vast array of pathologies, including autoimmune disease, hypersensitivity reactions, and sepsis. Thus, numerous regulatory mechanisms exist in parallel with proinflammatory pathways to prevent excessive release of these potent effector molecules. We report elucidation of a novel regulatory function for interleukin receptor–associated kinase (IRAK)-1 binding protein 1 (IRAK1BP1, also known as SIMPL) through quantitative trait locus mapping of the TLR response in wild-derived mouse strains. This gene emerged as a negative regulator of TLR2-mediated interleukin (IL)-6 production in MOLF/Ei mice, which expressed IRAK1BP1 mRNA in an allele-specific manner when crossed with the C57BL/6J strain. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and primary macrophages from two other wild-derived mouse strains also induced IRAK1BP1 mRNA by 4 hours after stimulation with agonists of various TLRs. Examination of its effects on IL-6 and other cytokines demonstrated that IRAK1BP1 regulates transcription of a specific subset of TLR-responsive genes, producing an overall antiinflammatory profile. Our results reveal that IRAK1BP1 is a critical factor in preventing dangerous overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines by the innate immune system and in influencing the specificity of TLR responses. Furthermore, these results show that the genetic diversity of wild-derived mouse strains makes them a valuable model of important human gene functions that have been lost in some laboratory-inbred strains.
Field data showing the downlink adaptive beamforming gains in an experimental IEEE 802.16e-2005 OFDMA system

Transmit adaptive beamforming can be applied on the subcarriers of an OFDM system to obtain a coherent processing gain at the receiver. The IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard for mobile broadband wireless access contains signaling strategies that facilitate the use of downlink adaptive beam- forming which leverages time-division duplex (TDD) channel reciprocity. Motorola Labs has developed an experimental mobile multi-antenna OFDM system that implements a realtime, adaptive beamformer that uses these strategies. This paper describes key components and parameters of this experimental system and describes the results of field experiments that show the performance gains realized by this platform.
Locally-optimal navigation in multiply-connected environments without geometric maps

In this paper we present an algorithm to build a sensor-based, dynamic data structure useful for robot navigation in an unknown, multiply-connected planar environment. This data structure offers a robust framework for robot navigation, avoiding the need of a complete geometric map or explicit localization, by building a minimal representation based entirely on critical events in online sensor measurements made by the robot. There are two sensing requirements for the robot: it must detect when it is close to the walls, to perform wall-following reliably, and it must be able to detect discontinuities in depth information. It is also assumed that the robot is able to drop, detect and recover a marker. The navigation paths generated are optimal up to the homotopy class to which the paths belong, even though no distance information is measured.
Education of physicians-in-training can decrease the risk for vascular catheter infection.

Physicians-in-training participated in a course designed to standardize infection control practices. This course proved to be cost-effective and was associated with improved sterile technique and a...
Singularity detection and processing with wavelets

The mathematical characterization of singularities with Lipschitz exponents is reviewed. Theorems that estimate local Lipschitz exponents of functions from the evolution across scales of their wavelet transform are reviewed. It is then proven that the local maxima of the wavelet transform modulus detect the locations of irregular structures and provide numerical procedures to compute their Lipschitz exponents. The wavelet transform of singularities with fast oscillations has a particular behavior that is studied separately. The local frequency of such oscillations is measured from the wavelet transform modulus maxima. It has been shown numerically that one- and two-dimensional signals can be reconstructed, with a good approximation, from the local maxima of their wavelet transform modulus. As an application, an algorithm is developed that removes white noises from signals by analyzing the evolution of the wavelet transform maxima across scales. In two dimensions, the wavelet transform maxima indicate the location of edges in images. >
Validating the patient safety indicators in the Veterans Health Administration: are they ready for prime time?

a S ( t v r s t Increasing national concern and focus on patient safety after publication of the Institute of Medicine report To Err s Human prompted the need for evidence-based measures hat could be used with administrative data to identify ospital-based patient safety events. Development and reinement of the Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) by the gency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in collaboraion with the University of California at San Francisco and avis and Stanford University, represent a substantial conribution to the scientific detection of patient safety events. he PSIs, released in 2003, are a subset of the Agency for ealthcare Research and Quality’s quality indicators speifically designed to screen for potentially preventable aderse events that patients experience as a result of exposure o the acute-care setting. The PSIs are based on ICD-9-CM odes and therefore only require information from hospital dministrative discharge data, making them readily availble, cost-efficient, and easy to use. Because the PSIs were originally intended for use in uality improvement and case-finding activities, concerns about their validity have heightened with increasing emphasis on their use for public reporting. The National Quality Forum recently endorsed 10 of the PSIs as consensus standards, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will soon be posting 4 individual PSIs and a PSI Composite measure on their Hospital Compare Web site for hospital reporting and as part of their annual payent program. Recognizing the need to understand whether PSIs idenify true events, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Services esearch and Development Service funded a study to ex-
Mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser with Watt-level average power and sub-100fs pulse duration

We report a pulsed fiber laser that generates 31-nJ chirped pulses at 70-MHz repetition rate and 2.2 W average power. After dechirping outside the cavity, 80-fs pulses, with 200-kW peak power, are obtained.
The chorionic rim and low-impedance intrauterine arterial flow in the diagnosis of early intrauterine pregnancy : Evaluation of efficacy

We undertook this study to evaluate whether sonographic imaging of an intrauterine chorionic rim or arterial flow can help diagnose an early intrauterine pregnancy.One hundred sixty-nine women with early intrauterine pregnancies and 69 women with ectopic pregnancies underwent pelvic sonography. All sonograms were examined for a chorionic rim (an echogenic rim bordering an intrauterine fluid collection) or a double decidual sac. Of these 238 patients, 126 also underwent Doppler examination for endometrial arterial flow.The chorionic rim and double decidual sac had sensitivities for intrauterine pregnancy of 80% and 64%, respectively, and specificities of 97% and 100%, respectively. Intrauterine arterial flow with either peak systolic velocity greater than or equal to 15 cm/sec or resistive index less than or equal to 0.55 had a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 95%, Combining these two signs led to sensitivities and specificities of approximately 90%. Similar test performance was observed in patients...
Several Roads Lead to International Norms, but Few Via International Socialization: A Case Study of the European Commission

Can an international organization socialize those who work within it? The European Commission of the European Union is a crucial case because it is an autonomous international organization with a vocation to defend supranational norms. If this body cannot socialize its members, which international organization can? I develop theoretical expectations about how time, organizational structure, alternative processes of preference formation, and national socialization affect international socialization. To test these expectations for the European Commission, I use two surveys of top permanent Commission officials, conducted in 1996 and 2002. The analysis shows that support for supranational norms is relatively high, but that this is more because of national socialization than socialization in the Commission. National norms, originating in prior experiences in national ministries, loyalty to national political parties, or experience with one's country's organization of authority, decisively shape top officials' views on supranational norms. There are, then, several roads to international norms. For comments and advice, I am grateful to Jeffrey Checkel, Gary Marks, Donald Searing, and the editors and two anonymous reviewers for International Organization . An earlier draft was presented at the Center for European Studies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This project received funding from the Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and from two grants by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (1996–99, 1999–2002). Gina Cosentino, Erica Edwards, Michael Harvey, and Moira Nelson provided research assistance.
A comprehensive nonredundant expressed sequence tag collection for the developing Rattus norvegicus heart.

Congenital heart defects affect ∼1,000,000 people in the United States, with 40,000 new births contributing to that number every year. A large percentage of these defects can be attributed to septa...
The Use and Acceptance of Sexually Aggressive Tactics in College Men

This study extended the findings of Cleveland, Koss, and Lyon's (1999) research on rape tactics to a sample of college men by examining the use and acceptance of sexually aggressive tactics. Participants included 297 male undergraduate students who filled out instruments assessing for a history of sexual aggression and other personality characteristics. In addition, a measure was created to assess acceptance of sexually aggressive tactics, the Sexual Strategies Questionnaire, and a principal components analysis indicated the presence of two components: overt and covert tactics. Although the overt and covert tactics are comparable to those found by Cleveland and colleagues, the former may provide a greater level of discrimination between general and tactical alcohol usage. Finally, a regression analysis demonstrated that a history of sexually aggressive behavior and increased hypergender ideology were found to predict acceptance of sexually aggressive tactics. Directions for future research are discussed.
Why Do We Have ARMs

This paper suggests a resolution to the paradox of inefficient risk bearing by adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) borrowers. The analysis shows that when contracts are written in a realistic way, with payments linked across time via a common loan-rate function, risk sharing and the tilt of the mortgage payment stream become inextricably linked. Unless time preferences are identical or the cost of funds exhibits no time trend, borrowers will accept interest-rate risk in order to gain a more favorable time path of mortgage payments.
An Edible Moral Economy in the Motor City: Food Politics and Urban Governance in Detroit

Detroit has long been noted for the difficulties its residents face with basic food provisioning, but after an extended absence, national chain grocery stores are now returning to the city. Whole Foods Market is the first major national corporate grocer to reopen in the city following a period of disinvestment by the sector as a whole going back to the mid-2000s. As the city moves through a series of dramatic political and economic upheavals defined by fiscal crisis, emergency manager control, and the largest municipal Chapter 9 bankruptcy in U.S. history, food has become a focal point for debates over economic and racial inequalities, and contrasting ideals of urban governance in the city. In this research brief, we describe an ethnographic project that examines how concepts of food justice and ethical food relate to urban governance in Detroit. We seek to explore how Whole Foods Market and Detroiters engaged in shopping and activism articulate “just,” “good,” and “quality” food in ways that imply varying visions of governance for the city, community, and self. We suggest that Detroit9s moral economy of food could offer a particularly fruitful venue for understanding divergent visions of the city9s future and the relationship between food and politics.
Intra-articular Autologous Conditioned Plasma Injections Provide Safe and Efficacious Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis An FDA-Sanctioned, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial

Background:Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections have become an intriguing treatment option for osteoarthritis (OA), particularly OA of the knee. Despite the plethora of PRP-related citations, there is a paucity of high-level evidence that is comparable, cohort specific, dose controlled, injection protocol controlled, and double-blinded.Purpose:To determine the safety and efficacy of leukocyte-poor PRP autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) for knee OA treatment through a feasibility trial regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Study Design:Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.Methods:In accordance with FDA protocol, patient selection was based on strict inclusion/exclusion criteria; 114 patients were screened, and 30 were ultimately included in the study. These patients were randomized to receive either ACP (n = 15) or saline placebo (n = 15) for a series of 3 weekly injections. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores served as the primary e...
An unexpected stereochemical bias in the RAFT syntheses of styrene/p-bromostyrene copolymers uncovered by the Kerr effect

Abstract During our recent investigations of the viability of using the observed contributions synthetic polymers make to the birefringence of their dilute solutions when subjected to strong electric fields, i.e., their Kerr effects, to characterize the complete architectures or macrostructures of their chains, we discovered a surprising result. The Kerr constants measured for styrene/p-bromostyrene (S/pBrS) copolymers synthesized by controlled RAFT copolymerization could only be reproduced by their predicted calculated values when we assumed that pBrS─pBrS diads were enchained with a strong preference for the racemic (r) stereosequence, while at the same time S─S diads show no such stereochemical preference. Gradient and random S/pBrS copolymers made by RAFT showed similar Kerr constants, while those made by FRP and ATRP had Kerr effects different by a factor of two or more and were similar to those shown by samples with resultant blocky and random comonomer sequences made previously by BR of a-PS in poor and good solvents, respectively. By comparison to the Kerr effects observed for S/pBrS copolymers with similar compositions and comonomer sequences, but obtained by bromination (BR) of atactic polystyrene (a-PS) or uncontrolled free-radical (FRP) and controlled ATRP syntheses, which are well known to produce random atactic vinyl homo- and copolymers, we were able to confirm the stereochemical bias introduced during our controlled RAFT copolymerizations first suggested by our Kerr effect observations. Our Kerr effect observations and the conclusions drawn from them received further confirmation from the dewetting behaviors of their thin films observed from silicon wafers when they were heated well above their Tgs. For example, thin atactic S/pBrS films made by uncontrolled FRP and controlled ATRP free-radical polymerizations with random commoner sequences dewetted rapidly from silicon wafers when heated, while thin films made from atactic S/pBrS with random comonomer sequences, but obtained by controlled RAFT syntheses were “stickier”, and only dewet from silicon wafers after much longer annealing times. We suggest this increased “stickiness” of the RAFT synthesized S/pBrS copolymers is attributable to pBrS─pBrS diads with predominantly racemic structures that adopt preferred trans─trans conformations. In trans─trans racemic pBrS─pBrS diads, neighboring side chains are placed on opposite sides of the copolymer backbone in position for their p-Brs to strongly interact with the silicon wafer surfaces.
Isolation and characterization of two knotted-like homeobox genes from tomato

Homeobox genes are known to play a role in developmental regulation. The knotted-like homeobox (knox) genes fall into two classes. The class I knox genes like kn1, stm1, and knat1 are involved in maintaining meristem identity in cells. The function of class II knox genes is at yet undetermined. We have characterized two knox genes from tomato. LeT6 and LeT12 map to distinct chromosome locations that are different from the location for a recently cloned knox gene from tomato, tkn1, confirming that plant homeobox genes are not clustered on chromosomes. These genes have a distinct expression pattern. Unlike other class I kn1-like genes, LeT6 is expressed in developing lateral organs and developing ovaries in flowers. LeT12 is more ubiquitously expressed in the mature plant. RNA in situ localization data suggest that both these genes may have a role to play in formative events in ovule and embryo morphogenesis.
Real-time energy price-aware anycast RWA in optical data center networks

A major expense of network and data-center operators is electricity. Geographical distribution of resources implies agreements with multiple utility companies; these are increasingly offering real-time pricing, in addition to standard flat-rate prices. Today data replicas are typically available from several optical data centers. Replicas lead to more flexible network routing. We propose to reduce operational expenditures by choosing the route with the least cost for the energy consumed. We consider price changes throughout the day and the different US time zones and find average improvements of 7% to 11% in total electricity cost and up to 34% in certain scenarios. The greatest benefit of our approach is that the network can dynamically adapt to sudden price spikes or drops; excessive charges are avoided, and price discounts are exploited efficiently. During peak-hours, price differences are typically small and our approach converges to traditional shortest path routing.
E 1 and E 2 strength in Mg 24 and Mg 26 observed in α -capture reactions

Excitation functions and angular distributions of the reactions $^{20,22}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha}, {\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{0})$ were used to study the distribution of $E2$ strength in the energy regions 14-22 MeV of $^{24,26}\mathrm{Mg}$, as well as to probe the importance of isospin in the decay of the $E1$ giant resonance in these nuclei. It was found that the $E2$ strength in the ($\ensuremath{\gamma}, {\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{0}$) channel is rather uniformly distributed and accounts for about 10% of the energy weighted sum rule in each nucleus. Together with the $E2$ strength observed in lower resonances, about 45% of the sum rule is accounted for. No evidence for a compact $E2$ resonance is found. A comparison of the $E1$ distribution and total strength in the ($\ensuremath{\gamma}, {\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{0}$) channel of the giant dipole resonances in $^{24,26}\mathrm{Mg}$ indicates that isospin conservation may be important in these reactions. Information was also obtained on the reactions $^{20,22}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha}, {\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1})$.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{20}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha}, \ensuremath{\gamma})$, $E=2.5\ensuremath{-}20$ MeV; $^{22}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha}, \ensuremath{\gamma})$, $E=4.5\ensuremath{-}16$ MeV; measured $\ensuremath{\sigma}(E, {E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}, {\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}})$. $^{24,26}\mathrm{Mg}$ deduced $E1$, $E2$ strength. Enriched targets.
Carcinoma of Esophagus Perforating the Aorta

Perforation of a carcinomatous ulcer of the esophagus is not uncommon. Kaufman found that it occurred in 45 per cent of his cases. The perforation may take place into the trachea and bronchi, the mediastinum, large blood vessels and pleural or pericardial cavities. Erosion of large blood vessels with fatal hemorrhage, is, however, quite rare. Kaufman noted erosion into the aorta four times in 126 cases of carcinoma of the esophagus. Knaut collected all reported cases up to 1896 which numbered 50, and since Knaut's study Carr and Hanford in 1922 found 21 cases in the literature and added one of their own. Since 1922 occasional cases have been added to the literature. We have recently had a case of esophageal carcinoma which perforated into the aorta and caused fatal hemorrhage and because of the rarity of this condition and the long history of esophageal bleeding we believe this case is of sufficient interest to warrant reporting.
A Slow-speed Gravity Delivery System for Laboratory Specimens

A prototype system for the slow-speed transport of specimens by gravity was installed in New York University Hospital in May 1974. Blood, urine, body fluids and other specimens, except for 24-hour urines, are transported inside cylindrical containers that descend at constant velocities between 60 and 120 cm/sec, depending on the weight of the contents. Containers could be dispatched at six-second intervals, and each could carry as many as 15 blood specimens. Experience with the system has demonstrated that slow-speed gravity transport is practical and safe. No specimen has been lost, damaged or broken. Performance was acceptable, but some design modifications were needed. In February 1975, the system was expanded to provide service to the Intensive Care and Coronary Care Units.
The intestinal microbiome, barrier function, and immune system in inflammatory bowel disease: a tripartite pathophysiological circuit with implications for new therapeutic directions.

We discuss the tripartite pathophysiological circuit of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), involving the intestinal microbiota, barrier function, and immune system. Dysfunction in each of these physiological components (dysbiosis, leaky gut, and inflammation) contributes in a mutually interdependent manner to IBD onset and exacerbation. Genetic and environmental risk factors lead to disruption of gut homeostasis: genetic risks predominantly affect the immune system, environmental risks predominantly affect the microbiota, and both affect barrier function. Multiple genetic and environmental ‘hits’ are likely necessary to establish and exacerbate disease. Most conventional IBD therapies currently target only one component of the pathophysiological circuit, inflammation; however, many patients with IBD do not respond to immune-modulating therapies. Hope lies in new classes of therapies that target the microbiota and barrier function.
Extended field of view ultrasound imaging to evaluate Achilles tendon length and thickness: a reliability and validity study.

Background Achilles tendon structural changes are common after injury and correlate with recovery of function. Having simple, inexpensive, yet valid and reliable measures of Achilles tendon structure are useful both in research and clinical. The purpose of this study was to perform reliability and validity measures of extended field of view (EFOV) ultrasound (US) imaging of the Achilles tendon. Methods eight cadavers (16 tendons) were used for the validation study to compare Achilles tendon length measurements from US images with actual measured length from dissected tendons. Nine healthy subjects (18 tendons) were included in the test-retest evaluation. Results the correlation between the US images and cadaveric measurements was excellent (ICC=0.895) for the length between calcaneus and the gastrocnemius and good (ICC=0.744) for the length between the calcaneus and the soleus. The between-limb reliability was excellent (ICC 0.886-0.940) for the tendon length measurements with standard error of measurements (SEM) of 0.64 cm for calcaneus to soleus and 0.67 cm for calcaneus to gastrocnemius. Between-day test-retest reliability was also excellent (ICC=0.898-0.944). Conclusion this study supports the use of EFOV US imaging as a reliable and valid method to determine Achilles tendon length and thickness, and using the uninjured limb for comparison.
An optimisation model for downstream petroleum supply chain incorporating geographic information system (GIS)

The petroleum industry has one of the most complex and advanced supply chains around the world, which has motivated numerous studies aiming at optimising the distribution network and managing the logistics operations. This paper proposes a deterministic mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model to determine the optimal location of the distribution centres (DCs), capacities and allocation of the products in the downstream petroleum supply chain (PSC) by considering demand, capacity and flow balance constraints. The MILP minimises the multi-echelon multi-product cost for the petroleum industry along the refineries, DCs and demand nodes. The MILP is further tested with real data for the PSC network involving supply at the existing refineries and proposed DCs. Geographic information system (GIS) was used to analyse spatial data and to map the supply chain refineries, DCs and demand nodes to visualise the process. Sensitivity analysis is conducted on key parameters to provide insights on PSC decisions, while minimising the total cost.
A 3D Approximate Riemann Solver for the Euler Equations Using Flux Splitting Schemes With a Robust Multigrid

An explicit 3D approximate Riemann solver for the Euler equations is proposed using the famous shock capturing schemes with a simple cell vertex based multigrid method. A multistage Runge-Kutta time marching scheme with a local time stepping is used to achieve fast convergence to steady state. A Roe’s flux difference splitting, AUSM+, Van Leer and Steger-Warming’s flux vector splitting are implemented as base Riemann solvers with a third order flux reconstruction. It is shown that the proposed Riemann solvers accurately capture the shocks as well as reduce CPU time significantly with new multigrid.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Kinetics of Inhibitory Feedback from Horizontal Cells to Photoreceptors: Implications for an Ephaptic Mechanism

Inhibitory feedback from horizontal cells (HCs) to cones generates center-surround receptive fields and color opponency in the retina. Mechanisms of HC feedback remain unsettled, but one hypothesis proposes that an ephaptic mechanism may alter the extracellular electrical field surrounding photoreceptor synaptic terminals, thereby altering Ca2+ channel activity and photoreceptor output. An ephaptic voltage change produced by current flowing through open channels in the HC membrane should occur with no delay. To test for this mechanism, we measured kinetics of inhibitory feedback currents in Ambystoma tigrinum cones and rods evoked by hyperpolarizing steps applied to synaptically coupled HCs. Hyperpolarizing HCs stimulated inward feedback currents in cones that averaged 8–9 pA and exhibited a biexponential time course with time constants averaging 14–17 ms and 120–220 ms. Measurement of feedback-current kinetics was limited by three factors: (1) HC voltage-clamp speed, (2) cone voltage-clamp speed, and (3) kinetics of Ca2+ channel activation or deactivation in the photoreceptor terminal. These factors totaled ∼4–5 ms in cones meaning that the true fast time constants for HC-to-cone feedback currents were 9–13 ms, slower than expected for ephaptic voltage changes. We also compared speed of feedback to feedforward glutamate release measured at the same cone/HC synapses and found a latency for feedback of 11–14 ms. Inhibitory feedback from HCs to rods was also significantly slower than either measurement kinetics or feedforward release. The finding that inhibitory feedback from HCs to photoreceptors involves a significant delay indicates that it is not due to previously proposed ephaptic mechanisms. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Lateral inhibitory feedback from horizontal cells (HCs) to photoreceptors creates center-surround receptive fields and color-opponent interactions. Although underlying mechanisms remain unsettled, a longstanding hypothesis proposes that feedback is due to ephaptic voltage changes that regulate photoreceptor synaptic output by altering Ca2+ channel activity. Ephaptic processes should occur with no delay. We measured kinetics of inhibitory feedback currents evoked in photoreceptors with voltage steps applied to synaptically coupled HCs and found that feedback is too slow to be explained by ephaptic voltage changes generated by current flowing through continuously open channels in HC membranes. By eliminating the proposed ephaptic mechanism for HC feedback regulation of photoreceptor Ca2+ channels, our data support earlier proposals that synaptic cleft pH changes are more likely responsible.
Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Call to Action

Traditionally a disease of hepatologists, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has recently become a major concern for a broad spectrum of health care providers. Endocrinologists and those caring for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at center stage, as T2DM appears to worsen the course of NAFLD and the liver disease makes diabetes management more challenging. However, the nature of this relationship remains incompletely understood. Although the increasing prevalence of NAFLD is frequently attributed to the epidemic of obesity and is often oversimplified as the "hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome," it is a much more complex disease process that may also be observed in nonobese individuals and in patients without clinical manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. It carries both metabolic and liver-specific complications that make its approach unique among medical conditions. Diabetes appears to promote the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more severe form of the disease, and increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients and physicians face many uncertainties, including fragmented information on the natural history of the disease, challenges in the diagnosis of NASH, and few pharmacological agents with proven efficacy. However, recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, combined with the risk of serious consequences from inaction, call for health care providers to be more proactive in the management of patients with T2DM and NASH.
What do hypnotics cost hospitals and healthcare

Hypnotics (sleeping pills) are prescribed widely, but the economic costs of the harm they have caused have been largely unrecognized. Randomized clinical trials have observed that hypnotics increase the incidence of infections. Likewise, hypnotics increase the incidence of major depression and cause emergency admissions for overdoses and deaths. Epidemiologically, hypnotic use is associated with cancer, falls, automobile accidents, and markedly increased overall mortality. This article considers the costs to hospitals and healthcare payers of hypnotic-induced infections and other severe consequences of hypnotic use. These are a probable cause of excessive hospital admissions, prolonged lengths of stay at increased costs, and increased readmissions. Accurate information is scanty, for in-hospital hypnotic benefits and risks have scarcely been studied -- certainly not the economic costs of inpatient adverse effects. Healthcare costs of outpatient adverse effects likewise need evaluation. In one example, use of hypnotics among depressed patients was strongly associated with higher healthcare costs and more short-term disability. A best estimate is that U.S. costs of hypnotic harms to healthcare systems are on the order of $55 billion, but conceivably might be as low as $10 billion or as high as $100 billion. More research is needed to more accurately assess unnecessary and excessive hypnotics costs to providers and insurers, as well as financial and health damages to the patients themselves.