cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF WHEAT FLOUR DOUGHS: VARIATION OF DYNAMIC MODULI WITH WATER AND PROTEIN CONTENT1

The elastic and loss moduli of fiue types of wheat flour doughs were measured in an eccentric rotating disc (ERD) rheometer. G’ and G”, determined from the linear portions of the response curve, were very sensitive to water content, decreasing as water content increased. Differentiation among samples was greatest at the highest water content. Results also depended on protein level, with higher moduli being observed at higher protein level. Samples mixed in a Farino-graph to constant consistency showed differing values of both storage and loss moduli. The ERD geometry thus appears suited to characterization of doughs and to study of component interactions in such systems.
Prediction of Filling Time and Vent Locations for Resin Transfer Molds

A previously reported algorithm for predicting the last point to fill in a porous mold is presented. This algorithm is modified for the prediction of the filling time and vent location in anisotropic RTM molds of various geometries with time dependent boundary conditions. The proposed method is computationally efficient and requires, at most, the solution of two linear systems of equations. For a number of test cases, the performance of the method is investigated on comparing predicted vent locations with those obtained using a complete filling simulation. It is demonstrated that the proposed method can predict fill times and vent locations with the same accuracy as a direct filling simulation but at a much reduced computational cost. Finally, it is shown how an alternative interpretation of the results from the vent location algorithm can be used to predict the location of all the potential dry spots (vent locations) in an RTM mold.
Exterior design: strategies for redecorating the bacterial surface with small molecules

Recombinant techniques for expressing heterologous proteins and sugars on the surface of bacteria have been known since the 1980s, and have proven useful in a variety of settings from biocatalysis to vaccinology. The past decade has also seen the emergence of novel methods that allow modification of bacterial surfaces with small non-biological compounds. Such technologies enable researchers to harness the unique properties of synthetic materials on a live bacterial platform, opening the door to an exciting new set of applications. Here we review strategies for bacterial surface display and describe how they have been applied thus far. We believe that chemical surface display holds great potential for advancing research in basic bacteriology and applied fields of biotechnology and biomedicine.
Novel Orthogonal Strategy toward Solid-Phase Synthesis of 1,3,5-Substituted Triazines

To improve upon the previous orthogonal method for synthesis of a triazine library, an alternative strategy has been developed via oxidation-activation of the thioether to the sulfone. Through a comparison between these two methods, the sulfone strategy was demonstrated as an enhanced method in the generation of highly pure triazine library compounds.
Modulatory multiplicity in the functional repertoire of the feeding mechanism in cichlid fishes. I. Piscivores

Among piscivorous cichlids consistent differences have been recorded between ambush and pursuit hunters with respect to electromyographic, kinematic, pressure and behavioral profiles during prey capture by high speed inertial suction. Piscivorous cichlids possess a repertoire of at least two patterns of prey capture, each of which is characterized by an extreme regularity of the kinematic, pressure, electromyographic and behavioral profiles. The nature and locomotory behavior of the prey, visually analyzed by the predator during the prestrike stalk, determine which of the two preprogrammed patterns is recruited. Agile and elusive prey invariably will elicit a preprogrammed motor output (stereotyped motor pattern) that produces the greatest suction velocities in both ambush and pursuit hunters. The greater the kinematic and suction velocities, the greater the overlap of the firing sequences of antagonistic muscle complexes. The opercular and branchiostegal apparati function as an exceedingly effective anti-backwash device, damping potential fluid oscillations within the oropharynx. Mastication occurs by triphasic movements and actions of muscles of the upper and lower pharyngeal jaws in both ambush and pursuit hunters. The lower pharyngeal jaw is acted upon by a force couple of which the fourth levator externus on one hand and the pharyngocleithralis externus and pharyngohyoideus on the other hand are the antagonistic components. Furthermore, the lower pharyngeal jaw is suspended by a muscular sling, the tension of which can be modified continuously. It is postulated that the switch from insectivorous to piscivorous feeding regimes (and perhaps vice versa) is accomplished by very minor structural and functional modifications, because the modulatory multiplicity and total range of repertories of the feeding machinery of the two trophic groups overlap significantly. Piscivorous cichlids may not have arisen by orthoselection in gradually-changing lineages, but represent the differential success of subsets from a random pool of speciation events. Adaptive features identified as characteristic for piscivory could have evolved in multiple and independent lineages at a punctuational mode and tempo.
Development of sympathetic cardiovascular control in embryonic, hatchling, and yearling female American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

We used arterial tyramine injections to study development of sympathetic actions on in vivo heart rate and blood pressure in embryonic, hatching and yearling female American alligators. Tyramine is a pharmacological tool for understanding comparative and developmental sympathetic regulation of cardiovascular function, and this indirect sympathomimetic agent causes endogenous neuronal catecholamine release, increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Arterial tyramine injection in hatchling and yearling alligators caused the typical vertebrate response — rise in heart rate and blood pressure. However, in embryonic alligators, tyramine caused a substantial and immediate bradycardia at both 70% and 90% of embryonic development. This embryonic bradycardia was accompanied by hypotension, followed by a sustained hypertension similar to the hatchling and juvenile responses. Pretreatment with atropine injection (cholinergic receptor blocker) eliminated the embryonic hypotensive bradycardia, and phentolamine pretreatment (α-adrenergic receptor blocker) eliminated the embryonic hypotensive and hypertensive responses but not the bradycardia. In addition, hexamethonium pretreatment (nicotinic receptor blocker) significantly blunted embryos' bradycardic tyramine response. However, pretreatment with 6-hydroxydopamine, a neurotoxin that destroys catecholaminergic terminals, did not eliminate the embryonic bradycardia. Tyramine likely stimulated a unique embryonic response — neurotransmitter release from preganglionic nerve terminals (blocked with hexamethonium) and an acetylcholine mediated bradycardia with a secondary norepinephrine-dependent sustained hypertension. In addition, tyramine appears to stimulate sympathetic nerve terminals directly, which contributed to the overall hypertension in the embryonic, hatchling and yearling animals. Data demonstrated that humoral catecholamine control of cardiovascular function was dominant over the immature parasympathetic nervous system in developing alligator embryos, and suggested that sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve terminals were present and developing in ovo but were not tonically active.
Evaluation of a community-based youth violence prevention project

PURPOSE: To investigate the association of exposure to a community-based youth violence prevention project with adolescents' knowledge and attitudes about violence. METHODS: Two samples of 400 teens each from Boston neighborhoods were surveyed by random-digit dialed telephone techniques: one at the start of the project and one after 1 year of implementation. Regression analyses were used to investigate associations between exposure to different educational formats and outcome measures. RESULTS: Only self-reported exposure to the mass media campaign was significantly associated with higher scores in both knowledge and attitudes. An independent interaction between gender and exposure to the mass media campaign was found among males. Analyses using a historic control group support a program effect and not recall bias. Exposure to workshops or one-on-one discussions about violence prevention were not significantly associated with outcome scores. CONCLUSION: The measurable effect of the mass media may be somewhat related to the strength of that stimulus over the study period and suggests that 12 months is too short a time frame for evaluating community-based educational efforts. Language: en
Heart rate variability analysis during central hypovolemia using wavelet transformation

Detection of hypovolemia prior to overt hemodynamic decompensation remains an elusive goal in the treatment of critically injured patients in both civilian and combat settings. Monitoring of heart rate variability has been advocated as a potential means to monitor the rapid changes in the physiological state of hemorrhaging patients, with the most popular methods involving calculation of the R–R interval signal’s power spectral density (PSD) or use of fractal dimensions (FD). However, the latter method poses technical challenges, while the former is best suited to stationary signals rather than the non-stationary R–R interval. Both approaches are also limited by high inter- and intra-individual variability, a serious issue when applying these indices to the clinical setting. We propose an approach which applies the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to the R–R interval signal to extract information at both 500 and 125 Hz sampling rates. The utility of machine learning models based on these features were tested in assessing electrocardiogram signals from volunteers subjected to lower body negative pressure induced central hypovolemia as a surrogate of hemorrhage. These machine learning models based on DWT features were compared against those based on the traditional PSD and FD, at both sampling rates and their performance was evaluated based on leave-one-subject-out fold cross-validation. Results demonstrate that the proposed DWT-based model outperforms individual PSD and FD methods as well as the combination of these two traditional methods at both sample rates of 500 Hz (p value <0.0001) and 125 Hz (p value <0.0001) in detecting the degree of hypovolemia. These findings indicate the potential of the proposed DWT approach in monitoring the physiological changes caused by hemorrhage. The speed and relatively low computational costs in deriving these features may make it particularly suited for implementation in portable devices for remote monitoring.
The Structure of the Aortic Valve in Clinically Isolated Aortic Stenosis An Autopsy Study of 162 Patients Over 15 Years of Age

The structure of the aortic valve at autopsy is described in 162 patients over 15 years of age with clinically isolated, severe valvular aortic stenosis with or without aortic regurgitation. The valves were congenitally unicuspid, unicommissural in 17 patients, congenitally bicuspid in 67, tricuspid in 71, and in seven the structure was uncertain. Thus, in at least 84 (52%) of the patients the valve was congenitally malformed at birth. It is proposed that minor aortic valvular cuspal inequality, also present from birth, may be an underlying malformation in some of the patients with tricuspid stenotic aortic valves. Degeneration or wear-and-tear from aging almost certainly explains aortic stenosis in most of the elderly patients. Although no patient had clinical evidence of mitral valvular dysfunction, the mitral leaflets were diffusely thickened by fibrous tissue in 26 of the 162 patients. Rheumatic disease is believed to be the cause of the valve involvement in 22 of them (the other four had congenitally...
Tissue Characterization With Contrast Enhancement Of The Brain

In this paper we will give a short review of the fundamental and practicle aspects of the use of contrast materials in CT with aim of augmenting detection and identification of various lesions of the brain. We will outline briefly some of the fundamental physical, chemical and pharmacological characteristics of current water soluble contrast materials. We will review some of the research that has been directed towards classification of the brain tumors with conventional contrast agents by a relative enhancement, image textural changes and slow dynamic effects (5-60 minutes).
Trouble with ξ scaling

We review our analysis of inclusive lepton-hadron scattering, which is based on the use of the variable ξ that incorporates target- and constituent-mass effects in a color-gauge theory [quantum chromodynamics (QCD)]. We show that the apparent paradoxes recently encountered by several groups in connection with ξ scaling are not paradoxes at all, but rather are based on misunderstanding of our analysis. Paradoxes arise when the ξ-scaling analysis is applied for all ξ, but, as we stated in earlier work, QCD predicts that corrections (due to twist-greater-than-2 operators) are negligible only for W well above the proton mass. We restate our previous analysis in which we introduced a smooth function Fs that ξ-scales up to explicit logarithmic corrections. Fs has no thresholds (it is nonzero for 0<ξ<1). QCD predicts that Fs describes the data in the sense of Bloom-Gilman local duality. More constructively, we use the parton-model language to interpret the field-theoretic operator-product expansion in successive "twists" and develop an intuitive physical interpretation of twist. We reanalyze the "paradoxes" in parton language. We resolve (to our satisfaction) the question of nonperturbative effects in the analysis of electroproduction.
Second-order many-body perturbation study of ice Ih

Ice Ih is arguably the most important molecular crystal in nature, yet our understanding of its structural and dynamical properties is still far from complete. We present embedded-fragment calculations of the structures and vibrational spectra of the three-dimensional, proton-disordered phase of ice Ih performed at the level of second-order many-body perturbation theory with a basis-set superposition error correction. Our calculations address previous controversies such as the one related to the O–H bond length as well as the existence of two types of hydrogen bonds with strengths differing by a factor of two. For the latter, our calculations suggest that the observed spectral features arise from the directionality or the anisotropy of collective hydrogen-bond stretching vibrations rather than the previously suggested vastly different force constants. We also report a capability to efficiently compute infrared and Raman intensities of a periodic solid. Our approach reproduces the infrared and Raman spectra, the variation of inelastic neutron scattering spectra with deuterium concentration, and the anomaly of heat capacities at low temperatures for ice Ih.
Magnetite (Fe3O4) Core−Shell Nanowires: Synthesis and Magnetoresistance

High quality MgO/Fe3O4 core−shell nanowires have been successfully synthesized by depositing an epitaxial shell of Fe3O4 onto single crystal MgO nanowires. The material composition and stoichoimetric ratio have been carefully examined and confirmed with a variety of characterization techniques. These novel structures have rendered unique opportunities to investigate the transport behavior and spintronic property of Fe3O4 in its one-dimensional form. Room-temperature magnetoresistance of ∼1.2% was observed in the as-synthesized nanowires under a magnetic field of B = 1.8 T, which has been attributed to the tunneling of spin-polarized electrons across the anti-phase boundaries.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) based BioTransistors

In this paper, we report the first results on DNA based thin film field effect transistors (TFFET). The DNA molecules are extracted from Salmon's milt and roe sacs and purified to 96%. DNA based thin films are obtained using different techniques including spin coating, molecular beam deposition (MBD), pulse laser deposition (PLD)...etc. An increase in the overall charge carrier mobility was achieved by blending the DNA molecules with conductive polymers such as PEDOT:PSS as well as conductive nanoparticles such as single wall carbon nanotubes. MOSFETs with bottom gate, bottom contact structures using DNA based thin films as the semi-conductive layer have been developed.
Risk of Vaccinia Transfer to the Hands of Vaccinated Persons after Smallpox Immunization

Transmission of vaccinia virus after smallpox vaccination is a concern. We conducted a prospective examination of the protection afforded by vaccination-site bandages in recently vaccinated individuals. After smallpox vaccination, inoculation sites were covered with 2 occlusive dressings. Site assessment and bandage changes occurred every 3–5 days until the site was healed. At each visit, specimens from the vaccination site, outer dressing surface, and contralateral hand were obtained for vaccinia culture. For 148 vaccinated subjects, vaccinia was detected from vaccination lesions of every subject on several occasions. Only 6 (0.65%) of 918 dressing (95% CI, 0.24%–1.4%) and 2 (0.22%) of 926 hand (95% CI, 0.03%–0.78%) specimens tested positive for vaccinia. The mean number of bandage changes was 9.6 (95% CI, 9.17–10.0). Vaccinia autoinoculation did not occur. The rate of vaccinia recovery outside occlusive bandages covering smallpox vaccination sites was remarkably low, suggesting excellent protection against inadvertent transmission.
The activity and properties of an acidic triacylglycerol lipase from adult and fetal rat lung

Abstract Triacylglycerol lipase with maximal activity at pH 5 was present in adult and fetal lung. The activity was inhibited by serum concentrations used to measure lipoprotein lipase and by 0.5 M NaCl. The activity in homogenates from fetal lung was about 40% of the activity in adult lung homogenates. The activity increased to 80% of the adult levels during the first 24–48 h following birth. Acidic triacylglycerol lipase was present in all subcellular fractions from adult lung. However, the major amount of activity appeared to be associated with lysosomes. Fetal lung contained significantly more activity in the cytosolic fraction compared to the adult. The reaction produced free fatty acids (65%), 1,2(2,3)-diacylglycerol (22%) and 2-monoacylglycerol (12%). Minimal amounts of 1,3-diacylglycerol and 1(3)-monoacylglycerol were formed. Diacylglycerol lipase and monoacylglycerol hydrolase activities at pH 5 were independently determined and both were higher than the triacylglycerol lipase activity. The subcellular distribution of diacylglycerol lipase and monoacylglycerol hydrolase differed from that of triacylglycerol lipase. Overall, the results indicated that the lung has considerable intracellular lipase activity and therefore could readily hydrolyze intracellular triacylglycerol to free fatty acids. The reaction also produced significant amounts of 1,2-diacylglycerol which suggests that triacylglycerol could be a direct source of diacylglycerol for phospholipid synthesis.
Marken, Märkte und Prozesse — Volkswagen AG

Mehrere Marken in einem Konzern zu vereinigen und einem gemeinsamen Geschaftsziel unterzuordnen, bedeutet weit mehr, als nur nach Markten und Kunden zu differenzieren. Genauer betrachtet, sind die einzelnen Marken wiederum „Teilkonzerne“, die auch untereinander in komplexen Geschaftsbeziehungen stehen. Mehrmarkenstrategie in der Automobilindustrie geht daher weit uber das Management eines „Multi-Marken-Produktportfolios“ hinaus.
Pain-related synaptic plasticity in spinal dorsal horn neurons: role of CGRP

Background: The synaptic and cellular mechanisms of pain-related central sensitization in the spinal cord are not fully understood yet. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has been identified as an important molecule in spinal nociceptive processing and ensuing behavioral responses, but its contribution to synaptic plasticity, cellular mechanisms and site of action in the spinal cord remain to be determined. Here we address the role of CGRP in synaptic plasticity in the spinal dorsal horn in a model of arthritic pain. Results: Whole-cell current- and voltage-clamp recordings were made from substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons in spinal cord slices from control rats and arthritic rats (> 6 h postinjection of kaolin/ carrageenan into the knee). Monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were evoked by electrical stimulation of afferents in the dorsal root near the dorsal root entry zone. Neurons in slices from arthritic rats showed increased synaptic transmission and excitability compared to controls. A selective CGRP1 receptor antagonist (CGRP8-37) reversed synaptic plasticity in neurons from arthritic rats but had no significant effect on normal transmission. CGRP facilitated synaptic transmission in the arthritis pain model more strongly than under normal conditions where both facilitatory and inhibitory effects were observed. CGRP also increased neuronal excitability. Miniature EPSC analysis suggested a post- rather than pre-synaptic mechanism of CGRP action. Conclusion: This study is the first to show synaptic plasticity in the spinal dorsal horn in a model of arthritic pain that involves a postsynaptic action of CGRP on SG neurons.
Call for an enzyme genomics initiative

I propose an Enzyme Genomics Initiative, the goal of which is to obtain at least one protein sequence for each enzyme that has previously been characterized biochemically. There are 1,437 enzyme activities for which Enzyme Commission (EC) numbers have been assigned but no sequence can be found in public protein-sequence databases.
“Click” Immobilization on Alkylated Silicon Substrates: Model for the Study of Surface Bound Antimicrobial Peptides

We describe an effective approach for the covalent immobilization of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to bioinert substrates via Cu(I) -catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). The bioinert substrates were prepared by surface hydrosilylation of oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) terminated alkenes on hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces. To render the OEG monolayers "clickable", mixed monolayers were prepared using OEG-alkenes with and without a terminal alkyne protected by a trimethylgermanyl (TMG) group. The mixed monolayers were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elliposometry and contact angle measurement. The TMG protecting group can be readily removed to yield a free terminal alkyne by catalytic amounts of Cu(I) in an aqueous media. This step can then be combined with the subsequent CuAAC reaction. Thus, the immobilization of an azide modified AMP (N3-IG-25) was achieved in a one-pot deprotection/coupling reaction. Varying the ratio of the two alkenes in the deposition mixture allowed for control over the density of the alkynyl groups in the mixed monolayer, and subsequently the coverage of the AMPs on the monolayer. These samples allowed for study of the dependence of antimicrobial activities on the AMP density. The results show that a relative low coverage of AMPs (∼1.6×10(13) molecule per cm(2)) is sufficient to significantly suppress the viability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while the surface presenting the highest density of AMPs (∼2.8×10(13) molecule per cm(2)) is still cyto-compatible. The remarkable antibacterial activity is attributed to the long and flexible linker and the site-specific "click" immobilization, which may facilitate the covalently attached peptides to interact with and disrupt the bacterial membranes.
Concentration in the airline industry : evidence of economies of scale?

The early experience of the airline industry under deregulation was very much as expected, with increased competition and new entrants offering highly competitive rates. However, there are approximately 130 airlines operating today, and the industry remains more heavily concentrated than it was prior to deregulation. This study reports on concentration in the US airline industry between 1970 and 2009, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and Concentration Ratio, together with changes in industry costs. The results show a trend of industry-wide reduced costs per available seat mile that is negatively correlated with the increased level of industry output over the last 30 years and increased concentration, which demonstrate the need for more research into the question of scale economies in air transportation.
Conformation of one- and two-chain high molecular weight urokinase analyzed by small-angle neutron scattering and vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism

The structures of one- and two-chain high molecular weight human urokinase were analyzed by small-angle neutron scattering and vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism. Both one- and two-chain high molecular weight urokinases exhibited a radius of gyration of 31 A and a maximum dimension of 90 A. Neither parameter was affected by the presence of lysine sufficient to saturate all the lysine-binding sites in human plasminogen. These physical parameters are consistent with the sedimentation coefficient of high molecular weight urokinase and indicate that both proteins are highly asymmetric. Neither protein contained much alpha-helix or parallel beta-sheet. Most of the secondary structure was in the form of antiparallel beta-sheet and beta-turns, very similar to the secondary structure of plasminogen. The macroscopic kinetic constants, Km and kcat, for the hydrolysis of (pyroGlu-Gly-Arg-NH)2-rhodamine by two-chain high molecular weight urokinase and low molecular weight urokinase which lacks the epidermal growth factor and kringle domains were similar. These structural and kinetic data are consistent with the domains in both forms of urokinase being independent structural and functional units.
Image restoration using a hybrid combination of particle filtering and wavelet denoising

In this paper we propose a novel image restoration method that effectively combines a particle filter with wavelet shrinkage to achieve robust performance against inhomogeneous noise mixtures. Specifically, the particle filter acts to suppress outlier-rich components of the noise while, in a subsequent step, the wavelet domain shrinkage attenuates any remaining, less heavily tailed noise components. We present late breaking preliminary examples demonstrating excellent rejection of salt-and-pepper like Cauchy noise mixed with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Although limited in scope, these preliminary results suggest that the combination of particle filters with more traditional restoration techniques is a powerful approach that can provide a new dimension of flexibility for addressing noise mixtures involving difficult nonlinear and non-Gaussian components.
An unintended consequence of electronic prescriptions: prevalence and impact of internal discrepancies

Many e-prescribing systems allow for both structured and free-text fields in prescriptions, making possible internal discrepancies. This study reviewed 2914 electronic prescriptions that contained free-text fields. Internal discrepancies were found in 16.1% of the prescriptions. Most (83.8%) of the discrepancies could potentially lead to adverse events and many (16.8%) to severe adverse events, involving a hospital admission or death. Discrepancies in doses, routes or complex regimens were most likely to have a potential for a severe event (p=0.0001). Discrepancies between structured and free-text fields in electronic prescriptions are common and can cause patient harm. Improvements in electronic medical record design are necessary to minimize the risk of discrepancies and resulting adverse events.
Zeros of the Grand Partition Function

The twenty-year history of the Yang-Lee theory of phase transitions is reviewed with emphasis on Ruelle’s analysis of partition functions obtained by Asano contractions. New results are obtained for the region of analyticity of a lattice version of the Widom-Rowlinson A-B model.
Blindfold: a system to See no evil in content discovery

Existing content aggregators provide fast and efficient access to large volumes of shared data and serve as critical centralized components of many peer-to-peer systems, including content discovery for BitTorrent. These aggregators' operators are tasked to spend significant human resources to manually vet uploaded data to ensure compliance with copyright laws. This task does not scale with today's increasing demand for such services. In this paper, we introduce Blindfold, a scheme to ensure that the operators of content aggregators are completely blind to the content that they are storing and serving, thereby eliminating the possibility to censor content at the servers. It works by partitioning the search and upload operations into a series of dependent key-value operations across servers under different administrative domains, with the connection between servers obfuscated using captchas. We have implemented a prototype of Blindfold to show that it is a simple, feasible, and efficient system for serving content that is opaque to the storage servers.
Examining Our Interdependence: Community Partners’ Motivations to Participate in Academic Outreach

Although the literature on institutional civic engagement within higher education is quite extensive, the community perspective on such endeavors remains an underdeveloped area of study. This is particularly true of outreach programs emanating from the university intended to support college preparation of underrepresented students. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of high school professionals for participating in university outreach programs, and to understand how these individuals view their partnerships with higher education at a time when public funding for education at all levels is under siege. Moving beyond partnership models that strictly focus on one organization’s need for resources from the other, the findings here point to civic interdependence as the lens by which we can understand community partners’ reasons for collaborating with higher education institutions.
Effects of residual feed intake and dam body weight on replacement heifer intake, efficiency, performance, and metabolic response.

Thirty-eight Angus-based, crossbred, nulliparous beef heifers (BW = 280 ± 26.3 kg) sired by 2 Angus sires were used to determine if dam BW affected heifer performance, DMI, residual feed intake (RFI), and endocrine markers. Heifers were housed in individual pens (2.2 by 9.1 m) equipped with 2.2 m of bunk space and fed a diet (90.4% DM, 13.7% CP, 67.2% NDF, and 56.2% TDN) consisting of 87.2% bermudagrass hay and 12.8% liquid protein supplement for a 14-d adaption period and a 70-d feeding period. Individual daily feed intake was used to calculate RFI for each heifer, and heifer was the experimental unit. Two-day beginning and end BW were recorded and hip height was used to calculate frame score (FS). Heifer dams were assigned to a light (LIT; 544 ± 21.3 kg) or heavy (HEV; 621 ± 34.8 kg) BW group on the basis of mean BW at the beginning of their lactation period the previous year to determine differences in heifer offspring DMI and RFI. Based on heifer RFI ranking, heifers were classified as positive (POS; 0.34) or negative (NEG; –0.31) RFI and low (LOW; –0.45), medium (MED; 0.00), or high (HI; 0.49) RFI for analysis of BW, FS, BW gain, and DMI. There were no dam BW group × sire interactions (P > 0.10) for all independent variables. Beginning and end BW was greater (P 0.10) for heifers out of HEV compared with LIT BW dams; however, a sire effect existed (P 0.10) whereas DMI was greater (P = 0.03) among heifers in the POS compared with the NEG RFI group and greater (P = 0.01) among heifers in the MED and HI compared with LOW RFI group, respectively. Plasma insulin levels were greater (P = 0.03) in the NEG compared with the POS RFI heifers, and thyroxine (T4) levels were greater (P = 0.02) in the POS compared with the NEG RFI heifers. A positive relationship existed (P ≤ 0.05) between dam BW and heifer DMI (r = 0.42), beginning and end BW (r = 0.45 and 54), and FS (r = 0.58) and between RFI and d 70 triiodothyronine (r = 0.34), d 70 T4 (r = 0.35), and d 0 and 70 combined T4 (r = 0.32), respectively. Heifers out of dams from the HEV BW group were heavier and a positive correlation existed between dam BW and heifer BW, gain, DMI, and FS, which can impact selection goals for replacement heifers.
What is the potential for improving care and lowering cost for persons with dementia

The increasing prevalence of dementia with population aging has heightened interest in understanding patterns of utilization and health expenditures in persons with dementia (PWD) among policy officials, practicing physicians, and health system. While a substantial part of this interest is concerned with the high costs of care for people diagnosed with dementia (Kelley et al., 2015), less attention has been focused on the costs and consequences of missed or delayed diagnosis in those who screen positive for dementia. The article on "Healthcare resource utilization and cost in dementia: are there differences between patients screened positive for dementia with and those without a formal diagnosis of dementia in primary care in Germany?" by Michalowsky and colleagues (Michalowsky et al., 2015) in this issue makes a particularly important contribution in this regard.
The histopathology of mammographic patterns.

No significant correlation between the types of histologic alteration and various mammographic densities as described by Wolfe was found in specimen mammograms from 50 patients with cancer of the breast and a similar number with fibrocystic disease except for a greater incidence of fibrous mazoplasia in the "highest-risk" densities designated DY. This information is inconsistent with prevailing views that relate such risk for the development of mammary cancer to proliferative fibrocystic disease, vis-a-vis epithelial rather than stromal proliferation. This observation does not necessarily mitigate claims of risk attendant with various mammographic patterns, but indicates the need for further evaluation of this stromal alteration as a discriminant in this regard.
Transposable Element Targeting by piRNAs in Laurasiatherians with Distinct Transposable Element Histories.

PIWI proteins and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are part of a cellular pathway that has evolved to protect genomes against the proliferation of transposable elements (TEs). PIWIs and piRNAs assemble into complexes that are involved in epigenetic and post-transcriptional repression of TEs. Most of our understanding of the mechanisms of piRNA-mediated TE silencing comes from fruit fly and mouse models. However, even in these well-studied animals it is unclear how piRNA responses relate to variable TE expression and whether the strength of the piRNA response affects TE content over time. Here, we assessed the evolutionary interactions between TE and piRNAs in a statistical framework using three nonmodel laurasiatherian mammals as a study system: dog, horse, and a vesper bat. These three species diverged ∼80 million years ago and have distinct genomic TE contents. By comparing species with distinct TE landscapes, we aimed to identify clear relationships among TE content, expression, and piRNAs. We found that the TE subfamilies that are the most transcribed appear to elicit the strongest “ping-pong” response. This was most evident among long interspersed elements, but the relationships between expression and ping-pong pilRNA (piRNA-like) expression were more complex among SINEs. SINE transcripts were equally abundant in the dog and horse yet new SINE insertions were relatively rare in the horse genome, where we identified a stronger piRNA response. Our analyses suggest that the piRNA response can have a strong impact on the TE composition of a genome. However, our results also suggest that the presence of a robust piRNA response is apparently not sufficient to stop TE mobilization and accumulation.
From deep sequencing to actual clones

The application of deep sequencing to in vitro display technologies has been invaluable for the straightforward analysis of enriched clones. After sequencing in vitro selected populations, clones are binned into identical or similar groups and ordered by abundance, allowing identification of those that are most enriched. However, the greatest strength of deep sequencing is also its greatest weakness: clones are easily identified by their DNA sequences, but are not physically available for testing without a laborious multistep process involving several rounds of polymerization chain reaction (PCR), assembly and cloning. Here, using the isolation of antibody genes from a phage and yeast display selection as an example, we show the power of a rapid and simple inverse PCR-based method to easily isolate clones identified by deep sequencing. Once primers have been received, clone isolation can be carried out in a single day, rather than two days. Furthermore the reduced number of PCRs required will reduce PCR mutations correspondingly. We have observed a 100% success rate in amplifying clones with an abundance as low as 0.5% in a polyclonal population. This approach allows us to obtain full-length clones even when an incomplete sequence is available, and greatly simplifies the subcloning process. Moreover, rarer, but functional clones missed by traditional screening can be easily isolated using this method, and the approach can be extended to any selected library (scFv, cDNA, libraries based on scaffold proteins) where a unique sequence signature for the desired clones of interest is available.
Leaving Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Behind: Nanometal Surface Energy Transfer Predicts the Size-Enhanced Energy Coupling between a Metal Nanoparticle and an Emitting Dipole

The interaction of a fluorescent molecule with a gold nanoparticle is complex and can lead to excited-state enhancement or quenching. Many attempts have been made to explain the observed interaction when in close proximity to the metal surface; yet no single model has been capable of explaining the observations. In this work, we show that by accurately describing the interaction in terms of an induced image dipole modified within the gold nanoparticle by the size-dependent changes in absorptivity and dielectric constant, the oscillator interaction can be fully described in terms of a surface-moderated interaction. Comparison of experimental and theoretical data confirms the validity of the model for a selected range of separation distances, nanoparticle radii, and fluorescent molecule selection. The results of the study illustrate the importance of nonradiative pathways for modifying the decay of a fluorescent molecule by coupling to the image dipole, thus providing a firm understanding of the reported va...
Structural Observations of Porous Silica Gels

Silica gels were prepared by two methods; from the alkoxides under conditions where moderate degrees of crosslinking are expected and from LUDOX — alkaline silicate sols from which the alkali was subsequently removed. By selective thermal treatment from 300 to 850°C, pore diameters (excluding micropores) in the range 35A to 400A are seen. The pore size increased with temperature while the surface area and total porosity remained essentially constant. Extensive high resolution TEM analyses showed both colloid and polymeric structures with particle sizes between 60A and 250A which decreased on heating. An intra particle structure, presumably micropores of 10A to 30A is also seen. By using a shadow cast Pt-C replica technique, stereoimages show the particles to have a filamentry type structure.
Predictive Model for Cervical Alignment and Malalignment Following Surgical Correction of Adult Spinal Deformity.

Study design Retrospective review of prospective multicenter database. Objective Use predictive modeling to identify patient characteristics, radiographic, and surgical variables that predict reaching an outcome threshold of suboptimal cervical alignment after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. Summary of background data Cervical deformity (CD) after ASD correction has been defined with the following criteria: T1S-CL>20°, C2-C7 SVA>40 mm, and/or C2-C7 kyphosis >10°. While studies have analyzed CD predictors, few have defined and identified predictors of optimal cervical alignment after thoracolumbar surgery. Methods Inclusion criteria were surgical ASD patients with baseline and 2-year follow-up. Postoperative cervical alignment (CA) and malalignment (nonCA) at 2 years was defined with the following radiographic criteria: 0°≤T1S-CL≤20°, 0 mm≤C2-C7 SVA≤40 mm, or C2-C7 lordosis >0°. Three thresholds classifying malalignment were defined: (T1) missing 1 criterion, (T2) missing 2 criteria, (T3) missing 3 criteria. Multivariable logistic stepwise regression models with bootstrap resampling procedure were performed for demographic, surgical, and radiographic variables. The model was validated with receiver operative characteristic and area under the curve. Results Two hundred twenty-five surgical ASD patients were included. At 2 years 208 patients (92.4%) were grouped as CA in T3, while 17 (7.6%) were nonCA. Patients were similar in age (CA: 56.10 vs. nonCA: 55.78 years, P = 0.150), BMI (CA: 26.93 vs. nonCA: 26.94 kg/m, P = 0.716), and sex (CA: 76.5% vs. nonCA: 87.0%, P = 0.194). The final predictive model included C2 slope, C2-T3 CL, T1S-CL, C2-C7 CL, Pelvic Tilt, C2-S1 SVA, PI-LL, and Smith-Peterson osteotomies number. In this model (area under the curve 89.22% [97.49-80.96%]), the following variables were identified as predictors of nonCA: increased Smith-Peterson osteotomies use (OR: 1.336, P = 0.017), and C2-T3 angle (OR: 1.048, P = 0.005). Conclusion This study created a statistical model that predicts poor 2-year postoperative cervical malalignment in ASD patients. T3 (patients not meeting all three alignment criteria) was the most effective threshold for modeling nonCA, and included increased baseline C2-T3 angle and increased Smith-Peterson osteotomies during index. Level of evidence 3.
123I: almost a designer radioiodine for thyroid scanning.

The merits of 123I as a thyroid scanning agent have been lauded since it became possible to produce 123I using a cyclotron. In 1967, Rhodes et al. ( 1 ) stated: “In the past, the radionuclides used in biology and medicine have been chosen primarily because they were available rather than because
Sequence-Dependent Conformational Heterogeneity and Proton-Transfer Reactivity of the Fluorescent Guanine Analogue 6-Methyl Isoxanthopterin (6-MI) in DNA.

The local conformations of individual nucleic acid bases in DNA are important components in processes fundamental to gene regulation. Fluorescent nucleic acid base analogues, which can be substituted for natural bases in DNA, can serve as useful spectroscopic probes of average local base conformation and conformational heterogeneity. Here we report excitation–emission peak shift (EES) measurements of the fluorescent guanine (G) analogue 6-methyl isoxanthoptherin (6-MI), both as a ribonucleotide monophosphate (NMP) in solution and as a site-specific substituent for G in various DNA constructs. Changes in the peak positions of the fluorescence spectra as a function of excitation energy indicate that distinct subpopulations of conformational states exist in these samples on time scales longer than the fluorescence lifetime. Our pH-dependent measurements of the 6-MI NMP in solution show that these states can be identified as protonated and deprotonated forms of the 6-MI fluorescent probe. We implement a simpl...
Analysis of Sulfites in Shrimp Using Rapid Distillation Followed by Redox Titration

The use of rapid steam distillation followed by redox iodine titration provides a rapid and accurate determination of total sufite residual in shrimp. Values obtained for sulfite-treated shrimp using the rapid distillation method gave comparable results to those of the officially recognized Monier-Williams method. Values for the rapid distillation method ranged from 6 to 212 ppm while those of the Monier-Williams procedure ranged from 6 to 241 ppm for untreated and treated shrimps, respectively. Statistical analysis using two-sample Student's t-test indicated that there were no significant differences (p>0.05) for residual levels below 100 ppm but the values obtained by the rapid distillation method and the Monier-Williams procedure were significantly different (p<0.05) at concentrations near and above 100 ppm.
Vertical and Horizontal Muscle Recessions With and Without Adjustable Suture

Patients should have been evaluated and deemed appropriate for such surgical intervention. Measurements of ocular misalignment need to be as precise as possible and stable for at least 6 months. If systemic thyroid status remains uncontrolled, surgery should be postponed until stability is achieved. If orbital decompression is considered, this should be performed before strabismus surgery, and orthoptic measurements repeated 2 months after decompression surgery. Clinical activity of the eye disease should also be minimal at the time of surgery.
Scalable communication event tracing via clustering

Abstract Communication traces help developers of high-performance computing (HPC) applications understand and improve their codes. When run on large-scale HPC facilities, the scalability of tracing tools becomes a challenge. To address this problem, traces can be clustered into groups of processes that exhibit similar behavior. Instead of collecting trace information of each individual node, it then suffices to collect a trace of a small set of representative nodes, namely one per cluster. However, clustering algorithms themselves need to have low overhead, be scalable, and adapt to application characteristics. We devised an adaptive clustering algorithm for large-scale applications called ACURDION that traces the MPI communication of code with O(log P) time complexity. First, ACURDION identifies the parameters that differ across processes by using a logarithmic algorithm called Adaptive Signature Building. Second, it clusters the processes based on those parameters. Experiments show that collecting traces of just nine nodes/clusters suffices to capture the communication behavior of all nodes for a wide set of HPC benchmarks codes while retaining sufficient accuracy of trace events and parameters. In summary, ACURDION improves trace scalability and automation over prior approaches.