cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structure-activity of antifungal compounds inspired by aminobisabolenes from the sponge Halichondria sp.

Abstract Structure–activity relationships of the antifungal aminobisabolene natural product, 1 isolated from Halichondria sp., and synthetic analogs were explored, in parallel with the antidermatophytic allylamine, Terbinafine®, against a panel of pathogenic fungi: Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp. and Trichophyton rubrum . Interpretation of the results suggest different modes of action in antifungal activity for the two classes of compounds.
Combined analog/digital approach to performance optimization for the LAPET whole-body TOF PET scanner

LAPET is a LaBr3-based whole-body time-of-flight PET scanner. We previously reported coincidence timing resolution 315-330 ps (fwhm) in benchtop measurements and 375 ps in full-system measurements. We are currently testing prototype units for a complete redesign of LAPET's electronics, aimed at further improving full-system timing performance and at preserving that performance at high count rates. We report on four facets of the new design. First, PMT-by-PMT high-voltage control at two points per dynode chain permits both gains and timing offsets to be equalized across the scanner. Second, analog pulse shaping reduces the duration of each PMT pulse from 75 ns to 35 ns, reducing pile-up effects. Third, custom circuit boards use the DRS4 waveform-sampling ASIC to provide oscilloscope-quality readout of each PMT signal, enabling digital processing of PMT waveforms. Finally, an FPGA-based trigger provides the coarse energy and timing measurements used to detect coincident pairs. Tests are underway of prototype High Voltage Control boards, Shaper/Analog Mezzanine cards, and the DRS4-based Module Readout Board; the Master Coincidence Unit design is in progress.
Allergy to apple seeds in a peanut-allergic child : : case report

Allergic reactions to fruits are commonly described, resulting most frequently in symptoms of the oral allergy syndrome (pollen fruit syndrome), and less often in more severe reactions and anaphylaxis. The flesh or pulp of the fruit is most commonly the cause of such reactions. Less commonly described are allergic reactions to the seeds ('pips') of fruits, reported in only a handful of case reports, but probably under-recognised. This case report describes a young boy, with a known allergy to peanuts, who experiences an allergic reaction when biting into seeds of both apples and watermelons, but is tolerant of the fruit pulp. It is one of very few cases in the literature that describe an allergy to a non-citrus fruit seed.
Pseudopolyrotaxane Formation in the Synthesis of Cyclodextrin Polymers: Effects on Drug Delivery, Mechanics, and Cell Compatibility

Numerous groups have reported the use of cyclodextrin (CD)-based polymers for drug delivery applications due to their capacity to form inclusions with small molecule drugs, delaying the rate of drug release beyond that of diffusion alone (termed “affinity-based” drug delivery). Herein we demonstrate synthesis and characterization of a new family of CD-based polymers, some as pseudopolyrotaxanes, generated under mild (aqueous, room temperature) conditions. The formation of these new affinity polymers results in broad mechanical properties. Three diglycidylether cross-linkers which vary in length from 0 to 10 ethylene glycol units were examined. Pseudopolyrotaxane formation was found only with the highest-length cross-linker, noted first by a sharp change in both material properties and then confirmed by chemical signature. Materials were thoroughly evaluated by NMR, DSC, DMA, TGA, XRD, and FTIR. Cross-linker choice was also tested for impact on drug loading and delivery capacity, using antibiotics as model...
Distribution-dependent and distribution-free confidence intervals for the variance

Finding an interval estimation procedure for the variance of a population that achieves a specified confidence level can be problematic. If the distribution of the population is known, then a distribution-dependent interval for the variance can be obtained by considering a power transformation of the sample variance. Simulation results suggest that this method produces intervals for the variance that maintain the nominal probability of coverage for a wide variety of distributions. If the underlying distribution is unknown, then the power itself must be estimated prior to forming the endpoints of the interval. The result is a distribution-free confidence interval estimator of the population variance. Simulation studies indicate that the power transformation method compares favorably to the logarithmic transformation method and the nonparametric bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap method for moderately sized samples. However, two applications, one in forestry and the other in health sciences, demonstrate that no single method is best for all scenarios.
Radiomics Approach Fails to Outperform Null Classifier on Test Data.

It is with great pleasure that I read the recent article, the accompanying commentary, wide popular press, and lively ongoing discussion in the community regarding “Computer-Extracted Texture Features to Distinguish Cerebral Radionecrosis from Recurrent Brain Tumors on Multiparametric MRI: A
Glioblastoma Recurrence with Negative FDG PET

FDG PET/MR imaging has promising results in the initial staging and posttreatment follow-up of glioblastomas. However, there are limitations in the use of FDG since some glioblastomas are not FDG avid, and many MR findings, like enhancement, are not specific to this tumor.
Enhanced Glucose Control Following Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Does Not Require a β-Cell Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor

Bariatric surgeries, including vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), resolve diabetes in 40-50% of patients. Studies examining the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect have centered on the role of the insulinotropic glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), in great part because of the ∼10-fold rise in its circulating levels after surgery. However, there is currently debate over the role of direct β-cell signaling by GLP-1 to mediate improved glucose tolerance following surgery. In order to assess the importance of β-cell GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) for improving glucose control after VSG, a mouse model of this procedure was developed and combined with a genetically modified mouse line allowing an inducible, β-cell-specific Glp1r knockdown (Glp1rβ-cell-ko). Mice with VSG lost ∼20% of body weight over 30 days compared with sham-operated controls and had a ∼60% improvement in glucose tolerance. Isolated islets from VSG mice had significantly greater insulin responses to glucose than controls. Glp1r knockdown in β-cells caused glucose intolerance in diet-induced obese mice compared with obese controls, but VSG improved glycemic profiles to similar levels during oral and intraperitoneal glucose challenges in Glp1rβ-cell-ko and Glp1rWT mice. Therefore, even though the β-cell GLP-1R seems to be important for maintaining glucose tolerance in obese mice, in these experiments it is dispensable for the improvement in glucose tolerance after VSG. Moreover, the metabolic physiology activated by VSG can overcome the deficits in glucose regulation caused by lack of β-cell GLP-1 signaling in obesity.
Preoperative sonographic evaluation of the defect size and the diaphragm rim in congenital diaphragmatic hernia - preliminary experience.

Sonographic assessment before congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair has rarely been studied. To evaluate the accuracy of preoperative ultrasound in measuring the defect size and in anticipating the presence of a rim and thereby to determine ultrasound’s usefulness in informing the surgical approach for definitive repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of seven children with left congenital diaphragmatic hernia who had undergone ultrasound and definitive repair between 2014 and 2017 at our institution. The estimated defect size by ultrasound to the actual defect size measured intraoperatively for each case were as follows: 23 × 25 mm to 20 × 26 mm (case 1); 23 × 30 mm to 20 × 30 mm (case 2); 43 × 25 mm to 30 × 30 mm (case 3); 21 × 23 mm to 20 × 25 mm (case 4); 19 × 24 mm to 10 × 30 mm (case 5); 32 × 33 mm to 30 × 50 mm (case 6); and almost total absence to 40 × 50 mm (case 7). Presence or absence of each part of the diaphragm rim evaluated by ultrasound was almost identical with the actual intraoperative findings. According to the ultrasound findings, we performed a successful thoracoscopic repair in cases 1–5 with relatively small defects and presence of all parts of the rim or absence of only posterolateral rim. There was good concordance between ultrasound findings and operative findings regarding the size of the defect and presence or absence of the diaphragm rim.
HIV-1 Vpr Reprograms CLR4 DCAF1 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase to Antagonize Exonuclease 1-Mediated Restriction of HIV-1 Infection.

Viral accessory proteins hijack host cell E3 ubiquitin ligases to antagonize innate/intrinsic defenses and thereby provide a more permissive environment for virus replication. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) accessory protein Vpr reprograms CRL4DCAF1 E3 to antagonize select postreplication DNA repair enzymes, but the significance and role of these Vpr interactions are poorly understood. To gain additional insights, we performed a focused screen for substrates of CRL4DCAF1 E3 reprogrammed by HIV-1 Vpr among known postreplication DNA repair proteins and identified exonuclease 1 (Exo1) as a novel direct HIV-1 Vpr target. We show that HIV-1 Vpr recruits Exo1 to the CRL4DCAF1 E3 complex for ubiquitination and subsequent proteasome-dependent degradation and that Exo1 levels are depleted in HIV-1-infected cells in a Vpr-dependent manner. We also show that Exo1 inhibits HIV-1 replication in T cells. Notably, the antagonism of Exo1 is a conserved function of main group HIV-1 and its ancestor Vpr proteins in the simian immunodeficiency virus from chimpanzee (SIVcpz) lineage, further underscoring the relevance of our findings. Overall, our studies (i) reveal that HIV-1 Vpr extensively remodels the cellular postreplication DNA repair machinery by impinging on multiple repair pathways, (ii) support a model in which Vpr promotes HIV-1 replication by antagonizing select DNA repair enzymes, and (iii) highlight the importance of a new class of restrictions placed on HIV-1 replication in T cells by the cellular DNA repair machinery.IMPORTANCE HIV-1 polymerase reverse transcribes the viral RNA genome into imperfectly double-stranded proviral DNA, containing gaps and flaps, for integration into the host cell chromosome. HIV-1 reverse transcripts share characteristics with cellular DNA replication intermediates and are thought to be converted into fully double-stranded DNA by cellular postreplication DNA repair enzymes. Therefore, the finding that the HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr antagonizes select postreplication DNA repair enzymes that can process HIV-1 reverse transcripts has been surprising. Here, we show that one such Vpr-antagonized enzyme, exonuclease 1, inhibits HIV-1 replication in T cells. We identify exonuclease 1 as a member of a new class of HIV-1 restriction factors in T cells and propose that certain modes of DNA "repair" inhibit HIV-1 infection.
Germline Genetics of Prostate Cancer: Time to Incorporate Genetics into Early Detection Tools

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) remains the most common solid malignancy in men, and its prevalence makes understanding its heritability of paramount importance. To date, the most common factors used to estimate a man9s risk of developing PCa are age, race, and family history. Despite recent advances in its utility in multiple malignancies (e.g., breast and colon cancer), genetic testing is still relatively underutilized in PCa. CONTENT: Multiple highly penetrant genes (HPGs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been show to increase a patient9s risk of developing PCa. Mutations in the former, like DNA damage repair genes, can confer a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of developing PCa and can increase the risk of aggressive disease. Similarly, PCa-risk SNPs can be used to create risk scores (e.g., genetic or polygenic risk scores) that can be used to further stratify an individual9s disease susceptibility. Specifically, these genetic risk scores can provide more specific estimates of a man9s lifetime risk ranging up to >6-fold higher risk of PCa. SUMMARY: It is becoming increasingly evident that in addition to the standard family history and race information, it is necessary to obtain genetic testing (including an assessment of HPG mutation status and genetic risk score) to provide a full risk assessment. The additional information derived thereby will improve current practices in PCa screening by risk-stratifying patients before initial prostate-specific antigen testing, determining a patient9s frequency of visits, and even help identify potentially at-risk family members.
Finite n-quandles of torus and two-bridge links

We compute Cayley graphs and automorphism groups for all finite n-quandles of two-bridge and torus knots and links, as well as torus links with an axis.
Refining the central limit theorem approximation via extreme value theory

Abstract We suggest approximating the distribution of the sum of independent and identically distributed random variables with a Pareto-like tail by combining extreme value approximations for the largest summands with a normal approximation for the sum of the smaller summands. If the tail is well approximated by a Pareto density, then this new approximation has substantially smaller error rates compared to the usual normal approximation for underlying distributions with finite variance and less than three moments. It can also provide an accurate approximation for some infinite variance distributions.
Prevotella melaninogenica Meningitis and Abscess: Normal Flora in an Abnormal Location

Introduction: Prevotella species are gram-negative anaerobic commensal bacteria of the oropharynx, colon, and vagina. They rarely cause infection, but when present, typically cause head-and-neck disease, such as dental infections, sinusitis, and orbital cellulitis. Dermoid/epidermoid cysts are benign neoplasms that grow along planes of embryonic neural tube closure, resulting from nondisjunction of surface ectoderm from deeper neuroectoderm. Most cysts present in frontal locations, including peri-orbital and anterior fontanelle. Though slow-growing and benign, midline cysts can have persistent dermal sinus tracts, increasing infectious risk. We describe a case of a 10-month-old male with an uncommon location of a dermoid cyst, …
Dual and triple AAV delivery of large therapeutic gene sequences into the inner ear.

Abstract Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapy has evolved from the bench to the bedside, and is now considered the therapy of choice for certain inherited diseases. AAVs are attractive vectors for several reasons: they are nonpathogenic, result in long-term transgene expression, have a low immunogenic profile, and the various AAV serotypes and variants display broad but distinct tropisms allowing the targeting of specific cell types. However, one of the greatest limitations of AAVs is the limited genome-packaging capacity of ∼4.7 kb. Given that numerous diseases are caused by mutations in genes with coding sequences exceeding this capacity, packaging into a single AAV capsid is currently unfeasible for larger genes. Taking advantage of the AAV genome’s ability to concatemerize, multiple strategies have been explored to overcome the size limit of AAV vectors. One strategy is to split large transgenes into two or three parts, generating dual or triple AAV vectors. Coinfection of a cell with these two or three AAVs will then, through a variety of mechanisms, result in the transcription of an assembled mRNA that could not be encoded by a single AAV vector. This review: 1) documents AAV dual and triple vector strategies currently employed in a variety of tissues, and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each method; 2) describes the first successful studies using the dual vector approach to restore hearing and prevent deafness in a mouse model of non-syndromic deafness due to absence of the otoferlin protein function, and the implications of these findings for the future of gene therapy in the human inner ear; and 3) highlights additional different deafness genes that could be potential future targets for gene therapy using the dual vector approach.
A HIGH FLUX ENERGY AND PARTICLE COLLECTION SCHEME FOR DIVERTORS

A lithium rain approach is described for handling the large divertor ion and energy fluxes (10 25 ions/m 2 s and 10 MW/m 2 ) inherent to a power producing reactor. Previous concepts, which use a solid wall or gravity driven liquid metal flow, face serious feasibility questions dealing with thermo-mechanical wall material limitations or MHD retardation forces on a moving conducting fluid. The new scheme uses a rain of high speed (1-166 m/s) lithium droplets, formed by nozzles outside of the magnetic field, to collect diverted ions and their energy.
NOise reduction with DIstribution Corrected (NORDIC) PCA in dMRI with complex-valued parameter-free locally low-rank processing.

Abstract Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) has found great utility for a wide range of neuroscientific and clinical applications. However, high-resolution dMRI, which is required for improved delineation of fine brain structures and connectomics, is hampered by its low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Since dMRI relies on the acquisition of multiple different diffusion weighted images of the same anatomy, it is well-suited for denoising methods that utilize correlations across the image series to improve the apparent SNR and the subsequent data analysis. In this work, we introduce and quantitatively evaluate a comprehensive framework, NOise Reduction with DIstribution Corrected (NORDIC) PCA method for processing dMRI. NORDIC uses low-rank modeling of g-factor-corrected complex dMRI reconstruction and non-asymptotic random matrix distributions to remove signal components which cannot be distinguished from thermal noise. The utility of the proposed framework for denoising dMRI is demonstrated on both simulations and experimental data obtained at 3 Tesla with different resolutions using human connectome project style acquisitions. The proposed framework leads to substantially enhanced quantitative performance for estimating diffusion tractography related measures and for resolving crossing fibers as compared to a conventional/state-of-the-art dMRI denoising method.
Bayesian Modeling of Test Reliability.

A common problem in the estimation of scale reliability is that only modest sample sizes can sometimes be collected due to funding limitations and/or complexity of data collection. A proposed impro...
Automated Extraction of Skin Wound Healing Biomarkers From In Vivo Label-Free Multiphoton Microscopy Using Convolutional Neural Networks.

Background and objectives Histological analysis is a gold standard technique for studying impaired skin wound healing. Label-free multiphoton microscopy (MPM) can provide natural image contrast similar to histological sections and quantitative metabolic information using NADH and FAD autofluorescence. However, MPM analysis requires time-intensive manual segmentation of specific wound tissue regions limiting the practicality and usage of the technology for monitoring wounds. The goal of this study was to train a series of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to segment MPM images of skin wounds to automate image processing and quantification of wound geometry and metabolism. Study design/materials and methods Two CNNs with a 4-layer U-Net architecture were trained to segment unstained skin wound tissue sections and in vivo z-stacks of the wound edge. The wound section CNN used 380 distinct MPM images while the in vivo CNN used 5,848 with both image sets being randomly distributed to training, validation, and test sets following a 70%, 20%, and 10% split. The accuracy of each network was evaluated on the test set of images, and the effectiveness of automated measurement of wound geometry and optical redox ratio were compared with hand traced outputs of six unstained wound sections and 69 wound edge z-stacks from eight mice. Results The MPM wound section CNN had an overall accuracy of 92.83%. Measurements of epidermal/dermal thickness, wound depth, wound width, and % re-epithelialization were within 10% error when evaluated on six full wound sections from days 3, 5, and 10 post-wounding that were not included in the training set. The in vivo wound z-stack CNN had an overall accuracy of 89.66% and was able to isolate the wound edge epithelium in z-stacks from eight mice across post-wound time points to quantify the optical redox ratio within 5% of what was recorded by manual segmentations. Conclusion The CNNs trained and presented in this study can accurately segment MPM imaged wound sections and in vivo z-stacks to enable automated and rapid calculation of wound geometry and metabolism. Although MPM is a noninvasive imaging modality well suited to imaging living wound tissue, its use has been limited by time-intensive user segmentation. The use of CNNs for automated image segmentation demonstrate that it is possible for MPM to deliver near real-time quantitative readouts of tissue structure and function. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
EDock-ML: A web server for using ensemble docking with machine learning to aid drug discovery

EDock-ML is a web server that facilitates the use of ensemble docking with machine learning to help decide whether a compound is worthwhile to be considered further in a drug discovery process. Ensemble docking provides an economical way to account for receptor flexibility in molecular docking. Machine learning improves the use of the resulting docking scores to evaluate whether a compound is likely to be useful. EDock-ML takes a bottom-up approach in which machine-learning models are developed one protein at a time to improve predictions for the proteins included in its database. Because the machine-learning models are intended to be used without changing the docking and model parameters with which the models were trained, novice users can use it directly without worrying about what parameters to choose. A user simply submits a compound specified by an ID from the ZINC database (Sterling, T.; Irwin, J. J., J Chem Inf Model 2015, 55[11], 2,324-2,337.) or upload a file prepared by a chemical drawing program and receives an output helping the user decide the likelihood of the compound to be active or inactive for a drug target. EDock-ML can be accessed freely at edock-ml.umsl.edu.
Large-scale preparation and concentration of retrovirus stocks

For some applications, such as infection of cells in vivo, it is necessary to concentrate retrovirus stocks in order to increase their titer. Because viruses are macromolecular structures, they can be concentrated fairly easily by a relatively short centrifugation step. This unit provides protocols in which the viral particles are either pelleted or centrifuged onto a sucrose density step gradient. An alternate protocol details how virions can be precipitated using polyethylene glycol or ammonium sulfate, and the resulting precipitate collected by centrifugation. After resuspension of the precipitates, the virions can be used directly, or further purified either by sedimentation onto sucrose density gradients, or by column filtration as described here. Perhaps most simply of all, an alternate procedure describes how small volumes of virus stock can be concentrated by centrifugation through a filter that allows only small molecules to pass.
Learning Styles of EFL Saudi College-Level Students: in On-Line and Traditional Educational Environments

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Jeannine Fontaine Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Michael Williamson and Dr. Gary Dean
Iron homeostasis: insights from genetics and animal models

Disorders that perturb iron balance are among the most prevalent human diseases, but until recently iron transport remained poorly understood. Over the past five years, genetic studies of patients with inherited iron homeostasis disorders and the analysis of mutant mice, rats and zebrafish have helped to identify several important iron-transport proteins. With information being mined from the genomes of four species, the study of iron metabolism has benefited enormously from positional-cloning efforts. Complementing the genomic strategy, targeted mutagenesis in mice has produced new models of human iron diseases. The animal models described in this review offer valuable tools for investigating iron homeostasis in vivo.
Development of a novel triplex PCR assay for the detection and differentiation of thermophilic species of Campylobacter using 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.

Aim: Campylobacter species are significantly implicated in human gastrointestinal infections. Of 20 species of Campylobacter, C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari have been considered as the most important causative agents of human infections. In order to better understand the occurrence and epidemiology of these thermophilic Campylobacter species, an improved and rapid detection method is warranted. A novel triplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed based on the variable 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region to identify and discriminate between these species in water samples. Methods and Results: Campylobacter species-specific primers for C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari derived from highly variable sequences in the ITS region were used. Specificity of the newly designed primers and PCR conditions were verified using other species of Campylobacter as well as 31 different negative control species. The assay was further validated with 97 Campylobacter cultures from water samples. Conclusions: The assay was found to be simple, easy to perform, and had a high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility. It enabled simultaneous detection and differentiation of multiple Campylobacter species in water samples. Significance and Impact of Study: Use of the newly developed PCR assay, coupled with a previously developed rapid DNA template preparation step, will enable improved detection capabilities for Campylobacter species in environmental matrices.
Prevalence, Severity, and Impact of Renal Dysfunction in Acute Liver Failure on the US Liver Transplant Waiting List.

Although renal dysfunction is a known complication of acute liver failure (ALF), its frequency, severity, and impact among patients with ALF on the US liver transplant list are not well defined. Organ Procurement and Transplantation data for ALF patients listed as status 1/1A from 2002 to 2012 were analyzed. The frequency and severity of renal dysfunction at the time of listing [the latter was categorized in 5 stages using estimated GFR (eGFR) according to Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine 2009 equation] were determined and the association between renal dysfunction and waiting list mortality was assessed using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. There were a total of 2280 adult patients with ALF, including 56 % with renal dysfunction (defined as eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2) at listing. The highest proportion of patients with renal dysfunction was among those with ALF caused by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome, fatty liver disease of pregnancy, heat stroke/hyperthermia, hepatitis A virus, and drug-induced liver injury due to acetaminophen APAP, phenytoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and macrolides. Despite the fact that 69 % (468/674) of patients with APAP-induced ALF listed as status 1/1A had renal dysfunction, only 0.9 % underwent simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation. Six-week survival probabilities in patients with ALF on the liver transplant waiting list were 71, 59, 56, 59, and 42 % with renal dysfunction stages of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that after controlling for age, etiology of ALF, INR, total bilirubin, and region, the relative risk of death increased progressively as eGFR declined (P < 0.0001). Among patients with ALF on the liver transplant waiting list, renal dysfunction was common (overall prevalence of 56 %). Most importantly, severe renal dysfunction was associated with significantly increased mortality.
A novel electrospinning target to improve the yield of uniaxially aligned fibers

Electrospinning is a useful technique that can generate micro and nanometer-sized fibers. Modification of the electrospinning parameters, such as deposition target geometry, can generate uniaxially aligned fibers for use in diverse applications ranging from tissue engineering to material fabrication. For example, meshes of fibers have been shown to mimic the extracellular matrix networks for use in smooth muscle cell proliferation. Further, aligned fibers can guide neurites to grow along the direction of the fibers. Here we present a novel electrospinning deposition target that combines the benefits of two previously reported electrodes: the standard parallel electrodes and the spinning wheel with a sharpened edge. This new target design significantly improves aligned fiber yield. Specifically, the target consists of two parallel aluminum plates with sharpened edges containing a bifurcating angle of 26 degrees. Electric field computations show a larger probable area of aligned electric field vectors. This new deposition target allows fibers to deposit on a larger cross-sectional area relative to the existing parallel electrode and at least doubles the yield of uniaxially aligned fibers. Further, fiber alignment and morphology are preserved after collection from the deposition target.
Hormone-receptor coupling and the molecular mechanism of insulin action in the adipocyte: A paradigm for Ca2+ homeostasis in the initiation of the insulin-induced metabolic cascade

Mise au point bibliographique sur le role du calcium dans l'action de l'insuline sur le metabolisme des adipocytes
Exponentially accurate Runge-free approximation of non-periodic functions from samples on an evenly spaced grid

Abstract Approximating a function from its values f ( x i ) at a set of evenly spaced points x i through ( N + 1 ) -point polynomial interpolation often fails because of divergence near the endpoints, the “Runge Phenomenon”. This report shows how to achieve an error that decreases exponentially fast with N . Normalizing the span of the points to [ − 1 , 1 ] , the new strategy applies a filtered trigonometric interpolant on the subinterval x ∈ [ − 1 + D , 1 − D ] and ordinary polynomial interpolation in the two remaining subintervals. Convergence is guaranteed because the width D of the polynomial interpolation subintervals decreases as N → ∞ , being proportional to 1 / N . Applications to the Gibbs Phenomenon and hydrodynamic shocks are discussed.
FINE-SCALE PREDICTABILITY OF FOREST COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

We assayed the predictability of forest community dynamics by examining the internal structure of a 10-12-yr record of forest change for three sites in east Texas, USA. Within each site, the growth and fate of all adult tree stems within many small (0.04 ha) patches have been monitored. These data were reduced to community composition (basal area by species) for each of 28-30 spatially independent patches within each site. We measured predictability of compositional change by the rank correlation of (1) distances between vectors of initial composition vs. (2) distances between vectors of compositional change. Vectors of compositional change were predictable at two of the three sites; the third site was an old forest with somewhat high mortality of large adult stems. The data also allowed decomposition of the change vectors into components due to growth, mortality, and adult tree recruitment. Growth vectors were highly predictable from the initial com- position, but mortality and adult tree recruitment were not. The results support the idea that growth processes in forests are closely tied to interactions among adjacent trees, whereas recruitment and mortality have components that operate at different spatial or temporal scales and so are empirically decoupled from growth.
O-010 The Barrow Neurological Institute Experience with the Pipeline Embolisation Device: Results in the First 100 Patients Treated after FDA Approval

Aims and Objectives The Pipeline Embolisation Device (PED) was recently approved in the United States (US) for the treatment of wide-necked anterior circulation aneurysms. Studies in both the US and Europe have confirmed its efficacy as well as an acceptable complication rate associated with its use. In this setting, we sought to analyse our results prospectively in the first 100 patients treated at our institution since FDA approval of the device in May of 2011. Materials and Methods We analysed all patients treated with the PED, specifically assessing the following factors: patient demographics, number of devices used, aneurysm location, clinical/angiographic follow-up, rate of obliteration, number of residual aneurysms, and complications. Results and Discussion 100 patients with 115 aneurysms were treated with the PED. Of these, there were 19 men and 81 women ranging in age from 23 to 83 years (mean = 59.2 years). A total of 185 PEDs were used with an average of 1.85 per patient. Aneurysm locations were myriad with the peri-ophthalmic and cavernous segments comprising the largest proportion (35 and 33 aneurysms respectively). Fourteen posterior circulation aneurysms were treated in this cohort. Radiographic follow-up was obtained in 68 patients at an average of 6.6 months after treatment. Of these, 45 patients demonstrated complete obliteration of their aneurysms and 12 patients near-complete ( Conclusions The PED is a safe and effective means of treating complex cerebral aneurysms. Nonetheless, a number of technical factors and patient compliance issues complicate its use. Disclosures F. Albuquerque: None. A. Ducruet: None. W. Crowley: None. C. McDougall: None.
Factors influencing accuracy of dietary recall

Abstract This paper reviews factors that may affect a person's ability to accurately recall and report past dietary intake. Intelligence, age, mood, attention, salience of the information, and frequency of exposure to a stimulus have all been demonstrated to influence performance on memory tasks. Their effects on memory for food habits have not been studied thoroughly but have potential application in this area. The use of memory strategies is suggested as one method to improve dietary recall. Redesign of food frequency questionnaires is another area worth exploring, especially if a few foods or nutrients are the main focus of study.
Early diagnosis and treatment of pancreas allograft rejection.

A major problem in vascularized pancreas transplantation is the lack of reliable methods for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of allograft rejection. Over a 2-year period, 54 rejection episodes occurred in 31 patients (13 isolated pancreas, 18 simultaneous pancreas-kidney recipients) with pancreaticoduodenocystostomy. A total of 253 radionuclide pancreas examinations were performed (mean 8.4 per patient) utilizing 99mtechnetium-DTPA. Computer analysis generated a quantitative measure of blood flow to the allograft caused the technetium index (TI). Rejection episodes were characterized as isolated pancreas (22), combined pancreas-kidney (16), or isolated renal (16) allograft rejection in combined engraftments. The majority of rejection episodes occurred early (within 3 months of transplant, N=47) and were more responsive than late rejection to anti-rejection therapy (89.4% vs 42.9%, P=0.01). Mean urinary amylase (UA) levels and TI during normal allograft function were 29,398 U/l and 0.55%, while levels heralding rejection were 6,528 U/l and 0.40%, respectively (P<0.05). The treatment of rejection based upon renal dysfunction or combined renal and pancreas dysfunction resulted in significantly higher graft salvage with a lower incidence of hyperglycemia when compared to isolated pancreas allograft rejection. Of the 11 patients who developed hyperglycemia, 8 (72.7%) ultimately lost their pancreas grafts (P<0.001). Following therapy, a TI above 0.3% was associated with 97.4% graft survival, while levels below 0.3% resulted in a 70% rate of graft loss (P<0.001). Similarly, pancreas allografts with a UA above 10,000 U/l had 91.1% functional survival, while levels below 10,000 U/l resulted in a 66.7% rate of graft loss (P<0.001). Overall, reversal of rejection occurred in 83.3% of cases, with 9 grafts lost due to rejection at a mean of 4.7 months post-transplant. Therapy with ALG or OKT3 was more effective in reversing allograft rejection than pulsed corticosteroids alone (68.8% vs 47.9%, P=0.05). Patient and pancreas allograft survival is 96.8% and 67.7%, respectively, after a mean follow-up interval of 14.9 months. Monitoring pancreas allograft function by UA, TI, and renal function (in simultaneous transplants) allows for the timely diagnosis and successful treatment of pancreas allograft rejection.
Characterizing the Spread of Correlated Failures in Large Wireless Networks

Correlated failures pose a great challenge for the normal functioning of large wireless networks, because an initial local failure may trigger a global sequence of related failures. Given their potentially devastating impact, we characterize the spread of correlated failures in this paper, which lays the foundation for evaluating and improving the failure resilience of existing wireless networks. We model the failure contagiousness as two generic functions: the failure impact radius distribution function $f_r(x)$ and the failure connection function $g(x)$. By using the percolation theory, we determine the respective characteristic regimes of $f_r(x)$ and $g(x)$ in which correlated failures will and will not percolate in the network. As our model represents various failure scenarios, the results are generally applicable in understanding the spread of a wide range of correlated failures.
Non-linear vibration of a traveling tensioned beam

Abstract Free non-linear vibration of an axially moving, elastic, tensioned beam is analyzed over the sub- and supercritical transport speed ranges. The pattern of equilibria is analogous to that of Euler column buckling and consists of the straight configuration and of non-trivial solutions that bifurcate with speed. The governing equations for finite local motion about the trivial equilibrium and for motion about each bifurcated solution are cast in the standard form of continuous gyroscopic systems. A perturbation theory for the near-modal free vibration of a general gyroscopic system with weakly non-linear stiffness and/or dissipation is derived through the asymptotic method of Krylov, Bogoliubov, and Mitropolsky. The method is subsequently specialized to non-linear vibration of a traveling beam, and of a traveling string in the limit of vanishing flexural rigidity. The contribution of non-linear stiffness to the response increases with subcritical speed, grows most rapidly near the critical speed, and can be several times greater for a translating beam than for one that is not translating. In the supercritical speed range, asymmetry of the non-linear stiffness distribution biases finite-amplitude vibration toward the straight configuration and lowers the effective modal stiffness. The linear vibration theory underestimates stability in the subcritical range, overestimates it for supercritical speeds, and is most limited in the near-critical regime.
Intertask consistency of hemodynamic responses to laboratory stressors in a biracial sample of men and women

Cardiovascular responses were examined in a community sample of 128 subjects, comprised of 58 African American and 70 Caucasian American men and women. Subjects completed a battery of laboratory stressors including mental arithmetic, reaction time, a speech task, and the cold pressor test. In addition to systolic and diastolic blood pressures, the underlying hemodynamic parameters of cardiac output and total peripheral resistance were assessed. In order to explore intertask consistency of response in both ethnic groups and both gender groups, correlational analyses were conducted separately for each group. For the psychological tasks, unanimously significant coefficients were observed. Intertask consistency between psychological tasks and the cold pressor was also considerable, but was somewhat less impressive (particularly for blood pressure) than that observed among the psychological tasks themselves. With regard to hemodynamic responses, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance demonstrated intertask consistency equal to, if not greater than, that shown by systolic and diastolic blood pressure, this consistency being evident for each ethnic and each gender group.
An Investigation of the Kinetic Processes Influencing Mercury Emissions from Sand and Soil Samples of Varying Thickness

Mercury flux from HgCl2-treated sand and untreated soil samples of varying thickness (0.5-15 mm) were measured in dark and light under a Teflon dynamic flux chamber. Mean emissions over a 5.5-d sampling period showed an increase with depth for sand samples between 0.5 and 2 mm, but increasing depth above 2 mm had no effect. First-order kinetic models showed strong goodness of fit to the data and explained a high degree ofvariability in the emissions profile of all sand samples (R = 0.70-0.98). Soil samples showed an initial emissions peak that was not correlated with depth, suggesting a very shallow process at work. However, longer-term "baseline" emissions, measured as mean emissions between days 4.5 and 5.5, did show a relationship with depth. First-order kinetic models showed good fit for soil samples up to 4 mm thick (R2 = 0.66-0.91); however, thicker samples did not show a consistent fit to first- or second-order kinetic models (1 degree R2 = 0.00-0.46; 2 degree R2 = 0.00-0.54). The data suggest that mercury emissions from soil samples may follow a multicomponent model for which more
The handling of volatile compounds for the simultaneous determination of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen

A technique is described, which permits obtaining the correct weight of a volatile substance, vapor pressure not exceeding four atmospheres at ambient temperature, previous to combustion in a vacuum system.
The Rhombic EMP Simulator

A complete analysis has been carried out of the twoconductor rhombic antenna as an EMP simulator. The distribution of current along the conductors and the electric field in the working space bounded by rhombic wires have been determined at low, middle, and high frequencies. The analysis indicates that, at low frequencies, when the termination is the characteristic impedance, a traveling-wave current with very low standing-wave ratio propagates along the wires of the rhombic structure; but it is very sensitive to the load. As the frequency is increased, the standing-wave ratio also increases somewhat and it becomes less sensitive to the load. The electric field in the working space exhibits a reasonably constant amplitude with a standing-wave ratio of 1.5 or lower at all three frequencies.
Derivate des D-Glucosamins, V. 4.5-[3.4.6-Tribenzoyl-D-glucopyrano]-oxazolidon†

Die behandlung der 2-Desoxy-2-carbobenzoxyamino-3.4.6-tribenzoyl-β-D-glucoside VII und VIII mit Natriummethylat in Chloroform ergab 4.5-[3.4.6-Tribenzoyl-D-glucopyrano]-oxazolidon (X).
Detection of Soil Microarthropod Aggregations in Soybean Fields, Using a Modified Tullgren Extractor

The spatial distribution of soil microarthropods in soybean fields was investigated by use of a modified Tullgren extractor. Blocks of soil were extracted over a grid of collection cells from which microarthropod aggregations could be identified and measured. Aggregations in conventionally tilled soybeans were smaller than those in no-tillage soybeans, and had less influence on population distributions. Population size was highly correlated with the area of soil microarthropod aggregations.
Design and Optimization of Metal-Dielctric Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors

We report on the optimum geometrical features of metal-dielectric grating plasmonic sensors for limit-of-detection based on a Cramer-Rao bound for water monitoring applications.
Ultrasound enhanced electrostatic batch assembly for MEMS

Abstract This paper describes ultrasound enhanced electrostatic batch assembly (U2EBA) as a low-cost, batch microassembly method to assemble 3D microsystems. U2EBA involves placing the die in an external DC electric field perpendicular to the substrate and actuating the die with an off-chip, bulk-piezoelectric ceramic. The foremost advantages of this method are the simplicity of the assembly setup, applicability to a broad range of surface micromachining processes, lack of any additional fabrication steps or unusual materials, and fully off-chip nature that requires no electrical or mechanical contact to the assembled microstructures. After an investigation of the forces involved in U2EBA, experiments aiming to quantify the anti-stiction effect of ultrasonic actuation are described. Yield rates reaching up to 100% are reported from 8 × 8 arrays of hinged mirror/paddle structures with dimensions of 97 μm × 180 μm. Reasons of failure for the unassembled structures and the maximum limit for the electrostatic assembly forces are discussed. Experiments on different hinged microstructures allowed comparison of design parameters and revealed a 22% improvement in the assembly yield due to the addition of dimples over the paddle region of the microstructures.
WE‐C‐110‐10: Reducing Dose to Breast Glandular Tissue by Adjusting the Tube Start Angle and Table Height in Helical CT Scans

Purpose: To investigate potential radiation dose reduction to peripheral organs (such as glandular breast tissue) of the patient during helical CT exams by adjusting the tube start angle and table height. Methods: A Radcal 0.6cc ionization chamber was placed on the anterior surface of an anthropomorphic thorax phantom. Helical CT scans were performed on a Siemens Sensation 64 CT scanner using 24×1.2mm collimation, 120kVp, 100mAs with a pitch of 1.5. CareDose4D was turned off. The table was set to a variety of heights (table height of 100mm, 130mm, 160mm, 200mm, and 255mm) to investigate the effect of table height on peripheral organ doses. Since the tube start angle is random and is not under the user's control for helical scans, 24 helical scans were performed under each table height to yield a variety of tube start angles. The exposure of the ionization chamber for each scan was recorded. After scanning, the raw projection data were extracted and read in by a Siemens proprietary MATLAB code to obtain the tube start angle for each scan. Results: At a fixed table height, the exposure varies by more than a factor of two depending on the tube start angle. As the table moves higher (the ionization chamber closer to the top of the gantry), the exposure decreases. While keeping all the scanning parameters (kVp, mAs, pitch) the same, by just adjusting the table height and the tube start angle, the lowest measured exposure is 732mR, while the highest measured exposure is 2810mR. Conclusions: The uncontrolled tube start angle in current commercial CT scanners results in great uncertainties in dose to peripheral organs. Moving the table up decreases anterior organ doses. By adjusting both the tube start angle the table height, dose to a point in glandular breast tissue could be reduced by 74%.