cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in human vitreous

Purpose To conduct zymographic analysis to study the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in vitreous samples of patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy as part of the treatment of vitreoretinal disease. Methods Forty-two vitreous samples were collected at the time of pars plana vitrectomy. Diagnoses included severe (exudative) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (12), macular hole (10), presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (6), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (5), epiretinal membrane (4), vitreomacular traction syndrome (2), macroaneurysm with subretinal hemorrhage (1), central retinal vein occlusion with vitreous hemorrhage (1), and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (1). Gelatin zymography, reverse gelatin-zymography, carboxymethylated transferrin zymography, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were performed on the liquid vitreous samples to assess for MMP and TIMP activity. Results Progelatinase A occurred in all vitrectomy samples. In addition, a band consistent with TIMP-2 occurred in all samples on reverse zymography. An inhibitor of MMP of a lower molecular weight than TIMP-1 was found in all the samples. A serine proteinase with a broad band around 180 kDa was found in 2 of the 11 AMD vitreous samples. A 75-kDa metalloproteinase was found in several AMD samples, but it was much more abundant in the PDR samples. Conclusions Metalloproteinases and their endogenous inhibitors are present in human vitreous and may be involved in the pathogenesis of PDR and other vitreoretinal diseases.
EFFECTS OF IMPROPER HANDLING OF READY-MIXED CONCRETE

The influence of mixing time and retempering on the compressive strength of ready mixed concrete, under ‘field’ conditions, is discussed. Three studies are reported: (a) the effect of additional water (b) the effect of mixing time and (c) the effect of a combination of mixing time and retempering on the compressive strength of a concrete mix. Two different strengths of ready mixed concrete were used in each study. The results of this investigation indicate that extended mixing time does not adversely affect the compressive strength of a mix until it becomes very stiff and difficult to work (slump nearly zero). Indications are that retempering of a mix does, indeed, have an adverse effect on the strength of a mix. It was found that strength decreased as extra water was added to the mix; however, after the introduction of additional water, some strength could be regained by extended mixing.
Far-Field Pattern Measurement and Simulation of VHF Antenna at 60 MHz for Europa Clipper mission

This paper presents measurements and simulations of a linearly polarized VHF folded dipole operating at 60 MHz for NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper mission. The spacecraft contains a ground penetrating radar, consisting of an array of four VHF antennas, that will characterize the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Measured far-field radiation patterns and reflection coefficients above a 50×80m perfect ground plane are compared to predicted results using commercial software. Normalized Far-Field radiation pattern cuts are measured utilizing a biconical antenna and receiver mounted on a flying drone. Simulations of the radiation pattern show that the number of lobes increases with the distance of the antenna from the ground due to the ground-bounce phenomenon. In addition, the measured and simulated reflection coefficients stay unchanged for height above 2 meters, which matches the predicted calculation of the reactive-near field region of this antenna. However, the antenna electrical parameters are optimized for use on the spacecraft and become detuned in the presence of a ground plane. Simulated and measured return loss discrepancy less than 0.5 dB is presented. Radiation pattern comparisons show similar agreement when taking into account the effect of far-field measurement uncertainties.
We have never been postmodern

In Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity, I seek to show that Heidegger is best understood not simply as another regressive or reactionary ‘antimodernist’ but, instead, as a potentially progressive and...
ERCP in Pediatric Populations

The use of pediatric endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has grown in scope and practice since it was first reported in 1976 (Waye, Am J Gastroenterol 65:461–463, 1976). Some indications for ERCP overlap with adults, and some indications present with more frequency in children including pancreaticobiliary injuries following blunt abdominal trauma and congenital abnormalities. Unique procedural considerations include the type of duodenoscope used, the method of anesthesia, and the experience of the endoscopists in performing ERCP in pediatric patients. Success and complication rates appear to parallel those seen in adults. Although post-ERCP pancreatitis is the most common complication in children and adults, pharmacopreventive approaches such as the use of indomethacin have not been established in pediatric cohorts. As in an adult population, ERCP can be critically indicated in children, at times managing and treating urgent or life-threatening conditions.
Demographics and Risk Factors for Non-Accidental Orthopedic Trauma

Purpose: Childhood non-accidental trauma (NAT) is the second most common cause of pediatric mortality in the United States. This condition is frequently unreported and missed upon presentation. When missed, there is a 30-50% chance of repeat abuse and a 5-10% chance of death from abuse. Thus, identifying current risk factors for NAT as well as injury patterns that have a high association with NAT may assist physicians in recognizing these vulnerable patients. While prior database studies have investigated NAT, these studies utilized data as early as 1997, which may limit their relevance today. The purpose of …
An Efficient Basis-Free Loop-Star Preconditioner Using Sparse Direct Solvers

When projectors are used to formulate the loop-star preconditioning, a sparse but singular graph-Laplacian matrix must be inverted. In this article, the charge neutrality condition is enforced to remove the zero singular value of this matrix and a sparse direct solver is used to invert the result. While the formulation is low-frequency stabilized and requires few extra operations per iteration, the number of iterations remains high. The iteration count is improved by combining it with an elementdiagonal sparse preconditioner.
Multiple areas of the cerebral cortex influence the stomach

The central nervous system both influences and is influenced by the gastrointestinal system. Most research on this gut–brain connection has focused on how ascending signals from the gut and its microbiome alter brain function. Less attention has focused on how descending signals from the central nervous system alter gut function. Here, we used retrograde transneuronal transport of rabies virus to identify the cortical areas that most directly influence parasympathetic and sympathetic control of the rat stomach. Cortical neurons that influence parasympathetic output to the stomach originated from the rostral insula and portions of medial prefrontal cortex, regions that are associated with interoception and emotional control. In contrast, cortical neurons that influence sympathetic output to the stomach originated overwhelmingly from the primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and secondary motor cortex, regions that are linked to skeletomotor control and action. Clearly, the two limbs of autonomic control over the stomach are influenced by distinct cortical networks.
Aldh1l2 knockout mouse metabolomics links the loss of the mitochondrial folate enzyme to deregulation of a lipid metabolism observed in rare human disorder.

Mitochondrial folate enzyme ALDH1L2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member L2) converts 10-formyltetrahydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate and CO2 simultaneously producing NADPH. We have recently reported that the lack of the enzyme due to compound heterozygous mutations was associated with neuro-ichthyotic syndrome in a male patient. Here, we address the role of ALDH1L2 in cellular metabolism and highlight the mechanism by which the enzyme regulates lipid oxidation. We generated Aldh1l2 knockout (KO) mouse model, characterized its phenotype, tissue histology, and levels of reduced folate pools and applied untargeted metabolomics to determine metabolic changes in the liver, pancreas, and plasma caused by the enzyme loss. We have also used NanoString Mouse Inflammation V2 Code Set to analyze inflammatory gene expression and evaluate the role of ALDH1L2 in the regulation of inflammatory pathways. Both male and female Aldh1l2 KO mice were viable and did not show an apparent phenotype. However, H&E and Oil Red O staining revealed the accumulation of lipid vesicles localized between the central veins and portal triads in the liver of Aldh1l2-/- male mice indicating abnormal lipid metabolism. The metabolomic analysis showed vastly changed metabotypes in the liver and plasma in these mice suggesting channeling of fatty acids away from β-oxidation. Specifically, drastically increased plasma acylcarnitine and acylglycine conjugates were indicative of impaired β-oxidation in the liver. Our metabolomics data further showed that mechanistically, the regulation of lipid metabolism by ALDH1L2 is linked to coenzyme A biosynthesis through the following steps. ALDH1L2 enables sufficient NADPH production in mitochondria to maintain high levels of glutathione, which in turn is required to support high levels of cysteine, the coenzyme A precursor. As the final outcome, the deregulation of lipid metabolism due to ALDH1L2 loss led to decreased ATP levels in mitochondria. The ALDH1L2 function is important for CoA-dependent pathways including β-oxidation, TCA cycle, and bile acid biosynthesis. The role of ALDH1L2 in the lipid metabolism explains why the loss of this enzyme is associated with neuro-cutaneous diseases. On a broader scale, our study links folate metabolism to the regulation of lipid homeostasis and the energy balance in the cell.
Estimating the Burden of Influenza on Daily Activity at Population Scale Using Commercial Wearable Sensors

ABSTRACT The severity of viral infections can vary widely, from asymptomatic cases to complications leading to hospitalizations and death. Milder cases, despite being more prevalent, often go undocumented and their public health impact unaccounted for. We estimated the burden of influenza-like-illness (ILI) by leveraging the widespread use of commercial activity trackers. Analysing data from 15,382 US participants who reported ILI symptoms during the 2018–2019 flu season (before the COVID-19 pandemic) and who had high-density wearable sensor data at symptom onset, we estimated an overall nationwide reduction in mobility equivalent to 257 billion steps lost due to ILI symptoms. This finding reflects significant changes in routines, mobility, and employment and is equivalent to 15% of the active US population becoming completely immobilized for 1 day. Moreover, ∼60% of this impact occurred among individuals who sought no medical care, who would otherwise be invisible to healthcare and public health reporting systems. We validated our measure against self-reported measures of disease severity. We believe this method has applications for public health, healthcare, and clinical research, from estimating costs of lost productivity at population scale, to measuring effectiveness of anti-ILI treatments, to monitoring recovery after acute viral syndromes, such as during ‘long COVID’.
Palladium/norbornene-catalyzed distal alkenyl C–H arylation and alkylation of cis-olefins

Abstract In this full article, a detailed study of a distal alkenyl C–H arylation and alkylation through the palladium/norbornene (NBE) cooperative catalysis is described. Both aminopyridine- and oxime ether-type directing groups have been found effective for this transformation, allowing functionalization of diverse allyl amines and homoallyl alcohols. In addition, the C5,C6-substititued NBEs show optimal reactivity and selectivity. Various cis-olefins can be transformed to the corresponding arylated or alkylated trisubstituted alkenes with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity. Preliminary mechanistic studies support the Catellani pathway instead of the Heck pathway.
The period of puberty and the inception of menstruation

Abstract The period of puberty represents a transition from the period of growth to complete somatic and sexual maturity. The menarche , or the appearance of the first menstruation, is a single event in the course of puberty. It does not denote either the end point or the beginning of the pubescent period. It bears a definite relationship to body growth, but the development of the secondary sexual characters begins before and continues after the first menses. The menstrual cycles during the first few years are characterized by marked irregularities, are frequently separated by long periods of amenorrhea, and are functionally incomplete, since a comparative sterility probably exists. With the exception of abnormal uterine hemorrhage, the treatment of functional menstrual disorders during this time should consist primarily of general hygienic measures rather than of attempts to directly influence the pelvic organs.
Microfabricated thousand-turn coils for mW power generation from sub-mm vibrations

This paper presents two microfabrication approaches for 3D multiple-layer coils for vibration-energy harvesters. One type of coils is made out of 300 µm thick copper that is electroplated with silicon mold, and the other is built on 25 µm thick copper electroplated with photoresist mold. The latter approach is used to obtain 1,080-turn coil for microfabricated electromagnetic energy harvester with magnet array and plastic spring. Though the size and weight of the harvester are only 26×13×6 mm3 and 12 gram, respectively, it generates 1.04 mW power output (into 190 Ω load) when it is vibrated at 75 Hz with vibration amplitude of 220 µm.
Self-Esteem among Vietnamese American Adolescents: The Role of Self-Construal, Family Cohesion, and Social Support.

Abstract This prospective study examined whether interdependent self-construal (collectivism), independent self-construal (individualism), family cohesion, and social support would predict levels of self-esteem among Vietnamese American adolescents. Standardized self-report measures of family cohesion, social support, and self-esteem, as well as a measure of self-construal, were administered to 152 Vietnamese American adolescents. The results indicated that independent self-construal, family cohesion, and social support were significantly related to self-esteem. Interdependent self-construal was also found to positively affect self-esteem via family cohesion and social support. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Increasing empathic capabilities of instructional developers: Evaluation of a three-phase instructional strategy

Thomas Aquinas, who knew more about education and persuasion than almost anybody who ever lived, once said that when you want to convert someone to your point of view, you go over to where he is standing, take him by the hand (mentally speaking), and guide him to where you want him to go. You don’t stand across the room and shout at him. You don’t call him a dummy. You don’t order him to come over to where you are. You start where he is, and work from that position. That’s the only way to get him to change. Sidney Harris (1973)
The Politically Correct University

This book explores and offers remedies to the culture of political correctness in American higher education. We focus on the problem of liberal political orthodoxy in teaching and scholarship and seek to understand how diversity – of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, but not of ideas -- has become the dominant ideology in higher education. The dearth of conservative, libertarian, and neoliberal thinkers limits the type of questions asked and the phenomena studied; hinders credibility and dialogue between academic experts and large swaths of voters and policymakers; and, by limiting students’ exposure to different ideas, inhibits the ability of the university to produce thoughtful citizens. The book provides the most current and comprehensive statistical analysis of the relative rarity of conservative and libertarian professors, and takes an in-depth look at the effects of political correctness on specific academic disciplines, including political science, history, English, anthropology, and linguistics. It also explores the psychological and sociological mechanisms by which such imbalance comes about, and considers how and why academia stresses demographic diversity while largely eschewing political diversity. The book’s contributors contend that a combination of faculty composition, self-selection by conservatives, discrimination against conservatives in faculty hiring, and the tendency of political correctness to favor liberal views has produced a situation where conservative perspectives are often underrepresented in higher education. The contributors to this volume offer a range of solutions: programs or centers within universities, which operate outside official departments and allow conservative faculty to freely explore particular topics with sympathetic students; a larger role for alumni and trustees in overseeing their institutions; and a change in how liberal arts scholars understand themselves—not as provocative debunkers of accepted ideas, but as discoverers of truth.
Policy dismantling as evidence-based practice

Problems to be addressed: Every year approximately 100,000 youths under the age of 18 are admitted to adult jails across the country. These youths are in extreme danger. Many children are placed in solitary confinement which can cause anxiety, paranoia, and exacerbate existing mental disorders putting youths at increased risk of suicide. Youths housed in adult jails are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than are youths housed in juvenile detention facilities. Youths are also at great risk of sexual victimization. Even if youths are not physically or mentally harmed during their incarceration, youths are frequently denied education, exercise, and other programming, which compromises their overall development. Numerous studies and reports have documented problems inherent in housing youths in adult facilities, yet no study has specifically examined strategies used by counties to avoid housing youths in adult jails. I propose to present the initial findings and conceptual approach of this new research project.
Establishment of juvenile-like shoot cultures and plantlets from 4–16 year-old Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees

A method was developed for the establishment of shoot cultures from Douglas-fir trees selected for outstanding growth and form in a 12-year-old genetic test. Vegetative buds from the lower crown were sterilized and grafted in vitro onto juvenile clonal rootstock. The rootstocks were produced from adventitious buds induced on cotyledons, and were maintained through micropropagation. Buds that established grafts slowly elongated into shoots, which were harvested and multiplied through micropropagation. Grafts often grew several new shoots which in turn could be harvested. In 1987, 2830 buds were grafted from 18 superior trees. Twenty nine grafts (1%) produced shoots which established 11 of the 18 trees in culture. Their appearance and behavior in vitro became more juvenile over 1–3 years, as indicated by shoot and needle morphology, disappearance of episodic growth pattern, increase in multiplication rates, and ability of needles to produce adventitious buds. The five most prolific of the 11 clones were given a pre-rooting treatment and planted in soil under fog. The success of rooting and subsequent establishment in soil varied from 5 to 17% depending on clone. In contrast, trees multiplied in vitro for 1–2 years longer showed soil establishment rates from 8–60%. This technique allows establishment, multiplication, and maintenance in vitro of cultures from high value Douglas-fir genotypes. Such cultures may serve as a starting point for further research on rejuvenation and cloning.
Experimental Study of Oscillatory Values of g * of a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

We have measured the surface electron density and the magnetic field dependence of the extremes of the oscillatory quasiparticle $g$ factor in a two-dimensional electron gas.
Genetic relationships among 527 Gram-negative bacterial plasmids

Abstract Plasmids are mosaic in composition with a maintenance “backbone” as well as “accessory” genes obtained via horizontal gene transfer. This horizontal gene transfer complicates the study of their genetic relationships. We describe a method for relating a large number of Gram-negative (GN) bacterial plasmids based on their genetic sequences. Complete coding gene sequences of 527 GN bacterial plasmids were obtained from NCBI. Initial classification of their genetic relationships was accomplished using a computational approach analogous to hybridization of “mixed-genome microarrays.” Because of this similarity, the phrase “virtual hybridization” is used to describe this approach. Protein sequences generated from the gene sequences were randomly chosen to serve as “probes” for the virtual arrays, and virtual hybridization for each GN plasmid was achieved using BLASTp. Each resulting intensity matrix was used to generate a distance matrix from which an initial tree was constructed. Relationships were refined for several clusters by identifying conserved proteins within a cluster. Multiple-sequence alignment was applied to the concatenated conserved proteins, and maximum likelihood was used to generate relationships from the results of the alignment. While it is not possible to prove that the genetic relationships among the 527 GN bacterial plasmids obtained in this study are correct, replication of identical results produced in a separate study for a small group of IncA/C plasmids provides evidence that the approach used can correctly predict genetic relationships. In addition, results obtained for clusters of Borrelia plasmids are consistent with the expected exclusivity for plasmids from this genus. Finally, the 527-plasmid tree was used to study the distribution of four common antibiotic resistance genes.
USAID's health challenge: improving US foreign assistance.

This is the fourth in a series of articles on leadership in international health. The series was coordinated by Kent Buse.
Hypothyroidism and mild myxedema from thiocyanate intoxication.

Abstract The patient whose case is reported herein developed hypothyroidism with mild myxedema in the course of prolonged administration of thiocyanate for essential hypertension. Classical cardiac manifestations of myxedema occurred and could be compared with control records made one year previously. Spontaneous, subjective and objective improvement occurred after cessation of thiocyanate therapy. The temporarily enlarged heart receded to dimensions approximating those previously present.
On Measuring the Complexity of Monitoring and Controlling Large-Scale Systems

The complexity of monitoring and controlling a large-scale system, such as a communication network, is considered. Relevant literature is reviewed, with emphasis on both behavioral and nonbehavioral approaches to measuring complexity. A simulated large-scale network is described that is used in an experiment to assess the effect of network redundancy and number of systems levels on human fault-diagnosis performance. Experimental data are also used to evaluate two time-varying measures of task complexity (using analysis of variance and time-series analysis). The first measure is dependent on the structure of the system; the second measure is dependent on the strategy of the person controlling the system. Results suggest that this distinction is appropriate. In addition, results emphasize the different implications that complexity can have for normal system operation and human failure diagnosis performance. Although system design characteristics such as redundancy may help to avoid the short-term effects of failures, these same characteristics may have the dual effect of making the human supervisory controller's task more difficult.
Momentum transport in electron-dominated NSTX spherical torus plasmas

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) operates between 0.35 and 0.55?T, which, when coupled to up to 7?MW of neutral beam injection, leads to central rotation velocities in excess of 300?km?s?1 and E ? B shearing rates up to 1?MHz. This level of E ? B shear can be up to a factor of five greater than typical linear growth rates of long-wavelength ion (e.g. ITG) modes, at least partially suppressing these instabilities. Evidence for this turbulence suppression is that the inferred diffusive ion thermal flux in NSTX H-modes is often at the neoclassical level, and thus these plasmas operate in an electron-dominated transport regime. Analysis of experiments using n = 3 magnetic fields to change plasma rotation indicate that local rotation shear influences local transport coefficients, most notably the ion thermal diffusivity, in a manner consistent with suppression of the low-k turbulence by this rotation shear. The value of the effective momentum diffusivity, as inferred from steady-state momentum balance, is found to be larger than the neoclassical value. Results of perturbative experiments indicate inward pinch velocities of up to 40?m?s?1 and perturbative momentum diffusivities of up to 4?m2?s?1, which are larger by a factor of several than those values inferred from steady-state analysis. The inferred pinch velocity values are consistent with values based on theories in which low-k turbulence drives the inward momentum pinch. Thus, in NSTX while the neoclassical ion energy transport effects can be relatively high and dominate the ion energy transport, the neoclassical momentum transport effects are near zero, meaning that transport of momentum is dominated by any low-k turbulence that exists.
Online paging with arbitrary associativity

We tackle the problem of online paging on two level memories with arbitrary associativity (including victim caches, skewed caches etc.). We show that some important classes of paging algorithms are not competitive on a wide class of associativities (even with arbitrary resource augmentation) and that although some algorithms designed for full associativity are actually competitive on any two level memory, the myopic behavior of paging algorithms designed for full associativity will generally result in very poor performance at least for some "associativity topologies". At the same time we present a simple and yet powerful technique that allows us to overcome this shortcoming, generalizing algorithms designed for full associativity into practical algorithms which are efficient on two level memories with arbitrary associativity. We identify a simple topological parameter, pseudo associativity, which characterizes the competitive ratio achievble on any two level memory, giving a lower bound on the competitiveness achievable by any paging algorithm and matching it within a factor 4 with a novel algorithm.
Financial Intermediation without Exclusivity

Futures exchanges and other financial intermediaries assume counterparty risks and, in return, demand guarantees that these counterparties will deliver on their promises. It is often argued that, to attract volume, financial intermediaries would settle for excessively low contractual guarantees. In Santos and Scheinkman (2001), we model financial intermediation in an environment where traders may choose to default, and we examine the characteristics of the equilibrium. In particular, we investigate whether competition implies excessively low standards. We show that, in fact, when society punishes default and intermediaries can impose collateral requirements effectively to limit the size of positions, competition leads to a (constrained) optimal amount of contractual guarantees. In Santos and Scheinkman (2001) we assume that exchanges cannot control the size of the positions taken by individuals, but we preclude investors from participating in more than one exchange. This ignores the effect that trading with one financial intermediary may have on the risks faced by other intermediaries. Financial intermediaries typically cannot control the amount of risk that counterparties will take with other intermediaries. In this paper we examine the effect of dropping the exclusivity assumption. We show that the constrained optimum can no longer be implemented as a standard Nash equilibrium with free entry. Nonetheless this allocation is the only one that can be sustained as an anticipatory equilibrium (Charles Wilson, 1977). To break a candidate anticipatory equilibrium it must be possible to add a contract that is profitable and that does not become unprofitable when the now unprofitable contracts from the original menu are withdrawn. If one views this requirement as reasonable, nonexclusivity reproduces the outcome that obtains when intermediaries enjoy exclusivity but cannot control the size of positions taken against them by traders. A superficially similar result holds in the insurance model of Richard Arnott and Joseph E. Stiglitz (1993). In that model, the price of insurance is simply the ratio of what the client pays in the favorable state versus what he receives in the adverse state. As a consequence, if insurers cannot control the size of policies, it makes no difference whether a client buys from one or many insurance companies: clients will buy as much as desired at the lowest price. As we will show below, in our model of financial intermediation, agents may want to combine several contracts, and this is precisely the reason why the original equilibrium does not survive as a Nash equilibrium once exclusivity is dropped.
Seasonal factors affecting egg production and viability of eggs of Acartia tonsa Dana from East Lagoon, Galveston, Texas

Abstract Egg production and hatching success were determined between March 1981 and March 1982 for the copepod Acartia tonsa Dana from East Lagoon, Galveston, Texas. During three-day experiments in the laboratory, field collected females were fed diets of (1) natural particles collected over the water column, (2) some modification of this and (3) the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. The latter served to isolate the effects of temperature and salinity from the effects of the natural particle diets on egg production. Specific rates of egg production, i.e. μg egg biomass/μg body biomass/time, were consistently higher per unit carbon than nitrogen. The influence of seasonal factors on egg production was compared. Salinity was inversely correlated with egg production, but had less effect than temperature. Positive correlations with temperature were always higher for specific rates per unit nitrogen than carbon. At 15°C, females produced ∼0·25 of their body carbon (or nitrogen) as eggs per day, whereas at 28°C, they produced at least their own biomass as eggs per day (up to 1·80). These high rates of A. tonsa were probably due to its reproductive biology and adaptation to the subtropical habitat as well as the high temperatures and food concentrations. The correlation between specific egg production rate and temperature was less with the natural particle diets than with the unialgal diet. This indicated that the quantity or quality of natural particle assemblages in East Lagoon influenced egg production. Egg viability was highest in the spring, but was not related to diet or the percentage of females with spermatophores.
The effect of pressure on the ionization of boric acid in sodium chloride and seawater from molal volume data at 0 and 25°C

Abstract The apparent molal volume, φV of boric acid, B(OH)3 and sodium borate, NaB(OH)4, have been determined in 35%. salinity seawater and 0·725 molal NaCl solutions at 0 and 25°C from precise density measurements. Similar to the behavior of nonelectrolytes and electrolytes in pure water, the φV of B(OH)3 is a linear function of added molality and the φV of NaB(OH)4 is a linear function of the square root of added molarity in seawater and NaCl solutions. The partial molal volumes, V ∗ , of B(OH)3 and NaB(OH)4 in seawater and NaCl were determined from the φV's by extrapolating to infinite dilution in the medium. The V ∗ of B(OH)3 is larger in NaCl and seawater than pure water apparently due to the ability of electrolytes to dehydrate the nonelectrolyte B(OH)3. The V ∗ of NaB(OH)4 in itself, NaCl and seawater is larger than the expected value at 0·725 molal ionic strength due to ion pair formation [Na+ + B(OH)4− → NaB(OH)40]. The volume change for the formation of NaB(OH)40 in itself and NaCl was found to be equal to 29·4 ml mol−1 at 25°C and 0·725 molal ionic strength. These large Δ V ∗ 's indicate that at least one water molecule is released when the ion pair is formed [Na+ + B(OH)4− → H2O + NaOB(OH)20]. The observed V ∗ in seawater and the Δ V ∗ (NaB0) in water and NaCl were used to estimate Δ V ∗ (MgB + ) = Δ V ∗ (CaB + ) = 38·4 ml mol −1 for the formation of MgB+ and CaB+. The volume change for the ionization of B(OH)3 in NaCl and seawater was determined from the molal volume data. Values of Δ V ∗ = −29·2 and −25·9 ml mol −1 were found in seawater and Δ V ∗ = −21·6 and −26·4 in NaCl, respectively, at 0 and 25°C. The effect of pressure on the ionization of B(OH)3 in NaCl and seawater at 0 and 25°C determined from the volume change is in excellent agreement with direct measurements in artificial seawater ( culberson and Pytkowicz , 1968; Disteche and Disteche, 1967) and natural seawater (Culberson and Pytkowicz , 1968).
Surface materials on unusual planetary object chiron

JHK near-infrared colorimetry of the surface of the planetary object 2060 Chiron has yielded colors consistent with those of outer solar system asteroids, which have: (1) albedos of only a few percent, (2) C-, RD-, or DM-type spectra, and (3) no known H2O ice absorption features. The colors are also in keeping with theoretical colors for certain size distributions of dirty ice grains. Along with VJHK colorimetric data, results suggest that the spectrally dominant surface is probably dark, carbonaceous-like silicate dust with a possible, microscale admixture of ice grains. It is concluded that, if Chiron has the low albedo common to such materials on known interplanetary bodies, its diameter may lie in the 310-400 km range and therefore place it among the eight largest asteroids.
Acute kidney injury: A not-so-silent disease

Hospitalized children are experiencing acute kidney injury (AKI) with increasing frequency and are especially vulnerable to its long-term complications. Attempts to leverage novel biomarkers to improve phenotyping of this disease are limited by untargeted testing within broadly selected populations. Here, we review efforts by Basu et al. to use readily available clinical information to identify critically ill children at higher risk for developing severe AKI, who may benefit from novel diagnostic and prognostic information.
Human pineal physiology and functional significance of melatonin

Descriptions of the pineal gland date back to antiquity, but its functions in humans are still poorly understood. In both diurnal and nocturnal vertebrates, its main product, the hormone melatonin, is synthesized and released in rhythmic fashion, during the dark portion of the day-night cycle. Melatonin production is controlled by an endogenous circadian timing system and is also suppressed by light. In lower vertebrates, the pineal gland is photosensitive, and is the site of a self-sustaining circadian clock. In mammals, including humans, the gland has lost direct photosensitivity, but responds to light via a multisynaptic pathway that includes a subset of retinal ganglion cells containing the newly discovered photopigment, melanopsin. The mammalian pineal also shows circadian oscillations, but these damp out within a few days in the absence of input from the primary circadian pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The duration of the nocturnal melatonin secretory episode increases with nighttime duration, thereby providing an internal calendar that regulates seasonal cycles in reproduction and other functions in photoperiodic species. Although humans are not considered photoperiodic, the occurrence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and its successful treatment with light suggest that they have retained some photoperiodic responsiveness. In humans, exogenous melatonin has a soporific effect, but only when administered during the day or early evening, when endogenous levels are low. Some types of primary insomnia have been attributed to diminished melatonin production, particularly in the elderly, but evidence of a causal link is still inconclusive. Melatonin administration also has mild hypothermic and hypotensive effects. A role for the pineal in human reproduction was initially hypothesized on the basis of clinical observations on the effects of pineal tumors on sexual development. More recent data showing an association between endogenous melatonin levels and the onset of puberty, as well as observations of elevated melatonin levels in both men and women with hypogonadism and/or infertility are consistent with such a hypothesis, but a regulatory role of melatonin has yet to be established conclusively. A rapidly expanding literature attests to the involvement of melatonin in immune function, with high levels promoting and low levels suppressing a number of immune system parameters. The detection of melatonin receptors in various lymphoid organs and in lymphocytes suggests multiple mechanisms of action. Melatonin has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant, and has oncostatic properties as well, both direct and indirect, the latter mediated by its effects on reproductive hormones. Finally, there are reports of abnormal daily melatonin profiles in a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders, but the significance of such abnormalities is far from clear.
Rapid hierarchical assembly of medium-size DNA cassettes

Synthetic biology applications call for efficient methods to generate large gene cassettes that encode complex gene circuits in order to avoid simultaneous delivery of multiple plasmids encoding individual genes. Multiple methods have been proposed to achieve this goal. Here, we describe a novel protocol that allows one-step cloning of up to four gene-size DNA fragments, followed by a second assembly of these concatenated sequences into large circular DNA. The protocols described here comprise a simple, cheap and fast solution for routine construction of cassettes with up to 10 gene-size components.
Load-voltage-based single-sensor MPPT controller for multi-channel PV systems

The paper presents a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controller for a multi-channel (N-Channel) Photovoltaic (PV) solar system which requires only one voltage sensor and no current sensors. The N-channel Load Voltage Single-Sensor MPPT (LV-SS-MPPT) controller is able to track the MPP of each solar panel using only one output voltage value in the N-channels and is able to provide a very good tradeoff between size, cost, and tracking speed. Compared to a conventional N-channel MPPT system which requires N voltage sensors, N current sensors, 2N ADCs (or an ADC with 2N channels) and N MPPT controllers along with the associated conditioning circuitries, the proposed method only requires one voltage sensor, one ADC and one MPPT controller and is able to converge closer to the maximum lower power point of the load when the channels of the system are subject to non-uniform and/or mismatching conditions.
Time-domain observation of optical pulse propagation in whispering-gallery modes of glass spheres.

We report picosecond time-resolved measurements of optical pulse propagation in dielectric spheres (8, 10, and 26 mm in diameter) for which the pulse duration ?2 ps was short compared with the equatorial round-trip time within the sphere. A size-independent buildup of the leakage intensity in terms of the number of round trips was observed for each of the spheres, as were damped low-frequency oscillations superimposed upon the pulse ringdown envelope. These features of the data are interpreted as resulting from perturbative coupling of eigenmodes of the sphere and trajectory precession near the observation region.
Pharmacokinetics of SCH-39304 in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients following chronic oral dosing.

Abstract The pharmacokinetics of SCH-39304, an investigational, orally active, broad-spectrum antifungal agent, were evaluated in 17 adult, human immunodeficiency virus-positive males. Patients were studied on days 1 and 16 and were divided into the following three treatment groups: (i) patients with culture-proven oropharyngeal candidiasis who were not receiving concurrent zidovudine therapy and who were treated with 50 mg of SCH-39304 daily (n = 6); (ii) patients with culture-proven oropharyngeal candidiasis who were receiving concurrent zidovudine therapy and who were treated with 50 mg of SCH-39304 daily (n = 5); and (iii) patients with or without oropharyngeal candidiasis who were receiving concurrent zidovudine therapy and who were treated with 200 mg of SCH-39304 daily (n = 6). All patients received a single daily dose of the study medication for 16 days. Plasma samples for SCH-39304 concentration measurement were collected for 6 h following the initial dose and for 504 h following the day 16 dose. Urine was collected for 24 h following SCH-39304 administration on days 1 and 16. All samples were assayed for SCH-39304 by gas chromatography. Wide intersubject variations in SCH-39304 plasma concentration-versus-time profiles were observed on each study day. Absorption appeared to be slow, with mean day 1 peak plasma SCH-39304 concentrations of 1.2 micrograms/ml at 2.1 h (50 mg) and 3.9 micrograms/ml at 4.0 h (200 mg) after drug administration. Mean peak plasma SCH-39304 concentrations on day 16 were 7.6 micrograms/ml at 4.3 h (50 mg) and 17.2 micrograms/ml at 3.2 h (200 mg) after drug administration. Mean elimination half-lives on day 16 for the 50- and 200-mg daily dosages were 100 and 89 h, respectively. SCH-39304 was cleared primarily unchanged in the urine. Mean areas under the plasma concentration-versus-time curve (from 0 to 24 h) on day 16 reflect a lower than expected increase with the 200-mg/day regimen (314.5 microgram.h/ml) compared with that for the 50-mg/day regimen (139.9 microgram.h/ml), suggesting the potential for reduced bioavailability at higher dosages. No significant effect of concurrent zidovudine therapy on the kinetics of SCH-39304 was observed.
The Effects of Filtering the His-Purkinje System Electrocardiogram

Several laboratories have used signal averaging to record His-Purkinje system (HPS) potentials from the body surface of man as a means of noninvasive evaluation of intraventricular conduction. This study evaluated the use of a 0.3-300 Hz recording bandwidth as opposed to a bandwidth of 80-300 Hz most commonly used by other investigators. The wider bandwidth produced HPS recordings which were quite reproducible among eight normal subjects and showed marked changes in duration and configuration among twelve subjects with right or left bundle branch block. Comparisons were then made between analog filtered HPS waveforms and a digital differentiation algorithm. An explanation of the high frequency components of the HPS waveform is based on known properties of the HPS. This will aid in the development of models for implementing a forward or inverse solution for HPS potentials.
S1P and LPA have an attachment-dependent regulatory effect on invasion of epithelial ovarian cancer cells

Abstract Objectives We previously demonstrated the regulation of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cell invasiveness by the bioactive phospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). Low-dose S1P stimulated invasion like lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), while high-dose S1P inhibited invasion. Here we investigate how cell attachment status affects response to S1P and examine the effects of S1P and LPA on cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Methods EOC Dov13 cell invasion, ECM attachment and cell adhesion were tested through in vitro assays of Matrigel invasion and attachment to Matrigel, collagen or cell monolayer. Fractionated membrane and cytoplasmic proteins and biotin-labeled surface proteins were analyzed by western analysis. Actin cytoskeleton and FAK were visualized by immunofluorescence. Results S1P (20 μM) inhibited invasion of sustained, attached cells but enhanced that of invading cells. Membrane N-cadherin was depleted upon reattachment to ECM. S1P pretreatment (20 μM) accelerated N-cadherin recovery, while 40 μM LPA or 0.5 μM S1P delayed recovery. Cell–cell adhesion and stress fibers were decreased by LPA and by 0.5 μM S1P but increased by 20 μM S1P. While S1P increased cellular attachment to Matrigel and collagen-I, LPA inhibited attachment to Matrigel. Surface N-cadherin, γ- and β-catenins, FAK and integrinβ1 were altered by both reattachment and treatment with S1P or LPA. Conclusions S1P inversely affects invasion of attached and invading cells, switching from inhibition to stimulation. This switch is associated with depletion of N-cadherin and membrane FAK. The recovery of membrane N-cadherin, change in cell–cell adhesion and actin stress fibers intensity in response to LPA and S1P inversely correlate with their effects on cellular invasiveness.
Neuronal polarity in Drosophila: Sorting out axons and dendrites

Drosophila neurons have identifiable axons and dendrites based on cell shape, but it is only just starting to become clear how Drosophila neurons are polarized at the molecular level. Dendrite-specific components including the Golgi complex, GABA receptors, neurotransmitter receptor scaffolding proteins, and cell adhesion molecules have been described. Proteins involved in constructing presynaptic specializations are concentrated in axons of some neurons. A very simple model for how these components are distributed to axons and dendrites can be constructed based on the opposite polarity of microtubules in axons and dendrites: dynein carries cargo into dendrites, and kinesins carry cargo into axons. The simple model works well for multipolar neurons, but will likely need refinement for unipolar neurons, which are common in Drosophila.
Advanced tokamak diagnostics

Abstract Experiments on the current generation of large tokamaks have demonstrated that the core confinement properties are sufficiently good that the tokamak program can move forward to studies of long-pulse tokamaks with reactor-like properties in the core. On-going experiments show the benefits of plasma shaping and the capabilities of divertor design. Very good confinement has been obtained in magnetic field configurations which have been created with a region with reversed magnetic shear inside the plasma, and these results encourage further experiments in present devices extending the pulse length and improving the plasma performance, and moving forward to another generation of tokamaks. The significant challenges in plasma measurement are being addressed in the design work in progress for the international tokamak experimental reactor (ITER), and were being studied for the tokamak physics experiment (TPX). There will have to be extensive capabilities for using diagnostic signals in the control of the magnetic fields, heating and current drive sources, and fuelling. Clearly, many of the properties of the plasma in the divertors must be measured to allow the control of the gas flows and of the first-wall temperatures. This paper will describe some aspects of preparing diagnostic systems for next-generation devices.