cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial Discrimination of Complex, Low-Relief Quaternary Siliciclastic Strata Using Airborne Lidar and Near-Surface Geophysics: An Example from the Texas Coastal Plain, USA

Abstract Depositional units preserved on coastal plains worldwide control lithologic distribution in the shallow subsurface that is critical to infrastructure design and construction, and are also an important repository of information about the large-scale climate change that has occurred during many Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles. The lateral and vertical lithologic and stratigraphic complexity of these depositional units and their response to climatic and sea-level change are poorly understood, making it difficult to predict lithologic distribution and to place historical and future climate and sea-level change within a natural geologic context. Mapping Quaternary siliciclastic depositional units on low-relief coastal plains traditionally has been based on their expression in aerial photographs and low-resolution topographic maps. Accuracy and detail have been hindered by low relief and lack of exposure. High-resolution airborne lidar surveys, along with surface and borehole geophysical measurements, are being used to identify subtle lateral and vertical boundaries of lithologic units on the Texas Coastal Plain within Quaternary strata. Ground and borehole conductivity measurements discriminate sandy barrier island and fluvial and deltaic channel deposits from muddy floodplain, delta-plain, and estuarine deposits. Borehole conductivity and natural gamma logs similarly distinguish distinct lithologic units in the subsurface and identify erosional unconformities that likely separate units deposited during different glacial-interglacial stages. High-resolution digital elevation models obtained from airborne lidar surveys reveal previously unrecognized topographic detail that aids identification of surface features such as sandy channels, clay-rich interchannel deposits, and accretionary features on Pleistocene barrier islands. An optimal approach to identify lithologic and stratigraphic distribution in low-relief coastal-plain environments employs ① an initial lidar survey to produce a detailed elevation model; ② selective surface sampling and geophysical measurements based on preliminary mapping derived from lidar data and aerial imagery; and ③ borehole sampling, logging, and analysis at key sites selected after lidar and surface measurements are complete.
Effect of Chemical and Physical Modifications on the Wettability of Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces

The importance of understanding factors that contribute to surface wettability is highlighted in this new organic chemistry laboratory experiment, which aims to introduce the application of organic chemistry at the interface of polymer chemistry and material science. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a hydrophobic silicon-based rubber, is polymerized and molded onto templates of varying roughnesses and textures to introduce topology that changes surface hydrophilicity. The topological changes are assessed through optical microscopy imaging, and the wettability is analyzed by measuring the contact angle using an inexpensive digital camera. The molds are treated with boiling water which generates hydroxyl groups on the surface. Successful chemical modification of the polymer surface is confirmed using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) analysis, and wettability is assessed through contact angle measurement. Postlab questions focus on the wettability of the physically and chemically modified surfaces and their potential use as scaffolding for tissue engineering. This adaptable experiment is designed to reinforce concepts such as intermolecular forces, introduce polymer structure and synthesis, showcase polymer applications in biological research, and provide an introduction to surface wettability in a visually interesting manner.
Moving Through Hostos, a Student Grown into a Staff and Faculty Member

A personal narrative from the perspective of a student who transitioned into a professor. This story details the ways that technology on campus was integral to the success of students and how without the resources that technology provides many students would not be able to survive academic life. This story shifts when the teller becomes a professor. Technology is no longer a direct service provided by the institution—but rather an institutionalized community of services. These services are vast, but not often known about, and the best way to access them is through social capital acquired through years at the college. This is a look back at experiences had, but also a look forward into what could be.
EGFR Pathway Links Amino Acid Levels and Induction of Macropinocytosis.

Macropinocytosis coordinates non-specific uptake of macromolecules and fluid. Cancers employ macropinocytosis to obtain nutrients to support their metabolic homeostasis. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Lee et al. (2019) report that glutamine deprivation boosts macropinocytosis via EGFR signaling induction, providing a fine-tuned mechanism by which cancers adapt to nutrient supply.
Kinetics of Histidine-Tagged Protein Association to Nickel-Decorated Liposome Surfaces

Nickel-chelating lipids offer a convenient platform for reversible immobilization of histidine-tagged proteins to liposome surfaces. This interaction recently found utility as a model system for studying membrane remodeling triggered by protein crowding. Despite its wide array of utility, the molecular details of transient protein association to the lipid surfaces decorated with such chelator lipids remains poorly understood. In this study, we explore the kinetics of protein-liposome association across a wide concentration range using stopped-flow fluorescence. The fluorescence of histidine-tagged protein containing an intrinsic fluorophore (superfolder green fluorescent protein, SfGFP) was quenched upon binding to Ni-NTA-modified liposomes containing the quencher Dabsyl-PE lipids. Stopped-flow fluorescence reveals a complex, multiexponential binding behavior with a fast (kobs ∼ 10-20 s-1) phase and slower (kobs < 4 s-1) phase. Interestingly, the observed rates for the slower phase increase initially under low concentrations but start decreasing once a critical concentration is reached. Despite differences in the binding time scales, we observe that the trend of decreasing rates is reproducible irrespective of the chelator lipid doping level, protein surface charge, or lipid composition. Consideration of the protein footprint and membrane surface area occupancy leads us to conclude that the multiphasic binding behavior is reflective of protein binding via two distinct binding conformations. We propose that preliminary steps in protein association involve binding of a sterically occlusive side-on conformation followed by reorganization that leads to an end-on conformation with increased packing density. These results are important for the improvement of histidine-tag-based immobilization strategies and offer mechanistic insight into intermediates preceding membrane bending driven by protein crowding.
Use of polyethylenimine functionalised magnetic nanoparticles for gold thiosulfate recovery

Abstract The use of calcium thiosulfate (CaS2O3) as an alternative lixiviant to cyanide to treat double refractory gold ores has become an industrial reality. In this study, a novel adsorbent, polyethylenimine coated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (PEI-MNPs), was evaluated for the adsorption of gold from thiosulfate leaching systems that contain gold, copper and calcium thiosulfate. Particles were characterised in terms of their size and morphology, zeta potential, crystalline structure, surface properties, functional groups, magnetic properties and thermal degradation properties. The effect of nanoparticle dosage, thiosulfate concentration, copper concentration, solution pH and solution temperature on gold loading in synthetic leaching solutions was examined. In addition, adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms were investigated. PEI-MNPs demonstrated a positive surface charge up to a pH of 11, which facilitated electrostatic attraction of anionic gold thiosulfate complex. A higher nanoparticle dosage, lower free thiosulfate concentrations and lower temperatures favoured gold adsorption, while copper concentration and solution pH did not show a considerable effect. Gold adsorption kinetics were fast, irrespective of the solution content and reached equilibrium in less than 30 min. The adsorption isotherm data could be fitted with both the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorbent was able to be reused after a selective metal elution process.
NCI-Clinical Trial Accrual in a Community Network Affiliated with a Designated Cancer Center.

Most cancer care is delivered in the community, while most clinical trials exist in academic centers. We analyzed clinical trial accrual of a tertiary care cancer center and its affiliated community sites to better understand what types of trials accrued at the community sites and whether community accrual increased ethnic diversity. The institutional clinical trial database was searched for solid tumor accruals during 2018–2019. Patient’s race was abstracted, and trial’s funding source, phase, and disease type/stage were tabulated. Of 3689 accruals, 133 were at community sites, representing 26 unique trials while the main campus accrued to 93 unique trials. Community site accruals were highest for breast and colorectal cancer, but patients with less common cancers such as renal, nasopharyngeal, and gastric cancer were also accrued at community sites. Accruals occurred to randomized trials, as well as phase Ib and translational biomarker studies. Minority patients constituted 20.0% and 32.5% of community site accruals for therapeutic and non-therapeutic trials respectively, compared to 20.6% and 29.8% of main campus accruals for therapeutic and non-therapeutic trials, respectively. We conclude that community sites affiliated with an academic cancer center can accrue to a broad spectrum of clinical trials while enhancing racial diversity in participation of clinical trials. Further expansion of access to clinical trials in community sites is necessary to broaden patient access to state-of-the-art and next-generation treatment options.
Narrative as Meaning-Unit

In the Narrative Politics model, a policy narrative is constituted by signs and story lines. A powerful, symbol-laden, connotation-rich sign is called an ideograph. Ideographs are capable of bringing symbolically-charged, emotionally-charged, and morally-charged imagery into a narrative—and hence bring resonance to narratives as well. This approach to policy narratives differs somewhat from those that draw on literary categories for their structuration.
The Relationship Between Career Success and Sense of Purpose: Examining Linkages and Changes.

Objectives Although researchers have linked sense of purpose to working status, there are few studies examining how specific characteristics of work may correlate with sense of purpose. The aim of the current study is to extend prior research by assessing the degree to which objective and subjective forms of career success-occupational prestige and work satisfaction-are associated with levels of and changes in sense of purpose. Methods Participants were part of the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study (N = 307), which contains multiple cohorts of participants each assessed at multiple waves (full age range: 42-71). We used cross-lagged modeling to test the relationships in our model. Results Occupational prestige was not associated with sense of purpose levels and change. However, work satisfaction was positively associated with higher levels of sense of purpose initially, and there was evidence that changes in the 2 constructs were positively correlated. Discussion These findings suggest that subjective career success may be more important for sense of purpose than more objective indicators. Findings are discussed with respect to study limitations and guidance for future researchers using secondary data.
Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Systemic Thrombolysis for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Inpatient Setting: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Abstract Objectives To identify barriers to inpatient alteplase administration and implement an interdisciplinary program to reduce time to systemic thrombolysis. Patients and Methods Compared with patients presenting to the emergency department with an acute ischemic stroke (AIS), inpatients are delayed in receiving alteplase for systemic thrombolysis. Institutional AIS metrics were extracted from the electronic medical records of patients presenting as an inpatient stroke alert. All patients who received alteplase for AIS were included in the analysis. A gap analysis was used to assess institutional deficiencies. An interdisciplinary intervention was initiated to address these deficiencies. Efficacy was measured with pre- and postintervention surveys and institutional AIS metric analysis. Statistical significance was determined using the Student t test. We identified 5 patients (mean age, 73 years; 100% (5/5) male; 80% (4/5) white) who met inclusion criteria for the preintervention period (January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017) and 10 patients (mean age, 71 years; 50% male; 80% white) for the postintervention period (October 31, 2018, to July 1, 2020). Results We found barriers to rapid delivery of thrombolytic treatment to include alteplase availability and comfort with bedside reconstitution. Interdisciplinary intervention strategies consisted of stocking alteplase on additional floors as well as structured education and hands-on alteplase reconstitution simulations for resident physicians. The mean time from stroke alert to thrombolysis was shorter postintervention than preintervention (57.4 minutes vs 77.8 minutes; P=.03). Conclusion A coordinated interdisciplinary approach is effective in reducing time to systemic thrombolysis in patients experiencing AIS in the inpatient setting. A similar program could be implemented at other institutions to improve AIS treatment.
Harmonization and the Worst Scanner Syndrome.

We show that for a wide class of harmonization/domain-invariance schemes several undesirable properties are unavoidable. If a predictive machine is made invariant to a set of domains, the accuracy of the output predictions (as measured by mutual information) is limited by the domain with the least amount of information to begin with. If a real label value is highly informative about the source domain, it cannot be accurately predicted by an invariant predictor. These results are simple and intuitive, but we believe that it is beneficial to state them for medical imaging harmonization.
Health and Well-Being Measures of Collegiate Athlete and Non-Athlete Graduates

American collegiate sport participation has been linked with psychosocial and career-related benefits as well as with mental and physical health risks, with extant research on this topic revealing mixed results. The study purpose was, informed by the Health through Sport Conceptual Model, to describe and compare associations among health related quality of life and psychosocial measures of former U.S. collegiate athletes and non-athletes from four university graduation cohorts. Results suggest on aggregate former collegiate athletes report more positive measures than their non-athlete peers. Study findings were, in some instances, mitigated/reversed when participants endorsed concussion, career ending injury or revenue sport participation histories or were female. Though limited by a cross-sectional design and a potential health worker effect, results provide some support for protective associations of collegiate athletics participation. This study also provides a theoretical bridge from intercollegiate athletics participation to broader sport promotion literatures.
Utilizing Nonlinear Autoregressive with Exogenous Input Neural Networks to Evaluate the Thermal Flywheel Effect Along Intake Shafts at Nevada Mines

Understanding the climatic conditions in underground mines is necessary for efficient ventilation design, cost savings, and to ensure the health and safety of mine workers. Large volumes of ventilation and climatic data including air volume, barometric pressure, dry bulb temperature, and relative humidity were collected at active underground precious metal mines in Nevada, which allows for the determination of wet bulb temperature and other key parameters. Through the utilization of neural networks, the wet bulb temperature at the bottom of the intake shafts is predicted, while taking into account the “thermal flywheel effect” (TFE). Wet bulb temperature is one of the most important climatic parameters to model and understand because it significantly affects the work conditions and the cooling capacity of the ventilating air. The accurate prediction of the dry bulb and the wet bulb temperatures at the bottom of intake shafts is critical when assessing the climatic conditions in future underground mines and deciding on whether a cooling system is needed to assure adequate working conditions throughout the mine. By utilizing accurate predictions of wet bulb temperatures and other climatic parameters, mine personnel will be safer as reported by Bluhm et al. (2003), and a more accurate ventilation design can be achieved resulting in major cost savings for underground mines.
Asymmetrical host switching by two groups of obligate ectosymbionts of crayfishes

The Snake River Pilose Crayfish, Pacifastacus connectens (Faxon 1914), previously known only from the middle Snake River drainage in south-central Idaho west to the Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon, was discovered in the lower Deschutes River in north-central Oregon co-occurring with Signal Crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana 1852). Two groups of obligate ectosymbionts (i.e., entocytherid ostracods and branchiobdellidans) associated with these 2 Pacifastacus species displayed asymmetrical patterns of host switching, with host exchange primarily occurring from P. leniusculus onto P. connectens. Our results have implications for understanding patterns of host specificity over short ecological timescales but also raise questions about the persistence of these patterns over time.
Duplex ultrasound in the evaluation of venous and arterial thoracic outlet syndrome.

LessonWe are reporting a case of thoracic outlet syndrome and the value of duplex in the diagnosis of this syndrome.
Elizabeth Hoover, The River Is in Us: Fighting Toxics in a Mohawk Community

Elizabeth Hoover, The River Is in Us: Fighting Toxics in a Mohawk Community (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017), 392 pp., $112.00 (cloth), ISBN: 978- 1-5179-0302-2.
Promnesic futures: Technology, climate, déjà vu:

What is the function of the past in visions of the future? For critics, futures built on recycled futures-past, at best, signal a failure of imagination and, at worst, foreclose much-needed alterna...
Laterally-Loaded Pile-MSE Wall System Performance under Different Design Configurations

Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are common in civil engineering infrastructure. The need for constructing a shallow or deep foundation (e.g., piles) in an MSE wall for superstructure supp...
Stabilized Depth Cell Imaging through Disordered Fiber System with Semi-supervised Learning Algorithm

With ground truths only at 0 imaging depth, we reconstruct high-quality cell images through disordered optical fiber system up to 3mm imaging depth by tracing the state of the system using cycle-consistent adversarial networks.
Is Cenobamate the Breakthrough We Have Been Wishing for

Close to one-third of patients with epilepsies are refractory to current anti-seizure medications; however, trials with cenobamate suggest effectiveness in such patients with focal onset seizures. We searched for data published or otherwise reported on cenobamate and outlined these here. Despite being marketed in the USA, few studies are yet published in full, and trials are ongoing. Nevertheless, cenobamate showed potential for a high degree of efficacy in reducing seizures with an unprecedented seizure-free rate of up to 28%. Rare cases of hypersensitivity reactions seen in early trials seem to be avoided by the current recommended titration schedule. Other adverse events were rated mild-to-moderate and most commonly included dizziness, drowsiness, and headache. If data are confirmed in further published trials, cenobamate will be a welcome new treatment and further analyses may identify those that will benefit the most.
Administrative Adjudicators' Extrajudicial Statements

The appropriate scope of federal and state judges’ extrajudicial speech has long been the subject of vibrant debate; administrative adjudicators’ extrajudicial speech has received far less attention. To the extent that it has, commentators have concluded that the ethical restraints on administrative adjudicators should largely resemble those constraining their brethren situated in courts. Commentators also seem to have assumed that administrative adjudicators themselves would judge their own statements in light of general codes of judicial conduct (often developed by professional groups), much like members of the federal and state judiciaries do. But during the Trump Administration, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Administrative Review instituted a policy that broadly prohibited immigration judges from publicly sharing their views. To effectual this policy, immigration judges were made subject to a preclearance review regime, requiring them to obtain permission from agency supervisors before they could speak on issues regarding immigration. This paper presents a comparative analysis of agencies and courts along seven dimensions relevant to the propriety of extrajudicial speech: (1) disqualification standards and costs of recusal, (2) nature of the interests adjudicated, (3) nature and scope of review to which adjudicators’ determinations are subject, (4) relationship between adjudicators and agency officials, (5) adjudicators’ obligations of institutional loyalty, (6) separation of powers concerns, and (7) degree of reliance upon litigants’ and the public’s acceptance of the judgments rendered in the adjudication. From this analysis, the paper draws two conclusions. First, the ethical norms of administrative adjudicator extrajudicial speech should not dramatically differ from those applicable to their brethren serving on courts. The differences between the agency and judicial contexts cut in different ways. Thus, on balance the differing contexts do not suggest the need for significantly different norms. Second, while a regime that largely relies on judges selecting their own philosophies regarding extrajudicial speech within a broad range of choice is tolerable in federal and state judicial systems, agencies should be able to take a more pro-active role. Agencies should be allowed to place less reliance on individual adjudicators’ choices and establish a framework that accords administrative adjudicators a more limited range of discretion than court systems, particularly the federal court system, typically confer upon judges.
Towards a Theory of Symbiotics: Illuminating Societal Evolution through a Theory of Entangled Political Economy

This paper argues that most neoclassical theory today fails (Boettke 1996) to illuminate ‘unseen phenomena’ in our entangled political economy. Specifically, most economic theory operates using static terms such as efficiency (inefficiency). I argue that by applying such a concept to institutions—which are largely orders not organizations (Hayek 1973)—we not only make logical and ontological errors, but adopt a framework that leads us, as theorists, to miss important phenomena on which much of our analysis depends. To mitigate such errors, I suggest that we heed Buchanan’s (1964) claim to move our study closer to that of symbiotics—the study of relationships among dissimilar organisms. Such a framework would place economics on par with complexity and systems theory and allow us to focus on the spontaneous phenomena that emerge due to praxeological actions and interactions among dissimilar organisms within certain given institutions. I conclude that adopting a framework allows us to examine ‘unseen phenomena’ such as moral orders.
Familiarity Does Not Breed Contempt: Generosity, Discrimination, and Diversity in Delhi Schools

I exploit a natural experiment in Indian schools to study how being integrated with poor students affects the social behaviors and academic outcomes of rich students. Using administrative data, lab and field experiments to measure outcomes, I find that having poor classmates makes rich students (i) more prosocial, generous, and egalitarian; and (ii) less likely to discriminate against poor students, and more willing to socialize with them. These effects are driven by personal interactions between rich and poor students. In contrast, I find mixed but overall modest impacts on rich students' academic achievement.
Statistical considerations when analyzing biomarker data

Biomarkers have become, and will continue to become, increasingly important to clinical immunology research. Yet, biomarkers often present new problems and raise new statistical and study design issues to scientists working in clinical immunology. In this paper I discuss statistical considerations related to the important biomarker problems of: 1) The design and analysis of clinical studies which seek to determine whether changes from baseline in a biomarker are associated with changes in a metabolic outcome; 2) The conditions that are required for a biomarker to be considered a "surrogate"; 3) Considerations that arise when analyzing whether or not a predictive biomarker could act as a surrogate endpoint; 4) Biomarker timing relative to the clinical endpoint; 5) The problem of analyzing studies that measure many biomarkers from few subjects; and, 6) The use of statistical models when analyzing biomarker data arising from count data.
On the Oka principle in a Banach space, II

Let X be one of the Banach spaces c0, lp, 1≤p<∞; Ω⊂X pseudoconvex open, \(\) a holomorphic Banach vector bundle with a Banach Lie group G* for structure group. We show that a suitable Runge-type approximation hypothesis on X, G* (which we also prove for G* a solvable Lie group) implies the vanishing of the sheaf cohomology groups Hq(Ω, 𝒪E), q≥1, with coefficients in the sheaf of germs of holomorphic sections of E. Further, letting 𝒪Γ (𝒞Γ) be the sheaf of germs of holomorphic (continuous) sections of a Banach Lie group bundle Γ→Ω with Banach Lie groups G, G* for fiber group and structure group, we show that a suitable Runge-type approximation hypothesis on X, G, G* (which we prove again for G, G* solvable Lie groups) implies the injectivity (and for X=l1 also the surjectivity) of the Grauert–Oka map H1(Ω, 𝒪Γ)→H1(Ω, 𝒞Γ) of multiplicative cohomology sets.
Problem Solving Does Not Have To Be a Problem.

Fully discussing fewer problems may help students hat role does problem solving play in the mathemat ics classroom today? What methods should be used to help students become better problem solvers? One comment we have often heard in our algebra classes is "I can't do word problems." This state ment is quickly followed by "Once I know the equa tion, the problem is not difficult." What students fail to realize is that word problems are just a small part of problem solving. With regard to these prob lems, understanding the problem, which leads to discovering the equation, is the focus of problem solving. Mathematics, by its nature, is comprehensive. In many school systems, teachers feel pressured by the need to teach massive amounts of material so that students are prepared for the course at the next level. The demands to cover all the material are great. Although most teachers would agree that using multiple methods to solve problems is advan tageous, many believe that this process is a luxury because of time constraints. We believe, however, that it is far better to spend time working a few problems, but from many differ ent perspectives, than working all the problems in the section using only one strategy. The former ap proach is especially valuable when these solutions originate from students' ideas and intuition. On the one hand, if the solutions originate in this way, stu dents will view themselves as capable of using their mathematical knowledge to make sense of new problem situations and will become more confident in their own abilities (NCTM 1989; Battista and Larson 1994). On the other hand, in using a single strategy to solve several problems, a teacher runs the risk of some students' failing to understand that strategy and thus being unable to proceed through the problems with the teacher. If this situation occurs, time has been wasted. Students find no meaning in solving problems and either attempt simply to mimic the teacher's actions or, worse yet, fail to attempt anything at all. The teacher is faced with the decision to reteach the lesson, which requires more time, or to move onward. Problem solving is so much more than just solv ing problems. Although problem solving has always been a part of the mathematics curriculum, its focus has changed throughout history.
Endocrine Disorders and the Heart

Increased mortality from cardiovascular disease among adults with hypopituitarism is perhaps related to growth hormone deficiency. Major cardiovascular manifestations of acromegaly include cardiomegaly, cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and arrhythmias. The excess mortality of acromegaly is abolished by successful treatment of acromegaly. The major cardiovascular manifestation of adrenal insufficiency is arterial hypotension. Major cardiovascular manifestations of Cushing’s syndrome include hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy, and a prothrombotic state. The major cardiovascular manifestation of mineralocorticoid excess is hypertension, more common than previously thought. Hypokalemia is important in mineralocorticoid disorders, but most patients are normokalemic. Treatment with mineralocorticoid antagonist is beneficial following myocardial infarction and in congestive heart failure. The major cardiovascular manifestation of pheochromocytoma is hypertension. In pheochromocytoma, prompt treatment is important. Metabolic syndrome is important as a risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The increased cardiovascular mortality in diabetes mellitus is reduced by aggressive treatment of multiple risk factors. Intensive treatment of hyperglycemia reduces mortality in critical illness. There is excess cardiovascular mortality in primary hyperparathyroidism. The “euthyroid sick syndrome” results from nonthyroidal illness. Major cardiovascular manifestations of hypothyroidism include bradycardia, cardiac enlargement, hypertension, low voltage on the ECG, and sometimes pericardial effusion. “Subclinical hypothyroidism” is associated with in-creased lipids, but not yet conclusively linked to excess cardiovascular events. Major cardiovascular manifestations of hyperthyroidism include tachycardia and tachyarrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, increased pulse pressure, and increased cardiac contractility with decreased reserve. Overt and “subclinical” hyperthyroidism are linked to atrial fibrillation. Major cardiovascular manifestations of carcinoid syndrome include tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonic valve damage related to right-sided endocardial plaques. In carcinoid syndrome, there is increased morbidity and mortality in patients with carcinoid heart disease.
Chapter 2 Intracellular Organelle Dynamics at nm Resolution

In the past 15 years, the dynamics of intracellular membrane-bound secretory vesicles ranging in size from 200 to 1200 nm in pancreatic acinar cells to 30-50 nm in neurons, have been extensively studied, providing for the first time the molecular process involved in vesicular discharge during cell secretion. Live pancreatic acinar cells in near physiological buffer, when imaged using the atomic force microscope (AFM), reveal at nanometer resolution the size of secretory vesicles called zymogen granules (ZGs) lying immediately below the surface of the apical plasma membrane. Within 2.5 min of exposure to a secretory stimulus, majority of ZGs within cells swell, followed by a decrease in ZG size, and a concomitant release of secretory products. These studies directly demonstrated intracellular swelling of secretory vesicles following stimulation of cell secretion in live cells, and vesicle deflation following partial discharge of vesicular contents. Furthermore, a direct estimation of vesicle size dynamics at nm resolution under various experimental conditions, have enabled the determination of the molecular mechanism of secretory vesicle swelling. Atomic force microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy have been major players in these studies.
Study of the kinetics of conversion of maternal plasma dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate to 16α-hydroxydehydroisoandrosterone sulfate, estradiol, and estriol

Abstract The transfer constants of conversion of maternal plasma dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate to estradiol ( BU DS − E 2 ) and to 16 α OH-dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate ( BU DS − 16 OHDS ) and of maternal plasma 16 α OH-dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate to estriol ( BU DS − 16 OHDS − E 3 ) were measured in women late in pregnancy. The mean BU DS − 16 OHDS − E 3 , 0.17, was considerably less than the mean BU DS − E 2 , 0.29. However, the extent of 16 α -hydroxylation of maternal plasma dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate was great, the mean BU DS − 16 OHDS being 0.36.
Infections of congenitally athymic (nude) and normal mice with avirulent and virulent strains of Venezuelan encephalitis virus

Two strains of Venezuelan encephalitis virus that are avirulent for normal BALB/c mice inoculated subcutaneously were also avirulent for infected congenitally athymic (nude) mice of the same strain. Viremias were of similar magnitudes and durations in normal and nude mice. Brain concentrations were higher in nude mice with the one avirulent strain tested, although the periods of detectable virus in brains were similar. No lesions were found in brains, spleens, or lymph nodes by ordinary histopathological examination. Viral neutralizing antibody titers in plasmas at 1 to 3 weeks after infection were lower and more transient in nude than in normal mice, and implantations of thymic tissues into nude mice partially restored their neutralizing antibody responses. Concentrations of spleen cells producing antibodies that lysed sheep erythrocytes 4 days after inoculation of erythrocytes and avirulent virus into nude mice were above the levels of uninfected nude mice. These concentrations were similar in infected and uninfected normal mice. In contrast, two mouse-virulent strains of Venezuelan encephalitis virus killed nude mice faster than normal mice after subcutaneous inoculation. Yet concentrations and durations of virus in bloods and brains were not consistently different between nude and normal mice. There were perivascular monocytes in brains and slight architectural alterations of spleens and lymph nodes. Concentrations of spleen cells producing antibodies hemolytic for sheep erythrocytes 4 days after inoculation with erythrocytes were depressed in nude and normal mice by infection with virulent strains.
Multiscale Biharmonic Kernels

This paper introduces a general principle for constructing multiscale kernels on surface meshes, and presents a construction of the multiscale pre-biharmonic and multiscale biharmonic kernels. Our construction is based on an optimization problem that seeks to minimize a smoothness criterion, the Laplacian energy, subject to a sparsity inducing constraint. Namely, we use the lasso constraint, which sets an upper bound on the l1 -norm of the solution, to obtain a family of solutions parametrized by this upper-bound parameter. The interplay between sparsity and smoothness results in smooth kernels that vanish away from the diagonal. We prove that the resulting kernels have gradually changing supports, consistent behavior over partial and complete meshes, and interesting limiting behaviors (e.g. in the limit of large scales, the multiscale biharmonic kernel converges to the Green's function of the biharmonic equation); in addition, these kernels are based on intrinsic quantities and so are insensitive to isometric deformations. We show empirically that our kernels are shape-aware, are robust to noise, tessellation, and partial object, and are fast to compute. Finally, we demonstrate that the new kernels can be useful for function interpolation and shape correspondence.
A Gamma Interferon Independent Mechanism of CD4 T Cell Mediated Control of M. tuberculosis Infection in vivo

CD4 T cell deficiency or defective IFNγ signaling render humans and mice highly susceptible to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. The prevailing model is that Th1 CD4 T cells produce IFNγ to activate bactericidal effector mechanisms of infected macrophages. Here we test this model by directly interrogating the effector functions of Th1 CD4 T cells required to control Mtb in vivo. While Th1 CD4 T cells specific for the Mtb antigen ESAT-6 restrict in vivo Mtb growth, this inhibition is independent of IFNγ or TNF and does not require the perforin or FAS effector pathways. Adoptive transfer of Th17 CD4 T cells specific for ESAT-6 partially inhibited Mtb growth while Th2 CD4 T cells were largely ineffective. These results imply a previously unrecognized IFNγ/TNF independent pathway that efficiently controls Mtb and suggest that optimization of this alternative effector function may provide new therapeutic avenues to combat Mtb through vaccination.
Tunneling and hopping conduction in Langmuir-Blodgett thin films of poly(3-hexylthiophene).

The electrical conductivity and field-effect mobility of undoped and ${\mathrm{NOPF}}_{6}$-doped Langmuir-Blodgett thin films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) have been measured as a function of temperature, electric field, and film thickness. These properties are compared with those of free-standing films. In undoped samples the conductivity is best described by variable-range hopping, whereas in the doped and dedoped states the model of charging-energy-limited tunneling between conducting islands is applicable. The data indicate metallic charge carrier densities within the conducting islands in the highly doped state. At electric fields close to the dielectric breakdown, a possible onset to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling is observed. As the samples become dedoped, the electrical properties indicate an increase in the average size of conducting islands, which are suggested to consist of polymer backbones separated by the alkyl side chains of neighboring molecules.
High-accuracy comparison of numerical relativity simulations with post-Newtonian expansions

Numerical simulations of 15 orbits of an equal-mass binary black-hole system are presented. Gravitational waveforms from these simulations, covering more than 30 cycles and ending about 1.5 cycles before merger, are compared with those from quasicircular zero-spin post-Newtonian (PN) formulae. The cumulative phase uncertainty of these comparisons is about 0.05 radians, dominated by effects arising from the small residual spins of the black holes and the small residual orbital eccentricity in the simulations. Matching numerical results to PN waveforms early in the run yields excellent agreement (within 0.05 radians) over the first ~15 cycles, thus validating the numerical simulation and establishing a regime where PN theory is accurate. In the last 15 cycles to merger, however, generic time-domain Taylor approximants build up phase differences of several radians. But, apparently by coincidence, one specific post-Newtonian approximant, TaylorT4 at 3.5PN order, agrees much better with the numerical simulations, with accumulated phase differences of less than 0.05 radians over the 30-cycle waveform. Gravitational-wave amplitude comparisons are also done between numerical simulations and post-Newtonian, and the agreement depends on the post-Newtonian order of the amplitude expansion: the amplitude difference is about 6%–7% for zeroth order and becomes smaller for increasing order. A newly derived 3.0PN amplitude correction improves agreement significantly (<1% amplitude difference throughout most of the run, increasing to 4% near merger) over the previously known 2.5PN amplitude terms.
Multispectral Flow Cytometry: Next Generation Tools for Automated Classification

Flow cytometry has moved from a relatively simple technology 30 years ago, to a very sophisticated and high-speed detection technology today. However, the number of simultaneous fluorescence dyes that can be separated is limited by the difficulty in overlapping spectra and the complexity of resolving this spectral overlap problem. High-speed multianode PMTs may change this situation. The system we propose utilizes such a technology to allow full spectral analysis of cells and particles as they flow past the light source. Making these measurements is very complex and the necessity for advanced spectral overlap calculations creates a number of difficult problems to solve in a very short period of time. Next-generation instruments can either increase the number of detectors or modify the principles of collection. If the detector system were simplified, the overall cost and complexity of single-cell analytical systems might be reduced. This requires changes in both hardware and software that allow for the analysis of 30 or more spectral signals. Analysis of complex data sets requires some completely new analytical approaches, particularly in the area of multispectral analysis. This presentation discusses a next-generation instrument, which can collect simultaneously 32 bands of fluorescence from a particle in less than 5 microseconds. This opens new opportunities for analysis of bioparticles in a very fast and high content fashion.
Diagnostic performance of four point of care cardiac troponin I assays to rule in and rule out acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Objective This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of four point-of-care (POC) cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays compared to a central laboratory cTnI assay for detecting myocardial injury and diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design and methods Plasma obtained at admission, 3 h, and 6 h post-admission in 169 patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was studied. cTnI concentrations were measured on the Instrumentation Laboratory prototype GEM Immuno, Radiometer AQT90, Mitsubishi PATHFAST, Abbott i-STAT and the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostic Vitros assays. MI was determined based on 99th percentiles according to Universal MI guidelines. Results For ruling in MI at presentation (0 h), the GEM Immuno (sensitivity 63%, specificity 85%) and PATHFAST (sensitivity 53%, specificity 86%) were comparable to the OCD (sensitivity 68%, specificity 81%), and significantly better ( p 90% and ROC AUCs were > 0.90 after 6 h for all assays. Detection of myocardial injury in non-ischemic pathologies accounted for lower than 100% specificity for MI. Conclusion cTnI is a sensitive biomarker for detection of myocardial injury. The analytical variability that exists between POC cTnI assays demonstrates substantial diagnostic differences for ruling in and ruling out MI in patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of ACS.
Carbon monoxide protects against hyperoxia-induced endothelial cell apoptosis by inhibiting reactive oxygen species formation.

Hyperoxia causes cell injury and death associated with reactive oxygen species formation and inflammatory responses. Recent studies show that hyperoxia-induced cell death involves apoptosis, necrosis, or mixed phenotypes depending on cell type, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using murine lung endothelial cells, we found that hyperoxia caused cell death by apoptosis involving both extrinsic (Fas-dependent) and intrinsic (mitochondria-dependent) pathways. Hyperoxia-dependent activation of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway and formation of the death-inducing signaling complex required NADPH oxidase-dependent reactive oxygen species production, because this process was attenuated by chemical inhibition, as well as by genetic deletion of the p47phox subunit, of the oxidase. Overexpression of heme oxygenase-1 prevented hyperoxia-induced cell death and cytochrome c release. Likewise, carbon monoxide, at low concentrations, markedly inhibited hyperoxia-induced endothelial cell death by inhibiting cytochrome c release and caspase-9/3 activation. Carbon monoxide, by attenuating hyperoxia-induced reactive oxygen species production, inhibited extrinsic apoptosis signaling initiated by death-inducing signal complex trafficking from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane and downstream activation of caspase-8. We also found that carbon monoxide inhibited the hyperoxia-induced activation of Bcl-2-related proteins involved in both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling. Carbon monoxide inhibited the activation of Bid and the expression and mitochondrial translocation of Bax, whereas promoted Bcl-XL/Bax interaction and increased Bad phosphorylation. We also show that carbon monoxide promoted an interaction of heme oxygenase-1 with Bax. These results define novel mechanisms underlying the antiapoptotic effects of carbon monoxide during hyperoxic stress.
Dietary Uptake of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) by Rainbow Trout

Abstract The presence of detectable levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in commercially produced fish feed has raised a concern about the degree of biomagnification of these contaminants in hatchery-reared trout. Our objectives were to (1) define the relationship between concentrations of PCBs in fish feed and in fish tissue and (2) estimate the relative contributions of feed and hatchery supply water to PCB concentrations in fish. We conducted a 6-month feeding trial with fingerling rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fed commercial diets with four concentrations of PCBs: a low-PCB diet (69 ng/g); a typical commercial diet (126 ng/g); and the typical diet spiked with PCBs at two levels (220 and 280 ng/g). The concentrations of PCBs in fillets after 1 month were commensurate with those in the feeds and remained relatively stable for the next 5 months; mean PCB concentrations in fillets ranged from 54 to 94 ng/g. Low levels of PCBs were detected in the hatchery supply water. We used the concentrations...
Reality negotiation in non‐depressed and depressed persons

Objectives. Non-depressed and depressed persons were hypothesized to input and recall self-referential information that was consistent with their self theories. Design. Non-depressed and depressed persons were compared. Methods. Non-depressed (14) and depressed (14) students chose between positive or negative audio statements, and then recalled the statements. Results. Non-depressed relative to depressed participants: (i) listened more to the positive than the negative tapes; and (ii) fabricated (i.e. incorrectly recalled) less negative messages. Conclusion. Partial support is given to reality negotiation processes.
Local inversion of matrices with sparse inverses

Abstract We demonstrate that subject to certain regularity conditions any invertible matrix whose inverse is subordinate to a chordal graph G may be inverted via a simple formula involving only the inverses of its principal submatrices corresponding to the maximal cliques and minimal vertex separators of the graph G . The resulting formula is reminiscent of known formulae for the determinant and inertia of matrices whose inverses are subordinate to a chordal graph.