cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Vitro Serial Passage of Staphylococcus aureus: Changes in Physiology, Virulence Factor Production, and agr Nucleotide Sequence

Recently, we observed that Staphylococcus aureus strains newly isolated from patients had twofold-higher aconitase activity than a strain passaged extensively in vitro, leading us to hypothesize that aconitase specific activity decreases over time during in vitro passage. To test this hypothesis, a strain recovered from a patient with toxic shock syndrome was serially passaged for 6 weeks, and the aconitase activity was measured. Aconitase specific activity decreased 38% (P < 0.001) by the sixth week in culture. During serial passage, S. aureus existed as a heterogeneous population with two colony types that had pronounced (wild type) or negligible zones of beta-hemolytic activity. The cell density-sensing accessory gene regulatory (agr) system regulates beta-hemolytic activity. Surprisingly, the percentage of colonies with a wild-type beta-hemolytic phenotype correlated strongly with aconitase specific activity (ρ = 0.96), suggesting a common cause of the decreased aconitase specific activity and the variation in percentage of beta-hemolytic colonies. The loss of the beta-hemolytic phenotype also coincided with the occurrence of mutations in the agrC coding region or the intergenic region between agrC and agrA in the derivative strains. Our results demonstrate that in vitro growth is sufficient to result in mutations within the agr operon. Additionally, our results demonstrate that S. aureus undergoes significant phenotypic and genotypic changes during serial passage and suggest that vigilance should be used when extrapolating data obtained from the study of high-passage strains.
Sterol protection against pimaricin in saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract The Δ 5 - β -3-OH sterols, cholesterol, ergosterol, sitosterol, and stigmasterol, reversed the antifungal activity of pimaricin on S. cerevisae while mevalonic acid, squalene and lanosterol were inactive in this respect. Several explanations for this effect were discussed.
Konformation und Struktur von Organometallkomplexen im Festkörper : zwei für das Verständnis chemischer Reaktionen wichtige Studien

In dieser Ubersicht werden zwei Klassen von Organometallkomplexen unter Benutzung der Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) auf ihre bevorzugten Konformationen hin untersucht. Die Komplexe von Lewis-Sauren mit Carbonylverbindungen zeigen je nach den elektronischen und sterischen Anspruchen der Carbonylkomponente und der Art der Lewis-Saure eine Vielfalt von Koordinationsgeometrien. Auserdem werden die Festkorper-Konformationen von Acyl-, Nitrosyl-, Acetylen- und Imidoliganden in Komplexen, die π-bindende Liganden enthalten, diskutiert. Die dabei gewonnenen Erkenntnisse regten die Entwicklung eines Konformationsmodells an, das auf den Konzepten der „π-Bindungshybridisierung” und der Grenzorbitaltheorie beruht. Die Befunde sind fur ein Verstandnis der Mechanismen und Ubergangszustande vieler praparativ wichtiger Reaktionen von Bedeutung. Ein auf genauen Strukturdaten beruhendes tieferes Verstandnis der konformativen Eigenschaften von Organometallkomplexen wird wahrscheinlich das Entwerfen und Optimieren von Prozessen fordern, in denen Metalle eine Rolle spielen.
Screening Tests for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rising throughout the world. HCC meets the criteria for which a disease benefits from screening or surveillance: it is an important health problem; those with cirrhosis are the targets for surveillance; there is acceptable treatment if diagnosed early; surveillance using alpha-fetoprotein and ultrasound has been shown to be cost effective; surveillance is widely implemented by health care professionals and accepted by patients; standardized recall procedures exists; and the screening tests must achieve an acceptable level of accuracy in the population undergoing screening. The latter point is the main limitation of surveillance for HCC. In this review we will discuss the currently available tests for the surveillance of HCC.
Gender Differences in Vascular Compliance in Young, Healthy Subjects Assessed by Pulse Contour Analysis

Objectives. Sex hormones exert important effects on the vasculature. Female sex hormones have been reported to enhance endothelial function, reduce oxidative stress, and protect against atherosclerosis. However, the effects of estrogen on vascular compliance have not been studied. Recently, noninvasive instrumentation that estimates vascular compliance by recording the radial artery pulse contour has been introduced. Reductions in the oscillatory or reflected component of the diastolic waveform have been observed in various clinical conditions, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and congestive heart failure, and may reflect endothelial dysfunction at the site of resistance vessels. In this study the authors examined gender-related vascular compliance in a cohort of young, healthy, predominantly nonsmoking, medication-free men and women to determine the influence of cardiovascular risk factors, including family and social history, serum lipids, plasma homocysteine, and insulin levels on vascular compliance. Methods. The volunteers, consisting of 151 healthy men and women (mean age 24±4 years) completed a questionnaire detailing family and social history, medication use, and exercise habits. Large (C1) and small (C2) vessel compliance and various cardiovascular parameters were derived from arterial pulse wave contour analysis. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure, pulse pressure, and pulse rate were determined simultaneously by oscillometry. Blood for fasting serum lipids, plasma homocysteine, and serum insulin were obtained in a subset of 135 subjects. Results. The questionnaire revealed that 38% of parents had a history of hypertension, 31% had dyslipidemia, and 15% had coronary heart disease. C2 was lower in subjects with parental dyslipidemia. Compared to men, women had lower C2; lower systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure; higher serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; lower serum triglycerides; and lower plasma homocysteine, but similar serum insulin levels. C1 correlated with height and pulse pressure, whereas C2 was proportional to height and weight and inversely related to systemic vascular resistance. Multivariate regression analysis showed that stroke volume, total vascular impedance, cardiac output, female gender, and systemic vascular resistance independently predicted changes in C2, but that height was not a significant factor. Conclusions. Women have reduced C2 despite lower systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure and more favorable lipid and homocysteine levels. C2 is independent of height and is lower in subjects with parental dyslipidemia. These data indicate that female sex hormones have unexpected negative effects on small vessel compliance. They may help to explain why premenopausal women hospitalized for myocardial infarction have higher mortality rates than men of the same age.
Behavioral effects of laboratory rearing in wild Mus musculus

Behavioral measures of freezing, open-field activity, wheel activity, and body weight fail to show that natural selection has significantly altered scores in wild Mus musculus over 10 generations of laboratory breeding.
Defective thirst mechanism secondary to a hypothalamic lesion: Studies in a child with adipsia, polyphagia, obesity, and persistent hyperosmolality

This report details studies in a child who lacked thirst perception and had such other manifestations of hypothalamic dysfunction as polyphagia, obesity, and inadequate temperature regulation. Though no gross lesion was observed in the hypothalamus at autopsy, there was histologic evidence of degeneration of neuronal cells and a secondary inflammatory response. The accumulated data support the assumption that sustained hyperosmolality may have altered renal concentration and dilution.
Dynamic Model for Calculating Heating Patterns During Microwave Sintering

Analysis of dynamic development of heating patterns during microwave sintering provides vital information on the evolution of the heating process and the contributions from the various components in a complex sintering arrangement (picket fence) to the heat-transfer mechanism. Measured heating patterns often provide overall effects, and it is difficult to isolate and control the various contributions. To this end, results from numerical simulation may be significant. In this paper we describe a thermal model that calculates the temperature distribution in ceramic samples and insulation under realistic sintering conditions. The calculation process involves a two-step procedure. The first step is to calculate the microwave power deposition in the sample and surrounding insulation. 3D FDTD calculations described in a companion paper are used for this purpose [1] The other step involves calculation of the temperature distribution using a 3D finite-difference heat-transfer program developed in our department.Results illustrating the effect of thickness of insulation and the placement of SiC rods in picket-fence arrangement are presented. Also, the need to measure additional parameters such as thermal conductivity and density of green samples as a function of temperature during sintering is discussed.
The posteromedial portal in knee arthroscopy: An analysis of diagnostic and surgical utility

We reviewed 400 consecutive knee arthroscopy cases in a predominantly sports medicine practice to determine (1) the frequency of posteromedial portal usage under a prospectively established set of indications, and (2) the impact of posteromedial portal access on patient diagnosis and management. Diagnostic posteromedial portals were used in 22% of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knees, and in 11% of stable knees with nonpatellar (usually meniscal) lesions. When used, posteromedial portal visualization showed treatable lesions 64% of the time, the majority of which were repairable peripheral meniscus tears. In 63% of these cases, no definite lesion had been identified by initial routine anterior portal viewing and probing. Of the 22 patients with posteromedial meniscus tears that were discovered only via posteromedial portal access, 9 had recently undergone anterior portal arthroscopy by other surgeons, during which none of these tears were detected. Posteromedial surgical portals (19 cases) were most useful for synovectomy, posterior cruciate stump resection before arthroscopic reconstruction, and posterior horn medial meniscectomy in exceptionally tight knees. Posteromedial portal access is often useful diagnostically in cases where (1) posteromedial meniscal lesions are frequent (i.e., ACL-deficient knees) and/or suspected on the basis of preoperative symptoms or imaging studies, and (2) full, direct visualization of the entire superior meniscosynovial junction is not possible via standard anterior portals. The option of a surgical posteromedial portal should be entertained whenever frontal approaches for posteromedial instrument work prove inefficient or unsuccessful.
Aβ alters the connectivity of olfactory neurons in the absence of amyloid plaques in vivo

The amyloid beta peptide can aggregate into insoluble plaques, which may indicate the onset of Alzheimer's disease. In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, Cao and colleagues report a phenotype of altered connectivity in the olfactory neuronal circuit that precedes amyloid plaque deposition.
Familial dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract Considerable progress has been made to identify genetic causation of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is characterized by left ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction, and after known causes have been excluded has been termed idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Studies of IDC that occurs in families, termed familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDC) provided the initial phenotypic data to suggest genetic causation. The study of large families with linkage analysis and gene mapping methods have recently implicated 16 autosomal genes and two X-linked genes. Mutations in these genes account for approximately 20–30% of genetic causation, suggesting that additional genetic causation remains unknown. FDC demonstrates incomplete penetrance, variable expression, and significant locus and allelic heterogeneity, making diagnosis complex. Echocardiographic and electrocardiographic screening of first-degree relatives of individuals with IDC and FDC is indicated, as detection and treatment are possible prior to the onset of advanced, symptomatic disease. Genetic counseling for IDC and FDC may also be appropriate. It is anticipated that a great deal of additional genetic information yet to be discovered will add greatly to our understanding of the genetics of dilated cardiomyopathy.
Arcs of diffuse scattering from icosahedral Ti—Mn quasicrystals

Abstract In diffraction from some icosahedral quasicrystals, diffuse scattering is concentrated on finite geometrical loci in reciprocal space. This diffuse scattering typically appears as arcs in transmission electron microscopy diffraction patterns. The new Ti—Mn icosahedral phase produces much more intense arcs than previously observed in quasicrystals, allowing a significantly deeper study of them. In this paper, we present a detailed description of these arcs. Two existing theoretical models, transition-state theory and the icosahedral glass, predict arcs in qualitative agreement with the observations but disagree with the details of their observed shapes and positions.
NP-completeness for minimizing maximum edge length in grid embeddings

Abstract Given an embedding f: G → Z 2 of a graph G in the two-dimensional lattice, let |f| be the maximum L1 distance between points f(x) and f(y) where xy is an edge of G. Let B2(G) be the minimum |f| over all embeddings f. It is shown that the determination of B2(G) for arbitrary G is NP-complete. Essentially the same proof can be used in showing the NP-completeness of minimizing |f| over all embeddings f: G → Z n of G into the n-dimensional integer lattice for any fixed n ≥ 2.
An Efficient Protocol for Service Discovery in Wireless Sensor Networks

Service discovery is a widely researched topic in wireless networks. Existing protocols have significant overhead for service advertisement as well as service discovery, with many messages being transmitted in the network. This high overhead is not practical in resource-constrained wireless environments. We propose a simple service discovery protocol that aims at reducing the number of messages in the network while at the same time, keeping the waiting time for services to a minimum. We evaluate the performance of the protocol for a stationary wireless sensor network. We use remote procedure calls to request a service once it is discovered, which allows for richer and parameterized interaction with the sensor.
Educating Pediatricians on Children's Oral Health: Past, Present, and Future

Objective. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy Oral Health Risk Assessment Timing and Establishment of the Dental Home encourages pediatricians to play an important role in the oral health of children. The purpose of this study was to determine how well pediatricians are prepared to play the AAP suggested role in children9s oral health by examining the oral health content of their educational process. Methods. This article reviews current medical education guidelines, programs, surveys, and pediatrician experiences in oral health training at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education levels. Results. Although some medical schools, residency programs, and continuing medical education efforts do include oral health in their curricula, the practice is not widespread. Professional and oversight organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, AAP, and the pediatric Residency Review Committee do not include oral health in key guidelines and surveys of the medical education continuum. When surveyed, pediatricians state that the time spent on oral health education at each level of training is inadequate. Conclusions. Overall, the level of oral health training for pediatricians at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education levels is inadequate to provide pediatricians with the competencies required for the provision of quality oral health care to children. Despite this inadequacy, educational efforts are under way and various tools and guidelines are available in a few locations. In addition, numerous opportunities exist for the organizations responsible for pediatrician education to ensure that curricula are designed and adopted to achieve these competencies, faculty are trained to teach these competencies, and program accreditation and certification are closely linked to acquisition of these competencies. Ensuring the success of such efforts will require cooperation between many organizations and disciplines and a genuine commitment to improve pediatric education and medical care for children.
Enterprise Systems contracting: developing and testing a model of divergent approaches in the service and manufacturing sectors

Virtually all Enterprise Systems (ES) implementation projects start with a purchase contract. Yet there has been little research on ES contracting approaches, and how those approaches relate to the previous literature on productivity gains from spending on those systems. Building on the IT productivity paradox notion, this paper proposes a model of divergent ES contracting approaches in the service and manufacturing sectors. Two main ES contracting approaches are defined - the revisionist-adversarial approach, associated with ES contracting elements geared at potentially short-term and change-oriented relationships with ES vendors; and the preservationist-cooperative approach, associated with ES contracting elements aimed at mutual cooperation over the long run with ES vendors. It is proposed that service sector organisations generally display a preference toward the revisionist-adversarial approach, whereas manufacturing sector organisations generally display a preference toward a preservationist-cooperative approach. These propositions, which are aligned with the IT productivity paradox phenomenon, are supported by a survey of 116 organisations.
Evolution of (Urban) Mathematics Teachers' Identity

In this article, the authors examine teacher identity development to understand more completely the intellectual and pedagogical demands of the profession. Drawing on interviews, observations, and reflections of two alternatively certified mathematics teachers, and contextualizing these data with surveys from 157 teachers in the same certification program cohort, the authors examine how identities evolved over the course of the teachers’ first year of teaching. These identities are explored in relation to the teachers’ knowledge of mathematics, their mathematics teaching, and their relationships to urban youth.
A Caratheodory-Fejer approach to dynamic appearance modeling

This paper presents a technique to learn dynamic appearance models from a small number of training frames. Under this framework, dynamic appearance is modelled as an unknown operator that satisfies certain interpolation conditions and that can be efficiently identified using very little a priori information with off the shelf software. The advantages of the proposed method are illustrated with several examples where the leaned dynamics accurately predict the appearance of the targets preventing tracking failures due to occlusion or clutter.
Improving femtosecond laser pulse delivery through a hollow core photonic crystal fiber for temporally focused two-photon endomicroscopy

In this paper, we present a strategy to improve delivery of femtosecond laser pulses from a regenerative amplifier through a hollow core photonic crystal fiber for temporally focused wide-field two-photon endomicroscopy. For endomicroscope application, wide-field two-photon excitation has the advantage of requiring no scanning in the distal end. However, wide-field two-photon excitation requires peak power that is 104–105 times higher than the point scanning approach corresponding to femtosecond pulses with energy on the order of 1–10 μJ at the specimen plane. The transmission of these high energy pulses through a single mode fiber into the microendoscope is a significant challenge. Two approaches were pursued to partially overcome this limitation. First, a single high energy pulse is split into a train of pulses with energy below the fiber damage threshold better utilizing the available laser energy. Second, stretching the pulse width in time by introducing negative dispersion was shown to have the dual benefit of reducing fiber damage probability and compensating for the positive group velocity dispersion induced by the fiber. With these strategy applied, 11 fold increase in the two photon excitation signal has been demonstrated.
State involvement in limiting textbook choice by school districts

Who gets to decide what textbooks are used in America’s public school classrooms varies by state. States can let each school district decide, provide standards that must be followed and make available an incomplete listing of books meeting those standards, or allow schools to choose books only from a list provided by the state. I present a model that provides an explanation for state limits on textbook selection by school districts. I examine the roles played by decision making costs, effectiveness of voters, religious composition, power of teachers, and propensity of state governments to interfere with or to help districts in textbook selection policies at the state level. There has been virtually no research on this topic. My findings corroborate the extant literature that addresses interference by state governments in local affairs and extend the morality politics literature by finding a strong link between religious fundamentalism and state-level policies. I also find that state book lists are less likely (1) in more educated states, where voters are better able to select the most appropriate textbook, (2) in states with smaller school districts, where voters are more involved in the schools, and (3) in states with stronger teacher unions, giving teachers more power in textbook selection.
In search of lost leisure: the impact of caregiving on leisure travel

One of the fastest growing market segments of the tourism industry over the last two decades is made up of consumers 55 years of age and older. As we enter the new millennium, over 50 million of these ?mature adults? will find themselves on the edge of retirement, equipped with the freedom and financial means to travel, but restricted by a loved one who may become ill or disabled. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of caregiving on the leisure travel behaviors of family caregivers and their care-recipients. Qualitative data collection and analysis methods were employed. In addition to identifying impediments (physical, social, emotional) to pursuing or maintaining leisure travel for caregivers of older adults, the qualitative analysis yielded other emergent themes such as changes in patterns and types of leisure travel, entitlement, resentment, and anger. Implications and recommendations for researchers and practitioners are included.
Metabolic studies on retinoic acid in the rat

The nature of metabolites in the urine arising from differentially labelled retinoic acid was investigated after injection of physiological doses into retinol-deficient rats. Distribution of radioactivity after partition of urine into ether-soluble, acidic and water-soluble fractions revealed that there were at least six metabolites in urine. Of these, the major metabolite(s) was one lacking both C-14 and C-15 of retinoic acid. Enzymic or alkaline hydrolysis of acidic and water-soluble fractions did not release any retinoic acid, thus indicating that retinoyl beta-glucuronide was not present in urine in significant amounts.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Palestine/Israel: Healing Spirit Injuries

This article discusses the potentiality of a Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) for the Holyland - Palestine and Israel. At some point, peace may come to the region and the independent state of Palestine may sit by side with Israel. At that time, the Palestinians may wish to come to terms with the spirit injuries that have affected their people since 1948 when the state of Israel was created or 1967 when the now forty-year old Israeli Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem began. Spirit injuries represent a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual harms. After elaborating upon truth commissions generally, the article lays out two possible scenarios - a commission for an independent Palestine and the less likely scenario of a binational commission for both Palestine and Israel. The article then focuses on a variety of issues fleshing out the parameters of the TRC: When to create the commission? What sources would legitimate the TRC? What would be the purpose of the TRC? What time period would it cover? How would it be funded? How would it be staffed? What jurisdiction would it have? What standards of evidence? Where would it be held? Would some hearings be closed? How to deal with those opposed to the process? How long should the process take? How to implement the Commission final report? The article concludes that despite the negatives associated with TRCs in other societies, there are sufficient potential positive benefits that the option should seriously be discussed within Palestinian society and perhaps between the Palestinian and Israeli nations.
Compressive Holography of Diffuse Scatterers

We image the incoherent 3D scattering density of objects from the covariance of 2D scattered speckle field measurements using forward model regularization and constrained optimization. 3D resolution consistent with spatial bandlimits is demonstrated.
The European consultation on Career Guidance in further, higher and continuing education: A summary of three working groups

The topics on which these three groups focused were: Work, Unemployment and Leisure: Implications for Career Guidance; The Career Guidance Process and the Psychology of the Individual; and The Use of Computer Assisted Guidance Systems in Career Guidance and Their Implications.
Liver and brain nucleic acids and brain RNA synthesis in suckling rats fed dieldrin.

SummaryThe effect of dietary dieldrin (1-50 ppm) on nursing pups' (rats) liver aminopyrine demethylase, brain RNA synthesis and liver and brain RNA and DNA concentrations was investigated. The feeding of dieldrin did not influence liver aminopyrine demethylase activity within age groups. Dietary dieldrin did not influence brain RNA synthesis. Brain and liver development (based on tissue nucleic acid levels) was not modified by dietary dieldrin in nursing pups. Overall, the pups grew normally and organ weights were not depressed by the pesticide treatment.
Reliable and Stable Radiometers for Jason-3

The Jason-3 mission employs the Advanced Microwave Radiometer (AMR) to provide a tropospheric path delay measurement in support of ocean altimetry. NOAA and EUMETSAT are Jason-3 lead agencies with CNES and NASA/JPL providing implementation support. Jason-3 continues the measurements of TOPEX/Poseidon [1] , [2] , Jason-1, and Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 supporting a multidecadal ocean topography studies, including ocean circulation, climate change, hurricane intensity forecasts, and sea level change. The objective of the Jason-3 AMR is to measure the columnar water vapor in the path of the Poseidon radar altimeter (CNES instrument) to correct for water in the atmospheric path delay in the altimeter range measurement. In this paper, the design and performance of AMR are described along with the changes made compared to the predecessor Jason-2 instrument to reduce development risks and improve the stability of the AMR instrument.
Abstract 235: Molecular Signature Of Cardiomyogenic c-kit-positive Bone Marrow Cells

Conflicting results have been reported concerning the ability of c-kit-positive bone marrow cells (c-kit-BMCs) to transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes in vivo. We have raised the possibility that c-kit-BMCs may constitute a functionally heterogeneous pool, containing cells with different cardiomyogenic potential. To test this hypothesis, clonal analysis of individual c-kit-BMCs was introduced to track in vivo the progeny derived from a single founder cell. By employing viral gene-tagging, only a limited fraction of clonal c-kit-BMC was found to be able to generate cardiomyocytes in the acutely infarcted heart. On this basis, c-kit-BMC-derived clones were classified as myogenic or non-myogenic. The gene profile of these two categories of cells was studied by RNA-sequencing to determine whether myogenic c-kit-BMCs had a distinct molecular signature. Genes that showed a significant (p<0.05) expression difference of at least 2-fold among cell groups were included in the analysis; 1243 genes were upregulated and 493 genes were downregulated in myogenic c-kit-BMCs when compared with non-myogenic c-kit-BMCs. An additional comparison involved freshly isolated c-kit-BMCs. 2512 genes were upregulated in myogenic c-kit-BMCs and 1844 genes were downregulated in this cell group. These results were subjected to functional annotation using gene ontology for the identification of molecular pathways showing different state of activation or repression in myogenic BMCs. The affected transcripts in myogenic c-kit-BMCs involved mostly signal transduction and muscle development including cardiac muscle. Similarly, a set of genes implicated in the regulation of angiogenesis were more represented in myogenic c-kit-BMCs, possibly reflecting the proficiency of this cell class to form vessels in the microenvironment of the infarcted heart. Our findings document that myogenic clonal c-kit-BMCs have a distinct molecular signature that differs from that of non-moygenic and non-expanded c-kit-BMCs. On this basis, c-kit-BMCs with high cardiomyogenic ability can be prospectively isolated and employed clinically for the treatment of patients with cardiac diseases.
Media Coverage of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Controversy

Protected areas are often subject to legal changes that allow natural resource extraction to occur within their boundaries. It is important to understand how the media covers these legal changes in order to inform science communication, environmental policy, and practice. As a case study, the oil drilling controversy in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the largest protected area in the United States, was examined. ANWR contains both environmental and potential economic value, including billions of barrels of oil. Controversy over whether to drill in the 1002 region of ANWR has been ongoing since the late 1970s and has been covered extensively in the media. A content analysis of media coverage of US national and Alaskan local newspapers was conducted for 100 news articles. Contrary to expectations, it was found that on average, media coverage tended to focus more on reasons to oppose drilling. When comparing local and national sources, it was found that local news articles also focused more on opposition to drilling. Arguments against drilling included risk of oil spills and other damage to wildlife and the environment, native Eskimo perspectives, and uncertainty about the amount and value of oil in ANWR. This analysis may inform future studies on environmental controversies and public land, especially related to the influence of the media on political decisions.
Erythrocyte agglutination. Red cell membrane topography and the role of interfacial tension.

Recent biochemical findings about the composition of the erythrocyte membrane now permit more accurate description of the surface topography of the red blood cell. The possibility that cell surface interfacial tension may play a role in red blood cell agglutination is evaluated.
Decellularization of bovine pericardium for tissue-engineering by targeted removal of xenoantigens

Background and aim of study Assessment of decellularization of xenogeneic biological scaffolds for tissue engineering has relied primarily on histological cellularity, though this may not ensure the removal of known xenogeneic antigens such as galactose-alpha1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) and MHC I. Methods Bovine pericardium (BP) underwent standard (Std) decellularization consisting of hypotonic lysis and treatment with DNAse/RNAse. In addition to Std decellularization, tissues were treated for 24 h with either 0.5% Triton X-100, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate (SD), 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), alpha-galactosidase (5 U/ml) or phospholipase (PL) A2 (150 U/ml). Tissues underwent a 96-h washout under gentle agitation at 27 degrees C, and then evaluated by light microscopy for % cellularity, and by immunohistochemistry and Western blot for alpha-gal, bovine MHC I and smooth muscle alpha-actin. Results Standard treatment of BP resulted in only partial removal histological cellularity and persistence of alpha-gal, MHC I and alpha-actin. Adding SD treatment resulted in apparent acellularity, but persistence of xenogeneic antigens. Only the addition of SDS resulted in complete histological acellularity and removal of xenogeneic antigens. Treatment with alpha-galactosidase selectively removed alpha-gal from BP. Conclusion Histological cellularity is not an adequate end-point for assuring removal of antigenicity from xenogeneic biological scaffolds. However, known xenogeneic antigens can be targeted for removal by novel decellularization treatments such as alpha-galactosidase.
Obesity and Growth Hormone Secretion

Growth hormone (GH) secretion is reduced in obesity, particularly in association with increased visceral adiposity. Although obesity-related reductions in GH may reach levels similar to those found in pituitary GH deficiency, the changes in GH due to obesity are entirely reversible with weight loss. Total IGF-1 is unchanged or modestly reduced in obesity, and free or bioavailable IGF-I appears to be unchanged or modestly increased. Thus the physiological effects of obesity-related reductions in GH are primarily due to those actions of GH that are independent of IGF-I, whereas IGF-I mediated processes such as growth are generally unaffected. In obese individuals, reduced GH is independently associated with dyslipidemia and increased markers of cardiovascular risk. Investigation of GH treatment in obese individuals has shown benefits to ameliorate dyslipidemia, decrease markers of systemic inflammation, and improve cardiovascular risk measures. However, GH treatment may also exacerbate insulin resistance, particularly in the short term. At present, the use of GH in obesity remains entirely investigational. An understanding of changes in the GH-IGF-I axis that occur in obesity is critical to the interpretation of tests evaluating this axis. Further, investigation of GH in obesity highlights potential effects on metabolic parameters and body composition that may inform the clinical use of GH in other indications.
Inertial electrostatic confinement 3He breeder for D-3He satellite systems

Fusion fuel of D- 3 He combines a high-energy yield perfusion reaction with a relatively high fusion cross section. Moreover, its nuclear reaction (D + 3 He → p + α, 18.3 MeV) minimizes neutrons and maximizes charged fusion products, enabling increased energy recovery efficiency by direct conversion. However, scarce 3 He terrestrial resources have deterred research and development on this alternative. Production of 3 He through inertial electrostatic confinement breeders, which supply 3 He to field-reversed-configuration reactors (called satellites in reference to their dependence on the breeder) is explored. The breeder-satellite system is analyzed in terms of both energy balance and economics. The energy balance takes the net energy gain of the global system as the key parameter. The economic study determines the competitiveness of breeding with respect to 3 He lunar mining, which was already shown to be an ultimately attractive route for commercial development.
Heuristic search for large problems with real costs

Heuristic search is a fundamental technique for solving problems in artificial intelligence. However, many heuristic search algorithms, such as A* are limited by the amount of main memory available. External memory search overcomes the memory limitation of A* by taking advantage of cheap secondary storage, such as disk. Previous work in this area assumes that edge costs fall within a narrow range of integer values and relies on uniformed search order. The goal of this dissertation research is to develop novel techniques that enable heuristic search algorithms to solve problems with real values using a best-first search order while exploiting external memory and multiple processors. This work will be organized into four components. The first component will discuss external memory search and present a novel technique for incorporating real-valued edge costs. The second component will present a novel algorithm for solving problems with large branching factors with application to the challenging problem of Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA). The third component will cover bounded suboptimal external search for practical MSA applications. The final component of this research will be the development of a novel distributed search framework; allowing parallel and external memory heuristic search algorithms to run cooperatively on a commodity computing cluster. Together these four components will enable heuristic search to scale to large problems in practical settings while exploiting modern hardware.
Role of Combination Antimicrobial Therapy for Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Infections: Review of the Current Evidence

Enterococcus species are the second most common cause of nosocomial infections in the United States and are particularly concerning in critically ill patients with preexisting comorbid conditions. Rising resistance to antimicrobials that were historically used as front-line agents for treatment of enterococcal infections, such as ampicillin, vancomycin, and aminoglycosides, further complicates the treatment of these infections. Of particular concern are Enterococcus faecium strains that are associated with the highest rate of vancomycin resistance. The introduction of antimicrobial agents with specific activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) faecium including daptomycin, linezolid, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and tigecycline did not completely resolve this clinical dilemma. In this review, the mechanisms of action and resistance to currently available anti-VRE antimicrobial agents including newer agents such as oritavancin and dalbavancin will be presented. In addition, novel combination therapies including β-lactams and fosfomycin, and the promising results from in vitro, animal studies, and clinical experience in the treatment of VRE faecium will be discussed.
Perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among US Latinos: the modifying role of educational attainment

ABSTRACTObjective: Despite growing evidence that discrimination may contribute to poor mental health, few studies have assessed this association among US Latinos. Furthermore, the interaction between discrimination and educational attainment in shaping Latino mental health is virtually unexplored. This study aims to examine the association between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms and the modifying role of education among a population of Mexican-origin adults.Design: We utilized population-based data from 629 Mexican-origin adults (mean age = 52.8 years) participating the Ninos Lifestyle and Diabetes Study (2013–2014). Perceived discrimination was defined as responding ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ to at least one item on the 9-item Everyday Discrimination Scale. High depressive symptoms were defined as scoring ≥10 on the CESD-10. We used log-binomial and linear-binomial models to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and prevalence differences (PD), respectively, of high depressive symptoms for levels ...
Theological Education by Extensionand Protestant Education in Guatemala

Drs. Winter and Jeynes examine the growth of Theological Education by Extension (TEE) in Guatemala. TEE has had a dramatic impact on Protestant education in many nations, because it allows instructors at all levels to engage in distance learning and thereby reach even the most remote areas of distant lands. The authors note that the growth of Protestant education in Central America and especially Guatemala did not develop as easily as it might seem. And contrary to what most people believe, a substantial portion of the Central American population, including Guatemala, did not speak Spanish. Therefore the challenges for Protestant educators were great. The history of the effort is examined, beginning with the contributions of Cameron Townsend and Donald McGavran. The authors then examine the needs that TEE fulfilled, the goals of the program, and the discoveries that were made in the midst of its application in Guatemala.
The impact of body weight on the diagnosis of aortic dilation-misdiagnosis in overweight and underweight groups.

Background Body surface area (BSA)-indexed Z-scores are used to assess the ascending aorta (AAo) and diagnose aortic dilation (AoD) in children. BSA is directly related to body weight and corresponds to body mass index (BMI). We hypothesized extremes in BMI alter interpretation of aortic size in pediatric patients with AoD. Methods We reviewed all echocardiograms with a diagnosis of AoD performed at our institution from January 2013 through June 2013. Those with an age 20 years, history of aortic root surgery, or inadequate images were excluded. The aorta was measured by standard methods at the sinus of Valsalva, sinotubular junction, and proximal AAo. Using subject age, height, and gender, hypothetical weights for each subject were calculated to provide BMIs corresponding to the 5th, 50th, 85th, and 95th percentiles. The derived weights were then used to determine hypothetical BSA, and Z-scores were calculated for the subject's aortic diameters in each BMI group. Results A total of 153 patients met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 11.1±4.6 years (68% male). Mean height was 142.7±27.9 cm, mean weight 44.6±24.8 kg, and mean true BMI was the 62nd centile. Significant differences in all aortic dimension Z-scores were found among normal and underweight, overweight, and obese BMI groups (P<.001 for all comparisons), respectively. Conclusion Using current recommended methods, AoD will be missed in overweight and obese patients and overdiagnosed in underweight patients. For children of normal weight, a Z-score based on BSA may be reliable. As obesity rates increase, weight-independent Z-scores must be developed.
Coherent beam combining on silicon chip through hybrid integration

We demonstrate hybrid integration of passive coherent beam combining cavity integrated with a diode laser array on silicon photonics platform. Silicon nitride adiabatic coupler is used to obtain a broadband power splitting ratio of 50:50.
Echoes in the 21st Century: Passion and Praxis for Lawyering and Justice

But as history shows, our profession’s pro bono legal tradition, by sheer force of necessity, has continually gone beyond its own narrow boundaries. Social movements spark dramatic changes in the legal landscape. Conversely, strategic legal developments, like the birth of the Civil Rights Act in the U.S. in 1964, change the sociopolitical landscape of societies. Both illustrate the norm-setting power of the law.Lawyer “prisoners of conscience” – who had gone through the ordeal of political repression and imprisonment – have played significant roles in history: Cuba’s Fidel Castro, the Philippines’ Apolinario Mabini and Jose “Ka Pepe” Diokno, India’s Mohandas Gandhi, and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, to name a few. In the world today, we see, and need more than ever, genuine and sincere pro bono human rights lawyers in the thick of history- and justice-making.
Transition-Metal-Incorporated Aluminum Oxide Thin Films: Toward Electronic Structure Design in Amorphous Mixed-Metal Oxides

Amorphous metal oxides have numerous applications spanning from electronics to catalysis. The ability to rationally design the electronic structure of such materials would thus have significant impact. Previous work has shown that the amorphous structure allows for uniformly incorporating a large number of different metal cations into ultrasmooth thin films. Here we investigate how the atomic structure, electronic structure, and optical absorption properties of amorphous aluminum oxide (a-Al2O3) thin films are modulated when metal cations of V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, or Ga are added to form MyAl1–yOx where y varies from 0.1 to 0.7. We use X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to analyze oxidation state and local bonding around the incorporated cations (e.g., coordination number), valence-band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB-XPS) to assess the impact of the cations on the valence band electronic structure, and optical absorption spectroscopy to assess the presence and energies of new unoccupied ele...
Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Bottled Versus Tap Water Systems

This study uses life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify life-cycle energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste generation and water use for delivering drinking water to consumer households in the United States. Three systems were considered in this analysis: 1) single-use disposable bottled water (500ml) sold in 24-packs, 2) Home and office delivery bottled water, 3) municipal tap water. For both the HOD and municipal tap systems, drinking water is served in a reusable drinking vessel (bottle or cup) that is periodically washed in a residential dishwasher. Variants of each system were constructed to represent a range of possible real-world scenarios using factors such as bottle type (virgin PET, rPET), water type (natural source, municipal source), distribution (regional, national, overseas), end-of-life treatment (landfill disposal, recycling), type of reusable drinking vessel (steel bottle, glass cup) and frequency of washing the reusable vessel. With respect to life-cycle energy, solid waste, greenhouse gas emission and water use, the municipal tap systems outperform both HOD and single-use bottled systems. Single-use bottled systems consume 11-31 times more energy than tap systems. Production of plastic bottles is responsible for over 70% of the energy use of regional bottled systems, while with national and overseas distribution, transportation begins to dominate. Tap and HOD system energy use is dominated by residential washing of the reusable drinking vessel. Greenhouse gas emissions generally correlate with energy use. HOD systems consume 8-18% of energy relative to single-use systems, while municipal tap systems use 35-55% of HOD lifecycle energy. For solid waste, single-use systems perform the worst, followed by the HOD and municipal tap systems respectively. End-of-life treatment of bottles dictates single-use systems solid waste profile. From an environmental perspective, municipal tap water is the preferred drinking water system. Strategies to reduce the impact of bottled water may include bans at the organizational level (city governments, universities, and restaurants), education and outreach to encourage consumers to choose tap water and the expansion of state bottle bills to improve recovery of empty bottles. Results of this study can be used to inform consumers and legislators of the impacts of their choices with regard to drinking water.