cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Figure‐of‐eight sutures for hemostasis result in shorter lab recovery time after ablation for atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND Ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) requires multiple venous sheaths and anticoagulation with heparin, both risk factors for bleeding complications. Manual compression (MC) with heparin reversal is the standard method to achieve venous hemostasis postablation; however, temporary figure-of-eight sutures (F8S) are an alternative. While this technique has been shown to be safe and effective, little is known about its effect on postprocedural recovery time. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, consecutive patients who underwent AF radiofrequency ablation over a 23-month period were reviewed for type of hemostasis (manual compression or figure-of-eight suture), demographics, periprocedural anticoagulation, groin complications, and procedural duration. RESULTS A total of 104 patients were included (42 in the MC group and 62 in the F8S group). The two groups were similar for mean age, gender, weight, oral anticoagulant use, and procedural heparin dosing. Access site complications were 4.76% versus 3.23% (P = 0.68). Time from procedure end to sheath removal was lower in the F8S group (16.2 ± 8.47 vs 4.25 ± 4.14 min, P < 0.0001). Overall time from procedure end to hemostasis was 36.1 ± 10.1 min in the MC group versus 7.9 ± 5.6 in the F8S group (P < 0.0001). Times to extubation and transport out of the lab were both significantly lower in the F8S group (34.1 ± 14.6 vs 13.5 ± 5.4 min, and 44 ± 14.6 vs 21.9 ± 6.7 min, respectively, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION Figure-of-eight sutures provided efficient hemostasis following AF ablation, with significantly reduced postprocedure recovery time including time to hemostasis, extubation, and transport out of the lab.
Does God Speak Greek?: Pope Benedict XVI’s Euro-Supremacist Supersessionism and the Heterosexuality of Reason:

Contemporary critics of Christian supersessionism rightly despise its connection to Christianity’s historical persecution of the Jewish people. But theologians and other scholars have not paid enou...
Linaje Babilónico Y Soberbia Luciferina En El Libro De Alexandre

Este articulo estudia la representacion de un linaje monarquico babilonico en el Libro de Alexandre mediante dos elementos estructuradores, la soberbia y Lucifer. Tal estirpe se puede explicar en la obra a traves de libros del Antiguo Testamento como Daniel, Isaias y Ezequiel. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar como la dimension moral de la obra se junta con la dimension monarquica que hasta el momento han sido estudiadas separadamente.
Peer involvement in the nutrition education of college students.

College students represent a population in which nutrition intervention is frequently desirable but relatively unexplored. Many studies have documented the low level of nutrition knowledge of students. Accompanying a lack of nutrition knowledge are poor dietary practices. A preliminary prevention and outreach program, the Student Nutrition Adviser Program (SNAP), which uses peer advisers, has been developed at the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, the peer advisers are trained to give four presentations. Topics for these presentations were selected from the needs of college students as documented in the literature and from topics student groups requested most often before development of SNAP. The topics are weight management for the college student, eating disorders, nutrition and stress, and nutrition and fitness. A flyer describing the presentations available is distributed to campus groups so they can make requests
Weaponizing T-cell receptors through molecular engineering

T-cell receptors (TCRs) recognize pathogens to ignite immune responses, making them attractive scaffolds for development as immunotherapeutics. However, manipulation of TCRs has been impeded by difficulties in their engineering and expression. Wagner and colleagues now establish new platforms to generate high-affinity TCR variants that potently activate T cells, and they also create soluble TCR fusion proteins that specifically recognize cognate peptides. This work provides specific tools to combat cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and helps illuminate a general path to actuation of engineered TCR-based therapeutics.
Power and Performance Optimal NoC Design for CPU-GPU Architecture Using Formal Models

Heterogeneous computing architectures that fuse both CPU and GPU on the same chip are common nowadays. Using homogeneous interconnect for such heterogeneous processors each with different network demands can result in performance degradation. In this paper, we focused on designing a heterogeneous mesh-style network-on-chip (NoC) to connect heterogeneous CPU-GPU processors. We tackled three problems at once; mapping Processing Elements (PEs) to the routers of the mesh, assigning the number of virtual channels (VC), and assigning the buffer size (BS) for each port of each router in the NoC. By relying on formal models, we developed a method based on Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm2 (SPEA2) to obtain the Pareto optimal set that optimizes communication performance and power consumption of the NoC. By validating our method on a full-system simulator, results show that the NoC performance can be improved by 17% while minimizing the power consumption by at least 2.3x and maintaining the overall system performance.
N-Benzylidenebenzenesulfonamide as a Benzaldehyde Equivalent in the Knoevenagel Reaction

Abstract N-Benzylidenebenzenesulfonamide was shown to be a useful benzaldehyde equivalent in the Knoevenagel Reaction for cyana - containing active methylene compunds. The intermediate β-N-benzenesulfonylamino carbonyl derivatives from other active methylene compounds failed to undergo elimination.
Sex differences and normative data for the m-CTSIB and sensory integration on baseline concussion assessment in collegiate athletes

Primary objective: To investigate sex differences on baseline m-CTSIB and sensory integration function between male and female collegiate athletes and develop preliminary normative data for this po...
Abstract #3923: Capsaicin activates anti-tumorigenic protein nag-1 through pkc-, gsk3 beta, and c/ebp beta-mediated pathway

Capsaicin (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), a natural product of the Capsicum species of red peppers, is known to induce apoptosis and suppress cell growth in various cancer models. The chemopreventive mechanism of capsaicin is cell specific, and its efficacy is dependent on cell or tissue context. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) activated gene-1 (NAG-1) is a cytokine associated with pro-apoptotic and anti-tumorigenic properties in colorectal cancer. NAG-1 expression is inversely correlated with occurrence of polyps and tumor, supporting that NAG-1 is a promising molecular target in chemoprevention. Our data demonstrate that capsaicin leads to suppression of cell growth and up-regulation of NAG-1 in human colorectal cancer cells. Capsaicin treatment resulted in stimulation of NAG-1 promoter activity. Pretreatment with RO-31-8220 (PKC inhibitor) and GSK3\#946; inhibitors, and knockdown of GSK3\#946; abolished capsaicin-induced NAG-1 expression, indicating that two kinase pathway may be involved in capsaicin-induced NAG-1 expression. Overexpression of C/EBP\#946; caused a dramatic increase of basal and capsaicin-induced luciferase activity of NAG-1 promoter. The ChIP assay identified C/EBP\#946; as binding protein to the NAG-1 promoter. Capsaicin treatment resulted in increase of phosphorylated serine/threonine residues on C/EBP\#946;. These data indicate that C/EBP\#946; phosphorylation through PKC and GSK3\#946; may mediate capsaicin-induced expression of NAG-1 in human colorectal cancer cells. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 3923.
TH Treatment in HF

A large burden of scientific evidences showed the negative impact of mild forms of dysthyroidism on cardiac histology, morphology, metabolism and function. These deleterious effects have been largely studied experimentally in models of heart failure, highlighting a potential role in the progression of the disease. In the clinical setting, low triiodothyronine syndrome has the higher incidence of mild dysthyroidism, followed by subclinical hypothyroidism. They have been associated to a worse clinical status and a worse prognosis. However, there are contrasting data on their true clinical impact, and thus, actually it is not clear to treat patients with heart failure and abnormal thyroid metabolic patterns in order to establish euthyroidism. In this chapter, several aspects of thyroid system in heart failure are discussed: 1) its pathophysiological implication; 2) its role in the complex and intermingled mechanisms of cardioprotection; 3) the clinical and prognostic evidences; 4) the initial clinical experience of thyroid replacement therapy in heart failure.
Hierarchical Low-Rank Approximation of Regularized Wasserstein Distance.

Sinkhorn divergence is a measure of dissimilarity between two probability measures. It is obtained through adding an entropic regularization term to Kantorovich's optimal transport problem and can hence be viewed as an entropically regularized Wasserstein distance. Given two discrete probability vectors in the $n$-simplex and supported on two bounded spaces in ${\mathbb R}^d$, we present a fast method for computing Sinkhorn divergence when the cost matrix can be decomposed into a $d$-term sum of asymptotically smooth Kronecker product factors. The method combines Sinkhorn's matrix scaling iteration with a low-rank hierarchical representation of the scaling matrices to achieve a near-linear complexity ${\mathcal O}(n \log^3 n)$. This provides a fast and easy-to-implement algorithm for computing Sinkhorn divergence, enabling its applicability to large-scale optimization problems, where the computation of classical Wasserstein metric is not feasible. We present a numerical example related to signal processing to demonstrate the applicability of quadratic Sinkhorn divergence in comparison with quadratic Wasserstein distance and to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.
Multidisciplinary airway response teams: Concept, structure, & implementation

Airway management challenges encompass the anticipated (eg, airway pathology, history of difficult intubation, bleeding) and the unanticipated. Challenging airway situations also occur in patients with existing in situ tracheostomy tubes and laryngectomy stomas or in intubated patients around the time of planned or unplanned extubation. Preparedness to handle difficult airway scenarios requires a structured approach to patient assessment, identification, and planning. Preparedness also necessitates an organized, disseminated, and predefined process to deliver appropriate resources efficiently to the bedside in an emergency at any time of day. Specialized equipment, multidisciplinary expertise, clinical algorithms, effective communication, and teamwork are critical components of an effective response system. A structured multidisciplinary airway rapid response team that includes both an anesthesiologist and a surgeon is one model to effect such as system.
An implicit 3D corotational formulation for frictional contact dynamics of beams against rigid surfaces using discrete signed distance fields

Abstract The interaction of beam-like structures against surfaces is a challenging problem with applications in engineering (wheel–rail contact, pipeline–soil interaction, ropes sliding on the seabed) and in medical applications such as surgical planning and training (catheter navigation, aneurysm coiling, stent deployment). This contact problem is traditionally solved using Total Lagrangian beam formulations, which interact against Lagrangian triangulated surfaces. Overall, the computational speed is affected, due to the nonlinearities of the beam formulation and, as well as due to the expensive search algorithms, required to find the close point projection. In the search towards an efficient beam to surface contact algorithm, this paper explores the combined use of (1) a corotational beam formulation, where the motion of the beam element is decomposed in rigid body and pure deformational parts and (2) an implicit description of the surface by means of discrete signed distance fields (SDF), which can be seen as a Lagrangian beam immersed within an Eulerian (rigid) solid. To do so, a previously reported implicit corotational formulation for beam dynamics is modified to account for frictional contact, by means of a penalty term. The new contributions are fully linearized to update the tangent operator and the system is integrated in time by means of the HHT- α method. Overall, a consistent implicit contact dynamics formulation is provided. A SDF, defined in a voxel-type grid, is used to represent implicitly the surface geometry. The SDF values and derivatives are computed at the Lagrangian point of integration of the beam by means of an efficient tensor product of compact, high order, 1D Kernels, as widely used in immersed Fluid–Structure Interaction techniques. A wide variety of validation tests are presented which prove the accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithm.
GABAergic motor neurons bias locomotor decision-making in C. elegans

Proper threat-reward decision-making is critical to animal survival. Emerging evidence indicates that the motor system may participate in decision-making but the neural circuit and molecular bases for these functions are little known. We found in C. elegans that GABAergic motor neurons (D-MNs) bias toward the reward behavior in threat-reward decision-making by retrogradely inhibiting a pair of premotor command interneurons, AVA, that control cholinergic motor neurons in the avoidance neural circuit. This function of D-MNs is mediated by a specific ionotropic GABA receptor (UNC-49) in AVA, and depends on electrical coupling between the two AVA interneurons. Our results suggest that AVA are hub neurons where sensory inputs from threat and reward sensory modalities and motor information from D-MNs are integrated. This study demonstrates at single-neuron resolution how motor neurons may help shape threat-reward choice behaviors through interacting with other neurons.
Does Bargaining Increase Product Valuation? The Upside of Bargaining Costs

A consumer's cost of bargaining, which is typically assumed to be exogeneously determined, lowers the available surplus and can lead to a negotiation impasse. In this paper, we allow for the possibility that a seller, by managing his own response time, can influence a consumer's bargaining costs thereby changing the consumer's valuation of the product. In a set of laboratory experiments, we find evidence that relative to fixed pricing, bargaining can result in an increase in product valuation, independent of the distribution of bargaining power. The increase in valuation from bargaining also persists under the widely prevalent hybrid pricing mechanism where the seller posts a fixed price and the consumer decides whether or not to negotiate. We find that the increase in valuation is driven by the seller's response time, and that this positive effect stems from the consumer's susceptibility to sunk cost fallacy as opposed to cognitive dissonance. The results provide evidence that a seller can benefit from manipulating a consumer's bargaining costs by strategically taking longer to respond to the buyer's offers or counter-offers. Based on a calibration exercise, we find that depending on the average bargaining power and the seller's costs, between 21% and 39% of the increase in profits under bargaining can be attributed to an increase in product valuation, independent of any price discrimination benefits. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers as well as practitioners.
The power dynamics of campaign contributions and legislative rhetoric

Do committee speeches predict campaign contributions or vice versa? I study the dynamic endogenous interactions of energy sector campaign contributions to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and their reactions in the 105th–112th Congresses. Utilizing a Bayesian Structural VAR approach, I find evidence for a dynamic model where the interactions between rhetoric and contributions are bidirectional—donors and senators are sensitive to changes in each others’ signaling and their responses follow immediately. The analysis shows that lags, leads, and contemporaneous effects in the exchanges are not mutually exclusive. The signaling of both sets of political actors is sensitive to external pressures and these effects differ depending on their party’s position of power. The contributions drive most of the variation in the rhetoric, and Democrats and Republicans follow similar strategies dependent on their position of power.
The Application of Finite Difference Methods to Boundary-Layer Type Flows

Finite difference techniques are applied to the problem of slightly viscous, incompressible, constant pressure flow confined by boundaries (solid or porous) on which the "no-slip" condition prevails. The "stepwise" representation and method of solution developed by Friedrich and Forstall, which is unstable at boundaries on which there is no slip, is extended to include this case. An always stable "implicit" form of the difference equations is developed, and for it methods of solution by relaxation and iteration techniques are presented. Both the stepwise and implicit procedures are suitable for programing on digital computers. Several original solutions are obtained by these methods, including the important problems of the boundary layer over a flat plate with an arbitrary distribution of suction and the slotjet issuing adjacent to a plate into a moving stream.
Country-of-Origin Effects on Customer Service Perception: An Exploratory Investigation

The perception of U.S. importing firms for country-or-origin effects on customer service performance is evaluated for ten countries. The relationship between customer service and overall satisfaction with trade relations is analyzed as well as the relationship between customer service satisfaction and future purchase intentions. The results of the study indicate a distinct country-of-origin effect exists in the area of customer service and there is a relationship between customer service and overall satisfaction in trade relationships with a country as well as future purchase intentions.
The Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Acetate: II. THE ROLE OF α-KETOISOVALERATE IN THE SYNTHESIS OF ACETATE BY CLOSTRIDIUM THERMOACETICUM

When cell-free extracts of Clostridium thermoaceticum are incubated with pyruvate and 14CO2, radioactive carbon is incorporated into the carboxyl groups of pyruvate, acetate, formate, and an unidentified fatty acid. The unknown acid was isolated and identified as α-ketoisovalerate. A metabolic pathway was proposed to explain the formation of α-ketoisovalerate and the ability of C. thermoaceticum to ferment glucose to nearly 3 eq of acetate. Data are presented showing that α-ketoisovalerate is probably not an intermediate in the total synthesis of acetate from CO2 which is catalyzed by C. thermoaceticum. However, the evidence suggests that the proposed pathway of metabolism might account in part for the ability of this organism to catalyze incorporation of CO2 into the carboxyl group of acetate.
How Do Women in Developing Countries Increase Political Representation in National Assemblies? A Longitudinal Analysis of South Korea

Previous studies have found that political, socioeconomic, and ideological factors are critical determinants of gender equality in political representation. However, these studies have not explained the combined effects of these factors over time in each country. Furthermore, because they focus primarily on Western, developed countries, the experiences of non-Western developing countries have been overlooked. To fill this gap, this article uses data on South Korea from 1948 to 2008 to examine the effects of political, socioeconomic, and ideological factors on the level of women’s political representation. Results indicate that, compared to socioeconomic factors, political and ideological factors are more critical determinants of gender equality in political leadership.
Spatial Variation of Soil Lead in an Urban Community Garden: Implications for Risk-Based Sampling.

Soil lead pollution is a recalcitrant problem in urban areas resulting from a combination of historical residential, industrial, and transportation practices. The emergence of urban gardening movements in postindustrial cities necessitates accurate assessment of soil lead levels to ensure safe gardening. In this study, we examined small-scale spatial variability of soil lead within a 15 × 30 m urban garden plot established on two adjacent residential lots located in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Eighty samples collected using a variably spaced sampling grid were analyzed for total, fine fraction (less than 250 μm), and bioaccessible soil lead. Measured concentrations varied at sampling scales of 1-10 m and a hot spot exceeding 400 ppm total soil lead was identified in the northwest portion of the site. An interpolated map of total lead was treated as an exhaustive data set, and random sampling was simulated to generate Monte Carlo distributions and evaluate alternative sampling strategies intended to estimate the average soil lead concentration or detect hot spots. Increasing the number of individual samples decreases the probability of overlooking the hot spot (type II error). However, the practice of compositing and averaging samples decreased the probability of overestimating the mean concentration (type I error) at the expense of increasing the chance for type II error. The results reported here suggest a need to reconsider U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sampling objectives and consequent guidelines for reclaimed city lots where soil lead distributions are expected to be nonuniform.
CHEMPROF: The Chemical Literacy Problem

The intelligent tutoring system CHEMPROF has been developed over the last five years to give students better access to tutoring in chemical problem-solving and to provide a laboratory for comparing different teaching strategies. Experts have been written to solve chemistry problems to aid the teaching logic and to interpret student inputs. Developing these experts and identifying student weaknesses in the subarea of chemical literacy have helped both to codify chemical knowledge and to identify student preferred modes of learning. Two semesters of evaluation of CHEMPROF have revealed the strengths and weaknesses of using a computer tutor in place of a human tutor as well as strategies for using educational software.
Multiple atmospheric noble gas components in hydrocarbon reservoirs: a study of the Northwest Shelf, Delaware Basin, SE New Mexico

The Northwest Shelf of the Delaware Basin, SE New Mexico is the site of several large and productive oil and gas fields. The most productive reservoirs are located in the late Pennsylvanian Morrow and early Permian Abo formations. Production from the latter more important play is predominately from fluvial Abo red beds of the Pecos Slope Field. The oxidizing conditions implied by the reddish color of the formation require an external hydrocarbon source. To test the existing migration model for the region and constrain the location of potential hydrocarbon sources, we measured the elemental and isotopic composition of noble gases produced along with the hydrocarbons. We found the hydrocarbons to be highly enriched in radiogenic 4He, 40*Ar and nucleogenic 21*Ne [F(4He) = 44,000–250,000; 40Ar/36Ar = 400–3145; 21Ne/22Ne = 0.044–0.071]. The greatest enrichments occur in the Pecos Slope gas fields. The hydrocarbons also contain three independent nonradiogenic noble gas components each with an atmospheric isotopic composition. One component is most likely air-saturated water (ASW). The second component is enriched in the heavy noble gases [F(130Xe) > 8.5] and is derived from the hydrocarbon sources. The third component is enriched in Ne [F(20Ne) > 0.8] that we believe is degassed from sources within the reservoirs. This component is correlated with but decoupled from the dominant source of radiogenic 4He and 40*Ar. Very high concentrations of 4He (up to ∼1% by volume) in the Pecos slope reservoirs require a source external to the reservoirs, such as the underlying Precambrian basement granites and sedimentary equivalents. Structural buckles cutting through the Pecos field may act as high flux vertical pathways for the radiogenic 4He. If the hydrocarbons in the Pecos slope fields have migrated northward from the deeper Delaware Basin, as suggested by compositional trends, then perhaps the buckles also play an important role in the distribution and filling of the Pecos slope reservoirs.
Dipicolinic Acid Synthesis in Penicillium citreo-viride

Hodson, Phillip H. (University of Texas, Austin), and J. W. Foster. Dipicolinic acid synthesis in Penicillium citreo-viride. J. Bacteriol. 91:562-569. 1966.-Dipicolinic acid (DPA) accumulation in culture filtrates of the mold Penicillium citreo-viride was studied in surface and submerged cultures. Good DPA yields were obtained in suspensions of washed, submerged mycelium in the presence of a carbon and a nitrogen source but in the absence of other minerals essential for growth. Fumaric acid was the only other acid formed in significant amounts. Glucose and glycerol were superior to various salts of organic acids as carbon sources, and certain amino acids were excellent nitrogen sources. l-Leucine, l-norvaline, l-tyrosine, and l-histidine were superior to urea, NH(4)Cl, or NaNO(3) as nitrogen precursors for DPA production. d-Norvaline was useless for DPA production. Glycerol-2-C(14) and -1-C(14), C(14)O(2), and l-leucine-C(14), l-tyrosine-C(14), and l-histidine-C(14) were tested as precursors in conjunction with suitable carbon and nitrogen sources. The DPA was decarboxylated chemically, and the distribution of C(14) was determined in the pyridine-C and in the carboxyl-C. The data are consistent with Martin and Foster's suggestion for bacteria that the DPA molecule is formed by a condensation of C(3) plus C(4) precursors, the resulting 2-keto, 6-aminopimelic acid derivate undergoing ring closure to form a heterocyclic precursor of DPA. The C(14)O(2) experiments indicate that oxaloacetate is formed by beta-carboxylation of pyruvate, this in turn probably becoming aspartic acid beta-semialdehyde, the C(4) compound which condenses with a second pyruvate. The enhancement of DPA formation by l-norvaline, l-leucine, and l-histidine is not ascribable to their functioning either as a source of nitrogen or carbon. l-Tyrosine, in a glycerol medium, contributed nearly 40% of the DPA carbon. The mechanism of biosynthesis of C(7) straight-chain and cyclic compounds is discussed.
An efficient numerical technique for calculating mutual coupling in antenna arrays based on the characteristics of an isolated element

An efficient numerical technique for calculating mutual coupling in antenna arrays based on the characteristics of an isolated element is presented. Numerical results for linear arrays of collinear and parallel electric dipole antennas (that is also extendable to other antenna types) are presented and a comparison is made with calculations using the WIPL-D code.
Local Culture and Dividends

I empirically investigate whether geographical variations in local culture, as proxied by local religion, affect dividend demand and corporate dividend policy for a large sample of US firms. Firms located in Protestant counties are more likely to be dividend payers, initiate dividends, and have higher dividend yields, while firms located in Catholic counties are less likely to be dividend payers and have lower dividend yields. There is a geographically varying dividend clientele effect consistent with the variations in risk aversion among different cultural groups. My results suggest that firms largely held by local investors determine their corporate policies in line with local culture.
The Naked Private Square

In the latter half of the twentieth century, America witnessed the construction of a “wall of separation” between religion and the public square. What had once been commonplace (such as prayer in public schools, and religious symbols on public property) had suddenly become verboten. This phenomenon is well known and has been well studied.Less well known (and less well studied) has been the parallel phenomenon of religion’s expulsion from the private square. Employment law, corporate law, and constitutional law have worked to impede the ability of business enterprises to adopt, pursue, and maintain distinctively religious personae. This is undesirable because religious freedom does not truly and fully exist if religion expression and practice is restricted to the private quarters of one’s home or temple.Fortunately, a corrective to this situation exists: recognition of the right to free exercise of religion on the part of business corporations. Such a right has been long in the making, and the jurisprudential trajectory of the courts (especially the U.S. Supreme Court), combined with the increased assertion of this right against certain elements of the current regulatory onslaught, suggests that its recognition is imminent.
Nitrogen fixation dynamics in microbial mats

(N) limitation is a widespread feature of estuatine and oceanic waters (Dugdale 1967; Carpenter and Capone 1983). Despite this, benthic microbial mats frequently flourish in geographically-diverse intertidal and subtidal sand/mud flat, lagoon, reef, marsh and mangrove habitats characterizing such waters (Cohen et al. 1984; Cohen and Rosenberg 1989). Mats are particularly prolific in oligotrophic tropical and subtropical waters, where an appreciable portion of the primary production can be attributed to benthic microalgae (Whitton and Potts 1982; Bauld 1984). The remarkable success of mats in these N-limited environments has been attributed to the ability of specific groups of mat microorganisms (cyanobacteria, photosynthetic-, heterotrophic- and lithotrophic bacteria) to “fix” (reduce) atmospheric N (N2), thereby providing biologically-available N (NH3) to mat flora and fauna (Wiebe et al. 1975; Potts and Whitton 1977; Carpenter et al. 1978; Paerl et al. 1981; Stal et al. 1984). Nitrogen fixation is often the sole biologically-derived source of “new” N supporting primary production in these waters. In the face of N loss (as N2) in mats (and other ecosystem components) via denitrification (Joye and Paerl 1993) and to a lesser extent ammonification, N2 fixation is also of importance in regulating flux and mass balance of this important nutrient.
Structure and Propagation of Premixed Flames in a Closed Combustion Chamber with Multiple Ignition Sources

This work presents an experimental and numerical investigation of premixed flame propagation in a constant volume combustion chamber ignited by multiple sparks. The combustion chamber consists of an aluminum channel with an aspect ratio of six. Optical windows along the length of the channel enable visual imaging. Ignition is followed by an accelerating spherical flame front, which subsequently decelerates to form a “tulip”-shaped flame front. Eventually, this tulip flame is extinguished by collision with the opposing flame front ignited at the other end of the channel. Numerical simulations examine the influence of the flow field on the structure and morphology of the flame. The three-dimensional numerical simulation is compared with experimental results. An investigation of flame oscillations for various time delays between the two sparks is performed. The flow field is analyzed by using the corresponding numerical simulation.
SU-GG-J-119: Induction of Plasmonic Heating Inside Breast Tumor Phantom Using Gold Nanorods and Near-Infrared Laser

Purpose: To demonstrate and quantify goldnanorods (GNRs)‐induced plasmonicheating inside breast tumor phantom during near‐infrared (NIR) laser illumination.Method and Materials: GNRs were fabricated using published procedures. Two types of breast gel phantoms were fabricated. The first phantom was nearly water‐equivalent as it was fabricated using 1.5% agar gel (98.5% water). The second phantom, on the other hand, was fabricated using a more turbid intralipid‐based gel (2% agar, 2% intralipid, and 96% water). Both phantoms contained an identical GNR‐filled cavity with 4 mm inner diameter. The cavity was filled with approximately 0.1 weight percent GNRs and located at the center of a quadrant of hemispherical phantom at 2.5 cm depth measured from the base of the phantom. Both phantoms were illuminated with an 808 nm NIR laser at 1 W power under the identical geometry. Thermocouples were used to measure the temperature changes within the cavity and surrounding medium. Results: There was significant difference between the two gel phantoms in terms of achievable temperature rise within a GNR‐filled cavity. For a 60 second illumination, the cavity inside an agar‐based gel phantom was heated up to 15°C above the background temperature, while there was a temperature change of only about 1.5°C within the cavity inside an intralipid‐based gel phantom. Conclusion: The current results suggest tumors inside breast tissue with high water content may be easily heated up to a few degrees above the surrounding body temperature within a short time interval (e.g., on the order of 10 seconds) without much difficulty. According to the current results, however, it might be difficult to achieve such a temperature change for tumors inside breast tissue similar to intralipid‐based gel in terms of its optical property. This work has been supported by the US Department of Defense, Breast Cancer Research Program, Concept Award, W81XWH‐08‐1‐0686.
On the complexity of directed biological networks.

Recently, there was an increased interest towards network approach to biology and environmental sciences. Networks are believed to be the key to the understanding of the work of biological machine in cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems. While complexity of undirected networks has been recently analyzed, the assessment of complexity in directed networks has specificity that has not been explored so far. The present paper aims to address the existing gap by discussing the applicability of the available complexity descriptors. New specific measures (vertex accessibility, accessible connectedness, and adjusted average distance) are introduced based on assessment of the reduced accessibility of nodes in directed networks.
A Trinomial Logit Analysis of Household Composition

This article analyzes the effects on the marriage and household composition decisions of characteristics of the householder and of the place of residence. High housing costs reduced the probability of living alone. For female householders, increases in income decreased the probability of living alone rather than with unrelated individuals; the reverse was true for male householders. An increase in income decreased the probability of marriage for female householders over twenty-three years of age and increased the probability of marriage for male householders. Non-white householders over forty were less likely to be married than white householders over forty.
Catalytic reduction of sulfur dioxide

Many processes have been utilized with varying degrees of success for removal of sulfur dioxide from flue gases. Quite a few more have been proposed. One type of process that would appear quite attractive is the reduction of the SO/sub 2/ to sulfur. The present work was undertaken to examine the effect of using an extremely active hydrogenation catalyst to promote the reduction of SO/sub 2/ with H/sub 2/ at low enough temperatures such that H/sub 2/S formation could be minimized. Ruthenium on ..gamma..-alumina was examined and found to be quite active at temperatures as low as 150/sup 0/C. These results are discussed in this paper.
Sudden death of entanglement: Classical noise effects

When a composite quantum state interacts with its surroundings, both quantum coherence of individual particles and quantum entanglement will decay. We have shown that under vacuum noise, i.e., during spontaneous emission, two-qubit entanglement may terminate abruptly in a finite time [T. Yu, J.H. Eberly, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 140404], a phenomenon termed entanglement sudden death (ESD). An open issue is the behavior of mixed-state entanglement under the influence of classical noise. In this paper we investigate entanglement sudden death as it arises from the influence of classical phase noise on two qubits that are initially entangled but have no further mutual interaction.
A meta-analysis of outcomes of hydration intervention on phonation threshold pressure.

Objectives Vocal fold hydration is purported to promote optimal biomechanical characteristics of vocal fold mucosa, increase efficiency of vocal fold oscillation, and enhance voice quality. The purpose of this work was to determine the magnitude and consistency of the effect of vocal fold hydration on vocal fold function across published clinical studies. Methods We completed a comprehensive meta-analysis of the effects of superficial and systemic vocal fold hydration on phonation threshold pressure (PTP), a measure of efficiency of voice production. Results We identified 34 studies that examined the effects of hydration on vocal function. Of these studies, 14 examined the effects of hydration on PTP. Nine of these articles met the criteria for inclusion in this analysis. We observed an average effect size of 0.33, indicating that, overall, hydration treatment demonstrated a tendency to reduce PTP. However, this decrease in phonatory effort did not reach significance at the 95% confidence level. The effects of hydration intervention varied considerably across studies (−0.19 to 3.96). We considered that two factors, pitch level of the task and vocal health of participants, may have contributed to this variability in findings. However, our analysis found that these factors could not account for differences in effect size. Conclusion To understand the variability in outcomes across studies, the role of factors that may impact the effects of hydration, such as the amount, type, and duration of intervention, must be determined. Only then can we obtain data to guide best clinical practice for protecting and rehabilitating vocal function.
Current Concepts in Orthostatic Hypotension Management

Orthostatic hypotension is a condition commonly affecting the elderly and is often accompanied by disabling presyncopal symptoms, syncope and impaired quality of life. The pathophysiology of orthostatic hypotension is linked to abnormal blood pressure regulatory mechanisms and autonomic insufficiency. As part of its diagnostic evaluation, a comprehensive history and medical examination focused on detecting symptoms and physical findings of autonomic neuropathy should be performed. In individuals with substantial falls in blood pressure upon standing, autonomic function tests are recommended to detect impairment of autonomic reflexes. Treatment should always follow a stepwise approach with initial use of nonpharmacologic interventions including avoidance of hypotensive medications, high-salt diet and physical counter maneuvers. If these measures are not sufficient, medications such as fludrocortisone and midodrine can be added. The goals of treatment are to improve symptoms and to make the patient as ambulatory as possible instead of targeting arbitrary blood pressure values.
The Tilted Disk Syndrome

We noted occasional diagnostic confusion with papilledema and chiasmal compression when its true congential nature was not recognized in 12 patients with a benign ocular syndrome. Retinoscopy, fluorescein angiography, ocular ultrasonography, and histopathology suggested that associated visual field defects were related to a localized staphylomatous ectasia of the posterior globe.
The Predictive Validity of an ESL Placement Test A Mixed Methods Approach

This study investigated the relationships between graduate students' placement test scores for English as a second language (ESL) and three measures of academic performance (grade point average [GPA], faculty evaluations, and student self-assessments). Qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques (archival, questionnaires, and interviews) were used to collect data from 100 students and 55 faculty members. Although nonsignificant correlations were found between test scores and GPA, qualitative findings indicated that English skills are an important factor affecting students' course performance. Additional mixed methods analyses found that variations in students' views of academic success and their relevant background knowledge can help explain the overall insignificant relationship between ESL placement test scores and GPA. This mix of methods thus illuminated particular strands of the complex relationships between English proficiencies and graduate-level academic performance.
The relationship of work, self-care, and quality of life in a sample of older working adults with cardiovascular disease.

Abstract Objective The study objective was to describe the self-care behaviors of adherence to medication, diet, exercise, and symptom monitoring of older workers with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and explore the relationship among job characteristics (job demands, job control, and workplace support), self-care, and quality of life. More than 3.5 million workers have CVD with significant work limitations and increased disability. Workers must meet the challenges of today’s work processes that include increased stress and intense production demands while managing the complexities of their CVD. Methods A total of 129 workers (aged ≥ 45 years) with CVD completed standardized instruments about self-care (Specific Adherence Scale α = .74), job characteristics (Job Content Questionnaire α = .71), and quality of life (MacNew health-related quality of life α = .84). Regression analyses were used to examine relationships between variables. Results The sample had a mean age of 59.16 ± 8.83 years, 56.3% were female, and 36.5% were African-American. Self-care behaviors varied. Most workers (71.4%) reported medication adherence, and few adhered to diet (27%), exercise (18%), or symptom monitoring (31.3%). Psychologic job demands were negatively correlated to self-care ( r = −.217, P = .02). Better adherence was reported by those with workplace support ( r = .313, P = .001). Job characteristics explained 22% of variance in self-care adherence behaviors. Adherence was a significant determinant of general quality of life. Conclusion Because job characteristics may interfere with self-care, clinicians should assess job demands and discuss stress management with employed patients. Interventions that foster worksite programs and facilitate self-care among workers with CVD are needed.
Anti-consumption as tactical resistance: Anarchists, subculture, and activist strategy:

This article examines practices of anti-consumption deployed by anarchist activists as tactical actions within their overall projects of political and subcultural resistance. Drawing on existing li...
Blood Group Antigens on Human Corneal Cells Demonstrated by Immunoperoxidase Staining

The ultrasensitive immunoperoxidase staining technique demonstrated the presence of blood groups A, B, and D antigens on human corneal epithelial and endothelial cells. Nonspecific staining was not seen and there was little antigen in the corneal stroma. Blood group antigens probably do not initiate corneal allograft rejection, but they may lend antigenic support to the rejection response one it has begun.
Vapor—liquid equilibria in the carbon dioxide-ethane system

Abstract Vapor—liquid equilibria for the binary system carbon dioxide-ethane were measured at eight temperatures from 207 to 270 K. The data were modeled with three equations of state: the Peng-Robinson, the Soave-Redlich-Kwong, and the Fuller modification of the Soave-Redlich-Kwong. All of the equations gave satisfactory results with the use of one binary interaction parameter. However, the interaction parameters varied substantially with temperature.
Assessing Medicaid managed care in eastern state.

This case examined the expanding role of so-called managed care programs in improving health care for the poor while controlling runaway health care costs. The case asked what the commissioner of health, Dr. Lorna Hill, in a large eastern state should do to effectively monitor Medicaid managed care programs in her state. The commissioner faced intense pressures for cost containment and strong, but not universal, support for the managed care solution to health care cost problems. The commissioner was herself concerned that the cost savings attributed to managed care might not be real and the unintended effects on health care might be adverse. Her immediate challenge was to determine what kinds of data she should require service providers to submit to her agency so that she could effectively monitor managed care programs for health care quality, provide positive feedback to health care providers, and establish politically credible program oversight.
Arabidopsis actin gene ACT7 plays an essential role in germination and root growth

Arabidopsis contains eight actin genes. Of these ACT7 is the most strongly expressed in young plant tissues and shows the greatest response to physiological cues. Adult plants homozygous for the act7 mutant alleles show no obvious above-ground phenotypes, which suggests a high degree of functional redundancy among plant actins. However, act7-1 mutant plants are at a strong selective disadvantage when grown in competition with wild-type plants and therefore must have undetected physical defects. The act7-1 and act7-4 alleles contain T-DNA insertions just after the stop codon and within the first intron, respectively. Homozygous mutant seedlings of both alleles showed less than 7% of normal ACT7 protein levels. Mutants displayed delayed and less efficient germination, increased root twisting and waving, and retarded root growth. The act7-4 mutant showed the most dramatic reduction in root growth. The act7-4 root apical cells were not in straight files and contained oblique junctions between cells suggesting a possible role for ACT7 in determining cell polarity. Wild-type root growth was fully restored to the act7-1 mutant by the addition of an exogenous copy of the ACT7 gene. T-DNA insertions just downstream of the major polyadenylation sites (act7-2, act7-3) appeared fully wild type. The act7 mutant phenotypes demonstrate a significant requirement for functional ACT7 protein during root development and explain the strong negative selection component seen for the act7-1 mutant.
Depth and luminance edges attract

The spatial resolution of disparity perception is poor compared to luminance perception, yet we do not notice that depth edges are more blurry than luminance edges. Is this because the two cues are combined by the visual system? Subjects judged the locations of depth-defined or luminance-defined edges, which were separated by up to 5.6 min of arc. The perceived edge location was a function of the depth-defined edge and the luminance-defined edge, with the luminance edge tending to play a larger role. Our data are compatible with but not completely explained by an optimal cue-combination model that gives more reliable cues a heavier weight. Both edge cues (depth and luminance) contribute to the final percept, with an adaptive weighting depending on the task and the acuity with which each cue is perceived.