cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association between insurance variability and early lung function in children with cystic fibrosis

Abstract Background Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has consistently been associated with poorer outcomes in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Previous studies have compared outcomes for children with and without private insurance coverage, however the potential role of changes in insurance status on early health outcomes in children with CF remains unknown. Objectives To describe the variability in insurance status in early childhood and to evaluate whether insurance variability was associated with poorer outcomes at age 6. Methods Retrospective observational study using the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry. Insurance status was defined as: always private (including Tricare), exclusively public, or intermittent private insurance (private insurance and exclusively public insurance in separate years) during the first 6 years of life. Outcomes at age 6 included body mass index (BMI) and FEV1 percent predicted (maxFEV1pp). Results From a 2000–2011 birth cohort (n = 8,109), 42.3% always had private insurance, 30.0% had exclusively public insurance, and 27.6% had intermittent private insurance. BMI percentiles did not differ between groups; however, children with intermittent private insurance and exclusively public insurance had a 3.3% and 6.6% lower maxFEV1pp at age 6, respectively, compared to those with always private insurance. Conclusions A substantial proportion of young children in a modern CF cohort have public or intermittent private insurance coverage. While public insurance has been associated with poorer health outcomes in CF, variability in health insurance coverage may also be associated with an intermediate risk of disparities in lung function as early as age 6.
Cementitious Composites Made with Natural Fibers: A Case Study of Uncoated and Coated Sisal Fibers

Abstract Synthetic fibers commonly used in cementitious composites are known to directly contribute to the total material cost, while causing concerns regarding their availability and carbon footprint. As a sustainable alternative to synthetic fibers, this study explored the use of sisal fiber. To address the potential degradability of this natural fiber, two different coatings, i.e., polyester resin and bio-based shellac, were examined. For this purpose, various mixtures made with a range of sisal fiber dosages were investigated, including both uncoated and coated sisal fibers. The study explored the mechanical properties of the developed mixtures through compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength tests. From the obtained results, notable improvements were observed in the main strength properties, compared to the mixtures that contained no fibers. Such improvements were 20% and 42% (on average) for the splitting tensile and flexural strength, respectively. The investigations also included weathering tests to evaluate the durability of sisal fibers under wet/dry cycles. This was accompanied by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) image analyses to provide a fundamental understanding of the interfacial properties between the fiber surface and the cementitious matrix. In addition, plastic shrinkage tests were conducted to evaluate how the sisal fibers help with limiting early-age cracks. While the mixtures with no fiber fully cracked due to plastic shrinkage within two hours, an addition of 1.4% sisal fibers was enough to entirely avoid the cracks due to plastic shrinkage. The outcome of this study provided original information on how sisal fibers can be considered as an alternative to synthetic fibers for achieving high-performance cementitious composites, especially where the price and availability issues limit the access to synthetic fibers.
ProKinO: a unified resource for mining the cancer kinome.

Protein kinases represent a large and diverse family of evolutionarily related proteins that are abnormally regulated in human cancers. Although genome sequencing studies have revealed thousands of variants in protein kinases, translating “big” genomic data into biological knowledge remains a challenge. Here, we describe an ontological framework for integrating and conceptualizing diverse forms of information related to kinase activation and regulatory mechanisms in a machine readable, human understandable form. We demonstrate the utility of this framework in analyzing the cancer kinome, and in generating testable hypotheses for experimental studies. Through the iterative process of aggregate ontology querying, hypothesis generation and experimental validation, we identify a novel mutational hotspot in the αC-β4 loop of the kinase domain and demonstrate the functional impact of the identified variants in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) constitutive activity and inhibitor sensitivity. We provide a unified resource for the kinase and cancer community, ProKinO, housed at http://vulcan.cs.uga.edu/prokino.
The Era of Big Spatial Data: Challenges and Opportunities

This seminar describes the state-of-the-art research in the area of big spatial data and it consists of four parts. Part I gives a background about big spatial data and the limitations of traditional systems in handling such data. Part II gives an overview of the four main components that constitute a system for big spatial data, namely, language, indexing, query processing, and visualization. In part III, we delve into the details of each of these four components and describe the recent research efforts in each component while highlighting the open research problems. Finally, part IV wraps up the seminar by describing case studies of systems and end-user applications for big spatial data. This part describes how the four components are implemented in these systems and how they are used in end-user applications.
Internal Control Weaknesses and Acquisition Performance

ABSTRACT This study examines internal control weaknesses (ICWs) reported under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Section 302 in the context of mergers and acquisitions. We predict that problems in an acquirer's internal control environment have adverse operational implications for acquisition performance. We argue that acquirers with low-quality internal information needed to select profitable acquisitions will make poorer acquisition decisions. We also argue that ICWs impede effective monitoring and are likely to hinder integration tasks that are important to acquisition profitability. We find that ICWs disclosed prior to an acquisition announcement predict significantly lower post-acquisition operating performance and abnormal stock returns. Poorer post-acquisition performance is concentrated in ICWs that are expected to impede acquisition activities (i.e., forecasting/valuation, monitoring, and integration). Our findings contribute to the literature linking ineffective internal control over financial reporting to n...
Hydrogen bonding: Part 50. IR and thermodynamic study of the hydrates of hexamethonium iodide, bromide, chloride and fluoride

Abstract We have examined the solid hydrates of the dihalides of the hexamethonium dication, (CH 3 ) 3 N + −(CH 2 ) 6 − + N(CH 3 ) 3 , a dipositive analog of simple monopositive quaternary ammonium ions. The iodide forms a dihydrate which shows the IR spectrum associated with linear Type II halide monohydrate hydrogen bonding. At 25°C the bromide forms a dihydrate and a monohydrate; both show IR spectra of Type I planar (H 2 O·Br − ) 2 clusters. Below 49°C equilibrium vapor pressure measurements on the bromide dihydrate give an abnormally high Δ H 0 diss of 34.37 kcal mol −1 . At 49°C a transition occurs to yield a species with an IR spectrum for linear Type II hydrogen bonding and a normal Δ 0 diss of 15.41 kcal mol −1 ; this transition reverses very slowly on cooling. The chloride forms a dihydrate and monohydrate, and possibly a sesquihydrate. Below 36°C the dihydrate shows the IR spectrum of Type I C 2h (H 2 O·Cl − ) 2 clusters; above 40°C the spectrum changes to that of Type II linear hydrogen bonding. The low and high temperature forms of the chloride dihydrate show relatively normal Δ H 0 diss values of 20.95 and 18.18 kcal mol −1 respectively. Both the chloride sesquihydrate and monohydrate give IR spectra of Type I C 2h (H 2 O·Cl − ) 2 clusters; these spectra do not show a transition to Type II on heating. The fluoride forms three hydrates; a hexahydrate, a tetrahydrate and a dihydrate. These hydrates, which are formally a fluoride ion trihydrate, dihydrate and monohydrate, show IR spectra for their water-fluoride ion structures which are identical to those of the corresponding monopositive quaternary ammonium fluoride hydrates, and are assumed to have hydrogen bonding arrangements which are very similar to those found in tetraethylammonium and tetramethylammonium fluoride hydrates. IR observations on the chloride and bromide dihyrdrates are correlated with known crystal structures.
Hybrid nanoparticles improve targeting to inflammatory macrophages through phagocytic signals.

Macrophages are innate immune cells with great phenotypic plasticity, which allows them to regulate an array of physiological processes such as host defense, tissue repair, and lipid/lipoprotein metabolism. In this proof-of-principle study, we report that macrophages of the M1 inflammatory phenotype can be selectively targeted by model hybrid lipid-latex (LiLa) nanoparticles bearing phagocytic signals. We demonstrate a simple and robust route to fabricate nanoparticles and then show their efficacy through imaging and drug delivery in inflammatory disease models of atherosclerosis and obesity. Self-assembled LiLa nanoparticles can be modified with a variety of hydrophobic entities such as drug cargos, signaling lipids, and imaging reporters resulting in sub-100nm nanoparticles with low polydispersities. The optimized theranostic LiLa formulation with gadolinium, fluorescein and "eat-me" phagocytic signals (Gd-FITC-LiLa) a) demonstrates high relaxivity that improves magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensitivity, b) encapsulates hydrophobic drugs at up to 60% by weight, and c) selectively targets inflammatory M1 macrophages concomitant with controlled release of the payload of anti-inflammatory drug. The mechanism and kinetics of the payload discharge appeared to be phospholipase A2 activity-dependent, as determined by means of intracellular Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET). In vivo, LiLa targets M1 macrophages in a mouse model of atherosclerosis, allowing noninvasive imaging of atherosclerotic plaque by MRI. In the context of obesity, LiLa particles were selectively deposited to M1 macrophages within inflamed adipose tissue, as demonstrated by single-photon intravital imaging in mice. Collectively, our results suggest that phagocytic signals can preferentially target inflammatory macrophages in experimental models of atherosclerosis and obesity, thus opening the possibility of future clinical applications that diagnose/treat these conditions. Tunable LiLa nanoparticles reported here can serve as a model theranostic platform with application in various types of imaging of the diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, obesity, and cancer where macrophages play a pathogenic role.
Out of Information Poverty: Library Services for Urban Marginalized Immigrants

This paper provides an analytical overview of the literature on information poverty and the strategies of reducing such poverty for urban marginalized groups from cultural and structural perspectives. Focusing on the urban immigrants in the United States, this paper discusses their informational needs with respect to literacy skills, technology support, cultural awareness, and information resources. In addition, the paper evaluates the library services demonstrated by the selected urban libraries that supply diversified education programs and civic engagement activities in an attempt to establish a more equitable and harmonious community.
Repartitioning of Adaptive Meshes: Experiments with Multilevel Diffusion

For a large class of irregular grid applications, the structure of the mesh changes from one phase of the computation to the next. Eventually, as the graph evolves, the adapted mesh has to be repartitioned to ensure good load balance. If this new graph is partitioned from scratch, it will lead to an excessive migration of data among processors. In this paper, we present a new scheme for computing repartitionings of adaptively refined meshes. This scheme performs diffusion of vertices in a multilevel framework and minimizes vertex movement without significantly compromising the edge-cut.
Response of Schoenoplectus acutus and Schoenoplectus californicus at Different Life-History Stages to Hydrologic Regime

For wetland restoration success to be maximized, restoration managers need better information regarding how the frequency, depth, and duration of flooding affect soil chemistry and the survival, growth, and morphology of targeted plant species. In a greenhouse study we investigated the impact of four different flooding durations (0 %, 40 %, 60 %, and 100 %) on soil physicochemistry and the responses of seedlings and adults of two species of emergent wetland macrophytes commonly used in restoration efforts (Schoenoplectus acutus and Schoenoplectus californicus). The longest flooding duration, which created more reducing soil conditions, resulted in significantly reduced survival of S. acutus adults (34 ± 21 % survival) and complete mortality of seedlings of both species. Schoenoplectus californicus adults exhibited higher flooding tolerance, showing little impact of flooding on morphology and physiology. A companion field study indicated that S. californicus maintained stem strength regardless of flooding duration or depth, supporting the greenhouse study results. This information serves to improve our understanding of the ecological differences between these species as well as provide restoration managers with better guidelines for targeted elevation and hydrologic regimes for these species in order to enhance the success of restoration plantings and better predict restoration site development.
Penicillin-resistant systemic pneumococcal infections in children: a retrospective case-control study

Objective To determine whether there are any risk factors that differentiate children with systemic infections due to Streptococcus pneumoniae relatively or fully resistant (minimum inhibitory concentration > 0.1 microgram/mL) to penicillin from those children with infections due to S pneumoniae susceptible to penicillin. Design Retrospective case-control study. Setting A large children's hospital. Participants Forty-three children with systemic penicillin-resistant S pneumoniae infections identified at Texas Children's Hospital over the 51-month period from January 1989 through March 1993. Each case had one or two controls matched only for age and date of S. pneumoniae infection. Sixty-six controls were selected from a group of 341 children with susceptible isolates. Outcome measures Variables compared included gender, race, diagnosis, underlying conditions, past hospitalization, geographic area of residence, antibiotic use in past month, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid use in past month, and outcome. Results Thirty-seven patients (86%) had relatively resistant isolates (minimum inhibitory concentration range 0.125 to 1.0 microgram/mL) and six patients (15%) had fully resistant isolates (minimum inhibitory concentration range 2.0 to 8.0 micrograms/mL). Thirty-three percent of the cases vs 36% of the controls had underlying conditions. Seventy-one percent of the cases vs 39% of the controls had received antibiotics in the previous month. Compared with their matched controls, the patients with penicillin-resistant systemic pneumococcal infections were more likely (P = .02) to have received a course of antibiotics within the month prior to their infection. Conclusion The only identified associated risk factor in children who developed a systemic penicillin-resistant pneumococcal infection appears to have been the use of antibiotics within the month prior to their infection.
The Law Governing LGBT-Parent Families

This chapter reviews the law relevant to LGBT parents and prospective parents. It pays particular attention to the concept of legal parentage as opposed to social parentage. At the outset, it explores why legal parentage is a critical concept: Legal parents have significant rights and obligations vis-a-vis their children that are not shared by nonparents. Co-parenting relationships with one legal and one nonlegal parent are potentially unstable because of the inequality in legal power. The chapter also discusses the complicated patchwork of laws governing establishment of parental rights faced by LGBT people. These laws vary by state and also by the means used to arrive at parenthood. Lesbians and gay men become parents by a variety of methods, including adoption and assisted reproductive technology, and legal rules in these two domains differ. Further, federal law, which governs certain benefits like Social Security, must be considered. In general, LGBT individuals contemplating parenthood would do well to familiarize themselves with the law in their jurisdictions to ensure that the relationships they forge with their children are adequately protected.
Synthesis of the RuIV amido complex [TpRu(CO)(PPh3)(NHPh)][OTf]2 (Tp = hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate; OTf = trifluoromethanesulfonate) and deprotonation to form an octahedral and d4 imido complex: computational study of RuIV–imido bonding

Deprotonation of [TpRu(CO)(PPh3)(NHPh)][OTf]2 yields the thermally unstable d4 imido complex [TpRu(CO)(PPh3)(NPh)][OTf]; a computational study of the bonding of the imido complex provides a foundation for discussion of its instability in terms of π-conflict.
Phonatory and articulatory changes associated with increased vocal intensity in Parkinson disease: a case study.

This study examined changes in voice and speech production in a patient with Parkinson disease as he increased vocal intensity following 1 month of intensive voice treatment. Phonatory function and...
Adhesion and surface analysis of carbon fibres electrochemically oxidized in aqueous potassium nitrate

Type II carbon fibres (PAN-based) have been electrochemically oxidized in aqueous potassium nitrate to varying electron charge densities (0–4294 Cg-1). The fibres were subsequently characterized by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) and ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS) and the results were correlated to acid/base surface titrations and BET surface area measurements. Relative to the as-received fibres (commercially treated, but unsized), the electrochemical treatments increased the ARXPS O/C atomic ratios by approximately 50%–100% and the concentration of oxidized carbon became more uniform within the XPS sampling depth (≈10 nm). At the same time, the number of acidic functions titrated by sodium hydroxide rose from about 2.6 μeq g-1 to 1078 μeq g-1, and the BET surface area increased from 0.67 m2 g-1 to 2.9 m2 g-1. A large portion of the increase in acidic groups was due to the increased fibre oxidation below the XPS sampling depth. The surface densities of acidic functions (functions/nm2) determined from NaOH uptake and nitrogen BET surface area experiments were far larger than is physically possible. Thus, it is postulated that aqueous NaOH solutions are able to access a much larger surface region than can be measured by nitrogen BET. A model involving subsurface pores, voids, crevasses, etc., which become available via swelling during solvation in aqueous NaOH, but are at least partially closed off when dry (during BET measurements), was proposed. The quantity of acidic functions introduced (detected by NaOH) was directly proportional to the extent of oxidation as referenced to the electron charge density (C g-1). The ISS spectra suggest that the surface density of carbon/oxygen groups was also increased. Single-fibre fragmentation tests (using an epoxy resin matrix) revealed that in most cases the interfacial shear strengths (IFSS) increased with increasing ARXPS O/C atomic ratio probably due to enhanced fibre/matrix chemical bonding and/or mechanical interlocking. As the extent of the electrochemical oxidation progressed above 1500 C g-1 the IFSS of single filament specimens then began to decrease. This was due to a continuing decrease in filament tensile strength as the extent of electro-oxidation increased. The critical transfer length, Lc, also decreased from ∼0.36 mm to ∼0.18 mm as the extent of electro-oxidation proceeded. Electrochemically oxidized fibres were compared to nitric acid-oxidized fibres in terms of acidic groups generated, BET surface areas, acidic group surface densities, dye adsorption with methylene blue and the role of aqueous NaOH in exposing some of the microstructure created by oxidative processes. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers
Pulmonary function in elastase-treated guinea pigs and rats exposed to ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate aerosols

Abstract Three weeks following intratracheal instillations of elastase dissolved in saline, or saline alone, guinea pigs and rats were exposed for 5 or 20 days, 6 hr/day, 5 days/week to filtered room air, 1 mg/m3 ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4) or 1 mg/m3 ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) aerosols. Pulmonary function evaluations conducted in guinea pigs showed no detrimental effects of (NH4)2SO4 or NH4NO3 exposure and very little effect of elastase treatment. Lung function changes in elastase-treated rats were consistent with a condition of experimentally induced pulmonary emphysema. Rats exposed to NH4NO3 aerosols showed no consistent exposure-related changes. Compared with air-exposed animals, rats exposed to (NH4)2SO4 aerosols had increased values of residual volume and functional residual capacity and decreased slope of single-breath N2 washout curves. We conclude that elastase treatment had no significant effect on lung function changes resulting from inhalation of (NH4)2SO4 aerosols. Lung function was more affected by (NH4)2SO4 exposure than by NH4NO3 exposure, and lung function changes were more pronounced in rats than in guinea pigs.
Corticosteroids of the peccary (Dicotyles tajacu).

Abstract Cortisol and cortisone were tentatively identified as the principal corticosteroids present in the plasma of the male collared peccary ( Dicotyles tajacu ). On the basis of colorimetric assays the average cortisol concentration was estimated to be 7.5 μg/100 ml of plasma. Cortisol, cortisone, and dehydrocorticosterone were tentatively identified in the extracts of whole adrenal glands from the collared peccary.
Integrated Bioderived-Conducting Polymer Membrane Nanostructures for Energy Conversion and Storage

Conducting polymers are ionic active materials that can perform electro-chemo-mechanical work through redox reactions. The electro-chemo-mechanical coupling in these materials has been successfully applied to develop various application platforms (actuation systems, sensor elements and energy storage devices (super capacitors, battery electrodes)). Similarly, bioderived membranes are ionic active materials that have been demonstrated as actuators, sensors and energy harvesting devices. Bioderived membranes offer significant advantages over synthetic ionic active materials in energy conversion and the scientific community has put forward various system level concepts for application in engineering applications. The biological origins of these material systems and their subsequent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties have served as a key deterrent in applications. This article proposes a novel architecture that combines a conducting polymer and a bioderived membrane into an integrated material system in which the charge gradients generated from a biochemical reaction is stored and released in the conducting polymer through redox reactions. This paper discusses the fabrication and topographical characterization of the integrated bioderived-conducting polymer membrane nanostructures. The prototype comprises of an organized array of fluid-filled three-dimensional containers with an integrated membrane shell that performs energy conversion and storage owing to its multi-functional microstructure. The bioderived membrane is self-assembled into a hollow spherical container from synthetic membranes or bilayer lipid membranes with proteins and the conducting polymer membrane forms a wrapper around this container resulting in a three-dimensional assembly.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Antarctic Late Cenozoic Glaciation: Evidence for Initiation of Ice Rafting and Inferred Increased Bottom-Water Activity

Micropaleontological and sedimentological studies have been conducted on three sub-antarctic-northern Antarctic piston cores ranging in age from the middle Miocene to earliest Pliocene. Middle to early late Miocene intervals in two of these cores (E 34-6; E 36-37) contain no ice-rafted debris. The other core (E 34-5) is of latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene age (approximately 4.0 to 5.0 m.y. B.P.) and is the oldest known late Cenozoic core containing ice-rafted debris. Quartz sand first appears in this core within the Gilbert c paleomagnetic event and increases in abundance toward the Nunivak paleomagnetic event (Gilbert c) near the top of the core. Examination of these quartz grains with a scanning electron microscope reveals that only a small number are of primary glacial origin; the remainder show varying degrees of reworking by subaqueous processes. The occurrence of quartz grains of primary glacial origin appears to reflect the first major late Cenozoic development of Antarctic ice with accompanying initiation of ice rafting to subantarctic regions. The simultaneous appearance of significant numbers of subaqueously transported grains with ice-rafted glacial grains may reflect a synchronous increase in Antarctic bottom-water activity associated with the development of Antarctic ice. A concomitant increase in micromanganese nodules in sediments of this age may also be related to increased bottom-current activity. This evidence perhaps indicates that during the early part of the late Cenozoic, there was an increase in the degree of Antarctic glaciation, as reflected in the amount of ice rafting as well as an increase in bottom-current activity.
Risk stratification of older patients.

Cardiovascular disease is a growing global health threat due in part to demographic shifts, in particular the growing elderly population in which cardiovascular disease is highly likely to develop. Older individuals have numerous coexisting conditions that contribute to increased risk for morbidity and mortality. In the past, physicians primarily used diastolic blood pressure (BP) as the indicator for measuring relative risk. However, since the early 1970s observational studies have found that systolic BP rather than diastolic BP is a better predictor of cardiovascular events, particularly in the older population. The Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-VI) recommended specific goals for the treatment of hypertensive patients. Specifically, JNC-VI reinforced the notion of more aggressive BP goals for patients at the greatest risk for an event. The approach to patients who are not at goal is different from earlier guidelines. Therapy is now aimed at building therapeutic regimens. Currently, there are five classes of agents that have been shown to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular and renal disease: diuretics, β-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, calcium antagonists, and angiotensin receptor blockers. If a patient is not at goal and there is no response to an agent from one of these classes or troublesome side effects develop, then and only then should that drug be stopped and a different one used. Otherwise, a multidrug regimen is constructed and additional agents added in logical fashion. A majority of patients with higher risk can attain control at the specified BP goal safely and effectively by using a combination of agents.
EFFECTS OF AGE ON THE ADULT AUDITORY MIDDLE LATENCY RESPONSE

Abstract The middle latency components of the auditory evoked response were obtained from a group of normal-hearing, healthy female subjects from 22 to 68 years of age. Recordings were made at several intensity levels to assess the level-dependence of any age-related effects. Cross-sectional analyses revealed that the amplitude of component Pa grows linearly with age, becoming significantly larger in older (50–68 years of age) compared to younger (22–37 years) subjects. The amplitude-intensity function is steeper in the older subjects by a factor of two. Correlational analyses suggested that at higher intensity levels age accounts for about 20% of the variance in the amplitude of Pa. A positive shift in response baseline was observed in the older subjects, and could contribute to the age-related increase in the absolute amplitude of Pa. However, a similar increase in the peak-to-peak and area measures of Pa suggests that some of the increase in the magnitude of Pa is independent of baseline shift. A confounding of age and hearing sensitivity in this study makes it difficult to interpret the age-related effects as strictly central in nature.
Sensory Characteristics and Thiamin and Vitamin B6 Contents of Spent Hens

Abstract Fifty-two spent hens processed according to commercial practices, frozen, and held for approximately 6 months were thawed and then subjected to the following cooking treatments: 1) roasting at 135 C for 5 hr, 2) boiling in water for 2 hr, and 3) pressure cooking for 30 min at 10 lb pressure. Softness and juiciness of the breast muscle were similar for the three cooking treatments. Meat samples from boiled chickens were mealier than those from roasted or pressure cooked. Thigh muscle from boiled chicken contained less thiamin than muscle pressure-cooked or roasted. Vitamin B6 content of thigh and breast muscle did not differ for the three methods of cooking.
Endothelium-dependent pulmonary artery responses in chronic heart failure: Influence of pulmonary hypertension

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pulmonary artery responses to acetylcholine are abnormal in patients with chronic heart failure. Background. Defective pulmonary artery endothelium-dependent responses have been observed in chronic heart failure models in animals. However, pulmonary artery endothelial response in humans with chronic heart failure are unknown. Methods. Twenty-two patients with chronic treated heart failure (12 with secondary pulmonary hypertension, Group I; 10 with normal pulmonary artery pressure, Group II) and 8 control patients constituted the study groups. Intravascular ultrasound measurements of pulmonary artery area just beyond the tip of an 8F infusion sheath were obtained in response to acetylcholine (10−6, 10−5and 10−4mol/liter). The 10−6mol/liter infusion was repeated after methylene blue infusion. Indomethacin (5 μg/ml) was sequentially added to this combination in 17 patients. Results. There were no significant differences among the three groups in vascular area responses to the lowest concentration (10−6and 10−5mol/liter) of acetylcholine, but the 10−4mol/liter infusion resulted in significant constriction in Group II patients (p < 0.05, analysis of variance [ANOVA]). Pretreatment with methylene blue in Group II also resulted in significant pulmonary artery vasoconstriction to even the 10−6mol/liter acetylcholine infusion (10.4 ± 7.8% in Group II vs. 1.7 ± 3.9% in the control group and 0.1 ± 4.3% in Group I, p < 0.05, ANOVA). The addition of indomethacin resulted in reversal of the constriction in Group II patients. Conclusions. These responses indicate that the pulmonary artery endothelium may play a significant role in inhibiting vasoconstriction in patients with chronic heart failure who maintain normal pulmonary artery pressure.
The effect of shoe type on gait in forefoot strike runners during a 50-km run

Abstract Purpose To observe the relative change in foot-strike pattern, pressure characteristics, surface electromyography (sEMG) recordings, and stride characteristics in forefoot strike runners wearing both minimalist and traditional shoes during a 50-km run. Methods Four experienced minimalist runners were enrolled in this study. Each runner ran a 50-km simulated run in both minimalist shoes and traditional shoes. Pressure data, sEMG recordings, and limited 3D motion capture data were collected during the initial 0.8 km and final 0.8 km for each trial. Results Three runners in the traditional shoe type condition and one runner in the minimalist shoe type condition demonstrated a more posterior initial contact area (midfoot strike (MFS) pattern) after the 50-km run, which was supported by increased activity of the tibialis anterior in the pre-contact phase (as per root mean square (RMS) values). In addition, in both pre- and post-run conditions, there were increased peak pressures in the minimalist shoe type, specifically in the medial forefoot. Muscle fatigue as defined by a decreased median frequency observed in isometric, constant force contractions did not correspond with our hypothesis in relation to the observed foot strike change pattern. Finally, step rate increased and step length decreased after the 50-km run in both shoe type conditions. Conclusion More runners adopted a more posterior initial contact area after the 50-km run in the traditional shoe type than in the minimalist shoe type. The runners who adopted a more posterior initial contact area were more closely associated with an increased median frequency of the medial gastrocnemius, which suggests there may be a change in motor unit recruitment pattern during long-distance, sustained velocity running. The increased peak pressures observed in the medial forefoot in the minimalist shoe type may predispose to metatarsal stress fractures in the setting of improper training.
Extrahepatic, Nonneoplastic, Fat-Containing Lesions of the Abdominopelvic Cavity: Spectrum of Lesions, Significance, and Typical Appearance on Multidetector Computed Tomography

Fat may be noted in a diffuse or focal manner in a variety of nonneoplastic abdominopelvic conditions. The specific signature of macroscopic fat on computed tomography along with the usually characteristic findings of these entities makes the diagnosis of most of these conditions relatively straightforward. In the intestinal tract, the "fat halo sign" usually arises in the context of subacute to chronic bowel wall inflammation. Excess fat in the renal sinus may occur with renal sinus lipomatosis or "replacement lipomatosis of the kidney." Some cases of "pancreatic lipomatosis" may culminate in steatopancreatitis and ultimately neoplastic transformations. "Fibrofatty mesenteric proliferation" is a characteristic feature of Crohn disease. In the setting of the acute abdomen, accurate diagnosis of fat-containing lesions (epiploic appendagitis or omental infarction) from other causes of the acute abdomen is critical. Mesenteric panniculitis is 1 of the causes of the "misty mesentery." Juxtacaval fat deposition is a benign process that has the potential to be confused with more serious conditions. More diffuse fat deposition (abdominal or pelvic lipomatosis) has the potential to become symptomatic by causing mass effect upon the adjacent structures. Fat can also be seen in a variety of postoperative/iatrogenic conditions or abdominal wall/diaphragmatic hernias.
Local-field effects and configurational disorder in nonlinear optical systems with coherence

We argue that in nonlinear optical systems with randomly distributed atoms one should go beyond the Clausius-Mossoti limit in order to take into account the effect of local-field fluctuations induced by configurational disorder in atom positions. This effect is analyzed by means of a random local-mean-field approach with the neglect of the correlations between dipole moments of different atoms. The formalism is applied to three-level \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type systems with quantum coherence possessing an absorptionless index of refraction and lasing without inversion. We show that the effect of configurational fluctuations results in the significant suppression of the atom susceptibility compared to the predictions based on the Clausious-Mossoti equation.
Gaming the system: Semiotic indeterminacy and political circulation in the new age of revolution

Abstract I compare the context-based discursive strategies of Otpor! – the Serbian student Resistance movement – as they unfolded in real-time, with the ways those strategies were represented through a widely circulating video game, A Force More Powerful, used to train activists in non-violent revolution. What made Otpor’s discursive practices effective in Serbia was a semiotic indeterminacy that allowed activists to rally a broad and diverse coalition of citizens and politicians. This indeterminacy was difficult to translate within the procedural and causal logic of the game’s programming and design. I argue that the logics encoded in the game circulated as a global pedagogy of non-violent revolution and democratization as much because of their specific pragmatic features as their powerful ideological and institutional backing.
Beta-endorphin suppression of lordosis behavior in female rats; lack of effect of peripherally-administered naloxone.

Abstract Endogenous opioid peptides have been implicated in the control of copulatory behavior of the male rat. In order to assess the possible role of opioids in modulation of sexual receptivity in the female rat, lordosis behavior of ovariectomized (OVX) steroid-primed rats was tested after administration of beta-endorphin (B-END) or naloxone (NAL). Lordosis-to-mount ratio (L/M) of estrogen (E)- and progesterone (P)-primed rats was suppressed 15 and 45 minutes after intraventricular infusion of 100 ng B-END. This suppressive effect was blocked by subcutaneous injections of NAL (2 mg/kg). NAL alone, however, failed to enhance L/M in E-primed rats when administered in subcutaneous doses of 2 or 40 mg/kg. Thus, B-END is capable of suppressing lordotic responsiveness, but endogenous B-END does not appear to tonically suppress responsiveness in the E-primed rat.
Ab initio calculation of the third-order susceptibility of H2

The third-order susceptibility of H2 has been calculated under coherent anti-Stokes Raman-scattering conditions, with use of wave functions specifically designed for accurate calculations of sum-rule properties. The theoretical values are in good agreement with experiment.
Introduction: thermal ablation therapy.

The diseases which medicines cannot cure, excision cures: those which excision cannot cure, are cured by the cautery; but those which the cautery cannot cure, may be deemed incurable (Hippocrates Aphorisms, 400 BCE).
Potential effects of spawning habitat changes on the segregation of northern pike (Esox lucius) and muskellunge (E. masquinongy) in the Upper St. Lawrence River

Changes in spawning habitat of northern pike (Esox lucius) may affect their segregation from and coexistence with the closely related muskellunge (E. masquinongy). We estimated the areal coverage of robust and shallow emergent vegetation in three shared-spawning bays in the Upper St. Lawrence River from aerial photographs taken from 1948 to 2003. Robust emergent vegetation (e.g., cattail) increased in coverage by 155–241% while shallow emergents (sedges) decreased by 46–96%. The loss of sedges, an important northern pike-spawning habitat, may facilitate greater spawning overlap in offshore-submersed aquatic vegetation within bay habitats used by muskellunge. Development rates and characteristics of northern pike and muskellunge eggs and larvae were compared to better understand the implications of greater spawning overlap. Northern pike eggs developed faster than muskellunge eggs at temperatures of 4.7–19°C, and adhesive eggs and the presence of adhesive papillae were present in both species. Equations were used to predict degree-day requirements for hatching and swim-up in three habitats (shallow emergents, bay, and offshore shoal) along a temperature gradient. Northern pike required more estimated degree days to reach hatching in bay and offshore shoal habitat relative to shallow emergent habitat due to cooler temperatures. Significant spawning overlap is known to occur within bay habitats, but poor success of northern pike in deep bay habitats and overall reductions in abundance are hypothesized to currently buffer muskellunge from potential negative interactions between these species.
Dynamics of Real-Time Distributed Scheduling in Multiple-Machine Heterarchical Manufacturing Systems

Abstract Heterarchical manufacturing systems with highly-distributed, real-time control of arrival times of parts exhibit high levels of robustness and adaptability to changes in machine availability, part mix, processing times, and due dates. However, distribution of control and queuing in these systems makes analysis and modeling difficult, particularly when parts proceed through multiple processing steps and these processing steps can be performed by more than one machine. In this paper, a general approach is presented for modeling these systems. Examples of multiple-machine and multiple-processing-step systems are presented, illustrating their behavior and closed-form solutions obtained of discontinuous differential equations that represent their dynamics.
Sketching a path through the hydrocarbon oxidation maze

The selective oxidation of hydrocarbons such as methane, propane, and propene remains one of the grand challenges of catalytic chemistry. It is our thesis that the structures and energetics of stationary points along probable kinetic pathways can provide important conceptual data for catalyst development. Further, we suggest that a wide range of theoretical methodologies are required to tackle this important problem. To support these hypotheses the results of a range of modern electronic structure methods including complete active space-perturbation theory to second order (CASPT2), a range of density functionals (DFT), and a new approach, the approximate pair theory (APT) are described. Studies on ethylene oxidation by CrCl2O2, isobutane oxidation by CrCl2O2, and propene oxidation by bismuth molybdate are used to illustrate one path for obtaining theoretical insights consistent with experimental observation and of predictive value. Specific findings include a novel saddle point for ethylene epoxidation wi...
Critical-magnetic-field curve of lanthanum sesquicarbide

The critical-magnetic-field curve of lanthanum sesquicarbide has been measured. The initial slope was extracted from these data and used, along with measured values of the upper and lower critical fields, to obtain the electronic coefficient of specific heat and the Ginzburg-Landau $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ value. Experimental evidence indicates the absence of paramagnetic limitation. Values for the electron-phonon coupling constant and the band-structure density of states were also obtained after estimating the Debye temperature for this material.
Multiyear Pavement-Rehabilitation Planning Enabled by Geographic Information System: Network Analyses Linked to Projects

A pavement-rehabilitation planning system enabled by a geographical information system (GIS) is described; it can perform multiyear projectlinked network pavement-rehabilitation analyses subject to funding availability, minimum performance requirements, and other constraints. The system first uses information on the current and historical project-level pavement-condition evaluation stored in the central database to forecast project performance ratings and distresses. It then determines appropriate rehabilitation methods and costs and, finally, calculates life-cycle costeffectiveness ratios for all projects in the pavement network. With this information, the program performs analyses to determine multiyear minimum funding required to meet prescribed pavement-performance requirements and constraints and to determine optimum pavementrehabilitation plans subject to funding availability and other requirements, such as balancing funding distribution or future pavement performance among state congressional distr...
Podjetniško svetovanje. Nova smer aplikativne socialne in ekonomske geografije - LEGOLAND (Nemčija)

The decision of the LEGO group, to build its fourth LEGOLAND amusement park in the Bavarian Swabian district Gunzburg, has created a challenging situation for the regional politicians. With the help of the new consulting approach “Municipal Proﬁling,” the future oriented development of the Gunzburg district, was ﬁrstly clearly planned and secondly consequently enforced. The motto for the future oriented development of the district is: “District Gunzburg – The Family And Children Region.”
Two-dimensional finite difference analysis of shape instabilities in plates

A two-dimensional finite difference analysis is applied to surface diffusion-controlled instabilities of plates. Plates can evolve into “cylinders,” or if the plates have longitudinal internal boundaries, they may split into two segments. The evolution process of plates containing internal boundaries into equilibrium shapes depends on both the initial plate aspect ratio (plate width to thickness) and the ratio of the internal boundary energy to the plate-matrix interface energy. When the internal boundary energy is relatively low or the initial plate aspect ratio is relatively small, the transverse equilibrium cross-sectional area shape is composed of two circular segments, with an appropriate dihedral angle dictated by the ratio of the interface energy terms. As either the internal boundary energy or the initial aspect ratio increases, plate splitting, rather than cylinderization, becomes the dominant instability mode. The results of this work are compared to a recent theory of Courtney and Malzahn Kampe (CMK) on shape instability diagrams.[1] The complicated interactive effects between cylinderization and boundary splitting were not considered in the analytical CMK approach; thus, when they are minimal, the results of this finite difference calculation are in reasonable accord with the CMK results, as far as predicting instability times are concerned. However, when the interaction is significant, cylinderization and/or splitting times are markedly changed. The present accurate calculations allow refinement of the CMK plate instability diagrams.
Automatic web spreadsheet data extraction

Spreadsheets contain a huge amount of high-value data but do not observe a standard data model and thus are difficult to integrate. A large number of data integration tools exist, but they generally can only work on relational data. Existing systems for extracting relational data from spreadsheets are too labor intensive to support ad-hoc integration tasks, in which the correct extraction target is only learned during the course of user interaction.This paper introduces a system that automatically extracts relational data from spreadsheets, thereby enabling relational spreadsheet integration. The resulting integrated relational data can be queried directly or can be translated into RDF triples. When compared to standard techniques for spreadsheet data extraction on a set of 100 random Web spreadsheets, the system reduces the amount of human labor by 72% to 92%. In addition to the system design, we present the results of a general survey of more than 400,000 spreadsheets we downloaded from the Web, giving a novel view of how users organize their data in spreadsheets.
Experimental Transmission Functions for the Pure Rotation Band of Water Vapor

Experimental transmission data are given for mixtures of water vapor and nitrogen for the 20- to 50-μ region of the pure rotation band of water vapor. These data yield a set of transmission functions for 50 cm−1 intervals in agreement with a theoretical curve of Benedict. Average transmission is plotted as a function of the parameter U=WP*, in which W is the vapor optical path in precipitable centimeters and P* an effective pressure. This effective pressure is the sum of the total pressure and the water vapor partial pressure multiplied by a variable self-broadening factor. For meteorological purposes the self-broadening may be omitted. The set of transmission functions in turn yields a generalized absorption coefficient for the region.