cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential absorption radar at 170 and 560 GHz for humidity remote sensing

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed a 170 GHz airborne radar for cloud and humidity remote sensing. Called VIPR (Vapor Inside-cloud Profiling Radar), the system uses differential absorption at closely spaced frequencies near the 183 GHz water vapor resonance to obtain range-profiling measurements of absolute humidity inside clouds, and partial-water- column measurements in clear skies. VIPR transmits around 300 mW over 167-174.8 GHz, has a system noise figure of 8 dB, and uses a 60-cm diameter aperture. The radar has been deployed both on the ground pointing toward zenith, and from an aircraft with nadir pointing. Based on architectures originally developed for submillimeter-wave security imaging, VIPR uses ultra-high-isolation transmit/receive duplexing with a single primary antenna. This approach achieves thermal noise limited sensitivity even while using frequency-modulated continuous-wave ranging methods, and even when the radar is mounted in an aircraft with its beam emerging from an open-air viewport. Here we present a validation measurement of VIPR’s ability to sense humidity in clear skies using ground reflection magnitudes at different altitudes and frequencies. These results have also motivated a new investigation of using a higher-frequency 557 GHz differential absorption radar for water vapor sensing in the low pressure, cold, and dry conditions on Mars. We have developed a 552-558 GHz RF source with several mW of output power that could be used for making local humidity measurements on Mars out to several kilometer ranges.
Sphaerostilbellins, New Antimicrobial Aminolipopeptide Peptaibiotics from Sphaerostilbella toxica.

Sphaerostilbella toxica is a mycoparasitic fungus that can be found parasitizing wood-decay basidiomycetes in the southern USA. Organic solvent extracts of fermented strains of S. toxica exhibited potent antimicrobial activity, including potent growth inhibition of human pathogenic yeasts Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans, the respiratory pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, and the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Bioassay-guided separations led to the purification and structure elucidation of new peptaibiotics designated as sphaerostilbellins A and B. Their structures were established mainly by analysis of NMR and HRMS data, verification of amino acid composition by Marfey’s method, and by comparison with published data of known compounds. They incorporate intriguing structural features, including an N-terminal 2-methyl-3-oxo-tetradecanoyl (MOTDA) residue and a C-terminal putrescine residue. The minimal inhibitory concentrations for sphaerostilbellins A and B were measured as 2 μM each for C. neoformans, 1 μM each for A. fumigatus, and 4 and 2 μM, respectively, for C. albicans. Murine macrophage cells were unaffected at these concentrations.
Low-Cost Differential Pressure Spirometry for Emergency Ventilator Tidal Volume Sensing

COVID-19 has become a significant burden on the healthcare systems in the United States and around the world, with many patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) to survive. Close monitoring of patients is critical, with total volume per breath (tidal volume) being one of the most important data points. However, ventilators are complex and expensive devices, typically in the range of tens of thousands of US dollars, and are challenging to manufacture, typically requiring months. Solutions which could augment the ventilator supply rapidly and at low cost in the United States and elsewhere would be valuable. In this paper, we present a standalone tidal volume measurement system consisting of a D-Lite spirometer, pressure sensor, microcontroller, and tubing with a cost of parts less than $50 USD. We also provide a model to predict the error in tidal volume measurements based on the pressure sensor used and the flow during ventilation. We validate this system and show that the tidal volume accuracy for flows above 10L/min was within 10%. We envision this system being used to increase the ventilator supply in resource-constrained settings.
Analysis and Calibration of Lombard Effect and Whisper for Speaker Recognition

Variations in vocal effort can create challenges for speaker recognition systems that are optimized for use with neutral speech. The Lombard effect and whisper are two commonly-occurring forms of vocal effort variation that result in non-neutral speech, the first due to noise exposure and the second due to intentional adjustment on the part of the speaker. In this article, a comparative evaluation of speaker recognition performance in non-neutral conditions is presented using multiple Lombard effect and whisper corpora. The detrimental impact of these vocal effort variations on discrimination and calibration performance on global, per-corpus, and per-speaker levels is explored using conventional error metrics, along with visual representations of the model and score spaces. A non-neutral speech detector is subsequently introduced and used to inform score calibration in several ways. Two calibration approaches are proposed and shown to reduce error to the same level as an optimal calibration approach that relies on ground-truth vocal effort information. This article contributes a generalizable methodology towards detecting vocal effort variation and using this knowledge to inform and advance speaker recognition system behavior.
Characteristics and Outcomes of Elderly Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Background We report characteristics and outcomes of elderly patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with basal septal hypertrophy and dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Me...
Tax Equalization in Mutual Funds

By making an annual tax election, open-ended mutual funds can treat redeeming shareholders as if they have been allocated a pro-rata share of taxable gains, when in fact they have not (known as “equalization”). Equalization provides significant benefits to shareholders and funds; however it also leads to additional fund level costs. In this study, we use equalization elections to examine how managers weigh the costs and benefits of tax minimization. Overall, our results suggest both are important in the decision making process. Even though funds and investors both benefit, only ten percent of funds use equalization. Funds in larger fund families and with higher expense ratios, both proxies for the additional infrastructure necessary to calculate equalization dividends, are more likely to use equalization. Equalization is also used when its benefits are highest, such as by funds with greater redemptions and larger unrealized gains.
Abolition of the family: the most infamous feminist proposal:

In the 1970s, what Marx and Engels satirised as the most ‘infamous proposal of the communists’, the abolition of the family, becomes the most scandalous demand of feminists. Ever since then, numero...
Mobile Technology Improves Adherence to Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Propensity Score–Matched Study

Background Despite its established effectiveness, adherence to cardiac rehabilitation remains suboptimal. The purpose of our study is to examine whether mobile technology improves adherence to card...
Calming Troubled Waters for Cruise Ship Owners and Their Passengers: Carlisle v. Carnival Corp.

INTRODUCTION Part I: One duty of care for crew another duty of care for passengers Part II: A century of defenses: the Barbetta line of cases A. The ship's doctor is under the control of the passengers B. The ship is not a floating hospital Part III: Attempts at change: the Nietes and Fairley cases . 167 A. Nietes (1959): The shipowner is vicariously liable B. Fairley (1993): A potential exists for an apparent agency theory of recovery Part IV: A new reading: Carlisle v. Carnival Corp A. The shipowner has control over the doctorpatient relationship B. The doctor is an agent of the cruise line Part V: Smoother Seas Lie Ahead for Cruise Lines and
Normobaric CO2 and hyperbaric O2 stimulate the same neurons in the solitary complex

We recently reported that neurons in the dorsocaudal chemosensitive area, the solitary complex (SC), are stimulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) during acute hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2), suggesting that oxidative stress modulates cardiorespiratory networks [1,2]. Hyperoxia is known to have various effects on car-diorespiratory function [3,4], and it has been proposed that central hypoventilation syndromes, for example, SIDS, are due in part to increased oxidative stress of neurons after birth [5]. Thus, we have tested the hypothesis that excitability of CO2-chemosensitive neurons in the caudal SC is altered during oxidative stress at normobaric and hyperbaric pressures. Intracellular recordings were made from SC neurons in 300 μm thick medullary slices prepared from weaned and adult rats. Control medium was equilibrated with 95% O2 -5% CO2 at barometric pressure (PB) ~1 atmosphere absolute (ATA) (medium PO2 ~720 Torr, PCO2 ~38 Torr). A slice was maintained in a hyperbaric chamber and exposed to one or more of the following conditions (~37°C): 1)normobaric hypercapnia (8–20 mins 15% CO2 in O2) to test for CO2 chemosensitivity; 2)normocapnic HBO2 (10–20 mins 98.3% O2 -1.65% CO2 at PB 3.3 ATA) and 3)pro-oxidants at PB ~1ATA (8–10 mins 500 μM Chloramine-T or 1 mM N-chlorosuccinimide) to test for the effects of ROS; and 4)hypercapnic HBO2 (10–20 mins 95% O2 -5% CO2 at PB 3.2ATA) to test for the effects of hypercapnic acidosis on sensitivity to HBO2[6,7,9]. During HBO2, tissue PO2 (mean ± S.E.) at the core of the slice (150 μm depth) increased from 291 ± 20 to 1517 ± 15 Torr [6]. Focusing on the caudal SC, 62% (18/29) of the neurons tested were depolarized by normobaric hypercapnia. Of these, 78% (14/18) were stimulated by normocapnic HBO2 and pro-oxidants. When hypercapnia and HBO2 were combined (hypercapnic HBO2), the firing rate response was greater to both stimuli than to the sum of their individual responses. Most neurons (9/11) that were CO2 insensitive were also unresponsive to HBO2 and/or pro-oxidants. We conclude that acute exposure to oxidative stress, either by increased tissue PO2 at hyperbaric pressure or pro-oxidants at normobaric pressure, stimulates CO2-chemosensitive neurons in the SC, suggesting that central chemosensitivity may likewise be affected by oxidative stress. It is unclear, however, if the strong neuronal excitation observed when hypercapnic acidosis and HBO2 are combined is due to increased lipid peroxidation during intracellular acidosis [7,8,9] or to the effect of increased ROS on CO2 chemosensitivity.
The Smart Building

Buildings account for a large fraction of global energy use and have a correspondingly significant impact on the environment. Buildings are also ubiquitous in virtually every aspect of our lives from where we work, live, learn, govern, heal, and worship, to where we play. The application of control and automation to buildings can lead to significant energy savings, improved health and safety of occupants, and enhance life quality. The aim of this chapter is to describe what makes buildings smart, provide examples of common control strategies, and highlight emerging trends and open challenges. Today, the most prevalent use of automation in buildings is in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. This chapter reviews common control and automation methods for HVAC, but also describes how automation is being extended to other building processes. The number of controllable and interconnected systems is increasing in modern buildings and this is creating new opportunities for the application of automation to coordinate and manage operation. However, the chapter draws attention to the fact that the buildings industry is very large, fragmented, and cost-oriented, with significant economic and technical barriers that can, in some cases, impede the adoption and wide-scale deployment of new automation technologies.
Glucose Catabolism in Micrococcus sodonensis

The inability of Micrococcus sodonensis to grow on glucose as the sole source of carbon and energy was investigated. Estimation of pathways of glucose catabolism indicated that both the glycolytic and hexose monophosphate pathways are present in this organism. Comparative studies with Escherichia coli demonstrated that key enzymes for glucose catabolism were present in M. sodonensis in quantities equivalent to those of E. coli. The glucose-6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenases of M. sodonensis were nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) specific, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide specific. Transhydrogenase and reduced NADP oxidase were absent. Growth of the organism in the presence of glucose did not result in a repressed ability to oxidize tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, but these cells did have a decreased capacity for glucose degradation. The addition of substrates rich in growth-promoting substances, e.g., yeast extract, did not provide requisite nutrients for growth on glucose. Studies with (32)P suggest that M. sodonensis is incapable of synthesizing energy-rich phosphate compounds during the catabolism of glucose.
First principles calculation of point defects and mobility degradation in bulk AlSb for radiation detection application

The development of high resolution, room temperature semiconductor radiation detectors requires the introduction of materials with increased carrier mobility-lifetime (μτ) product, while having a band gap in the 1.4-2.2 eV range. AlSb is a promising material for this application. However, systematic improvements in the material quality are necessary to achieve an adequate μτ product. We are using a combination of simulation and experiment to develop a fundamental understanding of the factors which affect detector material quality. First principles calculations are used to study the microscopic mechanisms of mobility degradation from point defects and to calculate the intrinsic limit of mobility from phonon scattering. We use density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the formation energies of native and impurity point defects, to determine their equilibrium concentrations as a function of temperature and charge state. Perturbation theory via the Born approximation is coupled with Boltzmann transport theory to calculate the contribution toward mobility degradation of each type of point defect, using DFT-computed carrier scattering rates. A comparison is made to measured carrier concentrations and mobilities from AlSb crystals grown in our lab. We find our predictions in good quantitative agreement with experiment, allowing optimized annealing conditions to be deduced. A major result is the determination of oxygen impurity as a severe mobility killer, despite the ability of oxygen to compensation dope AlSb and reduce the net carrier concentration. In this case, increased resistivity is not a good indicator of improved material performance, due to the concomitant sharp reduction in μτ.
Actual failure rates: A method of assessing tissue valve reoperation rates

Abstract Background Patients older than age 70 with coronary disease undergoing mitral valve replacement have a limited survival rate, suggesting that few of these patients will require reoperation if they receive a tissue mitral valve. However, traditional actuarial analysis of valve durability censors patients who die before valve failure and doesn't reflect the lower frequency of reoperation in patient subgroups with limited survival rates. Methods Actual or cumulative reoperation rates represent the rates of reoperation in patients without censoring for death and estimate the risk that the valve will fail before the patient dies. The actual rates of valve rereplacement were determined in 255 recipients of tissue mitral valves, categorizing patients by age and presence of coronary artery disease at 8 years after surgery and compared with standard actuarial estimates of valve durability. Results Operative mortality rates were 17.5% for patients with coronary artery disease and 6.0% for those without ( P P = .05) than the other groups. The difference in reoperation rates was not significant if standard actuarial analysis was used. Conclusions Actual reoperation rates are significantly lower in patients older than 70 years with CAD receiving mitral tissue valves than in younger patients or in patients without coronary artery disease. Calculation of actual reoperation rates provides a unique and clinically useful perspective in evaluating data on prosthetic valve reoperation rates. (Am Heart J 1999;138:108-13.)
Chronic exposure to high levels of atrazine alters expression of genes that regulate immune and growth-related functions in developing Xenopus laevis tadpoles

Atrazine is the most commonly detected pesticide in ground and surface waters, with seasonal spikes that often exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's "Recommended Water Quality Criterion" of 350 parts per billion (ppb). Although numerous studies have shown atrazine produces adverse effects on growth, development, immune and endocrine system functions in a wide range of species, few describe gene expression changes concurrent with atrazine-induced changes in phenotype during development. In this report, developing Xenopus laevis tadpoles were chronically exposed to 400 ppb atrazine, an environmentally relevant concentration. Affymetrix microarrays and Taqman qRT-PCR were used to define gene expression changes that underlie atrazine-induced phenotypic alterations. Atrazine significantly reduced survival and growth (weight, length and fat body size) in male and female tadpoles. Microarray analysis showed atrazine altered expression of 44 genes in male tadpoles (18 upregulated, 26 downregulated) and 77 genes in female tadpoles (23 upregulated, 54 downregulated). Classification of the genes into functional groups showed the majority of genes were associated with the following biological functions: growth and metabolism, proteolysis, fibrinogen complex formation and immune regulation. Seven genes associated with immune system function, specifically defense molecules present in the skin (e.g. magainin II, levitide A, preprocarulein, skin granule protein), were significantly downregulated in female tadpoles. These results support the idea that environmental contaminants such as atrazine compromise important gene pathways during frog development that may, ultimately, be relevant to global amphibian decline.
Developmental time, oviposition behavior, and incidental mortality by Coccygomimus disparis (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a parasite of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

Abstract When reared in the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), developmental time of the introduced parasite, Coccygomimus disparis (Viereck), was found to vary according to host stage, age, and sex. Development took longer when oviposition occurred in host prepupae than in pupae. When oviposition occurred in female pupae, development was more rapid in older hosts than young hosts. When oviposition occurred in male pupae, developmental time did not differ with host age. Development proceeded more rapidly in male hosts than female hosts. In addition, male parasites developed more rapidly than female parasites. Drilling times by ovipositing females were similar for host pupae of both sexes, and host feeding did not render hosts unsuitable for development of parasite progeny. Parasitization of drilled hosts was 63% (56% yielded adult parasites and 7% contained dead parasites), and 12% successfully transformed into adult moths. The remaining 25% died, probably due to oviposition trauma or some other consequence of parasite attack. The frequency of this incidental mortality was especially high (41%) in hosts that were visited by parasites for more than 10 min. Total parasite-induced mortality, as adjusted by Abbott′s formula, was 87.7%.
Predicting the Support of Same-Sex Relationship Rights Among Social Work Students

Since the 1980s, the United States has seen several instances of legislative action on the topic of same-sex marriages and civil unions. As some studies explored public reactions to such laws, the perspectives of social workers and social work students have mostly been ignored. In addressing part of this oversight, this paper looks at the approval of same-sex relationship rights among 571 heterosexual social work students enrolled in 12 U.S. colleges. In having an explanatory scope, the article focuses a multivariate analysis of potential antecedents to these policy preferences. Consistent with attribution theory, the strongest associations were located in the belief that sexual orientations are voluntary. In addition, students who were surrounded by homophobic parents and peers, or had little contact with gays or lesbians, were against the expansion of broader gay and lesbian relationship rights. Conversely, individuals who ignored traditional gender roles and authoritarian principles, as well as did not...
A Gravely Ill Patient Faces The Grim Results Of Outliving Her Eligibility For Hospice Benefits

A former home hospice medical director recalls the story of one elderly patient discharged from hospice—and calls for a new approach to better serve those with advanced illnesses.
The effects of stock splits on stock liquidity

This study examines the effects of stock splits on stock liquidity. We find that most liquidity measures increase substantially around the stock split announcement. After the announcement date, split firms’ liquidity declines, but is still above the pre-split level. However, after the ex-date, the liquidity drops below the pre-split level. Thus, the impact of stock splits on stock liquidity appears to be short-lived. We also find that the change in liquidity can significantly explain the announcement effect, but not the ex-date effect. Overall, our results seem to be more consistent with the signaling hypothesis and/or the attention-grabbing hypothesis than with the improved liquidity hypothesis.
Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts in liver transplant recipients: technical analysis and clinical outcome.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to compare the technical success of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in transplanted versus nontransplanted livers and to assess the clinical outcome of TIPS in liver transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A retrospective audit of patients receiving a TIPS was performed in two institutions during 1996–2009. The technical success of the TIPS was compared for transplanted versus nontransplanted livers. Clinical success was defined as graft survival longer than 1 month with improvement in symptoms. The cohort was divided into grafts that survived less than 3 months versus 3 months or more. The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores and portosystemic gradients before and after TIPS creation were evaluated for predictive value for graft survival. The TIPS stent type, MELD scores and portosystemic gradients before and after TIPS creation, and causes of liver disease were evaluated for their predictive value for ascites response after TI...
Holocene landscape change on the Santa Delta, Peru: impact on archaeological site distributions

Archaeological site distributions on the Santa Delta, Peru, are a result of both the initial settlement pattern and subsequent patterns of erosion and deposition. The appearance of the physical landscape during the time of human occupation has been significantly altered by alluvial deposition and erosion and by littoral ptogradation. Subsistence resources (agricultural and maritime) are concentrated in the floodplain and coastal zone, and their spatial distribution has changed in response to physical landscape evolution. Floodplain and deltaic aggradation have increased the amount of arable land from near zero at the time of the maximum shoreline transgression to roughly 11 000 ha at present. The development of a floodplain physically limits the extent of agriculture through time and also has the potential to remove much of the archaeologic record through burial. The rapid progradation of the shoreline makes the relationship between archaeological sites and the shoreline at the time of their occupation di...
Cardiac Metastasis from Carcinoma of the Cervix: Report of Two Cases

Abstract Background. The presence of cardiac metastasis from cervical carcinoma is extremely rare. The diagnosis is made almost exclusively postmortem. There are few cases of premortem diagnosis, and it is believed that when cardiac metastasis are found in vivo, the prognosis is extremely poor. Due to the rarity of this condition it is very difficult to standardize care for these patients. Considering the evidence provided by the cases in this report, it is possible that aggressive therapy may lengthen patients survival and quality of life. Case. We present two cases of cervical carcinoma with metastasis to the heart. Both patients presented with symptomatology of cardiac tamponade. Both patients had invasion of the myocardium from presumed endomyocardial metastasis where the prognosis is even worse. We took an aggressive therapeutic approach to our patients and had excellent results in one. Our report includes the longest survival reported for a patient to date with premortem diagnosis of intramyocardial metastasis from cervical carcinoma. Conclusion. We concluded that the prognosis for cardiac metastasis from cervical carcinoma is extremely poor. The stage of the disease at initial presentation does not predict the future development of cardiac metastasis. Taking an aggressive therapeutic approach, including thoracentesis, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to the heart, survival and quality of life can be improved.
IS THERE A “NATURAL SEQUENCE” IN ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING?

The Bilingual Syntax Measure (Burt, Dulay, and Hernandez 1973) was administered to 73 adult learners of English as a second language in order to investigate accuracy of usage for eight English functors. It was found that there is a highly consistent order of relative difficulty in the use of the functors across different language backgrounds, indicating that learners are experiencing intra-language difficulties. Also, the adult results agreed with those obtained by Dulay and Burt (1973) for 5 to 8 year old children learning English as a second language, indicating that children and adults use common strategies and process linguistic data in fundamentally similar ways.
Asthma and lung structure on computed tomography: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Lung Study.

Background The potential consequences of asthma in childhood and young adulthood on lung structure in older adults have not been studied in a large, population-based cohort. Objective The authors hypothesized that a history of asthma onset in childhood (age 18 years or before) or young adulthood (age 19-45 years) was associated with altered lung structure on computed tomography in later life. Methods The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Lung Study recruited 3965 participants and assessed asthma history by using standardized questionnaires, guideline-based spirometry, and segmental airway dimensions and percentage of low attenuation area (%LAA) on computed tomographic scans. Results Asthma with onset in childhood and young adulthood was associated with large decrements in FEV 1 among participants with a mean age of 66 years (−365 mL and −343 mL, respectively; P P P P Conclusion Asthma with onset in childhood or young adulthood was associated with reduced lung function, narrower airways, and among asthmatic patients who smoked, greater %LAA in later life.
Bench-to-bedside review: Delirium in ICU patients - importance of sleep deprivation

Delirium occurs frequently in critically ill patients and has been associated with both short-term and long-term consequences. Efforts to decrease delirium prevalence have been directed at identifying and modifying its risk factors. One potentially modifiable risk factor is sleep deprivation. Critically ill patients are known to experience poor sleep quality with severe sleep fragmentation and disruption of sleep architecture. Poor sleep while in the intensive care unit is one of the most common complaints of patients who survive critical illness. The relationship between delirium and sleep deprivation remains controversial. However, studies have demonstrated many similarities between the clinical and physiologic profiles of patients with delirium and sleep deprivation. This article aims to review the literature, the clinical and neurobiologic consequences of sleep deprivation, and the potential relationship between sleep deprivation and delirium in intensive care unit patients. Sleep deprivation may prove to be a modifiable risk factor for the development of delirium with important implications for the acute and long-term outcome of critically ill patients.
Case studies in neuro-ophthalmology for the neurologist

In summary, neurologists should be aware of emergent neuro-ophthalmic conditions: (1) temporal arteritis (GCA), (2) IIH, (3) intracranial shunt malfunction, (4) pituitary apoplexy, and (5) pupil-involved TNP. Earlier recognition and treatment of these disorders makes a difference in final out-come. Appropriate evaluation and management may be vision or life saving.
A Network Approach to Wound Healing.

Objective: The wound healing process is well-understood on the cellular and tissue level; however, its complex molecular mechanisms are not yet uncovered in their entirety. Viewing wounds as perturbed molecular networks provides the tools for analyzing and optimizing the healing process. It helps to answer specific questions that lead to better understanding of the complexity of the process. What are the molecular pathways involved in wound healing? How do these pathways interact with each other during the different stages of wound healing? Is it possible to grasp the entire mechanism of regulatory interactions in the healing of a wound? Approach: Networks are structures composed of nodes connected by links. A network describing the state of a cell taking part in the healing process may contain nodes representing genes, proteins, microRNAs, metabolites, and drug molecules. The links connecting nodes represent interactions such as binding, regulation, co-expression, chemical reaction, and others. Both node...
Supernormal conduction in accessory atrioventricular connections

Prospective electrophysiologic evaluation of 74 patients with ventricular preexcitation revealed 4 patients who had supernormal anterograde conduction over an accessory atrioventricular pathway. In each patient, anterograde conduction over the accessory pathway was present at relatively slow sinus rates, but the accessory pathway anterograde effective refractory period was substantially prolonged. During premature atrial stimulation, a "window" of supernormal conduction was identified at which closely coupled atrial extrastimuli conducted over the accessory pathway, whereas longer premature intervals resulted in accessory pathway block. Causes other than supernormal conduction to explain this phenomenon, for example, phase 4 block, were unlikely in each case. Although the mechanism of supernormal conduction in humans is unknown, the electrophysiologic findings in our patients are similar to those reported in patients with supernormal conduction in the His-Purkinje system.
A SLIDING‐CHAMBER PHYTOPLANKTON SETTLING TECHNIQUE FOR MAKING PERMANENT QUANTITATIVE SLIDES WITH APPLICATIONS IN FLUORESCENT MICROSCOPY AND AUTORADIOGRAPHY1

A system has been devised for preparing permanent quantitative phytoplankton slides using sedimentation techniques. These slides can then be used with a conventional microscope. A three-part settling chamber allows separation of the supernatant from the settled material. Water-soluble mounting medium added to the sample before settling prevents desiccation and distortion of the organisms. The pigment-preserving and mounting-medium qualities of glutaraldehyde combined with this method have applications in plankton counting and autoradiography.
LONG TERM STABILITY OF RAT SLEEP QUANTIFIED BY MICROCOMPUTER ANALYSIS

Abstract An inexpensive microcomputer system is described for the direct recording of electrographic data from animals. Using this system, electrographic data can be recorded continuously on a polygraph and simultaneously quantitated by the computer, for days or weeks. Our system quantifies the amounts of delta waves. spindle bursts, hippocampal RSA activity and movement spikes for 15 sec epochs. These electrographic data are stored by the computer and subsequently can be used to score sleep stages. We find that the computer reliably counts waves; using these data, it can then score sleep stages off-line with about 90% accuracy. With this system, we find that the minutes/hour of both SWS and REM are remarkably stable from day to day. The absolute number of delta waves, spindle bursts, trains of RSA and movement counts/hour also remain stable from day to day. This type of system should find significant application in situations where quantitation of long-term effects of drugs, diets and other environmental inputs on sleep states or EEG wave bands are of interest.
Extrasolar planets: a whiff of methane.

Investigations of planets outside our Solar System are becoming ever more sophisticated. The latest development is the discovery of a carbon-containing molecule in the atmosphere of one such extrasolar body.
The Binding of Fibronectin to Entactin Is Mediated Through the 29 kDa Amino Terminal Fragment of Fibronectin and the G2 Domain of Entactin

Previous work has shown that fibronectin and entactin, an ubiquitous basement membrane glycoprotein, co-localize in the extracellular matrix of the embryonal carcinoma-derived 4CQ cell. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins containing different domains of entactin have been obtained in the pGEX3X expression vector. These fusion proteins, GST-G1, GST-G2, GST-E and GST-G3, were purified with a glutathione affinity column. By using a solid phase binding assay, it was shown that the 125I-labeled 29 kDa amino terminal fragment of bovine fibronectin bound specifically to the immobilized GST-G2 fusion protein but not to GST-G1, GST-E, and GST-G3. Half saturation for binding of the 29 kDa fibronectin fragment to the immobilized GST-G2 fusion protein was obtained at a concentration of approximately 5 nM. It is suggested that the strong association between GST-G2, which contains the second globular domain of entactin, and the 29 kDa amino terminal fragment of fibronectin may be involved in the assembly of certain types of extracellular matrices.
Optoelectronic interconnect simulation using a mixed-mode simulator

The complexity of optoelectronic systems is motivating the need for CAD tools which can simulate electronic and photonic device and circuit behaviors simultaneously and at multiple levels of abstraction. We describe such a tool, called AnaVHDL, which is being developed to concurrently simulate the behavior of optoelectronic systems consisting of digital, analog, and optical circuits. The approach is to extend the very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) to describe the behavior of analog circuits and optical components, and to develop a simulation kernel which supports both discrete-event and continuous-mode simulation.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
An electrodynamic ion funnel interface for greater sensitivity and higher throughput with linear ion trap mass spectrometers

Abstract An electrospray ionization interface incorporating an electrodynamic ion funnel has been designed and implemented on a linear ion trap mass spectrometer (Thermo Electron, LTQ). We found ion transmission to be greatly improved by replacing the standard capillary–skimmer interface with the capillary–ion funnel interface. An infusion study using a serial dilution of a reserpine solution showed that ion injection (accumulation) times to fill the ion trap at a given automatic gain control (AGC) target value were reduced by ∼90% which resulted in an ∼10-fold increase in peak intensities. In liquid chromatography tandem MS (LC–MS/MS) experiments performed using a global protein digest sample from the bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis, more peptides and proteins were identified when the ion funnel interface was used in place of the standard interface. This improvement was most pronounced at lower sample concentrations, where extended ion accumulation times are required, resulting in an ∼2-fold increase in the number of protein identifications. Implementation of the ion funnel interface on a LTQ Fourier transform (FT) mass spectrometer showed a ∼25–50% reduction in spectrum acquisition time. The duty cycle improvement in this case was due to the ion accumulation event contributing a larger portion to the total spectrum acquisition time.
Generalized dressed-atom approach to atom-strong-field interactions-application to the theory of lasers and Bloch-Siegert shifts

A generalized dressed-atom approach (GDAA) is developed to study the interaction of two or more strong fields with atomic and molecular systems. In the GDAA, part of the atom-field interaction is incorporated into the free-atom, free-field Hamiltonian and this expanded Hamiltonian is said to characterize a "dressed atom." The remaining atom-field interaction may then be thought to constitute a probe field interaction for this dressed atom. Provided that the dressed atom constitutes a reasonably good approximation to the true interaction, the GDAA should offer a relatively simple means for semiquantitatively predicting the positions of absorption resonances in quite complex atom-field systems. The GDAA is applied to the theory of a high-intensity, single-mode, standing-wave gas laser, the theory of Bloch-Siegert shifts, and the analysis of Autler-Townes or saturation spectroscopy experiments. The agreement between the GDAA and computer-determined values for laser resonance positions and Bloch-Siegert shifts is found to be surprisingly good over the entire range of applied field strengths. Some methods for using the GDAA to study complex spectroscopic systems are discussed.
A Superfamily of DNA Transposons Targeting Multicopy Small RNA Genes

Target-specific integration of transposable elements for multicopy genes, such as ribosomal RNA and small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes, is of great interest because of the relatively harmless nature, stable inheritance and possible application for targeted gene delivery of target-specific transposable elements. To date, such strict target specificity has been observed only among non-LTR retrotransposons. We here report a new superfamily of sequence-specific DNA transposons, designated Dada. Dada encodes a DDE-type transposase that shows a distant similarity to transposases encoded by eukaryotic MuDR, hAT, P and Kolobok transposons, as well as the prokaryotic IS256 insertion element. Dada generates 6–7 bp target site duplications upon insertion. One family of Dada DNA transposons targets a specific site inside the U6 snRNA genes and are found in various fish species, water flea, oyster and polycheate worm. Other target sequences of the Dada transposons are U1 snRNA genes and different tRNA genes. The targets are well conserved in multicopy genes, indicating that copy number and sequence conservation are the primary constraints on the target choice of Dada transposons. Dada also opens a new frontier for target-specific gene delivery application.
Genre Tag . . . Tag Genre

This paper examines genre-related tags through a social bookmarking system CiteULike. Three types of genre-related tags were identified: “is” tag indicating a genre,“for” tag for creating another genre, and “about” tag dealing with a genretopic. An analysis of the frequency and functions of genre-related tags will enable us better understand tagging as well as genre.
Chemistry of ketene acetals VI. The influence of the dicyanoethene moiety on the reactivity and selectivity of β,β‐dicyano‐α,β‐unsaturated ketones in cycloadditions with ketene acetals

The (2 + 2) versus (4 + 2) cycloadditions of two ketene acetals R1R2C=C(OMe)2 (R1 = R2 =OMe, 1a; R1 = H, R2 = Me, 1b) with several β, β-dicyano-α, β-unsaturated ketones R3CO-R4C=C(CN)2 (2a-e, Table I) have been investigated. Cyclobutanes 3 were only obtained at room temperature in the cycloaddition of 2a (R3 = R4 = Ph) with 1b and 2d (R3, R4 = naphthyl) with 1a or 1b. In the latter case, an oxetane was obtained when ZnCl2 was used as a catalyst. The thermodynamically more stable (4 + 2) cycloadducts were obtained at higher temperatures, except from 2e, in which the carbonyl group is part of an amide function. A high regiospecificity has been found in these cycloadditions. The influence of the dicyanoethene moiety on the cycloadditions is discussed and compared to analogous cycloadditions of 1a and 1b with α,β-unsaturated ketones and α-diketones.
Reversion of trpA nonsense mutations by deletion of the chain-termination codons

Abstract This paper describes a novel mechanism for reversion of nonsense mutations in the trpA gene of Escherichia coli. This mechanism, deletion of the nonsense codon, was discovered in the course of selecting for missense revertants of trpA(UGA211) and for catalytically active tryptophan syntherase alpha chain revertants of trpA(UAA234) and trpA(UAG234). Each type of revertant trpA was cloned and its DNA sequence determined. trpA(UGA211) gave rise to two previously unidentified types of missense revertant. The first type was expected, namely trpA(CGA211), the result of a base substitution event. The other type, representing approximately 1% of the missense revertants, was unexpected on the basis of single base substitutions and an understanding of which amino acids are functional at alpha chain position 211. It was found to be the result of a 21 base-pair deletion of a region containing codon 211. The tryptophan-independent revertants of both position 234 nonsense mutants occurred at a frequency of approximately 2 per 109 viable cells. They were identical in that they both resulted from a 3 base-pair deletion, namely deletion of the chain-terminating codon at position 234. One of them, however, also displayed an A instead of the normal G in the third position of codon 235. The revertants were characterized according to growth in different media and tryptophan synthetase assays performed on crude extracts. These types of mutants should prove interesting and important for the elucidation of alpha chain structure-function relationships, for insight into the assembly and interaction of subunits in this model multienzyme complex, and for the study of mechanisms by which deletions can be generated.
A numerical study of shock wave diffraction by a circular cylinder

The nonstationary shock wave diffraction patterns generated by a blast wave impinging on a circular cylinder are numerically simulated using a second-order hybrid upwind method for solving the two-dimensional inviscid compressible Euler equations of gasdynamics. The complete diffraction patterns, including the transition from regular to Mach reflection, trajectory of the Mach triple point and the complex shock-on-shock interaction at the wake region resulting from the Mach shocks collision behind the cylinder are reported in detail. Pressure-time history and various contour plots are also included. Comparison between the work of Bryson and Gross (1961) which included both experimental schlieren pictures and theoretical calculations using Whitham's ray-shock theory and results of the present finite difference computation indicate good agreement in every aspect except for some nonideal gas and viscous effects which are not accounted for by the Euler equations.
Long-term follow-up for salvage laparoscopic pyeloplasty after failed open pyeloplasty.

Objectives To report our long-term experience with salvage laparoscopic pyeloplasty after a failed open procedure. Laparoscopic repair of a primary ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is associated with very high long-term success. However, there are limited data on patients who have failed previous open pyeloplasty. We have determined that salvage laparoscopic pyeloplasty is an excellent option for these patients. Methods We queried our laparoscopic pyeloplasty database of 367 patients from July 1994 to May 2007 for patients who had undergone prior open pyeloplasty. We analyzed demographic data, perioperative course, complications, and follow-up studies on identified subjects. We assessed clinical status by verbal pain scale and diagnostic studies. Radiologic follow-up consisted of diuretic renal scan, intravenous pyelography, or both. Results We identified 9 patients (2.5%) who underwent salvage laparoscopic pyeloplasty for persistent obstruction after open pyeloplasty. The mean age of our cohort was 30.5 years (range, 19-50 years). Mean operative time was 204 minutes (range, 80-264 minutes), estimated blood loss was 105 mL (range, 20-300 mL), and mean length of stay was 2.1 days (range, 2-3 days). No intraoperative or postoperative complications were reported. All patients reported relief of symptoms in the immediate postoperative period. At a median follow-up of 66 months (range, 12-119 months), 8 of 9 patients (89%) had clinical and radiologic resolution of UPJO with stable renal function, pain free status, and a patent ureteropelvic junction. The remaining patient failed laparoscopic repair within the first year with evidence of persistent obstruction, necessitating endopyelotomy. Conclusions Our findings support the use of salvage laparoscopic pyeloplasty as an excellent option for patients who failed previous open pyeloplasty. This approach provides durable long-term outcomes.
Continuous versus periodic observations in behaviour studies with swine raised in confinement

Abstract A group of 9 hogs in confinement was observed continuously for different activity patterns for 12-hour periods on 5 different days during the summer. Data were analysed for different observation intervals up to 120 minutes and compared with the activity pattern recorded continuously. Depending upon the activity pattern or patterns of interest, observation intervals up to 60 minutes proved adequate. Activities consuming relatively small periods of time required a shorter observation interval. Significant differences among individual animal activity patterns were noted over the five 12-hour periods, emphasizing the shortcomings of observing only one animal per group.
Temporal patterns of Δ4 C-21 steroids in coexisting, genetically dissimilar twin lamb fetuses throughout late gestation

We have examined the relationships among fetal maturity, adrenal steroidogenesis, and initiation of parturition using embryo transfer procedures. Ovine embryos, genetically coded for relatively short [145.5 ± 1.4 days; Finnish Landrace (Finn)] and long [150.7 ± 1.3 days; Rambouillet (Ra)] gestational periods, were transferred to a common recipient, thereby facilitating comparative endocrine studies in genetically dissimilar fetuses with a common intrauterine environment. Maternal and fetal plasma samples were obtained daily from chronic fetal lamb preparations in six mixed breed (MB), three Finn, and three Ra single breed (SB) pregnancies during the last trimester and assayed for cortisol, desoxycortisol, and progesterone by RIA. Mean ± sem gestational lengths of the forenamed pregnancies were 141.5 ± 0.7, 141.7 ± 0.7, and 149.3 ± 0.9 days, respectively. Time-trend analysis of C-21 steroid data showed an increase in Finn and Ra SB fetal plasma cortisol of 1.0 ng/ml·day at 9.03 ±1.0 and 9.58 ±1.10 days pre...