cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An oral sulfonylurea in the treatment of transient neonatal diabetes mellitus

Abstract Background: Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is rare, with a prevalence of ∼1 in 500,000 infants worldwide. NDM may be caused by several different genetic abnormalities, and might either be transient (TNDM) or permanent. Until recently, clinical management of most permanent types of NDM required lifelong subcutaneous insulin treatment. However, due to activating mutations in the genes that encode the adenosine triphosphate—sensitive K+ channel, some permanent types of NDM have been found to be amenable to oral sulfonylurea therapy. TNDM can last for a median of 12 weeks and completely resolve by 18 months. Although TNDM is typically treated with subcutaneous insulin, this mode of therapy might be difficult for some caregivers. Case summary: A small for gestational age male infant born at term developed NDM on day of life (DOL) 3. No other factors, such as sepsis, infection, or dextrose-containing intravenous fluids, that could have accounted for the hyperglycemia were present. In addition, there was no family history of DM or hyper-glycemic disorders. The patient was initially treated with subcutaneous regular insulin (0.25 U at a concentration of 10 U/L) q4h PRN for blood glucose concentrations >200 mg/dL. However, due to persistent blood glucose concentration fluctuations, a continuous insulin infusion (0.05 U/kg/h) was started on DOL 7. Because subcutaneous insulin injections could not be administered by the parents outside of the hospital, oral sulfonylurea therapy was attempted. A glyburide oral suspension, prepared by dissolving half of a 1.25-mg tablet in 1 mL of preservative-free, sterile water, was started at 0.2 mg/kg/d in 2 divided doses. The suspension was prepared immediately prior to each dose and was administered via syringe during feedings. On DOL 21, the patient's NDM was managed solely with an oral sulfonylurea, target blood glucose concentrations of 150 to 250 mg/dL were achieved with glyburide 0.7 mg/kg/d in 2 divided doses, and insulin administration was no longer required. On DOL 25, the glyburide dosage was decreased to 0.5 mg/kg/d in 2 divided doses. On DOL 27, the patient was discharged on the same dosage. The patient's NDM subsequently resolved by DOL 49. Conclusion: An oral sulfonylurea was a useful treatment option in the management of TNDM in this patient.
Critical angle scattering by a bubble: physical-optics approximation and observations

The intensity of light scattered by an air bubble in water is predicted by the geometric-optics calculation of Davis (1955) to have a divergent angular derivative as the critical scattering angle ϕc is approached. Effects of diffraction in the angular region near ϕc are described here. The Fraunhofer diffraction for scattering angles ϕ≤ϕc is estimated using a simplified physical-optics approximation. A ringing and decay of the far-field intensity is predicted that is formally similar to the near-field diffraction of a straight edge. Observation of millimeter radius bubbles in water with collimated monochromatic illumination confirm the existence of this ringing which has a quasi period ≃ 25 mrad. The diffraction calculation gives an approximate description of the relative ϕ of the observed maxima and minima. Fringes with a lower contrast and spacing ≃ 0.3 mrad were also observed; they appear to be caused by the interference of rays with distinct paths. Implications for the critical angle scattering of white light are discussed.
Cell Position During Larval Development Affects Postdiapause Development in Megachile rotundata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Megachile rotundata (F.) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is the primary pollinator of alfalfa in the northwestern United States and western Canada and provides pollination services for onion, carrot, hybrid canola, various legumes, and other specialty crops. M. rotundata females are gregarious, nest in cavities either naturally occurring or in artificial nesting blocks, where they construct a linear series of brood cells. Because of the physical layout of the nest, the age of the larvae within the nest and the microenvironment the individual larvae experience will vary. These interacting factors along with other maternal inputs affect the resulting phenotypes of the nest mates. To further our understanding of in-nest physiology, gender and developmental rates were examined in relationship to cell position within the nest. Eighty-two percent of the females were located within the first three cells, those furthest from the nest entrance. For those individuals developing in cells located in the deepest half of the nest, the sex of the previous bee had a significant effect on the female decision of the gender of the following nest mate. Removing the prepupae from the nest and rearing them under identical conditions demonstrated that position within the nest during larval development had a significant effect on the postdiapause developmental rates, with males whose larval development occurred deeper in the nest developing more slowly than those toward the entrance. No positional effect on postdiapause developmental rates was noted for the females. The cell position effect on male postdiapause developmental rate demonstrates that postdiapause development is not a rigid physiological mechanism uniform in all individuals, but is a dynamic plastic process shaped by past environmental conditions.
Electrochemically generated Ru(bpy)33+-based chemiluminescence detection in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In situ generated Ru(bpy)(3)(3+)-based chemiluminescence (CL) detection will be shown to be compatible with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) providing significant advantages over other Ru(3+) generation protocols. The CL reagent, Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) is continuously added post-capillary to avoid precipitating the anionic surfactant used to enhance the separation of neutral analytes. Ru(bpy)(3)(3+) is then electrochemically generated in situ at the interface between the separation capillary and the working electrode, where it can react with specific analytes, for example amines and amino acids to produce chemiluminescent emission. With this scheme, the critical micelle concentration is not exceeded in the detection zone, freeing the analyte to react with the Ru(bpy)(3)(3+) CL reagent. The separation and detection of various underivatized amines will be demonstrated using this methodology. For triethylamine, 70 000 plates per meter are demonstrated with MEKC providing a limit of detection (S/N=2) of 1.5 fmol of injected mass. The experimental approach used to improve the limit of detection while maintaining high separation efficiency will be evaluated and discussed.
Plasminogen activators in human breast cancer cell lines: hormonal regulation and properties.

Abstract To understand the hormonal regulation of plasminogen activators (PAs) in human breast cancer, we have examined the hormonal regulation and properties of PAs in four human breast cancer cell lines that differ markedly in their estrogen receptor (ER) content: MCF-7 cells contain high levels of ER (approx 7 pmol/mg DNA) and their PA activity was increased 3–4-fold by physiological concentrations of estradiol; T47-D and ZR-75-1 cells contain lower levels of ER (0.9 and 2.1 pmol/mg DNA respectively) and their PA activity was also increased 3–4-fold by estradiol. In contrast, MDA-MB-231 cells, which do not contain ER, showed a high level of PA activity that was not modulated by estradiol. SDS-PAGE followed by zymography indicated that MCF-7 cells secreted tissue-type PA (t-PA), T47-D and ZR-75-1 cells secreted urokinase-type PA (u-PA), and MDA-MB-231 cells secreted both types of PAs. The types of PAs secreted by these cell lines did not change upon treatment with estradiol. Dose-response curves for the stimulation of MCF-7 PA activity by different estrogens showed an excellent correlation between affinities of the estrogens for ER and their potency in stimulating PA activity. With a clonal subline of MCF-7 cells, MCF-L, a soluble inhibitor of both t-PA and u-PA was secreted. Incubation of purified t-PA or u-PA with the serum-free conditioned medium from MCF-L cells resulted in a shift in the mobility of t-PA and u-PA in SDS-polyacrylamide gels to forms increased in molecular mass by about 50,000–70,000. The shifts in molecular mass could be prevented by the presence of the competitive inhibitor p-aminobenzamidine, indicating that the active sites of the PAs were involved in the formation of these complexes. Furthermore, co-cultivation, of RT4-D rat neuroblastoma cells, which exhibit high levels of t-PA activity, with MCF-L cells resulted in a marked decrease in the PA activity of the RT4-D cells. Our results were consistent with the following conclusions: t-PA, u-PA or both were secreted by human breast cancer cells. In the ER-containing cell lines, depending upon the specific cell line, t-PA or u-PA was stimulated by estrogens. The unstimulated levels of PA activity and the magnitude of PA stimulation by estrogens were not closely related to ER content. However, the correlation between stimulation of PA activity by estrogen and the presence of ER in human breast cancer cells suggests that stimulation of PA activity may be a good marker for estrogenic activity, reflecting a functional receptor system capable of mediating estrogen action, and that an assay for stimulation of PA activity would better measure hormone responsiveness and be more predictive of the benefit of endocrine therapy than would be an assay of absolute levels of PA activity.
Epidemiology of mycoses in the HIV-infected patient: clinical aspects.

Among the major problems confronting patients with AIDS are opportunistic fungal infections. Primary infections include candidiasis, cryptococcosis, the major endemic mycoses, and aspergillosis. The endemic mycoses of AIDS consist of Histoplasma found mostly in the U.S. and Latin America, Coccidioides in parts of Latin America and the southwest U.S., Penicillium marneffei in Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia, and Blastomyces worldwide. The latter, however, has so far been rare in AIDS. The major endemic mycoses tend to target patients very late in AIDS, with CD4 counts commonly below 100. Diagnosis is usually made by characteristic morphology of the fungal elements as seen at microscopy, and the pathogens are readily cultured from infected tissues, and in the case of Histoplasma, from blood.
The influence of peak shock stress on the high pressure phase transformation in zirconium

At high pressures zirconium is known to undergo a phase transformation from the hexagonal close packed (HCP) alpha phase to the simple hexagonal omega phase. Under conditions of shock loading, the high-pressure omega phase is retained upon release. However, the hysteresis in this transformation is not well represented by equilibrium phase diagrams and currently models that accurately represent such a solid-solid phase transformation coupled with the multi-phase plasticity likely under shock conditions do not exist. For this reason, the influence of peak shock stress on the retention of omega phase in Zr is explored in this study. In-situ VISAR measurements along with post-mortem metallographic and neutron diffraction characterization of soft recovered specimens have been utilized to quantify the volume fraction of retained omega phase, morphology of the shocked alpha and omega phases, and qualitatively understand the kinetics of this transformation. This understanding of the role of peak shock stress will be utilized to address physics to be encoded in our present macro-scale models.
Photochemical growth of GaN and AlN on sapphire (0001) and GaAs(100)

Abstract Stoichiometric gallium nitride and aluminium nitride films have been grown on various substrates at temperatures between 600 and 700 °C by photochemical vapor deposition where the optical source is an excimer laser or a xenon lamp. For GaN, growth rates exceeding 2 μm h −1 have been realized with a feedstock gas stream comprising Ga(CH 3 ) 3 , NH 3 and argon and an ArF laser beam passing about 1 mm above the substrate (parallel geometry). Negligible growth of GaN is observed at 600 °C in the absence of the UV radiation, whereas a 75 W xenon lamp accelerates the film growth rate at 650 °C by 50%. X-ray diffraction shows the films to be fine-grained polycrystalline (wurtzite structure) and preferentially oriented (0001) for GaN grown on basal plane (0001) sapphire and (10 1 0) when the substrate is GaAs(100).
Virus particle maturation: insights into elegantly programmed nanomachines.

Similar modes of virus maturation have been observed in dsDNA bacteriophages and the structurally related herpes viruses and some type of maturation occur in most animal viruses. Recently a variety of biophysical studies of maturation intermediates of bacteriophages P22, λ, and HK97 have suggested an energy landscape that drives the transitions and structure-based mechanisms for its formation. Near-atomic resolution models of subunit tertiary structures in an early intermediate of bacteriophage HK97 maturation revealed a remarkable distortion of the secondary structures when compared to the mature particle. Scaffolding proteins may induce the distortion that is maintained by quaternary structure interactions following scaffold release, making the intermediate particle metastable.
Chemokine receptor deficiency is associated with increased chemokine expression in the peripheral and central nervous systems and increased resistance to herpetic encephalitis.

Abstract Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection of the eye leads to the retrograde spread of the virus from the eye to the trigeminal ganglion resulting in the infiltration of leukocytes and production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including CXCL9 and CXCL10. The present study investigated the role of the receptor for CXCL9 and CXCL10 in the host response to HSV-1 infection using mice deficient in CXCR3 expression (CXCR3−/−). Although wild type C57BL/6 and CXCR3−/− mice cleared the virus, HSV-1 titers remained elevated in the ganglion and brain stem of CXCR3−/− mice day 7 post infection. Coinciding with the increase in virus titer, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10 and IFN-γ protein levels were enhanced in the trigeminal ganglion and/or brain stem of the CXCR3−/− mice associated with a 2-fold increase in the percentage of CD3 + CD8 + T lymphocytes in the trigeminal ganglion. However, the survival rate of CXCR3−/− mice was significantly enhanced above the wild type controls associated with an increase in brain IL-6 content. Collectively, the results indicate the absence of CXCR3 is associated with a transient increase in virus burden in the nervous system and an elevated protective immune response.
Elections with limited information: A fulfilled expectations model using contemporaneous poll and endorsement data as information sources

A one-dimensional model of two candidate elections under asymmetric information is theoretically developed and experimentally tested. Candidates do not know voter utility functions, and most voters are uninformed about candidate policy positions. A fulfilled expectations equilibrium is defined, using poll and endorsement data as information sources. It is proved that with any positive fraction of informed voters, any equilibrium extracts all available information: all participants—voters and candidates alike—act as if they were fully informed. For fixed candidate strategies, a dynamic is given for convergence to voter equilibrium, and this process is shown to imply a “bandwagon effect.”
Design and Calibration of a Local Heat-Flux Measurement System for Unsteady Flows

A local heat-flux measurement system was built, calibrated, and testedfor use in unsteady flows. The system was designed to maintainconstant-wall-temperature boundary conditions. The measuring element is athin-film heat flux gage made by sputter-coating gold onto a substrate.A constant-temperature anemometer is used to maintain the thin-film gage at aspecified temperature under fluctuating conditions. A separate temperaturecontrol system maintains the surrounding boundary at the gage temperature.The system was calibrated for both steady and unsteady flows using a speciallydesigned calibrator for local heat flux gages. The steady calibration was donewith predominantly convective heat transfer. The unsteady calibration wasachieved by adding oscillating radiant energy to the surface. Consequently,quantitative result can be obtained for both the mean and fluctuating componentsof the heat transfer. The frequency response was good to over 90 H/ital z/.Sample results are presented of the unsteady heat transfer over a circularcylinder caused by natural vortex shedding at 70 to 80 H/ital z/.
The use of the 4 + 5 extensor compartmental vascularized bone graft for the treatment of Kienböck's disease.

Purpose The use of vascularized bone grafts for the treatment of Kienbock's disease may prevent ongoing lunate collapse and provide relief of wrist symptomatology. This study examines our experience with the use of the 4 + 5 extensor compartmental artery (ECA) bone graft for the treatment of Kienbock's disease. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all patients having pedicled vascularized bone grafts for Kienbock's disease between 1991 and 2002. Only those patients who had reconstruction with a 4 + 5 ECA graft were included in the study. Presurgical and postsurgical measurements included range of motion, grip strength, and pain evaluation. Measurements of the radiolunate angle, radioscaphoid angle, Stahl's index, and carpal height ratio were taken from presurgical and final follow-up radiographs. Postsurgical magnetic resonance imaging scans were also examined to verify revascularization of the lunate. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t test. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the effects of lunate revascularization on radiographic progression of disease. Twenty-six 4 + 5 ECA vascularized bone grafts were performed as treatment for Kienbock's disease. The average patient age was 32 years. At the time of surgery 12 patients were graded as stage II, 10 as IIIA, and 4 as IIIB. Mean follow-up time was 31 months. Results At a mean follow-up of 3 months, motion improved from 68% to 71% of the unaffected side, grip strength improved from 50% to 89% of the unaffected side, and 92% of patients had significant improvement in their pain. Satisfactory results were seen in 85% of patients based on the Lichtman outcome score. Seventy-seven percent of patients showed no further collapse on postsurgical radiographs. Sixty-five percent of patients had follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans at a mean of 20 months after surgery. Seventy-one percent of patients showed evidence of revascularization with improvement in the T2 and/or T1 signal. Conclusions The 4 + 5 ECA bone graft provides a reliable alternative for the treatment of Kienbock's disease and may aid in lunate revascularization.
Getting to the heart of proteomics.

Proteomic analysis of heart tissue in animal models of myocardial infarction shows that phosphorylation of an aldehyde dehydrogenase protects against ischemic insults.
Characterization of a Centrifugal Pump in He II

As part of an effort to determine the feasibility of helium transfer in space a centrifugal pump was tested in He II at a variety of flow rates, pump speeds and fluid temperatures. The pump which has a straight bladed impeller 6.86 cm in diameter generated a maximum pressure rise of 15 kPa and a maximum flow rate of 22 g/s for the conditions of the test. Pump performance seems independent of fluid temperature and is good agreement with the values predicted by the manufacturer. Over the range of flow coefficients, measured maximum efficiency is around 50%. Cavitation is observed in the pump and is thought to be highly dependent on the local heating of the helium in the pump. Preliminary measurements of the noise spectra of the pump suggest a possible mechanism to predict the onset of cavitation.
Optimal Flight Paths Through Microburst Wind Profiles

The problem of safe microburst wind shear encounter during the approach and climb-out flight phases is addressed using flight path optimization. The purpose is to investigate the physical limits of safe penetration and to determine control strategies that take full advantage of those limits. Optimal trajectories for both jet transport and general aviation aircraft were computed for encounters with idealized and actual microburst profiles. The results demonstrate that limits on control system design rather than on the aircraft's physical performance may be the deciding factor in an aircraft's capability for safe passage through a wide class of microbursts. The best control strategies involved responding to airspeed loss in an unconventional manner by raising the nose to maintain lift.
The multiple Coulomb scattering of very heavy charged particles.

An experiment was performed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory BEVALAC to measure the multiple Coulomb scattering of 650-MeV/A uranium nuclei in 0.19 radiation lengths of a Cu target. Differential distributions in the projected multiple scattering angle were measured in the vertical and horizontal planes using silicon position-sensitive detectors to determine particle trajectories before and after target scattering. The results were compared with the multiple Coulomb scattering theories of Fermi and Moliere, and with a modification of the Fermi theory, using a Monte Carlo simulation. These theories were in excellent agreement with experiment at the 2 sigma level. The best quantitative agreement is obtained with the Gaussian distribution predicted by the modified Fermi theory.
The Role of Chronic Disease, Obesity, and Improved Treatment and Detection in Accounting for the Rise in Healthcare Spending Between 1987 and 2011.

To curb rising healthcare expenditures in the USA, the factors underlying this growth must be well understood. We aim to explore how chronic disease prevalence, obesity, and improved disease detection and treatment rates contributed to the growth in health spending in the USA between 1987 and 2011. We use spending decomposition equations to estimate the portion of spending growth attributable to prevalence increases, rising treatment costs, and population growth, respectively. We use two-part models to estimate the portion of prevalence-related spending that is potentially due to obesity. We examine changing diagnosis and treatment rates to assess how much of the growth in spending might be desirable. We find that the share of total healthcare spending associated with the treatment of chronic disease has risen dramatically from 1987–2011. In particular, we estimate that 77.6 % of healthcare spending growth is attributable to patients with four or more chronic conditions. We find that rising obesity levels may explain between 11.4 and 23.5 % of the increase in healthcare expenditure for several specific chronic conditions. Diagnosis and treatment rates for chronic disease are improving. Individuals with multiple chronic conditions are disproportionately responsible for rising healthcare expenditure. Much of spending growth associated with rising rates of chronic disease can be linked to rising obesity rates. Though much of the growth in spending is generally considered undesirable, disease detection and treatment rates are also rising, suggesting that at least some of the recent growth in healthcare expenditure may be beneficial.
RESONANCE PHENOMENA IN AN ADAPTIVELY-CONTROLLED SYSTEM

This paper considers the problem of maintaining a linear, discrete-time system at a desired state using a model-reference, self-adapting, feedback control scheme. In particular, we focus on the dynamics introduced by the (nonlinear) controller and observe how the behavior of the system changes as the type and magnitude of plant/reference model mismatch vary. The desired fixed point of the system loses local stability via both period-doubling and Hopf bifurcations. Starting from these local instabilities, this paper presents a computer-assisted study of the dynamic behavior of the system, and, in particular, of the resonance structures associated with the Hopf bifurcation. Special emphasis is given to undesired dynamic features, such as multiple attractors and long transients which, because of the subcritical nature of this bifurcation, coexist with a locally stable fixed point.
Automated model construction: a logic based approach

Attempts to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques into Decision Support Systems (DSS) have received much attention in recent years. Significant among these has been the application of knowledge-based techniques to support various phases of the modeling process. This paper describes a logic based approach to mechanically construct Linear Programming (LP) models from qualitative problem specifications and illustrates it in the context of production, distribution and inventory planning problems. Specifically, we describe the features of a first-order logic based formal language called PM which is at the heart of an implemented knowledge-based tool for model construction. Problems specified in PM define a logic model which is then used to generate problem-specific inferences, and as input to a set of logic programming procedures that perform model construction.
The king is dead. Long live the king

Critical accounting has drawn on postmodern philosophy for its critique of accounting's foundations in modernist and Enlightenment thought. But ironically, and despite protestations to the contrary, at the same time that we are rejecting one orthodoxy, we may be replacing it with another. This paper looks critically at the influence of postmodern philosophy, especially that of Foucault, on critical accounting.
Improved method for automated determination of ammonium in soil extracts

Abstract An improved sodium salicylate‐hypochlorite, automated method for ammonium in soil extracting solutions using nitroprusslde as catalyst has been investigated. This method is 2 to 3 times more sensitive than previously published procedures and also is less subject to interferences, has less noise in the signal, and has two alternative ranges. The range with maximum sensitivity is linear to about 2.5 ppm; the second range is linear to 9 ppm. The procedures and instrumentation are simple for both ranges.
Activity budgets and activity rhythms in red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) on the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar: seasonality and reproductive energetics

The activity budgets and daily activity rhythms of Varecia rubra were examined over an annual cycle according to season and reproductive stage. Given the relatively high reproductive costs and patchy food resources of this species, I predicted that V. rubra would 1) travel less and feed more during seasonal resource scarcity in an attempt to maintain energy balance, and 2) show sex differences in activity budgets due to differing reproductive investment. Contrary to the first prediction, V. rubra does not increase feeding time during seasonal food scarcity; rather, females feed for a consistent amount of time in every season, whereas males feed most during the resource-rich, hot dry season. The results are consistent with other predictions: V. rubra travels less in the resource-scarce cold rainy season, and there are some pronounced sex differences, with females feeding more and resting less than males in every season and in every reproductive stage except gestation. However, there are also some provocative similarities between the sexes when activity budgets are examined by reproductive stage. During gestation, female and male activity budgets do not differ and appear geared toward energy accumulation: both sexes feed and rest extensively and travel least during this stage. During lactation, activity budgets are geared toward high energy expenditure: both sexes travel most and in equal measure, and rest least, although it remains the case that females feed more and rest less than males. These similarities between female and male activity budgets appear related to cooperative infant care. The high energetic costs of reproduction in V. rubra females may require that they allot more time to feeding year round, and that their overall activity budget be more directly responsive to seasonal climate change, seasonal food distribution, and reproductive schedules.
Benefits of Asthma Education Programs

To the Editor. The article by Kelly et al1 that appeared in the May 2000 issue of Pediatrics demonstrates that a comprehensive program for asthmatic children with Medicaid insurance can reduce health care utilization and save costs. The study was a controlled clinical trial that alternately assigned children with a history of frequent use of emergent health care services for asthma to either usual care or to an intervention using an asthma self-management education program coupled with clinical care that conformed to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute clinical practice guidelines for asthma management. As opposed …
The Humanities and the Recovery of the Real World

This article identifies a common intellectual project of the disciplines that constitute the Humanities. It does not define the humanities but characterizes some of the main features of the distinctive and essential kind of learning uniquely attainable by their study. The humanities enable us to attain an understanding of normativity in the broadest sense; humanistic study leads to a textured, penetrating comprehension of diverse valuative matters and concerns. Moreover, study in the humanities enables us to recognize and appreciate valuative realism . This is the view that valuative matters are appropriate objects of comprehension and that values are not simply projected in an expressivist or subjectivist manner. Valuative realism does not depend upon, and should not be assimilated into, knowledge that emulates the methods of the sciences. Humane studies develop a genuine understanding of diverse kinds of significance and educate people in the concepts and discourse to articulate it.
Echocardiographic features of cardiac amyloidosis presenting as endomyocardial disease in a 54-year-old male

Although primary cardiac amyloidosis is a rare affliction of the heart, its clinical and pathology features have been well described. Patients generally present with exertional dyspnea, chest discomfort, or congestive heart failure. Cardiac imaging typically reveals ventricular wall thickening, systolic and diastolic dysfunction, valvular thickening, and pericardial effusion. In the case reported herein, a patient with suspected cardiac amyloid demonstrated electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings that were not only inconsistent with typical depositional patterns, but also potentially suggestive of endomyocardial disease.
Phosphate uptake by kidney epithelial (LLC-PK1) cells

Phosphate uptake by the cultured kidney epithelial cell (LLC-PK1) was studied. The uptake was Na+ dependent, saturable with respect to phosphate and Na+, and energy dependent. The characteristics of the cell uptake system resembled the properties of phosphate transport in the kidney. Parathyroid hormone, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, and forskolin decreased Na+-dependent phosphate uptake. These agonists did not affect Na+-dependent alpha-methylglucoside uptake. Vasopressin and isoproterenol, which do not affect renal phosphate transport, did not inhibit phosphate uptake by the cell. These findings suggest that the cultured cell system may be a useful experimental model for studies of renal phosphate transport and its regulation.
Soyhulls as a replacement for forage fiber in diets for lactating dairy cows

Thirty Holstein cows in early and midlactation were fed one of five TMR for 12 wk in which soyhulls replaced 25 or 42% of the forage (alfalfa:corn silages, 1:1, wt/wt, dry basis). Within each amount of soyhull replacement, 33% of the silage was replaced with coarsely chopped alfalfa hay. All diets were isocaloric compared with the control diet, which contained 60% silage and no soyhulls. The high amounts of soyhulls fed with coarsely chopped hay improved DMI, and NDF intake and milk yield by 14, 33, and 9%, respectively, compared with the control diet. Addition of soyhulls at low or high amounts reduced milk fat yield and increased milk protein yield, but addition of hay to the high soyhull diet maintained milk fat yield similar to the control diet. The high soyhull diets increased DM digestibility by 7% compared with the control diet. Rumination time and acetate to propionate ratios were reduced by 43 and 24%, respectively, when high amounts of soyhulls were fed compared with the control diet. Soyhulls can successfully replace 42% of dietary forage when fed in combination with coarsely chopped hay in place of 33% of the dietary silage.
Group vs individual information processing: The effects of outcome feedback on decision making.

Abstract Recent theories of individual decision making have emphasized the role of environmental feedback on decision performance and confidence. However, in relation to group decision making, feedback has received only minor attention. This study compared individual and group decision performance and confidence on a multicue personnel decision task under three different feedback conditions. Individuals and five-person groups decided whether to promote 48 different job candidates, and rated how confident they were in each of their decisions. Feedback as to the correctness of their decisions was provided after (a) every decision (Total Feedback), (b) only those decisions to promote the candidate (Partial Feedback), or (c) after none of the decisions (No Feedback). Results indicated that groups performed best under total feedback, while individuals performed best under partial feedback. In addition, greater amounts of feedback reduced individuals' confidence but had little effect on group member confidence. Implications for both current theory in decision making and group vs individual information processing are discussed.
Iterated Exponentiation, Matrix-Matrix Exponentiation, and Entropy

Abstract On [0, ∞), log(xxxx) is strictly convex. Matrix-matrix exponentiation AB is defined when A is normal and nonsingular. Von Neumann′s quantum-mechanical entropy S(A) of a density-matrix A can be written S(A) = −log[det(AA)]. Using convexity, an obvious generalization of S(A), namely −log[det(AAAA)], is shown to satisfy the same monotonicity inequality as S(A). Matrix-matrix exponentiation is used to generalize several results about iterated exponentiation of scalars.
Inequalities concerning numbers of subsets of a finite set

Abstract Let S(n) denote the set of subsets of an n-element set. For an element x of S(n), let Γx and Px denote, respectively, all (|x| −1)-element subsets of x and all (|x| + 1)-element supersets of x in S(n). Several inequalities involving Γ and P are given. As an application, an algorithm for finding an x-element antichain X ∗ in S(n) satisfying | YX ∗ | ⩽ | YX | for all x-element antichains X in S(n) is developed, where YX is the set of all elements of S(n) contained in an element of X. This extends a result of Kleitman [9] who solved the problem in case x is a binomial coefficient.
Rapid headspace gas chromatography of hexanal as a measure of lipid peroxidation in biological samples

A rapid, sensitive and convenient capillary gas chromatographic-headspace method was developed to determine hexanal as an important volatile decomposition product of hydroperoxides formed from n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in rat liver samples. Total volatiles were also determined as a measure of overall lipid peroxidation. Samples of headspace taken from sealed serum bottles incubated at 37 degrees C were injected into a gas chromatograph. It was possible to make 15 determinations per hour. This method is convenient because no special sample manipulations are necessary. The addition of 0.5 mM ascorbic acid prior to gas chromatographic analysis significantly increased hexanal production. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in studies of the effect of iron in the presence or absence of hydroperoxides of methyl linoleate and methyl linolenate and tert-butyl hydroperoxide on rat liver homogenates, slices and microsomes. A rapid silica cartridge chromatographic procedure was used to purify hydroperoxides from autoxidized methyl linoleate and methyl linolenate, and hydroperoxy epidioxides (cyclic peroxides) from autoxidized methyl linolenate in 20-40 mg quantities. The hydroperoxides and hydroperoxy epidioxides of methyl linolenate were effective inducers of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxidation in liver homogenates. Hexanal and thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances were significantly correlated in liver homogenates and microsomes but not in slices. This specific method for hexanal, a known product of peroxidation of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, can be used as a good measure of lipid peroxidation.
Role of Melanocortin Signaling in Neuroendocrine and Metabolic Actions of Leptin in Male Rats With Uncontrolled Diabetes

Although the antidiabetic effects of leptin require intact neuronal melanocortin signaling in rodents with uncontrolled diabetes (uDM), increased melanocortin signaling is not sufficient to mimic leptin's glucose-lowering effects. The current studies were undertaken to clarify the role of melanocortin signaling in leptin's ability to correct metabolic and neuroendocrine disturbances associated with uDM. To accomplish this, bilateral cannulae were implanted in the lateral ventricle of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes, and leptin was coinfused with varying doses of the melanocortin 3/4 receptor (MC3/4R) antagonist, SHU9119. An additional cohort of streptozotocin-induced diabetes rats received intracerebroventricular administration of either the MC3/4R agonist, melanotan-II, or its vehicle. Consistent with previous findings, leptin's glucose-lowering effects were blocked by intracerebroventricular SHU9119. In contrast, leptin-mediated suppression of hyperglucagonemia involves both melanocortin dependent and independent mechanisms, and the degree of glucagon inhibition was associated with reduced plasma ketone body levels. Increased central nervous system melanocortin signaling alone fails to mimic leptin's ability to correct any of the metabolic or neuroendocrine disturbances associated with uDM. Moreover, the inability of increased melanocortin signaling to lower diabetic hyperglycemia does not appear to be secondary to release of the endogenous MC3/4R inverse agonist, Agouti-related peptide (AgRP), because AgRP knockout mice did not show increased susceptibility to the antidiabetic effects of increased MC3/4R signaling. Overall, these data suggest that 1) AgRP is not a major driver of diabetic hyperglycemia, 2) mechanisms independent of melanocortin signaling contribute to leptin's antidiabetic effects, and 3) melanocortin receptor blockade dissociates leptin's glucose-lowering effect from its action on other features of uDM, including reversal of hyperglucagonemia and ketosis, suggesting that brain control of ketosis, but not blood glucose levels, is glucagon dependent.
Power enactment through language and ritual

Abstract Organization designers give too little attention to how structures emerge through processes of social interaction. They often implicitly presume that what is designed can be implemented through imposition or “organizational development.” Power relationships can emerge, in part, through statements and rituals which effectively create subordination. Rituals and speech events which can enact this relationship may provide supervisors with access to power when other avenues such as expertise and legitimatized social expectations fail. When effectively executed, language based rituals can also help thwart the intentions of system designers and others who seek to implement significant organizational change.
Science modelling in pre-calculus: how to make mathematics problems contextually meaningful

'Use of mathematical representations to model and interpret physical phenomena and solve problems is one of the major teaching objectives in high school math curriculum' (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, NCTM, Reston, VA, 2000). Commonly used pre-calculus textbooks provide a wide range of application problems. However, these problems focus students' attention on evaluating or solving pre-arranged formulas for given values. The role of scientific content is reduced to provide a background for these problems instead of being sources of data gathering for inducing mathematical tools. Students are neither required to construct mathematical models based on the contexts nor are they asked to validate or discuss the limitations of applied formulas. Using these contexts, the instructor may think that he/she is teaching problem solving, where in reality he/she is teaching algorithms of the mathematical operations (G. Kulm (ed.), New directions for mathematics assessment, in Assessing Higher Order Thinking in Mathematics, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1994, pp. 221-240). Without a thorough representation of the physical phenomena and the mathematical modelling processes undertaken, problem solving unintentionally appears as simple algorithmic operations. In this article, we deconstruct the representations of mathematics problems from selected pre-calculus textbooks and explicate their limitations. We argue that the structure and content of those problems limits students' coherent understanding of mathematical modelling, and this could result in weak student problem-solving skills. Simultaneously, we explore the ways to enhance representations of those mathematical problems, which we have characterized as lacking a meaningful physical context and limiting coherent student understanding. In light of our discussion, we recommend an alternative to strengthen the process of teaching mathematical modelling - utilization of computer-based science simulations. Although there are several exceptional computer-based science simulations designed for mathematics classes (see, e.g. Kinetic Book (http://www.kineticbooks.com/) or Gizmos (http://www.explorelearning.com/)), we concentrate mainly on the PhET Interactive Simulations developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder (http://phet.colorado.edu/) in generating our argument that computer simulations more accurately represent the contextual characteristics of scientific phenomena than their textual descriptions.
The tectonic significance of high-K2O volcanism in the Sierra Nevada, California

K 2 O contents have long been recognized as a potential indicator of tectonic processes, and in the Sierra Nevada, California, high-K 2 O volcanism has been attributed to lithosphere root delamination. However, new data from the central Sierra suggest a very different control: K 2 O concentrations can be explained by variations in the degree of partial melting in the mantle, where high-K 2 O volcanics are derived from low-degree partial melts of mantle lithosphere. Field evidence in the central Sierra further suggests that the pulse of high-K 2 O volcanism there was synchronous with the development of a pull-apart structure along a series of right-stepping dextral transtensional faults at the onset of Walker Lane transtensional faulting. In our alternative interpretation, high-K, low-degree partial melts were tapped by the inception of transtensional stresses, recording the birth of a plate boundary. We speculate that high-K 2 O lavas in the southern Sierra are similarly related to the onset of transtensional stresses, not delamination. A regional southward increase in incompatible element contents and decrease in erupted volumes are also consistent with a model for crustal thickness controls on magmatism. Depth-integrated density models show that dry mafic magmas beneath thick crust have insufficient buoyancy to erupt, but low-degree partial melts carry sufficient volatiles to allow eruption; as with K 2 O, degree of partial melting, not source-region heterogeneity, controls water contents and buoyancy.
Closed-form analytical solutions for radially rotating miniature high-temperature heat pipes including non-condensable gas effects

Abstract The radially rotating miniature high-temperature heat pipe is a wickless heat pipe, which has a simple structure and low manufacturing cost, and can withstand strong vibrations in a high-temperature environment. In this paper, the radially rotating miniature high-temperature heat pipe having a diameter in the range of 1.5–2 mm is analyzed by employing appropriate flow and heat transfer models as well as experimental investigation. The diffuse effects of non-condensable gases on temperature distribution along the heat pipe length are investigated. Closed-form analytical solutions for the temperature distribution along the heat pipe length are obtained and extensive experimental tests are undertaken. These closed-form analytical solutions are in good agreement with the experimental data. The theoretical and experimental studies prove that the radially rotating miniature high-temperature heat pipe with sodium as the working fluid has a very large heat transfer capability and a high effective thermal conductance that is 60–100 times higher than the thermal conductivity of copper. Although the diffuse effects of the non-condensable gases would increase temperature drop along the heat pipe length, the heat pipes can still work effectively and reliably. As a result, the combination of the traditional air-cooling technology with radially rotating miniature heat pipes is a feasible and effective cooling means for the rotor blades of a high-temperature gas turbine.
Comparisons of global analyses and station observations of the S2 barometric tide

Abstract The semidiurnal atmospheric pressure oscillation—the S 2 ( p ) tide—is deduced from two global meteorological reanalysis products: the NCEP/NCAR and GEOS-1 products. S 2 is deduced from the NCEP surface pressure product by using a special temporal interpolation devised by Van den Dool et al. The tide is deduced from the GEOS-1 product by directly analyzing six years of 3-h surface pressure fields. Two extensive collections of “ground-truth” stations are used to test the results; these are stations where the tides have been previously estimated from long time series of pressure measurements. Neither reanalysis product gives a completely adequate description of the semidiurnal tide. A new spherical harmonic expansion of S 2 is developed directly from one of the station datasets.
A Promising Genetic Approach to the Treatment of b-Thalassemia ☆

Abstract The stable introduction of a functional gene into autologous stem cells is a potentially powerful approach to treat a number of inherited or acquired diseases. One challenge facing this approach is to express adequate levels of the therapeutic transgene in a regulated and sustained fashion, eventually restricting expression to a single lineage developing from the transduced stem cells. Until now, low-level expression, position effects, and transcriptional silencing have hampered the effectiveness of retroviral-mediated gene transfer. In an effort to overcome these obstacles, we have systematically investigated vectors encoding the human β -globin gene linked to selected combinations of proximal and distal genetic regulatory elements. Our results demonstrate that with thoughtful vector design one can successfully express long-term, therapeutic levels of virally encoded human β -globin in the erythroid progeny of hematopoietic stem cells.
Vestibular and medullary brain stem afferents to the abducens nucleus in the cat

Brain stem neurons that project to the abducens nucleus (nVI) were labeled by the technique of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Following iontophoresis of HRP into nVI a large number of labeled cells are found in the ipsilateral vestibular nuclear complex, extending from the rostral medial vestibular nucleus into the ventral lateral vestibular nucleus. A smaller number of HRP-positive cells are also found in the contralateral medial vestibular nucleus. In addition, labeled cells are localized to the contralateral dorsomedial gigantocellular tegmental field as well as the nucleus praepositus hypoglossi of both sides, evidence that these neuronal groups may also be involved in eye movement control.