cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intrapericardial balloon placement for prevention of collateral injury during catheter ablation of the left atrium in a porcine model

Background Catheter ablation of the left atrium (LA) is associated with potential collateral injury to surrounding structures, especially the esophagus and the right phrenic nerve (PN). Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of intrapericardial balloon placement (IPBP) for the protection of collateral structures adjacent to the LA. Methods Electroanatomic mapping was performed in porcine hearts using a transseptal endocardial approach in eight swine weighing 40–50 kg. An intrapericardial balloon was inflated in the oblique sinus, via percutaneous epicardial access, to displace the esophagus. Similarly, with the balloon positioned in the transverse sinus, IPBP was used to displace the right PN. Esophageal temperature was monitored while endocardial radiofrequency (RF) energy was delivered to the distal inferior PV. Results In all cases, balloon placement was successful with no significant effects on hemodynamic function. Balloon inflation increased the distance between the esophagus and posterior LA by 12.3 ± 4.0 mm. IPBP significantly attenuated increases in luminal esophageal temperature during endocardial RF application (6.1 ± 2.4°C vs. 1.2 ± 1.1°C; P Conclusions These findings demonstrate that in an animal model, IPBP is feasible in the setting of catheter ablation procedures and has the potential to decrease the risk of collateral damage to the esophagus and PN during LA ablation.
INFLUENCE OF CREATINE AND ETHANOLAMINE ON THE PHOSPHATE METABOLISM OF RABBIT CEREBRAL CORTEX SLICES IN VITRO

The use of cortical slices in the study of cerebral metabolism permits a wide range of experimentation, and yields information not readily obtainable from in situ preparations. The incubation media principally employed for such in vitro systems have been variations of the Krebs-Ringer solutions (Krebs and Henseleit, 1932; Mcilwain,1959a; Heald, 1960). Although capable of supporting adequate respiration of the separated tissue, such media do not sustain all metabolic responses comparable to in vivo conditions (Mcilwain, 1959b). This paper is concerned with the effects of added creatine and ethanolamine on the metabolism of their phosphates in rabbit cerebral cortex slices in vitro. These compounds were chosen because of the sensitivity of phosphoryl creatine to metabolic deficiency as well as its important involvement in energy metabolism, and because of the rather wide-spread presence of phosphoryl ethanolamine in animal tissues (Shaw, 1955; Long, 1961; Cohen and Lin, 1962). Some experiments were also done with slices from very young rabbits for comparative purposes.
Examination of the predictive validity of Big Five personality dimensions across training performance criteria

Abstract This study examined relationships among Big Five personality dimensions, cognitive ability, and training performance in a sample of 370 Marines attending Marine Corps’ recruiter training. Several Big Five dimensions (Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness) significantly predicted performance on simulation-based training criteria but did not predict training performance on paper and pencil exams. The results indicated the importance of assessing personality against multiple criteria to determine the utility of personality in predicting training performance. Given that the recruiting of Marines has become particularly challenging, understanding and assessing characteristics that increase the likelihood of successful learning in the training environment is becoming more critical.
Glia: a practical solution for effective high datarate wifi-arrays

Wi-fi standards have provisions for multiple orthogonal channels where the orthogonality allows them to be used simultaneously both in time and frequency without interference concerns. In this paper, we pose the following question: Can devices use the multiple orthogonal channels in wi-fi networks simultaneously to realize a high data-rate wireless link and hence cater to applications requiring high bandwidths? In other words, given that there are 3 orthogonal wi-fi channels in the 2.4GHz band and 12 orthogonal wi-fi channels in the 5GHz band, can a pair of devices each equipped with 15 wi-fi radios use all the available orthogonal channels to achieve a high data-rate link operating at 600Mbps? Surprisingly, we find through experimental evaluation that the actual observed performance when using all fifteen orthogonal channels between two devices is a mere 91Mbps. We identify the reasons behind the low performance and present Glia, a software only solution that effectively exercises all available radios. We prototype Glia and show using experimental evaluations that Glia helps achieve close to 600Mbps data-rate when using all possible wi-fi channels.
An explosive haze formation under low energy exposure

Haze formation on reticle continues to be a significant source of concern for the photolithography. Possible sources and causes continue to be investigated. This paper provides a haze source evaluation result under the sub-pellicle defect on the mask. It is well known that there are several sources to produce the haze. One is inorganic molecules such as SOx, NH3, H2O and CO2. The haze formation of inorganic sources is promoted for growing defect size by the exposure energy in time. The other is organics that are prevalent Fab and storage environment. In this paper, we deal with the haze that is immediately generating with a low energy exposure. Especially, this study treats the haze source during the mask packaging method.
Resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization for the trace detection of chlorinated aromatics

There is currently a need for a technique to detect chlorinated aromatics in the gas phase, for example in the exhaust stream of an incinerator. This paper presents the results of investigations into a laser-based scheme that is ultrasensitive, species- and isomer-selective. and quasi-real-time. The approach is to use free-jet-expansion cooling to narrow the resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (1+1 REMPI) spectrum and to allow isomerically selective laser excitation via the first electronically excited singlet state. The photoions are mass analyzed in a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF MS) that has a resolution (M/ΔM) of ∼600 at mass 150. Ppb level detection limits with complete isomeric selectivity are achieved for the dichlorobenzenes using the jet-cooled REMPI/TOF MS technique. The applicability of this detection scheme to more complicated toxic species, such as PCB's, dioxins, and furans, are discussed and ideas for a device that could be used for quasi-real-time detection in a typical working environment are presented.
Haplotypes of Fallopia introduced into the US.

In the US, clonal growth of Fallopia japonica, Fallopia sachalinensis and their hybrid Fallopia x bohemica (Polygonaceae) is prominent, yet sexual reproduction and hybridization contribute to the genetic complexity of swarms. The contribution to this diversity from multiple introductions is unknown. Using 800 bp of the non-coding chloroplast marker accD–rbcL, we compared 21 Japanese haplotypes with 46 US samples from 11 states, 2 Canadian samples, and 6 European samples from 4 countries, in order to investigate if there were repeated introductions from Asia. While most North American and all European haplotypes accessions in our collection matched a single widespread haplotype, we identified 8 other haplotypes. Three haplotypes of F. japonica (including the widespread haplotype) and one F. sachalinensis matched previously identified Japanese haplotypes, supporting the hypothesis of multiple introductions in the US. Five additional US haplotypes were detected once. Four of these differed from Japanese haplotypes by one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), possibly indicating a recent in situ change. The fifth haplotype represents a garden cultivar, which differed from all F. japonica haplotypes. It therefore appears that the US genetic diversity of these taxa has three sources: intra-specific reproduction, inter-specific reproduction, and multiple sources of introduction.
Generalized unitarity and one-loop amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills

Abstract One-loop amplitudes of gluons in N = 4 gauge theory can be written as linear combinations of known scalar box integrals with coefficients that are rational functions. In this paper we show how to use generalized unitarity to basically read off the coefficients. The generalized unitarity cuts we use are quadruple cuts. These can be directly applied to the computation of four-mass scalar integral coefficients, and we explicitly present results in next-to-next-to-MHV amplitudes. For scalar box functions with at least one massless external leg we show that by doing the computation in signature ( − − + + ) the coefficients can also be obtained from quadruple cuts, which are not useful in Minkowski signature. As examples, we reproduce the coefficients of some one-, two-, and three-mass scalar box integrals of the seven-gluon next-to-MHV amplitude, and we compute several classes of three-mass and two-mass-hard coefficients of next-to-MHV amplitudes to all multiplicities.
Semantic influences on pronoun assignment in aphasia

Semantic factors affecting pronoun assignment were studied in a group of aphasie patients. Their ability to assign reference in sentences of the type John telephoned Bill because he needed some information was facilitated by the causal bias of the main verb known to influence the direction of pronoun assignment in normal speakers. The addition of gender constraints (e.g., John telephoned Sue because he needed some information) improved their performance as well. Explicit mention of the referent's name (e.g., John telephoned Bill because John needed some information) did not improve performance any more than did the addition of gender constraints. When these cues were eliminated so that pronoun assignment required a full syntactic analysis, their performance dropped to chance.
Removal of the artifactual peak associated with concanavalin A crossed affinoimmunoelectrophoresis of human serum transferrin.

Abstract During the first dimension of crossed affinoimmuno-electrophoresis (CAIE) with the lectin concanavalin A (Con A), an immobile glycoprotein—Con A affinoprecipitate may form near the application well and, subsequently, produce an artifactual peak in the second-dimension gel. In this study, we examined the effects of sample glycoprotein concentration and gel Con A concentration on the magnitude of the transferrin artifactual peak present in the analysis of human serum. In addition, we examined the potential for reducing or eliminating the artifact by including a competitive inhibitor of glycoprotein-lectin interaction, α-methylmannoside (αMM), in the application well. We demonstrate that the artifact can be eliminated through an appropriate choice of glycoprotein, Con A, and αMM concentrations. This approach should be applicable for diagnosing and eliminating the artifact in the Con A CAIE analyses of other glycoproteins.
Kant’s Theory of Symbolism

Kant’s conception of the constructive role of the human mind in experience is widely recognized as one of the historical sources of the various theories of symbolism which have been developed in the twentieth century, such as Ernst Cassirer’s “philosophy of symbolic forms.” Professor Charles W. Hendel has pointed specifically to the close relation of Cassirer’s “symbol” to Kant’s “schema.” In this light, I think it is interesting to note that Kant himself presented an explicit, but extremely brief, account of the nature of symbolism, and that he distinguished sharply between a schema and a symbol. An examination of Kant’s theory of symbolism in the context of his philosophy would seem to be in order.
A new model defines the minimal set of polymorphism in HLA-DQ and -DR that determines susceptibility and resistance to autoimmune diabetes

The mechanism underlying autoimmune diabetes has been difficult to define. There is a strong genetic contribution and numerous studies associate the major histocompatibility complex, especially the class II region, with predisposition or resistance. However, how these molecules are implicated remains obscure. We have supplemented structural analysis with computational biophysical and sequence analyses and propose an heuristic for distinguishing between human leukocyte antigen molecules that predispose to insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and those that are protective. Polar residues at both β37 and β9 suffice to distinguish accurately between class II alleles that predispose to type 1 diabetes and those that do not. The electrostatic potential within the peptide binding pocket exerts a strong influence on diabetogenic epitopes with basic residues. Diabetes susceptibility alleles are predicted to bind autoantigens strongly with tight affinity, prolonged association and altered cytokine expression profile. Protective alleles bind moderately, and neutral alleles poorly or not at all. Non-Asp β57 is a modifier that supplements disease risk but only in the presence of the polymorphic, polar pair at β9 and β37. The nature of β37 determines resistance on one hand, and susceptibility or dominant protection on the other. The proposed ideas are illustrated with structural, functional and population studies from the literature. The hypothesis, in turn, rationalizes their results. A plausible mechanism of immune mediated diabetes based on binding affinity and peptide kinetics is discussed. The number of the polymorphic markers present correlates with onset of disease and severity. The molecular elucidation of disease susceptibility and resistance paves the way for risk prediction, treatment and prevention of disease based on analogue peptides. This article was reviewed by Eugene V. Koonin, Michael Lenardo, Hossam Ashour, and Bhagirath Singh. For the full reviews, please go to the Reviewers' comments section.
Continuous tuning of silicon Raman laser for molecular spectroscopy

This work demonstrates continuous (mode-hop free) tuning of a single-mode silicon Raman laser over more than 20 GHz range which is broad enough to cover typical molecular transitions in gasses at room temperature, and allows to perform infrared absorption spectroscopy measurements of methane. Wider mode-hop free tuning could be obtained by controlling the temperature of the laser chip in sync with the tuning of the pump laser wavelength. The coarse tuning range of the laser is only limited by the pump laser's wavelength.
Interaction of (La1−xSrx)nCo1−yFeyO3−δ cathodes and AISI 441 interconnect for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Material degradation is a major issue for solid oxide fuel cells servicing under severe high temperature environments. This work studies the interaction between (La1−xSrx)nCo1−yFeyO3−δ (LSCF) cathode and AISI 441 alloy interconnect at 800 °C by investigating the interfacial reaction and degradation through an AISI 441 interconnect/LSCF electrode/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte tri-layer structure. LSCFs with different stoichiometries are created in order to understand cathode composition effect on solid oxide fuel cell performance. The porous microstructures of the electrodes experience significant evolution after the thermal treatment under current load. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses reveal the significance of elemental distributions on the performance of the cathodes. Cr, La, and Co distributions vary with stoichiometry. Ohmic resistance and polarization resistance of the cathodes are analyzed by deconvoluting the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results. Based on the elemental distribution, the microstructure evolution of the LSCF electrodes, and the EIS analysis, the interaction mechanisms between the LSCF electrodes and the AISI 441 alloy are proposed. Overall, the A-site deficient stoichiometry is preferred.
Maternal supplementation with CLA decreases milk fat in humans

CLA refers to isomers of octadecadienoic acid with conjugated double bonds. The most abundant form of CLA (rumenic acid (RA): c9,t11-18:2) is found in milk and beef fat. Further, CLA supplements containing RA and t10,c12-18:2 are now available. Consumption of commercially produced CLA has been shown to decrease adipose accretion in growing laboratory and production animals and cause milk fat depression in cows. We tested the hypothesis that CLA supplementation would increase milk CLA concentration and decrease milk fat content in humans. Breastfeeding women (n = 9) participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study divided into three periods: intervention I (5 d), washout (7 d), and intervention II (5 d). Women were randomized to treatment order. During each intervention period, women consumed 1.5 g of CLA supplement or placebo (olive oil) daily; during the washout period, no supplements were consumed. Milk was collected by complete breast expression on the final day of each period; milk output was estimated by 24-h weighing on the penultimate day of each intervention period. Milk RA and t10,c12-18:2 concentrations were greater (P < 0.05) during the CLA treatment period as compared to the placebo period. Milk fat content was significantly lower during the CLA treatment, as compared to the placebo treatment (P < 0.05). Data indicate no effect of treatment on milk output. Therefore, it would be prudent that lactating women not consume commercially available CLA supplements at this time.
Administering Secularization: Religious Education in New South Wales since 1960

This paper examines the development of religious education policy in the government schools of New South Wales (Australia) since 1960. The New South Wales religious education curriculum features three components: (1) teacher-led “general religious education” (gre); (2) right-of-entry denominational instruction provided by visiting clergy (“special religious education”, or sre); and (3) occasional additional devotional exercises such as hymns and prayers. Between 1960 and 1980, this system underwent a partial secularization. gre was transformed from a straightforward course in Christianity built around government-produced Scripture readers to a flexible curricular component built around the academic study of multiple religions. At the same time, sre was strengthened and had its position in the curriculum secured; and devotional exercises were allowed to continue only in those settings where they formed an “appropriate” match with the community. I find that “secularizing” reforms were most consistently driven by teachers and administrators with practical motives: avoiding controversy, improving working conditions, and facilitating class management. This finding both challenges and complements recent works that interpret secularization as a political process driven by politicians and professionals primarily interested in enhancing their power or prestige at the expense of religious actors.
Once is not enough: clinical trials in sepsis

In this issue of Intensive Care Medicine, the steering committee members of the PROWESS-Shock trial present a balanced discussion of the controversies surrounding recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) and the challenges intrinsic to designing an industry-sponsored trial [1]. The investigators have taken important steps to be transparent about financial conflicts of interest, to safeguard data monitoring and to ensure the validity of statistical analysis. The purpose of the upcoming PROWESS-Shock Trial is to prospectively test rhAPC in a high-risk septic population—those patients with vasopressor-dependent shock for C4 h. The need for this trial, years after the regulatory approval of rhAPC for a similar indication, is a cautionary tale that contains important lessons for health care providers who manage patients with sepsis, the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The following is an excerpt from a letter written to Dr. Jay P. Siegel, Director of the Office of Therapeutics Research and Review, FDA, on 22 October 2001 by four of the ten dissenting members of the FDA advisory panel that considered the safety and efficacy of rhAPC (Personal communication, Suffredini A for the authors, Cross AE, Munford R, Suffredini A, Warren S):
Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarker Using Two-Photon Rayleigh Scattering Properties of Gold Nanoparticle

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive mental disorder disease, which affects 26.6 million people worldwide and estimated increments can be 100 millions by 2050. Since there is no cure at present, early diagnosis of AD is crucial for the current drug treatments. Driven by the need, here we demonstrate for the first time that monoclonal anti-tau antibody-coated gold nanoparticle based two-photon scattering assay can be used for the detection of Alzheimer’s tau protein in the 1 pg/mL level which is about 2 orders of magnitude lower than cutoff values (195 pg/mL) for tau protein in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). We have shown that when anti-tau antibody-coated gold nanoparticles were mixed with 20 ng/mL of tau protein, two-photon Rayleigh scattering intensity (TPRS) increases by about 16 times. The mechanism of TPRS intensity change has been discussed. Our data demonstrated that our TPRS assay is highly sensitive to tau protein and it can distinguish from BSA, which is one of the most abundant protein compone...
Potential drug targets: small GTPases that regulate leukocyte function

Leukocytes are not only important mediators of innate immunity, but they also induce and perpetuate inflammatory responses that are harmful to the host. Although inflammatory mediators activate leukocytes through a common heterotrimeric G protein (Gi) signalling intermediate, many downstream inflammatory functions are regulated by distinct small GTPases, which suggests that pharmacological modulation of small GTPase activity would be useful in developing specific anti-inflammatory therapies. The recent identification of multiple small GTPase effectors, the recognition of the role of GTPase regulatory proteins in directing downstream signalling from small GTPases, and detailed structural information on the GTPases themselves suggests new possibilities for the development of effective and selective anti-inflammatory drugs.
THE MORPHOGENESIS OF IRANIAN CITIES

Traditional Iranian cities have an orthogonal network of streets which does not conform to the maze of irregular, twisting lanes postulated for the ideal Islamic city. The grid system did not develop from an outgrowth of streets around rectangular religious buildings or from the orientation of Iranian houses to maximize seasonal usage, but rather it is due to irrigation systems. The orthogonal network of water channels corresponds to the slope of the land. Passageways follow these channels to reach various plots of cultivated land. Cities have expanded along the existing streets and water channels. The basic morphology of traditional Iranian cities was created by houses filling in adjacent rectangular fields and orchards.
Numerical Simulation of the Ion Etching Process

Numerical techniques traditionally used in the simulation of compressible fluid dynamics are applied to the ion etching process. This process is governed by a non-linear hyperbolic conservation law describing the evolution of the local slope of a surface. The hyperbolic nature of the equation allows discontinuities of slope to develop which are seen numerically and experimentally as cusps in the surface of the etched material. These discontinuities are analogous to shocks in fluid dynamics. Initially, an essentially non-oscillatory (ENO) algorithm is used to simulate the evolution of a single homogeneous material with fixed boundaries and known flux function. The algorithm is then extended to simulate the evolution of two different homogeneous materials which is more representative of a typical etching configuration. The two materials are assumed to be separated by an interface of known form. The additional mathematical and physical reasoning to describe the two-material configuration is presented from which a new algorithm is developed. This algorithm requires the hyperbolic conservation law to be solved on a moving mesh since the interface between the materials is numerically treated as a moving boundary. The nature of the two-material problem is such that shocks and expansion waves can develop at this interface and thus special numerical treatment of the moving boundary is required; this is achieved by using a lower order approximation in this localised region. Finally, a more realistic method to calculate the flux function is adopted which changes the nature of the governing equation since the flux function becomes dependent on the geometry of the surface as well as the local slope. The algorithm is extended to include this flux calculation which allows the numerical simulation of the physically observed phenomena such as RIE lag and undercutting.
Importance sampling for indicator markov chains

We consider a continuous-time, inhomogeneous Markov chain M taking values in {0, 1}n. Processes of this type arise in finance as models of correlated default timing in a portfolio of firms, in reliability as models of failure timing in a system of interdependent components, and in many other areas. We develop a logarithmically efficient importance sampling scheme for estimating the tail of the distribution of the total transition count of M at a fixed time horizon.
The Exogeneity (at best) of the Optimum Currency Area Criteria for the Euro Zone

A number of papers over the last decade have posited that Optimal Currency Areas are endogenous with respect to business cycle synchronization. The claim is that a common currency will greatly increase trade, and then trade will increase output synchronization. Countries that thus seem illsuited for a common currency prior to a monetary union may become well-suited once the union is in place. There are other channels, however, through which a common currency could lead to convergent-or divergent- business cycles that this literature overlooks. We thus test directly for the impact of the Euro on business cycle synchronization using two variants of Markov Switching models. Examining four small Euro zone countries, our results indicate there was no increase in convergence with the larger economies of Germany and France in two cases, and in the other two cases, actually divergence. In contrast, when investigating three non-Euro zone countries, there is no significant loss of synchronization in two cases, and an increase in synchronization in one case. These results are precisely the opposite of what would be expected from the endogenous OCA literature, and bolster the case for caution before nations with differing cycles or structures enter a currency union.
A method of matrix addressing polarization rotating or retarding light-valve arrays

A geometrical arrangement is described that allows matrix-addressed arrays of light valves to be built out of optically active materials which do not possess a switching threshold. Such arrays can be used for optical selectors, composers, and displays. Unlike classical coincident matrix addressing, this new scheme does not impose any limitation on addressing speed nor is it critically dependent on uniformity of switching properties within the material. The basic scheme consists of forming the rows of the matrix on one piece of material, the columns on another, and separating the two pieces with suitably oriented polarizers. This scheme can be applied to ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and electrooptic solids and optically active liquids. A modified form of the separated matrix scheme, employing no polarizers, can be used with light scattering, absorbing, or reflecting materials which have no switching threshold.
An evaluation of speculative instruction execution on simultaneous multithreaded processors

Modern superscalar processors rely heavily on speculative execution for performance. For example, our measurements show that on a 6-issue superscalar, 93p of committed instructions for SPECINT95 are speculative. Without speculation, processor resources on such machines would be largely idle. In contrast to superscalars, simultaneous multithreaded (SMT) processors achieve high resource utilization by issuing instructions from multiple threads every cycle. An SMT processor thus has two means of hiding latency: speculation and multithreaded execution. However, these two techniques may conflict; on an SMT processor, wrong-path speculative instructions from one thread may compete with and displace useful instructions from another thread. For this reason, it is important to understand the trade-offs between these two latency-hiding techniques, and to ask whether multithreaded processors should speculate differently than conventional superscalars.This paper evaluates the behavior of instruction speculation on SMT processors using both multiprogrammed (SPECINT and SPECFP) and multithreaded (the Apache Web server) workloads. We measure and analyze the impact of speculation and demonstrate how speculation on an 8-context SMT differs from superscalar speculation. We also examine the effect of speculation-aware fetch and branch prediction policies in the processor. Our results quantify the extent to which (1) speculation is critical to performance on a multithreaded processor because it ensures an ample supply of parallelism to feed the functional units, and (2) SMT actually enhances the effectiveness of speculative execution, compared to a superscalar processor by reducing the impact of branch misprediction. Finally, we quantify the impact of both hardware configuration and workload characteristics on speculation's usefulness and demonstrate that, in nearly all cases, speculation is beneficial to SMT performance.
Unveiling high-resolution, tissue specific dynamic changes in corn stover during ionic liquid pretreatment

Confocal Raman microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy were used to understand the mechanism of ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment of corn stover stem using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. Three different cell types including tracheids, sclerenchyma cells and parenchyma cells were analyzed during IL pretreatment. We have established a direct correlation between changes in both the morphology and chemical composition of these plant cell walls during IL pretreatment as well as specific cell type information. It was observed that cell wall swelling occurs primarily in the secondary plant cell walls and the IL had little effect on compound middle lamella in terms of swelling. Accordingly, more significant cell wall swelling and distortion was observed in sclerenchyma cells and tracheids than in parenchyma cells, which contain primary plant cell walls. Lignin dissolution was faster in the secondary cell walls, while there was no preferential cellulose dissolution. Surprisingly, with a much thicker cell wall and a much higher original lignin content than parenchyma cells, tracheids showed much faster lignin and cellulose dissolution and cell wall swelling. Sclerenchyma cells showed an intermediate rate of lignin dissolution, while the cellulose dissolution rate and degree of cell wall swelling was comparable to that observed for tracheids. These results suggest that there is a synergistic mechanism of lignocellulose dissolution regarding cellulose and lignin dissolution and cell wall swelling that occurs during IL pretreatment. This study provides valuable new insights towards the mechanism of ionic liquid pretreatment and can potentially assist researchers in cell wall engineering for efficient cell wall deconstruction using ILs, and the methods established can be easily extended to other systems.
Catalytic disassembly of an organosolv lignin via hydrogen transfer from supercritical methanol

A novel approach to disassembling biomass-derived lignin into processible units is described. This transformation is achieved in supercritical methanol, using a Cu-doped porous metal oxide as the catalyst, at a relatively mild temperature (300 °C). Hydrogen transfer from methanol to an organosolv lignin results in the complete hydrogenolysis of phenyl ether bonds, coupled with the hydrogenation of aromatic rings. The product is a complex mixture composed principally of monomeric substituted cyclohexyl derivatives with greatly reduced oxygen content and negligible aromatics. Notably, no char formation was observed. We also describe operational indices based on the 1H NMR spectra that facilitate holistic evaluation of the product distribution in this and other biomass transformations.
Acute effects of acephate and methamidophos on acetylcholinesterase activity, endocrine system and amino acid concentrations in rats

Acute effects of acephate (Ace) and methamidophos (Met) on acetylcholinesterase activity, endocrine system and amino acid concentrations were studied in rats. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with Ace (500 mg/kg) or Met (5 mg/kg) and then sacrificed at 15 or 60 min after the injection (A15 and A60 for Ace and M15 and M60 for Met). The primary aim of this study was to determine whether the mammalian toxicity of Ace is solely due to its conversion to Met or the protection of Ace against Met-inhibited AChE is also an important factor. The second aim of this study was to study the effects of Ace and Met on the endocrine system and amino acid concentrations and whether or not these effects correlate with AChE inhibition and Met accumulation. The Ace or Met injected animals did not exhibit the signs of organophosphate (OP) poisoning within 15 min after the injection, but exhibited tremors at 45 min after the injection. Blood and brain AChE activity in A15 and M15 rats exhibited 55 to 75% inhibition while the enzyme activity in A60 and M60 rats exhibited 80 to 95% inhibition. Ace was metabolized to Met in rats both in vivo and in vitro. A 5 rats had significantly higher Met concentration in their liver, brain and adrenal glands compared to M 5 rats, and A60 rats had significantly higher Met concentrations in their blood, liver, brain and adrenal glands compared to M60 rats. Thus, tissue Met concentrations in Ace-treated rats were significantly higher than in Met-treated rats and the inhibition of AChE activity was not consistent with the amount of metabolically formed Met, supporting the hypothesis that the Ace protection plays a role in the overall toxicity. Ace and Met both impaired circulating blood hormone and amino acid concentrations in rats. The endocrine effects of Ace and Met differed from their cholinergic effects, and were not proportional to the amount of Met present in different tissues obtained from the treatment groups. Plasma ACTH concentration was elevated in M60 rats but not in A60 rats. Thus, Ace may indirectly protect the pituitary against the toxic effects of Met. Unlike plasma ACTH levels, serum corticosterone and aldosterone levels were elevated in both A60 and M60 rats. Therefore, the effect of Met on the adrenal cortex may be mediated by the pituitary gland, while the effect of Ace may be due to direct Ace-gland interaction. The decrease in the levels of some of the serum amino acids showed an increase in the energy demands in the treatment groups.
The importance of science-informed policy and what the data really tell us about e-cigarettes

A possible future end-game for cigarettes is explored in the context of the historical progress made to date by tobacco control. Despite good progress, there remains an urgent need to increase the use of proven tobacco control policies and practices for prevention and cessation. The problem is worse than previously thought and the 50th anniversary United States Surgeon General’s report indicates the overwhelming majority of avoidable deaths are caused by combusting of tobacco, primarily cigarettes. The report highlights for the first time the addition of a harm minimization strategy to enhance proven tobacco control efforts and thus much more rapidly speed the obsolescence of cigarettes. Harm minimization can be two pronged. First, it can boost proven tobacco control polices to make cigarettes more expensive and less appealing and accessible to maximize the fact that cigarettes are orders of magnitude the most harmful of all tobacco delivery systems. Second, harm minimization can support use of substantially less harmful but appealing alternatives to substitute for lethal cigarettes for those users who are unable or unwilling to quit smoking. A future end-game might prudently manage emerging new products like e-cigarettes to help boost the difference in harm between them and lethal cigarettes. Harm minimization could help to accelerate the end of the century-long dominance of the cigarette in what has been called “the golden holocaust”. Rather than these emerging delivery devices being used to replace lethal cigarettes in what might be termed a David versus Goliath strategy to disrupt the status quo, there is also legitimate concern that these new products could undermine historically successful tobacco control efforts, especially youth prevention, if allowed free reign. What can the data really tell us about the potential for e-cigarettes to be helpful or harmful? The emerging but limited scientific evidence and the inherent methodological constraints in study designs, points to the need for caution in prematurely interpreting results in a manner that could mislead policymakers.
Regulation of Sulfotransferase and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Gene Expression by the PPARs

During phase II metabolism, a substrate is rendered more hydrophilic through the covalent attachment of an endogenous molecule. The cytosolic sulfotransferase (SULT) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) families of enzymes account for the majority of phase II metabolism in humans and animals. In general, phase II metabolism is considered to be a detoxication process, as sulfate and glucuronide conjugates are more amenable to excretion and elimination than are the parent substrates. However, certain products of phase II metabolism (e.g., unstable sulfate conjugates) are genotoxic. Members of the nuclear receptor superfamily are particularly important regulators of SULT and UGT gene transcription. In metabolically active tissues, increasing evidence supports a major role for lipid-sensing transcription factors, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), in the regulation of rodent and human SULT and UGT gene expression. This review summarizes current information regarding the regulation of these two major classes of phase II metabolizing enzyme by PPARs.
Extraction of Text under Complex Background Using Wavelet Transform and Support Vector Machine

A method based on wavelet transform and support vector machine (SVM) for detecting text under complex background is proposed. First, the image is decomposed by wavelet, and then the texture characteristic of text is extracted by using SVM on low-frequency approximate sub-space and high-frequency energy sub-space. Combining wavelet transform and SVM not only reduces the number of input training samples but also accelerates the speed of SVM for learning and classification. This method utilizes the characteristic that SVM is suited to high-dimension space work and improves the efficiency of extracting text. Experimental results show that the current proposed method can correctly and effectively locate text region in the digital image.
Creeping flow past a fluid globule when a trace of surfactant is present

The effects of a trace quantity of a surface-active agent on creeping flow past a bubble or droplet are investigated. The equations describing mass and momentum transfer are simultaneously solved by a perturbation technique, consistent with the jump mass and momentum balances at the phase interface. The stream function for the velocity distribution is evaluated as an infinite series of spherical harmonics. Galerkin's method, which reduces the partial differential equation of continuity to a set of ordinary differential equations, is used to evaluate the concentration distribution of surfactant. A sample calculation is carried out for relative motion between an air bubble and an infinite body of water which contains a trace of isoamyl alcohol. The relative velocity of the water at an infinite distance from the bubble is found to be highly sensitive to small changes in surfactant concentration from zero, although the bubble varies imperceptibly from a spherical shape.
Cultural Diversity as Resistance to Neoliberal Globalization: The Emergence of a Global Movement and Convention

While there have been numerous discussions of the impact on educational services made by trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization (WTO), this study looks at the emergence of global resistance to the commodification of culture through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) within the WTO. In line with the Council of Europe Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2000 and the UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2001, a global movement has been fighting for a legally binding global convention on cultural diversity under the auspices of UNESCO. The author examines how ‘cultural diversity’ is defined by various groups and nations. She also discusses the potential implications of such a global convention on cultural diversity for ‘cognitive justice’, that is, for affirming the validity of diverse knowledge systems over against the dominance of neoliberal ideology. Finally, she argues that the leading definition of cultural diversity, contrary to its stated intention, actually serves to re-assert the cultural hegemony of the North rather than benefit subjugated knowledges of the South.
Contrast medium-induced renal vasoconstriction and endogenous vasoconstrictor hormones

Hypertonic solutions, such as contrast media (meglumine/sodium diatrizoate-76%; Renografin-76), induce vasoconstriction in the renal vascular bed via an unknown mechanism. We assessed a possible role of two vasoconstrictor hormones known to be released by the kidney, angiotensin II (AII) and the prostaglandin, thromboxane. Specific inhibition of AII at the smooth muscle receptor level by saralasin (0.33-0.75 microgram/kg/min, IA) did not attenuate the response. Inhibition of prostaglandin formation by indomethacin (4 mg/kg, IV), likewise, did not prevent the decrease in renal perfusion. We conclude that neither AII nor the prostaglandin system mediate the contrast medium-induced renal vasoconstriction.
Quantitative trait loci that control dengue-2 virus dissemination in the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the most important vector of yellow fever and dengue fever flaviviruses. Ae. aegypti eradication campaigns have not been sustainable and there are no effective vaccines for dengue viruses. Alternative control strategies may depend upon identification of mosquito genes that condition flavivirus susceptibility and may ultimately provide clues for interrupting transmission. Quantitative trait loci affecting the ability of Ae. aegypti to develop a dengue-2 infection in the midgut have been mapped previously. Herein we report on QTL that determine whether mosquitoes with a dengue-2-infected gut can then disseminate the virus to other tissues. A strain selected for high rates of dengue-2 dissemination was crossed to a strain selected for low dissemination rates. QTL were mapped in the F2 and again in an F5 advanced intercross line. QTL were detected at 31 cM on chromosome I, at 32 cM on chromosome II, and between 44 and 52 cM on chromosome III. Alleles at these QTL were additive or dominant in determining rates of dengue-2 dissemination and accounted for ∼45% of the phenotypic variance. The locations of dengue-2 midgut infection and dissemination QTL correspond to those found in earlier studies.
Using Numbers in Qualitative Research

The use of numerical/quantitative data in qualitative research studies and reports has been controversial. Prominent qualitative researchers such as Howard Becker and Martyn Hammersley have supported the inclusion of what Becker called “quasi-statistics”: simple counts of things to make statements such as “some,” “usually,” and “most” more precise. However, others have resisted such uses, particularly when they are requested by reviewers for journals. This paper presents both the advantages of integrating quantitative information in qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting, and the potential problems created by such uses and how these can be dealt with. It also addresses the definition of mixed methods research, arguing that the use of numbers by itself doesn't make a study “mixed methods.”
Duodenojejunostomy leaks after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Background A duodenojejunostomy (DJ) or gastrojejunostomy (GJ) leak is a potentially fatal complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). However, due to its rarity, this complication has not been fully characterized.
Regulation of Insulin-Stimulated Glucose Transporter GLUT4 Translocation and Akt Kinase Activity by Ceramide

The sphingomyelin derivative ceramide is a signaling molecule implicated in numerous physiological events. Recently published reports indicate that ceramide levels are elevated in insulin-responsive tissues of diabetic animals and that agents which trigger ceramide production inhibit insulin signaling. In the present series of studies, the short-chain ceramide analog C2-ceramide inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport by approximately 50% in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, with similar reductions in hormone-stimulated translocation of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4) and insulin-responsive aminopeptidase. C2-ceramide also inhibited phosphorylation and activation of Akt, a molecule proposed to mediate multiple insulin-stimulated metabolic events. C2-ceramide, at concentrations which antagonized activation of both glucose uptake and Akt, had no effect on the tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) or the amounts of p85 protein and phosphatidylinositol kinase activity that immunoprecipitated with anti-IRS-1 or antiphosphotyrosine antibodies. Moreover, C2-ceramide also inhibited stimulation of Akt by platelet-derived growth factor, an event that is IRS-1 independent. C2-ceramide did not inhibit insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase or pp70 S6-kinase, and it actually stimulated phosphorylation of the latter in the absence of insulin. Various pharmacological agents, including the immunosuppressant rapamycin, the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, and several protein kinase C inhibitors, were without effect on ceramide's inhibition of Akt. These studies demonstrate ceramide's capacity to inhibit activation of Akt and imply that this is a mechanism of antagonism of insulin-dependent physiological events, such as the peripheral activation of glucose transport and the suppression of apoptosis.
Definitions of Religion: A Matter of Taste?

As theologians are increasingly employing the social sciences in their work, it is incumbent upon them to examine the way the term religion is employed in these disciplines. This paper explains the common types of definition employed (the substantive and functional varieties) and critiques each from the perspective of contemporary theology. Both are found deficient in ways highly significant for theologians. This paper argues that it is inappropriate to attempt to establish any single definition of religion as normative. While the posture adopted appears to lay to rest any attempt to generate “grand theory” about religion it is not inconsistent with the canons of science as understood in current philosophy of science discourse.