cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A portable handpump is effective in the evacuation of hemothorax in a swine model of penetrating chest injury

Background: Standard pleural evacuation devices are not practical for use on the battlefield. A small, portable, easy-to-use handpump (HP) that does not require continuous suction for treating hemopneumothorax would offer a major logistical advantage. In addition, using endotracheal tubes instead of regular pleural tubes would help minimize supplies carried on the battlefield. A swine model of penetrating chest injury was designed to test this concept. Our hypothesis was that an HP would be as effective as the standard of care for the evacuation of a large hemopneumothorax. Methods: A 2-cm lung laceration was created in 18 Yorkshire swine (35-51 kg) under inhaled anesthesia and 1.4 L of blood was infused into the pleural space (200 mL every 15 minutes). Fluid resuscitation (2,000 mL of 0.9% saline) was started 15 minutes after injury, and animals were randomized into one of three groups: group 1, 36-Fr Argyle pleural tube and Pleur-Evac chest drainage unit with 20-cm H 2 O suction (control); group 2, 36-Fr pleural tube attached to the HP; and group 3, a No. 8 endotracheal tube in the pleural space attached to the HP. After 120 minutes, a thoracotomy was performed to determine the amount of resid- < ual blood in the pleural space. Results: Effectiveness of the three t methods as a percentage of total blood t (evacuated and retained) removed was I measured over 2 hours. The handpump (group 2) performed better than the standard of care (group 1) at numerous time points and evacuated significantly (p < 0.05) more blood at the end of the experiment. Conclusion: Using the handpump with a pleural tube was more effective than the standard of care in treating traumatic hemothorax. The use of an endotracheal instead of a conventional pleural tube had no adverse impact on efficacy of the pump in evacuating blood from the chest cavity.
High-Level Carbapenem Resistance in a Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolate Is Due to the Combination of blaACT-1 β-Lactamase Production, Porin OmpK35/36 Insertional Inactivation, and Down-Regulation of the Phosphate Transport Porin PhoE

Clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to carbapenems and essentially all other antibiotics (multidrug resistant) are being isolated from some hospitals in New York City with increasing frequency. A highly related pair of K. pneumoniae strains isolated on the same day from one patient in a hospital in New York City were studied for antibiotic resistance. One (KP-2) was resistant to imipenem, meropenem, and sulopenem (MICs of 16 to 32 microg/ml) while the other (KP-1) was susceptible (MIC of 0.5 microg/ml); both contained the bla(ACT-1), bla(SHV-1), and bla(TEM-1) beta-lactamases. bla(ACT-1) in both strains was encoded on a large approximately 150-kb plasmid. Both isolates contained an identical class 1 integron encoding resistance to aminoglycosides and chloramphenicol. They each had identical insertions in ompK35 and ompK36, resulting in disruption of these key porin genes. The carbapenem-resistant and -susceptible isolates were extensively studied for differences in the structural and regulatory genes for the operons acrRAB, marORAB, romA-ramA, soxRS, micF, micC, phoE, phoBR, rpoS, and hfq. No changes were detected between the isolates except for a significant down-regulation of ompK37, phoB, and phoE in KP-2 as deduced from reverse transcription-PCR analysis of mRNA and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separation of outer membrane proteins. Backcross analysis was conducted using the wild-type phoE gene cloned into the vector pGEM under regulation of its native promoter as well as the lacZ promoter following transformation into the resistant KP-2 isolate. The wild-type gene reversed carbapenem resistance only when under control of the heterologous lacZ promoter. In the background of ompK35-ompK36 gene disruption, the up-regulation of phoE in KP-1 apparently compensated for porin loss and conferred carbapenem susceptibility. Down-regulation of phoE in KP-2 may represent the normal state of this gene, or it may have been selected from KP-1 in vivo under antibiotic pressure, generating the carbapenem-resistant clone. This is the first study in the Enterobacteriaceae where expression of the phosphate-regulated PhoE porin has been associated with resistance to antimicrobials. Our results with this pair of Klebsiella clinical isolates highlight the complex and evolving nature of multiple drug resistance in this species.
On the mechanism of the anti-androgenic effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate.

Administration of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) to castrated male rats inhibited the testosterone mediated growth of prostate and seminal vesicle. MPA, however, failed to increase the activity of testosterone A-ring reductase in the prostate in contrast to its marked inductive effect on the liver enzyme. MPA treatment caused a diminished uptake of radioactivity by the prostate and seminal vesicle in vivo after a single injection of 3H-testosterone, as well as, a lower plasma level of the labeled hormone. However, in vitro incubation of prostatic tissue derived from MPA treated rats with 3H-testosterone showed no local interference with the uptake of radioactivity. It appears, that the anti-androgenic effect of MPA can be explained on the basis of induction of hepatic testosterone reductase activity which in turn increases the catabolism of the hormone, leading to its lower plasma concentration and consequently to a lower target tissue uptake of testosterone. (Endocrinology 93: 417, 1973)
Inhibition of acyl-CoA hydrolase activity in liver microsomes by lyso-phospholipids

Abstract Activity of the acyl-CoA hydrolase in liver microsomes was found to be inhibited by 1-acyl- sn -glycerophospholipids in a concentration dependent manner ranging from 5–50 μM. Inhibition occurred at all acyl-CoA concentrations tested, although the inhibitory effect was higher with low concentrations of acyl-CoA. It is evident that in the cellular system where acyl-CoA is normally maintained at a low level, the inhibition of acyl-CoA hydrolysis by lysophospholipids would facilitate acyl-CoA transfer to the lyso-phospholipids. This phenomena may be important in regulating the metabolism of acyl-CoA and lyso-phosphoglycerides since an accumulation of either type of the compounds may cause potentially deleterious effects to the cell membrane functions.
Use of chloromycetin in infections.

Summary 1. Chloromycetin has been used in the treatment of forty-one childrensuffering from nonbacterial or virus respiratory infections. 2. There were no toxic manifestations from the drug in our series with our dosage schedule. 3. It is our impression that Chloromycetin was effective in atypical pneumonia and in cases of nonbacterial or virus upper-respiratory infections with systemic symptoms. 4. Chloromycetin was only partially effective in laryngotracheobronchitis, but its use is recommended because of apparent amelioration of the respiratory distress. 5. Chloromycetin was successful in relieving a distressing and persistentcough, the sequel of an acute undifferentiated respiratory infection. 6. Administration in capsule form was a simple task in older children butimpossible in infants. Vehicles are suggested for administration of the drug to infants. 7. Treatment should continue for 4 to 5 days after the temperature isnormal. 8. Blood levels, with our dosage, ranged from 2 to 10 μg, an effective level,even for bacterial respiratory infections. Blood determinations are not routinely necessary in the treatment with Chloromycetin.
The pentose cycle (hexose monophosphate shunt). Rigorous evaluation of limits to the flux from glucose using 14CO2 data, with applications to peripheral ganglia of chicken embryos.

The difference between the 14CO2 outputs from [1-14C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose has frequently been used as a measure of activity in the hexose monophosphate shunt without considering the exact significance of this diffeence. Assuming only 1) that all C-1 of glucose is released to CO2 on entry to the shunt and 2) that the shunt provides the only mechanism for increasing C-1 of glucose over C-6 of glucose in CO2, it is very simply shown that the flux from glucose to the shunt is not less than the difference between the 14CO2 outputs at any time after adding labeled glucose nor more than the steady-state output of 14CO2 from [1-14C]glucose. Moreover, absence of a 14CO2 difference does not prove that the shunt is absent or inactive. The value for the minimum flux rate can be maximized by following the time course of the C-1 – C-6 difference in 14CO2 during the transient phase before isotopic equilibration is complete, but useful values can be obtained when the time course is not available. The above relationships are applicable to gluconeogenic as well as non-gluconeogenic tissues. Applications of these relationships to peripheral ganglia from chicken embryos, in which the 14CO2 difference passes through a maximum during incubation, show that 27–37% of the glucose taken up enters the pentose cycle in sympathetic ganglia from 10-day-old embryos, while 17–36% enters the cycle in 15-day-old dorsal root ganglia.
Linking Globalization to Local Land Uses: How Eco-Consumers and Gourmands are Changing the Colombian Coffee Landscapes

Market trends are becoming prominent forces shaping local landscapes. The increasing demand for high-quality and sus- tainable coffees is driving land-use decisions among Colombian farmers. A value chain analysis shows that farmers who sell to differen- tiated markets significantly captured a larger portion of the value added and faced lower volatility than mainstream producers. Consequently, regions apt for producing differentiated coffees experienced the greatest increase in area planted. Tracing the value chain reveals how land use decisions increasingly depend on the pressures and opportunities created by global markets, with detectable impacts on livelihoods and landscapes.
Pastoral Theological Reflections on Pamela Cooper-White's Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling

This article reviews Pamela Cooper-White's book as an extraordinarily well developed, nuanced, and empirically grounded reflection on the significance of transference and countertransference dynamics in ministry; it also points to several ways in which the book's thesis could be more fully developed theologically and more broadly applied in ministry.
Golgi vesicles of uncommon morphology and wall formation in the red alga,Polysiphonia

Golgi bodies of immature carposporangia ofPolysiphonia sp. are composed of a polarized stack of six to ten curved cisternae. The cisternae are surrounded by 50–200 nm diameter slightly granular vesicles. Hypertrophied, fibrillar Golgi cisternae occur in mature carposporangia. Secretory vesicles originate from ends of cisternae and by complete vesiculation of terminal cisternae; 0.6–1.2 μm diameter, fibrous vesicles, many with electron dense nucleoids are abundant throughout the cytoplasm of mature sporangia. Vesicles expand, fuse with each other and cluster around starch granules. Some vesicles secrete their content into the spore wall. Morphological analyses of starch granules as well as topographical relations between vesicles, starch granules and the adjacent cytoplasm suggest that these Golgi vesicles function like lysosomes. The significance of these observations is discussed in relation to the composition of plant cell walls and cellular expansion.
Easy interactive access to batch image analysis software

Effective use of batch software requires a relatively high level of knowledge from the end user. Such a threshold can preclude application of existing software by potential users who are unfamiliar with computer use. Image processing is an example of an area with large amounts of existing batch software. An instance of the threshold problem occurs when natural resource management experts, with minimal computer application experience, want to use satellite imagery to aid management decisions in their discipline areas. This paper discusses the design of an interactive system to solve the problem by allowing inexperienced users to employ existing batch image analysis software with minimal supervision. The design provides for online explanation of terms and functions, default values for most parameters, and allocation of necessary computer resources (e.g., disk files). The user-system dialog may be conducted at any of three levels, allowing continued use as experience is gained. The design considerations and techniques used are generally relevant to accessing batch software for any application area. Difficulties of implementation and expansion are also discussed.
Optimal estimation of parameters and states in stochastic time-varying systems with time delay

Abstract In this study estimation of parameters and states in stochastic linear and nonlinear delay differential systems with time-varying coefficients and constant delay is explored. The approach consists of first employing a continuous time approximation to approximate the stochastic delay differential equation with a set of stochastic ordinary differential equations. Then the problem of parameter estimation in the resulting stochastic differential system is represented as an optimal filtering problem using a state augmentation technique. By adapting the extended Kalman–Bucy filter to the resulting system, the unknown parameters of the time-delayed system are estimated from noise-corrupted, possibly incomplete measurements of the states.
Exploring Calcium Level Disorders: Looking Through the Genetic Window for New Treatment Clues

Advances in genetics are furthering our knowledge of the biological basis of various disorders, and often impacting how we diagnose and treat such disorders. We are learning more and more about how our genotype impacts our phenotype. Recent advances have been made in understanding the genetic mechanisms involved in maintaining normal serum calcium levels and how this information can impact differential diagnosis and treatment options of neonates, children and adults with abnormal calcium levels.
A cognitive therapy intervention for suicide attempters: An overview of the treatment and case examples

Although suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem, few effective treatments exist to treat this population. This article describes a new cognitive therapy intervention that has been developed for treating recent suicide attempters. The intervention is based on general principles of cognitive therapy and targets the automatic thoughts and core beliefs that were activated just prior to the individual's suicide attempt. Specific cognitive and behavioral techniques are taught to the patient with the goal of decreasing suicidal thoughts and preventing future suicide attempts. The treatment is unique in targeting suicidal behavior as the primary problem, apart from psychiatric diagnosis. Three detailed case examples are provided that illustrate the use of the treatment with different types of patients.
Fiber cell morphology and cytoplasmic texture in cataractous and normal human lens nuclei

Purpose. The goal of this study was to compare the ultrastruc-ture of the oldest cells in opaque and transparent human lenses.Methods. Age-related nuclear cataracts, late-onset diabetic nuclear cataracts and normal aged lenses were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Cross-sectional profiles of fiber cells in the embryonic, fetal and juvenile nuclear regions were obtained to facilitate direct comparisons between lens regions and between sample groups. Image analysis was performed to determine cross-sectional areas of fiber cells in each region.Results. The average cross-sectional area increased approximately sixfold from the outer to the inner nuclear regions in all lenses measured. In each nuclear region, fiber cells displayed a characteristic size, shape, arrangement and type of interdig-itations which were consistently seen in all the lenses examined. Some lenses had more complex interdigitations than others. Gap junctions were identified as pentalamellar structures having 16 nm width and app...
Elastomeric osteoconductive synthetic scaffolds with acquired osteoinductivity expedite the repair of critical femoral defects in rats

Regenerative medicine aspires to reduce reliance on or overcome limitations associated with donor tissue-mediated repair. Structural bone allografts are commonly used in orthopedic surgery, with a high percentage of graft failure due to poor tissue integration. This problem is aggravated among elderly, those suffering from metabolic conditions, or those undergoing cancer therapies that compromise graft healing. Toward this end, we developed a synthetic graft named FlexBone, in which nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (50 wt%) was structurally integrated with crosslinked poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel, which provides dimensional stability and elasticity. It recapitulates the essential role of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite in defining the osteoconductivity and biochemical microenvironment of bone because of its affinity for biomolecules. Here, we demonstrate that FlexBone effectively absorbed endogenously secreted signaling molecules associated with the inflammation/graft healing cascade upon being press-fit into a 5-mm rat femoral segmental defect. Further, when preabsorbed with a single dose of 400 ng recombinant human (rh) bone morphogenetic protein-2/7 heterodimer, it enabled the functional repair of the critical-sized defect by 8-12 weeks. FlexBone was stably encapsulated by the bridging bony callus and the FlexBone-callus interface was continuously remodeled. In summary, FlexBone combines the dimensional stability and osteoconductivity of structural bone allografts with desirable surgical compressibility and acquired osteoinductivity in an easy-to-fabricate and scalable synthetic biomaterial.
Hysteroscopic Sterilization Success in Outpatient vs Office Setting Is Not Affected by Patient or Procedural Characteristics

Abstract Study Objective To determine factors associated with hysteroscopic sterilization success and whether it differs between the operating room and office settings. Design Retrospective cohort analysis (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting Major university medical center. Patients Six hundred thirty-eight women who underwent hysteroscopic sterilization between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2011. Measurements and Main Results Data collected included age, body mass index, previous office procedures, previous cesarean section, and presence of myomas or retroverted uterus. Place of surgery, experience of surgeon, insurance type, bilateral device placement, compliance with hysterosalpingography, and confirmation of occlusion were also recorded. Bivariate analysis of patient characteristics between groups was performed using χ 2 and independent t tests, and identified confounders and associated variables. Multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression to assess for association and to adjust for confounders. Procedures were performed in the operating room (57%) or in the office (43%). There was no association between success in bilateral device placement or occlusion and any patient characteristic, regardless of surgery setting. Private insurance, patient age, and performance of procedures in the office setting were positively associated with likelihood of compliance with hysterosalpingography. Conclusion Successful device placement and tubal occlusion are independent of patient age, body mass index, or setting of the procedure. Association between insurance type and completing hysterosalpingography illustrates an important public health problem. Patients who fail to undergo hysterosalpingography to confirm tubal occlusion may unknowingly be at risk of pregnancy and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.
Three‐dimensional myoarchitecture of the bovine tongue demonstrated by diffusion spectrum magnetic resonance imaging with tractography

The anatomy of the mammalian tongue consists of an intricate array of variably aligned and extensively interwoven muscle fibers. As a result, it is particularly difficult to resolve the relationship between the tongue’s microscopic anatomy and tissue-scale mechanical function. In order to address this question, we employed a method, diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) with tractography, for displaying the macroscopic orientational properties of the tissue’s constituting myofibers. DSI measures spatially variant proton displacement for a given 3D imaging segment (voxel), reflecting the principal orientation(s) of its myofibers. Tractography uses the angular similarity displayed by the principal fiber populations of multiple adjacent voxels to generate tract-like structures. DSI with tractography thus defines a unique set of tracts based on the net orientational behavior of the myofiber populations at different positions in the tissue. By this approach, we demonstrate a novel myoarchitectural pattern for the bovine tongue, consisting of short and orthogonally aligned crossing fiber tracts in the intrinsic core region, and longer, parallel-aligned fiber tracts on the tissue margins and in the regions of extrinsic fiber insertion. The identification of locally aligned myofiber populations by DSI with tractography allows us to reconsider lingual anatomy, not in conventional microscopic terms, but as a set of heterogeneously aligned and macroscopically resolved myofiber tracts. We postulate that the properties associated with these myofiber tracts predict the mechanical behavior of the tissue and thus constitute a method to relate structure and function for anatomically complex muscular tissues. Anat Rec Part A, 288A:1173–1182, 2006. 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Adolescent rats are resistant to forming ethanol seeking habits

Abstract Early age of onset alcohol drinking is significantly more likely to lead to alcohol use disorders (AUDs) than alcohol drinking that begins after the age of 18. Unfortunately, the majority of people in the United States begin drinking in adolescence. Therefore, it is important to understand how early alcohol drinking leads to increased risk for AUDs so that better treatments and prevention strategies can be developed. Adolescents perceive greater rewarding properties of alcohol, and adolescents may be more likely to form alcohol-seeking habits that promote continued use throughout the lifetime. Therefore, we compared the development of alcohol seeking habits in adolescent and adult male, Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were trained to lever press to receive 10% ethanol + 0.1% saccharin on a schedule that promotes habit formation. Rats were tested using a contingency degradation procedure at different points in training. Adult rats formed ethanol-seeking habits with only moderate training, while adolescents remained goal-directed even with extended training. Nevertheless, adolescents consumed more ethanol than adults throughout the experiment and continued to consume more ethanol than adults when they reached adulthood. Therefore, early onset alcohol use may promote AUD formation through establishment of high levels of drinking that becomes habitual in adulthood.
Ion Conduction through MscS as Determined by Electrophysiology and Simulation

The mechanosensitive channel of small conductance (MscS) is a membrane protein thought to act as a safety valve in bacteria, regulating the release of ions and small solutes when gated by membrane tension under challenging osmotic conditions. The influence of voltage on channel activation and the functional state depicted by the available crystal structure of MscS remain debated. Therefore, in an effort to relate electrophysiological measurements on MscS and properties of the MscS crystal conformation, we report here MscS's response to voltage and pressure as determined by patch-clamp experiments, as well as MscS electrostatics and transport properties as determined through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the protein embedded in a lipid bilayer, a 224,000-atom system. The experiments reveal that MscS is a slightly anion-selective channel with a conductance of approximately 1 ns, activated by pressure and inactivated in a voltage-dependent manner. On the other hand, the simulations, covering over 200 ns and including biasing electrostatic potentials, show that MscS restrained to the crystal conformation exhibits low conductance; unrestrained it increases the channel radius upon application of a large electrostatic bias and exhibits then ion conduction that matches experimentally determined conductances. The simulated conductance stems mainly from Cl- ions.
Resonance fluorescence of two-level atoms under strong bichromatic excitation.

We have measured the emission spectrum of two-level-like Ba atoms driven by two strong, equal-amplitude fields with frequency separation 2\ensuremath{\delta}. The spectrum consists of a series of peaks with an essentially constant spacing \ensuremath{\delta} and alternating linewidths. These features differ qualitatively from the characteristic triplet spectrum observed in the case of strong monochromatic excitation. Certain features of the observed spectrum such as its comblike structure can be motivated in terms of the energy spectrum of atom--bichromatic-field product states. Other features, such as the alternating linewidths, require more subtle analysis.
The Rhetoric of Mouvement and Passionate Expression in Seventeenth-Century French Harpsichord Music

AbstractIn seventeenth-century France there was an entire branch of rhetorical theory based upon the non-verbal notion of mouvement, prevalent not only in artistic and intellectual disciplines but also within the musical arts. Modern studies have examined this philosophy with regard to the visual arts and to the vocal art of song, but have not yet explored the relation of this notion to contemporary instrumental music. This article, however, will do just that, illustrating how the rhetoric of mouvement applied to seventeenth-century French harpsichord music. The article discusses the chief concepts of mouvement and its relation to passionate expression, demonstrating how they manifest themselves within different artistic disciplines by citing primary sources on painting, poetry, singing, and ballet. The principles discussed in these writings are echoed in Saint-Lambert's treatise on harpsichord playing, allowing us to apply them to harpsichord music. How mouvement in harpsichord music was engendered by di...
Model-based automatic target recognition (ATR) system for forwardlooking groundbased and airborne imaging laser radars (LADAR)

We describe an experimental, model-based automatic target recognition (ATR) system, called XTRS, for recognizing tactical vehicles in real or synthetic laser-radar (LADAR) range and intensity images corresponding to a forwardlooking, CO/sub 2/ laser radar (LADAR) that is carried either on a ground vehicle or on an airborne platform. Various aspects of the system's operation are illustrated through a variety of examples. Generic techniques are highlighted whenever possible. A first such technique is the use of feature-indicating interest images to focus attention on specific areas of the input imagery. A second is the use of an application-independent matching engine for matching features extracted from the imagery against an application-dependent appearance model hierarchy that represents the objects to be recognized. A third generic technique is the system's architectures and its control mechanism. Following the description of XTRS, we discuss XTRS's recognition performance on real data collected with the groundbased version of the ladar sensor. We then provide a detailed account of XTRS's performance on synthetic datasets created to rest the limits of system performance. Finally, we briefly discuss the use of XTRS in conjunction with the airborne version of the sensor. Overall, more than 1500 range and intensity image pairs were used throughout XTRS's development.
PRODUCTION, NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND BAKING QUALITY OF SOY‐EGG FLOURS

Full fat soy (S), 85% soy + 15% whole egg (85S) and 75% soy + 25% egg (75S) flours were produced and evaluated both nutritionally and as a 12% flour supplement in wheat breads. Dehulled, blanched, wet milled soybeans and whole eggs were mixed, drum dried, and milled to produce 85S and 75S flours. Nutrient analyses indicated increased fat, pantothenic acid, calcium, and sodium contents in egg flours. Although protein content decreased with egg addition as compared to S, NPR and PER analyses showed increases in protein quality. 12% S bread resulted in a depressed loaf volume as compared to 85S, 75S, and 100% wheat breads. The addition of 0.5% sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate increased loaf volumes of 100% wheat and S, but not 85S or 75S bread.
A global change in RNA polymerase II pausing during the Drosophila midblastula transition.

Fertilized eggs—zygotes—develop into embryos via several distinct stages. In many animals, the zygote initially undergoes rapid rounds of genome replication; however, this hectic activity is not controlled by the zygote itself. Instead, the mother deposits RNA molecules in the egg as it forms inside her, and after the egg has been fertilized, these RNA molecules are translated into proteins that guide the development of the early embryo. Only at a stage called midblastula transition does the zygote take over control by transcribing its own RNA molecules. Fruit flies start to transcribe their own genes en masse after completing thirteen rounds of DNA replication. However, some genes are already transcribed during the rapid cycles of DNA replication earlier in development. How these early genes are transcribed, and how the embryo shifts to more widespread transcription during the midblastula transition, are not well understood. In particular, it is not known if the molecular machinery needed to transcribe the genes is recruited a long time before transcription starts, or if it is recruited ‘just in time’. Here, Chen et al. explore how genes are switched on in the fruit fly zygote. Genes are transcribed by a protein complex called RNA polymerase, which binds to DNA sequences, called promoters, within the genes. Chen et al. used a technique called ChIP-Seq to determine how much RNA polymerase was bound to the DNA before, during and after the midblastula transition. Before the transition—from about eight rounds of DNA replication onward—RNA polymerase was bound to only about 100 genes, and was active in most of these cases. In contrast, after the transition, RNA polymerase had been recruited to the promoters of around 4000 genes (fruit flies have a total of about 14,000 genes). However, it was often found in a paused, rather than active, form, at these genes, which is thought to help ensure that their transcription can occur on a precise schedule. Chen et al. then used computer analyses to test the theory that differences in the DNA sequences of the gene promoters might determine which genes the RNA polymerase bound to, and whether or not the polymerase underwent pausing or became active immediately. Strikingly, there were clear differences in the sequence motifs that recruited RNA polymerase to the promoters of genes that were transcribed immediately and those that showed pausing of the polymerase. Moreover, genes that were transcribed before the midblastula transition were shorter, on average, than those transcribed after. This suggests that transcription during the rapid genome replication cycles has to occur quickly and therefore lacks pausing. Together, these findings present a biological rationale for differences in how genes are first transcribed during fruit fly development.
Initial stages of Ge/GaAs(100) interface formation.

The initial stages of formation of the Ge/GaAs(100) interface have been investigated by monitoring, using low-energy electron diffraction, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the structural changes of the GaAs(100) surface after submonolayer germanium deposition and annealing. The distribution of Ge atoms on the GaAs(100)-(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4) surface is random when the substrate temperature is below 600 K. After annealing at about 700 K, a poorly ordered (2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1) LEED pattern is observed which is attributed to Ge-As dimerization. When annealed above 825 K, a well-ordered, stable surface with a (1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2) superstructure is obtained, suggesting the formation of Ge-Ga dimer bonds. These results demonstrate the usefulness of STM in monitoring changes in the interfacial atomic structures during the initial stages of heteroepitaxy, which is an essential step in understanding and controlling other important interfacial properties, such as energy band offset.
Comparative crystal structure examination of some iron(III) quadridentate schiff base complexes

Abstract The crystal structures of four iron(III) N,N′-ethylenebis(acetylacetonylideneimine), Fe(acacen)+, complexes, [Fe(acacen)NO3] (1), [Fe(acacen)C1] (2), K[Fe(acacen)(CN)2]· 2H2O (3) and [Fe(acacen)]2O· CH2Cl2 (4), were determined. In 1 the nitrate is bound to the iron in a symmetrical bidentate manner producing a distorted acacen. The iron in 2 is bound to an axial C1 and is 0.54 A out of the N2O2 chelate atom plane. In 3 two CN ligands are axially bound to the iron above and below the near planar N2O2 chelate group. Two independent dimers were found in the unit cell of 4 with the two Fe(acacen)+ groups in each dimer differing significantly in bond angles, but not in bond distances. Comparisons were made of the coordination sphere bond distances and angles of the Fe(acacen)+ complexes with literature values of some iron(III) N,N′-ethylene-bis (salicylideneimine), Fe(salen)+, complexes. Low-spin K[Fe(salen)(CN)2]· 0.5H2O(5)was prepared in order to compare its properties with those of the intermediate spin compound 3.
Release from informational masking in a monaural competing-speech task with vocoded copies of the maskers presented contralaterally

Single-sided deafness prevents access to the binaural cues that help normal-hearing listeners extract target speech from competing voices. Little is known about how listeners with one normal-hearing ear might benefit from access to severely degraded audio signals that preserve only envelope information in the second ear. This study investigated whether vocoded masker-envelope information presented to one ear could improve performance for normal-hearing listeners in a multi-talker speech-identification task presented to the other ear. Target speech and speech or non-speech maskers were presented unprocessed to the left ear. The right ear received no signal, or either an unprocessed or eight-channel noise-vocoded copy of the maskers. Presenting the vocoded maskers contralaterally yielded significant masking release from same-gender speech maskers, albeit less than in the unprocessed case, but not from opposite-gender speech, stationary-noise, or modulated-noise maskers. Unmasking also occurred with as few as two vocoder channels and when an attenuated copy of the target signal was added to the maskers before vocoding. These data show that delivering masker-envelope information contralaterally generates masking release in situations where target-masker similarity impedes monaural speech-identification performance. By delivering speech-envelope information to a deaf ear, cochlear implants for single-sided deafness have the potential to produce a similar effect.
Proactive and reactive cognitive control and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dysfunction in first episode schizophrenia

Cognitive control deficits have been consistently documented in patients with schizophrenia. Recent work in cognitive neuroscience has hypothesized a distinction between two theoretically separable modes of cognitive control—reactive and proactive. However, it remains unclear the extent to which these processes are uniquely associated with dysfunctional neural recruitment in individuals with schizophrenia. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study utilized the color word Stroop task and AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) to tap reactive and proactive control processes, respectively, in a sample of 54 healthy controls and 43 patients with first episode schizophrenia. Healthy controls demonstrated robust dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and parietal cortex activity on both tasks. In contrast, patients with schizophrenia did not show any significant activation during proactive control, while showing activation similar to control subjects during reactive control. Critically, an interaction analysis showed that the degree to which prefrontal activity was reduced in patients versus controls depended on the type of control process engaged. Controls showed increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and parietal activity in the proactive compared to the reactive control task, whereas patients with schizophrenia did not demonstrate this increase. Additionally, patients' DLPFC activity and performance during proactive control was associated with disorganization symptoms, while no reactive control measures showed this association. Proactive control processes and concomitant dysfunctional recruitment of DLPFC represent robust features of schizophrenia that are also directly associated with symptoms of disorganization.
The existence of publication bias and risk factors for its occurrence.

Publication bias is the tendency on the parts of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or strength of the study findings. Much of what has been learned about publication bias comes from the social sciences, less from the field of medicine. In medicine, three studies have provided direct evidence for this bias. Prevention of publication bias is important both from the scientific perspective (complete dissemination of knowledge) and from the perspective of those who combine results from a number of similar studies (meta-analysis). If treatment decisions are based on the published literature, then the literature must include all available data that is of acceptable quality. Currently, obtaining information regarding all studies undertaken in a given field is difficult, even impossible. Registration of clinical trials, and perhaps other types of studies, is the direction in which the scientific community should move. (JAMA. 1990;263:1385-1389)
Influence of connectivity and porosity on ligand-based luminescence in zinc metal-organic frameworks.

Applications of metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) require close correlation between their structure and function. We describe the preparation and characterization of two zinc MOFs based on a flexible and emissive linker molecule, stilbene, which retains its luminescence within these solid materials. Reaction of trans-4,4‘-stilbene dicarboxylic acid and zinc nitrate in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) yielded a dense 2-D network, 1, featuring zinc in both octahedral and tetrahedral coordination environments connected by trans-stilbene links. Similar reaction in N,N-diethylformamide (DEF) at higher temperatures resulted in a porous, 3-D framework structure, 2. This framework consists of two interpenetrating cubic lattices, each featuring basic zinc carboxylate vertices joined by trans-stilbene, analogous to the isoreticular MOF (IRMOF) series. We demonstrate that the optical properties of both 1 and 2 correlate with the local ligand environments observed in the crystal structures. Steady-state and time-resolved sp...
Implication of insulin-like growth factors in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy

Neuropathy can be a highly debilitating complication for about 10-15% of diabetic individuals. Unfortunately, the complex syndrome has proven difficult to explain and a consensus as to its cause has not emerged. It has recently come to light that insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have neurotrophic actions on sensory, sympathetic and motor neurons. These are the main types of neurons afflicted in this disorder. Moreover, IGF activity is reduced in both clinical and experimental diabetes. The premise that insulin, IGF-I and IGF-II provide redundant neurotrophic support underlies the following new theory for pathogenesis of diabetic neural disturbances: a loss of insulin activity leads to a secondary partial decline in IGF-I activity. Although most of the redundant neurotrophic support is thereby eliminated, IGF-II activity continues to support the nervous system. The final enemy is time and the relentless age- and duration-dependent run-down of IGF activity is suggested to contribute to the age- and duration-dependent neuropathy. Weight loss or anorexia nervosa are independent risk factors that can cause a rapid, painful neuropathy to develop as a result of a rapid loss of IGF activity. A distinguishing feature of this new theory is that hyperglycemia is not considered to be the main culprit. The following critical predictions from the theory were tested in diabetic rats: (i) IGF activity is reduced in diabetic neural tissues; (ii) conduction velocity is impaired in the diabetic spinal cord; (iii) replacement therapy with IGF can prevent neuropathy in diabetic nerves; and (iv) IGFs can prevent diabetic neuropathy, despite hyperglycemia. All of these predictions have been validated. It is hoped that a fresh perspective will stimulate renewed study into the causation of this most unfortunate disorder.
Late (two-year) follow-up after percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy (PBMV) compares well with surgical commissurotomy, showing comparable improvement in symptoms and catheterization-proven valve area early after the procedure. This study reports the New York Heart Association class, mitral valve area calculated by echocardiography, and the results of transseptal cardiac catheterization 2 years after PBMV. The data are compared with the status immediately before and after PBMV. Forty-one patients returned to enter the study (mean follow-up time 24 +/- 3 months). All patients were evaluated clinically by the same investigator who had seen them at the time of PBMV. Transseptal cardiac catheterization and echocardiographic analysis (2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography) were performed on the same day. At follow-up, 17 patients were class I, 20 were class II, and 4 were class III. Although the mitral valve area calculated by cardiac catheterization increased significantly from immediately before to immediately after PBMV there was a decrease in the calculated mitral valve area at 2-year follow-up. Echocardiographic analysis did not show as large an increase in mitral area, immediately after PBMV, and no significant decrease in mitral valve area at 2 years (before PBMV planimetry 1.1 +/- 0.1 cm2; immediately after 1.8 +/- 0.1 [p less than 0.05]; follow-up 1.6 +/- 0.1 [p = not significant compared with immediately after PBMV]). Doppler halftime measurements were similar. PBMV is effective therapy with good midterm results for selected patients with mitral stenosis.
On the Comprehension and Production of Pronouns

Four experiments investigated whether subjects understand the supposedly generic he generically. In Experiment I, subjects responded YES if an auditorily presented sentence could refer to a female and otherwise NO. Responses were 98% correct for sentences containing sex-specific nouns and pronouns, but 87% incorrect (i.e., NO) for sentences containing generic he . In Experiment II, subjects heard identical sentences but responded YES if the sentence could refer to a male. Responses were 99% correct, indicating high availability of the concept “male” for sentences containing generic he . In Experiment III, responses were 97% incorrect with she substituted for he in otherwise identical generic sentences. Experiment IV determined the effect of removing the pronouns from the sentences. The results inspired a general model of processes underlying the comprehension and production of pronouns.
A Method for Estimating Equivalent Forced Outage Rates of Multistate Peaking Units

This paper proposes and illustrates a method for calculating the equivalent forced outage rate of multi-state peaking generating units. The proposed method considers partial- outages which were not specifically included in the methods proposed previously. Two approaches proaches are described and illustrated: one requires developing and solving a multi-state model using component failure and repair rates; the other which is an empirical approach requires quires additional data on start times and stop times of the units to define the demand period.
Viscoelastic properties of SSeAs copolymers

Abstract Various copolymers and terpolymers of sulfur, selenium, and arsenic were prepared. Simple expressions were obtained for the glass transition temperatures of these polymers as a function of composition. Modulus temperature curves for these polymers were also obtained and interpreted in terms of a glassy region, a transition region, a rubbery plateau region, and a region of chemical interchange.
Epenthesis positioning and syllable contact in Chaha

If an epenthetic vowel is required for syllable structure reasons, its position in a string may be determined by ‘directionality’, with the construction of maximal syllables beginning from a word edge (Ito 1986, 1989, Farwaneh 1995). Arabic has served as the prime example of directionality, but other Semitic languages have also played a role, such as Harari (Kenstowicz & Kisseberth 1979, Ito 1986) and Tigrinya (Denais 1990, Berhane 1991). In these languages the sonority of heterosyllabic (coda–onset) consonant sequences neither conditions insertion nor affects the site of the epenthetic vowel. Epenthesis is triggered by constraints on maximal syllable size, and the position of the epenthetic vowel is determined by directionality. As a result, violations of SYLLABLE CONTACT abound. Syllable contact can be defined as the requirement that a coda be more sonorous than a following onset (Murray & Vennemann 1983, Vennemann 1988). In this article, I provide new data from Chaha, an Ethiopian Semitic language of the Gurage family, which demonstrate an intriguing difference from Semitic languages such as Harari, Tigrinya and Arabic.
CW Laser-Recrystallized Polysilicon as a Device-Worthy Material

The basic crystallographic and electronic properties of cw laser recrystallized thin polysilicon films are presented and shown to be suitable for fabrication of MOSFET devices. Devices and simple integrated circuits fabricated to explore the potential of this material have electrical characteristics similar to devices fabricated on single crystal material and offer significant promise for future applications.