cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of preoperative, intraoperative, and follow-up functional luminal imaging probe measurements in patients undergoing myotomy for achalasia.

Background and Aims The functional luminal imaging probe (FLIP) is a novel catheter-based device that measures esophagogastric junction (EGJ) distensibility index (DI) in real time. Previous studies have demonstrated DI to be a predictor of post-treatment clinical outcomes in patients with achalasia. We sought to evaluate EGJ DI in patients with achalasia before, during, and after peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) and laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) and to assess the correlation of DI with postoperative outcomes. Methods DI (defined as the minimum cross-sectional area at the EGJ divided by distensive pressure) was measured at 4 time points in patients undergoing surgical myotomy for achalasia: (1) during outpatient preoperative endoscopy (preoperative DI), (2) at the start of each operation after the induction of anesthesia (induction DI), (3) at the conclusion of each operation (postmyotomy DI), and (4) at routine follow-up endoscopy 12 months postoperatively (follow-up DI). Routine Eckardt symptom score, endoscopy, timed barium esophagram, and pH study were obtained 12 months postoperatively. Results Forty-six patients (35 POEM, 11 LHM) underwent FLIP measurements at all 4 time points. Preoperative and induction mean DI were similar for both groups (POEM, 1 vs .9 mm2/mm Hg; LHM, 1.7 vs 1.5 mm2/mm Hg). POEM resulted in a significant increase in DI (induction .9 vs postmyotomy 7 mm2/mm Hg, P Conclusions EGJ DI improved dramatically as a result of both POEM and LHM, with POEM resulting in a larger increase. Mean DI decreased at intermediate follow-up but remained well above previously established thresholds for symptom recurrence. DI at the conclusion of LHM was predictive of erosive esophagitis in the postoperative period, which supports the potential use of FLIP for calibration of partial fundoplication construction during LHM.
Concerning "Nonaneurysmal Perimesencephalic Hemorrhage Is Associated with Deep Cerebral Venous Drainage Anomalies: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis".

We would like to thank Rouchaud et al[1][1] for their study entitled “Nonaneurysmal Perimesencephalic Hemorrhage Is Associated with Deep Cerebral Venous Drainage Anomalies: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.” This is a timely effort to investigate the underlying mechanisms of
“Does this happen to everyone?”: Women professors of color reflect on experiences in the academy

Women of Color in higher education often experience cultural taxation alongside feelings of invisibility and hypervisibility. In this paper, two women faculty of color use duoethnography, a dialogi...
Design of high thermal expansion glass-ceramics through microstructural control

High thermal expansion glass-ceramics can be made from lithium silicate glasses that contain small amounts of P2O5. The essential step involves heating the glass to a temperature near 1000°C to grow well-faceted 0.1–0.5 μm Li3PO4 crystallites in the molten glass matrix. When the temperature is lowered to the 750°–850°C range, a mixture of high expansion SiO2 polymorphs and lithium silicate phases crystallize. TEM observations on one composition reveal the crystallization is by epitaxial growth on specific faces of the Li3PO4 crystallites. Heat treatments that do not form faceted Li3PO4 crystallites give glass-ceramics with much lower expansion coefficients. Our understanding and control of this epitaxial crystallization and growth mechanism has led to the development of a family of high thermal expansion glass ceramics useful for making hermetic seals with a number of stainless steels and superalloys.
Electron density and temperature measurements in the exhaust of an MPD source.

Electron density and temperature measured in exhaust of magnetoplasmadynamic /MPD/ source, using Langmuir probe and spectrometry
Suicide: Foucault, History and Truth, by Ian Marsh

In the Introduction to Suicide: Foucault, History and Truth, author Ian Marsh writes, “Suicide is now read, almost always, as a tragedy, one caused primarily by pathological processes internal to t...
Achieving low-cost emissions targets

There has been much discussion about ways to reduce the rate of atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. What are the key economic and policy issues concerning the timing of such efforts?
Vibration Problems in Hydraulic Structures

Report on findings of 12 yr of vibration investigations by Army Engineers civil works activities; results of laboratory and field tests; evidence of Coulomb damping is demonstrated and results are analyzed to determine constant friction force; Von Karman vortex trail, self-excitation involving reflecting pressure waves and other hydraulic pulsating phenomena are examined; conclusions are grouped in 7 points.
Nonrenormalization of next-to-extremal correlators in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory and the AdS/CFT correspondence

We show that next-to-extremal correlators of chiral primary operators in N=4 SYM theory do not receive quantum corrections to first order in perturbation theory. Furthermore we consider next-to-extremal correlators within AdS supergravity. Here the exchange diagrams contributing to these correlators yield results of the same free-field form as obtained within field theory. This suggests that quantum corrections vanish at strong coupling as well.
Chemokines in Immune Surveillance of the Intestine

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the role of chemokines in immune surveillance of the intestine. Chemokines play a major role in regulating the complex interactions among the gut flora, the intestinal epithelium, immune mediators, and effector cells. The interplay between nonimmune cells and classical immune competent cell subsets is probably best documented and understood in the intestine. Chemokines and their receptors orchestrate the intercellular communication required to maintain the complex architecture of immune compartments in the intestine at multiple levels. Homeostatic chemokines are responsible for a steady‐state turnover of lymphocytes and dendritic cells (DCs) in the lamina propria and Peyer's patches (PPs) and their migration to and from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). A particular role of epithelial cell‐derived chemokines has been established for the direction of DCs, T‐cells, and B‐cells within these immune‐cell compartments of the intestine. The development of new chemokine‐based strategies for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires the ability to differentiate homeostatic chemokine signals responsible for constitutive immune surveillance from those that balance the function of inflammatory leukocyte subsets.
Cooperative binding of the bisubstrate analog N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate to aspartate transcarbamoylase and the heterotropic effects of ATP and CTP.

Abstract Most investigations of the allosteric properties of the regulatory enzyme aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from Escherichia coli are based on the sigmoidal dependence of enzyme activity on substrate concentration and the effects of the inhibitor, CTP, and the activator, ATP, on the saturation curves. Interpretations of these effects in terms of molecular models are complicated by the inability to distinguish between changes in substrate binding and catalytic turnover accompanying the allosteric transition. In an effort to eliminate this ambiguity, the binding of the 3H-labeled bisubstrate analog N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate (PALA) to aspartate transcarbamoylase in the absence and presence of the allosteric effectors ATP and CTP has been measured directly by equilibrium dialysis at pH 7 in phosphate buffer. PALA binds with marked cooperativity to the holoenzyme with an average dissociation constant of 110 nM. ATP and CTP alter both the average affinity of ATCase for PALA and the degree of cooperativity in the binding process in a manner analogous to their effects on the kinetic properties of the enzyme; the average dissociation constant of PALA decreases to 65 nM in the presence of ATP and increases to 266 nM in the presence of CTP while the Hill coefficient, which is 1.95 in the absence of effectors, becomes 1.35 and 2.27 in the presence of ATP and CTP, respectively. The isolated catalytic subunit of ATCase, which lacks the cooperative kinetic properties of the holoenzyme, exhibits only a very slight degree of cooperativity in binding PALA. The dissociation constant of PALA from the catalytic subunit is 95 nM. Interpretation of these results in terms of a thermodynamic scheme linking PALA binding to the assembly of ATCase from catalytic and regulatory subunits demonstrates that saturation of the enzyme with PALA shifts the equilibrium between holoenzyme and subunits slightly toward dissociation. Ligation of the regulatory subunits by either of the allosteric effectors leads to a change in the effect of PALA on the association-dissociation equilibrium.
Mouse models of uterine corpus tumors: Clinical significance and utility

Uterine tumors, whether benign or malignant, are diagnosed in a significant portion of women and are associated with a number of co-morbidities that negatively impact quality of life. Uterine tumors can be derived from the epithelial (endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma) and mesenchymal (leiomyoma, sarcoma) layers of the uterus. The exact etiologies of the various tumor types are yet to be defined. Collectively their development and progression often results from aberrant steroid hormone exposure or dysregulation of related growth factor signaling and apoptotic pathways, reflecting the role of steroid hormone-dependent signaling and survival pathways in the cycles of cell growth and involution that characterize normal uterine physiology. While molecular analyses of human tumors can identify candidate genetic and epigenetic lesions contributing to uterine tumor initiation and progression, in vivo genetic models are needed to establish the functional significance of such lesions and their contribution to tumorigenesis. For this purpose, genetically-engineered mouse models have proven valuable. Here we review genetically-modified mouse models that develop uterine tumors and compare their pathology, utility/feasibility, and discuss their clinical relevance.
Composition and biomechanical properties of the bladder acellular matrix graft: comparative analysis in rat, pig and human

Objective To compare the composition and mechanical properties of the newly developed bladder acellular matrix graft (BAMG) with the normal urinary bladder in rat, pig and human. Materials and methods Rat, pig and human urinary bladders were harvested and divided into control and experimental groups. For the latter, BAMGs were prepared, and light and transmission electron microscopic studies performed. Strips from the normal bladders and the BAMGs (10 in each group) were tested under tension, and the ultimate tensile strength, maximum strain, and elastic modulus were determined from stress/strain curves. Results Both types I and III collagen, as well as elastic fibres, were observed as major components of the matrix scaffold. There were more collagen type I fibres in the rat than in the pig and human BAMGs, whereas the pig, and particularly the human, both showed higher levels of type III collagen and elastic fibres. These different matrix scaffold patterns were confirmed by electron microscopy. Results from biomechanical testing showed no significant differences for strength, strain or elastic modulus between BAMG and control bladder strips, except in the rat where the maximum strain values were significantly lower. Conclusion There are variations in the acellular matrix structure with similar biomechanical properties between the BAMG and the normal urinary bladder in three different species. These results may underscore the potential of the BAMG. Furthermore, this in vitro model provides a suitable method to study the mechanical properties of the urinary bladder and may serve as a diagnostic tool for various investigations.
An Evaluation of the Multi-engine MT Architecture

The Multi-Engine MT (MEMT) architecture combines the outputs of multiple MT engines using a statistical language model of the target language. It has been used successfully in a number of MT research systems, for both text and speech translation. Despite its perceived benefits, there has never been a rigorous, published, double-blind evaluation of the claim that the combined output of a MEMT system is in fact better than that of any one of the component MT engines. We report here the results of such an evaluation. The combined MEMT output is shown to indeed be better overall than the output of the component engines in a Croatian ↔ English MT system. This result is consistent in both translation directions, and between different raters.
Dynamics of Bacterial Sulfate Reduction in a Eutrophic Lake

Bacterial sulfate reduction in the surface sediment and the water column of Lake Mendota, Madison, Wis., was studied by using radioactive sulfate (35SO42−). High rates of sulfate reduction were observed at the sediment surface, where the sulfate pool (0.2 mM SO42−) had a turnover time of 10 to 24 h. Daily sulfate reduction rates in Lake Mendota sediment varied from 50 to 600 nmol of SO42− cm−3, depending on temperature and sampling date. Rates of sulfate reduction in the water column were 103 times lower than that for the surface sediment and, on an areal basis, accounted for less than 18% of the total sulfate reduction in the hypolimnion during summer stratification. Rates of bacterial sulfate reduction in the sediment were not sulfate limited at sulfate concentrations greater than 0.1 mM in short-term experiments. Although sulfate reduction seemed to be sulfate limited below 0.1 mM, Michaelis-Menten kinetics were not observed. The optimum temperature (36 to 37°C) for sulfate reduction in the sediment was considerably higher than in situ temperatures (1 to 13°C). The response of sulfate reduction to the addition of various electron donors metabolized by sulfate-reducing bacteria in pure culture was investigated. The degree of stimulation was in this order: H2 > n-butanol > n-propanol > ethanol > glucose. Acetate and lactate caused no stimulation.
Identification of Tyrosine Phosphorylation Sites in the CD28 Cytoplasmic Domain and Their Role in the Costimulation of Jurkat T Cells

The cytoplasmic domain of CD28 contains four tyrosine residues. Because signal transduction by CD28 appears to involve its tyrosine phosphorylation, we determined sites of CD28 tyrosine phosphorylation using mutants of mouse CD28 that retained tyrosine at one position, with the remaining three positions mutated to phenylalanine. When expressed in Jurkat cells and stimulated by mAb, only the mutants with tyrosine at position 170 or 188 were tyrosine phosphorylated. Phosphorylation of Tyr170 recruits phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase to CD28. Tyr188 has not been associated with any specific signaling event, but we found that ligation of CD28 by the natural ligand B7.2 also induced phosphorylation of Tyr188, suggesting that this event is of physiological importance. Consistent with that possibility, mutation of Tyr188 to phenylalanine severely impaired the ability of mouse CD28 to deliver a costimulus for the expression of CD69 and the production of IL-2. The functional consequences of the mutation of Tyr188 were unique; mutation of the other three tyrosines, individually or in combination, did not impair costimulation. Therefore, of the four CD28 tyrosine residues only Tyr188 is required for signaling in Jurkat cells, suggesting that its phosphorylation is a key event in the costimulation of T cells.
Perceived Inservice Training Needs for Early Intervention Personnel

This study investigated the inservice training needs of professionals working with children with disabilities and their families. One hundred fifteen personnel from public and private agencies assessed their current and future training needs in the areas of typical/atypical development, family systems/family involvement, assessment, program implementation/evaluation, administrative/team process, professional development, and technology. Preferences for the format and timing of training were also identified. Mean ratings for and comparisons between skills identified as more traditional and skills identified as more contemporary are provided. Two grouping factors, role and experience, were used to evaluate the extent to which personnel differed on perceived need for training in each competency area. Results are discussed relative to the extant personnel preparation literature and best practices in inservice training.
Draft De Novo Transcriptome of the Rat Kangaroo Potorous tridactylus as a Tool for Cell Biology

The rat kangaroo (long-nosed potoroo, Potorous tridactylus) is a marsupial native to Australia. Cultured rat kangaroo kidney epithelial cells (PtK) are commonly used to study cell biological processes. These mammalian cells are large, adherent, and flat, and contain large and few chromosomes—and are thus ideal for imaging intra-cellular dynamics such as those of mitosis. Despite this, neither the rat kangaroo genome nor transcriptome have been sequenced, creating a challenge for probing the molecular basis of these cellular dynamics. Here, we present the sequencing, assembly and annotation of the draft rat kangaroo de novo transcriptome. We sequenced 679 million reads that mapped to 347,323 Trinity transcripts and 20,079 Unigenes. We present statistics emerging from transcriptome-wide analyses, and analyses suggesting that the transcriptome covers full-length sequences of most genes, many with multiple isoforms. We also validate our findings with a proof-of-concept gene knockdown experiment. We expect that this high quality transcriptome will make rat kangaroo cells a more tractable system for linking molecular-scale function and cellular-scale dynamics.
The Hunt for Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Two types of black holes-stellar black holes and supermassive black holes-are known to exist in the universe. This leaves a large gap in the black hole mass distribution. In her Perspective, [Fabbiano][1] investigates whether ultraluminous x-ray sources may be the missing intermediate-mass black holes. She concludes that the evidence is inconclusive; most ultraluminous x-ray sources can be explained without resorting to the intermediate-mass black hole hypothesis, but some of the brightest sources may indeed be intermediate-mass black holes. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5709/533
Fostering student engagement by cultivating curiosity.

This chapter describes the results of a study that provides a rich understanding of the role of curiosity in facilitating academic and personal success in high-achieving college students.
Family Law and Nonmarital Families

Despite the sharp increase in nonmarital childbearing, family law still places marriage at the very foundation of the legal regulation of families. Family law's doctrine draws clear distinctions between married and unmarried couples, which then carries over to the treatment of children. Family law's legal institutions created to oversee the family, particularly upon divorce, are designed for married families that have been formally recognized by the state. And traditional gender norms still inform much of family law's approach to legal regulation, particularly in the conception of legal fatherhood. After establishing that this “marital family law” undermines relationships in nonmarital families, this article proposes reforms to integrate nonmarital families into family law. Key Points for the Family Court Community Identifies legal distinctions between marital and nonmarital families Demonstrates how family law harms nonmarital families Provides a blueprint for reform
Framing Emotional Response

Framing studies typically are concerned with how people's opinions are affected by opposing ways of presenting, or framing, an issue or event. This paper investigates whether different frames also lead to different patterns of emotional response. Cognitive appraisal models of emotion suggest that frames can alter emotional reactions. An experiment compared students' emotional responses to versions of a newspaper article that emphasized underlying social conditions as the cause of the 1992 Los Angeles riots (situational frame) or emphasized irresponsibility and criminality on the part of the rioters (dispositional frame). Few systematic framing effects were found when examining whether respondents reported experiencing a particular emotion. However, consistent with recent work showing that predispositions mediate the effect of frames on opinion, frames altered the relationship between predispositions and emotion. Patterns suggestive of framing effects also emerged in an examination of the content of people's emotional reactions. The findings are consistent with the claim that framing affects emotional responses, reinforce the claim that framing effects depend on individual predispositions, and underscore the importance of accounting for the content of people's emotional responses in the study of emotion. How ordinary citizens come to understand a political event or policy issue may depend, at least in part, on how the issue is framed. Abortion may be murder, or it may be about a woman's right to control her body; affirmative action may be reverse discrimination, unfair advantage, or a rectification of past injustice. Clearly, emotional appeals are part and parcel of these frames. Yet we know little about the possible effects of framing on emotional response. Most of the framing literature has focused on the cognitive aspects of opinion, not on its affective
On canonical bases of ideals

Abstract : The integral basis omega 1,..., omega n of the algebraic number field F will be called canonical for the ideal A of F if d1 omega 1,...,dn omega n is a modul basis for A where d sub j are rational integers. In this paper the authors show: If A sub 1,...,A sub s are any s ideals of an algebraic number field F then there exists a basis which is canonical for each of the ideals A sub 1,...,A sub s. (Author)
Chaos and population disappearances in simple ecological models

A class of truncated unimodal discrete-time single species models for which low or high densities result in extinction in the following generation are considered. A classification of the dynamics of these maps into five types is proven: (i) extinction in finite time for all initial densities, (ii) semistability in which all orbits tend toward the origin or a semi-stable fixed point, (iii) bistability for which the origin and an interval bounded away from the origin are attracting, (iv) chaotic semistability in which there is an interval of chaotic dynamics whose compliment lies in the origin’s basin of attraction and (v) essential extinction in which almost every (but not every) initial population density leads to extinction in finite time. Applying these results to the Logistic, Ricker and generalized Beverton-Holt maps with constant harvesting rates, two birfurcations are shown to lead to sudden population disappearances: a saddle node bifurcation corresponding to a transition from bistability to extinction and a chaotic blue sky catastrophe corresponding to a transition from bistability to essential extinction.
Toward the AdS/CFT gravity dual for high energy collisions. III. Gravitationally collapsing shell and quasiequilibrium

The equilibration of matter and onset of hydrodynamics can be understood in the AdS/CFT context as a gravitational collapse process, in which ``collision debris'' create a horizon. In this paper we consider the simplest geometry possible, a flat shell (or membrane) falling in the holographic direction toward the horizon. The metric is a combination of two well-known solutions: thermal AdS above the shell and pure AdS below, while motion of the shell is given by the Israel junction condition. Furthermore, when the shell motion can be considered slow, we were able to solve for two-point functions of all boundary stress tensors and found that an observer on the boundary sees a very peculiar quasiequilibrium: while the average stress tensor $l{T}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}g}$ contains the equilibrium plasma energy and pressure at all times, the spectral densities of the correlators (related with occupation probabilities of the modes) reveal additional oscillating terms absent in equilibrium. This is explained by the echo phenomenon, a partial return of the field coherence at certain echo times.
Do Americans Believe Modern Earth Science

Half of US respondents to the 2006 General Social Surveys did not believe in the “Big Bang” origin of the universe; they were closely correlated with those who did not believe in human evolution. Religious fundamentalism is the major predictor of both disbeliefs. Low education and political conservatism have lesser but independent effects. The notion of continental drift (plate tectonics) faces relatively little opposition from religious fundamentalists, and according to survey responses, its validity is widely accepted, more so than the fact of a heliocentric solar system.
1973 dust storm on Mars - Maps from hourly photographs

The hourly progress of the 1973 major Martian storm was mapped using photographic images from the International Planetary Patrol. Two series of 20 daily maps show the semi-hourly positions of the storm brightenings in red light and blue light. The maps indicate that the 1973 storm had many similarities to the 1971 storm.
A randomized trial of antithrombin concentrate for treatment of heparin resistance

Abstract Background . Heparin resistance is an important clinical problem traditionally treated with additional heparin or fresh frozen plasma. We undertook a randomized clinical trial to determine if treatment with antithrombin (AT) concentrate is effective for treating this condition. Methods . Patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass who were considered to be heparin resistant (activated clotting time 450 IU/kg heparin) were randomized to receive either 1000 U AT or additional heparin. Results . AT concentrate was effective in 42 of 44 patients (96%) for immediately obtaining a therapeutic activated clotting time. This compared favorably to 28 of 41 patients (68%) treated with additional heparin ( p = 0.001). All patients who failed heparin therapy were successfully treated with AT. The patients receiving AT required less time to obtain an adequate ACT but there was no difference in clinical outcomes among the groups. Study patients had deficient AT activity at baseline (56% ± 25%), which improved in those given AT concentrate (75% ± 31% versus 50% ± 23%, p Conclusions . Heparin resistance is frequently associated with AT deficiency. Treating this deficiency with AT concentrate is more effective and faster for obtaining adequate anticoagulation than using additional heparin.
Vegetation wakes and wake interaction shaping aquatic landscape evolution

Recent field and experimental studies show that the wakes behind individual patches of aquatic vegetation, as well as the interaction and merger of neighboring wakes, produce zones of diminished velocity that may enhance deposition and encourage patch growth and patch merger. In the present study, these patch-scale biogeomorphic interactions are incorporated into a simple model for vegetated landscape evolution. The initial flow field is solved by using a porous media formulation for hydraulic resistance. The velocity in wake regions is then adjusted to match the wake structure measured in laboratory studies with individual and pairs of vegetation patches. Vegetation is added based on a probabilistic function linked to the velocity field. The simulations explore the influence of initial plant density (ID) and limiting velocity (LV, the velocity above which no plants can grow) on landscape evolution. Three types of stable landforms can occur: full vegetation coverage, channeled, and sparse. By including the influence of wakes, full vegetation coverage can be achieved from initial plant densities as low as 5%. In contrast, simulations that exclude the influence of wakes rarely reach full vegetation coverage, reinforcing the idea that growth within wakes is an important component in vegetated landscape evolution. The model also highlights the role of flow diversion into bare regions (channels) in the promotion of growth within vegetated regions. Finally, sparse landscapes result when the initial plant density is sufficiently low that no wake interactions can occur, so that patch merger cannot occur, emphasizing the importance of the patch interaction length scale.
Evidence for an about 300 day period in Cygnus X-1

Results from 10 years of observation of Cyg X-1 by the Vela 5B satellite are reported. Good evidence for an approximately 300 day period is found, which is confirmed by independent data from the All-Sky Monitor instrument on Ariel 5. Cyg X-1 varies by about 25 percent with a 294 + or -4 day period. This modulation is apparently unrelated to the known transitions between the source high and low states. Flux minima occur at 1974.05+nP. The 294 day period is consistent with the precession of the supergiant companion HDE 226868 and also with the precession period of a tilted accretion disk. The light curve could be modulated by a change in the mass transfer rate or variable obscuration by ionized matter.
Decomposition during autumn foliage leaf-fall in wetlands situated along a biogeochemical gradient in Pennsylvania, USA

Autumn leaf fall represents an important allochthonous organic input to inland, aquatic ecosystems, particularly those situated in mixed hardwood forests. We evaluated factors that influence leaf decomposition in wetlands situated along a strong biogeochemical gradient spanning the ridge and valley region in the mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Leaf decomposition rates were estimated using mesh bags; at the same time, algal and invertebrate colonization on the leaf packs was measured. Leaf decomposition exhibited an exponential decline over the 35-day incubation period; rates were similar to those of previous studies (range 0.15–0.40 per day) and not significantly different (one-way ANOVA, F = 0.67, p = 0.526). Mean chlorophyll-a (mg/m2) on leaf packs increased among sampling dates and generally was 10-fold greater in the transition and valley wetlands (22.88 and 29.20 mg/m2) compared with the ridge (2.24 mg/m2) wetland (F = 14.78, p < 0.001). Invertebrate biomass on the leaf packs exhibited sign...
Mesoporous silica-reinforced polymer nanocomposites

This research reports the use of organic-modified mesoporous silica particles as fillers to form organic/inorganic nanocomposites with improved thermal and mechanical properties. The particle fillers were synthesized by co-assembly of surfactant and silicate species prepared by hydrolysis and condensation reactions of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and (3-trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPMA) through an aerosol process. Selective surfactant removal resulted in mesoporous particles with high surface areas and with covalently bound propyl methacrylate ligands on the pore surface as indicated by XRD, TEM, N2 adsorption−desorption, FTIR, 13C NMR, 29Si NMR, and other techniques. Infiltration and subsequent in situ polymerization of (3-trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate within and among the mesoporous silica particles result in nanocomposites with improved mechanical and thermal properties. Mechanical testing shows a significant increase in tensile strength, modulus, and toughness of the nanocomposites with l...
Newer antidepressants and gabapentin for hot flashes: a discussion of trial duration.

Objective: Information regarding the ideal length of hot flash trials is scarce. In the literature, hot flash trial durations have commonly varied from 4 to 12 weeks. This article is devoted to providing scientific data to better ascertain how long it is necessary to conduct hot flash trials with newer centrally acting agents. Methods: Individual participant data were collected from all known published, through December 2007, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trials regarding the use of newer antidepressants and gabapentin for hot flash relief. Trials that studied periods longer than 4 weeks were included for this project. Profile analysis was applied to the hot flash activity longitudinal data for each study individually, allowing a comparison of data collected for 6 to 12 treatment weeks versus data collected for only 4 treatment weeks. Results: Ten studies were identified, five of them fulfilled the eligibility criteria for this investigation, three evaluating gabapentin, and two newer antidepressants. Flatness tests from a profile analysis did not provide any evidence that hot flash activity increased or decreased between week 4 and time periods up to 12 weeks. Conclusions: Changes in hot flash scores from newer antidepressants and gabapentin are apparent within 4 weeks of therapy. Available data indicate that hot flash treatment efficacy, compared with that of placebo, remains stable for up to 12 weeks of follow-up.
Neonatal piglet model of intraaortic balloon pumping: Improved efficacy using echocardiographic timing ☆

Abstract Background . Pediatric intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) has met with little success because of technical difficulty in tracking rapid heart rates. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of M-mode echocardiography for IABP timing in a neonatal piglet model. Methods . Two groups of piglets underwent mitral valve avulsion to create a model of shock. Group 1 (n = 8; mean weight, 7.7 ± 1.8 kg) underwent IABP timed with both the ascending aortic pressure and M-mode echocardiogram. Group 2 (n = 6; mean weight, 7.5 ± 1.4 kg) underwent two separate periods of IABP: one with echocardiographic timing and the second using standard timing points from the femoral arterial pressure tracing and electrocardiogram. Measurements included ascending aortic flow, left anterior descending arterial flow, ascending aortic pressure, left atrial pressure, and heart rate. Results . Mitral valve avulsion produced a shock model with a significant decrease in mean aortic pressure and aortic flow and a significant increase in left atrial pressure and heart rate. Compared with the shock state, IABP in group 1 animals resulted in a significant increase in aortic flow (353 ± 152 versus 454 ± 109 mL/min; p p p p Conclusions . In piglets with rapid heart rates, echocardiogram-timed IABP results in increased aortic flow and pressure and decreased left atrial pressure compared with standard-timed IABP.
Molecular Aptamer for Real-Time Oncoprotein Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Monitoring by Fluorescence Anisotropy

Monitoring proteins in real time and in homogeneous solution has always been a difficult task. We have applied a fluorophore-labeled molecular probe based on a high-affinity platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) aptamer for the ultrasensitive detection of PDGF in homogeneous solutions. The aptamer is labeled with fluorescein to specifically bind with the PDGF protein. Fluorescence anisotropy is used for the real-time monitoring of the binding between the aptamer and the protein. When the labeled aptamer is bound with its target protein, the rotational motion of the fluorophore attached to the complex becomes much slower because of an increased molecular weight after binding, resulting in a significant fluorescence anisotropy change. Using the anisotropy change, we are able to detect the binding events between the aptamer and the protein in real time and in homogeneous solutions (detection without separation). This assay is highly selective and ultrasensitive. It can detect PDGF in the subnanomolar range. The new method for protein detection is simple and inherits all of the advantages of molecular aptamers. Efficient oncoprotein detection using aptamer-based fluorescence anisotropy measurement will find wide applications in protein monitoring, in cancer diagnosis as well as other studies in which protein analysis is important.
Treatment of intermediate-risk prostate cancer with brachytherapy without supplemental pelvic radiotherapy: A review of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center experience ☆

Abstract Purpose To determine the biochemical outcomes of patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center with an I-125 permanent seed implant without supplemental pelvic radiotherapy. Methods and Materials Under an institutional review board approved protocol, the charts of 88 patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer and a minimum follow-up of 36 months treated with brachytherapy without supplemental pelvic radiotherapy were reviewed. Median follow-up for the whole cohort was 57 months (range 37–121). Biochemical failure was defined using the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology definition. Results The 5-year biochemical failure-free survival for the cohort was 83%. Patients with perineural invasion had a worse biochemical outcome, which was statistically significant (perineural invasion vs. no perineural invasion, 5-year biochemical failure-free survival 64% vs. 89%, P = 0.004). None of the following factors were found significant in this subset of patients: Gleason scores 6 versus 7, primary Gleason grades 3 versus 4, percentage of core positive 20%, number of cores positive 2, hormonal therapy versus no hormonal therapy, T1 versus T2, prostate-specific antigen 10, or ≥2 intermediate risk factors versus 1 intermediate risk factor. Conclusions Our data suggest that patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer may be treated effectively with brachytherapy without supplemental pelvic radiotherapy. However, because of the limited nature of our study, we cannot exclude that patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer may benefit from supplemental external beam radiotherapy.
Analytical and numerical computation of prolate spheroidal shell capacitance

This article presents analytical and numerical methods of computing the capacitance of a prolate spheroidal shell. Detailed and comprehensive equations for determining the exact results were developed. Also, an explicit finite difference (FD) numerical technique for solving Laplace's equation in prolate spheroidal coordinates systems for an axially symmetric geometry has been developed. Consequently, the FD results were used to compute the capacitance of the spheroidal shell in an easy to understand manner. This was achieved using the Dirichlet boundary conditions on the prolate spheroidal surfaces. The capacitance results obtained using FD did agree with those obtained using analytical method. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 2361–2365, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24630
Temporal alterations in vascular angiotensin receptors and vasomotor responses in offspring of protein-restricted rat dams

Objective Examine temporal alterations in vascular angiotensin II receptors (AT 1 R and AT 2 R) and determine vascular response to angiotensin II in growth-restricted offspring. Study Design Offspring of pregnant rats fed low-protein (6%) and control (20%) diet were compared. Results Prenatal protein restriction reprogrammed AT 1a R messenger RNA expression in male rats' mesenteric arteries to cause 1.7- and 2.3-fold increases at 3 and 6 months of age associated with arterial pressure increases of 10 and 33 mm Hg, respectively; however, in female rats, increased AT 1a R expression (2-fold) and arterial pressure (15 mm Hg) occurred only at 6 months. Prenatal protein restriction did not affect AT 2 R expression. Losartan abolished hypertension, suggesting that AT 1a R plays a primary role in arterial pressure elevation. Vasoconstriction to angiotensin II was exaggerated in all protein-restricted offspring, with greater potency and efficacy in male rats. Conclusion Prenatal protein restriction increased vascular AT 1 R expression and vasoconstriction to angiotensin II, possibly contributing to programmed hypertension.
Continuous on-line true titrations by feedback-based flow ratiometry. The principle of compensating errors

We introduce a new concept for continuous on-line titrations based on feedback-controlled flow ratiometry and the principle of compensating errors. The system has been thoroughly tested by applying it to acid−base neutralization titrations with indicator-based end point detection. In a typical case, the total flow (FT, consisting of the sample and the titrant flows) is held constant while the titrant (e.g., a standard base containing an indicator) flow FB varies linearly in response to a controller output voltage. The sample (e.g., an acidic solution to be titrated) flow FA constitutes the makeup and thus also varies (FA = FT − FB). The status of the indicator color in the mixed stream is monitored by an optical detector and used either for governing the controller output or for interpreting the results of the titration. Three methods (PID based control, fixed triangular wave control, and feedback-based triangular wave control implemented on a PC) were examined. In the last and the most successful approac...
Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) capensis Neumann (Acari: Ixodoidea: Argasidae), a parasite of seabirds, established along the southeastern seacoast of the United States.

Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) capensis Neumann, an ectoparasite of seabirds found circumglobally in the tropics and subtropics, has become established along the southeastern seacoast of the United States. The tick has been found feeding primarily on brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis , but also has been found on the laughing gull, Larus atricilla , and the American oystercatcher, Haematopus palliatus . We report here the presence of O. (A.) capensis from New Hanover and Brunswick counties (near the mouth of the Cape Fear River) in North Carolina, to the Charleston Harbor area of South Carolina and thence south to Cumberland Island (a barrier island) in Camden County, Georgia, just north of the Florida state line.
Empirical Evidence for Discriminating Anxiety from Depression in College Students

The relationship between the constructs of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II) and anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI) were examined using self-report scales with 313 undergraduates. No significant correlation was found between anxiety (neither State nor Trait) and depression. Results of a factor analysis computed with the items of STAI (State and Trait) and the BDI-II, indicated two distinct factors, which accounted for 36.3% of the total variance. The first factor accounted for 28.8%, while the second factor accounted for 6.5% of the variance. Results support the notion that anxiety and depression may be two different psychological constructs.
Dynamics of eutectic microstructure during phase nucleation and phase termination: phase-field model computer simulations

Computer simulation using two-dimensional phase-field method was performed in order to observe the evolution of the composition field and the microstructure of lamellar eutectics caused by change in freezing rate. Phase nucleation, phase termination, and migration of the 3- phase junction were studied to elucidate the role of each in micro structure changes. These phenomena are complex due to the interplay between interface kinetics, the composition field, and the phase fraction. When the freezing rate is increased, the supersaturation in front of lamellae increases, causing formation of depressions, followed by nucleation, instability, and motion of the 3-phase junction. Eventually the microstructure becomes stable. With a decrease in freezing rate, instability develops that changes the local growth direction and provokes changes in lamellar width followed by elimination of some lamellae. The time scales for phase nucleation and phase termination were also estimated assuming the overwhelming importance of lateral diffusion. The model explains the time scale-lamellar microstructure parameter dependence provided that the growth rate increases with a constant acceleration, and the volume fraction does not change during an increase in the freezing rate until nucleation occurs.
Determination of the electrical resistivity of scandium in aluminum

Abstract Ultrahigh purity aluminum foils ( R 293 k R 1.7 k ≥ 10 4 ) were doped with trace quantities of scandium under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. After repeated cycles of doping, vacuum heating and electrical resistivity measurements on the same sample, a neutron activation analysis of the specimen yielded a value of (2.3 ± 0.2) × 10 −4 Ω cm per atom fraction for the specific resistivity ρSc of scandium in aluminum.
Modulation of L-type Ca2+ current by isoprenaline, carbachol and phorbol ester in cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle (A7r5) cells.

Abstract 1. 1. Effects of isoprenaline (ISO), carbachol and phorbol ester (a stimulator of protein kinase C) on L-type Ca2+ channels in single cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle (A7r5) cells were examined using whole-cell voltage clamp (at room temperature 22°C). 2. 2. With 20 mmol/1 Ca2+ in the bath solution and 10 mmol/1 EGTA in the pipette solution, a slow ICa, (L-type) current was observed in the A7r5 cell line, which was blocked by nifedipine (2 μmol/l). 3. 3. ISO (5 μmol/l) inhibited ICa by 18.3 ± 2.2% (P 4. 4. Phorbol ester, 4-β-phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate (PDB), at 0.1-1 μmol/l, had almost no effect on ICa in most cells, but slightly potentiated (or slightly enhanced) the inhibitory effects of ISO. 5. 5. Time decay (inactivation) of ICa consisted of two exponentials. Both the fast and slow time constants were slightly prolonged by ISO (5 μmol/1), and by carbachol (1 μmol/1); PDB (l μmol/l) slightly shortened the fast time constant only. The half-maximum voltages of inactivation were not significantly affected by any of the agents. 6. 6. These results suggest that the L-type ICa current is modulated by cyclic nucleotides (cAMP and cGMP) and by PK-C stimulation, and thereby contribute to regulation of contraction of the vascular smooth muscle cells.
On the structure of convex piecewise quadratic functions

Convex piecewise quadratic functions (CPQF) play an important role in mathematical programming, and yet their structure has not been fully studied. In this paper, these functions are categorized into difference-definite and difference-indefinite types. We show that, for either type, the expressions of a CPQF on neighboring polyhedra in its domain can differ only by a quadratic function related to the common boundary of the polyhedra. Specifically, we prove that the monitoring function in extended linear-quadratic programming is difference-definite. We then study the case where the domain of the difference-definite CPQF is a union of boxes, which arises in many applications. We prove that any such function must be a sum of a convex quadratic function and a separable CPQF. Hence, their minimization problems can be reformulated as monotropic piecewise quadratic programs.