cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Common body temperature sites provide invalid measures of body core temperature in hyperthermic humans wearing American football uniforms.

Valid body core temperature measurements are essential for diagnosing and monitoring athletes with exertional heat stroke (EHS). Experts question the validity of body temperature sites that vary by...
Safety and Feasibility of Same Day Discharge after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Post COVID-19

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) remains a complex procedure with the potential for life-threatening complications including heart block, bleeding from vascular access sites, and peric...
Cultural Plant Geography Introducer: Karl S. Zimmerer

Cultural plant geography has undergirded the research career of William M. Denevan. Rooted in human-environment geography, Denevan’s contributions provided landmark advances. He first utilized cultural plant geography in research on the region-scale anthropogenic influences and human use of tropical pine forests in Central America. Denevan subsequently directed this approach to research on the landscapes and adaptive strategies of the tropical lowland agriculture of indigenous groups. Subsequently it was central to his comprehensive analysis of Amazonian and Andean landscapes, global-scale synthesis, and interpretation such as the anti-Pristine Myth project, and the current interdisciplinary subfields of historical ecology, social forests, and agrobiodiversity.
Abstract SY17-03: Tumor-associated antigen MUC1 vaccine for colon cancer prevention

For most human cancers, infectious etiology is unknown and preventative vaccines based on viral antigens, such as HPV for cervical cancer, are not a possibility. However, non-viral cancer-associated antigens, self-antigens abnormally expressed on tumors, have been identified as candidates for vaccines. In patients diagnosed with cancer, preexisting immunity to some of these antigens correlates with better disease outcome or reduced risk of recurrence. In transgenic mice or other animal models where they are expressed as self-antigens, immune responses induced to their tumor forms protect from tumor challenge without causing autoimmunity. Therapeutic vaccines that have utilized these antigens have had only marginal efficacy, which extensive research has now attributed to the presence of many immunosuppressive influences in the tumor microenvironment. MUC1 is one such antigen that has been shown effective as a vaccine in preclinical animal models but has had limited immunogenicity and little efficacy as a therapeutic vaccine in numerous clinical trials in many epithelial tumors, including cancer. Hypothesizing that the major difference between the outcome of the vaccine in preclinical models and in clinical trials is likely to be the high level of immune suppression in cancer patients, we began to develop models and MUC1 vaccines for cancer prevention in patients at risk, before immune suppression develops. We determined first that the tumor form of MUC1 was expressed on early premalignant lesions as well and chose premalignant colonic polyps as the first setting for testing the preventative vaccine. Data will be reviewed from a published feasibility study confirming immunogenicity and safety of the MUC1 vaccine in healthy individuals at risk for colon cancer. Data will then be presented from a recently completed unpublished randomized, double blind placebo controlled multi-center prophylactic MUC1 vaccine trial in the same patient population, those with a history of advanced colonic polyps and therefore at increased risk of developing colon cancer. Citation Format: Olivera (Olja) J. Finn. Tumor-associated antigen MUC1 vaccine for colon cancer prevention [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr SY17-03.
Novel non-invasive assessment of upper airway inflammation in obstructive sleep apnea using positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging

To develop a novel non-invasive technique to quantify upper airway inflammation using positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with treatment naive moderate-to-severe OSA underwent [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) PET/MRI. Three readers independently performed tracings of the pharyngeal soft tissue on MRI. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were generated from region of interest (ROI) tracings on corresponding PET images. Background SUV was measured from the sternocleidomastoid muscle. SUV and target-to-background (TBR) were compared across readers using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses. SUV from individual image slices were compared between each reader using Bland–Altman plots and Pearson correlation coefficients. All tracings were repeated by one reader for assessment of intra-reader reliability. Five participants completed our imaging protocol and analysis. Median age, body mass index, and apnea–hypopnea index were 41 years (IQR 40.5–68.5), 32.7 kg/m2 (IQR 28.1–38.1), and 30.7 event per hour (IQR 19.5–48.1), respectively. The highest metabolic activity regions were consistently localized to palatine or lingual tonsil adjacent mucosa. Twenty-five ICC met criteria for excellent agreement. The remaining three were TBR measurements which met criteria for good agreement. Head-to-head comparisons revealed strong correlation between each reader. Our novel imaging technique demonstrated reliable quantification of upper airway FDG avidity. This technology has implications for future work exploring local airway inflammation in individuals with OSA and exposure to pollutants. It may also serve as an assessment tool for response to OSA therapies.
Direct air capture with bis-iminoguanidines: From discovery to commercialization

Research on direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) over the past five years is highlighted, starting with the initial discovery, continuing with fundamental and applied research, and concluding with commercialization by teaming up with industry.
Introduction: The Case Study

This chapter introduces the book on self-regulation of learning and teaching by providing evidence from research conducted in an urban institution with core values that are aligned with academic, diverse, and transforming principles, which was the perfect choice for a small group of aspiring teachers. Not fully realizing the obstacles to achieving their dreams to make significant contributions to their communities, four teacher candidates entered the arena of a nurturing and caring teacher education program that welcomed the opportunity to turn their dreams into goals. Well aware of the obstacles, faculty members believed self-regulated aspiring teachers could do well in the program in spite of past academic challenges. A well-documented component of the success of the four students presented in this case study is the emphasis the teacher preparation program places on enhancing their self-regulatory skills along with the development of self-efficacy and sense of agency. The researchers employed the case study method to use real time evidence of the teacher candidate’s initial steps, trajectories, processes, academic progress, and professional outcomes to provide a holistic and interesting description of four success stories.
The impact of signal transduction pathways in a hormone dependent prostate cancer model (LNCaP cells).

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 5353 Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in US men. Initially, the majority of prostate cancer patients present with localized hormone dependent disease. As such, primary treatment consisting of androgen ablation is often successful in preventing or delaying the progression of disease. It is widely accepted that hormone dependent prostate cancer growth occurs through the androgen receptor (AR) which activates transcription of androgen responsive genes and proliferation of cancer cells. The human hormone dependent prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) is an established model for in vitro investigation of hormone dependent prostate cancer. Despite a mutated AR, LNCaP cells stimulated by 10 pM of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increase cell growth 200% compared to vehicle treated control. LNCaP cells are also sensitive to hormone therapy such as casodex and VN/85-1, a novel CYP17/lyase inhibitor (IC50=1.29nM) and anti-androgen synthesized in our laboratory. In this study we investigated whether growth factor receptor pathways are also responsible for growth of the hormone dependent LNCaP cells. Many signal transduction proteins including p-Akt, p-mTOR and other downstream proteins are expressed in LNCaP cells and are responsible for cell growth. Compared to control, we found that wortmannin (IC50=249nM) and rapamycin (IC50=21nM) inhibit Akt and mTOR pathways respectively and cell growth. The expression of these proteins and their impact on cell survival indicate that the pathways are essential for cell growth in addition to AR mediated growth. We next investigated the effect of growth inhibition of both pathways by combination treatment with wortmannin plus VN/85-1 (IC50=2.3μM) as well as rapamycin plus VN/85-1. Both combinations significantly (p<0.001) inhibited cell growth compared to single agent treatment. This indicated that inhibition of both the PI3K axis and the AR was more effective than inhibition of either one alone. Using co-immunoprecipitation, we then found an interaction between the p-Akt and the AR. Whether the AR phosphorylates the Akt or vise versa remains to be determined. The activation of various signal transduction pathways in addition to the AR in the growth of hormone dependent prostate cancer has clinical implications and could at least in part account for the progression to androgen independent prostate cancer. Furthermore, inhibition of these pathways also has the potential to impact treatment of localized early stage prostate cancer and prolong the time of progression to androgen independent prostate cancer.
Development of an Adaptive Corridor Traffic Control Model

This research develops and tests, via microscopic simulation, a real-time adaptive control system for corridor management in the form of three real-time adaptive control strategies: intersection control, ramp control and an integrated control that combines both intersection and ramp control. The development of these strategies is based on a mathematical representation that describes the behavior of traffic flow in corridor networks and actuated controller operation. Only those parameters commonly found in modern actuated controllers are considered in the formulation of the optimal control problem. Simulation results indicate that the proposed strategies are able to increase overall system performance and also the local performance on ramps and intersections. In testing the optimal control model, a variety of conditions were simulated on the freeway and arterial subsystems that cover the range of demand from peak to non-peak, incident to non-incident, conditions. The results of these experiments were evaluated against
On the Long-Run Variance Ratio Test for a Unit Root

This paper investigates the effects of consistent and inconsistent long-run variance estimation on a unit root test based on the generalization of the von Neumann ratio. The results from the Monte Carlo experiments suggest that the tests based on an inconsistent estimator have less size distortion and more stability of size across different autocorrelation specifications as compared to the tests based on a consistent estimator. This improvement in size property, however, comes at the cost of a loss in power. The finite sample power, as well as the local asymptotic power, of the tests with an inconsistent estimator is shown to be much lower than that of conventional tests. This finding resembles the case of the autocorrelation robust test in the standard regression context. The paper also points out that combining consistent and inconsistent estimators in the long-run variance ratio test for a unit root is one possibility of balancing the size and power.
CONVERSION OF THE PHASE I ANTIGEN OF COXIELLA BURNETII TO HAPTEN BY PHENOL TREATMENT.

Abstract Anacker, R. L. (Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, Mont.), W. T. Haskins, D. B. Lackman, E. Ribi, and E. G. Pickens. Conversion of the phase I antigen of Coxiella burnetii to hapten by phenol treatment. J. Bacteriol. 85:1165–1170. 1963.—Trichloroacetic acid extracts of Coxiella burnetii are converted to hapten by treatment with phenol. Such extracts react, like the original trichloroacetic acid extract, at high dilution in the complement-fixation test and produce zones of precipitate with specific antibody in gel diffusion tests; but, unlike the parent extract, injection of the phenol-treated extract neither induces resistance to challenge in guinea pigs nor antibody formation in guinea pigs, rabbits, or mice. This loss of antigenicity is correlated with removal of protein from the original product.
Can Radiotherapy Replace Axillary Dissection for Patients with Positive Sentinel Nodes

The substitution of sentinel node biopsy for axillary dissection for patients with early-stage breast cancer has reduced the morbidity of pathologic axillary nodal staging substantially. However, this has resulted in substantial controversy about how to manage patients with positive sentinel nodes. Radiation therapy has been used for many years instead of or in addition to axillary sampling or axillary dissection. This article will examine parts of this experience relevant to the treatment of patients with positive sentinel node biopsy, the limited data on outcome of patients with a positive sentinel node biopsy who do not undergo completion dissection, and the toxicities of axillary irradiation. Finally, I suggest an overall approach to the management of patients with a positive sentinel node biopsy.
Punitive Damages and Private Ordering Fetishism: A Reply to Professors Krauss and Owen

This essay is a reply to two recent responses that appeared in the U. Penn Law Review's online companion, PENNumbra by Professors Michael Krauss and David Owen. The essay's principal goal is to clarify some areas where I think Professors Krauss and Owen misunderstood some aspects of my proposed framework for restructuring punitive damages, a framework I developed in two articles last year. Those clarifications address issues including but not limited to how punitive damages law ought to address the wealth or financial condition of the defendant, the defendant’s status as a corporation, settlement dynamics and insurance. Before I answer Professor Krauss’s and Professor Owen’s challenges in those particular domains, however, I begin the essay with some more general observations about what role tort law could and should serve. My hope is that these initial remarks will provide some context for the nature and significance of the particular policy disputes we have with respect to punitive damages law. You can find the articles Professor Krauss and Owen respond to here: Markel, Retributive Damages: A Theory of Punitive Damages as Intermediate Sanction, 94 Cornell L. Rev. 239-340 (2009) (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=991865) Markel, How Should Punitive Damages Work?, 157 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1383 (2009) (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1260019) You can find Professor Krauss's Response here: Michael I. Krauss, Response, “Retributive Damages” and the Death of Private Ordering, 158 U. Pa. L. Rev. PENNumbra 167 (2010) You can find Professor Owen's Response here: David G. Owen, Response, Aggravating Punitive Damages, 158 U. Pa. L. Rev. PENNumbra 181 (2010)
Ewing's Bone Sarcoma, Paternal Occupational Exposure, and Other Factors

To determine risk factors for Ewing's bone sarcoma, the authors interviewed mothers of 43 patients diagnosed between January 1978 and August 1986 and 193 controls in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, regarding medical and occupational history of parents and other factors related to the subjects and their immediate families. Controls were selected by using random digit dial telephone methods. Adjusted relative risk estimates suggest that risks were elevated for children whose fathers were engaged in agricultural occupations during the period from 6 months prior to conception of the subject up to the time of diagnosis for the patients or interview for the controls (relative risk (RR) = 8.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8-42.7) and for children whose fathers had occupational exposure to herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers (RR = 6.1, 95% CI 1.7-21.9, p = 0.002). Prior ingestion of poison or an overdose of medication was more common in patients than in controls (RR = 4.4, 95% CI 1.4-13.5). These and other findings should be investigated in larger population-based studies to determine specific factors that may account for the associations.
Molecular Detection and Identification of Intimin Alleles in Pathogenic Escherichia coli by Multiplex PCR

A multiplex PCR was designed to detect the eae gene and simultaneously identify specific alleles in pathogenic Escherichia coli. The method was tested on 87 strains representing the diarrheagenic E. coli clones. The results show that the PCR assay accurately detects eae and resolves alleles encoding the alpha, beta, and gamma intimin variants.
Organization and structure of actin filament bundles in Listeria‐infected cells

During its motion inside host cells, Listeria monocytogenes promotes the formation of a column of actin filaments that extends outward from the distal end of the moving bacterium. The column is constructed of short actin filaments that polymerize at the bacteria-column interface. To get a measure of filament organization in the column, Listeria grown in cultured PtK2 cells were studied with steady state fluorescence polarization, confocal microscopy, and whole cell intermediate voltage electron microscopy. Although actin filament ordering was higher in nearby stress fibers than in the Listeria-associated actin, four distinct areas of ordering could be observed in fluorescence polarization ratio images of bacteria: (1) the surface of the bacteria, (2) the cytoplasm next to the bacteria, (3) the outer shell of the actin column, and (4) the core of the column. Filaments were preferentially oriented parallel to the long axis of the column with highest ordering along the long axis of the bacterial surface and in the shell of the tail. The lowest ordering was in the core (where filaments are possibly also shorter with respect to the cup and the shell), whereas in the adjacent cytoplasm, filaments were oriented perpendicular to the column. A mutant of Listeria that can polymerize actin around itself but cannot move intracellularly does not have its actin organized along the bacterial surface. Thus the alignment of the actin filaments along the bacterial surfaces may be important for the intracellular movement. These conclusions are also supported by confocal microscopy and whole mount electron microscopic data that also reveal that actin filaments can be deposited asymmetrically around the long axis of the bacteria, a distribution that may affect the direction of motility of Listeria monocytogenes inside infected cells. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Reliable Exclusion of Acute Coronary Syndrome Among Hospitalized Patients With Elevated Troponin

Background Elevated cardiac troponin I (cTnI) occurs in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as well as various scenarios not associated with ACS. Hypothesis Simple clinical criteria can reliably exclude ACS among hospitalized patients with elevated cTnI. Methods Records for patients hospitalized from January to April 2011 with elevated cTnI (>0.29 ng/dL) and an available echocardiogram were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were excluded. Based on available clinical data, patients were classified as having ACS or elevation of cTnI unrelated to ACS (non-ACS). Median follow-up was 365 days. Results Of 265 records meeting inclusion criteria, 82 (31%) had ACS and 183 (69%) had non-ACS. In multivariable analysis, odds ratios for non-ACS were 7.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.8-15.3) for peak cTnI <2 ng/dL, 6.3 (95% CI: 3.1-13.0) for absent wall-motion abnormality, and 4.4 (95% CI: 2.2-8.6) for no prior coronary artery disease history. The area under the receiver operating curve for a model using these 3 variables was 0.86, with a 98% negative predictive value for excluding ACS. Patients who met these 3 criteria had no ACS-related deaths over 1-year follow-up. Conclusions Hospitalized patients with peak Tn level <2 ng/dL, no prior history of coronary artery disease, and no new echocardiographic wall-motion abnormality appear to have a very low likelihood of ACS. Prospective validation of these results is needed to determine whether additional diagnostic testing could be safely avoided in hospitalized patients meeting these simple clinical criteria.
Another problem of Akrasia

Au-dela de la these ancienne, socratique et aristotelicienne, qui explique le comportement akratique par la defaite de la raison sur l'appetit, l'A. traite du probleme de la temperance d'un point de vue moderne inaugure par Hume et reformule par Davidson dans le sens formel d'une theorie de l'action definissant l'akrasia comme le conflit pratique de la raison avec la raison, soulevant l'autre probleme de la distinction aristotelicienne entre l'akrasia des appetits biologiques et l'akrasia d'autres desirs relevant du choix rationnel et de la theorie de l'action
Block Toeplitz approximation

Abstract In this paper the two-dimensional harmonic retrieval problem is addressed by extending a high resolution one-dimensional technique, the Iterated Toeplitz Approximation Method (ITAM), to the two-dimensional problem. The two-dimensional version of the algorithm (ITAM2-D) attempts to improve the frequency estimates by modeling the covariance matrix as a low rank Toeplitz-block Toeplitz matrix and is derived from the one-dimensional algorithm in a straightforward manner. It is shown that ITAM2-D may be used effectively as a preprocessor for orther algorithms such as the all-pole modeling technique of Jackson and Chien. Computer simulations are presented to examine the performance of the ITAM2-D algorithm.
pH-Dependent processes at Nafion®-coated carbon-fiber microelectrodes

Cyclic voltammetry has been used to examine pH-dependent processes in aqueous solution at carbon-fiber electrodes with scan rates above 100 V s−1. Specifically, the reduction of p-benzoquinone and the oxidation of dopamine have been investigated. The mechanism of electrolysis of quinoidal compounds has been extensively characterized at slow scan rates with conventional electrodes in prior work. Digital simulations based on the reported rates and E° values show that the electrode reaction mechanisms can be diagnosed at high rates of scan by examination of the pH dependence of the peak potentials of cyclic voltammograms. However, the experimentally determined pH dependences of the voltammetric peak potentials for these compounds differ from those obtained by simulation suggesting the electrode mechanism differs at carbon-fiber electrodes. The altered mechanism may reflect surface catalysis since the data show a correlation between the position of the surface voltammetric waves found at carbon-fiber electrodes and the voltammetric peak positions of the compounds. When the electrodes are coated with Nafion®, the pH dependence of the voltammetric waves is further altered. The surface waves are found to shift linearly with pH, and can be used to diagnose alterations in the pH of the solution.
Metabolic Effects of Bariatric Surgery in Patients With Moderate Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: Analysis of a randomized control trial comparing surgery with intensive medical treatment

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of two bariatric procedures versus intensive medical therapy (IMT) on β-cell function and body composition. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective, randomized, controlled trial of 60 subjects with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c 9.7 ± 1%) and moderate obesity (BMI 36 ± 2 kg/m2) randomized to IMT alone, IMT plus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or IMT plus sleeve gastrectomy. Assessment of β-cell function (mixed meal tolerance testing) and body composition were performed at baseline and 12 and 24 months. RESULTS Glycemic control improved in all three groups at 24 months ( N = 54), with a mean HbA1c of 6.7 ± 1.2% for gastric bypass, 7.1 ± 0.8% for sleeve gastrectomy, and 8.4 ± 2.3% for IMT ( P < 0.05 for each surgical group versus IMT). Reduction in body fat was similar for both surgery groups, with greater absolute reduction in truncal fat in gastric bypass versus sleeve gastrectomy (−16 vs. −10%; P = 0.04). Insulin sensitivity increased significantly from baseline in gastric bypass (2.7-fold; P = 0.004) and did not change in sleeve gastrectomy or IMT. β-cell function (oral disposition index) increased 5.8-fold in gastric bypass from baseline, was markedly greater than IMT ( P = 0.001), and was not different between sleeve gastrectomy versus IMT ( P = 0.30). At 24 months, β-cell function inversely correlated with truncal fat and prandial free fatty acid levels. CONCLUSIONS Bariatric surgery provides durable glycemic control compared with intensive medical therapy at 2 years. Despite similar weight loss as sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass uniquely restores pancreatic β-cell function and reduces truncal fat, thus reversing the core defects in diabetes.
Mapping the journalism–blogging relationship

Using a systems framework from the sociology of occupations, this article maps the journalism-blogging relationship, revealing areas of conflict between the two, vulnerabilities, and predictors of vulnerability. The systems framework suggests occupations exist within a network of other occupations and that they encroach into each other’s jurisdictional areas. A variety of factors shape these fluid processes. Factors that are external to the occupation include organizational division of labor, revenue needs, and relationships with other institutions. Internal factors include the degree to which journalists control the definition of problems and inference to solutions, and the success with which they solve problems. Difficulties posed by external and internal factors have led journalism to neglect some types of news information, which in turn have been poached by bloggers. These include partisan expression, ‘old stories’, stories driven by non-elite sources, and highly specialized content. A model for futur...
A Proposal for Handling Missing Data.

A method for dealing with the problem of missing observations in multivariate data is developed and evaluated. The method uses a transformation of the principal components of the data to estimate missing entries. The properties of this method and four alternative methods are investigated by means of a Monte Carlo study of 42 computer-generated data matrices. The methods are compared with respect to their ability to predict correlation matrices as well as missing entries. The results indicate that whenever there exists modest intercorrelations among the variables (i.e., average off diagonal correlation above .2) the proposed method is at least as good as the best alternative (a regression method) while being considerably faster and simpler computationally. Models for determining the best alternative based upon easily calculated characteristics of the matrix are given. The generality of these models is demonstrated using the previously published results of Timm.
Problems of angular momentum projection in nuclear physics

Abstract In nuclear models approximate wave functions are often used which do no have sharp angular momentum as required of the exact wave functions. It seem obvious that model wave functions of this type should be improved by projection onto states of good angular momentum. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the technical difficulties of projection (which can be formidable for many particle systems), but rather to present in an elementary way certain fundamental ambiguities in the use of projection. An application to high spin states near the yrast line is suggested.
Dependence of Transverse-Momentum Distributions of π - 's on P ⊥ of a Proton in pp Interactions at 28.5 GeV/c

We present transverse-momentum distributions of ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}'\mathrm{s}$ produced in the reaction ${p}_{1}{p}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{p}_{3}X$ at 28.5 GeV/c observed by the Multiparticle Argo Spectrometer System. As the transverse momentum of the trigger proton ${p}_{3}$ is raised from 0.4 to 1.6 GeV/c we find that the shape of the ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ momentum distribution normal to the (${p}_{1}, {p}_{3}$) plane remains unchanged. The shape of the distribution in the plane is also relatively constant but the distribution shifts to balance transverse momentum.
Second-best property value capitalization

Abstract A simple model of distortive local finance shows how lump-sum finance models are misleading, what information local prices contain in the presence of distortions, and the feasibility of adjusting observed property value changes to infer resident net benefits of public goods.
Nutritional performance of first and penultimate-final Instar bagworm larvae on two unrelated hosts as influenced by host of origin

Nutritional performance of early and late instar bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis Haworth) larvae was investigated as a function of host of origin and host type, using two taxonomically distant wild hosts, Salix nigra (Marshall) and Juniperus virginiana (L.). First instar growth and survival were higher on S. nigra; overall performance was similar on the two hosts in penultimate-final instars. There was no evidence for host associated differentiation with respect to nutritional performance. There were, however, significant genotype & environment interactions for several characters studied, suggesting that the potential for host associated differentiation exists.
In Vitro Study of Variables Relevant to Perioperative Care of the Surgical Patient: Glucose, Osmolarity, and Rewarming

Background We sought to determine the effects of altering osmolarity and the reversibility of the detrimental immunologic effects of hypothermia on human monocyte HLA-DR surface expression and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Study Design The effects of altering osmolarity on HLA-DR surface expression and ROS formation were assessed using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated samples treated with either saline, glucose, or mannitol, incubated at 37°C for 2 hours. HLA-DR surface receptor expression and ROS formation were determined after incubation. The effects of the reversibility of hypothermia were measured by incubating LPS-treated samples at 34°C, 37°C, and 40°C for 1 hour. The samples were subsequently rewarmed at 40°C for 1 and 2 hours. The effects of rewarming on HLA-DR surface receptor expression and ROS formation were reassessed. Results In the osmolarity experiments, there was a 49% decrease in ROS formation in samples treated with mannitol as compared with saline and glucose. Alterations of osmolarity had no significant effect on HLA-DR surface expression. In the rewarming experiments, rewarming for either 1 or 2 hours abolished any significant differences in HLA-DR surface expression and ROS formation between samples preincubated at the different temperatures. Conclusions The presumed inert mannitol was found to significantly decrease ROS formation, but had no effect on HLA-DR surface expression. In addition, the effects of hypothermia on HLA-DR surface expression or ROS formation may be better reversed within 2 hours than in 1 hour.
Instability in pressure‐dependent sedimentation of monomer—polymer systems

The possibility of convection in velocity sedimentation studies on pressure dependent associating systems is known both experimentally and theoretically. We present accurate numerical solutions to the Lamm equation to illustrate this phenomenon for monomer–polymer systems. An approximate theory based on the absence of diffusion is then developed to predict the onset of convection. Comparison of the theory with the numerical solutions shows it to be quite accurate.
Effect of the rare-earth ion R on structure and superconductivity in high-Tc RBa2Cu3Oy ceramics

Abstract Variations in previously published crystallographic parameters and critical temperature (Tc) for a series of RBa2Cu3Oy (R = Y) or one of a host of rare earths) ceramics are explored as a function of the ionic radius of the R ion. For both the orthorhombic (y ∼ 7) and tetragonal (y ∼ 6) phases of these ceramics, a nominally linear increase with increasing ionic radius is observed for most structural parameters. An exception is the c axis of the tetragonal phase -- an effect that is attributed to non-systematic differences in the oxygen content between the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases. Additionally, the variation in f electron count is typically seen as a modulation on the more pronounced size effect. Finally, Tc is also seen to monotonically increase with ionic size, which is ascribed to an increasing density of states at the fermi level.
Finding common ground as we cross borders

The practice of technical and professional communication is more challenging every year. Technologies expand exponentially; audiences multiply in numbers, methods of access, and diversity; boundaries collapse around islands of information, methods of knowledge transfer, multiple cultural backgrounds, and demands for immediacy of communication. Practitioners sometimes feel they are swimming against a tsunami of change! As educators preparing professionals for their future, how do we make sense of technical communication now and particularly in the future? Are there some enduring principles, some common grounds for our discipline, even as borders of knowledge expand? Technical and professional communication's future relies upon both academics and practitioners contributing to knowledge as we prepare ourselves and our students for the future. This work in progress suggests some principles we can rely upon.
Integrated catheter for intravascular ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging

The vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques that are formed in the arterial walls due to atherosclerosis depends on both their distribution and composition. The distribution of the plaques can be imaged using an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging which is a clinically approved minimally-invasive method. The recently introduced intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging may be used to obtain the necessary information about the composition of the plaques. Previous studies using excised rabbit arteries have demonstrated that the combined IVUS/IVPA imaging may simultaneously provide the morphology and functional information of plaques. However, for in-vivo IVUS/IVPA imaging, an integrated IVUS/IVPA imaging catheter capable both of delivering light into a vessel lumen with consequent detection of photoacoustic transients and of probing the arterial walls in pulse-echo mode is required. In the current study, an advanced prototype of the integrated IVUS/IVPA imaging catheter based on a 40-MHz single-element ultrasound transducer and a 600-μm-core single optical fiber is introduced. Unlike previously reported prototypes, the current integrated IVUS/IVPA imaging catheter is capable of cross-sectional imaging of vessel walls via mechanical rotation of the catheter. The performance of the integrated IVUS/IVPA catheter was evaluated in tissue-mimicking phantoms with and without the presence of blood in a lumen. The results of our study suggest that the approach used to develop integrated IVUS/IVPA imaging catheter can be successfully translated to the clinical environment for in-vivo combined IVUS/IVPA imaging.
Histone H4 tail mediates allosteric regulation of nucleosome remodelling by linker DNA

Imitation switch (ISWI)-family remodelling enzymes regulate access to genomic DNA by mobilizing nucleosomes. These ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers promote heterochromatin formation and transcriptional silencing by generating regularly spaced nucleosome arrays. The nucleosome-spacing activity arises from the dependence of nucleosome translocation on the length of extranucleosomal linker DNA, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we study nucleosome remodelling by human ATP-dependent chromatin assembly and remodelling factor (ACF), an ISWI enzyme comprising a catalytic subunit, Snf2h, and an accessory subunit, Acf1 (refs 2, 11 - 13). We find that ACF senses linker DNA length through an interplay between its accessory and catalytic subunits mediated by the histone H4 tail of the nucleosome. Mutation of AutoN, an auto-inhibitory domain within Snf2h that bears sequence homology to the H4 tail, abolishes the linker-length sensitivity in remodelling. Addition of exogenous H4-tail peptide or deletion of the nucleosomal H4 tail also diminishes the linker-length sensitivity. Moreover, Acf1 binds both the H4-tail peptide and DNA in an amino (N)-terminal domain dependent manner, and in the ACF-bound nucleosome, lengthening the linker DNA reduces the Acf1-H4 tail proximity. Deletion of the N-terminal portion of Acf1 (or its homologue in yeast) abolishes linker-length sensitivity in remodelling and leads to severe growth defects in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest a mechanism for nucleosome spacing where linker DNA sensing by Acf1 is allosterically transmitted to Snf2h through the H4 tail of the nucleosome. For nucleosomes with short linker DNA, Acf1 preferentially binds to the H4 tail, allowing AutoN to inhibit the ATPase activity of Snf2h. As the linker DNA lengthens, Acf1 shifts its binding preference to the linker DNA, freeing the H4 tail to compete AutoN off the ATPase and thereby activating ACF.
Microcyst formation in the plasmodial slime moldDidymium iridis

Myxamoebae ofDidymium iridis were removed from the bacterial food source and induced to encyst by transfer to 10 mM phosphate buffer. After 24 hours of induction approximately 90% of the myxamoebae had differentiated into microcysts. The kinetics of encystment were not significantly affected by pH or osmolarity of the encystment medium. Early stages of encystment were distinguished by the appearance of autophagic vacuoles and an extracellular “slime-like” sheath. The outer wall layer, consisting of dense fibrils, was unevenly deposited after 4 hours. An electron-lucent, second wall layer appeared between 5–10 hours followed by a densely packed, third wall layer adjacent to the plasma membrane. Wall formation appeared to involve smooth-membraned vesicles of possible Golgi origin. The vesicle contents and outer wall layer reacted with the periodic acid-silver methenamine stain for polysaccharide. The density of intramembrane particles of the protoplasmic fracture face increased during encystment with a gradual formation of aggregates of particles.
Myostatin maps to the interval containing the bovine mh locus.

Myostatin (GDF-8) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily and plays a role in muscle growth and development. Mice having targeted disruption of this gene display marked increases in muscle mass, a phenotype similar to the muscular hypertrophy (mh) in several cattle breeds. Physical mapping data developed from YAC clones indicate the bovine myostatin gene lies close to the centromere of bovine Chromosome (Chr) 2 (BTA2) at 2q11, indistinguishable from the cytogenetic location of the mh locus. In addition, a polymorphism in the second intron of the gene was used to show that myostatin maps within the interval previously shown to contain mh. These data suggest myostatin may be the gene causing muscular hypertrophy in cattle.
Wideband micromachined acoustic sensors with radio frequency detection

Silicon micromachining techniques permit batch fabrication of microphones that are small, reproducible, and inexpensive. However, many such sensors have limited bandwidth or are too fragile to be used in a humid, wet, or dusty outdoor environment. Microphones using capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) membranes and radio frequency (RF) detection overcome some of the problems associated with conventional micromachined microphones. CMUTmembranes can be vacuum-sealed and still withstand atmospheric pressure and submersion in water. In addition, the membrane mechanical response is very flat from dc up to hundreds of kilohertz. A very sensitive RF detection scheme is necessary to detect the small changes in membrane displacement that result from utilizing smaller membranes. In this paper, we present the theory and recent experimental results of RF detection with CMUTmembranes. Measurements of a sensor with 1-mm 2 area demonstrate a flat output response of the acoustic sensor from a fraction of 1 Hz to over 100 kHz, with a sensitivity at 1 kHz of 65 dB/Pa in a 1-Hz noise bandwidth.
Confinement-enhanced biexciton binding energy in semiconductor quantum dots

Experimental observation of the ground-state biexciton transition in ${\mathrm{CdS}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Se}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$ quantum dots in glass is presented in a three-beam experiment, involving a probe, a pump, and a saturating laser pulse. The observed quantum-dot biexciton ground state has a strongly enhanced binding energy compared to the bulk as theoretically predicted. The biexciton binding energy is measured as a function of quantum-dot size and the results are compared with calculations.
How accurate are time-use reports? Effects of cognitive enhancement and cultural differences on recall accuracy

In order to assess the accuracy of time-use reports, 80 young adults were observed for 2-hour periods, and were interviewed about their activities by a different person the following day. Two experiments were performed. In the first, three different levels of cognitive enhancement were used to improve recall accuracy. Subjects were 60 California college students, 20 per group. In the second study the maximum enhancement condition was replicated with 20 Guatemalan subjects, similar in age, sex and level of education to the California subjects. Both the accuracy of their recall of specific activities, and the accuracy of their time-duration estimates were calculated. Results indicated that the enhancement conditions in Study 1 significantly increased both the number of activities recalled accurately (from 40 to 63 per cent) and the amount of time accurately recalled (from 58 to 70 per cent). In Study 2 the Guatemalans recalled 60 per cent of their activities accurately, and recalled as much time accurately as the Californians. The Guatemalans were significantly more likely to underestimate their time. In other words, when they made errors, these were almost always underestimations. Most of the recall error could be accounted for by forgetting an activity altogether, rather than by estimating its time inaccurately.
174. Early life adversity, depressive symptoms, and endothelial dysfunction in women veterans

Veterans are at particular risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and this may be related to early life adversity. Prior research demonstrates early life adversity promotes inflammation, which contributes to not only depressive symptoms but also to endothelial dysfunction, a precursor to CVD. Compared to female civilians, women Veterans have greater histories of abuse and therefore may be at particular risk for CVD. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate early life adversity, depressive symptoms, and endothelial dysfunction in women Veterans. A cross sectional sample of women Veterans (mean age = 50.47) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Endothelial function was assessed by measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation using the Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) signaling technology, which non-invasively measures arterial tone in peripheral arterial beds. Subjects reported high levels of depressive symptoms that were positively associated with CTQ early life adversity subscales of emotional neglect (r = .669, p = .003), physical neglect (r = .590, p = .013), emotional abuse (r = .768, p = .000), and physical abuse (r = .537, p = .026). Nearly one third of the subjects (29.3%) had demonstrable endothelial dysfunction with Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI) scores
Intratympanic dexamethasone for profound idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Objectives To determine hearing recovery by using intratympanic dexamethasone for profound, idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). Study design and setting A prospective, clinical study was performed of 25 consecutive patients seen with profound ISSNHL. Patients received 4 intratympanic treatments of dexamethasone over the course of 2 weeks. Complete hearing recovery was defined as the final pure-tone average (PTA) within 10 dB of baseline. Partial recovery was defined as a final PTA with ≥50% hearing. The hearing in the contralateral ear was used as baseline. Results The average time to treatment was 28 days. Two patients had significant hearing recovery, and 1 additional patient had partial recovery. The 2 patients with significant hearing recovery were treated within 9 days of onset of hearing loss. Conclusions By using the treatment protocol and definition of hearing recovery of this study, intratympanic dexamethasone does not result in significant hearing improvement for patients with profound ISSNHL. There is a possible trend for improved hearing results if intratympanic treatment is performed within 11 days of onset of hearing loss.