cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Supplementing long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in canned wild Pacific pink salmon with Alaska salmon oil

Establishing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid contents in canned wild Alaska pink salmon products is challenging due to ample natural variation found in lipid content of pink salmon muscle. This study investigated the effect of adding salmon oil (SO) to canned pink salmon produced from fish exhibiting two opposite degrees of skin watermarking, bright (B) and dark (D). Specific goals of the study were to evaluate the benefits of adding SO to canned pink salmon with regard to nutritional value of the product, sensory characteristics, and the oxidative and hydrolytic stability of the lipids over thermal processing. Six groups of canned pink salmon were produced with variable levels of SO, either using bright (with 0, 1, or 2% SO) or dark (with 0, 2, or 4% SO) pink salmon. Compositional analysis revealed highest (P 0.05) ranging from 5.7% to 6.8%. Consequently, addition of SO to canned pink salmon allowed for consistent lipid content between bright and dark fish. Addition of 1% or 2% SO to canned bright pink salmon was not detrimental to the sensory properties of the product. It is recommended that canned bright pink salmon be supplemented with at least 1% SO, while supplementation with 2% SO would guarantee a minimum quantity of 1.9 g of n-3 fatty acids per 100 g of product. Addition of 4% SO to canned dark pink salmon was detrimental to product texture and taste, while supplementation with 2% SO did not negatively affect sensorial properties of the product. Accordingly, canned dark pink salmon should be supplemented with 2% SO so that a minimum n-3 fatty acids content of 1.5 g per 100 g of product.
Nest-searching cues and studies of nest-site selection and nesting success

Abstract Locating and monitoring nests are among the most widely used approaches in studies of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. While several papers outline “best practices” for nest studies, nest-searching techniques are seldom standardized in field investigations because observers generally use strategies that work best for them. In this study, I examined if field observers differed in the cues they used to locate nests, the species they found, and the fate of their nests (i.e., successful or failed), and the extent to which nest-searching cues were associated with either nest fate or vegetation characteristics surrounding the nest. My field assistants and I monitored 355 songbird nests on 10 forested sites in central Pennsylvania in 1998–99. Parental behavior was the most frequently used cue for locating nests (41%), followed by systematic searching of nesting substrate (37%). Accidental flushing of the parent (5%) and luck (17%) were involved in fewer located nests. Field observers differed...
Human polymorphonuclear neutrophils specifically recognize and kill cancerous cells

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), the main effectors of the innate immune system, have rarely been considered as an anticancer therapeutic tool. However, recent investigations using animal models and preliminary clinical studies have highlighted the potential antitumor efficacy of PMNs. In the current study, we find that PMNs from some healthy donors naturally have potent cancer-killing activity against 4 different human cancer cell lines. The killing activity appears to be cancer cell-specific since PMNs did not kill primary normal epithelial cells or an immortalized breast epithelial cell line. Transfecting the immortalized mammary cells with plasmids expressing activated forms of the rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Ras) and teratocarcinoma oncogene 21 (TC21) oncogenes was sufficient to provoke aggressive attack by PMNs. However, transfection with activated Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate (Rac1) was ineffective, suggesting specificity in PMN-targeting of neoplastic cells. Furthermore, PMNs from lung cancer patients were also found to exhibit relatively poor cancer-killing activity compared to the cytolytic activity of the average healthy donor. Taken together, our results suggest that PMN-based treatment regimens may represent a paradigm shift in cancer immunotherapy that may be easily introduced into the clinic to benefit a subset of patients with PMN-vulnerable tumors.
Assemblage structure is related to slope and depth on a deep offshore Pacific seamount chain

Scientific study has generated a range of hypotheses about the ecological structure and function of seamounts. Interpretations of these ideas and data are vital to understanding how seamount communities will respond to anthropogenic impacts. Here, we examine how diversity and structure of seamount assemblages vary with depth and slope of the sea floor. We conducted ROV video transects on three seamounts of the Taney Seamount Chain in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Depth and slope were both related to assemblage structure on the Taney seamounts. Depth differences were seen in alpha- and beta-diversity but not density. Beta-diversity and density but not alpha-diversity varied with slope. Overall, slope and depth together explained 14–31% of beta-diversity. The findings suggest that differences in beta-diversity as related to depth gradients may differ among onshore and offshore and/or between shallow and deep summit seamounts. Specifically, we hypothesize that differences in productivity and depth gradients among seamounts may generate different patterns of beta-diversity.
Taking Center Stage: Lessons of Austrian Comedy in an Advanced German Course.

This article focuses on approaches to teaching dramatic comedy in an upper-level undergraduate course. In particular, it outlines how the genre of comedy permits a special focus on Austria, where the rich tradition of comedy holds a prominent place in German-speaking Europe. I argue that dramatic comedy grants language learners a unique perspective on the distinct literary and cultural histories of each German-speaking nation, and that the single-genre focus allows for closer attention to a variety of sub-genres, topics, historical periods, rhetorical devices, as well as linguistic variation. The particular approach to comedy outlined here integrates dramatic performance with creative and analytic writings tasks designed to develop cultural and intercultural competencies as well as aesthetic and interpretive abilities. Furthermore, special attention to the rhetorical devices and linguistic variation in comedy promotes critical language awareness and a higher level of linguistic proficiency.
Contributions of early cortical processing and reading ability to functional status in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

Background There is a growing recognition that individuals at clinical high risk need intervention for functional impairments, along with emerging psychosis, as the majority of clinical high risk (CHR) individuals show persistent deficits in social and role functioning regardless of transition to psychosis. Recent studies have demonstrated reduced reading ability as a potential cause of functional disability in schizophrenia, related to underlying deficits in generation of mismatch negativity (MMN). The present study extends these findings to subjects at CHR.
Co‐expression of estrogen and thyroid hormone receptors in individual hypothalamic neurons

Estrogen receptors (ER) and thyroid hormone receptors (TR) are members of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors that induce or repress the expression of target genes. Previous behavioral studies in female rodents have demonstrated that thyroid hormones can antagonize the effects of estrogen in the central nervous system (CNS), particularly by attenuating estrogen's ability to facilitate reproductive behaviors. Additional molecular studies have suggested a mechanism for this antagonism by showing that ligand-activated ER alpha and TRs have the potential to interact in their transcriptional controls. Although the expression patterns of ER alpha and TRs in the rodent brain appear to overlap in behaviorally relevant areas, it remained to be determined whether these two classes of proteins coexist in vivo at the level of single neurons. To address this possibility, we employed a highly sensitive double-label in situ hybridization technique using digoxigenin and (35)S-labeled cRNA probes to analyze, in detail, the expression of ER alpha mRNA with TR alpha 1 and TR alpha 2 mRNAs in the same neurons of the ovariectomized (OVX) adult mouse brain. Our results demonstrate that a large majority of the ER alpha-positive neurons also expresses TR alpha 1 and TR alpha 2 mRNAs. Quantitative examination of the cellular expression in the ventromedial and arcuate nuclei of the hypothalamus (VMH and Arc) showed that 81.5% and 80.5% of the neurons endowed with ER alpha mRNA also contain TR alpha 1 and TR alpha 2 mRNAs, respectively. In the amygdala, more than 60.5% and 67% of ER alpha-positive cells also contain TR alpha 1 and TR alpha 2 mRNAs, respectively. These findings provide the first anatomical evidence that ER and TR can be found in the same neurons, including hypothalamic neurons. This coexpression of ER alpha and TR provides the cellular basis for a new level of neuronal integration in a brain region where estrogens control female reproductive behaviors.
Conceptual blending: Student reasoning when proving “conditional implies conditional” statements

Abstract Conceptual blending describes how humans condense information, combining it in novel ways. The blending process may create global insight or new detailed connections, but it may also result in a loss of information, causing confusion. In this paper, we describe the proof writing process of a group of four students in a university geometry course proving a statement of the form conditional implies conditional, i.e., ( p → q ) ⇒ ( r → s ). We use blending theory to provide insight into three diverse questions relevant for proof writing: (1) Where do key ideas for proofs come from?, (2) How do students structure their proofs and combine those structures with their more intuitive ideas?, and (3) How are students reasoning when they fail to keep track of the implication structure of the statements that they are using? We also use blending theory to describe the evolution of the students’ proof writing process through four episodes each described by a primary blend.
Readability formulas: An overview

The aim of this paper is to review some of the findings in the field of readability research. First, the differences in meaning between the terms ‘readability’ and ‘legibility’ are discussed. Next, the origins and developments of readability formulas are examined in detail. Then, the best‐known formulas for English language material are described so as to give the reader a brief overview of what has been achieved in this field of research. Finally, the principal applications of these formulas are described.
SEASONAL TIMING, ABUNDANCE, AND PREDATORY STATUS OF ARTHROPODS ASSOCIATED WITH CORN INFESTED BY PICTURE-WINGED FLIES (DIPTERA: ULIDIIDAE) IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Since the 1960s, the USA has led all other countries in the production of sweet corn (Zea mays L.), and Florida has often led the nation, such as from 2004 to 2009. Picture-winged flies, or corn silk flies, including Euxesta stigmatias Loew, E. eluta Loew, E. annonae F., and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae), are serious pests of field and sweet corn in southern Florida. Control has focused on the use of chemical insecticides, but efforts have begun to explore other control methods, such as using predatory arthropods. We studied the timing, abundance, identification, and predatory status of ulidiids and other arthropod species associated with corn ears growing in the field in the spring, summer, and fall of 2010. Predators of ulidiids included Orius insidiosus Say (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), Anotylus insignitus (Gravenhorst) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Chrysoperla carnea Smith (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), Zelus longipes (L.) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), and potentially other arthropod species. Larvae of A. insignitus, C. carnea, and nymphs and adults of O. insidiosus consumed eggs and larvae of ulidiids in laboratory no-choice tests. Other than ulidiid eggs and/or larvae, O. insidiosus was the most abundant arthropod species in the silking (R1) stage of corn in all 3 seasons. Sap beetle larvae or adults (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) were the most abundant arthropod groups in the spring blister stage (R2) and in milk stages (R3) of the spring and fall. The most abundant groups in the summer R2 and R3 stages included A. insignitus larvae and sap beetle larvae and adults, and in the summer R2, also O. insidiosus. The most abundant groups in the fall R2 were O. insidiosus, sap beetle adults, Thrips sp. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and mites. Chrysoperla carnea was found only in the summer, and Z. longipes only in the fall. In all 3 seasons, ulidiid eggs were more abundant than larvae in the R1 stage, but larvae usually outnumbered eggs in the R2 and R3 stages. Each of the groups, O. insidiosus and eggs and larvae of ulidiids, were most abundant in the summer followed by the fall and least abundant in the spring. These findings may help in determining spatial distributions and functional responses of these predators to further evaluate their potential to control ulidiid flies.
Dynamic matrix control of an industrial steam gas reformer

Abstract A simulation study has been conducted to assess the performance of DMC (Dynamic Matrix Control) applied to an industrial steam gas reformer, coupled with a steam boiler unit, and used for hydrogen production. The objective has been to improve the control of the reformer product temperature, quality and water level in the steam boiler. The simulation results show an excellent servo and regulatory performance of DMC in contrast to the multiloop PID-type controllers. DMC appears to hold a considerable promise this the process unit.
Testing the psychometric properties of the Cognitions Checklist, a measure to differentiate anxiety and depression among older adults

Considerable debate has been waged in the field about whether anxiety and depressive cognitions can be discriminated, and whether they can discriminate anxiety and depression symptoms. The current study examined a standard measure of cognitions, the Cognitions Checklist (CCL) that has yielded mixed results when tested in older age samples. A community sample of older adults (N=169; mean age=75.70; SD=8.55) completed a series of self-report questionnaires, including the CCL as well as measures of anxiety and depression symptoms. The CCL, which yielded a three-factor structure rather than the typical two-factor structure, did not cognitively discriminate anxiety from depression. The results have implications for understanding cognitive factors that differentiate between anxiety and depression symptoms in older adults and suggest the importance of assessing cognitions that are tailored to the concerns of this population.
Optimization of the Fermentation Medium for Alpha-Galactosidase Production from Aspergillus foetidus ZU-G1 Using Response Surface Methodology

The optimization of fermentation medium for alpha-galactosidase production by Aspergillus foetidus ZU-GI was investigated in shaker flask fermentation. A one-factor-at-a-time experiment was used to screen the preferable nutriment (carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and essential elements) for alpha-galactosidase production. A fractional factorial design was used to screen the main 5 factors, soybean meal, wheat bran, KH 2 PO 4 , FeSO 4 ·7Η 2 Ο, and the medium initial pH, that affected the production of alpha-galactosidase. The central composite experimental design was further adopted to derive a statistical model for optimizing the composition of the fermentation medium. The experimental results showed that the optimum fermentation medium, for alpha-galactosidase production by Aspergillus foetidus ZU-G1 was composed of 3.2% soybean meal (w/v), 2% wheat bran (w/v), 0.1% KH 2 PO 3 (w/v), and 0,05% FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O (w/v); initial medium pH was 6.31. The results further predicted that alpha-galactosidase activity reached 64.75 U/mL. after 96-h incubation in this medium, which was approximately 7 times higher than that incubated in the nonoptimized medium. The time course of alpha-galactosidase production in the optimized medium composition was also carried out to validate the model.
Overexpression of Human Carcinoma-Associated Antigen in Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

Abstract Context.—Human carcinoma–associated antigen (HCA) is a mucin protein whose level is increased in the sera of patients with a variety of carcinomas. We have previously shown that prostatic carcinoma overexpresses HCA in comparison to benign prostatic tissue. To our knowledge, expression of HCA in other tumors has not been reported previously. Objective.—The current study was designed to determine if HCA is overexpressed in urothelial carcinoma (UCa) of the bladder. Design.—Forty cystectomy specimens with UCa were selected, of which 27 cases had invasive UCa, 21 cases had a noninvasive component, and 36 cases had benign urothelium. Seven cystectomy specimens with benign conditions were chosen as controls. Anti-HCA monoclonal antibody HAE3 was used for immunohistochemical staining. Results were recorded as positive (≥5% of cells staining and staining intensity 2+ or 3+) or negative (<5% of cells staining or staining intensity <2+) and analyzed using the Fisher exact test. Results.—HAE3 staining was ...
Stack-run image coding

We describe a new image coding approach in which a 4-ary arithmetic coder is used to represent significant coefficient values and the lengths of zero runs between coefficients. This algorithm works by raster scanning within subbands, and therefore involves much lower addressing complexity than other algorithms such as zerotree coding that require the creation and maintenance of lists of dependencies across different decomposition levels. Despite its simplicity, and the fact that these dependencies are not explicitly utilized, the algorithm presented here is competitive with the best enhancements of zerotree coding. In addition, it performs comparably with adaptive subband splitting approaches that involve much higher implementation complexity.
Efficient and exact maximum likelihood quantisation of genomic features using dynamic programming

An efficient and exact dynamic programming algorithm is introduced to quantise a continuous random variable into a discrete random variable that maximises the likelihood of the quantised probability distribution for the original continuous random variable. Quantisation is often useful before statistical analysis and modelling of large discrete network models from observations of multiple continuous random variables. The quantisation algorithm is applied to genomic features including the recombination rate distribution across the chromosomes and the non-coding transposable element LINE-1 in the human genome. The association pattern is studied between the recombination rate, obtained by quantisation at genomic locations around LINE-1 elements, and the length groups of LINE-1 elements, also obtained by quantisation on LINE-1 length. The exact and density-preserving quantisation approach provides an alternative superior to the inexact and distance-based univariate iterative k-means clustering algorithm for discretisation.
Detection and prevalence of adenoviral conjunctivitis among hospital employees using real-time polymerase chain reaction as an infection prevention tool

Hospital employees with suspected adenoviral conjunctivitis underwent evaluation and testing with real-time polymerase chain reaction. Viral conjunctivitis was suspected in 307 (59%) of 518 employees with eye complaints; adenovirus was detected in 4% (22 of 518). Four employees had genotypes consistent with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. This algorithm minimizes productivity loss compared with clinical diagnosis.
Site Effects: How Reliance on Social Media Influences Confidence in the Government and News Media

The rise of social media, such as blogs, social network sites, Twitter, and YouTube, encourages hope for renewed confidence in the government and news media because these venues connect users directly to candidates and officeholders. This article indicates that blogs most heavily relied on the type of social media for political information. Moreover, reliance on blogs and YouTube leads to reduced confidence in the presidency, Congress, and the news media, but reliance on social network sites and Twitter leads to higher confidence in these institutions after controlling for strength of party ties, political ideology, political interest, reliance on traditional media, and demographic variables.
The Tax That Failed: The VAT in Niger

The value-added tax (VAT) requires considerable sophistication on the part of both the taxpayers and the tax authorities in order to function effectively; not all countries meet this criteria. After Niger implemented the VAT in 1986, instead of realizing an increase in tax revenue it witnessed a decline, creating a major budget crisis. This article discusses why the VAT was an inappropriate choice for Niger, analyzes the reasons for the decline in tax revenue, and proposes alternative policies consistent with the administrative capacity of the Niger government and the existing socioeconomic environment.
Fatty Acid-Derived Signals in Plant Defense

Fatty acids (FAs) consist of long hydrophobic, often unbranched chains of hydrocarbons, with hydrophilic carboxylic acid groups at one end. They are an important source of reserve energy and essential components of membrane lipids in all living organisms. In plants, FA metabolic pathways play significant roles in pathogen defense. Historically, FAs were only assigned passive roles in plant defense such as biosynthetic precursors for cuticular components or the phytohormone jasmonic acid. However, recent discoveries demonstrate more direct roles for FAs and their breakdown products in inducing various modes of plant defenses. Both 16- and 18-carbon FAs participate in defense to modulate basal, effector-triggered, and systemic immunity in plants. Studies of FA metabolic mutants also reveal an active signaling role for the cuticle in plant defense. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the involvement of FAs, FA-derived oxylipins, and enzymes catalyzing FA metabolism in plant defense.
Atrial Premature Beats with Variable Return Cycle Lengths—A Clue to Sinus Node Re‐entry?

A patient with atrial premature beats (APBs) with variable return cycle lengths is reported. Two rare responses of the sinus node were observed: APBs in which the return and sinus cycle lengths were equal and APBs which were interpolated. Several possible mechanisms for these unusual effects of APBs on the sinus node are discussed. One mechanism which can explain both of these observations is sinus node re-entry. This possibility is indirectly supported by documentation of sinus node re-entry during electrophysiologic studies.
Reducing obstetric litigation through alterations in practice patterns - experience with 189 closed claims

PATTERNS EXPERIENCE WITH 189 CLOSED CLAIMS STEVEN CLARK, MICHAEL BELFORT, GARY DILDY, Hospital Corporation of America, Nashville, Tennessee OBJECTIVE: To determine to what extent obstetric malpractice claims might be reduced by adherence to a limited number of practice patterns. STUDY DESIGN: We examined all 189 closed perinatal claims between 20002005 in a large healthcare delivery system. Substandard care was defined as practice at odds with published ACOG guidelines, or judgment to this effect by a treating health care provider or defense consultant. RESULTS: 61% of obstetric cases (accounting for 79% of all costs) involved substandard care. 23% of cases involving non-VBAC fetal monitoring, (14% of total litigation costs) were avoidable had an obstetrician been continuously in-house. 45% of such cases (27% of total cost) and 16% of maternal injury cases (3% of total cost) were avoidable had the health care providers followed available, checklist-driven protocols for administration of oxytocin, misoprostol and MgSO4 An additional 17% of fetal monitoring cases (10% total costs) were avoidable with either of the above. 80% of cases involving VBAC (5% of total cost) were avoidable had this procedure been limited to spontaneous labors progressing without augmentation and absence of repetitive moderate/ severe variable decelerations. 54% of shoulder dystocia cases (4% of all costs) were avoidable had documentation been complete and consistent. CONCLUSION: Obstetric claims appear less likely to involve actual substandard care than general medical claims. Well over half of hospital litigation costs might be avoided if physician practice included: 1. Practice in a facility with 24 hour in house obstetric coverage, 2. Adherence to existing medication protocols. 3. A more conservative approach to VBAC. 4. Use of a comprehensive, standardized procedure note in cases of shoulder dystocia,. Malpractice insurance might be offered at a fraction of the current cost for most physicians who abide by these 4 practice patterns.
Origin and composition of carbonate buildups and associated facies in the Fort Payne Formation (Lower Mississippian, south-central Kentucky): An integrated sedimentologic and paleoecologic analysis

An integrated sedimentologic, paleoecologic, and taphonomic analysis is used to test competing hypotheses for the origin of the Fort Payne Formation of south-central Kentucky. Characteristics of eight distinct facies, both carbonate and siliciclastic, support the hypothesis that the Lower Mississippian Fort Payne Formation is a progradational, shallowing-upward, basin-filling sequence. Five facies are considered in detail, including the autochthonous fossitiferous green shale facies; two autochthonous carbonate facies, wackestone buildups and crinoidal packstone buildups; and two transported carbonate facies, channelform packstone facies and sheetlike packstone facies. The two types of carbonate buildups are independent features, but both developed on mounds of green fossiliferous shale. The Fort Payne wackestone buildups are interpreted to be Waulsortian buildups. The Fort Payne Waulsortian and associated facies were deposited in the lower portion of the photic zone, which is phase D, the shallowest phase, of the Lees and others (1985) Waulsortian model. The source of carbonate mud in the buildups must have been autochthonous. All autochthonous facies had distinct faunas dominated by crinoids and bryozoans. The channelform and sheetlike packstone facies are interpreted to be proximal and distal portions, respectively, of carbonate apron deposits. Both are composed principally of crinoid packstones and represent deeper water portions of the Fort Payne basin-filling sequence. The siltstone facies records background sedimentation.
Control structures for competitive, market-driven power systems

Electric power networks are among the largest of human engineered systems, with dynamic performance coupled across circuits of continental scale. Effective feedback control is critical to achieve reliable provision electric power in these large scale systems. Given electricity's importance to modern industrial societies, and the range of practically important control challenges electric power systems present, they have been a prominent application for control analysis and design over the past century. Today, new questions are being introduced by the policy shift towards use of decentralized, competitive market mechanisms for operation. This shift dictates examination of new control architectures, and opens the door to a number of interesting research issues in control system design, stability analysis, and dynamic games.
The universal opamp and applications in continuous-time resistorless and capacitorless linear weighted voltage addition

A versatile analog building block denoted the universal operational amplifier (opamp) is introduced. The circuit is a generalized version of the fully differential difference opamp with 2n weighted differential inputs. Applications in resistorless and capacitorless continuous-time linear weighted voltage addition are discussed. Experimental results of a test chip prototype are shown that validate the proposed approach. Simulations show potential for high frequency operation of the circuit with gain-bandwidth close to 140 MHz in 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS technology.
Efficacy of fumigation with Trans-cinnamaldehyde and eugenol in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis on embryonated egg shells

Abstract This study investigated the efficacy of two GRAS (generally regarded as safe)-status, plant-derived antimicrobials (PDAs), namely trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC) and eugenol (EUG) applied as a fumigation treatment in reducing SE on embryonated egg shells. Egg shells of day-old embryonated eggs were spot inoculated with a 4-strain mixture of SE (∼6.5 log CFU/egg) and subjected to fumigation with the aforementioned PDAs (0 or 1% concentration) for 20 minutes in a hatching incubator. SE on the shell and embryo was enumerated on days 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 16 and 18. On day 13, the eggs were re-inoculated, followed by fumigation treatment for 20 minutes. Since the two PDAs were dissolved in ethanol (final concentration 0.04%), eggs fumigated with ethanol were included as a control. Approximately 6 log CFU/egg of SE were recovered from the shell of untreated, inoculated eggs on days 1 and 13. The fumigation of embryonated egg shells with the two PDAs was more effective in reducing SE on the shell and embryo compared to controls (P
A Modified One-Stage Early Correction of Blepharophimosis Syndrome Using Tutopatch Slings

AbstractPurpose: To investigate the efficacy of a one-stage early correction of blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES), using bovine pericardium derived membrane (TUTOPATCH®) for the frontalis suspension.Methods: We prospectively studied 12 eyes from 6 patients (median age 14 months) affected by BPES with severe ptosis. All patients were submitted to a one-stage early correction of ptosis (frontalis suspension with TUTOPACH®) and telecanthus and epicanthus inversus. Upper margin reflex distance (MRD), nasal inner intercanthal distance (IICD), horizontal fissure length (HFL), and IICD/HFL ratio were evaluated using photographs.Results: The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-operative MRD, IICD, HFL, and the IICD/HFL ratio.Conclusion: An early TUTOPATCH-assisted frontalis suspension, together with the correction of telecanthus and epicanthus inversus, is an effective procedure for BPES cases with severe ptosis.
IDENTIFICATION AND CLONING OF A FUR REGULATORY GENE IN YERSINIA PESTIS

Yersinia pestis is one of many microorganisms responding to environmental iron concentrations by regulating the synthesis of proteins and an iron transport system(s). In a number of bacteria, expression of iron uptake systems and other virulence determinants is controlled by the Fur regulatory protein. DNA hybridization analysis revealed that both pigmented and nonpigmented cells of Y. pestis possess a DNA locus homologous to the Escherichia coli fur gene. Introduction of a Fur-regulated beta-galactosidase reporter gene into Y. pestis KIM resulted in iron-responsive beta-galactosidase activity, indicating that Y. pestis KIM expresses a functional Fur regulatory protein. A cloned 1.9-kb ClaI fragment of Y. pestis chromosomal DNA hybridized specifically to the fur gene of E. coli. The coding region of the E. coli fur gene hybridized to a 1.1-kb region at one end of the cloned Y. pestis fragment. The failure of this clone to complement an E. coli fur mutant suggests that the 1.9-kb clone does not contain a functional promoter. Subcloning of this fragment into an inducible expression vector restored Fur regulation in an E. coli fur mutant. In addition, a larger 4.8-kb Y. pestis clone containing the putative promoter region complemented the Fur- phenotype. These results suggest that Y. pestis possesses a functional Fur regulatory protein capable of interacting with the E. coli Fur system. In Y. pestis Fur may regulate the expression of iron transport systems and other virulence factors in response to iron limitation in the environment. Possible candidates for Fur regulation in Y. pestis include genes involved in ferric iron transport as well as hemin, heme/hemopexin, heme/albumin, ferritin, hemoglobin, and hemoglobin/haptoglobin utilization.
COHN analysis: Body composition measurements based on the associated particle imaging and prompt-gamma neutron activation analysis techniques

The measurement of the body’s carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (N) content can be used to calculate the relative amounts of fat, protein, and water. A system based on prompt-gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA), coupled with the associated particle imaging (API) technique, is being developed for this purpose. A compact D,T neutron generator (~10 7 n/s output) with an internal alpha-particle detector is used. The counting system consists of 6 shielded bismuth germanate (BGO) detectors (10.2 cmu10.2 cmu10.2 cm) operated with fast-timing electronics to detect only gamma-rays within a 100 ns time window following a trigger pulse generated by the alpha detector. The body can be scanned from the shoulders to the knees within about 30 min, with the equivalent whole-body dose <0.4 mSv. The cumulative gamma-ray spectra in the 2 MeV to 8 MeV region is collected and analyzed for multiple peaks attributed to body C,O,H, and N. Measurement precision for each element, based on tissue-equivalent phantoms, are in the 2–5% range, which are sufficient for population studies in adults. Further improvements are needed to extend the measurements to pediatric clinical research studies.
Infant parking and nesting, not allomaternal care, influence Malagasy primate life histories

Allomaternal care is a rare, though phylogenetically widespread, mammalian infant care strategy. Among primates, the effects of allomaternal care are marked; its presence correlates with faster infant growth, younger age at weaning, and shorter interbirth intervals. Recent comparative research has found that such fertility benefits are absent in other mammals and are thus unique to primates. In large part because data describing lemur allomaternal care were lacking, the reproductive advantages of allomaternal care have never been demonstrated in Malagasy strepsirrhines. Using newly available data and rigorous phylogenetic methods, we extend this hypothesis to strepsirrhines and test whether allomaternal care in lemurs confers similar maternal reproductive benefits. Contrary to expectations, the presence of allomaternal care did not significantly impact lemur reproductive output; we did not find relationships between allomaternal care and either fetal or postnatal growth rates or interbirth intervals. Rather, infant parking and nesting, strategies employed primarily by litter-bearing species, were positively associated with faster fetal and postnatal infant growth, while nesting was negatively associated with interbirth interval. Thus, although each form of haplorrhine allomaternal care is also observed in Malagasy primates, the effects that these behaviors have on female reproductive output more closely resemble nonprimate mammals. We suggest that Malagasy strepsirrhines may not equally benefit from allomaternal care compared to haplorrhines because reproductive rates are less flexible and allomaternal care may instead increase infant survival in Madagascar’s harsh and unpredictable environment. Our study has significant implications for understanding the evolution of infant care and developmental trajectories in mammals.
C. elegans phagocytosis and cell-migration protein CED-5 is similar to human DOCK180

During programmed cell death, cell corpses are rapidly engulfed. This engulfment process involves the recognition and subsequent phagocytosis of cell corpses by engulfing cells. How cell corpses are engulfed is largely unknown. Here we report that ced-5, a gene that is required for cell-corpse engulfment in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, encodes a protein that is similar to the human protein DOCK180 and the Drosophila melanogaster protein Myoblast City (MBC), both of which have been implicated in the extension of cell surfaces. ced-5 mutants are defective not only in the engulfment of cell corpses but also in the migrations of two specific gonadal cells, the distal tip cells. The expression of human DOCK180 in C. elegans rescued the cell-migration defect of a ced-5 mutant. We present evidence that ced-5 functions in engulfing cells during the engulfment of cell corpses. We suggest that ced-5 acts in the extension of the surface of an engulfing cell around a dying cell during programmed cell death. We name this new family of proteins that function in the extension of cell surfaces the CDM (for CED-5, DOCK180 and MBC) family.
The impact of forcing efficacy on the equilibrium climate sensitivity

Estimates of the Earth's equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) from twentieth century observations predict a lower ECS than estimates from climate models, paleoclimate data, and interannual variability. Here we show that estimates of ECS from the twentieth century observations are sensitive to the assumed efficacy of aerosol and ozone forcing (efficacy for a forcer is the amount of warming per unit global average forcing divided by the warming per unit forcing from CO2). Previous estimates of ECS based on the twentieth century observations have assumed that the efficacy is unity, which in our study yields an ECS of 2.3 K (5%–95% confidence range of 1.6–4.1 K), near the bottom of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's likely range of 1.5–4.5 K. Increasing the aerosol and ozone efficacy to 1.33 increases the ECS to 3.0 K (1.9–6.8 K), a value in excellent agreement with other estimates. Forcing efficacy therefore provides a way to bridge the gap between the different estimates of ECS.
Factoring the logarithmic spiral.

Distortion of length and angle are widely studied in geometry and dynamics. Much of the success in the study of one-dimensional complex dynamics flow from the Ahlfors-Bers-Sullivan [A, B] [S 1] theory for deforming conformal structures essentially from the existence and uniqueness theory for the Beltrami equation d~f/d~f=#. No comparable analytic theory exists for the distortion of length in the plane or of length or angle in higher dimensions. (In these cases the local distortion is specified by more than d parameters in dimension = d, so the analogous equations are over determined.) What exists instead is a coarser, more topological, discussion initiated by Sullivan of structures, extension and isotopy of imbeddings [S 2], [T, V] in the quasiconformal and bilipschitz (-quasi-isometric) categories. The "coarseness" is the use of the Alexander isotopy which crushes rather than unwinds homeomorphisms. In this paper we find a constraint on the more delicate method of returning a quasi-isometry to the identity: factorization into maps of small (isometric) distortion. We study the following L-quasi-isometry of the closed unit disk/~a = {(xl, x2); x 2 + x2 < 1 } :
Inward-rectifying potassium channels in retinal glial (Müller) cells.

The voltage- and K(+)-dependent properties of Muller cell currents and channels were characterized in freshly dissociated salamander Muller cells. In whole-cell voltage-clamp experiments, cells with endfeet intact and cells missing endfeet both displayed strong inward rectification. The rectification was similar in shape in both groups of cells but currents were 9.2 times larger in cells with endfeet. Ba2+ at 100 microM reduced the inward current to 6.8% of control amplitude. Decreasing external K+ concentration shifted the cell current-voltage (I-V) relation in a hyperpolarizing direction and reduced current magnitude. In multichannel, cell-attached patch-clamp experiments, patches from both endfoot and soma membrane displayed strong inward rectification. Currents were 38 times larger in endfoot patches. In single-channel, cell-attached patch-clamp experiments, inward-rectifying K+ channels were, in almost all cases, the only channels present in patches of endfoot, proximal process, and soma membrane. Channel conductance was 27.8 pS in 98 mM external K+. Reducing external K+ shifted the channel reversal potential in a hyperpolarizing direction and reduced channel conductance. Channel open probability varied as a function of voltage, being reduced at more negative potentials. Together, these observations demonstrate that the principal ion channel in all Muller cell regions is an inward-rectifying K+ channel. Channel density is far higher on the cell endfoot than in other cell regions. Whole-cell I-V plots of cells bathed in 12, 7, 4, and 2.5 mM K+ were fit by an equation including Boltzmann relation terms representing channel rectification and channel open probability. This equation was incorporated into a model of K+ dynamics in the retina to evaluate the significance of inward-rectifying channels to the spatial buffering/K+ siphoning mechanism of K+ regulation. Compared with ohmic channels, inward-rectifying channels increased the rate of K+ clearance from the retina by 23% for a 1 mM K+ increase and by 137% for a 9.5 mM K+ increase, demonstrating that Muller cell inward-rectifying channels enhance K+ regulation in the retina.
Interpretive habit is strengthened by cognitive bias modification

We investigated the nature of the memory mechanisms underlying cognitive bias modification by applying Jacoby's (1991) process-dissociation procedure to responses during the transfer task. In the two training conditions (negative and benign), students imagined themselves in 100 ambiguous scenarios, most with potentially negative resolutions; the ambiguity was resolved in a consistently negative or benign direction by completing the fragment of a final word. Control participants completed non-ambiguous, non-emotional scenarios. Next all participants responded on a final training block, where half of the scenarios were completed negatively and half benignly. Transfer was assessed by examining choices in the completion of test scenarios when participants were instructed to respond in the same way as they had to a final-block training scenario that was situationally similar. Benign training facilitated correct responding to benign analogues and impaired correct responding to negative analogues. Performance in...
Membrane Phospholipid Metabolism during Myocardial Ischemia: Mechanisms of Accumulation of Unesterified Arachidonate

Recent studies have suggested that alterations in membrane structure and function are causally related to the development of irreversible injury during myocardial ischemia (1–4). In an ischemic canine myocardial model, studies by Jennings et al. have demonstrated the presence of sarcolemmal membrane defects by electron microscopy which correlate with the time course of the onset of irreversible injury and the accumulation of tissue calcium (1). Studies in a perfused rabbit septal model (4) have correlated the decrease in myocardial contractile performance during ischemia with the development of increased sarcolemma1 membrane cation permeability (4). Calcium blocking agents have been demonstrated to have protective effects on the development of irreversible injury in calcium accumulation during myocardial ischemia (5, 6). Acute myocardial infarction in man is characterised by leakage of cytosolic enzymes across the sarcolemmal membrane and into the intravascular space (7). In addition, the accumulation of technetium-99m pyrophosphate, a marker of a sarcolemmal membrane calcium permeability defect (8), is a sensitive marker of myocardial cell injury in clinical and animal studies (9).
Use of a Numerical Ground‐Water Flow Model for Hypothesis Testing

Field studies along the southeastern shore of Trout Lake, Wisconsin, documented the presence of downward hydraulic gradients in a known discharge area as well as an anomalous distribution of seepage to the lakebed which deviates significantly from the generally accepted dogma that ground-water seepage rates decrease exponentially with distance from shore. A numerical ground-water model facilitated identification of the hydrologic control, namely the presence of a unit of high hydraulic conductivity, that accounts for the anomalous data, and is important for understanding the dynamics of the flow system. Field data including seepage measurements, visual inspection of lakebed materials and springs, and information obtained during drilling, indicate that a lens of coarse-grained material intersects the lake. However, the significance of the coarsegrained material was not fully appreciated until a ground-water model was used to simulate the flow system. The model indicated that the presence of the coarse-grained lens has a marked effect on the flow pattern in the nearshore area causing downward hydraulic gradients which divert ground water into the lens and cause the occurrence of a localized high-seepage area offshore where the lens intersects the lake. The numerical model predicts the anomalous seepage distribution noted in the field and the downward hydraulic gradients demonstrating that numerical models are practical tools for interpreting field data and for use in hypothesis testing.
The Influence of Operating Systems on the Performance of Collective Operations at Extreme Scale

We investigate operating system noise, which we identify as one of the main reasons for a lack of synchronicity in parallel applications. Using a microbenchmark, we measure the noise on several contemporary platforms and find that, even with a general - purpose operating system, noise can be limited if certain precautions are taken. We then inject artificially generated noise into a massively parallel system and measure its influence on the performance of collective operations. Our experiments indicate that on extreme - scale platforms, the performance is correlated with the largest interruption to the application, even if the probability of such an interruption is extremely small. We demonstrate that synchronizing the noise can significantly reduce its negative influence.
Microdosimetric Quantities and their Moments

The principal microdosimetric quantities: specific energy, z, and lineal energy, y, have been referred to in Sect. I.3. The formal definitions by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU, 1980) are:
Seismic Design of Liquid Storage Tanks

A simple and sufficiently accurate method for estimation the seismic response of cylindrical liquid storage tanks is presented. A mechanical model, which takes into account the deformability of the tank wall is examined; it is based on the results of a finite element analysis of the liquid-shell system. The parameters of such a model are displayed in charts that facilitate the calculations of the effective masses, their centers of gravity, and the periods of vibrations. Detailed numerical examples are presented to illustrate the applicability of this model in predicting the maximum seismic response by means of response spectrum. Comparison with the exact solution of the problem confirms the validity of the method.