cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of memory impairment on employment status in persons with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective To assess the specific contribution of memory impairment to employment status in persons with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods A total of 832 patients with SLE were surveyed and data collected on demographics, SLE symptoms and activity, health status, depression, medications, health resource utilization, and current employment status. Participants underwent screening for memory impairment and based on their scores were categorized to 3 levels of memory function: intact, mild-moderate impairment, and severe impairment. Employment status was compared across impairment levels using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, race, education, and marital status), employment status at year of diagnosis, disease activity, disease duration, and depression. Results In the intact memory function group, 54.2% were employed, versus 40.6% in the mild-moderate impairment group and 31.0% in the severe impairment group. In the intact memory function group, 29.2% were unable to work, versus 40.6% in the mild-moderate impairment group and 56.3% in the severe impairment group. After multivariate adjustment, increasing levels of memory impairment predicted a decreased likelihood of being employed: odds ratio (OR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.48–1.02 for the mild-moderate impairment group and OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.32–1.00 for the severe impairment group. Participants with memory impairment were more likely to report being unable to work: OR 1.36, 95% CI 0.90–2.04 for the mild-moderate impairment group, and OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.12–3.55 for the severe impairment group. These findings were statistically significant only in the severe impairment groups. Conclusion The findings suggest that severe memory impairment is an important factor associated with employment status in persons with SLE.
Immunocytochemistry of brain-reactive monoclonal antibodies in peripheral tissues

Among a total of 135 tissue-reactive monoclonal antibodies previously prepared, 81 were brain-selective and were classified into neuronal and non-neuronal categories. The neuronal antibodies were again subdivided into antineurofibrillar, antiperikaryonal-neurofibrillar, and antisynapse-associated groups. On the basis of morphologic, developmental, biochemical, and pathologic criteria, the antibodies in at least two of these groups were found to detect heterogeneous antigens (called “neurotypes”) rather than different antigenic determinants in single antigens. On examining the distribution in peripheral organs of staining patterns of 11 antineuronal brain-reactive antibodies, we now confirm that these antibodies are, indeed, largely brainspecific. In general, non-neuronal elements in liver, lung, heart, thymus, intestine, adrenal, and spleen remained unstained. However, most of the antibodies stained peripheral neural elements. Occasional antibodies did stain selected, non-neuronal structures. Four out of five antineurofibrillar antibodies stained nerve fibers in adrenal medulla, intestine and thymus. All of three antiperikaryonal-neurofibrillar antibodies also stained nerve fibers in the adrenal medulla, but not in other organs. Two out of three antisynapse-associated antibodies stained what appear to be nerve contacts on adrenal medullary cells, but not on any other peripheral cells examined. The nonneuronal peripheral staining patterns were restricted to selective nuclear staining exhibited by two out of five antineurofibrillar antibodies and the staining of macrophage and selected cardiac muscle nuclei by two of three antisynapse-associated antibodies. However, one antineurofibrillar antibody also stained the cytoplasm of selected liver cells. Among non-neuronally reacting antibodies, two antibodies stained nuclei of all cells except neurons in brain as well as peripheral organs. An antibody staining the ciliary epithelium of choroid plexus also stained basal bodies of ciliated bronchial epithelium. The overall data suggest that the specificity of brain-reactive antibodies is high and that their cross-reactivity with epitopes in non-nervous tissue is rare. In these cases, the antibodies seem to provide specific reagents for these additional structures as well as for their specific brain antigens.
Calcium Oxalate Crystals in Developing Seeds of Soybean

Abstract Young developing soybean seeds contain relatively large amounts of calcium oxalate (CaOx) monohydrate crystals. A test for Ca and CaOx indicated that Ca deposits and crystals initially occurred in the funiculus, where a single vascular bundle enters the seed. Crystals formed in the integuments until the embryo enlarged enough to crush the inner portion of the inner integument. Crystals then appeared in the developing cotyledon tissues and embryo axis. All crystals formed in cell vacuoles. Dense bodies and membrane complexes were evident in the funiculus. In the inner integument, cell vacuoles assumed the shape of the future crystals. This presumed predetermined crystal mould is reported here for the first time for soybean seeds. As crystals in each tissue near maturity, a wall forms around each crystal. This intracellular crystal wall becomes contiguous with the cell wall. Integument crystals remain visible until the enlarging embryo crushes the integuments; the crystals then disappear. A related study revealed that the highest percent of oxalate by dry mass was reached in the developing +16 d (post-fertilization) seeds, and then decreased during late seed maturation. At +60 d, CaOx formation and disappearance are an integral part of developing soybean seeds. Our results suggest that Ca deposits and crystals functionally serve as Ca storage for the rapidly enlarging embryos. The oxalate, derived from one or more possible metabolic pathways, could be involved in seed storage protein synthesis.
Theory of layered-structure formation in peritectic systems

Two-phase growth in a peritectic system has been examined, and a theoretical model is developed for the formation of a layered structure in which two phases form alternate layers that are oriented parallel to the interface. The width of each layer and the spacing between layers have been shown to be inversely proportional to velocity, and the proportionality constants depend upon the nucleation temperatures for the two phases. The nucleation temperatures for the two phases are shown to play a critical role in the formation and stability of layered structures. The range of compositions over which layered structures can form is identified, and it is shown that convection effects in the liquid will destabilize the layered structure. Several key experimental studies have been identified to evaluate minimum undercoolings required for the nucleation of each of the two phases. The morphology of the transition interface is shown to depend upon the relative effects of nucleation and growth of the two phases.
Effect of temperature on the rate of hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate and inosine triphosphate by myosin with and without modifiers. Evidence for a change in protein conformation.

Abstract The temperature dependence of the myosin-catalyzed hydrolysis of inosine triphosphate gives a biphasic Arrhenius plot curving sharply near 16°C. In contrast, the Arrhenius plot with adenosine triphosphate as substrate is linear. When enzyme modifiers such as 2,4-dinitrophenol or p -chloromercuribenzoate are added to the system, the temperature dependence of ATP hydrolysis becomes very similar to that for ITP with native enzyme. Using 32 P-labeled ATP, it has been shown that ATP and ITP compete for the same site and that even in the presence of dinitrophenol, ATP is bound to the enzyme far more tightly than ITP. These data can be explained by assuming a temperature-induced change in the conformation of the enzyme-substrate complex. A consistent framework to explain the complex relationship between temperature, substrate, metal ion, and modifier can be obtained using this concept of a flexible active site.
A sample extraction and chromatographic strategy for increasing LC/MS detection coverage of the erythrocyte metabolome.

Abstract Reproducible and comprehensive sample extraction and detection of metabolites with a broad range of physico-chemical properties from biological matrices can be a highly challenging process. A single LC/MS separation method was developed for a 2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.8 μm ZORBAX SB-Aq column that was used to separate human erythrocyte metabolites extracted under sample extraction solvent conditions where the pH was neutral or had been adjusted to either, pH 2, 6 or 9. Internal standards were included and evaluated for tracking sample extraction efficiency. Through the combination of electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) techniques in both positive (+) and negative (−) ion modes, a total of 2370 features (compounds and associated compound related components: isotopes, adducts and dimers) were detected across all pHs. Broader coverage of the detected metabolome was achieved by observing that (1) performing extractions at pH 2 and 9, leads to a combined 92% increase in detected features over pH 7 alone; and (2) including APCI in the analysis results in a 34% increase in detected features, across all pHs, than the total number detected by ESI. A significant dependency of extraction solvent pH on the recovery of heme and other compounds was observed in erythrocytes and underscores the need for a comprehensive sample extraction strategy and LC/MS analysis in metabolomics profiling experiments.
Examining macro-level impacts on procedural justice and police legitimacy

Abstract Purpose Many studies have lent empirical support to the procedural justice model of police legitimacy; however, there has, as yet, not been widespread consideration of the potential impact of neighborhood- and community-level factors on people's perceptions of procedural justice or police legitimacy. The present study integrates the macro-level policing literature with the psychological-based procedural justice framework to uncover what effects, if any, the sociostructural environment has on procedural justice and police legitimacy. Methods Hierarchical linear modeling integrates census and survey data within a single, mid-sized city. Results Concentrated disadvantage exerted a marginally-significant impact on procedural justice, and on police legitimacy while controlling for procedural justice. Procedural justice remained the strongest predictor of legitimacy, even when accounting for macro-level characteristics. Conclusions The effect of procedural justice on police legitimacy appears to be robust against the deleterious impacts of concentrated disadvantage. This has implications for procedural justice research, theory, and policing.
The antibradykinin action of fibrinolysin and other studies on capillary permeability employing different mediators and synthetic bradykinin

THIS presentat ion enlarges certain comments one of us (A. L. C.) made on several findings repor ted b y Schachter 1 at this Symposium. We found also that plasmin has little or no significant effect in inducing capil lary permeabil i ty. However , we noted that the precursor of plasmin or fibrinolysin, viz. plasminogen, present in the circulating blood, increased markedly capi l lary permeabi l i ty in guinea-pigs and rats, the two species which we employed in our studies. The electron microscopic observations of Schachter 1 appear to some extent to be similar to certain hitherto unpublished studies made recent ly bv Palade and Majno. 2,3,4 A brief account of their work will be given together with that of our findings which led Copley to modify his concept of the endoendothelial fibrin film (EEFF) to include the basement membrane (BM). An a t tempt will be made to explain the ant ibradykinin effect of f ibrinolysin on capil lary permeabi l i ty on the basis of tbis modified concept recent ly proposed 5,G towards a bet ter unders tanding of capil lary permeabi l i ty and fragility, two apparent ly antagonistic phenomena. In an effort to elucidate the role of bradykinin on capil lary permeability, we have extended a number of our previous studies recent ly reported on the integr i ty of the vascular wall and the antagonistic action of fibrinolysis to histamine and serotonin. 5,6 These observations of synthet ic bradykinin are presented together wi th findings of its possible interaction wi th other mediators on capil lary permeabil i ty .
The Influence of Speaking Rate on Vowel Space and Speech Intelligibility for Individuals With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The relationship between speaking rate, vowel space area, and speech intelligibility was studied in a group of 9 subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 9 age- and gender-matched cont...
Nuclear quadrupole resonance studies of hydrogen bonding in trans-dichlorobis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) diaquahydrogen chloride

Abstract The temperature dependences of the 59 Co and ligand 35 Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance frequencies were measured for trans -[CoCl 2 (D 2 NC 2 H 4 ND 2 ) 2 ][D 5 O 2 ]Cl 2 . The chlorine frequency at 294 K increased by 38.5 kHz over the frequency of the undeuterated complex and only a slight temperature dependence was observed. The increase in the cobalt quadrupole coupling constant over that of the undeuterated complex was 15 kHz at 344 K and reached 252 kHz at 77 K. A weakening of the hydrogen bonds on deuteration is consistent with the shift in the 35 Cl NQR frequencies.
Complete Genome of Bacillus subtilis Myophage Grass.

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis is a ubiquitous Gram-positive model organism. Here, we describe the complete genome of B. subtilus myophage Grass. Aside from genes encoding core proteins pertinent to the life cycle of the phage, Grass has several interesting features, including an FtsK/SpoIIIE protein.
Functional characterization of the water-soluble organic carbon of size-fractionated aerosol in the southern Mississippi Valley

Abstract. The chemical content of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) as a function of particle size was characterized in Little Rock, Arkansas in winter and spring 2013. The objectives of this study were to (i) compare the functional characteristics of coarse, fine and ultrafine WSOC and (ii) reconcile the sources of WSOC for periods when carbonaceous aerosol was the most abundant particulate component. The WSOC accounted for 5% of particle mass for particles with dp > 0.96 μm and 10% of particle mass for particles with dp 3.0 μm and dp
Environmental Cardiology Studying Mechanistic Links Between Pollution and Heart Disease

Environmental factors are considered key determinants of cardiovascular disease. Although lifestyle choices such as smoking, diet, and exercise are viewed as major environmental influences, the contribution of pollutants and environmental chemicals is less clear. Accumulating evidence suggests that exposure to pollutants and chemicals could elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease. Many epidemiological studies report that exposure to fine particles present in ambient air is associated with an increase in cardiovascular mortality. Statistically significant relationships between particulate air pollution and ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, and heart failure have been reported. Animal studies show that exposure to ambient air particles increases peripheral thrombosis and atherosclerotic lesion formation. Exposures to arsenic, lead, cadmium, pollutant gases, solvents, and pesticides have also been linked to increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Mechanistically, these effects have been attributed to changes in the synthesis or reactivity of nitric oxide that may be caused by environmental oxidants or increased endogenous production of reactive oxygen species. Additional studies are urgently needed to: identify the contribution of individual pollutants to specific aspects of cardiovascular disease; establish causality; elucidate the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms; estimate the relative susceptibility of diseased and healthy individuals and that of specific population groups; and determine whether pollutant exposure are risk correlates, that is, whether they influence major risk factors, such as hypertension, cholesterol, or diabetes, or whether they contribute to the absolute risk of heart disease. Collectively, these investigations could contribute to the emergent field of environmental cardiology.
Multiplicity Formulas for a Class of Representations of Affine Kac-Moody Algebras

The dominant weight of any highest weight irreducible representation (irrep) of an indecomposable affine algebra may be written in the form Λi – qδ, where the integral index i runs from 1 to some finite number (called the width of the representation), q is any non-negative integer, and δ is a vector called the null vector. All the width-two irreps of all the affine algebras are enumerated. Techniques used in an earlier paper on the width-one irreps are generalized and used to compute simple recursion formulas for the multiplicities of all these dominant weights. These formulas are suitable for rapid calculations. Numerical tables of the multiplicities of the highest 33 dominant weights are given for all the width-two irreps of twisted algebras.
A molecular phylogeny of fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera): origins and host associations

Siphonaptera (fleas) is a highly specialized order of holometabolous insects comprising ∼2500 species placed in 16 families. Despite a long history of extensive work on flea classification and biology, phylogenetic relationships among fleas are virtually unknown. We present the first formal analysis of flea relationships based on a molecular matrix of four loci (18S ribosomal DNA, 28S ribosomal DNA, Cytochrome Oxidase II, and Elongation Factor 1-alpha) for 128 flea taxa from around the world representing 16 families, 25 subfamilies, 26 tribes, and 83 flea genera with eight outgroups. Trees were reconstructed using direct optimization and maximum likelihood techniques. Our analysis supports Tungidae as the most basal flea lineage, sister group to the remainder of the extant fleas. Pygiopsyllomorpha is monophyletic, as are the constituent families Lycopsyllidae, Pygiopsyllidae, and Stivaliidae, with a sister group relationship between the latter two families. Macropsyllidae is resolved as sister group to Coptopsyllidae with moderate nodal support. Stephanociricidae is monophyletic, as are the two constituent subfamilies Stephanocircinae and Craneopsyllinae. Vermipsyllidae is placed as sister group to Jordanopsylla. Rhopalopsyllidae is monophyletic as are the two constituent subfamilies Rhopalopsyllinae and Parapsyllinae. Hystrichopsyllidae is paraphyletic with Hystrichopsyllini placed as sister to some species of Anomiopsyllini and Ctenopariini placed as sister to Carterettini. Ctenophthalmidae is grossly paraphyletic with the family broken into seven lineages dispersed on the tree. Most notably, Anomiopsyllini is paraphyletic. Pulicidae and Chimaeropsyllidae are both monophyletic and these families are sister groups. Ceratophyllomorpha is monophyletic and includes Ischnopsyllidae, Ceratophyllidae, and Leptopsyllidae. Leptopsyllidae is paraphyletic as are its constituent subfamilies Amphipsyllinae and Leptopsyllinae and the tribes Amphipsyllini and Leptopsyllini. Ischnopsyllidae is monophyletic. Ceratophyllidae is monophyletic, with a monophyletic Dactypsyllinae nested within Ceratophyllinae, rendering the latter group paraphyletic. Mapping of general host associations on our topology reveals an early association with mammals with four independent shifts to birds. © The Willi Hennig Society 2008.
Ambassadorial Leader Behavior and Its Relationship with Virtual Team Performance

We proposed a series of leader behaviors, termed Ambassadorial Leader Behaviors, to facilitate team performance and tested them against 42 virtual teams (VT) that included 266 individuals. The results show organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mediated the collective set and two individual behaviors, shared leadership and advocacy thus contributing significantly to the explained variance of team performance. The results provide an indication of important behaviors when leading VTs and underscore the importance of considering situational context in future VT studies.
Dropping Out of High School: The Role of School Organization and Structure

In this study, we explore how high schools, through their structures and organization, may influence students’ decisions to stay in school or drop out. Traditional explanations for dropout behavior have focused on students’ social background and academic behaviors. What high schools might do to push out or hold students has received less empirical scrutiny. Using a sample of 3,840 students in 190 urban and suburban high schools from the High School Effectiveness Supplement of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, we apply multilevel methods to explore schools’ influence on dropping out, taking into account students’ academic and social background. Our findings center on schools’ curriculum, size, and social relations. In schools that offer mainly academic courses and few nonacademic courses, students are less likely to drop out. Similarly, students in schools enrolling fewer than 1,500 students more often stay in school. Most important, students are less likely to drop out of high schools w...
Administration of N-acetylcysteine after focal cerebral ischemia protects brain and reduces inflammation in a rat model of experimental stroke.

Free radicals and inflammatory mediators are involved in transient focal cerebral ischemia (FCI). Preadministration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been found to attenuate the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model of experimental stroke. This study was undertaken to investigate the neuroprotective potential of NAC administered after ischemic events in experimental stroke. FCI was induced for 30 min by occluding the middle cerebral artery (MCA). NAC (150 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally at the time of reperfusion followed by another dose 6 hr later. Animals were sacrificed after 24 hr of reperfusion. The cerebral infarct consistently involved the cortex and striatum. Infarction was assessed by staining the brain sections with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Animals treated with NAC showed a significant reduction in infarct area and infarct volume and an improvement in neurologic scores and glutathione level. Reduction in infarction was significant even when a single dose of NAC was administered at 6 hr of reperfusion. Immunohistochemical and quantitative real-time PCR studies demonstrated a reduction in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in NAC compared to that in vehicle-treated animals. The expression of activated macrophage/microglia (ED1) and apoptotic cell death in ischemic brain was also reduced by NAC treatment. These results indicate that in a rat model of experimental stroke, administration of NAC even after ischemia onset protected the brain from free radical injury, apoptosis, and inflammation, with a wide treatment window. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Carry-over effects of dietary crude protein and triiodothyronine (T3) in broiler chickens.

Indian River male broiler chickens growing from 7 to 30 d of age were fed on diets containing crude protein levels ranging from 120 to 300 g/kg plus 0 or 1 mg triiodothyronine (T 3 )/kg diet. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of these treatments on lipogenesis after a common diet was fed (180 g crude protein/kg diet from 30 to 56 d of age). Dietary treatment groups were sampled at 30 and 56 d. In vitro lipogenesis was determined by incubating liver explants for 2 h at 37° in Hanks' salts containing 25 mM-HEPES and 10 mM-[2- 14 C] acetate and then measuring acetate incorporation into total lipid. Growth and feed consumption from 7 to 30 d increased (P < 0.01) as dietary protein increased from 120 to 210 g/kg diet. Both measurements decreased as crude protein increased from 210 to 300 g/kg diet. T 3 decreased (P < 0.01) growth and feed intake during this period. Low-protein (< 180 g/kg) diets increased (P < 0.05) and T 3 decreased lipogenesis in 30-d-old chickens. Although birds given T 3 from 7 to 30 d grew at the greatest rate from 30 to 56 d of age, the final body weight was still less than controls. In vitro lipogenesis at 56 d of age was not affected by either of the two dietary treatments. In contrast, the relative size of the abdominal fat pad (g/kg body weight) at 56 d was decreased by feeding T 3 from 7 to 30 d. Any changes in metabolism elicited by either dietary protein levels or hormone treatments may be specific to the particular dosing interval and are not sustained when a common diet is fed during a repletion period.
Aerobic deterioration of lucerne (Medicago sativa) and Maize (Zea mais) silages : effects of yeasts

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L) silages made in test tube silos at various dry matter (DM) levels (290-537 g kg−1) with and without addition of glucose (20 g kg−1 herbage) at ensiling were stable during 7 days of aerobic exposure. Lucerne silages taken from seven farm silos were similarly stable while three others were unstable (average DM loss of 62 g kg−1 DM and pH increase from 4.35 to 7.58 in 7 days). Under similar circumstances, maize (Zea mais L) silage had a high DM loss (164 g kg−1 DM) and an increase in pH from 3.94 to 8.13. Silages were inoculated with yeast (1 × 106 CFU g−1 silage) isolated from aerobically deteriorating farm-scale lucerne and maize silages. The stable lucerne silages were not destabilised by inoculation, but the instability of unstable lucerne silages was increased. Aerobically unstable maize silage and stable lucerne silage were inoculated and studied separately or as a 50:50 mixture. There was a distinct lag in the development of aerobic instability in the mixture compared with maize silage alone. In another experiment, the growth of the inoculum in malt agar (pH 3.5) as affected by the presence of fresh and ensiled lucerne (six cultivars), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L) was studied. The legume herbages did not inhibit yeast growth whereas the corresponding silages did. Five aerobically stable lucerne silages inhibited yeast development in the media whereas unstable maize silage did not. It is concluded that aerobic stability was not related to silage DM, pH, yeast numbers or glucose addition at ensiling. Stability appeared to be due to the presence of an inhibitor (or inhibitors) produced during ensilage.
An essential role for retinoid signaling in anteroposterior neural patterning

The vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is induced by signals emanating from the dorsal mesoderm, or organizer, that divert the ectoderm away from an epidermal and towards a neural fate. Additional signals from the organizer pattern the neural ectoderm along the anteroposterior axis. We devised highly specific methods utilizing constitutively active or dominant negative receptors to evaluate the role of retinoids in neural patterning. Microinjection of these reagents either augments or reduces retinoid signaling in specific regions of the embryo. We show that increased receptor activity suppresses anterior neural structures while dominant negative receptors lead to anterior enhancement. Similarly, microinjection of the dominant negative receptor leads to the loss of posterior marker genes. We demonstrate that retinoid receptors comprise a critical component in neural posteriorization and are required for proper neuronal differentiation. These results support a quantitative role for retinoid signaling in regionalization of the CNS.
On boundary layer and interior equations for higher-order theories of plates

Several shear-deformation plate theories of symmetric laminated plates with transversely isotropic layers are reviewed and the governing equations of these theories are then recast into two equations: one for the interior of the domain and the other for the edge-zone or the boundary layer. For the first time it si shown that the governing equations of the third-order shear-deformation theory of Reddy result in a sixth-order interior equation and a second-order edge-zone equations. It is also demonstrated that in bending and stability problems, and under certain conditions in dynamic problems, the contribution of the edge-zone equation is identically zero for a simply-supported plate. The pure-shear frequencies of a plate according to different theories are determined and compared. Verschiedene Schubdeformations-Plattentheorien von symmetrisch geschichteten Platten mit transversal-isotropen Schichten werden erneut vorgestellt, und die Grundgleichungen dieser Theorien werden dann in zwei Gleichungen umgeformt: eine fur das Innere des Gebietes, und die andere fur das Randgebiet oder die Grenzschicht. Zunachst wird gezeigt, das die Grundgleichungen der Schubdeformationstheorie 3. Ordnung von Reddy in eine innere Gleichung 6. Ordnung und eine Randgebietsgleichung 2. Ordnung ubergehen. Es wird auch gezeigt, das fur Biege- und Stabilitatsprobleme und unter bestimmten Bedingungen fur dynamische Probleme der Beitrag der Randgebietsgleichung fur eine frei aufliegende Platte identisch Null ist. Die reinen Schubfrequenzen einer Platte werden nach verschiedenen Theorien bestimmt und miteinander verglichen.
Clinical follow-up study of paroxysmal supraventricular tachyarrhythmias after operative repair of a secundum type atrial septal defect in adults

Adults with isolated secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) may present with paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias. The clinical course of these rhythmic disturbances after correction of the ASD is unknown. Of 188 patients aged 44 years old or older with isolated ASD, 27 (14%) (mean age 52.7 years, range 44 to 71) had documented paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias preoperatively: 16 had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, 2 had atrial flutter, and 9 had supraventricular tachycardia. Among these 3 groups, there were no differences in age, sex, New York Heart Association class, duration of preoperative symptoms, mean right atrial and pulmonary arterial pressures, shunt size, atrial size, or follow-up period. After operative repair, follow-up data were available in all patients for a mean of 12 years (range 1.5 to 25). Of the 16 patients with preoperative paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, 14 (88%) continued to have increasingly frequent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, culminating in sustained atrial fibrillation. In 1 of the 2 patients with paroxysmal atrial flutter, sustained atrial fibrillation developed. Of the 9 patients with preoperative paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, 5 had no further episodes of this arrhythmia postoperatively.
Biological Observations of Monarch Butterfly Behavior at a Migratory Stopover Site: Results from a Long-term Tagging Study in Coastal South Carolina

Like most migratory species, monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) must stop frequently during their long southward migration to rest and refuel, and the places where they stop are important for the success of the migration. The behavior of monarch butterflies at migratory stopover sites has never been examined in detail. Here we present results of a long-term study of monarchs at one stopover site in coastal South Carolina where over 12,000 monarchs have been captured, measured and tagged (with numbered stickers to track recovery rates) over 13 years. Only 3 monarchs (0.023%) were recovered at the monarchs' overwintering sites in Mexico, which is consistent with other tagging studies on the eastern coast. The migration season was longer at this site than at inland locations and monarchs continued to be captured in November and December, when most monarchs had already arrived at the overwintering areas in Mexico. In addition, there were 94 monarchs captured between Jan 1 and Mar 15, indicating that some monarchs overwinter at this site. Of all monarchs captured during the migration season, 80% were captured while nectaring and 10% while roosting. Others were basking, resting, flying and even mating. The sex ratio was male biased by three to one in all behavior categories except those captured mating. Roosting and nectaring monarchs had fresher wings than those in other behavior categories, suggesting that these are younger individuals. There were 13 observations of females ovipositing on non-native Asclepias curassavica during the fall months, which speaks to the potential for this plant to pull monarchs out of the migratory pool. Aside from these insights, this study also serves as an example of the potential that monarch tagging studies have to advance scientific understanding of monarch migration.
The Fears and Anxieties of Gifted Learners: Tips for Parents and Educators

Research indicates there may be a relationship between gifted learners and insomnia, fear, and anxiety. This article discusses current research on Dabrowski’s overexcitabilities, asynchronous development, perfectionistic tendencies, and common fears of gifted learners. Suggestions for parents and teachers of gifted children are offered to help gifted learners deal with these issues.
Global Current Account Imbalances: American Fiscal Policy versus East Asian Savings

We consider the origins of global current account imbalances. We first discuss how the expansion of the US current account deficit and the decrease in global real interest rates can be reconciled with the widespread view that American expansionary fiscal policy is partly the source of current trends. We then investigate empirically the medium-term determinants of the current account using a model that controls for factors related to institutional development. In addition to the conventional macroeconomic factors, we examine a series of environmental factors, including the degree of financial openness and the extent of legal development.We find that for industrial countries, the government budget balance is an important determinant of the current account balance; the budget balance coefficient is 0.10 to 0.49 depending on model specifications. These varying estimates lead us to conclude that fiscal factors might be as important as excess savings arising from East Asia.
On Mice, Rabbits, and Human Heart Failure

Sarcomeres, bundled into thick and thin filaments, are the units of contraction in the striated muscle. The thick filaments comprise several hundred hexameric myosin molecules, composed of 2 myosin heavy chain (MyHC) proteins, the molecular motor of contraction, and 2 regulatory and 2 essential light chains. The globular head of MyHC contains the binding domains for cardiac α-actin and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and is attached to a hinge region, which when flexed, moves the globular head over the thin filaments. The thin filaments comprise the cardiac troponin C (cTnC), T (cTnT), and I (cTnI) complex, α-tropomyosin dimers, and cardiac α-actin, maintained in a tight 1:1:7 stoichiometry. Several additional sarcomeric proteins, such as myosin-binding protein C, titin, obscurin, and telethonin contribute to the stabilization and function of the sarcomeres. See pp 2330 and 2339 The troponin-tropomyosin complex regulates the calcium-dependent displacement of the thin filaments by the globular head of MyHC, which results in sarcomere shortening and generation of the force of muscle contraction.1–3 Depolarization of membrane potential opens the L-type calcium channels and allows Ca2+ influx, which triggers calcium-induced calcium release by opening the ryanodine receptors in the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). The cytosolic Ca2+ binds to cTnC at the low-affinity site and induces conformational changes, which lead to removal of the inhibitory domain of cTnI away from the α-tropomyosin-actin complex (Figure).3 Consequently, MyHC binds to actin, hydrolyzes ATP to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate, and displaces the actin filament. Each single myosin generates 3 to 4 pN force and displaces the actin by 11 nmol.4 Uptake of Ca2+by the SR reverses the process. The number and the biochemical composition of the sarcomeres in myocytes determine the magnitude of the force generated and the velocity of contraction. Essential role of the …
A Primer on Detecting Cirrhosis and Caring for These Patients without Causing Harm

Many people who have cirrhosis are undiagnosed. The diagnosis may not become evident until they develop multiorgan failure after an invasive procedure. Patients with cirrhosis are unusually fragile and can be easily harmed and even set into a fatal down-spiral by seemingly innocuous treatments including medications and invasive procedures. There is much confusion regarding the care of these patients. For example, what medications can be used safely to treat pain, what sedatives are safe and effective, which medications are to be avoided, what diet should be prescribed, and which invasive procedures are safe. This paper provides the author's advice regarding clues to the presence of cirrhosis and the dos and do nots in the general care of these patients, based on his 30 years of experience in a liver-failure-focused academic practice.
Searching, selecting, and synthesizing source code components

As programmers develop software, they instinctively sense that source code exists that could be reused if found — many programming tasks are common to many software projects across different domains. Oftentimes, a programmer will attempt to create new software from this existing source code, such as third-party libraries or code from online repositories. Unfortunately, several major challenges make it difficult to locate the relevant source code and to reuse it. First, there is a fundamental mismatch between the high-level intent reflected in the descriptions of source code, and the low-level implementation details. This mismatch is known as the concept assignment problem , and refers to the frequent case when the keywords from comments or identifiers in code do not match the features implemented in the code. Second, even if relevant source code is found, programmers must invest significant intellectual effort into understanding how to reuse the different functions, classes, or other components present in the source code. These components may be specific to a particular application, and difficult to reuse. One key source of information that programmers use to understand source code is the set of relationships among the source code components. These relationships are typically structural data, such as function calls or class instantiations. This structural data has been repeatedly suggested as an alternative to textual analysis for search and reuse, however as yet no comprehensive strategy exists for locating relevant and reusable source code. In my research program, I harness this structural data in a unified approach to creating and evolving software from existing components. For locating relevant source code, I present a search engine for finding applications based on the underlying Application Programming Interface (API) calls, and a technique for finding chains of relevant function invocations from repositories of millions of lines of code. Next, for reusing source code, I introduce a system to facilitate building software prototypes from existing packages, and an approach to detecting similar software applications.
Benchmarking..........to be the Best

Benchmarking has been written about In many books by Robert Camp1, Greg Watson2, Michael Spendolini3, McNair and Liebfried4 and others. Their writings have covered everything from the definition of benchmarking to the ethics involved and how to make a site visit. In order to gain a full appreciation of the process and use of the “tool” of benchmarking, all these aspects must be understood.
Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance and Resource Allocation in Science

Selecting among alternative projects is a core management task in all innovating organizations. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of frontier scientific research projects. We argue that the intellectual distance between the knowledge embodied in research proposals and an evaluator's own expertise systematically relates to the evaluations given. To estimate relationships, we designed and executed a grant proposal process at a leading research university in which we randomized the assignment of evaluators and proposals to generate 2,130 evaluator-proposal pairs. We find that evaluators systematically give lower scores to research proposals that are closer to their own areas of expertise and to those that are highly novel. The patterns are consistent with biases associated with boundedly rational evaluation of new ideas. The patterns are inconsistent with intellectual distance simply contributing “noise” or being associated with private interests of evaluators. We discuss implications for policy, managerial intervention and allocation of resources in the ongoing accumulation of scientific knowledge.
Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy: Improving Clinical and Oncologic Outcomes

Since its introduction in 2004 by Gettman and colleagues,1 robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) has emerged as a viable alternative to both open and standard laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for the surgical management of localized renal malignancy. However, despite promising initial data, there remains at present a relative paucity of data regarding intermediate- and long-term functional and oncologic outcomes.
Advances in time estimation methods for molecular data

Molecular dating has become central to placing a temporal dimension on the tree of life. Methods for estimating divergence times have been developed for over 50 years, beginning with the proposal of molecular clock in 1962. We categorize the chronological development of these methods into four generations based on the timing of their origin. In the first generation approaches (1960s‐1980s), a strict molecular clock was assumed to date divergences. In the second generation approaches (1990s), the equality of evolutionary rates between species was first tested and then a strict molecular clock applied to estimate divergence times. The third generation approaches (since � 2000) account for differences in evolutionary rates across the tree by using a statistical model, obviating the need to assume a clock or to test the equality of evolutionary rates among species. Bayesian methods in the third generation require a specific or uniform prior on the speciation-process and enable the inclusion of uncertainty in clock calibrations. The fourth generation approaches (since 2012) allow rates to vary from branch to branch, but do not need prior selection of a statistical model to describe the rate variation or the specification of speciation model. With high accuracy, comparable to Bayesian approaches, and speeds that are orders of magnitude faster, fourth generation methods are able to produce reliable timetrees of thousands of species using genome scale data. We found that early time estimates from second generation studies are similar to those of third and fourth generation studies, indicating that methodological advances have not fundamentally altered the timetree of life, but rather have facilitated time estimation by enabling the inclusion of more species. Nonetheless, we feel an urgent need for testing the accuracy and precision of third and fourth generation methods, including their robustness to misspecification of priors in the analysis of large phylogenies and data sets. Molecular phylogenies scaled to time (timetrees) are fundamental to understanding the evolution of organisms. For example, they aid in deciphering micro- and macroevolutionary processes, including the role of geologic history in shaping the evolution of life, temporal patterns of diversification, the expansion of genomes through duplication events, and the coevolution of hosts and pathogens. In this review, we outline four generations of methods for dating evolutionary divergences using molecular data (fig. 1). We highlight differences among methods, advances they provide, and challenges associated with their use. A detailed early historical development of molecular clock methods is found in Kumar (2005) and extensive methodological descriptions are found in other recent reviews (Ho and Duchene 2014; Bell 2015; Biek et al. 2015; O’Reilly et al. 2015; dos Reis et al. 2016).
Congenital Neck Mass

An ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedurewas performed for a neonate born by cesarean delivery at 37 weeks of gestation with a prenatally diagnosed neck mass. Initial laryngoscopywithaParsons laryngoscope identifiedairwaydeviationsecondary tomass effect, with intubation ultimately achieved with assistance of a bronchoscope. Examination revealed a large neck mass extending from the mandible to the clavicles, with mass effect causing neck extension and rotation. Themasswasmulticystic,with prominent vasculature, anda small areaof skinnecrosis. Followingbirth, themass continued togrow,with inability to palpate the sternal notch by day of life 4 (Figure, A). The patient underwent a magnetic resonance image (MRI) on day of life 3 which showed a 15.7 × 10.0 × 14.4-cm midline neckmasswith solid and cystic components. Flow voidswere present throughout the mass. The mass was isointense to hypointense on T1, and isointense to hyperintense on T2. The patient also underwent a computed tomographic (CT) scan, which demonstrated calcificationspresentwithin themulticystic neckmass.Owing to continuedgrowth and risk of airway compromise, thepatientwas taken to theoperating roomonday5of life for resectionof themassandtracheostomy.Pathologic results showedamultinodular 19-cm mass, 80% solid and 20% cystic, with multiple tissue types present (Figure, B-D). Preoperative photograph A Gross specimen after resection B
Synergistic Effects of Alloying and Thiolate Modification in Furfural Hydrogenation over Cu-Based Catalysts.

Control of bimetallic surface composition and surface modification with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) represent two methods for modifying catalyst activity and selectivity. However, possible synergistic effects of employing these strategies in concert have not been previously explored. We investigated the effects of modifying Cu/Al2O3 catalysts by alloying with Ni and modifying with octadecanethiol (C18) SAMs, using furfural hydrogenation as a probe reaction. Incorporation of small amounts of Ni (Cu4Ni) improved catalytic activity while slightly reducing hydrogenation selectivity. Further incorporation of Ni resulted in high rates for decarbonylation and ring-opening. Modification of the Cu4Ni catalyst with C18-SAMs resulted in improvement in both the activity and hydrogenation selectivity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments on bimetallic thin films and density functional theory calculations revealed that the C18-SAM kinetically stabilized Cu at the surface under hydrogenation conditions. The...