cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dissection of the aorta and dissecting aortic aneurysms: Improving early and long-term surgical results

We report the improving surgical results in a consecutive series of 690 patients referred to one of us (E.S.C.) for aortic dissection between December 1956 and September 1989, a substantial portion of whom had dissection as a complication of either previous aortic (n = 113, 16) or previous cardiac (n = 54, 8%) operation. Our initial operation of choice in patients requiring multiple operations in this group of 690 patients was based on the most life-threatening or symptomatic aortic segment involved, which was ascending aorta and/or aortic arch (Asc/Arch) in 301 (44%) patients, descending thoracic aorta (Desc) in 195 (28%) patients, and thoracoabdominal aorta (TaA) in 194 (28%) patients. As detailed below, considerable improvement occurred in the 30-day survival rates over time, particularly for acute dissection: [table; see text] The independent determinants of both early and long-term mortality were identified. Independent determinants of late fatal rupture, reoperation, and neuromuscular dysfunction for distal dissectors were also identified. In our experience, continued aggressive surgical intervention for aortic dissection with modern operative techniques has resulted in markedly improved 30-day operative survival (approaching 95% including those patients with acute dissection) and significant improvement in late results.
Structure, function, and applications of tryptophan tryptophylquinone enzymes.

Tryptophan and tyrosine residues in proteins may be posttranslationally modified to form enzyme cofactors. Tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ), the cofactor of methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH), is formed by covalent cross-linking of two tryptophan residues and incorporation of two oxygen atoms into one of the indole rings to form a quinone. MADH converts primary amines to their corresponding aldehydes plus ammonia. During the catalytic cycle, TTQ mediates electron transfer from substrate to a copper protein, ami-cyanin. These electrons are transferred to the respiratory chain via a c-type cytochrome. Structural, kinetic and site-directed mutagenesis studies have characterized protein-protein interactions, and mechanisms of catalysis and electron transfer by TTQ. Preliminary results obtained with MADH enzyme-electrodes demonstrate the potential for quinoprotein-based biosensors.
The Laparoscopic Versus Open Approach for Reduction of Intussusception in Infants and Children: An Updated Institutional Experience.

Abstract Purpose: We have previously demonstrated successful laparoscopic management after failed enema reduction of children with intussusception. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect...
Patients Suffer While the Science Establishment Resists Innovative Therapies

Human gene therapy has been up to now of a type that affects only the patient being treated; it has not modified sperm or eggs cells or embryos in a way that would constitute “germ line gene therapy” (GLGT) by creating a heritable change and affecting future generations. Preclinical research has progressed almost to the point where GLGT interventions will be possible with a reasonable likelihood of success, but such clinical trials are currently prohibited: NIH's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee is not permitted even to consider such proposals, and the FDA cannot use appropriated funds to review such trials. Such absolute prohibitions are bad for patients and bad public policy.
The effects of sugarcane aphid density in sorghum on predation by lady beetles and lacewings

Abstract The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a new and devastating pest of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.)) in the United States. Arthropod predators, especially lady beetles and green lacewings, are often abundant in sugarcane aphid-infested sorghum, but little is known about the effects of these predators on sugarcane aphid populations. We quantified the effect of two species of lady beetles (larvae and adults of Coccinella septempunctata L. and Harmonia axyridis Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and green lacewings (larvae of Chrysoperla rufilabris Burmeister) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on aphid colony growth across several aphid densities (20, 40, 80, 160). We found that all predator species and life stages significantly reduced the growth of sugarcane aphid populations at low to intermediate aphid densities (20, 40, and 80 aphids per colony). At the highest aphid density (160 aphids), however, H. axyridis larvae were much less effective than C. septempunctata larvae and adults and H. axyridis adults and lacewing larvae did not suppress sugarcane aphid colony growth. We incorporated these predator effects into a dynamic predator-prey model to predict the impact of predators on the short-term population dynamics of sugarcane aphids in sorghum (2–14 days) and the ability of these predators to suppress aphids below action thresholds (50–75 aphids per leaf). The model illustrated that all the predators we studied prevented aphid densities between 20 and 40 per leaf from reaching action thresholds. At initial densities of 80 aphids per colony, all predators were able to suppress aphids below threshold in two to four days. At the highest initial aphid density (160), however, H. axyridis larvae could not suppress aphids below the action threshold by four days and lacewing larvae never suppressed aphids below the threshold. Our results suggest that common predators in sorghum have the potential to suppress sugarcane aphid population growth and reduce the number of insecticide applications needed to control sugarcane aphids.
The logic of the nation: Nationalism, formal logic, and interwar Poland

Between the World Wars, a robust research community emerged in the nascent discipline of mathematical logic in Warsaw. Logic in Warsaw grew out of overlapping imperial legacies, launched mainly by Polish-speaking scholars who had trained in Habsburg universities and had come during the First World War to the University of Warsaw, an institution controlled until recently by Russia and reconstructed as Polish under the auspices of German occupation. The intellectuals who formed the Warsaw School of Logic embraced a patriotic Polish identity. Competitive nationalist attitudes were common among interwar scientists – a stance historians have called “Olympic internationalism,” in which nationalism and internationalism interacted as complementary rather than conflicting impulses. One of the School’s leaders, Jan Łukasiewicz, developed a system of notation that he promoted as a universal tool for logical research and communication. A number of his compatriots embraced it, but few logicians outside Poland did; Łukasiewicz’s notation thus inadvertently served as a distinctively national vehicle for his and his colleagues’ output. What he had intended as his most universally applicable invention became instead a respected but provincialized way of writing. Łukasiewicz’s system later spread in an unanticipated form, when postwar computer scientists found aspects of its design practical for working under the specific constraints of machinery; they developed a modified version for programming called “Reverse Polish Notation” (RPN). RPN attained a measure of international currency that Polish notation in logic never had, enjoying a global career in a different discipline outside its namesake country. The ways in which versions of the notation spread, and remained or did not remain “Polish” as they traveled, depended on how readers (whether in mathematical logic or computer science) chose to read it; the production of a nationalized science was inseparable from its international reception.
Vitamin D is required for ILC3 derived IL-22 and protection from Citrobacter rodentium infection

Citrobacter rodentium is a gastrointestinal infection that requires early IL-22 from group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) for resistance. The role of vitamin D in the clearance of C. rodentium infection was tested in vitamin D sufficient (D+) and vitamin D deficient (D-) wildtype (WT) and Cyp27B1 (Cyp) KO mice (unable to produce the high affinity vitamin D ligand 1,25(OH)2D, 1,25D). Feeding Cyp KO mice D- diets reduced vitamin D levels and prevented synthesis of 1,25D. D- (WT and Cyp KO) mice had fewer ILC3 cells and less IL-22 than D+ mice. D- Cyp KO mice developed a severe infection that resulted in the lethality of the mice by d14 post-infection. T and B cell deficient D- Rag KO mice also developed a severe and lethal infection with C. rodentium compared to D+ Rag KO mice. D- WT mice survived the infection but took significantly longer to clear the C. rodentium infection than D+ WT or D+ Cyp KO mice. Treating infected D- Cyp KO mice with IL-22 protected the mice from lethality. Treating the D- WT mice with 1,25D reconstituted the ILC3 cells in the colon and protected the mice from C. rodentium. IL-22 treatment of D- WT mice eliminated the need for vitamin D to clear the C. rodentium infection. Vitamin D is required for early IL-22 production from ILC3 cells and protection from enteric infection with C. rodentium.
What Is Fatigue Damage

A conceptual definition of fatigue damage is proposed to assist in the selection of measurement techniques and parameters for correlating damage with fatigue life. To illustrate the concept, a critical review of some typical damage parameters for composite materials is given. A survey of some new techniques for damage monitoring, including the small angle neutron scattering (SANS) method, is presented and discussed. Pitfalls in damage modeling are illustrated with examples drawn from the literature. A summary of an ASTM E9.01 panel study on fatigue damage and research opportunities in the 1980's is presented.
A Volume‐Based Feeding Protocol Improves Nutrient Delivery and Glycemic Control in a Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND Inadequate delivery of nutrition in critically ill patients has been shown to have adverse outcomes. A surgical trauma intensive care unit provides unique challenges to enteral feeds. Although volume-based feeding protocols, like Enhanced Protein-Energy Provision via the Enteral Route Feeding Protocol (PEP uP), have been successfully used in medical intensive care patients, data are sparse on its safety and efficacy in a surgical intensive care unit population. METHODS A PEP uP protocol was recently initiated at our American College of Surgeons Level 1 verified trauma center. Medical records of 197 patients before this change (pre-PEP uP) were compared with 295 patients after this change (post-PEP uP). RESULTS The post-PEP uP group met/exceeded energy goals (defined as 80% of target) more often (57.0% compared with 26.9%, P-value < .001), with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 4.98 (95% CI 3.49-7.10), and more often met/exceeded protein goals (57.4% compared with 18.6%, P-value < .001), with an adjusted OR of 11.84 (95% CI 7.94-17.64). There was no significant difference in emesis during this time. Additionally, patients in the post-PEP uP arm had less episodes of hyperglycemia (9% compared with 14.4%, P-value < .001). CONCLUSIONS Volume-based feeding protocols like PEP uP are safe in critically ill trauma patients and are more effective at delivering energy and protein while limiting hyperglycemic episodes when compared with a traditional delivery method.
Water Structure and Properties at Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces

The properties of water on both molecular and macroscopic surfaces critically influence a wide range of physical behaviors, with applications spanning from membrane science to catalysis to protein engineering. Yet, our current understanding of water interfacing molecular and material surfaces is incomplete, in part because measurement of water structure and molecular-scale properties challenges even the most advanced experimental characterization techniques and computational approaches. This review highlights progress in the ongoing development of tools working to answer fundamental questions on the principles that govern the interactions between water and surfaces. One outstanding and critical question is what universal molecular signatures capture the hydrophobicity of different surfaces in an operationally meaningful way, since traditional macroscopic hydrophobicity measures like contact angles fail to capture even basic properties of molecular or extended surfaces with any heterogeneity at the nanometer length scale. Resolving this grand challenge will require close interactions between state-of-the-art experiments, simulations, and theory, spanning research groups and using agreed-upon model systems, to synthesize an integrated knowledge of solvation water structure, dynamics, and thermodynamics.
Chpater 3 – Surface Equipment

Publisher Summary Air and gas drilling operations require some special surface equipment. This chapter explores the variety of equipment required in air and gas drilling operations. Along the flow line leading from the compressors to the drilling rig standpipe is an assembly of pressure gauges, temperature gauges, valves, a volumetric flow rate meter and a safety valve. Also on the flow line is a valve allowing the compressed air flow to be diverted either to the atmosphere or to primary and secondary jets in the blooey line. These components are explained in detail. The flow line to the standpipe of the drilling rig acts as a manifold, collecting the compressed air outputs from the primaries. The valves in the flow line at the booster compressor allow the airflow from the primaries to be diverted to the booster when high compression of the air is needed. All air and gas drilling operations require the use of a rotating head, which is installed below the rotary table. The blow-out preventer (BOP) stack is always used when subsurface over-pressured dangerous gases or fluids might be encountered while drilling. The rotating head was developed to keep air or gas with entrained rock cuttings from flowing to the drilling rig floor through the rotary table kelly bushings. The BOP equipment was developed for use in drilling deep wells for the recovery of oil and natural gas. The BOP stack can be composed of two types of preventers: the ram-type blowout preventer and the annular-type preventer.
Surgical outcomes in patients with endoscopic versus transcranial approach for skull base malignancies: a 10-year institutional experience.

Object: The authors performed an extensive comparison between patients treated with open versus an endoscopic approach for skull base malignancy with emphasis on surgical outcomes.Methods: A single...
Investigating hospital Mycobacterium chelonae infection using whole genome sequencing and hybrid assembly

Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterium that is a common cause of nosocomial infections. Here we describe investigation of a possible nosocomial transmission of M. chelonae at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). M. chelonae strains with similar high-level antibiotic resistance patterns were isolated from two patients who developed post-operative infections at HUP in 2017, suggesting a possible point source infection. The isolates, along with other clinical isolates from other patients, were sequenced using the Illumina and Oxford Nanopore technologies. The resulting short and long reads were hybrid assembled into draft genomes. The genomes were compared by quantifying single nucleotide variants in the core genome and assessed using a control dataset for identity. We show that that all M. chelonae isolates tested were highly divergent, consistent with environmental acquisition. Additionally, antibiotic resistance genes were predicted for our isolates, and several single nucleotide variants identified with the potential to modulated drug susceptibility, providing candidate resistance mechanisms.
TPUPoint: Automatic Characterization of Hardware-Accelerated Machine-Learning Behavior for Cloud Computing

With the share of machine learning (ML) workloads in data centers rapidly increasing, cloud providers are beginning to incorporate accelerators such as tensor processing units (TPUs) to improve the energy-efficiency of applications. However, without optimizing application parameters, users may underutilize accelerators and end up wasting energy and money. This paper presents TPUPoint to facilitate the development of efficient applications on TPU-based cloud platforms. TPUPoint automatically classifies repetitive patterns into phases and identifies the most timing-critical operations in each phase. Further, TPUPoint can associate phases with checkpoints to allow fast-forwarding in applications, thereby significantly reducing the time and money spent optimizing applications. By running TPUPoint on a wide array of representative ML workloads, we found that computation is no longer the most time-consuming operation; instead, the infeed and reshape operations, which exchange and realign data, become most significant. TPUPoints advantages significantly increase the potential for discovering optimal parameters to quickly balance the complex workload pipeline of feeding data into a system, reformatting the data, and computing results.
Gender, Race, and Migrant Labor in the “Domestic Frontier” of the Panama Canal Zone

The cover of Maid in Panama depicts a West Indian higgler as a “mammy.” Her skin is an exaggerated ink-black, her body is large, her face round, and she wears a servant's uniform, including headscarf and apron. The higgler walks across an open field carrying a tray of tropical fruits on her head, with a background of palm trees, a placid river, and fluffy clouds.
COACH EDUCATION IMPROVES ADHERENCE TO ACL INJURY PREVENTION PROGRAMS: A CLUSTER-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL:

Background:ACL injury prevention programs have demonstrated limited impact on population health, due in part to poor adherence to expert recommendations by sports coaches. Neuromuscular training (N...
Evolution of a mass casualty drill design team: A program evaluation.

Introduction: The number of mass casualty incidents (MCIs) is increasing. While many healthcare systems have not experienced an MCI, the need for preparedness is ever present. The unique challenges of MCI preparedness require the use of simulation, which has been found to be an effective model for training in medical environments. Objective: To determine common discussion points when a multidisciplinary team designed and implemented in situ MCI simulation drills to enhance our emergency preparedness plan. Design: This was a retrospective qualitative evaluation of the multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team’s weekly meeting minutes documents. These documents provided insight into the evolution of a mass casualty drill design team and the advancement of our emergency response plan. Results: Continuous discussions surrounding resource restraints helped to inform the emergence of the three themes, which were “Staff,” “Space,” and “Stuff.” These three themes were further broken down into different subthemes, but there was a continued focus on resource scarcity. Conclusions: Our results indicate the use of an MCI drill design team and in situ simulations assisted in better understanding of how hospital departments struggled with resource scarcity and provided opportunities to strengthen the emergency preparedness response plan. Incorporating a multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team helped to ensure different perspectives and department needs were acknowledged and addressed through the in situ simulation trainings.
Effect of phenobarbital on lactation and the nursing neonate. A preliminary report.

Abstract Phenobarbital is a demonstrated enzyme-inducing agent that results in enhancement of hepatic steroid hydroxylase activity. Mammary gland function determined by quantitation of milk production and tissue DNA content appears uninfluenced by phenobarbital. Nursing neonates of phenobarbital-treated rats experienced a reduced growth and increased mortality rate. Uterine responsiveness to exogenous estrogen was reduced in neonates nursed by phenobarbital-treated parturients as a result of exposure to phenobarbital. This finding suggests that enzyme-inducing agents will produce altered rates of gonadal steroid metabolism in developing neonates.
Concepts for fabrication of inertial fusion energy targets

Future inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will have a Target Fabrication Facility (TFF) that must produce approximately 500,000 targets per day. To achieve a relatively low cost of electricity, the cost to produce these targets will need to be less than approximately $0.25 per target. In this paper the status on the development of concepts for a TFF to produce targets for a heavy ion fusion (HIF) reactor, such as HYLIFE II, and a laser direct drive fusion reactor such as Sombrero, is discussed. The baseline target that is produced in the HIF TFF is similar to the close-coupled indirect drive target designed by Callahan-Miller and Tabak at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. This target consists of a cryogenic hohlraum that is made of a metal case and a variety of metal foams and metal-doped organic foams. The target contains a DT-filled CH capsule. The baseline direct drive target is the design developed by Bodner and coworkers at Naval Research Laboratory. HIF targets can be filled with DT before or after assembly of the capsule into the hohlraum. Assembly of targets before filling allows assembly operations to be done at room temperature, but tritium inventories are much larger due to themore » large volume that the hohlraum occupies in the fill system. Assembly of targets cold after filling allows substantial reduction in tritium inventory, but this requires assembly of targets at cryogenic temperature. A model being developed to evaluate the tritium inventories associated with each of the assembly and fill options indicates that filling targets before assembling the capsule into the hohlraum, filling at temperatures as high as possible, and reducing dead-volumes in the fill system as much as possible offers the potential to reduce tritium inventories to acceptable levels. Use of enhanced DT ice layering techniques, such as infrared layering can reduce tritium inventories significantly by reducing the layering time and therefore the number of capsules being layered. Current processes for fabrication of ICF capsules can most likely be easily scaled up to produce capsules at rates needed for an IFE plant.« less
THE ESTATE TAX PROVISION OF THE 1981 ECONOMIC RECOVERY TAX ACT: WHICH FARMERS BENEFIT?

This analysis used simulation to compare the cost of intergenerational transfer of farm estates under the pre-1981 tax rules and the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA) provisions. ERTA reduces transfer costs for almost all the estates considered. Large estates tend to benefit more than small estates if they qualify for use valuation or if they are large enough to be affected by the reduction in tax rates. ERTA does not create new forces for change in U.S. agriculture, but it tends to strengthen the tendency toward larger farm size and favor those who already own farm resources.
Isolation of mitochondrial tRNAs from human cells.

Publisher Summary This chapter explains the isolation of mitochondrial tRNAs from human cells. Mammalian mitochondrial tRNAs possess many unique sequence, structural, and functional properties. All mammalian mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) code for 22 tRNAs, which are sufficient for the translation of the mtDNA-encoded mRNAs, because a single tRNA is able to read all codons of a four-codon family. In contrast to prokaryotic, eukaryotic nuclear, and chloroplast tRNAs, whose structures are remarkably conserved, there are numerous sequence and structural alterations found among mammalian mitochondrial tRNAs. These include changes in highly conserved nucleotides or nucleotide base modifications, variations in the sizes of stem and loop structures, and alterations in conserved tertiary interactions. The chapter describes procedures for the isolation of single tRNA species based on a variety of fractionation methods. tRNA fraction, isolated by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose, is subsequently further fractionated by electrophoresis through successive polyacrylamide gels. In addition, the chapter also describes procedure for cultured mammalian cells that allows the isolation of a highly purified total mitochondrial tRNA preparation. This procedure has been used previously to investigate the steady-state levels and metabolic properties of tRNAs isolated from HeLa cell mitochondria.
Pacific Blockade of Syria

Argues that the U.S. can, consistent with international law, impose pacific blockade on Syria. 14 pages. 99 notes.
Comparison of two sets of first-order conditions as bases of interior-point Newton methods for optimization with simple bounds

In this paper, we compare the behavior of two Newton interior-point methods derived from two different first-order necessary conditions for the same nonlinear optimization problem with simple bounds. One set of conditions was proposed by Coleman and Li; the other is the standard KKT set of conditions. We discuss a perturbation of the CL conditions for problems with one-sided bounds and the difficulties involved in extending this to problems with general bounds. We study the numerical behavior of the Newton method applied to the systems of equations associated with the unperturbed and perturbed necessary conditions. Preliminary numerical results for convex quadratic objective functions indicate that, for this class of problems, the Newton method based on the perturbed KKT formulation appears to be the more robust.
The Information Value of the Stress Test and Bank Opacity

We investigate whether the “stress test,” the extraordinary examination of the nineteen largest U.S. bank holding companies conducted by federal bank supervisors in 2009, produced information demanded by the market. Using standard event study techniques, we find that the market had largely deciphered on its own which banks would have capital gaps before the stress test results were revealed, but that the market was informed by the size of the gap; given our proxy for the expected gap, banks with larger capital gaps experienced more negative abnormal returns. Our findings suggest that the stress test helped quell the financial panic by producing vital information about banks. Our findings also contribute to the academic literature on bank opacity and the value of government monitoring of banks.
Immunity and Acquired Alterations in Cognition and Emotion: Lessons from SLE

Abstract Classic immunologic teaching describes the brain as an immunologically privileged site. Studies of neuroimmunology have focused for many years almost exclusively on multiple sclerosis, a disease in which inflammatory cells actually infiltrate brain tissue, and the rodent model of this disease, experimental allergic encephalitis. Over the past decade, however, increasingly, brain‐reactive antibodies have been demonstrated in the serum of patients with numerous neurological diseases. The contribution these antibodies make to neuronal dysfunction has, in general, not been determined. Here, we describe recent studies showing that serum antibodies to the N‐methyl D‐asparate receptor occur frequently in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and can cause alterations in cognition and behavior following a breach in the blood–brain barrier.
Desformylflustrabromine Modulates α4β2 Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor High- and Low-Sensitivity Isoforms at Allosteric Clefts Containing the β2 Subunit.

Alterations in expression patterns of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors have been demonstrated to alter cholinergic neurotransmission and are implicated in neurologic disorders, including autism, nicotine addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) represent promising new leads in the development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of these disorders. This study investigates the involvement of the β2-containing subunit interfaces of α4β2 receptors in the modulation of acetylcholine (ACh)-induced responses by the PAM desformylflustrabromine (dFBr). Eight amino acids on the principal face of the β2 subunit were mutated to alanine to explore the involvement of this region in the potentiation of ACh-induced currents by dFBr. ACh-induced responses obtained from wild-type and mutant α4β2 receptors expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes were recorded in the presence and absence of dFBr using two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology. Wild-type and mutant receptors were expressed in both high and low ACh sensitivity isoforms by using biased injection ratios of 1:5 or 5:1 α4 to β2 complementary RNA. Mutations were made in the B, C, and A loops of the principal face of the β2 subunit, which are regions not involved in the binding of ACh. Mutant β2(Y120A) significantly eliminated dFBr potency in both isoform preparations. Several other mutations altered dFBr potentiation levels in both preparations. Our findings support the involvement of the principal face of the β2 subunit in dFBr modulation of ACh-induced responses. Findings from this study will aid in the improved design of dFBr-like PAMs for potential therapeutic use.
Low-frequency noise in AlSb/InAs and AlSb/InAsSb HEMTs

Measurements of the low-frequency noise in AlSb/InAs and AlSb/InAsSb HEMTs are reported. At room temperature, the slope of the noise level for a basic InAs-channel device is very close to ideal 1/f. A more advanced version of this device and the device with the InAsSb channel display a significant generation-recombination component. The Hooge parameter, /spl alpha//sub H/, for all the devices is in the range between 10/sup -3/ and 10/sup -2/ based on floating-gate measurements at low drain voltage. At lower temperatures, larger G-R components appear in all devices and move with temperature, indicating the presence of discrete trap levels. These noise Lorentzians become more prominent when the devices are exposed to visible light, and move up in frequency with increasing electric field.
The effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid and various other substances upon the respiration of blue lupine seedling roots.

The outstanding capacity of 2,4-D, the synthetic plant hormone, to control certain phases of plant growth has been known for a number of years (8). Concurrent with growth and exerting some regulating influence upon it is the process of respiration. In this study, the process of respiration as affected by a synthetic hormone, 2,4-D, is considered from the over-all viewpoint of oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release, as shown in the respiration of excised seedling roots.
Effect of neuropeptide Y on endotoxin-induced suppression of the response to various agonists in conscious rats☆

Abstract Hypotension during endotoxic shock is related to reduced vascular responsiveness to vasoconstrictors. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is known to potentiate the pressor response to some agonists, and NPY infusion has been shown to improve hemodynamics and survival in endotoxemic rats. We therefore studied the effect of NPY infusion on the suppressed pressor effect of norepinephrine (NE), angiotensin II (AII), vasopressin (VP), and endothelin (ET) in conscious endotoxemic rats. Chronically cannulated conscious rats were infused with a non-hypotensive dose of endotoxin (LPS, 10 μg/10μl/min) throughout the experiment. Infusion of NPY, 40 pmol/10μl/min was started 15 minutes before the LPS infusion, and continued for 65 minutes. Five minutes after the termination of NPY infusion, increasing agonist doses were administered i.v. to construct dose-response curves. Each experiment included one control group where saline replaced LPS, and one control group where saline replaced NPY. LPS infusion caused suppression of the pressor responses to all four agonists, as expressed by ED 50 and by decreased pressor response to the individual agonist doses. In addition, LPS infusion altered the bradycardic response to AII and ET. NPY infusion prior to the administration of NE, AII and VP resulted in partial reversal of the LPS-induced suppressed responsiveness to these agonists. NPY infusion had no effect on the response to ET in either control or endotoxemic rats. Partial reversal of the suppressed responsiveness to the three agonists by NPY infusion may contribute to the observed NPY-induced improvement of blood pressure and survival rate during endotoxic shock.
Systematics and occurrences of Edestus (Chondrichthyes) worldwide and new occurrences from Colorado and Texas

The species of Edestus Leidy (Chondrichthyes, Edestidae) are divided into two groups: those close to Edestus minor Newberry and those close to Edestus heinrichi Newberry and Worthen. The occurrence...
A simple, reproducible animal model of arterial occlusion with mixed thrombus

Background: Current animal models of thrombotic arterial occlusion are complex and difficult to perform. A more simplified model of thrombotic occlusion with angiographic endpoints and mixed thrombotic composition would be useful to assess the effectiveness of new therapeutic modalities. Methods and results: Femoral arteries in 38 New Zealand White rabbits were cannulated. The animal protocol involved denudation of one iliac artery by stripping with progressively increasing balloon size, followed by inflow arterial occlusion and the addition of thrombin. Cineangiography was performed at baseline and 10 minutes after the procedure to assess TIMI blood flow. Baseline angiography revealed normal TIMI 3 flow in all arteries. A successful angiographic endpoint of TIMI 0 or TIMI 1 blood flow was achieved in only 6 or 46% of 13 rabbits with initial use of the protocol, but was successful in 25 or 100% of a consecutive series of rabbits after the initial or repeat use of the protocol. Importantly, histologic analysis of thrombus revealed a mixture of platelets, erythrocytes, and fibrin. The mean injury index of the internal elastic lamina (IEL) was 40.7 ± 35.16%. No correlation was found between TIMI flow change and intact IEL (R = \s-0.068, p > 0.5). Total procedure time was about 1 hour. Conclusion: This simple and reproducible animal model of arterial occlusion provided a mixed thrombus that is comparable to human thrombus and thus may be useful to assess thrombolytic agents or new coronary interventional devices.
Two-color approach for determination of thickness and dielectric constant of thin films using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

We report a real time, in situ non-perturbative all-optical approach for determining both the average thickness and the average dielectric constant of transparent thin films using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. While it is impossible to obtain both of these parameters from a single surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy experiment, we show both theoretically and experimentally that a two-color experiment allows unambiguous determination of both parameters. The approach is tested for organic thin films at the gold/solution interface which have thickness of a single monolayer.
Resolvable maps preserve complete metrizability

Let X be a Polish space, Y a separable metrizable space, and f : X → Y a continuous surjection. We prove that if the image under f of every open set or every closed set is resolvable, then Y is Polish. This generalizes similar results by Sierpinski, Vainstain, and Ostrovsky.
The Initial Assignment Effect: Local Employer Practices and Positive Career Outcomes for Work-Family Program Users

One of the great paradoxes of inequality in organizations is that even when organizations introduce new programs designed to help employees in traditionally disadvantaged groups succeed, employees who use these programs often suffer negative career consequences. This study helps to fill a significant gap in the literature by investigating how local employer practices can enable employees to successfully use the programs designed to benefit them. Using a research approach that controls for regulatory environment and program design, we analyze unique longitudinal personnel data from a large law firm to demonstrate that assignment to powerful supervisors upon organization entry improves career outcomes for individuals who later use a reduced-hours program. Additionally, we find that initial assignment to powerful supervisors is more important to positive career outcomes—that is, employee retention and performance-based pay—than are factors such as supervisor assignment at the time of program use. Initial ass...
Global institutions: Transforming international development agencies into learning organizations

Executive Overview Transforming a company may have many interesting similarities to transforming a country. For instance, many executives have learned that increased capital investment does not necessarily build a better company, and international development institutions like the World Bank have learned painfully that investment in physical capital is also not the key to economic development. Knowledge embodied in human capital is now seen as key in economic development, and in knowledge-based companies or organizations. Executives developing learning organizations will share many problems with development institutions trying to foster knowledge-based economic development in the Third World. As knowledge-based transformation is learning writ large in both companies and countries, this article applies an activist philosophy of education, organizational psychology, and pedagogical theory to the international problems of economic development. The topics treated include: (1) methodologies of active learning ...
Novel strategies of subordinate fish competing for food: learning when to fold

In group-living animals, competition for a scarce resource often results in the formation of dominance hierarchies. Dominant individuals garner more of that resource for themselves through the use of aggression, forcing subordinates to rely on nonaggressive strategies to secure it. Stealing from dominants is common, but subordinate thieves can risk attack if caught. How, then, do subordinates decide when and where to steal? We explored whether the opportunity to learn about the location and availability of food might facilitate food-stealing attempts by male blue gouramis, Trichogaster trichopterus , a freshwater tropical fish. Our results show that subordinates were able to use learned cues to mount highly effective ‘sneaky’ tactics. By anticipating food location and availability, subordinates reduced the number of attacks they received as well as the amount of time they spent fleeing from dominants. More importantly, however, our results revealed unexpected plasticity in the cognitive mechanisms underlying this learning: like privately trained dominants, privately trained subordinates learned to approach food cues directly; however, on the very first occasion that subordinates were tested with a dominant present, they dramatically altered their previously learned direct approach to food cues, immediately adopting a different, sneaky tactic instead. Thus, subordinates were able to combine information about previous learning, namely an ‘expectancy’ of food, with the probability of future attack and adjust their food-getting strategy accordingly.
Aggregation Kinetics of Colloidal Particles Measured by Gas-Phase Differential Mobility Analysis

We demonstrate the utility of electrospray gas-phase ion-mobility analysis as a new method to investigate nanoparticle flocculation, or aggregation. Au nanoparticle (Au-NP) solutions were sampled via electrospray (ES), followed by differential ion-mobility analysis (DMA) to determine the particle mobility distribution. Multimodal size distributions obtained with ES-DMA indicated the presence of single Au-NPs (monomer) as well as larger Au-NP clusters such as dimers, trimers, and tetramers under specific solution conditions. The fraction of each aggregate species as a function of time was quantitatively characterized, from which the degree of aggregation, aggregation rate, and stability ratio at different ionic strengths were determined. The latter enabled the extraction of a surface potential (or surface charge density) of 64 ± 2 mV for 10 nm Au-NPs, which is in good agreement with values obtained from other methods, thus validating our approach. Our results show that ES-DMA is a valuable tool for quantit...
Jumping sans legs: does elastic energy storage by the vertebral column power terrestrial jumps in bony fishes?

Abstract Despite having no obvious anatomical modifications to facilitate movement over land, numerous small fishes from divergent teleost lineages make brief, voluntary terrestrial forays to escape poor aquatic conditions or to pursue terrestrial prey. Once stranded, these fishes produce a coordinated and effective “tail-flip” jumping behavior, wherein lateral flexion of the axial body into a C-shape, followed by contralateral flexion of the body axis, propels the fish into a ballistic flight-path that covers a distance of multiple body lengths. We ask: how do anatomical structures that evolved in one habitat generate effective movement in a novel habitat? Within this context, we hypothesized that the mechanical properties of the axial skeleton play a critical role in producing effective overland movement, and that tail-flip jumping species demonstrate enhanced elastic energy storage through increased body flexural stiffness or increased body curvature, relative to non-jumping species. To test this hypothesis, we derived a model to predict elastic recoil work from the morphology of the vertebral (neural and hemal) spines. From ground reaction force (GRF) measurements and high-speed video, we calculated elastic recoil work, flexural stiffness, and apparent material stiffness of the body for Micropterus salmoides (a non-jumper) and Kryptolebias marmoratus (adept tail-flip jumper). The model predicted no difference between the two species in work stored by the vertebral spines, and GRF data showed that they produce the same magnitude of mass-specific elastic recoil work. Surprisingly, non-jumper M. salmoides has a stiffer body than tail-flip jumper K. marmoratus. Many tail-flip jumping species possess enlarged, fused hypural bones that support the caudal peduncle, which suggests that the localized structures, rather than the entire axial skeleton, may explain differences in terrestrial performance.
Use of pervaporation for separating azeotropic mixtures using two different hollow fiber membranes

Abstract The performance of a “two-membrane column” was demonstrated for the separation of water-ethanol and water-isopropanol azeotropic mixtures. The cellulose acetate and silicone rubber membranes which were employed for the strippers showed opposite permselectivity towards each component of the mixtures. The two strippers were connected together with liquid pumps installed between them. A great increase in overall separation factor (over 100) was obtained. The degree of separation was dependent upon the ratio of feed to reject rate. Azeotropic mixtures were successfully separated by using the two-membrane column. This column is expected to provide us with an energy-saving, high purity separation process
The influence of detergents on the availability of pertussis toxin substrates

Abstract Pertussis toxin-dependent ADP-ribosylation of rat heart and human mononuclear leukocyte membranes was found to be markedly enhanced in the presence of detergents. The order of potency for this effect of detergents was Triton X-100 ≈ Lubrol PX > digitonin ⪢ cholate > 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonia]propanesulfonic acid. Exposure of membranes to increasing concentrations of detergents increased the proportion of pertussis toxin substrate demonstrable in the supernatant fraction whereas the substrate remaining in the pellet fraction demonstrated a complicated relationship with the concentration of detergent. In complementary experiments, it was found that immunochemical detection of G proteins in the pellet fraction from suspensions previously incubated with a maximal concentration of detergent revealed a reduced presence of G proteins with a concomitant increase in the concentration of G proteins in the supernatant fraction; this situation was not observed at submaximal concentrations of detergent during the preincubation of myocardial membranes. The results suggest that the detergent-mediated enhancement of pertussis toxin's action to ADP-ribosylate susceptible G proteins is a complicated process that includes concentration-dependent creation of conditions favorable to the actions of the toxin as well as solubilization of the substrates for the toxin.
T2384, a Novel Antidiabetic Agent with Unique Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Binding Properties

The nuclear hormone receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) plays central roles in adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis and is the molecular target for the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of antidiabetic drugs. Activation of PPARgamma by TZDs improves insulin sensitivity; however, this is accompanied by the induction of several undesirable side effects. We have identified a novel synthetic PPARgamma ligand, T2384, to explore the biological activities associated with occupying different regions of the receptor ligand-binding pocket. X-ray crystallography studies revealed that T2384 can adopt two distinct binding modes, which we have termed "U" and "S", interacting with the ligand-binding pocket of PPARgamma primarily via hydrophobic contacts that are distinct from full agonists. The different binding modes occupied by T2384 induced distinct patterns of coregulatory protein interaction with PPARgamma in vitro and displayed unique receptor function in cell-based activity assays. We speculate that these unique biochemical and cellular activities may be responsible for the novel in vivo profile observed in animals treated systemically with T2384. When administered to diabetic KKAy mice, T2384 rapidly improved insulin sensitivity in the absence of weight gain, hemodilution, and anemia characteristics of treatment with rosiglitazone (a TZD). Moreover, upon coadministration with rosiglitazone, T2384 was able to antagonize the side effects induced by rosiglitazone treatment alone while retaining robust effects on glucose disposal. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that interactions between ligands and specific regions of the receptor ligand-binding pocket might selectively trigger a subset of receptor-mediated biological responses leading to the improvement of insulin sensitivity, without eliciting less desirable responses associated with full activation of the receptor. We suggest that T2384 may represent a prototype for a novel class of PPARgamma ligand and, furthermore, that molecules sharing some of these properties would be useful for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
The crystal structure of copper bromide telluride

Abstract The crystal structure of CuBrTe has been determined. The compound is tetragonal with unit cell dimensions a = 16.417A, c = 4.711A, Z = 16, and space group I 4 1 / amd . Three-dimensional counterdiffraction intensity data (Mo K α) were refined with full-matrix least-squares to a conventional unweighted R of 0.066. The structure consists of infinite tellurium spirals with bromine tetrahedra interspersed. Two basic types of disordered copper atoms were found. One type is at the center of the bromine tetrahedra and has several possible locations for each atom. The other type of copper lies on two possible sites in a distorted tetrahedral environment with tellurium and two bromine atoms as nearest neighbors.