cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurement of Non-Equilibrium Diffusion from Two-Dimensional Ordering Kinetics

The thermodynamic behavior of an overlayer on a surface is determined by the microscopic interactions between the adsorbate atoms and between adsorbate and substrate atoms. A determination of these microscopic interactions can be made at equilibrium or also as the system evolves toward equilibrium. The usual equilibrium determination is a measurement of the temperature-coverage phase diagram of the overlayer, for example, with a diffraction or specific-heat experiment. Using a statistical model with a few local interaction parameters and an underlying lattice geometry, the phase boundaries are fitted to determine the magnitude of the interaction parameters. Nonequilibrium determinations of the same interactions can also be made. A system that is initially in an equilibrium state Xi is suddenly forced into a different state (for example, by a temperature or chemical potential quench) where its equilibrium state is Xf. The evolution of the system toward Xf requires mass transport, which can be monitored through a measurement of the change in order of the system with time. The temperature and coverage dependence of the ordering provides information on the microscopic interactions that govern non-equilibrium diffusion in the system.
Median fin function during the escape response of bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). II: Fin-ray curvature

Although kinematic analysis of individual fin rays provides valuable insight into the contribution of median fins to C-start performance, it paints an incomplete picture of the complex movements and deformation of the flexible fin surface. To expand our analysis of median fin function during the escape response of bluegill sunfish ( Lepomis macrochirus ), patterns of spanwise and chordwise curvature of the soft dorsal and anal fin surfaces were examined from the same video sequences previously used in analysis of fin-ray movement and orientation. We found that both the span and chord undergo undulation, starting in the anterior region of either fin. Initiated early in Stage 1 of the C-start, the undulation travels in a postero-distal direction, reaching the trailing edge of the fins during early Stage 2. Maximum spanwise curvature typically occurred among the more flexible posterior fin rays, though there was no consistent correlation between maximum curvature and fin-ray position. Undulatory patterns suggest different mechanisms of action for the fin regions. In the anterior fin region, where the fin rays are oriented dorsoventrally, undulation is directed primarily chordwise, initiating a transfer of momentum into the water to overcome the inertia of the flow and direct the water posteriorly. Within the posterior region, where the fin rays are oriented caudally, undulation is predominantly directed spanwise; thus, the posterior fin region acts to ultimately accelerate this water towards the tail to increase thrust forces. Treatment of median fins as appendages with uniform properties does not do justice to their complexity and effectiveness as control surfaces. * LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS : ARy# : anal ray, where # indicates its numbered position within the fin ASp# : anal spine, where # indicates its numbered position within the fin C : chord axis of the fin surface, perpendicular to the span axis cT : tangent to the chordwise curve DRy# : dorsal ray, where # indicates its numbered position within the fin DSp# : dorsal spine, where # indicates its numbered position within the fin EMG : electromyography L : lateral axis, normal to the fin surface Mid : middle trunk r : fin-ray identifier S : span axis of the fin surface S1 : stage 1 of the C-start S2 : stage 2 of the C-start sB : binormal to the fin surface sfA : soft region of the anal fin sfD : soft dorsal fin ssCOM : stretched-straight center of mass sT : tangent to the spanwise curve t : time point during a C-start sequence T : time zero tr : directional transition event, i.e. change in direction of rotation or orientation t X : time of a given parameter, where X is the event of a given parameter Δ t X : time difference between a given fin-ray parameter and its corresponding axial event, where X is the event of a given parameter κchord : chordwise curvature, perpendicular to the fin surface and span axis κspan : spanwise curvature, perpendicular to the fin surface ϕ′ : turning rate, i.e. the first time derivative of yaw
LQG-Based Planning, Sensing, and Control of Steerable Needles

This paper presents a technique for planning and controlling bevel-tip steerable needles towards a target location in 3-D anatomy under the guidance of partial, noisy sensor feedback. Our approach minimizes the probability that the needle intersects obstacles such as bones and sensitive organs by (1) explicitly taking into account motion uncertainty and sensor types, and (2) allowing for efficient optimization of sensor placement.We allow for needle trajectories of arbitrary curvature through duty-cycled spinning of the needle, which is conjectured to make a needle path small-time locally “trackable” [13]. This enables us to use LQG control to guide the needle along the path. For a given path and sensor placement, we show that a priori probability distributions of the needle state can be estimated in advance. Our approach then plans a set of candidate paths and sensor placements and selects the pair for which the estimated uncertainty is least likely to cause intersections with obstacles. We demonstrate the performance of our approach in a modeled prostate cancer treatment environment.
Cost modeling process maturity-COCOMO 2.0

This paper discusses a research effort to determine the effect that Software Process Maturity has on software development effort. Case studies to date report a cumulative positive effect when increasing the Process Maturity on a project and across an Organization. A new software cost estimation model, COCOMO 2.0, is used to account of all of the factors that influence effort thus permitting the isolation of Process Maturity's effects. The results of this research will identify a short-term gain from investing in software process improvement.
Arrangement of DNA in lambda bacteriophage heads: III. Location and number of nucleotides cleaved from λ DNA by micrococcal nuclease attack on heads☆☆☆

If lambda phage heads are exposed to micrococcal nuclease before phage tails are attached, the cohesive ends of the packaged λ DNA are damaged. The altered ends were used as templates for repair synthesis catalyzed by Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. The set of nucleotides added to the 3′-termini of DNA from micrococcal nuclease treated lambda heads was compared with that added to the DNA from control heads not exposed to this nuclease. The comparison indicates that micrococcal nuclease treatment of heads removes four terminal bases from the right-hand cohesive end of the packaged DNA, but leaves the left-hand cohesive end intact.
Preparation and characterization of genistein containing poly(ethylene glycol) microparticles

The purpose of this study was to prepare, characterize, and evaluate genistein-containing microparticles with enhanced dissolution profile using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as polymer matrix. Genistein loaded microparticles were prepared by a solvent evaporation process and their surface, thermal, chemical, and dissolution properties were analyzed by microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, and USP dissolution apparatus II, respectively. The wettability index was also determined. Genistein exhibited an elongated crystal habit. However, the drug containing PEG microparticles were discrete and quasispherical. The ATR-FTIR studies performed on the formulation suggested hydrogen bonding between the drug and the polymer matrix. Thermal analysis indicated a conversion of the crystalline form of the drug to an amorphous form. Genistein, exhibiting low solubility and high permeability, is a Class II drug of the Biopharmaceutical Classification Scheme. However, there was a ∼9-fold increase in the rate of dissolution of genistein in the case of all formulations as compared to native genistein. This study showed that genistein could be effectively encapsulated into PEG microparticles using an emulsion-solvent evaporation technique, therefore avoiding the potential disadvantages of other solid dispersion techniques. This approach provided a significant enhancement in the drug dissolution profile. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2070–2078, 2006
Bedside renal ultrasound in the evaluation of suspected ureterolithiasis.

Abstract Objective To determine whether ultrasound changes emergency physicians' estimated likelihood of acute ureterolithiasis in patients with flank pain. Methods This prospective, observational study enrolled patients awaiting computed tomographic (CT) scan for presumed renal colic. Using a visual analogue scale, treating physicians estimated the likelihood of acute ureterolithiasis based first on clinical findings and urinalysis, then after ultrasound, and finally after CT. A 20% change in estimated likelihood was considered clinically significant. Test characteristics of ultrasound for any ureteral stone and for those greater than or equal to 5 mm in size were determined. Results One hundred seven patients were enrolled. Sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of ultrasound for stones observed on CT were 76.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.4%-88.0%), 78.3% (95% CI, 66.4%-86.9%), and 85.7% (95% CI, 74.1%-92.9%) respectively, and for stones >5 mm 90.0% (95% CI, 54.1%-99.5%), 63.9% (95% CI, 53.4%-73.2%), and 98.4% (95% CI, 90.3%-99.9%), respectively. Ultrasound significantly impacted the estimated likelihood of disease in 33 of 107 cases (30.8%, 95% CI, 22.5%-40.6%). Computed tomography further significantly changed physicians' impression of disease in 55 of 107 cases (51.4%, 95% CI, 41.6%-61.1%). Conclusions Bedside renal ultrasound had only a limited impact on the physicians' clinical impression of patients with possible ureterolithiasis. The sensitivity of sonographic hydronephrosis was modest for detecting any ureteral stone, but much better for detecting a large stone. Further study is needed to define the precise role ultrasound should play in evaluating patients with suspected ureterolithiasis.
Mutator gene studies in Escherichia coli: the mutS gene.

We report here on a study of a mutator gene (mutS) that causes transition mutations in Escherichia coli. We have used the trpA system to show that A:T→G:C and G:C→A:T transitions occur. Not all A:T pairs are equally susceptible to mutS action however, since the A:T pair at the trpA223 site reverts at a frequency similar to, if not identical with, the frequency in a mut+ background. Presumably this is a consequence of neighboring bases, because other A:T pairs are reverted by mutS in the same gene; and an A:T pair in the lac operon is reverted at two widely separated points on the chromosome, and in two orientations relative to the trp sense strand. In addition, we have shown that the mutS1 allele is recessive to wild type, and trans active.
Plasma behavior in the boundary layer near a railgun surface

Viscous flow and thermal characteristics are theoretically analyzed for the plasma behind a moving projectile inside a railgun. When only convective effects are included in the turbulent boundary layer analysis, the results suggest a temperature maximum in the wall region for very-high-velocity flow. The case of radiative as well as convective transport has also been investigated for an optically thick boundary layer flow by application of an approximate method. Results show a sizable effect of radiation on the flow characteristics, especially on the heat transfer rate to the railgun surface. Specifically, the theory predicts that the heat flux to the wall is proportional to the square root of the sum of the radiation and convection parameters. >
Dementia with Lewy Bodies

The advent of new immunostains have improved the ability to detect limbic and cortical Lewy bodies, and it is evident that dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia, after Alzheimer's disease (AD). Distinguishing DLB from AD has important implications for treatment, in terms of substances that may worsen symptoms and those that may improve them. Neurocognitive patterns, psychiatric features, extrapyramidal signs, and sleep disturbance are helpful in differentiating DLB from AD early in the disease course. Differences in the severity of cholinergic depletion and type/distribution of neuropathology contribute to these clinical differences.
Pediatric tracheal surgery

Background. Pediatric tracheal procedures are uncom­ mon. We reviewed our experience to clarify management and results. Methods. Retrospective single-institution review of pe­ diatric tracheal operations, 1978 to 2001. Results. One hundred sixteen children were evaluated, mean age 10.4 years (10 days to 18 years). Tracheal pathology was postintubation stenosis (n = 72; 62%), congenital stenosis (n = 23; 20%), neoplasm (n = 8; 7%), tracheomalacia (n = 7; 6%), and trauma (n = 6; 5%). Twenty-nine patients had previous tracheal operations. Thirty-six patients received only a minor procedure. Eighty patients had major operations: tracheal resection (n = 46; 58%), laryngotracheal resection (n = 22; 28%), slide tracheoplasty (n = 7; 9%), and carinal resection (n = 5; 6%). The mean length of airway resected was 3.3 cm (1.5 to 6 cm), which represented 30% of the entire trachea. Twenty-eight patients (35%) had complications. These included tracheomalacia (n = 3), recurrent nerve injury (n = 3), laryngeal edema requiring intubation (n = 2), stroke (n = 1), esophageal leak (n = 1), and lobar collapse
Examination of thermal test chip designs using an FEA tool

Thermal test chip is widely used for package thermal characterization. An "ideal" test chip should be designed in such a way that the heating element covers the entire die area and the heat is generated uniformly across the die. Unfortunately, due to the constraint of other testing structures on the same test die or the Si manufacturing processes, a serpentine type of heater is commonly used instead. An FEA tool is used to compare the die temperature profiles between the thermal. test chip with a serpentine beater and an ideal test chip with uniform die heating. The impact of temperature sensor location on. die temperature reading is studied. Correction factors are also provided for each temperature sensor based on the FEA modeling results. It is strongly recommended that all the thermal test chip designs require an examination using FEA tools so that the capability and limitation of the test chip can be fully understood before implementing them in packaging thermal characterization.
Novel algorithms for computing medians and other quantiles of disk-resident data

In data warehousing applications, numerous OLAP queries involve the processing of holistic operations such as computing the "top N", median, etc. Efficient implementations of these operations are hard to come by. Several algorithms have been proposed in the literature that estimate various quantiles of disk-resident data. Two such recent algorithms are based on sampling. The authors present two novel and efficient quantiling algorithms, Deterministic Bucketing (DB) and Randomized Bucketing (RB). We have analyzed the performance of DB and RE and extended the analysis of the sampling done in prior algorithms. We have conducted extensive experiments to compare all these four algorithms. Our experimental data indicate that our new algorithms outperform prior algorithms not only in the overall run time but also in accuracy. The new algorithms can be used either as one-pass algorithms to accurately estimate quantiles or as algorithms for computing the quantiles exactly.
Attribute match discovery in information integration: exploiting multiple facets of metadata

Automating semantic matching of attributes for the purpose of information integration is challenging, and the dynamics of the Web further exacerbate this problem. Believing that many facets of metadata can contribute to a resolution, we present a framework for multifaceted exploitation of metadata in which we gather information about potential matches from various facets of metadata and combine this information to generate and place confidence values on potential attribute matches. To make the framework apply in the highly dynamic Web environment, we base our process on machine learning when sufficient applicable data is available and base it otherwise on empirically observed rules. Experiments we have conducted are encouraging, showing that when the combination of facets converges as expected, the results are highly reliable.
Accurate in situ measurement of complex refractive index and particle size in intralipid emulsions

b U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993 Abstract. A first accurate measurement of the complex refractive index in an intralipid emulsion is demonstrated, and thereby the average scatterer particle size using standard Mie scattering calculations is extracted. Our method is based on measurement and modeling of the reflectance of a divergent laser beam from the sample surface. In the absence of any definitive reference data for the complex refractive index or particle size in highly turbid intralipid emulsions, we base our claim of accuracy on the fact that our work offers several critically important advantages over previously reported attempts. First, our measurements are in situ in the sense that they do not require any sample dilution, thus eliminating dilution errors. Second, our theoretical model does not employ any fitting param- eters other than the two quantities we seek to determine, i.e., the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index, thus eliminating ambiguities arising from multiple extraneous fitting parameters. Third, we fit the entire reflectance- versus-incident-angle data curve instead of focusing on only the critical angle region, which is just a small subset of the data. Finally, despite our use of highly scattering opaque samples, our experiment uniquely satisfies a key assumption behind the Mie scattering formalism, namely, no multiple scattering occurs. Further proof of our meth- od's validity is given by the fact that our measured particle size finds good agreement with the value obtained by dynamic light scattering. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or repro-
A 3-D Interface-Enriched Generalized FEM for Electromagnetic Problems With Nonconformal Discretizations

An interface-enriched generalized finite-element method (IGFEM) is introduced for efficient 3-D electromagnetic analysis of heterogeneous materials. Without using meshes that conform to the material microstructures, which greatly lessens the burden of mesh generation, the method assigns generalized degrees of freedom (DOFs) at material interfaces to capture the discontinuities of the field and its derivatives. The generalized DOFs are supported by enriched vector basis functions (VBFs), which are constructed through a linear combination of the VBFs from the subelements. Several verification examples are provided to show that the IGFEM is not sensitive to the quality of the subelements and maintains the same level of solution accuracy and computational complexity as the standard finite-element method (FEM) based on conformal meshes. The potential of the proposed IGFEM is demonstrated by simulating some engineering problems with complex, periodic internal structures, including composite materials with randomly distributed spherical particles and ellipsoidal inclusions and microvascular channels.
Commentary: Is There a Silver Lining to Midnight Mischief?

Even the dullest of publications can make good reading during the last few months of a presidential administration. This is especially true when the incoming president is from the opposing political party. Those months typically witness, at least since the 1970s, a rush to publish many new regulations in the Federal Register as the incumbent administration scrambles to leave its mark on national policy. Despite the fact that late-term rulemakings are often considered unsporting and a form of policy mischief, occasionally such rulemakings - due to the controversy they prompt - appear to facilitate greater democratic participation in the rulemaking process, especially when Congress gets involved. Determining whether a particular debate in Congress actually affected an administrative decision, however, is a difficult undertaking as illustrated by the rulemakings addressed in this paper. One cannot, however, gainsay the value of additional dialogue in a democratic society. The ultimate question, nevertheless, is whether it occurs often enough and in significant enough fashion to outweigh all of the negatives produced by such midnight mischief. Chief among those negatives, perhaps, is the fact that the outgoing administration has abjured an opportunity to set a more constructive tone during a transition period, a tone that could possibly reduce partisan rancor and perhaps lead to more bi-partisan cooperation during the next administration. One might hope that future administrations would demonstrate more civility in pursuit of smoother and more productive transitions. Unfortunately, that is most likely a vain hope.
BaSnO3 as a channel material in perovskite oxide heterostructures

BaSnO3 (BSO) is a transparent perovskite oxide with high room-temperature mobility, a property that is highly desirable for a channel material in transistors. However, its low density of states (DOS) makes it challenging to confine a high-density two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Using hybrid density functional theory, we calculate the band structure of BSO, its DOS, and its band offsets with candidate barrier materials, such as SrTiO3 (STO), LaInO3, and KTaO3. With the calculated material parameters as input, Schrodinger-Poisson simulations are then performed on BSO heterostructures to quantitatively address the issue of 2DEG confinement. The BSO/STO interface with a conduction-band offset of 1.14 eV limits the 2DEG density confined within BSO to 8×1013 cm−2. Strategies to improve the confinement via band-offset engineering are discussed.
Impaired outcome colitis-associated rectal cancer versus sporadic cancer

Abstract Background The surgical management of colitis-associated rectal cancer (CARC) is not well defined. This study determines outcomes after surgery for CARC compared with sporadic rectal cancer. Materials and methods This is a retrospective cohort study comparing 27 patients with CARC with 54 matched patients with sporadic cancer. Matching criteria included age, gender, neoadjuvant chemoradiation, and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage. Outcome measures were disease-free and overall survival, tumor characteristics, and postoperative morbidity. Results Compared to those with sporadic rectal cancer, patients with CARC underwent proctocolectomy more frequently (21 [78%] versus 6 [22%] P versus 12 [22.3%] P = 0.03). Overall 3-y survival was significantly reduced in CARC patients compared with patients with sporadic rectal cancer. Those with CARC undergoing segmental proctectomy only demonstrated reduced overall and disease-free survival compared to patients with sporadic rectal cancer and to colitis patients undergoing proctocolectomy ( P = 0.002). Conclusions Patients with CARC undergoing proctectomy demonstrate reduced disease-free survival versus those undergoing proctocolectomy, and versus patients with sporadic rectal cancer undergoing proctectomy. These findings warrant further study and suggest that proctocolectomy should be considered the preferred surgical approach for CARC.
“Not from the Land Side, But From the Flag Side”: Native American Responses to the Wanamaker Expedition of 1913

Images of romance and tragedy like these from a song composed by Joseph K. Dixon, a former Baptist minister and self-proclaimed expert on "the Indian" em? ployed by the Wanamaker stores of New York and Philadelphia, have provided many historians with an opportunity to explore non-Indian attitudes towards Native Americans through especially colorful and entertaining images and char? acters. Such sources offer an almost perfect example of the romanticized images that self-proclaimed "experts" on Indians like Dixon offered to their reading and listening public. Dixon's other activities, like the filming of an "authentic" version of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" and his book The Vanishing Race: The Last Great Indian Council fiirther emphasize this idealized and distorted understanding of a vanishing "Indian race." His 1913 "Rodman Wanamaker Expedition of Citizenship to the North American Indian," a series of flag-raising ceremonies on dozens of United States Indian reservations, provides an excellent example of just how such attitudes could be taken from eastern lecture halls and brought into the lives of Native Americans. Severai historians have illustrated this process. The responses of Native Americans to the depictions of their cultures and futures presented by such events as Dixon's expedition, however, have been largely ignored by historians. Dixon's activities among Native Americans have usually been examined within the context of an historiographical tradition that examines popular im? ages of "the Indian" and their importance to the history of Native Americans. The historians working within this tradition have demonstrated how attitudes towards Indians and popular understandings of their cultures have changed over time. They have also explored how popular conceptions and misconceptions about Native Americans have helped shape the course of government policy and the reform programs of "Friends of the Indians." Few of these historians, however, have explored the way that Indians themselves reacted to those im? ages and the way that they manipulated such stereotypes to promote their own interests.2
Policing Transnational Commerce: Global Awareness in the Margins of Morality

Transnationals operate in what may be called the margins of morality because the historical, cultural, and governmental mores of the world's nation-states are not uniform. There is a gray area of ethical judgment where the standards of the transnational's home country differ substantially from those of the host country. Following the argument of institutional theory in providing stability and meaning to social behavior, in matters of moral conduct the transnational is likely to yield to at least four policing authorities: (1) itself, in terms of the integrity of its management and by decision-making that follows its own code of ethics, (2) other corporations within its competitive set, (3) governmental agencies including those of the host country, and (4) public exposure, which includes the media as well as non-governmental agencies such as offshore watchdog groups. The fourth mechanism, public exposure, is thought to be the most effective in policing transnational conduct.
Adrenal cysts: diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract Adrenal cysts occur infrequently and present complex problems in differential diagnosis. We report 3 cases of cysts of the adrenal gland and review the literature briefly. The diagnostic study is outlined for differential diagnosis.
Accessibility barriers to online education for young adults with intellectual disabilities

In postsecondary education, technology and online resources have become a pervasive component of learning, but they are not always accessible. For students with intellectual disabilities, completing technology-dependent tasks may pose unique challenges that are not always addressed by the disability support services offered at the university level. During our fieldwork, we have observed several barriers to online education tools in a postsecondary environment for students with intellectual disabilities. For example, a student with an intellectual disability submitting an assignment via email to an instructor may encounter difficulties recalling and navigating to the location of their attachment file. In this paper, we describe core skills and common interfaces that we have identified as problematic for this population through an emic ethnography. We offer emic (perceptions from within a given environment) experience accounts to highlight the obstacles we have observed in a) information retrieval, b) navigation and information architecture c) file management, and d) password management. As researchers and educators involved in a postsecondary program for young adults with intellectual disability (ID), we have spent considerable time working with this population. For each scenario, we offer examples from our own experience of the techniques and technologies that did or did not help students accomplish these tasks. Based on these experiences, we provide recommendations for mitigating these barriers including education and training for students and developers and the use of existing interventions and tools. We also discuss future directions for this work. We believe that heightened awareness and communication between educators, designers, and students with disabilities will help address these problems and generate solutions which provide more accessible education experiences for learners with diverse needs.
VALUE-ADDED TAXATION: THE ROOTS RUN DEEP INTO COLONIAL AND EARLY AMERICA

This article indicates that even the most recent forms of taxation find their roots firmly planted in Colonial America. The author shows that the concepts: ad valorem, transaction basis, indirect levy, multi-step collection, and taxation of net product were present during this early period. Through the use of these concepts the historical justifications for the income and sales tax system are provided and indicate a trend toward combining these concepts into one tax. The value-added tax is such a tax. The author concludes that adoption of this tax would complete a trend in American taxation which “took root” in colonial times.
Masscult and Midcult: Essays Against the American Grain, by Dwight Macdonald

Very little by Dwight Macdonald is not worth reading. This was true when he wrote the essays collected in this volume, and it remains true, even when interest in some of his subjects has all but ev...
Anatomic Considerations for Sinonasal and Ventral Skull Base Malignancy

Malignancies of the sinonasal region and ventral skull base include a varied group of uncommon tumors that are a challenge to treat. These malignancies, with few exceptions, often present late because of their insidious growth and bland symptomatology. As with malignancies of other sites, the primary goal in surgical management is complete resection with negative margins. This presents a unique surgical challenge in that these lesions lie within a region of densely populated anatomic real estate. This fact reinforces the importance of complete preoperative work-up and a sound anatomic understanding. This article discusses key anatomic regions and their importance from an endonasal perspective.
Asymmetric charge separation and recombination in symmetrically functionalized σ-π hybrid oligosilanes.

The flexibility of σ-conjugated silanes presents new opportunities for manipulating charge generation, transport, and non-linear optical properties of materials. Recently we synthesized a series of acceptor–donor–acceptor (ADA) compounds in which a methylated oligosilane core (D) is flanked by electron-deficient cyanovinyl-substituted arenes (A). Based on a detailed characterization of the photophysics of ADA and donor–acceptor (DA) architectures using both steady state and ultrafast spectroscopic measurements we illustrate that asymmetric charge separation occurs directly following light absorption. Lippert analysis of solvatochromic emission indicates large changes in dipole moments on excitation consistent with the formation of dipolar emissive states. Time resolved absorption measurements reveal common excited-state relaxation behavior across molecular structures: spectral dynamics associated with the relaxation of nascent excited states occur on a common timescale for all structures within the same solvent environment, whereas charge recombination via excited-state decay consistently follows a common energy gap law. Ultrafast time-resolved Raman measurements reveal that reduction of the cyanovinyl moieties is instantaneous with excitation, with only minor shifts in vibrational features over the course of excited-state relaxation. We conclude that excited-state symmetry breaking that gives rise to asymmetric intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is associated with the conformation of the central Si chain. In contrast, ultrafast solvent reorganization or solvent-controlled intramolecular dynamics only serve to stabilize nascent dipolar excited states, rather than induce charge separation from an initial quadrupolar state.
Right bundle branch block and anterior wall ST elevation myocardial infarction.

We report the case of an acute anterior wall ST elevation myocardial infarction with new left anterior fascicular block and pre-existing right bundle branch block. Due to a wide right bundle branch block, no ST segment elevation was visible in lead V1. The left anterior fascicular block was caused by proximal occlusion of the left artery descending and disappeared after acute revascularization. However, also the R’ of the right bundle branch block became significantly shorter after revascularization, dismanteling a minor ST segment elevation. The ST elevation in lead V1 in anterior wall infarction and right bundle branch block may merge with the R’ and cause a further QRS widening as an “equivalent” to the ST elevation.
Therapeutic Gene Editing in Muscles and Muscle Stem Cells

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a devastating, degenerative muscle disease that affects ~1 in every 3500 male births. DMD arises from mutations in the DMD gene that prevent expression of its encoded protein, Dystrophin (Burghes et al. Nature 328:434–437, 1987). Interestingly, patients with Dmd mutations that delete certain segments of the Dystrophin coding region, but maintain protein reading frame, have a much milder form of the disease, known as Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD). This observation has spurred interest in developing “exon skipping” strategies in which certain mutation-containing or mutation-adjacent Dmd exons are intentionally removed in order to restore protein reading frame, and thereby Dystrophin expression, in DMD patients (Beroud et al. Hum Mutat 28:196–202, 2007; Yokota et al. Expert Opin Biol Ther 7:831–842, 2007).
Medical Treatment for Microscopic Colitis: A Community Hospital's Experience.

Background Lymphocytic colitis (LC) is a chronic disorder characterized by watery diarrhea. This study sought to evaluate if LC recurs after therapy, and the time frame in which this occurs. Secondary objectives included length and type of therapy, drug-free intervals, and reasons for drug discontinuation. Methods A retrospective chart review between January 1, 2008 and October 30, 2015 of patients with biopsy-confirmed lymphocytic, collagenous, or microscopic colitis was conducted. Patient-reported average bowel movements/day were reviewed. Demographic data, dates of colonoscopy, follow-up, type and dose of medications used, and therapy start/stop dates were reviewed. Results Patients presenting with colonoscopic documented LC (n = 114) were predominantly female (88%), Caucasian (97%), with mean bowel movements/day of five. A total of 58/114 (51%) patients were placed on a therapy. Patients taking budesonide saw bowel movements/day reduced from 4.7 to 2.4 compared to 5.8 to 2.8 for those given 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). First-line medications budesonide and 5-aminosalicylic acid failed in 12/58 (21%) of patients, other drugs also resulted in therapy changes. Thirty-five percent required their initial therapy changed and of those 40% required a second change. Symptom exacerbations were documented during therapy for 19% of patients; therapy changes resulted in good response. Conclusions Almost half of all LC cases (56/114) gradually improved without requiring therapy. Seventy-six percent of our treated patients responded well to budesonide when used as the first-line therapy. Similarly, 61.5% responded to 5-ASA. Budesonide was the drug of choice for flares. Tailoring drug therapy to meet individual patient's needs appears to be the best current approach to managing LC.
Malarial pigment-dependent error in the estimation of hemoglobin content in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red cells: implications for metabolic and biochemical studies of the erythrocytic phases of malaria.

Abstract Measurements of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red cells cultured in vitro revealed that malarial pigment (hemozoin) interferes with a true estimate of the actual hemoglobin content in Drabkin's reagent. When the hemozoin pigment was removed by passage of the lysate over a Biorex 70 column, a lower MCH value was obtained which allowed one to estimate that, under these conditions, the parasite consumes about 25% of the red cell's initial hemoglobin. Because spectrophotometric examinations of infected red cell lysates in Drabkin's reagent detect the unchanging heme content of infected red cells (hemoglobin + hemozoin), it can be used for expressing enzymatic activity or metabolite content. Results agree with simultaneous measurements on a per cell basis. However, it is suggested that instead of per gram hemoglobin, the activity should be stated as per mmole (or µmole) heme pigment. The ability to estimate accurately the consumption of intracellular hemoglobin will be useful in metabolic and pharmacologic studies of the parasite/red cell interaction.
Lattice Softening and Phonon Moments in High Tc Superconductors

Mossbauer experiments are described which were designed to contrast the lattice properties of high and low Tc superconductors having the β-W structure. The technique of Kitchens, Craig and Taylor was employed to obtain the ratios of phonon moments which are of importance in McMillans’ analysis of’ strong-coupled’ superconductors. The factor 1/( o/ o) corresponds to the phonon-only part of the electron-phonon coupling parameter λ and, hence, is related to Tc in the theory. Mossbauer results for the V3Ga(Tc∼15°K) -V3Sn(Tc∼4°K) pseudobinary compounds indicate that the concentration dependence of the factor 1/( o/ o) is weaker than that expected from Tc. Lattice softening was observed in the Ga-rich compound, and in a quasiharmonic approximation the temperature dependence of the Debye temperature was obtained.
Die antigenen Eigenschaften der ultravisiblen Virusarten

Nur mit Zogern folgte der Schreiber dieser Zeilen einer Aufforderung, einem europaischen Forum ein Ubersichtsreferat uber ein Wissensgebiet vorzulegen, welches hauptsachlich in den Laboratorien der alten Welt bearbeitet worden ist. Ein solches Unterfangen entbehrte jedoch nicht eines besonderen Interesses und speziellen Anreizes fur den Verfasser. Von Zeit zu Zeit erscheint es angebracht, sich uber die im Laufe der Jahre angesammelten Beobachtungen Rechenschaft abzulegen und somit die wirklichen Tatsachen in scharferes. Relief zu bringen. Neue Ergebnisse und neuere Anschauungen, in ihrer Bedeutung sorgfaltig abgewogen gegenuber dem gegenwartigen Tatbestand, konnen zum Auffinden allgemein gultiger Gesetzmasigkeiten fuhren, die sich sonst der Aufmerksamkeit entziehen. Nur die sorgfaltigste Analyse des vorhandenen Materials kann uns jedoch veranlassen, den Boden der durch langjahrige Tradition gesicherten Anschauungen zu verlassen, Anschauungen, welche mit neueren experimentellen Resultaten in Widerspruch stehen.
Exceptional Abilities and Educational Rights: Concern for the Handicapped and Gifted in Britain, China and Indonesia

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses differences in societies, which differ in the way they define and provide educational rights for their handicapped and for their unusually talented members. The dual aim of this chapter has been to offer four propositions that serve (1) to demonstrate several ways in which educational rights for exceptional people can differ from one society to another and (2) to suggest a number of causal factors that may help account for such differences. It should be apparent that the four propositions around which the chapter has been organized are not the only ones useful for this sort of analysis. Moreover, propositions can be generated from topics such as (a) the influence of socioeconomic and ethnic status on who is furnished special education and (b) the effects of an egalitarian sociopolitical philosophy on educational rights for the exceptional. In all societies, the educational rights of exceptional learners have received serious attention only after educational opportunities were already furnished to the more average majority of people.
Anticardiolipin (aCL) in sera from periodontitis subjects activate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)

Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) have been reported to be present in 15-20% of sera from subjects with periodontitis at concentrations exceeding those found in 95% of the healthy adult population. These antibodies, albeit at concentrations exceeding those generally found in periodontitis subjects, are typically present in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), an autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis and recurrent pregnancy loss. aCL from APS patients are proinflammatory and can activate trophoblasts, macrophages, and platelets via cell-surface interactions with their target antigen beta-2-glycoprotein-I (β2GPI). β2GPI is an anionic phospholipid-binding serum protein that can associate with toll-like receptors (TLR's) on the cell-surface, leading to cell activation following interaction with autoimmune aCL. We examined an expanded series of 629 sera from clinically characterized subjects for aCL content, and observed that 14-19% of these sera contained elevated (>95th %-tile) levels of aCL. We purified IgG from 16 subjects with elevated or normal levels of aCL and examined their ability to activate TLR2- or TLR4-transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells, and observed that IgG from periodontitis patients with elevated aCL activated HEK-TLR4 cells, but not HEK-TLR2 cells. Prior removal of aCL by immunoabsorption significantly reduced the ability of IgG preparations from these sera to activate TLR4. Further experiments using a human first trimester trophoblastic cell line (HTR8 sv/neo) revealed that aCL from periodontitis patients stimulated IL-8 production, which was profoundly decreased if aCL was removed by immunoabsorption or if HTR8 sv/neo were pretreated with blocking anti-TLR4 antibodies. Thus, it appears that aCL from periodontitis patients can be proinflammatory, activating cells via TLR4. Since these antibodies are likely produced via molecular mimicry due to similarities between oral bacterial antigens and β2GPI, the data indicate that circulating serum aCL may induce or influence inflammatory responses at sites distant from the oral cavity.
Ecological determinants of respiratory health: Examining associations between asthma emergency department visits, diesel particulate matter, and public parks and open space in Los Angeles, California.

Abstract Los Angeles County (LAC) low-income communities of color experience uneven asthma rates, evidenced by asthma emergency department visits (AEDV). This has partly been attributed to inequitable exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM). Promisingly, public parks and open space (PPOS) contribute to DPM mitigation. However, low-income communities of color with limited access to PPOS may be deprived of associated public health benefits. Therefore, this novel study investigates the AEDV, DPM, PPOS nexus to address this public health dilemma and inform public policy in at-risk communities. Optimized Hotspot Analysis was used to examine geographic clustering of AEDVs, DPM, and PPOS at the census tract unit of analysis in LAC. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to examine the extent to which DPM and PPOS predict AEDVs. Finally, Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) was employed to account for spatial dependence in the global OLS model. Optimized Hotspot Analysis confirmed significant clustering of elevated AEDVs and DPM in census tracts with reduced PPOS. After controlling for pertinent demographic characteristics (poverty, children, race/ethnicity), regression analysis confirmed that DPM was significantly positively associated with AEDVs, whereas PPOS was significantly negatively associated with AEDVs. Furthermore, GWR revealed that 71.5% of LACs census tracts would benefit from DPM reductions and 79.4% would benefit from PPOS increases toward redressing AEDVs. This is the first study to identify AEDV reductions in census tracts with higher concentrations of PPOS. Thus, reducing DPM and increasing PPOS may serve to improve asthma outcomes, particularly in low-income communities of color.
Early Colonization of the Upper Genital Tract by Chlamydia muridarum Is Associated with Enhanced Inflammation Later in Infection.

ABSTRACT Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Modeling infection in animals can be challenging, as mice naturally clear C. trachomatis when it is deposited in the lower genital tract. However, C. trachomatis can productively infect mice when the lower genital tract is bypassed and bacteria are deposited directly into the upper genital tract via transcervical inoculation. Interestingly, the mouse-adapted Chlamydia species C. muridarum can infect mice both by transcervical inoculation and by natural ascension if introduced into the vaginal vault. In this study, we investigated whether the route of infection plays a role in the downstream immune responses to C. muridarum infection. We found that transcervical infection with C. muridarum results in higher bacterial burdens in the upper genital tract at earlier time points, correlating with levels of innate immune cells. When bacterial burdens were equivalent in intravaginally and transcervically infected mice at later time points, we observed substantially higher levels of adaptive immune cells in transcervically infected mice. Our data suggest that different routes of infection with the same organism can elicit different immune responses in the same tissue.
Disruption of Frontal Aslant Tract Is Not Associated with Long-Term Postoperative Language Deficits.

Background The frontal aslant tract (FAT) is a white matter fiber pathway connecting the superior frontal gyrus to the Broca area. This tract in the dominant hemisphere has been shown to play a role in speech initiation and production, and direct subcortical stimulation can induce stuttering and speech arrest in a patient. However, controversy remains as to whether disruption of this pathway will lead to a permanent language deficit and if it is even necessary to map this tract during tumor resections of the dominant frontal lobe. Case Description Here, we report a case of a patient with a lower-grade diffuse glioma invading the dominant FAT that was removed with an asleep craniotomy. In the immediate postoperative state, the patient had a transcortical motor dysphasia and was unable to initiate speech. These immediate language deficits quickly recovered, and the patient was neurologically intact at the time of discharge a few days after surgery. Conclusions Given the high likelihood for a complete neurologic recovery including transient aphasia, we propose that awake mapping for the purpose of identifying the dominant FAT is unnecessary during tumor resection and that disruption of this tract is not associated with any long-term language deficits.