cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Motility-Independent Formation of Antibiotic-Tolerant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Aggregates

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterial pathogen that causes severe chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals. This bacterium is highly adaptable to its environments, which frequently select for traits that promote bacterial persistence. A clinically significant temporal adaptation is the formation of surface- or cell-adhered bacterial biofilms that are associated with increased resistance to immune and antibiotic clearance. Extensive research has shown that bacterial flagellar motility promotes formation of such biofilms, whereupon the bacteria subsequently become nonmotile. However, recent evidence shows that antibiotic-tolerant nonattached bacterial aggregates, distinct from surface-adhered biofilms, can form, and these have been reported in the context of lung infections, otitis media, nonhealing wounds, and soft tissue fillers. It is unclear whether the same bacterial traits are required for aggregate formation as for biofilm formation. In this report, using isogenic mutants, we demonstrate that P. aeruginosa aggregates in liquid cultures are spontaneously formed independent of bacterial flagellar motility and independent of an exogenous scaffold. This contrasts with the role of the flagellum to initiate surface-adhered biofilms. Similarly to surface-attached biofilms, these aggregates exhibit increased antibiotic tolerance compared to planktonic cultures. These findings provide key insights into the requirements for aggregate formation that contrast with those for biofilm formation and that may have relevance for the persistence and dissemination of nonmotile bacteria found within chronic clinical infections.IMPORTANCE In this work, we have investigated the role of bacterial motility with regard to antibiotic-tolerant bacterial aggregate formation. Previous work has convincingly demonstrated that P. aeruginosa flagellar motility promotes the formation of surface-adhered biofilms in many systems. In contrast, aggregate formation by P. aeruginosa was observed for nonmotile but not for motile cells in the presence of an exogenous scaffold. Here, we demonstrate that both wild-type P. aeruginosa and mutants that genetically lack motility spontaneously form antibiotic-tolerant aggregates in the absence of an exogenously added scaffold. Additionally, we also demonstrate that wild-type (WT) and nonmotile P. aeruginosa bacteria can coaggregate, shedding light on potential physiological interactions and heterogeneity of aggregates.
Correction to: Mental Health in the Young Athlete

In the recently published article "Mental Health in the Young Athlete" the following author name was inadvertently misspelled as Christine L. Master. The correct spelling of the author's name is: Christina L. Master as shown above.
Understanding explanatory mechanisms for racial and ethnic differences in mental health stigma: the role of vertical individualism and right-wing authoritarianism.

Mental health (MH) stigma is pervasive worldwide. Culturally sensitive stigma reduction programs are needed to reduce MH stigma. To determine racial/ethnic and cultural predictors of stigma. The cu...
Laser Oscillation n LinbO3:Nd,MgO

Nd-doped LiNbO3is a very promising laser material because of the combination of the laser properties of the Nd3+ion and the electro-optical and nonlinear optical properties of lithium niobate. However, the potential of this material has not been fully realized because of photorefractive damage. Recently, it has been discovered that the MgO doping reduces this damage. T. Y. Fan reported laser results in LiNbO3:Nd,MgO. Thresholds as low as 3.6 mv and slope efficiencies of 39% in a resonantly pumped device have been achieved. The electro-optical and nonlinear optical properties have been used to make self-Q-switched and self-frequencydoubled lasers. Other interesting devices may be constructed. The photorefractive damage, while still present, is greatly suppressed compared to that in non-MgO doped material.
Looking at Age Discrimination Law through a Global Lens

This paper consists of a cross-national comparison of laws pertaining to age discrimination in employment. This comparison provides insight into various nations’ attitudes and values about aging and the status of their older populations. The paper first asks whether or not particular countries protect employment-related rights by prohibiting or restricting entities from engaging in employment-related discrimination on the basis of chronological age. This is followed by an inquiry into whom age-discrimination-in-employment laws protect in particular countries. Then, the legal status of direct versus indirect age discrimination in the United States and elsewhere is explored. Finally, the paper analyzes the mandatory retirement laws of several specific countries. The author concludes that a country’s age-discrimination-in-employment laws may reflect two differing public philosophies: age and aging as irrelevant, such that older and younger people out to be guaranteed equal treatment, versus older persons as an identifiable group unique in some pertinent manner that justifies special or preferential treatment.
Activated macrophage mediated cytotoxicity for transformed target cells.

The biochemical mechanisms that induce target cell lysis in cell mediated cytotoxicity systems—cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, natural killer cells, natural cytotoxicity cells, antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity systems, and cytotoxic activated macrophages—are unknown. Identification of the biochemical effector mechanism(s) utilized by activated macrophages to induce stasis and lysis of transformed target cells is complicated by the large armamentarium of potential cytotoxic effector molecules that can be elaborated by macrophages. Evidence of activated macrophage mediated target cell cytotoxicity-cytostasis and cytolysis—has been observed and documented most extensively with techniques suitable for analysis of biologic phenomena at the cellular level. Observation at the cellular level has not provided evidence that demonstrates, in a definitive way, which potential effector molecules, among the many elaborated by macrophages, are relevant to the destruction of nucleated mammalian cells or to control of abnormal proliferation of mammalian cells in vivo.
Annealed dropout trained maxout networks for improved LVCSR

A significant barrier to progress in automatic speech recognition (ASR) capability is the empirical reality that techniques rarely “scale”—the yield of many apparently fruitful techniques rapidly diminishes to zero as the training criterion or decoder is strengthened, or the size of the training set is increased. Recently we showed that annealed dropout—a regularization procedure which gradually reduces the percentage of neurons that are randomly zeroed out during DNN training—leads to substantial word error rate reductions in the case of small to moderate training data amounts, and acoustic models trained based on the cross-entropy (CE) criterion [1]. In this paper we show that deep Maxout networks trained using annealed dropout can substantially improve the quality of commercial-grade LVCSR systems even when the acoustic model is trained with sequence-level training criterion, and on large amounts of data.
Evaluation of the Marginal Fit of CAD/CAM Crowns Fabricated Using Two Different Chairside CAD/CAM Systems on Preparations of Varying Quality.

Purpose This study evaluated the marginal gap of crowns fabricated using two new chairside computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing systems on preparations completed by clinicians with varying levels of expertise to identify whether common preparation errors affect marginal fit. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in the mean marginal gaps of restorations of varying qualities and no difference in the mean marginal gap size between restorations fabricated using the PlanScan (D4D, Richardson, TX, USA) and the CEREC Omnicam (Sirona, Bensheim, Germany). Material and Methods The fit of 80 lithium disilicate crowns fabricated with the E4D PlanScan or CEREC Omnicam systems on preparations of varying quality were examined for marginal fit by using the replica technique. These same preparations were then visually examined against common criteria for anterior all-ceramic restorations and placed in one of four categories: excellent, good, fair, and poor. Linear mixed modeling was used to evaluate associations between marginal gap, tooth preparation rating, and fabrication machine. Results The fit was not significantly different between both systems across all qualities of preparation. The average fit was 104 μm for poor-quality preparations, 87.6 μm for fair preparations, 67.2 μm for good preparations, and 36.6 μm for excellent preparations. Conclusion The null hypothesis is rejected. It can be concluded that preparation quality has a significant impact on marginal gap regardless of which system is used. However, no significant difference was found when comparing the systems to each other. Clinical Significance Within the limitations of this in vitro study, it can be concluded that crown preparation quality has a significant effect on marginal gap of the restoration when the clinician uses either CEREC Omnicam or E4D PlansScan.
Capacities of simplex and duplex VHF air/ground mobile radio communication systems employing cylindrical cells

The channel capacities of simplex and duplex VHF air/ground (A/G) mobile radio communication systems employing cylindrical cells are compared considering co-channel and adjacent channel interferences criteria currently adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to ICAO recommendations, the co-channel interference source must be beyond the radio line-of-sight (RLOS) of the receiver. The FAA co-channel interference criterion requires a signal-to-interference ratio of at least 14 dB or beyond RLOS protection. Capacity depends mainly on the frequency reuse distance. In order to prevent air-to-air interference, simplex systems using the same frequency for air-to-ground and ground-to-air require a larger frequency reuse distance than duplex systems which do not require air-air interference since different frequency bands are used for uplink and downlink communications. A comparison is presented between the capacities of the two systems. It is shown that the capacity ratio of the two systems depends on the cell dimensions. It is concluded that the duplex system has more capacity than the simplex system for cells of large radii and small heights.
Cooling curves and chemical evolution curves of convective mixing white dwarf stars

We present theoretical analysis on old white dwarf stars with intermediate amount of hydrogen. The evolution of such objects is complicated by convective mixing from surface convection zone to the underlying helium layer. In this paper, we provide first self-consistent, quantitative investigation of convective mixing in white dwarf stars. Numerical cooling curves and chemical evolution curves are obtained as a function of white dwarf mass and hydrogen content. Such results will be applied to the investigation of the non-DA gap of Bergeron et al. in a later paper.
Spoken language interaction in a goal-directed task

To study the spoken language interface in the context of a complex problem-solving task, a group of users are asked to perform a spreadsheet task, alternating voice and keyboard input. A total of 40 tasks are performed by each participant, the first 30 in a group (over several days), the remaining ones a month later. The voice spreadsheet program is extensively instrumented to provide detailed information about the components of the interaction. These data, as well as analysis of the participant's utterances and recognizer output, provide a fairly detailed picture of spoken language interaction. Although task completion by voice takes longer than by keyboard, analysis shows that users would be able to perform the spreadsheet task faster by voice, if two key criteria could be met: recognition occurs in real-time, and the error rate is sufficiently low. This initial experience with a spoken language system also allows the identification of several metrics, beyond those traditionally associated with speech recognition, that can be used to characterize system performance. >
Defining the Relationship Between Corruption and Human Rights

The relationship between corruption and human rights is only beginning to be seriously examined. A major premise of the ongoing research argues that corruption disables a State from meeting its obligations to respect, fulfill and protect the human rights of its citizens. This study explores two other relationships between human rights and corruption. First, by showing how individualistic and procedural rights have been used to defeat investigations and prosecutions of corruption by high level governmental officials. Second, in demonstrating how anti-corruption reforms have primarily targeted the promotion of market efficiency while reducing spending in meeting basic needs and rights such as health and education inconsistently with the social and economic rights of the poor and marginalized. These findings are significant since they show that the relationship between corruption and human rights extends beyond showing corruption disables States from meeting their human rights obligations. Indeed, human rights can be used in support of or against corruption. The thrust of the recommendations made in this study are premised on an approach to human rights that offers the maximum potential for the democratization of the Kenyan State through transformative constitutional and institutional reforms. In addition, this can be done by expanding human rights concerns to include as a central agenda the social and economic rights of the poor and marginalized as well as minority rights and safeguards.
What's new in toxicology?

[4] These emphasise that patients can be managed successfully without aggressive gut decontamination. Emptying the stomach is no longer a routine part of the treatment of poisoning and is currently almost never used in children. No technique of gut decontamination is risk free and it should be reserved for potentially life-threatening doses and dangerous toxins. Any form of gut decontamination may be unnecessary if the patient has vomited the toxin spontaneously within minutes of taking it. Timing is crucial. Gastric lavage has little effect unless done within an hour of ingestion of the substance. It is invasive and often causes vomiting and, sometimes, aspiration. Before initiating gastric lavage, children have to be sedated and an endotracheal tube has to be inserted.
Cocaine can generate a stronger conditioned reinforcer than food despite being a weaker primary reinforcer

The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that cues associated with drug-taking behavior become extra strong motivators of behavior compared with cues paired with non-drug reinforcers. In experiment 1, rats were trained to lever press for intravenous cocaine infusions and grain pellets. Each reinforcer was paired with a distinct audiovisual cue. When allowed to choose between these alternatives, rats chose grain on ~70-80 percent of trials. However, after extinguishing lever pressing, reintroduction of press-contingent cues during a test for cue-induced reinstatement generated more cocaine seeking than grain seeking (also observed on 3- and 8-week follow-up tests). To examine whether the same pattern of results would occur with two non-drug reinforcers, experiment 2 replicated experiment 1 using grain and sucrose as reinforcement alternatives. Rats chose sucrose over grain on ~70-80 percent of choice trials and also responded more for the sucrose cue than for the grain cue on the reinstatement test. The disconnect between primary and conditioned reinforcements in experiment 1 but not in experiment 2 suggests that drug cues may become exceptionally strong motivators of drug seeking. These results are consistent with cue-focused theories of addiction and may offer insight into the persistent cue-driven drug-seeking behavior observed in addiction.
Jesuit Foreign Missions. A Historiographical Essay

A review of recent scholarship on early modern Jesuit missions, this essay offers a reflection on the achievements and desiderata in current trends of research. The books discussed include studies on Jesuit missions in China (Matteo Ricci), on the finances of the eighteenth-century Madurai mission in India, the debates over indigenous missions in the Peruvian province in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, on print and book culture in the Jesuits’ European missions, and finally a series of studies on German-speaking Jesuit missionaries in Brazil, Chile, and New Granada.
Smart structures for chatter control

We discuss a vibration measurement and control system developed to investigate the complex dynamics of boring-bar chatter. A fundamental question is how best to integrate the sensors and actuators for effective control. Is it sufficient to control only motions normal to the machined surface? We consider a smart structure that consists of two actuator/sensor pairs oriented orthogonally to control the motions of a boring tool in directions normal and tangential to the machined surface. Actuation is achieved with Terfenol-D struts that sting the tool near its base. We develop a control strategy by considering a single-degree- of-freedom chatter model for tool motions normal to the machined surface, showing that enhanced structural damping is an effective chatter control. We adapt a second-order feedback compensation scheme from the literature and point out the special design considerations engendered by the use of Terfenol-D actuation. We consider chatter signatures obtained using the system with and without feedback control and show that the system is very effective at chatter suppression. Because we may control each of the dominant structural modes independently, we examine the validity of a single-mode approximation by considering chatter signatures obtained with only tangential control active. We find that so-called mode coupling effects persist; hence, we expand our modeling efforts to include a coupling due to the cutting forces. We see that a variety of chatter modes exist, depending on the operating parameter, and that, to achieve the most robust performance from the controlled system, it is advisable to have control of both directions.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Metal-insulator transition of the two-band Hubbard model in infinite dimension and its relevance to a strongly correlated electron system: NiS 2 − x Se x

We report a study of metal-insulator transition of a strongly correlated two-band Hubbard model using a dynamical mean-field theory approach. We find that the Mott transition appears at half filling even at $T=0$ in contrast to the one-band Hubbard model. The transition is characterized by the development of a ``Kondo-like'' peak near Fermi level. We also find a signature of the coexistence of metallic and antiferromagnetic phases from the study of the single-particle Green's function and the magnetic long-range order due to the superexchange coupling between the correlated electrons. We then suggest the relevance of our results to the metal-insulator transition and the recent angle-resolved photoemission measurements of ${\mathrm{NiS}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Se}}_{x}.$ We also study the effect of carrier doping and the comparison of our findings with the experimental results suggests the possible importance of departures from stoichiometry associated with the Se substitution. The relevance of our results to high-temperature superconductivity is also discussed.
Comparison of androgen levels in normal males (Gallus domesticus) and in males made sexually inactive by embryonic exposure to testosterone propionate.

Abstract Testosterone propionate (TP) administered to chicken embryos on the third day of embryonic development will markedly inhibit the development of normal male sexual behavior. This study was conducted to monitor the testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in the serum of these TP males. Eggs from a New Hampshire strain of chickens were dipped on the third day of incubation in 2% TP solution. Blood samples were collected from TP and control males when they were 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks old. Radioimmunoassay was used to measure testosterone and DHT in all serum samples. Mating behavior was tested when the birds were 24 weeks old. Testosterone and DHT concentrations were significantly lower in the serum of TP birds than in control birds. Testicular and pituitary gland weights were also decreased significantly in TP males. Mating behaviors of TP birds were markedly inhibited. In explaining the failure of TP males to mate we have entertained a threshold response theory (failure of the mating center to respond), a concentration theory (too low a concentration of incubating androgens), and a barrier theory (failure of the androgens to reach the hypothalamic mating center).
HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION SIMS WITH THE UC-HRL SCANNING ION MICROPROBE

Une nouvelle microsonde ionique Ga + a balayage fournit des images a resolution laterale proche de 40 nm en utilisant des ions secondaires analyses par un filtre de masse quadripolaire RF
Assimilations and Rollbacks: Two Arguments Against Libertarianism Defended

The Assimilation Argument purports to show that libertarians cannot plausibly distinguish supposed exercises of free will from random outcomes that nobody would count as exercises of free will. If this argument is sound, libertarians should either abandon their position or else concede that free will is a mystery. Drawing on a parallel with the Manipulation Argument against compatibilism, Christopher Franklin has recently contended that the Assimilation Argument is unsound. Here I defend the Assimilation Argument and the Rollback Argument, a second challenge to libertarianism that Franklin rejects. My aim in doing so is to underscore the force of these challenges, and thereby to resist what appears to be an emerging trend in the literature. By not coming to grips with the kind of power that libertarians must secure, many writers have recently downplayed or dismissed the pressing worry for libertarianism.
Staging of mediastinal non-small cell lung cancer with FDG PET, CT, and fusion images: preliminary prospective evaluation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate use of positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in detection of mediastinal lymph node metastases from non-small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective trial to compare FDG PET and computed tomography (CT) of the thorax was performed in 23 patients with newly diagnosed or suspected non-small cell lung cancer. Blinded interpretations of CT alone, PET alone, CT and PET together, and fusion images were performed, and the results were compared with pathologic results. RESULTS: Nineteen of 23 patients had non-small cell lung cancer. Prevalence of mediastinal involvement was 41%. In staging disease in the mediastinum, CT alone was 64% sensitive, 44% specific, and 52% accurate, whereas PET alone and fusion images were 82% sensitive, 81% specific, and 81% accurate (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: FDG PET was more accurate than CT in staging disease in the mediastinum in patients with lung cancer and appears to be the preferred imaging metho...
Relationship Between Egg Specific Gravity and Plasma Phosphorus from Hens Fed Different Dietary Calcium, Phosphorus, and Sodium Levels

Abstract A 6-week study was conducted with commercial egg production-type hens (Dekalb), which had been in production for 9 months, to determine the relationship between egg specific gravity and plasma phosphorus. Diets were formulated to contain various levels of calcium, phosphorus, and sodium bicarbonate. From the addition of sodium bicarbonate or increasing the calcium content of the diet, plasma phosphorus decreased and egg specific gravity increased significantly. Egg specific gravity was found to be inversely related to plasma phosphorus.
Hydrogen exchange rates on nickel by chromatography

Abstract A method of measuring exchange rates by isotope chromatography is described and then used to study exchange of hydrogen on a nickel/kieselguhr catalyst. Adsorption isotherms and rates were obtained at 24 to −30 °C and for hydrogen pressures from 40 to 780 mm Hg. The results showed that the available sites at each temperature were nearly saturated with hydrogen over the entire pressure range. The exchange rate was approximately one-half order with respect to hydrogen.
Laser-assisted microgrinding of ceramics

Abstract Creating three-dimensional micro scale features in hard ceramics is challenging. This paper presents the results of an experimental study of a two-step laser-assisted microgrinding process that has the potential to meet this challenge. The process works by locally weakening the ceramic material via laser irradiation and subsequently microgrinding the weakened material to create a finished micro scale feature. The paper presents the results for laser-assisted microgrinding of silicon nitride. In particular, the differences in grinding force, surface finish, tool condition, and material removal rate obtained with and without laser assist are compared and discussed. Physically based explanations for the experimental observations are given.
Effect of lyophilization and chloroform extraction on electrophoretic migration of serum lipoproteins.

SummaryLyophilization of serum has been shown markedly to retard electrophoretic migration of some of the cholesterol normally associated with the beta-globulin area but to exert little effect on the cholesterol associated with the albumin + alpha1-globulins. The cholesterol which is extracted by cold chloroform from lyophilized serum comes primarily from that fraction normally found in the beta-globulin area or which remained around the starting point. It is suggested that the cholesterol thus removed represents primarily cholesterol which is associated with lipo- and chylomicrons.
It's a journey, not a project

Die Bedeutung des Risikomanagements fur die Sicherung und Steigerung des Unternehmenswertes wird von immer mehr Unternehmen erkannt. Die hiermit verbundenen Erfolgspotenziale lassen sich am Besten mit Hilfe eines unternehmensweiten Risikomanagements (Enterprise Risk Management, ERM) ausschopfen, das die pro-aktive und ganzheitliche Steuerung samtlicher Unternehmensrisiken erlaubt. Wir sprachen mit Payman Mestchain uber die Herausforderungen bei der Implementierung eines solchen Ansatzes.
Viral modulation of T-cell receptor signaling.

To successfully replicate and spread, viruses must take control of multiple cellular processes. Depending on the cell type infected, a virus may drive cellular differentiation, alter cell cycle progression, or inhibit apoptotic pathways to facilitate viral genomic replication and production of progeny virus. In addition, viruses must deal with an inherently hostile environment in the host. Infection induces intracellular antiviral responses; in addition, the immune system seeks to neutralize virus infectivity and destroy infected cells. Among the cells of the immune system, T lymphocytes (T cells) are critically important for the orchestration of the antiviral response and also for the direct killing of infected cells. The T-cell receptor (TcR) is the central signaling pathway regulating T-cell biology. The TcR allows the T cell to recognize antigen presented in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or class II molecules expressed on infected cells or professional antigen-presenting cells. TcR signaling in naive T cells drives their activation and expansion. In effector or memory T cells, TcR signaling drives expansion and triggering of effector functions, such as cytokine synthesis and cytotoxicity. Since T cells pose a threat to the successful replication of viruses, and since TcR signaling is central to the development and function of T cells, it is not surprising that many viruses have evolved mechanisms to modulate TcR signaling. For T lymphotropic viruses, the T cell itself is the major site of viral infection and replication; thus, the virus may stimulate TcR signaling to drive T-cell proliferation such that the T cell is permissive for viral replication. For other viruses, which predominantly infect nonlymphoid cells, the ability to modulate TcR signaling constitutes an immune evasion mechanism, in which the virus inhibits the ability of T cells to respond to infected cells. As outlined in this review, many viruses modulate TcR function, either positively or negatively, to further their own propagation. However, the specific mechanisms used by each virus to modulate TcR signaling vary widely. Viruses are fascinating in their diversity, and their millennia of evolutionary probing for control points in TcR signaling can educate us regarding the normal function and regulation of this critical pathway.
Assessing environmental effects of severe sustained drought

Evaluation criteria for reservoir and stream resources were developed to provide decision makers with feedback on environmental consequences of water allocation decisions under conditions of severe sustained drought within the Colorado River Basin by using the AZCOL gaming simulation model. Seven categories of flow dependent resources were identified which highlight resource states associated with reservoirs or river reaches within the AZCOL model. AZCOL directly simulates impact of water management decisions on five resource categories : threatened, endangered or sensitive fish ; native nonlisted fish ; wetland and riparian elements; national or state wildlife refuges ; and hatcheries or other flow dependent facilities. Two additional categories - cold and warm water sport fish - are not modeled explicitly but are incorporated in the evaluation of monetary benefits from recreation on Colorado River waters. Each resource category was characterized at each time step in the simulation according to one of four environmental states : stable, threatened, endangered, or extirpated. Changes in resource states were modeled by time and flow-dependent decision criteria tied to either reservoir level or stream flows within the AZCOL model structure. Gaming results using the AZCOL model indicate environmental impacts would be substantial and that water allocation decisions directly impacted environmental resource states.
A control engineering framework for managing whole hospital occupancy

Abstract As factors such as population growth, nation-wide closure of hospitals, and an aging population combine to strain the healthcare system of the United States (US), the demand for better resource and capacity planning increases. This paper proposes a five-step methodology to model and control whole hospital occupancy. The hospital system is viewed using a continuous-time, fluid tank analogy. The system is subsequently discretized and a framework using control theory and Model Predictive Control (MPC) is developed to assist in tactical decision making, while maintaining occupancy targets. The result is a customizable modeling approach that represents interactions between different hospital areas, and interactions between the hospital and the outside world, or the population seeking hospital services.
A nested, simultaneous approach for dynamic optimization problems—I

Abstract Process engineering provides a wealth of applications for dynamic optimization problems. To address these problems, we present a simultaneous approach for optimization of process models described by differential/algebraic equations by discretizing the variables through collocation on finite elements. By using Radau collocation, the algorithm has favorable stability properties for high index problems and by exploiting the structure of the resulting system, a stable and efficient decomposition algorithm results. Here solution of this NLP formulation is considered through a reduced Hessian Successive Quadratic Programming (SQP) approach, where linearized state variables are eliminated and reduced quadratic programming (QP) subproblems update the control variables. Although this paper primarily addresses fixed element problems, we also briefly describe a new framework to determine the element placement and addition via bilevel optimization. These approaches will be demonstrated through small process examples.
Sulfonation of Surface-Initiated Polynorbornene Films

We report the sulfonation of surface-initiated polynorbornene with acetyl sulfate to produce ultrathin ionomer films. The complete process consists of exposure of a hydroxyl-terminated self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on gold to a norbornenyl diacid chloride, attachment of Grubbs first generation catalyst, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), and sulfonation. Structural and chemical changes in the film upon sulfonation are confirmed by RAIRS, contact angle goniometry, ellipsometry, optical microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Sulfonation of surface-initiated polynorbornene results in a highly nonuniform surface morphology which can be relaxed to a more uniform film through exposure to dimethyl sulfoxide at room temperature. The sulfonated polynorbornene films have an intermediate surface energy (θA(H2O) ≈ 75°) and a low resistance against proton transport (Rf ≈ 1.6 Ω·cm2), which is 6 orders of magnitude lower than that of the original polynorbornene film. The sulfonated films ar...
The Non-Volatile Acids of The Potato

The non-volatile acids of the juice of the potato tuber,Solatium tuberosum, L. (var. Green Mountain), were investigated. The ester distillation method revealed the presence of the citric andl-malic acids in the ratio of nearly 20:1 together with a small amount of isocitric acid. By the Arbenz method, 0.02 per cent of oxalic acid was shown to be present.
Three-dimensional Computed Tomography for Determination of Femoral Anteversion in a Cerebral Palsy Model:

Background:Previous investigation has proven 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) to be a poor method of assessing femoral anteversion in patients with cerebral palsy. However, new advancements in CT software yield the potential to improve upon those dated results.Methods:CT was performed on
Marginal production in the Gulf of Mexico – II. Model results

Abstract In the second part of this two-part article on marginal production in the Gulf of Mexico, we estimate the number of committed assets in water depth less than 1000 ft that are expected to be marginal over a 60-year time horizon. We compute the expected quantity and value of the production and gross revenue streams of the gulf’s committed asset inventory circa. January 2007 using a probabilistic model framework. Cumulative hydrocarbon production from the producing inventory is estimated to be 1056 MMbbl oil and 13.3 Tcf gas. Marginal production from the committed asset inventory is expected to contribute 4.1% of total oil production and 5.4% of gas production. A meta-evaluation procedure is adapted to present the results of sensitivity analysis. Model results are discussed along with a description of the model framework and limitations of the analysis.
Adrenergic receptors on T and B lymphocytes: Evidence, function, and clinical implications

Abstract A mechanism exists by which the brain communicates with cells of the immune system to regulate their activity. This mechanism involves the release of norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve terminals located within the parenchyma of lymphoid tissue, and the subsequent binding of norepinephrine to specific adrenergic receptors (ARs) expressed on the immune cells residing therein. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the data in support of AR expression on the cell surface of immune cells involved in adaptive immunity, namely the T and B lymphocytes that recognize and respond to a specific antigen by secreting cytokine or antibody, respectively. This chapter will also give a few examples of how these findings may have functional relevance for certain clinical conditions.
Chromatin as a potential carrier of heritable information

Organisms with the same genome can inherit information in addition to that encoded in the DNA sequence-this is known as epigenetic inheritance. Epigenetic inheritance is responsible for many of the phenotypic differences between different cell types in multicellular organisms. Work by many investigators over the past decades has suggested that a great deal of epigenetic information might be carried in the pattern of post-translational modifications of the histone proteins, although this is not as well established as many believe. For example, it is unclear whether and how the histones, which are displaced from the chromosome during passage of the replication fork and are often exchanged from the DNA template at other times, carry information from one cellular generation to the next. Here, we briefly review the evidence that some chromatin states are indeed heritable, and then focus on the mechanistic challenges that remain in order to understand how this inheritance can be achieved.
A link between cell movement and gene expression argues that motility is required for cell-cell signaling during fruiting body development.

Abstract Nonmotile mutants of Myxococcus xanthus (Myxobacterales) failed to execute the morphogenetic movements required to shape a fruiting body. In addition, nonmotile mutants produced very few spores when plated for fruiting body development at cell densities appropriate for wild-type cells. At higher initial cell densities, the proportion of nonmotile cells that sporulate increased, indicating that one important function of motility in fruiting body development is to increase the local cell density. However, even at 10 times normal cell density, nonmotile cells sporulated at only 1% the wild-type level. This sporulation deficiency of nonmotile mutants accompanies an altered pattern of gene expression, monitored by using transcriptional fusions of lacZ to genes expressed at specific times during fruiting body development. Motility was not required for normal expression of five lac fusions that are expressed within the first 6 hr of fruiting-body development. However, the levels of expression from five lac fusions to later-expressed genes were reduced or abolished in nonmotile strains. beta-Galactosidase expression in these late Tn5 lac insertions was increased, and fruiting body development occurred in certain nonmotile strains that can be stimulated to move when mixed with a donor strain. This shows that motility itself is required because the stimulated cells are nonmotile genotypically. The nonmotile mutations had the same effect on developmental beta-galactosidase expression from these 10 lac fusions as an insertion mutation in the csg (formerly spoC) gene. csg mutants have a cell-cell interaction defect that blocks fruiting body development at approximately 6 hr. The similarity in the pattern of developmental expression of motility mutants and csg mutants suggests that motility is required for this csg-mediated cell-cell interaction.
Probabilistic bidirectional promoter switches: noncoding RNA takes control.

The discovery of probabilistic promoter switches in genes that code for class I major histocompatibility complex receptors in mouse and human provides a useful paradigm to explain programmed cell fate decisions. These switches have preset probabilities of transcribing in either the sense or antisense direction, and the characteristics of individual switches are programmed by the relative affinity of competing transcription factor–binding sites. The noncoding RNAs produced from these switches can either activate or suppress gene transcription, based on their location relative to the promoter responsible for gene expression in mature cells. The switches are active in a developmental phase that precedes gene expression by mature cells, thus temporally separating the stochastic events that determine gene activation from the protein expression phase. This allows the probabilistic generation of variegated gene expression in the absence of selection and ensures that mature cells have stable expression of the genes. Programmed probabilistic switches may control cell fate decisions in many developmental systems, and therefore, it is important to investigate noncoding RNAs expressed by progenitor cells to determine if they are expressed in a stochastic manner at the single cell level. This review provides a summary of current knowledge regarding murine and human switches, followed by speculation on the possible involvement of probabilistic switches in other systems of programmed differentiation.
Aid to correct tongue position in the mandibular complete denture

Abstract A simple technique has been described for training an edentulous patient with a retracted tongue to position his tongue in a normal position for optimum stability, retention, and function of the mandibular complete denture.
Cholecystokinin mediates depression of feed intake in dairy cattle fed high fat diets.

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of 1) different concentrations of dietary fat and 2) i.v. administration of a cholecystokinin receptor antagonist (MK-329) on feed intake and plasma concentrations of hormones and metabolites in dairy cattle. In Experiment 1, 4 lactating Holstein cows were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design. Treatments were diets with 1) no fat added, 2) 30 g fat/kg feed (calcium salts of long-chain fatty acids as fat supplement), 3) 60 g fat/kg, and 4) 90 g fat/kg added. Cows were fed once daily a diet of concentrate, corn silage, alfalfa haylage, and alfalfa pellets. Dry matter intake decreased linearly with increasing concentrations of dietary fat (P < 0.0001). Overall plasma concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (P < 0.0001), triacylglycerol (P < 0.0006), and cholecystokinin (P < 0.02), increased linearly with each level of dietary fat, but there was a linear decrease in plasma insulin (P < 0.0008). In Experiment 2, 4 nonpregnant and nonlactating Holstein heifers were used in a cross-over design in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Treatments were diet (fatty acids, 27 g/kg vs 103 g/kg diet dry matter) and i.v. injections (MK-329 vs vehicle). Heifers were fed once daily a total mixed ration of corn silage, cracked corn and soybean meal with or without fat supplement. Diets were switched by period and either MK-329 (70 microg/kg body weight) or its vehicle was injected i.v. at 2 hr postfeeding. Daily dry matter intake was decreased by feeding the high fat diet (P < 0.02) but was not affected by injections. Injection of MK-329, however, increased dry matter intake by 92% in heifers fed the high fat diet during the first 2 hr postinjection compared to vehicle injection. Plasma pancreatic polypeptide concentration was increased by the high fat diet at 2 hr postfeeding (P < 0.02) but was lowered by MK-329 at 1 hr postinjection (P < 0.001). Plasma insulin was lowered by the high fat diet (P < 0.01) but was not affected by injections. The elevated plasma cholecystokinin concentration may have mediated depressed feed intake of dairy cattle fed the high fat diets.
Usefulness of Home BP Determination in Treating Borderline Hypertension

This study explores whether home BP self-determination can be used to assess the effect of treatment in patients with borderline hypertension. Sixteen untreated patients underwent a double-blind trial of propranolol hydrochloride (average dose, 105 mg), clonidine hydrochloride (0.24 mg), and placebo. Home BP readings decreased with both active compounds (-8/-5 with propranolol and -11/-7 with clonidine). During placebo, the readings increased to levels identical to untreated values. This study demonstrates that patients with borderline hypertension are consistently capable of detecting small average changes in home BP. It is also shown that sympatholytic monotherapy can be effectively used to lower the BP in such patients. ( JAMA 1982;248:555-558)
Embolization of orbital varices with N-butyl cyanoacrylate as an aid in surgical excision: results of 4 cases with histopathologic examination.

Purpose To report the results of intervention with percutaneously injected n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) to embolize orbital varices followed by surgical resection. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Four patients with symptomatic orbital varices were treated with percutaneous injection of NBCA to embolize the varicosity before surgical resection. Intervention was indicated because of progressive orbital pain attributed to orbital varices. Three of the 4 described cases were associated with severe episodic proptosis. The vision was not affected by the orbital varix in any of the cases before intervention. Radiographic guidance was used during injection of the NBCA. Surgical resection was undertaken via orbitotomy immediately after embolization. The resected tissue was submitted for histopathologic evaluation. Results Follow-up after surgery ranged from 7 to 19 months. All of the patients experienced relief of orbital pain. All patients noted transient binocular diplopia in extremes of gaze after the procedure, which resolved spontaneously. No patients had diplopia in primary gaze. No patient lost vision as a result of the procedure. There was no difficulty with procedure-related hemostasis in any of the cases. Conclusions Percutaneously injected NBCA seems to be useful and safe as an aid in visualization and hemorrhage prevention during surgical resection of symptomatic orbital varices.
Crystal structure of the cowpox virus-encoded NKG2D ligand OMCP.

The NKG2D receptor is expressed on the surface of NK, T, and macrophage lineage cells and plays an important role in antiviral and antitumor immunity. To evade NKG2D recognition, herpesviruses block the expression of NKG2D ligands on the surface of infected cells using a diverse repertoire of sabotage methods. Cowpox and monkeypox viruses have taken an alternate approach by encoding a soluble NKG2D ligand, the orthopoxvirus major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like protein (OMCP), which can block NKG2D-mediated cytotoxicity. This approach has the advantage of targeting a single conserved receptor instead of numerous host ligands that exhibit significant sequence diversity. Here, we show that OMCP binds the NKG2D homodimer as a monomer and competitively blocks host ligand engagement. We have also determined the 2.25-A-resolution crystal structure of OMCP from the cowpox virus Brighton Red strain, revealing a truncated MHC class I-like platform domain consisting of a beta sheet flanked with two antiparallel alpha helices. OMCP is generally similar in structure to known host NKG2D ligands but has notable variations in regions typically used to engage NKG2D. Additionally, the determinants responsible for the 14-fold-higher affinity of OMCP for human than for murine NKG2D were mapped to a single loop in the NKG2D ligand-binding pocket.
Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of long-chain 3,4-Epoxy-2-alkanones.

3,4-Epoxy-2-dodecanone, a major component in the preorbital gland of the African grey duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), showed antimicrobial activity in preliminary tests. The C11 to C17 homologues of this compound were prepared and their activity against several pathogenic dermal bacteria and fungi was tested. 3,4-Epoxy-2-dodecanone and 3,4-epoxy-2-tridecanone inhibited the growth of Trichophyton mentagrophytes at 25 μg/mL. Moderate inhibition of the growth of the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes and the lipophilic yeast, Pityrosporum ovale, was seen for several of the homologues.