cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOR SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY PATIENTS WITH MYOCARDIAL FIBROSIS: A CMR LGE STUDY

Hypetrophic Cardiomyopathy is the most common genetic cardiac disease that affects cardiac sarcomere, resulting in myocardial disarray. Affected patients have an predisposition for malignant ventricular tachyarrythmias and consequently, sudden cardiac death(SCD). In some single center studies, late
Hydrological modeling of the Martian crust with application to the pressurization of aquifers

[1] We develop a hydrological model of the Martian crust, including both ancient heavily cratered terrains and younger basaltic and sedimentary terrains. The porosity, permeability, and compressibility are represented as interdependent functions of the effective stress state of the aquifer, as determined by the combination of the lithostatic pressure and the fluid pore pressure. In the megaregolith aquifer model, the crust is modeled as a 2 km thick megaregolith, composed of lithified and fractured impact ejecta, overlying the impact-fractured and partially brecciated basement rock. The hydraulic properties depend primarily upon the abundance of breccia and the compressional state of the fractures. The porosity ranges from approximately 0.16 at the surface to 0.04 at a depth of 10 km, with a sharp discontinuity at the base of the regolith. Thepermeability variesfromapproximately10 � 11 m 2 atthesurfaceto10 � 15 m 2 atdepthsof 5 km or more and is strongly dependent upon the fluid pore pressure. The hydrologic properties of basaltic and sedimentary aquifers are also considered. These parameters are used to model the fluid pressures generated beneath a thickening cryosphere during a postulated dramatic cooling of the climate at the end of the Noachian. As a result of a negative feedback between the fluid pore pressure and the permeability, it is more difficult thanpreviouslythoughttogenerateporepressuresinexcessofthelithostaticpressurebythis mechanism.Theproductionoftheoutflowchannelsastheresultofsuchaclimaticchangeis deemed unlikely.
Possible role of P-450-derived metabolites in endothelium-dependent relaxation of rat small mesenteric arteries.

We reported previously that acetylcholine (ACh)-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of rat mesenteric microvessels depended both on nitric oxide (NO) and on a charybdotoxin (CTX)-sensitive endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing vasodilator. Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent arachidonic acid metabolites act in some systems as hyperpolarizing vasodilators. We sought to quantitate contributions of such metabolites to the CTX-sensitive component of ACh-induced vasodilation in isolated rat mesenteric resistance arteries. ACh relaxed these vessels nearly completely (93.3 ± 1.2%, n = 71); cyclooxygenase inhibition with indomethacin did not diminish this response (94.3 ± 11.4%, n = 9). NO synthase inhibition with Nitro-L-arginine (NNLA) reduced relaxation by 30% (n = 54, p < 0.05). Pretreatment of vessels with CYP inhibitors, either clotrimazole (CTM) or 17-octadecynoic acid (17-ODYA), or with selective K+ channel inhibitors, either tetraethyammonium acetate (TEA) or CTX, each led to similar small reductions in maximal relaxation (17%, 22%, 16%, and 9% respectively, n = 3–6). Combined pretreatment with NNLA + either (CTM or 17-ODYA) or (TEA or CTX) each led to similar maximal relaxations (52.2 ± 4.8%, 50.6 ± 9.2, 37.6 ± 8.6%, and 44.1 ± 11.5%, respectively, n = 6–35; p < 0.05 for NNLA + [CTM or TEA or CTX]vs NNLA alone). Combined pretreatment with NNLA + CTM + (CTX or TEA) led to similar maximal relaxations (43.0 ± 7.3%, 43.7 ± 15%, n = 6–11) that did not differ from values in vessels pretreated with either NNLA + CTM or NNLA + (CTX or TEA). We conclude that the ACh-induced vasodilation was insensitive to cyclooxygenase inhibition, partially sensitive to NO synthase inhibition, and that the K+ channel blockers TEA and CTX identified the same minor component of ACh relaxation as did the CYP inhibitor CTM.
Conditions for the development of a product ecolabel

Since the early 1990s, national ecolabelling programmes have proliferated worldwide. The European Union (EU) implemented such a regional program in 1991. This decision was part of a broader orientation towards Integrated Product Policy approach in the EU. Since 1991, the development of European ecolabels has been slow and difficult. This paper examines industrial strategies vis-a-vis the EU ecolabel in order to understand the problems faced by the regulator in the development of this ecolabel. The first part of the paper defines and uses the concept of credence good in order to argue that the consumer cannot assess the ecolabel. Based on the examination of the development of the European ecolabel, the second part points out three variables that seem to influence the development of product eco-labels : i) the type of industry (i.e. the degree of heterogeneity between the sets of products sold by the different firms); ii) the threat of direct governmental regulation on the environmental quality of the product; and, iii) the magnitude of the final demand for a green variant of the product. The paper concludes with a discussion of on policy implications for policy makers interested in considering or promoting the use of ecolabels.
Finite-element models of buckle folds in non-linear materials

Abstract Buckle-fold development in single layers has been simulated by means of a two-dimensional finite element model incorporating incompressible power-law viscous fluids. We have produced folds with the stiff layer initially parallel to and oblique to the bulk maximum shortening direction and investigated how fold growth rates and geometry vary as functions of viscosity ratio and power-law exponent. Results for single-layer buckling and the related instabilities of boudinage, mullions and inverse folding closely match theoretical predictions in terms of initial growth rates, which depend strongly on the power-law exponent. The results further show that the fold shape is sensitive to changes in the power-law exponent of the stiff layer. The most striking feature is that the fold hinges become sharper and the limbs become relatively longer and straighter as the exponent increases. Asymmetry of folding can arise in bulk pure shear. Models of asymmetric folds with inclinations of the stiff layer of up to 30° have been made. The results indicate that initial growth rates are independent of the inclination of the stiff layer. Results of this work suggest that a number of geometrical properties of folds may be useful in providing information on the rheological behavior of rocks deformed under very slow natural conditions.
A Review of: “The New Science of Sustainability: Building a Foundation for Great Change”

We have been used to hearing about sustainability within the context of the environment, for example global warming issues, clean air issues, and so on. The New Science of Sustainability: Building ...
Nickel–silver alloy electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxidation in an alkaline electrolyte

The development of improved catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in basic electrolytes remains a major technical obstacle to improved fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and other devices for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Based on the free energy of adsorbed hydrogen intermediates, theory predicts that alloys of nickel and silver are active for these reactions. In this work, we synthesize binary nickel–silver bulk alloys across a range of compositions and show that nickel–silver alloys are indeed more active than pure nickel for hydrogen evolution and, possibly, hydrogen oxidation. To overcome the mutual insolubility of silver and nickel, we employ electron-beam physical vapor codeposition, a low-temperature synthetic route to metastable alloys. This method also produces flat and uniform films that facilitate the measurement of intrinsic catalytic activity with minimal variations in the surface area, ohmic contact, and pore transport. Rotating-disk-electrode measurements demonstrate that the hydrogen evolution activity per geometric area of the most active catalyst in this study, Ni0.75Ag0.25, is approximately twice that of pure nickel and has comparable stability and hydrogen oxidation activity. Our experimental results are supported by density functional theory calculations, which show that bulk alloying of Ni and Ag creates a variety of adsorption sites, some of which have near-optimal hydrogen binding energy.
The Acts of the Council of 499 and the Date of the Prayers Communicantes and Nobis Quoque in the Canon of the Mass

IN the year 499 there was convened at Rome, under Pope Symmachus, a council composed of the bishops of Italy and the presbyters and deacons of Rome. The Acts of this council 1 are an historical source of great importance to the student of mediaeval Rome, because they contain the oldest complete list of the tituli, that is to say, of the ancient parish churches of the city. The names of the tituli are found at the end of the document in the signatures of the Roman presbyters, each of whom, in signing the Acts of the Council, added to his own name that of the church which he served, using a formula of which there are two varieties exemplified in the following signatures: 'Petrus presbyter tituli Clementis subscripsi.' 'Servusdei presbyter tituli sancti Clementis subscripsi.' Of the sixty-seven presbyters who signed the Acts of the Council of 499, there were only seven who used the second and, at that time, comparatively new variety of the formula in which the word sancti is prefixed to the name of the church. It has generally been supposed that this variation in the form of the signature was due to the caprice of the signer, or to errors of the scribes who copied the manuscripts in which the document has been preserved. The purpose of the following study is to show that the use of the word sancti in the signatures of some of the presbyters is not accidental and that it is a fact which has an important bearing upon the date of the prayers Communicantes and Nobis quoque.
Correlating Drug Binding Affinities with Base Pair Opening Rates in DNA

The cyclic AMP responsive element (Cre) is a highly conserved stretch of DNA that is involved in the activation of gene transcription. Our group has studied the drug binding of a fluorescent derivative of a DNA intercalating anti-cancer drug, 7-amino actinomycin D (7-AMD), to the Cre sequence in different sequence contexts. We initially analyzed the DNA backbone conformation of Cre samples with varying flanking sequences and correlated these values to the binding affinities of 7-AMD. These studies revealed several anomalies that suggest that the conformation described by BI/BII content of the DNA backbone is, at most, only partially responsible for the 7-AMD binding affinity to the Cre sequence. This result is not surprising as 7-AMD has a conjugated ring structure in addition to its peptidyl side chains which interact with the backbone. As a result, we began studying DNA base pair opening rates and correlating these with 7-AMD binding affinities to account for the intercalation of 7-AMD into the Cre sequence. DNA base pair opening rates were determined by tracking imino proton exchange via NMR spectroscopy in the presence of a varying concentration of base catalyst. In this study, both two-dimensional NOESY and one-dimensional H1 NMR spectroscopy are used to track the change in line widths of the imino protons of the central Cre binding site for five sequences with varying flanking sequences. Trends in opening rates reveal that sequences with strong 7-AMD binding feature slower base pair opening dynamics than sequences with weaker 7-AMD binding. These results suggest that local base stacking is important for 7-AMD binding, a hypothesis we are currently investigating with UV spectroscopy.
Mapping coastal morphodynamics with geospatial techniques, Cape Henry, Virginia, USA

Abstract The advent and proliferation of digital terrain technologies have spawned concomitant advances in coastal geomorphology. Airborne topographic Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has stimulated a renaissance in coastal mapping, and field-based mapping techniques have benefitted from improvements in real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS). Varied methodologies for mapping suggest a need to match geospatial products to geomorphic forms and processes, a task that should consider product and process ontologies from each perspective. Towards such synthesis, coastal morphodynamics on a cuspate foreland are reconstructed using spatial analysis. Sequential beach ridge and swale topography are mapped using photogrammetric spot heights and airborne LiDAR data and integrated with digital bathymetry and large-scale vector shoreline data. Isobaths from bathymetric charts were digitized to determine slope and toe depth of the modern shoreface and a reconstructed three-dimensional antecedent shoreface. Triangulated irregular networks were created for the subaerial cape and subaqueous shoreface models of the cape beach ridges and sets for volumetric analyses. Results provide estimates of relative age and progradation rate and corroborate other paleogeologic sea-level rise data from the region. Swale height elevations and other measurements quantifiable in these data provide several parameters suitable for studying coastal geomorphic evolution. Mapped paleoshorelines and volumes suggest the Virginia Beach coastal compartment is related to embryonic spit development from a late Holocene shoreline located some 5 km east of the current beach.
Developing and Using Dashboard Indicators in Student Affairs Assessment

Dashboard systems are increasingly popular as assessment and performance management tools in higher education. This chapter examines the use of dashboards in student affairs, including examples of key indicators and considerations for developing and implementing these tools.
Rectification in Tunneling Junctions: 2,2′-Bipyridyl-Terminated n-Alkanethiolates

Molecular rectification is a particularly attractive phenomenon to examine in studying structure–property relationships in charge transport across molecular junctions, since the tunneling currents across the same molecular junction are measured, with only a change in the sign of the bias, with the same electrodes, molecule(s), and contacts. This type of experiment minimizes the complexities arising from measurements of current densities at one polarity using replicate junctions. This paper describes a new organic molecular rectifier: a junction having the structure AgTS/S(CH2)11-4-methyl-2,2′-bipyridyl//Ga2O3/EGaIn (AgTS: template-stripped silver substrate; EGaIn: eutectic gallium–indium alloy) which shows reproducible rectification with a mean r+ = |J(+1.0 V)|/|J(−1.0 V)| = 85 ± 2. This system is important because rectification occurs at a polarity opposite to that of the analogous but much more extensively studied systems based on ferrocene. It establishes (again) that rectification is due to the SAM, a...
High performance liquid chromatographic assay of chloramphenicol in serum

A new method for the analysis of serum chloramphenicol by reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The method involves a preliminary extraction of 0.1 ml of serum with ethyl acetate containing an internal standard, chromatography with a reversed-phase C18 microparticulate column with an acetonitrile-acetate buffer mobile phase, and detection by measuring UV absorbance at 270 nm. Assay performance was compared with an existing microbiological assay. The HPLC method demonstrated both increased precision and increased sensitivity. The specificity of the HPLC method was also evaluated. The new method presents an alternative approach to the analysis of clinical specimens.
Fano configurations in translation planes of large dimension

It is shown that there are a large variety of Andre and generalized Andre planes of large dimension that admit Fano configurations. Furthermore, infinite subregular planes of various types admit Fano configurations.
Assessing Cognitive Load with Physiological Sensors

Assessing the cognitive load of a subject performing a computer task using task performance data is normally available at the end of the task. For assessing cognitive load, physiological data has the advantage of being available in real-time and the potential of assessing the affective components of cognitive load. Described are two new methods of assessing cognitive load from eye tracking and the pressures a subject applies to a computer mouse when subjects perform a math task that involves moving targets. Physiological measures that significantly discriminated task difficulty included eye movement, skin conductivity and one of the pressure signals from the computer mouse. Also, in some cases, these physiological measures can be more sensitive than task performance measures of cognitive load (i.e., incorrect actions) to detect interaction effects with task difficulty. The suite of physiological sensors is shown to be a viable alternative or supplement to task performance measures.
Family Firms and Institutional Investors

It is generally assumed that family firms emphasize socioemotional wealth, which exacerbates wealth expropriation from noncontrolling shareholders. We examine this issue in the context of nonfamily shareholders, specifically institutional investors, and find that institutional investors avoid investments in family firms. Furthermore, integrating institutional theory with a socioemotional wealth approach, we find that financial regulation can mitigate external investors’ concerns. These two results are important theoretically because they provide insight into the effect of agency problems specific to family firms and are important for management practice because they can provide guidance for family firms interested in new sources of capital.
Interior Design Visionaries' Explorations of Emerging Trends

Objectives: A two-phase project is underway to identify salient social, technological, and global trends and anticipate their impact on interior design. A group of recognized visionaries from interior design education, practice, and industry was brought together to consider a menu of over 100 societal and global trends. Two objectives determined both the gathering of data and its analysis: (a) to identify trends deemed important by the participants, and (b) to amplify and clarify what these trends mean for the future of interior design. Research Design: Phase I employed a focus group methodology to structure a carefully planned discussion. Sixteen Roundtable participants selected trends and discussed the expected impacts important to the interior design profession. Analysis: Voting procedures within the focus group facilitated the selection of a few trends considered most important to the future of interior design. Audio tape recordings were made of all discussions and then transcribed for qualitative data analysis. Key Findings: Future designers will need a broad-based liberal arts education complemented with specialized expertise to prepare them for new roles and responsibilities in an emerging global market. The importance of teamwork among divisions within the field and with other disciplines was highlighted. Calls were issued for strategic planning that will guide the field's response to new design problems to be solved, new knowledge to be acquired, research to be undertaken, and new design and business skills and methods to be developed. Conclusions: Participants expressed optimism about opportunities for the profession and roles for future designers. A remarkable level of agreement evolved among educators, practitioners, and industry participants regarding ideals for the discipline.
Fiber-optic bundle design for quantitative fluorescence measurement from tissue

We demonstrate a new design for a fiber-optic bundle to measure fluorescence signals from tissue. In this design, the intensity of the signal is not significantly affected by the medium’s absorption and scattering coefficients and hence depends only on the fluorophore’s properties. Monte Carlo simulations of light scattering were used for designing and verifying the results obtained. The fiber-optic bundle was tested on tissue-simulating phantoms and compared with a standard nonimaging fiber-optic bundle. The new bundle was composed of 30 individual 100-μm fibers. Fibers on the end of the bundle that touch the tissue surface were separated from one another by approximately 1 mm. This design permits integration of the signal over several locations while maintaining localized sampling from regions smaller than the average mean free scattering path of the tissue. The bundle was tested by measurement of the fluorescence signals from tissue-simulating solutions containing fluorescent compounds. These studies demonstrate that the new bundle reduces the effect of the intrinsic absorption in the medium, permitting detection of fluorescence that is linearly proportional to the fluorophore concentration.
Detection of IL-17 and IL-23 in Plasma Samples of Children with Autism

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is a survival factor for a newly described population of T lymphocytes, namely Th-17 cells, that secrete IL-17, tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNFα) and IL-6. It has been shown that Th-17 cells are a pathogenic T cell subset involved in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Based on the increasing evidence of immune dysfunction in autism, including possible autoimmune and inflammatory processes, we hypothesized that Th-17 cells, a T cell lineage that has not been previously examined in this disorder, may be altered in autism. To assess the potential role, if any, of Th-17 cells in autism, we analyzed plasma samples obtained from children ranging in age from 2-5 years with a diagnosis of autism and age-matched typically developing controls for the presence of IL-17 and IL-23 cytokines. Plasma samples from 40 children with autism including 20 children with a regressive form of autism, 20 with early onset and no regression and 20 typically developing age-matched control children were analyzed for IL-17 and IL-23, under the hypothesis that altered number and function of Th-17 cells would directly correlate with altered levels of IL-17 and IL-23 in the plasma. In this study, we were able to demonstrate that IL-23 cytokine levels were significantly different in children with autism compared with age-matched controls, a finding primarily driven by children with early onset autism. In contrast, there were no statistical differences in IL-17 levels autism compared with age-matched typically developing controls. This is the first study to report altered IL-23 production in autism. The decreased plasma IL-23 production observed in children with autism warrants further research as to its affect on the generation and survival of Th-17 cells, a subset important in neuroinflammatory conditions that may include autism.
Women 35 years of age or younger have higher locoregional relapse rates after undergoing breast conservation therapy

Abstract Background: The use of breast conservation therapy (BCT) in young women with invasive breast cancer is controversial. To examine this important issue, rates of locoregional recurrence and overall survival after BCT were compared in two subsets of women—those ≤35 years of age at time of surgery and their older counterparts. Study Design: We examined records of 290 women with invasive breast cancer treated with BCT (local excision and axillary dissection) at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1984 and 1993. These included 87 patients ≤35 years of age at time of surgery and 203 randomly selected patients >35 years of age. Followup was obtained from physician charts or patient interviews, or both. Complete data on clinicopathologic factors, recurrence, and survival were available on 280 patients. Results: Median followup from time of operation was 8.0 years for the entire group. Mean tumor size was 2.0 cm for women ≤ 35 years and 1.8 cm for those >35 (p = 0.07). Involved nodes were found in 48% of the young patients and 36% of the older patients (p = 0.08). Within our study group (n = 280), 274 patients received radiotherapy. Women ≤35 years of age had significantly higher rates of locoregional recurrence and lower rates of overall survival than their older counterparts (p Conclusions: Patients ≤35 years of age undergoing BCT for invasive breast cancer are at higher risk for locoregional recurrence and death from disease. The higher mortality rate, however, does not appear to be a direct result of locoregional relapse. Additional study is required to verify these findings. Currently, young age does not exclude patients from BCT in our practice. But, we include this data as part of the informed consent process.
A Novel Asymmetric Distribution with Power Tails

In this article, we propose a four-parameter asymmetric doubly Pareto-uniform (DPU) distribution with support (−∞, ∞) whose density and cumulative distribution functions are constructed by seamlessly concatenating the left and right Pareto tails with a uniform central part. Properties of the distribution are described and a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) procedure for its parameters is obtained. Two illustrative examples of the MLE procedure are provided. The first example utilizes an i.i.d. sample of standardized log-differences of bi-monthly 30-year U.S. conventional mortgage interest rates (1971–2004). The second example deals with the height of 100 female Australian athletes.
Assessment of wearable global positioning system units for physical activity research.

Background:Responding to the growing interest in the environmental influences on physical activity, and the concerns about the limitations of self-report data, this study evaluates Global Positioning System (GPS) units for measuring outdoor physical activity. Methods:Four GPS models were selected to test their accuracy related to adherence to an actual route walked, variations based on position of unit on user’s body, and variations against a known geodetic point. A qualitative assessment was performed using the following criteria: a) battery life, b) memory capacity, c) initial satellite signal acquisition time, d) ease of data transfer to other programs, e) wearability, f) ease of operation, g) suitability for specific study populations, and h) price. Results and Conclusions:The Garmin Forerunner provided the most accurate data for data points collected along a known route. Comparisons based on different body placement of units showed some variations. GlobalSat reported battery life of 24 hours, compare...
The Unusual Behavior and Precipitation Pattern Associated with Tropical Storm Ignacio (1997)

A case study of eastern North Pacific Tropical Storm Ignacio (1997), which brought rainfall to the southwestern United States as a tropical cyclone and to the northwestern United States as an extratropical cyclone, is presented. This tropical cyclone formed from a region of disturbed weather, rather than a tropical wave, outside the typical eastern North Pacific genesis region and intensified into a tropical storm coincident with the passage of an upper-tropospheric trough. Moisture transported from Ignacio along an outflow jet associated with the trough resulted in precipitation in Mexico and the southwestern United States. As Ignacio moved north and away from the trough, this tropical cyclone weakened and eventually underwent extratropical transition over the open ocean, in contrast to climatological eastern North Pacific tropical cyclone behavior.Ignaciothenstrengthenedasanextratropicalcycloneduetofavorablebaroclinicconditionsandthe passage of another upper-tropospheric trough before making landfall on the northern coast of California, bringing rain to the northwestern United States. Ignacio’s remnant moisture eventually merged into a slowmoving midlatitude low pressure system that developed after interacting with the extratropical remnant of Hurricane Guillermo.
A second record of Myotis diminutus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): its bearing on the taxonomy of the species and discrimination from M. nigricans

Abstract Myotis diminutus Moratelli & Wilson, 2011a (Vespertilionidae, Myotinae) was known only from the holotype—a subadult collected in a fragment of moist forest on the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes in 1979. Based on recent work in museum collections, we discovered a second specimen of Myotis diminutus, collected in 1959. This specimen of Myotis diminutus comes from La Guayacana, Narino, western Colombia (≈ 135 km north from the type locality); and M. nigricans (Schinz, 1821) also was collected at the same locality. This record confirms the distinctiveness of Myotis diminutus. This species is known from only the Choco ecoregion, one of the critical biodiversity hotspots on Earth. We have no evidence of living individuals. In this report we also investigate the relationships among Myotis nigricans from eastern and western sides of the Andes. Our results confirm that populations from both sides of the Cordillera represent the same subspecies—Myotis nigricans nigricans.
Enumeration and Identification of Bacteria in Chicken Semen

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to determine the bacteriological quality of chicken semen. Semen was collected from donor males, diluted, and surface inoculated onto seven different bacteriological media, from which randomly selected colonies were identified. Bacterial counts in semen averaged 5.14 log10 cfu/mL. Tryptic soy agar (TSA) was the best medium for the isolation of Gram-positive bacteria, whereas TSA + .3% bile salts (TSABS) and violet red bile agar + 1% glucose (VRBAG) were the best media for the isolation of Gram-negative and enteric bacteria. The genera of bacteria that were isolated depended on the medium that was used for isolation. The most frequently isolated genera included Escherichia, Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Enterococcus, and Salmonella. Most of the bacteria that were isolated were endemic to poultry and were common environmental bacteria. This indicates that the environment and feed are important sources of bacterial contamination in broilers.
Phosphoregulation of Cardiac Inotropy via Myosin Binding Protein-C During Increased Pacing Frequency or β1-Adrenergic Stimulation

Background—Mammalian hearts exhibit positive inotropic responses to β-adrenergic stimulation as a consequence of protein kinase A–mediated phosphorylation or as a result of increased beat frequency (the Bowditch effect). Several membrane and myofibrillar proteins are phosphorylated under these conditions, but the relative contributions of these to increased contractility are not known. Phosphorylation of cardiac myosin-binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) by protein kinase A accelerates the kinetics of force development in permeabilized heart muscle, but its role in vivo is unknown. Such understanding is important because adrenergic responsiveness of the heart and the Bowditch effect are both depressed in heart failure. Methods and Results—The roles of cMyBP-C phosphorylation were studied using mice in which either WT or nonphosphorylatable forms of cMyBP-C [ser273ala, ser282ala, ser302ala: cMyBP-C(t3SA)] were expressed at similar levels on a cMyBP-C null background. Force and [Ca2+]in measurements in isolated pap...
Identification of estrogen-responsive genes in the parenchyma and fat pad of the bovine mammary gland by microarray analysis

Identification of estrogen-responsive genes is an essential step toward understanding mechanisms of estrogen action during mammary gland development. To identify these genes, 16 prepubertal heifers...
The RPT2 Subunit of the 26S Proteasome Directs Complex Assembly, Histone Dynamics, and Gametophyte and Sporophyte Development in Arabidopsis

The regulatory particle (RP) of the 26S proteasome contains a heterohexameric ring of AAA-ATPases (RPT1-6) that unfolds and inserts substrates into the core protease (CP) for degradation. Through genetic analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana gene pair encoding RPT2, we show that this subunit plays a critical role in 26S proteasome assembly, histone dynamics, and plant development. rpt2a rpt2b double null mutants are blocked in both male and female gamete transmission, demonstrating that the subunit is essential. Whereas rpt2b mutants are phenotypically normal, rpt2a mutants display a range of defects, including impaired leaf, root, trichome, and pollen development, delayed flowering, stem fasciation, hypersensitivity to mitomycin C and amino acid analogs, hyposensitivity to the proteasome inhibitor MG132, and decreased 26S complex stability. The rpt2a phenotype can be rescued by both RPT2a and RPT2b, indicative of functional redundancy, but not by RPT2a mutants altered in ATP binding/hydrolysis or missing the C-terminal hydrophobic sequence that docks the RPT ring onto the CP. Many rpt2a phenotypes are shared with mutants lacking the chromatin assembly factor complex CAF1. Like caf1 mutants, plants missing RPT2a or reduced in other RP subunits contain less histones, thus implicating RPT2 specifically, and the 26S proteasome generally, in plant nucleosome assembly.
A planar-lumped model for coupled microstrip lines and discontinuities

A convenient model for analyzing coupled microstrip line discontinuities is presented. A planar-lumped model similar to the planar waveguide model for single microstrip lines is developed for coupled microstrip lines. Fields underneath the two strips and those fringing at the outer edge are modeled by two equivalent planar waveguides. Electric and magnetic field coupling in the gap region is modeled by a lumped network. The lumped network parameters are evaluated such that (C) and (L) matrices for the model are identical with those for coupled lines. The model is verified by comparing coupler characteristics with those obtained by the conventional coupled line analysis. Just as the planar model of a single microstrip has been used for characterizing microstrip discontinuities, the planar-lumped model developed is used for coupled line discontinuities. Examples given include coupled microstrip sections with chamfered bends located at right angles to single microstrip lines, for which the results are in good agreement with experimental values. >
Self-help in the long-term treatment of obesity.

Summary Despite the short-term success of professional behavioural techniques for obesity, weight losses are typically regained following treatment. The long-term maintenance of treatment effects will probably require ongoing, continuing care. Continuing care may be economically feasible when administered through self-help treatment modalities. Self-help confers a number of psychological benefits, such as self-reliance and an increased sense of empowerment. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various modalities of self-help are reviewed, including purely self-prompted help, self-administered manuals, computer-assisted therapy, professionally assisted correspondence courses, and non-profit and commercial self-help groups. Stepped-care models suggest using a combination of these approaches when appropriate. However, logistical difficulties present themselves in stepped-care approaches with obesity, such as the complicating effects of severity and comorbidity on stepped-care status. Self-help groups are a promising venue for the provision of continuing care and as an adjunct to more intensive, specialty therapies.
Cultivating Cohort Studies for Observational Translational Research

Background: “Discovery” research about molecular markers for diagnosis, prognosis, or prediction of response to therapy has frequently produced results that were not reproducible in subsequent studies. What are the reasons, and can observational cohorts be cultivated to provide strong and reliable answers to those questions? Experimental Methods: Selected examples are used to illustrate: (i) what features of research design provide strength and reliability in observational studies about markers of diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy? (ii) How can those design features be cultivated in existing observational cohorts, for example, within randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), other existing observational research studies, or practice settings like health maintenance organization (HMOs)? Results: Examples include a study of RNA expression profiles of tumor tissue to predict prognosis of breast cancer, a study of serum proteomics profiles to diagnose ovarian cancer, and a study of stool-based DNA assays to screen for colon cancer. Strengths and weaknesses of observational study design features are discussed, along with lessons about how features that help assure strength might be “cultivated” in the future. Conclusions and Impact: By considering these examples and others, it may be possible to develop a process of “cultivating cohorts” in ongoing RCTs, observational cohort studies, and practice settings like HMOs that have strong features of study design. Such an effort could produce sources of data and specimens to reliably answer questions about the use of molecular markers in diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(4); 481–4. ©2013 AACR .
Partisan Identification as a Predictor of Cortisol Response to Election News

Partisan effects on media consumption have been widely documented, with considerable attention given to partisan influences on selective exposure. Although researchers have debated the degree to which selective exposure drives media consumption in general and partisan consumption of the news in particular, one of the hypothesized mechanisms linked to this phenomenon seems inherently plausible: Exposure to disliked news coverage can generate psychological discomfort. The physiological effects of this hypothesized discomfort were examined by determining how political partisanship influences release of the stress hormone, cortisol, following exposure to news coverage of a presidential election. The study was conducted in the week following the 2008 election. Participants were students at a large, mostly conservative state university who read news coverage about the election victory of Barack Obama or a set of control news stories. Results indicated that conservative political identification was associated wi...
A New Click Beetle Genus from Chilean Temperate Forests, ALYMA (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Pomachiliini)

Abstract Alyma Arias, a new genus of Elateridae from Chile, is here described and illustrated with eight included species: A. pallipes (Solier), new combination, A. ariasvillegasai Arias, new species, A. calafquenensis Arias, new species, A. contulmoensis Arias, new species, A. lawlerae Arias, new species, A. quiriquinaensis Arias, new species, A. rieseorum Arias, new species, and shapiroi Arias, new species. The type species of the genus Alyma is Cardiophorus pallipes Solier, 1851.
Structural and Catalytic Effects of Iron- and Scandium-Doping on a Strontium Cobalt Oxide Electrocatalyst for Water Oxidation

The poor kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are a considerable barrier to the development of water-derived hydrogen fuel. Previous work regarding theoretical calculations of the perovskite SrCoO3-δ (SCO) predicts a surface binding energy ideal for OER catalysis but could not be matched to experimental results due to the material’s propensity to form the incorrect trigonal crystal structure. By doping with iron and scandium, X-ray diffraction confirms that we have been able to synthesize a series of SCO catalysts of various crystal structures, culminating in cubic SCO. In doing so, we show that there is a limited correlation between the crystal structure and OER performance in alkaline media. Instead, the use of iron as a dopant is found to decrease the OER overpotential of the SCO by 40 mV in 0.1 M KOH and yield catalysts capable of performing water oxidation at an overpotential of 410 mV at 10 mA/cm2. The doped, cubic SCO catalysts are found to be more stable than the undoped material when t...
On the performance of linear optimal filter and Wiener filter for signal detection in liquid ionization calorimeters

The performance of the linear optimal filter (LOF) is compared to the newly reported Wiener filter for signal detection in ATLAS liquid ionization calorimeters. The equivalence between the two methods is established, and further related to the conventional notion of (whitening + matched) filter configuration for optimal signal detection in presence of colored noise. Without arrival time spread, the LOF and Wiener results converge to each other, regardless of the SNR of the calorimeter readout path. In addition, the LOF performance displays a dependence on the pulse arrival time delay—manifested as a non-zero mean and an elevated standard deviation of the amplitude estimation error—due to the truncation of high-order terms in deriving the linear filter. In contrast, once trained with the exact signal statistics of the calorimeter, i.e., the arrival time spread and noise structure, the Wiener filter can always adapt to an optimal, unbiased solution using the same linear FIR filter structure. However, when such prior knowledge is removed, the Wiener outcomes nearly coincide with those of the LOF. All the results are obtained via Monte Carlo simulations of a readout signal-processing chain assuming identical electrical parameters of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter system with a sample rate of 80 MSPS. The equivalence between the two approaches is also examined and confirmed using a Gaussian pulse shape and an invertible pulse-shaping function without any finite zeroes on the jω-axis.
E-019 Novel bioactive coil with modified PGLA

Purpose Novel Bioactive Coil with modified PGLA was developed to further improve biological reaction induced by currently available PGLA coils. Method Prototype coil materials were prepared by coating the currently available PGLA coils (matrix coil) with chemically modified PGLA. A total of 12 side wall aneurysms were surgically created in six swine. Four aneurysms were treated with Novel Bioactive Coil, four aneurysms were treated with 90/10 PGLA coils and four aneurysms were treated with bare platinum coil (Gugliemi Detachable Coils), respectively. All animals were kept alive for 14 days after the procedure. Histologic as well as immunohistochemical analyses were performed on each harvested sample. Results Macroscopic findings showed that significantly advanced thrombus organization was observed in the Novel Bioactive Coil group compared with the PGLA coil group and the bare platinum coil group. The granulation tissue induced by Novel Bioactive Coil was characterized by its intensive migration of multinuclear giant cells, profound microvascular proliferation and vacuole formation around the coil materials. Qualitative histological analysis showed that Novel Bioactive Coil elicited the most prominent macrophage expression, followed by PGLA coils and bare platinum coil. Conclusion Novel Bioactive Coil has a potential to elicit more accelerated thrombus organization compared with currently used coil materials, including bare platinum coil and PGLA coil.
Enhanced Magnetic and Electric Fields via Fano Resonances in Metasurfaces of Circular Clusters of Plasmonic Nanoparticles

We investigate for the first time the capacity of a two-dimensional periodic array (a metasurface) of circular nanoclusters (CNCs) of plasmonic nanoparticles to support magnetic Fano resonances. These resonances are characterized by narrow angular and/or spectral features in the reflection/transmission/absorption coefficients associated with a circular disposition of nanoparticles’ dipole moments (forming a current loop) under oblique TE-polarized plane wave incidence illumination. We find that these narrow resonant features are either array-induced or single-CNC-induced, as shown by using a theoretical analysis based on the single dipole approximation and full-wave simulations, leading to enhanced magnetic and electric fields. In particular, array-induced resonances are narrower than single-CNC-induced ones and also provide even larger field enhancements, in particular generating a magnetic field enhancement of about 10-fold and an electric field enhancement of about 40-fold for a representative metasurf...
Distribution of Antagonistic Fungi In Nature and Their Antibiotic Action

(1943). Distribution of Antagonistic Fungi In Nature and Their Antibiotic Action. Mycologia: Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 47-65.
COMPARATIVE AVIAN CYTOGENETICS: A REVIEW

Avian cytogenetic research has, until recently, lagged far behind efforts devoted to the cytogenetics of other vertebrate groups. Avian chromosomes are inherently difficult to study because most are minute and their morphology and number are obscure. Since 1966, improved methods of culturing avian cells have resulted in more comparative chromosome studies whose quality parallels those for mammals. Recent activity in comparative avian cytogenetics now allows us to assess such factors as the overall karyotypic variability in birds and to consider the role that chromosomal change plays in avian speciation. In the present study, chromosomal variability was assessed within and among species of the same genus and within orders of birds. Chromosomal differences among local populations appear to be associated either with mechanisms that support balanced polymorphism or fre- quency dependent selection and not with speciation. The data are discussed in light of current models of chromosome evolution proposed for vertebrates other than birds.
Building Community Through the Management Teaching Review

It is with great joy that we assume the role of editors for Management Teaching Review (MTR). We sincerely thank the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society and especially Jeanie Forray and Kathy Lund Dean as founding coeditors for their vision of reenergizing our commitment to student learning and excellence in the classroom through MTR. We also acknowledge the immensity of the role of establishing a journal that truly builds on our Society’s roots and mission to “enhance the quality and promote the importance of teaching and learning across the management disciplines,” and we embrace this mission with MTR. MTR provides an exciting online platform for sharing “immediately useful resources for teaching and learning practice” in the management domain, whether in the classroom or in an organizational setting. As such, MTR is not only relevant to college educators but also trainers, coaches, and those individuals committed to teaching and learning. We view MTR as a conduit for strengthening our community around this shared passion for teaching. Our online platform is enabled with an interactive “Reader Responses” function (see Figure 1) where readers can submit comments for particular articles and read the comments submitted by others. We anticipate that this function will create a collaborative space for fostering conversations around teaching and learning. Please visit our website (http://mtr.sagepub.com/), take advantage of the free access period for MTR, and see what all the excitement is about! The pedagogical resources in MTR are organized in five main sections: Experiential Exercises, Research-to-Practice Insights, Practice-to-Research Connections, Resource Reviews, and Format Translations. We commonly see short, targeted, and immediately useful classroom activities in our Experiential Exercises section. The implications of how current disciplinary research can be applied to the classroom constitutes the
Determination of acrylamide in potato chips and biscuits by high performance liquid chromatography

[Objective] To develop an approach to determining acrylamide in potato chips and biscuits by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).[Methods] The acrylamide in the samples was extracted by ultrapure water and cleaned up by centrifugation,freezing and solid phase extraction,then analyzed by HPLC.[Results] The study showed the correlation coefficient was 0.9995.The average spike recovery rate and the relative standard deviation(RSD) were 98.2% and 7.8% respectively.The limit of detection(LOD) and the limit of quantification(LOQ) were 10 μg/kg and 31 μg/kg.[Conclusion] The approach is proved to be simple,convenient,economic,sensitive,and applicable in laboratories to monitoring and inspection of daily foods.