cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of small valve size on hemodynamics and left ventricular mass regression with the Toronto SPV stentless aortic bioprosthesis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY The hemodynamic performance of stentless aortic bioprostheses has been previously well described. Because the potential for prosthesis-patient mismatch is greatest for small valves in the aortic position, the present study sought to compare the hemodynamic performance and degree of left ventricular (LV) mass regression between valve sizes for the Toronto SPV valve, with special interest in measures of relief of LV outflow obstruction afforded by the smallest valves. METHODS This study included 257 patients (178 men, 79 women; mean age 63.5+/-11.4 years; range: 34-93 years) from six investigative centers with complete echocardiography/Doppler data obtained through three years. Valve sizes implanted were 21 mm (n = 11), 23 mm (n = 23), 25 mm (n = 58), 27 mm (n = 83), and 29 mm (n = 82). Echocardiography was performed at discharge, six months, one year, and yearly thereafter, and interpreted in a centralized core laboratory. Mean gradient, effective orifice area (EOA), indexed EOA, and absolute and percent change in LV mass index were used as markers of hemodynamic performance. RESULTS For all valve sizes, mean and peak gradients fell and EOA increased early after surgery. There were no differences between groups in the degree to which gradients fell, and EOA increased from discharge to one year follow up. At one year, indexed EOA was 0.9 cm2/m2 for valve sizes 21 and 23 mm, and 1.0-1.2 cm2/m2 for sizes 25, 27 and 29 mm. There was statistically significant LV mass regression for all valve sizes (p or = 0.9 cm2/m2, and equivalent degrees of LV mass regression for all valve sizes, reinforces the excellent hemodynamic performance of stentless aortic bioprostheses, and suggests that prosthesis-patient mismatch should be minimized with these valves.
FROM DOMUS LATERANI TO ROMANUM PALATIUM

IF MEDIEVAL ROME, IN ITS LONG HISTORY, HAD ANYTHING LIKE A MORAL and administrative focus, it was the Lateran palace and the basilica Constantiniana , now called S. Giovanni in Laterano, St. John Lateran, which Constantine, freshly victorious at the Milvian Bridge, built to serve the pope, bishop of Rome. From that moment the fate of medieval Rome was bound to this remote corner of the city, which grew steadily in girth and importance even as the inhabited core contracted away from it. By the ninth century the Lateran complex had become to papal Rome what the Palatine had been to imperial Rome, the supreme seat of administration and political power. Despite ravaging invasions and other adverse conditions, despite the search for alternative seats of papal rule, the Lateran remained inarguably preeminent until the official move to the Vatican in 1420 following the return of the papacy to Rome. Our investigation into the Lateran's first 1,100 years must be brief, and sadly there is little left to see of this once-magnificent theater of autocratic rule. Other than the baptistery, some adjacent structures, the rebuilt and relocated Triclinio Leonino, and the largely thirteenth-century Sancta Sanctorum, new construction between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries devoured or covered over nearly the entire medieval scheme. Still, the Lateran was relatively lucky. In an exhaustive study of the physical and literary documents that Rohault de Fleury published in 1877, we have a compelling plan and reconstruction drawing of the complex at the end of the Middle Ages, as it stood in 1300 – the first jubilee year, which drew Giotto and Dante to Rome – pristine and isolated from its environment (Figs. 125, 126). But because our environmental approach privileges process over the culminating product, our task is to peel back the layers of time so that we can see the matrix of streets, the Aurelian Wall, aqueduct arcades, and other elements that spawned a whole urban quarter we call, by the common Italian term for such a compound, the Lateran Borgo. To aid our reconstructive surgery, Rodolfo Lanciani's Forma Urbis Romae (1893–1901), which shows the modern streets and buildings over the medieval and ancient Lateran neighborhood, is essential (Fig. 127).
Scientist of the century

On 20 June 1774 a 67-year-old blind Swiss scientist living in Russia presented a long paper on optics to the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. The academy's response to the paper was unprecedented. Its fellows voted to skip the usual editing and review process, which could take up to three years, and instead publish the paper immediately with great fanfare. But who was this scientist, and what question in optics was so important that the academy ignored its usual protocols to publish the paper immediately?
Motion estimation and segmentation using a recurrent mixture of experts architecture

Estimating motion in scenes containing multiple motions remains a difficult problem for computer vision. Here we describe a novel recurrent network architecture which solves this problem by simultaneously estimating motion and segmenting the scene. The network is comprised of locally connected units which carry out simple calculations in parallel. We present simulation results illustrating the successful motion estimation and rapid convergence of the network on real image sequences.
Absolute Lymphocyte Count Assessed During Routine Follow-up Is a Risk Factor for Relapse Post-Autologous Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Abstract 4359 Routine serial chimerism analysis after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (Allo-SCT) has been used as a risk factor for post-Allo-SCT cancer relapse. In non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients treated with autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (APHSCT), a specific predictor during routine follow-up that could be used to ascertain risk for post-APHSCT relapse has not been identified. Thus, we set out to investigate if absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) measured at post APHSCT follow-up could serve as a marker of post-APHSCT NHL relapse. ALC was obtained at the time of confirmed relapse at follow-up and at last no evidence of relapse follow-up. From 1993 until 2005, 269 patients treated with APHSCT for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), were included in this study. Patients at last follow-up with no relapse (N=137) had a higher ALC compared with those with confirmed relapsed at follow-up post-APHSCT (N= 132) [median ALC x 10 9 /L of 1.66 (range: 0.13-3.69) vs 0.71 (range: 0.03-4.75), p 9 /L was identified as the optimal cut-off point. An ALC 9 /L at the time of confirmed relapse had a positive predictive value of 89% and a positive likelihood ratio of 8.4 to predict relapse post-APHSCT. Patients with an ALC ≥ 1.0 × 10 9 /L (N = 147) had a cumulative incidence of relapse of 19% versus 92% for patients with an ALC 9 /L (N = 122) (p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
EMR is superior to rectal suction biopsy for analysis of enteric ganglia in constipation and dysmotility.

Background and Aims Patients with chronic constipation or motility disorders may be referred for rectal suction biopsy (RSB) to rule out Hirschsprung's disease (HD). RSB may not be successful beyond infancy because of the increased thickness of the rectal mucosa. EMR could improve the diagnostic yield for HD when compared with traditional RSB because larger and deeper samples are acquired for analysis. Methods In this prospective, single-center study, patients referred for RSB were offered enrollment for concurrent EMR. Specimens were analyzed pathologically for size, submucosal ganglionic tissue, and acetylcholinesterase or calretinin staining. Biopsy results were compared with transit studies, anorectal manometry, and constipation severity through validated questionnaires. Results Seventeen patients (2 male, 15 female; mean age, 35.8 years; range, 22-61 years) were enrolled in the study from 2008 to 2014. All patients underwent anorectal manometry (88% with anorectal dysfunction, 68% with outlet obstruction) and transit studies (41% with delayed transit). There were no reports of adverse events from the RSB and EMR procedures. The RSB sample volumes were significantly lower than the EMR sample volumes (0.023 cm 3 vs 0.26 cm 3 , P = .001). There was diagnostic tissue for submucosal visualization by RSB in 53% (9/17) of cases compared with 100% (17/17) with EMR ( P = .003). No cases of HD were diagnosed by RSB; one patient had rare ganglions observed by EMR. Conclusions EMR provides greater tissue volume and can improve the characterization of ganglion cells in rectal tissue compared with RSB in patients with moderate to severe constipation with suspected HD.
Do federal davis-bacon and disadvantaged business enterprise regulations affect aggressive bidding? evidence from highway resurfacing procurement auctions

Previous empirical studies examine the effect of asymmetries across bidders on auction outcomes. This paper tests for asymmetries in behavior when bidders are confronted with different regulatory environments. Data from federal and state highway resurfacing projects in Colorado are used to determine if bids are more aggressive when contractors switch from federal projects, with Davis-Bacon prevailing wage and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations, to less-regulated state projects. Results from fixed effects estimates of winning bids indicate that the level of aggressive bidding is not altered with a change in regulations, at least not with respect to the policies and types of projects examined here.
Freedom of speech and the communication discipline: defending the value of low-value speech

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appear...
Nonlinear Optical Ring-Cavity Model Driven by a Gas Laser

The development of spontaneous stationary equilibrium patterns induced by the injection of a laser pump field into a purely absorptive two-level atomic sodium vapor ring cavity is investigated by means of a hexagonal planform nonlinear stability analysis applied to the appropriate governing evolution equation for this optical phenomenon. In the quasi-equilibrium limit for its atomic variables, the mathematical system modelling that phenomenon can be reduced to a single modified Swift-Hohenberg nonlinear partial differential time-evolution equation describing the intracavity field on an unbounded two-dimensional spatial domain. Diffraction of radiation can induce transverse patterns consisting of stripes and hexagonal arrays of bright spots or honeycombs in an initially uniform plane-wave configuration. Then, these theoretical predictions are compared with both relevant experimental evidence and existing numerical simulations from some recent nonlinear optical pattern formation studies. There are four problems: The first two fill in some details of this analysis while the last two examine bistability for a related nonlinear optical phenomenon and hexagonal pattern formation for the relevant amplitude-phase equations with a hypothetical growth rate and set of Landau constants.
A Portable 8-electrode EIT Measurement System

To make electrical impedance tomography (EIT) measurements, we inject currents into a volume through electrodes, then measure the voltages at the electrodes. In this paper we introduce an 8-electrode EIT measurement system which is completely portable and is based on a PDA instead of a PC. The system is composed of a data acquisition board (E-Pack), a current source, a PDA and software, which was developed in eVC 4.0. The E-pack collects data through a pre-amplifier. The signal is then sampled and demodulated with an AD9240 ADC with 14-bit resolution and 10msps speed, and finally completed through 32 point sampling in the digital signal processor (DSP). For the DSP, we have chosen an Analog Devices ADSP-2181. Custom designed protocol between the PDA and E-Pack enables selection of any current drive and measurement electrode pairs. Images can be reconstructed and displayed on the PDA. We present experimental results for a cylindrical phantom that demonstrate the performance and applicability of our system. Measurements on a 50Ω resistor network show that the precision of our system is better than 0.2%.
Demineralized Bone Matrix Induced Protein Synthesis and Bone Formation in Canine Muscle

The present study was undertaken to determine the long-term consequences of transplanting demineralized bone matrix (DBM) into canine muscle pouches. Histological and biochemical analysis of specimens was carried out at various intervals between 18 and 135 days after implantation to show osteoinduction in a canine model and to determine proteins that could be used as molecular markers in relation to the observed histological changes.
Human-Biting Ixodes Ticks and Pathogen Prevalence from California, Oregon, and Washington.

Abstract From July 2006 through August 2017, a passive surveillance study of Ixodes ticks submitted from California, Oregon, and Washington was conducted by the TickReport program at the University...
Interrogating the cytoglobin binding pocket and thiol redox status with point mutations and chemical probes

Cytoglobin (Cygb) is a highly conserved, hexacoordinate heme protein expressed ubiquitously in mammalian tissues. Unlike other commonly found globins (i.e., hemoglobin and myoglobin), Cygb has a bound - but dissociable - proximal histidine that hinders ligand binding and, unlike the common globins, Cygb is not regarded to be closely associated with oxygen transport. The physiological functions of Cygb are still unclear but are thought to include ROS detoxification, lipid peroxidation, and vascular nitric oxide metabolism via hypoxic nitrite reduction and O2-dependent nitric oxide dioxygenation. All of these processes first require dissociation of the distal histidine to generate an active penta-coordinate heme. Further, these processes are likely further modulated by two conserved cysteine residues (Cys38 and Cys83), which can readily generate intermolecular dimeric and intramolecular monomeric disulfide bonds. For instance, formation of the intramolecular monomer greatly increases the nitrite reductase (NiR) activity, suggesting a change in pocket shape resulting in an increase in the rate and frequency the distal histidine dissociates. Predominantly using stopped-flow and kinetic techniques, we are assessing the effect of the redox states of these cysteines via small molecule binding/reaction characterization in both the ferrous and ferric form of the protein, elucidating differences in the binding pocket conformation in various redox environments. These methodologies consequently allow for the assessment of the thiol oxidation state, as different preparations of recombinant Cygbs vary and result in formation of differing cysteine redox states. Chemical modification and point mutations have been used to generate a number of modified cytoglobins to develop a more complete picture of the effect of the redox states of these cysteines.
Differentiating mental retardation: The two-group approach and beyond

For several centuries, medical workers have been interested in differences in etiology among mentally retarded persons. As early as the 17th century, the Swiss physician Felix Platter differentiated between two general types of mentally retarded persons (Scheerenberger, 1983). Individuals of the first type were characterized by simplicity and foolishness that was evident as early as infancy. Individuals of the second type, referred to as endemic cretins, were considered to be dull from before birth and to be suffering from defects of nature (i.e., physical deformity). In the 19th century, John Langdon Down (1887) classified mentally deficient persons (“idiots” and “feeble-minded”) into three etiological groups: congenital, accidental, and developmental. Down also was the first worker to distinguish between mongolism and cretinism. Also at that time, William Wetherspoon Ireland (1877) proposed a 10-category classification of mental retardation that was based primarily on the causes of and the physical differences among the various conditions included in this system. Nine of Ireland's categories were concerned with medical conditions associated with mental retardation; the tenth was “idiocy by deprivation” (Scheerenberger, 1983). These early workers recognized that mentally deficient persons did not comprise a homogeneous population, and could be better understood when the cause of the mental retardation was taken into account.
Open innovation in the public sector: creating public value through civic hackathons

This article examines the outcomes of open innovation (OI) and their contribution to public value by analysing 19 subnational civic hackathons across the US. Our analysis identifies three outcomes ...
The Prevalence and Clinical Implications of Comorbid Back Pain in Shoulder Instability: A Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) Shoulder Instability Cohort Study:

Background:Understanding predictors of pain is critical, as recent literature shows that comorbid back pain is an independent risk factor for worse functional and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) a...
Lipid Control Post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: One Year Follow-Up of a Middle-Eastern Cohort.

Background: Data on patient characteristics and provider practices in the management of lipids per the new guidelines in specific secondary prevention patients in the Middle East is limited. Objective: To explore patient characteristics and lipid management practices according to the new cholesterol guidelines in secondary prevention patients, up to one year following discharge for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients discharged post CABG between February 2017 and February 2018 at a quaternary care centre in the Middle East. Patients were characterized by baseline demographics, comorbidities, and use of lipid lowering medications. Results: 189 patients were included in the analysis. Most were diabetic (70.9%) and classified as very high risk per the ACC/AHA guidelines (84.1%) and as extremely high risk per the AACE guidelines (85.2%). Most patients (93.1%) were discharged on high intensity statin. About one third (28.6%) were never seen or only followed once within the first 2 weeks post discharge. Of those who continued to follow up beyond 3 months and within 1 year of discharge (44.4%), about half (51.2%) had follow-up lipid panels performed. Patients who followed up and were seen by a cardiologist were five times more likely to have lipid panels ordered than those seen solely by a CT surgeon. Of those with follow-up lipid panels beyond 3 months: 59.3% achieved LDL goal of Conclusions: Most patients undergoing CABG in a quaternary care centre in the Middle East are high risk ASCVD. Nonetheless, lipid goals are not commonly achieved nor routinely monitored. Providers will need to transition from the previous risk stratification and statin-only focused approach to adopt the most recent guidelines.
Policy Into Practice: Understanding State Writing Resources:

Although research suggests that teachers turn to their state departments of education for curricular resources, little is known about the resources teachers find on state websites and the recommend...
Public Opinion and Black NFL Players After the National Anthem Protests

I use consumer surveys to compare black and white National Football League (NFL) stars' popularity among US adults before and after player protests during the national anthem. The popularity of 43 of the best-known NFL stars is observed in spring 2015 and spring 2018. Difference-in-differences analysis shows that black stars who participated in the protests lost three percentage points of approval in the general population relative to white players who did not participate. Protesting players especially lost popularity among whites and less educated adults. There was a particularly important backlash against black NFL players among whites without a college education. In that population, black players lost public approval relative to white players even if they did not participate in the protests. The lost popularity of non-protesting blacks is evidence of the role of racial resentment in public opinion regarding the anthem controversy.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Finding Our Way Back from the Web Platform’s Ill-conceived Jaunts

In its transition from the original concept of a mesh of hypertext documents [2] into the world’s most successful application ecosystem, the open web platform [3] has steadily, iteratively, accumulated a large number of unsafe features and behaviors. These features lead to vulnerabilities in web applications, enable attacks on web users, and often add significant complexity to developers’ mental models of the web and to user-agent implementations.In this paper, we start from a scattered list of concrete grievances about the web platform based on informal discussions among browser– and web security engineers. After reviewing the details of these issues, we work towards a model of the root causes of the problems, categorizing them based on the type of risk they introduce to the platform. We then identify possible solutions for each class of issues, dividing them by the most effective approach to address it.In the end, we arrive at a general blueprint for backing out of these dead ends. We propose a three-pronged approach which includes changing web browser defaults, creating a slew of features for web authors to opt out of dangerous behaviors, and adding new security primitives. We then show how this approach can be practically applied to address each of the individual problems, providing a conceptual framework for solving unsafe legacy web platform behaviors.
Competing Processes Drive the Resistance of Soil Carbon to Alterations in Organic Inputs

Protecting existing soil carbon (C) and harnessing the C sequestration potential of soils require an improved understanding of the processes through which soil organic matter accumulates in natural systems. Currently, competing hypotheses exist regarding the dominant mechanisms for soil C stabilization. Many long-standing hypotheses revolve around an assumed positive relationship between the quantity of organic inputs and soil C accumulation, while more recent hypotheses have shifted attention toward the complex controls of microbial processing and organo-mineral complexation. Here, we present the observed findings of soil response to 20 years of detrital manipulations in the wet, temperate forest of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Station. Annual additions of low-quality (high C:N content) wood litter to the soil surface led to a greater positive effect on observed mean soil C concentration relative to additions of higher-quality (low C:N content) needle litter over the 20-year study period. However, high variability in measurements of soil C led to a statistically non-significant difference in C concentration between the two treatments and the control soil. The observed soil C responses to these two addition treatments demonstrates the long timescale and potential magnitude of soil C responses to management or disturbance led changes in forest litter input composition. Detrital input reduction treatments, including cutting off live root activity and the aboveground removal of surface litter, led to relatively small, non-significant effects on soil C concentrations over the 20-year study period. Far greater negative effects on mean soil C concentrations were observed for the combined removal of both aboveground litter and belowground root activity, which led to an observed, yet also non-significant, 20% decline in soil C stocks. The substantial proportion of remaining soil C following these dramatic, long-term reductions in above- and belowground detrital inputs suggests that losses of C in these forest soils are not readily achieved over a few decades of reductions in detrital input and may require far greater periods of time or further perturbations to the environment. Further, the observed soil C responses to detrital manipulations support recent hypotheses regarding soil C stabilization, which emphasize litter quality and mineral stabilization as relevant controls over forest soil C.
Measurement of neutral gadolinium oscillator strengths using dual-comb absorption spectroscopy in laser-produced plasmas

Abstract The oscillator strengths of 43 transitions of neutral gadolinium from 530 to 535 nm were determined based on high-resolution absorption spectra measured by probing a laser-produced plasma using time-resolved dual-comb spectroscopy. Absorption spectra were measured at various time delays, ranging from 33 to 252 μs after the onset of the plasma formation, over which the temperature and number density varied as the ablation plume evolved. A Boltzmann analysis was used to determine the excitation temperature and column density of Gd in the ablation plume, based on measured absorption from 20 Gd I spectral lines with known oscillator strengths. Oscillator strengths were then determined for additional dipole-allowed Gd I transitions identified in the absorption spectra, 19 of which were previously unreported. Oscillator strengths of all measured transitions were compared with literature values when available and show good agreement in most cases. Time-resolved measurement of atomic absorption in the cooling plasma provides access to a range of excitation temperatures and optical densities for the atoms in the ablation plume, allowing repeated measurements under different conditions, thereby improving confidence in the results. Our results also highlight that the high spectral bandwidth and resolution capabilities of dual-comb spectroscopy make it well-suited to measuring the dense optical spectrum of Gd, and the technique is applicable to other elements, especially lanthanides and actinides.
Shifting Technologies of Reflection: Intergenerational Relationships and the Entanglements of Field and Home

This article focuses on the intergenerational gifts and relationships that have structured my experience of the flows between home and the field in order to highlight the deeply intersubjective and relational aspects of fieldwork. It considers the shifting technologies of reflection—the diverse forms of field-writing that I produced at different stages as intertextual mediations of my fieldworlds—present in an archive chronicling twenty-five years of study and fieldwork in South India. Excavating this archive—which includes traditional fieldnotes, handwritten letters, creative essays, emails, voice memos and visual fieldnotes—has sharpened my awareness of the value of analyzing fieldwork experiences longitudinally and offers rich glimpses of everyday religion and gendered social relations. These materials underscore the interpenetrations of home and field, life and death, and self and other and prompt me to reaffirm my commitment to centering the crucial relationships that develop in these contexts in my scholarship, teaching and mentoring.
Challenges for the theoretical description of the mechanism and kinetics of reactions catalyzed by zeolites

Abstract Zeolites are widely used as catalysts for the processing of petroleum to produce transportation fuels, the synthesis of a wide variety of chemicals, and for the abatement of automotive emissions. These applications have stimulated an interest in describing the mechanism and kinetics for zeolite-catalyzed reactions using theoretical methods. This Mini-review summarizes the author’s efforts towards this goal. It is shown that accurate predictions of adsorption and activation enthalpies and entropies requires that several criteria be met. The first is a correct description of the structure of the catalytically active center, as well as the portion of the zeolite framework immediately surrounding the active center and that located far from the active center. Second, the level of density functional theory (DFT) must be sufficiently high to account for the effects of dispersive interactions between the adsorbate, the active center, and the immediately surrounding zeolite atoms. Third, dispersive and coulombic interactions between the atoms in the vicinity of the active center and the balance of the zeolite framework must also be accounted for. It is shown that these conditions can be met using hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) together with a high-level exchange-correlation functional and a large basis set. The success of our QM/MM approach is illustrated for reactions of light alkanes in H-MFI, as well as other protonated zeolites, and in Ga/H-MFI. We show that for low temperatures ( molecular adsorption enthalpies and activation enthalpies for elementary reactions. This is also true for higher temperatures (>400 K) if the effects of configuration are considered using a correction obtained from configurationally biased Monte Carlo (CBMC) calculations. Calculations of the molecular adsorption entropy and the activation entropy for elementary reactions are more difficult to predict accurately. Application of the quasi-rigid rotor harmonic approximation overpredicts the loss of entropy of adsorption from the gas phase, particularly for zeolites containing large cavities and channels. CBMC corrections capture this deviation well for molecular adsorption and for early transition states resembling the adsorbed state but are inadequate for late transition states involving two loosely associated fragments.
Cardiac chimerism: methods matter.

To the Editor: Recent studies on the chimerism of the heart and other organs after sex-mismatched transplantation have provided consistent results concerning the migration of primitive cells from the host to the graft.1–5⇓⇓⇓⇓ After homing, host progenitor cells undergo replication and differentiation, generating mature parenchymal cells and vascular structures in the transplanted organ. Although there is little disagreement among authors in terms of the occurrence of this phenomenon, the magnitude of cardiac chimerism varies significantly in different reports.1,3–5⇓⇓⇓ This discrepancy involves mostly ventricular myocytes and, to a lesser extent, newly formed coronary vessels. For myocytes, the published values range from as high as 18%1 to as low as 0.04%,3 or to totally absent.5 The significance of the disagreement goes beyond the physiology and pathology of the transplanted heart. The sex-mismatched transplants make it possible to document and quantitate a process that it is likely to be part of normal cardiac homeostasis but it is otherwise not measurable in humans. Thus, it is not surprising that the differences in cardiac chimerism have been used to advance 2 different and competing views of heart homeostasis. We interpreted the high degree of chimerism in our specimens as further demonstration of myocyte turnover, where new myocytes replace lost ones, and as a particularly convincing proof for the formation of new myocytes in the adult human heart. Conversely, the low extent of myocyte chimerism seen by other groups has been used to question myocyte replication and to support their view that the myocardium is a terminally differentiated tissue incapable of undergoing meaningful regeneration.3,5⇓ These authors have relegated the few myocytes of host origin detected in their samples to the level of curiosities without clinical or biological import. The future direction of …
Epstein Barr Virus: Potential Immune Selection in Associated Cancers

The EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is expressed in most of the EBV-associated malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and immunosuppression-associated lymphoma. have been identified by distinguishing amino acids. We have identified seven sequence variants of LMP1 that can be distinguished using a heteroduplex tracking assay and have determined that most healthy individuals are infected with multiple strains of EBV. Striking differences were found between NPC and matching blood samples with one specific variant, China 1, prevalent in NPC samples and multiple other variants of LMP1 prevalent in the blood samples. The possible selection against some strains appearing in the tumor was highly significant with a p < 0.0001. Many of the LMP1 variants had changes in predicted HLA epitopes of various restrictions. The potential negative selection of the immune system on strains detected in the blood would be reflected in the striking predominance of the China 1 strain in the tumors. In lymphoma samples, changes were also frequently detected in known HLA-restricted epitopes of EBNA3A, 3B, or 3C, in addition to LMP1. Variation in potential immune recognition could contribute to the development of EBV-associated diseases in distinct populations and individuals. from 2005 International Meeting of The Institute of Human Virology Baltimore, USA, 29 August – 2 September 2005
A novel flow cytometric assay for measurement of In Vivo pulmonary neutrophil phagocytosis

Background Phagocytosis assays are traditionally performed in vitro using polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) isolated from peripheral blood or the peritoneum and heat-killed, pre-opsonized organisms. These assays may not adequately mimic the environment within the infected lung. Our laboratory therefore has developed a flow cytometric in vivo phagocytosis assay that enables quantification of PMN phagocytosis of viable bacteria within the lungs of rats. In these studies, rats are injected transtracheally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to recruit PMNs to their lungs. They are then infected with live 5(-and 6) carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFDA/SE) labeled type 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae. Bronchoalveolar lavage is performed and resident alveolar macrophages and recruited PMNs are labeled with monoclonal antibodies specific for surface epitopes on each cell type. Three color flow cytometry is utilized to identify the cell types, quantify recruitment, and determine uptake of the labeled bacteria.
Demonstration of a 16-sensor time-division-multiplexed Sagnac-interferometer-based acoustic sensor array with an amplified telemetry and a polarization-based biasing scheme

We have previously proposed the use of a Sagnac-interferometer in underwater acoustic sensor array applications. In these proposals, we described a configuration that passively desensitises the delay coil required by the Sagnac interferometer and passively eliminates polarization-induced signal fading (PISF). Additionally, an all-passive polarization-based biasing scheme that yields arbitrarily biased outputs was given. Here, we describe an experimental demonstration of a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) Sagnac-based array including all features described previously and supporting 16 individual sensors with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) telemetry.
A reexamination of the composition of diets associated with pellagra.

Diets described in historical studies of human pellagra, have been reexamined by using modern tables of nutrient composition. Five apparently pellagragenic diets from field studies were estimated to have niacin equivalents (NE) well in excess of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), i.e., 6.6 mg/1000 kcal. In these diets, the estimated contribution of riboflavin was below the RDA, i.e., 0.6 mg/1000 kcal. A series of trials of the pellagra-preventive value of different foods carried out by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1920 to 1936 used over 400 women subjects, of whom fifty developed signs of pellagra on diets now calculated to contribute 7.2-10.6 mg NE/1000 kcal. Most of these diets apparently had less than 60% of the RDA for riboflavin. Further calculations, assuming that the niacin in ordinary cereal foods has only 30% bioavailability, still left half of the pellagragenic diets apparently with more than the RDA for "available NE." Possible reasons for the apparent discrepancy between these results and the RDA's calculated from more recent controlled studies are discussed. It is suggested that the pellagra epidemic in the U.S.A. in the early 1900's has not yet been explained satisfactorily.
DARK MATTER HALO MERGERS: DEPENDENCE ON ENVIRONMENT

This paper presents a study of the specific major merger rate as a function of group membership, local environment, and redshift in a very large, 500 h^(–1) Mpc, cosmological N-body simulation, the Millennium Simulation. The goal is to provide environmental diagnostics of major merger populations in order to test simulations against observations and provide further constraints on major merger driven galaxy evolution scenarios. A halo sample is defined using the maximum circular velocity, which is both well defined for subhalos and closely correlated with galaxy luminosity. Subhalos, including the precursors of major mergers, are severely tidally stripped. Major mergers between subhalos are therefore rare compared to mergers between subhalos and their host halos. Tidal stripping also suppresses dynamical friction, resulting in long major merger timescales when the more massive merger progenitor does not host other subhalos. When other subhalos are present, however, major merger timescales are several times shorter. This enhancement may be due to inelastic unbound collisions between subhalos, which deplete their orbital angular momentum and lead to faster orbital decay. Following these results, we predict that major mergers in group environments are dominated by mergers involving the central galaxy, that the specific major merger rate is suppressed in groups when all group members are considered together, and that the frequency of fainter companions is enhanced for major mergers and their remnants. We also measure an "assembly bias" in the specific major merger rate in that major mergers of galaxy-like halos are slightly suppressed in overdense environments while major mergers of group-like halos are slightly enhanced. A dynamical explanation for this trend is advanced which calls on both tidal effects and interactions between bound halos beyond the virial radii of locally dynamically dominant halos.
Unilateral NMR applied to the conservation of works of art

In conventional NMR, samples from works of art in sizes above those considered acceptable in the field of art conservation would have to be removed to place them into the bore of large superconducting magnets. The portable permanent-magnet-based systems, by contrast, can be used in situ to study works of art, in a noninvasive manner. One of these portable NMR systems, NMR-MOUSE(R), measures the information contained in one pixel in an NMR image from a region of about 1 cm(2), which can be as thin as 2-3 microm. With such a high depth resolution, profiles through the structures of art objects can be measured to characterize the materials, the artists' techniques, and the deterioration processes. A novel application of the technique to study a deterioration process and to follow up a conservation treatment is presented in which micrometer-thick oil stains on paper are differentiated and characterized. In this example, the spin-spin relaxation T (2) of the stain is correlated to the iodine number and to the degree of cross-linking of the oil, parameters that are crucial in choosing an appropriate conservation treatment to remove them. It is also shown that the variation of T (2) over the course of treatments with organic solvents can be used to monitor the progress of the conservation interventions. It is expected that unilateral NMR in combination with multivariate data analysis will fill a gap within the set of high-spatial-resolution techniques currently available for the noninvasive analysis of materials in works of art, where procedures to study the inorganic components are currently far more developed than those suitable for the study of the organic components.
Temperature sensitivity of calcium binding for parvalbumins from Antarctic and temperate zone teleost fishes.

Abstract Parvalbumin (PV) is a soluble calcium-binding protein that is especially abundant in fast-twitch muscles of fish and other lower vertebrates. Despite its prevalence in ectothermic taxa, few data address the effects of temperature on PV binding function. In this study, calcium dissociation constants ( K D ) were measured as a function of temperature (0–25 °C) for PV from two Antarctic ( Gobionotothen gibberifrons and Chaenocephalus aceratus ) and two temperate zone fish species ( Cyprinus carpio and Micropterus salmoides ). Measurements by fluorometric competitive binding assay show that K D values for PVs from the Antarctic species were significantly higher at all assay temperatures and were less sensitive to temperature relative to carp and bass. However, estimates of K D are fundamentally similar for PVs from the Antarctic and temperate zone species when examined at their native physiological temperature. Variation in pH and ionic strength within a physiologically relevant range had only modest effects on K D . Thermodynamics of calcium binding to PV from G . gibberifrons and C . carpio was measured by isothermal microcalorimetry. When measured at 15 °C, the Gibbs free energy change (Δ G ) was significantly greater for calcium binding to PV from G . gibberifrons than from carp (−43.4±1.5 kJ mol −1 and −46.6±3.0 kJ mol −1 , respectively), and the relative contribution of entropy to Δ G for calcium binding to PV from the Antarctic species was about twice that of carp (Δ S =16.0±0.8 J °C −1 mol −1 for G . gibberifrons ; Δ S =7.5±0.8 J °C −1 mol −1 for C . carpio ).
Application of time frequency and wavelet analysis to the diagnosis of epilepsy

Wavelet transforms and time-frequency distributions are powerful techniques for analysis of nonstationary biomedical signals. This paper investigates three applications of these techniques to multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) for the diagnosis of epilepsy. Wavelet transforms are utilized to detect the onset of seizures at different sites of subdural electrodes, and to extract spike patterns from EEG data recorded from the scalp. Time-frequency distributions are applied to characterize the early activity of seizures.
Confusion and clairvoyance: some remarks on the composite hypothesis testing problem

This paper discusses issues related to the inherent ambiguity of the composite hypothesis testing problem, a problem that is central to the detection of target signals in cluttered backgrounds. In particular, the paper examines the recently proposed method of continuum fusion (which, because it combines an ensemble of clairvoyant detectors, might also be called clairvoyant fusion), and its relationship to other strategies for composite hypothesis testing. A specific example involving the affine subspace model adds to the confusion by illustrating irreconcilable differences between Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches to target detection.
The Herglotz–Zagier function, double zeta functions, and values of L-series

Abstract In this paper, we define L-series generalizing the Herglotz–Zagier function (Ber. Verhandl. Sachsischen Akad. Wiss. Leipzig 75 (3–14) (1923) 31, Math. Ann. 213 (1975) 153), and the double zeta function (First European Congress of Mathematics, Vol. II, Paris, 1992, pp. 497–512; Progress in Mathematics, Vol. 120, Birkhauser, Basel, 1994) and evaluate them after meromorphic continuation at integer points in their extended domains. This is accomplished in three steps. First, when α: Z → C is a periodic function and h(n)=∑ j=1 n j −1 are the harmonic numbers, we establish identities relating these series to the L-series H(α,s)= ∑ n=1 ∞ α(n)h(n)n −s , Re (s)>1, and the Dirichlet L-function. Second, we prove that H(α,s) has a meromorphic continuation to C and evaluate H(α,s) at s=−2l for each integer l⩾0 in terms of Hurwitz zeta functions, generalized Euler's constants, a finite sum, and zeta functions closely resembling the Hurwitz zeta function. Third, we combine steps one and two with well-known facts concerning the Dirichlet L-function to obtain the desired evaluations. Our results for H(α,s) generalize previous work of Apostol and Vu (J. Number Theory 19 (1) (1984) 85) in the case α is identically one with period one.
Enhancement of superconducting properties of Bi-based oxide high Tc thick films using nanosized crystals as flux-pinning centers

The use of nanosized crystals as flux-pinning centers to improve the critical current density (Jc) - magnetic field (H) dependence of Bi-oxide high transition temperature (Tc) superconducting thick films was studied. It is demonstrated that the controlled introduction of (Sr,Ca)14Cu24O41+x needle-like defects into Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x/Ag composite tapes improved the Jc in magnetic fields from 0 to 1 T from 20 – 60 K. The experimental data was also consistent with the inclusion flux-pinning model Jc = Const Vf/d, where the critical current density increases as the defect size is reduced or the volume fraction of defects is increased.
Correlations Among Yield and Composition of Milk of Angus-Holstein Cows and Consumption and Growth Rate of Progeny

Abstract Milk production of Angus-Holstein F 1 cows was greater than most previous estimates for cows of beef breeding. Milk consumption from pre- versus post-suckling weights, was more highly correlated (0.63, P
Comparing predicted estrogen concentrations with measurements in US waters

The range of exposure rates to the steroidal estrogens estrone (E1), beta-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and ethinyl estradiol (EE2) in the aquatic environment was investigated by modeling estrogen introduction via municipal wastewater from sewage plants across the US. Model predictions were compared to published measured concentrations. Predictions were congruent with most of the measurements, but a few measurements of E2 and EE2 exceed those that would be expected from the model, despite very conservative model assumptions of no degradation or in-stream dilution. Although some extreme measurements for EE2 may reflect analytical artifacts, remaining data suggest concentrations of E2 and EE2 may reach twice the 99th percentile predicted from the model. The model and bulk of the measurement data both suggest that cumulative exposure rates to humans are consistently low relative to effect levels, but also suggest that fish exposures to E1, E2, and EE2 sometimes substantially exceed chronic no-effect levels.
Promotion by 17β-estradiol and β-hexachlorocyclohexane of hepatocellular tumors in medaka, Oryzias latipes

Abstract A feature common to many laboratory and field studies with various fish species is a higher prevalence of hepatocellular neoplasia in females than in males. During female sexual maturation, endogenous estrogens stimulate substantial increases in synthetic activity, including production of vitellogenin and choriogenin and proliferation of hepatocytes. We tested the hypothesis that estrogens, either natural or xenobiotic, promote growth of hepatic preneoplastic lesions and tumors. Medaka (Oryzias latipes) were exposed to a low dose of the carcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN; 200 μg l−1 aqueous bath for 24 h) at 3 weeks of age, then fed purified casein-based diet or the same diet containing 17β-estradiol (E2; 0.01–10.0 μg g−1 dry diet) or a xenoestrogen, β-hexachlorocyclohexane (βHCH, 0.01–100.0 μg g−1 dry diet) daily from 1 to 7 months of age. Livers were removed, embedded in glycol methacrylate, step-sectioned, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and examined for foci of cellular alteration (FCA) and hepatocellular tumors. E2 increased prevalences of hepatocellular adenoma or carcinoma (26% in DEN plus 10 ppm E2 group versus 4.6% in DEN only group, P