cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Network-level connectivity is a critical feature distinguishing dystonic tremor and essential tremor

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle co-contractions that give rise to disabling movements and postures. A recent expert consensus labelled the incidence of tremor as a core feature of dystonia that can affect body regions both symptomatic and asymptomatic to dystonic features. We are only beginning to understand the neural network-level signatures that relate to clinical features of dystonic tremor. At the same time, clinical features of dystonic tremor can resemble that of essential tremor and present a diagnostic confound for clinicians. Here, we examined network-level functional activation and connectivity in patients with dystonic tremor and essential tremor. The dystonic tremor group included primarily cervical dystonia patients with dystonic head tremor and the majority had additional upper-limb tremor. The experimental paradigm included a precision grip-force task wherein online visual feedback related to force was manipulated across high and low spatial feedback levels. Prior work using this paradigm in essential tremor patients produced exacerbation of grip-force tremor and associated changes in functional activation. As such, we directly compared the effect of visual feedback on grip-force tremor and associated functional network-level activation and connectivity between dystonic tremor and essential tremor patient cohorts to better understand disease-specific mechanisms. Increased visual feedback similarly exacerbated force tremor during the grip-force task in dystonic tremor and essential tremor cohorts. Patients with dystonic tremor and essential tremor were characterized by distinct functional activation abnormalities in cortical regions but not in the cerebellum. We examined seed-based functional connectivity from the sensorimotor cortex, globus pallidus internus, ventral intermediate thalamic nucleus, and dentate nucleus, and observed abnormal functional connectivity networks in dystonic tremor and essential tremor groups relative to controls. However, the effects were far more widespread in the dystonic tremor group as changes in functional connectivity were revealed across cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar regions independent of the seed location. A unique pattern for dystonic tremor included widespread reductions in functional connectivity compared to essential tremor within higher-level cortical, basal ganglia, and cerebellar regions. Importantly, a receiver operating characteristic determined that functional connectivity z-scores were able to classify dystonic tremor and essential tremor with 89% area under the curve, whereas combining functional connectivity with force tremor yielded 94%. These findings point to network-level connectivity as an important feature that differs substantially between dystonic tremor and essential tremor and should be further explored in implementing appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Dissecting the Performance of Strongly-Consistent Replication Protocols

Many distributed databases employ consensus protocols to ensure that data is replicated in a strongly-consistent manner on multiple machines despite failures and concurrency. Unfortunately, these protocols show widely varying performance under different network, workload, and deployment conditions, and no previous study offers a comprehensive dissection and comparison of their performance. To fill this gap, we study single-leader, multi-leader, hierarchical multi-leader, and leaderless (opportunistic leader) consensus protocols, and present a comprehensive evaluation of their performance in local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). We take a two-pronged systematic approach. We present an analytic modeling of the protocols using queuing theory and show simulations under varying controlled parameters. To cross-validate the analytic model, we also present empirical results from our prototyping and evaluation framework, Paxi. We distill our findings to simple throughput and latency formulas over the most significant parameters. These formulas enable the developers to decide which category of protocols would be most suitable under given deployment conditions.
At the Intersection of Industry, Academia, and Government: How Do We Facilitate Productive Precision Livestock Farming in Practice?

This commentary is a comprehensive synthesis of ideas generated from a workshop, hosted by Iowa State University, encompassing precision livestock farming (PLF) research and applications for industry–academia. The goal of this workshop was to demonstrate existing institution research and strategically propel further PLF development and industry adoption. Six key thematic areas were identified from participant discussion: sensors and algorithms, implementation, economic feasibility, data, rural and societal impacts, and education and training. These themes were used to focus discussion on identifying the new knowledge needed to drive implementation and examine current and future challenges of implementing PLF. At the convergence of industry and academia sits a unique opportunity to create mutually beneficial relationships that accomplish the individual needs of all parties. Productive PLF is currently hindered by numerous technical and non-technical challenges, but an increasing demand and optimistic outlook may result in rapid producer adoption. To foster harmonious partnerships among industry, academia, and government, a nexus at the intersection of multiple disciplines and basic/applied sciences is needed to thrust future success.
Here I Fall: A Blunder in Roland Bainton's Here I Stand

The Atla listserv ATLANTIS handles a lot of reference “stumpers.” One such, posted on behalf of a research librarian writing from the Polish National Library in late 2014, sparked the historico-textual investigations out of which these findings emerged. Flagged is a serious blunder in one of the most famous biographies of Martin Luther ever written: Roland Bainton’s reproduction of what he should have known was an established forgery as “‘A Mighty Fortress’ in Luther’s Hand.” But there is more to the story than just this response to the question first posed by Dr. Tomasz Ososi?ski. Uncovered is not just the eighty years of debate over authenticity that Bainton overlooked, but a statement (and no less than four reproductions) to the contrary in the very authority he cites. Why did his colleagues in Germany, who may have been the only ones to catch the gaffe, do so very little to set the record straight, despite the extensive experience that they and their predecessors (including the duped scholar-librarians of the late 19th century) had had with Luther forgeries? The paper concludes with a comment on the present impact of this (as yet still uncorrected) “fake news” in print and online.
Swine slurry characteristics as affected by selected additives and disinfectants

Abstract Current swine industry practice is to house animals in confinement facilities which capture and store feces and urine as slurry in pits below the production area. Additives and disinfectants may be introduced into the manure pits. This study was conducted to measure the effects of additives and disinfectants on temporal changes in swine slurry characteristics. Slurry from a commercial swine production facility in southeast Nebraska, USA was collected and transferred to 57 L reactors located within a greenhouse. Selected additives and disinfectants were added to the reactors and physical properties, chemical characteristics, and antibiotic concentrations were monitored for 40 days. Concentrations of dry matter (DM), total nitrogen (TN), phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) were significantly greater than the Control in each of the reactors containing additives. The reactors in which the additives MOC-7, More Than Manure®, Sludge Away, and Sulfi-Doxx were introduced had significantly greater values of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total volatile solids (TVS), total suspended solids (TSS), total solids (TS), dry matter (DM), TN, P2O5, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and chlortetracycline than the other additive treatments. Concentrations of TVS and TSS were significantly lower in the reactors containing Clorox® and Virkon™ than the other disinfectant treatments. The total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 26,500 mg L−1 and pH value of 7.27 obtained for the reactors containing Tek-Trol were significantly greater than measurements obtained for the other treatments. Concentrations of chlortetracycline and tiamulin of 8840 and 28.8 ng g−1, respectively, were significantly lower for the treatments containing Tek-Trol. The sodium (Na) concentration of 1070 mg L−1 measured in the reactors containing Clorox® was significantly greater than values for the other disinfectant treatments. The introduction of selected additives and disinfectants may influence certain physical properties, chemical characteristics, and antibiotic concentrations of swine slurry.
An update on US Ebola treatment center personnel management and training.

Background In 2014, 56 US hospitals were designated as Ebola treatment centers (ETCs). ETCs had minimum augmented capability requirements for Ebola virus disease care, including for staffing and training. We sought to identify current ETC staffing challenges and frequency of staff retraining. Methods In May 2019, an electronic survey was distributed to representatives of the 56 ETCs. Results Sixty-six percent (37/56) of ETCs responded. Registered nurses comprised the majority of ETC staff. All responding units required orientation training (average = 15.21 hours) and all but one required retraining. Among the top challenges that ETCs reported to maintaining high-level isolation capabilities were staff training time, staff recruitment, staff retention, and training costs. Discussion Five years after ETC designation, units face staffing challenges. Research is lacking on the effective number of hours and optimal frequency of staff training. ETCs reported smaller staffing teams compared to our 2016 assessment, but team composition remains similar. As units continue to maintain capabilities with decreasing external support and attention, the need for retraining must be balanced with logistical constraints and competing demands for staff time. Conclusions Our study shows that US preparedness capabilities are reduced. More research, support, and funding are needed to sustain the unique knowledge and proficiency acquired by ETC teams to ensure domestic preparedness for highly hazardous communicable diseases.
Factors associated with 30-day soft tissue complications following upper extremity sarcoma surgery.

Background and objectives The incidence of soft tissue complications following sarcoma surgery in the upper extremity is reportedly high. Therefore, this study assessed the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database to identify independent risk factors, while also reporting the incidence of soft tissue complications in the first 30 days after surgery. Methods A total of 620 patients that underwent surgical treatment for upper extremity sarcoma were included from the NSQIP database. Soft tissue complications were defined as surgical site infection, wound dehiscence, or soft-tissue related reoperations. Clinically relevant patient and treatment characteristics were selected and analyzed. Results The 30-day soft tissue complication rate was 4.7%. In the multivariable analysis, higher body mass index (p = .047) and longer operative times (p = .002) were independently associated with soft tissue complications. Conclusions Higher body mass index and longer operative times are risk factors for soft tissue complications following upper extremity sarcoma surgery. The soft-tissue complication rate following resection of upper extremity tumors is low in this national cohort, possibly due to the relatively small tumor size and low prevalence of radiotherapy.
The mammalian efferent vestibular system utilizes cholinergic mechanisms to excite primary vestibular afferents.

Electrical stimulation of the mammalian efferent vestibular system (EVS) predominantly excites primary vestibular afferents along two distinct time scales. Although roles for acetylcholine (ACh) have been demonstrated in other vertebrates, synaptic mechanisms underlying mammalian EVS actions are not well-characterized. To determine if activation of ACh receptors account for efferent-mediated afferent excitation in mammals, we recorded afferent activity from the superior vestibular nerve of anesthetized C57BL/6 mice while stimulating EVS neurons in the brainstem, before and after administration of cholinergic antagonists. Using a normalized coefficient of variation (CV*), we broadly classified vestibular afferents as regularly- (CV* 0.1) and characterized their responses to midline or ipsilateral EVS stimulation. Afferent responses to efferent stimulation were predominantly excitatory, grew in amplitude with increasing CV*, and consisted of fast and slow components that could be identified by differences in rise time and post-stimulus duration. Both efferent-mediated excitatory components were larger in irregular afferents with ipsilateral EVS stimulation. Our pharmacological data show, for the first time in mammals, that muscarinic AChR antagonists block efferent-mediated slow excitation whereas the nicotinic AChR antagonist DHβE selectively blocks efferent-mediated fast excitation, while leaving the efferent-mediated slow component intact. These data confirm that mammalian EVS actions are predominantly cholinergic.
Principles of Investigation

The purpose of an investigation is to determine something; to find out what, why, and who. A researcher searches for something new, an advance in the field of study. A doctor determines a diagnosis...
Minian: An open-source miniscope analysis pipeline

Miniature microscopes have gained considerable traction for in vivo calcium imaging in freely behaving animals. However, extracting calcium signals from raw videos is a computationally complex problem and remains a bottleneck for many researchers utilizing single-photon in vivo calcium imaging. Despite the existence of many powerful analysis packages designed to detect and extract calcium dynamics, most have either key parameters that are hard-coded or insufficient step-by-step guidance and validations to help the users choose the best parameters. This makes it difficult to know whether the output is reliable and meets the assumptions necessary for proper analysis. Moreover, large memory demand is often a constraint for setting up these pipelines since it limits the choice of hardware. Given these difficulties, there is a need for a low memory demand, user-friendly tool offering interactive visualizations of how altering parameters affects data output. Our open-source analysis pipeline, Minian (Miniscope Analysis), facilitates the transparency and accessibility of single-photon calcium imaging analysis, permitting users with little computational experience to extract the location of cells and their corresponding calcium traces and deconvolved neural activities. Minian contains interactive visualization tools for every step of the analysis, as well as detailed documentation and tips on parameter exploration. Furthermore, Minian has relatively small memory demands and can be run on a laptop, making it available to labs that do not have access to specialized computational hardware. Minian has been validated to reliably and robustly extract calcium events across different brain regions and from different cell types. In practice, Minian provides an open-source calcium imaging analysis pipeline with user-friendly interactive visualizations to explore parameters and validate results.
CHIMERA: A 0.92 TOPS, 2.2 TOPS/W Edge AI Accelerator with 2 MByte On-Chip Foundry Resistive RAM for Efficient Training and Inference

CHIMERA is the first non-volatile deep neural network (DNN) chip for edge AI training and inference using foundry on-chip resistive RAM (RRAM) macros and no off-chip memory. CHIMERA achieves 0.92 TOPS peak performance and 2.2 TOPS/W. We scale inference to 6x larger DNNs by connecting 6 CHIMERAs with just 4% execution time and 5% energy costs, enabled by communication-sparse DNN mappings that exploit RRAM non-volatility through quick chip wakeup/shutdown (33 µs). We demonstrate the first incremental edge AI training which overcomes RRAM write energy, speed, and endurance challenges. Our training achieves the same accuracy as traditional algorithms with up to 283x fewer RRAM weight update steps and 340x better energy-delay product. We thus demonstrate 10 years of 20 samples/minute incremental edge AI training on CHIMERA.
Racial disparities in surgical management and outcomes of acute limb ischemia in the United States.

Background Although significant racial disparities in the surgical management of lower extremity critical limb threatening ischemia have been previously reported, data on disparities in lower extremity acute limb ischemia are lacking. Methods The 2012-2018 National Inpatient Sample was queried for all adult hospitalizations for acute limb ischemia (N = 225,180). Hospital-specific observed-to-expected rates of major lower extremity amputation were tabulated. Multivariable logistic and linear models were developed to assess the impact of race on amputation and revascularization. Results Nonwhite race was associated with significantly increased odds of overall (adjusted odds ratio: 1.16, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.28) and primary (adjusted odds ratio: 1.34, 95% confidence interval 1.17-1.53) major amputation, decreased odds of revascularization (adjusted odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.73-0.85), but decreased in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.74-0.99). The nonwhite group incurred increased adjusted index hospitalization costs (β: +$4,810, 95% confidence interval 3,280-6,350), length of stay (β: + 1.09 days, 95% confidence interval 0.70-1.48), and nonhome discharge (adjusted odds ratio: 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.26). Conclusion Significant racial disparities exist in the management of and outcomes of lower extremity acute limb ischemia despite correction for variations in hospital amputation practices and other relevant hospital and patient characteristics. Whether the etiology lies primarily in patient, institution, or healthcare provider-specific factors has not yet been determined. Further studies of race-based disparities in management and outcomes of acute limb ischemia are warranted to provide effective and equitable care to all.
Effects of Incoloy 903 and Tantalum Conduits on Critical Current in Nb3Sn Cable-in-Conduit Conductors

Strain sensitivity of the critical properties of Nb3Sn is well documented.1–3 In particular, the dependence of critical current on longitudinal strain becomes dramatic with increasing magnetic field.3 Therefore, any optimization of high field critical current in Nb3Sn composites must consider the longitudinal strain state as well as the microstructure of the superconductor. Microstructure is determined at the formation temperature, and the longitudinal strain state by cool-down from the formation temperature to the operating temperature, typically from 1000 K to 4.2 K. The residual longitudinal strain depends upon relative thermal contractions, volume fractions, elastic moduli and yield stresses of the various component materials that make up the Nb3Sn composite.4,5
Role of Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Carcinogenesis: Future Prospects

The role of Helicobacter pylori in human disease seems to become more complex as the scientific scrutiny intensifies. The original skepticism about the pathogenicity of the bacteria has largely been overcome. Few investigators or clinicians today doubt that H. pylori is an important cause of chronic gastritis. Since gastritis has been linked to gastric carcinoma in several epidemiologic studies, the role of H. pylori in gastric carcinogenesis is under scrutiny. So far, the epidemiologic findings have been remarkably consistent in favoring a causal relationship between this rather recently recognized bacteria and one of the oldest and more fatal neoplastic diseases of mankind.
Optimizing Bone Health in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness, with eventual loss of ambulation and premature death. The approved therapy with corticosteroids improves muscle strength, prolongs ambulation, and maintains pulmonary function. However, the osteoporotic impact of chronic corticosteroid use further impairs the underlying reduced bone mass seen in DMD, leading to increased fragility fractures of long bones and vertebrae. These serious sequelae adversely affect quality of life and can impact survival. The current clinical issues relating to bone health and bone health screening methods in DMD are presented in this review. Diagnostic studies, including biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), as well as spinal imaging using densitometric lateral spinal imaging, and treatment to optimize bone health in patients with DMD are discussed. Treatment with bisphosphonates offers a method to increase bone mass in these children; oral and intravenous bisphosphonates have been used successfully although treatment is typically reserved for children with fractures and/or bone pain with low bone mass by DXA.
Ultrastructure of a cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus affecting the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. I. Development of virus and normal polyhedra in the larva.

An account is given of the replication cycle of the virus and the development of normal polyhedra, as contrasted with a cubic mutation, in a cytoplasmic polyhedrosis affecting the larvae of Danaus plexippus, the monarch butterfly. The polyhedra are somewhat unusual being almost spherical and varying in size from very small to 5 μ in diameter. Two general lattice patterns were observed in the polyhedra, a dot pattern and a line pattern which are two views of the same crystal lattice. In the early stages of the disease a virogenic stroma forms in the cytoplasm in which the virus particles appear to develop. At a later stage what has been termed a crystallogenic matrix is produced which surrounds the developing polyhedra. Both contain virus particles but no normal cellular components. The crystallogenic matrix has many complete virus particles in it while the virogenic stroma has few complete, but many incomplete, particles present. The virus particle itself consists of a central electron-opaque core surrounded by a less dense capsid. The particle measures about 670 A in diameter, and the core, which may be hexagonal or pentagonal, measures about 350 A. There are 12 projections on the surface of the capsid measuring about 170 A in length, in section often six projections are visible forming a six-pointed star. An unusual feature is the presence of a “tail” extending from a vertex of the hexagon; the length of the tail is almost that of the diameter of the virus particle and is much longer than the regular projections. There is circumstantial evidence that the virus is transovarially transmitted.
Addition compounds of alkali metal hydrides : XVIII. Reaction of trialkylboranes with t-butyllithium. A general, convenient method for the preparation of lithium trialkylborohydrides

Abstract The reaction of t-butyllithium with representative trialkylboranes possessing widely differing steric requirements was examined. This reaction occurs rapidly in ether solvents, even at −78°C, with formation of the corresponding lithium trialkylborohydride in quantitative yield. This synthesis is highly general, accomodating even strongly hindered trialkylboranes such as tris( trans -2-methylcyclopentyl)borane and trisiamylborane. The only by-product is isobutylene, which is generally innocuous and easily removed. The lithium trialkylborohydrides were characterized by hydride analyses, infrared spectra, and 11 B NMR spectra. The formation of the trialkylborohydrides appears to be due to kinetic, rather than thermodynamic, factors. This reaction provides a highly general, facile, and quantitative route to the lithium trialkylborohydrides.
The role of neutron stars in the acceleration of cosmic rays.

Two cases of cosmic ray acceleration are considered, including the acceleration of the material from the surface of a neutron star and the acceleration of the material in an EM wave interaction with the supernova ejecta. It is assumed that the neutron star mass would probably be somewhat less than the limiting mass of white dwarf stars, 1.4 solar masses. It is found that neutron stars may be effective in accelerating helium and iron to the highest cosmic ray energies, and that at lower energies they may accelerate supernova debris into the cosmic ray fluxes throughout the galaxy.
How Can Central Asian Countries and Azerbaijan Become Emerging Market Economies?: Sustainable Recovery and Reform

The conventional way to become a developed "emerging market" has been to rely in large part on investments from high-income countries. This approach has failed, most obviously during the recent global financial crisis, and may not be feasible again for some years. Azerbaijan and five ex-Soviet Central Asian economies have been set back by the world economic crisis. As the recovery continues, these countries will be able to use the proceeds from their staple exports to expand their basic industries (energy, basic chemicals, and metals), but in order to attract diverse foreign investments, they could also make greater efforts to promote a diverse private sector. Besides credits and more predictable taxes, surveys show that private owners want and can benefit from better enforcement of property rights, reduced corruption, and easier access to regional and international markets. All the governments recognize these issues, but effective action has been halting. A possible alternative to promoting private enter...
Die Intel iPSC Systemfamilie

Die Intel iPSCR/2 und iPSC/860 Parallelrechner sind, mit weltweit mehr als 200 Systemen, eine der am weitest verbreiteten parallelen Rechnerarchitekturen mit verteiltem Speicher. Der Erfolg dieser Rechner ist begrundet auf ihrer einfachen Anwendung, der Wirtschaftlichkeit paralleler Topologien und der Supercomputer-Rechenleistung.
Mechanotransduction: The Elusive Hair Cell Transduction Channel Revealed?

Summary A family of transmembrane proteins has been shown to modulate both the calcium permeability and single-channel conductance of the vertebrate hair-cell mechanosensor, implicating them directly in inner ear mechanosensation.
Application of the Goldilocks Effect to the Design of Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Phenylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase: Balancing pKa and Steric Effects in the Optimization of 3-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline Inhibitors by β-Fluorination1

3-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (3-methyl-THIQs) are potent inhibitors of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT), but are not selective due to significant affinity for the α2-adrenoceptor. Fluorination of the methyl group lowers the pKa of the THIQ amine from 9.53 (CH3) to 7.88 (CH2F), 6.42 (CHF2), and 4.88 (CF3). This decrease in pKa results in a reduction in affinity for the α2-adrenoceptor. However, increased fluorination also results in a reduction in PNMT inhibitory potency, apparently due to steric and electrostatic factors. Biochemical evaluation of a series of 3-fluoromethyl-THIQs and 3-trifluoromethyl-THIQs showed that the former were highly potent inhibitors of PNMT, but were often nonselective due to significant affinity for the α2-adrenoceptor, while the latter were devoid of α2-adrenoceptor affinity, but also lost potency at PNMT. 3-Difluoromethyl-7-substituted-THIQs have the proper balance of both steric and pKa properties and thus have enhanced selectivity versus the corresp...
Variation in cost of total thyroidectomy across the United States, 2007 to 2008

BACKGROUND: Variation in cost of surgical care across state lines is poorly understood. We sought to examine state-level variation in wage-adjusted total cost (WATC) of a common surgical procedure. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing total thyroidectomy in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2007 to 2008). WATC was calculated from charges and adjusted for the area wage index. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to investigate the variation in WATC explained by variables at the patient, hospital, and state levels. RESULTS: We identified 11,058 eligible patients from 35 states. The overall mean WATC was $8,132; 37% of the WATC variance was because of differences across hospitals, whereas 28% was explained by patient-level factors and 8% because of differences across states. CONCLUSIONS: More than a quarter of the variation in cost of total thyroidectomy was not explained by patient-, hospital-, or state-level factors. Further research is needed to understand the unexplained residual variation.
Dark Adaptation Level and Duration of Testflash

Using a testfield subtending a visual angle of 5 degrees, dark adaptation functions were obtained with six test-exposures (1.0, 0.5, 0.1, 0.04, 0.02, and 0.01 sec) both from the central retina, and from the temporal parafovea. The functions for both retinal locations were found to vary systematically in relation to duration of testflash. With increasing test-exposure time, the final cone levels as well as the final rod levels are at lower threshold brightnesses. The sensitivity for a given test-exposure time is greater in the central retina than in the parafovea for the photopic range of vision, whereas the sensitivity for the scotopic range is greater in the parafovea than in the central retina.
New insight of ischemic postconditioning on stem cell therapy.

DOI of original article: 10.1016/j.jss.2012.0 * Corresponding author. Department of Surg 46202, USA. Tel.: þ1 317 274 0827; fax: þ1 31 E-mail address: meiwang@iupui.edu. 0022-4804/$ e see front matter a 2013 Elsev doi:10.1016/j.jss.2012.03.070 Restoration of blood flow to ischemic tissue is the gold standard in treatment of ischemic diseases but results in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. It is evident that I/R injury initiates complex cellular and molecular alterations, causing organ dysfunction and increasing morbidity and mortality. Therefore, decreasing I/R injury is a critical treatment strategy for limiting damage secondary to ischemia. Many clinicians and scientists have been devoting themselves to studying and developing efficient therapies on reducing I/R-induced damage in different tissues/organs. Among these, a protective approach termed ischemic postconditioning has received much attention because of its attractive clinical potential [1]. Postconditioning, defined as repetitive alterations of brief ischemia and reperfusion during the onset of reperfusion after sustained ischemia, represents a novel yet powerful protective approach [1,2]. Compared with preconditioning which requires the occurrence before ischemia and application of which is prevented in clinical practice owing to the unpredictability [3,4], postconditioning is an injury-induced protection from previous sustained injury and thus, affords possible clinical applications in the clinical settings of reperfusion and revascularization.
Informal Employment: Safety Net or Growth Engine?

Summary Is informal employment a safety net or a growth engine? To address this question, this paper studies the trends and cycles of informal employment. It first presents a theoretical model of long- and short-run behavior of informal labor. Then it analyzes these relationships empirically, using the share of self-employment in the labor force as the proxy for informal employment. In the long run, informality is larger when labor productivity is lower, government services weaker, and business flexibility less prevalent. In the short run, informal employment behaves counter-cyclically, indicating that it acts primarily as a safety net. The degree of counter-cyclicality, however, varies inversely with the size of informal labor itself.
Improving the measurement of self-reported medication nonadherence: Response to Authors

Corrine I. Voils*, Rick H. Hoyle, Carolyn T. Thorpe, Matthew L. Maciejewski, William S. Yancy Jr. Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 508 Fulton Street 152, Durham 27705, NC, USA Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Box 90086, 417 Chapel Drive, Durham 27708, NC, USA Department of Population Health Sciences, Health Innovation Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA Health Services Research and Development, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 508 Fulton Street 152, Durham 27705, NC, USA Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 508 Fulton Street 152, Durham 27705, NC, USA Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Structural effects in quasi-elastic light scattering from motile bacteria of E. coli.

An extensive study has been made of the angular dependence of the intensity as well as the quasi-elastic intensity correlation function of light scattered from a dilute suspension of E. Coli K12 bacteria in solution using the photon correlation technique. We have demonstrated that it is essential to consider the shape as well as the internal structure of bacteria in order to account fully for both the scattered intensity and the field self-correlation function as reduced from the intensity correlation function. The simple structure model previously proposed accounts well for both the intensity and diffusion data with a reasonable set of parameters. For the case of motile bacteria the observed field correlation function at small scattering angles is well represented by assuming a mixture of diffusive and straight line swimming motions of the bacteria. At larger scattering angles contributions of rotational motions become significant.
Formulas and Multiplicative Relationships for the Parameters of Subgroups of the Modular Group

I. Introduction Let F = PSL(2, Z) be the classical modular group. Let G be a subgroup off of finite index. The most important parameters associated with G are/~ =/~(G), the index of G; t = t(G), the number of parabolic classes of G; e2 = e2(G), the number of elliptic classes of order 2 of G; e3 = e3 (G), the number of elliptic classes of order 3 of G; and g=g(G), the genus of G. These are not independent but are related by the formula bt t e 2 e 3 g= 1 + 12 2 4 3 ' (1) which is just the hyperbolic area formula. The point of view we take here is the following: we assume that a left coset decomposition for F modulo G is known. From this decomposition, we determine the parameters described above. We then apply these results to the case of congruence groups, and prove that/~, t, e2, e3 are multiplicative arithmetic functions (in a well-defined sense) of the level. Finally, we mention briefly some applications to the determination of congruence groups with various restrictions imposed on the parameters; for example, with a fixed number of parabolic classes. If f2 = SL(2, Z) and ~0 is the natural homomorphism of t2 modulo its center C = {I, - I}, then
Vesicle penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C. Apparent identity with the plasma membrane enzyme.

Abstract A substantial fraction of the total membrane penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C is attached to the vesicles released during conversion of the cells to protoplasts. This enzyme was purified since there was indirect evidence that it differed from the enzyme that remained with the protoplast. The purified vesicle penicillinase has the same molecular weight and general properties as the plasma membrane (protoplast) enzyme and, similarly, contains a covalently linked phosphatidylserine residue. Treatment of the two enzymes with trypsin produced phosphatidylserine-containing peptides which could not be distinguished by gell or paper electrophoresis. The two membrane penicillinases are very similar, if not identical.
Simulation and sensitivity of linear analog circuits under parameter variations by Robust interval analysis

An interval-mathematic approach is presented for frequency-domain simulation and sensitivity analysis of linear analog circuits under parameter variations. With uncertain parameters represented as intervals, bounding frequency-domain responses is formulated as the problem of solving systems of linear interval equations. The formulation is based on a variant of modified nodal analysis, and is particularly amenable to interval analysis. Some characterization of the solution sets of systems of linear interval equations are derived. With these characterizations, an elegant and efficient algorithm is proposed to solve systems of linear interval equations. While the widely used Monte Carlo approach requires many circuit simulations to achieve even moderate accuracy, the computational cost of the proposed approach is about twice that of one circuit simulation. The computed response bounds contain provably, or are usually very close to, the actual response bounds. Further, sensitivity under parameter variations can be computed from the response bounds at minor computational cost. The algorithms are implemented in SPICE3F5, using sparse-matrix techniques and tested on several practical analog circuits.
The Duffing Double Scroll

The piecewise nonlinearity of Chua's double scroll system is replaced with a cubic nonlinearity. This nonlinearity is analogous to that of the Duffing equation. It is shown through simulation studies that the resulting system responds in a qualitatively similar manner to Chua's system. Other systems with cubic feedback are discussed.
On homological coherence of discrete groups

Abstract We explore a weakening of the coherence property of discrete groups studied by F. Waldhausen. The new notion is defined in terms of the coarse geometry of groups and should be as useful for computing their K -theory. We prove that a group Γ of finite asymptotic dimension is weakly coherent. In particular, there is a large collection of R [ Γ ]-modules of finite homological dimension when R is a finite-dimensional regular ring. This class contains word-hyperbolic groups, Coxeter groups and, as we show, the cocompact discrete subgroups of connected Lie groups.
Extent of wall motion abnormalities with cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging overestimates the degree of coronary artery disease in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

Background Patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (CMP) often develop regional wall motion abnormalities (WMA) due to myocardial scarring, stunning or hibernation. Abnormal functioning myocardial segments without evidence of fibrosis on late gadolinium-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) are felt to represent stunned or hibernating myocardium, presumably with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in the vessel supplying the region. We analyzed the association between segmental wall motion abnormalities (WMA) and underlying CAD in ischemic CMP. Methods 53 consecutive patients referred for LGE-CMR with recent coronary angiography ( 50% transmural LGE, consistent with larger extent of WMA compared to LGE. No significant correlations were found between segments with any WMA and >50% transmural LGE (r= 0.05, p=0.71.). Of the 53 patients with ischemic CMP by LGE-CMR, 47 patients (89%) had documented coronary artery disease by angiography. There was no significant correlation between number of vessels with severe stenoses (>70%) and any WMA (r=0.19, p=0.18). Additionally, the number of segments with evidence of any WMA was more extensive than number of segments supplied by severe stenoses. Conclusions
Generation of a square wave inductively coupled plasma scanning mass spectrometry signal using electrothermal vaporization sample introduction

A device was designed to convert the typical skewed gaussian shaped signal from an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) using electrothermal vaporization (ETV) into a square wave signal. The basis for such a transformation is centered on the assumption that the aerosol particles produced from ETV are aerodynamically small, and thus, have diffusive properties similar to gases, which makes them easy to mix and resistant to loss by settling. The ETV square wave signals were generated through the use of a stainless steel cylinder equipped with a motor driven piston assembly, which was used to trap the transient ETV signal and deliver a uniform density aerosol to the ICP-MS. The length of the signal was controlled by the rate of travel of the piston during expulsion of the sample aerosol. A constant flow rate was achieved and maintained using a pressure sensor feedback to the motor driving the piston. The system was evaluated by quantitative full mass scans on a variety of signal shapes including square wave signals, normal ETV signals, and broadened ETV signals generated with the use of a single bead string reactor (SBSR). The square wave signals yielded precisions for quantitative full mass scans of better than 10% RSD for most metals compared to approximately 15% for SBSR broadened signals and 40% for normal signals. The improved precision was attributed to an increased duty cycle, but the increase did not become significant until more than 100 masses were monitored due to the relatively small amount of “temporal overhead time” (fly-back time, amplifier settling time, etc.) relative to data collection periods. Because the ETV generated aerosol consists of aerodynamically small particles, there was only a minimal decrease (<2–11%) in the integrated signal area as a result of using the square wave generator.
MSI-78, an Analogue of the Magainin Antimicrobial Peptides, Disrupts Lipid Bilayer Structure via Positive Curvature Strain

In this work, we present the first characterization of the cell lysing mechanism of MSI-78, an antimicrobial peptide. MSI-78 is an amphipathic α-helical peptide designed by Genaera Corporation as a synthetic analog to peptides from the magainin family. 31P-NMR of mechanically aligned samples and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study peptide-containing lipid bilayers. DSC showed that MSI-78 increased the fluid lamellar to inverted hexagonal phase transition temperature of 1,2-dipalmitoleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine indicating the peptide induces positive curvature strain in lipid bilayers. 31P-NMR of lipid bilayers composed of MSI-78 and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine demonstrated that the peptide inhibited the fluid lamellar to inverted hexagonal phase transition of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine, supporting the DSC results, and the peptide did not induce the formation of nonlamellar phases, even at very high peptide concentrations (15 mol %). 31P-NMR of samples containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine and MSI-78 revealed that MSI-78 induces significant changes in the bilayer structure, particularly at high peptide concentrations. At lower concentrations (1–5%), the peptide altered the morphology of the bilayer in a way consistent with the formation of a toroidal pore. Higher concentrations of peptide (10–15%) led to the formation of a mixture of normal hexagonal phase and lamellar phase lipids. This work shows that MSI-78 induces significant changes in lipid bilayers via positive curvature strain and presents a model consistent with both the observed spectral changes and previously published work.
The effect of immunization on the uptake of intratracheally administered antigen.

Abstract The purpose of this study in rabbits was to evaluate the effect of immunization on the uptake of intratracheally administered 125I-labeled ovalbumin (OA) into the circulation. Immunization reduced the amount of trichloroacetic acid-precipitible antigen entering the circulation: this suppression of antigen uptake did not appear to be due to increased systemic clearance of immune complexes. The reduction of antigen appearance in the blood could largely be accounted for by factors in serum, presumably antibodies, since the reaction was immunologically specific and was transferrable to normal recipients with immune serum. The rate of antigen uptake into the blood, expressed as an appearance velocity, was reduced approximately four-fold in immunized animals compared to normal animals. In addition to reducing the uptake of OA through the lung, immunization also appeared to cause greater catabolism of the antigen in the lung.
Understanding Racial Disparities in Treatment Intensification for Hypertension Management

Background Disparities in blood pressure (BP) control may be a function of disparities in treatment intensification (TI).
FOLIAR TRICHOMES OF PLEUROTHALLIDINAE (ORCHIDACEAE): FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

Foliar surfaces of nine pleurothallid orchids (Cryptophoranthus lepidotus L. 0. Wms., Octomeria sp., Pleurothallis pidax Luer, P. poeppigii Lindl., P. revoluta (Ruiz & Pav.) Garay, Restrepiella ophiocephala (Lindl.) Garay & Dunsterv., Restrepia muscifera Rchb. f. ex Lindl., Scaphosepalum rapax Luer, Stelis endresii Rchb. f.), four nonpleurothallid orchids (Cyrtopodium punctatum (L.) Lindl., Encyclia cochleata (L.) Lemee, E. tampensis-(Lindl.) Small, Paphiopedilum hybrid) and five tillandsioid bromeliads (Catopsis nutans (Sw.) Griseb., Tillandsia fasciculata Sw., T. streptophylla Scheidw., T. stricta Soland., T. tectorum E. Morr.) were assayed for permeability to Ca, S and P ions. Compared to leaves of the atmospheric bromeliads, those of the orchids proved less permeable to Ca and S. Moisture exchange profiles were determined for two of the bromeliads and three orchids; bromeliad 1eaves were able to rehydrate completely, orchid leaves only partially. Absorptive capacities of trichomes bome by five taxa were tested by autoradiographic analysis. Unlike bromeliad trichomes, those of the orchids exhibited no capacity to accumulate 3H-leucine. These results and other considerations described here suggest that, unlike tillandsioid bromeliads, neither the pleurothallid nor the nonpleurothallid orchids
Cyclic expression of a growth conditioning factor (MGF) on the cell surface.

THE cell surface has been implicated as a regulation site for cell division in various systems. Enzymatic alteration of the cell surface can initiate DNA synthesis in contact inhibited cells1–3 and changes in membrane components have been correlated with the expression of the transformed phenotype4–10 and with the entry into the S phase of normal cells11. We describe here a system in which the induction into DNA synthesis of a non-dividing cell population is regulated by a factor exteriorised only during the S and mitosis periods at the surface of the producer cells.
Improved LMI conditions for H ∞ output feedback stabilization of linear discrete-time systems

The problem of H∞ output feedback control for discrete-time systems is investigated in this paper. The main contribution is to provide a uniform framework for generating sufficient linear matrix inequality conditions. Those conditions are classified into two parallel parts based on the way of slack variable selection. Moreover, it is shown that the existing result is a special case of the new conditions by taking few of the additional free matrix parameters to be zero. This directly leads to more flexibility and less conservativeness in the H∞ output feedback control design. Numerical examples are carried out for illustration.