cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Duplications that suppress and deletions that restore expression from a chalcone synthase multigene family

Seed coat color in soybean is determined by four alleles of the classically defined / (inhibitor) locus that controls the presence or absence as well as the spatial distribution of anthocyanin pigments in the seed coat. By analyzing spontaneous mutations of the / locus, we demonstrated that the / locus is a region of chalcone synthase (CHS) gene duplications. Paradoxically, deletions of CHS gene sequences allow higher levels of CHS mRNAs and restore pigmentation to the seed coat. The unusual nature of the / locus suggests that its dominant alleles may represent naturally occurring examples of homology-dependent gene silencing and that the spontaneous deletions erase the gene-silencing phenomena. Specifically, mutations from the dominant ii allele (yellow seed coats with pigmented hila) to the recessive i allele (fully pigmented) can be associated with the absence of a 2.3-kb Hindlll fragment that carries CHS4, a member of the multigene CHS family. Seven independent mutations exhibit deletions in the CHS4 promoter region. The dominant / allele (yellow seed coats) exhibits an extra 12.1-kb Hindlll fragment that hybridizes with both the CHS coding region and CHS1 promoter-specific probes. Mutations of the dominant / allele to the recessive i allele (pigmented seed coats) give rise to 10.4- or 9.6-kb Hindlll CHS fragments that have lost the duplicated CHS1 promoter. Finally, gene expression analysis demonstrated that heterozygous plants (I/i) with yellow seed coats have reduced mRNA levels, indicating that the 12.1-kb Hindlll CHS fragment associated with the dominant / allele inhibits pigmentation in a trans-dominant manner. Moreover, CHS gene-specific expression in seed coats shows that multiple CHS genes are expressed in seed coats.
Inclusion of the E3 Region in an Adenoviral Vector Decreases Inflammation and Neointima Formation After Arterial Gene Transfer

Adenoviral vectors are promising agents for vascular gene transfer. Their use, however, is limited by inflammatory host responses, neointima formation, and brevity of transgene expression. Inclusion of the immunomodulatory adenoviral E3 genes in a vector might prevent inflammation and neointima formation and prolong transgene expression. We compared 2 adenoviral vectors in a model of in vivo gene transfer to rabbit arteries. Both vectors expressed a luciferase reporter gene. One vector (AdE3Luc) contained the adenovirus early 3 (E3) region and the other (AdRSVLuc) lacked E3. Expression of E3 genes by AdE3Luc was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. Arteries transduced with AdE3Luc had substantially and significantly less inflammation (fewer T cells and lower levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression) and decreased neointima formation 14 days after gene transfer. Luciferase expression from the 2 vectors was equivalent, however, at both 3 and 14 days after gene transfer. Expression of E3 had no systemic immunosuppressive effects, as measured by peripheral blood counts and by assays for serum antibodies to adenovirus. We conclude that expression of E3 significantly decreases adenovirus-induced arterial wall inflammation and neointima formation. Because inflammation and neointima formation are major barriers to the clinical application of adenoviral vectors, use of E3-containing vectors improves the promise of adenovirus-mediated arterial gene transfer.
Benefit-risk assessment of Rosuvastatin 10 to 40 milligrams.

The aim of this article is to examine the benefit-risk profile of rosuvastatin at doses of 10 to 40 mg. In dyslipidemic patients, rosuvastatin produced markedly greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and equivalent or greater improvements in various lipid measures, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides when compared with atorvastatin, simvastatin, and pravastatin. In addition, rosuvastatin is more effective than these statins in allowing patients to reach National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III and Joint European Societies LDL cholesterol goals. The safety profile of rosuvastatin was reviewed (as of April 2003) in 12,569 patients, representing 14,231 patient-years of treatment at doses up to 80 mg. In controlled trials, rosuvastatin 10 to 40 mg demonstrated a similar adverse event profile to those for atorvastatin 10 to 80 mg, simvastatin 10 to 80 mg, and pravastatin 10 to 40 mg. Myopathy (defined as muscle symptoms plus serum creatine kinase levels >10 times the upper limit of normal) attributed to rosuvastatin occurred in ≤0.03% of patients receiving rosuvastatin 10 to 40 mg. No cases of rhabdomyolysis occurred in patients receiving rosuvastatin 10 to 40 mg. Clinically significant alanine aminotransferase elevations occurred in 0.2% of patients receiving rosuvastatin and those receiving atorvastatin, simvastatin, and pravastatin. Compared with other widely used statins, the benefit-risk profile of rosuvastatin 10 to 40 mg appears to be very favorable.
Interrupted energy transfer: highly selective detection of cyclic ketones in the vapor phase.

We detail our efforts toward the selective detection of cyclic ketones, e.g. cyclohexanone, a component of plasticized explosives. Thin films comprised of a conjugated polymer are used to amplify t...
Aspects and considerations for power electronics and computer-aided simulation

Certain aspects of computer-aided simulation as applied to power electronics are considered. These include: needs and expectations; simulation program selection considerations; model libraries and modeling capabilities; computational considerations and convergence difficulties; behavioral models and desirable features and capabilities of simulators. >
Bayesian modeling of joint and conditional distributions

In this paper, we study a Bayesian approach to exible modeling of conditional distributions. The approach uses a exible model for the joint distribution of the dependent and independent variables and then extracts the conditional distributions of interest from the estimated joint distribution. We use a nite mixture of multivariate normals (FMMN) to estimate the joint distribution. The conditional distributions can then be assessed analytically or through simulations. The discrete variables are handled through the use of latent variables. The estimation procedure employs an MCMC algorithm. We provide a characterization of the Kullback{Leibler closure of FMMN and show that the joint and conditional predictive densities implied by FMMN model are consistent estimators for a large class of data generating processes with continuous and discrete observables. The method can be used as a robust regression model with discrete and continuous dependent and independent variables and as a Bayesian alternative to semi- and non-parametric models such as quantile and kernel regression. In experiments, the method compares favorably with classical nonparametric and alternative Bayesian methods.
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH DIHYDROTACHYSTEROL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF IDIOPATHIC HYPOCALCEMIA12

SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION in 1933 (1) considerable attention has been given the product dihydrotachysterol or A.T.Io (antitetanisches Praparat Nr.Io). Holt (2, 3) found it would relieve the tetany in parathyroidectomized animals and keep the blood calcium apparently normal, and the literature contains a number of articles attesting to its effectiveness in the treatment of hypocalcemia of hypoparathyroidism (4–28). The reports in the American literature dealing with the clinical use of dihydrotachysterol are still few in number. Hence, it was felt desirable to report our clinical expert ence with the preparation in the management of a case of idiopathic hypecalcemia, probably of hypoparathyroid origin.2 History. A 54 year old Jewish housewife was admitted to the Jewish Hospital on November 28, 1938. Twelve years prior to admission she had experienced rather sudden spontaneous menopausal changes with which were associated few symptoms. However, complaints such as tiredness, weakness, ‘dragging down’ feeling an...
On determination of material parameters from loading and unloading responses in nanoindentation with a single sharp indenter

This paper quantitatively describes the loading-unloading response in nanoindentation with sharp indenters using scaling analyses and finite element simulations. Explicit forward and inverse scaling functions for an indentation unloading have been obtained and related to those functions for the loading response [L. Wang et al., J. Material Res. 20(4), 987–1001 (2005)]. The scaling functions have been obtained by fitting the large deformation finite element simulations and are valid from the elastic to the full plastic indentation regimes. Using the explicit forward functions for loading and unloading, full indentation responses for a wide range of materials can be obtained without use of finite element calculations. The corresponding inverse scaling functions allow one to obtain material properties from the indentation measurements. The relation between the work of indentation and the ratio between hardness and modulus has also been studied. Using these scaling functions, the issue of nonuniqueness of the determination of material modulus, yield stress, and strain-hardening exponent from nanoindentation measurements with a single sharp indenter has been further investigated. It is shown that a limited material parameter range in the elastoplastic regime can be defined where the material modulus, yield stress, and strain-hardening exponent may be determined from only one full indentation response. The error of such property determination from scattering in experimental measurements is determined.
Contribution of evanescent waves to the far field: the atomic point of view.

Evanescent modes of the electromagnetic field are seldom invoked in conventional far-field optics, as their contribution far from the source (a few wavelengths) is negligible. Contradicting this fact, in recent theoretical works, based on a particular decomposition of the free-space Green tensor, it has been asserted that evanescent waves do indeed contribute to the far field, where they appear as an additional ∼1/r component of the field. We provide an explicit demonstration that evanescent modes do not contribute to the power radiated to the far field by any dipolar source. First we derive an expression for the free-space field susceptibility in which contributions from evanescent and homogeneous modes are separated, and then we use linear response theory to compute the decay rate for an atomic dipole in vacuum.
Hormones and acoustic communication in anuran amphibians

5 Synopsis Circulating hormone levels can mediate changes in the quality of courtship signals by males and/or mate choice by females and may thus play an important role in the evolution of courtship signals. Costs associated with shifts in hormone levels of males, for example, could effectively stabilize directional selection by females on male signals. Alternatively, if hormone levels affect the selection of mates by females, then variation in hormone levels among females could contribute to the maintenance of variability in the quality of males’ signals. Here, I review what is known regarding 10 the effects of hormone levels on the quality of acoustic signals produced by males and on the choice of mates by females in anuran amphibians. Surprisingly, despite the long history of anuran amphibians as model organisms for studying acoustic communication and physiology, we know very little about how variation in circulating hormone levels contributes to variation in the vocal quality of males. Proposed relationships between androgen levels and vocal quality depicted in recent models, for example, are subject to the same criticisms raised for similar models proposed in relation 15 to birds, namely that the evidence for graded effects of androgens on vocal performance is often weak or not rigorously tested and responses seen in one species are often not observed in other species. Although several studies offer intriguing support for graded effects of hormones on calling behavior, additional comparative studies will be required to understand these relationships. Recent studies indicate that hormones may also mediate changes in anuran females’ choice of mates, suggesting that the hormone levels of females can influence the evolution of males’ mating signals. No studies to date 20 have concurrently addressed the potential complexity of hormone–behavior relationships from the perspective of sender as well as receiver, nor have any studies addressed the costs that are potentially associated with changes in circulating hormone levels in anurans (i.e., life-history tradeoffs associated with elevations in circulating androgens in males). The mechanisms involved in hormonally induced changes in signal production and selectivity also require further investigation. Anuran amphibians are, in many ways, conducive to investigating such questions.
Multivariant finite elements for three-dimensional simulation of viscous incompressible flows

Within multivariant elements, which have restricted degrees of freedom at some nodes, different velocity components have different variations. Shape functions for the multivariant elements Q Po and R Po are developed. With such shape functions the value of a velocity component within a multivariant element is shown to depend upon all the independent components of velocity at the nodes of the element. The use of the Q1 P0 element to simulate flows with discontinuous boundary conditions generated disturbance throughout the flow domain, giving erroneous pressure and velocity distributions. The Q Po element restricted the disturbance due to such discontinuities to a small region near the singular points, whereas the P Po element completely eliminated the fluctuations. Flows with discontinuous boundary conditions were simulated with reasonable accuracy by partially relaxing the no-slip condition on the Q1 Po elements near the singular points.
Obstructed or Malpositioned Urethral Catheter Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Unanticipated renal failure may be induced by an obstructed urethral catheter that was a component of complex management or difficult insertion. Two patients with new-onset uremia due to obstructed urethral catheters evinced rapid return of renal function when their blocked catheters were replaced.
Impact of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay on the global expression profile of budding yeast.

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a eukaryotic mechanism of RNA surveillance that selectively eliminates aberrant transcripts coding for potentially deleterious proteins. NMD also functions in the normal repertoire of gene expression. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, hundreds of endogenous RNA Polymerase II transcripts achieve steady-state levels that depend on NMD. For some, the decay rate is directly influenced by NMD (direct targets). For others, abundance is NMD-sensitive but without any effect on the decay rate (indirect targets). To distinguish between direct and indirect targets, total RNA from wild-type (Nmd+) and mutant (Nmd−) strains was probed with high-density arrays across a 1-h time window following transcription inhibition. Statistical models were developed to describe the kinetics of RNA decay. 45% ± 5% of RNAs targeted by NMD were predicted to be direct targets with altered decay rates in Nmd− strains. Parallel experiments using conventional methods were conducted to empirically test predictions from the global experiment. The results show that the global assay reliably distinguished direct versus indirect targets. Different types of targets were investigated, including transcripts containing adjacent, disabled open reading frames, upstream open reading frames, and those prone to out-of-frame initiation of translation. Known targeting mechanisms fail to account for all of the direct targets of NMD, suggesting that additional targeting mechanisms remain to be elucidated. 30% of the protein-coding targets of NMD fell into two broadly defined functional themes: those affecting chromosome structure and behavior and those affecting cell surface dynamics. Overall, the results provide a preview for how expression profiles in multi-cellular eukaryotes might be impacted by NMD. Furthermore, the methods for analyzing decay rates on a global scale offer a blueprint for new ways to study mRNA decay pathways in any organism where cultured cell lines are available.
Asymmetric dynamics in optimal variance adaptation

It has long been recognized that sensory systems adapt to their inputs. Here we formulate the problem of optimal variance estimation for a broad class of nonstationary signals. We show that under weak assumptions, the Bayesian optimal causal variance estimate shows asymmetric dynamics: an abrupt increase in variance is more readily detectable than an abrupt decrease. By contrast, optimal adaptation to the mean displays symmetric dynamics when the variance is held fixed. After providing several empirical examples and a simple intuitive argument for our main result, we prove that optimal adaptation is asymmetrical in a broad class of model environments. This observation makes specific and falsifiable predictions about the time course of adaptation in neurons probed with certain stimulus ensembles.
The Wages of Food Factories 1

The goal of modern, industrial agriculture has become the production of large quantities of uniform products at the cheapest price. Emblematic of these trends, and in many ways responsible for them, is the meat and poultry industry, which has led American agribusiness's headlong plunge into vertical integration and contract farming. Through restructuring, it has managed to externalize many of its costs and impose them on job-hungry small towns in the Midwest and South. The meat and poultry industry, and the food factories that produce and process its products, impose needless harm on animals, land, workers, and communities. This article examines the consequences of industrial food production and processing and suggests possible public policies and actions to mitigate the harmful effects of food factories.
Information search: the intersection of visual and semantic space

In the context of an information search task, does the visual salience of items interact with information scent? That is, do things like bold headlines or highlighted phrases interact with local semantic cues about the usefulness of distal sources of information? Most research on visual search and highlighting has used stimuli with no semantic content, while studies on information search have assumed equal visual salience of items in the search space. In real information environments like the Web, however, these things do not occur in isolation. Thus, we used a laboratory study to examine how these factors interact. The almost perfectly additive results imply that good information scent cannot overcome poor visual cues, or vice versa, and that both factors are equally important.
Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia, Cervical Cancer, and HPV

Major progress has been made to control cervical cancer in the United States and Europe using screening programs, although it remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. The association between cervical cancer and a sexually transmissible etiologic agent was hypothesized long before identification of human papillomaviruses (HPV) as agents that infected the genital tract. HPVs are among the most common sexually transmitted agents and have been shown to induce several squamous anogenital cancers, including squamous cell cancer of the cervix. After an etiologic role for HPV was identified in cervical cancer and CIN, efforts to understand the molecular biology of HPV were greatly expanded, enhanced by the advent of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) probes to identify HPV infection. Recent research has focused on specific types of HPV in relation to other recognized risk factors in the pathogenesis of CIN and invasive cervical cancer.
Do Pollinators Contribute to Nutritional Health

Despite suggestions that animal pollinators are crucial for human nutritional health, no studies have actually tested this claim. Here, we combined data on crop pollination requirements, food nutrient densities, and actual human diets to predict the effects of pollinator losses on the risk of nutrient deficiency. In four developing countries and across five nutrients, we found that 0 to 56% of populations would become newly at risk if pollinators were removed. Increases in risk were most pronounced for vitamin A in populations with moderate levels of total nutrient intake. Overall, the effects of pollinator decline varied widely among populations and nutrients. We conclude that the importance of pollinators to human nutrition depends critically on the composition of local diets, and cannot be reliably predicted from global commodity analyses. We identify conditions under which severe health effects of pollinator loss are most likely to occur.
Projective-Type Differential Invariants for Curves and Their Associated Pdes of Kdv Type

In this paper we present an overview of the direct relation between differential invariants of projective type for curves in flat semisimple homegenous spaces and PDEs of KdV type. We describe the progress in the proof of a conjectured Theorem stating that for any such space there are geometric evolutions of curves that induce completely integrable evolutions on their invariants of projective-type. The Theorem also states that these evolutions decouple always into either complexly coupled KdV equations (conformai type), decoupled KdV equations (Lagrangian type) or Adler-Gelfand-Dikii generalized KdV types (projective type). The paper also describes the fundamental role of group-based moving frames in this study.
Circulating multimarker profile of patients with symptomatic heart failure supports enhanced fibrotic degradation and decreased angiogenesis.

AbstractBackground: Heart failure (HF) involves myocardial fibrosis and dysregulated angiogenesis.Objective: We explored whether biomarkers of fibrosis and angiogenesis correlate with HF severity.Methods: Biomarkers of fibrosis [procollagen types I and III (PIP and P3NP), carboxyterminal-telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), matrix metalloproteases (MMP2 and MMP9), tissue inhibitor of MMP1 (TIMP1)]; and angiogenesis [placental growth factor (PGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1)] were measured in 52 HF patients and 19 controls.Results: P3NP, ICTP, MMP2, TIMP1, PGF, and sFlt1 levels were elevated in HF, while PIP/ICTP, PGF/sFlt1, and VEGF/sFlt1 ratios were reduced. PIP/ICTP, MMP-9/TIMP1, and VEGF/sFlt1 ratios were lowest among patients with severe HF.Conclusions: Severe HF is associated with collagen breakdown and reduced angiogenesis. A multimarker approach may guide therapeutic targeting of fibrosis and angiogenesis in HF.
Tumors and Tumor-Like Conditions of the Skin

Tumors and tumor-like conditions of the skin are not uncommon in the fetus and infant and include a wide variety of entities (Table 5.1). Vascular lesions, hemangioma and lymphangioma, are by far the most prevalent, but other conditions such as congenital melanocytic nevi, cutaneous hamartomas, and neoplastic-like infiltrations occur as well [1–8].
The extra-osseous and intra-osseous blood supply of the talus.

The talus is supplied with blood by the three main arteries of the leg through a periosteal vascular network and also by two discrete vessels, the artery of the tarsal sinus arising from the dorsolateral arteries and the artery of the tarsal canal arising from the posterior tibial artery. At dissection an artery of the tarsal sinus was found in five specimens, and an artery of the tarsal canal was found in thirteen specimens. The intra-osseous vascular pattern was visible in all specimens after decalcification, sectioning, and clearing by the Spalteholz technique. The head is supplied by vessels entering from the superior surface of the neck and the inferolateral aspect of the neck which faces the tarsal sinus. The body is mainly supplied by vessels which enter antero-inferiorly through the neck of the talus and by vessels which enter through the medial surface below the articular facet. Smaller vessels enter the body from the superior surface of the neck, the anterolateral surface of the body, and the posterior tubercle.
High-Voltage-Activated Calcium Currents in Neurons Acutely Isolated From the Ventrobasal Nucleus of the Rat Thalamus

Kammermeier, Paul J. and Stephen W. Jones. High-voltage-activated calcium currents in neurons acutely isolated from the ventrobasal nucleus of the rat thalamus. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 465–475, 1997. ...
An object-based temporal inversion approach to urban land use change analysis

ABSTRACTRates of population growth and urbanization currently taking place in sub-Saharan Africa are and will be the highest in the world, providing impetus for remote-sensing-based monitoring of land cover and land use change (LCLUC). The objective of this study is to assess the utility of using segmentation and classification information derived from an object-based classification of an image at a later date (t = 2) to aid in the segmentation and classification of an image at an earlier date (t = 1) for the same area, in the context of a post-classification comparison for LCLUC analysis within Kumasi, Ghana. This object-based temporal inversion approach was found to increase the accuracy of the t = 1 classification and land use change classifications by 6.2% and 6.6%, respectively, compared to a traditional, non-constrained object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach.
The use of B-type natriuretic peptide to diagnose congestive heart failure.

1. Jeffery R Gray, MT(ASCP)[⇑][1] 1. is Research Specialist in the Department of Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 1. Address for correspondence : Jeffery Gray MT(ASCP), Research Specialist, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 10 South Pine Street, MSTF 7th floor, Aug-65, Baltimore MD 21201-1192. (410) 706-7734, (410) 706-4486 (fax). jgray{at}som.umaryland.edu. This paper explains the background and current use of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) assays to differentiate congestive heart failure (CHF) from other causes of dyspnea. With a large and growing elderly population, CHF is being diagnosed much more often in emergency rooms in the United States. Doctors need a way to quickly distinguish whether a patient with respiratory distress is suffering from cardiac insufficiency or another etiology. BNP is released from the ventricles in response cardiac overload from CHF or some other form of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Therefore, the detection and measurement of BNP is a fast and accurate method of determining if CHF is the cause of a patient's breathing difficulties. The maturing of the large baby-boomer population is leading to an increase in the number of congestive heart failure (CHF) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) cases throughout the United States. Many of these individuals will not be diagnosed until they arrive at an emergency room seeking treatment for breathing difficulties. Although these patients suffer from respiratory distress caused by cardiac insufficiency, this symptom is common to many other conditions and diseases. Even when CHF is suspected, it is difficult to evaluate and the diagnostic tests are non-specific. Therefore, physicians need a way to quickly distinguish this disease from other causes of dyspnea. Tests used to measure plasma levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) are becoming the preferred method of identifying CHF in dyspneic patients.1 Normally found in the ventricles of the heart, the BNP precursor (proBNP)… ABBREVIATIONS: ANP = atrial natriuretic peptide; BNP = B-type natriuretic peptide; CHF = congestive heart failure; CNP = C-type natriuretic peptide; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ECG = electrocardiography; LVSD = left ventricular systolic dysfunction; POCT = point of care testing; RAAS = renin-angiotensin aldosterone system. [1]: #corresp-1
Development of a WDM platform for charged-particle stopping experiments

A platform has been developed for generating large and relatively quiescent plasmas in the warm-dense matter (WDM) regime on the OMEGA laser facility. A cylindrical geometry is used to allow charged-particle probing along the axis. The plasma heating is radiative by L-shell emission generated on the outside of the cylinder. The cylinder drive is characterized with x-ray diagnostics. Possibilities for direct characterization of the plasma temperature are discussed. Lastly, the unimportance of electromagnetic fields around the target is demonstrated with proton radiography. We expect this platform to be used extensively in future experiments studying charged-particle stopping in this regime.
Sustainable Coastal Margins: Challenges of Tempo and Mode for the Policy Domain

The urgent need for coastal management of tempo and mode for global population growth and urbanization is generally underappreciated. That growth is inevitable in the coming two decades. With a population of 311 million, the United States must absorb one to two million people per year in coastal watersheds, yet maintain a sustainable and built environment. Degree of success is largely dependent on the policy domain–political will and performance of governance. The ­current compartmentalized governance structure has been inadequate in meeting environmental goals, and the structure is unlikely to change in the next decade. Strategic and targeted approaches that account for the social, economic, and environmental realities of urban space in a sustainability context are needed for framing contemporary management strategies. That is, confronting reality, thinking strategically, and changing the way institutions are managed and their degree of connectivity. Strategic guidelines are advanced as a blueprint for creating practical, sustainability-based frameworks for performance enhancement. Operational imperatives include pragmatism, prioritization, alignment, understanding, anticipation, context, and implementation.
Magma injection into a long-lived reservoir to explain geodetically measured uplift: Application to the 2007-2014 unrest episode at Laguna del Maule volcanic field, Chile.

Moving beyond the widely used kinematic models for the deformation sources, we present a new dynamic model to describe the process of injecting magma into an existing magma reservoir. To validate this model, we derive an analytical solution and compare its results to those calculated using the Finite Element Method. A Newtonian fluid characterized by its viscosity, density, and overpressure (relative to the lithostatic value) flows through a vertical conduit, intruding into a reservoir embedded in an elastic domain, leading to an increase in reservoir pressure and time-dependent surface deformation. We apply our injection model to Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from the ongoing unrest episode at Laguna del Maule (Chile) volcanic field that started in 2007. Using a grid search optimization, we minimize the misfit to the InSAR displacement data and vary the three parameters governing the analytical solution: the characteristic timescale τP for magma propagation, the maximum injection pressure, and the inflection time when the acceleration switches from positive to negative. For a spheroid with semimajor axis a = 6200 m, semiminor axis c = 100 m, located at a depth of 4.5 km in a purely elastic half-space, the best fit to the InSAR displacement data occurs for τP=9.5 years and an injection pressure rising up to 11.5 MPa for 2 years. The volume flow rate increased to 1.2 m3/s for 2 years and then decreased to 0.7 m3/s in 2014. In 7.3 years, at least 187 × 106 m3 of magma was injected.
Regulation of brain PPARgamma2 contributes to ketogenic diet anti-seizure efficacy

The ketogenic diet (KD) is an effective therapy primarily used in pediatric patients whom are refractory to current anti-seizure medications. The mechanism of the KD is not completely understood, but is thought to involve anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant processes. The nutritionally-regulated transcription factor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma, PPARγ, regulates genes involved in anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant pathways. Moreover, endogenous ligands of PPARγ include fatty acids suggesting a potential role in the effects of the KD. Here, we tested the hypothesis that PPARγ contributes to the anti-seizure efficacy of the KD. We found that the KD increased nuclear protein content of the PPARγ2 splice variant by 2-4 fold (P<0.05) in brain homogenates from wild-type (WT) and epileptic Kv1.1 knockout (KO) mice, while not affecting PPARγ1. The KD reduced the frequency of seizures in Kv1.1KO mice by ~70% (P<0.01). GW9662, a PPARγ antagonist, prevented KD-mediated changes in PPARγ2 expression and prevented the anti-seizure efficacy of the KD in Kv1.1KO mice. Further supporting the association of PPARγ2 in mediating KD actions, the KD significantly prolonged the latency to flurothyl-induced seizure in WT mice by ~20-35% (P<0.01), but was ineffective in PPARγ2KO mice and neuron-specific PPARγKO mice. Finally, administering the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone increased PPARγ2 expression by 2-fold (P<0.01) and reduced seizures in Kv1.1KO mice by ~80% (P<0.01). Our findings implicate brain PPARγ2 among the mechanisms by which the KD reduces seizures and strongly support the development of PPARγ2 as a therapeutic target for severe, refractory epilepsy.
Effects of implanting strategy and zilpaterol hydrochloride on the calpain proteolytic system in sectioned beef steaks for two time periods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an anabolic implant and its use with the beta-adrenergic agonist zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) the calpain proteolytic system activity across specific areas of the beef strip steak over two aging days. Crossbred heifers were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) no implant or ZH (CON), 2) implant, no ZH (IMP), and 3) implant and ZH (IMP+ZH). At slaughter, strip steaks were collected and aged for 3 and 14 d. Samples were evaluated for Minolta objective color scores, pH, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and were then cut into lateral, lateral/medial, and medial sections. Protein was extracted from each section, and the calpain proteolytic system was evaluated. A day of aging effect was seen in protein degradation, along with a treatment by section interaction proteolytic activity. No differences were found in pH or color by treatment.
Transforming Growth-Interacting Factor (TGIF) Modulates Hematopoietic Stem Cell Functions

Abstract 1279 We have shown that quantitative expression of the stem cell expressed Transforming-growth-interfering factor (TGIF) is a predictor of patient survival in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients whose leukemic cells expressed decreased levels of TGIF RNA had a mean survival of 12 months, while patients whose leukemic cells expressed TGIF at a higher level had a mean survival of 60 months (p=0.00001). TGIF is a homeobox transcriptional repressor and although it has been implicated in holoprosencephaly (HPE), whether it has a direct role in hematopoiesis is not known. It is known, however, that TGIF is expressed in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and that it can down-regulate both TGF-b and retinoic acid (RA) signaling, and there is incontrovertible evidence that both of these pathways play an important role in hematopoiesis. To understand the biological basis for our clinical finding, we hypothesized a role for TGIF in hematopoiesis and in particular HSC function. We then proceeded to test this hypothesis in a Tgif knockout mouse model. Flow cytometric analysis of non-lineage depleted bone marrow (BM) cells showed that Tgif -null mice had statistically increased numbers of long-term HSCs (LT-HSCs) as defined by CD34-Flk2-Lin-ckit+Sca1+ status or by CD150+CD48-Lin-cKit+Sca+ status and decreased numbers of multipotent progenitors (MPP) as defined by CD34+FlK+Lin-ckit+Sca1+ status. The short-term (ST) HSC (defined by CD34+Flk2-lin-ckit+Sca1+ or by CD150-CD48-lin-ckit+Sca+) populations were not statistically different between the null and the WT-type mice. Tgif -null BM cells produced statistically significant higher total colony number in methylcellulose colony forming unit (CFU) compared to the WT-mice though the percentages of specific colonies types remained the same. We then compared the Tgif -null BM cells with WT-BM cells in competitive repopulation assays (CRA). These experiments showed that Tgif -null BM cells were more competitive and showed higher engraftment compared to the WT-BM cells. In conclusion, our data suggest that Tgif has an important role in hematopoietic stem cell function and may play a role in determining the balance between quiescence and self-renewal. One hypothesis to explain these data is that HSCs with no or low Tgif are more quiescent and if so this provides one biological explanation of how might TGIF affect AML prognosis; increased quiescence of HSCs or the Leukemic stem cells derived from these HSCs may make them more resistant to myelotoxic injury following chemotherapy, increasing the likelihood of relapse and/or poor long-term survival. These hypotheses continue to be an active area or research in our laboratory. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Risk factors associated with the development of a potential precursor to ovarian cancer.

B36 We have recently described a candidate preclinical marker for pelvic and ovarian serous cancer known as the “p53 signature” that is located in the distal fallopian tube and shares several attributes with carcinoma. To date, no epidemiological studies have been conducted to determine the risk factors associated with this microscopic entity. This study assessed the association of p53 signatures with several risk factors traditionally associated with ovarian cancer, including age, age at first childbirth, age at menopause, gravidity, parity, menarche, oral contraceptive use, body mass index (BMI), family history of breast cancer, and presence of cystic follicles. A cohort of 75 women from Brigham and Women9s Hospital (Boston, MA) with heritable BRCA mutations who underwent prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy were studied. All tubes were immunostained for the presence of p53 signatures and signature positive and negative women were compared. Student’s T-tests and Chi-square tests were used on continuous and categorical variables respectively for the univariate analysis while logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. These women ranged in age from 35 to 75 (mean 48) years. Twenty-nine (39%) scored positive for at least one p53 signature in the fallopian tube. Based on preliminary analysis, there was a statistically significant correlation between the p53 signature and age at first childbirth (p, t-test=0.03) and parity (p, t-test=0.01). Specifically, the odds ratio for women with first childbirth greater than or equal to 30 versus less than 30 was 3.8 (95% CI=1.2-12, p trend=0.15). The odds ratio for women with three childbirths or greater versus no childbirths was 0.18 (95% CI=0.04-0.87, p trend=0.05). After adjusting for age of first childbirth, parity and age, the trend test for age of first childbirth became nonsignificant (p=0.15), while the trend test for parity remained significant (p=0.05). We also observed non-statistically significant inverse association between p53 signature and BMI (p, t-test=0.13, p trend=0.13). Our preliminary results suggest that higher age at first childbirth and a lower parity, two factors associated with increased risk for ovarian cancer, segregate with the p53 signature. If our findings are confirmed, the p53 signature will merit consideration as a surrogate marker for ovarian cancer risk, and further study as an early step in serous carcinogenesis.
Quantum-Mechanical Formalisms of Electron Transfer Reactions at Electrode—Electrolyte Interfaces

A quantum-mechanical theory of electron transfer processes at a metal electrode/electrolyte interface was originated by Gurney(1) in 1931. According to this theory, the electrochemical electron transfer reaction at an electrode metal involves the tunneling of electrons across the interfacial barrier to the activated ions in solution. This approach of Gurney was later named molecular theory and was further developed by Butler,(2) Gerischer,(3,4) Christov,(5–7) Bockris and co-workers,(8–12) Schmickler,(13,14) Khan and co-workers,(15–19) and Ovchinnikov and Benderskii.(20)
Using non-thermal irreversible electroporation to create an in vivo niche for exogenous cell engraftment

The critical shortage of donor organs has spurred investigation of alternative approaches to either generate replacement organs or implant exogenous cells for treatment of end-stage organ failure. Non-thermal irreversible electroporation (NTIRE), which uses brief high electric field pulses to induce irreversible permeabilization of cell membranes, has emerged as a technique for tumor ablation. Here, we introduce a new application for NTIRE that employs in situ cell ablation to create a niche within a solid organ for engraftment of exogenous cells in vivo. We treated the livers of mice with NTIRE and subsequently implanted exogenous congenic hepatocytes within the zone of cell ablation. Donor hepatocytes engrafted and integrated with host liver parenchyma pre-treated with NTIRE. This new approach should have value for studying the effects of a native matrix scaffold on in vivo cell growth and may pioneer a new type of minimally-invasive regenerative surgery.
A new quasi empirical bayes estimate in randomized response sampling

In this article, a new notion of “quasi-empirical” Bayes estimation is developed for estimating the proportion of a sensitive attribute in a population by making use of both a prior distribution of...
Further Study of Integral Equations

This chapter contains several optional topics, beginning with singular integral operators, with the main result being that integral operators with a weakly singular kernel are compact on a suitable function space. It is then shown how certain elliptic boundary value problems can be recast and analyzed by means of singular integral equations. In the remainder of the chapter there is some study of integral equations of convolution type, and closely related equations, such as the Wiener-Hopf type integral equation.
A 64 GHz 2 Gbps transmit/receive phased-array communication link in SiGe with 300 meter coverage

This paper presents a 64 GHz transmit/receive communication link between two 32-element SiGe-based phased arrays. The antenna element is a series-fed patch array, which provides directivity in the elevation plane. The transmit array results in an EIRP of 42 dBm, while the receive array provides an electronic gain of 33 dB and a system NF 4 Gbps data rate at 100 meters, and ∼ 500 Mbps data rate at 800 meters.
Complete Penile Disassembly for Repair of Epispadias Causes Erectile Tissue Alteration Through Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 Overexpression in a Rabbit Model.

Objective To investigate corporal tissue viability and changes in endothelial content following current techniques used for epispadias repair in an animal model. Materials and Methods Sixty rabbits were allocated into 3 groups: sham operation (penile degloving), complete disassembly model, and Cantwell-Ransley model. On weeks 2, 4, 12, and 24 postoperation, the penile tissue was harvested and processed for (1) Masson's trichrome staining for smooth muscle cell (SMC)-to-collagen ratios, (2) immunohistochemical staining for endothelial factor (CD31), and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) (3) terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to detect apoptosis. Results Masson trichrome staining of corporal tissue showed significant decrease in SMC-to-collagen ratio in complete disassembly group compared with sham operation group. The expression of CD31 was significantly lower (P Conclusion Complete detachment of the urethra from the corpus cavernosa may result in endothelial dysfunction, alteration of SMC content of erectile tissue, and replacement of the native cavernosal tissue with fibrotic tissue. An increased expression of TGF-β1, following the complete disassembly technique, might be one of the important factors causing the abovementioned alterations.
Professionalism, Safety, and Teamwork

Understand professionalism and its importance for the practice of anesthesiology Learn a simple approach to practicing “etiquette based medicine” Know how to avoid the common causes of communication failure
Do comorbid social and other anxiety disorders predict outcomes during and after cognitive therapy for depression

Abstract Background Cognitive therapy (CT) improves symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) plus comorbid anxiety disorder, but the specific type of anxiety may influence outcomes. This study compared CT outcomes among adults with MDD plus social, other, or no comorbid anxiety disorders. Methods Outpatients with recurrent MDD (N = 523, including 87 with social and 110 with other comorbid anxiety disorders) received acute-phase CT. Higher risk responders (n = 241 with partial or unstable response) were randomized to 8 months of continuation treatment (CT or clinical management plus fluoxetine or pill placebo), followed by 24 months of assessment. Lower risk responders (n = 49) were assessed for 32 months without additional research treatment. Depression, anxiety symptoms, and social avoidance were measured repeatedly. Results Other (non-social), but not social, anxiety disorders predicted elevated depression and anxiety symptoms throughout and after acute-phase CT. Social, but not other, anxiety disorder predicted greater reduction in depressive symptoms during acute-phase CT and elevated social avoidance during and after acute-phase CT. Limitations Anxiety disorders were assessed only before acute-phase treatment. The anxiety symptom measure was brief. Generalization to other patient populations and treatments is unknown. Conclusions Non-social comorbid anxiety disorders may reduce the efficacy of acute-phase CT for MDD by diminishing both short- and longer term outcomes relative to depressed patients without comorbid anxiety disorders. Comorbid social anxiety disorder may increase relative reductions in depressive symptoms during acute-phase CT for MDD, but patients with comorbid social anxiety disorder may require specialized focus on social avoidance during CT.
Treatment of Comorbid Obstructive Sleep Apnea by Upper Airway Stimulation Results in Resolution of Debilitating Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome.

An association between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been suggested for decades but has been questioned in recent years given the apparently similar prevalence ...