cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Truffle AbundAnce in recenTly Prescribed burned And unburned foresTs in yosemiTe nATionAl PArk: imPlicATions for mycoPhAgous mAmmAls

Truffles are an important food resource for wildlife in North American forests, but decades of fire exclusion have altered the availability of this resource. In Yosemite National Park, resource management policies seek to restore essential forest processes such as fire while minimizing adverse ecological impacts that may result from burning decades of accumulated fuels. Burning can impact truffles through heat stress, elimination of soil organic layers, and damage to tree hosts, but these effects may be dependent on time lags between fires and fire frequency. We examined truffle abundance, and species diversity and composition in four paired burned and unburned sites (8 sites total) in Yosemite to determine the short-term effect of fire on truffles and its implications for truffle-consuming mammals. Burned and unburned sites had similar truffle biomass and species richness, but truffle frequency was greater in unburned than burned sites. Truffle species composition was distinctively different between burned and unburned sites, although seven species were found exclusively in both burned and unburned sites. Truffles were positively associated with litter depth in burned and unburned sites, although this association was stronger in burned sites. Prescribed burning may enhance the regional diversity of truffles for mycophagous mammals across the forest landscape without impacting total abundance in Yosemite National Park.
Using Technology to Teach Preservice Students about Locating Information in the Academic Library

Students from five educational foundations classes were tested using an identical pretest and posttest which contained questions designed to ascertain their knowledge and skill in utilizing library technology to obtain research information. The purpose of the study was to determine if the present bibliographic instruction methods used by instructor librarians in the library's computer classroom were effective by using the t-test to determine the results of the mean difference between the pretest and posttest scores of those students who attended the bibliographic instruction session and those who did not attend.
Infection of the Central Nervous System Due to Acanthamoeba

It is well established that Acanthamoeba castellanii, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni, Acanthamoeba polyphaga, and probably other species of free-living amebas are virulent opportunists capable of producing disease in humans and animals. Human infections involving brain, eyes, skin, and lungs have been reported from all continents. Central nervous system (CNS) infection due to Acanthamoeba species usually occurs in chronically ill, debilitated individuals, some of them receiving immunosuppressive therapy or taking broad-spectrum antibiotics. The disease runs a protracted, insidious clinical course and is known as granulomatous amebic encephalitis. Histopathologically, Acanthamoeba species may produce a multifocal, chronic, or subacute granulomatous encephalitis, with trophozoites and cysts present in CNS lesions. The portal of entry of the amebas into the CNS is probably the respiratory tract or a skin lesion, and the organisms reach the CNS by hematogenous spread. As of 1 January 1989, about 50 cases of granulomatous amebic encephalitis had been reported worldwide, 27 in the United States alone.
Determination of Uric Acid An Adaptation of the Archibald Method on the AutoAnalyzer

The Archibald colorimetric procedure for determination of uric acid has been adapted for automation. The major differences from the original manual procedure after sodium hydroxide treatment of the serum sample are neutralization with hydrochloric acid and dialysis of the serum instead of precipitation to remove protein. At the rate of 40 samples per hour, the automated procedure shows good correlation with the manual procedure.
Evaluating Ontology Matchers Using Arbitrary Ontologies and Human Generated Heterogeneities

Automatic ontology matching is a hard problem. To address this problem many ontology matchers have evolved in the past several years. Consequently the evaluation of ontology matchers has become crucial in order to help improve a matcher’s performance. The evaluation frameworks used so far are limited to available pairs of ontologies in certain domains and require the reference alignments (i.e., gold standards) to be specified manually. In this paper we present a novel ontology matcher evaluation approach which can accept any OWL ontology as the source ontology. With little human efforts to specify the changes to the source ontology, our system can automatically construct the target ontology and generate the gold standard of correspondences. Compared to well-known evaluators (e.g., OAEI), our approach can provide more meaningful feedback besides traditional accuracy and completeness measures by indicating the performance of ontology matchers according to various types of heterogeneities.
Complete Genome Sequence of Campylobacter jejuni Strain S3

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of bacterial gastroenteritis in the world; however, there is only one complete genome sequence of a poultry strain to date. Here we report the complete genome sequence and annotation of the second poultry strain, C. jejuni strain S3. This strain has been shown to be nonmotile, to be a poor invader in vitro, and to be a poor colonizer of poultry after minimal in vitro passage.
On trigger detection against reactive Jamming Attacks: A clique-independent set based approach

Among existing countermeasures against Reactive Jamming Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks, the detection of trigger nodes whose transmissions invoke the jammer nodes has been proposed and developed as an efficient jamming-resistent routing scheme in unreliable WSN environments. Sequential group testing techniques were adopted in our previous work to alleviate the overhead of trigger detection in terms of time and communication complexity. In this paper, we further improve the detection procedure by leveraging the classic models of randomized non-adaptive group testing and clique-independent set, which dramatically decreases the time complexity compared to our previous solution.
Diabetes mellitus and primary hypothyroidism

Abstract The combination of diabetes mellitus and primary hypothyroidism is not as rare as generally believed. Nine hypothyroid patients were found among 530 diabetics, a prevalence of 1.7 per cent. In 5 patients the diabetes occurred first. The subsequent development of hypothyroidism did not appreciably change the course of the diabetes.
Application of an Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance to the study of electrocatalytic films

The EQCM was used to study the deposition and composition of electrodeposited pure PbO{sub 2} and Bi-doped PbO{sub 2} active toward anodic oxygen-transfer reactions. Within the doped films, Bi is incorporated as Bi{sup +5} in the form of BiO{sub 2}A, where A is ClO{sub 4}{sup {minus}} or NO{sub 3}{sup {minus}}. For deposition of these 2 materials, changes in hydration between the Au oxide and the depositing film resulted in higher mass-to-charge ratios. XRD and XPS were used to study the films; the rutile structure of PbO{sub 2} is retained even with the Bi doping. The EQCM was also used to study the formation and dissolution of Au oxide and preoxide structures formed on the Au substrate electrodes in acidic media. The preoxide structures were AuOH and increased the surface mass. For the formation of stable Au films on quartz wafers, Ti interlayers between Au and quartz was found to be very effective.
Photosynthesis of Grass Species Differing in Carbon Dioxide Fixation Pathways: IV. ANALYSIS OF REDUCED OXYGEN RESPONSE IN PANICUM MILIOIDES AND PANICUM SCHENCKII

Reduced photorespiration has been reported in Panicum milioides on the basis of lower CO2 compensation concentrations than in C3 species, lower CO2 evolution in the light, and less response of apparent photosynthesis to O2 concentration. The lower response to O2 in P. milioides could be due to reduced O2 competition with CO2 for reaction with ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, to a reduced loss of CO2, or to an initial fixation of CO2 by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Experiments were carried out with Panicum maximum Jacq., a C4 species having no apparent photorespiration; tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), a C3 species; P. milioides Nees ex Trin.; and Panicum schenckii Hack. The latter two species are closely related and have low photorespiration rates. CO2 exchange was measured at five CO2 concentrations ranging from 0 to 260 microliters per liter at both 2 and 21% O2. Mesophyll conductance or carboxylation efficiency was estimated by plotting substomatal CO2 concentrations against apparent photosynthesis. In the C4 species P. maximum, mesophyll conductance was 0.96 centimeters per second and was unaffected by O2 concentration. At 21% O2 mesophyll conductance of tall fescue was decreased 32% below the value at 2% O2. Decreases in mesophyll conductance at 21% O2 for P. milioides and P. schenckii were similar to that for tall fescue. On the other hand, loss of CO2 in CO2-free air, estimated by extrapolating the CO2 response curve to zero CO2, was increased from 1.8 to 6.5 milligrams per square decimeter per hour in tall fescue as O2 was raised from 2-21%. Loss of CO2 was less than 1 milligram per square decimeter per hour for P. milioides and P. schenckii and was unaffected by O2. The results suggest that the reduced O2 response in P. milioides and P. schenckii is due to a lower loss of CO2 in the light rather than less inhibition of carboxylation by O2, since the decrease in carboxylation efficiency at 21% O2 was similar for P. milioides, P. schenckii, and tall fescue. The inhibition of apparent photosynthesis by 21% O2 in these three species at low light intensities was similar at 31 to 36% which also indicates similar O2 effects on carboxylation. Apparent photosynthesis at high light intensity was inhibited less by 21% O2 in P. milioides (16.8%) and P. schenckii (23.8%) than in tall fescue (28.4%). This lower inhibition in the Panicum species may have been due to a higher degree of recycling of photorespired CO2 in these species than in tall fescue.
A stochastic approach to candidate disease gene subnetwork extraction

Experimental methods are beginning to define the networks of interacting genes and proteins that control most biological processes. There is significant interest in developing computational approaches to identify subnetworks that control specific processes or that may be involved in specific human diseases. Because genes associated with a particular disease (i.e., disease genes) are likely to be well connected within the interaction network, the challenge is to identify the most well-connected subnetworks from a large number of possible subnetworks. One way to do this is to search through chromosomal loci, each of which has many candidate disease genes, to find a subset of genes well connected in the interaction network. In order to identify a significantly connected subnetwork, however, an efficient method of selecting candidate genes from each locus needs to be addressed. In the current study, we describe a method to extract important candidate subnetworks from a set of loci, each containing numerous genes. The method is scalable with the size of the interaction networks. We have conducted simulations with our method and observed promising performance.
How Stringent is the EPA’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants?

On March 27, 2012, the EPA announced a Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants. This paper analyzes how the proposed emissions target of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour of gross generation compares with the emission rates of existing and proposed electricity generating units in the US. We find that no coal units would comply with the annual target without future innovation in carbon capture and storage. While natural gas units designed to meet peak demand are exempt from the rule, we find that few of them would comply on an annual basis: only 10 percent of the simple-cycle gas turbine units that commenced operating between 2006 and 2010 would meet the target. The baseload natural gas units that would be subject to the rule — i.e., combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units — have a significantly higher level of compliance. The EPA reports that 95 percent of these units first operating between 2006 and 2010 would meet the target, and we find a similar percentage when looking at predicted emissions based on power plant heat rates. Yet we find a lower number at 84 percent based on actual emissions and self-reported generation. We also predict the emission rates of CCGT units that are planned for construction through 2017: only 71 percent of these units would meet the target because of a trend toward smaller capacity. Finally, we illustrate differences among states regarding the characteristics of recently constructed and planned electricity generating units.
Effect of pyriproxyfen, a juvenile hormone mimic, on egg hatch, nymph development, adult emergence and reproduction of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama.

BACKGROUND: The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is a vector of bacteria presumably responsible for huanglongbing (HLB) disease in citrus. In this laboratory study, an investigation was made of the activity of pyriproxyfen, a juvenile hormone mimic, on ACP eggs, nymphs and adults to evaluate its potential as a biorational insecticide for inclusion in an integrated pest management (IPM) program for ACP. RESULTS: Irrespective of egg age, timing or method of treatment, a significantly lower percentage of eggs (5–29%) hatched after exposure to 64 and 128 μ gm L −1 of pyriproxyfen. Only 0–36% of early instars (first, second and third) and 25–74% of late instars (fourth and fifth) survived to adults following exposure to 16, 32 and 64 μ gm L −1 of pyriproxyfen. However, 15–20% of adults that emerged following treatment as late instars exhibited morphological abnormalities. Furthermore, pyriproxyfen adversely affected reproduction (fecundity and fertility) of adults that emerged from treated fifth instars or that were treated topically with 0.04 μ ga s adults. CONCLUSIONS: Application of pyriproxyfen at 64 μ gm L −1 resulted in greater inhibition of egg hatch and suppression of adult emergence compared with lower rates. Pyriproxyfen also markedly reduced female fecundity and egg viability for adults that were exposed either as fifth instars or as newly emerged adults. The ovicidal, larvicidal and reproductive effects against ACP suggest that pyriproxyfen is suitable for integration into an IPM program for ACP. c � 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Meson mass splittings in the nonrelativistic model.

Mass splittings between isodoublet meson pairs and between ${0}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${1}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ mesons of the same valence quark content are computed in a detailed nonrelativistic model. The field-theoretic expressions for such splittings are shown to reduce to kinematic and Breit-Fermi terms in the nonrelativistic limit. Algebraic results thus obtained are applied to the specific case of the linear-plus-Coulomb potential, with resultant numbers compared to experiment.
Esophageal varices in agnogenic myeloid metaplasia: disappearance after splenectomy. A case report.

A patient with massive splenomegaly secondary to agnogenic myelofibrosis and extramedullary myeloid metaplasia was found to have esophageal varices. No intra- or extrahepatic obstruction to portal blood flow was present. Splenectomy immediately reduced portal venous pressure to normal, and 2 months postoperatively no varices were demonstrable by barium swallow. Portal hypertension in certain cases of agnogenic myelofibrosis and extramedullary myeloid metaplasia may be mainly due to increased portal flow rather than increased resistance, and these individuals may benefit from splenectomy alone.
Intraocular pressure 3 to 4 hours and 20 hours after cataract surgery with and without ab interno trabeculectomy.

Purpose To evaluate intraocular pressure (IOP) immediately after cataract surgery with or without ab interno trabeculectomy (Trabectome) and whether trabeculectomy-related hyphema increases the risk for IOP spikes. Settings Private glaucoma practice. Design Retrospective interventional nonrandomized comparative chart review. Methods Intraocular pressure was measured 3 to 4 hours and 20 hours postoperatively. Results The combined group comprised 73 eyes of 73 patients and the cataract-only group, 75 eyes of 75 patients. The mean preoperative IOP was 15.8 mm Hg ± 3.6 (SD) and 14.9 ± 3.0 mm Hg, respectively ( P = .09). In the combined group, the IOP decrease was significant at 3 to 4 hours ( P = .0003) and 20 hours ( P = .0007). In the cataract-only group, the IOP increased significantly ( P P = .0035, respectively). The mean IOP was significantly lower in the combined group than in the cataract-only group at 3 to 4 hours (12.8 ± 5.9 mm Hg versus 19.7 ± 7.5 mm Hg) and 20 hours (12.7 ± 7.0 mm Hg versus 17.2 ± 5.9 mm Hg) (both P P = .0077; 3 to 4 hours, P = .001). Hyphema occurred in 35 eyes (47.9%) in the combined group; however, the IOP was similar with or without hyphema. Only 1 eye with an IOP spike in the combined group had hyphema. Conclusion Combining ab interno trabeculectomy and cataract surgery reduced short-term postoperative IOP and the incidence of IOP spikes despite the common hyphema. Financial Disclosure No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Sleep-wave activity of a delta sleep-inducing peptide analog correlates with its penetrance of the blood-brain barrier.

Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) significantly increases delta wave electrical activity in the brain of rats after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection. Rats (n = 10) were peripherally injected with DSIP and [D-Ala4]DSIP-NH2 during the dark portion of a 12-h light/dark cycle prior to recording of epidural encephalographic (EEG) wave forms. Administration of [D-Ala4]DSIP-NH2, an analog that enters the brain after peripheral administration more readily than the parent DSIP molecule, resulted in significantly more delta waves than DSIP together with a highly significant amount of theta activity. DSIP was found to significantly increase EEG output in the delta range when compared with controls. In addition, the DSIP analog significantly decreased locomotor activity, whereas DSIP itself was without effect. These findings strongly support the controversial concepts that peripherally injected peptides can reach the brain and that DSIP compounds can increase sleep activity.
A Rapid X-Ray Fluorescence Method for the Determination of V, Cu, Mo, Ti, Co, and Ni

The development of a rapid and quantitative X-ray fluorescence method for the determination of vanadium, copper, molybdenum, titanium, cobalt, and nickel present in mixed oxides is discussed. Each element is successively determined from the same solution. Instrument settings, matrix effects, and accuracy of the method are given.
A comparison of soil hydrothermal properties in zonal and uniform tillage systems across the US Corn Belt.

Abstract Zonal tillage (e.g. ridge tillage, RT) separates management of row and inter-row positions, while non-zonal tillage (e.g. chisel plough, CP) applies management uniformly across a field. This may have large effects on soil hydrothermal properties, affecting soil processes and crop development. We examined the effects of RT versus CP on soil hydrothermal conditions under maize (Zea mays L.) at four sites spanning the US Corn Belt over two growing seasons (2012–2013). We also investigated whether RT, as a result of changes in hydrothermal conditions, could stimulate greater soil nitrogen (N) availability during peak maize N demand. We captured wide variation in soil types and climates, allowing us to generalise tillage effects across a large environmental gradient. Continuous hydrothermal measurements were taken in the centre of row and inter-row positions. Soil cores collected shortly after maize six leaf stage (V6) were analysed for plant-available N and potentially mineralisable N (PMN). We hypothesised: 1) in spring CP and RT both produce warm, dry seedbeds with equivalent accumulations of growing degree days (GDD), but later in season RT holds greater soil moisture, providing better conditions for cover or relay crop establishment; 2) Hydrothermal properties of RT rows are distinct from RT inter-rows, while CP rows and inter-rows are indistinguishable; 3) RT promotes greater soil N mineralisation and availability in crop rows compared with CP. Results largely confirmed all hypotheses. In early spring, rows were drier in RT than CP, and both were similar in warmth (i.e. in accumulated GDD). From V6 to tasselling, CP accumulated more GDD than RT in inter-rows, while row positions remained similar; RT maintained greater soil moisture across both positions. From tasselling to harvest, RT inter-rows held greater soil moisture than CP, but accumulated fewer GDD. Both tillage systems showed zonation of soil moisture between planting and harvest (inter-rows moister than rows); the magnitude of zonation was greatest in RT. Plant-available N and PMN were greater in RT compared with CP at V6, suggesting RT increases synchrony of soil N availability with crop requirements. The results demonstrate that zonal tillage can integrate the seedbed benefits of conventional tillage with increased soil moisture retention across a wide range of climates and soil types. Increased moisture retention may help buffer agricultural systems against drought, and improve seedbed conditions for cover and relay crops in late summer and early autumn, thus potentially improving both sustainability and production in these systems.
Partial purification and some enzymatic properties of a proteinase from Aeromonas proteolytica.

SummaryA proteinase possessing the characteristics of an endopeptidase was partially purified from culture filtrates of Aeromonas proteolytica. The enzyme readily hydrolyzed hemoglobin, casein, insulin, CGPN, CGPEE, and CGP; with the latter substrate Km was 4.19 × 10−2M. Chelating agents or dialysis at low pH inhibited the proteinase, which could be reactivated under favorable conditions by the addition of certain divalent metal ions.
Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections: Lomefloxacin versus Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole

Data were collected from 14 French centres which participated in a randomized study to compare the safety and efficacy of 400 mg lomefloxacin taken orally once daily by 62 patients with 160/800 mg trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) taken orally twice daily by 64 patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections. Most patients were infected with Escherichia coli at baseline (72.4% in the lomefloxacin group and 69.0% in the TMP/SMX group) and all patients were treated for 5 days. At 5-9 days post-treatment, lomefloxacin had eradicated the causative organism of infection in 100% of evaluable patients treated with lomefloxacin compared with 86.7% of those treated with TMP/SMX. At 4-6 weeks post-treatment, there were no marked differences in eradication rates between the two treatment groups: 83.3% and 80.0% for the lomefloxacin and TMP/SMX groups, respectively. Clinical cure rates showed no marked differences between treatment groups at 5-9 days or at 4-6 weeks post-treatment. At 5-9 days post-treatment, lomefloxacin achieved a clinical cure rate of 78.6% compared with 86.7% for TMP/SMX evaluable patients. At 4-6 weeks post-treatment, the clinical cure rates were 66.7% and 86.7% for the evaluable lomefloxacin- and TMP/SMX-treated patients, respectively. Both treatment regimens were well tolerated with a low incidence of adverse events. In conclusion, once-daily oral dosing with lomefloxacin is a safe and efficacious alternative to twice-daily dosing with TMP/SMX in the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections.
On the origin of Guqin culture during the Six Dynasties in Zhenjiang

Guqin is the most ancient Chinese musical instrument with rich cultural connotation.Guqin culture during the Six Dynasties in Zhenjiang has a deep cultural information.During the Six Dynasties,excellent Guqin players and famous anecdotes were related to Zhenjiang,which opened a generation of culture in the history of the Guqin in China.They were mainly as follows: ritual indoctrination style of thinking and recluse co-existed together to promote cultural development of the instrument;remarkable achievements in the instrument added elegant literary glory to the Six Dynasties;the instrument had a profound impact on the later generation.
Correlation of transient adenosine release and oxygen changes in the caudate-putamen.

Adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside that modulates important physiological processes, such as vasodilation, in the central nervous system. A rapid, 2-4 seconds, mode of adenosine signaling has been recently discovered, but the relationship between this type of adenosine and blood flow change has not been characterized. In this study, adenosine and oxygen changes were simultaneously measured using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Oxygen changes occur when there is an increase in local cerebral blood flow and thus are a measure of vasodilation. About 34% of adenosine transients in the rat caudate-putamen are correlated with a subsequent transient change in oxygen. The amount of oxygen was correlated with the concentration of adenosine release and larger adenosine transients (over 0.4 μM) always had subsequent oxygen changes. The average duration of adenosine and oxygen transients were 3.2 seconds and 3.5 seconds, respectively. On average, the adenosine release starts and peaks 0.2 seconds prior to the oxygen. The A2a antagonist, SCH442416, decreased the number of both adenosine and oxygen transient events by about 32%. However, the A1 antagonist, DPCPX, did not significantly affect simultaneous adenosine and oxygen release. The nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor L-NAME also did not affect the concentration or number of adenosine and oxygen release events. These results demonstrate that both adenosine and oxygen release are modulated via A2a receptors. The correlation of transient concentrations, time delay between adenosine and oxygen peaks, and effect of A2a receptors suggests adenosine modulates blood flow on a rapid, sub-second time scale. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
One-Phase, Two-Phase, and Composite Methods of Linear Programming

In this section we shall return to the general primal linear programming problem in standard form set out in Chapter 3, namely $$\max f = C'Xs.t.$$ $$AX = b,X0$$ with X € R n .
Feminist Theology : The Verbing of Ultimate/Intimate Reality in Mary Daly in Women's Studies.

Daly, auteur d'une dizaine d'ouvrages qui etablissent les bases d'une theologie feministe | Etats-Unis | Eglise catholique. L'A. inclut dans son expose S. Mc Fague et R. R. Ruether
Neuromagnetic localization of higher order brain processing

To localize and ultimately image higher-order processing in the human brain, the neuromagnetic field evoked under a special oddball auditory stimulation paradigm (1-kHz frequent tone, 80% probability; 1.2-kHz rare tone, 20% probability) has been measured with a 37-channel SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) neuromagnetometer. The field in response to the rare presentation, to which the subject is attentive, shows a clear peak at about 300 ms poststimulus. This peak is analogous to the P3 peak studied in evoked potentials to evaluate cognitive function. Using a neuromagnetic localization algorithm and superposing the results on corresponding MR (magnetic resonance) images after registration, the authors have localized the neural generators of the P3 wave to a site approximately 1.8 cm from the contralateral hippocampus in one subject. Thus, the feasibility of localizing higher-order function in the human brain using neuromagnetic and magnetic resonance imaging has been shown. >
The Role of the P1 Residue of Protease Nexin 2 and Basic Pancreatic Trypsin Inhibitor in the Mechanism of Factor XIa Inhibition.

Abstract Factor XIa (FXIa), a plasma serine protease that activates FIX, is regulated by protease nexin 2 (PN2), a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor (KPI) secreted on platelet activation. The Kunitz protease inhibitor domain of protease nexin 2 (PN2KPI) is highly homologous (45% primary sequence identity) to basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI, another Kunitz-type protease inhibitor) and their backbone tertiary structures are nearly identical (J Biol Chem 280: 36165, 2005; J Mol Biol 230: 919, 2005). However, PN2KPI (Ki 1 nM) is 600-fold more potent as a FXIa inhibitor than bovine basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI; Ki 630 nM). The present study is aimed at examining why these two structurally similar inhibitors are so different in their affinities and specificities in FXIa inhibition and analyzing the mechanisms of FXIa inhibition by these two inhibitors. Reasoning that the P1 residue (Arg15 in PN2KPI and Lys15 in BPTI) might play a crucial role in determining the affinity and specificity for FXIa we expressed BPTI-K15R (mimicking PN2KPI at the P1 site) and PN2KPI-R15K (mimicking BPTI at the P1 site) and examined their inhibitory properties. BPTI-K15R was found to inhibit FXIa with a Ki (10 nM) ~60-fold tighter than BPTI (Ki 630 nM), whereas PN2KPI-R15K inhibited FXIa with a Ki (32 nM) that was 32- fold impaired compared with PN2KPI (Ki 1 nM). Progress curves of peptidyl fluorogenic substrate (Boc-Glu-Ala-Arg-AMC) hydrolysis by FXIa in the presence of all the inhibitors except BPTI clearly demonstrated higher initial rates that continuously decreased until reaching a steady state, typical of slow inhibition. Progress curves obtained using BPTI, on the other hand, were found to be linear at all concentrations of the inhibitor. Analysis using steady state kinetics clearly demonstrated that BPTI is a competitive inhibitor in FXIa hydrolysis of the peptidyl chromogenic substrate, pyro-Glu-Pro-Arg-pNA. Analysis of progress curves using kinetic equations for slow, tight-binding inhibitors confirmed that the formation of the FXIa:PN2KPI complex occurs in a single step that is slow, whereas formation of FXIa:PN2KPI-R15K, FXIa:BPTI and FXIa:BPTI-K15R complexes do not conform to the same kinetic mechanism. Thus PN2KPI and BPTI inhibit FXIa by distinctly different mechanisms and the Arg at the P1 site of PN2KPI confers specificity and high affinity for FXIa inhibition and in part determines the mechanism of PN2KPI as a slow, tight binding inhibitor.
Optimizing static and adaptive probing schedules for rapid event detection

Abstract We formulate and study a fundamental search and detection problem, Schedule Optimization , motivated by a variety of real-world applications, ranging from monitoring content changes on the web, social networks, and user activities to detecting failure on large systems with many individual machines. We consider a large system consists of many nodes, where each node has its own rate of generating new events, or items. A monitoring application can probe a small number of nodes at each step, and our goal is to compute a probing schedule that minimizes the expected number of undiscovered items at the system, or equivalently, minimizes the expected time to discover a new item in the system. We study the Schedule Optimization problem both for deterministic and randomized memoryless algorithms. We provide lower bounds on the cost of an optimal schedule and construct close to optimal schedules with rigorous mathematical guarantees.
Outcomes after laparoscopic or robotic colectomy and open colectomy when compared by operative duration for the procedure

Laparoscopic colectomy is associated with important early postoperative advantages. These procedures can however increase total operative duration. Our hypothesis is that increased operative duration is associated with post-operative complications that may outweigh the benefits of a minimally invasive approach. We analyzed data from the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC)R. This is a statewide database of patients who have undergone colon or rectal resections. Colorectal procedures were divided into four groups by surgical approach: open, laparoscopic, robotic and laparoscopic and robotic procedures converted to open. The sample was divided into three groups by operative duration: less than 2 h, between 2 and 4 h and greater than 4 h and compared by selected preoperative variables and outcomes. Small but significant differences in perioperative outcomes were noted in colectomies with a >4 h operative duration. However, laparoscopic procedures exceeding 4 h were not associated with significant differences perioperative outcomes.
Change in Psychological, Physiological, and Situational Factors in Adults After Treatment of Chronic Cough

Background We hypothesized that addressing anxiety and depressive mood disorders will improve chronic cough severity and cough quality of life (CQOL). Methods Major tenets of the theory of unpleasant symptoms were examined in a longitudinal observational study of consecutive adults with cough of > 8 weeks' duration treated in our cough clinic. At baseline and 3 and 6 months, subjects completed 3 Punum Ladders rating cough severity, the CQOL Questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21, and the Duke Functional Social Support Questionnaire. Cross-sectional baseline and longitudinal regression analyses were conducted. Results Eighty subjects (55 women) with a mean age of 58.5 ± 11.1 years and a cough duration of 86.0 ± 123.7 months were enrolled. At baseline, worse cough severity was significantly associated with less education and worse ability to speak bothered by cough and the urge to cough. Worse CQOL was significantly associated with worse depression symptoms, urinary incontinence, and ability to speak; use of self-prescribed remedies; and younger age. Significant improvements in depression and stress symptoms occurred at 3 and 6 months. Anxiety symptoms improved, particularly in the first 3 months. Improvement in cough severity was significantly associated with less education, male sex, and improvement in ability to speak and urge to cough. Improvement in CQOL was significantly associated with improvement in urinary incontinence, urge to cough, anxiety symptoms, and use of self-prescribed remedies. Conclusions Using the theory of unpleasant symptoms, we have come to appreciate that managing psychological, physiological, and situational factors in addition to focusing on identifying the cause of cough is important to maximize improvement in CQOL.
Diacronias e regimes discursivos da biografia intelectual

Pensando a biografia intelectual, como genero, a partir das nocoes de diacronia e regimes discursivos, o artigo apresenta dois modelos diacronicos classicos para dar conta de uma transformacao cientifica capital da trajetoria de Greimas. Tres categorias de enunciados que devem, pois, ser consultados e expostos sao, entao, identificadas – as pesquisas do cientista, os documentos de carater arquivista e os testemunhos pessoais de natureza (auto)biografica – para mostrar que cada uma delas, ao implementar uma pratica enunciativa distinta que constroi suas proprias unidades e realiza um tipo discursivo diferente, permite obter, atraves do cruzamento dos resultados obtidos, novos fatos diacronicos. A titulo de exemplos, esboca-se no texto a genese do Dicionario de Semiotica (Greimas; Courtes, 1979) e indicacao de como certas mudancas em Greimas reunem fatores de ordem cientifica e biografica.
Shear and Torsion of Thin-walled Beams

In Chapters 4 and 5, we investigated the stresses developed in beams subjected to bending moments and, in some cases, an axial force — i.e. those forms of loading that give rise to normal stresses σzz on transverse planes z=c, where c is a constant. It is also worth noting that the combination of an axial force and a bending moment is equivalent to an equal axial force with a different line of action (see for example §5.5.2).
Gene drives may be the next step towards sustainable control of malaria.

Invited commentary on ‘Gene drives to fight malaria: current state and future directions.’A recent review by Hammond and Galizi [1] discusses the technical progress and challenges of using gene dri...
Medical Applications of X-Ray Nanochemistry

Three main aspects of medical applications of X-ray nanochemistry are discussed in this chapter. The first part is enhanced X-ray imaging of tumors in animals or phantoms using X-ray absorbing nanomaterials. The second is nanomaterial-assisted cancer treatment using X-rays. The treatment is performed on both cancer cell lines and tumors in animals, which are reviewed in two sections. Theoretical modeling of treatment is also discussed in another section. In addition, pre-clinical and clinical studies and miscellaneous methods such as scanning focusing needle beam X-rays are also presented in this part. The third part is X-ray activated or triggered nanodrug release using X-ray nanochemistry. These nanodrugs resemble prodrugs with the exception of the nanodrugs are activated by X-rays. In addition to these three parts, a general description of in vitro and in vivo protocols is also given at the beginning of the chapter, and recent reviews in these fields are mentioned at the end of this chapter.
Temperature dependence of the optical properties of Hg 1−x Cd x Te

The alloy composition of Hg1−xCdxTe should be controlled during growth, so that the desired band gap and the lattice-matched layer may be obtained. In-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry, now commercially available, enables one to acquire spectral data during growth. If one knows the optical dielectric function as a function of alloy composition and temperature, the technique can be fully used to monitor and control temperature, the thickness, and the alloy composition. For this purpose, we first obtained temperature dependent spectral data of Hg1−xCdxTe by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The spectral data of Hg1−xCdxTe with x = 1,0.235, and 0.344 were obtained from room temperature to 800Kin the photon energy range from 1.3 to 6 eV. The spectral data revealed distinctive critical point structures at E0, E0+Δ0, E1, E1+Δ1, E2(X), and E2(Σ). Critical point energies decreased and linewidths increased monotonically as temperature increased. The model for the optical dielectric function enabled (i) the critical point parameters to be determined accurately, and (ii) the spectral data to be expressed as a function of temperature within and outside the experimental range.
Fossils and Phenology in the Evolution of Ginkgo biloba

Among the unique and intriguing features that make ginkgophytes some of the most fascinating of seed plants is the rich fossil record for a clade that is monotypic in the modern flora, and for which there may be no natural populations in the wild [1]. Numerous apparently primitive features contribute to the systematic intrigue of ginkgophytes and to their apparently crucial role in seed plant evolution. Meyen [2] considered Ginkgo to represent one of three major groups of seed plants, Florin [3] interpreted Ginkgo to have evolved in parallel to conifers. Emberger [4] interpreted Ginkgo to be little changed in its reproductive biology from the most ancient seed plants, and modern cladistic analyses place Ginkgo below all or nearly all other living species on the seed-plant tree [e.g., 5–7].
Sexual Difference in Resource Use in Hermit Crabs; Consequences and Causes

Most ecological theory assumes that a species consists of identical individuals, or of individuals whose properties are determined by age or size. In many species, however, there are significant differences in the ecological roles of males and females. Such between-sex differences are potentially important, both in determining the nature of population regulation within a species, and in determining the nature of interactions between species. Although ecologists have devoted large amounts of effort to quantifying the differences in resource use between species (e.g. Schoener, 1974), there has been relatively little quantification of differences in resource use between the sexes. The present paper is an attempt to quantify sex-related differences in resource use in two intertidal hermit crab species, and to analyze the causes and consequences of these differences.
Recurrence Rate of Instability After Remplissage for Treatment of Traumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability: A Systematic Review in Treatment of Subcritical Glenoid Bone Loss.

Purpose To report outcomes after arthroscopic remplissage in patients with anterior shoulder instability and subcritical glenoid bone loss, specifically regarding recurrence of instability, return to sport, and changes in range of motion. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to perform a search using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases. Forest plots were used to evaluate the overall values for recurrent instability, change in external rotation, and return to sport after arthroscopic Bankart repair with or without remplissage. The Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies–Interventions checklist were used to evaluate bias. Results Twenty-two articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies–Interventions checklists deemed studies as acceptable quality with low bias. Among 694 patients (522 male and 106 female patients) undergoing remplissage, the mean age was 28.3 ± 5.3 years and the mean duration of follow-up was 32.5 ± 13.9 months. The recurrence rate of instability ranged from 0% to 20%. The change in external rotation in 90° of abduction ranged from −11.3° to −1.0°, and the change in external rotation with the arm fully adducted ranged from −8.0° to +4.5°. The overall rate of return to sport ranged from 56.9% to 100% after remplissage. The rate of return to sport at the preinjury level ranged from 41.7% to 100%. In addition, arthroscopic remplissage in addition to Bankart repair had a reduced odds of recurrent instability developing, ranging from 0.07 to 0.88, when compared with isolated Bankart repair. Conclusions Arthroscopic remplissage combined with Bankart repair is an effective procedure in the treatment of patients with engaging Hill-Sachs lesions and minimal glenoid bone loss. Patients can expect favorable rates of recurrent instability with a negligible loss of external rotation when compared with isolated Bankart repair. Treatment algorithms may be updated to include this procedure for engaging Hill-Sachs lesions, measuring between 20% and 40% in volume, with subcritical ( Level of Evidence Level IV, systematic review of Level III and IV studies.
The Biosimilar Nocebo Effect? A Systematic Review of Double-Blinded Versus Open-Label Studies.

BACKGROUND: Several authors have hypothesized that adverse drug events (ADEs) upon switching from reference biologics to biosimilar products are related to the nocebo effect. However, a thorough an...
A Partitioning-Based Approach for Robot Path Planning Problems

Path planning is one of the most important studied problems in the field of autonomous robots. The autonomous robot should pass around obstacles from a given starting position to a given target position, touching none of them, i.e. the goal is to find a collision-free path from the starting to the target position. Research on path planning has generated many fundamentally different approaches to the solution of this problem, in which A* algorithm is the one of the outstanding approaches have been developed for solving this problem, but it only ensures that the algorithm gives its result within a large amount of time-consumption. Therefore, in this paper, a Partitioning-Based Path Planning approach, called PBPP, has been proposed by partitioning-based and hierarchical methods that effectively improve the A* algorithm. The PBPP uses the concept of divide-and-conquer to divide the global map into each of sub-map in which a collision-free space is able to be represented. Furthermore, hierarchical planning can provide more feasible direction to achieve a smooth path in the result of the optimal path. The experimental results demonstrate the PBPP‘s utility for reducing time-consumption and finding low-cost paths.
The effect of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth behaviour of an Al-Zn-Mg-(Zr) alloy

The effect of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-(Zr) alloy was investigated. The major effects were observed during testing at low stress intensities. An overaged microstructure, containing large, partially coherent η′ and incoherent η particles, exhibited the slowest crack growth rates when compared to a maximum strength and an underaged condition. This improved fatigue resistance was attributed to the occurrence of dislocation looping and cross slip as the primary deformation mode, causing a larger degree of homogeneous deformation. As the stress intensity increased, the differences in the crack growth rates among the three aging conditions became less as evidence of dislocation banding began to disappear in the underaged and maximum strength aged conditions. At intermediate stress intensity levels no significant crack growth rate differences were observed.
Cigarette Smoking and Quitting-Related Factors Among US Adult Health Center Patients with Serious Mental Illness.

US adults with serious mental illness (SMI), compared to those without SMI, have a higher prevalence of smoking, which contributes to a shorter life expectancy. This study compared current smoking and quitting-related characteristics of low-income US adults with and without SMI who received healthcare at federally funded health centers. Using cross-sectional data from adults ≥ 18 years old in the nationally representative 2014 Health Center Patient Survey (n = 5592), we compared the prevalence of ever and current smoking among adults with and without SMI and calculated quit ratios as the percentage of ever smokers who have quit smoking. We examined the association between SMI and receiving advice to quit, making quit attempts, and having plans to quit in the next 30 days using multivariable logistic regression. A total of 1376 (23%) of participants had SMI. Ever smoking prevalence was 68% in adults with SMI and 41% in adults without SMI, and current smoking prevalence was 48% and 22%, respectively. The quit ratio was 30% and 46% among participants with and without SMI, respectively. Compared to smokers without SMI, more smokers with SMI reported receiving advice to quit in the past 12 months (aOR 2.47, 95% CI 1.20–5.07). Smokers with and without SMI did not differ significantly in their odds of having made a past-12-month quit attempt or plans to quit. Smokers with SMI seen in federally funded health centers were just as likely to have made a quit attempt and to have plans to quit as smokers without SMI. Despite a higher likelihood of receiving clinician advice to quit, the lower quit ratio in this population suggests that advice alone is unlikely to be sufficient. These results underscore the need for augmented strategies to promote smoking cessation and reduce the excess burden of tobacco-related disease in patients with SMI.
Automatic parallelization of irregular x86-64 loops

Productivity languages such as Python and R are growing in popularity especially in the development of data analysis algorithms. While these languages provide powerful tools to accelerate the development process, they incur heavy overhead due to their interpreted nature. One approach to remove this overhead is to specialize the interpreter for a given script. Then, loops in the specialized code can be parallelized to further improve performance. In contrast to previous work that targets LLVM loops with affine memory access patterns, we are investigating the problem of parallelizing loops with irregular access patterns at the x86 level. To do so, we split hot loops into a sequential master thread that sends tasks to parallel worker threads.