cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel in situ liquefying antimicrobial wrap for preventing tissue expander infections following breast reconstructive surgeries

Breast reconstruction surgeries using tissue expanders (TEs) have highly reported infection rates. To decrease this, we developed a method for disinfecting TEs and surgical pockets, where an antimicrobial solution was applied as a solid film at implantation that subsequently liquefied in situ to provide extended prophylaxis. Silicone discs cut from TEs were covered with gelatin-based films containing minocycline (M) and rifampin (R). Discs and films soaked in saline were subsequently challenged with pathogen at days 1, 3, 7, and 10 and quantified for potential biofilm formation. Discs that were not harvested at each specific time points were refreshed with sterile saline. The discs were challenged with clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-PA). Recoveries of adherent organisms from uncovered silicone discs and gelatin-wrapped discs without added antimicrobial agents were >5 × 104 CFU/disc for each organism at each time point. Experimental 0.1%M/0.05%R gelatin films completely inhibited all challenge organisms from attaching to the silicone (p < 0.05) at each time point through day 10. Cytotoxicity was assessed by incubating films with HEK-293T human fibroblasts. There were no significant differences in HEK-293T cell survival between controls and any of the antimicrobial films. The in situ liquefying, bioabsorable, antimicrobial wrap prevented biofilm formation by microorganisms on silicone surfaces in vitro with minimal cytotoxicity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2015.
Role of the Hippocampus, the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, and the Amygdala in the Excitatory Effect of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone on the Acoustic Startle Reflex

Previously, we demonstrated that transection of the fimbria/fornix blocked the excitatory effect of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) on startle (CRH-enhanced startle), suggesting that the hippocampus and its efferent target areas that communicate via the fimbria may be critically involved in CRH-enhanced startle. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) receives direct projections from the ventral hippocampus via the fimbria/fornix. Therefore, the role of the ventral hippocampus, the BNST, and the amygdala in CRH-enhanced startle was investigated. NMDA lesions of the BNST completely blocked CRH-enhanced startle, whereas chemical lesions of the ventral hippocampus and the amygdala failed to block CRH-enhanced startle. However, the same amygdala-lesioned animals showed a complete blockade of fear-potentiated startle, a conditioned fear response sensitive to manipulations of the amygdala. In contrast, BNST-lesioned rats had normal fear-potentiated startle. This indicates a double dissociation between the BNST and the amygdala in two different paradigms that enhance startle amplitude. Microinfusions of CRH into the BNST, but not into the ventral hippocampus, mimicked intracerebroventricular CRH effects. Furthermore, infusion of a CRH antagonist into the BNST blocked CRH-enhanced startle in a dose-dependent manner. Control studies showed that this blockade did not result from either leakage of the antagonist into the ventricular system or a local anesthetic effect caused by infusion of the antagonist into the BNST. The present studies strongly suggest that CRH in the CSF can activate the BNST, which could lead to activation of brainstem and hypothalamic BNST target areas involved in anxiety and stress responses.
Towards building a better language model for SWITCHBOARD: the POS tagging task

Language models are used extensively in state-of-the-art speech recognition systems to help determine the probability of a hypothesized word sequence. These probabilities, along with the acoustic model scores, allow the system to constrain the search space during recognition to only those word sequences that have a reasonable chance of being correct. In order to determine these probabilities, knowledge of the entire problem space is necessary. However, in speech recognition, this is an unreasonable if not impossible task, especially when one is using the SWITCHBOARD corpus (a large corpus consisting of over 240 hours of recorded telephone conversations totaling almost 3 million words of text). Many statistical and rule-based approaches have been applied to this problem in order to arrive at a language model that produces the minimal word error rate (WER) of the recognizer. One technique includes part-of-speech (POS) information in the language model. This paper discusses the task of tagging the SWITCHBOARD corpus with POS information in the usual manner, and the problems encountered when trying to conform conversational speech to these tags.
Sulfate Reduction by a Desulfovibrio Species Isolated from Sheep Rumen

Several dissimilatory, sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from the rumen fluid of sheep fed purified diets containing sulfate. One isolate, strain D, was selected for characterization. This organism is a nonsporeforming, obligately anaerobic, mesophilic, nonmotile, gram-negative, straight rod. Cell-free extracts show absorption maxima for cytochrome c(3) and desulfoviridin, characteristic of Desulfovibrio. Carbohydrates, as a sole carbon source, will support growth. Lactate supports growth in the presence of sulfate, not in its absence, whereas glucose or pyruvate support growth either in the presence or absence of sulfate. The isolate has a deoxyribonucleic acid base composition of 61.2% guanine plus cytosine, which is similar to that of several other species of Desulfovibrio; however, it differs from previously described species in morphology, motility, and carbon source utilization. Cell-free extracts of this bacterium exhibit adenosine 5'-triphosphate-sulfurylase, adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate-reductase, and hydrogenase activity. After incubation of cell-free extracts with adenine 5'-triphosphate and (35)SO(4) (2-), adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate rather than 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate was shown to be labeled, indicating that the pathway of sulfate reduction in this organism is similar to that of other dissimilatory sulfate reducers. This is the first report of a Desulfovibrio sp. isolated from the rumen.
Rindopepimut vaccine and bevacizumab combination therapy: improving survival rates in relapsed glioblastoma patients?

Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common malignant primary tumor in adults, carries a dismal prognosis. Median overall survival (OS) following currently available standard therapy for newly diagnosed patients, which includes maximal safe resection followed by fractionated radiotherapy plus concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide is under 15 months [1] and has failed to improve despite recently reported randomized Phase III studies evaluating dose dense temozolomide [2], VEGF blockade [3,4] and anti-integrin therapy [5]. Effective therapy for patients following recurrence has been even more problematic. Although the genetic complexity of GBM tumors has recently been elegantly articulated [6,7], exploitation of this information using targeted molecular therapeutics in multiple clinical studies has been uniformly disappointing to date [8]. Furthermore, although GBM tumors are highly angiogenic and express high levels of VEGF; VEGF targeting therapeutics such as bevacizumab have modestly improved progression-free survival at best for recurrent patients [9]. Therapeutics capable of improving OS for GBM have remained elusive, underscoring the critical need for innovative treatment approaches for this major unmet need in oncology. A variety of immunotherapy approaches, including cancer vaccines, immune checkpoint blockade and chimeric antigen receptor T cells, have recently demonstrated exciting benefit across a spectrum of cancers. Nonetheless, the role of these agents for GBM patients remains undefined [10]. Furthermore, many speculate that immunotherapies are unlikely to be of value for GBM patients based on historical dogma supporting immuno privilege of the CNS. Despite this bias, growing data argues against the concept of CNS immunosanctity, and in fact demonstrates that a dynamic and effective interaction exists between the CNS and systemic immune systems. Accordingly, a wide array of immune-based therapies is currently under clinical evaluation for GBM patients. The most advanced immuno therapeutic in the clinical arena for GBM patients is rindopepimut, a peptide vaccine targeting EGFRvIII. In contrast to early GBM vaccines utilizing either whole tumor lysate or tumor-associated antigen (TAA) cocktail approaches, rindopepimut was developed to attack EGFRvIII, a target that is exquisitely tumor specific. EGFRvIII is present in approximately 30% of GBM tumors and can be readily detected by available immunohistochemistry or RT-PCR assays. EGFRvIII results from an in-frame deletion of exons 2–7 that leads to the physical approximation of two normally separated portions of Rindopepimut vaccine and bevacizumab combination therapy: improving survival rates in relapsed glioblastoma patients?
A new approach to compressed sensing for NMR

Compressed sensing (CS) has attracted a great deal of recent interest as an approach for spectrum analysis of nonuniformly sampled NMR data. Although theoretical justification for the method is abundant, it suffers from several weaknesses, among them poor convergence of some algorithms, and it remains an open question whether NMR spectra satisfy the sparsity requirements of CS theorems. The versions of CS used in NMR involve minimizing the l1 norm of the spectrum. They bear similarity to maximum entropy (MaxEnt) reconstruction, but critical comparison of the methods can be difficult. Here we describe a formalism that places CS and MaxEnt reconstruction on equal footing, enabling critical comparison of the two methods. We also describe a new algorithm for CS that restricts the computation of the l1 norm to the real channel for complex spectra and ensures causality. Preliminary 1D results demonstrate that this approach ameliorates some artifacts that can occur when using the l1 norm of the complex spectrum.
Pyramidal tract of the cat: axon size and morphology

The purpose of this work was to determine the number and morphology of pyramidal tract (PT) axons in the cat, using electron microscopy, modern methods of fixation, and computer-assisted morphometric analysis. Sections taken at the level of the medullary pyramids in three animals were fixed and magnified up to 10,000 x to produce photomicrographs. Morphological data were entered into computer files for analysis by tracing axon perimeters on micrographs mounted on a digitizer tablet. The number of axons per PT averaged 415,000, of which 88% were myelinated and 12% were unmyelinated. 90% of the myelinated axons fell in the diameter range 0.5–4.5 μm. Axons larger than 9 μm diameter accounted for 1% of the total; the largest were 20–23 μm. Myelinated axon mean diameter was 1.98 μm; because of the skewed distribution, with many small axons and a few very large axons, median diameter was 1.60 μm. Size distribution was relatively uniform throughout the PT cross section, with all sizes represented in all regions. However, the more medial regions had a higher proportion of small fibers than the more lateral regions: mean medial diameter was 1.85 μm while mean lateral diameter was 2.09 μm. Myelin sheath thickness averaged 7.9% of fiber diameter for axons up to 11 μm, but was constant at 0.9 μm for larger fibers. Myelinated fibers were distorted from the circular shape in cross section, with a mean circularity index (or form factor) of 0.85, which implies that the fibers could swell about 15% without rupture of the cell membrane. Unmyelinated fibers averaged 0.18 μm diameter (range 0.05–0.6 μm); the largest unmyelinated axons were larger than the smallest myelinated axons. It is concluded that previous work greatly underestimated the number of axons in the cat pyramidal tract.
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide is a potent regulator of bile secretion from rat cholangiocytes.

Abstract Background & Aims: Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide with diverse biological functions including stimulatory effects on bile secretion. The effects of VIP on bile secretion and its site of action were examined. Methods: Choleretic effects of VIP were examined using isolated perfused livers, hepatocyte couplets, isolated bile duct units, and cholangiocytes from rat liver. Results: VIP (100 nmol/L) produced a small increase in bile flow and bile salt output in taurocholate-supplemented isolated perfused livers but had no significant effect on bile flow in the absence of bile salt supplements or on fluid secretion in isolated hepatocyte couplets. In addition, VIP significantly increased bile pH, bicarbonate concentration, and output in the isolated perfused livers from both normal and 2 week bile duct–ligated rats, although bile flow increased only in the bile duct–ligated model. VIP also produced a dose-dependent increase in fluid secretion in isolated bile duct units, which was inhibited significantly by VIP antagonist, a specific VIP receptor inhibitor. This VIP-stimulated secretory response in isolated bile duct units was more potent than those produced by bombesin or secretin. Neither somatostatin nor substance P inhibited the VIP response in isolated bile duct units. In contrast to secretin, VIP had no significant effect on adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels in isolated cholangiocytes. Conclusions: VIP is a potent stimulant of fluid and bicarbonate secretion from cholangiocytes via cAMP-independent pathways, suggesting that this neuropeptide plays a major regulatory role in biliary transport and secretion.
Cervical Artery Dissection: Risk Factors, Treatment, and Outcome; A 5-Year Experience From a Tertiary Care Center

ABSTRACTBackground: Cervical artery dissection (CAD) is a common cause of stroke in young individuals. Risk factors, treatment, and outcome of CAD are not well established. Our aim is to identify risk factors, outcome, and discuss treatment of CAD. Methods: We reviewed medical records of patients seen at our institution between 2004 and 2009, using ICD-9 codes for CAD, for risk factors, treatment, type, and outcome. Poor outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score within 6 months of >1 or recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Results: A total of 47 patients were identified. Twenty-four patients had spontaneous dissections (52%); 30 (63%) involved the carotid. As compared with spontaneous dissections, traumatic dissections occurred in younger patients (mean age 41.0 vs. 47.7 years, p = .064), were more likely to involve the vertebral artery (52% vs. 21%, p = .036, and caused less neurological deficits on presentation (48% vs. 75%, p = .075). Conversely, spontaneous dissections w...
Theoretical analysis of semiconductor-optical-amplifier-based wavelength converters

We analyzed the key design parameters of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) based wavelength converters. Simple analytical equations to calculate the rise and fall time of the converted signals in a long SOA (>5OOim) are derived.
Impacts of iron control on phytoplankton production in the modern and glacial Southern Ocean

Abstract Paleoceanographic evidence points to the Southern Ocean as a strong sink for atmospheric CO2 during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), but no consensus about the responsible mechanism has yet been reached. Martin (Paleoceanography 5 (1990) 1) postulated that greater iron input during the LGM could have stimulated phytoplankton to consume the surface nutrients in the Southern Ocean, increasing carbon export substantially. We use a simple ecological model to elucidate the extent to which iron availability affects export production in the southwest Pacific sector. The model includes the effect of iron in a semi-explicit way. Based on the physiological response of the photosynthetic apparatus, the simulated phytoplankton growth rates are explicitly dependent on iron. The cycling of iron in the food web is not tracked, since uncertainties persist about the dynamics of iron uptake, transformation and release processes within the pelagic community. A simulation of the present ocean that uses the semi-explicit approach to include iron is compared with a simulation that accounts for iron only implicitly by using model parameters that are typical for low iron conditions. The simulations agree within the range of available observations. Glacial scenarios are simulated (assuming an increase in iron supply) and compared to the modern ocean simulation. Primary and export production increase in the glacial simulations, in particular if we assume an adaptation of the Si:N cell quota of diatoms to the higher iron levels. In this case the export doubles north of the Polar Front and in the Seasonal Ice Zone.
Longitudinal versus radial effects of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose on gastrointestinal glucose absorption in dogs.

Abstract Many water soluble fibers have been shown to favorably affect the postprandial glucose profile in humans. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), a fiber which has been shown to increase glucose tolerance in dogs and noninsulin dependent diabetics, was chosen to study the luminal interactions which mediate this effect. The ability of HPMC to influence upper gastrointestinal (GI) viscosity, transit, and water flux of 5% and 20% glucose solutions was studied in five female dogs fistulated at the proximal duodenum and/or midjejunum. HPMC elevated intraluminal viscosity, with a linear relationship existing between input and luminal viscosity. The ability to modify intraluminal viscosity was greater for isoosmotic (5%) glucose solutions than for hyperosmotic (20%) glucose solutions. HPMC also modified the transit profile of isoosmotic (5%) glucose solutions at midgut by both increasing the lag times before the onset of chyme recovery from 5.5±3.1 min to 9–55 min (depending on the viscosity of the administered solution) and decreasing the first-order transit rate constants from 0.115±0.07 min−1 to 0.014–0.035 min−1. By contrast, the transit profile of hyperosmotic (20%) glucose solutions was not significantly affected. Net cumulative water flux across the gut wall was not significantly affected in either case by the presence of HPMC. These results, in combination with the amount of glucose recovered from midgut fistula, suggest that following the administration of glucose solutions, HPMC effects on blood glucose levels are mediated by mechanisms which relate to the increased intraluminal viscosity but vary according to the input glucose load. For isoosmotic glucose loads, both the decreased upper GI transit rate and hindered radial movement play a role. Although HPMC modifies glucose absorption from hyperosmotic solutions, this study shows that luminal effects occurring before midgut are modest.
Sensitive sub-Doppler multiwave-mixing spectroscopy for flame and graphite furnace atomizers

Resonant degenerate four-wave mixing is presented as an unusually sensitive nonlinear laser method that yields Doppler-free spectral resolution at trace-concentration levels even when using low laser power levels. Using a non-planar four-wave mixing optical setup, one can extract the signal beam from the input beams more easily, and hence, suppress the background noise more effectively and improve signal-to- noise ratios. Optical alignment is simple and convenient for this multiphoton setup. Sub-Doppler spectral resolution allows reliable measurement of many isotope and hyperfine lines using room-pressure flame atomizers, low-pressure discharge atomizers or room-pressure graphite furnace atomizers. While maintaining sub-Doppler spectral resolution, four-wave mixing still yields parts-per-trillion level detection sensitivity using these popular analytical atomizers. While flame atomizers offer convenient and fast sample introduction, low- pressure discharge atomizers offer better spectral resolution (i.e., sub-Doppler plus sub-Lorentzian), and graphite furnace atomizers yield lower atomizer background noise. Since laser power requirements are low (e.g., mW for CW lasers and nJ for pulsed lasers), many compact lasers (e.g., solid-state lasers) could be used in this simple yet sensitive nonlinear laser method.
EFFECT OF ALBUMIN AND DRUG CONCENTRATION ON THE BINDING OF FUROSEMIDE

Furosemide is 95% bound to human plasma (Kelly, et al., Clin. Res. 21:199, 1973); however, factors influencing that binding have not been evaluated. The binding of furosemide-14C (carboxyl-14C) to human albumin and plasma was investigated by equilibrium dialysis at 37°C for 18-24 hours. Binding of furosemide (3.4 ug/ml) to varying concentrations of human albumin decreased slightly from 97.2% (5 gm% albumin) to 95.8% (2 gm%). However, albumin concentrations less than this showed a greater decrease in binding to 89.6% (0.5 gm% albumin). Using 4 gm% human albumin, binding of the drug decreased from 97% to 89% as furosemide concentration was increased from 1.8 ug/ml to 600 ug/ml. Furosemide (4 ug/ml) was not displaced by diphenylhydantoin, phenobarbital, diazoxide, tri-fluoperazine or chloramphenicol in therapeutic concentrations. Influence of albumin concentration on the binding of furosemide was evaluated in plasma from 3 children with nephrotic syndrome. The albumin concentration was 0.6, 1.1 and 1.8 gm% and the respective binding of furosemide was 93, 90 and 95%. These findings demonstrate that this diuretic is highly bound to plasma albumin, and the free drug fraction may be affected by both the dose and the patient's plasma albumin concentration.
Alkane dehydrogenation by sequential, double C-H bond activation by TpBr3Ir(C2H4)2 (Tpbr3 = hydrotris(3,4,5-tribromo)pyrazolylborate)

The new complex Tp B r 3 Ir(C 2 H 4 ) 2 , 1, photochemically activates the C-H bonds of n-pentane in a two-step process, the first one being the formation of an isolable alkyl-hydride intermediate of composition Tp B r 3 Ir(H)(C 2 H 4 )(C 5 H 1 1 ), 3a, that subsequently undergoes β-hydride elimination to generate a terminal olefin complex, Tp B r 3 Ir(H) 2 (C 5 H 1 0 ), 4a. The reaction can also be extended to diethyl ether. In this case, the reaction proceeds by the activation of one of the β-C-H bonds (with respect to the O-ether atom) with formation of the alkyl-hydride 3b and the dehydrogenation product 4b. These processes also compete with the intramolecular C-H activation of one of the coordinated ethylene ligand by the Ir(I) center in 1, which affords the hydride-vinyl complex TpBr3Ir(H)(CH=CH 2 )(C 2 H 4 ), 2. Attempts to thermally induce the above transformations has led to the exclusive formation of a mixture of the hydride-α,ω-butenyl complex Tp B r 3 Ir(H)(CH 2 CH 2 CH=CH 2 ), 5, and the hydride-crotyl complex Tp B r 3 Ir(H)(C 4 H 7 ), 6.
Effector CD4+ T cells, the cytokines they generate, and GVHD: something old and something new.

GVHD is a syndrome that results from minor and major histocompatibility complex incompatibilities between the donor and recipient. More than 50 years after its initial description, the pathophysiology of GVHD remains poorly understood. Nonetheless, donor T cells have been shown to be critical to the pathophysiology of acute and chronic GVHD, yet precisely how they function remains unclear. The effector mechanisms by which donor T cells mediate tissue inflammation is even less well understood. Identification of several new lineages of CD4+ T cells made in the past decade and their roles in the pathophysiology of T cell–mediated diseases has shed new light on these effector mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the recent descriptions of these T-cell lineages and the current data supporting their role in acute and to a lesser extent chronic GVHD. Investigations into the activity of these new T-cell lineages may provide more rationale approaches to the treatment or prevention of GVHD.
Decisions on Child Care: Do Sex and Sexual Orientation Matter?

This experiment on person perception used a role-playing methodology to examine whether a target individual's sex and sexual orientation influence perceived abilities as a child care worker. Men and women (N = 78) role played the part of a parent who has placed an advertisement for a full-time babysitter. They received information about a male or female, heterosexual or homosexual applicant (randomly assigned). Although participants preferred to hire (and felt more comfortable leaving their children with) a heterosexual woman than any other type of applicant, they believed that homosexual men and women were as knowledgeable about aspects of child care, e.g., nutrition, first aid, as their heterosexual peers. The least preferred child care worker was a heterosexual man, perhaps because such a target is inconsistent with traditional sex-role expectations.
Edaphic sorting drives arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community assembly in a serpentine/non-serpentine mosaic landscape

Serpentine soil generates distinct plant assemblages, but it is not known how this edaphically extreme environment affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) assembly or how this may contribute to plant adaptation to serpentine. Our previous studies showed that serpentine and non-serpentine adapted ecotypes of Collinisa sparsiflora associates with distinct AMF assemblages, but a common garden experiment showed that this pattern was not due to host-fungal preference. We hypothesized that the observed differences in AMF associated with C. sparsiflora ecotypes was driven by edaphically defined AMF assemblages. To test this idea we employed a broader sampling of the plant community from five serpentine and five non-serpentine sites in close proximity (50–150 m between sites) and identified AMF and plant species associated with root samples by amplifying rDNA and cpDNA respectively, cloning, and sequencing. We compared AMF and plant assemblages, and measured the relative contribution of distance, plant and so...
Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Ammonia, and Hydrogen Sulfide from Pigs Fed Standard Diets and Diets Supplemented with Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles

Swine producers are supplementing animal diets with increased levels of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) to offset the cost of a standard corn-soybean meal (CSBM) diet. However, the environmental impact of these diets on emissions of greenhouse gases, ammonia (NH), and hydrogen sulfide (HS) is largely unknown. Twenty-four pigs (103.6 kg initial body weight) were fed a standard CSBM diet or a CSBM diet containing 35% DDGS for 42 d. Pigs were fed and their manure was collected twice daily over the 42-d trial. Pigs fed diets containing DDGS had reduced manure pH ( < 0.01), increased surface crust coverage ( < 0.01), increased manure dry matter content ( < 0.01), and increased manure C ( < 0.01), N ( < 0.01), and S ( < 0.01) contents. Animals fed DDGS diets also had significantly higher concentrations of total ammoniacal nitrogen ( < 0.01) and sulfide ( < 0.01) in their manure compared with animals fed CSBM diets. Manure emissions of NH ( < 0.01) and HS ( < 0.05) were significantly higher in animals fed the CSBM diet. There was no dietary treatment effect for methane or nitrous oxide emissions from manure. This study demonstrates that diets containing DDGS can significantly affect manure composition and potentially lower emissions of NH and HS.
Task specific continuous word representations for mono and multi-lingual spoken language understanding

Models for statistical spoken language understanding (SLU) systems are conventionally trained using supervised discriminative training methods. In many cases, however, labeled data necessary for these supervised techniques is not readily available necessitating a laborious data collection and annotation effort. This often results into data sets that are not expansive enough to cover adequately all patterns of natural language phrases that occur in the target applications. Word embedding features alleviate data and feature sparsity issues by learning mathematical representation of words and word associations in the continuous space. In this work, we present techniques to obtain task and domain specific word embeddings and show their usefulness over those obtained from generic unsupervised data. We also show how we transfer these embeddings from one language to another enabling training of a multilingual spoken language understanding system.
Apoptotic and non-apoptotic programmed cardiomyocyte death in ventricular remodelling

A defining cellular event in the transition from compensated hypertrophy to dilated cardiomyopathy is cardiomyocyte drop-out due to apoptosis, programmed necrosis, and autophagy. The importance of apoptosis in heart failure has been recognized for over a decade, while other forms of programmed cell death have more recently been appreciated, and their pathophysiological roles continue to be defined in experimental and clinical heart failure. The major focus of this review is on apoptosis in heart failure, with a discussion of molecular cross-talk between apoptosis, autophagy, and programmed necrosis.
Comparison of Crinone 8% intravaginal gel and intramuscular progesterone supplementation for in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer in women under age 40: interim analysis of a prospective randomized trial

This study was performed to compare the efficacy of Crinone 8% intravaginal gel and intramuscular progesterone (IMP) supplementation for luteal phase support in women under age 40 undergoing IVF-ET. Results of the interim analysis of this rigorously designed prospective randomized controlled study are presented. Pregnancy rates, implantation rates, and early spontaneous abortion rates were similar for patients receiving Crinone or IMP, whereas fewer side effects and greater overall satisfaction were reported by women receiving Crinone.
Location and quantification of biological foulants in a wet membrane structure by cross-sectional confocal laser scanning microscopy

Abstract Microfiltration of solutions containing proteins and polysaccharides suffers from permeate flux decline caused by membrane fouling, despite the small size of these species relative to the nominal membrane pore size. To develop fouling mitigation strategies for microfiltration of biological streams, it is important to understand the mechanisms that lead to fouling. In this contribution, we discuss the use of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to determine where proteins and polysaccharides deposit inside polymeric microfiltration membranes when a fluid containing these materials is filtered. By using fluorescently labeled probes, CLSM permitted evaluation of the location and extent of fouling by individual components (protein: casein and polysaccharide: dextran) within wet, asymmetric polyethersulfone microfiltration membranes. By labeling the protein and polysaccharide with different fluorophores, we were able to locate each component separately and to visualize co-localization within the membrane. In addition, flux profiles and cross-sectional CLSM images were obtained for membranes that processed single-component solutions and mixtures to better understand the role of each on membrane fouling and to see how component interactions impact the fouling profiles. Analysis of the CLSM images at different levels of fouling for single-component solutions and mixtures provided concentration profiles versus depth for each individual component present in the feed solution. Using a new cross-sectional imaging protocol that we developed in a previous investigation, we were able to visualize fouling profiles throughout the entire thickness of the membrane, overcoming limitations of depth of penetration observed in previous CLSM work.
Vadose Zone Clays and Water Content beneath Wet and Dry Canyons of the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico

Clay mineralogy in the vadose zone at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), situated on the Pajarito Plateau of northern New Mexico, differs significantly beneath wet and dry canyons. Drainage across LANL is generally from west to east and feeds into the Rio Grande along the eastern margin of the plateau. Canyons with headwaters in the Sierra de los Valles west of the plateau support more flow and are wetter than canyons with headwaters on the plateau. Los Alamos Canyon, one of the wetter canyons, has extensive clay alteration to depths >30 m in the subcanyon vadose zone. Mortandad Canyon, one of the drier canyons, has less clay alteration. Hydraulic property data for the Otowi Member of the Bandelier Tuff, one of the most widespread lithologies of the plateau, indicate that zones of high clay abundance have hydraulic transmissivities (K(sat)) one to two orders of magnitude lower than less altered tuff (approximately 10(-4) vs. 10(-2) to 10(-3) cm/s). Occurrences of halloysite, and perhaps kaolinite, indicate zones where the water/rock ratio is or has been high within the vadose zone. Gravimetric water content data collected at 110°C from vadose zone rocks with low to moderate clay content provide water abundance data for matrix flow calculations. These data may be in error by up to approximately 5 to 16% because some of the water measured is actually held in clay interlayers rather than in pore spaces; such errors are minor but should be considered in the use of gravimetric moisture data. The use of electrical methods to explore for vadose wet zones is valid on the Pajarito Plateau as long as the results are treated broadly, with the understanding that some intervals of high conductivity are not entirely related to either movable water content or clay abundance.
Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of shock curves of hyperbolic 1‐conservation laws

We present three conditions for the existence of shock curves of hyperbolic 1-conservation laws. If at least two of the conditions hold, then shock curves exist uniquely in the classical sense. We present an example (Example 2, Section 4) for which two of the conditions do not hold and a new kind of singularity occurs. In Remark 1 we present two other conditions similar to the above three conditions which also imply the existence of shock curves.
Knowledge base maintenance using knowledge gap analysis

As the web and e-business have proliferated, the practice of using customer facing knowledge bases to augment customer service and support operations has increased. This can be a very efficient, scalable and cost effective way to share knowledge. The effectiveness and cost savings are proportional to the utility of the information within the knowledge base and inversely proportional to the amount of labor required in maintaining the knowledge. To address this issue, we have developed an algorithm and methodology to increase the utility of the information within a knowledge base while greatly reducing the labor required.In this paper, we describe an implementation of an algorithm and methodology for comparing a knowledge base to a set of problem tickets to determine which categories and subcategories are not well addressed within the knowledge base. We utilize text clustering on problem ticket text to determine a set of problem categories. We then compare each knowledge base solution document to each problem category centroid using a cosine distance metric. The distance between the "closest" solution document and the corresponding centroid becomes the basis of that problem category's "knowledge gap". Our claim is that this gap metric serves as a useful method for quickly and automatically determining which problem categories have no relevant solutions in a knowledge base. We have implemented our approach, and we present the results of performing a knowledge gap analysis on a set of support center problem tickets.
A memento web browser for iOS

The Memento framework allows web browsers to request and view archived web pages in a transparent fashion. However, Memento is still in the early stages of adoption, and browser-plugins are often required to enable Memento support. We report on a new iOS app called the Memento Browser, a web browser that supports Memento and gives iPhone and iPad users transparent access to the world's largest web archives.
Axonal agranular reticulum and synaptic vesicles in cultured embryonic chick sympathetic neurons.

Cultured chick embryonic sympathetic neurons contain an extensive axonal network of sacs and tubules of agranular reticulum. The reticulum is also seen branching into networks in axon terminals and varicosities. The axonal reticulum and perikaryal endoplasmic reticulum resemble one another in their content of cytochemically demonstrable enzyme activities (G6Pase and IDPase) and in their characteristic membrane thicknesses (narrower than plasma membrane or some Golgi membranes). From the reticulum, both along the axon and at terminals, there appear to form dense-cored vesicles ranging in size from 400 to 1,000 A in diameter. These vesicles behave pharmacologically and cytochemically like the classes of large and small catecholamine storage vesicles found in several adrenergic systems; for example, they can accumulate exogenous 5-hydroxydopamine. In addition, dense-cored vesicles at the larger (1,000 A) end of the size spectrum appear to arise within perikaryal membrane systems associated with the Golgi apparatus; this is true also of very large (800–3,500 A) dense-cored vesicles found in some perikarya.
Calculation of Muscovite-Paragonite-Alkali Feldspar Phase Relations

Experimental data on K-Na exchange between NaCl-KCl-H2O fluids and alkali feldspars or white micas, and end-member dehydration reactions of white mica (± quartz to alkali feldspar plus corundum (or Al2SiO5) and H2O have been used to evaluate K-Na exchange potentials between coexisting white mica and alkali feldspar. Calculations using these exchange potentials and Margules parameters for excess molar Gibbs energies of alkali feld-spars and white micas have permitted the construction of a projected binary phase diagram for the white mica dehydration. Extrapolation to higher temperatures and pressures gives a topology wholly consistent with field evidence. The subsolidus univariant curves intersect H2O-saturated minimum-melting curves. At pressures greater than about 6 kbar the common assemblage Ms+Or+Ab+Q could undergo H2O-saturated minimum-melting at lower temperatures than the disappearance of paragonite or the kyanite-sillimanite isograd in more aluminous rocks. The apparent restriction of anatexis to rocks above the second sillimanite isograd may imply that activity of H2O is usually less than unity in high-grade regional metamorphism.
Establishing antenna and receiver characteristics for addressing multipath interference for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating urban canyons

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying through urban canyons are subject to multipath signals as a result of reflection, refraction, and diffraction of satellite signals travelling to the receiver; this can lead to positional inaccuracies in this time-critical operation that can lead to crashes. Indeed, analytical models show that for a GPS L1-C/A (coarse or clear signal/acquisition), the time to detect a satellite signal increases considerably under conditions of multipath interference. Traditionally, two different approaches have been taken to dealing with the multipath problem. One approach involves signal processing and the other involves designing an antenna (spatial processing) capable of rejecting multipath signals. While several signal processing solutions for dealing with multipath impact exist, they require advanced receiver architectures that either mitigate the effect of multipath signals or use signals identified as multipath to enhance location accuracy. A question that remains to be answered is whether or not acquisition time for satellite signals can be optimized by carefully matching antenna and receiver.
Carbon-13 refocused gradient imaging of solids

Abstract We present a version of refocused gradient imaging suitable for imaging low-abundance spin - 1 2 nuclei in solids. The technique is demonstrated for 13C imaging of a polyacrylic phantom. We show that the question of sensitivity in NMR imaging of solids must be treated differently than for NMR spectroscopy. Although less sensitive than proton imaging, carbon imaging is much more sensitive than predicted strictly from a straight sensitivity comparison of carbon to proton spectroscopy.
Relationships between winter atmospheric circulation patterns and extreme tree growth anomalies in the Sierra Nevada

Tree-ring data from mid-elevation (∼2000 m) giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and high elevation (∼3500 m) pines (Pinus balfouriana, Pinus albicaulis) were used to select extreme growth years from which temperature, precipitation and large-scale winter (November–March, NM) 500 mb circulation patterns associated with the extreme tree growth anomalies were examined. Winters preceding extreme high growth in both giant sequoia and pines are warm and wet and are characterized by anomalous low pressure in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and a tendency for southwesterly flow and advection of warm maritime air into California. For the pines, such winters exhibit a pattern of anomalous low pressure in the northern Pacific, anomalous high pressure over northwestern Canada and anomalous low pressure across the southern US. NM 500 mb heights suggest more meridional circulation during the warm and dry winters preceding extreme low growth in giant sequoia. Atmospheric circulation during these winters exhibits a persistent trough/ridge pattern between the central Pacific and the western US. Storms are deflected away from California during these winters. NM atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme low growth in the pines exhibit maximum westerlies north of their mean position and the tendency for enhanced ridging in the northeast Pacific, which advects cool dry air into the Sierra Nevada. As dendroclimatic reconstructions are more frequently employed in order to better understand past variability of temperature and precipitation, synoptic dendroclimatological studies such as this one provide useful insights about atmospheric circulation. © 1998 Royal Meteorological Society
Sea urchin sperm bioassay for sewage and chlorinated seawater and its relation to fish bioassays

Abstract Bioassays were conducted with sea urchin and sand dollar sperm to determine the toxicity of chlorinated and unchlorinated sewage effluent and chlorinated and brominated seawater. The sperm cells were exposed to seawater dilutions of each toxicant for 5–15 min. The fertilisation of eggs served as the indicators of sperm viability. The effective concentrations which reduced fertilisation success by 50% (EC50) averaged 2·2 and 4·8% chlorinated and unchlorinated sewage in seawater, respectively. The sperm cells were extremely sensitive to chlorinated seawater at concentrations from 0·002 to 0·020 mg/litre total residual oxidant (TRO). Brominated seawater proved toxic to sperm in one test at 0·015 mg/litre TRO. Results of the sperm bioassays are compared with previous acute and chronic bioassays with fish.
Antioxidant metabolism of grapefruit infected with Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri

Abstract Grapefruit is one of the most susceptible citrus genotypes to Asiatic Citrus Canker, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri ( Xac ), that can cause severe losses in citrus yield and quality. Although much is known about citrus response to Xac , little is known of the role of antioxidant metabolism. Grapefruit leaves were artificially injected with a strain of Xac obtained from a commercial grove in Florida and components of oxidative metabolism were measured. Symptoms observed included water soaking (2 dai; days after inoculation), raised and ruptured epidermis (6–8 dai), formation of necrotic lesions (16 dai), and leaf abscission (21 dai). The Xac population increased to a maximum (≈10 9 CFU/cm 2 ) 8 dai and then declined to ≈10 7 CFU/cm 2 by 20 dai. Lipid peroxidation was higher in infected leaves than uninoculated controls from 4 to 21 dai indicating greater oxidative stress. H 2 O 2 concentration demonstrated a biphasic pattern with peak concentrations at 4 and 13 dai and minimum concentrations that were lower than the controls at 10 and 20 dai. The H 2 O 2 concentration somewhat corresponded with superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which generates H 2 O 2 via dismutase of superoxide ions. Total SOD activity in Xac -infected leaves increased to a maximum at 4 dai, the day of highest H 2 O 2 concentration, and then declined and remained at or below controls. Mn-SOD and Fe-SOD activities both increased to maximum activities at 4 dai. Mn-SOD had four isoforms in Xac -infected leaves but only three in the controls. Fe-SOD had three isoforms in both infected and control plants. Suppression of H 2 O 2 in Xac -infected leaves also corresponded to higher activities of the H 2 O 2 catabolising enzymes catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APOD), and peroxidase (POD). Two additional CAT isoforms were detected in infected leaves and not the controls. Three POD isoforms were detected in both control and infected leaves. Previous research has shown that Xac is sensitive to intraplant H 2 O 2 concentration, however, the pattern of Xac in this study did not correspond to H 2 O 2 concentration, which initially increased due to enhanced SOD activity, but was later suppressed apparently with the aid of peroxidases. In conclusion, Xac infection altered H 2 O 2 metabolism in grapefruit leaves by changes in the activities and isoforms of SODs, CATs, PODs and APOD.
Before you analyze a human specimen, think quality, variability, and bias.

Personalized medicine requires capabilities to detect and measure health-associated biomarkers with increasingly specific and sensitive methods, putting analytical chemists at the front lines of translational research. Analytical scientists must be upstream in the experimental design process because the analysis of a biospecimen (tissue, blood, etc.) presents technical and experimental design complexities. (To listen to a podcast about this feature, please go to the Analytical Chemistry multimedia page at pubs.acs.org/page/ancham/audio/index.html.)
[Effective use of medical-scientific internet resources].

Problem: The Internet is not structured hierarchically and therefore it distinguishes from today's common knowledge sources. The rapidly growing number of medical websites offers comprehensive but not easy to find information resources and continuing education opportunities for ophthalmologists.
Perceptions and practice with domestic violence among child protective service workers

This paper examines social work practice in child welfare for the purpose of identifying how social workers intervene with cases containing domestic violence, and describes their attitudes and beliefs toward those cases. Two hundred service workers employed in a public child welfare agency completed a self-administered questionnaire. The instrument contained standardized scales that measured respondents' attitudes about domestic violence. The instrument also contained vignettes that described a domestic violence case. Responses on the vignettes were assumed to provide a description of the workers' practice. Social workers (MSW's and BSW's) responses were contrasted with other workers. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they would engage in safety planning. Workers were in substantial agreement that physical contact or threats of physical force constituted domestic violence. Also unambiguously defined as domestic violence was insisting a partner have unwanted sex. Workers were less likely to label situations that did not involve a physical confrontation as domestic violence. Workers favored psychological and cultural explanations for domestic violence; whereas workers discounted structural explanations for domestic violence. Respondents for the most part did not identify any situations where they thought hitting would be appropriate. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Adaptations in plantar-flexor performance and length-tension relationship following a transition from shod to barefoot running

An estimated 10–20% of the US population are regular shod (SH) runners. Half of these runners are injured annually and 25% are injured at any given time (Fields et al. 2010). Recent anecdotal repor...