We read the article of Jacobs et al. (3) with interest. The authors reported they could identify serotype 6C Streptococcus pneumoniae using factor 6d, which was developed by Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. We immunized a rabbit with one serotype 6C isolate identified with a monoclonal antibody (MAb6C) in the U.S. lab in which the new type was found. Based on absorption with serotyp...

The genome sequence of human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) strain AJ was determined in a comparison of target enrichment and long-range PCR using next-generation sequencing methodologies. The analyses show 85 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), conservation with sequenced HHV-6A reference strain U1102, and closest identity to the recently determined GS strain, despite different geographic origins (...

We present a method for image compositing and rendering using 2D geometric shapes or raster images as input primitives, disposed in a 3D environment around which the camera can move. An animation system has been implemented which calculates camera and scene information to render the frames. The key features of this quasi3D system are described. Two animations generated by the system are given a...

Chronic pancreatitis is characterized by longterm progressive inflammation of the pancreatic gland, leading to permanent deterioration of its structure and to development of malabsorption, debilitating pain and diabetes mellitus. The annual incidence of the disease has been estimated to 5-10 per 100,000 persons in Western countries. The persistent pancreatic inflammation also confers a high ris...

Hypertension is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene locus is associated with human essential hypertension. The human AGT (hAGT) gene has an A/G polymorphism at -6, and the -6A allele is associated with increased blood pressure. However, transgenic mice containing 1.2 kb of the promoter with -6A of the hAGT gene show neither increased plasma AGT l...

A BACTEC aerobic nonradiometric medium, PEDS Plus, designed for diagnosis of pediatric bacteremia was evaluated in three hospital centers. Equivalent blood volumes (up to 5 ml) were inoculated into and incubated in BACTEC NR-6A (6A) and PEDS Plus broths. Among 4,581 compliant sets, 289 clinically significant organisms, representing more than 20 bacterial and two Candida species, were isolated. ...

We compare Temporal Difference Learning (TDL) with Coevolutionary Learning (CEL) on Othello. Apart from using three popular single-criteria performance measures: i) generalization performance or expected utility, ii) average results against a hand-crafted heuristic and iii) result in a head to head match, we compare the algorithms using performance profiles. This multi-criteria performance meas...