cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acute renal failure secondary to spontaneous acute tumor lysis syndrome in myelofibrosis

A 70-year-old man with myelofibrosis developed nonoliguric acute renal failure in association with acute uric acid nephropathy in the absence of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The patient had an 18-month history of transfusion-dependent myelofibrosis and moderate chronic renal insufficiency. Admission laboratory findings were remarkable for severe hyperuricemia, hyperphosphatemia, hyperkalemia, and hypocalcemia with acute deterioration of renal function, consistent with a diagnosis of acute uric acid nephropathy. Treatment, including hemodialysis and allopurinol administration, resulted in clinical improvement with normalization of serum uric acid concentrations and resolution of acute renal failure. With long-term allopurinol therapy, renal function has remained at his previous baseline, and there has been no transformation to acute leukemia. This case represents a rare instance of acute renal failure related to the occurrence of acute uric acid nephropathy associated with myelofibrosis and emphasizes the importance of early recognition and aggressive management, which can lead to recovery of renal function.
The Poet’s Version; or, An Ethics of Translation

The poet's version, a second-order creation that mixes translation and adaptation, emerged in the twentieth century distinct from early modern notions of imitation. It can be illuminated by a hermeneutic model that construes second-order works as an interpretive inscription through the application of formal and thematic interpretants which vary the form, meaning and effect of the source material, constrained by the receiving medium and culture. If second-order creation is by definition variation, an interpretive act that submits the source material to degrees of loss and gain, then the poet's version cannot be evaluated simply on the basis of a comparison to its source text. Attention must rather be given to the impact of the version on the receiving culture, a relation that can be construed as properly ethical. The ethics of a version hinges on whether it points to a lack or plenitude in the translating language and culture, challenging or confirming institutionalized knowledge.
Chiral 1-deuterio azides

Abstract Five chiral primary 1-deuterio alcohols (R-CHDOH, R = methyl, n -propyl, tert -butyl, 1-adamantyl, phenyl) were converted (via their tosylate or mesylate) into the corresponding chiral primary 1-deuterio azides (RCHDN3 of opposite configuration. Three of the four non-aromatic, primary, (R)-1-deuterio azides have a positive sodium D-line rotation, and a positive circular dichroism (CD) Cotton effect at 286–288 nm attributable to the azide chromophore. However, the first member of the series, (R)-(+)-ethyl-1-d azide, has a negative CD (287 nm, [θ]=12.5) and does not conform to the other three which show a positive CD. The chiral azides, RCHDN3, which have an R group possessing C3v symmetry (methyl, tert -butyl and adamantyl), constitute a simple conformational situation for application of the azide octant rule. Since one of these three (methyl) has a CD of opposite sign to the other two, these results cannot be reconciled with the azide octant rule, per se. Ethyl azide detonated upon attempted sealing in a vial.
Cell division: a second circadian clock system in Paramecium multimicronucleatum.

Light-dark cycles entrain a pattern of division in a population of individually isolated cells cultured in excess nutrients at 14°C. This pattern persists for at least 8 days in continuous dim light. Both clones which do and which do not express a circadian rhythm of mating-type reversals can be entrained. The phase is a clonal characteristic.
THE INTERACTION OF THE FEMALE AMBROSIA BEETLE, XYLEBORUS FERRUGINEUS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE), WITH HER EGGS IN RELATION TO THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE GALLERY SYSTEM

The behavior of the female ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus ferrugineus, was studied in relation to the morphology of its gallery system and to the location of eggs within the system as constructed in an artificial medium. Females first excavated main and branch galleries, and branch cells were added just prior to, and after, the onset of oviposition. The branch cell was the most common location of eggs. The presence of an egg at any location in the gallery system usually increased the frequency of stops by the female. However, at branch cells this frequency was the same with and without eggs. Females did not spend significantly greater time in areas where eggs were present than where eggs were absent. These results are discussed in relation to the functional morphology of scolytid galleries and to the interactions between the female and her eggs. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG DIE WECHSELWIRKUNG ZWISCHEN DEM WEIBCHEN VON XYLEBORUS FERRUGINEUS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) UND IHREN EIERN SOWIE DER MORPHOLOGIE DES GALERIESYSTEMS Es wurde untersucht das Verhalten des Weibchens von Xyleborus ferrugineus in Beziehung zur Morphologie seines Galeriesystems und zur Lage der Eier in dem System, welches in einem kunstlichen Medium in Reagenzglasern gebildet wurde. Vier wichtige morphologische Platze innerhalb des Galeriesystems wurden gefunden: Seitenkammern, Gabelung von Galerien, Kopfende einer Galerie und‘Glasende’ (d.h. wo eine Galerie nicht mehr an der Glasinnenwand weiterfuhrt, sondern sich ins Medium wendet). Weibchen hohlen zunachst Haupt- und Zweiggalerien aus; Seitenkammern werden kurz vor sowie nach dem Einsetzen der Eiablage hinzugefugt. Die Seitenkammern waren der haufigste Platz fur die Eier. Die Gegenwart eines Eies an einem Platz im Galeriesystem erhohte gewohnlich die Haufigkeit der‘Stops’ der Weibchen (definiert als Anhalten und/oder Wechsel der Richtung ihrer Bewegung). Bei Seitenkammern war jedoch diese Haufigkeit die gleiche mit und ohne Eier. Weibchen blieben nicht signifikant langer an Stellen, wo sich Eier befanden als wo keine Eier waren. Die Seitenkammern schienen die Funktion, wiewohl nicht die Struktur der klassischen Scolytiden-Brutkammer zu haben. Die Ergebnisse werden diskutiert in Hinsicht auf die funktionelle Morphologie der Scolytidengalerien und auf die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Weibchen und ihren Eiern.
Rapid Determination of Invert Cane Sugar Adulteration in Honey Using FTIR Spectroscopy and Multivariate Analysis

ABSTRACT: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with an attenuated total reflection sampling accessory was combined with multivariate analysis to determine the level (1% to 25%, wt/wt) of invert cane sugar adulteration in honey. On the basis of the spectral data compression by principal component analysis and partial least squares, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and canonical variate analysis (CVA), models were developed and validated. Two types of artificial neural networks were applied: a quick back propagation network (BPN) and a radial basis function network (RBFN). The prediction success rates were better with LDA (93.75% for validation set) and BPN (93.75%) than with CVA (87.50%) and RBFN (81.25%).
Mammalian Telomeres End in a Large Duplex Loop

Mammalian telomeres contain a duplex array of telomeric repeats bound to the telomeric repeat–binding factors TRF1 and TRF2. Inhibition of TRF2 results in immediate deprotection of chromosome ends, manifested by loss of the telomeric 3′ overhang, activation of p53, and end-to-end chromosome fusions. Electron microscopy reported here demonstrated that TRF2 can remodel linear telomeric DNA into large duplex loops (t loops) in vitro. Electron microscopy analysis of psoralen cross-linked telomeric DNA purified from human and mouse cells revealed abundant large t loops with a size distribution consistent with their telomeric origin. Binding of TRF1 and single strand binding protein suggested that t loops are formed by invasion of the 3′ telomeric overhang into the duplex telomeric repeat array. T loops may provide a general mechanism for the protection and replication of telomeres.
Immortalization of Hypothalamic Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons Using Targeted Oncogene Expression in Transgenic Mice

Abstract Three clonal gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal cell lines were derived from a genetically induced tumor in transgenic mice. A transgene was constructed to target expression of simian virus 40 T antigen to GnRH neurons using the promoter/enhancer domains of the cell-specifically expressed GnRH gene. The resulting GT1 cells were characterized by morphology, the expression of neuron-specific genes, expression and processing of GnRH, pulsatile basal secretion of GnRH, release of GnRH in response to depolarization, and regulation of GnRH release by a variety of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. By all of these criteria, GT1 cells are highly differentiated neuronal cell lines that provide valuable models for studying the cell biology of neuroendocrine cells.
Rel/NF-κB/IκB signal transduction in the generation and treatment of human cancer

The Rel/NF-kappa B family is a group of structurally-related, tightly-regulated transcription factors that control the expression of a multitude of genes involved in key cellular and organismal processes. The Rel/NF-kappa B signal transduction pathway is misregulated in a variety of human cancers, especially ones of lymphoid cell origin, due either to genetic changes (such as chromosomal rearrangements, amplifications, and mutations) or to chronic activation of the pathway by epigenetic mechanisms. Constitutive activation of the Rel/NF-kappa B pathway can contribute to the oncogenic state in several ways, for example, by driving proliferation, by enhancing cell survival, or by promoting angiogenesis or metastasis. In many cases, inhibition of Rel/NF-kappa B activity reverses all or part of the malignant state. Thus, the Rel/NF-kappa B pathway has received much attention as a focal point for clinical intervention.
SU‐FF‐T‐143: Evaluation of the Lung Dose Calculation Accuracy for An IMRT Planning System

Purpose:Image guided treatment of lung provides the ability to deliver dose precisely to the target, however, lung dose calculation is often difficult and might be the weakest link now in the chain of lungIGRT. The purpose in this work is to find out the accuracy of a common TPS system in lung dose calculation. Method and Materials: So far lung dose measurements have been done only in slab geometry and for a single beam. In this work, we used a realistic lung phantom and delivered all fields of realistic IMRT plans. The phantom is supplied with cylindrical inserts, made of lung, bone, and tissue, which were used to load the dosimetry equipments. The dose to the phantom was calculated, for 10 IMRT treatment plans, with the Corvus system. Validation of the calculated dose was performed with LiF thermoluminescent dosimeters(TLDs) measurement, Ionization chamber measurement, and Monte Carlo simulation. For each treatment plan, the dose was verified at points located in lung, bone, and tissue. Results: The comparison of the collected data shows that the dose to the lung calculated with Corvus was overestimated by 10% relative to the Monte Carlo results, and by 7% relative to the chamber measurements. The TLDs dose results show better agreement to the Monte Carlo results than to the Corvus results. In bone the Monte Carlo agreed well with both TLDs and chamber measurements (within 3.5%) while Corvus dose was 6.5% different. The dose to the tissue shows good agreement (within 2%) between all the dosimetry tools. Conclusion: The dose calculation accuracy in lung has been estimated for IMRT planning system. It indicates some better dose algorithms might be needed in order to have an accuracy of a few percent.
A hierarchical framework for simultaneous facial activity tracking

The tracking of facial activities from video is an important and challenging problem. Nowadays, many computer vision techniques have been proposed to characterize the facial activities in the following three levels (from local to global): First, in the bottom level, the facial feature tracking focuses on detecting and tracking the prominent local landmarks surrounding facial components (e.g. mouth, eyebrow, etc); Second, the facial action units (AUs) characterize the specific behaviors of these local facial components (e.g. mouth open, eyebrow raiser, etc); Finally, facial expression, which is a representation of the subjects' emotion (e.g. Surprise, Happy, Anger, etc.), controls the global muscular movement of the whole face. Most of the existing methods focus on one or two levels of facial activities, and track (or recognize) them separately. In this paper, we propose to exploit the relationships among multi-level facial activities and track the facial activities in the three levels simultaneously. Specifically, we propose a unified stochastic framework based on the Dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) to explicitly represent the facial evolvements in different levels, their interactions and their observations. By modeling the relationships among the three level facial activities, the proposed method can improve the tracking (or recognition) performance in all three levels.
Ultrasonic speeds and isentropic compressibilities of n-heptane +each of the hexane isomers at 298.15 K☆

Abstract Measurements of ultrasonic speed were carried out for n-heptane + each of the five isomeric hexanes at 298.15 K. The results were combined with excess volumes reported previously to obtain isentropic compressibilities and excess isentropic compressibilities. Values of the latter are in reasonable agreement with estimates from the Flory theory of mixtures.
Estimation of Rhizome Composition and Overwintering Ability in Perennial Sorghum spp. Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)

Temperately adapted perennial sorghum feedstocks have recently begun to receive increasing interest as candidate energy crops, producing significant biomass and contributing agroecological benefits including increased soil organic carbon, reduced soil erosion, reduced input requirements, and higher net energy return. Rhizomes are the primary morphological feature facilitating overwintering in Sorghum species; however, underlying physiological mechanisms governing rhizome overwintering remain poorly characterized. In this study, we investigated the composition of sorghum rhizomes from diverse germplasm before and after overwintering at two locations and three experimental environments. Significant positive correlations were found between rhizome overwintering and water-soluble carbohydrates, ethanol soluble carbohydrates, and fructan concentrations, while significant negative correlations were found between rhizome overwintering and both crude fat and starch. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibration equations were developed to quickly and efficiently predict the concentrations of each of these assimilates in rhizomes.
Health‐related quality of life differences between African Americans and non‐Hispanic whites with head and neck cancer

Background Cancers of the head and neck are associated with detriments in health-related quality of life (HRQOL); however, little is known about different experiences between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Methods HRQOL was measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Head and Neck (FACT-H&N) approximately 5 months postdiagnosis among 222 patients with cancer from North Carolina. Higher scores represent better HRQOL. Regression models included sociodemographic characteristics and clinical factors. Results African Americans reported higher physical well-being than whites (adjusted means, 23.1 vs 20.9). African Americans with incomes $20,000 reported the most head and neck symptoms (18.7). Conclusions Further investigation is needed to explore variation in HRQOL experiences among different race and socioeconomic groups that may inform resource allocation to improve cancer care. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2013
Common factors versus uncommon variability in comparisons of the Poggendorff and Müller-Lyer illusions

Evidence for a common contributing factor in the Muller-Lyer and Poggendorff illusions is reviewed and complemented by correlational studies of the two illusions. However, these findings are compromised by consistent differences in the variability of the two illusory effects. In general, the variability associated with judgments of linear extent is consistently greater than the variability associated with alignment judgments. These findings were obtained with different figures, different stimulus parameters, and different response procedures. The difference in variability suggests problems for the notion of a common causal factor in illusions of linear extent and of direction.
A real-time, power-efficient architecture for mean-shift image segmentation

Image segmentation is essential to image processing because it provides a solution to the task of separating the objects in an image from the background and from each other, which is an important step in object recognition, tracking, and other high-level image-processing applications. By partitioning the input image into smaller regions, segmentation performs the balancing act of extracting the main areas of interest (objects and important features) that further help to interpret the image, while remaining immune to irrelevant noise and less important background scenes. Image-segmentation applications branch off into a plethora of domains, from decision-making applications in computer vision to medical imaging and quality control to name just a few. The mean-shift algorithm provides a unique unsupervised clustering solution to image segmentation, and it has an established record of good performance for a wide variety of input images. However, mean-shift segmentation exhibits an unfavorable computational complexity of $$O(kN^2)$$ , where $$N$$ represents the number of pixels and $$k$$ the number of iterations. As a result of this complexity, unsupervised image segmentation has had limited impact in autonomous applications, where a low-power, real-time solution is required. We propose a novel hardware architecture that exploits the customizable computing power of FPGAs and reduces the execution time by clustering pixels in parallel while meeting the low-power demands of embedded applications. The architecture performance is compared with existing CPU and GPU implementations to demonstrate its advantages in terms of both execution time and energy.
Bridging the gap between natural and artificial photosynthesis

Considerable effort has been expended to develop artificial models that mimic various aspects of natural photosynthesis. The most direct and complete bridge between natural and artificial systems would be provided by the detailed structure of a functioning photosynthetic reaction center protein complex. When sufficient structural knowledge is available, a better understanding of the dynamics and functions occurring in the primary act of photosynthesis will be possible in a straightforward manner, particularly with the recent photosynthetic bacteria. Consequently, single crystals of protein reaction centers from photosynthetic bacteria currently serve as the best fiduciary system for the development of model systems that use light energy to produce charge separation. The central feature of natural photosynthesis is the utilization of several very rapid, and slightly exothermic, electron transfer reactions following the creation of an excited singlet state in the chlorophyll chromophores of a reaction center protein complex. With regard to this aspect of the natural process, the development of model systems based on photodriven multistep electron transfer reactions is progressing rapidly. In this paper we establish the following five major points. (1) We report a new Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides R-26 reaction center single crystal. (2) We demonstrate that these crystals function in a manner similar to the intact organism. (3) We develop a probe of dynamics and structure based on the triplet state that works in single crystals, in liquid or solid solutions of reaction centers, i chromatophores or in intact organisms. (4) At the same time the triplet state provides an internal “goniometer” for establishing a structural baseline for spectroscopic studies relevant to X-ray studies. (5) Finally, we prove that it is possible to study these crystals over a large temperature range (5 – 300 K) without crystal damage or loss of internal order. This final point is particularly significant since a large temperature range for various experimental observations is required in order to determine such things as the activation energies of the various reaction steps involved in the dynamics. These temperature studies will be necessary to establish the validity of existing electron transfer theory in the understanding of natural and artificial photosynthesis.
Probability-of-coverage tolerance intervals for the beta binomial

True score tolerance intervals, which are designed to cover a chosen proportion of the conditional distribution of true scores given an observed score, are suggested as alternatives to true score confidence intervals. Using large sample theory, a tolerance interval estimator for the beta binomial is derived. An example indicates that with moderate sample sizes, tolerance intervals with high probability of coverage will not be much wider than when the two beta true score parameters are known.
The effect of temperature on the infrared spectra of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Utilisation de techniques de traitement des donnees pour decrire la variation thermique des bandes d'absorption
Technical efficiency in nursing homes.

technical efficiency. A technically inefficient firm is one that uses more inputs than another firm to produce the same amount of output. The ranking of firms by technical efficiency, however, is limited by the explicit recognition of substitutability among inputs. For example, consider firms A, B, and C. Firm A produces output Q with one registered nurse and four nurses' aides. Firm B produces the same output Q with two registered nurses and one nurses' aide, and firm C the same output with two registered nurses and three nurses' aides. We cannot
Analysis of the 2 x 2 crossover design with subsampling.

Subsampling can be used in experimental design to investigate extraneous sources of variability. One useful strategy is to make independent replicate measurements of the response variate. This can be achieved in clinical studies, for example,by dividing a blood or urine specimen from each of a sample of subjects into aliquots and processing these through a chemistry laboratory in such a way that the replicate determinations are independent. This procedure can be used to increase design efficiency. This paper addresses considerations in the design and analysis of the 2×2 crossover plan with this type of subsampling.
Two-Dimensional Crystallization: Self-Assembly, Pseudopolymorphism, and Symmetry-Independent Molecules

The self-assembly of a series of 1,3-disubstituted benzenes has been scrutinized by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and computational modeling. Small changes in the functional groups (e.g., ester, thioester, ketone) resulted in dramatic changes in packing patterns. Remarkably, several of the molecules gave rise to monolayers with more than one molecule in the asymmetric unit and displayed multiple packing patterns. This constitutes the most complex behavior observed to date in this type of monolayer and illuminates several issues of importance in three-dimensional crystallization. Intermolecular interactions associated with the observation of multiple molecules in the asymmetric unit and stabilization of pseudopolymorphs were identified. The geometry and electrostatic properties of the isolated molecule and monolayer density were found to be critical in determining which packing motif was adopted.
On the mathematical modeling of the Reynolds stress's equations

By considering the Reynolds stress equations as a possible descriptor of complex turbulent fields, pressure-velocity interaction and turbulence dissipation are studied as two of the main physical contributions to Reynolds stress balancing in turbulent flow fields. It is proven that the pressure interaction term contains turbulence generation elements. However, the usual 'return to isotropy' element appears more weakly than in the standard models. In addition, convection-like elements are discovered mathematically, but there is no mathematical evidence that the pressure fluctuations contribute to the turbulent transport mechanism. Calculations of some simple one-dimensional fields indicate that this extra convection, rather than the turbulent transport, is needed mathematically. Similarly, an expression for the turbulence dissipation is developed. The end result is a dynamic equation for the dissipation tensor which is based on the tensorial length scales.
Does housing drive state-level job growth? Building permits and consumer expectations forecast a state’s economic activity

Abstract National and state-level building permits significantly lead economic activity in nearly all US states over the past three decades, and produce substantially more accurate out-of-sample forecasts of state-level job and income growth than other traditional indicators including the leading indicator index, housing prices and wealth. We demonstrate that building permits have substantially declined before every recession since 1970, and that differences in permits across states before the last seven recessions explain the relative severity of a state’s job and income losses during these recessions. Hence, we can use permits to predict which states will suffer the greatest job losses in a recession. We show further that housing reflects expectations of future economic activity as permits are closely related to movements in consumer expectations, and both lead the business cycle by four quarters. Differences across regions in consumer expectations and permits are also highly correlated, and both can forecast interstate differentials in job and income losses across regions, particularly during recessions.
Hormonal regulation of Na+-Ca2+ exchange in osteoblast-like cells

We proposed a role for Na-Ca exchange in hormonally mediated bone resorption and recently characterized Na-dependent Ca transport in an osteoblast-like rat osteosarcoma cell line (UMR-106). To test whether calcemic agents alter Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange in osteoblasts, UMR cells were treated acutely or cultured in the absence or presence of calcemic agent for 24 h. Cells were then loaded with the Ca-sensitive dye fura-2 in the presence of 140 mM NaCl, no Ca, and the absence or presence of 0.3 mM ouabain. Cells were resuspended at 22 degrees C, and the fluorescence ratio at excitation wavelength of 340 and 380 nm was measured. An outward Na gradient was generated by removing extracellular Na and maintaining isotonicity with choline chloride. Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange was demonstrated by enhanced Ca uptake in ouabain-treated (Na-loaded) cells after the addition of 1.5 mM Ca. Acute addition of 10(-7) M PTH or 10(-6) M PGE2 had no effect on Na-dependent Ca uptake. However, 24 h treatment of cells with PTH, PGE2, or 1,25(OH)2D3 caused a dose-dependent inhibition of Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange. Using the Na-sensitive dye, SBFI, we also demonstrated that the effect was bidirectional; PTH inhibited Ca-dependent Na uptake comparably to its inhibition of Na-dependent Ca uptake. The effects of the calcemic agents were mimicked by 24 h treatment of the cells with 1 microM forskolin or 2 microM PMA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In Situ IR Absorption Study of H Bonding in a-Si:H Thin Films

We have used real time, in situ infrared reflectance spectroscopy to study the evolution of Si-H bonding during the growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) by dc magnetron reactive sputtering. The surface Si-H stretching mode (2100 cm−1) is observed in films 5 A thick and the 2000 cm−1 mode, which has been attributed to isolated monohydrides in the bulk, appears for thickness (d) > 10–15 A. For larger thicknesses the intensity of both modes increases approximately linearly. These trends are interpreted in terms of the nucleation and coalescence of islands for d< 15 A, followed by bulk-like growth.
An Analysis of the Budget of Greece in the 1980s

This article investigates the past two decades of public budgeting in Greece. The article first discusses the deficits and analyzes the contributing factors on the revenue and expenditure sides of the budget. Discussion then turns to the impact of deficits on the national debt and economic growth.
A survey of macroinvertebrates colonizing bluehead chub nests in a Virginia stream

Chubs of the genus Nocomis build large pebble nests that may serve as an important microhabitat for macroinvertebrates and small vertebrates in streams of eastern North America. Macroinvertebrates that use chub nests have not been systematically documented. In this study, we examined the macroinvertebrate communities present inside bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus nests in a small tributary creek of the New River in Virginia, USA. Individuals from 38 families of macroinvertebrates were recovered from nests. Snails from the family Pleuroceridae were the most numerous invertebrates in four nests examined, making up an average of 13.6 ± 7.53% of the macroinvertebrate community. This study revealed that communities in chub nests are diverse but not necessarily unique from the surrounding stream substrate. More long-term studies on macroinvertebrate communities of chub nests are needed to elucidate the function of nests as a stream microhabitat.
Nonredundant Functions for Ras GTPase-Activating Proteins in Tissue Homeostasis

Inactivation of the small guanosine triphosphate-binding protein Ras during receptor signal transduction is mediated by Ras guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-activating proteins (RasGAPs). Ten different RasGAPs have been identified and have overlapping patterns of tissue distribution. However, genetic analyses are revealing critical nonredundant functions for each RasGAP in tissue homeostasis and as regulators of disease processes in mouse and man. Here, we discuss advances in understanding the role of RasGAPs in the maintenance of tissue integrity.
Isolation of drugs from blood serum by the Du Pont PrepTM I automated sample processor and a C18 bonded phase adsorption column

We describe a fast and efficient method for the isolation of drugs from blood serum by use of the DU PONT PREPTM I Automated Sample Processor and octadecyl bonded phase columns. Drugs are selectively adsorbed onto C18 bonded phase and eluted with methanol. The recovered residue is essentially free of sample matrix chromogens and shows very low background on thin layer chromatography. It is also suitable for analysis by gas liquid chromatography and high pressure liquid chroma tography. Recovery of drugs added to serum is greater than 90 per cent for most drugs studied which include weakly acidic, neutral and alkaline drugs. The method offers tremendous savings to the user in time and dollars, since it is fully automated from the extraction step to the drying of the extract, and the columns are resuable at least 10 times. Up to 12 samples can be processed simultaneously in less than 60 minutes.
Overwrought Copyright: Why Copyright Law from the Analog Age does not Work in the Digital Age’s Society and Classroom

In this article, the authors argue that copyright law, conceived of in an “analog” age, yet made stricter in our present Digital Age, actively stifles creativity among today’s student creators, both by its bias toward content owners and its legal vagueness. They also illustrate that copyright law is too stringent in protecting intellectual content, because physical and virtual objects have different properties. They conclude with a call to revise copyright for new media content that meets the needs of both content creators and pre-existing media content owners, and that, most importantly, benefits the education of the creative and innovative mind in today’s mediacentric classrooms.
Milestones in transplantation.

The patient was admitted to the Boston Lying-in Hospital to await delivery. To avoid any possible trauma to the transplanted kidney as the vertex engaged, it was decided to deliver the patient by cesarean section. This was performed under spinal anesthesia on March 10, 1958, a time arbitrarily regarded as the 41st week of gestation. A normal male infant weighing approximately 3300 grams was delivered.
Paying attention to minor offenses: order maintenance policing in practice

Order maintenance policing is often equated with the term ‘zero tolerance,’ which implies that officers exercise little discretion when enforcing minor offenses. Few researchers, however, have explored the extent to which order maintenance actually limits officer discretion and creates a zero‐tolerance atmosphere. This paper draws on field observations of police officers in NYPD – a department with a reputation for its order maintenance strategy – to explore officer decision making when enforcing minor offenses. Ethnographic data suggest that while officers acknowledge the importance of maintaining order, they possess and utilize a high degree of discretion when managing minor offenses.
Interactive Vegetation Phenology, Soil Moisture, and Monthly Temperature Forecasts

The time scales that characterize the variations of vegetation phenology are generally much longer than those that characterize atmospheric processes. The explicit modeling of phenological processes in an atmospheric forecast system thus has the potential to provide skill to subseasonal or seasonal forecasts. We examine this possibility here using a forecast system fitted with a dynamic vegetation phenology model. We perform three experiments, each consisting of 128 independent warm-season monthly forecasts: 1) an experiment in which both soil moisture states and carbon states (e.g., those determining leaf area index) are initialized realistically, 2) an experiment in which the carbon states are prescribed to climatology throughout the forecasts, and 3) an experiment in which both the carbon and soil moisture states are prescribed to climatology throughout the forecasts. Evaluating the monthly forecasts of air temperature in each ensemble against observations, as well as quantifying the inherent predictability of temperature within each ensemble, shows that dynamic phenology can indeed contribute positively to subseasonal forecasts, though only to a small extent, with an impact dwarfed by that of soil moisture.
Acute Pancreatitis: Computed Tomography Utilization and Radiation Exposure Are Related to Severity but Not Patient Age

Background & Aims A goal of radiologists is to use computed tomography (CT) imaging less frequently in younger patients because of radiation exposure. We evaluated abdominal CT use among patients hospitalized for acute pancreatitis at a tertiary care hospital and compared estimated radiation doses with disease severity and patient age. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of numbers and types of CTs performed on patients with acute pancreatitis (1036 admissions, 869 patients; mean age, 50.8 y); 566 had 1081 abdominopelvic CTs performed from October 1, 2001, to September 30, 2006. Effective dose estimates for abdominopelvic CTs were used to estimate exposure. Disease severities were stratified using Balthazar CT grades and severity indexes. Results The mean number of abdominopelvic CTs per patient, per hospitalization, was 1.9 (range, 1–12); the mean number was 3.0 over the 5-year period (range, 1–19). During hospitalization, each patient was exposed to a mean estimated radiation dose of 31.03 ± 26.4 mSv (range, 14.7–176.9 mSv). Patients with pancreatitis grades D or E (n = 233) compared with grades A through C (n = 333) had longer periods of hospitalization (mean, 23.3 vs 10.8 d; P P P P Conclusions Regardless of age, patients with severe acute pancreatitis undergo more abdominopelvic CTs as inpatients and outpatients and are exposed to higher doses of radiation compared with patients with less severe disease. Awareness of CT ordering patterns for patients with acute pancreatitis may aid in the development of alternate imaging strategies to reduce radiation exposure in this population, especially for younger patients.
Surgical management principles of gunshot-related fractures.

This article discusses contemporary management strategies for gunshot-related fractures with special attention paid to the initial evaluation, role of debridement, principles of fixation, need and duration of antibiotic therapy, and management of sequelae. Pertinent sequelae detailed are fractures associated with vascular injury, compartment syndrome, massive loss of soft tissue and bone, nerve injury, and lead toxicity. Language: en
Biomarkers, regerons, and pathways to lethal cancer.

Cancer is a disease of “outlaw” cells that become mutated in regulatory mechanisms. They have lost normal self controls and relationships to the whole organism. Cancers can progress by several pathways from a normal cell to malignant cancer, from bad to worse. Questions about advisability of treatment for some cancers arise from the possibility that they are arrested during progression and so never become lethal. Techniques could be developed to determine the degree of progression and possibility for successful treatment. This article is intended to suggest a way of looking at cancer. It is not a review so references to research articles are infrequent. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 1076–1086, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Preparation, Characterization, and Controlled Release from Coprecipitates of Fluorescein and Magnesium Hydroxide

Abstract Magnesium hydroxide was precipitated as a lyophobic sol in the presence of various concentrations of fluorescein sodium (3′6′-dihydroxyspiro[isobenzofuran-1(3 H ),9′-[9 H ]xanthen]-3-one, disodium salt) ranging in molar equivalents between 0.1 and 2 times that of the hydroxide. Coprecipitates were washed and dried, and release of the dye and magnesium was determined (pH 7.4, 37°C) from rotating disks. Release rates varied depending upon fluorescein content. The rate of dye release was retarded by ≤ 10 4 times that of fluorescein sodium alone, implying the existence of some form of solid association between the components of the coprecipitates. The presence of the dye in certain concentrations reduced magnesium hydroxide dissolution rates by a factor of three. Fluorescein dissolution rates, when expressed as percent release, passed through a minimum (coincident with the dye-induced reduction in Mg(OH) 2 dissolution). Adsorption experiments revealed evidence for multiaffinity binding of fluorescein at the surface of freshly precipitated Mg(OH) 2. Magnesium, fluorescein, and water contents of the coprecipitates were characterized by atomic absorption and UV spectroscopy and by thermogravimetric analysis. Fluorescein content increased in direct proportion to its initial concentration in solution. Controlled, but variable release of this easily assayed dye is possible by employing precipitates with different fluorescein contents.
Recovery and the Good Life: How Psychiatric Survivors Are Revisioning the Healing Process

The recovery literature in clinical psychology often focuses on abstract outcome measures of mental health and wellness that in turn serve to shape the process and goals of psychotherapy. However, ...
A Comparison of Programming Languages and Algebraic Notation as Expressive Languages for Physics.

The purpose of the present work is to consider some of the implications of replacing, for the purposes of physics instruction, algebraic notation with a program- ming language. What is novel is that, more than previous work, I take seriously the possibility that a programming language can function as the principle representational system for physics instruction. This means treating programming as potentially having a similar status and performing a similar function to algebraic notation in physics learn- ing. In order to address the implications of replacing the usual notational system with programming, I begin with two informal conjectures: (1) Programming-based representa- tions might be easier for students to understand than equation-based representations, and (2) programming-based representations might privilege a somewhat different "intuitive vocabulary." If the second conjecture is correct, it means that the nature of the under- standing associated with programming-physics might be fundamentally different than the understanding associated with algebra-physics. In order to refine and address these conjectures, I introduce a framework based around two theoretical constructs, what I call interpretive devices and symbolic forms. A con- clusion of this work is that algebra-physics can be characterized as a physics of balance and equilibrium, and programming-physics as a physics of processes and causation .M ore generally, this work provides a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding how the use of particular symbol systems affects students' conceptualization.
Hepatic and Renal Assessment of Acute Exposure to Inhaled Epichlorohydrin: Toxicological Evaluation and Exposure Modeling

AbstractTo examine the hepatic and renal effects of acute exposure to inhaled epichlorohydrin (ECH), male F344 rats were exposed either to 0 or 100 ppm ECH by inhalation for 4 h. Hepatic and renal toxicity were assessed at the termination of exposure and on days 1, 2, and 3 postexposure. Exposure to inhaled ECH caused no histopathological evidence of hepatic or renal toxicity and had no effect on serum indicators of hepatic toxicity, or hepatic cytochrome P-450 and glutathione concentrations. Exposure to inhaled ECH resulted in an increase in relative kidney weight in rats that were either 65 ± 2 days old or 73 ± 2 days old on the day of inhalation exposure (young adult rats) but not in rats that were 96 ± 2 days old on the day of inhalation exposure (adult rats), and a decrease in absolute and relative liver weight in adult rats but not young adult rats. Blood urea nitrogen/creatinine (BUN/CREAT) was decreased in young adult rats on day 0, and BUN was slightly increased in adult rats on days I, 2 and 3. ...
Spectral Response of GaN P-N Junction Photovoltaic Structures

GaN ultraviolet photovoltaic and photoconductive detectors were grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The spectral response was analyzed considering the detector structure of a p-n junction connected back-to-back with a Schottkty barrier. Based on the one-dimensional model of abrupt p-n junctions, the diffusion length of minority carriers was derived to be about 0.1 μm in n-GaN. To further characterize the n-GaN material, photoconductivity experiments have also been realized. The majority carrier lifetime of about 0.1 ms was obtained by analyzing the voltage-dependent responsivity of GaN photoconductors The current-responsivity under a bias of 8 V was about 1 A/W.
The Quest Data mining System

The goal of the Quest project at the IBM Almaden Research center is to develop technology to enable a new breed of data-intensive decision-support applications. This paper is a capsule summary of the current functionality and architecture of the Quest data mining System. Our overall approach has been to identify basic data mining operations that cut across applications and develop fast, scalable algorithms for their execution (Agrawal, Imielinski, & Swami 1993a). We wanted our algorithms to:
On the Parts Requirements Problem

The parts requirements or "explosion" problem is that of finding the total numbers of components, subassemblies, and assemblies needed to fulfill an order, given the individual requirements needed in each assembly. In this paper two methods are presented for solving the problem, together with the so-called "spare parts" and "netting" problems. The first method involves the use of the inverse of the matrix I-Q where Q is the quantity matrix. The second method is a generalization of the successive multiplication algorithm, first discussed in a special case by Elmaghraby. Mathematical proofs of the methods are presented, as is computational experience with small problems.
An Expandable Network Management Framework for VOD

The expansibility of network management became a popular problem in network management research. To meet this challenge, we propose to apply the design pattern to make the management system more expandable and easy to realize. According function requirements of VOD network management system, this paper presents a particular management framework that supports multi-protocols for VOD NM system, and devises each major function units with software design pattern to give the framework more flexibility and expansibility.
Rapid separation of phenylthiohydantoin amino acids: ambient pressure ion-mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS).

An electrospray ionization (ESI) ambient pres- sure ion-mobility spectrometer (APIMS) interfaced to an orthogonal reflector time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) was evaluated for the first time as a detector for the identification of phenylthiohydantoin (PTH)-deriva- tized amino acids, the final products in the Edman se- quencing process of peptides and proteins. The drift and flight times of the twenty common PTH amino acids were characterized by a well-defined 2-D mobility/mass spec- tral pattern. The combination of mobility/mass modes of analysis gave rise to a unique trend-line formation for the series of PTH amino acids. In addition, each PTH amino acid had a unique reduced mobility constant Ko, thus en- abling the differentiation of all the amino acid derivatives including the PTH-leucine and PTH-isoleucine isomers. More importantly it was shown that it was possible to re- solve a complete reference mixture of PTH amino acids in a single experimental run in less than 1 min. Detection limits for the PTH amino acids were found to range from 1.04 to 3.52 ng; indicating that the limits of detection were less than 17.0 pmol for all of the PTH amino acids.
Angiogenesis in the Placenta

The mammalian placenta is the organ through which respiratory gases, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between the maternal and fetal systems. Thus, transplacental exchange provides for all the metabolic demands of fetal growth and development. The rate of transplacental exchange depends primarily on the rates of uterine (maternal placental) and umbilical (fetal placental) blood flows. In fact, increased uterine vascular resistance and reduced uterine blood flow can be used as predictors of high risk pregnancies and are associated with fetal growth retardation. The rates of placental blood flow, in turn, are dependent on placental vascularization, and placental angiogenesis is therefore critical for the successful development of viable, healthy offspring. Recent studies, including gene knockouts in mice, indicate that the vascular endothelial growth factors represent a major class of placental angiogenic factors. Other angiogenic factors, such as the fibroblast growth factors or perhaps the angiopoietins, also may play important roles in placental vascularization. In addition, recent observations suggest that these angiogenic factors interact with the local vasodilator nitric oxide to coordinate placental angiogenesis and blood flow. In the future, regulators of angiogenesis that are currently being developed may provide novel and powerful methods to ensure positive outcomes for most pregnancies.