cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the mechanism of immunodiffusion

Abstract The present experiments were designed to yield quantitative immunodiffusion data to provide an experimental framework upon which mathematical descriptions of immunodiffusion can be tested. Experiments were carried out over wide ranges of initial amounts of antigen ( M A ) and antibody ( M AB ) employing a new concentric arrangement which allows very precise measurement of the location ( x p ) and time of appearance ( t p ) of the initial zone of precipitation. From experimental data, and using two alternative assumptions about the boudary conditions of the diffusion equation, the concentrations or amounts of antigen and antibody and the antibody-antigen combining ratios in the initial zone of precipitation were computed. It was found that for wide ranges of M A and M AB a linear relationship exists between log M A and x p , and log M AB and x p . A similar relationship was observed between log M A and t p , and log M AB and t p . Within these ranges, use of both types of boundary conditions leads to reasonably consistent values for concentrations or amounts of antibody and antigen in the initial zones of precipitation and yields experimentally reasonable values for antibody-antigen ratios. However, in plates in which M A was very large, unreasonably high antibody-antigen antigen ratios for the initial zone of precipitation were computed. This finding is interpreted as beind due to soluble antigen-antibody complex formation which occurs before the initial zone of precipitation has formed and gives rise to a shift in the location of the initial zone of precipitation toward the antibody well over where it would have occurred had there been no complex formation.
Contribution to the global air–sea CO2 exchange budget from asymmetric bubble-mediated gas transfer

Quantifying air–sea gas exchange is an essential element for predicting climate change due to human activities. Air–sea gas exchanges take place through both the sea surface and bubbles formed during wave breakings. Bubble-mediated gas transfers are particularly important at high wind regions. Bubble-mediated gas transfers are separated into symmetric and asymmetric transfers. Their transfer fluxes are respectively proportional to the gas concentration difference between the atmosphere and ocean surface water, and to the atmospheric gas concentration alone. To quantify the role of asymmetric transfers in the global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) transfer budget, a parameterisation scheme of asymmetric transfer is developed, which is constrained by gas equilibrium supersaturation in the ocean surface. By establishing a bound for the global mean gas equilibrium supersaturation in ocean surface water, we found that the global ocean uptake by bubble-mediated asymmetric gas transfer is a substantial part of the total air–sea CO 2 uptake budget (over 20%). It is found that, over the past half century, the global asymmetric ocean CO 2 uptake has increased about a total of 40% on a steadily trend, as a consequence of the increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Keywords: air-sea gas exchanges; bubbles; oceanic CO 2 uptakes; equilibrium saturations; breaking waves (Published: 28 March 2012) Citation: Tellus B 2012, 64 , 17260, DOI: 10.3402/tellusb.v64i0.17260
Optimized thread creation for processor multithreading

Due to the mismatch in the speed of the processor and the speed of the memory subsystem, modern processors spend a significant portion (often more than 50%) of their execution time stalling on cache misses. Processor multithreading is an approach that can reduce this stall time; however processor multithreading increases the cache miss rate and demands higher memory bandwidth. In this paper, a novel compiler optimization method has been presented that improves data locality for each thread and enhances data sharing among the threads. The method is based on loop transformation theory and optimizes both spatial and temporal data locality. The created threads exhibit a high level of intra-thread and inter-thread data locality which effectively reduces both the data cache miss rates and the total execution time of numerically intensive computation running on a multithreaded processor.
Pigment packaging and Chl a-specific absorption in high-light oceanic waters

The absorption of light by particles at a single wavelength, a Ph (λ), is reduced with increased packaging of the light absorption material within these particles. This reduction can be described by the parameter Q α * : Formula chim. where a sol (λ) is the theoretical maximum light absorption of the cellular material, a cm , in a completely dissolved state. In practice, the estimations a sol (λ) for living phytoplankton are hampered by the process of removing the chloroplast/thylakoid membranes from the organic matrix of the cell, the destruction of the pigment-protein complexes when an organic solvent is used, and the interference of the excited states of the pigment chromophore by the organic solvent. What is actually being measured by many of the current methods trying to determine a sol (λ) is a om (λ), i.e. the absorption of light by the pigment material in the organic medium of the experiment (methanol, acetone, Triton-X, etc.). The solvation factor, S, in the above equation is the ratio of the true a sol (λ) to the measured a om (λ). We have developed an internally consistent measure of a Ph (λ), a om (λ), Chl a concentration, and pheopigment concentration to determine the value of Q α * X S. This relationship is used to determine a functional relationship for Chl a absorption for high-light-adapted, natural phytoplankton populations in optically clear waters. The nonlinear packaging effect in these waters is insignificant at the red end of the spectrum. Exclusion of the weight-specific absorption of pheopigments and the assumption of a zero a ph (λ) at a zero pigment (Chl a + pheopigment) concentration produces a misleading Chl a-specific absorption and a false determination of pigment packaging. An algorithm is developed for predicting Chl a concentration from a ph (675).
Nutrient Reduction in Stormwater Pond Discharge Using a Chamber Upflow Filter and Skimmer (CUFS)

Stormwater runoff is a known pollutant source capable of causing surface water degradation, especially in highly populated areas such as Central Florida. Wet detention ponds manage this stormwater, but most of the ponds do not remove enough nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, to meet total maximum daily load regulations. This paper presents the use of a chamber upflow filter and skimmer (CUFS) filled with a specific green sorption medium as process modification of stormwater retention ponds, which can increase the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in the stormwater runoff. Green sorption medium consists of recycled and natural materials that provide a favorable environment for pollutant removal. Water enters the system through the skimmer, which floats on the surface of the detention pond. It travels from the skimmer to the bottom of the chamber where heavier particles settle out before entering the upflow filter. The upflow filter contains 61 cm (24 in.) of green sorption medium providing physicochemical and microbiological processes to remove nitrogen and phosphorus under anoxic/anaerobic conditions. After this treatment, water flows up through the filter and out of the system and eventually travels to Lake Jesup, a eutrophic lake in Central Florida. A total of 28 storm events and seven baseflows were sampled from the site in Seminole County, and ten storm events were sampled from a pilot study of CUFS for statistical analysis and performance evaluation. Significant reductions by the CUFS were confirmed in terms of turbidity, orthophosphorus, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids when the mean values were compared at a 95% confidence level. Reductions also occurred for total nitrogen (TN), but could not be proved by the mean comparison in the field test, whereas the pilot-scale application of the CUFS proved effective for reducing TN at a 95% confidence level. Hydraulic retention time should be increased so as to improve the design for TN removal in future applications.
Pelvic tenderness is not limited to the prostate in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) type IIIA and IIIB: comparison of men with and without CP/CPPS

We wished to determine if there were differences in pelvic and non-pelvic tenderness between men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) Type III and men without pelvic pain. We performed the Manual Tender Point Survey (MTPS) as described by the American College of Rheumatology on 62 men with CP/CPPS Type IIIA and IIIB and 98 men without pelvic pain. We also assessed tenderness of 10 external pelvic tender points (EPTP) and of 7 internal pelvic tender points (IPTP). All study participants completed the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Inventory (NIH CPSI). We found that men with CPPS were significantly more tender in the MTPS, the EPTPS and the IPTPS. CPSI scores correlated with EPTP scale but not with IPTP scale or prostate tenderness. Prostatic tenderness was present in 75% of men with CPPS and in 50% of men without CPPS. Expressed prostatic fluid leukocytosis was not associated with prostatic tenderness. Men with CP/CPPS have more tenderness compared to men without CPPS. Tenderness in men with CPPS is distributed throughout the pelvis and not specific to the prostate.
Molecular photodynamics involved in multi-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy

We present a simple model for calculating the fluorescence generated by the multi-photon excitation (MPE) of molecules in solution. The model takes into account internal molecular dynamics such as ground-state depletion due to inter-system crossing (ISC), as well as external molecular dynamics associated with diffusion into and out of an excitation volume confined in 3-dimensions. Internal and external molecular dynamics are combined by using a technique of linearization of a modified diffusion equation which takes into account the possibility of concentration depletion due to photobleaching. In addition, we discuss the phenomenon of pulse saturation which effectively limits the molecular excitation rate constant in the case of short pulsed excitation. Our results are specifically applied in the context of fluorescence autocorrelation functions and single-molecule detection. In the latter case, we discuss some consequences of high-order multi-photon photobleaching. Finally, we include three appendices to rigorously define the temporal and spatial profiles of an arbitrary excitation beam, and also to discuss some properties of an exact evaluation of concentration depletion due to photobleaching.
Exchange-interaction-induced shift of Mn 2+ EPR in II-VI semiconductors

We analyze the effect of the exchange interaction between substitutional ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ ions in a II-VI semiconductor lattice and band electrons of the II-VI host on the ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum. We predict that such an exchange interaction can lead to changes in the g factors of ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ ions due to the spin polarization of band electrons, resulting in significant line shifts of the EPR spectra. Such EPR shifts can provide a direct measure of the Pauli susceptibility of semiconductor band electrons. They can also provide direct information on the $s\ensuremath{-}d$ and $p\ensuremath{-}d$ exchange interactions.
How one academic medical center has managed potency changes with unfractionated heparin

The United States Pharmacopeia recently changed the standards for unfractionated heparin (UFH) resulting in reduction in potency by about 10 %. Despite the reduction in potency, no new recommendations for UFH dosing were recommended. A retrospective review was conducted on patients receiving UFH and at least one activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) after start of infusion. Patients receiving UFH prior to April 2010 were collected as old UFH potency patients versus those receiving UFH after May 1st, 2010 were defined as new UFH potency patients. The primary endpoint was time to a therapeutic aPTT. Secondary endpoints included the number venous thrombotic events (VTE) and bleeding events during hospitalization through 30 days post discharge. Thrombotic events were defined as acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, and VTE. Bleeding was defined in accordance with the GUSTO bleeding scale. A total of 359 patients were included for evaluation, 181 in the old UFH group and 178 in the new UFH group. The primary endpoint was similar between groups with an average time of 18.8 ± 25.4 versus 20.8 ± 22.2 h in the old and new UFH groups respectively (p = 0.092). Patients receiving old UFH and an initial bolus had higher aPTTs (96.6 ± 43.7 s) than those receiving new UFH and an initial bolus (76.7 ± 34.5 s) (p = 0.003). There was no difference found between groups in regards to bleeding or thrombotic events during hospitalization or through 30 days. In patients receiving UFH, dosed per the institutions’ nomogram, no clinically significant outcomes were found between the old and new UFH potencies.
Instrumentation for comprehensive two-dimensional capillary supercritical fluid-gas chromatography

A two-dimensional supercritical fluid-gas chromatography system was constructed and evaluated. A 50-μm i.d. capillary column coated with a 50 % cyanopropyl polysilixane stationary phase was used as the firstdimensional column. Group-type separations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, based on the number of aromatic rings, were achieved using this column under SFC conditions. A 25-μm i.d. liquid crystal column was used as the second-dimensional column under GC conditions. The effluent from the first column (SFC) was received continuously by the second column (GC) through a thermal desorption modulator. The thermal desorption modulator (prepared at the head of the second column) generated a series of concentration pulses from the first column effluent. These concentration pulses served as injections to the second column, and were developed into a corresponding series of high-speed chromatograms. Grouptype sample bands from the first column were separated into individual components on the second column. All sample substances passed through both columns to generate two sets of retention data, which could be used for more accurate compound identification.
Jaynes's maximum entropy prescription and probability theory

Jaynes's prescription of maximizing the information-theoretic entropy is applied in a special situation to determine a certain set of posterior probabilities (when evidence fixing the expected value of a dynamical variable is given) and also the corresponding set of prior probabilities (when this evidence is not given). It is shown that the resulting values of these probabilities are inconsistent with the principles of probability theory. Three possible ways of avoiding this inconsistency are briefly discussed.
The Relationship Between Safety Culture and Patient Outcomes: Results From Pilot Meta-Analyses

Patient safety continues to be a serious health concern in acute-care hospitals. Safety culture has been a frequent target for patient safety improvement over the past decade, based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and its use in industry. However, the relationship between safety culture and patient safety in acute-care hospitals has yet to be systematically examined. Thus, a meta-analysis was devised to examine the relationship between patient safety outcomes and safety culture in that setting. Due to the limited empirical research reports available, five small pilot meta-analyses were conducted, examining the relationship between safety culture and each of the following: pressure ulcers, falls, medication errors, nurse-sensitive outcomes, and post-operative outcomes. No significant relationships of any size were identified. An assessment of the relevant literature is presented, offering potential explanations for this surprising finding and an agenda for future research.
Importance of bowel preparation in screening colonoscopy

1Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA 2Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8124, St Louis, MO 63110, USA *Author for correspondence: Tel.: +1 314 362 5952; Fax: +1 314 747 1277; jeanwang@wustl.edu Colorectal cancer is the third most com­ mon type of cancer in men worldwide and the second most common in women [101]. In addition, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths, making prevention of para­ mount importance. Prior to developing into malignancies, colonic lesions begin as adenomatous polyps, benign growths that can transform into colorectal cancer over a period of several years. It is during these years that screening examinations allow physicians to discover and remove these adenomas before they can become cancers. Various types of screening methods have been utilized, including fecal testing, bar­ ium enema, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy and computed tomography colonography. Of these, colonoscopy has often been her­ alded as one of the best methods of screen­ ing given its ability to remove lesions at the time of detection as well as to see polyps throughout the entire colon [1]. Prior to the procedure, colonoscopy requires the use of a bowel preparation to thoroughly cleanse the colon of stool so that visualization and detection of small polyps is possible during the examina­ tion. Bowel preparation usually involves drinking a large amount of liquid medi­ cation in order to purge bowel contents and cleanse the colonic walls. Patients take this medication the evening before the examination while consuming only a clear liquid diet. Numerous studies have been performed to determine the best form of bowel preparation, but there are a number of other factors, including patient medications and comorbidities, that can affect preparation quality [2,3]. Endoscopists continue to search for the optimal method of preparation, keeping in mind that different patients may require different approaches. In recent years, split­ dose preparations, in which patients take half of their bowel preparation the evening prior to the examination and the other half of the bowel preparation the morning of the procedure, have been shown to be “...colonoscopy has often been heralded as one of the best methods of screening given its ability to remove lesions at the time of detection as well as to see polyps throughout the entire colon.” EDITORIAL
Weak data do not make a free lunch, only a cheap meal

Four data sets were processed at resolutions significantly exceeding the criteria traditionally used for estimating the diffraction data resolution limit. The analysis of these data and the corresponding model-quality indicators suggests that the criteria of resolution limits widely adopted in the past may be somewhat conservative. Various parameters, such as Rmerge and I/σ(I), optical resolution and the correlation coefficients CC1/2 and CC*, can be used for judging the internal data quality, whereas the reliability factors R and Rfree as well as the maximum-likelihood target values and real-space map correlation coefficients can be used to estimate the agreement between the data and the refined model. However, none of these criteria provide a reliable estimate of the data resolution cutoff limit. The analysis suggests that extension of the maximum resolution by about 0.2 A beyond the currently adopted limit where the I/σ(I) value drops to 2.0 does not degrade the quality of the refined structural models, but may sometimes be advantageous. Such an extension may be particularly beneficial for significantly anisotropic diffraction. Extension of the maximum resolution at the stage of data collection and structure refinement is cheap in terms of the required effort and is definitely more advisable than accepting a too conservative resolution cutoff, which is unfortunately quite frequent among the crystal structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank.
Allium sativum (garlic) — A natural antibiotic

Allium sativum (garlic) has been recognized not only as a spice but also as a substance which exerts a control on microorganisms. Recent publications indicate that garlic extract has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against many genera of bacteria and fungi. The active component (allicin) has been isolated and characterized. Because many of the microorganisms susceptible to garlic extract are medically significant, garlic holds a promising position as a broad-spectrum therapeutic agent. Furthermore, garlic plants may also play an important role in the ecological control of pathogenic microorganisms in nature.
Development of a trickle irrigation scheduling model

Abstract A trickle irrigation scheduling model was developed based on a water balance approach to water flow, with each increasing soil depth represented by an increasing size ellipsoid. During an irrigation the wetting front and volume of water to fill each ellipsoid is determined. The water is distributed into cubes that form each ellipsoid and the size of the cubes is input information for the model. Cubes are used to approximate the ellipsoid shape to be able to model one-dimensional water flow from rainfall. Evaporation losses are accounted for from each surface cube. Rainfall fills the surface cubes, with excess rainfall passing into the cube below each surface cube. Transpiration is extracted from each cube, based on a potential transpiration and available moisture in the rooting volume. Deep drainage is the water that passes below the ellipsoid to a depth equal to the maximum rooting depth of the crop. Lettuce yield and the water balance of a lettuce crop grown during the summer of 1984 at Lalamilo, Hawaii were simulated for different irrigation amounts and the results compared to a field experiment using a gradient irrigation design. The model simulated within 2% the seasonal evapotranspiration of lettuce grown under six irrigation treatments that resulted in measured seasonal evapotranspiration ranging from 72 to 178 mm.
Phonatory and Manual Reaction Times of Women with Idiopathic Spasmodic Dysphonia

This investigation compared the simple reaction times of 10 idiopathic spasmodic dysphonic women and 10 normal-speaking women matched individually for age and handedness. The reaction time stimulus in all response conditions was the offset of a 1000-Hz pure tone. Two of the experimental conditions required right and left forefinger button pressing. The remaining four experimental conditions required phonatory responses. The nonspeech phonatory responses consisted of inspiratory phonation and expiratory throat clearing: the speech-like phonatory responses required abrupt initiation of the isolated vowel // and the word /p/. The spasmodic dysphonic patients differed (p ⩽ .05) from their matched controls only during production of /p/. The results are compared to previous reaction time investigations and are related to factors which potentially can influence sensory-motor pathways prior to and during speech.
Approximate analysis of an electrostatic probe for electron density measurements on re-entry vehicles.

merit simulation. Confidence in the design is attained through tests of working prototype systems at augmented stress levels up to 50%; confidence in flight readiness is achieved for flight units by tests under the expected environments of launch or space. The laboratory and space results on unmanned scientific satellites over a four-year period show the philosophy to be sound. The cost effectiveness of this philosophy is still being evaluated. The philosophy is dependent upon having test articles that can be repaired, a fairly large capital investment in simulation facilities, and a resourceful and competent staff that can respond quickly after problems are detected.
Early experience and the development of perseverative responding

Male and female rats from the same litters were subjected to the mild-to-moderate stress of being slowly shaken for 7 consecutive days prior to weaning. At about 2 months of age, the animals were tested for locomotor activity in the open field and for their ability to acquire a black-white discrimination problem in a Lashley jumping stand after exposure to an unsolvable problem. There were no differences in locomotor activity related to either sex or stress. All animals exhibited perseverative responding to one position of the jumping stand, and the stressed male animals took longer to overcome these perseverative tendencies than did nonstressed males when trained on the solvable discrimination problem. There were no effects of the stress on performance of the female subjects.
Circadian clock phenotypes of chromosome aberrations with a breakpoint at the per locus.

The circadian rhythm phenotypes of eight chromosome aberrations with a breakpoint in the region of the per locus (3B1-2) were analyzed. Two duplications and five deficiencies with a 3B1-2 breakpoint produce either a wild-type or an arrhythmic clock phenotype while one translocation with a 3B1-2 breakpoint, T(1;4)JC43, produces locomotor-activity rhythms with either very-long period (31–39 h), rhythms that grade into arrhythmicity, or completely arrhythmic phenotypes. This is a unique phenotype that had not previously been observed for mutants at the per locus. An extensive complementation analysis of 3B1-2 chromosome aberrations and per mutant alleles provided no compelling evidence for genetic complexity at the per locus. This is in contrast to the report of Young and Judd (1978). Analysis of both the locomotor-activity and eclosion phenotypes of 3B1-2 chromosome aberrations did not uncover differences in the genetic control of these two rhythms. The clock phenotypes of 3B1-2 chromosome aberrations, the three per mutant alleles, and per+ duplications suggest that mutations at the per locus shorten, lengthen, or eliminate periodicity by respectively increasing, decreasing, or eliminating per activity.
Strong shock propagation through decreasing density

The acceleration of a shock wave in an ideal gas of decreasing density has previously been studied. The problem is reconsidered here with empirical inclusion of real-gas effects for strong shocks in hydrogen. Experimental results suggest that previous shock acceleration models are valid only for a limited range of the Knudsen number in finite geometries and that for large final-state Knudsen numbers a free-expansion model best describes the experimental results.
Effect of illumination correction on face recognition rates for the binary phase-only filter (BPOF) and the extended normalized correlation methods

In this paper, we study the effect of illumination on face recognition. The challenging database of images created by AT&T Laboratories Cambridge has been used for all our tests. Since images of the same individual in the database have been taken under varying light sources, illumination across the images is not uniform. We pre-processed all the database images for non-uniform illumination correction. Correlation tests were performed on these pre-processed images using two methods - first, by simulating a simple correlator employing the Binary Phase Only Filter (BPOF) and second, using the extended correlation method suggested by Kyatkin and Chirikjian. Results are presented to show the effect of illumination correction on both methods.
Patent foramen ovale and the risk of first ischemic stroke

Evaluation of: Di Tullio MR, Sacco RL, Sciacca RR, Jin Z, Homma S. Patent foramen ovale and the risk of ischemic stroke in a multiethnic population. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 49(7), 797–802 (2007).Several case–controlled studies have demonstrated an association between patent foramen ovale (PFO) and cryptogenic stroke. However, the risk of first stroke associated with a PFO in the general population is unknown. Di Tullio et al. sought to determine prospectively the relationship between PFO and the occurrence of first ischemic stroke in a population- based study of 1148 participants. No statistically significant association between PFO and ischemic stroke was found (hazard ratio: 1.64; 95% confidence interval: 0.87–3.09). Additional subgroup analysis stratifying groups according to age and gender also did not reveal a statistically significant association between the two conditions. Hence, this study demonstrates that a PFO conveys no increased risk for the development of ischemic stroke in the general populat...
Human Fetal Glial Cells Constitutively Produce HIV-Inducing Cytokines

Abstract The capacity of two human fetal glial cell lines, SVG and POJ, to increase the expression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was investigated. As a cellular model for HIV latency, a chronically infected promonocytic cell line U1 was used. This cell line constitutively expresses a low level of viral activity. To monitor the level of HIV expression in U1 cells, reverse transcriptase (RT) activity was measured in the supernatant and the level of total HIV proteins was determined in cellular lysates. It was observed that the conditioned media from SVG and POJ cells increased RT activity in U1 cells in a dose-dependent fashion. In addition, the conditioned media from fetal glial cells caused an increase in total HIV protein synthesis. The capacity of conditioned media from both fetal glial cell lines to induce the expression of HIV was reduced by 45% in the presence of antibodies against human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), suggesting that one of the HIV-activating factors released by these cells was TNFα. The presence of TNFα and two other HIV-activating cytokines, IL-6 and IL-1, was confirmed by ELISA. It was also observed that glutathione increased the HIV-inducing capacity of the fetal glial cell-derived conditioned media. The finding that fetal glial cells constitutively secrete soluble factors which increase the expression of HIV in vitro suggests that in vivo, during perinatally acquired infection, similar events may occur. Fetal glial cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HIV-related encephalopathy.
Calbindin controls release probability in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons

Relatively little is known about the molecular control of midbrain dopamine release. Using high-fidelity imaging of pHluorin-tagged vesicular monoamine transporter 2 in dopamine neurons, we found that exocytosis was more loosely coupled to calcium entry than in fast synapses. In ventral tegmental area neurons, this allows exocytosis to be efficiently controlled by a native fast calcium buffer, calbindin-D28k, maintaining a lower vesicular release probability compared with substantia nigra neurons.
Adsorption and thermoresponsive behavior of poly(N -isopropylacrylamide -co -N,N' -cystaminebisacrylamide) thin films on gold

We describe the synthesis of thermoresponsive polymers made from N-isopropylacrylamide and varying amounts of a thiol-containing co-monomer, N,N‘-cystaminebisacrylamide (P(NIPAm-co-CBAm)). Infrared spectroscopy revealed a backbone similar to that seen with pure PNIPAm. UV−vis spectroscopy showed that P(NIPAm-co-CBAm) undergoes a thermoresponsive phase transition around 32 °C in aqueous solution. The presence of the thiol groups enabled the polymer to adsorb onto gold surfaces. Following adsorption onto a gold surface, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a carbon/gold atomic ratio of 0.93 for a sample without CBAm and a ratio of 1.61 for a P(NIPAm-co-CBAm) sample with 0.20% CBAm. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) analysis showed increases in the mass of polymer adsorbed when the CBAm content in the polymer increased. The thermoresponsive behavior of the thin films on gold was investigated with contact angle and dissipative QCM analysis. Contact angles were measured for polymer films at both 25 and 60 °...
Anisotropy of the critical current density in YBa2Cu3Ox films

Abstract The critical current density Jc(B, T, θ) of ab-axis oriented YBa2Cu3Ox films was measured at 77 K as a function of the angle θ between the applied magnetic field and the film surface. The critical current density in a c-axis oriented film was fairly sensitive to the angle θ and the magnitude of the external magnetic field.
Use of Economic and Reservoir Models in Planning the Ranger Zone Flood, Long Beach Unit, Wilmington Field

Engineering studies resulting in a development plan for the Ranger zone waterflood are described. A variety of reservoir behavior and economic models were employed to achieve a suitable design. The models selected for each portion of the work and typical results are described. It is concluded that by judiciously selecting analytical techniques the timely design of a development plan for a major oil reserve may be accomplished. At the time these studies were initiated, a minor portion of the zone had been developed. Therefore, the primary objective of the studies was to create a spacing plan for a pressure maintenance waterflood with specific completion interval and location information for each well to be drilled. A second objective was to provide estimates of injection and production rates for facility sizing and estimates of future capital requirements.
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN HEALTH PROMOTION

In considering new paradigms for the prevention and treatment of disease and disability, we need to incorporate ways to promote social support and develop family and community strengths and abilities into our interventions. There is now a substantial body of evidence that indicates that the extent to which social relationships are strong and supportive is related to the health of individuals who live within such social contexts. A review of population-based research on mortality risk over the last 20 years indicates that people who are isolated are at increased mortality risk from a number of causes. More recent studies indicate that social support is particularly related to survival postmyocardial infarction. The pathways that lead from such socioenvironmental exposures to poor health outcomes are likely to be multiple and include behavioral mechanisms and more direct physiologic pathways related to neuroendocrine or immunologic function. For social support to be health promoting, it must provide both a sense of belonging and intimacy and must help people to be more competent and self-efficacious. Acknowledging that health promotion rests on the shoulders not only of individuals but also of their families and communities means that we must commit resources over the next decade to designing, testing, and implementing interventions in this area.
PALEOECOLOGICAL INSIGHTS ON CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:A FOCUS ON SPECIES, ECOSYSTEMS, AND LANDSCAPES

Environmental changes of the Quaternary have driven changes in biodiversity at every level of organization from genetic variation within populations of individual species to gradients in composition of biotic communities and heterogeneity of vegetation mosaics across landscapes. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, increased seasonality of climate during the changeover from glacial to interglacial conditions in the late Pleistocene and Holocene resulted in landscape instability that fostered a fine-grained, heterogeneous mosaic of habitats supporting a diverse biota. Ecotones between alpine, boreal, and temperate ecosystems in the Appalachians shifted dramatically through the Holocene in response to the passage of critical thresholds of temperature and changing disturbance regimes. Regional projections of future greenhouse-gas-induced climatic warming indicate that alpine tundra may be lost between 44° and 57° N and Picea rubens–Abies fraseri forests may become extinct in the southern Appalachians. Mont...
Femoral ring versus fibular strut allografts in anterior lumbar interbody arthrodesis. A biomechanical analysis.

Study design A comparison between femoral ring and fibular strut allografts in anterior lumbar interbody arthrodesis, as assessed by biomechanical analysis. Objectives To assess the difference in stability and rigidity provided by the femoral ring allograft versus that provided by fibular strut allograft. Summary of background data Two commonly used techniques for spinal arthrodesis at L4-L5 include the femoral ring allograft and the fibular strut allograft. The postoperative stability has not been evaluated biomechanically. Methods An anterior lumbar interbody fusion on seven cadaveric specimens was performed using femoral ring and fibular strut allografts. Biplanar radiography was used to measure the 6 degrees of motion of L4 with respect to L5 during a range of loading maneuvers. Results When an extension moment was applied, the femoral ring allograft extended 4.2 degrees more than the intact specimen, compared with 1.6 degrees with the fibular strut allograft (P = 0.18). When the flexion moment was imposed, lateral bending increased by 2.2 degrees with the femoral ring, compared with 0.7 degree with the fibular strut allograft (P = 0.06). During lateral bending, increased lateral translation was observed to be 0.9 mm with the fibular strut allograft compared with 1.4 mm with the femoral ring allograft (P = 0.06). Conclusions Although not statistically significant, the fibular strut allograft creates a more rigid construct immediately after surgery during flexion-extension, lateral bending angulations, and lateral translation. One should consider using the fibular strut allograft over the femoral ring allograft, as it is more stable and rigid construct in the immediate postoperative period.
Ventricular growth stimulation to achieve two-ventricle repair in unbalanced common atrioventricular canal

Abstract Significant ventricular hypoplasia in infants with unbalanced atrioventricular (AV) canal often leads to a univentricular rather than the more desirable two-ventricle repair. Our hypothesis is that forward flow across the AV valve generates a ventricular growth signal and creates the possibility of a two-ventricle repair. The growth potential exists even for severely hypoplastic ventricles, however, time must be available for it to occur and the septal defects can not be closed if the dominant ventricle must still contribute to the systemic output. The components of the surgical approach were suggested by the hypothesis. Flow was maximized across the hypoplastic AV (mitral or tricuspid) valve by patch closure of the primum atrial septal defect and creation of a snared (restrictive) secundum atrial septal defect. The mitral and tricuspid valves were also repaired. The snared defect was narrowed off cardiopulmonary bypass until a 5–7-mmHg mean gradient across the atrial septum was reached. If the ventricular septal defect was required to augment the systemic output by right-to-left shunting, only partial closure was done and a pulmonary artery band was also necessary. This staged approach safely allowed time for ventricular growth if the small ventricle was not able to immediately deliver a satisfactory cardiac output. With this flexible approach, time was available for the ventricular imbalance to correct and the two-ventricle repair to be safely completed. The growth response of the hypoplastic ventricles has been relatively rapid. Within weeks, ventricles more than 4 S.D.s of the mean below predicted, achieved an essentially normal end diastolic volume. For less severe ventricular hypoplasia, a two-ventricle repair was completed. When necessary, a snared atrial septal defect was created to allow atrial decompression until the moderately hypoplastic ventricle grew. The benefits of a two-ventricle repair in comparison to the univentricular solution should be considerable and will increase with time.
MOEA design of robust digital symbol sets

Optimal constellation design is important in military digital communications for Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). Optimization realizes a reduced probability of bit error (Pb) while keeping the same bandwidth and power for transmitting the signal. Constellation shapes currently used in QAM include rectangle, triangle, hexagonal, and concentric circles. In this study, two dimensional (4, 8,..., and 256)-ary constellations at specific normalized signal to noise ratios (Eb/No) having lower Pb are sought. Various models are designed to provide a Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) with a near exact model to utilize as a fitness function. MOEA found solutions are tested for merit using a Monte Carlo simulator. Comparisons of Eb/No vs Pb between the rectangular constellation and new designs are illustrated. New designs are shown to be different and comparable to the standard constellations used today
Reliability of Self-reports of Financial Data in Surveys Results From the Health and Retirement Study

This article reports an investigation of errors of measurement in self-reports of financial data in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), one of the major social science data resources available t...
The Artist's Perception of the Typical Businessman: Selfish, Greedy, Conniving and Thoroughly Amoral

The attack on the institution of business is acelerating at a more furious pace. In this post‐Watergate era the momentum of the assault is being fuelled by the almost daily revelations of corporate misdeeds. America's growing anti‐business mood may culminate in more government controls being imposed on the economy and possibly the nationalisation of some industries. Clearly, the implications for the social, political, and economic system are most serious. The problem is compounded by the artist, especially the writers of fiction. Both current novelists and those of previous eras have presented a consistently negative image of the typical businessman. Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens' A Christmas Carol paint portraits of very ugly businessmen. Indeed, that same portrait is replicated by virtually every artist to the present day.
Abstract 868: HER2-targeted engineered toxin body demonstrates selective binding and cell kill of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer.

The HER2 receptor is overexpressed in 20-30% of breast cancers. HER2 overexpression in breast cancer has been successfully targeted by both antibody and antibody-drug conjugate approaches. Trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody is approved for the treatment of HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer. More recently, trastuzumab-DM1, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), has shown promising clinical results in patients refractory to trastuzumab. Because DM1 is a chemotherapeutic and refractory breast cancer patients have typically progressed through several rounds of chemotherapy, we were interested in developing a new ADC approach with trastuzumab that utilized a novel mechanism of action. 5G2 is an engineered toxin body comprised of the trastuzumab scFv and a modified ribosome-inhibiting protein derived from Shiga-like toxin 1 A. 5G2 has exhibited high binding affinity to HER2 protein and HER2-expressing cells. 5G2 exerts a potent HER2-specific cytotoxic effect on HER2-expressing cells, but little activity on various HER2 negative cells. These results demonstrate that 5G2 is a promising HER2-targeted therapeutic agent against breast carcinomas and is currently under further development. Citation Format: Sangeetha Rajagopalan, Erin Willert, Rachel Wirth, William Null, Jen-Sing Liu, Jack P. Higgins. HER2-targeted engineered toxin body demonstrates selective binding and cell kill of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 868. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-868
Structural model of an antistasin/notch-like fusion protein from the cocoon wall of the aquatic leech, Theromyzon tessulatum

The aquatic leech, Theromyzon tessulatum, secretes a proteinaceous cocoon with extraordinary physical properties (e.g., proteolytic, thermal resiliency). The deduced amino acid sequence of a major protein (Tcp—Theromyzon cocoon protein) from the T. tessulatum cocoon wall has been used to model the endogenous structure of the Tcp protein. The Tcp protein sequence comprises six internal repeats, each containing 12 ordered Cys residues. Amino acid alignments suggest that the region Cys1→6 is homologous to antistasin, a leech anticoagulant, and Cys7→12 is homologous to an epidermal growth factor-like domain found in notch-class proteins, which play critical roles in development, signaling, and adhesion throughout the Animalia. Modeling of individual domains (i.e., antistasin and notch) positions multiple hydrophobic and charged residues on the surface. When the antistasin and notch domains were fused, hydrophobic pockets appeared that may facilitate a polymerization mechanism. Collectively, the predicted features of our Tcp model are consistent with the physical properties of the leech cocoon wall.
Is a Confrontational Tone Necessary in Conjoint Therapy

The dominant model in the field of conjoint therapy is the notion of the family as a unit or system (Beels & Ferber, 1969) and, in particular, as a homeostatic system in which change in one part requires compensatory adjustment in others (Jackson, 1957). This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the systems model and proposes an alternative approach, the paired bind model. The paired bind orientation retains the major advantage of the systems approach (its focus upon couple and family interactions) while eliminating its major disadvantage (its oppositional tone).
Cost of illness studies: no aid to decision making? Comments on the second opinion by Shiell et al. (Health Policy, 8(1987) 317-323).

I have recently had the opportunity to read the “Second Opinion” on Cost of Illness Studies by Shiell, Gerard and Donaldson (SGD) in volume 8, number 3 of Health Policy. The thinking of SGD contains a number of fallacies and partial truths about cost-of-illness studies. There are limitations to cost of illness studies (COI) but the Shiell, Gerard and Donaldson (SGD) criticisms are not among them. The SGD paper suffers from two fallacies. One is that cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is grounded in economic theory but CO1 estimates are not. Robinson has clearly pointed out “The human capital approach...has a strong theoretical foundation, and as such can provide useful information to decision makers in the public sector”. Robinson further points out that although, as SGD are attempting to argue, the distinction between human capital and welfare economics based methods of valuing benefits of public health programs “is usually drawn in terms of reliable numbers for one and theoretical desirability for the other.. .the important differences between the two methods are due to their connections with two distinct interpretations of the role of government in a democratic society”. According to Robinson, cost of illness studies, i.e. human capital estimates, do derive from economic theory, although they depend on a different interpretation of the role of government in a democratic society than that which gave rise to modern welfare economics [l]. The second fallacy is the implicit contention that economic theory (in the form of CBA for SGD) provides a fundamental link between analysis and policy deci-