cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Developments in single-molecule and single-particle fluorescence-based approaches for studying viral envelope glycoprotein dynamics and membrane fusion.

Abstract Fusion of viral and cellular membranes is an essential step in the entry pathway of all enveloped viruses. This is a dynamic and multistep process, which has been extensively studied, resulting in the endpoints of the reaction being firmly established, and many essential cellular factors identified. What remains is to elucidate the dynamic events that underlie this process, including the order and timing of glycoprotein conformational changes, receptor-binding events, and movement of the glycoprotein on the surface of the virion. Due to the inherently asynchronous nature of these dynamics, there has been an increased focus on the study of single virions and single molecules. These techniques provide researchers the high precision and resolution necessary to bridge the gaps in our understanding of viral membrane fusion. This review highlights the advancement of single-molecule and single-particle fluorescence-based techniques, with a specific focus on how these techniques have been used to study the dynamic nature of the viral fusion pathway.
A Senate Trifecta: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia

Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), and Joe Manchin III (D-WV) held three endangered Senate seats in 2018. Their states voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and they faced strong electoral challenges. The incumbents nevertheless prevailed. This victorious trifecta showed shrewd political calculation. Messaging was matched to constituencies, and positions carefully framed. Sherrod Brown emphasized trade and tariff issues. Bob Casey Jr. emphasized his ability to work across the aisle. Joe Manchin faced the toughest challenge. West Virginia was where Donald Trump had his highest 2016 vote margin. Manchin successfully made protecting care for pre-existing conditions a defining issue for West Virginians. These incumbents presented themselves as willing to scrap party line when necessary. They outraised their opposition and crafted effective messages.
Teaching and Learning in Texas: Accountability Testing, Language, Race, and Place

This article examines education law and cultural conditions for teaching and learning in Texas , the state that provided a model for the federal No Child Left Behind Act signed in 2002. Accountability testing is a primary feature of Texas education law and has an enormous impact on public school culture. Of particular interest is Houston, one of the largest cities in the US, where more than half of public school students are identified by the school district as English language learners. The article investigates how students enrolled in a developmental English course use their own writing to advocate for change. The stu- dents attend an urban, Hispanic-serving, open admissions university and often are described as Generation 1.5. In particular, the article focuses on the case study of one student and his response to being identified as an English language learner.
From Textbook to Facebook: English Language Learning Strategy

Technology has posed many challenges to the teaching methods and materials of English as a second language. English teachers have to switch over to hi tech-based productive teaching methods from the conventional chalk and board method which no longer appeals to students of an entirely new generation of English learners with changing needs. Facebook, the most widely used type of social networking service, can be explored as an alternative learner- friendly mode of learning English. Irrespective of social status, most of the students own mobile phones with net facilities and students can be motivated to use them for improving their communication skills while they enjoy communicating with their circle of friends the matters that matter most to them. This paper proposes to examine the viability of the use of facebook as a strategy of doing (communicating) as learning (English) to improve students’ conversational, commentary, and information-sharing skills in English and to assess how it contributes to learner autonomy. The central hypothesis of the proposed paper is that students enjoy communicating through facebook their thoughts, feelings, and values and they do not feel any constraints in doing so. The very act of communicating that they are reluctant in formal classroom atmosphere becomes a rewarding experience and motivating factor. The proposed study intends to employ empirical method for collection and interpretation of data.
Cause of Death Trends Among Persons With Spinal Cord Injury in the United States: 1960-2017.

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify trends in causes of death after spinal cord injury (SCI) that could enhance understanding why life expectancy after SCI has not improved in the last three decades. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Twenty-nine SCI Model Systems and three Shriners Hospitals. Participants: Persons with traumatic SCI (n=49,266) enrolled in the SCI Collaborative Survival Study Database between 1973 and 2017. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Age-standardized cause-specific SCI mortality rates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for five time intervals (1960-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, 2000-09, and 2010-17). Results: There were 17,249 deaths occurring in 797,226 person-years of follow-up. Since 2010, the highest mortality rate was for respiratory diseases, followed by heart disease, cancer, infective and parasitic diseases (primarily septicemia), and unintentional injuries. Mortality rates for respiratory diseases, cancer, stroke, urinary diseases, and digestive diseases, initially decreased significantly but remained relatively stable since 1980, while essentially no progress occurred for infective and parasitic diseases. Mortality rates for heart disease, pulmonary embolus, and suicide decreased significantly throughout the entire study period, but were offset by increases in mortality rates for endocrine (primarily diabetes), nutritional, and metabolic diseases as well as unintentional injuries. From 2010-2017, the overall age-standardized mortality rate was 3 times higher for persons with SCI than the general population, ranging from 27% higher for cancer to 9 times higher for infective and parasitic diseases. Conclusion: Improving life expectancy after SCI will require: 1) reducing mortality rates from respiratory diseases and septicemia that have remained high, 2) reversing current trends in diabetes and unintentional injury deaths, and 3) continuing to reduce mortality from heart disease and other leading causes.
Balloon-Assisted Roadmap Technique to Enable Flow Diversion of a High-Flow Direct Carotid-Cavernous Fistula.

Abstract Background The use of flow diverters as a first-line treatment for direct carotid cavernous fistula (CCF) is a relatively new approach in the neurointerventional field which allows obliteration of the fistula with less mass effect from coils in the cavernous sinus. Safe and successful deployment of a flow diverter requires adequate imaging of the parent vessel, which may be challenging in the setting of high-flow CCF without antegrade flow. Objective To facilitate adequate parent vessel imaging in the setting of high-flow CCF to enable the safe development of a flow diverter device. Methods Here we present the case of a patient with delayed presentation of post-traumatic direct CCF after a motor vehicle accident, with no antegrade flow past the fistulous connection. We used temporary balloon occlusion of the fistulous connection to enable road-map imaging of the parent vessel and flow-diverter placement. “Drag and drop” device opening in the middle cerebral artery facilitated better deployment of the flow-diverter against retrograde cavernous flow through the fistula. Results Temporary balloon occlusion of the fistulous connection was used to acquire a roadmap to facilitate safe deployment of a flow diverter and subsequent treatment of the CCF with transvenous coil embolization, with complete resolution of symptoms. Conclusion Balloon-assisted roadmap use is a novel means of visualizing the parent vessel in direct CCF to facilitate safe flow diverter deployment.
Modeling integrity in data exchange

We provide a formal model of security guarantees offered by digital signature schemes when they are applied to structured data. This model is an important step towards managing the integrity of data that is shared, integrated, transformed, and exchanged on the World Wide Web. We express signature semantics using well-known database constraints, which can help authors decide what to sign, help recipients evaluate the integrity of signed data, and clarify the capabilities of different signature technologies.
Spontaneous in vitro neoplastic evolution of cultured Chinese hamster cells: Nucleolus organizing region activity☆

Silver staining to demonstrate active nucleolus organizing regions (NORs) was performed at four different stages of the spontaneous tumorigenic progression in vitro of Chinese hamster WCHE/5 cells. The number of active NORs increased for fully transformed, highly tumorigenic, late passage cells. The increase of NOR material was due to additional NOR-bearing chromosomes or chromosome arms, i.e., trisomy 5, trisomy 8, and the marker chromosome i(3q). Intermediate stages of the neoplastic evolution showed changing patterns of NOR activity, but not an overall increase. We postulate that the increase of active rDNA enhances cell growth and provides undefined selective advantage, and that this supports our previous conclusion that selectable karyotype changes provide competitive advantages rather than being essential for neoplastic evolution in vitro.
Comparison of motor delays in young children with fetal alcohol syndrome to those with prenatal alcohol exposure and with no prenatal alcohol exposure

Background: Researchers are increasingly considering the importance of motor functioning of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The purpose of this study was to assess the motor development of young children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to determine the presence and degree of delay in their motor skills and to compare their motor development with that of matched children without FAS. Methods: The motor development of 14 children ages 20 to 68 months identified with FAS was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). In addition, 2 comparison groups were utilized. Eleven of the children with FAS were matched for chronological age, gender, ethnicity, and communication age to: (1) 11 children with prenatal alcohol exposure who did not have FAS and (2) 11 matched children without any reported prenatal alcohol exposure. The motor scores on the VABS were compared among the 3 groups. Results: Most of the young children with FAS in this study showed clinically important delays in their motor development as measured on the VABS Motor Domain, and their fine motor skills were significantly more delayed than their gross motor skills. In the group comparisons, the young children with FAS had significantly lower Motor Domain standard (MotorSS) scores than the children not exposed to alcohol prenatally. They also had significantly lower Fine Motor Developmental Quotients than the children in both the other groups. No significant group differences were found in gross motor scores. For MotorSS scores and Fine Motor Developmental Quotients, the means and standard errors indicated a continuum in the scores from FAS to prenatal alcohol exposure to nonexposure. Conclusions: These findings strongly suggest that all young children with FAS should receive complete developmental evaluations that include assessment of their motor functioning, to identify problem areas and provide access to developmental intervention programs that target deficit areas such as fine motor skills. Fine motor delays in children with FAS may be related to specific neurobehavioral deficits that affect fine motor skills. The findings support the concept of an FASD continuum in some areas of motor development.
Analysis of the impact of statistical variations on transmission-line based metamaterial structures

Localization theory is employed to investigate the impact of statistical variations in material parameters and lumped-element values on the transmission properties of transmission-line based metamaterial structures. The theory yields closed-form expressions for the calculation of the propagation constant of the disordered structure that are shown to provide an accurate alternative to the more expensive Monte Carlo approach. Application of the theory to the investigation of the transmission properties of a negative refractive index structure demonstrates its use for expedient assessment of the impact of statistical variations in unit cell length and in the values of the lumped reactive elements used in the definition of the structure.
International hotel revenue management Web-performance effectiveness modelling - research comparative

Purpose – In the hotel industry today, web site marketing and third party distribution metrics are of critical importance in understanding the effectiveness of hotel revenue management objectives. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model which tests hotel web‐effectiveness using the following variables: reach, content, consistency and price parity (RCO2P).Design/methodology/approach – For the current RCO2P study, the hotel sample was broken down into two segment groupings of five hotels: luxury; and upper‐upscale. The ten full‐service hotels were monitored over a 90‐day period using room rate quotations and ordinal values across 14 dimensions based on three pre‐selected arrival dates.Findings – Results of the RCO2P study indicated preferential display sequencing emerged as a significant factor in the reach category among all hotel properties reviewed. Only six of ten properties were measured as having achieved optimal web‐effectiveness, while poor price‐parity competency reflected the most situ...
Interactions of chloride and amiloride with the renal Na+/H+ antiporter

Amiloride is a reversible inhibitor of the Na+/H+ antiporter which acts at the external aspect of the transport system. The kinetics of inhibition of the Na+/H+ antiporter with amiloride have been controversial, with the usual finding of simple competitive inhibition, but with other reports of mixed and noncompetitive inhibition of the transporter by amiloride. The present experiments demonstrate that the chloride content of the external transport buffer affects the kinetics of amiloride inhibition. Either simple competitive or mixed inhibition by amiloride was observed in the same vesicle preparations depending on the presence of chloride or gluconate in the buffer. The effect of chloride on the inhibitory effect of amiloride was dependent on the concentration of chloride and amiloride. Similar effects were observed with more potent analogues of amiloride. These findings suggest that the external aspect of the antiporter has a site or sites at which the inhibitory effects of amiloride on the Na+/H+ antiporter can be modified by chloride, even though chloride has only slight effects on the kinetics of the Na+/H+ antiporter in the absence of amiloride.
Mechanisms of oral carcinogenesis induced by dibenzo[a,l]pyrene: an environmental pollutant and a tobacco smoke constituent.

We previously reported that dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P), the most potent known environmental carcinogen among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) congeners, is carcinogenic in the oral tissues of mice. We have now developed a new mouse model which employs the oral application of the fjord region diol epoxide, (±)-anti−11,12-dihydroxy-13,14-epoxy-11,12,13,14-tetrahydrodibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]PDE), a metabolite of the tobacco smoke constituent DB[a,l]P, and we show its specific induction of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in both tongue and other oral tissues. Groups of B6C3F1 mice (20/group) received 6 or 3 nmol of (±)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE administered into the oral cavity; 3 times per week for 38 weeks. Additional groups received the vehicle alone or were left untreated. Mice were sacrificed 42 weeks after the first carcinogen administration. The high dose induced 74 and 100% OSCC in the tongue and other oral tissues, respectively; the corresponding values at the lower dose were 45 and 89%. Using immunohistochemistry, we showed that DB[a,l]PDE resulted in overexpression of p53 and COX-2 proteins in malignant tissues when compared to normal oral tissues and tongues. Consistent with the carcinogenicity, we demonstrated powerful mutagenicity in cII gene in B6C3F1 (Big Blue) mouse tongue. The mutational profile in lacI reporter gene is similar to those detected in human head and neck cancer, and p53 mutations were observed in mouse oral tumor tissues. Taken together, we conclude that the formation of diol epoxides plays a major role among the mechanisms by which DB[a,l]P exerts its oral mutagenicity and tumorigenicity.
The Chameleon Within: Improving Antigen Delivery

Rare M cells found in the lining of the gut and lungs provide gateways for foreign substances to enter the body and be delivered to the immune system. In this issue of Science , KernA©is et al . describe a method of converting gut epithelial cells to M cells and begin to dissect the origins of the endogenous trigger for this process. Control of the flux of antigens across the gut lining would allow more efficient oral vaccination and immunization.
Extending n-version programming to concurrent software

The authors propose three different constructs which extend the n-version programming (NVP) concept to concurrent NVP (CNVP): process-dissimilar CNVP, subprogram-dissimilar CNVP, and structure-dissimilar CNVP. Each of these three constructs is a corollary to one of the three concurrent recovery block constructs. >
Testing factors influencing identification rates of similar species during abundance surveys

ABSTRACT Most abundance estimation methods assume that all sampled individuals are identified correctly. In practice, this assumption may be difficult to meet and can bias abundance estimates, especially when morphologically similar species overlap in range. Over the past 2 decades, Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) populations appear to have declined across parts of their Alaskan range, where they co-occur with the Marbled Murrelet (B. marmoratus). Recently, the reliability of Kittlitz's Murrelet declines has been questioned due to variability and uncertainty in species identification between the 2 species. We conducted a field experiment to quantify misidentification and partial identification (identification to genus [Brachyramphus] level only) of Kittlitz's and Marbled murrelets during abundance surveys, and to evaluate the relative impacts of environmental and observational factors on misidentification and partial identification. We applied these results to previously collected survey ...
Genetic approach identifies distinct asthma pathways in overweight vs normal weight children.

The pathogenesis of asthma in the context of excess body weight may be distinct from asthma that develops in normal weight children. The study's objective was to explore the biology of asthma in the context of obesity and normal weight status using genetic methodologies. Associations between asthma and SNPs in 49 genes were assessed, as well as, interactions between SNPs and overweight status in child participants of the Greater Cincinnati Pediatric Clinic Repository. Asthma was significantly associated with weight (OR = 1.38; P = 0.037). The number of genes and the magnitude of their associations with asthma were notably greater when considering overweight children alone vs normal weight and overweight children together. When considering weight, distinct sets of asthma-associated genes were observed, many times with opposing effects. We demonstrated that the underlying heterogeneity of asthma is likely due in part to distinct pathogenetic pathways that depend on preceding/comorbid overweight and/or allergy. It is therefore important to consider both obesity and asthma when conducting studies of asthma.
A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method using solid phase extraction to quantitate thalidomide in human serum

Thalidomide, a drug developed in the mid 1950s for sedation and used in the treatment of leprosy for several years, has recently been shown to have anti-angiogenic activity in the rabbit cornea micropocket model. Phase II clinical trials have been initiated in several tumor types, including prostate, brain, breast, and Kaposi's sarcoma. Thus, we developed a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay to monitor thalidomide serum concentrations. A Hewlett-Packard 1090 Series II Liquid Chromatograph equipped with a photodiode-array detector was used for the Chromatographic analysis. A Waters Nova-Pak C-18 (3.9 × 300 mm) column was used. Thalidomide and phenacetin (internal standard) were detected at UV wavelengths of 220 and 248 nm, respectively, with a run time of 16 min. A gradient mobile phase of water, acetonitrile, and a 0.5 M NaH2PO4 buffer (pH 3.0) was run at a flow rate of 1 ml min−1. Thalidomide was isolated from serum by solid phase extraction. 10% H2SO4 (7.5 μl) was added to the serum to halt degradation. Standard curves were prepared between 50 and 10000 ng ml−1 and linearity was demonstrated in this range of concentrations (r2 = 0.9996 ± 0.0011) (n = 6). Intra-assay and inter-assay imprecision was <4.0% with an error of accuracy of <7.0%. In conclusion, the assay was shown to be reproducible and acceptable for clinical monitoring of thalidomide concentrations in human serum.
Control of a Multiple-Effect Falling-Film Evaporator Plant

This work studies the control of a single falling-film evaporator and a multiple-effect falling-film evaporator plant. The specific case studied is the concentration of solids found in the liquor that is part of the production of sulfate (kraft) pulp. The concentrated stream is the feed to the recovery boiler, a unit operation that plays a significant role in the economics of the pulp mill. The disturbance compensation of a single-loop strategy based on proportional−integral feedback controllers is compared against a model-based strategy that uses optimal control theory.
Enhancing and degrading visual stimuli.

Several assembly language routines are described for use in perceptual identification experiments on the Apple Macintosh computer with MS-BASIC. These routines are in a machine language library that may be accessed from BASIC. No knowledge of assembly language is required to use the statements. In one method of perceptual identification, stimulus clarification, a mask is gradually removed to reveal the stimulus behind it. The other method, stimulus materialization, displays the stimulus on the screen in a piecemeal fashion. Data are reported from a demonstration experiment in which prior exposure to words enabled subjects to identify those words more easily under impoverished conditions.
Hole-boring in clouds by high-intensity laser beams: theory.

The physics of hole-boring in clouds and fogs by high-intensity ir laser beams is investigated in a zeroth-order approximation. Simple analytical expressions are obtained which describe the phenomena of interest. Application of these expressions to various types of clouds and fogs yields order-of-magnitude estimates of the laser powers required to bore holes of a given size and quality. The power requirements for hole-boring through light ground fogs or thin overcasts are in excess of 100 kW, while hole-boring through thicker overcasts will require laser powers much in excess of 10 MW. Dispersal of ground fogs over an extended area will require laser powers in the 108–109-W range and thus may not be cost effective simply in terms of energy consumption.
Postsegmentectomy pseudotumor of the lung.

Abstract After an apicoposterior staple segmental resection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left upper lobe, a "new" mass developed in the remaining upper lobe, 8 months postoperatively. Upon removal, this proved to be an ischemic infarction in the anterior segment. Residual lung rotation may have compounded local lung ischemia secondary to the staple technique of resection. One clue to this pseudotumor development appears to be prolonged postoperative "haziness" on chest roentgenograms.
An Analysis of the National Toxicology Program′s (NTP) Technical Report (NTP TR 421) on the Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Talc

The NTP toxicology and carcinogenicity studies of nonasbestiform, cosmetic-grade talc (the NTP Talc Report) were conducted by exposing male and female F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice to target aerosol concentrations of 0, 6, and 18 mg/m3 talc for 6 hr daily, 5 days per week. Based on results of the high dose, the Report concluded that talc caused lung tumors in female rats and pheochromocytomas in male and female rats, and there was no evidence of carcinogenic activity in mice. A thorough evaluation of lung toxicity revealed that talc-induced lung tumors occurred only in the group of animals that exhibited the most profound degree of chronic toxicity. However, these data were presented as empirical observations rather than discussed in a manner that would relate them to the risk assessment implications of the bioassay, i.e., relevant data were collected but not "used." In addition, the evaluation of the pheochromocytomas was inadequate because it failed to place sufficient emphasis on the spontaneous incidence of this tumor in rats. These deficiencies caused the author to vote against the conclusions presented in the Talc Report when it was reviewed by the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors. The appropriate conclusions are (1) the data do not indicate that the pheochromocytomas were treatment-related; (2) the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was exceeded in the female rats exposed to the high dose; and (3) talc is not expected to cause lung tumors under conditions of exposure that fail to result in marked chronic lung toxicity.
Authenticity of Scientific Anecdotes

THERE are two famous anecdotes told concerning-Michael Faraday and the usefulness of scientific discoveries. They appear in various forms in the works of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers on scientific subjects. Both are told usually in relation to Faraday's discoveries in the field of electro-magnetism. The usual form of the stories is that some dignitary or public official, usually the Prime Minister himself, visited Faraday at the Royal Institution and, on being given a demonstration of the phenomenon of induced currents, inquired: “What good is it?” One of the stories has it that Faraday replied: “What good is a new-born baby?” The other has it that he replied: “Soon you will be able to tax it”1.
Signal measurements of multilayer refractive write-once data storage media

Multilayered refractive data storage allows serial optical recording at data densities exceeding 10 12 bits/cm 3 . Data may be recorded in a write once mode using two-photon excitation of a photopolymer film. Data is read with minimal cross-talk between layers by wavefront shearing interferometry, for example by differential interference contrast microscopy. The readout signal from such a multilayered refractive memory initially increases with the refractive index contrast. However, high index contrast may eventually lead to excessive scattering which could reduce signal quality. We report here an empirical method for quantitatively assessing the readout performance of multilayer refractive memory media using laser scanning differential interference contrast microscopy and simple image processing. Signal level distributions for a multilayered refractive write once data storage structure are presented.
Effect of dietary sodium bicarbonate and magnesium oxide on production and physiology in early lactation.

Twenty cows were in an experiment to measure effects of dietary buffers, sodium bicarbonate and magnesium oxide, on ration adjustment and incidence of metabolic problems in the first 8 wk postpartum. Cows were fed 2.7 kg grain per day and alfalfa ad libitum prepartum and switched immediately to a complete ration of 40% corn silage and 60% concentrate (dry matter) postpartum. Treatments included 1.5% sodium bicarbonate and .8% magnesium oxide (total ration dry matter) fed in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Cows receiving bicarbonate peaked 2 to 3 wk earlier in intake and averaged 2.1 kg per day greater intake than those fed the control diet. Actual milk production was increased by sodium bicarbonate with greatest differences for cows receiving both buffers averaging 3.8 kg per day more milk than control cows. Increases over co ntrols were 2.6 and 5.6 kg fat-corrected milk per day for cows receiving sodium bicarbonate alone or in combination with magnesium oxide, respectively. Sodium bicarbonate increased acetate to propionate molar ratios in rumen samples taken at 1 and 2 wk postpartum whereas neither buffer had any effect on rumen pH. Blood hematocrit and urine pH were not affected by treament. Magnesium oxide increased fecal pH .8 units and slightly decreased fecal starch, but sodium bicarbonate had no effect.
Magnetic antenna excitation of whistler modes. I. Basic properties

Properties of magnetic loop antennas for exciting electron whistler modes have been investigated in a large laboratory plasma. The parameter regime is that of large plasma frequency compared to the cyclotron frequency and signal frequency below half the cyclotron frequency. The antenna diameter is smaller than the wavelength. Different directions of the loop antenna relative to the background magnetic field have been measured for small amplitude waves. The differences in the topology of the wave magnetic field are shown from measurements of the three field components in three spatial directions. The helicity of the wave magnetic field and of the hodogram of the magnetic vector in space and time are clarified. The superposition of wave fields is used to investigate the properties of two antennas for small amplitude waves. Standing whistler waves are produced by propagating two wave packets in opposite directions. Directional radiation is obtained with two phased loops separated by a quarter wavelength. Rotating antenna fields, produced with phased orthogonal loops at the same location, do not produce directionality. The concept of superposition is extended in a Paper II to generate antenna arrays for whistlers. These produce nearly plane waves, whose propagation angle can be varied by the phase shifting the currents in the array elements. Focusing of whistlers is possible. These results are important for designing antennas on spacecraft or diagnosing and heating of laboratory plasmas.
Long-term prognostic value of duke treadmill score and exercise thallium-201 imaging performed one to three years after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

Abstract The value of exercise nuclear perfusion imaging performed beyond the 6-month restenosis window for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has not been explored. This study evaluates the long-term prognostic value of exercise thallium (Tl)-201 imaging after PTCA. We studied the late outcome of a series of 211 patients with tomographic Tl-201 exercise studies performed between 1 to 3 years after PTCA. Follow-up was 96% complete at a median duration of 7.3 years. Most (73%) had 1- or 2-vessel coronary artery disease and normal left ventricular function and 193 (91%) had successful PTCA. Two thirds of the patients were symptomatic at the time of testing. The mean Duke score was 5 ± 6 and 125 (60%) patients had a low-risk Duke score. Mean summed stress score was 50 ± 9 and mean summed reversibility score was 3 ± 4. The 5-year overall survival was 95%, yielding a low annual mortality rate of 1%/year. The summed stress score exhibited a significant association (p = 0.047) with the end point of cardiac death or myocardial infarction. The Duke score was predictive of the combination end point of hard and soft cardiac events (p = 0.002). This study demonstrates that exercise Tl-201 perfusion imaging performed 1 to 3 years after PTCA was predictive of cardiac events.
Modularity and productivity

Abstract This article investigates the impact of digital technology diffusion on the productivity of firms making up the local operating sector of the U.S. telecommunications industry for the years 1991 to 1993. Diffusion of digital technology is measured as the extent of line digitalization that has taken place, with digitalization expected to enable firms to reap significant operating efficiencies. While the diffusion of this particular technology in the local operating company sector has been relatively low, it is found that, after controlling for the effects of a number of other covariates also likely to affect firm-level performance, the spread of digital technology within the U.S. local telephone network plays a significant and positive role in impacting productive efficiency of the firms making up the network. The investments that have been made in energizing the U.S. information superhighway, via the digitalization of telephone lines, are justified in productive efficiency terms. The article contributes to empirical literature in the technical change area which assesses the firm-level productive efficiency consequences of technology diffusion.
Glycogen-bound phosphorylase in Cryptococcus laurentii.

Abstract Electron micrographs of Cryptococcus laurentii cells reveal glycogen granules throughout the cytoplasm. Glycogen phosphorylase (α-1,4-glucan: orthophosphate glucosyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.1) is bound to these granules and has been obtained in purified form upon isolation of homogeneous preparations of these granules. The enzyme has a pH optimum close to 6; its K m values are: 1.5 mM for P i , 0.65 mg/ml for glycogen, and 1 mM for Glc-1- P . The K m for Glc-1- P is substantially lower, 0.4 mM, in the presence of Mg 2+ , whereas v max remains unchanged. The enzyme is not activated by AMP. Glc-6- P , glucose nucleotides, AMP, ADP, and ATP are inhibitors of the enzyme. Mg 2+ reverses the inhibition by nucleotides and sugar nucleotides. A Glc-6- P -dependent glycogen synthetase is also bound to the glycogen granules of this organism.
The chemical nature of the combining site of rabbit anti-p-azophenylphosphorylcholine antibody.

Determinations were made of the amino acid residues involved as contact residues in the hapten combining site of rabbit antibodies raised against p-azophenylphosphorylcholine by reacting antibody with either diazoacetamide or maleic anhydride followed by glyoxal reagent. The effect of the reaction on ability of the antibody to bind hapten was followed. Reactions were carried out both in the absence and in the presence of the hapten p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine. A loss of binding activity coupled with the demonstration that the presence of hapten during modification could reduce the loss of activity was taken as evidence that the type of amino acid modified was in the binding site. Glyoxalation of about 70% of the total arginine per molecule (under conditions in which lysyl residues were blocked by maleylation) reduced the number of active binding sites in all of the antibody preparations tested. As much as a 44% loss of sites was observed in one case. These losses could be partially prevented by carrying out the reaction in the presence of hapten. Arginine, therefore, appears to be a part of the combining site of a significant portion of the molecules of each antibody preparation studied. Esterification of about 20% the carboxyl groups with diazoacetamide resulted in a decrease in binding capacity (∼24%) which was protectable by hapten. Although extensive modification of carboxyl groups was not achieved, these results point to the probability that a glutamyl or asparyl residue is in the site. Maleylation of nearly all of the lysine present with maleic anyhdride was virtually ineffective in reducing the binding capacity of these antibodies, thus indicating the absence of lysine in the site. We conclude that a significant portion of the anti-p-azophenylphosphorylcholine antibody population has a positively charged arginyl residue, and a negatively charged carboxylate group, in the site. These residues are those which provide for electrostatic interaction of the site with the negatively charged phosphoryl group and the positively charged quaternary nitrogen of the p-azophenylphosphorylcholine hapten.
Use of Constant Time Delay in Teaching Multiplication Facts to Students with Learning Disabilities

This study investigated the effectiveness and efficiency of a constant time-delay procedure in teaching multiplication facts to three male and two female elementary school students, aged 9 years 6 months to 12 years 5 months, identified as learning disabled. The five students were taught unknown facts using a 4-second constant time-delay procedure. Data were collected on generalization to a paper-and-pencil task, to a horizontal display orientation, and to the reverse fact, as well as incidentally acquired ability to solve missing-factor problems. Results indicated that the near-errorless learning procedure was effective and efficient in teaching multiplication facts to students with learning disabilities. Learning generalized to a paper-and-pencil task, to a different presentation orientation, and to the reverse fact.
Comparison of ampicillin/sulbactam and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid for detection of borderline oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Borderline oxacillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (BORSA) may be misidentified as intrinsically methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the clinical laboratory. Under disk diffusion testing conditions designed to maximize detection of MRSA (incubation at 32 °C, pre-induction with methicillin, or plating on 4 % NaCl-supplemented agar), BORSA strains also tend to appear resistant to semisynthetic penicillins. Under these conditions, ampicillin/sulbactam appears to be more accurate than amoxicillin/clavulanic acid for differentiating BORSA from MRSA.
Transient Surface Strains and the Deconvolution of Thermoelastic States and Boundary Conditions

Thermoelastic states as they pertain to thermal-shock are difficult to determine since the underlying boundary conditions must be known or measured. For direct problems where the boundary conditions such as temperature or flux, are known a priori, the procedure is mathematically tractable with many analytical solutions available. Although this is more practical from a measurement standpoint, the inverse problem where the boundary conditions must be determined from remotely determined temperature and/or flux data are ill-posed and therefore inherently sensitive to errors in the data. Moreover, the limited number of analytical solutions to the inverse problem rely on assumptions that usually restrict them to timeframes before the thermal wave reaches the natural boundaries of the structure. Fortunately, a generalized solution based on strain-histories can be used instead to determine the underlying thermal excitation via a least-squares determination of coefficients for generalized equations for strain. Once the inverse problem is solved and the unknown boundary condition on the opposing surface is determined, the resulting polynomial can then be used with the generalized direct solution to determine the thermal- and stress-states as a function of time and position. For the two geometries explored, namely a thick-walled cylinder under an internal transient with external convection and a slab with one adiabatic surface, excellent agreement was seen with various test cases. The derived solutions appear to be well suited for many thermal scenarios provided that the analysis is restricted to the time interval used to determine the polynomial and the thermophysical properties that do not vary with temperature. While polynomials were employed for the current analysis, transcendental functions and/or combinations with polynomials can also be used.
Identification of the thiamin pyrophosphokinase gene in rainbow trout: characteristic structure and expression of seven splice variants in tissues and cell lines and during embryo development

Thiamin pyrophosphokinase (TPK) converts thiamin to its active form, thiamin diphosphate. In humans, TPK expression is down-regulated in some thiamin deficiency related syndrome, and enhanced during pregnancy. Rainbow trout are also vulnerable to thiamin deficiency in wild life and are useful models for thiamin metabolism research. We identified the tpk gene transcript including seven splice variants in the rainbow trout. Almost all cell lines and tissues examined showed co-expression of several tpk splice variants including a potentially major one at both mRNA and protein levels. However, relative to other tissues, the longest variant mRNA expression was predominant in the ovary and abundant in embryos. During embryogenesis, total tpk transcripts increased abruptly in early development, and decreased to about half of the peak shortly after hatching. In rainbow trout, the tpk transcript complex is ubiquitously expressed for all tissues and cells examined, and its increase in expression could be important in the early-middle embryonic stages. Moreover, decimated tpk expression in a hepatoma cell line relative to hepatic and gonadal cell lines appears to be consistent with previously reported down-regulation of thiamin metabolism in cancer.
Discrete-time local risk minimization of payment processes and applications to equity-linked life-insurance contracts

Abstract We develop a theory of local risk minimization for payment processes in discrete time, and apply this theory to the pricing and hedging of equity-linked life-insurance contracts. Thus, we extend the work of Moller (2001a) in several directions: from risk minimization (which is done under a martingale measure) to local risk minimization (which is done under an arbitrary measure), from single claims to payment processes, from complete financial markets to possibly incomplete financial markets, from a single risky asset to several risky assets, and from finite state spaces to general state spaces. Moreover, we show that, when tradable financial assets are independent of mortality, a locally risk-minimizing hedging strategy for most claims in the combined financial and mortality market (such as those arising from equity-indexed annuities) may be expressed as the product of two simpler locally risk-minimizing hedging strategies: one for a purely financial claim, the other for a traditional (i.e. non-equity-linked) life-insurance claim. Finally, we also show, under general assumptions, that the minimal measure for the combined market is the product of the minimal measure for the financial market and the physical measure for the mortality.
Study of Interactions between Food Phenolics and Aromatic Flavors Using One- and Two-Dimensional 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Changes in flavor release and aroma characteristics in a medium including food phenolics may be attributed to an intermolecular interaction between flavor compounds and phenolics. To investigate the interaction, one- and two-dimensional NMR studies have been carried out on the binding of two phenolics, gallic acid and naringin, with three aroma compounds, 2-methylpyrazine, vanillin, and ethyl benzoate. Evaluation of thermodynamic parameters and intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects reveals that gallic acid can interact more strongly with aromatic flavors than naringin. The supramolecular complexation is also dependent on the structural nature of the flavors, with 2-methylpyrazine and vanillin interacting more strongly than ethyl benzoate. The interaction is principally pi-pi stacking between the galloyl ring and the aromatic ring of the aroma compounds, but secondary hydrogen-bonding effects help to stabilize the complex and enhance the specificity.
A comparative analysis of spatial indices and wavelet-based classification

Spatial indices measure the geometric arrangement of land use and land cover classes at various scales and are computationally adaptive with wavelet transform coefficients. Decision rules built on permutations of three spatial indices – energy, log energy and Shannon's diversity – are used to improve the accuracy of multi-resolution hierarchical wavelet-based classifications. Comparisons are made with classification results derived from other texture measures, as well as with classification results calculated from more conventional per-pixel techniques. The first decision rule that computes one distance for each class across all bands to select the shortest distance was the most effective decision rule, resulting in the highest overall classification accuracy using the energy spatial index.
Model Independent Features of Diffraction

We review our “understanding” of the high energy diffraction of hadrons without reference to specific models. We show the picture of high energy scattering of hadrons that emerges from the experimental data using as guidelines: i) Theorems and bounds derived from the general requirements of causality, conservation of probability and the existence of a particle with minimum, non-zero, mass ii) s-channel unitarity instead of working our way through the vast collection of competing models.
Training for primary care's future.

Editor’s note: With support from the California HealthCare Foundation, JGIM is pleased to continue this occasional series of first-person narrative reports on clinical innovation. In its current incarnation (formerly “Interval Examination,” now called “Frontline Account”), this series will continue to highlight clinical quality improvement, but with a special emphasis on primary care, often from the perspective of trainees. Contributors will share their perspectives as participant-observers in the development or implementation of a quality-enhancing innovation. The series is edited by two JGIM contributing editors: Ishani Ganguli, MD, an internal medicine resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital and practicing journalist who has written for the Boston Globe and New York Times; and Thomas Bodenheimer, MD, an expert in primary care policy and faculty physician at San Francisco General Hospital. In this lead-off article, Dr. Ganguli describes her experience as a resident participating in the Massachusetts General Hospital Ambulatory Practice of the Future.
Influences on Foreign Equity Ownership Level in Joint Ventures in China

This study examines the determinants of foreign equity ownership in joint ventures in China. Drawing upon Duning's ownership, locational and internalization paradigm and the literature on bargaining power, eleven variables that impact foreign ownership preferences and concessions are examined. These variables are advertising intensity, foreign capital input, country risk of China, EJV investment amount, EJV contractual duration, cultural distance, competitive intensity, local partner state ownership, local partner alignment, foreign partner alignment, and EJV location. The empirical findings are largely consistent with the hypotheses. The empirical findings are largely consistent with the hypotheses. Further, interesting differences were found among U.S., European and Japanese firms with respect to the impact of these determinants.
Tailored immunity at mucosae.

Most antigens encountered by the immune system enter the body through the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory, gastrointestinal (GI), and urogenital tract, and the vast majority of pathogens use these tissues as portals of entry. An additional feature of these tissues is their constitutive and ever evolving relationship with highly diverse and site-specific microbial communities referred to as the microbiota (1). Barrier sites are therefore charged with the formidable task of mediating the host relationship with its microbiota, protecting the host from environmental and pathogenic challenges while preserving vital physiological functions.